Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-21
TERRIFIED BY TRIPLES.
Queer Incidents That Have Turne
the Tide of Battle.


From, Tit-Bits
1t is a peculiar circumstance that hard
| ened and trained troops will go through a
long fight surrounded by all the horrors
that are inseparable from war without
finching, and with the utmost apparent
callousness; and the same men will be
struck terrified by single trifiing incident.
Every war of any Importance, particular
ly> wars between civilized nations, is pro-
life in incidents of trivial character in
themselves. but so unusual and unnatural
that they appeal to the natural instructive
horror of men more suddenly and intensely
than perhaps the main terrors of days of
carnage and surrounding seas of suffering.
Such an incident Is the one, for example,
which occurred at the battle of Worth. in
the early days of the Franco-Prussan war.
In the heat of the great battle a wing of
the Prussian army was charged by the
regiments of French cuirassiers, in the
hope of turning the wing and facilitating
| the falling back of the French infantry.
But the cuirassiers were driven back by
| the unflinching Prussians. Again the CUR
assfers charged, and again they were
driven back by the whitening fire of shot
and shell.
| For a third time they came down again.
and as the enemy waited for them to draw
nearer a horrible, blood-freezing terror
seized the Prussians, and for the moment
it looked as if they would turn and fly, or
But in a moment they had pulled them
selves together and beaten back for the
third and last time the gallant cuirassiers.
The sight that terrified the Prussians ap-
pears nothing very much in black and
white. 1t was a regiment of cuiraSsiers led
at dashing rate toward them by a head
less officer sitting upright in his saddle and
apparently encouraging on his men. 1t
was no less a person than FutZun de Las
carre of the Sd Regiment of Cuirassiers,
| whose head had been carried completely
off his shoulders the troop broke into
the third desperate charge by a cannon
ball, which also took off another officers
hand and cut the bugler in two.
1t is remarkable and singular that at the
battle of Forbach which took place the
same day Worth, a very similar Incl
nerves of the Germans than hours of roar
ing cannon and fighting had done
While a regiment of Prussian infantry
We're standing in reserve watching the
fight as well as they could from their posi-
ton of shelter, a charger belonging to a
French dragon regiment Zone which was
practically destroyed in the battle) gal
Hoped right into the midst of the men, who
rushed to arrest it, and Immediately fell
| back in alarm; for swinging to the bride
was the whole left arm of the chargers
rider the fingers of the hand firmly grasp
ing the rens. The arm appeared to have
been severed few inches below the Shout
der, and was certainly that of officer,
but who the officer was has never been sat
lS1actOrlly established.
So moved were the hardened men of bat
tie at the horrible sight that no one would
touch the horse, and the animal al
lowed to gallop off, to be killed few min
utes later in crossing before some Prussan
guns. Trifing as the incident was, many
of the brave fellows who witnessed 1t de-
clared that their first, almost irresistible.
impulse was to throw down their arms and
bolt. Yet it was with the help of just such
men that General Won Cohen routed the
French that memorable day IN August
1870.
1t is a well-known fact that the finest
and braveSt troops the world can produce
Tin which class we believe our own Tommy
occurs) have no immunity from that
strange and mysterious madness known to
military history as war panic" heavy
war, frequent sanguinary engagements,
night marches and surprises sometimes
play havoc with soldiers nervous systems
and render them more like high-spirited
colts than men who have taken the field
prepared to suffer Unreasonable horrors
and take death cheerfuly.
Those who have read deeply about the
peninsular war will perhaps recollect that
| one or two British regiments the very pick
of our army engaged in the war, were so
terrified that they were absolutely routed
during one nights march by nothing more
tangible than a false rumor.
The troops were marching along in good
order, cheerily chatting as If they We're on
the way to maneuver on Aldershot Plains,
when a rumor ran down the lines that the
enemy was at hand. The next moment the
line of orderly soldiers was changed into an
elongated mob of armed men throwing
away arms, baggage and all they carried,
running away in every direction, blind ter
ror IN their hearts, their faces blanched
and their ears deaf to the Numbered COM
mandS of their officers.
For the moment they knew but one senti-
ment. one emotion; sudden, passionate
blind terror, and they fled without thinking
whether they were running into the arms
of that thing they dreaded or not. 1t was
terror that was madness, and only it's
madness redeems it from dishonor. If any
thing We're necessary to demonstrate the
unnaturalness of the panic it would be done
by the grand fact that the moment it be-
came known that the enemy was really. 1t
hand the men instantly fell in and showed
the utmost eagerness to attack. The ru-
NOR when false set the men flying like a
horde of nervous women; the rumor being
true, unquestionably. made the women men
of steel again.
Such war panicS'' are mysteries: even
the most experienced military officer can
not satisfactorily explain them. There is
something so Observation-Disclosures uncanni-
ly-unreaSonable about them which elirni-
mates any dishonor; and it is particularly
remarkable that war panics" have mostly
occurred among regiments whose fearless
ness and prowess have made the hearts of
their countrymen heave with pride.
During the Zulu war two or three such
panics occurred among our troops, though
of course, on smaller scale and Of more
moderate character Now and then during
that war small camps were suddenly
thrown into disorderly terror. and almost
put to boiling, by sentry installing some
bush or shrub for a Zulu spy. or the fore
most OF an attacking horde. and firing
upon it.
On one occasion a sentinel, guarding a
camp, espied some dark object creeping
about among some bushes little way off
and fired at 1t. The next instant the camp
was in disorder; men were seizing their
arms and rushing forward to pour hot fire
in the direction pointed out by the sentry,
despite the fact that the fire was unre-
turned, and after a few minutes firing into
the darkness, at nothing in particular, a
few men ventured out and discovered that
the whole cause Of the alarm was a poor,
velvet-eyed COW, which had strayed, and
strayed into the jaws of death, too!
Wonderful Fire Alarm.