The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1900-04-28
PANICS IN BATTLES.
ODD EVENTS THAT AT TIMES DEMOR-
ALlZE VETERANS.

p"O 1erfhShk AnciuehtS Ahat VIC.
CURED During The Franco-Prussian
war-Madncss May Seize Even the
Most Hardened Troops.
1t is q peculiar circumstance that hard
cned and trained troops will 60 through a
long fight surrounded by all the horrors
that are inseparable from war without
Hinching and with the utmost apparent
calousness, and the same men will be
struck terrified by single tritling Incl
dent.
Every war of any Importance, palticu-
larly wars between civilized nations, is
prolific 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 intense
ly than perhaps the main terrors of days
of carnage and surrounding seas Of suf-
fering. Such an incident is the one, for
example, which occurred at the battle of
Worth, in the early days Of the Franco
Prussian war.
In the heat Of the great battle 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 cuirassicrs were driven back by
the untlinching prussians. Again the
cuirassiers charged, and again they were
driven back by the whitening fire Of shot
and shell.
For third time they came down again,
and as the enemy waited for them to
draw nearer horrible, blood freezing ter
ror seized the Prussians, and for the mo-
ment it looked as if they would turn and
fly or be cut down without defending
themselves. But in a moment they had
pulled themselves together and beaten
back for the third and last time the gal
liant cuirassiers.
The sight that terrified the Prussians
appears nothing very much in black and
white. 1t was a regiment of cuirassiers
led at a dashing rate toward them by a
headless officer sitting upright in his sad
die and apparently encouraging on his
men. 1t was 10 less a person that Fut-
yum de Lascarre of the Third regiment of
cuirasscrs, whose head had been carried
completely off his shoulders as the troop
broke into the third desperate charge by
cannon ball, which also took off an
otHtl OHlCeE uuHu anu cut tue buSIcf Ill
two.
1t is remarkable and singular that at
the battle of Forbach, which took place
the same day as Worth, very similar
incident occurred and did more to shake
the nerves of the Germans than hours Of
roaring cannon and fighting had done.
While regiment of Prussian infantry
were standing in reserve watching the
fight as well as they could from their po-
sition of shelter charger belonging to a
French dragon regiment, one which was
practically destroyed in the battle, gal
loped 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
grasping the reins. The arm appeared to
have been severed few inches below the
shoulder and was certainly that of an Off
Ger, but who the officer was has never
been satisfactorily established.
SO moved were the hardened men Of
battle at the horrible sight that no one
would touch the horse, and the animal
was allowed to gallop off. to be killed
few minutes later in crossing before
some Prnssian guns. Thrilling as the in
cident was, many of the brave fellows
who witnessed it declared 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 Gen
eral Won Cohen ronted the French that |
memorable day in August, 1870.
1t is well known fact that the finest
and bravest troops the world can produce
have no immunity from that strange and
mysterious madness kno to military
history as war panic y heavy war, !
frequent sangunary 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 pre-
pared to suffer Unreasonable horrors and
take death cheerfully.
During the peninsular war two British
regiments, the very pick Of the army and
seasoned veterans, were marching along
in good order when rumor ran down
the lines that the enemy was at hand.
The next moment the line of orderly SOL
diers was changed into an elongated mob
Of armed men throwing away arms, bag
gage and all they carried, running away