The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-09-06
AMERICAN CAVALRY
Praise from Gen. Negrler and Other
Foreign Authorities

Praise from Gen Negrler and Other
Foreign Authorities. #
Special attention has lately been direct.#
ed In Europe to the cavalry Of our army.
and this is due partly to the visit OF
Mator-General Baden Powell and the res
cent memorandum order on armament OF
airy By. Brgadier- General William IT;
Carter, In recent mum Dor Of the United
lin an essay entitled "Cavalrymen and L
s Dragons, which appeared In the Revue 4
sdes deux Mondes. and which.isl attrlhuteds
military. authority, our cavalry also rec
Eceives full credit for its work In the
past
Civll War, especially the great use made
OF fighting on foot Cor dismounted action
by the We Of the easpne nma 90
munication, at the same time preserving
the power Of the cavalry to fight other
cavalry Or mounted aeton IN the e ihar e
Gle are of great Interest to US -
Speaking OF the cavalry attacks ofalS7O.
the author says: u
First, ills necessary to examine how
cavalry was employed by q nation free
from prejudice and unhampered by wise.
doctrines; that learned war by practice
and the use OF common sense; we eh arS
brought together In conflict the. Confede.
rate forces OF the Southern States ana
the Federal armies Of the North ,,e u This I'M
The Americans, free from the fettcrs OF
routine which restrained the older armies
of Europe, adopted the tactics best suited
to their operations.
2 "The forces Of the North and those OF
the South found railroads to DO absolutely
essential to all their movements. Cavalry
became the most redoun5a;oie enemy o., 9s
most important uses ~ future wars. IT
Europe, howsey.er: this fact passed almose I
posed Of dragoons I'm the European
sense) The regiments made constant use
Of dismounted action. but this did not
prevent them from Tan.hs s' at iTaIrfax
and and cannon cam were most often employed
often Z !, whole y brigade was a'sm0uh'od
speaking Of the work OF the, German
cavalry in 1s7O-71 the author calls atten,
ton to the, fact that. althoush suecess M
French cavalry never ATTEMPTED to stop
them, they were powerless later On wnen
the franctireurs EARNED with r!nes) FORM
ed screen for tho infantry columns III III
I'm America, on the other hand. the cay y,
airy leaders very early recognised the IN
t their men lei with rifle In addition to the
sabre. Their tactics against both cava!ry
and infantry were a combination, OF nre
and shock, and their achievements were
far more brilliant than those OF the Ger
mans In 1870. IS 5 t88s !,
Another article on the same subject Let has q.
dian Volunteer Record, published IN cal
cutta, praises the work OF our cavalry
quite as ENTHUSIASTICALLY: 49,.
1.-THE conditions of service which ron
tier warfare imposed on the AmeTlcan
cavalry evolved q type OF horse SOLDIER
which ali who have ever come IN s contact Tsa ct
or war; will Internationally acknowledge 3
to be most excellent. To this type the
conditions of war IN South A'.'"'l ''p>''
tho British cavalrymen to CONFORM; Tne
lesson, however. could have peen LEARNT
before, II we had had eyes ,sa,dy oy,,ved
similar conditions had alreaos rSo'Neu
the type In America. 80
These and other encomlums. from AL
quarters, should nll the soul OF our cav z
airy men with Just pride ana feelng
of satisfaction. The light field squip-
, nnnmmira II Nc Of Europe. but the acknowl-
edrement OF the excellence OF It's tactic!
il p surprise, because Europe has waited
So long to learn the lessons We hnd
learned In 1860 '65, and on the plains 20:
fore and since It Is n feGa apeaa sher
Ian lar (who was an eyewitness Of some
nr the cavalry actions in 1870 could make
anv lasting impression on the tactlclans
OF Europe. But the more recent ware
(especialy that In South Africa nave
confirmed the value and exfeilehirsss1 q ana !ns
time has made our history, familiar 70
n sufficient number to enable them 70
make intelligent comparisons and orlng