The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-05-17
MANASSAS MANEUVERS
ALABAMA TROOPS INVITED TO
 PARTICIPATE.
Great Battlenelds to Again Be Scene of Armed Men, But This Time
 in a Peaceful Contest.

naesas, Va, from September to 20, tn battlefield made famous by the two bat
 ties of Bull Run
 Twenty-two thousand troops will par
 ficipate in these manoeuvres. Of thi
 number about lS.000 will be of the regula
 army and the balance State troops in tn
 Divison of the Atlantic.
 Manassas is on the line of the Souther,
 Railway and the officials of the road ar
 preparing to handle the troops and tn,
 thousands Of visitors with comfort ant
 dispatch
 In connection with the coming manoeu
 vfes, The New York Herald has collected
 some highly interesting facts.
 Major General Henry c. Corbin will nght the third battle of Bull Run, says
 The Herald. and the general stan of tbe 1 army Is now engaged upon improving the l strategy of General StonewalI Jackson in what Is regarded by military strate- gists as the most masterly campaign of the civil war
 From Portland, Me, which never came nearer to war than seeing in the ofing spanish fleets which never existed the army manoeuvres will be transferred this year to Manassas, Va, which still bears the marks of the heavy blows dealt by blue and gray forty-two years ago. For the first time an opportunity will be afforded for effective comparisons be- tween the old army which fought and the new army which is being trained to nght. Can the modern armament and the methods of transportation which have developed forty years from the day when Pope and Lee raced from their respect. i've bases to the battle ground change the result of their manoeuvres? Twenty-two trcrsand modern soldiers win be used to test the prowess of the ancient armies or the rebellion and prove what would have happened had the commanders wSose names made history possessed krag-Jorgensen rifles, Dougherty wag- ons and the new army field gun.
 It Is probable that no field of any of the great Southern conflicts could have been selected which has suffered so little change as the low lying land in the valley or Northern Virginia between Thorough Fare Gap and the Potomac.
 There have been few alterations in the general makeup and characteristics of Manassas since the rear guard of General Pepes army fell back to Washington.
 Railroad lines and roads which afford the old combatants their only methods Of transportation other than that afford ca by the country roads have not chang ell The lines shown upon the map of lS62 are still unchanged, except that up- on which was the left flank of the North ern Army there has been constructed a road between Alexandria and Fredericks- burg, and a line across what was the base of the Southen Army from Freder- icksburg to Charlottesville. These latter lines would so materially have affected the operations of the civil war that it is probable, If the general staff follows its plan of reproducing the campaign of 1882 they will be barred by the umpire
 Eighteen thousand regular army troops and 4,0Oo militiamen from various States will participate in the operations, which VIII continue from September 9th to 10th This Is the largest body of regulars and militia gathered for manoeuvres in the history of the United States. The fields of Bull Run, Bristow Station, Milford and Manassas Junction will again be trod by armed soldiers. The same strategic points which played such a vital part in the contest of military science waged between General John Pope, the Federal leader. and General Robert E. Lee. Con- federate. stand the same today as in 1882
 Major General Henry c. Corbin, com manding the Division of the Atlantic. will be in supreme command. Lieutenant General Adna R. Chaffee chief of staff, whose actual fighting service in Cuba, the Philippines and China in the last few years Is fresh in mind, will observe the manoeuvres. Military attaches of for elgn governments will witness the evolu- ttons. Convenient as the scene of the fighting will be to Washington and Bal ttnore. and even to Philadelphia and New York. thousands of onlookers are expected to find their way thither.
 Already inquiries that pour in upon the War nAna hat oIl veteran who fought In the campaign of 1862 intends to see how the soldiers of today will handle themselves on the fight ing ground.
 To this day wherever the veterans of gather and stories are told, red Virginia gather stories are told. red Virginia mud has a prominent place. It is de- clered there Is no "stickier" mud in the world and no time when it Is ''stckier" than the last rainy harvest months.
 The campaign of 1862 was fought for years standing. There were four regi- ments from In or near the city of New York in that campaign. but they had had time to learn the difference between the pavementS of the island of Manhattan and the shifting slush in the wake of Virginia rainstorm. It Is considered high ly probable by army officers that the regiments from the State of New York so fortunate as to be allowed the oppor- tunity to attend these manoeuvres will be apt to encounter some inconvenience before they equal the record of General Stonewall Jackson when he fought two armies in the same day beyond Thor oughfare Gap at points fifteen miles of red clay apart and won the strategy of the game of 1S6.
 Cooperation of militia with regular troops. which forms the basic principle of the national scheme of defence, will be afforded thorough operation in these manoeuvres. General Corbin recently went to Virginia to make arrangements for obtaining permission to operate upon the land desired as fighting ground. Property owners told him the army could begin operating there the first week in September. when the harvest will have been completed and there will be no dan ger to crops from the march of infant ry, cavalry or artillery. But this date, although it has the advantage of being cool and Is convenient to the Virginia farmers. has its drawbacks. Most of the national guard organizations go into camp and have their manoeuvres in July and August. The militiamen, with whom soldiery is an occupation second ary to that by which they make their living. are better able to leave their of- fees and shops during the dull summer months. When the wheels of commerce and industry begin to Timber up in Sep tember it is not so easy for them to ab- sent themselves from the city.
 Thus the militia representation will be smaller than if the manoeuvres were held in July. That month, if made the period