Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-04-15
THE FIELD OF BATTLE
INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES OF
THE WAR.
The Veterans of the Rebellion Tell OF
WhistIing Bullets, Bright BayonetAs
Rurssing Bombs, Bloody Battles

y
different from some we had in our own
army in the Civil War. Given ex-
hausted and excited men, and crisis
In the rear of an army. and there is
bound 10 be a great scare, involving
men and horses and mules, l don't
suppose either the Russians or the
Japanese run heavily to mules, but in a
panic | fancy a thousand or two Chi
nese coolies would be as unmanage-
able as that many mules under similar
circumstances. Therefore I conclude
the panic in Mukden was not any the
better for the absence of mules.
"In western Virginia | saw a com
pany that had fought for hours against
a regiments of rebs wilt when one OF
our own regiments dashed up and pep
too much, and for the first time that
day the men on the firing line were
scared. AS they turned to bolt they
saw the Captain shaking his fist at
the Twenty sixth Ohio in our rear,
and heard above the confusion the
Captains voice in a swearing stunt
that beat the band He didn't order
his men back into line Their scare
was over, and they went back without
orders, shouting compliments at the
Captain, who was still in action.
AT Stone River our regiment faced
the enemy for hours without sign of a
panic, but when one of our own bri-
gades, changing front under pressure,
ran over us. the boys lost their grip
for about five minutes and were join
ing in the foot race when the Colonel,
who had been endorsed, scrambled to
his feet and roared, I can lick the
man or the regiment that did that.
But YOU men, as you were. as you
were,-if any man has sense enough
to know where we were This quoted
the panic in our own line, but the
stampede involved other regiments,
and ! saw men act like frightened
squirrels and try to squeeze their bulks
into holes in the ground or crevices in
the rocks.
1T was all over In a few minutes,
the panic-stricken men returning to
the firing line on their own motion.
The next day there was a panic of an
other kind, when men were swept off
their feet by a rush OF the enemy.
Dazed by the sudden onslaught, hun
dreds of men drifted rearward, to the
Generalization of other regiments
frhO,,,oe a. a,
of retreat, and, pistol in hand, checked
the panic, the men, after cooling off a
title returning to their regiments.
There was panic at Chickamauga
caused by Longstreet's headlong
charge; but 1t was only a local storm,
the main part of the army knowing
nothing of It, There was panic
among stragglers at Shiloh, but the
men In front were fighting rs coolly
as ever they did in the whole course Of
Inc war There is always more confu-
sion and excitement In the rear of an
army than in front, but the excitement
means as little as the confusion. An
army itself engaged in fierce conflict
is rarely influenced by what occurs at
the rear; and yet the incidents in the
rear are more often than otherwise ex-
plotted as Indicating conditions in the
army itself
There have been good many ref
erences lately said the Doctor, ito the
improved sanitary regulations of mod
ern armies. 1t is explained that the
sanitary corps of the Japanese army
marks in advance the quality Of the
water TO be used by the soldiers. and
insists upon officers complying with
directions as to camp sit and sanitary
regulat ions In short, an attempt Is
made TO have us believe that a Japa-
nese soldier never fills mis- cauteen or
gets his feet wet without consulting
the microbe specialists. and that be
cause of the superiority Of modern
methods. soldiers fight better.
All this is very amusing to an old
stager, and reminds me of a story. In
our own war there we're doctors who
assumed authority superior to that
of the commanding General They
HlAIt Il punt 81 tiitklil& lttdllH EulrS
for the troops which could not be
and were not observed in the siren
uous campaigns or in time Of battle.
On one occasion General Sheridan was
fretting about one Of his divisions he
ing slow in getting into position. He
started. in a rage. TO see what was The
matter. and found the men crossing a
small river in single file on a foot log.
''He asked in his own emphatic way
what all this meant. ana was informed
that the division surgeon had said the
health Of the men must not be jeopar-
died by wading the stream. Then the
wrath of the General found expression
and, jumping OFF his horse. he waded
the stream, and said, Boys. / want you
in this fight at once. Cross the river
And lie waded back the men follow
ing him IN a mass. The crossing was
effected in five minutes. and the troops
went into battle unmiudful Of wet
clothes and shoes.
I'm another case earlier in the war