Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1909-01-05
War, Past and Future

l ~ANA . ASANAAoAN, NAHAuAd, OlSpdLCA OA
January LIST:
Major Eben Swift, of the genera
staff, United States army, in discussing
the WILDERNESS Campaign declares
that the battles of the present day are
fought by soldiers who shoot five times
faster, Ave times farther, and five
times oftner than the soldiers who
fought in the Wilderness campaign.
In dealing with this subject Major
Swift took occasion to compare the
battles of the Civil War with the
present, his conclusion being that the
tendency of modern warfare is to
lengthen the duration of battles.
'"The artillery of 1864 was so un-
certain" said Major Swift, ''that will
not venture to describe its effectiveness.
At the present day battery of four
guns firing. shrapnel can accurately
place 10000 bullets on ten acre lot,
two miles away, in two minutes. By
the method of indirect fire single
observer can direct the fire of artillery
which is sheltered behind a hill in such
a way that it can fire over the hill and
hit its target just as accurately as if il
were firing in the open. In the Wilder
ness Campaign the smoke of powder
gave information of the position of the
army, obscured the view and made the
aim uncertain. But with smokeless
powder it is exceedingly difficult tt
locate tina firing lines, but aiming i.
easy for both sides.
'The Wilderness Campaign called
for drawer soldier than ever fought in
war. Battles called for the utmost
limit of physical and moral force, but
the results were often negative and
partial. Since that campaign, increase
in the destructive power of weapon.
has acted to lengthen the range a.
which battles begin. They end where
they always did"
Major Swift stated that the most i'm
portant point derived from a study OF
the battles Of the Civil War, compared
with those of the present, is the ques
tion of generalship and strategy.
''Lee was the only general OF
Napoleonic type who ever lived" de
clared Major Swift, "and whethe,
greater OF not, who shall say? Of all
great soldiers no one but Lee probably
encouraged as dangerous an adversary
as Grant. Napoleon yielded at the
last to smaller odds and his disaster
was complete, but Lees army at the
end of the Wilderness Campaign, was
as aggressive and high spirited as ever
Lee made five campaigns in a single
year, no other man and no other army
ever did so much. Napoleon's Tuck
star often. brought victory which his
combination had not prepared and saved
him from disaster which he had moi
foreseen. 1t will be hard to find where
luck and good fortune ever retrieved g
mistake of Lee, or where the happy
inspiration of subordinate ever gave
him a victory or saved him defeat
Lees opponent belonged to a different
type He was the modern embodiment
of force on war. He cared not for rust
or strategy in it's accepted form. AL
though he made nine thanking move
ments between the Ropidan and the
James, he seems to have perferred the
frontal attack. Strategy was reduced
by him to a study of detectives, and
objectiyes were reduced to one-the
hostile army. Grants campaign was
hardly over when another great STRAIT
egist came upon the field Of war
Moltke conquered Austria and France
He introduced many new elements into
the art, of war, but in his strategy we
will observe the counterpart of Grant
In his five days battle around Metz his
proportion of loss closely approached