The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1914-12-09
STUDIED in EUROPE
STRATEGY OF LEE AND JACKSON
IS MAKING GOOD.
guides BRITISH ACTION

lUlDES bRlIlSn AU1lUM
English Army Profits By Methods Us
ed by Great Southern Leaders in
american Civil War-Col. Viii
loughby Werner Says Their Tactics
Superior to German Strategy.
There is nothing more noticeable
in the writings by the present British
war correspondents than the frequent
references to the American Civil War,
and the tactics employed by the great
leaders who directed it, particularly
Robert E. Lee and Stonewall jack
son, says a London correspondent Of
The New York World.
British officers always have paid
especial attention to the American
Civil War, but, according to well in
formed military men, It was the bat
ties of the Franco-Prussian War
which were considered best to repay
study by British soldiers, until the
publication, about fifteen years ago,
of "Stone Wall Jackson and the
American Civil War" by the late
Col. G. E. R. Henderson Of the Brit
ish army, with an introduction by
Field Marshal Viscount Wolseley.
The two volumes of this work are
quite familiar in the army cramming
schools of London It is studied
closely by officers of all ranks, as is
shown in the following estimation of
its effects on British tactics, which
was recently given in an interview by
Col. Willoughby Werner, late of the
Rife Brigade, fellow professor at
Sandhurst Of Col Henderson, and
later on the headquarters staff dur
ing the Boer War:
81 knew Col. Henderson wclly and
for the three years prior to the Boer
War we were both professors at
Sandhurst, he of military history at
the Staff College, and I Of military
topography and reconnaissance.
eve often discussed questions of
troop leading and the best way of
handling men under modern rifle
fire. Before this, for many years, it
had been the system of our Staff Col
lege to accept the methods of the Ger
man armies in the War of1870 rs the
beginning and end Of all modern tao
tiss. I had been audacious enough,
when student at the Staff College in
1882, to disbelicve this, and then had
found few supporters. So I was de-
lighted when one day Col. Henderson
told me that he had formed very sim
liar opinions, adding that he believed
there was infinitely more to be learn
ed from the great Civil War in Amer.
lea than from the Franco-Prussian
War, and Col. Henderson spoke from
an unriva1led knowledge and close
study of the campaigns in the United
States.
"He further told me that, so far as
regards the British army, he viewed
the tactics and fighting methods OF
1.-The famous old Light Division of the
| Peninsular War Of 130S-14 as in
finitely more applicable to the effec-
tive employment of modern rifle fire
than those laic down by Prussia in
1870 and later, and so slavishly
copied throughout Europe. Here he
apepaled to me very strongly, for as
an officer of the Rife Brigade (Which
as the Ninety-ffth Rifles, fought in
almost every action in the Peninsu-
lar War;, it was gratifying to know
that such sound student Of modern
war as Henderson held these views,
"The accuracy of Henderson s
views YVES demonstrated on many oc-
casions during the Boer War, with
the result that the wfole Of our Brit
ish infantry since has adopted meth
ods for developing rife fire and of ex-
tended formations whereby the 6 eat
est possible amount of protection is
obtained for those engaged in the fir
ing line, combined with the maximum
fire effect, which was the basis alike
Of the Light Division work in the
Peninsular and Of much of the sue
cessful fighting in the American Civil
War.
According to all accounts, the
Germans to-day adhere to their dense
| formations in the attack. as in 1870,
and it is notorious how their attacks
have been consistently met and re-
pulsed by our British soldiers, fight
ing on more intelligent lines. The
relative amount OF execution thus at
tanned will be known accurately only
when the losses on both sides are
reckoned up (oficers at the front as
sert that it as is much as s to y,
but it can be said safely that, save
when overwhelmed by numbers, the
British methods have proved their
superiority over those Of Germany.
"It is no exaggeration to say that
| Col. HenderSon's Life Of Stonewall
! Jackson is viewed by all educated
| British officers as one of the very
finest works of military art. But if
you want to have an idea of what We
think Of this book, and of the great
soldier whose life it records, I would
refer you to what our great chief,
the late Field Marshal Viscount
Wolseley, thought and said and wrote
about him.
Lord Wolseley was without ques-
tion the first soldier of our days, both
as regards his military knowledge
and r" experiences of war. Others
have oubt become heroes with
the 4 but long after these are
forgot Wolseley and the great
work for the British army will
endur|
"In his own autobiography pub
lished in 1908. he writes: 'Hender-
sons delightful and instructive work
on Stonewall Jackson and the Amer
ican Civil War l recommend to all
our officers. They would find its we'll
told story as intensely interesting as
its teaching is sound and full of use
full advice to Englishmen of to-day
Few people nowadays know that
in 1852 Wolseley, then a Lieutent-
Colonel on the staff in Canada, OBJ
toinod 1oava of ohcenna IN nrivo O