The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-12-04
THE BRITISH ADOPT THE TAG
TICS OF LEE AND JACKSON
The English Army Profits by the
Methods and Strategy of the Great
Southern Leaders.
Special Cor. New York World:

London, Nov. 13.-There is nothing
more noticeable in the writing by the
present British war correspondents
than the frequent references to til ,
american Civil War, and tie acticts
employed by the great leaders who
directed it, particularly Robert e. Lee
and Stonewall Jackson.
British oft;er.s always have paid
especial attention to the American
Civil War, but. according to we'll in
formed military men, it was the bat
tie of the Franco-Prussian war which
were considered best to repay study
by British soldiers, until the publ
cation, aboust fifteen years ago, of
"Stonewall Jackson and the American
Civil War" by the late Col. G. E. R.
Henderson cf the British army. Wit
an introduction by Field Barshal Vis-
count Wolseley.
The two volumns Of this work are
quite familiar in the army examining
schools of London. r IS studied close
ly by officers oflall ranks, as is shown
in the following estimation CT its CT.
fects on British tact cs, which was
recently given in IN interview by Col.
! Willoughby Werner, late of ihc Rifle
Brigade, al fellow professor at Sand
hurst of Col. Henderson. ard later on
the headquarters staff during the
Boer war:
81 know Col Henderson we'll, and
for the three years prior to the Boer
war we were both professors at Sand
hurst, he of military history at the
Staff callege, and I of military topo-
graphy and reconnaissance.
Favored Civil War Tactics
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 college
to accept the methods of the German
armies in the war of 1870 and the be-
ginning and end of all modern tactics.
| | had been audacious enough, when a
student of the Staff college in 1882,
to disbelieve this, and then had found
few supporters. So I was delighted
when one day Col. Henderson told ne
that he had formed very similar opin-
ions, adding that he believed there
was infinitely more to be learned from
the great Civil War in America than
from the Franco-Prussian wa", ard
Col. Henderson spoke from an un-
rivaled 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
the famous old Light Division of the
Peninsular War of 1908-14, as inf
nitely more applicable to the effec-
tive employment of modern rife fire
than those laid down by Prussia I
1870 and later, and so slavishly copied
throughout Europe. Here he ap-
pealed to me very strongly, for as an
officer of the Rifle Brigade (which as
the Ninety-ffth Rifle, fought in al
most every action in the Peninsular
war; it was gratifying to know that
such sound student of modern war
as Henderson held these views
Proved by Beer War
"The- accuracy of Henderson's views
was demonstrated on many occasions
during the Boer war, with the result
that the whole of our British infantry
since has adopted methods for devel-
oping rifle fire and of extended forma-
tions whereby the greatest possible
amount of protection is obtained for
those engaged in the firing line, COM
bined with the maximum fire effect,
which was a basis alike of the Lige
Division work in the Peninsular and
of much of the successful fighting in
the American Civil War.
According to all accounts, the Ger
mans today adhere to their dense
formation in the attacks 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 rel
ative amount Of execution thus at
tainad will he known accurately only
when losses on both sides are reck-
oned up (offers at the front assert
that it is as much as to u, bur it
can be said safely that, save when oy-