New-York tribune., 1914-11-24
Robert f. Lee and Stone
wall Jackson Greatly
Admired in Army.
HENDERSON'S LIFE OF
LATTER A TEXTBOOK
Late Field Marshal VlscOunt
Wolseley Recommended the
Book to All Officers.
from The Tribun. correspondent, !


London, Nov. 13.-There is nothing
more noticeable In the writing upon
the present campaign OF English mill
tary correspondents than the frequent
references TO the American Civil War
and the tactics employed by the great
leaders who directed it, particularly
Robert l.. Lee and "Stonewall" Jack
son. British officers have always paid
especial attention to the American
Civl War, but. according to well-in-
formed military men. it was the battles
OF the tranco-Prussian War which
we're considered best to repay study
by British soldiers until the publica-
ton about fifteen years ago Of "'Stone-
wall Jackson and the American Civil
War; by the late Colonel G.. +. r. Hem
derson, OF the British army, with an
Introduction by Field Marshal Viscount
Wolseley.
The two volumes Of this work are as
familiar in the army examining schools
OF London as the entrance require
ments of the General Education Board
in an American preparatory school. Il
Is also studied, and every wear more
closely, by officers Of all ranks, as is
shown in the following estimation Of
its effects Oh British tactics, which
was recently given in an interview 10
The Tribune correspondent by Colonel
Willoughby Werner, late Of the Rifle
Brigade, fellow professor at Sand
hurst of Colonel Henderson, and later
on the Headquarters staff during the
Boer war:
81 know Colonel Henderson we'll and
for the three years prior to the Boar
war we were professors at Sandhurst,
he Of military history at the Staff
College, and | of military topography
and reconnaissance. We often dis
cussed questions Of troop leading to
gether and the best way of handling
men under modern rifle fire. Before
this for many years il had been the
system Of our Staff College to accept
the methods Of the German armies in
the war Of 1870 as the beginning and
end of all modern tactics. / had been
audacious enough, when a student at
the staff College in 1882, to disbeleve
this and then had found few support
ers. So was delighted when one day
Colonel Hender. on told me that he had
formed very similar opinions, adding
that he believed there was infinitely
more to be learned from the great
Civil War in America than from the
Franco Prussian War, and Colonel
Henderson spoke from an unrivalled
knowledge and close study of the cam
paign in the United States.
"He further told me that. as far as
regards the British army. he viewed
the tactics and lighting methods of the
famous old Light Division OF the PEN
insuar war of 1S0S-'l4 as infinitely
more applicable TO the effective employ
ment of modern rife fire than those
laid down by Prussia in 1870 and later,
and so slavishly copied throughout Eu-
rope Here he appealed to me very
strongly, for as an officer of the Rifle
Brigade (which as the 95th Rifles
fought in almost every action in the
Peninsular War it was gratifying TO
know that such a sound student of
modern war as Henderson held these
views.
"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
has since adopted methods for devel-
oping rife fire and of extended forma-
tions whereby the greatest possible