Thomas W. Knox

“ The siege and capture of Geok Tepe was the most important victory every achieved by the Russians in Central Asia. It opened the way for the Russian advance to the frontier of India, and carried the boundaries of the empire southward to those of Persia. In the interest of humanity, it was of the greatest importance, as it broke up the system of man-stealing and its attendant cruelties, which the Turcomans had practised for centuries. The people of Northern Persia no longer live in constant terror of Turcoman raids; the slave markets of Central Asia are closed, and doubtless forever. ”

“ When word came that the Turks were assaulting, he mounted his horse and rode towards the redoubt, out of which his men came streaming in a disorganized, straggling mass. They were dying of thirst, hunger, and fatigue, and worn out with almost continuous fighting for forty-eight hours. The repulse of the Russians at other parts of the line had enabled the Turks to gather an overwhelming force to drive Skobeleff out of the redoubt, and at last they succeeded. One bastion was held to the last by a young officer, who was slaughtered with all his men around him. ”

“ The stormers were frenzied by the remembrance of the murder of their wounded comrades at Molino del Rey, and at first they showed no quarter. The Mexicans were bayoneted or shot without any heed to their appeals for mercy. Many flung themselves over the parapet and down the hill-side, and were dashed to death against the rocks. Others fought with the fury of desperation, expending their last breath in maledictions, and dying in the act of aiming shots or blows upon their assailants. ”

“ The people of all classes are becoming every year more and more adapted to the new order of things, and the feeling is almost universal that there is much good in store for Russia. She is yet in her developing stage. Time, patience, and energy will accomplish all that her ardent friends can wish. The grandest results in the nation’s progress are still in the future, and from generations yet to come Alexander will receive his warmest praise. ”

“ Shortly after the capture of Memphis the Union flotilla descended the river to Vicksburg, finding no obstructions other than occasional light batteries which fired upon the gun-boats from the banks. While the army and flotilla had been making its way southward a national fleet, commanded by the intrepid Farragut, had passed the forts near the mouth of the Mississippi, emerged victorious from one of the greatest naval battles of the war, and compelled the surrender of New Orleans. ”

“ Every man of the infantry, cavalry, and artillery, seemed to understand the necessity of fast marching, and to entertain the hope that a victory in the battle about to come would be the end of the war. ”

“ Once more comes a shower of shot that mows a fearful swath, disabling, of officers alone, eleven out of seventeen. But there is no further halt. The remnant gains the batteries. There is a brief struggle, hand-to-hand, and the guns are seized, ready to be turned against the Mexicans.
It is now daylight. Colonel Echeagaraz of the third light infantry observes the danger; the garrison discharges a well-aimed volley on the storming-party, and then rallying hurls back the assailants in disorder and reoccupies the
battery. Worth is equally prompt. ”

“ In a letter written a short time before the battle of Ayacucho Bolivar cautioned Sucre in the following words:
"Remember, that on your army corps depends the fate of Peru, perhaps forever; and with it, that of the whole of America, perhaps for years. Considering the terrible consequences which a battle lost may entail upon us, every means of foresight and strategy is to be exerted so as not to make a move without gaining a decided and absolute success." ”

“ In laying their plans for independence the Greeks resorted to the formation of secret societies, and so well was the scheme conducted that every thing was ripe for insurrection before the Turkish rulers had any suspicion of the state of affairs. A great association was formed which included Greeks everywhere, not only in Greece and its islands, but in Constantinople, Austria, Germany, England, and other countries, wherever a Greek could be found. ”

“ A great deal of blind firing was done by the Austrians. They judged by the sound the positions of the attacking columns, and simply fired in the direction whence the sounds came. The cloud of smoke in the drizzly rain lay heavily on the ground, and for a considerable time it was impossible to see any thing through it, but, though slowly, the Prussians advanced steadily, losing men at every step, and in some places literally leaving the ground covered with their dead and wounded. ”

“ The practice of the Chinese gunners does not make it easy to silence a battery. It is their habit after discharging a gun to retire into a bomb proof and await the enemy's return shot; when this is given, they wait a few moments, then creep out as stealthily as possible, load and fire the gun without exposing themselves, and then run back to the bomb proofs. Of course, artillery practice of this kind is very slow, but as the Peiho batteries had nearly one hundred and fifty guns in position, they could do a good deal of shooting when taken in the aggregate. ”

“ The king of Holland refused to accept the situation, and declared that he would continue the war, but the blockade of the ports of his country by the combined fleets of France and England, and the consequent paralysis of Dutch commerce, were not long in bringing him to his senses. England and France informed him in the most emphatic terms that no interference with the march of Belgium towards independence would be permitted, and that at the first move he made in that direction the French army would be summoned back again and the consequences might be very serious for his kingdom. ”

“ The great mass of the ruins was enclosed between the sea-wall, and the Flagstaff batteries, and farther beyond could be seen the city itself, rising apparently in terraces along the hill-sides, displaying fine dwellings, public edifices of red or white sandstone, and magnificent churches, the whole liberally sprinkled with gardens, and with rows of trees growing in the promenades. ”

“ It was thus demonstrated that turret ships were capable of making long sea voyages; since that time many sea-going iron-clads have been constructed by most of the European nations, and their success is fully established.
Probably no naval conflict in the history of the world ever attracted as much attention as did the battle in Hampton Roads, between the Monitor and the Merrimac. It revolutionized the navies of the world, and showed that the wooden ships, which had long held control of the ocean, were of no further use for fighting purposes. ”

“ There had been a terrible loss of men, the ground was covered with dead and wounded, the Peabody rifles in Turkish hands poured out volley after volley so rapidly that it was literally a rain-storm of bullets that fell upon the Russians. The bravest troops in the world could not live in such a storm, and in disorder the late assailants fell back across the undulating ground, over which they had advanced. Schahofskoy's column was completely broken, and though he brought up his reserves and made another attempt, it was evident to all that the capture of Plevna on this side was hopeless. ”

“ A Turcoman on foot is the most pitiable of beings, and utterly useless as a soldier, so that the killing of a horse was equivalent for the time being to the slaughter or disabling of a man.
The discipline of the Russian soldier is well illustrated by the conduct of the men when the water was reached. Though the soldiers were wild with thirst, not one of them broke ranks to get at the water until permission was given. Kaufmann spoke of their conduct almost with tears in his eyes, and said he did not believe the soldiers of any other army in the world could thus be restrained. ”

“ Its fortifications were built long before any one had dreamt of the range of modern artillery, and it was dominated in every direction by high ground, from which a destructive fire could be poured without any possibility of replying to it with effectiveness. It was of no advantage whatever to the French army in any thing like an aggressive movement, and in case of a disaster, it was utterly useless as a rallying point for retreating troops. The position of MacMahon at Sedan was certainly not aggressive, and with any liberal use of the word it could hardly be called defensive. ”

“ Never were a people moved by a stronger and more united impulse than were the dwellers in the great valley that the Father of Waters, should be restored to peaceful navigation. No more stirring prophecy was ever made than that of General Logan when he declared that "the men of the West will hew their way to the Gulf of Mexico with their swords." ”

“ There was great excitement in the city all through the afternoon, many persons desiring to go with the Confederate government and follow its fortunes. Wagons and carriages rose to an enormous price, as much as $100 in gold or Union currency being offered for a conveyance for a single day. The streets were filled with a mass of fugitives carrying trunks, boxes, and all sorts of receptacles. As a precautionary measure the City Council ordered the destruction of all intoxicating liquors in Richmond, and hundreds of barrels were rolled out and their contents poured into the gutters. ”

“ Nearly every village in Greece suffered from pillage by the Turks, and the families were comparatively few that did not mourn a father, son, or brother, killed by the Turks or carried into slavery, or a daughter or sister transported to a Turkish harem. In spite of four centuries of captivity, the Greeks had preserved their language, dress, religion, and other distinctive features of nationality. In this they were greatly assisted by the severity of the Turks and the difference in manners, laws, religion, and customs between oppressor and oppressed. ”

“ This force amounting to three thousand five hundred men advanced during the night and took position along the clear and gently sloping ground in front of Molino del Rey, where they waited for the coming day. With its first faint gleam the artillery opens fire on the mill, and the whistling of balls and the crashing of masonry follow speedily. Not a shot comes from the Mexican lines, and the Americans begin to believe that the place is deserted. ”

“ Khartoum is on the tongue of land between the Blue and White Niles; it fronts upon the Blue Nile, where there are several stone enbankments which form landing-places for the steamers, at the edge of a low bluff. Towards the south there is a mud wall, which separates the city from the plain, and there is a similar wall on the eastern side. Against modern artillery the walls of Khartoum could offer little resistance, but they are an important defence against the small-arms of the Arabs. The Mahdi's forces were held at bay by the walls, though they vastly exceeded in numbers the garrison within. ”

“ In addition to this regular force the whole country contained a warrior people, and with its entire strength called out, it could put more than a quarter of a million fighting men in the field. The Sikhs are tall, robust, brave, and full of military ardor; they are the best native soldiers in Asia, and would be more than a match for any other native troops which the cradle of the world could bring to oppose them. In the cavalry and artillery arms they are particularly distinguished, but this remark should not lead the reader to infer that they are inefficient as infantry. ”

“ And for years afterward it was the proud boast of the battalion that the Emperor had left his son in its care, and that the men had fondled the future ruler of Russia as they would fondle one of their own peasant-born children. The boy had enjoyed his hour with the soldiers, and it may be that to this incident is due a great part of the devotion which Alexander II. has always displayed for the welfare and prosperity of the rank and file of his armies. The Russian soldier of to-day is better paid, better educated, and better treated in every way than was the Russian soldier of thirty years ago. ”

“ The garrison, five thousand strong, was composed of veteran soldiers who were well worthy of their leader, General Chassé; the fort mounted one hundred and eighty guns, most of them of heavy calibre, and the fortress was well supplied with ammunition. Immense casemates and covered galleries and lodgments for the protection of the troops had been constructed, and the Dutch general was prepared for a hard fight. The French army had an enormous battering train, as it was well known that the siege of Antwerp would be no holiday affair. ”

“ And never since war began—'never in the brave days of old' when women turned their hair into bow-strings—has the world seen nobler patience and fortitude than clothed the lives and shone forth in the deaths of the wives and daughters of the fighting men of Cawnpore. ”

“ But the wings of Peace, outstretched over Europe, were folded on the other side of the Atlantic, throughout all the vast region known as Spanish America. Mexico, Peru, Chili, and the other trans-Atlantic provinces of Spain sought to sever their connection with the Old World; one by one they achieved their independence through a series of wars that deluged the land with blood and threatened to leave it an uninhabited waste. ”

“ The Austrian infantry were in strong force at the approaches to the villages, and they poured a destructive fire upon the Prussians as they advanced. The latter were at great disadvantage, as the road was narrow and the Austrians were shielded by the villages and detached houses, so that they were able to inflict considerable damage on the Prussians while losing comparatively little themselves. The Prussian rifles were fired more rapidly than were those of the Austrians, but the latter were so shielded by the houses, trees, and smoke that the Prussians were rarely able to take accurate aim. ”

“ They are probably the finest light cavalry in the world, and the amount of marching they can do is something astonishing. Horses and men can undergo an amount of fatigue that would paralyze any other horsemen in the world with the possible exception of the North American Indians and the Guachos of South America. The Cossacks are fine riders, and their horses are trained to lie down at the word of command and remain perfectly still, while their owners fire over them in repelling a real or imaginary attack of the enemy. ”

“ The Turkish admiral was so alarmed at the disaster that he retired with the rest of his fleet to the Dardanelles, leaving the command of the archipelago and the coast of Greece to the Greek cruisers.
On the land, battle followed battle in different parts of the country, and the narration of the events of the insurrection would fill a bulky volume. It is not our purpose to present a history of the Greek revolution; we will give briefly, a summary of the events between the opening of the struggle and the battle of Navarino, which was practically the end of the war for independence. ”

“ It was the season when European strength and energy are ever at their lowest point of depression—when military duty in its mildest form taxes the power of Englishmen to the utmost, and English women can do little more than sustain life in shaded apartments, with all appliances at hand to moderate the temperature and mitigate the suffering. ”

“ The enemy pushed their works; they blew up several forts, and with them the garrison, and attempted to charge; but the meagre and famished yet steadfast garrison still defiantly held the key to the Mississippi. But every thing must have an end. General Pemberton learned from General Johnston that he could not afford him relief, and as the garrison was too famished and reduced to cut its way out, he determined to capitulate.
During the siege Johnston made great efforts to gather an army to relieve Vicksburg, but he was unable to do so until too late. ”

“ He instituted the reformation in the army already hinted at; he projected railways, promoted commercial and industrial enterprises, pardoned all exiles who had been more than twenty years in Siberia, and in various ways sought to bring back the prosperity that had been impaired by the war. The greatest glory of his reign, and one that will make his name revered while his nation endures, is the liberation of the serfs. ”

“ The Nizam, or regular troops of the Turkish army, were of very good material; many of them came from the Asiatic provinces of Turkey, and when well drilled they made excellent soldiers. The faith of Islam teaches that a Moslem who dies fighting for the preservation of his religion, goes straight to paradise, according to the teachings of Mohammed, the Russian is an infidel, and consequently the war with Russia had a religious aspect. Under these circumstances it is no wonder that the Turkish soldiers manifested an almost stoical indifference to death, and fought bravely to the last. ”

“ About this time the United States of Colombia achieved independence, after a long and devastating war which was brought to a triumphal end by the genius and patriotism of Simon Bolivar. Foreseeing that if the royalists obtained control in Peru the independence of Colombia would be endangered, and being invited by the Peruvians, Bolivar proceeded to Lima at the head of a considerable force; he was joyfully welcomed and appointed dictator of Peru, until such time as the Spaniards should be conquered or driven out. The royalist army retired to the interior at the approach of Bolivar and his army. ”

“ In all the wars of other powers Belgium has maintained a strict neutrality. In the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 she forbade the sale of war munitions to either of the contending parties, and disarmed and interned all soldiers of either army that entered her territory. Her peace was seriously threatened at one time during that war, but was saved through the conclusion of a triple treaty between England, France, and Prussia, by which the independence and neutrality of Belgium were guaranteed under the terms of the treaty of 1839. ”

“ The fire of the Russians seemed to stimulate the French rather than to discourage them, as their volleys were given faster than before the Russian fire commenced. Some of their guns were aimed at the line of Russian defences and others directly at the city. Meantime the English naval brigade and siege train were working away at the face of the Redan and the Malakoff in the same quiet manner in which they had been working for days. They gave material aid to the French by keeping up a steady fire of shells on the batteries between the Redan and the Dockyard Creek. ”

“ The army which Santa Anna had led back from San Angelo was forming along the river Churubusco and in the cornfields to the north, but as there was no expectation of a battle on that day, the Mexicans were practically taken by surprise. But in spite of their surprise and confusion, they made a vigorous defence; they outnumbered the Americans in the field fully five to one, and should have been invincible from their numbers and position. The incompetence of the officers and the inferior character of the Mexican weapons were the chief causes of their loss of the battle at Churubusco. ”