Union cavalry

“ The rainy season set in and a suspension of activity on the part of the Federals ensued, but the cavalry of the enemy was as lively and ubiquitous as ever, and not only often succeeded in capturing many men and wagons, but also in burning a number of steamers on the Cumberland, with the view of cutting off the communications of the Union army, and of stopping its supplies. ”

“ At 3 o’clock on the 17th of June, a division of the Union cavalry encountered a rebel force, consisting of General Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry brigade and a battery of artillery, about one mile from Aldie, on the road to Unionstown. As soon as General Lee was apprised of the approach of the National troops he made preparations to oppose their advance, and to maintain his position. The rebel Captains Boston and White, with a command of thirty men, were sent forward as sharpshooters, but not receiving any support they were compelled to fall back before the first charge of the advancing Unionists. ”

“ At first, slowly, then faster. It was a glorious sight to see that magnificent line sweeping onward in the charge. Far, far away to the right it was visible. There were no reserves, no plans for retreat, only one grand, absorbing thought—to drive them back and retake the camps. Heavens, what a din! All along the confederate line, the cannon volleyed and thundered. The union artillery replied. The roll of musketry became incessant. The cavalry crossed the first ravine and moving over the level plateau, came into a raking fire of artillery and musketry. ”

“ It is even very doubtful if there was any difference in favor of the superior horsemanship of the southern cavalry. Their strength lay in their union. The rebel cavalry was organized from the beginning; ours was an incoherent mass of men, having no proper relations or dependencies within itself. ”

“ When the war began the companies of the horse regiments were widely scattered over the country; most were in the west and southwest, too distant for ready concentration. In the Battle of Bull Run in July 1861 only seven companies of Regular cavalry were included in the Union Army of about 40,000 men. So wide a distribution of the nation's mounted forces would in itself have been sufficient cause for concern to the Army in the opening battles. ”

“ A cunning enemy will soon discriminate between those who do their outpost work well and those who do it carelessly, and will attack the latter. It may be of interest to state that a very close union soon grows up between regiments of cavalry and infantry in a column, where there is a mutual recognition of honest work in the outposts, whilst there is a wholesome detestation for slack regiments. ”

“ In physical proportions, in personal beauty, in superb daring, in high-minded devotion to every duty, he was the ideal of a cavalry leader, and a worthy successor to the first regimental commander.
One of the worst features of the internal economy of our armies during the civil war, was the detailing of officers and men individually from fighting regiments; the officers to serve on staff, [Pg 7] the men for orderlies, wagoners, hospital service and other special duties which reduced the fighting strength to a minimum compared with what it should have been. ”

“ Union cavalry under Major Lazear defeated 450 rebels under Col. Boone, with considerable loss.
22. 30 wagons of the 5th and 9th Ill. cavalry captured by Texan troops near Helena, Ark.
22. Union pickets defeated in a skirmish near Nashville, Tenn.
22. Brig Robert Bruce, captured off Shallotte inlet, N. C., by U. S. gunboat Penobscot.
22. Skirmish near Hedgesville, Va. 4th Pa. cavalry, Capt. Duncan, defeated rebels, capturing 19 prisoners.
23. 200 of the 83d Ill., Major Blott, defeated rebels at Waverly, Tenn. Rebel loss, 40 killed and wounded, and 30 prisoners. Union loss, 1 killed, 5 wounded. ”

“ Owing to this pernicious, although at the time unavoidable system, as well as to the ordinary casualties of the service, the three squadrons of the Fourth Cavalry under the immediate command of Colonel Washburn at the beginning of active service, had been reduced to one hundred and fifty men. ”

“ The enemy’s loss in killed was one thousand four hundred and twenty-three officers and men; their loss in wounded amounted to five thousand six hundred and ninety-two. The Unionists took two thousand two hundred and forty-eight prisoners, among whom were one hundred and thirty-seven field-officers, captains, and subalterns, representing fifty-three regiments of infantry, sixteen regiments of cavalry, thirteen batteries of artillery, and seven battalions, making sixty-nine regiments, six battalions, and thirteen batteries, beside separate companies. ”

“ A force of rebels, under Major-General Van Dorn, on the 10th of April, attacked 253the National force under Major-General G. Granger, at Franklin. The rebel force was estimated at nine thousand cavalry, besides two regiments of infantry, and was greatly superior to the Union force, which consisted of only two regiments, under Generals Baird and Gilbert, numbering about sixteen hundred men, and sixteen guns; and two cavalry brigades under General Smith and Colonel Stanley, numbering about twenty-seven hundred men, and two guns. ”

“ I believe the whole Army would rejoice if they would cross the River and attack us, as I am quite confident we should beat them, though they have 80 pieces of cannon. Their Cavalry is much inferior to ours in every respect, and they have such want of horses that they have taken all the Infantry officers’ horses to mount their cavalry, and which has given great disgust, and would, I should think, benefit them very little. ”

“ The Allies argued that trench warfare, dominated by machine guns and artillery weapons, denied cavalry the traditional missions of reconnaissance, pursuit, and shock action. Mounted troops, possibly assigned to the division's headquarters company, might serve as messengers within the division but little more. The Allies further advised that the Army should not consider sending a large cavalry force to France. Horses and fodder would occupy precious shipping space, and the French and British had an abundance of cavalry. ”

“ No man or woman of any sensibility can help feeling proudly stirred when a Cavalry regiment goes by. The clean, alert, upright men, with their sure seat; the massive war-horses champing their bits and shaking their accoutrements: the rhythmic thud of hoofs, the keen glitter of steel, and the general air of power, all combine to form a spectacle that sets the pulses beating faster. ”

“ There should then be accepted fifty regiments of cavalry. These are the troops for quick marches, surprises, and captures. And our people, even down to the little boys, are expert riders. If it were to be a short war—or if it were to be a war of invasion on our part—it might be good policy, economically, to discourage cavalry organizations. But we shall want all our men; and many a man would fight in the saddle who could not or would not march in the infantry. And mounted men are content to use the double-barreled shot-gun—one barrel for ball, the other for buck-shot and close quarters. ”

“ The British Cavalry consisted of Regiments similar to the Thirteenth Hussars. The story of such a Regiment is not therefore, as some think, the story of one unit of an arm which is now useless in war—as useless, it has been said, as bows and arrows. On the contrary, Cavalry has proved its usefulness up till now, and we may be sure that in the near future at all events, whether used on horseback for battle-shock, or as mobile Infantry, or in any other way of duty, it will still do good service to its country, as it has done in the past. ”

“ Heavy bodies of mounted men dashed up to support the enemy's broken line, and for some minutes, with broken ranks, in confused order, and without leaders, we fought hand to hand. We were being forced back by the weight of superior numbers, when our support, the Thirteenth Regiment, came up, and, making a magnificent, dashing charge upon the enemy, enabled us to rally, reform our ranks, and charge again. This last charge was decisive, and we were victors on this part of the field, the enemy being driven back under cover of their infantry and artillery on Miller's Hill. ”

“ Then, when the decisive moment of the day, about 5 p.m., came, the cavalry, some 8000 strong, were led by the duke himself against the French position. There was still personal leadership of men rather than the direction of them that the general showed. “The infantry were in support, with intervals between the battalions, so that the squadrons, if repulsed, might pass through.” The admixture of the dissimilar arms of infantry and cavalry in the same fighting line is still curious. ”

“ This tendency to group the available forces by 'Wings' in the larger units from the Brigade upwards must also be extended downwards to the regiment, which represents the fundamental tactical unit of the Cavalry, and those formations for manœuvre which favour the arrangement of its constituent squadrons one behind the other—formations which, at the same time, are both handier and susceptible of more convenient control—must be constantly practised. ”

“ While at the height of their exultation a troop came filing along the causeway, the sight of which brought a sudden change over the countenances of the jesters. It was composed of men in cavalry uniform, but afoot and without arms; only some half-dozen—the officers—on horseback. Its standard, too, taken from it, and, perhaps, well it had been. Flouted before the eyes of that Cavalier crew, alike regardless of oath and honour, the banner, showing Crown impaled by Sword, would have been torn to shreds; they bearing it set upon and cut to pieces. ”

“ It is true that our heavy cavalry did all their gallant deeds without it, and may do so over again; still it can do no harm, and may be of much use to a brigade of decidedly heavy cavalry; the helmet and the cuirass should always go together, neither without the other, as we see it often now, forming an absurd anomaly. The coat of the cavalry should be long, like the frock-coat for the heavy regiments; short, like the lengthened jacket of the light infantry, for the corresponding branch of the mounted soldiers; and the lancers should all wear the Andalusian or Hungarian jacket. ”

“ It would be better to arrange this distribution at the beginning of each War, in accordance with the conditions which the situation imposes. Where it appears expedient, we should not hesitate to form Divisions of different strength, and to group several of these to constitute Cavalry Corps, even to unite several of such Corps for employment in a particular strategical direction—i.e., in a particular portion of the theatre of operation—whilst leaving only individual brigades, or even regiments, to those fractions (p. 043) of the Army which for the moment can best dispense with Cavalry support. ”

“ Serving one day as charging cavaliers, another as mounted infantry in covering a retreat, again as sappers in making or holding a trench, or when occasion called for it as gun-teams to pull on the trace of a derelict gun, the cavalry have been the general utility men of the Army. The days of pure cavalry may have passed, but there will never be a time when a brave and handy fighting man who is mobile will not be invaluable to his comrades.
Difficult retirement of the Fourth Division. ”

“ Nothing but the enemy’s infantry strongly posted in the woods saved his cavalry from capture or annihilation. An act of rashness on his part was severely punished by rout and the loss of his artillery.
“With an abiding faith in the God of battles and a firm reliance on the sabre, your success will continue.
“Let the example and heroism of our lamented fallen comrades prompt us to renewed vigilance and inspire us with devotion to duty. ”

“ The French cavalry we thought badly horsed; but their uniforms, though showy, were, like those of the infantry, comfortably large and roomy.
I have frequently remarked that firearms are of little use to the mounted soldier, and often an incumbrance to man and horse. Cavalry want only one arm—the sabre. Let the men be well mounted and at home in the saddle. It requires great knowledge in a Commander-in-chief to know when and how to use his cavalry. ”

“ With equal truth the major-general can assert, that upon every occasion which has presented itself of acting against the enemy, whether regimentally or in brigade, they have nobly sustained the superiority of the British cavalry, and fully justified the high opinion so repeatedly expressed with regard to them by his Grace the Duke of Wellington. ”

“ As the artillery had not yet come up, the cavalry were to open a passage for the infantry through these Imperialists; and to us was reserved the honour of attacking the enemy's cavalry if our comrades failed, for it has been a maxim in war since the days of Julius Cæsar to keep the best troops in reserve. ”

“ The numerical proportion of cavalry to infantry in armies has varied greatly. It depends on the natural tastes of [Pg 304] nations making their people more or less fit for good troopers. The number and quality of horses, also, have something to do with it. In the wars of the Revolution, the French cavalry, although badly organized and greatly inferior to the Austrian, performed wonders. In 1796 I saw what was pompously called the cavalry reserve of the army of the Rhine,—a weak brigade of barely fifteen hundred horses! ”

“ The loss inflicted upon the enemy was heavy in killed and prisoners. The day was the most trying our regiment had ever experienced. Not one drop of water could be had; the heat was intense, and the wood was dense and tangled. A large force of infantry was in our front with a support of cavalry, itself superior, numerically, to our own. Our Brigadier-General, the accomplished, gallant, and loved Chambliss, had fallen under the volley which led us to dismount and form line on foot in the morning. ”