Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/436

CAVALRY. 372 CAVALRY. eabre and pistol. It has been said that these trcHips wer? not 'cavalry' in the European sense. On the other liand, it has been urged that they were cavalry of the most eilicient and versatile description. In 1862 the Confederate cavalry leader Stuart, with a small brigade and a battery, made a reconnaissance (or so-called "raid") from Kich- mond, Va., passing entirely around the Army of the Potomac, in position near that city, obtain- ing valuable information as to McClellan's posi- tion, destroying supplies, driving in outposts, swimming swollen streams, and returning home by a swift detour with the loss of one officer killed. In ISG.S the Union general Pleasanton made a reconnaissance in force with 7981 cav- alry. .'5000 infantry, and 24 horse-artillery guns to discover, if practicable, (ieneral Lee's inten- tions. The movement was carried out with so much secrecy that upon crossing the Rappahan- nock Kiver early in the morning of .June 9, the enemy's cavalry — 8.500 strong, with 20 guns — was surprised, but recovering, engaged Pleas- anton's command near Brandy Station, and a great cavalry battle ensued which lasted ten hours and ended with the ultimate witlulrawnl of the Union troops vinmolested, at niglilfall, having accomplished their purpose. The action was spirited, and a number of mounted charges were made in which the sabre was freely used, although there was sonie dismoimted work with the carbine. The infantry did not take an active part, but remained in reserve, covering Beverly Ford in the rear of the Union force. Pleasanton's casualties aggregated 932; those of Stuart about 500; the loss in commissioned ollicers was heavy. The occasion marked a new departure in the history of the war; in the language of Colonel McClellan, chief of staff to General Stuart, "It made the Federal cavalry. Up to this time confessedly inferior to the South- ern horsemen, they gained, on this day. that confidence in themselves and their commanders which enabled them to contest so fiercely the subsequent battlefields." At Gettysburg (1863), General Buford. in advance of the Union army with two small brigades of cavalry, 2.500 strong (dismounted), and a battery of G rifled guns, defended the ap- proaches to that field, delaying the a<lvancc of a corps of Confederate infantry, who believed that they were opposed to an infantry force. Buford's skill and boldness enabled Reynolds's corps to reach the field in time to secure the advantage of position for the Union army. The Comte de Paris, writing of tliis affair, says: "This first inspiration of a cavalry officer and a true soldier, decided, in every respect, the fate of the cam- paign. It was Buford who selected the battle- field where two armies were about to measure their strength." On the third day of the battle an encounter took jilacc between the cavalrv of Stuart (fiOOO sabres) and Gregg (5000)". in which the former was thwarted in an effort to gain the rear of the Union line, simultaneously with Pickett's famous charge upon its front. Each cavalry division was accompanied by 3 batteries (about 12 guns) and engaged in a series of mounted charges and individual combats with medi:rval ferocity, resulting in the withdrawal of the Southern horse and casualties of 10 per cent, of the forces engage<l. The natiire of the fight was shown when a fatigue party detailed to bury the dead "found two men, who had cut each other down with their sabres and were lying with their feet together, their heads in opposite directions and the blood-stained sabre of each still tightly held in his grij)." At another point lay "two men, one a Virginian, the other a Pennsylvanian, who fought on liorseback with their sabres until they finally clinched and their horses ran from imder them. Their heads and shoulders were severely cut and their fingers so firmly imbedded in each other's flesh that they could not be removed without force." (Miller.) . other typical instance of the value of cavalry trained after 'the American fashion' follows. At Cold Harbor, Va. (186-1), during the Wilderness campaign, ilerritt's brigade of 800 (regulars and volunteers) Union cavalry were dismounted at the eilge of a wood, with orders to hold the position at all hazards. The horses were hidden in a ravine in the rear. One-half of this force was armed with Springfield breeeh-loading car- bines, the other half with Spencer magazine car- bines; all had pistols and sabres. Behind a barricade of fence-rails, carbine in hand and ammunition by his side, each cavalryman awaited the enemy. Soon after, the head of an infantry force (ilcLaw's Confederate division) was discovered moving through the woods in col- umn of companies, armed with Austrian muskets and sword bayonets. They jidvanced inisvispect- ingly imtil within one hundred yards, when a volley from the cavalry met them. The inces- sant fire from the magazine carbines made a terrific noise, set the woods on fire, killed and wounded many of the enemy, threw tlicm into confusion, and, believing themselves in the pres- ence of a superior infantry force, they fell back out of range. This delay enabled Grant to oc- cupy the ground upon which was fought the great battle of the following day. The Civil War contains numerous examples of brilliant cavalry operations which have served to place the names of Sheridan, Buford, and Stuart by the side of Seydlitz and Ziethen on the cavalry ndl of fame. In 1806 the 'Seven Weeks' War' between tJer- many and Austria was too brief to furnish any new cavalry lesson. One or two brilliant actions occurred; at Benatek, where a squadron of Prus- sian hussars stirprised a Hungarian battalion as it emerged from a wood an<l captured a flag. 16 oflicers and 065 men, and at Tobitschau. where three Prussian squadrons attacked batteries in position and captured 10 guns. The greater war between France and Prussia (1870-71) was dis- tinguished for the excellence of the German mounted scouts and the failure of the French cavalr}'. Three famous charges equally desper- ate (one French, two German) against the enemy's infantry marked this war. That of the FreiK-h failed, but the (jcrmans were successful, although the French formations remained intact. The cavalry casualties were very heavy. The German cavalry was inferior to the French in fire action, and the Uhlans were powerless in presence of the 'Frane-tircurs' (Home tiuards). At Vitray a whole Prussian cavalry brigade was detained for 12 hours by 12 Chasseurs d'Afrique armed with carbines, who by dexterous dismount- ed tactics sueeessfjiUy posed as infantr>'. In 1877-78 the war between Russia and Turkey wa.s comparatively barren in cavalrv results, if we except the famous Balkan expedition under Gurko. The Spanish-American War (1898) was