hi 1862 the Confederate cavalry leader Stuart, with a snmll brigade and a battery, made a reconnaissanee (or so-called 'raid') front Rich mond, Va., passing entirely around the Army of the Potomac, in position near that city, obtain ing valuable information as to i\lcClellan'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 1 SIM the Union general Pleasanton made a reconnaissance in force with 79SI cav alry. 3000 infantry, and 24 horse-artillery gulls to discover, if practicable. General Lee's inten tions. The notvement was carried out with so much secrecy that upon crossing the Rappahan nock River early in the morning of .lone 0, the enemy's eavalry—S500 strong, 20 guns— •as 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 withdrawal of the Union troops unmolested, at nightfall. 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 some dismounted work with the carbine. The infantry did not take an active part, but remained in reserve. covering Beverly Ford in the rear of the [Ilion force. Pleasanton's casualties aggregated 932; those of Stuart about :MO; the loss in commissioned officers 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 mode the Federal cavalry.
p 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. 2500 strong (dismounted), and a battery of 6 rifled guns, defended the proaches to that field, delaying the advance 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 this affair. says: "This first inspiration of a cavalry officer and a true soldier. decided, in every respect. the fate of the Nign. It was Buford who selected the field where two armies were about 6) 111e11 sure their strength." On the third day of the battle an encounter took place between the cavalry of sabres) and Gregg ( 5000 ) , in which the former wa, thwarted in an effort to gain the rear of the Union line, simultaneously with Piekett'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 mediaeval ferocity. resulting in the withdrawal of the Southern horse and ea:unities: of 10 per cent. of the forces engaged. The nature 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 grip." At another point lay "two men, one a Virginian. the other a Pennsylvanian, who fought on horseback with their sabres until they finally clinched and their horses ran from under 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." (Miler.) Another typical instance of the value of cavalry trained after 'the _American fashion' follows. At Cold Harbor. Va. (1864), during the Wilderness campaign. :Merritt's brigade of SOO (regulars and volunteers) Union cavalry were dismounted at the edge 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 breech-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 caVa lryinan awaited the enemy. Soon after, the head of an infantry force (..N1cLaw's Confederate division) was discovered moving through the woods in col umn of companies, armed with Austrian muskets and sword bayonets. They advanced unsuspect ingly until within one hundred yards, when a volley from the cavalry met them. The inces sant tire front the magazine carbines made a terrific noise, set the woods on tire, killed and wounded many of the enemy, threw' them 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 roll of fame.
In 1866 the 'Seven Weeks' War' between Ger 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 surprised a Hungarian battalion as it emerged from a wood and captured a flag, 16 officers and 665 men, and at Tohitschau, where three Prussian squadrons attacked batteries in position and captured 16 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 cavalry. Three famous charges equally desper ate (one French, two German) against the enemy's infantry marked this war. That of the French failed. but the Germans were successful, although the Freneli formations remained intact. The cavalry casualties were very heavy. The German cavalry was inferior to the French in tire action, and the l'hlans were powerless in presenee of the 'Franc-tireurs' (Home Guards). At Vitray a whole Prussian cavalry brigade was detained for 12 hours by 12 Chasseurs Il'Afrique armed With carbines, who by dexterous disnaoint ed tactics successfully posed as infantry. In 1877-78 the war between Russia and Turkey W:1 S comparatively barren in cavalry results, if we except the famous Balkan expedition under Gurko. The Spanish-American War ( 1S08) was uneventful from the mounted point of view. The South African War and the operations in the Philippines have shown how important and in dispensable a well-mounted and trained cavalry is. The theoretical views as to the disappear ance of cavalry in face of modern firearms have vanished. The influence of the South African War of 1S99-1902 on the future organization, equipment, and employment of cavalry will be found treated under Mot NTT) INFANTRY.