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Difficulties Of Invading The South--physiological Facts

Difficulties Of Invading The South--physiological Facts image
Parent Issue
Day
24
Month
January
Year
1862
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Tbc difficulties of invasión ir.crease u ' jeometrieal ratio with tbe distauee. It also ncreases in geometiical ratio v.ith I tho numbers of the ilisadlng o Jumn. - ' Tilia doublé impadiine&t ac!s with uiendous power against tbe uneuiy. The slo s progresa whioh bas buen n.ade by j bis armies aeems already to have established tbe propoútion that invasión cannot be offected at all by regular marohea. An invadiug army of magnitude cannot penétrate a cuuntry as bareiy provided With proviúons as tbe South, ex i cept by ïlow movenieut, fortifyiug as it j moves. Europc.au warfare furnisbes no criteri on for military operations on tbis conti uent. Tbere the country is densely populated, and abouuds in pruvisions at eveiy step There, too, the agrieultural laboring population are noi.-eombatuiits, and j are not'visited with tho penalties of war. They are huraaaely and pruddutly left to till their field and gathur their Larveits in the miJst of ftagraat war. Top vnueh credit U nut to be allowed to modern humanity po tkia Kcdrej fofr, if any otber poliey veere puisued, tbe great poten taUw wbo ütüiduel the wars would be. as uunble to move tbeir annie.s as Baell is found un able to move bis in Reutuoky, as bas been expecied of liim for several weeks past. As our agrieullure is not suffieiently thorough in tbe South or productivo to adtnit the pat,sit;d of arn:is over our gparsely popuiated doiuain so our roads are, tbr tbe most part, mere natural paths, made by usc, and r.ot by heavy outlays of money and labor. 'I liey are not, as in Kurope, iinelv p.-ived streotg, bard aad smootli as a luarblflfloor. For tbe graater part of' the year tbey are more tit for navitratioii tlian travel; and it not imfrequeiiily bas bappened in tbe last season that army herssa and mulos have sunk down in tbe highways and drowned in tho ; mud To oomboro Kuropean eampaiguin'g to Amerieau is to compare things totafly unlike in all tbeir cireumstances. The miplemeiits used iu modern warfare add much to the diificulfy of transporti nf an army. The ebief imploment relied on is tbe cannon and the battcries reojeired for a few brigades, fifteen or tweiity tbousand troop?, will suiliie, in running over them, to ruin tbe best of I our roads. Add to the wear and tear caused by tbese produeed by all tha wbeels and teams necessary for tbe transportatioi of twenty regiiaeois, entd it is at once seon in bow vreí;'bi;d a state the passage of a smal! toree will leave tbe ; roads%f this eouutry. Tbe effort to move an army of fiity or a liundre,1. tksuMnd nu';i over con lerabla distances in afay ot tiie Southern regióos is ahnost ! Hurculean, and we have not yet seen it made with apoöess by the Yankees iu tli3 progtess of tbe war. Tbere is an imporlmt physological fact to be recolieeted a!so i:i cnuction with tbis subject. For men to fight well aiid long, t.'uey must no' b:ive ber'oro j dergone fatigue and loss -.of rest. If an army is reqnired to riso e;irly and march several hours. it is a jihysical impossibility for tbein to cxbibit, for any length of time, the proper nerve on tbe field. On the mqrning of Manaisns the Fèdaltfrmg were requind to rixe at three o:lock, ater a fatiguing previous day, and to mari'h a f uil dais journey lef ore teaching the hattle field. They fuug'ht pyetty ifell until nature becamcerert'uc!,-Mii. at three o'cloek in tbc afternoon, just tvvelve bours at1;; r they had riseu fj-oiu sleep, tbey took thatpanie wbieh haa brought upon them o much disgust among all intelligent men, except the uiore observant of our phyBiologwUi. Tbe cate was very idikIi the same at Bethel Their deieat was due to tbeir cowardiee, but tbe panie into which tbey feil is only to be aceounted for on the phyïiological principie. Tbe case was reeige}y tho .same again at Carnifex Ferry, where Roseerani had committed tbe ïndiscretion of uttacking a fieree onemy, well posted, witb colunias which bad risen early, bad been twelve hours on tbe mareb, and bad been pbysieally exhau.stcd by a tramp of twen y miles. Uis men could not gtaud tbe üeree volleys of our men; they took it into their heads that we were shotting our gu: g witb uiolteu spelter, they took a Btauipcde and fled ; wbereupon their generáis thougUt it advi sable to " cali them off." Tbe best and most successful generáis of wbom we have any account, fronj Caa sar to General iaylor, have always made I a point of rotting tliL'ir men weH iuiuiedi ately befure going -iuto a fight, tbe chan ces "are ten U one tliat they wili uiaiutaiü the action tau lumrs without any symptoin or iiii;rgin;jc unless frorn excessive heat or souie üther extraordiuary cause. The pliyeical conditimi of' soldier on entering j in engagement Lus inucli motè to d'j witli their moral depoxtuieot whrlo it ia pon ding tiian is usual ly upposed. Thia knowlcdge lias alwayt been didoorered by great generáis, and most scrupulously emplyysd in plauuing all tiiuir actions. In respect to tbii phytMogieal fact we have always luid the adomUage of the enfin ! in the jtioiresit of thü war. Wo stand on , tlic dufeiisive. Tlieonemy invado. ïliey . must uiiiUe the assault ; and the fatigue! and protraoted. loss of rest eneountered in reaoliinr; our tineg, maku thuiu a prey to panio and mor bid impulses. Thu Buil Run aiid Bethel paniop are not tljc only ones that have t-eized them. Tlieir : pedes from Prestonsbuig and frota : berland Ford were even moro rêmarkablo tlian the otbers, froin tlie fact that they raii, liko the wieked, " whcii 110 man pur sued." [The abovo artielo expressee soine faots whiob should teach our iinpatient fellow citizens not to expect or demand too mueh ol our armi'es. TJiey have sometliing to contend with more formidable than ': gocesh " suldicrs. - Ed. Aiigus.]

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Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus