Copyright, 1897, by Harper & Brothers. All Rights Reserved.
| published weekly. | NEW YORK, TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 1897. | five cents a copy. |
| vol. xviii.—no. 898. | two dollars a year. |
FAMOUS CAVALRY CHARGES.
BY RICHARD BARRY.
COOKE'S CAVALRY AT GAINES'S MILL.
It was a strange fact that those in authority at Washington and those incharge of the immediate conduct of the Union armies in the field did notearly in the war recognize the immense importance of a well-organizedcavalry.
The idea that cavalry should be used merely as an auxiliary arm of theservice was held by General Scott, and those who immediately followedhim in command seem to have held the same opinion.
The small bodies of troopers of both the regular and volunteer branchesof the mounted service were attached to various isolated army corps.Their duties consisted mainly in taking the places of orderlymessengers, doing patrol duty, and acting as advance outposts. Theirduties were onerous, and were not calculated to bring them much chancefor glory or advancement. The cavalry Captains and leaders demurredgreatly against this false position, and it may be said that the lessonthat the Union Generals[Pg 258] learned in regard to the uses of mounted troopswas gained from the experience of battle, when they had arrayed against