Soldiers have Stout Seats, 43 



Think you there was not good horsemanship 

 at Vionville, when von Bredow (one of the au- 

 thor's old school friends, by the way) with his six 

 squadrons, to enable Bruddenbrock to hold his 

 position till the reinforcements of the Tenth 

 Corps could reach him, rode into the centre of 

 the Sixth French Corps d'Armee ? In slender 

 line, he and his men, three squadrons of the 

 Seventh Cuirassiers, and three of the Sixteenth 

 Uhlans, charged over the French artillery in the 

 first line, the French infantry in line of battle, 

 and reached the mitrailleuses and reserves in 

 the rear, where they sabred the gunners at their 

 guns. What though but thirteen officers and one 

 hundred and fifty men out of near a thousand re- 

 turned from that gallant ride ? Though no Ten- 

 nyson has sung their glorious deed, though we 

 forget the willing courage with which they faced 

 a certain sacrifice for the sake of duty to the 

 Fatherland, think you those men rode not well, as 

 a mere act of horsemanship ? 



Think you that the handful of men of the 

 Eighth Pennsylvania, at Chancellorsville, when 

 they charged down upon Stonewall Jackson's vic- 

 torious and elated legions, riding in column 

 through the chapparal and over the fallen timber 

 of the Wilderness, carving their path through 

 thousands of the best troops who ever followed 

 gallant leader, sat not firmly in their saddles? 



