As skirmishers,--and modern battles, to a very great
extent, are fought out by lines of skirmishers--their work was
admirable; and when the officers were struck down, or when command,
by reason of the din and excitement, became impossible, the
self-dependence of the individual asserted itself with the best
effect.* (* The historical student may profitably compare with the
American soldier the Armies of Revolutionary France, in which
education and intelligence were also conspicuous.) The same quality
which the German training had sought to foster, and which, according
to Moltke,* (* Official Account of the Franco-German War volume 2
page 168.) had much to do with the victories of 1870, was born in
both Northerner and Southerner. On outpost and on patrol, in seeking
information and in counteracting the ruses of the enemy, the keen
intelligence of the educated volunteer was of the utmost value.
History has hitherto overlooked the achievements of the scouts, whose
names so seldom occur in the Official Records, but whose daring was
unsurpassed, and whose services were of vast importance. In the Army
of Northern Virginia every commanding general had his own party of
scouts, whose business it was to penetrate the enemy's lines, to see
everything and to hear everything, to visit the base of operations,
to inspect the line of communications, and to note the condition and
the temper of the hostile troops.
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