REST, REST IN PEACE. REST, rest in peace, O brave and noble heart!- And thou, who living loved thy country well, How nobly did her Southern sons respond For 'twas thy generous, noble soldier heart Which turned foes into friends. At their defeat You trusted them, and did not seek revenge,Thy memory now they honor, as is meet. Rest, rest in peace. Thy country mourns her loss; Amid the proud achievements of her sons, One page will bear the name of GRANT-thy name. NEW YORK, August 8, 1885. NOTES ON THE MOUNTED OFFICER'S DRESS. THERE are probably many officers in the service who will smile at the assertion that a proper correctness and etiquette in military dress should be to the officer one of the most important cares of his profession. They will, perhaps, claim that the idea that fashion and uniformity in such articles as boots, gloves, spurs, etc., can in any way affect the efficiency of the service, is evidence of "a mind towards small trifles bent." We shall, with due modesty, dissent from any such view. We believe in the "pomp and circumstance of glorious war" as the very breath of life to our profession. Our drill, soldierly bearing, and neatness and uniformity of dress are usually the only standards which the populace have by which to judge us in time of peace; and there are probably none of us so little proud of our profession as not to be jealous of maintaining the prestige that attaches to the name of "regulars," by appearing to the public eye as models in everything that pertains to the soldier in these respects. Take away our uniform; dress our soldiers in nondescript civilian garments, with the different corps and regiments distinguished, say, only by a badge, and-be our skill as horsemen and riflemen and swordsmen what it may—who would not point the finger of scorn and ridicule at such an army? We would be as absurd as Don Quixote, or as some of the old-time country militia we have seen in the fantastic array of muster-day. The most inexperienced civilian eye will quickly note the difference between the soldierly appearance of a body of regular troops-well “set up,” with every buckle, cartridge, and article of equipment exactly placed, and with a perfect uniformity about them-and such holiday soldiers as the latter. It will detect at once an air of "business" in the former which appeals to the admiration and respect, and which they could not possess without careful attention to every small detail of their "make up." ance. It is for the officer to set the example of this strict military appearAt West Point the cadet is the pink and perfection of it. His dress is trim and fits him well; his shoes are always polished; his trousers and gloves always spotless. His collar is turned down exactly to a regulation width. Every young fellow looks, as far as dress goes, precisely like his neighbor. It is this neat uniformity, added to his bearing, which makes him what he is, the model cadet in the world. On leaving the Academy, however, he goes to frontier service, where, amid scouts and isolation from critical society, he often falls into deplorable carelessness. If in the cavalry, he is apt to think it makes no difference whether he appears at drill with boots or without them; or, if with them, what style of boot he comes in. White gloves, or gauntlets, are often indifferently acceptable to him; spurs of nickel, or gilt, or brass, and of any pattern that he happens to come across, are worn with equal satisfaction. Sometimes-horrible dictu!—no spurs, and trousers over shoes without straps, are seen. One man wears a sabre-knot; another doesn't; some, neat-looking riding trousers; others, ill-fitting ordinary ones, that are equally uncomfortable to the wearer and unsightly to the eye. In the matter of horse-equipment, the diversity of appearance is equally great. Foreign officers, admirers of our country and enthusiasts about West Point, have told me frankly that they were much struck, at some of our exercises that they had witnessed, with the sad lack of regularity and mode in these details of our uniform. It gives them wear a spotted Perhaps some Bred as they are, amid the strictest proprieties in such matters, omissions and errors in them strike their eye at once. the same impression we would have at seeing a man necktie with an evening suit, or wearing none at all. of us recollect the remarks made upon this subject by Major-General Macdonald, British Army, who was present at the West Point exercises in 1882. They were published in the army papers at that time. Now, there should be no foolish feeling that we are approaching military "dudeism," or aping the "effete customs" of Europe, by showing a little of this carefulness ourselves. In the cavalry it would be especially desirable. It would improve our appearance and add to our own satisfaction in feeling that we are "correctly" clad. Through observance of these seemingly trifling details we undoubtedly foster that sentiment of pride and "dash" which is the true heritage of our arm and which only officers well mounted and equipped can fully experience. Granting, then, that the matter of costume deserves some consideration, let us see what we want in the cavalry arm. I offer the following ideas as the result of close observation of what was worn by cavalry officers in the great services abroad, especially the French, and of a conviction, based upon four years' personal trial of them, of the convenience and neatness of the styles recommended.' It may first be re 1 Of all the officers I met, I found the Austrians the most elegant and showy as to uniform, excepting some of the household troops and corps d'élite of other countries. In the cavalry, though, the Frenchman is not to be surpassed for his tastefulness and rigid correctness in this direction. The swell "Horse Guards" of the English army get no such equipment as is made in Paris and at Saumur. marked that we have as skillful military tailors as the finest found abroad; but we have not one, so far as I know, who has correct ideas of riding dress, or who pretends to make any specialty of it. We have no bootmaker at all, and scarcely a place where a respectable spur can be obtained. (Whitman has recently kept in stock some good ones.) But we can have these things. If we create the demand, the supply will be forthcoming. Our patronage will start a trade which will give us the very best articles of such equipment and at prices little above those abroad. It is a matter which interests our mounted officers of all corps, general, staff, and cavalry. First, instead of the tight, straight-cut mounted trousers we generally see in our service, I would suggest the following style: seam. Trousers to be loose in the waist, and very much so from the thigh down to the knee (they should be almost "puffy" at the thigh); at the knee they are made to fit close, and below this point skin-tight, so as to show perfectly, with the low boot, the mould of the calf; they then continue to the ankle, where the open flaps are fastened by light silk tape. They should be so cut as to bend of their own accord at the knee. This is accomplished by cutting out cloth in rear of the knee and bringing the edges of the opening thus formed together with a On the stripe outside, about the height of the top of the boot, are sewn two or three buttons at equal intervals (bullet-shaped white pearl make neat ones). These are both for appearance' sake and to keep the trousers and boot in the proper relative position; for this purpose there is a small strap with an eye on the inside of the boot, or, preferably, a catgut loop, which goes over one of the buttons, according to the height desired for the boot upon the leg. The bend in the knee and looseness of fit above are to give perfect freedom and flexibility to the leg on horseback. The effect when the trousers are properly made is strikingly neat and military. There is never any "bunching" at the knee, and the comfort of them is only to be learned by trying them. The boot may be of various patterns, consistently with elegance. For garrison use I should recommend the following: a perfectly stiff, round leg, of plain leather, terminating in pliable (not soft) folds at the ankle. The foot, calfskin, with toe slightly pointed and a flat heel. This boot should be made for such trousers as those just described, and should, especially at the top, fit snugly around the leg. The top should come to about five inches below the knee-cap. The front should be straight, and the rear either straight or cut into a sort of V curve. For this boot careful measurement of the leg from the knee down should be made. The making of the ankle-folds is considered abroad one of the highest proofs of the bootmaker's art, and the fastidious are very careful that the "set" of them is exactly right. They should be just stiff enough to keep the boot from falling about the ankle. On the inside of the leg, flush with the top, are the loops above referred to and the ordinary cloth straps (seen in all boots) for the insertion of boot-hooks when putting on. These last are often carelessly worn outside by some officers at home, though they are never made long enough for this by good makers. Nothing could be more slovenly than the allowing of these straps to fall in this manner over the outside of the boot. The best of blacking should be used for this boot. When kept in a state of perfect polish all over, as it should always be in garrison, the appearance of it is very handsome. For dress occasions an enameled leather boot of the same shape and stiffness is used; the blacking is replaced for this by a white varnish, which gives a splendid lustre and which will not soil the snowiest of kids. The cost of the first style of boot abroad is about sixteen dollars, of the second, about eighteen dollars. At the famous French cavalry bootmaker's, Etcheparre, of Saumur, the prices are a trifle higher, though not over a dollar or so per pair. A poor imitation of the latter boot now costs in this country something between thirty-five and forty dollars. The boot, when genuine, will last for three or four years, and if kept well polished and occasionally "treed up," will never lose its shape or beauty. For field service we want a boot of a different sort, of course.' The "Thomson" style is probably the best. It is English grain leather, waterproof, loose enough for foot trousers, and closed in front by lacing over a frog. No other boot can, after getting wet and frozen on a winter's scout, be so comfortably put on the next morning. It lasts wonderfully well. This boot, I presume, however, is very familiar to many of our cavalrymen. As to the spur, our regulations prescribe only "yellow metal or gilt," which allows almost anything to be worn. As a matter of fact, all styles are worn, and it is doubtful whether there are a dozen troops in the service in which all three officers have the same. Upon no subject is the individual taste of furnishers more wildly incongruous. What I would advocate is a spur with an arm about as wide as that used by our private trooper, and a straight shank set perpendicularly into the arm and a trifle longer than in the service style; there should be a buckle and outside buttons for the straps instead of the slot in the latter. The advantages are that the straps can be instantly adjusted and the spur kept from slipping up or down, as it does with the slot. When properly adjusted this spur is worn quite high upon the heel. Our troopers wear it decidedly too low, with the risk of losing it by its slipping below the sole, and with the certainty of wearing out the rowels when dismounted. The buckle should, it is needless to remark, always be worn outside the foot. "Un épéron à l'envers" is a "champagne" offense in foreign cavalry. It will be found convenient to have several changes of straps (calf leather) of uniform length, and |