Quote:
Originally Posted by ke0me
not "Charge", but "Hasten forward quickly there", or so I've read in a book somewhere.
|
Well, ummm, when you think about it, "Charge" is a bit ambiguous.
Teddy's phrase gives much more detailed instruction.
Hasten (what to do)
Forward (which direction)
Quickly (in what manner, or at what time)
There (an even more specific target, likely pointed out by an officers sword, perhaps)
*****
In Ken Burns film "The Civil War" southern historian Shelby Foote makes the case that a cavalry officers sword was just a fancy pointing device and was practically never used as a weapon. The movement of troops could be directed from a distance by pointing the sword. They had to make do without radios.
And when Lee surrendered to Grant, he (Lee) offered Grant his sword in the usual tradition. But Grant had such respect for Lee he declined and told him to keep it.