Memphis Daily Appeal
Memphis, Tennessee
May 17, 1861
It has been said, very truly, that “the battles of the American revolution were gained by the rifle.” The assertion is suggestive to a people that have, in nearly every household, one or more of these unerring weapons, and who know how to use them. An article in a late number of the Scientific American, contrasting the effectiveness of companies differently equipped, says: “In olden times the solid columns and the desperate charge generally won the battle; but light, active troops, spread over an extended field, with good rifles, would soon slaughter the best drilled columns in the world armed with muskets and handled in the old fashioned way.”