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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH
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To: Neocon who wrote (238368)3/15/2002 1:24:38 PM
From: TigerPaw  Read Replies (2) of 769670
 
Ok, let's start there:
It would be nice to start on a smaller chunk. That is one problem I have with the criticism in the article, it is very wordy. I also never read the primary book so I have to try to take things from context and the context is vague and disorganised ( that seems to be a critism of the original work too). This indicates to me that the author is upset, but does not have a precise basis for opposition.

For example from the highlighted section:
he has otherwise exaggerated the weaknesses of the musket and the reluctance of militia and regulars to use it. If guns had been as expensive and fragile as he says, they would never have sustained an Indian gun culture or become the property of many eighteenth-century slaves

This just screams for lack of context. It does not speak at all as to how common these weapons were nor if there were alternatives.

From my local history:

A warrior could shoot several arrows in the time that it took a Ranger to reload a single-shot weapon. Inexperienced Rangers often discharged their weapons too soon, allowing the Comanches to ride close and fire arrows before the Rangers could reload. To combat this tactic, experienced Rangers adopted the tactic of firing in relays, allowing one group to reload while the others fired.

texasranger.org

It was not until near the Civil War with the advent of repeating guns that the gun began to outperform the arrow. This local ancedote would appear to refute the idea of an Indian gun culture and reaffirm the timing of the gun culture.

Later passages, such as whether bayonetts were preferred seem so periferal to the actual premise that I don't understand why it is even mentioned.
TP
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