In the mean time, great efforts were made in various quarters still further to improve small arms, and to produce a musket of superior range which could be given to the whole of the infantry. The Prussians introduced the needle gun, a rifle arm loaded at the breech, and capable of very rapid firing, and having a long range; the invention, originated in Belgium, was considerably improved by them. This gun, although by no means the best of its class either for accuracy or range, simplicity of construction or certainty of action, was early adopted and given to their troops; it was used with great effect in the Schleswig-Holstein war, and more recently in the remarkable campaigns of the Prussians in Bohemia and France. Many military writers have expressed the opinion that the Prussians owe their great successes in their recent wars at least as much to the superiority of their artillery and small arms as to any other single cause. But this is scarcely true; . for while they were probably provided with better arms than the Austrians, they were certainly inferior to the French in rifles, it being generally conceded that the Zundnadelgewehr or needle gun is a less efficient weapon than the Chassepot. The English were the first to arm the whole of their infantry with a superior musket, viz., the Enfield rifle, a slight alteration of the Minie; its superiority was fully proved in the Crimea, and saved them at In-kerman. But the Americans have surpassed all other nations in the invention and use of rifles and carbines.

The rifled musket made in the government shops at Springfield, the Spencer and Henry magazine guns, and the Remington carbine and rifles, as well as many others which were fully tested during the civil war, are now acknowledged to be superior to any English, French, or German arms of the same class, and have been adopted by many European nations. - In tactical arrangements, no changes of importance have taken place for infantry and cavalry, if we except the great improvement of light infantry tactics by the French chasseurs, and the new Prussian system of columns of companies, which latter formation, with some variations, is now in general use. The formation in several European armies is nominally three deep, but in practice all nations have adopted the two-rank formation introduced by the English shortly after the time of Napoleon I. As to cavalry, the European nations still adhere to the system of Frederick, with some slight modifications. The Americans during the civil war made great progress in the organization and use of cavalry, or more properly of mounted troops.

The first regiments called into service were strictly light cavalry, hut the improvements in carbines and revolvers or repeating pistols, combined with the wooded nature of the country in which they were compelled to operate, soon gave a distinctively new character to this arm. Instead of fighting on horseback, using the sabre alone or the sabre and pistol, it became necessary for the cavalry regiments to fight generally on foot; and in this they not only reached a high state of efficiency, but, under Sheridan in the east and Wilson in the west, exerted a powerful influence in bringing the war to an end. The mounted troops operating in Virginia were organized into a separate body from 10,000 to 15,000 strong, called the cavalry corps of the army of the Potomac; while those in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama, amounting to 72 regiments, and reaching at the close of the war 35,000 efficients, were organized into one command, officially known as the cavalry corps of the military division of the Mississippi. These immense masses of mounted troops were strong enough to act independently against the communications and depots of the enemy, or in cooperation with the infantry, upon the flanks and rear of the confederate armies.

In the final campaigns in Virginia, and especially at the battle of Winchester or the Opequan, in the destruction of the railroads about Richmond, particularly the South Side road, at the battle of Five Forks, in the pursuit and capture of Lee's army, in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, in the pursuit and dispersion of Hood's army, in the assault and capture of Selma, Columbus, and West Point (Ga.), in the pursuit and capture of Davis and the confederate chieftains, these corps gave proof of their extraordinary merits, not only as cavalry marching rapidly and for long distances, but as infantry fighting steadily and with great dash against infantry and artillery, assaulting and carrying earthworks, and in the performance of the various duties of active warfare. The success of these corps was doubtless greatly influenced partly by their compact and independent organization, and partly by the efficient character of their firearms, which at the end of the war were almost exclusively Spencer carbines or rifles, breech-loading magazine guns of unrivalled excellence at that time.

It is believed that no well directed attack made by troops using these arms was ever known to fail, whether against cavalry, infantry, or intrenchments. (See Cavalry.) - In artillery, considerable improvements of detail and simplification of calibres, and of models for wheels, carriages, etc, have taken place in every army. The science of artillery has been greatly improved. All modern armies now use rifled cannon for field ser-vice, as well as for siege purposes. Field guns are made of steel and wrought and cast iron, and are of various calibres, all throwing steel or iron balls, bolts, or shells, more or less | elongated; these guns are also adapted to the use of canisters of small shot, and have almost entirely replaced the smooth-bored brass guns and howitzers in actual service. The Ameri-cans, Prussians, and Belgians have been foremost in making improvements in artillery. (See Artillery.) - The general organization of modern armies is very much alike. With the exception of the British and American, they are recruited by compulsory levy, based either upon conscription, in which case the men, after serving their time, are dismissed for life, or upon the reserve system, in which the time of actual service is short, but the men remain liable to be called out again for a cer-tain time afterward.