- A pursuit should generally be as boldly and actively executed as possible, especially when it is subsequent to a battle gained; because the demoralized army may be wholly dispersed if vigorously followed up.
- There are very few cases where it is wise to make a bridge of gold for the enemy, no matter what the old Roman proverb may say; for it can scarcely ever be desirable to pay an enemy to leave a country, unless in the case when an unexpected success shall have been gained over him by an army much inferior to his in numbers.
Nothing further of importance can be added to what has been said on the subject of retreats, as far as they are connected with grand combinations of strategy. We may profitably indicate several tactical measures which may render them more easy of execution.
One of the surest means of making a retreat successfully is to familiarize the officers and soldiers with the idea that an enemy may be resisted quite as well when coming on the rear as on the front,