...ion to do it, and in hopes that fear will operate to restrain the enemy. I made no threat; the enemy would have regarded it as mere brutum fulmen if I had. When Napoleon wanted to disperse a mob in Paris , he first fired grape-shot, and then blank cartridges. It should be borne in mind that the act for which I retaliated was not done by an irresponsible private, but either by one or several generals...