St. Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1845-1863, 1861-07-11

plsce y now supplied by the color scrgcspt
There j. one more sergeant than corporal.
the 6rsf srsgeent being called the orderly
sergeant. md sis. next to the capt,lin. fhe
most impoNsso1 man iu the rompnsy- -caf-
rying the kpots az The conpany. and cal-
ling the roI1 u the nornine and even-
ine The AonPany ) issaseds shen u
column. int, two platoons and four Sec
tions. each platoon commanded by lieu
tenant, and each section by q sergeant.
A regiment is regularly composed Of
ten or more companies, or two battalions;
a battalion being half regiment, COM
posed of five companies-one Of them
called lighter route company. intcnded
in regular service to operate outside of the
columns as fanking parties, guards. etc.
The officers Of regiment, independent
of company officers, are a colonel. lieut..
colonel. two majors. adjutant. quarter
master, aud commissary. Each separate
body Of troops must have a coninAissary
and quartermastcr, but in large army
they are apportioned to regiments or bri-
gadcs. A regiment, when constituted.
will be formed thus: l colonel, lieut..
colonel. l asJutant, quartcrmaster. l
comn'issary. 2 majors, 10 captains, 20
lieutenants, 50 sergeants, 40 corporals,
and $50 men--naking 975, but in reality
there are some others; each company has
regularly u drummer and fifcr, which
make regiuental band Of 20, besides the
drum major. Then the regiment, when
full, is made up Of 600 men.
A brigade should be composed of two
regiments, squadron of cavalry, aud a
corps of field artillery. If these were all
full, a complete brigade operating alone.
would, i'll our service, or in the French
service, make ::.,4o0 men.
A division is composed Of two brigades,
with additional corps of cavalry and artil-
lery. making in our army. including the
whole staff and music. about 5000 men
This is the highest element Of organization
in our service; but iu France, as they Or
ganixc immense armies. there is one other.
!. The corps is composed of two Or more
divisions. The corps is, in the French
service. properly eemnsaded by "a -fchf
marshal-an officer unknown to our coun-
try aud the corps is properly complete
army in itself
In Napolcon's march on Russia, he
had eight or ten Of those corps in active
scrvice-making field army of from
250, 900 to 500, 900 men. From the elc-
mcnts We have given, it will be seen that
however large the army be, it is 30 or
ganized as to be perfect in all its parts,
and moves with exact order and discipline.
Tn the field all orders and operations are
carried on through the staff Of the army,
and when we come to active service, the
staff is the most important part Of the ar
my; for, this being a vast machine, Of
which each part is perfectly obedient to
and directed by the head, it is evident
that all must depend on the skill. ability
and discernmen: Of the staff through
which it acts. 1t is in vain that Scott,
ar any other grea, general commands, if
the staff officers are incompetent.
The staff consists of the aids, the adju-
tant, the engineer, the quarterrnaster, and
coumissary generals. Through the ad-
jntant all orders are conveyed to each par
ticular part. by the quartermaster all
transportations, and vehicles and horses
are furnished: by the conmissary all sup
plies; by the engineer the topography of
the country is thoroughly examined. the
practieabilty of passes determined. fortif-
cations built or attacked. Then the
STAFF of an army becomes it's eyes and Ill
its facnlties-thc g,ncral s;:-.ply deciding
the movements c. ::hc army on the fse.-
and elcmc,.ts THUS furnished. In the
grand French armies there was chicf-of-
,be-staff. or head Of the acti.e military
bureau. In Napoleon's time. this chief
of-the-staff was Marshal Bcrthier, deemed
one of the ablest officers of the French
army. Napoleon knew the value of good
staff and had ADLER men in it than were
ut the head sf the divisions.