Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1862-01-09
CONDITION OF THE REBEL AR
MY.

The present condition of our army is a
cause of severe and painful anxiety. The
courage of our troops is not abated, the
eagerness for the fray is not relaxed, and
yet decentralization is creeping in, we full
ly believe, from the insane and reckless
neglect of the Government to sustain and
to cultivate the spirit of our soldiery.
There is too much drunkenness among
the officers on the Potomac, and too much
vacant idling among the men. We are in
formed as positive fact, that in the ma
.jority of the army on the Potomac the
practice of regimental drills has fallen in
to complete disuse. This alone would be
sufficient to demoraize any army in cir
cumstances such as ours. The drill is
not only essential for schooling the soldier,
it fulfls other vastly important and essen
tial purposes. 1t develops and educates
the physique, fortifes the soldier against
disease; and, what is perhaps the most
important moral consideration of all, gives
him occupation for portion of his time
each day, and protects him, at least meas
urably, against the canker-worm of the
army-e1nul.
What can be predicted but utter demon
alization for an army whose condition is
that of tens of thousands of men living in
utter idlenesa, grovelling in their tents,
with no other occupation than what is af-
forded by the greasy pack of cards that
is the inevitable inmate of every tent, or
the yellow covered novel, whose wretched
and perhaps filthy entertainment has more
than once gone the rounds of the compa-
ny?
We cannot shut our eyes to the fact that
the army is becoming a name of terror
and dread to the minds of our citizens
The newspapers are still filed with adver-
tisements of bonuses for substitutes" al
though the War Department has adopted
a rule restricting the number of substi
tutes to one in each company. The rates
paid tor substitutes are enormous. We
are informed that they average from two
| hundred to two hundred and fifty dollars ::
and we have been told of recent in
stance where fifteen hundred dollars was
paid for the prompt procurement OF a
' substitute to take the place of private
suddenly constrained to leave the army.
Evidences stare us in the face of the
unwillingness of men to accept the life of
famine, dirt, and vacant idleness in the
army. Richmond is filed with soldiers
who have come out of the hospitals, or
who have got here on some pretence or
other, applying for discharges and striving
and wriggling in all sorts OF ways to get
out of the army. 1t was but a few days
ago that soldier, discharged from one of
the hospitals here, committed suicide rath-
er than be constrained to return to the
army.
There is no unwillingness among our
young men to serve their country. There
are thousands who would willingly 90 with
their lives on their sleeves to battle with
the enemy, and to attest devoted and
courageous patriotism, but who dread to
betake themselves to the wretched, half
fed life of dirt, vacancy, and idleness in the
camps. This is the restraint upon vol
unteering. The Government will in vain
essay TO remove it by bounty law fol-
re-enlistments-the provision of which,
| by the way, for company reorganization
| has already, we understand, proved 8
fruitful source of intrigue and demoraliza
ton in our army-without other measure;
that will reach to the root of the evil.
i The authorities at Richmond may as
sure themselves that, as long as tn,
, health of the army is neglected, and it il
i. maintained in its dirty sluggard condition
the drills neglected, the half rations o