Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1863-03-26

than from any incompctency or miseon.
duct on he fell of battle. Instances Of
such misconduct there have undoubtedly
been. Int, considering the number of the
officers anu their want of experience, those
Instances arc extremely rare. and when We
carl to mind the number OF officers who
have fallen. while leading their men in bat
Tie. out OF PROPORTION. as it undoubtedly is,
with the losses in other wars, we may well
PALATE DEFICIENCIES in this respect. ont OF
consideration for their heroic gallantry
anil devotion. We do not underratc Ger.
taialy the valve of COOL officers. but his
tory tells rs that great victories have
been achieved by armies who were no bet
ter lei than ours. The incompetency OF
his oifieeas was one of Wellington's stand
ing complaints in Spain Most of them
knew absolutely nothing beyond the, mere
routine OF garrison duty; they were all
what is technically called gentlemen .
for each one had purchased his com mission
At high price, but they had had no sys-
temasic training in military schools. near
~ all OF them had had no actual expert
ence of war. anu their average intelligence
WAS undoubtedly below that of the men
who hold similar positions in our army.
We have no room 10 enumeratc in de-
tail the complaints made by the Duke of
the officers of his army. Those who are
in,erestsl in the subject may consult Col.
Gurwood's 4th volume. pages 343, SIG,
So. 1868. SS5. 500. aud 497. The whole
story is summed up, however, in the gen.
era! order occasioned by the disorderly re-
treat from Burgos. in which the Duke
sai,l THAT discipline had deterioated du-
ring the campaign in greater degree than
he hal ever witnessed, or ever real of in
any army. and this without any disaster,
or any unusual privation or hardship; that
the officers had from the first lost all CON-
mand aver their men. and that the true
ssuss of this unhappy state os affairs was
to be found ia tie ha6itual neglect of duty
5y tie Reginseafol Officers" This is the
army of which the Duke said later, that
~withit. he could go anywhere and do
anything" and good or bad, it saved Eu-
rope-in the English sense.
All accounts agree that at that period,
the scientific branches oil the great art OF
war Were almost wholly neglected in the
British army. and such was the happy ig-
norance of the elements of strategy. that
~ q court martial composed of general Of
fers for the trial of Gen. Whitelock in
1908. for his failure at Buenos Ayres. it
was necessary to explain to the court what
was meant in military phrase by the fright
bank" Of river.
It is sail again by those who have the
standard OF foreign armies always before
thsir eyes. that among our soldiers there
is not proper Difference to rank, too
much cana1raderie in short. and that this
Is fatal to discipline. But it should be
remembered that mere formal discipline
may be one thing. and the true spirit Of
discipline another. and yet both may an
swer the same purpose. The first may be
moro snowy than the latter. but not more
valua bls to real military efficiency. Ev-
erything depends upon the character Of
the soldier who is to be governed by IT.
The British army is composed. as we oil
know of tho refuse Of the population. and
in the war in the Peninsula it was largely
reinforced by the Introduction into its
who were there sxpatiating Infamous Of
lenses. With such men, motives based
on sense of duty were powerless. Drunk
snness. theft. msrauding, mutinous spir-
it under privations. and fierce thirst for
license which de6ed all contol in the hour
OF victory, these were the brutal passions
which could only be checked by the equal
ly brute hand Of force. But from such q
vile herd. made useful only as slave is
useful. by fear of the lash. to the civilized.
sober. well educated American citizen. an
imated with the consciousness that he is
fighting for great cause, in the success OF
which he and his children have deep per-
sonal interest. and who learns obedience
because both his common sense and sense
of duty recognize its necessity. how i'm
measursbly is the distance! The Ameri-
cad volunteer. in this respect. has not had
Justice done to his excellence. He is GER
tain1y a soldier essentially sui generis. and
when we hear sneers al his want of discip-
line. let us remember that although he may
not regard bis officers as superior beings,
yet experience has already shown that in
the cheerful performance of his new duties
under privetions; in his freedom from those
vices which in many minds are insepera-
bly, associated with the very idea of a sol
der; in bis courage. endurance. and stead
iaess in battle; and more than all, In those
higher qualities which are the frurt OF his
education. general intelligence. and love
of country. he presents himself to ms fig
ure hitherto wholly unknown in military
history. $780,. s.r.1,. t.s.f 5.s<..
lone OF the most cruel statements which
party rancor has circulated in regard to
the condition Of the army is, that the rate
Of sickness and mortality is excessive. and
that this is dne to the neglect OF the gov
ernmeni Fortunately. we have The means
at showing that these statements are false.
From juno !, 1861. to March 1. 1862
nine monihs-the annual rate OF mortality
for the whole army. is ascertained to be
SO in a Thousand. and the sickness rate
104 in thousand. The returns for the
summer campaigns are not yet printed.
but it will appear from them that in the
army of the Potomac on the 10th of Jnne.
after the battle Of Fair Oaks. and " lille
the army was encamped on the Chicka.
hominy, the whole number of sick present
aud absent. was l2S in thousand. Du-