Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-07-30

roll call yanishes and something grand
within him leaps up at the thought,
sfThat means me. I" The company can
not be glorified without clarifying ev-
cry man in ii nor the regiment carry off
the honors of battle without shedding a
halo around every man marching with
its colors. An honorable discharge from
regiment which immortalizes itself as
did the First Minnesota at Gettysburg
is a more priceless possession and heir
loom than a patent Of nobility or a com
mission in the regular army.
On the drill ground, where the MIN
icry Of battle is gone through with as a
rehearsal for real work, the individual
finds himself Of less consequence than
at roll call In the ranks he is known
as No. or 2 or 3 or q. Yet no one can
foretell which one Of the twenty and
odd "fours" in company may prove
the pivotal man on which the fortunes
of the day shall turn when it comes to
crisis in battle. Often the glory of an
army hangs upon the fidelity and cour-
age of one humble soldier At the bat
tie of Ream's Station, Va, Private
william Ginley, by timely discharge
of a cannon when the cannoneers were
all down, checked column Of Confed-
crate cavalry and saved battery from
capture.
Every schoolboy nowadays can mag
inc himself member of a ball nine or
team or an oarsman in racing crew.
There points may be lost by the care
Iessness of a single contestant, the VIC
tory sacrificed by the inattention of one
who has it in his grasp. 1t is just so in
an army of 100, 900 men. "H we fail
today, it won't be my fault, " is the
silent watchword of the true soldier 1t
is plain, then, that soldier can be very
much out of place in any place except
that one to which routine orders assign
him. If called upon to join scouting
party or daring forlorn hope, he does
so as the representative Of his company
or regiment
On q still higher plane this same
feature of esprit de corps with respect
to ones own particular command is
strongly developed in the army, show
ing that it is not pettiness to be proud
and even vain Of the record of the COM
pany and regiment Individual regi-
ments of brigade do not relish being
taken out of the brigade to fight the
battles of another command. The same
with the divisions of corps. The credit
for work done in battle falls chiefly
upon the corps in the line where the
battle takes place. endorsements to
the fighting line are usually sent in in
detachments of brigade or division,
sometimes by single regiments.
In the reports Of battle the army
and corps commanders dwell at length
upon the services Of the first troops en-
gagged in the line and describe only In
cidentally the deeds Of the detached
bodies sent in as helpers In this way
regiments and brigades fighting nobly
may be ignored in the official and liter
airy histories of a great battle, or II
they are duly mentioned the brigade or
division which they represent gets small
honor for having contributed to the vic
tory. 1t would be an act of baseness for
regiment or brigade or division to re-
fuse to go when called upon and fight
calamity to help win a victory for other
troops but ON the other hand it some
times looks like vanity or selfishness for
leader to hunt up fight for his com
mand which is not set down for 1t in
the arrangements of the line.
The theory of all Of this is that there
is work enough for all, and 1t is only q
question Of time when all will have to
bear the brunt of some great contest.
Therefore it is another form Of greedi-
ness to rush in where the fight bids fair
to be glorious, as though the glory
might not be enough to go around.