The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1917-08-15
American military history to justify

2 Ill JANUARY, 1000, Tie CnlOn ARMY
lay In camp at Falmouth, Va. About
a month before had occurred the dis
astrous and bloody defeat of Fred
ericksburg In the North 1t was the
darkest hour OF the war. Everywhere
outside the army there was depression
and fear. On January q, the com
handing general ordered the troops
to break camp and move forward. At
the same time IA cold drizzlng rain
set in; the ground speedily became
like sea of glue; everything upon
wheels sunk into the bOttOmless mud;
1t took twenty horses to start a single
caisson; hundreds Of. them died in
harness. but still the general persist
ed. But the rain persisted also, and II
soon became simple impossibility to
go forward" After two days of effort
it was necessary to have the men
struggle and founder through the
wilderness Of mud back to their
camp"
Picture the situation: Recent de-
feat with heavy losses: retreat; a
cheerless mid-winter camp; rain:
cold; mud; encouragement at home;
long march under the most trying
conditions ending In return to the
same camping ground from which the
troops had started. A little grumb7
ling might reasonably have been ex-
pected. But the men of 1863 were too
good soldiers to draw long faces. The
historian goes on: 1.-THE march was
made in high good humor, the soldiers
laughing and jokil 3 at their ill-luck
with that comic brightness character
istic of Americans In difficult clrcum-
stances"
Three Qualities Of Battle
Finally, there are the three battle
qualities of the good soldier:
+ 4 p Spirit.
/ fae Tenacity,
Self-reliance.
Unless a man has these three quail
ities-even though he possesses all
the other six In good measurable Ia
after all only campfire soldier.
Spirit n ~
Spirit-fighting Spirits far from
being mere hatred of the enemy or
blind fury. on the one hand; nor is II
mere passive obedience to orders, on
the other. It means cool, self-con-
trolled courage-the kind Of courage
which enables man to shoot as
straight on the battlefield as he does
in target practice. However, 1t even
goes a step beyond that point. Deci-
sive victories cannot be won by mere
ly repulsing the enemy. "Only the of.
fensive wins" Infantry Drill Regu-
lations, paragraph ELL
Like all the other qualities of q
soldier, spirit can be cultivated. An
unframed army seldom possesses It.
But 1t can be developed. You can and
will develop 1t until 1t becomes as
much a part of yourself as any Of your
easy-going civilian habits are now.
Tenacity
Spirit carries body Of soldiers for
ward. Tenacity is the quality that
makes them stick" The thorough
soldier is never ready to stop fighting
until his part Of the battle is won
Tenacity was never better expressed
than in the words of John Paul. Jones
Standing among his dead anr wound.
ed on his sinking ship which was
leaking like basket" he replied to
his adversary's invitation to surren.
der, "sir, ] have not yet begun to
fight" Two hours later the battle
came to a sudden end when the colors
Of the enemy's vessel we're hauled
down. 70
! .self.Rellance
self-reliance is characteristic OF the
American. whether he is serving as q
soldier or in some civil occupation
Much the same quality Is sometimes
referred to as Initiative" It IL Q
quality needed more than ever before
in present-dsy warfare, Major Gen.
leral Leonard Mood "a Ma introduc.