William Duane

“ EMULATION, in a military sense, is a noble jealousy, without the slightest tincture of envy, whereby gentlemen endeavor to surpass each other in the acquisition of military knowlege. Is not the want of encouragement to excite emulation, the great cause of misconduct among military men? An officer who is not protected, who is never sure of the least favor, neglects himself, and takes less trouble to acquire glory, rarely heard of, though merited by the bravest actions, than to enjoy the tranquillity of an ordinary reputation. ”

“ An enterprise which grows out of another, though it be in reality more arduous to get through than the one which produced it, becomes more easy in its execution: and yet, how many brave and skilful generals have existed, who could not make a proper use of opportunity? In reading over their gallant exploits, one would be led to believe, that all their knowlege consisted in merely knowing how to fight. We have seen them, with unexampled intrepidity, doing every thing that man dares to do, in the field of battle: we have seen them make a decisive blow, and place victory within their grasp ”

“ EVOLUTION, in the art of war, the motion made by a body of troops, when they are obliged to change their form and disposition, in order to preserve a post, occupy another, to attack an enemy with more advantage, or to be in a condition of defending themselves the better. That evolution is best, which, with a given number of men, may be executed in the least space, and consequently in the least time possible.
Evolution of the moderns, is a change of position, which has always for its object either offence or defence. ”

“ PIVOT, (Pivot, Fr.) in a military sense, that officer, serjeant, corporal, or soldier, upon whom the different wheelings are made in military evolutions. There are two sorts of pivots distinguished according to the position of the troops who are governed by them, viz. standing pivot and moveable pivot. When a battalion, for instance, stands in open column of companies, the right in front, the last man upon the left of the front rank of each company, is called the inner, or standing pivot; and the first man upon the right ditto, is called the outer pivot, or wheeling flank. ”

“ Without subordination it is impossible that a corps can support itself; that its motions can be directed, order established, or the service carried on. In effect, it is subordination that gives a soul and harmony to the service: it adds strength to authority, and merit to obedience; and while it secures the efficacy of command, reflects honor upon its execution. It is subordination which prevents every disorder, and procures every advantage to an army. ”

“ It is, in fact, so much corrupted in modern times, that what really conveyed no more than a regular principle in marching, has since been made to signify the exercise and evolutions of troops. All the world know how to beat a march, without comprehending the real object, and half the world imagine, that the noise of a drum or fife is nothing more than military parade. ”

“ The opinion having prevailed that an officer may throw up his commission and abandon the service at his discretion, the general considers it his duty to correct a delusion so pregnant with mischief to the public interest, and so subversive of every principle of subordination and discipline; it is therefore to be clearly understood that no officer, bearing a commission in the United States, has the power to resign the same, or quit the service without the president’s permission, or that of some subordinate duly authorized, and all offences against this order are to be punished with rigor. ”

“ TALENT. Count Turpin, in his essay on the Art of War, makes the following distinction between genius and talent:—Talent remains hidden for want of occasions to shew itself; genius breaks through all obstacles: genius is the contriver, talent the workman in military affairs. Talent is properly that knowlege acquired by study and labor, and ability to apply it; genius takes, as by intuition, a glance of whatever it is occupied on, and comprehends at once without labor the true character of the subject; genius must however not be devoid of acquired knowlege. ”

“ On one hand, history instructs us by examples, and furnishes us with proofs, of the beautiful maxims of virtue and wisdom, which morality has taught us: it gives us a kind of experience, beforehand, of what we are to do in the world; it teaches us to regulate our life, and to conduct ourselves with wisdom, to understand mankind; ever to carry ourselves with integrity and probity, never to do a mean action; and to measure grandeur with the level of reason, that we may despise it when dangerous or ridiculous. ”

“ This, however, is not to be understood literally, as every infantry officer when he arrives within six paces of the general, recovers his sword and drops it, keeping it in that situation until he shall have passed him a prescribed number of paces. The cavalry salute within the breadth of the horse’s neck, the instant the object is uncovered.
Point of War, a loud and impressive beat of the drum, the perfect execution of which requires great skill and activity. The point of war is beat when a battalion charges. ”

“ ECLAIREURS, Fr. a corps of grenadiers raised by Bonaparte, in France, who from their celerity of movement were compared to lightning.
ECLOPES, a French military term, to express those soldiers who, though invalids, are yet well enough to follow the army. Among these may be classed dragoons or horsemen, whose horses get suddenly lame, and cannot keep up with the troop or squadron. They always march in the rear of a column.
ECLUSES, Fr. See Sluices.
ECONOMY, in a military sense, implies the minutiæ, or interior regulations of a regiment, troop, or company. Hence regimental economy. ”

“ Bravery is inspired by the force of example, by insensibility of danger, and by the mingled fury of conflict and action; courage is infused by the love of our duty, the desire of glory, and by the zeal we feel to serve our country: courage depends on reason, but bravery on the constitution. ”

“ An officer, who is not under the influence of that species of intrepidity which we have described, when he has once got upon equal ground, or finds it necessary to risk an action, will, without hesitation, advance against his enemy, depending wholly upon military skill and the superior disposition of his line of battle. Full of resources and with great presence of mind, he will march forward and obtain a victory, not by dint of courage or by the mere favor of fortune, but through judgment, military ingenuity, and great tactical knowlege. ”

“ OCCASIO, L., Opportunity, among the Romans, an allegorical divinity, the goddess of time, who presides over the most favorable moment for success in any enterprise. She is represented stark naked, with a long lock of hair upon her forehead, and bald behind. And also standing on a wheel, with wings on her feet, and is said to turn herself very swiftly round; by which is intimated, that we should lay hold of the present opportunity. Among modern nations no people pay greater attention to the instruction which is conveyed by this allegory than the French do. ”

“ Human nature is so strangely constituted, that whilst one man will rush into danger, as if attracted by blood and devastation, another will not have firmness enough to stand his ground, and face the coming evil. He, who in the hour of battle would give fresh courage to his troops, by being the foremost to advance, has been known to turn pale in the very trench where a soldier’s boy or woman has sat undisturbed selling spirits and provisions, or has been discovered to tremble when the signal for storming was given. ”

“ Their arms are a long crooked sabre, light carbines, and pistols. Before they begin an attack, they lay themselves so flat on the necks of their horses, that it is hardly possible to discover their force; but being come within pistol-shot of the enemy, they raise themselves with surprising quickness, and fall on with such vivacity, that it is very difficult for the troops to preserve their order. When a retreat is necessary, their horses have so much fire, and are so indefatigable, their equipage so light, and themselves such excellent horsemen, that no other cavalry can pretend to follow them ”

“ The honor, merit, appearance, strength, and success of a corps depend wholly upon the attention which has been paid to the drill and exercise of it, according to prescribed rules and regulations; while on the other hand we see the greatest armies, for want of being exercised, instantly disordered, and that disorder increasing in spite of command; the confusion oversets the art of skilful masters, and the valor of the men only serves to precipitate the defeat: for which reason it is the duty of every officer to take care, that the recruits be drilled as soon as they join the corps. ”

“ A colonel of infantry should understand something of fortification, and be well acquainted with field engineering. He cannot be too careful to maintain union and harmony among his officers; and, to succeed in this, he must acquire their esteem and confidence, and make himself to be respected. The true way to succeed in this, is to keep up subordination with unalterable firmness; to do justice to every one, to employ all his credit to procure favors to the corps in general, and to the officers in particular, without ever losing sight of the health, comfort, and contentment of his men. ”

“ KILLADAR, Ind. the governor or commandant of a fort.
KINDALAHS, a vagabond, outcast set of people in India, originally belonging to the Hindoo tribe. By such proscription and disgrace are these miserable creatures marked, that the people of other casts not only will not visit them, but if any one of them should presume to approach a person of the Nayr tribe, it is lawful for the latter to put him to instant death.
To KINDLE, in a military sense, is to excite mankind to arms. To kindle the flames of war is a familiar expression. ”

“ These officers instantly unfurled two flags, and emphatically exclaimed, let all those brave men who have the safety of the Republic at heart flock to our standards! A red flag was the rallying mark for all who were to serve on foot, and a blue flag pointed out the rendezvous for cavalry. Every one was at liberty to chuse the service he liked best. ”

“ Every superior officer, from the commander in chief to the lowest non-commissioned officer, may, in a military sense, be called a patron; for it is the duty of all persons, in authority, to countenance, support, and protect every executive member in the service. Partialities on the other hand, (whatever may be their sources) are the bane of order and good discipline. In proportion as merit finds patrons among the good and great, indolence and inability should be discountenanced and degraded. ”

“ Courage seems fittest for a general, and for all those who command; bravery more necessary for a soldier, and for all those who receive orders; bravery is in the blood; courage in the soul; the first is a kind of instinct, the second a virtue; the one is an impulse almost mechanical, the other a noble and a sublime conception. A man is brave at a particular time, and according to circumstances ”

“ It may be laid down as a certain rule, that unless a general officer make himself acquainted with particular movements and dispositions, and preserve the necessary recollections, it is morally impossible for him to be clear and correct in his general arrangements. Of all mechanical operations, founded upon given principles, the art of war is certainly the most compendious, the most enlarged, and the most capable of infinite variety. Almost every other science and art are comprehended in it; and it should be the constant object, the chief study, and the ultimate end of a general’s reflections. ”

“ EXERCISE, in military affairs, is the practice of all those motions and actions, together with the whole management of arms, which a soldier is to be perfect in, to render him fit for service, and make him understand how to attack and defend. Exercise is the first part of the military art; and the more it is considered the more essential it will appear. It disengages the human frame from the stiff rusticity of simple nature, and forms men and horses to all the evolutions of war. ”

“ The United States troops are usually cooped up in garrisons, as if they were, like the king of Prussia, forming a system in secret, while in fact there is nothing worthy of the name of discipline carried on, and in too many instances nothing understood. Perhaps the troops of the United States have not, as a part of discipline, fired a ball at a target for twenty years. Field artillery, or mortar practice, probably not more frequent. The maxim of economy is an important one in a free state, but there is an economy more destructive than the greatest profusion ”

“ It is a manœuvre the most delicate, and fittest to display the prudence, genius, courage, and address, of an officer who commands: the records of all ages testify it, and historians have never been so lavish of eulogiums as on the subject of the brilliant retreats of their heroes. If it be important, it is no less difficult to regulate, on account of the variety of circumstances, each of which demands different principles, and an almost endless detail. Hence a good retreat is esteemed, by experienced officers, the master-piece of a general. ”