Army commander

“ The commander is a major-general. His staff comprises an assistant adjutant-general, an assistant inspector-general, a topographical engineer, a commissary of musters, a commissary of subsistence, a judge-advocate, several aides-de-camp—and perhaps other officers, of varying rank. Those mentioned usually ranked from colonel to captain. In the Union army, major-generals might command either a division, a corps, or an army, but in the Confederate service each army of importance was commanded by a lieutenant-general. Take a look at the corps headquarters flag. ”

“ The Commander of the Forces returns his thanks to the officers and troops for their gallant conduct in the two trying days of yesterday and the day before, in which they have been engaged with, and [Pg 135] beaten off the repeated attacks of an army infinitely superior in number. ”

“ The commander in chief conceives little is now wanting to enable the soldier to change the military character into that of a citizen, but that steady and decent tenor of behavior which has generally distinguished not only the army under his immediate command, but the different detachments and separate armies, through the course of the war. ”

“ In short the Commander-in-Chief afforded them an amount of amusement that quite compensated for the loss of hen-roosts. As a truthful historian I must not forget to mention that the general, like a good and discreet warrior, kept at a respectful distance in the rear, ordering at the same time that the country in advance be well scoured, lest some lurking portion of the enemy's army come upon them by surprise, doing serious damage before he could get his army in trim for making them dance again. ”

“ Commanding officers learn the amount of strain which they can impose on their men; the conditions under which transport can and must be brought up for the use of the troops can be studied with almost as much accuracy as in warfare; the cavalry commander learns the value, from a war point of view, of his men as scouts and on detached duties, while the artillery officer finds out, as he never could without manœuvre experience, the possibilities of gun transport, and the business of ranging positions with a view to rendering them untenable by shellfire. ”

“ We discovered from the Commander afterwards that the whole army consists of officers, very few of them below the rank of Major-general. They are inordinately proud of their medals, and quite amazingly inefficient. ”

“ The share which the British army have had in producing those events, and the high character with which the army will quit this country, must be equally satisfactory to every individual belonging to it, as they are to [102] the Commander of the Forces, and he trusts that the troops will continue the same good conduct to the last. ”

“ Out of the effective list of major-generals, lieut.-generals, or generals, the Commander-in-chief, as at present, could select those whom it might be deemed advisable to employ upon the staff of the army, or for any particular object, and as it is to be presumed that their services might be constantly required, especially in our foreign possessions, few of them would be found an unnecessary burden upon the country. ”

“ In carrying out any system of policy which you may form, you will require a commander-in-chief of the army—one who possesses your confidence, understands your views, and who is competent to execute your orders, by directing the military forces of the nation to the accomplishment of the objects by you proposed. ”

“ Having passed 12 paces beyond the officer of the day, the adjutant halts; the sergeant major halts abreast of the adjutant and 1 pace to his left; they then return saber, salute, and retire; the commander of the guard then commands: 1. Platoons, right by squads, 2. MARCH, and marches the guard to its post.
The officers of the day face toward each other and salute; the old officer of the day turns over the orders to the new officer of the day. ”

“ Nothing is more common in an active campaign than for a commanding officer to send messages hurrying the movement of a part of his army. These are usually oral, and even when delays are complained of, the commander, in the interests of cordial cooperation and cheerful alacrity, awaits a full opportunity for personal explanation from his immediate subordinates before administering a reprimand. ”

“ A good commander, having discovered that a stronghold is invulnerable from a given point, does not continue to attempt its capture from that side, but looks around him for other means of approach; he strengthens his forces, he collects more ammunition, and endeavors to keep his army in general in good condition, studying the surrounding country, and awaiting new revelations. ”

“ But surround a commander with a number of independent men—-the more numerous, the more distinguished, the abler they are and the worse it will be—let him hear the advice now of one now of another; let him carry out up to a certain point a measure judicious in itself, then adopt a still more judicious but different plan, and then be convinced by the thoroughly sound objections of a third adviser and the remedial suggestions of a fourth,—it is a hundred to one that though for each of his measures excellent reasons can be given, he will lose the campaign. ”

“ The command of the Army is exercised by the President as Commander-in-Chief through the medium of the Secretary of War and the Chief of Staff, the latter officer having the rank of General and taking the place of the former Commanding General of the Army. ”

“ Every individual, as well as every unit, should always be acting under the control of some higher commander. This is necessary if there is to be any unity of action. Therefore if you lose your section or it becomes broken up, join the first section you can find and obey your new section leader as loyally and as cheerfully as you did your own. ”

“ The influence of one commander in the army of his adversary is an advantage taken in war. A correspondence for this purpose I held; as confidential (in the present instance) with his Excellency Sir Henry Clinton. ”

“ Had the business been real, the men of that particular regiment would all have been either dead or prisoners, but they were allowed to continue to count in the force to which they belonged, and the commander of the opposing force simply scored up so much credit for having achieved a brilliant military operation. ”

“ But he was to be the adviser or assistant, not of a military commander, but of a civilian governor-general of the army.
An army cannot be directed in war nor commanded in peace under the immediate authority of a civilian. There must be a military commander, the obedient servant of the Government, supported by the Government in the exercise of his powers to discipline and direct the army, and sheltered by the Government against all such criticism as would weaken his authority or diminish its own responsibility. ”

“ When more than one guard is required for a command, a field officer of the day will be detailed, who will receive his orders from the brigade or division commander, as the latter may direct. When necessary captains may be placed on the roster for field officer of the day. ”

“ If a person entitled to the compliment, or the regimental, battalion, or company commander, passes in rear of a guard, neither the compliment nor the salute is given, but the guard is brought to attention while such person is opposite the post of the commander. ”

“ The general staff of each army is composed of a commander-in-chief, two lieutenant-generals, three brigadiers of infantry, one of whom commands the reserve, two brigadiers of cavalry, and one brigadier of artillery. ”

“ The divisions commanded by lieutenant-generals are completely organized bodies capable, in case of need, of independent action and requiring little supervision from the corps commander. The general commanding the army corps has to deal directly with only a few subordinates, the commanders of his infantry divisions, of his cavalry brigade or division, and of his artillery brigade, and with the heads of the corps organizations for such purposes as supply and medical service. He inspects and tests the condition of all the various units, but he does not attempt to do the work of his subordinates. ”

“ In this way authority and responsibility are graduated throughout the army corps. Every commander above the rank of captain deals with a body composed of units with the interior affairs of none of which he meddles, except in the case of failure on the part of the officer directly responsible. The higher the commander and the greater his authority, the more general becomes the supervision and the less the burden of detail. The superior prescribes the object to be attained. The subordinate is left free to choose the means, and is interfered with only in exceptional circumstances. ”

“ The natural disposition of most people is to clothe a commander of a large army whom they do not know, with almost superhuman abilities. A large part of the National army, for instance, and most of the press of the country, clothed General Lee with just such qualities, but I had known him personally, and knew that he was mortal; and it was just as well that I felt this. ”

“ A subordinate who is reasonably sure that his intended action is such as would be ordered by the commander, were the latter present and in possession of the facts, has enough encouragement to go ahead confidently. He must possess the loyalty to carry out the plans of his superior and the keenness to recognize and to seize opportunities to further the general plan. ”

“ Not the least important purpose of the manoeuvres is the training of commanders. The troops are divided into two parties supposed to be enemies at some stage of an imaginary war. The commander of each side learns from the umpire the nature of the supposed operations which have brought his forces into their actual situation, together with such information concerning the enemy as in real war he might be presumed to have obtained. ”