Commanding officer

“ The official head of the post is the commanding officer, he has under him eight “companies,” if they are infantry, or “troops” if they are cavalry, each commanded in turn by a captain, who has under him a first and second lieutenant, who rule in their turn numerous sergeants and corporals. There is also a major or two, two or three surgeons, who rank with the captains, and a quartermaster and an adjutant, who are selected from among the captains or lieutenants of the post, and who perform, in consequence, double duty. The majority of the officers are married ”

“ From all classes of his officers he has uniformly experienced the most cordial and ready support. Their conduct in the field, while it called for the entire approbation of their Commanding Officer, acquired for them the best stay to military enterprise and military renown, the confidence of their men, and led to the accomplishment of their wishes, the Approbation of [74] their Prince, the Honor of their country, and the Character of their Corps. Every non-commissioned officer and man is equally entitled to the thanks of his Commanding Officer. ”

“ 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. ”

“ OFFICERS AND NON-COMS. The higher ranks of officers have very little to do with the daily life of the soldier. Two or three times a year the general officer commanding the station comes round on a tour of inspection, while other general officers and inspecting officers pay visits at times. The highest rank, however, with which the soldier is brought in frequent contact is the commanding officer of his own regiment or battalion. ”

“ The men look about as well as the raw conscripts of other countries, and are probably good fighting material if well drilled and handled. At their head rides the commanding officer, a young fellow, whose bright face is clouded, as if he were leaving somebody or something highly prized behind him. ”

“ It may be of great importance to a commanding officer to know that a certain place is not held by the enemy, and this is just the kind of information that his patrol leaders are apt to forget to send him. ”

“ Sir, the Commanding Officer presents his compliments and directs that at twelve o’clock to-night you take a non-commissioned officer and fourteen privates of your company and make a thorough reconnaissance of the grounds between here and the enemy’s position on the south, and determine if possible their whereabouts, strength, and [142] probable intention ”

“ The voyage was over, and we can thank an All Wise and merciful Providence that we had all come safely so far. Never did a Commanding Officer have a finer lot of men than mine. Never did a Commanding Officer have less trouble—the conduct of everybody was so good. ”

“ These are the essential points, which the guiding serjeants must be rendered perfect in, and to which every commanding officer will pay the most minute attention. With respect to the officers in the ranks, they can only be observant of their own personal exactness of march, and must consider themselves, as forming part with the aggregate of the men, subject to the same principles of movement, and in no shape or sense independent of them. They may attend to dress their companies by looking along the front, or by calling to the individuals who compose it. ”

“ I don't believe in a chief of staff at all, and any general commanding an army, corps, or division, that has a staff-officer who professes to know more than his chief, is to be pitied. Each regiment should have a competent adjutant, quartermaster, and commissary, with two or three medical officers. Each brigade commander should have the same staff, with the addition of a couple of young aides-de-camp, habitually selected from the subalterns of the brigade, who should be good riders, and intelligent enough to give and explain the orders of their general. ”

“ But it requires only a slight acquaintance with any description of public business to shew, that although a commanding officer may often not be able to execute a required task himself, he may usefully superintend its right performance by another. ”

“ In all formations and movements a noncommissioned officer commanding a platoon or company carries his piece as the men do, if he is so armed, and takes the same post as an officer in like situation. When the command is formed in line for ceremonies, a noncommissioned officer commanding a company takes post on the right of the right guide after the company has been aligned. ”

“ But these make slow progress, for there is always an officer in sight—either a boy officer just out from England riding to the polo field near the Neutral Ground, or a commanding officer in a black tunic and a lot of ribbons across his breast, or an officer of the day with his sash and sword ”

“ It is ordained that in the event of a gallant and daring act having been performed by a squadron not under 50 in number, or by a brigade, regiment, troop, or company in which the admiral, general, or other officer commanding such force may deem that all are equally brave and distinguished, and that no special selection can be made by them; then in such case, the admiral, general, or other officer commanding, may direct, that for any such body of sailors or soldiers, one officer shall be selected by the officers engaged for the decoration ”

“ The commanding officers of regiments must enforce the order of the army regarding the constant inspection and superintendence of the officers over the conduct of the men in their companies, and they must endeavour to inspire the non-commissioned officers with a sense of their situation and authority. ”

“ The Field Officer Commanding-in-Chief has watched with the deepest admiration and solicitude the splendid stand made by the soldiers of the King in their successful effort to maintain the forward position which they have won by their gallantry and steadfastness. ”

“ The officer commanding will draw attention to any positions or peculiarities of ground he intends to turn to account during the advance, indicate the arrangements to be made for a covering fire, and prescribe, when necessary, which portion of the force is to direct. ”

“ Commanding officers at the above-named places of rendezvous, or, in the absence of commanding officers, superintendents of recruiting service, recruiting officers, and mustering and disbursing officers, will take charge of all soldiers presenting themselves as above directed and cause their names to be enrolled, and copy of said roll will, on or before the 10th day of April, be sent to the Adjutant-General of the Army. ”

“ Commanding officers will be ten paces in front of the centre of their leading companies, all other mounted officers ten paces in rear of their respective battalions, the whole dressing by the directing flank. ”

“ The officers as they approached, prepared with great solemnity and very apparent consciousness of the importance of the manœuvre, to salute with their swords the puissant presence of the commandant, and the “rank and file” to perform the same ceremony with their presented guns. The first officer, who was a captain from the wilds of Lumberland, was so taken up by the immensity of the act he was to perform, that he forgot to perform it at all until quite past the colonel. ”

“ The Company, with its three officers—Captain, Lieutenant, and Ensign—and its Sergeants and Corporals, has been for centuries the foundation stone of the organization of Infantry. Its Chief, the Captain, is the officer with whom the men are most intimately associated, as he is responsible not only for their drill, discipline, and training, but also for their food, clothing, pay, and lodging. The men’s confidence in their Captain is grounded on this responsibility. It is to him that they learn to look for their well-being, comfort, and redress of grievances, as well as for praise or blame. ”

“ Then the commandant of the yard, Captain S⸻, a man without brilliancy, of plain aspect and simple manners, but just, upright, kindly, with an excellent practical intellect; his next in rank, Commander P⸻, an officer-like, middle-aged man, with such cultivation as a sensible man picks up about the world ”

“ I believe a company commander should be the best disciplinarian in the service, and should feel that his position, so immediately connecting him with the rank and file, makes him the surest conservator of the peace and good order of the army. And an officer who from incompetency or other cause is not well adapted to teach and maintain a good system of discipline in his command, should be summarily dismissed from the service. ”

“ Lieutenants and subalterns are given charge of a troop in the cavalry, a gun or section—according to the number of young officers available—in a battery and of a section of men in an infantry51 company. Nominally in command of their men, they are in practice largely dependent on their senior non-commissioned officers for the efficiency of the men under their command. An officer’s real efficiency, in peace service, does not begin until he “gets his company” or squadron: in other words, until he is promoted to the rank of captain. ”

“ Duty of Soldier when separated from Unit Commander.—If, when reinforcing the firing-line, or at any other time, a soldier loses touch with his section commander, it is his duty to place himself under the orders of the nearest officer or non-commissioned officer, irrespective of the company or battalion to which he may belong. ”

“ I can only repeat the words of the Commander-in-Chief, and I venture to do so because the general public bothers but little with official dispatches.
"It is impossible," Sir John French remarked, "for me to speak too highly of the skill evinced by the two General Officers Commanding Army Corps; the self-sacrificing and devoted exertions of their Staffs; the direction of the troops by Divisional, Brigade and Regimental leaders; the command of the smaller units by their officers; and the magnificent fighting spirit displayed by non-commissioned officers and men." ”

“ This is the present organization, but as soon as the Corps has been increased to the 221 full strength recently organized by Congress, the Commandant intends to make a regiment. Although the Tactical officers command the companies in the sense that they are the supervisors of the discipline and administration, the actual commanding of the companies on the drill ground is entrusted to the cadets. Selected men perform all of the duties of the officers and non-commissioned officers. ”

“ If the commander of a large force moves from his stated position he must leave a senior officer of his staff to represent him on the spot and to forward urgent communications to him in his changed position. In the case of a small force a commander who vacates his stated position must arrange to leave a runner in the position stated as his headquarters, in order that messages may reach him without delay. ”

“ If, upon marches, guards, or in quarters, different corps of the army shall happen to join or do duty together, the officer highest in rank of the line of the army, marine corps, or militia, by commission, there on duty or in quarters, shall command the whole, and give orders for what is needful to the service, unless otherwise specially directed by the President of the United States, according to the nature of the case. ”

“ Beg your pardon, sir, but he is not a civilian; but an officer like yourself.
Officer. And yet he is admitted in mufti! Why, here have I had to come up from the country in full rig, being chaffed at the railway station, grinned at by the cabman, and cheered by the crowd!
Messenger. Yes, sir. Very sorry you should have been inconvenienced, sir, especially as it was unnecessary, sir!
Officer. Unnecessary! Why, doesn't the order come into force to-day that all officers who appear in the War Office for any purpose whatsoever must be attired in the proper uniform of their rank and regiment? ”

“ Each brigade has a lieutenant-commander, and each battery a sub-lieutenant, chief petty officer, first and second-class petty officers, buglers, &c., while the staff includes a lieutenant-instructor, first-class petty officer instructor, surgeon, bugle-major, and armourer. ”

“ A little careful consideration, a little lively debate on a committee report, may be a healthy check.
While speaking of military organization, let me impress upon you that in the army the line always commands the staff. A staff officer cannot command troops except by express direction of the President. Enlisted men and junior officers must show a staff officer the respect due his rank, just as our conductor is respectful to the division freight agent, but when it comes to taking orders, that is another question. ”

“ The secretary of the war department being in fact the chief of the staff, the rest of the staff should consist of an able practical general officer, a capable chief officer of the artillery, an effective chief officer of the engineers, a vigilant and experienced quarter-master general, and an intelligent and experienced adjutant general, with one or two commissioned officers, as the service might require, attached to each of these several officers as aids, who should execute under a board of war the details of duty ”

“ 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. ”