Second officer

“ The benefits derived to an army from the example of a distinguished Commander, do not terminate at his death; his virtues live in the recollection of his associates, and his fame remains the strongest incentive to great and glorious actions.
“In this view, the Commander-in-Chief, amidst the deep and universal regret which the death of Lieut.-General Sir John Moore has occasioned, recalls to the troops the military career of that illustrious officer for their instruction and imitation. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Corporal; promoted to Second Sergeant, Nov. 20, 1861; to First Sergeant, March 24, 1862; to Second Lieutenant, August 9, 1862, and to First Lieutenant, November 6, 1862; a faithful officer, present on all the marches, and in all the battles, till his final leave of absence. He was in the battles of Cross Lanes, Winchester, Port Republic, Cedar Mountain, and Antietam. ”

“ Overton. "It's slang!"
"It's worse than slang in the Army," laughed Hal. "The army 'goat' is the very new officer who has a lot of extra duties thrust upon him that the older officers don't want. Those duties of the 'goat' are generally both very trifling and very annoying."
"Then it isn't right," declared Hal's mother, with an air of conviction. "No one ought to annoy a young man who has been smart enough to make an officer of himself. What are a second lieutenant's duties?" ”

“ 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? ”

“ I call him Lieutenant, although I have no right to do so, because he has held that rank in the king's service, but when quite a young man was cashiered for fighting a duel with his superior officer.'
'The service has lost a good officer,' said the other.
'It has indeed; a braver man never stepped, nor a better officer; but you see they have certain rules in the service and everything is sacrificed to maintain them. ”

“ An officer cannot be said to be superseded, unless one of inferior rank, in the same corps, be put over his head. Now, I can safely aver that I never, during the whole of my command, have done so by any officer, except in the case of Captain-Lieutenant Wagner, to whom I refused giving a vacant company, as I did not think him deserving thereof. ”

“ His tour is regarded with dread especially by the First Classmen detailed that day for guard.
But the influence of either type of Officer in Charge is transient. It passeth from day to day. If the Gloomy One is on duty, there is the consolation that the Cheerful One will succeed him like sunshine after rain. It is the Commandant of Cadets, the chief of all the “Tacs,” who exercises the great permanent influence over the Corps. Ever since the creation of his office in 1825, he has been “the Com” to the embryo officers under him. ”

“ The officers may be all taken from the ranks, or they may be “officers and gentlemen” in the military sense, or have only temporarily done work with the rank and file when in training. There could also be a combination of these two systems. Only the captain and deputy-captain might be officers in the military sense, the sections or divisions being officered by “non-coms.” Some cities have an officer to every thirty “non-coms” and men, whilst others put a division of as many as two hundred under a fireman who has risen from the ranks. ”

“ But if the United States in Congress assembled shall, on consideration of circumstances judge proper that any State should not raise men, or should raise a smaller number of men than the quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, cloathed, armed and equipped in the same manner as the quota of each State, unless the legislature of such State shall judge that such extra number cannot be safely spread out in the same, in which case they shall raise, officer, cloath, arm and equip as many of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared. ”

“ My husband was truly attached to this officer, and spared him from hardships and trying campaigns when he could. In a measure he felt himself responsible for the incongruous position the elderly man occupied in a cavalry regiment full of young, active men. After the war, when the old officer was mustered out of the Volunteer service, he found that in his native State the waves had closed over him, and his place was lost in public life. The general went personally to the War Department, and solicited an appointment for him in the Regular Army. ”

“ 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. ”

“ If the non-commissioned officers of a regiment are permitted to express their approbation of the conduct of the Adjutant, why may they not exercise the same right with respect to their commanding officer? ”

“ The officer in charge is in regimentals, erect, apparently looking straight ahead, but the side glance of his eye is on the recruit on his right, his hands in trouser pockets, a nonchalant upward tilt of his head, while a stub of a pipe lends companionship as he steps into a new and compulsory chapter of his life. ”

“ No one suspected for a moment that enormous masses of Russians were creeping up the rugged sides of the heights over the valley of Inkerman, on the undefended flank of the Second Division. There all was security and repose. Little did the slumbering troops in camp imagine that a subtle and indefatigable enemy were bringing into position an overwhelming artillery, ready to play upon their tents at the first glimpse of daylight. ”

“ While an immense extent of country was included in one Department, and theoretically under one chief, yet practically every officer, no matter what was the strength or nature of his command, who happened not to be troubled with a senior immediately at his elbow, planned and acted for himself and with a perfect indifference to the operations of every one else. ”

“ Officers, from the very nature of their life, are prescribed in their associates. They are isolated so much at extreme posts that they know little or nothing of the life of citizens. After resigning, they found themselves robbed of the companionship so dear to military people, unable, from want of early training, to cope successfully with business men, and lacking, from inexperience, the untiring, plodding spirit that is requisite to the success of a civilian. An officer rarely gives a note—his promise is his bond. ”

“ Each one sits at his desk and busies himself over the many neatly tied packages of official papers upon it, and tries to make the world believe that he is happy—but there are confidential talks, when it is admitted that life is dreary—the regiment the only place for an energetic officer, and so on. Yet not one of those officers could be induced to give up his detail, for it is always such a compliment to be selected from the many for duty at headquarters. Faye and Lieutenant Travis are on the general's personal staff, the others belong to the department. ”

“ Though a senseless terror, which highly strung men who come under shell-fire for the first time know all too well, creep over him, he must not show it. He must play the veteran, though the heavens fall in.
The whole relationship between officer and man in our army is based on incidents like these. To get the best out of his men, an officer must show them that he does not fear to do what he demands of them. Seldom, if ever, is a stout-hearted officer “let down.” His example endures, even after he is gone. ”

“ Officer. "Trying to rejoin, sir."
Chief. "Where have you come from?"
Officer. "Deelfontein—convalescent, sir."
Chief. "You'll do. You are intelligence officer to the New Cavalry Brigade. Here's your brigadier; you will take orders from him. (Turning again to the colonel and holding out his hand.) There you are; you are fitted out. Mind you move out of Richmond Road to-morrow morning without fail. Good-bye!"
[15] ”

“ Where every man is a soldier, the staff of officers is so much greater that the presence of a few black sheep is practically unavoidable—and it must be said in common fairness that the French officer is more sternly supervised than his British confrère—yet lapses on the part of commissioned officers are more common than in the British services. ”

“ Each corps commander will detail an intelligent and good drill officer, to remain behind and take charge of the convalescents of their respective corps; officers so detailed will organize the men under their charge into squads and companies, without regard to the regiments they belong to; and in the absence of convalescent commissioned officers to command them, will appoint non-commissioned officers or privates. The force so organized will constitute the guard of the line from Duckport to Milliken's Bend. ”

“ Yet as the Laws now stand, an old Officer, a Man who has often ventured his Life, and often spilt his Blood, in the Service of his Country, may be dismissed, and reduced, perhaps, to a starving Condition, at the arbitrary Will and Pleasure, perhaps at the Whim of a favourite Minister; so that by the present Establishment of our Army, the Reward of a Soldier seems not to depend upon the Services done to his Country, but upon the Services he does to those who happen to be the favourite Ministers at the Time. ”

“ He was for a long [Pg 112] time a clerk at General Gregg's Hd. Qurs., and after I was given a Division transferred to my Head Quarters. He is energetic, well educated, and a Gentleman, and possessing as he does a thorough knowledge of all papers, accounts, and reports which pertain to a regiment, brigade, or division, acquired by one or two years' service in the field, he is better qualified to discharge the duties of a subordinate officer than many of our West Point graduates on leaving the Academy. ”

“ A severe and exacting officer is he, but yet a favorite with the men—for he is always first in any emergency or danger, his lion-like voice sounding loud above the roar of the elements, cheering the crew to their duty, and setting the example with his own hands. He is rather inclined to be irritable toward those who have gained the quarter-deck by the way of the cabin-windows, but, on the whole, I shall set him down in the list of good fellows. ”

“ The officer of the day is responsible for the proper performance of duty by the guard with which he marches on and for the enforcement of all police regulations. He is charged with the execution of all orders of the commanding officer relating to the safety and good order of the post or camp. His actual tour begins when he receives the instructions of the commanding officer after guard mounting, and ceases when he has been relieved by the commanding officer. ”

“ March thought as he adjusted the nose clips and turned the valve, “this man’s my superior and my teacher. A young officer can learn plenty from these boys who’ve had so much experience, if they give themselves a chance by forgetting for a few minutes that they’re commissioned officers.” ”

“ And it shall be the special duty of the Secretary of War to keep for constant reference of the Commander-in-Chief a full list of names of persons nominated for office, or elevation, by officers of the army, with the name and rank of the officer nominating, stating distinctly but briefly the grounds for such notice or nomination. The Commander-in-Chief shall not have power to remove or punish any officer or soldier; but he may order their arrest and trial at any time, by court-martial. ”

“ An ensign is the lowest commissioned officer in a company of foot; after him come the sergeant and corporal. Buonaparte was called by his soldiers, ‘The Little Corporal.’ There are other posts of authority beside what I have mentioned, for the discharge of particular duties. Every officer is as liable to punishment if he break the articles of war, as a common soldier is; and then, if a superior officer act improperly to the officers beneath him, they sometimes send him a round-robbin. ”

“ But the officer who trembles and fears for his future will naturally say to himself, 'I am by no means too secure in my position, and if it gets known that my subordinate officers ill-treat the men I may as well get into civilian's attire at once.' And who will blame a poor captain or major if he tries to avoid reporting a complaint, or warns a non-commissioned officer instead of punishing him when he has struck a man? ”