The volunteer soldier of America

Front matter

CIVIL WAR LITERATURE

THE GIFT OF

JAMES VERNER SCAIFE

Contents

Memoir of Gen. John A. Logan by his Literary Executor 25

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

The American citizen-soldier — Retrospect of important historical facts — The condition of the world's common people from the earliest period to the war of the American Revolution — The rise and fall of the nations — The governing few and the groaning millions — Developments of Time — The growth of knowledge and culture at length develop the spirit of democracy among the people of England and France — The stage of preparation for government by the people completed by the latter part of the eighteenth century — The rulers of the world startled by the Declaration of 1776 — Birth of the American volunteer, and establishment of a government of the masses — Thrilling effect upon the voiceless toilers of the ancient world — Brief glance at the progress of republican government in America — The almost fatal omission of the signers of the Declaration — The germ of evil existing in the system of slavery — Its rapid growth and fearful consequences — The conflict of 1861 necessary to place the Republic upon an enduring basis — Abundant authorship upon the battles of the great war, but singular omission to treat upon the volunteer soldier and sailor — Importance of the soldier in the ranks — The men who fight, and those who are killed — Review of the heroes in the ranks; the classes of men found there — Analysis of the volunteer soldier; his peculiar characteristics; the motives actuating him; why he fights, and the reasons that he is the best soldier the world has ever seen — A Greek in prowess, and an American in principle; a soldier, a citizen, and a legislator — Attempt of the author to add a missing chapter to the history of the wars of America, in vindication of the immortal volunteer - 81

Chapter I

West Point on the Hudson — Its history as a military post during the Revolution — Its great importance as a strategic point — Attempts by the British to capture it — Probable consequences had the attempts proved successful — Fortification of the locality by the American colonists — Historical sketch of the proceedings relating to its fortification — Nature and value of the defenses—

V

Vi CONTENTS.

Reasons of the importance of West Point and the line of the Hudson River — The plan of the British General Burgoyne to cut the colonies and crush them, in detail — Sketch of Burgoyne — The type of an educated military officer — Detail of his campaign, his equipment, and his forces, including the expedition of Sir Henry Clinton from New York — Burgoyne's confidence of the success of his expedition — Flying colors and beating drums inspire the British at the beginning of their campaign — The Yankee to be annihilated — Sunshine followed by shadow — Burgoyne runs against MoUie Stark's husband — Amazement of the "red-coats" — The fatal error of the British General — He had not calculated upon the American volunteer — Spectral soldiers rise before him — Fearful eyes look at him over destructive gun-barrels — Arrival at Bemis Heights — The volunteers surround and capture the whole expedition — Consequences of the victory of the most profound importance — Its effect upon the Old World — Amazement at the spectacle of the citizen-soldier — A new figure in the history of battlefields — Comparison between the volunteer of the contest and the educated soldier of the expedition — Renewed fortification of West Point by the colonists — Interesting official documents relating thereto — A glance at Benedict Arnold and Major Andre — Defeat of Arnold's treason by the spectral volunteer — Immortal names in American history 95

Chapter II

Military education in the United States considered — Preliminary observations upon the nature of genius — An inherent something in every individual that gives shape to his destiny — Illustration from ancient maxims to show the early recognition of the fact of inherent attribute — Mistakes of parents in attempting to give direction to the career of their children — Fearful consequences of attempts to make musicians, artists, lawyers, doctors, etc. , of those lacking the inspiration of each particular calling — General fate of youths who are ' ' taught " to be soldiers — Fallacy of the popular belief in the exclusive efficacy of specific education in the life-callings — What is genius ? — Citation of celebrated examples of great soldiers and of great inventors — Quaint illustration as furnished by a great artist in dress — Growth of the sentiment in favor of military education after the Revolution — The attempt of Washington to diffuse military knowledge among the people, and to make soldiers without resorting to the dangers of a standing army — Quotation from the official documents of President Washington — The great volunteer soldier of the Revolution, General Henry Knox, as Secretary of War, drafts his historic paper upon the organization of the militia — Ample quotation of highly interesting documents not accessible to the general people — Sketch of the remarkable soldier, Henry Knox, the great artillerist of the Revolution — Natural genius for the profession of the soldier leads him, without special education, from the counter of the tradesman to the command of an army — His brilliant military career touched upon — As Secretary of War he submits his plan for the organization of the militia of the United States — Reproduction of the full text of one of the most remarkable state papers in existence .. 115

CONTENTS. vii

Chapter III

Conclusion of the classic paper of General Henry Knox upon the organization of the militia — Sketch of the legislative proceedings founded upon General Knox's paper — Introduction of the bill of July i, 1790, to more effectually provide for the national defense by establishing a uniform militia throughout the United States — The bill wholly different from that recommended by General Knox — Detail of its progress through Congress — Absurd opposition by the " Quakers of New England," who forward a vigorous protest against all war-measures — Adjournment of the first Congress without action upon the bill — Its consideration resumed at the first session of the second Congress — Detail of the action of the two Houses — It becomes a law on the 8th of May, 1792 — This act, though since amended, forms the basis of the present militia law of the United States — Attempt by the several States to comply with the provisions of the law — Its vital deficiencies stated — Attempts at the following session to remedy the defects of the bill — Disappointment of General Knox in the bill as passed by Congress — Renewal of the agitation upon outbreak of the difficulties with Great Britain, which preceded the war of 18 12 — Attempts of Presidents Jefferson and Madison to induce Congress to give effectiveness to the militia bill— Difficulties of the problem, how to make a trained soldier without attaching him to a permanent military estabUshment, considered — The advantages of training to the soldier stated — Circumstances leading to a belief in the necessity of establishing a military school for the education of officers — The first wrong step of the Government in failing to build upon the plan of General Knox — Opinions of the military experts of the Revolution upon the necessities of a peace establishment quoted in full — Interesting official documents bearing upon the establishment of a military school as the best military hope of the Republic — The initial error of the forefathers in failing to provide for a general military education of the masses 134

Chapter IV

The defects and failures of the militia laws add to the growing sentiment in favor of a military school — Ineffectual attempts through a series of years are made to give vitality to the militia laws — A short sketch of the principal of these attempts — General Knox once more appears upon the scene, and endeavors to save the situation by another appeal in behalf of establishing a militia system upon the principle of rotation— Knox's ideal army of veterans springing from the walks of civil life — His last appeal and disappearance from a scene which he had adorned as a volunteer, as a distinguished soldier, an eminent statesman, and an estimable citizen — Review of General Knox's plan of rotation as applied to the organization of the military resources — The use of the principle of rotation applied to the advocacy of a military school — Full text of the law of 1794, providing for the organization of a corps of artillerists and engineers — This law becomes the initial movement eventuating in the establishment of the military school at West Point — Salient points of the law — The grade of cadet established in the American service — viii CONTENTS.

Derivation and definition of the word — Distinction between the volunteer and cadet — The new school of artillerists and engineers decidedly peripatetic — Four years later an additional regiment of artillerists and engineers is created — Still peripatetic, and subject to walking orders — Pregnant changes of the four following years — The death of Washington, the retirement of Knox, and the appearance of McHenry as Secretary of War — Immense strides in the seven years' interval toward a fixed military establishment — McHenry lends his great genius to the problem of a military establishment for the young Republic — The full text of his historic paper given in full 163

Chapter V

Conclusion of Secretary McHenry's interesting paper — A school-organization outlined, and estimates of expense furnished by the Secretary — The paper of McHenry additionally important tr'^ause standing immediately before the acts which finally culminated in the establishment of a fixed military academy at West Point — Review of the battle-ground fought over by the advocates and opponents of a special military school — The bayonet-charge of Mc- Henry by which the works of the opposition were carried — The merits and fallacies of McHenry's papers touched upon — Misapplication of facts and illogical conclusions — The necessity of military education and training are indisputable, but something else is necessary to make the great soldier — Cyrus, Alexander, Hannibal, Pompey the Great, Cassar, Charlemagne, Frederick, Napoleon, Washington, and Grant, as soldiers by virtue not only of education, but also of natural inspiration — Cursory review of the legislation succeeding to the reports of Secretary McHenry — Final passage of the law of January 11, 1802, definitely creating a military school at West Point — The full text of the law given as a matter of curious information ..... i8£

Chapter VI

Comments upon the law establishing the Military Academy — Strength of the opposition to it — The passage of the law not an open measure — The charter of the Academy embraced in a " rider " upon another bill — None of the usual provisions attaching to the creation of fixed institutions surrounding the establishing act — The means by which the Academy was created, suggestive of equivocation and concealment — Definite establishment of the Academy in 1802 — The subsequent legislation which has since been constantly demanded in its behalf begins in the following year — The institution languishes, until symptoms of renewed trouble with Great Britain appear — Report of the Chief Engineer in 1808, setting forth the hazardous state of the enterprise, suggesting its removal to Washington, and mapping out certain measures necessary to the life of the Academy — Partial text of this interesting report — Discovery of the Professor, that mere mathematics will not make either an artillerist or engineer — The Academy characterized as a foundling barely existing among the mountains — New suggestions for the infusion of vitaUty into the foundling — The reasons of the opposition stated — Of doubtful constitutionality, and perilous to free institutions — President Madi-

CONTENTS. ix

son urges attention to the Academy in 1810, on account of the strained relations with Great Britain — Declaration of war by the United States, June 18, 1812, and passage of the law of April 29, 1812, which is to be considered the true charter of the Academy — Objections brushed away in the face of actual war, and everything done to build up the institution — The volunteer upon the ground, but the Government disposed to breathe life into the West Point starvehng — Full text of the important law of April, 1812, given as the supplement to that of 1802, establishing the Academy — Wholesome effect of the law upon the West Point school — Report of General Bernard and Colonel MacRea, recommending an addition to the school — Frank confession that an education does not educate — History of the school followed — Recommendation, in 1819, by John C. Calhoun, to establish another school in the South — Strong attempts, in 1821 and in 1844, by State legislatures, to abolish the Academy — Full statement of the reasons — It was considered aristocratic and anti-republican, unnecessary, expensive, and extravagant — The school triumphs over all opposition — Complete enumeration of the various acts of Congress bearing upon the Academy, from 1802 to 1879 — Synopsis of the laws governing the Military Academy, including the method of cadet admission — Resume of laws passed since 1879 — Unjust discrimination against civilians and alarming grasp upon the military resources of the country by the West Point influence exposed 210

Chapter VII

Concluding remarks upon the West Point Academy — Its financial aspect — Amount of land embraced within its reservation, and the cost thereof — History of the purchase — Table No. I., showing the annual appropriations for the institution from 1802 to 1886 — Appropriation for 1886 given in detail by items, etc. — Table No. II., for subsequent reference, showing the population of the slave-holding and non-slaveholding States, in 1810, and in i860 — Table No. III., also for subsequent comment, giving the total number of cadets and their residence, appointed to the Academy from 1802 to 1861 — Table No. IV., for subsequent comment, giving a complete list of high-class graduates from West Point, from the year 1802 to the year 1861 — Concluding observations upon the West Point Academy — Mistake of the Governinent, in 1866, whereby the Academy was removed from the superintendency of the Chief Engineer, and placed in charge of the War Department of the Government — The result detrimental because subjecting the institution to the pernicious influences of political changes — Perpetration of a still greater error, by constituting the post at West Point a military department under the command of a general army-ofiicer — Illustration of the enormous demands of a professional military establishment — The West Point starveling of 1809 blossoming, in seventy-five years, into a wide-spreading tree, covering the whole area of a military department — The danger of ultimately subordinating the civil to the military power plainly perceived by an honored civilian, who, as Secretary of War, rescinds an error full of dangerous possibilities... 237

X CONTENTS.

Chapter VIII

History of naval education in the United States, and of the Naval Academy at Annapolis — The idea of a naval school probably coeval with that of a military school — The act of August, 1789, establishing the Department of War, vests the charge of the naval interest in that department — The celebrated General Knox becomes thereby the first actual Secretary of the Navy — By act of April, 1798, the naval interest is confided to a separate department — The first official suggestion for the establishment of a naval school made by Secretary McHenry, in the year 1800 • — Alexander Hamilton credited with the authorship of McHenry's celebrated paper — Suggestions relative to naval instruction next made by Col. Williams, in 1808, in the report previously quoted^- The act of Congress of January 2, 1813, passed in response to the necessities of the war with Great Britain, provides formally for naval instruction by the appointment of schoolmasters on shipboard — Crudity of the system mentioned, though the act is to be cciisidered as the initial movement which has since developed into an exclusive naval academy — "The schoolmaster abroad " in a literal sense — Bad boys and naughty midshipmen — Action of Naval Secretary Jones, in 1814, for the establishment of a naval academy — The Congress makes no response to his suggestion — Action of Smith Thompson, in i8z2, who, as Secretary of the Navy, renews the attempt of his predecessor, and meets with a similar failure — Action of Secretary of the Navy Samuel L. Southard, in 1824 — His very able report quoted — Renewed efforts of the Secretary, at the following session of Congress — No response being made, President John Quincy Adams comes to the aid of his Secretary — Quotations from his message — Further report of the Secretary in 1825 — Renewed effort in 1826 — Failure of Congress to respond — Attempt, in 1827, to imitate the plan of creating the Military Academy at West Point, by attaching a " rider" to a naval bill — Text of the amendment proposed— The history of the legislation upon the amendments followed in detail — Record of some famous votes — Defeat of the measure by direct vote — Return of the President and his Secretary to the attack at the following session — Another failure to obtain legislation — Mention of the heirlooms of the departments — The determination to erect a naval school one of them — Curious illustration of traditional department policy presented by the case of Secretary John Branch — Quotations from his extraordinary report — Inconsistency between a Senator and a Naval Secretary — Humorous illustration of ' ' foreign languages " — Yaijkee sailors and iron-throats — A passing glance at the Government barnacle — Attempt of Secretary Levi Woodbury in 1833 — 7a*/,? No. V., giving official statement of naval schools in 1833 , 264

Chapter IX

Interesting statistics contained in the report of the House Committee of Naval

Affairs in 1834 — Condition of the midshipmen of the service at that date,

and state of naval instruction — Introduction of a bill to meet the necessities

of the midshipmen — Disadvantages of an infelicitous mode of expression

CONTENTS. xi

Grotesque perversion of language — Reappearance of Samuel L. Southard as Senator from New Jersey — Revival of the subject of a naval academy — Curious memorial and resolutions of commissioned and warrant officers of the U. S. ship Constitution, looking to the establishment of a fixed naval school

— Senator Southard reports another bill creating an academy — Another defeat of the movement — The irresistible force of evolution transforms the former dominie of the receiving ships into a "professor," while the annual appropriation bills provide him with a salary, instead of his previous wages — Pay of the middies in 1835 — Renewal of the efforts to obtain a fixed school by Secretary A. P. Upshur in 1841 — Quotations from his very able reports

— Another bill prepared locating a school at or near Fortress Monroe — The bill again fails — A further example of evolution — The old schoolmaster of thereceiving ship, having become a "professor of mathematics," is authorized by special law " to live and mess with lieutenants " — Passage of an act authorizing the appointment of engineers and assistants in the navy on steam vessels — The valuable paper of Secretary Upshur in relation to naval education — Failure of the Secretary to obtain legislation — Attempt of Secretary Bayard, in 1845, to obtain legislation for the creation of an academy — Outline of the Secretary's bill, and quotation of his able report — The old battle re-fought, and the champions of a naval academy again defeated in their cherished project -.. - 286

Chapter X

The attempt to obtain Congressional legislation to create a naval academy is finally abandoned — Advent of the Polk administration — Determination to establish the academy — A quaint but powerful suggestion — There being no law prohibiting the establishment of an academy, sufficient warrant held to exist for its creation — Action of Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft during the recess of Congress — A naval school at last created without warrant of legislation, by an artifice — The approach of war with Mexico probably prevents a vigorous opposition by Congress — Fort Severn transferred to the Navy Department, and the Academy formally established at Annapolis — The institution is placed under charge of Commander Franklin Buchanan as Superintendent

— Historical note of Buchanan — Deserting from the Navy in 1861, and fitting out the " Merrimack" — Outbreak of the Mexican war — The Naval Academy first formally recognized in the Congressional appropriation bill upon the occurrence of that event — Table No. VI. , presenting the total appropriations for the Naval Academy, exclusive of the pay of cadets, from 1845, the year of its formal establishment, to the year 1886 — The appropriation for the last year given in detail, in order to show the basis upon which the Academy is run — Table No. VII., showing the number of cadets annually admitted to the Academy from 1845 to 1885 — Resume of the principal regulations of the Academy, including method of appointment to the institution .. 288

CONTENTS.

Chapter XI

Scrutiny of the Military and Naval Academies as bearing upon the question of their adaptation to the present requirements of the American Republic — The author's belief that they, are deficient in the necessities of a broad military system, and may even be dangerous — An example of false logic — Discussion of the subject in its various aspects — Disclaimer of personal motives at the outset — '■ Review of the position and relation of those entering the military and naval schools as cadets to the Government and the people — Their obligations and peculiar position after formal admission to the service of their country — Their employment represents a life service — Particular scrutiny of the cases of those individuals who left the service upon the outbreak of the rebellion — Quotation from the reports of Secretaries Cameron and Welles, and from the message of President Lincoln, ini86i — Glorious tribute to the American soldier and sailor — The moral of the desertions as applied to the soundness of our military system — The great and magnanimous forgiveness after the close of the rebellion — Lessons of subsequent events — Table No. VIII., exhibiting a list of the army officers, graduates of the Academy at West Point, who left the United States service at the outbreak of the rebellion — Table No. IX. , exhibiting a similar list of. non-graduates of the Academy — Table No, X., exhibiting a list of naval officers who deserted the standard of their country during the civil war — Table No, XI., exhibiting names of graduates of the Naval Academy from the year 1845 to the year i860 327

Chapter XII

Does the present military system of the United States lead in the direction of class-distinction? — Discussion of the subject — Preliminary considerations — The characteristics of man compel a resort to the expedient of government — Certain features belonging to governments in general — Not many primitive types of government — The ancient governments of the world representative of the rule of the few over the masses of the people — The vital question of monarchies ; how to harness the common people in their service — How to use the whirlwind, and how to control it at one and the same time — The democratic governments of the world — Their perils have arisen from the tendency to class-distinction — The republics of Greece wrecked upon the rock of aristocracy — The relating factor of human slavery — Nature of the human trait leading to the cultivation of caste — Its widespread prevalence in every age — Analysis of class-distinction — Its existence in the early Asiatic despotisms — The ennobling character of "blood" — Its blue and red color in ancient Spain — The nobility of the ancient Athenians, Thebans, and the

CONTENTS. xiU

later Romans — The fantastic caste of India — The subject of human slavery as related to that of class-distinction — Slavery one of the oldest of human institutions — Its blighting effect upon servant and master alike — Slavery among the Greeks and Romans, and the outgrowth of caste and titles of nobility — The patricians and the populace of Rome — Grovirth of caste in the ancient republic — Conflicts of the masses over the question — The Agrarian and Licinian laws — Curious anomaly presented by the plebeian class who afterwards became ennobled — 'The_;W imaginum and coats-of-arms — Downfall of the republic from the sheer weakness of human character — A glance at the so-called republics of Italy — The most arbitrary aristocracies of the world — The lessons to be learned from the examples of the past 376

Chapter XIII

The lesson of class-distinction necessary to be learned by the American people — A glance at the former class-distinction in the Southern States based upon negro slavery — The former constitution of society in the slave States — The Pariahs of the South, and the ' ' poor white trash " — The favored few reaching back into the past for titles of gentility — The premium upon ' ' good blood " — The growth of the aristocratic sentiment of the South gradually alienating the people from affiliation with the commoners of the North — The climax reached when the control of the Government was lost in 1861 — The rebellion a logical and inevitable conclusion of the establishment of an aristocracy based upon the corner-stone of slaverj' — No Southern republic possible in case of successful separation — A monarchy the only alternative — A word to the people of the North upon the same subject — Dangers of concentration of wealth in individual and corporate hands — The rule of the majority, and the minoritj' of wealth — Inquiry into the aristocratic tendencies of our present military system — The charges of this nature that have been alleged against West Point for half a century — The friends of the institution placed upon the defensive — A curious defense by Colonel Totten — An absurd table of statistics by the same zealous official — An analysis of the table shows its statistics to be wholly without value, while a scrutiny of the arguments proves them to be fallacious and evasive — Cadet Whittaker and the manifestation of the class-feeling touched upon — The real nature of the charge of the aristocratic tendency of our present military system stated — Justice to individuals rendered — The pure patriotism of Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Hancock, and others, fully conceded — The present generation still unappreciative of them — Opportunities for Csesarisra offered by the war — Happy escape from a Northern dictatorship — The West Point Academy not to be credited with unselfish patriotism or rare military abilities — Grant and Lee children of the same military parent — A strong comparison — Grant, the simple republican, and Lee, the unrepublican aristocrat 394

Chapter XIV

The evil of the military system lies in the creation of a small body of men into an organization which, by reason of certain facts in connection with the system, is rendered inimical to republican institutions — The question of a life-service xiv CONTENTS.

in a republic under the present organization — The life-service of the army and navy considered — Comparison with the judicial service of the Government— The difference between courts-martial and courts-judicial — The sleeping sentinel and the slumberi^ig policeman — Distinctions of the military and judicial systems — The one practically unaccountable to the people — The other substantially accountable — Accountability of all other officials, from the President to the most unimportant employe — The distinction established by the Constitution referred to — A serious question of constitutional interpretation certain to be raised soon or late — Does the Constitution authorize Congress to create a continuous military establishment ? — Further distinction between the two life-service branches of the Government — the military branch a separate entity, living apart from the body of the people, under its own laws — Much greater certainty of the military than the judicial tenure — The military practically beyond the reach of the sovereign people — Absurdity of the attempt to create other life-tenures, as that of a continuous diplomatic body — The strong points of the military tenure stated — The tendency to class-distinction inevitable as a result of the military system — The present military system is restrictive, inadequate to the ends of its creation, and wholly un-American — The reasons stated — The terrible lesson of the rebellion in illustration of the dangers of confining military knowledge to a comparatively small number of citizens, constituting the select few who may hold the destinies of the country in their hands — The whole system but an imitation of European institutions 4"

Chapter XV

Col. Totten's idea of safety in the method of appointment to West Point and Annapolis — Consideration of the method of appointment — It is wholly objectionable, because political in character — Wholly inadequate to the selection of inherent military aptitudes, and not the most conducive to the safety of republican government — Full statement of the operation of the appointing method — Its political character and use as political patronage — The case of Judson Kilpatrick— How he won his appointment to West Point by political service — Kilpatrick's high services as an officer — Further remarks upon the necessity of inherent fitness for the military calling — : A fortunate selection to West Point or Annapolis, under the present system, a mere accident — Pernicious influence of the political system upon cadet and officer — Reference to statistics of population, in their political bearing upon cadet appointments — The result as shown in the action of deserting officers at the outbreak of the rebellion — Constitution of the army at the beginning of the civil war — Real animus of the deserting officers — The moving stimulus of caste when slavery was menaced — Inadequacy of the appointing method considered — No possibility, except as a result of accident, of developing inherent military aptitude — Scrutiny of the evidence furnished by the high-class graduates of West Point — Most instructive statistics of the graduating tables — Many graduates, but few soldiers, made by West Point — Scores of professors, lawyers, editors, etc. , but a scarcity of generals — Consideration of individual records