Military legislation was thus largely made to depend upon the combined wisdom of a body of citizens who, in their individual experience, were totally ignorant of military affairs. Fear of a standing army and corresponding jealousy of military dictation, were additional reasons for making the Continental Congress rely upon its own judgment in legislation pertaining to army matters. Appreciating this, Washington, in his correspondence, repeatedly apologized for intruding his opinions, when, had he remained silent, the indecisions of Congress might have proved fatal to the cause. As the central figure of the Revolution, there was not a single mistake in our military policy which he was not called upon to confront. No apology need, therefore, be offered for the numerous quotations from his letters, which are at this day as well worthy of legislative consideration as they were when first written. ARMY AT BOSTON. When Washington assumed command at Cambridge on the 3d of July, 1775, the army investing Boston numbered 17,000 men, all of whose enlistments were to expire before the end of the year. Recognizing the necessity of a force which should owe its allegiance to the United Colonies exclusively, Congress by resolution of June 14, 1775, authorized the raising of 10 companies of riflemen in Pennsylvania, Virgina, and Maryland, whose term of enlistment was fixed at one year. So great was the popular enthusiasm, that 12 companies of riflemen reported at the camp at Boston within sixty days after the passage of the resolution, several of them having marched a distance of 800 miles. These riflemen, the first troops raised under continental authority and soon recognized as the 6 best corps in the camp, were the nucleus of the army which finally achieved our independence. During the year Congress gradually increased the number of the Continental troops, both infantry and artillery, but entertaining hopes of peace, it could not be prevailed upon to extend the period of their enlistments beyond the end of 1776. The necessity of providing troops in place of those whose terms would expire before the end of 1775 moved Congress to appoint a special committee to consult with Washington and the Colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire as to the best method of keeping up a continental army. This committee met at Cambridge on the 18th of October, conferred with delegates from each of the four colonies and, after consulting Washington and his council of war, reported that the army around Boston ought not to be less than 20,370 men, organized into 26 regiments of 8 companies each, exclusive of the artillery and riflemen. Congress apportioned these 26 regiments as follows: Sixteen to Massachusetts, 5 to Connecticut, 2 to Rhode Island, and 3 to New Hampshire. It was hoped that the regiments might be largely recruited from the troops then around Boston, the vacancies being filled by new levies. The selection and arrangement of the officers for the new regiments devolved upon Washington, to whom Congress sent blank commissions to be filled out and returned. He relates the difficulties of this labor in the following passage of a letter to Joseph Reed, of Philadelphia, dated November 8, 1775: I had like to have forgotten what sits heaviest upon my mind, the new arrangement of officers. Although we have now enough to constitute the new corps, it has employed the general officers and myself ever since Thursday last, and we are nearly as we began. Connecticut wants no Massachusetts man in her corps, Massachusetts thinks there is no necessity for a Rhode Islander to be introduced into hers, and New Hampshire says it is very hard that her valuable and experienced officers, who are willing to serve, should be discarded, because her own regiments, under the new establishment, can not provide for them. In short, after a few days' labor, I expect that numbers of officers, who have given in their names to serve, must be discarded from the Massachusetts corps, where the regiments have been numerous, and the number in them small, and that of Connecticut will be completed with a fresh recruit of officers from her own government.a His difficulties are further described in a letter to the President of Congress, dated November 11, 1775: The trouble I have in the arrangement of the Army is really inconceivable. Many of the officers sent in their names to serve in expectation of promotion; others stood aloof to see what advantage they could make for themselves, while a number, who bad declined, have again sent in their names to serve. So great has the confusion arising from these and many other perplexing circumstances been that I found it absolutely impossible to fix this very interesting business exactly on the plan resolved on in the conference, though I have kept up to the spirit of it as near as the nature and necessity of the case would permit. The difficulty with the soldiers is as great, indeed, more so, if possible, than with the officers. They will not enlist until they know their colonel, lieutenant-colonel, major, and captain, so that it was necessary to fix the officers the first thing, which is, at last, in some manner done, and I have given out enlisting orders. The recruiting of the men gave Washington even more trouble than the arrangement of the officers. Up to the 19th of November the returns showed that only 966 men had enlisted. On the same day he wrote to the President of Congress: There must be some other stimulus, besides love of their country, to make men fond of the service. It would be a great encouragement and no additional expense to the continent were they to receive pay for the months of October and November, also a month's pay in advance.c In his next letter to the President of Congress, dated November 28, 1775, he says: The number enlisted since my last is two thousand five hundred and forty men. I am sorry to be necessitated to mention to you the egregious want of public spirit which reigns here. Instead of pressing to be engaged in the cause of their country, which I vainly flattered myself would be the case, I find we are likely to be deserted in a most critical time. Those that have enlisted must have a furlough, which I have been obliged to grant to fifty at a time, from each regiment. The Connecticut troops, upon whom I reckoned, are as backward, indeed, if possible, more so than the people of this colony. Our situation is truly alarming, and of this General Howe is well apprised, it being the common topic of conversation when the people left Boston last Friday. No doubt when he is reenforced he will avail himself of the information.d In a private letter to Joseph Reed, of the same date, he expressed his feelings still more forcibly: Such a dearth of public spirit and such want of virtue, such stock-jobbing and fertility in all the low arts to obtain advantages of one kind or another in this great change of military arrangement I never saw before, and pray God's mercy that I may never be witness to again. What will be the end of these maneuvers is beyond my scan. I tremble at the prospect. We have been till this time enlisting about three thousand five hundred men. To engage these I have been obliged to allow furloughs as far as fifty men to a regiment, and the officers, I am persuaded, @Sparks's Writings of Washington, vol. 3, p. 151. indulge as many more. The Connecticut troops will not be prevailed upon to stay longer than their term, saving those who have enlisted for the next campaign, and are mostly on furlough; and such a mercenary spirit pervades the whole that I should not be at all surprised at any disaster that may happen. In short, after the last of this month our lines will be so weakened that the minute men and militia must be called in for their defense, and these being under no kind of government themselves will destroy the little_subordination I have been laboring to establish, and run me into one evil while I am endeavoring to avoid another; but the less must be chosen. " On the 15th of December he wrote to the same person: Our enlistment goes on slowly. By the returns last Monday, only 5,917 men are engaged for the ensuing campaign, and yet we are told that we shall get the number wanted, as they are only playing off to see what advantages are to be made, and whether a bounty can not be extorted, either from the public at large or individuals, in case of a draft. By resolution of July 21, Congress empowered Washington to maintain such an army around Boston as he thought necessary, provided it did not exceed 22,000 men. Availing himself of this authority, he was soon obliged, on account of the slowness of enlistments, to call for 5,000 militia and minute men to take the place of the troops from Connecticut and other colonies whose terms of service would expire on the 1st of December. The militia were to report in camp by the 10th of December, and to remain in service till the 15th of January. In a letter to Governor Trumbull, dated December 2, Washington dwells upon the evils of short enlistments which necessitated this temporary dependence upon militia. The reason of my giving you the trouble of this, is the late extraordinary and reprehensible conduct of some of the Connecticut troops. Some time ago, apprehending that some of them might incline to go home, when the time of their enlistment should be up, I applied to the officers of the several regiments to know whether it would be agreeable to the men to continue until the 1st of January, or until a sufficient number of other forces could be raised to supply their place, who informed me, that they believed the whole of them would readily stay till that could be effected. Having discovered last week, that they were very uneasy to leave the service, and determined upon it, I thought it expedient to summon the general officers at headquarters, and invite a delegation of the general court to be present, that suitable measures might be adopted for the defense and support of our lines. The result was that 3,000 of the minute men and militia of this province, and 2,000 men from New Hampshire, should be called in by the 10th inst. for that purpose. With this determination the Connecticut troops were made acquainted, and requested and ordered to remain here, as the time of most of them would not be out before the 10th, when they would be relieved. Notwithstanding this, yesterday morning most of them resolved to leave the camp. Many went off, and the utmost vigilance and industry were used to apprehend them. Several got away with their arms and ammunition, a Trumbull replied to this: The late extraordinary and reprehensible conduct of some of the troops of this colony impresses me, and the minds of many of our people, with grief, surprise, and indignation; since the treatment they met with, and the order and request made to them, were so reasonable and apparently necessary for the defense of our common cause, and safety of our rights and privileges, for which they freely engaged; the term they voluntarily enlisted to serve had not expired, and probably would not end much before the time when they would be relieved, provided their circumstances and inclination should prevent their undertaking further. Indeed, there is great difficulty to support liberty, to exercise government, to maintain subordination, and at the same time to prevent the operation of licentious and leveling principles, which many very easily imbibe. The pulse of a New England man beats high for liberty; his engagement in the service he thinks purely voluntary; therefore, when the time of enlistment is out, he thinks himself not holden a Sparks's Writings of Washington, vol. 3, pp. 178, 179. b Sparks's writings of Washington, vol. 3, p. 201. without further engagement. This was the case in the last war. I greatly fear its operation amongst the soldiers of the other colonies, as I am sensible this is the genius and spirit of our people. a Those who are familiar with our military history will not be surprised at the conduct of these Connecticut troops. Each succeeding year of the Revolutionary struggle found American soldiers behaving in like manner; and during the War of the Rebellion a similiar course was followed by the regiments whose terms of service expired on the morning of the first battle of Bull Run. During the year, other regiments and battalions were raised in the different colonies, the number of troops for the Northern Department, New York, being fixed by resolution of Congress of July 25 at 5,000. In reorganizing these troops on the Continental basis 400 commissions, signed in blank by the President of Congress, were sent to General Schuyler to be filled out and returned. Commissions in blank were also sent to the different colonies to be filled out by the conventions of the colonies or, in their recess, by the councils of safety. BOUNTY. Any system of voluntary enlistments necessarily places a government in the position of a suppliant, and when patriotism and popular enthusiasm no longer suffice to fill the ranks, resort must be had to the vicious practice of giving bounties to recruits. Even at that early day the letters of Washington refer to the bad effects of this practice, and the danger of admitting it as a principle was recognized by Congress when it resolved, on the 6th of December, 1775, "That the charge of bounty in the account exhibited by Rhode Island against the United Colonies be not allowed." Notwithstanding this disapproval, the sequel will show that bounties were paid throughout the Revolution, and, as was the case during the War of the Rebellion, were at all times potent factors of evil and discontent. DESERTION. During the campaign of 1775, the attention of Congress being called to the prevalence of desertions, an evil which is closely allied to the systems of voluntary enlistments and bounties, this body, on the 4th of November, recommended the several legislatures, assemblies, and conventions of colonies to enact laws inflicting a punishment of not less than $30 nor more than $50 upon such as knowingly harbor deserters, and if unable to pay the fine "to be punished with whipping, not exceeding 30 lashes for each offense." In a letter to the president of the council of Massachusetts Bay, dated August 7, Washington says: By the general return made to me for last week, I find there are great numbers of soldiers and noncommissioned officers who absent themselves from duty, the greater part of whom, I have reason to believe, are at their respective homes in different parts of the country; some employed by their officers on their farms and others drawing pay from the public, while they are working on their own plantations or for hire. My utmost exertions have not been able to prevent this base and pernicious conduct. I must, therefore, beg the assistance of the General Court to cooperate with me in such measures as may remedy this mischief. I need not enlarge upon the ruinous consequence of suffering such infamous deserters and defrauders of the public to go unnoticed or unpunished, nor use any arguments to induce the general court to give it immediate attention. The neces a Sparks's Writings of Washington, vol. 3. sity of the case does not permit me to doubt the continued exertions of that zeal which has distinguished the general court upon less important occasions, a All of the preceding remarks refer to the army under Washington's command. MILITIA. Recognizing the importance of having a body of men to reenforce the Regular Army in times of emergency, on the 18th of July, 1775, Congress recommended "to the inhabitants of the United English Colonies that all able-bodied, effective men, between 16 and 50 years of age, be formed into companies of militia to consist of 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, 1 ensign, 4 sergeants, 4 corporals, 1 clerk, 1 drummer, 1 fifer, and 58 privates. That the officers of each company be chosen by the respective companies." These companies were to be formed into regiments and battalions, each with 1 colonel, 1 lieutenant-colonel, 2 majors, 1 adjutant, and 1 quartermaster, all officers above the rank of captain being appointed by the provincial assemblies or conventions, or if in recess by the committees of safety. The militia could only be called out with the consent of the State legislatures. They were specially intended for home defense and to make head against forays of the enemy in the absence of the Regular or Continental Army. MINUTEMEN. In imitation of a resolution of the provincial congress of Massachusetts in 1774, Congress, on the 18th of July, 1775, recommended That one-fourth part of the militia in every colony be selected as minutemen of such men as are willing to enter into this necessary service, formed into companies and battalions, and their officers chosen and commissioned as aforesaid, to be ready at shortest notice to march to any place where their assistance may be required for the defense of their own or neighboring colony. Such of the minutemen as desired it were to be relieved by drafts from the whole body of the militia once in four months. This organization of one-fourth of the militia as "minutemen" is interesting as being our first scheme of mobilization. DISCIPLINE. The discipline of Washington's army has been touched upon in the extracts from his letters already given. General Schuyler, commanding the Northern Department, refers to the same topic as follows: The vexation of spirit under which I labor, that a barbarous complication of disorders should prevent me from reaping those laurels for which I have unweariedly wrought since I was honored with this command; the anxiety I have suffered since my arrival here, lest the Army should starve, occasioned by a scandalous want of subordination and inattention to my orders in some of the officers that I left to command at the different posts; the vast variety of vexations and disagreeable incidents that almost every hour arise in some department or other, not only retard my course, but have put me considerably back for some days past. If Job had been a general in my situation, his memory had not been so famous for patience. But the glorious end we have in view, and which I have a confident hope will be attained, will atone for all. * * * Nothing can surpass the impatience of the troops from the New England colonies to get to their firesides. Near three hundred of them arrived a few days ago, unable to do any duty; but as soon as I administered that grand specific, a discharge, they instantly acquired health, and rather than be a Sparks's Writings of Washington, vol. 3, pp. 55, 56. |