A comparison of these figures shows that while in the War of 1812 the combined force of regulars and volunteers of twelve or more months' service was but 12 per cent of the total number of troops employed, the same force in the Mexican war was no less than 88 per cent. The contrast does not stop here. In the first war, relying upon the States instead of appealing directly to the people as intended by the Constitution, Congress became a witness of disasters like those which occurred in the Revolution; in the second, the national troops, organized and supported by Congress, achieved a series of victories unmarred by a single defeat.

In one war, an army of more than 6,000 raw troops, posted in the defense of our own capital, fled with a loss of but 19 killed and wounded; in the other a force of less than 5,000 trained volunteers, supported by a few regular troops, overthrew a Mexican army of four times its number.

In one war, an enemy numbering less than 5,000 men baffled all of our efforts at invasion; in the other our army, with less than 6,000 combatants, entered in triumph the enemy's capital.

But the difference between the results of the two wars is not wholly to be ascribed to the substitution of national volunteers for the militia. In the war of 1812 the Regular Army, which had itself to be created, was unable to furnish a standard of skill and discipline. In the Mexican war, aside from sustaining the principal losses in killed and wounded, it furnished able commanders, and in every field set an example of skill, fortitude, and courage.

As to the influence of military education in producing such diversity of results, General Scott, who, in 1814, was compelled to teach the regular officers of his brigade the elements of squad drill, left his views to the Senate in the memorable words:

I give it as my fixed opinion that but for our graduated cadets the war between the United States and Mexico might, and probably would, have lasted some four or five years, with, in its first half, more defeats than victories falling to our share; whereas in less than two campaigns we conquered a great country and a peace without the loss of a single battle or skirmish. a

a Cullum's Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, preface, vol. 1, p. 11.

CHAPTER XVI.

MILITARY POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE MEXICAN WAR TO THE REBELLION.

a

Pursuant to the laws increasing the rank and file of the old regiments and raising the new ones, the Army at the close of the war was reduced from 30,890 to 10,320. In effecting this reduction the number of privates per company was fixed at 50 for the dragoons, 64 for the mounted rifles, and 42 for the artillery and infantry. The only trace left by the war on our military organization was the regiment of mounted rifles, the addition of two companies to each regiment of artillery, an extra major to each of the old regiments of infantry, and a slight increase in some of the staff corps. The same fault, it will be perceived, was committed as after the Florida war. We had 2 regiments of dragoons, 1 of mounted rifles, 4 of artillery, and 8 of infantry; in all, 15 regiments, varying in strength from 558 to 800 each, with still no provision for future contingencies.

June 17, 1850, this defect was remedied, and the principle of expansion recognized by an act, the second section of which authorized the President "by voluntary enlistment to increase the number of privates in each or any of the companies of the existing regiments of the Army, at present serving or which may hereafter serve at the several military posts on the western frontier, and at remote and distant stations, to any number not exceeding 74.

The use of this discretion by the President gave ample proof that he could be trusted in matters of economy. Without availing himself immediately of his authority, he waited until 1853-4, when Indian troubles caused him to order that the 123 companies of cavalry, infantry, and artillery in Texas, New Mexico, Oregon, California, Minnesota, and the country west of the Mississippi be raised to 74 privates each. Without the addition of an officer this order increased the rank and file by 3,489 men, the aggregate of the Army being increased to 13,821. Had the remaining 35 companies been raised to the same standard the increase of privates would have been 4,488, and the aggregate of the Army 14,731.'

This feeble increment of 3,489 men afforded but slight protection to the vast territory which by acquisition from Mexico had been so recently extended to the Pacific. Accordingly, by the act of March 3, 1855, the Army was increased by two regiments of cavalry and two of infantry, having the same organization as the regiments already in service. By this and the preceding laws, the Army with 108 companies serving on the frontier could have been raised in the aggregate to

" Army Register, 1849.

Army Register, 1854, p. 31 (table).

a

17,861. Had all of its 198 companies been on the frontier, the aggregate would have been 18,349. The actual strength August 1, 1855, was a little over 15,000 men.

From 1855 to 1861 the only law worthy of special notice was the one approved April 7, 1858. The first section authorized the President to receive into the service of the United States a regiment of Texas mounted volunteers, for the defense of the Texas frontier. The second section authorized him "for the purpose of quelling disturbances in the Territory of Utah, for the protection of supply and emigrant trains, and the suppression of Indian hostilities on the frontier," to call for and accept the services of any number of volunteers, not to exceed two regiments, to be organized at the discretion of the President as mounted infantry.

The term of service for all of the above volunteers was fixed at eighteen months. The men were to provide their own horses and horse equipments, for which they were to receive a compensation of 40 cents per day. The fourth section of the law provided that all of the officers should be appointed in the manner prescribed by law in the several States or Territories to which the regiments belonged, except the quartermasters and commissaries, who were to "be detailed from their respective departments of the Regular Army of the United States." This effort to secure economy was undoubtedly a wise step in the right direction, but like so much of our hasty and ill-digested military legislation it began at the wrong end. Had the President been allowed to call for the volunteers by companies, with authority to select the field officers, adjutants, and quartermasters from the Regular Army, not only the economy but the discipline and instruction of the regiments could have been controlled by trusted officers of the Government.

The military operations of 1848 to 1861 were limited chiefly to Indian wars and the Utah expedition of 1858.

The effect of the latter, although bloodless in its termination, was to transfer nearly all the troops of the Regular Army west of the Mississippi.

The expenditures for the Army and Navy from 1850 to 1861 is presented in the following table:

@ Army Register, August 1, 1855.

The expenditures of the War and Navy Departments for the year 1849, in which were closed up the accounts of the Mexican War, were as follows:

War Department.

Navy Department.

$14, 558, 473. 26

9, 786, 705.92

CHAPTER XVII.

MILITARY POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES DURING THE REBELLION.

At the close of the year 1860 we presented to the world the spectacle of a great nation nearly destitute of military force. Our territory from ocean to ocean exceeded 3,000,000 square miles; our population numbered 31,000,000 people.

The Regular Army as organized consisted of 18,093 officers and men, but according to the returns it numbered only 16,367.6

The line of the Army was composed of 198 companies, of which 183 were stationed on the frontier or were en route to distant posts west of the Mississippi. The remaining 15 companies were stationed along the Canadian frontier and on the Atlantic coast from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico.

As a guard for the national frontiers, the Army could not furnish two soldiers per mile; for protecting the settlements in the States and Territories west of the Mississippi but one soldier was available for every 120 square miles; to aid in the enforcement of the laws in the remaining States of the Union we had but one soldier for every 1,300 square miles.

The militia for a sudden emergency were scarcely more available than the Army. Nominally they numbered more than 3,000,000, but mostly unorganized. So destitute were they of instruction and training that a few regiments in the large cities excepted-they did not merit the name of a military force.

Such was the condition of the national defense when, on the 20th of December, 1860, South Carolina in convention passed the ordinance of secession.

Her example was followed on the 7th of January, 1861, by Florida, on the 9th by Mississippi, on the 11th by Alabama, on the 20th by Georgia, on the 26th by Louisiana, and on the 1st of February by Texas.

With a purpose clearly defined, the deputies appointed by these States met at Montgomery, February 4, adopted a provisional constitution on the 8th, and elected a President on the 9th.

In a brief space of five days these deputies, who styled themselves a "Congress of Sovereign States," inaugurated within our borders a rival republic and boldly proclaimed its freedom and independence.

The measures which followed were no less bold and energetic. February 28, they directed their President to assume control of all military operations in every State, and further authorized him to accept, for a period not exceeding twelve months, as many volunteers as he might require..

a Army Register, 1860, p. 42.

b Ex. Doc. No. 23, Forty-fifth Congress, third session. 15836-04- -15

225

A week later, March 6, he dictated a call for 100,000 men to take the field under his unquestioned and supreme command. "

In contrast with these formidable preparations, such was our organization and so scattered was our Army that on the 15th of December, 1860, we had but five inexpansive companies available to garrison the nine fortifications along the southern coast. These garrisons six weeks later were increased by about 600 recruits.

The remainder of the Regular Army, scattered from the Atlantic to the Pacific, was too remote to participate in the first shock of arms or even to provide a sufficient defense for the capital.

Alarmed at the impending danger, the President, as had been done so often before, turned to the militia. On the 9th of April a call was made upon the District of Columbia for ten companies, but when paraded for muster many through disloyalty refused to be sworn, while others imposed the condition that they should not be required to serve beyond the limits of the District. Subsequently, during the month of April, companies were mustered into service for three months, all but three with the stipulation "to serve within the District and not go beyond it."b

Although it should be stated that many of these companies did finally serve outside the District without protest, it should also be observed that their conduct afforded another proof that in time of great civil commotion, it is only raw troops who presume to dictate to their lawful commanders.

In the meantime so prompt was the response to the Confederate call for 100,000 volunteers, that by the middle of April 35,000 men were equipped for the field. Conscious of their strength, they at once seized our arsenals and began the seige of our forts.

April 12th, the first shot fired at Fort Sumter, followed two days later by the evacuation of the post, awakened the people to the dread reality of a long civil war.

To the commanding officer at Fort Moultrie, Secretary Floyd sent the following remarkable letter:

Major ANDERSON,

WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, December 21, 1860.

First Artillery, Commanding Fort Moultrie, S. C. SIR: In the verbal instructions communicated to you by Major Buell, you are directed to hold possession of the forts in the harbor of Charleston and, if attacked, to defend yourself to the last extremity. Under these instructions you might infer that you are required to make a vain and useless sacrifice of your own life and the lives of the men under your command upon a mere point of honor. This is far from the President's intentions. You are to exercise a sound military discrétion on this subject.

It is neither expected nor desired that you should expose your own life or that of your men in a hopeless conflict in defense of these forts. If they are invested or attacked by a force so superior that resistance would, in your judgment, be a useless waste of life, it will be your duty to yield to necessity and make the best terms in your power.

This will be the conduct of an honorable, brave, and humane officer, and you will be fully justified in such action. These orders are strictly confidential and not to be communicated even to the officers under your command without close necessity.

Very respectfully,

JOHN B. FLOYD.

a Pollard's Life of Jefferson Davis, with a Secret History of the Confederacy, p. 91. b Report of the Provost-Marshal-General, vol. 1, p. 7.