to a general. Without it, all other
attainments--though of the highest character--will be unserviceable.

However large bounties may have given inducements for men to enlist as
soldiers, it is undeniable that patriotism has been a deciding motive.
Under the influence of this, each soldier has entertained an ennobling
opinion of himself, and has supposed that he would be received in the
character which such a motive impressed on him. He has quickly
ascertained, however, when fully entered on his military duties, that
the discipline has reduced him from the position of an independent
patriot to that of a mere item in the number of the rank and file.
Military discipline is based on the theory that soldiers should be mere
machines. So far as obedience is concerned, this is certainly correct
enough; but discipline in this country, and particularly with
volunteers, should never diminish the peculiar American feeling of being
'as good as any other man.' On the contrary, the soldier should be
encouraged to hold a high estimation of himself. We do not believe that
those soldiers who are mere passive instruments--like the Russians, for
example--can be compared with others inspired with individual pride.
Yet, perhaps, our discipline has gone too far in the 'machine'
direction. To keep up the feeling of patriotism to its intensest glow is
a necessity for an American army, and a good general would be careful to
make this a prominent characteristic of the impression reflected from
his own genius upon his command. Professional fighting is very well in
its place, and there are probably thousands who are risking blood and
life in our armies, who yet do not cordially sympathize with the objects
of the war. But an army must be actuated by a living motive--one of
powerful importance; in this war there is room for such a motive to have
full play, and it is essential that our soldiers should be incited by no
mere abstract inducements, by no mere entreaties to gain victory, but by
exhibitions of all the reasons that make our side of the struggle the
noblest and holiest that ever engaged the attention of a nation.

But we must leave such discussions, and proceed specifically to the
subject of this paper--the methods of moving an army.

A state of war having arrived, it depends upon the Government to decide
where the _theatre of operations_ shall be. Usually, in Europe, this has
been contracted, containing but few _objective points_, that is,