hen they were suddenly launched against the enemy, and there was
no time to instil into them the habits of discipline. There was no
regular army to set them an example; no historic force whose
traditions they would unconsciously have adopted; the exigencies of
the service forbade the retention of the men in camps of instruction,
and trained instructors could not be spared from more important
duties.

Such ignorance, however, as that which prevailed in the Southern
ranks is not always excusable. It would be well if those who pose as
the friends of the private soldier, as his protectors from injustice,
realised the mischief they may do by injudicious sympathy. The
process of being broken to discipline is undoubtedly gaffing to the
instincts of free men, and it is beyond question that among a
multitude of superiors, some will be found who are neither just nor
considerate. Instances of hardship must inevitably occur. But men and
officers--for discipline presses as hardly on the officers as on the
men--must obey, no matter at what cost to their feelings, for
obedience to orders, instant and unhesitating, is not only the
life-blood of armies but the security of States; and the doctrine
that under any conditions whatever deliberate disobedience can be
justified is treason to the commonwealth. It is to be remembered that
the

end of the soldier's existence is not merely to conduct himself as a
respectable citizen and earn his wages, but to face peril and
privations, not of his own free will, but at the bidding of others;
and, in circumstances where his natural instincts assert themselves
most strongly, to make a complete surrender of mind and body. If he
has been in the habit of weighing the justice or the wisdom of orders
before obeying them, if he has been taught that disobedience may be a
pardonable crime, he will probably question the justice of the order
that apparently sends him to certain death; if he once begins to
think; if he once contemplates the possibility of disobedience; if he
permits a single idea to enter his head beyond the necessity of
instant compliance, it is unlikely that he will rise superior to the
promptings of his weaker nature. "MEN MUST BE HABITUATED TO OBEY OR
THEY CANNOT BE CONTROLLED IN BATTLE;" and the slightest interference
with the habit of subordination is fraught, therefore, with the very
greatest danger to the efficiency of an army.

It has been asserted, and it would appear that the ide