litary book in the British colonies, directed the soldiers to appear
"with their hair, or periwigs, tied up in bags, and their hats briskly
cocked." We hear also for the first time of the "powder-horn" and the
"cartouch-box." The "bagnets" that are mentioned were of little use
against the Indians, and they were scarcely known in America until the
wars with France. But with the appearance of the bayonet came also the
revival of the fife, which had been discarded in England in the time of
Shakespeare. The military experiences gained in the French wars were of
immense benefit when the Continentals and the volunteers formed
themselves in line for the American Revolution. And yet the _esprit de
corps_ was contemptible; for every movement contemplated and every order
given by a superior officer had to be discussed, approved, or
disapproved by the inferior officers and by the humblest privates. It
was years before the army ceased to be a great debating-society with a
sharp rivalry as to which regiment should have the handsomest silk
banner. But Steuben--the great drill-master--brought order out of the
turmoil with his "Regulations for the Discipline of the Troops of the
United States," although the evolutions in the field did not go much
beyond the old-time marching that clings to the Hartford Phalanx of
to-day. An Englishman who lived in Massachusetts during the Revolution
had this to say: "The females are fond of dress and love to rule. The
men are fond of the military art. But in Connecticut the men are less
so, while the women stay at home and spin."

The Revolution being over, the several States of the new republic
enacted military laws of their own. In New York every able-bodied male
between eighteen and forty-five was required to meet with his company
four times in each year "for training and discipline,"--once by brigade,
once by regiment, and twice by company,--for such length of time as the
governor might direct. Similar laws were in force in the New-England
States, and upon them was based the United States law of 1792 which
sought to establish a uniform militia throughout the country. The
attempt was a failure, because the President is commander-in-chief of
the militia only when it is in the actual service of the United States.
The several States, therefore, kept up their ununiformed militia until
it became a laughing-stock,--an army with broom-sticks, to evade serving
in which but fifty cents a year was required,--a