o do it. But no; it appears to
have been thought that some other, who had had no education or
experience in the affairs of the War Department, could better assist
a Secretary who to similar acquired qualifications for his office
added far greater natural endowments and the just confidence of
his country. Thus the major-general was treated as much worse than
the lieutenant-general had been, as he was inferior to him in rank.
But I also submitted without a word, because it was this time
unquestionably the law as well as the will of my lawful superiors
in office. I waited as patiently as I could, as the lieutenant-
general had done, the time when by operation of law, human or
divine, welcome relief from a burdensome duty would come, upon the
official declaration that I had done, as best I could, all the duty
that God and my country required of me.

THE GRANTING OF MEDALS

One illustration will suffice to show the working of this new
invention by which the general-in-chief was still further removed
from the commander-in-chief, whose chief military adviser he was
supposed to be. An act of Congress authorized the President to
confer medals of honor upon soldiers of all grades who might be
most distinguished for bravery in action. It is the most highly
prized of all military rewards because given to the _soldier_,
without regard to rank, for that service which every true soldier
regards as of the greatest merit. The standard of merit deserving
that reward is essentially the same in all the armies of the
civilized world, and the medal is made of iron or bronze, instead
of anything more glittering or precious, to indicate the character
of the deed it commemorates. That standard of merit is the most
heroic devotion in the discharge of _soldierly duty_ in the face
of the enemy, that conduct which brings victory, honor, and glory
to the country for which a brave man has devoted his life in
obedience to the orders which have come down to him from the head
of the nation, which spirit of obedience and devotion creates armies
and saves nations from defeat, disaster, or domestic convulsion.
These highest tokens of a nation's honor had for many years been
given with the greatest care, after most rigid scrutiny of the
official records and all other evidence presented, laboriously
reviewed by the general-in-chief in person, recommended by him
under the universal rule of civiliz