on. In sieges the lieutenant-generals al- || ment, his post is at the head of the way's command the right of the princi-guards of the army, until they are near

pose of the artillery, in the day of bat-each one brigade major. Several briga

mitted from the commander in chief to the generals of districts, pass through this channel of intermediate communication.

guides may serve, and ought always to be used in the common operations of marches, there are occasions where the eye and intelligence of the principal officers must determine the movements of troops, and enable them to seize and improve every advantage that occurs as the enemy approaches.

By the last General Regulations, it is particularly directed, that all general officers commanding brigades, shall very minutely inspect the internal economy and discipline of the several regiments under their order. They are frequently to visit the hospitals and guards. On arriving in camp they are never to leave their brigades till the tents are pitched, and the guards posted; they must always encamp with their brigades, unless quarters can be procured for them immediately in the vicinity of their camp. General officers must not at any time change the quarter assigned them, with-much attention cannot be given to their

out leave from head quarters.

General officers on service abroad, or commanding districts at home, may appoint their own aids-de-camp and brigade majors. The latter, however, are to be considered as officers attached to their several brigades, not personally to the officers commanding them. The former are their habitual attendants and domestic inmates. In the selection of aids-de-camp and brigade majors, too

requisite qualifications; and that general would not only commit an act of injustice against the interests of his country, but deserve the severest censure, and displeasure of his sovereign, who, through motives of private convenience, family connexion, or convivial recommendation, could so far forget his duty, as to prefer an unexperienced stripling, to a character marked by a knowledge of the profession, a zeal for the service, and an irreproachable conduct.

All general officers should make themselves acquainted, as soon as possible, with the situation of the country near the camp, with the roads, passes, bridges, &c. leading to it; and likewise with the out-posts, that in case they should be ordered suddenly to sustain, or defend any post, they may be able to march without waiting for guides, and be competent, from a topographical knowledge of the country, to form the best disposition for the service. They should instruct their aids-de-camp in these particulars, and always require their attendance when they visit the out-posts.every thing which is going forward; and

All general officers, and others in considerable command, must make themselves thoroughly acquainted with the nature of the country, the quality of the roads, every circuitous access through vallies or openings, the relative height of the neighbouring hills, and the course of rivers, which are to be found within the space entrusted to their care. These important objects may be attained by maps, by acquired local information, and by unremitting activity and observation. And if it should ever be the

fate of a country, intersected as Great Britain is, to act upon the defensive, a full and accurate possession of all its fastnesses, &c. must give each general officer a decided advantage over the commanding officer of an enemy, who cannot have examined the ground upon which he may be reduced to fight, and must be embarrassed in every forward movement that he makes. Although

In the day of battle the station of a general is with the Reserve, where he remains so situated, that he can see

by means of his own observation, or through the communications of his aidsde-camp, is enabled to send reinforcements, as the exigencies of the conflict may require.

The celebrated Marshal Saxe has made the following remarks on the necessary qualifications to form a good general. The most indispensable one, according to his idea, is valour, without which all the rest will prove nugatory. The next is a sound understanding with some genius; for he must not only be courageous, but be extremely fertile in expedients; the third, is health and a robust constitution.

"His mind must be capable of prompt and vigorous resources; he must have an aptitude, and a talent at discovering the designs of others, without betraying the slightest trace of his own intentions. He must be seemingly communicative, in order to encourage others

Nn

to

plans. When once engaged, he must have presence of mind enough to grasp all the relative points of disposition and arrangement, to seize favourable moments for impression, and to be thoroughly

to unbosom, but remain tenaciously reserved in matters that concern his own army; he must, in a word, possess activity with judgment, be able to make a proper choice of his officers, and never deviate from the strictest line of military justice. Old soldiers must not be rendered wretched and unhappy, by unwarrantable promotions, nor must extraordinary talents be kept back to the detriment of the service, on account of mere rules and regulations. Great abilities will justify exceptions; but igno-duce their necessity. rance and inactivity will not make up "A general, to be in perfect possesfor years spent in the profession. sion of them must, on the day of battle, "In his deportment, he must be af- be divested of every thought, and be in

conversant in the infinite vicissitudes that occur during the heat of a battle; on a ready possession of which its ultimate success depends. These requisites are unquestionably manifold, and grow out of the diversity of situations, and the chance medley of events that pro

fable, and always superior to peevish-accessible to every feeling, but what ness, or ill-humour; he must not know, or at least seem to know, what a spirit of resentment is; and when he is under the necessity of inflicting military chastisement, he must see the guilty punished without compromise or foolish humanity; and if the delinquent be from among the number of his most intimate friends, he must be doubly severe towards the unfortunate man. For it is better, in instances of correction, that one individual should be treated with rigour (by orders of the person over whom he may be supposed to hold some influence), than that an idea should go forth in the army, of public justice being sacrificed to private sentiments.

"A modern general should always have before him the example of Manlius; he must divest himself of personal sensations, and not only be convinced himself, but convince others, that he is the organ of military justice, and that what he does is irrevocably prescribed. With these qualifications, and by this line of conduct, he will secure the affections of his followers, instil into their minds all the impulses of deference and respect. He will be feared, and consequently obeyed.

"The resources of a general's mind are as various as the occasions for the exercise of them are multiplied and chequered; he must be perfectly master of the art of knowing how to support an army under all circumstances and in all situations, how to apply its strength, or be sparing of its energy and confidence; how to post all its different component parts, so as not to be forced to give, or receive battle in opposition to settled

immediately regards the business of the day; he must reconnoitre with the promptitude of a skilful geographer, whose eye collects instantaneously all the relative portions of locality, and feels his ground as it were by instinct; and in the disposition of his troops, he must discover a perfect knowledge of his profession, and make all his arrangements with accuracy and dispatch. His order of battle must be simple and unconfused, and the execution of his plan as quick as if it merely consisted in uttering some few words of command, as; the first line will attack! the second will support it! or such a battalion will advance and support the line.

"The general officers that act under such a chief, must be ignorant of their business indeed, if, upon the receipt of these orders, they should be deficient in the immediate means of answering them, by a prompt and ready co-operation. So that the general has only to issue out directions, according to the growth of circumstances, and to rest satisfied, that every division will act in conformity to his intentions; but if, on the contrary, he should so far forget his situation as to become a drill serjeant in the heat of action, he must find himself in the case of the fly in the fable, which perched upon a wheel, and foolishly imagined, that the motion of the carriage was influenced by its situation. A general, therefore, ought on the day of battle to be thoroughly master of himself, and to have both his mind and his eye rivetted to the immediate scene of action. He will by these means be enabled to see every thing; his judgment will be unembarrassed, and be he will instantly discover all the vulner- || done so, they vainly imagine, that all

able points of the enemy. The moment a favourable opening offers, by which the contest may be decided, it becomes his duty to head the nearest body of troops, and, without any regard to personal safety, to advance against his enemy's line. [By a ready conception of

the science of a real military man consists in that acquirement. When, in process of time, the command of a large army falls to their lot, they are manifestly lost in the magnitude of the undertaking, and from not knowing how to act as they ought, they remain satis. learned.

this sort, joined to great courage, Gene- fied with doing what they have partially ral Desaix determined the issue of the battle of Marengo.] It is, however, impossible for any man to lay down rules, or to specify, with accuracy, all the different ways by which a victory may be obtained. Every thing depends upon variety of situations, casualty of events, and intermediate occurrences which no human foresight can positively ascertain, but which may be converted to good purposes by a quick eye, a ready conception and a prompt execution.

"Prince Eugene was singularly gifted with these qualifications, particularly with that sublime possession of the mind, which constitutes the essence of a military character.

"Many commanders in chief have been so limited in their ideas of warfare, that when events have brought the contest to issue, and two rival armies have been drawn out for action, their whole attention has devolved upon a straight alignment, an equality of step, or a regular distance in intervals of columns. They have considered it sufficient to give answers to questions proposed by their aids-de-camp, to send orders in various directions, and to gallop themselves from one quarter to another, without steadily adhering to the fluctuations of the day, or calmly watching for an opportunity to strike a decisive blow. They endeavour, in fact, to do every thing, and thereby do nothing. They appear like men, whose presence of mind deserts them the instant they are taken out of the beaten track, or are reduced to supply unexpected calls by uncommon exertions. And from whence, (continues the same sensible writer), do these contradictions arise? from an ignorance of those high qualifications without which the mere routine of duty, methodical arrangement and studied discipline must fall to the ground, and defeat themselves. Many officers spend their whole lives in putting a few regiments through a regular set of manœuvres; and having

" Military knowledge, as far as it regards a general, or commander in chief, may be divided into two parts, one comprehending mere discipline and settled systems for putting a certain number of rules into practice; and the other originating in a sublimity of conception, which method may assist, but cannot give, "If a man be not born with faculties that are naturally adapted to the situation of a general, and if his talents do not fit the extraordinary casualties of war, he will never rise beyond mediocrity.

" It is, in fact, in war as it is in painting, or in music. Perfection in either art grows out of innate talents, but it never can be acquired without them, Study and perseverance may correct ideas, but no application, no assiduity,

will giv

give the life, and energy of action;

those are the works of nature.

" It has been my fate (observes the Marshal) to see several very excellent colonels become indifferent generals. I have known others, who have distinguished themselves at sieges, and in the different evolutions of an army, lose their presence of mind and appear ignorant of their profession, the instant they were taken from that particular line, and be incapable of commanding a few squadrons of horse. Should a man of this cast be placed at the head of an army, he will confine himself to mere dispositions and manœuvres; to them he will look for safety; and if once thwarted, his defeat will be inevitable, because his mind is not capable of other re

sources.

" In order to obviate, in the best possible manner, the innumerable disasters which must arise from the uncertainty of war, and the greater uncertainty of the means that are adopted to carry it on, some general rules ought to be laid down, not only for the government of the troops, but for the instruction of Nn2 those those who have the command of them. The principles to be observed, are: that when the line or the columns advance, their distances should be scrupulously observed; that whenever a body of troops is ordered to charge, every proportion of the line should rush forward with intrepidity and vigour; that if openings are made in the first line, it becomes the duty of the second instantly to fill up the chasms.

"It must not generally be inferred from this opinion, that when an opportunity presents itself, whereby an enemy may be crushed at once, the attack should not be made, or that advantage should not be taken of the errors he may commit; all I mean to prove is, that war can be carried on without leaving any thing to chance; and in this consist the perfection and highest point of ability belonging to a general. But when a battle is risked, the triumphant party ought well to know all the advantages which may be derived from his victory. A wise general, indeed, will not remain satisfied with having made himself master of the mere field of battle. This, I am sorry to observe, is too often the custom; and, strange to say, that custom is not without its advo

cates.

"These instructions issue from the dictates of plain nature, and do not require the least elucidation in writing. They constitute the A, B, C, of soldiers. Nothing can be more simple, or more intelligible; so much so, that it would be ridiculous in a general to sacrifice essential objects in order to attend to such minutiæ. His functions in the day of battle are confined to those occupations of the mind, by which he is enabled to watch the countenance of the enemy, to observe his movements, and to see, with an eagle's, or a king of Prussia's eye, all the relative directions that his opponents take. It must be his business to create alarms and suspicions among the enemy's line in one quarter, whilst his real intention is to act against another; to puzzle and dis-deavouring to save an useless limb, run

concert him in his plans; to take advantage of the manifold openings, which his feints have produced, and when the contest is brought to issue, to be capable of plunging, with effect, upon the weakest part, and of carrying the sword of death where its blow is sure to be mortal. But to accomplish these important and indispensable points, his judgment must be clear, his mind collected, his heart firm, and his eyes incapable of being diverted, even for a moment, by the trifling occurrences of the day.

"It is too much the practice of some governinents, and as often the custom of generals, to follow the old proverb, which says, that in order to gain your ends, you must make some sacrifices, and even facilitate the retreat of your enemy. Nothing can be more impolitic, or more absurd. An able surgeon might as well tamper with a nortification, and by en

the hazard of destroying all the vital parts.

An enemy, on the contrary, ought to be vigorously pushed, harrassed night and day, and pursued through every winding he can make. By a conduct of this sort, the advancing army will drive him from all his holds and fastnesses, and the conclusion of his brilliant retreat, will ultimately turn out a complete and total overthrow. Ten thousand well trained and disciplined troops, that are sent forward from the main army, to hang upon the rear of a retiring enemy, will be able to destroy an army of an hundred thousand men, when that

" I am not, however, an advocate for pitched battles, especially at the commencement of a war. A skilful gene-army has once been forced to make re

ral might, I am persuaded, carry on a contest between two rival nations during the whole of his life, without being once obliged to come to a decisive action. Nothing harrasses, and eventually dis-ter, while implicit faith and warm affec

trograde movements. A want of confidence in their generals, added to many other disheartening circumstances, will naturally possess the minds of the lat

tion must influence the former. A first defeat well followed up, almost always terminates in a total rout, and finishes the contest. But some generals do not Public

tresses an enemy so much as this species of warfare. He must, in fact, be frequently attacked, and, by degrees, be broken and unnerved; so that in a short time he will not be able to shewwish to bring war to a speedy issue. himself.