Ittttro in, nit (MUT.
MILITARY MORALS.
Lesketh Sow Amblesicle, 10th October 1864.
Sat—Under the head of "Cowardly Attacks upon the Army," in the last number of your paper, I regret to see a damaging defence from the pen of "A Very Old Hand," such being the signature of the writer. I call it a damaging defence, for so it appears to me ; and so I know it has been held by others, even to the extent of exciting some surprise that you; Sir, should admit a letter of so much indelicacy into the moral pages of your journal. So damaging is it, that were it not for the hearty tone of sincerity, I could fancy the letter of "A Very Old Hand" written not by a friend but by an enemy of the Army—by one intent not on vindicating the character of our officers from unjust aspersions, but on confirming the charge brought against them for immoral and licentious conduct.
What is the drift of the writer's apologetic argument ? It is to the effect that the barrack-rooms of officers are to be brothels, in order that the mess- room may be no longer the scene of beastly drunkenness. Your correspond- ent remembers, he says, " the time when drinking (the curse of society) was carried to such an extent, that four bottles a man was not an uncommon oc- currence : when the point of discussion the next day was, how many bottles did we drink? no one was allowed to pass the bottle without taking off his heel-tap and filling ' a bumper.' " Now to prevent the recur- rence of such bacchanalian orgies, he thinks it necessary that women should be admitted into barracks ; asserting that to attempt their exclusion " would do serious mischief" ; adding, "if you drive women out of barracks, the dis- graceful system of olden times will return as the only resource for passing a dull evening ; and if the Army is to be formed of sanctified men, a fellow will be found, not with a cigar in his mouth, and his heart in the right place, but saying his prayers when he ought to be in the front rank at the attack of Sebastopol."
This surely is damaging—damaging to the character of the officer as a man and a gentleman. It would seem to imply that the best training for an officer is worse than that of a prizefighter—that his highest quality is that of animal courage. Having had some Army experience, dating its com- mencement before the battle of Waterloo, and on various services at home and abroad, and some tolerably intimate knowledge of all ranks, I have no hesitation in saying that the view taken by your correspondent is an incor- rect one ; and that his answer to the "cowardly attacks" would be rejected by all good officers, and especially by all good commanding-officers.
What should an officer be ? what are his duties ? He should be an ex- ample to his men : his duties are to command and obey, to see discipline observed, to strive to have the men under control, so as to be most efficient. Who are the officers who are most esteemed ? which are the troops that are most efficient? I have no hesitation in saying, both in the instance of officers and men, that they are those who are capable of exercising the greatest control over their own passions—in brief, are men of the best conduct. Why are regimental libraries formed for the use of the men ? why are athletic games, such as cricket and football, promoted ? why are garrison libraries encouraged ? why are candidates for commissions required to be examined in certain branches of knowledge ? The answer is obvious—because it is considered desirable to educate soldiers, both men and officers, to improve their minds, to strengthen these as well as their bodies. A. Christian reader can hardly fail of being shocked at some of the ex- preasions of "A Very Old Hand."1 I believe that many will agree with me that the soldier who says his prayers on the solemn occasion of the com- mencement of a battle, is not less likely to do his duty than he who without prayer, and, if possible, without thought, rushes into action. The most serviceable courage is the tampered steady courage for which our troops are most distinguished ; not needing the stimulus of brandy, and, if needing to be roused to unwonted exertion, sure to be so by some expressive words, such as Shakepere makes Henry the Fifth utter before the battle of Agin- court—such as Nelson's signal to his fleet before his last battle—words of power like the old " Dulce et decorum eat pro patria mori."
Your correspondent seems to be forgetful of history when he couples prayers with want of courage. History affords striking examples of the con- trary. What troops in that great struggle the Thirty-Years War were superior to the Swedish led by their hero King Gustavus Adolphus ? It was their practice to pray before entering into action : it was part of their dis- cipline. What soldiers were a match for Cromwell's Ironsides ? how were they raised ? Cromwell disclosed his secret in conversation with Hampden. The latter, despairing of having troopers a match for the King's horse, com- posed of "the sons of gentlemen, full of resolution and honour," "I will raise men," said Cromwell, "who twill have the fear of God before their eyes, and who will bring some conscience to what they. do ; and I promise you, they shall not be beaten." These men prayed before battle ; but when in action, how to beat the enemy was their main intent, as it was that of their general. At the storming of Drogheda, when the first party was re- pulsed, we are assured that he hastened forward and led on the new attack, saying, "My pretty men, we must positively not be repulsed ; we must enter here,—we cannot do at all without entering." *
I have alluded to my own experience ; I may mention, in conclusion, the advice I was in the habit of giving to young officers on joining,—namely, never to have a bottle of brandy or a woman in their quarters. This was when I was in charge of a General Hospital, the only one then in the ser- vice, and to which every staff medical officer was sent on receiving his com- mission.
Not being in the habit of writing anonymously, Ibeg, Sir, to subscribe myself your obedient servant,
Jolter DAVY, Inspector-General of Army Hospitals. [This letter only represents a number that we have received on the same su6bject, and on the same side, in most cases of the same tenour, and in some even with the same illustnitions and expressions. In making a se- lection, when it is obviously impossible to find room for more than one of the communications, we have chosen one which, besides carry- ing the guarantee of an honoured signature, embodies the conclusions of a long Army experience. We need hardly point out to those who have honoured our previous observations with a perusal, that they had no sort of affinity to the views expressed by our correspondent of last week : his opinions are not ours,—though, as they are those of an old officer of high professional rank, we allowed him to remind us that "such things were." Dr. Davy, more logically, as well as more agreeably, reminds us that matters are very much altered for the better in the Army since the young days of "A Very Old Hand."—En.]
• Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell by Thomas Carlyle, vol. i. p. 456.
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