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Preface
The individual instruction of the soldier is the foundation upon which
the structure of the arm rests. If it is complete, the operations of the
army, aided by military science, may be calculated with mathematical accuracy;
and unless it is carried to a certain point at least, the management of
an army is a mere matter of chance, and success the result only of fortuitous
circumstances. Whilst able men have devoted themselves to the higher branches
of military profession, it is a matter of great surprise that the rudiments
have been so long overlooked.
Heretofore the enlisted soldier has been
dependent upon tradition for a knowledge of his specific duties; for justice
he has been at the mercy of his superiors.
If his officers were competent and conscientious
men, faithful in the discharge of their duties and industrious in accumulating
and disseminating knowledge among the men, they were cared for, their
rights were secured to them, and the ambitious and meritorious were enabled
to obtain advancement.
On the contrary, if their superiors were
incompetent and unscrupulous men, careless in the execution of their duties,
and indolent in acquiring knowledge and instructing the soldiers, the
latter were neglected, their rights suffered, and they had little or no
opportunity of learning those things necessary to their advancement.
Confident that every soldier who is desirous
of learning his duties will feel grateful for this little volume, the
author places before them the means of studying for themselves what they
so much desire to know.
Once a private himself, in the 1st Ohio
Regiment, in the Mexican War, he has by a continuous service since that
period been enabled, through his own varied experience, to select the
most valuable, if not all the important, information necessary for every
grade of the enlisted men. If they are by this means enabled to feel independent
of their officers in acquiring a knowledge of their own duties, the highest
aim of the book will be attained. Although prepared for the soldiers of
the regular army, it is equally applicable to the volunteer service, except
in some few cases that are fully explained.
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