most, cut off a few of the smaller limbs. To blow up a house, we should not place the mine under the foundation, but attach it to one of the shingles of the roof! We have already shown that troops collected at Albany may reach the great strategic point on the St. Lawrence by an easy and direct route of two hundred miles; but forces collected at Pittsburg and Memphis must pass over a difficult and unfrequented route of two thousand miles.

Our merchant marine on the lakes secures to us a naval superiority in that quarter at the beginning of a war; and our facilities for ship-building are there equal if not superior to any possessed by the enemy. The only way, therefore, in which our ascendency on the lakes can be lost, is by the introduction of steam craft from the Atlantic. The canals and locks constructed for this object will pass vessels of small dimensions and drawing not over eight and a half feet water.

How are we to prevent the introduction of these Atlantic steamers into our lakes? Shall we, at the first opening of hostilities, march with armed forces upon the enemy's line of artificial communication and blow up the locks of their ship-canals, thus meeting the enemy's marine at the very threshold of its introduction into the interior seas; or shall we build opposition steam-navies at Pittsburg and Memphis, some two thousand miles distant, and then expend some forty or fifty millions* in opening an artificial

*The construction of the Illinois ship-canal, for vessels of eight and a half feet draught, is estimated at fifteen millions; to give the same draught to the Mississippi and lower Illinois, would require at least ten millions more; a ship canal of the corresponding draught around Niagara Falls, will cost, say, ten millions; the navy yard at Memphis, with docks, storehouses, &c., will cost about two millions, and steamers sent thence to the lakes will cost about fifty thousand dollars per gun. On the other hand, the military defences which it is deemed necessary to erect in time of peace for the security of the Champlain frontier, will

channel to enable them to reach Lake Ontario, after its borders have been laid waste by the hostile forces? Very few disinterested judges would hesitate in forming their opinion on this question.*

cost only about two thousand dollars per gun; the whole expenditure not exceeding, at most, two millions of dollars!

It is not to be denied that a water communication between the Mississippi and the northern lakes will have great commercial advantages, and that, in case of a protracted war, auxiliary troops and military stores may be drawn from the valley of the Mississippi to assist the North and East in preventing any great accessions to the British military forces in the Canadas. We speak only of the policy of expending vast sums of money on this military (?) project, to the neglect of matters of more immediate and pressing want. We have nothing to say of its character as a commercial project, or of the ultimate military advantages that might accrue from such a work. We speak only of the present condition and wants of the country, and not of what that condition and those wants may be generations hence!

* There are no books devoted exclusively to the subjects embraced in this chapter; but the reader will find many remarks on the northern frontier defences in the histories of the war of 1812, in congressional reports, (vide House Doc. 206, XXVIth Congress, 2d session; and Senate Doc., No. 85, XXVIIIth Congress, 2d session,) and in numerous pamphlets and essays that have appeared from the press within the last few years.

CHAPTER IX.

ARMY ORGANIZATION-STAFF AND ADMINISTRATIVE CORPS.

By the law of the 12th of December, 1790, on the organization of the public force of France, the Army was defined, "A standing force drawn from the public force, and designed to act against external enemies." [Une force habituelle extraite de la force publique, et destinée essentiellement à agir contre les ennemis du dehors.]

In time of peace, the whole organized military force of the State is intended when we speak of the army; but in time of war this force is broken up into two or more fractions, each of which is called an army. These armies are usually named from the particular duty which may be assigned to them—as, army of invasion, army of occupation, army of observation, army of reserve, &c.; or from the country or direction in which they operate-as, army of the North, of the South, of Mexico, of Canada, of the Rhine, &c.; or from the general who commands it—as, the army of Soult, army of Wellington, army of Blücher, &c.

All modern armies are organized on the same basis. They are made up of a Staff and Administrative departments, and four distinct arms-Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, and Engineers; each having distinct duties, but all combining to form one and the same military body. In the actual operations of a campaign, these forces are formed into corps d'armée, each corps d'armée being composed of two or more grand-divisions; each grand-division, of two or more brigades; and each brigade, of several companies, squadrons, or batteries.

In speaking of an army in the field, it is sometimes supposed to be divided into two classes of men-the Staff and the line. We here include in the first class

All officers, of whatever arm, above the rank of colonel;
All officers of the staff corps of whatever grade, and
All officers attached to the staff as aides, &c.;
All officers of the administrative departments;
All officers of artillery and engineer staffs;

The corps of geographical or topographical engineers, and

The guards.

In the second class are included all troops, of whatever arm, which belong to the active army, in infantry, cavalry, artillery, and engineers. All troops on detached service, such as recruiting, guarding posts and dépôts, escorting convoys, &c., as well as all sedentary corps, garrisons of fortified places, &c., are not regarded in this classification as composing any part of the line of the army.

Troops of the line is a term applied only to such troops as form the principal line on the battle-field, viz :—The heavy infantry and heavy cavalry. These are technically called infantry of the line, and cavalry of the line. In this sense of the term, light infantry, light cavalry or dragoons, artillery, and engineers, are not classed as troops of the line. But this distinction is now pretty much fallen into disuse, and the division of an army into Staff and Administrative departments, and four arms of service-Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, and Engineers-is now regarded as the most convenient, from being precise and definite in its meaning.

The general staff of an army includes all general officers of the army, and such officers of lower grades as are attached to this general duty, instead of serving with troops, or on special administrative duty. The general

officers are 1st, the generalissimo, or commander-in-chief; 2d, generals, or marshals, as they are called in France, or field-marshals and generals of infantry and cavalry, as they are called in England and the northern states of Europe; 3d, lieutenant-generals; 4th, generals of division, or major-generals, as they are called in England; 5th, generals of brigade, or brigadier-generals, as they are sometimes called ;-colonels, majors, captains, lieutenants, ensigns, and cornets or cadets, are also either attached to the staff, or form a part of the staff corps. The titles of "adjutantgeneral," and of "inspector-general," are given to staff officers selected for these special services, either in the general staff or in the several corps d'armée. No special rank is attached to these offices themselves, and the grade of those who hold them is fixed by some special rule, or by their general rank in the army.

In the war of the Revolution, Washington held the rank of General, and in 1798 the rank of Lieutenant-general. In the war of 1812, the highest grade held by any of our officers was that of General of Division, or Major-general, as it was called. The highest grade in our army at the present time is called Major-general—a title that properly belongs, not to the general of an army, but to the chief of staff. Hamilton had this title when chief of Washington's staff; Berthier and Soult when chief of Napoleon's staff, the former till the close of the campaign of 1814, and the latter in the Waterloo campaign. General Jomini first greatly distinguished himself as chief of Ney's staff, and afterwards on the staff of the Emperor of Russia. Other generals have owed much of their success to the chiefs of their staff:-Pichegru to Regnier, Moreau to Dessoles, Kutusof to Toll, Barclay to Diebitsch, and Blücher to Thurnhorst and Gneisenau.

The generalissimo or commander-in-chief of an army is the person designated by the law of the land to take charge