HDQRS. ARMIES OF THE
CONFEDERATE STATES,
February 22, 1865.
The spirit which animates our soldiers, and the natural
courage with which they are so liberally endowed, have led to a reliance upon
their good qualities to the neglect of those measures which would increase
their efficiency and contribute to their safety. Many opportunities have been
lost and hundreds of valuable lives uselessly sacrificed for want of a strict
observance of discipline.
Its object is to enable an army to bring promptly into
action the largest possible number of its men in good order and under the
control of their officers. Its effects are visible in all military history
which records the triumphs of discipline and courage far more frequently than
those of numbers and resources.
At no time in the war has the necessity of close attention
to this important subject been greater than at present, and at no time has its
cultivation promised more valuable results. The proportion of experienced
troops is larger in our army than in that of the enemy, while his numbers
exceed our own. These are the circumstances most favorable for the display of
the advantages of discipline and in which the power it imparts will be most
clearly perceived.
I desire, therefore, that you will direct every effort to
improve the discipline of your troops. This will not only require your own
unremitting attention, but also the zealous co-operation of your officers,
commissioned and non-commissioned.
The recent law abolishing the system of elections, and
opening the way to promotion to all who distinguish themselves by the faithful
discharge of duty, affords a new incentive to officers and men. In addition to
the usual and stated instructions, which must be given at all times as fully as
circumstances will permit, the importance and utility of thorough discipline
should be impressed on officers and men on all occasions by illustrations taken
from the experience of the instructor or from other sources of information.
They should be made to understand that discipline contributes no less to their
safety than to their efficiency. Disastrous surprises and those sudden panics
which lead to defeat and greatest loss of life are of rare occurrence among
disciplined troops. It is well known that the greatest number of casualties
occur when men become scattered, and especially when they retreat in confusion,
as the fire of the enemy is then more deliberate and fatal. The experience of
every officer shows that those troops suffer least who attack most vigorously,
and that a few men, retaining their organization and acting in concert,
accomplish far more, with smaller loss, than a larger number scattered and
disorganized.
The appearance of a steady unbroken line is more formidable
to the enemy and renders his aim less accurate and his fire less effective.
Orders can be readily transmitted, advantage can be promptly taken of every
opportunity, and all efforts being directed to a common end, the contest will
be briefer and success more certain. Let officers and men be made to feel that they
will most effectually secure their safety by remaining steadily at their posts,
preserving order, and fighting with coolness and vigor.
Fully impressed with the truth of these views I call your
attention particularly to the accompanying order* with reference to the duties
of file-closers, which you will immediately carry into execution.
Impress upon your officers that discipline cannot be
attained without constant watchfulness on their part. They must attend to the
smallest particulars of detail. Men must be habituated to obey, or they cannot
be controlled in battle, and the neglect of the least important order impairs
the proper influence of the officer.
In recommending officers or men for promotion, you will
always, where other qualifications are equal, give preference to those who show
the highest appreciation of the importance of discipline and evince the
greatest attention to its requirements.
Very respectfully,
your obedient servant,
R. E. LEE,
General.
__________
SOURCES: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 46,
Part 2 (Serial No. 96), p. 1247-9; John William Jones, Life and
Letters of Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 357-8
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