GENERAL ORDERS No. 4.
HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF
THE C. S.,
February 22, 1865.
I. The experience of our own and other armies having
established that the safety, no less than the efficiency, of troops requires
that order be maintained and every man kept in his proper position in action,
the following instructions will be immediately carried into effect:
A thorough examination by competent officers selected by the
corps commander, or officer commanding detached troops, will be made as to the
qualifications and character of the commissioned and non-commissioned officers
of each company. Such of the former as shall be reported deficient in
intelligence, coolness, and capacity will be brought before examining boards,
and those of the latter so reported will be reduced to the ranks. Appointments
to fill vacancies among the non-commissioned officers will be made from those
soldiers of the company most distinguished for courage, discipline, and
attention to duty. The whole number of file-closers in each company shall be
one for every ten men, and for this purpose lance appointments will be given,
if necessary, to men of the character above described, who will be required to
wear a distinctive badge.
II. The file-closers will be carefully instructed in their
duties by the regimental commanders, and vacancies will be filled as they occur
among the non-commissioned and lance officers from the best and most tried
soldiers of the company. On the march they will be required to prevent
straggling and be held responsible for the presence of their respective squads
of ten. In action they will keep two paces behind the rear rank of their
several squads, the non-commissioned and lance officers with loaded guns and
fixed bayonets. They will be diligently instructed to aid in preserving order
in the ranks and enforcing obedience to commands, and to permit no man to leave
his place unless wounded, excused in writing by the medical officer of the
regiment, or by order of the regimental commander. For this purpose they will
use such degree of force as may be necessary. If any refuse to advance, disobey
orders, or leave the ranks to plunder or to retreat, the file-closer will
promptly cut down or fire upon the delinquents. They will treat in the same
manner any man who uses words or actions calculated to produce alarm among the
troops. Justice to the brave men who remain at their posts, no less than the
success to our arms, demands that this order be rigorously executed, and it
will be enjoined upon file-closers that they shall make the evasion of duty
more dangerous than its performance.
III. The value of the foregoing order will depend upon the
character of the file-closers and the diligence with which they are instructed.
None should be selected but such as can understand and appreciate the
importance of their duties, and possess the necessary coolness and determination
to perform them faithfully. Regimental commanders will promptly prefer charges
against the commissioned officers and return to the ranks all others who
neglect or refuse to carry out the foregoing instructions.
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. 1249-50
No comments:
Post a Comment