Page:Harris Dickson--The unpopular history of the United States.djvu/46

 $30 be paid to “engage men to enlist until January next.”

Hold still, my son, drive a peg down, right here, and hitch to this idea: I am speaking of raw militia and not of trained men. Plenty of these recruits—raw as green persimmons to begin with—joined the standard of liberty from the noblest motives. They were brave fellows, with good sand in their craw and could stand punishment—individually. Yet the individual must be trained to make a soldier—or a hoss doctor or anything else—I don’t care a thrip how smart he is. Understand me, I’m not posted on military matters myself. When somebody chases me up a tree I call on George Washington. George says:

“To bring men to be well acquainted with the duties of a soldier requires time. To bring them under proper discipline and subordination, not only requires time, but is a work of great difficulty; and in this army, where there is so little distinction between officers and soldiers, it requires an uncommon