Sketches of the campaign in northern Mexico : in eighteen hundred forty-six and seven / by an officer of the First Regiment of Ohio volunteers.

DISCIPLINE OF THE REQIMENST. 225
order prescribed by the Army Regulations. The soldiers
who were without tents, constructed wigwams, by hanging
the long Spanish moss gathered from the trees, upon frames
of poles, which greatly enhanced the picturesque beauty of
the encamnpment. The colmfort of the men having thus been
secured as far as possible, a system of instruction and discipline was at once established and energetically maintained.
Experience -lad already taught us, that if we desired to be
useful in the active operations of a campaign, we had much
to learn. The company officers were urged to the fulfillment
of all their responsible duties, and to encourage their men
both by precept and example. But few of them failed to aid
the commander of the regiment in the maintenance of subordination. It had been supposed that the practice of electing
officers from the ranks, which prevailed in many, if not in
all of the volunteer corps, would not be very favorable to
the attainment of discipline. But whatever may be said of
those who received their coammissions before entering the
field, the men generally made judicious selections in filling
the vacancies that afterward occurred. Many of the newly
elected lieutenants were exceedingly active and trust-worthy
officers, and in their new position exhibited qualities which,
under other circumstances, would perhaps not have been discovered. There were some, however, who took prinlotion
simply as the means whereby they hoped to escape ciuby and
promote their own pleasures. These so annoyed their superior officers by their pernicious practices, that they would
gladly have exchanged them for the better men that remained
in the ranks.