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

82 DISCIPLINE OF TROOPS.
the discipline of each regiment depended pretty much upon
the eloquence of its colonel. At this jest, and its accompanying illustrative anecdotes, we have laughed as heartily
as our good-natured brethren of the old line; and, indeed,
considering the character of our people, there may have been
some room for such innocent raillery. It certainly was calculated to do more good than any severe and unkind professional criticism; which would have engendered much illfeeling between the old and new troops. None knew better
than the regular officers, that the volunteer regiments contained the best material in the world, from which to mold
an efficient army; but it required time, tact, and much forbearance, to accustom those independent spirits to the yoke
of military discipline. The volunteers, unlike the mass of
the regular army, had always been their own masters, and
it could scarcely be expected that they should abandon at
once all their habits of free thought and free action, and
become passive and obedient instruments in the hands of
others. Their good sense, however, aided by a little experience, and the example of all who valued the reputation of
their regiments, and the honor of their states, soon rendered
most of the volunteers quite equal to the regulars, in the
prompt, cheerful, and full discharge of every duty.
On the 23d of August, our regiment was again concentrated by the arrival of the six companies which had marched
from Camp Belknap under Lieutenant Colonel Weller. The
journey, performed under midsummer suns, and through a
country but scantily supplied with water, was a severe and
trying one to our unripe troops. Several of the wagons