this resort to military coercion; to check, in their respective spheres, the efforts of misguided or designing men to substitute their misrepresentations in the place of truth, and their discontents in the place of stable government; and to call to mind, that, as the people of the United States have been permitted, under the Divine favor, in perfect freedom, after solemn deliberation, in an enlightened age, to elect their own government, so will their gratitude for this inestimable blessing be best distinguished, by firm exertions to maintain the Constitution and the laws.

1794.

LOYALTY

The spirit which blazed out on this occasion, as soon as the object was fully understood, and the lenient measures of the government were made known to the people, deserves to be communicated. There are instances of General Officers going at the head of a single troop, and of light companies; of Field Officers, when they came to the places of rendezvous, and found no command for them in that grade, turning into the ranks, and proceeding as private soldiers, under their own captains; and of numbers, possessing the first fortunes in the country, standing in the ranks as private men, and marching, day by day, with their knapsacks and haversacks at their backs, sleeping on

straw, with a single blanket, in a soldier's tent, during the frosty nights which we have had, by way of example to others. Nay, more; many young Quakers, of the first families, character, and property, not discouraged by the elders, have turned into the ranks, and are marching with the troops.

1794.

The quelling of the Pennsylvania insurrection has demonstrated, that our prosperity rests on solid foundations. My fellow-citizens understand the true principles of government and liberty. They feel their inseparable union. Notwithstanding all the devices which have been used, to sway them from their interest and duty, they are now as ready to maintain the authority of the laws against licentious invasion, as they were to defend their rights against usurpation.

It has been a spectacle, displaying, to the highest advantage, the value of Republican Government, to behold the most and the least wealthy of our citizens, standing in the same ranks, as Private Soldiers, preeminently distinguished by being THE ARMY OF THE CONSTITUTION; undeterred by a march of three hundred miles over rugged mountains, by the approach of an inclement season, or by any other discouragement.

Nor ought I to omit to acknowledge the efficacious and patriotic co-operation which I experienced, from the Chief Magistrates of the States to which my requisitions have been addressed.

To every description of citizens, indeed, let praise be given. But let them persevere, in their affectionate vigilance over that precious depository of American happiness, the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. Let them cherish it, too, for the sake of those who, from every clime, are daily seeking a dwelling in our land. And when, in the calm moments of reflection, they shall have traced the origin and progress of the Insurrection, let them determine, whether it has not been fomented by combinations of men, who, careless of consequences, and disregarding the unerring truth, that those who rouse cannot always appease a civil convulsion, have disseminated, from an ignorance or perversion of facts, suspicions, jealousies, and accusations of the whole Government.

1794.

COURTS-MARTIAL.

It is a fundamental maxim in our military trials, that the Judge-Advocate prosecutes, in the name and in behalf of the United States.

1779.

PUNISHMENTS.

It appears to me indispensable, that there should be an extension of the present corporal punishment, and that it would be useful, to authorize Courts-Martial, to sentence delinquents to labor on public works; perhaps, even for some crimes, particularly desertion, to transfer them from the land to the sea service, where they have less opportunity to indulge their inconstancy.

A variety in punishment is of utility, as well as a proportion.

The number of lashes may either be indefinite, left to the discretion of the Court, or limited to a larger number. In this case, I would recommend five hundred.*

ORDER AND HARMONY.

In order to preserve harmony and correspondence in the system of the army, there must be a controlling power, to which the several departments are to refer.

If any department is suffered to act independently of the Officer Commanding, collisions of orders and confusion of affairs will be the inevitable consequences.

MILITARY EVOLUTIONS.

Well organized troops may, and ought to, move like clockwork, where the component parts discharge their respective duties, with propriety and exactness.

MILITARY EMULATION.

I have labored, ever since I have been in the service, to discourage all kinds of local attachments, and distinctions of country, denominating the whole by the greater name of "AMERICAN;" but I have found it impossible to overcome prejudice. And under the new establishment, I conceive it best to stir up an emulation; in order to do which, would it not be better, for each State to furnish, though not to appoint, their own brigadiers?

1776.

THE SOLDIER AND THE CITIZEN.

When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen.

We shall most sincerely rejoice, with you, in that happy hour, when the establishment of American liberty, upon the most firm and solid foundations, shall enable us to return to our private stations, in the bosom of a free, peaceful, and happy country.