that he is supported by all the rest,—this gives him confidence; and confidence is force.
Among militia the cowardice of a few will disorganize the whole; and when broken and hard pushed, {74} it is impossible for them to rally. But regular troops, when broken, can, in ordinary cases, readily form again; and, although their ranks may be thinned by the fire of the enemy, they are immediately filled, order is maintained, the army, though reduced, is still an army; and, although overpowered, they fight, not like a rabble, but like true soldiers. Their manouvresuvres] too, upon which the result of an engagement much depends, are performed promptly, and in order. Indeed, a soldier, in a well disciplined army, is a mere machine; he is a part of a perfect whole, has no will of his own, and moves only by the direction of his commanders. Had our force, at the attack upon the city of Washington, been of such a class, what a glorious defence would have been made![30] They would have planted themselves before it, and in the name of every thing dear, and sacred, and terrible, would have resisted its unprincipled invaders.
Our militia, as has been observed, sometimes perform wonders; but these are exceptions to a general rule; and exceptions are a poor ground for the establishment of a general principle. In a pell-mell contest, militia will fight with effect, because the mode of fighting is, on both sides, of the same kind. Here our militia would prevail over that of any other nation. And were our troops always
