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Show 42 LlFE O'P GEN. JACKSON. CHAP. you quitted your f:.milies and homes, and submitted 11· to so many privations ; it was to avenge the crQelties, ....,..,.__committed upon our defenceless frontiers, by the inhumari Creeks, instigated by their no. less inhuman allies ; you shall not be disappointed. If the enemy flee before us, we will overtake, and chastise him; we will teach him, how dl;eadful, when once arnused, is theresentment of freemen. But it is not by boasting, that ·punishment is to be inflicted, or victory obtained. The same resolution, that prompted us to take up arms., must inspire us in battle. Men thus animated, and thus resolved, barbarians can never conquer; and it is an enemy, barbarous in the extreme, that we have now to face. Their reliance will be, on the damage they can do you,, whilst you are asleep, and unprepared for action : their hopes shall fail them, in the hour of experiment. Soldiers, who know their duty, and are ambitious to perform it, are not to be taken by surprise. Our sentinels will never sleep, nor our soldiers be unprepared for action : yet, whilst it is enjoined upon the sentinels, vigilantly to watch the approach of the foe. they are, at the same time, commanded not to fire at shadows. Imaginary danger must not deprive them of entire self possession. Our soldiers will lie with their arms in their hands : and the moment an alarm is given, they will move to their respective positio_ns, without noise, and without confusion ; they will be thus enabled to hear the orders of their officers, and to obey .them with promptitude. ·~ Great reliance will be placed, by the enemy, on the consternation they may be.able to ·spread through our ranks, by the hideous yells with which they commence LIFE OF GEN. JACKSON. their battles; but btave men will laugh at such efforts CHAP. to alarm them. It is not by bellowing5 and screams, 11· that the wounds of death are inflicted. Yon will teach~ these noisy assailants, how weak are their weapons of warfare, by opposing them with the bayonet; what In-dian ever withstood its charge? what army, of any na-tion, ever witl1stood it long? " Yes, soldiers, the order for a charge, will be the signal for victory. In that moment, your enemy wifi be seen, fleeing in every direction before you. But in the moment of action, coolness and deliberation must be regarded ; your fires made with precision and aim ; and when ordered to c&rge with the bayonet, you m_ust proceed to the assault with a quick :,md firm step ; w1thout trepidation or alarm. Then shall you behold the completion of your hopes in the discomfiture of !ou; e1~emy: Your general, whose duty, as well as mcl~nat10n, 1s to watch over your safety, will not, to ~tlfy any wishes of his own, rush you unnecessarily mto danger. He knows, however, that it is not in ag. sailing an enemy, that men are destroyed; it is when retreating, and in confusion. Aware of this, he will be prompted as much by a regard for your lives, as your ~o~our. He laments that he has been compelled, evefl mcJdentally, to hint at a retreat when speaking to freemen, and to soldiers. Never, until you forget all that is due to yourselves and your country, will you have any practical unders~anding of that word. Shall an enemy, wholly unacquamted with military evolution, and who rely more for victory on their grim visages, and hideous yells, than upon their bravery, or their weapons; shall such an enemy, ever drive before them, the well- |
