Wisconsin—1,054,670,—8 companies, organized as First Regiment.
The above statement of the legal condition of the militia of the several States, which together constitute the army of Reserve of the United States, is not very creditable to all concerned—to the cities and local communities, whose exemption from riots and illegal combinations of bad men may depend on the fact of an organized force, which the voice of authority could in an hour summon to the protection of the threatened houses and workshops of the citizens;—to the States, whose quota to any national call can not now be depended upon except at the cost of extravagant bounties, and whose raw recruits thus furnished would be worthless till after months of drill and field manœuvres;—to the nation, whose strength should be its weakness for purposes of foreign aggression, and its ability to summon millions of willing men, familiar with military organization and duties, to the defense of their hearths and free institutions.
The Volunteer Soldiery in time of peace, does not hold the same distinct recognition in the armed forces of the United States, apart from the Militia of the several States, as in Great Britain; and yet the most efficient military organizations of the several States, and especially in our larger cities, are of this character; and in most of the States where uniform companies exist, they constitute a permanent and important force, whose services have proved highly valuable in quelling riots and protecting public property. Of the number of regiments or companies—their officers and men, distinct from the enrolled and organized State Militia, we have no official statistics.
[MODE OF OFFICERING THE ARMY.]
The commissioned officers of the United States army are drawn from three sources:—First, from the cadets of the Military Academy at West Point; Second, from civil life; Third, from the rank and file.
1. The appointment to the grade of lieutenant in either corps, follows regularly to any cadet on graduation, after having completed the course of instruction at West Point. From 1815 to 1832, the army was officered almost exclusively from the Military Academy.
2. The expansion of the military force consequent on the Indian war in Florida, from 1832 to 1837, and the Mexican war from 1845 to 1848, and of the Civil war from 1861 to 1865, was followed by the appointment of many persons from civil life, who had received no military training, and without any special qualifications beyond personal and political considerations.
As a stimulus and reward to special service, promotions are occasionally made from the rank and file, after a mere formal examination in the elementary branches of a common school education, and without the provision for professional training except such as can be got from observation and private reading.