Captain-general of the army.—Commander-in-chief.—Lord-high-admiral of the navy.—Field-marshal.—General.—Lieutenant-general.—Major-general.—Brigadier-general.—Colonel.—Lieutenant-colonel.—Major.—Adjutant.—Sergeant-major.—Captain.—Ensign and cornet.—Sergeant and corporal.—A round-robin.—Quarter-master.—Military saying.—Officer’s daughter.—Officers of the navy.—Marines.—Catamaran.—Crew of a first-rate.—Royal George.

“We want to know who are the highest officers in the army and navy. They are generals and admirals, are they not, uncle?”

241“The highest officer is the King himself—when there is a king on the throne of England. And the virtues in his heart ought ever to exceed in value the jewels of his crown. He is captain-general of all the forces of Great Britain, the head of all rank, power, and authority. Under him come the commander-in-chief, at the head of the army, and the lord-high-admiral at the head of the navy; but generally the office of lord-high-admiral is filled by commissioners, under the name of the lords of the admiralty.”

“What is a field-marshal? Wellington is called a field-marshal.”

“Yes, he is a field-marshal, and when an army is in the field, a field-marshal is the highest officer among them, he takes the command of them all.”

“Is there any other field-marshal in the army besides the Duke of Wellington?”

“Oh yes! several. The King of Hanover, the Duke of Cambridge, and the King of the Belgians, are all field-marshals in the British army; and there is another too, Prince Albert.”

“And what is the next rank to a field-marshal?”

“A general. There are many of these in the army, for though every field-marshal is a general, every general is not a field-marshal. A general is a chief officer in the army, to whom the command of soldiers has been entrusted by the sovereign or the senate of a country. The commander-in-chief, of course, ranks first. If a general have not a martial 242genius, a sound judgment, and a healthy constitution, united with intrepidity, self-possession, business-like habits, and goodness of heart, he is not equal to the duties of his station. A young general will lack experience and prudence, and an old general will hardly be sufficiently energetic and active. The next in rank to a general is a lieutenant-general, and then come the major-general and the brigadier-general.”

“What a sight it would be to see all the Field-marshals and generals and colonels together!”

“It would indeed, especially to a soldier. A colonel is the commander of a regiment, whether of horse, foot, dragoons, or artillery, and a lieutenant-colonel is next in rank. They should be men of talent and resolution, for their duties are very important, and good officers often make good soldiers. Next to the lieutenant-colonel come the major, adjutant, and sergeant-major. The drum and fife-majors are at the head of the drummers and fifers, and instruct others in their duty.”

“You have not told us what a captain is, and surely he comes before the drummers and fifers, though he does not make half the noise that they do?”

“A captain is a commander either of a troop of horse, or of a company of foot or artillery. In marching or fighting, at the head of his company, he is much looked up to by his men. If he be not every inch a soldier, it is soon found out by the men 243under his command. It is his business both to march and fight at the head of his company.”

“The lieutenant comes next to the captain?”

“He does. The name lieutenant is French, lieu-tenant—holding the place of another. After the lieutenant come the ensign and cornet: the former carries the standard in a company of foot, and the latter in a troop of horse. An ensign is the lowest commissioned officer in a company of foot; after him come the sergeant and corporal. Buonaparte was called by his soldiers, ‘The Little Corporal.’ There are other posts of authority beside what I have mentioned, for the discharge of particular duties. Every officer is as liable to punishment if he break the articles of war, as a common soldier is; and then, if a superior officer act improperly to the officers beneath him, they sometimes send him a round-robbin.”

“Oh, what is a round-robbin? Do tell us.”

“A Frenchman told me that the name came from ‘ruban rond,’ which means a round riband. When officers wish to send a remonstrance in writing to one above them, instead of writing their names one under the other, they write them in a round form, so that no one can tell who signed the paper first. It is a kind of honourable agreement into which they enter among themselves, every one taking an equal share in the transaction. But round-robins are not often to be seen. I should have told you, that a quarter-master is an 244officer whose duty it is to see after the quarters of the soldiers, together with their food, clothing, fuel, and ammunition. A quarter-master-general is a considerable officer; and is required to know well the country where he is, having to mark the marches and encampments of the army.”

“You have made us understand the different ranks very well.”

“That being the case, I must give you another of my military sayings. A private should be proud of his general good character. A staff-officer should lean on nothing but his merit. The major part of a captain’s duty is the care of his company. A quarter-master should do the whole of his duty, and the highest officer in the army should remember that he is but a man.”

“Capital! capital! We shall not forget that, you may depend upon it.”

“It sometimes happens that good soldiers are obliged to take up with very bad quarters. Officers themselves are, at times, very slenderly provided for—in such cases, and indeed in all others, a good temper, and a good stock of patience, are excellent things. I will give you an instance of the good temper, steadiness, and fortitude of an officer’s daughter, Miss Elizabeth Smith, when deprived of common comforts. This young lady had taught herself, with little assistance, the French, Italian, Spanish, German, Latin, Greek and Hebrew languages, and somewhat of the Arabic and Persic:—she 245was the daughter of Captain Smith; and her mother gives the following account:—We had spent three happy weeks at the hospitable mansion of Lord Kingston, from whence we set off on horseback for our quarters, which were about twenty miles distant. During the last ten miles of the journey it rained most heavily, and without ceasing. We arrived at the barracks dripping wet; our luggage was not come, and, owing to the negligence of the quarter-master, there was not even a bed to rest on. The whole furniture of our apartments consisted of a piece of a cart-wheel for a fender; a bit of iron, probably from the same vehicle, for a poker; a dirty deal table, and three wooden-bottom chairs. It was the first time we had joined the regiment; and I was standing at the fire, meditating on our forlorn state, and perhaps dwelling too much on the comforts we had lost, when I was roused from my reverie by my daughter Elizabeth, exclaiming, ‘Oh! what a blessing!’ ‘Blessing!’ I replied, ‘there seems none left.’ ‘Indeed there is, my dear mother, for see, here is a little cupboard.’ I dried my tears, and endeavoured to learn fortitude from my daughter.”

“Very good! That young lady had a very happy temper, or she would not have been so pleased with only a cupboard.”

“I have told you of the ranks of the officers of the army only. The officers of the navy are divided into flag-officers; captains who command 246post-ships; commanders who command sloops; lieutenants, and sub-lieutenants. But I had better tell you how officers rank with one another in the army and navy.”
Navy.     Army.
 
The Admiral-in-chief ranks the same as     Field-marshal.
Admirals of the red, white or blue ranks the same as     Generals.
Vice-admirals ranks the same as     Lieutenant-generals.
Rear-admirals ranks the same as     Major-generals.
Commodores ranks the same as     Brigadier-generals.
Captains of post ships, three years after commission ranks the same as     Colonels.
All captains of post ships ranks the same as     Lieutenant-colonels.
Captains not taking post ranks the same as     Majors.
Lieutenants ranks the same as     Captains.

“But there are lower ranks than these: midshipmen on board ship, and sergeants and corporals among soldiers?”

“Yes, there are. The officers in a ship under a lieutenant are, the sub-lieutenant, master, second master, gunner, boatswain, carpenter, master’s-mate, and midshipman. And the officers in the army under the captain, as I have already told you, are, the lieutenant, ensign, sergeant and corporal. If you can remember all I have said, it will be a proof that you are not deficient in memory.”

“What do you mean by the admiral of the red?”

“An admiral who carries a red flag. I have said something of admirals’ flags before, but will be a little more particular now. Flag-officers are 247of three ranks: admirals, vice-admirals, and rear-admirals; and each rank is divided into three squadrons, distinguished by different coloured flags; so that there are, besides the admiral of the fleet, the commander-in-chief, admirals of the red, of the white, and of the blue; vice-admirals of the red, of the white, a............