Nevertheless, it is not difficult
to show that the Southerners fell somewhat short of the highest
standard. They were certainly not incapable of keeping their ranks
under a hot fire, or of holding their ground to the last extremity.
Pickett's charge at Gettysburg is one of the most splendid examples
of disciplined valour in the annals of war, and the endurance of
Lee's army at Sharpsburg has seldom been surpassed. Nor was the
disorder into which the attacking lines were sooner or later thrown a
proof of inferior training. Even in the days of flint-lock muskets,
the admixture of not only companies and battalions, but even of
brigades and divisions, was a constant feature of fierce assaults
over broken ground. If, under such conditions, the troops still press
forward, and if, when success has been achieved, order is rapidly
restored, then discipline is good; and in neither respect did the
Confederates fail. But to be proof against disorder is not everything
in battle. It is not sufficient that the men should be capable of
fighting fiercely; to reap the full benefit of their weapons and
their training they must be obedient to command. The rifle is a far
less formidable weapon when every man uses it at his own discretion
than when the fire of a large body of troops is directed by a single
will.
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