ARMY. An army may be defined, a certain portion of the community selected and set apart for the public defence, or an assemblage of men for the purpose of war, commanded by a chief, or leader, with subordinate officers in regular gradation, and under certain laws, which constitute the authority of him who directs and prescribes the duty of those who obey.
It is union, or the regular organization of force, which forms the strength of an army, and enables it to accom plish great and important deeds beyond the means of individual exertion.
Among barbarous nations, the instruments of war are of the most rude kind. The object of savages being generally the gratification of their immediate desires, or the indulgence of their revenge, their warlike ope rations are confined to an excursion to obtain food, or, by surprise, to exterminate a rival tribe. But the am bitious schemes of civilized nations arc only limited by the dethronement of kings, the possession of countries, and the subjugation of the people. As the object is great, the means must be proportioned ; and, to accom plish the designs of the conqueror, it is necessary to equip an army with all the complex apparatus of warfare.
'The records of early times afford us no light to guide our inquiries as to the constitution and construction of the armies of remote antiquity ; but we may believe that they were disorderly and tumultuous, for they were hastily and easily dispersed. A defeat was accompanied with a total rout, and the fate of a kingdom depended upon a single battle. If any reliance could be placed on the historians of the renowned Scsostris, who ascended the throne of Egypt about 1650 years before Christ, we must allow him the merit of estab lishing a regular army ; and his reign is the epoch of the military glory of the Egyptians. Herodotus informs us, that Sesostris established a numerous militia, which he divided into two classes, denominated the Calasires and the Hermotybies, amounting to about 410,000 men; that they were distributed into the different provinces in time of peace, and prohibited from pursuing the me chanic arts; but that each man was allowed a portion of land adequate to the maintenance of himself and fa mily. Indeed, he is so particular as to say, that the prince's guard, consisting of 2000 men, were drawn from this body, and that they were annually relieved. In that age, the profession of a soldier was hereditary, and, with the exception of the sacerdotal office, was held in the highest consideration. Although our infor
mation with respect to the state of discipline at this period is defective, yet, as it is said that disgrace or infamy was attached to disobedience of orders, and ne glect of duty, and rewards to meritorious or valourous deeds, we may safely conclude, that tht military system of Egypt had reached no small degree of improvement, and that it possessed the means of augmenting the dis posable force. With an army of 600,000 foot, 24,000 horse, and 27,000 armed chariots, Sesostris over-ran a great part of Asia, and subdued many warlike nations. The history of this period, however, and of many suc ceeding ages, is dark and doubtful, and rather the nar ration of fables, than the faithful records of the transac tions of mankind.
The armies of the Asiatic nations were always an irregular mass, without order or discipline. A small body of the militia of Greece defeated an immense host of Persians on the plains of Marathon, where numbers were found to be unavailing against superior skill. But so powerful is the effect of order and discipline in an army, that military knowledge, when united to courage and intrepidity, has generally decided the affairs of the world. From almost incessant contests, the Grecian militia acquired a knowledge of war, that enabled them to defy the power of Persia, and to resist countless numbers of Asiatics. But, of all the states of Greece, Sparta was the most warlike. The institutions of Ly curgus were evidently intended to inure the youth to all the hardships of war. To suffer the extremes of cold and heat, hunger and thirst ; to exercise continually in hunting, running, and wrestling ; and to endure pain with fortitude and firnmess,—were only preparatory to the more important duties of the field. Having thus contracted, in their early years, a habit of obedience, and the most perfect submission to the laws, they were admirably prepared lbe the discipline of the army. Edu cated in this manner, the militia of Greece were in few respects inferior to a standing army, and were only sub dued when discipline and the manly exercises were supplanted by the refinements of luxury, and a general effeminacy of manners. Philip of Macedon, who is ac knowledged to be the first prince at established a standing army, conquered Greece as much through se cret intrigue, and the dissensions of the states, as by open force.