The Daily Dispatch: February 27, 1861., [Electronic resource]

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Value of prompt Military preparation.

An eminent military writer says: "For any nation to postpone the making of military preparations till such time as they are actually required in defence, is to waste the public money and endanger the public safety. The closing of an avenue of approach, the security of a single road or river, or even the strategic movement of a small body of troops, often effects, in the beginning, what afterwards cannot be accomplished by large fortifications and the most formidable armies. Had a small army in 1812, with a well-fortified depot on Lake Champlain, penetrated into Canada, and cut off all reinforcements and supplies by way of Quebec, that country would inevitably have fallen into our possession." The same writer maintains that militia are of little value in the open field, though often more valuable than regulars behind fortifications.