It is especially necessary for our men, unaccustomed to the profession of arms, and entering at once untried upon this great war, to take a just and high view of their new calling:  to look at it with the eyes, not of mercenaries, but of men called into their country’s service; to regard it as a life which is not less, but more difficult than any other to be discharged with honor.  “Our profession,” said Washington, “is the chastest of all; even the shadow of a fault tarnishes the lustre of our finest achievements.”  Our soldiers in Virginia, and in the other Slave States, have not only their own reputation to support, but also that of the communities from which they come.  There must be a rivalry in generous efforts among the troops of different States.  Shall we not now have our regiments which by their brave and honorable conduct shall win appellations not less noble than that of the Auvergne sans tache, “Auvergne without a stain”?  If the praise that Mr. Lincoln bestowed upon our men in his late Message to Congress be not undeserved, they are bound to show qualities such as no other common soldiers have ever been called to exhibit.  There are among them more men of character, intelligence, and principle than were ever seen before in the ranks.  There should be a higher tone in our service than in that of any other people; and it would be a reproach to our institutions, if our soldiers did not show themselves not only steady and brave in action, undaunted in spirit, unwearied in energy, but patient of discipline, self-controlled, and forbearing.  The disgrace to our arms of the defeat at Bull Run was not so great as that of the riotous drunkenness and disorderly conduct of our men during the two or three days that succeeded at Washington.  If our men are to be the worthy soldiers of so magnificent a cause as that in which they are engaged, they must raise themselves to its height.  Battles may be won by mere human machines, by men serving for eleven dollars a month; but a victory such as we have to gain can be won only by men who know for what and why they are fighting, and who are conscious of the dignity given to them and the responsibility imposed upon them by the sacredness of their cause.  The old flag, the stars and stripes, must not only be the symbol in their eyes of past glories and of the country’s honor, but its stars must shine before them with the light of liberty, and its stripes must be the emblem of the even and enduring lines of equal justice.

The retreat from Bull Run and the panic that accompanied it were not due to cowardice among our men.  During long hours our troops had fought well, and showed their gallantry under the most trying circumstances.  They were not afraid to die.  It was not strange that raw volunteers, as many of them were, inefficiently supported, and poorly led, should at length give way before superior force, and yield to the weakness induced by exhaustion and hunger.  But the lesson of defeat