TABLE OF CONTENTS OF VOL. I. African Color-Sergeant, The (Poetry)...Rev. E. A. Washburne, D.D.......... 157 Artillery, Organization of United States.. Gen. John Gibbon 495 12 632 Battle Hymn, A (Poetry).................Thomas MacKellar, Esq............ Explosive Substitutes for Gunpowder... Capt. E. C. Boynton...... 611 Faith Militant (Poetry).... French Military Phrases ..........Lieut.-Com'er Wm. Gibson, U.S. N. 402 .....The Editor......... 76 Grant, Lieutenant-General .................The Editor......... 561 50 Major Laidley, U. S. Ord. Dept....... 345 Medical Officers........ ................. Surgeon A. A. Woodhull............... 478 25 Medical Officers on Courts-Martial Surgeon A. A. Woodhull.. Men called Great in History.......... Military Notes and Queries................. 503 ..... 258 399 541 Military Organization of Switzerland... B. Freyhold, Esq..... 231 ...... Modern War, in Theory and Practice.... Capt. J. G. Rosengarten. Military Topography of Europe...........Henry Vethake, LL.D............ 145, 284 125 379 New Island in South Pacific........ 621 539 Volunteering and Conscription............Henry C. Lea, Esq.................. War-Songs, and their Influence........... Charles G. Leland, Esq................ What the Navy has Done during the Where General Sherman Went, and What Word of Greeting, A W. V. McKean, Esq.......... 31 THE UNITED STATES SERVICE MAGAZINE. VOL. I.—JANUARY, 1864.—NO. I. A WORD OF GREETING. IN presenting to the public the first number of the "UNITED STATES SERVICE MAGAZINE" as the inauguration of a new literary enterprise in the domains of the Military Art, we salute the officers, soldiers, and sailors of the sister services, and our noble volunteers now in the field pro aris et focis; and offer to them, with our hearty greeting, a few words explanatory of the form, objects, and prospects of our journal. It seems almost unnecessary to proclaim the need of such an organ at the present period. That need has already presented itself to every thoughtful person at all cognizant of the wonderful progress of the military art. The remarkable and rapid development of all machinery and matériel; the great improvement in fire-arms, projectiles, and gunpowder; the changes in fortifications,—in trace, dimensions, and materials of construction; the conflicting claims of sand and masonry, and the prospective use of iron, in defensive works; the new relations of fleets and forts by reason of the invention of iron armor for vessels; the changing canons of strategy, and the improvement in the tactics of every arm; -such are a few of the topics which demand investigation and discussion, and upon which there should be a clear and intelli Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by C. B. RICHARDSON, in the Clerk's 1 gent report of progress to our noble armies in the field, our gallant navy afloat, and a patriot people from whose hearths more than a million of men have gone forth to maintain the majesty of the government, the integrity of the nation, and the insulted honor of the glorious old flag. We First, as to our title. While at the first glance it might seem in part at least borrowed from the English, we disclaim such an intention. Our use of the word UNITED has the high sense of our nationality, and SERVICE is the every-day phrase for army and navy life as well in America as in England. mean to model our journal upon no other, except in so far as it is a monthly and a Service monthly. It will be obvious, however, that, to produce analogous results, there must be, without imitation, a general analogy in the handling of all such papers. Next as to the form and periodic time. We have adopted the octavo or book form of a monthly magazine, in order to fill an unoccupied niche. There are other news journals of weekly issue; but, in such a work as ours, the articles presented, on subjects of engrossing interest, may be full and complete dissertations, rather than simply suggestive statements or striking fragments. In each number it is our purpose to present a pleasant variety of such articles; and in each half-yearly volume we hope to range, suggestively at least, over the entire scope of the great war topics, so as to give not only a general idea of the condition and prospects of the military art, but also a concise body of military doctrines and principles with practical illustrations drawn from the present war. We shall thus give our readers, in the successive volumes, a sketch of the history of the war, and of the military art in these days of its most remarkable manifestations. But, while these must constitute our chief design, details of army and navy intelligence and items of personal interest shall not be wanting. These will be found in the EDITOR'S "SPECIAL DEPARTMENT;" and as our journal makes its way to the various centres of the war, where large armies are concentrated and great battles fought, we hope to secure, as we here respectfully solicit, a large correspondence of great personal interest, extracts from which will form a valuable feature of the editor's monthly offering. It is perhaps well to say that the special articles will be furnished by persons of the highest authority in their respective branches. Many of the contributors are distinguished officers of both services. Eminent divines, jurists, physicians, poets, novelists, have promised contributions on subjects connected with their specific studies. We make bold to promise our readers that every paper will be eminently worthy their perusal, both for its interest and its instruction. To those who, limited as to time and means, abandon any literary journal for ours, we mean to offer full recompense in that particular. Literary articles, incidents of service life, short stories, and excellent original poems, will be regularly provided to break the monotony of the technical science which must form our staple matter. Nor shall we be diverging from the proper path in doing so. The legitimate literature of war is the best and most captivating type in the history of all literature. In its present consideration, we even stand upon prophetic ground. It is not merely that it comprises the delineation of the most exalted human passions, the chanted praises of valor, the pæans of the national joy of victory, the lofty requiems of the heroic dead. There is more than this: it is that from such incitements as these sprang the great heroic master singers of former ages, and that perhaps now for the first time we have in America the scenes, the personages, the events, from whose historic grouping is to spring the great American epic, as did the Iliad, "rolling this way from Troy-ruin," the Eneid from the wars of Latium, and the Gerusalemme of Tasso from the splendors of the first Crusade. To all fair representations of the varied needs of the service, these pages shall be always open: every arm, corps, grade, and rank shall always find respectful consideration, and have a proper hearing. Experiments in all military and naval constructions and investigations, when presented in summary form, will be cheerfully published, with necessary diagrams. On many questions of present progress, there must be diversities of opinion: of these, fortifications, fire-arms, and Monitors are striking specimens. On these subjects we invite discussion in earnest but courteous articles; and, as we cannot undertake to decide where the doctors disagree, such articles will be marked as controversial, and as not requiring our responsibility for facts or conclusions. We shall always reserve the right to put an end to any specific discussion when we think the interests of the magazine require it. If there is any need to say so (and at least it cannot be amiss), it is hereby declared that this magazine, in so far as it occupies |