Obedience

(Fr. obéi ance ). Submi ion to the orders of a superior. The first principle which ought to be inculcated and impre ed upon the mind of every officer and soldier is obedience to all lawful commands. It is the mainspring, the soul and e ence of military duty. It is evident that if all officers and soldiers are to judge when an order is lawful and when not, the captious and mutinous would never be at lo for a plea to justify their insubordination. It is, therefore, an established principle, that unle an order is so manifestly against law that the question does not admit of dispute, the order must first be obeyed by the inferior, and he must subsequently seek such redre against his superior as the laws allow. If the inferior disputes the legality before obedience, error of judgment is never admitted in mitigation of the offense. The redre now afforded by the laws to inferiors is not, however, sufficient; for doubtful questions of the construction of statutes, instead of being referred to the Federal courts of law for their true exposition, have received variable expositions from the executive, and left the army in an unfortunate state of uncertainty as to the true meaning of certain laws; and this uncertainty has been most unfavorable to discipline. Again, while the punishment of death is meted to officers and soldiers for disobedience of lawful commands, the law does not protect officers and soldiers for obeying unlawful commands. Instances have occurred in the United States, where officers and soldiers have been subjected to vexatious prosecutions, simply for obeying orders according to their oath of office. Would it not be just if the law, instead of requiring officers and soldiers thus nicely to steer between Scylla and Charybdis, should hold the superior who gives an illegal order alone responsible for its execution?