James H. Carleton to First Infantry California Volunteers, February 21, 1862

First Infantry California Volunteers,

Commanding at Camp Wright, San Diego County, Cal.: COLONEL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 19th instant in relation to the refusal of certain privates in Company A, First Infantry California Volunteers, to carry their knapsacks on drill. I have always regarded that company as one of the finest I have ever seen in service—one of the first I should have chosen to follow me into any battle where the integrity of the country or the glory of the flag was to be maintained; so you can judge how greatly I have been disappointed. It is hardly possible that it is a settled purpose on the part of that whole company to set military authority at defiance and constitute itself a judge of what shall be done and what not. The men are intelligent men, and can at once see to what all this would tend. Nor can it be possible the men refuse to obey orders for the purpose of remaining behind to gain by the delays incident to a trial before a general court-martial immunity from the fatigues of a hard march and from the danger of facing an enemy. The men are sardy and brave and patriotic; such a thought, therefore, would be unjust to them. Now, the infantry require the soldiers of that arm to drill with knapsacks on at quickstep, and even at the run. To accustom them to this weight, to carry out and perfect them in their instruetion, was one purpose of General Orders, No. 3, requiring the First Infantry, my own regiment, to drill with knapsacks on. Another purpose was this. and I want the soldiers to know it: We are about to commence a movement with limited means of transportation over a desert country. Unless the soldiers carry their knapsacks at the commencement of the march, it will be impossible to transport a sufticiency of food, of ammunition, of clothing, or of hospital stores. So the purpose of the expedition will have to be abandoned, or the men, like good soldiers, must be willing to sacrifice personal convenience for a short time to attain an important object. Read all this to those men. Read the Articles of War to them. Remind them of their oaths. Give them one hour to reflect on the unhappy consequences of such conduct. Let them see how unworthy it is of them as soldiers, how degrading themselves as men, how much it reflects upon their company and regiment, how disgraceful it is to California, to the flag, to the country. If, then, any one man amongst them does not feel ashamed of such conduct, and feel willing to obey orders promptly and cheerfully, the only alternative left is to have that man at once mustered out of the service without pay. The country has a plenty of soldiers, and California has enough of them even here, who stand ready to take his place and obey orders. Depend on that. I have taken some pains to explain this matter, and have exercised a forbearance in the case unusual in our profession, because I feel an attachment to the men of my regiment, and I do not wish to see them dishonor the flag or disgrace themselves if I can help it. But I leave the issue to them, feeling confident that the determination to which they will come, after a sober second thought, will be such as to cause them no regrets hereafter. There is one thing they can count upon: The colors of the First Infantry of California will go forward, even though every man in the regiment but one refuses to go with them.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,