Short Rounds

Second Choice: Noted Commanders Who Wanted to be Something Else

People often end up in careers quite different from those which they had intended to pursue.  Some find their chosen profession too crowded, or perhaps paying less than they anticipated, or even just much less interesting once they actually came to practice it, or may be unable to secure the necessary training and education,  And then, of course, war may interfere.

A surprising number of fairly notable commanders actually started out wanting to be something other than warriors, such as the generals and admirals noted here, a list that is hardly definitive. 

The "profession of choice" is that which the person expressed an interest in or was already engaged in when called to arms, a career which they subsequently found more congenial.  Many of these men would probably have pursued their original career choices but for the outbreak of major wars that led to relative mass mobilization, such as Greene, Knox, Putnam, Murat, Dupleix, Timoshenko, and Zhukov.  Note that Francisco Franco, John French, Dwight Eisenhower, and Lewis Brererton have been included because, although their preferred trade was within the profession of arms it was in a different branch service than that in which they subsequently served, due usually to an inability to enter a naval academy.  In the case of Baron Togo, originally a samurai, circumstances led to him becoming a sailor.

Note, by the way, that the priesthood stands in the lead of professions of choice, with six, followed closely by naval officer, at five.  

"And Divvy Up the Loot Afterwards"

Until relatively recent times loot was major perq of warriors.  Many armies and navies – which preferred to call loot "prize" – regularized the collection of booty so that it could distributed equitably among those in the ranks.  Initially custom was the primary guideline for dividing up the loot, but during the Renaissance, as armies became more formally organized, detailed regulations began to be introduced.

A French military treatise of 1592 provides one of the earliest examples of written guidelines for the division of loot by a regiment.

The treatise first specified which personnel qualified for a share in the booty.  After all, a man might assigned to the regiment, but not be present at the siege and capture of a particular town or take part in a particular victory. After that, the treatise explained how much each eligible soldier was to be awarded.  First, the commanding officer was to be given 10-percent of the total booty.  The remaining loot was then divided into "shares" based on the specified allocation for each rank.

In addition, the sergeant major of the command was to be given a half share for each company under his charge during the action.  This was because at the time regiments did not have a fixed number of companies.

Guidelines for larger formations provided a major percentage for the overall commander and other higher officers, including the sergeant major of the army, and demoted regimental commanders to a set number of shares.

Depending upon the loot taken, awards could represent considerable sums.  Even common soldiers occasionally came away with enough money to buy a farm or a shop, provided they didn't spend it immediately on wine, women, and song.