Literary notes about adjutant (AI summary)
The term "adjutant" in literature primarily denotes a military officer whose duties span both administrative support and active field command. In Russian classics, such as those by Tolstoy, the adjutant is frequently portrayed as a pivotal figure—tasked with relaying orders, enforcing discipline, and providing a direct link between high command and the soldiers on the march [1, 2, 3, 4]. Meanwhile, historical memoirs and military narratives often emphasize its function as a manager of logistic details and a symbol of structured military hierarchy, as seen in accounts of generals like Sherman and Grant [5, 6, 7, 8]. This dual role reinforces the adjutant’s importance as both a practical aide and a narrative device, bridging the abstract commands of power with the tangible reality of military life [9, 10, 11].
- Prince Andrew, who was a little behind looking at them, turned to an adjutant to ask him for a field glass.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - Pierre was about to ask, but seeing the stern expression of the adjutant who was also looking that way, he checked himself.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - “Take this and deliver it,” said he to his adjutant, handing him the papers and still taking no notice of the special messenger.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - Turning to his adjutant he ordered him to bring down the two battalions of the Sixth Chasseurs whom they had just passed.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - He was not then in, but his adjutant, Lieutenant Gardner, was.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman - No orders should go to the army, or the adjutant-general, except through the general-in-chief.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman - By order of General W. T. Sherman, L. M. DAYTON, Assistant Adjutant-General.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman - On the 18th of May orders were issued by the adjutant-general for a grand review by the President and his cabinet of Sherman's and Meade's armies.
— from Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Complete by Ulysses S. Grant - Nominally he is only an adjutant on Kutúzov’s staff, but he does everything alone.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - And, as if to make the Russian general still more conscious of his dependence on brute force, Davout sent an adjutant to call the officer on duty.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - My position as adjutant procured me the honour of dining at M. D—— R——‘s table, but nothing more.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova