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Literacy Turns out one of the key performance variables for military effectiveness is the ability to read. Literate troops perform better in training and on the battlefield. Studies have shown that high literacy rates also translate into higher battlefield morale results. Thus units with low literacy rates are much more likely to break and run than units with higher literacy rates. In the War of 1812, literacy rates were low, particularly in the US Army. The lowest rates were found in the state militia units, which correspondingly had the lowest morale ratings and were the most likely units to melt away in combat. Even for those who performed well in combat, they would not perform well as quartermasters, commissary, engineer and other support functions so desperately needed by the US Army in 1812. Literacy was so prized . . . and rare . . . in the US Army that new recruits that had reading skills were instantly promoted to NCO ranks.
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