Definition of "militaire"

There hangs something majestic about a man who has borne his part in battles, especially if he is very quiet regarding it when you desire him to unbosom. I am continually lost at the absence of blowing and blowers among these old-young American militaires.

1999, John Harmon McElroy, editor, The Sacrificial Years: A Chronicle of Walt Whitman's Experiences in the Civil War, page 29