How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
...and Father damp too from the ford, his boots dark and dustcaked too, the skirts of his weathered gray coat shades darker than the breast and back and sleeves where the tarnished buttons and the grayed braid of his field officer's rank glinted dully, the sabre hanging loose yet rigid at his side as if it were too heavy to jounce or perhaps were attached to the living thigh itself and took no more motion from the horse than he did. (1.1.23)
A lot of Bayard's admiration for his father isn't for the man, but for what he's wearing. We always heard that clothes make the man, but this is going overboard. The signs of wear and tear on the uniform point to what makes John so impressive: his military might and general manly toughness.
Quote #2
He was not big; it was just the things he did, that we knew he was doing, had been doing in Virginia and Tennessee, that made him seem big to us. (1.1.26)
Ever see one of those tricks of perspective that makes it look like a person is holding the Eiffel Tower in his or her fingers? In a way, admiration is like a cheap camera trick; it makes you imagine that someone is much bigger than they really are.
Quote #3
That was it: not that Father worked faster and harder than anyone else, even though you do look bigger (to twelve, at least, to me and Ringo at twelve, at least) standing still and saying, "Do this or that" to the ones who are doing; it was the way he did it. (1.2.1)
Just acting like a boss goes a long way toward making people think you are one. John doesn't work harder than his kids or the slaves, but his general attitude inspires awe, admiration, and maybe a little fear in those around him.