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Report Of The Secretary Of War

Report Of The Secretary Of War image
Parent Issue
Day
19
Month
July
Year
1861
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

War Departmekt, Washington, July 1, 1861. S Sir : I liave tho honor to submit tho folluwing report of the ope rationa of this Departmeut. The aceompanying statements of the Adjutant General will show the number, description and distribution of the troops which are now in service It forms no part of the 3uty of this iDepartment to enter upon a diwussion oí uhe preliininary circumstances which ave contributed to the present condition. ot public afïairs. The secession i ua of South UauoUfttt was passed on the 20th of December last, and fiom tbat pc''iod until the majesty of the governm.unt was made manifest, immediately ter you assuined the Chief Magistracy, lhe conspirators against its cocstitution and laws have left nothing undone to perpetúate the meinory of thoir infamy. 1 L # # The detenuiiirition of the government to use its utmost power to subduo the rebelhon has been sustained by the uu qualitied approval of the whole people - Hurutofore, the leaders of this conspiracy have prol'ossed to regard the peoplo of this country as incapable of making a forcible resistance to rebellion. The error of this conclusión is now being made manifest. History will record that men, who, D ordinary times, were devoted solely to the arts of peace, were yet rcady, on thé instant, to rush to arms in defense of thcir rights, whcu assailed. At the present moment, the Govern. ment presenta tho striking anomaly of being embarassed by the goncrous outpouring of volunteers to sustain its aetion. Iustead cf laboring under the difficulty of Monarchical Governments, the want of men to fill its armies (whicli in other coun tries has compelled a resort to forceel conscriptious), one of its maiu dimeulties is to keep down the proportious of the anny, and to prevent it from swelliug beyond the actual forcé requircd. The commanding officers in the regiments of the volunteer service, both for the three mouths' service and for the war, have, in ma;iy iustances,. not yet furnished the Deparlineut with tbc muster-rolls of their regiments. For the want of these returns, it is iinpossible to present as accurate an onumeration of the volunteer force accepted and in the field as could be desired. Under tbc proelamation issued by you on the löth of April last, the Governors of different States were callcd upon to detach from the mili tia undcr their command a certain quota, to serve as infantry or riiiemen, for (he period of threo months, unless sooncr dis eharged. The cali so made amounted in the ag gregate to ninely-four regiments, making 73,391 officers and men. Of tho States called upon, tho Governors of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Missouri pereinptorily re fused to coniply with the requireLoeots made by tho departinent. All the other States promptly furnished tho number required of them, except Maryland, whose Govcruor, though manifesting eutire readiness to comply, was prevented from so doing by the outbreak at Baltimore. In tho States of Virginia, Delaw.v.v and Missouri, notwithstandiug the positivo refusal of thoir .xecutive officers to coopérate with the government, patriotio eitizens voluntanly united together and organized regiments for the government service. Delaware and Virginia furuished cach a regiment, both of whieh are ou duty in tho field. In a similar patriotic spirit the loyal people of Missouri ráíséd a forcé of 11,4-15 officers and men, making in roui.d numbcrsl2 organizad regiments to sustaiu tho goverument and put down rebelhon in that State. And so, also, the eitizens of the Dis trict of Columbia, emulating these honorable examples, furnished no less than 2,823 officers and men, making in all four fill regiments, all of which are j-et in the field, doing activo and efficiënt service. Thus, notwitlistanding the refusil of disloyal governors to re.-pond, the Government iustead of having been furj nished with ouly the number of iroops called for under your proelamation 15th April lost, has received, and has uow in the service, under that cali, in round numbers, at least eighty thousand. Under your second proelamation of the 4th of May last, calling for volunteers to serve during the war, there have been accepted to this dato 208 regiments. - A uumber of other regiments have been aceepted, but on condition of being ready to be mustercd into tho service within a special time, the limitation of whicli has in somo instances, not expircd. It is not possible to statu how many of these may be ready before the meeting of Oongress. Of the regiments accepted all are infantry aud riflemSn, with the exeeption of two battalions of artillery aud i'oui' regiments of cavalry. A number of rrgimer.ts mustered as infantry have, however, attiched to them ouo or more artillery companies, aud there are also some regiments partly made up of compauies of eavalry. Of the 208 regiments aecoptcd for two years, therc are now 153 in active service and the remaining 55 are mostly ready, and all of them will be iu the field within the next twenty days. The total forces now in the field luay be computed as followa : Regatan anJ voluutecrs for thrcomonths nul tof the iv, .i-, 2S5.0C0 Adil to Ihi.s ö.'i rt imrnts of volunteèrs fof th! war, icceptert anil ui't in sc-rvicü, 60 '100 Add uew regimeau ut regular aiiuy, 25,030 75,000 Tolal force uow at command of goverüracat, 310,00j Ucduct t!:o ihrce muntha voluntecr, SO.OOÜ Forcé for tbc s:rvu:o.ii'io the withdiawal of the three montha oren, 230.000 It will tiius bc porceived, that after the discharge of the thrce montlis' troops, thore will bo still au available foroe of volunteers, amountiug to 188,000, which, added to the regular anny, will contitute : a total force of 2 0,000 officors and men. ! It will bo for Congress to determinad whethcr this anny hatt, at this time, be iucreascd by the additiou of a still largor volunteer foreo. The estraordinary exigencies which have called this great anny into being, havo rendcred neoesary, also, a verv considerable augumentation of the regular ; arm of the service. Tho demoralization of the regular army, caused by the treasonable conduct of its commanding officers, the distant posts at which the greater part of the troops were statioued, and j the unexampled rapidity of the spread of the rebellion, convinced those high in I coramand in the rcrriee, ie veil as tbis Department, that an iuereaso of the regular arniy was indispensable. The sub jeot was accordingly brought to your attention, and after a careful cxamination, an inercase was authorized by your 1 lamatiou, issuftd on the 4th of May last. This increase consista of ono regiment of cavalry, of twclve companies, numbering iu tho maximum aggregato, 1,189 officers and men; one regiment of artillery of twelvo batteries, of six pieees each, numbering ia the maximum aggregate, 2,909 officers and men ; iiinc regiments of mfantry, caeh regiment coutaining threu battaliona of eight companies each, nunibcring iu the maximum aggregato, Ll,452 officers and men, making a maximum Ulerease of mfantry of 22,0(58 officers and men. In tlie cnlistmont of men to fill the additional fbgitnents of tho regular army, I would rccomiij„d that the term of enlistment bo made tlne years, to correspond witli the cali of Ma 4th for volunteers ; and that to all who slii-U receive an honorable discharge et thb close of their term of service, a bouaty tf $100 shall ba given The mountcd troops of the old .my consiats of iive regiments, witli a 't mum aggregate of 4,4G0 moa. Not more thun onc-fourth of these troops are avaliable for service at the seat war. At least two regiments of artillery are unavailablo, beiug staiioned on the western coast and in the Florida forts. The increase of infaritry is comparatively large, but this arm of the service is that which tbc General -in-Chief recoinnieudod as being most efficiënt. Tho organización of the incroasod force, it will be noticed, is different f rom that cf the old army. This question was fully considered by officers of the army connected with this Departmeut, and afte:- much deliberation, it wasconcluded to adopt the Frenoh reginiental system of threa battaliona tú a regimeut. Each battalion is commanded by a major, with a colonel and lieutenant-colonel for the general commaud of the regiment. This, it is bclieved, is the best organization now existing. The number of field officers is less tha.li under the old plan, and theroforo much less expc.isive. Whether this organization ra:iy not advantageously be extended to tho o!d anny, after the passage of a law providing for a retiicd list, is a question which may proper ly engage the attention of Congress. In making the selection of officers for the ïiew regiment?, two courses only seemed to be open, viz.: to make tho appointmeots from the regular service by seuiority, or by seleciion. The first appeared liablo to the objection tbat old, and, in some instanees, inefficiënt meo would be promoted to p'.aees which ought to bo filled by younger and more vigorous officers. The seuond was liable to the grave objection that favoritism niight prejudice the claims of worthy offieers. After the fullest consideration, it was determiucd. under the advice of the Generalin-Chief, to appoint one-half of them ironi the regular army and the oth er half from eivic life. I cannot forbear to speak favorably of the volunteer system, as a substitute for a cuinbrous and dangerous standing army. It has, heretofore, by many been deomed unreliablo and inefficiënt in a sudden emergoncy, but actual faets have proved the eontrary If it be urged that the enemies of order have gained some slight advantases at remote points, by reasou of the of a sufficieüt regular force, the unexamplcd rapidity of concentratiou of volunteers already wituessed is au ampie refutation of tho argument, A goverumenc whose every citizeu stands ready to march to its defense can never be overthrown; for nono are so strong as thoee whoso fouudatious rest iminovably iu the hearts of tlie people The spectaele of more than a quarter of a milüou of eitizens rushing to the field in defense of the Oonstitution, must ever take rank among the most extraordinary facts of history. lts interest is vastly hiiihteued by tho lavish outpouring, from States and individuáis, of voluutary coutributions of lüoney reaching u agjji-eg.Uo thua far of more thau tea uiillions of dollars. But a few weeks siuoe tho men composiug this great army were pursuing the avocatious of peace, - They gathercd from the farm, from the workshop, from the factor}7, from the mine. The minister camo from bis pul pit, tho merchant from bis counting room, the professor and student from the ooilege, the teacher and pupil from the public schools. Young men of fortunes left luxurious homes for the tent and the camp. Native and foreign born alike camo forward with a kindred cuthusiasm. That a well-disciplined, homogeneous, and efficiënt force should be fonued out of sacha secmingly heterogeaeous nwès appears alinost iucredible. J5ut what is the actual fact ? Experienced men, whohavo had ampio opportuuity to fumiliarize themsolves with tho condition of Eu ropean arantes concede that in point of personae!, this-patriot army is fully cqual to the finest regular troops of the Old World. A more intelligent body of men, or onc actuated by purer motives was never before marshalled in tbe geld. The cailing forth of this large ánd admirable forec iu viudieation of the Constitution and tho laws, is ia striot aceordanco with a wiso prudenee and eeonomy, aud at the samo time iu perfeot harmony with the uniform practice of the governmeut. But three years ago, wlie the authoi'ity of the naüon was contcmptuously deficd by the Mormons in Utah, the only safe poli;y consistent with the dignity of the Goverumeut was tho prompt otuploymeut of suoh an overwliehning f'oree for the suppression of the rebellion as removed all possibiüty of a failuro. It will hardly be credited, however, that the following lsnguage in rcliitiou to that pnriod was pouued by John IÍ. Floyd, thon Secrctary of War, aud now aetively engaged in leading tho rebel foroes, who have even less to justify their actiou than tlic Mormons : " 'heu a sinall foree was ürst sent to Utah, the Moi'incus attacked and destroyed their trains, aud made ready for a general attaolí upoti tho coluum. V hon a suffioient power was put ou foot to put süecess boyoud all doubt their Lluotor and bravado sank into whispers of tortor and submission. " Tbis moveinent upon that Territory was dcinanded by the moral scntiraont of tbe country, wasdue to a vindication of its lenta and Coustitution, and waa eaeutial to demónstrate the power of the Federal Government to chastise insubor diuation and quell rebellion, howevor formidable from uumbcrs or position it might seem to bs. Adequate preparaiona aad a prompt advance of tha armj was an act of mercy and bumanity to those doluded peoplo, for itprevented the efl'usion of blood." I rccommcnd the samo vigorous and mcrciful polioy now. The reports' of the chiofs of the ! ent bureaus of this dopartment, which are herewith submittod, present the mat.es of the probable amount of priations required, ia addition to those ulready made for the year ending Juue 30, 18G0, for the forca now in tbe iiuld or which has been aceppted, and will be ! in the service withiti the next twonty days, as follows : Qi:irli-nnaster's Dojmrtmeut, $70.239,200 21 Sub Unce Deprijuent,, 27,278,781 50 Ordnance Depnrtmenl, 7,403.172 00 Pay Depariment. 68,402 500 08 Ailjuiaut General'fl Pcpnrtment, 409,000 (0 EDinswr Iiep:u tmenl , 658,000 O) Topogr-ipliical kn_nneur Depuríment, 60,0)i00 ;i (ieaenLl'a U-p u-lunut, l,271,úll00 lue St.at.ei wiiich havo inade advan es fortroups, 10,000,000 00 Total, $!8&,2tt8,4ü7 79 The resistanoe to the passage of troops through the city of Baltimore, hastening to the relief of the Federal capital, and and the destrucción of bridges of the Wilmingtou and Baltimore and the refusal of the Northern Central Rail road Company to transport the goveru "'it forees and supplies, involved the nccei'.;t,yi at an early stage oí' thu present troubles, ,, the part of this Department, to take posse;ou of g0 uuieh of the railvvay linos as was muired to form a ! nection with the C.es f rora which troops and supplies wei-a expected. A military route was accoráVily opened f rom Porrysvil'e, on the Chos;.?oa]ie w stoamers, to Annapolis, and then,, ,y railroivd to Washington. Tn view of a,e necessiües of the crisis, Oorigress, it is , not doubted, will justity the steps taken. As the inovcments of the United States forees are contiuucd, the supervisión of railroad and tolograph lines will reinain a uecessity to be met by the Üjpartnient. I would, therefore, reeommend the propriety of an appropriation I to be made by Ccingress, to be applied, when the public exigencies demaud, to the reconstructiou and and equipment of railroads, and for the' expense of ïnaintenance and oporating thein, and also for the constrution of additional telegraph lines and their appurtenancea. I would also roeommead u special appropriatiou for the reconstructiou of the Long Bridge across the Potoniac, which is now a military neeessity. The subsistence of the troops now ir. the service is a matter oí the highest importance. Rulions, proper in quantity and qimüty, are quite as esfentiul to the efficiency of aa army as valor or discipline. It is derirable, thereforo, i that the quantity of the rationa distributed to thu troops should as far as possible, be udaptod to their provious dietary habirs. Whilo it cannot be expuc-ted that the luxuries to "A'hieb many have been accustomed should bo provided by the corainissíiriat, a just regard for comfort and health imposes upon the government t! e duty oí íuinishing sound, heulthial and palatablo íood. A larger porportion of vegetables und of fresb rneats, when they can be procurad, tban can now bo furnished un(ier the army regulations, would un doubtedly diniinish the danger of epidemics among the traopa. 1 therefore submit the question, wliether it would not be expedient for Congress to ei large the powers of the eommissariat so as to enable it the better to carry ato practico the views hera suggesttd. # # # The arms and ordnance supplied from our nalional armorirs, under the able s'jperiatandoïice of' the ürdnanoe Bureau, compare rnost favorably with the very best munufucttired for foreign overnments. The celebrated Enoeld rifle, so called, is a simple copy of the regular army rifle raanutaotured for many ycars at tbe Springfield armory. Previou8 to the early part of last year, the governrnout had a suppiy of' arms and munitions of war for iny emergency; but through the bad faith of thiise intrusied with their guardianship, they wore taken from their proper depositolies and di.-stributed through portiofs of the country expected to take part in the contemplated rebellion. In consequence of loss thus sustained there wa available, at the commeneeinent of the outbroak, a rnuoh less sup p!y than usual of uil kinds. But, through the zoal and activity of the Ordnanco Burea], the embarrassment thus created has been in a great ineaaure overeóme. xs the government armones vvere not equal to the suppiy needed, even alter having doubled the ('orco at the Springfield Armory, the Department fuund it absolutely necessary to procure arma to some exent from private manufacturera. It is believed that from these sources they can i be obtained equal in quality and not much highor in cost than thoso made in the national workshops. It would, iherulore, be a wisepoliüy on the pait of government to encourage domestic in du.stry, by supplying our troops in part from private fautorías of our o'-n country, instead of maling purchases ibroad. Aa iifiud caiiiionare,in point of eftectiveness lar superiin' lo the einoolhbored, urrangeinents liave been made to rifle a largo portion of the guns on hand, aud the work is still in progresa. Some patriotic American citizenü resident in Europe, iearing tbat the country inight not have a .-;uüïcient supply puichasod on their own responsibility, through co-oporation with the Uuitod States Ministers to England and Franco, a nuinberof inproved cannon and muskets ; and, at your instance, this Dopurtmeut aceepted tlio dralt drawn to döfray tho outlay thus assumed. A porícct battury of six VhitwQih 12 poundor riflud annon, with threé ihousaüd rouods of ammuïition, the muiiiiicunt donaüou of syinjaihizing frieiulá in I'uuopo, has also jeto received from Euglaud. It will bo necesaary tor Congress, eithur at iis approacbing special or at its nest ftuuual sesaion, to adopt moasares for re-organizutian, upofl a ur.i fonn basis, of the military of the coudtry. I know ot ao aource of ini'onnation on the subject t han the able report oL G-on. Houry Krios, the lirst Secretary of War, who by his wise tbrecast and eminent appreciation oi tho future wants of the country, shovved, the ontiro safety uf an iioplieit relianoe upon the popular will íor tiie supply of the Government in tho most trying eaiergency, abundant confirmation of ' which fact iá f)und in tbe present grent i rally of the people to the defouse of ;ha Conetitution and laws. I have ready adverted o thq superior, mannor in wliich somu of tho New Eng'and : regimenté, now in service, are equipped. i TÍua is to be attributed to the efficiënt organization oí' the inilitia of somo of those States. Their exarnple is an excellent ono, and cannot fail to hare a beneficia] effect upon such States as liave not alredy adopted alikü desirablo organizalion. I think it important to recommond a furthér distribution of improved artns mono; tho raílitia of tho States and Torritoiiea. As the returns oi tha tniliüa are frequently inaccurate, the distribution stiould be made proportitiato to tho late censúa returns of freo white male inhabltants capable oí bearing artns. # In concluding thi report, I deem it proper to express my (leep indebtednees to tha veteran General in-Chief of the Arm}r for tho constant nnd self sacrificing devotion to the publio survioo oxhibited by him in this great crisis, and also to the Chieís of tíie different Bureaus of this Department for the able and efficiënt mnnner in whieh they liave at n 1 1 times aided me in the discharge oí' my official duties. I llave the honor to be, with liiírh rpganl, you ollc-lii.nt 8-rvant, fcllION '(.AMUÍON, íecrutaíy ul Wur. T J TIIK PnEilDHN'T OP TifK T-MTED STATK.-.

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Michigan Argus