THE ^1?^ (iwi^s^ .'l-ihnr^Beni^ill A- CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 100 753 783 The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924100753783 Mii^yk<^ HISTORY OF THE War Department OF THE UNITED STATES. WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE SECRETARIES. BY L. D. INGERSOLL, Author of " The Life and Times of Horace Greeley," *' Iowa and the Rebellion," etc. WASHINGTON, D. C. : FRANCIS B. MOHUN, Successor to Mohun Brothers. PHILADELPHIA: CLAXTON, REMSEN & HAFFELFINGER. 1880. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by L. D. INGERSOLL, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. PREFACE. THE main scope and design of the following work are set forth in the introductory paragraphs of the history itself. I beg only to add, in general terms, that a full and candid history of the War Department would be fairly entitled to a permanent place in American literature because of the long and successful labors of that Department in the spread of commerce and civili- zation. Herein, as will be seen in this history, no other agency has been so potent. I have quite freely referred to the authorities for statements in the text, especially in all cases where treating of points still in dispute. These authorities have been of unspeakable value to me in the preparation of the work as will readily be seen by those who note their character. I am under scarcely less obliga- tions to living authorities, — to the General of the Army ; to the chiefs of the various staff departments at the Capital ; to the chief clerk of the War Department, Mr. H. T. Crosby, and his assistant, Mr. John Tweedale; to the chief clerks of all the bureaux of the Department. These, with great kindness, have supplied me with pamphlets, official publications, and 6ral infor- mation of the greatest use. It may be proper to add that no one except myself has had anything to do in the literary preparation of the work. No one else has been permitted to see or to revise a sentence of it. It is purely unofficial ; entirely the private essay of THE AUTHOR. Washington City, May, 1879. Missing Page Missing Page CONTENTS. General Armstrong Appointed Secretary of War — Army Regulations of 1813 — Organization of the Army at that Time — The Military Successes of the Year — The Battle of Bladensburgh— The Capture of Washing- ton and Burning of the Public Buildings — Resignation of General Armstrong — His Vindication — End of the War — Its Lessons 42-73 CHAPTER III, FROM THE LAST WAR WITH ENGLAND TO THE WAR WITH MEXICO. The Reduction of the Army in 1815 — Reorganization of the Military Establishment under Secretary of War John C. Calhoun — The Opinions of that Statesman on a Requisite Staff Department — The Army Regulations of 1825 — General History of the Department down to the beginning of the War with Mexico .... 74-107 CHAPTER IV. ACCOUNT OF THE DEPARTMENT BUILDINGS. A Sketch of the Public Buildings Occupied by the War Department — A Fuller Account of the Building so Oc- cupied from the Secretaryship of Mr. Calhoun till the Year 1879 — The Different Secretaries' Apartments — Its Works of Art — Its Prospective Destruction — The Structure known as " The War, State, and Navy De- partment Building " io8-ii8 CHAPTER V. CONDUCT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS BY THE WAR DEPARTMENT. The General Indian Policy of the Government — The War Department in Charge of Indian Affairs until the Year 1849 — The Situation of the Indians at the Time of the Establishment of the Government — An Account CONTENTS. XI of their Gradual Removal Westward, as the Result of Wars and by the Operation of Treaties — Their Prog- ress in Civilization while under the Control of the War Department — Their Former and Present Situation com- pared 119-138 CHAPTER VI. THE BUREAUX OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. History of the Different Bureaux of the Department — The Adjutant-General's Department — The Inspector- General's Department — The Bureau of Military Jus- tice — The Signal OfiSce — The Quartermaster's De- partment i39~i97 • CHAPTER VII. THE BUREAUX OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. — {^Continued.) The Subsistence Department — The Medical Department — The Pay Department — The Corps of Engineers — The Ordnance Department — Resume of the Practical Labors Performed by the Different Bureaux . . 198-319 CHAPTER VIII. DEPARTMENTAL HISTORY FROM THE MEXICAN WAR TO 1879. The Success of the System of Volunteers — Secretary Marcy and the War with Mexico — The Interim be- tween that War and the Late Civil War — The War Department During the War of the Rebellion — Secre- tary Stanton and the Assistant Secretaries — The Pro- vost-Marshal-General's Department — Colored Troops — Military Railroads and Telegraphs — Exchange of Prisoners — The Disbandment of the Volunteers — Re- organization of the Army — The Freedmen's Bureau — xu CONTENTS. Secretary Stanton and President Johnson — General Grant — Soldiers' Homes — National Cemeteries — Recent History — Secretary McCrary and the Signal Office 320-386 PART II. Lives of the Secretaries General Henry Knox, First Secretary . Hon. Timothy Pickering, Second Secretary Hon. James McHenry, Third Secretary . Hon. Samuel Dexter, Fourth Secretary . General Henry Dearborn, Fifth Secretary Hon. William Eustis, Sixth Secretary General John Armstrong, Seventh Secretary James Monroe, Eighth Secretary Hon. William H. Crawford, Ninth Secretary John C. Calhoun, Tenth Secretary . Hon. James Barbour, Eleventh Secretary General Peter B. Porter, Twelfth Secretary Major John H. Eaton, Thirteenth Secretary General Lewis Cass, Fourteenth Secretary Hon. Benjamin F. Butler, Secretary Ad Interim Joel R. Poinsett, Fifteenth Secretary Hon. John Bell, Sixteenth Secretary John C. Spencer, Seventeenth Secretary . James M. Porter, Eighteenth Secretary . William Wilkins, Nineteenth Secretary William L. Marcy, Twentieth Secretary . George W. Crawford, Twenty-first Secretary General Winfield Scott, Secretary Ad Interim Hon. Charles M. Conrad, Twenty-second Secretary Jefferson Davis, Twenty-third Secretary . John B. Floyd, Twenty-fourth Secretary . Hon. Joseph Holt, Twenty-fifth Secretary Simon Cameron, Twenty-sixth Secretary . 389 409 422 428 432 439 441 446 454 460 468 471 474 476 481 483 487 490 493 495 497 S°i 503 512 514 518 520 523 CONTENTS. XllI Edwin M. Stanton, Twenty-seventh Secretary . . -53° General U. S. Grant, Secretary ^i/ /«/m«2 . . 535 General John M. Schofield, Twenty-eighth Secretary . 543 General John A. Rawlins, Twenty-ninth Secretary . 549 General Wm. T. Sherman, SecTetaiy A^ Inien'm . 551 General William W. Belknap, Thirtieth Secretary . -566 Alphonso Taft, Thirty-first Secretary . . . -572 Hon. J. D. Cameron, Thirty-second Secretary . -575 Hon. George W. McCrary, Thirty-third Secretary - .578 APPENDIX. Roster of the Medical Department .... 589 " " THE Pay Department 591 " " Corps of Engineers 591 " " Ordnance Department 592 State, War, and Navy Department Building Frontispiece. Old War Department Building 109 PART I. GENERAL NARRATIVE. HISTORY OF THE War Department. Part I. GENERAL NARRATIVE. CHAPTER I. FROM THE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT TO THE WAR OF 1812. Introd.uction — History of the Organization of the Depart- ment — Organization of the State Militia — Dispute with THE Treasury Department — The American Navy Founded BY the War Department — Early History of Seacoast Defenses — Of th^ Corps of Engineers — Of the Military Academy at West Point — The First Government Expedi- tion Across the Continent — The "Whiskey Insurrection" — Indian Wars — Difficulties with France — Defective Or- ganization of the Staff Departments. DURING the autumn of 1878, being in charge of the War Department Library, I received a letter from the Honorable George W. McCrary, Secretary of War, requesting, me to write for publication a history of the War Department. The request was made with particular reference to the forthcoming destruction of the Department building and the transfer of the offices and archives to the new struc- 1 8 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. ture called "the State, War, and Navy Department Building." There were many interesting and not a few sacred associations connected with the old build- ing, many facts also in themselves valuable, which it was thought ought to be preserved In the permanent form of a printed volume. Moreover, several of the most illustrious statesmen and warriors of our country had at different times directed the affairs of the De- partment, while in but very few instances had it been given in charge to men of ordinary abilities or of litrie reputation. It will be seen that in nearly all «. instances it has been placed in the control of men of high renown throughout the republic, and indeed throughout Christendom. There could, of course, be no history of the War Department without large men- tion of these eminent men. Biographical sketches of all the Secretaries have therefore been prepared, in the opinion that such is the best and, if I may be allowed to say so, the most interesting form in which the personal history of the Department could be presented to the public. While I ask the generous judgment of criticism and of my readers at large upon the whole work, I especially beg all, in consid- ering the biographical portions of it, to reflect that in this style of composition considerable freedom of expression is allowable, and that upon the different in- dividuals whose lives are here sketched, notably those still living and recently dead, there are wide differ- ences of opinion. The judgments I express of the men who have presided over the affairs of the War Department, and of public men associated with them, may not in all instances be correct. Certainly they do not all agree with the opinions generally received THE OLD BOARD OF WAR. I9 I honestly entertain my own opinions and candidly express them. As they are based upon a more com- plete study of the " inside history " of affairs than most persons are able to give to it, they are entitled to respect, if not to assent. These observations on the occasion and on the general character of this work may serve as an introduction to the formal narrative. During the war of the Revolution, military admin- istrative affairs were conducted by a Board of War, the nature of which was once or twice changed dur- ing the conflict. The Congress, by resolution, fre- quently directed the control of military affairs, and issued all of the general and staff commissions. After independence had been achieved, a Depart- ment of War was established, and the distinguished General Benjamin Lincoln appointed to take charge of it. He was the first American Secretary of War. Afterwards the no less distinguished General Henry Knox was Secretary. He was engaged in this pub- lic employment at the time of the establishment of the government of the United States under the Fed- eral Constitution in 1 789, and was continued in office by President Washington. It ^is. of the Department as it has existed since the year just named that this volume will treat. Among the earliest branches of the executive por- tion of the government to be organized by a law of Congress was the Department of War, which, singularly enough, received the consideration of the national legislature some weeks before the Treasury Department. The act establishing the Department 20 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. was very broad in its generalizations, providing, "That there shall be an Executive Department to be denominated the Department of War ; and that there shall be a principal officer therein, to be called the Secretary for the Department of War, who shall perform and execute such duties as shall from time to time be enjoined on or intrusted to him by the President of the United States, agreeable to the Constitution, relative to military commissions, or to the land or naval forces, ships, or warlike stores of the United States, or to such other matters respect- ing military or naval affairs as the President of the United States shall assign to the said Department, or relative to the granting of lands to persons en- titled thereto for military services rendered to the United States, or relative to Indian affairs ; and, furthermore, that the said principal officer shall con- duct the business of the said Department in such manner as the President of the United States shall from time to time order or instruct." The act fur- ther provided that the Secretary should " forthwith after his appointment be entitled to have the custody and charge of all records, books, and papers in the office of Secretary for the Department of War here- tofore established by the United States in Congress assembled." ^ That is to say, in the Congress of the old Confederation. It will appear from the foregoing that upon its or- ganization ninety years ago, the Department of War had assigned to it the control of: i. All military commissions ; 2. The land and naval forces, ships, and warlike stores of the government ; 3. All mat- 'Act of Aug. 9, 1789. U. S. Stat, at Large, I., 49. GENERAL KNOX. 21 ters, generally, pertaining to military and naval af- fairs ; 4. The distribution of " bounty lands " to all soldiers and ex-soldiers entitled thereto ; 5. Indian affairs ; 6. And, generally, all such duties connected with these various affairs as might be assigned to the Department by the chief magistrate. The Depart- ment was almost equivalent, therefore, in the scope of its operations, to the three executive departments of War, the Navy, and the Interior, as now consti- tuted in law and conducted in fact. In about one month after the Department of War was thus instituted by law. President Washington ap- pointed General Henry Knox Secretary, and he was promptly confirmed by the Senate. He had been Secretary at War under the government of the Arti- cles of Confederation, and his appointment under the new government was a significant fact. Under the Confederation, the Secretary at War had been vested with large executive powers in military affairs, which, under the new government, were placed in the hands of the President as the chief executive officer of the nation and the commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy. The appointment of General Knox establishes a strong presumption that, in the opinion of President Washington, the duties and powers of the Secretary of War were to remain the same as they had been under the Confederation, except so far as they had been changed by the Constitution, or might be mod- ified by the laws of Congress. As a matter of history the Department was conducted by Secretary Knox and his immediate successors upon this idea, and has ever since been so conducted, it being regarded, in fact and in law, as the general agent, with full powers, 22 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of the chief executive, with respect to all administra- tive control of the army and of military affairs. It thus happened that the War Department was established from the beginning of the government under the Constitution on a substantial basis, which up to the present time has been enlarged and im- proved, rather than radically changed. Among the subjects which early received the study and labors of Secretary Knox, was the establishment of "an uniform militia throughout the United States," that being one of the powers expressly conferred upon the general government by the Constitution. In 1 789, Secretary Knox prepared a very lengthy and elaborate paper upon the subject, in which he set forth a plan establishing the militia, upon the le- gionary system. It was regarded in many of its recommendations as too rigid in its requirements of military duty for approval by the people, and was accordingly rejected by the Congress. After much labor in the Department, and much discussion in the national legislature, a plan was agreed upon, and became law on the 8th of May, 1792.^ The act pro- vided that within one year from its passage the mili- tia of the different States should be arranged into divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions, and com- panies, in accordance with the directions of the re- spective legislatures, and made other provisions for the organization of the militia upon this general plan, for instruction and drilling. The act provided that the miUtia should be officered by the States as fol- lows : To each division, one major-general and two aids-de-camp, with the rank of major ; to each bri- 'U. S. Stat, at Large, I., 271. THE MILITIA. 23 gade, one brigadier-general, with one brigade-in- spector to serve also as brigade-major, with the rank of major; to each regiment one lieifftenant- colonel commandant ; to each battalion one major ; to each company one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign, four sergeants, four corporals, one drummer, and one fifer or bugler. It was directed that the regimental staff should consist of one adjutant and one quartermaster with the rank of lieutenants, one paymaster, one surgeon and one surgeon's mate, one sergeant-major, one drum-major, and one fife-major. Such, briefly, are the general outlines of the orig- inal establishment of an uniform militia throughout the United States by act of Congress. It will be seen that the military organization here provided is substantially that which has generally obtained in the infantry of the armies of the United States from about the beginning of the present century up to this time. During the war of the rebellion army corps, and definitive armies, and grand armies, were added, but they did not at all disturb their elemental organizations — the company, the battalion, the regi- ment, the iDrigade, and the division. The machinery of organizing the militia was mainly left with the State authorities. Nevertheless, the arms were generally, or at any rate largely, supplied by the federal government through the War Depart- ment. Moreover, the Department was constantly in the receipt of letters asking for instruction and guid- ance, in the supplying of which it exerted large influ- ence in the practical organization of the militia in all the States. In the original act there were not a fcvv substantial defects in the judgment of Secretar)' 24 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Knox, who preferred a 'far more stringent system. But sonie of these were cured by the action of State legislatures, so that early in President Jefferson's administration the system was pretty thoroughly organized in all the States of the Union. It re- mained in existence for many years, and undoubt- edly did much to maintain the military spirit of the people, of which, during its entire existence, it was the handiwork rather than of the law of Congress which originated it, but without providing any penal- ties for its non-enforcement. The distinguished statesman Alexander Hamilton, who was the first Secretary of the Treasury, thought that the purchase of military stores and supplies properly came under the jurisdiction of the depart- ment of which he was the head. Through his influ- ence, Congress enacted in 1792: "That all purchases and contracts for supplying the army with provi- sions, clothing, supplies in the quartermaster's de- partment, military stores, Indian goods, and all other supplies for the use of the department of war, be made by or under the direction of the treasury de- partment."^ This anomalous arrangement produced no practical good results. On the contrary,- a main cause of the terrible failure of General St. Clair's campaign in the North-west was directly traced to the mismanagement of the Treasury Department in the, matter of supplies; for practically then, as well as under the law just quoted, the Treasury Depart- ment undertook to perform these duties, so appro- priately belonging to the Department of War, Not- withstanding the ill results of the anomalous system, 'U. S. Stat, at Large, I., 280. A DEPARTMENTAL DEBATE. 2$ Mr. Hamilton persisted in advocating it. Even three years after the disaster to St. Clair, he wrote : " The procuring of military supplies generally is, with great propriety, vested by law in the Department of the Treasury, That department, from situation, may be expected to feel a more habitual solicitude for econ- omy than any other, and to possess more means of information respecting the best modes of obtaining supplies."^ Both of these statements are pure as- sumptions, but being taken as true, the argument was considered good, and the system continued. Mr. Hamilton, however, in view of the greatness and importance of this branch of the public business, asked that a special officer be created by law to at- tend to it, the officer to be of the Treasury Depart- ment. This request was complied with and the office of purveyor of supplies created. Thus matters con- tinued until 1798, when the anomaly was abolished by the act of July 1 6,^ wherein it was provided that supplies and stores should be purchased under the direction of the chief officer of the Department of War. By the act of March 3, 1 799, the Secretary of War was directly authorized to make such purchases.^ Thus ended a long dispute between two of the executive departments of the government, the claims of the Department of War in this regard being rec- ognized as sensible and just. One happy result of this debate on the appropriate division of depart- mental labors was a considerable reform in the or- ganization of the staff departments. For by the act 'Lett, of Dec. 2, 1794. Am. St. Papers, I., Mil. Af., 69. 'U. S. Stat, at Lafge, I., 6io. ^IMd., I., 754, (Sec. 24.) 3 26 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of Congress just cited there was, in substance, an organization of the quartermaster's department on correct principles, and a marked improvement m the organization of the Adjutant-General's, Inspector- General's, and Pay departments. Later, when the army came to be reduced, some of these reforms, it is true, were permitted to become obsolete ; but the principles of them were henceforth recognized as correct, and were substantially applied in that com- plete and philosophical organization of the depart- ment which now obtains, and by means of which its vast affairs are conducted with promptness, regu- larity, and notable official harmony. Not by the same act, but almost at the same time that Congress thus organized and reformed the staff departments mentioned above, it organized the medical depart- ment on a very much more sensible and liberal plan than had before been adopted.^ From the organiza- tion thus effected has the present medical depart- ment of the United States Army, whose beneficent, practical and scientific works are recognized through- out Christendom, naturally grown. Thus it happened, as a result of the dispute be- tween the two departments, that two important truths were established, namely : That the Department of War was entitled to manage all the public business connected with military affairs ; and that the magni- tude and variety of this public business demanded, for its vigorous and harmonious conduct, the estab- lishment and permanent maintenance of various staff departments. But it was not only the public business connected 'U. S. Stat, at Large, I., 721. ALGERINE DEPREDATIONS. 2^ •with military affairs, of which the Department of War in its origin had control. It was charged with the management of naval affairs also. On account of the poverty of the Treasury, and because of pressing political questions demanding the first at- tention of government, the establishment of a navy received little attention from the authorities for sev- eral years after the successful launching of our ship of state. The depredations of Algerine corsairs at length became so serious, atrocious in fact, that the government, poor or rich, could not in decency longer ignore the subject. Secretary Knox had constantly advocated the establishment of a navy, but, for the reasons stated, his appeals were unheeded. There being a large number of Americans held in slavery by the Algerines, the country became indignant upon the subject, and the government sympathized with the country. On March 3, 1794, President Wash- ington sent a message to Congress communicating the facts connected with the Algerine depredations. On the 27th of the same month, an act was approved authorizing the construction or purchase of six frig- ates, or of such other naval force that should not be inferior to that of the six frigates, provided that no vessel should mount less than 32 guns. Of the six frigates first named in the act, four were to mount 44 guns each and two 36 each. The law had special reference to the difficulties with Algiers, and it was expressly provided therein that no further proceed- ings be had under the act in case peace should take place between the United States and the Regency of Algiers. " The executive was no sooner authorized 28 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. to proceed by the law," says Cooper,^ " than meas- ures were taken to build the vessels ordered. The provision of the first paragraph was virtually fol- lowed, and the six frigates were laid down as soon as possible. These vessels were the Constitution, 44, laid down at Boston. President, 44, " " New York. United States, 44, " " Philadelphia. Chesapeake, 38, " " Portsmouth, Va. Constellation, 38, " " Baltimore. Congress, 38, " " Portsmouth, N. H." Work proceeded vigorously on these vessels, and commanders for them were selected. They were, ranking in the order named: John Barry, Samuel Nicholson, Silas Talbot, Joshua Barney, Richard Dale, and Thomas Truxtun. Except the last, all these had served in the navy during the revolution, and Trux- tun had, during the whole war, served on vessels of his own, had captured many prizes, and was distin- guished as a spirited seaman. Barney declined the appointment, and Captain Sever was named in his place. Nearly all of these are the names of historic men. But these labors in the building of war ves- sels, and in instituting a naval command, were sud- denly suspended by the signing of a treaty of peace with Algiers in November, 1795. We have seen that in such case operations under the law were to cease. Congress, however, speedily provided for the com- pletion of three of the vessels, two forty-fours and one thirty-eight, and work upon them continued ac- cordingly. These were the frigates of historic fame, the United States, the Constitution, and the Constella- 'Hist. of the Navy of the United States, 149. THE NAVY FOUNDED. 29 tion. The United States, with poetic appropriate- ness, was the first vessel launched under the pres- ent organization of the American navy. She was launched July lo, 1797. The Constellation followed on September 7, and the Constitution not long after- wards/ Thus was founded, under the administrative supervision of the Department of War, the Navy of the United States. Thus was it at the beginning supplied with vessels and commanders who became illustrious in history and of invaluable practical ben- efit to the country. The primal vessels of the Navy, it has been said by a New England writer, were laid down by Secretary of War Knox, largely constructed by Secretary of War Pickering, completed and launched by Secretary of War McHenry. In April, 1 798, Congress created a regular navy department, which was practically organized in the following June, when, of course, the conduct of the naval affairs by the War Department came to an end. If the poverty of the treasury prevented the es- tablishment of a navy immediately after the institution of the government, common prudence and a regard for the national safety demanded such means of defense against foreign attack as were within the capacity of the young nation to supply. These, believed to be at once the strongest and the cheap- est, were what were called " seacoast defenses " or "harbor fortifications;" and to these the Department of War gave great attention and vast labor from the beginning. Hence have grown, in the course of time, some of the most stupendous and magnificent works of the government — the chain of forts and ' Cooper's Naval Hist., 150 et seq. Missing Page Missing Page 32 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the army to carry on these works, and the President made temporary appointments of gentlemen of for- eign birth to superintend the work. Some of them had served in our Revolutionary army, and all were skilled engineers. Soon afterwards. Congress pro- vided for raising a corps of artillerists and engineers, in organizing which a number of the persons who had been temporarily employed on the harbor de- fenses, were commissioned as officers in the corps, and continued their labors on the sea-coast works. This was the origin of the Corps of Engineers, whose great and varied scientific and useful works are now to be seen in all parts of the republic. A few years afterwards it was increased by an additional regiment, later by an additional battalion. On the establish- ment of the Military Academy at West Point, it was placed under the charge of this corps, and so re- mained until after the close of the war of the rebel- lion. Aside from the management of that institution, the principal work of the corps from its origin to the war with Great Britain was the planning and con- struction of our vast system of seaboard defenses. In that war it was found to be vulnerable nowhere ; for though a British army effected a landing on our gulf coast, where we had been in possession only a few years, it was only to meet with the most complete and utter defeat of the whole war at the battle of New Orleans. As has been intimated, the Military Academy at West Point was the foster-child of the Corps of En- gineers from, the beginning. The Academy, in its origin, was a private school. In a report of March 14, 1808, to the Secretary of War, Jonathan Williams, THE MILITARY ACADEMY. 33 Colonel of Engineers, thus dryly speaks of the origin of the Academy : " This institution was established at West Point, in the year 1801, under the direction of a private citizen, and was nothing more than a mathe- matical school for the few cadets that Were then in service. It was soon found that the government of young military men was incompatible with the ordinary system of schools, and, consequently, this institution ran Into disorder, and the teacher into contempt."-^ By the act of Congress of March 16, 1802, fixing the military peace estabHshment of the United States, the Corps of Engineers was authorized to be organized anew, and it was provided: "That the said corps, when so organized, shall be stationed at West Point, in the State of New York, and shall constitute a military academy ; and the engineers, assistant engineers, and cadets of said corps, shall be subject at all times to do duty in such places, and on such service, as the President of the United States shall direct ; that the principal engineer, and in his absence the next in rank, shall have the superinten- dence of the said military academy, under the direc- tion of the President of the United States ; and the Secretary of War is hereby authorized, at the public expense, and under such regulations as shall be di- rected by the President of the United States, to pro- cure the necessary books, implements, and apparatus for the use and benefit of the said institution."^ Such was the legal establishment of the Military Academy at West Point as an institution of the United States government. Not long afterwards, 'Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., I., 229. 'U. S. Stat, at Large, II., 137, Sees. 27 and 28. C 34 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. additional teachers were authorized. It is a note- worthy fact that President Jefferson, who, as a member of Washington's Cabinet, had opposed the establish- ment of the Academy on constitutional grounds, be- came its friend and advocated the enlargement of its functions. President Madison was an ardent friend of the institution. It was during his administration, and shordy before the declaration of war with Eng- land, that Congress provided: "That the military academy shall consist of the corps of engineers, and the following professors in addition to the teachers of the French language and drawing already pro- vided, viz., one professor of natural and experimental philosophy ; one professor of mathematics ; one pro- fessor of the art of engineering in all its branches ; each of the foregoing professors to have an assistant professor, which assistant professor shall be taken from the most prominent characters of the ofificers or cadets." ^ The rank and pay of these teachers were provided for by the same act, and rules laid down for the appointment of cadets and their assign- ment in the army after graduation. Thus was the United States Military Academy fully established by law just before the last war with England began. It was at once practically organized as directed by the law into "a regularly constituted military body, whose officers and professors are appointed, confirmed, and commissioned in the same manner and form as other army officers, and subjected to the same rules and articles of war as govern all the land forces of the United States." ^ 'Act of April 29, 1812. U. S. Stat, at Large, II., 720. "Boynton's Hist, of West Point, 200. THE LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION. 35 It may not be improper to observe that though our first four Presidents were from the beginning, or became, friendly to the estabUshment of a military academy, and though all the Secretaries of War earnestly advocated the measure, yet is it true that in this particular, as well as in argument for the sep- arate and independent nature of the Corps of En- gineers, Secretary McHenry was more clear and convincing than any other head of the Department from the establishment of the government to the establishment of the institution itself A very noteworthy matter in the history of the Department for the period now under review was the exploring expedition under Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clarke across the con- tinent to the Pacific Ocean and return. There is hardly an American citizen who has not heard much and read more of the famous "Lewis and Clarke Expedition." These officers, with four sergeants, twenty-three privates, and a number of Indian inter- preters, between midsummer 1803 and the autumn of 1806, traversed the continent from east to west and back again from west to east. The journey from St. Louis was made by the Missouri River in canoes to its sources and thence to the Pacific, by the Co- lumbia River, and by similar means of conveyance. Many dangers of storms and hostile Indians and inhospitable lands and climate were overcome, and a vast deal of valuable information collected. Intelli- gence of the safe return of the explorers to St. Louis was received throughout the country with every manifestation of satisfaction. Congress soon took the matter up with the view of providing extra 36 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. gratuities to the officers and men of the expedition for their extraordinary labors. A committee of the House of Representatives addressed a communica- tion to the Secretary of War upon the subject. On January 14, 1807, Secretary Dearborn replied, say- ing : " Agreeably to the request of the committee, I herewith transmit a list of the officers, non-commis- sioned officers, and privates who formed the party recently returned from an enterprise which they commenced and prosecuted with a degree of bold- ness, perseverance, judgment, and success that has rarely, if ever, occurred in this or any other country. The quantum of gratuity, either in land or money, or in both, to which such meritorious and unusual services may be entitled on the score of national justice, or on the principles of sound policy and national liberality, being principally a matter of opin- ion, it is with diffidence I take the liberty of proposing, for the consideration of the committee, a grant to each non-commissioned officer and private of 320 acres of land ; to Lieutenant Clarke of 1000; and to Captain Lewis of 1 500 ; with the addition of double pay to each while engaged in the enterprise." ^ In other ways the executive department of the govern- ment manifested its appreciation of both Lewis and Clarke, each of whom became Governor of a portion of the vast territory whose immense expanse and varied natural resources they had done so much to make known to the world. The expedition under Lewis and Clarke was the pioneer in a long line of topographical, railway, military, and scientific explo- ' Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., I., 207. THE "WHISKEY INSURRECTION." 37 rations under the direction of the War Department of which it will be proper to speak later.^ I have said nothing of the history of the Depart- ment in connection with active military affairs in the field during the period now being considered, pre- ferring to group such matters together after setting forth the outlines of administrative organization. The wars of this period were not formidable, but the rumors of wars were many and exciting. In 1790, General Harmar commanded an expedition against the hostile Indians of the North-west. He was de- feated, but not decisively. In the following year. General St. Clair undertook to chastise the savages, but met with a terrible disaster. Two years later, General Wayne invaded the Indian country, and gave the savages such severe punishment that they sued for peace and conveyed to the United States a vast extent of territory. In the following year, the famous " whiskey insurrection " occurred In Western Pennsylvania. This, though for some time threaten- ing serious trouble to the government, and about persuading President Washington to take the field in person, was, as a movement against the United States, constantly exaggerated. The moment a considerable military force was known to be march- ' Lieutenant Clarke took full memoranda, almost daily, of the events of this remarkable expedition, from which Nicholas Biddle and Paul Allen prepared a work in two large volumes, which was published in 18 14, and had great popularity. It was afterwards published in cheaper editions and sold in large numbers. A memoir of Captain Lewis, by Thomas Jefferson, accompanied the work. It is melancholy to add that this pioneer explorer, in a fit of insanity, died by his own hand about three years after his great work. 4 38 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. ing on Pittsburgh, the insurrection vanished away. Towards the close of the eighteenth century, we were for some time on the verge of war with France. On the high seas there was actual war. A large provisional army was organized, and Washington himself was appointed commander-in-chief. Prepa- rations for war were made on every hand, and very few persons supposed that the dread arbitrament could be avoided. In all of these operations against savages and insurgents, and these preparations for war against our ancient ally, the War Department, as of course, had the principal administrative labors to perform. These, in the case of the rumored war with France, were enormous, amounting to the or- ganization, on paper, of a large army, with all the office work that that implies. Happily, the war was avoided, but the records of the War Department during this interesting period at least form an im- perishable monument to the indefatigable labors of Secretary McHenry. I have said that " happily the war was avoided." It could scarcely have been otherwise than disastrous to our country, particularly during its earlier stages. For, fourteen years later, when we entered upon the war with England, with less military though more naval strength than France, we -were compelled to submit to a series of humiliating defeats in battle, the stain of some of which has hardly yet been re- moved. Nearly every one of these defeats was due to the poor statesmanship which had failed to see the difference between a considerable standing army and a considerable military establishment, by reason of which failure the repiublic suddenly found itself STAFF DEPARTMENTS. 39 left naked to its enemies. Had a considerable and well-organized military establishment been in exist- ence, the impromptu army of militia — at that time well trained and disciplined — and volunteers could have been quickly made efificient and capable of per- forming almost every service like veteran soldiery. I attributed this defect above to poor statesmanship. Perhaps, at that time, the poverty of the treasury may both more charitably and more justly account for it. But, however this may be, every one will per- ceive, upon a moment's reflection, that whether the army for the time being be composed of one hun- dred men or of one million, the staff departments of the national war office should at all times be suffi- ciently large and comprehensive to organize, equip, and put in the field, ready to fight an enemy, an army large enough to make formidable opposition to any foreign enemy, or to domestic rebellion. The smaller the standing army, the more necessity for a complete system of staff departments of thoroughly trained and scientific men. Without such a system, a nation with a small regular army is simply guilty of the folly and madness of inviting foreign aggression and do- mestic violence. These general observations are called forth by the situation of our military establishment about the time of the beginning of the war with England. In a speech in Congress, In April, 1812, the distinguished George M. Troup, of Georgia, said : " The Secretary of War had to perform, besides the duties appropri- ately belonging to the head of the War Department, the duties of the Quartermaster-General, Commis- sary-General, and Master of 'Ordnance, the business 40 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of the Indian Department, military lands, and invalid pensions. Fortifications, arsenals, armories, maga- zines, and military posts, advances to contractors, and all the correspondence growing out of these various branches must have made no trifling addition to them. In the year 1808, we added 6,000 men to the establishment, more than doubling the duties at a dash. We gave no additional aid to the Department. It was in the year 1809 that General Dearborn, a man of vigorous mind, of extensive knowledge of detail, and of indefatigable industry, going out of office, declared that the business of the Department had increased beyond what the capacity of any one man could perform, and that some aid and assistance were indispensable to the public service, whoever might be his successor." In another part of the same speech Mr. Troup said : " Gentlemen who are equally opposed to war, and every preparation for war, were consistent when they object to a measure which is as necessary to the war as arms or ammuni- tion. In the wretched, the deplorably wretched or- ganization of the War Department, it was impossible either to begin the war or to conduct it." ^ I make these quotations as matter of history showing the situation of the organization of the War Department on the eve of war with Great Britain. It is no wonder that disaster after disaster overtook our arms, or that for a considerable period almost all the cheering intelligence the nation received came from the high seas. It is true that before the declaration of war, the organization of the quartermaster, com- missary, ordnance, and pay departments was author- 'Annals of Congress. 12th Cong., Pt. I., 1359, 1361-62. STAFF DEPARTMENTS. 4 1 ized by law. But the practical organization required time, and meanwhile the republic suffered serious ills. History has been defined as philosophy teaching by example. Our early calamities In the war of 1812 were chiefly due to the want of an organized system of staff departments in the military establishment, — a system the necessity of which equally exists in peace and in war, whether the army be large or small. The Georgia statesman, in the speech from which I have quoted above, speaks of the more complete organi- zation of the War Department as being " as neces- sary to the war as arms or ammunition." The figure might seem to be sufficiently strong; and yet it does not convey the whole truth. A thoroughly organized and intelligent staff department is as necessary to war as arms, ammunition, and armies; for it is the staff departments which supply the arms and ammu- nition, the military organization, the means of sub- sistence and of transportation, by help of which com- manders are enabled to strike the enemy in battle. Battles, or series of battles, are always less or more distant in time from each other. The operations of the staff departments are ceaseless. These vital lessons our statesmen and people had not learned when we entered upon the war with England. A* CHAPTER II. DURING THE LAST WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. General History of the Department During the Last War WITH Great Britain — The Conduct of the War — The Army — Certain States Refuse to Call Out the Militia — Outline History OF this Imbroglio — Correspondence of the Secre- tary of War with Governors of the States in Default — The Disasters of 1812 — Hull's Surrender — General Arm- strong Appointed Secretary of War — Army Regulations of 1813 — Organization of the Army at that Time — The Mili- tary Successes of the Year — The Battle of Bladensburgh — The Capture of Washington and Burning of the Public Buildings — Resignation of General Armstrong^ His Vindi- cation — End of the War — Its Lessons. ONLY a short time before the declaration of war with England, as has already been stated in gen- eral terms, several bureaux of the War Department, or staff departments of the military establishment as they may be more comprehensively described, were organized with a view to aid the army in a vigorous conduct of the impending conflict. Though some of the excellent provisions then enacted into law were not permitted to remain long after the treaty of peace, it will be in order here to speak of them in such detail as to show the general current of depart- mental history. In the present state of general knowledge with respect to military affairs, it goes for the saying that three staff departments of an army are notably essen- tial for the successful conduct of campaigns in the field. These are the ordnance, quartermaster, and subsistence departments; the first of which, accord- 42 A QUARTERMASTER' S DEPARTMENT. 43 ing to the rules of military science, properly supplies the army with arms and accoutrements ; the second, with clothing, quarters, fuel, forage, all the means for the transportation of the army and its material ; the third, as its name fully imports, with the means of subsistence, that is to say, with daily food. It will be seen, from the mere statement of the case, that with- out these staff departments in some degree of organ- ization for efficient labor, an army in the field would be about as ill off as a hotel without kitchen, dining- room, or bed-chambers. By the act of March 12, 181 2, Congress established a quartermaster's depart- ment, which, so far as that department itself is con- cerned, was in many respects well enough, and just about what it should have been. Thus, it provided for the establishment of a quartermaster's depart- ment for the army of the United States, to consist of a quartermaster-general, four deputy quartermas- ters, and as many assistant deputy quartermasters as, in the opinion of the President, the public service might require. The President was furthermore au- thorized to appoint, from the line or not at his discre- tion, not exceeding four additional deputy quartermas- ters, if in his judgment the public service should require them. The rank and pay of these officers were fairly provided for. It was also enacted : " That in addition to their duties in the field, it shall be the duty of the quartermaster-general, his deputies and assistant dep- uties, when thereto directed by the Secretary of War, to purchase military stores, camp equipage, and other articles requisite for the troops, and generally to pro- cure and provide means of transport for the army, its stores, artillery, and camp equipage." Provision 44 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. was made as to responsibility for money and property, and as to the rendering of accounts to the Depart- ment of War.^ Further on in the act, clerks, and other proper employes of a quartermaster's depart- ment — wagon-masters, forage-masters, etc. — were provided for, and by the act of the 23d of the follow- ing month,^ a good corps of artificers was added to the department. All of which, it will be observed, made a good organization of the department. But in the act establishing the quartermaster's depart- ment, there were other provisions which in practice confounded the appropriate operations of that de- partment with those of the ordnance and subsistence departments, with the inevitable practical result — confusion and delay. These provisions were as fol- lows : " That there shall be a commissary-general of purchases, and as many deputy commissaries as, in the opinion of the President of the United States, the public service may require ; that it shall be the duty of the commissary-general of purchases, under the direction and supervision of the Secre- tary of War, to conduct the procuring and providing of all arms, military stores, clothing, and, generally, all articles of supply requisite for the military service of the United States ; and it shall be the duty of the deputy commissaries, when directed thereto, either by the Secretary of War, the commissary-general of purchases, or, in cases of necessity, by the com- manding general, quartermaster-general, or deputy quartermasters, to purchase all such of t"he aforesaid 'U. S. Stat, at Large, II., 696, 697. ""Ibid., 710. THE ORDNANCE BUREAU. 45 articles as may be requisite for the military service of the United States." ^ Fortunately, Secretary of War Eustis persuaded Congress to perceive the importance of more inde- pendent functions for the ordnance department. An act was accordingly passed which, so far as the sup- ply of arms and ammunition was concerned, happily prevented that confusion and delay which became so annoying, in some instances so disastrous, in the course of the war, with respect to supplies pertaining to the subsistence department. And this, to very large extent, at any rate, because there was no or- ganized, independent subsistence department at all. The duties properly pertaining to that department went around begging, so to say, between the quar- termaster's department and the nondescript depart- ment, the only name for which is " the purchasing department," whatever it might have been. Not to put too fine a point upon it, the downright practical effect of the law was about the same as if it had been a successful measure entitled "an act for the speedy enrichment of contractors and the periodical starvation of the troops of the army of the United States." Such was the unfortunate situation, by rea- son of the failure of Congress to provide a proper and logical system of staff departments, when our armies undertook to get ready to combat the armies of Great Britain in the field. Comprehensively stated, the result was as follows : First, by reason of the want of a complete system of staff departments composed of officers of skill and training, our armies at the beginning of the war suf- 'U. S. Stat, at Large, II., 697. 46 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. fered disasters and defeats where they should have been successful. Secondly, that while the staff de- partments which were organized on the eve of the war sooner than might have been expected rendered invaluable service to the combatant armies, yet be- cause of the defect of leaving unestablished a single department, vital in ©very well regulated military establishment — a department of subsistence — dis- asters and defeats continued to occur until near the close of the war, when commanders in the field prac- tically surmounted the difficulties by taking power into their own hands, and virtually establishing inde- pendent subsistence departments in their respective commands. It is doubtful whether the war could have been successfully ended had not this been done ; and it is certain that General Harrison, com- manding in the North-west, would have suffered great, perhaps irreparable, disaster so late as the spring of 1 8 14, had he not for the time-being metamorphosed himself into an uncommonly energetic commissary- general of subsistence, and in a tolerably high- handed and sublimely patriotic manner supplied his famishing army with rations. Other commanders performed similar invaluable service, to the gratifi- cation of the country and the disgust of the con- tractors. Happily, the Engineer Department had for some years been organized and, in charge of the Military Academy at West Point and of many field works, had educated not a few men in the art of war. The Adjutant-General's and Inspector-General's depart- ments, under a single head, were practically pretty well organized and able, to perform efficient services, THE ARMY IN 1812. 47 more as the result of army orders than by virtue of any well-considered legislation. These facts, without noting others of a similar nature, showing the imperfect, immature condition of the staff departments about the time of the be- ginning of the war now to come under review, of themselves, very largely account for the inefficient conduct of the war at several points, and for nearly, if not quite, all of the misfortunes of our arms dur- ing the whole conflict. The first thoroughly vigorous measure in prepara- tion for the impending war was the act of Congress of January ii, 1812, being entitled "an act to raise an additional military force." It provided, with very liberal provisions as to pay, bounty, and pensions, for the immediate enlistment of ten regiments of in- fantry, two of artillery, and one of light dragoons for the period of five years. The regular army thus provided for would have consisted, at the maximum, of 25,484 officers and men, exclusive of general, field, and staff officers. For it was provided that each infantry regiment should contain i,8oo privates, each artillery regiment 1,440 privates, and the regiment of dragoons 960 privates, each having a full quota of line and non-commissioned officers and musicians. The act also provided for two major-generals, five brigadier-generals, an adjutant-general and an in- spector-general, each with the rank of brigadier-gen- eral. The law also provided for the appointment of a judge-advocate for each division of the army with the pay and emoluments of a major of infantry, and for additional pay to officers serving on courts-mar- tial, there being herein a faint prophecy of that system 48 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of military justice which of late years has been so distinguished a feature in the Army of the United States.^ For the army thus authorized by law, full appropriation was made by an act of February 21 following. The " additional military establishment " thus provided for was in augmentation of the army according to the regular peace establishment of the law of 1802, and as it had been increased by the act of April 12, 1808, providing an additional force of five regiments of infantry, one of riflemen, one of artillery, and one of dragoons. These regular regi- ments were never, of course, full to the maximum. Thus, in 1805, the entire army consisted of 2,732 of- ficers and men;^ in 1807, of less than 2,500;^ in 1809, of 2,765 ;* and on June 6, 1812, almost cotem- poraneously with the declaration of war, of 6,744, exclusive of the staffs It was estimated that the army thus provided for would furnish about 38,000 men, as the regular army of the United States for the war. Large dependence was also placed upon the use of the militia of the different States of the Union, at the time quite well organized and armed, and accustomed by frequent drills and parades to military manoeuvres. The system of speedily raising an army of volunteers through the machinery of the thoroughly organized ' The act of Congress thus providing, on paper, so strong a reg- ular army for the war then pending, will be found in U. S. Stat, at Large, II., p. 671 et seq. As a matter of fact, no such regular army was in the field during the war. ''Report of Secretary Dearborn. Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., I., 174 ei seq. ^Ibid., 222-23. 'Report of Secretary Eustis. Ibid., 249 et seq. ''Ibid., 319-20. VOLUNTEERS AND MILITIA. 49 Staff departments of the regular military establish- ment cooperating with the State authorities, had not yet been invented, though before the close of the war it was put in operation in a crude and imperfect manner. It did not become a perfected "institution" until the war with Mexico, under the statesmanlike administration of the War Department by Secretary Marcy. The vital distinction between the two sys- tems, is that volunteers are for a stated period regu- larly mustered into the service of the United States, and become anywhere and everywhere subject to the lawful commands of the officers of the United States army, to the articles of war, and to the army regu- lations, whereas the militia are not bound to serve save under their own State officers, or under the immediate command of the President himself^ Such claim, at any rate, as to the exemption from general discipline of the militia, was made by both Massachu- setts and Connecticut during the war of 181 2-1 5, causing great embarrassment to the government and laying the foundation for unfavorable political com- ment, which even yet continues to harrass the patri- otic reputation of these New England States. An act of Congress of April lo, 1812, authorized ' The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual service of the United States. — Const., Art. II., Sec. 2. The Congress shall have power to provide for organizing, arm- ing, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, re- serving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the dis- cipline prescribed by Congress. — Ibid., Art. I., Sec. 8. S D so HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the President " to require of the executives of the several States and Territories to take effectual meas- ures to organize, arm, and equip, according to law, and hold in readiness to march at a moment's warn- ing, their respective portions of one hundred thou- sand militia, officers included, to be apportioned by the President according to the latest militia returns."^ In accordance with this law, the apportionment was made as follows : New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, . Rhode Island, Vermont, . New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, . 3>Soo 10,000 3,000 500 3,000 13.50° S,ooo 14,000 1,000 Maryland, Virginia, . . North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, . . Kentucky, Ohio, . . . Tennessee, Total, 6,ooo- 12,000 7,000 5, 000 3.5°° 5.5°° 5,000 2,500 100,000^ In accordance with the law, and this apportionment authorized thereby, the Secretary of War proceeded, by circular of April 1 5, to call upon the different States for their respective .quotas of militia. On June 12, he addressed the Governor of Massachusetts as follows: "War Department, June 12, 1812. " Sir : I am directed by the President to request your Excellency to order into the service of the United States, on the requisition of Major-General Dearborn, such part of the quota of the militia from the State of Massachusetts, detached conformably to the act of April 10, 1812, as he may deem necessary for the defense of the sea-coast. " I have the honor to be, etc., W. Eustis. " His Excellency Caleb Strong, "Governor of Massachusetts." 'U. S. Stat, at Large, II., 706. 'Report of Secretary of War Eustis, May 28, 181 2. Papers, Mil. Af., I., 319. Am. St. MASSACHUSETTS AND THE MILITIA. 51 General Dearborn, on the 2 2d of June, made requi- sition for the troops, but receiving no reply addressed the Governor again on the 26th. To which on the same day the Governor made an evasive reply. On July 2 1 St, Secretary Eustis again addressed Governor Strong on the subject, concluding his letter with this earnest passage: "The danger of invasion, which existed at the time of issuing the order of the Pres- ident, increases, and I am specially directed by the President to urge the consideration to your Excel- lency as requiring the necessary order to be given for the immediate march of the several detachments, specified by General Dearborn, to their respective posts." To this, on August 5th, Governor Strong replied at considerable length. He said : " Sir : I received your letter of the 21st July when at North- ampton, and the next day came to Boston. The people of this State appear to be under no apprehension of an invasion ; several towns, indeed, on the sea-coast, soon after the declaration of war, applied to the Governor and Council for arms and ammunition, similar to the articles of that kind which had been delivered to them by the State in the course of the last war; and, in some instances, they were supplied accordingly. But they expressed no desire that any part of the militia should be called out for their defense, and in some cases we were assured such a measure would be disagreeable to them." He proceeds to show that there was no danger of invasion whatever, and then to argue that the requi- sition of General Dearborn was without warrant of law. On this point, he was sustained by a written opinion, which he transmitted to the Secretary of War, of the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth, Theophilus Parsons, Samuel Sewall, and Isaac Parker. "As the. militia of the sev- 52 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. eral States may be employed," said these eminent jurists, " in the service of the United States for the three specific purposes of executing the laws of the Union, of suppressing insurrections, and of repelling invasions, the opinion of the Judges is requested whether the commanders-in-chief of the militia of the several States have a right to determine whether any of the exigencies aforesaid exist, so as to require them to place the militia, or any part of it, in the ser- vice of the United States, at the request of the Presi- dent, to be commanded by him pursuant to acts of Congress. It is the opinion of the undersigned that this right is vested in the commanders-in-chief of the militia of the several States." Judging that there was no danger of invasion, the commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts militia, Governor Strong, re- spectfully declined to comply with General Dear- born's requisition. In concluding his long letter to the Secretary of War, Governor Strong said: "I have thus freely expressed to you my own senti- ments, and, so far as I have heard, they are the sen- timents of the best informed men. I am fully dis- posed to afford all the aid to the measures of the national government which the Constitution requires of me ; but I presume it will not be expected or de- sired that I shall fail in the duty which I owe to the people of this State, who have confided their inter- ests to my care." To the circular of the Secretary of War, the Gov- ernor of Connecticut replied as follows : " Lyme, 20th April, 1812. " Sir: I had the honor this morning to receive your letter of the 15th inst., containing the directions of the President of the STATE AND FEDERAL CONFLICT. 53 United States for detaching three thousand of the militia of this State, agreeably to the provisions of the act of Congress of April loth instant. The act itself has not been received, and it will be very satisfactory to me to receive a copy of it, by the next mail, from your Department. In the meantime, every preparation will be made for detaching the officers and men, agreeably to the di- rections already received. I have the honor, etc., Roger Griswold. " The Honorable Secretary of War." On June 12, the Secretary of War requested Gov- ernor Griswold to order into the service such part of the quota of the militia of Connecticut as Gen- eral Dearborn might make requisition for, for the defense of the sea-coast. This Governor Griswold respectfully acknowledged, and added : " In obedi- ence to which request I shall, on the requisition of General Dearborn, execute, without delay, the request of the President." A very few days afterwards. Gen- eral Dearborn made requisition for five companies of militia, and Governor Griswold refused to comply with it, taking substantially the same ground as that maintained by the Judges of Massachusetts. He refused, in a word, to allow the militia of his State to be placed under the command of any other of- ficers than their own. The Rhode Island legislature coincided in opinion with Massachusetts and Connecticut with respect to the right of the State authorities to judge of the exigency when the militia might be called out, but the Governor did not refuse to comply with the requisition made upon him. This question of the relative powers of the general and State governments over the militia, thus brought out into such bold relief at the beginning of the war, S* 54 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. was brought up in debate in Congress at its close and elicited thorough consideration. An elaborate report was made upon the subject in the latter part of February, 1 8 1 5, by the military committee of the Senate, of which the. distinguished and pugnacious William B. Giles was chairman. The most valuable part of this report was a lengthy paper by James Monroe, at the time Secretary of War, upon the subject, in which he directly traversed the opinion of the Massachusetts jurists, and with great, if not un- answerable power of logic maintained the supremacy of the general government in this regard. The Senate Committee adopted the views of Mr. Mon- roe, and I believe they have been quite generally regarded as the true exposition of the Constitution ever since. "Whilst the committee will refrain," said said Mr. Giles, " from entering into arguments to fortify the grounds taken by the Executive Govern- ment on this subject, and explained in the letter of the Secretary for the Department of War, they feel themselves impelled by a sense of justice to express a decided approbation of its conduct in supporting and preserving the Constitution of the United States against the effects of the pretensions of the State authorities aforesaid, which, after full consideration, the committee believe not warranted by the Constitu- tion, nor deducible from any fair and just interpreta- tion of its principles and objects. The direct and inevitable tendencies of these pretensions would be to deprive the government of the United States of powers essentially necessary to insure the common defense, one of the great objects committed to its charge ; to introduce discordant and contradictory INEFFICACY OF STATE MILITIA. 55 counsels into the national deliberations, upon a point, too, of all others, most requiring union of thought and of action ; to change the fundamental character of the Constitution itself, and thus eventually to produce its destruction by debilitating the government and rendering it incompetent to the great objects of its institution ; and to substitute in its stead the dismem- berment of these United States, with all the horrible consequences resulting from disunion." ^ Difficulties of a different nature also grew out of the militia system, though some of them came of opinions with respect to the independence of the militia, not unlike those entertained by the authorities of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Thus the militia more than once refused to march into Canada, aver- ring that the war was one of defense, not of invasion. On other occasions they were found to be unreliable in action and mutinous in spirit. The experience of the entire war of 1812 clearly demonstrated the inef- ficacy of the militia system as a military system. It was found to be fit only for the peaceful parade and the bloodless review. An attentive consideration of the facts thus far stated in this chapter will make it apparent that the general ill fortune of the American arms during the years 181 2 and 181 3 was largely due to inade- quate staff departments and to the militia system. These do not wholly, but largely, account for that ill fortune. The war was declared in the midet of a heated presidential campaign. It is not pretended ' For the full correspondence relating to this practical difficulty and the official documents on the interesting question which was at issue, see Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., I., 319-26, and /(5/(/. 604-23. $6 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. that in three of the New England States, and some other considerable portions of the Union, the war was popular ; but those who understand the subject best will probably agree that with few individual ex- ceptions disapproval of the war did not amount to want of patriotism. The clashing of political ideas, however, was, as we have seen, a source of grave embarrassment to the Department of War with re- spect to the militia, as it must also have been a source of grave concern to the administration of President Madison. Unquestionably, then, the con- siderable disapproval of the war by large numbers of intelligent people was the cause of many a prac- tical difficulty in the conduct of the war. Another cause of disaster in the field must in justice be at- tributed to inefficient administration at the national capital. President Madison lacked the fine audacity necessary in an excellent chief executive during a period of war. The Secretary of War, though an intelligent and able man, was also lacking in two qualities preeminently demanded by the necessities of the crisis, namely, profound earnestness and the genius of organization. With an audacious Presi- dent, and a Secretary of War possessing these qual- ities in large degree, even the immense difficulties arising from the want of staff departments, from the militia system, and from political discontent might have been overcome, and victory organized for the American cause during the year 1812, and com- pletely consummated in the early part of the fol- lowing year. With the exception of a few unimportant affairs, the armies of the North, during the whole campaign GENERAL HULVS SURRENDER. 57 of 181 2, everywhere suffered disheartening disaster or failure scarcely less discouraging to the country. On the 17th of June, President Madison issued a proclamation, as directed by act of Congress, an- nouncing the declaration of war. In precisely one month, the American garrison at Fort Mackinack, Michigan, surrendered to a force of British and In- dians, the American commander being ignorant of the existence of war until the demand for his sur- render. Within a month from that time. General Hull, in command of the American army of the North-west surrendered Detroit and all Michigan to an allied army of British and Indians, considerably inferior in numbers to his own troops. Upon this ignominious surrender volumes have been written, very much in attempted palliation and even vindica- tion of the act. The General was afterwards tried by court-martial on charges of cowardice and trea- son. On the latter he was acquitted, but convicted on the former, and sentenced to be shot to death. He was pardoned by President Madison, having been recommended to mercy by the court. The cause of General Hull's most unfortunate conduct is, perhaps, justly to be attributed to the fact that, by reason of the effects of age and of other causes tending to paralyze mental vigor, he was panic- stricken. That he was by nature and habit a brave and patriotic man, all persons familiar with his his- tory will agree. On this most melancholy day he yielded to the influences of unreasoning panic, and committed a deed over which just men may weep, but which they can never excuse. The effect upon the country was unspeakably disheartening, and upon 58 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the enemy correspondingly encouraging. This ter- rible disaster was followed by our defeat at Queens- town, on the Niagara frontier, in October, and by a melancholy fiasco under General Alexander Smyth, in the same locality, during the following month. About the time this remarkable General was issuing high-sounding manifestoes amid the very thunders of Niagara, and doing the least possible military ex- ecution, Major-General Dearborn marched with a considerable army on an expedition against Canada over against northern New York and Vermont. This expedition failed, largely because of the ill conduct of some of the militia. Nevertheless, his- torians have criticised General Dearborn for his conduct of this bootiess expedition, averring that it might have succeeded but for his want of energy.^ Such was the unfortunate nature of the conduct of the war during the year. 1812. On the high seas it was different, and not a few fine victories won by our navy and merchant marine on the element of England's boasted preeminence did much to encour- age both the government and the people of the Union. The ill fortune of the armies in the field caused the administration of the War Department to be quite generally and not infrequently severely criti- cised for inefficiency. It was in obedience to a wide- spread popular demand that Secretary Eustis, about the close of the year 181 2, resigned the portfolio. Before the close of January, 181 3, General John Armstrong, a soldier of experience, and a man of ' For unfavorable estimates of Gen. Dearborn, see Charles J. IngersoU's History of the Late War with England, passim. GENERAL ARMSTRONG. 59 recognized abilities and energetic spirit, was placed in charge of the Department. It is doubtless true that Secretary Armstrong had more of what we call executive force than his talented, intelligent, and con- scientious predecessor. Nevertheless, it is supremely probable that the military successes of the year 1813 would have been the same had Dr. Eustis remained in office, and that some of the failures of the year might not have occurred at all. For the Army of the West, under General Har- rison, was quite thoroughly organized at the begin- ning of the year. Detachments of this army met with various fortunes in the early part of the year, and in the autumn, at the battle of the Thames, ut- terly destroyed the allied army of British and Indians, wrested upper Canada from the control of the enemy, and more than recovered all that Hull had lost. So, too. General Dearborn, commanding the Army of the Centre, captured York (now Toronto) in the early spring, with an army ready for the movement when Mr. Eustis retired. In the South the hostile Creek Indians were defeated, and almost annihilated as a warlike power, in a series of engagements con- ducted by militia under General Coffee and General Jackson, who had in a quite independent manner raised the troops for this purpose. These were the principal military successes of the year. It is to be observed that both as to the forces under General Harrison in the North-west and Gen- eral Jackson in the South, they were substantially volunteers, raised upon the exigency of the moment, rather by the patriotism of the people and the coop- erative action of State and Territorial authorities 6o HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. with the commanders in the field, than by the ex- press authority of the general government. Later in the autumn, the enemy did considerable mischief to towns and garrisons on the Niagara frontier, but the principal military failure of the year was the expedition against Montreal. Secre- tary Armstrong himself planned this expedition, de- signing an invasion of Canada and the capture of Montreal by a cooperative movement of the Army of the Centre, General Wilkinson, and the Army of the North, General Wade Hampton. General Wil- kinson marched down the St. Lawrence, and had an affair or two of some little importance, but General Hampton refused to cooperate with him, and the campaign came to nothing. But the victories of Jack- son over the savages of the South, of Harrison over the savages and British in the North, and the admi- rable naval victory of Commodore Perry on Lake Erie, were sufficient to make the American cause appear much more hopeful at the end of 1813 than at the end of 181 2. And this, notwithstanding the fact that though we had gained many gallant vic- tories, we had received several sad reverses on the ocean. In his annual message in December, Presir dent Madison expressed cheerful words on the situ- ation, both military and naval, which were but a re- flection of the public feeling generally. Having thus treated at some length of the external affairs of the War Department, it will now be appro- priate to speak of its internal affairs, if I may so say. A very important official work of the Department about this time was the preparation of a complete army register and also a complete system of " Rules THE ARMY IN 1813. 6 1 and Regulations of the Army of the United States," from which we now have, as the natural outgrowth, the annual Army Register, and that important octavo volume, the " Revised Army Regulations." The " Rules and Regulations of the Army of the United States " of which I now speak, were issued from the War Office, May i, 1813. They laid down the rank of regiments and of officers, rules with regard to promotions, the duties of different staff departments, and, generally, such instructions and schedules as were supposed to be instructive to the army, especially with regard to army business and to matters of technique not found in military publica- tions. The War Office has seldom performed a more valuable practical service to the army than in the publication of these " Rules and Regulations " of 181 3, which may be described as a fair epitome of the present elaborate work known as the "Army Regulations."^ The " Register of the Army for 1 8 1 3 " was a pub- lication of more general historical interest than the one just spoken of It was a complete roster of all the officers of the Army of the United States, and of the volunteers mustered into the service of the United States, from major-generals to cadets and ensigns. The Register was published in December, 181 3. From it we learn that "the Army of the United States " at that time consisted of the follow- ing organizations, besides the staff departments: i. The regiment of light artillery ; 2. Two regiments 'These " Rules and Regulations," promulgated under the ad- ministration of Secretary Armstrong, will be found in extenso in Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., I., 425 et seq. 6 62 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of dragoons ; 3. First, second, and third regiments of light artillery; 4. Twenty -five regiments of regular infantry; 5. The Rifle regiment; 6. Fourteen regi- ments of one-year infantry; 7. Five regiments of infantry enlisted for " during the war ; " 8. Twelve companies of " rangers ; " 9. Four regiments, a bat- talion and a company of "United States Volunteers ; " 10. Five companies of "sea fencibles." The organi- zations of the regular army, if full, would have sup- plied a force of 2i6,2>Tic n^en, which the one-year regi- ments and those enlisted for "during the war" would have increased to 58,254. There were five major- generals, namely, in the order of their rank : Henry Dearborn, Thomas Pinckney, James Wilkinson, Wade Hampton, Morgan Lewis, and William Henry Har- rison. The brigadier-generals were : Joseph Bloom- field, James Winchester, William Hull, Thomas Flour- ney, T. H. Gushing, John Chandler, John P. Boyd, Thomas Parker, George Izard, W. H. Winder, D. Mc- Arthur, Lewis Gass, Benjamin Howard, D. R. Wil- liams, Jacob Brown, L. Govington. The country was divided into nine military districts, with a brigadier- general in command of each. The Register also gives in a portion of it set apart for this purpose the lineal rank of the general and field officers, and that also of the captains. This Register shows that the following staff departments were at the time to some extent definitively organized : The Quartermaster's, the Topographical, the Adjutant-General's, the In- spector-General's, the Ordnance, the Judge-Advo- cate General's, the Hospital, the Purchasing, the Pay, the Engineers'. Necessity, not liberally aided by legislation, had brought this much about to- CHIPPEWA AND LUNDY'S LANE. 63 wards a philosophical organization of a department of war. To this consummation is in no small degree due the fact, that during the residue of the war our arms .were generally successful, there being but two notable instances of failure and disaster to the army from this time forth, — the discomfiture of General Wilkinson in the north, and the battle of Bladensburgh with all of its unfortunate results. Elsewhere our arms were successful, and this notwithstanding the fact that the British were heavily reenforced in the north, the centre, and the south by considerable armies of vet-, erans who had fought under him now known as " the Iron Duke " in the famous campaigns of the Penin- sula. •Still, it would be unjust to claim much for the better military organization in bringing about a gen- eral success without attributing much of it also to the somewhat slow-moving but almost invincible power of a free people. The war of i8i 2-15 did much to demonstrate the truth that a free government may also be a strong government; the freest nation in the world the strongest. Though General Wilkinson was worsted in the spring of 18 14 in the movement against Canada by Rouse's Point, the battle of Plattsburgh, later in the year, redeemed the campaign of the Army of the North, though it was chiefly a naval victory. On the Niagara frontier, the battles of Chippewa, Lun- dy's Lane, and Fort Erie, where Scott, Ripley, Brown, Wool, and Gaines were conspicuous, stirred the Americans with a fine enthusiasm. In the South, General Jackson, now a major-general of the United States army, gained notable victories over Indians 64 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. and British, at one time invading Spanish terri- tory in pursuit of the enemy. The closing as well as the crowning victory of the war was won by this illustrious soldier and statesman in the battle of New Orleans, where, with an army composed almost ex- clusively of volunteers, he defeated, terribly punished, and put to rout, an army of British veterans twice as large as his own. The most unfortunate disaster of this period of the war was that with which the history of the War Department is most intimately connected, the battle pi Bladensburgh and the fall of the national capital consequent upon the defeat of the Americans. The battle was fought on the 24th of August, in view of President Madison and several members of his cabi- net, Secretary of War Armstrong inclusive. The American troops were chiefly militia, and were quickly placed in ignominious rout and flight, pell- mell. Bladensburgh is but a few miles from Wash- ington, and the British after a brief delay marched on the city. They there committed the enorrnous crime and blunder of burning the public buildings and destroying large amounts of private property in no manner used for purposes of war. The pub- lic buildings thus destroyed were the Capitol, the executive mansion, war, treasury, state, and navy departments. The post-office department was not destroyed. Occupying part of the present site of the post-office building, it had been constructed by a private citizen for private uses, and the British were persuaded it was private property, and hence did not order its destruction,' This vandal work of destruction was begun on the CAPTURE OF WASHINGTON. 65 afternoon of August 24th, and did not cease until the afternoon of the following day. The Capitol, the executive mansion, and the treasury department were fired on the 24th, the other public buildings on the 25 th, the War Office about 10 o'clock in the morning of that day. The day of the batde, which was a Wednesday, had been excessively hot and sultry. Many soldiers fell dead on the march from the effects of the heat. Thursday morning was also warm, but in the afternoon there came on a storm of rain, which by dusk became a terrible and de- structive tornado, unroofing houses, uprooting trees, blowing down chimneys and even whole buildings, causing large loss of life and property and general terror. . It was in such a scene of terror as this, when but for the flames of the burning buildings, which were reflected in a lurid red light from the clouds, the night would have been one of darkness visible, that the British army evacuated the city and marched towards Marlboro, without the beat of a drum or the sound of a bugle. "The sun set," says an English officer of the invading army, " before the different regiments were in a condition to move. The blazing of houses, ships, and stores, the reports of exploding magazines, and the crash of falling roofs, informed them, as they proceeded, of what was going forward. The sky was brilliantly illumi- nated by the different conflagrations, and a dark, red light was thrown upon the road, sufficient to permit each man to view distinctly his comrade's face. The scene was striking and sublime as the burning of St. Sebastian's." A committee of the House of Representatives, of 6* E 66 HISTORY OF THE WAJi DEPARTMENT. which the distinguished General Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky was chairman, in an elaborate report upon the capture of Washington, estimated the loss by the destruction of the public buildings and prop- erty, exclusive of the Congressional Library, as fol- lows : The Capitol, ^787,163.28 The President's House, 334,334.00 War, treasury, state, and navy departments, 93,613.82 Loss at the navy-yard, 969,171.04 Making an aggregate loss of 12,184,282.14, There were many private residences and business estab- lishments destroyed, so that the total pecuniary loss by the capture of Washington was in the neighbor- hood of two and a half million dollars. The destruc- tion of the navy-yard was expressly ordered by the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. William Jones, of Penn- sylvania, but for which the loss of property there would probably have been much greater than it was. Admiral Cockburn was a leading spirit in the invad- ing force, was present in Washington during its en- tire occupancy by the British, personally directing much of the work of destruction. He would have taken especial delight in the utter demolition of the navy-yard and everything it contained ; for a more hardened buccaneer the history of piracy hardly affords. This' great disaster, while it called forth against the perpetrators of the vandal work the indignation of the American people, and the most unfavorable crit- icism of candid men throughout Christendom, also aroused no little clamor against the administration, and jparlioilarly against General Armstrong, Secre- SECRETARY ARMSTRONG VINDICATED. 67 tary of War. On this account, he felt called upon to resign, and did so a few days after the occurrences which have just been related, more, however, because the President had yielded to the storm of clamor, than because he himself believed in heeding it. He wrote a letter for publication on the occasion, which is so replete with historical matter pertaining to the War Department, that I herewith quote it at length : "To the Editors of the Baltimore Patriot. "It may be due to myself, and is certainly due to others, that the reasons under which I retired from the direction of the War Department at a juncture so critical as the present, should be fully and promptly known to the public. These reasons will be found in the following brief exposition of facts : " On the evening of the 29th ultimo, the President called at my lodgings, and stated that a case of much delicacy had oc- curred ; that a high degree of excitement had been raised among the militia of the district ; that he was himself an object of their suspicions and menaces ; that an officer of th'at corps had given him notice that they would no longer obey any order coming through me as Secretary of War ; and that in the urgency of the case, it might be prudent so far to yield to the impulse, as to permit some other person to exercise my functions in relation to the defense of the district. " To this statement and proposition I answered substantially as follows — that I was aware of the excitement to which he alluded, that I knew its source and had marked its progress ; that the present was not a moment to examine its more occult cases, objects, and agents ; that it ostensibly rested on charges known to himself to be false, that it was not for me to determine how far the supposed urgency of the case made it proper for him to yield to an impulse so vile and profligate — so injurious to truth and so destructive of order ; but that for myself, there was no choice ; that I could never surrender a part of my legitimate authority, for the pres- ervation of the rest — that I must exercise it wholly, or not at all ; that I came into office with objects exclusively public, and that to accommodate my principles or my conduct to the humors of a 68 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. village mob, stimulated by faction and led by folly, was not the way to promote these ; and that if his decision was taken in con- formity to the suggestions he had made, I intreated him to accept my resignation. This he declined doing. It was an extent, he was pleased to say, to which he meant not to go .; that he knew the excitement was limited, as well with regard to time as to place ; that he was now, and had always been, fully sensible of the general zeal, diligence, and talent, which I had put into the discharge of my duty, and that it would give him pleasure, were I to take time to consider his proposition. I renewed the assurance of my great personal respect and my readiness to conform to his wishes on all proper occasions. I remarked, that whatever zeal, diligence, and talent I possessed, had been employed freely but firmly, and ac- cording to my best views of the public good, and that as long as they were left to be so exerted, they were at the service of ray country — but that the moment they were made to bow to military usurpation or political faction, there should be an end of their public exercise. We now parted, with an understanding that I should leave Washington the following morning. " It has been since stated to me as a fact (to which I give the most reluctant belief), that on the morning of the 29th, and before my arrival in the city, a committee of the inhabitants of George- town, of whom Alexander C. Hanson, Editor of the Federal Republican, was one, had waited on the President, by deputation, and had obtained from him a promise that I should no longer direct the military defenses of the district. On this fact, all com- mentary is unnecessary. " It but remains to exhibit and to answer the several charges raised against me, and which form the groundwork of that ex- citement, to which the President has deemed it prudent to sac- rifice his authority, in declining to support mine. They are as follows : " ist. That from ill-will to the district of Columbia, and a design to remove the seat of government, I gave orders for the retreat of the army, in the affair of the 24th ult., under circum- stances not making retreat necessary or proper. " This charge has not for its support the shadow of truth. The commanding general will do me the justice to say that I gave him no such order, and that he was and is under the impression that the retreat was made earlier than I believed to be proper. To the VINDICATION OF SECRETARY ARMSTRONG. (x^ President, I appeal whether I did not point out the disorder and retreat of a part of the first line, and soon after the action began, and stigmatize it as base and infamous. " zd. That in spite of the remonstrances of General Winder, and by the interposition of my authority, I had prevented him from defending the Capitol. "This charge contains in it a total perversion of the truth. When the head of the retiring column reached the Capitol, it was halted for a moment. General Winder here took occasion to state to Mr. Monroe and myself, that he was not in condition to main- tain another conflict, and that his force was broken down by fatigue and dispersion. Under this representation, we united in opinion that he should proceed to occupy the heights of George- town. "3d. That I had withdrawn the covering party from the rear of Fort Washington, and had ordered Captain Dyson to blow up the fort without firing a gun. " This charge is utterly devoid of truth. The covering party was withdrawn by an order from General Winder, and Captain Dyson's official report shows that the orders under which he acted were derived from the same source, though, no doubt, mistaken or misrepresented. "4th. That by my orders the navy-yard had been burned. " This, like its predecessors, is a positive falsehood. Perceiv- ing that no order was taken for apprising Commodore Tingey of the retreat of the army, I sent Major Bell to communicate the fact, and to say that the navy-yard could no longer be covered. The Commodore was of course left to follow the suggestions of his own mind, or to obey the orders, if orders had been given, of the Navy Department. " 5th, and lastly. That means had not been taken to collect a force sufficient for the occasion. "As the subject of this charge may very soon become one of Congressional inquiry, I shall at present make but very few re- marks. " 1st. That no means within reach of the War Department had been omitted or withheld — that a separate military district, em- bracing the seat of government, had been created ; that an officer of high rank and character had been placed in charge of it ; that to him was given fiiU authority to call for supplies and for a mill- 70 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. tia force oi fifteen thousand men ; that to this force was added the 36th regiment of the line, a battalion of the 38th, detachments of the 1 2th, of the artillery, and of the dragoons, the marine corps, and the crews of the flotilla, under the special command of Com- modore Barney — making a total of 16,300 men. " General Winder's official report of the engagement of the 24th ult., shows us how much of this force had been assembled, and the causes why a greater portion of it had not been got to- gether. These will be found to have been altogether extraneous froni the government, and entirely beyond its control ; and " 2d. That from what is now known of the enemy's force, of the loss he sustained in the enterprise, of the marks of panic under which he retreated, etc., etc., it is obvious, that if all the troops assembled at Bladensburgh had been faithful to themselves and to their country, the enemy would have been beaten and the capital saved. John Armstrong. " Baltimore, 3d September, 1814."' Though there may be some manifestation of tem- per in this letter, its main averments are substan- tially correct, and have been vindicated by the verdict of history. Secretary of War Stanton, in accounting for certain things in the battle of Chickamauga, dur- ing the war of the rebellion, once made the strong remark that "General Rosecrans had been stam- peded," emphasizing the word stampeded. President Madison would appear to have been in this situation at and after the battle of Bladensburgh.^ In war, he was out of his element. To this fact is due the ofificial sacrifice of General Armstrong as Secretary of War, one of the ablest and most energetic men with respect to all affairs pertaining to that office who ever filled it. ^Niles' Weekly Reg., Vol. VII., 6 and 7. '"Everything demonstrated," says Charles J. Ingersoll, with caustic dryness, in his account of the battle of Bladensburgh, "that a field of battle was not Madison's theatre of action." — Hist, of the Late War, II., 177. SECRE TAR Y MONROE. 7 1 Secretary of State Monroe was designated to take Armstrong's place, and immediately did so, but with- out vacating his position as head of the Foreign Office. Congress assembled on the 19th of Septem- ber, and at once proceeded to consider ways and means for the improvement and increase of the mil- itary establishment. On the 23d, the Senate resolved that the Cornmittee on Military Affairs " be instructed to inquire into the state of preparations for the de- fense of the city of Washington, and whether any further provisions, by law, be necessary for that object." The committee, in transmitting the resolu- tion to the War Department, inquired: " ist. What are the defects in the present military establishment ? 2d. What further provisions by law are deemed nec- essary to remedy such defects?" In reply, Secretary Monroe, on October 17, submitted a lengthy report, of which the following were the main propositions : 1. That the existing military establishment, amount- ing to 62,448 men, be preserved and made complete, and that the most efficient means authorized by the Constitution, and consistent with the equal rights of our fellow-citizens, be adopted to fill the ranks and with the least possible delay. 2. That a permanent force, consisting of not less than 40,000 men, in addition to the present military establishment, be raised for the defense of our cities and frontiers, under an engagement by the Executive with each corps that it shall be employed in that ser- vice within certain specified limits. And that a pro- portional augmentation of general officers of each grade, and other staff, be provided for. 3. That the corps of engineers be enlarged. 72 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. 4. That the ordnance department be amended. In support of these propositions the Secretary ad- duced many arguments which may to this day be read with profit by those who would have intelligent ideas on the subject of the substantial requirements of an American military establishment. About two months later, Secretary Monroe submitted also a lengthy re- port on the best system of subsisting the army to the Military Committee of the House, which is only less valuable.^ Happily, our successes in the north, the spirited defense of Baltimore not long after the capture of Washington, and our fairly good fortune all along the lines, save at the capital, enabled our Commis- sioners for the negotiation of peace to conclude the Treaty of Ghent, which was signed December 24, 18 1 4, exactly four months from the capture of Wash- ington.^ The treaty was speedily ratified by our gov- ernment, the people welcoming the return of peace with almost universal joy. This great and happy event so changed the situation of affairs that there was no occasion for the energetic measures proposed by Mr. Monroe. On the contrary, the Department at once began to reduce the army, and Congress to devise measures for a military establishment on a peace basis. The vindication of the general efficiency of the Department of War during the contest with Eng- ' For the former of these reports, see Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., I., 514 et seq., and for the latter, Ibid., 590 et seq. "The American Commissioners were John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell, and Albert Gallatin ; the British, Admiral Gambier, Henry Goulbourn, and William Adams. LESSONS OF THE WAR. 73 land is found in the result — an honorable and a lasting peace upon the basis of the complete, the perfect independence of the United States of Amer- ica, not before fully achieved nor unreservedly ac- knowledged. In this momentous result, a notable victory in the cause of freedom and of civilization, the War Department, and the armies thereby organ- ized and placed in the field, played an eminent, if not the preeminent part. We have seen that the De- partment was beset by not a few grave obstacles and difficulties — imperfect, confused staff departments; a vicious militia system ; considerable popular dis- content; conflicts with State authorities ; a President ill fitted for the chief magistracy in a time of war. Notwithstanding these difficulties, some of which were in their nature insurmountable, the war was upon the whole a grand success for the country, in large meas- ure wrought by the military establishment. Those who have read the foregoing pages will agree that the history of the War Department, as connected with the last war with England, clearly teaches these valuable lessons : First, the almost re- sistless strength of a free government ; second, the folly and madness of a free government in not per- petually maintaining a thoroughly organized and com- plete military establishment for the rapid formation of armies, in all respects ready to meet hostile armies in battle. Such an establishment can be wisely and economically abolished when that happy time shall come when the people " shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks ; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." But not until then. 7 CHAPTER III. FROM THE LAST WAR WITH ENGLAND TO THE WAR WITH MEXICO. The Reduction of the Army in i8 15— Reorganization of the Military Establishment under Secretary of War John C. Calhoun— The Opinions of that Statesman on a Requisite Staff Department — The Army Regulations of 1825 — Gen- eral History of the Department down to the beginning OF the War with Mexico. THE war with England having terminated, as has been related, in the substantial success of the American cause, the immediate great reduction of the army became the most important labor of the Department of War. The militia and such volun- teers as were in the service were speedily mustered out, but the reduction of the regular army was a task of no little difficulty, and which required con- siderable time and a vast amount of work to accom- plish and to make the proper records of. By an act of Congress of the 3d of March, 18 15 — within two months of the battle of New Orleans — it was provided : " That the military peace estab- lishment of the United States shall consist of such proportions of artillery, infantry, and riflemen, not exceeding in the whole ten thousand men, as the President shall judge proper, and that the corps of engineers, as at present established, be retained." ^ The act also provided for the retention of the corps 'U. S. Stat, at Large, III., 224. 74 SECRETARY WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 75 of artillery, and the regiment of light artillery as already organized, and prescribed rules for the or- ganization of the regiments of infantry and riflemen. It was provided that this military peace establishment should have two major-generals, four brigadier-gen- erals, four brigade-inspectors, four brigade-quarter- masters, and such number of hospital surgeons as the service might require, not exceeding five. " The brigade-inspectors," the law went on to prescribe, " shall be taken from the line ; and the brigade-quar- termasters, the adjutants, regimental quartermasters, and paymasters, from the subalterns of the line." To this little army of ten thousand men and the corps of engineers, the Department of War was re- quired to reduce the military force which had just defeated the veteran armies of Great Britain, and to bring about the reduction, if circumstances would permit, within a period of two months. This great quantity of departmental labor was almost com- pletely accomplished in the time designated. And this was only a small part of the labors of the Department in the era of vast and varied work which followed the war with England. Liberal bounty-land grants had been provided for the sol- diers, and liberal pensions also to the disabled and to the heirs of those who had died in the service. At that time all this business was under the super- vision of the Secretary of War. Fortunately, the distinguished statesman, William H. Crawford, of Georgia, was at the head of the Department. So great and versatile were his intellectual powers that he may well be described as a man of genius. He also had rare executive faculties, and it hence hap- 76 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. pened that the immense labors of disbanding a large army, of organizing the new peace establishment, and of promptly conducting the business pertaining to extra pay, pensions, and bounties were smoothly and successfully conducted. From time to time, ad- ditional clerical force was added to the Department, a temporary commission for the examination and settlement of damages sustained by citizens during the war was provided, but this is about all the extra assistance allowed the Department. The illustrious Secretary inspired the officers of the staff depart- ments, and the employes of the Department gen- erally, with somewhat of his sublime energy, and by this genius of work accomplished a vast deal in a short time.^ On the rst of January, 1 8 1 6, the Department pub- lished a Register of the Army as it had been organ- ized under the law providing for the military peace- establishment already quoted. At this time the major-generals were Jacob Brown and Andrew Jackson ; the brigadier-generals being Alexander Macomb, E. P. Gaines, Winfield Scott, and E. W. Ripley. The Register show;s an ordnance depart- ment, medical department without any particular head, apothecary's department with an apothecary- general, pay department, purchasing department, the corps of engineers, and two judge-advocates. Daniel Parker was "adjutant and inspector-gen- ' Some years later, as we shall see in the biographical portion of this work, Mr. Crawford was a candidate for President. Soon after the canvass of that year he became very ill, and nevei after- wards fully recovered. Great workers often die of over-work, after all. Such was the case with Mr. Crawford. STAFF DEPARTMENTS. "J-J eral," and Robert Butler adjutant-general. There were eight regiments of Infantry, one regiment of riflemen, a regiment of light artillery, and the " corps of artillery." The Register duly notes the ofificers and teachers at the Military Academy.^ About the time of the publication of this Army Register, Secretary Crawford, in reply to an inquiry upon the subject, addressed a letter to the Military Committee of the House of Representatives on the subject of providing by law for the staff appoint- ments. In this letter he said : " The experience of the first two campaigns of the last war, which has furnished volumes of evidence upon this subject, has incontestably established not only the expediency, but the necessity of giving to the military establish- ment, in time of peace, the organization which It must have to render It efficient In a state of war. It is believed also to be demonstrable, that a complete organization of the staff will contribute as much to the economy of the establishment as to Its efficiency. The stationary staff of a military establishment should be substantially the same in peace as In war, without reference to the number or distribution of the troops of which it Is composed." He therefore recommended the organization of the staff as follows: one adjutant- and inspector-general ; one quartermaster-general ; one paymaster-general ; one commissary-general ; one apothecary-general ; with officers of proper rank in these departments for each division of the army, and also three judge-advocates. He thought no change necessary in the corps of engineers (except that it might well be Increased), the corps of artillery, ' For this Register, see Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., I., 627 et seq. 7* 78 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. or the ordnance department.^ This letter amply demonstrates the philosophical correctness of Mr. Crawford's ideas of a military establishment for this republic. For a considerable period near the close of Madi- son's administration, and for some months of the first part of President Monroe's term, George Graham, the chief clerk of the Department, was, by designation of the President under the law then' in force, the act^ ing Secretary of War. As such, he performed all the duties of the head of the Department precisely the same as if he had been regularly appointed Sec- retary ; and I find that on several subjects of general interest, he sent quite elaborate and intelligent com- munications to committees of Congress in response to inquiries therefrom. Among these are a plan for the reorganization of the militia, a statement of the numerical strength of the army, letters on the then existing war with the Seminole Indians, and other papers of less note. From the statement of the numerical strength of the army just referred to, it appears that the entire number of officers and men, including all officers of the staff departments and the corps of engineers, was 10,024 on the ist of January, 1817." 'Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., I., 636. ''Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., I., 661-62. It seems not a little singular that Mr. Graham was not appointed Secretary of War ad interim. I judge that he was a competent and efficient officer. On Mr. Calhoun's taking charge of the Department, Mr. Graham resigned, and I observe from the newspaper files that later he was a prominent man in the business and social circles of the capital. The office of chief clerk of the War Department is one of great" labor and responsibility at all times, and there is never a year THE SEMINOLE WAR. 79 In December of this year the distinguished John C, Calhoun took charge of the Department. One of his first official acts was the preparation of a statement for the House of Representatives show- ing the strength of the army, with details as to the stations of the various corps, etc. From this return it appears that the army had been reduced nearly two thousand since the commencement of the year, the number being 8,221, according to the regular returns of December i, 181 7.* When Mr. Calhoun took charge of the War De- partment, he found raging that singular conflict of arms known as " the Seminole war," and which, though for a time brought to a close by the vigorous measures of Major-General Jackson during the year 1818, again and again broke forth, and was not finally terminated until about a quarter of a century later, after the loss of very many lives, and, it is stated by some authorities, the expenditure of nearly thirty millions of dollars. The history of the connection of the War Department with what may be desig- nated the first Seminole war in Florida is substan- tially as follows : The Seminoles were a fierce and warlike tribe, whose very name indicated their wild and roving nature. It is believed that originally they were Creek outlaws. Inhabiting the everglades of Flor- ida, allied with many negroes who had escaped from when he is not called upon to be the acting Secretary for weeks at a time. Considering the great variety of his labors and the intel- ligence demanded of him, he is the least adequately paid of all the important officials of the government. 'Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af , I., 669 et seq. 80 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the cruel bondage of American slavery, and were scarcely less savage than their red-skin friends, they commenced a predatory warfare on the settlers of Georgia and Alabama, a year or so after the conclu- sion of our war with Great Britain. In their excur- sions of plunder and rapine, they on several occasions massacred whole families, and at length ambushed and killed a detachment of United States troops only a short time before Mr. Calhoun became Secretary of War. A troublesome difficulty in the matter was, that, having made a plundering, murdering incursion upon the settlers, the Seminoles and negroes would retire with their booty and scalps into Florida, which was at that time a province of Spain, with which kingdom we were at peace. The conduct of the War Department, herein fully representing the government, was, under these trying circumstances, strictly in accordance with the law of nations, and respectful of the rights of Spain. On October 30, 181 7, acting Secretary Graham, in replying to a letter from General Gaines, commanding in the harried department, said : " These papers have been sub- mitted to the President, and I am instructed by him to inform you that he approves of the movement of the troops from Fort Montgopiery to Fort Scott. The appearance of this additional force, he flatters himself, will at least have the effect of restraining the Seminoles from committing further depredations, and perhaps of inducing them to make reparation for the murders which they have committed. Should they, however, persevere in their refusal to make such reparation, it is the wish of the President that you should not, on that account, pass the line and make THE SEMINOLE WAR. 8 1 an attack upon them within the limits of Florida, until you shall have received instructions from this Department." On the 2d of December, the acting Secretary again wrote to the same officer : " The state of our negotiations with Spain, and the temper manifested by the principal European powers, make it impolitic, in the opinion of the President, to move a force at this time into the Spanish possessions for the mere purpose of chastising the Seminoles for depredations which have heretofore been committed by them. " ^ On the 9th of the same month Mr. Graham again wrote to General Gaines : " Referring to the letters addressed to you from this Department on the 30th of October and 2d of December as man- ifesting the views of the President, I have to request that you conform to the instructions therein given. Should the Indians, however, assemble in force on the Spanish side of the line, and persevere in com- mitting hostilities within the limits of the United States, you will, in that event, exercise a sound dis- cretion as to the propriety of crossing the line for the purpose of attacking them and breaking up their town." ^ The depredations of the savages increasing, and they being in heavy force on the American side, of the line. Secretary of War Calhoun, on December 1 6, wrote to General Gaines : " On the receipt of this letter, should the Seminole Indians still refuse to make reparation for their outrages and depredations on the citizens of the United States, it is the wish of the President that you consider yourself at liberty to march across the Florida line and to attack them; 'See Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., I, ,,685-86 and 687, ^Jbid. id. 688. §2 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. within its limits, should it be found necessary, unless they should shelter themselves under a Spanish post. In the last event, you will immediately notify this Department." It is a remarkable coincidence that on the very day Secretary Calhoun thus wrote to General Gaines, General Jackson, writing from Nash- ville to the Secretary of War, advised the same policy. " If ever the Indians find out," said Jackson, " that the territorial boundary of Spain is to be a sanctuary, their murders will be multiplied to a degree that our citizens on the southern frontier cannot bear." ^ This vigorous policy of " carrying the war into Africa," instituted at the very beginning of his admin- istration of the affairs of the War Department by Mr. Calhoun, was at that time perfectly justifiable, the Spanish authorities in Florida having done abso- lutely nothing to prevent the hostile expeditions from •their territory. General Jackson, in command of the anilitary division of the South, now took the field in person, and conducted the war to a successful issue in a vigorous manner, with which all readers of gen- eral history are acquainted. He invaded Florida, defeated the Indians, captured from the Spaniards ;Fort St. Marks and Pensacola, with its strong fortifi- cations, and brought the Indians to sue for peace. This very vigorous campaign brought General ■Jackson under. unfavorable criticism on two accounts. ■First, for the violation of the law of nations in invad- ing Florida at all, and for the somewhat high-handed 'manner in which, he conducted his operations against .the Spanish posts, and iiis correspondence with the .- Spanish authorities. Sepofi dly, for his treatment 'For both letters, see An). St. Pape^^s, Mil. Af., I., 689. GENERAL JACKSON IN FLORIDA. 83 of Arbuthnot and Ambrister, two subjects of Great Britain, who were tried and executed in a somewhat summary manner, as was charged. The General was fully sustained by the government and people of the United States for his energetic measures against the Spanish posts ; but with regard to the execution of Arbuthnot and Ambrister there has been great diversity of opinion among American statesmen and writers, who have expressed their views upon the subject. Alexander Arbuthnot was a Scotchman engaged in trade in Florida, owning sailing vessels, and doing a large business, much of it with the Indians. He was charged: i. With exciting and stirring up the Creek Indians to war against the United States ; 2. Acting as a spy, and aiding, abetting, and comforting the enemy, supplying them with the means of war ; 3. Exciting the Indians to murder William Hambly and Edmund Doyle. The court-martial, of which General Gaines was president, found the prisoner guilty of the first two charges, leaving out of the second charge " acting as a spy," and sentenced him to be " suspended by the neck until he be dead. " Robert C. Ambrister was an Englishman, and had lately been an officer in the British colonial marines. He was charged: i. With aiding, abetting, and com- forting the enemy, supplying them with means of war ; 2. Leading and commanding the Lower Creeks in carrying on war against the United States. To the first charge, Ambrister pleaded not guilty; to the second, guilty and justification. He put himself upon the mercy of the court, the same which had just tried Arbuthnot. With the exception of some portions of 84 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the specifications, Ambrister was found guilty of both charges. The sentence was remarkable, the court saying, they "do therefore sentence the prisoner, Robert C. Ambrister, to suffer death by being shot, two-thirds of the court concurring therein. One of the members of the court requesting a reconsidera- tion of his vote on the sentence, the sense of the court was taken thereon, and decided in the affirma- tive, when the vote was again taken, and the court sentenced the prisoner to receive fifty stripes on his bare back, and be confined with a ball and chain to hard labor for twelve calendar months." The court then adjourned sine die. On the following day, April 29, 18 18, General Jackson issued general orders on the trials, from which I quote: "The Commanding General approves the finding and sentence of the court in the case of A. Arbuthnot, and approves the finding and first sentence of the court in the case of Robert C. Ambrister, and disapproves the reconsid- eration of the sentence of the honorable court in this case. The Commanding General orders that Brevet Major A. C. W. Fanning, of the corps of artillery, will have, between the hours of eight and nine o'clock, A. M., A. Arbuthnot suspended by the neck, with a rope, until he is dead, and Robert C. Ambrister to be shot to death, agreeably to the sentence of the court." Accordingly, the prisoners were promptly executed. These proceedings were generally discussed by the people of the United States, by the members of the Cabinet, and by both houses of Congress. The mil- itary committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives reported strongly in condemna- tion of General Jackson's course, but he was zeal- ORGANIZATION OF THE STAFF. 85 ously sustained by minorities upon the ground of the great value of his services and of the troops under his command to the country, and the fact that the confessedly guilty alone had suffered. Secretary Calhoun regarded General Jackson's course in the premises as unnecessarily high-handed, as harsh, and as unjustifiable on the merits. A knowledge that such was Mr. Calhoun's opinion coming to General Jackson when he was President, was largely instru- mental in causing the General's intense hatred of the great Carolinian, which continued until the very moment of the General's death.^ There are few now who would dispute the substantial accuracy of the Secretary's opinion. The views of Secretary Calhoun on the organiza- tion of the staff departments were essentially the same as those of his predecessor, Mr. Crawford, which were quoted near the beginning of this chap- ter. Mr. Calhoun at once used his influence to se- cure the passage of a law incorporating those views in the form of positive statute. With this object he drafted a bill which, without material alteration, became law, being the act of Congress of April 14, 1818, regulating the staff of the army.^ By this im- portant act, the medical, quartermaster's, and sub- sistence departments were organized substantially as they exist at present, and the inspector and adjutant- ^ For the full official literature on this subject — minutes of the Court, Congressional reports, General Jackson's elaborate defense, etc. — see Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af , I., 721 to 769. Consult also the different lives of Jackson, and the Life and Works of Cal- houn, edited by R. K. Cralle. 'U, S. Stat, at Large, IIL, 426-27. 8 86 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. general's department was improved. A judge-advo- cate was also provided for each division. Thus, for the first time was a philosophical, harmonious system of staff departments for the army of the United States adopted. It has ever since proved to be of incalculable value to the army and to the country. It has from time to time been revised and improved, but not radically changed. During the same session of Congress in which this act was passed, the House of Representatives adopted a resolution, calling upon the Secretary of War to submit to the next session of the Congress his views upon the subject of the reduction of the army, the organization of the staff, the ration, and, in short, military administration generally. Accord- ingly, Mr. Calhoun prepared a report, which was sub- mitted to Congress in the following December, in which he exhaustively treats the whole subject of an American military establishment. The document is confessedly one of the ablest of American state papers. In consideration whereof, and of the fact that it relates much valuable history of the Depart- ment, I need ask no one's pardon for here quoting it in full. The references to the documents which ac- companied the report are sufficiently explained for general historical purposes in the report itself, and are left in the technical form precisely as written by Mr. Calhoun : " Department of War, December ii, iSiS. " In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representa- tives passed the 1 7th of April last, directing the Secretary of War to report, at an early period of the next session of Congress, whether any, and, if any, what reduction may be made in the military peace establishment of the United States with safety to MS. CALHOUN'S ME PORT ON THE STAFF. 8/ the public service; and whether any, and, if any, what change ought to be made in the ration established by law, and in the mode of issuing the same ; and also report a system for the estab- lishment of a commissariat for the army, I have the honor to sub- mit the following report : " In order to form a correct opinion on a subject involving so many particulars as the expense of our military establishment, it will be necessary to consider it under distinct and proper heads. To ascertain, then, whether any, and, if any, what reductions may be made in the expenses of our military peace establishment, I propose to consider its number, organization, pay and emoluments and administration. To the one or the other of these heads, all of its expenses may be traced ; and if they are greater than they ought to be, we must search for the cause in the improper extent of the establishment, the excessive number of the officers in pro- portion to the men, the extravagance of the pay and emoluments, or the want of proper responsibility and economy in its adminis- tration. " Pursuing the subject in the order in which it has been stated, the first question that offers itself for consideration is, whether our military establishment can be reduced with safety to the public service, or can its expenditures be with propriety reduced, by re- ducing the army itself It is obvious that, viewed in the abstract, few questions present so wide a field for observation, or which are so well calculated to produce a great diversity of sentiment, as the one now proposed. "Considered -as an original question, it would involve in its discussion the political institutions of the country, its geographical position and character, the number and distance of our posts, and our relations with the Indian tribes and the principal European powers. "It is conceived, however, that a satisfactory view of it may be taken without discussing topics so extensive and indefinite, " The military establishments of 1802 and 1808 have been admitted, almost universally, to be suflSciently small. The latter, it is true, received an enlargement, from the uncertain state of our foreign relations at that time ; but the former was established at a period of profound quiet (the commencement of Mr. Jefferson's administration), and was professedly reduced, with a view to econ- omy, to the smallest number then supposed to be consistent with 88 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the public safety. Assuming these as a standard, and comparing the present establishment (taking into comparison the increase of the country) with them, a satisfactory opinion may be formed on a subject which otherwise might admit of a great diversity of opinion. "Our military peace establishment is limited, by the act of 1813, passed at the termination of the late war, at ten thousand men. The corps of engineers and ordnance, by that and a sub- sequent act, were retained as they then existed ; and the President was directed to constitute the establishment of such portions of artillery, infantry, and riflemen as he might judge proper. The general orders of the 17th of May, 1815, fix the artillery at 3,200, the light artillery at 660, the infantry at 5,440, and the rifle 660 privates and matrosses. Document A exhibits a statement of the military establishment, including the general staff", as at present organized, and B exhibits a similar view of those of 1802 and 1808, by a reference to which it will appear that our military establishments, at the respective periods, taken in the order of their dates, present an aggregate of 3,323, 9,996, and 11,656. * It is obij^ous that the establishment of 1802, compared with the then wealth and population of the country, the number and extent of military posts, is larger in proportion than the present. To form a correct comparison, it will be necessary to compare the capacity and necessities of the country then with those of the present time. " Since that period our population has nearly doubled, and our wealth more than doubled. We have added Louisiana to our possessions, and with it a great extent of frontier; both maritime and inland. With the extension of our frontier, and the increase of our commercial cities, our military posts and fortifications have been greatly multiplied. Document marked C exhibits the number and positions of posts in the year 1802, and document D those of the present time ; by a reference to which it will be seen that at the former period we had but twenty-seven posts, the most remote of which were to the north at Mackinaw, and to the south at Fort Stoddart, on Mobile River ; but now we have seventy- three, which occupy a line of frontier proportionally extended. "On the lakes, the Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, and Red River, our posts are now, or will be shortly, extended, for the protection of our trade and the preservation of the peace of the frontiers, to Green Bay, the mouths of the St. Peter's and the MR. CALHOUN'S VIEWS ON THE ARMY. 89 Yellowstone River, Bellepoint, and Natchitoches. Document marked E exhibits a statement of the extent of the line of our frontier, inland and maritime, with the distance of some of the most remote posts from the seat of government, drawn up by Major Long, of the topographical engineers, from the most approved maps. "If, then, the military establishment of 1802 be assumed to be as small as was then consistent with the safety of the country, our present establishment, when we take into the comparison the pro- digious increase of wealth, population, extent of territory, number and distance of military posts, cannot be pronounced extrava- gant ; but, on the contrary, after a fair and full comparison, that of the former period must, in proportion to the necessities and capacity of the country, be admitted to be as large as the present ; and on the assumption that the establishment of 1802 was as small as the public safety would then admit, a reduction of the expense of our present establishment cannot be made, with safety to the public service, by reducing the army. In coming to this conclu- sion, I have not overlooked the maxim that a large standing army is dangerous to the liberty of the country, and that our ultimate reliance for defense ought to be on the militia. Its most zealous advocate must, however, acknowledge that a standing army, to a limited extent, is necessary ; and no good reason can be assigned why any should exist but which will equally prove that the present is not too large. To consider the present army as dangerous to our liberty partakes, it is conceived, more of timidity than wis- dom. Not to insist on the character of the officers, who, as a body, are high-minded and honorable men, attached to the prin- ciples of freedom by education and reflection, what well founded apprehension can there be from an establishment distributed on so extended a frontier, with many thousand miles intervening between the extreme points occupied ? "But the danger, it may be said, is not so much from its num- bers as a spirit hostile to liberty, by which it is supposed all regu- lar armies are actuated. This observation is probably true when applied to standing armies collected into large and powerful masses ; but, dispersed as ours is over so vast a surface, the danger, I conceive, is of an opposite character — that both officers and soldiers will lose their military habits and feelings, by sliding gradually into those purely civil. 8* 90 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. "I proceed next to consider whether any reduction can be made, with propriety, by changing the organization, or by reduc- ing the number of officers of the line or the staff in proportion to the men. It is obvious that, as the officers are much more ex- pensive, in proportion to their numbers, than the soldiers, the pay of the army, in relation to its aggregate numbers, must be increased' or diminished with the increase or diminution of the former. "It is impossible to fix any absolute proportion between officers and men which will suit every country and every service, and the organization of different countries, and of different periods in the same country, has accordingly varied considerably. " Our present organization, of which document marked A con- tains an exhibit, is probably as well or better adapted to the nature of our country and service than any other, as it seems to be the result of experience ; for, by a reference to document marked B, it will be seen that it is nearly similar (with the exception of the general staff, in which the present is more extensive) to the organization of the military establishments of 1802 and 1808. It is believed that the proportion of officers of the line to the men will require no further observations. "The staff, as organized by the act of last session, combines simplicity with efficiency, and is considered to be superior to that of the periods to which I have reference. In estimating the expenses of the army, and particularly that of the staff, the two most expensive branches of it (the engineer and ordnance depart- ments) ought not fairly to be included. Their duties are con- nected with the permanent preparation and defense of the country, and have so little reference to the existing military establishment, that if the army were reduced to a single regiment, no reduction could safely be made in either of them. " To form a correct estimate of the duties of the other branches of the staff, and, consequently, the number of officers required, we must take into consideration not only the number of troops, but, what is equally essential, the number of posts and extent of country which they occupy. "Were our military establishment reduced one-half, it is obvi- ous that, if the same posts continued to be occupied which now are, the same number of officers in the quartermaster's, paymas- ter's, medical, and adjutant- and inspector- general's departments would be required. MR. CALHOUN'S VIEWS ON THE STAFF. 9I " To compare, then, as is sometimes done, our staff with those of European armies assembled in large bodies, is manifestly unfair. The act of last session, it is believed, has made all the reduction which ought to be attempted. It has rendered the staff efficient without making it expensive. Such a staff is not only indispen- sable to the efficiency of the army, but it is also necessary to a proper economy in its disbursements ; and should an attempt be made at retrenchment by reducing the present number, it would, in its consequences, probably prove wasteful and extravagant. "In fact, no part of our military organization requires more attention in peace than the general staff. It is in every service invariably the last in attaining perfection ; and if neglected in peace, when there is leisure, it will be impossible, in the midst of the hurry and bustle of war, to bring it to perfection. It is in peace that it should receive a perfect organization, and that the officers should be trained to method and punctuality, so that, at the com- mencement of a war, instead of, creating anew, nothing more should be necessary than to give to it the necessary enlargement. " In this country particularly the staff cannot be neglected with impunity. Difficult as its operations are in actual service every- where, it has here to encounter great and peculiar impediments, from the extent of the country, the badness and frequently the want of roads, and the sudden and unexpected calls which are often made on the militia. If it could be shown that the staff, in its present extent, was not necessary in peace, it would, with the view taken, be unwise to lop off any of its branches which would be necessary in actual service. With a defective staff, we must carry on our military operations under great disadvantages, and be exposed, particularly at the commencement of a war, to great losses, embarrassments, and disasters. "As intimately connected with this part of the subject, it is proper to observe, that so many and so distant small posts as our service requires, not only add to the expense of the army, by rendering a more numerous staff necessary, but they increase the price of almost every article of supply, and the difficulty of en- forcing a proper responsibility and economy. To an army thus situated, the expenses and losses resulting from transportation alone constitute a considerable sum. Under the best manage- ment our army must be more expensive, even were our supplies equally cheap, than European armies collected in large bodies, in 92 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the midst of populous and wealthy communities. These observa- tions are not made to justify an improper management, or to divert the attention of the House from so important a subject as the expense of our military establishment. They, in fact, ought to have an opposite effect ; for just in the same proportion that it is liable to be expensive, ought the attention and effort of the Gov- ernment be roused to confine its expenses within the most moderate limits which may be practicable. " The next question which presents itself for consideration is, can the expenses of our military establishment be reduced, without injury to the public service, by reducing the pay and emoluments of the officers and soldiers ? There is no class in the community whose compensation has advanced less since the termination of the War of the Revolution than that of the officers and- soldiers of our army. " While money has depreciated more rapidly than at any other period, and the price of all necessaries of life has advanced pro- portionably, their compensation has remained nearly stationary. The effects are severely felt by the subaltern officers. It requires the most rigid economy for them to subsist on their pay and emoluments. Documents marked F and G exhibit the pay and subsistence during the Revolution and as at present established ; and document marked H exhibits the allowance of clothing, fuel, forage, transportation, quarters, waiters, stationery, and straw, at the termination of the Revolutionary war, and in 1802, 1815, and 1818. " By a reference to those documents it will be seen that, under most of the heads, the variations of the different periods have been very small, and that, on a comparison of the whole, the pay of an officer ig not near equal now, if allowance is made for the depreciation of money, to what it was during the Revolution. I will abstain from further remarks, as it must be obvious, from these statements, that the expense of our military establishment cannot be materially reduced, without injury to the public ser- vice,, by reducing the pay and emoluments of the officers and soldiers. '■' • "It Only repaains to consider, in relation to this part of the res- olution of tlje House, whether the expense of our military estab- lishment caii be reduced by a proper attention to its administration, or by a more rigid enforcement of responsibility and economy. MR. CALHOUN'S VIEWS ON THE STAFF. 93 " Our military establishment is doubtless susceptible of great improvement in its administration. " The field is extensive, and the attention of the Government has not heretofore been so strongly directed towards it as its importance deserves. Here all savings are real gain, not only in a moneyed, but a moral and political point of view. An ineffi- cient administration, without economy or responsibility, not only exhausts the public resources, but strongly tends to contaminate the moral and political principles of the officers who are charged with the disbursements of the army. " To introduce, however, a high state of economy and respon- sibility in the management of a subject so extensive and compli- cated as our military establishment, is a task of great difficulty, and requires not only a perfect organization of the Department charged with it, but a continued energetic and judicious enforce- ment of the laws and regulations established for its government. The organization is the proper sphere of legislation, as the appli- cation of the laws and regulations is that of administration. The former has done all, or nearly all, that can be done. It is believed that the organization of the War Department, as well as the general staff of the army, is not susceptible of much improve- ment. ' ' The act of last session regulating the staff has not only made important savings in the expenses of the army, but has given both to the Department and the staff a much more efficient organiza- tion than they ever before had. Every department of the army charged with disbursements has now a proper head, who, under the laws and regulations, is responsible for its administration. The head of the Department is thus freed from detail, and has leisure to inspect and control the whole of the disbursements. " Much time and reflection will be required to bring the system into complete operation, and to derive from it all the advantages which ought to be expected. The extent of the saving which may result from it can only be ascertained by time and experi- ence; but, with an attentive and vigorous administration, it doubtless will be considerable. In war, it will be much more difficult to enforce economy and responsibility ; but, with a sys- tem well organized, and with officers trained to method and punctuality, much of the waste and frauds, which would other- wise take place in war, will be prevented. 94 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. "In peace, there can be no insuperable difficulty in attaining a high degree of responsibility and economy. The mere moneyed responsibility, or that of purchases and disbursements, will be easily enforced. " The public now sustain much greater losses in the waste and improper use of public property than in their moneyed transac- tions. "In our military establishment, responsibility in the latter is well checked and not badly enforced. The accounts are rendered with considerable punctuality, and are promptly settled ; and even neglect or misapplication of public funds by the disbursing offi- cers is not often accompanied with ultimate losses, as they are under bonds for the faithful discharge of their duties. Account- ability, as it regards the public property, is much more difficult, and has heretofore been much less complete. Returns of prop- erty in many cases, particularly in the medical department, have rarely been required ; and even where they have been, they have not been made with punctuality. It cannot be doubted but that the public have sustained very considerable damage from this want of accountability. Every article of public property, even the smallest, ought, if possible, to be in charge of some person who should be responsible for it. It will be difficult to attain this degree of perfection ; but it is hoped, by making each of the subordinate departments of the War Department liable for the property in its charge, a very considerable improvement and reduction of expenses will be made. " On the quality of the ration, and the system of supplying and issuing it, which I propose next to consider, the health, comfort, and efficiency of the army mainly depend. Too much care can- not be bestowed on these important subjects ; for, let the military system be ever so perfect in other particulars, any considerable deficiency in these must, in all great military operations, expose an army to the greatest disasters. All human efforts must, of necessity, be limited by the means of sustenance. Food sustains the immense machinery of war, and gives the impulse to all its operations ; and if this essential be withdrawn, even but a few days, the whole must cease to act. No absolute standard can be fixed, as it regards either the quantity or quality of the ration. These must vary according to the habits and products of different countries. THE ARMY RATION. 95 " The great objects are, first and mainly, to sustain the health and spirits of the troops ; and the next, to do it with the least possible expense. " The system which effects these in the greatest degree is the most perfect. The ration, as established by the act of the i6th of March, 1802, experience proves to be ample in quantity, but not of the quality best calculated to secure either health or econ- omy. It consists of eighteen ounces of bread or flour ; one pound and a quarter of beef, or three-quarters of a pound of pork ; one gill of rum, brandy, or whiskey, and at the rate of two quarts of salt, four quarts of vinegar, four pounds of soap, and one pound and a half of candles, to every hundred rations. "The objection to it, in relation to the' health of the army, is fully stated in a report of the surgeon-general to the War Depart- ment, marked I, which I would respectfully annex as a part of this report. Under this view of the subject, more need not be added, except to urge its importance, both on the score of human- ity and policy. " Our people, even the poorest, being accustomed to a plentiful mode of living, require, to preserve their health, a continuation, in a considerable degree, of the same habits of life in a camp ; and sudden and great departure from it subjects them, as it is proved by experience, to great mortality. Our losses in the late and Revolutionary wars from this cause were probably much greater than from the sword. " However well qualified for the war in other respects, in the mere capacity of bearing privations, we are inferior to most nations. An American would starve on what a Tartar would live on with comfort. In fact, barbarous and oppressed nations have, in this particular, a striking advantage, which, however, ought to be much more than compensated by the skill and resources of a free and civilized people. If, however, such a people want the skill and spirit to direct its resources to its defense, the very wealth by which it ought to defend itself becomes the motive for invasion and conquest. Besides, there is something shocking to the feelings that in a country of plenty beyond all others, in a country which ordinarily is so careful of the happiness and life of the meanest of its citizens, that its brave defenders, who are not only ready but anxious to expose their lives for the safety and glory of their country, should, through a defective system of sup- 96 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. ply, be permitted almost to starve, or to perish by the poison of unwholesome food, as has frequently been the case. " If it could be supposed that these considerations are not suf- ficient to excite the most anxious care on this subject, we ought to remember that nothing adds more to the expense of our military operations, or exposes more to its disasters, than the sickness and mortality which result from defective or unwholesome supplies. " Impressed with this view of the subject, considerable changes have been made in the ration, under the authority of the eighth section of the act regulating the staff of the army, passed at the last session of Congress. The vegetable part of the ration has been much increased. "Twice a week a half allowance of meat, with a suitable quan- tity of peas or beans, is directed to be issued. " Fresh meat has also been substituted twice a week for salted. In the southern division, bacon and kiln-dried Indian corn-meal has been, to a certain extent, substituted for pork and wheat flour. In addition, orders have been given, at all of the per- manent posts where it can be done, to cultivate a sufficient supply of ordinary garden vegetables for the use of the troops ; and at the posts remote from the settled parts of the country the order is extended to the cultivation of corn and to the supply of the-' meat part of the ration, both to avoid the expense of distant and expensive transportation and to secure at all times a supply within the posts themselves. " In addition to these changes, I am of opinion that the spirit part of the ration, as a regular issue, ought to be dispensed with ; and such appears to be the opinion of most of the ofi&cers of the army. " It both produces and perpetuates habits of intemperance, de- structive alike to the health and moral and physical energy of the soldiers. The spirits ought to be placed in depot, and be issued occasionally under the- discretion of the commander. "Thus used, its noxious effects would be avoided, and the troops, when great efforts were necessary, would, by a judicious use, derive important benefits from it. " Molasses, beer, and cider, according to circumstances, might be used as substitutes. The substitution of bacon and kiln-dried corn-meal in the southern division will have, it is believed, valu- able effects. SUBSISTING THE AHMY. 97 "They are both much more congenial to the habits of the people of that section of our country. Corn-meal has another, and, in my opinion, great and almost decisive advantage — it requires so little art to prepare it for use. "It is not easy to make good bread of wheat flour, whilst it is almost impossible to make bad out of that of Indian corn. Besides, wheat is much more liable to be damaged than the Indian corn, for the latter is better protected against disease and the effects of bad seasons in time of harvest than any other grain ; and, when injured, the good is easily separated from the bad. Experience proves it to be not less nutritious than wheat or any other grain. Parched corn constitutes the principal food of an Indian warrior, and such are its nutritious qualities that they can support long and fatiguing marches on it alone. " I next proceed to consider the system of supplying the army with provisions, or the establishment of a commissariat ; and, as they are connected in their nature, I propose to consider that part of the resolution in relation to a commissariat and the mode of issuing the rations at the same time. " The system established at the last session will, in time of peace, be adequate to the cheap and certain supply of the army. The act provides for the appointment of a "commissary-general, and as many assistants as the service may require, and authorizes the President- to assign to them their duties in purchasing and issuing rations. It also directs that the ordinary supplies of the army should be made by contracts, to be made by the commissary- general, and to be delivered, on inspection, in the bulk, at such places as shall be stipulated in the contract. Document marked J contains the rules and regulations which have been established by order of the President, and presents the operations of the system in detail. It is believed that it is as well guarded against fraud as any other department of our military supplies ; and, judging from the contracts already formed under it, will, when improved by experience, probably make a very considerable saving. It would improve the system to authorize the appointment of two deputy- commissaries, one for each division, with the pay, rank, and emoluments of major of infantry, to be taken from the line, or from citizens, and so to amend the act of last session as to au- thorize the President to appoint the assistant commissaries either from the line or citizens. When the assistant commissary is not 9 G 98 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. taken from the line, to make his pay equal to that of a subaltern appointed from the line, it ought to be fifty dollars per month, with two rations a day. It should be the duty of the deputy commissaries to perform such service as the commissary-general might prescribe, and particularly to inspect the principal depots, and, in cases of necessity, to make the necessary purchases. When a suitable subaltern cannot be had, or when the services are neces- sary in the line, the power proposed to be vested in the President to select from citizens would be important. It is not believed that any other alteration would be necessary in peace ; but the system would require great enlargement in war, to render it suffi- ciently energetic to meet the many vicissitudes incidental to the oper-ations of war. "It would then be necessary to divide the system into two divisions, one for purchasing and the other for issuing of rations, with as many deputy commissaries of purchases and issues as there may be armies and military districts, to whom ought to be added a suitable number of assistants. The basis of the system ought in war to be the same as is now established. The ordinary supplies ought to be by contract on public proposals. By a judicious col- lection of provisions at proper depots, combined with an active and energetic systeni of transportation, it would be seldom neces- sary to resort to any other mode of purchasing. To provide, however, for contingencies, the purchasing department ought to be efficiently organized, and a branch of it, as already stated, attached to each army and military department. " As it is the means to be resorted to in cases of necessity, it ought to possess those high and discretionary powers which do not admit of exact control. It is, in its nature, liable to many abuses, and to prevent them from being great, more efficient regulations and checks are required than in any other branch of the general staff. " The defects of the mere contract system are so universally acknowledged by those who have experienced its operation in the late war, that it cannot be necessary to make many observations in relation to it. Nothing can appear more absurd than that the success of the most important military operations, on which the very fate of the country may depend, should ultimately rest on men who are subject to no military responsibility, and on whom there is no other hold than the penalty of a bond. When we add SUBSISTING THE ARMY. 99 to this observation that it is often the interest of a contractor to fail at the most critical juncture, when the means of supply- become the most expensive, it seems strange that the system should have been continued for a single campaign. It may be said that, when the contractor fails, the commander has a right to, purchase at his risk, by which the disasters which naturally result from a failure may be avoided. "The observation is more specious than solid. If, on failure of the contractor, there existed a well organized system for pur- chasing the supplies, there would be some truth in it ; but without such a system, without depots of provisions, and with the funds intended for the supply of the army perhaps in the hands of a contractor, his failure must generally be fatal to a campaign. It is believed that a well organized commissariat, whose ordinary supplies are obtained by contract founded on public notice, pos- sesses (besides those peculiar to itself) all of the advantages fairly attributable to the system of issuing rations by contract. It is equally guarded against fraud, and its purchases can be made on terms more advantageous. A considerable objection to the system of issuing the ration by contract is, that the merchants and capi- talists are deterred from bidding, by the hazard of issuing the ration ; and thus the sphere of competition is contracted, and the contracts for supplying of the army often thrown into the hands of adventurers. " This objection is avoided under the present system, by which the nation will be cheaply supplied, and the danger of failure almost wholly removed. "All of which is respectfully submitted. J. C. Calhoun."' It should be borne in mind, that when comparing the military establishment as provided by the law of 1 81 5 with that of 1802 and that of 1808, Mr. Calhoun was speaking of the organization of the army as pro- vided by law, not of its actual strength. There never was a time when the army was just full to the limit allowed by the organization. Just one month after 'Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., I., 779 et seq. 100 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the foregoing letter, Mr. Calhoun transmitted to the President, for the use of the Senate, a detailed state- ment showing the actual numerical strength of the army at that time, according to the most recent returns. The total number, embracing the entire military establishment, was 7,676 officers and men, of which number 7,270 were on actual duty at the various military posts of the seaboard and frontier. At the same time, the Secretary sent down a report giving a return of the ordnance, mounted and un- mounted, at that time belonging to the United States, from which it appears there were then mounted 1,237 mortars, howitzers, and cannon of various calibre, and 1,580 pieces of unmounted ordnance.^ There was at this time considerable discussion in the country and debate in Congress upon the subject of the Military Academy at West Point and the estab- lishment of an additional institution of the kind. Mr. Calhoun advocated the enlargement of the facilities of West Point for the reception and instruction of cadets, and thought that an additional academy might be desirable. Upon the general subject of military instruction he wrote several instructive and thought- ful papers. In one of these he said : " No truth is better supported by history than that, other circum- stances being nearly equal, victory will be on the side of those who have the best instructed ofificers."^ 'Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., I., 813 et seq. * I quote this from memory, having loaned for the time the first volume of American State Papers, Military Affairs, near the close of which it will be found, substantially, if not literally, as given above. Mr. Calhoun had a fine capacity of saying a good deal in a terse sentence. The above is about as good as the famous saying of Bonaparte, that " Heaven is on the side of the strongest bat- talions." It is not true if the strongest battalions are ill handled. THE MILITARY ACADEMY. lOI Public discussion of the affairs of the Military Academy was greatly augmented during the year 1819 by a series of insubordinate acts on the part of a number of the cadets. Some of these were summarily ordered to their homes, and, arriving at Washington, laid their grievances before the Secre- tary of War. Considerable excitement in the public mind grew out of the difficulty, but it was finally adjusted by the restoration of the principal offending cadets to the Academy pro forma, followed by their resignation. The affair was of value in that, in re- sponse to inquiries from Congress, it procured from the War Department elaborate statements of the money that had been expended upon the Academy, a complete register of the cadets from the beginning, and other facts of value pertaining to the institution.^ The official labors of the War Department were doubtless as great and varied during its adminis- tration by Mr. Calhoun as at any other considerable period of its history. For some time during Mr. McHenry's charge of the Department, while we were on the verge of war with France, during the war with Great Britain, and during the two general wars since, the routine labors of the Department were greater, but not such as originate and carry out reforms and institute and perfect material changes in establish- ments. Mr. Calhoun was very frequently called upon by Congress for information and for his views upon a great variety of matters connected with military affairs. I have already quoted at length his elaborate ' For all the particulars of the difficulty referred to, the Register of Cadets, etc., see Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., II., 5-30, 51-67, 75-98- 9* 102 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. paper on the reduction of the army. On the 1 2th of December, 1820, he communicated to the House of Representatives another paper on the same subject with special reference to a, bill then pending, propos- ing the reduction of the army to 6,ooo men. Taking the same general views as those before presented by him, he enforced them with new facts and illustrations, making an unanswerable argument. On a very in- teresting point in the question, he said : "No position connected with the organization of the peace establishment is susceptible of being more rigidly proved, than that the proportion of its officers to the rank and file ought to be greater than in a war establishment. It results immediately from a position, the truth of which cannot be fairly doubted, and which I have attempted to illustrate in the preliminary remarks, that the leading object of a regular army in time of peace ought to be to enable the country to meet with honor and -safety, particularly at the commencement of war, the dangers incident to that state. To effect this object as far as practicable, the peace organization ought, as has been shown, to be such that, in passing to a state of war, there should be nothing to new model or to create ; and that the difference between that and the war organization ought to be simply in the greater magnitude of the latter. . . Economy is cer- tainly a very high political virtue, intimately connected with the power and the public virtue of the community. In military oper- ations, which, under the best management, are so expensive, it is of the utmost importance ; but by no propriety of language can that arrangement be called economical which, in order that our military establishment in peace should be rather less expensive, would, regardless of the purposes for which it ought to be main- tained, render it unfit to meet the dangers incident to a state of war." ^ During the year 1820, the Department caused to be compiled, under the directions of Major-General ' For this valuable paper and the documents by which it was supported, see Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., II., 188 et seq. REDUCTION OF THE ARMY. 103 Scott, a revised system of Army Regulations. A sys- tem of martial law for the army was also prepared, under the supervision of Judge-Advocate Storrow. The former was adopted by Congress — the section of the law so adopting being soon repealed, however — and the latter received also the sanction of Con- gress, with some modifications.^ Early in the year 1821, the Secretary of War com- municated to the House of Representatives a state- ment of the number of militia called into the service during the years 181 2, 181 3, and 1814, that is to say, during our last war with Great Britain. This state- ment, prepared under the supervision of Peter Hag- ner. Third Auditor of the Treasury, embraced detailed statistics, showing the periods of service of the militia, their pay, and from what States and Territories drawn. The aggregate number of militia thus drawn is shown by this document to have been 410,603.^ This valuable document was soon followed by an- other, under the same supervision, showing a list of all the real estate purchased by the government in the different States and Territories for military pur- poses. The statement gives the consideration and other facts.* The labors of the Department were temporarily augmented by the reduction of the army required by the act of Congress of March 2, 182 1. This law provided that from and after the first of the following June, the military peace establishment of the United 'This edition of Army Regulations and system of martial law will be found in full Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., II., 199-274. "Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., II., 279 et seq. ^ Ibid., 282 et seq. 104 HISTORY OF THE WAS DEPARTMENT. States should be composed of four regiments of artillery, seven of infantry, and certain officers of engineers, of ordnance, and of the staff; that the corps of engineers and the topographical- engineers be retained ; for one major-general and two brigadier- generals; for one adjutant-general and two inspectors- general ; for one quartermaster-general, two quar- termasters, and ten assistant quartermasters; for one commissary-general of subsistence and as many "as- sistant commissaries " as the service might require, not exceeding fifty, to be taken from the subalterns of the line ; for one paymaster-general and fourteen paymasters ; for one surgeon-general, eight surgeons, and forty-five assistant surgeons; for one commissary of purchases and two military storekeepers, " to be attached, to the purchasing department." The act also had this section : " That the ordnance depart- ment shall be merged in the artillery ; and the Presi- dent is hereby authorized to select from the regiments of artillery, such officers as may be necessary to per- form ordnance duties, who, while so detached, shall receive the pay and emoluments now received by ordnance officers, and shall be subject only to the orders of the War Department ; and that the number of enlisted men in the ordnance department be re- duced to fifty-six." ^ With the exception of this merging of the ord- nance department in the artillery — which experience proved to be unwise — the appropriate staff depart- ments of the establishment were retained, with one in excess of philosophical requirement, namely, " the 'For this act of Congress in full, see U. S. Stat, at Large, III., 615-16. REDUCTION OF THE ARMY. lOJ purchasing department." This always was a source of annoyance to the army, and of dispute between other staff departments. ■ The delicate duties of reducing the military estab- lishment It would have been impossible to perform, without no little pain to the President and the head of the War Department, and disappointment and heart-burnings to officers discharged, "razed," and transferred. In the early part of 1822, the Military Committee of the House of Representatives inves- tigated this subject, and fully sustained the action of the President, which herein was the action of the War Department. " While the committee," said the report, " pay this just respect to officers retained in service, they wish not to detract from the merits of the many valuable officers who have been left out of the army or reduced in rank." Which was precisely the feeling of those who were called upon to do the practical work of reorganization. There was, of course, considerable discussion in the executive ses- sions of the Senate upon the nominations of the officers sent down for confirmation, some of whom were rejected, but without any feeling of ill will against the administration.'^ The organization of the military establishment having been executed according to the requirements of the law of Congress, the army remained essen- tially the same in force down to the time of the Mexican war, the average strength in actual service being a little over five thousand, officers and enlisted men. The establishment of the staff departments ' See the House Report, Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., II., 379-80, and proceedings in the Senate, Ibid., 395-414. I06 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. on the plan of independent bureaux, each responsible for the performance of its especial lines of duty, and all constantly reporting to the administrative head of the Department, was a notable success from the be-' ginning, fully justifying the bright anticipations of Secretary Calhoun. In several reports to committees of Congress, he demonstrated the practical efficiency and economy of the system. Early in 1825 an edition of Army Regulations was published, being much the most complete and com^- prehensive of any which had yet appeared. The work was prepared under the supervision of Major- General Scott, and its publication was among the last of the noteworthy events in the history of the War Department under the administration of John C. Calhoun. Henceforth, until about the time of the war with Mexico, the duties of the Department were princi- pally those of administering the affairs of the military establishment as at this time in law and fact organized. Considerable military works were constructed along the Atlantic sea-board and the Gulf of Mexico ; much was done on works of internal improvement, roads, rivers, and harbors ; large quantities of arms were manufactured, distributed to the different States and Territories, placed in national works, supplied to the army, or stored for future use ; Indian affairs were managed in the main with a success, as to the inter- ests of the Indians and of the republic, as great as has at any time since been achieved ; expeditions across the continent were instituted, and were made so far successful during the period now under review as to fully warrant the prophecies of the few far-see- THE PACIFIC RAILROAD. 10/ ing Statesmen who foretold that our Atlantic and Pa- cific coasts would be connected together by railways before the close of the nineteenth century. In that vast enterprise of material progress, and of national progress also, the Pacific Railroad, the War Depart- ment led the van. Some of the expeditions in this great work were in vigorous operation when the Mexican war began. CHAPTER IV. ACCOUNT OF THE DEPARTMENT BUILDINGS. A Sketch of the Public Buildings Occupied by the War De- partment — A Fuller Account of the Building so Occupied FROM THE Secretaryship of Mr. Calhoun till the Year 1879 — The Different Secretaries' Apartments — Its Works of Art — Its Prospective Destruction — The Structure known as "The War, State, and Navy Department Building." WHILE the seat of government remained at New York, and also while Philadelphia was the capi- tal, the apartments used by the War Department were unpretending offices, very few in number, rented of private parties. Soon after Washington City became the capital, public buildings were ready for occu- pancy, namely : the Capitol, the Executive Mansion, and buildings for the War, State, Treasury, and Navy Departments. Round about the President's house the government owned a large tract of land, the na- ture of which was very different from that which art has since caused it to assume. That which is now the beautiful La Fayette Park, with its wonderful variety of trees and shrubbery, and its much-debated statuary, was little better than a quagmire. There are men now living who have skated on its frozen waters in the cold snaps of nearly eighty years ago. The general surface of the land was also very differ- ent from what it has since been made by engineering skill and labor, which levelled hills down and valleys up in a remarkable manner. 108 THE ORIGINAL PUBLIC BUILDINGS. IO9 But before the first public edifices were completed, the War Department occupied a building on Penn- sylvania Avenue, south side, between Twenty-first and Twenty-second streets — a large and handsome structure owned by Mr. Joseph Hodgson. This building, with many archives of the office, was de- stroyed by fire in 1801, and its blackened walls, long left standing, were for years called " the Burned War Office." The original design with respect to the construction of public buildings near the Executive Mansion, was that there should be four, one north-west, one north- east, one south-east, one south-west of the mansion, equidistant therefrom. This design was executed, and for many years the War Department building stood where It now (December, 1878) stands, the Navy Department also occupied its present position, the Treasury being near the present position of Its south wing, and the State Department where the north wing of the Treasury now Is. These buildings were all alike in exterior form, were built of common bricks, painted a drab color, and besides the base- ment contained two stories and an attic. In front of each, occupying about one-third of the elevation, was a colonnade, ornamented with Corinthian pillars, painted white. In fine, the illustration In this volume of the old War Department building is a representation of each of the four public buildings in the vicinity of the White House as they were originally designed, except that they were all one story less in height than ap- pears in the engraving. The distinguished financier and benefactor of his country's capital, Mr. W. W. Corcoran, was a youth Missing Page s DEPARTMENT PORTRAIT GALLERY. Ill ton, though now and then a Secretary would occupy the room "now occupied by Mr. Chief Clerk H. T. Crosby, at the south-eastern corner of the building. Secretary Stanton moved headquarters to the oppo- site side of the corridor, where they have since re- mained, the Secretaries themselves occupying the corner apartment, with consultation- and reception- rooms adjoining. Here Stanton, Schofield, Grant, Rawlins, Sherman, Belknap, Taft, the younger Cam- eron, and McCrary, have directed the affairs of the Department. Here also are the principal works of art belonging to the Department. Of these, the main attraction is " The War Department Portrait Gallery," consisting of portraits in oil, in almost all instances by eminent artists, of all the Secretaries of War except the pres- ent incumbent of the office (Mr. McCrary, whose portrait will be added to the collection by his succes- sor), and of a number of other men distinguished in the conduct of military affairs. This interesting, in- valuable collection of paintings, is almost entirely of recent origin, nearly all of them having been fur- nished to the gallery during the administration of Secretary Belknap. Very appropriately, the portrait of General Knox is the largest of all in the collection ; for Knox was the most prodigious of Secretaries. The portrait is a copy of a Gilbert Stuart, in Faneuil Hall, by a Boston artist, J. H. Young, and represents the Gen- eral in the Revolutionary buff and blue, and in full- dress of a major-general. The painting of Colonel Pickering is believed to be painted by Wkldo, and is certainly old. It was accidentally discovered 112 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. by General Belknap in an auction store in Warren street, New York, and, exactly corresponding with a picture by Waldo, mentioned by Mr. Pickering in his diary, was bought. It is enough like the painting by Stuart to justify the statement of its being a good likeness. The portrait of Mr. McHenry is a side- view, taken from an old, small picture, but is not a fine work. That of General Dearborn, by a Boston artist, is a very spirited work, representing the Gen- eral in full military dress. The portrait of Samuel Dexter is a fine copy by Professor R. W. Wier, of the Military Academy, as is that also of Mr. Eustis. General Armstrong was painted by Huntington, and the work, one of great spirit, presented to the De- partment by Mr. William B. Astor, of New York. Monroe is by Wier. William H. Crawford Is repre- sented in an admirable copy of a Jarvis by Hunting- ton. The portrait of Calhoun is rather commonplace. Secretary Belknap found it at West Point, with the face turned toward the wall ! He at once removed It to a prominent position in the Secretary's room. The picture of Secretary Barbour is by Ulke, a copy. General Peter B. Porter is represented in a very spirited work by Huntington, from an original by Jarvis. The picture of Secretary J. M. Porter Is by the same artist, from an original by a provincial art- ist, and Is the representation of an unusually hand- some man. The Eaton is by Wier. General Cass is by Huntington, a most excellent work. Secretary ad interim Butler Is by Wier, and presents a manly face and Intellectual head above a standing collar and a high "stock." The painting of Mr. Poinsett has been long in the Department, and the artist is DEPARTMENT PORTRAIT GALLERY. II3 unknown. That of John Bell shows a statesman in black coat and white vest, and is, I judge, by Le Cleary, though I do not find any record in this case. There are two paintings of Secretary Spencer, one poor, the other good, done by Huntington, from a family picture. The same artist supplied the likeness of Wilkins. Secretary Marcy is done in an admirable work by Ulke. Secretary G. W. Crawford, a fairly splendid-looking man, is by Huntington, from an original by Jarvis. The portrait of General Scott, which is rather effeminate, has been long in the office. His successor in charge of the Department, Mr. Conrad, is done in an animated work by Huntington, from a family picture. The portrait of Jefferson Davis, which occupies a prominent position in the Secretary's room, is a flattering likeness by the same artist. This is also true of the painting of Secretary Floyd, which hangs by the side of that of Mr. Davis. Ulke has produced an excellent likeness and very superior work of art in the portrait of Judge Holt. Secretary Simon Cameron is well done by Thorp. One of the most spirited of all the paintings in the collection is that of Secretary Stanton, by Ulke. The portrait of Secretary ad interim Grant is one of the best in existence, and is by Huntington. There is also a bust, in marble, of General Grant, by Preston Powers, son of Hiram Powers. It is mounted on a pedestal of blue rriarble, and is a creditable but not surpassingly excellent work. I have never seen a first-rate picture of General Schofield of any kind. His portrait in this collection — by Alvord, of San Francisco, I believe — is as good as there is extant. Ulke has preserved General Rawlins in a noble por- 10* II 114 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. trait. General Sherman is by Huntington, and is a superb portrait. Secretary Belknap is by the same artist, but the work is not one of Huntington's best. He also painted a spirited likeness of Secretary Taft. The younger Cameron, completing the list of Secre- taries up to the present head of the Department, is by Huntington, and is one of the most creditable works in the gallery. In addition to those of the Secretaries, there are three fine portraits of eminent soldiers of the Revo- lution — Washington, Lincoln, and Gates. These are copies of celebrated paintings by Huntington. A notable work in the ante-room is a half-length paint- ing of General Clarke, of the distinguished Virginia family of Revolutionary soldiers and ex- plorers. This fine portrait was placed in the collec- tion by Secretary Floyd. There are two portraits of General Jackson, one, in the dress of a major-gen- eral, by Sully. A fine portrait of General Worth, presented to Secretary Belknap by Inspector-Gen- eral Marcy, was donated by the Secretary to the "gallery," which he did so much to found and per- fect. The spirited painting of General Zachary Tay- lor, is by W. G. Brown, of Richmond, Virginia. It was painted at Monterey, Mexico, during the Mexi- can war. Of soldiers distinguished in the late war, there are paintings of Generals McPherson, Meade, Blair, Sheridan, and Logan. The portrait of Gen- eral Blair is the most notable of these, being a fine likeness, remarkable for its accurate coloring, though painted from a photograph. The artist, Mr. Ulke, had been acquainted with General Blair during his lifetime, and memory supplied his art so well as to DEPAR TMENT FOR TRAIT GALLER Y. 1 1 5 enable him to produce this wonderfully accurate and animated portrait. The only civilian not at any time connected with the War' Department whose picture belongs to this gallery, is the late distinguished Henry Wilson, who died while he was Vice-Presi- dent of the United States. Chairman of the Military Committee of the Senate during the entire period of the Civil War, and for several years thereafter, his likeness was appropriately made part of the War Department portrait gallery. A bust of Washing- ton, in bronze, from a plaster cast at Mount Vernon — the last taken from Washington in person — stands on the mantel in the room adjoining that of the Secretary. There are In the room of the chief clerk, twelve small paintings, representing as many battle scenes in the Mexican war. They are by Walker, who painted " the Battle of Chapultepec," which hangs In the west corridor leading to the Senate chamber. These small pain.tlngs have the same fulness of detail which characterizes the " Chapultepec," and are as spirited and gorgeous in coloring as that sin- gular work. The only other oil painting of note in the old Department building is a large work by Ore- gon Wilson, called "Woman's Devotion," showing a wounded Union soldier on a field being cared for by a beautiful woman. It Is a work of great pathos. It Is in the room of Colonel Poe, of General Sherman's staff, but does not belong either to the army head- quarters or the Department. It Is left on exhibition by the heirs of the artist, and I mention it here in the hope that Congress may make provision for Its pur- chase. This dying soldier, with his magnificent maiden Il6 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. lover, should be added to " the War Department Por- trait Gallery." In the same room and rooms adjoin- ing is the series of etchings of operations of the army, and incidents of the late war by E. Forbes. There are about fifty different pictures in the series, than which nothing could more successfully recall to mind the varied scenes and incidents of the war. Hanging among these graphic etchings are many engravings, all of superior artistic finish, of distin- guished American generals from the earliest times to the present. In the room of the popular Mr. E. M. Lawton, disbursing, officer of the Department, are six large and elaborate French engravings of notable war scenes in the history of Bonaparte. In a room near by is the most spirited picture of General Jack- son extant, and is said by old citizens to be the best likeness of him. It is a lithograph, life-size. One of the most visited parts of the old War De- partment was the library, occupying rooms in the middle of the building adjoining those set apart for the Secretary. The library, comprising some fifteen thousand volumes of works of standard literature, and many recent publications, is always open for reference and consultation to the employes of the Department. Such employes and officers of the army sojourning at the capital, also have the priv- ilege of borrowing books from the library in limited number and for limited periods. About one thousand persons at this time avail themselves of this privilege. Connected with the library, but not for circulation, are great numbers of public documents, which have from time to time been issued by the authority of Congress. These, being chiefly legislative, executive, NE W DEPAR TMENT B UILDING. 1 1 7 and departmental documents, are for consultation by such ofiicials only as require their use in the line of their official duties. They have become so numerous that the large apartment devoted to their care is overcrowded, and the books have fallen into some confusion. A similar thing is true of the Department building itself, which has for many years been grossly inad- equate to accommodate the officers and employes of the Department. Hence bureaux and divisions of the War Department are scattered over a wide por- tion of the city, from Tenth to Twentieth streets, causing much inconvenience in the transaction of business, and vastly increasing the probabilities of loss of valuable property and invaluable archives by fire. Several years ago. Congress provided for the construction of a building for the use of the War, State, and Navy Departments. The southern por- tion has for some time been completed, and occupied by the Department of State. The middle eastern extension has now so far approached completion that it will be ready for occupancy during the spring of 1879, whereupon the present occupants of the old War building will remove into the new one, trans- ferring thither the archives, files, works of art, the library, and all other movable property. Then the old building of so many historic associations will be razed to the ground, to make way for the north wing of the new structure. This edifice, commonly called "the War, State, and Navy Department," will be, when completed, an immense pile, occupying more ground than any other building in America. Its different floors will Il8 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. consume several acres of superficial area, and It will contain every business day an average of more than two thousand men engaged in the service of the government, from statesmen renowned in both hemi- spheres to the common laborer. The plan of. the building was designed by the noted A. B. Mullett, and the design is by many thought to be grand and beautiful. The immensity of the pile of itself will, perhaps, give it a grand appearance, but it may well be doubted whether we shall ever have anything in our architecture to equal the grand simplicity of the Patent Office, or the sublime beauties of the Capitol. If the men of the future who are called upon to con- duct the affairs of the War Department shall be equal to most of those who have conducted them in the past, they will honor the building, let its architecture be what it will. CHAPTER V. CONDUCT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS BY THE WAR DEPARTMENT. The General Indian Policy of the Government — The War Department in Charge of Indian Affairs until the Year 1849 — The Situation qf the Indians at the Time of the Establishment of the Government — An Account of their Gradual Removal Westward, as the Result of Wars and BY the Operation of Treaties — Their Progress in Civiliza- tion while under the Control of the War Department — Their Former and Present Situation Compared. AS has already been stated, the conduct of Indian affairs was in charge of the War Department from the beginning of the government. It so con- tinued until the year 1849, when the practical estab- lishment of the Interior Department by its first Sec- retary, the distinguished Thomas Ewing, resulted in the transfer of this portion of the public business to that Department, in accordance with the law under which it was organized. There the business has remained up to this time (January, 1879), with oft- recurring discussions in Congress and by the public press on the subject of retransferring it to the De- partment of War, where disinterested persons best informed upon the subject generally agree it appro- priately belongs. It would be difficult to understand the general In- dian policy of the government of the United States, without recollecting the fact that in its main features it is but the outgrowth of the general polity and prac- 119 I20 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. tice of the nations of Christendom with respect to the inhabitants of the new world, after its discovery by Columbus, and during the long period of its original settlement and early development. The principle agreed upon by the nations of Europe with respect to their respective rights in America, was the principle of discovery. That is to say, dis- covery gave title to the government by whose sub- jects or by whose authority it was made, against all other European governments, which title might be consummated by possession. The exclusion of all other Europeans necessarily gave to the nation making the discovery the sole right of acquiring the soil from the natives, and establishing settlements upon it- It was a right with which no Europeans could interfere, which all asserted for themselves, and to the assertion of which, by others, all assented. Those relations which were to exist between the discoverer and the natives were to be regulated by themselves. The rights thus acquired being exclu- sive, no other power could interpose between them. In the establishment of these relations, the rights of the original inhabitants were in no instance entirely disregarded, but were necessarily, to a considerable extent, impaired. They were admitted to be the rightful occupants of the soil, with a legal as well as just claim to retain possession of it, and to use it according to their own discretion ; but their rights to complete sovereignty as independent nations were necessarily diminished, and their power to dispose of the soil at their own will, to whomsoever they pleased, was denied by the original fundamental principle that discovery gave exclusive title to those EARLY INDIAN POLICY. 121 who made It. While the different nations of Europe respected the right of the natives as occupants, they asserted the ultimate right to be In themselves, and claimed and exercised, as a consequence of this ulti- mate dominion, a power to grant the soil while yet in possession of the natives. These grants conveyed a title to the grantees, subject only to the Indian right of occupancy. The history of America, from its discovery to the present day, proves the universal recognition of these principles.-^ Upon these principles, which substantially amounted to the right of conquest, the Atlantic sea-board of the present United States was settled. The Indians In- habiting this portion of the continent were chiefly of the Algonquin stock, and Europeans gained posses- sion of the soil from what is now Maine to the Caro- llnas by dispossessing, through one means or another, the Pequods, Narragansetts, Mohegans, Delawares, Powhatans, Catawbas, and some other tribes and bands. By the same policy, and the same resistless power, the frontier of settlements was pushed toward the Interior, and the Indian occupancy still further toward the setting sun. In nearly, if not quite all Instances, the Indian right of occupancy was bought, the bargain being In the nature of a treaty. Thus the original thirteen States of this Union were set- tled. The policy thus established by the consent of Christendom and the usage of centuries became at once, as by necessity, the established policy of the United States after the adoption of the federal Con- ' Graham's Lessee vs. William Mcintosh, 8 Wheaton's Reports, 543; opinion by Chief- Justice Marshall. 122 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. stitution. From the beginning the War Department was governed by this poHcy in all cases where the acquisition of Indian territory became necessary or desirable. It even had theoretical and practical diffi- culties to contend against which had not existed before the establishment of the government. These diffi- culties were settled by the authoritative announce- ment of the status of the various Indian nations with respect to the republic. They were denominated by the Supreme Court domestic dependent nations, rather than independent foreign nations. They oc- cupy a territory to which we assert a title indepen- dent of their will. Their relations to the United States resemble that of a ward to his guardian.^ The duties of the guardian toward this singular and erratic ward were to be performed, by direction of law, by the War Department. Among its first performances in this line of duty was the negotiation of a treaty with " the Six Nations," or Iroquois con- federacy, consisting of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onon- dagas, Cayugas, Senecas, and Tuscaroras — powerful and warlike tribes inhabiting a large section of coun- try from Lake Champlain to the western extremity of Lake Erie. This treaty, negotiated in January, 1 789, by General St. Clair, fixed the western boundary of the territory of this confederacy along what is now the line between Pennsylvania and Ohio. At the same time a treaty was negotiated with the Wyandot, Delaware, Ottawa, Chippewa, Pottawatamie, and Sac nations, defining their boundaries in what is now north-eastern Ohio, northern Indiana, and Michigan, making sev- eral considerable reservations for the whites, and 'The Cherokee Nation vs. The State of Georgia, 5 Peters, i. INDIAN TREATIES. 1 23 providing for trade with the Indians. In the follow- ing year a treaty was negotiated by General Knox, Secretary of War, with the Creeks, the most powerful tribe of the South, wherein the boundaries of their territory were agreed to. This territory embraced a large portion of Georgia. To the west, north, and north-west of the Creeks, in what is now Alabama, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, were the Cherokees, with whom a treaty of peace and friendship was about the same time negotiated. In 1795 another treaty was made with " the Six Nations," whereby they ceded a large quantity of lands to the United States, reserving to themselves a comparatively small area in New York. All north-eastern and much of west- ern New York were thus opened up to settlement. In the same year. General Wayne having defeated the Indians of the West, made a treaty with the Wy- andot, Delaware, Shawnee, Ottawa, Chippewa, Potta- watamie, Miami, Eel-river, Wea, Kickapoo, Pianka- shaw, and Kaskaskia nations, whereby large territory in Ohio was ceded to the United States, and many and considerable reservations to the westward of the frontier laid down in this negotiation. This frontier maybe generally described as a line running between the present city of Cleveland, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky. South of the Ohio River in Kentucky, Tennessee, and northern Mississippi, according, to modern maps, were the Chickasaws ; and south of these, in Mississippi and western Alabama, were the Choctaws, with neither of which tribes, however, did the government enter into treaty stipulations until after the beginning of the nineteenth century. But we learn from the treaties to which reference has 124 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. been made, that whereas at the time of the establish- ment of the government under the Constitution, In- dians occupied the country west of a line in a general direction from Lake Champlain on the north-east to East Tennessee on the south-west and southward of a line extending thence south-eastward to the Atlan- tic, they had been pressed westward in half a dozen years, till nearly all of New York, Pennsylvania, Vir- ginia, and much of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia, were relieved of their presence. In June, 1803, General Harrison negotiated a treaty, at Fort Wayne, with various tribes of Indians inhabiting Indiana and Illinois, whereby considerable cessions of lands were made to the United States, and rights of way and to build inns in the Indian country were conceded. In the summer of the same year the same officer concluded at Vincennes a treaty with the Kaskaskias, who were almost the sole rem- nants of the once powerful and numerous family of Indians known as the Illinois. This treaty begins in simple pathos. "Whereas," it says, "from a variety of unfortunate circumstances the several tribes of Illinois Indians are reduced to a very small number, the remains of which have been long consolidated and known by the name of the Kaskaskia tribe, and finding themselves unable to occupy the extensive tract of country which of right belongs to them, and which was possessed by their ancestors for many generations, the chiefs and warriors of said tribe being also desirous of procuring the means of im- provement in the arts of civilized life, and a more certain and effectual support for their women and children, have, for the considerations hereinafter men- INDIAN TREATIES. 1 25 tioned, relinquished, and by these presents do relin- quish and cede to the United States, all the lands in the Illinois country which the said tribe has heretofore possessed or which they may rightfully claim." They reserved to themselves only about fifteen hundred acres of land, of which part was a cultivated farm near the village which bore the name of the tribe. In the following summer, General Harrison also negotiated treaties with the Delawares and Pianka- shaws, whereby the Indians ceded to the United States all the south-western part of the present State of Indiana. In 1805, a number of important treaties, whereby large areas of " Indian country " were ceded to the United States, were negotiated. Thus, by a treaty with various tribes of Indians inhabiting north- ern Ohio and Indiana and Michigan, the frontier on the North-west was moved a considerable distance westward ; an advantageous treaty with the warlike Chickasaws gave the United States large parts of Kentucky and Tennessee ; General Harrison negoti- ated on the part of the United States several trea- ties with different tribes of Indians inhabiting the country to considerable distance on either bank of the Wabash River, in all of which valuable cessions of lands were made by the savages ; the Creeks, in a treaty negotiated by Secretary of War Dearborn, made a large cession of their territory between the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers ; the Cherokees also ceded a large area of the northern portion of their territory, and in the following year gave up to the United States, by a treaty which was also negotiated on the part of the government by the Secretary of War in person, all their lands lying northward of 126 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the river Tennessee. In the three following years, the government also procured large cessions in Mich- igan from the Chippewa and other nations, in Indiana and Illinois from the Delawares and associate tribes, and in what is now Missouri and Arkansas, from the Great and Little Osages. It thus appears that about the time of the close of the administration of President Jefferson our actual frontier had advanced largely on the North- west,West, and South-west. As the Indians retreated, chiefly by reason of the treaties of which a brief account has thus been given, the citizens of the republic advanced, building themselves homes, and extending the benig- nant sovereignty of free institutions. From the es- tablishment of the government down to the time now in immediate review, Vermont, in the North, Ohio in the then North-west, Kentucky and Tennessee in the South-west, had been admitted as States into the Union, and were never afterwards disturbed, except in a few instances during the war with Great Britain, by the horrors of savage warfare or the plunderings of savage bands. Unhappily, there appeared about this time a re- markable Indian, whose influence among many of the tribes of the West and North-west was very great, and was constantly exerted in all the ways known to Indian eloquence, cunning, and superstition, in be- half of war against the people of the United States. This was the celebrated Tecumseh. Soon after the beginning of the present century this singular man entered upon a system of savage diplomacy whose object was war with the people of this republic. A chief of the strong and exceedingly warlike Shawnee BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 12/ nation, possessed of remarkable cunning and powers of persuasion, he visited many of the Western tribes in person, stirring them up to feelings of hatred for their white neighbors, who, it was plain, were rapidly forcing them from the homes and hunting-grounds of their ancestors. In these warlike though secret errands, Tecumseh was aided in a singular and most powerful manner by his ' brother Elskwatawa, "The Prophet." The Prophet was noted for his ghastly human ugliness, which, however, gave him added power over the savage mind. He was looked upon as a powerful evil spirit, whom it were impious and unsafe to disobey. His superstitious appeals were fairly irresistible by the rude savages to whom they were addressed. These machinations, pursued for years among the Western tribes, and even among die Creeks of the South, produced the desired result, and many tribes — largely those who had defeated St. Clair, and whom Wayne had subsequently terribly punished — resolved upon war. The result was a harassing savage war on the North-western border, brought to a consummation most disastrous to the Indians by the battle of Tippecanoe, November 7, 181 1, wherein the confederated Indians, under the command of Tecumseh himself, were utterly defeated and put to rout by General Harrison. The fact that this notable victory occurred just on the eve of our Avar with Great Britain, unquestionably prevented our taking advantage of it by negotiations which would have been of great benefit to the country, in respect of another advance of our frontier on the far West. Nevertheless, before the close of the war — July, 1814 — General Harrison concluded an ad- 128 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. vantageous treaty of peace and friendship with the principal tribes of the Wabash country, and General Jackson, who had defeated the Creeks in a series of sanguinary batdes, in the following month negotiated with them a treaty not only of perpetual peace and friendship, but one which compelled them to sur- render to the government an immense area of terri- tory.^ Thus Harrison and Jackson, who did about the best fighting of the war, also did the most for the " march of our civilization," by making a way for our citizens to extend their frontier on the west and on the south. In the war with Great Britain, most of the Indian tribes took part against the United States ; but such was not the case with part of " the Six Nations " in the East, large parts of the Delawares, Wyandots, Western Senecas, Shawnees, and Western Sacs in the West, the Cherokees' and Chickasaws of the South. These remained faithful to the United States, there being no considerable defection among the Chero- kees or Chickasaws. Soon after the close of the war, Governor Ninian Edwards, of the Territory of Illinois, Governor William Clark, of the Territory of Missouri, and August Chouteau, a citizen of Mis- souri, were recommended by the Department of War, and appointed by the President, ministers plenipo- tentiary to negotiate treaties of peace and friendship with various tribes occupying the territory now em- braced by the States of Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, ' For this quite remarkable treaty, see U. S. Stat, at Large, VII., 1 20 et seg. All the treaties to which reference has been or will be made in this chapter will be found in same volume, unless other- wise noted. INDIAN TREATIES. 1 29 Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Ne- braska. Between the 15th of July, 181 5, and the latter part of August, 1818, these plenipotentiaries negotiated no less than twenty-five such treaties with more than that number of independent savage tribes. These treaties were brief but explicit conventions of peace and friendship, with express acknowledgment on the part of the Indians of their dependence upon the United States for protection. In some instances the treaties also embraced cessions of lands to the government. Thus, in a treaty with the Ottawas, Chippewas, and Pottawatamies " residing on the Illinois and Melwakee Rivers," the Indians ceded a large area in Illinois, and by a treaty with the Great and Little Osages, the United States became possessed of their lands south of the Arkansas River. Other treaties of like nature, with more powerful tribes, were from time to time negotiated by other plenipotentiaries, notably by Generals Harrison and Cass and Gov- ernor Duncan McArthur, in the West and North- west, and General Jackson in the South, so that by about the year 1820, or a little later, the great bulk of the territory east of the Mississippi River, and large areas west thereof, were open to settlement by the whites without the least danger of molestation by the savages. Since 181 2, Louisiana, Indiana, Missis- sippi, Illinois, and Alabama had been admitted into the Union, Missouri had adopted a State Constitu- tion, and Arkansas had been organized into a separate Territory. In all these States and Territories there was still a considerable Indian population, but by force of treaty stipulations it was confined on small reser- vations, so that it interfered as little as practicable 130 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. with the progress of settlement and the steady devel- opment of the country westward. It were tedious and unprofitable to relate further the details of the many treaties with Indian tribes, negotiated through the agency of the War Depart- ment down to the year 1849, whereby the United States became possessed of nearly all the vast ex- panse lying between the Appalachian range and the western boundary of the tier of States lying west of the Mississippi River. These acquisitions, made at various times and on different terms, enabled the whites to open up to settlement and civilization not only the great States already mentioned, but later, and before the control of Indian affairs was trans- ferred to another branch of the government, the States of Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, and Iowa. In the performance of the duty of removing these obstacles in the way of national development and of the progress of civili- zation, it was impossible always to avoid misunder- standings and wars. The wars between the United States and Indians, both in the North and in the South, were in most instances bloody, and always terribly cruel on the part of the savages. It was natural, when they were at last defeated, that they should be made to suffer heavily for the horrors they had com- mitted. Thus their own conduct, as every one will remember in the case of the Black Hawk war in 1832, was a powerful cause of their rapid movement toward the West. It is not a distinguishing quality of savage genius to deserve much kindly treatment, and those who understand American Indians best, would probably agree that where there is one Keo- INDIAN TRADE. I3I kuk there are a thousand Tecumsehs and Sitting BuUs.i But the removal of savage tribes out of the way of our national development, was only a part of the duties required of the War Department with respect to these unhappy people. There must necessarily be less or more intercourse between them and the whites of the frontier, and there has always been considerable profit in Indian trade. The regulation of this intercourse and trade, prescribed by law, was in charge of the War Department. Congress from time to time passed acts " to regulate trade and in- tercourse with the Indian tribes, and to preserve peace on the frontiers," which, with the exception of the boundaries of the Indian country laid, down in the acts, were in each instance substantially the same, from the year 1796 down to the year 1822. These acts prohibited any citizen or resident of the United States from passing within the prescribed Indian limits to hunt or destroy game, or to drive cattle or other live-stock thither to range on the Indian lands. They also prohibited persons from passing through the lands allotted to the Indians without passports from certain designated officials, and provided severe penalties in punishment of ' A very interesting case of the movement of Indians westward is found in a tribe renowned in history, in romance, and in song — the Delawares. They originally lived on the shores of the At- lantic, inhabiting the country now known as the State of Dela- ware, and the banks of the river of the same name, and of the Schuylkill. Few in numbers, listless, and unenergetic, all there are left of this once powerful nation are now incorporated with another tribe near the centre of the Indian Territory. As an independent people, the Lenni-Lenape are extinct. 132 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. those committing crimes against the Indians or their property. Trade could be carried on with the In- dians only by Indian traders, each of whom received a license for the purpose from the Indian office in the War Department, and was required to enter into bonds for the faithful performance of his duties ac- cording to law and regulations. Trading-houses were also authorized to be established at as many places in the Indian country as might be designated by the President. These trading-houses, authorized by a different series of acts of Congress from that above referred to, were in the charge of " agents," under the direct supervision of the superintendent of Indian trade. They, too, were placed under heavy bonds for the faithful performance of their duties. They were totally distinct from the Indian traders. The traders carried on business on their own account, supplying their own capital and goods ; the agents conducted the business of the trading-houses for the United States, which supplied the capital and goods. The furs and peltries thus acquired were sold at pubHc auction by the government, at different places in the country designated by the President. On the system thus described business with the Indians was conducted and intercourse carried on until 1822, when the trading establishments were abolished by act of Congress, and the proceeds di- rected to be turned into the public treasury.^ At about the same time an act was passed amending the law regulating trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes, whereby the granting of licenses to trade was given to superintendents of Indian affairs and Indian 'U. S. Stat, at Large, III., 679. INDIAN CIVIIIZATION. 1 33 agents, these being required to make regular returns of their doings in the premises to the Secretary of War. Stringent provision was made against illicit trade with the Indians, and all traders and officials having to do with Indian affairs were required to report regularly and fully to the War Department.^ This continued to be substantially the system for the regulation of trade and intercourse with the Indians so long as the management of their affairs remained in the War Department. A general superintendent of Indian affairs, to reside at St. Louis, was authorized by the act of 1822, which gave to that city, for many years, an extensive and profitable Indian trade. Nor, while thus engaged in constantly extending the area of our territory for national development, and in the manifold labors growing out of the regu- lations of trade and intercourse with the Indians, did the War Department fail to pay large attention to those interesting questions of humanity and civiliza- tion which pertain to the solution of the Indian prob- lem. From the beginning, the Department demanded and labored for the civilization of the Indians. This, a consummation so devoutly to be wished, is a task the accomplishment of which is exceedingly difficult. In its beginnings especially the work must be so slow as to make progress scarcely perceptible. To the American Indian labor is wonderfully repugnant. He is a natural tramp. Generous philanthropists and ardent humanitarians may not like to hear it, but it is nevertheless true, that time and force are ^ U. S. Stat, at Large, III., 682. It should be stated that Gov- ernors of Territories were, ex-officio, so to say, Indian superin- tendents. 134 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. necessary to overcome the Indian repugnance to steady work, the genius of the American savage for vagabondage. Hence years were required to make even a visible beginning in the civilization of the Indians. Among the Indians themselves the pioneers in the work of civilization have always been the Cherokees, and they are now the most civilized of North American Indians, unless an exception be made of individuals among the remnants of " the Six Nations," in New York. The salubrious climate and beautiful scenery of the original Cherokee country no doubt did much to smooth down the rugged edges of savage char- acter, and to fit the nation for the positipn of leader- ship in the march out of the wilderness of barbarism. As early as the autumn of 1808, a deputation of the Upper and Lower Cherokee towns visited the national capital, with the authority of the entire Cherokee nation, with the object of declaring to the President their desire to engage in the pursuits of agriculture and the arts of civilization, and to ask the assistance of the government herein. In this dep- utation there were two sets of delegates, one repre- senting the Lower Cherokees, the other the Upper Cherokees, both agreeing in the petition to the Pres- ident for aid in behalf of those who desired civiliza- tion, but the Lower bands making known their wish to continue as hunters. These, on account of the scarcity of game, wanted more lands, while the Upper Cherokees would be content with less. The Pres- ident advised the removal of those requiring more lands to the country on the waters of the Arkansas and White rivers, " and the higher up the better." This "INDIAN territory: 135 was the original negotiation in that scheme of Indian colonization and civilization which, since the act of May 28, 1830,^ has been in progress in what is called " Indian Territory," a vast expanse set apart and for- ever secured and guaranteed for such Indian tribes as might exchange their lands for lands in this territory. The already existing difficulties with Great Britain, however, and the war which not long afterwards occurred, prevented the speedy carrying out of the scheme suggested to the Cherokees by President Jefferson. But the idea seemed good to the Indians, and was at length practically adopted. The Chero- kees explored the country designated by Jefferson, and selected lands in that region not claimed by others. In July, 1817, General Jackson, General David Meriwether, and Governor Joseph McMinn, of Tennessee, plenipotentiaries on the part of the United States, negotiated a treaty with the Chero- kees, substantially executing Mr. Jefferson's scheme. By this important treaty, the Cherokees ceded large extents of their country to the United States, and received therefor the same quantity of lands, acre for acre, on the Arkansas. They were also to be paid for their improvements on their lands, and to be furnished with transportation to their new hunting- grounds, and an ample supply of provisions. Such was the original treaty, which was ratified by the Senate, and proclaimed by the President in the following December, which resulted at length in the settlement of the Indian Territory, with the avowed object of Indian civilization. The principal migra- tions thither did not occur, however, until the years 'U. S. Stat, at Large, IV., 411. 136 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. 1 83 1 and 1832, when the Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Cherokees (except a remnant still living in North Carolina), left the land of their ancestors for new homes and hunting-grounds on lands most solemnly guarantied to them and their progeny for- ever, but which corporational rapacity is already seeking to wrest from them by an act of legislative robbery. The Seminoles followed later, and from time to time other tribes and bands were added on the negotiation of treaties for exchange of lands, until the population of the Territory was supposed to be about fifty thousand souls, when the War De- partment gave up the control of Indian affairs. But before this scheme of colonization had been even suggested, the War Department had instituted measures for the civilization of the Indians which had produced good fruits. In a treaty negotiated on the part of the United States by Secretary Knox, in August, 1 790, with the Creeks, it was provided " that the Creek nation may be led to a greater degree of civilization, and to become herdsmen and cultivators instead of remaining in a state of hunters, the United States will from time to time furnish gratuitously the said nation with domestic animals and implements of husbandry." Other provisions for the actual teach- ing of the Indians in husbandry and learning and the mechanic arts were made. Like provisions were made in treaties with other nations, so that a number of tribes had made some progress in civilization before the war with England interrupted these benignant labors of the Department. After the^ restoration of peaceful relations witn the Indians, these efforts were re- sumed, schools were established, and considerable INDIAN CIVILIZATION. 1 37 progress made in the rudiments of learning. Annual appropriations, varying in amount, were made for this object. In his report of December 3, 1824, to the President, Secretary Calhoun said: "The appro- priation of $10,000 annually for the civilization of the Indians, is producing very beneficial effects by im- proving the condition of the various tribes in our neighborhood. Already thirty-two schools are estab- lished in the Indian nations, and for the most part are well conducted, in which, during the present year, nine hundred and sixteen youths of both sexes have been instructed in reading, writing, arithmetic, and all of the ordinary occupations of life."' In the follow- ing year. Secretary Barbour, in his regular report, said: "The effect of our policy in furnishing the means of education to the Indian youths is disclosed in the report (on Indian affairs), by which it will be seen that in this year eleven hundred and fifty-nine have profited by our liberality." ^ It was in the special interest of the civilization of the Indians that a com- missioner of Indian affairs, with very full powers under the Secretary of War, was authorized by law in 1830.^ Thus the work of civilization constantly made some progress, so that at the close of the war with Mexico, there were about four thousand pupils in the schools, large quantities of land successfully cultivated, very many comfortable houses, shops, and factories, great numbers of cattle and other live-stock owned by in- dividual Indians.* 'Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., II., 699. ^ Ibid., III., iii. "U. S. Stat, at Large, IV., 564. * For many, but not wholly reliable, statistics as to the situation of the Indians at various epochs, see Schoolcraft, passim. 12* 138 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Not long after the close of the Mexican war, the conduct of Indian affairs by the War Department came to an end. The acquisition of Texas, and of a vast extent of territory besides, as a result of the war, added very largely to the Indian population of the republic — a population almost as varied in char- acter as in the number of its tribes and bands, from the enervated, dirt-eating sloths of the far South-west to the restless robbers of the Rio Grande, the Co- manches and Apaches, " the Arabs of the American continent." As this great number of Indians came under the control of the republic, the Department of the Interior assumed control of Indian affairs. During the sixty years' conduct of those affairs by the War Department, nearly half the territory of the Union had been opened up to settlement and actual development. From the shores of Lake Champlain to the farther boundary of the tier of commonwealths beyond the Mississippi River, and to the Gulf of Mex- ico on the south, the savages had been removed to a safe distance, or were confined within narrow res- ervations easily guarded by the military. In this vast expanse, embracing much of the magnificent valley of the Mississippi, from which the Indians were re- moved to make way for our march of empire, nearly a score of States were formed, which, in 1879, con- tain more than half the population of the republic, and the preponderance of its political power. This great work was accomplished without notable injus- tice or corruption, the condition of the Indians them- selves being all the while improved with respect to comfort, the means of happiness, and the enlighten- ment of their minds, darkened by the shadows of centuries of ignorance and savagery. CHAPTER VI. THE BUREAUX OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. History of the Different Burf:aux of the Department — The Adjutant-General's Department — The Inspector-General's Department — The Bureau of Military Justice — The Signal Office — The Quartermaster's Department. ''PHE necessity of a system of staff departments J. for a military establishment — a system organized upon philosophical principles — as well in time of peace as during war, has been recurred to several times in the course of this work. The present mil- itary bureaux of the United States government, it is believed, form such a system, being neither too many nor too few for the accomplishment, in the most natural, the most economical, and the most efficient manner, of all the labors and duties required of a military establishment. The system represented in these bureaux has been of slow growth, being the result of more than a century's experience, and of the studies and reflections of the best military minds of the country. A sketch of their origin and growth could not be omitted in any fair history of the War Department. I. THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT. This department, so important, so absolutely nec- essary, according to all modern notions on the sub- ject, for the organization and management of armies, for many years in the history of the United States, 139 140 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. may be described as a department on horseback. In peace or war this department, by whatsoever name it may be called, is the right arm of the military es- tablishment, — the medium of its orders and com- mands, the custodian of its records and archives, the guardian of its documentary and best evidence, from the muster of the humblest enlisted man to the com- mission of the commander-in-chief, and the orders on the field of a pitched battle. Nevertheless, so imper- fect and crude were the ideas of our people and legislators with respect to military affairs, or, perhaps it is more correct to say, so indifferent were they in regard to them, that there was no genuine, permanent organization of an adjutant-general's department in our military establishment until more than a score of years after the adoption of the Constitution of the United States. Of course there was, by military necessity, all this time something taking the place, practically, of this all-important branch of the military establishment, but it was, to use the expressive words of Scripture describing the world in the early ages of creation, without form and void. It was scattered with the different corps of the army, and was without author- itative head at the centre of government. Perhaps, the best was done, by force of military orders, that could be done without a regular organization of the department. Thus, to go back to revolutionary times, the distinguished General Horatio Gates was appointed adjutant-general of the army in June, 1775, and held the office for about a year. He was suc- ceeded by the even more distinguished Joseph Reed. Before the close of that war, General St. Clair and EARLY HISTORY OF THE BUREAU. I4I Colonel Timothy Pickering, afterwards Secretary of War, filled the ofifice. The importance of the office was thus early recognized, which makes it all the more remarkable that the organization of the bureau was not earlier considered and perfected by legisla- tion. Upon the organization of the government of the United States under the Constitution, the army con- sisted of a single regiment of infantry, eight compa- nies, and a battalion of artillery, four companies. There was no general staff. Within about two years this force was increased by the addition of four com- panies to the regiment of infantry, and of a second regiment of infantry. General officers and subordi- nate staff were provided. It was not until 1796, however, that an adjutant-general was placed on duty at the seat of government under the immediate orders of the Secretary of War ; and so ill was the office provided for by law, that several times it was filled by detail from the line. . The army was largely increased In 1798 on account of the difficulties with France, and at this time an adjutant-general, with the rank and pay of a brigadier-general, was appointed. The office was of short duration, continuing only until May, 1800. Major Thomas H. Cushing, by detail, filled the office of "adjutant and inspector of the army " for some two years, when it was created by law, and he regularly appointed and confirmed therein. On the increase of the army by the act of January, 18 1 2, an adjutant-general, with general rank, was again provided ; but it was not until the act of March 3, 1 81 3, that an adjutant-general's department was 142 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. authorized by law. The act provided that the de- partment should consist of "an adjutant- and inspec- tor-general," with the rank and pay of a brigadier- general, and sixteen assistant adjutant-generals, each with the brevet rank and pay of a major of cavalry. This department was also disbanded after the war, when the army was reduced to a peace footing; but by general orders of May 17, 181 5, President Madison saved it from actual abolishment by direct- ing that one adjutant-and inspector-general and two adjutant-generals be provisionally retained. In the following year Congress recognized and made per- manent the offices thus provisionally retained, and provided that the department should consist of an adjutant- and inspector-general, with the rank and pay of a brigadier-general ; an assistant adjutant- general with the rank of colonel, to each division (two) ; and an assistant adjutant-general with the rank of major, to each brigade (four). The depart- ment thus remained till 1821, when an act of Con- gress provided that the aids-de-camp to the major- general and brigadier-generals should perform the duties of assistant adjutant-general. The office of adjutant- and inspector-general was abolished, and that of adjutant-general created, who, in effect, formed the department as matter of law.^ In 1838, the de- partment was again increased to seven officers, the head of the department remaining, and being rein- forced by two assistants with the brevet rank of ma- jor, and four with the brevet rank of captain.^ In 1846, the war with Mexico brought an increase of four officers to the department, and these were 'U. S. Stat, at Large, III., 615. "" Ibid., V., 257, sec. i. ROSTER OF ADJUTANT-GENERAVS OFFICE. 1 43 increased during the following year by three more^ The department thus consisted of fourteen officers, and so remained until the war of the rebellion made another increase necessary. By acts of Congress of 1 861 and 1862, the strength of the department was placed at twenty officers, and the grade of captain was abolished, that of major being the lowest in the corps. Some other changes, which, however, proved to be of a temporary nature, were subsequently made by acts of Congress ; but the act of March 3, 1875, placed the department upon a permanent basis, pro- viding for an adjutant-general, with the rank and pay of a brigadier-general ; two assistant adjutant-gen- erals with the rank of colonel ; four, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel ; and ten, with the rank of major. Since this time, such has remained the organization of the department, open to promotions and appoint- ments on the occurrence of vacancies. During all this time, as he had been for some years before, Gen- eral Edward D. Townsend has been the adjutant- general of the army. The roster of the adjutant-general's department by the last official register is as follows : Adjutant- General. — Brigadier-General Edward D. Townsend. Assistant Adjutant- Generals. — Colonels Richard C. Drum, James B. Fry ; Lieutenant-Colonels John C. Kelton, Robert Williams, William D. Whipple, Chauncey McKeever ; Majors George D. Ruggles, Thomas M. Vincent, Oliver D. Greene, Samuel Breck, Louis H. Pelouze, Henry C. Wood, Joseph H. Taylor, James P. Martin, Edward R. Piatt, Samuel N. Benjamin. 144 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. II. THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT. The duties appropriately pertaining to the adjutant- general's department, and those appropriately per- taining to the inspector-general's department were, as my readers must have observed, for many years commingled and joined together by law and usa^e. It seems to have been generally supposed that these departments went together by a kind of natural mili- tary jointure. Yet the duties of the two are entirely different and distinct, being no whit more alike than are the duties of the adjutant-general's department like those of the quartermaster's department. As the name of the inspector's department implies, its duties are to inspect the army — its arms, large and small, accoQtrements, the clothing of the soldiers, their tents, barracks, and quarters, the state of the different corps in drill, discipline, the care of their arms, etc., etc. These duties, it will be observed, are exceedingly important. Thoroughly performed, they save the government against dishonest and fraudu- lent contractors, and imperfect stores and materiel of all kinds, and the army against the dangers of dirt, imperfect discipline, and inefficient command. It will be seen that these duties have no natural con- nection with those of an adjutant-general's depart- ment. Some time in the year 1876, General (then Colonel) R. B. Marcy, Inspector-General of the United States Army, prepared a brief historical sketch of the de- partment of which he was the head. In this little pamphlet, he said : " Until the adoption by Congress of the Revised Statutes now in force. It was not BARON STEUBEN. 1 45 understood that the inspector-generals, authorized by existing laws from time to time, constituted as a body a legal department. They were viewed as individual inspectors, assigned to the headquarters of the army for the Department of War for inspection service, and placed upon a footing similar to that of senior aides-de-camp ; but the number of officers was so limited, and their rank and standing so fixed, that the question had no significance. Up to the time of the war of the rebellion, there was no inspector- general's office in Washington. It has been insisted upon, however, that the inspector-generals have con- stituted a department in the view of the law. Scott's Military Digest also takes this view. The doubt is now, however, disposed of by legislation." It is remarkable that in the organization of the Continental army at the beginning of the Revolution, no provision was made for inspection. The lack of this needful staff department was soon seen in many and great abuses. General Washington urged the necessity of the appointment of inspector-generals, and his urgent views were complied with by Con- gress, which directed the appointment of two general officers for inspection duty. The first one appointed was Brigadier-General Conway, who, however, soon gave up the commission, being appointed a major- general in the army. The illustrious Baron Steuben was appointed inspector-general of the army in May, 1778, in which position, all historians agree, he intro- duced that thorough system of discipline among the American troops which largely contributed to their ultimate triumph. After this there were always in the army inspector-generals, but, as stated by Gen- 13 K 146 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. eral Marcy, they were not regularly and expressly organized by law into a staff department until the year 1874, when the Revised Statutes became the general body of federal law. They were from time to time increased, and from time to time diminished in number, according to what was supposed to be the needs of the service. The Revised Statutes provided that the department should consist of five inspector- generals, with the rank of colonel of cavalry ; one assistant inspector-general, with the rank of lieu- tenant-colonel of cavalry ; and two assistant inspector- generals, with the rank of major of cavalry. By an act of Congress of December 19, 1878, Inspector- General Marcy was made a full brigadier-general. Since then the department has consisted of the in- spector-general of the army, with the rank of brig- adier-general ; three inspector-generals, with the rank of colonel ; two assistant inspector-generals, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel ; and one with the rank of major. The corps of the inspector-general's department is at this time (January, 1879) composed of the fol- lowing officers : Inspector- Generals. — Brigadier-General Randolph B. Marcy ; Colonels Delos B. Sackett, Edmund Schriver, Nelson H. Davis. Assistant Inspector- Generals. — Lieutenant-Colonels Roger Jones, Absalom Baird ; Major Elisha H. Luddington. III. THE BUREAU OF MILITARY JUSTICE. This interesting branch of the War Department, like the inspector-general's department, as an organ- ized bureau under the direct orders of the Secretary of War, is of recent origin. The origin of the de- EARLY JUDGE-ADVOCATES. I47 partment, however, as remarked by Judge Advocate- General Dunn, " is practically contemporaneous with the adoption of a military code."^ Accordingly, we find that very early in the War of Independence the Continental Congress adopted articles of war, and created the office of judge-advocate of the army. And to this ofiice, in July, 1775, was elected William Tudor, the elder, a distinguished counsellor of Bos- ton, afterwards prominent in the politics of Massa- chusetts, holding several offices of trust and honor. As judge-advocate Mr. Tudor held the rank of lieu- tenant-colonel. He filled the office about three years, remaining most of the time at army headquarters. He was succeeded as judge advocate-general by John Lawrance, the most noted jurist and statesman of New York, afterwards judge of a United States court in that State, and later United States Senator, being president pro tempore of the Senate in 1798. He was judge-advocate in the trial of Major Andre. He resigned in May, 1782, and was succeeded by Colonel Thomas Edwards, who had been his prin- cipal assistant. After the organization of the government under the Constitution, judge-advocates were for some years detailed from the line by orders. On the reorgan- ization of the army, however, in 1797, a judge-advo- cate was provided for by law, to be taken from the line, and to receive liberal extra pay and allowances. This act remained in force about five years, after which judge-advocates were chosen by detail, as 'Hist, of the Judge Advocate-General's Department. Pam- phlet, p. 1. To this pamphlet I am mainly indebted for the facts on the subject now being treated. 148 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT, before. On the increase of the army by the act of Jan- uary 1 1, 181 2, a judge-advocate for each division was created, with the rank and pay of major. In 181 6, it was enacted that there -should be three judge-advo- cates to each division, with the same rank, pay, and emoluments as before. This law remained in force about two years, when the number was again reduced to one for each division. By operation of the act of March 2, 1821, the office of judge-advocate was dis- continued on June i of that year. Under the acts here noted several noted men were judge-advocates, the most distinguished of all being Henry Wheaton, the eminent publicist, author of " Elements of Inter- national Law," no less celebrated as scholar and dip- lomatist than as a lawyer. From 1 82 1 down to the year 1 849, judge-advocates were again selected, from time to time, in the different corps, by detail. By the act of March 2 of the latter year the President was authorized, the Senate con- senting, to appoint a judge-advocate for the army, " to be taken from the captains in the army, who shall have the brevet rank, pay, and emoluments of a major of cavalry." Under this act Captain John F. Lee, of the ordnance department, was appointed, and con- tinued to be judge-advocate until after the beginning of the war of the rebellion. An act of Congress of July 17, 1862, provided for the appointment, by the President, of a judge advo- cate-general, with the rank and pay of a colonel of cavalry, " to whose office shall be returned for re- vision the records and proceedings of all courts- martial and military commissions, and where a record shall be kept of all proceedings had thereon." It BUREAU OF MILITARY JUSTICE ORGANIZED. 1 49 was also provided that there should be appointed for each army in the field a judge-advocate, each with the rank and pay of a major of cavalry, " to perform the duties of a judge-advocate for the army to which they respectively belong, under the direction of the judge advocate-general." Thus was created a judge advocate-general's department, and at the head of it was placed the illustrious Joseph Holt, of Kentucky, who had been Postmaster-General and Secretary of War, was distinguished as a statesman, jurist, advo- cate, and was renowned above all the contempora- neous public men of his section for the ardor of his patriotism and the eloquence of his appeals for the Union. Under Judge Holt there were several men of note who served as judge advocates. Among them was John A. Bingham, of Ohio, who had won wide distinction in the House of Representatives, notably as chairman of the judiciary committee. After the war Mr. Bingham became even more dis- tinguished in the House, and for several years has represented his country as Minister to the empire of Japan. William McKee Dunn was another of these judge-advocates. He had long been prominent in the politics of Indiana and at the bar of that State. As a member of Congress he had won a national reputation. He afterwards became assistant judge advocate-general, and later, when Judge Holt retired, became judge advocate-general, and has filled that position with great ability and perfect fidelity to this time, having fairly won the reputation of an upright judge and able jurist. There were others in the corps of considerable provincial prominence. By an act of Congress of June 20, 1864, the "Bu- ISO HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. reau of Military Justice " was authorized. The act expressly declared : " There shall be attached to, and made a part of, the War Department, during the continuance of the present rebellion, a bureau, to be known as the Bureau of Military Justice." The duties set forth for the bureau were identical with those of the judge advocate-general's office, and in effect constituted the bureau the law or solicitor's office of the War Department, revising all military trials and proceedings under the Military Code, and preparing opinions on questions of law which come up for decision by the Department. The law pro- vided that the judge advocate-general should have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general, and the assistant judge advocate-general those of a colonel of cavalry. In July, 1866, Congress enacted that the Bureau of Military Justice shall hereafter consist of one judge advocate-general and one assist- ant judge advocate-general, the former ranking as a brigadier-general, the latter as a colonel of cavalry. The same act, as amended in February of the follow- ing year, provided : " Of the judge-advocates now in office, there may be retained a number not exceeding ten, to be selected by the Secretary of War, who shall perform their duties under the direction of the judge advocate-general." By a law of 1869, the number of judge-advocates was fixed at eight. By the act of June 23, 1874, the office of assistant judge- advocate was abolished, after the term of the then incumbent, and it was provided that in the corps of judge-advocates, no appointment should be made in case of vacancy until the number should be reduced to four, "which shall thereafter be the permanent BUREAU OF MILITARY JUSTICE— ROSTER. 151 number of the officers of that corps." On the ist of December, 1875, Judge Holt was retired at his own request, and was succeeded by Judge Dunn. The personnel of the bureau now consists of Judge Advocate-General William McKee Dunn, in charge of the bureau at Washington, and Judge-Advocates Major Guido N. Lieber, military division of the At- lantic ; Major William Winthrop, assistant to judge advocate-general ; Major Horace B. Burnham, de- partment of the Platte ; Major Thomas F. Barr, department of Dakota ; Major Herbert P. Curtis, department of California ; Major Henry Goodfellow, in charge of Claims Division, War Department ; Major David G. Swain, department of the Missouri ; Major Asa B. Gardner, professor of law at the United States Military Academy. The labors of the Bureau of Military Justice are of the utmost importance, oftentimes of exciting in- terest, and of very great magnitude. " Important as is the duty," says Judge Advocate-General Dunn, in the pamphlet already quoted, " of properly reviewing the proceedings of military courts, before which are often raised questions of law of considerable diffi- culty, and whose sentences may involve the most serious consequences to the parties tried, it is rather the other branch of the business of the bureau which has given to the office of judge advocate-general its principal consequence. He is in effect the law officer of the War Department, holding practically the same position of general advisory counsel to the Secretary of War, as is held by the several solicitors or assist- ant attorneys-general towards the chiefs of the exec- utive departments to which they are attached. Such 152 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. was peculiarly the relation between General Holt and Secretary Stanton, and his successors, and this relation has not since been materially modified. Thus the faithful and efficient performance of his duties by the judge advocate-general properly requires, in connection with a familiarity with the principles and practice of the special and limited code known as the law military, that general expert knowledge of law as a science which can only be acquired by a profes- sional education and experience." There can be no doubt that these purely legal duties give to the bu- reau an importance appreciated and understood by but few persons. The magnitude of the labors of the bureau may be shown by the statement of a few facts. Records of military courts arrive at the bureau at the rate of about forty on every week-day, or twelve thousand in the year. These nearly all have to be examined to see if any revision be required. About two hun- dred and twenty-five thousand such records have been received and revised by the bureau since Sep- tember, 1862, and about three hundred thousand are on file in the office. The number of reports and opinions, not a few of them of great elaboration and research, is about thirty-five thousand for the same period. Several large apartments are required for mere store-room for these files. In one of these apartments is a large iron safe, in which are preserved several relics of rare interest. Here is the Derringer pistol with which the assassin killed President Lin- coln. The fatal bullet is also preserved, with pieces of the martyr's skull, which clung to it on removal from the brain. The assassin's hat, left in the theatre, THE SIGNAL OFFICE. 153 his diary, and other bits of property which belonged to him, are carefully preserved. In a cabinet near by are the two famous carbines which Mrs. Surratt called " shooting-irons." Many relics which belonged to Payne and Atzerott are also retained. It thus happens that a visit to the apartments of the bureau will give one something like a just idea of the magni- tude and varied character of its labors, for in these vast files one sees records of hundreds of thousands of military causes, from cases of mere peccadillo and jealousy to those which the nation watched with breathless interest, greatest, most exciting of all being the trial of the conspirators for that fearful crime which makes one of " the bloodiest pictures in the book of time," and which is brought again so vividly before the mind by looking upon the relics here pre- served. IV. THE SIGNAL OFFICE. This bureau, so indispensable in war, so invaluable to the public in peace and war, so interesting in science, is also of recent origin. As an adjunct of the army, it is less than a score of years old ; as an independent bureau of the War Department, it was not established until during the secretaryship of Gen- eral Belknap. The system of communicating intelligence by sig- nals, using flags during the day and lights during the night, was practically instituted during the early part of the war of the rebellion. But at first the idea was not heartily approved by military men generally, perhaps for the reason that the system was offered to the War Department and the army while in a crude state, before it had been sufficiently matured 154 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. in the minds of its projectors to be entitled to the respectful consideration which it would have received, had it been offered after more reflection, experiment, and study. But there was an idea in it, and sooner or later an idea triumphs. So much did the govern- ment have upon its hands, however, that it is not to be harshly blamed for being a little slow in seeing the advantages tof a system of communicating intelli- gence by signals. "Oh, the telegraph will do," said a noted officer ; " we can't bother with these balloons, and whirligig flags, and colored lamps, and fourth-of- July fireworks ! " He failed to perceive that the military telegraph lay at the very foundation of the signal system, the signals being brought into use only where telegraphic communication was impracticable. This truth being once discovered, there was litde further delay in the adoption of the system by the government. That the signal corps performed most valuable service during the war all men know. It was used to notable advantage in very many instances. A graphic account of its use is given by General Sher- man in his Memoirs, where he describes the heroic defense of Allatoona Pass by General John M. Corse. " From Kenesaw," he says, " I ordered the Twenty- third Corps (General Cox) to march due west, and to burn houses or piles of brush [signals] as it pro- gressed, to indicate the head of column, hoping to interpose this corps between Hood's main army at Dallas and the detachment then assailing Allatoona. The rest of the army was directed straight for Alla- toona, north-west, distant eighteen miles. The signal- officer on Kenesaw reported that since daylight he THE SIGNAL CORPS AND ALLATOONA. 155 had failed to obtain any answer to his call for Alla- toona ; but, while I was with him, he caught a faint glimpse of the tell-tale flag through an embrasure, and after much time he made out these letters : 'C' 'R.,' 'S.,' 'E.,' 'H.,' 'E.,' 'R.,' and translated the message: 'Corse is here.' It was a source of great relief, for it gave me the first assurance that General Corse had received his orders, and that the place was adequately garrisoned. I watched with painful suspense the indications of the battle raging there, and was dreadfully impatient at the slow progress of the relieving column whose advance was marked by the smokes which were made according to orders ; but about 2 p. m. I noticed with satisfac- tion that the smoke of battle about Allatoona grew less and less, and ceased altogether about 4 p. m. For a tjme I attributed the result to General Cox's march, but later in the afternoon the signal-flag an- nounced the welcome tidings that the attack had been fairly repulsed, but that General Corse was wounded."^ Allatoona was only one of many instances in which the signal corps rendered vital service to the army during the late war, but unhappily the graphic pen of Sherman has not related them all. For this 'Memoirs of General Sherman, II., 147. The defense of Alla- toona by General Corse was one of the most brilliant achieve- ments of the war, and the success of the defense was not a little due to the aid of the signal corps. On the day after the battle. General Sherman issued an order in which he said : "The thanks of this army are due and are hereby tendered to General Corse, Colonel Tourtelotte, Colonel Rowett, officers and men, for their determined and gallant defense of Allatoona," and made the defense an example to be followed by the army generally. IS6 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. bureau of the War Department " the signal office" is so far a misnomer that it indicates but a small part of the duties performed by the office, even leaving out its scientific functions altogether. Before the bureau as an independent branch of the Department was established, the signal corps was very much more than a signal corps. It was the medium of communication between all parts of the military establishment, — between the War Department and commanders in the field ; between different armies ; between different corps in the same army. It is true that the corps did not at once, or even speedily after it was incorporated into the army, attain this impor- tance. Not long after the commencement of the war, the government had by necessity established a system of military telegraphs ; for it would be most preposterous in this age for a nation to undertake to carry on war without control of this means of communicating intelligence. It presently became apparent that there was no necessity for two estab- lishments with the same object — namely, the com- munication of intelligence. Hence the office of military telegraphs passed out of existence, leaving its duties to be performed by the signal corps, as the appropriate intelligence branch of the army. This line of duties even more appropriately pertains to the signal service office, since its establishment as a bureau not only of technical intelligence for the army, but also of meteorological intelligence for the country and the whole world. Brevet Brigadier-General Albert J. Myer, Chief Signal Officer of the United States Army, is the founder of the original signal corps, and of the sig- MILITARY TELEGRAPHS. 1 57 nal service as now established by law. General Myer originally entered the army as a surgeon, in 1854. He gave much study and labor, scientific and prac- tical, to a system of signals for the communication of intelligence in the field, and a short time before the war of the rebellion was commissioned a signal officer of the army. He did very much to establish the signal service corps, which, long before the war closed, was regarded as a necessary portion of every army. He began his labors in the army for the defense of Wash- ington, being (hen on the staff of General Irvin Mc- Dowell, and during the war personally supervised the organization and operations of the corps, both in the armies of the East and the armies of the West. His personal services and those of the corps were no less conspicuous at Hanover Court-House and Mal- vern Hill than they were at Allatoona. Under his personal teaching, signal studies were also introduced at the Military Academy, and have ever since formed a part of the curriculum, regarded as of no less im- portance than the study of gunnery or of mathe- matics. As has been already stated, the military telegraphs established during the earlier periods of the war, naturally passed under the jurisdiction of the signal corps, when the special corps, by which they had been managed, was disbanded. And it is a noteworthy fact, that these telegraphic lines have been greatiy increased since the war. In the year 1877, a total, length of three thousand two hundred miles of tele- graphic lines was operated and maintained, as it had been constructed, by the officers and enlisted men of the signal service in Texas and the Territories of 14 158 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. New Mexico and Arizona.^ In the year 1878, several hundred miles of line were constructed in Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. These telegraphic lines are authorized by acts of Congress, from time to time, for the avowed purpose "of connecting military posts and stations, and for the protection of the pop- ulations from Indian and other depredations." With respect to the value of these lines of telegraph as a protection against Indians, General Myer says : "A telegraph line well worked, forms one of the most efficient of barriers against the raids of Indian war parties. The country on our frontier through which such parties pass, has but few points at which water can be had. The posts occupied by the army are scattered along the line at intervals of several hundreds of miles. The object in view, with Indian war parties, is to pass between the posts and settlements without disturbing any of them ; and they very much dread to leave any danger in their rear, or to so alarm the country as to cause their retreat to be cut off in their return towards the region occupied by their tribe. The existence of the telegraph line enhances both these dangers. It is useless to break it as the parties pass towards the scene of their incursion, for this alarms both the posts or settlements on both sides of the break, and brings repair-men and guards at once to the point of the break, and upon their trail ; nor does it stop communication between the posts, for the messages may be sent circuitously by other wires perhaps covering hundreds of miles of distance around the point at which the line has been disabled. If the wire is not broken when the trail passes the line, the troops can of course be very readily called upon whenever the number of the parties may be discovered. But even if the line is passed safely and the trail is not detected, the danger the electric wires cause is not ended. Wherever the party may strike, if the blow falls near any settle- ment or station connected with the telegraphic network, the alarm becomes in a few hours general. The troops on the line they have just passed know there is a war party in the field ; other 'Rep. of Ch. Sig. Off., 1877, p. 143. THE SIGNAL AND LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 1 59 troops and other settlements can be aroused. The line of the Indian retreat, the points they must pass to reach water, are ap- proximately known, and while the pursuit goes on in the field, other forces can occupy these passes and points in advance of the flying tribe. There can be no constructions more important for holding a frontier, or protecting the first steps of advancing civil- ization, than the telegraphic lines. In a number of cases occurring in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, since the date of the last annual report, the movements of troops and of material, directed by telegraph, upon alarms sent by telegraph from settlements, upon the frontier system of lines, have been so timely as to have attained results which could not, without the rapid action made possible by the lines, been hoped for. How much of life or prop- erty has been saved by attacks thus guarded against, and which might else have been made on defenseless communities, can be conjectured only." ^ As connected with this branch of the subject, it may be remarked that the signal service cooperates with the Hfe-saving service of the Treasury Depart- ment, whose labors in saving life and property on our sea-board have received the grateful apprecia- tion of Christendom, and, at last, of Congress. The length of the sea-coast lines of telegraph constructed and operated by the signal service office, in connec- tion with the life-saving service, is more than six hun- dred miles, much of the distance along dreary and barren coasts, whose severe storms frequently pros- trate the lines, making great labor constantly neces- sary during about half of the year, and at frequent intervals during the remainder. Nevertheless, all the stations of the sea-coast signal service — at light- houses and life-saving stations — being connected with the chief signal office at Washington, any ordi- nary prostration of wires does not break communica- 'Rep. Ch. Sig. Off. for 1877, PP- i43) i44- l60 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. tion. "In cases during the year just passed," says the latest pubHshed report of General Myer, " mes- sages have been transmitted for weeks together over extensive breaks of wire-lines reaching past inlets, by day and night signals with flags and torches." The amount of property saved every year by the quick conveyance of intelligence by the signal ser- vice office, and the practical, skilled labors of the employes of the life-saving service, probably amounts to more than the entire cost of maintaining both these establishments for two years. Large numbers of lives are also annually saved. A most interesting instance of the manner and value of the cooperative labors of these two branches of the service is thus related by General Myer : " On March 21, a storm of unusual severity was signalled from the central office, as threatening the middle Atlantic coast of the United States. On the morning of the 2 2d, when the fog had lifted. Sergeant Stein, of the signal service, then in charge of the station at Cape Henry, discovered a large vessel stranded on a dangerous shoal off that station ; he at once notified the wreckers of Norfolk, and reported the fact to this office. Nothing was known, at that time, of the nationality of the vessel, the port from which she had sailed, her cargo, or condition. The life- boat from the life-saving station was driven back while attempting to reach her. With the earliest light the sergeant displayed at his station the attention-flags of the international code — a code which ought to be legible by the marine of every nation, and with which every sea-coast station of the signal service is supplied. The answering signals soon flew from the stranded ship, and it was telegraphed by flags of the international code that the vessel was the English ship Winchester, which had sailed from Liverpool in ballast, bound for Norfolk, McDonald, master, with a crew of twenty-seven men. The captain further desired that two steam- tugs should be telegraphed for, at the nearest port, to come to his assistance. THE SIGNAL AND LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. l6l " This message was at once sent to Norfolk, by electric telegraph, by the men of the signal service, who were keeping up at the same time communication by code-flags with the endangered vessel. The official signature of the sergeant in charge of the station was a sufficient authority to the wrecking steamers telegraphed for to start to the rescue. By the same electric wires the facts were at the same time telegraphed to the central office at Washington, whence, being comrnunicated to the life-saving and other depart- ments, the whole force of the United States could, if needed, have been brought into action. The work went on at Cape Henry, the vessel asking, by signal, that a safety-line might be fired to them, and the life-saving service making the attempt. The r^nge was, however, too great. Later in the day, a line was floated ashore from the ship, a life-car put in operation, and a number of the crew landed. The crew were reported all safe. Before sundown, as the storm diminished, active efforts to save the ship had commenced. A part of the crew remaining on board, a plan of night-signals was arranged, which, shown from the ves- sel, should call for the launching of the life-boat to bring them off, in case of need, in the night. "The next morning, March 23, the captain of the vessel came on shore, the life-car being still kept working to the vessel. The men of the crew were sent back to aid the wrecking parties as soon as the sea should permit the steamers to approach the vessel. The work commenced on March 23, and was continued on March 24. On March 24, the cautionary signal was again ordered up at the station, another storm-area then approaching from the southern Atlantic coast, and especial warnings were sent to the ship and those employed on her to take such precautions as would enable them to land in case of danger. On the evening of March 25 a violent storm, with very heavy sea-swell, had reached Cape Henry. On the morning of March 26 it still continued, and, with the light, the sergeant in charge of the station discovered three barks stranded near the Winchester, all within a mile of each other. The storm continued violent. The wreckers at Norfolk were at once telegraphed the new disaster, and the facts related to the chief signal office at Washington. The 'attention-signal' was again flown for the bark which seemed most in danger. No at- tention was paid to it. Soon after the main and mizzen masts of the bark were carried away. The life-boat could not reach 14* L 1 62 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. her. Later, her name was read by a telescope as the Pantzer, and the crew of the life-saving station, succeeded in firing a life- line over her. There was something strange in the fact that while the danger seemed great the crew neither recognized the signal kept flying, nor hauled in on the life-line, their only chance for safety. A surf-boat from the wreckers succeeded in boarding the other stranded barks, and found them to be the Italian barks. Franceshino and Monte Tabor. Telegrams were sent by the sig- nal service men to Baltimore, asking for additional aid, anchors,, cables, and tugs. " Late in the day, and some time in the afternoon, the Pantzer showed the ' answering signal ' of the international code. The vessel was then ascertained to be a Norwegian bark, and it is sup- posed her crew had not before realized that on a foreign coast she could ask for aid. Almost immediately after her signal was an- swered, the Pantzer signalled, 'Please send a life-boat.' In response to this, the signal station showed the signal, ' Haul in on the line ; ' it seeming that in all the danger the crew of the bark were not aware of the uses of this line, which had been fired across her deck early in the morning. The line was at once hauled on board the Pantzer, the crews of the life-saving stations had made the life-car ready, and by nine o'clock at night her crew, eleven men all told, were safely landed. In the rough weather which followed, this vessel went to pieces. Of the others the ship Winchester was gotten off after some days' labor, and the two barks, Franceshino and Monte Tabor, saved without great difficulty. " The incidents of these disasters have been cited at length to show in how many ways the non-commissioned officers and men of the service may be called upon to act, and how, in a single instance, the service of one station may be instrumental in saving human life and property of very great value. Had no signal ser- vice existed, there would have been no telegraphic wire to Cape Henry ; had there been telegraphic wires to Cape Henry without the signal service, there would have been no non-commissioned officer or men capable of at once working the electric wires, and of communicating with vessels by international signals. Had either of these been wanting, it is quite likely that very valuable vessels would have been totally lost, because aid could not have been quickly enough called for from adjacent ports, nor could the THE SIGNAL AND LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 1 63 efforts of the salvors have been wisely or safely directed without the constant knowledge of the weather-changes, had, as they were, during all the time the vessels were endangered. The crew of the Pantzer could not have learned how to draw on board of their vessel the life-car, and might have perished. The wreckers would not have been present^ as they were, to aid in the unusual case of four vessels stranded together, and the crews of the life-saving stations could not have had, as they did, the immediate super- vision of their chief (the chief of the life-saving service) at Wash- ington. As a test of skill exercised in communication, it is pleasant to consider that vessels of two different nations, the English and the Norwegian, sailing from distant ports, and find- ing themselves together in distress on the coast of the United States, found also such provision there made, that each could make known his wants, each in his own language, as if on their own coasts at home." ' Nor is the value of these services to be estimated by the amount of property and the number of Hves saved only, great as this estimation as matter of business and matter of philanthropy ought to be. They are a powerful reenforcement to a system of light-houses in inducing foreign commerce to seek our ports. On this point, General Myer speaks with a comprehensive logic, to which there is no reply. He says : " It is held to be necessary to maintain these lines, and it is needed to determine what location and structure will serve this end. To be as useful as it ought to be, a sea-coast line must be practically on the sea-beach itself. Whatever may be the diffi- culties of maintaining it, these difficulties must be faced. There is no time for the slow pace of messengers, or for horses ridden through the sand, when wrecked ships are calling for aid. The lightning-message is not too speedy. The saving of a single ship ' Report of Sec'y of War, 1877, Vol. IV. (Rep. of Ch. Sig. Off.), pp. 139, 140. 164 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. or a single life compensates the cost for repairs exceptional gales and sea-surges, tearing away the soil of the beach itself, may make necessary. The progress of electric communication opens fields of usefulness now so wide, that it would be criminal to turn from them. The regular sea-coast line once standing, the telephone bids fair to make it possible to speak to every point on the beach, or to every wrecked vessel, to which a line can be thrown or car- ried. The time is not far distant, when the possession of a coast not covered by a sea-coast telegraph, not guarded by a sea-coast storm-signal and signal-service, and not supplied with the force and means of aid at life-saving stations, will be held as much an evidence of semi-barbarism as is now among civilized nations the holding of any national coast without a systein of light-house lights. Foreign commerce will flow towards the safest coast. Do- mestic commerce will there be more remunerative. The United States have first taken the first steps for such protections. So far as is known at this office, they do not regret it." ' The practical result is as reasoned by the chief off the bureau. Large numbers of mariners of about all the maritime nations of the world, are constantly visiting our ports in ballast for the purpose of secur- ing cargoes for foreign countries, and they generally aver that one cause of their coming hither is the exceptional safety of our coast, as protected by our light-houses and guarded by the officers and men of the life-saving and signal service corps. The gen- eral depression of trade which has existed in the United States since the unhappy financial panic of September, 1873, has ^ceived sympathy, by like de- pression, among most peoples of the commercial world. It is agreed by the most thoughtful minds of the republic, that our nation has been emerging from this situation of depression since the summer • Report of Sec'y of War, 1877, Vol. IV. (Rep. of Ch. Sig. Off.), p. 142. THE SIGNAL OFFICE. 165 of 1878;^ and it is certain that several powerful commercial nations have become envious of our rapidly-extending foreign trade. The fortunate in- crease of this trade is mainly due to the great enter- prise of our merchants, manufacturers, and shippers, — for our commercial laws hinder rather than aid our commerce — but is also in no small degree due to that preeminent safety of life and property which exists along our sea-coast by reason of the labors of the life-saving and signal service corps of the gov- ernment, a knowledge of which safety is now in the possession of intelligent mariners of all countries. It is to be observed that the signal service office, with respect to its management of military telegraphs and with regard also to others of its important oper- ations, was originally a growth or development of military science which Congress eventually recog- nized but did not create. This interesting bureau is the child of the War Department and the army, the adopted child of the national legislature. Like "Topsy," in the greatest of American stories, "it growed," and then Congress, by act approved March 3, 1875, recognized it as it had been organized by the labors of General Myer and his assistants, with ^ See the speeches of President Hayes in the interior, during the autumn of that year, notably his address at St. Paul, and that be- fore the Board of Trade of Chicago ; the speech of Secretary of War McCrary at Keokuk, Sept. 10 ; of Secretary of the Navy Thompson, at Indianapolis, the same day ; the speeches delivered later, of Secretary of the Interior Schurz, at Cincinnati and Bos- ton ; the speech of Secretary of State Evarts at New York ; several speeches of the same period by Gen. Garfield, Senators Bayard, Blaine, and Conkling ; and leading editorial articles in the best metropolitan daily journals of the country. 1 66 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. whom the Secretary of War and the General of the Army had all the time most heartily cooperated. Joint resolutions of Congress had also recognized as proper and lawful the organization and labors of what the act of Congress just referred to formally established as the signal service ofifice, a bureau of the War Department under the direct orders of the Secretary. For the general purposes of this work, and with- out reference to technicalities, the signal service office may be described as embracing the following branches or divisions : I. The School of Instruction ; II. The Signal Corps, proper; III. Military Tele- graph division, in which may be well enough com- prehended the sea-coast service ; IV. The Meteoro- logical division, which might itself be divided into a number of branches, each having duties and labors different from all the others. For the appropriate division of labor in the bureau, its technical branches are very different from these, but these will serve better for description, perhaps, than those. I. The school of instruction in signal service is established at Fort Whipple, Virginia, occupying a portion of the famed "Arlington estate," and within plain view of the city of Washington.' This school is to the signal service office what the military acad- emy is to the army generally, with this difference, that it teaches men who are to serve without commissions as well as officers. The instructions at Fort Whipple are greatly varied, embracing practical drills in arms ; in the manoeuvring of field telegraph trains ; in rapid telegraph construction ; in the management of all the apparatus pertaining to the signal corps in THE SIGNAL OFFICE. 1 67 the field ; in the study and use of instruments for the meteorological duties ; in practical telegraphy. All the duties of the school are conducted under strict military rule. At the time of the last published re- port of the chief signal officer, fifty-one enlisted men were present at Fort Whipple for duty, drilling and studying to become proficient in the labors of the signal office. II. Of the ^signal corps proper, as instituted and established by General Myer, an account has already been given. Ofificers and enlisted men of this corps, or those detailed as such, are always present with the army, and in time of peace are frequently called upon for their peculiar services. But it is during war that this corps comes to the front as an invaluable aid in the prosecution of successful campaigns, which is an unanswerable reason for its being liberally nurtured and sustained during peace. III. Of the military telegraph division and the sea- coast service, enough has already been related to enable the reader to form a correct notion of them. It remains to speak of that division of the bureau which has given it universal popularity throughout the republic, and great renown throughout the civil- ized world, namely : IV. The meteorological division, and which is of itself a notable institution of science, daily conferring great benefits upon the public. The head of this institution is popularly known the country over as " Old Probabilities," the first name having been un- questionably adopted by the popular instinct as ex- pressive of veneration for him who directed the pre- diction of the weather with an accuracy never before 1 68 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. dreamed of. On February 9, 1870, President Grant approved a joint resolution of the houses of Congress as follows : "That the Secretary of War be, and he hereby is, authorized and required to provide for taking meteorological observations at the military stations in the interior of the continent, and at other points in the States and Territories of the United- States, and for giving notice on the Northern lakes and on the sea-coast, by magnetic telegraph and marine signals, of the approach and force of sVorms." Under the authority thus conferred, Secretary of War Belknap directed the chief signal officer to proceed with the organization of what has been largely de- nominated " the weather bureau." Much of this organization had already been accomplished in the simple development of the signal service under the creative genius of General Myer. The complete organization of the bureau now rap- idly proceeded, and was ready for practical operations in the autumn of 1870. "On November i, 1870, at 7.35 A. M., the first systematized synchronous mete- oric reports ever taken in the United States were read from the instruments by the observer-sergeants of the signal service at twenty-four stations, and placed upon the telegraphic wires for transmission. With the delivery of these reports at Washington, and at the other cities and forts to which it had been arranged they should be sent — which delivery was made by 9 a. m. — commenced the practical working of this division of the signal service in this country." ^ On January 15, 1871, stations on the east Atlantic 'Rep. of Ch. Sig. Oflf., in Rep. of Sec'y of War for 1871, Part I., p. 262. "THE WEATHER BUREAU." 169 coast were added to the list of those reporting ; the section from Chicago to San Francisco, early in Feb- ruary ; and stations on the coast of the Gulf of Mex- ico and in the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, during the summer of the same year. Thus within a twelvemonth " the weather bureau " became a thoroughly national institution. In addition to the stations for the collection and report of what may be called ordinary meteoric phenomena, no less than twenty-four " cautionary signal stations " were estab- lished within the same twelvemonth. These were at as many seaports and ports on the Northern lakes, and their duties involved a constant vigilance, with- out cessation day or night, on Sunday or holiday. These cautionary signal stations were ready for op- eration on the 23d of October, and the first occasion for their employment occurred three days afterwards, at the port of Oswego, New York. The cautionary signal — always placed on an elevated building or tower, so as to be seen throughout the city and har- bor — is never displayed except on order from the chief office at Washington. The cautionary signal signifies the probability, not the certainty, of danger- ous weather near the station where it is displayed, and that, judging from all the meteoric phenomena as reported at the central office, the danger may be so great as to cause mariners, and others interested, properly to use reasonable precautions against it. Thus, in a week less than a twelvemonth from the publication of its first reports from twenty-four sta- tions, " the weather bureau " was completely organ- ized, and operating as steadily as clock-work through- out the Union — from Maine to Texas, and from 15 170 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Florida to Washington Territory. Not only so, but the operations of the bureau soon came to possess an international character, and at this hour promise soon, to have their ramifications throughout the northern hemisphere. Regular daily telegraphic re- ports were received, according to the last published report of the bureau, from no less than twelve sta- tions in the Dominion of Canada and British America, and mail reports from many other parts of the world. In his report for 1877, General Myer on this point says : "The proposition adopted at the congress of persons charged with meteorological duties, assembled at Vienna in 1873, ^.nd to the effect that it is desirable, with a view to their exchange, that at least one uniform observation, of such character as to be suited for the preparation of synoptic charts, be taken and recorded daily and simultaneously at as many stations as practicable through- out the world, has continued to have practical effect. "By authority of the War Department, and with the courteous cooperation of scientists and chiefs of meteorological services representing the different countries, a record of observations, taken daily simultaneously with the observations taken throughout the United States and the adjacent islands, is exchanged semi- monthly. These reports are to cover the territorial extent of Algiers, Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Central America, Den- mark, France, Germany, Greece, East Indies, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, British North America, the United States, the Azoires, the Bermudas, the Aleutian Islands, Sandwich Islands, West Indies, and South America. "The daily issue of a printed bulletin, exhibiting these inter- national simultaneous reports, commenced at this office in 1875, has been since maintained. A copy of this bulletin is furnished each cooperating observer. The results to be had from the re- ports thus collated are considered to be of especial importance. The bulletin combines, for the first time of which there is record, the labors of the nations in a work of this kind for their mutual THE SIGNAL OFFICE. I71 benefit. There is needed only the assistance to be had from the naval forces of the different powers, that of the navy of the United States being, as heretofore related, already given, to extend the plan of report upon the seas ; to bring within the scope of study observations sufficiently numerous and extending around the north- ern hemisphere. This assistance is understood to be already prom- ised by some of the greatest naval powers. ' ' ' In 1875, *^he operations of the bureau were ex- tended so as to embrace daily reports by telegraph during certain portions of the year, and at all times of prevailing freshets, of the situation of the principal rivers of the United States. These river reports are intended to supply the central office with data from which, knowing the '' danger line " of the streams, the bureau may warn the inhabitants of impending destructive or dangerous floods. They also have considerable importance in science. Charts of the changes in the depth of the principal rivers are pub- lished annually by the bureau. " By the study of such charts," says General Myer, " continued from year to year, those seasons in which floods are more likely to occur on any water-course can be predetermined, and it can be ascertained what amounts of precipita- tion, occurring in the different river-basins, and under what circumstances, will be followed by floods, and approximately what will be the extent of floods shown in this way to be anticipated. Whenever the facilities of the signal service are so far extended as to permit systematic observations to be had of any river-course, and telegraphic warnings to be given in instances of danger, the serious losses of property or life caused by floods can be, and with comparatively little ex- 'Page 117. 172 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. pense, guarded against on any river throughout the United States." ^ .To relate with fulness the wonderful labors of "the weather bureau " belongs rather to science than to a work of this character ; but I should hardly be ex- cused if I did not undertake to set forth an outline thereof. Much of this varied work is done by auto- matic instruments, many of which are among the most remarkable instances of human invention, of curious mechanism, and of the finest possible delicacy. These instruments, connected with the upper air by contrivances suitable for the different purposes in view, themselves record many meteoric phenomena, that is, the existing facts as to many things in the air — the wind, its velocity, and direction ; the degree of moisture; rain or snow, measuring the quantity fallen; and many other facts. The weight and temperature of the atmosphere are discovered by instruments long known, but those of the signal service are of such improved kinds that they automatically record the history of every hour of the day in these respects. The daily routine of duty is thus described by Gen- eral Myer : "The duties of the enlisted men at each station are as follows: At stations forwarding telegraphic reports, they are required to take, put in cipher, and furnish, to be telegraphed tri-daily on each day, at different fixed times, the results of observations made at those times, and embracing, in each case, the readings of the barometer, the thermometer, the wind-velocity and direction, the rain-gauge, the relative humidity, the character, quantity, and movement of upper and lower clouds, and the condition of the weather. These 'observations are taken at such hours, at the dif- ferent stations, as to provide the three simultaneous observations, 'Rep. for 1877, p. 131. THE WEATHER REPORTS. 1 73 taken daily at three fixed moments of physical time (7.35 a. m., 4.3s P. M., and II p. M., Washington mean time), throughout the whole extent of the territory of the United States. The differ- ences between these fixed times and the local times at the different stations, cause it to happen that at some stations the observations are to be made in the earliest hours of the morning, and at others in the latest of the night. The work thus practically extends throughout the twenty-four hours. Each of these observations is required to be carefully recorded, for future reference, at the time it is taken. Three other observations to be taken at the local times, 7 A. M., 2 p. M., and 9 P. m., are also taken and recorded at each station. A seventh and especial observation is taken and re- corded at noon on each day. If, at this observation, such instru- mental changes ai-e noted as to cause anxiety, the fact is to be telegraphed to the central office at Washington. " An eighth observation is required to be taken at the exact hour of sunset at each station. This observation, embracing the appearance of the western sky, the direction of the wind, the amount of cloudiness, the readings of the barometer, thermome- ter, and hygrometer, and amount of rain-fall since last preceding report, is reported with the midnight report. "At the stations at which cautionary signals are displayed, an observer must be constantly on duty to receive the order and to show the signal, which may be ordered at any moment. At sta- tions from which river reports are furnished, and observation and record of the depth and temperature of the water is made and reported af3 o'clock P. M., local time, on each day. In the cases of threatening storms or dangerous freshets, any station may be called upon to make hourly reports." ^ The manner of making up the daily weather reports is as follows : "The daily official deductions or forecasts issuing from the office of the chief signal officer, and constituting the tri-daily 'Synopses and Indications,' as they are styled, and the especial deductions, in pursuance of which the orders for the display of cautionary signals at stations are given when necessary, are based ' Rep. for 1877, p. 108. IS* 174 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. \ upon the regular reports of the service stations of observation, transmitted tri-daily to this oiBce by telegraph, after passing over a system of telegraphic circuits, so arranged as to at once concen- trate the reports of this office, and to distribute, in doing so, certain numbers of them at designated cities and stations. Especial reports are demanded from any station, or number of stations, whenever additional information is required as to impending disturbances. The sjmopses are those of the meteoric conditions existing over and near the United States for each period of twenty-four hours, terminating at the hour for each general report. The indications are announcements of the changes, considered from the study of the charts, in connection with such rules and generalizations as the experience of this office and the study of meteorologists seem to have determined to be indicated as to happen within the twen- ty-four hours then next ensuing. The study for each issue requires the draughting and examination of eight charts, these charts ex- hibiting chartographically the data furnished by the simultaneous reports of the stations heretofore referred to, and located in the United States, on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Gulf of Mexico and of the lakes, and in the Western interior, and in the Dominion of Canada, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Bruns- wick, and the West India Islands. These charts are as follows: {a) A chart of barometric pressures reduced to the temperature of freezing and sea-level ; of temperatures and of winds, together with the wind directions, and the velocities at the different sta- tions ; the amount, but not the nature, of the cloud formations at the different stations ; the character of the precipitation, if any, occurring at the time of the report, and the amount of the precip- itation, if any, since the time of the last preceding report. This chart exhibits barometric pressures and the temperatures noted at stations in their relations to districts of territory and to each other, by a system of isobaric and isothermal lines inscribed. The isobars are charted for inches and tenths of inches of baro- metric pressure ; the isothermals for temperatures represented by the different multiples of io°. The wind directions are shown by arrows at the different stations, {b) A chart of the relative humidities appearing to exist over territorial districts, with the temperatures at the different stations in relation to districts and to each other. This chart of humidities enables studies to be made in reference to territorial sectio'ns, the difficulties attending the THE WEATHER REPORTS. 1 75 Study of observations of this character being obviated to a very- considerable extent by the inter-correction of stations among themselves, and by the great extent of the regions over which the readings are made simultaneously. In fields so great, purely local conditions in part disappear, or affect very slightly the general result. This chart contains also the character and amount of the lower clouds, and the character, amount, and direction of motion of the upper clouds, when thesfe are visible. On this chart are traced lines of equal relative humidity, and isothermals are also drawn, and described in chart a. {c) A chart of the cloud-con- ditions prevailing over the United States, in which the character of the different varieties of clouds and their amount, as viewed from each station, are represented graphically by appropriate symbols. On this chart also appears the weather as reported at each station at the time of each report by symbols, the station at which rain has fallen since the preceding report, as well as the direction of movement of the upper and lower clouds, and on it each morning there are entered the minimum temperatures noted during the preceding night at the separate stations, at the local times synchronous with the hour of 11 p. m., Washington mean time, and lines of minimum temperatures are traced to exhibit these temperatures in relation to districts of territory. On this map are entered also the maximum velocities of the wind at par- ticular stations when required to be specially reported in the inter- vals between the hours of regular report. The cloud areas ap- pearing on this map are surrounded by an outline charted to enable the extent and probable movement of these areas to be consid- ered. There also appears on the copy of this chart, made at the hour of the midnight report, the appearance of the sunset at each station, as reported by the observer at that station, and as consid- ered by him to indicate, when taken in connection with the ap- pearance of the western sky at sunset, the character of the weather to be anticipated at that station for the twenty-four hours then next ensuing, {d) A chart of variations of barometric pressures corrected for temperature and reduced to the hypothetical reading at sea-level. This chart exhibits the barometric pressures at the different stations, corrected for temperature and elevation. There are shown upon it the changes that have taken place in the press- ures, so corrected, within the periods of eight and of twenty-four hours preceding the hours of reports at the different stations, and 1/6 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. lines of ' no variation ' are traced to indicate the lines along which the barometric pressure has remained without change for these periods of eight and twenty-four hours, respectively. Lines are also charted, exhibiting those along which the barometric press- ures have increased, with other lines exhibiting them, along which the barometric pressures have diminished during the same period of time, a separate line being drawn for each one-tenth of an inch of increase of barometric pressure, and a separate line being drawn for each one-tenth of an inch of diminution of baro- metric pressure. This chart displays, at a glance, the nature and extent of the barometric changes taking place over the districts covered by the maps of this office, (i?) A chart of actual baro- metric variations. This chart exhibits the observed readings of the barometer at different stations, corrected for instrumental error [variation from the standard at Washington] and for tem- perature the mercury reduced to the temperature of freezing, but not reduced to the hypothetical readings at sea-level. In this office, observed readings so treated are known as the ' actual read- ings.' On this chart are traced lines of 'no variation,' showing the lines along which no change in actual pressure has occurred for the periods of eight and twenty-four hours, respectively, pre- ceding the hours of report, and also lines showing the lines of rises or falls of the actual readings of the barometer for each one- tenth of an inch, and for the same respective periods. This chart is valuable as exhibiting the nature and extent of actual baromet- ric pressures, and the changes of such pressures, taking place at the different stations, and over the different territorial districts. (/) A chart of dew-point variations. On this chart there are entered the values of the changes of the dew-point at the several stations for the periods of eight and twenty-four hours, preceding the hours of report ; there are traced also lines along which there has been ' no variation ' in dew-point during such periods respect- ively, and lines showing the rises and falls for each five degrees in dew-point for the same periods, {g) A chart of dew-points, vapor-tensions, and actual humidity. On this chart are entered the values of the dew-point at the different stations, and lines of equal dew-point are traced for each ten degrees' difference of the dew-point readings. At the extremities of these lines are noted the values of vapor-tensions and actual humidity, corresponding to the given dew-point lines. The examination of the charts / THE WEATHER REPORTS. IJJ and g enables the hygrometric condition of the air and the changes in such conditions which have occurred within the periods of eight and twenty-four hours, respectively, to be considered in so far as these are indicated by the wet and dry bulb psychrometers at the different stations. {Ky A chart of normal pressures and variations from normal pressures for each eight hours. There have been computed during the past year, at this office, the mean of the observed pressures recorded at each station, at each of the hours at which observations are made at that station, for the regular simultaneous telegraphic reports for each monthly period. The series of observations used in computing these means has been, for as many years as was possible, at each station. These mean press- ures are the mean pressures computed from the actual readings had at each station, at the habitual hour of observation, for each of the tri-daily full telegraphic reports required to be made from that station, and obtained, as explained above, by reducing the readings then made to a uniform temperature — freezing — and correcting for instrumental error (variation from the standard) only. Mean pressures so obtained are styled, in this office, ' nor- mal pressures ' for the station, for its local hour of the report, and for the month. On this chart is entered, at each station, with the symbol -f, or — , the value by which the actual reading re- ported from that station at the hour of any report is above or below the ' normal pressure ' for that station for the hour of that telegraphic report and for that month. These deviations from such normal pressures may be styled ' departures ' from the normal pressure ; the comparison of these ' departures ' for each period of eight hours shows what changes have taken place in the atmos- pheric pressure at the different stations, in each period of eight hours, after eliminating the horary variations of pressure. On the chart are traced lines of ' no variation ' in normal pressures, being the lines along which the pressures are at the time prac- tically normal, and also lines of ' departure ' from the normal pressure for each one-tenth of an inch of mercury, by which the actual readings as reported are found to be above or below the computed normal. Such lines are traced for each period of eight and of twenty-four hours. This method of noting barometric pressures enables those taken and reported simultaneously from any number of different stations to be considered for purposes of study in relation to each other without reference, in each case, to M 178 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the local questions of altitude, horary variations of pressure, or other disturbing causes at the places at which they maybe taken." ' The results of these labors of enlisted men, instru- ments, officers, and scientists are published three times daily, by means of charts, in the principal cities of the country, and appear regularly in all the daily newspapers. Very nearly ninety per cent, of the forecasts as to the weather in the year 1877, were verified by the event, leaving scientists to conclude that if there were communication with the entire habitable globe, there would hardly be an erroneous forecast in the course of a year. But the tri-daily bulletins and charts form only a small portion of the regular publications of the sig- nal service office. During the year 1877, ^° ^^^^ than 2,024,294 "farmers' bulletins" were published. These, being different for different sections of the country, according to the prevailing meteoric phe- nomena for the respective sections, have been found to be of great service to the intelligent agriculturists of the country. Very many local reports are also published. The office also issues monthly weather reviews, and " weekly chronicles." The number of international bulletins published in the course of a year is nearly one hundred thousand. The total number of its publications for the year 1877, was in excess of two and a half million copies. The an- nual report of the office for the year 1877 and accom- panying papers, was an octavo volume of nearly six hundred pages, with many illustrations, maps, and charts, from which one could gather a complete me- 'Rep. for 1877, P- 120 et seq. THE QUARTERMASTEI? S DEPARTMENT. 179 teorological history of the United States for every day of the year. The value of these publications in the cause of progressive science cannot easily be over- estimated. Many eminent scientists of Europe have frequently expressed the opinion that the most valu- able contributions to science of recent years are the publications of the American signal service bureau. And yet this bureau, whose daily labors receive the hearty appreciation of Christendom, is in its organi- zation and government purely military. It is doubtful whether the distinguished position in science attained by the bureau, could have been reached under any other system. V. THE QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT. During much of the Revolutionary War, and for some time thereafter, the quartermaster's department of the army had better organization than it had during many years after the establishment of the government under the Constitution. For the period referred to, such men as Thomas Mifflin, Nathaniel Greene, and Timothy Pickering were among the quartermaster-generals.^ At the time of the adop- ' Mifflin, though of Quaker parentage, entered the army at the outbreak of the Revolution, and for a while served in the military family of Washington. He was conspicuous in the battle of Long Island, rendering great service in the retreat. After the New Jersey campaign, he joined the opposition to Washington, and was outspoken in his views. After the war he was prominent in public affairs, and for a considerable time Governor of Pennsyl- vania, where his fame is still well preserved. Greene was one of the most illustrious soldiers of the Revolution. Pickering after- wards became Secretary of War. A sketch of his life is in the second part of this work. l80 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. tion of the Constitution, and for a considerable period thereafter, the army was httle better than a travesty on a military force, consisting of only about a regi- ment of men in small detachments at different forts and garrisons, utterly unable, for want of general officers and a staff] to repel an attack of a single tribe of Indians, had such attack been made. In preceding chapters of this work, the want of staff departments, and their imperfect organization for many years, have been noted ; and it will be recol- lected that no necessary part of a well-regulated military establishment was more neglected than a quartermaster's department. I need in this portion of the work give no more than the historical outlines pertaining to the organization of this department, and the nature and magnitude of its labors.'^ From 1 791 till 1802, the quartermaster's depart- ment, if such it could be called, had a varied history. In the year first named. Congress passed " an act for raising and adding another regiment to the military establishment, and for making further provision for the protection of the frontier." The War Depart- ment, by orders, established a line of military posts from the Ohio River, near where Cincinnati now is, to the Maumee River, being the frontier of the then far West, and it was to garrison and reenforce these posts as protection against the savages that this addi- tion to the army was provided. A quartermaster, with the pay and allowances of a lieutenant-colonel ' For the statements as to the organization of the department, I mainly follow a sketch of its history (pamphlet) prepared a few years since by Brevet-Colonel H. A. Royce, A. Q. M. Vols., and pronounced reliable by Quartermaster-General Meigs. THE QUARTERMASTER' S DEPARTMENT. l8l (at that time the lieutenant-colonel was the com- manding officer of a regiment), was authorized.-' By the act of March 3, 1795,^ a quartermaster-general, deputy quartermaster, and regimental quartermasters were provided for.^ An act of precisely two years later, repealing in part and amending the former one, provided that there should be one quartermaster- general, and there dropped the subject. The situa- tion thus remained till the act of March 3, 1799, organizing the army on the regimental plan, when a quartermaster-general, with the rank and pay of a major-general, and regimental quartermasters, with the rank of lieutenant, were provided for.* By the act of March 16, 1812,^ fixing the military peace establishment of the United States, the quartermas- ter's department as such was abolished, and its duties turned over to " military agents." In relating the general history of the War Depart- ment for the period of the war with Great Britain, it was appropriate to speak in detail of such organiza- tion of staff departments as was then made in prep- aration for the conflict. A full account of the organ- ization of the quartermaster's department at that time, need not, therefore, be repeated.® After the war, the organization was changed from time to time during two or three years, but as we have seen in the ^U. S. Stat, at Large, I., 223. ^ Ibid., Id., 430. 'This might appear singular, seeing that by this act the or- ganization of tlie army was on General Knox's favorite plan of the legion. It is explained by the fact, that notwithstanding the legionary organization, regimental autonomy was practically recognized and preserved. *U. S. Stat, at Large, L, 750, 752. '^ Ibid., IL, 132. "See ante., Chap. IL, p. 42 et seq. 16 1 82 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT, general history of the Department under the admin- istration of Secretary Calhoun, a comprehensive or- ganization of such staff departments, including, of course, the quartermaster-general's office, as were then supposed to be necessary was provided by law.^ By the law then enacted (April, 1818), the quarter- master's department consisted of a quartermaster- general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general, the two deputy quartermaster-gen- erals, and four assistant deputy quartermaster-gen- erals, already provided for by law, and as many assistant deputy quartermaster-generals, the whole number not exceeding twelve, as the President might deem proper. Under this well considered organiza- tion of the department. Brevet Colonel Thomas S. Jesup, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Third Infantry, be- came Quartermaster-General.^ General Jesup at once proceeded to prepare an amended series of rules and regulations for the prac- tical conduct of the business of his department. It being now organized by the law, upon a sound mili- tary basis, some appropriate duties being added ^See ante., Chap. III., p. 85 et seq. ' This officer had been distinguished as a soldier. He entered the army as lieutenant in 1808, and was gradually promoted. In 1812, he was "brigade major" and adjutant-general to General Hull. In the spring of the following year, he was commissioned major of the 19th infantry ; was brevetted lieutenant-colonel for "distinguished and gallant services" at the battle of Chippewa; and brevetted colonel for like services at the battle of Niagara. Later, he was adjutant-general of the army. In 1836, he com- manded the army against the Indians of the South, and was wounded in a battle with the Seminoles. He remained quarter- master-general until his death, June 10, i860. His memory is greatly venerated in the department. THE QUARTERMASTER' S DEPARTMENT. 183 thereto, some more properly belonging to the sub- sistence department, taken therefrom, a thoroughly revised system for the management of its business was requisite. Under the direction and supervision of General Jesup, this system of rules and regulations, embracing practical directions and blank forms for ,all the varied operations of the department, was pre- pared. Having received the approval of the Secre- tary of War, this code of general law and practice for the quartermaster's department, was embodied by Major-General Scott, In the elaborate edition of " Army Regulations " published by him for the infor- mation and guidance of the army in 1821. These rules and regulations for the quartermaster's depart- ment have not been greatly changed by amendments • or additions upon the subjects treated, since that time. The department remained as organized by Gen- eral Jesup a little less than three years, the act of March 2, 1821, reducing the army, reducing also this and other staff departments. The quartermaster- general was retained, and was allowed as assistants two quartermasters with the rank and pay of major of cavalry, and ten assistant quartermasters to be taken from the line. In a letter to the Secretary of War, of November 22, 1823, General Jesup thus dem- onstrates the Insufficient force of his department, and the want of wisdom that there is in mistaking parsi- mony for economy : " In 1820, when the military frontier was not so extensive as at present, there were attached to the department, in addition to the quartermaster-general and two deputies, sixteen assistants, besides eighteen regimental and battalion quartermasters. The act of Congress of March, 1821, reorganizing the army, abolished the 184 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. regimental and battalion quartermasters, and reduced the number of assistants from sixteen to ten ; so that, of thirty-seven officers, thirteen only were retained. The same act reduced the purchas- ing department to one commissary-general and two storekeepers, and the duties relative to the administration and accountability of army clothing were necessarily transferred to the quartermas- ter's department, thus nearly doubling its labors and responsibil- ity, though its force had been reduced nearly two-thirds. The law, it is true, authorized the employment of subsistence commis- saries in the quartermaster's department, but they have the duties of their own department to perform, which, at stations where their services are most necessary, give them sufficient employment ; besides, the experience of every department proves that the only way to insure strict accountability is to confine officers to the duties of their own branches of service, to compel them to per- form them, and positively to prohibit their interference with those of others. " The reduction of the rank and file of the army from ten thousand to six thousand men by no means warranted a corre- sponding reduction in the disbursing departments, for it is well known to every intelligent military man that the labors of most branches of the staff, and particularly of the quartermaster's de- partment, depend not on the number of troops in service, but on the number and remoteness of the posts occupied, the extent of the frontiers, and the dispersed state of the military resources of the nation. "The officers at present attached to the department are entirely inadequate to the proper and efficient discharge of the duties required of them ; and the compensation of the assistants, on whom necessarily devolve most of the laborious details of the department, does not bear a just proportion to their duties and responsibility. The officers of that grade now in the department are equal in capacity and intelligence to those of any other grade or corps in the army, but I fear that, unless measures be adopted to render their situation more desirable, they will for the most part abandon their situations and return to their companies. They should be allowed a compensation which would not only afford them a competent support, but be an equivalent for the talents and labor required in the discharge of their duties. But, it may be said, let those who are dissatisfied retire ; there are others who THE QUARTERMASTER' S DEPARTMENT. 185 would gladly fill their places. True, there are ; and if the im- portance of a station depended upon the number of applicants to fill it, and the merit of those applicants upon the clamorous assertion of their pretensions, this might be good reasoning. But every day's experience proves that the number of applicants does not depend upon the value of the station sought: reduce the compensation one-half, and they would not be diminished. The difference would then consist in the character, and not in the number ; for even if an office be set up to the lowest bidder, there will always be bidders enough. "I would, therefore, propose that in addition to the officers now attached to the department, there be authorized three quar- termasters and eight assistants, to be taken from the line of the army. This change, with an allowance of forage to the assistants by presenting sufficient inducements to men of character to enter and remain in the department, would better secure a strict ac- countability than all the restrictive laws on the statute-book. It is called for by every consideration of policy as well as economy ; for the best guarantee the nation can have for the proper applica- tion of its funds will be found in the honor, intelligence, and abilities of its officers. Let it not be said that the system of bonding affords this guarantee; experience proves the contrary. It may secure the payment of duties at the custom-house, or afford ultimate security against defaulters, but can never insure good faith in the public expenditures." ^ These considerations were not deemed sufficient at the time to warrant the enlargement of the depart- ment; but by act of Congress, approved May i8, 1826, the department received additional jurisdiction and additional force. This act provided, "That it shall be the duty of the quartermaster's department, in addition to its present duties, to receive from the purchasing department, and distribute to the army, all clothing and camp and garrison equipage required for the use of the troops ; and that it shall be the 'Quoted by Col. Royce. Sketch of Q. M. Dep't, 25, 26. 16* 1 86 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. duty of the quartermaster-general, under the direc- tion of the Secretary of War, to prescribe and enforce, under the provisions of this act, a system of account- abiUty for all clothing and equipage issued to the army. * That the better to enable the quartermas- ter's department to carry into effect the provisions of this act, there be appointed two additional quar- termasters and ten assistant quartermasters." The rank and pay of these additional officers were the same as provided for like officials by the existing law.^ This charge of the clothing, camp, and garrison equipage of the army, has ever since belonged, where it should have been placed in the beginning, to the quartermaster's department. Later, when the anoma- lous "purchasing department" was abolished, the whole business pertaining to these species of army materiel 'properly was assigned to the same depart- ment. This was in 1842. The organization of the department remained, as established by the act of 1826, about twelve years, when the military establishment, in view of threatened complications with Great Britain, was considerably enlarged, and with it the staff departments generally. As to the department whose history is now in review, the law provided : "Section 9. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to add to the quartermaster's department not exceed- ing two assistant quartermaster-generals, with the rank of colonel ; two deputy quartermaster-generals, with the rank of lieutenant- colonel ; and eight assistant quartermasters, with the rank of •captain; that the assistant quartermasters now in service shall 'U. S. Stat, at Large, IV., 173-74. JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON. 1 87 have the same rank as is provided by this act for those hereby authorized ; and that the pay and emoluments of the officers of the quartermaster's department shall be the same as are allowed to officers of similar rank in the regiment of dragoons : Pro- vided, That all appointments in the quartermaster's department shall be made from the army, and when officers taken for such appointments hold rank in the line, they shall thereupon relinquish said rank, and be separated from the line of the army, and that promotion in said department shall take place as in regiments and corps. " Section 10. That the quartermaster-general be, and he is hereby, authorized from time to time to employ as many forage- masters and wagon-masters as he may deem necessary for the service, not exceeding twenty in the whole, who shall be entitled to receive each forty dollars per month, and three rations per day, and forage for one horse ; and neither of whom shall be interested or concerned, directly or indirectly, in any wagon or other means of transport employed by the United States, nor in the purchase or sale of any property procured for or belonging to the United States, except as an agent for the United States." ' No change of special note was made in the organ- ization of the department from this time until the Mexican war. Its force was increased in 1846 and again in 1847. At the close of the war, the depart- ment consisted of the quartermaster-general ; two assistant quartermaster-generals, with the rank of colonel; two deputy quartermaster-generals, with rank of lieutenant-colonel ; four quartermasters with rank of major ; twenty-eight assistant quartermasters with rank of captain ; and seven military store keepers. Such continued to be the organization of the depart- ment until the war of the rebellion. On the death of General Jesup in i860, Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph E. Johnston, First Cavalry, was appointed quartermaster- 'Act of July 5, 1838, U. S. Stat, at Large, V., 257-58. An act of two days later repealed the line in sec. 9 in Italics. 1 88 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. general. In April of the following year he resigned.^ He was succeeded by Colonel M. C. Meigs, Eleventh Infantry, appointed quartermaster-general in June, 1861, to date from the previous 15th of May.^ 'Joseph E. Johnston was born in Virginia in 1807. On his mother's side he is a grand-nephew of Patrick Henry. He was graduated from the Military Academy in 1829. Served with credit in the Indian wars in Florida, and with distinguished gallantry in the Mexican war, and was several times brevetted. On leaving the Union army, he was immediately appointed a general in the Confederate service, being second on the list. He was distin- guished at Bull Run, in the campaign of Richmond, 1862, that of Vicksburgh, and throughout the campaign of Atlanta till near its close, when he was relieved of the chief command by Hood. He surrendered his entire army to General Sherman, April 26, 1865. He is now (1879) ^ member of Congress from Virginia. " Montgomery C. Meigs was born at Augusta, Georgia, May 3, 1816, but his parents removed to Pennsylvania during his infancy. He was graduated at the Military Academy at the age of twenty, and assigned to the artillery, between which corps and the en- gineers he was transferred and re-transferred two or three times in a few years, but at length permanently settled in the latter corps, and was commissioned a first lieutenant therein in 1838; a captain in 1853. He remained in this corps until the breaking out of the Rebellion, when he was commissioned Colonel of the Eleventh Infantry, from which he was almost immediately pro- moted, as stated in the text, to the head of the quartermaster's department. While in the corps of engineers, Captain Meigs was engaged on some of the most notable public works of the country, at Fort Delaware, Fort Wayne, Detroit, Washington City. The National Capitol, the Washington aqueduct and water-works, the Post Office Department, were largely constructed under his super- vision. Since he has been quartermaster-general, that department has performed some of the most remarkable achievements in the transportation and supply of armies of all military history, as we shall presently relate. Besides his great accomplishments in mili- tary science. General Meigs is a man of general learning, and a recognized authority in several of the practical sciences. THE QUARTERMASTER' S DEPARTMENT. 1 89 During the war of the rebellion, the regular or- ganization of the quartermaster's department was not so much enlarged as might naturally be supposed by most persons in reflecting upon the immense number of troops which were brought into the field. By an act of Congress of the 3d of August, 1861, " for the better organization of the military establish- ment," there were added to this department : one assistant quartermaster-general, with the rank of colonel ; two deputy quartermaster-generals, with rank one grade below ; four quartermasters, with rank of major ; and twenty assistant quartermasters, with rank of captain. And this was about all the actual augmentation made to the regular corps during that tremendous conflict of arms. But the numerical force employed by the department was, of course, very greatly augmented by the addition of large numbers of clerks and other employes. During much of the war the persons in the service of the quartermaster's department would have made an army larger than Washington ever had under his immediate command. Moreover, the different acts of Congress authorizing the calling out of volunteers, provided for a quarter- master and a quartermaster-sergeant in each regi- ment, so that the volunteer corps in the service of the department, and under its direct orders, was in itself immense. It is still further to be considered that the varying exigencies of the service constantly made necessary very many acting quartermasters, hundreds of such being on duty among the volunteers at all times during the war. Thus, though the regular corps was but slightly increased, the working force of the department was immensely augmented. 1 90 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. It is not easy to describe, within limits to which one must necessarily be confined in a work of this gen- eral nature, the actual labors of the quartermaster's department during the war of the rebellion. A few illustrations may serve to suggest an outline of the comprehensive whole. It is the business of the department, as we have seen, to supply the army with clothing. A principal depot for clothing during the war was at Philadelphia, Colonel George H. Crosman, Assistant Quartermaster-General, in charge. He alone frequently disbursed millions of money in a month for purchases of army clothing. His oper- ations were many times larger than those of the largest business establishment we have ever had in the United States. Until his death in 1863, Colonel Daniel D. Tompkins was Assistant Quartermaster- General at New York, and the principal officer of the department in that great financial, commercial, and railway centre. Here vast quantities of stores, supplied by the quartermaster's department, were purchased and shipped by rail or vessel to the front. It was also the entrepot for most of the troops enlisted in New England and New York, for whom the quartermaster's department at New York must furnish transportation to the armies in the field. There were large numbers of ocean steamships and sailing vessels chartered by Colonel Tompkins, and constantly in use by the government for the trans- portation of men and supplies. Colonel Tompkins was succeeded by General Stewart Van Vliet, who conducted this immense business until after the close of the war. These distinguished officers disbursed hundreds of millions of money without letting any of THE QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT. I9I. it get away. I recollect that Major J. A. Potter was the principal officer of the department at Chicago, the most important railway centre of the North-west. The labors of this office were very great and varied. It supplied transportation to the front for many thou- sands of troops from Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northern Indiana, and Northern Iowa ; for vast quantities of subsistence and medical sup- plies and forage ; and for great numbers of horses and mules. Colonel Robert Allen had similar great business to conduct at St. Louis, with this difference, that a large part of his transportation of men and supplies was done by river steamers, St. Louis being the great steamboat centre of the interior, as Chicago is that of railways. During a considerable part of the war, the department had in charter several hun- dred steamboats on the rivers of the Mississippi Valley, not a few of which could transport, at the rate of fifteen miles an hour, two or three regiments of troops. The labors of the department at Cincinnati were similar to those at St. Louis. Besides, officers were stationed at many cities of less note, for the purchase and forwarding of stores and animals. Co- lumbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana, were im- portant quartermaster's depots in all respects, each being a general rendezvous for troops of a large section of country. Vast quantities of corn and oats, and great numbers of horses and mules, were sent to the army from Indianapolis. At Evansville, in the same State, hundreds of thousands of tons of hay were bought for the army. From Pittsburgh were sent to the army hundreds of siege-guns, and other stores, manufactured in that busy city. Thus, that 192 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. all the varied labors of the department might be done with the utmost dispatch and economy, it had offices at all convenient points in the country. The city of Baltimore was a very important quartermaster's depot, where a vast amount of business was con- ducted, at first, by Major James Belger, and later, upon his being relieved, by Major Morris S. Miller.' It goes for the saying that prodigious labors were required of the department at Washington City, near which was stationed, during the whole war, a large military force, and not far distant the largest of the Union armies. If I remember correctly, Colonel Daniel H. Rucker was the principal quartermaster at the capital during a considerable part of the war; and I distinctly recollect hearing him often spoken of by public men and others as an energetic officer and courteous gentleman. These statements may serve to show the nature and magnitude of the operations of the quartermas- ter's department during the war of the rebellion. And yet these only show the smaller half of the case. All these operations were at a distance from the theatre of war. Those on the theatre of war were still more important. The average number of troops in the field during the war, was, it is believed, something over eight hundred and fifty thousand men. Except during the siege of Knoxville, and in one or two other instances of less note, no considerable corps of the army ever failed for a single day to have brought to the proper place for distribution its full supply of rations. Unless when in light marching order, by command of a general officer, no corps ever was without good supply of tents. Except in THE GRAND REVIEW IN 1865. I93 rare Instances, after long marches far away from bases of supply, all the soldiers of the Union army were constantly well clothed and well shod. A re- markable proof of this was seen In the grand review of the principal armies of the East and West, at the national capital, in May, 1865. The armies of the Potomac and of the James had not been far from their depots of supply, and it was expected that the soldiers thereof would present a neat and trim ap- pearance. It was also expected that the soldiers of the armies under General Sherman, — who had just made the remarkable march from Atlanta to the sea and from Savannah to Washington, marching every step on foot, — would appear a good deal " the worse for wear." Not so. No sooner had these armies encamped in the vicinity of Washington, than all requisitions for clothing were instantly honored by the quartermaster's department ; so that when, with steady tread and soldierly bearing, every man as neat as a pin, they marched up Pennsylvania Avenue from the capitol to the executive mansion, there was one long, unceasing shout of applause from the more than one hundred thousand spectators who witnessed this most sublime display of the times. These, and such as these, the routine duties of the department for the forces in the field, were so efficiently per- formed, that no great armies ever suffered so little for supplies as the Union armies during the war of the rebellion. There were several grand operations, if I may so say of the-quartermaster's department, during the war, in aid of grand military manoeuvres of general officers. One or two of these may be noted. After 17 N 194 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the battle of Chickamauga, the Union situation in East Tennessee was extremely serious — Burnside was closely besieged by Longstreet at KnoxvIUe, and Thomas, not so closely, by Bragg, at Chattanooga. General Grant, in command of the military division of the Mississippi, arrived at Chattanooga and as- sumed command in person, October 23, 1863. He had already caused to be relaxed the rigor of the siege, and supplies to be sent to the army by wagon- route and river. He needed, in order to take the offensive, heavy reinforcements and great quantities of supplies and stores. To get these to Chattanooga was the duty of the quartermaster's department. That duty was performed with wonderful success, under the supervision of Quartermaster-General Meigs himself. The blockade of the Tennessee River was raised, and ample supplies and stores furnished the army. Large reinforcements were brought from different directions, two or three entire army corps being transported by rail from the army of the Potomac. The whole was done so quickly, so thoroughly, and so silently, that Grant was able to offer battle on November 23, and to drive the Con- federates froni their fortified strongholds, gaining one of the cleanest victories of the war, and then and there breaking the backbone of the rebellion. General Grant is entitled to unmixed praise for this great victory. Quartermaster-General Meigs is also entitled to unmixed praise for the rare executive genius which enabled him quickly to place in Grant's hands the means of gaining the victory. The transportation of the army of the Potomac from Harrison's Landing on the James River to THi: QUARTERMASTER' S DEPARTMENT. I95 Alexandria on the Potomac, earlier in the war, was also a notable performance in army transportation. We shall see in the Life of Secretary of War Scho- field that his Twenty-third Army Corps was quickly transported from Nashville to Washington early in 1865 without any loss whatever. Other like duties of less note, some, perhaps of more — as the rapid concentration of troops at Pittsburgh Landing in the spring of 1862 — were done as of course by the department during the war. Colonel Royce remarks with truth: "The annals of history, the most bitter and persistent struggles in the Old World in ancient or modern times, furnish no parallel to the late cam- paigns of the Union armies, and to the promptness, facility, and dispatch with which immense bodies of troops have been transported from one sphere of action to another, and fabulous quantities of supplies of every kind furnished for their use or relief. Doubtless, the certainty and regularity with which the required supplies were furnished, and the prompt- ness with which the innumerable demands upon the department were met, were greatly conducive to the success which finally crowned the great conflict." ^ It will not be thought inappropriate to add state- ments as to the personnel, past and present, of this branch of the service. The following table — for which I am indebted to the valuable little work just quoted — shows the chiefs of the department from about the beginning of the Revolution down to 1879: 'Sketch of Org. of Q. M. Dep't, 37. 196 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Name. Rank. Date of Appointment. Thomas Mifflin, Colonel, Aug. — 177s Stephen Moylan, do. June 5. 1776 Thomas Mifflin, Brigadier-general, Oct. I, 1776 Nathaniel Greene, Major-general, Mar. 2, 1778 Timothy Pickering, Golonel, Aug. 5. 1780 Samuel Hodgden,^ Lieutenant-Colonel , Mar. 4, 1 791 James O'Hara, do. Apr. 19, 1792 John Wilkins, Jr., do. June I, 1796 John Wilkins, Jr., Major-general, June I, 1799 Morgan Lewis, Brigadier-general, Apr. 4, 1812 Robert Swartwout, do. Mar. 21, 1813 James R. Mullany, Colonel, Apr. 29, 1816 George Gibson, do. Apr. 29, 1816 William Gumming, Brigadier-general, Apr. 18, 1818 Thomas S. Jesup, do. May 8, 1818 Joseph E. Johnston, do. June 28, i860 Montgomery C. Meigs, do. May IS, 1861 The following is the organization of the depart- ment as shown by the official publication of 1878 : Quartermaster- General. — Brigadier-General Montgomery C. Meigs. Assistant Quartermaster- Generals. — Colonels Robert Allen, Daniel H. Rucker, Rufus Ingalls, L. C. Easton, Stewart Van Vliet. Deputy Quartermaster-Generals. — Lieutenant-Colonels Samuel B. Holabird, Charles H. Tompkins, James A. Ekin, A. R. Eddy, Rufus Saxton, J. D. Bingham, A. J. Perry, Henry C. Hodges. Quartermasters. — Majors John G. Chandler, William Myers, C. G. Sawtelle, J. J. Dana, J. A. Potter, R. N. Batchelder, M. I. Ludington, James M. Moore, James Belger,. B. C. Card, C. A. Reynolds, George B. Dandy, George H. Weeks, William B. Hughes. Assistant Quartermasters. — Captains A. G. Robinson, E. D. Baker, H. W. Janes, J. G. C. Lee, J. Gilliss, T. J. Eckerson, ROSTER. 197 A. J. McGonigle, E. B. Grimes, J. W. Scully, W. T. Howell, C. W. Foster, G. W. Bradley, S. F. Barstow, J. H. Belcher, E. B. Kirk, A. S. Kimball, A. F. Rockwell, G. C. Smith, E. J. Strang, N. S. Constable, J. V. Furey, L. C. Forsyth, C. H. Hoyt, A. P. Blunt, J. H. Lord, J. M. Marshall, E. B. Atwood, John Simpson, L. E. Campbell, C. S. Heintzelman. Military Store-keepers. — Captains R. M. Potter, C. A. Alli- good, J. F. Rodgers, G. A. Hull, John Livers, A. Barrett, W. P. Martin. 17* CHAPTER VII. THE BUREAUX OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. (continued.) The Subsistence Department — The Medical Department — The Pay Department — The Corps of Engineers — The Ordnance Department — Resume of the Practical Labors Performed by the Different Bureaux. ^TEXT in order among the bureaux of the War \ Department, as annually arranged in the official army register, is : VI. THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. In strictness there was no such thing as a subsist- ence department in the military establishment of the United States before the year 1818. The country had gone through the Revolutionary war, several Indian wars, and the war with Great Britain of 181 2 -15, without a distinct military organization exclu- sively charged with subsisting the army. A hundred years ago the subject of the division of labor, whether in military or civil affairs, was little under- stood. In the latter its importance had begun to be considered by the best minds of the age through the publication of Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations," a work contemporaneous with our Declaration of Independence, and scarcely less beneficent in its influ- ence upon mankind ; but in military affairs, especially in America, not much consideration was given to the subject until later. All through the war of the Revo- THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 1 99 lution, in the Indian wars near the close of the eigh- teenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries, throughout the last war with England, our armies ex- perienced many disasters and sufferings from the want of a proper division of military organizations. No more notable want was that of an independent subsist- ence department under the strict rules of military discipline. In all the wars above referred to, there had to be, by necessity, some substitute or other for a subsist- ence department, because the armies had to be fed. During most of the Revolutionary war, there was a kind of dual department for supplying the army with subsistence, at the head of each, respectively, being a commissary-general of purchases and a commissary- general of issues, each having a corps of subordi- nates. These purchased through contractors, and issued to the army not only subsistence supplies, but other militaiy stores. The system was so inefficient that it was abandoned, and the business of supplying the army turned over to the Treasury Department. The contract system being continued — that is to say, the army being supplied directly by a parcel of con- tractors on bargains made through the Treasury Department — this project also turned out to be a failure. Even when the war with Great Britain was upon us, the necessity for a subsistence department on a military organization was not recognized. By the act of Congress of March 28, 1812, "to establish a quartermaster's department, and for other pur- poses " it was enacted : " That there shall be a com- missary-general of purchases, and as many deputy commissaries as, in the opinion of the President of 200 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the United States, the public service may require; that it shall be the duty of the commissary-general of purchases, under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of War, to conduct the procuring and providing of all arms, military- stores, clothing, and generally all articles of supply requisite for the mili- tary service of the United States ; and it shall be the duty of the deputy commissg,ries, when directed thereto, either by the Secretary of War, the commis- sary-general of purchases, or in cases of necessity by the commanding general, quartermaster-general, or deputy quartermasters, to purchase all such of the aforesaid articles as may be requisite for the military service." ^ It will thus be seen that according to the present generally received notions of the correct division of labor in a military establishment, there was thus pro- vided a purchasing bureau to perform part of the func- tions appropriately belonging to a quartermaster's, a subsistence, an ordnance, and a medical department. The result, as of course, was clashing, confusion, mis- fortune in the field. In the following year Congress undertook to improve this imperfect system by creat- ing an office styled superintendent-general of military supplies, the incumbent of which, at the seat of gov- ernment and under the direction of the Secretary of War, should supervise all accounts of officers of all branches of the army purchasing or receiving mili- tary stores or supplies of any kind whatever, causing such accounts to be regularly and promptly rendered. A much more efficacious remedy against the existing ills was a provision of the same act which authorized ' U. S. Stat, at Large, II., 697, sees. 4 and 5. THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 201 and directed the Secretary of War to define and pre- scribe the species and amount of supplies to be fur- nished by the different departments, their respective duties and powers, and to adopt general regulations for the transportation of the articles of supply from the places of purchase to the armies, garrisons, and posts. The act also authorized the President to ap- point special commissaries to supply the army with subsistence and other stores and supplies in case of the failure of contractors or other emergency.'^ In all these provisions, there was good intention and no little improvement on the former system ; still, it would appear, both the civil and the military authorities failed to discover how to , hit upon the simple plan which experience has since so amply vindicated, namely, the abolition of " the purchasing department" and the estabhshment of a distinct de- partment of subsistence. The purchasing depart- ment was founded upon the bad system of contracts, as described a few pages back. Under that system, an army is constantly liable to be placed at the mercy of unconscionable men, not at all liable to military law. Moreover, the purchasing department had placed upon it functions which, legitimately, logically per- tained to other departments. It was a supernumerary department, "a useless and ridiculous excess." Its final abolition was one of the best practical reforms ever brought about in the executive departments of the ofovernment. Under the act of April 14, 181 8, regulating the staff of the army, the subsistence department was organized. In the general history of the War De- ' U. S. Stat, at Large, II., 8i6 et seq. 202 HISTORY OF, THE WAR DEPARTMENT. partment, this important reform has already been spoken of.^ The provisions relating to subsistence of the army were as follows : Section 6. — That as soon as the state of existing contracts for the subsistence of the army shall, in the opinion of the President of the United States, permit it, there shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one commissary-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of col- onel of ordnance, who shall, before entering on the duties of his office, give bond and security, in such sum as the President may direct, and as many assistants, to be taken from the subalterns of the line, as the service may require, who shall receive twenty dol- lars per month, in addition to their pay in the line, and who shall, before entering on the duties of their office, give bond and security, in such sums as the President may direct. The commissary-gen- eral and his assistants shall perform such duties, in purchasing and issuing of rations to the army of the United States, as the Pres- ident may direct. Section 7. — That supplies for the army, unless in particular and urgent cases the Secretary of War should otherwise direct, shall ■ be purchased by contract, to be made by the commissary-general, on public notice, to be delivered on inspection, in the bulk, and at such places as shall be stipulated ; which contract shall be made under such regulations as the Secretary of War may direct. Section 8. — That the President may make such alterations in the component parts of the ration as a due regard to the health and comfort of the army and economy may require. Section 9. — That the commissary-general, and his assistants, shall not be concerned, directly or indirectly, in the purchase or sale, in trade or commerce, of any article entering into the composition of the ration, allowed to the troops in the service of the United States, except on account of the United States; nor shall such officer take and apply to his own use any gain or emolument for negotiating or transacting any business connected with the duties of his office, other than what is, or may be allowed by law ; and the commissary-general, and his assistants, shall be subject to mar- tial law. 'See Chap. III., ante; passim. THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 203 Section 10. — That all letters to and from the commissary-gen- eral, which may relate to his ofifice duties, shall be free from post- age : Provided, That the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth sections of this act shall continue, and be in force for the term of five years from the passing of the same, and thence until the end of the next session of Congress, and no longer. The careful reader will not overlook the fact that the system of purchasing by contract here provided is entirely different from that which had before ob- tained. Under the new system the subsistence department did indeed purchase its supplies "by contract" — that is, of the lowest bidders after due public notice — but they were thus bought in bulk, inspected by the military, and the department itself, whose officials were all subject to martial law, was responsible for the character and delivery of the supplies. Under the old system, if a contractor defaulted there was an end of it, no matter how much the army might suffer, for a law-suit on the bond brought no supplies. Under the new system, had a commissary of subsistence defaulted, there would have been an end of him; and hence there has been no default in this department, except in a few instances under circumstances beyond the control of human agency. Thus the department continued until the act of Congress of March 2, 1821, "to reduce and fix the military peace establishment." Under this law the subsistence department was fully recognized, and, for the first time, under its proper name, the act pro- viding, " that there shall be one commissary-general of subsistence ; and that there shall be as many assist- ant commissaries as the service may require, not 204 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. exceeding fifty, who shall be taken from the subal- terns of the line, and shall, in addition to their pay in the line, receive a sum not less than ten nor more than twenty dollars per month ; and that the assist- ant quartermasters and assistant commissaries of subsistence shall be subject to duties in both depart- ments under the orders of the Secretary of War." ^ Without notable change, each change being de- signed to add to the efficiency of the department, as now organized universally recognized, the bureau re- mained for more than fifteen years. By an act of July, 1838, an assistant commissary-general of sub- sistence, with the rank and pay of a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, one commissary of subsistence, with the rank and pay of a major, and three commissaries of subsistence, with the rank and pay of captain, were added to the department.*^ And thus the organiza- tion remained until the Mexican war called forth an increase in the machinery, not a change in the sys- tem. That remained, and still remains, substantially the same as established under the Secretaryship of Mr. Calhoun in 181 8 and 1821. During the Mexican war the increase in the force of the department mainly consisted of volunteer officers, whose commis- sions expired soon after the close of the war; but in 1850 the regular corps was increased by four assistant commissaries, with the rank and pay of captain. Even during the stupendous war of the rebellion the regular subsistence corps was not very greatly augmented. Nevertheless, the working force of the establishment was immensely increased; for each brigade of volunteers was entitled to an assist- ' U. S. Stat, at Large., III., 615. "" Ibid. V., 258, sec. 11. THE ARMY RATION. 205 ant commissary, each regiment to a commissary- sergeant, with the rank of sergeant-major. The ad- ditional regiments in the regular army were also provided with officers of this department. The de- partment itself was also from time to time slightly reenforced by additional commissaries and assistant commissaries of subsistence, but not at any time In a ratio to be compared with the sublime reenforce- ments which demonstrated the invincible military power of a free people. This staff department, organized on correct principles, adapted itself with ease and without much increase to the changed cir- cumstances, and as regularly and smoothly supplied subsistence for a million men as it had before done for six thousand or twenty-five thousand. It should also be borne in mind that the army ration had become, at the time of the war of the rebellion, a quite different thing from what it had been in former years. The first army ration under the present government of the United States con- sisted of: one pound of beef, or three-quarters of a pound of pork ; one pound of bread or flour ; half a gill of rum, brandy, or whiskey, or the value thereof; and at the rate of one quart of salt, two quarts of vinegar, two pounds of soap, and one pound of can- dles to every hundred rations. Several changes were made in the ration from time to time — none of them making it a daily luxury — until 1802, when Congress declared it to be as follows : one pound and a quarter of beef, or three-quarters of a pound of pork ; eighteen ounces of bread or flour ; one gill of rum, whiskey, or brandy ; and at the rates of two quarts of salt, four quarts of vinegar, four 206 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. pounds of soap, and one pound and a half of can- dles to every hundred rations. This was more liberal with respect both to solids and liquids than the origi- nal ration, and it remained the regular bill of fare for the enlisted men of the army during a number of years. In 1832, four pounds of coffee and eight pounds of sugar to the hundred rations were sub- stituted for the grog ration, and this allowance was increased to six pounds of coffee and twelve of sugar in 1838. These changes indicate both moral and hygienic reform in the army. In i860, the allow- ance of coffee was increased to ten pounds and of sugar to fifteen for each one hundred rations. For some years the army regulations had provided for the issuing of beans, hominy, and rice to the troops at certain times. By a law of Congress, approved August 3, 1861, the army ration was increased as follows: "twenty-two ounces of bread or flour, or one pound of hard bread ; fresh beef shall be issued as often as the commanding officer of any detach- ment or regiment shall require it, when practicable, in place of salt meat; beans and rice, or hominy, twice a week ; one pound of potatoes shall be issued at least three times a week, if practicable, when these articles cannot be issued, an equivalent in value in some other proper food shall be issued ; and a ration of tea may be substituted for a ration of coffee." Pepper was afterwards added to the ration, and the law also providing for a regular de- tail of cooks from the ranks, it is probable that the Union troops were more abundantly and healthfully subsisted during the war of the rebellion than any large armies ever were for so long a period. Indeed, THE ARMY RATION. 207 SO careful were our statesmen of the time to see that the troops were herein plentifully supplied that the ration became excessive and wasteful. A con- siderable and quite animated discussion upon the propriety of its reduction arose in Congress and in the country. In March, 1864, Senator Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, chairman of the Senate Military Committee, addressed a letter upon the subject to Secretary of War Stanton, who referred it to the subsistence department. Brigadier-General Joseph P. Taylor, at the time commissary-general of sub- sistence, endorsed the paper as follows: It is the opinion of this office — ist. That the present army ration is larger than is necessary for the subsistence of the soldier. 2d. That the ration allowed prior to the passage of the act of August 3, 1861, is sufficient for the soldier. 3d. That it is advisable to reduce the ration to the amount allowed prior to the passage of the aforesaid act, and to add the value of this reduction to the soldier's pay, rather than to continue the present system of purchasing the savings made from the use of the present ration. In order to meet the exigencies of the service, and to facilitate the settlement of accounts at the treasury, it is deemed important that the clause of the act of August 3, 1861, which allows the issue of an equivalent in value of some other proper food, when the articles composing the ration cannot be issued in the propor- tions specified, should be embodied in any future legislation mod- ifying the present army ration.' These recommendations were adopted, and the ra- tion modified accordingly. In case all the component parts of the ration could not be issued, or in other ' Quoted by Major John W. Barriger, in his " Legislative His- tory of the Subsistence Department," pp. 105, 106 — a thick pam- phlet, published in 1876, to the interesting pages of which I am indebted for many facts. 208 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. emergency, the President was authorized to change the ration to meet the want, or with a view to the health of the soldiers. Since then the ration of the United States army has been composed of such proper parts of fresh and salt meats, vegetables, tea, coffee, sugar, salt, pepper, etc., that if the soldier is not, under all ordinary circumstances, well fed and religiously clean in his person, it is his own fault or that of his immediate commander. Of course the duty of subsisting such large num- bers of men as composed the Union armies during the war of the rebellion involved great labor and large disbursements of money. " During the war this branch of the service never failed," said Secre- tary Stanton in his annual report of 1865. Its dis- bursements for the four years of the war were as follows : From July i, 1861, to June 30, 1862, . ;^48,79g,52i.i4 From July i, 1862, to June 30, 1863, . 69,537,582.78 From July i, 1863, to June 30, 1864, . 98,666,918.50 From July i, 1864, to June 30, 1865, . 144,782,969.41 Total, . . . ^361, 786,991. 83 On the 30th of April, 1865, almost on the very day of the final surrender of the Confederacy, there were in the department, the twenty-nine ofificers of the regular corps and five hundred and thirty-five commissaries of volunteers. At the beginning of the war Brevet Major-General George Gibson was commissary-general of subsist- ence. He had been at the head of the department for more than forty years, and its efficient, vigorous management during all that period makes the highest GENERAL MACFEELY. 2O9 eulogium that could be pronounced on his character as a military executive officer. General Gibson died in September, 1861, and was succeeded by Brevet Colonel Joseph P. Taylor, who had for some time been assistant commissary-general of subsistence. About two years later he received the full rank of brigadier-general as provided by law, then enacted, for the head of the bureau. He died in the latter part of June, 1864, after continuous service in the office of about thirty-five years, which had been preceded by a service of fifteen years in the army. General Taylor conducted the affairs of the office during a trying period with great success, and was distinguished among public men for the fine suavity of his personal and official demeanor. He was suc- ceeded by Colonel Amos B. Eaton, regularly pro- moted, who conducted the affairs of the bureau for about ten years, when, by an order of the Secretary of War, he was placed on the retired list, the order to take effect May i, 1874. In the following month. Colonel Alexander E. Shiras, who had been acting commissary-general of subsistence since the retire- ment of General Eaton, succeeded to the position, with the rank of brigadier-general. General Shiras died in April, 1875, and Brevet Colonel Robert Mac- feely was promoted to the vacancy. He still remains at the head of the bureau. By legislation of recent years, the subsistence de- partment was slightly reduced in force, the regular corps now (1878) numbering twenty-six officers. The roster, as furnished by the Army Register of 1878, is as follows : 18* o 2IO ' HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Commissary-General of Subsistence. — Brigadier-General Robert Macfeely. Assistant Commissary- Generals of Subsistence. — Colonels Charles L. Kilburn, M. D. L. Simpson ; Lieutenant-Colonels . Henry F. Clarke, William W. Burns, Amos Beckwith. Commissaries of Subsistence. — Majors B. Du Barry, Thomas J. Haines, George Bell, M. R. Morgan, John P. Hawkins, M. P. Small, Thomas C. Sullivan, John W. Barriger ; Captains Thomas Wilson, William H. Bell, J. H. Gilman, Samuel T. Cushing, William A. Elderkin, Charles B. Penrose, William H. Nash, Charles McClure, Andrew K. Long, Charles P. Eagan, F. F. Whitehead, John F. Weston. VII. THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. Of all the bureaux of the military establishment of the United States, the medical department had the most difficult struggle, perhaps, in securing rational organization and appreciative recognition. There was, in truth, in the proper signification of the term, no such department of a permanent nature until during the administration of the war ofiice by Secretary Calhoun; and it was not until long after- wards that its military character and rights were fully acknowledged, either by Congress or by the army. One of the few Secretaries of War who have with justice been but little honored by their countrymen or by history, spoke almost with contempt of the departnient less than fifty years ago.^ It required more than one contest for the officers of the corps to be allowed to wear full uniforms, epaulettes, sash, and all. Through an antagonism in the army not easily to be explained, and- an indifference on the part of Congress scarcely consonant with statesmanship, cer- tainly not with earnest humanifiy, that branch of the ' Mr. Eaton, President Jackson's first Secretary of War. THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT 211 military establishment whose labors are now univer- sally conceded to be the most beneficent of all, strug- gled through weary years for just recognition and independent organization. But every one will see that so soon as the country raised an army, there must have been attached to it a medical corps of some kind, that the sick and wounded might receive the professional attentions which all civilized peoples acknowledge to be neces- sary. We accordingly find, recurring to our revolu- tionary history, that in May, 1775, the Colony of Massachusetts Bay provided for a commission to examine persons wishing to become surgeons in the army then forming in that colony for the siege of Boston. This commission performed valuable ser- vice in the care with which it selected surgeons for the army. After the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, an army hospital — said to have been the first in our country — was established at Cambridge, and was placed in charge of Doctor John Warren, a brother of the illustrious General Joseph Warren, who was slain in that battle, the first distinguished martyr in the cause of American Independence. The first armies of the Revolution, as is well known, came together rather voluntarily than by reason of the action of government. Most of the corps, large or small, brought with them to the general rendezvous their own surgeons. It is, however, a very singular fact, that in the resolutions of the Continental Con- gress first organizing a continental army there was no provision for a medical staff. Later this omission was remedied, and provisions were made for a medical corps and for the establishment of hospitals. The 212 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. provisions were complex, however, the officials of the corps too numerous. The result, clashings and dis- putes. The sublime fortitude and endurance of our revolutionary armies would be demonstrated by this, if by nothing else, that they achieved independence through a seven years' war, notwithstanding the fact of a medical department organized on plans wellnigh as faulty as it was possible for them to be. At the time of the establishment of the govern- ment under the Constitution, and for some time there- after, the medical corps consisted of a surgeon for each regiment, and three surgeon's mates. The President was also authorized by law ^to appoint as many surgeon's mates as he might judge necessary. Regimental surgeons and surgeon's mates were also appointed for the " levies " (volunteers) which were raised to aid in General St. Clair's campaign against the Indians in 179 1. In the battle in which that offi- cer was so signally defeated by the savages, Doctor Victor Grasson, a surgeon's mate in a corps of " levies " was slain, being the first medical officer of the army killed in battle.^ Thus, with a surgeon for each regiment and a variable number of surgeon's mates, the medical and surgical labors of the army were performed for nearly ten years after "the in- auguration of President Washington. But in 1 798, on the increase of the army in view of the threatened war with France, there was for a short time an organized medical department, Doctor James Craik, of Virginia, being appointed physician- general at the request of Washington himself. In 'Asst. Surg. Harvey E. Brown's Medical Department of the U. S. Army, p. 73. THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 213 the following year Congress passed an act " to regu- late the medical establishment." This law provided for a physician-general an apothecary-general ; a medical purveyor; a competent number of hospital surgeons; a suitable number of hospital mates; hos- pital stewards, nurses, and attendants. The duties of these officers and employes were in general terms prescribed, and were such as would be indicated by their designations respectively. The compensations of the several officers were as follows : The physi- cian-general, one hundred dollars per month, and fifty dollars per month additional, in lieu of all other emoluments and commutations ; the apothecary- general, eighty dollars per month, and thirty dollars additional, in lieu of rations, etc. ; the purveyor, one hundred dollars per month ; each deputy apothecary- general, fifty dollars pay per month and sixteen dol- lars additional ; each hospital surgeon, eighty dollars pay per month, " and forty dollars per month in full compensation for forage, rations, and all expenses ; " each mate, thirty dollars pay per month, and twenty dollars additional ; each steward, twenty-five dollars per month, and eight dollars in lieu of all other allowances.'' This act was well calculated to supply an efficient system for the establishment and manage- ment of hospitals, but the necessity for its practical operation during the war did not arise, war being averted. In 1800, all fears of war passed away, and the army was again placed upon a peace footing. The act by which this was accomplished disbanded all the medical officers except six surgeons and twelve surgeon's mates, and by December, 1801, this 'U. S. Stat, at Large, I., 721-22. 214 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. number of mates had been still further reduced to seven, existing vacancies not having been filled in view of a still greater reduction in the army.^ From this time until the second year of the war with Great Britain there was no medical department, the duties pertaining to such department being per- formed by surgeons and surgeon's mates, without bureaucratic head or cooperative organization. These were from time to time increased, as the number of garrisons and posts was increased. So in 1808, when there was a considerable increase of the army, the corps was correspondingly increased, the general organization of the army requiring a surgeon and two or more mates, as the President might determine for each regiment. The corps was likewise increased with the considerable increase of the army in 181 2. The act authorizing the increase of the army, also provided for such number of hospital surgeons, mates, and stewards as the service, in the judgment of the President, might require. But not until 1813 was the corps placed under the command of a responsible head. By an act of March 3d of that year, it was provided, "that for the better superintendence and management' of the hospital and medical establish- ment of the army of the United States, there shall be a physician- and surgeon-general, with an annual salary of two thousand five hundred dollars, and an apothecary-general, with an annual salary of eighteen hundred dollars; whose respective duties and powers shall be prescribed by the President." ^ Under this law. Doctor James Tilton, of Delaware, 'Brown's Med. Dept. of the Army, 78. "U. S. Stat, at Large, II., 819. THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 2\^. was appointed physician- and surgeon-general, and Doctor Francis Le Barron, of Massachusetts, apothe- cary-general. By the rules and regulations for the army, promulgated by order of the President during the following May, the physician- and surgeon-general was required to prescribe rules for the government of hospitals, and see them enforced ; to appoint stewards and nurses ; to call for and receive returns of medicines, surgical instruments, and all hospital stores ; to authorize qnd regulate the supply of regi- mental medical chests, making half-yearly returns thereof, and of the sick in hospital, to the War De- partment, and yearly estimates of what would be required for the army. The apothecary-general was required to assist in these duties, and to obey the orders of the physician-general. The eminent physi- cians appointed to these new positions entered at once upon the discharge of their duties, and hence- forth during the war the sick and wounded were promptly, humanely, and skilfully cared for. For all the armies of the North, hospitals were provided in as convenient and healthful localities as could be ob- tained ; and though there was a great deal of sickness among these troops, the rate of mortality never be- came exceptionally great. For the treatment of the wounded during and after engagements, the corps in all instances received the commendations of general and field officers. No medical reports of the army of the South have been preserved, but General Jackson himself, in his general orders of congratu- lation after the victory of New Orleans, declared that the medical staff" merited well of the coun- try. From which it may correcdy be inferred that 2l6 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. it was no less efficient in the South than in the North. By the act of Congress of March 3, 181 5, reducing the army to a peace basis on the conclusion of the war, the medical department was again virtually disbanded. Nevertheless, the apothecary-general, two assistant apothecaries, and a number of hospital surgeons and mates were provisionally retained in service by order of the President. In the following year. Congress by law authorized these officers to be continued in service. Thus the corps remained until the organization of the medical department upon a permanent basis by the act of Congress regulating the staff of the army, approved by the President April 14, 1 818. This act provided, "That there shall be one surgeon-general, with a salary of two thousand five hundred dollars per annum ; one as- sistant surgeon-general, with the emoluments of a hospital surgeon ; and that the number of post sur- geons be increased, not to exceed eight to each di- vision." ^ After the passage of this act the medical department consisted of one surgeon-general, two assistant surgeon-generals (one being assigned by general orders that there might be equality in each division of the army), one apothecary-general, two assistant apothecaries, forty post surgeons, one regi- mental surgeon and two mates to each regiment.^ ' U. S. Stat, at Large, III., 426. By an unfortunate misprint in one or two places in Asst. Surgeon Brown's " Medical Depart- ment of the Army," the act cited in the text is said to have been passed in May instead of April. Elsewhere in the work the date is correctly printed. ' Brown's Med. Dept. of the Army, 107. SURGEON-GENERAL LOVELL. 21/ Hospital surgeons of the old organization were trans- ferred to the list of post surgeons. Hospital Surgeon Joseph Lovell was appointed surgeon-general. A graduate of Harvard, a learned physician, and skilful operator, he had distinguished himself as regimental surgeon ; in charge of a gen- eral hospital at Burlington, Vermont ; while serving in the field with Generals Scott and Brown, and by not a few exceptionally able official reports. On the 2 1 St of April, general orders from the war office directed that all reports, returns, arid communications connected with the medical department should there- after be made to the surgeon-general's office at Washington ; and that all orders *and Instructions relative to the duties of the several officers of the medical staff would be issued through the surgeon- general, " who will be obeyed and respected accord- ingly." Thus was practically instituted the medical department of the United States military establish- ment. Surgeon-General Lovell entered upon the dis- charge of his duties with the enthusiastic ardor so often associated with a vigorous mind just entering upon its prime ; for he was at this time, though preeminent in medicine and in surgery, only about thirty years of age. Among the first of his labors was a revision of the medical regulations. These he prepared with great care and skill, clearly point- ing out the various duties of the officers of the corps, giving no less attention to the rules pertaining to the business management of the affairs of the bureau than to those pertaining to the professional duties of the corps. The regulations were issued in gen- 19 2l8 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. eral orders by the War Department in September. Their good effects very soon became apparent both in the better care of the sick and in the business management of the affairs of the bureau. This latter was especially manifested in the greater economy which at once obtained. Upon this point Assistant Surgeon Harvey E. Brown, in his pamphlet on " the Medical Department of the Army" remarks: "Un- der the establishment of 1802 the average appropri- ation for the medical department was ;^i 3,500 per annum, or about $4.00 per man for every soldier in service. With the increase of the army in 1808 the expenses rose to ^50,000 per annum, or about $5.00 per man. Of thi cost of the department during the war no reliable figures have been found, but in the years 181 6-18, under the military peace establish- ment of 181 5, the appropriations averaged $95,382 per annum, or $7.00 per man, while after the reor- ganization of the staff in 181 8 they were reduced to $39,104 per annum, or only about $3.00 for each soldier in service." ^ A similar result took place, it may be observed in passing, in other staff depart- ments of the military establishment on their organ- ization upon philosophical principles during Secretary Calhoun's administration. The practical manner of securing this economy is substantially the same in all the bureaux. As to the medical department, it was thus explained in a letter of Surgeon-General Lovell to the Secretary of War, under date of No- vember 22, 1822 : " In explanation of this great difference in expense, it may be proper to add, that a perfect system of responsibility for all public 'Page 125. THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 2ig property from the period of its purchase to that of its expenditure, has been established in this office ; that the returns of the surgeons, of every article, are regularly rendered and examined, and full receipts required in the case of every transfer before their accounts are settled. This, with the plan of purchasing adopted, and of paying all bills without advancing money, absolutely precludes the possibility of fraud, extravagance, or undue expenditure. It may also be remarked that during the last four years our military hos- pitals have been regularly and abundantly furnished with every article of furniture, medicine, stores, etc., necessary for the com- fort, convenience, and recovery of the sick, to which, as well as to the skill and attention of the surgeons, the quarterly reports bear ample testimony." The act of Congress of March 2, 1821, reducing the military establishment, provided that the medical department should consist of one surgeon-general, eight surgeons, with the compensation of regimental surgeons, and forty-five assistant surgeons, with the compensation of post surgeons.^ This effected the discharge of Assistant Surgeon-Generals Watkins and Bronaugh, of Apothecary-General Le Barron, and of two assistant apothecaries. Four post sur- geons were also discharged. From this time until the Mexican war there was little change in the organ- ization of the department. In 1832, 1836, and 1837, additional surgeons and assistant surgeons were au- thorized by acts of Congress, and in 1 842 the offices of two surgeons and ten assistant surgeons were abolished by the same authority.^ These changes about equalized each other, and did not in either case disturb, and were not intended to disturb, the general organization of the department. In 1834, 'U. S. Stat, at Large, III., 616, sec. 10. »/^/?ith the construction of light-houses. In that year, certain moneys appropriated by Con- gress for the construction of light-houses on the lakes, were placed by the Treasury Department in the hands of engineer officers for disbursement, and from that time, until the organization of the light- house board, there were at all times a number of officers of the corps engaged on this duty. In 1851, Congress by law directed the President " to cause to THE ENGINEER CORPS. 283 be detailed from the engineer corps of the army from time to time, such officers as may be necessary to superintend the construction and renovating Hght- houses." In the following year, the light-house board was established, the law providing that three of its members should be officers of engineers. In the just renown gained by that board for its many admirable and most useful works, the corps of en- gineers is entitled to a share. The Congress called by President Lincoln, to con- vene at the capital July 4, 1861, to provide measures against the rebellion, which most wickedly and cause- lessly had been inaugurated soon after his installa- tion as chief magistrate, promptly made known its approval of every vigorous act done by the Execu- tive to maintain the Union and to defeat the unholy schemes of traitors. Men and money in support of the war for the Union were voted with unbounded liberality. The corps of engineers was not forgot- ten. By an act of August 3d, three first and three second lieutenants were added to the corps, and "the battalion of engineers" was authorized. The law provided, "That there shall be added to the corps of engineers, three companies of ' engineer-soldiers,' to be commanded by appropriate officers of said corps, to have the same pay and rations, clothing and other allowances, and to be entitled to the same ben- efits in every respect, as the company created by the act for the organization of a company of sappers and miners, approved May 15, 1846. And each of the companies of ' engineer-soldiers ' shall hereafter be composed of ten sergeants, ten corporals, two mu- sicians, sixty-four privates of the first class, or artifi- 284 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. cers, and sixty-four privates of the second class — in all, one hundred and fifty men." A few days later, Congress authorized an addition to the corps of two lieutenant-colonels and four majors. Thus the corps of engineers, with between forty and fifty officers, and a full battalion of " engineer-soldiers," entered upon the labors of the late war. The corps of topo- graphical engineers was not very much smaller in the number of officers, and among them were not a few now distinguished names. I recall those of Generals A. A. Humphreys (now chief engineer), George G. Meade, John Pope, William F. Smith, G. K. Warren, and John G. Parke. But in the very midst of the war, as we have seen, the topographical engineers were disbanded. The provisions of the law abolishing that corps and reor- ganizing the corps of engineers, being an act of Con- gress approved March 3, 1863, were as follows: " That the corps of topographical engineers, as a distinct branch of the army, is hereby abolished, and from and after the passage of this act is merged into the corps of engineers, which shall have the following organization, viz. : One chief engineer, with the rankj,.pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general; four colonels, 'ten lieutenant-colonels, twenty majors, thirty captains, thirty first lieutenants, and ten second lieutenants. " Section 2. That the general officer provided by the first sec- tion of this act shall be selected from the corps of engineers, as therein established, and that officers of all lower grades shall take rank according to their respective dates of commission in the existing corps of engineers or corps of topographical engineers. " Section 3. That no officer of the corps of engineers below the rank of field-officer shall, hereafter, be promoted to a higher grade before having passed a satisfactory examination before a board of three engineers senior to him in rank ; and should the officer' fail at such examination, he shall be suspended from pro- GENERAL RICHARD DELAFIELD. 285 motion for one year, when he shall be reexamined, and, upon a second failure, shall be dropped by the President from the army." The corps was actively engaged during the war not only in the performance of the engineering duties demanded in the field and in the different sieges of the long conflict, but in addition supplied to the army some of its most distinguished and two or three of the most illustrious of the Union general officers. Of these mention may be here made — in ad- dition to those already named of the topographical engineers — of Generals James B. McPherson, John G. Barnard, H. G. Wright, John Newton, Q. A. Gill- more, Godfrey Weitzel, John G. Foster, Henry W. Benham, George W. Cullum, O. M. Poe, Z. B. Tower, and Daniel P. Woodbury. General Hum- phreys states that there were thirty-three officers who either held or had held commissions in the corps of engineers appointed general officers in command of troops, of whom a majority became major-gen- erals of volunteers or in the regular army ; eight commanded armies, and ten others army corps.^ Upon the death of General Totten in 1864, Colonel Richard Delafield was promoted to be chief engi- neer, and commissioned brigadier-general accordingly. He remained in charge of the bureau only a Httle more than two years, being retired in August, 1866, by direction of the President, he having then been in service in the corps for more than forty-five years.^ •Hist. Sketch of Corps of Eng., 23. ^ General Delafield was a man of a retiring nature, of very con- siderable abilities, and of great capacity to study. For many years he was Superintendent of the Military Academy. He was ordered to Europe to observe the Crimean war, and his report, 286 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. General Delafield was succeeded by Lieutenant- Colonel and Brevet Major-General Andrew A. Hum- phreys.^ Only a few days before General Humphreys became chief engineer, Congress (act of July 28, 1866,) pro- vided : " That the corps of engineers shall consist of one chief of engineers, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier- general; six colonels, twelve lieutenant-colonels, twenty-four majors, thirty captains, and twenty-six first and ten second lieuten- ants, who shall have the pay and emoluments now provided by law for officers of the engineer corps. " That the five companies of engineer-soldiers and the sergeant- major and quartermaster-sergeant, heretofore prescribed by law, shall constitute a battalion of engineers, to be officered by officers of suitable rank detailed from the corps of engineers ; and the officers of engineers, acting respectively as adjutant and quarter- master of this battalion, shall be entitled to the pay and emolu- ments of adjutant and quartermaster of cavalry." The organization of the corps remains as thus pro- vided to this time (1879) except that the engineer published in i860 (quarto), gave him much celebrity. He died at Washington in November, 1873. ' General Humphreys was graduated from the Military Academy in 1 83 1, and was assigned to the Second Artillery. He served some time in Florida, and was distinguished for gallantry in the Indian war. He resigned in 1836, but in 1838 was commissioned first lieutenant in the topographical engineers. He served in that corps until its abolition, when he was transferred to the corps of engineers. Early in the late civil conflict he entered upon duty in the field, and served as a general officer till the close of the war. He was distinguished at Fredericksburgh, Chancellors- ville, Gettysburgh, Petersburgh, and in the final pursuit of Lee's army. He long commanded the second army corps. He is the author of a number of scientific works and reports, and a mem- ber of several learned societies and bodies. LIEUTENANT R. L. HOXIE. 287 battalion was very largely reduced by operation of the act of June i6, 1874, reducing the number of enlisted men in the army to twenty-five thousand men. Of late years, the engineer department has had charge of the public buildings and grounds of the national capital. An act of Congress of March 2, 1867, abolished the office of commissioner of public buildings, providing that the chief engineer of the army should perform all the duties of that office, and also have the superintendence of the Washington Aqueduct, and all the public works and improvements of the government of the United States in the Dis- trict of Columbia, unless otherwise provided by law. By an act of 1874 for the government of the District of Columbia, Congress provided : "That the President of the United States shall detail an officer of the engineer corps of the army of the United States, who shall, subject to tlie general supervision and direction of the said board of commissioners, have the control and charge of the work of repair and improvement of all streets, avenues, alleys, sewers, roads, and bridges of the District of Columbia ; and he is hereby vested with all the power and authority of, and shall perform the duties heretofore devolved upon, the chief engineer of the board of public works." Under this provision, Lieutenant Richard L. Hoxie was designated by the Secretary of War to take charge of this important position. He remained in charge thereof, giving very general satisfaction to the public by the manner in which he discharged his duties, until the government of the District was again remodelled in 1878. The law establishing the present government of the city provided that one of the three 288 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. commissioners should be an officer of the corps of engineers, and that he should be appointed to the commission by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The act requiring the engineer commissioner to be of higher rank than that held by Lieutenant Hoxie, he was prevented from longer being the chief engineer of the District. Major William J. Twining, corps of engineers, was appointed commissioner by President Hayes and promptly confirmed by the Senate. He has thus far filled the office with the greatest acceptability to the critical public of the capital, which, under the spirit of private enterprise and public improvement that has prevailed during recent years, is rapidly becoming the most beautiful city in the world.^ The labors of the corps of engineers have been very great and various, from the organization of the corps to the present time. The first works upon which its officers were employed were the ^ea-coast fortifications. These, up to about the year 1818, were of a temporary character, but since that time all the works constructed have been of the best kind known to military engineering. They are scattered all along the Atlantic coast and that of the gulf of Mexico from Maine to Texas, and a few now guard our harbors on the Pacific coast. Among the more celebrated of these works, perhaps, are Forts Warren, ' In a conversation with Mr. W. W. Corcoran in the latter part of 1878, I said it was probable that Washington in ten years would be the handsomest city in the world. To which he replied : "Washington is the most beautiful city in the world now." He had seen most of the cities of Christendom, and on this point must be regarded as an authoritative judge. RAILROADS. 289 Independence, Adams, Hamilton, McHenry, Monroe, Sumter, Pulaski, and Pickens, though there are others hardly less extensive and formidable. Preeminently, the corps of engineers has been a pioneer, opening up the American continent to ma- terial development, and making it ready as a field of progressive civilization. Up to about the year 1831, American progress was slow, in comparison of what it afterwards became. Contemporaneously with the use of railways, the rate of that progress was greatly accelerated. There were many causes leading to this, no doubt, but among them all, none was of more potent influence, perhaps, than railroads. The power of these mean^ of transportation in the augmentation of trade and commerce is mysteriously prodigious. They might seem to infuse into communities some of the tremendous vigor and speed of the "iron horse." Their practical success appears to have given the American people a progressive spirit not before possessed in the same high degree. Neverthe- less, it is not wise to despise the day of small things. Before the era of railroads, there were wagon-roads and canals. In the survey and construction of the primitive roads of the country, after the establish- ment of our present form of government, the corps of engineers was almost constantly engaged to lesser or greater extent. Up to the time of the introduction of railroads, " its officers, " as is truly said by General Humphreys, "were to a great degree the repositors, in this country, of that knowledge which was requisite for the purpose of making accurate surveys. The location and construction of the roads, canals, and bridges built for the development of the resources 2S T 290 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of the country, and the accurate methods of survey- ing, geodetic, topographic, and hydrographic, now in use, are in a great measure due to the talents and labors of its officers." ^ The corps of engineers was thus the pioneer of the pioneers, jpreparing for the latter, by the construc- tion of military and other roads, ways to the frontiers, and then many other roads for the use and conven- ience of the settlements, towns, and cities. There are many men now living in Detroit, who remember when officers of the corps of engineers were engaged in constructing a road from that city to the then much smaller city of Chicago ; just as there are men living in Milwaukee who remember a similar thing as to a road between " the town of Milwaukee " and a point on the Mississippi River opposite Dubuque. These are but examples of hundreds of such facts that might be given. And later, when railroads became the great means of transportation, the corps of engineers was still preeminent in preparing the way for the con- struction of these thoroughfares. In the early part of the history of railroads in America, officers of the coups were frequently engaged in the survey of routes, and in the superintendence of the construc- .tion of bridges and of difficult places in the lines of survey. Later, the great demand for engineering skill produced many civil engineers, capable of sur- veying and constructing these works — some of whom .achieved wonderful triumphs in engineering skill — so that the labors of the officers of the engineer depart- ment came to be mainly confined to works of a na- tional character. The most notable instance of the ' Hist. Skfttch of Corps of Eng., 35. PACIFIC RAILROADS. 29 1 labors of the department herein was in the case of the surveys of the routes for railroads from the Mis- sissippi River to the Pacific Ocean. This immense work, or rather these great works — for no less than four routes were surveyed, all but one with much thoroughness — were undertaken and completed dur- ing the years 1853-56, and full reports with regard thereto submitted to Congress by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, in 1855 and 1856. Supplemental reports were published some two years later. En- gaged in these surveys, and in the preparation of reports relating thereto, were Captain George B. McClellan, corps of engineers ; Major W. H. Emory, Captains H. Stansbury, J. W. Gunnison, John Pope, A. A. Humphreys, and Lieutenants A. W. Whipple, John G. Parke, R. S. Williamson, G. K. Warren, and H. L. Abbot, of the topographical engineers. Others were doubtless employed in the great amount of of- fice work necessary in editing the reports ; and in much of the scientific portions thereof, the illustrious Professor Joseph Henry, and his assistants in the Smithsonian Institution, contributed valuable and will- ing assistance. Notes of the surveys of Captain John C. Fremont, topographical engineers, made by him in 1849, were also made use of The routes surveyed were at the time known as that of the thirty-second degree of north latitude ; that of the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth ; that of the forty-first and forty-second ; and that of the forty- seventh and forty-ninth degrees. These correspond, approximately, to the lines now popularly known as the Southern or Texas Pacific ; the Kansas Pacific ; the Union-Central Pacific; and the Northern Pacific; 292 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. but one of which has been completed across the con- tinent, though much work has been done on all the others, and they are operated for large distances. In performing the labors of these great surveys, the dif- ferent surveying corps were frequently encompassed by difficulties, and even by dangers. But the force, with the military escort, was in each case consider- able, so that all the difficulties were surmounted, and the dangers warded off. The gratifying fact was made known that there were several practicable rail- road routes from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Of the invaluable labors of the War Depart- ment, in thus showing how a vast expanse might be opened up to development and settlement, commerce has already taken large advantage, to the incalculable benefit of our country ; but all the just commercial profits and national benefits clearly shown to be practicable by the Pacific Railroad surveys, cannot be fully enjoyed until several lines shall have been com- pleted. The reports of the Pacific Railroad surveys, pre- pared under the direct supervision of the engineer department, are contained in thirteen large volumes, quarto. The reports of the surveys proper, though in themselves extensive, and including very many profiles, maps, and other illustrations, yet form, after all, but a comparatively small portion of the whole work. The vast area of country embraced in the surveys, is described as to its soil, climate, geology, botany, zoology. There is an entire volume upon the birds of the country included in these surveys, with very many illustrations in colors ; another on the mammals ; still another on the fishes. These volumes "WHEELER'S REPORTS." 293 were edited and revised by Professors Henry and Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution. Others are upon the various Indian tribes and nations who were found in the country, with dissei"tations upon their languages, traditions, modes of life, religions, and superstitions. All the volumes are profusely and, for the time, richly and beautifully illustrated with engrav- ings on stone. It is safe to say, I judge, that at the time of its publication, this work was the most valu- able contribution to commerce and to science that had ever been prepared from actual surveys and re- connaissances in the field. The entire work cannot be bought except at fabulous price. Akin to this work are the works on " United States Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian," and " United States Geological Explora- tions of the Fordeth Parallel." The surveys and reconnaissances, from the reports of which the former work was prepared (so far as it has been published), were in charge of Lieutenant George M. Wheeler, corps of engineers. Hence the work is quite gen- erally known as "Wheeler's Reports." It is in six thick quarto volumes, the first being upon the " Ge- ography " of the region explored ; the second is entitled "Astronomy and Barometric Hypsometry," and is very largely composed of tables of astronom- ical observations, and of barometrical registrations, pardcularly with regard to the moisture of the atmos- phere ; the third is on the " Geology " of the region ; the fourth, " Paleontology ;" the fifth, " Zoology ;" the sixth, " Botany." Besides the labors of Lieutenant Wheeler himself in the preparation of these volumes for publication, they received assistance from very 25* 294 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. many well known scientists. The work is largely and most artistically, but not too profusely illustrated, and there accompany it many separate atlas sheets portraying the geology of different portions of the region. It is an enduring monument to the energy, fortitude, and skill of Lieutenant Wheeler and his assistants in the field, and to the abilities and industry of his scientific coadjutors in the study. It is emi- nently creditable to the scientific literature of our country and of our times. What has just been said of ihe work under the charge of Lieutenant Wheeler may with equal truth be said of the work on the " Geological Explorations of the Fortieth Parallel." This work, in the field and in the study, was under charge of Mr. Clarence King, United States Geologist, serving under the direct or- ders of the chief of engineers. The published work upon these explorations, made during the practicable seasons of about ten years, includes six heavy quarto volumes and a geological and topographical atlas. The first volume is entitled " Systematic Geology ; '' the second, " Descriptive Geology; " the third, " Mining Industry;" the fourth, "Ornithology and Paleontol- ogy;" the fifth, "Botany;" the sixth, "Microscopic Petrography." In the field labors and in the prepa- ration of this great scientific work — in large propor- tion no less valuable to practical than to scientific men — a considerable number of energetic and en- thusiastic scientists rendered assistance to Mr. King. The territory surveyed is a belt about one hundred and seven miles broad and eight hundred miles long, extending from the eastern foot of the Rocky Moun- tains to the Sierra Nevada of California, or almost "■CLARENCE KING'S REPORT." 295 across the Cordilleras of North America, where they are broadest.-^ This great expanse, when this survey was commenced, had not been penetrated by the Pacific Railroad, and but little accurate information in regard to it was in existence. The singularly in- teresting and in many parts fascinating work pre- pared by Clarence King and his assistants has made it as well known to the scientific and literary circles of Christendom as almost any other portion of the world. The illustrations throughout the entire work are wonderfully fine ; preeminently beautiful, I think, in the volumes most recently published.^ These three works — the reports on the Pacific Rail- road surveys, and those generally called "Wheeler's Reports "and "Clarence King's Reports" — supply an extent and variety of information, of interest and value to merchants and traders, agriculturists, stock- raisers, miners, and scientists the worth of which it ' Vol. I. of work in review, p. 763. ' The last volume of tlie series to be published was volume one. In his letter to General Humphreys, chief of engineers, trans- mitting the volume, Mr. King says : " For the freedom of action you have always granted me, for your generous bestowal of every needed facility, and above all for your wise and just guidance of the general plans of the work, I beg to offer my warmest thanks. " That which a student of geology most earnestly longs for, I have freely received at your hands, and whatever value this report may possess, either as a permanent contribution to knowledge or as a stepping-stone worthy to be built into the great stairway of science, I feel that the honor belongs first to you. " For those who are to continue the arduous labor of American field study, I can wish no happier fortune than to serve within the department which you command." It may be proper to say that the large edition of the work sup- plied to the War Department was almost immediately exhausted. It would be just for Congress to authorize another and a larger edition. 296 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. would be difficult to over-estimate. To these add the reports on the Rocky Mountain region, by Major J. W. Powell and Professor F. V. Hayden, geologists of the Department of the Interior, and we have about all that could be desired save further volumes in completion of the work, thus far so admirably done, for every part of that immense portion of our coun- tr>'. The improvement of rivers and harbors In the interest of commerce has been almost exclusively under the control of the corps of engineers during the entire history of the government. Now and then Congress has authorized work of this class to be done by private parties, a noteworthy instance of which is the undertaking at this time (1879) in prog- ress — the attempted improvement of the navigability of a mouth of the Mississippi River by a system of jetties. The work is in charge of a civil engineer to whom large sums of money have already been paid, and many public journals have spoken in con- fident terms of the ultimate success of the plan. Nevertheless, not a few of our most scientific engi- neers have little doubt of Its ultimate failure. A few other works of less note in the improvement of rivers have been done by private parties. But all the great works in the improvement of our harbors, whether on sea-coast or lake shore, from the removal of the obstructions at " Hell Gate " in New York bay to the dredging of sand from in front of Michigan City, have been done under the supervision of the corps of engineers, as have nearly all the works on the rivers of the interior, from the " improvement " of the Father of Waters to that of lesser streams " which RIVER AND HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS. 297 only contain water when it rains." ^ On our harbors and rivers great sums of money have been disbursed through the corps of engineers, and very many works of high engineering skill constructed. In a degree related to these labors upon rivers and harbors have been the services of the corps in the construction of light-houses and in the surveys of the Northern and North-western lakes. The plan- ning and construction of light-houses, beacons, and all fixed aids to navigation have been for years among the duties of the corps. The surveys of our magnificent lakes of the interior of the continent have all been made by the corps of engineers ; and the work is not yet completed. The reports of these surveys, with their charts and maps, have been of incalculable value to the hardy mariners of the lakes and to both our domestic and our foreign commerce ; for during many years there has been a large direct trade between the principal cities of the lakes and some of the ports of Europe. Says General Humphreys: "The surveys, exami- nations, and constructions which have been made by officers of the corps, have not been confined to such matters as are solely in charge of the War Depart- ment. From time to time, the State Department, the Navy Department, the Treasury Department, and the Interior Department have employed its ofiicers in the running of boundary lines, and the surveys for the maps necessary to be used in delicate diplomatic ' This was the witty objection made by General John A. Logan, United States Senator from Illinois, to appropriations for certain rural rivers in a River and Harbor bill a few years ago. Never- theless, the bill passed. 298 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. negotiations ; in the surveys for, and the construction of, dock-yards ; the surveys for canal-routes across the Isthmus of Panama ; upon astronomical observa- tions in the interests of science ; in the survey of the coasts, the planning and construction of light-houses ; the planning and construction of public buildings, of custom-houses, post-offices, marine hospitals, etc." ^ The great extent and variety of the public services of the corps of engineers are shown in a notable manner by its publications, professional, literary, and scientific. At the Centennial Exposition, held at Philadelphia in 1876, among the things exhibited by the War Department, were the pubHcations of the engineer department. The list of the titles of these publications, including a few volumes of reports of explorations conducted under other branches of the Department of War, made a pamphlet of twenty- seven octavo pages. Of the professional and mis- cellaneous works prepared under the auspices of the engineer department there were more than one hun- dred volumes and thick pamphlets. There were about five hundred photographic and stereoscopic views of as many localities taken in the course of the different surveys and reconnaissances in the West. There were military maps of nearly all the great battles and sieges of the late war of the rebel- lion. There were a great many topographical maps, some fifty lake survey charts, and a considerable number of diagrams relating to fortifications. Since that time, several works of value to the profession have been published. The annual reports of the de- partment of engineers have for many years been rich ' Hist. Sketch Corps of Eng., 35. THE ENGINEER CORPS. 299 treasures of information. The last report yet pub- lished — that of the year 1877, printed during the following year — formed two volumes, octavo, mak- ing more than fourteen hundred and fifty pages. It embraces, besides the comprehensive summary by the chief of engineers, full reports of the many oper- ations of the corps, in labors upon sea-coast defenses, light-houses, river and harbor improvements, surveys of the lakes and the upper Mississippi River, work on the public buildings and grounds of the District of Columbia, with a full resume of the surveys and reconnaissances in the West. It is illustrated with many maps, charts, and etchings, and is a valuable contribution to practical engineering science in about all of its branches. Such is a brief and imperfect outline of the history of the organization and public services of this hon- ored branch of the American military establishment. It has disbursed vast sums of money — for many years many millions annually — without defalcation and without scandal. It has constructed the roads for the pioneers of our national development from the Appalachian range to the Pacific coast. Its la- bors upon military works, upon internal improvements other than roads, have been prodigious. Its contri- butions to scientific literature, through elaborate re- ports upon its engineering works and its surveys, have given credit to our country among the best minds of Europe. It has given to the army some of the most illustrious generals of the republic ; and thus in a double manner has added to the nation's fair renown through the triumphs of the sword and the triumphs of the pen. 300 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. X. THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. The ordnance department was organized in 1812, a short time before the declaration of war with Great Britain. The organizing act provided that the de- partment should consist of a commissary-general of ordnance, an assistant commissary-general, four dep- uty commissaries, and as many assistant deputy com- missaries as the President might deem necessary, not exceeding eight. The commissary-general was au- thorized to employ skilled workmen and laborers as in his judgment they might be needed in the interest of the public service. Under this act the chief officer of the department was entitled to the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of infantry, with allowances for clerk hire ; the assistant to the rank, etc., of a major of infantry, with three additional rations per day ; the deputies to the rank, etc., of a captain, with two additional daily rations and forage for one horse ; the assistant deputies to the rank, etc., of a second lieutenant, with one additional ration per day. Liberal wages were provided for the workmen, with rations added. The duties of the department were specifically set forth in a section of the act as fol- lows: ' ' That it shall be the duty of the commissary-general of ordnance to direct the inspection and proving of all pieces of ordnance, cannon-balls, shells, and shot procured for the use of the army of the United States ; and to direct the construction of all car- riages and every apparatus for ordnance, for garrison and field service, and all ammunition-wagons, pontoons, and travelling- forges ; also the direction of the laboratories, the inspection and proving the public powder, and the preparing of all kinds of am- munition for garrison and field service; and shall, half-yearly, examine all ordnance, carriages, ammunition, and apparatus in THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 30I the respective fortresses, magazines, and arsenals, and cause the same to be preserved and kept in good order." Further sections provided : "That the commissary- general of ordnance shall execute all orders issued by the Secretary for the Department ofWar, in con- veying all ordnance, ammunition, and apparatus to the respective armies, garrisons, 'magazines, and arsenals; and, in time of war, he shall execute all orders of any general officer commanding in any army or garrison for the supply of ordnance, ammunition, carriages, pontoons, forges, furnaces, or apparatus for garrison, field, or siege service, and forward the same without delay and in good condition ; and that the assistant commissary-general of ord- nance, the deputy commissaries, and assistant deputies, shall faith- fully, and without delay, execute all orders that shall be issued by the Secretary for the Department of War, the commanding gen- eral in time of war of any corps, camp, or garrison, or of the commissary-general of ordnance in their respective departments, by virtue of this act." Provisions for the keeping of accounts and ren- dering returns with respect to all property pertain- ing to the department were made.^ In August of the following year, five additional deputy commis- saries were authorized to be appointed, at the dis- cretion of the President.^ By a provision in an act of Congress of March 30, 181 4, a military status not before had by them was given to the workmen of the bureau. This provision was: "That the com- missary-general of ordnance may employ in his de- partment, besides blacksmiths and wheelwrights, other mechanics, such as the public service may require, who shall, together with the said black- smiths and wheelwrights, be mustered Under the 'Act of May 14, 1812, U. S. Stat, at Large, II., 732-34. ^Ibid., III., 75. 26 302 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. general name of artificers ; and such artificers, being hereafter, or having been heretofore enlisted to serve for the term of five years or during the war, shall be entitled to the same annual allowance of clothing as is or may be provided for the soldiers of the army ; that the laborers who may hereafter be enlisted to serve in the ordnance department for the term of five years or during the war, shall be entitled to a bounty of twenty-five dollars in money, and the same allowance of clothing as that provided for sol- diers." 1 Such was the organization that supplied the army with all kinds of ordnance and of ammunition during the last war with Great Britain. Though organized on the very eve of the war, the department was enabled to perform its duties herein with prompt- ness and efficiency. For before the close of the eighteenth century, the government had established two armories, one at Springfield, Massachusetts ; the other at Harper's Ferry, Virginia ; and these, in the charge of civilian superintendents, had formed a val- uable substitute for an ordnance department, in the manufacture and distribution of arms other than ordnance. Sundry foundries in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the District of Columbia had been employed on government account in the manufacture of cannon, so that when the war with England was declared, there was ample supply of brass and iron ordnance, and of ordnance ammu- nition. In his annual message in December, 1811, President Madison truly said, "the manufacture of cannon and small arms, and the stock and resources 'U. S. Stat, at Large, III., 115, sees. 16, 17. THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 303 of all the necessary munitions are adequate to emer- gencies." The department was managed so handsomely dur- ing the war, that the conflict had practically but barely ceased, when the bureau was reorganized, the nomen- clature of its officers changed, and its duties and powers and responsibilities enlarged. The substan- tial provisions of the act of reorganization were as follows : That the department should consist of one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, ten cap- tains, and of first, second, and third lieutenants, ten each ; that the senior officer might enlist for the ser- vice of the department, as many master armorers, master carriage-makers, master blacksmiths, artifi- cers, armorers, carriage-makers, blacksmiths, and laborers as the public service, in his judgment, under the direction of the Secretary of War, might require. The duties of the department were considerably en- larged over what they had been under the former law, as will be seen by the following section of the act of 1815 : "That it shall be the duty of the colonel of the ordnance department to direct the inspection and proving of all pieces of ordnance, cannon-balls, shot, shells, small-arms, and side-arms, and equipments procured for the use of the armies of the United States ; and to direct the construction of all cannon and car- riages, and every miplement and apparatus for ordnance, and all ammunition-wagons, travelling-forges, and artificers' wagons, the inspection and proving of powder, and the preparation of all kinds of ammunition and ordnance stores. And it shall also be the duty of the colonel, or senior officer of the ordnance depart- ment to furnish estimates, and, under the direction of the Secre- tary for the Department of War, to make contracts and purchases for procuring the necessary supplies of arms, equipments, ord- nance, and ordnance stores." 304 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. It was also provided: That the chief of the de- partment, or the senior officer thereof in any district, should execute all orders of the Secretary of War, and, in time of war, the orders of any general or field officer commanding any army, garrison, or detach- ment, for the supply of arms, ammunition, ordnance, carriages, forges, and 'apparatus, for garrison, field, or siege service ; that the keepers of all magazines and arsenals should report to the ordnance depart- ment at least quarterly, giving full returns of all ordnance property in their charge ; that the public armories should be placed under charge of the de- partment; that the head of the department, under the direction of the Secretary of War, should be authorized to establish depots of arms, ammunition, and ordnance in such parts of the United States as he might deem necessary; and that the pay, emolu- ments, and allowances of the officers of the depart- ment should be the same as those of similar grades in the artillery.^ This organization of the department remained without change for six years, during which period all ordnance affairs were conducted in the best interests of the government and the people. Arsenals were established, in different parts of the country ; arms were largely manufactured, and distributed promptly to the militia, or stored in the arsenals and military depots ; the character of the arms, large and small, was from time to time improved. As rapidly and efficiently as possible, within the country's limits of just expenditures, we were being prepared against the exigencies of war. 'Act of Feb. 8, 1815, U. S. Stat, at Large, III., 203 et seq. ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT ABOLISHED. 30S Nevertheless, by the act of Congress of 182 1, re- ducing the military peace establishment, the ordnance department, as an independent bureau, was abol- ished. It was merged in the artillery. The provision of the act was in these words : " That the ordnance department shall be merged in the artillery ; and that the President of the United States be authorized to select from the regiments of artillery, such officers as may be necessary to perform ordnance duties, who, while so detached, shall receive the pay and emolu- ments now received by ordnance officers, and shall be subject only to the orders of the War Depart- ment." One supernumerary captain was provided for each regiment of artillery to perform ordnance duty." ^ The provision making the artillery officers subject only to the orders of the War Department while on ordnance duty, was almost tantamount to preserving the independence of the bureau, and must be regarded as a manifestation by Congress of a want of confidence in the success of the general provision of merger. The act thus singularly merging the ordnance de- partment In the artillery, was passed In the Interests, as was supposed, of economy, simplicity of organiza- tion, and thoroughness of instruction. Experience proved that neither interest was at all subserved. The only material mistake, as I think, made by Sec- retary Calhoun during his long administration of the War Department, was his recommendation of this measure. He said : " By uniting the three corps of the ordnance, light ardllery, and artillery in one, ap- pointing one general staff at the head of It, and ' U. S. Stat, at Large, III., 615. 26* U 306 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. making its officers pass in rotation through the three services, the organization of the army will be ren- dered more simple and the instruction of the officers much more complete." In this reasoning there somewhere lurked a fatal flaw; for the practical result was precisely the opposite of that predicated by the eminent Secretary. It would appear that no little of the erroneous opinion pertaining to the propriety of merging the ordnance department in the artillery, grew out of the name — ordnance department. In the origin of the department, this name was well enough, per- haps ; for then it had only to do with ordnance, im- plements pertaining to ordnance, and ammunition. But the law of 1815 enlarged its duties and labors, so that the jurisdiction of the department was over all arms used by all branches of the army and all kinds of ammunition, and accoutrements. I find, for example, that under the act of Congress for arming the whole body of the militia of the United States, the following arms and equipments were transmitted to the executives of the different States and Territo- ries by the ordnance department between 181 5 and 1 82 1, namely: muskets, rifles, pistols, cavalry sabres, non-commissioned officers' swords, cartridge boxes and belts, bayonet scabbards and belts, bugles, drums, fifes, six-pounder cannon, six-pounder carriages, cais- sons, twenty-four pounder howitzers, twenty-four pounder howitzer carriages, ammunition wagons.^ In this distribution there were forty-five cannon and nearly thirty-three thousand muskets and rifles. Facts like these show that if the name of the de- 'Am. St. Papers, Mil. Af., II., 485. HOW SOLDIERS ARE MADE. 307 partment were descriptive, It might well be called the department of all arms. In reaspn there would be no less appropriateness in merging the ordnance department in the infantry, or in the cavalry, than In the artillery ; because for those the department manufactures the arms and warlike implements as well as for that. A cavalryman is none the better soldier for knowing how to make a sabre, nor an infantryman because he may be skilful in making the best of modern rifles. Soldiers are made by the practice not by the manufacture of arms. This substantive truth was most clearly demon- strated by the unfortunate experiment of merging the ordnance department with the artillery. The artillery was not a jot or tittle benefitted by the merger with respect to skill and efficiency in prac- tice, while the ordnance department to some extent suffered thereby. Though the reasons for this fact are perfectly plain to most persons who have candidly and thoroughly examined the subject, yet are they not apparent to others. A simple illustration may serve to make the matter clear. Suppose the bureau of military justice were merged In the cavalry arm of the service ; officers thereof with a knowledge of military law, being detailed from year to year, to perform the duties now so admirably and ably per- formed by Judge Advocate-General Dunn and his accomplished corps of assistants. Every one with a knowledge of the subject will perceive that we should soon have a lamentable travesty on military justice. Indeed, it will be thought by some that this is an extreme illustration. In reality it is not. The bureau of military justice should be, as it happily is, 308 HISTORY OP THE WAR DEPARTMENT. in the charge of men of long years of study and of professional training in the science of jurisprudence in all of its manifold branches. Men of hap-hazard study and practice would be entirely incompetent to administer its affairs with success. The duties of what we call the ordnance department are profes- sional or scientific, as well as administrative. A knowledge of mathematics, mechanics, chemistry is requisite, and a thorough scientific as well as prac- tical knowledge of metallurgy. A skilled ordnance officer must also be an adept in the laws of elec- tricity. His knowledge of machines must be great and comprehensive. He must know about all there is known on the mysterious properties of explosives. He should be well acquainted with all modern useful arts, and especially should he be familiar with the improvements constantly being made by our own and many other nations In all the destructive means of war. All this as in the case of those competent to form an honorable bureau of military justice re- quires years of study and of patient application. There never would have been the Rodman gun, had the ordnance department continued to be mainly composed of officers temporarily detailed from the artillery. There would have been no marked prog- ress in our manufacture of arms, large or small, ex- cept by the servile adoption of the inventions of private parties and of foreign armories. Hence the experiment of the merger of the ord- nance department in the artillery after eleven years' trial, proved to be, and was acknowledged to be, by the ablest generals of the army and the most dis- tinguished public men of the country, including Mr. ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT REORGANIZED. 309 Calhoun himself, a failure. Accordingly the depart- ment was reorganized and placed on an independent footing by an act of Congress of April 5, 1832, which provided that the bureau should consist of one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, ten cap- tains, and as many enlisted men not exceeding two hundred and fifty as the public service might require.-' It was by the act thus reestablishing the ordnance department that the Secretary of War was authorized to appoint for each military post an ordnance sergeant from among the most experienced non-commissioned officers, to take charge of the ordnance stores at the military posts respectively, under which grew up a considerable corps of such sergeants for many years noted in the army for intelligence and fidelity. By an act of Congress of 1838, the President was au- thorized, " whenever he might deem it expedient to in- crease the same," to add to the ordnance department two majors, and to transfer thereto from the artillery ten first and as many second lieutenants. It was also provided that the pay and emoluments of the officers of the department should be the same as those al- lowed to officers of the same grade of the regiment of dragoons.^ In 1842, the offices of superintendents of armories at Springfield and Harper's Ferry were abolished, and ordnance officers directed to perform the duties thereof. Some changes were also made with regard to other and minor employes of the de- partment, the general object of the law being a re- duction of their number.' In 1847, the President ' U. S. Stat, at Large,. IV., 504. V^/V.,V., 258, sec. 13. ^ Ibid., Id., 512. 3IO HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. was authorized to add to the department two cap- tains and six first lieutenants.^ After noting the rehabilitation of the department by the act of April 5, 1832, General S. V. Benet, chief of ordnance, gives the following comprehensive his- tory of the department : "The ordnance having thus resumed its special and distinct organization, disconnected entirely fr6m the duties and instincts of the line, soon rose to a high degree of efficiency and impor- tance. The improvements in all classes of military armament in- troduced by the department, or made the subject of scientific investigation and experiment at its hands, resulted, in a short space of time, in giving a renewed vigor and tone to the effi- ciency of the army at large, including all the arms of service. A system of field artillery not before in existence in our service was provided by the department, which, at the battles of Palo Alto and Buena Vista and the siege of Fort Brown, so elevated the reputation of the light batteries engaged that the force was doubled by Congress in 1847. The siege trains, mountain how- itzers, and mortars were served in this war by ordnance officers, because of their superior skill in the handling and manoeuvring of these pieces. Improvements in the qualities of all kinds of small-arms then making, and in the machinery for their manu- facture, were appropriated by the department at the earliest period after their value had been demonstrated ; elaborate and searching investigations were instituted in the fabrication and improvement of heavy guns and in the application of bronze for gun construc- tions ; a board of ordnance officers was dispatched to Europe to study the state of the arts connected with their special functions in foreign countries, the result of whose labors was diffused within the department and published by Congress to the nation at large j in fine, the department entered upon and fully occupied the ex- tensive field of usefulness, as respected the combined branches of the military service, which lay open before it, and the high standard of excellence which our great armies of two wars has sustained in the matter of armament may be traced back in no 'U. S. Stat, at Large, IX., 186, sec. 16. GENERAL J. W. RIPLEY. . 311 small degree to the activity of its corps of officers in the investi- gation and scientific treatment of all things coming within the sphere of its employment. The war of the rebellion affords a full vindication of the wisdom of maintaining the department as a separate organization. Keeping pace with the progress of sci- ence and the mechanical arts, and being specially trained to me- thodical and practical applications of the principles of these arts, as they relate to the invention and improvement of military armament and experiments connected therewith, a degree of economy has been preserved and a relative degree of efficiency attained which could not have been reached through the medium of any other instrumentality. How, it may be asked, could any other admin- istrative corps, unaugmented in numbers, discharge the duties of the character here indicated ? How, it may be added, could these duties be adequately performed by any branch of the line of the army ? " * Early in the war of the rebellion the department was increased to consist of a chief of ordnance, with rank of brigadier-general, two colonels and lieuten- ant-colonels each, four majors, and of captains, first, and second lieutenants, twelve each. James W. Rip- ley was appointed brigadier-general and chief of the department in August, 1861.^ In 1863 the organiza- tion was changed by an increase in the number of majors and captains, and the abolition of the grade 'Hist. Statement of the Rise and Progress of the Ordnance Dept., 79-81. , 'This General Ripley was a native of Connecticut, and was born in 1794. He was graduated from West Point in 1814, and long served in the artillery, conspicuously in the Seminole war in 1817-18, under General Jackson. In 1832, on the reorganization of the department, he was made a captain of ordnance ; five years later, a major. He served in the Mexican war, and was brevetted lieutenant-colonel for gallant conduct. He was for several years superintendent of the Springfield armory. He was retired in Sep- tember, 1863, and in March, 1865, was brevetted major-general for long and meritorious services. He died at Hartford, in 1870. 312 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of second lieutenant. On the retirement of General Ripley, Colonel George D. Ramsay was appointed brigadier-general, and chief of the department.^ About this time, the department was again enlarged by the addition of a number of captains and of sec- ond lieutenants. Major Alexander B. Dyer suc- ceeded General Ramsay as chief of ordnance in September, 1864, being, of course, then commis- sioned a brigadier-general.^ While General Dyer was chief of ordnance, some alleged transactions of the office were brought into general political discus- sion. Not long before the American presidential ' General Ramsay, a native of Virginia, was graduated from the Military Academy in 1820, after which he served in the artillery. In 183s he became a captain of ordnance; major in 1861 ; lieu- tenant-colonel in 1863; colonel, brigadier-general and chief of ordnance in the same year. This officer served with great credit in the Mexican war, and was brevetted for gallant conduct at the battle of Monterey. He only remained at the head of the ord- nance department a year, when he was retired. In 1865, he was brevetted a major-general. '^ General Dyer was a native of Virginia, and was graduated at the Military Academy in 1837. He served in the third artillery, in garrison at Fort Monroe, and in the Florida war in 1837-38. In July of this latter year, he was appointed second lieutenant of ordnance. During several succeeding years, he was on duty at different arsenals, depots, and military foundries in the West and South. In the Mexican war he was chief of ordnance in the army invading New Mexico, and was twice brevetted for gallant con- duct. After that war, he served at arsenals in Missouri, North Carolina, Little Rock, Arkansas, and at Fort Monroe. During the rebellion, until he became chief of ordnance, he was in com- mand of Springfield armory, and greatly extended its machinery for the .manufacture of small arms. In March, 1863, he was corn- missioned major. Two years later, he was brevetted major-general. He remained in charge of the department until his death in 1874. ALLEGED SALE OF ARMS TO FRANCE. 313 campaign of 1872, the Franco-German war, resulting in the defeat of the French under the Emperor Na- poleon III. and the destruction of his empire, had occurred. It was charged after the war that our government had violated its duties of neutraUty in the contest and of friendship for the German Empire, by the sale of arms to the French and agents of the French. At this time — in the early summer of 1872, that is — the Honorable Carl Schurz, a German by birth, was one of the Senators of the United States from Missouri. He brought this matter of the al- leged sales of arms to the French before the Senate and the country, by moving a committee of investi- gation. The motion prevailing, an investigation fol- lowed, which was accompanied by a debate in the Senate, continuing through many days, and which was remarkable for the ability and eloquence displayed on all sides, and particularly by the eminent German- American statesman who had introduced the subject. The vast galleries of the Senate chamber were daily crowded with thousands of persons to hear this ani- mated debate, " the first grand campaign attack " on the administration of President Grant. The com- mittee of investigation exonera-ted the department from blameworthy motives or actions in the premises, and in the former part of this judgment, if not in the latter, the public almost universally agreed. The rectitude of the chief of ordnance was not in the slightest degree impeached. After the war, there was a re-grading of the offi- cers of the department, and a year later further pro- motions and appointments were prohibited until a reduction of the corps by casualties should occur. 27 314 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. In 1874, the present organization of the department was established, namely, one brigadier-general (chief of ordnance), three colonels, four lieutenant-colonels, ten majors, twenty captains, sixteen first lieutenants, and the ordnance store-keepers (captains) in office, but whose places, in case of vacancy, are not to be filled. Of these, according to the latest Army Reg- ister, there are ten. In the same year. Major Stephen V. Benet was appointed chief of ordnance and brig- adier-general, in place of General Dyer, deceased.^ In 1876, General Benet had prepared under his supervision a pamphlet, which I have frequently cited and quoted under the name " Historical State- ment of the Rise and Progress of the Ordnance Department." It is in reality an elaborate, carefully- reflected essay upon the ordnance department as a portion of the United States military establishment, together with the historical statement as named, and a consideration of the legal relations of the depart- ment to the Secretary of War and army proper. The ordnance department is thus considered as but a part of the military establishment, it, with the other bureaux, forming the whole of the administrative 'General Ben6t, a native of Florida, was graduated at West Point in 1849. He was for some years on duty at various arsenals — Watervliet, Frankford, Pikesville, Washington City, St. Louis, and elsewhere. He served several years as professor at West Point, and, later, as instructor of ordnance and science of gunnery. He has served on several important experimenting and examining boards. He was commissioned captain in 1861, major in 1866, meantime having been brevetted lieutenant-colonel. He is the translator of Jomini's "Campaign of Waterloo" (1853), and the author of a "Treatise on Military Laws and Courts-Martial" (1862). LEGAL STATUS OF THE DIFFERENT BUREAUX. 315 department of that establishment, each and all being subject to the direction and control of the Secretary of War, and not at all, except in certain contingencies expressly provided for by law, to the army. This view is so forcibly — so absolutely unanswerably, as it seems to me — put by General Benet near the close of the essay, that I here take the liberty of quoting the argument in full : " What, it may be asked, is the status of these administrative branches [the bureaux of the War Department] under the laws, as embodied in the Revised Statutes, and under the existing regula- tions ? It rtiay be answered as follows : "By section 11 33 of these statutes, the duties of the officers of the quartermaster's department are to be discharged under the direction of the Secretary of War; and, by section 1139, a sys- tem of accountability for quartermaster's stores is to be prescribed and enforced under his direction. "By section 1141, the duties of the officers of the subsistence department are to be discharged under his direction. "By section 1152, the supplies fdr the engineer department are to be regulated and determined under his approval ; and, by sec- tion 1 158, the officers of the engineer department are restricted to the discharge of duties within the line of their immediate profes- sion, except only when otherwise ordered by the President. The professional duties of the engineer department are not prescribed by statute, but they have always been discharged under directions of the Secretary of War, who controls the appropriations of this as well as of all other branches of the War Department. " By sections 1159 to 1167, the ordnance department is placed, in all its details, under the direction of the Secretary of War. These sections have been mainly taken from the act of February 8, 1815, hereinbefore cited at length. "By sections 1168 to 1181, the supervision of the Secretary of War over the details of the medical department is in several places declared. The duties of the medical department are not pre- scribed in general terms by statute, but they have uniformly been discharged under direction of the Secretary of War 3l6 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. "By sections 1184 to 1189, the pay department is placed under the direction of the President. The duties have, however, been always discharged under the direction of the Secretary of War, as the executive officer of the President; and in sections 1190 and 1191,- the Secretary of War is specially named in connection with this department. "By sections 1195 and 1196, the signal office is placed under the direction of the Secretary of War. " The subordination of the bureau of military justice is not indicated by the statutes, but it must of necessity fall under the direction of the Secretary of War. "By section 1331, the supervision and charge of the Military Academy is vested in the War Department under such officers as the Secretary of War may assign to that duty. " The duties of the adjutant-general and inspectors-general are not declared by statute. They each have offices, however, in connection with the office of the Secretary of War. "Whatever differences of opinion maybe entertained upon the policy or expediency of this disposition of the administrative or staff corps, the fact of such disposition remains unchanged. The foundations of the plan were laid in the earlier days of the re- public, and the plan has descended to us unimpaired, notwith- standing the various mutations which the command of the army has undergone within the past twenty years. The plan was origi- nally fixed when the regular army required no greater provisions for its commander than those appropriate to a major-general, and has answered all requirements throughout two great wars through which the country has passed. Within the past twenty years the temporary rank of lieutenant-general by brevet, and then lieuten- ant-general, and, finally, general, have been revived or created, but no change has been made in the disposition or status of the administrative corps on account of these new military offices. The administrative corps have a greater element of permanency than either of the existing temporary offices which are by law to expire upon being vacated by the present incumbents. Any change made in the status of the administrative corps to adapt them to these temporary offices would necessitate immediate ab- rogation upon the occurrence of a vacancy, and the expediency of unsettling an old and tried system, founded as it is upon un- derlying principles of public policy, for temporary adjustment to LEGAL STATUS OF THE DIFFERENT BUREAUX. 317 temporary offices, is a matter for the determination of the law- making power in the first instance. "The fundamental organization of the military establishment being a matter of exclusive legislative cognizance, and an estab- lished system of military administration having been provided by laws designating both persons and powers, it is believed that no authority short of the legislative can modify the established sys- tem by curtailing any of the powers of those who have received them by statutory designation. In an opinion of the attorney- general on the ' relations of the President to the executive depart- ments,' delivered in 1855 (7 Opin., 468), it was held, that ' If, in a given case, no head of department be named in the law, the dis- cretion remains to the President to designate or not, as, and to whom he will [confide the execution of the law], but if he approves a law which designates a particular head of department as the immediate agent of administration, then his executive discretion in regard to the choice of an agent has been exerted and fixed by him in the acceptance of the law, and his order in the matter will be given, and the expenditures involved will be passed upon, by the le- gally designated head of department.' "And in an opinion delivered in 1828 (i Opin., p. 625), it is held that ' If the laws, then, require a particular officer by name to perform a duty, not only is that officer boUnd to perform it, but no other officer can perform it without a violation of the law ; and were the President to perform it, he would not only be not taking care that the laws were faithfully executed, but he would be violating them himself. The Constitution assigns to Congress the power of designating the duties of particular officers : the President is only required to take care that they execute them faithfully.' "Applying the principles here announced to the administration of affairs in the War Department, it is clearly to be conceded that the statutory designation of the Secretary of War to the para- mount control of the various administrative branches'of that de- partment, and the subordinate officers and materials and affairs connected therewith, is exclusive and that no commanding gen- eral or other officer of the army — whatever may be his grade — can successfully claim any administrative participation therein, not expressly granted to him by statute." These different bureaux of the War Department, 27* 3l8 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the origin and brief history of each of which I have thus imperfectly related, have conferred incalculable benefits upon our country, no less conspicuously, upon the whole, with regard to civil than to military affairs. Even the adjutant-general's department, whose duties at first view might be supposed to be wholly and ex- clusively military and technical, is the source whence writers upon all our wars, foreign, Indian, and civil, draw their best and most authoritative history. Its records constitute the best evidence for all persons entitled to the benefits of the pension and bounty laws. The labors of the signal office are recognized as of daily benefit to the country and of growing value to mankind. The departments of the in- spector-general, quartermaster-general, commissary- general of subsistence, and paymaster-general, are wholly military and administrative, but as we have seen their labors, whether in peace or war, are great and valuable, and in some instances have preeminently assisted the army to win great victories and to repel threatened dangers from the republic. The medical, engineer, and ordnance departments have many and varied professional and scientific as well as adminis- trative services to perform. We have seen how well in all instances, how grandly in not a few, their duty has been done. That our country is so generally de- veloped to-day, from the shores of Lake Ontario to far beyond the Mississippi, in the Rocky Mountain region, and on the Pacific coast, is more largely due to the labors of the bureaux of the War Department than to any other one cause. I have proceeded thus far in my work most imperfectly, unless it is there- from very clearly seen that the history of the prog- ROSTERS OF BUREAUX. 319 ress of civilization in America is closely connected with the history of the Department of War. Agaiti do we see the truth of the paradox: There is no peace for the army except during war. Note. — It will have been observed that in my accounts of the different bureaux I have in some instances included rosters, in others, not. Where the names are quite numerous I have not thought it appropriate to take up so much space as they would require in the general body of the history. They will be found, as contained in the current Army Register, in the Appendix, near the close of the volume. CHAPTER VIII. DEPARTMENTAL HISTORY FROM THE MEXICAN WAR TO 1879. The Success of the System of Volunteers — Secretary Marcy AND the War with Mexico — The Interim Between that War AND the Late Civil War — The War Department During the War of the Rebellion — Secretary Stanton and the Assist- ant Secretaries — The Provost-Marshal-General's Depart- ment — Colored Troops — Military Railroads and Tele- graphs — Exchange of Prisoners — The Disbandment of the Volunteers — Reorganization of the Army — The Freedmen's Bureau — Secretary Stanton and President Johnson — Gen- eral Grant — Soldiers' Homes — National Cemeteries — Re- cent History — Secretary McCrary and the Signal Office. WHATEVER may be the truth as to the divided judgment of the American people upon the rightfulness or wrongfulness of our war with Mexico, there can be no question that, having once com- menced, it was conducted with ability, vigor, and most remarkable success. This remark applies not only to the operations of the army in the field, which made forever illustrious the names of Taylor, Scott, and others, but to the administrative services of the Department at the national capital, and of many of its bureau officers engaged on the theatre of war. At this time the Department was in charge of the dis- tinguished statesman, William L. Marcy of New York. Secretary Marcy had served with honor in the last war with Great Britain, and had observed the lament- able defects of the militia system. He had also closely studied our entire military history and had 320 VOLUNTEERS. 32 1 noted the success of the plan of speedily raising troops, called volunteers, which had on more than one occasion been adopted in the West, particularly in Kentucky and Ohio. This plan, thoroughly sys- tematized, he adopted for the supply of troops in addition to the regular army, with which the war with Mexico should be prosecuted. His views were heartily sustained by President Polk and cordially adopted by Congress. By an act approved May 13, 1846, the President was author- ized " to call for and accept the services of any num- ber of volunteers not exceeding fifty thousand, who may offer their services either as cavalry, artillery, infantry or riflemen."^ Under this law, volunteers were quickly enlisted in all parts of the Union, in- telligence of the fine victories of the army of the United States under General Taylor at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma — fought a few days before the passage of the act — creating a gen- eral enthusiasm for the war which had not before then manifested itself Liberal provisions were made for the transportation of the volunteers to rendezvous ; for their organization into regiments and brigades ; and by midsummer a large army of volunteers was on the Mexican frontier and en route thereto. In all the engagements and opera- tions of the war after Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma they bore conspicuous part, proving, with what had gone before in our military history, the correctness of Secretary Marcy's opinion that the warlike strength of the United States lay in the regular army and the volunteers. More recent 'U. S. Stat, at Large, IX., 9. V 322 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. events have demonstrated that an army of Ameri- can volunteers such as could be speedily raised to great numbers, cooperating with our regular army of trained veterans under the command of trained officers with a trained staff, would probably be in- vincible by any force which the most powerful nation of the world could bring against it. In a little over two years from the commencement of actual hos- tilities Mexico was conquered terms of peace dic- tated, and the country evacuated by the American armies. In considering the services, whether military or administrative, of the military establishment of the United States in connection with the Mexican war, it should not be forgotten that the war occurred, so to say, in a former generation. Less than two years before the battle of Palo Alto, the first electric tele- graph in the world had been built after incredible trials and difficulties, — a short line between Wash- ington City and Baltimore. By the time the war with Mexico closed the grand success of Professor Morse's invention was acknowledged by all intelligent persons, but it was not until later that the net-work of wires for the conveyance of instantaneous intelligence was spread over most inhabited portions of the country. Nor had railroad construction up to this time been very considerable. Thus the old means of intelli- gence and transportation were perforce greatly used, which makes it all the more noteworthy that so com- plete a victory, with such great and valuable results with respect to the material interests of the nation, should have been so quickly gained. Such a result could not have occurred had our armies not been THE ARMY IN I8J18. 323 most admirably organized upon the whole, and most ably commanded.^ For more than twenty years up to 1 842, the country had been divided into two divisions, each in the com- mand of a brigadier-general, the major-general, being the commander-in-chief of the army, having his head- quarters most of the time at the seat of government. In the year named, nine military departments were created by general orders of the War Department and placed in the command of as many general and field officers. During the Mexican war this arrange- ment naturally fell into disuse, troops and officers being required for service against the enemy. After the conclusion of the war the arrangement first named was reestablished, Major-General Scott being in com- mand of the eastern division, headquarters at New York, Major-General Taylor, of the western division, headquarters at or near New Orleans. The nine military departments were continued. At this time General Taylor was the candidate of the Whig party for President of the United States, and in deference to him, as he might soon become General Scott's superior officer, his command was made entirely independent. As a matter of fact, he was inaugu- rated chief executive of the Union on March 5, 1849. Meantime, the closing scenes in the war with Mexico had occupied large attention from the War Department. At the termination of the war, the aggregate strength of the army was forty-seven thousand one hundred and fifty officers and men. Of these, one thousand three hundred and thirty- ' For a rapid sketch of the principal events of the Mexican war see ante pp. 228-40. 324 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. eight were officers and twenty-two thousand six hun- dred and ninety-five were enlisted men of the regular army of the United States ; there being of volunteers one thousand five hundred and twenty-seven officers, and twenty-one thousand five hundred and ninety men. It is hardly possible that the regular and volunteer forces of the United States will ever again be so nearly equally divided as they were at this time.^ Very many regulars as well as the volunteers 'For the facts stated in the text I am indebted to the report of Adjutant-General R. Jones to the Secretary of War, of November 30, 1848. The report of the same officer, of one year before, places the number of volunteers in the field at twenty-two thou- sand and twenty-seven ; of regulars, twenty-one thousand five hundred and nine — about the same difference the other way. The volunteers suffered greater losses by sickness. In the same report, Adjutant-General Jones stated that the volunteer force employed in the war consisted of troops equivalent to thirty regi- ments and six companies of infantry, called from the States and Territories as follows : Massachusetts, one regiment of infantry ; New York, two regiments ; New Jersey, one battalion (4 companies) ; Pennsylvania, two regiments and three companies; Maryland and District of Columbia, seven companies infantry and one artillery, with the organization of " regiment; Virginia, one regiment (13 companies); North Carolina, one regiment; South Carolina, one regiment (ll companies); Georgia, one mounted battalion (6 companies); one separate mounted company and one battalion of infantry (5 companies); Florida, one independent company infantry ; Alabama, one independent mounted company ; Mississippi, one regiment infantry ; Louisiana, one regiment and one battalion (5 companies); Arkansas, one independent mounted company; Texas, five independent mounted companies; Tennessee, three regiments infantry; Ken- tucky, two regiments; Missouri, one regiment and one battalion mounted (5 companies), one battalion infantry (5 companies), and one mixed battalion of two companies mounted, one company artillery, and two companies in- fantry; Illinois, four independent mounted companies and two regiments infantry; Indiana, two regiments ; Ohio, one independent mounted company and two regiments, and two independent companies infantry; Michigan, one regiment (not yet raised) and one independent company infantry; Wisconsin, one independent company; Iowa, one independent mounted company. Second enrolment and remustered companies (7). THE ARMY AFTER THE MEXICAN WAR. 325 having been mustered to serve " during the war " the army was speedily reduced after the evacuation of Mexico to the regular peace establishment, which at the time was authorized by law to consist of eight hundred and sixty-five officers and eight thousand nine hundred and forty enHsted men. This force only lacked about three hundred of being full accord- ing to the adjutant-general's annual report of 1848. Between this time and the war of the rebellion there were some slight changes in the organization of the army, resulting in its increase to an aggregate of about twelve thousand, which was its strength ac- cording to law, at the commencement of hostilities.* During the entire period of the administrations of Presidents Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan the country was agitated by the discussion of political questions of such character as to keep up an almost constant excitement. Indeed, this remarkable agitation began during the latter part of the administration of Presi- dent Polk in connection with the question of the gov- ernment to be established in the vast territory ac- quired as a result of the war with Mexico, and it did not end till 1861. Nevertheless, it is a noteworthy fact that though the army did some things during this period which it ought not to have done — among others, the interference with the free State men of Kansas, and the Utah fiasco — the services of the military establishment were at this very time of ex-, ceptional benefit to the country and to mankind. It has been customary with a certain class of writers to speak ' For convenience of reference, a statement showing tiie organ- ization of the army at different times has been prepared, and will be found in the Appendix, near the close of the volume. 28 326 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of Mr. Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War during the administration of President Pierce, as even then plot- ting treason against his country and in his apartments in the Department building secretly concocting plans for the destruction of the government. No opinion could be more erroneous. Whatever faults Mr. Davis has to answer for, this is not one of them. He was not only a most energetic and diligent Secretary, but there were in progress during his administration of the Department, and under his supervision, some of the greatest works it has ever performed. Among them were the Pacific Railroad surveys, of which a full account has been set forth in the preceding chapter. In these surveys, as his own reports connected therewith show, he took an enthu- siastic and intelligent interest ; and it was then as it is now the universal judgment that railroads across the continent must needs be a perpetual practical argument for the permanence of the Union. During his administration of the war office the Army Regu- lations were revised, and very much improved ; rifles were substituted for muskets in several regiments ; the army was increased. It is clear that during this period of his life Mr. Davis had no time to plot against his country. While at the head of the War Department he was guiltless of all offence of this kind. And for some time afterwards the entire military establishment was faithful to the republic. Unhappily, as much cannot be said for Mr. Floyd, Secretary of War during most of the administration of President Buchanan. From the time it became known that Abraham Lincoln would probably be elected President, Secretary Floyd used the Depart- PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 327 ment in the interest of those who had determined to do all in their power to break up the government. Besides, a considerable portion of the army was in Texas under command of General Twiggs, whose wretched and shameless treason in the early part of the secession movement was among the most dis- reputable events of the whole war. There is noth- ing so lamentable in the history of the military es- tablishment of the United States as these treasonable deeds in the War Department and in the army. They left the government in almost a defenseless position, besides manifesting a degree of moral and political turpitude which, to the credit of human nature, Is not often reached. The appointment of the Honorable Joseph Holt of Kentucky as Secretary of War a short time before the close of Mr. Buchanan's administra- tion was a most fortunate event for the country. He immediately placed all the power of the Department on the side of the Union and did all that could be done to counteract the unworthy deeds of his prede- cessor. During this noted crisis the exalted patriot- ism of Joseph Holt was of incalculable value to the republic. Largely by reason of his labors and vigil- ance Mr. Lincoln was peacefully inaugurated Presi- dent and the new administration quietly placed in possession of the government. The statesmanlike, tender, and profoundly patriotic inaugural address of President Lincoln had been enough to cause the secessionists to pause In their ill-considered course, but that it had been long deter- mined upon by certain fiery, ambitious, unscrupulous leaders whose influence in affairs was very great be- cause of the ignorance which so largely prevailed in 328 HISTORY qP THE WAR DEPARTMENT. many Southern communities. In a little more than a month from President Lincoln's inauguration war was commenced by the attack on Fort Sumter. This most unhappy event aroused the entire North and many communities in several of the slave States to the highest pitch of indignation. The cry of "To Arms ! " was heard everywhere from men of all po- litical parties, and though there were some in the North who sympathized with the " Confederates," they had small following, and not a few of them soon were seen floating with the popular tide. The feeling was well-nigh universal that the nation should avenge the insult by promptly and vigorously waging war on the armed enemies of the Union. The government appeared to be more phlegmatic under the circumstances than was easily to be ex- plained, and certainly gave no evidence of sympa- thizing with the magnificent enthusiasm of the people. The sublime good-nature of the President and the remarkable serenity of Secretary of State Seward appeared to be very little if any affected. The latter had the most erroneous conception of the character of the insurrection. Secretary of War Cameron and Secretary of the Treasury Chase were the only two members of the cabinet who had anything like cor- rect notions of the impending conflict. The former, therein sustained by Mr. Chase, advised the immedi- ate calling out of a large force for a considerable term of service. Instead, the President issued his proclamation, April 15, 1861, calling out seventy-five thousand men for three months. At the same time he called Congress to convene in extra session on the 4th of July following. On the 4th of May a SECRETARY CHASE. 329 call for forty-two thousand volunteers for three years was issued. Congress met on the national anniversary, and promptly voted generous supplies of the sinews of war ; authorized the increase of the regular army, and the calling out of five hundred thousand three years' volunteers at the discretion of the President. At this time there was no trouble in procuring all the men needed. Let the President call for them ; they came, and more offered than were called. The War Department was embarrassed by the offer of too many troops. Secretary Cameron reminded the world of the superior military ardor and resources of the republic, saying; "instead of laboring under the difficulty of monarchical governments in the want of men to fill its armies (which in other countries has compelled a resort to forced conscription), one of its main difficulties is to keep down the proportions of the army and to prevent it from swelling beyond the actual force required."^ In his original estimates of expenditures for the War Department, prepared in the autumn of 1861, Secretary Cameron made his calcu- lations as for seven hundred thousand men in the field. More than that many had no doubt been offered and, perhaps, provisionally accepted. But as Congress had only authorized five hundred thousand, Secre- tary Chase protested against these estimates and they were accordingly reduced.^ Notwithstanding these remarkable embarrassments of too many troops, the war for the Union did not ^Quoted by Schuckers, Life of Chase, 220. '^ See the letter of Secretary Chase in the work just cited, pp. 279-80. 28* 330 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. progress, upon the' whole, very favorably during the year 1861. There were some brilliant affairs in Vir- ginia — now West Virginia — under Generals McClel- lan and Rosecrans, and Colonel, afterwards Major- General Lew. Wallace. The successful expedition under Commodore Du Pont of the navy and Gen- eral Thomas W. Sherman of the army against Port Royal and Beaufort was of much importance and real value. The brilliant victory of General Na- thaniel Lyon at the battle of Wilson's Creek demon- strated the valor and fortitude of our volunteers, but little more than compensated for the death, in the su- preme moment of triumph, of that great soldier and noble man. General Grant's first engagement, Bel- mont, was at best a drawn battle. During the entire year, there had been no grand, stirring victory for the Union cause, and it had suffered lamentable, ter- rible defeat and rout on the field of Bull Run, within cannon sound of the Capital. The spirits of the people were depressed ; and nearly all persons began to see that the contest must inevitably be one of great magnitude and of uncertain duration. A fortnight of the year 1862 had not passed when an event occurred which largely revived the spirits of the people and reanimated their dormant enthu- siasm. This was the appointment of Edwin M. Stanton as Secretary of War. Mr. Stanton had not been much in public, that is to say political life ; but he had been for many years one of the most eminent lawyers practising in our highest courts ; he had served as Attorney-General during the latter months of President Buchanan's administration, and, heartily cooperating with Holt, had done the state great FORT HENRY— FORT DONELSON. 33 1 service. He was known to be a man "terribly in earnest ; " of indomitable will ; of immense intellect- ual force ; of resistless energy and ceaseless indus- try ; of the purest integrity and the loftiest patriotism. It was intuitively judged by the people, and the judg- ment justified by the event, that he would infuse into the army some portion of his unconquerable spirit and organize victory for the Union cause. The events- in the field speedily following the ap- pointment of Secretary Stanton were greatly cheer- ing to the Union people. In the East, General Burn- side, cooperating with whom was Flag Officer Golds- borough of the navy, captured Roanoke Island, early in February, many prisoners and large store falling into his hands. Newbern and other important places soon afterwards became his trophies. But on the day before Roanoke Island fell into our possession, there commenced in the West a series of remarkable victories not interrupted by a single great disaster during the entire year. The initial operation in these movements was the capture of Fort Henry, a powerful rebel work on the Tennessee River. This brilliant victory was mainly achieved by the navy under Commodore Foote. In just ten days it was followed, February i6, by the unconditional surrender of Fort Donelson to General Grant. This surrender included an army of nearly twenty thousand men and immense military materiel of all kinds. Within a month, Major-General Samuel R. Curtis won the decisive victory of Pea Ridge, after three days of hard fighting and exceptionally fine manceuvering. On the" 6th and 7th of April General Grant fairly won the greatest pitched battle of the war in the 332 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. West — the battle of Shiloh. In the same month, through the gallantry of the navy under Farragut and of the army under Major-General B. F. Butler, the city of New Orleans and the powerful forts between that city and the gulf of Mexico were re- possessed by the Union. Shortly before this, by the capture of Island Number Ten, New Madrid, Fort Pillow, and Memphis, the Mississippi River had come under the control of the Unionists from Cairo to Vicksburg-h. In October General Rosecrans won a complete victory in the battle of Corinth, and near the close of the year Major-General Frank Herron gained a handsome triumph on the field of Prairie Grove, in north-western Arkansas. Thus in the West there was a series of uninter- rupted military successes from the beginning till just at the close of the year, when General William T. Sherman met with defeat in the battle of Chickasaw Bayou. The Unionists had regained vast extent of territory in Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi, and their entire control of the Mississippi valley seemed to be an event of the near future. In the East matters were less for- tunate. Major-General McClellan's peninsular cam- paign against Richmond resulted in failure after many battles most gallantly fought by his army. This was followed by the disastrous Virginia cam- paign of Major-General John Pope, which was suc- ceeded by the Confederate invasion of Maryland, closed by the great Union victory of Antietam, of which General McClellan failed to take advantage. The campaigns of the gallant Army of the Potomac for the year closed with the battle of Fredericksburgh, CAMPAIGN OF VICKSBURGH. 333 Virginia, in which Major-General Burnside suffered disastrous defeat. The final result of the year was that In the East the Unionists simply held their own, but in the West and South-west gained many and great advantages. At the beginning of July of this year and just at the close of the seven days' fighting before Rich- mond, President Lincoln issued a call for three hun- dred thousand additional volunteers. Dissatisfaction with General McClellan was at this time so great among the friends of the Union in the country that volunteering did not proceed with the wonted ra- pidity. Accordingly early in the following month Secretary Stanton ordered a draft for the same num- ber of men. This was an unpopular proceeding but it was an effective one, filling up the ranks of the corps in the field and considerably increasing the aggregate strength of the army. In aggregate results the campaigns of 1.863 were a counterpart of those of 1862, being important vic- tories and the acquisition of great extent of territory from the Confederates in the West, and great, bravely fought battles without special advantage to either side in the East. On the second day of the year the great battle of Stone River closed in a fine triumph for General Rosecrans. Within a few days, executing a plan of General Sherman, Major-General John A. McClernand besieged and captured Arkansas Post with many prisoners and large store. After the march through Louisiana, the grand campaign of Vicksburgh under General Grant commenced, the fighting part with the battle of Port Gibson, May i. The march hence to Vicksburgh by Jackson was an 334 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. almost continuous engagement by heavy skirmish at the front or general battle along the lines. There were general engagements, all victories, at Raymond, Jackson, Edward's Station, Champion Hill, Big Black River Bridge. On the 19th Vicksburgh was invested. Four days afterwards General Grant assaulted the enemy's works all along the lines with great vigor but without success. His loss here was very heavy. The unconditional surrender of the Confederate General Pemberton with the entire garrison and all the military materiel of Vicksburgh on the 4th of July was the crowning event in one of the grand- est campaigns of history. On the same day, Major- General Ben. M. Prentiss won a complete and brill- iant victory over a large force which attacked him at Helena, Arkansas. Four days later. Port Hudson surrendered to General Banks. Thus again the Father of Waters through all his course flowed un- vexed to the sea in the complete control and pos- session of the Union. The other principal military events of the year in the West were the battle of Chickamauga, in September, in which General Rose- crans suffered disastrous defeat at the hands of the Confederate General Bragg; and the battle of Chat- tanooga (Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge), November 23d, 24th, and 25th, in which General Grant gained a wonderful victory. The relief of Knoxville at once followed, and Tennessee was evacuated by the Confederates. Thus the western campaigns of the year closed with the great bulk of the country west of the Appalachian range re-pos- sessed by the Union, with trade and commerce and BATTLE OF GETTYSBURGH. 335 general intercourse rapidly resuming their wonted activity. At the beginning of the year General Burnside was still in command of the Army of the Potomac, but was soon relieved by Major-General Joseph Hooker. The first great operation of that army after General Hooker assumed command was the series of general engagements, extending through the 2d, 3d, and 4th of May, known as the battle of Chancellorsville. General Hooker suffered defeat and was sadly punished in heavy losses of killed and wounded. Nevertheless, he retreated across the Rappahannock on the 6th without molestation or pursuit by General Lee. The Confederates also lost very heavily in the engagement, their greatest loss being that of the distinguished General Stone- wall Jackson who was here mortally wounded. Not long after this the Confederate Army of Virginia under its great captain. General Lee, proceeded to invade Maryland and Pennsylvania. The end of this ambitious expedition was the battle of Gettysburgh, July 1st, 2d, and 3d, in which the Confederates were severely beaten by the Unionists under the command of Major-General George G. Meade who a few days before had relieved General Hooker. Notwithstand- ing this great victory, Lee was permitted leisurely to retreat, and by the end of the month both armies were again on the Rappahannock. They continued to watch each other vigorously, with heavy skirmish- ing occasionally, and now and then giving strong in- dications of impending battle but without coming to blows, till a severe winter set in. Thus, maugre the casualties of the battles and lesser affairs, the year 336 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. closed in the East with the situation almost precisely as it was when the year began. During this year the different armies were largely reenforced by the operation of the draft which oc- curred in different States and districts from time to time. It was in the summer of this year that the dreadful draft riots occurred in the city of New York. During this reign of terror many innocent lives and great amounts of property were destroyed. The riot was finally quelled by the presence of United States troops. There were other instances of oppo- sition to the draft, and some officers of the provost- marshal's department were killed. But as a rule, the draft proceeded quietly and accomplished its purpose. In September President Lincoln issued a call for three hundred thousand volunteers. Bounties for enlist- ment were now liberal, and the ranks of the army were well filled up. During the winter of 1863-64 reenlistments in the army were also very numerous. Great numbers of men, sometimes a whole regiment in a body, "veteranized," that is, having served out their time, reenlisted for " three years or during the war." Another draft also was ordered in the spring. Hence the campaign of 1864 was begun by the Unionists with full and experienced armies. Their success in all the considerable qperations of the West and South was interrupted by but two or three disasters and reverses, only one of these being of much importance. This was the Red River expe- dition in Louisiana under Major-General Nathaniel P. Banks, — a quite disastrous failure largely due to the presence of a crew of speculators who were allowed to accompany the expedition. After the CAMPAIGN OF ATLANTA. 337 defeat of Franklin near Mansfield the military pres- tige of the army was redeemed and its retreat down the river secured by the fine victory of Major- General A. J. Smith at the battle of Pleasant Hill. Major-General E. R. S. Canby succeeded General Banks in the command of the department of the Gulf His operations during the remainder of the year, and particularly the capture, with the coopera- tion of Admiral Farragut, of the powerful forts at the entrance to Mobile Bay, were of vast importance in the progress of the general campaign. One of the most remarkable campaigns of military history was the campaign of Atlanta of this year under General Sherman. By gallant fighting and the most skilful logistics, General Sherman drove before him a large army, forcing him to abandon powerful works, to retreat over difficult mountains, across many large streams, and finally to abandon his stronghold near the centre of the empire State of the South. In nearly all of the battles of this campaign, some of which were wonderfully hard-fought fields. General Sherman was successful. After the end of the At- lanta campaign proper. General Hood, who had relieved General Joseph E. Johnston of the command of the army opposed to Sherman, made several des- perate raids against the Union lines of communication but was in nearly every instance repulsed with great loss. Later, Hood, having concentrated his forces, conceived the ambitious project of capturing Nash- ville and invading Kentucky and Ohio. Marching on Nashville, he was met a considerable distance south of there by Major-General Schofield, who harassed his march as much as was practicable, and gave him 29 w 338 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. a severe handling and a considerable check at the battle of Franklin. Meantime Major-General George H. Thomas, at the capital of Tennessee, was energet- ically making every preparation to receive the invader at the point of the bayonet and the cannon's mouth. The result was that in the grand battle of Nashville Hood's army was utterly routed ; " pulverized," as was said at the time ; and for days was a mere series of crowds of unorganized stragglers. In this battle General A. J. Smith bore a conspicuous part. He had before been engaged in helping drive the last rebel invaders out of Missouri, and this having been successfully done, he was able to reenforce General Thomas just in time to take part in the battle. Hav- ing made his remarkable " march to the sea," General Sherman made a Christmas present of the city of Savannah, and large military store, to the govern- ment, thus closing the operations of the armies of the West, in such way as to leave the principal forces of the Confederacy within that region of country lying between the Allegheny Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, and the James and Savannah Rivers. There were, of course, many Confederate troops outside of these limits but nowhere enough to be formidable in the open field. An act of Congress of the ist of March 1864 re- vived the grade of lieutenant-general in the army. Major-General Grant was at once appointed and confirmed by the Senate. Soon repairing to the national capital he remained there for some time in daily consultation with President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton, and being designated commander- in-chief of the army, repaired to his headquarters in CAMPAIGN AGAINST RICHMOND. 339 the field, assuming direct command of the Army of the Potomac. Early in May he crossed the Rapidan, and commenced that series of tremendous contests which, beginning with the battle of the Wilderness and including the great engagements of Spottsylva- nia. North Anna, Cold Harbor, Petersburgh, Weldon Road, Deep Bottom, Ream's Station, Chapin's Farm, and others, did not come to an end for the year 1864 till late in October in the battle of Hatcher's Run, far south of Petersburgh.^ In the autumn of this year one of General Grant's most energetic lieu- tenants, Major-General Philip H. Sheridan, being ordered to take command of the troops in the Shenandoah valley, soon left all that section of country well denuded of enemies able to commit mischief, by winning in quick succession three pitched battles. As if to keep up the singular coincidences of the war a considerable Confederate force invaded Maryland about midsummer of this year. They easily defeated General Lew. Wallace at the battle ' Some writers have in an unfriendly manner criticised the cam- paign of General Grant against Richmond, particularly charging him with unnecessarily great losses. The most of these critics have unfavorably compared the campaign in this regard with that of General McClellan. Nothing could be more unjust to both of these distinguished men, for the reason that the situation at the time of the two campaigns was utterly different, the one from the other. As a matter of fact, however, there were more losses in the Army of the Potomac in the attempts to capture Richmond, under McClellan and his successors till Grant, than under Grant. Grant captured the city and closed the war ; the others were less fortunate. The total number of killed, wounded, and missing under McClellan and successors was 144,118; under Grant (till surrender of Lee) 104,001. See Life of General Grant by Charles A. Dana and J. H. Wilson, appendix. 340 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of Monocacy. He retreated on Baltimore, they marched on Washington, plundering as they went. Threatening the capital, but not seriously, for a day or two, they retreated in good order carrying all their booty with them. These forays had no per- ceptible effect upon the plans of grand campaign as they were now well understood by the President, the Secretary of War, and General Grant. The general result of the campaign, it will have been observed, was more favorable to the Union cause than that of any preceding year. In the West and South we had 'gained prodigiously, almost re- possessing the entire area of those sections, while in the East, after many great battles, victory falling now on one side now on the other, the balance was heavily in favor of the Union. We were near the Confeder- ate capital, and, as was clear to most reflecting per- sons, that capital was near its fall. In a word, the situation all along the lines, to use a phrase at the time greatly in vogue, was, at the close of the year in review, most cheering to the adherents of the Union cause. The remaining military operations of the war were grand and exciting in the extreme. Grant's army was in motion early in February, and had in that month some considerable engagements. Sheridan, with his large army of cavalry, seemed to be ubiqui- tous, now capturing a large Confederate army near Staunton, now destroying the James River canal fifty miles west of Richmond, speedily appearing north and east of that city, destroying railroads and cap- turing great quantities of property. W hen Grant was about ready for the supreme movement against SURRENDER OF LEE. 34 1 Petersburgh and Richmond, he placed this gallant offi- cer, no less cool and sagacious than dashing, in command of all the cavalry of the army and of the Fifth Army Corps. On March 25th, the Second and Sixth corps assaulted, carried, and held the first line of the ene- my's works. Three days afterwards there was heavy fighting, in which the Confederates rather had the best of it. But on the ist of April the great battle of Five Forks was fought, resulting in a magnificent victory for the Unionists and in very great losses to the Confederates. This was followed on the 2d by a general assault on the works o"f Petersburgh, their capture, and the capture of great numbers of prison- ers. On the night of this day both Petersburgh and Richmond were evacuated by the enemy, and early on the next morning the Confed^ate government departed from the city on a railroad train. Grant Immediately put his army in pursuit of Lee, who, with what was left of the Army of Virginia, had marched westward. He was overtaken and com- pelled to fight on the 6th and again on the 7th, in both instances being defeated, of course ; for his once splendid and always gallant army was now reduced by the casualties of battle to a mere shadow of its former greatness. Concentrating his entire army at Appomattox Court House on the 8th, with the view of a final struggle, he learned that General Sheridan with a large force was in his rear, and hence that further contest were useless. Accordingly on the next day he gave up his sword to Grant and surrendered to him his whole army, the terms de- manded by the Union General being confessedly liberal and magnanimous. 29* 342 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Very early in the year General Sherman began his march through the Carolinas. In South Carolina he met with no considerable opposition, but moved in broad column through the State which had origi- nated the war and the citizens of which he compelled, through regular foraging parties, to aid in the sub- sistence of his men and animals. During his march through South Carolina his entire losses were hardly greater than would occur in a heavy skirmish. Hampton's cavalry undertook to annoy and harass, but Hampton was quite monotonously driven out of harm's way by the Union cavalry under Major-Gen- eral Judson Kilpatrick. On February i8th, Charles- ton fell into the possession of the Unionists, General Sherman having occupied Columbia the day before. The objective point of the march was Goldsboro, North Carolina. In this State, Sherman met with considerable opposition, the Confederates having col- lected a respectable army to meet him. At Averys- boro a heavy battle was fought, and at Bentonville, Sherman was confronted by the entire Confederate army, well intrenched, and under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston. A severe battle en- sued, in which the Unionists had the advantage, and during the following night, March i8, General John- ston quietly put his army in retreat. Sherman then marched to Goldsboro, where he was joined by Major-General Schofield, who had rapidly marched by rail from Nashville, Tennessee, to Alexandria, Virginia, thence by transports to North Carolina, where he had been for some time vigorously and successfully engaged in operations intended to aid in the general movement of Sherman. On March 23d, SURRENDER OF yOHNSTON. 343 the junction of the two armies was made at Golds- boro, being the very time fixed upon months before. Meantime, Major-General George Stoneman had marched from East Tennessee with a division of cavalry as far eastward as Greensboro, North Caro- lina, and had there, and between that place and Salisbury, utterly destroyed all railway bridges and culverts, and torn up the tracks for miles together, — a severe blow to the armies of both Lee and John- ston. On April loth, Sherman began his march, his object being to make a junction with General Grant. But hearing of Lee's surrender he pushed on directly in pursuit of Johnston. The weather was terrible, pitiless storms of rain prevailing daily ; the roads were almost impassable ; but through the mire and storm the grand army mov^d on as steadily and cheerfully as if in review, enthusiastic to overtake the enemy and to close the war. But on the 14th, General Sherman received a communication from General Johnston, requesting an armistice and a statement of the best terms under which he could surrender the army under his command. The result was the famous "agreement" which was disapproved by the President, the Secretary of War, and General Grant. The latter hastened to North Carolina to explain the matter personally to General Sherman, whereupon he received the surrender of Johnston upon the same terms which had been accorded Lee at Appomattox, namely, that all the Confederate arms, artillery, and property be turned over to an officer of the Union, the army disbanded, officers and men to give their parole not to take up arms against the United States until exchanged. 344 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. In the meantime, great operations had also been taking place in the South. At the very time General Grant was pressing Lee so relentlessly at Petersburgh and Richmond and to the final surrender, General Canby was moving on the strong works of Mobile. He carried Spanish Fort and Fort Blakeley on the very day of General Lee's surrender, and on the next, Mobile was evacuated by the Confederates. The garrison was soon captured by General Canby's forces. During the same period of activity Major- General James H. Wilson made his famous " cavalry raid " through Alabama and Georgia. With a large force of cavalry and light artillery, he marched through northern and central Alabama, making a great military expedition rather than a raid. For he captured many towns and cities where were vast quantities of Confederate military materdel which he destroyed, together with several extensive establish- ments for the manufacture of arms and ammunition. He fought several batries, always with dash and with success. When his expedition had about come to an end as originally planned, the grand Union suc- cesses all over the theatre of war from the James River to the gulf of Mexico had brought the war to a close. What there was of it after this was only like the little pattering of rain that sometimes follows a thunder-storm. The vast operations of the war thus rapidly sketched threw upon the War Department an additional amount of labors almost incredible. To supervise the admin- istrative affairs pertaining to the Department during this long period of the republic's peril would have been beyond the capacity allotted to man. Early in ASSISTANT SECRETARIES. 345 the war Secretary Cameron, seeing the absolute ne- cessity of direct aid in the discharge of his duties, by order made Colonel Thomas A. Scott " assistant sec- retary of war," and he remained in the position dur- ing Mr. Cameron's further charge of the war office. Later, the office was created by law and eventually three assistant secretaries of war were authorized. These were P. H. Watson, John Tucker, and C. P. Wolcott. Upon the decease of Mr. Wolcott, Mr. Charles A. Dana was appointed. Mr. Watson, who had long been the law partner of Mr. Stanton was his principal lieutenant, and was consulted by him on all occasions of doubt and difficulty. Mr. Tucker had general charge of the matter of large contracts, and a special supervision of the chartering of steamers and steamboats. Mr. Wolcott had the supervision of the correspondence of great extent and variety growing out of the extraordinary circumstances of the war; as, for example, with the governors of States and other persons of importance or having business of unusual importance with the Department. Thus Secretary Stanton had about him and in his immediate direction a personal staff whose services during the war were invaluable.'' 'John R. Briggs, Jr., at the time an honored official of the House of Representatives . (now deceased) related to me this anecdote : Upon Mr. Stanton's appointment as Secretary, he went at once to see his partner, Mr. Watson about it, and ex- pressed himself as decidedly averse to acceptance. "I cannot afford," he said, " to give up a practice worth three or four times as much." But Mr. Watson combatted this decision with great force and earnestness. "It is a time," he said, "when every one must make sacrifices and great sacrifices. You are the man of all men for this place and must make the temporary sacrifice. " With 346 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Here it may be well to note the distinction between the merely augmented labors of the War Depart- ment brought about by the war and what may be called the extraordinary labors. The former were in the main performed by the regular staff depart- ments, some of which were augmented in official and clerical force for the purpose, others only in the latter respect. As we have seen, the quartermaster's de- partment performed its immensely increased labors with an efficiency and promptness that were wonder- ful. The other bureaux were no less vigorous and successful. But the very magnitude of the contest made it necessary that extraordinary powers should be conferred upon the President, or at any rate that they should be exercised. Congress even went so far, in view of the imagined financial exigencies of the time, as to authorize the government to issue bits of engraved paper as actual money and a legal tender for all private and most public debts. In the actual conduct of the gigantic war, exigencies fre- quently arose for the exercise of extraordinary pow- . more to the same general effect he persuaded Mr. Stanton to ac- cept, and he was at once sworn into office. It was not long till the Secretary was granted a personal staff as related in the text. At the time, Mr. Watson was en route to Pittsburgh on business. But Secretary Stanton telegraphed him to return im- mediately. On calling at the Department Mr. Watson was handed his appointment as assistant secretary. In his astonishment he exclaimed, "Why, my dear sir, I cannot afford to accept this place." But the Secretary instantly turned the tables on him, and he accepted. He proved to be an able officer. Mr. Dana, the last appointee as assistant secretary was the dis- tinguished /ittirateur a.nd jomnalist, now (1879) editor of the New York Sun newspaper. Col. Scott is the now famous "railroad king." WAR LABORS. 347 ers ; but because extraordinary neither unconstitu- tional nor unlawful. The safety of the state is the supreme law. During war the municipal code lies dormant. As th^ exercise of these extraordinary powers related mainly to the conduct of the war, it became the duty of the war office to put them into practical exercise. It was this which brought down upon Mr. Stanton's devoted head so much undeserved obloquy as a tyrant, despot, and autocrat. Moreover, the business with the executives and agents of States was of an extraordinary as well as an extensive char- acter. It was in labors pertaining to these extraor- dinary duties of the war that the assistant secretaries were for the most part employed. The war brought on countless numbers of inven- tions of military materiel of every description, many of which turned out to be of great use and value, the most being utterly worthless. I suppose the number of "invention cases" brought before Secretary Stan- ton, and decided by him and his assistant secretaries ran Into the thousands, counting as well those which came up on regular appeal from the heads of bureaux as those which were brought directly before him by " political influence." As a rule these were decided off-hand and in the negative. It is and always has been almost certain failure for one to get through the War Department, one having entered at the wrong door. The war had not long progressed when great numbers of courts- martial were held. The number of officers who appealed to the Secre- tary and to the President from sentences of the courts was very great and not at all confined to cases of severe sentence. The decided manner In which Sec- 348 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. retary Stanton disposed of all these cases made him many enemies, who to this day think he was the despot and tyrant as painted by the enemies of his country. Many other classes in similar manner harassed the Department, — contractors and men who wanted to be contractors ; those who, having obtained con- tracts, had undertaken to pass upon the government material which would not bear inspection or had been in other respects in default ; the innumerable throng of speculators who sought to make speedy fortunes on the necessities of the country ; the tribe of rapacious land-sharks who abound and prosper in times of general distress or calamity, — all these and more would have given the Secretary and his assist- ants as much as they could have attended to but for the extraordinary capacity of Mr. Stanton to rid him- self and the Department of men who had no claims upon it. Among the most noteworthy of the extraordinary labors of the War Department during the rebellion — or rather the last half of it — were those connected with the office of the Provost-Marshal-General. This office was created by act of Congress of March 3d, 1863, and a few days thereafter. Colonel James B. Fry of the regular army was appointed to the office with the rank of colonel. About a year later he was pro- moted to the full rank of brigadier-general. Within a very short time after the appointment of Colonel Fry the subdivisions of his office were established in all parts of the country faithful to the Union, — the office of an assistant provost-marshal-general in every State and of a provost-marshal in every congressional district. To this new bureau, with its ramifications THE PROVOST-MARSHAL'S BUREAU. 349 extending everywhere among the people was given the duty of recruitment both as to the volunteers and the regular army. In his elaborate report of March 17, 1866, General Fry says: "The provost-marshals of the several congressional districts, aided by a commissioner and surgeon in each, were made re- cruiting officers. Springing directly from the people and at the same time exercising the authority and representing the necessities and wishes of the gov- ernment, they reached the masses, and were able, without abating the requirements of the conscription, to promote volunteering and to examine, enlist, mus- ter, clothe, and forward recruits as fast as they could be obtained. * * This system met the wants of the service; recruits were rapidly obtained by voluntary enlistment or draft, and such strict regard was paid to their physical fitness before accepting them as to greatly reduce the enormous loss on account of dis- charges for physical disability which had prevailed during the first two years of the war." In the same report — which shows the operations of the bureau from its organization to the close of the war — Gen- eral Fry gives the following condensed summary of the results of its labors during that period : " I. By means of a full and exact enrolment of all persons liable to conscription under the law of March 3, 1863 [as a rule all able-bodied male citizens and persons of foreign birth who had declared their intention to become such between the ages of twenty and forty-five years] and its amendments, a complete ex- hibit of the military resources of the loyal States in men was made, showing an aggregate number of two million two hundred and fifty-four thousand and sixty-three (2,254,063) men, not in- cluding one million five hundred and sixteen (1,000,516) soldiers actually under arms when hostilities ceased. • 30 3SO HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. " 2. One million one hundred and twenty thousand six hundred and twenty-one (1,120,621) were raised at an average cost, on account of recruitment exclusive of bounties, of ^9.84 per man; while the cost of recruiting the one million three hundred and fifty-six thousand five hundred and ninety-three (1,356,593) raised prior to the organization of the bureau was ^34.01 per man. A saving of over seventy cents on the dollar in the cost of raising troops was thus effected under this bureau, notwithstanding the increase in the price of subsistence, transportation, rents, etc., during the last two years of the war. " 3. Seventy-six thousand five hundred and twenty-six deserters were arrested and returned to the army. The vigilance and energy of the officers of the bureau in this branch of business put an ef- fectual check to the wide-spread evil of desertion which at one time so seriously impaired the numerical strength and efficiency of the army. "4. The quotas of men furnished by various parts of the country were equalized and a proportionate share of military ser- vice secured from each, thus removing the very serious inequality of recruitment which had arisen during the first two years of the war, and which, when the bureau was organized, had become an almost insuperable obstacle to further progress in raising troops. "5. Records were completed showing minutely the physical condition of one million and fourteen thousand seven hundred and seventy-six (1,014,776) of the men examined, and tables of great scientific and professional value have been compiled from these data. " 6. The casualties in the entire military force of the nation dur- ing the war of the rebellion, as shown by the official muster rolls and monthly returns, have been compiled, showing among other items five thousand two hundred and twenty-one (5,221) commissioned officers, and ninety thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight (90,868) enlisted men killed in action or died of wounds while in service ; two thousand three hundred and twenty-one (2,321) commissioned officers and one hundred and eighty-two thousand three hundred and twenty-nine (r82,329) enlisted men who died from disease or accident; making an aggregate of two hundred and eighty thousand seven hundred and thirty-nine (280,739) officers and men of the army who lost their lives in service. "7. The system of recruitment established by the bureau under PR VOST-MARSHAV S DEPAR TMENT. 3 5 I the laws of Congress, if permanently adopted, with such improve- ments as experience may suggest, will be capable of maintaining the numerical strength and improving the character of the army in time of peace, or of promptly and economically rendering available the national forces to any required extent in time of war. " 8. Through the instrumentality of the bureau there was dis- seminated throughout the loyal States a knowledge of the routine of the business in the various bureaux of the War Department which was essential to intelligent and effective cooperation in the recruitment, through popular effort, of the armies of the republic. The extension of the bureau over the country brought together the government and the people by closer ties, nurtured that mu- tual confidence and reliance through which the civil war was con- ducted to a successful termination, and developed a consciousness of national strength which will promote future peace and pros- perity. "9. The results, under the act for enrolment and draft, were attained without cost to the government ; the bureau never asked or required an appropriation of money for these purposes. Twenty -six million three hundred and sixty -six thousand three hundred and sixteen dollars and seventy-eight cents (^26,366,316.78) were raised by its own operations in conformity to law. Out of this sum all the expenses of enrolment and draft and additional ones called for by special laws were met. A bal- ance of no less than nine million three hundred and ninety thousand one hundred and five dollars and sixty-four cents (^9, 390, 105. 64) remains (January i, 1866) to the credit of the bureau in the treasury of the United States." The foundations for this great success of the bu- reau, General Fry goes on to state were, under the orders and supervision of the Secretary of War, as follows : " I. The hearty cooperation of the civil officers of the different States, sustained by the devoted loyalty and earnestness of the masses of the people. " 2. The judicious legislation of Congress. 3S2 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. " 3. The just, faithful, intelligent, industrious, and unflinching performance of duty on the part of the subordinate officers of the bureau. ' ' By an act of Congress of July 17, 1862, the Pres- ident was authorized to receive into the service of the United States persons of African descent " for the purpose of constructing intrencliments, of per- forming camp duty, or any other labor, or any mili- tary or naval service" for which they might be found competent. In September of this year President Lincoln issued his proclamation announcing that at the beginning of the following year he would declare all slaves free in all parts of the country in insurrec- tion. On January i, 1863, he accordingly issued his immortal Proclamation of Emancipation for which he devoutly asked, and which it received, " the consid- erate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God." But not until the act of Congress of February 24, 1864, was the general employment of colored troops authorized. This law, being in amendment of the general enrolment act which es- tablished the provost-marshal-general's office was of course in its practical execution in the case of drafts in charge of that bureau, but the recruitment as volunteers was mainly in charge of the " Bureau for Colored Troops." The general rule was the same as to blacks as to whites, all able-bodied male colored citizens between the ages of twenty and forty-five years being made liable to military duty, except in certain specified cases. " The Bureau for Colored Troops " at once put manifold appliances of recruit- ment to vigorous work, and it was not long till there was a large force of colored soldiers ready for the COLORED TROOPS. 353 field.^ They were recruited most extensively in the States of Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, Missis- sippi, Maryland, Missouri, Arkansas, Virginia, and North Carolina. But nearly two thousand were credited to Rhode Island, nearly four thousand to Massachusetts, more than four thousand to New York, and more than eight thousand to Pennsylvania. In very many of these cases the colored men were not citizens of these States but served as substitutes for citizens thereof Still, volunteering of colored men in the North was quite liberal, considering the paucity of their, numbers. The largest number of colored troops in service at any one time during the war was one hundred and twenty-three thousand one hundred and fifty-six. The entire number of troops commissioned and enlisted in this branch of the service from the time they were authorized to be enlisted until the close of the war was one hundred and eighty-six thousand and seventeen.^ Another "war bureau " whose labors were of great importance and magnitude during the rebellion was what for convenience sake may be called the bureau 'It is to be observed that the act (already cited) of July 17, 1862, authorizing the enlistment of colored men for work upon intrenchments, etc., had received a liberal construction. A con- siderable force of colored troops had been enlisted under it, serv- ing under the command of white officers detailed for the purpose. Colored troops had fought with heroism in South Carolina and at Milliken's Bend. Brigadier-General Lorenzo Thomas, adjutant- general of the army, spent several months of 1863 in supervising the organization of these troops in the South-west. In this labor he was enthusiastically aided by General Hugh T. Reid, of the volunteers, a man of genius and of noble impulses, since deceased. 'Report of Provost-Marshal-General Fry, 1866, p. 69. 30* X 354 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of military railroads. This branch of the service was peculiarly the creation in the beginning and peculiarly under the direction of the War Department through- out the war. It may almost be said that Secretary Stanton conducted it in person. Certainly he would not allow under any circumstances the least inter- ference with the management of the roads by officers, high or low, not connected therewith. This branch of the service was established by the following order : "War Department, "Washington City, D.C., February II, 1862. "Ordered That D. C. McCallum be, and he is hereby, appointed military director and superintendent of railroads in the United States, with authority to enter upon, take possession of, hold and use all railroads, engines, cars, locomotives, equipments, append- ages, and appurtenances, that may be required for the transport of troops, arms, ammunition, and military supplies of the United States, and to do and perform all acts and things that may be necessary and proper to be done for the safe knd speedy transport aforesaid. "By order of the President, commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States. " Edwin M. Stanton, "Secretary of War." The following is the conclusion of special orders number 337, issued from the War Department No- vember 10, of the same year: " Commanding officers of troops along the United States mili- tary railroads will give all facilities to the officers of the roads, and the quartermasters, for unloading cars so as to prevent any delay. On arrival at depots, whether in the day or night, the cars will be instantly unloaded, and working parties will always be in readiness for that duty, and sufficient to unload the whole train at once. " Commanding officers will be charged with guarding the track, MILITAR Y RAILS OADS. 355 sidings, wood, water-tanks, etc., within their several commands, and will be held responsible for the result. "Any military officer who shall neglect his duty in this respect will be reported by the quartermasters and officers of the railroad, and his name will be stricken from the rolls of the army. " Depots will be established at suitable points, under the direc- tion of the commanding general, and properly guarded. " No officer, whatever may be his rank, will interfere with the running of the cars as directed by the superintendent of the road. " Any one who so interferes will be dismissed from the service for disobedience of orders. " By order of the Secretary of War. " E. D. TOWNSEND, "Assistant Adjutant- General. ' ' These orders, which might to some appear tO be unnecessarily rigid, were simply just. The nature of the service upon the military railroads was pecu- liarly hazardous, and their successful management demanded great technical skill as well as administra- tive capacity. Several attempts made by army and de- partment commanders to operate railroads had been made and in all instances had resulted in signal fail- ure. Upon the success of the railroads in forward- ing supplies and transporting troops largely depended the success of our armies in the field. " I hazard nothing," says Colonel McCallum, in his general re- port of May 26, 1866, on the military railroads oper- ated during the war, " in saying, that should failure have taken place either in keeping the lines in repair, or in operating them. General Sherman's campaign, instead of proving, as it did^ a great success, would have resulted in disaster and defeat ; and the greater the army to supply, the more precarious its position. Since the end of the rebellion, I have been informed by railroad officers who were in the service of the 3S6 HISTORY of' THE WAR DEPARTMENT. enemy during the war, ' that they were less surprised at the success of General Sherman, In a military point of view, than they were at the rapidity with which railroad breaks were repaired, and the regularity with which trains were moved to the front ; ' and it was only when the method of operating was fully explained that it could be comprehended." ^ It was just and wise, therefore, to prevent all in- terference with the men of skill and experience who had these roads in charge. The first railroad operated by the government was that between Washington and Alexandria, Virginia, a distance of only seven miles. From the time of his appointment as military director and manager of railroads until the beginning of 1864, Colonel McCallum was engaged in the construction and operation of roads for the Army of the Potomac in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, in the last two States but for brief periods on occasion of their invasion by the Confederates. At one time or another during the course of the war, nearly all of the prin- cipal railroads of Virginia were operated, at least over part of their course by Colonel McCallum and the officers and men serving under him. Many miles of road were constructed and reconstructed, many bridges built and again rebuilt; for two or three times the principal roads built and operated in aid of the Army of the Potomac were destroyed by the enemy for great distances. In aid of General McClellan in the Peninsular campaign ; of General Pope in the second Bull Run campaign ; of General McClellan in the campaign of Antietam ; of Generals 'Page 35. MILITAR Y RAILR OADS. 357 Burnside and Hooker in the operations of the autumn, winter, and spring of 1862-63 ; of General Meade in the campaign of Gettysburgh ; the assistance of the government railroads was of the greatest value. The military railroad corps in the East being now thoroughly organized, drilled, and equipped, Colonel McCallum was ordered to the West near the close of the year 1863, and accordingly made headquarters for the time being at Nashville. Colonel McCallum found matters pertaining to the railroads in a lament- able situation. He was soon empowered with full authority over all railways in possession of the gov- ernment or that might from time to time be taken possession of by the military authorities in the de- partments of the Cumberland, the Ohio, the Ten- nessee, and of Arkansas, and immediately proceeded to organize a corps of experienced men and to in- augurate practical reforms and practical hard work in the important interest of which he had charge. The following communication from Secretary Stanton to " the manufacturers of locomotives in the United States "will indicate the vigorous measures that were in progress in the military railroad department in that part of the country where General Sherman was making ready for his grand campaign of the year : "War Department, " Washington City, March 23, 1864. "Gentlemen: Colonel Daniel McCallum, general manager of government railways in the Department of the Cumberland, of the Ohio, and of the Tennessee, has been authorized by this Depart- ment to procure locomotives without delay for the railways under his charge. " In order to meet the wants of the military departments of the government you will deliver to his order such engines as he may 358 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. direct, whether building under orders for other parties, or other- wise, the government -being accountable to you for the same. The urgent necessity of the government for the immediate supply of our armies operating in Tennessee renders the engines indispensa- ble for the equipment of the lines of communication, and it is hoped that this necessity will be recognized by you as a military necessity, paramount to all other considerations. "By order of the President. "Edwin M. Stanton, " Secretary of War." Colonel McCallum states that the requisitions of this order were met by all in a spirit of zealous patri- otism, and that many locomotives and large numbers of cars were delivered at Nashville in an unprece- dentedly short time. Hence he was able not only to keep General Sherman's army of about one hundred thousand men, with sixty thousand animals, constantly furnished with supplies, but also to rebuild the road leading to Atlanta about as rapidly as the army moved, and to repair several other roads in northern Alabama and Tennessee, of the greatest importance to military operations in that part of the country and to the citizens thereof The total number of miles of military road operated was two thousand one hundred and five not including those roads which were used temporarily by the army in case of emergency, as in Maryland in 1862 and in Pennsylvania in 1 863. The number of engines was four hundred and nineteen, and of cars six thousand three hundred and thirty. The greatest number of men employed at the same time during the war was twenty-four thousand nine hundred and sixty-four. "The difference between civil and military railroad service," says Colonel McCallum, "is marked and MILITARY RAILROADS. 359 decided. Not only were the men continually ex- posed to great danger from the regular forces of the enemy, guerillas, scouting-parties, etc., but, owing to the circumstances under which military railroads must be constructed and operated, what are con- sidered the ordinary risks upon civil railroads are vastly increased on military lines. The hardships, exposure, and perils to which train-men especially were subjected during the movements incident to an active campaign, were much greater than that en- dured by any other class of civil employes of the government — equalled only by that of the soldier, while engaged in a raid into the enemy's country. It was by no means unusual for men to be out with their trains from five to ten days, without sleep, except what could be snatched upon their engines and cars while the same were standing to be loaded or unloaded, with but scanty food or perhaps no food at all for days together while continually occupied in a manner to keep every faculty strained to its utmost. Many incidents during the war, but more especially during the Atlanta campaign, exhibited a fortitude, endurance, and self-devotion on the part of these men not exceeded in any branch of the service." ^ ' Col. McCallum's Report on the Mil. R. R's. of the U. S., 35, printed in Appendix pt. 2, to vol. IV., Ex. Doc. H. R. XXXIX Cong. 1st sess., 1865-66. I am indebted to this interesting re- port for the main facts in the above narrative, and to Col. L. P. Wright, of Chicago, sojourning at the Capital — who was for a considerable period superintendent of long routes in Tennessee — for other interesting statements. The rapidity with which rail- roads were repaired when destroyed by the enemy was remark- able. Thus, in the autumn of 1864 Hood utterly destroyed 25 miles of road from Resaca northward. He had destroyed 10 360 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. During the months of August and September 1865 all the military railroads in the United States were delivered up to their owners respectively or to the States in which they were located. There had been expended in their construction, operation, roll- ing-stock, etc., the sum of 142,462,142.55. The sale of the property on hand, and the moneys which had been received from private parties for transportation amounted to $12,623,965.83, making their net cost to the government 129,838,176.72. An act of Congress of the 31st of January 1862 authorized the President when in his judgment the public safety might require it " to take possession of any or all the telegraph lines in the United States, their offices and appurtenances." As this law would only be put in execution for war purposes, it placed the entire telegraphic system of the country at the command of the Secretary of War. But from the beginning of the war telegraph lines had been con- structed by the army as it advanced against the enemy or into portions of the country where there were no telegraphs. For the construction of these military telegraphic lines, their repair and operation, large sums of money were annually voted by Con- gress. The War Department thus came to be di- rectly connected by one or more wires with every considerable army in the field. The largest apart- ment in the Department building — the apartment used for the Library after the war and till the destruction of the old building — was used as the telegraph office. It was well crowded with instru- miles farther south. On the eighth day trains were running as usual. Col. Wright relates many interesting incidents of the kind. MILITARY TELEGRAPHS. 36 1 ments, and there was no time, day, night, or Sunday, in which some of the operators were not required to be present, the night corps, however, not being so large as that for the labors of the day. In this apartment President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton spent no little time almost daily and nightly during the years of their intimate personal and offi- cial relations, dictating dispatches to different com- manders at the theatre of war or receiving news directly from them. Thus, by the aid of the benefi- cent invention of Morse, the President and Secretary were constantly about as well informed with respect to the situation of all the Union forces in the field as if they had been individually present among them. Thus it was that reinforcements and supplies could always be furnished wherever needed with a prompt- itude never before known in military operations. After Lieutenant-General Grant assumed direct com- mand of the Army of the Potomac and general com- mand of all the armies of the United States, he daily received all the intelligence received at the War Department, and thus he, too, all the time had a perfect knowledge of the whole situation. Constant and full communications were also sent to General Sherman except when he was beyond the reach of the telegraph. And to these two illustrious states- men and these two illustrious captains the country is very largely indebted that the Union was not de- stroyed.^ The matter of the exchange of prisoners was at 'The number of miles of military telegraph constructed during the war was 15,389, with a total expenditure for constructing and operating of ^3,219,400. 31 362 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. different times the source of great trouble and annoy- ance to the Secretary of War, not only, but to Pres- ident Lincoln, whose wonderfully kind-hearted nature was constantly pained by a knowledge of the suffer- ings of our captive soldiers in the prisons of Rich- mond, Andersonville, Salisbury, and elsewhere. By general orders of the War Department, of Septem- ber 25, 1862, the general cartel for the exchange of prisoners which had been agreed upon was published, as follows: "War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, " Washington, September 25, 1862. " The following is the cartel under which prisoners are ex- changed in the existing war with the Southern States : "Haxall's Landing on James River, Va., July 22, 1862. "The undersigned, having been commissioned by the authorities they respectively represent to make arrangements for a general exchange of prisoners of war, have agreed to the following ar- ticles : "Article i. It is hereby agreed and stipulated that all prisoners of war held by either party, including those taken on private armed vessels known as privateers, shall be discharged upon the conditions and terms following : " Prisoners to be exchanged man for man and officer for officer ; privateers to be placed upon the footing of officers and men of the navy. " Men and officers of lower grades may be exchanged for officers of a higher grade, and men and officers of different services may be exchanged according to the following scale of equivalents: "A general commanding in chief or an admiral shall be ex- changed for officers of equal rank or for sixty privates or common seamen. "A flag officer or major-general shall be exchanged for officers of equal rank or for forty privates or common seamen. "A commodore carrying a broad pennant or a brigadier-general shall be exchanged for officers of equal rank or twenty privates or common seamen. EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS OF WAR. 363 "A captain in the navy or a colonel shall be exchanged for offi- cers of equal rank or for fifteen privates or common seamen. " A lieutenant-colonel or a commander in the navy shall be ex- changed for officers of equal rank or for ten privates or common seamen. " A lieutenant-commander or a major shall be exchanged for of- ficers of equal rank or for eight privates or common seamen. " A lieutenant or a master in the navy or a captain in the army or marines shall be exchanged for officers of equal rank or six privates or common seamen. " Master's mates in the navy or lieutenants and ensigns in the army shall be exchanged for officers of equal rank or four privates or common seamen. " Midshipmen, warrant officers in the navy, masters of merchant vessels, commanders of privateers, shall be exchanged for officers of equal rank or three privates or common seamen. " Second captains, lieutenants, or mates, of merchant vessels or privateers, and all petty officers in the navy and all non-commis- sioned officers in the army or marines, shall be severally exchanged for persons of equal rank or for two privates or common seamen ; and private soldiers or common seamen shall be exchanged for each other man for man. " Article 2. Local, State, civil, and militia rank held by persons not in actual military service will not be recognized, the basis of exchange being the grade actually held in the naval and military service of the respective parties. " Article 3. If citizens held by either party on charges of dis- loyalty or any alleged civil offence are exchanged, it shall only be for citizens. Captured sutlers, teamsters, and all civilians in the actual service of either party, to be exchanged for persons in simi- lar position. "Article 4. All prisoners of war to be discharged on parole in ten days after their capture and the prisoners now held and those hereafter taken to be transported to the points mutually agreed upon, at the expense of the capturing party. The surplus prison- ers not exchanged shall not be permitted to take up arms again, nor to serve as military police or constabulary force in any fort, garrison or field-work held by either of the respective parties, nor as guards of prisons, depots, or stores, nor to discharge any duty usually performed by soldiers, until exchanged under the pro- 364 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. visions of this' cartel. The exchange is not to be considerei com- plete until the officer or soldier exchanged for has been actually restored to the lines to which he belongs. "Article 5. Each party, upon the discharge of prisoners of the other party, is authorized to discharge an equal number of their own officers and men from parole, furnishing at the same time to the other party a list of their prisoners discharged and of their own officers and men relieved from parole ; thus enabling each party to relieve from parole such of their own officers and men as the party may choose. The lists thus mutually furnished will keep both parties advised of the true condition of the ex- change of prisoners. "Article 6. The stipulations and provisions above mentioned to be of binding obligation during the continuance of the war, it matters not which party may have the surplus of prisoners, the great principles involved being, 1st. An equitable exchange of prisoners, nw.n for man, officer for officer, or officers of higher grade exchanged for officers of lower grade, or for privates ac- cording to the scale of equivalents ; 2d. That privateers and officers and men of different services may be exchanged according to the same scale of equivalents ; 3d. That all prisoners, of whatever arm of service, are to be exchanged or paroled in ten days from the time of their capture, if it be practicable to transfer them to their own lines in that time ; if not, as soon thereafter as prac- ticable ; 4th. That no officer, soldier, or employe in the service of either party is to be considered as exchanged and absolved from his parole until his equivalent has actually reached the lines of his friends ; 5th. That the parole forbids the performance of field, garrison, police, or guard, or constabulary duty. "John A. Dix, Major- General. "D. H. Hill, Major- General, C. S. A. SUPPLEMENTAR Y AR TICLES. "Article 7. All prisoners of war now held on either side, and all prisoners hereafter taken, shall be sent with all reasonable de- spatch to A. M. Aikens's, below Dutch Gap, on the James River, Virginia, or to Vicksburgh, on the Mississippi River, in the State of Mississippi, and there exchanged or paroled until such ex- change can be effected, notice being previously given by each party of the number of prisoners it will send, and the time when EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS OF WAR. 365 they will be delivered at those points respectively ; and in case the vicissitudes of war shall change the military relations of the places designated in this article to the contending parties so as to render the same inconvenient for the delivery and exchange of prisoners, other places, bearing as nearly as may be the present local relations of said places to the lines of said parties, shall be by mutual agreement substituted. But nothing in this article contained shall prevent the commanders of two opposing armies from exchanging prisoners or releasing them on parole at other points mutually agreed on by said commanders. "Article 8. For the purpose of carrying into effect the fore- going articles of agreement, each party will appoint two agents, to be called agents for the exchange of prisoners of war, whose duty it shall be to communicate with each other, by correspond- ence or otherwise, to prepare the lists of prisoners, to attend to the delivery of the prisoners at the places agreed on, and to carry out promptly, effectually, and in good faith all the details and provisions of the said articles of agreement. "Article 9. And in case any misunderstanding shall arise in regard to any clause or stipulation in the foregoing articles, it is mutually agreed that such misunderstanding shall not interrupt the release of prisoners on parole, as herein provided, but shall be made the subject of friendly explanations, in order that the object of this agreement may neither be defeated nor postponed. "John A. Dix, Major- General. "D. H. Hill, Major- General, C. S. A. " By order of the Secretary of War : "L. Thomas, Adjutant- General." Upon the just and equitable principle of this cartel of the exchange of man for man and officer for officer, exchanges proceeded as rapidly as was prac- ticable notwithstanding the advantage was with the Confederates. This grew out of the fact that the prisoners of war in the hands of the Unionists, having been well fed and comfortably clothed and quartered were able to enter service immediately after their exchange ; whereas very many of the 3, » 366 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. prisoners held by the Confederates, having been ill fed, ill quartered, and ill clothed, were in a situation entirely unfit for service. There are few more heart- rending scenes in all history than were those of the return of different bodies, in very considerable num- bers, of our Union soldiers who had been confined in Confederate prisons. This practical inequality, notwithstanding the theoretical justice of the cartel, at one time caused General Grant to order all ex- changes peremptorily stopped, as being neither less nor more than a reenfqrcement of the enemy. In 1863, a very serious difificulty arose as to non- combatants held by us as prisoners on account of the war, the Confederates demanding that they all be unconditionally delivered up, and that the Union- ists enter into an agreement to make no more such arrests ! ^ Major-General E. A. Hitchcock, Union commissioner of exchange, remarked that the effect of this would be to relieve all citizens engaged in treason and rebellion from all proceedings, as if no treason had been or could be committed, and refused the demand. The trouble was finally settled by the Confederates quietly yielding their demand. There came near being a more serious difficulty on the subject of the exchange of colored troops, the Confederates undertaking to discriminate against them. General Grant settled this matter in a very soldier-like way, saying : " No distinction whatever will be made in the exchange between white and col- ored prisoners ; the only question being were they, ' See note of R. Ould, Confederate agent of exchange of pris- oners, of May 22, 1863, to Col. Ludlow, Union agent. Rep. Sec'y of War, 1865, p. 1089. THE ARMY DURING THE REBELLION. 367 at the time of their capture, in the military service of the United States. If they were, the same terms as to treatment while prisoners, and conditions of release and exchange must be exacted and had in the case of colored soldiers as in the case of white soldiers."^ After this there was no serious debate on the subject of exchange. These particular notices of the labors of the De- partment through the office of the provost-marshal- general, with respect to colored troops, military railroads, military telegraphs, and the exchange of prisoners of war, have been made because these services were in a peculiar manner under the direct supervision of the Secretary of War. As for the military railroads, Secretary Stanton brooked no interference with them whatever except his own. If one will considerately reflect upon the great amount of labor and the great results included in these branches of the service, so especially under the supervision of the War Department proper, and con- nect them with the vast labors of the regular bureaux of the Department, and with the stupendous military operations of the war of which the merest outline has been given in this chapter, over all of which the Secretary of War had responsible administrative supervision one may have a correct notion of the immense and varied services which the Department of War rendered to the country during the war of the rebellion. The aggregate strength of the army, regulars and volunteers, at different times during the war was as follows : ' See the Doc. last cited, p. 1093. 368 BISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. July I, 1861 186,751 January i, 1862 575>9i7 March 31, 1862 637,126 January i, 1863 918,191 January i, 1864 860,737 January i, 1865 9S9>46o March 31, 1865 ■980,086 May I, 1865' . 1,000,516 This last number, increased considerably by re- cruits received after May i, less the officers and men of the regular army, was the number to be disbanded after the close of the war. The labor of mustering out this great number of troops began in the latter part of May, 1865, and was mainly completed before the close of the year, very largely by midsummer. The disturbed or threatening situation of a number of localities in the South required the presence of a considerable military force for several months after the end of actual hostilities. By about the first of October troops to the number of eight hundred thousand nine hundred an^ sixty-three had been mustered out, paid off, and disbanded. The work proceeded with vigor, and on' January 20, 1866, nine hundred and eighteen thousand seven hundred and twenty-two volunteers had been mustered out ; March 10, nine hundred and sixty-seven thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven ; June 30, one million ten thousand six hundred and seventy; November i, one million twenty-three thousand and twenty-one ; leaving in the service at that date eleven thousand ' The table is given in the final report of the provost-marshal- general (p. 102), as compiled by the adjutant-general of the army after a thorough revision of his records. END OF THE REBELLION. 369 and forty-three volunteers, white and colored.^ It thus would appear that at the close of recruitments and the stopping of the draft in May 1865 there must have been on the muster-rolls of the army one million thirty-four thousand and sixty-four (1,034,064) volunteers. • About contemporaneously with the beginning of the disbandment of the volunteers began also the reduction of the different branches of the military establishment generally and a comprehensive curtail- ment of military expenditures. On April 28, Secre- tary Stanton issued a general order "for reducing expenses of the military establishment," in which the chiefs of the different bureaux were required to im- mediately reduce their expenses substantially to a peace basis ; stopping the purchase of supplies and animals ; discharging all ocean and river transports, except such as were necessary for the transportation of troops on their way to mustering-out rendezvous ; stopping all work on field fortifications and the pur- chase of any arms whatever ; discharging prisoners of war. This nervous order was vigorously carried out, and in a very short time all the staff departments had placed themselves on the basis of a peace estab- lishment. And thus closed, as to the conflict of arms, the first war of rebellion in the United States. The triumph of the Union arms was complete and glorious. Most unhappily the spirit of rebellion was not conquered. It is again abroad in the land, an impending peril to the republic which every intelligent patriot and states- man must view with profoundest concern. 'Rep. Sec'y of War, 1866, p. i. Y 37° HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. At the close of the war, the regular army as authorized by law, consisted of six regiments of cavalry, each of twelve companies ; five regiments of artillery, twelve companies each ; ten regiments of infantry, each of one battalion of ten companies, and nine regiments of infantry, each of three battal- ions of eight companies ; thus making of all branches four hundred and forty-eight companies. The calls for great numbers of volunteers so frequently during the war prevented the regular army from being fully recruited, and when hostilities ceased there were one hundred and fifty- three companies not organized. On the disbanding of the volunteers these were rapidly filled, and the army brought up to the maxi- mum. By act of Congress of July 28, 1866, the organization of the army was fixed as follows : Ten regiments of cavalry, each composed of twelve companies ; five regiments of artillery, each of twelve companies ; forty-five regiments of infantry, each of ten companies ; making six hundred and thirty com- panies in all. The strength of the companies as authorized by the law was a minimum of fifty pri- vates, which in the discretion of the President might be increased to a maximum of one hundred privates in the infantry and cavalry and of one hundred and twenty-two in the artillery. On the minimum scale the army would have contained thirty-six thousand fi,ve hundred privates, on the maximum basis, sixty- four thousand three hundred and twenty. By orders, the War Department made sixty-four privates the standard for all companies, except the ten batteries of light artillery which had the maximum number ; and this made the strength of the army, the com- REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. 37 1 panics being filled to the standard, fifty-four t'nousand three hundred and two, rank and file. As a matter of fact the strength of the army, rank and file, Sep- tember 30, 1866, was thirty-eight thousand five hun- dred and forty men, with enlistments proceeding quite rapidly. ^ It should be observed that of the army as organized under the act of July 28, 1866, four regi- ments of infantry were to be composed of officers and men who had been wounded in the service — " the Veteran Reserve corps." Two regiments of cavalry and four of infantry were composed of col- ored men. To the army appropriation bill passed March 3, 1869, was attached this clause: "There shall be no new commissions, no promotions, and no enlistments in any infantry regiment until the total number of infantry regiments is reduced to twenty-five, and the Secretary of War is hereby directed to consolidate the infantry regiments as rapidly as the requirements of the public service and the reduction of the number of officers will permit." Commenting upon the man- ner of executing this provision of the law. General Sherman, in his annual report of the year says : " By the same act the period for enlistments was changed from three to five years, but at that date all the enlisted men of infantry were in for three years, beginning mostly in 1866 and 1867. The Secretary of War, General Schofield, with whom by law the dis- cretion rested, saw at once that, were he to wait for the number of officers to diminish to the standard of twenty-five regiments by the slow process of death and resignation, all the enlisted men would be discharged by the expiration of their terras of service, and we would be compelled to abandon many of the forts in the Indian country. He therefore very wisely resolved to make the ' Rep. of the Adj. -Gen. of the army for 1866, p. 2. 372 HISTORY OF TBE WAR DEPARTMENT. - consolidation at once, so that new enlistments could be made to replace the men discharged by expiration of their terms of enlist- ment. His orders prescribing the mode and manner of consoli- dation were made on the loth of March, and have been carried into effect as fast as possible considering the scattered condition of the troops. The colonels and field officers were chosen here, and announced in general orders from these headquarters. The captains and lieutenants were selected by the commanding general of the departments in which the new regiments were to serve. As a general rule, all other things being equal, the senior of each grade was retained, provided he was deemed qualified and was actually present for duty. The recruiting service was resumed on the 28th of April, and has supplied about a thousand recruits a month, barely enough to replace discharges in the more exposed garrisons of the Indian country. The consolidation has thus been effected at as little cost as possible, and on principles as fair and just as the case admitted." Such, as affected by this consolidation, continues to be the organization of the army up to the present year 1879, namely: twenty-five regiments of infantry, ten of cavalry, and five of artillery. The general officers of the army consist of the general of the army, William T. Sherman ; a lieutenant-general, Philip H. Sheridan ; three major-generals, Winfield S. Hancock, John M. Schofield, Irvin McDowell ; six brigadier-generals, John Pope, O. O. Howard, Alfred H. Terry, E. O. C. Ord, C. C. Augur, George Crook. Several investigations have been set on foot by Con- gress since the present organization of the army with the object of learning whether its reduction, as well as that of the staff departments, were advisable. The result thus far is that the organization of the entire miUtary establishment remains substantially the same, and that the weight of opinion among our most intelligent statesmen and legislators is THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU. 373 against any reduction of the army or of the staff departments. In addition to the labors devolved upon the War Department after the war by the disbandment of the volunteers and the reorganization of the regu- lar army were those pertaining to a new bureau created by Congress by act approved March 3, 1865, and called the "bureau of freedmen, refugees, and abandoned lands," but popularly known as "the freedmen's bureau." The object contemplated in the establishment of this bureau was to supply the immediate necessities of those whose condition had been changed by the war, or were driven from their homes by the pressure of armed conflict, or the des- potism of the rebellion.^ Its aid was designed for the needy of both races, white and black, and its duty to administer aid as well from the government as from charitable individuals and associations. The bureau was organized by the assignment of General O. O. Howard to duty as commissioner, and of a number of officers of the army as his assistants and as agents of the bureau in the South. The jurisdic- tion of assistant commissioners coincided generally with department and district commands, throughout the South, there being also many agents and teach- ers of the bureau engaged in carrying out its benefi- cent objects. In the year 1866 more than one hun- dred and fifty thousand freedmen and their children regularly attended the schools established by the bureau. Schools for refugee white children were also organized and were in not a few instances highly successful. Great numbers of destitute persons were 'Rep. of Sec'y of War Stanton, 1865, p. 46. 374 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. helped to procure situations where they could earn a hveHhood, or with the same object were put to work on the abandoned lands in the control of the bureau. Large contributions to the bureau were made by the charitable, and a number of normal schools, colleges, and universities were established. In the perform- ance of such beneficent services as these, the bureau continued until about the beginning of the year 1870. Nearly all of the Southern States having been sup- plied with reconstructed governments by this time, and the executive and legislative departments of the federal government being in the control of the friends of the freedmen, it was thought their interests might be left to the local authorities. This was accordingly done ; but the bureau, greatly reduced in force, con- tinued for some time to exercise supervision over the educational interests of the freedmen, and to gratuitously collect such just claims as they had against the government. The beneficiaries of the Freedmen's Bureau dur- ing its entire history were numbered by the million — men, women, and children, white as well as black. From the beginning it was assailed with peculiar virulence by the classes who look with hostile eyes upon all attempts to elevate an unfortunate and degraded people. Later, it was assailed by many reputable persons on account of certain alleged irregularities and peculations. Still later, it received quite general condemnation on account of the failure of the " Freedmen's Bank," with which great num- bers of freedmen throughout a wide extent of country had deposited their savings. That there were gross irregularities and culpable carelessness and misman- SECRETARY STANTON AND PRESIDENT JOHNSON. 375 agement on the part of some connected with the bureau may be admitted ; but a long and searching investigation into the affairs of the bureau placed the honesty and efficiency of its general manage- ment beyond dispute, and thoroughly vindicated the personal and official integrity of General Howard. As for the failure of the Freedmen's Bank, it was one of the lamentable financial misfortunes of the time, the management being no more blameworthy, perhaps, than were some of the greatest houses in the land which nevertheless went down in utter ruin before the financial storm of 1873. The evil which the Freedmen's Bureau did, or rather which some of its unworthy servants did was inconsiderable when fcompared with the great benefits it conferred upon its millions of beneficiaries, the good influence of which will not cease to exert itself upon the present and coming generations of colored people in America. It was Secretary Stanton's hearty approval of the policy embodied in the act establishing the freed- men's bureau which brought about the first serious estrangement between himself and President John- son. When the President in 1867 energetically op- posed and vetoed the reconstruction measures of Congress, that estrangement became complete, be- coming on the President's part an implacable, almost ferocious hatred. It was in August of that year that the President removed the Secretary and appointed General Grant Secretary of War ad interim. Gen- eral Grant solemnly protested against the removal and accepted the office with avowed reluctance and as a duty to the country in this crisis of its affairs which he could not in good conscience avoid. The 376 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. events which followed belong to the general history of the country. Let it suffice here to state that the President found in General Grant a no more pliant instrument of his dominating will than the iron Sec- retary. Especially did he manifest his opposition to the removal of three of the district commanders of the South, serving under the provisions of the recon- struction acts of Congress, namely. Generals Sher- idan, Pope, and Sickles. Orally and in writing Gen- eral Grant opposed this act with warm-hearted zeal and with unanswerable argument. Never consenting to it, he acquiesced in it with a profound and greater than personal sorrow. Meantime political events proceeded in the turbulent manner of the excited period, and General Grant administered the affairs of the War Department with quiet efficiency, going on with the economical measures which had been instituted by Mr. Stanton, and instituting others him- self The astute politicians, some of them utterly unscrupulous, who had the ear of the President very soon learned that the insurmountable obstacle to the success of their machinations was the silent man in the War Office. On the meeting of Congress in December the action of the President In the removal of Secretary Stanton was discussed and was declared to be unwarranted, and he was accordingly reinstated in January 1868. In February, Brigadier-General Lorenzo Thomas, adjutant-general of the army, was designated by the President as Secretary of War ad interim. The Senate being in session Secretary Stanton declined to give up the office. There was a world of military precision in General Thomas, and he undoubtedly OFFICIAL REGISTER OF VOLUNTEERS. "i^TJ held Secretary Stanton in great respect and awe. Hence he would march up to the Secretary's apart- ments every morning, and being bowed in by the messengers, would salute the Secretary, whereupon the Secretary with a few pleasant remarks about the weather would bow him out as politely ks he had been ushered in. This entertaining ceremony was kept up for several days. On one morning, the messenger at the outer door declined to admit the General, saying) " The orders is to receive no one ; the Secretary is engaged very particular." And this was the last of General Thomas as " Secretary of War ad interim!'^ The impeachment of President Johnson failing in the Senate, Secretary Stanton resigned in the following May. An interesting professional labor of the Depart- ment which followed the war was the preparation and publication by the adjutant-general of an "Official Army Register of the Volunteer Force of the United States Army for the years 1861, '62, '63, '64, and '65." This register contains full rosters of the officers of all the regiments, battalions, batteries, independent companies and corps of all kinds which were mus- tered into the service of the Union from all the States and Territories during the conflict of arms. One may hence get a pretty correct idea of the magnitude of that conflict ; for this " mere muster-roll of names " makes eight octavo volumes printed in small types. The lists of battles in which the different organiza- tions bore honorable part are also generally given. The work is invaluable to the future historian of the 'I do begin to perceive that I am made an ass. — Falstaff, in " Merry Wives of Windsor." 32* 378 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. war, and as showing the proportionate military force contributed to the army by the different States and Territories. After the Mexican war, General Scott conceived the idea of devoting a large sum of money which he had levied upon the Mexicans during the war, to the establishment of an institution where aged and disabled soldiers of the United States army might find the comforts of a home during the remainder of their lives. Congress approved this benevolent design and the result was the establishment of the " Soldiers' National Home " near the city of Wash- ington. It consists of a number of tasteful build- ings appropriate to the purpose, a small church, a residence for the superintendent, and one for the summer residence of the President. There is an extensive garden, and considerable land is devoted to farming purposes. The premises include several hundred acres and form one of the most attractive public parks in the country, its fine drives, beau- tiful scenery of forest and lawn, and flower-gardens, and the magnificent views had therefrom making it one of the most popular places of resort which the national capital affords, and giving the soldiers a home whereat they may well be contented and happy. After the war of the rebellion a like benevolent policy was adopted with respect to disabled volun- teers who had served in that war. By acts of Con- gress passed in 1865 and 1866 "asylums" for dis- abled volunteers were established at Point Lookout, Virginia, and near Dayton, Ohio. They are each beautiful and healthful places, having ample accom- SOLDIERS' HOMES. 379 modations as to buildings, and liberal share of grounds which are constantly being made more and more beautiful by the labors of the soldiers. These institutions are liberally supported by gov- ernment from funds set apart for that purpose. By an act of Congress of February 28, 1871, soldiers of the war of 181 2 and of the war with Mexico were entitled tQ receive the privileges of these institutions. In January 1873, Congress changed the name in each of the institutions from " asylum " to the more appro- priate and cheerful name of " home." For such in reality they are — homes provided by a benignant government for large families of men who deserve well of their country. At each of these homes large numbers of men are clothed, subsisted, and given all those comforts which are evermore associated with our ideas of a home. Not satisfied with caring for the disabled of the war the government also provided for the care of the honored dead. By an act of Congress approved July 17, 1862, the President was authorized to pur- chase cemetery grounds and cause them to be se- curely enclosed, to be used as a national cemetery for the soldiers who shall die in the service of the country. A joint resolution of Congress of April 13, 1866, was adopted as follows : "That the Secretary ofWar be, and he is hereby, authorized and required to take immediate measures to preserve from dese- cration the graves of the soldiers of the United States who fell in battle or died of disease in the field and in hospital during the war of the rebellion ; to secure suitable burial-places in which they may be properly interred, and to have the grounds inclosed, so that the resting-places of the honored dead may be kept sacred forever." 380 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. An act of February 22, 1867, provided: " That in the arrangement of the national cemeteries estab- lished for the burial of deceased soldiers and sailors, the Secretary of War is hereby directed to have the same inclosed with a good and substantial stone or iron fence ; and to cause each grave to be marked with a small head-stone, or block, with the number of the grave inscribed thereon, corresponding with the number op- posite to the name of the party, in a register of burials to be kept at each cemetery and at the office of the quartermaster-gen- eral, which shall set forth the name, rank, company, regiment, and date of death of the officer or soldier; or if unknown, it shall be so recorded. "That the Secretary of War is hereby directed to cause to be erected at the principal entrance of each of the national ceme- teries aforesaid a suitable building to be occupied as a porter's lodge ; and it shall be his duty to appoint a meritorious and trustworthy superintendent, who shall be selected from enlisted men of the army disabled in service, * * * ^q reside therfiin, for the purpose of guarding and protecting the cemetery, and giving information to parties visiting the same." Under these authorities of the national legislature, many tracts of land for national cemeteries were bought, enclosed, and prepared for the sacred pur- pose contemplated by Congress. Later acts author- ized the placing of larger blocks and slabs of granite or marble as head-stones for the grave each to con- tain an inscription giving the name of the dead, his rank, regiment, or corps with the date and manner of his death. Where these facts are unknown, the simple word " unknown " is engraved upon the stone. There are now in different parts of the United States about eighty national cemeteries, containing about three hundred and fifty thousand graves. Some of these cemeteries are very extensive. Thus, NATIONAL CEMETERIES. 38 1 those at Arlington, Vicksburgh, and Nashville, con- tain each more than sixteen thousand graves ; that at Fredericksburgh more than fifteen thousand ; Mem- phis, about fourteen thousand ; Andersonville, thirteen thousand seven hundred and seventeen ; Salisbury, North Carolina, and Chalmette, Louisiana, more than twelve thousand each; Chattanooga, about thirteen thousand ; while the cemeteries on famous battle- fields, as Antietam, Gettsyburgh, Seven Pines, Stone River, and others, contain the remains of from two thousand to six thousand soldiers. Nearly all of these cemeteries, whether large or small, are places of surpassing beauty ; some of them such originally, others made so by labor and art. Section 4876 of the Revised' Statutes provided that : " The Secretary of War shall detail some officer of the army, not under the rank of major, to visit annually all of the national cemeteries, and to inspect and report to him the condition of the same, and the amount of money necessary to protect them, to sod the graves, gravel and grade the walks and avenues, and to keep the grounds in complete order ; and the Secretary shall transmit such report to Congress at the commencement of each session, together with an estimate of the appropriation necessary for that purpose. ' ' Under this law Secretary Belknap detailed Lieu- tenant-Colonel Oscar A. Mack of the Twenty-first Infantry, as inspector of national cemeteries. In 1874 Colonel Mack made a personal inspection of all the cemeteries, from Maine to Texas, and made known their condition in an elaborate report. His judgment and taste did much to increase the beauty of these honored national bivouacs of the dead. In July 1876, the law creating the office of inspector of national 382 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. cemeteries was repealed and they were placed under the charge of the quartermaster-general.^ General Meigs, having a thorough knowledge of arboriculture, has directed many improvements as to the adornment of the cemeteries with trees and shrubbery. Their drives and walks are required to be kept constantly in good condition. It is not too much to say that the national cemeteries are to the American people a just source of national pride. For a considerable period, Lieutenant-Colonel A. F. Rockwell, quartermaster, has had the immediate supervision of the cemeteries, and has directed great labors therein particularly with reference to placing the new blocks and slabs. In concluding his regular report for 1876; Colonel Rockwell made a most sen- sible suggestion, namely : " In connection with this subject, I desire to call attention to the fact that, thus far, no provision has been made for erecting headstones at the graves of soldiers interred in other than national military cemeteries. In many cities and towns in the Northern and Western States are what are called soldiers' lots — a portion of a private or incorporated cemetery set apart for the burial of soldiers who died during or since the war. The graves were marked soon after the close of the war by the government with head-boards similar to those provided for the national cemeteries. These head-boards have, of course, decayed, and there being no authority under the law, as it now exists, for replacing them with permanent head-stones, there is some danger that the identity of the graves will be lost unless either the head-boards are renewed — which would only be a temporary expedient, and an expensive one — or head -stones are furnished similar to those erected in the ' Lieutenant-Colonel Mack, while on a tour of inspection in the early summer of 1875, '^^ taken suddenly ill and died at some town in Missouri. He was a gallant soldier, and a gentleman of amiable dispositions and lofty character. NATIONAL CEMETERIES. 383 national cemeteries. It is estimated that there are about seventeen thousand graves to be provided with these head-stones, and the numerous applications which the Department has received, asking that they be furnished, indicate that there is a very general desire on the part of those interested in the matter that the graves of the soldiers interred in these incorporated and village cemeteries should receive the same attention from the government as is be- stowed on those in the national cemeteries. ' ' This suggestion was adopted by Congress, and in accordance with a law thereof of February 3, 1879, the graves of all soldiers in other than national cemeteries, will have appropriate head-stones before the beginning of 1880. While this work is passing through the press, the old War Department building is being torn down. It is gratifying to know it will be in part permanently preserved. The portico has been dedicated to Arl- ington National Cemetery. Four of the pillars will be used, precisely as they stood for some sixty years in the old building, at the principal entrance to the cemetery. In like manner the other two will stand at the secondary entrance. Thus the old building will in an appropriate manner have its memory pre- served, and, let us hope, forever. The recent history of the Department may be briefly related. The event of greatest general in- terest connected therewith was the impeachment of ex-Secretary Belknap. But as at the time, he had retired from the Department, I shall reserve what I have to say on that subject till I come to relate the events of his life, in the second part of this work. The removal of the troops from New Orleans, Loui- siana, and Columbia, South Carolina, in the early summer of 1877 was done in accordance with the 384 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. general policy of President Hayes's administration rather than as an act of the War Department. Later in that same year, events of the most exciting and alarming nature occurred. Beginning at Baltimore, Maryland, and Martinsburgh, West Virginia, large numbers of railroad employes struck against a pro- posed reduction of wages, and their course was speedily followed by others in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The strikers forcibly prevented others from taking their places, and in consequence great and bloody riots occurred. The governor of Maryland called upon the President for United States troops, and a similar call was very soon made by the governor of West Virginia, and this was followed by a call from the governor of Pennsylvania. Mean- while the destruction of life had been considerable and of property immense. The President promptly responded to the calls, and in an incredibly short time the War Department had placed at each of the principal points of danger a considerable military force. Wherever the United States troops appeared, the rioters instantly began to grow quiet and to disperse ; and it was not long until uprisings which had threatened the country with universal plunder were perfectly allayed, and quiet restored. All this was done by the simple presence of the United States troops. Not a gun was fired nor a sword drawn. In the following year a calamity occurred of a very different nature — the prevalence of the yellow fever to an unprecedented extent in the valley of the Southern Mississippi. The War Department was speedily called upon for aid. There was no express PROGRMSS IN SIGNAL SERVICE. 385 law authorizing the Department to render assistance in such case. Neither was there a law against it. Secretary McCrary therefore decided the case on the law of humanity, and forthwith authorized the issuing of tents, blankets, and rations in aid of the sufferers. Requisitions of the kind kept pouring in from the authorities of the afflicted cities and towns, and their justice being established, they were promptly filled by Mr. McCrary's orders. The amount of good thus accomplished by the Department was beyond calculation great. Ever since he has had charge of the War Office, Secretary McCrary has manifested a warm interest in the Signal Bureau, using his endeavors to have its great usefulness extended in our own country and others. They have been so far successful during the current year 1879, that the connections of the bureau with similar institutions abroad have been so greatly increased that the Signal Office can daily present an accurate weather chart of the whole civilized world. That this constant scientific intercourse between the nations will be of beneficent influence in the interest of universal peace and civilization there can be no doubt. 33 z PART II. LIVES OF THE SECRETARIES. 387 HISTORY OF THE War Department. Part II. LIVES OF THE SECRETARIES. GENERAL HENRY KNOX, FIRST SECRETARY OF WAR. THE first Secretary of War under the Constitution of the United States was Major-General Henry- Knox of Massachusetts. He had also 'occupied that office for several years under the government of the Confederation. He was of Scotch-Irish blood, on his father's side, and was born in Boston, July 25, 1750, in a house which is still standing — or was a very few years ago — on Sea street opposite the head of Drake's wharf About the time he had completed his grammar-school course his father died, and the support of his widowed mother and younger brother devolved upon him. Happily, he procured an advantageous situation with Messrs. Wharton & Bowes, leading booksellers of Boston ; advantageous because his salary more than sufficed for the support of the family and because the position gave him op- 33* 389 390 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. portunities of reading and study of incalculable value to his active and vigorous mind. He was a great and rapid reader and a careful thinker on what he read, so that for intellectual discipline the humble position of a bookseller's clerk was almost tantamount to a regular collegiate course. He was afterwards gener- ally accounted one of the best informed men in the country, and the first two Presidents of the republic very often sought knowledge of him particularly with regard to military affairs. While a clerk in a book- store young Knox acquired a pretty thorough knowl- edge of the French language and literature and of the Greek and Latin classics through translations. It is also to be noted that he paid especial attention to military studies and early in life became fully and accurately informed in the theory of the art of war. That way lay his genius. Knox was of a robust frame, always in vigorous health, and bore a prominent part in the athletic sports and out-door exercises of the time. Several instances of his uncommon physical strength are related. On reaching his legal majority, Knox entered into the business which he now so well understood on his own account. In the "Gazette" of July 29, i77i,.is this advertisement : " This day is opened a new Lon- don Bookstore by Henry Knox, opposite Williams' Court in Cornhill, Boston, who has just imported in the last ships from London a large and very elegant assortment of the most modern books in all branches of Literature, Arts, and Sciences (catalogues of which will be published soon), and to be sold as cheap as can be bought at any place in town. Also a com- SECRETARY KNOX. 39 1 plete assortment of stationery." Evidently, Knox had learned the art of advertising, one of the first requisites to success in business. He succeeded admirably until the Boston Port Bill put a quietus upon pretty much all business at Boston. Meantime, Knox had become proficient in practical military affairs. He had added to his knowledge ac- quired from books a vast fund of practical informa- tion through conversations with many British officers who habitually visited his bookstore and from obser- vations of the manoeuvres of troops in Boston. More- over, at the age of eighteen years he had joined a military company and rarely failed to attend its drills and parades. Later, he joined Captain Pierce's " Boston Grenadier Corps," the crack military or- ganization of Boston, being second in command, and chief in drilling and disciplining the corps. In July 1773, Knox lost the two smaller fingers of his left hand by the bursting of his fowling-piece while on a gunning excursion. He always concealed this physical defect by the graceful use of a handkerchief or, when in uniform, his military scarf On the next parade of the Grenadier Corps, his hand gracefully bandaged with a scarf, Knox excited special attention, and particularly aroused the sympathies of the ladies. Among these was Miss Lucy Flucker, daughter of the Hon, Thomas Flucker, Secretary of the Province, and who was distinguished as a young lady of high intellectual endowments, very fond of books. She had often visited Knox's bookstore and an attach- ment had grown up between them which now ri- pened into love. The lady's father and family were rank royalists ; Knox was an ardent patriot ; they 392 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Strenuously opposed the marriage ; but the young people, as usual, won the game, and they were mar- ried June 1 6, 1774. I may as well here as anywhere give a brief account of their domestic life. They were a happy and comfortable couple. In the earlier years of her married life Mrs. Knox was, perhaps, something of a gossip, but she got bravely over this female foible, and was universally esteemed as an intellectual and earnest woman. She often visited her husband in camp and was greatly popular with the army. She was good-natured, but not so good-natured as he. Once iii awhile her temper would get the better of her, whereas in family differences he was evermore humorous and jolly. Said Harrison Gray Otis in a letter written in 1845 • "-^s Knox's matrimonial con- nection was a love-match, and both parties possessed great good sense and were proud of each other, it was understood by their friends that their mutual attachment had never waned. It was, however, well known that they frequently differed in opinion upon the current trifles of the day, and that the irce aman- tiwm, though always followed by the integratio amoris, were not unfrequent ; and that in those petty skirmishes our friend showed his generalship by a skilful retreat. On one occasion at a very large dinner-party at their own house, the cloth having been removed, the General ordered the servants to take away also the woollen cover, which madam with an audible voice prohibited. He then instantly, addressing the whole circle, observed, ' This subject of the under-cloth is the only one on which Mrs. Knox and I have differed since our marriage.' The SECRETARY KNOX. 393 archness and good humor of this appeal to the com- pany were irresistible, and produced, as was intended, a general merriment." They were not only a happy and comfortable couple, but an immense couple. He weighed nearly three hundred pounds and she was proportionately stout. She is thus described by Dr. Manasseh Cutler who dined with the General in July, 1787, at New York: "Dined with General Knox, introduced to his lady and a French nobleman, Mar- quis Lotbiniere. Mrs. Knox is veiy gross (fleshy), but her manners are easy and agreeable. She is sociable and would be agreeable were it not for her affected singularity in dressing her hair. Her hair in front is craped at least a foot high, much in the form of a churn bottom upward, and topped off with a wire skeleton in the same form, covered with black gauze, which hangs in streamers down to her back. Her hair behind is a large braid and confined with a monstrous crooked comb." "The worthy doctor," says Drake, the biographer of Knox, " was evidently unaccustomed to the coiffure of the fashionable lady of that day." The description reminds one of the " superb piece of architecture " which adorned the head-gear of Miss Griselda Oldbuck in Scott's "An- tiquary." Mrs. William S. Smith writing from New York in 1 788 to her mother, Mrs. John Adams, says : " General and Mrs. Knox have been very polite and attentive to us. * Mrs. Knox is neat in her dress, attentive to her family, and very fond of her children.. But her size is enormous. I am frightened when I look at her ; I verily believe that her waist is as large as three of yours at least. The General is not half so fat as he was." She was described, even after 394 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT.- she was sixty years of age, as "a remarkably fine- looking woman, with brilliant black eyes, and a blooming complexion." The home over which she presided was always the scene of a liberal and genial hospitality. To this happy couple twelve children were born, nine of whom died in infancy or early age. Two sons lived to mature age and were mar- ried, but died without issue. Descendants of a daughter, Lucy, who married Ebenezer Thatcher, are still living. Admiral Henry Knox Thatcher was a grandson of the first Secretary of War. Mrs, Knox survived her husband nearly eighteen years. In less than a year after his marriage Knox was called to the field where he remained without inter- mission save a few brief leaves of absence for eight years. On the first anniversary of his marriage, he quitted Boston in disguise, his departure having been forbidden by Gage, and, accompanied by his wife, also in disguise and who had quilted in her petticoat his sword, betook himself to the patriot army at Cam- bridge. Repairing to the headquarters of General Ward, he entered at once upon military duties, with- out commission, acting as voluntary aid to the general commanding. His services in preparing for the bat- tle of Bunker Hill, which occurred next day, imme- diately brought him into the favorable notice of the prominent officers of the army. After the battle he was by general consent given the supervision of the artillery and field works, and his energy and skill herein were so conspicuous that General Washington had not been long at Cambridge before Knox became a favorite adviser and confidential friend, — a rela- tion that continued to subsist until severed by death. SECRETARY KNOX. 395 Washington recommended Knox to Congress for the position of chief of artillery with the rank of Colonel, and Congress made the appointment in November 1775. But meantime Knox had devised a plan to supply the army besieging Boston with ar- tillery, its greatest need. In accordance therewith he proceeded by New York and Albany to Fort Ticon- deroga, and thence with incredible labor and difficulty had transported by lake and river and land fifty-five pieces of ordnance and other valuable store of am- munition. In transporting these stores from Albany to Springfield on sleds made for the purpose eighty yoke of oxen were used ; at Springfield these were ex- changed for eighty fresh yoke. The "noble train of artillery" reached the patriot army early in 1776, with the help of which Washington was soon able to drive the British out of Boston. On March 4th, under cover of a furious cannonade from the entire artillery under Knox, General Thomas took possession of Dorches- ter Heights, and at once so strongly fortified them that the British saw that any attempt to dislodge him under the fire of Knox's guns would be futile. Within a fortnight Howe, who now had the chief command of the British army, evacuated Boston, and was accom- panied in his fleet by most of the royalists of the town. Soon afterwards Washington removed his head- quarters to New York. Knox did not at once ac- company him thither, but spent some time in Con- necticut and Rhode Island, planning and supervising the construction of certain military works in those provinces. He reached New York on the 30th of April, and at once assumed command of the artillery 396 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of the main patriot army under Washington. From this time forth until the close of the war, he was so constantly and intimately associated with his illus- trious commander-in-chief that a full account of his life could hardly be written without relating about all the stirring and momentous events which form the history of the patriot army of the Revolution under Washington. For in all its victories and defeats, its audacious advances and masterly retreats, its many joys and many sorrows, he fully and conspicuously participated. Even the British on several occasions were forced to praise the skill and vigor with which the American artillery was handled, and for the final surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown the struggling country was very largely indebted to the genius of him who became our first Secretary of War. " The resources of his genius," said Washington in a report to the President of Congress, " supplied the deficit of means." I will here briefly indicate rather than fully relate the part borne by General Knox from the time he arrived in New York as above stated until the close of the Revolutionary war. The artillery at New York consisted of 121 guns, many of them old and of little account. They were in forts, redoubts, and batteries extending over a large area, so that Knox during Washington's occupancy of New York was undoubtedly the busiest man in the whole army. He wrote to his brother: "My constant fatigue and application to the business of my extensive depart- ment have been such that I have not had my clothes off once o' nights for more than forty days." He always rose before sun-up and from then till 9 or 10 SECRETARY KNOX. 397 o'clock at night was constantly engaged. He was not personally present at the battle of Long Island (August 27), being obliged, as he said, "to wait on my Lord Howe and the navy gentry who threatened to pay us a visit." On Washington's evacuation of New York Knox had charge of the rear guard, and was among the very last to leave the city. He came near being captured, but siezing a boat he escaped, proceeding to Harlem by water, where he was wel- comed with cheers by the army and the embraces of Washington. In the engagements of Harlem Plains and White Plains in the autumn of this year, the artillery was not conspicuous. Knox, in company with his commander-in-chief, witnessed the loss of Fort Washington with unspeakable chagrin but with- out the means to avert the calamity. Soon after- wards Fort Lee was evacuated and the patriot army entered upon its memorable retreat through the Jer- seys. The famous crossing of the Delaware on Christmas night of this year was entirely under the supervision of Knox, whose stentorian voice, equal to that of Jupiter Tonans, was heard in every com- mand ringing loud and clear above the roar of the tempest, the deep murmurings of the current, and the crunchings of the floating masses of ice. In the battle of Trenton of the following morning he bore a preeminently conspicuous part and was thanked in strong terms in general orders by Washington. On the very next day, though without a knowledge of the battle of Trenton, Congress created Knbx a brigadier-general with entire command of the artil- lery of the main continental army. On January 3d, 1777, the battle of Princeton was fought. Here 34 398 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Knox participated but not in the conspicuous man- ner which he had done at Trenton. Nevertheless, it was the artillery that in the end turned the British to the right about and almost put them in disordered rout. This audacious campaign placed the British sixty miles from Philadelphia, whereas at its begin- ning they had been within less than twenty miles of that city. On the recommendation of Knox, Wash- ington selected Morristown for his winter canton- ment. Knox himself proceeded to the Eastern States to replenish his supply of ordnance. In the spring of this year (1777) he spent some time with General Greene planning the defenses of the Hud- son. In 1777 there arrived in this country a Mr. Ducoudray from France bearing an appointment from Mr. Deane, American minister at Paris, as "commander-in-chief of the continental artillery." This caused trouble, and Generals Knox, Sullivan, and Greene, wrote to Congress upon the subject, Washington also ardently protested against the ap- pointment, for the reason that it would cause the retirement of General Knox, " one of the most valu- able officers in the service." Congress at length passed a resolve that Mr. Deane had exceeded his authority and the difficulty came to an end. The principal events in the theatre of war occupied by Washington of the year 1777 were the battles of the Brandywine, September 1 1 th, and of Germantown, October 4th. Both were well-fought engagements, the former an American defeat, the latter at first a victory but turned into a retreat by reason of a sud- den dense fog which prevented intelligent move- ments. In both of these engagements Knox was SECRETARY KNOX. 399 conspicuous, but after the British at Germantown had taken possession of some strong stone houses — a sort of forts ready-made for them — he advised against further advance until they had been taken. Some writers have asserted that but for this, the Americans might have continued to advance and actually taken Philadelphia. Knox himself attributed the final loss of the day to the fog and the possession of the stone houses by the enemy. Between the battle of the Brandywine and that of Germantown, Knox gave considerable attention to the forts on the Delaware below Philadelphia, but they were in suc- cession taken by the British or abandoned by the Americans. In the early part of the following win- ter — the winter of Washington's sadly memorable encampment at Valley Forge — Knox went to New England and there spent several weeks, engaged in public business and visiting his family. He returned early in the spring, and was followed by his wife in May who during that month joined the General at Valley Forge and from this time forth until the close of the war remained in camp or near the army. The only specially notable event with the main army during the year 1778 was the battle of Monmouth, June 28th. In the earlier part of this engagement the Americans were badly worsted, as is now gener- ally believed through the treachery of General Lee, whose conduct caused Washington himself to explode in a terrific escape of profanity. Lee's retreat of two miles was checked by the artillery under Knox, and the reverse of the morning was turned into a victory, the British compelled to retreat after being terribly punished, leaving the field in possession of the 400 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Americans. On this fine fight Washington in gen- eral orders says he " can with pleasure inform Gen- eral Knox and the officers of the artillery that the enemy had Qone them the justice to acknowledge that no artillery could have been better served than ours." The year 1779 was a period of much monot- ony with the main army and with Knox, The fol- lowing year was noted for serious difficulties with the troops of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania line, which were at length adjusted without a general mutiny. In the settlement of these troubles the good nature and patience and fine sense of justice of Knox were of vast value to the patriot cause. Another event of the year of special moment to Knox was the treason of General Arnold. In the company of Washington and La Fayette, General Knox visited the Count de Rochambeau at Hartford about the 20th of September, where there was held an interesting conference upon the subject of the future conduct of the war by the now allied powers of the United States and France. Immediately upon the return of Washington and Knox to West Point the treason of Arnold was discovered in the manner well known to all. General Knox sat in the court- martial which tried Major Andre. The General had met him several years before and they had spent a night together, a night of great intellectual and social, pleasure. To condemn Andre was unquestionably the hardest and saddest duty of General Knox's life, but the proofs* being conclusive he performed his duty with firmness and with tears. Early in 1781 Knox, at the special request of Washington, visited the Eastern States to make known the sad situation SECRETARY KNOX. 4OI of the army on account of the mutiny of the Pennsyl- vania line and to aid in forwarding recruits. The errand was successful. He returned in a few weeks, and remaining near headquarters in the vicinity of New York accompanied the army southward in August, when Washington marched against Corn- wallis in Virginia. The siege of Yorktown speedily followed, in which Knox, being in command of the artillery, naturally took the leading part. On the 19th of October Cornwallis surrendered uncondi- tionally, and the war of the Revolution was virtually closed in the triumph of the American arms. In March 1782, General Knox and Gouverneur Morris were appointed a commission to procure a general exchange of prisoners, to provide for their subsistence, etc. The commission, after many inter- changes of views with the British, failed to accomplish the object. In the same month Knox was promoted a major-general, his commission dating from November 15, 1781. On August 29th, 1782, Knox was appointed to the command of the post at West Point, whose defenses he found altogether inadequate to stand a siege. During the autumn of this year and the winter of 1782-83 there was great discontent in the army on account of arrearages of pay still due. This discontent actually became so serious in the spring of 1783 as to seriously threaten the peace of the country. It is well known that the labors and im- pressive eloquence of Washington were the most potent influences in calming this storm. He was ?ibly seconded by Knox who at the general meeting of officers held March 15, moved the resolutions which were adopted thanking Washington for his 34* 2 A 402 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. patriotic course, and declaring their reliance on the good faith of Congress and the country and a deter- mination to bear with patience their grievances till in due time they should be redressed. It was about this time that the Society of the Cincinnati was instituted of which General Knox was the founder. The object of the Society was the perpetuation of friendship among officers of the army, now about to be dis- banded, and the creation of a fund for the widows and orphans of officers who had died or should die in indigent circumstances. Membership was limited to the officers of the revolutionary army and their male descendants on the rule of primogeniture on which account the Society came to be much criticised as containing the elements of an hereditary aristoc- racy. This objection was unfounded and the Society accomplished much good then and since. It is still in existence having several branches in different parts of the country.^ Of the Society, as perfected in the spring of 1783, Washington was chosen first Pres- ident and Knox Secretary. In August of this year Knox was left in command of the army and a few weeks thereafter he began the difficult and delicate task of disbanding it. On No- vember 25th the British evacuated New York and on the same day Knox entered the city at the head of ' The Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati in 1873 Pub- lished a work — for limited circulation only — entitled "Life and Correspondence of Henry Knox, Major-General in the American Revolutionary Army," to which I am mainly indebted for the materials of this sketch. The work was prepared for the Society by Mr. Francis S. Drake, which fact of itself would be sufficient guaranty to all intelligent Americans of its faithful and happy execution. SECRETARY KNOX. 403 the American troops. On the 4th of the following month the general officers still remaining in the service met their beloved Washington to give and receive farewells, when occurred one of the most memorable and touching incidents of the whole rev- olutionary era. Knox kept up a correspondence with his illustrious chief until Washington's death. Indeed, one long letter to him was written some days after his death occurred. Early in 1784, the work of disbanding the army having been about completed, Knox returned to Boston and took up his residence in Dorchester near by. In the reception of La Fay- ette in the autumn of this year, Knox bore the most prominent part. On March 8, 1 785, he was appointed Secretary of War by Congress at a salary of ^2,450. On this appointment Washington wrote to him " Without a compliment, I think a better choice could not have been made." An event of great importance that occurred while Knox was Secretary of War under the government of the Confederation was "Shays's rebellion" in Mas- sachusetts. The Secretary personally repaired to Massachusetts, to advise with General Lincoln upon the situation with particular reference to the defense of the arsenal at Springfield. It is well known that the insurrection was promptly repressed. It was one of the many things, however, that contributed to the ardent federalism of General Knox. From the close of the war to the adoption of the federal Constitution of 1787, he maintained active correspondence with Washington and other eminent patriots upon the political situation all the time demanding a strong government, and denouncing the Confederation as 404 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. no better than a rope of sand. His views were greatly intelligent and expressed with unusual logical force. In a letter to Washington of January 14, 1 787, he laid down a plan of government which he thought the proposed Convention ought to adopt. Its main suggestions now form several of the principal pro- visions of the federal Constitution. The Constitution being adopted, though he did not approve it in all respects, he earnestly advocated its ratification. On the formation of the new government in 1 789, Knox was continued in the office of Secretary of War, his commission bearing date September 12 th, on which day the War Department of the present government of the United States may be said to have been practically instituted. He had already given much labor to the organization of an uniform system of militia throughout the United States, but his vigorous plans herein were not adopted. The army of the United States was by him organized on the legionary formation and for some time that system was continued. At this time the War Department had charge of Indian affairs, and Knox's policy herein was noted for vigor and humanity. In the early part of his administration some defeats at the hands of the Indians were suffered in the north-west, but Gen- eral Wayne being sent thither soon conquered a lasting and advantageous peace. Several just and humane treaties were also made with Indian tribes of the South. It is to be borne in mind that Knox was Secretary of the Navy as well as Secretary of War. As such he was, in fact, the founder of the navy of the United States, which has since conferred such illustrious and imperishable renown upon the SECRETARY KNOX. 405 republic. Though he and Jefferson of the cabinet differed widely in political theories they agreed heartily in the necessity of a navy and were the only ones of the administration who did. Knox so strenuously advocated the establishment of a regular navy and was so earnestly seconded by the Secretary of State, that he was at length successful, and the construction of six frigates was authorized by act of Congress of March 27, 1794. One of these was the famous " Constitution." But before the navy was afloat, Knox carried out a determination long before reached, and resigned his position in the cabinet. His resignation took effect on the last day of the year 1794. His principal reason for this step was the inadequacy of the salary and, as he said in his letter, " the indispensable claims of a wife and a growing and numerous family of children, whose sole hopes of comfortable competence rest upon my life and exertions." Washington accepted the resig- nation with regret, and said : " I cannot suffer you, however, to close your public service without uniting, with the satisfaction which must arise in your own mind of a conscious rectitude, my most perfect per- suasion that you have deserved well of your country." General Knox remained in Philadelphia till June, when he started for his home in what is -now Thom- aston, Maine, and where he owned a vast tract of land, embracing a considerable portion of three counties. He met with a distinguished reception at Boston and remained there several days. At Thom- aston he had a large and elegant mansion where he spent the remainder of his life, happily passing the time in various business enterprises and in dispensing 406 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. liberal hospitality. There was, perhaps, as much enjoyment in his mansion as in any home in Amer- ica. He was visited by distinguished men from other lands and by very many of our own eminent in affairs, in literature, the arts and sciences. He engaged largely in the manufacture of bricks and in the lumber business. He was constantly im- proving his vast landed estate, and introduced new and better breeds of sheep and cattle. He quite extensively engaged also in ship-building and sev- eral vessels were launched from yards on the waters of his estate whose capacity for navigation he also greatly improved. He was, perhaps, the most en- terprising business man of what is now the State of Maine. He also carried on an active correspond- ence with many eminent men of the country. In 1796, he was a commissioner on the north-eastern boundary question, a member of the General Court in 1 801 and of the Governor's Council in 1804. The manner of his death was singular. He acci- dentally swallowed a piece of chicken-bone while dining which so lodged in his stomach as to cause mortification and, of course, death. He died on Oc- tober 25, 1806, at the age of only fifty-six years. I have thus related at considerable length the principal events in the life of General Knox, not only because he was the first Secretary of War under our present government and the founder of the American navy, but also because he was an extraordinarily good and able man and, for the reason that he wrote little and spoke less for the public, has not been justly appreciated by the Amer- ican people. Moreover, he has been the object of a SECRETARY KNOX. 407 grossly ignorant attack in a popular magazine by Mr. James Parton, who surely has a more versatile talent for mistakes than any other author living or dead. Henry Knox was a great soldier and admirable executive officer not only, but a thoroughly intelli- gent and sagacious statesman. I have already stated that in a letter to Washington he sketched a plan of government which was substantially adopted by the Federal Convention of 1787. The now resurrected vagaries of irredeemable paper money and commu- nism met with his emphatic condemnation an hun- dred years ago, and his general views on finance would be now sustained by all thoughtful and intelli- gent minds. " Paper money and Tender Law," said he in a letter to La Fayette, " engross her [Rhode , Island's] attention entirely ; this is, In other words, plundering the orphan and widow by virtue of laws." In all the modern discussions of this question, I doubt If the truth has been more tersely stated. I believe he was the first to suggest the establishment of a national military academy, and he surely originated the now great manufacture of military material at Springfield. These were acts of good statesmanship as well as evidences of military foresight. He was In general politics a ferocious federalist, but no more so than Hamilton whose considerable statesmanship has never been questioned by any mind entitled to respect. On most questions of practical statesman- ship he was thoroughly informed and thoroughly sound. General Knox was not only a great soldier and wise statesman ; he was an ardent and incor- ruptible patriot. No purer man ever served the 408 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. republic ; not even Washington himself quitted pub- lic life with cleaner hands. In private life he was wonderfully genial and agreeable. Though he could not make a public speech with effect he was a remarkably fine con- versationalist — full of unostentatious knowledge, wit, and humor. His originality of idea and of expres- sion was always very marked. No one could talk with him five minutes without perceiving that he was a man of genius. His person was immense, his presence commanding, but he ever so overflowed with the milk of human kindness that all who ap- proached him were at once made to feel at their ease, comfortable, and happy. HON. TIMOTHY PICKERING, SECOND SECRETARY OF WAR. GENERAL KNOX was succeeded in the War De- partment by Timothy Pickering, at this time a resident of Pennsylvania, but before and afterwards an eminent citizen of Massachusetts. He had been Postmaster-General, at that time not a cabinet office, for about three years. He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, July 17, 1 745, his ancestry belonging to the Pilgrim Fathers' stock of purest blood serene. He had all the ad- vantages of early intellectual discipline and was graduated from Harvard University in 1763. He then pursued a course of legal studies and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1768. He speedily gained a prominent position as a lawyer. Eight years after his admission to the bar he was appointed a judge of the court of Common Pleas of Essex county and sole Judge of the Maritime Court of the Middle District, embracing the ports of Boston, Salem, and others in Essex, He had just reached the years of mature manhood when the political troubles between America and the mother-country began generally to agitate the minds of the people. While he was a student at law James Otis, the Adamses, and others in Massachusetts, and Patrick Henry and his compatriots in Virginia were rousing the people to opposition to the acts of the 35 409 410 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. British government unfriendly to American trade and freedom, and the first American " Congress " assembled at New York (1765). Young Pickering participated in the excitement of the time and being an ardent " Whig " took an influential and prominent part in the patriot cause. He was colonel of the Essex Militia regiment, a body of men of hardy yeomanry between 600 and 700 strong. With this command he opposed armed resistance to the British troops as early as February 26, 1775, when he prevented their crossing a bridge at Salem while on a march to seize certain military stores. . This was nearly two months before the bloody affairs of Lexington and Concord aroused the Colonies to arms. Before this time he had been a recognized leader among the Whigs often arousing them by writings and addresses. In 1784 he wrote and de- livered the address of the people of Salem to Gov- ernor Gage in protest against the Boston Port Bill. In patriotic labors of this kind and in the perform- ance of his duties on the bench he was engaged until the autumn of 1776, when he joined the main patriot army under Washington with his famous Es- sex regiment, now numbering upwards of 700 men rank and file. He did not, however, long remain with the army at this time, his various civic offices compelling his return to Massachusetts. But he remained long enough to impress Washington with a sense of his unusual general knowledge and his capacity for military affairs. Hence on March 30th, 1 777, Washington wrote to Colonel Pickering a highly complimentary letter offering him the position of Ad- jutant-General of the army, — ^^an offer all the more SECRETARY PICKERING. 4II complimentary to Pickering because Congress had indicated a preference in behalf of Colonel William Lee for the office. Pickering at first declined, assign- ing several reasons therefor — the real one being his want of confidence in his capacity for military affairs — but was induced to reconsider this determination and to accept the place. He arrived at headquarters, Middlebrook, New Jersey, on June 17, and on the next day general orders announced his appointment as Adjutant-General. Soon afterwards in a letter to his wife, he says, " I am very happy in the General's family." He was present at the battle of the Brandy- wine and of Germantown in the autumn of this year, and thought the British loss at the former engagement larger than the American. In October Congress by resolution changed the formation of the " Board of War" which had thereto- fore consisted of members of Congress, and required that It should be composed of persons not members of the Congress. The powers of the Board cor- responded with the present powers of the Secretary of War. General Mifflin, Colonel Robert H. Harri- son, and Colonel Pickering were first elected the members of the Board, but Colonel Harrison de- clining the appointment, the number of the Board was increased to five, and it was fully organized in November, General Gates, Colonel Joseph Trumbull, and Richard Peters, Esq. being added. General Gates was made president of the Board. Colonel Picker- ing, however, continued to perform the duties of Adjutant-General until about the middle of January, 1778. On the 30th of that month he left the en- campment at Valley Forge and proceeded to York, 412 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Pennsylvania, where Congress was at the time in session. He remained here in attending the ses- sions of the Board and performing his duties therein till Congress returned to Philadelphia, when the Board also went thither. He and Mr. Peters were the work- ing members of the Board from the beginning to the end of its existence. It received no little criticism both from Congress and the army, but it may now be clearly seen that in most of the acrimonious dis- putes of the time the Board was decidedly in the right. At this time Colonel Pickering's salary was four thousand dollars, Continental currency, his per- sonal and family expenses about fourteen thousand. In a letter on the sad financial situation he quaintly complains of being about out of shirts and that he had already worn his clothes threadbare on both sides. In a letter of December 13, 1779, to his brother, he stated that the price of a pair of shoes in Philadelphia was one hundred dollars. At this time a dollar in money was worth about twenty-six "dollars" in Continental currency. Early in 1 780 Generals Schuyler and Mifflin and Colonel Pickering were appointed a commission on the general reform of the staff departments of the army. The labors of the commission were generally approved by a resolve of Congress, and the reforms suggested for the Quartermaster-General's ofifice were directed to be speedily carried out. General Greene, serving as Quartermaster-General, was opposed to many of the changes recommended and with no little dudgeon declined to serve longer in that capacity. On the 5th of August Colonel Pickering was unanimously elected Quartermaster-General by Con- SECRETARY PICKERING. 4I3 gress, with the rank of Colonel and the pay and rations of a brigadier-general. He was also con- tinued as a member of the Board of War, his pay for that office being suspended, however, while he should remain Quartermaster-General. He filled this most difficult and laborious position during the remainder of the war ; and with very marked success. The finances were, by reason oi fiat money, in an abso- lutely horrible situation. His first requisition was for a million dollars, worth only about fourteen thousand dollars ! He originated the plan of specie certificates in temporary satisfaction of vouchers and for pay- ment of salaries. The scheme worked admirably in practice, greatly improving the credit of the Depart- ment, but Congress interfered with it by the emission of new legal-tenders, and came near bringing every- thing into ruin again. But Pickering personally visited Philadelphia in the spring of 1781 and by his personal influence persuaded Congress to permit him substantially to conduct his department on a specie- paying basis. This was the salvation of the army and of the cause of the Revolution. In every respect Colonel Pickering conducted this important branch of the service with notable wisdom and success, in- stituting not a few valuable reforms in cutting off supernumeraries, etc., and all the time managing the affairs of the Department with economy and perfect integrity. He had a number of contests with cer- tain State agents and with Congress growing out of his official operations, and in every instance held his own against his opponents. He wielded a pow- erful and caustic pen. Growing out of a long contest with respect to certain forage he had taken in West 35* 414 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Chester county, was a dispute with Colonel Udny Hay, which resulted in Hay's challenging Pickering to fight a duel. He declined the challenge on the ground that " duelling was an absurd and barbarous practice, not deciding whether a man was or was not in error, and sometimes scarcely whether he was brave or a coward." On the ist of January, 1783, the Quartermaster's department was reorganized, and the pay of the chief officer considerably reduced. Nevertheless, Colonel Pickering continued in the service. During this very month, he was arrested for debt, the evidence of the debt being certain cer- tificates he had issued for army supplies!. He de- fended and won the suit, of course. The duties of the office of Quartermaster-General after the dis- bandment of the revolutionary army were compara- tively unimportant. He himself recommended the aboHtion of the office and this being done July 25, 1785, he went into private life, after nine years of about as hard work in the army as fell to the lot of any one person. He had, however, for some time been engaged in private business as a commission merchant at Philadelphia, and continued to reside there. A very romantic and remarkable episode in the life of Colonel Pickering was his residence for sev- eral years in Luzerne county. The history of " the Wyoming Valley," with the terrible massacre, the long years of agitation and commotion over the dis- puted claim of Connecticut and Pennsylvania to the territory, and the disputes between corporations and individuals as to the title to lands — all this is matter of general history. In 1786, the Wyoming territory SECRETARY PICKERING. 415 was organized into a large county called Luzerne, and for the purpose of practically organizing the county, Colonel Pickering was appointed clerk of the various courts, a Judge of the court of Common Pleas, register of wills, and recorder of deeds. He was given full powers to call elections for elec- tive officers and, in a word, to set the political machine in motion. It was believed that his well known character for justice and the fact that he was a New England man would enable him to put an end to the disturbed situation of affairs more quickly than could be done by any one else. In the autumn, he made a journey on horseback to the country, going as far up the Susquehanna as Tioga, had consider- able tracts of land surveyed, and bought a farm for himself In January, 1 787, he went thither and organ- ized the county. He was instrumental in the pas- sage of an act quieting titles, and for a time matters went on well enough. But old animosities began again to assert themselves, and this act of the legis- lature being repealed, the valley again fell into a sit- uation of chronic commotion. Colonel Pickering, having been prominent in the arrest and imprison- ment of a leading man among the troublesome spirits, a large number of his adherents undertook to kidnap him in revenge. They attacked his house by night, October 2d, but he escaped to the woods and after great hardships and suffering reached Philadelphia. He was soon afterwards elected a delegate from Luzerne county to the convention which ratified the federal Constitution. In that body he labored earn- estly for ratification. He returned to Wyoming in January, 1 788, but only to have more and greater 4l6 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. troubles with the rough Inhabitants of that disturbed country. He was warned to leave the country, but, remarking that he could not afford to give up his farm and buildings, he declined to comply with the request. Near midnight on the 26th of June, he was forcibly siezed in his bed by a gang of twenty masked men and abducted. He was then bound and carried off into the woods. In this imprisonment, part of the time handcuffed and with an immense chain fastened to one of his ankles, he remained for about three weeks, being moved about from place to place in the fastnesses of the country, and nearly all the time sleeping in the open air. The State authorities made a vigorous search for him, bodies of militia scouring the country with this object, but without success, though often within gun-shot of the game they were pursuing. At length he prevailed upon the men to release him. On reaching home, so great had been the hardships he had endured in his imprisonment, so changed and haggard was his appearance that his children, not knowing him, fled from him in alarm. His abductors were tried, fined, and imprisoned, but believing most of them to be ignorant men misguided by others who deserted them in their pinch, Colonel Pickering interceded for their pardon which was in several instances granted. This was the last great crime of "the dark and bloody ground" of Wyo- ming, the end of a period of thirty years' commotion. After this, largely by reason of Pickering's Influence, the famed valley had peace and quiet, and in a few years became permanently prosperous. In the autumn of 1789, Colonel Pickering was elected a delegate from Luzerne to a convention SECRETARY PICKERING. 417 to revise the constitution of Pennsylvania. The convention sat during the winter and far into the spring of 1790, when it took a long recess. It did not adjourn till September. Colonel Pickering was a constant attendant upon its sittings, giving close attention to all debates, but especial attention to the subject of popular education. Chiefly through his labors and influence wise and liberal provisions on this subject were made part of the constitution. After the adjournment of the convention, he re- turned to his home and continued to conduct his farm in person and attend to the light duties of his offices. He lived in a large, two-story house, made of logs, hewn and so put together as to make not only a comfortable but a quite tasteful home. He was no amateur but a downright, hard-working, horny-handed farmer. Immediately after the adjournment of the constitu- tional convention. President Washington appointed Colonel Pickering a commissioner to the Seneca Indians to treat with them with regard to certain murders of members of their nation by whites. He was successful in his mission, manifesting great sagacity in his management of the difficult and deli- cate business entrusted to his charge. He was af- terwards made a commissioner with more extensive powers to the Six Nations and was in this instance equally successful. Later, and even while he was Postmaster-General he was employed in like service, and, except in one instance where the commission was thwarted by the secret machinations of British officers, he was greatly successful. His management of Indian affairs while he was at the head of the War 2B 41 8 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Department was noted for wisdom and a real knowl- edge of the subject. He was offered the appoint- ment of Superintendent of the Northern Indians in 1 790, but declined it. Not long afterwards he also declined the appointment of Quartermaster of the Western Army. In August, 1 79 1, he was appointed Postmaster- General by Washington. He conducted this ofifice with notable energy, greatly extending its operations and shortening the time of carrying the mails until January 2d, 1795, when he succeeded General Knox as Secretary of War. His thorough knowledge of the army and of Indian affairs enabled him at once to direct the multiform concerns of the Department with intelligence, and he was a man who never for a moment lacked in vigorous energy. He also hast- ened forward measures for the completion of the men-of-war whose construction had been instituted under the direction of General Knox. He strongly advocated establishing a military academy at West Point. He increased the importance of Springfield as a manufacture of arms and aided in the estab- lishment of an arsenal at Harper's Ferry, which was, however, from the beginning, a pet measure of Wash- ington's. He constantly advocated the maintenance of a considerable but not very large regular army as necessary for the frontier and as an intelligent and efficient nucleus about which to rally an army of vol- unteers in case of foreign war. In August, 1 795, the famous intrigue between Mr. Randolph, Secretary of State, and the French Minis- ter Fauchet became known to the President- Upon the resignation of Randolph soon afterwards, Colonel SECRETARY PICKERING. 419 Pickering was appointed acting Secretary of State, and as such discharged the duties of that office as well as those of Secretary of War for more than three months. Washington later offered the State department to Pickering, but he declined. He was at length persuaded to accept, however, and was ap- pointed and confirmed in December. He also con- tinued for some time to direct the affairs of the War Department, Mr. McHenry not taking charge thereof until the latter part of January, 1796. Indeed, he continued to be consulted by the military committees of Congress with regard to army matters generally and Indian and naval affairs particularly throughout the then current session of Congress. Colonel Pickering accepted the office of Secretary of State with great diffidence, saying that he was a man of business, not a student, and that he had given no special attention for many years to the study of law. He soon learned, however, that the general duties of his new office were less onerous than those of the War Department. The period during which he was Secretary of State — the latter part of Wash- ington's administration and nearly the whole of that of John Adams — was one of even unusual partisan rancour in the country. Even the character of Washington did not escape the grossest aspersions. Moreover, the principal partisan disputes of the time grew out of questions connected with our foreign relations, notably Jay's treaty and the delicate and difficult situation in which our government stood with regard to France. The doctrine of American neutrality in European affairs was at this time defini- tively proclaimed, though not without powerful oppo- 420 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. sition, and has ever since been the established policy of the republic. We were for a considerable period on the verge of war with France. From the many and great difficulties of the situation the new govern- ment successfully emerged. Throughout all, Colo- nel Pickering was a prominent character, and it is now generally agreed that his management of our foreign affairs was in the main wise and all the time energetic, and patriotic. His outspoken nature was throughout this difficult crisis a benefit to his country. On May loth, 1800, President Adams requested Colo- ~nel Pickering's resignation as Secretary of State, and desired a reply on the following Monday. On that day (May 12) Pickering sent a formal commu- nication to the President with regard to a consular appointment, and later a note concluding: "After deliberately reflecting on the overture you have been pleased to make to me, I do not feel it to be my duty to resign." Within an hour he received a brief note from the President concluding: "You are hereby discharged from any further service as Secretary of State." There was no reason assigned for the dis- missal at the time, and the action of President Adams in the matter has ever since remained a matter of dispute. The truth would appear to be that Presi- dent Adams learned of his sympathizing with Gen- eral Hamilton's intrigues against the Executive, and very properly dismissed him. Colonel Pickering left office poor ; so poor that he had to remove one of his sons from an academy. He had a large tract of land in the north-eastern part of Pennsylvania. Taking his family to Easton, he proceeded to these lands, and building log huts for SECRETARY PICKERING. 42 1 himself and laborers, went personally to work cutting down timber and making a farm. During the fall and early spring he had cleared and ready for crops about thirty acres, which were at once placed under cultivation. In the spring of 'i 801, he visited Mas- sachusetts, and while at Salem old friends clubbed together and bought enough of his Pennsylvania lands to amount to ^25,000 cash. With this he was enabled to pay his debts and have about 5^15,000 remaining. Returning to Pennsylvania, he arranged for his sons to go on with the farm, and in the follow- ing November removed with his family to Salem. He bought a farm in Essex county, and during the remainder of his life was a citizen of Massachusetts. In the following year he was made chief justice of the Essex county Court of Common Pleas. In 1 803 he was elected a member of the United States Senate and remained a prominent and influential member of that body until 181 1. During the war with England he was a member of the Massachusetts Board of War, and in 18 14 was elected a Representative in Congress, serving as such during 181 5-1 7. He died at Salem January 29, 1829, at the venerable age of 83 years. Timothy Pickering was in politics an ardent Fed- eralist and for years a recognized leader of the party in the United States. He was not a great orator, but was a powerful writer and a sagacious politician. No more disinterested patriot ever lived. In manners he was somewhat stern, and always perfectly outspoken, but in conversation with those whom he well knew he has had few equals among American public men. In person, he was tall and fine looking, with a Roman cast of countenance suggesting his inflexible will. 36 HON. JAMES McHENRY, THIRD SECRETARY OF WAR. JAMES McHENRY was born in Ballymena, county Antrim, Ireland, November i6, 1753. His father was a prosperous man of business and gave the son a good education. He was attending Dublin Uni- versity when about the year 1771 he took a voyage to America for his health, landing at Baltimore. He was so well pleased with America in general and Baltimore in particular that he wrote to his father urgently advising him to come to this country. The advice was followed and Daniel McHenry soon be- came a prosperous trader in Lovely Lane, Baltimore. In 1772, James was at Newark Academy, Delaware, then a noted school, but whether engaged as student or tutor is not known. Not long after this we find him engaged studying medicine with the celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia. McHenry was a medical student with Dr. Rush, an ardent patriot, during the opening stages of the revolution. He warmly sympathized with the patriot cause. He also, through Dr. Rush, became personally acquainted with Washington and formed a lofty admiration for him which but increased with years. In the early part of August, 1775, he set out for Cambridge " to serve," as he said in an informal will drawn up at the time, " as a volunteer or surgeon in the American army raised by order of the Continental Congress to defend the 422 SECRETARY Mchenry. 423 liberties of Americans and mankind against the ene- mies of both." Dr. McHenry was evidently a man of great common sense, for in this same will he di- rected that all his poetry "and other rude sketches" should be burnt. He served as an assistant surgeon in the army at Cambridge. In August, J776, he was commissioned by Congress surgeon of the Fifth Pennsylvania battalion. He was present at the bat- tle of Long Island and rendered valuable service in the retreat. He was engaged in the performance of his duties as surgeon at Fort Washington when that work was captured by the British in November, and became, of course, a prisoner. He was paroled in January, 1777, but was not exchanged until March of the following year. On May 1 5, he was appointed Secretary to General Washington, and from this time until the death of the General was among his confi- ' dential friends. Dr. McHenry remained in Wash- ington's military family as secretary and aide-de- camp until August, 1780, when he was transferred to the staff of General La Fayette where he served until the close of the war. It was one of the open secrets of the time that Washington brought about this arrangement because he knew McHenry to be admirably calculated to regulate and wisely direct the youthful ardor of the impetuous Frenchman. It would appear that McHenry herein finely vindicated the judgment of the commander-in-chief. In this employment McHenry had the rank of Major. La Fayette on many occasions acknowledged the great services rendered him by McHenry not only in the field but in other matters. Years afterwards, when the Marquis was confined a close prisoner at Olmutz, 424 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. McHenry warmly interceded in his behalf with our government, and actually for once in his life asked office, namely, a special mission to Vienna in the interest of America's great friend in the war of the revolution. But nothing came of it. When La Fayette visited Baltimore in his American tour of 1824, he first landed at Fort McHenry, named in honor of his early friend, and in his reply to the address of welcome touchingly alluded to the confi- dential friend of his military family " of whom this fort, most nobly defended in the last war, brought back the affecting recollection." In September, 1781, while he was still on the staff of La Fayette, McHenry was elected to the Mary- land Senate. He held that office until 1786 when he resigned. In 1783 he was appointed a delegate to Congress in place of Edward Giles, deceased, and was elected to the same office by the legislature a few months afterwards. He held this employment as well as that of State Senator till 1786, a double duty then quite common among men of influence. In the following year Dr. McHenry was chosen a delegate to the federal Constitutional convention. He advocated the adoption of the Constitution. In April, 1 788, he was also a member of the State con- vention, called to pass upon the Constitution where his influence was potent for ratification notwithstand- ing the opposition of Luther Martin and other able men of the State. When Washington passed through Baltimore in May, 1 789, on his way to New York to institute the new government, McHenry was one of the committee of reception, as he had been some years before at Annapolis a member of the committee SECRETARY MCHENRY. 42$ of Congress to make appropriate arrangements for the order of Washington's audience on the occasion of his resigning his commission. In 1789 McHenry was elected a delegate to the general assembly, and two years afterwards he was again elected to the Senate for the term of five years. This office he resigned to accept that of Secretary of War to which he was appointed by Washington in January, 1796. He remained in charge of the Department during the remainder of Washington's administra- tion and until May, 1800, when at the request of President Adams he resigned. During the first two years of McHenry's charge of the War Department he also had charge of the Navy, and therein did valuable service. Under the first three Secretaries of War — Knox, Pickering, and McHenry — the American navy was successfully founded. During the latter part of McHenry's ad- ministration of the Department we were on the ragged edge 'of war with France. The enrolment and organization of a large army were authorized by law. Washington was appointed Commander- in-chief, and he demanded that Alexander Hamilton should be second in command. This was contrary to the judgment of President Adams, who thought the man should be General Knox. On this point it would appear that Adams was for once in the right. Knox was a soldier of marked abilities, intelligence, and spirit ; Hamilton was the most unscrupulous po- litical intriguer our country has ever had, not even excepting the man who did so much to almost deify his reputation by killing him in a duel, Aaron Burr, Washington insisted, and Adams yielded the point. 36* 426 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. This exhibition of magnanimity should have utterly destroyed Hamilton's malevolence toward Adams ; it only increased it. Hamilton being the principal person in this litde drama, there was, of course, a great deal of intrigue in the business with which the President became thoroughly disgusted. There hence sprang up disagreements in the cabinet, which, aided by other topics on which there was difference of opinion, grew into open rupture. But meantime the war with France had been furiously waging — on paper. Washington must have consumed a ream of paper in writing letters to the Secretary of War, General Hamilton, and others on subjects connected with the impending conflict. McHenry often visited Washington at Mount Vernon, and was kept con- stantly active with warlike preparations. In the midst of all he was quite unceremoniously asked to resign, and did so. Out of all this, an historical quarrel has arisen between the adherents of Mr. Adams and those of General Hamilton. I judge that Mf McHenry's conduct was honorable and fair throughout, but that by reason of his being too much under the fascinating, malign influence of Hamilton, President Adams very properly demanded his with- drawal from the cabinet. In his letter of resignation McHenry says : " Having discharged the duties of Secretary of War for upwards of four years with fidelity, unremitting assiduity, and to the best of my abilities, I leave behind me all the records of the Department, exhibidng the principles and manner of my official conduct, together with not a few difficulties I have had to encounter. To these written docu- ments 1 cheerfully refer my reputation as an officer SECRETARY McHENRY. 427 and a man." Later, a committee of the House of Representatives, now strongly anti-Federal, was ap- pointed to investigate the affairs of the Department under McHenry's administration. Two years after he had been out of office, this committee reported, charging his administration with certain irregulari- ties and extravagant expenditures. To this report Mr. McHenry replied in a long letter to the Speaker of the House, replying to the charges seriatim and with an array of facts and figures which completely vindicated his conduct and established the frivolous and malevolent nature of the charges. A more spirited paper has seldom been read in Congress. It demolished the Report so completely that nothing more was ever heard of it. After this Mr. McHenry lived in retirement, always dispensing a generous hospitality, on his fine estate in the then suburbs of Baltimore. He op- posed the policy of the war of 1812 but took no public part in the discussions of the times. He died May 3d, 181 6. Dr. McHenry was a man of wide information and of respectable talents but not of great abilities. In the discharge of his public duties he was always faith- ful and industrious. In private life he was pure and loved and respected to a remarkable degree. Mary- land has given many, very many, illustrious men to our country, but not one entitled to a warmer regard in the hearts of his countrymen on account of upright private life and faithful public service than James McHenry. HON. SAMUEL DEXTER, FOURTH SECRETARY OF WAR. N the removal of Mr. McHenry from the head of the War Department, the appointment was offered to John Marshall, of Virginia, afterwards the illustrious chief justice of the United States. He declined the office and the Hon. Samuel Dexter of Massachusetts was appointed, thus becoming the fourth Secretary of War under our constitutional government. Samuel Dexter was born in Boston, May 14, 1761. His father was of the same name, was a distinguished patriot and learned scholar. He was a warm friend of education and the founder of a professorship at Harvard University which still bears his name. The son had every advantage of early mental training by the best teachers, and was graduated at Harvard at the age of twenty years with the first honors of the class. He studied law at Worcester with the cele- brated Levi Lincoln, afterwards Attorney-General of the United States. He had a genius for the law and studied with so much assiduity as to seriously injure his eye-sight for a time. He first opened an ofifice in the town of Lunenburg, Worcester county, but not long afterwards removed to Middlesex, where he soon acquired an extensive and lucrative practice. He soon also became prominent in poli- tics and was elected to the legislature. In 1792 he 428 SECRETARY DEXTER. 429 was elected a member of Congress where he served with distinction during 1793-95. Returning to Mas- sachusetts he resumed the practice of his profession at Boston, being now a recognized leader of the bar of his State, noted for the power of his eloquence before juries and the strength and clearness of his argumentation before courts. In the spring of 1799 he was returned to the United States Senate, and he remained an eminent member of that body, and confessedly its most eloquent orator, until he became Secretary of War in May of the following year. On tlie death of Washington, in December, 1799, the Senate ordered a letter to be addressed to the Presi- dent in respect to his memory and character. This historical and well known paper was written by Mr. Dexter. Herein o'ccurs the phrase: "On this occa- sion it is manly to weep." And these: "Ancient and modern times are diminished before him. Great- ness and guilt have too often been allied ; but his fame is whiter than it is brilliant." Like Calhoun, Stanton, McCrary, and some other statesmen who have been Secretaries of War, Mr, Dexter took charge of the Department without hav- ing specially studied its affairs. As in those instances, his genius and industry enabled him speedily to be- come perfect master of the situation, and to success- fully conduct the affairs of the Department during a grave crisis in our country's history. For we were still on the verge of war with France. Early in 1801 he became Secretary of the Treas- ury, and remained such during the rest of the admin- istration of Adams and for a little over a year under Mr. Jefferson, when he was succeeded by Albert 430 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Gallatin. During a considerable absence of the Sec- retary of State, Mr. Dexter also conducted the affairs of that Department. After his retirement from the Treasury Department he held no other public office. In 1815, President Madison offered him a highly im- portant extraordinary mission to the court of Spain, but he declined it. From the time of his retirement from office, Mr. Dexter mainly devoted himself to his practice, which was very extensive, particularly in the Supreme Court of the United States, where for a considerable period he was without a superior, the only person for whom a just rivalry with him in power before the court could be claimed being the distinguished William Pinkney of Maryland. Up to the last war with England Mr. Dexter had always been a member of the Federal party, though he never was at any time a bitter partisan. Upon the declaration of war, he left that party and joined the Republicans, but without giving up, as he insisted, his Federal opinions. The Republican party being in power and the country at war, he did not think it patriotic to be in opposition, — a rational opinion, which his experience as head of the War Depart- ment had doubtless contributed to form. For his course herein he was censured by the party press of the Federalists, but the criticisms did not at all disturb his serenity. In 181 5 he was the candidate of the Republicans for Governor of Massachusetts, and was defeated. In the following year he was again nomi- nated. During the canvass, he made a visit to a son who was just then establishing himself in life at the village of Athens, New York, and was there attacked SECRETARY DEXTER. 431 by the same disease of which Washington had died. Mr. Dexter succumbed in a very short time, expiring on the 3d day of May. Few of America's public men are entitled to have their memories cherished with more genuine respect than Samuel Dexter. He was a man of great genius and of exalted character. His powers of oratory were wonderfully grand and wonderfully versatile. The country has never had a greater advocate. His practical executive abilities were shown to be supe- rior by his successful discharge of the duties of the three greatest departments of the government. In a great crisis of the republic he demonstrated the purity and the power of his patriotism by preferring country to party. His private life was exemplary. He is entitled to high credit and lasting renown for being the first president of the first society ever or- ganized in the United States in behalf of the cause of Temperance, a society which he himself instituted, and for which he ever earnestly labored. He was noted as an instructive and vivacious conversation- alist. He was the author of several publications which had a very considerable temporary celebrity. GENERAL HENRY DEARBORN, FIFTH SECRETAR Y OF WAR. HENRY DEARBORN was born at North Hamp- ton, New Hampshire, February 23, 1751. Hav- ing received a liberal education and taken a thorough course of study in medicine and surgery under the then celebrated Dr. Hall Jackson of Portsmouth, he entered upon the practice of his profession in 1772 at Nottingham Square. Convinced that the liberties of his country must ere long be defended at the point of the sword, he organized a military company and gave much attention to military studies and exer- cises. On April 20, 1775, hearing of the battle of Lex- ington and Concord, he marched his company to Cam- bridge, a distance of about sixty miles within twenty- four hours. After remaining a few days Dearborn returned with his command. He was appointed Cap- tain in the First New Hampshire regiment. Colonel John Stark, and speedily enlisted a company with which he joined the regiment at Medford, near Boston, May 15. He was distinguished at the bat- tle of Bunker Hill where Colonel Stark's regiment held the line of rail fence and successfully protected the retreat of the Americans. Captain Dearborn held the right of the regiment and personally fought with a fusee during the battle. In the following autumn he accompanied Arnold on the expedition against Quebec. Thirty-two days during the cold 432 SECRE TAR Y DEARB ORN. 433 months of November and December were employed on the march through the wilderness between the settlements on the Kennebec and Chaudiere Rivers. There was terrible suffering. Many men were frozen or starved to death. Dearborn divided his favorite dog with comrades to be used as food. On reaching the Chaudiere he was taken sick and could go no further. Cheering on his men he was received into- a poor hut where there were hardly the ordinary necessaries of life and no medicines. For ten days he suffered great agony ; but his strong constitution at length obtained a victory, and he was able to join the army in time for the memorable assault on Que- bec. He was attached to the corps under Arnold which fought gallantly and was captured. The offi- cers were placed in rigid confinement and in other respects were treated with indignity. In May, 1776, Dearborn was paroled and proceeded to Portland by way of Halifax. In March, 1777, he was ex- changed. He was now appointed major of the Third New Hampshire regiment, Alexander Scam- mel colonel. The regiment joined the northern army at Ticonderoga early in May, and participated in all the operations of the campaign which closed with the surrender of Burgoyne. At the battles of Stillwater and Saratoga Major Dearborn was especially distinguished. In 1778, now having the rank of lieutenant-colonel, Dearborn served with the main army in the Jerseys. On the hot field of Monmouth he behaved with conspicuous gallantry and effect. Having repulsed an attack of the enemy and driven him in rout from that part of the field. Dearborn approached Washington commanding in 37 2C 434 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. person, for further orders. " What troops are those ? " inquired the General. " Full-blooded Yankees from New Hampshire, sir," replied Dearborn with a salute. Washington expressed approbation of their conduct and highly complimented them in general orders of the next day. In 1779 Dearborn accompanied Gen- eral Sullivan in the expedition against the Six Na- tions and participated in the battle of Newtown, August 29, in which the Indians under Brant and the Tories under Sir John Johnson were summarily punished. In the following year he was with the main army in New Jersey. In 1781 he was ap- pointed deputy quartermaster-general and served as such on the staff of Washington till after the sur- render of Cornwallis. Colonel Scammel being killed in the siege of Yorktown, Dearborn was appointed colonel of the regiment and served in that capacity until the close of the war. In 1784 Colonel Dearborn removed to the district of Maine. A few years later he was appointed a brigadier- and a major-general of militia in quick succession. He took an active, part in affairs and was twice elected to represent the Kennebec district in Congress. He was also for some time marshal of the district of Maine, receiving his appointment in 1790 from Washington. After the -close of the administration of President Washington, the people of the country began to form themselves into two distinct parties with opposing political dogmas. These organizations gradually came to be known as the F.ederal and the Republi- can party respectively, Mr. Jefferson being the un- doubted leader of the latter, leadership in the former SECRETARY DEARBORN. 435 being disputed by the adherents of John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and others. General Dear- born cast his fortunes with the party of Jefferson, and was regarded as a leading representative man of the old Republicans in New England for many years. On the accession of Jefferson to the presidency, March, 1801, General Dearborn was appointed Sec- retary of War and remained at the head of the De- partment for eight years. He was a thoroughly intelligent, honest, and energetic Secretary. On his retirement from the War Department Gen- eral Dearborn accepted the office of collector of the port, Boston, a position of large political influence and profit. This office he held until his appointment as senior major-general in the United States Army, January, 181 2. He was placed in command of the Northern Department. The surrender of Hull and the unfortunate affairs on the Niagara in the summer and fall of this year had a depressing effect upon the people ; but the capture of York, now Toronto, Can- ada, in April and of Fort George on the Niagara in May, by Dearborn, restored the national spirits. He was about to carry out a plan for the capture of Kingston when he was relieved of command. The order relieving him simply stated that he was re- lieved "on account of ill health." He demanded a court of inquiry, and persisted in the demand, but in vain, and the matter has ever since been a subject of much debate. The truth would appear to be that the order relieving the General was the result of a political intrigue. President Madison was a pro- foundly thoughtful statesman and most amiable man. His writings are admirable studies for statesmen, 436 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. evincing uncommon powers of original reflection and strength of reasoning. He will forever retain the admiring regard of all his intelligent countrymen, and it is hardly possible that the time will ever come when the influence of his mind will not be consider- able in American affairs. Nevertheless, this great statesman and pure man was a poor war President. And singularly enough, as it may seem to some, this fact was due to good rather than to faulty qualities in his character. He had so much of the milk of human kindness in his nature that it was impossible for him to be a good hater. It is impossible for a man to be a first-rate war President without this faculty. It was right here that President Lincoln at first failed and continued to fail until terrible experi- ence taught even him — " the kindest heart that ever beat " — to become a good hater. This lesson Mr. Madison never learned, and was under the influence of intriguers more than he knew. General Dear- born was surely among the most influential of North- ern Republicans. For eight years he had shared the confidence of Mr. Jefferson. His revolutionary his- tory was fairly heroic. In the beginning of the cam- paign of 1 8 1 3 he conducted the war in his theatre with great energy and success. A campaign or two like that would be likely to wrest the leadership of the party from those to whom it had, so to say, been assigned by the powers, and transfer it to others. eThis the summary decapitation of General Dearborn prevented. He was permitted to remain in a sort of situation of disgrace, without inquiry and without explanation. Afterwards, President Madison nomi- nated him Secretary' of War. He was rejected by SECRETARY DEARBORN. 437 the Senate. After the rejection, President Madison explained the matter fully to a number of Senators when they all averred that had the facts been known General Dearborn would have been unanimously confirmed. The power behind the throne which pre- vented Madison from giving this information before action by the Senate was the same as that which relieved General Dearborn in the first instance. I am convinced that the masterly strategy of Mr. Monroe in this business has never been surpassed if it has been equalled. However all this may be, General Dearborn, still demanding a court of inquiry, was assigned to the command of the district of New York, with head- quarters in the city, threatened, as was supposed by the enemy. He remained in this command until the close of the war. After the war he settled upon his estates at Roxbury, near Boston. He was once or twice the candidate of the Republicans for Governor of Massachusetts but was defeated. From May, 1822 until 1824, when he resigned, he was Minister to Portugal. Returning to his home in Massachusetts he remained in retirement until his death, June 6, 1829. --s, General Dearborn was a clear and forcible writer. About the year 1818 he published an article in a magazine of the time on the battle of Bunker Hill, in which he undertook to demonstrate that General Putnam was not at all engaged at the front at th^ battle. The article created a notable sensation, quite a new " battle of the books," and has left the point in some dispute ever since. Other writings of his — accounts of some of his military campaigns — are 37* 438 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. published in his Life by his son Henry A. C. Dear- born, who was also a man of note. General Dearborn was a man of impressive pres- ence, tall and fine looking. He invariably won the cordial respect of all who became acquainted with, him. No word in challenge of his perfect integrity was ever uttered. HON. WILLIAM EUSTIS, SIXTH SECRETAR V OF WAR. UPON the accession of President Madison, Gen- eral Dearborn was appointed collector of the port of Boston and Hon. William Eustis, of Massa- chusetts, was made Secretary of War. He was born in Cambridge, July lo, 1753. He received a thorough education, graduating at Har- vard University in 1772. Adopting medicine as his profession he studied with the famous Dr. Joseph Warren, who was slain at the battle of Bunker Hill. He served during the revolutionary war as a surgeon in the army. For some years he was stationed at the house of Beverly Robinson^ opposite West Point, where Arnold had his headquarters. After the war he engaged in the practice of his profession. He was for several years a member of the Massachu- setts legislature, and for two years a member of Governor Sullivan's Council. In 1800 he was elected a Representative in Congress and was reelected two years afterwards. Becoming Secretary of War in March, 1809, at a time when our difficulties with Great Britain were strongly tending toward open war, he remained in charge of the Department until intelligence of Hull's surrender of Detroit was re- ceived, when he resigned in feelings of chagrin because of tliat calamitous event. In 18 14 he was appointed Minister to the Netherlands and occupied 439 440 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. that office until the summer of 1818, when at his own request he was recalled. Two years afterwards he again entered public life and was elected a member of Congress, serving until 1823. In that year he was elected Governor of Massachusetts and was reelected in the following year. He died while in that office, February 6, 1825, having attained the age of 72 years. Mr. Eustis was distinguished for frankness of disposition and decision of character. It is doubtful whether any surgeon in the army of the revolutionary war had more influence in military circles than he. He was fond of army life, and being appointed sur- geon-general of General Lincoln's forces to suppress Shays's insurrection, became generally known as " the fighting doctor." In the many public positions he filled he conducted himself with credit but not with brilliancy. In private life he was without stain and without reproach. GENERAL JOHN ARMSTRONG, SEVENTH SECRETARY OF WAR. GENERAL JOHN ARMSTRONG, of New York, who became Secretary of War in January, 1813, was a native of Pennsylvania. He was born at Car- lisle in that State, November 25, 1758. His early mental training was good, and he was a student at Princeton college when, in 1775, he volunteered in a Pennsylvania regiment and from that time forth until the close of the war was actively engaged in military duty. He served as aide-de-camp to Gen- eral Mercer, until his death from wounds received at the battle of Princeton, and afterwards in the same capacity with General Gates, having the rank of Major. He was with Gates during the campaign of Saratoga and was actively and gallantly engaged in the operations which resulted in the capitulation of the whole British army under Burgoyne. After the virtual close of the war by the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, the principal body of American troops, it is well known, remained in the vicinity of West Point for a considerable period. There was great and general complaint in the army — and it was also uncommonly just — on ac- count of arrearages of pay, and the fear that the war would be finally closed without a settlement of accounts. This great trouble, with its imminent threatened danger to the country is historical. The 441 442 HISTORY OF THE WAS DEPARTMENT. threatening attitude of the army, in the apparent neglect of Congress, is equally well known. In this situation the celebrated " Newburgh Letters," setting forth the services and destitution of the army and urging aggressive measures of relief, appeared. They were written with great power and eloquence, and in truth almost persuaded the army to march against Congress. The difficulty was happily surmounted, as we have seen in the life of General Knox, by the patriotism and elo- quence of Washington. Major Armstrong was the author of the " Newburgh Letters." Speaking of them in a letter, January 23, 1797, nearly fifteen years after their appearance, Washington said : " I have since had sufiicient reason for believing that the object of the author was just, honorable, and friendly to the country, though the means suggested by him were certainly liable to much misunderstand- ing and "abuse." This is the verdict of history. After the war Major Armstrong became Secretary of State and also Adjutant-General of Pennsylvania. In 1 784 he conducted a vigorous campaign against the disturbers of the peace in the Wyoming valley, which was followed by the civil organization of that territory and its eventual quiet, after much disturb- ance, as related in the life of Colonel Pickering. In 1789 Armstrong removed to the State of New York and for several years engaged in agriculture. In 1800 he was elected to the United States Senate and served in that body for four years- gaining no litde distinction. He then resigned to accept the office of Minister to France offered him by Presi- dent Jefferson, and to which he was formally ap- SECRETARY ARMSTRONG. 443 pointed in June, 1804. In March, 1806, he and James Bowdoin of Massachusetts were appointed Commissioners Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary to treat with Spain concerning territories and mat- ters of dispute between that kingdom and the United States. The Commissioners conducted ne- gotiations at Paris, but they amounted to nothing. Armstrong returned to America in 18 10. In July, 18 1 2, he was commissioned a brigadier-general in the United States Army, but without having had opportunity for much service in the field he was appointed Secretary of War in January, 18 13, Mr. Eustis having resigned. This office General Arm- strong conducted with exceptional energy and good sense, effecting not a few salutary changes in the or- ganization of the army. The sack of Washington, however, and ill fortune in the Canada campaign produced a popular clamor against him, and, like Eustis, he escaped to the wilderness of private life, carrying the sins of others on his shoulders. From this time he lived in retirement on his estates in New York, with the exception of a considerable period that he spent in Maryland. Though in re- tirement he lived not in idleness or ease. His vigorous pen was kept well at work, and he wrote a fine, pugnacious Review of General Wilkinson's Memoirs, a brief but first-rate " History of the War of 1 81 2," and lives of Generals Montgomery and Wayne. These latter are included in Sparks's "American Biography." He had also written a " History of the American Revolution " which was nearly ready for publication when a fire which de- stroyed his home consumed also the manuscripts 444 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of this work. He died April i, 1843, at the vener- able age of 85 years. There have been few more able Secretaries of War than General Armstrong. He was thoroughly acquainted with the art of war and with the organi- zation of our own army. He took charge of the Department at a time when by a series of accidents, or a run of general ill luck, military matters were at loose ends. He at once greatly improved the situa- tion and placed matters in such train as eventually led to the organization of victory for the American cause; but this did not come until some time after he was compelled by public clamor to retire from the Department, the second Secretary of War made the scapegoat of military inefficiency and worse during the last war with England. General Armstrong was a powerful and an exceedingly caustic writer. As a soldier he was brave and efficient, as a Senator saga- cious and laborious, as an executive officer notably intelligent and energetic. In private life he was greatly esteemed and loved by those who knew him well, though a certain pugnacity of manner and ex- pression caused him to be much misunderstood by strangers. The " Newburgh Addresses " were for a time much misinterpreted and Armstrong as their author was charged with being unpatriotic. In truth, these eloquent essays were unanswerable appeals in behalf of common honesty to the army on the part of the government, apparently criminally careless of its duty in that regard. They saved the army, through arousing Washington, Knox, and others, to super- human exertions, from most unjust treatment and the government from descending into a situation of SECRETARY ARMSTRONG. 44S inexpressible disgrace, ftence I think that though General Armstrong rendered his country much valu- able service, he is entitled to the highest credit of all on account of the " Newburgh Addresses," they in reality accomplishing the most good of all. 38 JAMES MONROE, EIGHTH SECRETARY OF WAR. ON the resignation of General Armstrong after the sack of Washington, James Monroe, Secretary of State, was, under a general law authorizing the President to select one member of the cabinet to take charge for the time being of another Depart- ment, designated as Secretary of War. As Mr. Monroe virtually abdicated the Department of State to take charge of that of War at an imminent crisis in our history and for a considerable period gave his main attention and labors to the latter Department to the great benefit of the country and to the salvation of the administration, as I think, from deserved general opprobrium, I have thought it but simple justice to place him among the regular Secretaries of War. It is certain that no head of the Department ever in the same period performed greater or more difficult labors or accomplished more good results than Mr. Monroe. His life is historical, and I need only give here a brief outline of it. He was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, April 28, 1758. His early intel- lectual training was excellent, and he was graduated from William and Mary College at the age of eigh- teen years. He immediately joined the patriot army. He took part in the battles of Harlem and White Plains. At the battle of Trenton he was distin- guished for gallant conduct and was severely 446 SECRETARY MONROE. i,/i,'J wounded. He was promoted to a captaincy on ac- count of bravery at Trenton. During tlie years 1777-78 he acted as aide to Lord Stirling and was conspicuous for gallantry at the battles of the Bran- dywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. He was per- sonally thanked for bravery by Washington on the field of Monmouth. Not long after this he retired from the army and studied law with Jefferson who was at the time Governor of Virginia. When the State was invaded, Monroe again performed valu- able military services. He became Military Com- missioner of Virginia and in this capacity visited the Southern army under De Kalb spending some months of the year 1 780 in the South. Two years after this he was a member of the legislature and immediately thereafter one of the executive council of the State. From 1783 to 1786 he was a delegate in Congress, in the latter year becoming again a member of the legislature. In 1788 he was a mem- ber of the convention which had been called to take action upon the federal constitution of 1787. It is well known that there was a strong party in Vir- ginia, led by very able men, opposed to ratifying the constitution mainly on the ground that it con- ferred too much power upon the central govern- ment. One of the leaders in this party was Mr. Monroe himself who in the convention took an active part in opposition to the ratification of the constitution of which in later years he became one of the most illustrious friends and expounders. In 1790 he was elected to the United States Senate and remained a member of that body until he was appointed Minister to France in May, 1794. In the 448 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Senate, Mr. Monroe was hostile to the administra- tion of Washington differing with some of its policy in point of principle. When he arrived at Paris as our Minister Plenipotentiary the situation was one of great reaction. Robespierre was no more ; the reign of terror was at an end. Mr. Monroe was publicly received by the National Convention, and the speech he made on the occasion expressed sen- timents so completely in harmony with the feelings of the time that he was publicly embraced by the President of the Convention, and it was at once de- creed that the American and French flags should be entwined and hung up in the chamber of the Con- vention in sign of the union and friendship of the two republics. Monroe presented the American flag to the Convention in the name of his country. It was received with enthusiasm and a decree in- standy passed causing the national flag of France to be transmitted to the government of the United States. During his stay in Paris Mr. Monroe con- tinued to be greatly popular with government and people. But his course was not approved by the government of the United States. Upon his ap- pointment he had been fully instructed to explain the views and conduct of the United States in forming the treaty with England of which France complained. That he might do so successfully he had been amply supplied with documents on the subject. These he neglected or declined to use, and the jealous ill feel- ing of France toward our government increased. Mr. Monroe, on the 22d of August, 1796, was re- called. On taking his leave in the following Decem- ber Mr. Monroe was addressed by Mr. Barras, Presi- SECRETARY MONROE. 449 dent of the Directory, in terms highly complimentary to the Minister about to depart but insulting to his country. It would have been only manly and patri- otic in Mr. Monroe to have resented this insult in- stead of quietly acquiescing in it.^ On his return to the United States he published a vindication of his course as Minister to France, which, with the accom- panying correspondence, made a large volume and which amply sustained the wisdom and uprightness of his general conduct. Governor of Virginia from 1799 to 1802 he ex- hibited in that office those great executive abilities which were afterwards so conspicuously shown at the head of the War Department and at the head of the Nation. He also manifested those views in behalf of the rights of the States of which he later became so distinguished an expounder. Very early in 1803, Mr. Monroe was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to treat jointly and separately with Robert R. Liv- ingston, Minister Plenipotentiary, with the govern- ment of France concerning the rights and interests of the United States in the Mississippi River and in the territories westward thereof. The practical re- sult of this mission was the purchase of Louisiana, being that vast expanse of territory belonging to the United States west of the Mississippi except the por- tions acquired by the annexation of Texas and the war with Mexico. Mr. Monroe remained abroad being appointed Minister to England. In 1805 he was associated with Charles C. Pinckney in the nego- tiation of a treaty with Spain by which we acquired considerable Spanish territory. Two years later, as- 38* 2D 4SO HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. sociated with him being William Pinkney, he nego- tiated an elaborate commercial treaty with Great Britain, but President Jefferson refused to submit it to the Senate because it did not provide against impressments. In the autumn of 1807 Mr. Monroe returned to the United States. In 18 10 he was again elected to the Virginia Assembly, and was also again Governor of the State till November, 1 8 1 1 , when he became Secretary of State in the cabinet of President Madison. His natural abilities and his large diplo- matic experience enabled him to discharge the duties of this office with exceptional success. He was pro- moted therefrom to the Presidency. But meanwhile, from the fall of Washington to the spring of 1 8 1 5, when peace had been restored to the country, he had charge of the War Department. He put into the conduct of its affairs wonderful energy and organized victory for his country. As "President of the United States Mr. Monroe justly earned and actually received the love and respect of his countrymen universally. At his first election in 181 6, he received 183 electoral votes to 34 for Rufus King; at his second election in 1820 he received all the electoral votes cast except one. Every administration before his had been less or more stormy. Though Washington was unanimously reelected, the fact was due more to respect for his lofty character and gratitude for his sublime services during the revolution than to approval of his policy. John Adams was fiercely assailed during his whole term and badly beaten at the end of it. Mr. Jeffer- son's embargo measures aroused great opposition in many parts of the country. Mr. Madison's amia- SECRETAR Y MONROE. 45 I bility and genius for intrigue caused him to be, as we have seen, a very poor war President indeed. He constandy received severest criticism from intelligent and patriotic men. Mr. Monroe entered into the chief executive office at an auspicious time. Peace had been restored ; the party opposed to that which he represented had become almost insignificant in the number of its adherents ; several grave questions of constitutional construction had been definitely set- tled ; general prosperity was resuming its healthful sway over the country. The President had the statesmanlike genius to take the best advantage of this favorable situation of affairs and to inaugurate a general sentiment of harmony among the people which resulted in the historical " Era of Good Feel- ing." This he accomplished hardly more by his general policy with regard to foreign and domestic affairs than by his personal efforts in that behalf In the summer and autumn after his inauguration, he made an extensive tour, going as far east as Portland and as far west as Detroit, and being received every- where with kindness addressed the people in such way as to give him a wonderful personal popularity. They came to look upon him and to love him as a friend. During his administration the army and navy were strengthened ; Florida was ceded to the United States ; the independence of the South American states was recognized ; the famous " Monroe doc- trine" was proclaimed, announcing that European interference in American states would not be tol- erated ; pensions to revolutionary soldiers were granted ; vigorous efforts against the slave trade were put forth ; the national debt was steadily diminished. 452 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. On his retirement from the Presidency with the universal good will of the people, Mr. Monroe took up his residence in Loudon county, Virginia, where he lived in dignified retirement until the death of Mrs. Monroe in September, 1830. Soon after this he removed to New York city and there resided with a son-in-law, Samuel L. Gouverneur. He there died July 4, 1 83 1, being the third ex- President whose life was closed on the anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. Among all our Presidents, Mr. Monroe was, per- haps, the most personally, popular among the general masses of his countrymen. A man of solid though not brilliant understanding, he received the cordial respect of most public men of his time and did not excite their jealousy. While a person of very posi- tive character and very positive convictions, he was one of the mildest-mannered men who ever lived. He is one of the very finest examples in all history of the wisdom of catching flies with honey, not vine- gar. As an adroit political manipulator, he has prob- ably never had an equal among the public men of the United States. He had this capacity not only with respect to directing the political action of the general body politic (wherein lay Jefferson's great power) ; but in the details of party and personal affairs. The instances of his "wire-pulling" In the interest of his own ambition are many, and some of them would now be characterized as belonging to Immoral politics. But very few of these were known as his performances at the time, and have not since been discovered as his by any of our historians or biographers. Of large abilities generally, Mr. Mon- SECRETARY MONROE. 453 roe was greatest as a political intriguer. With less ability than many other of our public men, than sev- eral of our Presidents, he yet so conducted the affairs of the government as to confer great and lasting benefits upon his country and to heighten its renown and power among the nations of the earth, and to leave a name which for downright practical statesmanship is superior to that of almost any other of our chief magistrates. In private life this great practical statesman was amiable, interesting, and humorous. His native State erected a handsome and elegant monument with a fine statue to his memory in the beautiful cemetery near the city of Richmond. An unanswerable proof of the strong hold Mr. Monroe gained over the hearts and in the memory of his countrymen is in the fact that visitors from all parts of the land to that consecrated ground always uncover before his tomb and speak with re- spectful affection of the statesman who brought on " the Era of Good Feeling " in America. HON. WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD, NINTH SECRETARY OF WAR. THE greatest man the Southern part of our re- public has produced, excepting only Washing- ton, Marshall, and Calhoun, is William H. Crawford. After the close of the war with England, Mr. Monroe retired from control of the War Department and re- sumed the conduct of the Department of State, where- upon William H. Crawford, of Georgia, was appointed Secretary of War. This was in March, 1815, and he remained at the head of the Department till the close of President Madison's administration. This seems to be a fitting place to remark that several candidates for President have filled the office of Secretary of War. Mr. Monroe was not only a candidate for our highest office, but twice elected thereto. In the notable presidential contest of 1824, there were at first, as we shall presently particularly note, no less than five candidates, of whom Calhoun and Crawford had been Secretaries of War. General Cass, who was the Democratic candidate for President in 1 848, had been Secretary of War under Jackson ; and John Bell, of Tennessee, Secretary of War under Harrison and for a short time under Tyler, was a candidate for President in i860. Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War under Pierce, was President of the Southern Confederacy so long as that pretended government maintained its de-facto existence. Among 454 SECRETARY WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 45 5 all these great men William H. Crawford was by large odds the greatest, excepting only Mr. Calhoun. He was born in Virginia February 24, 1772. When he was 13 years of age his father removed to Georgia with his family. The son, who early gave evidence of extraordinary talents, received a thorough academical education, and on the death of his father in 1778 supported the family for some years by teaching. He then studied law, and en- tered upon the practice in Oglethorpe county in 1 799, In the following year he was appointed with Horatio Marbury to revise the laws of Georgia. The revision was published in 1802. One of his biographers relates that about this time a conspiracy was formed to drive him from the bar, resulting in a duel between Mr. Crawford and a Mr. Van Allen, in which the latter was killed. Mr. Crawford rapidly rose to distinction in his profession. He was a mem- ber of the legislature from 1803 to 1807 in which latter year he was elected a member of the United States Senate and remained such till 181 3 part of the time being President pro tempore. In this body of eminent men he soon became preeminent, acquir- ing leading position as well by the greatness and loftiness of his mind as by the perfect uprightness of his character, and personal and political integrity. He opposed the policy of war with England but, war being declared, heartily sustained the government. On the retirement of Mr. Eustis he was offered the ap- pointment of Secretary of War, but declined it. He was then appointed (April, 181 3) Minister to France and occupied that office about two years. While in Paris he became well acquainted with La Fayette, 4S6 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. and afterwards maintained a correspondence with him for many years. On his return to the United States he became Secretary of War, and remained such until the close of Mr. Madison's administration. During the administration of President Monroe, Mr. Crawford was Secretary of the Treasury. As finance minister he manifested large capacity in every respect and steadily reduced the public debt and improved the national credit during his entire administration of the Treasury Department. The situation of political affairs during the last term of President Monroe was very remarkable. The Federal party had literally fallen to pieces, and the country was unanimously Republican. Monroe was elected President in 1820 unanimously, except that one man in New England voted for Mr. Adams, expressly saying it was simply because he " did not want to see the country too unanimous." This was the famous " era of good feeling " in our politics. Up to this time presidential nominations had been made by congressional caucuses, national conven- tions not being yet invented. The caucus had begun to be somewhat unsatisfactory to the people. By the regular caucus of the Republican party in 1824 Mr. Crawford was nominated for the presidency. But the caucus was not very largely attended, and its action was by many not considered binding. Moreover there was a general determination to break up the system of caucus nominations, which was done by overturning, about the very best action a caucus ever performed. In the early part of the canvass there were five candidates for President in the field — all Republicans — namely: John Quincy SECRETARY WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 457 Adams, Massachusetts ; John C. Calhoun, South Caro- lina; Henry Clay, Kentucky; William H. Crawford, Georgia ; and Andrew Jackson, Tennessee. Of these, no less than three were members of Mr. Monroe's cabinet, — Adams, Calhoun, and Crawford. During the summer, Mr. Calhoun withdrew his name and was very generally supported for Vice-President. The result, as is well known, was a failure of election in the electoral college and the choice of Mr. Adams by the House of Representatives voting by States in February, 1825. Mr. Crawford received the entire electoral vote of Virginia and Georgia, five from the State of New York, two from Delaware, and one from Maryland, in all forty-one votes. In the House of Representatives he received the vote of four States, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. Upon his inauguration, President Adams proposed to Mr. Crawford that he should remain at the head of the Treasury Department, but he declined to do so. He soon returned to Georgia and in 1827 was appointed judge of the Northern Superior Court of that State. In the nullification agitation which soon afterwards occurred he took strong ground against the doctrines of Calhoun and sustained the Union with great ardor and influence. He died suddenly, September 15, 1834, a few miles from Elberton while on his way thither to preside over the court of which he was Judge. William H. Crawford, the greatest and best of Georgia's public men, highly honored every public station to which he was called, and would have greatly honored the highest one in the republic 39 45 8 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. had he been called to fill it. Of his career in the Senate, the National Intelligencer of September 26, 1 834, thus speaks : " Coming there young and com- paratively unknown, and taking a seat in a body even then illustrious for talent and high character, he soon made himself known and respected' by the force of natural ability, energy, and loftiness of mind. His speeches were remarkable for their strength, and his votes for their honesty and independence ; and what procured for him probably more respect and general regard than any other quality, was his un- concealed disdain of everything like pretense, sub- terfuge, or the ordinary arts and tricks of mere party-men. Bold and fearless in his course, he was always to be found in the front of battle. He shunned no responsibility ; he compromised no prin- ciple. If, indeed, he had a fault as a politician it was rather in contemning too haughtily the customs and seemings which form a part of the usages of those who mingle much in public affairs ; preferring down- right truth in all its simplicity, and all its nakedness too, to the circumlocution and periphrase of older and more practiced statesmen. His influence in the Sen- ate soon became proportionate to the respect with which he impressed that body for his abilities, but more than all, for his perfect integrity and unflinch- ing firmness. He became the acting President of that body at an earlier period after entering it than any other individual ever did within our knowledge ; and in that station, which he filled with great dignity and propriety, discovered an aptitude for public busi- ness which strengthened the hold he already had upon the general regard and confidence." As he SECRETARY WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD. 459 thus ably and nobly began his national career he continued it to the end of his high and varied public employments. " In his domestic relations," says the same journal from which I have just quoted, " and in all the private relations of life, he enjoyed no less the love of his family and the affection of his friends, than in his public life he possessed their unbounded respect and confidence." In person, Mr. Crawford had an erect and manly figure ; in manners he was chivalric and elegant; at all times and on all occa- sions he was entitled to " the grand old name of Gen- tleman." V JOHN C. CALHOUN, TENTH SECRETARY OF WAR. WHEN Mr. Monroe became President, he ap- pointed Governor Isaac Shelby Secretary of War. There could have been no appointment more eminently fit to be made. General Shelby had been greatly distinguished during the revolutionary war, serving with the Southern army ; had been Governor of Kentucky ; in the late war had been noted for ef- ficiency in the raising of troops and gallantry in the field. But he declined the appointment, assigning as a reason his advanced age. He was at that time 67 years old, but lived nearly ten years longer. On in- telligence of the declination of Governor Shelby, the President determined to appoint Mr. Calhqun to the position, but as he desired a few months of recreation the appointment was not made till the following win- ter. He was appointed In December, 181 7. Mean- time, the duties of the office were performed by Mr. George Graham, Chief Clerk of the Department, who was designated as acting Secretary by the President under a law of Congress authorizing him to do so. Soon after Mr. Calhoun took charge of the Depart- ment Mr. Graham resigned. John Caldwell Calhoun was born In Abbeville dis- trict, South Carolina, March 18, 1782. His father, an Irishman by birth, was a revolutionary soldier and for many years was prominent in the affairs of South 460 SECRETARY CALHOUN. 46 1 Carolina. He gave his son every advantage of edu- cation. While a lad he was taught by the best tutors, and when prepared therefor entered Yale College and was graduated, with the first honors of the class, in 1804. He studied law at Litchfield, Connecticut, and in 1807 entered upon the practice at his native place. He rapidly rose to eminence at the bar, and in a very short time had an extended and lucrative practice. A born politician, he also soon became prominent in affairs. He was elected to the legislature within two years of his admission to the bar and occupied that office during two legis- latures. In 1 8 10 he was elected a Representative in Congress, taking his seat in December of the fol- lowing year. Here his remarkable powers of debate and of forensic oratory generally soon gave him prominence and national fame. He was recognized as a leader of the Republican party and universally understood to be a "coming man." He ardently supported the policy of war with England and was largely influential in procuring the passage of the declaration of war. Mr. Calhoun remained a mem- ber of the House, all the time taking a leading part in the debates, until he took his seat in Mr. Monroe's cabinet as Secretary of War. He now justly had the reputation of a great statesman. As Secretary of War, Mr. Calhoun entered, so to say, upon an entirely unknown field of operations. Heretofore distinguished as a great orator, a power- ful writer, a profound and subtle thinker, he was now to enter upon the discharge of duties which required large executive ability and great practicality. It is not too much to say that in this new sphere Mr. Cal- 39* 462 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. houn had wonderful success. Among the many eminent men who have conducted the affairs of the War Department not one is entitled to greater praise for intelligence and efficiency than John C. Calhoun. He reorganized the Department, creating therein separate bureaux for the management of army ad- ministration and the conduct of the affairs of the Department. This organization remains substan- tially the same to this day. It greatly improved the efficiency of the Department and resulted in large economy to the government. He established the necessity of a considerable regular army and of a national military school or schools with unanswerable arguments. His management of Indian affairs was characterized by a thorough knowledge of the sub- ject and by vigor. He believed in gradually enforc- ing Indians into the arts of civilization ; opposed the doctrine of recognizing any or all of them as inde- pendent nations ; demanded the abolition of the tribal relation and the substitution therefor of indi- vidual right and property. During Mr. Calhoun's administration of the Department many favorable treaties were made with Indians, both North and South, and garrisons and forts were established in the far North-west for protection against the savages of that locality whose f(^ocious nature — still about the same — was thoroughly well known to the South Carolina statesman. If the American Indians are to become civilized and assimilated with our nationality instead of being exterminated that great achievement of statesmanship and philanthropy must doubtless be wrought on substantially the 'plan suggested by Secretary of War Calhoun more than fifty years ago. SECRETARY CALHOUN. 463 That is to say, briefly, the Indians must all be gath- ered into a few comparatively small reservations, disarmed, subsisted by the government, and forced by the military power to adopt the arts of civilization and its institutions. On this subject the statesmen of this generation may read the reports of Mr. Cal- houn with interest and profit. As we have seen in the life of Mr. Crawford, Mr. Calhoun was one of five candidates for President in the early part of the political campaign of 1824, and that he withdrew being generally supported for the Vice-Presidency. In the electoral college Mr. Cal- houn received 182 votes, while Nathan Sandford re- ceived 30, Nathaniel Macon 24, Andrew Jackson 1 3, Martin Van Buren 9, Henry Clay 2. In 1828, Mr. Calhoun was re-elected, receiving 171 votes, Richard Rush having 83, and William Smith 7. As presiding officer of the Senate Mr. Calhoun was generally dig- nified, impartial, and accurate ; but at times when his feelings were greatly interested he overstepped the bounds of official propriety. One of these occasions was his interruption of Daniel Webster during the delivery of his celebrated speech in reply to Mr. Hayne. Mr. Webster good-naturedly retorted. Af- terwards, for interrupting Senator Forsyth of Georgia Mr. Calhoun was severely rebuked for a violation of official etiquette. A few instances of this nature prevented Mr. Calhoun from being entitled to the reputation of a perfectly admirable, model presiding officer, which was a little later in the history of the Senate so fairly earned by Mr. Van Buren. In 1831, the nullification excitement being at white heat Mr. Hayne resigned his seat in the Senate to 464 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. become Governor of South Carolina, and Mr. Cal- houn, the recognized father of nullification, was elected to the seat. To take it, he resigned the office of Vice-President. He now had two wars on his hands, so to speak, a war with the country quite generally on the subject of nullification, and a war with An- drew Jackson, President of the United States, who never fought with gloves on. In this double contest Mr. Calhoun secured a powerful ally in a newspaper " organ," the Telegraph, of which the editor was the celebrated Duff Green, the inspirer being the " arch nullifier " himself. The excitement continued great and general, for three or four years, Mr. Calhoun being all the time the prominent figure on the side of extreme State rights. His constant and powerful defense of the attitude of South Carolina in this threatening era is matter of history. The difficulty, as is well known, was finally settled without an ap- peal to arms, and Mr. Calhoun soon afterwards went into private life. He spent most of his time in Wash- ington, however, engaged in political and philosophi- cal studies. In March, 1844, he was appointed Secretary of State in the place of Mr. Upshur who had recently been killed by the bursting of a gun on board a steamer in the Potomac River. In accepting this office from President Tyler, Mr. Calhoun was influenced almost exclusively by considerations connected with the Texan and Oregon controversies. Indeed, he expressly stated that he would retire upon the conclusion of those two negotiations. The Texan treaty having been concluded, he at once entered upon the Oregon negotiation, and had made considerable progress therein when he was SECRETARY CALHOUN. 465 superseded by President Polk through the powerful influence of the " Jackson wing " of his party. The mission to England was urgently pressed upon Mr. Calhoun but he firmly declined. He was again elected to the Senate, taking his seat in the winter of 1845, and remaining one of its most distinguished members until his death on the 31st of March, 1850. The doctrines entertained by this remarkable man on the subject of States' rights and African slavery were so ably set forth by him in speech and in his writings that they came to exert a powerful, control- ling influence not only in South Carolina but later in other Southern States. Their adoption by large numbers of the Southern people was, in truth, one of the most potent causes of the war of the rebel- lion in 1861-65, which, from first to last, called under arms, on both sides, more than five million men. Such was the prodigious influence of the peculiar political ideas of Mr. Calhoun as he so powerfully and clearly made them known. It may well be doubted whether any American citizen has more distinctly impressed his mind upon great numbers of his countrymen than John C. Calhoun. It may be said that this vast influence was against the per- petuity of the republic and of free institutions. Very well. But how powerful must have been the mind which could thus propagate erroneous doctrines throughout a great section. Daniel Webster, in his address in the Senate on the occasion of Mr. Calhoun's death, said that his eloquence was "part of his intellectual character. It was plain, strong, terse, condensed, concise; some- times impassioned, still always severe. Rejecting 2E 466 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. ornament, not often seeking far for illustration, his power consisted in the plainness of his propositions, in the closeness of his logic, and in the earnestness and energy of his manner." His writings may be described as his eloquence condensed. He was always perfectly clear and his arguments were so powerfully put that few men were able to answer them. We thus see that the secret of his vast influ- ence was simply his greatness. To .this must be added the power of his unspotted integrity, his un- impeached honor and lofty character. In all the fierce political conflicts in which he engaged, he pre- served the personal respect and love of his oppo- nents, with the exception of the few who had treated him so badly that they necessarily had to hate him. Mr. Calhoun was, perhaps, the finest conversation- alist we have ever had in America. He took special delight in talking with young men, and Mr. Webster tells us in the address from which I have already quoted that social conversation was his only recrea- tion. Stern and unyielding in the performance of his public duties — an iron man — in the privacy of social life he was amiable and tender. His industry was marvellous, and we surely have had among our public men no one more assiduous and conscientious in the discharge of his public duties. These great and good things in the life and character of Mr. Cal- houn caused him to be universally respected by his countrymen notwithstanding so many of them dis- sented from his peculiar political opinions. His well known views on tariffs and other subjects of discus- sion of his time accord with the opinions of the world's best thinkers. "Few of our" public men SECRETARY CALHOUN. 467 since those of the revolutionary era," said the Ma- tional Intelligencer^ in announcing Mr. Calhoun's death, " have filled a larger space in the public eye ; few have acted a more important part on the stage of American politics ; few have left a larger void in the public councils ; and not one has descended to the tomb with a deeper devotion on the part of per- sonal friends, or with a larger share of public admira- tion than this illustrious Carolinian." The Works of Mr. Calhoun, edited by Richard K. Cralle, were published a few years after his death by the Appletons. They consist of his public letters, speeches, official reports and papers, and miscella- neous political writings, forming six volumes. His Memoirs appeared later. HON. JAMES BARBOUR, ELEVENTH SECRETARY OF WAR. ON the inauguration of President John Quincy Adams Mr. Calhoun, who had been elected Vice- President, was installed in that office. He was suc- ceeded as Secretary of War by the Hon. James Barbour, of Virginia. This gentleman, who became so distinguished in affairs, was the son of Colonel Thomas Barbour, a noted soldier of the revolu- tionary war, and was born in Orange county, Virginia, June lo, 1775. His early education was imperfect, but becoming a deputy sheriff he found means of studying law at an early age, of which he took such great advantage that he began the practice of that profession some time before he had reached the age of legal majority. Hard study and unusual powers of oratory caused him to rapidly rise in his profession and also in politics. He became a member of the House of Delegates and there greatly distinguished himself as a debater and as a practical legislator. One of his most beneficent legislative measures was an act against duelling, — a stringent law against that barbarism which he proposed and was instrumental in carrying through the legislature. He eloquently sustained the famous resolutions of Mr. Madison on the powers of the general government and the rights of the States commonly called " the resolutions of 1798-99." Mr. Barbour was for a considerable 468 - SECRETARY BARBOUR. 469 period speaker of the House of the Virginia legisla- ture, as his brother, Philip P., was also speaker of the national House of Representatives. James Barbour was Governor of Virginia from 1812 to 181 4, and in that capacity very vigorously sustained the war with England. On intelligence of the sack of Washington by the British in August, 1814, Governor Barbour issued an eloquent proclamation in denunciation of the atrocities committed by the enemy, and earnestly called upon all men in the commonwealth " capable of bearing arms, and particularly such as are young and without families, to repair to the standard of their country, to defend their homes, their property, and their liberty, their wives, their children, and their aged parents." Thousands of volunteers answered this energetic call, so that it was said the very bones and nerves of the State had entered into the contest. Other States followed the example of the Old Do- minion, and the British soon got out of the way. On retiring from the gubernatorial chair ,of Vir- ginia Mr. Barbour took his seat in the United States Senate (March, 181 5), and for ten years was one of the recognized leaders of that body ; a leader in de- bate, in forensic eloquence, in influence. For some three years he was President pro tempore, and left that position only to become Secretary of War. He conducted the affairs of the Department with ability for three years. In May, 1828, he was appointed Minister to England, and served in that capacity until the autumn of the following year, when he was relieved by Hon. Louis McLane, of Delaware, ap- pointed soon after the inauguration of President Jackson. After his return to America Mr. Barbour 40 47° HISTORY OF THB WAR DEPARTMENT. remained in private life, but he presided over the Whig Convention- held at Harrisburgh in 1839, which put in nomination " Tippecanoe and Tyler too " for the tremendous presidential campaign of the follow- ing year. Governor Barbour died on June 8, 1842. The National Intelligencer oi the loth thus sums up his life and character : " Last evening's mail brought us the sad tidings of the death of the Hon. James Barbour, one of the noblest of the sons of Virginia ; who had filled with honor the highest trusts which his State could repose in him, successively during many years Speaker of .her House of Delegates, Governor of the State, and her Senator in Con- gress ; and in the general government had sus- tained with ability the offices of Secretary of War and Minister to Great Britain ; but the virtues of whose private life and character outshone all the splendor with which popular favor or political dis- tinction could adorn his name." GENERAL PETER B. PORTER, TWELFTH SECRETARY OF WAR. GENERAL PETER B. PORTER, of New York, who in 1828 succeeded Governor Barbour as Secretary of War, was a native of Connecticut. He was born at Salisbury, August 14, 1773. He had every advantage of intellectual discipline. He was graduated at Yale College in 1791, and then studied law at the famous Litchfield school. Being admitted to the bar, he determined upon making western New York his home, and entered upon the practice in Canandaigua. He speedily became prominent at the bar and popular as a politician. In 1 808 he was elected to Congress and served as a Representative till 181 3. He was chairman of the Committee on Foreign Re- lations, at that time the most important committee of the House. He reported the resolutions for the declaration of war with England. In 181 3 he was created a Major-General of Volunteers, and as such had command of the New York and Pennsyl- vania line. In July he successfully defended Black Rock against the British. In the batrfes of Chip- pewa, Niagara, and Fort Erie he was distinguished for gallantry and efficiency, and received the com- mendations of his commanding officers and a reso- lution of thanks and a gold medal from Congress. In 181 5, President Madison offered him the appoint- 471 472 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. ment of commander-in-chief of the United States Army, but he declined it. An episode in General Porter's life in the autumn of 1812 ought to be related. He accompanied Gen- eral Smythe on bis " Canada expedition." That of- ficer proposed to wipe out the disgrace of Hull's surrender and of the defeat of Queenstown by an energetic invasion of Canada. He accordingly is- sued a tremendous manifesto. But at the very time for action, when the troops were anxious for the fray, he countermanded the whole expedition and the re- sult was an unbounded abortion. General Porter, who had 2,000 men ready and anxious for any ser- vice, posted General Smythe as a coward. Smythe retorted, saying that Porter's courage and patriotism were solely actuated by gain or loss as he was an army contractor. A duel on Grand Island followed, in which shots were exchanged in an intrepid manner by both parties, when the seconds brought about a reconciliation. In 1814 he was again elected to Congress, but re- signed before the expiration of his term to accept the office of Commissioner under the treaty of Ghent to settle the north-eastern boundary. About the same time he was appointed Secretary of State of New York but declined. In 181 7 he was a candidate for nomination to the governorship of New York against De Witt Clinton who defeated him. He then re- mained in private life until 1828, when Mr. Adams appointed him Secretary of War. He remained in charge of the Department till the close of that ad- ministration when his public career came to an end. SECRETARY PETER B. PORTER. 473 He died March 20, 1844, at Niagara Falls, having attained the age of 71 years. General Porter was a great benefactor of western New York. He was one of the earliest friends and advocates of the Erie Canal and in 1810 was ap- pointed, with Governeur Morris, Stephen Van Rensse- laer, De Witt Clinton, William North, Simeon De Witt, and Robert Fulton the first commissioners in regard to inland navigation. He constantly con- tinued a friend of the great practical enterprise till its success. In other enterprises whereby western New York was greatly benefitted his name will be permanently connected, no one, in fact, being more prorhinently identified with the history of that part of the State, political, military, or industrial, than Peter B. Porter. As a soldier. General Porter was distinguished for high qualities to command and by great coolness and courage. In affairs, he was sagacious, shrewd, and able, though in the later years of his life he became somewhat heavy in intellect. He was the father of Hon. Augustus S. Porter who for some years was a Senator in Congress from the State of Michigan, and, by a second wife, of Colonel Peter A. Porter, of the 129th regiment New York volunteers, who was killed at the battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, in 1864, while gallantly leading his command. He had the faculty of money-making, and at his death was worth half a million dollars, at that time a colossal fortune. 40* MAJOR JOHN H. EATON, THIRTEENTH SECRETARY OF WAR. OF the early life of Major John H. Eaton — as he came to be universally called after becoming prominent in public life — little is known. He was a native. of Tennessee, where he was born about the year 1786, and where he received a liberal education. Very early in life he manifested an unusual genius for politics, and it is certain that he became one of America's most adroit political managers. He was United States Senator from 181 8 to 1829, when he was appointed Secretary of War by President Jack- son. He remained at the head of the War Depart- ment till the breakup of the cabinet in 1 831, when he retired, more to relieve the President, to whom he was devoted, from embarrassment than because the President wanted to get rid of him. Such was not the fact ; for General Jackson was no less devoted to Mr. Eaton, and to Mrs. Eaton, than Eaton was to him. Three years afterwards Mr, Eaton was ap- pointed Governor of Florida and remained in that office two years. He was then appointed Minister to Spain. This office he filled from March, 1836, until May, 1840, when he returned to America, and afterwards remained in private life at the national capital. He died there, November 17, 1856, "aged about 70 years," according to the obituary notices of the public journals. Major Eaton was unquestionably 474 SECRE TAR Y EA TON. 475 a ripe scholar and a respectable jurist. He was also an uncommonly brilliant conversationalist, abounding in humor, anecdote, and powers of quick repartee. But he was lacking in moral elements ; and these, after all, form the only sure and safe foundation for general respect and lasting renown. He was. the author of an elaborate but partisan hfe of Jackson which was published in 1824. GENERAL LEWIS CASS, FOURTEENTH SECRETARY OF WAR. GENERAL LEWIS GASS, fourteenth Secretary of War, was for so long a period prominent in the miUtary, pohtical, and diplomatic affairs of the United States, that to write a full account of his life would be to write much general history as well as personal biography. This would not comport with the character of these sketches ; and I shall only undertake such brief outline delineation of his life and character as may serve to place them clearly before the mind of the reader. Lewis Gass was born at Exeter, New Hampshire, October 9, 1782. He was the son of an officer of the revolutionary army. Having received an aca- demical education, he determined to seek his fortune in the West. When only about 1 7 years old he went to Ohio, most of the way on foot. He there studied law, and entered on the practice in 1 802, the year in which Ohio became a State. He took an active part in politics and was a member of the legislature and a prominent man in the affairs of the State before he was 25 years of age. In 1807, he was appointed United States Marshal for the State and held that lucrative office until the breaking out of the war with England. He was then appointed Golonel of the Third Ohio regiment with which he marched to Detroit and reported to General Hull. He strongly 476 SECRETARY CASS. 477 urged the invasion of Canada, and was actively en- gaged with his regiment until Hull's surrender, in which he was included though he was at the time absent from Detroit on an important expedition. He had expressed emphatic disapprobation of the retreat from Canada, but words failed him in his detestation of the disgraceful surrender. He was paroled and spent the following winter in Washington. He was exchanged in the spring of 1813 and having been commissioned a colonel and then a brigadier-general in the army of the United States, served in the North- west under General Harrison, He bore a gallant part in the battle of the Thames, and on all occa- sions showed himself to be a brave and gallant soldier. In October, 181 3, General Cass was appointed Governor of Michigan Territory and held that office for eighteen years. He was also Superintendent of Indian affairs for the Territory, and as such nego- tiated many treaties with various tribes by which peaceful relations were established and the develop- ment of the Territory by civilization secured. Under his governorship the Territory was steadily settled by a people — largely from New York and New England — noted for intelligence and the spirit of progress. He was a good Governor. In the summer of 1831, General Cass was ap- pointed Secretary of War by President Jackson and assumed the duties of that office on the ist of August. He remained in charge of the War Department until October, 1836, when he was appointed Minister Pleni- potentiary to France. At this time our relations with France were not altogether friendly on account of 478 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. disputes growing out of the famous spoliation claims, and the appointment of General Cass as minister to that country may be regarded as evidence not only of great friendship on the part of the remarkable man who was then President but also of the emi- nence which General Cass had attained as a public man. He conducted the affairs of the legation with success and contributed to the amicable adjustment of all disputes which was at length brought about. In the autumn of 1842 he requested his recall and in the latter part of that year returned to the United States. General Cass now entered upon a political career of great prominence. He performed much valuable service for his party on the hustings in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. In 1845 he was elected United States Senator by the legislature of Michigan. He soon became recognized as a leader of the Demo- cratic party and much talked of as its candidate for President. In 1848 he was nominated by the Demo- cratic national convention as candidate for that office. The Whig nominee was General Zachary Taylor, while the Free-Soilers had for their candidate ex- President Martin Van Buren. The result was the defeat of General Cass by General Taylor. Upon his acceptance of the nomination General Cass re- signed his seat in the Senate, but the legislature reelected him for the residue of the unexpired term. At the end of the term he was again reelected, but at the time that term expired, Michigan had joined the new Republican party by a powerful majority (every county in the State voted for Fremont in 1856) and in March, 1857, General Cass retired from the SECRETARY CASS. 479 Senate making way for the famous, intrepid, and honest Mr. Chandler. But though General Cass went out of the Senate he did not go out of public employment. On President Buchanan's inaugura- tion, the General was appointed Secretary of State, and remained in that office until December, i860, when he resigned because of the President's refusal to reenforce the garrison of Fort Sumter. Hence- forth he lived in dignified retirement at his beautiful home in Detroit. He there died June 17, 1866, at the good old age of 83 years. As a soldier. General Cass was universally re- spected on account of his gallantry and energy. During the many years in which he was Governor of Michigan — at that time extending beyond the upper Mississippi River — he showed great executive capacity, performing valuable service in instituting surveys of lands and rivers and lakes, in promoting immigration, and in the management of Indian affairs. As the head of the War Department he was distin- guished for energy, but was not a little criticised at the time for his policy of removing the Ijidians west of the Mississippi River, which brought on the Sem- inole war in Florida with its many years of blood and expense. As a Senator he had large influence in that body and in the country. His style of oratory was dignified, his voice sonorous but pleasing to the ear. In later years of his life when he had grown corpu- lent, he spoke as though his tongue were too large .for his mouth. He sustained in the Senate the meas- ures of the Democratic party and was habitually def- erential to the slave power. He sustained the com- promise measures of 1850 and the Nebraska bill of 480 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. 1854. He opposed the Wilmot Proviso, and on one occasion even attacked the Quintuple treaty on ac- count of its suppression of the slave trade. In the war for the Union he all the time heartily sympa- thized with the national cause. In his personal character General Cass was perfectly upright. He was never charged with peculation of any kind. He became greatly wealthy but by the simple advance in price of lands which he had bought at low figures. Some of these now form part of the beautiful and growing city of Detroit and, of course, became very valuable during the General's lifetime. In the use of mipney he was not at all generous and probably gave to benevolent objects as little as any man of equal means who ever lived. In conversation he was agreeable but not brilliant. He was fond of good wine of which he was an excellent judge, and de- tested a poor article with great vehemence. Perhaps the only respect in which he was absolutely generous in the use of money was in his expenditures for wines, herein making a marked and not favorable contrast to one of his most distinguished predecessors in the War Office, Samuel Dexter. When General Cass retired from the War Depart- ment to take the mission to France, it of course left the office of Secretary vacant. There being but a few months until'the administration of Jackson would close he did not like to fill the Secretaryship lest he. might thereby embarrass Mr. Van Buren. Hence under the law one of the other members of the cabinet was designated by the President to per- SECRETARY AD INTERIM BUTLER. 48 1 form the duties of the office for the time being. The cabinet officer so designated was HON, BENJAMIN F. BUTLER, OF NEW YORK. He was born at Kinderhook, December 15, 1795. On his mother's side he was a lineal descendant of Oliver Cromwell. He received a liberal education. He studied law with Martin Van Buren, and on his admission to the bar in 181 7 became a partner of his distinguished preceptor. He was, in truth, a born lawyer, and very soon after his admission became eminent at the bar. His legal abilities soon secured for him the position of District Attorney at Albany. Elected to the legislature, he was appointed on a com- mission with John Duer and J. C. Spencer to revise the statutes of the State. By this time he had become one of the most eminent lawyers of the country, and in 1834 he was appointed Attorney-General of the United States by President Jackson, succeeding Roger B. Taney in that office. In 1838 he was appointed United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and performed the duties of that office with great energy and success until the close of Mr. Van Buren's adrninistration. He was instrumental in the establishment of the University of New York in which he became a law professor. In 1854 he left the Democratic party in the general stampede on account of the Nebraska bill, and be- came an ardent Republican. In 1858, he went to Europe for the benefit of his health, but died on November 8 of that year at Paris. He was a man 41 2F 482 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of perfecdy pure personal character, and one of the best lawyers which the American bar has produced. There has been no better Attorney-General than he, but as temporary head of the War Department he was only called upon to perform its routine duties. He is one of our few public men who have less gen- eral renown than they justly deserve. JOEL R. POINSETT, FIFTEENTH SECRETARY OF WAR. JOEL R. POINSETT was born in Charleston, I South Carolina, March 2, 1779, of refined and wealthy parents. They went to England when he was a mere child and remained there several years. He received a very thorough education but on ac- count of delicate health did not pursue a collegiate course. He was supplied with the best of tutors, and spent two or three years under the celebrated Presi- dent Dwight, at Greenfield, Connecticut. In 1796 he went abroad and was engaged in travel and study. He journeyed over much of Europe and considerable portions of Asia all the while giving much attention to scientific and general studies. He became partic- ularly familiar with the science of medicine and with the military art, and an accomplished classical scholar. Returning to America in 1809, he was soon afterwards sent by the United States government on a general mission to South American states which had recently revolted against Spanish domination. Having estab- lished friendly and commercial relations between his government and Buenos Ayres, he crossed the con- tinent to Chili. The Spanish authorities of Peru' having invaded Chili and siezed and condemned a number of American vessels at Talcahuano, Mr. Poinsett put himself at the head of a small number of Chilians, marched on Talcahuano, retook that 483 484 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. place, and released the vessels. Hearing of the war between his country and England, he returned home with the purpose of entering the army, but peace was declared before his arrival. News, as well as every- thing else, travelled slowly in those days. He was elected a member of the legislature of his State where he originated and secured the passage of several valuable measures of internal improvements. He was a Representative in Congress from 1821 to 1825. While occupying this office he was appointed on a special mission to Mexico, at the time under the brief reign of Iturbide. He discharged the delicate duties of the mission with tact and success. In 1825, he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the republic of Mexico, and though others had been appointed to that post before him no one had ac- tually occupied it. He was the first American Minis- ter to that republic. He was also appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the famous Panama Congress. Early in his mission to Mexico he negotiated a treaty of commerce between our government and that country. Later, his position became one of constant annoyance and difficulty and at times of im- minent danger to the Minister. The country was in a greatly disturbed condition by reason of no end of local factions ; Spain was still contending to regain power, sending armies. of invasion; a singular jeal- ousy of the United States had possessed many minds, or rather the notion that the republic of the United States was extremely jealous of the republic of Mexico! Mr. Poinsett, it appears, had estab- lished one or two lodges of Free-Masons, and though none but prominent patriots and republicans became SECRETARY POINSETT. 485 members of these societies they were charged with being a secret means for the reestabHshment of Spanish authority. Several of the Mexican States demanded his recall and a proposition of this kind in the Congress was defeated by only three votes. Threats of assassination were freely made against him, and at one time the office of the legation was attacked. In all these difficulties and dangers Mr. Poinsett remained perfectly cool and dignified. " In the discharge of my duty," he said, " I know no fear." His intrepid conduct awed his assailants, and while preserving the honor of his country and the sacred- ness of its flag on the occasion just referred to, se- cured him the special regard of his countrymen everywhere. He returned to the United States in the early part of 1830. An exceedingly interesting portion of Mr. Poin- sett's life was that with regard to the nullification agitation, which, originating in South Carolina, at this time and for a considerable period afterwards caused great excitement throughout the whole country. In this famous contest Mr. Poinsett was the leader of the Union cause in South Carolina, a position for which his great abilities, unflinching pluck, lofty char- acter, persuasive eloquence, and conservative nature peculiarly qualified him. Thus a strong arkd respect- able Union element was maintained in South Caro- lina during all the dark hours of the "folly and mad- ness" of nullification. Upon Mr. Van Buren's inauguratian as Pi-esident, in March, 1837, Mr. Poinsett was made Secretary of War. This position he retained during the adminis- tration, and so conducted its affairs as to .receive the 41 * 486 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. general approbation of the country, when not much connected with Mr. Van Buren was generally ap- proved. Mr. Van Buren is about the least under- stood and the most unappreciated of all our histori- cal characters. He is the great American " wictim o' gammon." While Secretary of War, Mr. Poinsett took a leading part in founding the National Institute, to which he contributed a valuable museum. Later he founded an Academy of Fine Arts at the city of Charleston. He was the author of a work on Mexico, published in 1824, and after his retirement at the close of Mr. Van Buren's administration, delivered a number of addresses on scientific and practical topics, which, with miscellaneous essays were pub- lished and had a considerable popularity. He died at Stateburgh, South Carolina, December 12, 1851, universally loved and respected by all of his intelli- gent countrymen and by the world of letters. He was the last of his family. HON. JOHN BELL, SIXTEENTH SECRETARY OF WAR. THE Hon. John Bell, of Tennessee, who was Sec- retary of War during the brief presidency of General Harrison and for a short time under Mr, Tyler, occupied a conspicuous position in American affairs for a long period of years. And yet, though he has now (1879) been dead only a decade his mem- ory has almost entirely faded out of the minds of his countrymen. And he is only one of many such instances in the history of our public men, whose ephemeral renown in the great majority of cases sadly reminds us of the solemn words of Burke : " What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue." John Bell was born in Davidson county, Tennessee, February 15, 1797. He had a good education and was graduated from Nashville University in his eigh- teenth year. He was admitted to the bar before he was twenty years of age, and entered upon the prac- tice of law at Franklin. He was remarkably pre- cocious, appearing older than he was. Before he had reached his legal majority he was elected to the State Senate and took a leading position in that body, so that his constituents desired to return him but he declined a reelection. He now for ten years devoted himself most energetically to the study and practice of his profession in which he became greatly success- ful and distinguished. Having thus acquired a com- 487 488 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. petency he again manifested ambition for public life. In 1827 he was elected a Representative in Con- gress and was six times consecutively reelected making an uninterrupted service in the House of fourteen years. Of the XXXIV th Congress — 1835- 37 — he was Speaker. On leaving Congress he be- came Secretary of War. His appointment to that important position in the Cabinet gave lively satis- faction to the Whig party throughout the country. The course of President Tyler in opposition to Whig policy and his treacherous treatment of his Secretary of the Treasury, the distinguished Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, resulted in a complete break-up of Tyler's cabi- net in September, 1841, except that Mr. Webster, with a politico-moral imperturbability that has never been clearly explained to his credit, did not resign as Secretary of State. The conduct of Mr. Bell in this crisis was perfectly manly and above-board. He re- signed, as he publicly stated, because Mr. Tyler had made a Whig administration impossible. Mr. Bell now returned to Tennessee and again devoted himself for a few years to his profession. In 1847 he was elected a member of the legislature, but that body elected him to the United States Senate. On the expiration of his term he was re- elected. It thus happened that in the lower and upper houses of Congress Mr. Bell served for a period of about twenty-five years. Whether in the one or the other house he was a leading member, and, as we have seen, he became Speaker of the House. He was one of the ablest advocates of the distinctive doctrines of the Whig party — protective tariffs, internal improvements by the general govern- SECRE TAR Y BELL. 489 ment, national banks — that the party ever had. He was also a man of liberal views and of a broad spirit of nationality. He opposed nullification ; he sus- tained the right of petition for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia ; he opposed the annex- ation of Texas ; he sustained the compromise meas- ures of 1850; he opposed the Nebraska bill with great power; he opposed the admission of Kansas under the fraudulent slave constitution of Lecomp- ton ; he opposed secession, and remained a friend of the Union throughout the war. In i860, Mr. Bell was nominated for the Presidency by the National Union party, Edward Everett being associated with him on the ticket as candidate for Vice-President. This ticket carried several States receiving 39 electoral votes. From this time until his decease Mr. Bell lived in retirement in his native State. He died at Nashville, September 10, 1869. He was a man of amiable disposition, a most agreeable companion. His convictions were profound, and he was never known to swerve from what he believed to be the strict course of duty. He had great popularity, being always stronger than his party in Tennessee. He attributed this to the fact that he never sought popu- larity. " Let a man do what is right," he used to say, " and he will be popular without trying to be." I do not think of but few Southern men, prominent in the last forty years, who appear to have been guided by any feeling of nationality. Eminent among these was John Bell, and he was the last of the great and select few of that section of our country south of the latitude of Baltimore. JOHN C. SPENCER, SEVENTEENTH SECRETARY OF WAR. JOHN C. SPENCER, seventeenth Secretary of War, was the son of the distinguished Ambrose Spencer of New York, for some years Chief Justice of the State, and illustrious in our annals as jurist, states- man, and philanthropist. The subject of this sketch was born at Hudson, January 8, 1 788. At eighteen years of age he was graduated from Union College. In the following year he was appointed private sec- retary to Governor D. D. Tompkins and from this time until the close of his life he was less or more prominent in the politics of New York and the na- tion. He pursued legal studies during leisure hours, and having the invaluable aid of his father's advice and instruction, made great progress in acquiring a knowledge of the law. He entered upon the prac- tice at Canandaigua in 1809, which continued to be his residence till 1845, when he removed to Albany. He filled various offices of a professional character in western New York and in 1814 was postmaster of Canandaigua. He was a Representative in Con- gress from 1 8 1 7 to 1 8 1 9. One of his principal essays while in that office was an elaborate report against the United States Bank of which in later years he became a friend and advocate. After leaving Con- gress he was for some years in the legislature, first 490 SECRETARY SPENCER. 49I in the Assembly, of which he was Speaker in 1820, and then in the Senate. In 1827 Governor Clinton appointed Mr. Spencer one of the commission to re- vise the laws of the State. Mr. Spencer's work in this laborious and difficult task was of great value to the commonwealth. During the anti-masonic excitement which continued for several years after the abduction of Morgan, Mr. Spencer was appointed a special at- torney-general under a lawpassed for the purpose to prosecute those connected with the alleged abduction and murder. Becoming involved in a controversy with Governor Throop, Mr. Spencer resigned this position. In 1832 he was again a member of the Assembly. From 1839 to 1841 he was Secretary of State and also Superintendent of Public Instruction. In October of the latter year he succeeded Mr. Bell as Secretary of War. In March 8, 1842, he was made Secretary of the Treasury. The National In- telligencer of the next day said : " Mr. Spencer, the newly appointed Secretary of the Treasury, entered on the duties of his office yesterday. We think it due to truth to say that, whatever objections may justly lie against Mr. Spencer politically, his intel- lectual capacity, promptness of decision, and untir- ing application fit him in a more than ordinary degree for the arduous duties of the department to which he has been appointed." In January, 1844, Mr. Spencer was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court in place of Judge Thompson deceased, but the nomination was rejected by the Senate by a vote of 21 yeas to 26 nays. In the following June Mr. Spencer resigned the office of Secretary of the Treasury, and 492 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. proceeding to Albany henceforth devoted himself to professional and literary pursuits. He also gave much attention to the establishment and improvement of charitable institutions of the State and the enlarge- ment of the system of popular education. He ed- ited the first American edition of De Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" which had a very wide pub- licity. He died May i8, 1855. JAMES M. PORTER, EIGHTEENTH SECRETARY OF WAR. TAMES MADISON PORTER, who was Secretary J of War from March 8, 1 843, until January 30, 1 844, was a native of Pennsylvania. He was born at Selma, in that State. January 6, 1 793. Receiving a good gen- eral course of mental training, and taking a thorough course of legal studies, he entered the profession of law at an early age and became an eminent lawyer and jurist. Before entering upon practice, however, he had served a considerable time as a volunteer in the war of 181 2. For many years Mr. Porter de- voted himself exclusively to the duties of his profes- sion but in 1838 he was elected a delegate to the Convention called to revise the Constitution of Penn- sylvania. In this body he bore a prominent part, his judicial impartiality and dignified oratory eminently fitting him for a leading position in a deliberative body of this kind. In March, 1842, Mr. Porter was appointed Sec- retary of War by President Tyler, succeeding Mr. Spencer who was transferred to the Treasury De- partment. He performed the duties of the office until January 30, 1843, when his nomination was rejected by the Senate. The long delay in any action in the case was at the instance of Mr. Porter's friends, who thought they might overcome the oppo- sition sufificiently to secure his confirmation. In this 42 493 494 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. they were wofully mistaken ; for Mr. Porter only re- ceived three votes, thirty-eight being cast against him. Hereupon he went into retirement, passing the residue of his life at Easton. He was several years President Judge of the district court embracing his residence, and was for a quarter of a century Presi- dent of the board of trustees of La Fayette College, Easton, of which he had been one of the founders. He died at Easton November ii, 1862. He was a man universally respected for his personal virtues and generous benevolence. His rejection by the Senate in 1843 was wholly due to political intrigues and bargains. WILLIAM WILKINS, NINETEENTH SECRETARY OF WAR. WILLIAM WILKINS was born at Carlisle, Penn- sylvania, December 20, 1779. He was the son of John Wilkins an ofificer in the revolutionary army and a pioneer of western Pennsylvania. His son received his education in Pittsburgh. He became a business man, largely engaged in manufacturing and also in banking. In 18 19, he began his political career by being elected to the legislature. He was United States Senator from 1831 to 1834, but did not distinguish himself in that body. In June of the latter year he was appointed Minister to Russia. His mission was somewhat celebrated by his elegant absenteeism. He was recalled in 1836. In 1842 he was elected a Representative from Pittsburgh to the XXVIJIth Congress. While occupying that position he was appointed Secretary of War — February 15, 1844, and was at once unanimously confirmed by the Senate. In April Mr. Wilkins published a long " address of the Secretary of War to the people of the XXIst congressional district of Pennsylvania," on the subject of the annexation of Texas and in favor thereof. His argument had a powerful commercial flavor, his main point being that Pittsburgh would find a new and permanent market for her steamboats and other manufactured articles in Texas, if Texas, 495 496 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. with her many navigable rivers — he mentioned seven or eight byname — were once an integral part of the Union. He also dilated on the " sugar crop " of Texas, and on the building thereon of a "protec- tion " party in the extreme South. The address con- clusively demonstrated that Mr. Wilkins was a very great wag or a very small statesman. He died June 23, 1865. WILLIAM L. MARCY, TWENTIETH SECRETAR V OF WAR. WILLIAM LEARNED MARCY was born In Worcester county, Massachusetts, December 12, 1786. He was graduated at Brown University in 1808. He then engaged in teaching for a time at Newport, Rhode Island, studying law also at such hours as he could. About 18 10 he removed to Troy, New York, and there entered upon the practice of his profession. He served as a volunteer during the war with England, distinguishing himself, October 22, 181 2, by the capture of a corps of Canadian militia at St. Regis, being the first prisoners taken on land and their flag the first captured during the war. At the close of the war Mr. Marcy resumed his practice at Troy. In the following year he was appointed Re- corder of Troy. For a time he was the editor of the Troy Budget, a Republican journal of influence. In 1 82 1 he was appointed adjutant-general of the State. He now rapidly rose to the first honors of the State, to national and world-wide renown. In 1823 he be- came State's Comptroller. In 1829 he was appointed associate justice of the Supreme Court and gave up this honorable office only to become United States Senator in 1831. Holding this office for two years he was successively elected Governor of New York until 1839, when, after an animated canvass, he was defeated by William H. Seward. His friend Mr. Van Buren being President, Mr. Marcy was consoled for his defeat by appointment as one of a board of 42 * 2 G 497 498 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Commissioners to examine and decide upon certain Mexican claims then pending against the govern- ment. He was engaged in the performance of the judicial duties of this position about three years, when he returned to Albany, which he had made his home upon assuming the office of Comptroller. He remained in retirement less than three years, for upon Mr. Polk's accession to the Presidency in March, 1845, M*"- Marcy became Secretary of War and remained such during the administration. This term of office embraced the entire period of the war with Mexico. President Polk was neither a bad nor a great man, but he had all the bad and despicable faults of an intriguer. The strong men in his cabi- net were the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Treasury, Robert J. Walker. But for the inflexi- ble integrity and square dealing of these eminent statesmen the administration would have been dis- graced by the management of our armies on the unconscionable rules of an old-fashioned party can- vass. Against a proposed programme of this nature Marcy and Walker stood like a stone wall and it was not allowed to succeed. During the war and the ad- ministration he conducted the affairs of the Depart- ment with uncommon vigor and with perfect fidelity to the country and to the army. At the close of the administration Mr. Marcy re- turned to private life, but continued to be active and potent in the politics of New York. At the national convention of the Democratic party in 1852, Mr. Marcy was supported for the Presidency by many friends during the whole of the long contest for nomination. In several ballotings he received be- SECRETARY MARCY. 499 tween 90 and 100 votes. General Pierce becoming President in March, 1853, called Mr. Marcy to the head of his cabinet and he continued to be Secretary of State till the' close of the administration. While the administration of President Pierce has been justly condemned for many things in its domestic policy and for the " Ostend manifesto " proclaimed by three of its prominent representatives abroad, it is neverthe- less true that the management of difficult and exciting questions with Great Britain, Austria, and the tumult- uous Central American States conferred high honor and world-wide renown on Secretary Marcy. He cared nothing for the glare of popularity, but his state papers have a solid merit, a manifestation of ponderous intellectual power which place him among the first of American diplomatists. On returning to Albany, Mr. Marcy intended to make the tour of Europe with his family. Prepara- tions for the journey had been nearly completed, when, his family desiring to visit friends to the westward of Albany, he made a visit to Ballston Spa. He there died suddenly of heart disease near noon of Inde- pendence Day. The telegraph announced the fact as follows : " Mr. Marcy was found dead in his room at noon to-day. He appeared to be in his usual health, this morning." He had in truth been suffer- ing slightly from palpitation of the heart for some time. A little before 1 1 o'clock he personally called upon his physician and directed that he call at his hotel. Returning to the hotel Mr. Marcy directed that the doctor be sent to his room and at once re- tired thither. Presently the doctor came, called at the room, knocked, but receiving no response, re- 500 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. turned to the office. Waiting a few moments, it now being about twenty minutes since Mr. Marcy had given the direction to the clerk, he went again to the room and opening the door found Mr. Marcy lying on his couch perfectly dead. The body, fully clothed, lay as if in the repose of slumber, without a muscle distorted, and with a book In one hand lying on the breast. It was evident that the vital organ had instantly ceased to perform its functions and that the great statesman had painlessly passed from the repose of sleep to the repose of death, I do not know that I can so appropriately close this imperfect sketch of this great and universally beloved man as in the words of the National Intelligencer — a journal politically opposed to Mr. Marcy — of Monday, July 6, in commenting on the brief tele- graphic announcement already quoted : " In each minute of time such numbers of victims are ever obeying the final summons that the solemnity of the event Is diminished by its familiarity; but this un- looked for stroke of the destroyer will ' give pause ' to every heart In this vast country ; for no man was more widely known to the intelligent portions of his countrymen for his important civil services, or was more universally respected for his abilities as a statesman, his well-balanced principles, his firmness in the path of duty, and his inflexible Integrity. At his period of life and after the close of his brilliant career under the late administration it is probable that Mr. Marcy would never again have emerged from the shades of private life ; still his death must be regarded as a public loss, and it will be every- where mourned as such." GEORGE W. CRAWFORD, TWENTY-FIRST SECRETARY OF WAR. WHEN General Taylor entered into the chief magistracy political circles at the national capital and throughout the country were in a state of fervent speculation upon the subject of his cabinet. He had been as yet untried in political affairs ; he was notable for reticence. The announcement of his cabinet did much to dispel the fears of even many things that his administration might, by reason of his want of expe- rience in political life, turn out to be unsuccessful. For there has seldom been a stronger cabinet than that of President Taylor. John M. Clayton, William B. Preston, Thomas Ewing, Jacob Collamer, Reverdy Johnson were men of great abilities and national renown. The others of the cabinet were men of large talents and wide celebrity. Of these was the Hon. George W. Crawford, Secretary of War. He was born in Columbia county, Georgia, De- cember 2 2, 1798. His advantages of early study were good. He was graduated from the college of New Jersey, Princeton, in 1820. Having studied law he. entered upon the practice at Augusta. He had fine success at the bar and steadily rose to emi- nence in his profession. He was State's attorney- general from 1827 to 1 83 1. After this he took an active part in politics and several times represented his county in the legislature. In 1842 he was elected SOI 502 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. a Representative in Congress to fill a vacancy and served one session in the House. From 1843 to 1847 h^ '^^s Governor of Georgia. When a candi- date for Governor, Mr. Crawford made an energetic canvass of the State which largely contributed to the political revolution that occurred. He was elected by about 4,000 majority and the Whigs carried both branches of the legislature by almost two to one. This triumph gave Mr. Crawford much prominence in the Whig party. His administration of the af- fairs of the State was vigorous and thoroughly honest. Several measures of economy recommended by him, notably the reduction of the number of mem- bers of the Senate, became laws of the State. Mr. Crawford's appointment of Secretary of War was entirely unexpected by him. It was the result of the voluntary recommendations of many prominent Whigs of the South. He entered upon the duties of the office on the 14th of March. With the other members of General Taylor's cabinet he retired upon the acqession of Vice-President Fillmore to the Presi- dency in July, 1850. A few years later Mr. Crawford made the tour of Europe, and afterwards lived in retirement on his estates near the city of Augusta, where he died. There was considerable delay after the retirement of Mr. Crawford from the War Department in the selection of a successor. During this interregnum the affairs of the Department were conducted by General Scott. SECRETARY [AD INTERIM) SCOTT. 503 GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT, SECRETARY OF WAR AD INTERIM. WInfield Scott was born near Petersburgh, Vir- ginia, June 13, 1786. He was supplied with every means of education, general and professional, having a number of excellent private tutors, and attending William and Mary College. He studied law at Pe- tersburgh and was admitted to the bar there in 1806. He only remained a short time in this profession for in 1808 he was appointed a captain of artillery in the United States Army and from that time forth his life was devoted to arms. A notable event of his short career at the bar was his presence at the famous trial of Aaron Burr for treason. He there made the ac- quaintance of a number of men eminent in law and in literature. He has a long description of the trial in his "Autobiography," concluding with this brief note : "It is a striking fact that three of our ex- Vice- Presidents — Aaron Burr, J. C. Calhoun, and J. C. Breckinridge — became, each in his day, a leader in treason." As to Mr. Calhoun, this will be news to many persons who recollect the definition of treason, Scott found the natural sphere for the development of his genius in the army. He was born a soldier, as Byron was a poet and John Marshall a jurist. He became thoroughly familiar with the details of the military art which he studied with more assiduity than had characterized his college life. In July, 1 8 1 2, war with England being declared about the same time, he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the Second Artillery and ordered to the Canada irontier. He reported to General Alexander Smythe, S04 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. October 4th. On the 13th, occurred the battle of Queenstown in which Scott fought gallantly but in the final and disastrous part of the fight was made prisoner of war. Going by Kingston, Prescott, and Montreal to Quebec, Scott was there paroled, and in the latter part of November sailed for Boston. Reaching Washington on January 13, 1813, he there learned that he had been exchanged. He was soon again in active service reporting to General Dear- born, commanding the Northern army, in May, with his full battalion of artillery. In March he had been appointed adjutant-general with the rank of Colonel and about the same time was promoted Colonel of his regiment. For some time he served under both commissions and as adjutant-general performed valu- able service in the organization of General Dear- born's army on the Niagara frontier. In the capture of Fort George, May 27, Scott commanded the advance and behaved with consummate skill and bravery. He was the first within the captured work and personally lowered the British colors. He was severely wounded by the explosion of a maga- zine. At the battle of Chippewa, July 5, he was equally conspicuous. The enemy here were com- pletely beaten and driven from the field by an actual bayonet charge of the right wing of the army under Scott. He was engaged with even greater promi- nence at the double, day-and-night batde of Lundy's Lane and Niagara Heights and late in the fight was severely wounded, an ounce ball penetrating his left shoulder joint. During the day two horses had been shot under him and he had been much contused by the falls. For Ms gallant conduct in these engage- SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) SCOTT- 505 ments he was brevetted a major-general and voted special thanks and a gold medal by resolution of Congress. By slow and painful stages, interrupted by frequent stoppages, General Scott proceeded to Philadelphia where the care of skilful surgeons soon placed him comparatively out of pain. In the autumn he re- turned to active duty with an important command, headquarters at Baltimore. But his participation in pitched battles during the war with England closed when he fell insensible on the Heights of Niagara. In the spring of 181 5, General Scott was President of a board of several officers to whom had been con- signed the duty — to them one of great pain — of reducing the army to a peace basis. This being done, he set out for Europe in July, in a kind of diplomatic-military capacity, and remained abroad, in England and on the Continent, for more than a year. He remained several months in Paris during its occupation by the allied armies after the battle of Waterloo, and while there witnessed reviews of five hundred thousand troops. Returning in 181 6, he had a respite from participation in scenes of actual blood- shed, though conducting several Indian campaigns, for a period of more than thirty years. It was not, however, a period of repose to General Scott. On the contrary, during this long era of the general cessation of our arms, he performed very much greatly valuable service to his country besides that in the strict line of his military duties, and car- ried on several quarrels with public men in his usual animated manner. One of these was with General Jackson in which both parties lashed each other furi- 43 S06 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. ously with ink. Some six years later, Jackson being then a Senator, an apparently friendly understanding was reached, but still later, Jackson being President caused General Scott to be harassed and tried by court-martial for alleged inefficiency in his brief cam- paigns against the Seminoles and Creeks. General Scott was thoroughly vindicated by the court. Dur- ing the nullification troubles. General Scott thrice visited Charleston, and performed invaluable ser- vice in preventing the outbreak of actual hostilities between the State and Federal forces. During the northern border troubles in 1837-39, when the "Can- adian Patriots" as they called themselves were at brief intervals threatening or attempting raids from our frontier upon Canada, General Scott was uncom- monly active in the suppression of such movements, making several journeys from northern Vermont to Detroit and return. During a lull in this storm he proceeded to the South to supervise the removal of the Cherokee Indians from their hereditary homes in North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama to the lands set apart for them west of the Mississippi. This hard and delicate duty he performed with wonder- ful firmness, discretion, and humanity. In 1839, the inhabitants of Maine and New Brunswick being about to come to blows over the disputed boundary between the province and the State, General Scott was sent thither to arrange the difficulty. He succeeded. In December of this year the Whigs held their national convention at Harrisburgh for the nomination of President. General Scott was a candidate, but not a formidable one. On the announcement of the ballot — by separate State delegations — by which a choice SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) SCOTT. 507 had been agreed upon, it appeared that General Harrison had 148 votes, Mr. Clay 90, and General Scott 16. In June, 1841, General Scott proceeded to Wash- ington and there established his headquarters as commander-in-chief of the United States Army. He remained there much of the time until his departure to take chief command in Mexico in the spring of 1847. On the 9th of March he landed near Vera Cruz with an army of about 1 2,000 men, and speed- ily invested the city which surrendered uncondition- ally on the 26th, With the city fell the powerful castle of San Juan D'Ulloa. Waiting only for re- enforcements and supplies, Scott pushed on into the interior in his memorable march on the city of Mexico, fighting his entire way against an enemy superior in numbers and having every advantage of position. He won the battle of Cerro Gordo on April 18, but moved on almost immediately to Jalapa where no re- sistance was offered. Still marching on, Puebla was reached, and the city surrendered without firing a gun. Here there was some necessary delay but in August the order to move forward was again given, and in about a month the Capital of Mexico was in General Scott's possession. The series of battles of this campaign were admirable exhibitions of skill in command and bravery on the field. Contreras, San Antonio, and Churubusco were won on two days, August 19 and 20, Molinos del Rey September 8, Chapultepec the 13th, and Mexico the 14th. Gen- eral Scott immediately set up a military government and levied contributions on the Mexicans for the sup- ply of his military chest. His conduct in Mexico S08 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. was afterwards the subject of investigation, and was found to have been fully justifiable by the laws of war and the dictates of good sense. On his return home in 1848 General Scott was received with every demonstration of honor by the public and by municipal authorities. His friends again presented his name as a candidate for Presi- dent in the Whig national convention held at Phila- delphia in June. The two stronger candidates than he on the first ballot were General Taylor and Mr. Clay, but on the fourth ballot the vote stood ; Taylor 171, Scott 6}j, Clay 32, Webster 14, the soldier can- didates being fivefold stronger than the statesmen. It is worthy of note that after this Messrs. Clay and Webster were unable to find much merit in soldiers. I may also remark that on one occasion after General Taylor had become President, the Kentucky states- man treated him with studied hauteur which was so manfully and handsomely resented by " Old Rough and Ready " that Mr. Clay retreated from the Exec- utive Mansion a sadder and a wiser man. General Scott in his "Autobiography" speaks of General Taylor almost in terms of supercilious contempt. His success at Philadelphia was unpardonable by the defeated, and their treatment of him a lamentable proof of the weakness of human nature. In 1852, General Scott was again a candidate for the presi- dential nomination and after a long contest in con- vention was nominated, his principal competitors being Mr. Fillmore and Mr. Webster. In the elec- tion he only carried the States of Massachusetts, Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee, — a defeat so SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) SCOTT. 509 tremendous that the Whig party never recovered from its effects. At the breaking out of our civil war General Scott rendered vigilant service in securing the peaceful in- auguration of President Lincoln and in organizing the army for the defense of Washington. He retired from active service November i, 1861, and having made a journey to Europe, spent most of the residue of his life in preparing his "Autobiography," which appeared in two volumes in 1864 and has had great publicity. He had years before published several works of a military character which likewise had an extensive sale and were also extensively pirated. The latest years of his life General Scott spent at the Military Academy, West Point, and died there May 29, 1866, having nearly reached the age of 82 years. This illustrious man was always charged by his enemies, of whom he had many, with overweening vanity and ferocious egotism. The charge is sus- tained by his own " Autobiography " where these qualities are so often manifested that one may well doubt whether he possessed the quality of modesty at all. A notable instance of this is seen in his years of importunity for the Presidency, and in the injustice and downright slander which he dealt out to the emi- nent men who defeated him. It is even more con- spicuous, perhaps, in the air of resignation which he assumes on his final defeat and which would amount to actual satisfaction but for the great harm done the country ! No one of well-balanced mind can read these deliberate manifestations of weakness in Gen- eral Scott without pitying if not despising them. He 43* SIO HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. seems also to have been almost if not quite without the quality of magnanimity. Acquainted with more public men than almost any one of his contempo- raries he probably had more to say in their condem- nation and less in their praise than is easily conceiv- able by a generous mind. About the only two Americans to whom he gives liberal praise are Mr. E. D. Mansfield, who wrote a fulsome biography of Scott, and a Mr. Leigh, of Virginia, who handled the Scott forces at the Harrisburgh convention, and, fail- ing in that, nominated John Tyler for the second place. He is entitled to little credit as a statesman. Whenever he undertook to express himself upon a subject in this domain he was crude, not well in- formed, sometimes even fantastical. His delineation of the character of Mr. Jefferson as a: public man would do no credit to a school-boy. It Is painful to recur to these things on the " off- side " of General Scott's character. His real great- ness was his military genius. He had the genius to command men. His career in the war of 1812 showed that he was a great soldier. His campaign of Mexico is one of the finest exhibitions of soldierly genius of which history gives any account. As a soldier he was great not only in the weighty duties of war but in those of peace. No great captain ever gave more attention to the comfort and happiness of his troops at all times than General Scott. With the object of personally knowing that matters of the kind here referred to were properly attended to he very frequently visited the different forts and garrisons of the country and personally inspected them. Every soldier in the rank and file of the American army SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) SCOTT. SII knew that General Scott was his friend. On account of his success in settling the nullification troubles, the Black Hawk war, the removal of the Cherokees, the Canadian difficulty, the north-eastern boundary im- broglio he was called " the great pacificator." En- titled to the highest honor for his invaluable services in these particulars, they were due to his military genius not to any special diplomatic ability. Let every one of these cases be carefully analyzed and it will be seen that in all of them he gained success more through the fear of dreaded conflict than by peaceful argument. We have since had greater captains than Scott, but it is as a soldier, for more than fifty years defending his country with unsur- passing gallantry in the field, and with splendid plan- ning and execution of campaigns that he deserves the lasting and unmixed gratitude of the republic. HON. CHARLES M. CONRAD, TWENTY-SECOND SECRETAR Y OF WAR. A FTER the accession of Mr. Fillmore to the Presi- r\ dency, he had considerable difificulty in the forma- tion of his cabinet. The appointment of Secretary of War was offered to the Hon. Edward Bates, of Missouri, and declined by him. My recollection, which however may be at fault, is that it was offered to others also who declined. It will be remembered that Fillmore entered into the chief magistracy at a time of intense and general political excitement over the " compromise measures," as they were very inap- propriately called, on the slavery question then pend- ing; It was difficult if not impossible to find great men, who were also honest, to take positions in an administration known to be ardently friendly to those "compromise measures." In the end Mr. Fillrriore succeeded in forming a cabinet better than any one had a right to expect. He offered the War Depart- ment to the Hon. Charles M. Conrad, of Louisiana, at that time a Representative in Congress, and it was accepted. He was appointed August 9, 1850, con- firmed the 15th, and entered upon his duties the next day, relieving General Scott, Secretary ad interim. Charles Magill Conrad was born in Winchester, Virginia, December 24, 1804. When he was very young his father moved to the then Territory of Mis- sissippi, and a few years afterwards settled in Louisi- 512 SECRETARY CONRAD. 513 ana. He gave the son a liberal education and a thorough course of legal studies. He was admitted to the bar of New Orleans in 1828 and practiced there with success. He was a member of the Loui- siana legislature for several years. In 1841, he was elected United States Senator for the unexpired term of Hon, A. E. Mouton, resigned, and occupied that office till March 3, 1843. ^" the following year he was a member of a Convention to revise the Con- stitution of Louisiana. He took an active part, dur- ing the same year, in the presidential campaign ad- vocating the election of Mr. Clay. In 1848 he was elected to Congress by the Whigs of New Orleans and took his seat in the House in December of the following year. He resigned this office to take that of Secretary of War in August, 1850, as stated above. He remained at the head of the Department during the residue of Mr. Fillmore's administration. After his retirement from this office Mr. Conrad resumed the practice of law in New Orleans, and was a prominent member of the bar until the secession of the State broke up the bar and pretty much everything else of value in the commonwealth. In 1 861 he was elected a delegate to the provisional Congress of Montgomery, and thereafter in the con- flict between the " Confederacy " and the Union took prominent part against the Union. He was a mem- ber of the "Confederate Congress" from 1862 till 1864. After the war he again resumed the practice of his profession, but age had impaired his powers and he did not notably succeed. He died February II, 1878. His son Charles A. Conrad, is a prominent lawyer of New Orleans. 2H JEFFERSON DAVIS, TWENTY-THIRD SECRETARY OF WAR. JEFFERSON DAVIS was born in Christian county, J Kentucky, June 3, 1808. His father removed dur- ing his very early life to Mississippi, but Jefferson was sent to Transylvania College in his native State for education. Appointed to West Point he was gradu- ated there in the class of 1828. He served as second lieutenant of infantry till 1833, and then till 1835 ^.s first lieutenant of dragoons. During this period he was engaged in the Black Hawk war and in several expeditions against the Pawnees and other hostile Indians in all of which fine soldierly qualities were exhibited. In 1835, he resigned his commission in the army and entered upon the life of a planter on extensive estates in Mississippi. He had recently married Miss Sarah Knox Taylor, a daughter of General Taylor. This Mrs. Davis died during the same year. In 1845 Mr. Davis appeared as a Rep- resentative in Congress and at once took prominent part in tihe debates of that body and became known to the country as a States' rights Democrat " of the most straightest sect." On the breaking out of the Mexican war he was commissioned Colonel of the First Mississippi regiment and resigned his seat in Congress that he might proceed as soon as prac- ticable to the front. The career of Colonel Davis in the Mexican war is historical and is highly creditable SECRE TARY DA VIS. 5 1 5 to his renown as a soldier. In the operations before Monterey, which resulted in its capitulation Sep- tember 24, 1846, Colonel Davis and his command were specially conspicuous, storming the redoubts on the eastern side of the city where the fighting was more severe than in other parts of the field. After heroic fighting and great carnage the redoubts and with them the city were won. But though Colonel Davis and his gallant Mississippians won the prin- cipal honors in the storming of Monterey, fairly shared, however, by the no less gallant Tennesseeans who participated in the series of bloody conflicts, he and his command won still greater honors on the field of Buena Vista. At the crisis of that eventful struggle 'he sustained and repulsed the united attack of the Mexican cavalry and infantry and saved the day to the American arms. His command was posted on a plateau in rear of a Kentucky and In- diana regiment. The latter, commanded by Colonel Bowles, gave way before the impetuous attack of superior numbers, leaving a terrible break in the American lines. Colonel Davis, to retrieve the dis- aster, instantly formed his command in the shape of a V with the opening toward the enemy, and gave the order to receive " the Greasers " with cold lead but not to fire a shot till the whites of their eyes were plainly visible. The slaughter was awful. Horses and riders fell in promiscuous heaps, and hundreds of riderless steeds, escaping from the sheet of fire, added terror to the supporting lines of Mexicans. Still these again and again renewed the charge but were each time repulsed with terrible loss. At length they retreated from the field and Buena Vista was Sl6 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. won. The Americans had signally defeated an army four or five times their superior in numbers. In the latter part of the batde Colonel Davis was severely wounded. For his conduct at Monterey and Buena Vista he received the warmest praise in General Taylor's official reports. His wounds incapacitating him from service in the field for an indefinite period he returned to Mississippi not long after the battle which he had done so much to win. He was soon afterwards elected United States Senator, and filled that office until 1851. In that year he was a can- didate for Governor of Mississippi, his competitor being the notorious Henry S. Foote. In the cam- paign the question of Union and disunion was dis- cussed, Mr. Foote taking the Union side, but without forcing Mr. Davis into the expression of unequivocal disunion sentiments. The canvass was one of even more than the usual amount of bluster, drinkings, and duellings, and Mr. Davis was defeated. Two years afterwards Mr. Davis became Secretary of War, occupying that position during the adminis- tration of President Pierce. He conducted the War Department with notable success, and with great acceptability to the army. During his administration the army regulations were revised and greatly im- proved and simplified ; rifled guns were substituted for muskets ; the army was increased ; explorations in the West by army officers were vastly extended. There have been very few more accomplished and energetic Secretaries of War than Jefferson Davis. Soon after his retirement from the War Depart- ment Mr. Davis again entered the Senate and re- mained a prominent member of that body until early SECRE TAR Y DA VIS. 5 1 7 in 1861, when he withdrew to join his State in the secession movement. In the Senate he advocated slavery and its extension, the extreme doctrines of State rights, a Southern Pacific railroad, and the gen- erally recognized doctrines of the Democratic party. He made himself especially conspicuous by his ardent opposition to the French Spoliation Bill. His oratory was elegant, fluent, strong, terse, not a little resem- bling that of Mr. Calhoun. Mr. Davis's career as President of the " Southern Confederacy " during the entire period of its unlaw- ful existence is historical. Fleeing southward after the fall of Richmond in the spring of 1865 he was captured by Union soldiery near Irwinville, Georgia, and was thenceforth transferred as a prisoner of State to Fortress Monroe, where he remained, under indict- ment for treason, for two years. He was then released on bail, but still remains under bond to answer to the indictment, should the court ever see fit to call upon him to do so. After his release, Mr. Davis spent some time abroad. Since his return he has been en- gaged much of the time in business at Memphis, Ten- nessee. During this time he has on several occasions expressed his views upon political topics, reiterating the sentiments whose bad influence brought such un- told woes upon the republic, and causing even the most magnanimous Union men of the country to re- gret that he gave no evidence of a change of heart. 44 JOHN B. FLOYD, TWENTY-FOURTH SECRETARY OF WAR. JOHN BUCHANAN FLOYD was born in what is now Pulaski county, Virginia, in 1805. He was for a time a student at Georgetown College, District of Columbia, but went to the College of South Carolina later and was graduated there in 1826. He removed to Helena, Arkansas, and there engaged in the prac- tice'of law for a few years. About 1839 he returned to Virginia and practiced his profession in Washing- ton county. He took an active part in politics and was three times elected to the legislature. From 1850 to 1853 he was Governor of Virginia. In 1856 at the Cincinnati convention he actively supported the nomination of Mr. Buchanan, and, upon his ac- cession to the Presidency he appointed Floyd Sec- retary of War. During the latter part of the ad- ministration he secretly aided the plans of the secession leaders in various ways, and would have doubtless done so to greater extent than he actually did but for the vigilance of General Scott. In De- cember, i860, Mr. Floyd was superseded as Secretary of War by Hon. Joseph Holt of Kentucky. Hence- forth he openly espoused the Confederate cause. He was commissioned a brigadier-general by the Con- federate pretended government. He did not succeed in the army. Driven from West Virginia by General Rosecrans in the autumn of 1861, and routed at 518 SECRETARY FLOYD. 519 Carnifex Ferry September 10, he is next heard of at Fort Donelson, whence, while his superior officers were considering of capitulation, he " stole himself away" with his command in a quite unceremonious and unmilitary fashion. General Floyd was publicly censured by his employers who declined to assign him to further duties. He died at Abington, Vir- ginia, August 26, 1863, having become about as thoroughly disliked by the '^Confederate " as he was by the Union people of the country. JOSEPH HOLT, TWENTY-FIFTH SECRETARY OF WAR. JOSEPH HOLT was born in Breckenridge county, Kentucky, January 6, 1807. He received a thor- ough classical and mathematical education, St. Jo- seph's College at Bardstown and Centre College, Danville, dividing the honors of having directed his intellectual discipline. Having studied law he en- tered on practice in Elizabethtown, where he so well succeeded that in a short time he removed to Louis- ville. This was in 1832. In the following year he became State's attorney for the circuit. In 1835, following an impulse about that time quite prevalent among young lawyers, Mr. Holt removed to the far South. He located at Port Gibson, Mississippi, and there followed his profession with very marked suc- cess for about seven years, when he determined to return to Kentucky and make that his permanent home. Returning accordingly to Louisville he there practiced his profession with constantly increasing reputation for some fifteen years. In 1857, he was appointed Commissioner of Patents by President Buchanan. After the death of Postmaster-General Aaron V. Brown Mr. Holt was appointed to that office — March, 1859. In December, i860, when Floyd withdrew from the War Department, Mr. Holt was designated Secretary of War ad interim. For some time he had charge of both departments but 520 SECRETARY HOLT. 521 being confirmed Secretary of War, Horatio King became Postmaster-General. The cordial coopera- tion of Mr. Holt with General Scott assured the peaceful inauguration of President Lincoln. In the early stages of the civil war Mr. Holt took a very earnest part in Kentucky politics, advocating out-and- out Unionism and denouncing the policy of neutrality with great powers of reasoning and eloquence. In this trying epoch the Union cause did not have an abler advocate than Joseph Holt. And he thus con- tinued throughout the war, sustaining emancipation, enfranchisement — all the great measures of human rights through which the Union cause became en- titled to the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God. Having mean- while filled some minor positions of a military-judicial character, but temporary in their nature, Mr. Holt, in September, 1862, was appointed Judge- Advocate- General of the Army. This position, at this time, of course, one of great labor and responsibility, he filled with success, trying many cases which are recognized as historical. In 1864, upon the creation of the Bu- reau of Military Justice, he was placed In charge of it. In November of this year President Lincoln offered Judge Holt the appointment of Attorney-General which he declined. His duties at the head of the Bureau of Military Justice were exceedingly onerous, and not a few of them distasteful ; but he so conducted them as to deserve and to receive the respect of can- did and intelligent men of all shades of opinion. It was Impossible for any man to direct the affairs of this bureau at this time without subjecting himself to severe criticism. No man could have received less 44* 522 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. of this, that was just, than he. In December, 1875, Judge Holt, who held the rank of Brevet Major-Gen- eral in the Army, was retired at his own request, and Judge William McKee Dunn was promoted to his place in charge of the Bureau of Justice, and has dis- charged the duties of the position with perfect fidelity and exceptional ability. Judge Holt resides in Wash- ington, where he has troops of friends who recognize in him a genuine statesman and a pure and undefiled patriot whose name belongs to the few, the immortal few that were not born to die. SIMON CAMERON, TWENTY-SIXTH SECRETARY OF WAR. SIMON CAMERON was born in the little village of Maytown, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1799. Becoming an orphan when nine years of age, without patrimony, he was compelled henceforth by his own labors to make his way in the world. And it must be confessed he made his way about as suc- cessfully as any man in the world. Having had such " schooling " as the public schools of those days af- forded, and the advantage of the reading of many books, he was apprenticed to a printer in Northum- berland who agreed to teach " the said apprentice in the art, trade, and mystery of a printer." At this time Cameron was 1 7 years old but small in stature and anything but vigorous in health. He went to work at the trade — for his labor he was to receive board, lodging, washing, and ;^20 a year for clothing — but in a few months his employer failed, and the youth was thrown upon his own resources again. Proceeding down the Susquehanna River on a flat- boat to Harrisburgh, he there was taken into a good newspaper office as an apprentice. He learned the art preservative so rapidly and so much improved his mind by reading that at the end of his two years' apprenticeship he was made assistant editor of what was then, outside of Philadelphia, the leading news- 523 524 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. paper of Pennsylvania. During his printer-life Mr. Cameron spent some time in Washington, working at the case and studying politics with his eyes and ears. Having saved some little money in the print- ing business, Mr. Cameron at length drifted out of it, and undertook the construction of some public works as a ^contractor. Successful in this, he estab- lished a bank at Middletown, a few miles down the Susquehanna from Harrisburgh. The business at that time was very profitable and he soon amassed an independent fortune. The bank, established in 1832, is still in existence, and so late as the summer of 1878 Mr. Cameron was still connected with it. Some years after he established his bank Mr. Cam- eron was nominated for Congress by his party but after a few weeks declined the nomination. He took great interest in the construction of railroads, then being introduced as means of transportation and was chosen president of two railway companies. He was also for some time Adjutant-General of Penn- sylvania. In 1845 he was elected United States Senator. Judge Woodward had received the nomi- nation of the regular Democratic caucus, but being "bitten with free trade," the nomination was unsatis- factory to the protectionists. They combined against Judge Woodward and uniting upon Mr. Cameron elected him by a majority of one vote. He served in the Senate four years. He then returned to his bank in Middletown but henceforth was a potent man in the politics of Pennsylvania. On the repeal of the Missouri Compromise in 1854, Mr. Cameron left the Democratic party, and on the organization of the new Republican party shortly SECRETARY SIMON CAMERON. $2$ afterwards became a Republican. In 1857 he was again elected to the United States Senate for a full term. In i860 Mr. Cameron was generally spoken of in Pennsylvania as a candidate for the presidency, and very many public journals of other States men- tioned his name with favorable comments. At the national convention of that year he received 50^ votes for the nomination being the third highest among the candidates balloted for. He received one vote and a half more than Mr. Chase. Being ap- pointed Secretary of War by President Lincoln, March, 1861, Mr. Cameron resigned his seat in the Senate. " How difficult it was to fill the position of Secretary of War then," said Mr. Cameron in 1878, " none but myself can ever know. A few weeks after I had been appointed the war broke out, and from my intimate acquaintance and frequent conversation with Mr. Davis and other Southern Senators, I was convinced that the struggle was to be a long and de- termined one. Neither President Lincoln nor Mr. Seward shared that opinion, however. If I am not greatly mistaken they both thought that ' the disturb- ance,' as the rebellion was at first called, would soon blow over. Nearly all the people were of the same opinion. Indeed, it was almost impossible to find a man who had any intelligent idea of the magnitude of the struggle which was then begun. Oh, it was a terrible time," General Cameron continued, with increasing warmth and earnestness, " a terrible time. We were entirely unprepared for such a conflict, and for the moment, at least, absolutely without even the simplest instruments with which to engage in war. We had no guns, and even if we had, they would 526 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. have been of little use, for we had no ammunition to put in them — no powder, no saltpetre, no bullets, no anything that was needed. I did the best I could under the circumstances, working day and night, to be ready for the great fights which I knew must come. But still there were very few persons who believed that the war would last for more than a few weeks, or months at the most. I clung to my original opin- ion, however, and advised that 500,000 men be raised to put down the rebellion. People laughed at me, thought I was mad. Even Mr. Seward, keen-witted and far-sighted as he was, still believed that the trouble was to be short-lived, and mentioned 75,000 men as an army sufficient for all the needs of the nation. After a time, however, both he and the leading members of Congress began to see their error, and the government was given authority to raise 500,000 men, the number which I at first sug- gested, " As the struggle progressed, the War Department became more and more distasteful to me. Indeed, my position was a most disagreeable one. At first having no means at my command ; then laughed at for predicting that the war would be a long and bloody one ; and all the time harassed by contractors and others who were bent on making all they could out of the crisis, I was certainly not in a place to be en- vied. Still, I held on, doing what I could, until, sin- cerely believing that it would be for the best, I rec- ommended that the negroes of the South be armed and employed in the service of the Union. That idea was a trifle too advanced for the time, and the end of it was that I went out of the cabinet." SECRETARY SIMON CAMERON. 527 Mr. Cameron was appointed Minister to Russia in January, 1862, and Mr. Stanton took charge of the War Department. Mr. Cameron was not satisfied in St. Petersburgh. He only remained there until Sep- tember when of his own motion he threw up the mis- sion and returned home. He reached America in the latter part of the year 1862. Not long thereafter he received an invitation from a considerable number of Republican members of both branches of Congress to visit Washington and attend a consultation in regard to national affairs. He found that it was in contemplation to impeach President Lincoln and re- move him from office ! The friends of this scheme supposed that Mr. Cameron's " sore " feelings on account of his virtual removal from the War De- partment would make him favor the plan. They were greatly mistaken. He energetically denounced the whole business as disastrous and insane, and it was abandoned. He in fact heartily sustained Mr. Lincoln's renomination ; procured a letter from all the Republican members of the Pennsylvania legisla- ture demanding it ; and earnestly supported it in the national convention of 1864, of which he was a member and chairman of the Pennsylvania delega- tion. In 1867, Mr. Cameron was again elected United States Senator, and on the expiration of his term was reelected. In 1877, he resigned and was suc- ceeded by his son, J. D. Cameron, who had for some months been Secretary of War. In the Senate Mr. Cameron always had great influence, though seldom taking part in debates. He was for years second, Mr. Sumner being chairman, on the Committee on 528 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Foreign Affairs. When the proposition to remove Mr. Sumner from the chairmanship was made Mr. Cameron protested against it. He urged his objec- tions in strong terms to Senators and to President Grant. At the time Mr. Sumner's removal was determined upon, Mr. Cameron was at his home, and learning by telegraph that he was to be made chairman he hastened to Washington in the determi- nation to decline and to do all in his power to secure Mr. Sumner's retention. On reaching the Senate he found Mr. Schurz delivering a phillipic against him (Cameron), as the proposed chairman of the Committee. This caused Mr. Cameron to let the matter take its course. Net result : Carl Schurz ousted Mr. Sumner and made Mr. Cameron Chair- man of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Mr. Schurz builded better than he supposed ; for Mr. Cameron, without any fuss or nonsense or classical quotation or any other pretentious stupidity, made a first-rate chairman of the committee, so universally recognized by the Senate. His great common sense was sufficient for every occasion. On his resignation, men asked Mr. Cameron what he was going to do. " I am going home," he said, "to raise turnips and radishes." And in such or other employment calculated to produce quiet happi- ness he has been engaged since his voluntary retire- ment to private life. Nearly eighty years of age he is still vigorous in mind and body. There has been much criticism of an unfavorable nature upon his public career. It is yet too soon to judge of it im- partially and fully, but not to say that all candid men SECRETARY SIMON CAMERON. $29 will agree that under all circumstances he has been potently faithful to his friends, to his State, and to his country. In the present year (1879) General Cameron was the object in a court of justice of a most disgraceful blackmailing assault, which was promptly repelled, to the great gratification of every pure and well- regulated mind. 45 2 1 EDWIN M. STANTON, TWENTY-SEVENTH SECRETARY OF WAR. EDWIN M^MASTERS STANTON was born in Steubenville, Ohio, December 19, 1814. He was a graduate of Kenyon College in the class of 1833. After leaving college he was engaged for some time as salesman in a bookstore at Columbus. During leisure hours he read law and at length pursued a regular course of legal studies. He was admitted to the bar in 1836, and at once entered into practice at Cadiz. In the following year he became prose- cuting attorney. He soon afterwards removed to his native place where he speedily acquired a large and lucrative practice and became distinguished as a lawyer. Between 1839 ^'^^ 1^42 he reported the decisions of the Supreme Court of Ohio, making three volumes. In 1848 he removed to Pittsburgh where and in the Supreme Court of the United States he had one of the largest and most profitable practices in the United States. Before the war of the rebellion his practice was worth more than ^50,000 a year. He was engaged in many notable causes the most celebrated of all, perhaps, being the Wheeling Suspension Bridge case. In 1858 he was sent by the United States government to California to take charge of the government interests in im- portant cases there pending. In December, i860, Mr. Stanton was appointed Attorney-General by S30 SECRETARY STANTON. 531 President Buchanan, During the brief period re- maining of that administration he did all that one man could do to prevent the President from allow- ing the Union to fall to pieces. At the close of the administration he resumed the practice, now remaining nearly all of his time in Washington in charge of his business before the Supreme Court. In January, 1862, Mr. Stanton became Secretary of War under President Lincoln. His career in discharging that responsible trust during the residue of the war is matter of general history. His life in the Department during this period, during the entire period, in fact, in which he was Secretary of War, is so often mentioned with considerable detail in the first part of this work, that little need here be said. Let it suffice to say that Mr. Stanton threw unsur- passed, almost superhuman energy into the conduct of the affairs of the Department and so far as hu- man means were concerned organized victory for the Union cause. General Cameron thus spoke of Mr. Stanton in a conversation in June, 1878 : " He was a great, big, brave, loyal man ; perhaps too harsh and quick-tempered in his treatment of those around him, but nevertheless a thoroughly good and well- meaning man. He had terrible responsibilities which at times caused him to be exacting almost to the verge of injustice, but I am sure that he always intended to do right ; and there is no doubt he was in every way the man best fitted for the place in the government which he was called upon to fill. He was a man of wonderful strength not only of mind but of body, yet even he gave way under the constant, the never- ending strain which was put upon all his faculties. 532 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. His death was hastened by, if it was not the direct result of, overwork in the War Department."^ The relations between Secretary Stanton and Presi- dent Johnson did not long remain agreeable, but Mr. Stanton upon consideration and advice determined not to resign. The crisis of this phase of the diffi- culty came in August, 1867, when the Secretary was suspended and General Grant appointed Secretary of War ad interim. The Senate sustained Mr. Stanton and he was reinstated in January, 1868. In the following May, the impeachment of President Johnson having failed in the Senate, Mr. Stanton resigned. Meanwhile, however, he had been re- moved, in words, by the President, in the month of February, and Adjutant-General Lorenzo Thomas appointed, in form. Secretary ad interim. Mr. Stan- ton remained in possession of the office, however, did not recognize General Thomas and, the Senate sustaining the Secretary, this case of ad interim amounted to nothing. On the 20th of December, 1869, he was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by President Grant and the appoint- ment was promptly confirmed by the Senate it being recognized by that body and by the country as one preeminently fit to be made. But before the com- mission was made Mr. Stanton was dead. He died of heart disease suddenly — though he had not been well for some months — December 24th.^ ' From a conversation between General Cameron and another person, reported in the New York Times of June 3, 1878. From the same valuable article the long quotation with respect to the War Department in the sketch of General Cameron is taken. " The exact manner of Secretary Stanton's death is thus related SECRETARY STANTON. 533 The momentous events in which Mr. Stanton bore so conspicuous, so commanding a part, are so recent that it would be difficult if not impossible for any writer to assign him a place in history which would not cause large dispute. The present generation must pass away before such justice shall be done him as shall be generally, not to say universally, rec- ognized. He was in every respect a tremendous man, in body, mind, morals, and sentiment. On duty, he always had on several hundred pounds of steam to the square inch and could carry more for a greater length of time than almost any other man of history. During the war he several times worked twenty hours a day for months at a time. Not only so, but an hour of Stanton was equivalent to two hours with most men, even those noted for energy. This is a main by Surgeon-General Barnes, in a letter of April i6, 1879, tothe Hon. Edward McPherson, editor of the Philadelphia Press news- paper : . Dear Sir : In reply to your inquiry, I have to state that the late Mr. Edwin M. Stanton was for many years subject to asthma in a very severe form, and when he retired from the War Department was completely broken down in health. Jn November of 1869 the " Dropsy or Cardiac Disease " manifested itself.{after a very exhausting argument in Chambers in a legal case) and from that time he did not leave his house, rarely his bed. For many days before his death I was with him almost constantly, and at no time was he without most careful attendance by members of his family or nurses. On the night of Dec. 23 the dropsical effusion into pericardium had increased to such an extent, and the symptoms were so alarming, that the Rev. Dr. Starkey, Rertor of the Church of the Epiphany, was summoned and read the service appointed for such occasions ; he, with Mrs. Stanton, Mr. E. L. Stanton, the three younger children. Miss Bowie, their governess, myself, and several of the servants were by his bedside until he died at 4 A. M., Dec. 24, 1869. After the pulse became imperceptible at the wrist I placed a finger on the carotid artery, afterward my hand over his heart, and when its action ceased, I annonnced it to those present. * « * » Very respectfully yours, Joseph K. Baknes, M. C 45* 534 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. secret of the sublime results, in the view of friends of the Union, which accompanied his administration of the War Department. No man was ever more " terribly in earnest," and as his executive capacity was unbounded there was no blunder in the conduct of the war after he became Secretary, that was chargeable to him. The exactions of his office de- manded of him directness and promptness. There were times when with him what we call diplomacy, and even the round-about phrases of ordinary polite- ness, would have been crimes. The country never once suffered through such blundering, not even when General Sherman, in his diplomatic bout with Breckinridge, was the party making a wrong move. But not to undertake to make a full delineation of the character of this remarkable man, I think it safe to say that history will in the end pronounce the judgment that the four eminent men who did most of all eminent men to save the republic were Abra- ham Lincoln, Edwin M. Stanton, U. S. Grant, and William T. Sherman. Of these, it would have been more difficult to find a substitute, in the midst of the war, for Mr. Stanton than for either of the others. It is almost Impossible to conceive how the war of the revolution could have gone on to success without Washington, or how the war for the Union could have gone on to final triumph without Edwin M. Stanton. SECRETARY (_AD INTERIM) GRANT. $35 GENERAL U. S. GRANT, SECRETARY OF WAR AD INTERIM. As we have seen in the sketch of Secretary Stanton General Grant was appointed Secretary of War ad interim during the suspension of the former from office. A brief account of the life of General Grant is, therefore, here in order. Ulysses Simpson Grant was born in Clermont county, Ohio, April 27, 1822. He was graduated at West Point in the class of 1843 and was assigned to duty in the army as lieutenant in the Fourth In- fantry. In 1846 he joined General Taylor on the Rio Grande, and participated in the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterey. The regiment joined the column under General Scott, and Lieuten- ant Grant participated in every battle of the remark- able campaign under Scott from the siege and cap- ture of Vera Cruz to the final complete success at the city of Mexico. For gallant- and meritorious conduct during the campaign with special mention of his behavior at Molinos del Rey and Chapulte- pec, Grant was brevetted first lieutenant and captain. After the war he served in Oregon. In 1853 he was promoted to a captaincy. In the following year he resigned, having served eleven years in the army. The period in this now illustrious man's life be- tween his resignation as Captain and his appoint- ment as Colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois Volun- teers at the beginning of the civil war, was of humdrum nature. He returned from Oregon to " the States," and settled down in civil life on a small farm not far from the city of St. Louis. He 536 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. was an industrious farmer, hard-working as any of his neighbors, and certainly in all respects as unpre- tending as any of them, but did not notably succeed in the calling. In 1859 he removed to Galena, Illi- nois, and in partnership with his father and a brother engaged in the leather business. On the breaking out of the war, the distinguished Elihu B. Washburne, then representing the Galena district in Congress, earnestly recommended Captain Grant to Governor Yates as a thoroughly intelligent soldier and man of great energy, the result of which was that Grant was at once employed at the Gov' ernor's headquarters. He raised a regiment of vol- unteers, designated the Twenty-first Illinois, and was commissioned Colonel. His fine military knowledge and capacity in the organization of the Illinois troops soon brought him from President Lincoln a commis- sion as brigadier- general of volunteers. In the autumn of 1861, General Grant assumed command of the district of Cairo, embracing southern Illinois and parts of Kentucky and Missouri. On Novem- ber 8th, he attacked a considerable force of rebels at Belmont, a village in Missouri opposite Columbus, Kentucky. After a sharp battle the place was car- ried, both sides suffering considerably, but the enemy being heavily reenforced from Columbus, Grant was compelled to retreat. This movement he accom- plished with success, leaving only a few badly wounded on the field. Both sides claimed a victory. Eariy in the year 1862, Grant began that famous campaign which, embracing the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson with large numbers of men and immense store and the pitched battle of Shiloh, SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) GRANT. 537 made his name illustrious forever. For his conduct in the siege and capture of Fort Donelson he was commissioned major-general, to date from February 16, the day of the unconditional surrender. This great victory wonderfully invigorated the spirits of the Union people of the country. The battle of Shiloh, however, received no little unfavorable criti- cism on account of which for a time General Grant was under a shadow. The Union army was "here surprised and on the first day of the battle was driven back and worsted until late in the afternoon. Then the tide turned, chiefly by reason of the mag- nificent fighting of General J. D. Webster, Grant's chief of artillery. He massed his guns on an emi- nence in rear of Pittsburgh Landing and by the " most terrific cannonading ever witnessed on this continent," first checked the enemy's impetuous ad- vance and presently caused him to retire from much of the ground that he had won. In this crisis of the battle th'e gun-boat Tyler came to the aid of Webster, rendering the artillery on the land invaluable assist- ance. It will thus be seen that while the Unionists were worsted on the first day's fight, they were so far from being defeated that the tide of battle had visibly turned in their favor before night. General Buell largely reenforced Grant in the evening and the battle of Monday was a sweeping Union victory throughout. In this battle fell General Albert Sidney Johnston, a most gallant and capable soldier and noble man whose only fault was that in a mistaken sense of duty he drew his sword against his country. The unfavorable opinion of General Grant which largely obtained for a time after Shiloh was gradually 538 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. dissipated as the real facts became known. After the battle Major-General Halleck for once went to the front, and Grant served under him in the slow operations against Corinth. In the autumn General Grant again had the principal command of what may conveniently be called the army of the South, and for a time had his headquarters at Jackson, West Ten- nessee. During this fall and winter several move- ments were undertaken against Vicksburgh, but they all failed. The entirely needless battle of luka was fought by Rosecrans in September, and the gallant defense of Corinth made by him in the following month. Near the close of the year, General Sher- man was defeated at the battle of Chickasaw Bayou. In the spring of 1863 General Grant commenced the wonderful campaign of Vicksburgh. Marching around Vicksburgh through Louisiana, he crossed the Missis- sippi near Port Gibson, and defeating the enemy in general engagements at Port Gibson, Raymond, Jack- son, Champion Hills, and Black River Bridge — a series of magnificent operations and combats in which Johnston and Pemberton were beaten in detail — before the close of May he had Pemberton cJosely besieged in Vicksburgh. On the 4th of July, Pember- ton surrendered with his whole army and immense war material, and for the Union the Mississippi River flowed unvexed from its sources to the gulf. This is regarded by many writers of approved judgment as General Grant's most brilliant campaign. It cheered the Unionists wonderfully in all parts of the country ; and their good spirits were greatly increased by intelligence of the cotemporaneous great victory of the Union army on the field of Gettysburgh. For SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) GRANT. 539 Vicksburgh Grant was commissioned a major-general in the United States army and voted the thanks of Congress and a gold medal. But brilliant as was the campaign of Vicksburgh it was scarcely greater in the manifestation of military genius than the campaign of Chattanooga, the next great series of operations directed by General Grant. General Rosecrans had been defeated at the battle of Chickamauga. His army was saved from com- plete disaster by the firmness of General Thomas " who stood like a mountain of granite between the victo- rious enemy and Chattanooga." Secretary Stanton, energetically asseverating that Rosecrans had been needlessly " stampeded " at Chickamauga, demanded his displacement by Thomas. Accordingly Thomas assumed command of the Army of the Cumberland. Grant was appointed to the command of the Military Division of the Mississippi, which embraced the de- partments of the Ohio, of the Cumberland, and of the Tennessee. He proceeded to Chattanooga, arriving October 23d. He reenforced the Army of the Cum- berland with troops from the Army of the Potomac in the east and the Army of the Tennessee in the south-west; with these he raised the blockade of the line of communications with Chattanooga and brought an end to the era of gaunt famine by abundant sup- plies. On November 23d and 24th, he delivered bat- tle. The series of engagements known as Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Ringgold, and Knox- ville were the armed conflicts of this campaign. The enemy were everywhere defeated with great loss of life and store and were driven out of Tennessee with their military power there hopelessly shattered. This 540 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. was the campaign which broke the back-bone of the rebellion and made the triumph of the Union cause a mere question of time. Added to his former achieve- ments it placed General Grant at the head of the military profession. Congress not long afterwards created the rank of lieutenant-general, to which Grant was commissioned very early in March, 1864. He then proceeded to Washington, being every- where along the line of his journey received with universal eclat, and assumed command-in-chlef of the armies of the United States and very soon the com- mand in the field of the forces operating against the principal " Confederate" army under General Robert E. Lee. Of the great campaign of Richmond it is needless to speak, because Its great movements, sieges, and battles are fresh in the memory of the people and form so conspicuous a part of our history that they must forever be quite familiarly known. Baffled here, baffled there by the astute General who opposed him and his army of brave, devoted followers, the persistent hard fighting of Grant at last completely pulverized the military power of the Confederacy and at Appomattox achieved a complete and glorious victory for the Union arms. The war was over ; the Union was saved, and very largely, by universal agree- ment, through the incomparable military genius and undying pluck of General Grant. After the war General Grant remained commander- in-chief of the army, headquarters at Washington. In July, 1866, the rank of full general was created and Grant appointed thereto. When appointed Secre- tary of War ad interim by President Johnson, he ac- cepted the office with evident reluctance, but while SECRETARY [AD INTERIM) GRANT. 54I filling it he performed its duties well and in a fine spirit of independence as to the political imbroglio in which the administration had become involved. In 1868, General Grant was nominated for Presi- dent by the Republican national convention, and in November was elected by a large majority, defeating Horatio Seymour of New York. In 1872, he was renominated and again elected by a still larger ma- jority, this time defeating the distinguished Horace Greeley who had been nominated by the " Liberal Republicans " and by the Democracy. It is yet too soon to judge with impartial fairness of the adminis- tration of President Grant. He has himself ac- knowledged that he made many mistakes, but it is perhaps true that these were as few as had been made by any of his predecessors. As a rule, they pertained to mere detail and will nearly all be for- gotten in a short time. The next generation will care nothing at all about who held the offices In this. In his foreign policy, his Indian policy, his financial policy, he manifested high statesmanship. The ad- ministration which negotiated the treaty of Wash- ington must be forever honored in our annals, whilst the messages of President Grant on financial subjects are models of wisdom and logic which it would be well for all people who think something can be made out of nothing to study. While there were many of our people who bitterly opposed President Grant, and especially criticised him for the choice of many friends who did him no honor, yet I think it is true that he left the presidency with the cordial respect of all his fair-minded countrymen as a man of perfect personal integrity, whose incomparable services in 46 542 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the field and thoroughly patriotic services in council justly entitled him to the eternal gratitude, of the republic. Since his retirement General Grant has travelled abroad, in Europe, Egypt, and Asia. Pursuing his way unostentatiously he has nevertheless been every- where received with distinguished consideration by the great and mighty and with right good will by the masses of the people, who, even those far up the Nile, know at least the oudines of his history and that he was largely instrumental in saving his country from disruption and ruin. GENERAL J. M. SCHOFIELD, TWENTY-EIGHTH SECRETARY OF WAR. JOHN MCALLISTER SCHOFIELD was born in I Chautauqua county, New York, September 29, 1 83 1. He was the son of a clergyman who with his family removed to Bristol, Illinois, when the son who became so distinguished was still under twelve years of age. In 1849, at this time living in Freeport, Illinois, Schofield entered the Military Academy, and was graduated four years later being seventh in the class in general merit. Among his class-mates were Generals McPherson, Sheridan, now Lieutenant-Gen- eral of the Army, Terrill, R. O. Tyler, and the dash- ing Confederate General J. B. Hood. After serving in the artillery for two years in South Carolina and Florida, Lieutenant Schofield was ordered to West Point as an instructor, and occupied the chair of an assistant professor until June, i860, when he received leave of absence for one year that he might accept a professorship in Washington University, St. Louis. He was in this employment when the war broke out. In May, 1861, he was promoted to be captain of artillery in the Army, and about the same time was appointed a major in a Missouri regiment of volun- teers. He assisted in the famous capture of Camp Jackson, St. Louis, on May loth. Soon afterwards he became chief-of-staff to General Lyon, and con- tinued in that employment till the death of the 543 544 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. General at the battle of Wilson's Creek. In this engagement Major Schofield behaved with uncom- mon gallantry and military efficiency. In October, he was commissioned a brigadier-general of volun- teers, and assigned to a peculiar and difficult com- mand, namely, that of about 10,000 Missouri State troops organized and to be organized for the defense of the State against domestic marauders and guer- illas. In the duties of this singular command General Schofield was more successful than any one had a right to suppose he or any man would be. With his State troops he kept guerilla warfare within the narrowest limits, and was able to reenforce a more important theatre of the war with about 10,000 reg- ular volunteers. Early in 1862, he was placed in command of the district of Missouri. General Sam- uel R. Curtis, commanding the " Army of the South- west," having defeated the rebels at the battle of Pea Ridge, marched his army diagonally across Arkansas to Helena. In the summer and autumn of this year General Schofield organized the Army of the Fron- tier, with which he suppressed the guerilla warfare of south-western Missouri, and defeating Hindman in the sharp battle of Maysville, October 23, drove the last organized forces of Confederates in this part of the country beyond the Boston mountains and sent them whirling down the valley of the Arkansas. On November 29th, Schofield was appointed a major-general of volunteers by President Lincoln. His straightforward administration of military af- fairs in the district of Missouri had made him many enemies among politicians and, though they were unable to have his nomination rejected by the Sen- SECRETARY SCHOFIELD. 545 ate, they succeeded in having action on it postponed from time to time until the end of the session, March 3, 1863, when the commission expired. At his own request he was immediately relieved of the command in Missouri, and was ordered to report to General Rpsecrans commanding the army of the Cumber- land. By him Schofield was placed in command of the division of the Fourteenth Army Corps which had formerly been commanded by Thomas. But in a very few weeks President Lincoln reappointed Schofield a major-general of volunteers, and or- dered him back to St. Louis to relieve General Curtis in command of the department of Missouri. Assuming the command early in May, General Scho- field gave first attention to the reenforcement of Grant npw inaugurating the grand campaign of Vicksburgh. General Frank J. Herron with a fine division of the Army of the Frontier — victors of the field of Prairie Grove — was promptly dispatched down the great river, only to be immediately followed by all other troops in the department of Missouri which were not absolutely essential to the simple defense of the command. I think Grant will agree that he never had a more generous and liberal re- enforcer than Schofield. After the fall of Vicksburgh, General Schofield energetically occupied himself in repossessing Arkansas and in other general opera- tions calculated to give the Unionists complete pos- session of all the States west of the Mississippi River, In the midst of these important, duties, in January, 1864, he was relieved of command of the depart- ment by General Rosecrans. President Lincoln heartily sustained Schofield in his administration of 46* 2K 546 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. affairs, but yielded to the clamor of the politicians that the result might demonstrate its injustice. In a very short time the clamor against Rosecrans was vastly louder than it had ever been against Scho- field, and he was in turn relieved by General G. M. Dodge. Leaving this harassing command, General Schofield from this time onward until the close of the war had a sphere of duty in which strictly military operations were alone required of him and though many of these were difficult, some of momentous import, we shall see that he went through all with fine success and constantly increasing renown. On the 9th of Feb- ruary, 1864, General Schofield assumed command of the Army of the Ohio, headquarters at Knoxville, 'Tennessee. Throughout the whole campaign of Atlanta, one of the most brilliant and memorable in all the annals of warfare, General Schofield was conspicuous, — gallant and dashing, but cool as an icicle in battle, quick and wary and vigilant in ma- noeuvres, at all times perfectly steady, as firm and valuable a support as General Sherman could have found had he searched the armies of the world. To relate the events of General Schofield's life at this period would be to relate good part of the opera- tions and combats of General Sherman's army from the time it left -Tennessee until the fall of Atlanta. After Atlanta fell into General Sherman's hands the army pretty generally took a little rest. General Schofield proceeded to Knoxville to attend to certain matters of organization there. In the latter part of October he was ordered to join General Thomas, with the Army of the Ohio and an additional corps, and SECRETARY SCHO FIELD. $47 assist in the defense of Tennessee against the ex- pected invasion by Hood. Early in November, Schofield joined Thomas and instituted vigorous operations in middle Tennessee by taking strong positions far to the southward of Nashville, while Thomas was engaged strengthening his defenses and posting his reenforcements. Schofield delayed the advance of Hood's largely superior army as much as practicable, at the battle of Franklin, November 30, striking his enemy so terrible a blow that he re- coiled before it, leaving Schofield ample time to put his army behind the works of Nashville without further molestation. The battle of Franklin was one of the cleanest and most effective drubbings of a superior by an inferior force that any one ever heard or read of. The bright visions of easy victory in which the enemy had indulged their fancy, of plun- dering Kentucky and thundering through the gates of Cincinnati vanished forever on the field of Frank- lin. In the great battle of Nashville, December 15 and 16, waited for with such sublime patience and so sublimely won by General Thomas, Schofield com- manded the right wing and most prominently of all his lieutenants aided Thomas in winning his com- plete and momentous victory. This was the last of General Schofield's military operations in the West during the war. Early in 1865 he was ordered to move to the East with the Twenty-third Army Corps. This movement, from Nashville to the Potomac was made in just a fort- nieht without the loss of a man or an animal. The General proceeded with his command to Wilmington, North Carolina, and thence marched inland to join 548 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT, « General Sherman at Goldsboro according to orders. Thither Schofield marched, heavily fighting at Kins- ton and elsewhere, always driving the enemy, and arrived at Goldsboro a short time before General Sherman. The war was soon afterwards brought to a close by the surrender of Lee to Grant and of John- ston to Sherman. Since the war, General Schofield has made a military tour of inspection through the South ; was for a while in command of the first mili- tary district, embracing Virginia ; and was later in command of the Department of Missouri. He was Secretary of War from the resignation of Mr. Stanton in May, 1868, until the appointment of General Raw- lins by President Grant in March of the following year. He has also, I believe, since the war made the tour of Europe. He is now and has been for some time superintendent and commandant of the Military Academy at West Point, where, as in every public employment to which he has ever been called he performs his duties with an eye single to the pub- lic good. We may be sure, therefore, that he will continue to merit the favorable opinion of his coun- trymen and the good words of impartial history. GENERAL J. A. RAWLINS, TWENTY-NINTH SECRETAR V OF WAR. JOHN A. RAWLINS was born at Guilford, Illi- J nois, February 13th, 1831. His father was in poor circumstances, unable to procure for him any- thing more than a very limited education, but he had a great love of reading which enabled him to acquire a large fund of information. It also prevented him from being radically damaged by ignorant and rough associates. He labored on a farm and at the hard work of coal-burning until he was about 23 years old when he determined that charcoal-making was not an employment calculated to develop his genius. The manner in which Rawlins emerged from the associa- tions of his early life was exceedingly honorable to him. He went to Galena, there studied law Avith notable assiduity and was admitted to the bar in 1855. He soon had considerable prominence at the bar and a practice which gave sure promise of future emi- nence. Though in politics an ardent Democrat he heartily sustained the war for the Union. In Septem- ber, 1861, he was appointed assistant-adjutant-general with the rank of captain and assigned to duty on the staff of General Grant. From this time forth until his death the history of the life of Rawlins is inti- mately associated with that of General Grant. For he was at the head of the General's staff during the whole of his illustrious military career until his chief 549 5 so HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. became President of the United States when Rawlins was assigned to the head of the War Department, remaining its Secretary until death closed his career, September 6th, 1869. As a staff officer Rawlins was of the greatest ser- vice to the General and to the army. Headquar- ters were always in order and there was never any discourtesy. He always thoroughly understood all the details of the organization of the army and could answer any question with regard thereto with ac- curacy and in the fewest possible words. In a word, he was General Grant's right arm, constantly relied upon by him for relief from the study and direction of mere details. In such constant and invaluable duties as are here spoken of General Grant never relied upon his adjutant-general in vain. His services were ever duly appreciated and generously acknowl- edged. In August, 1863, Rawlins was commissioned a brigadier-general of volunteers and a brevet major- general early in 1865. In the spring of this year he was made chief-of-staff to the Lieutenant-General with the full rank of brigadier-general in the United States Army. And this commission was speedily fol- lowed by one appointing him a major-general. As Secretary of War General Rawlins manifested fine capacity. The place was just suited to his genius. Unhappily, his health soon broke down, and he only had charge of the Department about six months. His early death was deeply deplored throughout the country and brought a feeling of personal sorrow to almost the entire army. It is sometimes greatly hon- orable to die poor, an honor fairly won by Secretary Rawlins. SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) SHERMAN. SSI GENERAL WILLIAM T. SHERMAN, SECRETARY OF WAR AD INTERIM. For some time before the death of Secretary Rawlins whose illness prevented him from attend- ing the War Office, General Sherman performed the duties of Secretary and at length was formally des- ignated as Secretary ad interim. William Tecumseh Sherman was born in Lancaster county, Ohio, February 8, 1820, of excellent stock. His father was Charles R. Sherman, a noted lawyer, his mother, Mary Hoyt, and he was the sixth of a family of the orthodox number of eleven children. While William T. was but a lad his father died of cholera, and he was adopted as a son by the distin- guished statesman Thomas Ewing, a neighbor of the family and a devoted friend to Charles R. Sherman, After receiving a good course of mental training in the schools of Mansfield, young Sherman was ap- pointed a cadet to the Military Academy by Mr. Ewing at the time in Congress. He was graduated June 30, 1840. Among his classmates were George H. Thomas, Stewart Van Vliet, and Bushrod R. Johnson. After graduation he was appointed second lieutenant in the Third Artillery and served at va- rious posts in Florida till March, 1842, when he was transferred to Fort Morgan, Mobile bay. Meantime he had been promoted to a first lieutenancy. Re- maining only a few months at Morgan, he was ordered to Fort Moultrie, near Charleston. At this post he remained most of the time until the breaking out of SS2 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. the Mexican war. Nevertheless, he was on several occasions ordered away on special service of impor- tant nature. On the breaking out of the war he was ordered to Pittsburgh on recruiting service. This business not being agreeable, he asked to be sent to the front. His repeated applications were at length complied with, and in July, 1846, he sailed for Cali- fornia by way of Cape Horn. Th^ Lieutenant's anticipations of active service in the field were not re- alized,, but being appointed acting assistant-adjutant- general in the military department under General Ste- phen W. Kearney, he so energetically and intelligently performed the duties thereof as to receive the hearty good will of the officers of the army on the Pacific coast. In 1850, the Lieutenant returned to "the States." He was soon afterwards appointed a com- missary of subsistence with the rank of captain, at that time a high prize for a subaltern. He was immediately assigned to duty on the staff of the commanding officer of the military department of the West and stationed at St. Louis. In March, 1 851, he was appointed and confirmed captain by brevet, to date from May 30, 1848, "for meritorious services in California during the war with Mexico." In Sep- tember of the following year Captain Sherman re- signed his commission in the army. Soon after leaving the army Captain Sherman re- moved to San Francisco and for several years en- gaged in banking there. In 1857 he went to New York and engaged in the same business for a short period. In 1858 — having meantime visited San Fran- cisco and settled up the affairs of the old banking SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) SHERMAN. SS3 house — he removed to Kansas, and engaged in the real estate and law business.^ In the following summer Captain Sherman returned to Ohio, but being soon afterwards appointed presi- dent and superintendent of a State military college just established in Louisiana proceeded thither to take charge of that institution. He conducted its affairs with great success until early in the year 1861, when, seeing the coming conflict of arms, he sol- emnly warned his Southern friends of the folly and madness of secession, resigned, and returned to his old home in Ohio. About the time of the inauguration of President Lincoln he proceeded to Washington. He there gave out-spoken expression to his views on the magnitude of the coming conflict. They were perfectly pro- phetic but were regarded by the administration as visionary. In June he was appointed Colonel of the Thirteenth Infantry, and soon afterwards ordered to report to General McDowell, and assigned the com- mand of a brigade in the division of General Daniel Tyler in the army slowly getting ready to move " on to Richmond." In the battle of Bull Run this brigade bore a conspicuous part, suffering heavy losses. On the 3d of August he was appointed a brigadier-gen- eral to date from May 1 7. Early in the following month he was ordered to report at Louisville to Gen- eral Robert Anderson in command of the department of Kentucky. On account of ill health Anderson 'General Sherman's account of his life in California — his ex- perience with the " Vigilance Committee," etc. — as given in his "Memoirs" is exceedingly interesting, as indeed is that whole work, 47 554 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. soon asked to be relieved, and General Sherman suc- ceeded to the command October 7. He was pres- ently visited by Secretary of War Cameron and Ad- jutant-General Lorenzo Thomas. The Secretary asked Sherman how many troops he would require in his department. He replied : " Sixty thousand to drive the enemy out of Kentucky ; two hundred thousand to finish the war in this section." This was regarded as so extravagant that the newspapers be- gan to say General Sherman had gone crazy ! And, hence, on November 12 Sherman was relieved by Buell and ordered to report to General Halleck at St. Louis. By Halleck he was placed in command of Benton Barracks, a rendezvous for volunteers. In February he was ordered to Paducah to superintend the forwarding of supplies to the army under Grant. It appears that this officer did not think Sherman's ■ case hopeless, and so, in March, on the organization of the Army of the Tennessee into six divisions, Sher- man was placed in command of the fifth. In the battle of Shiloh his division held the right of the Union line, and, singularly enough, the extreme left also, Stuart's brigade being detached and there posted. The division fought with great bravery and was handled with consummate skill. Only one bri- gade was badly handled. Sherman himself was self- poised and greatly energetic throughout. Severely wounded in the hand, having three horses shot under him the first day, again wounded in the second day's conflict, he yet seemed everywhere present, and was never for a moment discouraged. General Halleck a few days after the batde wrote from the battle-field : "It is the unanimous opinion here that Brigadier- SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) SHERMAN: SJJ General W. T. Sherman saved the fortunes of the day on the 6th, and contributed largely to the glori- ous victory of the 7th." And then he respectfully recommended that he be promoted, to date from the 6th. General Grant in 1863 said that to the indi- vidual efforts of General Sherman he was indebted for success at the battle of Shiloh. From this time forth until after the fall of Vicks- burgh there was little rest for General Sherman or his command. In Halleck's slow and cautious march on Corinth the division had as active a part as any troops of the army. Whatever else may be thought of this slow march of Halleck's on Corinth, it taught the army the invaluable lesson of intrenching in the presence of an enemy. After evacuation by the rebels Sherman was busily engaged in collecting the debris and in restoring order. On the i st of May he was commissioned a major-general of volunteers. " His services as division commander," said General Grant, " in the advance on Corinth, I will venture to say, were appreciated by the now general-in-chief [Halleck] beyond those of any other division com- mander." The fall of Corinth was the realization of the re- possession of West Tennessee to the Union. In the work of repairing railways and placing the country in a position of strength General Sherman did a great deal of hard work and hard marching. In the latter part of July he assumed command of the district of Memphis, establishing a vigorous but just govern- ment for the city and surrounding country. During the autumn he sent out several expeditions eastward and southward which accomplished valuable results. 5S6 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Late in the fall he joined Grant in his movement on Granada, the well known issue of which was that without a batde Pemberton with a powerful army abandoned the line of the Tallahatchie and placed himself behind the works of Vicksburgh. The most momentous event of the year, however, to General Sherman occurred just at its close and at the beginning of 1863. This was the attack on Vicks- burgh by way of Chickasaw bluffs, and which is commonly called the "battle of Chickasaw Bayou." While Sherman moved down the Mississippi by transports. Grant marched by land with the object of assailing the stronghold in rear simultaneously with the assault by Chickasaw bayou. Of course success depended upon success in cooperation. The treacherous abandonment of Holly Springs with its immense store of supplies compelled the- retreat of Grant, and, in military logic, the repulse of Sherman. But though the assault failed, and many valuable lives were lost, it was a brave, and heroic fight. After the assault, the army remained a short time near the scene of its disaster. Returning, the steamer "Ti- gress" was met at the mouth of the Yazoo, with General John A. McClernand on board, to whoni General Sherman was ordered to report. The ex- pedition against Arkansas Post, entirely planned by General Sherman, followed, and the capture of that strong work with many prisoners and large store, made something of a set-off against Chickasaw Bayou. In the capture of the fort and garrison General Sherman's command bore the brunt of the battle, and it was one of his generals — General S. G. Burbridge — who first entered the works. SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) SHERMAN. 55/ The remainder of the year was big with events for General Sherman, — the great campaigns of Vicks- burgh and of Chattanooga in which he bore so conspic- uous a part. I can only relate so much of the outlines of these vast operations as will serve to exhibit the share therein of the subject of this sketch. Early in the year 1863 the Army of the Ten- nessee had been divided into four separate army corps, the Thirteenth, General McCIernand, the Fifteenth, General Sherman, the Sixteenth, General Hurlbut, and Seventeenth, General McPherson, all under the command of General Grant. In the pre- liminary and unsuccessful attempts to get at Vicks- burgh by changing the course of the Mississippi River and by the left bank of the Yazoo, Sherman had his full share of hard work and unsuccess. His attempt, with the aid of the navy, to reach the Yazoo far northward of Vicksburgh by a series of bayous and creeks was one of the most curious and re- markable expeditions of the whole war. In the march on Vicksburgh, Sherman's corps had the rear and did not participate in all the battles of that stir- ring time. It fought, however, at Jackson, May 14, Blair's division at Champion Hills May 16, at Black River, and in the assaults of the 19th and 22d. Dur- ing the siege the Corps held the right of our lines, but when General Joseph E. Johnston threatened to attack Grant in rear, Sherman, with portions of his own and other corps, was sent to take care of him. He did so so effectually that Johnston but once un- dertook to cross the Big Black, and then was driven back on the double-quick. On the fall of Vicksburgh, Sherman, reenforced by the Thirteenth Corps, Gen- 47* SS8 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. eral Ord now commanding, marched in pursuit of Jolinston and caught him at Jackson, but well de- fended behind the strong works of that city. After heavy fighting, the place was regularly invested, but on the night of the 1 6th Johnston evacuated the city. He was vigorously pursued but without notable re- sult. In all these marches, battles, and sieges, the Fif- teenth Corps had suffered heavily in casualties. It was entitled to a rest ; and it took it in nearly the same position near the Big Black whence Sherman had "watched Joe Johnston." In the autumn Gen- eral Sherman was ordered to reenforce Grant at Chat- tanooga. The march of the Fifteenth Corps thither, part of It fighting a good deal of the way, was a mag- nificent military achievement. In the battle of Chat- tanooga Sherman held the Union left where there was the most desperate fighting, his line now advan- cing, anon falling back, again driving the enemy, still again driven back, and yet again advancing, the vital point being always held with sublime tenacity, until Thomas pierced the less stoutly defended centre and the whole rebel line gave way in confusion and rout. Still there was no rest for Sherman and his corps. He instantly marched to the relief of Knox- ville, and the simple report of his coming, with what had occurred at Chattanooga, sent the beleaguering army to the right-about and freed Tennessee of the presence of the last armed enemy of the Union. After the Vicksburgh campaign Sherman had been commissioned a brigadier-general in the regular army. Early in 1864 he was appointed to the com- mand of the military division of the Mississippi, which SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) SHERMAN: 559 substantially included about all the troops in the West. General Grant was about to take command in the East, and actually did so in March. In the spring Sherman entered upon his grand campaign of Atlanta ; but so restless was his energy that between the close of the campaign of Chattanooga and the beginning of that of Atlanta, he performed a military operation which well deserves particular mention. I refer to the Meridian expedition, often improp- erly called " the Meridian raid." This expedition had a great object in view, namely the permanent free- dom of the commerce of the Mississippi. A lesser but still important object of it was the isolation of the State of Mississippi from the remainder of the " Confederacy." Both were accomplished. The ex- pedition, consisting of two divisions of the Sixteenth Corps, General Hurlbut, two divisions of the Seven- teenth, General McPherson, and a brigade of cavalry under Colonel E. F, Winslow, left Vicksburgh early in February, 1864. This considerable army drove, but without at any time generally engaging, a large force under Bishop-General Polk from Jackson to beyond Meridian near the eastern boundary of the State. In the various affairs that occurred the rebels were invariably compelled to retreat. Sherman re- turned without molestation to Vicksburgh, having freed the State of its only considerable force of the enemy, destroyed several hundred miles of railway with large numbers of bridges, many manufactures of arms and ammunition, and vast quantities of mili- tary stores. Throughout the entire expedition the army subsisted upon the country, thus learning a les- son which was later of great consequence. 560 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Early in May General Sherman entered upon the campaign of Atlanta. His principal lieutenants in this masterly movement were General Thomas, com- manding the Army of the Cumberland; General McPherson, the Army of the Tennessee; General Schofield, the Army of the Ohio ; the whole number- ing almost exactly 100,000 men of all arms. The different corps commanders were Generals J. D. Cox, O. O. Howard, John M. Palmer, Joseph Hooker, John A. Logan, G. M. Dodge, F. P. Blair, Jr., and among the division commanders were Generals Jefferson C. Davis, John W. Geary, Thomas J. Wood, A. S. Wil- liams, Daniel Butterfield, John M. Corse, P. J. Oster- haus, T. E. G. Ransom, Morgan L. Smith, and other distinguished soldiers. The principal cavalry officers were Daniel McCook, Edward McCook, Kilpatrick, and Garrard. With this grand Army thus ably offi- cered General Sherman marched against General Joseph E. Johnston, strongly intrenched at Dalton, in northern Georgia. By a series of skilful manoeuvres on the part of Sherman, Johnston was forced to retire from Dalton on May 12. He halted at another strong hold, Resaca, but was compelled to retire therefrom on the 15th, after a general engagement in which he was defeated. In like manner he was driven from the strong position of Allatoona Pass after two engage- ments at Dallas, the former a drawn battle, the latter a decisive Union victory. On the 8th of June oc- curred the affair of Big Shanty, a victory for McPher- son. By manoeuvres and fightings, but without severe battles, Sherman had now driven Johnston from Dalton to Kenesaw mountain, a distance of nearly an hundred miles as the crow flies. The difficulties SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) SHERMAN. 561 of mountain ranges and of large rivers and many smaller streams had been overcome, the astute Con- federate commander being everywhere forced from positions strong by nature and made stronger by art. All this had been done more by Sherman's remark- able manoeuvres than by fighting. He now deter- mined to fight and on the 27th assaulted the enemy's works on Kenesaw mountain. The assault was de- livered with great spirit by Thomas and McPherson but was repulsed with heavy loss. After resting a few days, Sherman resorted again to his manoeuvres, in consequence of which Johnston was soon forced to put himself beyond the Chattahoochie and on July 10 behind the works of Atlanta. To these strong works Sherman soon laid siege, but while his army was taking position it was vigorously assailed by Hood, who had succeeded Johnston, on the 21st and 2 2d of July, when occurred the Battle of Atlanta, a tremendous combat, with varying success at different times, but resulting in a complete victory for Sher- man, and a loss to the enemy of not less than 20,000 men and great numbers of arms.^ The siege pro- ceeded vigorously with occasional engagements, in all which the rebels were repulsed. Presently, Sher- man concluded to " flank " Hood out of Atlanta as he had flanked his predecessor out of the strongholds of northern and central Georgia. This remarkable ' For the great victory of Atlanta, too much credit cannot be given to Major-General John A. Logan of the Volunteers. On the death of General McPherson he assumed command of the army of the Tennessee, and riding among his men shouting "McPherson and Revenge," personally led them in a charge which left the field literally covered with rebel dead and wounded. 2L 5 62 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. movement is thus described by a provincial histo- rian: " When General Sherman raised the siege of Atlanta, he played one of the sublimest games of logistics ever witnessed. It is per- haps true that in this branch of warfare General Sherman is the equal of any captain who ever lived. On this occasion his genius was splendidly illustrated. Taking his army in hand he moved one corps here, another there, another still in a different direction, so that the country round about Atlanta seemed to be alive with glistening bayonets. The dazzling array blinded our own troops, who, unacquainted with the secrets of headquarters, seemed lost in the bewildered maze of grand manosuvres which they were them- selves performing. The various corps seemed to be all in motion without apparent object — crowding the roads, some moving rap- idly, some more slowly, passing, repassing, and meeting' each other, till the soldiers' minds were lost in amazement, and began to suspect that ' Old Tecumseh ' had gone crazy after all ! If his own troops were ignorant of his designs, it may readily be sup- posed the enemy was at fault. The rebels were indeed completely deceived. They believed the siege had been raised, and that Sherman had put himself in retreat northward. They rejoiced accordingly and had a grand ball. ' There was a sound of revelry by night. And Georgia's capital had gathered then Her beauty and her chivalry, and bright The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men; A thousand hearts beat happily; and- when ^ Music arose with its voluptuous swell, Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again, And all went merry as a. marriage bell.' " But the gaiety of the military capital was interrupted speedily. It gave place to battle's magnificently-stern array. Sherman had indeed raised the siege, but only for the purpose of executing his de- signs in another mode. The result of the magnificent manoeuvres of the 25th and the 26th was that the Twentieth Corps alone re- turned to our fortified lines on the Chattahoochie to cover the communications northward, while the main army, moving while the rebels danced, marched against the enemy's communications, and soon delivered battle at Jonesboro and Lovejoy. Atlanta SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) SHERMAN. 563 fell in consequence and the Twentieth Corps entered the city on the 2d of September. ' ' ' Thus wS-s the first grand object in the campaign attained. The army now took a short rest. Ere long Hood undertook to destroy our line of com- munications, but after inflicting much damage was driven off. Sherman then made ready for the famous " March to the Sea." ^ This march was begun early in November, when Sherman's army became " the lost army." Swinging away from its communications, it went out into the wilderness, no one for some time knowing where. Subsisting " liberally," to use General Sherman's own term in a general order, on the country, the army marched southward for awhile and then moved as directly as might be on Savannah. Fort McCallister being taken in a gallant assault by General Hazen, Sherman was able to present Savannah, with immense military stores and no end of cotton, as a Christmas present to President Lincoln. Remaining only about a fortnight in Savannah, General Sherman commenced his march through the Carolinas. He was not seri- ously checked anywhere but went " slashing " through the country pretty much at his own will. The battle of Bentonsville was about the only general engage- ment of the entire march. Here the rebels made a determined stand, and at first repulsed our troops engaged, but reinforcements coming up the enemy was driven from the field. This engagement, March ' Iowa and the Rebellion, pp. 265-66. ' The song so called, written by Captain J. M. Byers of an Iowa regiment, was very popular in the army and was sung in a Wash- ington theatre on the night of President Lincoln's assassination. 564 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. 21, was the last of Sherman's battles In the war for the Union. On April 13, in occupying Raleigh, he had but a slight skirmish with the rear guard of Johnston's retreating army. On the i8th — Lee having surrendered to Grant ten days before — Sherman made a truce with Johnston which was disapproved by the government. It was not al- lowed to stand, and in a few days Johnston sur- rendered to Sherman on the same terms under which Lee had surrendered to Grant. About the time of the capture of Atlanta Sherman was commissioned a major-general in the regular army. In July, 1866, he was made lieutenant-general. Grant being created General. On the inauguration of Grant as President Sherman became General, being succeeded as lieutenant-general by the illus- trious Sheridan. But while he was Lieutenant-Gen- eral, Sherman made an extensive tour abroad, visit- ing Europe, Asia, and Africa, and being everywhere received with general eclat. Since his command-in- chief of the Army his headquarters have been at Washington — in the north-east room of the first story of the Department — except for a considera- ble period under Secretary Belknap's administration, when they were at St. Louis. I suppose intelligent persons will agree that of all the great soldiers America has produced, General Sherman has shown the most brilliant military genius. In all the battles in which he was ever engaged he showed great capacity, coolness, fortitude. In his judgments of military situations at large he never made a mistake. In a wonderfully busy military career of nearly five years he lost two battles. In SECRETARY {AD INTERIM) SHERMAN. 565 military manoeuvering — what military writers call logistics — no man but Hannibal ever surpassed him. In downright fighting his defense of the left wing at Chattanooga and his battle of Atlanta are safely com- parable with the best battles of the most distinguished generals. His marches are unapproached in modern history. He cannot, perhaps, handle as many men on the field as General Grant — I doubt whether Grant ever had an equal in this respect — but as many as he can handle he can manoeuvre with a con- summate skill never surpassed. In private life General Sherman is one of the most unostentatious of men. His perfect integrity is uni- versally acknowledged. In conversation he is admi- rable, — full of varied information, anecdote, wit, and humor. He is an eloquent orator and one of the best and most powerful writers who have contributed to American literature. His " Memoirs," published in 1875, albeit too pugnacious in parts, make two as interesting and instructive volumes as our press has produced. In versatility of genius he stands unri- valled among American soldiers. 48 GENERAL WILLIAM W. BELKNAP, THIRTIETH SECRETARY OF WAR. WILLIAM WORTH BELKNAP was born in Newburgh, New York, September 22, 1829. He was the son of General William G. Belknap of the United States Army, distinguished in the Indian war in Florida and in the war with Mexico. He was conspicuous at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Mon- terey, and Bueria Vista, being brevetted a brigadier- general for gallant and meritorious conduct in this last named battle. He gave his son William W. all the advantages of early tuition and collegiate educa- tion. He was graduated at Princeton College in 1848. He studied law at Georgetown, D. C, and removed to Keokuk, Iowa, where he entered upon the practice, forming a partnership with the Hon. R. P. Lowe, afterwards Governor, later Chief Justice of the State. Not long before the civil war Mr. Bel- knap was elected a member of the Iowa legislature and was recognized as one of the leading Democrats of that body, and a rising man in the State. In the autumn of 1861 he began his military career, being appointed Major of the Fifteenth Iowa Infantry at that time being recruited. Major Belknap, a natu- ral soldier, was assigned the duty of teaching the companies as they from time to time reached the rendezvous. Not till March, 1862, was the regiment mustered into the service. It soon proceeded by S66 SECRETARY BELKNAP. 567 Steamer to St. Louis where it went into camp of instruction but was speedily ordered to the front. It arrived at Pittsburgh Landing on the morning of April 6th, the battle of Shiloh then raging furiously a few miles farther on. The command was immedi- ately ordered to report to General B. M. Prentiss at the extreme front and then badly worsted. By the time the regiment reached the front Prentiss's divi- sion was pretty well pulverized, but these raw troops were placed in line and for awhile fought like vet- erans. At length ordered to retreat they fell back in confusion. In this engagement, Major Belknap fought with gallantry, was slightly wounded, and had his horse killed under him. He was also conspicu- ous at the battle of Corinth, where, being Lieutenant- Colonel, he commanded the regiment in the absence of its Colonel. Guard duties followed for a time. Early in 1863, Belknap was promoted to the col- onelcy of the regiment. The principal operation in which the command took part this year was the siege of Vicksburgh. On the 8th of June, 1864, Colonel Belknap with his now veteran regiment joined the Seventeenth Corps at Ackworth, Georgia. In the entire Atlanta campaign the command bore a gallant, at times heroic part. In the terrible battle of Atlanta, July 22d, no one man won more honors than Colonel Belkrrap. His conduct was spoken of in the highest terms by his superior officers, and through newspaper correspondence became a topic of conversation everywhere in the country. Speak- ing of the promotions to the rank of brigadier-gen- eral made in his army for the Atlanta campaign up to this time — among them being that of Colonel S68 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Belknap — General Sherman in his "Memoirs" says: " These were promptly appointed brigadier-generals, were already in command of brigades or divisions ; and I doubt if eight promotions were ever made fairer, or were more honestly earned, during the whole war." Colonel Belknap, in command of two regiments, also fought handsomely at the battle of Ezra Church, July 28. On receiving his commission as brigadier-general he assumed command of "the Iowa Brigade" — four regiments from that State including the Fifteenth — and remained in command thereof or of the division of which it formed a part, until after the grand review in Washington before the final disbandment of the army. The grand opera- tions of this part of General Belknap's military his- tory were the famous " march to the sea," and the " slashing through the Carolinas." The last engage- ment in which his command took part was the affair of Pocataligo, South Carolina, in January, 1865, where Captain Kellogg of his staff was slain. The Gen- eral's command was universally noticed for its sol- dierly appearance and fine marching in the grand review at Washington. The command soon after- wards proceeded to Louisville where the Seventeenth Army Corps closed its illustrious career, its last com- manding officer being Major-General William W. Belknap. After the close of his services in the army General Belknap spent a few months in Washington. He was then appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for the first district of Iowa and remained in that office until his appointment as Secretary of War by President Grant in the autumn of 1869. He conducted the SECRETARY BELKNAP. 569 affairs of the Department with great vigor and intel- ligence and was generally thought by the army and by the public having business with the Department to be thoroughly efficient and honest. Hundreds of millions of disbursements were made by the Depart- ment during his control of it without there being charge of the leakage of a single dollar. Indeed the only serious charge preferred against him until the unhappy close of the scene was the alleged sale of arms to France, which, whatever might be thought of the transaction in other respects, might have been a matter of considerable economy to our government. Early in March, 1876, the country was astounded by the intelligence that General Belknap had resigned, and was about to be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. Only a few months before he had been quite largely supported in the Iowa legislature for United States Senator, and until this time was generally supposed to be a thoroughly upright man. His impeachment by the House of Representatives for high crimes and misdemeanors in office, his trial by the Senate, and his acquittal — two-thirds not voting him guilty — are matters of too recent history in a time of high excitement to be yet considered with fairness and perfect impartiality. The friends of General Belknap assert that he was the victim of political intrigue ; that he had to receive the fire, through a political necessity, of both the political parties, the Democrats assailing him as the neces- sary victim of alleged corruptions, and the Republi- cans assailing him as a scapegoat carrying off all the sins of the party to the wilderness ! There might seem to be some truth in this. It is at any rate cer- 48* 57° HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. tain that the haste with which his impeachment was voted by the House of Representatives was indecent ; and it will be difficult to find any argument by any Senator voting "guilty" in the impeachment trial which is not more of an argument in support of that Senator's purity than of Secretary Belknap's guilt. It is difficult to say which is entitled to the greater condemnation, the undisguised partisan rancor of Democrats or the ill-concealed partisan trepidation of the Republicans. But whatever may be the truth as to this alleged party necessity business as con- nected with the lamentable affair, it is certain that, except by ex-Senator Carpenter, the defense of Gen- eral Belknap in the high court of impeachment was notably weak and fairly impotent. Portions of it were calculated, perhaps intended, to do the accused harm instead of good with his triers. Beyond these things it is asserted by the ex-Secretary's friends, that admitting the worst that was proved against him, he was more sinned against than sinning. Here, it is possible, may lie the truth. Devoted in his affec- tions, warm in his friendships, he was influenced to do things that were wrong so far as friends were concerned, but innocent so far as he knew. When the crisis of his fate came he broke down before the knowledge of how ill he had been treated by many whom he had constantly served, and resigned when he ought to have held on and fought. But whatever the truth in regard to this most lamentable affair may be decided to be by impartial history, it is certain that General Belknap came out of the terrible ordeal with "troops of friends" still standing by him, notably old comrades in the army and those who were especially SECRETARY BELKNAP. 5/1 familiar with his conduct of the general affairs of the War Department. These, with many public men of the highest standing, insist that he is a much abused man. Since his retirement he has been engaged in the practice of his profession, mostly at Washington, though having his residence at Keokuk. ALPHONSO TAFT, THIRTY-FIRST SECRETARY OF WAR. UPON the resignation of Secretary Belknap, March 2, 1876, the Honorable George M. Robeson, Sec- retary of the Navy, was designated by President Grant, under the law in such case made and provided, to perform for the time being the duties of Secretary of War. The portfolio was offered to the United States Senator Lot M. Morrill, of Maine, but upon consideration he declined to accept it. It was then offered to Honorable Alphonso Taft, of Ohio, who accepted the appointment. Alphonso Taft was born in Townshend, Windham county, Vermont, November 5, 1810. His father was a man of high standing and large influence in the community, and was more than once elected to the State legislature, but he was not possessed of great worldly fortune. The son with whom we have to do had no little difficulty in procuring a liberal educa- tion, but by hard study during part of the year, and teaching during the remainder (he taught a school before he was seventeen years of age), he prepared himself mentally and financially for a college course. He was graduated with honor at Yale College in 1833. After he was graduated he taught a high school or academy at Ellington, Connecticut, for about two years, and then became a tutor in his alma mater, being engaged in that employment two years. Dur- 572 SECRETARY TAFT, 573 ing this time he pursued studies in law, the profession which he had determined to adopt, having also the advantage of the lectures of the Law College at Yale. He was admitted to the bar in 1838. In the follow- ing year he removed to the city of Cincinnati and there entered upon the practice. At that time Cincinnati was a place of less than forty thousand inhabitants, but it had a distinguished bench and bar as well as a large society of cultivated persons which gave the city an intellectual standing which has hardly been surpassed in its long period of commercial greatness. At this time Burnet, Chase, Belamy Storer, Charles Hammond, John Brough, Nicholas Longworth (afterwards so celebrated as a wine merchant) and others no less noted were mem- bers of the Cincinnati bar. Messrs. Hammond and Brough were also the editors respectively of the Gazette and Enquirer newspapers, though I believe Mr. Brough did not engage in this employment until about the year 1845, M*"- Hammond having then been dead some four years. At this time Dr. Ly- man Beecher was president of Lane Seminary, and his son-in-law, Calvin E. Stowe, was a professor therein. Mrs. Stowe, since so distinguished, was an occasional contributor to the journals and peri- odicals of the city. O. M. Mitchell was a professor in Cincinnati College. In a city of such notable minds as these Mr. Taft entered upon his profes- sional career. He had fair success from the begin- ning; for he was well read in the law, industrious, conscientious, painstaking. He gradually rose to an eminent position at the bar. He was twice elected to the bench, once without any opposition 574 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. whatever. He was also once appointed to the bench by the Governor to fill a vacancy. While on the bench he was called upon to render a decision on a question of- general interest to the people of the whole country, that of the reading of the Bible in the public schools. His decision in this case was characterized by a spirit of broad liberality and by a comprehensive statement of what he believed to be the true doctrine in the case which won him the cor- dial respect even of those who disagreed with him and the hearty a:dmiration of all who believed there should be no religious teachings wjiatever in the pub- lic schools. Judge Taft remained at the head of the War Office only about two months and a half, at the end of which time he was appointed Attorney-General, a position more suited to his genius and tastes. He remained in this office till the close of President Grant's ad- ministration, conducting its affairs with an ability and success universally recognized by the profession and by the country. Since his retirement from office, Judge Taft has been engaged in the practice in Cincinnati. He is not a man of brilliant intellectual powers, but of solid abilities and of perfect integrity. , HON. J. D. CAMERON, THIRTY-SECOND SECRETARY OF WAR. TAMES DONALD CAMERON, son of the Hon, J Simon Cameron, was born at Middletown, Penn- sylvania, in 1833. He received a classical education, spending some years at Princeton College. He then received a regular training in the business of bank- ing, entering his father's bank at Middletown as a clerk and passing up by promotion to the position of cashier, — a position which had been filled for many years by his distinguished father. For several years the younger Cameron was president of the Northern Central Railroad company, and succeeded in making the railway whose affairs he directed a very valuable property. A man of fine business faculty he also engaged in other business transactions and specu- lations, and had amassed an independent fortune before he was forty years of age. All this time Mr. Cameron took an active part in political affairs but did not seek, or want, any position for himself. His first prominent appearance in public was at the Republican National convention of i860 when, as we have seen, his father was a candidate for the presidential nomination. On this occasion young Cameron won many friends among the representa- tive men of his party as a sagacious politician and a man of uncommon energy. In May, 1876, Mr. Cameron was appointed Secre- S7S 576 HISTORY OF Tim WAR DEPARTMENT. tary of War by President Grant, in place of Mr. Taft, transferred to the office of Attorney-General. Be- fore this, by the Republican convention of Pennsyl- vania he had been designated as chairman of the delegation to the national convention of the year. As is well known the convention was held at \!^incin- nati in June. Mr. Cameron took leave of absence for a few days and attended the convention. The convention was one of the largest and ablest political assemblages ever convened in America, and to its proceedings there attached an unusual and universal Interest. No less than four of the eminent repre- sentative statesmen of the party in the nation were candidates for the chief magistracy, namely, James G. Blaine, Benjamin F. Bristow, Roscoe Conkling, and Oliver P. Morton. (To avoid any charge of par- tiality I place them in alphabetical order.) Governor R. B. Hayes, of Ohio, who in that office and from the hustings in this State had gained a very high and wide reputation, was also a candidate: Pennsylvania had instructed her delegation to support Governor John F. Hartranft, a man of recognized ability and integ- rity. On this occasion Pennsylvania certainly was "the keystone of the arch." Its delegation in a certain important sense was the undoubted master of the situation, and its chairman held in his hand the power to nominate the man who would likely be the next chief magistrate of the nation. The steadiness and coolness with which under these circumstances and at a time so exciting Mr. Cameron handled the delegation, and held it inflexibly to the fortunes of Governor Hartranft until the decisive moment, won for him the hearty admiration of the convention and SECRETARY J. D. CAMERON. 577 the plaudits of the public press quite generally. After Cincinnati he was universally recognized as an able man. On entering upon his duties as Secretary of .War — to which office, by the way, he had been appointed without the solicitation or even knowledge of his father — Mr. Cameron from the beginning manifested a knowledge of the affairs of the Department and a capacity to conduct them which were remarkable. In the large intercourse with public men which the posi- tion made necessary he made great numbers of in- fluential friends and no enemies. Ex-President Grant always speaks in the highest terms of his great ad- ministrative capacity and of his inflexible integrity. He remained in office a few days after the accession of President Hayes when he voluntarily made way for Mr. McCrary. He was elected United States Senator to fill the unexpired term of his father who resigned about this time. In the Senate Mr. Cameron ranks well up among the men of influence, and oc- cupies positions on several of the most important standing and select committees. Mr. Cameron has been twice married, his present wife being a daughter of the Hon. Charles Sherman, of Ohio, and a niece to the. General of the Army. In society and in his intercourse with friends he is per- fectly unostentatious, genial, and good-humored. In politics he is radically Republican, and also an ad- vocate of protective tariffs. He is noted for the firmness with which he stands by his principles and his friends. 49 2M HON. GEORGE W. McCRARY, THIRTY-THIRD SECRETARY OF WAR. GEORGE W. McCRARY, of Iowa, thirty-third Secretary of War, was born near Evansville, in the State of Indiana, August 29, 1835. His father was James McCrary, a hard-working farmer, his mother Matilda McCrary, nee Forrest, a hard-work- ing farmer's wife, of strong religious sentiment and devoted family attachments. The father is still living, a very aged, greatly respected man, in Van Buren county, Iowa, where the subject of this sketch passed his early days. The mother died in the summer of 1878. Her distinguished son, at the time in Boston engaged in the performance of official duties, hastened half way across the continent to attend her funeral. Very soon after the birth of his son George W., James McCrary removed to McDonough county, Illi- nois. He remained there, however, only about one year, at the end of which time he removed some one hundred miles westward, and settled in what is now Van Buren county, Iowa, but which was then a part of the Territory of Wisconsin. At this time the principal settlements of what is now Iowa were at and near Dubuque, but immigration to considerable extent had begun to flow into the south-eastern por- tion of the Territory, notably at Burlington and Fort Madison, and in their vicinity. But of Van Buren .county James McCrary was a pioneer among pio- 578 SECRETARY MCCRARY. 579 neers, being one of the very first settlers of that part of the country. Happily settlers came in rapidly, and by the time the boy McCrary had attained suf- ficient years to attend school, there was opportunity. Among the first things almost invariably done by a western settlement is to build a church and a school- house. There were two sides to the life of the boy and youth George W. McCrary, as there always are to the young lives of persons of unusual intellectual power. The life of a boy-pioneer is a hard life. The manual labor, during the greater part of the year, is constant and little better than drudgery. It is a coarse life. All the rough edges of existence abound on the frontier, and one will there usually look in vain for associations of refinement. In hard work McCrary passed his boyhood and early youth. This was his outer life. There was but one thing valuable about it. The labors, as directed by the judicious father, were such as to give to young McCrary's naturally strong physical constitution a fine development, re- sulting in robust health ever since and an uncommon capacity for intellectual work. The inner life of this youthful pioneer was, of course, of his own making mainly. He very early and easily acquired such ru- diments of education as the common schools of the locality afforded. He then aided his intellectual growth by the reading of such books as he could ob- tain and of newspapers. But perhaps the greatest aid he received in his intellectual-moral discipline was that which came from his father and mother. James McCrary was a born gentleman ; Matilda McCrary was a born lady. Indeed, without a substantial S8o HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. natural basis, it is entirely beyond the power of any or all art to create either a gentleman or a lady in the true signification of the terms. The father taught his son lessons of manhood, of justice, of right, of generosity, and of courtesy. From the mother he received no less valuable instructions in these manly qualities, — for she was a woman of extraordinary in- tellectual power and wisdom, — with constant lessons, as agreeably as persuasively placed before his mind, with respect to personal rectitude, purity, the princi- ples of morality, the doctrines of what she devotedly believed to be the divine system of the Christian re- ligion. Thus by his own reflections, and with the aid of the invaluable lessons of his father and mother, George W. McCrary almost in the primeval wilder- ness of the far West grew up to be a youth, strong in intellect, wise beyond his years, firmly fixed in the principles and practices of morality. Without in the ordinary sense having received an education, he was educated. To this day he has no immoralities, no bad habits ; and no intoxicating beverage of any kind nor tobacco in any form has ever touched his lips. Such was the intellectual and moral discipline young McCrary gave to himself and received from his pa- rents. There may be a home education better than any other. For some two or three years during his youth, however, McCrary had at considerable intervals the advantages of pursuing studies at an academy not very far, from his home. Here he acquired a thorough English education and also pursued to considerable extent the higher branches of learn- ing. His reading was extensive, careful, and mainly SECRE TAR Y MCCRAR V. 5 8 1 of " solid " works of history, philosophy, and science. Then and ever since he has had very little taste for light literature. By. the time he was nineteen years of age he had intellectual discipline and general knowledge much superior to those of most gradu- ates of colleges, and a personal, moral character so firmly formed that he has never for an instant swerved from the right line of a perfect rectitude. While at work on the farm in Van Buren county, young McCrary had often reflected upon what should be his future life. He finally determined that he would become a lawyer. This determination he carried out by going to Keokuk when he was be- tween nineteen and twenty years of age, and enter- ing the office of Rankin and Miller as a student. The junior member of this firm is the now famous Samuel F. Miller, an associate justice of the Su- preme Court of the United States. McCrary ap- plied himself closely to his studies and in 1856 was admitted to the bar, passing examination without making a mistake. He at once entered upon the practice at Keokuk and steadily rose to prominence. About the time that McCrary reached his majority, the Republican party had become well organized in all the Northern States. Heartily sympathizing with the anti-slavery doctrines of this organization he joined the party and cast his first vote, in 1856, for Fremont and Dayton for President and Vice-President. From this time forth, young though he was, he took not only an active but a leading part in the politics of south- eastern Iowa. In 1857 he was elected 'to the lower branch of the legislature, and though the youngest member of that body commanded large influence and 49* 582 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. was generally consulted by the party leaders on all questions of party policy. The soundness of his judg- ment was universally recognized. Four years later he was elected to the upper branch of the legislature for four years, the sessions, however, being biennial only. In that body he undoubtedly exercised as much influence as any of its members. These legislative services, highly useful and hon- orable though they were, still were Mr. McCrary's avocations ; his vocation was the law. When not in the legislature he devoted himself with conscien- tiousness and zeal to the study and practice of law, his business all the time increasing. After the close of his senatorial term he gave almost his entire time to his profession and having gained a leading posi- tion at the bar, his professional successes were many and profitable. In 1868, being then thirty-three years of age, Mr. McCrary was nominated for Congress by the Republi- cans of the first Iowa district. The incumbent at the time was the distinguished and able statesman, James F. Wilson, who had expressed his firm determination to retire to private life. The canvass was one of even unusual animation. Mr. McCrary made sev- eral speeches in every county of the district. At that time I was the correspondent in Iowa of a New York and of a Chicago daily journal, and it happened that I heard Mr. McCrary twice on the hustings. On either occasion he held a vast audience in closest attention for some two hours, but without a cheer or sign of applause till the close. He essayed no rhetorical flourishes, nor flight of eloquence, not even an anecdote ; but the profound earnestness with which SECRE TAR Y MCCRAR V. 583 he advocated his convictions, the wonderful strength of his argumentation, carried his audience with him in a most remarkable manner. His oratory did not at all make his audiences enthusiastic, but it persuaded and convinced them. It had singular power in aug- menting Republican votes. Mr. McCrary remained in Congress for eight years. Though one of the youngest of the members in years, his mature and unusual political sagacity was at once recognized, securing for him positions of influence. He was assigned to position on the committees on naval affairs, revision of the laws, and elections. He gradually rose to a leading position in the House. Becoming chairman of the committee on elections in the Forty-second Congress, he there manifested a sense of perfect justice, a spirit entirely unpartlsan, and a knowledge of election laws and precedents so thorough and complete, that his reports came to be adopted almost as matters of course. For the first time in the history of Congress he induced the House of Representatives to vote upon election cases with- out regard to party lines ; and a majority of the cases considered and reported by him were decided in favor of his political opponents. "Justice to the line, righteousness to the plummet" had been one of the lessons of his home education. In the Forty-third Congress, Mr. McCrary was made chairman of the committee on railways and canals, to which all ques- tions relating to inter-state commerce, then receiving great attention, were referred. He prepared a re- port on the constitutional power of Congress to regu- late railroad commerce among the States, taking the affirmative, and advocating his views with much 584 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. power. Accompanying the report was a bill, em- bodying in statutory form the principles of the report. It brought forth a long and able debate, Mr. McCrary advocating it with effect, and securing its passage by the House. It did not reach a vote in the Senate. During the first session of this Congress he gained a very remarkable, almost unique, victory in the House. His committee, he alone dissenting, reported a bill in favor of the Eads jetty system. After a long, able debate, Mr. McCrary defeated the bill by a majority of nearly twenty in the House. In an improved form it was passed at a subsequent session of Congress, Mr, McCrary not opposing. In the Forty-fourth Congress, in which the Democrats controlled the House, he was placed upon the judiciary committee. He prepared a bill to reorganize the judiciary of the United States, which the committee authorized him to report, and which he advocated on the floor. It passed the House by a large majority. The part borne by Mr. McCrary in the. exciting presidential contest in Congress of 1876-77 is thus related by a biographer: "After the presidential election of 1876, when it was seen that the country was about evenly divided in opinion as to the result of the contest, and that the two branches of Congress were sure to differ, not only as to that result but also as to the proper au- thority to decide it, George W. McCrary was the first to step for- ward with a proposition for the adoption of a lawful and peace- ful solution of the difficulty. He proposed the Joint Commit- tee, and was himself a leading member of it, taking an active part in the preparation of the electoral bill, and in its advo- cacy in the House. He believes, and most people wilF agree with him, that under all the circumstances this was a wise measure of statesmanship, which has given the country peace instead of tur- moil, excitement, and perhaps civil war."' » U. S. Biog. Die, Iowa, 1878. SECRETARY MCCRARY. 585 He was one of the Republican counsel of the House before the Commission and sustained the election of President Hayes in a legal argument of very extraor- dinary compactness and logical power. President Hayes being duly inaugurated, Mr. McCrary was invited by him to take charge of the War Department. He has filled the office with in- telligence and success. On occasions of difficulty he has been found equal to the emergency in every in- stance, while the vast amount of routine business is daily dispatched, the Secretary not allowing it under any circumstances to accumulate on his hands. I have spoken of his great interest in the affairs of the signal office.^ He also takes a special interest in the labors of Colonel R. N. Scott and his assistants in arranging and printing the rebel archives and records in the control of the Department, and that important work is proceeding as expeditiously as the means devoted to the purpose by Congress will allow. The inestimable value of this vast mass of historical mate- rial is fully appreciated by the Secretary. The domestic life of Mr. McCrary has been fortu- nate and happy. He was married in 1857 to Helen A. Gelatt, a lady possessing about all of the fine womanly instincts, and being specially remarkable for a spirit of independence which enables her to eschew the extremes of fashion and the extrava- gances of society with the greatest success and good humor. She has a strong mind, thoroughly disci- plined by study and reading ; is lively and witty in conversation, and is possessed of remarkable powers of satire. She is devoted to her family of five children ■ ■ ' ' n "■Ante, p. 385. S86 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. with an enthusiastic devotion. She is an active Chris- tian worker ; but her deeds of charity, which are very many, as are those of her husband, are quietly done, rarely finding their way into the newspapers. In fine, she is an admirable type of the " home woman," her finest qualities shining ever most effulgent about the family hearth. She is a special favorite with Mrs. President Hayes, whose great and good womanly qualities all acknowledge. One of the happiest of American homes is the home of Secretary McCrary; The genius of George W. McCrary is not at all brilliant. He has worked and won his way to high position and honorable renown aided by a rare com- bination of mental power and moral rectitude. His is a solid mind whose judgments are almost absolutely unerring, while his political sagacity and foresight are strongly developed. He is probably consulted more by members of the Republican party at the Capital than any other of our public men. While he always expresses his views with freedom and candor, he yet has the fine quality of reticence and never says what ought not to be said. The professional " interview- ers " have never been able to make anything out of him whatever. During his long career in Congress he made many reports and many speeches on a great variety of subjects, all noted for more or less ability. He also took part in not a few running debates, and attained a position of commanding influence in the House. And all without making a single personal enemy. Some of his friends complain of him that he is not pugnacious enough, and sometimes loses a point that he might gain by a littie downright fight- ing, — a not unjust criticism, perhaps, though rt should SECRE TAR Y McCRAR Y. 5 8/ be considered that he has not a drop of venom in his nature. In the long run his way is the way of most influence ; and it is certain that no one of his co-mem- bers of Congress possessed more legislative influence than Mr. McCrary. As a member of the cabinet of President Hayes, Secretary McCrary has been regarded by many as the representative man of what has been called " stalwart republicanism " by those who made the mistake of supposing that the republicanism of the President was not itself stalwart in the highest de- gree. But in this respect he is entitled to no more credit than several members of the cabinet, whose influence has all the while been exerted in behalf of the same general policy. It is, perhaps, true however that Secretary McCrary has had a wider corre- spondence with leading men of his party throughout the country, from which grew the opinion stated at the beginning of this paragraph. Mr. McCrary, still (1879) on the sunny side of forty-five, has been in public, though not all the time official, life, provincial or national, for twenty-two years. At the bar of his State and in the Supreme Court of the United States, his great learning as a lawyer and his remarkable powers of logic have given him undisputed eminence as a jurist.^ As an orator upon the hustings he is surpassed in rhetoric ' While Mr. McCrary was in Congress he prepared a work on the law of elections in the United States, of which a large edi- tion has been exhausted. It is recognized as an authority in Congress and by the federal and State courts of the Union. In the " North American Review" for May, 1879, was an article from his pen entitled "Our Election Laws" which was very largely read. 588 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. and eloquence by many of his contemporaries, but by none in the power of persuading men by reasoning to adopt his principles and to accept his ideas. His oratory is weighty, ponderous, like his mind ; and in the forums in which he has spoken no one has been able to answer his arguments. His latest essays in public oratory were a series of speeches in Iowa in 1878 which by general testimony made large num- bers of Republican votes. They were much quoted by the metropolitan press — in many instances fully reported — and favorably criticised. It was observed 'that the manner of his delivery was dignified, impres- sive, and his voice clear, loud, and musical. In State and national legislation he has left the impress of his influence in many beneficent laws of which he is the author, just and wise reports, not a few measures of general policy. His influence with his party has always been exerted in behalf of the highest political morality and of absolute purity in the conduct of affairs. It is not strange, therefore, that among many of our most thoughtful citizens, Mr. McCrary is re- garded as our steadiest, safest statesman. As I have already intimated, the pfivate life of this eminent man is pure and undefiled. He is respected and loved by all who know him. He never visits the handsome city of Keokuk without being met by an outpouring of the citizens, members of all parties, to give him welcome home. For a citizen of only forty- five years of age to have attained the national emi- nence as a jurist and statesman here indicated, and the devoted love and esteem of all his acquaintances of all ways of thinking, is a demonstration of intel- lectual force and moral integrity which all good men will be glad to recognize. APPENDIX A. Rosters of Several of the Staff Departments. THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. Surgeon- General. — Brigadier-General Joseph K. Barnes. Assistant Surgeon- General. — Colonel Charles H. Crane. Chief Medical Purveyor. — Colonel J. H. Baxter. Surgeons. — Colonels Robert Murray j Charles Sutherland ; John M. Cuyler ; William J. Sloan. Surgeons. — Lieutenant-Colonels William S. King; James Si- mons ; Charles C. Keeney ; John F. Head ; John F. Hammond ; Elisha I. Baily. Assistant Medical Purveyors. — Lieutenant-Colonels George E. Cooper ; Ebenezer Swift. Surgeons. — Lieutenant-Colonels Glover Perin ; John Campbell. Surgeons. — Majors John E. Summers ; Thomas A. McParlin ; Joseph B. Brown ; David L. Magruder ; Charles Page ; Basil Norris ; Edward P, Vollum ; John Moore ; Andrew K. Smith ; R. H. Alexander ; Joseph R. Smith ; John F. Randolph ; Ber- nard J. D. Irwin ; Anthony Heger ; Charles T. Alexander ; Ben- nett A. Clements ; Joseph C. Baily ; James C. McKee ; Joseph H. Bill ; Charles H. Alden ; Warren Webster ; Charles C. Byrne ; Joseph P. Wright ; Charles C. Gray ; William C. Spencer ; Fran- cis L. Town ; Dallas Bache ; Blencowe E. Fryer ; John H. Frantz ; Charles E. Goddard; Charles B. White; George M. Sternberg; Joseph J. Woodward; William H. Forword; Ely McClellan; Samuel A. Storrow; William D. Wolverton ; Albert Hartsuff; Charles R. Greenleaf; J. V. D. Middleton ; John H. Janeway; Henry R. Tilton ; Samuel M. Horton ; J. C. G. Happersett ; Alfred A. WoodhuU; John S. Billings; William M. Notson ; Joseph R. Gibson ; D. L. Huntington ; John W. Williams. SO 589 590 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Assistant Surgeons. — Captains George P. Jaquett ; William E, Waters ; Justus M. Brown ; V. Buren Hubbard ; John W. Brewer ; John Brooke ; William H. Gardner ; Harvey E. Brown ; William E. Whitehead ; Charles Smart ; Elliott Cones ; William F. Bu- chanan ; Henry J. Phillips ; John H. Kinsman ; P. Middleton ; George A. Otis ; Henry McElderry ; William S. Tremaine ; Dan- iel G. Caldwell ; Samuel S. Jessop ; Edwin Bentley ; Henry Lip- pincott ; Morse K. Taylor ; John H. Bartholf ; Henry M. Cronk- hite; Egon A. Koerper; Richard S. Vickery; Robert M. O'Reillyj Frank Meacham ; Thomas F. Azpell ; Charles L. Heizmann ; Rob- ert H. White ; Calvin De Witt ; J. Victor De Hanne ; Carlos Carvallo ; Alfred C. Girard ; Joseph B. Girard ; John V. Lauder- dale ; Benjamin F. Pope ; James P. Kimball ; Aug. A. Yeomans ; Leonard Y. Loring ; Arch. B. Campbell ; William J. Wilson ; J. A. Fitzgerald; Peter Moffatt; Charles Styer; Joseph H. T. King ; Joseph K. Corson ; Daniel Weisel ; Peter J. A. Cleary ; Julius H. Patzki ; Frederick W. Elbrey ; Washington Matthews ; William R. Steinmetz; John D. Hall; Curtis E. Munn ; Ezra Woodruff; Philip F. Harvey; William H. King; Stevens G. Cowdrey; John M. Dickson; Charles B. Byrne; Frank Rey- nolds ; Clarence Ewen. Assistant Surgeons. — First Lieutenants Charles K. Winne; Fred. C. Ainsworth ; Valery Havard ; John Van R. Hoff ; Holmes O. Paulding; George W. Adair; Paul R. Brown; Edward B. Moseley ; Bernard G. Semig ; John O. Skinner ; James A. Finley ; Aug. A. De Loffre ; Timothy E. Wilcox ; Louis M. Maus ; Blair D. Taylor; Curtis E. Price; James C. Worthington; Henry S. Turrill; Edward T. Comegys; Walter Reed; H. S. Kil- bourne ; James C. Merrill ; William R. Hall ; Richard Barnett ; George H. Torney; Louis W. Crampton ; Joseph Y. Porter; Marshall W. Wood; Marcus E. Taylor; William L. Newlands; J. De B. W. Gardiner ; Robert E. Smith ; William C. Shannon ; Louis S. Tesson ; William G. Spencer ; Roland L. Rosson ; Edwin F. Gardner ; William H. Corbusier ; James W. Buell ; Robert W. Shufeldt ; Daniel M. Appel ; T. A. Cunningham ; Harry O. Perley ; Henry G. Burton ; Samuel Q. Robinson ; William B. Davis. Medical Storekeepers.— Captains Henry Johnson ; George T. Beall ; Andrew V. Cherbonnier ; F. O. Donnoghue. THE PAY DEPARTMENT— CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 59I THE PAY DEPARTMENT. Paymaster- General. — Brigadier-General Benjamin Alvord. Assistant Paymaster-Generals. — Colonels Nathan W. Brown; Daniel McClure. Deputy Paymaster-Generals. — Lieutenant- Colonels Franklin E. Hunt ; Henry Prince. Paymasters. — Majors Samuel Woods; George L. Febiger; Henry C. Pratt ; Simon Smith ; Charles T. Lamed ; Rodney Smith ; Joseph H. Eaton ; James B. M. Potter; Wm. A. Rucker; Wm. H. Johnston ; Wm. R. Gibson ; Charles J. Sprague ; Wm. B. Rochester ; Henry B. Reese ; Nicholas Vedder ; Edwin D. Judd ; William Smith ; Charles M. Terrell j Thad. H. Stanton ; George E. Glenn ; Robert D. Clarke ; James H. Nelson ; Chas. W. Wingard ; James P. Canby ; Peter P. G. Hall ; George W. Candee ; Edmund H. Brooke; Israel O. Dewey; Asa B. Carey; Wm. P. Gould ; David Taylor ; Frank Bridgman ; Frank M. Coxe; Alfred E. Bates; John P. Willard; Charles I. Wilson; Wm. H. Eckels; John E. Blaine; James R. Roche; Albert S. Towar; Reginald H. Towler; T. T. Thornburgh; Wm. M. Maynadier; Josiah A. Brodhead; William Arthur; James R. Wasson; Alexander Sharp; John B. Keefer; Culver C. Sniffen; Joseph W. Wham ; Thos. C. H. Smith. CORPS OF ENGINEERS. Chief of Engineers. — Brigadier-General A. A. Humphreys. Colonels John G. Barnard ; Henry W. Benham ; John N. Macomb; James H. Simpson; Israel C. Woodruff; Zealous B. Tower. Lieutenant- Colonels Horatio G. Wright ; John Newton ; George Thom; Barton S. Alexander; William F. Raynolds ; Charles S. Stewart ; Charles E. Blunt ; James C. Duane ; Robert S. Wil- liamson; Quincy A. Gillmore; Thomas L. Casey; Nathaniel Michler. Majors John G. Parke ; Gouv'r. K. Warren ; George H. Men- dell ; Henry L. Abbot; William P. Craighill ; Cyrus B. Corn- stock; Godfrey Weitzel ; Orlando M. Poe; David C. Houston; S92 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. George H. Elliott; Henry M. Robert; William E. Merrill; Walter McFarland; Orville E. Babcock ; John M. Wilson; Franklin Harwood ; John W. Barlow ; Peter C. Hains ; Francis U. Farquhar; George L. Gillespie; Charles R. Suter; Jared A. Smith ; Samuel M. Mansfield ; William J. Twining. Captains William R. King; Wm. H. H. Benyaurd; Charles W. Howell; Garrett J. Lydecker; Amos Stickney; James W. Cuyler; Alex'r. MacKenzie ; Oswald H. Ernst; David P. Heap; William Ludlow; Charles B. Phillips; William A. Jones; An- drew N. Damrell ; Charles J. Allen ; Charles W. Raymond ; Lewis C. Overman; Alexander M. Miller; Michah R. Brown; Milton B. Adams ; William R. Livermore ; William H. Heuer ; William S. Stanton ; A. Nisbet Lee ; Thomas H. Handbury ; James C. Post ; James F. Gregory ; Henry M. Adams ; James Mercur ; Charles E. L. B. Davis ; Benjamin D. Greene. Fii^st Lieutenants George M. Wheeler ; James B. Quinn ; Dan. W. Lockwood; Ernest H. Ruffner; John C. Mallery; Clinton B. Sears ; Thomas Turtle ; Edward Maguire ; Frederick A. Mahan ; Charles F. Powell ; Fred'k. A. Hinman ; Albert H. Payson; John G. D. Knight; Richard L. Hoxie; Edgar W. Bass; William L. Marshall; Joseph H. Willard; Eric Bergland; Samuel E. Tillman ; Philip M. Price ; Francis V. Greene ; Carl F. Palfrey; William H. Bixby; Henry S. Taber; William T. Rossell ; Thomas N. Bailey. Second Lieutenants Thomas W. Symons; Smith S. Leach; Dan. C. Kingman ; Eugene Griffin ; Willard Young; William M. Black ; Walter L. Fisk ; Solomon W. Roessler. ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. Chief of Ordnance.— Brigadier-General Stephen V. BenSt. Colonels Peter V. Hagner ; Frank D. Callender ; Theo. T. S. Laidley. Lieutenant- Colonels James G. Benton ; John McNutt ; Julian McAllister; Silas Crispin. Majors John W. Todd; Thos. J. Treadwell ; Thomas G. Baylor ; James M. Whittemore ; A. R. Buffington ; Daniel W. Flagler; Alfred Mordecai ; Stephen C. Lyford ; Francis H. Parker ; Joseph P. Farley. ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 593 Captains Lawrence S. Babbitt ; Wm. A. Marye ; Isaac Ar- nold ; James H. Rollins ; Clifton Comly ; John R. McGinness ; Geo. W. McKee; Frank H. Phipps ; James W. Reilly; George D. Ramsay, Jr. ; John A. Kress ; Otho E. Michaelis ; Wm. Prince ; Clarence E. Button ; John G. Butler ; Cullen Bryant ; Martin L. Poland ; Almon L. Varney ; Joseph C. Clif- ford ; Edward M. Wright. First Lieutenants John E. Greer; John Pitman; Charles Shaler ; Henry Metcalfe ; Wm. S. Starring ; Charles S. Smith ; Stanhope E. Blunt ; Frank Heath ; Daniel M. Taylor ; David A. Lyle ; James Rockwell Jr. ; William B. Weir ; James C. Ayers ; Marcus W. Lyon ; Charles W. Whipple ; Andrew H. Russell. Ordnance Storekeepers. — Captains Edward Ingersoll ; Wm. R. Shoemaker; Benj. H. Gilbreth; Eph'm. D. Ellsworth; William Adams ; A. S. M. Morgan ; Wm. H. Rexford ; Frederick Whyte ; Daniel J. Young ; Michael J. Grealish. 50* 2N APPENDIX B. Aggregate Strength of the United States Army at Different Times. Year. No. of Officers. Grand Aggregate 1790 57 1,273 1800 296 4,166 1810 744 9,921 1820 722 12,431 1830 542 6,184 1840 735 12,539 1848 2,865 47,150 1850 884 10,315 i860 1,083 12,931 1861, July I 186,751 1862, January i 575,917 1862, March 31 637,126 1863, January i 918,181 1864, January i 860,737 1865, January i 959,460 1865, March 31 980,086 1865, May I . 1,000,516 i8«9 2,988 52,935 1871 2,694 35,353 1877, Oct ober 2,151 27,470 594 GENERAL INDEX. Abbot, Lieutenant H. F., 291. Academy, the Military, 32; 33; 34; 100; loi; 266-67. Adams, John, President, 419; 420; 425-26; 435; 450. Adams, John Q., elected President by House of Representatives, 457. Adams, Samuel and John, 409. Adjutant-General's Department — its history, 139-43- Algiers, war with, 27. Allen, Colonel Robert, 191. Alvord, Paymaster-General, Benjamin, 262-63. "Ambrister, Robert C, his execution, 84- 5- Andersonville, prison-pen, 362 ; ceme- tery, 381. Antietem, battle of, 332. Appomattox, Lee's surrender, 341. Arbuthnot, Alexander, his execution, 83-4- Archives, confederate, 585. Arista, the Mexican General, 229. Arkansas Post, capture of, 333 ; 556. Arlington, Cemetery, 381. Armistead, Colonel W. K., 27 1. Armories, Government, 302. Arms, supplies to States, 306. Armstrong, General John, seventh Secretary of War, 58-9 ; 64; 67 ; let- ter on battle of Bladensburgh, 67-70 ; 112; his life, 441-45; a native of Pennsylvania; a student at Prince- ton ; aide to General Mercer ; also to General Gates ; engaged in the cam- paign of Saratoga, 441, writes the " Newburgh Letters ; " their nature; holds several civil offices in Pennsylvania; removes to New York ; United States Senator ; minis- ter to France, 442, commissioner to Spain ; a brigadier-general ; ap- pointed Secretary of War; leaves the War office; writes a history of the war of 1812, and lives of Gen- erals Montgomery and Wayne, 443, his death; his management of the War office; a caustic writer; a very able man, 444-45- Army, its organization from 1805 to 1812,47-48; "register and regula- tions," 61 ; organization in 1813,61- 62 ; its general officers at that time, 62; organization in 1815, 74-75; "register" of 1816, 76; strength in 1817, 78-79; in 1819, IQO; regula- tions of 1820, 103 ; reduction in 1821, 103-04; regulations of 1825, 106; strength of regulars and vol- unteers at close of Mexican war, 323-24 and note; regular at close of rebellion, 370-71; 372; number of troops daring rebellion; aggre- gate strength at different times, 594. Arnold, Benedict, 400; 433; 439. Astor, William B., II2. Atlanta, campaign of, 337; battle of, 561 ; fall of, 563. Atzerott, the assassin, 153. Auger, General C. C, 372. Averysboro, battle of, 342. Baltimore, defense of, 72. Baltimore and Ohio R.R., 272. 59S 596 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Banks, General N. P., 334; 336. Barbour,. James, ' eleventh Secretary of War, 112; 137; his life, 468-70, birth and early education; mem- ber of the legislature, 468, • speaker of Virginia House; Gov- ernor of the State; vigorous procla- mation against British outrages in 1814; United States Senator for ten years ; president pro tempore ; Sec- retary of War; his conduct of the office; minister to England, 469; president of Whig convention of 1839; his death; character, 470. Barbour, Philip H., 469. Barnard, General John G., 285. Barnes J. K., Surgeon-General, 233 ; 246-47; relates particulars of Sec- retary Stanton's death, 533, note. Barry, John, 28. Bates, Edward, 512. Bayard, Senator Thomas F., 165, note. Beecher, Rev. Dr. Lyman, 573. Belger, Major James, 192. Belknap, W. G., 229-30 ; distinguished in the Mexican War, 566. Belknap, General W. W., thirtieth Secretary of War, ill; 112; 114; 153; 168; 381; 383; 564; his life, 566-71 ; graduated at Princeton col- lege; studied lavir at Georgetown, D. C. ; removes to Keokuk, Iowa, to practice ; member of the legislature ; Major of an Iowa regiment, 566, regiment entered the service in March, 1862; soon sent to the front; at battle of Shilob ; Major Belknap wounded; conspicuous at battle of Corinth ; a Colonel ; at the siege of Vicksburgh; in the entire Atlanta campaign ; gallant conduct at battle of Atlanta, 567, at battle of Ezra church ; appointed Brigadier-Gen- eral ; joins in the march to the sea and through the CaroUnas; at the grand review at Washington; last commander of the 17th Army Corps; collector of Internal Revenue in Iowa; Secretary of War, 568, resigns the office of Secretary of War; impeached by the House of Representatives ; trial by the Senate, 569, his defense in the Senate weak; the judgment of his friends, 570, engaged in practicing law mostly at Washington, 570-71. Bell, John, sixteenth Secretary of War, 113; 454, his life, 487- 89, native of Tennessee; educa- tion; admitted to the bar when twenty years old; State Senator; highly successful at the bar, 487, member of Congress; speaker of the House; Secretary of War; returns to Tennessee ; member of the legislature ; United States Senator ; twenty-five years in Congress; able advocate of Whig doctrine, 488, opposed nullification; and annex- ation of taxes; sustained abolition of slavery in District of Columbia; opposed the Nebraska bill; and the Lecompton constitution of Kansas; also secession; candidate for Presi- dent in- i860; received thirty-nine electoral votes ; his death ; his char- acter, 489. Belmont, battle of, 330. B4n6t, General S. V., 310; 314, and note. Benham, General Henry W., 285. Bentonsville, battle of, 563. Bernard, General Simon, 268. Bible, in the public schools, 574. Big Black River Bridge, battle of, 334. Big Shanty, affair of, 560. Billings, Surgeon John S., 257, note. Bingham, John A., 149. Black Hajvk, the War, 130; 221-22. Bladensburgh, battle of, 64. Blaine, Hon. James G., 576. Blair, General F. P., 114; 560. Bounty lands, 75. Bragg, General Braxton, 334. Brandywine, battle of the, 398. Breckinridge, John C, 534. Briggs, J. R., Jr., 345, note. Bristow, Hon. B. F., 576. GENERAL INDEX. 597 Brough, John, 573. Brown, General Jacob, 63 ; 76. Buchanan, President, 325 ; 326; 531. Buell, General D. C, at Shiloh, 537 ; 554- Buena Vista, battle of, 231 ; 515. Buildings, the public, at Washington, 108-09. Bull Run, first battle of, 330; 553; second battle of, 332. Burbridge, General S. G., first to enter works of Arkansas Post, 556. Bureaux, of the War Department, their history, 139-319; their status in the military establishment, 315— 17 ; their general labors, 317-19. Burgoyne, surrender of, 433. Burnet, Jacob, 573. Burnside, General A., 194; 331; 333; 335- Burr, Aaron, 503. Butler, General B. F., 332. Butler, Hon. B. F., of New York, Secretary of War ad interim, 112; his life, 481-82, birth; a de- scendant of Oliver Cromwell; lib- erally educated ; studies law ; be- comes partner of Martin Van Buren ; distinguished at the bar; district at- torney ; commissioner to revise the statutes ; attorney - general of the United States; United States attor- ney for southern district of New York ; aids University of New York ; a professor of law therein; leaves the Democratic party; visits Europe; death at Paris, 481, his charac- ter ; greatness as a lawyer, 482. Butterfield, General Daniel, 560. Calhoun, Hon. John C, tenth Secre- tary of War, 79 ; Si-82; 106; 112; 137; 182; 204; -210; 271; 305; 454; 457; his life, 460-67; native of South Carolina, 460, gradu- ated at Yale College ; studies law at Litchfield ; becomes eminent in the practice ; member of the legislature ; member of Congress, 461, reor- ganizes War Department; conduct of Indian affairs, 462, elected Vice- President in 1824; again in 1828; not a model presiding officer, 463, elected United States Senator; contest for nullification ; Secretary of State ; negotiates Texan treaty, 464, declines mission to England ; death; genius and character, 465- 67 ; unfavorable criticism by Gen- eral Scott, 503. Cameron, J. D,, thirty-second Secre- tary of War, III; 114; 527; his life, 575-77, education ; banker ; president of a railroad; active worker in politics; at Republican national convention of i860, 575, ap- pointed Secretary of War ; chairman of Peimsylvania .delegation to Cin- cinnati national convention of 1876 ; his masterly management of the dele- gation, 576, his conduct of the War office ; United States Senator ; his character, 577. Cameron, Simon, twenty-sixth Secre- tary of War, 113; 32S; 329; 345, his life, 523-29, birth; early an orphan ; his "schooling; " becomes a printer ; assistant editor, 523, spends some time in Washington ; a contractor on public works ; a banker ; nominated for Congress ; declined ; a friend of railroads ; adjutant-gen- eral of Pennsylvania; United States Senator ; leaves the Democratic party, 524, again United States Senator: candidate for presidential nomination in i860; appointed Sec- retary of War; his ideas of the im- pending rebellion, 525, recom- mends calling out 500,000 men; harassed in the department ; recom- mends arming the slaves, 526, retires from War office ; minister to Russia ; in a short time asks to be recalled ; invited to Washington by Republicans of Congress ; they ask him to help in a scheme to 598 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. impeach President Lincoln ; he de- nounces it as insane; heartily sus- tained Mr. Lincoln; again United States Senator; resigned in 1877; his standing in the Senate, 527, how he came to be chairman of the Commitfee on Foreign Relations; living in retirement, 528, his fi- delity to friends, his State, and coun- try ; a blackmailing assault on him promptly repelled, 529 ; his opinion of Secretary Stanton, S31-32; 554. Canal, Erie, greatly aided by General P. B. Porter, 474. Canby, General E. R. S., 247; 337; 344- Carpenter, Hon. Matthew H., 570. Cass, General Lewis, fourteenth Secretary of War, 112; 129; 454; his life, 476-80, native of New Hampshire; education; goes west on foot; studies law; enters upon practice ; member of the Ohio leg- islature; United States marshal; colonel of third Ohio regiment; marches to Detroit, 476, in- cluded in Hull's surrender; a win- ter in Washington; brigadier-gen- eral; serves under General Har- rison; conspicuous at battle of the Thames ; governor of Michigan Ter- ritory and superintendent of Indian affairs ; negotiates many Indian trea- ties ; Secretary of War in 1831 ; min- ister to France, 477, returns to United States in 1842; on the hust- ings ; United States Senator ; leader of Democratic party ; candidate for President ; defeated ; reelected Sen- ator; retires from Senate in 1857, 478> Secretary of State in Bu- chanan's cabinet ; resigns ; private life at Detroit ; his death ; character as soldier, statesman, and citizen, 479-80. Caucus, congressional, nominates can- didates for President; the system broken up in 1824, 456. Cemeteries, National, 379-383. Cerro Gordo, battle of, 234. Chancellorsville, battle of, 335. Chandler, Hon. Z., 479. Chapin's Farm, battle of, 339. Chapultepec, storming of, 238. Chase, Hon. Salmon P., 328-29 ; 573. Chattanooga, battle of, 334 ; 558. Chicago, 249 ; 290. Chickamauga, battle of, 334. Chickasaw Bayou, battle of, 332 ; 556. Cholera, the, in 1832, 221-23. Churubusco, battle of, 238. Cincinnati, Society of, 402 ; the city of, in 1840, 573; national Republican convention of 1 876, held there, 576. Clay, Henry, 457 ; 508. Clayton, John M., 501. Clinton, De Witt, 472; 473; 491. Cold Harbor, battle of, 339. Collamer, Hon. Jacob, 501. Colored troops, their number in war of rebellion, 353 ; their exchange, 366- 67. Commerce, inter-State, discussed in Forty-third Congress, 583-84. Commission, the Electoral, 584. Conkling, Hon. Roscoe, 576. Connecticut, declines to call out mijitia in i8l2, 52-53. Conrad, Charles M., twenty-second Secretary of War, 1 13 ; his life, 512- 13, a native of Virginia ; early moves to Louisiana, 512, liber- ally educated ; studies law ; success at the practice; United States Sen- ator ; member of constitutional con- vention ; member of Congress ; Sec- retary of War ; member of Confed- erate congress; his death, 513. Contract, the system, 201. Contreras, battle of, 238. Convention, national republican of i860, 575; of 1876, 576. Corcoran, Mr. W; W., 109-10 ; 288. Corinth, batde of, 332: siege of; de- fense of, 538 ; Halleck's march on, SSS- Corse, General J. M., his defense of AUatoona, 154-55 ; 560. GENERAL INDEX. 599 Chippewa, battle of, 63. Cockburn, Admiral, his vandalism, 66. Comwallis, surrender of, 401. Cox, General J. D., 560. Craik, Dr. James, physician-general, 212. Crane, Assistant Surgeon-General, Charles H., 252. Crawford, George W., twenty-first Secretary of War, 113 ; his life, 501- 2, native of Georgia; educated at Princeton, New Jersey ; practices law at Augusta; State's Attorney- General ; member of the legislature, 501, member of Congress ; Gov- ernor of Georgia ; his administration ; Secretary of War; visits Europe; death, 502. Crawford, Hon. William H., ninth Secretary of War, 75; 76; 77; H2; his life, 454-59 ; among the greatest of Southern statesmen ; succeeds Monroe as Secretary of War; a native of Virginia ; teacher; studies law ; enters the practice in Georgia ; revises laws of the State ; a duel with Mr. Van Allen ; United States Sen- ator ; President pro tempore ; minis- ter to France, 455, becomes Sec- retary of War; Secretary of the Treasui-y for eight years ; nominated for President, 456, received 41 electoral votes ; appointed judge of the superior court of Georgia ; his death, 457, his great abilities and lofty character, 457-59. Crook, General George, 372. Crosby, H. T., preface; m. Crosman, Colonel George H., 190. Cullum, General George W., 285. Cumberland, the Road, 271-72. Currency, Continental, its depreciation, 412. Curtis, General Samuel R., 331; 544; 545- Dale, Richard, 28. Dallas, battles of, 560. Dana, Charles A., Assistant Secretary of War, 345-46- Davis, Jefferson, twenty-third Sec- retary of War, — —no; 113; 291; 326; 454; his life, 514-17, edu- cated at the Military Academy; a lieutenant of infantry and then of dragoons ; engaged in Indian wars ; resigns in 1835 ; member of Con- gress ; colonel of a Mississippi regi- mentduring Mexican war, 514, distinguished at capture of Monterey; at battle of Buena Vista, 515, severely wounded ; returns home ; United States Senator; candidate for Governor ; defeated ; Secretary of War; his conduct of the office, 516, United States Senator ; withdraws in 1861 ; President of the Southern confederacy ; flight from Richmond ; capture ; confinement at Fortress Monroe ; release ; since en- gaged in business, 517. Davis, General Jefferson C, 560. Dearborn, General Henry, fifth Sec- retary of War, 36; 40; 51; 52; 58; 59; his life, 432-38; a native of New Hampshire; his thorough education ; studies medicine ; also the military art ; rapid march to Lexington ; cap- tain in John Stark's regiment; at battle of Bunker Hill ; on the Que- bec expedition, 432, dangerous illness ; at the assault on Quebec ; captured ; exchanged ; major of 3d New Hampshire regiment ; at battle of Monmouth, 433, at battle of Newtown ; deputy quartermaster- general ; colonel of his regiment ; removes to Maine; twice elected to Congress ; United States marshal, 434,^ — becomes a Republican ; ap- pointed Secretary of War ; his con- duct of the office ; collector of Bos- ton; appointed senior major-general of United States Army; capture of York ; relieved of command through political intrigue, 435, nominated Secretary of War by Madison and 6oo HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. rejected by the Senate, 436, as- signed to command, but refused court of inquiry ; settles at Roxbury near Boston ; candidate for governor of Massachusetts ; minister to Portu- gal ; his death ; his article on battle of Bunker Hill, 437, his person and character, 438. Deep Bottom, battle of, 339. Defenses, sea-coast, 106. Delafield, General Richard, 285-6, and note. Delaware, crossing of the, 397. Delawares, Indian tribe of, 131, note. Detroit, surrender of, by General Hull, 57 ; mention, 290. De Witt, Simeon, 474. Dexter, Samuel, fourth Secretary of War, 112; his life, 428-3 1 , birth, general, and professional education ; successful at the bar, 428, elected to Congress; resumes prac- tice at Boston ; elected United States Senator; prepares pfficial letter of the Senate on the death of Washing- ton; appointed Secretary of War; a successful officer ; becomes Secre- tary of the Treasury, 429, acting Secretary of State ; declines a mis- sion abroad ; has great practice at the bar ; joins the Republican party ; candidate for governor of Massachu- setts, 430; his death; his genius and character; his Temperance prin- ciples, 431 ; 480. District of Columbia, Public Works of, 287-88. Dodge, General G. M., 546 ; 560. Donelson, Fort, capture of, 331 ; 537- Draft, for 300,000 men in 1862, 333- Dubuque, city of, 290. Duer, John, 481. Dunn, General W. M., I47 ; 149 ; 307 ; 522. Du Pont, Commodore, 330. Dwight, Dr. Timothy, 483. Dyer, General A. B., 312, and note. Eaton, General Amos B., Z09. Eaton, Major John H., thirteenth Secretary of War, 112 ; 210; his life, 474-75 j a native of Tennessee ; liberally educated ; an adroit politi- cal manager ; United States Senator ; Secretary of War ; retires from cabi- net ; Mrs. Eaton ; governor of Flor- ida; minister to Spain; returns to Washington ; death, 474, his character, 475. Education, home, may be better than any other, 580. Education, Indian, 136-37. Edwards, Governor Ninian and others negotiate many Indian treaties, 128- 30. Edward Station, battle of, 334. Emancipation, Proclamation of, 352. Emory, Major W. H., 291. Engineers, corps of, 31-32 ; 74 ; history, 263-99 i practical labors, 288-91 ; its publications, 298-99 ; roster, 591- 92; topographical, history, 276-80. Erie, Fort, battle of, 63. Erie, lake. Perry's victory on, 60. EusTis, Hon. William, sixth Secretary of War, 45; 51; 58; 112; his life, 439-40, bom in Cambridge \ edu- cated at Harvard; studies medicine with Dr. Joseph Warren ; a surgeon in the revolutionary army ; stationed for some time at Arnold's headquar- ters ; a member of the legislature and of the Council ; a Representative in Congress; appointed Secretary of War; his resignation some time after Hull's surrender; minister to the Netherlands, 439, again in Congress; governor of Massachu- setts ; his death ; his character, 440. Everett, Edward, 489. Ewing, Hon. Thomas, 119; 488; 501 ; SSI- Expeditions apross the continent,io6-7. Fairs, Sanitary, 248-50. Farragut, Admiral, 332 ; 377. GENERAL INDEX. 60 1 Federal, the party, falls to pieces, 456. Fillmore, President, 325 ; 512. Finley, Surgeon-General Clement A., 243- Fisk, H. C, 257, note. Five Forks, battle of, 341. Florida, ceded to United States, 451. Floyd, John B., twenty-fourth Secre- tary of War, 113; 114; 326-27; his life, 518-19, a native of Vir- ginia ; graduated at the college of South Carolina; practices lavf in Arkansas ; returns to Virginia ; mem- ber of the legislature ; governor of Virginia; Secretary of War under Buchanan ; secretly aided secession ; superseded by Judge Holt; a Con- federate brigadier-general ; a poor soldier, 518, at Fort Donelson; censured by Confederate govern- ment; his death, 519. Foote, Commodore, 331. Foote, flenry S., 516. Forsyth, John, 463. Fortification?, harbor, 29-32. Foster, General John G., 285. France, on verge of war with the United States, 1798, 38. Franco-German, the War, 313. Franklin, battle of, 337-38 ; 547. Franklin, General W. B., 337. Fredericksburgh, battle of, 332-33. Freedmen's bureau, originally bureau of Colored Troops, 352-53 ; history, 373-75 ; the " Bank," 374-75- Free-Masons, 484-85. Frfimont, John C, 291. Fry, General James B., 348-53. Fulton, Robert, 474. Gaines, General E. P., 63 ; 75. Gallatin, Albert, 429. Garfield, Hon. James A., 165, note. Garrard, General Kenner, 560. Gates, General Horatio, 114; 140; 411; 441. Geary, General John W., 560. Germantown, battle of, 398. SI Gettysburgh, battle of, 335 ; 538. Ghent, treaty of, 72. Gibson, General George, 208-09. Giles, William B., on the powers of the general government, 54. Gillmore, General Q. A., 285. Goldsborough, Admiral, 331. Goodfellow, Colonel Henry, no. Graham, George, 78 ; 80-81 ; 270 ; 460. Grant, General U. S., Secretary of War ad interim, in; 113; 194; 225; 247; 313; 330; 331; 333; 334 ; commander-in-chief, 338—41 ; 361; 366; 375-76; 532; 534, his life, 535-42, native of Ohio ; graduates at West Point in 1843; par- ticipates in battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, Mo- linos del Rey and Chapultepec; serves in Oregon; Captain in 1853; , resigns in 1854 ; settles near St. Louis, 585, removes to Galena, 111., in 1859; .Colonel of an Illinois regiment ; Brigadier-General of Vol- unteers ; battle of Belmont, 536, capture of Fort Donelson ; bat- tle of Shiloh, 537, serves under Halleck in operations against Cor- inth; vain movements against Vicks- burgh; his successful campaign of Vicksburgh, 538, appointed Ma- jor-General in regular Army ; voted a gold medal by Congress ; his cam- paign of Chattanooga, 539, made Lieutenant-General ; assumes com- mand of the Armies of the United States ; his operations against Rich- mond, and utter defeat of Lee ; ap- pointed to the full rank of general ; Secretary of War ad interim, 540, nominated for President in 1868; elected; renominated in 1872; his administration, 541, travels abroad ; received with consideration, 542, further mention ; 545 ; 549 ; 554; 555; 556; 559; 564; 566; 568; 572; 576; 577. Gratiot, General Charles, 280. 602 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Greeley, Horace, candidate for Presi- dent, 541. Green, Duff, 464. Greene, General Nathaniel, 179; 398. Guadaloupe Hidalgo, treaty of, 238. Gunnison, Captain J. W., 291. Halleck, Major-General H. W., his operations against Corinth, 538 ; 554-55- Hamilton, Alexander, first Secretary of the Treasury, claims financial jur- isdiction in certain military affairs, 24-25; 420; 425-26; 435. Hammond, Charles, 573. Hammond, Surgeon-General William A., 243 ; 245-47. Hampton, General Wade, refuses to cooperate with General Wilkinson, (war with England), 60. Hampton, General (rebel) Wade, 342.. Hancock, General W. S., 372. Harmar, General, 37- Harrison, General W. H., (President,) 46; 59; 124-25; 129; 487. Harper's Ferry, 302. Hartranft, Hon. John F., 576. Hatcher's Run, battle of, 339. Hayden, Professor E. V., 296. Hayes, President, R. B., 165; 384; 576; 585. Hayne, Robert Y., 463. Hazen, General W. B., captures Fort McCallister, 563. Helena, battle of, 334. " Hell Gate," 296. Henry, Fort, capture of, 331. Henry, Patrick, 409. Herron, General Frank J., 332 ; 545. Hitchcock, General E. A., 366. Holly Springs, abandonment of, 556. Holt, Hon. Joseph, twenty-fifth Sec- retary of War, 113; 149; 152; 327; 518, his life, 520-22, born in Kentucky; education; studies law; success in practice ; State's attorney ; removes to Mississippi ; has fine suc- cess at the bar; returns to Louis- ville ; commissioner of patents ; postmaster - general ; Secretary of War, 520, zealous friend of the Union; judge-advocate-general of the army; at head of bureau of military justice; declines the attor- ney-generalship, 521, retired at his own request ; living in retirement at Washington, 522. Hood, General (rebel) J. B., 337; 543; 547; 563- Hooker, General Joseph, 335 ; 580. Howard, General O.O., 372; 373; 375; 560. Hoxie, Lieutenant Richard L., 287-88. Hull, General, surrender of Detroit, 57; 435- Humphreys, General A. A., 278 ; 284 ; 285 ; 286, and note ; 289 ; 297. Hurlbut, General Stephen, 557 ; 559. Impeachment, of Secretary Belknap, 569-70. "Improvements," internal, 106; River and Harbor, 274, and note. Indian affaire, 106 ; general policy re- lating to, 1 1 9-1 23; Indians mostly hostile to United States in War of 18 1 2, 128; their civilization, 133- 37; result of their management by War Department, 138; policy, the true Indian, 462. IngersoU, Charles, J., 58 ; on President Madison as a warrior, 70, note. Inspector-General's Department, his- tory of, 144-46. " Insurrection," the whiskey, in west- ern Pennsylvania, 37 ; 38. Interior Department, its establishment, 119. Inventions, military, 347. Investigations, of Congress, as to Army organization, 372-73. luka, useless battle of, 538. Jackson (Mississippi), battle of, 334; siege of, 558. GENERAL INDEX. 603 Jackson, rebel camp in St. Louis, its capture, 543. Jackson, General Andrew, defeats the Indians in the South, 59 ; at the bat- tle of New Orleans, 63-64 ; 76 ; 79 ; his vigorous campaign against Sem- inoles ; invasion of Florida, 82 ; the Arbuthnot and Ambrister matter, 83- 85; utterly routs the Creeks, 128; Z'S; 464; 474- Jay, John — "Jay's treaty," 419. Jefferson, President Thomas, 34 ; 429 ; 434; 435; 450- Jesup, General Thomas S., 182-S5; 187. Johnson, Andrew, President of the United States, 375-76; 532; 540. And see Biographies of Secretaries Stanton and General Grant. Johnson, General Bushed R., 551. Johnson, Sir John, 434. Johnson, Reverdy, 501. Johnson, General R. M., report on the capture of Washington, 66. Johnston, General Albert Sidney, his death, 537. Johnston, General Joseph E., 187-88, note ; 337 ; surrender to Sherman, 342-43; 557; 560. Jones, William, Secretary of the Navy, 66. Jonesboro, battle of, 562. Justice, Military Department of. See Bureau of Military Justice. Kearney, General Stephen W., 552. Kenesaw Mountain, battle of, 561. Kepler, G. P., 257, note. Kilpatrick, General Judson, 342 ; 560. King, Clarence, his Reports, 294-95. King, Horatio, postmaster-general, 521. King, Rufus, 450. Keokuk, city of, 581 ; 588. Knox, General Henry, first Secretary of War, 19; 24; III ; 181 ; 264, his life, 389-408, clerk in book- store, 390 ; bookseller and student of military affairs ; marriage, 391, at battle of Bunker Hill; be- comes confidential friend of Wash- ington, 394 ; supplies army with ar- tillery, 395 ; with Washington at New York; his escape from the enemy, 396 ; at the crossing of the Delaware ; the battle of Trenton ; appointed brigadier-general, 397 ; at battle of Princeton ; of the Brandy- wine, 398 ; of Germantown ; of Monmouth, 399 ; on Major Andre's court-martial, 400; at siege of York- town; commissioner for exchange of prisoners of war ; in command at West Point, 401, disbands the army, 402; appointed Secretary of War ; his views of the federal con- stitution, 403, on the Navy; re- signs the Secretaryship; his home and active business pursuits in Maine, 405 ; his death, 406 ; his views on " paper-money and tender law," 407 ; his character, 407-08 ; mention of, 418; 425; 442. Knox, Mrs. Secretary, 392-94. Knoxville, siege raised, 539. La Fayette, 400 ; 423; 424; 455. Lane, Seminary, 573. Lawrance, John, 147. Lawson, Surgeon-General Joseph, 223 ; 225-27 ; 233 : his death, 242-43. Lawton, E. M., 116. Le Barron, Dr. Francis, 215. Lee, General R. E., 335; his surren- der, 341; 540; 564. Lewis and Clarke, their expedition across the continent, 35 ; 36; 37. Lexington, battle of, 432. Library, of War Department, 1 16-17; of Medical Department, 257. Life-Saving Bureau of Treasury De- partment, 159-164. Lincoln, President Abraham, 152-53 ; 245 ; 283 ; 326 ; his inaugural ad- dress, 327; 328; 333; 336; 338; 352; 361; a scheme to impeach him, 527; 534; 545. Lincoln, General Benjamin, first Sec- 6o4 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. retary of War after independence, 19; 114; 403- Logan, General John A., 114; 297; 560; 561, note. Longworth, Nicholas, 573. Lookout Mountain, battle of, 334-539- Louisiana, purchase of, 30 ; 449. Lovejoy, battle of, 562. Lovell, Surgeon-General Joseph, 217- 24. Lowe, Governor R. P., of Iowa, 566. Lundy's Lane, battle of, 63. Lyon, General Nathaniel, 330 ; S43- McArthur, Governor Duncan, 129. McCallum, Colonel D. C, superinten- dent of military railroads, 354-60. McCallister, Fort, capture of, 563. McClellan, General George B., 291 ; 330; 332- McClemand, Geneial John A., 333 ; 556; 5S7' . McCook, General Daniel, 560. McCook, Colonel Edward, 560. McCrary, Hon. George W. , thirty- third Secretary of War, 17; ill; 165; 38s; 429; 575. his life, 578-88, native of Indiana; pa- rents remove to Illinois ; to Iowa, 578, a pioneer-boy ; his early education at school, 579, his home education; academical stud- ies, 580, becomes a lawyer at Keokuk, Iowa ; steadily rises at the bar ; a. member of the legislature, 581, again elected to legislature ; his standing there ; hard work at his profession : elected to Congress in 1868; his oratory, 582, in Con- gress eight years ; chairman of Com- mittee on Elections ; his non-partisan reports ; invariably adopted ; chair- man of committee on railways and canals ; report on inter-state com- merce, 583, his bill prevails in the House ; gains a notable victory in the House ; in Forty-fourth Con- gress (democratic) a member of the ■ Judiciary Committee ; reports a bill reorganizing' judiciary of United States, which prevails in the House ; his course in the presidential contest of 1876-77, 584, counsel before the Electoral Commission : appointed Secretary of War ; his conduct of the office ; interest in the signal ser- vice and in printing the rebel ar- chives ; his domestic life, 585, his intellectual force ; his political influence, 586, a " stalwart " re- publican ; his standing as a jurist ; his published work on the laws of elections, 587; his powers of per- suasion; his manner of speaking; his influence always for pure poli- tics ; his character, 588. McCrary, Mrs. Helen A., 585-86. McCrary, James, father of Secretary McCrary, 578 ; 579 ; 580. McCrary, Matilda, 578 ; 579 ; 580. McDowell, General Irvin, 372 ; 553. Macfeely, General Robert, 209-10. McHenry, Daniel, 422. McHenry, James, third Secretary of War, 29; 35; 112; 419, his life, 422-27, a native of Ireland ; at- tends Dublin university ; migrates to Baltimore ; studies medicine ; joins the patriot army, 422, surgeon of a Pennsylvania battalion ; at bat- tle of Long Island; ■ captured at Fort Washington; secretary to General Washington; aide to La Fayette, 423, elected to Maryland Sen- ate ; delegate to Congress ; to the federal convention of 1787; to the Maryland convention, 424, mem- ber of the legislature; appointed Secretary of War ; his position in the cabinet, 425, often visits Wash- ington ; leaves the War office ; rea- son therefor, 425, investigated by a Congress committee ; his vindi- cation; letter to the Speaker; re- tires to private life ; death, 427. Mack, Colonel O. A., 381-82, and note. Mackinack, fort, surrender of, 57. GENERAL INDEX. 605 Macomb, General Alexander, 75 ; 266- 67; 271; 274-76. McPherson, Hon. Edward, 533, note. McPherson, General James B., 114; 285; 443; 557; 559; 560; 561. Madison, President James, 34; ineffi- cient in war affairs, 56 ; 60 ; at bat- tle of Bladensburgh, 64; 142; 302; his character as a statesman, 435- 36; 437; 450-51. Mansfield, battle of, 337. Marcy, Inspector-General R. B., 114; 144-45. Marcy, Hon. William Learned, twentieth Secretary of War, no; 113: 320-21, his life, 497-500, native of Massachusetts ; grad- uate of Brown University ; a teacher ; studies law ; begins practice at Troy, N. Y. ; a volunteer in the war with England ; distinguished ; recorder of Troy ; editor of a newspaper j Adjutant-General of New York; State's comptroller ; associate justice of the Supreme court of New York ; United Stales Senator ; governor of New York; defeated in 1839 by William H. Seward ; appointed on the Mexican commission, 497, removes to Albany ; appointed Sec- retary of War ; conducts the office with vigor and ability ; return to New York, 498, voted for Presi- dency at National convention in 1852; Secretary of State,' under President Pierce ; his conduct of the office ; return to Albany ; his sudden death, 499, character as a states- man, 500. Marshall, John, 428; 454; 503. Martin, Luther, 424. Maryland, her many eminent men, 427. Massachusetts declines to call out mili- tia in 1812, 50-52. Maysville, battle of, 544. Meade, General George G., 114; 284; 335- Medical department, the history of, 210-58; at the beginning of 1861, 241 ; organization during the war of the rebellion, 243, note ; publi- cations of, 252-56 ; roster of, 589-90. Meigs, General M. C., 188, and note ; 194; 382. Meridian expedition, 559. Mexicans, wounded soldiers cared for by American Surgeons, 229. Mexico, war with, 230 ; City of, surren- ders to General Scott, 238 ; evacuated by the American Army, 239-40 ; situ- ation, after Emperor Iturbide, 484. Michigan City, 296. Mifflin, General Thomas, 179, Militia, an uniform system organized, 22 ; 23 ; 24 ; its inefficiency, 55 ; number in service during war of 1812-15, 103- Miller, Major Morris L., 192. Miller, Hon. Samuel F., 581. Milwaukee, city of, 290. Missionary Ridge, battle of, 334; 539. Mississippi River, open to Gulf, 538. Mitchell, O. M., 573. Molinos del Rey, battle of, 238. Monocacy, battle of, 339-40. yi-onty, Jiat, its disastrous effects, 412. Monmouth, battle of, 399-400. Monroe, Hon. James, eighth Secretary of War,54; 71; 72; 437, his life, 446-53. native of Virginia; graduate of William and Mary Col- lege ; at the battles of White Plains and Harlem; distinguished and wounded at Trenton, 446, aide to Lord Sterling ; conspicuous at bat- tles of the Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth; retires from the army ; studies law with Jefferson ; military commissioner of Virginia ; visits the southern army under De Kalb ; member of the legislature and Executive Council ; delegate in Con- gress ; member of the State conven- tion ; opposes ratification of Federal Constitution ; United States Senator ; minister to France, 447, hostile to administration of Washington ; reception in Paris; popular witli 6o6 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. government and people of France ; his course not approved by his own government; recalled, 448, his conduct on leaving Paris ; governor of Virginia ; again minister to France ; minister to England, 449, negotiates commercial treaty with Great Britain; in theVirginia As- sembly ; again governor of the State ; Secretary of State in Madison's cabi- net ; Secretary of War ; President of the United States; his administra- tion, 450, " era of good feeling " under Monroe ; tour to the east and north-west; measures of the admin- istration, 451, resides in New York; death, July 4, 1831 ; remarka- ble popularity ; political sagacity ; public and private character, 452. Monterey, storming of, 230 ; 515. Morrill, Hon. Lot M., offered the War office portfolio, but declines, 572. Morris, Gouverneur, 401 ; 474. Morton, Oliver P., 576. Mullett, A. B., the architect, 118. Museum, the Army Medical, 245-46. Myer, General Albert J., 156-58 ; 163. Napoleon III., 313. Nashville, battle of, 338 ; 547. Navy, the American, orgajiized by Sec- retary of War Knox, 27 ; 28 ; 29 ; successes in 1812, 58; 425. Neutrality, American, proclaimed, 419. New England, in the war of 1812, 56. New Orleans, battle of, 64; capture of, 332- Newton, General John, 285. New York, city of, 249, Nicholson, Samuel, 28. North Anna, battle of, 339. Officers, army, their proportion to the men considered by Mr. Calhoun, 102. Ord, General E. 0. C., 372. Ordnance Department, the, history of, 300-19 ; merged in the artillery, 104 ; reorganized, 309 ; roster, 592- 93- " Ostend Manifesto," the, 499. Osterhaus, General P. J., 560. Otis, Harrison Gray, 392. Otis, James, 409. Pacific Railroads, surveys, 291-93. Paintings and engravings in War De- partment, 115-16. Palmer, General John M., 560. Palo Alto, battle of, 229; 321. Panama Congress, 484. Parke, General John G., 284; 2gl. Parker, Colonel Daniel, 76. Parton, James, 407. Parties, political, after revolution, 434- 35- Pay Department, history of, 258-63; organization during war of rebel- lion, 262 ; roster, 592. Payne, the assassin, 153. Pea Ridge, battle of, 544. Pemberton, General John C, 334; 538; 556- Peters, Richard, 411. Petersburgh, battle of, 339 ; assault of, 341- Pickering, Colonel Timothy, sec- ond Secretary of War, 29; III-I2; 179, his life, 409-20, birth; education ; a lawyer ; judge, 409 ; colonel of militia; joins Washington at New York ; tendered position of adjutant-general of the army, 410, at battle of the Brandywine; of Germantown; member of the "Board of War," 411, quarter- master-general, 412, resumes specie payment in the army, 413 ; declines a challenge; arrested for a government debt; resigns office of quartermaster-general, 414; settles in the Wyoming Valley; attacked by rioters, 415 ; kidnapped and a prisoner for three weeks ; elected to a State constitutioual convention, GENERAL INDEX. 607 416; his home in Pennsylvania; commissioner to Seneca Indians, and to the " Six Nations," 417 ; declines Indian superintendency and other offices ; appointed postmaster-gen- eral ; next, Secretary of War ; his vigorous measures of administration ; advocates military academy and a considerable regular army, 418; ap- pointed Secretary of State, 419; re- quested to resign ; refuses ; dismissed by President Adams ; cause of this action ; retires, a poor man, to Penn- sylvania, 420; clears a farm in that State i removes to Salem ; made chief-justice of the Essex Court of Common Pleas; elected to United States Senate ; a member of Massa- chusetts " board of war ; " elected to Congress in 1 8 14; his death; his character, 421 ; 425. Pierce, President, 325 ; 499. Pincliney, Charles C, 449. Pinkney, William, 430. Pioneer life, 579. Plattsburgh, battle of, 64. Pleasant Hill, battle of, 337. Pocataligo, battle of, 368. Poe, General O. M., 285. Poinsett, Joel R., fifteenth Secretary of War, 112, his life, 483-86, native of Charleston ; educated partly in England, partly in Connec- ticut; travels in Europe and Asia; sent on mission to South American States ; his vigorous conduct at Tal- cahuano. Chili, 483, member of legislature ; of Congress ; on special mission to Mexico; minister to that country ; to the Panama Congress, 484, legation at Mexico attacked ; Mr. Poinsett's dignified and ener- getic conduct ; returns to United States in 1830; opposes nuUifica- ■ tion ; appointed Secretary of War in 1837, 485, founds National Institute ; an academy of Fine Arts in Charleston ; his death, 486. Political, the situation in 1824, 456. Polk, President, 321; 325 ; 498. Polk, Bishop-General Leonidas, 559. Pope, General John, 284; 291; 332; 372; 376. Porter, Hon. A. S., 474. Porter, James M., eighteenth Secre- tary of War, 112, his life, 493- 94, born in Selma, Pennsylvania ; education ; becomes an eminent law- yer; in the war of 181 2; member of the State constitutional conven- tion ; appointed Secretary of War in March, 1842 ; rejected by the Sen- ate ; presiding judge of a district court ; president of La Fayette Col- lege ; his death ; character, 494. Porter, Peter A., 474. Porter, General Peter B., twelfth Secretary of War, 112, his life, 471-73, a native of Connecticut; graduated at Yale College; studies law at Litchfield ; removes to west- ern New York ; a prominent lawyer ; member of Congress ; a major-gen- eral ; defense of Black Rock ; dis- tinguished at battles of Chippewa, Niagara, and Fort Erie ; offered and declined chief command of the army, 471, duel with General Alexan- der Smythe ; again in Congress ; north-eastern boundary commis- sioner; declines to be Secretary of State of New York; candidate for gubernatorial nomination ; defeated by De Witt Clinton ; Secretary of War, 472, his death ; character as citizen, soldier,- and statesman, 473- Port Hudson, surrender of, 334. Portraits of Secretaries of War, 1 1 i-l 15. Potter, Major J. A., 191. Powell, Major J. W., Reports on the Rocky Mountain Region, 296. Powers, Preston, the sculptor, 113. Prairie Grove, battle of, 332; 545. Prentiss, General B. M., 334; 567. Presidential electoral contest of 1876- 77. 584- Preston, William B., 501. 6o8 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Pricfe, General Sterling, 239. Princeton, battle of, 397-98. Prisoners, of war, exchange of, 361-67. " Prophet, The," Tecumseh's brother, 127. Provost-marshal-general's department — its labors during war of rebellion, 348-53- Puebla, Mexico, great sickness of the American Army there, 234-37. "Purchasing" department, 201. Putnam, General Israel, 437. Quartermaster's department, history of, 179-97. Queenstown, battle of, 58. Railroad, Baltimore and Ohio, first in the United States, 274. Railroad, Pacific, 107. Railroad, survey of routes to the Pa- cific, 291-93. Railroads, Military bureau of — its operations during rebellion, 354-60. Randolph, Edmund, Secretary of State, his intrigue with the minister of France, 418-19. Ramsay, General George D., 312, and note. Ransom, General T. E. G., 560. Ration, the army, 205-08. Rawlins, General John A., twenty- ninth Secretary of War, in; 113, his life, 549-50, birth ; lim- ited education; hard work; rough associates; becomes a lawyer; a war Democrat in i86i ; enters the army ; on General Grant's staff, 449, remained at head of Grant's staff during the war, an,d until his chief becomes President ; fine execu- tive officer; Grant's right arm ; pro- motions; appointed Secretary of War; ill health; death, 550. Raymond, battle of, 334. Ream's Station, battle of, 339. Rebellion, war of, closed, 344, Reed, Joseph, 140. Reid, General Hugh T., 353, note- Renown of public men, its brevity, 487. Resaca, battle of, 560. Resaca de la Palma, battle of, 229; 321. Review of the grand armies at Wash- ington, in May, 1865, 193; 568.' Richmond, campaign of, in 1862, 332 ; in 1864,339; Union losses in differ- ent campaigns of, 339, note; final campaign against and capture, 340- 41 ; prison-pen, 362. Ringgold, battle of, 539. Riots, in New York, in 1863, 336 ; the labor, of 1877, 384. Ripley, General E. W., 76. Ripley, General James W., 311 and note. Rivers, reports to Signal Office of their situations, 171. Roads, constructed by Corps of Engi- neers, 280-81. Roanoke Island, capture of, 331. Robeson, Hon. George M., tempora- rily Secretary of War, 572. Robespierre, 448. Rockwell, Lieutenant-Colonel A. F., 382. Rodman, the Gun, 308. Rosecrans, General W. S., 330 ; 332 ; 333; 334; 538; 539; 545; 546. Rosters of several staff departments, 589-93- Rdyce, Brevet-Colonel H. A., 180, note. Rucker, Colonel Daniel H,, 192. Rush, Dr. Benjamin, 422. Salisbury prison-pen, 362. Santa Anna, the Mexican General, 231; 238. Santa Cruz, Mexico, battle of, 239. Saratoga, campaign of, 441. Satterlee, Surgeon R. S., Medical re- port on the Army in Mexico, 234-36. Savannah, capture of, 338. ScHOFiELD, General John M. .twenty- GENERAL INDEX. 609 eighth Secretary of War, III: 113; 342; 372, his life, 543-48, native of New York; graduates at Military Academy in 1853; serves in the artillery; an instructor at West Point ; a professor in Washing- ton University, St. Louis ; appointed captain of artillery ; also a major of a volunteer regin/ent ; at capture of Camp Jackson ; chief-of-staff to Gen- eral Lyon, 543, at the battle of Wilson's Creek ; brigadier-general ; in command of the district of Mis- souri ; suppresses guerrila warfare in the State; appointed major-general of Volunteers, 544, in charge of the Army of the Cumberland; reap- pointed to command of thedepartment of Missouri; vigorously reenforces Grant; retires from command in Missouri, 545, assumes command of the Army of the Ohio; promi- nently engaged through the whole campaign of Atlanta; proceeds to Knoxville, 546, joins Thomas in middle Tennessee ; delays Hood's advance ; his battle of Franklin ; at battle of Nashville; marches to North Carolina, 547, heavy fight- ing at Kinston ; cooperate^ with Sher- man; closing scenes of the War; Secretary of War from May, 1868, until March, 1869; visits Europe; commandant at the Military Acad- emy, 548 ; 560. Schurz, Secretary Carl, 165, note; on the alleged sale of arms to France, 313; 528. Scott, Colonel R. N., 585. Scott, Colonel Thomas A., 345. Scott, General Winfield, Secretary of War ad interim, 63 ; 75 i '03 i 106; 113; 183; 233; 237-38; 320; 323; 378, his life, 503-11, native of Virginia ; education ; stud- ies law ; witnesses the trial of Aaron Burr; Captain in the United States Army ; Lieutenant • Colonel, 503, at battle of Queenstown; cap- 2 tured ; taken to Quebec ; exchanged ; adjutant-general with rank of colonel; at capture of Fort George ; severely wounded; at battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane, 504, proceeds to Philadelphia ; visits Europe ; quar- rel with General Jackson, 505, visits' Charleston during nullifica- tion; represses "northern border" troubles; supervises removal of Cherokees ; north - eastern border difficulties; candidate for President at Whig national convention in 1839, 506, establishes headquarters at Washington in 1 841; takes command in Mexico; his career there, 507, candidate for President in 1848; nominated for President in 1852, 508, defeated ; services at begin- ning of war of rebellion; retires; his autobiography; death at West Point; his character as a citizen, statesman, and soldier, 509-11; further mention, 518; 521; 535. Seminoles, war with, 79-85 ; 223-24. Seward, William H., 398 ; 497. Seymour, Horatio, candidate for Presi- dent, 541. Shays's rebellion, 403. Shelby, General Isaac, appointed Sec- retary of War ; declines, 460. Shenandoah Valley, Sheridan's cam- paign of, 339. Sheridan, Lieutenant-General P. H., 114; 247; 339; 340-41; 372; 376; 543; 564- Sherman, Hon. Charles, 576. Sherman, Charles R., 551. Sherman, General William T., Sec- retary of War ad interim, 114 ; 154- 55; »93; 247; 330; 332; 333; 337; 338 ; 342-43 ; his " agreement " with General Johnston, 343 ; 357 ; 358 ; . 361; 371-72; 534; 538; 546; sketch of his life, 551-65 ; education; lieu- tenant of artillery ; serves in Florida ; at Fort Moultrie, 551, special service at other places; sails for California; his services there; bre- O 6io HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. vetted; returns to "the States" in 1850; appointed captain and Com- missary of Subsistence : serves at St. Louis; quits the army in 1852; a banker in San Francisco; also in New York, 552, removes to Kansas; returns to Ohio; takes charge of a military college in Loui- siana; leaves the State early in 1861; visits Washington ; his views on the impending war; colonel of 15th infantry; commands a brigade at battle of Bull Run ; a brigadier- general ; ordered to Louisville, 553, — ^in command of department of Kentucky; visited by Secretary Cameron and Adjutant-General L. Thomas; they regard his views as extravagant; relieved by General Buell; in charge of Benton Bar- racks ; ordered to Paducah ; in com- mand of the 5th division of Grant's army ; at the battle of Shiloh, 554, " saved the fortunes of the day ;" the march on Corinth ; a major-gen- eral of volunteers ; assumes com- mand of district of Memphis ; active labors, 555, joins in the move- ment on Granada ; defeated at Chick- asaw bayou; capture of Arkansas Post, 556, in command of the Fifteenth army corps ; his singular Yazoo expedition ; joins in the move- ment against Vicksburgh; at battle of Jackson ; in the assaults on the 19th and 22d of May; holds the right of Union lines; also a large force on the Big Black in observation of the rebel General Johnston, 557, his siege of Jackson ; a summer rest; his march to Chattanooga; commands left wing at battle of Chat- tanooga; marches to the relief of Knoxville ; brigadier-general in the regular army ; in command of the military district of the Mississippi, 558, his expedition to Meridian, Mississippi, 559, enters upon the campaign of Atlanta; principal events thereof, 560-63, his march to the sea; arrival at Savannah; march through the Carolinas, 563, occupies Raleigh ; makes a truce with General Johnston ; John- ston's surrender; becomes lieuten- ant-general; in 1868 General; travels abroad; keeps army head- quarters at Washington, 564, his military genius ; private life; orator and writer; his "Memoirs," 565. Shiloh, battle of, 331-32; 537; 554- 55- Shiras, General A. E., 209. Sickles, General Daniel E., 376. Signal Office, the, history of, 153-79; its branches, 166-68; first weather report, 168; daily reports, 170-71; its recent progress, 385. " Six Nations," the, their country in 1789, 122. Smith, Adam, his " Wealth of Nations," 198. Smith, General A. J., 337; 338. Smith, General Morgan L., 560. Smith, General William F., 284. Smyth, General Alexander, 471. Soldiers' Homes, 378-79. South America, independence of re- publics recognized, 451. Spencer, Ambrose, 490. Spencer, John C, seventeenth Secre- tary of War, 113; 481, sketch of his life, 490-93, birth; edu- cation ; secretary to Governor Tomp- kins ; studies law ; enters upon prac- tice; member of Congress, 490, member of the New York As- sembly and Senate; commissioner to revise the laws ; special attorney- general in the " Morgan " cases ; member of the legislature; Secre- tary of State of New York ; super- intendent of public instructions; Secretary of War ; Secretary of the Treasury ; appointed Justice of the Supreme Court; returns to Albany, 491, devotes attention to im- provements of charitable institu- GENERAL INDEX. 6ir tions; edits De Tocqueville; his death, 492. Spottsylvania, battle of, 339. Springfield, Massachusetts, 392. Staff departments, their efficiency, 105-06. Stansbury, H.,291. Stanton, Edwin M., twenty-seventh Secretary of War, 70; lii; 113; 152; 330-31; 333; 338; 345; 354- 55; 361; 369; 375-76; 376-77; 429, his life, 530-34, native of Ohio ; graduated at Kenyon Col- lege ; clerk in book-store ; studies law; enters on practice at Cadiz; moves to Steubenville ; reporter to Supreme Court of Ohio; removes to Pittsburgh; large practice; At- torney-General of the United States, S30, appointed Secretary of War; his conduct of the office, 531, suspended; reinstated; resigns; ap- pointed associate-justice of the Su- preme Court; his death, 532, wonderful energy, 533, always " terribly in earnest ; " his great ex- ecutive capacity, patriotism, and genius, 533-34. States', the, contributions to the Mexi- can War, 323-24, note. St. Clair, General Arthur, 24 ; 37 ; 122 ; 141. Steuben, Baron, 145. St. Louis, City of, 133. Stoneman, General George, 343. Stone River, battle of, 333. Storer, Bellamy, 573. Stowe, Professor Calvin E., 573- Stowe, Mrs. Harriet Beecher, 573. Subsistence department, the, history of, 198-210; disbursements during late war, 208. Sullivan, General John, 398 ; 434. Sumner, Charles, his removal from chairmanship of Committee on For- eign Affairs, 528, Sumter, Fort, attack on, 328. Surratt, Mrs., 153. Swift, General Joseph G., 267 ; 268. Taft, Hon. Alphonso, thirty-fii-st Sec- retary of War, 1 1 1; 1 14, his life, 572-74, a native of Vermont; graduated at Yale College ; teacher in the Academy; tutor at Yale, 572, admitted to the bar; begins practice at Cincinnati; gradually rises to an eminent position, 572-73, twice elected and once ap- pointed to the bench; decision on the reading of the Bible in public schools; appointed Secretary of War; remains at the head of the War office but a short timj; ap- pointed Attorney-General ; conducts that office with great ability; his character, 574; mention, 576. Talbot, Silas, 28. , Taney, Judge Roger B., 481. Taylor, Zachary, General and Presi- dent, 114; 209; 228; 230; 232; 320; 321; 323; 478; 501; 508; 535. Tecumseh, the Indian chief, 126-27. Telegraph, electric, the first, 322; military, operations during the re- bellion, 360-61. Tennessee, evacuated by the Confed- erates, 334. Territory, the Indian, its origin, 135. Terry, General A. H., 372. Thames, the, battle of, 59, Thomas, General George H., 194; 338 ; at Chickamauga ; in command of the Army of the Cumberland, 539: 546; 551; 560; 561. Thomas, Adjutant-General L., his la- bors among colored troops, 353, note ; 376-77 ; appointed Secretary of War ad interim, 532 ; 554. Thompson, Secretary Richard, 165, note. Tilton, Dr. James, 214. Tippecanoe, battle of, 127. Tompkins, Colonel D. D., 190. Totten, General Joseph G., 273 ; 280- 81, and note; 282. Tower, General Z. B., 285. Townsend, General Edward D., 143. Trade, Indian, 131-33. 6l2 HISTORY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT. Trenton, battle of, 397. Troup, Hon. George M., speech in Con- gress on the war department in 1812, 39-40. Truxtun, Thomas, 28. Tucker, John, Assistant Secretary of War, 345. Tudor, William, 147. Twiggs, General D. E., 327. Twining, Major William J., 288. Tyler, John, President of United States, 464; 487; his opposition to Whig policy, 488; 543; SS3- Ulke, Henry, the artist, 112; 113; 114; 115. United States troops, their removal from New Orleans and Columbia in 1877, 383-84. Van Buren, Martin, as a presiding officer, 463 ; and see 478 ; 486 ; 497. Van Renssalaer, Stephen, 474, Van Vliet, General Stewart, 190; 551. Vera Cruz, siege of, 233. Vicksburgh, campaign of, 333-34. Volunteers, difference between them and militia, 48-49; the system of, 320-21; the, of the rebellion, their disbandment, 368-69 ; during rebel- lion, register of, 377-78. Walker, Robert, J., 498. Wallace, General Lew, 330 ; at the Monocacy, 339-40. War, Secretaries of, their general high character, 18. War, old Board of, 19. War, the last with England, its les- sons, 73. War Department, origin of its history, 17; 18; its organization, 19; 20; 21; 22; conducts naval and Indian affairs, 20-21; buildings destroyed in 1814, 65 ; vindicated by the gen- eral result of the war with England, 72-73 ; buildings, 10S-18 ; the old building, iio-ll; first building oc- cupied by, at Washington, 109 ; " Portrait Gallery," 111-15 ; the new building, 1 17-18. Warren, General G. K., 284; 29 1. Warren, Dr. John, 211. Warren, General Joseph, 2H; 439. . Washburne, Hon. E. B., sets forth claims of General Grant, 536. Washington, city of, sack of by British in 1814, 64-69, also 443 ; and see notices of, 108 ; 288. Washington, George, General and President, 19; 21; 27; 114; 115; 396; 402; 419; 422 J 423; 424; 425 ; 429 ; 442 ; 454- Watson, P. H., Assistant Secretary of War, 345 and note. Wayne, General Anthony, 37 ; 123. Weather Bureau, daily labors, 172- 78. Webster, Daniel, 463; 464; 488; 508. Webster, General J. D., his grand ar- tillery fight at Shiloh, 537. Weitzel, General Godfrey, 285. Weldon Road, battle of, 339. Wheeler, Lieutenant George M., his Reports, 293-94. Whipple, General A. W., 291. Whipple, Fort, 166. Wilderness, battle of, 339. WiLKiNS, William, nineteenth Secre- tary of War; his life, 495-96, born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania; education ; business man ; member of legislature; minister to Russia; member of Congress ; appointed Sec- retary of War ; a political address, 495, his death, 496. Wilkinson, General James, 63. Williams, General A. S., 560. Williams, Colonel Jonathan, 33 ; 267. Williamson, Lieutenant R. S., 291. Wilson's Creek, battle of, 330 ; 544. Wilson, Hon. Henry, 115. Wilson, Hon. James F., 582. Wilson, General James H., his great cavalry raid, 344, GENERAL INDEX. 613 Winslow, Colonel E. F., 559. Wolcott, C. P., Assistant Secretary of War, 345. Wood, General Thomas J., 560. Woodbury, General D. P., 285. Woodward, Surgeon J. J., 252. Wool, General John E., 63. Worth, General W. J., 114; 230. Wright, General H. G., 285. 52 Wright, Colonel L. P., 359-60, note. Wyoming, the valley, 414-15. Yates, Richard, Governor of Illinois, 536. Yellow Fever, 220-21 ; in 1878, aid to the sufferers by the War Depart- ment, 384-85. Yorktown, siege of, 401, THE END. HUNTINGTON FREE LIBRARY AND READING ROOM MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION