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 Report of the S 
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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT, } 
 
 Richmond, 14th Dec, 1861. \ 
 
 Sir : My report of the operations of this Department, 
 and of the armies in the field, must, necessarily, be very im- 
 perfect. My experience has been too brief, to permit a tho- 
 rough mastery of all the details of so vast and complicated 
 an organization, as that now presented by this Department. 
 I can only refer to the principal occurrences requiring the 
 special notice of the Congress, and suggest some difficulties 
 and embarrassments of administration, that can only be re- 
 medied by the legislative power : 
 
 1. Since the adjournment of Congress, official reports 
 have been received, disclosing the gratifying fact, that the 
 population of Arizona is almost unanimously desirous of the 
 annexation of that territory, to the Confederate States. The 
 United States troops there, routed and put to flight, by the 
 expedition under command of Lt. Col. John R. Baylor, had 
 at one time, abandoned the country. Under these circum- 
 stances, Col. Baylor, after satisfying himself of the wishes 
 of theinhabitants, proceeded upon his own responsibility, to 
 assume the military government of the territory of Arizona. 
 He issued a proclamation, extending the limits of the terri- 
 tory to latitude 36° 30' North, thence due West to the Col- 
 orado, and down that stream to its mouth. He also raised 
 several companies of infantry, furnished by the people, who 
 readily volunteered in our service ; placed the inhabitants in 
 this manner under military protection, and established a 
 Government, closely resembling in form that which was 
 found to work so satisfactorily, when the United States made 
 conquest of California. 
 
 All the proceedings of Lt. Col. Baylor, appear to have 
 been marked by prudence, energy and sagacity, and to be 
 deserving of high praise. The result of his action has been 
 
the securing to the Confederacy, of n portion of the territo- 
 ry formerly common to all the States, but now forming a 
 natural appendage to our Confederate States ; thus opening 
 a pathway to the Pacific, and guaranteeing Western Texas 
 from the dangers incident to allowing the Indian Tribes in 
 that extensive territory, to remain under foreign influence. 
 
 The report herewith presented, marked A, gives a satis- 
 factory statement of the proceedings of Col. Baylor. 
 
 Since his success in expelling the Federal troops, and 
 taking peaceful possession of the Territory, an effort has 
 been made by the United States, to disturb the tranquility 
 of the inhabitants, by sending in a force of about 2,500 men 
 under Col. Canby, who, at the last advices was marching 
 towards the Headquarters of Col. Baylor, at Dona Ana. 
 This movement had, however, been anticipated, and General 
 Sibley, to whom that military department has been confided, 
 had already sent forward two regiments to the support of 
 Col. Baylor, and was on the eve of following them himself, 
 with a third. There is no doubt, that the entire force of 
 Gen. Sibley must already have arrived within supporting 
 distance of Col. Baylor's command, and full confidence was 
 entertained by our leaders, that they would be able to drive 
 the invading forces out of our territory. The letters of 
 Gen. Sibley, of the 8th and 16th November, are appended, 
 for the further information of Congress. 
 
 In organizing a more permanent Territorial Government 
 for Arizona, with its present expanded boundaries, I beg to 
 suggest, that the population is of so mixed a character, and the 
 number of inhabitants educated in representative institu- 
 tions is so limited, that it would scarcely be practicable to 
 maintain social order, and ensure the execution of the laws, 
 by an elective government. Some system analogous in its 
 nature, to that adopted for the Government of the Orleans 
 Territory, by the Act of 26th March, 1804, seems to be 
 much better adapted, at least for the present, to this terri- 
 tory ; and its extent of surface is so great, that Congress 
 may, perhaps, deem it proper, further to imitate the exam- 
 ple set in the Act above recited, by dividing it into two 
 governments. 
 
 II. At the first session of the Congress, an Act was pass- 
 ed, providing for the sending of a Commissioner to the Indian 
 Tribes North of Texas, and West of Arkansas, with the 
 view of making such arrangements for an alliance with, and 
 the protection of, the Indians, as were rendered necessary 
 
by the disruption of the Union, and our natural succession 
 to the rights and duties of the United States, so far as these 
 Indians were concerned. The supervision of this important 
 branch of administrative duty, was confided to the State- 
 Department, by which Brig. Gen. Albert Pike was selected', 
 as Commissioner. 
 
 At a later period of the same session, a Bureau of Indian' 
 Affairs was created by law, and attached to this Department, 
 charged with the management of our relations with thelm- 
 dian tribes. 
 
 The correspondence of this Department, and the report of 
 Gen. Pike, exhibit full proof of the zeal, energy and fidelity 
 with which he conducted his arduous mission, and the suc- 
 cess with which, it was crowned. He has made treaties with 
 the entire Indian population of the territory in question ; 
 has secured their alliance, has enlisted several regiments of 
 their warriors in our service ; and has shown a rare and ad- 
 mirable combination of the qualities chiefly required for 
 success in such a mission, namely, sympathy and friendship 
 for the Indians, blended with devotion to the interests of his 
 Government. These treaties, coupled with the report of 
 Gen. Pike, form the subject of a special communication to 
 Congress, and I now submit only the report of the head 
 of the bureau in this department, containing a succinct nar- 
 rative of the entire administration of Indian affairs, from 
 the establishment of the bureau, to the present date. 
 
 III. The operations of the army, since the adjournment 
 of Congress, on the 31st August, afford renewed cause of 
 congratulation, of gratitude to Divine Providence, and 
 of admiration for the gallant defenders of our righteous 
 cause. 
 
 Successful in a large number of minor engagements, sig- 
 nal victories have crowned their arms at Leesburg and at 
 Belmont. 
 
 I regret, that for some unexplained reason, the report of 
 the former of these two brilliant achievements has not yet 
 peached the Department, but I append full reports of the 
 latter. 
 
 You will, also, find annexed, reports of the less important, 
 though not less gallant and meritorious affairs, at Lewins- 
 ville, under command of Colonel (now Brigadier General) 
 Stuart ; and at Piketon, under command of Captains May, 
 Thomas, Hawkins and Clay, of Col. Williams's command. 
 
 The decisive repulses of the enemy, in his attacks on the- 
 
forces at Greenbrier River, under Brig. Gen. Henry R. 
 Jackson, and on the army of Gen. Floyd, at Carnifax Fer- 
 ry, merit conspicuous mention ; while the more recent lesson 
 administered to the insolent invaders of our soil, by Major 
 General Bragg, and his brave army at Pensacola, affords 
 ample evidence of the power of well served, and properly 
 protected batteries, to resist, successfully, the attacks of the 
 most formidable vessels of the hostile navy. 
 
 The engrossing labors of the Department, deprive me of 
 the coveted pleasure of dwelling, in detail, on all these evi- 
 dences of the valor of our troops, and the skill and gallant- 
 ry of their commanders. It is impossible, however, not to 
 call special attention to the battle of Belmont, as affording 
 a splendid example of the qualities of both officers and men. 
 
 Let the reports be read, and all will concur in the simple 
 and emphatic praise of the Commander-in-Chief of the 
 Western Department, when " he pronounces the work well 
 done." Its telling effects are still visible upon the enemy, 
 and the names of Polk, Pillow, Cheatham and McCown, will 
 remain identified with its history, and will recur to the mem- 
 ory of men, whenever mention shall be made of the battle of 
 Belmont. 
 
 I deeply regret that I am not able to give greater promi- 
 nence, in this report, to the battle of Leesburg — one of the 
 most important, as it certainly was the most decisive, in its 
 results, of the whole war. The terrible loss inflicted on the 
 enemy, when compared with the numbers engaged, far ex- 
 ceeds that of any other conflict since the commencement of 
 hostilities, and I still hope that the transmission of the report 
 to the Department, prior to the adjournment of Congress, 
 may enable me to submit it to you in time, to be com- 
 municated. 
 
 You wilJ also find annexed, the reports of the engagement 
 on Santa Rosa island, and of the movements of our troops 
 in the neighborhood of Cheat Mountain. 
 
 The battle of Mancssas, fought on the 21st July, was not 
 reported to the Department till nearly three months after- 
 wards, viz: on the 15th October, and belongs appro- 
 priately to the history of my predecessor's administra- 
 tion of this Department ; and this last remark also applies 
 to the battle of Oak Hill, fought on the 10th August, the 
 report of which arrived on the 26th of the same month, just 
 before the adjournment of Congress. The reports of both 
 these battles are appended, and the history of those two 
 
eventful days, on which the large and well-appointed hosts 
 of the foe were beaten back and put to rout by the unflinch- 
 ing courage of our noble volunteers, fighting for hearth and 
 home, and liberty and independence, will remain imperisha- 
 ble monuments to the gallant generals whose names have 
 already been honored by the unanimous expression of the 
 thanks of Congress, and to the officers and soldiers who 
 proved themselves well worthy of such leaders. 
 
 This series of triumphant engagements has been some- 
 what checkered by the result of the recent bombardment at 
 Port Royal, of which, also, no official report has been re- 
 ceived. It is, however, known that some earthworks, un- 
 provided with casemates, or shelter of any kind, proved in- 
 adequate to defend the entrance of the harbor against an 
 attacking fleet, formidably armed with more than ten-fold 
 the number of heavy guns that were mounted in the batte- 
 ries on shore. The enemy has, consequently, obtained pos- 
 session of a cluster of sea islands on the coast of South 
 Carolina, which it is impossible to defend, without the aid of 
 vessels of war. The results of this occupation, however, 
 are confined to the infliction of such partial losses, and suf- 
 fering by non-combatants, as are attendant on the predatory 
 warfare in which our enemies specially delight, as most con- 
 genial to their tastes and least menacing to their safety. 
 They have not yet ventured beyond the protection of the 
 heavy guns of their vessels, while their hopes of plunder 
 have been disappointed by the heroic resolve of our uncon- 
 querable brethren of South Carolina, who have, with their 
 own hands, applied the torch to everything susceptible of 
 conversion into booty for the solace of the marauders. 
 
 IV. I am happy to inform you of the very marked im- 
 provement in the condition of our troops, and the decided 
 decrease in the number of the sick. Nothing has given to 
 the Department greater concern, nor engaged more anxious 
 care, than the provision for the comfort of the sick soldier; 
 and although much has been done, very much still remains 
 to be done for the amelioration of his condition. It is a 
 grave error, however, to suppose that any regulations on 
 this subject, however wise, prudent and humane, can avail 
 without the aid and co-operation of the commanders in the 
 field. If Colonels forget that they bear a parental relation 
 towards their regiments, and neglect the most obvious sani- 
 tary precautions ; if medical officers abandon the care of the 
 sick, without fear of check or reproof from regimental com- 
 
manders ; if generals deem the supervision of the hospital 
 arrangements and treatment of the sick a task too irksome 
 to be endured ; and if the commanders of armies execute 
 military movements with entire disregard of the effect to be 
 produced, whether on the sick or the well, no effort of the 
 Department can avail to prevent great suffering and sacrifice 
 of life. I have endeavored, by specific regulations for the 
 care and transportation of the sick from camps to hospitals, 
 by providing special trains for their accommodation, and by 
 relaxing the vigor of the former rules in regard to furloughs 
 and discharges on account of sickness, to diminish, as far as 
 lay in my power, much of the suffering of our brave volun- 
 teers, and I append copies of these regulations for the infor- 
 mation of Congress. Less, however, has been effected than 
 I had hoped from the operation of these regulations. It 
 seems almost impossible to obtain that regular, faithful and 
 systematic compliance with rules which can alone maintain 
 the discipline and preserve the efficiency of large bodies of 
 men ; and I have been disappointed in more than one in- 
 stance, where reliance had been confidently placed on the 
 disposition of commanding generals to co-operate with the 
 Department in reforms urgently needed in the treatment of 
 the sick. If other measures fail, I shall not shrink from 
 the responsibility of reporting to you the names of officers, 
 however high in command, who may, by disregard of their 
 duty in this respect, prove themselves unworthy of the trust 
 now reposed in them. 
 
 It is proper, before passing from this subject, to observe 
 that happy effects have already resulted from the general 
 examination, by medical boards, of the surgical staff of the 
 army. Quite a number, who had been appointed on the re- 
 commendation of the men themselves, have proven unequal 
 to the duties of their station ; others were found incompe- 
 tent from carelessness and neglect, while in some instances 
 there was gross ignorance of the very elements of the pro- 
 fession. The efficiency of the corps has been greatly in- 
 creased by the purgation it has undergone, and I think we 
 may venture to hope that we have passed through the most 
 trying ordeal of the war, as relates to camp diseases. In 
 the Army of the Potomac alone, with a considerable increase 
 in its forces, there has been, within the last sixty days, a 
 diminution of at least one-half in the number of the sick. 
 
 Y. I have already, in a separate paper, commented on the 
 system of raising troops for short periods,,, and endeavored 
 
to point out the disastrous effects of such a course of 
 policy. 
 
 Persuaded, as I am, of the vital necessity of adhering to 
 the rule you had adopted on this subject from the very be- 
 ginning of the war, I have steadily resisted all importunity 
 to receive troops for a less period than three years, or the 
 war, unless they furnished their own arms. On first enter- 
 ing on the duties of the Department, the tenders of troops 
 were very large, and it was not at all unusual for me to re- 
 fuse offers of 5,000 men per day. Very soon it was ascer- 
 tained throughout the country, that the War Department 
 could not be importuned into receiving unarmed men for 
 twelve months, and the impetuous ardor of our people to 
 rush to the defence of their liberties, induced tenders of 
 troops for the war. A number of such regiments had al- 
 ready been organized, more were in progress, and the policy 
 of the Administration was on the eve of being crowned with 
 entire success, when it was embarrassed and impeded by a 
 very unexpected cause. In several of the States, the Gov- 
 ernors, apprehensive of attack at home, and actuated by the 
 natural desire of aiding in the defence of their own States, 
 failed to perceive that the only effective means of attaining 
 that end, was by a concentration of the common strength 
 under one head, and that an attempt by each State to make 
 separate defence against so powerful an enemy as that which 
 we are now combating, could result in nothing but the de- 
 feat of each in detail. In disregard of so obvious a truth, 
 several of the States undertook to raise independent armies 
 to repel invasion, retained at home arms and munitions, and 
 called for volunteers for home service for short terms, allur- 
 ing them by proposals to arm and equip them and retain 
 them solely for service within the State. The fatal effects 
 of so short-sighted a policy became instantly apparent. 
 Companies already organized and ready to be mustered into 
 the Confederate service for the war, marched out of their 
 camps of rendezvous to enlist in State service for three, four 
 or six months ; and State Commissaries and Quartermasters 
 established themselves, as rival purchasers, at posts where 
 Confederate officers were stationed, thus subserving the ends 
 of speculators and stimulating their constantly increasing 
 exactions. Confusion was also introduced into military ope- 
 rations. Officers became doubtful as to their duties and po- 
 sitions. State and Confederate Engineers and other officers 
 were liable to be ordered each to perform the same duty by 
 
8 
 
 independent commanders ; and nothing but inefficiency and 
 disaster could be expected from such a system. 
 
 It is, of course, not within the power of the Confederate 
 Government, otherwise than by the Aveight of its counsels, to 
 prevent such action as that to which I have just referred, on 
 the part of the several States, unwise and disastrous as may 
 be its effects ; but it is surely competent for the Congress to 
 declare, that no State can expect its expenditures on such 
 objects to be reimbursed. The waste of money resulting 
 from these short enlistments is enormous. The assertion is 
 by no means extravagant, that a long war, conducted by six 
 months' volunteers, would cost three times as much as the 
 same war, conducted by three years' volunteers, without 
 taking into consideration the great difference in the efficiency 
 of each of these classes of troops, after the lapse of the first six 
 months. In the single item of transportation, which is a 
 heavy burthen on the Treasury, the cost for the former would 
 be six-fold that of the latter. There is, therefore, no jus- 
 tice nor propriety, in imposing upon the Confederacy, which 
 is conducting a common war, at the common expense, on 
 sound principles, the burthen of any expenditures created by 
 separate States, which may deem proper to carry on an inde- 
 pendent system of defence, so expensive and so impolitic as 
 that to which I have alluded. 
 
 VI. The Corps of Engineers of the army is composed, at 
 present, of only twelve officers, while five-fold that number 
 are needed. 
 
 No provision exists for the appointment of engineers in 
 the provisional army. There is a large body of gentlemen, 
 educated for scientific pursuits, not military engineers by 
 profession, but whose services it has been indispensable to 
 secure for engineering purposes, and who now occupy in 
 the army the position of mere hired employees, without rank 
 or authority as officers, and whose efficiency is consequently 
 much impaired. In other cases they have been appointed to 
 
the lowest grade in the regular army — that of second Lieu- 
 tenant — and then assigned to engineer duties, with higher 
 temporary rank, under the act of 21st May, 1861, authoriz- 
 ing the President to confer such higher rank on officers of 
 the Confederate army, for service with volunteer troops. In 
 a word, various expedients have been used to supply 
 this indispensable means of public defence, and to obviate 
 difficulties arising from deficient legislation, but the subject 
 needs immediate attention, and I trust you will concur in 
 my earnest recommendation, that Congress authorize the ap- 
 pointment of at least fifty officers of engineers in the pro- 
 visional army, of rank not higher than that of Captain. 
 
 VII. I was on the eve of concluding this paper, when the 
 official reports of the battle of Leesburg, and the engage- 
 ment at Pensacola, were received, and they are herewith 
 submitted. 
 
 In the battle of Leesburg our forces numbered, in all, 
 seventeen hundred and nine men, and were opposed to a 
 force amounting, at Ball's Bluff, to five regiments and three 
 pieces of Artillery, while compelled, at the same time, to 
 keep in check four regiments and a Squadron of Cavalry, 
 within supporting distance, at Edward's Ferry. 
 
 In this unequal contest our whole loss was, in killed and 
 wounded, 153, and two of our men were taken prisoners. 
 The loss of the enemy, as far as known, was 1,300 killed, 
 wounded and drowned, and 710 taken prisoners; including 
 among their killed, General Baker and several other com- 
 missioned officers, and among the prisoners, 22 commis- 
 sioned officers — a total of loss inflicted on the enemy con- 
 siderably in excess of the whole number of our troops en- 
 gaged. 
 
 Among the substantial fruits of this brilliant victory were 
 1,500 stand 'of arms, three pieces of cannon, one stand of 
 colors, and a large quantity of accoutrements and camp 
 furniture. 
 
 The highest praise is due to Brigadier General N. G. 
 Evans, and to the brave men, whose intrepid conduct was so 
 signal, as to make the mention of any one name almost un- 
 just to others. Colonel Hunton, of the 8th Virginia, Col- 
 onel Featherston, of the 17th Mississippi, Colonel Barks- 
 dale, of the 13th Mississippi, Colonel Burt, of the 18th 
 Mississippi, and Colonel Jenifer, of the Cavalry, with their 
 different commands, alike distinguished themselves by their 
 valor and good conduct ; but the gallant Burt did not live 
 
10 
 
 to receive his reward, in the gratitude and admiration of his 
 country. He fell, mortally wounded, while gallantly lead- 
 ing his regiment to the charge, in the face of a terrible fire, 
 about two hours before the final bayonet charge of our en- 
 tire force, which drove the enemy headlong from the field. 
 
 The report of General Bragg gives the full history of the 
 abortive attempt of the enemy to destroy Fort McRee at 
 the entrance of Pensacola harbor, by a combined attack from 
 Fort Pickens and two large naval steamers, supposed to be 
 the Niagara and the Hartford. 
 
 The weight of metal used in this tremendous bombard- 
 ment was such as to shake the houses in Pensacola, at a dis- 
 tance of ten miles, and to cover the waters of the bay with 
 fish stunned by the concussion. 
 
 The heroic conduct of Colonel Villepigue, with his 
 Georgians and Mississippians, while exposed for two days to 
 this tempest of fire, the coolness and self-possession of both 
 officers and men, are graphically described in the narrative 
 of their General ; while the latter evidently forgets that any 
 meed of praise is due to the Chief, whose high military 
 qualities are thus reflected by those who have, for long and 
 weary months, been so instructed by his counsels, and so 
 inspired by his example, as to become the theme of his own 
 admiration. 
 
 Our casualties, during the entire engagement, were six 
 killed and twenty-one wounded. Of the former, five lost 
 their lives by the falling of an ill-constructed magazine in 
 one of the batteries. Among the latter was Colonel Ville- 
 pigue, who, notwithstanding the pain of a very severe 
 wound, not only persisted in retaining his command, but 
 passed nearly the whole night in repairing the damage done 
 to his work by the bombardment of the day. 
 
 Your attention, in reading the account of this battle, will 
 be arrested by the renewed example of the barbarities, dis- 
 graceful even to savages, which characterize the warfare of 
 the enemy. The name of Colonel Harvey Brown must be 
 remembered with execration, when it is known, that without 
 the slightest warning, his opening fire was specially directed 
 against the navy yard, occupied, to his knowledge, by wo- 
 men, children and non-combatants ; and, that, on the even- 
 ing of the second day, he gave vent to his rage and mortifi- 
 cation at the failure of his attack on Fort McRee, by turning 
 his guns first towards the hospital, over which the yellow 
 flag was flying, and afterwards upon the deserted dwellings 
 
11 
 
 of non-combatants in the villages of Warrington and Wool- 
 sey. 
 
 The damage done to the navy yard and fort by this bom- 
 bardment was insignificant, and the deliberate destruction 
 of two churches, and some twenty humble habitations of poor 
 laboring men and women, together with the violation of the 
 hospital flag, constitute the total exploit of Colonel Harvey 
 Brown. 
 
 The damage done to the enemy by the return fire of our 
 batteries, is only conjectural ; one of the naval steamers was 
 evidently disabled, as she did not aid her consort in the re- 
 newed attack on the 23d, while the fire, both of the fort and 
 of the steamer, on that day, was much slackened, and has not 
 since been renewed. 
 
 Just as I close this paper, I receive a dispatch announcing 
 the repulse of the enemy — five thousand strong — by our 
 forces 1,200 in number, under Colonel Johnson, on the 
 Greenbrier river, and hope, in a few days, to present you the 
 official report. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. P. BENJAMIN, 
 
 Secretary of War. 
 
 To the President. 
 
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