will be in keeping with the fine monument there to be erected to the memory of the thousands who died in the prison-pen at that place. The design of the monument is as follows: the monument, consisting of an obelisk and base, is 39 feet 2 inches in height; the shaft is crowned with a laurel wreath; the four sides are also ornamented with the same leaves. At the foot of the shaft are a helmet, sword, and shield, bearing respectively the national crest, coat of arms, and the stars. Grouped with these is a chain with broken bracelets, suggesting the condition of the dead as prisoners, and their happy release from captivity. Just above the shield is a tablet, veiled, indicating that the dead were unknown, while below is the number of those buried in the trenches. Above the tablet or shield is a small laurel crown enclosing the words "Pro Patria."

The total number of interments in the national cemeteries on the 30th day of June, 1875, was 306,053, classified as follows:

In the last annual report of the officer in charge of national cemeteries, reference was made to the award of contracts for the erection of headstones, as provided for in the acts of June 10, 1872, and March 3, 1873, and also of the system which had then been adopted to ensure correct inscriptions for these permanent grave-marks. The plan there indicated has been continued in the prosecution of this branch of the work with satisfactory results.

The contracts have been modified by the Secretary of War in respect to such details pertaining to the execution of the work and payment therefor as experience proved to be desirable or necessary and the progress made by the contractors would warrant.

The contracts for marble headstones, as now modified, require the material for the slabs for the known graves to be of white monumental marble, of fine grain, good texture, and hard; to be 4 inches thick, 10 inches wide, and 3 feet long, except for the cemeteries north of the latitude of Washington, and for the latter 3 feet 6 inches long; all to be 12 inches above ground when set; the bottoms to be flat, and the stones of uniform thickness throughout; the top to be slightly curved (convex,) and all that part above ground to be polished neatly in the usual manner of finishing marble headstones; the edges to be slightly rounded; the number of the grave, the rank, (if other than a private,) the name of the soldier, and the name of the State from which he came, (if known; if not known, the name of the organization to which he belonged;) to be inscribed on the face, in relief or incised, at the option of the contractor; abbreviations to be made in accordance with lists of inscriptions furnished by the department, and proper punctuation to be observed; the figures and letters comprising the inscriptions to be of a uniform size of one inch in length and one-eighth of an inch in depth, with an allowance of one thirty-second of an inch for variation in depth; variations in size of base from 40 to 20 square inches, and of 2 inches in the

length, to be allowed, provided five sixths of the slabs for each cemetery are of full size and length.

The blocks for the unknown graves are required to be of marble, nearly white, fine grain, and good texture; to be 2 feet 6 inches long, and 6 inches square, and when set, to be 4 inches above the ground; the top and 4 inches of the upper end to be neatly dressed, and the rest of the block to be either dressed in a similar manner, or rough-dressed or split, at the option of the contractor, provided that they are full size throughout; the top to be flat or slightly convex; the bottom to be flat and fully 6 inches square; the number of the grave to be inscribed on the top of the block, either in relief or incised; when the number desig nating the grave consists of three or less figures, they are to be 21⁄2 inches long, and one-fourth of an inch deep; when of four figures, 11⁄2 inches long, and five thirty-seconds of an inch deep; and when of five figures, 1 inch long and one-eigth of an inch deep, with an allowance of one thirty-second of an inch for variation in depth; in cases where more than one body is in the same grave, the figures designating the number of bodies to be of the same size as other figures on the block, and when such other figures are three or less in number, then all to be 2 inches in length and one-eighth of an inch in depth; the edges of the blocks to be slightly rounded.

In all cases, provision is made for the removal by the contractor of the rubbish left from the work of erecting the headstones.

The work of the contractors is subjected to three inspections by engineers employed by the Department for this purpose: first, at the quarries before shipment; the second, after delivery at the cemeteries; and, finally, after the stones are put in place at the graves.

These inspections embrace the examination of each and every stone, with reference to size, quality of material, and style of workmanshipthe inspections at the quarries being final in these respects; the verification of the inscriptions, and the supervision of the work of erecting the stones.

Payment is made for the work performed under each contract as completed at each cemetery, on the certificate of the engineer that the headstones furnished comply with the requirements of the contract, and that they have been erected in a satisfactory manner; 10 per cent. of the contract-price being withheld until the final completion of all the work to be done under any one contract, except in the cases hereinafter stated. The provision requiring the erection of the headstones at the cemeteries in the order named in the contracts has been so modified as to allow the work at certain northern cemeteries to be done during the present season, with a proviso that an additional 15 per cent. be retained by the department, to secure the Government against loss in case the contractors fail to wholly fulfill their agreements.

Partial payments of 60 per cent. of the contract-price have been authorized by the Secretary of War on the delivery in good order at the cemetery of the headstones for cemeteries west of the Alleghanies and in Georgia, with freight thereon paid, when the price of the work at the particular cemetery would be, if completed, not less than $5,000. These contracts originally provided for the completion of the work by the 15th of May, 1875; but to arrange for the proper execution of a work of this magnitude required much time, involving as it did the erection of extensive machinery, and the employment of a large force of workmen. not only in the preparation and shipment of the headstones, but also in their erection at the cemeteries.

These preliminary operations resulted in delaying the actual com

mencement of the work, and nothing was really accomplished toward a practical fulfillment of the contracts until December, 1874, when the first headstones were erected at Brownsville and Gettysburg.

It was early evident, therefore, that the work could not be satisfactorily completed within the time first allowed, and the period for its completion was accordingly extended by the Secretary of War to July 1, 1876.

The provisions of the contract for furnishing and erecting the headstones for the Fredericksburg National Cemetery are substantially the same as of those already referred to, except that the material to be used is gray granite, and payments are to be made on the completion of each 500 slabs or 1,000 blocks; and the time for the fulfillment of the contract has been extended only to the 15th of December, 1875.

The number of headstones furnished up to this date is 26,610 slabs and 36,502 blocks. These have been erected at the following cemeteries, viz:

In addition to the above, the stones for the Memphis Cemetery, as well as the remainder for the Chalmette Cemetery, are now in course of erection. When these are erected, nearly one-third of the work will be completed. The contractors also have a large number of stones in preparation at the quarries.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

A. F. ROCKWELL, Capt. and A. Q. M., U. S. A., in charge of National Cemeteries. The ACTING QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL, U. S. A.

$265 45

161 00

37 75