REPORT

OF

THE SECRETARY OF WAR.

Mr. PRESIDENT:

NOVEMBER 22, 1875.

I am gratified to be able to state that since my last annual report a marked improvement has taken place in the morale of the service. The Army is now reduced to twenty-five thousand men. Recruiting was resumed in November, 1874, for the purpose of keeping up the standard number, and under a careful system in the selection of the men the class of recruits now received is of a superior quality. The number of desertions has been largely reduced, being about two thousand one hundred less than during the previous year, while the number of re-enlistments has increased nearly threefold. The state of contentment thus shown is due, in a great measure, to the excellent system of pay established, which is now graduated by length of service, and affords the soldier an opportunity to deposit his savings with the Government and receive interest for the same until the end of his term.

The Adjutant-General, under whose immediate charge the recruiting of the Army is placed, has raised to the highest standard of excellence the discipline at recruiting depots, and the recruits are now well instructed and drilled before being sent to join companies in the field.

I renew the recommendation for the enlistment of music-boys over twelve years of age, in order to furnish field-music to companies, and hope that suitable legislation may be had during the next session of Congress to supply this want.

Attention is invited to the accompanying report of the AdjutantGeneral upon the operations of the military prison, so far as they have progressed. The controlling reason for the establishment of a military prison has been that soldiers convicted of military offenses merely should be separated from the degrading influences to which they are subjected when confined with ordinary convicts. There have been 362 prisoners received during the year, and there are now 225 in the establishment. Those prisoners have been employed in various ways on the prison-building and about the post, thus saving the expense of employing labor. It is hoped that an appropriation will be made for starting workshops, for it is confidently believed that the prisoners may be made

to earn sufficient for their own maintenance, and in time that no appropriation will be required to be made by Congress for their support.

The desertions for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874, were four thousand six hundred and six; of re-enlistments, six hundred and ninety-nine; the number of sergeants re enlisted, one hundred and fortynine. The desertions for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, were two thousand five hundred and twenty-one; re-enlistments, one thousand nine hundred and eighty-six; sergeants re-enlisted, three hundred and forty-seven. No better evidence can be furnished of the improved condition of the service than by presentation of the foregoing figures.

During the past summer I took occasion to make a tour of inspection to various military posts in the West, for the purpose of personally informing myself as to their condition and needs, and the necessity for the retention of their garrisons, and for the purpose of obtaining more full information concerning them than could be had from written reports. All of those visited were found to be in good condition, the troops stationed at them to be soldierly and dutiful, and the officers anxious to do all in their power to carry out the wishes of the Government and to bring the military affairs under their charge to the highest point of excellence.

Situated, as many of these posts are, remote from railroads and the. ordinary routes of extensive land and water travel, they are to a great extent isolated, and consequently those located there are deprived often of those comforts which others situated in more favored localities are familiar with. Nevertheless the devotion to duty, the absence of complaint, and the plain and unqualified desire to do promptly all that is required of them characterize both officers and men at every post which I visited during this tour.

The general sentiment prevailing, and the interest evinced by the great majority of those whom I met in the performance of their duties properly and well, satisfy me that reflections upon the present standard of military discipline are uncalled for, but, on the contrary, that it has constantly improved during each year since the war.

Under the act of March 3, 1869, all the regimental bands of the Army were mustered out of service, and as the act authorized the enlistment of a chief musician as an instructor of music in each regiment of Artillery, Cavalry, and Infantry, it was deemed a tacit authorization for organizing new bands by details of enlisted men of the Army, who generally receive some addition to their pay from the regimental funds, and in many cases from the personal subscription of the officers of the regiment. In my judgment the act above referred to should be repealed, and a military band of at least twenty-five musicians be allowed to each regiment. This number, while not large, would be sufficient, and when taking into consideration the ordinary casualties of the service caused by sickness or accident, would really give about twenty men to the band. If these were arranged in four classes, each of them receiving

a somewhat higher grade of pay than the succeeding, it is believed that bands could be formed the expense of which would not be large, and that the results to the service would be beneficial in a high degree. It is a fact not generally known that at present there is not an authorized band connected with the Army excepting the band of the Military Academy at West Point; still the necessities of the service and the pride of the officers of the regiments require that bands of more or less proficiency should be organized, and the expense occasioned thereby falls upon the officers and men of the regiment-an expense which it seems to me should be borne by the Government.

I call especial attention to that portion of the report of the InspectorGeneral in reference to the law concerning the employment of soldiers as servants.

The law of March 16, 1802, authorizes women (in number not exceed ing four to a company) to accompany troops in the capacity of laundresses, and Army Regulations prescribe one laundress to every nineteen, or fraction of nineteen, enlisted men. Under the existing Army organization upwards of 1,300 laundresses are employed, and for all the work performed are amply compensated by the enlisted men. The aggregate cost to the Government for rations supplied these women is over $100,000 per annum, in addition to which quarters and fuel are furnished them, and whenever the removal of troops becomes necessary it involves a large amount of transportation for the laundresses, averaging annually about $200,000.

When troops serving in the field are changing station, owing to the fact that these women and their children cannot be transported with them, they naturally suffer by being left at posts without their natural protectors, and often at places where they would not generally be entitled to rations, fuel, and quarters. It has been found impossible to supply laundresses with even habitable quarters at many stations, owing to limited appropriations made by Congress for barracks during the past three years. Considerable suffering has consequently been imposed upon these people. It is believed that in consideration of the abovestated facts a material reduction, amounting to at least one-half of the present number of laundresses, would not only be a measure of expediency, but of absolute economy, and that reduction is recommended.

With the exception of the few official items contained in the archives. of the War Department, the only information concerning the early history of our old military posts is gained from vague traditions and personal reminiscences. No record showing when, why, or by whom a military post was established, or who have been its commanders, or the origin of its name, in many instances, can be found by any officer assigned to its command. This serious omission can be corrected by requiring the commander of every post to keep a historical-record book, and to enter therein every important event occurring within the scope of his command-this book to be transferred by each commander to his successor,

and not to be removed from the post, unless it is abandoned, in which event it should be forwarded to the Adjutant-General, for file in the War Department. Such a book would be of great value for subsequent reference, as it would contain a catalogue of all errors committed, thus preventing their reoccurrence; also affording reliable information regarding special service of troops, and their results. As a faithful delineation of the stirring events of the early days of these frontier posts must in the future possess great historic import, so to the experienced officer its military significance and value as a record would be invaluable, and it would not be devoid of interest to those civilians who appreciate the importance of the rapid settlement and development of the resources of the West. It is within the province of the Department to direct that such report be kept hereafter, and it is my purpose to take the necessary steps therefor.

Owing to the fact that our Army is dispersed in small detachments to garrison military posts scattered at wide intervals throughout extensive districts of unpopulated territory, it becomes necessary to transport everything needful from remote furnishing-depots. Where there is no railroad or water communication an immense amount of wagon transportation is required. Soldiers detached from the line, without any knowledge of the work, and against their wishes, are used as teamsters, hostlers, herders, &c., for this means of transportation. As the appropriations are insufficient to permit of the employment of civilians, these details are unavoidable. A great saving to the Govern ment could be made in authorizing the enlistment of competent and experienced men for this special service. As the soldiers at present employed often maltreat, overwork, and take but little care of their horses, the consequence is that in a short time the teams, rendered unfit for further service, are condemned and sold. The transportation service, consisting of regularly-organized companies and battalions, with full complement of officers and privates enlisted especially for this duty, prevails in the German army, and has been found to work admirably.

At most of our sea-coast fortifications for many years past the troops have been compelled to take quarters in damp and unhealthy casemates in the absence of suitable buildings, which has given rise to numerous complaints and continued applications for better-ventilated and more comfortable quarters. Our medical officers have urgently recommended these appeals to the favorable consideration of the authorities, as a hygienic measure of great importance.

Notwithstanding the policy which discourages, with limited expections, the enlistment of married men, a large number of them succeed by fraudulent representations in entering the Army. Their presence there proves often a source of embarrassment to military discipline, as it is of injury to their families. The destitution of the latter leads to desertions, and is then urged upon the Executive as ground for the extension of clemency to the offenders. The conviction is entertained