these appointments and selections of officers for staff duties shall be without prejudice to their rank and promotion in their respective regiments or corps; and all laws now in force authorizing the appointment, by commission, of inspectors general, of officers in the Adjutant General's department, in the Quartermaster General's department, in the Subsistence department, and of judge advocate of the army, and of the appointment of regimental quartermasters, be, and the same are hereby, repealed; and the officers now holding commissions on the staff shall be arranged to places in the army, regard, as far as practicable, being had to rank.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That general officers shall be appointed by selection; the brigadier general of engineers from the corps of engineers, and the colonel of ordnance by selection from the corps of ordnance; in all other cases promotions shall be made by seniority to the grade of colonel, inclusive, except in case of disability or incompetency. In the artillery, infantry, and cavalry, promotions to the rank of captain, inclusive, shall be made regimentally; above that grade, through the lines of artillery, infantry, and cavalry, respectively. Promotions in the engineers and ordnance shall be confined to the respective corps. Vacancies in the grade of captain of engineers or ordnance which may occur after these corps are reduced to the respective organizations provided by sections three and four of this act, shall be supplied by selection from the other corps of the army.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the President shall have power to prescribe the manner in which the troops shall be armed and equipped, according to the nature of their service.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That articles sixty-first, sixtysecond, and sixty-third of section first of the act of April ten, eighteen hundred and six, entitled "An act for establishing rules and articles for the government of the armies of the United States," be, and the same are hereby, repealed; and the following rules shall regulate the command and rank of officers in cases not provided for in the ninetyeighth article of the act just recited:

When different regiments or corps join and do duty together, the officer highest in rank there present on duty shall command the whole.

Officers shall take rank and do duty in the regiment or corps to which they belong, according to the commissions by which they are mustered therein. Brevet commissions shall not have effect, either for rank or pay, except in commands composed of different regiments or corps: and then only by assignment by the President, or such officer as he may empower to make such assignments; but no officer, by virtue of his brevet, shall be placed over another of higher rank by brevet.

An officer of the pay or medical departments cannot exercise command, except in his own department; nor shall he be commanded by a non-commissioned officer, nor by any but the commander of the post, the regiment, or troops with which he may be serving.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the officers and men authorized by this act shall be entitled to the same provisions for wounds and disabilities, and their widows and children to the same allow

ances and benefits in every respect, as are allowed to those of other troops composing the army of the United States; and the officers and men shall be subject to the rules and articles of war, and the men shall be recruited in the same manner as other troops, and with the same conditions and limitations.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the monthly pay of officers shall be as follows: a major general, two hundred and sixty-five dollars; a brigadier general, one hundred and sixty-five dollars; a colonel, one hundred and thirty-five dollars; a lieutenant colonel, one hundred and fifteen dollars; a major, ninety-five dollars; a captain of cavalry, eignty-five dollars; a captain of artillery and infantry, seventy-five dollars; a first lieutenant of cavalry, sixty-five dollars; a first lieutenant of artillery and infantry, fifty-seven dollars; a seeond lieutenant of cavalry, fifty-five dollars; a second lieutenant of artillery and infantry, forty-seven dollars; a cadet, thirty-three dollars; and the surgeon general and paymaster general shall have the pay and allowances of a colonel; and the pay and allowances of officers and enlisted men belonging to horse artillery-batteries shall be the same as the pay and allowances of the corresponding grades of cavalry: Provided, That an officer absent from duty, except by reaso of wounds received in action, or from disease contracted in the line of duty, for a longer period than at the rate of one month per year, shall, for the time of such absence, be entitled only to his pay and service rations, and no other allowances: Provided, however, That in cases of leave of absence from distant posts, the President of the United States may, in his discretion, extend the period from one month to fifty days, during which time the pay and allowance of such officer shall continue: And provided further, That service rations be allowed to general officers in like manner as to other officers.

SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That whenever any officer of the army shall be incapable of performing the duties of his office, and shall voluntarily apply to be retired from active service, or, on being ordered to perform the duties appropriate to his commission, shall report himself unable to comply with such order, or whenever, in the judgment of the President of the United States, any officer of the army shall be in any way incapable of performing the duties of his office, the President, at his discretion, shall direct the Secretary of War to refer the case of such officer to an army board, to be composed

not more than thirteen nor less than five commissioned officers, to be detailed from those of superior rank to him whose case is under consideration, as far as his grade and the interest of the service will permit. And the said board shall determine upon the case referred to them; and their opinion thereon, with a record of the proceedings, shall be transmitted to the Secretary of War, to be laid before the President for his approval or disapproval. If, in the judgment of the board, the officer be incapable of performing the duties of his office, the board shall report whether, in their opinion, the disability is to be traced to vicious habits. If not, and the President approve such judgment, the disabled officer shall thereupon be placed on the retired list. But if the board are of opinion that the disability is the result of vicious habits, and the President concur in that opinion, then

the disabled officer shall not be placed on the retired list, but shall be dropped from the rolls of the army.

SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That when an officer is placed on the retired list, in accordance with the provisions of this act, he shall be withdrawn from active service and command, with the pay of the rank held by him at the time in his regiment or corps, and the service rations to which he may then be entitled, but without any other allowances; and the officer next in rank shall be promoted to the place of the retired officer, according to the rule of service. And the same rule of promotion shall be applied successively to the vacancies consequent upon the retirement of the disabled officer as herein provided: Provided, That if the disability be the result of wounds received in action, the officer shall have the pay of his highest rank by brevet or otherwise.

SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That whenever the President shall deem it advisable to cause an officer who has been withdrawn from active service and retired from the line of promotion, as herein provided, to be placed on any duty not incompatible with his condition, such officer shall, for the time he may be so employed, be entitled to all the pay and allowances of the grade with which he was retired from service.

SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That during one year after the passage of this act, officers may be placed on the retired list, after which time no more officers shall be placed on the retired list without further authority of law.

APPENDIX.

QUARTERMASTER GENERAL'S OFFICE,

Washington City, October 20, 1830.

SIR: In compliance with your order directing a report under a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 26th of April last, which requires the views of the Secretary of War to be presented to that House at its next session, as to the propriety of reducing the number of officers of the army, and as to the most efficient organization in conformity with the reduction proposed, I beg leave to remark, that whether any of the officers composing the army can be discharged without injury to the public service must depend upon the objects for which that body is maintained, and the duties it is required to perform.

The nature of our political system, with the advantages derived from our geographical position, enables us to dispense with large standing armies in time of peace; but the obligation to be at all times prepared for war, imposed upon us by a prudent regard to our own security, is not thereby lessened; on the contrary, it is a solemn duty, which we owe to ourselves and to the cause of free government, to be able to call into action the whole physical energies of our country Rep. 40-4

whenever circumstances may require it. This is peculiarly so at the present time, when revolution pervades the eastern continent, and it is uncertain whether liberal or despotic principles are ultimately to prevail. The representative system has existed on this continent nearly two centuries without interruption; it is, therefore, no longer an experiment: its results are to be seen in the liberty, the happiness, and the prosperity of our country. The moral influence of that system, without any physical effort on our part, is silently, but gradually and certainly, sapping the foundations of every absolute government in the civilized world. Those interested in perpetuating ancient abuses are aware of the source of their danger, and are fully sensible, if our institutions continue in successful operation, there will be no security for them. They have, therefore, all those motives of interest and of sympathy which so powerfully influence human action to unite against us; and should the contest now going on result in the ascendency of despotism, nothing can save us from their attempts but the most erect and determined attitude on the part of the nation, and its ability to return, with interest, every blow aimed at it. Our peace establishment has, therefore, more important duties to perform, and higher destinies to achieve, than any other army on the globe. But, before we proceed to enumerate the duties which devolve upon it, let us examine the objects for which the armies of other countries are maintained.

If we look to the great states of Europe, we perceive in their past history that the reasons for supporting their large establishments in peace are, to protect the person, secure the authority, and enforce the edicts of the sovereign; and, in addition to those duties, to defend the country, and to carry on offensive operations in war; but if we recur to our own condition, we must be sensible that the former of those objects were never intended to be attained by military force. Public opinion is strong enough here to guaranty the execution of the laws, to secure the internal peace of the country, and to protect the public functionaries in the performance of their duties; and the small force composing our peace establishment, dispersed as it is over a territory embracing nineteen degrees of latitude and twenty-eight degrees of longitude, could never have been calculated to meet even the first shock of war. Hence it is manifestly maintained for other and different objects, some of the more important of which are, to acquire and preserve military knowledge, and perfect military discipline; to construct the permanent defences, and organize the material necessary in war; to form the stock on which an army competent to the defence of the country may be engrafted, and, by means of depots of instruction, directed by intelligent and able officers, hastened to maturity, to present a rallying point to the militia, and, by means of instructors, and an intelligent administrative staff, to impart to that essential arm of the national defence a part of its own efficiency. Many of these important duties devolve on officers without the agency of troops. All that relate to defences, reconnoissances, arming and equipping the militia, the formation of depots, the construction of military roads, and the preparation and preservation of arms, munitions, and stores, must be performed, whether we retain a single private soldier or not;

and the duties of the officers immediately connected with the troops depend not so much upon their numerical force as upon the extent of the national territory, and the consequent extent of the frontiers to be covered, and the number of posts to be occupied.

It is, therefore, apparent, that we require a much larger proportion of officers in time of peace, compared with the rank and file, than most European nations, with their large force and small territories, could find employment for; the more especially, as, with them, those works of defence and measures of preparation, which, with us, can hardly be said to have commenced, have been accomplished. If we recur to the military condition of France, for instance, we find her frontiers covered with fortresses, her arsenals filled with arms and munitions, her interior depots established, her bureaus filled with maps, plans, and topographical surveys, the valuable results of the labors of her staff; all her communications, such as roads and canals, which afford her the means of rapid concentration, complete; besides, occupying, as she does, a small territory compared with her immense population and resources, she requires but few officers connected with those important works compared with her large military force.

The United States have, on the contrary, an extensive frontier; their population and resources are dispersed over a widely extended territory; the internal communications of the country, so necessary for rapid military movements, whether projected by national or State authority, are incomplete; and, in short, in all their military relations, they present, when compared with France, the most striking contrast. It is not the policy of the country to retain, in time of peace, a large military establishment, particularly a numerous soldiery, but it is of the utmost importance to educate and retain a body of officers sufficient for all the labors preparatory to war, and capable of forming soldiers, of supplying them, and putting them in motion, in the event of war.

If these views be correct, it is not easy to perceive how any of the officers making part of our military establishment, as authorized by the act of 1821, or by subsequent acts, can be dispensed with. Our companies are now sufficiently large for all the purposes of instruction, and for the services required at most of our minor posts, and the officers are barely sufficient for the duties actually required to be performed.*

* For the exercise, in time of peace, of an artillery company, four pieces with four caissons are sufficient. The pieces should consist of two six-pounders, one twelve-pounder, and one howitzer. A captain should command the whole, and each section of two pieces should be commanded by a lieutenant. The line of caissons should be directed by a lieutenant, who should be conductor of ordnance, and receive and account for the stores of the company. An orderly sergeant is required to assist the captain in the military details; and an ordnance sergeant to assist the conductor of ordnance in the administrative details. A non-commissioned officer and eight privates are required for each piece, and one with two privates to each sec tion of two caissons, and three artificers to each company; and there should be at least one lieutenant to each company, for the duties of the several staff corps.

The company for peace would then consist of—

1 captain to command.

2 lieutenants to command sections.

1 lieutenant, conductor of ordnance.

1 lieutenant for topographical, ordnance, and other staff duty.