that the Regular Army must be small, as small as possible, and that for great occasions we as a people must rely on the volunteer masses of soldiery. No class of men better recognize this fact than the Regular Army, and as the science of war is progressive, we must keep pace with it, so as to impart to the volunteer militia, on the shortest notice, all that is known of the art and practice of war up to the moment of execution. In this sense the whole regular army is a school; but the bulk of the Army of the United States is fully employed otherwise in the daily work imposed on it, so that Congress has wisely provided that the Army shall lend assistance to military instruction in thirty of the civil colleges of the land. Each of these is a separate institution, and the thirty officers thus detailed fall absolutely under the control and authority of the faculty of the college to which each is attached. My own belief is that, inasmuch as the government loans the services of an officer to each of these institutions, they should be subjected to an inspection by an officer of that branch of the military service, whose report to the Secretary of War would enable him to decide whether this provision of law has fulfilled its purpose or not. There is now a great contest among civil colleges for this privilege, and the benefit of superimposing the military drill on the cadets of each college should be inquired into, from time to time, and reports made, so that the largest results possible may come from this investment. West Point, however, has been, and must continue to be, the fountainsource of military education in time of peace. In the past it has fulfilled its destiny well, but we can no more restore the condition of facts of General Thayer's time than we can turn the dial of time back fifty years. You now have the report of the last Board of Visitors. I herewith submit the report of General O. O. Howard, the present Superintendent, and I beg you to consider them both together. Shall West Point go back to 1812 and become an engineer school, or shall it be a military academy for all arms of service? The Board of Visitors substantially recommend that the Superintendent of the Military Academy should be a colonel of engineers. The law is, the superintendent, while serving as such, shall have the local rank of colonel of engineers. Prior to 1866, the selection of superintendent was confined to the Engineer Corps, but not necessarily a colonel. A lieutenant colonel, major, or captain, could have been selected by the President, and when acting as superintendent the law gave him the local rank and pay of colonel of engineers. Great difficulty then existed in making a proper selection from the few officers eligible, which difficulty is now forgotten, and President Grant-himself a graduate, and deeply interested in the success of this National Academy-enlarged the field of selection so as to embrace the Engineer Corps and all the Army. Under his administration, Colonels Pitcher and Ruger, both of the infantry, were appointed superintendent, and finally Major-General Schofield. The present superintendent, Brigadier General Howard, was appointed by President Hayes. The Engineer Corps is in no manner excluded from the field of selection; on the contrary, if the President so chooses, he can select an officer of that corps, but is not limited to it exclusively, as is argued by the Board of Visitors. I will concede to the engineers all the superiority in book knowledge they rightfully claim, but when war comes suddenly, as it most always does, with us, in the beginning the engineers naturally resort to scientific methods; whereas the Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery, with supe rior practical knowledge acquired in contact with troops, must go in and do the fighting without further time for preparation. It was so in 1812, in 1846, and in 1861-65. West Point is intended to make "soldiers," not professional engineers, and the word "soldier" embraces everything in war. If the engineer be a better soldier than the infantry officer, then let him in war and peace have all the honors and emoluments; but our recent experience does not fulfill the assertion. The honors of the civil war were not confined to the engineers; therefore I trust you will use your influence to leave the selection of the head of the Military Academy, as now, from all arms of service. Then comes the question of rank for the superintendent. Shall he be a colonel or a general? In my judgment it is a question of pay. In 1830, the pay of a colonel was sufficient; now it is insufficient. No colonel can to-day be the Superintendent of the Military Academy without absolute distress. Even the pay of a brigadier is scanty, and that of a major-general, without outside help, is barely enough. In 1830 few visitors went to West Point; now hundreds go from all parts of the earth, and the superintendent has forced on him expenses of hospitality that very few are aware of. In my opinion the superintendent should have a salary of $10,000 to maintain himself and family in that expensive place, and if Congress will decree that sum, we can find captains who are qualified, but it would be a cruelty to order any officer to occupy the post on a colonel's pay. Again, a "general" is common to all services; he is neither engineer, ordnance, quartermaster, artillery, cavalry, nor infantry, but he pertains to al!-therefore, I think, the superintendent should be a general officer. Whether West Point should be a department or not is a small concern. I think it should be, because the commander, as such, has the lawful right to order courts-martial and execute their sentences on the spot, not only against cadets, but the soldiers and officers stationed there a right of great value in maintaining the discipline which forms the model for the whole Army. I am perfectly conscious that the Board of Visitors generally look upon modern times as worse than in their young days. To restore the "good old times" has been the dream of man from the beginning, but time will not stop, and we must accept this truth, and do the best we can to-day, sure that in due time those who come after us will deplore the sad falling off of modern progress, and compare the degeneracy of the year 1900 with "the good old times" of 1880. In my judgment the Military Academy of West Point to-day, as in 1840, fulfills its uses, and can safely be trusted to prepare boys to become the soldiers of the future. The Artillery School at Fort Monroe is a specialty peculiar to that arm of the service. In former years we were content with 6, 12, 18, 24, and 32 pounder smooth-bore brass or iron guns. Now all this is changed; modern use calls for breech-loading steel rifle guns for field service, and monster rifle-cannon of 100 tons weight, with a projectile weighing a ton, impelled by 350 pounds of powder. To mount and serve these guns requires new machinery, and were the most skillful officer of the Mexican war to rise from his grave he would be an infant in the use of modern artillery. The object of this school is to familiarize our young officers with the manipulation and use of these modern monsters, as well as to keep up with the general progress of military science. The engineer establishment at Willet's Point, New York, is believed to be an admirable school for engineers, and for any officers who may be called on to use torpedoes in connection with harbor defenses, but it does not fall under my supervision or administration, and consequently I merely mention it as one of the schools of instruction in successful operation. In like manner, the Signal School at Fort Myer provides for the instruction of eight subalterns each year in that branch of knowledge; but, as it takes five years thus to instruct one officer of each of the forty regiments, practical instruction in all the signaling which is essential to the Army is also taught at West Point, at Fort Monroe, and will be at Fort Leavenworth, thus embracing the whole Army. Heretofore the officers of cavalry and infantry have been doomed to everlasting service in the very remotest parts of what was known as the "West," always in advance of civilization. No sooner than the settlements reached their post, which they had built of sods, or stone, or wood, they had to pull up stakes, move two or three hundred miles ahead, till the same game was repeated, and so on, ad infinitum; but now this also is changed. Railroads traverse the continent east and west in the interest of trade and commerce, and these troops are shoved to the right and left to guard the embryo settlements against the Indians, or the Indians against the intrusive settlers, and the time has come when these officers should receive some consideration and some attention. With your approval, on the 7th of May last, I ordered Fort Leavenworth-a post on the Missouri River, occupied since 1819-to be got ready for a school of application for the cavalry and infantry, similar to that at Fort Monroe for the artillery. Under the supervision of General Pope, the necessary arrangements are well advanced, and I feel confident that before the 1st of January, 1882, we will have the plan complete and in successful execution. There will be habitually a garrison of one company of artillery, four companies of infantry, and four of cavalry, to which will be attached, for instruction, one officer of each regiment of infantry and of cavalry for a detail of two years. These will receive instruction in the military art, and then rejoin their proper regiments, to be succeeded by a similar detail every two years, so that in time the whole Army will thus be enabled to keep up with the rapid progress in the science and practice of war. This will complete the system, and I am certain that no matter how sudden war may come on us, we will be prepared for it, and the Regular Army will thus be the better enabled to impart to the vast mass of volunteers all the knowledge of the art of war which is possessed by the most skillful nations of the earth. In conclusion, I beg to assure you that the enlisted men and officers of the present Army of the United States, in physique, in intelligence, in patriotic devotion to the honor and flag of the country, will compare favorably with any similar establishment on earth, and with our own Army at any previous period of our history. During the past year recruitment has been slow, by reason of the general prosperity of the country affording better employment to the class of men who generally enlist; but winter and hard times will soon enable us to fill our ranks with a good class of men, and re-enlistments will increase by reason of the advantages the Army now holds out in the schools, in the better condition of the frontier posts, more abundant food and clothing, and the vastly diminished labor of the past by the completion of railroads to regions hitherto inaccessible except by long marches across arid, desolate plains. Now almost every post in the Army has railroad communication near, with mails, and connection by telegraph to all parts of the world. In my judgment, the condition of the Army, officers, and men, is incomparably better and more comfortable than it was twenty years ago. For details of last year's work, and for progress in drill and rifle prac tice, I again invite your perusal of the inclosed reports of the several generals, which are very full and most interesting, supplemented by those of their own subordinates and staff, too voluminous to print, but which, in manuscript, are on file, accessible to you at all times. With great respect, W. T. SHERMAN, General. REPORTS TO THE GENERAL OF THE ARMY. 1.-ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL TO THE GENERAL OF THE ARMY FOR THE YEAR 1881. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, GENERAL: Pursuant to your instructions, I have the honor to submit the annual returns of the Army: A.-Organization of the Regular Army. B.-Return showing actual strength of the Regular Army. C.-Distribution of troops in the Departments of Missouri, Texas, Platte, and Dakota-Division of the Missouri. D. Distribution of troops in the Departments of the East and South-Division of the Atlantic. E. Distribution of troops in the Departments of California, the Columbia, and Arizona-Division of the Pacific. F.-Department of West Point. G.-Military geographical divisions, departments, and posts, with distribution of troops, post-offices, telegraph stations, and nearest railroad stations or boat landings. H.-Statement of casualties during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881. I.-Statement of the number of trials of enlisted men by general courts martial during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881. K.-Statement of assignments of recruits and re-enlistments during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881. The number of enlisted men, now in service, who are drawing increased pay under act of Congress of August 4, 1854, is as follows: The number of those who will become entitled to increased pay, under act of Congress of May 15, 1872, during fiscal year ending June 30, 1883, is |