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ever, that in New York City, having been kept open. During the year 96 men were enlisted, 9 re-enlisted, 47 deserters were apprehended, and 57 men deserted.

The duties of the battalion generally have been confined to guarding, receiving, and issuing the engineer property at the depots; in furnishing instruction to cadets of the Military Academy, under the instructor of practical engineering; in pontoniering, signaling, telegraphing, and practical engineering generally; the detachments serving at the several headquarters in the field assisting the engineer-officers in the duties assigned them.

At Willet's Point the troops have been employed in the construction and repair of the buildings and grading the grounds, and in the vari ous drills and instructions necessary to keep them in a proper state of efficiency and ready for active service. Good progress has been made in field-fortification, pontoniering, military reconnoissance, photography, and infantry tactics, while, in addition to the usual target practice furnished by regulations, the men have been encouraged to compete at the neighboring range. Theoretical instruction of the non-commissioned officers was had during the suspension of the drills in the winter, and the school of enlisted men, directed by General Orders No. 56, AdjutantGeneral's Office, 1866, was open to voluntary attendance, under the personal supervision of the commissioned officers.

The instruction of the officers has been extended, so as to include as far as practicable preparation for and familiarity with duties upon which they are liable to be ordered. By the authority of the Secretary of War each officer was, during the winter, required to visit and report upon some specified public work, selected with a view to obtaining information useful for the engineer service. These reports are of a creditable character, and will be used by the officers when examined for promotion.

The work of the torpedo-school has been actively prosecuted, and the results obtained are of a satisfactory character. The investigations necessary to discover the laws which govern the action of subaqueous explosions, the perfecting of the electrical apparatus, and the trials designed to determine the practical details of the mines, cables, fuses, &c., have all received careful attention. A system, believed to be superior to any in use abroad, has thus been perfected. To render it available in harbor defense, a body of trained officers and men is essential, and the instruction of the Battalion of Engineers has been specially directed to this end. The preparation of a torpedo manual has been commenced, and it is tested page by page by practical use as it proceeds.

In torpedo-materials we have collected about six hundred miles of cable, some three hundred mines, and electrical apparatus sufficient to equip some twenty stations; in fine, great progress has been made during the past year in reducing the theoretical system to a practical form for actual use. To make use of our materials, however, a trained body of men must be at hand and ready upon any emergency for the several torpedo-stations, but to this end the strength of the Engineer Battalion should be increased.

I would respectfully recommend an appropriation of $1,000 for the purchase of engineer-material to continue the present system of instruction of the battalion, and $10,000 for continuing the trials with torpedoes, and for the instruction of the engineer troops in their application to harbor and land defenses.

I would also renew my recommendation of former years, that the organization of the battalion be completed by the addition of two principal musicians, allowed by law to troops of other arms.

Engineer post and depot at Willet's Point, New York Harbor, commanded by Maj. Henry L. Abbot, Corps of Engineers.

The engineer-depot at Willet's Point contains the ponton-trains, siege and mining tools, torpedo-materials, astronomical and surveying instru ments, &c., pertaining to the engineer-service of the Army. It is garrisoned by a portion of the Engineer Battalion, which furnishes the needful guard, and issues the stores to officers of the corps upon requisition duly approved.

The public buildings are essentially completed, so that only a small appropriation of $500 for repairs is needed.

For continuing the remodeling of the ponton-material to make it conform with the patterns adopted at the close of the late civil war an appropriation of $1,000 is needed. Most of the labor will be supplied by the troops. Experience has shown that it is necessary, in order to avoid loss of time in fitting surveying-parties for the field, to have at the depot a small supply of the instruments in common demand. For this purpose, and for repairing those returned in an injured condition, an appropriation of $5,000 is asked.

For incidental expenses of the depot, such as coal, forage, stationery, chemicals for use in the laboratory, extra-duty pay for soldiers employed in mechanical work, in photographic and lithographic plans, and in printing engineering blanks, torpedo-instructors, &c., $2,500.

RIVER AND HARBOR IMPROVEMENT.

The "act making appropriations for the repair, preservation, and completion of certain public works on rivers and harbors," approved March 3, 1873, furnished the means for continuing, during the past year, operations at the several localities named therein, in accordance with approved projects. A brief account of the work done at each locality, and the present condition of the improvement, together with a moneystatement, is given below; but for more detailed information a reference to the reports of the officers having charge and immediate supervision of the operations is respectfully suggested.

The annual estimates of the officers in charge of the separate works have been carefully revised in this office, and in many cases reduced. The surveys and examinations directed to be made by the second section of the act, with but few exceptions, have been completed, and the results of those received in time were reported during the last session of Congress. These, together with such as have been completed since the adjournment, are submitted herewith in the appendix to this report. The provisions of the third section of the act, requiring the organization of a board of engineer officers" whose duty it shall be to inquire into and report upon the practicability of bridging, consistently with the interests of navigation, the channel between Lake Huron and Lake Erie," &c., have been complied with, and the report of the board was submitted to the Department and transmitted by you to Congress on the 22 January. A copy of the report is appended hereto.

The river and harbor act approved June 23, 1874, in addition to making appropriations for continuing improvements heretofore begun, made provision for some new works. With the amounts thus made available operations have been continued during the present working season, and the necessary preliminary steps have been taken for the execution of the new work specified.

The act further directed that surveys be made and estimates submit

ted for the improvements recommended by the Senate Select Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard, upon the four routes indicated by the report of said committee, and also upon a route indicated, forming an extension of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. These surveys have been assigned to officers having charge of works in the districts through which the proposed routes of communication pass. The appropriation was allotted to these officers in proportion to the extent and magnitude of the survey assigned each. Parties were organized and sent into the field at as early a day as possible, and it is trusted that sufficient data will be obtained to enable all the officers to submit projects for the improvements recommended, together with approximate estimates of cost of each, in time to be submitted before the close of the next session of Congress. It should be borne in mind, however, that, owing to the lateness of the passage of the act, the season favorable for active field-work was well advanced before the parties could commence operations.

The examinations or surveys directed to be made at certain specified localities named in the second section of the act of June 23, 1874, are now in process of execution. It is expected that reports upon the greater portion of these will be received in time for transmission during the approaching session of Congress.

The third section of the act made provision for the organization of a board of engineers, and directed that "said board shall make a survey of the mouth of the Mississippi River, with a view to determine the best method of obtaining and maintaining a depth of water sufficient for the purposes of commerce, either by canal from said river to the waters of the Gulf, or by deepening one or more of the natural outlets of said river," &c. The board was constituted by General Orders No, 74 of the War Department, dated July 2, 1874, and a copy of the section was incorporated in the order for the information and guidance of the members. The board is now engaged in the prosecution of the duties assigned, and will doubtless be able to comply with the requirement of the law as to the time of submitting the report.

In accordance with the requirements of the act approved June 22, 1874, "to provide for the appointment of a commission of engineers to investigate and report a permanent plan for the reclamation of the alluvial basin of the Mississippi River subject to inundation," a board of commissioners was constituted by General Orders No. 73 of the War Department, of July 2, 1874. The board has been organized, and the members are now actively engaged in making the investigations neces sary to a full understanding and a proper presentation of the matter under consideration.

In connection with this subject, I have thought it advisable to include in the present communication (Appendix M 4) a report on the levees of the Mississippi, made by me to the Secretary of War in May, 1866, in pursuance of his instructions.

LAKE HARBORS AND RIVERS.

HARBORS ON LAKE SUPERIOR WEST OF KEWEENAW POINT.

Officer in charge, Maj. F. U. Farquhar, Corps of Engineers.

1. Improvement of the Bay of Superior from the natural entrance to the docks of superior City and Du Luth, and preservation of both entrances from the lake thereto, Minnesota and Wisconsin.-The work at these localities during the fiscal year comprised the completion of the piers at the Du

Luth Canal, and a small amount of dredging in Du Luth Harbor; the opening and protection of a cut through the dike across Superior Bay; the near completion of the piers at the natural entry, with some dredg ing between them, and the dredging of a channel from the deep waters of the bay to Quebec wharf, at Superior City.

The work during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, will be the completion of the piers at the natural entrance; some repairs to the piers at the Du Luth Canal, and dredging at the entrance to the harbor of Du Luth to give anchorage-ground and room for vessels to turn.

The completion of the plan for the improvement of the harbor of Du Luth, so that it may be available as a harbor of refuge, will require a large amount of dredging, which is estimated by the officer in charge at about 1,000,000 cubic yards, at the cost of about $270,000. An estimate of $100,000 is submitted for the commencement of this improvement.

The officer in charge recommends that the dike across Superior Bay be rebuilt so as to insure that no deterioration of the channel takes place at the natural entry. The estimated cost of this is $87,199, which could be most economically expended if included in one appropriation. A fund of $10,000 should also be available for repairs at the natural entry.

Balance in the Treasury of the United States July 1, 1873.
Amount in hands of officer and subject to his check.
Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874..

Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874.
Amount available July 1, 1874..

Amount required for the fiscal year ending S For Du Luth
June 30, 1876, (as revised in this Office,){ For natural entry

(See Appendix A 1.)

$79,636 00

51,715 75

10,000 00

120,112 08

21,239 67

100,000 00

10,000 00

2. Ontonagon Harbor, Michigan.-With the amount appropriated by the act of June 23, 1874, it is proposed to repair the inner end of West pier and prolong it inward 430 feet, and to make other repairs to the structures now protecting the entrance to this harbor.

It is estimated by the officer in charge that the cost of completing the works for the improvement of this harbor will be $238,717.08, and that $150,000 can be economically expended during the year ending June 30, 1876.

This harbor would, were it properly improved, be of great importance
as a harbor of refuge, as it is the only harbor on a long stretch of coast.
Balance in Treasury of the United States July 1, 1873..
Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874..
Amount available July 1, 1874...

Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, (as revised in this
Office)..

(See Appendix A 2.)

$82 41 23,000 00

23,082 41

50,000 00

3. Eagle Harbor, Michigan.-The estimate submitted in the last annual report for the excavation of a channel through the rock at the entrance to this harbor to a depth of 14 feet and a width of 130 feet, together with the building of a breakwater to cover the anchorage ground, in all $248,000, has been revised by the officer now in charge, and reduced to $231,570, at the same time increasing the width of the breakwater from 20 feet to 30 feet.

No work has been done here during the past year, owing to the smallness of the funds on hand.

The officer in charge states that, should it be determined to make

this improvement, in order to prosecute it economically, a sum of at least $150,000 should be appropriated for the fiscal year.

Balance in Treasury of the United States July 1, 1873.

Amount in hands of officer and subject to his check..

Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874.

Amount available July 1, 1874..

Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, (as revised in this
Office)

(See Appendix A 3.)

$13,761 11

11,047 57

1,600 40

23, 208 28

50,000 00

HARBORS ON LAKE SUPERIOR EAST OF KEWEENAW POINT AND HARBORS ON THE WEST AND SOUTH SHORES OF LAKE MICHIGAN-IMPROVEMENT OF THE FOX AND WISCONSIN RIVERS.

Officer in charge, Maj. D. C. Houston, Corps of Engineers, with Capt. J. W. Cuyler, Corps of Engineers, to March 11, 1874, and Capt. G. J. Lydecker, Corps of Engineers, since May 11, 1874, under his immediate orders.

1. Marquette Harbor, Lake Superior, Michigan.-During the year the breakwater, as far as completed, was entirely filled with stone ballast and covered with a decking of three-inch plank.

The superstructure was completed over 5 cribs sunk in 1872, and 1 crib has been sunk in extension of the breakwater. About 180 cords of stone has been placed as riprap on the exposed side of the work.

The length of the work, as it now stands, is 1,960 feet, all complete except the superstructure over two cribs. It is proposed this season to extend the breakwater 50 feet, and complete the superstructure over the two cribs placed last year.

To render this work secure, it should be still further protected on the seaward side by a stone riprapping, for which an estimate is submitted. This will complete the breakwater as designed, at a cost of $296,730, or $88,399.58 less than the original estimate. Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873..

Amount in hands of officer and subject to his check, (including $2,373.83

$15,000 00

percentage due on contracts not yet completed)..

Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874.

Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874.
Amount available July 1, 1874.....

24,802 07 15,000 00

39, 192 87

Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876..

(See Appendix B 1.)

15,609 20 25,000 00

2. Menomonee Harbor, Michigan and Wisconsin.-During the year the south pier was extended 720 feet and the north pier 352 feet. During the present season it is proposed to extend each pier 128 feet and to dredge a channel 14 feet in depth and as wide as funds available will permit. The estimated cost of completing this harbor according to the plan adopted is $212,000. There has been appropriated $100,000. The estimate submitted by the officer in charge for continuing this improvement is $50,000.

Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873..

Amount in hands of officer and subject to his check, (including $1,254.84 per

centage due on contracts not yet completed).

$25,000 00

Ameunt appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874..

11, 350 01 25,000 00

Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874.

34,837 69

Amount available July 1, 1874..

Asont required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, (as revised in this
Office)

26,512 32

25,000 00

(See Appendix B 2.)

3. Green Bay Harbor, Wisconsin.-During the year the deepening and widening of the channel from the mouth of the Fox River to Grassy

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