duty and new drill regulations for the cavalry, light artillery, and infantry were adopted. Practice marches, encampments, maneuvers, and other field operations simulating conditions of actual warfare were prescribed for the summer for all available infantry, cavalry, and light artillery of the Army when not prevented by active service, and a scheme of competition was adopted in order to encourage excellence in gunnery and in the preliminary instruction of individuals and batteries, and department inspectors of artillery were created with a view to increase the efficiency of that branch of the service. That there might be the greatest possible number of men available for both practical and theoretical instruction, details for extra and special duty were limited and regulated in general orders.

Material improvements were effected in the fit and quality of clothing, and quality and comfort of beds and bedding; and new arms and equip ments were adopted to meet modern requirements, among which smokeless powder and a new magazine rifle with a caliber of .30 are most noteworthy.

In the inspection department the progressive spirit of the personnel has kept abreast of the salutary changes going on in the Army, and the establishment of independent inspection districts, closer scrutiny in the matter of property presented for condemnation, and of finances and business methods, resulting in economy and uniformity; more thorough inspections of all that pertains to military affairs, and the adoption of a system of reporting defects and irregularities, followed by prompt remedial action, may deserve mention. Whatever changes are foreshadowed in the other departments for the future it is hoped will be responded to with equal readiness and zeal. Respectfully submitted.

J. C. BRECKINRIDGE,
Inspector-General.

The LIEUTENANT-GENERAL COMMANDING THE ARMY.

REPORT OF MAJ. GEN. NELSON A. MILES.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE EAST,

Governors Island, New York Harbor, August 31, 1895.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following annual report for the information of the Lieutenant-General Commanding the Army:

The last annual report from this department was submitted by Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, who retained command of the department until his retirement, the 8th of November last. Command of the department was assumed by me, under the orders of the President, on the 20th of the same month.

There are now embraced in this command 25 garrisoned posts and 39 posts not garrisoned, the number in the last annual report having been 26 of the former and 38 of the latter. The change is accounted for as follows: The garrison of Fort Ontario, N. Y., has been withdrawn to Madison Barracks, and the post is now in charge of an ordnance sergeant. The garrison of Fort Wood, New York Harbor, has been withdrawn to Fort Thomas, Ky., and the post is now in charge of the commanding officer of Fort Columbus. The garrison of Newport Barracks, Ky., has been withdrawn to Fort Thomas, and the post turned over, on January 1, 1895, to the city of Newport, Ky., "for a public park forever," under the act approved July 31, 1894. The garrison of Mount Vernon Barracks, Ala., has been withdrawn to Fort McPherson, Ga., and under the act approved March 1, 1895, Mount Vernon Barracks was transferred to the State of Alabama in April last, "to be held and used by the said State for public purposes." The posts of Davids Island, New York Harbor, and Columbus Barracks, Ohio, have been added to this department, under the new arrangement for recruiting service, and garrisoned-the former by artillery and the latter by infantry-and the new cavalry post of Fort Ethan Allen, Vt., has been occupied by a garrison of the Third Cavalry.

The posts not garrisoned are each in charge of an ordnance sergeant, or a noncommissioned officer acting as such, except Forts Lafayette, New York Harbor; Marion, Fla.; Wood, New York Harbor, and Taylor, Fla., which are in charge of the commanding officers of Fort Hamilton, St. Francis Barracks, Fort Columbus, and commanding officer Key West Barracks, respectively .Fort Carroll, Md., is in charge of the Engineer's, and Fort Livingston, La., in charge of the Quartermaster's Depart ment. The reservation at Fort Macomb, La., has been leased by the War Department to certain clubs.

The troops embraced in the command are as follows:

Headquarters and 6 troops (2 skeletonized) of the Sixth Cavalry and 4 troops of the Third Cavalry, the First Artillery (except Light Battery E), the Second Artillery (except the two Light Batteries A and F), the Third Artillery (except Light Battery F), the Fourth Artillery (except Light Battery F), and Battery G of the Fifth Artillery; the Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Thirteenth, and Twenty-first regiments of infantry, and headquarters and 7 companies (2 skeletonized) of the Seventeenth Infantry, making a force, including medical officers and other staff officers, of 515 commissioned officers and 6,520 enlisted men.

The following troops have joined the department since last annual report: Four troops of the Third Cavalry, headquarters and 6 troops of the Sixth Cavalry (2 skeletonized), 2 companies of the Fifth Infantry, the entire Thirteenth Infantry, and headquarters and 7 companies (2 skeletonized) of the Seventeenth Infantry.

The following troops have left the department-one troop of each of the following cavalry regiments: First, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth from Fort Myer, and one company (Indian) of the Twelfth Infantry from Mount Vernon Barracks.

Particulars in regard to present garrisons of posts will be found in a roster appended marked C. A record of the principal events during the last twelve months is also appended, marked D.

INDIANS.

In September last there were at Mount Vernon Barracks, Ala., a company of Indian soldiers, 43 men; 17 men and 126 women; 18 boys and 2 girls over 12 years of age; 52 boys and 44 girls under 12 years of ageApache Indians, prisoners of war; and Es-kim-in-sin's band of 8 men, 14 women, 1 boy and 1 girl over 12, and 8 boys and 13 girls under 12also Apache Indian prisoners of war. All of these except Es kim-in-sin's band, under instructions of the Secretary of War of September 14, 1894, were sent to Fort Sill, Okla., on October 2. Under instructions of September 17, 1894, Es-kim-in-sin's band was sent to San Carlos, Ariz., November 23. One Indian, Lah-tsi-nasty, was received from the civil authorities November 22 and sent to Fort Sam Houston, Tex., the next day. There are now no Indian prisoners of war remaining in the hands of troops of this department.

While the property of these Indians was en route to Fort Sill and in the hands of the railroads, one carload was totally destroyed and three carloads badly damaged by fire in a railroad freight shed in New Orleans October 28, 1894. I think this loss should be made good to the Indians whose property was destroyed or damaged. Papers in the case have been forwarded for consideration and action of the War Department.

TROOPS.

The instruction and efficiency of all the cavalry in the department is excellent. The instruction of the artillery is much embarrassed by want of modern artillery and artillery material. In the absence of these, the officers have made very creditable efforts to keep their own knowledge and the instruction of their commands abreast of the times. The range finder devised by Lieutenant Lewis, Second Artillery, and the relocator devised by Lieutenant Rafferty, First Artillery, give promise of great utility in artillery firing.

I strongly recommend that all artillery posts be provided with proper "subcalibers" for a sufficient number of the pieces and a good allowance of ammunition for using them in drill and practice. Something of this kind, in view of the expense of the ammunition for the piece itself, would greatly facilitate instruction in practical work and add to its interest and value. Many "subcalibers" are now in use abroad, and some have been devised by our own officers.

Another question is worthy of careful consideration-whether, in training gunners for service to keep our artillery up to the modern standard, it has not become necessary to have a special class of warrant officers or noncommissioned officers, enlisted for ten or more years, to be trained specially at the artillery schools for all the practical work

of the artillery in hitting and destroying an object aimed at, whether by seacoast or siege artillery.

The efficiency and instruction of the infantry is in general excellent. Instruction in calisthenics, gymnastics, and athletics in general among the troops of all arms has been carried on during the past year and will be still further provided for in the coming year as having the greatest usefulness in fitting officers and men for active service.

ARMS.

All of the infantry in the department and a portion of the artillery have been armed with the new .30 caliber magazine rifle during the past year, which appears to give good satisfaction, except in the sighting of the piece and some other minor points, which will no doubt be corrected.

DISCIPLINE.

The discipline of the troops is excellent. The report of the JudgeAdvocate shows a less number of trials by general courts martial than last year, though there has been a very considerable increase in the strength of the command. The number of trials by garrison and summary courts is larger, but these trials are generally for small offenses.

POSTS.

At Fort Adams, R. I., the casemate barracks and quarters are very objectionable on account of dampness and lack of light, and the buildings generally are badly in need of repair.

At Fort Barrancas kitchens are needed for the noncommissioned staff quarters and a porch for the barracks; also a building for chapel, school, and reading rooms.

At Columbus Barracks the quartermaster's department is in the midst of the construction of additional buildings to fit this post for a regiment of infantry.

At Fort Columbus a building for gymnasium is very much needed. At Davids Island, New York Harbor, the improvements to barracks now in progress give promise of early completion; they are excellent and badly needed, the troops having suffered severely during the past winter for lack of shelter and heat. It is expected that by the coming winter the garrison of this post will be well provided for. A new guardhouse is much needed here and storerooms for ordnance material.

At Fort Hamilton, New York Harbor, additional barracks for men and quarters for officers are much needed; also a substantial fence for the reservation and repairs to roads and walks.

At Jackson Barracks a better and larger site is needed for the barracks and quarters for the garrison, which should be increased and placed in more immediate connection with the defensive works.

At Madison Barracks, N. Y., the quarters for officers are insufficient, and a new guardhouse is very much needed. The new rifle range for this post purchased this year will be a great saving of expense of transportation and will prove a most valuable and useful addition to the post. At Fort Monroe, Va., the new sewerage system, so long needed, is now being put down, and it is believed that its satisfactory completion will relieve the post of the diseases heretofore recurrent from bad drainage. At Fort Myer, Va., a rifle range is very much needed, and I recommend that an effort be made to secure ground within a reasonable distance of this post, to be used also by the troops of Washington Barracks, D. C.

At Plattsburg Barracks, N. Y., a new rifle range should be prepared and equipped suitably for modern firearms; the site on the reservation is ample, and the estimated cost, including draining and grading, is $11,275.

At Fort Preble, Me., the land within the reservation lines owned by civilians is much needed for the new mortar batteries to be built at the post, in order to avoid selecting a site that will make it necessary to incur the expense of removing and reconstructing many of the present buildings. The present reservation is too small. I recommend the purchase of this land.

At St. Francis Barracks, Fla., more land is needed for the use of the post and an improvement in the buildings if the occupation of the post is to be continued.

At Fort Schuyler, New York Harbor, the permanent road leading to West Chester, the only certain means of communication in winter, needs repair, and the northern face of the causeway requires riprapping to protect it in winter. The sea wall around the fort is also in need of repair. A new guardhouse is much needed, as well as improvements to the barracks.

At Fort Trumbull, the approaches to the post are badly in need of repairs. The two sets of casemate quarters should be replaced by more suitable buildings.

At Fort Warren, Mass., the troops still occupy the damp and unwholesome casemates; new barracks are needed.

At Washington Barracks, D. C., two sets of officers' quarters are needed for medical officers.

All the more northern posts, where the winter season is not adapted to outdoor exercises, should be equipped with gymnasiums for training officers and men. At some of the posts a gymnasium has been improvised, but the buildings are not well suited for the purpose. The best, at Columbus Barracks, has demonstrated the advantage of such a building.

CONSOLIDATED POST MESS.

This method of supplying their daily meals to the troops is not entirely satisfactory; the company mess is believed in general to be more agreeable to the men and a better arrangement, as under it the company is very much better prepared to handle its ration and to prepare its own food when, by the demands of the service, it is separated from the conveniences of the elaborate cooking outfit of the post mess hall with its experts trained to handle the modern complicated appliances for cooking on a large scale.

POST LIBRARIES.

Some provision for post libraries is very much needed. Books in use need occasional rebinding, and at some of the posts no libraries exist. But little additions can be afforded to those now existing unless some provision is made therefor. These important adjuncts should be provided for at all posts.

POST LYCEUMS.

The lyceum season for the year has been fairly successful. An abstract of the work accomplished is appended, marked F. There is a tendency among some officers to go outside of professional subjects in essays, which is deprecated.

WAR 95-VOL I- -9