Battery commanders will make the necessary requisitions to carry out the provisions of this order without delay. II. The following joint resolution of Congress is published for the information and government of all concerned: Joint resolution relative to suspension of part of section three hundred and fiftyfive of Revised Statutes, relative to the erection of forts, fortifications, and so forth. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in case of emergency when, in the opinion of the President, the immediate erection of any temporary fort or fortification is deemed important and urgent, such temporary fort or fortification may be constructed upon the written consent of the owner of the land upon which such work is to be placed; and the requirements of section three hundred and fifty-five of the Revised Statutes shall not be applicable in such cases. 'Approved, April 11, 1898. BY COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL MILES: H. C. CORBIN, GENERAL ORDERS, No. 22. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, Washington, April 22, 1898. The following order has been received from the War Department: WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, March 26, 1898. 1. The appropriation "for contingent expenses at the headquarters of the several military departments and in inspection districts, including the staff corps serving thereat, except the Department Judge-Advocates," contained in the act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899, is allotted as follows: The law provides that this appropriation is "to be expended in the discretion of the several military department commanders." In view of the opinion of the Attorney General, dated July 16, 1886, as to the authority competent to give orders under section 3683, Revised Statutes, for purchases payable from the contingent fund (18 Opin., 424), department commanders are advised that the authority conferred upon them to expend this appropriation can not be "delegated or transferred to any one else," and each department commander "should not only give the order himself for the purchase, but should approve the vouchers therefor also." 2. The appropriation "to provide means for the theoretical and practical instruction" at the service schools hereinafter specified, contained in the act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899, is allotted as follows: To the Artillery School at Fort Monroe, Virginia.. To the Infantry and Cavalry School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. $5,000 1,500 2,000 The following order has been received from the War Department: WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, April 18, 1898. By direction of the President, the designation (Battery Sergeant Jasper) given to the new ten-inch battery on Sullivans Island, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, in orders of March 12, 1898, is changed by eliminating therefrom the word "Sergeant;" and the said Battery will hereafter be known and designated as Battery Jasper. R. A. ALGER, Secretary of War. BY COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL MILES: H. C. CORBIN, Adjutant General. GENERAL ORDERS, No. 24. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, Passes for newspaper correspondents to accompany any portion of the Army will be issued only by the Secretary of War. All applications for passes must be accompanied with proper credentials from the publishers or proprietors of newspapers or press associations. Passes issued will be limited to the smallest possible number. Upon arrival, correspondents will report at headquarters in the field, and no pass will be valid until countersigned by an officer to be designated by the general in command. Correspondents and all other civilians within the lines of the Army are subject to the rules and articles of war, as far as applicable, and to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by proper authority. The general in command may, if he deems proper, make arrangements for the messing of correspondents and for their transportation, the expense to be borne by the correspondents. It should be understood that the passes issued to correspondents are authority for them to accompany some portion of the Army only so long as, in the opinion of the general in command, their presence is not injurious and does not impede or endanger the success of military operations. Their movements will be subject at all times to such restrictions as the general may impose, and he may send any correspondent without the lines of his command or the field of military operations whenever, in his judgment, it is necessary to do so, reporting the facts in the case, through the proper military channels, for the information of the Secretary of War. Disobedience of orders or any other misconduct on the part of a correspondent will be followed by the revocation of his pass by the Secretary of War, and the person so offending will not be permitted thereafter to accompany any portion of the Army. BY COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL MILES: H. C. CORBIN, Signature: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT. This is to certify that the bearer hereof, accredited to the War Department as a correspondent of has been duly Military commanders are requested to permit him to pass freely, so far as in their judgment it is proper and expedient to do so, and to extend to him such aid and protection, not incompatible with the interests of the service, as he may require. of Given at the War Department, city of Washington, this A. D. 189-. day Assistant Secretary of War. COUNTERSIGNED BY GENERAL ORDERS, No. 25. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, By direction of the Secretary of War, the following orders of the President are published for the information and guidance of all concerned: I. The United States troops assembled in the Chickamauga National Park will form an encampment, to be known as Camp George H. Thomas, and will constitute a provisional Army corps, under the command of Major General John R. Brooke. The corps will consist of one division of cavalry, one division of infantry, and one brigade of light artillery. The cavalry and infantry divisions will each be composed of not more than three brigades consisting of three or more regiments each. The artillery brigade will be composed of two battalions, each comprising five batteries. The corps commander will assign the senior officers present for duty with each arm to the command of divisions and brigade. II. The Infantry regiments concentrated at Mobile, Alabama, and Tampa, Florida, are constituted independent divisions, to be designated the 1st and 2d, respectively. The 1st, at Mobile, will be under the command of Brigadier General John J. Coppinger, and the 2d, at Tampa, will be under the command of Brigadier General James F. Wade. Division commanders will form their divisions into brigades and assign the senior officers present for duty to command them. The three regiments of infantry, now in New Orleans, Louisiana, will form a separate brigade, under the command of Brigadier General William R. Shafter. BY COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL MILES: GENERAL ORDERS, No. 26. H. C. CORBIN, HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, Washington, April 27, 1898. By direction of the Secretary of War, the following is published to the Army for the information and guidance of all concerned: All absolutely necessary expenses for the subsistence, transportation, sheltering, and generally the maintenance of volunteers during the interval between their enrollment (enlistment) and their muster (or being sworn) into the service of the United States; also all incidental expenses connected therewith, such as the hire of offices, clerks, messengers, etc., for mustering officers, will be met by the Government of the United States from the proper appropriation at the disposal of the several staff departments of the Army. Certified vouchers for all expenditures herein authorized will be forwarded to the War Department for audit and payment. The vouchers should be certified by officers of the proper staff departments and approved by the mustering officers. BY COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL MILES: H. C. CORBIN, |