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silenced these guns, and passing on up the bay engaged and entirely destroyed the proud Spanish fleet which were there awaiting him and by this act changed the theater of war and focused the eyes of the world upon these islands in this remote corner of the globe-when we remember all this we are proud to pay homage to America's greatest hero in the late war with Spain-Admiral George Dewey

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SUPPLEMENT.

THE STAFF DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY.

T

HE attention of the public is so much occupied with the fighting portion of the armyknown as "the line "-that it usually gives little thought to those less prominent, but equally essential services which feed and clothe the army, transport it from place to place, care for the wounded and sick, minister to its moral and spiritual needs, arrange its fortifications and build its bridges and roads. The following is intended to give some idea of the nature of these services, which are performed by a number of departments, collectively known as "the staff." Officers of the very highest ability are selected for staff service. Any brave man can fight, but the number is comparatively limited who have the organizing and executive ability required for carrying on business upon the enormous scale requisite for the support of a large army. In time of war it is sometimes very difficult to keep these able officers in the comparatively obscure positions of the staff. They wish to be on the fighting line. In time of peace they are best satisfied where they are.

THE ENGINEER CORPS.

The planning and construction of the national defenses and the operations of an army in the field require a great amount of skilled work, which must be directed by the highest intelligence. Scholarship, especially in mathematics, is an essential prerequisite for the engineer service, and a certain number of the graduates of West Point who stand highest in scholarship are assigned to the Engineer Corps. In times of peace this is the most desirable assignment in the army, as the construction of harbor defenses and of river and harbor improvements, which are also usually directed by engineer officers, commonly goes on in the neighborhood of large cities, where conditions of life are most agreeable. In time of war, however, it is different, as the engineers, while quite as much exposed as those of other branches of the service, and engaged in the most arduous labor, are not in the line of promotion to high command, and have little hope of attaining the great military reputation which is the dream of all soldiers.

The chief of engineers is a Brigadier-General, and is stationed at Washington. All plans and estimates for the construction of national works pass through his office for approval before being submitted to Congress for authorization, and he makes the details of engineer officers for service in all parts of the country. When an army takes the field there is a chief of engineers attached to the staff of the commanding general, and also, usually, to Division Headquarters. Other engineer officers are assigned as occasion demands, it being necessary that every body of troops moving independently in an enemy's country should be accompanied by a skilled engineer. As all West Point graduates, however, have had instruction in engineering, it is not always necessary that engineer officers should be detailed for the purpose.

THE BATTALION OF ENGINEERS.

In time of peace the construction force for government works can usually be employed on the spot, when necessary, although for the most part such works are executed by civilian contractors, but such operations as the mining of harbors, torpedo work, quick bridge building, trench and fort construction in the field, reconnaissance and quick map making, require not only skilled direction, but a force of trained men for execution. For this purpose, there is constantly maintained a battalion of engineers whose headquarters are at Willets Point, on Long Island, a few miles from New York City. Here the men are trained in all kinds of engineering work, and kept in constant readiness for military operations. In peace, the strength of each

of the four companies of the battalion is kept at about eighty enlisted men, but in war time the company is filled up to one hundred and twenty. There is the regular company and battalion complement of officers, and the battalion is armed and drilled as infantry, doing its work in the field under arms, and serving as infantry as occasion requires.

THE ENGINEER CORPS IN THE PHILIPPINES.

During the Philippine campaign, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles L. Potter has been Chief of Engineers, on the staff of Major-General Otis, commanding the Corps, and Maj. J. F. Bell, upon the staff of Gen. MacArthur, commanding the 2d Division. Lieut. Edward L. King of the 8th Cav., has acted as Chief of Engineers, on the staff of Gen. Lawton, commanding the 21 Division. Lieut. W. G. Haan of the 3d Art., was in command of the company of the Engineer Corps until March 8, 1899, in which capacity he repeatedly distinguished himself. He was succeeded by Capt. Francis R. Shunk. Other engineer officers were detailed for various services as occasion required.

THE QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT. *

The duties of the Quartermaster's Department are to provide means of transportation of every character which may be needed in the movement of troops and the materials of war. It furnishes clothing, camp and garrison equipage, barracks, store-houses and other buildings for the accommodation of soldiers. Under the direction of the engineers it constructs and repairs roads, telegraph lines, railways and bridges; it charters ships and boats, docks and waarves needed for military purposes. Moreover, all the disbursing of civil funds to pay for the foregoing is done through this department. The work of the Quartermaster's Department in the field is well illustrated by the efficiency with which, assisted by details of skilled mechanics from the volunteer regiments, it rose to an emergency in the Philippine campaign. LieutenantColonel James W. Pope, has until quite recently, served as Chief Quartermaster in the Philippines, and has received great commendation for his efficiency.

OPERATING A RAILROAD.

After the fight of Saturday night and Sunday, February 5th and 6th, it was found that the last engine on the Manila and Dagupan Railroad had gone north and through the lines, conveying M. Haggin (the Superintendent of the road) into the insurgent lines. The road was thus rendered valueless to the American forces, while the insurgents were able to use it to their own very great advantage. Matters remained in this unsatisfactory shape until the night of Friday, February 10th, when Gen. MacArthur advanced and took Caloocan. Maj. C. A. Devol, Transportation Quartermaster, obtained Corp. J. J. Haish, 20th Kansas, an old Rock Island railroad man, to follow and see what could be found at the Caloocan round house. The Corporal appeared the next morning with a small yard engine, crew and all, fired and ready for work. The round house was found to contain three large engines, more or less disabled, and two small ones. The insurgents could readily have permanently disabled these engines and thus seriously crippled the American advance, but probably not realizing the ready ingenuity of the American soldier, they thought that an engine taken apart and resting on jacks was not of service. As the insurgent lines were just beyond Caloocan and firing almost continuous, Gen. Otis directed the five engines brought down at once to Manila that night, if possible. Maj. Devol at once proceeded with all available railroad men to the shops at Caloocan, and during the afternoon repaired and fired the least disabled engine, intending to pull the others down. Steam was not gotten up until after dark, and then all hands stood around while the engineer opened the throttle to see if she would work. Slowly and majestically she ran out of the house and up the track amid a general sigh of relief, when a crash and dismal rattle told experienced men that she had gone off the track. It was a bad derailment, and time was precious. Jacks, lanterns, pins, etc. were finally found, and after about seven hours' hard work she was on, and ran into Manila at three o'clock in the morning. The engines were repaired one after another. The 20th Kansas and 1st Montana furnished invaluable aid in the services of

*The work of the Quartermaster's Department in San Francisco has been very fully described in Chapter IV, in connection with the movement of the troops to the Philippines.

their railroad men These men didn't like to leave the firing line, but there is something about railroading that makes an old railroad man long to get back on an engine again, if only for a time, and as the engines, whenever they appeared, were usually saluted by a long range fire from the insurgent lines, they carry to this day marks of the Mauser bullet. The train crew did not have a chance to worry much about not being on the firing line. The train service settled into a steady routine supply of Gen. MacArthur's Division at Caloocan, until his advance on his long march to San Fernando. As soon as he had passed the Friageus River it was found that the track was torn up across the bridge and quite an embankment thrown across the track on the other side. The railroad wrecking gang, assisted by the engineers, immediately began to repair the bridge and track and had a train over in a few hours. All along the advance the track was found torn up at intervals and bridges damaged. Twenty railroad men were detailed from the 1st Colorado Volunteers and sent up to assist in the work of following the firing line. The track to Malolos was damaged at Tinajeus River, Malinta, Manlao, Bocaue, Bigaa, Guiguinto and Malolos, each break worse than the preceding one. The wrecking crew and engineers worked night and day and the trains followed the advance, supplying condensed water, fresh beef, bread and ammunition and nearly every night carrying to Manila the men who had lost their lives or been wounded in the advance.

On the night before Malolos was taken, the headlight of the locomotive was on the firing line, and the train delivered some badly needed ammunition to the battery. The stop at Malolos gave the enemy time to badly use up the road from this on to San Fernando. Realizing the futility of tearing up the track, they dropped a span of the bridge at Bagbag into the river, and tore up the track clear into Calumpit. After Gen. MacArthur had advanced, this span was repaired by trestling up from the inclined span. The similar break at St. Tomas was repaired in the same way. At Calumpit, twelve of the tie-bearing girders had been taken entirely away. These were made in a few days in Manila.

Too much credit cannot be given to the trainmen and crews during this long advance. They got no extra pay for this arduous and dangerous service. Trains ran day and night-all day with the advance, carrying rations, ammunition and bridge-builders' supplies, and all night with the dead and wounded, back to Manila. They had every difficulty to overcome. New and hastily repaired engines, uncertain roadbed, constant danger in night runs of being derailed by insurgents, loss of sleep and often scant food. Not a man of them would have stood this sort of service back in the States for any amount of money, but they were working with the firing line for the glory of the American soldiers, and they stood by their work to the end.

THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT.

The Subsistence Department of the U. S. A. is that branch of the service charged with the duty of supplying food and articles of consumption, such as groceries, fruits and other articles which comprise the rations of the troops, as well as such luxuries as they and other persons in the service of the United States are allowed to purchase from the government. Whenever it is practicable, the needed supplies are bought in the United States, but circumstances have arisen in the distant Philippine Islands, when the stocks of certain articles were depleted, that compelled the chief commissary at Manila to effect his purchases through tenders from local dealers, who, in the main, obtained supplies from Hongkong and Singapore. Distribution of rations to the troops takes place at stated intervals by the depot commissary, who delivers the supplies to men detailed from each regiment, who are authorized to receive the same by the officer charged with the duty of attending to the feeding of the command. This system applies when troops are in garrison.

In the field each brigade has a chief commissary, with a commissary for each division when practicable. These officers make requisitions upon the depot commissary for supplies for sale and the rations allowed by law, and upon receipt of the same apportion the allowances and regulate the issuances and sales to the respective regimental officers.

The company cooks of each regiment, under the supervision of Sergeants, prepare the rations. The officers aud men buy articles from the sales depots of such food products as are not comprised in the ration list.

RATIONS ON THE TRANSPORTS.

The following table shows the quantity and description of food issued to the troops on board the transports en route from the United States to the Philippine Islands; the computations are for 1000 men:

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The following table shows the rations issued to the troops when in the field. Computed for a body of 1000 men:

Bacon

Pounds
750

Pounds.

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The travel ration when en route, computed at the rate of 1000 men:

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Col. David L. Brainard has served as Chief Commissary with the army in the Philippines.

THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.

The Medical Department of the army is under the supervison of the Surgeon-General, and no candidate can be examined for a commission as surgeon without his express sanction, which is only granted after evidence of such candidate's moral, intellectual and physical fitness to perform the necessary duties. The candidate for a commission must be a citizen of the United States, not more than twenty-nine years of age at date of appearing for such examination, and a graduate of some regular medical college with hospital training and practical experience.

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