Army.
The military system of the United States is based upon volunteer armies, raised as occasion may require. A small standing army is kept up for the support of good order and for safety against incursions of barbarians on the borders of expanding settlements; and a well-regulated militia, under the control of the respective States, forms an ample body of citizen soldiery. The first act for the enrolment in the militia of all ablebodied white men of eighteen and under forty-five years of age was passed by Congress in 1792. This act provided that in the organization there should be infantry, cavalry, and artillery. An act was passed early in 1795 which empowered the President, in case of invasion, or imminent danger thereof, to call forth the militia of the State or States most convenient to the place of danger. He was also empowered, in case of insurrection, or when the laws of the United States should be opposed by a combination too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, to call out the militia. The Civil War gave full examples of the working of our military system. When combinations in the slave States became too powerful for [205] the civil authorities to oppose, the President of the United States called for 75,000 militia (designating the number required from each State) to suppress them. As soon as the various regiments from the States were mustered into the service of the United States they were no longer under the control of their respective State governments, but of that of the national government, and were assigned to brigades, divisions, corps, and armies, according to the requirements of the service. They were then entirely supported by the national government. All their general and staff officers were commissioned by the President, and no officers, after having been mustered into the service of the United States, could he dismissed by the State authorities. During the Civil War, from first to last, 2,690,401 men, including reinforcements, were enrolled, equipped, and organized into armies. The regular army during that war was raised to something over 50,000 men, but was reduced, at its close, to 30,000 men. The standing army in 1890 numbered 25,220 men, and was mainly used in garrisoning the permanent fortifications, protecting the routes of commerce across the continent, and preserving order among the Indian tribes west of the Mississippi River.
The army in 1901.
The organization of the regular army on the permanent peace basis of one soldier to each 1,000 of population, under the act of Congress of Feb. 2, 1901, was announced in the general order of May 13, 1901:Cavalry, 15 regiments (12 troops of 85 men), with band, etc.; total, 15,840.
Artillery, 126 companies of 109 men each; 30 batteries of 160 men each; with bands, etc.; total, 18,862.
Infantry, 30 regiments (12 companies of 104 men), with bands, etc.; total, 38,520.
Engineers, 3 battalions (4 companies of 104 men), with bands, etc.; total, 1,282.
Staff department, signal corps, etc., 2,783.
Total number of enlisted men, 77,287.
Under the act of March 4, 1899, military divisions and departments were reorganized as follows:
Headquarters of the army.--Commander, Lieut.-Gen. Nelson A. Miles, Washington, D. C.division of the Philippines.--Consisting of the Departments of Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and Jolo, comprising all the islands ceded to the United States by Spain; headquarters, Manila, P. I. Commander, Maj.-Gen. Arthur MacArthur.
Department of Northern Luzon.--Includes all that part of the Island of Luzon north of Laguna de Bay and the province of Laguna, the same being the provinces of Abra, Bontoc, Benguet, Bataan, Bulacan, Cagayan, Ilocos, Infanta, Morong, Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Isabela de Luzon, Lepanto, La Union, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, all that portion of Manila north of the Pasig River, Principe, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales, and all the islands in the Philippine Archipelago north of Manila Bay and the provinces above named: headquarters, Manila, P. I. Commander, Maj.-Gen. Lloyd Wheaton.
Department of Southern Luzon.--Includes the Island of Samar and all the remaining part of the Island of Luzon, the same including the following provinces: Albay, Batangas, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Cavite, La Laguna, Manila south of the Pasig, and Tayabas, and all islands of the Philippine Archipelago which he south of the south line of the Department of Northern Luzon, as above described, including the Island of Polillo, and north of a line passing southeastwardly through the West Pass of Apo to the twelfth parallel of north latitude; thence easterly along said parallel to 124° 10′ east of Greenwich, but including the entire Island of Masbate: thence northerly through San Bernardino Straits; headquarters, Manila, P. I. Commander, Maj.-Gen. John C. Bates.
Depairtment of the Visayas.--Includes all islands (except Island of Samar) south of the southern line of the Department of Southern Luzon and east of long. 121° 45′ east of Greenwich and north of the ninth parallel of latitude, excepting the Island of Mindanao and all islands east of the Straits of Surigao; headquarters, Iloilo, P. I. Commander, Brig.-Gen. Robert P. Hughes.
Department of Mindanao and Jolo.--Includes all the remaining islands of the Philippine Archipelago; headquarters, Zamboanga, P. I. Commander, Brig.-Gen. William A. Kobbe.
Department of Alaska.--Territory of Alaska; headquarters, Fort St. Michael, Alaska. Commander, Brig.-Gen. George M. Randall.
Department of California.--States of California and Nevada, the Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies; headquarters, San Francisco, Cal. Commander, Maj.-Gen. William R. Shafter.
Department of the Colorado.--States of Wyoming (except so much thereof as is embraced in the Yellowstone National Park), Colorado, and Utah, and the Territories of Arizona and New Mexico: headquarters, Denver, Col. Commander, Brig.-Gen. Henry C. Merriam.
Department of the Columbia.--States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho (except so much of the latter as is embraced in the Yellowstone National Park) ; headquarters, Vancouver Barracks, Wash. Commander,------. [206]
Department of Cuba.--Consisting of the provinces of the Island of Cuba; headquarters, Havana, Cuba. Commander, Brig.-Gen. Leonard Wood.
Department of Dakota.--States of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and so much of Wyoming and Idaho as is embraced in the Yellowstone National Park; headquarters, St. Paul, Minn. Commander, Brig.-Gen. James F. Wade.
Department of the East.--New England States, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and District of Porto Rico, embracing Porto Rico and adjacent islands; headquarters, Governor's Island, N. Y. Commander, Maj.-Gen. John R. Brooke.
Department of the Lakes.--States of Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee; headquarters, Chicago, Ill. Commander, Maj.-Gen. Elwell S. Otis.
Department of the Missouri.--States of Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas, the Indian Territory, and the Territory of Oklahoma; headquarters, Omaha, Neb. Commander, Brig.-Gen. Fitzhugh Lee.
Department of Texas.--State of Texas; headquarters, San Antonio. Tex. Commander, Col. Chambers McKibbin, 12th Infantry.
An act of Congress of June 6, 1900, re-organized the regular army and re-established the grade of lieutenant-general by the following provision: “That the senior major-general of the line commanding the army shall have the rank, pay, and allowances of a lieutenant-general.” In his annual message to Congress, Dec. 3, 1900, President McKinley urged a provision for increasing the army in order to maintain its strength after June 30, 1901, when it would be reduced according to the act of March 4, 1899. He detailed the employment of the various branches of the army, and asked for authority to increase the total force to 100,000 men, as was provided in the temporary act of 1899. A bill to carry out the President's recommendation was introduced in Congress; was adopted by the Senate, where it originated, Jan. 18, 1901; and the House adopted the conference report on the bill Jan. 25, following. Under this bill the President, on Feb. 5, sent to the Senate the following nominations for the reorganized army:
to be Lieutenant-General.
to be Major-Generals.
Brig.-Gen. Samuel B. M. Young, U. S. A.
Col. Adna R. Chaffee, 8th Cavalry, U. S. A. (Major-General, U. S. V.).
Brig.-Gen. Arthur MacArthur, U. S. A. (Major-General, U. S. V.).
to be brigadier-Generals.
Col. John C. Bates, 2d Infantry, U. S. A. (Major-General U. S. V.).
Col. Lloyd Wheaton, 7th Infantry, U. S. A. (Major-General, U. S. V.).
Col. George W. Davis, 23d Infantry (Brigadier-General, U. S. V.).
Col. Theodore Schwan, Assistant Adjutant-General, U. S. A. (Brigadier-General, U. S. V.).
Col. Samuel S. Sumner. 6th Cavalry, U. S. A.
Capt. Leonard Wood, Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A. (Major-General, U. S. V.).
Col. Robert H. Hall, 4th Infantry, U. S. A. (Brigadier-General, U. S. V.).
Col. Robert P. Hughes, Inspector-General, U. S. A. (Brigadier-General, U. S. V.).
Col. George M. Randall, 8th Infantry, U. S. A. (Brigadier-General, U. S. V.).
Maj. William A. Kobbe, 3d Artillery, U. S. A. (Brigadier-General, U. S. V.).
Brig.-Gen. Frederick D. Grant, U. S. V.
Capt. J. Franklin Bell, 7th Cavalry, U. S. A. (Brigadier-General, U. S. V.).
Continental army.
On the morning after the affair at Lexington and Concord (April 20, 1775), the Massachusetts Committee of Safety sent a circular letter to all the towns in the province, saying: “We conjure you, by all that is dear, by all that is sacred; we beg and entreat you, as you will answer it to your country, to your consciences, and, above all, to God himself, that you will hasten and arrange, by all possible means, the enlistment of men to form the army, and send them forward to headquarters at Cambridge with that expedition which the vast importance and instant urgency of the affair demands.” This call was answered by many people before it reached them. It arose spontaneously out of the depths of their own patriotic hearts. The field, the workshop, the counter, the desk, and even the pulpit, yielded their tenants, who hurried towards Boston. Many did not wait to change their clothes. They took with them neither money nor food, intent only upon having their firelocks in order. The women on the way opened wide their doors and hearts for the refreshment and encouragement of the patriotic volunteers, and very soon all New England was represented at Cambridge in a motley host of full 20,000 men. On the afternoon of the 20th (April) Gen. Artemas Ward assumed the chief command of the gathering [207] volunteers. The Provincial Congress labored night and day to provide for their organization and support. The second Continental Congress convened at Philadelphia (May 10), and on June 7, in a resolution for a general fast, had spoken for the first time of “the twelve united colonies.” Gen. Artemas Ward, of Massachuetts, the senior in command of the provincial militia, assumed the chief command of the volunteers who gathered near Boston after the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord. He was good, but aged, and not possessed of sufficient military ability or personal activity to make an energetic commander of a large army. The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts apprehended the melting-away of the army gathered at Cambridge unless a more efficient leader might be found, and, to avoid giving offence, they asked the Continental Congress to assume the regulation and direction of that army. Joseph Warren, in a private letter to Samuel Adams, wrote that the request was to be interpreted as a desire for the appointment of a new chief commander of all the troops that might be raised. Just then the news arrived of the approach of reinforcements for Gage, under Generals Clinton, Howe, and Burgoyne, and Congress felt the importance of acting promptly. At the suggestion of John Adams, the army was adopted as a continental one; and, at the suggestion of the New England delegation, Thomas Johnson. of Maryland, nominated George Washington, of Virginia, for commander-in-chief of the armies of the inchoate republic. He was elected (June 15, 1775) by unanimous vote, and on the following morning John Hancock, president of Congress, officially announced to Washington his appointment. The Virginia colonel arose and. in a brief and modest speech, formally accepted the office. After expressing doubts of his ability to perform the duties satisfactorily, he said, “As to pay, sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that, as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to accept the arduous employment at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. Those, I doubt not, they will discharge, and that is all I desire.” Washington was then a little past forty-three years of age. He left Philadelphia for Cambridge a week later, where he arrived on July 2; and at about nine o'clock on the morning of the 3d, standing in the shade of an elm-tree in Cambridge, he formally assumed the command of the army, then numbering about 16,000 men, all New-Englanders. The following were appointed his assistants: Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, and Israel Putnam, major-generals; and Seth Pomeroy, Richard Montgomery, David Wooster, William Heath, Joseph Spencer, John Thomas, John Sullivan, and Nathaniel Greene, brigader-generals. Horatio Gates was appointed as adjutant-general. The pay of a major-general was fixed at $166 a month; of a brigadier-general, $125; of the adjutant-general, $125; commissary-general of stores and provisions, $80; quartermaster-general, $80; deputy quartermaster-general, $40: paymaster-general, $100; deputy paymaster-general, $50; chief-engineer, $60; assistant engineer, $20; aide-de-camp, $33; secretary to the general, $66; secretary to a major-general, $33; commissary of musters, $40. Washington found an undisciplined force, and immediately took measures to bring order out of confusion. Congress had provided for one adjutant-general, one quartermaster-general and a deputy, one commissary-general, one paymaster-general and a deputy, one chief-engineer and two assistants of the grand army, and an engineer and two assistants for the army in a separate department; three aides-de-camp, a secretary to the general and to the major-generals, and a commissary of musters. Joseph Trumbull, son of the governor of Connecticut, was appointed commissary-general; Thomas Mifflin, quartermaster-general; and Joseph Reed, of Philadelphia, was chosen by Washington to the important post of secretary to the commander-in-chief.Soon after Washington took command of the army the legislature of Massachusetts and the governor of Connecticut applied to him for detachments from the army for the protection of points on their respective sea-coasts exposed to predatory attacks from British cruisers. Washington, in a letter dated July 31, 1775, answered these appeals with a refusal, after [208] giving satisfactory reasons for his decision. He pointed out the danger to be apprehended by scattering the army in detachments. He said the matter had been debated in Congress, and that they had come to the wise conclusion that each province should defend itself from small and particular depredations. It was then established as a rule, that attacks of the enemy at isolated points along the coast “must be repelled by the militia in the vicinity,” except when the Continental army was in a condition to make detachments without jeoparding the common cause.
In October, 1775, a committee of Congress visited the camp at Cambridge, and, in consultation with Washington and committees of the New England colonies, agreed upon a plan for the reorganization of the besieging army. It was to consist of twenty-six regiments, besides riflemen and artillery. Massachusetts was to furnish sixteen; Connecticut, five; New Hampshire, three; and Rhode Island, two--in all about 20,000 men; the officers to be selected out of those already in the service. It was easier to plan an army than to create one. According to a return submitted to Congress, the Continental army, on the day when the Declaration of Independence was adopted, consisted of 7,754 men present fit for duty, including one regiment of artillery. Their arms were in a wretched condition. Of nearly 1,400 muskets, the firelocks were bad; more than 800 had none at all; and 3,827--more than half the whole number of infantry — had no bayonets. Of the militia who had been called for, only 800 had joined the camp. With this force Washington was expected to defend an extended line of territory against an army of about 30,000 men.
During the encampment at Valley Forge a committee of Congress spent some time with Washington in arranging a plan for the reorganization of the army. By it each battalion of foot, officers included, was to consist of 582 men, arranged in nine companies; the battalion of horse and artillery to be one-third smaller. This would have given the army 60.000 men; but, in reality, it never counted more than half that number. General Greene was appointed quartermaster-general; Jeremiah Wadsworth, of Connecticut, commissary-general; Colonel Scammel, of New Hampshire, adjutant-general; and Baron de Steuben, a Prussian officer, inspector-general. To allay discontents in the army because of the great arrearages of the soldiers' pay, auditors were appointed to adjust all accounts; and each soldier who should serve until the end of the war was promised a gratuity of $80. The officers were promised half-pay for seven years from the conclusion of peace.
In the spring of 1779, on the report of a committee of Congress, that body proceeded to a new organization of the army. Four regiments of cavalry and artillery, hitherto independent establishments raised at large, were now credited towards the quota of the States in which they had been enlisted. The State quotas were reduced to eighty battalions: Massachusetts to furnish fifteen; Virginia and Pennsylvania, eleven each; Connecticut and Maryland, eight each; the two Carolinas, six each; New York, five; New Hampshire and New Jersey, three each; Rhode Island, two; and Delaware and Georgia, one each. Congress allowed $200 bounty for each recruit, and the States made large additional offers; but the real amount was small, for at that time the Continental paper money had greatly depreciated. It was found necessary to replenish the regiments by drafts from the militia. The whole force of the American army, exclusive of a few troops in the Southern department, consisted, late in the spring of 1779, of only about 8,600 effective men. At that time the British had 11,000 at New York and 4,000 or 5,000 at Newport, besides a considerable force in the South. In 1780 a committee of Congress, of which General Schuyler was chairman, were long in camp, maturing, with Washington, a plan for another reorganization of the army. Congress agreed to the plan. The remains of sixteen additional battalions were to be disbanded, and the men distributed to the State lines. The army was to consist of fifty regiments of foot, including Hazen's, four regiments of artillery, and one of artificers, with two partisan corps under Annard and Lee. There were to be four other legionary corps, two-thirds horse and one-third foot. All new enlistments were to be “for the [209] war.” The officers thrown out by this new arrangement were to be entitled to half-pay for life. The same was promised to all officers who should serve to the end of the war. The army, as so arranged, would consist of 36,000 men; never half that number were in the field.
At the beginning of 1781 the sufferings of the Continental soldiers for want of food and clothing was almost unbearable, and there were signs of a prevailing mutinous spirit. Washington knew well their intense suffering and equally intense patriotism, and deeply commiserated their condition. He knew they could be trusted to the last moment, and deprecated the conduct of those who suspected a mutinous spirit in the whole army, and manifested their distrust. When General Heath, with his suspicions alert, employed spies to watch for and report mutinous expressions, Washington wrote to him: “To seem to draw into question the fidelity and firmness of the soldiers, or even to express a doubt of their obedience, may occasion such a relaxation of discipline as would not otherwise exist.” The condition of the army was most wretched. A committee of Congress reported that it had been “unpaid for five months; that it seldom had more than six days provisions in advance, and was on several occasions, for sundry successive days, without meat; that the medical department had neither sugar, coffee, tea, chocolate, wine, nor spirituous liquors of any kind; and that every department of the army was without money, and had not even the shadow of credit left.” The clothing of the soldiers was in tatters, and distress of mind and body prevailed everywhere in the service. No wonder that some of the soldiers, who believed that their term of service had expired, mutinied, and marched towards Philadelphia to demand redress from the Congress.
It was expected that the immediate disbanding of the army would follow the proclamation of peace. A definitive treaty had not yet been negotiated, and British troops still held New York City. It would not be safe, under such circumstances, to actually disband the army. The Congress therefore decided that the engagements of men enlisted for the war were binding till the treaty of peace was definitely ratified. On the recommendation of Washington orders were issued for granting furloughs or discharges at the discretion of the commander-in-chief. Greene was authorized to grant furloughs for North Carolina troops; and the lines of Maryland and Pennsylvania serving under him were ordered to march for their respective States. Three months pay was to be furnished the furloughed soldiers. They were also to keep their arms and accoutrements as an extra allowance. The furloughs amounted to discharges. Few of the recipients ever returned, and so a great portion of the army was gradually disbanded before the definitive treaty was concluded in September. A remnant of the Continental army remained at West Point under Knox until the British evacuated New York (Nov. 25, 1783). After that event they all received their discharge.
The following shows the number of troops furnished by each State for the Continental army:
| New HAMPSHIRE | 12,947 |
| MASSACHUSETTS | 67,907 |
| Rhode ISLAND | 5,908 |
| CONNECTICUT | 31,939 |
| New YORK | 17,781 |
| New JERSEY | 10,726 |
| PENNSYLVANIA | 25,678 |
| DELAWARE | 2,386 |
| MARYLAND | 13,912 |
| VIRGINIA | 26,678 |
| North CAROLINA | 7,263 |
| South CAROLINA | 6,417 |
| GEORGIA | 2,679 |
| TOTAL | 231,771 |
The army in 1808-15.
Jefferson's policy had always been to keep the army and navy as small and inexpensive as possible. The army was reduced to a mere frontier guard against the Indians. In 1808 the aspect of international affairs was such as to demand an increase of the military strength of the republic, and the President asked Congress to augment the number and efficiency of the regular army. They did so, though the measure was strongly opposed by the Federalists. There was a rising war-spirit in the land. A bill to raise seven new regiments was passed by a vote in the House of ninety-eight to sixteen. Other provisions for war followed. The sum of $1,000,000 was placed at the disposal of the President for the erection of coast and harbor defences. [210] Another sum of $300,000 was appropriated for the purchase of arms, and $150,000 for saltpetre to make gunpowder. The President was also authorized to call upon the governors of the several States to form an army, in the aggregate, of 100,000 militia, to be immediately organized, equipped, and “held in readiness to march at a moment's warning” when called for by the chief magistrate--in ether words, 100,000 minute-men. The President was authorized to construct arsenals and armories at his discretion; and $200,000 were placed at his disposal for providing equipments for the whole body of the militia of the republic. About $1,000,000 were appropriated to pay the first year's expenses of the seven new regiments. Altogether the government appropriated in 1808 about $5,000,000 for war purposes. Efforts to increase the navy failed. Men were needed for the additional 188 gunboats, the construction of which was authorized in December, 1807. Nothing was done until January, 1809, when the President was authorized to equip three frigates and a sloop-of-war.In organizing the military forces for war in 1812 the following appointments were made: Henry Dearborn, a soldier of the Revolution, collector of the port of Boston, late Secretary of War, and then sixty years of age, was appointed (February, 1812) first major-general, or acting commander-in-chief of the armies in the field, having the Northern Department under his immediate control. Thomas Pinckney, of South Carolina, also a soldier of the Revolution, was appointed (March, 1812) second major-general, and placed in command of the Southern Department. Joseph Bloomfield (governor of New Jersey), James Winchester (of Tennessee), John P. Boyd (of Massachusetts), and William Hull (then governor of the Territory of Michigan) were commissioned (April 8, 1812) brigadier-generals. The same commission was given (June) to Thomas Flournoy, of Georgia. John Armstrong, of New York, was also commissioned (July 4) a brigadier-general to fill a vacancy caused by the recent death of Gen. Peter Gansevoort. This was soon followed (July 8) by a like commission for John Chandler, of Maine. Morgan Lewis, of New York, was appointed quartermaster-general （April 3), and Alexander Smyth, of Virginia, was made inspector-general (March 30)--each bearing the commission of a brigadier-general. Thomas Cushing, of Massachusetts, was appointed adjutant-general with the rank of brigadier-general. James Wilkinson, of Maryland, the senior brigadier-general in the army, was sent to New Orleans to relieve Wade Hampton (then a brigadier-general), who was a meritorious subaltern officer in South Carolina during the Revolution. Alexander Macomb of the engineers--one of the first graduates of the United States Military Academy--was promoted to colonel, and Winfield Scott, Edward Pendleton Gaines, and Eleazer W. Ripley were commissioned colonels.
In the summer of 1812, Gen. Joseph Bloomfield was sent to Lake Champlain with several regiments, and on September 1 he had gathered at Plattsburg about 8,000 men — regulars, volunteers, and militia — besides small advanced parties at Chazy and Champlain. General Dearborn took direct command of this army soon afterwards, and about the middle of November he made an unsuccessful attempt to invade Canada. No other special military movements occurred in that quarter until the next year. Gen. Wade Hampton succeeded Bloomfield in command on Lake Champlain. and in the summer of 1813 he was at the head of 4,000 men, with his headquarters at Burlington, Vt. This force composed the right wing of the Army of the North, of which General Wilkinson was commander-in-chief. There was such personal enmity between these two commanders that the public service was greatly injured thereby. The Secretary of War (Armstrong) was preparing to invade Canada by way of the St. Lawrence, and, fearing the effects of this enmity, transferred the headquarters of the War Department to Sackett's Harbor, at the east end of Lake Ontario, that he might promote harmony between these testy old generals. In arranging for the expedition down the St. Lawrence, Armstrong directed Hampton to penetrate Canada towards Montreal by way of the Sorel River. Instead of obeying the order, Hampton marched his troops to the Chateaugay River, and at Chateaugay Four Corners he tarried twenty-six days awaiting orders. [211] Finally he was ordered to descend the Chateaugay and meet Wilkinson at its mouth. He moved forward late in October, when he was confronted by Lieutenant-Colonel De Salaberry, near the junction of Outard Creek and the Chateaugay, where Hampton encamped and was overtaken by his artillery. De Salaberry was encamped with a force about 1,000 strong, and Sir George Prevost and General De Watteville were within buglecall. Hampton resolved to dislodge De Salaberry, and sent a force under Col. Robert Purdy on the evening of Oct. 25 to force a ford and fall upon the British rear. Purdy lost his way in a hemlock swamp.
Meanwhile Hampton put 3,500 of his men in motion under Gen. George Izard, who moved to the attack at two o'clock in the afternoon. De Salaberry came out with a few Canadians and Indians, but finding overwhelming numbers in front of him he fell back to his intrenched camp. Firing was now heard on the other side of the river. Purdy, who had neglected to post pickets, had been surprised, his troops flying to the river. Several of his officers and men swam across, and bore alarming news of a heavy force approaching. Instead of such a force approaching, those who had attacked Purdy had fled at the first fire; and so the belligerents were in the ridiculous predicament of running away from each other. De Salaberry now tried a clever trick. He posted buglers at some distance from each other, and when some concealed provincial militia opened fire almost upon Hampton's flanks, the buglers sounded a charge. Hampton was alarmed, for the position of the buglers indicated an extensive British line, and he supposed a heavy force was about to fall upon his front and flank. He immediately sounded a retreat and withdrew to his old quarters at Chateaugay Four Corners, annoyed all the way by the fire of Canadian militia. There this inglorious campaign ended. The Americans lost in the affair fifteen killed and twenty-three wounded. The British lost in killed, wounded, and missing, twenty-five. “No officer,” said a distinguished general of the United States army, “who had any regard for his reputation, would voluntarily acknowledge himself as having been engaged in it.” Hampton refused to meet Wilkinson at St. Regis, as the latter had requested after the battle at Chrysler's Field. Wilkinson directed Hampton to join the camp at French Mills. This order, also, he disobeyed, and retired to Plattsburg with his army of 4,000 men.
Army of occupation, 1845-46.
When the annexation of Texas caused warlike preparations in Mexico, Gen. Zachary Taylor was ordered to proceed to a point near the frontier between the two countries to defend Texas from invasion. Taylor was then in command of the Department of the Southwest. In a letter of instructions from the War Department, he was told, “Texas must be protected from hostile invasion; and for that purpose you will, of course, employ to the utmost extent all the means you possess or can command.” He at once repaired to New Orleans with 1,500 men (July, 1845), where he embarked, and early in August arrived at the island of St. Josephs on the Texan coast, whence he sailed for Corpus Christi, near the mouth of the Nueces, where he established his headquarters. There he was soon afterwards reinforced by seven companies of infantry under Major Brown and two volunteer companies under Major Gally. With these forces he remained at Corpus Christi until the next spring, when the camp at that place was broken up (March 8, 1846), and the Army of Occupation proceeded to Point Isabel, nearer the Rio Grande. When approaching Point Isabel, Taylor was met by a deputation of citizens, and presented with a protest, signed by the Prefect of the Northern District of the Department of Tamaulipas, against the presence of his army. But he pressed forward to Point Isabel, whence, with a larger portion of his army, he proceeded to the Rio Grande opposite Matamoras, arriving there on March 29. There he began the erection of defensive works; and so the Army of Occupation in Texas assumed a hostile attitude towards the Mexicans. See Mexico, War with.
Army in the Civil War.
When Mr. Lincoln entered upon the duties of President (March 4, 1861) the total regular force of the army was 16,000 men, and these were principally in the Western [212] States and Territories, guarding the frontier settlers against the Indians. The forts and arsenals on the seaboard, especially within the slave States, were so weakly manned, or not manned at all, that they became an easy prey to the Confederates. The consequence was that they were seized, and when the new administration came into power, of all the fortifications within the slave States only Fort Monroe, in Virginia, and Forts Jefferson, Taylor, and Pickens, on the Gulf coast, remained in possession of the government. The seized forts were sixteen in number. They had cost the government about $6,000,000, and had an aggregate of 1,226 guns. All the arsenals in the cotton-growing States had been seized. Twiggs had surrendered a portion of the National army in Texas. The army had been put so far out of reach, and the forts and arsenals in the North had been so stripped of defenders, by Floyd, Buchanan's Secretary of War, that the government was threatened with sudden paralysis.On the day after the battle of Bull Run (q. v.), General McClellan, then in western Virginia, was summoned to Washington and placed in charge of the shattered army there. The Departments of Washington and of Northeastern Virginia were created and placed under the command of McClellan. The Department of the Shenandoah was also created, and Gen. N. P. Banks was placed in command of it, relieving Major-General Patterson. McClellan turned over the command of the troops in western Virginia to General Rosecrans, and on July 27 he entered with zeal upon the duty of reorganizing the army in the vicinity of the national capital. He brought to the service youth, a spotless moral character, robust health, untiring industry, a good theoretical military education, the prestige of recent success, and the unlimited confidence of the loyal people. Having laid a broad moral foundation for an efficient army organization, he proceeded with skill and vigor to mould his material into perfect symmetry. So energetically was this done that at the end of fifty days an army of at least 100,000 men, well organized, officered, equipped, and disciplined, were in and around Washington. At that time the entire force in his department included 152,000 soldiers. By March 1, 1862, that number was so increased that when, at that time, the forces were put in motion. having been thoroughly drilled and disciplined, the grand total of the army was 222,000, of which number about 30,000 were sick or absent. It was called the “Grand army of the Potomac.”
General McClellan left Washington for Fort Monroe, April 1, 1862, with the greater part of the Army of the Potomac, leaving for the defence of the capital and other service more remote 75,000. Very soon there were 120,000 men at Fort Monroe, exclusive of the forces of General Wool, the commander there. A large portion of these moved up the Peninsula in two columns, one, under Gen. S. P. Heintzelman, marching near the York River; the other, under General Keyes, near the James River. A comparatively small Confederate force, under Gen. J. B. Magruder, formed a fortified line across the Peninsula in the pathway of the Nationals. The left of this line was at Yorktown, and the right on the Warwick River, that falls into the James. In front of this line McClellan's continually augmenting army remained a month, engaged in the tedious operations of a regular siege, under the direction of Gen. Fitz-John Porter, skirmishing frequently, and, on one occasion, making a reconnaissance in force that was disastrous to the Nationals. On May 3, Magruder, who had resorted to all sorts of tricks to deceive and mislead the Nationals, wrote to Cooper. of the Confederate War Department: “Thus, with 5,000 men, exclusive of the garrison, we stopped and held in check over 100,000 of the enemy.” McClellan now began those approaches towards Richmond which resulted in the Seven Days battles near that city.
When the battle of Fredericksburg (q. v.) had ended. there was much feeling against General Burnside on the part of the officers of the Army of the Potomac who had participated in it. An order received by Burnside, just as he was preparing for other active operations, from the President (Dec. 30, 1862), directing him not to enter upon further operations without his (the President's) knowledge, satisfied him that enemies in his own army were at work against him. Burnside hastened [213] to Washington for an explanation, when he learned that general officers of his army had declared that such was the feeling among the troops against him that the safety of the army would be imperilled by a movement under his direction. He believed there was a secret conspiracy among the officers for his removal. He returned to the army, determined to do what he might to retrieve the disaster at Fredericksburg, but was soon induced to return to Washington, bearing a general order for the instant dismissal or relief from duty of several of the generals of the Army of the Potomac, whom he charged with “fomenting discontent in the army.” Generals Hooker, Brooks, and Newton were designated for instant dismissal; and Generals Franklin, W. F. Smith, Cochran, and Ferrero, and Lieut.-Col. J. H. Taylor were to be relieved from duty in that army. Generals Franklin and Smith had written a joint letter to the President (Dec. 21) expressing their opinion that Burnside's plan of operations could not succeed, and substantially reinstated in command. Burnside was recommending that McClellan should be competent to issue the order for such dismissal and relief on his own responsibility, but he submitted it to the President. The letter was perplexed. He talked with Burnside as a friend and brother, and it was finally arranged that the general should be relieved of the command of the Army of the Potomac and await orders for further service.
Maj.-Gen. Joseph Hooker was appointed Burnside's successor. In making this appointment the President wrote a fatherly letter to Hooker, in which, after speaking of his many excellent qualities as a soldier, he referred to his (Hooker) having been, with others. to blame for too freely criticising the military conduct of Burnside, and so doing a great wrong to him. He reminded Hooker that he would now be open to such criticism, but that he (Lincoln) would do what he might to suppress it, for little good could be got out of an army in which such a spirit prevailed. The army was then lying, weak and demoralized, at Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg. From January until April (1863) Hooker was engaged in preparing for a vigorous summer campaign. His forces remained in comparative quiet for about tree months, during which time they were reorganized and disciplined, and at the close of April his army numbered 100,000 effective men. General Lee's army, on the other side of the river, had been divided, a large force, under General Longstreet, having been required to watch the movements of the Nationals under General Peck in the vicinity of Norfolk. Lee had in hand about 60,000 well-drilled troops, lying behind strong intrenchments extending 25 miles along the line of the Rappahannock River. Hooker had made important changes in the organization of the army, and in the various staff departments; and the cavalry, hitherto scattered among the three grand divisions into which the six corps of the army had been consolidated--two corps in each — and without organization as a corps, were now consolidated and soon placed in a state of greater efficiency. To improve them he had sent them out upon raids within the Confederate lines, and for several weeks the region between Bull Run and the Rapidan was the theatre of many daring cavalry exploits.
To give more efficiency to the troops covering Washington in 1862, they were formed into an organization called the “Army of Virginia,” and placed under the command of Maj.-Gen. John Pope. General Halleck was then general-in-chief of all the armies, with his headquarters at Washington. The corps of the new army were commanded, respectively, by Generals McDowell, Banks, and Sigel. When McClellan had retreated to Harrison's Landing and the Confederate leaders were satisfied that no further attempts would then be made to take Richmond, they ordered Lee to make a dash on Washington. Hearing of this, Halleck ordered Pope, in the middle of July, to meet the intended invaders at the outset of their raid. General Rufus King led a troop of cavalry that destroyed railroads and bridges to within 30 or 40 miles of Richmond. Pope's troops were posted along a line from Fredericksburg to Winchester and Harper's Ferry, and were charged with the threefold duty of covering the national capital, guarding the valley entrance into Maryland in the rear of Washington, and threatening Richmond from [214] the north as a diversion in favor of McClellan.
When General Grant began his march against Richmond (May, 1864), Gen. Benjamin F. Butler was in command of the Army of the James, and was directed to co-operate with the Army of the Potomac. Butler prepared to make a vigorous movement against Richmond from the south, while Grant moved from the north. Butler's effective force was about 40,000 men when he was ordered to advance. It was composed chiefly of the 18th Army Corps, commanded by Gen. W. F. Smith, and the 10th Corps, under Gen. Q. A. Gillmore, who arrived at Fort Monroe May 3. Butler successfully deceived the Confederates as to his real intentions by making a demonstration towards Richmond by way of the York River and the Peninsula, along McClellan's line of march. On the night of May 4, Butler's army was embarked on transports and conveyed around to Hampton Roads; and at dawn the next morning 35,000 troops, accompanied by a squadron of war vessels under Admiral Lee, were rapidly ascending the James towards City Point, at the mouth of the Appomattox. At the same time, Gen. A. V. Kautz, with 3,000 cavalry, moving swiftly from Suffolk, south of the James, struck the Weldon Railway south of Petersburg, and burned a bridge over Stony Creek, while Col. R. M. West, with 1,800 cavalry (mostly colored men), moved from Williamsburg up the north bank of the James, keeping abreast of the grand flotilla. The bewildered Confederates made no serious opposition to these movements. A division of National troops took quiet possession of City Point (May 5) and the war vessels took a position above the mouth of the Appomattox. At the same time a heavy force landed on a triangular piece of land between the James and Appomattox, called Bermuda Hundred, and there established an intrenched camp. In the space of twenty-four hours, Butler gained an important foothold within 15 miles of Richmond in a straight line, and only about 8 miles from Petersburg. The movement produced great consternation at Richmond; but before Petersburg could be seriously threatened by Butler, Beauregard was there with troops from Charleston.
| Troops furnished the government during the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. | |
| Under call of April 15, 1861, for 75,000 men for three months | 91,816 |
| Under call of May 3, 1861, for 500,000 men for six months, one year, two years, three years | 700,680 |
| Under call of July 2, 1862, for 300,000 men for three years | 421,465 |
| Under call of Aug. 4, 1862, for 300,000 men for nine months | 87,588 |
| Under proclamation, June 15, 1863, men for six months | 16,361 |
| Under call of Oct. 17, 1863 (including drafted men of 1863), and call of Feb. 1, 1864, for 500,000 for three years | 317,092 |
| Under call of March 14, 1864, for 200,000 for three years | 259,515 |
| Militia for 100 days, mustered in between April 23 and July 18, 1864 | 83,612 |
| Under call of July 18, 1864, for 500,000 (reduced by excess credits of previous calls) for one year, two years, three years, and four years | 385,163 |
| Under call of Dec. 19, 1864, for 300,000 men for one year, two years, three years, four years | 211,752 |
| Other troops furnished by States and Territories which, after first call, had not been called upon for quotas when general call for troops was made | 182,357 |
| By special authority granted May and June, 1862, New York, Illinois, and Indiana furnished for three months | 15,007 |
| Total | 2,772,408 |
| Number of men who paid commutation | 86,724 |
| Grand total | 2,859,132 |
| Aggregate reduced to a three years standard | 2,320,272 |
| actual strength of the army between Jan. 1, 1860, and May 1, 1865. | |||
| Date. | Regulars. | Volunteers. | Total. |
| Jan. 1, 1860 | 16,435 | ----- | 16,435 |
| Jan. 1, 1861 | 16,367 | ----- | 16,367 |
| July 1, 1861 | 16,422 | 170,329 | 186,751 |
| Jan. 1, 1862 | 22,425 | 553,492 | 575,917 |
| March 31, 1862 | 23,308 | 613,818 | 637,126 |
| Jan. 1, 1863 | 25,463 | 892,728 | 918,191 |
| Jan. 1, 1864 | 24,636 | 836,101 | 860,737 |
| Jan. 1, 1865 | 22,019 | 937,441 | 959,460 |
| March 31, 1865 | 21,669 | 958,417 | 980,086 |
| May 1, 1865 | 1,000,516 | ||
Disbanding of the Union armies.
The soldiers of the great armies that confronted Lee and Johnston in Virginia and North Carolina, and conquered them, were marched to the vicinity of the national capital, and during two memorable days [215] （May 22 and 23, 1865), moved through that city, with tens of thousands of moistened eyes gazing upon them, and passed in review before the chief magistrate of the nation and his ministers. Then began the work of disbanding the armies by mustering out of service officers and men. On June 2 Lieutenant-General Grant, the general-in-chief of the National armies. issued the following address to them: “Soldiers of the Armies of the United States,--By your patriotic devotion to your country in the hour of danger and alarm, your magnificent fighting, bravery, and endurance, you have maintained the supremacy of the Union and the Constitution, overthrown all armed opposition to the enforcement of the laws and of the proclamation forever abolishing slavery — the cause and pretext of the rebellion — and opened the way to the rightful authorities to restore order and inaugurate peace on a permanent and enduring basis on every foot of American soil. Your marches, sieges, and battles, in distance, duration, resolution, and brilliancy of results, dim the lustre of the world's past military achievements, and will be the patriot's precedent in defence of liberty and right in all time to come. In obedience to your country's call, you left your homes and families, and volunteered in her defence. Victory has crowned your valor and secured the purpose of your patriotic hearts; and with the gratitude of your countrymen and the highest honors a great and free nation can accord, you will soon be permitted to return to your homes and families, conscious of having discharged the highest duty of American citizens. To achieve these glorious triumphs and secure to yourselves, your fellow-countrymen and posterity the blessings of free institutions, tens of thousands of your gallant comrades have fallen, and sealed the priceless legacy with their blood. The graves of these a grateful nation bedews with tears, honors their memory, and will ever cherish and support their stricken families.” The disbanding, of this army went steadily on from June 1, and by the middle of autumn 786,000 officers and men were mustered out of the service. The wonderful spectacle was exhibited of vast armies of men, surrounded by all the paraphernalia of war, transformed in the space of 150 days into a vast army of citizens, engaged in the pursuits of peace. See Lee, Robert Edward.
