CHAPTER V

THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR

In striking contrast to the development of administrative organization within the Department of State, Congress has frequently exercised its authority to prescribe the internal arrangement of the War Department, oftentimes in direct opposition to the wishes of the President and the Secretary of War. Statutes hurriedly enacted in anticipation of armed conflict and providing for staff officers under the direction of the Secretary of War, were immediately repealed or superseded, in whole or in part, after the period of crisis had passed. Without attempting a detailed study of these numerous and successive changes in the organization of the War Department, it may be well to trace briefly the broad outlines of this development, with a view to formulating the general principle or principles upon which the departmental organization, during the period under consideration, was based.

First Provisions for Staff Officers, 1790-1791. While the systematic organization of the War Department may be said to date from the establishment in 1812, shortly before the declaration of war with England, of several bureaus, or staff departments of the military establishment, as they may be more comprehensively described, with a view to aid the army in the conduct of the impending conflict, numerous attempts had been made prior to that time to provide a satisfactory and adequate organization within the department. No provision was made in the first general organization of the army under the Constitution, pursuant to the act of April 30, 1790, for a general staff, except that the President was authorized to appoint, at his discretion, one or two inspectors, to inspect and muster the troops. An act approved on March 3, 1791, providing for an additional military force, authorized the President, in case he should deem their employment essential to the public interest, to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, the following staff officers: one major general, one brigadier general, one '1 Stat. L., 119, 120.

quartermaster, and one chaplain. An act approved one year later (March 5, 1792), added the offices of surgeon and adjutant, the latter of whom was also to perform the duty of inspector.'

Superintendent of Military Stores; Purveyor of Public Supplies. Through the influence of Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton, who thought that the purchase of military stores and supplies properly came under the jurisdiction of his department, Congress enacted on May 8, 1792: "That all purchases and contracts for supplying the army with provisions, clothing, supplies in the quartermaster's department, military stores, Indian goods, and all other supplies for the use of the Department of War, be made by or under the direction of the Treasury Department." This act also provided for a paymaster, who should reside near the headquarters of the troops, and whose duty it was to receive from the treasurer all the moneys which should be intrusted to him for paying the pay, the arrears of pay, subsistence, or forage due to the troops. A Superintendent of Military Stores, who should, under the direction of the Secretary of War, superintend the receiving, safe-keeping, and distribution of military stores, was authorized by act of April 2, 1794, while an act approved on February 23, 1795, established the office of Purveyor of Public Supplies in the Treasury Department, whose duty it was to conduct the procuring and providing of all arms, military stores, provisions, and clothing for the use of the army.*

The provision in the act of 1792 whereby all purchases and contracts for supplies or services for the War Department were to be made by or under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury was repealed by an act of July 16, 1798, which provided that such supplies or services should be purchased by the Purveyor of Public Supplies, under the direction of the chief officer of the Department of War. By the act of March 3, 1799, the Secretary of War was directly authorized to make such purchases.

'I Stat. L., 222.

I Stat. L., 241, 242.

1 Stat. L., 279; 352; 418. The establishment of the office of Purveyor of Public Supplies had been recommended to Congress by President Washington on January 7, 1794. Cf. American State Papers, Mil. Affairs, I, 61. 'I Stat. L., 610; 749, 754.

Changes in Staff Organization, 1795-1802. The General Staff, as authorized by act of March 3, 1795, included a Quartermaster General, an Adjutant General, to do also the duty of Inspector, and a Surgeon General. The provisions of this act were somewhat modified by the enactment of May 30, 1796, which authorized the appointment of a Quartermaster General, an Inspector, who should do the duty of Adjutant General, and a Paymaster General. Another modification may be noted in the act of March 3, 1797, which provided for the offices of Quartermaster General, Paymaster General, and Judge Advocate."

Complications with England, and more particularly with France, which threatened to involve the United States in war with one or both of those nations, led Congress to grant authority to the President, by act of May 28, 1798, to organize a provisional army in the event of a declaration of war against the United States or an invasion of her territory. By the terms of this act, the President was authorized to appoint the following officers, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, whenever he might deem their employment essential to the public interest, viz., an Adjutant General, an Inspector General, a Quartermaster General, a Physician General, and a Paymaster General. This provisional army, however, was never called into service. A separation of the offices of Adjutant General and Inspector General was effected by act of July 16, 1798.'

The nearest approach to a thorough organization of the staff departments, prior to 1812, was made by Congress in 1799, and although some of these reforms were permitted to become obsolete with the later reduction of the army, the principles followed were thereafter recognized as correct and were substantially applied in the subsequent organization of the War Department. An act to regulate the Medical Establishment of the United States, approved on March 2, 1799, provided for the appointment of a Physician General, an Apothecary General, and a Purveyor, together with a suitable number of deputies, surgeons, hospital mates, and stewards. An act passed on the following day provided for four staff departments, namely, the Adjutant General's Office, the Inspector Gen

'I Stat. L., 430, 431; 483; 507.

1 Stat. L., 558, 559; 604.

eral's Office, the Office of Quartermaster General, and the Paymaster General's Office.*

The danger of armed conflict having passed, the military peace establishment was reorganized and reduced by the act of March 16, 1802. The provision in this act for staff officers included the following: One Adjutant and Inspector of the Army, thus uniting the offices of Adjutant General and Inspector General; Chief Paymaster, who, with the aid of seven paymasters and two assistant paymasters, was charged with the payment and clothing of the troops; three military agents and such number of assistant military agents as the President might deem expedient; two surgeons, and twenty-five surgeon's mates. The probability of war with Great Britain becoming greater, an act was passed on April 12, 1808, authorizing an increase in the size of the regular army. The staff officers allowed for this increase were: Two brigade quartermasters, two brigade inspectors, and not to exceed five hospital surgeons and fifteen surgeon's mates."

Accountant in the War Department. Before continuing with the development of the staff departments subsequent to 1812, some attention should be given to the organization of the War Department, prior to that date, for the performance of its other duties. The act of May 8, 1792, to which reference has been made with respect to purchases and contracts for military stores, also provided for the office of Accountant in the War Department, who was authorized to settle all accounts relative to the pay of the army, the subsistence of officers, the bounties of soldiers, the expenses of the recruiting service, and the incidental and contingent expenses of the department. The Treasurer of the United States was directed to disburse all moneys for the use of the War Department, pursuant to warrants signed by the Secretary of War, and countersigned by the Accountant of that department. The act of July 16, 1798, authorizing the making of purchases and contracts for military stores under the direction of the Secretary of War, provided that all accounts pertaining thereto should be settled by the Accountant in the War Department."

I Stat. L., 721; 749.

'2 Stat. L., 132, 133; 481, 482. The need for a competent general staff was emphasized in a report submitted by the Secretary of War to the President on February 20, 1801, and transmitted to Congress two days later. Cf. American State Papers, Mil. Affairs, I, 152.

101 Stat. L., 279, 280; 610.

Engineer Corps; U. S. Military Academy. Coincident with the organization of the Engineer Corps, by act of March 16, 1802, was the establishment of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Pursuant to an act of Congress, approved March 20, 1794, which authorized the fortification of certain ports and harbors along the Atlantic seaboard, the President, in the absence of an engineer corps in the army to carry on these works, made temporary appointments of several foreign gentlemen to superintend the work, most of whom had served in the Revolutionary army, and all of whom were skilled engineers. On May 9, 1794, Congress authorized the organization of a Corps of Artillerists and Engineers. A number of those who had been temporarily employed on the harbor defenses were commissioned as officers in the corps. A significant provision in this latter act, which soon led to the establishment of a most important institution, was that authorizing the appointment of two cadets to each of the sixteen companies into which the corps was divided."

The Corps of Artillerists and Engineers was enlarged by act of April 27, 1798, and on July 16 of that year Congress authorized the President to appoint four teachers of science to instruct the corps. The President was further authorized to appoint an inspector of artillery to be taken from the corps. An act approved on March 3, 1799, authorized the President to engage and appoint, distinct from the officers of the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers, two engineers, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and also an inspector of fortifications, whose duties should be assigned by the Secretary of War, under the direction of the President."

Secretary of War McHenry, in a report submitted to President Adams on January 5, 1800, which was referred to Congress on January 13, recommended the founding of a military academy, in charge of a director general. The recommendation of the Secretary, however, met with no immediate response in Congress. The following year, such an academy was established at West Point, under the direction of a private citizen. In a report submitted to the Secretary of War on March 14, 1808, Jonathan Williams, Colonel of Engineers, characterized the institution in 1801 as nothing more than a mathematical school for the few cadets that

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