Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office, 
Richmond, Oct. 30, 1863. 
GENERAL ORDERS. ? 
No. 142. ' £ 
I. The requirements of the army making it necessary that the present 
supply of artillery horses ar;d other field transportation be carefully hus- 
banded, and a more perfect system of supply adopted, Major A. H. Cole, 
Inspector General of Field Transportation, in addition to his present du- 
ties, is hereby charged with this duty. 
11. Under his orders all inspections, purchases, impressments and is- 
sues of field transportation (including artillery horses) will be made, and 
recruiting, fabricating and retiring done throughout the Confederate 
States; and all other officers are prohibited from purchasing or disposing 
of this description of property, except such as may be specially autho- 
rized to purchase by the Commanding General of an army, whose field 
of operation in such cases shall be confined to the limits of the army and 
the country immediately in the advance; and under no circumstances will 
such officers be allowed to purchase within any district of country to which 
a regularly appointed purchasing oflicer has been assigned. 
111. The Quartermaster General is authorized to district the Confede- 
rate States for the purposes named, and will assign officers to the duty, 
who will control the subject within their respective districts, under such 
rules and regulations as he may establish. 
IY. Officers charged with inspection of field transportation are autho- 
rized to make, inspections any where within the limits of their assignment, 
and to condemn, and order to be turned in to the nearest post quarter- 
master, all artillery horses and other transportation found unserviceable, 
to be so disposed of as the chief inspector of the district may direct. 
Y. Chief quartermasters of armies or quartermasters at posts other 
than those in the field, will make their estimates on the chief inspector of 
the district for such field transportation as they may require. When ne- 
cessary for the protection of parties collecting animals near the enemy’s 
lines, a cavalry escort will be furnished by the nearest commander of 
troops. 
YI. The horses and other property in use in the Commissary depart- 
ment must not be impressed by officers of any other department. 
order. 
S. COOPER, 
Adjutant and Inspector General.