LEGISLATIVE HISTORY 
OF THE 
SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT 
OF THE 
UNITED STATES ARMY, 
FROM 
JUNE 16, 1775, TO AUGUST 15, 1876. 
Compiled under the direction of the Commissary-Genera] of Subsistence 
B Y 
JOHN W . BARRIGER, 
MAJOR AND COMMISSARY OF SUBSISTENCE, AND 
BYT. BRIGADIER-GENERAL, U. 8. ARMY. 
WASHINGTON : 
1 8 7 6. CHAPTER 1. 
From June 16, 1775, to March 4. 1789. 
CHAPTER II. 
From March 4. 1789, to March 4. 1815. 
CHAPTER III. 
From March 4, 1815, to August 15, 1876. E e e At A . 
Page 26, line 24, for " March 6" read "April 26." 
Page 26, line 27, omit the words " and at Fort Pitt." 
Page 29, lines 20 and 21, for "section 3 of the act approved June 
7, 1794," read "section 8 of the act approved March 3, 1795." 
Page 33, line 6 from the bottom, for "crucical" read "crucial." 
Page 34, omit extract of letter from Maj. Armistead to Brig.- 
Gen. Smyth. 
Page 52, line 14, for " nor " read " not." 
Page 55, line 21, insert the word " a " after the word " to." 
Page 66, line 30, omit the words " on a separate sheet." 
Page 69, line 23, for " that " read " than." 
Page 81, line 27, for " Status " read " States." 
Page 109, line 8 from the bottom, insert the words " the act of" 
before the word " July." 
Page 110, line 26, for " Engineees " read " Engineers." LEGISLATIVE HISTORY 
OF THE 
SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT 
OF THE 
UNITED STATES ARMY. 
CHAPTER I. 
From June 16, 1775, to March 4, 1789. 
The history of the Subsistence Department dates back to 
the organization of the Continental Army. 
On the 16th of June, 1 775, the next day after creating 
the office of General, and electing George Washington to 
fill the same, the Continental Congress passed a resolution, 
of which the following is an extract: 
" That there be one Commissary-General of Stores and Provisions." 
This resolution also provided that there should be two 
Major-Generals ; eight Brigadier-Generals ; an Adjutant- 
General ; a Quartermaster-General, and a Deputy Quarter- 
master-General for the separate Army ; a Paymaster-Gen- 
eral, and a Deputy Paymaster-General for the separate 
Army ; a Chief Engineer, and two Assistant Engineers ; 
three Aides-de-Camp, and a Secretary to the General ; a 
Secretary to the Major-General commanding the separate 
Department ; and a Commissary of Musters. 
The chaotic condition of the forces at Boston in the sum- 
mer of 1775, composed as they were of volunteers hurriedly 
brought together from Massachusetts Bay and the neigh- 
boring Colonies, and supplied by their respective Colonial 
Commissaries aided by committees-instrumentalities which, 
however well they may have answered as temporary expe- 
dients, were illy adapted, on account of their unwieldy and 2 
precarious character, to supplying an army engaged in ac- 
tive operations-so deeply impressed General Washington 
with the necessity for an organized Commissariat with a 
single head, that in his despatch to the President of the 
Continental Congress, dated Camp at Cambridge, July 10, 
1775, reporting his arrival at that place, and his assump- 
tion of the command of the Army, he, evidently not then 
informed of the action already taken by Congress in passing 
the foregoing resolution, wrote as follows : 
" I should be extremely deficient in gratitude, as well as justice, if I 
did not take the first opportunity to acknowledge the readiness and at- 
tention which the Provincial Congress, and different committees, have 
shown to make everything as convenient and agreeable as possible; 
but there is a vital and inherent principle of delay, incompatible with 
military service, in transacting business through such numerous and 
different channels.* I esteem it, therefore, my duty to represent the 
inconvenience which must unavoidably ensue from a dependence on a 
number of persons for supplies, and submit it to the consideration of the 
Congress, whether the public service will not be best promoted by ap- 
pointing a Commissary-General for the purpose. We have a striking 
instance of the preference of such a mode in the establishment of Con- 
necticut, as their troops are extremely well furnished under the direction 
of Mr. TRUMBULL, and he has at different times assisted others with 
various articles Should my sentiments happily coincide with those of 
your honors on this subject, I beg leave to recommend Mr. Trumbull 
as a very proper person for this department." 
On the 19th of July, 1775, the President laid this letter 
before Congress. After the letter had been read and con- 
sidered, Congress passed the following resolution : 
" Resolved, That Joseph Trumbull be Commissary-General of Stores 
and Provisions for the Army of the United Colonies." 
Joseph Trumbull was accordingly announced as Com- 
missary-General of the Army of the United Colonies, by 
the following general order : 
"Headquarters, Cambridge, July 31, 1775. 
(Parole, Falkland.) (Countersign, Edenton.) 
" The Continental Congress having been pleased to appoint Joseph 
Trumbull, Esq., to be Commissary-General to the Army of the United 
Colonies, all Commissaries heretofore appointed by any of the distinct 
Colony Congresses, or by any particular authority of any particular 
*The General was under the necessity of carrying on a direct correspondence, not 
only with the several Colonial governments, but with the committees of all the im- 
portant towns and some inferior places. [Marshall's Life of Washington, Vol. 2, 
page 246.] 3 
District or Colony, are forthwith to make exact return of the provis- 
ions, and all the different species of provisions, they have in or near the 
camps at Cambridge and Roxbury. Thereupon, Commissary-General 
Trumbull, being assured by the report of his clerk, assistant, or from 
his own examination, that such return is just and true, is to give his 
receipt for the quantity delivered into his hands, which receipt will be a 
good voucher in the passing the account of the different Colony Com- 
missaries heretofore appointed, and will be allowed as such. 
" The Commissaries at present appointed by the several Colonies are 
forthwith to make up their accounts unto the 3d of August, inclusive, 
ready to be laid before the Commander-in-Chief, and by him transmitted 
to the Continental Congress, or to be adjusted and finally settled by him, 
as the Continental Congress shall think proper to direct." 
****-# 
In a letter to the Continental Congress, dated New York, 
June 28, 1775, and read before that body on the 17th of 
July following, Major-General Philip Schuyler, command- 
ing the New York Department, wrote as follows : 
" I foresee that unless a Commissary-General and a Quartermaster- 
General be appointed for this department, that the service will not only 
suffer, (from disputes already rising,) but the waste of provisions that 
will be occasioned by the want of the first, and the extra expenses in 
having the necessary supplies forwarded to the different armies through 
such a variety of hands, for want of the last, will enhance the expenses 
far, very far indeed, beyond what their appointments will be. On this 
head 1 can speak with confidence, because I have had long experience." 
After the reading and consideration of this letter, Con- 
gress passed the following resolution : 
" Resolved, That a Commissary of Stores and Provisions be appoint- 
ed for the New York Department, during the present campaign." 
" By unanimous vote Walter Livingston was chosen." 
" That a Deputy Quartermaster-General be appointed for said depart- 
ment." 
"Mr. Donald Campbell unanimously elected." 
On the 29th of March, 1776, Congress, having resumed 
the consideration of the report of the committee on the 
means of supplying the troops in Canada, passed the fol- 
lowing resolution : 
" Resolved, That a Deputy Commissary-General of Stores and Pro- 
visions be appointed for the Army of the United Colonies in Canada. 
" The ballots being taken and examined, Mr. J. Price was elected." 
The next appointment was made on the 27th of April, 
1776, as appears from the following extract from the jour- 
nal of that date : 4 
" Congress also proceeded to the election of a Deputy Commissary- 
General, for supplying the troops in Virginia with rations; and the 
ballots being taken, and examined, William Aylctt, Esq., was elected," 
The first legislation fixing the components of the Army 
ration was the passage of the following resolution on the 
4th of November, 1775 : 
" Resolved, That a ration consist of the following kind and quantity 
of provisions: 1 lb. beef, or f lb. pork, or 1 lb. salt fish, per day ; 1 lb. 
bread or flour, per day; 3 pints of peas or beans per week, or vege- 
tables equivalent, at one dollar per bushel for peas or beans; 1 pint of 
milk per man per day, or at the rate of 1-72 of a dollar; 1 half pint of 
rice, or one pint of Indian meal, per man per week ; 1 quart of spruce 
beer or cider per man per day, or nine gallons of molasses, per company 
of 10(1 men per week; 3 lbs. candles to JOO men per week, for guards ; 
24 lbs. soft, or 8 lbs. hard soap, for 100 men per week." 
On the 24th of December, 1775, the following general 
order was issued, provisionally making slight alterations in 
the ration as established by the foregoing resolution, and 
regulating the issue of equivalents and alternate compo- 
nents : 
" Headquarters, Cambridge, December 24, 1775. 
(Parole, Alfred.') (Countersign, Hopkins.) 
'By order of his Excellency General Washington, a board of gene- 
ral officers sat yesterday in Cambridge, and unanimously recommended 
the following rations to be delivered in the manner hereby directed, viz: 
"Corned beef and pork, four days in a week; salt fish one day, and 
fresh beef two days. 
" As milk cannot be procured during the winter season, the men are to 
have one pound and a half of beef, or eighteen ounces of pork, per day. 
" Half pint of rice, or a pint of Indian meal, per week. 
" One quart of spruce beer per day, or nine gallons of molasses to one 
hundred men, per week. 
" Six pounds of candles to one hundred men, per week, for guards. 
" Six ounces of butter, or nine ounces of hog's lard, per week. 
" Three pints of peas or beans per man, per week, or vegetables equiv- 
alent, allowing six shillings per bushel for beaus or peas, two and eight 
pence per bushel for onions, one and four pence per bushel for potatoes 
and turnips 
" One pound of flour per man, each day; hard bread to be dealt out 
one day in a week, in lieu of flour. 
"Theabove allowance is ordered to be issued by the Commissary-Gen- 
eral to ail the troops of the United Colonies serving in this Department, 
until the honorable the Continental Congress, or the Commander-in- 
Chief, thinks proper to alter it." 5 
The following table of equivalents is copied from Force's 
American Archives, 4th series, Vol. I \ , page 1513, where 
it is inserted as an appendix to a general order, relating to 
the issue of provisions, promulgated by Maj.-Gen. Philip 
Schuyler, dated Headquarters, Albany, Feb. 27, 177G: 
" Estimate showing the value of different species of provisions to be given 
in lieu of another, or the value of one species to be given in lieu of the 
whole species, according to the bill of fare settled by the honorable the 
Continental Congress, the Ath of November, 1775, viz : 
" Two pounds of bread, or flour, and one pound of pork, are equal 
to one ration of all species. 
"One pound of bread, or flour, one pound of pork, and two pints of 
peas, are equal to one ration of all species. 
" One pound of bread, or flour, twelve ounces of pork, and six 
onnces of butter, are equal to one ration of all species. 
" One pound of bread, or flour, one and a half pounds of beef, a 
half pint of rice, or one pint of Indian meal, are equal to one ration of 
all species. 
" One pound of bread, or flour, one and a half pounds of beef, one 
quart of spruce beer, or cider, or one gill of rum, are equal to one 
ration of all species. 
" Five pounds of bread, or flour, are equal to one ration. 
" Three pounds of beef are equal to one ration. 
" Twenty eight ounces of pork are equal to one ration. 
" Sixteen ounces of butter are equal to one ration. 
" One gallon and a half pint of peas are equal to one ration. 
"Four pints of rice are equal to one ration. 
" Eight pints of Indian meal are equal to one ration." 
It appears from the following general order that, in the 
plan of organization first adopted for the Subsistence De- 
partment, the Regimental Quartermasters were ex officio Regi- 
mental Commissaries ; and that they drew subsistence stores 
in bulk weekly, for issue to their respective regiments : 
"Headquarters, Cambridge, December 27, 1775. 
(Parole, Annapolis.') (Countersign, Chase.) 
" The Regimental Quartermasters are forthwith to settle with and 
give receipts to the Commissary-General, or his Deputies. The day 
they next draw, they are to take the whole of the provision and weekly 
allowance then due." 
* * * * * 
Congress, on the 14th of March, 1777, appointed a com- 
mittee of three-Mr. Lewis Morris, of New York, Mr. Ab- 
raham Clark, of New Jersey, and Mr. Jonathan B. Smith, 
of Pennsylvania-to " inquire into the conduct of the Com- 6 
missaries, with power to send for persons and papers and 
on the 14th of April tlie committee made the following re- 
port : 
" That they have macle the enquiry directed, as far as time and oppor- 
tunity would admit; and tied that the conduct of several, employed in 
that department, is very exceptionable, discovering either a want of abili- 
ty or integrity in discharging their trust, by which means the public will 
probably suffer great loss, and the same extravagance and dissipation 
of public money continue, while such numbers of disqualified persons 
are continued in that employ, who regardless of the general good, are 
raising the prices of the articles they purchase by bidding upon each 
other, under an idea of receiving commissions or compensations pro- 
portioned to the sums they expend." 
Whereupon, the following resolutions were passed : 
" Resolved, That for preventing the like impositions for the future, 
Commissaries be commissioned by Congress, in different districts, under 
proper regulations in which their duty shall be clearly ascertained' 
" Resolved, That the committee who brought in the foregoing report, 
be directed to prepare and bring in, a draught of regulations lor the 
purposes before mentioned." 
On the 28th of May the committee brought in their re- 
port, and after some debate thereon, it was- 
" Resolved, That the same be recommitted, and that 31 r. R. Morris be 
added to said committee." 
In the journal of Congress for June 10, 1777, it is re- 
corded that- 
"The committee to whom was recommitted the report on the Com- 
missary's Department, brought in the same amended, which being read, 
was agreed to as follows: 
" Ri solved- 
" I.-That for supplying the Army of the United States with provi- 
sions, one Commissary-General and four Deputy Commissaries General 
of Purchases, and one Commissary-General and three Deputy Commis- 
saries-General of Issues, be appointed by Congress. 
" II.-That each of the said Commissaries and Deputy Commissaries 
be authorized to appoint for himself one clerk. 
" III.-That the Deputy Commissaries-General have authority to ap- 
point as many Assistant Commissaries to act under them as may from 
time to time be necessary, and the same to displace at pleasure, making 
returns thereof to the Commissaries-General respectively, who shall 
have full power to limit their numbers, to displace such as they shall 
think disqualified for the trust, and direct their respective Deputy Com- 
missaries-General to appoint others in their stead: that special care be 
taken by the officers empowered as aforesaid, to appoint none but per- 
sons of probity, capacity, vigilance, and attachment to the United 
States, and the cause they are engaged in; and to make returns to the 7 
board of war, the Cummander-in-Chief, and the commander of the res- 
pective departments, of the Assistant Commissaries by them respective- 
ly appointed, their several places of abode, the time of their appoint- 
ment and dismission, and the post, place, magazine or district to which 
they are severally assigned; and that the Deputy Commissaries-Gen- 
eral of Purchases and Issues in the same district make similar returns 
to each other. 
" IV.-That the Commissary-General of Purchases shall superintend 
the Deputy Commissaries-General of Purchases, and assign to each a 
separate district, who shall constantly reside therein, and not make any 
purchases beyond the limits thereof; and every purchaser employed 
therein shall also have a certain district assigned him by the respective 
Deputy Commissary-General, in which he shall reside, and beyond the 
limits of which he shall not be permitted to make any purchases, unless 
by special order of his superior, directing the quantity and quality of 
provisions so to be purchased beyond his limits,and informing such pur- 
chaser of the prices given by the stationed purchaser in the district to 
which he may be sent. 
" V.-That the Commissary-General of Purchases shall direct the 
Deputy Commissaries-General in their respective districts, to inform 
themselves and assistants, as nearly as may be, of the prices for which 
the articles, which they are to procure, may be purchased, and that 
neither they nor any of the said assistants employed under their direc- 
tion, exceed such prices; and if any Deputy Commissary-General of 
Purchases shall neglect his duty, or be guilty of any fraud or miscon- 
duct in his office, the Commissary-General may suspend him, and shall 
immediately certify the same to Congress, with the reasons for such 
suspension, and appoint a person to act in his stead, with all the pow- 
ers of a Deputy Commissary-General, until the sense of Congress shall 
be known thereon. 
" VI.-That the present Commissary-General, by himself or bis dep- 
uties. deliver unto the Commissary-General of Issues, or his deputies or 
assistants, all and every kind of provisions and other public stores in the 
Commissary-General's department, that now are, or at the time when 
such delivery shall be made, may be, in any of the posts, places, maga- 
zines and store-houses belonging to the United States, taking duplicate 
receipts for the same, one set whereof, together with a general return 
of all stores so delivered, to be sent to the board of treasury, that the 
Commissary-General of Issues may be charged therewith. 
"VII.-That it shall be the duty of the Commissary-General of Pur- 
chases, with the assistance of the Deputy Commissaries-General and 
Assistant Commissaries of Purchases, to purchase all provisions and 
other necessaries allowed, or which may hereafter be allowed by Con- 
gress to the troops of the United States, and deliver the same to the 
Commissary-General of Issues, or his deputies or assistants, in such 
quantities, and at such places or magazines as the Commander-in- 
Chief, or the commander in the respective department shall direct. 
" VIII.-That the Commissary-General of Issues shall direct the res- 
pective Deputy Commissaries-General, to station one of their assistants 
at every fort, post, place or magazine where provisions are or may be 
stored. 8 
" IX.-That the Commissary-General of Purchases shall furnish each 
of the Deputy Commissaries-General and assistants, with a book, in 
which is to be entered every purchase by them respectively made ; and 
that all the accounts may be kept in the same form, he shall cause the 
pages of such book to be divided into ten columns, in the first of which 
shall be entered the year, month, and day in which any purchase is 
made; in the second, the name of the persons from whom; in the third, 
in what place; in the fourth, the species and quantity of provisions, 
and if live stock, the number, color, and natural marks; in the fifth, 
the artificial marks and number; in the sixth, the prices ; in the sev- 
enth, the amount of the purchase-money ; in the eighth, ninth, and 
tenth, the weight of the meat, hides, and tallow of the live stock, as 
hereafter directed; and the Commissary-General of Issues shall furnish 
each of the. issuing Deputy Commissaries-General and assistants with a 
similar book, in which shall be entered all provisions received by them 
from the purchasers respectively, the first column to contain the time of 
receiving such provisions ; the second, the name of the purchaser ; and 
in each of the other columns, the entries before directed. 
" X-That each purchaser shall enter, in different pages of the said 
book, each species of provisions by him purchased, and, at the end of 
every month, shall foot and transfer the said entries to a general ac- 
count, specifying the quantity, amount, and average cost of each article, 
and shall also, in the course of the next succeeding month, senda copy 
of such account to the respective Deputy Commissaries-General, who 
shall thereupon make out a monthly return of all the provisions pur- 
chased in his district, specifying the quantity, amount, and average 
cost of each species, as before directed, together with a copy of each 
purchaser's accounts, to the board of war and Commissary-General of 
Purchases, within the time limited as aforesaid 
" XI.-That the purchasing Commissaries shall deliver live stock and 
other provisions required by the Commissary, or seveial Deputy Com- 
missaties-General of Issues, at such place as they shall respectively 
direct. 
"XII.-That the Deputy Commissary-General of Purchases in each 
district shall specially appoint one or more assistants to purchase live 
stock, who shall cause to be branded on the horns of all cattle by 
them puichased, the number and initial letters of names respectively ; 
and shall also have power to employ drovers, and a person at each 
place, to which they may respectively send cattle, to receive, kill, and 
deliver the same, as hereafter directed. 
"XIII-That each drove of live stock, or quantity of provisions or 
other stores, that may be sent to any post, place, or magazine, by any 
purchaser, shall be accompanied with duplicate invoices, taken from 
the entries directed to be made in the books of the Purchasing Com- 
missaries, one of which, together with the live stock or other stores, 
shall be delivered at such post, place, or magazine, to the person 
appointed to receive live stock, or to the Issuing Commissaries, re- 
spectively, who, on the other hand, shall give his receipt for the 
articles received to be transmitted to the purchaser by the person deliv- 
ering the said articles ; ptovided, that if any live stock, under the care 9 
care of the drover, shall be wanted at any other post than that to which 
they were ordered, the purchaser's deputy at such post may detain 
them, taking a copy of the invoice, as far as it respects the live stock 
detained, and giving his receipt for the same on the back of the said 
invoice, specifying their marks and numbers, and the person to whom 
the residue may be delivered, shall give his receipt therefor on the same 
invoice, and detain the other for his use as aforesaid. 
" XIV.-That each drove of live stock shall be killed under the direc- 
tion of the purchaser's deputy receiving the same, who shall weigh and 
deliver the meat to the Commissary of Issues of the respective posts, 
together with duplicates of the invoice left by the drover, entering in 
the eighth column the weight of the quarters of the several creatures ; 
in the ninth, the weight of the hide ; in the tenth, the weight of the 
tallow ; and at the foot of each invoice, the number of heads and 
tongues; and the Commissary of Issues shall endorse his receipt on 
one of the invoices, and deliver it to the deputy aforesaid, who shall 
return it to the purchaser as his voucher, and to enable him to fill up 
the eighth, ninth, and tenth columns of the entries in his book ; and 
the other shall be kept by the Issuing Commissary for his own use. 
" XV.-That the Commissary-General of Purchases shall contract, 
by himself, or the respective Deputy Commissaries-General, with one 
or more persons in each district, to make or supply a sufficient quan- 
tity of vinegar for the use of the Army. 
" XVI.-That the Deputy Commissaries-General of Purchases take 
special care to procure full supplies of vegetables, as being essentially 
necessary to the health of the Army; and they are respectively em- 
powered and directed, with the advice of the Commander-in-chief or 
Commander of the respective district, to hire land therein, and raise such 
quantities of vegetables as are wanted, and cannot be otherwise pro- 
cured for the Army ; and for this purpose to employ suitable persons to 
conduct, and laborers to assist in carrying on the said business. 
" XVII.-That the Commissary-General of Purchases shall, from 
time to time, apply to Congress for all the money wanted in his De- 
partment, and shall make the necessary advances to the respective 
Deputy Commissaries-General, calling them to account as often as he 
shall judge it necessary; and the Deputy Commissaries-General shall, 
in like manner, make advances of the money received of the said 
Commissary-General to their respective assistants, and call them to 
account as aforesaid. 
"XVIII.-That the Commissary and Deputy Commissaries-Gener a 
of Purchases and Issues shall respectively be accountable for the con- 
duct of the officers of their own appointment, and all the accounts of 
purchases and issues shall, once in six mouths, be settled by the re- 
spective Commissaries-General with the proper Commissioners of Ac- 
counts ; each account of purchases to be vouched by the several bills 
and receipts of the venders, specifying the cost, and the receipts of the 
Issuing Commissaries, showing the delivery of all articles therein 
charged; and each account of issues by the victualling returns here- 
after directed to be made, and receipts for all provisions charged 
therein as rations, or sent by the respective Issuing Commissary to 10 
any other: and the Commissaries-General shall produce the monthly 
returns of the several Purchasing' and Issuing Commissaries, to be 
used by the Commissioners in adjusting their respective accounts. 
' XIX.- That the Commissaries-General of Purchases and Issues, 
and their respective deputies, for neglect of duty, or other offences in 
their respective offices, shall be subject to military arrest and trial, by 
order of the Commander-in-chief, or any general officer commanding a 
division of the Army, post, or department, where such neglect of duty 
or offence may happen : and the lespective assistants of the Deputy Com- 
missaries-General of Purchases and Issues, shall, for the same causes, 
be liable to military arrest as commissioned officers in the Army, by 
any general officer, or any officer commanding at a detached post to 
which such assistants may be assigned. 
"XX.-That the Commissary-General of Issues shall superintend 
the respective Deputy Commissaries-General, and assign to each a sep- 
arate district; and have full powers to suspend them and appoint 
others for a time, as already appointed for the Commissary-General of 
Purchases. 
" XXI.-That every Issuing Commissary shall enter, in distinct 
pages of the book mentioned in the ninth article, each species of pro- 
visions or other stores received by him, including the provisions 
delivered by other Issuing Commissaries, or the present Commissary- 
General, and the same entries shall be made with respect to these, as 
therein are directed, when provisions are received from the purchasers, 
excepting that the prices and cost of articles delivered by the said 
Commissaries may be omitted. 
" XXII.-That every Issuing Commissary shall be furnished with a 
book of Issues, in which he shall open a separate account with each 
regiment, corps, or detachment, to which he may issue, or Commissary 
to which he may send or deliver provisions; and each page thereof 
shall be divided into columns, in the first of which shall be entered the 
time of delivery ; in the second, the name of the officer upon whose 
return provisions are issued, or by whom sent to any other Issuing 
Commissary ; in the third, the number of rations, and, in other sepa- 
rate columns, the several quantities of each species of provisions deliv- 
ered as rations, or sent to the Commissaries as aforesaid. And, on the 
last day of every month, he shall foot the said accounts, and also all 
the accounts of provisions received and entered in the book mentioned 
in the preceding article. 
" XXIII.-That every Issuing Commissary shall take duplicate 
receipts for each quantity of provisions and stores by him sent to any 
post, place, or magazine, agreeably to the form of the entries directed 
to be made in the book of issues, one of which he shall deliver to the 
officer or person employed to deliver the said provisions or stores ; and 
the Issuing Commissary at such post, place, or magazine, or at any 
intermediate post, who may receive such provisions or stores, or any 
part thereof, shall certify the quantity on the back of the said receipt, 
which the officer, or person who delivered the provisions, shall return 
to the Commissary that sent them as his voucher; and, in cases of 
deficiency, the Commissary who sent the provisions shall credit the 11 
Commissary to whom they were directed for the quantity lost, if the 
same has been placed to his debit, and shall charge twice the amount 
thereof to the account of the officer or person employed to deliver it, 
and shall also transmit a copy of the said account to the Paymaster or 
Deputy Paymaster General in the district, who shall send to the Issuing 
Commissary a receipt for such account, to be produced by him on set- 
tlement, and shall also deduct the amount thereof from the pay of the 
delinquent, and credit the United States therefor; provided, that if any 
provisions or stores shall be lost by unavoidable accident, and the 
same is proved by sworn evidences before the commanding officer of 
the post from or to which such provisions or stores were sent, his cer- 
tificate, with the proof annexed, shall authorize the Commissary to 
cancel such charge. 
" XXIV.-That no provisions be issued to any person but by the 
written order of the Commander-in-Chief, the commander of any de- 
partment, the Quartermaster-General, any of his deputies, or assistants, 
the commanding officer of a post, describing the person in whose favor 
such order shall be given ; or upon a return signed by the command- 
ing officer of a corps, or detachment thereof, whether commissioned or 
non-commissioned, or by the regimental quartermaster. 
"XXV.-That when any troops are ordered to quit a post, and the 
Issuing Commissary remains at such post, the respective commanding 
officers of the several regiments or corps shall call on the Issuing Com- 
missary for a certificate, specifying the day to which they were vic- 
tualled, inclusively ; and, in case detachments of different regiments 
or corps are made, the commanding officer of such detachments shall 
procure a certificate from the Commissary, in which shall be inserted 
the days to which the different troops, of which his detachment may be 
composed, were victualled, and the next, and every subsequent pro- 
vision return for such detachment shall distinguish the corps out of 
which it is formed, and the number of each corps, to the end that the 
Commissary may charge each corps with the provisions issued to it; 
and if any Commissary, at any other post, ^hall victual any corps or 
detachment comprehended in the foregoing description before such cer- 
tificates are produced, he shall charge the officer commanding the same 
with twenty days' provision for the whole number of men under his 
care, and make return thereof to the Paymaster-General or Deputy Pay- 
master-General in the district, who shall make the proper stoppages, 
and also to the board of treasury, who shall charge him therefor; 
Provided, That if such certificates be procured and delivered within 
thirty days after the first drawing of such provisions without certificate, 
the Commissary-General shall cancel the charge, keeping the certifi- 
cate as a voucher for so doing; Provided also, That notwithstanding 
such certificate may be produced, if it shall appear that the officer com- 
manding any corps or detachment, has drawn more provision than the 
corps or detachment was entitled to, he shall stand charged the double 
quantity so overdrawn. 
" XXVI.-That every Issuing Commissary shall take receipts for the 
number of rations, and for so much of every species of provisions as he 
may issue. 12 
"XXVII.-That every Issuing- Commissary, on the last drawing- 
day preceding the last drawing day of every month, shall victual the 
troops up to the last day of the month inclusive; and if provisions 
should be ordered for troops going on detachments, for such time as 
would run beyond that day, two returns shall be made out, one to the 
last day of the month inclusive, and one from the first day of the month 
inclusive to the time ordered. 
"XXVIII.-That every Issuing Commissary shall number the pro- 
vision returns, and endorse the same with the date thereof, and the 
number of men victualled, and put the returns of each detachment or 
corps on separate files, each to contain the returns of a month for such 
corps or detachment. 
"XXIX.-That, wherever any capital magazine shall be established, 
the Commander-in-Chief, or commanding officer of the department, 
shall eider store-houses to be built, and a barrack for fifty men, and 
the san e to be enclosed with a stockade. 
"XXX.-That, whenever any of the provisions or stores in any of 
the magazines become so damaged as to threaten a total loss of all 
such damaged provisions, the Commissary of Issues, to whose care 
such provisions may be committed, shall make return thereof immediate- 
ly to the Deputy Commissary-General of Issues, who is to apply to the 
Commander-in-Chief, or some general officer, to order a court of enquiry, 
who shall thereupon grant one, and such provisions as may by the 
court be condemned, shall be sold at public vendue, under the direction 
of the Deputy Commissary-General of Issues, public notice being 
given of such sale, by advertisements, at least ten days before the day 
of sale, unless the court should determine that the same ought to be 
sold at an earlier day. 
" XXXI.-That every Assistant Commissary of Issues shall, within 
six days after the last day of every month, make a return to the 
Deputy Commissary-General of the district, of all provisions and stores 
in his magazine or store, at the last preceding return ; of all provisions 
by him received in the preceding month; from whom and whence; of 
what he has issued, specifying the regiment and corps, and the number 
of iati< i s, and quantity of each species of provisions drawn by the 
the same; and of what remains in store. 
"XXXII -That each Deputy Commissary-General of Issues shall, 
from the monthly returns of the Assistant Commissaries, make out a 
general return for the district, specifying what remained in the maga- 
zines or stores at the last return ; what has been received since ; the 
number of rations and quantity of provisions issued, and w hat remains 
in store, distinguishing the several posts, places, magazines, and regi- 
ments, or corps, as aforesaid; one to be sent to the Board of War, one 
to the Commander-in-Chief, one Io the Commander of the Department, 
one to the Commissary-General of Purchases, and one to the Commis- 
sary-General of Issues. 
" XXXIII.-That the Commissary-General of Purchases and Com- 
missary-General of Issues, each in his own department, make a gene- 
ral monthly return to the Board of War, the Commander-in-Chief, and 
the commanding officer of the respective districts, and take special care 13 
constantly to provide and furnish each of the officers under him with 
printed forms of the books, invoices, receipts, and returns, to be used 
by them respectively, agreeably to these resolves. 
" XXXIV.-That no return of rations drawn or returned by the 
several regiments be hereafter in ide, by the Issuing Commissaries to 
the Commissary-General of Musters, or by him to the Adjutant-Gene- 
ral, or by the Adjutant-General to the Board of War, as directed in the 
regulations of the Muster-Master-General's Department, passed by 
Congress the 4th day of April last. 
" XXXV.-That the Commissaries-General and the respective 
officers under them apply to the Quartermaster-General, or his respec- 
tive officers, for wagons, teams, and horses wanted in the several dis- 
tricts, and if at any time it shall be necessary for the same, they are 
not to exceed the rates stipulated by Congress, or the Quartermaster- 
General aforesaid. 
" XXXVI.-That all persons employed to purchase for the United 
States any articles in the several Departments of the Commissary-Gen- 
eral of Purchases, Quartermaster, Director, or Clothier-General, or the 
Commissary-General of Military Stores, shall previously apply to 
to them, or the principal officers under them respectively, for certificates 
of the several prices by them allowed for such articles, and shall not, 
on any pretence whatsoever, exceed such prices. And it is recom- 
mended to the several States to give their purchasers, respectively, 
similar directions. 
" XXXVII.-That the Commissary-General of Purchases, from time 
to time, provide sufficient quantities of salt, and deliver it to the Com- 
missary-General of Issues, or the respective officers under him, who 
are directed to issue to the troops only such quantities, and in such 
manner, as the Commander-in-Chief, or commander o'f the respective 
district, shall direct. And the Commissary-General of Issues shall 
direct the respective Deputy Commissaries-General to employ a suita- 
ble number of coopers and packers, who shall salt and pack provisions 
at the several magazines and stores, and take the proper precaution 
with respect to all provisions therein deposited. 
"XXXVIII.-And whereas, great confusion hath arisen from the 
manner in which officers and soldiers have been paid for rations and 
parts of rations allowed to, but not drawn by, them respectively. 
" Resolved, That the parts of a ration be estimated as follows, viz: 
for the daily allowance of beef, pork, or fish, 4-90th of a dollar ; of bread 
or flour, 2-90th; of peas or beans, I-90th; of milk, l-90th; of beer, 
l-90th; of rice, one-half of 1-90th ; and of soap, one-half of J-90th ; 
making the whole JO-9Jth of a dollar for each ration : and that, for the 
future, the quartermaster, or other person drawing provision for any 
regiment, corps, or detachment, shall on the last day of every month, 
make out an abstract of the number of retained rations due to each offi- 
cer respectively, and also the number of each part of ration due to such 
regiment, corps, or detachment, and deliver the same to the respective 
Issuing Commissary, who shall compare it with his books, and find- 
ing it right, shall certify thereon that the several charges in the abstract 
are just, and that such a sum as he shall find to be due, shall be paid 14 
to the respective Paymaster of the regiment, corps, or detachment, who 
shall annex the said abstract to the pay-roll; that the Paymaster, or 
Deputy Paymaster-General of the district, may pay, and he is hereby 
required to pay, such ration abstract to the Regimental Paymaster, who 
is directed to pay the respective officers and soldiers, and take their re- 
ceipts. And when any regiment, corps, or detachment, or Issuing 
Commissary is ordered to leave a post before the end of the month, the 
ration abstract shall be made up to the day of his or their leaving the 
post, and certified by the Commissary as aforesaid. 
" XXXIX.-That the Commissary of Issues, at every post where 
cattle are killed for the use of the Army, appoint a careful person to 
take charge of the hides and tallow, to see that the former are properly 
dried, and that the latter is properly rendered, and that both are dis- 
posed of as the Commissary-General of Issues, by order of Congress, 
shall direct. 
"Xi. - That the Commissary and Deputy Commissaries-General of 
Purchases in each department, and every purchaser employed under 
them, shall take the oath of fidelity to the United States, and the fol- 
lowing oath or affirmation, viz. : 
" ' I, , do solemnly and sincerely swear (or affirm) in the 
presence of Almighty God, that I will not collude with any person or 
persons whatever to enhance the price of provisions, or any article of 
commerce which I shall, at any time hereafter, be directed to purchase 
for the use of the United States; and that I will endeavor, by every 
honest means in my power, to procure the articles which I may be 
directed to purchase, at the most reasonable rates ; and that I will not 
charge the public with any advance on any purchases by me to be 
made; and that I will, in all things, conduct myself as becometh a 
faithful servant of the public ' 
" XLI,-That the Commissary and Deputy Commissary-General of 
Issues in each department, and every Issuing Commissary employed 
under them, shall take the said oath of fidelity, and the following 
oath or affirmation, viz: 
" * I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully receive, 
take the care of, and issue the provisions and other stores committed to 
my trust, and keep regular accounts, and make regular returns, agree- 
able to the resolutions of Congress, and oftener, if thereunto required 
by any superior officer having the right to order returns ; and that I will, 
in all things, honestly demean myself as a faithful servant of the 
public.' " 
By a resolution passed on the 11 th of June, the next day 
after the adoption of the new system, Congress directed 
that the Commissary-General of Purchases should "keep 
his office in the place where Congress shall sit, and that 
he, or his clerk, constantly attend therein." 
The functions of the Commissaries-General were further 
regulated by the following resolution of Congress, passed 
June 16, 1777 : 15 
" Resoloed, That the Commissary-General of Purchases be empowered 
to regulate the pay of drovers and butchers, and transmit such regular 
tions to Congress. 
" That the Commissary-General of Issues, in like manner, be em- 
powered to regulate and transmit to Congress the pay of coopers, pack- 
ers, and other persons he may find necessary to be employed in such 
kind of services." 
Congress, on the 18th of June, proceeded to the election 
of Commissaries-General and Deputy Commissaries-General 
of Purchases and Issues ; and the ballots having been taken 
and examined, the following persons were declared to be 
elected, viz : Joseph Trumbull, to be Commissary-General 
of Purchases ; William Aylett, William Buchanan, Jacob 
Cuyler, and Jeremiah Wadsworth, to be Deputy Commis- 
saries-General of Purchases ; Charles Stewart to be Com- 
missary-General of Issues ; and William Green Mumford, 
Mathew Irwin, and Elisha Avery, to be Deputy Commis- 
saries-General of Issues. 
The following form of commission for officers of the two 
new departments, to be filled up according to their respec- 
tive grades, was reported by the Board of War, and adopted 
by Congress on the 2d of July : 
"IN CONGRESS. 
" The delegates of the United States of New Hampshire, Massachu- 
setts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New 
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, to 
"We reposing special trust and confidence in your patriotism, con- 
duct, and fidelity, do, by these presents, constitute and appoint you to 
be in the Army of the United States, raised for the defence 
of American liberty, and for repelling every hostile invasion thereof: 
You are, therefore, carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of 
, by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto 
belonging. And you are to observe and follow such orders and direc- 
tions, from time to time, as you shall receive from this, or a future Con- 
gress of the United States, or committee of Congress for that purpose 
appointed, or Commander-in-Chief for the time being of the Army of the 
United States, or any other your superior officer, according to the rules 
and dicipline of war, in pursuance of the trust reposed in you. This 
commission to continue in force until revoked by this, or a future Con- 
gress. 
" Dated at 
" By order of Congress: , President." 
" Attest: 16 
Two Deputy Commissaries-General of Provisions-one 
in the purchasing department and the other in the issuing 
department--were authorized by Congress on August 1, 
1777, for supplying the troops operating in the State of 
Georgia ; and on August 6, .Janies Roe and John Bohun 
Gurardeau were elected to fill the offices respectively. 
The resignation of Joseph Trumbull as Commissary-Gen- 
eral of Purchases was received by Congress on the 2d of 
August, and on the 5th of that month William Buchanan 
was elected to fill the vacancy.* 
Congress, on August 6, 1 777, proceeded to the election 
of officers to till vacancies in the Commissary's Department. 
Ephraim Blaine was elected Deputy Commissary-Gen- 
eral of Purchases, vice Buchanan : Archibald Stewart, 
Deputy Commissary-General of Issues, rice Hoops, resigned ; 
and Junies Bricker, Deputy Commissary-General of Issues, 
vice Avery, resigned. 
*The new regulations were unsatisfactory to Commissary-0eneral Trumbull, and 
on the 19th of July, 1777. he wrote a letter to Congress asking that his successor 
might be designated at an early day. In stating his reasons for this action, he said : 
" In my humble opinion the head of every department ought to have control of it. In 
this establishment, an imperium in imperio is created. If I consent to act, I must 
be at continual variance with the whole department, and of course be in hot water. I 
must turn accuser, and be continually applying to Congress, and attending with wit- 
nesses to support my charges: or. must sit down in ease and quiet, let the Deputies 
do as they like, and enjoy a sinecure. The first situation I cannot think of; the last 
1 never will accept, it never shall be said that I was the first American pensioner. I 
am willing to do and suffer for my country, and its cause; but I cannot sacrifice my 
honor and my principles. 1 can by no means consent to act under a regulation which, 
in my opinion, will never answer the purpose intended by Congress, nor supply the 
Army as it should be. 
"I must beg Congress to appoint some person in my place as soon as may be; 
until then I will continue to furnish the Army as heretofore. 
Col. Trumbull, after the acceptance of his resignation as Commissary-General, was 
appointed by Congress one of the Commissioners of the Board of War. and held 
that highly important office until April Is, 1778, when he resigned, on account of ill 
health. He died on the 23d of July, 177s. On the 31st of March, 1779, a committee 
of Congress, composed of Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, Dr. Josiah Bartlett, of 
Massachusetts, Oliver Ellsworth, of Connecticut, and Samuel Adams, of Massachu- 
setts, to whom the subject had been referred, brought in a report on his services as 
Commissary-General, of which the following is an extract : 
) "That it appears to your committee that the late Commissary-General, Joseph 
Trumbull, coming into office in the earliest stage of the American contest, found 
himself without a system by which to trace the plan of his duty ; that with great 
care, industry, labor, and attention, he instituted a plan by which the Army, during 
his continuance in office, was amply supplied, with much economy, and to the gene- 
ral satisfaction." 
Congress, after the adoption of this highly eulogistic report, in consideration of 
Col. Trumbull's distinguished services as therein set forth, voted to his heirs a liberal 
commission on the sums disbursed by him during his commissariate. 17 
Aii additional Deputy Commissary-General of Issues was 
autho rized for the Eastern Department, and Samuel Gray 
elected to fill the office. 
On the 11th of August, Peter Colt was elected Deputy 
Cu.n n issary-General of Purchases, rice Jeremiah Wads- 
worth, resigned. 
On January 14, 1778, the following resolution was pass- 
ed by C ongress : 
" Resolved, That the Commissary's system be referred to a commit- 
tee of three, and that, they be directed to revise the same, and to report 
such alterations therein as they shall deem best calculated to answer 
the end of its institution: The members chosen. Mr. Clark, Mr. J. B. 
Smith, and Mr. Gerry." 
The committee made their report on the 24th of Febru- 
ary, which was then taken into consideration, and, after 
some progress had been made thereon, it was resolved that 
its further consideration be postponed until Thursday the 
26th. Final action was not taken upon the report, how- 
ever, until the 13th of March, as appears from the follow- 
ing extract from the journal for that day : 
" Congress resumed the consideration of the report of the committee 
appointed to revise the system of the Commissary's Department: 
Whereupon, 
" Resolved, That a Commissary-General of Purchases be appointed, 
with full powers to depute or remove any officer of the Department: 
"That each Assistant Purchasing Commissary shall receive the follow- 
ing allowances for purchasing provisions and .other articles, viz: 
" Flour or meal, per cwt., 6-9oths of a dollar; hard bread, per cwt,. 
8-93ths of a dollar; salt pork in barrels, per cwt., 24-90ths of a dollar; 
fresh beef, hide, and tallow, per cwt., 24-90ths of a dollar; salt beef in 
barrels, per cwt., 24-9.)ths of a dollar; salt, per bushel, 6-90ths of a 
dollar; molasses, per gallon, 3-90ths of a dollar; West India rum, per 
gallon, 3-90ths of a dollar; American rum or whisky, per gallon. 3-90ths 
of a dollar; rice, per cwt., 6-90ths of a dollar; meat barrels, for packing 
beef, pork, or fish, each, 4-90ths of a dollar; bread casks with lining 
hoops, each, 3-90ths of a dollar; vinegar, per barrel, 3-90ths of a dol- 
lar; turnips and potatoes, per bushel, 4-90ths of a dollar; beans and 
peas, per bushel, 6-90ths of a dollar; pickled shad, per barrel, 12-90ths 
of a dollar; onions, per bushel, 5-90ths of a dollar: 
" That each Assistant Purchasing Commissary shall be allowed ten 
per cent, on the sum which he shall save by purchasing good provis- 
ions at less prices than such as are fixed in the respective States. 
" That it shall be the duty of each Deputy Commissary-General of 
Purchases to superintend the assistant purchasers under him ; see that 
the business of his Department is properly conducted ; and that full 18 
supplies of provisions are seasonably procured in his district ; and that 
he shall bp entitled to an allowance equal to one-fifth part of the 
whole allowance made to his assistants, as aforesaid. 
" Resoloed, That it shall be the duty of the Commissary-General of 
Purchases to superintend all the officers of his Department; to give the 
necessary orders to the Deputy Commissaries-General, and see that the 
business in each department is properly executed ; and that full sup- 
plies of provisions tor the Army are seasonably procured ; and that he 
shall be entitled to an allowance equal to one-third of the whole allow- 
ance made to his Deputy Commissaries-General. as aforesaid: 
" '['hat the a lowances herein provided for the Commissary and 
Deputy Commissaries-General, and Assistant Commissaries, shall be in 
lieu of all other rewards for their respective services and expenses, in- 
cluding the pay of their clerks, in purchasing provisions. 
" That the Commissary-General be directed to visit the armies and 
posts, a.id that he be subject to the orders of the Commander-in-Chief; 
and that ho be excused from residing at the place where Congress sits, 
he keeping a clerk and office there, to which all returns shall be made, 
and which shall be under the inspection and direction of the Board of 
War. 
" That the Commanding General, Deputy Commissary-General, and 
Assistant Commissaries ot Purchases, govern themselves in all other 
respects by the regulations for the Commissary's system, passed in 
Congress, the J >th day of June last, and the subsequent resolutions of 
the 4th day of October last, except such parts thereof as are altered 
by these regulations." 
On the 30th of March, 1778, Congress appointed a com- 
mittee of four, consisting of Messrs. Gerry, Clark, Lee, 
and Dyer, to confer with Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth, and 
"inquire whether he would undertake the office of Com- 
missary-General of Purchases.''* Col. Wadsworth con- 
sented to accept the office, and on the 9th of April was 
duly elected by Congress. 
After conference with Col. Wadsworth, Congress, on 
the 14th of April, passed a resolution further regulating 
the Purchasing Department. All money from the 
Treasury for the service of the Department was required 
thereafter to be received by the Commissary-General, 
or his clerk at the office of general returns, by warrant, 
and distributed to the several Deputy Commissaries- 
General, the latter to distribute to the Purchasing Com- 
missaries in their respective districts. In lieu of the 
* It is presumed that Commissary-General Buchanan had resigned. 19 
percentage allowed as compensation for services, by the 
resolution passed March 13, 1778, the Commissary-General 
was allowed one-half per cent, on all sums transferred by 
him to the Deputy Commissaries-General ; the Deputy 
Commissaries-General, one-half per cent, on all sums by 
them transferred to the Purchasing Commissaries, in their 
respective districts ; and the Purchasing Commissaries, 
two per cent, on their respective disbursements. Money 
for the use of the Commissary-General's Department was 
authorized to be transmitted from the Commissary-Gene- 
ral's office to the respective Deputy Commissaries-General, 
and expresses sent on the business of that Department, at the 
expense of the United States. It was recommended to all 
State Governments to exempt from militia duties all persons 
who were bona fide engaged in the Commissary-General's De- 
partment. The Commissary-General was authorized to 
appoint an Assistant Commissary-General to reside at the 
headquarters of the Army, under the orders of the Comman- 
der-in-Chief, at a salary of five dollars per day, two rations for 
himself, and one for his servant, and forage for two horses, 
which were also to be shod at the expense of the United 
States. The Commissary-General, Deputy Commissaries- 
General, and Purchasing Commissaries, respectively, were 
required to provide teams and drivers for transporting 
provisions, at the expense of the United States, when 
teams and drivers for such service could not in time be 
obtained from the Quartermaster-General's Department. 
It was made the duty of the Commissary-General to assign 
the Purchasing Commissaries to their respective districts 
for the sphere of their purchases. Purchasing Commissa- 
ries were prohibited from making any purchases outside of 
their respective districts, or from giving any encourage- 
ment to bringing therein any commodities from any other 
Purchasing Commissary's district, unless authorized by the 
Commissary-General, or the Deputy Commissary-General 
in charge of the district. All persons in the Commissary- 
General's Department were required to take "bills of parcels" 
for all articles purchased by them respectively, receipts for 
all moneys paid, and receipts for all stores transferred, to 20 
be produced as vouchers to their returns and accounts. 
Purchasing Commissaries were required to make monthly 
returns to the Deputy Commissaries-General of their 
respective districts, of their purchases, and the prices paid, 
and to settle their accounts once in six months. The 
Deputy Commissaries-General were required to make up 
their returns, and send them to the Commissary-General's 
office every two months, and to settle their accounts as 
often as required to do so by the Commissary-General. 
The Commissary-General was required to render to Con- 
gress an account of his receipts and expenditures every 
three months ; and every nine months a report of the state 
of the general returns of his Department ; and it was fur- 
ther required to render such account, and report at such 
other times, as Congress should require. All former reg- 
ulations of Congress relative to the Department of the 
Commissary-General of Purchases in conflict with the fore- 
going were repealed. 
After the adoption of the regulations above sketched, 
Congress took no action materially affecting the Depart- 
ments for supplying provisions, until November 25, 1779, 
when the following resolution was passed, transferring the 
supervision of these Departments, as well as that of the 
Quartermaster-General, from a committee of Congress to 
the Board of War : 
" Resolved, That the Departments of the Quartermaster-General, and 
of the Commissaries-General of Pin chases, and Issues, be, for the future, 
under the superintendency and direction of the Board of War; and that 
the committee of Congress on those Departments deliver over to the 
Board of War all papers in their hands respecting them, and thereupon 
be discharged.'' 
The Board of War consisted of five commissioners, two 
of whom were members of Congress. Three commissioners 
constituted a quorum for the transaction of business. The 
functions of the Board were similar to those subsequently 
conferred upon the Secretary of War. 
Commissary-General Wadsworth sent his resignation to 
Congress early in June, 1779. Upon its receipt, June 7, 
1779, Congress passed a complimentary resolution express- 21 
ing full confidence in his integrity and ability, and direct- 
ing that he be informed that at so critical a season as the 
opening of a campaign, sudden changes in the appointment 
of principal officers of his Department would be inexpedient 
and dangerous ; and that Congress, therefore, declined to 
accept his resignation. On the 30th November, the matter 
was again taken up, and Commissary-General Wadsworth 
granted leave to resign his office on the 1st day of January, 
1780. 
Ephraim Blaine, of Pennsylvania, then a Deputy Com- 
missary-General of Purchases, an officer who had had large 
experience in the Department, having entered the service 
as Commissary of Col. Mackay's battalion, on the 17th of 
October, 1776, was, on the 5th of November, 1779, elected 
Commissary-General of Purchases, to fill the vacancy made 
by Commissary-General Wadsworth's resignation. 
A resolution was passed on the 1st of January, 1780, 
giving the Commissary-General, instead of a percentage on 
moneys disbursed, a fixed salary of forty thousand dollars 
per annum, six rations per day, and forage for four horses. 
Paper currency was then greatly depreciated, and the allow- 
ance of Purchasing Commissaries was fixed, by the same 
resolution, at two per cent, on twenty-fold the prices at 
which articles purchased by them were sold at in the 
year 1774. The salary of the Assistant Commissary- 
General at the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief 
was fixed, by resolution passed January 7, 1780, at ten 
thousand dollars per annum, two rations per day, and 
forage for one horse. 
The Department of Purchases was reorganized by the 
following resolution of Congress, passed November 30, 
1780 : 
" Resolved, That there be a Commissary-General of Purchases, whose 
duty shall be to purchase provisions under the direction of Congress, the 
Commander-in-Chief, or Board of War; to call upon the principal 
State agents, or commissioners, for such supplies as their respective 
legislatures shall make provision for, and to keep up a regular cor- 
respondence with them, to the end that their prospects of furnishing 
such supplies may be fully known : of which correspondence he shall 
keep a fair and correct register, as well as of every other official transac- 
tion ; to direct the quantities and species of provisions to be stored in the 22 
magazines <>f the several States, under the orders of the Commander- 
in-Chief, and cause the same to be forwarded to the Army, as occasion 
may require ; for which purpose lie is hereby empowered to call on the 
Quartermaster-Genera', and the Deputy Quartermasters, for the means 
of transportation; to make monthly returns to the Commander-in- 
Chief, and Board of War, of all persons employed by him, specifying 
for what time and on what terms : and of all provisions received in 
each month, from whom, from what State, and the quantities delivered 
to the Issuing Commissaries, their names, and at what posts; also of 
all provisions remaining on hand, at what magazines, and in whose 
care ; the returns to be made up to the last day of each month, and 
forwarded as soon after as may be ; to cause all his accounts with the 
United States to be closed annually, on the 1st day of January, and 
laid before the Board of Treasury for settlement, by the 1st day of 
March ensuing 
"That there be a Deputy Commissary of Purchases for the Southern 
Army, appointed by the Commissary-General, whose duty shall be the 
same, with respect to that army, as that of the Commissary-General 
with the main army ; he shall make his returns to the commanding 
officer of the Southern Army, and to the Commissary-General, to 
whom he shall be responsible. 
"The Commissary General and Deputy Commissary shall each ap- 
point one Assistant Commissary, one superintendent of live stock, two 
clerks, and as many butchers, coopers, drovers, and laborers, as may 
be necessary for conducting the business of the Department, and shall 
have power to fix the pay of the butchers, coopers, drovers, and 
laborers, subject to the control of the Board of War. 
" That the pay of the several officers in the Department be in the 
bills emitted in pursuance of the resolution of the J Sth day of March 
last, as follows : 
"The Commissary-General, $177 per month, 3 rations for himself 
and servants, and forage for 2 horses. Deputy Commissary, $125 per 
month, 2 rations for himself and servant, and forage for 2 horses. 
" Assistant Commissaries, $75 per month, 2 rations, and forage for 1 
horse. 
" Superintendent of live stock, $50 per month, 1 ration, and forage 
for 1 horse. 
" Clerks, $40 per month and 1 ration." 
By a resolution of the same date as the above, Commis- 
sary-General Blaine was continued in office under the new 
organization. 
The resolution establishing the new organization was sup- 
plemented by the following resolution, passed December 4, 
1780 : 
" Resolved, That no officer of the line of the Army of the United 
States, without express authority from Congress for that purpose, make 
any contract or bargain, or give any orders, for the purchase of articles, 23 
for the use of the troops, in the Departments of the Clothier-General, 
Quartermaster-General, or Commissary-General of Purchases, except 
in cases of necessity for provisions and forage for detachments or par- 
ties, in places where the same cannot be drawn from the public stores 
or magazines." 
There was no further legislation affecting the Depart- 
ments for purchasing and issuing provisions to the Army, 
until June 28, 1781, when Congress passed the following 
order : 
" Ordered. That a committee of three be appointed to devise the 
proper mode of transferring to the Superintendent of Finance, the 
business of the several Boards and Departments to which the institu- 
tion of his office extends, in order that the said Boards and Departments 
may be discontinued as soon as the situation of affairs will admit." 
By the following resolution of Congress, passed July 
10, 1781, the duties of the Commissariat were, upon the 
report of the Board of War, transferred to the head of the 
Treasury Department, who was then styled Superintendent 
of Finance : 
" Resolved. That the Superintendent of Finance be, and he is hereby 
authorized, either by himself or such person or persons as he shall, 
from time to time, appoint for that purpose, to procure, on contract, all 
necessary supplies for the Army or Armies of the United States, and 
also for tbe navy artificers, or prisoners of war, and also the transporta- 
tion thereof; and all contracts or agreements heretofore made, or 
which shall be hereafter made, by him, or persons under his authority, 
for the purposes aforesaid, are hereby declared to be binding on the 
United States." 
The British forces, under the command of the Earl of 
Cornwallis, surrendered to General Washington, at York- 
town, Virginia, on the 19th of October, 1781, and this 
ended the war. 
On the 20th of April, 1782, the Superintendent of Finance 
wrote a letter to Congress recommending the appointment 
of an officer to be designated Intendant of the Army, which 
was referred to a committee consisting of Mr. Clark, Mr. 
Bland, and Mr. Osgood, who brought in their report on the 
6th of May. After some progress had been made thereon, 
the further consideration of the report was postponed until 
the next day, when it was again taken up and disposed of 
by the passage of a resolution authorizing the Superintend- 
ent of Finance to appoint two Inspectors-one for the main, 24 
and the other for the Southern Army-whose duties should 
be to take care that the contracts for supplying rations 
be duly executed by the contractors ; to supervise the ex- 
penditures of public property, and report any fraud, neg- 
lect of duty, or other misconduct by which the public prop- 
erty was wasted, or expense unnecessarily accumulated. 
The office of Superintendent of Finance was abolished 
by the ordinance of Congress entitled "An Ordinance for 
putting the Department of Finance in commission," passed 
May 28, 1784. This ordinance created a board of three 
commissioners, (styled the Board of Treasury,) to be ap- 
pointed by Congress, to superintend the Treasury and man- 
age the finances of the United States. This ordinance 
transferred to this board all the duties of the Super- 
intendent of Finance, including, of course, the furnishing 
of supplies to the Army, which duty, already very light, 
on account of the reductions made in the Army after the 
surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, was rendered 
nominal by the legislation of June 2 and 3, 1784, which 
virtually disbanded the Army. 
The resolution of June 2, was as follows : 
" Resolved, That the commanding officer be, and he is hereby, direct- 
ed to discharge the troops now in the service of the United States, ex- 
cept 25 privates, to guard stores at Fort Pitt, and 55 to guard the stores 
at West Point and other magazines, with a proportionate number of 
officers; no officer to remain in service above the rank of a Captain 
and those privates to be retained who were enlisted on the best terms." 
On the next day, June 3, an additional force of 700 
militia, to serve for twelve months, was authorized to be 
raised " for the protection of the northwestern frontiers, 
and for guarding the public stores." The Army of the 
United States, under this legislation, consisted of 80 regu- 
lars and 700 militia ; total, 780. 
By the ordinance entitled. " An Ordinance for ascertain- 
ing the powers and duties of the Secretary of War," 
passed January 27, 1 785, it was made the duty of the 
Secretary of War to form estimates for all military stores, 
equipments, and supplies, requisite for the military service ; 
and for keeping up magazines, and to report the same to the 25 
Commissioners of the Treasury of the United States, that 
measures might be taken, in due time, for procuring the 
same. 
The term of service of the additional force of 700 militia, 
raised under the authority of the resolution of June 3, 1784, 
being about to expire, Congress, on the 7th of April, 1785, 
passed a resolution, authorizing the raising of a force of 
700 men. A resolution passed on April 12, 1785, besides 
designating the States which should furnish the troops to 
be raised under the resolution of- April 7, and fixing the 
number and rank of the officers, contained the following 
provisions : 
" That the Secretary of War be directed to form said troops, when 
raised, into one regiment, consisting of eight companies of infantry, 
and two of artillery, to appoint their places of rendezvous, direct their 
subsequent operations, and make all other inferior necessary arrange- 
ments not herein particularly mentioned, subject to the order of Con- 
gress, and of the Committee of the States, in the recess of Congress; 
and that the Commissioners of the Treasury be instructed to furnish, 
on his warrant, the sums necessary for carrying the same into effect. 
* ♦ * * * 
"That the Secretary of War ascertain the necessary clothing and 
rations proper for the troops, and report the same to Congress. 
" That the Commissioners of the Treasury contract for the supply of 
rations at such places and in such quantities as the Secretary of War 
shall judge necessary." 
There was no further legislation touching subsistence of 
the Army until after the organization of the Government 
under the Constitution. 26 
CHAPTER II. 
Krom March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1815. 
By the first section of the act of the 1st Congress, en- 
titled "An Act to establish an Executive Department, to 
be denominated the Department of War," approved 
August 7, 1789, it was provided that there should be "an 
Executive Department, to be denominated the Department 
of War," and there should be a principal officer therein, 
who should be called the "Secretary of War," who should 
"perform and execute such duties as shall, from time to 
time, be enjoined on, or entrusted to, him by the President 
of the United States, agreeably to the Constitution, relative 
to * * * warlike stores of the United States, or to 
such other matters respecting military or naval affairs, as 
the President of the United States shall assign to said 
Department." 
Although this act empowered the 1'resident to entrust 
to the Secretary of War the duty of furnishing the Army 
with "warlike stores," which, of course, included subsist- 
ence supplies, a contract was nevertheless made by 
the Secretary of the Treasury, " for the supplies of the 
Army, on the route from Fort Pitt," as late as October 28, 
1790. A few months later, however, the discretionary 
power given to the President, to entrust to the Secretary of 
War the very appropriate duty of procuring "warlike 
stores," seems to have been exercised ; for, on March-fr, 1791, 
the Secretary of AVar entered into a contract with William 
Duer, "for supplying the troops with provisions until their 
arrival at Fort Pittfc and aUFeft~Prtt." 
The first legislation relative to the Army ration, after the 
organization of the Government under the Constitution, is 
found in section 10 of the act entitled, "An Act regulating 
the Military Peace Establishment of the United States," 
approved April 30, 1790, which is as follows : 27 
" That every non-commissioned officer, private, and musician afore- 
said, shall receive, 'daily, the following rations of provisions, or the 
value thereof: One pound of beef, or three-quarters of a pound of 
pork; one pound of bread or flour; half a gill of rum, brandy, or 
whisky, or the value thereof, at the contract price where the same 
shall become due; and at the rate of one quart of salt, two quarts of 
vinegar, two pounds of soap, and one pound of candles, to every hun- 
dred rations." 
By section 5 of the act of May 8, 1792, making altera- 
tions in the Treasury and War Departments, the duty of 
making "all purchases and contracts for supplying the 
Army with provisions, clothing, supplies in the Quarter- 
master's Department, military stores, Indian goods, and all 
other supplies or articles for the use of the Department of 
War, w^s again devolved upon the Treasury Department. 
On the 7th of January, 1794, President Washington sent 
a message to Congress strongly recommending the appoint- 
ment of "an officer [to be styled Purveyor of Public Supplies] 
particularly charged, under the direction of the Department 
of War, with the duties of receiving, safe keeping, and dis- 
tributing the public supplies, in all cases in which the laws 
and the course of service do not devolve them upon other 
officers, and also with that of superintending, in all cases, 
the issues in detail of supplies, with power, for. that pur- 
pose, to bring to account all persons entrusted to make such 
issues, in relation thereto." This message was referred, by 
the House of Representatives, to a select committee, who, 
on the 19th of February, 1794, brought in a report, recom- 
mending the preparation of a bill for an act to establish 
the office, in accordance with the recommendations of 
the President. Notwithstanding this favorable prelimi- 
nary action, the measure failed. 
On December 11, 1794, early in the next session 
■of Congress, the President sent in a message transmit- 
ting a communication from Alexander Hamilton, Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, dated December 2, 1794, recom- 
mending the appointment of an officer in the Treasury 
Department, under the title of "Purveyor of Public Sup- 
plies." whose duty should be to procure military supplies, 
under section 5 of the act of May 8, 1792 ; Mr. Hamilton 
stating that this branch of the public business formed a 28 
very considerable one of the public expenditure, and that 
the particular arrangement for conducting it should be 
such as to enable the Department to execute the trust in 
the best manner. An act was passed accordingly, on the 
23d of February, 1795, creating "in the Department of 
the Treasury an officer to be denominated ' Purveyor of 
Public Supplies,' " whose duties should be, under the direc- 
tion and supervision of the Secretary of the Treasury, to 
conduct the procuring and providing of all arms, military 
and naval stores, provisions, clothing, Indian goods, and 
generally all articles of supply requisite for the United 
States. This officer, it will be observed, had entirely dif- 
ferent functions from the one proposed in President 
Washington's messsage of January 9, 1794. 
Power was vested in the President, by section 3 of the 
act of June 7, 1794, to augment, under special circum- 
stances, the ration authorized by section 10 of the act of 
April 30, 1790. The law authorizing this augmentation 
was as follows : 
" That to such of the troops as are, or may be, employed on the 
frontiers, and under such special circumstances as, in the opinion of 
the President of the United States, may require an augmentation of 
some parts of their rations, the President be authorized to direct such 
augmentation as he may judge necessary, not exceeding four ounces 
of beef, two ounces of flour, and half a gill of rum or whisky, in 
addition to each ration, and half a pint ot salt to one hundred 
rations." 
All laws relating to the ration were repealed by the act 
March 3, 1795, and the ration re-established by sections 8 
and 9 of said act, which were as follows : 
" Section 8.-That every non-commissioned officer, private, and 
musician, shall receive, daily, the following rations of provisions, to 
wit: One pound of beef, or three-quarters of a pound of pork, one 
pound of bread or flour, half a gill of rum, brandy, or whisky; and 
at the rate of one quart of salt, two quarts of vinegar, two pounds of 
soap, and one pound of candles, to every one hundred rations, or the 
value thereof, at the contract price, where the same shall becoms due; 
and if, at such post, supplies are not furnished by contract, then such 
allowance as shall be deemed equitable, having reference to former 
contracts, and the position of the place in question. 
" Section 9.-That to those in the military service of the United 
States, who are, or shall be, employed on the Western frontier, there 29 
shall be allowed, during the time of being so employed, two ounces 
of flour or bread, and two ounces of beef or pork, in addition to each 
of their rations, and a half pint of salt in addition to every hundred of 
their rations." 
The ration proper, as re established by section 8 of the 
above-mentioned act, was identical witli that established by 
section 10 of the act of April 30, 1790-the only difference 
between the two laws being that the latter allowed greater 
latitude than the former, in commuting the component parts 
of the ration for money. The augmentation of the ration 
authorized by section 9. for troops employed on the west- 
ern frontiers, somewhat reduced that fixed by section 3 
of the act of June 7, 1794 ; but under the latter law, the 
augmentation was made applicable to all troops serving on 
the western frontiers, while the former allowed the aug- 
mented issues under "special circumstances" only. 
The ration was next made a subject of legislation in the 
act approved May 30, 179G, entitled "An act to ascertain 
and fix the Military Establishment of the United States." 
This legislation only repealed so mud? of section 3 of the 
act approved June-7, 1-79 1, as made the components of the 
ration commutable for money. The composition of the 
ration proper, and of the augmented ration for troops serv- 
ing on the western frontiers, were left unchanged 
The mode of furnishing the Army with subsistence sup- 
plies remained unchanged until 1798. There were then grave 
apprehensions of a war with France, and Congress, apparently 
conscious of the inherent weakness of a military system so or- 
ganized that the War Department did not have unrestricted 
control of the procurement of its own supplies, restored to 
that Department this very essential function. The restora- 
tion was accomplished by sections 3, 4, and 5, of the act 
approved July 1G, 1798. The sections are as follows : 
" Section 3.-And be it further enacted, That all purchases and 
contracts for supplies or services, for the military and naval service of 
the United States, shall be made by, or under the direction of, the 
chief officers of the Departments of War and the Navy, respectively, 
and all agents or contractors for supplies or services, as aforesaid, shall 
render their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper 
Department for which such supplies or services are required, subject, 
nevertheless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of the 
Treasury, in the manner before prescribed. 30 
" Section 4.- And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty 
of the Purveyor of Public Supplies to execute all such orders as he may, 
from time to time, receive fiom the Secretary of War or Secretary of 
the Navy, relative to the procuring and providing of all kinds of 
stores and supplies; and shall render his accounts relative thereto to 
the Accountants of the proper Departments, which accounts shall be 
subject to the inspection ami revision of the officers of the Treasury, 
as aforesaid. 
" Section 5.- And be it further enacted, That the provisions of the 
act, passed on the eighth day of May, one thousand seven hundred 
and ninetv-two, entituled, 'An Act making alterations in the Treasury 
and War Departments,' and the act passed on the twenty-third day of 
February, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, entituled, 'An 
Act to establish the office of Purveyor of Public Supplies,' so far as 
the same are repugnant to the provisions ot this act, be, and the same 
are hereby, repealed." 
By section 19 of the act entitled, "An Act for the better 
organizing of the troops of the United States, and for 
other purposes," approved March 3, 1799, all laws relating 
to the ration were again repealed, and a decidedly improved 
ration was established, as follows : 
" That a ration of pfevisions shall henceforth consist of eighteen 
ounces of bread or flour, or when neither can be obtained, one quart 
of rice, or one And a half pounds of sifted or bolted Indian meal ; one 
and a quarter pounds of fresh beef, or one pound of salted beef, or 
three-quarters of a pound of salted pork ; and when fresh meat is 
issued, salt at the rate of two quarts to every one hundred rations; 
soap, at the rate of four pounds, and candles, at the rate of one and a 
half pounds for every one hundred rations: Provided always, That 
there shall be no diminution of the ration to which any of the troops 
now in service may be entitled by the terms of their enlistment."* 
This ration was supplemented by section 22 of the same 
act, as follows : 
" That it shall be lawful for the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, 
or the commanding officer of any separate detachment or garrison 
thereof, at his discretion, to cause to be issued, from time to time, to the 
troops under his command, out of such supplies as shall have been pro- 
vided for the purpose, rum, whisky, or other ardent spirits, in quanti- 
ties not exceeding half a gill to each man per day, excepting in cases 
of fatigue-service, or other extraordinary occasions; and that whenso- 
ever supplies thereof shall be on hand, there shall be issued to the 
troops vinegar, at the rate of two quarts to every hundred rations." 
* This proviso refers to troops enlisted for service on the western frontiers, with 
the understanding that they were to receive the extra allowances, authorized by sec- 
tion 11 of the act approved MaMh 80, 1796. 31 
By section 3 of the act approved March 16, 1802, entitled 
•" An act fixing the Military Peace Establishment of the 
United States," it was provided that there should be "three 
Military Agents, and such number of Assistant Military 
Agents, as the President of the United States shall deem 
expedient, not exceeding one to each military post ; which 
Assistants shall be taken from the line." The duties of 
these Military Agents and Assistant Military Agents were 
■defined by section 17 of the same act, as follows ; 
"That it shall be the duty of the Military Agents, designated by this 
act, to purchase, receive, and forward to their proper destination, all 
military stores and other articles for the troops in their respective de- 
partments, and all goods and annuities for the Indians, which they 
may be directed to purchase, or which shall be ordered into their care 
by the Department of War. They shall account with the Department 
of War, annually, for all the public property which may pass through 
their hands, and all the moneys which they may expend in discharge 
of the duties of their offices, respectively ; previous to their entering 
on the duties of their offices, they shall give bonds, with sufficient 
sureties, in such sums as the President of the United States shall 
direct, for the faithful discharge of the trust reposed in them, and shall 
take an oath faithfully to perform the duties of their respective offices.'' 
The ration was again modified by section 6 ,of this act, 
which is as follows : 
" That each ration shall consist of one pound and a quarter of beef, 
or three quarters of a pound of pork; eighteen ounces of bread, or flour; 
one gill of rum, whisky, or brandy ; and at the rate of two quarts of 
salt, four quarts of vinegar, four pounds of soap, and one pound and a 
half of candles, to every hundred rations "* 
The ration as above established was modified by section 
2 of the act of March 26, 1804, in so far as to provide 
"That an equivalent in malt liquor, or low wines, may be 
supplied the troops of the United States, instead of the rum, 
whisky, or brandy, which by the said act is made a com- 
ponent part of a ration at such posts and garrisons, and at 
such seasons of the year, as in the opinion of the President 
of the United States, may be necessary for the preserva- 
tion of their health." 
The Military-Agency system proved to be very defective 
and inefficient, even in time of peace. The Military Agents 
♦This section was re-enacted in section 8 of the act of January 11,1812. entitled "An 
Act to raise an additional Military Force.'' 32 
had no military rank, while their subordinates, the Assist- 
ant Military Agents, were all commissioned officers "taken 
from the line." In an official report, dated January 1, 
1810, to Hon. W. B. Giles, Chairman of the Senate Com- 
mittee on Military Affairs, tin* Secretary of War, Hon. 
William Eustis, described the defects of this system in the 
following language : 
" The result of this organization is, that the Assistant Military Agents, 
who account for, and make returns to, the Military Agents, of all prop- 
erty delivered to them, are not held by a proper responsiblity-the Mili- 
tary Agents having no power or influence in their appointment, nor 
authority to call them to account for malpractices or neglect of duty." 
Notwithstanding the report of Secretary Eustis, showing 
that this system was radically faulty, in not having within 
itself the power to enforce a proper accountability for the 
public property, and thereby afford the Government 
adequate security against embezzlements, avoidable losses, 
etc., no action was taken upon the subject, by Congress, 
until 1812. Complications had then arisen between us 
and Great Britain, of so serious a character, that Congress 
deemed it prudent to make preparation for war. Acts 
were passed early in that year, providing for an increase 
in the military force ; and, on the 28th of March, an act 
was approved, which materially changed the system of 
procuring and distributing Army supplies. The Quarter- 
termaster's Department was re-established ; a Purchasing 
Department was created ; the office of Purveyor of Public 
Supplies was abolished ; and provision made for the ulti- 
mate discontinuance of the Military-Agency system. The 
Quartermaster's Department, as re-organized by this act, 
consisted of a Quartermaster-General, with the rank of 
brigadier-general ; four Deputy Quartermasters, and as 
many Assistant Deputy Quartermasters, as in the opinion 
of the President of the United States the public service 
might require. The President was also authorized to ap- 
point such additional number of Deputy Quartermasters, 
not exceeding four, to be taken from the line or not, at his 
discretion, as in his judgment the public service might 
require. The sections of the act establishing the Purchas- 
ing Department, and providing for the discontinuance of 33 
the office of Purveyor of Public Supplies and the Military- 
Agency system, are as follows : 
" Section 4.-That there shall be a Commissary-General of Pur- 
chases, and as many Deputy Commissaries as, in the opinion ot the 
President of the United States, the public service may require, to be 
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate. 
" Section 5.-That it shall be the duty of the Commissary-General 
of Purchases, under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of 
War, to conduct the procuring and providing of ail arms, military 
stores, clothing, and generally all articles of supply requisite for the 
military service of the United States ; and it shall be the duty of the 
Deputy-Commissariqs, when directed thereto, either by the Secretary of 
War, the Commissary-General of Purchases, or, in case of necessity, 
by the Commanding General, Quartermaster-General, or Deputy- 
Quartermasters, to purchase all such of the aforesaid articles as may 
be requisite for the military service of the United States. 
" Section 9.-That from and after the last day of May next, so 
much of the act entitled, ' An Act to establish the office of Purveyor 
of Public Supplies,' as relates to the appointment and services of a 
Purveyor of Public Supplies, be, and the same is hereby repealed ; and 
in the meantime the Purveyor shall deliver over to the Commissary- 
General, or one of his Deputies, the public stores and property of all 
sorts in his possession, who shall receipt to him for the same." 
"Section 18.-That this act shall go into operation on the 1st day 
of April next; and that so much of the act fixing the Military Peace 
Establishment of the United States, as respects the appointment of 
Military Agents and Assistant Military Agents, be, and the same is 
hereby repealed, from and after that day ; but all those Agents shall 
continue to perform their respective duties in the meantime, and until 
the Deputy and Assistant Deputy Quartermasters shall be appointed, 
and ready to enter on the execution of their respective offices; to 
whom the said Military Agents and Assistant Military Agents shall 
then deliver all the public stores and property in their possession." 
The new system thus instituted was undoubtedly a great 
improvement on its predecessor, but a campaign experience 
of eleven months clearly demonstrated, as the following 
extracts from official reports attest, that it could not 
be relied on to stand the cruci/al test of a protracted 
war. 
Brig.-Gen. Alexander Smyth to the Secretary of liar. 
"Near Buffalo, October 20, 1812. 
* * * * * 
" Do not rely on the contractor for provisions. He has no salt meat, 
and only damaged flour. If you have any compassion on the service, 34 
send money either to Lieutenant Allison, my Brigade Quartermaster, 
or to some public agent under my orders. Without it we cannot sup- 
ply the contractor's deficiencies." 
* * * * * 
Major Armistead to Brig.Gen. Smyth, dated November 22, 1812. 
* * * * # 
" But my greatest concern is the want of provisions, which, if not 
supplied, we will inevitably have to evacuate the post."* 
' * * * « * 
Brig.-Gen. Smyth to Maj.-Gen. Dearborn. 
" Camp near Buffalo, October 24, 1812. 
* * * * * 
" I do not expect the contractor to supply us with provisions. I re- 
ceived a number of returns at Lewistown, 'unfit for duty for want of 
provisions.' " 
* * # * » 
Same to Same. 
" Camp near Buffalo, November 9, 1812. 
$ * * * * 
" The contractors have failed to supply, and I have ordered pur- 
chases of provisions for Fort Niagara." 
* * * * * 
Col. IV. H. Winder to Brig.-Gen. Smyth. 
"Fort Niagara, November 7, 1812. 
***** 
" We are literally starving on this end of the line for bread ; and, 
unless the supply is more abundant, the contractors will be answerable 
for consequences more fatal to their country than treason." 
***** 
Brig.-Gen. Smyth to Capt. James Thomas, Deputy Quartermaster. 
" Headquarters, Camp near Buffalo, November 8, 1812. 
" Sir : You will proceed, on the day on which you receive this order, 
to purchase provisions for Fort Niagara; into which, within ten days, 
you will deliver rations for five hundred men for two months. 
" Be pleased to consider this order as one of the most peremptory 
kind. Fort Niagara, if invested a week, must surrender from hunger. 
" Very respectfully, your most obedient, 
ALEXANDER SMYTH, 
Brigadier-General Commanding. 
" Capt. Thomas, Deputy Quartermaster." 
"A true copy: 
JAMES BANKHEAD, 
Captain and Brigade-Major." 
* Meaning Fort Niagara. 35 
Major Armistead to Brig.-Gen, Smyth, dated November 22, 1812. 
* * A. * * 
" If possible, dear sir, send on ammunition for eighteen and six- 
pounders, and fours ; but my greatest concern is the want of provisions, 
which, if not supplied, we will inevitably have to evacuate the post."* 
* * * * * 
Accordingly, on tlie 3d of March, 1813, an act was ap- 
proved with the significant title, "An act better to provide 
for the supplies of the Army of the United States, and for 
the accountability of persons intrusted with the same." 
This act provided that there should be an officer in the 
War Department, styled Superintendent-General of Mili- 
tary Supplies, whose duty should be, under the direction 
of the Secretary of War, to keep proper accounts of all 
the military stores and supplies of every description 
purchased for or distributed to the Army of the United 
States, and of the volunteers and militia in their ser- 
vice ; to prescribe the forms of all the returns and ac- 
counts of such stores and supplies purchased, on hand, 
distributed, used, or sold, to be rendered by the Commis- 
sary of Ordnance and officers in his Department, by the 
Commissary-General of Purchases and his deputies, by thg 
several officers in the Quartermaster's Department, by the 
Regimental Quartermasters, by the Hospital Surgeons 
and other officers belonging to the Hospital and Med- 
ical Departments, and by all other officers, agents, or per- 
sons who should receive, distribute, or be entrusted with, 
such stores and supplies; to call to account all such 
persons ; to audit and settle all such accounts, and, in 
case of delinquency, to transmit the account, and to state 
the value of the articles unaccounted for by such de- 
linquency, to the accounting officers of the Treasury, for 
final settlement and recovery of such value ; to transmit all 
such orders, and, generally, to perform all such other duties 
respecting the general superintendence of the purchase, 
transportation, safe keeping, and accountability of military 
supplies and stores, as should be prescribed by the Secre- 
tary of War. 
* Fort Niagara. 36 
The duties and powers of the Secretary of War were, also, 
more clearly defined in section 5, of this act, as follows : 
" That the Secretary for the War Department shall be, and he is 
hereby, authorized and directed to define and piescribe tbe species, as 
well as the amount of supplies to be respectively purchased by the 
Commissary-General's and Quartermaster-General's Departments, and 
the respective duties and powers of the said Departments respecting 
such purchases; and also to adopt and prescribe general regulations 
for the transportation of the articles of supply from the places of pur- 
chase to the several armies, garrisons, posts, and reciuiting places, for 
the safe-keeping of such articles, and for the distribution of an adequate 
and timely supply of the same to the Regimental Quartermasters, and 
to such other officers as may, by virtue ot such regulations, be intrusted 
with the same. And the Secretary aforesaid is also authorized to fix 
and make reasonable allowances for the store rent, stoiage, and salary 
of storekeepers, necessary for the sate keeping of military stores and 
supplies." 
Lack of confidence in the ability of this new system (a 
system remarkable for its extreme simplicity of organiza- 
tion and overwhelming multiplicity of duties) "to insure 
the subsistence of the Army," was, however, very clearly 
implied in section 8 of the very act which created it, 
which, besides instituting other remedial measures, empow- 
ered the President, should he deem it expedient, to or- 
ganize a separate and distinct corps, without limit as to the 
number of officers, for the purpose of supplying, Ly pur- 
chases or contract, and of issuing the whole or any part 
of the subsistence of the Army. The section is as follows: 
" Section 8.-That the President of the United States be, and he 
is hereby, empowered, as he may deem it expedient, either to appoint, 
for the time being, a special Commissary or Commissaries, for the pur- 
pose of supplying by purchase or contract, and of issuing, or to 
authorize any officer or officers in the Quartermaster-General's Depart- 
ment to supply and issue, as afoiesaid, the whole or any part of the 
subsistence of the Aimy, in all cases where, either from want of con- 
tractors, or from any deficiency on their part, or from any contingency, 
such measure may be proper and necessary in order to insure the sub- 
sistence of the Army, or of any part thereof; and such special Com- 
missaries shall each, whilst employed, be entitled to the pay and emol- 
uments of a Deputy Quartermaster-General." 
An exceedingly important step towards securing 
efficiency in the staff departments for supplying the Army, 37 
was taken in the passage of an act approved on the same 
day as the above, March 3, 1813, entitled " An act for the 
better organization of the General Staff of the Army of the 
United States," section 5 of which made it the duty of 
the Secretary of War to prepare general regulations 
better defining and prescribing the duties and powers 
of staff officers-general and regimental. These regula- 
tions, when approved by the President, were to be respect- 
ed and obeyed, until altered or revoked by the same author- 
ity. It was also provided that the general regulations, thus 
prepared and approved, should be laid before Congress at 
the next session. 
These regulations defined the duties of the officers of 
the different staff corps and departments, and to such ex- 
tent as their faulty organization permitted, placed those 
departments which were charged with the important duty 
of furnishing the Army with supplies, in an improved 
condition for efficiency. 
There was no further legislation affecting the mode of sub- 
sisting the Army until after the close of the war with Great 
Britain. The system as perfected by the acts of March 3, 
1813, above referred to, therefore had a fair and exhaus- 
tive trial, in actual war, and as far as subsisting the Army 
was concerned, proved inefficient and unreliable. 
In the army (8th Military District) commanded by Major- 
General Harrison, there was such a scarcity of provisions, 
in the winter of 1813-14, due to the failure of the con- 
tractors to keep up an adequate supply, that officers of the 
United States were ordered to make purchases. The con- 
tractors were extremely indignant at this action, and alleged 
that General Harrison, in approving and ordering these 
purchases, had been prompted by improper motives, viz., 
sentiments of hostility to the contractors, and personal 
pecuniary gain. 
General Harrison, to vindicate himself from these asper- 
sions upon his character, wrote a letter to Congress, dated 
December 20, 1815, and solicited "an inquiry into the ex- 
penditure of public money within the 8th Military District, 
whilst under his command ; and particularly whatever 38 
relates to the supplies of provisions purchased by the Special 
Commissaries of the United States, and under the contract 
of Messrs. Orr and Greely." The inquiry was made, as 
requested, and resulted in General Harrison's complete ex- 
oneration. In his statement, accompanying his request for 
an investigation of the charges set afloat by the contractors, 
General Harrison said : 
" Upon my return into the District, in January, J814, Captain Oliver, 
the Commissary, waited on me, to inform me that lie was then em- 
ployed, under an order from Brigadier-General ('ass, in purchasing 
provisions for the troops at Detroit, who were almost in a starving 
situation, in consequence of the neglect of the contractors to comply 
with General Cass's requisitions. I approved of the order which had 
been given by General Cass, and his successor, in the command of 
Detroit, Colonel Butler, and directed Captain Oliver to continue his 
exertions to execute them. I had scarcely disposed of this affair, 
when I was alarmed by the intelligence received from Major-General 
Gano, of the Ohio Militia, to whom was entrusted the defence of Lower 
Sandusky and Put-in Bay, at the latter of which lay the prize ships 
taken from the enemy, that the troops at those places were supplied 
with provisions from hand to mouth, there being scarcely a barrel of 
flour in store, and that his utmost exertions to procure a supply from 
the contractors had been unavailing. The matter was so urgent that 
no time was to be lost. Captain Oliver was, therefore, instructed to 
make a contract for the delivery of forty thousand rations, at Lower 
Sandusky, with the utmost despatch ; to make the best bargains he 
could for the interests of the contractors, but to give a price which 
would insure the delivery of the provisions. What else could have 
been done in the two cases mentioned ? Should I have countermanded 
the orders given by General Cass and Colonel Butler, by the execution 
of which alone the important posts of Detroit and Malden could be 
preserved, or should I have permitted the enemy to retake the ships in 
harbor, at Put-in Bay, which would have enabled them again to con- 
tend for the superiority on the lakes, for fear that I should deprive Mr. 
Orr of the opportunity of making three hundred thousand dollars, in- 
stead of one hundred thousand?" 
The Select Committee of the House of Representatives, 
who made the inquiry into the conduct of General Harri- 
son while commanding the Northwestern Army, after an 
exhaustive examination of the case, submitted the follow- 
ing report, justifying his action and acquitting him of all 
charges made against him : 
"That they have investigated the facts involved in this inquiry, by 
the examination of documents, and a great number of the most respect- 
able witnesses personally acquainted with the transactions upon which 39 
the inquiry originated ; and the committee are unanimously of the 
opinion that General Harrison stands above suspicion, as to his having 
had any pecuniary or improper connection with the officers of the Com- 
missariat for the supply of the Northwestern Army; that he did not 
wantonly or improperly interfere with rhe rights of contractors; and 
that he was in his measures governed by a proper zeal and devotion to 
the public interest. The committee ask leave to be discharged from the 
further consideration of the subject; and, as the papers refer in part to 
the conduct and transactions of the contractors of the Northwestern 
Army, whose accounts are unsettled, and only incidentally involved in 
this inquiry, that the papers be transmitted to the Department of War." 
On the I2thof November, 1814, the Committee on Mili- 
tary Affairs, of the House of Representatives, evidently 
impelled by the conviction that the adverse experience 
of the pending war with Great Britain had fully demon- 
strated the necessity of changing the mode of subsisting 
the Army, to one which would combine, in a greater 
degree, " certainty and promptitude with economy and 
responsibility," addressed the following communication 
to Hon. James Monroe, then Acting Secretary of War : 
" House of Representatives, November 12, 1814. 
" Sir : I am instructed by the Committee on Military Affairs to ask 
information on the following points: 
" 1.-What is the present mode of subsisting the Army? 
" 2.-If by contracts, what are the defects, if any, and the remedy ? 
" 3.-Whether any other mode can be adopted, combining, in a 
greater degree, certainty and promptitude with economy and responsi- 
bility ? 
" 4.-Whether the alternative offered by law, of substituting Commis- 
misaries for contractors, has been adopted ; and if yes, what has been 
the general result ? 
" I have the honor to be, with high consideration and respect, 
G. M. TROUP." 
The following is Mr. Monroe's reply : 
" War Department, December 23, 1814. 
" Sir : Not wishing to rely altogether on my own judgment in re- 
plying to your inquiries relating to the best mode of subsisting the 
troops of the United States, I have consulted the officers of greatest ex- 
perience who were within my reach, on the presumption that I should 
best promote the views of the committee, by collecting all the light that 
I could on the subject. I have the honor now to submit to you a letter 
from General Scott, one from General Gaines, and one from Colonel 
Fenwick, which meet fully those inquiries in every circumstance. 
These officers give a decided preference to the system of supply by 40 
Commissaries, in preference to that by contractors; and I have reason 
to believe that the officers generally concur with them in that prefer- 
ence. It has my unqualified assent. 
" Should the proposed plan be adopted, it will readily occur to the 
committee that the Commissaries to be appointed should be placed on 
a very respectable footing ; so high a trust should be committed to such 
of our citizens only as are the most distinguished for their abilities, 
their patriotism, and integrity. I shall be happy to furnish details on 
this subject, should the honorable committee desire it. 
" I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir, your most obedient 
servant, 
JAMES MONROE." 
" Hon. Mr. Troup." 
General Scott's views on supplying an Army by contract and by Com- 
missariat. 
* * * # * 
" The first method is believed to be impolitic, and is vicious in time 
of war; also liable to many objections in a state of peace. The prin- 
cipal only is known to the Wai Office, and therefore may be supposed 
to be free from this objection ; but his deputies and issuing agents are 
appointed without the concuirenee or knowledge of the General or the 
Government. The deputies or issuing agents are necessarily as well 
acquainted with the numerical strength ot the Army to which they are 
attached, as the Adjutant-General himself. For a bribe they may 
communicate this intelligence to the enemy, or fail to make issue at 
some critical moment, and thus defeat the best views and hopes of the 
Commander-in-Cbief. The movements of an army are necessarily sub- 
ordinate to its means of subsistence; or, as Marshal Saxe expresses it, 
to considerations of the belly. The present mode of subsisting our 
armies puts the contractor above the General. If a contractor corresponds 
with the enemy, he can only be tried by the civil courts of the United 
States, as in the case ot other persons charged with treason (courts- 
martial having decided that contractors do not come within the mean- 
ing of the both Article of the Rules and Articles of Wai) ; and if a con- 
tractor fails to make issues, he can only be punished by civil action. 
I speak of cases arising within the United States. In the enemy's 
country, I suppose, a General, who knowrs his duty, would not fail to 
bang a contractor who should, by guilty neglect or corruption, bring 
any serious disaster upon the army. A sudden event frequently obliges 
a General to order troops to a distant and new station ; notice is given 
to the contiactor to supply, &c.; but the latter, finding that prompt 
arrangements will diminish bis profits, pleads a want of reasonable 
notice. This term is indefinite, and if the General and contractor 
differ, it can only be settled by a court of common law. It is no reply 
to his objection to say that, on a sudden emergency, like that supposed, 
the General may appoint a special agent to supply the troops, by pur- 
chases on account of the United States. This would only show the 
superiority of a Commissariat. 41 
"The interests of the contractor are in precise opposition to those of 
the troops. The checks provided by the contract may be sufficient to 
prevent abuse, if the officers are vigilant, and have leisure to resort to 
those checks-; but when the Army is on a forced march, or is manoeu- 
vering in the face of the enemy, the contractor has it in his power to 
practice many impositions with impunity, as in the case of an army, 
or detachment ordered to march on short notice, and take with it sub- 
sistence for a given time. In such case there is no formal survey, or 
minute inspection of the rations ottered by the contractor, according to 
the mode pointed out in the contract. The contractor avails himself of 
the hurry of the moment, and issues provisions deficient in quantity 
and quality. Unless the rations, before they are received by the regi- 
mental quartermaster, are surveyed and condemned, there is no remedy 
except by a civil action on the case, as between citizen and citizen. 
Contractors, as before observed, are not amenable to courts-martial. 
Every option given to the contractor, under the contract, operates to 
the prejudice of the troops, and frequently embarrasses the General. 
* * * * * 
W. SCOTT," 
General Gaines's remarks on Contracts for Provisions. Sfc. 
" S1R: I regret to be under the necessity of troubling you with 
complaints, but my own exertions to enforce the contract, and insure 
regular supplies of rations, having failed, I am compelled to resort to 
this mode of seeking a remedy. 
"The sub-contractor at Wilmington has not furnished a day's rations 
for near two weeks past. The sub-contractor at Billingsport, New 
Jersey, as well as the one at Marcus Hook, our principal encampment, 
have, in defiance of my frequent orders and threats, and contrary to 
their contract, contrived to palm upon the troops the coarsest and 
cheapest provisions, and often such as are damaged. To effect this 
criminal species of speculation, they keep in store little more than, and 
often not as much as, is necessary to meet the returns from day to day ; 
hence, the troops are often compelled to draw damaged provisions, or 
draw none at all. This conduct on the part of the sub-contractors 
occasioned yesterday, at Marcus Hook, such serious disorders in some 
of the corps, that it became necessary to confine two young officers 
and some twenty men; and I, this evening, received a report from 
Billingsport, that the troops there have been all day without provis- 
ions-the rations offered for issue in the morning being so much dam- 
aged as to require their condemnation. I have just now- purchased 
and forwarded a supply. The New Jersey militia are very orderly. 
" I have uniformly given the best attention in my power, ever since 
the commencement of the war, to the supply of rations, and the con- 
duct of contractors ; and if I were called before Heaven to answer, 
whether we have not lost more men by the badness of the provisions, 
than by the fire of the enemy, I should give it as my opinion that we 
had ; and if asked what causes have tended most to retard our military 
operations, and repress that high spirit of enterprise, for which the 42 
American soldiers are pre-eminently distinguished, and the indulgence 
of which would not fail to veteranize our troops, by the annoyance 
and destruction of the enemy, I should say, the irregularity in the 
supply, and badness of the rations, have been the principal causes. 
" Original contractors seem to be a privileged order of men, who, 
by virtue of the profits of the contract, are elevated above the drudgery 
which a common-sense view of the contract would seem to impose on 
them. They take care to secure to themselves at least one cent per 
ration, leaving a second, and sometimes a third order of miserable 
under-contractors, to perform the duties, and each of these must calcu- 
late on making money. Thus the contract, after being duly entered 
into at Washington, is bid off, untiljt falls into the hands of men who are 
forced to bear certain loss and ultimate ruin, or commit frauds, by fur- 
nishing damaged provisions ; they generally choose the latter, though 
it should tend to destroy the Army. I know the opinion of no officer 
on this subject who does not think with me. 
" It is true, that, in most cases where purchases have been ordered 
by the General, on the failures of the contractor, the provisions have 
cost more than the ordinary contract price; but this proves nothing in 
favor of the contract system; but, on the contrary, proves that the 
contractor, when unable to purchase below the contract price, with- 
draws himself from the service, and leaves the troops to suffer, or be 
supplied by order of the General, with little or no previous notice, so 
that the purchasing officer is obliged to take what can be got, at the 
highest prices; and these failures generally take place when near the 
enemy, and where regular supplies are most wanted. The purchases 
are ordered by the General, and made by the officers when their time 
is most precious, and their attention constantly called to their regular 
duties; under these circumstances, it is vain to expect purchases at 
very low prices. But if, instead of a contractor, a commissioned 
officer should be authorized to supply the rations at the original cost of 
the provisions, and should be allowed a little time to look out for the 
best markets, and be enabled, by punctual payments, to support the 
public credit, I have no doubt that the supplies would not only be good 
and regular, but even lower than they can be under any contract sys- 
tem. Commissioned officers only should be employed in this duty ; 
men who stand most solemnly pledged to serve the United States hon- 
estly and faithfully, and to obey orders ; men who may be cashiered, 
or capitally punished by military law, for neglect of duty, or for fraud- 
ulent practices. 
" I feel persuaded that I could, with the assistance of one of the gen- 
eral staff, and the regimental quartermasters, supply the troops alto- 
gether and completely, without being more frequently called from my 
other duties than the neglects in the contractor's department have 
usually called me. If you should deem an experiment desirable, I will 
most cheerfully undertake it, and pledge myself that the rations shall 
not cost more than eighteen cents, and, probably, not so much. 
" I have the honor to be, most respectfully, sir, your obedient servant, 
E. P. GAINES." 
"Hon. James Monroe, Secretary of liar." 43 
Col. Fenwick's remarks on supplying the Army with provisions. 
"Washington, December 23, 1814. 
"In conformity with your commands, I have the honor of reporting 
to you the present means of victualling our army by contract, the im- 
positions and danger attending such a mode of supply, and the neces- 
sity of destroying the evil, by substituting a commissariat. 
"Contracts are never fulfilled to the letter, and never will be, so 
long as avarice exists; and where so many opportunities present them- 
selves to the military contractor for imposition and fraud, we must ex- 
pect he will avail himself of them; that his fortune may be made 
with too great rapidity for the comfort and health of the soldier, every 
expedient is resorted to to increase his profits. Bread half baked ; 
sour flour, damaged meat, are amongst the many resources they em- 
ploy; more than half the issues are made without the smaller parts of 
the rations; vinegar, soap, and candles, are retained under the most 
frivolous excuses; and you are, sir, sensible how conducive to the 
soldier's health must be both soap and vinegar; these evils I have wit- 
nessed in every part of the country. Seldom could the wrong be 
redressed, because the commanding officer had not the means; the 
abuse could not be punished ; the contractor was beyond his control. 
Discontent was excited amongst the men, but complaint is often found 
unprofitable, for, if the provisions are condemned, the agent is so dila- 
tory in replacing them, that the men get no food for the greater part, 
if not the whole, of that day.* 
" These are the causes of complaint with the army, and the best 
planned operations may be frustrated by the perverse or tardy contrac- 
tor, or his dishonest agent, who, if base enough to defraud the soldier, 
would be equally so in communicating with the enemy. The history 
of all the wars in Europe is big with treachery, whenever a Power de- 
pended for its supplies on contractors. Numerous are the instances of 
failures of expeditions in the wars of Marlborough and Frederick. Con- 
tractors, or their agents, were the principals in the mischief. In our 
own campaigns! we have already experienced this evil. Many other 
reasons might be adduced how, and why, supplies will fail, if this sys- 
tem of contract is continued ; it does not exist in any army of Europe; 
it has proven itself fallacious and expensive in a high degree. Even 
the British, riveted as they are to old habits, have been compelled to 
abandon it, and assume the commissariat of the Continent. Lord Wel- 
lington speaks of the impossibility of supplying his army in Spain by 
any other means. There is not an officer or soldier in the army who 
would not petition you to do away this destructive system, and substi- 
tute Commissaries, who would be actuated by feeling, honor, and the 
fear of disgrace. 
" I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect and consideration, 
your obedient servant, 
JOHN R. FENWICK." 
♦Occurred at New York. 
+At Black Creek, Upper Canada. 44 
On the next day, January 24, 1815, after the Military 
Committee had presented to the House of Representatives 
the very conclusive report of Mr. Monroe, Mr. Troup, of 
Georgia, from, the same committee, reported "a bill making 
provision for subsisting the Army of the United States, 
by authorizing the appointment of Commissaries of Sub- 
sistence," which was read the first time ; and, on motion, 
was read the second time, referred to the Committee of the 
Whole, and made the special order for the next Saturday. 
The bill, for some reason, was not taken up according to 
the special order. On the 6th of February, however, the 
House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole, 
and took up the bill. After some time spent thereon, the 
Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Fitkin, of Connecticut, 
reported that the committee had had the said bill under con- 
sideration, and made amendments thereto. The amendments 
were then read, and concurred in by the House. It was 
then ordered, " that the said bill be engrossed, and read 
the third time to-morrow." 
On the next day the bill, having been engrossed, was 
taken up by the House, and read the third time and passed. 
It was then ordered, "that the title be. 'An Act making 
provision for subsisting the Army of the United States, by 
authorizing the appointment of Commissaries of Subsist- 
ence ' ; and that the clerk do carry the said bill to the 
Senate, and desire their concurrence therein." 
On the 8th of February, the Senate received a message 
from the House of Representatives, by Mr. Dougherty, 
their clerk, of which the following is an extract : 
"Mr President: 
****** 
"The House of Representatives have passed a bill entitled ' An act 
making provision for subsisting the Army of the United States,' by au- 
thorizing the appointment of Commissaries of Subsistence, in which 
they request the concurrence of the Senate." 
* * * * * 
On the 10th of February, the bill, after having been 
taken up and read the second time, was, on motion of Mr. 
Smith, referred to the Committee on Military Affairs to 
consider and report thereon. 45 
On the 11th of February, Mr. Giles, from the Commit- 
tee on Military Affairs, reported back the bill with amend- 
ments. 
On the 13th of February, the Senate, sitting as in Com- 
mittee of the Whole, resumed the consideration of the 
bill, together with the amendments reported thereto by 
the Committee on Military Affairs. .The amendments hav- 
ing been agreed to, the committee rose. The bill was then 
reported to the Senate, ordered to be engrossed and read 
a third time, as amended. 
On the 14th of February, the bill, as amended, was re- 
ported by the committee correctly engrossed. 
On February 15, on motion of Mr. Tait, of Georgia, it 
was ordered by the Senate that the further consideration 
of the bill be postponed until the following Monday. 
This postponement was doubtless due to the fact that, on 
that day President Madison sent his message to the Senate, 
transmitting a copy of the treaty of peace between the 
United States and Great Britain, which had been signed, at 
Ghent, on the 24th of December previous. 
On the 21st of February, on motion of Mr. Bibb, of 
Georgia, the Senate ordered that the further consideration 
of the bill be postponed until the following Monday. 
The return of peace had very materially changed the 
aspect of our military affairs. The pressure of the neces- 
sity for immediate legislation changing the mode of sub- 
sisting the Army had been relaxed, and this, with the 
proximity of the end of the session, seems to have pre- 
vented the bill, although such substantial progress has been 
made thereon, from being taken up according to postpone- 
ment, or again before the final adjournment, which took 
place on the 4th of March. The 13th Congress expired 
with this adjournment, and with it, of course, all pending 
bills. 46 
CHAPTER III. 
From MarCh 4. 1815. to August 15. 1876. 
Subsisting the Army without a special and distinct mili- 
tary organization, exclusively charged with that duty, had 
now been under experiment since the close of the Revolu- 
tionary war, a period of over thirty years. During that 
long period, the mode of subsisting the Army, viz., by 
contracts for complete rations, had remained substantially 
unchanged, but various instrumentalities and combina- 
tions of instrumentalities for carrying it into execution, 
had been adopted. Throughout all these changes the 
result had been uniformly the same-failure. The ex- 
perience of our campaigns, from that of General St. Clair, 
in 1791, against the Indians on the Miami,* to and in- 
cluding those of the late war with Great Britain, had proved 
most conclusively that the mode, and all the various in- 
strumentalities successively adopted for its execution, 
* The following are extracts from the report of the committee, -'appointed to 
inquire into the causes of the failure of the late expedition under Major-General 
St. Claiy," communicated to the House of Representatives, on the 8th of May, 1792: 
"It appears that the General-in-Chief [Major-Gener.il Arthur St. Clair] had it 
in contemplation to commence the expedition at least one month earlier than it was 
commenced, with the force he then had. which was not very different from the real force 
in action; but was prevented for the want of the Quartermaster and the contractor, 
and in consequence of the extreme deficiencies and derangements of the business of 
those departments-the person sent forward by the Quartermaster being totally in- 
competent for the business, and the contractor's agents not being sufficiently sup- 
plied with money to enaldc them to execute then- duties. 
***** 
" From the foregoing state of facts, the committee suggest the following as the 
principal causes, in their opinion, of the failure of the late expedition under Major- 
General St. Clair: 
* * * * * 
" The delays consequent upon the gross and various mismanagements and neg- 
lects in the Quartermaster's and contractor's departments; the lateness of the season 
at whidh the expedition was undertaken, the green forage having been previously 
destroyed by the frost, so that a sufficiency of subsistence for the horses necessary 
for the Army, couid not be procured." 
***** 47 
were radically wrong in principle ; and this patent fact 
had been fully recognized by both branches of Con- 
gress, at the last session, in the preparation and per- 
fection of the bill "to provide for subsisting the Army, 
by the appointment of Commissaries of Subsistence," which 
was on the verge of becoming a law when the treaty 
■of Ghent was officially laid loefore the Senate. Not- 
withstanding the mode, in all its phases, had been thus 
thoroughly condemned, the return of peace caused such a 
degree of apathy with regard to military affairs, that this 
dangerous element of weakness was suffered to remain in 
our military system until a repetition of our former adverse 
experiences again forced the matter upon the attention of 
■Congress. A renewal of active operations in the field, as 
the sequel proved, soon sufficed to bring the subject into 
its former conspicuous prominence. 
In the early months of 1817, the Seminole Indians, of 
Florida,* began to manifest hostile intentions on the 
southern frontier of Georgia, then embraced in the 
Division of the South, commanded by Major-General An- 
drew Jackson, with headquarters at Nashville, Tenn. The 
hostile demonstrations of the Seminoles grew so serious 
by the 2Gfh of December, that the Secretary of War, 
on that* date, issued instructions to General Jackson to 
-"repair, with as little delay as practicable, to Fort Scott, 
[Georgia,] and assume the immediate command of the 
forces in that section of the Southern Division." General 
Jackson was further instructed to prepare to concentrate 
his forces, and to adopt the necessary measures "to termi- 
nate a conflict which it had been the desire of the Presi- 
dent, from considerations of humanity, to avoid, but which 
is now made necessary by their settled hostilities." The 
mode of subsisting the Army, which had so often failed at 
the critical juncture, was, therefore, to be once more sub- 
jected to the ordeal of war. 
Embarrassments in military operations arising from 
want of punctuality in the supplying of the troops with 
provisions-experiences similar to those which had contrib- 
♦At that time a province of Spain. 48 
uted so largely to the failure of our arms on the northern 
frontier, in the war of 1812-'15-soon began to be felt. 
In an official letter dated Headquarters, Hartford, Geor- 
gia, January 9, 1818, to Hon. John C. Calhoun, then Sec- 
retary of war, Brevet Major-General Edmund P. Gaines, 
wrote as follows : 
* * * ® * 
" The detachment under General Glassock, delayed by rainy 
weather, bad roads, and want of punctuality in the contractor's de- 
partment, may not be able to form a junction with the United States 
troops in time to put an end to the war before their term 
of service expires, which will be early next month. I have, therefore, 
requested of His Excellency the Governor of this State, an additional 
force, to assemble at this place the 1st of next month, to consist of 
four battalions of Infantry and four companies of Riflemen, for three 
months, which I hope will meet your approbation." 
* * * * * 
On the 12th of January, 1818. Lieut.-Col. Matthew 
Arbuckle, 7th Infantry, commanding Fort Scott, reported 
as follows to General Jackson : 
"I have but about two days' rations of meat, and something upwards 
of thirty days' rations of flour on hand, and am without advice of ad- 
ditional supplies being on the way; and should Captain Birch, who is 
now' at Fort Gaines, with a command of 120 men, for the purpose of 
obtaining beef, not succeed, and the contractor's agents persist m neg- 
lecting their duty much longer, the consequences must be greatly disas- 
trous to the troops and the inhabitants of the Chattahooche. 
" I have sent Captain Cummings to the Bay, for the purpose of ob- 
taining information should any vessel arrive there with provisions, and 
will do all in my power to maintain my position ; yet I do greatly fear 
my best exertions to do so will fail." 
In a postscript to the same communication, he further 
reported : 
" Since writing the above, I have received a letter from Gen. Gaines, 
dated on the 20th ultimo, at Hartford. The contractor's agent in that 
quarter, I am informed, has failed, and the militia are now about thirty 
miles above this, badly supplied writh provisions." 
On the 13th of January, Lieutenant-Colonel Arbuckle 
wrote as follows to Brevet Maj.-Gen. Edmund P. Gaines, 
his immediate commander': 
" I received your letter of the 20th ultimo, yesterday, after writing 
to Major-General Jackson; a copy of my letter to him is enclosed, 
which will exhibit to you the state of things in this quarter. 49 
"I have heard nothing more of Col. Brearley. dr the mililia, except 
that they were within twenty-five miles of the Flint river, on the 4th 
instant. Brockman wrote to me on that date, and informed me that 
he was engaged in procuring provisions for the militia, the contractor 
having failed to supply. This, with the information you gave on that 
subject, has it duced me to contract with Mr. McCulloh to deliver fif- 
teen thousand rations of meat at this post, in twenty days from this 
time, at twelve and a half cents per ration. Should he fulfill his agree- 
ment, and Captain Birch succeed in procuring thirty or forty head of 
beef cattle, I think that supply will last the troops until provisions are 
received from New Orleans." 
* * * * * 
On the 18th of January, Lieutenant-Colonel Arbuckle 
wrote to Brigadier-General Glasscock, at Chehaw town, on 
Flint river, as follows : 
***** 
" I have received information this evening, which I have no doubt 
may be relied on, that the whole or the greater portion of the hostile In- 
dians are to have a meeting somewhere near the mouth of Flint river, 
on the 21st instant, for the purpose of concerting measures for the de- 
struction of the inhabitants on the Chatahoochee, and the reduction of 
this post. In the latter object they expect to succeed, owing to our 
want of supplies ; and their calculations are not without a reasonable 
prospect of success, should not uncommon exertions be made to supply 
us from your quarters, as this command has been without meat at this 
time, for five or six days, and have barely a hope of receiving a tempo 
rary supply, by a command sent to Fort Gaines for the purpose of col- 
lecting a few beef-cattle. 
" I have heard from the Bay this evening ; one vessel has arrived 
there with clothing and military stores, having on board very little, if 
any, more provisions than will be required by the command on board 
of her, and without certain information of other vessels being ou the 
way. 
" I have to request that you will let me hear from you without loss of 
time, and that you will inform me of a prospect of supplies from your 
quarter." 
* « « * * 
By the following exract from the report of General 
Gaines to the Secretary of War, dated Headquarters, 
Hartford, Georgia, January 30, 1818, it appears that he 
was compelled, by force of circumstances, to improvise a 
compaissariat, and was reduced to the extremity of borrow- 
ing money from the Governor of Georgia, to put it in opera- 
tion : 50 
" The Acting Quartermaster, Lieutenant Kaiser, has purchased the 
greater part of the provisions issued during the present month, and is 
now engaged in the purchase of thirty thousand rations, the greater 
part of which is on the way to Fort Scott, by the way of Flint river. 
To pay for these supplies, I have been under the necessity of borrowing 
ten thousand dollars from the Governor of Georgia, upon a promise 
to replace the amount in three months from the 23d instant." 
On the LOth of February, LSI8, Major-General Jackson, 
then at Fort Hawkins, wrote as follows to the Secretary of 
War : 
" 1 reached this place hist evening, when I learned, from sundry 
communications received from Brevet Major-General Gaines, that the 
Georgia militia, under General Glasscock, had all returned home, 
leaving the frontier in a very exposed situation. The regular troops at 
Fort Scott have been out of provisions, but the means adopted by 
Brevet Major-General Gaines to remedy that evil, induces a strong pre- 
sumption that they are by this time supplied; which, with the stores 
ordered by me from New Orleans, will, I trust, afford us an ample 
supply tor the campaign. 
" The contractor having failed, General Gaines has, by my order, 
directed the Quartermaster to purchase provisions, in which he has 
succeeded so far as to procure 1,100 hogs, and a sufficiency of bread- 
stuff; this will march the troops to and from the seat of war." 
* * * * * 
In an official letter, elated Hartford, Georgia, February 
14, 1818, to Hon. John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, 
General Jackson, in the following language, emphatically 
and unqualifiedly condemned the existing mode of subsist- 
ing the Army, and expressed the hope that some more 
efficient and certain mode would be adopted : 
" I arrived at this place on the evening of the 12th, and here met 
General Gaines. From a letter received from the Governor of 
Georgia, advising me of the movement of the militia from the several 
counties to the designated point of rendezvous, as well as the punc- 
tuality with which the troops have assembled here under General 
Gaines's requisition, has induced a hope that I shall be able to take a 
prompt and speedy march for the relief of Fort Scott. 
" I enclose you a copy of a letter from Colonel B. G. Orr to Captain 
Callis, contractor's agent at Fort Hawkins. From the sum 
with which he states to have furnished his agents in this country, you 
can judge how far efficient means have been adopted to insure the 
necessary supplies for the troops, heretofore in service, as well as those 
summoned to the field under the late requisition. The mode of pro- 
visioning an army by contract is not adapted to the prompt and 
efficient movement of troops. It may answer in time of profound 51 
peace, where a failure or delay cannot produce any serious ill conse- 
quences ; but where active operations are necessary, and success de- 
pendent on prompt and quick movements, there is no dependence to 
be placed on the contractor. His views are purely mercenary; and 
when supplies will not insure him a profit he hesitates not on a failure, 
never regarding how far it may defeat the best devised plans of the 
Commander-in-Chief. Experience has confirmed me in this opinion, 
and the recent failure has prompted me again to express it. 
" The plan which has been adopted to procure the necessary supplies 
for the army, to transport them to Fort Scott, and the quantity other- 
wise ordered to that point, will, I hope, relieve me from any embarrass- 
ment on that account, until a decisive blow has been struck upon the 
■enemy. I have been so frequently embarrassed from the failures of 
contractors, that I cannot but express a hope that some other more 
efficient and certain mode of supplying our Army may be adopted: 
such a plan as will render those charged with the execution of so im- 
portant a trust responsible to the military authority, and exposed to 
severe and merited chastisements, whenever defaulters, at the discre- 
tion of a court-martial." 
The desideratum was thus clearly outlined by General 
Jackson, as being a separate and distinct military organ- 
ization exclusively charged with the important duty of 
subsisting the Army. 
The following official reports, from General Jackson to 
the Secretary of War, not only show to what extremities 
the troops were subsequently reduced and the sufferings 
they endured on account of the failure of the prevailing 
mode of subsisting the Army to properly perform its func- 
tions, but they portray a striking example of the extent to 
which the operations of an army are subordinate to its 
means of subsistence : 
"Headquarters, Division of the South, Fort Early, Feb. 26, 1818. 
" Sir : In my last from Hartford, Georgia, of the 14th instant, I 
expressed a hope that the plans adopted to procure supplies for the 
detachment from Georgia to transport them to Fort Scott, together 
with the quantity ordered to that point, would relieve me from many 
embarrassments on that account, until a decisive blow could be struck 
upon the enemy. 
" The Georgia detachment marched [from their encampment, near 
Hartford, on the 19th instant, and on that night General Gaines re- 
ceived a letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Arbuckle, commanding at 
Fort Scott, containing such intelligence of his intention to abandon 
that post, in the event of not receiving supplies in a short given time, 
as induced him (General Gaines) to set out that night, and, if possible, 
by reaching the place in time to prevent such a disastrous movement. 52 
" The General has, as he communicated to me, ordered a large sup- 
ply of provisions to the Creek Agency, to be transportedin boats to Fort 
Scott and this place, which would serve until that ordered from Mobile 
(by himself) should arrive; and under that order did calculate on meet- 
ing two boats loaded with flour, on his reaching this place, but was 
deceived, having arrived here on the night of the 20th, which be left on 
the evening of the 21st, in a small boat with twelve men. On the night 
of the 22d, I received, by express, a letter directed to General Gaines, 
and dated the 19th instant, from Captain Melvin of the 4th Infantry, 
who had been charged by General Gaines to build the boats at the 
Agency, and have the provisions transported thence, stating that two 
boWs would be finished in two days which would transport upwards of 
one hundred barrels of flour each; these I had strongly calculated on, 
but they have j»r arrived. The excessive rains have rendered the 
roads so bad that I ordered the troops, on their march here, to take their 
baggage on the wagon-horses, and abandon the wagons ; this facilitated 
their march to this place, which they reached to-day ; and eleven hun- 
dred men are now here without a barrel of flour or bushel of corn. We 
have pork on foot; and to-morrow I shall proceed for Fort Scott, and 
endeavor to procure from the Indians a supply of corn that will aid in 
subsisting the detachment until we reach that place. How those failures 
have happened under the superintendence of regular officers I cannot 
imagine, but blame must rest somewhere, and it shall be strictly inves- 
tigated as soon as circumstances will permit." 
* * * * * 
" I have the honor to be, &c., 
ANDREW JACKSON, 
Major-General Commanding." 
"Hon. John C. Calhoun, 
Secretary of liar." 
" Headquarters, Division of the South, Fort Gadsden, 
(East bank of the Apalachicola river, formerly Negro Fort.) 
March 25. 1818. 
" Sir: At seven o'clock p. m. on the 9th instant, I reached Fort 
Scott, with the brigade of Georgia militia, nine hundred bayonets 
strong, and some of the friendly Creeks who had joined me on my 
march a few days before, where finding but one quart of corn per man, 
and a few poor cattle, which, added to the live pork I brought along, 
would give us three days' rations of meat, determined me at once to 
use this small supply to the best advantage. Accordingly, having 
been advised by Col. Gibson,* Quartermaster-General, that he would 
* General Jackson, clearly foreseeing that he could not rely on the contractor to 
subsist his army, had. on the 29th of January, ordered Colonel Gibson, who was 
then in New Orleans, to procure, and bring to Fort Scott, a supply of rations. 53 
sail from New Orleans on the 12th of February with supplies, and being 
also advised that two sloops with provisions were in the Bay, and an 
officer had been despatched from Fort Scott in a large keel-boat to 
bring up a part of their loading, and deeming that the preservation of 
these supplies would be to preserve the army, and enable me to prose- 
cute the campaign, I assumed the command on the morning of the 
10th ; ordered the live stock slaughtered, and issued to the troops with 
one quart of corn to each man, and the line of march to be taken up 
at twelve meridian. Having to cross the Flint river, which was very 
high, combined with some neglect in returning the boats dining a very 
dark night, I was unable to move from the opposite bank until nine 
o'clock, on the morning of the I 1th, when I took up my line of march 
down the east bank of the liver for this place, touching the river as 
often as practicable, looking for the provision-boats, which were 
ascending, and which I was fortunate enough to meet on the 13th, when 
I ordered an extra ration to the troops, they not having received a full 
one of meal or flour since their arrival at Fort Early. 
On that day my patrols captured three prisoners, and found some 
hidden corn. On the morning of the 14th I ordered the boat down the 
river to this place, whilst I descended by land, and reached here, with- 
out interruption, on the 16th. The eligibility of this spot as a depot 
determined me, and I immediately directed my aide-de-camp, Lieuten- 
ant Gadsden, of the Engineer Corps, to furnish a plan for, and superin- 
tend the erection of, a fortification. His talents and indefatigable zeal, 
displayed in the execution of this order, induced me to name it Fort 
Gadsden, to which he is justly entitled. Ou my arrival here I imme- 
diately despatched the boat to the Bay for the balance of the provisions 
known to be there, and to ascertain whether the flotilla, in charge of Col- 
onel Gibson, had reached there, and which returned on the 19th with the 
unpleasing intelligence that nothing had been heard from the flotilla 
from New Orleans, since it was seen passing Fort Bowyer. I imme- 
diately put the troops on half rations, and pushed the completion of 
the fort for the protection of the provisions, in the event of their arrival, 
intending to march forthwith to the heart of the enemy, and endeavor 
to subsist upon him. In the meantime, I despatched Major Fanning, 
of the Corps of Artillery, to take another look into the Bay, whose 
return, on the morning of the 23d, brought the information that 
Colonel Gibson, with one gunboat and three transports, and others in 
sight, were in the Bay. On the same night I received other informa- 
tion that no more had arrived. I am, therefore, apprehensive that 
some of the smaller vessels have been lost, as one gunboat went to 
pieces, and another, when last spoken, had one foot of water in her 
hold ; all the vessels had been spoken after a gale that had dispersed 
them. A north and northwest wind has prevailed for six days, but has 
fortunately changed this morning. I am now awaiting a boat from 
the Bay (which is expected to-day) to complete eight days' rations for 
my troops, upon which I mean to march. 
* * * * * 
" In mine of the 14th February, from Hartford, I informed you of the 
means adopted to procure supplies, and in my last of the 26th, from 54 
Fort Early, I informed you of their situation. To those communica- 
tions I beg leave to refer you, I have only to add that I left Fort Early 
for Fort Scott, and subsisted my troops on ground-peas, corn, and pork, 
that I could occasionally procure from the Indians, with some pork I 
had on foot, the whole subsistence for man and horse not costing five 
hundred dollars. Of all the supplies purchased for the relief of Fort 
Scott, and the support of the Georgia militia, not one pound was re- 
ceived until I passed Fort Scott. I said I my last that blame rested 
somewhere. The cause of those failures will, in due time, be a subject 
of investigation, and Colonel Brearly has been arrested on the applica- 
tion of General Gaines.* 
" By some strange fatality, unaccountable to me, the Tennesse volun- 
teers have not yet joined me; they promptly left their homes, and 
through the inclement weather reached Fort Mitchell, where I had or- 
dered them supplies, and where Colonel Hayne, who led them, met my 
instructions to pass by Fort Gaines, where he could get a supply of 
coin that would enable him to reach Fort Scott; but the idea of starva- 
tion had stalked abroad, a panic appears to have spread itself every- 
where, and he was told that, they were starving at Fort Gaines and 
Fort Scott, and he was induced to pass into Georgia for supplies. His 
men and officers, as reported to me, were willing to risk the worst of 
consequences on what they had to join me; however, they have been 
marched from their supplies to a country stripped of them, when every 
consideration should have induced his advisers to have urged him on 
to secure the supplies in the Bay, and preserve themselves and Fort 
Scott from starvation. I have a hope they will join me before I reach 
St. Marks, or the Mekasuky towns; this would be desirable, as the 
troops ordered from New Orleans, to protect the supplies, have not 
reached the Bay, and leaving garrisons at Forts Scott and Gadsden 
weakens my force too much ; the whole effective strength of the regu- 
lars being but three hundred and sixty privates. 
" In mine of the 26th ult., from Fort Early, I stated that despatches 
received by General Gaines, on the 19th instant, from the commanding 
officer at Fort Scott, induced him to set out that night for Fort Scott to 
prevent its abandonment, &c. In his passage down the Flint, he was 
shipwrecked, by which he lost his assistant adjutant-general, Major C. 
Wright, and two soldiers, (drowned.) The general reached me six 
days after, nearly exhausted by hunger and cold, having lost his bag- 
gage and clothing, and being compelled to wander in the woods four 
and a half days without anything to subsist on, or any clothing except 
a pair of pantaloons. I am happy to have it in my power to say that 
he is now with me, at the head of his brigade, in good health. 
# # # * » 
ANDREW JACKSON, 
Major-General Commanding." 
* The failures referred to were in regard to transportation, and providing means of 
transportation. In the month of June following, Col. Brearly was tried by a court- 
martial, for " disobedience of orders and neglect of duty " in connection with these 
failures, found "not guilty of either charge or specification against him," and acquitted. 55 
" P. S.-Since writing the above. I have the pleasure to inform you 
that the boat from the Bay has arrived with provisions ; also Col. Gibson 
and Capt. McKeever, the latter of the Navy. I shall move to-morrow, 
having made the necessary arrangements with Captain McKeever for 
his co-operation in transporting my supplies around to the Bay of St. 
Marks, from which place I shall do myself the honor of communicating 
with you. Should our enemy attempt to escape with his supplies and 
booty, to the small islands, and from thence carry on a predatory war- 
fare, the assistance of the Navy will prevent his escape. 
* * * # * 
A. J." 
" Hon. J. C. Calhoun, 
Secretary of Tf'ar." 
General Jackson having improvised a commissariat and, 
through its instrumentality, received a supply of rations, 
had virtually freed his army from subordination to its 
means of subsistence, and was thus enabled (as the com- 
mander of every army in the field should be) to give his 
unrestrained attention to matters of discipline and strategy. 
Accordingly, on the 26th of March, he broke camp, and 
entered upon a vigorous campaign which, after several en- 
gagements at different places, was abruptly brought to 
successful termination, on the 16th of April, by the attack 
on Bowlegs's town, where, after a brief resistance, the In- 
dians abandoned the field and fled in precipitate haste, 
demoralized and disorganized. 
The embarrassments experienced by General Jackson, at 
the outset of the campaign against the Seminoles, on ac- 
count of the want of " a more efficient and certain mode " 
of subsisting his army, promptly received the earnest con- 
sideration of Congress, as the following extracts from the 
journals will show :* 
Journal of the Senate-15th Congress, 1st session. 
Wednesday, January 21, 1818. 
***** 
Mr. Williams, of Tennessee, submitted the following motion for con- 
sideration : 
Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to 
inform the Senate in what manner the troops in the service of the 
♦ In view of the importance of the legislation .effected, the proceedings of both 
Houses are given in full. 56 
United States, now operating against the Seminole tribe of Indians, 
have been subsisted, whether by contract or otherwise, and whether 
they have been furnished regularly with rations. 
* * -» * * 
Thursday, January 22, 1818. 
* * * * * 
The Senate resumed the consideration of the motion of the 21st instant, 
for requesting information in what manner the troops in the service of 
the United States, now operating against the Seminole tribe of Indians, 
have been subsisted ; and agreed thereto. 
* * * ■* 
Friday, January 30, 1818. 
The following written message was received from the President of 
the United States, by Mr. Monroe, his Secretary : 
To the Senate of the United States : 
In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 22d of this 
month, requesting to be informed, " In what manner the troops in the 
service of the United States, now operating against the Seminole tribe 
of Indians, have been subsisted, whether by contract, or otherwise, and 
whether they have been furnished regularly with rations," I now trans- 
mit a report from the Secretary of War, containing the information re- 
quired . 
JAMES MONROE. 
Washington, 28th January, 1818. 
* * * * * 
Report of the Secretary of War. 
" The Secretary of War, to whom was referred the resolution of the 
Senate requesting the President of the United States ' to inform the 
Senate in what manner the troops in the service of the United States, 
now operating against the Seminole tribe of Indians, have been sub- 
sisted, whether by contract or otherwise, and whether they have been 
furnished regularly with rations,' has the honor to report that the 
troops of the United States are regularly subsisted by contract. The 
contract stipulates ' that the Commanding General, or person appointed 
by him at each post or place, in case of absolute failure or deficiency 
in the quantity of provisions, contracted to be delivered and issued, 
shall have power to supply the deficiency by purchase, at the risk and 
on account of the contractor.' That portion of the forces which is now 
operating against the Seminole Indians, is within the district contracted 
for by Benjamin G. Orr, Esquire. His contract commenced the 1st of 
June last. The Department of War, anticipating an increased de- 
mand for rations in that quarter, made early and liberal advances of 
money to Mr. Orr to enable him to give prompt obedience to the requi- 
sitions of the Commanding General. Requisitions were made for de- 
posits, in advance, under the terms of the contract, at the several posts 
on the frontier of Georgia and in the adjacent territories. By the last 57 
official reports, these requisitions were not complied with, and the com- 
mandant had detailed officers to supply the deficiency by purchase. 
The accompanying correspondence* will show the extent of the real 
failure, and the evils apprehended from an anticipated one; and em- 
braces all the information possessed by this Department on the subject. 
" It is proper to remark that the contractor reports that he has ordered 
an ample supply of rations to Fort Scott from New Orleans, and that 
they were shipped on the 5th ultimo. This supply is intended to be 
conveyed up the Apalachicola river, and it is believed they may have 
arrived at its destination before this period, in which event, the pur 
chases ordered by the General will cease. 
" Respectfully submitted, 
JOHN C. CALHOUN." 
Wednesday, February 18, 1818. 
* * * * * 
Mr. Williams, of Tennessee, from the Committee on Military Affairs, 
to whom the subject was referred, reported a bill to reduce the Staff of 
the Army; and the bill was read. 
Ordered, That it pass to the second reading. 
***** 
Mr. Barbour submitted the following motion for consideration: 
Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to 
inquire into the expediency of changing the mode of supplying the 
troops of the United States, by contract, and substituting one cheaper 
and more efficient, by subjecting the parties undertaking that duty, to 
military law, in case of delinquency. 
***** 
Friday, February 20, 1818. 
* * * " * * 
The Senate resumed the consideration of the motion of the 18th in- 
stant, for instructing the Committee on Military Affairs to inquire into 
the expediency of changing the mode of supplying the troops of the 
United States by contract, and substituting one cheaper and more effi- 
cient, by subjecting the parties undertaking that duty, to military law, 
in case of delinquency ; and agreed thereto. 
***** 
The bill to reduce the Staff of the Army was read the second time. 
» # * « » 
Monday, February 23, 1818. 
***** 
The Senate resumed the motion of the 19th instant, requesting infor- 
mation of what requisitions were made upon the contractors for de- 
♦This correspondence consisted of official reports from Gen. Gaines, Lieut.-Col. Ar- 
buckle, Col. Brearly, and Gen. Glasscock, covering the period from June 4, 1817, to 
January 10, 1818. 58 
posits of provisions in advance, at the several posts on the frontiers of 
Georgia, and in the adjoining territory, together with the substitute 
proposed therefor; and 
On motion of Mr Williams, of Tennessee, 
Order d, That the consideration thereof be further postponed until 
to-morrow. 
Tuesday, February 24, 1818. 
* * * * * 
The Senate resumed the consideration of the motion of the 19th in- 
stant, requesting information of what requisitions were made upon 
the contractors for deposits of provisions in advance, at the several 
posts on the frontiers of Georgia and the adjoining territory, together 
with the substitute proposed therefor; and the said substitute having 
been withdrawn, the original motion was amended, and agreed to as 
follows : 
Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to 
inform the Senate what requisitions were made upon the contractors, 
between the 1st day of June, 1817, and the 24th of December, of the 
same year, for deposits of provisions in advance, at the several posts 
on the frontiers of Georgia, and in the adjoining territory, specifying 
the date of such requisition, the amount of deposit required, and by 
whom made. And also, the particular instances in which B. G. Orr, 
contractor, has failed to furnish rations, agreeable to his contract; the 
amount of money advanced by the Government for supplies, in conse- 
quence of such failures ; and also, the amount of money advanced by 
the Government to said B. G. Orr, at or before the time of said failures ; 
and also, to furnish the Senate with a copy of the articles of contract 
entered into with the said B. G. Orr, for supplying the army under the 
command of General Gaines with provisions. 
***** 
Tuesday, March 3, 1818. 
***** 
The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the considera- 
tion of the bill to reduce the Staff of the Army; and, on motion of 
Mr. Williams, of Tennessee, 
Ordered, That the further consideration thereof be postponed until 
to-morrow. 
***** 
Tuesday, March 10, 1818. 
***** 
The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the considera- 
tion of the bill to reduce the Staff of the Army; and, on motion, by 
Mr. Williams, of Tennessee, 
Ordered, That the further consideration thereof be postponed until 
Thursday next. 
***** 59 
Wednesday, March 11, 1818. 
* * * * > 
The following message was received from the President of the United 
States, by Mr. Monroe, his Secretary: 
To the Senate of the United States : 
In compliance with a resolution of the Senate, requesting informa- 
tion respecting the requisitions that were made on the contractors, be- 
tween the 1st of June and the 24th of December, 1817, for deposits of 
provisions in advance, at the several posts on the frontiers of Georgia, 
and the adjoining territory ; their conduct in compliance therewith; 
the amount of money advanced by B. G. Orr, and the extent of his fail- 
ure, with a copy of the articles of contract entered into with him, I now 
lay before the Senate a report from the Secretary of War, which, with 
the documents accompanying it, will afford the information desired. 
JAMES MONROE. 
Washington, March 11, 1818. 
Friday, March 20, 1818. 
* * * * * 
Mr. Williams, of Tennessee, from the Committee on Military Affairs, 
to whom was referred the bill to reduce the Staff of the Army, reported 
the same with an amendment, which was read. 
* * * * * 
Wednesday, March 25, 1818. 
***** 
The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consdera- 
tion of the bill to reduce the Staff of the Army, together with the 
amtadments reported thereto by the Committee on Military Affairs; 
and the amendments having been agreed to, the President reported the 
bill to the House amended accordingly ; and, on the question to concur 
in the following amendment agreed to, as in Committee of the Whole: 
Sec. 6.-And be. it further enacted, That after the first day of June, 
one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, the present system of sup- 
plying the Army with rations be abolished, and that in lieu thereof 
there shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, one Commissary-General, with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of Colonel of Ordnance, who shall, before entering 
on the duties of his office, give bond and security, in such sum as the 
President may direct, and as many Assistants, to be taken from the 
subalterns of the line, as the service may require, who shall receive 
twenty dollars per month, in addition to their pay in the line, and who 
shall, before entering on the duties of their office, give bond and 
security, in such sums as the President may direct. The Commissary- 
General and his Assistants shall perform such duties, in purchasing 
and issuing rations to the Army of the United States, as the President 
may direct. 60 
Sec. 7.- And he it further enacted, That supplies for the Army, un- 
less in particular and urgent cases the Secretary of War should 
otherwise direct, shall be purchased by contract, to be made by the 
Commissary-General, on public notice, to be delivered on inspection, 
in the bulk, and at such places as shall be stipulated : which contract 
shall be made under such regulations as the Secretary of War may 
direct. 
Sec. 8.-And be it further enacted, That the President may make such 
alterations in the component parts of the ration as a due regard to the 
health and comfort of the army, and economy may require. 
Sec. 9.-And bi it further enacted, That the Commissary-General, and 
his Assistants, shall not be concerned, directly or indirectly, in the pur- 
chase or sale, in trade or commerce, of any article entering into the 
composition of the ration, allowed to the troops in the service of the 
United States, except on account of the United States; nor shall such 
officer take and apply to his own use any gain or emolument for nego- 
tiating or transacting any business connected with the duties of his 
office, other than what is or may be allowed by law ; and the Commis- 
sary-General, and his Assistants, shall be subject to martial law. 
Sec. 10.-And be it further enacted, That al) letters to and from the 
Commissary-General, which may relate to his office duties, shall be free 
from postage. 
It was determined in the affirmative-yeas 25, nays 5. 
* * # * * 
The bill having been further amended, by adding a proviso limiting 
its duration, 
On the question, " Shall this bill be engrossed and read a third 
time ?" 
It was determined in the affirmative. 
* * * s * 
Thursday, March 26, 1818. 
The bill to reduce the Staff of the Army having been reported by the 
committee, correctly engrossed, was read a third time; and the blanks 
being filled, 
Resolved, That the bill pass, and that the title thereof be, " An Act 
regulating the Staff of the Army." 
Ordered, That the Secretary request the concurrence of the House 
of Representatives in this bill. 
* « « » * 
Journal of the House of Representatives. 
15th Congress, 1st Session. 
Friday, March 27, 1818. 
* * * * * 
A message from the Senate, by Mr Cutts, their Secretary: 
Mr. Speaker : The Senate have passed bills of the following titles, 
to wit: 61 
1.-An Act regulating the Staff of the Army ; 
* * * * * 
And then he withdrew. 
* * * * * 
The residue of said bills were read a first and second time, and the 
first mentioned thereof referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. 
* * * * * 
Tuesday, March 31, ISIS. 
Mr. Johnson, of Kentucky, from the same committee, to which was 
referred the bills from the Senate, entitled * * * and " An 
act regulating the Staff of the Army," reported the said bills without 
amendment. 
***** 
Ordered, That the bill "regulating the Staff of the Army " lie on 
the table. 
***** 
Tuesday, April 7, 1818. 
***** 
The House took up and proceeded to consider the bill from the Sen- 
ate, entitled, " An Act to regulate the Staff of the Army," and being 
amended, 
Mr. Desha moved further to amend the same, by striking out the 6th, 
7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th sections thereof; and the question being taken 
thereon, it was determined in the negative. 
Wednesday, April 8, 1818. 
***** 
The bill from the Senate, entitled, " An Act to regulate the Staff of 
Army," was read the third time, and passed as amended. 
Ordered, That the clerk acquaint the Senate therewith. 
* « * * # 
Journal of the Senate-15th Congress, 1st Session. 
Wednesday, April 8, 1818. 
* * * * * 
A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. Dougherty, 
their clerk. / 
Mr. President : 
***** 
They have passed the bill which originated in the Senate, entitled, 
" An Act regulating the Staff of the Army," with amendment, in which 
they request the concurrence of the Senate. 62 
On motion of Mr. Williams, of Tennessee, 
The Senate proceeded to consider the amendments of the House of 
Representatives, to the bill entitled, " An Act regulating the Staff of 
the Army," whereupon, 
Resolved, That they concur therein. 
Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House of Representatives 
accordingly. 
Journal of the House of Representatives. 
15th Congress, 1st Session. 
Thursday, April 9, 1818. 
* * * * * 
A message from the Senate, by Mr. Cutts, their Secretary: 
Mr. Speaker: The Senate have concurred in the amendment, pro- 
posed by the House, to the bill entitled " An Act regulating the Staff 
of the Army." 
* * * * * • 
Friday, April 10, 1818, 
Mr. Wilson, of Pennsylvania, from the Joint Committee for En- 
rolled Bills, reported that the committee had examined enrolled bills 
of the following titles, to wit: 
***** 
An Act regulating the Staff of the Army, and had found the same to 
be truly enrolled ; when 
The Speaker signed the said bills. 
Ordered, That the clerk acquaint the Senate therewith. 
***** 
Journal of the Senate-15th Congress, 1st Session. 
Friday, April 10, 1818. 
Mr. Noble reported from the committee, that they had this day * * 
examined and found duly enrolled the bill, entitled, "An Act regulat- 
ing the Staff of the Army," the bill, entitled, " An Act to authorize the 
payment of certain certificates," and also the bill entitled, " An Act 
for the relief of General Moses Porter." 
***** 
Saturday, April 11, 1818. 
***** 
The President signed the three enrolled bills last reported to have 63 
been examined, and they were delivered to the committee to be laid 
before the President of the United States. 
* * * * 
Tuesday, April 14, 1818. 
* * * * * 
The following message was received from the President of the 
United States, by Mr. Monroe, his Secretary : 
Mr. President: The President of the United States, on the 11th 
instant, approved and signed * * * " Act to regulate the 
Staff of the Army." 
***** 
Journal of the House of Representatives. 
15th Congress, 1st Session. 
Wednesday, April 15, 1818. 
***** 
A message from the Senate, by Mr. Cutts, their Secretary : 
Mr. Speaker : The Senate have received official information that 
the President of the United States did, on the 11 th instant,* approve 
and sign *. * . 
An Act to regulate the Staff of the Army. 
* * * * * 
The sections relating to subsistence of the Army, after 
the act had been passed and approved, stood as follows : 
" Sec. 6.-And be. it further enacted, That as soon as the state of ex- 
isting contracts for the subsistence of the Army shall, in the opinion of 
the President of the United States, permit it, there shall be appointed 
by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
one Commissary-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
Colonel of Ordnance, who shall, before entering on the duties of his 
office, give bond and security, in such sum as the President may direct, 
and as many Assistants, to be taken from the subalterns of the line, 
as the service may require, who shall receive twenty dollars per 
month, in addition to their pay in the line, and who shall, before enter- 
ing on the duties of their office, give bond and security, in such 
sums as the President may direct. The Commissary-General and his 
Assistants shall perform such duties, in purchasing and issuing of 
rations to the Army of the United States, as the President may direct. 
* The date of the approval of the act is given in the official printed editions of the 
Statutes of the United States, as February 14, 1818, which is manifestly an error. 64 
" Sec. 7.- And be it further enacted, That supplies for the Army, un- 
less in particular and urgent cases the Secretary of War should 
otherwise direct, shall be purchased by contract, to be made by the 
Commissary-General, on public notice, to be delivered on inspection, 
in the bulk, and at such places as shall be stipulated : which contract 
shall be made under such regulations as the Secretary of War may 
direct. 
"Sec. 8.- And he it further enacted, That the President may make 
such alterations in the component parts of the ration as a due regard to 
the health and comfort of the army, and economy may require. 
" Sec. 9.- And In it further enacted, That the Commissary-General, 
and his Assistants, shall not be concerned, directly or indirectly, in the 
purchase or sale, in trade or commerce, of any article entering into the 
composition of the ration, allowed to the troops in the service of the 
United States, except on account of the United States; nor shall such 
officer take and apply to his own use any gain or emolument for nego- 
tiating or transacting any business connected with the duties of his 
office, other than what is or may be allowed by law ; and the Commis- 
sary-General, and his Assistants, shall be subject to martial law. 
" Sec. 1(1.- And be it further enacted, That all letters to and from the 
Commissary-General, which may relate to his office duties, shall be free 
from postage: Provided, That the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and 
tenth sections of this act shall continue, and be in force for the term 
of five years from the passing of the same, and thence until the end 
of the next session of Congress, and no longer." 
This legislation, which virtually carried us back to where 
we were previous to the passage of the unfortunate resolu- 
tion of July 10. 1781, abolishing the Commissariat and 
transferring its duties to the Treasury Department,* laid the 
foundation of the present Subsistence Department. 
Then* were, however, practical difficulties to be met in 
organizing the new department, for which legislation was 
powerless to provide a remedy. By the breaking of the 
continuity of the system, under the operation of the resolu- 
tion of July 10, 1781, the valuable experience in subsisting 
armies, acquired during the Revolutionary war, instead of 
being preserved, perpetuated, and added to, had been irre- 
trievably lost. In the long interval which had elapsed, the 
officers of the old organization had passed from the stage 
* This resolution was passed as a preliminary step towards the total disbandment 
of the Army at the close of the Revolution-then regarded as an event in the near 
future. At that early period the idea prevailed that the maintenance of a standing 
army was incompatible with the principles of free government, and public sentiment 
was very strongly opposed to the retention of any military establishment whatever1 
in time of peace. 65 
of action, and the head of the new organization would, 
therefore, have to enter upon his new office without ex- 
perience to guide him in devising " a system by which to 
trace the plan of his duty." 
Although this legislation had gone backward to find a 
model by which to design the new organization, and there 
were practical difficulties to be met in putting it into 
operation, arising from the circumstance that, with us, 
subsisting the Army had virtually become a lost art ; 
yet, in view of our deplorable condition after struggling 
so many years with the miserable expedients which in- 
stead of bread had given the Army a stone, and of the 
important fact that the great principle of division of labor, 
so prolific in splendid achievements in every department of 
human effort, had been re-recognized as the essential ele- 
ment of an economical and efficient mode of subsisting the 
Army, it was a tremendous stride forward. 
The following resolutions were introduced in the House 
of Representatives, by Mr. Trimble, of Kentucky, and 
adopted, on the 17th of April, 1818, only three days after 
the President had formally notified Congress that he had 
approved and signed the act regulating the Staff of the 
Army ; the latter of which shows that there were misgiv- 
ings (and subsequent experience proved that they were well 
founded) that Congress had not gone far enough in this 
important measure of Army reform : 
" 1.- Resolved, That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, in- 
structed to report to this House, at an early period of the next session 
of Congress, whether any, and, if any, what reduction may be made in 
the Military Peace Establishment of the United States with safety to 
the public service." 
"2.-Resolved, That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, in- 
structed to report to this House, at an early period of the next session 
of Congress, whether any, and, if any, what change ought to be 
made in the ration established by law ; and also to report a system for 
the establishment of a commissariat for the Army." 
In explanation of the object of these resolutions, Mr. 
Trimble said : 
" Intending to bring this subject before the House, at this session, I 
have, with that view, paid some attention to the present Peace Estab- 
lishment ; but the bill from the Senate, proposing a reduction in the 66 
Medical and Hospital Staff,* came up too late to hope for a general 
reformation. From the discussion which took place on that part of the 
bill proposing a change in the law touching contractors, it was manifest 
that information was wanted on the subject of a commissariat; and as 
that subject must necessarily be acted on at the next session, it will 
probably be best to have a report from the War Department, made 
out upon mature reflection ; which will serve as a proposition to act 
upon. I know that it would be highly improper to consume time, 
now, by stating the principles upon which the Military Peace Estab- 
lishment of the United States ought to be predicated, and still more to 
go into the details of the subject. I will only add, that a saving of 
half a million, I may say seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, can 
be made, arid the Army be left as efficient as, or I will say more efficient 
than it is, at present. Indeed, it is impossible to say what sums could 
be saved by the establishment of a commissariat, properly organized, 
for our service." 
George Gibson, of Pennsylvania, was appointed Commis- 
sary-General of Subsistence, with the rank of colonel, to 
date from April 18, 1818, and his appointment was an- 
nounced to the Army in a general order issued from the 
War Department on the 30th of April, 1818. The new 
system did not, however, go into operation until June 
1, 1819. 
On the 20th of April. Congress adjourned until the third 
Monday in the following November, the time fixed by law 
for the next meeting. 
General Jackson, whose experience as an army comman- 
der had made him an excellent authority on the subject, in 
a letter to Colonel Gibson, dated September 20, 1818, en- 
closedpon a-separate sheet,? the following sketch of a com- 
missariat, from which it will be seen that the recent legisla- 
tion in this regard had not fully met his views : 
" The Commissariat Department should consist of- 
" One Commissary-General, (brevet brigadier-general), stationed at 
Washington City. 
" One Deputy Commissary-General, (brevet major), at the headquar- 
ters of each Division. < 
"As many Assistant Commissaries (brevet captains) as the President 
of the United States may deem necessary, either in peace or war, all of 
whom to be appointed as other commissioned officers of the Army. 
" All purchases to be made under the direction of the Commissary- 
General, by the Deputies and Assistants, and before delivery to pass 
inspection at the depot where they may be intended for issue; and 
* The bill to regulate the Staff of the Army, which had just become a law. 67 
where there may not be any regular inspector, persons not belonging 
to the Aimy shall be called on, unless there should be an officer of the 
Inspector-General's Department present. 
" All provisions purchased and condemned shall be the loss of the 
purchaser. 
" To each post or place where troops are stationed, there shall be an 
Issuing Commissary appointed by the Commissary-General, who will 
receive and receipt for all the supplies destined for the use of their posts, 
respectively, and who will be required by the Commissary-General to 
give bond and approved security for the faithful preservation and issue 
of the same, and be accountable for deficiencies; and to secure industry 
and worth, their compensation should be $51) per month and two rations 
per day. The whole Department to be subject to the rules and regu- 
lations governing the Army. The minute details should be left with the 
head of the Department. 
" In a southern climate, the following alteration in the ration is re- 
commended : Give molasses in lieu of whisky and beer, and add to the 
ration half a pint of peas, beans, or rice, per day." 
On the 15th of December, 1818, the Speaker laid before 
the House of Representatives, the report of the Secretary 
of War, (Mr. Calhoun), made in obedience to the resolu- 
tions of the House, passed on the 17th of April previous. 
The report, by an order of the House, was referred to the 
Committee on Military Affairs. 
This very able report covered the whole field of army 
and army-staff organization. 
The portion of the report especially relating to subsist- 
ence of the Army is as follows : 
" On the quality of the ration, and the system of supplying and is- 
suing it, which I propose next to consider, the health, comfort, and 
efficiency of the Army mainly depend. Too much care cannot be 
bestowed on these important subjects ; for let the military system be 
ever so perfect in other particulars, any considerable deficiency in these 
must, in all great military operations, expose an army to the greatest 
disasters. All human efforts must, of necessity, be limited by the 
means of sustenance. Food sustains the immense machinery of war, 
and gives the impulse to all its operations; and if this essential be 
withdrawn, even but for a few days, the whole must cease to act. No 
absolute standard can be fixed, as regards either quantity or quality 
of the ration. These must vary, according to the habits and products 
of different countries. The great objects are, first, and mainly, to sus- 
tain the health and spirit of the troops; and the next, to do it with the 
least possible expense. The system which effects these in the greatest 
degree is the most perfect. The ration, as established by the act of 
the 16th March, 1802, experience proves to be ample in quantity, but 
not of the quality best calculated to secure either health or economy. 68 
It consists of eighteen ounces of bread, or flour; one pound and a 
quarter of beef, or three-quarters of a pound of pork; one gill of rum, 
brandy, or whisky; and at the rate of two quarts of salt, four quarts 
of vinegar, four pounds of soap, and one pound and a half of candles, 
to every hundred rations. 
" The objection to it, in relation to the health of the Army, is fully 
stated iu a report of the Surgeon-General, to the War Department, 
marked I, which I would respectfully annex as a part of this report. 
Under this view of the subject, more need not to be added, except to 
urge its importance, both on the score of humanity and policy. 
" Our people, even the poorest, being accustomed to a plentiful mode 
of living, require, to preserve their health, a continuation, in a consid- 
erable degree, of the same habits of life, in a camp ; and a sudden and 
great departure from it subjects them, as is proved by experience, to 
great mortality. Our losses, in the late and Revolutionary wars, from 
this cause, were probably greater than from the sword. However well 
qualified for war in other respects, in the mere capacity of bearing pri- 
vations we are inferior to most nations. An American would starve on 
what a Tartar would live with comfort. In fact, barbarous and op- 
pressed nations have, in this particular, a striking advantage, which, 
however, ought to be much more than compensated by the skill and 
resources of a free and civilized people. If, however, such a people 
want the skill and spirit to direct its resources to its defence, the very 
wealth, by which it ought to defend itself, becomes the motive for in- 
vasion and conquest. Besides, there is something shocking to the feel- 
ings. that in a country of plenty beyond all others, in a country which 
ordinarily is so careful of the happiness and life of the meanest of its 
citizens, that its brave defenders, who are not only ready, but anxious 
to expose their lives for the safety and glory of their country, should, 
through a defective system of supply, be permitted almost to starve, or 
to perish by the poison of unwholesome food, as has frequently been the 
case. If it could be supposed that these considerations are not suffi- 
cient to excite the most anxious care on this subject, we ought to re- 
member, that nothing adds more to the expense of military opera- 
tions. or exposes more to its disasters, than the sickness and mortality 
which result from defective or unwholesome supplies. Impressed with 
this view of the subject, considerable changes have been made in the 
ration, under the authority of the eighth section of the act regulating 
the staff of the army, passed at the last session of Congress. The veg- 
etable part of the ration has been much increased. Twice a week, a 
half allowance of meat, with a suitable quantity of peas or beans, is 
directed to be issued. Fresh meat has also been substituted twice a 
week for salted. In the Southern Division, bacon and kiln-dried Indian 
corn meal have been, to a certain extent, substituted for pork and wheat 
flour. In addition, orders have been given, at all of the permanent 
posts where it can be done, to cultivate a sufficient supply of ordinary 
garden vegetables for the use of the troops; and at the posts remote 
from the settled parts of the country, the order is extended to the culti- 
vation of corn, and to the supply of the meat part of the ration, both to 69 
avoid the expense of distant and expensive transportation, and to secure 
at all times a supply within the posts themselves. 
"In addition to these changes, I am of opinion that the spirit part of 
the ration, as a regular issue, ought to be dispensed with ; and such 
appears to be the opinion of most of the officers of the Army. It both 
produces and perpetuates habits of intemperance, destructive alike to 
the health, and moral and physical energy of the soldiers. The spirits 
ought to be placed in depot, and be issued occasionally under the direc- 
tion of the commander. Thus used, their noxious effects would be 
avoided, and the troops, when great efforts were necessary, would, by a 
judicious use, derive important benefits therefrom. Molasses, beer, and 
cider, according to circumstances, might be used as substitutes. The 
substitution of bacon and kiln-dried corn-meal in the Southern Division 
will have, it is believed, valuable effects They are both much more 
congenial to the habit of the people in that section of our county. 
Corn-meal has another, and, in my opinion, great and almost decisive 
advantage-it requires so little art to prepare it for use. It is not easy 
to make good bread of wheat flour, whilst it is almost impossible to 
make bad of that of Indian corn; besides, wheat is much more liable 
to be damaged than the Indian corn; for the latter is better protected 
against disease, and the effects of bad seasons in time of harvest than 
any other grain; and, when injured, the good is easily separated from 
the bad. Experience proves it to be not less nutritious that wheat, or 
any other grain. Parched corn constitutes the principal food of an 
Indian warrior; and such are its nutritious qualities, that they can sup- 
port long and fatiguing marches on it alone. 
" I next proceeded to consider the system of supplying the Army 
with provisions, or the establishment of a commissariat; and, as they 
are connected in their nature, I propose to consider that part of the 
resolution in relation to a commissariat, and the mode of issuing the 
rations at the same time. The system established at the last session 
will, in time of peace, be adequate to the cheap and certain supply of 
the Army. The act provides for the appointment of a Commissary- 
General, and as many Assistants as the service may require, and au- 
thorizes the President to assign to them their duties in purchasing and 
issuing rations. It also directs that the ordinary supplies of the Army 
should be purchased on contracts, to be made by the Commissary- 
General, and to be delivered, on inspection, in the bulk, at such places 
as shall be stipulated in the contract. Document marked J contains 
the rules and regulations which have been established by the order of 
the President, and presents the operation of the system in detail. It is 
believed that it is as well guarded against fraud as any other depart- 
ment of our military supplies; and, judging from the contracts already 
formed under it, will, when improved by experience, probably make a 
very considerable saving. It would improve the system to authorize 
the appointment of two Deputy Commissaries, one for each division, 
with the pay, rank, and emoluments of major of Infantry, to be taken 
from the line, or from citizens ; and so to amend the act of last session 
so as to authorize the President to appoint the Assistant Commissaries, 
either from the line or citizens. When the Assistant Commissary is 70 
not taken from the line, to make bis pay equal to that of a subaltern 
appointed from the line, it ought to be fifty dollars per month, with two 
rations a day. It should be the duty of the Deputy Commissaries 
to perforin such service as the Commissary-General might prescribe, 
and particularly to inspect the principal depots, and, in cases of neces- 
sity, to make the necessary purchases. When a suitable subaltern 
cannot he had, or when his services are necessary in the line, the power 
proposed to be vested in the President, to select from citizens, would 
be important. It is not believed that any other alteration would be 
necessary in peace; but the system would require great enlargement 
in war, to render it sufficiently energetic to meet the many vicissitudes 
incidental to the operations of war. 
" It would then be necessary to divide the system into two divisions, 
one for purchasing, and the other for issuing of rations, with as many 
Deputy Commissaries of Purchases and Issues as there may be armies 
and military districts, to whom ought to be added a suitable number of 
Assistants. The basis of the system ought in war to be the same as is 
now established. The ordinary supplies ought to be by contract on 
public proposals. By a judicious collection of provisions at proper 
depots, combined with an active and energetic system of transportation, 
it would be seldom necessary to resort to any other mode of purchasing. 
To provide, however, for contingencies, the purchasing department 
ought to be efficiently organized, and a branch of it, as already stated, 
attached to each army and military department. As it is the means 
to be resorted to in cases of necessity, it ought to possess those high 
and discretionary powers which do not admit of exact control. It is, 
in its nature, liable to many abuses; and to prevent them from being 
great, more efficient regulations and checks are required than in any 
other branch of the General Staff. 
" The defects of the mere contract system is so universally acknowl- 
edged by those who have experienced its operation in the late war, 
that it cannot be necessary to make many observations in relation to it. 
Nothing can appear more absurd than that the success of the most im- 
portant military operations, on which the very fate of the country may 
depend, should ultimately rest on men who are subject to no military 
responsibility, and on whom there is no other hold than the penalty of 
a bond. When we add to this observation, that it is often the interest 
of a contractor to fail at the most critical juncture, when the means of 
supply become the most expensive, it seems strange that the system 
should have been continued for a single campaign. It may be said, 
that when the contractor fails, the commander has a right to purchase 
at his risk, by which the disasters which naturally result from a failure 
may be avoided. The observation is more specious than solid. If, on 
failure of the contractor, there existed a well-organized system for pur- 
chasing the supplies, there would be some truth in it; but without such 
a system, without depots of provisions, and with the funds intended for 
the supply of the Army perhaps in the hands of the contractor, his 
failure must generally be fatal to a campaign. It is believed that a 
well-organized commissariat, whose ordinary supplies are obtained by 
contract, founded on public notice, possesses (besides those peculiar to 71 
itself) all of the advantages fairly attributable to the system of issuing 
rations by contract. It is equally guarded against fraud, and its pur- 
chases can be made on terms more advantageous. A considerable 
objection to the system of issuing the ration by contract is, that the 
merchants and capitalists are deterred from bidding, by the hazard of 
issuing the ration; and thus the sphere of competition is contracted, 
and the contracts for supplying of the Army often thrown into the hands 
of adventurers. This objection is avoided under the present system, 
by which the ration will be cheaply supplied, and the danger of failure 
almost wholly removed. 
" All of which is respectfully submitted. 
J. C. CALHOUN." 
I. 
" Surgeon-General's Office, 
" November 16, 1818. 
"Sir: In compliance with_your instructions, I have the honor to 
submit the following report: 
"In deciding upon the component parts of the ration, to be furnished 
the Army, it must be obvious, that so far as the health of the troops is 
concerned, those will of course be the best which afford the greatest 
quantity of good, nutritious matter, from a given quantity of food ; but 
as the soldier is, in general, his own cook, it is also necessary that they 
be of such a nature, as to enable him effectually to extract this nutri- 
ment in the easiest and most simple manner. The first will depend on 
the habits of the soldier, previous to enlistment, and the last upon the 
mode of cooking, which the experience of the Army has found most 
convenient and advantageous. 
* * * * * 
" With regard to the articles best suited to compose the ration, it is 
necessary that they be not only adapted to the habits of the soldier, 
but also of such a nature as to be easily procured, of a good quality, 
and capable of being preserved from injury in the several parts of the 
country where they are to be used. Wheat flour is easily damaged in 
all places, and in that state is extremely prejudicial to health. Most of 
the diseases of the troops during the late war were, by general consent, 
attributed to the ration; but though by no means true to the extent 
believed, it was too often so ; and, nine times in ten, damaged flour 
was the noxious article. At French Mills, particularly, where the mor- 
tality was almost incredible, the flour was unfit for any human 
stomach. Where it can be obtained, therefore, kiln-dried corn-meal is 
far preferable to flour in every respect; but where it cannot, the evil 
may in a great measure be remedied, by causing the latter to be baked 
in the form of hard biscuits, which cannot only be preserved a much 
longer time, but are more palatable and less injurious when damaged, 
and far more nutritious when good, than the soft bread furnished to or 
made by the soldiers. This, it is believed, is a matter of no small im- 72 
portance, not only on account of the bad effects of damaged flour, 
but from the fact well known to many valetudinarians, and most 
physicians, that hard bread or soft bread toasted, is much more easily 
digested, and affords more nutriment than in any other form, however 
good the quality may be; and since a pound of this bread will be 
equal to a pound of the flour, baking will be but little, if any, addi- 
tional expense. 
" For the same reason that kiln-dried corn-meal should, in many 
cases, be substituted for flour, bacon ought to be furnished instead of 
salt beef and pork ; at the South, particularly, this change appears ab- 
solutely necessary for the health of the troops. With this alteration, 
and a proper reduction of the quantity of the meat, this part of the 
ration, provided a due proportion of it be fresh, would be as good as 
can possibly be required. 
As to the additional vegetables that may be substituted for part of 
the meat, the kinds best adapted to this purpose, on every account, are 
those used by the British and French, viz., peas, beans,and rice; they 
may be obtained in abundance, and generally at a low rate; and if 
issued either regularly or occasionally, would not only promote the 
health and comfort of the soldier, by approaching nearer to his accus- 
tomed food, but by enabling him to introduce frequent changes in his 
mode of preparing it. 
" The deleterious effects of ardent spirits, particularly in the army, 
are well known; for, in the reports of sick, ' sudden death from intox- 
ication ' is no small item. It is suggested, therefore, whether this 
troublesome poison should not be altogether excluded, and the healthy 
drinks of molasses and water, or beer, substituted for it. If I am rightly 
informed, by supplying molasses and the essence of spruce, one quart 
of beer may be furnished for about the same sum as one gill of 
whisky. 
" The necessity of this will be more evident when it is remembered 
that, in fact, the soldier has at present only water with his meals; for, 
notwithstanding all regulations, he will make a morning dram of his 
whisky, which is one chief cause of its injurious effects. 
* * * * * 
" Almost all classes of men among us are accustomed to the free use 
of spices and other condiments, particularly of pickles which, on ac- 
count of the vegetable acid they contain, are both a pleasant and 
healthy stimulant to the stomach. Indeed, vinegar is of great use on 
many accounts; it is one of the best correctors of the superabundance 
of bile, induced by an unnatural or long-continued stimulus; whether 
it be the excessive heat of a warm climate, an abundance of animal 
food, or that of a crude consistence, or a too free use of ardent spirits; 
in the latter case, as well as where laudanum or other narcotics have 
been taken, it seems to act as a specific. Whenever, therefore, the 
soldiers are supplied with the lighter vegetables, as cabbage, beets, 
cucumbers, &c., which may, by suitable arrangements easily be done, 
especially on the peace establishment, there can be no doubt of the 
benefit of allowing a sufficient quantity of vinegar to furnish them with 
a regular supply of pickles, and even without these it might be used 73 
with great advantage, and would generally be very acceptable in its 
simple form. 
"If, from these circumstances, it should appear that the health of the 
army requires alteration in the ration, they will be of still greater weight 
when we remember, that, from the nature of our public institutions, 
the greater part of our force in actual service does, and will for many 
years, consist of militia, of men who must necessarily, in all eases, be 
suddenly taken from their customary habits and comforts, and exposed 
to all the hardships and privations of the soldier, without any of his 
advantages; the effects of this have been too lately and too severely 
felt, to be soon forgotten; and it is suggested whether this circum- 
stance be not of sufficient importance to have a very considerable in- 
fluence in deciding not only the nature of the ration, but of all those 
supplies upon which militia, when on duty, are equally as dependent 
as the regular soldiers, and as every able-bodied citizen is liable, at a 
moment's warning, to feel the necessity of having these supplies as 
good as practicable, he will have less objection to furnish his portion 
of any additional expense that may be necessary to insure their pro- 
vision. 
All of which is respectfully submitted. 
JOSEPH LOVELL, 
Surgeon-General." 
" Hon. J. C. Calhoun, 
Secretary of IVar " 
J. 
" Regulations of the Subsistence Department. 
" Commissary- General. 
" 1.-The Commissary-General of Subsistence will be stationed at 
Washington, and have a general superintendence of his Department. 
He will make all estimates of expenditures for his department, regu- 
late the transmission of funds to his assistants, receive their returns 
and accounts, and adjust them for settlement. 
"Assistant Commissaries. 
" 2.-It shall be the duty of the Assistant Commissaries, or store- 
keepers, to receive and account, in the manner hereafter prescribed, 
for all subsistence stores intrusted to their charge, and to make and 
transmit to the proper accounting officer, through the office of the 
Commissary-General, all returns and accounts. They will not receive 
subsistence stores from the contractors, until duly inspected according 
to the terms of the contract. 
" 3.-In case of failure on the part of the contractor, or a deficiency 
of rations, the Assistant Commissary, stationed at the depot where 
such failure happens, shall give immediate notice thereof to the Com- 
missary-General ; and shall, at the same time, make purchases of the 
necessary supplies on the best terms possible. 
" 4.-It shall be the duty of the several Assistant Commissaries, or 
storekeepers, stationed at the depots where subsistence stores shall 
have been, inspected and delivered agreeably to the conditions of the 
contract, to give the contractor duplicate receipts for the same, stating 
at length the articles, as enumerated in the contract. 74 
" 5.-Whenever it is found necessary to forward subsistence stores to 
an out-post, the Assistant Commissary, or storekeeper, stationed at 
tile depot, will require the necessary transportation of the Quarter- 
master's Department, and will forward, witli the supplies triplicate 
invoices, two of which will be receipted and returned by the receiving 
Commissary, and one of them must accompany the monthly return 
of stores received and issued. 
"6.-The Assistant Commissary, or storekeeper, will be held strictly 
accountable for the good condition of the supplies when turned over to 
the Quartermaster's Department for transportation. They will be 
held accountable for the safe keeping and storage of all supplies in- 
trusted to their charge, and they will require of the Quartermaster's 
Department good and sufficient storehouses for that purpose; and it 
will be their duty to examine frequently into the state of the stores 
and to prevent damage or waste of any description. . 
" ".-Should subsistence stores become damaged or unfit for issue, the 
Assistant Commissary, or storekeeper, having them in charge will re- 
port the same to the commanding officer of the post; who is hereby 
authorized and required to institute a board of survey, to be composed 
of two officers, when the service will permit; otherwise of two respect- 
able persons well qualified, to act under oath ; and all stores found 
damaged and unfit for issue, from causes other than neglect of the As- 
sistant Commissary or storekeeper, shall becondemned and sold-the 
auctioneer's bill of such sale to accompany the account-current, and an 
invoice of the stores thus condemned, with the cause of damage, cer- 
tified by the board of survey, to accompany the monthly return of 
stores received and issued; and in case the board of survey be of 
opinion that stores have been damaged by neglect of the Assistant 
Commissary, or storekeeper, they will make out an invoice of the 
articles damaged, and certify the same to the Commissary-General, at 
Washington, who will have the amount of such damaged articles 
charged to the Assistant Commissary, or storekeeper, in his accounts 
with the United States. 
"8.-Issues to the troops will be made on provision-returns signed by 
the commanding officer of the post, agreeably to the form hereafter 
prescribed ; and at the end of every month the Assistant Commissary 
will make out duplicate abstracts, which will be compared with the 
■original returns, and certified by the conimandiag officer of the post; 
one of which abstracts must accompany the monthly return of stores 
received and issued. Issues will be made for men in hospital, on re- 
turns of the senior Surgeon, for the whole or parts of the" rations.* 
When parts only are drawn, the Assistant Commissary will, on requi- 
sition of the Surgeon, purchase and issue eggs, fowls, milk, or other 
articles of subsistence, in lieu thereof, which he will account for in the 
same manner as other subsistence stores purchased and issued. 
" 9.-Abstracts for issues to the hospital will be made out by the 
Assistant Commissary, and certified by the Surgeon in the usual form, 
one of which will accompany the return of stores received and issued. 
" 10.-Officers commanding recruiting-parties, distant from depots, 
will enter into a written contract for the rations necessary for his 
party, first giving the necessary public notice for proposals. The 
issues will be made on returns, for the complete ration, of which ab- 
stracts will be made at the end of each month, certified in the usual 
form. A duplicate or certified copy of the contract will be forwarded 
to the Commissary-General, at Washington. 
"11.-When troops are detached to points where there is no Assistant 
Commissary, the commanding officer of the post or detachment may 
appoint an officer to do that duty, who will, while acting, be entitled 
to the additional pay of an Assistant Commissary ; but as such ap- 
pointments are only necessary to meet the casualties of service, the 
officer thus appointed will not be considered on pay after he has 
ceased to perform the duties. Officers making appointments of this 
nature will forthwith report them to the Commissary-General, at 
Washington. 75 
" The Assistant Commissaries will be located by the Commissary- 
General at the several permanent depots and established posts, and 
they will not be removed but by orders from the commanding general 
of the troops, or the Commissary-General of Subsistence, except when 
posts are evacuated, or in case of courts-martial; in the latter ease, a 
suitable person is to be appointed by the commanding officer to do 
their duty. 
"13.-A reasonable percentage will be allowed for unavoidable waste 
in issuing provisions, to be accounted for in the monthly returns of 
stores received and issued." 
On the 21st of December, 1818, Mr. Johnson, of Kentucky, 
from the House Committee on Military Affairs, reported a 
bill "respecting the Military Establishment," which was 
then read the first and the second time, and referred to the 
Committee of the Whole. 
This bill, as reported, contained seven sections, providing 
for a re-orggnization of the Army upon the basis of the 
recommendations contained in Mr. Calhoun's report. The 
fifth section provided for the pay of the Commissary-G-en- 
eral of Subsistence, and authorized the appointment of two 
Deputy Commissaries of Subsistence with the rank of 
major of Ordnance. 
On the 22d of December, Mr. Johnson laid before the 
House of Representatives, a letter from Mr. Calhoun, the 
Secretary of War, respecting the alterations proposed to be 
made in the Military establishment, by the bill then before 
the House. The letter was referred to the Committee of 
the Whole, to whom the bill was also referred. 
In relation to the new system for subsisting the Army, 
Mr. Calhoun said : 
" Since the estimates were formed, the contracts, under the new sys- 
tem, for supplying the Army with provisions after the 1st of June 
next, have been completed, and it is ascertained that a reduction can be 
made under the head of subsistence. The contract system will termi- 
nate on the 1st of June next. To complete the deliveries under the 
present contracts until that time will probably require the sum of 
1^303,441; and it is estimated that the expense of subsistence from the 
1st of June, 1819, at which time the system of supplying the Army 
by Commissaries will commence, until the 1st of June, 1820, cannot 
exceed $503,700 ; but as four-fifths of the rations will be required, by 
the terms of the' contracts, to be delivered between the 1st of June, 
1819, and the 1st of January, 1820, the sum of $403,160 will be neces- 
sary to meet the deliveries in 1819 ! and, consequently, the whole ap- 
propriation required for that year, under this head, will be $706,60], 
instead of $858,125, the sum stated in the estimate." 76 
On the 12th of January, 1819, the House, sitting as in 
Committee of the Whole, took up the bill. 
On the suggestion of Mr. Johnson, of Kentucky, a letter 
from the Secretary of War to the Committee on Military 
Affairs was read, recommending the adoption of the pro- 
visions of the bill, as necessary to equalize the standing of 
different corps, and for the purpose of enforcing economy 
in the public expenditures. 
Mr. Johnson, as Chairman of the Committee on Military 
Affairs, then explained the sections relating to General 
Officers and their Aides-de-Camp, the Corps of Engineers, 
and the Quartermaster's and Medical Departments ; and, 
in conclusion, said : 
" Other parts* of the bill scarcely need explanation, and I will not 
detain the Committee by going over them ; but if any gentleman de- 
sires it, when they are taken up by sections, I will willingly give any 
information in my power. The leading object of the bill is to combine 
economy with utility, to the greatest possible extent, so that one shall 
not overpower the other; but that both may harmonize in the advance- 
ment and safety of the nation." 
After considerable debate on the bill, the question was 
taken on the motion of Mr. Williams, of North Carolina, to 
strike out the first section, and decided in the affirmative- 
73 to 52. 
The Committee then rose. 
Mr. Mercer, of Virginia, expressed a desire that the fur- 
ther consideration of the bill should be postponed until 
the House should have received the information as to the 
strength of the Army, its distribution, &c., called for by 
the resolutions introduced by him, and adopted by the 
House, on January 6th and 7th ;f and, on motion of Mr. 
Johnson, of Kentucky, the bill was ordered to lie on the 
table. 
No further action was taken on the subject at this ses- 
sion. 
On the 17th of December, 1819, on motion of Mr. Whit- 
* One of which was the fifth section relating to the Subsistence Department. 
+ These resolutions were Introduced and adopted pending the debate on the Military 
Appropriation Bill. 77 
man, of Massachusetts, the House of Representatives, 
directed the Secretary of War to furnish a statement, 
showing the expense of furnishing the Army with rations, 
and the average cost of the ration, for the period of one 
year ending April 14, 1818 ; and also, a like statement, 
covering a period of one year, under the provisions of the 
act of April 14, 1818, entitled "An Act to regulate the 
Staff of the Army." 
On the 25th of January, on motion of Mr. Eppes, of 
Virginia, the Senate Committee on Military Affairs was in- 
structed to prepare and report a bill to regulate the com- 
pensation of, and other allowances made to, officers and 
soldiers when employed on fatigue duty ; and, on the next 
day, Mr. Williams, of Tennessee, chairman of that com- 
mittee, reported a bill in compliance with the instructions 
of the Senate. 
The bill passed the Senate on the 16th of February ; the 
House of Representatives, on the 19th of February ; and 
was approved and signed by the President on the 2d of 
March. 
As passed and approved, the act read as follows : 
"An Act to regulate the Pay of the Army when employed on Fatigue 
Duty. 
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America, in Congress assembled, That whenever it 
shall be found expedient to employ the Army at work on fortifications, 
in surveys, in cutting'roads, and other constant labour, of not less 
than ten days, the non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates, 
so employed, shall be allowed fifteen cents, and an extra gill of whisky 
or spirits, each, per day, while so employed." 
On the 24th of February, 1820, the Speaker laid before 
the House of Representatives, a letter from the Secretary 
of War, enclosing reports from the Third Auditor and the 
Commissary-General of Subsistence, called for by the 
House on the 17 th of December previous. 
The reports of the Third Auditor and the Commissary- 
General of Subsistence were accompanied by statistical 
tables, prepared from the official accounts and returns, 78 
showing a very decided economy in favor of the new sys- 
tem. 
On the 28th of February, 1820, Mr. Smyth, of Virginia, 
from the Committee on Military Affairs, reported a bill 
"respecting the Military Establishment of the United 
States," which did not, however, propose any change in the 
status of the Commissariat, as fixed bv the act of April 14, 
1818. 
This bill was finally disposed of on the 11th of May, 
1820, when upon motion of Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, it was 
laid on the table, to give him an opportunity to offer the 
following resolution, which was adopted : 
" Resolved, That the Secretary of War be directed to report to this 
House, at the commencement of the next session of Congress, a plan 
for the reduction of the Army to six thousand officers, non-commis- 
sioned officers, musicians, and privates, and preserving such parts of 
the Corps of Engineers as, in his opinion, without regard to that num- 
ber, it may be for the public interest to retain ; and also, what saving 
of the public revenue will be produced by such an arrangement of 
the Army as he may propose in conformity to this resolution." 
An act, entitled " An Act in addition to the several acts 
for the establishment and regulation of the Treasury, War 
and Navy Departments," containing the following section 
relating to making contracts for the subsistence and cloth- 
ing of the Army and Navy, passed the House of Repre- 
sentatives on the 25th of March ; the Senate, on the 24th 
of April ; and was approved by the President on the 1st 
of May, 1820 : 
" Section 6.-That no contract shall hereafter be made by the Sec- 
retary of State, or of the Treasury, or of the Department of War, or 
of the Navy, except under a law authorizing the same, or under an 
appropriation adequate to its fulfilment; and excepting, also, contracts 
for the subsistence and clothing of the Army or Navy, and contracts 
by the Quartermaster's Department, which may be made by the Sec- 
retaries of those Departments." 
On the 20th of November, 1820, Mr. Cocke, of Tennes- 
see, submitted to the House of Representatives the follow- 
ing resolution, which was adopted : 79 
" Resolved, That the Committee on the Military Establishment be 
instructed to inquire into the expediency of reducing the Military Peace 
Establishment of the United States." 
On the 12th of December, 1820, the Speaker laid before 
the House of Representatives the report of Mr. Calhoun, the 
Secretary of War, rendered in conformity to the resolution 
of the House, adopted on the 11th of May previous, direct- 
ing him to report to that body, at the commencement of 
the next session, a plan for the reduction of the Army to 
the aggregate strength of six thousand men, exclusive of 
such parts of the Corps of Engineers as, in his opinion, it 
would be for the interest of the public service to retain ; 
and also what economy would be effected by his proposed 
arrangement of the Army in conformity with the resolu- 
tion. 
This masterly and statesmanlike report showed that the 
gifted Secretary had given the subject profound considera- 
tion. After briefly stating the general principles upon 
which he conceived the Military Peace Establishment 
ought to be organized, Mr. Calhoun said : 
" To give such an organization, the leading principle in its forma- 
tion ought to be, that at the commencement of hostilities there should 
be nothing either to new-model or to create. The only difference, con- 
sequently, between the peace and the war formation of the Army, 
ought to be in the increased magnitude of the latter ; and the only 
change in passing from the former to the latter, should consist in giving 
to it the augmentation which will then be necessary. 
" It is thus, and thus only, the dangerous transition from peace to 
war may be made without confusion or disorder; and the weakness 
and danger, which otherwise would be inevitable, be avoided." 
Upon the subject of the Staff of the Army, Mr. Cal- 
houn gave his views as follows : 
" It is believed that the true principle of its organization is, that every 
distinct branch of the Staff should terminate in a chief, to be stationed 
near the seat of Government, and to be made responsible for its condi- 
tion. It is thus that the Government may, at all times, obtain correct 
knowledge of the condition of the Army in every particular, and be 
enabled to introduce method, order, and economy, in its disbursements. 
It is, at present, with slight exceptions, thus organized, and the bene- 
ficial effects of it have already been strikingly exemplified by expe- 
rience. Since the passage of the act of April 14, 1818, which gave 
the present organization to the Staff, the expense of the Army has 80 
been greatly reduced, while, at the same time, the various articles sup- 
plied have been improved in quality, and in the punctuality with which 
they have been issued ; and while the movements of the Army have, 
at least for the present, been rendered more expensive, by occupying 
the distant frontier posts at the mouth of the St. Peter's and at the 
Council Bluffs." 
* * * * * 
After referring to a tabular statement accompanying his 
report, showing that in the year 1820, after allowing for 
the diminution of prices, there had been a saving of 
$957,350.46, effected through the organization of the new 
Staff system established by the act of April 14, 1818, 
" by enabling the Department to superintend in its minute 
details, as well the various disbursements of the Army, 
as the measures taken to prevent the waste of public prop- 
erty," Mr. Calhoun further said : 
" As great as the result is, it is only in war that the benefits of a 
proper organization of the Staff can be fully realized. With a com- 
plete organization and experienced officers, trained in peace to an exact 
and punctual discharge of their duty, the saving in war (not to insist 
on increased energy and success in our military movements) would be 
of incalculable advantage to the country. 
" The number of Deputies and Assistants in each branch ought to be 
regulated by the exigency of the service, and this must obviously de- 
pend much more on the number of posts than on the number of troops; 
and as no material change can, consistently with the public interest, be 
made as to the posts, under the proposed reduction, little diminution 
can be made in the number of subordinate officers belonging to the 
Staff." 
***** 
On the 28th of December, pursuant to the resolution of 
the House, of the 20th of November, Mr. Smyth, of Vir- 
ginia, from the Military Committee, reported an elaborate 
bill to reduce the Army to six thousand men. This bill, 
after having been debated in both Houses, and sundry 
amendments made thereto, finally became a law on the 
2d of March, 1821, under the title, " An Act to reduce and 
fix the Military Peace Establishment of the United States." 
The system of subsisting the Army, established by section 
6 of the act of April 14, 1818, was, however, retained with 
but slight modifications-the only changes being in limiting 
the number of Assistant Commissaries of Subsistence to 81 
fifty, and. fixing their extra pay at not less than ten nor 
more than twenty dollars per month, instead of twenty 
dollars per month ; and making the Assistant Quartermas- 
ters* and the Assistant Commissaries of Subsistence sub- 
ject to duties in both departments, under the orders of the 
Secretary of War. 
The section stood as follows : 
" Section 8.-And be it further enacted, That there shall be one 
Commissary-General of Subsistence; and there shall be as many 
Assistant Commissaries as the service may require, not exceeding fifty, 
who shall be taken from the subalterns of the line, and shall, in addi- 
tion to their pay in the line, receive a sum not less than ten, nor more 
than twenty, dollars per month; and that the Assistant Quartermasters 
and Assistant Commissaries of Subsistence shall be subject to duties 
in both Departments under the orders of the Secretary of War." 
On the 15th of December, 1821, Mr. Walworth, of New 
York, submitted the following resolution to the House of 
Representatives : 
" Resolved, That the Military Committee be instructed to inquire 
into the expediency of discontinuing the daily allowance of ardent 
spirits to soldiers in the Army of the United States." 
The resolution was read, and the question taken, a Will 
the House agree to the same ?" and determined in the 
negative. 
• In the Senate, on the 18th of December, 1821, Mr. 
Williams, of Tennessee, moved the following resolution : 
£ 
" Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to 
cause to be laid before the Senate a report of the practical operation of 
the system of subsisting the Army, under the provisions of the act 
passed April 14, 1818, together with a comparative view of the present 
and former modes of subsisting the Army." 
In offering this resolution, Mr. Williams said : 
" Many gentlemen present will doubtless recollect that the act 
commonly called the ' Staff Bill,' has engaged the attention of Con- 
gress for several sessions, and that its passage was, for some time, 
♦ The status of the Assistant Quartermasters was similar to that of the Assistant 
Commissaries of Subsistence. The grade of Assistant Quartermaster was created 
(apparently upon the model of the grade of Assistant Commissary of Subsistence, 
established by the act of April 14, 1818,) by section 7 of this act. which provided that 
there should be " ten Assistant Quartermasters, who shall, in addition to their pay 
in the line, receive a sum not less than ten dollars, nor more than twenty dollars, per 
month, to be regulated by the Secretary of War.'1 82 
successfully resisted. The gentlemen opposed to it warned us 
against innovation ; they predicted that the troops would not be well 
supplied, that each ration would cost the Government at least fifty 
cents, and that the public money would be wasted. Others, who were 
not alarmed at these predictions, contended that the contract system 
was as wrong in principle as it had been ruinous in practice; that all 
laws ought to be so framed, that it would be the interest as well as the 
duty of every one to execute them ; that it was the interest of the 
contractor to issue the cheapest provisions which could be had, and at 
places where he made the greatest profit; his interest being indirect 
collision with the Government, he seldom failed to pursue it to the 
great injury of the country. The contractors being exempt from mar- 
tial law, they availed themselves of this immunity, and did, at pleasure, 
paralyze the operations of the Army. The remedy provided by law, 
of a suit on the contractor's bond, had proved ineffectual, because 
there was no tribunal which could at the same time issue an injunction 
to stay the appetites of hungry soldiers. 
" Most of the disappointments, vexations, and defeats, experienced 
during the progress of the late war, can be traced directly to the, then, 
defective Staff; which seemed to be adhered to in despite of experience, 
and purely on account of its wretched deformity. 
"1 hazard but little when I say that one third of the expense of the 
late war would have been saved to this nation, if we had had at its 
commencement well-organized Commissariat and Quartermaster's De- 
partments. Independently of the great saving of national debt, we 
should have preserved the lives of at least one-half of those who perished 
by disease. 
" My object in offering this resolution, at the early stage of the ses- 
sion, is to obtain a faithful report, from the War Department, as to the 
practical operation of the commissariat system, which will enable us to 
judge of its merits. This report will prove that all the anticipations of the 
friends of the new system have been more than realized ; that the troops 
have been better fed at little more than half the former expense. I am 
desirous, if there have been any abuses under the new system, that 
they may be exposed; and I invite gentlemen to a strict scrutiny of 
everything connected with this subject, as I intend to introduce a bill 
to make the provisions of the Staff act, which limited the Commissariat 
to five years, a permanent law." 
The motion of Mr. Williams, under the rules of the Sen- 
ate, was ordered to lie over one day. 
On the 20th of December, the Senate took up Mr. 
Williams's resolution. On motion, the following clause was 
added thereto : 
" Stating the rank of the officers, their number, and the number of 
the soldiers, in actual service for each year; together with the amount 
of their pay and subsistence from the commencement of the Military 
Establishment." 83 
Thus amended, the resolution was adopted. 
On the 3d of January, 1822, Mr. Walworth, of New 
York, introduced the following resolution in the House of 
Representatives, which was ordered to lie on the table : 
" Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to 
inquire and report to tins House whether any, and, if any, what, alter- 
ations are necessary to be made in the component parts of the rations 
issued to the Army of the United States : and that the said committee 
be also instructed to inquire into the practicability of regulating the 
issue of ardent spirits in such manner as more effectually to preserve 
the health and rnoials of the soldiers." 
On the 11th of January the House proceeded to the con- 
sideration of the foregoing resolution ; and in support 
thereof, Mr. Walworth said : 
"The proportions of the ration are established bylaw; and, although 
the President is authorized by law to change the component parts of 
the ration, he is not authorized to make any but a general change in 
it. Now, a change may be necessary at the northern extremity of the 
Union, and not at the southern; but under the law, such a change 
cannot be made. The effect of the general commixture of spirit- 
uous liquors in the ration of the soldier, has been very prejudicial to 
the service; so much so, that reports have been made by various 
officers, deprecating the system as now established and practiced. 
Under its operation, a young man who goes into the Army with sober 
and steady habits becomes in time almost necessarily intemperate. 
At times the use of spirituous liquors may be necessary to the health 
of the soldier-when on fatigue duty, &c. But there ought to be a 
discretion vested in the officers commanding to give or withhold it-a 
discretion which they can not now exercise without violating the law 
of the country. While the officer is thus situated, the soldier is left 
without the option of accepting or refusing the component part of the 
ration. He is surrounded, on its being offered to him, by veterans in 
the art and practice of drinking, and, by scoffs and jeers, and even by 
force, compelled to take the cup. He is thus put in the way to become 
an habitual drunkard, and every finer feeling of his mind is destroyed. 
It is worth while to inquire at least, whether this evil cannot be reme- 
died." 
The question was then taken on the resolution, and it 
was agreed to without a division. 
On the 4th of February, 1822, Mr. Eustis, of Massachu- 
setts, from the Committee on Military Affairs, in pursuance 
of a resolution previously adopted by the House, on a mo- 
tion made by Mr. Cannon, of Tennessee, reported a bill in 84 
addition to an act entitled "An act to reduce and fix the 
Military Peace Establishment of the United States," ap- 
proved March 2. 1821. 
This bill provided for such sweeping reductions and rad- 
ical alterations in the Staff of the Army, that Mr. Tatnall, 
of Georgia, in a speech delivered in the House on the 15th 
of April, 1822, said, "one glance at this bill will satisfy 
any one that its object is (at all events its effect would be) 
to destroy the Staff." It is noteworthy, however, that the 
new system of subsisting the Army had, by this time, so 
far demonstrated its excellence, that in the 5th section 
of this bill, it was proposed to make the office of Commis- 
sary-General of Subsistence permanent. 
This bill, however, never got beyond the House in which 
it originated. When under consideration, in the Commit- 
tee of the',Whole, it was opposed by Mr. Tatnall, of Geor- 
gia, Mr. Sterling, of New York, and Mr. Poinsett, of South 
Carolina, and its impolicy so clearly shown, that when the 
House, on the 1 8th of April, proceeded to its final consid- 
eration, it was, on motion of Mr. Tatnall, laid on the table. 
On the 1st of May, 1822, a message was received by the 
Senate, from the President of the United States, transmit- 
ting a report from the Secretary of Wrar, furnishing the 
information called for by Mr. Williams's resolution, adopted 
by the Senate on the 20th of December previous. 
With the report of the Secretary of War were enclosed 
statements from the Second and Third Auditors, and the 
Commissary-General of Subsistence, which contained, in 
detail, the information required. These statements showed 
that the practical operation of the commissariat system had 
been to effect a very great economy for the Government, 
while it had not only furnished the sick with delicacies, by 
the commutation of the hospital ration, " at a very consid- 
erable expense to the subsistence fund," but had, also, 
incurred a still greater expense in "the improvement in the 
quality of the ration." 
All that had been claimed for the system by Mr. Wil- 
liams, in his speech in the Senate, on the 18th of December 
previous, when he moved the call for the report, was fully 
verified by the oflicial figures. 85 
On the 7th of May, preparatory to final adjournment on 
the next day, the House Committee on Military Affairs 
was discharged from the further consideration of "all 
petitions and other matters " before it. and among the 
latter was Mr. Walworth's resolution in relation to the 
components of the Army ration. 
President Monroe, in his annual message, dated Decem- 
ber 3, 1822. in reference to the organization of the Army 
and the Army Staff, said : 
"The organization of the several corps composing the Army, is such 
as to admit its expansion to a great extent in case of emergency. * * 
" With the organization of the Staff, there is equal cause to be sat- 
isfied. By the concentration of every branch, with its chief in this 
city, in the presence of the Department, and with a grade in the chief 
military station, to keep alive and cherish a military spirit, the greatest 
promptitude in the execution of orders, with the greatest economy and 
efficiency are secured." 
In referring to the new system of subsisting the Army, 
he spoke in the following terms of approval : 
" It appearing that so much of the act entitled 'An Act regulating 
the Staff of the Army,' which passed on the 14th of April, 1818, as re- 
lates to the Commissariat, will expire in April next, and the practical 
operation of that Department having evinced its great utility, the pro- 
priety of its renewal is submitted to your consideration." 
On the 17th of December, Mr. Eustis, of Massachusetts, 
Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, in accord- 
ance with the recommendation in the President's annual 
message, introduced a bill in the House of Representatives, 
to continue the present mode of subsisting the Army. 
The bill passed the House on the 3d of January, 1823, the 
Senate on the 14th, and was approved by the President on 
the 23d of the same month. 
The following is the act in full: 
" An Act to continue the present mode of supplying the Army of the 
United States. 
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America, in Congress assembled, That the seventh, eighth, 
ninth, and tenth sections of the act, entitled ' An Act regulating the 
Staff of the Army,' passed April fourteenth, eighteen hundred and eigh- 
teen, be, and the same are hereby, continued in force for the term of 
five years, and until the end of the next session of Congress thereafter." 86 
When the 18th Congress met, in December. 1823, the 
condition of the Army was so satisfactory, that President 
Monroe, in his Annual Message, held the following lan- 
guage in relation to it: 
''The state of the Army, and its organization and discipline, has 
been gradually improving for several years, and has now attained a 
high degree of perfection. The military disbursements have been 
regularly made, and the accounts regularly and promptly rendered for 
settlement. The supplies of various descriptions have been of good 
quality, and regularly issued at all of the posts. A system of economy 
and accountability has been introduced into every branch of the ser- 
vice, which admits of little additional improvement. This desirable 
state has been attained by the act reorganizing the Staff of the Army, 
passed on the fourteenth of April, eighteen hundred and eighteen." 
In his annual report for the year 1827, Hon. James Bar- 
bour, Secretary of War, made the following statement and 
recommendation with reference to continuing the commis- 
sariat system of subsisting the Army : 
"I beg leave, also, to recommend to the favorable consideration of 
Congress, the alteration proposed by the Commissary-General of Sub- 
sistence, in the organization of that Department, presuming that the 
mode of supplying the Army by commissariat, whose advantages have 
been so satisfactorily manifested, will be continued by a new act of 
legislation, the former law being about to expire. In confirmation of 
this suggestion, as to the advantage of supplying the Army by this 
system, I beg leave to state that the price of rations, although of a much 
superior quality to those formerly issued, has been reduced to 11.6 
■cents at our most expensive posts, while at those least so, we procure 
them at 6.8 cents." 
A bill in accordance with the foregoing recommenda- 
tion, entitled " A Bill to continue the present mode of 
supplying the Army of the United States, and for other 
purposes appertaining to the same," was introduced in the 
House of Representatives, on the 2d of January, 1828, by 
Mr. Hamilton, of South Carolina, Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Military Affairs. 
No further action was taken on the bill, however, until 
the next session of Congress. Early in that session it was 
taken up, and after having been considered in Committee 
of the Whole, recommitted to the Committee on Military 
Affairs, and reported again with amendments, it passed 87 
the House on the 29th of January, 1829 ; the. Senate, on 
the 28th of February ; and was signed by the President 
on the 2d of March. 
The act was as follows : 
" An Act to continue the present mode of supplying the Army of the 
United States. 
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the sixth, 
seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth sections of the act entitled, ' An Act 
regulating the Staff of the Army of the United States,' passed April 
the fourteenth, eighteen hundred and eighteen, and the eighth section 
of the act, entitled ' An Act to reduce and fix the Military Peace Estab- 
lishment of the United States,' passed March the second, eighteen hun- 
dred and twenty-one, are hereby continued in force for five years from 
the passing of this act, and thence to the end of the next session of 
Congress thereafter, and no longer. 
"Section 2.-And be it further enacted, That the better to enable 
the Commissary-General of Subsistence to carry into effect the provi- 
sions of the above specified acts, there be appointed two Commissaries, 
to be taken from the line of the Army, one of whom shall have the 
same rank, pay, and emoluments as Quartermaster, and the other with 
the rank, pay, and emoluments of Assistant Quartermaster." 
On the 14th of January, 1829, Mr. Sprague, of Maine, 
upon whose motion a resolution had been adopted by the 
House of Representatives, on the 11th of December pre- 
vious, instructing the Committee on Military Affairs, " to 
inquire into the expediency of providing by law that spirit- 
uous liquors shall not, hereafter, be furnished to the Army, 
except when prescribed by a Surgeon ; and of prohibiting 
sutlers from selling spirituous liquors to the soldiers of the 
Army," moved the following resolution ; which was read, 
and laid on the table : 
" Resolved, That the Secretary of War be directed to inform this 
House what beneficial effects, if any, have arisen, or are likely to arise, 
from the daily use of spirituous liquors by the Army; and whether 
the consequences of that practice have not been, and will not be, in- 
jurious ; and particularly, of its influence upon the health, morals, and 
discipline of the soldiers." 
On the next day, this resolution was taken up and agreed 
to by the House. 
On the 3d of February, the Speaker laid before the 
House of Representatives a report from the Secretary of 88 
War. on the effects of the daily use of spirituous liquors in 
the Army, made in obedience to the foregoing resolution ; 
which report was laid on the table. 
The report of the Secretary of War, Hon. Peter Buel 
Porter, was accompanied by reports from Major-General 
Alexander Macomb, General-in-Chief of the Army, Doctor 
Joseph Lovell, Surgeon-General, and Brevet Brigadier- 
General George Gibson, Commissary-General of Subsist- 
ence ; to whom, severally, he had referred the resolution 
of the House for their opinions. 
The Secretary, after referring to the fact that, on some 
points, the opinions of these officers were not exactly con- 
current, but that on the whole subject they were not essen- 
tially at variance, said : 
" From these opinions, as well as from other sources of information, 
the following propositions may be deduced: 
" 1st. That the habitual use of ardent spirits, even in moderate quan- 
tities, is unfavorable to health ; and that tne chances for health, vigor, 
and protracted life, in favor of an individual who finds it convenient 
wholly to abstain from them, are generally greater than of him who 
indulges. 
"2d. That the use of so small a quantity as one gill a day, taken at 
proper times, will not seriously impair the constitution or diminish the 
health of a man who pursues laborious or active employments. 
" 3d. That a sudden and total abandonment of the practice, by one 
who has been long accustomed to the free use of ardent spirits, will 
diminish his vigor, and probably injure rather than improve his health 
and constitution ; and, 
" 4th, That the evils of intemperance in our Army arise, not so 
much from the moderate allowance of spirits made to the soldiers by 
the Government and its officers, as from the excessive quantities pro- 
cured by other means." 
As to the expediency of legislating on the subject, the 
Secretary submitted the following views : 
" The President of the United States is authorized to prescribe the 
component parts of a soldier's ration, and it will be in his power, with 
perhaps some small additional legislative aids, to correct in a great 
measure the evils complained of. A law or regulation, allowing to 
a soldier, who will abstain from the use of spirits, a sum in money as 
a commutation for that part of the ration, equal to, or perhaps, by way 
of arrangement, somewhat greater than its actual cost to the Govern- 
ment, might be advantageously adopted. Other experiments may, and 
probably will, be introduced by the Executive, with a view to the 
desired reform. But the legislative aid, if any, which is most wanted 89 
at this time, is such as will prevent soldiers from procuring a greater 
quantity of spirits than is allowed by the regulations of the Army; 
and to this end, the separate legislation of the respective States would 
be required." 
The next legislation affecting the Subsistence Depart- 
ment was suggested by Hon. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War. 
In his annual report for 1833, he said : 
" The act organizing the Subsistence Department expires by its own 
limitation on the second day of March next. It was originally passed 
in 1818, and has been continued by successive temporary acts till the 
present time. The reason of this course of legislation is undoubtedly 
to be found in the fact that the introduction of the system was an ex- 
periment, and it was deemed prudent to test its operation before a per- 
manent character was given it. This has been fully done, and the 
result is, in every point of view, satisfactory. All who were acquainted 
with the mode of supplying the Army previously to, and during the 
late war, and for a few years after its termination, must be sensible of 
the superiority of the present plan. In the quality of the provisions, in 
the certainty of the supply, and in the economy of administration, its 
operation is decidedly superior to the old system, where contractors fur- 
nished and issued all the subsistence required. The continued failures 
that took place, and frequently in the most critical state of affairs, the 
controversies arising out of perpetual attempts to issue unsound pro- 
visions, and the serious obstacles which these and the other operations 
of the system interposed to the public service, must be fresh in the re- 
collection of every military man who participated in the events of those 
periods. The Army is now well and promptly supplied, and the faith- 
ful officer at the head of the Subsistence Department has established a 
system of purchasing, of issuing, and of responsibility, which, while it 
insures this result, guards the public interest against loss and imposi- 
tion as far as a business necessarily so extended permits. During the 
fifteen years in which this Department has been in operation, more than 
five millions and a half of dollars have been expended under its direc- 
tion, and the whole loss which has been incurred by the defalcations of 
its officers does not amount to sixteen thousand dollars. 
" I consider that the time has arrived when the present arrangement 
should be rendered permanent, and I therefore present the subject with 
that view to your notice. And I also beg leave to suggest that the 
compensation of the clerks in the office should be increased. It is now 
lower than the average amount allowed in the other public offices, and 
less than is due to their labor and responsibility." 
Consonant with the foregoing recommendation, Mr. R. 
M. Johnson, of Kentucky, from the House Committee on 
Military Affairs, on the 19th of December, 1833, reported 90 
a bill " to render permanent the present mode of supplying 
the Army of the United States which was read twice, 
and referred to the Committee of the Whole. 
On the 10th of February, 1834, the bill was considered 
in Committee of the Whole, and reported to the House by 
Mr. Thomson, of Ohio, without amendment. 
On the 19th of February, the bill was taken up for its 
third reading ; but objec'ion being made by Mr. Wilde, of 
Georgia, to the increased number of clerks provided for 
in the office of the Commissary-General of Subsistence, it 
was, on motion of Mr. Blair, of South Carolina, recom- 
mitted to the Committee on Military Affairs. 
On the 4th of March, Mr Johnson, of Kentucky, from 
the Committee on Military Affairs, reported the bill with 
an amendment. 
The bill as reported was then referred to the Committee of 
the Whole on the State of the Union ; but no further 
action was taken thereon until the next session. 
On the 24th day of February, 1835, Mr. Johnson, of 
Kentucky, from the Committee on Military Affairs, reported 
the following resolution, which was agreed to : 
" Resolved, That on Wednesday morning, after reading the Journals 
and receiving reports from committees, the House will appropriate one 
hour to the consideration of the following bills: 
" A bill to render permanent the present mode of supplying the Army 
of the United States." 
# * * * « 
On the next day, on motion of Mr. Johnson, the House 
went into Committee of the Whole on the State of the 
Union, and considered the bill as amended, which having 
been read and agreed to, the Committee rose and reported 
the bill to the House. After some intervening legislation, 
the bill was taken up, passed, and sent to the Senate. On 
the same day it was read twice in the Senate, and referred 
to the Committee on Military Affairs ; and on the next 
day, February 26, it was reported by Mr. Benton, from 
ihe Committee on Military Affairs, and, on March 2, 
passed. 
The bill as approved by the President, March 3d, 1835, 
was as follows : 91 
" An Act to render permanent the present mode of supplying the 
Army of the United States, and fixing the salary of certain clerks 
therein named. 
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the seventh, 
eighth, ninth, and tenth sections of the act, entitled ' An Act regulating 
the Staff of the Army,' passed April fourteenth, eighteen hundred and 
eighteen, be, and the same are hereby, continued in force until re- 
pealed by Congress. 
" Section 2.-And be it further enacted, That the principal clerk in 
the office of the Commissary-General of Subsistence shall receive the 
annual sum of sixteen hundred dollars, one of the other clerks the sum 
of twelve hundred dollars, and the other clerk the sum of one thousand 
dollars, to be paid for the year eighteen hundred and thirty-five, out of 
any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated." 
From its re-establishment in 1818, until 1836, the com- 
missariat system of subsisting the Army had, as to econ- 
omy and efficiency, more than fulfilled the most sanguine 
expectations. In 1836, however, it was, for the first time, 
subjected to an unusual strain. The organization proper 
then consisted of the Commissary-General and two Com- 
missaries-a major and a captain. To provide for the 
army in Florida, therefore, taxed the little organization to 
its full capacity-one of the Commissaries being required 
for duty as assistant to the Commissary-General, and the 
other as Chief Commissary of the army in the field. The 
important depots had perforce to be placed in charge of 
Assistant Commissaries, who were lieutenants of the line. 
This demonstrated very clearly the necessity for a stronger 
organization-an organization which would make it practi- 
cable to put a Commissary of rank and experience in charge 
of each of the important depots, to purchase and distribute 
supplies ; and one at each general headquarters to ascertain 
the wants of the troops, and, under the direction of the 
commander, supervise the Assistant Commissaries making 
the issues. 
The Department was then organized on the principle of 
having a chief at the seat of Government, with one or two 
officers to assist him ; and all other duties, embracing the 
purchase, distribution, and issue of supplies, and the dis- 
bursement of the large sums of money in payment there- 
for, to be performed by lieutenants of the line, detailed as 92 
Assistant Commissaries of Subsistence. The same princi- 
ple of organization obtained in other staff corps and de- 
partments : and upon its injurious effects in impairing the 
efficiency of both the staffs and the line, the Secretary of 
War ad interim, Hon. B. F. Butler, of New York, com- 
mented as follows, in his annual report, dated December 
3,' 1836 : 
" The present system seems to have been framed upon the principle 
of concentrating the business of these Departments at the seat of 
Government, and of employing therein a very small number of officers 
commissioned in the staff; the deficiencies having been supplied by 
selections from the line. This arrangement is very well adapted to a 
time of profound peace, when officers can be spared ffom the line 
without injury to the service; when the positions of the troops are 
chiefly permanent; and when the changes which occur are made with 
so much deliberation as to afford ample time for preparing adequate 
means for transportation and supply ; but when large bodies of troops, 
whose numbers and movements may be varied by unforseen contingen- 
cies, are to be supplied in the field, and at a great distance from the 
seat of Government, the system is worse than insufficient; it is the 
parent of expense, confusion, and delay. * * * 
To prevent inconvenience of this sort, it is evident that staff officers 
of experience and rank should be associated with the commander; 
and to supply such associates, the staff department must be enlarged. 
On the other hand, to make the line of the Army truly effective, officers 
should not be taken for staff service, or other detached duties, in large 
numbers, nor for long periods, from their companies. And when, to 
relieve the weakness of the staff, on a pressing emergency, officers are 
selected from the line, the difficulty, instead of being remedied, is only 
exchanged for a new, and possibly a greater one. The embarrassments 
occasioned by these causes during the operations of the year, have 
been of constant recurrence, and of the most serious character." 
On the 8th of December, 1836, Mr. Benton, of Missouri, 
Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, introduced 
a bill based on the recommendations of Mr. Butler. 
This bill passed the Senate on the 16th of February, 
1837, by a vote of 26 to 13 
The bill was taken up, in the House of Representatives, 
on the 3d of March, ami considered in Committee of the 
Whole ; but after some progress had been made, Mr. 
Mann, of New York, asked leave to make a motion, which 
was adopted, to discharge the Committee of the Whole 
from the further consideration of the bill. Mr. Mann said 
he was in favor of the bill, but being well assured it would 93 
accupy the whole residue of the session,* he made the 
motion only for the purpose of laying the bill on the table, 
to enable the House to proceed to other business. 
No further action was taken on this bill, but early in the 
next session of Congress, Mr. Benton, of Missouri, from 
the Committee on Military Affairs, reported substantially 
the same bill, which passed the Senate on the 25th of Jan- 
uary, 1838, and the House, with an amendment, on the 2d 
of July. The House amendment was concurred in by the 
Senate, on the 4th of July, and on the 5th of July, 1838, 
the bill as amended, was approved by the President. 
The title of the act as passed was, " An Act to increase 
the present Military Establishment of the United States, 
and for other purposes,'' and the sections relating to sub- 
sistence of the Army were as follows : 
" SECTION 11 -And be it further enacted, That there be added to the 
Commissariat of Subsistence one Assistant Commissary-General of 
Subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a lieutenant- 
colonel of Cavalry; one Commissary of Subsistence, with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of a Quartermaster of the Army; and three 
Commissaries of Subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
Assistant Quartermasters." 
"Section 17.-And be it further enacted, That the allowance of 
sugar and coffee to the non-commissioned officers, musicians, and pri- 
vates, in lieu of the spirit or whisky component part of the Army 
ration, now directed by regulation,! shall be fixed at six pounds of coffee 
and twelve pounds of sugar to every one hundred rations, to be issued 
weekly when it can be done with convenience to the public service, 
and, when not so issued, to be paid for in money." 
The 11th section of the foregoing act was modified by 
the 7th section of the supplementary act, approved July 7, 
1838, so far as to prohibit the last three Commissaries of 
Subsistence, therein authorized, from being separated from 
the line of the Army, i. e., from vacating their regimental 
commissions. The section of the supplementary act was as 
follows : 
♦ This was the last day of the session. 
+ Under the authority given to the President by section 8 of the act of April 14, 
1818, an allowance of four pounds of coffee and eight pounds of sugar to every hun- 
dred rations had been substituted, on the 25th of October, 1832, for the allowance of 
"one gill of rum, whisky, or brandy," authorized by section 8 of the act of January. 
1812. 94 
" SECTION 7.- And be it further enacted, That the three Commissa- 
ries of Subsistence authorized by said act shall not be separated from 
the line of the Army."* 
There was no further legislation relative to subsistence of 
the Army until the commencement of the war with Mexico, 
in 184 6. 
The legislation of 1838, had, fortunately, given to the 
Subsistence Department an organization, which, although 
exceedingly small, conformed to the fundamental principle 
of Army organization, enunciated by Mr. Calhoun, in his 
report as Secretary of War. communicated to the House 
of Representatives, on the 12th of December, 1820, viz., 
" that at the commencement of hostilities there should be 
nothing either to new-model or to create," and it was. 
therefore, capable of expansion, without confusion or dis- 
order, to any extent which might be required by the exi- 
gencies of a great war. 
To pass from the peace to the war basis, it was only 
necessary to adequately increase the number of officers ; and 
this was provided for by section 5 of the act approved 
June 18, 1846, entitled "An Act supplemental to an act, 
entitled ' Au Act providing for the prosecution of the ex- 
isting war between the United States and the Republic of 
Mexico,' and for other purposes," which was as follows : 
" Section 5.-And be il further enacted, That when volunteers or 
militia are called into the service of the United States in such numbers 
that the officers of the Quartermaster, Commissary, and Medical De- 
partments, authorized by law, be not sufficient to provide for supply- 
ing, quartering, transporting, and furnishing them with the requisite 
medical attendance, it shall be lawful for the President to appoint, with 
thes advice and consent of the Senate, as many additional officers of said 
departments as the service may require, not exceeding one Quarter 
master and one Commissary for each brigade, with the rank of major; 
and one Assistant Quartermaster, with the rank of captain, one Assist- 
ant Commissary, with the rank of captain, one Surgeon, and one As- 
sistant Surgeon for each regiment; the said Quartermasters and Com- 
missaries, Assistant Quartermasters and Assistant Commissaries, to give 
bonds, with good and sufficient sureties, for the faithful performance of 
their duties ; and they and the said Surgeons and Assistant Surgeons 
* This law was so materially changed as to be virtually repealed, by section 7 of the 
supplemental Army-organization act, of June 18, 1846. 95 
to perform such duties ns the President shall direct : Provided, That 
the said officers shall be allowed the same pay and emoluments as are 
now allowed to officers of the same descriptions and grades in those 
departments, respectively; that they be subject to the rules and articles 
of war, and continue in service only so long as their services shall be 
required, in connection with the militia and volunteers." 
By section 7 of the same act it was provided, " that ap- 
pointments in the line, and in the general staff, which 
confer equal rank in the Army, shall not be held by the 
same officer at the same time ; and when any officer of the 
staff who may have been taken from the line, shall, in 
virtue of seniority, have obtained, or be entitled to, pro- 
motion to a grade in his regiment equal to the commission 
he may have held in the staff, the said officer shall vacate 
such staff commission, or he may, at his option, vacate his 
commission in the line." 
On the 4th day of January. 1850, Gen. Gibson, the 
Commissary-General of Subsistence, addressed a letter to 
Hon. G. W. Crawford, the Secretary of War, requesting 
" that there be added to the Subsistence Department four 
Commissaries of Subsistence, with the rank of captain, to 
be taken from the line of the Army." 
In explanation of the necessity for this increase, Gen. 
Gibson said : 
" The addition of Oregon, California, New Mexico, and Texas, to 
our territory, compels me to ask for an increase of the number of 
officers in the Subsistence Department. Each of these commands re- 
quires the presence of an officer of the Commissariat, and from no 
point occupied by my officers can one be spared for these duties." 
General Gibson further explained that the necessity for 
this additional number of officers was of a permanent 
character. 
The Secretary of War, on the 30th of January, transmitted 
copies of this letter to the Military Committees of both Houses 
of Congress, and recommended it to their favorable con- 
sideration. 
On the 21st of February, Mr. Davis, of Mississippi, 
Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, introduced 
a bill in the Senate, embodying the recommendations of 
the Commissary-General, as approved by the Secretary of 
War, which became a law on the 26th of September, 1850. 96 
The following is so much of the act as related to the 
Subsistence Department: 
" An Act to increase the Commissariat of the United States Army. 
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America, in Congress assembled, That there be added to the 
Subsistence Department four Commissaries of Subsistence, with the 
rank of captain, to be taken from the line of the Anny." 
The following section of the .Army-appropriation act, 
approved September 28, 1850, exempted the proceeds of 
sales of subsistence supplies from being covered into the 
Treasury : 
" Section 3.-And be it further enacted, That the moneys which 
may be received by the proper officers of the Army, for the sales of 
subsistence, military stores, and other supplies, be, and they are hereby, 
exempted from the operation of the act of the thhd of March, eighteen 
hundred and forty-nine, entitled ' An Act requiring all moneys received 
from the customs, and all other sources, to be paid into the Treasury, 
without abatement or reduction.' " 
Section 2 of the act, entitled ,l An Act to found a Mili- 
tary Asylum* for the relief and support of invalid and 
disabled soldiers of the Army of the United States," ap- 
proved March 3, 1851, provided that the Commissary-Gen- 
eral of Subsistence should be, ex officio, one of the commis- 
sioners of said Asylum. 
Promotion in the Subsistence Department was regulated 
as follows, by section 1 of an act approved March 3, 1851 : 
" Section 1.- * * * Provided, That all 
promotions in the staff departments, or corps, shall be made as in other 
corps of the Army." 
The insufficiency of the coftee-and-sugar ration, as fixed 
by section 17 of the act approved July 5, 1838. was made 
the subject of an inquiry by the Secretary of War, in 
1856, and in replying thereto, on the 4th of August, 1856, 
the Acting Commissary-General (Capt. A. E. Shiras) said : 
" The allowance is six pounds of coffee and twelve pounds of sugar 
to one hundred rations, and this allowance was, by the act of July 5, 
• Designation changed to " Soldiers' Home," by section I of the Army-appropriation 
act of March 3, 1859. 97 
1838, specially made in lieu of the ' spirit or whisky component of the 
ration.' These, therefore, are the only articles in which the President 
' may not make such alterations as the health and comfort of the Army 
and economy may require.' 
" I doubt not the pleasure and comfort of the soldier would be in- 
creased, and believe, in many instances, the health of the troops would 
be improved by au additional allowance of those articles." 
Notwithstanding the foregoing favorable recommenda- 
tion, it does not appear that any further action was then 
taken on the matter. 
The subject was, however, finally brought to the atten- 
tion of Congress through a letter addressed to the Com- 
missary-General of Subsistence, by Surgeon Charles McCor- 
mick, Medical Director of the Department of Texas, dated 
San Antonio, Texas, January 6, 1858, in which he ad- 
vanced the opinion " that a proper increase in the allow- 
ance of coffee and sugar to the hundred rations will great- 
ly conduce to the interest of the service, by the greatly 
increased health, comfort, and power of endurance, a liberal 
use of its infusion will bestow upon all who drink it," which 
he supported by a very conclusive argument. 
The Department commander, Brevet Major-General 
Twiggs, in forwarding Surgeon McCormick's letter fully 
concurred in the views expressed therein, and stated that 
he believed the proposed addition to the Army ration 
would " add greatly to the comfort and welfare of the en- 
listed men, and render them far more efficient at all times 
when efficiency is most required." 
No action appears to have been taken on Surgeon McCor- 
mick's letter, however, until the next year, 1859, when the 
Secretary of War, Hon. John B. Floyd, called attention to 
it in his annual report, as follows : 
" The coffee ration of the Army is fixed by law, and cannot be 
altered by any regulation. It is manifestly too small, and ought to be 
increased The good of the service requires that the supply of coffee, 
for the Army, should be put on the same footing with all other rations, 
and left to the experience of the service to fix the quantity. I here- 
with transmit a communication from a surgeon of the Army upon this 
subject, whose recommendations are concurred in by Brevet Major- 
General Twiggs." 98 
On the 3d of April, 1860, Mr. Fitzpatrick, of Georgia, 
Chairman pro tem. of the Senate Committee on Military 
Affairs, addressed a communication to the Secretary of 
War stating that the attention of the committee had been 
called, by his annual report, to the subject of the "coffee 
ration," and that they would "be obliged for the views of 
the War Department as to the extent to which the present 
allowance of coffee and sugar should be increased in the 
Army ration." 
This communication was referred to the Commissary- 
General of Subsistence for report ; and on the 5th of April, 
was returned with the recommendation that the allowance 
"be increased to ten pounds of coffee and fifteen pounds of 
sugar to every one hundred rations." 
The Senate Committee on Finance made the foregoing 
recommendations the subject of an amendment to the bill 
making appropriations for the support of the Army, for 
the year ending the 30th of June, 1861. 
In the consideration of the Army-appropriation bill, by 
the Senate in Committee of the Whole, this amendment was 
reached on the 2d of June, 1860, and agreed to ; and on 
the 9th of June the bill, with this amendment, passed the 
Senate. 
On the 14th of June, the House of Representatives in 
Committee of the Whole, on the bill as amended by the 
Senate, reached the amendment, increasing the coffee-and- 
sugar ration, and the Committee of Ways and Means hav- 
ing recommended a concurrence in this amendment, it was 
concurred in without debate. 
The bill became a, law on the 21st of June, 1860. 
The section increasing the sugar-and-coffee ration was as 
follows : 
" Section 4.-Anc. be it further enacted, That the allowance of 
sugar and coffee to the non-commissioned officers, musicians, and pri- 
vates of the Army, as fixed by the seventeenth section of the act of the 
fifth of July, eighteen hundred mid thirty-eight, shall hereafter be ten 
pounds of coffee and fifteen pounds of sugar for every one hundred 
rations." 
Section 3 of the act, entitled " An Act making appro- 
priation for the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial ex- 99 
penses of the Government, for the year ending June 
thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one," approved June 
23, 1860, contained the following provision, which modified 
section 7 of the act of May 1, 1820, so as to restrict con- 
tracts for, and purchases of, subsistence supplies, in case 
of failure of appropriations, to the necessities of the current 
year : % 
" No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made unless the same 
be authorized by law, or be under an appropriation adequate to its ful- 
fillment, except in the War and Navy Departments, for clothing, sub- 
sistence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, w'hich, however, 
shall not exceed the necessities of the current year."* 
The next legislation affecting the Subsistence Depart- 
ment was to facilitate its expansion to the extent required 
to meet the requirements of a sudden increase in the Army 
of 500,000 men, provided for by the act, entitled "An 
Act to authorize the employment of Volunteers to aid in 
enforcing the Laws and protecting Public Property," ap- 
proved July 22, 1861. 
This act authorized the President "to accept the services 
of volunteers, either as Cavalry, Infantry, or Artillery, in 
such numbers, not exceeding five hundred thousand, as he 
may deem necessary, for the purpose of repelling invasion, 
suppressing insurrection, enforcing the laws, and preserving 
and protecting public property : Provided, That the services 
of the volunteers shall be for such time as the President 
may direct, not exceeding three years, nor less than six 
months, and that they shall be disbanded at the end of the 
war." 
The 3d and 4th sections of this act provided for the or- 
ganization of these forces into divisions and brigades, and 
for the appointment of general and general-staff officers, as 
follows : 
" Section 3.-And be it further enacted, That these forces, when ac- 
cepted as herein authorized, shall be organized into divisions of three 
or more brigades each; and each division shall have a Mnjor-General, 
three Aides-de-Camp, and one Assistant Adjutant-General, with the 
* Repealed by section 5 of the Naval-appropriation act, approved February 21, 
1861; but re-enacted in section 10 of the Sundry-Civil-appropriation act, approved 
March 21,1861. 100 
rank of Major. Each brigade shall be composed of four or more regi- 
ments, and shall have one Brigadier-General, two Aides-de-Camp, one 
Assistant Adjutant-General with the rank of Captain, one Surgeon, 
one Assistant Quartermaster, and one Commissary of Subsistence. 
"Section 4.-And. be it further enacted, That the President shall 
be authorized to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, for the command of the forces provided for in this act, a num- 
ber of Major-Generals, not exceeding six, and a number ot Brigadier- 
Generals, not exceeding eighteen, and the other brigade and division 
officers, required for the organization of these forces, except the Aides- 
de-Camp, who shall be selected by their respective Generals, from the 
officers of the Army or Volunteer Corps." 
* * * * * 
The above-mentioned act also provided that each regi- 
ment of Infantry organized thereunder should, in addition 
to the usual complement of non-commissioned-staff officers, 
have one Commissary-Sergeant, with the pay and allow- 
ances of a Sergeant-Major. 
By the act of July 29, 1861, entitled "An Act to in- 
crease the present Military Establishment of the United 
States," there were added to the regular Army, nine regi- 
ments of Infantry, one regiment of Cavalry, and one regi- 
ment of Artillery. It was provided by this act that each 
regiment of Infantry should consist of not less than two, 
nor more than three, battalions, of eight companies each ; 
that the regiment of Cavalry should consist of not more 
than three battalions of not more than two squadrons (four 
companies) each ; and that the regiment of Artillery should 
consist of not more than twelve batteries. 
To each of these regiments was allowed one Regimental 
Quartermaster and Commissary (to be taken from the lieu- 
tenants of the regiment) ; and to each battalion of Infantry 
or Cavalry, one Battalion Quartermaster and Commissary, 
(to be taken from the lieutenants of the battalion,) and one 
Battalion Commissary-Sergeant. 
To the regiment of Artillery was allowed one Regimental 
Commissary-Sergeant. 
By section 2 of the act, entitled "An Act for the better 
organization of the Military Establishment," approved 
August 3, 1861, four majors and eight captains were added 
to the Subsistence Department. 101 
The following is so much of the section as related to the 
Subsistence Department : 
" Section 2.-And be it further enacted, That 
there be added to the Subsistence Department four Commissaries of 
Subsistence, each with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a major of 
Cavalry; eight Commissaries of Subsistence, each with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of a captain of Cavalry, and to be taken from the line 
of the Army, either of the Volunteers or regular Army." 
By the following section of the same act, the Army 
ration was largely increased : 
"Section 13.-That the Army ration shall be increased as follows, 
viz: twenty-two ounces of bread or flour, or one pound of hard bread, 
instead of the present issue; fresh beef shall be issued as often as the 
commanding officer of any detachment or regiment shall require it, 
when practicable, in place of salt meat; beans and rice, or hominy, 
shall be issued in the same ration, in the proportion now provided by 
the regulations; and one pound of potatoes per man shall be issued at 
least three times a week, if practicable ; and when these articles can 
not be issued in these proportions, an equivalent in value shall be 
issued in some other proper food ; and a ration of tea may be substi- 
tuted for a ration of coffee, upon the requisition of the proper officer: 
Provided, That after the present insurrection shall cease, the ration 
shall be as provided by law and regulations on the first day of July, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-one." 
On the 29th of September, 18G1, Brevet Major-General 
George Gibson died, after having served as Commissary- 
General of Subsistence, with honorable distinction, for over 
forty-three years. 
Brevet Colonel Joseph P. Taylor, Assistant Commissary- 
General of Subsistence, was promoted to fill the vacancy 
occasioned by General Gibson's death. 
The success attending the sudden expansion of our staff 
system to meet the requirements of a large army-so large 
that, in comparison with it, all armies raised by us in pre- 
vious wars were insignificant-was so complete that, in allud - 
ing to it in his annual report for 1861, the Secretary of 
War, Hon. Simon Cameron, said: 
"Extraordinary labor, energy, and talent have been required of the 
various bureaus of this Department to provide for the wants of our im- 
mense Army. While errors may have been occasionally committed by 
subordinates, and while extravagant prices have undoubtedly in some 
cases, controlled by haste and the pressure of rapid events, been paid 102 
for supplies, if is with great gratification that 1 refer to the economical 
administration of affairs displayed in the various branches of the service. 
Our forces had not only to be armed, clothed, and fed, but had to be 
suddenly provided with means of transportation to an extent heretofore 
unparalleled. While I believe that there is no army in the wodd better 
provided for in every respect than our regulars and volunteers, I can- 
didly think that no force so large, and so well equipped, was ever put 
in the field in so short a space of time at so small an expense." 
The following section of the Army-appropriation act, ap- 
proved July 5, 1862, gave the Secretary of War restricted 
authority to commute the coffee-and-sugar ration for the 
extract of coffee combined with milk and sugar. 
"Section 10.-That the Secretary of War be authorized to com- 
mute the Army ration of coffee and sugar for the extract of coffee com- 
bined with milk and sugar, to be procured in the same manner and 
under like restrictions and quantities, as preserved meats, pickles, but- 
ter, and desiccated vegetables are procured for the Navy, if he shall 
believe it will be conducive to the health and comfort of the Army, 
and not more expensive to the Government than the present ration, and 
if it shall be acceptable to the men." 
Section 9 of the act of July 1 7, 1862, entitled "An Act 
to amend the act calling forth the Militia to execute the 
laws of the Union, suppress insurrection, and repel inva- 
sion, approved February 28, 1796, and the act amendatory 
thereof, and for other purposes," authorized the President 
to "establish and organize Army Corps, according to his 
discretion." 
The 10th section of the same act prescribed the staff of 
the commander of each Army Corps, allowing, among 
other staff officers, one Commissary of Subsistence, with the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel, to be assigned from the Army, 
or volunteer force, by the President.* 
The 11 th section prescribed a more complete organiza- 
tion for Cavalry regiments. Among the officers and non- 
commissioned officers authorized for each regiment, were 
a Regimental Commissary of Subsistence, (to be taken from 
the lieutenants of the regiment), one Regimental Commissary- 
Sergeant, and a Commissary-Sergeant for each company. 
♦ This law, providing that the officers to fill one of the highest and most responsi- 
ble grades in the Subsistence Department should be appointed by the President 
alone, without the advice and consent of the Senate, appears to have been in viola- 
tion of section 2 of Article II of the Constitution of the United States; as it is not easily 
discerned that such officers were " inferior officers," within the meaning of said sec- 
tion. The use of the term "assigned" in a sense synonymous with "appointed," 
doubtless caused this peculiar feature of the bill to be overlooked. 103 
On the Sth of January, 1863, Mr. Washburne, of Illinois, 
introduced a bill "to promote the efficiency of the Commis- 
sary Department which became a law on the 9th of Feb 
ruary, 1863. 
The act was as follows : 
" An Act to promote the Efficiency of the Commissary Department. 
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America, in Congress assembled, That there be added to the 
Subsistence Department of the Army one brigadier-general, to be 
selected from the Subsistence Department, who shall be Commissary- 
General of Subsistence, and, by regular promotion, one colonel, 
one lieutenant-colonel, and two majors; the colonels and lieuten- 
ant-colonels to be Assistant Commissaries-Genoral of Subsistence, 
and that vacancies in the above-mentioned grades shall be filled by 
regular promotions in said Department; and the vacancies created by 
promotions herein authorized may be filled by selections from the 
officers of the regular or volunteer force." 
Under the provisions of the foregoing act, Colonel Joseph 
P. Taylor was appointed Commissary-General of Subsist- 
ence, with the rank of brigadier-general. 
On the 2d of March, 1863, while the bill which became 
a law on the next day, under the title, " An Act to pro- 
mote the efficiency of the Corps of Engineers and the Ord- 
nance Department, and for other purposes," was under con- 
sideration by the Senate sitting in Committee of the Whole, 
Mr. Wilson, of Massachusetts, proposed, as an amendment 
thereto, four additional sections-one establishing a system 
of supervision of army cooking, two sections regulating the 
detail of cooks for companies, and authorizing the enlist- 
ment of under-cooks, and another section making pepper 
a component of the Army ration and fixing the allowance 
thereof at four ounces to one hundred rations. 
These amendments were agreed to, and were a part of 
the bill when it became a law, March 3, 1863. 
These sections were as follows : 
" Section 8.-Ana be it further enacted, That the officers of the 
Medical Department shall unite with the line officers of the Army 
under such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the Secre- 
tary of War, in supervising the cooking within the same as an impor- 
tant sanitary measure, and that said Medical Department shall pro- 
mulgate to its officers such regulations and instructions as may tend 
to insure the proper preparation of the ration of the soldier. 104 
" Section 9.-And be it further enacted, That cooks shall be detailed 
in turn, from the privates of each company of troops in the service of 
the United States, at the rate of one cook for each company number- 
ing over thirty men, who shall serve ten days each. 
" SECTION JO.-And be. it further enacted, That the President of the 
United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to cause to be enlisted, 
for each cook, two under-cooks of African descent, who shall receive 
for their full compensation ten dollars per month, and one ration per 
day-three dollars of said monthly pay may be in clothing. 
"SECTION 11.-And be it further enacted, That the Army ration 
shall hereafter include pepper, in the proportion of four ounces to every 
hundred rations." 
On the 1st of February, 1864, Mr. Wilson, of Massachu- 
setts, Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, in- 
troduced a bill in the Senate, to provide for the examina- 
tion of Commissaries of Subsistence and other staff officers, 
which became a law, in the following form, on the 25th of 
June, 1864 : 
" An Act to provide for^the examination of certain officers of the 
Army. 
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America, in Congress assembled, That every Quar- 
termaster, Assistant Quartermaster, and every Commissary and As- 
sistant Commissary of Subsistence, and every Paymaster, and Addi- 
tional Paymaster, shall, as soon as practicable, be oidered to appear 
for examination as to his qualification before a board to be composed of 
three staff officers of the corps to which he belongs, of recognized 
merit and fitness, of whom two at least shall be officers of volunteers, 
which board shall make a caietul examination as to the qualifications 
of all officers who may appear before them in pursuance of this act, 
and shall also keep minutes, and make a full and true record of the 
examination in each case. And all members of such boards of exami- 
nation shall, before proceeding to the discharge of their duties as 
herein provided, swear or affirm that they will conduct all examinations 
with impartiality, and with a sole view to the qualifications of the per- 
son or persons to be examined, and that they will not divulge the vote 
of any member upon the examination of any officer who may appear 
before them. 
" SECTION 2.-And be it twth r enacted, That such boards of exami- 
nation shall be convened, under the direction of the Secretary of War, 
by the Quartermaster-General, the Commissary-General of Subsistence, 
and the Paymaster-General, at convenient places ; and general rules of 
examination, and a standard of qualifications, shall be prescribed by 
said officers, subject to the approval of the Secretaiy of War, and shall 
be published in General Orders. 
"Section 3.-And be it further enacted, That after such General 
Ordeis shall have been published for sixty days, if any officer who shall 105 
then be ordered before a board of examiners, under the provisions of 
this act, shall fail for thirty days after receiving such special order to 
report himself as directed, all his pay and allowances shall cease and be 
forfeited until lie does appear and report for examination; and if he 
shall still hereafter fail for a further period of thirty days so to appear, 
he shall thereupon be dropped from the rolls of the Army : Provided, 
however, That if such failure to appear and report shall have been occa- 
sioned by wounds or sickness, or other physical disability, then there 
shall be no forfeiture of pay until thirty days after such disability has 
been removed ; but if in sixty days after the disability is removed the 
officer shall not report himself, he shall then be dropped from the rolls 
as in other cases. 
" Section 4.-And be it further enacted, That if the board of exami- 
nation shall report that any officer does not possess the requisite busi- 
ness qualifications, they shall forward the record of the examination of 
such officer to the head of the bureau to which he may belong; and if 
the head of such bureau shall approve the finding and report of the 
board, he shall forward the same, through the Secretary of War, to the 
President of the United States; and if the President shall confirm the 
same, the officer so failing in his examination shall, if commissioned, 
be dismissed from the service with one month's pay ; and if not yet 
commissioned, his appointment shall be revoked. And if the board 
shall report that any officer fails to pass a satisfactory examination by 
reason of intemperance, gambling, or other immorality, and if the head 
of the bureau shall approve the finding and report of the board, and 
the same being communicated, as before provided, to the President, and 
confirmed by him, then such officer shall be dismissed from the service 
without pay, and shall not be permitted to re-enter the service as an 
officer: Provided, That such dismissal shall not relieve him from 
liability under existing laws for any offense he may have committed. 
" Section 5.-And be it further enacted, That the boards of ex- 
amination shall forward all their records of examination to the heads of 
the bureaus to which they appertain, and such records shall be filed in 
the proper bureaus with a suitable index; and any officer who may 
desire it, shall be entitled to receive a copy of the record in his own 
case, upon paying the cost of copying the same." 
On the 8th of March, 1864, Mr. Wilson, of Massachu- 
setts, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Af- 
fairs, addressed a communication to the Secretary of War, 
making inquiries relative to the Army ration. 
This communication was referred by the Secretary of 
War to the Commissary-General of Subsistence, (Brigadier- 
General Joseph P. Taylor), who, on the 15th of March, re- 
turned it with the following report and recommendations : 
" It is the opinion of this office- 
" 1st. That the present Army ration is larger than is necessary for 
the subsistence of the soldier. 106 
"2d. That the ration showed prior to the passage of the act of Au 
gust 3, 1^61, is sufficient for the soldier. 
"3d. That it is advisable to reduce the ration to the amount allowed 
prior to the passage of the aforesaid act, and to add the value of this 
reduction to the soldier's pay, rather than to continue the present sys- 
tem of purchasing the savings made from the use of the present ration. 
" In order to meet the exigencies of the service, and to facilitate the 
settlement of accounts at the Treasury, it is deemed important that the 
clause of the act of August 3d, 1861, which allows the issue of an 
equivalent in value of some other proper food when the articles com 
posing the ration cannot be issued in the proportions specified, should 
be embodied in any future legislation modifying the present Army 
ration." 
In the House of Representatives, on the 3d of May, Mr. 
Schenck, of Ohio, from the Committee on Military Affairs, 
to which had been referred the Senate bill " to equalize the 
Pay of the Soldiers of the United States Army," reported 
back the same with an amendment in the nature of a sub- 
stitute, which embodied the foregoing recommendations of 
the Commissary-General of Subsistence. 
When the section of the bill relating to the reduction of 
the Army ration was reached, Mr. Schenck said, in sub- 
stance, that it provided for the re-establishment of the 
Army ration at what it was in 1861, at the commencement 
of the war ; that the increase made by the act of August 3, 
1861, had proved to be greater than was necessary, and 
that while it added to the difficulty of transportation, the 
surplus of the rations went to post and regimental funds 
without benefitting the soldiers individually. He further 
stated that the practical effect of the adoption of the pro- 
posed measure would be to give the soldier an increase of 
pay without taking anything from him. 
The substitute was agreed to. The bill became a law on 
the 20th of June, 1864, under the title, " An Act to in- 
crease the Pay of Soldiers in the United States Army, and 
for other purposes." The section relating to the Army 
ration was as follows : 
" Section 2.-And be it further enacted, That the Army ration shall 
hereafter be the same as provided by law and regulations on the first 
day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-one: Provided, That the 
ration of pepper prescribed in the eleventh section of the * Act to pro- 
mote the efficiency of the Corps of Engineers and of the Ordnance 107 
Department, and for other purposes,' approved March three, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-three, shall continue to be furnished as heretofore. 
But nothing contained in this act shall be construed to alter the com- 
mutation value ot rations as regulated by existing laws."* 
On the 29th of June, 1864, General Taylor died, after 
having served continuously as an officer of the Department 
for thirty-five years, and as its chief for nearly three years 
in the most eventful period of its existence. 
Colonel Amos J3. Eaton, the senior Assistant Commissary- 
General of Subsistence, was appointed the successor of 
General Taylor. 
The act approved July 4, 1864, entitled "An Act to 
restrict the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims, and to pro- 
vide for the payment of certain demands for Quartermaster's 
Stores and Subsistence Supplies furnished to the Army of 
the United States," contained the following section : 
" Section 3.-And be it further enacted, That all claims of loyal 
citizens iu States not in rebellion for subsistence actually furnished to 
said Army, and receipted for by the proper officer receiving the same, 
or which may have been taken by such officers without giving such 
receipt, may be submitted to the Commissary-General of Subsistence, 
accompanied with such proof as each claimant may have to offer; and 
it shall be the duty of the Commissary of Subsistence to cause each 
claim to be examined, and, if convinced that it is just and of the loy- 
alty of the claimant, and that the stores have been actually received or 
taken for the use of, and used by, said Army, then to report each case 
for payment to the Third Auditor of the Treasury with a recommenda- 
tion tor settlement."! 
*The effect of this law was to fix the components of the Army ration as follows : 
Three-fourths of a pound of pork or bacon, or one and a fourth pound of fresh or 
salt beef: eighteen ounces of bread or flour, or one and a fourth pound of corn-meal, 
or twelve ounces of hard bread, or, on campaigns or marches, or on board of trans- 
ports, one pound of hard bread; and at the rate, to one hundred rations, of eight 
quarts of beans, or, in lieu thereof, ten pounds of rice, or, in lieu thereof, twice per 
week, nine pounds and six ounces of desiccated potatoes and six pounds and four 
ounces of desiccated mixed vegetables; ten pounds of coffee, or, in lieu thereof, one 
and one-half pound of tea; fifteen pounds of sugar; four quarts of vinegar; one 
pound of sperm candles, or one and one-fourth pound of adamantine candles, or one 
and one-half pound of tallow candles; four pounds of soap; two quarts of salt; and 
four ounces of pepper. 
+ Extended by the joint resolution approved June 1, 1866, to include the counties 
of Berkeley and Jefferson, of the State of West Virginia; and further extended by the 
joint resolution approved July 28, 1866, to include the State of Tennessee; and 
again further extended by the joint resolution approved March 2, 1867, to cover 
claims for supplies furnished to the command of Major-General Lewis Wallace dur- 
ing the Morgan raid through the States of Indiana and Ohio, in the summer of 1863. 
The declaratory act which became a law February 9, 1867, provided that the act of 
July 4, 1864, should not be construed to include any claim which ''originated during 108 
The following sections of the Army-appropriation act 
approved March 3, 1865, authorized rations to be sold to 
commissioned officers while serving in the field, and to- 
bacco to be furnished to enlisted men : 
" Section 5.-And be it further enacted, That commissioned officers 
of the Army, serving in the field, shall hereafter be permitted to pur- 
chase rations, for their own use, on credit, from any Commissary of 
Subsistence, at cost prices, and the amount due for rations so pur- 
chased shall be reported monthly to the Paymaster-General, to be de- 
ducted from the payment next following such purchase. And the Sec- 
retary of War is hereby directed to issue such orders and regulations as 
he may deem best calculated to insure the proper observance thereof. 
" Section 6.-And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of War 
is hereby authorized and directed to cause tobacco to be furnished to 
the enlisted men of the Army, at cost prices exclusive of the cost of 
transportation, in such quantities as they may require, not exceeding 
sixteen ounces per month, and the amount due therefor shall be de- 
ducted from their pay in the same manner as at present provided for the 
settlement of clothing accounts." 
The following act was approved on the 3d of March, 1865 : 
"An Act for the better organization of the Subsistence Department 
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America, in Congress assembled, That during the 
continuance of the present rebellion, the Secretary of War may, when 
in his judgment it is necessary, assign to each geographical military 
division, to each separate army in the field consisting of more than one 
army corps, to each military deparement, and to each principal subsist- 
ence depot, not exceeding ten in number, an officer of the Subsistence 
Department to act as Chief Commissary of such military division, army, 
military department, or depot, and also an officer of the Subsistence 
Department as assistant in the office of the Commissary-General of 
Subsistence, each of whom, while so assigned and acting, shall have 
the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel in the Subsistence De- 
partment; and, in like manner, may assign, for purposes of inspection 
or other special duty in the Subsistence Department, Commissaries of 
Subsistence, not exceeding six in number, each of whom, while so as- 
signed and acting, shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a lieu- 
tenant-colonel of the Subsistence Department; and to each army corps 
an officer of the Subsistence Department to be Chief Commissary of 
the corps, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel; and, in like manner, 
the war in a State or part of a State which had been declared in insurrection by the pro- 
clamation of the President of the United States, dated July 1,1862, or in any State which, 
by an ordinance of secession, attempted to withdraw from the United States: Provided, 
That nothing herein contained shall repeal or modify the effects of any act or joint re- 
solution extending the provisions of said act of July 4,1864, to the loyal citizens of the 
State of Tennessee, or to the State of West Virginia or any county thereof. 109 
may assign to each division of two or more brigades a Commissary, 
who, while so assigned and acting, shall have the rank, pay, and emol- 
uments of a major of the Subsistence Department: Provided, That 
when any one of said officers is relieved from said duty his increased 
rank, pay, and emoluments, allowed because of such assignment, shall 
cease, and he shall return to his commissioned rank in the Subsistence 
Department: And provided further, That the officers authorized to be 
assigned by this act shall be selected for each grade from the Commis- 
saries of Subsistence who hold commissions or rank in the volunteer 
service and in the regular Subsistence Department in proportion to the 
number of each of said classes respectively in service at the date of 
the passage of this act. 
" Section 2.-And be it further enacted, That all laws and parts of 
laws inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed."* 
The war closed in the spring of 1865. The magnitude 
of the operations of the Subsistence Department is indi- 
cated by the following statement showing the amount/ of 
its disbursements for each of the four years of the war, and 
the total amount for the entire period : 
From July 1, 1861, to June 30, 1862 $48,799,521.14 
From July 1, 1862, to June 30, 1863 69,537,582.78 
From July 1, 1863, to June 30, 1864 98,666,918.50 
From July 1, 1864, to June 30, 1865 144,782,969.41 
Total amount $361,786,991.83 
On the 30th of April, 1865, there were in service in the 
Subsistence Department the 29 officers of the permanent 
establishment and 535 Commissaries of Volunteers, making 
a total of 564 officers. 
In referring to the operations of the Subsistence Depart- 
ment in his annual report for 1865, the Secretary of War, 
Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, who had served continuously in 
that office since January 13, 1862, said : 
"During the war this branch of the service never failed. It answers 
to the demand, and is ever ready to meet the national call." 
No higher tribute could possibly have been paid to the 
♦This act, being framed on the model of section 10 omjuly 17, 1862, (which it re- 
pealed and superseded,) of course gave to the President power to promote officers to 
fill two of the highest and most responsible grades in the Department, without the 
advice and consent of the Senate, and thus removed the very effective safeguard 
against abuses so wisely established by the Constitution. Moreover, the status of 
the officers assigned by virtue of these acts was to the last degree anomalous, as 
they exercised the functions pertaining to their high grades, without commissions, 
upon the bare authority of a special order issued from the Adjutant-General's office. 110 
efficiency of the Subsistence Department and its utility as 
a branch of the Military Establishment. 
Sections 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the act of July 28, 1866, en- 
titled "An Act to increase and fix the Military Peace Es- 
tablishment of the United States," it was provided that 
each regiment of Cavalry should have a Regimental Com- 
missary of Subsistence, (an extra lieutenant to be selected 
from the first or second lieutenants of the regiment), and 
each regiment in the Army a regimental Commissary-Ser- 
geant ; and that the grade of Company Commissary-Ser- 
geant should be abolished. 
The same act also contained the following sections: 
" Section 16.-And be it further enacted, That the Subsistence De- 
partment of the Army shall hereafter consist of the number of officers 
now authorized by law, viz: One Commissary-General of Subsist- 
ence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general; two 
Assistant Commissaries-Genernl of Subsistence, with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of colonels of cavalry ; two Assistant Commissaries- 
General of Subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieu- 
tenant-colonels of cavalry; eight Commissaries of Subsistence, with 
the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry; and sixteen 
Commissaries of Subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
captains of cavalry." 
"Section 23.-And be it further enacted, That the Adjutant-Gen- 
eral, Quartermaster-General, Commissary-General of Subsistence, Sur- 
geon-General, Paymaster-General, Chief-of-Enginee^s, and Chief-of- 
Ordnance shall hereafter be appointed by selection from the corps to 
which they belong." * * * * * 
" Section 25.-And be it further enacted, That the office of sutler in 
the Army and at military posts is hereby abolished, and the Subsistence 
Department is hereby authorized and required to furnish such articles 
as may from time to time be designated by the Inspectors-General of 
the Army, the same to be sold to officers and enlisted men at cost prices, 
and if not paid for when purchased a true account thereof shall be kept 
and the amount due Government shall be deducted by the Paymaster 
at the payment next following such purchase: Provided, That this 
section shall not go into effect until the first day of July, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-seven." 
Apparently, it was not intended to change the organization 
of the Subsistence Department by this act, but section 38 
repealed all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the 
provisions of the act, among which was section 8 of the 
act of March 2, 1821, authorizing as many Assistant Com- 
missaries of Subsistence, not exceeding fifty, as the service 111 
might require, to be taken from lieutenants of the line- 
the Assistant Commissaries of Subsistence having been 
omitted in section 16, in stating the organization of the 
department. 
Sections 2, 3, and 5 of the Army-appropriation act ap- 
proved March 3, 1869, provided for a gradual reduction, 
by stoppage of appointments and promotions of officers and 
enlistments of men, of twenty regiments of Infantry, and a 
corresponding reduction, by prohibition of new appoint- 
ments, of the number of brigadier-generals ; and the 6th 
section provided "that until otherwise directed by law there 
should be no new appointments and no promotions in the 
Adjutant'General's Department, in the Inspector-General's 
Department, in the Pay Department, in the Commissary 
Department, in the Ordnance Department, in the Engineer 
Department, and in the Medical Department." 
Section 9 of the Army-appropriation act, approved July 
15, 1870, abolished the grade of Regimental Commissary 
of Subsistence in the Cavalry regiments, and section 10 
abolished the grade of Regimental Commissary-Sergeant 
in all regiments. 
By section 24 of the above-mentioned act it was pro- 
vided that the pay of an Acting Assistant Commissary of 
Subsistence should be one hundred dollars per annum in 
addition to the pay of his rank. 
By 1873 the Army had been reduced to the normal peace 
establishment, and legislation respecting the Subsistence 
Department began to assume a conservative phase. 
On the 13th of January of that year Mr. Logan, of Illinois, 
and Mr. Donnan, of Iowa, introduced in the Senate and 
House of Representatives, respectively, bills of identical 
purport to establish, in the general non-commissioned staff 
of the Army, the grade of Commissary-Sergeant, which re- 
sulted in the passage of the following excellent act, which 
was approved on the 3d of March, 1873 : 
" An Act to provide for the better care and protection of Subsistence 
Supplies. 
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America, in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War 112 
be, and be is hereby, authorized and empowered to select from the ser 
geants of the line of Army who shall have faithfully served therein 
five years, three years of which in the grade of non-commissioned 
officer, as many Commissary-Sergeants as the service may require, not 
to exceed one for eaeh military post or place of deposit of Subsistence 
Supplies, whose duty it shall be to receive and preserve the Subsistence 
Supplies at the posts, under the direction of the proper officers of the 
Subsistence Department, and under such regulations as shall be pre- 
scribed by the Secretary of War The Commissary-Sergeants hereby 
authorized shall be subject to the rules and articles of war, and shall 
receive for their services the same pay and allowances as Ordnance- 
Sergeants." 
General Eaton was retired from active service by the 
following General Order, after having served as an officer 
of the Subsistence Department thirty-five years, ten of which 
as Commissary-General: 
" War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, 
Washington, February 16, 1874. 
" General Orders No. 12. 
" By direction of the President, Brigadier-General Amos B. Eaton, 
Commissary-General of Subsistence, having served faithfully more 
than forty-five years, is retired from active service, to take effect May 
1, 1874. His name will be entered accordingly on the list of retired 
officers of the grade to which he now belongs, under section 12, act 
approved July 17, 1862. 
" By order of the Secretary of War : 
E. D. TOWNSEND, 
Adjutant-General." 
As under the restrictions of section 6 of the act of March 
3, 1869, a successor to General Eaton could not be ap- 
pointed without further legislation, Brevet Major-General 
Alexander E. Shiras, senior Assistant Commissary-General 
of Subsistence, was, by direction of the President, an- 
nounced as Acting Commissary-General of Subsistence, 
and ordered to relieve General Eaton. 
The codification of the statutes of the United States, 
general and permanent in their nature, in force on the 1st 
day of December, 1873, made by commissioners appointed 
under the authority of the acts of June 27, 1866, and May 
4, 1870, after having been revised by Congress, and enacted 
under the title "Revised Statutes of the United States," 
was approved by the President on the 22d of June, 1874. 113 
The sections especially relating to the Subsistence De 
partment were as follows : 
"Sec. 1140.-The Subsistence Department of the Army shall con- 
sist of one Commissary-General of Subsistence, with the rank of brig- 
adier-general ; two Assistant Commissaries-General of Subsistence, 
with the rank of colonel of Cavalry; two Assistant Commissaries- 
General ot Subsistence, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of Cav 
airy; eight Commissaries of Subsistence, with the rank of major of 
Cavalry ; and sixteen Commissaries of Subsistence, with the rank of 
captain of Cavalry. 
" Sec. 1141.-It shall be the duty of the officers of the Subsistence 
Department, under the direction of the Secretary of War, to purchase 
and issue to the Army such supplies as enter into the composition of 
the ration. 
" Sec. 1142.-That the Secretary of War is authorized to select 
from the sergeants of the line of the Army, who shall have faithfully 
served therein five years, three years of which in the grade of non- 
commissioned officers, as many Commissary-Sergeants as the service 
may require, not to exceed one for oach military post or place of de- 
posit of subsistence supplies, whose duty it shall be to receive and pre- 
serve the subsistence supplies at the posts, under the direction of the 
proper officers of the Subsistence Department, and under such regula- 
tions as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War. The Commis- 
sary-Sergeants hereby authorized shall be subject to the rules and 
articles of war, and shall receive for their services the same pay and 
allowances as Ordnance-Sergeants. 
" Sec. 1143.-The officers of the Subsistence Department shall, upon 
the requisition of the naval or marine officer commanding any detach- 
ment of seamen or marines under orders to act on shore, in co-opera- 
tion with the land troops, and during the time such detachment is so 
acting or proceeding to act, furnish rations.to the officers, seamen, and 
marines of the same 
"Sec. 1144.-The officers of the Subsistence Department shall pro- 
cure, and keep for sale to officers and enlisted men at cost prices, for 
cash or on credit, such articles as may, from time to time, be designated 
by the Inspectors-General of the Army. An account of all sales on 
credit shall be kept, and the amounts due for the same shall be report- 
ed monthly to the Paymaster-General. [See 1299, 1300.] 
" Sec. 1145.-Commissioned officers of the Army, serving in the 
field, may purchase rations for their own use, from any Commissary of 
Subsistence, on credit, at cost prices ; and the amounts due for such 
purchases shall be reported monthly to the Paymaster-General. [See 
1299, 1300.] 
" Sec. 1146.-Each ration shall consist of one pound and a quarter 
of beef, or three-quarters of a pound of pork, eighteen ounces of bread 
or flour, and at the rate of ten pounds of coffee, fifteen pounds of 
sugar, two quarts of salt, four quarts of vinegar, four ounces of pepper, 
four pounds of soap, and one pound and a half of candles, to every 114 
hundred rations. The President may make such alterations in the 
component parts of the ration as a due regard to the health and com- 
fort of the Army and economy may require.* 
"Sec. 1147.-The Secretary of War may commute the ration of 
coffee and sugar for the extract of coffee combined with milk and sugar, 
if he shall believe such commutation to be conducive to the health and 
comfort of the Army, and not to be more expensive to the Government 
than the present ration; provided, the same shall be acceptable to the 
men. [See § 1294.J 
"Sec. 1148.-The ration of sugar and coffee, when issued in kind, 
shall, when the convenience of the service permits, be issued weekly. 
"Sec. 1149.-Tobacco shall be furnished to the enlisted men by the 
Commissaries of Subsistence, at cost prices, exclusive of the cost of 
transportation, in such quantities as they may require, not exceeding 
sixteen ounces per month. [See $ 1301.] 
"Sec. 115D.-No officer belonging to the Subsistence Department, 
or doing the duty of a Subsistence officer, shall be concerned, directly 
or indirectly, in the purchase or sale of any article entering into the 
composition of the ration allowed to troops in the service of the United 
States, or of any article designated by the Inspeetors-General of the 
Army, and furnished for sale to officers and enlisted men at cost prices, 
or of tobacco furniseed for sale to enlisted men, except on account of 
the United States; nor shall any such officer take or apply to his own 
use any gain or emolument for negotiating or transacting any business 
connected with the duties of his office, other than that which may be 
allowed by law. 
* * * * * 
"Sec. 1191.-All officers of the Quartermaster's, Subsistence, and 
Pay Departments, the Chief Medical Purveyor, and Assistant Medical 
Purveyors, and all storekeepers shall, before entering upon the duties 
of their respective offices, give good and sufficient bonds to the United 
States, in such sums as the Secretary of War may direct, faithfully to 
account for all public moneys and property which they may receive. 
The President may, at any time, increase the sums so prescribed. 
***** 
" Sec. 1193.-The Adjutant-General, the Quartermaster-General, the 
Commissary-General of Subsistence, the Surgeon-General, the Chief of 
Engineers, the Chief of Ordnance, and the Paymaster-General shall be 
appointed by selection from the corps to which they belong. 
" Sec. 1194.-Until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the departments of Adjutant-Gen- 
eral, or of Inspector-General, or in the Pay, Quartermaster's, Subsist- 
ence, Ordnance, or Medical Departments." 
****** 
" Sec. 1277.-Hospital matrons in post or regimental hospitals shall 
receive ten dollars a month, and female nurses in general hospitals 
shall receive forty cents a day. One ration in kind or by commutation 
shall be allowed to each. 
* Section 2 of the aet of June 20, IS64, seems to have been overlooked or ignored in 
framing this section. 115 
" Sec. 1293.-Sergeants and corporals of Ordnance shall be entitled 
to receive one ration and a half daily. Other enlisted men shall be 
entitled to receive one ration daily. 
" Sec. 1294.-For each ration of sugar and coffee not issued, nor 
commuted for the extract of coffee combined with milk and sugar, en- 
listed men shall be paid in money. 
" Sec. 1295.-Laundresses allowed to accompany troops, hospital 
matrons, and the nurses employed in post or regimental hospitals, shall 
be entitled to receive one ration daily." 
* * * * * 
" Sec. 1299.-The amount due from any officer for rations purchased 
on credit, or for any article designated by the Inspectors-General of the 
Army and purchased on credit from Commissaries of Subsistence, shall 
be deducted from the payment made to such officer next after such pur- 
chase shall have been reported to the Paymaster-General." [See 
1144 and 1145.] 
"Sec. 1300.-The amount due from any enlisted man for articles desig- 
nated by the Inspectors-General of the Army, and sold to him on credit 
by Commissaries of Subsistence, shall be deducted from the payment 
made to him next after such sale shall have been reported to the Pay- 
master-General." [See 1144, 1145.] 
" Sec. 1301.-The amount due from any enlisted man for tobacco 
sold to him at cost prices by the United States shall be deducted from 
his pay in the manner provided for the settlement of clothing accounts." 
[See § 1149.] 
* * * * * 
" Sec. 1650.-The militia when called into actual service of the 
United States shall, during their time of service, be entitled to the 
same pay, rations, clothing, and camp equipage, as may be provided 
by law for the Army of the United States." 
* * * * * 
" Sec. 1655.-When the militia in the military service of the United 
States are employed on the western frontiers, there shall be allowed 
two ounces of flour or bread, and two ounces of beef or pork, in addi- 
tion to each of their rations, and half pint of salt, in addition to every 
hundred rations." 
***** 
" Sec. 3715.-Contracts for Subsistence Supplies for the Army, made 
by the Commissary-General, on public notice, shall provide for a com- 
plete delivery of such articles, on inspection, at such places as shall be 
stipulated." 
***** 
" Sec. 3732.-No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States 
shall be made, unless the same is authorized by law or is under an ap- 
propriation adequate to its fulfillment, except in the War and Navy De- 
partments for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transpor- 
tation, which, however, shall not exceed the necessities for the current 
year." 
***** 116 
On the 23d of June, 1874, the act entitled "An Act 
reorganizing the several Staff Corps of the Army" passed 
Congress and became a law. By this act the organization 
of the Subsistence Department was reduced from twenty- 
nine to twenty-six officers, notwithstanding it had received 
no increase in 1866, when the line of the Army and sev- 
eral of the staff departments were very considerably ex- 
panded. Inasmuch, however, as this act repealed the law 
prohibiting appointments and promotions, which had now 
been in force five years, it placed the Department in a very 
much improved condition for efficiency. 
The sections of the act relating to the Subsistence De- 
partment were as follows : 
'•Section 3.-That hereafter there shall be three Assistant Commis- 
saries-General of Subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
lieutenant-colonel, instead of the two now allowed by law of said grade 
in the Subsistence Department; that the number of Commissaries of 
Subsistence with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a captain of Cav- 
alry is hereby reduced to twelve, and no appointment to fill a vacancy 
in said grade shall be made until the number thereof shall be reduced 
to twelve, and the number thereafter shall remain fixed at twelve." 
" Section 8.-That so much of section 6 of an act entitled ' An act 
making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other pur- 
poses,' approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, as ap- 
plies to the Ordnance, Subsistence, and Medical Departments of tne 
Army be, and the same is hereby, repealed: Provided, That this section 
repealing said section shall not apply to any of the grades of the Medi- 
cal or Ordnance Departments which are omitted or abolished by the 
provisions of this act." 
After the passage of this act General Shiras was ap- 
pointed to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of 
General Eaton. 
The act, entitled " An Act to correct Errors and to sup- 
ply Omissions in the Revised Statutes of the United States," 
approved February 18, 1875, contained the following, 
which was printed in the Appendix to the Revised Statutes : 
" Section 300. B.-All claims of loyal citizens in States not in rebellion 
for subsistence actually furnished to the Army and receipted for by 
the proper officer receiving the same, or which may have been taken 
by such officers without giving such receipt, may be submitted to the 
Commissary-General of Subsistence, accompanied by such proof as 
each claimant may have to otfer; and it shall be the duty of the Com- 
missary-General of Subsistence to cause each claim to be examined, 
and, if convinced that it is just and of the loyalty of the claimant, 
and that the stores have actually been received or taken for the use of 
and used by the Army, then to report each case for payment to the 
Third Auditor of the Treasury, with a recommendation for settlement. 117 
"The provisions of the above * • * shalt extend to the State of 
Tennessee and to the counties of Berkely and Jefferson, in the State of 
West Virginia. But the provisions of the above * * * shall not au- 
thorize the payment of claims for the occupation Of or injury to real 
estate in any State declared in insurrection during the rebellion." 
The next legislation affecting the Subsistence Depart- 
ment was in the first section of the Army-appropriation act 
approved March 3, 1875, and related to the proceeds of 
sales of Subsistence Supplies. The following extract em- 
braces so much of the section as referred to this subject : 
"Provided. That * * * the proceeds of all sales of Subsistence Sup- 
plies shall hereafter be exempt from being covered into the Treasury 
and shall be immediately available for the purchase of fresh supplies," 
General Shiras died on the 14th of April, 1875, less than 
one year after he became chief of the Department. 
Brevet Colonel Robert Macfeely, Commissary of Subsist- 
ence, was appointed Commissary-General of Subsistence, 
vice General Shiras, and entered upon the duties of his 
office on the 11th of May, 1875. 
By the following section of the Army-appropriation act 
approved July 24, 1876, a commission was created to take 
into consideration the whole subject-matter of Army reform 
and reorganization, and make report to Congress by the first 
day of the next session, through the President of the United 
States, with all the evidence, record or otherwise, which they 
shall have received and considered : 
"Section 4.-That the whole subject-matter of reform and reorgani- 
zation of the Army of the United States shall be referred to the Com- 
mission hereinafter provided for, who shall carefully and thoroughly 
examine into the matter with reference to the demands of the public 
service, as to the number and pay of men and officers and the propor- 
tion of the several arms, and also as to the rank, pay, and duties of the 
several staff corps, and whether any and what reductions can be made 
either in the line or staff, in numbers or in pay, by consolidation or 
otherwise consistently with the public service, having in view a just 
.and reasonable economy in the expenditure of public money, the ac- 
tual necessities of the military service, and the capacity for rapid and 
effective increase in time of actual war. The Commission hereby 
created shall consist of two members of the Senate and two members 
of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the presiding offi- 
cers of each House respectively, of the Secretary of War, and two officers 
of the Army, one from the line and one from the staff corps, to be selec- 
ted by the President with special reference to their knowledge of the 
organization and experience in service. Such Commission shall as- 
semble as soon as practicable and proceed to the consideration of the 
matters with which they are charged, and make report to Congress, by 
he first day of the session, through the President of the United States. 118 
with all the evidence, record or otherwise, which they shall have re- 
ceived and considered. And the sum of one thousand dollars is hereby 
appropriated from the Contingent fund of the War Department to de- 
fray the expense of such Commission, to be expended under the direc- 
tion of the president of said Commission." 
The first session of the forty-fourth Congress closed on 
the 15th day of August, 1876. 
THE END. INDEX. 
A. 
Act of Congress- 
prescribing functions of the Secretary of War 26 
creating Department of War 26 
fixing components of Army ration, 4, 26, 28, 30, 31, 64. 77, 93,98, 
101, 102, 106, 107 
devolving on Treasury Department the duty of furnishing 
supplies for the Army 27 
creating a department for purchasing all Army supplies 33 
better to provide for the supplies of the Army of the United 
States 35 
for the better organization of the General Staff of the Army.. 37 
to regulate the Staff of the Army 63 
to regulate the pay of the Army when employed on fatigue 
duty 77 
in addition to the several acts for the establishment and regu- 
lation of the Treasury, War, and Navy Departments 78 
to continue the present mode of supplying the Army 85, 87 
to render permanent the present mode of supplying the Army. 91 
providing for the prosecution of the existing war between the 
United States and the Republic of Mexico 94 
providing that appointments of the same grade in the line 
and in the general staff shall not be held by the same 
officer at the sume time 95 
to increase the Commissariat of the United States Army.... 96 
to found a Military Asylum for the relief and support of in- 
valid and disabled soldiers of the Army of the United 
States 96 
regulating promotion in the Subsistence Department 96 
to restrict contracts for, and purchases of, subsistence supplies 
in case of failure of appropriations 99 
to authorize the employment of Volunteers to aid in enforcing 
the Laws and protecting of Public Property 99 
for the better organization of the Military Establishment.... 100 
to increase the Army ration 101 
authorizing the President to establish and organize Army 
Corps, according to his discretion 102 
to promote the efficiency of the Commissary Department.... 103 
to promote the efficiency of the Corps of Engineers and the 
Ordnance Department, and for other purposes 103 
to provide for the examination of certain officers of the Army. 104 
to increase the pay of soldiers in the United States Army, 
and for other purposes 106 120 
Act of Congress-Continued. 
to restrict the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims, and to pro- 
vide for the payment of certain demands for Quartermas- 
ter's stores and Subsistence Supplies furnished to the Army 
of the United States 107 
for the better organization of the Subsistence Department- 108 
Acting Assistant Commissaries of Subsistence- 
pay of, fixed Ill 
Appointments and Promotions- 
in the Subsistence Department, prohibited Ill, 114 
in the Subsistence Department, authorized 116 
(see Promotions.) 
Arbuckle, Lieutenant-Colonel Matthew- 
letter from, to Gen. Andrew Jackson, reporting negligence on 
part of contractor for supplying rations 48 
letter from, to Gen. Edmund P. Gaines, reporting failure of 
■contractor, and the measures adopted by him for supplying 
rations to his command - 48 
letter from, to Gen. Glasscock, requesting a supply of rations. 49 
Armistead, Major- 
letter from, to Brig.-Gen. Smyth,reporting lack of provisions 
at Fort Niagara in 1812 34 
Army- 
virtual disbandment of 24 
Army Organization- 
views of Mr. Calhoun on - 79 
views of Mr. Monroe on - - 85 
Army Reform and Reorganization- 
commission created by act of Congress to consider subject of. 114 
Army Supplies- 
furnished by Treasury Department. - 27 
furnished by War Department 29 
all purchases of, made by the Commissary-General of Pur- 
chases - -- 33 
act better to provide for 35 
Assistant Commissary-General of Purchases- 
salary of - 21 
Assistant Commissaries of Purchases- 
salary of 22 
Assistant Commissaries-General of Subsistence- 
authorized 93, 103, 110, 113, 116 
rank of 93, 103, 110, 113, 116 
Assistant Commissaries of Subsistence- 
authorized to be taken from the lieutenants of the line 63 
pay of 63 
number of, limited to fifty 81 
pay of, regulated 81 
abolished HO 
appointment of additional, with rank of captain, authorized.. 94 
examination of - - J04 121 
Assistant Military Agents- 
authorized - 31, 32 
A uditor, Third- 
(See Third Auditor.) 
Avery, Elisha- 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Issues - 15 
Aylett, William- 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Stores and Provi- 
sions 4 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Purchases 15 
B. 
Battalion Commissary-Sergeants- 
authorized 100 
Barbour, Hon. James- 
remarks of, as Secretary of War, on the advantages of the 
commissariat system 86 
Bill- 
a, making provision for subsisting the Army by authorizing 
the appointment of Commissaries of Subsistence 44, 47 
Blaine, Ephraim- 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Purchases 16 
elected Commissary-General of Purchases 21 
continued in office under new organization 22 
Blicker, James- 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Issues 16 
Board of Treasury- 
(see Commissioners of the Treasury) 24 
Board of War- 
form of commission for officers of the commissariat, recom- 
mended by the, and adopted by Congress 
Commissaries-General of Issues, and Purchases, placed under 15 
the superintendence and direction of the 20 
how constituted 20 
Buchanan, William- 15 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Purchases 15 
elected Commissary-General of Purchases 16 
Butler, Hon. B. F.- 
views of, as Secretary of War, on organization of the staff 
corps and departments 92 
c. 
Calhoun, Hon. John C.- 
letter to, as Secretary of War, from Gen. Edmund P. Gaines, 
reporting want of punctuality in the contractor's department 48 
letter of Gen. Jackson, reporting failure of contractor, and the 
measures adopted by him to supply his troops with provi- 
sions 50 
letter from, respecting alterations proposed to be made in the 
Military Establishment 75 122 
Calhoun, Hon. John C.-Continued. 
letter from, on equalizing the standing of different corps, and 
enforcing economy in the Military Establishment, read in 
the House of Representatives 76 
as Secretary of War, report of, to House of Representatives 
on the reduction of the Army to six thousand men 79 
Cass, Hon. Lewis- 
report of, as Secretary of War, in regard to the Subsistence 
Department 89 
Claims- 
of loyal citizens in States not in rebellion 116 
Coffee-and-Sugar ration- 
established bylaw 93 
insufficiency of 96, 97 
increase of 98 
authority to commute, for the extract of coffee combined with 
milk and sugar 102, 114 
to be issued weekly 114 
when not issued, or commuted for the extract of coffee com- 
bined with milk and sugar, to be paid for in money 115 
Colt, Peter- 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Purchases 
Commissariat- 
establishment of, recommended by Gen. Washington 2 
divided into two departments 6 
discontinued 23 
views in relation to, of Gen. Winfield Scott 40 
views in relation to, of Gen. Edmund P. Gaines 41 
views in relation to, of Col. Fenwick 43 
re-established 63 
Commissariat of the Army- 
act to increase the 96 
Commissaries- 
Colonial 1 
Commissary's Department- 
system revised 17 
regulations for 18, 19, 20 
Commissary-General- 
of Stores and Provisions 1,2 
of Purchases 6 
of Issues 6 
of Purchases - 33 
of Subsistence 63 
Commissary-General of Issues- 
Charles Stewart, elected 15 
empowered by resolution of Congress to regulate pay of em- 
ployes - - 15 
Commissary-General of Purchases- 
office of established 33 123 
Commissary-General of Purchases-Continued, 
salary of 21,22 
duties prescribed 33 
Joseph Trumbull elected 15 
to keep his office where Congress shall sit 14 
empowered by resolution of Congress to regulate pay of drovers 
and butchers 15 
Joseph Trumbull, resignation of as 16 
William Buchanan, elected 16 
Jeremiah Wadsworth, resigned office of 20 
Ephraim Blaine, elected 21 
C ommissary-General of Stores and Provisions- 
authorized for the Army of the United Colonies 1 
Joseph Trumbull, of Connecticut, elected 2 
Commissary-General of Subsistence- 
office of, created 63 
functions defined 63, 111 
to be selected from the officers of the Subsistence Depart- 
ment 103,110,114 
requests increase of the number of officers in the Subsistence 
Department - 95 
ex officio, one of the Commissioners of Military Asylum 96 
Commissaries of Purchases- 
percentage allowed to 21 
salary of 22 
Commissaries of Subsistence- 
authorized 87,93, 96, 100, 101, 102, 103, 108, 110, 113 
rank ot 87, 93, 96, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 108, 110, 113 
a bill making provision for subsisting the Army, by authoriz- 
ing the appointment of special 44 
appointment of, without the advice and consent of the 
Senate - - 102, 109 
examination of 104 
number of, reduced 116 
Commissary-Sergeants- 
one for each military post or place of depot of subsistence 
supplies, authorized Ill, 113 
(See Regimental Commissary-Sergeants, Battalion Commis- 
sary-Sergeants, and Company Commissary-Sergeants.) 
Commissioned Officers- 
serving in the field, may purchase rations on credit 108, 113 
sales to, of articles designated by the Inspectors-General of 
the Army, authorized Ill, 113 
amount due from, for rations or articles designated by the 
Inspectors-General of the Army, purchased on credit, to be 
deducted in making payment to 108, 110, 115 
Commissioners of the Treasury- 
Secretary of War to form estimates, and report the same to.. 24 
duty of furnishing supplies for the Army devolved upon.... 24 
to contract for the supply of rations . 25 124 
Committee of Congress- 
to inquire into conduct of Commissaries 5 
report of, appointed to inquire into conduct of Commissaries. 5 
to devise a proper mode for transferring the duties of supply- 
ing the Army to Superintendents of Finance 23 
recommendation of Superintendent of Finance that two In- 
spectors be appointed, referred to 23 
Company Commissary-Sergeants- 
authorized 102 
abolished ..... 110 
Continental Congress- 
resolution of, appointing Joseph Trumbull to be Commissary- 
General of Stores and Provisions 2 
resolution of, creating office of Commissary-General of Stores 
and Provisions 1 
Contracts and Purchases- 
of Subsistence Supplies... .7, 17, 18, 19, 20,21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 
29, 30, 31, 33, 36, 63, 64, 75, 78, 96, 99, 113, 115 
Contract System- 
report on, by Mr. Monroe, acting Secretary of War 39 
Cooks- 
for companies 103, 104 
Cuyler, Jacob- 
elected a Deputy Commissary General of Purchases 15 
D. 
Dearborn, Major-General- 
letter to, from Brig.-General Smyth, reporting want of provis- 
ions 34 
Department ol Finance- 
created 24 
duty of furnishing Supplies for the Army devolved upon.... 24 
Department of War- 
established 26 
Deputy Commissary-General of Issues- 
William Green Mumford elected a 15 
Matthew Irwin elected a 15 
• Elisha Avery elected a 15 
John Bohun Garardeau elected a 16 
Archibald Stewart elected a 16 
James Blicker elected a 16 
Samuel Gray elected a 17 
Deputy Commissary-General of Purcheses- 
William Aylett elected a 15 
William Buchanan elected a 15 
Jacob Cuyler elected a 15 
Jeremiah Wadsworth elected a 15 
James Roe elected a 16 
Ephraim Blaine elected a 16 
Peter Colt elected a 17 
duties of - 17, 18 
salary of 22 125 
Deputy Commissary-General of Storesand Provisions- 
authorized for Army of the United Colonies in Canada 3 
authorized for supplying troops in Virginia 
J. Price, elected a 2 
William Aylett, elected a 3 
Deputy Commissaries of Subsistence- 
two provided for in a bill respecting the Military Establish- 
ment 75 
E. 
Eaton, Amos B.- 
appointed Commissary-General of Subsistence 107 
retirement of 112 
Enlisted Men- 
entitled to one ration daily 28, 115 
sales to, of articles designated by the Inspectors-General, au- 
thorized 110, 113 
tobacco to be furnished to, at cost prices 108, 114 
amount due from, for tobacco, to be deducted from their pay. 108,115 
F. 
Fatigue Duty- 
pay and allowances to officers and soldiers, when employed 
on 77 
Finance, Superintendent of- 
(See Superintendent of Finance.) 
Finance, Department of- 
(See Department of Finance.) 
Form of Commission- 
for officers of the Commissariat 15 
G. 
Garardeau, John Bohun- 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Issues 16 
Gaines, Edmund P.- 
letter from, to Secretary of War, reporting want of punctu- 
ality in the contractor's department 48 
General Order- 
announcing appointment of Joseph Trumbull as Commissary- 
General of Stores and Provisions of the Army of the United 
Colonies 2 
appendix to a, showing equivalents of different components of 
the ration 5 
announcing retirement of General A. B. Eaton, Commissary- 
General of Subsistence 112 
Gibson, George- 
appointed Commissary-General of Subsistence 66 
recommends an increase of the Subsistence Department 95 
death of 103 
Gray, Samuel- 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Issues 17 126 
H. 
Harrison, Gen. IV. H.- 
scarcity of provisions in army of 37 
purchase of provisions ordered by * 37 
aspersions upon the character of 37 
inquiry requested by, concerning his official conduct 37 
statement of, concerning his official conduct 37 
exonerated by a committee of the House of Representatives.. 38 
Hospital Matrons- 
one ration in kind or by commutation allowed to each 115 
Hospital Nurses- 
employed in post or regimental hospitals entitled to receive 
one ration daily 115 
House of Representatives- 
resolution of, directing the Secretary of War to report whether 
any, and, if any, what change ought to be made in the ra- 
tion ; and also to report a system for the establishment of a 
commissariat for the Army 65 
direction of. to Secretary of War to furnish a statement show- 
ing the expense of subsisting the Army under the contract 
and commissariat systems 77 
resolution of, directing the Secretary of War to report a plan 
for the reduction of the Army to six thousand men 78 
I. 
Inspectors- 
authorized by resolution of Congress 23 
Inspectors-General of the Army- 
authorized to designate articles for sale to officers and enlisted 
men 108,113 
Intendant of the Army- 
Superintendent of Finance recommends appointment of 23 
Irwin, Matthew- 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Issues 15 
J. 
Jackson, General Andrew- 
letter to, from Lieut.-Col. Arbuckle, reporting negligence of 
contractor for supplying rations 48 
letter from, to Secretary of War, reporting failure of con- 
tractor, and the measures adopted by him to furnish his 
troops with provisions 50 
letter from, to Secretary of War, condemning existing mode 
of subsisting the Army, and recommending that a more 
efficient and certain mode be adopted 50 
letters from, to Secretary of War, reporting extremities to 
which his troops were reduced, and the embarrassments to 
which the military operations had been subjected on ac- 
count of failure in supply of rations 51, 52, 53, 54, 55 
sketch of a commissariat by 66 127 
Johnson, Mr., of Kentucky- 
from House Committee on Military Affairs, introduced a bill 
authorizing two Deputy Commissaries of Subsistence 75 
L. 
Laundresses- 
allowed to accompany troops entitled to receive one ration 
daily 115 
Livingston, Walter- 
appointed Commissary of Stores and Provisions 3 
Lovell, Joseph- 
report of, as Surgeon-General, on the Army ration 71 
M. 
Macfeely, Robert- 
appointed Commissary-General of Subsistence 117 
McCormick, Surgeon Charles- 
recommends an increase in the coffee-and-sugar ration 97 
Mexico- 
prosecution of the existing war between the United States 
and the Republic of 94 
Military-Agency System- 
defects of 32 
opinion of Secretary Eustis on 32 
discontinuance of 32 
Military Agents- 
authorized by an act of Congress... 31 
Military Establishment- 
a bill respecting, based on the recommendations of Mr, Cal- 
houn, the Secretary of War 75 
letter from Mr. Calhoun, Secretary of War, recommending 
the adoption of a bill respecting, as necessary to equalize 
the standing of the different corps, and for enforcing econ- 
omy in the .. 76 
an act to increase the present 93, 100 
Militia- 
rations allowed to, when called into the actual service of the 
United States 115 
increase in ration allowed to, when employed in the military 
service of the United States 115 
Monroe, James- 
report of, as Acting Secretary of War, on the contract and 
commissariat systems 39 
views of, on the organization of the Army and Army staff.... 85 
views of, on the commissariat system . 85 
remarks of, in his annual message, in December, 1823, on 
satisfactory state of the Army 86 
Mumford, William Green- 
elected a Deputy-Commissary-General of Issues 16 128 
N. 
New York Department- 
Commissary of Stores and Provisions appointed for the 3 
o. 
Oath of Office- 
for officers of the commissariat. 14 
Officers ot the Subsistence Department- 
duties of the 113 
not to be concerned in the purchase or sale of articles com- 
prised in the ration, or designated to be kept for sale to 
officers and enlisted men 114 
to give bonds 113 
reduction in number of the 116 
Orders, General- 
(See General Orders.) 
P. 
Paymaster- General- 
all sales on credit to be reported to, monthly 113 
Pepper- * 
allowance of 103, 104, 106 
Porter, Hon. Peter Buel- 
report of, as Secretary of War, on the issue of ardent spirits 
as a part of the ration 88 
President of the United States- 
message of, in answer to resolution of the Senate, in relation 
to manner in which the troops of the United States operat- 
ing against the Seminole Indians have been subsisted 56 
authorized to make alterations in the component parts of the 
ration 64, 114 
Price, J.- 
elected Deputy Commissary-General of Stores and Provisions 
for the Army in Canada 3 
Proceeds of Sales of Subsistence Supplies- 
exempted from being covered into the Treasury 96, 117 
Promotion- 
act regulating, in the Subsistence Department 96 
in the Subsistence Department, prohibited Ill, 114 
in the Subsistence Department, authorized 116 
Purchases- 
(see Contracts and Purchases.) 
Purchasing Department- 
reorganized 21 
Purveyor of Public Supplies- 
appointment of, recommended by President Washington.... 27 
appointment of, recommended by Hon. Alexander Hamilton, 
Secretary of the Treasury 27 129 
Proceeds of Sales of Subsistence Supplies- 
exempted from being covered into the Treasury 96, 117 
Purveyor of Public Supplies- 
office of, created 28 
duties of, defined 28 
office of, abolished 32 
Q. 
Quartermaster-General 1, 33 
Quartermasters, Regimental.-(See Regimental Quartermasters.) 
R. 
Ration- 
first legislation fixing components of - 4 
general order in relation to - 4 
table of equivalents of components of 5 
components of, fixed by act of Congress 27 
established for troops employed on the frontiers 28, 29 
modified 28, 33 
increased 30, 101 
reduced 106 
President of the United States authorized to make alterations 
in the component parts of the ration 64, 114 
coffee and sugar rftade components of 93 
increased 101 
to be the same as provided by law and regulation on the first 
day of July,- eighteen hundred and sixty-one 106 
report of Mr. Calhoun on the 67 
report of Surgeon-General Joseph Lovell on the 71 
components of the..4, 5, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 64, 77, 93, 98, 101, 
103, 104, 106, 113, 114 
allowed to the militia when called into the actual service of the 
United States 115 
increase of, allowed to militia when employed in the military 
service of the United States on the western frontiers 115 
Rations- 
Secretary of War to ascertain the necessary rations proper for 
the troops and report the same to Congress 25 
to be contracted for by the Commissioners of the Treasury 25 
to be purchased and issued, in certain contingencies, by spe- 
cial commissaries 36 
Reform and Reorganization of the Army- 
subject-matter of, referred to a Commission 117 
Regimental Commissaries of Subsistence- 
authorized for cavalry regiments 109 
abolished in cavalry regiments Ill 
Regimental Commissary-Sergeants- 
authorized for each regiment in the Army 110 
abolished in infantry and artillery regiments Ill 
abolished in cavalry regiments Ill 
Regimental Quartermasters- 
ex officio regimental commissaries 5 130 
Regulations- 
of the Commissary's Department 6 
of the Purchasing Department 17, 18, 19, 20 
of the Subsistence Department 73 
Report- 
of Hon. John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, on the Army 
ration and the Subsistence Department 67 
of Surgeon General Joseph Lovell on the Army ration 71 
Resolutions of Congress- 
fixing components of the Army ration 4 
directing a draught of regulations for government of Commis- 
saries to be prepared 6 
ordering that Commissaries be commissioned by Congress... 6 
adopting regulations for the Commissary's Department 6 
adopting revised regulations for the Commissary's Depart- 
ment 18, 19, 20 
fixing salary of Commissary-General of Purchases 21 
reorganizing Purchasing Department 21 
prohibiting officers of the line of the Army from making pur- 
chases 23 
to transfer the duty of furnishing Army supplies to the Super- 
intendent of Finance •................ 23 
authorizing appointment of Inspectors 23 
Resolution of the Senate- 
directing the President of the United States to inform the 
Senate in what manner the troops operating against the 
Seminole Indians have been subsisted 55 
Revised Statutes of the United States- 
sections of, especially relating to the Subsistence Depart- 
ment ,..113, 114,115 
appendix to the 116 
Roe, James- 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Purchases 16 
s. 
Salary- 
of Commissary-General of Purchases 22 
of Deputy Commissary-General of Purchases 22 
of Deputy Commissaries of Purchases 22 
of Assistant Commissaries of Purchases 27 
Sales to Officers and Enlisted Men- 
Subsistence Department authorized to furnish for, such articles 
as may, from time to time, be designated by the Inspectors- 
General of the Army 110, 113 
Scott, Gen. IF.- 
views of, on supplying an Army by contract and by com- 
missariat 40 
Schuyler, Gen. Philip- 
recommends appointment of a Commissary-General for his 
army -- 3 131 
Schuyler, Gen. Philip-Continued. 
appendix to order promulgated by, showing equivalents of 
different components of the ration 5 
Secretary of War- 
ordinance to ascertain powers and duties of 24 
to form estimates of military supplies and render same to the 
Commissioners of the Treasury 24 
act of Congress prescribing functions of 26 
duties more clearly defined 36 
reply of, to inquiry of House Committee on Military Affairs, 
relative to contract and commissariat systems of subsisting 
an army 39 
letter to, from Gen. Gaines 49 
letters to, from Gen. Jackson, reporting extremities to which 
his troops were reduced, and the embarrassments to which 
military operations had been subjected on account of failure 
in supply of rations 51, 52, 53, 54, 55 
report of, showing cost of subsisting the Army under the con- 
tract and commissariat systems 77 
report of, to the President of the United States, as to the man- 
ner in which the troops operating against the Seminole In- 
dians had been subsisted 56 
report of, to the House of Representatives, on the practical 
operation of the commissariat system 84 
authorized to appoint Commissary-Sergeants Ill, 113 
Sergeants and Corporals of Ordnance- 
entitled to one ration and a half daily 115 
Shiras, Alexander E.- 
announced as Acting Commissary-General of Subsistence 112 
appointed Commissary-General of Subsistence 116 
opinion of, as to proper allowance of coffee and sugar 96 
death of 117 
Smyth, General Alexander- 
letter from, to Secretary of War, reporting failure of a con- 
tractor 33 
letter to, from Maj. Armistead, reporting lack of provisions at 
Fort Niagara 35 
letter from, to Maj.-General Dearborn, reporting want of pro- 
visions 34 
letter to, from Col. W. H. Winder, reporting lack of bread at 
Fort Niagara 34 
letter from, to Capt. James Thomas, Deputy Quartermaster, 
ordering the purchase of rations for Fort Niagara 35 
Soldiers' Home- 
(see Military Asylum.) 96 
Special Commissaries of Subsistence- 
authorized 36 
Spirit Ration- 
increase of, allowed to soldiers when on fatigue duty 77 132 
Spirit Ration-Continued. 
resolution of Mr. Walworth, of New York, in regard to..81, 83, 85 
resolution of Mr. Sprague, of Maine, in regard to 87 
report of Hon. Peter Buel Porter, as Secretary of War, in re- 
gard to 88 
Staff of the Army- 
views of Hon. J. C. Calhoun, on organization of 79 
views of Hon. B. F. Butler, on organization of 92 
views of President Monroe on the 85 
Statutes- 
(see Revised Statutes of the United States.) 
Stewart, Archibald- 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Issues 16 
Subsistence Department- 
present, foundation of 64 
act regulating promotion in 96 
organization of the..63, 64, 81, 85, 87, 91,93, 94, 95, 99, 101, 103, 
108, 110,113 
prohibition of appointments and promotions in the. ..Ill, 114, 116 
reorganization of the - 116 
disbursements of the, during the war of 1861-'65 109 
number of officers in the, on April 30, 1865 109 
remarks of Hon. Edwin M. Stanton. Secretary of War, on 
operations of the, during the war of 1861-'65 - 109 
duties of officers of the - 113 
reduction in the number of the officers of the 116 
Subsistence supplies- 
act of Congress to restrict contracts for, and purchases of, in 
case of failure of appropriations 99, 115 
Sugar-and-Coffee Ration- 
authorized by law 93 
insufficiency of 96, 97 
increased - - - 98 
authority to commute, for the extract of coffee combined with 
milk and sugar 102 
Superintendent of Finance- 
committee of Congress ordered to devise the proper mode of 
transferring to, the duty of furnishing Army supplies 23 
recommends appointment of an Intendant of the Army 23 
office of, abolished 24 
Superintendent-General of Military Supplies- 
office of, created 35 
duties of, prescribed 35 
System of the Commissary's Department- 
revised by Congress 17 
T. 
Taylor, Joseph P.- 
appointed Commissary-General of Subsistence .r 101, 103 
report of, on the Army ration 105 
death of 107 133 
Third Auditor- 
report of, showing cost of subsisting the Army under the con- 
tract and commissariat systems 77 
Tobacco- 
to be furnished to enlisted men 108, 114 
Trimble, Mr., of Kentucky- 
speech of, on resolution relating to establishment of a com- 
missariat 65 
Trumbull, Joseph- 
elected Commissary-General of Stores and Provisions 2 
elected Commissary-General of Purchases 15 
resignation of 16 
eulogistic report of a committee of Congress concerning ser- 
vices of 16 
commission on sums disbursed by, voted by Congress to heirs 
of 16 
u. 
United States- 
prosecution of the existing war with the Republic of Mexico. 94 
Under-Cooks- 
enlistment of, authorized 103, 104 
W. 
Wadsworth, Jeremiah- 
elected a Deputy Commissary-General of Purchases 15 
elected Commissary-General of Purchases 18 
resignation of 20 
resolution of Congress complimentary to 20 
Walworth, Mr., of New York- 
resolution of, to instruct the House Military Committee to in- 
quire into the expediency of discontinuing the issue of the 
spirit ration 81 
resolution of, in relation to the alteration of components of the 
ration, and regulating the issue of ardent spirits 83 
remarks of, on the power of the President to make alterations 
in the components of the ration, and on the evils resulting 
from the issue of ardent spirits 83 
War Department- 
(see Department of War.) 
War, Secretary of- 
(see Secretary of War.) 
Washington, George- 
recommends the establishment of a commissariat - 2 
Whisky- 
allowance of sugar and coffee in lieu of 93, 96 134 
Williams, Mr., of Tennessee- 
resolution to request the President of the United States to cause 
to be laid before the Senate a statement showing the prac- 
tical operation of subsisting the Army under the commissa- 
riat system 81 
speech of, on subsisting the Army 81 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY 
OF THE 
SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT 
OF THE 
UNITED STATES ARMY, 
FROM 
JUNE 16, 1775, TO AUGUST 15, 1876. 
Compiled under the direction of the Commissary-General of Subsistence 
B Y 
JOHN W . BARRIGER, 
MAJOR AND COMMISSARY OE SUBSISTENCE, AND 
BYT. BRIGADIER-GENERAL, U. 8. ARMY. 
WASHINGTON : 
1 8 7 6.