The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-12-12


mands and requirements OF our frontier service
II could not fail 10 be Of wise economy II
Congress would authorize the purchase of thousand
camels for the purposes spoken Of This could be done
at comparatively small cost II suitable vessel OF the
navy detailed to transport them.
As this subject Is attracting much attention, lake the
liberty OF Transmitting herewith brief treatise ON the
camel, written with great care, and DESCENDING Win
Ininuteness the proper mode Of raising, training, and
treatment OF theIn Ii is the work OF Hekekyan Bay, OF
Cairo Egypt and prepared at the instance OF our &c
tive aud efficient consul general Of Egypt who has inter
ested himself upon this subject and has furnished much
valuable information concerning these animals. The
publication OF this little manual WILL doubt confer
decided benefit upon those who turning their atten
ton to this new aud important branch of husbandry
ASYLUM nARRopsHuRo, KENTUCKY
This property cannot be sold except at runous saci
hce but it be converted into establishment Of
funess indeed of the greatest possible importance to the
service. One OF the greatest evils ented upon the eff
cheney of forces when called for active duty in
the field, arises from the large number of entirely
recruits continually sent forward TO I'LL up the ranks.
These men, tor most part, have earthly idea of the
duties they will be called upon TO perform or OF the dis
cpline they will be required to undergo And when to
the arduous duties OF frontier campaign they sub
jected to the discipline Of d and the routine of soldiers
life, they find il than any ordinary exertion will nc
compIsh and Consequently they desert II they were
thoroughly drilled before joining their regiments the dis
oiplne itself would fit them to those very diff
olties with comparative ease, which without it, causes
them to desert
his regiment Immediately marching against the
Indians of the plains whilst his skill in riding is not suf
cient to sit horse at ordinary trot without extreme
difficulty. The inns about the person of such man
useless II they safely stored in
of the Atlantic arsenals The man condition is one
of torture himself and his horse his horse is speedily
broken down, and he himself deserts Examples Of this
sort extremely numerous and of perpetual occur
renee.
These and great many other evils resulting from send
ing unframed to the mounted service can all be
avoided by authorizing tho public property at Harods
burg Kentucky, 10 be converted into cavalry depot
and school for the mounted service 1t will entail
additional expense The houses sufficient for every
purpose and the stables ample for such horses
would be necessary for drill and all other purposes The
grounds attached to the establishment, believe adj
rnaby adapted TO cavalry drill being extensive and well
situated
If this measure is sanctioned it will not only fill the
regiments with skful and efficient in the manage
Of their horses and the Of their but it will
be measure of economy, and prove greater saving in
money to the public service.
Harrodsburg has striking advantages besides those
Ineratcd it is situated in RICH healthy, gran-produ-
cling country where forage always be purchased in
abundance and at fair prices and the horses of that
on are Of the very best sort 1t very accessible and
sufficiently near the frontiers of the West for the recruits
10 reach speedily by railroads and steamboats, any of the
posts which the mounted regiments would probably be
stationed.
The frontier service requires that every possible
should be resored to to make little army thoroughly
efficient and no measure confident, would contrib
ute to it than the one now proposed
SCHOOL OF ARTILLERY.
The Artillery School Of Practice at Fort Monroe,
long an object desired amongst the military men of the
country has been established and bids fair to realize all
the benefits to the service which its friends anticipated
Il win give to the service presently corps Of officers
and men certainly equal to those Of any other service in
the world. The officers under whose charge it is at
present thoroughly competent and fully nbued with
an anxious desire for complete success in the school
There is small tract of land in the vicinity of the fort
which ought be purchased for the purpose of giving
sufficient range for the practice with heavy guns With
this land large saving could be made by the recovery
of balls used practice in the course of time The range
without this land is inadequate to the wants of the SER
vice and the interests of the school The reports upon
this point to which refer, will give in detail the par
ticulars upon which this recommendation is predicaed
INSPECTOR GENERAL
The duties of inspector general among the most
useful and important of any pertaining to the service
Through these Offices all abuses and defects Of the
service are ascerained and made known to the depart
ment and from him that sort of information is derived
which would in fact be impracticabe through any other
sourcs.
Our Immensely extended territories render this sort of
inspection of military posts and depots a
matter of vital importance and 1t is quite Impossible
that those duties be properly performed without the
addition of another inspector general to the two already
authorized by law therefore recommend that the APP
pointment OF an additional inspector general BIO author
lied by law
gTAFT.
call again your special attention to the reoommenda
tons submitted in my report last year upon the subject
of tho staff Another years experience has convinced
than of the great benefits which would flow
from the adoption of the suggestions and recommended
lions therein set forth.
There two corps of engineers attached to the army
designated engineers and typographical engineers
This division Of curps accidental somewhat at first
and has been persisted in from habit In my udg
ment it Is useless and uncaed for and ought at
be abolished.
The present arrangement is founded in good
whatever and productive of benefit the service
whilst II entails considerable expense upon the depart
ment altogether useless and unnecessary 1t is deroga
ting nothing from the corps OF engineers say that the
typographical corps is quite their equal By this pro-
posed union Of the corps it would always furnish suf
Gent number Of this staff to accompany troops in the
field This, in turn would tend to the reformation of
what is growing into abuscthe absence of many
staff officers from all service with troops in the field
Nothing in my judgment would result in greater ben
EFT to the service, than to require all staff officers from
the heads Of bureaus down the youngest breve second
lieutenant to periodically with troops in the field
Any officer who remains for many years absent from duty
in the field TO have very faint perceptions of what
Is useful and necessary for troops in actual service
In the field. He only know what is needful
through information derived from others. 1t is obvious
then that those best informed should be the in
trusted with the staff duties.
BROADER GENERALS.
Whenever two regiments are brought together in a