The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-11-04
GENERAL SHERMAN'S REPORT.
On the Condition Of the United
States Army.
a Review Of the Trouble with the
Ute Indians.

Interesting Correspondence BetWeel
Th0rnburgh; Meeker and
Sherman.
WASHINGTON, November 3.-Genera
Sherman's annual report to the Secretar.
of War was completed to-day. It is pre-
faced with the usual tabular statement
and returns compiled by the Adjutan
General, commenting on which Genera
Sherman says: The II generals, 1865
officers, 20,566 men and 2SS Indian scouts
together with such officers of the staff al
are assigned by the War Department tc
duty with the troops, constitute the army
proper or the combative force. All Other
parts of the military establishment are
provided by law for special service more
or less, connected with the army or militia
but are not available for frontier defences
Thus, for instance, the 397 enlisted men OF
the ordnance force are, in fact, workmen
at arsenals. The 1872 men of the engineer
corps are at Willet's Point undergoing in
struction in torpedo practice and are not
subject toa division commander. The 456
men of the signal corps are employed in
observingth the weather or in working tele-
graphs. The ia ordnance sergeants have
charge of old forts fixed magazines. The
ISL commissarY sergeants are in charge of
the stores. One hundred and eighty-seven
men are stewards of the hospitals.
The West Point detachment, 1856 in
number, is localized at the military acade-
FH Of I
worth comprises 20 men, and the recruit
ing detachments absorb 1,710 men at
Davis Island, Columbus, Ohio and JEFF
ferson Barracks, Ne. These various de-
tachments aggregating 3,463 enlisted men
of the highest grades compose about one
sixth part of the enlisted men provided by
law for the whole army. leaving but 20,-
figures in some detail because know it is
the popular belief shared by many men,
bers of Congress that we have 25 600 men
on duty. have done all in my power to
reduce these detachments to the lowest
number possible, SO as to afford more
men to our skeleton companies, but have
found it impossible, and l notice similar de-
tachments are reported on all army re-
turns for fifty years back.
There are 430 companies in the regular
army. twenty-five thousand men would
give 5S to each, which is as small as any
company should be; and | earnestly rec
ommend you to ask Congress to so legis.
late that the 25, 700 men provided by law
may be allowed exclusively for regiments
of the line, and that special provision be
made for the several detachments, as has
already been done for the Signal Service.
The army cannot with justice be held re-
sponsible for the work of 25,000 men
when so large a fraction is necessarily di-
verted to other uses, perhaps of equal
national importance. The tables above
to show that the grand aggregate
of the army roll is 2,1S7 officers and q,
262 men in service, and 3S8 officers re-
tired.
General Sherman devotes a large por-
ton of his report to the Ute troubles. He
introduces the subject with history OF
the tribe. These Indians, he says, are of
the worst class and occupy the toughest
part of our country for farming, grazing
or for military operations. Their manage
ment is complicated by the fact that their
country is known to possess mineral de-
posts, which attracts bold and adven-
turous class OF white men. They are very
warlike and have no difficulty in procur-
ing in exchange for their deerskins, horse
and sheep any amount of the best rifles
and ammunition, as long as game lasts.
They will not work or attempt farming,
except in the smallest and most ridiculous
way and that only by compulsion.
The report details at some length the
well known event leading up to the move
ment by Major Thornbugh's command,
and the detachment of that officer, and
continues: With knowledge now Of the
result, and to throw as much light on the
cause of the war as possible,
give the last letters which passed between
Major Thornburgh and Mr.. Meeker, and
will here record my judgment that Major
was an officer and gentleman
of whom the army has reason to be proud.
He was ardent, ambitious, of good judg
ment, and no man could have done better
in life nor met death with more heroism.
WHITE RIVER ExPED1-1
T1oN, CAMP ON FoRTIFIcATIoN
CREEK, Sept. 90, 1879.
Mr.. Aeeker, Indian Agent, White Rirer:
SIR:-In obedience to instructions from
the General of the Army, am en- route
to your agency and expect to arrive there
on the 10th inst for the purpose of afford
ing you any assistance in my power, and
to make arrests at your suggestion, and to
hold as prisoners such OF your Indians as
you desire until investigations are made
by your department., have heard moth
ing definite from your agency for ten
days, and do not know what state of
affairs exist, whether the Indians will
leave at my approach or show hostilities.
send this letter by Mr.. Lowry, one of
my guides, and desire you to 'communi-
cate with me as soon as possible, giving
me all the information in your power, in
order that l may know what course am
to pursue. If practicable, meet me on
the road at the earliest moment.
It'll