The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-11-21
UNITED STATES ARMY.
First Annual Report of Lieuten.
ant-General Sheridan.
Operations in the West, the Militia
and the Seaboard.

The annual report Of Lieutenant General
P. H. Sheridan has been made to the secre-
tary of war. 1t covers the period from his
assignment to the command of the army, No
vember l, 1888, to November I, 1884.
He says the army has enjoyed almost COM
plete rest from active field operations, but its
other duties, consisting of occupation of posts
upon the frontiers of Canada and of Mexico,
with stations near Indian agencies and pro-
lection of Indian reservations, have been i'm
portant, and in some places very active, la
borious and annoying, especially in guarding
the Indian Territory.
In maintaining peace in Arizona, where the
Indian situation is extremely sensitive, and
in the Northwest, where proprietors of cattle
ranges have been greatly disturbed at times
by the appearance of roaming bands of Sioux,
Crows, Northern Cheyennes and Northern
Arapahoes, much activity and the exercise of
great discretion have been required from both
officers and men. few depredations by
comparatively insignificant parties of Indians
have involved scouting expeditions by small
attachments; but generally speaking, the
entire territory under supervision of troops
has been unusually free from collisions result
ing in loss of either life or property. Much
attention has been paid to rife shooting,
which has developed many marksmen of Won
derful skill firing at distances as high as ], 900
yards, and it would now be impossible for a
close line of battle to stand up before O Skin
mish line composed OF our qualified marks
men,
The heutenent- general expresses great in
terest in the National Guard of the States. In
some of them it is placed upon good footing,
but for thorough organization and efficiency
of this body Of troops he thinks Congress
J HpSinnpta ia of mo wi oh
each State should have, and should provide
for them arms and camp and garrison equip
| age under some wise method of accountability
for this property, whenever the State govern
ments themselves appropriate substantial
! sums of money for support of their respective
military systems in such manner that these
sums cannot be affected by party legislation.
! This Is a restriction now guarding apDrOpria-
tions for the National Guard of Pennsylvania
and that of a few other States
/ Excepting for our ocean commerce and for
our seaboard cities, he does not think we
should be much alarmed about probabilities
of wars with foreign powers, since it
would require more than a million
and half of men to make a campaign upon
land against us. To transport from beyond
the ocean that number of soldiers, with all
their munitions of war their cavalry, artil-
lery and infantry, even if not molested by us
while in transit, would demand large part
Of the shipping of all Europe.
He earnestly invites immediate attention
to the perfectly defcnceless condition of ouI
seaboard cities and their harbors against for
eign naval attack. Although submarine tor
pedoes, fired by electricity from shore sta
lions, form an important feature Of harboI
defences, still, unless well protected by strong
Notifications, that may be so easily removed
by an enemy, or be rendered comparatively
harmless by cutting the wires leading tC
them, that he urgently recommends the early
beginning of general system of SeacOaSt
Notifications to be constructed in accordance
with requirements involved by latest i'm
provements in heavy artillery. The perma
nent works we now possess belong to an OBJ
solete system-practlcally worthless as de
fences against the fire Of modern heavy guns