ANNUAL REPORT OF 'rIlE ADJUTANT-GENERAL O}<'THE STA1-"E OF NEW YOR,K. TRANSMITTED TO THE LEGISLATURE JANUARY 12TH, 1872. 'ALBANY: 'fHE ARGUS COMPANY, PRINTERS. 1872. STATE OF NEW YORK. -------~----- No. 14. IN ASS E M B L Y, January 12, 1872. A~:NUAL REPORT OF THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. STATE OF NEW YORK: EXEOUTIVE CHAMBER, { ALBANY, January 11, 1872. 5 1 0 the .Assernbly: I transmit to you the annual report of the Adju~nt-General. 'f.',. JOHN T. HOFFMAN. ",'1- GENERAL HEAD ..QUARTE.RS, STATE OF NEW YORK, } ADJU'fAN'f-G}j~NERAL'S OFFICE, ALBANY,January 3, 1871. To His Excellency JOHN T. HOFFMAN, Governor (fJndOommander -in-Ohi~f: GovERNoR.-I have the honor of making the following report from this Department, for the year ending Decem bel' 31st, 1871. Another year's experience in the administration, under your direction, of the military affairs of the State, has confirmed the cor- rectness of the views I entertained on assuming the duties of Adjutant- General, and in conformity with which I have acted. The point which I laid most stress on was, that the aggregate force of the N atiorial Guard should be reduced to twenty thousand (20,000) non- commissioned officers, musicians and privates (at one time it had been nearly fifty thousand), by lessening the number of organiza- tions, thus getting rid of the most inefficient ones, and giving more pecuniary aid to each of the remainder from the regular annual appropriation, which was established at two hundred thousand dol· Tars ($200,000). Although the cost of supporting the National Guard is probably double that amount, the balance being contributed by localities, and by the members themselves, I deemed this sum sufficient to stimulate the local authorities to ghre further aid in money, and to cause more inter- est to be taken in the organizations by the citizens of the localities in which they exist. In all these respects, the result has met my expectations, and I think I may safely assert that never befor~ has the National Guard been so popular and so fully appreciated. More- over, the amendments made to the MilitaryOode, in its re-enactment in 1870, relating to the mode of uniforming the troops, and granting them further privileges and exemptions, and providing means for securing competent officers as vacancies occur, have all worked 6 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL. exceedingly well, and the fruits are shown in the greatly improved condition of the organizations in appearance, drill and discipline. Indeed, I think it may be fairly claimed that the National Guard, as a whole, was never so highly esteemed by the public as now, and never before was it so deserving of such confidence. The demon- strations of its usefulness and efficiency, which have frequently occurred, secure to this body of citizen soldiery the good will and partiality of the people of the whole State; and their friendly dis- position can be fully relied on so long as its membel's do their whole duty, and show by all their acts that they have the proper apprecia- tion of what is becoming to a soldier. ORGANIZATION. At present the National Guard is composed of eight divisions, twenty-five brigades, two regiments, one battalion, and seven sepa- rate troops of' cavalry; two battalions and ten separate batteries of artillery; forty regiments and six battalions of' infantry; and the grand aggregate of the force is twenty-four thousand two hundred and sixty-six (24,266) officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians and privates. Some few of the organizations are still so weak and inefficient that further disbandments and consolidations will have to be made; and when such reduction has been accomplished the aggregate of the force will be within the limitation of the Mili- tary Oode. BREECH-LoADERS. The I~egislature at its last session made an appropriation of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) or so much thereof as might be necessary "for altering the small arms of the National Guard to, or exchanging them for breech-loaders, under the direc- tion of' the Governor." In May last a board was appointed" to examine into the merits of' various kinds of breech-loading rifle- muskets, and to report the result of such examination to the Gover- nor." This board~ which was, composed of the Adjutant-General, the Inspector-General and the Ohief of Ordnance, was occupied dur- ing several months in examining and testing a number of breech- loading rifle-muskets which had been submitted to it for such pur- pose, and on the 28th of October last they made their report giving the result of their examination and tests, and unanim(!Hlsly recom- mending the adoption of the Remington rifle-musket, of the improved ANNUAL REPORT OF'l'HE ADJUTANT-GENERAL. i model, which had been manufactured for and submitted to the board, as the best arm, in all respects, for the use of the N atioual Guard. It should be stated in this connection, that owing t(\ the failure of my health, I was obliged to take a leave of absence for several months, which I spent in Europe, and therefore was not present at the last meetings of the board, when Colonel J. B. Stonehouse, the Assistant Adjutant-General, filled my place. But having examined this whole matter very thoroughly, and agreeing with the board in the conclu- sion at which they arrived, I fully concur in their recommendation. The Governor having approved the report, a contract was entered into with E. Remington and Sons for furnishing the State with fifteen thousand (15,000) of their breech-loading rifle muskets~ of the improved model, in exchange for the same number of muzzle-loading Springfield rifle muskets now in the hands of the National Guard, on terms very advantageous to the State; indeed, so much so, that prob- ably not more than three-quarters of the amount of the appropriation will be required to meet the payment of money which the contract provides for. Should it not be deemed necessary to obtain any more of these rifle muskets at present, I would recommend that the Legisla- ture be asked to allow the balance of that appropriation to be used for the purchase of equipments and of Gatling guns-the superior of the mitrailleuse-for the artillery. For further information with respect to the subject of breech-load- ers, reference is made to the report of' the Board, which will be found in the appendix. TARG ET PRA.CTICE. In my last annual report, I took the ground that field days for tar- get practice would be of much more benefit to the troops than encampments. N ow that the infantry is in a short time to be armed with breech-loaders, it becomes more important that the mep should be thoroughly instructed and practiced in the use of the rifle, not only that they may become perfectly familiar with its manipulation and expert in the manual, but also accurate marksmen. All this can only be acquired by target practice, and therefore such practice should be made a part of the course of drill in every year. Recently an association has been organized, c.alledthe National Rifle Association, through which, it seems to me, that much of that which is so desirable for the National Guard in this direction can be attained, and therefore the Military Department of. the State should be dis- posed to view it with favor and encouragement. 8 AN.NUAL RJ1JPOR1' OF THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL. ST.ATE MILITARY AGENCIES. With respect to the business formerly conducted by the State Mili- tary Agencies, and which devolved upon this Department on the abolishment of those agencies, I have to report as follows: The amount of the United States paymaster's checks and treas- Ul'er's certificates, on hand, January 1, 1871, was seventeen hundred and sixteen dollars and fourteen cents ($1,716.14). Amount of claims settled dnring the year, two hundred and six dollars ($206). There ..has been delivered to claimaints the sum of three hundred and eighty-seven dollars and eighty cents ($387.80), and the amount remaining to be delivered is fifteen hundred and thirty-four dollars and thirty-four cents ($1,534.34). WAR CLAIMS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES. The vigorous prosecution of' these claims has been contin ned during the past year, and a new installment, amounting to several hundred thousand dollars, has been presented to the Department at Washing- ton. For detailed information with respect to this matter, reference is made to the repOJ'tof Colonel J. B. Stonehouse, Assistant Adjutant- General, contained in the appendix. CONCLUSION. In closing this report I avail myself of the opportunity to commend Colonel John B. Stonehouse, Assistant Adjutant-General, and :l\fajor Alfred H. Taylor, chief clerk, and other employes in this office, for the zeal, fidelity, and diligence with which they have discharged their duties. For further information in detail, reference is made to the accom- panying appendix . All which is respectfully submitted. FRANKLIN TOWNSEND, AdJ'tttant- General. APPENDICES ACCOMPANYING THE R~EPORT OF THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL. APPENDICES ACCOMPANYING THIS REPORT. -------- A. Reports of division and brigade commandants. B. Report of 001. J. B. Stonehouse, Assistant Adjutant-General, . as to the condition of' the claims of the State of New York against the United States for war expenditures. O. Report of Miss Lizzie Dempsey, in charge of Bureau of Mili- tary Statistics. D. Register of the military force of the State of New York. E.