The Federal army.
uniform, equipments, numbers, and discipline.
[from the Cincinnati Gazette.]
Previous to the breaking out of this rebellion, the regular army of the United States consisted of the following corps, viz: A corps of engineers; a corps of topographical engineers; an ordnance corps; three regiments of cavalry; four of artillery, and ten of infantry; numbering in all about 14,600 men. To this small standing army of regulars the following force has been added three regiments of cavalry, one of artillery, and nine of infantry, with detachments of engineers and riflemen, making 11,175 infantry, 4,744 cavalry, 4,308 artillery, and 107 engineers, being a total force of regulars of 20,334 men.
The volunteer corps.
The immense force which goes to make up the volunteer regiments of the United States army may be explained to the reader by the following statistics, made up in part from the archives of the War Department as well as from private sources, which we give as follows: The number of three months men in the field up to August 1st was 77,815.
The number of volunteers for the war is 640,637, which includes many of the three months men. Of this force, there are 557,208 infantry, 54,654 cavalry, 20,380 artillery, and 8,325 riflemen.
Of the States furnishing the largest number of troops,
Pennsylvania stands first, having furnish 107 regiments of troops; New York, 100;
Ohio, 81;
Illinois, 80.
New Mexico and
Nevada have furnished the smallest in number, each of them sending only 1,000 men. Little
Rhode Island has sent forth the greatest number in proportion to her size, for she has furnished four batteries of artillery and three regiments of infantry, making 5,898 men.
Wisconsin,
Michigan,
Rhode Island, and
Ohio have furnished the best equipped regiments.
Minnesota and
Vermont have sent the most hardy and robust men, the first Minnesota regiment being the most splendid body of physical soldiers in the whole volunteer service.
This immense force of volunteers consists of 880 engineers, 59 regiments of cavalry, 6 regiments and 10 batteries of artillery, and 558 regiments of infantry.
A recent addition to this force consists of one regiment of lancers of 1,200 men, and two batteries of marine artillery--numbering in toto 642,237 men, composing the volunteer forces.
The majority of this large force is well drilled, well armed, and equipped, and ready for service, many of the regiments being officered by graduates of
West Point, and officers of the regular army, who hold a regular commission as well as one in the volunteers.
Uniforms and equipments of the army.
The uniforms and equipments of the army, both volunteer and regular, are chiefly of the prescribed material ordered by the
Government, though of late there has been some innovations.
The uniforms of the regular troops consist of a blue cloth tunic, or sack, light blue pants, and the
French forage cap — the equipments being black belts, haversacks, knapsacks, and cartridge boxes.
The infantry uniform being trimmed with blue face, the artillery wear a similar uniform, trimmed with scarlet lace.
The cavalry wear a short jacket, trimmed with yellow cord and lace, the dragoons wear the same, trimmed with orange, while the rifles wear a dark green
frock coat, trimmed with light green cord and lace.
The regulation hat, used by enlisted men of all grades, is of dark felt, with black plume, trimmed with the cord belonging to each department of the service.
Epaulette being abolished, officers are designated by shoulder straps bearing the insignia of their rank and the service to which they are attached.
The uniforms of the volunteer forces were first of gray cloth, as it was thought that color was more serviceable, and that in time of battle the smoke would hide them from the view of the enemy.
It being found, however, that the rebel army had adopted that color for their troops,
Gen. McClellan changed the uniform of the volunteers to that worn by the regulars, and as a general thing most of the regiments are uniformed alike.
Since the
battle of Bull Run, permission has been given many of the new regiments to adopt some distinguishing style, so that many of the volunteer corps are dressed in various colored uniforms.
While in
Washington the past month your correspondent saw a number of regiments very gaily dressed.
The Zouave style is worn very much.
The uniform of
Duryea's Zouaves, now in
Baltimore, consist of a rich blue jacket trimmed with scarlet and gold lace and cord, wide blue Turkish trousers descending to the knees, and boots of yellow morocco.
Added to this is a rich crimson sash worn around the waist, which, with the scarlet fez with blue tassel, or the parti-coloured silk turban, presents to the eye a pleasing effect.
The
Berdan sharp-shooters wear a curious dark green sack — scarcely a sack — in fact, more like a cavalry jacket, trimmed with a light-green cord, wide blue bag-trowsers, and russet leggins.--They wear a cap of the old French infantry pattern, surmounted with a hen's feather of dark green.
The 55th New York regiment, (
Garde Lafayette,) the members of whom are all Frenchmen, wear the uniform of the French infantry of the line — blue
frock coat trimmed with scarlet, scarlet pants, and the
French full dress infantry cap, with the double scarlet pomnon.
They have recently adopted a gray uniform overcoat, trimmed with scarlet cord, which gives them a gay and imposing appearance.
The D'Epeneuil Zouaves, a magnificent body of men, dress in the picturesque uniform of the Turcos, while the 88th New York (Irish brigade) wear the regulation uniform with the exception of the green plume in their hats — an emblem of nationality.
The arms used by the army are as follows: The cavalry are supplied with the Ames sabre, the
Colt's revolver,
Sharpe's,
Burnside's, and
Hall's carbines, both breech-loading and revolving.
The artillery are furnished with artillery sabres, hangers, and
Colt's navy revolvers, and the guns which they use for field service are the Ames brass six and twelve-pound howitzer guns, the Parrot rifle shot and shell guns, and the Whitworth breech-loading cannon.
To give the reader an idea of the artillery used in our army, it is sufficient to say that the army on the
Potomac is supplied with 300 field-pieces of the best quality, the army under
Gen. Halleck, 50; that of
Gen. Buell, in
Kentucky, 60; that of
Gen. McClernand, 25; that of
Gen. Rosecrans, 50; being about 200 guns yet unattached, making, as far as can be ascertained, 685 efficient guns.
The infantry are armed principally with the
Springfield musket, the
Minnie rifle musket, the Belgian musket, the
French and
Austrian musket, and the Enfield rifle with the sword bayonet, the latter being a most effective weapon.
Many of the western regiments have been recently armed with the Enfield rifle.
Discipline of the army.
The military education of
West Point officers has been a source of great benefit to the volunteer as well as the regular service.--The severe discipline and study which is undergone at
West Point by the young cadet, fits him, if he graduates, to hold not only an honorable position in the army proper, but in any position to which he may be called as a civilian.
Having, of course, undergone a rigid discipline, he is ready, when he joins his company, to enforce the same discipline upon others under him; and the stringent rules by which the regular troops are governed, form a thorough basis for the establishment of a well-governed and disciplined corps.
The volunteer service, however, is far different, it being composed of men whose occupation has previously been that of a civilian, and who know nothing of military tactics and discipline, having yet to learn it. The officers, too, are (many of them) selected more for some political or home influence than for their military knowledge, and, consequently, a strict discipline, so necessary to any army, cannot be preserved.
There are, however, some exceptions among officers who have been appointed from the ranks for meritorious services; and these alone, who have been through the routine of camp and field life, may command respect and enforce discipline in a volunteer organization.
With this great volunteer force in the field, our officers can only advance its interests by knowledge obtained by observation and practice, for we had not the means at the time to perfect the volunteer organization.
The pay of the army.
In regard to the pay and expenditures of the army, a few statistics will be given the reader.
The number of regulars, as we have before stated, amounts to 20,334, while the volunteer forces number 642,237, making a total of 682,571.
Of this force there are I
lieutenant-general, whose annual pay is $9,098; 9
major-generals are paid $49,356 50; 19
brigadier-generals are paid $37,425 50; 1
adjutant general, $2,450, 40 staff officers who are attached to
Lieut-Gen. ,
McClellan's staff, numbering 6
brigadier-generals, 9 colonels, 16
lieutenant-colonels, 1 major, and 8 captains, who are paid $96,777.68; commissary department, $25,678.389; quartermaster's department, $167,626; colonels of engineers and cavalry 81,
lieutenant-colonels, $167, 96, mators,
$132,492; 61 adjutants, $84,548; 1,220 lieutenants, $169,801.30; 1,180 1st sergeants, $240,720; 3,540 sergeants, $722,160; 59
sergeant majors and 59 quartermaster sergeants, $8,536 ; 118 surgeons and assistant surgeons, $226,550; 59 hospital stewards, $17,700; and 52,476 privates, $6,926,832. Of artillery and infantry--580 colonels receive $1,464.920; 556
lieutenant-colonels, $1,281.408; 568.
majors, $96,820; 5,704 captains, $78,720.424; 11,400 lieutenants, $14,432,400; 5,700 1st sergeants, $3,608,000; 17,100 other sergeants, $3,488.400; 22,800 corporals, $3,556,800; 142
sergeant-majors and quartermaster-sergeants, $35,734; 1,150 surgeons and assistant surgeons, $2,290,400; 71 hospital stewards, $21,800; 1,200 artificers, $21,600; and 510 318 privates, $67,361.975. Add to this amount the extra pay of officers on the staff, the recruiting service, and on special duty, $10,640,874, and the pay of 557 paymasters and assistant paymasters, $100,817.50; 1,600 nurses, $72,000; 100
ordnance sergeants, $24,200.50; for quartermaster,
commissary, and surgeon generals, $823,788, and 725 chaplains $1,120,500, and you will find a total of annual payments amounting to $223,344,272.22. For monies expended in the ordnance department, we may add for the pay of the ordnance corps, for ordnance stores and supplies, $60,000,000, for the medical bureau $20,000, for transportation $120,000.00, and contingent expenses $200,000,000, making a grand total of the annual expense incurred by the army $662,344,272.22 or nearly two millions of dollars per diem.
There are other expenses which will swell the sum to over $2,000,000 per diem, such as contracts and expenses of investigating committees; but we forbear at present, having endeavored to give, as far as possible, some relative to the enormous expense of keeping up a large army in times of war and tumult.
Having thus spoken frantically upon the subject, we will next speak of the commissariat of the army of the United States.
What it Takes to Pred our troops.
The number of rations annually used in our army, as far as can be ascertained, is 8 8, 040 daily, and 303,234,600 yearly.
The amount these rations cost the
Government, at the commuted sum of 20 cents per ration, makes the sung little sum of $60,646,920. The material used is as follows: 379,048.250 pounds of beef; 303,234,600 pounds of pork; 252,695,500 pounds of bread; 75,808,650 pounds of rice; 101,078,200 vegetables; 101,078,200 pounds of coffee; and 75,808,650 pounds of sugar.
Besides these, a large amount of other stores are used, such as beans, vinegar, molasses, candles, and soap, the total amount of which cannot be well ascertained.
Horses and means of transportation.
The horses and means of transportation more properly belong to the quartermaster's department.
The number of horses used by one army in the field is as follows: For general and staff officers, 1,580; for officers of artillery and light batteries, 4,210; for officers and mounted men of cavalry, 59,697, and for officers attached to infantry, 5,022.
For traveling forge, ambulances and baggage wagons, the number of horses and mules used is 33,870.
Of other horses used for transportation purposes there are 4,223, making a total of 106,701, which, averaging $100 each, costs the
Government $10,670,000. The forage for these horses, commuted at 20 cents per day for each horse, costs annually the sum $7,789,173. The number of wagons used in the army is estimated at 9,530, which, at $125 each, cost the sum of $1,191,260, and 8,600 in ambulances, at $100 each, cost $860,000.--Thus it will be seen that these few (out of the many items which go to swell the amount paid by the quartermaster's department) items cost in the aggregate the sum of $20,540, 23.
