ANNUAL REPORT.

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS,

ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFice,

BOSTON, Dec. 31, 1889.

To His Excellency OLIVER AMES,

Governor and Commander-in-Chief.

SIR-I have the honor to submit the annual report of this department for the year ending on this date.

MILITIA.

The force has performed its duty, and made good progress in many directions. Officers and men have been earnest and diligent, and fully comprehend that which is necessary in the attainment of excellence, and will, I am sure, during the coming year make still further advancement. Its standard is now high, yet there are many matters which require, and, as at present officered, will receive, the attention deserved, from which good results may be obtained.

The necessity for efficient commissioned officers is recognized, and the Board of Military Examiners, as at present constituted, has rendered valuable service. It comprises the brigade and battalion commanders, meeting monthly, and carefully inquiring into the capability and fitness of each officer coming before it, and has thus rendered aid in the advancement of the force. It is earnestly hoped that the obstacles now preventing the enlistment of much good material may be removed, and that business men and others will lend us their aid in perfecting our organizations by withdrawing their objections to the service.

Improvement has been made during the past two or three years, and there is yet room for improvement. I can in all sincerity say, that, in my opinion, the State force is worthy

of all the care that has been bestowed upon it, and all the aid and encouragement a generous public can give it; good material means an excellent organization.

Reference is made with pleasure to the report of Captain D. Morgan Taylor, U. S. Army, specially detailed by the secretary of war to attend and note the mobilization of our Second Brigade at Lynn, October 3, and report to that department; which report may be found herewith.

To the Adjutant General, U. S. Army,

WAR DEPARTMENT, Oct. 31, 1889.

SIR: - I have the honor to report that, in obedience to instructions received from your office, I attended the concentration of the troops of the Second Brigade, Massachusetts State Militia, at Lynn, on October 3, and submit herewith the result of my observations.

I arrived in Boston on the 2d of October, and consulted with Adjutant General Dalton with a view to getting a comprehensive idea of the movement; and, as a result of this consultation, left Boston early on the morning of the 3d, and proceeded by rail to Salem, where, through the considerate courtesy of General Dalton, I found a horse awaiting me.

Salem is the headquarters of the Eighth Regiment, commanded by Col. Francis A. Osgood; and Company "H" of the regiment is a Salem company; the remaining eleven companies coming from Newburyport, Amesbury, Marblehead, Lynn, Beverly, Haverhill, Gloucester, Peabody, North Andover and Somerville. The companies were all promptly concentrated at Salem, and, after a march through the streets of the city, came upon the common, where I awaited them in company with the Inspector General. We took a position where we could see them to advantage as they passed us, and then followed them as they performed various movements in battalion drill. The men were excellently equipped and armed, and, in passing through their ranks when at a "rest," I took occasion to examine several of their rifles. I found them all well cared for and in good condition. I was agreeably surprised to find the men so well "set up," and so soldierly in bearing, and their behavior, both while in ranks and during the rest allowed them (and which was utilized to eat their lunch), left nothing to be desired.

While the regiment was at a rest upon one side of the common, I asked the officer in charge of the ambulance squad to let me see the drill of his squad, which he did. The men were intelligent,

and showed the effect of careful training by the excellent manner in which their work was done. An ambulance squad was with each regiment when it concentrated, and, upon the formation of the brigade, the squads were consolidated and appeared in the parade under Lieutenant Clarke, just after the cavalry battalion, and made an excellent showing.

Leaving the regiment at lunch, I proceeded to the railway station, where, a very few minutes after the time appointed, the regiment marched in and embarked on cars which were waiting. In seven minutes from the time the head of the column entered the depot, the whole command was embarked, the men in their seats and the train in motion. There was no confusion or noise, and the whole movement showed the wisdom of having a drill for embarking and disembarking troops.

I would desire here to renew the recommendation made in my report on the concentration of the New York troops prior to the centennial parade of April 30; to the effect that instructions for this purpose should be incorporated in the tactics for the instruction of the regular troops. At present I do not believe that any regular regiment would compare at all favorably in this respect with any of the New York or Massachusetts regiments.

I accompanied the Eighth Regiment on the train to Lynn, and on arrival there left it forming (which movement was also well executed, and in an orderly manner); and, mounting my horse, I rode to the assembly point of the brigade, where I found Brig. Gen. B. F. Peach, Jr., commanding the brigade. After a brief conversation with him, in which he informed me of his plans, I took up a position where I could closely observe all the troops in passing, and retained it until the whole brigade had passed. The brigade was composed of the Fifth, Eighth and Ninth Infantry, the First Battalion of Light Artillery (two battalions), and the attached ambulance and signal corps. I have asked for copies of the official reports of strength present, and will submit them as soon as received.

A feature which particularly struck me, was the presence of an assistant inspector general with each regiment and battalion. They were present (mounted) with the regiment from the time of concentration until the men were disbanded, and during the parade rode habitually behind the organization to which assigned, moving from point to point, however, if necessary, to see all that was going on. As these assistant inspectors general are all officers who have served the State long and well in the various organizations of the militia, their just criticisms are both feared and respected, and their praise anxiously sought for; and their services.

are most valuable. The result of their labors is shown by the condition of the troops.

After the brigade had passed, I rode along the line of march, passing by or through the whole command while on the march; and, passing the head of the column, dismounted and took my place in a window overlooking a very substantial barricade which had been thrown completely across the street on the line of march. This was composed of large, heavy dump-carts, with tail-boards resting on the ground, their axles parallel to the axis of the street, and their shafts interlocked and fastened together with chains. When the head of the column debouched into the street at some distance from the barricade, the troops were halted, and a body of skirmishers selected from the qualified sharpshooters, and under the command of Major Frost, who commanded the Massachusetts rifle team in England, advanced in open order, in several ranks, to the attack, together with two Gatling guns. Arrived within a short distance, the front-rank men threw themselves on their backs, assuming the "Texas-grip" position; the next rank kneeled, and, with the remainder standing, the Gatlings were pushed up to fire in the intervals between the standing men and over the heads of those on their backs. As soon as this position was assumed, a rapid fire was begun, which would have effectually cleared the street in sixty seconds, and then with a cheer the skirmishers rose to their feet and carried the barricade by escalade, the Gatlings being turned and fired rapidly down the side streets. Two companies without arms then came up as a fatigue party, and, breaking the barricade with some difficulty, ran the carts into the side streets, while the skirmishers and Gatlings advanced up the street beyond the barricade.

The movement was excellently conceived and executed, the only adverse criticism possible being that the forward movement of the skirmishers was not promptly followed up by the main force, so that in case of real work the skirmishers and Gatlings would have been easily cut off from the main body. The Signal Corps was brought into operation here, using for the first time, as I was informed, the new Morse code, and finding it a decided improvement upon the former one.

The effect of this parade and sham street fight cannot well be overestimated. It gave the men confidence in themselves, their comrades and their officers, and could not fail to have its due effect upon any disaffected and discontented spirits there might have been among the spectators. There are few men so uneducated in the New England States as not to be able to reason from cause to effect; and but little of this would have been needed to

show the utter hopelessness of any unlawful uprising, while there are in the State some five thousand such upholders of the law as were in ranks in Lynn that day. The effect of having these parades in different parts of the State each year, so that the orderly and well-disposed may see what the protection is for which they pay, and to convince the evil-disposed of the futility of any riotous movement, cannot fail to be beneficial.

I was informed by General Dalton that the State is very desirous of giving the men some experience in sea-coast service; and he intends to lay before the war department a plan for the utilization of some of the forts in Boston harbor for this purpose. In regard to this, I can only say that the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia constitutes a very important and efficient part of the reserve army of the United States, and it would appear to be for the best interests of the government to do all that it may to add to its efficiency. Besides which, it may with some reason be claimed that the State has a valid claim on the United States. The last return from the office of the Adjutant General of the army places the aggregate of the Massachusetts militia at 5,162, while the allotment to the State from the annual appropriation for arming and equipping the militia is $13,289.78, or about $2.58 per man. The total annual appropriation is $400,000, and the grand aggregate of the militia of the United States is 106,506, or about $3.76 per man. From this it is apparent that, under the operation of the system of distribution prescribed in the act of Feb. 12, 1887, and now in force, Massachusetts does not receive aid from the United States at all in proportion to either the number or quality of the troops that she keeps in readiness for service; and, if the war department can in any way assist the higher development of this already fine force, it would certainly appear to be the part of justice as well as wisdom to do so.

The cavalry, under the command of Major Horace G. Kemp, labored under the disadvantage of having had the march from Boston before I saw them, and consequently were no longer fresh nor in condition for close inspection, but nevertheless they looked soldierly and well; and Major Merrill's batteries left nothing to be desired in the way of artillery, except that the guns, although excellently well kept, were, with the exception of the Gatlings, rather antiquated. The men were soldierly, clothing, equipments and harness clean and in good order. In fact, for all of the troops present I have only words of praise. Well armed, neatly and serviceably uniformed, well drilled and disciplined, they were an impressive sight, and reflected great credit upon those officers who have given without stint their time and exertions to render the