I respectfully refer to tho report of the
Secretaiy of War, for information respec
ting the numerical strength of the army,and
for recommendations having in view an in
crease of its efiiciency, and the well being
of the various branches of the service en
trusted to his care.
It is gratyfy’ing to know that the pat
riotism of the people is equal to the occa
sion and that the number of troops ten
dered. greatly exceeds the force which Con
gress authorized me to call into the field.
I refer with pleasure to those portions of
this report which make allusion to the
creditable degree of discipline already at
tuned by our troops, ant to the excellent
sanitary condition of the entire army.
The recommendation of the Secretary
for an organization of tho militia upon a
uniform basis, is a subject of vital impor
tance to the future safety oi the count!j,
and is commended to the serious attention
of Congress.
A large addition to the regular army, m
connection with tho defection that has so
considerably diminished the number of its
officers, gives peculiar importance to his
recommendation for increasing the corps ot
cadets, to the greatest -apacity of the mili
tary academy.
By mere omisJon, I presume. Congress
has failed to proside chaplains for the hos
pitals occupied by our volunteers. This
subject was brought to my notict, and I
was induced to throw off tho form of a let
ter, one copy of which was properly ad
dress ed to ci.ch of the persons an 1 at the
dates respectively named and stated in a
schedule, containing also the form of the
letter, marked A, and herewith transmitted.
