Head Quarters, Loramiers, June 12, 1797.
To correct and extinguish the abuses which have crept into the service, is an herculean task, yet the commander in chief owes it to his own honor, to the honor of the army, and to his country, to effect a reform, and he calls upon his officers of every grade, for their co-operation in the arduous undertaking.
The spirit of cropping,[16] which is almost every where to be seen, is repugnant to the principles of soldiership, destructive to the service, and disgraceful to those who indulge it; not less exceptionable is the practice of collecting and breeding live stock in large quantities.
[16] This term refers to a practice which found its way into the army, in the western cantonments, who had employed the soldiery in raising crops of produce to the neglect of discipline.
The highest obligations of a soldier are briefly comprised to be ever ready to march, to fight, and to die, but the principles and condition of the former are at utter variance with this solemn text; gentlemen in commission must reflect, that it is to them the private looks for example; the national bounty is expended not to improve the agricultural arts, but to instruct men in the use of arms; the hoe and plough must be laid aside, and every moment from professional duty, devoted to form, instruct, and to train them in the glorious science of war. It is for this noble purpose gentlemen receive the pay and subsistence of their country, and their honor is pledged for the performance.
Planting and improving of corn fields is prohibited; garden, sufficient for the accommodation of officers and soldiers, are proper and necessary, and it is obligatory on all commanding officers to pay attention to this subject, the labor is however to be done by detail; the idea of an officer’s farming for profit is inadmissible, as it tends to a neglect of duty, a relaxation of discipline, abuse of the public service, and the disgrace of the profession.
In marching from one post of the continent to another, it is repugnant to every principle of economy and of justice, that the public should transport private provisions (other than groceries) or household furniture; if one officer is indulged in this way, another is equally intitled to indulgence, what a spectacle should we behold was every officer to move, with all the baggage and stock accumulated at the several posts, we should look more like a horde of Tartars than a regular military corps; while such practices prevail the public service will be embarrassed and delayed, and in effect exposed to destructive consequences, they are therefore prohibited.
(Extract of General Orders.)
Head Quarters, South West Point, September 1, 1801.
Besides the rolls of muster directed to be furnished to the pay department, one roll of each company or detachment of the army, and of the regimental staff for the months of June and December annually, are to be transmuted to the inspector of the army, at the city of Washington, on the first of January, and the first day of July following such musters, in the same manner that inspection and other returns are directed to be transmitted to him by the order of the 30th of November last; for the strict observance of which all commanding officers will be held responsible.