“This virtually places Major General O. O. Howard on the staff of General Grant; Brevet Major General R. K. Scott, and all other assistant commissioners, _de facto_, on the staffs of the major generals commanding the military districts; brings the entire volunteer officers, retained in the service, under and subject to, without being in, the regular army; and cements a perfect harmony between these two branches of the government which nothing can detract.
“In this stride of statesmanship, will it be presumed that the American army, or the military branch of the government, has no statesmen as competent counsellors of the executive?”
HEADQUARTERS SECOND MILITARY DISTRICT, CHARLESTON, S. C., December 4, 1867.
The following general orders, from the headquarters of the army, are republished for the information and guidance of all concerned.
HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, ADJT. GEN. OFFICE, WASHINGTON, November 26, 1867.
The following orders have been received from the War Department, and will be duly executed:--
_Par._ III. All volunteer officers now retained in service will be mustered out, to take effect January 1, 1868, except the commissioner and the disbursing officers of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.
Louis V. Caziarc, _Aid-de-Camp, Act’g Asst. Adjt. Gen._
HEADQUARTERS SECOND MILITARY DISTRICT, CHARLESTON, S. C., December 6, 1867.
The following arrangement of the troops in this district will be carried into effect with as little delay as possible.
In addition to duties with which they are charged by existing orders, commanding officers of posts are designated as sub-assistant commissioners of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, for the districts embraced within the territorial limits of their commands, and will exercise all the functions of officers of that bureau, except so far as relates to the administration and control of the funds or property of the bureau.
All officers and agents of the bureau, who may be on duty within the territorial limits of any post, will report to its commander, and will be governed by his instructions in all that relates to the protection of persons and property, under the laws of the United States, the regulations of the bureau, and the orders of the district commander. In all that relates to the details of administration, they will report as heretofore to the assistant commissioner for the state in which they are stationed. The assistant commissioners for the States of North and South Carolina, respectively, will furnish the commanders of posts with the names and stations of the officers and agents of the bureau on duty within the limits of their respective commands, and with a statement of any special duties they may have been charged with in relation to the protection of person and property. They will also, by conference or correspondence with the post commander, determine what officers or agents of the bureau can be relieved or discharged, and report the same to district headquarters.