8 The Conservative.
drngoons , which had been sent by land
under the command of Lieutenant A. J.
Smith and a company of infantry under
my'command.
The services of Major Wharton and
the dragoons were shortly after required
at Fort Leavenworth and I was left to
continue the construction of the post.
I succeeded in erecting a blockhouse ,
when I was ordered to abandon the
place , and employ some suitable person
to take charge of the public property.
I think Mr. English was the person so
employed.
If any purchase of the reserve was
made from the Otoes I think it must
have been effected by Colonel Kearney ,
either at Fort Leavenworth , or on one
of his expeditions to the mountains , cer
tainly not at the time we located the
post.
The Otoes made us but one visit , and
that was during the time Major Whar
ton was in command ; this was evidently
made with a view to exhibit their
strength , and the - subjects treated of in
the interviews with them pertained to
matters of general interest.
My public papers of that date were
all destroyed in the great fire which oc
curred at St. Louis in 184fl. It is pos
sible they might have furnished some
evidence of a more definite character
upon the subject. Very respectfully ,
Your obedt. servt. ,
W. E. PKINCE ,
Captain First infantry.
Mojor-General Thos. S. Jesup ,
Quartermaster General , U. S. A. ,
Washington , D. C.
19.
Roster of the troops forming the first
garrison of Camp Kearney on the Mis
souri river.
CO. A , FlKST U. S. INFANTRY.
First Lieutenant W. E. Prince.
Second Lieutenant E. C. McLean.
Bvt. Second Lieutenant A. B. Lincoln.
Three officers and forty men.
Remarks on returns. Lef t Fort Leav
enworth , May 15,1846 ; arrived at Camp
Kearney , Missouri river , May 22 , and
left for Fort Leavenworth , July 19,1846.
CO. C , FIRST U. S. DRAGOON'S.
Captain B. D. Moore.
First Lieutenant A. J. Smith.
Two officers and 24 men.
Remarks on returns. Left Fort Leav
enworth , May 15 ; arrived at Table
creek , May 21st ; left for Fort Leaven-
worth , May 80 , 1846.
This command loft Fort Leaveuworth ,
June 26 , 1846 , as a part of the column
under Colonel S. W. Kearney , on route
to Santa Fe , arrived August 18,1846 ;
left September 26 , as a part of an escort
to General Kearney to California and
arrived in California December 1,1846.
20.
FORT KEARNEY , NEBRASKA.
Act of congress (29th ( Cong. Firsl
Sess. ) Chap. 22 , 9 Stat. at Largo 18
1
entitled An act * * for establishing
military stations on the route to Oregon.
# * # # # * *
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted ,
That a sum not exceeding three thous-
end dollars , out of moneys of the treas
ury not otherwise appropriated , be , and
; ho same hereby is appropriated , to de-
tray the expenses of each military sta-
: ioii or defence which the president may
leem necessary on the line of communi
cation with Oregon , and a sum not ex
ceeding two thousand dollars for making
compensation to the Indian tribes which
nay own or possess the ground on
which the said station may bo erected ,
and for each station.
Approved , May 19 , 1846.
21.
War Department , Juno 1 , 1847.
With a view to carry into effect the
provisions of Section 6 , of the act of
May 19 , 1846 , a requisition has been
made upon the state of Missouri for one
mttalion ( five companies ) of mounted
volunteers , to be employed in establish
ing the military stations , contemplated
3y said act , on the line of coinuiuuica-
; ion with Oregon. These stations for
the present will be limited to two , the
first near Grand Island where the road
; o Califomia encounters the Platte river ,
and the second at or near Fort Larainie.
As soon as the necessary preliminary
arrangements are made for the move
ment the battalion will be put in march
for its destination and will be accom
panied by an officer of the corps of en
gineers , and an assistant quartermaster
of the regular army , who under the in
structions of their respective chiefs , will
be charged with the duties appertaining
to their particular branches of the ser
vice , and who will receive from the offi
cers and men of the battalion , under the
direction of the commanding officer ,
every aid and assistance they may re
quire in the performance of their appro
priate functions.
The commanding officer of the battal
ion will bo expected to fulfill all the re
quisitions made upon him by the engi
neer officer who will be charged with
the location and construction of the
posts. These requisitions will be mainly
labor , and for surveys and reconnais
sances , which must be supplied by regu
lar details from the troops of the com
mand. The details will , in every
instance , be accompanied by one or
more officers of the battalion , whose
duty it will be to see that the work is
executed in conformity with the direc
tions of the engineer officer , agreeably
to paragraph 868 of the regulations
of 1841. The commanding officer will
be responsible for the completion of the
works , and will urge upon the troops
that their duty is first to build and then
to garrison them. He will not move his
command from a post until the defenses
are well advanced , so that it might be
loft with safety in the care of a part of
the force.
Two medical officers , one from the
regular army , and the other from the
volunteer service , will accompany the
command. Besides the duty of attend
ing to the sick , they will render such
aid as may bo required of them in the
selection of healthful sites for the posts
and af terwards bo assigned to them by
; he commanding officer.
The assistant quatennoster will pro
vide the necessary equipage and trans
portation for the command , as well as
transportations for such materials and
implements as may be procured by the
engineer officer , and he will be furnished
with funds to pay the troops their per
diem , as working parties , under the law.
He will have an eye to the timely pre
paration of hay for the horses and cattle
of the command for winter use , and to
this end , will be furnished by the com
manding officer with the necessary de
tails of troops. Besides the duties of
quartermaster , ho will be required to
perform also the duties of commissary
for the command. The act referred to
appropriates a sum , not exceeding
$2,000 , for the purchase , from the In
dian tribes , of each of the sites to be se
lected for military posts. This money
will be disbursed by the assistant quar
termaster , under the direction of the
commanding officer , who is authorized
to enter into a treaty with the Indians
for the purchase of the ground for these
sites , which will be as extensive as the
appropriation will procure.
The ordnance department will furnish
the requisite ordnance and ordnance
stores for the posts to be established ,
upon the requisition of the engineer
officer.
These instructions will be communi
cated to the commanding officer of the
troops , and to the several chiefs of staff
departments for their information and
government. W. L. MAROY ,
Secretary of War.
Adjutant General ,
Washington , D. C.
22.
Headquarters Fort Leavenworth ,
August 8 , 1847.
Sir :
Four companies of the Oregon battal
ion have reached here , and the fifth is
daily expected , but , as usual , much de
lay may be anticipated in the election of
the field officer to command. The gov
ernor of Missouri has designated Inde
pendence and Weston in the state as the
places where to hold the elections. The
returns , no doubt , must bo sent to his
excellency from both places that he may
determine the result. The election in
Independence has been held ; it is said
that at Weston will be held today. I
have no idea that the battalion can go
farther than Grand Island this season.
Indeed the prevailing opinion is that
even there it will arrive too late to pro-
