$1,705 95 35,134 47

12.324 81

85.332 15

97,656 96

21,679 02

58.035 71

79,714 73

17,942 23

3,190 46
12,742 42

197,966 56
185.033 73

201, 157 02

159,996 67

292 21

38,965 30

199,254 18

1,902 84

175,220 18

188,709 45

992 CO
183,952 03
42.947 17
121,712 37

84,986 28
121,984 89

704 08 9,824 83

No. 9. REPORT OF THE SURGEON GENERAL.

SURGEON GENERAL'S OFFICE,

November 10, 1857.

SIR: I have the honor to submit to you the usual financial report of the medical department of the army, together with a tabular statement of the sick and wounded of the army for the year ending on the 30th June, 1857.

The amount of the regular appropriation for the medical and hospital department of the army which remained on the 30th June, 1856,

It is proper to state here, that while the amount appropriated per act of March 3, 1857, for pay of cooks and nurses in the military hospitals is acknowledged, no report of expenditures from that appropriation is given, and this for the reason that the accounts of disbursements under that head have not come in, and consequently no positive statement, or approximation thereto, of the amount paid out can be put forth.

From the foregoing tabular statement it will appear that of all the sums of money placed to the credit of the medical department of the army seventeen thousand five hundred and fifty dollars and seventeen cents have been expended in the payment of claims of private physicians for professional services, &c., rendered through several years, to officers and soldiers of the army. And on account of medical and hospital supplies eighty three thousand two hundred and ten dollars and seventy-six cents, leaving in the hands of disbursing agents nine thousand six hundred and sixty-six dollars and seventy-seven cents, and in the treasury of the United States sixty-five thousand four hundred and seventy-seven dollars and twenty-five cents, less the amount paid to cooks and nurses not yet reported.

The tabular statement of the sick and wounded of the army for the year ending June 30, 1857, compiled from the reports of the medical officers serving at the various military posts and with troops in the field, is herewith transmitted, and will give the following statistical results.

There were 1,026 officers and enlisted men remaining on the sick report on the 30th of June, 1856, (502 sick and 524 convalescents,) and during the succeeding twelve months there occurred 35,779 cases of wounds and disease, making an aggregate of 36,805 cases treated during the year ending June 30, 1857. Of this number 35,403 were returned to duty, 22 were placed on furlough, 319 were discharged the service, 43 deserted, and 172 died; leaving 424 sick and 422 convalescents; in all, 846 were still under medical treatment.

From the returns in this office it appears that the mean strength of the army for the year ending June 30, 1857, was 12,701, and there having occurred during the year 35,779 cases of disease, it will appear that the proportion of cases of disease to the number of officers and enlisted men was 2.81 to 1; on an average each individual was sick or wounded two and four-fifth times. As the number of deaths reported amount to 172, it appears that the ratio of deaths to the number of men in the army (12,701) was as 1 to 73.84, and the proportion of deaths to the aggregate number of cases of disease treated (36,805) as 1 to 213.98.

The statistical report on the sickness and mortality in the army of the United States, embracing a period of sixteen years, from January, 1839, to January, 1855, which was set forth in my last annual report as completed, has since been distributed largely to numerous scientific institutes and individuals throughout this country, and to some extent in Europe; and as far as we can judge from complimentary letters received, and other notices, the publication has been very favorably received by the professional public both of this country and in Europe. Meteorological observations have been regularly, as heretofore, taken

at the various military stations of the United States, and will constitute the basis of another publication some years hence from this bureau, on the science ef meteorology, &c., &c.

Since the period of my last annual report two army medical boards have been convened for the examination of candidates for admission into the medical department of the army, one at St. Louis, Missouri, and the other in the city of New York.

Before the first board nineteen candidates were invited to appear for examination.

Of the whole number invited eighteen presented themselves for examination, and of those who were present, one being physically defective, he was not admitted to a professional examination, five having failed under a partial examination were permitted to withdraw, twelve having been fully examined were rejected, and two only passed the ordeal in safety.

Before the second board, in the city of New York, 27 were invited to appear, and 26 of them did appear for examination.

Of the number who were present one was found physically defective, and consequently not admitted to a professional examination, eleven failing on a partial examination were permitted to withdraw, ten were fully examined and rejected, and five were approved and recommended for appointment to the army.

Before this board two assistant surgeons of the army were also examined, and both having come up to the standard of professional merit required, they were recommended for promotion in the medical corps of the army.

Of the medical officers of the army, one hundred and five in number, two were on the sick report, perhaps permanently disabled, and two were on ordinary leave of absence, and all the others on duty on the 30th of June last.

The medical corps of the army, though comparatively large for the strength of the army, is nevertheless not sufficient to meet the requirements of the military service, divided and subdivided as the army now is, and dispersed all over the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, and from the line of the ocean to the Lake of the Woods.

There are at this time thirty-seven private physicians necessarily employed, and it is the average number of employés throughout the

year.

It may be well to observe that I am not asking for an increase or recommending an enlargment of the corps, but simply stating a fact upon which other and higher authority can act understandingly in the premises; that is, decide whether it is better to consolidate the troops and bring them within the reach of army medical officers, or carry the strength of the medical corps to the number of military posts occupied by troops, and to the number of detached bodies of troops on a line of march or operating in the field.

All of which is respectfully submitted,

TH. LAWSON, Surg. Genl.

No. 10.

REPORT OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER.

ENGINEER DEPARTMENT, Washington, November 24, 1857.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following annual report on the progress and condition of those branches of the military service committed to the care of this department.

Fortifications on the seaboard and northern frontier.-Referring to the special reports which follow for the condition of the respective works, I take pleasure in stating that much has been done during the past year toward increasing the general efficiency of our defences, and that the officers to whose charge the conduct of the constructions has been confided have executed their trusts in the usual satisfactory

manner.

The liberal appropriations for fortifications granted by Congress at the last session not having been available till the 1st of July last, have been but in small part applied; but when expended, as they may mostly be by the end of the fiscal year, they will add largely to the security of our sea-coast frontier.

The new works provided for by the last Congress will be commenced during the year, and pushed forward as rapidly as practicable to the extent of the appropriation.

While looking with interest to the speedy completion of our system of defences, I am constrained, under the instructions given by you in view of the probable necessity for retrenchment in the expenditures of the government for the next year, to reduce the estimates far below what might be advantageously applied, or what it would otherwise be desirable should be granted.

Fort Mackinac, Michigan.-This old fort remains in the very dilapidated condition reported last year. Considerable repairs are indispensable, the cost of which has been estimated by an officer who has recently inspected the work at $9,000.

Fort Wayne, Detroit, Michigan, in charge of Lieutenant C. E. Blunt.This work is generally in good condition as regards its defences, but portions of the timber revetments of the scarp require repairs. As annual expenditure for this purpose will be necessary, in consequence of the constant decay of the perishable materials constituting the revetment, it would be true economy, besides adding to the strength of the work, to erect a stone scarp without further delay, for which an appropriation of $50,000 is asked for the next fiscal year.

Fort Porter, near Buffalo, New York, in charge of Lieutenant C. E. Blunt. This work has been thoroughly repaired during the past year, and is now in good condition. No appropriation is asked.