departments, or bureaus, as these sub-departments are commonly called; among which are the Commissary, the Quatermaster's and Ordnance Departments. These are all under the general supervision and direction of the Secretary. 6. In time of peace the War Department attracts no particular public notice. But in time of war it draws around it more attention than any other branch of the government; for on its good or bad management the weal or woe of the nation depends. Hence the Secretary of War should be a man well acquainted with military affairs, of sound judgment, and of undoubted integrity. In this department all accounts relating to military matters are kept and adjusted. In addition to the Assistant Secretaries, the President and Senate were authorized, in 1863, to appoint a Solicitor in the War Department. These, with a large clerical force, transact the business of this important branch of the government. The following is a list of the names of all who have filled the office of Secretary of War, from the first down to the present incumbent, with the dates of their appointment, and the States in which they lived: SECRETARIES OF WAR. Henry Knox, Mass., Sept. 12, 1789. Henry Dearborn, Mass., March 5, 1801. John C. Calhoun, S. C., Oct. 8, 1817. J. M. Schofield, 1868. CHAPTER IX. Navy Department, and Secretary of the Navy. 1. The Navy and the Army are the two strong arms of the nation. By these we preserve order at home and protect ourselves against wrongs abroad, or invasion of our rights by any foreign power, whether at home or elsewhere. They may be termed the belligerent parts of the government; and if we institute a comparison between them, it is not easy to determine which is the strongest arm, or which is the most efficient agent of national defence. 2. The Navy Department, like the War Department, was established at an early period after the adoption of the Constitution. The office of Secretary of the Navy was created at the same time that the department itself was. He is appointed by the President and Senate, is one of the highest officers of the Government, one of the seven members of the Cabinet, and receives a salary of $8,000 per annum. As the President is Commander-in-Chief as well of the Navy as of the Army, the Secretary of course acts under his direction. It is made his duty to execute the President's orders relative to the procurement of naval stores and materials, and the construction, armament, equipment and employment of vessels of war, and all other matters connected with the naval establishment. 3. As in the War Department, a head clerk was formerly second in rank and authority in this; but in the year 1861, by an act of Congress, the office of Assistant Secretary of the Navy was created. Its incumbent fills the second place, and acts as Secretary in the absence of that officer. Formerly there were five bureaus in this department, but in 1862, three more were added, making eight, as follows: 1. A Bureau of Yards and Docks. 2. A Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting. 4. A Bureau of Ordnance. 5. A Bureau of Construction and Repairs. 7. A Bureau of Provisions and Clothing. The President and Senate appoint all the heads of these bureaus, and select them principally from officers of high rank in the navy. They are all appointed for four years, and each receives a salary of $3,500 per an num. 4. The Secretary appoints all the clerks in each of these bureaus, and distributes such duties to each as he thinks proper. They all act under his direction. He must annually report to Congress the state and condition of his department, and the expenditures of the same, specifying the amounts expended for the items of building, repairing, wages of mechanics, laborers, equipping vessels of the navy, &c., &c. SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY. The following list embraces the names of all the Secretaries of the Navy, from George Cabot, the first, to Gideon Welles, the present incumbent: George Cabot, Mass., May 3, 1798. B. W. Crowningshield, Mass., Dec. 17, 1814. |