the forwarding officer of such failure. And it shall be the duty of both officers to make diligent inquiries, along the route of transportation, of all persons into whose hands such ordnance or ordnance stores might probably have passed; the result of which shall be reported to the chief of the Ordnance Department. Should it be ascertained that the stores have been lost, then the officer to whom they were sent shall enclose a certificate, (see form No. 11,) to the forwarding officer, who shall transmit the same, accompanied by one from himself, (see form No. 12,) to the chief of the Ordnance Department, to the end that he may be relieved from further responsibility on that account.

75....The commander of any permanently embodied regiment, or (if separated by companies or detachments) the commander of each company or detachment, will be considered as having the immediate charge of, and will be held accountable for, all arms, ordnance, and ordnance stores, issued for the personal armament of the troops of his command. And the commander of each military post will be considered as having the immediate charge of, and will be held accountable for, all ordnance and ordnance stores at the post, which are not in the exclusive service of any regiment, company, or detachment, or not in charge of an officer or agent of the Ordnance Department.

76....The commander of each company shall, as far as practicable, retain and keep in store such number of small arms and sets of accoutrements as may be sufficient, with those in use, to equip the full complement of men established by law for his command; and whenever any of such arms and accoutrements become unserviceable, for want of repairs, which cannot be made at the post, it shall be the duty of the commander of the regiment or post to send them to the nearest or most convenient arsenal, with a requisition for immediate repair; but in no case shall such unserviceable small arms and accoutrements be exchanged for others when they can be made serviceable by repair, nor until they shall have been regularly condemned by an inspecting officer, or board of inspection organized by the commander of the department. It is made the duty of commanders of regiments to see that this regulation is strictly observed.

77....Arms and accoutrements condemned as totally irreparable, under the provisions of the preceding article, shall be broken up, and the serviceable parts retained and accounted for by the commander of

ORDNANCE STORES IN SERVICE.

19

the company, to be used for repairs. The commander of each company shall also, on his requisition, made in the usual form, be furnished by the Ordnance Department with a due proportion of such spare parts as are necessary for repairs.

78....Officers who may execute the duty of repairing arms and accoutrements, under the provisions of article 76, shall transmit to the chief of the Ordnance Department, in each case of repair, a statement of the cost thereof, in order that it may accompany to the Treasury the quarterly return of the officer commanding the company to which the articles belonged, and that such officer may be held accountable for the damages, according to the regulations.

79....Accoutrements and artillery equipments only partly worn, which have become soiled and discolored by use in the field, and which are reported as yet sufficiently strong to endure much more service, shall be cleaned and furbished, and restored to their original new appearance, as nearly as can be done, when they will be issued to the troops for service, on the usual requisitions.

80....Whenever an enlisted soldier is transferred from one company to another, his arms and accoutrements shall be retained with the company to which he belonged, unless the urgency of the service shall otherwise require.

81....In all cases in which ordnance or ordnance stores are lost or damaged by the negligence or misconduct of any officer, cadet, or enlisted man, the amount of said loss or damage shall be charged to the delinquent on the next muster roll, and the facts shall be recorded in the books of the company, detachment, military post, arsenal, or ordnance depot. On the next quarterly return of ordnance and ordnance stores, the names of the delinquents shall be noted, with the amount charged, the particular loss or damage for which the charge is made, and the date of the muster roll on which noted.

82....When, in compliance with the preceding article, a charge for loss or damage of ordnance or ordnance stores is made against any individual, it shall be the duty of the commanding officer, provided it be requested by the individual charged, to assemble a board of exami nation, (to be composed of commissioned officers if practicable,) to investigate the facts, and report to him the cause of such loss or damage; and their report, with the remarks of the commanding

officer thereon, shall accompany the next quarterly return to the chief of the Ordnance Department.

83....All charges made in obedience to articles 81 and 82, of these regulations, for loss or damage of ordnance or ordnance stores in the hands of the troops, shall have precedence of all other claims whatsoever on the pay of the troops; they shall be regulated by tables of cost, periodically published by the chief of the Ordnance Department, (see rates of prices, articles 153, 154.)

84....Whenever stoppages are noted on muster rolls, for loss or damage of ordnance or ordnance stores, it shall be the duty of the paymaster to withhold the amount charged, and that of the paymaster general to transmit to the Second Auditor of the Treasury, in the month of May, annually, a statement exhibiting the total amount of such stoppages up to the 31st December next preceding; to the end, that such amount may be refunded to the appropriation to which it may legally belong.

85....When any person shall fraudulently sell or otherwise dispose of any ordnance or ordnance stores, the property of the United States, or convert the same to his own use, or deface their marks for the purpose of concealment, or wantonly waste or destroy such property, it shall be the duty of any military officer, to whom the facts shall become known, either personally or on credible report, to communicate the circumstances to the chief of the Ordnance Department, who shall adopt such measures in the case as the interest of the service may require.

86....Surplus ordnance and ordnance stores in the hands of the troops shall be turned into store, in as good order as possible, at the most convenient ordnance depot, for which the officer or agent in charge of such depot shall give a receipt, stating their condition.

87....Surplus ordnance and ordnance stores at any military post, not an ordnance depot, which are considered by the commanding officer unnecessary for the service of the post, shall be transported to an arsenal or ordnance depot; provided the removal of such ordnance and ordnance stores shall be first sanctioned by an inspector general,. or by the commander of the department in which they are situated. Officers commanding posts will report all surplus stores to the commander of the department, or to the inspector general when present

ORDNANCE STORES IN SERVICE.

21

at the post on a tour of inspection, who shall designate the place to which they shall be removed.

88....In case ordnance or ordnance stores are lost, or rendered unserviceable by unavoidable accident, the commanding officer shall assemble a board of survey to investigate the facts, and report to him the cause of such loss or damage. The board shall be composed of commissioned officers when practicable, and their report shall be submitted to the commanding officer for his remarks or explanations, and shall be forwarded by the person responsible for the property with his next quarterly return of property to the Ordnance office.

89....Whenever any officer in charge of ordnance or ordnance stores shall leave his command or post, with the prospect of being absent for any period less than three months, it shall not be obligatory on him to take receipts for the said ordnance or ordnance stores; but he may, at his own discretion, either close his accounts or place the ordnance or ordnance stores under charge of the officer next in command, who shall, in that case, do all duty in regard to said ordnance or ordnance stores, in the name of said absent officer, until his return to the command or post.

90....At the decease of any disbursing officer of the Ordnance Department, or any officer or agent chargeable with ordnance or ordnance stores, and responsible for the returns required by article 138, a board of survey shall be assembled by the senior officer of the arsenal, depot, or post, to examine the state of the funds, ordnance, or ordnance stores, for which the said officer or agent was accountable. The board will make a report in duplicate, in the same order of classification as in article 155, stating the kinds, quantity, and condition of said ordnance or ordnance stores, and the amount of funds on hand; which report will be immediately transmitted to the chief of the Ordnance Department; the duplicate will be handed to the successor of the deceased.

91....The commandant of each company in garrison shall constantly retain in store, and exhibit on his quarterly returns of property, the regulation arm-chests hereinafter mentioned, in which all arms or accoutrements, not in the hands of the troops, shall be at all times securely packed for preservation, viz: to each company of infantry, and to each company of artillery armed as infantry, two musket armchests; and to each company of riflemen, two rifle arm-chests; to

each company of cavalry, one pistol arm-chest; and if armed with carbines or rifles, then, in addition, one rifle or carbine arm-chest.

92....The commanding officer of a regiment, garrison, company, or detachment, shall be responsible that all surplus chests or cases, in which arms or other ordnance stores have been conveyed to his command, are carefully preserved. They will be receipted for, and entered upon the property returns as other stores, and, in like manner, reported to the Ordnance Department.

93....Every officer commanding a permanently embodied regiment, or a company, garrison, or detachment, and the commandant of the corps of cadets, shall make a report every two months, as required by the 7th section of the law passed the 8th of February, 1815, (see appendix, No. 1, article 14,) "to the Colonel of the Ordnance Department," which reports shall be consolidated by the Colonel of Ordnance, and transmitted, with his remarks and orders thereon, every six months, to the superintendents of the national armories and inspecting officers of the Ordnance Department, in order to ascertain and correct any defects which may exist in the manufacture of arms.

SECTION VI. UNSERVICEABLE ORDNANCE STORES.

ARTICLE 94..Whenever ordnance or ordnance stores are reported unserviceable, they shall be examined by an inspector general, or some other officer specially designated by the Secretary of War for that purpose, who will note on the inventory such as he condemns and such as he considers reparable, (see form No. 13.) He shall recommend the stores condemned by him either to be broken up at the arsenal, depot, or military post, or to be sold, as may be deemed most advantageous to the public service; but should it appear to the inspector that the ordnance or ordnance stores condemned are of too little value to cover the expense of sale or breaking up, he shall recommend them to be dropped from the return as useless. Such arms and stores as the inspector may consider reparable he shall direct either to be repaired at the arsenal, depot, or military post, or to be transported to the nearest or most convenient arsenal or depot of construction or repairs. The list of condemned stores, (see form No. 10,) with the remarks and opinion of the inspector, shall be made in duplicate, and forwarded to the chief of the Ordnance Department