After the Civil War, President Johnson signed the "Act to increase and fix the Military Peace Establishment of the United States." This set the peacetime strength of the army at ten regiments of cavalry, five regiments of artillery, and 45 regiments of infantry. These numbers were cut by the army appropriations act of 1869 to twenty five infantry regiments. The appropriations act for the following year limited the army to 30,000 enlisted men. A further limitation was placed by the army appropriations act of 1874 which barred funding to recruit the army beyond 25,000 enlisted men. With officers, this made the total strength of the army 27,000, where it currently stands. This leaves 430 companies to garrison approximately 200 military posts throughout the nation.
Enlistments for cavalry were set at five years and at three years for infantry. Two of the cavalry and four of the infantry regiments were ordered composed of black enlisted men and white officers (the number of infantry regiments was reduced to two by the appropriations act of 1869). Cavalry regiments number 12 companies or troops, and infantry regiments ten. Each regiment is commanded by a colonel, with a lieutenant colonel as second in command. Each cavalry regiment has three majors, and companies are commanded by captains, each with a subordinate lieutenant and second lieutenant.
On August 6, 1866 there was a reorganization of the regional command structure that had existed during the War. This established two military divisions in the west, that of the Missouri (commanded from Chicago) and that of the Pacific (commanded from San Francisco). Each of these comprises several military departments.
Source: 14 Stat. 332-38 (July 28, 1866); 15 Stat. 315-18 (March 3, 1869); 16 Stat. 315-21 (July 15, 1870); 18 Stat. 72 (June 16, 1874).
The
Military Division of the Missouri comprises the area west of the Mississippi and
east of the Rocky Mountains. It has its headquarters at Chicago under the
command of Lieutenant General Philip H. Sheridan. The Department of Dakota is
one of four departments attached to the Division of the Missouri and has its
headquarters at St. Paul, Minnesota. The other departments are: the Department
of the Platte, with its headquarters at Omaha, the Department of the Missouri,
with its headquarters at Fort Leavenworth, and the Department of Texas, which
has its headquarters at San Antonio.
The composition of these Departments is as follows:
The Department of Dakota is the northernmost Department within the Military Division of the Missouri. It is commanded by Bvt. Major General Alfred H. Terry, who has his headquarters in St. Paul, Minn. The Department of Dakota will soon be host to the Northern Pacific Railroad, which is planning a route through Dakota Territory, across the Missouri at Bismarck and along the Yellowstone River to the Rocky Mountains and across to the Department of Columbia and the Pacific Ocean. Currently, the railroad ends at Bismarck. The stock market crash of '73 ruined the Northern Pacific and it is not known when the tracks will be pushed west of the Missouri.
The Department of the Platte stretches the length of the Platte River, also including Iowa and Utah. The Department is commanded by General Edward O. Ord from his headquarters at Omaha, Nebraska. The Union Pacific Railroad, which links the coasts of this great nation, runs the length of the Department. Ord has under his command the Ninth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Infantry regiments, eight companies of the Second Cavalry and a detachment of the Fifth Cavalry.
The Department of the Missouri comprises five states and part of the Indian Territory. It is commanded by General John Pope from his headquarters at Fort Leavenworth. The Kansas Pacific Railroad runs from St. Louis to Denver. The Department is also the home of the old Santa Fe Trail, which begins at Independence, Missouri and ends at Santa Fe.
The Department of Texas was not originally a part of the Division of the Missouri, but belonged to the Department of the Gulf as the Fifth Military District. This changed in 1870 when Texas was readmitted to the Union and the new Department was created. The Department is commanded by General Christopher C. Augur from his headquarters at San Antonio. A recent addition to the Department is the Fourth Cavalry under Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, stationed at Fort Richardson.
James V. Acker, Pres.