ARMY OPERATIONS. 



79 



to their discharge had they remained with their 

 regiments. 



June 28. 18,000 veterans (infantry) of the 

 Army of the Potomac ; 15,000 of the Army of 

 the Tennessee (then consisting of the remaining 

 regiments of the Army of Georgia and Army 

 of the Tennessee) ; and 7,000 of the Middle 

 Military Division. 



June 30. All surplus troops, except in the 

 Department of the Gulf, Army of the Tennes- 

 see, Provisional Corps Army of the Potomac, 

 and First Army Corps. Strength of commands, 

 for all arms, to be reduced to the minimum 

 necessary to meet the requirements of the 

 service. 



July 1. All remaining veteran regiments of 

 the Army of the Tennessee and Provisional 

 Corps Army of the Potomac (that corps was 

 the remnant of the Army of the Potomac). 



July 6. The remainder of the Army of the 

 Tennessee. 



July 7. The remainder of the Provisional 

 Corps Army of the Potomac. 



July 21. All cavalry in the Department of 

 Virginia except two regiments, all in the De- 

 partment of North Carolina except one regi- 

 ment, and all in the Middle Department except 

 one regiment. 



August 1. All white troops, infantry, cav- 

 alry, and artillery, in the Department of Texas, 

 which, in the judgment of Maj.-Gen. Sheridan, 

 could be dispensed with. 



August 3. The same order was extended to 

 the Department of Louisiana. 



August 14. Additional infantry and heavy 

 artillery (white) in military departments, as fol- 

 lows: Virginia, 5,000; North Carolina, 8,000; 

 Washington, 8,000; Mississippi, 2,000; Ken- 

 tucky, 5,000 ; Middle, 6,000. 



August 21. 3,000 additional white troops in 

 the Department of Arkansas. 



September 8. AH surplus troops in the De- 

 partment of Washington, so as to reduce that 

 command to 6,000 officers and men of all 

 arms. 



September 8. All organizations of colored 

 troops which were enlisted in the Northern 

 States. 



October 9. All the remaining forces (white) 

 of the cavalry arm east of the Mississippi. 



October 9. All troops on the Pacific coast, 

 as many as possible immediately ; the remain- 

 der on the arrival of the last battalion of the 

 14th United States Infantry. 



October 10. All troops in New Mexico ; one 

 regiment immediately, the remainder on the 

 arrival of certain regular troops. 



In addition to the foregoing, and from time 

 to time, as the services of the troops could be 

 dispensed with, sixty-eight regiments, seven 

 companies, and six battalions, were ordered 

 mustered out. 



The rapidity with which the work was exe- 

 cuted will be apparent from the fact that to 

 August 7, 640,806 troops had been mustered 

 out; August 22, 719,338; September 14, 741,- 



107 ; October 15, 785,205 ; November 15, 

 800,963. 



The command of Maj.-Gen. Sherman (Army 

 of the Tennessee and Army of Georgia), and 

 the Army of the Potomac, were first to com- 

 plete their musters-out entirely. Regiments 

 commenced leaving Gen. Sherman's command, 

 then numbering, present and absent, 116,183 

 officers and men, from the rendezvous near 

 Washington, on the 29th of May, and on the 

 1st of August the last one of the regiments 

 mustered out left Louisville, Ky., to which 

 point the command (after the musters-out 

 therefrom were partly completed) was trans- 

 ferred, and the armies composing it merged into 

 one, called the Army of the Tennessee. The 

 work of mustering out the troops was not con- 

 tinuous, it having been interrupted and delayed 

 by the transfer of the two armies from Wash- 

 ington to Louisville, and their subsequent con- 

 solidation. 



Regiments commenced leaving the Army of 

 the Potomac (when numbering, including Ninth 

 Corps, 162,851 officers and men, present and 

 absent), from rendezvous near Washington, on 

 the 29th of May, and about six weeks there- 

 after (July 19) the last regiment started for 

 home. During the interval the work, like that 

 from Gen. Sherman's command, was not con- 

 tinuous, it being interrupted and delayed by 

 the movement of the Sixth Corps from Dan- 

 ville, Va., to Washington, and the consolidation, 

 by orders of June 28th, of the remaining por- 

 tion of the army into a provisional corps, num- 

 bering, present and absent, 22,699 officers and 

 men. 



Thus, for the two commands in question, and 

 between the 29th of May and the 1st of Angust 

 (two months), 279,034 officers and men, present 

 and absent, were mustered out and placed en 

 route to their homes. Including other armies 

 and departments, the number was increased by 

 August 7 (two months and seven days) to 

 640,806 officers and men. 



From the foregoing it will be seen that the 

 mass of the forces discharged were mustered 

 out by September 14, or within two and a half 

 months from the time the movements of troops 

 homeward commenced. The average per month 

 during that time was 296,442. 



The soldiers of the Southern armies rapidly 

 disappeared by returning to their homes. In 

 all cases of prisoners of war the Federal Gov- 

 ernment furnished, gratuitously, transportation. 



The military organization then adopted by 

 the Government consisted of five grand divi- 

 sions, which were subdivided into nineteen de- 

 partments, as follows : 



1. The Department of the East, Maj.-Gen. 

 Joseph Hooker to command, to embrace the 

 New England States, New York, and New 

 Jersey. Headquarters at New York city. 



2. The Middle Department, Maj.-General W. 

 S. Hancock to command, to embrace the States 

 of West Virginia, Maryland (excepting the 

 counties of Montgomery, that part of Anne 



