REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY, Washington, D. C., September 30, 1892. SIR: I have the honor to present for your information the following report upon the duties and operations of the Engineer Department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892: OFFICERS OF THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. The number of officers holding commissions in the Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, at the end of the fiscal year was 117. Since the last annual report the corps has lost one of its officers, Lieut. Col. William E. Merrill, who died on December 14, 1891. There were added to the corps, by promotion of graduates of the Military Academy, five additional second lieutenants. On the 30th of June, 1892, the officers were distributed as follows: Commanding the Corps of Engineers and the Engineer Department.... Office of the Chief of Engineers 1 3 Board of Engineers, fortifications, river and harbor works, and Division Engi 1 Board of Engineers, Board of Ordnance and Fortification, and Division EngiFortifications, river and harbor works, and Division Engineers. 1 neer... neer.... Board of Engineers, Mississippi River Commission, Division Engineer, and Board of Visitors. Board of Engineers, fortifications, river and harbor works, and Board of Visitors. Washington Aqueduct and Light-House Board River and harbor works.. Fortifications and river and harbor works. Mississippi River Commission and Missouri River Commission 33 30 121881 Fortifications, Post of Willets Point, U. S. Engineer School, and Battalion of Engineers 1 River and harbor works and Missouri River Commission. 1 Public buildings and grounds, Mississippi River Commission, Missouri River Commission, and Light-House Board Detached, at Military Academy, on International Boundary Commission, with Light-House Establishment, as military attachés, with Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and at headquarters military department. 20 117 The officers detached were on duty as follows: Lieut. Col. John M. Wilson, Superintendent Military Academy Lieut. Col. John W. Barlow and Lieut. David DuB. Gaillard, Members of International Boundary Commission Maj. David P. Heap, engineer third light-house district Maj. William R. Livermore, engineer first and second light-house districts Capt. William T. Rossell, Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia.. Capts. James L. Lusk and Gustav J. Fiebeger, assistants to the Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia.. Capt. George McC. Derby, and Lieuts. Mason M. Patrick and Charles H. McKinstry, on duty with Company E, Battalion of Engineers, and at Military Academy Capt. Theodore A. Bingham, military attaché to the United States legation at Berlin Lieuts. Harry F. Hodges, Lansing H. Beach, and Joseph E. Kuhn, on duty at Military Academy Lieut. Cassius E. Gillette, engineer officer department of the Missouri. FORTIFICATIONS. The construction of fortifications for the defense of the seacoast was resumed in consequence of $1,221,000 having been appropriated for that purpose by the act of August 18, 1890. For the previous fifteen years no appropriations for this object had been made. By the act approved February 24, 1891, $750,000 was appropriated for the same purpose. These two appropriations have been allotted to the construction of emplacements for modern rifled guns and mortars for the defense of localities as follows: It was at first contemplated to mount in these emplacements guns of different calibers from those now reported, the intention being to provide emplacements for guns as manufactured. But funds not having been appropriated to provide for emplacements being constructed as rapidly as guns, it will be possible to mount in the emplacements built the guns for which they were originally designed. The projected fortifications and the progress made in their construction are as follows: Boston Harbor, Massachusetts.-Officer in charge, Lieut. Col. S. M. Mansfield, Corps of Engineers, with Capt. S. S. Leach, Corps of Engineers, under his immediate orders. The approved project for the defense of this harbor contemplates, for the present, an armament of twelve 12-inch guns on lifts, fifteen 10inch and five 8-inch guns on disappearing carriages, one hundred and twenty-eight 12-inch mortars, and submarine mines to be operated from four mining casemates. During the year the concrete masonry of one 10-inch gun position has been completed on an average to the crown of the arches forming the service magazine and shell room. In the two other gun emplacements operations have been confined to the demolition of old masonry, the removal of earth embankments, and the preparation of foundations for the new masonry. Large quantities of concrete material are being collected. The entire excavation for the masonry of the mortar battery was completed, and in doing this about 8,000 cubic yards of gravel for concrete was obtained and 9,000 cubic yards of embankment built; 6,700 cubic yards of concrete was put in place, thus completing the masonry of the two rear pit walls, the intervening chambers, the central magazines, and connecting passages. New York Harbor, New York.-Officers of the Corps of Engineers in charge: Col. D. C. Houston, Lieut. Col. G. L. Gillespie, with First Lieut. Harry Taylor under his immediate orders until August 12, 1891, and First Lieut. James G. Warren since that date, and Lieut. Col. W. R. King. The projects for the defenses of both the southern and eastern entrances to this harbor contemplate, for the present, an armament of nineteen 12-inch guns on lifts, seventeen 10-inch and nine 8-inch guns on disappearing carriages, one hundred and seventy-six 12-inch mortars, and submarine mines operated from five mining casemates. Colonel Houston reports as to the three emplacements for 8-inch guns, that about 7,600 cubic yards of earth has been excavated and placed in embankment, 8,485 cubic yards of concrete has been made and placed, stone has been cut out and set for magazine-door fittings, and the construction of doors commenced. The concrete cover of magazines and guns of two positions has been practically completed except a section in front of the pintles, left vacant temporarily. The concrete work of the third position is about one-third completed, and the earthwork in front of the concrete of the third position is over half built. Increased storage and wharfage have been provided. Relative to the construction of the gun battery for two 12-inch guns and one mortar battery, Lieutenant Colonel Gillespie reports: The construction of the concrete masonry for the gun-lift battery was continued throughout the year, except when suspended from December 23, 1891, to April 13, 1892, on account of cold weather. At the close of the fiscal year the masonry of the battery had been carried to an average height of 32 feet above the bed of the foundations, or to reference (39.0); the sand core between the exterior 20-foot wall and the interior 10-foot wall had been filled and compacted. The settlement was done by use of water and averaged about 15 per cent. The total amount of masonry constructed during the year was 29,875.5 cubic yards; that previously reported was 3,055 cubic yards, making the total to June 30, 1892, 32,930.5 cubic yards. There remain to be constructed 10,167.5 cubic yards of masonry; 76 per cent of the masonry construction is therefore completed. The masonry consists of 23,815 cubic yards of concrete, mixed and placed, at $4.13 per cubic yard, and 5,512 cubic yards of large stone, delivered and placed, at $3.31 per cubic yard, the average cost of the two combined during the year, being $3.91, and the average cost of all the masonry laid, from the beginning, being $5.51, inclusive of superintendence, purchase and maintenance of plant, repairs to buildings, office expenses, and general work. The contract for the mechanism of the northwest lift was practically completed June 30, 1892, at which date all the parts of the mechanism had been completed, delivered, and set in place, except the final adjustment of the ammunition lift and rammer. A test had been made of the connections to the accumulators, resulting in the satisfactory raising of the accumulators. The final test of the mechanism, with its ultimate load of gun and carriage, will be made in August. The estimated total cost of a completed battery of this type, accommodating two guns, is $457,000 (not including cost of armament), of which $283,000 is applied to masonry and sand covering, and $174,000 to the mechanism of two gun lifts. Special modifications of the original plans of the gun-lift battery have been approved, which provide for a defensible entrance and for additional security against attack by boat parties on front and flanks. A building for office purposes was erected at a total cost of $1,548, and a frame building for the general use of the Engineer Department is in process of construction, by contract, at a cost of $5,000. At the close of the fiscal year the concrete masonry of the mortar battery was completed, excepting the floors of the magazines and passages, the sloping concrete surface capping for restricting damages by blasts in the pits, the retaining walls, and the counterscarp wall and galleries. The line of the ditch was cleared of undergrowth and stumps and graded ready for the foundation of the counterscarp wall. There were constructed 13,025 cubic yards of concrete, at an average cost of $5.28 per cubic yard, including superintendence, purchase and maintenance of plant, repairs to buildings, and general work not capable of specification. No sand has been moved, except when required to prepare for laying of masonry. The total estimated cost of the battery, without armament, is $201,000. Concerning the construction of emplacements for two 10-inch and one 8-inch guns, Lieutenant Colonel King reports: Steam hoisting engines and derricks have been placed upon the wharf so that two or even three boats may discharge their cargoes at the same time. A new winding engine has been placed at the head of the incline, of sufficient power to haul heavily loaded cars from the bottom to top in less than one minute, and a small locomotive has been built for handling them when they reach the upper level. The work of preparing emplacements for two 10-inch and one 8-inch rifles has been continued during the year; one magazine and part of the parapet connecting it with the next emplacement have been completed, and the second magazine is well under way. The earth excavation and concrete work and receiving materials have been carried along together as circumstances would permit, and the daily output of concrete in place has in one case reached 160 cubic yards with a single mixer. This, however, is far above the average, as there are many delays in moving machinery, preparing centers, etc. The entire quantities of work done on the battery during the year have been as follows, viz: Earth excavation Earth embankment Cubic yards. 10,897 7,676 6, 346 |