Letters sent by the Office of the Quartermaster General, main series, 1818-1870

Notes

"The letters sent in this main series are copies of all letters sent by the Quartermaster General himself or by a deputy in his absence, but they do not constitute all the letters sent over his signature. Except for letters relating to clothing estimates and returns for a brief period from 1823-1827, all letters sent relating to clothing estimates, returns, prices, shipments, contracts, specifications, and clothing inventories are in another series of letters sent. All other letters sent by the Quartermaster General until May 1833 are in this main series. In May 1833 a separate series of letters sent to the Secretary of War was begun, and those letters no longer are in this series. In December 1848 the letters sent to heads of such executive departments as the Interior, State, and Navy were included in the new series created for letters sent to the Secretary of War. As the quantity of claims to be processed by the Quartermaster Department increased after the Mexican War, a separate series of letters sent by the Quartermaster General relating to claims (for Chartering vessels and for payments for services and supplies) was begun in December 1848. In January 1862 the letters transmitting vourchers, money and property accounts, contingent accounts, and claims to the Second and Third Auditors of the Treasury Department were removed from this series.".

"Until 1863 there had been no decentralization within the office of the Quartermaster General; consequently, most letters emanated from the Quartermaster General. With the vast increase in work connected with the Civil War it became necessary to divide the functions of the Office into organizational units. Although this decentralization was not officially provided for until July 18, 1864, by War Department General Order No. 231, the Quartermaster General began to decentralize his office in 1863. In 1864 the work was formally divided into nine divisions, and although reduced in number, reorganized, and redesignated as branches in 1867, decentralization was the practice thereafter. The initial distribution of duties in 1864 into the nine divisions was as follows: procurement and disposition of horses and mules; procurement and disposition of cloth, clothing, and camp and garrison equipage; procurement and maintenance of ocean and lake transportation; procurement and maintenance of land and western river transportation; procurement of forage and straw; procurement and maintenance of barracks and quarters; procurement and disposition of all regular supplies and payment of expenses not assigned to other divisions; inspection; and records. The nine divisions and the later branches were under the supervision of a quartermaster officer, and each unit maintained its own series of records. Therefore the routine letters sent relating to these functions were no longer maintained in the main series of letters sent by the Quartermaster General. The series did, however, continue to contain all the other letters sent by the Quartermaster General relating to these functions, except letters that were sent to the Secretary of War and to heads of other executive departments and that were placed in a separate series.".

"The nine divisions and the later branches were under the supervision of a quartermaster officer, and each unit maintained its own series of records. Therefore the routine letters sent relating to these functions were no longer maintained in the main series of letters sent by the Quartermaster General. The series did, however, continue to contain all the other letters sent by the Quartermaster General relating to these functions, except letters that were sent to the Secretary of War and to heads of other executive departments and that were placed in a separate series. The intended arrangement of the letters and the endorsements with each volume was chronological, but the clerks were not always able to copy them precisely in that order. The first few pages of several volumes contain letters that should have been entered in preceding volumes, and the last few pages of several volumes contain letters that should have been entered under earlier dates in the volumes"--Introd.

Microfilm of original records in The National Archives, Washington, District of Columbia.

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