Inspection reports and related records received by the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General's Office

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Microfilm of original records in The National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"Most of the records reproduced on microfilm should be easily readable. However, due to a shortage of stationery supplies in the Confederacy, some inspection reports and documents were written with ink that has faded badly. This problem is particularly noticeable in reports of army commands, which were also made on paper forms of poor quality. Most of the faded documents are still legible, but may produce poor or illegible images on microfilm. Documents with one or more possibly illegible pages are listed by file number in the roll notes at the beginning of each roll"--Introd.

"This microfilm publication reproduces "the series of Inspection Reports and related records received by the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General's Office, and accompanying finding aids. The former consists of several thousand files pertaining to military inspections performed from 1864 to 1865. The three volumes of finding aids consist of a two-volume typewritten catalog of inspection reports and a one-volume name and subject index to the catalog"--Introd.

"Policies and procedures of the Inspection Branch were outlined by administrative issuances of 1864... In inspecting an army particular attention was to be directed to discipline, drill, sanitary conditions, staff officer efficiency, and distribution and use of supplies. District inspectors were to examine all aspects of operations in a particular area, including the strength, efficiency and character of the troops, money and property accounts of disbursing officers, care of public property, collection of the tax in kind, authority under which men were detailed, effectiveness of conscription, management of hospitals, and the status of depots. Inspectors serving with armies were expected to examine 'the number, appearance and bearing of officers and men'; the status of arms; police of camps, quarters, hospitals, and guardhouses; company, regimental, and brigade records; the number of rations drawn; and operations of the medical and ordnance departments of the command"--Introd.

"Most files among the present series consist of inspection reports and related enclosures. Some, however, consist of other documents received by the Inspection Branch, primarily correspondence from inspecting officers relating to their duties"--Introd.

"Reports of military commands and units were generally made on printed inspection circulars supplied by the Inspection Branch. The endorsement page of the report identifies the units inspected, commanding officers, station, date of inspection, total present and absent, total effective for the field, number of guns, and name of the inspecting officer. The first page of the circular consists of procedural and policy instructions to inspectors making the reports. Pages 2-5 require names of commanding officers; designation of troops; date of muster into service; term of service; number of troops present for duty, on special, extra, or detail duty, and sick or in arrest or confinement; men present at inspection and those not at inspection; those absent on detached service, with leave, and sick or without authority; number present and absent and effective for the field; and number of horses and guns. Data is further broken down by field officers, staff officers, and enlisted men. On page 5 there is space for remards on commissioned officers and enlisted men not at inspection. Page 6 provides for a list of absent commissioned officers accounted for, giving their names, ranks, regiments, authority for absence, and date the officer left his command. Page 7 calls for the number and conditions of arms, accoutrements,.

ammunition, horse equipment, clothing, and camp and garrrison equipage. Pages 8 and 9 consist of 39 questions relating to military bearing and appearance of troops, status of discipline and military instruction, quality of commanding officers, quality of recordkeeping, medical and hospital facilities, sanitary conditions, religious observance, treatment of public animals, and activities of sutlers. Pages 10 and 11 allow space for narrative remarks relating to efficiency of the command and its officers, condition of the troops, and subjects not covered in previous pages"--Introd.

"Other reports, generally narrative, pertain to inspection of local defense forces; posts; artillery defenses; prisons; hospitals; commissary, quartermaster, provost marshal, and enrolling officers' niter and mining operations; arsenals; ammunition and arms; and railroads"--Introd.

"Inspection reports, particularly narrative ones, frequently include as enclosures documents received by officers during their investigations, such as correspondence; reports from subordinate inspectors and other officials; orders; lists or rosters of staff and inspecting officers, civilian employees, detailed soldiers, and other men, black and white; lists of clothing and stores; requisitions; reports of persons and articles hired; returns; morning reports; affidavits; price schedules; and maps"--Introd.

The alpha-numeric arrangement of the inspection reports was devised by the Confederate Inspection Branch in accordance with 19th-century recordkeeping practices. Some minor changes were made by the U.S. War Department later. The reports are arranged alphabetically by initial letter of surname of inspecting officer and thereunder numbered according to date or receipt. The number put on a document when it was received and the letter giving its alphabetical heading make up the file numbers on documents and in finding aids. If a number rather than a letter appears first (in a file number), it means that the document is an enclosure. Following the alpha-numeric files is a subseries of 406 miscellaneous files. There were apparently assembled by the U.S. War Department and appear not to have been part of the original arrangement"--Introd.

"Two other aspects of the arrangement should be noted. Reports of subordinate inspectors are usually filed as enclosures to those of their superiors. Reports of military division and brigade inspectors, for example, will usually be found filed with reports of the inspector of the Army. One file number was generally used for reports and enclosed documents for a particular inspection, but in some instances several file numbers refer to the same inspection"--Introd.

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