t of the Army
Gun Factory, now completed at Watervliet, the Government has contracted
with private parties for the purchase of one hundred guns of these
calibers, the first of which should be delivered to the Department for
test before July 1, 1894.

The manufacture of heavy ordnance keeps pace with current needs, but to
render these guns available for the purposes they are designed to meet
emplacements must be prepared for them. Progress has been made in this
direction, and it is desirable that Congress by adequate appropriations
should provide for the uninterrupted prosecution of this necessary work.

After much preliminary work and exhaustive examination in accordance
with the requirements of the law, the board appointed to select a
magazine rifle of modern type with which to replace the obsolete
Springfield rifle of the infantry service completed its labors during
the last year, and the work of manufacture is now in progress at the
national armory at Springfield. It is confidently expected that by the
end of the current year our infantry will be supplied with a weapon
equal to that of the most progressive armies of the world.

The work on the projected Chickamauga and Chattanooga National
Military Park has been prosecuted with zeal and judgment, and its
opening will be celebrated during the coming year. Over 9 square miles
of the Chickamauga battlefield have been acquired, 25 miles of roadway
have been constructed, and permanent tablets have been placed at many
historical points, while the invitation to the States to mark the
positions of their troops participating in the battle has been very
generally accepted.

The work of locating and preserving the lines of battle at the
Gettysburg battlefield is making satisfactory progress on the plans
directed by the last Congress.

The reports of the Military Academy at West Point and the several
schools for special instruction of officers show marked advance in the
education of the Army and a commendable ambition among its officers to
excel in the military profession and to fit themselves for the highest
service to the country.

Under the supervision of Adjutant-General Robert Williams, lately
retired, the Bureau of Military Information has become well established
and is performing a service that will put in possession of the
Government in time of war most valuable information, and at all times
serve a purpose of great utility in keeping the Army advised of the
worl