ng me of the bungling scheme which has been worked
out without your help. I presume it would be fruitless to attempt
any opposition to the species of mania which manifests itself in
such action. It may be best to let it run its course during the
short time which must yet elapse until a reign of reason is again
inaugurated with the incoming administration. But it occurs to me
that you may be able to save the useless expense to the government
and the great inconvenience and expense to staff officers which
would necessarily result from the organization of a division which
could only last for a few months. To me personally it is a matter
of little moment; but not so with the staff officers and the military
appropriations. I am not willing to have such a thing done, even
apparently, on my account. Please advise what official action, if
any, should be taken by me in this matter. Personally I am perfectly
ready to obey the President's order, without a word of protest;
but I am not willing to be the occasion of manifest injury to the
public service, and of useless inconvenience and expense to the
officers of the general staff who must be assigned to the headquarters
of the new division.

"Very truly yours,
"J. M. Schofield."

A MUDDLE OF NEW COMMANDS

But the public interests, and my desire to make my own entirely
subservient thereto, were alike disregarded. A new division was
carved out of three old ones, in violation of the plainest dictates
of military principles. The government was subjected to a worse
than useless expense of many thousands of dollars, and a number of
staff officers to like useless expense and trouble. For all this
there was no other apparent motive but to make it appear that there
were appropriate commands for all the major-generals then in active
service, and hence no reason for placing any one of them on the
retired list. As a part of that scheme, one of the most active
brigadier-generals, younger than one of the major-generals, was
selected instead of the latter to make way for an aspirant having
greater "influence." The correspondence of that period shows the
indignation felt in the army at such disregard of the just claims
of officers and of the interests of the military service. Neither
General Sherman nor any of the several higher officers at that time
could hope to derive any advantage from the passage of the act of
Congress,