its final result, part
of which was perhaps due to General Sheridan's extreme illness for
some time before his death, and his retention in nominal command
and in the nominal administration of military justice long after
it had become impossible for him to discharge such duties intelligently.
But that result had been practically reached a long time before
General Sheridan became seriously ill. He had long ceased, as
General Sherman and General Scott had before him, not only to
command, but to exercise any appreciable influence in respect to
either the command or the administration. The only difference was
that General Scott went to New York and General Sherman to St.
Louis, while General Sheridan stayed in Washington.

I have always understood, but do not know the fact, that in former
times the Secretary of War had exercised some intelligent control
over military affairs, so that there was at least unity in the
exercise of military authority. But in 1888 even that had ceased,
and it had been boldly announced some time before that each
departmental chief of staff, in his own sphere, was clothed with
all the authority of the Secretary of War. All that a major-general
as well as an officer of lower grade had to do was to execute such
orders as he might receive from the brigadiers at the head of the
several bureaus in Washington. It was not even necessary for those
mighty chiefs to say that their mandates had the sanction of any
higher authority. Their own fiat was all-sufficient for a mere
soldier of the line or for his commanding general, of whatever
grade of rank or of command. It is not strange that the Secretary
was finally unable to admit that he, great lawyer as he was, could
possibly have given his sanction to such an interpretation of the
law as that; but the decision was given by his order, and it governed
the army for a long time. Of course the adjutant-general became
by far the chiefest of those many chiefs; for it is his function
to issue to the army all the orders of both the Secretary of War
and the commanding general. Be it said to his credit that he did
not assume to issue orders in his own name, after the manner of
other chiefs. Like a sensible man, he was content with the actual
exercise of power, without caring to let the army know that he did
it. He had only to use the name of the Secretary or the general,
as he pleased; either would answer with the army. Of course I knew
something of this