affidavit, before the judge of any court of record or notary public, that their disability, from wounds or other causes, was incurred in the line of duty in the service. The time when such disability occurred, and the circumstances attending it, will be stated in the affidavit, and also the command to which the officer or soldier belonged. The affidavit of the officer will further state any fact showing meritorious service.

III. The Board, which will be composed of three medical officers, will examine the officer or soldier and certify to the character and degree of his alleged disability. The affidavit and certificate will be forwarded by the Board, through the Surgeon-General, to this office.

IV. Meritorious disabled officers will be reappointed to their former rank, and, when confirmed, will be placed upon the retired list. Their pay will then commence. Soldiers embraced in the provisions of this act will be retired by orders from this office, only, from the date of which they will be entitled to pay.

By order:

S. COOPER,

Adjutant and Inspector General.

CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT, ENGINEER BUREAU,

Richmond, Va., February 16, 1865.

Hon. J. C. BRECKINRIDGE,

Secretary of War:

SIR: I have somewhat delayed answering the circular from your office of the 7th instant, in order to present a more complete and satisfactory reply. I now have the honor to submit the following statement of the means and resources for carrying on the service confided to this Bureau, impediments thereto, and what is desired to promote greater and necessary efficiency.

To this end I propose to lay before you-

First. A statement in regard to officers of engineers and engineer troops, their number, assignments, and the necessary increase demanded by the interests of the service.

Second. Engineer workshops.

Third. Railroad repairs, including the collection of railroad iron by a special commission.

Fourth. Labor required for all the service confided to the Engineer Corps, whether military or civil, including its organization.

First, then, in regard to officers, there are-

In regular Corps of Engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

In provisional Corps of Engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

In engineer troops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Assigned to engineer duty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

----

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Officers of regular corps on other duty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

----

Total available for engineer service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

The officers of the regular and provisional corps are distributed to the different armies and departments in such manner as to meet the most urgent calls of the engineer service, and the companies of engineer troops are serving, as a general rule, with the armies and in the