The army officer's examiner: containing questions and answers on all subjects prescribed for an officer's examination, together with rules to guide boards of examination online

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RARY

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.
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THE

ARMY OFFICER'S EXAMINER.

CONTAINING

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

ON ALL SUBJECTS PRESCRIBED FOR AN OFFICER'S EXAMINATION ;
TOGETHER WITH

RULES TO GUIDE BOARDS OF EXAMINATION.



BY LIEUT.-COL. WM. H. POWELL,

llto Infantry. U. S. Army.




FIRST

FIRST TH



NEW YORK:

JOHN WILEY & SONS,

53 EAST TENTH STREET.

1894.



Ui

f



C6pyright, 1894,

BY

WM. H. POWELL.



;u: :ITT!



PREFACE.



THE object of this work is to equalize the examinations of
officers by boards and to relieve the War Department of the trou-
ble of preparing sample -questions, each subject being exhausted
with questions and fair approximate answers given to each, fur-
nishing thereby a guide to both boards and candidates, as well as
data to refresh their memories for those who have passed the
periods of examination.

It will be found to be an invaluable aid to officers of the
National Guard in the pursuit of knowledge in the military
service.

The work has been prepared with great labor, and the sub-
scriber has received the valuable assistance in its preparation of
Lieut. -Col. J. W. Clous, Judge Advocate, Professor of Military
Law at the U. S. Military Academy, in Military Law ; Major S. C.
Norvell, 10th Cavalry, in Cavalry Drill ; First Lieut. Thos. J.
Lewis, 2d Cavalry, in Hippology ; First Lieut. Wallis O. Clark,
12th Infantry (distinguished marksman), in Fire Discipline ; and
Second Lieut. Wm. H. Reynolds, 14th Infantry, in Military
Topography to all of whom he returns his sincere thanks.

WM. H. POWELL.

NEW YORK CITY, 1894.

iii




BOARDS OF EXAMINATION.



Boards for the examination of all officers of the army as to
their physical and mental qualification were instituted by the
following Act of Congress :

ACT OF CONGRESS DIRECTING EXAMINATIONS FOR PROMOTION.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That hereafter, promotion to every
grade in the Army below the rank of brigadier-general, throughout each arm,
corps, or department of the service, shall, subject to the examination hereafter
provided for, be made according to seniority in the next lower grade of that
arm, corps, or department : Provided, That in the line of the Army all officers
now above the grade of second lieutenant shall, subject to such examination,
be entitled to promotion in accordance with existing laws and regulations.

SEC. 2. That officers of * grades in each arm of the service shall be assigned
to regiments, and transferred from one regiment to another, as the interests of
the service may require, by orders from the War Department, and hereafter all
appointments in the line of the Army shall be by commission in an arm of the
service and not by commission in any particular regiment.

SEC. 3. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to prescribe a
system of examination of all officers of the Army below the rank of major to
determine their fitness for promotion, and such an examination to be conducted
at such times anterior to the accruing of the right to promotion as may be best
for the interests of the service : Provided, That the President may waive the
examination for promotion to any grade in the case of any officer who, in pur-
suance of existing law, has passed a satisfactory examination for such grade
prior to the passage of this act : And provided, That if any officer fails to pass
a satisfactory examination and is reported unfit for promotion, the officer next
below him in rank, having passed said examination, shall receive the promo-
tion : And provided. That should the officer fail in his physical examination and
be found incapacitated for service by reason of physical disability contracted in
line of duty, he shall be retired with the rank to which his seniority entitled him
to be promoted ; but if he should fail for any other reason, he shall be suspended
from promotion for one year, when he shall be re-examined, and in case of fail-
tire on such re-examination he shall be honorably discharged with one year's
pay from the Army : And provided further. That the examination of officers
appointed in the Army from civil life, or of officers who were officers of volun-
teers only, or were officers of the militia of the several States called into service
of the United States, or were enlisted men in the regular or volunteer service,
either in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps, during the War of the Rebellion, shall
be conducted by boards composed entirely of officers who were appointed from
civil life or of officers who were officers of volunteers only during said war, and
such examination shall relate to fitness for practical service and not to technical
and scientific knowledge ; and in case of failure of any such officer on the re-

* Sic in the roll.



Vi BOARDS OF EXAMINATION.

examination hereinbefore provided for, he shall be placed upon the retired list
of the Army; and no act now in force shall be so construed as to limit or restrict
the retirement of officers as herein provided for.
Approved, October 1, 1890.

BY COMMAND OF MAJOR-GENERAL SCHOFIELD :

CHAUNCY McKEEVER,

Acting Adjutant- General.

Upon the approval of this act, and as soon as the rules pre-
scribed could be prepared, the following order was issued :



GENERAL ORDERS, ) HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,

v ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

No. 128. \ Washington, October 29, 1890.

The following rules, prescribed by the President, in accordance with Section 3
of the Act of Congress approved October 1, 1890, providing for a system of ex-
amination to determine the fitness for promotion of all officers of the Army
below a certain grade, are, by direction of the Secretary of War, published for
the information and guidance of all concerned :

I. At such time, anterior to the accruing of the right to promotion, as may be
best for the intere-ts of the service, officers of the line of the Army and of the
Quartermaster's and Subsistence Departments below the rank of major shall be
examined by a board, convened by the War Department, consisting of five
members, two of whom shall be selected from the Medical Corps, and a recorder.
The board, excepting the officers of the Medical Corps, shall be composed of
officers senior in rank to the officers to be examined, and, as far as practicable,
of the arm of service or department to which the officer belongs. The duties
of the medical officers will be confined to the physical examination.

II. Examination shall be made under the following heads :

1. Physical condition.

2. Character and professional efficiency.

III. When the board finds an officer physically incapacitated for service it shall
conclude the examination by finding and reporting the cause which, in its judg-
ment . has produced his disability, and whether such disability was contracted
in the line of duty. For the purpose of this inquiry the proceedings of the board
shall conform to those of a retiring board.

IV. When the board finds an officer physically capable, the examination shall
proceed under the second head. Any evidence submitted as to character will
be carefully considered, and such proceedings taken as, in the opinion of the
board, the case requires; provided; that an adverse finding shall not be entered
until the officer shall have been fully heard in his own behalf.

V. The examination in respect to professional proficiency shall relate to fit-
ness for practicable service, and to apply to all officers enumerated in paragraph

For the present it shah 1 embrace such subjects as pertain to the actual prac-
tical working of the arm of the service or department to which the officer
belongs, viz.: drill regulations, authorized manuals of instruction, army regula-
tions, military law so far as it relates to practice and procedure before courts-
martial, records, returns, correspondence, and administration; and due consid-
eration will be given to the officer's record for professional efficiency, including
his standing at the service schools.

Any individual investigations, papers, reports, or books may be submitted to
the board by the officer, and the board is authorized to consider any matter
which will, in its judgment, aid it in determining the fitness of the officer for
promotion.

VI. Subsequently to a date to be announced hereafter, but not less than
eighteM months hence, the scope of examination for officers of the line will be
extended. To this end officers should make themselves familiar with the elements
of Field Engineering and the Art of War, so far as they relate to fitness for
practical service. The authorities on these subjects included in the curriculum
of the Artillery School at Fort Monroe and of the Infantry and Cavalry School
at Fort Leavenworth are regarded as standard. The result of special inquiries
involving studies of professional subjects will be received and considered as
equivalents of ehe above-mentioned subjects, so far as in the opinion of the
board their merits justify.

VII. The examination of the following officers shall be conducted by boards



BOAKDS OF EXAMINATION. Vll

composed entirely of officers who were appointed from civil life or who were
officers of volunteers only, during the War of the Rebellion:

1. Officers appointed in the Army from civil life during the War of the
Rebellion.

2. Officers who were officers of volunteers only during the War of the
Rebellion.

3. Officers who were officers of militia of the several States called into the
service of the United States during the War of the Rebellion.

4. Officers who were enlisted men in the Regular or Volunteer Service,
either in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps, during the War of the Rebellion.

The examination of the following officers may be conducted by boards organ-
ized at the discretion of the War Department, to be composed, as far as
practicable, of officers of the same professional antecedents as the officers to be
examined :

1. Graduates of the Military Academy.

2. Officers appointed from civil life since the War of the Rebellion.

3. Officers appointed from the Army since the War of the Rebellion.

The expression " during the War of the Rebellion " is understood to embrace
the period between April 15, 1861, and May 1, 1865.

VIII. Officers of the Medical Department, Corps of Engineers, and Ordnance
Department, below the grade of major, shall be examined for promotion as
hereinbefore provided, excepting that the examination as to professional
efficiency shall be conducted as heretofore authorized by orders and regulations
pertaining to the department and corps referred to, or as may hereafter be
specially prescribed therefor.

Two medical officers will be added to the board as now authorized, for the
examination of engineer and ordinance officers, whose duties shall be confined
to the physical examination.

Officers who, in pursuance of existing law, have passed a satisfactory ex-
amination for any grade, prior to the passage of the act approved October 1,
1890, will not be required to undergo the examination above mentioned, unless
specially ordered bv the President.

IX Any officer heretofore reported by a retiring board as incapacitated by
reason of physical disability, the result of an incident of service, shall, if the
proceedings of said board are approved by the President, be regarded as physi-
cally unfit for promotion within the mean nig of Section :} of the Act of < October
1, 1890, and will be retired with the rank to which his seniority entitles him
whenever a vacancy occurs that otherwise would result in his promotion on the
active list; provided, that before the occurrence of such vacancy lie shall not
have been placed on the limited retired list; and further provided, that any
officer who objects to retirement under the provisions of this paragraph shall.
upon his own application, be re-examined under the general provisions of this
order.

X. The examining board shall report its recommendation of any officer for
promotion in substantially the following form :

" We find that has the physical, moral, and professional quali-
fications to perform efficiently all the duties of the grade to which he will next
be eligible, and recommend him for promotion thereto. 11

Each record- must be signed by every member and by the recorder, and must
show who of the members concurred in and who, if any, dissented from the
opinion of the board.

Whenever the board fails to recommend a candidate for promotion, the record
will state the cause of such failure.

The proceedings shall be forwarded to the Adjutant-General of the Army for
the final action of the Secretary of War.

BY COMMAND OF MAJOR-GENERAL SCHOFIELD :

. CHAUNCY McKEEVER,
Acting Adjutant-General.




RULES OF PKOCEDURE.



WHEN the officers who are ordered to appear oefore the board
report to the president thereof (which they are invariably
directed to do in orders), the president, through the recorder,
notifies the medical members of the board of their presence, and
requests to know when the physical examination can be made.

As soon as the fact is ascertained, the officers to be examined
are directed to report to the senior surgeon, who will, upon com-
pletion of the physical examination, transmit to the recorder a
written certificate giving the condition of the officer, signed by
both medical officers.

A certificate will be required from the examined officer at the
commencement of the physical examination that, to the best of
his knowledge and belief, he is not affected with any form of
disease or disability. (See Circular from Surgeon-General's Office,
by order of the Secretary of War, Dec. 18, 1890.)

Upon the receipt of the certificates, the president will direct
the recorder to convene the board at an appointed time, and the
recorder notifies the candidate for examination to be present; or,
if preferable the entire board can be convened before the exami-
nation by the medical officers, and the physical examination made
during a recess of the board, taken for that purpose.

The members, recorder, and officers to be examined assemble at
the place and hour designated, and the board will be called to
order by the president, who will direct tlie order convening the
board to be read.

After this the order directing the candidate to appear will be
and the candidate will be asked if he has'any objection to
his examination by any member present.*

[ // ttie officer should object, his objection will be made in writ-
inn : "H'l "ft a' consideration by the board, and its opinion given,
trill be forwarded to the War Department for action in the
matter.]



should nlwaro be accorded. The statutes as to the

hearing ' and without ihis right great

viii



RULES OF PKOCEDUEE. rX

At this point the officer should ask to introduce counsel, if he
desires so to do.

If the candidate has no objections to any of the members, the
recorder will then administer the following oath:

"You (A. B.) do swear that you will honestly and impartially
discharge your duties as a member of this board in the matter
now before you. So help you God."

After which the president of the board will administer the fol-
lowing oath to the recorder :

" You (A. B.) do swear that you will, according to your best
abilities, accurately and impartially record the proceedings of
the board, and the evidence to be given in the case in hearing.
So help you Bod" .

The board is now organized in the full capacity of a Retiring-
board, and if there is anything found in the medical examination
which is likely to render the officer unfit for promotion, all other
candidates but the one in question will withdraw from the board,
and a further examination of the case will be continued.

The examination of witnesses is next in order, and, when called
before the board, the following oath will be administered by the
recorder:

" You (A. B.) do swear that the evidence you give in the cause
now in hearing shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth. So help you God."

The first witnesses (in case of disability) are the medical officers,
and they present the written certificate which they have made,
and reply to any oral questions propounded by the board, all of
which must be made a matter of record.

NOTE. A retiring-board has to inquire into and determine the facts touching
the nature and occasion of the disability of any officer who appears to be in-
capable of performing the duties of his office, and has such powers of a court-
martial and of a court of inquiry as may be necessary for that purpose. The
board, therefore, I. as power to summon and compel the attendance of witnesses,
and to make use of depositions in the same manner and under the same re-
strictions as courts-martial. Ives.

Other oral testimony and documentary evidence may then be
introduced, with the right to the candidate of objecting to any
improper evidence, and of cross-examining the witnesses called
by the board.

The candidate can then produce such evidence as he may deem
necessary in the case.

When this has all been received, should the board desire, it
may call upon the Adjutant-General of the Army for the com-
plete history of the officer; in which case, or in the event of a
delay granted the officer, the board adjourns to meet at the call
of the president, or proceeds to other business.

When all the papers relating to the case have been received by
the recorder, the president will call the board together, and each
individual paper, duly attested, will be reaid in the presence of



x BULES OF PROCEDURE.

the officer under examination, briefed on the record and referred
to as appended, and marked A, B, or C, as the case may be.

After all the evidence has been duly entered, the board will sit
wiili closed doors (which it has a right to do at any time for de-
liberation, but not for the taking of testimony) , and the decision
at which it arrives is entered upon the record, signed by the presi-
<lit ami recorder only, if the officer is found incapacitated for
active duty.

Nor* The province of a retiring- board is simply to determine the facts
touching the nature and occasion of the disability of the officers examined.
It has no authority to entertain any charge of a military offence, or to try an
issue of fact involving the moral status of the officer. Its deliberations must
be directed to his physical and mental capacity to discharge the duties incident
to his rank and office; and its investigation is not limited to any particular
period of time; for the length of service of an officer and the duration and con-
tinuance of his disability are all material to be considered. Ives.

The finding of the board must be considered as confidential.

The board is required to give an opinion as to whether the in-
valid officer is incapacitated for active service or not. When it
finds an officer so incapacitated, it is further required to report
the cause which, in its judgment, has produced his incapacity,
and whether such cause resulted from an incident of service.

This conclusion of the board is merely to assist the President
of the United States in deciding the case.




PROCEDUKE WHEN FOUND NOT INCA-
PACITATED.



IF the officer examined has been reported as physically capable
of discharging the duties of the next higher grade to which he is
eligible, the certificates of the surgeons will be read to the board
immediately after the oaths have been administered to the mem-
bers and the recorder, and the board determines whether it will
so find the officer or otherwise. If found capacitated for duty,
the medical members will then be relieved from further attend-
ance in the case.

The remaining members then become a board of examination
as to professional efficiency and proceed, as prescribed in General
Orders No. 128, series of 1890, from the headquarters of the Army,
amended by the following order:

nn* ) HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,

RDERS, I ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

) Washington, October 5, 1891.

The following rules prescribed by the President, in accordance
with section 3 of the act of Congress approved October 1, 1890,
providing for a system of examination to determine the fitness
for promotion of all officers of the Army below a certain grade,
are, by direction of the Secretary of War, published for the infor-
mation and guidance of all concerned:

I. After January 1, 1893, the scope of examination for officers
of the line will be as follows:

First. For promotion from second to first lieutenant.
Manual of guard duty.
Military law.

Elements of field engineering.
Signalling.

Drill regulations (candidate's arm only).
Manuals of instruction:
Cavalry

Hippology.

3d



Xii PROCEDURE WHEN FOUND NOT INCAPACITATED.

Artillery-
Exterior ballistics.
Infantry-
Fire discipline.
Minor tactics.

Small-arms firing regulations (cavalry and infantry only).
Administration.

Second. For promotion from first lieutenant to captain.

Military law.

Elements of field engineering.

Signalling.

Drill regulations (candidate's arm only).

Manuals of instruction, as prescribed for second lieutenants.

Minor tactics.

Military topography.

Small-arms firing regulations (cavalry and infantry only).

Administration.

Third. For promotion from captain to major.

Military law.

Drill regulations (candidate's arm only).

Minor tactics.

Administration.

Essay of not less than 3000 words upon a professional topic,
selected by the candidate, and submitted to the Adjutant-General
for the approval of the Major-General Commanding the Army.
The essay to be prepared at any time during the three months
immediately preceding the examination, the date of which will be
communicated by the Adjutant- General.

Fourth. First and second lieutenants of artillery, serving with
light batteries at the time of examination, will be examined in
hippology as prescribed for cavalry.

Fifth. Examinations conducted in conformity with the Memo-
randum of October 5, 1891, from this office, will, for the purpose
of marking, be divided into two parts, as follows:

1. To each written question a numerical value will be attached,
and the board will credit each answer according to its nature.

2. To each exercise in parade examination, and the attending
oral Questions if any are propounded, the board will in like man-
ner allot a numerical value, and credit each test according to its
merit. In subjects exclusively or almost entirely oral, such as
small-arms firing regulations and administration, a numerical
value will be given each subject, and a credit given on the gen-
eral result of all the answers therein.

No candidate will be passed who shall not obtain an average
of 60 per cent m all the written questions propounded; and an



PROCEDURE WHEtf FOUXD NOT INCAPACITATED. Xlll

average of 70 per cent in parade and oral examinations consid-
ered collectively.

Sixth. Graduating diplomas of the Infantry and Cavalry
School, and the Artillery School, dated not more than five years
anterior to examination, shall be accepted, as sufficient evidence
of proficiency in subjects enumerated therein.
* * * # # * * * *

BY COMMAND OF MAJOR-GENERAL SCHOFIELD:

J. C. KELTON,

Adjutant-General.

The professional examination defined in the above-quoted order
will therefore, after January 1, 1893, be conducted as prescribed
in the following

MEMORANDUM.

SUBHEADS FOR THE WRITTEN EXAMINATION OF OFFICERS FOR
PROMOTION AS PRESCRIBED IN GENERAL ORDERS, NO. 128.
OCTOBER 29, 1890, AND NO. 80, OCTOBER 6, 1891, FROM THE
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE; GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR
PARADE AND ORAL EXAMINATIONS, AND TEXT-BOOKS AND
AUTHORITIES.

SUBHEADS FOR THE WRITTEN EXAMINATION.
For 2d Lieutenants of the Line.

MANUAL OF GUARD DUTT^

Rosters. ^tA 09 1 "**

The officer of the day.

The officer of the guard.

The sergeant of the guard.

The corporal of the guard.

The soldier on guard.

Orders for sentinels on post (paragraph 169 to 233)

Miscellaneous (paragraphs 234 to 242).

Artillery-stable and park-guard.

Miscellaneous subjects (paragraphs 278 to 360).

MILITARY LAW.

The subject defined and divided ; constitutional provisions.

The written military law.

The unwritten military law.

The court-martial.

The constitution and composition of general courts-martial.

The jurisdiction of general courts-martial.



Xiv PROCEDURE WHEN FOUND HOT INCAPACITATED.

The procedure of general courts-martial ; arrest.

The charge.

Assembling and opening of the court; the president and mem-
bers.

The judge advocate.