Lieut. Col. WILLIAM HOFFMAN, DETROIT, MICH., June 25, 1862. Eighth Infty., U. S. Army, Commissary-General of Prisoners. COLONEL: In compliance with your order dated June 12, 1862, requir ing me to visit the permanent camps at Albany, Utica, Rochester and Elmira and the U. S. barracks at Buffalo to ascertain their capacity for quartering troops and to make to you a written report thereon, accompanied by a general plan of each camp, I have the honor to submit the result of my examination of the camp so specified at Albany, N. Y., as to its condition when visited by me on or near the 21st instant. This camp is known as the Albany Industrial School Barracks* and is at present partially occupied, one of the long wooden temporary barracks, 500 by 20 feet, being in use as a hospital for wounded soldiers, containing at present nearly 200, and the permanent brick building being partly occupied as offices and store-rooms of the quartermastergeneral's department of the State of New York and partly as a recruiting depot. The party, however, is very small and does not require but a small room. The camp is under the charge of General C. Van Vechten, quartermaster-general of the State. It is easily accessible from the town, being located on a fine road about one mile from it in a southwest direction, on an elevated and dry situation. It is irregular in shape. The longest side, however, is about 500 yards and the greatest width about 350 yards. The soil is firm, hard and gravelly, covered with grass and there is not in the vicinity either marsh, standing water or forest, or any locus of malaria or disease. The camp is abundantly supplied with fine pure water from the city reservoir, and with fuel; hard wood at $8 and soft wood at $5 per cord. There are two camp-grounds separated from each other by a high close board fence. The one containing the Industrial School building has on three sides a high close board fence of 8 feet; the fourth a picket fence 5 feet high. The other ground is inclosed on three sides by a high close board fence of 8 feet; the fourth side is partly bounded by a low fence of horizontal slats and posts, but has a short interval with none. With the exception of the Industrial School building the buildings were all built by the Government and are now, together with the school building and all the grounds, exclusively under its control. This latter building was formerly occupied as an industrial school and was built by the city of Albany. It is 293 feet long and at the wings and middle portions 50 feet in width. The wings are connected with the central building by two halls, each 77 by 31 feet. It is of brick, the central part three stories in height, and the wings and connecting halls two stories. The ceilings are about 12 feet in height and all parts of the building admit of the most complete ventilation. The basement is occupied as mess halls, kitchens and store-rooms. The mess halls are completely supplied with tables and benches and will seat 700 men. There are two kitchens, 31 by 48 feet each. One is completely furnished with cooking apparatus for cooking at one time for 1,000 men. The other kitchen is not in any use. The first floor is occupied as barracks and offices. Its barrack accommodations consist of two halls 66 by 31 feet and two of 48 by 31 feet. They will accommodate 500 men in all, and 500 more can be placed on the floor above, which is also used as barracks and offices, and has the same number of * See pp. 79, 81. rooms of the same dimensions as the first floor. One of the halls, 48 by 31 feet, is, however, used as a prison room and has 36 cells arranged in 2 tiers, one tier above the other, and 18 inches each. The third story of the central building is occupied or has been as officers' quarters and will accommodate 12. By a proper disposition of the rooms and offices in the first and second stories 1,000 men can readily be accommodated, and by a use of all the rooms in the basement the same number can be seated at once and 2,000 cooked for at once. There are sinks and bath-houses to the rear of the building and two sheds 50 by 20 feet used for washing rooms and store-rooms, one small store-house 30 feet square and a sutler's store 40 by 30 feet, and a small dwelling house 50 by 30 feet, stable sheds for horses 50 feet by 10, and other low sheds 100 feet by 8 feet. The ground is completely surrounded by a high close board fence except one side which has a picket fence. With the exception of the school brick building the buildings are all of one story in height, of wooden frames, new and covered with rough boards matched, and the seam again covered by an outer board. The roofs are covered in the same manner. They have pitched roofs at the ridge about 15 feet in height and at the eaves about 8 feet. The floors are firm, of plank, and the buildings are all well ventilated. On the adjacent ground and separated from them by a close board fence 8 feet in height are two long barrack buildings, each 500 by 20 feet, with sinks, bath-houses and guard-house. These buildings are all new, of wooden frames, with pitched roofs of about the same height and covered in the same manner as those already described. They are well ventilated and have good floors. One has a piazza 10 feet wide running the entire length of the building. Each is divided into five divisions of 100 feet each designed to accommodate 100 men each, which they will readily do, or even 150. The middle division of the building with the piazza has four small divisions of 25 feet each and is used as a dispensary and cook room for the sick and wounded recently arrived (within a week) there. There are at this camp about 1,700 wooden bunks in all and 3,000 linen ticks for straw. There are no kitchens on this ground, all the cooking being done in the basement of the Industrial School building. The guard-house is an octagonal building 40 feet in diameter and one story in height, at present used as a dispensary. There are bath-houses near each of the barrack buildings well supplied with hydrant water and good cleanly sinks for the men. The guard-house has two rooms of equal dimensions. There is no bake-house, the food being supplied, cooked and placed on the table and the table furniture and kitchen utensils found by contracting parties at 243 cents each ration. Lumber can be bought at 6 cents per foot. These barracks are designed for 1,000 men but will accommodate at least one-third more. Accompanying this description is a ground plan of the grounds and all buildings and an additional plan of each story of the Industrial School building, with notes and references, all of which are respectively submitted. With highest respect, I am, colonel, your obedient servant, H. M. LAZELLE, Captain, Eighth Infantry. Lieut. Col. WILLIAM HOFFMAN, DETROIT, MICH., June 25, 1862. Eighth Infty., Commissary-General of Prisoners, Detroit, Mich. COLONEL: In compliance with your order dated Washington City, June 12, 1862, requiring me to visit the permanent camps at Albany, Utica, Rochester and Elmira and the U. S. barracks at Buffalo to ascer tain their capacity for quartering troops and to make to you a written report thereon accompanied by a general plan of each camp, I have the honor to submit the result of my examination of the camp so specified at Buffalo, N. Y., as to its condition when visited by me on or about the 23d of June. This camp is known as Camp Porter* and is at present entirely unoccupied. It is in the charge of Mr. Samuel Strong, a gentleman employed by the Government to take charge of the public buildings at Fort Porter. It is easily accessible from town, being located on a fine road about one mile and three-quarters from it in a northwest direction and on ground quite as high as the surrounding country and bordering Niagara River. It is nearly in the form of a rectangle, being about 320 by 300 yards. The soil is firm and hard, covered with grass, and there is not in the vicinity either marsh, standing water or forest, or any cause of malaria or disease. The camp is abundantly supplied with fine pure water from the city reservoir and fuel is delivered on the ground at $5, and $3.50 or $4, the first price being that for hard wood, the latter for soft wood. In the same inclosure are the temporary buildings erected by the Government and the permanent fort with its various buildings. The first are all new, of one story in height and of wooden frames covered with rough boards matched. The seam is again covered by an outer board. The sides and roof are covered in the same manner. They have good plank floors and pitched roofs, those of the barracks and guard-house being about fifteen feet at the ridge and eight at the caves, those of the mess hall and kitchens somewhat higher. The grounds are inclosed by a low fence of horizontal slats placed at intervals nailed to uprights. The barracks (temporary) number ten buildings placed in two lines at right angles to each other. They are each 60 feet by 18 and have bunks placed in each for the accommodation of 150 men, though they are unfitted for the reception of more than 100 in each. The bunks are double and arranged in three tiers, with the length at right angles with the length of the building. This leaves a passage of six feet wide at the middle of the building. The barracks are wretchedly ventilated and are unprovided with ticks for straw for the bunks. In each is a small room 7 by 5 feet used by the orderly sergeants. In a large building south of these and dimensions of 236 by 66 feet are the mess halls and kitchen. The latter is 36 feet wide, 56 feet long, occupying the central part of the building, with the mess halls of 100 feet in length each at either end. At one end of the kitchen are three small rooms 10 by 12 feet used as store-rooms and outside of these is a large reservoir of cistern water. The roof of this part of the building is higher by about six feet than that of the mess halls. The latter will seat 600 men in each. One is well supplied with tables and benches and the other has but about one-half of the requisite number. The kitchen is very deficient in cooking apparatus and there is no bake-house. |