In the act of August 18, 1890, $15,000 was appropriated for this fort. Work under this appropriation was done by hired labor, using materials purchased by contract. It was begun on October 20, 1890, and continued to the close of the fiscal year, when the following work had been accomplished: An accurate topographical survey of the reservation was made and the notes plotted. One thousand nine hundred and fifty-four and four-tenths square yards of 24-inch waterproof concrete pavement was laid, completing the covering of the terreplein. One hundred and forty-six and seven-tenths squares of brick pavement on the terreplein was repointed, numerous broken portions hav ing been previously relaid. Fifty linear feet of the banquette tread and four embrasures were repaired. Twenty-nine concrete spouts, 2 feet in length, were put in to carry off rain water from the terreplein. The staircase on the outside of the northeast watchtower was removed and set up inside the tower. Ten wooden benches for the use of visitors were placed on the terreplein. Window frames and sashes were removed from forty-four casemate windows and their places supplied by iron gratings. Five door facings and forty-four window facings were repaired with concrete, and one new door was put in. The ditch around the fort was cleaned out and graded. Three short retaining walls of concrete, containing 28 cubic yards, were built near the entrance. The quarters occupied by the ordnance sergeant were removed from the covered way of the ravelin to a vacant Government lot on the west side of the reservation. Five flights of concrete steps, containing 7.1 cubic yards, were made. The glacis planes were restored to their original condition, and all low places on the reservation were filled and graded. To make this fill 11,517 cubic yards of material (measured in place) was moved an average distance of 1,032 feet, at a cost per cubic yard of 25 cents. The covered way, the slopes of the glacis planes, and all portions of the reservation which had been graded (8.8 acres in all) were plowed, fertilized, harrowed, and planted out in grass. One thousand one hundred and forty-seven linear feet of new picket fence was built along the south and west portions of the reservation, and 1,930 linear feet of picket fencing was painted. A concrete sea wall 292.5 feet long, with a return wall of concrete 50 feet long, containing in all 353.5 cubic yards of concrete, 314.8 cubic yards en masse and 38.7 cubic yards in blocks, was built along the north boundary of the reservation, at an average cost for concrete en masse of $6.82 per cubic yard, including superintendence and tools. Two concrete drains, each 20 feet long and 8 inches by 8 inches in the clear, were made. Two hundred square yards of concrete paths, 4 feet wide and 4 inches thick, and 1,269 square yards of concrete paths, 3 feet wide and 3 inches thick, were laid. Twenty-one cedar and 14 myrtle trees were planted out by hired labor, and 55 palmettos, 40 cedars, 24 oleanders, 15 myrtles, 103 casinos, and 470 Spanish bayonets by contract. be The building of the new sea wall and the filling of the low space hind it has reclaimed a piece of land 62 by 268 feet, worth at least, at current prices here, $4,000, while the total cost of the wall and filling was about $2,700. In order to complete the work of restoration of the fort and of improve ment of the grounds, the flimsy modern doors of the casemates should be replaced by doors similar to that in casemate No. 7; a neat spiral iron staircase should be placed in the watchtower; the restoration of the chapel doorway should be completed; the drawbridge at the entrance should be restored; the wooden picket fence around the reservation should be replaced by a concrete wall; 2,460 linear feet additional of concrete walks should be built; neat iron benches should be placed at intervals on the grounds, and additional shrubbery should be set out. If the trespassers on the north boundary of the reservation are removed, the sea wall will have to be extended and a slight additional fill made. The total estimated cost of these improvements is $6,500. None of these items, excepting the restoration of the chapel doorway, was included in former estimates. The desirability of these improvements developed as the work first laid out progressed. It is proposed to make a partial restoration of the chapel door with the funds now available, but the design as shown on the blue print of the original drawing, dated 1785, is too elaborate to be reproduced entirely. Popular interest in this work continues unabated as is shown by the number of visitors during the past year, estimated at 40,000. The work of the past year has been under the immediate direction of Lieut. D. D. Gaillard, Corps of Engineers, and it is largely due to his energy and good management that the amount of work done with the appropriation has been so great. The remainder in hand will be expended in accordance with the approved project. Money statement. Amount appropriated by act approved August 18, 1890.. June 30, 1891, amount expended during fiscal year.. $15,000.00 13, 782.00 July 1, 1891, balance unexpended. July 1, 1891, outstanding liabilities. July 1, 1891, balance available. 1, 218.00 575.84 642. 16 Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project. 6,500.00 Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1893.. 6,500.00 APPENDIX NO. 5. POST OF WILLETS POINT, NEW YORK; UNITED STATES ENGINEER SCHOOL; BATTALION OF ENGINEERS; ENGINEER DEPOT. REPORT OF LIEUTENANT-COLONEL W. R. KING, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1891. UNITED STATES ENGINEER SCHOOL, Post of Willets Point, New York Harbor, July 24, 1891. GENERAL: I have the honor to submit herewith the following annual report, in duplicate, on the post of Willets Point, New York Harbor; the United States Engineer School, the Battalion of Engineers, and the Engineer Depot. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. R. KING, Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers, Commanding. Brig. Gen. THOMAS L. CASEY, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. 1.-POST OF WILLETS POINT. At the close of the fiscal year the garrison consisted of 27 commissioned officers and 333 enlisted men, including the following general staff, artillery, cavalry, and infantry officers: Maj. Clarence Ewen, surgeon, U. S. Army. Capt. Henry S. Kilbourne, assistant surgeon, U. S. Army. Second Lieut. Alfred M. Hunter, Fourth Artillery. The following-named officers were relieved from duty at this post (instruction in submarine mining) on the dates set opposite their respective names, viz: Class 1889-90. First Lieut. Adam Slaker, First Artillery, August 31, 1890. First Lieut. Edgar W. Howe, Seventeenth Infantry, October 7, 1890. One artillery officer, 1 cavalry officer and 6 infantry officers were assigned to duty at this post in Special Orders, No. 260, Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant General's Office, Washington, November 6, 1890, and one cavalry officer was assigned in Special Orders, No. 280, Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant General's Office, Washington, December 1, 1890. Second Lieut. William K. Jones, Fourteenth Infantry, was, upon his own application, relieved from duty at this post on June 15, 1891, as per Special Orders, No. 124, Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, June 7, 1891. Of the many improvements needed at this post some have been completed during the year, while others from various causes are still delayed. I. The new building for engineer models has been completed and the models are being cleaned up and arranged in proper order for exhibition. It is proposed to have in this building all the models that were in the old museum, and in addition standard tools and implements of all kinds that are used by engineer troops in surveys, siege operations, pontoniering, and torpedo service. The entire building, excepting the tin roof, has been built by engineer soldiers, and is a very creditable piece of work. The main building is 28 feet by 84 feet, and the wing 28 feet square, the whole being two stories high and built of brick, with stone quoins and trimmings. The entire cost, including steam-heating plant, was $8,000. II. The coal shed, built by the Quartermaster's Department, has also been completed, and was used during the past season. III. An allotment of $9,000 was made for a new guard house by the Quartermaster's Department, but, on opening bids for the building on the plans furnished, it was found that they were all in excess of the amount allotted. New plans have been prepared and forwarded, and it is hoped that during the present year the new guard house will be built. IV. It has also been found impracticable to get the work of clearing out the ditch completed, although an allotment of $1,200 was made for the purpose. The bids received in response to circulars were found to be excessive, and, although reasonable offers were made as open market proposals, they were not accepted by the Quartermaster's Department, and therefore nothing has been done. V. The ice pond has also remained unimproved for want of a small amount of funds ($900) estimated for in my last annual report. By walling in and grading around this pond, so as to keep out surface water and get rid of a marshy border on the north side, the quality of the ice could be greatly improved and the sanitary condition of the immediate locality would be benefited. VI. New plans have been made for the proposed quartermaster and commissary storehouse near the wharf, but no funds have thus far been allotted for the purpose. VII. Plans were made for lighting the post by electricity and forwarded to the Quartermaster-General in March, 1890, and if that method of lighting is not approved I would respectfully recommend that a small plant be erected for lighting the post by gas. Either of these plans would be more in keeping with modern ideas than the present method of lighting by coal oil. VIII. The new barracks and mess building are also still unprovided for. The necessity of these buildings has been so often reported, not only by myself but by the post surgeon, and in fact by all officers who have had occasion to investigate the matter, that no further statement of the case seems necessary. |