Chapter 397. To reorganize and to increase the efficiency of the artillery of the United States Army
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CHAP. 397.— An Act To reorganize and to increase the efficiency of the artillery of the United States Army. January 25, 1907. [[S. 3923](/us/bill/59/s/3923).] [[Public, No. 33](/us/pl/59/33).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, That the artillery of the Army.Artillery reorganization.Coast and field artillery organization.Vol 31, p. 748, amended.*Proviso.*Chief of Artillery to be Chief of Coast Artillery after July 1, 1908, etc.United States Army shall consist of the Chief of Artillery, the coast artillery, and the field artillery.
The coast artillery and the field artillery shall be organized as hereinafter specified, and the artillery shall belong to the line of the Army: *Provided*, That on and after July first, nineteen hundred and eight, the Chief of Artillery shall cease to exercise supervision over the field artillery and shall thereafter be designated as the Chief of Coast Artillery. Sec. 2. That the Chief of Artillery or Chief of Coast Artillery shall To be additional member of General Staff Corps.be an additional member of the General Stall Corps, and his other duties shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War.
When a vacancy occurs in the office of the Chief Vacancies; how filled.of Artillery or Chief of Coast Artillery the President may appoint to such vacancy, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, an officer selected from the coast artillery, who shall Rank, etc., upon retirement.serve for a period of four years unless reappointed for further periods of four years; and any officer who shall hereafter serve as Chief of Artillery or Chief of Coast Artillery shall, when retired, be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law for a brigadier-general on the retired list.
The position vacated by an officer appointed Chief of Artillery or Chief of Coast Artillery shall be filled by promotion in that arm according to existing law, but the officer thus appointed shall continue in the same lineal position in his arm which he would have held if he had not been so appointed, and shall be an additional number in the grade from which he was Additional number in grade.*Proviso.*Limit.appointed or to which he may be promoted: *Provided*, That there shall not be at any time in the coast artillery more than one additional officer by reason of the appointment of a Chief of Artillery or Chief of Coast Artillery and the relief of an officer from such duty.
Sec. 3. That the coast artillery is the artillery charged with the care Coast artillery; duties.and use of the fixed and movable elements of land and coast fortifications, including the submarine mine and torpedo defenses. Sec. 4. That the field artillery is the artillery which accompanies Field artillery.an army m the field, and includes light artillery, horse artillery, siege artillery, and mountain artillery. Sec. 5. That the coast artillery shall constitute a corps, and shall Coast artillery to constitute a corps.Number of officers.consist of one Chief of Coast Artillery with the rank, pay, and allow862ances of a brigadier-general, as provided in section one of this Act: fourteen colonels; fourteen lieutenant-colonels; forty-two majors; two hundred and ten captains; two hundred and ten first lieutenants, and two hundred and ten second lieutenants; and the captains and lieutenants provided for in this section not required for duty with companies shall be available for duty as staff officers of the various coast artillery commands and for such other details as may be authorized by law and regulations; twenty-one sergeants-major with the rank, pay. and allowances of regimental sergeants-major of infantry; twenty-six master electricians; sixty engineers; seventy-four electrician-sergeants, first class; seventy-four electrician-sergeants, second class; forty-two sergeants-major with the rank, pay, and allowances of battalion sergeants-major Bands.of infantry: forty-two master gunners: sixty firemen; one hundred and seventy companies, and fourteen bands, organized as now provided for by law for artillery corps bands.
Sec. 6. Composition of com panics. That each company of coast artillery shall consist of one captain, one first lieutenant, one second lieutenant, one first sergeant, one quartermaster-sergeant, two cooks, two mechanics, two musicians, and such number of sergeants, corporals, and privates as may be fixed by the President in accordance with the requirements of the service *Proviso.*Maximum, enlisted men.to which it may be assigned: *Provided*, That the total number of sergeants and corporals in the coast artillery, so fixed, shall not exceed one thousand three hundred and sixty and two thousand and forty, respectively, and that the total enlisted strength of the coast artillery, as provided under this Act, shall not exceed nineteen thousand one hundred and forty-seven, exclusive of master electricians, electrician-sergeants, first class, and electrician-sergeants, second class.
Sec. 7. Field artillery organization. That the field artillery shall consist of six regiments, each organized as follows: One colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, eleven captains, thirteen first lieutenants, and thirteen second lieutenants; two veterinarians, one sergeant-major, one quartermaster-sergeant, one commissary-sergeant, two battalion sergeants-major, two battalion quartermaster-sergeants, two color-sergeants, one band, and six Detail of officers.batteries organized into two battalions of three batteries each.
Of the officers herein provided the captains and lieutenants not required for duty with batteries shall be available for detail as regimental and battalion staff officers, and for such other details as may be authorized by law and regulations. Battalion adjutants shall be detailed from the captains, and battalion quartermasters and commissaries Band.from lieutenants. Each field artillery band shall be organized as *Proviso.*provided by law for cavalry bands: *Provided*, That the President in Increase of mounted orderlies.his discretion may increase by nine mounted orderlies the regimental strength herein authorized.
Sec. 8. Composition of batteries. That each battery of field artillery shall consist of one captain, two first lieutenants, two second lieutenants, one first sergeant, one quartermaster-sergeant, one stable sergeant, one chief mechanic, six sergeants, twelve corporals, four mechanics, three cooks, two musicians, and one hundred and two privates, the commissioned officers to be assigned from among those hereinbefore authorized for*Provisos.*Additional noncommissioned officers, etc. the regiment: *Provided*, That the President in his discretion may increase the number of sergeants in any battery of field artillery to eight, the number of corporals to sixteen, the number of mechanics to seven, the number of musicians to three, and the number of privates Limit.to one hundred and forty-nine: *Provided further*, That nothing contained in this Act shall increase the total number of enlisted men in the line of the Army, together with the native scouts, as authorized Vol. 31, p. 757.by section thirty-six of the Act of Congress approved February second, nineteen hundred and one, entitled “An Act to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the United States.” 863 Sec. 9.
That on and after the approval of this Act the coast artillery Permanent separation of coast and field artillery.and the field artillery shall be permanently separated, the separation to be effected as follows: All officers in the present Artillery Corps shall remain on one list Promotions.as regards promotion until sufficient promotions shall have been made, as far as the present number of officers permit, to provide in each grade, together with the officers remaining therein, the total number of officers of the grade provided for in this Act for the coast and field artillery combined.
After such promotion they shall, in each grade, Assignment of officers according to aptitude, etc.be assigned by the President to the coast artillery or to the field artillery, according to special aptitude and qualifications and agreeably to individual preference, so far as may be practicable and for the good of the service, such assignments to be permanent; and all officers promoted or appointed in the artillery thereafter shall be commissioned as officers of the coast artillery or the field artillery, as the case may be, and shall be promoted by seniority in their own branch, subject to the provisions of the laws governing promotion in the Army at large.
Sec. 10. That all vacancies created or caused by this Act which can Filling vacancies.be filled by promotion of officers now in the Artillery Corps shall be filled by promotion according to seniority, subject to examination as now prescribed by law. Of the vacancies created or caused by this Act which can not be filled by promotion of officers now in the Artillery Corps, one-fifth in each branch shall be filled in each fiscal year until the total number of officers herein provided for shall have been attained.
The vacancies remaining in the grade of second lieutenant shall be filled by appointment in the following order: First, of graduates of the United States Military Academy; second, of enlisted men whose fitness for advancement shall have been determined by competitive examination; third, of candidates from civil life: and all such appointments shall be made in accordance with the provisions of existing law. Sec. 11. That the regimental and battalion noncommissioned staff Non commissioned staff officers.Pay and allowances.officers herein authorized for regiments of field artillery shall have the pay and allowances of corresponding grades in the cavalry; the battalion quartermaster-sergeant shall have the pay and allowances of sergeant-major, junior grade, of the Artillery Corps: the chief mechanic the pay and allowances of sergeant, and the mechanics of field artillery the pay and allowances of artificers of field artillery: engineer, sixty-five dollars a month and allowances of ordnance-sergeant; electrician-sergeant, first class, forty-five dollars a month and allowances of ordinance-sergeant: electrician-sergeant, second class, thirty-five dollars a month and allowances of ordnance-sergeant: master gunner, the pay and allowances of ordnance-sergeant: fireman, thirty dollars a month and allowances of ordnance-sergeant: and that the rates of pay of all other enlisted men of the coast and the field artillery shall be as now provided by law: *Provided*, That casemate electricians, observers,*Provisos.*Additional pay to electricians, etc. first class, and plotters shall receive nine dollars a month in addition to their pay; that chief planters, chief loaders, observers, second class, gun commanders, and gun pointers shall receive seven dollars a month in addition to their pay, and that first-class gunners shall receive two dollars a month and second-class gunners one dollar a month in addition to their pay: *Provided further*, That the number Maximum number of electricians, etc.of casemate electricians shall not exceed forty-four; that the number of observers, first class, shall not exceed one hundred and seventy; that the number of plotters shall not exceed one hundred and seventy; that the number of chief planters shall not exceed forty-four; that the number of chief loaders shall not exceed forty-four: that the number of observers, second class, shall not exceed one hundred and seventy; that the number of gun commanders shall not exceed three hundred and seventy-eight, and that the number of gun pointers shall not exceed 864three hundred and seventy-eight: *And provided further*, That no Limit of addition to pay.enlisted man shall receive under this section more than one addition to his pay.
Sec. 12. Additional chaplains. That in addition to the chaplains now authorized for the Artillery Corps the President is authorized to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and subject to the laws governing appointment of chaplains in the Army, one chaplain for each regiment of field artillery and two for the coast artillery, with the Rank, etc.rank, pay, and allowances now authorized by law for chaplains in the Army. Sec. 13. Repeal. That all laws and parts of laws inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.
Approved, January 25, 1907.