GENERAL ORDERS, 
No. 252. 
WAR DEPARTMENT, 
ADJUTANT GENERAL’S OFFICE, 
Washington, August 81, 1864. 
Regulations for the examination of officers of the Quartermaster s, 
Subsistence and Pay Departments, under the following Act, to 
provide for the examination of certain officers of the army.—[See 
G. O., 221, of 1864.] 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That every quar- 
termaster and assistant quartermaster, and every commissary and 
assistant commissary of subsistence, and every paymaster and addi- 
tional paymaster shall, as soon as practicable, be ordered to appear 
for examination as to his qualifications before a board to be com- 
posed of three staff officers of the corps to which he belongs, of 
recognized merit and fitness, of whom two at least shall be officers 
of volunteers, which board shall make a careful examination as to 
the qualifications of all officers who may appear before them in pur- 
suance of this act, and shall also keep minutes and make a full and 
true record of the examination in each case. And all members of 
such boards of examination shall, before proceeding to the discharge 
of their duties as herein provided, swear or affirm that they will 
conduct all examinations with impartiality, and with a sole view to 
the qualifications of the person or persons to be examined, and that 
they will not divulge the vote of any member upon the examination 
of any officer who may appear before them. 
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That such boards of examina- 
tion shall be convened, under the direction of the Secretary of War, 
by the Quartermaster General, the Commissary General of Subsist- 
ence, and the Paymaster General, at convenient places; and gene- 
ral rules of examination and a standard of qualifications shall be 
prescribed by said officers, subject to the approval of the Secretary 
of War, and shall be published in General Orders. 
Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That after such General Orders 
shall have been published for sixty days, if any officer who shall 
then be ordered before a board of examiners, under the provisions 
of this act, shall fail for thirty days after receiving such special order 
to report himself as directed, all his pay and allowances shall cease 
and be forfeited until he does appearand report for examination; 
and if he shall still thereafter fail for a further period of thirty days 2 
so to appear, he shall thereupon be dropped from the rolls of the 
army ; Provided, however, That if such failure to appear and report 
shall have been occasioned by wounds or sickness, or other physical 
disability, then there shall be no forfeiture of pay until thirty days 
after such disability7 lias been removed; but if in sixty days after the 
disability is removed the officer shall not report himself lie shall 
then be dropped from the rolls as in other cases. 
Sec. 4. And he it further enacted, That if the board of examina- 
tion shall report that any officer does not possess the requisite busi- 
ness qualifications, they shall forward the record of the examination 
of such officer to the head of the bureau to which he may belong: 
and if the head of such bureau shall approve the finding and report 
of the board, he shall forward the same through the Secretary of 
War to the President of the United States; and if the President 
shall confirm the same, the officer so failing in his examination 
shall, if commissioned, be dismissed from the service with one 
month’s pay ; and if not yet commissioned, his appointment shall 
be revoked. And if the board shall report that any officer fails to 
pass a satisfactory examination by reason of intemperance, gam- 
bling, or other immorality, and if the head of the bureau shall ap- 
prove the finding and report of the board, and the same being com- 
municated as before provided, to the President and confirmed by 
him, then such officer shall be dismissed from the service without 
pay, and shall not be permitted to re-enter the service as an officer: 
Provided, That such dismissal shall not relieve him from liability 
under enlisting laws for any offence he may have committed. 
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the boards of examina- 
tion shall forward all their records of examination to the heads of 
the bureaus to which they appertain, and such records shall be filed 
in the proper bureaus with a suitable index ; and any officer who 
may desire it, shall be entitled to receive a copy of the record in his 
own ease, upon paying the cost of copying the same. 
Approved June 25, 1804. 
In order to carry out the provisions of the foregoing act, the fol- 
lowing regulations are established. 
I. The Quartermaster General, Commissary General, and Pay- 
master General, will submit for the approval of the Secretary of 3 
War, the names of officers of their respective departments, who 
shall constitute boards of examination within certain geographical 
districts, to be also designated by the said chiefs of bureaus. The dis- 
tricts and boards having been approved by the Secretary of War, 
will be announced in Special Orders, by the Adjutant General. 
II. The several boards will be strictly governed by the provisions 
of the act of June 25, 1864, in relation to the examinations and 
records. 
III. The several heads of bureaus named in the act, will provide 
for the appearance of all the officers of their respective departments, 
before the boards, and decide whether economy and the interests of 
the service require that the said officers shall leave their stations to 
appear before the boards, or whether the boards shall adjourn from 
place to place to visit the stations of the officers to be examined. 
All details as to time and place of convening, modes of proceeding 
of the boards under the law7; forms of record &e., and the appear- 
ances of officers before them, will be arranged and communicated 
to the boards by the chiefs of their respective bureaus, after the 
boards and districts are announced by the Adjutant General. 
IV. Any of the examining boards may call upon the nearest 
U. S. medical officer, to examine and give his professional opinion 
as to the health, constitution, &c., of the officers brought before 
them. 
V. The boards will conduct their proceedings and make up their 
records in a manner assimilated as nearly as practicable to those of 
Courts Martial, each case being kept separate and complete by itself. 
They may call for such witnesses and papers as may be necessary 
during their examinations. They will be allowed such clerical force 
and at such rate of compensation as the chiefs of their respective 
bureaus may deem proper. Each clerk will be duly sworn to perform 
his duties with fidelity and fairness, and not to divulge any part of 
the proceedings. 
VI. The following oath will be administered to all members of the 
examining boards, in compliance with the first section of the act: 
We do solemnly swear that we will conduct the examination in the 
cases of the officers before us, w ithout partiality, favor, or affection, 
and with a sole view to determine their qualifications, and we do 
further swear that we will not discover nor disclose the vote or 4 
opinion of any particular member of this board, nor divulge the 
resultof any examination in any case brought before us. So help us 
God. 
VII. The following are the general rules of examination and 
standards of qualification prescribed by the heads of bureaus, and 
approved by the Secretary of War: 
For Officers of the Quartermaster s Department. 
The examinations of quartermasters and assistant quartermasters 
under the act of June 25, 18G4, will he so conducted by the board 
of examiners as to ascertain the qualifications of the officer under 
examination, whether mental, moral, or physical. 
No officer should be reported qualified against whom there ap- 
pears anything disabling him from the performance of all the ordi- 
nary duties of his office and station. He should be able to show a 
good moral character. 
If any grounds of suspicion of dishonesty, “intemperance, gam- 
bling or other immorality” appears, it should be stated to him, and 
he should be required to satisfy the board that such suspicion is un- 
founded. His physical constitution should be robust and such as 
will fit him for the active duties of a military life. Any infirmity, 
whether resulting from age or disease, or any other cause, which 
would disqualify him for active service, will be cause of rejection. 
The only exception to this rule will be the case of infirmity re- 
sulting from wounds, or disease incurred in the performance of his 
military duty since his appoimhent in the Quartermaster’s Depart- 
ment, and the consequence of necessary exposure in such duty. 
Cases of this kind will be made the subject of special reports, 
which should set forth fully the nature and degree of the disability, 
and the manner, time and place in which it was incurred. 
An assistant quartermaster or quartermaster should be able to 
read and write English with facility, and to perform readily the or- 
dinary operations of arithmetic in use in commercial transactions. 
If a new appointee, he should be able to show familiarity with the 
details of ordinary commercial business, such as the casting of ac- 
counts, the drawing of checks, keeping of books and records. 
Being supplied with the rules and regulations of the army, he 5 
should be required to show capacity for understanding those relating 
to the Quartermaster's Department, and to satisfy the board, that 
he posesses such general intelligence and aptitude for business as 
will enable him, with the aid of the regulations and the manuals in 
use in the army, to become a useful and efficient officer. 
If the officer under examination has had some experience in the 
service he should be able to satisfy the board that he has made him- 
self acquainted with the regulations, so as to be able to make out 
a complete set of the returns, reports, accounts and records requir- 
ed by the regulations of the Quartermaster’s Department. That he 
understands how Quartermaster’s funds and supplies are to be ob- 
tained, receipted for, preserved, issued, transferred, transported, 
condemned and accounted for. 
He should be also sufficiently acquainted with the general regu- 
lations of the army to be able to refer to any article thereof relating 
to the business of the Quartermaster’s Department. 
He should satisfy the board that he is not a partner or interested 
in any commercial firm or business dealing in such supplies and 
stores as are usually purchased by the Quartermaster's Department. 
For Officers in the Subsistence Department. 
The examination will include the following: 
1. The occupation of the officer previous to his entry into ser- 
vice. 
2. The length of time in service, and the manner in which his 
duties were performed during that time. 
3. Writing—style and general knowledge of business and official 
correspondence. 
4. Arithmetic—so far as to enable him to conduct satisfactorily 
the details pertaining to the duties of his office. 
5. Business qualifications—general aptitude and intelligence. 
6. Physical qualifications sufficient to perform in the field such 
duties as his position may require of him. 
7. Moral character. 
For Officers in the Pay Department. 
That the standard of qualifications for an officer of the Pay Depart- 
ment be: the capacity to write business letters legibly and intelligi- 
bly : to be thoroughly acquainted with arithmetic ; to be quick and accurate iti computations; to have proper physical capacity, in 
point of age and health, to enable him to travel in and endure the 
vicissitudes of climates; to be of good moral and business habits, 
and to have a fair knowledge of his duties for the time he lias been 
already in the Department. 
order of the Secretary of War : 
E. D. TOWNSEND, 
Assistant Adjutant General. 
Official : 
Assistant Adjutant General.