The Office of the Inspector General of the United States Army (OTIG) is the agency tasked with investigating the United States Army. Its stated mission is to "provide impartial, objective and unbiased advice and oversight to the army through relevant, timely and thorough inspection, assistance, investigations, and training". The position of Inspector General (IG) has existed since 1777, when Thomas Conway was appointed, and the office has been reorganized many times, varied in size dramatically, and abolished on several occasions before being reinstated. In its early days, the inspectorate was frequently merged with, or proposed to be part of, the Adjutant General's department.
The office expanded greatly in the late 19th century after the American Civil War, undertaking increasing numbers of inspections. Upon the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, the War Department was ill-prepared, and much of the blame fell upon the inspectorate. Nevertheless, it continued to expand in the early 20th century, peaking during World War I, with the caseload of the department rising 360 percent from 1916 to 1917. The scope of the department rose further between the world wars. Work undertaken fell during the 1920s and rose again during the 1930s. During World War II, the department increased in size to the point that it had around 3,000 officers in 1945. The inspectorate decreased in size to about 2,000 officers in 1986.
Background The first modern military inspectors were French Army "inspecteurs," first appointed in 1668. Frederick the Great of Prussia had appointed inspectors by the 1770s, as had the British Army. Historian David Clary argues that "by the mid-eighteenth century, military inspection had become essential to modern armies." The French Army had a system of independent inspectors, who reported directly to the king. They had geographical assignments and during times of war ranked equal to generals, brigadiers, or colonels. There was also an inspector of construction. Fredrick the Great similarly appointed men to directly inspect his army, reporting directly to him and inspecting specific units. This system was adopted by much of Europe. In the British system of inspection, officers were detailed to inspect various parts of the Army, and there was a separate inspector general of recruits and of the cavalry. Commanding officers were also responsible for inspecting their troops. The detailing of officers meant that there was no formal bureaucracy dealing with inspection.
When the Continental Army was formed, it was largely modeled on the British Army. None of the European systems of inspecting worked well for the Continental Army. The British system was inadequate as it relied on an experienced, highly trained and well-disciplined army; the French because it interfered with the chain of command; and the Prussian as it relied on uniform units and practices. The Massachusetts Bay Colony and Colony of Virginia both had militias with muster masters and muster masters-general respectively serving as inspectors. Elements from all five systems were eventually incorporated.
The Continental Army was very disorganized from the start of the American Revolutionary War in 1775. After George Washington arrived at Boston to lead the army in a siege of the city, on July 4, 1775, it had taken him a week to produce an accurate count of the soldiers in the Army, which was 16,600, far fewer than the 24,500 he had expected. Poorly trained and organized, by 1777, the Army was, in Washington's opinion, in need of an inspector general. Members of the Continental Congress noted "the absence of a regular inspector," and on April 18, 1777, Congress requested the establishment of a position to "inspect the magazines of provisions under the care of Commissary Wharton."
Early history (1777–1865) Augustin de la Balme arrived in the United States in 1777, and on July 8, the Continental Congress resolved "that Lieutenant-Colonel Mottin de la Balme be appointed inspector-general of the cavalry of the United States of America, with the rank and pay of colonel." He resigned after Casimir Pulaski was promoted to Chief of Cavalry ahead of him, viewing Pulaski as an inferior cavalry leader. Philippe-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Tronson Du Coudray was similarly appointed to Inspector General of Ordnance and Military Stores on August 11, 1777. At the time, the position was "mere flattery that meant nothing in military terms." Coudray drowned in the Schuylkill River on September 16. On October 29, 1777, Washington recommended the permanent establishment of an inspector general post to the Continental Congress. On December 13, Congress established such a position, naming Thomas Conway as the first inspector general. Washington objected to the Continental Congress's choice, instead favoring the Prussian Henry Leonard d'Arendt, who had been first to propose the position. He had a personal dislike of Conway, and had come into conflict with him during what is known as the Conway Cabal, when Washington felt there was a conspiracy against him, aiming to remove him from his position as Commander-In-Chief. On April 28, 1778, Conway resigned.
Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a Prussian, was then selected by Washington as the next inspector general. As the first inspector general to serve a significant term, he played a large part in defining the role of the position. His book, Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, served as the official guide to military training and maneuvers in the United States Army until the War of 1812. On February 18, 1779, the Continental Congress formally created a charter for the Office of Inspector General. It gave the holder of the position the rank of major general and specified the role of the position as creating regulations for maneuvers and discipline, periodically inspecting and reporting on the condition of troops and introducing new maneuvers. Washington could appoint as many sub-inspectors as he felt necessary.
On June 22, 1779, the Continental Congress temporarily directed the Adjutant General of the United States Army to serve as assistant inspector general. By 1780, the inspector general served as de facto Chief of Staff of the United States Army. On January 12, 1780, Congress resolved that the inspector general would also manage the mustering of troops in the Continental Army. Congress further clarified the role of the office on September 25, 1780, making it responsible for regulations of the army, and again in 1782, this time shrinking the department. Steuben and his aide (later successor), William North, were heavily involved in the demobilization of the Continental Army.
North was made inspector general in April 1784, and is known to have done little in the role. Following North's departure in late October 1787, the office was vacant until June 25, 1788, when Congress resolved "that the Office of Inspector of troops in the service of the United States immediately cease, and be discontinued, and that the secretary of war report what mode may be most eligible for having the troops inspected in the future." The United States Department of War was created by an act of Congress on August 7, 1789, and John Stagg and Francis Mentges, the latter serving as inspector of contracts, performed most of the inspector general's duties. Until 1792 the Army functioned much like a militia.
As a result of the escalation of the Northwest Indian War in 1790, Congress began expanding the Army. Mentges served as de facto inspector general, as did Winthrop Sargent, for Arthur St. Clair's army. On March 5, 1792, after St. Clair's Defeat, the army was reorganized again. When Anthony Wayne took over St. Clair's role, a few days later Henry de Butts was appointed acting inspector general. He was then followed by Edward Butler, Michael Rudolph, Jonathan Haskell and John Mills.
The Army was reorganized on November 1, 1796, with new legislation providing for an inspector general who would also perform the duties of adjutant general. Thomas Humphrey Cushing was next appointed as an acting inspector general, and would remain until 1798, when he was replaced by Alexander Hamilton, who acted as the de facto head of the Army during the Quasi-War. The position was abolished by legislation passed on May 14, 1800. Hamilton resigned on June 15, 1800, and was followed by Cushing, who served as acting inspector general.
In 1807, Cushing was replaced by Abimael Youngs Nicoll as an acting inspector general. The position was reestablished upon the outbreak of the War of 1812 with the rank of brigadier general, and Alexander Smyth was appointed. Smyth performed poorly in the role, to the point that on March 3, 1813, it was abolished by Congress, and replaced by an Inspector General's Department.
The newly formed department combined the adjutant general's and inspector general's departments. It had one adjutant and inspector general (generally the most senior inspector, who led the department), eight inspectors and adjutants and 16 assistant inspectors and 16 assistant adjutants. Zebulon Pike was appointed adjutant and inspector general in 1813, before being killed in an explosion on April 27, 1813. After Pike's death, the duties of inspector general were performed by Abimael Y. Nicoll, then the most senior inspector. Later John R. Bell and various assistant adjutants general acted as inspector general. In 1814, the position was filled by William H. Winder and Daniel Parker. After several reorganizations, by 1816, the United States Army was divided into North and South divisions, with Arthur P. Hayne inspector general in the South and John E. Wool in the North, with Parker remaining adjutant and inspector general. Hayne resigned in 1820, and was replaced by James Gadsden. In 1821, the army was reorganized, with two inspectors general, having the rank, pay and emoluments of colonels of cavalry. Parker's position was eliminated.
From 1821 to 1861, the position saw little change. During the Mexican–American War, the inspector general served as second in command of the Army. Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, all inspectors had retired or defected to the Confederate States of America, and as a result new inspectors were appointed in 1861, largely doing what their superiors requested. There were many informally appointed inspectors and by late 1862, "nearly 1,400 other officers were on orders at one time or another to perform various types of inspection duties." In January 1863, Delos Bennett Sackett was assigned as the de facto head of the Office of the Inspector General, which, until then had not existed. In total, two major generals, seven brigadier generals, 18 colonels, 118 lieutenant colonels, and 149 majors of the regular army served official inspector duty during the Civil War.
Reorganization (1866–1903) On January 22, 1866, a War Department order re-defined the duties of inspector general to be to inspect:
In July 1866, the number of inspectors general with the rank of colonel was fixed at four, assistant inspectors general with the rank of lieutenant colonel at three, and the number with rank of major at two. In 1866, Edmund Schriver was named inspector general of the United States Military Academy and senior inspector general. He led the movement to give the position authority equivalent to other offices of the Army. That same year, he published the first Annual Report of the Inspector General's Department. On March 3, 1869, when the army was dramatically reduced in size, the unofficial Inspector General's Department was retained, and any new appointments or promotions being prohibited. Randolph B. Marcy took over from Schriver in 1869.