Adjutant

Adjutant, an officer not above the rank of major, specially appointed to assist the officer commanding a regiment or corps. In the field he acts as aide-de-camp, and in quarters has charge of official correspondence, drill, discipline, and all military matters; keeps and regulates the officers' duty roster (or list), issues daily orders by the commanding officer's authority, prosecutes on all courts-martial, supervises the sergeants' mess, has charge of the orderly-room (or colonel's office), and all records and returns prepared there, and is generally responsible for the efficiency of the corps in every particular. The appointment is held for four years, and may be extended for six months longer.—Adjutants of Auxiliary Forces are officers of line battalions appointed by the commander-in-chief for a term of five years.—Adjutants of Depôts are appointed for three years, when adjutants of militia are not available for the duties of the depôt.—Adjutant of Brigade, or brigade-major, is the staff-officer of a brigade. He keeps the roster of brigade duties, and inspects all guards, outposts, and pickets furnished by the brigade. He, or an orderly-adjutant (Adjutant of the Day), is required to be constantly in the camp or barracks, and all reports and correspondence for the information of the brigadier-general are transmitted through him.—Adjutants of Divisions are field-officers who represent the adjutant-general of the army on the staff of major-generals commanding divisions or districts, and are called assistant-adjutant-generals; they are responsible for all military duties, and issue orders by authority of the major-general.—The Adjutant-general is the head of his department on the general staff of the army, and the executive officer of the general-in-chief. He is charged with the discipline and efficiency of the troops, the details of all military duties, and the accuracy of district returns. He issues all orders to the troops in the name and under the authority of the officer in supreme command, and is the official medium for every report, whether of a confidential or of an ordinary nature. —