TITLE: The war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies. / Series 3 - Volume 4 AUTHOR: United States. War Dept., John Sheldon Moody, Calvin Duvall Cowles, Frederick Caryton Ainsworth, Robert N. Scott, Henry Martyn Lazelle, George Breckenridge Davis, Leslie J. Perry, Joseph William Kirkley PUBLISHER: Govt. Print. Off., Washington, 1900 Page A Production Note Cornell University Library produced this volume to preserve the informational content of the deteriorated original. The best available copy of the original has been used to create this digital copy. It was scanned bitonally at 600 dots per inch resolution and compressed prior to storage using ITU Group 4 compression. Conversion of this material to digital files was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Digital file copyright by Cornell University Library 1995. This volume has been scanned as part of The Making of America Project, a cooperative endeavor undertaken to preserve and enhance access to historical material from the nineteenth century. Page B F (1t 5 THE GIFT OF TLS~ W~ p~GWX.OO Title Page Page R001 THE WAR OF THE REBELLION: A COMPILATION OF THE OFFICIAL IIRECOIIRDS OF THE UNION AND CONFEDERATE ARMIES. PUBLISHEI) UNDER rITE DIRECTION OF The Hon ELIHU ROOT, Secretary of War, BY BRIG. GEN. FRED C. AINSWORTH, CHIEF OF THE REcORD ANI) PENSION OFFICE, WAR DEPARTMENT, AND MR. JOSEPH W. KIRRLEY. SERIES IllVOLUME IV. WA Sn JNGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1900 Page R002 Page R003 PREFACE. The work of preparing the records of the war for public use was begun, under the resolution of Congress of May 19, 1864, by Col. E. D. Townsend, assistant adjutant-general, U. S. Army (then in charge of the Adjutailt-Generals Office, and subsequently the Adjutant- General), who caused copies to be made of reports of battles on file in his office and steps to be taken to collect missing records. Under the provisions of joint resolution of Jaly 27, 1866, Hon. Peter H. Watson was appointed to supervise the preparation of the records and to formulate a plan for their publication, but he performed no service under this appointment, which expired July 27, 1868, by limi- tation. This resolution having also repealed the former one, the project was suspended for the time being. The first decisive step taken was the act of June 23, 1874, providing the necessary means to enable the Secretary of War to begin the publication of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, both of the Union and Confederate Armies, and directing him to have copied for the Public Printer all reports, letters, telegrams, and gen- eral orders not heretofore copied or printed, and properly arranged in chronological order. Appropriations have been made from time to time for continuing such preparation. Under this act the prelimi- nary work was resumed by General Townsend. Subsequently, under meager appropriations, it was prosecuted in a somewhat desultory manner by various subordinates of the War Department until December 14, 1877, when the Secretary of War, perceiving that the undertaking needed the undivided attention of a single head, detailed Capt. Robert N. Scott, Third U. S. Artillery (subsequently major and lieutenant-colonel same regiment), to take charge of the office. The act of June 23, 1874, enlarged upon the first scheme of nubli- cation. On this more comprehensive basis it was determined that the volumnes should include not only the battle reports, correspondence, etc., in possession of the War Department, but also all official doen- mnents that can be obtained by the compiler, and that appear to be of any historical value. Colonel Scott systematized the work, and, upon his recomuiendation, the Secretary of War approved the follow- ing order of publication: The first series will embrace the formal reports, both Union and Confederate, of the first seizures of United States property in the Southern States, and of all military operations in the field, with the correspondence, orders, and returns relating specially thereto, and, as proposed, is to be accompanied by an Atlas. II Page R004 Iv PREFACE. In this series the reports will be arranged according to the campaigns and sev- eral theaters of operations (in the chronological order of events), and the Union reports of any event will, as a rule, be immediately followed by the Confederate accounts. The correspondence, etc., not embraced in the reports proper will follow (first Union and next Confederate) in chronological order. The second series will contain the correspondence, orders, reports, and retnrns, Union and Confederate, relating to prisoners of war, and (so far as the military anthorities were concerned) to state or political prisoners. The third series will contain the correspondence, orders, reports, and retnrns of the Union anthorities (embracing their correspondence with the Confederate offi- cials) not relating specially to the snbjects of the first and second series. It will set forth the annual and special reports of the Secretary of War, of the General- in-Chief, and of the chiefs of the several staff corps and departments; the calls for troops, and the correspondence between the National and the several State authorities. The fonrth series will exhibit the correspondence, orders, reports, and retnrns of the Confederate anthorities, similar to that indicated for the Union officials, as of the third series, but excluding, the correspondence between the Union and Confederate authorities given in that series. The first volume of the records was issued in the early fall of 1880. The act approved June 16, 1880, provided for the printing and bind- ing, under direction of the Secretary of War, of 10,000 copies of a com- pilation of the Official Records (Union and Confederate) of the War of the Rebellion, so far as the same may be ready for publication, during the fiscal year; and that of said number 7,000 copies shall be for the use of the House of Representatives, 2,000 copies for the use of the Senate, and 1,000 copies for the use of the Executive Departments. Under this act Colonel Scott proceeded to publish the first five volumes of the records.* *All subsequent volumes have been distributed under the act approved August 7, 1882, which provides that: The volumes of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion shall be dis- tributed as follows: One thousand copies to the Executive Departments, as now provided by law. One thousand copies for distribution by the Secretary of War among officers of the Army and contributors to the work. Eight thousand three hundred copies shall be sent by the Secretary of War to such libraries, organiza- tions, and individuals as may be designated by the Senators, Representatives, and Delegates of the Forty-seventh Congress. Each Senator shall designate not exceed- ing twenty-six, and each Representative and Delegate not exceeding twenty-one, of such addresses, and the volumes shall be sent thereto from time to time as they are published, until.the publication is completed. Senators, Representatives, and Dele- gates shall inform the Secretary of War in each case how many volumes of those heretofore published they have forwarded to such addresses. The remaining copies of the eleven thousand to be published, and all sets that may nof be ordered to be distributed as provided herein, shall be sold by the Secretary of War for cost of publication with ten per cent. added thereto, and the proceeds of such sale shall be covered into the Treasury. If two or more sets of said volumes are ordered to the same address, the Secretary of War shall inform the Senators, Representatives, or Delegates who have designated the same, who thereupon may designate other libraries, organizations, or individuals. The Secretary of War shall report to the first session of the Forty-eighth Congress what volumes of the series heretofore published have not been furnished to such libraries, organizations, and individuals. He shall also inform distributees at whose instance the volumes are sent Page R005 PREFACE. V Colonel Scott died March 5, 1887. At his death some twenty-six books only had been issued, but he had compiled a large amount of matter for forthcoming volumes; consequently his name as compiler was retained in all the books up to and including Vol. XXXVI, although his successors had added largely to his compilations from new material found after his demise. The Secretary of War, May 7, 1887, assigned Lieut. Col. H. M. Lazelle, Twenty-third U. S. Infantry, to duty as the successor of Colonel Scott. He had continued in charge about two years, when, in the act approved March 2, 1889, it was provided That hereafter the preparation and publication of said records shall be conducted, under the Secretary of War, by a board of three persons, one of whom shall be an officer of the Army, and two civilian experts, to be appointed by theSecretary of War, the compensation of said civilian experts to be fixed by the Secretary of War. The Secretary of War appointed Maj. George B. Davis, judge-advo- cate, U. S. Army, as the military member, and Leslie J. Perry, of Kan- sas, and Joseph W. Kirkley, of Maryland, as the civilian expert mem- bers of said board. The board assumed direction of the publication at the commencement of the fiscal year 1889, its first work beginning with Serial No. 36 of Vol. XXIV. July 1, 1895, by direction of the Secretary of War, Maj. George W. Davis, Eleventh U. S. Infantry (subsequently lieutenant-colonel Four- teenth U. S. Infantry), relieved Maj. George B. Davis as the military member and president of the Board of Publication. Subsequently Col. Fred C. Ainsworth, Chief of the Record and Pension Office, War Department, was appointed the military member and president of the board, relieving Lieut. Col. George W. Davis June 1, 1898. December 1, 1898, under the provision of the sundry civil act of July 1, 1898, relative t~o the War Records Office, the Board of Publi- cation was dissolved, whereupon, by direction of the Secretary of War, the continuance of the work, beginning with Vol. VI, Series II, devolved on Colonel (now Brigadier-General) Ainsworth. By operation of law (contained in An act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Govern- ment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1900, approved February 24, 1899), the War Records Office was merged into the Record and Pen- sion Office, July 1, 1899, and since that date the work of publication has been conducted under the supervision of the chief of that office. Each volume includes a copious index, and for the further conven- ience of investigators there will be, in addition, a separhte general index to the entire set. Nothing is printed in these volumes except duly authenticated con- temporaneous records of the war. The scope of the compilers work is to decide upon and arrange the matter to be published; to correct and verify the orthography of the papers used, and, wherever deemed necessary, to add a foot-note of explanation Page R006 Table of Contents Page R007 CONTENTS. Page. Correspondence, Orders, etc., from January 1 1864, to April 30, 1865 - - - - - 11287 VI Page R008 e ~ i~~: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~-~ . . uu-~-~ Sunday. ~ ~ ~u ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . . u-~ Monday. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~: ~-~- ~-- . . u-~-~ Tuesday. ~ b~~ -~ . Wednesday. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Thursday. ~ ~ . tii~ u-~ uu- Friday. ouc~u. u~~a ~ oc~n~u n~ui~. ~1iQ~. ~ ~ ~ ~ Saturday. Sunday. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~zi~ ~ i~~: ~ Monday. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Tuesday. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Wednesday. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Thursday. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~i~: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Friday. ocinuu. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~uv~oo~. v~n-~s.. ~ ~-~~s.--i Saturday Additions and Corrections Page A001 THE WAR OF THE REBELLION: A COMPILATiON OF TIlE OFFICIAL BECORDS OF IHE UNION AND CONFEDERATE ARMIES. ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS TO SERIES IllVOLUME IV. (To he inserted in ihe volume. ~ or explanation see General Index volume, Serial No. 130, page XXVIII.) PUBLISHED UNDER THE I)IRECTION OF The Hon. LIHU ROOT, Secretary of War, BY B IC. GEN. REP C. ALNSWORT El, CHIEF OF THE RECORD ANI) PENSION OFFICE, WAR DEPARTMENT, AN I) MR. JOSEPH W. KII{KLEY. JYIr. JOHN S. MOOIIEY, Indexer. WA S U IN 0- T 0 N: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFU ICE. 19~)2 Page A002 ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. TEXT. Page 243. Halleck to Heintzelman, first line, for General read Governor. INDEX. Insert all words and figures in italics and strike out all in [brackets]. Brodhead [Broadhead],JOhtl M. Bromwell, Henry P. H. [Browuwell, Mr.]. Brown, Charles F. [C~esar, Julius, iooi.] Cowen, Benjamin R. Mentioned, 243 [Hill, Charles W., 245 Elliot, Jonathan [Charles]. Hobson, Atwood G. [William J.]. Hunt [Hurst], Ralph. Hassar [Huzzar], Steamer. Inness [Innes], William. J. D. Perry, Steamer, 916. Jacques, 67. W [Jaques, C. M.]. Johnson [Johnston], Samuel. Karnak [Karnak], Steamer. McGorvin [McGarvin], Frank. Olcott, H. S. [Olcutt, W. S.]. Provost-Marshal-Generals Office, U. S. A. Correspondence: Inness [Innes], W. Simpson, [Bishop] M. Speer, G. J. [F.]. Stockton, Robert [Richard] F., sir. Turner, Thomas J. Mentioned, 731 [Turner, Thomas P., 731]. United States Colored Troops. Artillery, HeavyRegiments ith,* [j-]. Warrenock [Wanweunock], Steamer. 2 1 Page 1 SEIRIES 111.VOL. IV. CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, REPORTS, AND RETURNS OF THE UNION AUTHORITIES FROM JANUARY 1, 1864, TO APRIL 30, 186~.* Exhibit showing the quotas and the number of troops furnished by the State of Delaware to include December 31, 1863. THREE-YEARS. Due: Quota under calls 1861 3,145 Quota under call July 2, 1862 1,720 4,865 Furnished: Under calls of 1861 2 regiments of infantry.. 1,763 Under call of July 2,1862 2 regiments of infantry 1,669 1st Regiment of Cavalry 358 1st Battery of Artillery (light) 146 1st Battery of Artillery (heavy) 152 Recruits for all arms up to date 292 Colored troops from First District 304 Deficiency 181 4,865 NINE-MONTHS. Due: Quota under call 300,000 militia 1,720 Excess 79 1,799 J2urnished 1,799 The above statement is made from the muster-rolls on file in this office up to date. [THREE-YEARS.] ft861: 1st Regiment Infantry 920 2d Regiment Infantry 843 I ~62: 3d Regiment Infantry 785 4th Regiment Infantry 884 1st Regiment Cavalry 358 1st Battery Artillery (light) 146 1st Battery Artillery (heavy) 152 Total 4,088 * For all documents relating to the organization of troops on the Pacific Coast, & c., see Series I, Vol. L. (1) I R RSERIES III, VOL I Page 2 2 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. [NINE-MONTHS.] 5th Regiment Infantry -. 912 6th Regiment Infantry 887 Total 1,799 THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant-General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, January 1, 1864. FRANKFORT, January 1, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: The act raising 20,000 for Kentucky defense reserved to the Presi- dent alone the power to remove them beyond Kentucky. You will remember the agreement that the regiments, then nearly filled, to the number of 7,500, were to be mounted, and with them and the State militia, I understood, to defend the State against guerrilla and other raids, and give up all other recruiting to fill the old regiments with three-years men and such three-years regiments as might be author- ized. If these troops are taken from Kentucky we will be defenseless. If to be done I wish to know it, that I may prepare other means of defense and not rely on the act of Congress. THOS. E. BRAMLETTE, Governor of Kentucky. SPECIAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE No. 1. Washington, January 2, 1864. * * * * * * * 42. Brig. Gen. Kenner Garrard, U. S. Volunteers, is hereby assigned to the charge of the Cavalry Bureau of the War Department, and will relieve Maj or-General Stoneman therein forthwith. Brigadier-General Garrard will also assume the direct command of the Cavalry Depot at Giesborough Point. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, ~ WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE No. 2. Washington, January 2, 1864. The percentage of men aTh wed to be absent at one time under the authority given in General )rders, No. 391, of 1863, to grant fur- loughs to enlisted men in ho~ Itals, is changed from 5 to 20 per cent. By order of the Secret~1d of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- GeneraL. Exhibit in answer to certain questions embraced in a letter from the Military Committee, House of Representatives, of date December 23, 1863. I. Number of men called for, draft of 1862, as per General Orders, No. 94, War Department, 1862 300,00 Page 3 3 UNION AUTHORITIES. Received under said call by draft and sent to the field with regimental organizations 66,898 Received and sent to field, singly and by squads, for old regiments 4,000 Total 70,898 (This number (70,898) of nine-months men is equivalent to 17,724 for three years; four nine-months men being considered equivalent to one three-years.) Received byvolunteering None (NoTE.All volunteers received after July 2, 1862, were obtained under call of that date for 300,000 volunteers.) The levies raised under the call were mustered into the U. S. service from the following enumerated States, as per the dates set opposite the States, respectively: Maine Oct. 14,1862 NewYork - Jan. 22,1863 New Hampshire Oct. 23,1862 New Jersey Sept.11, 1862 Vermont Oct. 23,1862 Pennsylvania Jan. 8,1863 Massachusetts Nov. 19,1862 Wisconsin Dec. 30,1862 Rhode Island Oct. 13,1862 Kentucky May 28,1863 Connecticut Nov.18, 1862 The foregoing States sent their drafted men to the field with regi- mental organizations. Ohio, Wiscofisin, and one or two other States sent the approximate number (4,000) to old regiments in the field, singly and by squads. The muster in of this number was complete by January 30, 1863. The remaining States furnished no drafted men under the call in question. Troops furnished by them were supplied u.uder the calls of 1861 and 1862 for volunteers. II. Since June 30, 1863, the date on which orders to the respective States for the present draft commenced to be issued, 86,056 volunteers have been mustered into the U. S. service. This number will be increased when full returns are received. From January 1, 1863, to June 30a like period previous to ordering the draft31,399 volun- teers were mustered in. The increase is, therefore, 54,657. ~-~- ~,s ci C~ Q. i) States. ~ Connecticut 228 1, 490 +1, 262 Illinois 2,395 1,620 775 Indiana 1, 043 10, 125 -]-9,082 Iowa 2, 089 4, 894 +2, 085 Kansas 345 1,473 +1,128 Kentucky 1, 706 1, 459 257 Maine 279 2, 851 -1-2, 572 Maryland 443 1,572 +1, 129 Massachusetts --. 3,902 4,352 + 480 Michigan 4, 606 4, 780 + 174 Minnesota ~ - - 55 745 + 690 Missouri 3, 352 8 328 +4, 976 New York 5, 569 13, 224 +7, 655 NewJersey 131 6,046 +5,915 New Hampshire 95 2, 246 2, 151 Ohio. 2213 9,638 +7,425 Pennsylvania 1, 587 3, 829 +2, 242 Rhode Island 556 1, 881 +1, 325 Vermont 66 2, 113 +2, 047 West virginia 439 1, 214 + 775 wisconsin 240 1,876 +1,636 Delaware 60 270 + 210 Total 31,399 86,056 +54, 657 THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant-General. WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Jc~nuary 2, 1864 Page 4 4 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 9. Washington, January 4, 1864. The hospital and ambulance flags of the Army are established as follows: For general hospitals, yellow bunting nine by five feet, with the !etter H, twenty-four inches long, of green bunting, in center. For post and field hospitals, yellow bunting six by four feet, with letter H, twenty-four inches long, of green bunting, in center. For ambulances and guidons to mark the way to field hospitals, yellow bunting fourteen by twenty-eight inches, with a border, one inch deep, of green. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., January 4, 1864. GEORGE BLISS, Jr., Esq., No. 50 Wail Street, New York: SIR: In reply to your letter of the 31st ultimo, stating that the Twentieth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops is recruited nearly to the maximum and requesting that the Union League Club be authorized to raise another colored regiment, I am directed by the Secretary of War to say that your request is hereby complied with, and the regiment will be known and designated as the Twenty-sixth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops. The instructions contained in Department letter of December 3, 1863, addressed to you, will govern in the organization of this regi- ment. * I have the honor to be, & c., C. W. FOSTER, Assistant Adjutant- General. JANUARY 5, 1864. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: By a joint resolution of your honorable bodies, approved December 23, 1863, the paying of bounties to veteran volunteers, as now prac- ticed by the War Department, is, to the extent of $300 in each case, prohibited after this 5th day of the present mouth. I transmit for your consideration a communication from the Secretary of War, accom- panied by one from the Provost-Marshal-General to him, both relating to the subject above mentioned. I earnestly recommend that the Law be so modified as to allow bounties to be paid, as they now are, at least until the ensuing 1st day of February. I am not without anxiety lest I appear to be importunate in thus recalling your attention to a subject upon which you have so recently acted; and nothing but a deep conviction that the public interest demands it could induce me to incur the hazard of being misunder- stood on this point. The Executive approval was given by me to the resolution mentioned; and it is now by a closer attention and a fuller knowledge of facts that I feel constrained to recommend a econsid- eration of the subject. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. * See Vol. III, this series, p. 1117 Page 5 UNION AUTHORiTIES. 5 [luclosure. J WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, January 4, 1864. To His Excellency the President of the United States: Mr. PRESIDENT: I beg to submit to your consideration the accom- panying letter of the Provost-Marshal-General in respect to the pro- vision of the joint resolution of Congress of December 23, 1863, relat- ing to the payment of bounties. No one seems to doubt the necessity of increasing the military force for the speedy termination of the rebellion; and although much difference of opinion exists in respect to the merits of the system of raising troops by volunteers, and the payment of bounties, and the system of raising an adequate force by draft, yet two things are certain First. That, whatever may be the weight of argument or the influ- ence of individual opinion, a large portion ot the people in every State prefer the method of contributiiig their proportion of the military force by bounty to volunteers rather than by draft. Second. That veteran soldiers who have become inured to service, even when paid bounty, constitute a cheapet force than raw recruits or drafted men without bounty. The information received by this Department from the armies in the field prior to the passage of the resolution referred to indicated that a very large proportior1 of the forces now in service would have cheerfully re-enlisted for three years under the terms authorized by the order of this Department, and that such enlistments have been checked, and will, in great measure, be put an end to by the restric- tion imposed by the action of Congress. It is believed that if any limitation should be imposed upon the payment of bounties to encour- age the enlistment of the veteran forces now in the field, it ought not to be sooner than the 1st of February. It is respectfully submitted to your consideration, therefore, whether the attention of Congress might not again well be called to the subject, so that the restriction may be reconsidered. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. [5ub.inclosure.] WAR DEPT., PROvOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., January 2, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: After great labor the volunteer recruiting service under the Presidents call of October 17 is fairly in progress. Letters, all dated between the 20th and 24th of December, from the superintend- ents of recruiting service in sixteen States are, in the main, very encouraging as to the prospect of getting a large number of recruits by volunteer enlistments. Several of the States were in a fair way to raise the quotas assigned them. The act approved December 23, 1863, forbidding, after January 5, the payment to volunteers of all bounties except $100, authorized by the act of 1861, was not known at the time these favorable reports were made to me. I have no doubt the effect of that act will be to check, if it does not stop, enlistments. Of the $100 bounty provided by act of 1861, but $25 can be paid in advance, $75 being due only after two years service. It took some time after October 17 to get the people aroused to the subject of volunteering; they are now in most States earnestly engage Page 6 6 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. in it, and I have reports for October, November, and part of Decem- ber, showing that 42,529 mcii have been enlisted, and the daily average of enlistments is increasing. Under these circumstances I respect- fully suggest the propriety of a reconsideration of the act forbidding bounties after January 5. I inclose herewith a copy of my report to yon of the 25th of December in relation to the subject of the present bounties. * I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. CIRCULAR~ WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE No. 2. Washington, January 5, 1864. For the information and guidance of all concerned, the following explanation of the disposition of the muster-in rolls of officers condi- tionally mustered into service by request of the Governors of the States, under General Orders, No. 75, War Department, series of 1862, is published: These rolls are considered merely a memorandum for future action of the mustering officer, as the regiment to which the officci will be attached is not designated, and the officer cannot be paid until he is assigned to a regiment. The roll is therefore useless for the files of this office, but should be retained for the guidance of the mustering officer in future musters. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE Washington, January 5, 1864. [To ALL CHIEF MUSTERING OFFICERS:] SIR: I am directed to instruct you to order all the recruiting officers under your command to pay all men whom they enlist into the Regu- lar Army $25 bounty and $2 premium immediately on enlistment. You will also instruct them, in all cases where the provost-marshals of the district in which they are recruiting notify them that they have men who desire to enlist into the Regular Army, to proceed to their offices and make out and complete their papers, but that the transfer of men from the volunteer service into the Regular Army after they have been definitely enlisted into the volunteer service is contrary to law. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., PRov. MAR. GENERALS OFFICE No. 1. f Washington, January 5, 1864. Paragraph 85 of the Regulations for the Government of the Bureau of the Provost-Marshal-General of the United States, and Circular No. 100, of November 9, 1863, are amended to read as follows: 85. The following diseases and infirmities are those which disqualify for mili- tary service, and for which only drafted men are to be rejected as physically or mentally unfit for the service, viz: 1. Manifest mental imbecility. * See Vol. III, this series, p. 1192 Page 7 UNION AUTHORITIES. 7 2. Insanity. This includes well-est~blished recent insanity, with liability to a recurrence. 3. Epilepsy. For this disability the statement of the drafted man is insuffi- cient, and the fact must be established by the duly attested affidavit of a physician in good standing, who has attended him in the disease within the six months immediately preceding his examination by the Board; and, in addition thereto, such other evidence as the Board may require. 4. Paralysis, general or of one limb, or chorea; their existence to be adequately determined. Decided atrophy of a limb. 5. Organic diseases of internal organs, which have so seriously impaired his general health as to leave no doubt of his incapacity for military service, and which prevents his pursuing any equally laborious occupation in civil life. 6. Developed tuberculosis. 7. Cancer; aneurism of the large arteries. 8. Inveterate and extensive disease of the skin, such as will necessarily impair his efficiency as a soldier. 9. Permanent physical debility of such degree as to leave no doubt of the mans unfitness for military service. 10. Scrofula or secondary syphilis, which has so seriously impaired his general health as to leave no doubt of the mans incapacity for military service. 11. Chronic rheumatism, unless manifested by positive change of structure, wasting of the affected limb, or puffiness or distortion of the joints, does not exempt. Impaired motion of the joints and contraction of the limbs alleged to arise from rheumatism, and in which the nutrition of the limb is not manifestly impaired, are to be proved by examination while in a state of ana~sthesia induced by ether only. 12. Total loss of sight of right eye; cataract of right eye; loss of crystalline lens of right eye. 13. Partial loss of sight of both eyes, vision being so greatly impaired as to leave no doubt of the mans inability to perform military duty. Serious perma- nent diseases of the eye or eyelids, so manifestly affecting the use of the eyes as to leave no doubt of the mans incapacity for military service. Nearsightedness does not exempt. 14. Total loss of nose; deformity of nose so great as seriously to obstruct res- piration; ozena, dependent on caries in progress. 15. Decided deafness. This disability must not be admitted on the mere state- ment of the drafted man, but must be proved by the existence of positive dis- ease, or by other satisfactory evidence; and it must be so decided as to leave no doubt of the mans unfitness for military service. Chronic purulent otorrhzna. 16. Incurable diseases or deformities of either jaw, such as will necessarily greatly impede mastication or speech. Anchylosis of the lower jaw; caries of the bones of the face, if in progress; cleft palate (bony); extensive loss of substance of the cheeks, or salivary fistula. 17. Dumbness; permanent loss of voice; not to be admitted without clear and satisfactory proof. 18. Total loss of tongue; hypertrophy, atrophy, mutilation, or obstinate chronic ulceration of the tongue, if sufficient in degree to interfere seriously with the use of the organ. 19. Stammering, if excessive and confirmed; to be established by satisfactory evidence under oath. 20. Total loss of all the front teeth, the eyeteeth, and first molars, even if only of one jaw. 21. Tumors or wounds of the neck, impeding respiration or deglutition; fistula of larynx or trachea; torticollis, if of long standing and well marked. 22. Excessive deformity of the chest, or excessive curvature of the spine, suffi- cient to prevent the carrying of arms and military equipments; caries of the spine, ribs, or sternum, attended with ulceration. 23. Hernia. 24. Artificial anus: stricture of the rectum; prolapsus ani. Fistula in ano, if extensive or complicated with visceral disease. 25. Old and ulcerated internal hemorrhoids, if in degree sufficient to leave no doubt of the mans unfitness for military service. External hemorrhoids are no cause for exemption. 26. Total loss or nearly total loss of penis; epispadia or hypospadia at the mid- dle or near the root of the penis. 27. Incurable permanent organic stricture of the urethra, in which the urine is passed drop by drop, or which is complicated by disease of the bladder; urinary fistula. Recent or spasmodic stricture of the urethra does not exempt Page 8 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 8 28. Incontinence of urine is not, of itself, a cause for exemption. Stone in the bladder, ascertained by the introduction of the metallic catheter, is a positive disqualification. 29. Confirmed or malignant sarcocele; hydroce]e, if complicated with organic disease of the testicle. Varicocele is not in itself disqualifying. 30. Loss of a hand or foot. 31. Wounds which would manifestly incapacitate the man for military service; muscular or cutaneous contractions from wounds or burns, or tumors, which would prevent marching, or otherwise manifestly incapacitate the man for miii - tary service. 32. Fractures, irreducible dislocations or anchylosis of the large joints, or chronic diseases of the joints or bones, that would prevent marching, or other- wise unfit the man for military service. 33. Total loss of right thumb; loss of ungual phalanx of right thumb; total loss of any two fingers of same hand, loss of the first and second phalanges of the fingers of right hand. Permanent extension or permanent contraction of two fingers of right hand; all the fingers adherent or united. 34. Club feet; total loss of a great toe. Other permanent defects or deformities of the feet, such as will necessarily prevent marching. 35. Varicose veins of inferior extremities, if large and numerous, and accom- panied with chronic swellings or ulcerations. 36. Chronic ulcers; extensive, deep, and adherent cicatrices of lower extremities. Surgeons of boards of enrollment, in reporting the statistics of the causes of exemption on account of physical disability, will here- after, in addition to the alphabetical list of disabilities required by Circular No. 90, from this office, report the number rejected under each paragraph of the above list of disqualifying infirmities, and also the number for each distinct infirmity in the different paragraphs. JAMES B. FRY, Provost -Ala rshal- General. Hon. E. M. STANTON, INDIANAPoLIS, January 5, 1864. Secretary of War: Recruiting for the old regiments is going- on better than at any former time. Must it stop to-day? 0. P. MORTON. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE Washington, D. 0., January 5, 1864. ADJUTANT-GENERAL OF IOWA, Davenport, Iowa: SIR: I have the honor to inclose herewith a memoranda in reference to the quotas of 1861, in answer to a portion of your letter of October 17, 1863, in which you ask information concerning those for the State of Iowa. The answer is the same as given to the other States where like information was asked for by them. Your letter of October 17 was received here during my absence from the Department; in con- sequence it was not until a day or two since that my attention was directed to your particular inquiry about the quotas. Therefore the delay in answering. I have the honor to remain, your obedient servant, THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant- General. [Inclosure.] MEMORANDA.In organizing troops in 1861, after the call of May 2, no formal assignments of quotas to States were made, and ther Page 9 UNION AUTHORITIES. 9 was no fixed system in calling out troops. As circumstances demanded, requisitions were made upon the Governors. In many cases troops were tendered by the Governors, and accepted by the United States, without calls being made. Authorizations to individuals and independent acceptances were given, and many troops were brought into service in this way without said authorization passing through the State authorities. This system of independent organizations terminated by General Orders, No. 18, of 1862, from this office. As a result of this want of a general system in the calling out of troops during the first year of the war, it was found necessary, before fixing the quotas under the calls of 1862, to determine the quotas of the respective States for 1861. This was done by considering the number of men the States had in the field. This number, from the States that were to have additional quotas assigned, was 548,184, the quota of which for Iowa was 19,316. THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPT., PRovosT-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, January 6, 1864. SuPTS. OF VOLUNTEER RECRUITING SERVICE LOYAL STATES: Recruits will be credited to the localities froni which they received local bounties, provided the muster-in rolls show them enlisted and mustered in as of the said localities. The muster-in rolls must show the facts of the case, and will be the evidence for awarding the credits. Veterans in service re-enlisting will be credited to the local- ities to which the re-enlistments and muster-in rolls show them as belonging. Therefore, until veterans have been remustered, it can- not be determined to what particular locality they will be credited. The foregoing is in answer to many inquiries received by the Depart- ment. Furnish the Governor with a copy of this. JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., January 6, 1864. Lient. Col. JAMES OAKES, Acting Assistant Provost-Marshal- General, Springfield, Ill.: Try and correct the misapprehension arising from General Fullers speech and try and keep up the recruiting spirit. Many men are yet wanted from the State. Congress will, in all probability, allow the large bounties to continue for a month or so longer. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. BOSTON, January 6, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: President Lincolns message and your letter on recruiting eminently right. Work going on bravely in Massachusetts. We want thirt Page 10 10 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. days and a free chance. Many towns and cities are succeeding nobly. Worcester City reports quota full, and will raise more, to be credited on future calls. Springfield nearly full; so Northampton. Many small towns full. JOHN A. ANDREW, Governor. WASHINGTON CITY, Wednesday, January 6, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: M~ DEAR SIR: Colonel Bliss letter to you, which I inclose, is of importance to the public interest. I hope it may be deemed right to grant both the requests made to you in behalf of the regiment of colored troops raised in New York so quickly and so well. Truly, yours, E. D. MORGAN. [Inclosure.] HDQRS. TWENTIETH REGIMENT U. S. COLORED TROOPS, No. 250 Fourth Street, New York, January 4, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: On December 3, 1863, you were pleased to grant to me, as the representative of the Union League Club, of the city of New York, an authorization to raise in the State of New York the Twentieth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops. Soon afterward, by order, about 300 colored men, recruited in the State prior to that time, were assigned to the regiment. I have now the honor to report that the regiment is substantially filled to the maximum of 1,000 men, 700 having been enlisted in a month. Every officer in the regiment has been selected from the army in the field, and we hazard nothing in saying that the regiment will be the best officered regiment that ever left the State of New York. The men are physically equal to any, and manifest great intelligence in learning their duties. We desire that the regiment be allowed to remain here twenty or thirty days to perfect it in drill, and that when it leaves it may land in the upper part of New York City and march down Broadway. We believe it will then be not only the best officered but the best drilled volunteer regiment that ever left the State. The inclosed circular will show the interest taken in the regiment by prominent persons in New York. I have been directed to request that you will issue an order that the regiment be armed with Springfield muskets of the pattern of 1861. Besides adding much to the efficiency of the regiment, we believe that it is good policy to show the colored men of the North that the Government puts into their hands the best of arms. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, GEO. BLISS, JR. [Sub inclosure.] You are respectfully invited to attend a meeting of ladies at the Union League Club House on Tuesday, January 5, at 2 p. in., for the purpose of appointing a committee to procure a stand of colors for presentation to the Twentieth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, whic Page 11 UNION AUTHORITIES. 11 regiment is raised by special authority of the War Department, under the patronage of our friends of the Union League Club: Mrs. Charles King, Mrs. Henry Van Rensselaer, Mrs. Samuel Wetmore, Mrs. George B. De Forest, Mrs. John Jay, Mrs. U. A. Murdock, Mrs. Richard M. Hunt, Mrs. J. J. Astor, Mrs. DOremieux, Mrs. Samuel Bridgham, Mrs. William Dodge, jr., Mrs. Jackson S. Shultz, Mrs. Frank E. Howe, Mrs. George Bliss, jr., Mrs. L. G. B. Cannon. GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, No. 6. Knoxville, Tenn., January 6, 1864. All able-bodied colored men between the ages of eighteen and forty- five within our lines, except those employed in the several staff departments, officers servants, and those servants of loyal citizens who prefer remaining with their masters, will be sent forthwith to Knoxville, Loudon, or Kingston, Teun., to be enrolled, under the direction of Brig. Gen. Davis Tillson, chief of artillery, with a view to the formation of a regiment of artillery, to be composed of troops of African descent. The commanding officers of divisions and posts are charged with the execution of this order. By command of Major-General Foster: HENRY CURTIS, JR., Assistant Adjutant- General. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, D. 0., January 6, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith for your information a copy of a dispatch, No. 136, received from the U. S. consul at Quebec, suggesting the expediency of vigilance upon our northern frontier to prevent threatened raids by desperate individuals in the interest of the rebels. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM H. SEWARD. [inclosure.] CONSULATE OF THE UNITED STATES, Quebec, December 38, 1863. Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington: SIR: I have the honor under this date in my correspondence with your Department most respectfully to recommend that the utmost vigilance and extended precaution be enjoined upon all the author- ities in the various departments upon our borders adjacent to the provinces of Lower Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, to pre- vent the consummation of contemplated deeds of reckless wickedness. I am strengthened in this belief by the reception of letters here by rebel sympathizers from the desperate characters that have recently passed through here and are now congregated at Halifax and other points in the lower provinces. They have been disappointed in not finding their means of conveyance into the southern part of th Page 12 12 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. United States as clear as they anticipated, and their restless natures, angered into desperation, are ripe for any scheme of iniquity. I am, sir, your obedient servant, CHARLES S. OGDEN, U. S. Consul. [Indorsement.] WAR DEPARTMENT, January 8, 1864. Respectfully furnished for the information of the General-in-Chief. By order of Secretary of War: ED. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier- General and Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., PROV. MAR. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 3. Washington, January 7, 1864. The following opinion of Hon. William Whiting, Solicitor of the War Department, is published for the information and guidance of all concerned: Opinion.The chief objects of the act of 1863, chapter 75, entitled An act for enrolling and calling out the forces of the United States, and for other purposes, were to provide for enrolling the forces of the United States in order to ascertain the number of able-bodied soldiers between the ages of twenty and forty-five years who might be called upon for military duty, to divide them into classes, and to call out from time to time such proportion of these troops as the emergen- cies of the service should require. The design of Congress, as expressed in the clause to which you have directed my attention (the last clause in the twelfth section) was to equalize the burden of furnishing soldiers, as far as possible, among the several loyal States and among the districts of each State. To attain this result the statute directs the President to take into consider- ation the number of volunteers and militia furnished by and from the several States and the period of their service since the commencement of the present rebellion. It is obvious that the number of men and the periods of their respective serv- ice must both be taken as elements of calculation in order to ascertain the total amount of service performed by the soldiers of a given State; and that the total amount of service thus ascertained in each State would give the total amount in the aggregate of all the service performed in all the States. To ascertain the amount of service which either one of the States would have rendered if it had borne its just share, or, in other words, what part of such aggregate service was justly due from each State, it became necessary to compare the population by the late census of each State with the aggregate population of all the States enrolled. It was obvious that each State should contribute in pro- portion to the number of its inhabitants, inasmuch as there was no other safe basis for estimating the respective numbers of their citizens capable of perform- ing military duty. This was the plan prescribed by the statute of July 22, 1861, chapter 9, section 1, for the apportionment of volunteers among the several States. The proportion of troops due from each State was to that obtained from all the States as the number of inhabitants of that State was to the aggregate num- ber of inhabitants of all the States. The solution of this formulary gave for each State the number of troops required in order to make up its equal and just share. If the number of troops fell short of this required proportion, that deficit should be charged; if the number exceeded, it should be credited to the State in ques- tion on the account of the draft under the enrollment act. When the enrollment has been completed a new and more satisfactory basis is established for distributing the burden of the draft. Having ascertained the number of persons actually enrolled in the several States, the number of troops to be drawn from each State will be calculated as follows: As the total number enrolled in all the States is to the number enrolled in a particular State, so the total number to be drafted is to the number to be drafted in a particular State Page 13 UNION AUTHORITIES. 13 The number to be drafted, thus ascertained, should be charged to the particu- lar State, and then the amount due to. or due from, that State on the account of former service should be added to or subtracted from that number. The balance is that which is due from the State in question, and when balances are thus made up for all the States the amount of service will be equally distributed according to law. The statute also requires that the enrollment districts into which the States are to be divided should be equalized among themselves. This may be effected upon the same principles as above stated. The number of men to be furnished by any one district bears the same proportion to the number to be furnished by the State. as the number of men enrolled in that district bears to the whole number enrolled in the State. The only means provided by the statute to enable the President to equalize the draft among the several districts is by reference to the numbers therein respec- tively enrolled. There being no census of Federal population for either of these districts or sub-districts, and no authority given to the President to take a census thereof, it is obviously the intent of Congress that the enrollment itself should be the basis for equalizing the draft among districts. The statute of 1863 prescribes no particular mode of equalizing the numbers of troops among the several States, and though the President is therefore left to his ~wn discretion as to the mode of carrying the law into effect, yet he is certainly justified in taking the same mode of equalizing the draft among the States as is prescribed for equalizing it among the several districts; and whatever mode he adopts by which the law is cariied into effect, his decision is fin~l as to the assignment of quotas. A difficulty arose in the practical administration of this statute from the cir- cumstance that troops were required for service before the enrollment could be completed in all the States, and it was impossible for them to ascertain definitely the exact quota of each State and district prior to the completion of the enroll- ment. To obviate this difficulty, and to avoid the danger of having the Army depleted while in the presence of the enemy, it was deemed proper to divide the first draft into two parts, or to call out only a portion of the first draft, with a view of completing the equalization of the draft as a whole, after the enrollment should have been completed. The second part of the first draft, therefore, yet remains to be completed, and it becomes necessary, therefore, to give each State credit in the above-mentioned account for all troops furnished under the first part of the aforesaid draft, and the balance of the first draft will be all that will now be due on that draft from each State respectively. After the first section of the draft was drawn, and before the quotas for the last section thereof can be assigned, a new element has been introduced which must now be taken into account. The Government has authorized volunteers to be enrolled who have received bounties and who are to be credited to the States as part of their respective quotas in the same manner as though such volunteers had been furnished under the draft. By observing these principles and methods of calculation the requisitions of the law in ascertaining the quotas of each State will, I think, be substantially complied with. I subjoin a tabular form of making out the account of each State for more con- venient reference. WILLIAM WHITING, Solicitor of the War Department. Name of the State. DR. 1. Amount of service to equalize the accounts between the States or Cu. prior to March 3, 1863, taking into view the number of men, period of service, and population of State as compared with all the States to be enrolled - DR. 2. Amount of service due from said State as estimated as for the entiredraft 3. Amount of service received from the first section of the draft from CR. said State 4. Amount of service of volunteers under the Presidents last calL - Cu. The balance will show the amount of service due on the second part of the draft which the President should assign as a quota now to be drawn for. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General Page 14 14 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, January 7, 1864. Maj. Gen. A. E. BURNSIDE, U. S. Volunteers: GENERAL: You are hereby assigned to duty by the Secretary of War to recruit and fill up the old regiments of the Ninth Army Corps, and to increase said corps to a strength of 50,000 men, for such serv- ice as the War Department may specially designate. The following instructions will be observed, viz: First. The recruitment will be conducted in the New England States and New York; also in Michigan and Pennsylvania, so far as the regiments from those States in the Ninth Corps are concerned. The term of enlistment will be for three years or the war. Second. The old regiments of the corps must first be recruited at least to the minimum strength. Third. When all the old regiments from any of the States desig- nated are filled to the minimum and the fact reported to the Depart- ment, new organizations may be undertaken in that State. This, however, will not be done without the special authority of the War Department being first obtained. Fourth. The regiments that have gone hotne, or those that shall go after re-enlistment as veterans, are not to be included in this force unless they belong now to the Ninth Corps. Fifth. The recruitment of the force will be conducted under and in compliance with the established regulations of the Department, copies of which will be furnished you. In filling the old regiments the reg- imental recruiting details from the old regiments of the corps now in the respective States, and such regimental details as may be made hereafter, will act under your authority. In connection with the reg- imental details the system of recruitment through district provost- marshals may be employed. When the proper time shall have arrived to begin recruiting for new regiments or organizations the recruit- ment thereof will be conducted under the provisions of General Orders, No. 75, series of 1862, and No. 366, series of 1863. All appointments of officers for the said organizations will be made by the Governors of the respective States in which the organizations may be recruited. Sixth. All musters into service of the forces herein authorized will be made by the authorized mustering officers in the respective States and in accordance with the requirements of the mustering regulations. Seventh. All payments of bounties will be made in accordance with the regulations governing said payments. Veterans, or recruits for veteran regiments, will in all cases receive the highest bounties which may be authorized. Eighth. Supplies and transportation for the forces in question will be furnished in accordance with existing regulations. Under this authority you will immediately confer with the Govern- ors of the respective States concerned, and also the superintendent of the volunteer recruiting service therefor, with the view of speedily commencing and progressing in the recruitment herein authorized. Your correspondence on this subject with the War Department will be conducted through the Provost-Marshal-General. I am, general, & c., JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General Page 15 UNION AUTHORITIES. 15 SAINT ALBANS, VT., January 7, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: It affords me pleasure to inform you that the quota of Vermont under the last call is filled, and we have a surplus of 270. This does not include the re-enlistments of men now in the field. J. (4. SMITH, Governor. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., PROV. MAR. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 2. Washington, January 8, 1864. I. Accounts for expenditures connected with recruiting must be kept separate from accounts connected with the enrollment and draft, and must be presented or forwarded for payment to the nearest mus- tering and disbursing officer, through the superintendent of the vol- unteer recruiting service of the State or division, except accounts for subsistence, which should be forwarded for payment, through the superintendent, to the nearest disbursing officer of the Commissary Department. II. When a drafted person is arrested as a deserter by the provost- marshal for having failed to comply with the provisions of section 13, act of March 3, 1863, no reward can be allowed unless the person is held for service. All instructions in conflict with this are hereby revoked. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. NoTE.Amended circularThe one of the same number previously issued to be destroyed. HDQRS. DEPT. OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA, Fort Monroe, January 8, 1864. Brig. Gen. G. MARSTON, Commanding, Point Lookout: GENERAL: The within copy of an order received by me from the President is sent you for your information and guidance. * You will enlist from the rebel prisoners under your command all those who may desire to enlist in the service of the United States either in the Army or Navy, and you will release all such as reside within our lines as in your judgment you may think proper and safe to do so, upon their taking the oath of allegiance and the parole, as prescribed in General Orders, No. 49. ~ Respectfully yours, BENJ. F. BUTLER, Mo~jor- General, Commanding. INDIANAPOLIS, IND., January 8, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: The quota of Indiana under the last call was 19,000. This was reduced by enlistments and credits on former call to 16,141 on the * See Lincoln to Butler, January 2, 1864, Series II, Vol. VI, p. 808. t See Series II, Vol. V, p. 806 Page 16 16 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 20th of October. Since then we estimate th~ enlistments in the State for new and old regiments at 13,000 and the enlistment of veterans in the field at 5,000. The reports are not in, but I believe these esti- mates will be found substantially correct. Nine new regiments have been raised. 0. P. MORTON, Governor. GENERAL ORDERS, QUARTERMASTER-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 2. Washington, D. 0., January 9, 1864. In obed~ience to the following order* from the Secretary of War the undersigned has returned to Washington and resumed charge of the Bureau of the Quartermasters Department. All official letters and documents should be addressed to him at this office. M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, January 9, 1864. Maj. Gen. W. S. HANCOCK, U. S. Volunteers: GENERAL: You are hereby assigned to duty by the Secretary of War to recruit and fill up the old regiments of the Second Army Corps, and to increase the said corps to a strength of 50,000 men, for such service as the War Department may specially designate. The following instructions will be observed, viz: 1. The recruitment will be conducted in the State of Pennsylva- nia, and in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Michi- gan, and Minnesota, so far as the regiments from those States in the Second Corps. are concerned. The term of enlistment will be for three years or the war.t I am, general, & c., JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. HDQRS. LEFT WING, SIXTEENTH ARMY CORPS, Pulaski, Tenn., January 9, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: I respectfully request authority to raise one or more regiments of cavalry from Alabamians. There are large numbers coming to our lines, and a better class of men than has ever come through before, being men who have furnished substitutes upon being.drafted for the rebel service. Several of them are anxious to raise a regiment, and I have no doubt [it can] easily be done. I recruited one regiment at Corinth, Miss.the First Alabama Cavalry, nearly 1,000 strongand that fact being well known in North Alabama nearly all the refugees from there seek my lines. * See Stanton to Meigs, December 26, 1863, Vol. III, this series, p. 1193. t Paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (here omitted) similar to letter to Major- General Burnside of January 7, 1864, p. 14 Page 17 UNION AUTHORITIES. 17 I also desire that authority be given me to appoint the officers, most of which I should select from the old regiments now in the service. My advance is opposite Decatur and at points on the river easily reached from the Alabama mountains, from which these men seek our lines. We have to feed them, and it is no more than right that they should enter the service. Most of them are anxious to do so, but prefer to go into an organization of their own. An early response to this would be of great benefit to the service. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, G. M. DODGE, Brigadier- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, January 9, 1864. Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.: SIR: The Secretary of War instructs me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 6th instant, imclosing a copy of a dispatch, No. 136 from the U. S. consul at Quebec, suggesting the expediency of vigilance upon our northern frontiers to prevent raids by desperate individuals in the interest of the rebels, and to inform you that copies of the same have been furnished to the General-in-Chief and Major- General Dix. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, ED. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier- General and Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPT., PROvOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., January 9, 1864. General FULLER, Adjutant- General of Illinois, Springfield: Your dispatch of 8th received. * All matters relating to quotas in case of draft will be considered in time. In the meanwhile cant you restore and keep up the enthusiasm for volunteering so as to keep Illinois more in advance of all calls than any other State? I fear your speech in Chicago will check recruiting in other parts of the State, unless you can stir the people up again. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-lilarshal- General. SPRINGFIELD, ILL., January 9, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: Your dispatch of to-day is received. A semi-official dispatch from Washington the day I made my speech in Chicago that the draft would be postponed until the 1st of February had a bad effect upon recruiting. It was this and not my speech, and it was not until the effect of the dispatch was overcome that recruiting revived, and he who reports to you the contrary is either ignorant or malicious. I * Omitted; see substance of two dispatches embodied in letter of Fuller to Fry, January 10, p. 18. 2 R RSERIES III, VOL I Page 18 18 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. would under the same circumstauces, if possible, have repeated that speech from Chicago to Cairo, aud prove by the muster-rolls its favorable effect. I will do all I cau to keep Illinois ahead of other States. Our people demand that accouuts shall be made up with each couuty. I have beeu censured for not doing this, aud yet I canuot do it until the two dispatches to Major Vincent of yesterday are auswered. God kuows I am willing to do everythiug I cau to co-operate with the Federal authorities, but I am not responsible for a policy over which I have no control. I will write you fully to-morrow. Iu the meautime I beg of you to answer those dispatches that I may make up my accounts with couuties, aud then we will again go to work if this is doue. Recruiting has substantially stopped, for there is now no liberal bouuties nor much fear of a draft. ALLEN C. FULLER. INDIANAPOLIS, January 9, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: I have taken the responsibility of directiug the recruitiug for the old regimeuts to proceed as before. The recruitiug is better than at any former period. If this is wrong, will you not inform me at once? 0. P. MORTON. (Same to Col. J. B. Fry.) SPRINGFIELD, ILL., January 10, 1864. Col. JAMES B. Fny, Provost-Marshal- General, Washington: COLONEL: On the 8th instant, by direction of Governor Yates, I telegraphed Major Vincent, inquiring First. If 145,100 was the total calls made by the General Govern- ment upon this State, and if so, whether the State is exempt from a draft, provided it has furnished that number prior to the 6th instant. Second. Stating the settlement with Missouri and inquiring whether the additional credit due this State of 1,244, according to such set- tlement, would be passed to the credit of this State by the War Department. These dispatches were sent for the purpose of obtaining definite information upon which the Governor and myself might act under- standingly with reference to future efforts to be made to maintain the reputation of the State in furnishing volunteers to the General Government. To these dispatches you reply: First. That all matters relating to quotas in case of draft will be considered in time, & c., and second, you ask if I cant restore~~ and keep up the enthusiasm of our people, and express the fear that my speech in Chicago will check recruiting in other parts of the State unless I can stir up the people. I answered your dispatch last evening and promised to write you fully to-day, and I trust you will pardon me if I presume upon a long and friendly personal acquaint- ance with your father, and write you frankly of matters necessarily unknown to your department and its representatives on duty here. I assume you have official evidence upon which the fear mentioned in your dispatch is expressed, and while I do not now discuss the fair Page 19 UNION AUTHORITIES. 19 ness of being assailed without a notice of the evidence, I admit I feel injured by the tone of your dispatch and simply say, Audi alterarn partem. On the 21st of October you announced that the quota of this State under last call of the President was 27,930, but as the State had pre- vious to that time furnished an excess of 8,151 the balance of our quota was 19,779, subject to any further reduction for troops not credited. This excess of 8,151, I suppose, was founded upon the following debits and credits: Calls of 1861 47,785 CallofJuly,1862 -. 26,148 Call of August, 1863, equivalent to - - - 6,537 32,685 Callsofl863,fordraft 36,700 Callof 1863 27,930 64,630 Total _____ 145 100 The State had been creditedwith ____ 125 321 Leavingbalance as above of 19,779 A proclamation of the Governor calling on our people again to rally to the defense of their Government, and a general order from this department announcing our quota and the present regulations of the recruiting service and premiums and bounties offered to volunteers, were immediately issued. To avoid discouragement the people were assured that the large balance against us would probably be reduced by additional credits of a few thousand, so that by vigorous efforts our quota might be raised and the State saved from a draft. Recruit- ing agents were appointed by you, recruiting details ordered from regiments in the field, and the machinery set in motion (and yet the returns of the provost-marshal of the State show that but 134 recruits were received in October and 408 in November). Private appeals were made by letter and in person to our people and press to wake them up to the danger and disgrace of a draft, and yet, with very few exceptions, they were as silent as the grave. The leading Democratic organ in Chicago, the Times, and the lead- ing Republican organ, the Tribune, for once agreed and would do nothing. Though influenced by different motives, their influence was precisely alike, and until they spoke the county papers were silent. Both concluded the quota could not be raised and both refused to act. I labored hard to get the Tribune to speak out, and for that purpose had personal interviews with the editors, and, showing them pri- vately my estimates of the probable balance against us, insisted we could fill our quota without destroying the loyal party of the State; but until I could give them official evidence that our quota would be reduced by additional credits and brought within our power they would not act. In the meantime my rolls were overhauled, information sought from the field, a settlement commenced with Missouri in July hurried forward, and finally, about the 1st of December, additional credits to the amount of 10,947 in our own regiments and 3,129 in Missouri regiments were secured, thus reducing the balance of our quota from 19,779 to 5,703. Still, so slow had been the recruiting that it was even doubtful whether that number could be realized unless our press would alarm the people Page 20 20 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Even after these additional credits were secured there was a large difference between the State and War Department as to the number of volunteers furnished prior to October, and until that difference was adjusted I could not make up accurate accounts with counties. These accounts they insisted upon, and to those counties who were behind I gave them the figures as near as I could, and by dispatches and in every way I could I sought to arouse them to their danger and at the same time not to discourage them by an array of figures so large that they could not overcome them. Some time prior to December 22, at which time I addressed their people, I had been urged to go to Chicago and help them, but declined. On the 22d I went there, and there unexpectedly met Governor Yates on his way home. After informing him of the situation and the course I had pursued during his absence he fully approved my course, and it was not until after full consultation with him and leadiug loyal citizens of Chicago as to the points to be made at the meeting that I made my speech and explained the situation as far as was thought advisable. It was under these circumstances that I stated that while the bal- ance against Cook County was probaizily at least 3,000, yet as I believed from information from different parts of the State that they (the counties) would by continued industry succeed in raising their quotas if Cook County would by the 5th of January raise 2,000 they would probably escape a draft. This is the sum and substance of my speech. Our friends immediately went to work with a will. The Tribune spoke and the people followed. Prior to that time there had not been enlisted in that county 300 men. All the rolls are not yet received, but enough is known to satisfy me that had it not been for the terrible storm which swept over the State on the last of December that they would have succeeded in filling that number. In fact, the five first days of this month have been completely lost to us all over the State on account of the storm. I will not weary you with details, but I do not hesitate to affirm that the policy pursued has been sound, and that for every recruit lost by too much encouragement I can show ten secured by the course pursued. Our situation when the last call was made was briefly as follows: Several counties were so largely behind that they could not fill their quotas. Several counties had filled theirs and did not know it. The balance could fill theirs by proper efforts. The first were encouraged that by raising a part of their quotas they would save themselves from draft. The second were not fully informed of their situation, and put off with the answer (true in fact) that until the differences between the State and General Government were adjusted their accounts could not be made up. The third were assured that by vigorous efforts they could fill their quotas, and an estimate given them of what they must do. A semi-official dispatch from Washington on the 22d of December last announcing that the draft would be postponed until the 1st of February had a bad effect upon recruiting for a few days. This was finally partially overcome by an assurance that the State authorities would not ask for a postponement. The situation now, I think, is about this: Recruiting has stopped for the want of bounties, and everybod Page 21 UNION AUTHORITIES. 21 waiting to know what Congress will do after tinkering with affairs of the War Department. If bounties and preminms are continned, reerniting will revive. Some good has been accomplished by a few Democratic papers pitch- ing into me, for in doing this they had to insist there was danger of a draft, which they had refnsed to do before. Each county now insists upon knowing precisely where they stand. Concealment will not answer longer. Althongh the State has filled her quota (as I have no donbt), yet without a fear of a draft, bnt with continuance of bonnties and premiums, we can do considerable before April. I am most willing to do all I can to help, or equally willing to stand back and retire from a field of labor full of trials, and which in 1861 I left the bench to enter. As soon as a definite policy is adopted by Congress concerning the recrniting service I will take the liberty of submitting, by way of sug- gestion (for State anthorities are only allowed that privilege), some modifications of present regulations, which I think it would be well to adopt in this State. In the meantime I trnst you will not fail to furnish the informa- tion asked for, and which I respectfnlly insist the State is entitled to. I remain, very respectfully and truly, yonr obedient servant, ALLEN C. FULLER. P. S.I might add that I have snbmitted the foregoing to Governor Yates, who authorizes me to add that in a few days he or myself, or both of us, will leave for the field to urge the re-enlistment of onr old regiments, and we feel anthorized to assure yon, from information in our possession, that in case the bounties and premiums are extended by Congress to veterans that onr old regiments will generally re-enlist. A. C. FULLER. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, January 10, 1864. His Excellency Governor MORTON, Indianapolis, md.: The Senate has not yet passed the bill extending the time for the payment of bounties. It is expected the bill will pass to-morrow. Until it does pass the Department cannot give any authority for paying beyond the 5th of January, the period limited by law. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 16. Washington, Januar~j 11, 1864. So mnch of General Orders, No. 163, of 1863, and of all snbsequent orders, as authorizes the payment of a preminm of $2 to or for accepted recruits for volunteer organizations, is hereby annulled; and no payments of this premium to veteran volunteers or to recruits for volunteer organizations will in future be made. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General Page 22 22 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, New Orleans, January 11, 1864. I-Jon. E. M. STANTON Secretary of War: SIR: Being instructed by the President to take such measures in this State as would result in the restoration of Louisiana to the Union as a free State, I have issued an order, a copy of which is inclosed, which I am confident will receive the support of all classes of the peo- ple, and result in accomplishing the wishes of the President in the shortest possible time. It opens the way for a gradual restoration of power to the people, but retains in the hands of the commanding general the same control as at present in all matters affecting the Government of the United States until the government is completely established. I have the honor to be, with high respect, your obedient servant, N. P. BANKS, Major- General, Commanding. They have been received too late to be forwarded by this mail. I have the honor to be, with much respect, your obedient servant, N. P. BANKS, Major- General, Commanding. (Similar letter to Maj. Gen. H. W. ilalleck.) [Inclosure.] PROCLAMATION. HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, New Orleans, January 11, 1864. To THE PEOPLE OF LOUISIANA: I. In pursuance of authority vested in me by the President of the United States, and upon consultation with many representative men of different interests, being fully assured that more than a tenth of the population desire the earliest possible restoration of Louisiana to the Union, I invite the loyal citizens of the State qualified to vote in public affairs, as hereinafter prescribed, to assemble in the election pre- cincts designated by law, or at such places as may hereafter be estab- lished, on the 22d day of February, 1864, to cast their votes for the election of State officers herein named, viz: Governor, lieutenant- governor, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney-general, superintend- ent of public instruction, auditor of public accounts, who shall, when elected, for the time being, and until others are appointed by compe- tent authority, constitute the civil government of the State, under the constitution and laws of Louisiana, except so much of the said con- stitution and laws as recognize, regulate, or relate to slavery, which, being inconsistent with the present condition of public affairs and plainly inapplicable to any class of persons now existing within its lhnits, must be suspended, and they are therefore and hereby declared to be inoperative and void. This proceeding is not intended to ignore the right of property existing prior to the rebellion, nor to preclude the claim for compensation of loyal citizens for losses sustained by enlistments or other authorized acts of the Government. II. The oath of allegiance prescribed by the Presidents proclama- tion, with the condition affixed to the elective franchise by the const Page 23 UNION AUTHORITIES. 23 tution of Louisiana, will constitute the qualification of voters in this election. Officers elected by them will be duly installed in their offices on the 4th day of March, 1864. III. The registration of voters, effected nnder the direction of the Military Governor and the several Union associations, not inconsistent with the proclamation, or other orders of the Presideni, are confirmed and approved. IV. In order that the organic law of the State may be made to con- form to the will of the people, and harmonize with the spirit of the age, as well as to maintain and preserve the ancient landemarks of civil and religious liberty, an election of delegates to a convention for the revision of the constitution will be held on the first Monday of April, 1864. The basis of representation, the number of delegates, and the details of election will be announced in subsequent orders. V. Arrangements will be made for the early election of members of Congress for the State. VI. The fundamental law of the State is martial law. It is compe- tent and just for the Government to surrender to the people, at the earliest possible moment, so much of military power as may be con- sistent with the success of military operation; to prepare the way by prompt and wise measures for the full restoration of the State to the Union and its power to the people; to restore their ancient and unsurpassed prosperity; to enlarge the scope of agricultural and commercial industry, and to extend and confirm the dominion of rational liberty. It is not within human power to accomplish the~e results without some sacrifice of individual prejudices and interests. Problems of state too complicate for the human mind have been solved by the national cannon. In great civil convulsions the agony of strife enters the souls of the innocent as well as the guilty. The Government is subject to the law of necessity, and must consult the condition of things rather than the preferences of men, and if so be that its purposes are just and its measures wise, it has the right to demand that questions of personal interest and opinion shall be sub- ordinate to the public good. When the national existence is at stake and the liberties of the people in peril, faction is treason. The methods herein proposed submit the whole questio.n of govern- ment directly to the people. First, by the election of executive officers faithful to the Union, to be followed by a loyal representation in both Houses of Congress, and then by a convention which will con- firm the action of the people and recognize the principles of freedom in the organic law. This is the wish of the President. The anni- versary of Washingtons birth is a fit day for the commencement of so grand a work. The immortal Father of his Country was never guided by a more just and benignant spirit than that of his successor in office, the President of the United States. In the hour of our trial let us heed his admonitions. Louisiana in the opening of her history sealed the integrity of the Union by conferring upon its Government the Valley of the Missis- sippi. In the war for independence upon the sea she crowned a glorious struggle against the first maritime power of the world by a victory unsurpassed in the annals of war. Let her people now announce to the world the coming restoration of the Union, in which the ages that follow us have a deeper interest than our own, by the organization of a free government, and her fame will be immortal. N. P. BANKS, Jlifajor- Generat, Commanding Page 24 24 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. INDIANAPOLIS, January 11, 1864. lion. E. M. STANTON: The Indiana regiments are coming home rapidly, and I am putting them to recruiting, and directing them to date their enlistments on the 5th of January. If the Department will not allow this, please say so. If it will, you need not answer. 0. P. MORTON. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, January 11, 1864. Governor MORTON, Indianapolis: I telegraphed you Saturday that the bill authorizing bounties after 5th of January had not passed the Senate. Unless authorized by law, the Department will not pay bounties. It is my duty to obey the law, and I do not mean to violate or sanction its violation. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. STATE OF INDIANA, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Indianapolis, January 11, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost -Jlliarshal- General, Washington, D. C.: SIR: I learn from the Illinois papers (from one of which I cut the inclosed paragraph *) that the adjutant-general of Illinois has been making an investigation into the number of men who have gone from Illinois and enlisted in other States, and that a credit of nearly 5,000 men is claimed for the State, who, it is alleged, enlisted in Missouri regiments. I have no fault to find with this, and call your attention to the subject only to say that if credits of this kind can be allowed, I shall appoint a commission to investigate the claims which this State has for a credit of the same character. In the early part of the war, when the number of regiments to be raised in each State was limited and more were offered than could be accepted, large numbers of men went from Indiana and enlisted in Kentucky and other States, while not less than thirteen organized companies went from this State and entered regiments organized in others. The whole number of men who, either in companies or individually, went from this State and entered regiments of other States is estimated by the adjutant-general at over 6,000. As to the companies which left the State in an organized form, I believe that credit should be given, although they were not embraced in the adjustment heretofore made between the State and the War Department. As to the number of men who went individually and enlisted in the regiments of other States, I do not wish to go to the trouble and expens.e of investigat- ing if credit for them is not to be given. I believe Indiana can make out quite as good a case as any other Western State. The reason such a claim has not been preferred heretofore was the understanding we have had that it would not be entertained, and that men would be credited to the State to which the regiment belonged in which they were enlisted. I shall be glad to hear from you on this subject at your earliest convenience. * Omitted Page 25 25 UNION AUTHORITIES. There is another matter which it will not be improper to mention in this connection. The Nineteenth Regiment U. S. Infantry recruited about 800 men, the Eleventh U. S. Infantry about 400, and other regi- ments U. S. infantry about 200 or 300 in this State, for which the State has not received credit, and I shall at a proper time ask your con- sideration of the claim which she has to credit for these men. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 0. P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana. STATE OF IOWA, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Des Moines, January 11, 1864. Maj. THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant- General, Washington, D. C.: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of yours of the 5th instant, with memorandum of what the War Department has done in relation to assigning the quotas under the 500,000 call. As I understand the decision of the War Department, it is: As cer- tain States in the aggregate raised 548,184, therefore the quota of Iowa under a call for 500,000 men shall be 19,316; or, because Iowa raised a portion of the excess above 500,000, therefore she is charged an excess of 1,699 above her true quota. If all the States had filled their quotas and sent their men to the field, or if all the States had furnished their shares of the excess above 500,000 men, the case would stand somewhat differently. It may be replied that you have at- tempted to equalize the matter on subsequent calls, but it has not been equalized, so far as men are concerned. And, with all due def- erence to the War Department, I have yet to learn by what authority the call of 500,000 men was increased to 548,184. With great respect, I have the honor to be, truly yours, N. B. BAKER, Adj& tant-General of Iowa. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., January 11, 1864. His Excellency DAVID TOD, Governor of the State of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio: SIR: By direction of the Secretary of War you are hereby author- ized to raise a regiment of colored troops (infantry), said regiment to be known and designated as the Twenty-seventh Regiment U. S. Col- ored Troops and to be mustered into the service of the United States for three years or during the war. The organization of the regiment must conform in all respects with the requirements of General Orders, No. 110, War Department, Adjutant-Generals Office, 1863. The offi- cers will be mustered into service on the presentation to the proper mustering officer of their appointments, signed by the Secretary of War, and such appointments will be made as provided in General Orders, Nos. 143 and 144, War Department, Adjutant-Generals Office, 1863. The necessai~y supplies will be furnished by the respective departments on requisitions approved by the Governor of the State of Ohio. I have the honor to be, & c., C. W. FOSTER, Assistant Adjutant- General Page 26 26 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANTGENERALS OFFICE, No. 3. ~ Washington, January 12, 1864. The following instructions concerning credits on the qnotas of States and towns are fnrnished for the information and guidance of all concerned: Recruits will be credited to the localities from which they received local bonnties, provided the muster-iii rolls show them enlisted and mustered in as of the said localities. The mnster-in rolls must show the facts of the case, and will be the evidence for awarding the credits. Veterans in service, re-enlisting, will be credited to the localities to which the re-enlistments and muster-in rolls show them as belonging. rrherefore, until veterans have been remustered, it cannot be deter- mined to what particular locality they will be credited. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-~General. SPECIAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 16. Washington, January 12, 1864. * * * * * * 57. Ordered, That Major-General Hancock be, and he is hereby, assigned to recruit and fill up the Second Army Corps, of which he is commander, to the number of 50,000 men, for such duty as may be specially assigned to said corps by the War Department. 58. Ordered, That Major-General Buruside be, and he is hereby, assigned to recruit and fill up the Ninth Army Corps, of which he is commander, to the number of 50,000 men, for such duty as may be specially assigned to said corps by the War Department. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, January 12, 1864. SUPTS. OF VOLUNTEER RECRUITING SERVICE LOYAL STATES: A law has been passed to-day continuing for a few weeks bounties as allowed prior to January 5. Continue enlistments under regula- tions established priar to that date and keep up enthusiasm for recruiting. Inform Governor immediately. More complete instruc- tions will be sent hereafter. JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. (Copies sent to all save California, Tennessee, and Arkansas and Territories.) WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, January 12, 1864. It is hereby ordered, That all orders relating to the Missouri troops designated respectively as Missouri State Militia (M. S. M.) and as Enrolled Missouri Militia (E. M. M.), and which are or have bee Page 27 UNION AUTHORITIES. 27 on file ill the office of the adjutant-generals or their assistants at the different headquarters located in the State of Missouri, shall be open to the inspection of the General Assembly of Missouri, or of persons commissioned by it, and that copies of such records be furnished them when called for. By order of the President: EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, January 12, 1864. Maj. Gen. A. E. BURNSIDE, New York: The bill authorizing and extending the payment of bounties has passed Congress. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. (Same to Governor 0. P. Morton, Indianapolis, md.) EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, Harrisburg, Pa., January 12, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: COLONEL: After my inauguration, which will occur on the 19th instant, and our Legislature gets under way, I will try to come over and see you in reference to the subject of recruiting in Pennsylvania. It is going on handsomely now, and as Congress has wisely extended the time for paying bounties, I have great hopes that we will do well. Will you please to so change the order to General Cadwalader to raise a regiment as to enlarge the services from the city of Phila- delphia to the State of Pennsylvania? I have written General Cadwalader and understand he desires such change in the order. I notice attacks on Colonel Bomford in a newspaper here and think I now understand the opposition to him. Bomford is an honest man and a true soldier. Before he is removed I beg the opportunity of seeing you; and although I do not ask to name his successor, I hope you will hear me on the subject. Could you not come here on the 19th and witness the ceremonies? I will be most happy to see you or Colonel Ruggles on such an occasion. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, A. G. CURTIN. CIRCULAR ~ WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No.4. ~ Washington, January 13, 1864. The following extract fromn General Orders, No. 21, dated War DepartTuent, July 27, 1853, is furnished for the information and guid- ance of all concerned: The following regulations have been received from the War Department, and are published to the Army: Soldiers confined by civil authority are not entitled to pay during such con- finement, unless discharged therefrom without trial, or by trial and acquittal; and commanders of companies and detachments are required to state explicitl Page 28 28 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. upon the muster-rolls of their companies or detachments the periods of such con- finements, and whether the soldiers so confined were discharged without trial, and if tried, whether they were acquitted or convicted. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., January 13, 1864. General JOHN L. lloDsDoN, Adjutant- General of Maine, Augusta, Me.: GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 11th instant saying that it is impossible to make the muster-in rolls exhibit the locality on whose quota each soldier is credited, and giving as one reason for the same that towns having recruiting agents at work filling their quotas often find an excess enlisted beyond their quota, which they transfer to other towns, and transfers of this character will necessarily be in progress for weeks. This system of bartering or transferring credits of men from one town or county to another is not calculated to inure to the benefit of the Government and is not approved by this Department. Every town should raise its own quota of men; the Government is abun- dantly able to accept the excess of the liberal towns as a surplus to be placed to their credit without such surplus being transferred to a credit of a delinquent town. It is not probable that the draft on delinquent towns would be deferred in order that they might purchase, or otherwise acquire, credit for men already in service, instead of raising other men to fill their own quotas. I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, January 13, 1864. Governor ANDREW, Boston: The bill authorizing bounties to be paid in accordance with the regu- lations of the War Department until March 1 passed yesterday. EDWIN M. STANTON. CONCORD, N. II., January 13, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON Secretary of War: SIR: The order of the General Government, through General Hunks, and by him promulgated to the various towns in our State, in refer- ence to refunding the amount advanced by the towns to cash the bounties to recruits, is creating intense excitement, and the order must be modified or the State will be lost to the Administration. Tfle order requires that the provost-marshal or the recruiting agent of the town shall make oath that the amount claimed assigned was paid in hand to the recruit. Now, in a majority, probably, of instances in the Second and Third Districts this cannot be done. It can be shown Page 29 UNION AUTHORITIES. 29 however, that the money has been aefually paid by the towns; in some cases to the recrnits; in others to their anthorized agents. That the amonnts so paid have been regularly assigned to the towns, and in every case that the recruit has been examined by the provost-marshal, and the recruit signified his satisfaction as to the amount received by him. The towns have advanced this money in good faith, on the strength of the anthority of the General Government to me that the amount so advanced would be promptly refunded to the town. They have also paid additional bounties from their own resources, and now after exerting themselves to the ntmost, and incnrring the bnrden of a large debt, to be met with an order that effectually precludes them from receiving back the money they have advanced, looks to them like bad faith on the part of the Government and is cansing a clamor that I am unable to meet. Will it not answer if it is known that the amonnt paid by the towns was- actually assigned by the recruit, paid either to him or his agent, and that he was satisfied with the amount received? An early reply is solicited at as early a day as possible. You have no idea of the trouble this is creating, and the copperheads are jubilant. J. A. GILMORE, Governor. The above telegram has been submitted by His Excellency Governor Gilmore to me, and I respectfully represent that the difficulty referred to exists in many of the towns in the Second and Third Districts in the State, and I request definite instructions in relation to any modi- fications that may be made in the present plan for repayment. Copies of the order referred to by Governor Gilmore have been forwarded to the Provost-Marshal-General by mail. E. W. lINKS, Brig. Gen. and Superintendent Volunteer Recruiting Service. HDQRs. DEPT. OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA, Fort Monroe, January 13, 1864. J. L. DOZIER, E. H. BEAZELEY, and others, the representatives of a sect calling themselves Christians, in Norfolk and Portsmouth, who petition to be excused from taking the oath of allegiance and doing military duty: GENTLEMEN: I have read your petition to General Barnes, setting forth your objections to swearing allegiance to any earthly govern- ment, in which you therein establish, to your own satisfaction, three points: First. That government, although an evil, is a necessary one. Second. That for a time it is permitted to exist by the wisdom of Jehovah. Third. That the time of its existence at which a period is to be put to its existence is not yet come. Therefore [you] ought to swear allegiance to the Government of the United States: First. Because, although an evil, you admit it to be necessary. Second. Although an evil, you admit that it is permitted by the wisdom of Jehovah, and it is not for His creatures to question the wisdom of His acts Page 30 30 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Third. You oniy claim to be excused when Jehovahs government is substituted, which period has not yet arrived. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, B. F. BUTLER, ]JJic{jor- General, Commanding. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 20. Washington, January 14, 1864. The following joint resolution by the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives of the United States is published for the information of the Army and all concerned: Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the bounties heretofore paid, under regu- lations and orders from the War Department, to men enlisting in the regular or volunteer forces of the United States for three years or during the war, shall continue to be paid from the fifth day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty- four, until the first day of March next, anything in the act approved December twenty-third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, to the contrary notwithstanding. This resolution to be in force from and after its passage. Approved January 13, 1864. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, January 14, 1864. SUPTS. VOLUNTEER RECRUITING SERVICE LOYAL STATES: The time of paying the bounty of $300 and $400 and the $15 and $25 premium is extended to March 1, 1864, and these bounties and premiums will be paid in cases of men enlisted between January 6 and 12, the same as before January 5. JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. STATE OF INDIANA, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Indianapolis, md., January 14, 1864. To THE PEOPLE OF INDIANA: The quota of Indiana, under the last call of the President for 300,000 men, was about 19,000. This number was reduced by credit to 16,141 on the 20th day of October, when the Presidents call appeared. The returns are not in, so that the exact numbers cannot be given; but it is safely estimated that between 13,000 and 14,000 men have been recruited in the State for the old and. new regiments since the last-mentioned date. This leaves a balance against the State of between 2,000 and 3,000 men, which is undoubtedly covered by the re-enlistments of veteran Indiana troops in the field. By express order of the War Department the re-enlisted veterans are to be credited upon the quotas of the several States to which they belong. The re-enlistment of the veterans in the field has far exceeded the most sanguine expectations of the Government, and thousands have volunteered for a second term where perhaps but hundreds wer Page 31 IJNION AUTHORITIES. 31 expected. This result is of the most gratifying and auspicious char- acter, but it requires no argument to prove that if the re-enlisted vet- erans are largely counted upon the quotas of the several States, that the Government will come far short of getting 300,000 additional men called for by the President and necessary for military operations during the next spring and summer. In this way another call by the President may become necessary, and in order to avoid the renewed liability of the State, and to render to the Government that full and complete support which is due from the State, I earnestly exhort the people of the various counties and townships yet in arrears to make all necessary exertions to furnish the number of volunteers required of them under the apportionment of the quota heretofore published. To do this will be the only security against a future draft. I trust the various recruiting officers, county and township authorities, and military committees will not relax in their exertions until the quota of the State has been completely filled by the enlistment of men within the State. It is much easier to do this now than at any future time, and the efficient support rendered to the Government and the example set before the Nation will be of the most salutary character. 0. P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana. NASHVILLE, January 14, 1864. HORACE MAYNARD: (Care of R. J. Meigs.) In reference to the recent proclamation, before whom is the oath prescribed to be taken? Will persons who have been notoriously loyal have to take it in order to vote? The voters in March next should be put to the severest test. I am satisfied that a convention should be called which will put the State at once upon its legs and forever settle the slavery question. If it should be thought advisable, two Senators could be appointed now who are sound as regards the slavery question and the Union. Will the Senate admit them? Public sentiment is becoming stronger every day for a restoration of the government. I would give some of the fault-finders to understand that the real Union men will be for Lincoln for President. The war must be closed under his Administration. I desire you to see the President in person and talk with him in regard to these matters. Steps should be taken at once in reference to the March elections. When I receive your reply I will let you know when I will be in Washington. I desire you to come to Nashville, for I will need you. ANDREW JOHNSON, Military Governor. SPRINGFIELD, ILL., January 15, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: Several Illinois regiments, having re-enlisted, are en route home for reorganization. There are recruiting parties amounting to 700 officers and enlisted men here from regiments in the field, and who are under the orders of the superintendent of recruiting service; so I think that officer, who is also provost-marshal-general of the State, has all the business on his hands he can attend to until the 11 st of March next. I desire to have these veteran regiments report to me, and thei Page 32 32 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. re-enlistment and reorganization under my orders, and the Federal officers on duty here muster and provide quarters and subsistence on my requisition. I am confident that this course will materially promote the public service. Please answer. RICHD. YATES, Governor. VV AR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., January 16, 1864. His Excellency 0. P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana, Indianapolis, md.: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 11th instant, and have submitted it to the Adjutant-General of the Army. I have no control over the question of determining the number of men heretofore furnished by the different States, and for which each is to be credited. All records on the subject are kept in the Adjutant-Generals Office, and with a view to making up quotas for draft the Adjutant-General reports to me the credits or deficien- cies of the different States as regards volunteers furnished by each. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 23. Washington, January 16, 1864. General Orders, No. 390, dated War Department, Adjutant- Generals Office, Washington, December 8, 1863, is hereby revoked, and the following substituted therefor: The employment of persons of African descent, male or female, as cooks or nurses, will be permitted in all U. S. general hospitals. When so employed they will receive ~10 per month and one ration. They will be paid by the nearest medical disbursing officer, on rolls similar to those used in the payment of men of the Hospital Corps. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. SPRINGFIELD, January 16, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: Does the War Department propose to ascertain and determine the number of volunteers furnished by each county in this State prior to the last call, in order to determine the balance, if any, of quota then due from such county, and will I be allowed to ascertain and determine accounts with counties and localities for volunteers fur- nished by them, and assign to them their respective quotas under all calls? In other words, does the General Government insist upon adjusting the matters in this State, or will it adopt the adjustment made by me, provided, of course, the State, as such, furnishes its full quota under all calls? RICHARD YATES, Governor Page 33 UNION AUTHORITIES. 33 STATE OF MAINE, IIDQRS. ADJT. GENERALS OFFIcJ, Augusta, January 16, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY, Provost -Marshal- General, Washington, D. C.: SIR: I sincerely regret that your department disapproves of the measures adopted by the commander-in-chef for filling this States quota of volunteers under the call of the President of October 17, 1863. Justice to Governor Coburn (now in private life) requires me to say that he did not regard the critical period of the Union in this war as being so certainly passed as to warrant an outlay of several millions of dollars from our State treasury (which may be so much needed hereafter by Government) in bounties to volunteers while a reason- able probability existed of the men being furnished by the respective cities, towns, and plantations throughout the State without such assistance. The privilege to volunteers of selecting a quota at will unavoid- ably followed the adoption of the above policy, inasmuch as the places of their residence could not be compelled to pay the customary boun- ties. The restriction, therefore, suggested in yours of the 13th instant could but have resulted only in the enlistment of thousands of our citizens upon the quotas of other States. While there have been numerous enlistments by residents of towns upon the quotas of other towns in this State, I very much doubt if New Hampshire, Massachusetts, or New York have anything like so large a proportion of their quotas under the present call enlisted from the citizens of their own State as has Maine. Although the Governor in general orders expressed a desire (for reasons most apparent and conclusive) that our town bounties should be uniform in amount throughout the State and not exceed $200, yet they have varied from that sum to $500, while some towns and planta- tions have offered no bounties whatever. Recruits are, however, at this time readily obtained for town boun- ties of from $200 to $300, and the prospect is that a large portion of those places paying no bounties until recently will now be enabled to fill their quotas, for the above reason, and if a few hundred men should be lacking to make up the entire quota of the State under present call (which can hardly be possible) the Legislature now in session will obtain the men by paying both town and State bounties from the treasury of Maine. While I have endeavored, through the agency of a wide margin of overlays in apportioning quotas, to provide for the shortcomings of poor and disloyal localities, it can scarcely be expected that towns will knowingly furnish more volunteers than can be legally required of them nuder any call, involving as it does an expense of $500 per man in many instances. Your position that every town should raise its own quota of men was clearly intended to be undorstood by me as absolutely requiring the quotas of volunteers from towns to be procured from among their own citizens, respectively. The response afforded by the recent draft to this principle is equally applicable to the present effort to raise volunteers and demonstrate the utter impracticability of any such effort or calculation. The poor town of Stoneham, in Oxford County, whose quota under the present call is seven, paid that number $3Q0 each as town bounty, 3 R RSERIES III, VOL I Page 34 34 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. and thirty-three others of its citizens enlisted under this call for a like bounty from other towns. The $9,900 of town bounties, which induced these thirty-three men to enlist, could not probably have been raised upon a mortgage of half the property in Stoneham. A similar state of things exists in the new county of Aroostook, except that some of its towns and plantations pay no bounties and send no men. If the Government should insist that each city, town, and planta- tion must raise its own quota of troops from its own citizens, I have no hesitation whatever in declaring that any call of Government for either drafted men or volunteers could not be answered in Maine. Let the policy be undertaken of compelling each locality in this State to respond with its own citizens to a demand for troops, and all the poorer and least populous ones (which generally have the largest proportion of able-bodied men whose situation and circumstances most readily admit of their entering the service) would become denuded of such population, thus not only precluding the places of their resi- dence from filling their quotas, but also older and wealthier towns in the State, which have much money and but few men, comparatively, eligible to enlistment. Experience has shown that excesses in quotas are even more diffi- cult to deal with in detail than deficiencies, and it is hardly possible hereafter to render settlements therefor generally, if in any degree, satisfactory. It will indeed be fortunate for your department if you can enter de novo upon a draft or call for volunteers hereafter, so far as excesses or deficiencies are concerned. The destruction of the militia system twenty-five years since and the substitution at this time, in part, of the civil authority for that of the military, occasions the present difficulties (measurably, if not wholly, unavoidable), respecting apportionments~~ and quotas to conform to the limits of city, town, and plantation boundaries, instead of company, battalion, regimental, brigade, and division organizations. I have the honor to be, very truly and respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN L. HODSDON, Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. 0., January 16, 1864. Governor J. A. GILMORE, Concord, N. H.: The agreement announced in telegram from Provost-Marshal- General, dated November 5, to the effect that if the State of New Hampshire or the towns should pay the bounties offered by the United States and take an assignment from the recruit, that the Government would pay those bounties to the State or town instead of to the men, will be carried out in good faith, and General Hinks will receive orders accordingly. Experience has developed difficul- ties in this connection which were not foreseen by the Department and the arrangement will terminate on the 15th of February next. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War Page 35 UNION AUTHORITIES. 35 WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., January 16, 1864. His Excellency A. G. CURTIN, Governor of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pa.: SIR: Yours of the 12th instant received. The order in reference to the troops to be raised by General Cadwalader, in Philadelphia, has been changed as you desired. The authority is, however, only to raise a battalion at first. I am glad to hear that recruiting is going on handsomely, and trust that Pennsylvania may raise her full quota. General Hancock has doubtless called upon you before this in connection with the matter of recruiting, and it is hoped that his presence and efforts will aid you in still further arousing the people to the necessity of filling up our armies before spring. It would give me great pleasure to witness the ceremonies of the 19th instant, but I regret to say that I have no reason to hope that my duties will permit me to do so. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAS. B. FRY, Provost -Marshal- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 25. Washington, January 18, 1864. All enlisted men now in the Regular Army whose terms of service expire during the present year are hereby permitted to re-enlist at any time before the 1st of March, 1864. On re-enlisting they will be entitled to the extra bounty of $300, authorized by General Orders, No. 20, War Department, Adjutant-Generals Office, Washington, D. C., January 14, 1864. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR ~ WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 5. ~ Washington, January 18, 1864. All invalid soldiers mustered on invalid transfer rolls by surgeons in charge of general hospitals, and all men of the Second Battalion companies who can be spared from the hospital, and who have so far recovered from their wounds or diseases as to be thought fit for duty in the First Battalion, will be sent to the invalid camp or depot nearest to the hospital; and they will be there examined by a board, consist- ing of a field officer of the Invalid Corps and a medical officer of the regular or volunteer service, who shall have powei~ to confirm their transfer to the corps and to decide to which battalion they shall be assigned; to send those judged fit for field duty to their regiments, and to discharge those whose infirmities unfit them for any duty. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General Page 36 36 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, January 18, 1864. Maj. Gen. JOHN A. Dix, Commanding Department of the East, New York: GENERAL: The Governor of Maine is solicitous to have some force in the fortifications thrown up in that State to guard against invasions from the British Possessions. The subject was at one time called to your attention, and the last information we had from you was that you did not seem to think the emergency required it. It is well, how- ever, to take every necessary precaution to guard against any raid, and I beg to direct your attention again to this subject. The State of Maine proposes to raise a local force for that purpose, if needed. It is, of course, riot desirable to increase the expenses of the Government by raising a force, unless there be reasonable ground of apprehension, of which you, as commander of the department, are the proper judge. What is desired by the Department is, that you should again give the snbject your attention and report what you deem necessary and whether you will require any additional authority. If you should conclude that it is best to have such force raised, you are authorized to designate the amount of it and to call upon the Governor to have it raised. It will be, perhaps, well for you to have a conference or cor- respondence with the Governor upon the subject, so as to ascertain his views in regard to it and any facts that may be in his possession showing the necessity for the measure. Your obedient servant, EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., January 18, 1864. His Excellency RICHARD YATES, Governor of Illinois, Springfield, Ill.: SIR: Your dispatch of the 16th instant is received. The War Department does not propose to attempt the ascertainment of the number of volunteers furnished by each county in Illinois prior to the last call. No account prior to the last call was kept by the War Department with counties, the record being kept only with the State at large. At the time of making up quotas for the late draft the account of the State of Illinois was made up, and she was found to have a sur- plus greater than her quota, and was therefore exempt from that draft. See my letter of October 21, 1863. If you can show exactly what proportion of all the men furnished by the State prior to the last call properly belongs to each county, I presume the War Department would adopt your report on this subject; but I would remark that the manner in which volunteers rushed to arms in the early stages of the rebellion will, it seems to me, render it very difficult for you to accomplish this task satisfactorily. The enroll- ment act does not require it. It says that in assigning the quotas to Congressional districts we shall take into consideration the number of men furnished by the States, & c. It was the desire of all towns and counties to be credited on the late draft with what each had fur- nished, but after most earnest efforts I found it impossible to get from ~ny State such information as would have justified an attempt to giv Page 37 UNION AUTHORITIES. 37 such credits, and hence returned to a strict compliance with the law in this matter; and where the State had a surplus I divided that among the districts pro rata with their enrollment, and then in each distrk~t divided again the surplus assigned to it among its snb-districts, and I think this is the only practicable method of adjusting the accounts for men furnished prior to entering upon the enrollment act. Since the last call our orders are to keep a record by the muster- in roll of where every man is to be credited, and for the present and the future there should be no trouble if our officers are careful in crediting each locality with its men; but I dont believe the same rule can be applied to the past, and the law does not require that it should be. There is no doubt that it would be more just and satisfactory if it could be done. I feel sure I cannot. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAS. B. FRY, Provost -Marshal- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., January 18, 1864. His Excellency J. A. GILMORE, Governor of New Hampshire: SIR: In reply to your letter of the 12th instant to the Secretary of War, referred by him to this office, in relation to the repayment to the towns of your State of the United States bounties, by them advanced in cash to the recruits from New Hampshire, and to your telegram upon the same subject, I have the honor to inclose herewith copy of instructions this day issued to Brigadier-General links, superintendent volunteer recruiting service for New Hampshire. Please see telegram upon this subject of the 16th instant to you from the Secretary of War. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. [Inclosure.] WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., January 18, 1864. Brig. Gen. E. W. lINKs, A. A. P. M. G. for New Hampshire, Concord, N. H.: GENERAL: I am instructed by the Provost-Marshal-General to inform you that your circular of January 5, 1864, is not entirely approved, and to direct you to modify the first clause, thereof so as to read as follows: The United States will repay, by installments, to the cities and towns of this State so much of the premium and bounties offered by the General Government to the volunteers, under the Presidents call of October 17, 1863, as may have been actually advanced and paid in cash to or for each volunteer by said cities and towns, provided the recruit in each case, for whom such amount was paid, shall have made or shall make an assignment to the town of the amounts so paid. The bounties to be repaid to the towns in installments, as established by existing orders. The Provost-Marshal-General further directs that you make such modifications of the remainder of the circular, and of all paper Page 38 38 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. dependent upon it, as may be required to conform them to the changes herein above ordered. I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, GEG. D. RUGGLES, Assistant Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 26. Washington, January 19, 1864. The following joint resolution is published for the information and guidance of all concerned: A RESOLUTION amendatory of the joint resolution to supply in part deficiencies in the appro- priations for the public p volunteers. the rinting, and to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for bounties to Resolved by Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the money paid by drafted persons under the act for calling out the national forces and for other purposes, approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, or that may be paid under any act for like purposes, shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States, and shall be drawn out on requisitions, as are other public moneys, for the expenses of the draft and for the procuration of substitutes; for which purposes the money so paid in is hereby appropriated. Approved January 16, 1864. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, January 19, 1864. His Excellency the GOVERNOR OF INDIANA, Indianapolis: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 11th instant, in reference to an adjustment relative to certain vol- unteers between the States of Illinois and Missouri, and asking if like claims will be allowed, & c. In reply I am directed to inform you that the question of adjust- ment is one resting entirely with the respective States that may be concerned, but if the Governors thereof consent to an adjustment, as has been done between Illinois and Missouri, the Department will approve the action. For Your Excellencys information I have respectfully to inclose herewith a copy of the certificate of adjustment between Illinois and Missouri, which has been approved by the Department, and a change of credits made accordingly. I have the honor to remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant, THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant- General. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Indianapolis, md., January 19, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War, Washington, D. U.: SIR: Considerations of the most vital character demand that the war shall be substantially ended within the present year. The truth of this proposition need not be enforced by argument, because it is apparent to every intelligent mind Page 39 UNION AUTHORITIES. 39 I therefore respectfully but earnestly urge the necessity of immedi- ately calling for all the men that may be required to bring the war to a safe and speedy termination. If doubts are entertained that a sufficient number of men will be procured under the last call, let another be made immediately, and my belief is that the Nation will respond and by a mighty effort promptly raise our armies to the required strength. It is much better to make the estimate too large than too small, and it is much safer to overpower the enemy by num- bers than merely to be his equal and rely for success upon the skill of generals and the chances of battle. I am also greatly apprehensive that we shall be surprised in the spring by the numbers and strength of the enemy. A terrible con- scription is putting almost the entire male population of the rebel States in the army. We shall find beyond all question that their forces have been greatly increased. If another call for troops should become necessary during the next spring and summer, when it would take months to get them into the field, the Nation would be greatly disheartened, the continuance of the war be indefinitely prolonged, and our finances deeply and almost fatally depressed. Men can be raised more easily now than at any future time. It is the winter season, when the agricultural popula- tion is, to a very great extent, unemployed, and will enter the army far more readily than after farming operations are resumed in the spring. Nothing would so much weaken the Administration or repress the ardor of the people as the apprehension that our armies are inade- quate to the speedy suppression of the rebellion and that another call for troops will be necessary at a future time. If the war can be ended sooner by largely increasing our forces, the sooner our forces will be disbanded and the immense drain upon the Treasury sus- pended, which is becoming the terror of all intelligent minds. The leaders of the rebellion are making a last and mighty effort to retrieve their desperate fortunes. Let them be met with a mightier effort by the Nation, which shall certainly overwhelm them with inevitable ruin. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 0. P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 6. Washington, January 20, 1864. I. All men enlisted into the Regular Army since September 3, 1862, will be credited upon the quota of the State in which they were enlisted. The superintendents of regimental recruiting service will forward to Governors of States (as soon as possible) a list of all men enlisted into the Regular Army by recruiting officers, under their commands, from September 3, 1862, to January 1, 1864, giving the names of the men, and, wherever they can do so, the district in which they were enlisted. Also, to forward to you hereafter tn-monthly reports of men thus enlisted, giving the names of the men, State, district of enrollment, town, and county in which they. were enlisted, such reports to commence from January 1, 1864. II. All the recruiting officers will pay all men whom they enlist into the Regular Army ~25 bounty and $2 premium immediately on enlistment Page 40 40 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Will also, in all cases where the provost-marshals of the district in which they are recruiting notify them that they have men who desire to enlist into the Regular Army, proceed to their offices, and make out and complete their papers; but the transfer of men from the volun- teer service into the Regular Army after they have been definitely enlisted into the volunteer service is contrary to law. III. The following instructions, concerning credits of regular soldiers on the quotas of States and towns, are furnished for the information and guidance of officers recruiting for the Regular Army in the field: Recruits will be credited to the localities from which they receive local bounties, provided their enlistment papers show them enlisted as of said localities. Soldiers re-enlisting will be credited to the localities to which the re-enlistments show them as belonging. They will be allowed to select the places from which they prefer to re-enlist, and that selec- tion will determine the quotas on which they will be credited. Monthly lists will be forwarded to this office of all the men who may enlist or re-enlist, specifying their names, districts of enroll- ment, and States. You will also forward monthly lists, specifying their names, districts of enrollment, towns, and counties from which they may enlist or re-enlist, to the Governors of the States to which they may belong. IV. Superintendents will make up from the records of their office (as soon as possible) separate lists for each State of all the men enlisted into the Regular Army, by the recruiting officers under their com- mand, in each State, from September 3, 1862, to January 1, 1864, giving the names of the men, and, wherever they can do so, the dis- tricts in which they were enlisted, and send them to the Governors of the respective States. They will also hereafter make consolidated tn-monthly reports to the Governors of the respective States of the men enlisted into the Regular Army, by the recruiting officers under their command, in each State, giving the names of the men, the State, district of enrollment, town, and county in which they were enlisted. These reports will commence from January 1, 1864. V. All recruiting officers will make their contracts for board and lodgings separately, and send their contracts for board direct to the Commissary-General of Subsistence, and for lodgings to this office. To render those contracts valid, each sheet must have a 5-cent internal-revenue stamp attached. VI. Disbursing officers of the funds for collecting, organizing, and I drilling volunteers have been instructed to pay any one, citizen or soldier, the sum of $25 and $15 ($25 for a veteran and $15 for a raw recruit) who may present to them the certificate of a regular recruit i ug officer that they have furnished an accepted recruit to such officer. The following is the form of certificate: No. . RECRUITING RENDEZVOUS, U. S. A., 186. This is to certify that has presented , an accepted recruit, who has been enlisted this day into the military service of the United States, and is entitled to the premium of $ Recruiting Officer. To Mustering and Disbursing Officer Page 41 41 UNION AUTHORITIES. Each recruiting officer will furnish the disbursing officers in his vicinity with his signature for the purpose of comparing it with the signature on the certificate. Until the 1st of March the ~2 premium authorized by General Orders, No. 74, of July 7, 1862, will not be paid in the above cases. The term veteran in this case is intended to apply to those soldiers of the regular service only who have served out the full term of their enlistment and who may re-enlist. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., January 21, 1864. Major-General GRANT, Chattanooga, Tenn.: The Secretary of the Treasury proposes to remove restrictions on trade in Kentucky and part of Tennessee. I persume there is no objection in regard to Kentucky. Please report in what part, if any, of Tennessee these restrictions can be removed with safety. II. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., January 21, 1864. His Excellency the GOVERNOR OF IOWA, Davenport, Iowa: SIR: I have the honor to inform you that from June 1 to December 31, 1863, 4,800 volunteers, for three years service, have been credited to the State of Iowa. This number is exclusive of re-enlistments of veterans in the field. The foregoing, from an examination of our records, is found to be in accordance with the claims of the State, as per the quarterly state- ments of your adjutant-general for September 30 and December 31, after making a deduction of 382 men from the strength (903) as claimed for the First African Regiment of Infantry. The total 903 for the said regiment cannot be credited to Iowa, as the 382 men thereof are mustered in as from the State of Missouri. I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant- General. AUGUSTA, January 21, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: The quota of Maine will be filled and overrun by re-enlistments, still some sub-districts will fail to furnish their men purposely and without justification. If deemed advisable, will a draft be ordered in such defaulting districts and the number beyond our quota be allowed on the next call? The State will have to pay the amount of the municipal bounty to some of these soldiers re-enlisting, but will not want towns which shirk their duty to have the benefit of that. SAMUEL CONY, Governor of Maine Page 42 42 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. GENERAL ORDERS, IIDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH No. 11. Hilton Head, S. C., January 21, 1864. With a view to the enforcement of an equitable and just draft for the military service a complete census of all males between the ages of eighteen and forty-five not in the military or naval service of the United States will be at once made in this department. Post corn- manders are charged with the execution of this order within the limits of their respective commands. Copies of the rolls will be forwarded by them to these headquarters. These rolls must contain the name, age, color, and occupation and length of residence in the department of each individual. All permits to leave the department must bear date subsequent to this order. By command of Maj. Gen. Q. A. Gillmore: ED. W. SMITH, Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 9. Washington, January 22, 1864. The following instructions from the Secretary of War are furnished for the information and guidance of all concerned: Officers signing the discharge papers of enlisted men who are dis- charged on surgeons certificate of disability will note on the back of the discharge, where the conduct of the man has not been meritorious, as required by General Orders, No. 212, of 1863, for admission into the Invalid Corps, that he is not a proper person for the Invalid Corps. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. CHATTANOOGA, TENN., January 22, 1864. Major-General HALLECK, General-in- Chief: There is no objection to removing trade restrictions in all Kentucky east of the Tennessee River. I would advise no change in Tennessee until Longstreet is driven out. If Shermans expedition proves suc- cessful, I would then see no objection to the removal of restrictions in the whole State and in West Kentucky. U. S. GRANT, Major- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., January 22, 1864. Brig. Gen. JOHN L. HoDSDoN, Ac~jutant- General of Maine, Augusta, life.. GENERAL: Yours of the 16th instant is received. I think you have misunderstood my letter of the 13th instant. Please refer to it. You state that justice to Governor Coburn (now in private life) requires me to say that he did not regard the critical period of the Union in this war as being so certainly passed as to warrant, & c. Permit me to say that I certainly had no intention of doing Gov- ernor Coburn injustice, nor do I find anything in my letter which seems to me calculated to do it. I said nothing as to his opinions of the critical period of the Union, nor of my own on the same subject. You further state, referring to me, Your (my) position that every town should raise its own quota of men was clearly intended to be under Page 43 43 UNION AUTHORITIES. stood by me (you) as absolutely requiring the quota of volunteers from towns to be procured from among their own citizens, respec- tively; and you make an argument against this policy. I assure you that my position, as quoted, was not intended to be understood as you state, nor do I think the language bears the construction you have put upon it. I said, having previously recognized, adopted, and acted upon the system of raising men by bounties, that every town should raise its own quota of men. I must say I dont see how that language could be construed as absolutely requiring the men raised to be residents of the town. As I never approved nor contemplated such a policy or such a construction of my letter, it is not necessary for me to notice the objection you make to it. The point I do make is just as stated, that every town should raise its own quota of men; that is, that every town should, by means of its bounties, its efforts, or the personal patriotism of its inhabitants, put into the U. S. service a number of men equal to the quota assigned it; and what I object to is this, viz, that when one town, by any of the means or influences resorted to, has actually put into the U. S. service a surplus, that these soldiers should on any account be trans- ferred to the credit of a delinquent town. Such transfer, on the ground that each town should furnish its quota, deprives the service of a number of men equal to the number so bartered or transferred, and this principle should, I think, govern, whether the men it is pro- posed to transfer be re-enlisted veterans or enlisted recruits. The case of men who have not yet enlisted or re-enlisted, whether recruits or veterans, is different. We do not pretend to establish their residences or the localities to which they shall be credited; the muster-in rolls are taken as the evidence on these points, and if, on account of bounties or for other cause, a man chooses to go from the north to the south of Maine to enlist and accept bounty, we do not propose to control his movements or question the correctness of the roll which shows him to be creditable to the south, though he may have come from the north. All this I regard as a necessary part of the system of raising men by means of bounties, and, without express- ing an approval or disapproval of that system, I would say that, as we are acting upon it, we must get the benefits of it. No one can tell how many more men we will want, and in my opin- ion a town which has raised a surplus under the present call will act wisely to retain that surplus to its credit, and pay the additional bounties required for that purpose rather than sell out the surplus to a delinquent town for the purpose of saving or making money. As stated in my letter of the 13th, the Government will need all the surplus raised. I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 29. Washington, January 26, 1804. The following acts of Congress are published for the information of all concerned: I. PUBLICNO. 2. AN ACT to authorize the President to appoint a Second Assistant Secretary of War. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President be, and he is hereby, author- ized to appoint;by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for the term o Page 44 44 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. one year from the passage of this act, an officer in the War Department, to be called the Second Assistant Se~retary of War, whose salary shall be three thou- sand dollars per annum, payable in the same manner as that of the Secretary of War, who shall perform all such duties in the office of the Secretary of War, belonging to that Department, as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War, or as may be required by law. Approved January 19, 1864. II. PUBLICNO. 3. AN ACT to provide for the deficiency in the appropriation for the pay of officers and men aetnally employed in the western Department or Department of Missonri. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be, and hereby is, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of seven hundred thousand six hundred and twelve dollars and thirteen cents, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to carry into effect the act approved March twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, to secure to the officers and men actually employed in the Western Department or Department of Missouri their pay, bounty, and pension: Provided, however, That, in the payment of the money hereby appropriated, such payment shall be made directly to the officers or soldiers by whom the services were rendered, or to their personal representatives, or to their agents appointed by powers of attorney, and no assignment of any sum due to any officer or soldier shall be valid; such payments to be made by paymasters of the United States Army: Provided further, however, That any person holding a power of attorney authorizing the receipt by him of the amount to be paid to any officer or soldier, may, upon making and filing an affidavit to the effect that he is acting in the premises purely as agent, without personal interest, and that he will pay over the amount received either to the soldier or (in his absence) to his wife or children, for their benefit, be entitled to receive such amount. Approved January 22, 1864. III. Puni~icNo. 4. AN ACT to amend the law prescribing the articles to be admitted into the mails of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That articles of clothing being manufactured of wool, cotton, or linen, and comprised in a package not exceeding two pounds in weight, addressed to any non-commissioned officer or private serving in the armies of the United States, may be transmitted in the mails of the United States at the rate of eight cents, to be in all cases prepaid, for every four ounces, or any frac- tion thereof, subject to such regulations as the Postmaster-General may prescribe. Approved January 22, 1864. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 30. Washington, January 25, 1864. The following is hereby established as the ration for issue by the Subsistence Department to adult refugees and to adult colored persons, commonly called contrabands, when they are not employed at labor by the Government, and who may have no means of subsisting them- selves, viz: Ten ounces of pork or bacon, or one pound of fresh beef; one pound of corn-meal five times a week; and one pound of flour or soft bread, or twelve ounces of hard bread, twice a week; and to every 100 rations ten pounds of beans, pease, or hominy; eight pounds of sugar; two quarts of vinegar; eight ounces of adamantine or star candles; two pounds of soap; two pounds of salt; and fifteen pounds of potatoes, when practicable. To children under fourteen years o Page 45 UNION AUTHORITIES. 45 age, half rations will be issued; and to women and children, roasted rye coffee at the rate of ten pounds, or tea at the rate of fifteen ounces, to every 100 rations. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR L WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 10. Washington, January 25, 1864. To provide for the discharge and remuster of veteran volunteers in certain cases which may arise in the respective States, the follow- ing regulations are announced for the information and guidance of all concerned: 1. Enlisted men away from their respective regiments or companies on recruiting service, at a draft rendezvous or on other detached service, which prevented them from being discharged and remus- tered with their proper commands in the field, may be discharged and remustered in their respective States; provided thcy were placed on the aforesaid detached duty by the order of the department, army, or corps commander to which their regiments or companies belong, or in which they were serving at the date the order detaching them was issued. 2. Enlisted men who were not within the re-enlistment limits at the time their commands were furloughed, and who, in consequence of a declaration of intention to re-enlist, were permitted to go on fur- lough with their commands, may, upon their coming within the lim- its (i. e., have served two years), be discharged and remustered in the States. 3. Enlisted men who were on furlough in the States prior to their companies or regiments being sent thereto, will, at the expiration of their furloughs, be returned promptly to the armies in which their commands served, there to be discharged and remustered as veterans, if they are entitled to it. 4. Enlisted men other than the foregoing, such as sick and conva- lescents in hospitals, stragglers, those irregularly detached from. their companies and regiments, & c., will, in no case, be discharged and remustered. Commanders and other officers under whose control such persons may be will take immediate measures to return them, at the earliest possible date, to the armies to which their regiments and companies belong, there to be discharged and remustered, if entitled to it. If returned and remustered prior to March 1, 1864, they will receive the increased veteran bounties as now authorized. 5. The regulations as set forth in General Orders, No. 359, series of 1863, will be applicable to the discharges and remusters as herein authorized, the chief mustering officer for the State and h~s assistants performing the duties assigned the commissaries and assistant com- missaries of musters. In so far as relates to the appointment of a recruiting officer, the chief mustering officer will act, as set forth, for a regimental commander (paragraph 4). Rolls must be promptly forwarded as directed in paragraph 15, Mustering Regulations. E. D. TOWNSEND, 4ssistant Adjutant- General Page 46 46 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. SPRINGFIELD, ILL., January 25, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: On the 8th instant my adjutant-general, by my order, telegraphed Colonel Fry, Provost-Marshal-General, inquiring if 145,100 three- years men was the total calls made on this State, to which no satisfactory reply has been received. On the 14th [15th] instant I telegraphed to you requesting that our veteran regiments be recruited and reorganized under my orders, which I fear has been overlooked. I respectfnlly insist I ~m entitled to definite and specific answers to these dispatches. RICIID. YATES, Governor of Illinois. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., January 25, 1864. Brig. Gen. WILLIAM BIRNEY, U. S. Volunteers, Mustering and Recruiting Officer for Colored Troops, Bryantown, Md.: GENERAL: I am instructed to say that you are hereby authorized and directed to recruit and muster into service another colored regi- ment in the State of Maryland. The regiment will be mustered into service for three years or during the war, and will be known and designated as the Thirtieth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops. I have the honor to be, & c., C. W. FOSTER, Assistant Adjutant- General. EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, January 25, 1864. Governor JOHNSON, Nashville, Teun.: The oath in the proclamation may be administered by the Military Governor, the military commander of the department, and by all per- sons designated by them for that purpose. Loyal as well as disloyal should take the oath, because it does not hurt them, clears all question as to the right to vote, and swells the aggregate number who take it, which is an important object. * This is the Presidents reply to your questions of the 14th. I intend to start for Nashville in the morning. Will go directly through, stopping a few hours in Cincinnati, where a dispatch will reach me. HORACE MAYNARD. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 11. Washington, January 26, 1864. The following instructions from the Secretary of War are furnished for your information and guidance: The authority heretofore given to military commanders to order the discharge of enlisted men for disability is hereby revoked, and here- after all discharges of regulars (except rejected recruits, whose cases * To this point the original is in the handwriting of President Lincoln Page 47 UNION AUTHORITIES. 47 are forwarded to this office), and all discharges of volunteers, except recruits rejected at the muster in (who are discharged by the muster- ing officer, and called rejected recruits), will be given only on the order of the commanding officer of the corps or department in which the man may be serving at the time of discharge. This will not be understood to confer upon corps or department commanders authority to grant discharges to enlisted men, except by orders from the War Department, to accept promotion, or expiration of term of service, for disability, or by sentence of a general court martial. Officers and soldiers of the volunteer force, discharged on expiration of term of service, should be mustered out of service by the commissary or assistant commissary of musters for their command. I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. SPECIAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 39. * * Washington, January 26, 1864. * * * * * 37. Brig. Gen. J. H. Wilson, U. S. Volunteers, is hereby assigned to the charge of the Cavalry Bureau of the War Department, and will relieve Brigadier-General Garrard therein without delay. * * * * * * * By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WASHINGTON, D. C., January 26, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt from the War Department of the following papers, referred to this office for report, viz: Copy of the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 6th of January, 1864, appointing a select committee of nine members to examine into the expediency of the establishment of a new route for postal and other purposes between New York and Washington; also of a copy of the resolution adopted by the select committee on the 17th of January, calling upon the Secretary of War and the Postmaster- General for all facts in their possession having a bearing upon the transmission of mails, troops, Government freight, & c., between New York and Washington, and the facilities for such transmission since the present rebellion; and also the amounts paid for such services, at what rates, and to whom paid; whether any, and if so, what difficul- ties and delay have existed with reference to the same. Understanding from the chairman of the committee that the com- mittee is desirous of having at the earliest possible mom cut so much of the information called for as can be readily given, I have the honor to report in part: Th~ accounts of officers of the Quartermasters Department are by law transmitted directly to the Third Auditor of the Treasury, who sends them to this office for administrative examination; after receiv- ing which they are returned to him for final examination and settle Page 48 48 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. ment. The acconnts which have been acted upon are therefore in the care of that officer, and I have addressed to him a letter requesting a report of the total sum paid so far as the accounts have been acted upon. I have also directed an examination of the accounts in transitu through this office. This examination will take some time. When completed, further report will be made. Executive Document, No. 79, Thirty-seventh Congress, third ses- sion, contains a report from this office, embodying a statement from the Third.Auditors Office, in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 19th February, 1863, in relation to this same subject. To that report I respectfully refer the committee. I have been informed, however, since that report was printed that an error has crept into the statement (B) on page 5, which is given as received from the Auditors office. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com- pany has asserted that of the sum reported as paid to it a large portion was for services on their main stem west of the Relay House, and therefore properly chargeable to transportation between New York and Washington. The resolution of the committee calls for all facts in possession of the War llepartment having a bearing upon the transmission of mails, troops, Government freight, & c., between New York and Washington, and the facilities for such transmission since the present rebellion, and what difficulties and delays have existed. It is not possible to report all the facts embraced within the scope of this general inquiry. Most of these roads have done, it is believed, all that was in their power to transact the Governument business promptly, and they, except the Baltimore and Ohio road, at an early date agreed to do the work of the Government at uniform rates, much below their ordinary charges to the public, and they have made great exertions at various times, when the military necessities were urgent, to aid the depart- ment by placing their material at the disposal of the Government. Dnring the blockade of the Potomac by the rebels the army then here was supplied almost entirely by these roads. All supplies received for weeks, with the exception of a small quantity brought imp in vessels which ran the blockade, came into this city by the Washington Branch Railroad. The sums received by these roads have been very large. The sums paid, according to the accounts which had been received up to the 26th February, 1863, amounted to nearly ~3,OOO,OOO. During the eleven months which have since elapsed there have been further and large payments. During the late blockade of the Potomac by ice the attempt has been made again to bring all supplies to this city by rail. Very large quantities of forage was purchased in New York, but the railroads have been unable to move it. On the 16th of January, after the blockade had continued for nearly a week, the chief quartermaster of the Washington depot reported that he had received by railroad to that date less than twenty car-loads of forage. The army now requires daily a supply of 74 car-loads of grain and 375 car-loads of hay. Letters were addressed by the Secretary of War and by the officers of this department to the several railroad companies, request- ing them to use every effort to forward forage, but the result demon- strated the inability of the railroads to meet any such sudden and extraordinary demand. I have been informed that the earlier ship- ments by rail from New York were stopped at Camden, at the crossing of the Delaware, it being impossible to ferry so many cars across that river while obstructed by ice. The Susquehanna ferry presented Page 49 UNION AUTHORITIES. 49 similar obstacle at llavre de Grace. The weather was very severe, and I do not doubt that the railroads on this occasion put forth every exertion, but the result was conclusive as to their inability to bring forward in such a season the necessary daily supply of forage alone. Had not the weather moderated and the river opened again, there would have been much suffering and injury to the animals of the army. A large stock accumulated at this depot before the inter- ruption of navigation has been very much reduced. I inclose copies of reports* made to this office at the time by Brig. Gen. D. II. Rucker, chief quartermaster of the Washington depot, which show the con- dition of supply. Also a report * from Capt. A. Boyd, assistant quartermaster, Philadelphia, on the subject, papers A, B, C, and E.* The rates paid to the several railroads between Baltimore and New York have been the same as those allowed and paid to other railroads throughout the United States for similar services. Between Balti- more and Washington the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad has claimed and received higher rates. While other roads receive 2 cents per mile per passenger, carrying eighty pounds of freight free, this road has been paid on Washington Branch 2~ cents, and on the main stem from 2.7 to 3.7 per mile for each passenger, and has charged freight on baggage. Upon freight the rates allowed to railroads generally have been according to the recommendation of the railroad convention, embodied in the circular issued from the Quartermaster- Generals Office, dated May 1, 1862, herewith appended, and marked D. * Between Washington and Baltimore the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company has been allowed 12~ cents per 100 pounds for first-class freight, 10 cents per 100 pounds for second-class, and for horses $15 per car, army wagons $16 per car, and cannon $18 per car. These higher rates have been claimed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad nuder the provisions of the following resolution of the rail- road convention held in this city on the 3d day of March, 1862: Resolved, That it is the opinion Of this convention that the Secretary of War should make such compensation as will be equitable to those roads whose expenses are enhanced by reason of being in or near the seat of war. As a military question there can be no doubt of the great advantage to the United States of another line of railroad between this city and New York, one crossing the rivers by bridges above the head of nav- igation, and not liable to interruption by ice. There have been times when the Government would have gladly availed itself of the full capacity of several such independent lines. The insufficiency of the present communication has several times caused this department much anxiety, and the question of taking actual and entire military possession of these railroads has been discussed more than once. The present line is exposed at several points to be broken by naval expeditions, of the efficiency of which our experience in the present war gives abundant proof, as in a war with a nation having a pow- erful navy, our present sea and land communications would both be imperiled, and interior line of supply and of communication between the capital and the north and northeast would be of great military importance, even were the present lines fully able to meet any present demand. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster- General U. S. Army. *Omit~d 4 B RSERIES III, VOL I Page 50 50 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, Knoxville, East Tenn., January ~?6, 1864. Maj. Gen. H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief U. S. Army, Washington, D. C.: GENERAL: I have the honor to inclose copies of correspondence between General Longstreet and myself upon the subject of the amnesty proclamation. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. G. FOSTER, ]iIajor- General, Commanding. (Copies to Major-General Grant same date.) [Inclosure No. 1.1 HDQRS. CONFEDERATE FORCES EAST TENNESSEE, January 8, 1864. COMMANDING GENERAL U. S. FORCES EAST TENNESSEE: SIR: I find the proclamation of President Lincoln of the 8th of December last in circulation in handbills amongst our soldiers. * The immediate object of this circulation appears to be to induce our sol- diers to quit our ranks and take the oath of allegiance to the United States Government. I presume, however, that the great object and end in view is to hasten the day of peace. I respectfully suggest for your consideration the propriety of com- municating any views that your Government may have upon this subject through me, rather than by handbills circulated amongst our soldiers. The few men who may desert under the promise held out in the proclamation cannot be men of character or standing. If they desert their cause, they disgrace themselves in the eyes of God and of men. TI{ey can do your cause no good nor can they injure ours. As a great Nation you can accept none but an honorable peace; as a noble peo- ple you could have us accept nothing less. I submit, therefore, whether the mode that I suggest would not be more likely to lead to an honorable end than such a circulation of a partial promise of pardon. I am, sir, very respectfully, your most obedient servant, J. LONGSTREET, Lieutenant- General, Commanding. [Inclosure No. 2.] HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, Knoxville, East Teun., January 7, 1864. Lieut. Gen. J. LONGSTREET, Commanding Confederate Forces in East Tennessee: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated January 3, 1864. You are correct in the Supposition that the great object in view in the circulation of the Presidents proclamation is to induce those now in rebellion against the Government to lay aside their arms and return to their allegiance as citizens of the United States, thus securing the reunion of States now arrayed in hostility against one another and restoration of peace. * $ee Series II, Vol. VI, p. 680 Page 51 UNION AUTHORITIES. 51 The immediate effect of the circulation may be to cause many men to leave your ranks to return home, or come within our lines, and, in view of this latter course, it has been thought proper to issue an order announcing the favorable terms on which deserters will be received. I accept, however, your suggestion that it would have been more courteous to have sent these documents to you for circulation, and I embrace, with pleasure, the opportunity thus afforded to inclose to you twenty copies of each of these documents, and rely upon your generosity and desire for peace to give publicity to the same among your officers and men. I have the honor to be, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. G. FOSTER, iJiajor- General, Commanding. [Inclosure No. 3.] HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF EAST TENNESSEE, January 11, 1864. Maj. Gen. J. G. FOSTER, Commanding Department of the Ohio: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th of January, with its inclosures, & c. The disingenuous manner in which you have misconstrued my letter of the 3d instant has disappointed me. The suggestion which you claim to have adopted is in words as follows, viz: I presume, however, that the great object and end in view is to hasten the day of peace. I respectfully suggest for your consideration the propriety of communicating any views that your Government may have on that subject through me, raiher than by handbills circulated amongst our soldiers. This sentence repudiates, in its own terms, the construction which you have forced upon it. Let me remind you, too, that the spirit and tone of my letter were to meet honorable sentiments. The absolute want of pretext for your construction of the letter induces me to admonish you against trifling over the events of this great war. You cannot pretend to have answered my letter in the spirit of frankness due to a soldier. And yet, it is hard to believe that an officer commanding an army of veteran soldiers, on whose shoulders rests, in no small part, the destiny of empires, could so far forget the height of this great argument at arms; could be so lost in levity, and so betray the dignity of his high station, as to fall into a contest of jests and jibes. I have read your order announcing the favorable terms on which deserters will be received. Step by step you have gone on in the violation of the rules of civilized warfare. Our farms have been destroyed, our women and children have been robbed, and our houses have been pillaged and burnt. You have laid your plans and worked diligently to produce whole- sale murder by servile insurrection. And now, the most ignoble of all, you propose to degrade the human race by inducing soldiers to dishonor and forswear themselves. Soldiers who have met your own upon so many honorable fields, who have breasted the storm of battle in defense of their honor, their families, and their homes for three long years, have a right to expect more of honor, even in their adver- saries Page 52 52 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. I beg leave to return the copies of the proclamation and yonr order. I have the honor to renew to you the assurance of great respect. Your most obedient servant, J. LONGSTREET, Lieutenant- General, Commanding. [Juelosuro No. 4.] GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, No. 4. Knoxville, Tenn., January 6, 1864. I. To secure uniformity in the treatment of deserters from the Con- federate armies, the following orders will be observed: Hereafter When such deserters come within our lines they will at once be conducted to the nearest division or post commander, who on being satisfied that they honestly desire to quit the Confederate service, will forward them to the provost-marshal-general at Knox- ville, who, upon being satisfied of the honesty of their intentions, will allow them to proceed to their homes, if within our lines, upon taking the following oath: I, , do solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Union of the States thereuuder; and that I will in like manner abide by and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by Congress, or by decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will in like manner abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the Presi- dent made during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so far as not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme Court: So help me God. II. Such deserters will be disarmed on surrender, and their arms turned over to the nearest ordnance officer, who will account for the same. III. The quartermasters, engineer, subsistence, and medical depart- mnents will give such deserters employment when practicable, upon the same terms as to other employ~s in the U. S. service. IV. Such deserters will be exempt from the military service of the United States. By command of Major-General Foster: HENRY CURTIS, JR., Assistant A~jutant- General. [Inclosure No. 5.] CIRCULAR OFFICE PROV. MAR. GEN. FOR EAST TENNESSEE, No. 9. ~ Knoxville, Tenn., December 22, 1863. The following proclamation by the President of the United States, together with explanatory remarks contained in the message accom- panying said proclamation, is published for the information of all concerned :* NOTE 1.With regard to that part of the oath referring to other proclamations of the President, the following remark occurs in the message: It should be observed also that this part of the oath is subject to the modifying and abrogating power of legislation and supreme judicial decision. NOTE 2.In reference to the plan of reconstruction suggested in the proclamation, the following observations are also made: Why shall A adopt the plan of B rather than B of A? If A and B should agree, how can they know that the General Government here will respect their * For proclamation (here omitted) see December 5, 1868, Series II, Vol. VI, p. 680 Page 53 UNION AUTHORITIES. 53 plan? By the proclamation a plan is presented which may be accepted by them as a rallying point, and which will not be rejected here. This may bring them to act sooner than they otherwise would. The objection to a premature presenta- tion of a plan by the National Executive consists in the danger of committals in points which could be more safely left to further developments. Care has been taken to so shape the document as to avoid embarrassment from this source. In saying that, on certain terms, certain classes will be pardoned, with their rights restored, it is not said that other classes, on other terms, will never be included. In saying that a reconstruction will be accepted, if presented in a specified way, it is not said that it will be accepted in no other way. All persons interested are urged to accept the~ liberal terms offered by the President, in order that they may be restored to their former rights and privileges. By command of Brig. Gen. S. P. Carter, provost-marshal-general of East Tennessee: H. H. THOMAS, Captain and Assistant Adjutant-General. [Inclosure No. 6.] HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, Knoxville, Tenn., January 17, 1864. Lient. Gen. J. LONGSTREET, Commanding Confederate Forces in East Tennessee: GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the reception of your letter of the 11th instant. The admonition which you give me against trifling over the events of this great war does not carry with it that weight of authority with which you seek to impress me. I am, nevertheless, ready to respond in plain terms to the suggestions conveyed in your first letter, and which you quote in your second dispatch, that I communicate through you any views which the United States Government may entertain, having for their object the speedy restoration of peace throughout the land. These views, so far as they can be interpreted from the policy laid down by the Government and sustained by the people at their elections, are as follows: u irst. The restoration of the rights of citizenship to all those now in rebellion against the Government who may lay down their arms and return to their allegiance. Second. The prosecution of the war until every attempt at armed resistance to the Government shall have been overcome. I avail myself of this opportunity to forward an order publishing the proceedings, findings, and sentence in the case of Private E. S. Dodd, Eighth Texas Confederate Cavalry, who was tried, condemned, and executed as a spy. I also inclose a copy of an order which I have found it necessary to issue, in regard to the wearing of the U. S. uniform by Confederate soldiers. * I have the honor to be, general, very respectfully, your most obedient servant, J. G. FOSTER, Major-General, Commanding. * Inclosure No. 7 (here omitted) contains General Orders, No. 3, Department of the Ohio, January 5, 1864, promulgating charges, findings, and sentence to death in the case of E. S. Dodd, Eighth Texas Cavalry, arrested and tried as a spy Page 54 54 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. [Inclosure No. 8.] GENERAL IIDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, ORDERS, Knoxville, Tenn., January 8, 1864. Our outposts and pickets posted in isolated places, having in many instances been overpowered and captured by the enemys troops, disguised~ as Federal soldiers, the commanding general is obliged to issue the following order for the protection of his command, and to prevent a continuance of this violation of the rules of warfare: Corps commanders are hereby directed to cause to be shot dead all the rebel officers and soldiers (wearing the uniform of the U. S. Army) captured within our lines. By command of Major-General Foster: HENRY CURTIS, JR., Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, January 26, 1864. His Excellency Governor YATES, Springfield, Ill.: Your telegram of the 14th [15th] and also of yesterday are in the hands of Colonel, Fry, Provost-Marshal-General, with directions to furnish you the information you desire. Colonel Fry informs me that he has already communicated to you the principal part of the information you wish. I am not aware that there has been at any time any just reason of complaint on your part of delay in answering your inquiries. It sometimes happens that they relate to matters which have to be carefully considered in connection with the informa- tion to be acquired at other points before a response can be given, but, except where some special reason prevents an immediate reply, it has always, so far as I am informed, been given either by myself or by the officer in charge of the subject to which your inquiries relate. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., January 26, 1864. Governor YATES, Springfield, Ill.: Colonel Fry refers to a letter forwarded by him on the 12th of Jan- uary to Adjutant-General Fuller and a telegram of the 9th of January to General Fuller as his response to the inquiries in your telegraph of the 8th, and has just made the following report to the propositions submitted in your telegram of the 15th: The veteran regiments returning home for reorganization and furlough, referred to in the telegram from the Governor of Illinois, dated January 14 [15], 1864, are in the service of the United States, and should remain under the control of the U. S. officers, and not be placed under the orders of the Governor. However well this might work in the case of the Governor of Illinois, the principle is wrong, and such a precedent might lead to very troublesome consequences. I have no doubt Colonel Oakes can attend to these regiments in addition to what he is now doing, but if he cannot, I will ask to have additional officers sent to him. I hope the Governor will aid in the recruitment of these regiments, the same as is done under similar circumstances by the Governors of other States. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal-General Page 55 UNION AUTHORITIES. 55 The report of Colonel Fry is approved, and forwarded as the reply of this Department. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. SPRINGFIELD, ILL., January 26, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War; I respectfully ask that I have power to appoint officers for the negro regiments. We have four companies, and no officers. RICHD. YATES, Governor. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, January 27, 1864. Governor YATES, Springfield, ill.: The system of organization for colored troops requires that the officers be appointed by the President under the act of Cougress authorizing their employment. If you will nominate suitable officers, they will be appointed on your recommendation. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., January 27, 1864. His Excellency SAMUEL CONY, Governor of iVijaine: All men raised beyond the quota will be credited on next call. The question of drafting in delinquent towns where the State. has fur- nished her quota on account of excess in liberal and patriotic towns is now being legislated upon in Congress. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., January 27, 1864. GEORGE BLISS, Jr., Esq No. 50 Wall Street, New York: SIR: In reply to your letter of this date, stating that the Twenty- sixth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops is recruited to the maximum, and requesting that the Union League Club be authorized to raise another colored regiment in the State of New York, I am directed to say that your request is granted; and the regiment will be known and desig- nated as the Thirty-first Regiment U. S. Colored Troops. The instruc- tions contained in Department letter of December 3, 1863, addressed to you, will govern in the organization of this regiment. I have the honor to be, & c., C. W. FOSTER, Assistant Adjutant- General Page 56 56 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Hon. E. M. STANTON LOUISVILLE, January 28, 1864. Secretary of War: Just arrived. Will see the Governor of the State to-morrow and propose to him that I organize colored troops in Kentucky in the same manner as in Missouri. L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General U. S. Army. Hon. E. M. STANTON, INDIANAPOLIs, IND., January 28, 1864. Secretary of War: I believe I can induce some twenty or twenty-five infantry companies to enter old regiments that have re-enlisted. Will this meet with your approbation? Answer. 0. P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE Washington, D. 0., January 28, 1864. His Excellency JOHN A. ANDREW, Governor of Massachusetts, Boston, Mass.: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 2~th instant,* stating that several municipalities in your State, having already filled their quotas, are willing to continue encouraging enlistments, especially of recruits for old regiments and more espe- cially the re-enlistment of old soldiers, if they can be assured that the surplus so enlisted by them will be credited upon future calls. In reply I have the honor to inform you that there can be no doubt that such credit will be given, and I would thank you to renew this assurance to all persons directly or indirectly interested in the recruiting service in your State. It is important that the organiza- tions composing our armies in the field be filled, if possible, to the maximum, and to attain this end at an early day it is especially desirable that the exertions now making throughout the States be in no wise abated. I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. NEW YoRK, January 28, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: You were mistaken in saying to Major Van Buren that I have adopted the views of the Governors at the expense of not carrying out my orders. In my intercourse with the Governors I have endeavored to secure all tlieir assistance as indicated by the Secre- tary of War, who instructed me to visit them at once. There is now a perfect understanding. You are also mistaken in saying that no recruits have been made for the Ninth Corps. Every regiment of * Omitted Page 57 UNION AUTHORITIES. 57 that corps that have the right to re-enlist have re-enlisted except the Seventy-ninth New York, which numbers less than 200 men. These regiments will all be filled in due time. I hope that no misunder- standing will arise to check the work. You may be sure of my dis- position to carry out the wishes of the Department. A. E. BURNSIDE, Major- General. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE FOR RECRUITING COLORED REGTS., No. 1210 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, January 28, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: Having nearly 600 men mustered in for the Twenty-fifth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, I have the honor to request author- ity to recruit another regiment. If the company of the Twenty-fifth which is ordered to Delaware on recruiting service were furnished with arms and got off on that duty, the new regiment, for which I have just asked authority to raise, could be completed in a very short time. Permit me to renew our request that furloughs be granted to worthy well recommended non-commissioned officers and privates in the Army who seek admittance to our free military academy for the pur- pose of making themselves competent to command colored troops. I hope you will cause a review of the opinion which has determined that furloughs for such a purpose is inconsistent with the good of the service. With great respect, your obedient servant, THOMAS WEBSTER, Chairman. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., January 20, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: I have the honor to recommend that the total quota of the draft under the enrollment act be fixed at 500,000, and that this entire first draft quota be now apportioned among the different localities in accord- ance with the opinion of Hon. William Whiting, Solicitor of the War Department, as contained in Circular INo. 3, of January 7, 1864, from this office, and that these quotas be immediately communicated to all concerned. I would further recommend that the 10th of March next be fixed as the time for commencing the draft for these quotas in all localities where they are not furnished by the 1st of March. You will observe that the Presidents call for men, dated October 17, 1863, was for 300,000. The foregoing proposition to make the total quota for draft 500,000 is virtually making an additional call for 200,000 men, less the number obtained by the late draft. I think it is best to make such an additional call, and to make it at this time. I assume that the Government will want the men. The disposition to engage in the war is at this time better, in my opinion, than it has been at any time since the first year of the rebellion. States, coun- ties, and towns are now actively engaged in raising troops, and will, I think, be willing to bear the additional burthen Page 58 58 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Many localities have already raised their quotas of the 300,000 and stop only because no more is asked of them. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAMES B. FRY, Provost -ittiarshal- General. Approved. E. M. STANTON. In the case of subjects of a foreign government having voluntarily entered the service as substitutes being discharged on ground of alienage. OPINION. WAR DEPARTMENT January 30, 1864. Aliens, who are subjects of a foreign government, having volun- tarily enlisted in the service of the United States as substitutes for drafted men, are not entitled to be discharged from such service by reason of alienage; but may, under the law of nations, be held to perform their engagements without giving the government to whom their allegiance is due just cause of complaint. WILLIAM WHITING, Solicitor of the War Department. CIRCULAR.] WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, January 30, 1864. SUPERINTENDENTS OF VOLUNTEER RECRUITING SERVICE: Paragraph 5 of the circular of December 15, from this office, is hereby modified as to authorize you to order veteran volunteers, after expiration of the furloughs, back to the armies and departments from which they were sent, without awaiting orders from this office. So soon as you have so ordered an organization to return, report by tele- gram its strength and the recruits obtained, as the aforesaid para- graph directs. Give your personal attention to the execution of this order, and let there be no delay in returning the veterans to the field after furlough. Please acknowledge the receipt of this. By order: THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Governor MORTON, Washington City, January 30, 1864. Indianapolis: The measure proposed in your telegram of the 28th received yes- terdayto put newly organized companies in the old regimentshas heretofore been considered by the Department and decided not to be advantageous to the service. On your application to me and to Col- onel Fry, in your telegram of yesterday, it has been again considered an(l cannot be approved. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War Page 59 UNION AUTHORITIES. 59 GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFIcE, No. 35. Washington, February 1, 1864. The following is an order of the President of the United States: EXECUTiVE MANSLON, February 1, 1864. Ordered, That a draft for 500,000 men, to serve for three years or during the war, be made on the 10th day of March next, for the military service of the United States, crediting and deducting therefrom so many as may have been enlisted or drafted into the service prior to the 1st day of March, and not heretofore credited. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, ~ WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 38. f Washington, February 1, 1864. I. Any volunteer who has been or may be accepted into the service and who serves faithfully his two years (continuous service) is enti- tled to the bounty provided by the act of July 22, 1861, no matter at what time since the commencement of the rebellion he entered the service of the United States, and this bounty will be paid upon the dis- charge of the soldier, as provided by the first paragraph of the Depart- ment General Orders, No. 137, of 1863. II. When enlisted men are discharged within two years~ service under circumstances that entitle them to the bounty provided by the sixth section of 4he act of Congress approved July 29, 1861, as amended by the act of March 3, 1863, the fact that the discharge is by reason of wounds received in battle will be stated on the dis- charge certificates, and the bounty due and remaining nnpaid will be credited on their final statements, and be paid, like other arrearages, by the Pay Department. III. Furloughed soldiers other than re-enlisted volunteers, who are unable to pay the transportation from and to their regiment, may be furnished with such by the Quartermasters Department, the amonnt to be charged on their furloughs and deducted from their next pay. Quartermasters furnishing such transportation will immediately notify the respective company commanders, or in cases of soldiers on detached service, the officers by whom they are mustered for payment. IV. When a drafted man is held to service the amount of traveling pay due him as allowed by section 6, act of March 3, 1863, from his place of residence to his place of rendezvous, will be entered in his descriptive list by the district provost-marshal, to be placed on the muster-roll of the company to which the man is assigned and paid by the Pay Department. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. LOUISVILLE, Ky., February 1, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON Secretary of War: SIR: Being informed at this place that the slaves of Kentucky, on the borders of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Tennessee, were constantl Page 60 60 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. crossing the lines, and quite a number of them enlisting in organiza- tions were for the distant States of Massachusetts and Michigan, I determined to see the Governor of this State and suggest the organ- ization of regiments within its limits, and thus obtain a credit for the negroes in the States quota, the plan to be similar to that adopted for Missouri. I accordingly repaired to Frankfort and had a full conversation with Governor Bramlette, detailing my plan that the State might receive credit for the colored troops, and that the owners of the slaves might receive from the recruiting officers certificates for all slaves who might enlist. The Governor stated that the State was undoubtedly loyal and would support the Government, but that the slavery question had caused great excitement in the State, and he dreaded any agitation at present, and sincerely hoped that the authorities at Washington would take no steps in the matter, believing that any movement to raise colored troops in the State would be injurious to the Union cause, which of late had so greatly increased. I assured him that such being his views, I would take no steps to organize reg- iments at this time without I received instructions from you. He then referred to assurances given by the President to him that recruit- ing would not be ordered. He further said that he was receiving many complaints from the vicinity of Paducah, where it was stated that recruiting had recently commenced, and that he should call the attention of the War Department to the subject, as the excitement of the people in the First Congressional District was very great. I informed him that a regiment of heavy artillery had been author- ized for the garrison of Paducah. I conversed freely with very many Senators and Representatives at Frankfort, and the expression of sentiment was universal, agreeing fully with the views of the Governor. The citizens of Kentucky, by a large majority, are loyal, and the Legislature eminently so; but with politicians there are many shades of difference, only known to themselves, and which I could not coin- prehend. They regard the institution as virtually dead, and feel that it would be of benefit to the State to be entirely rid of slavery; but the people, while progressing in the right direction, have not schooled themselves to believe that the time has arrived for decisive action on their part for the entire abolition of slavery. My presence at the State capital was the occasion of quite an excitement amongst all classes, male ~and female, the opinion being fully expressed that I could only be there to take their negroes from them and put arms in their hands. I was, however, received with great kindness, and when my views were known all were perfectly satisfied. I think it would be injudicious to attempt raising troops in thfs State at present, and it might be well to suspend operations at Paducah, and let me, if necessary, raise a heavy artillery regiment for its garrison elsewhere. I desire instructions on the subject. I shall leave to-morrow for Nashville, where communications will reach me. General Grant is expected to arrive here to-night from Saint Louis. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General Page 61 UNION AUTHORITIES. 61 SPRINGFIELD, ILL., February 1, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: Your dispatches of the 26th and letter of the 18th ultimo were received on the 28th ultimo. My adjutant-general, by my direction, telegraphed you inquiring if 145,100 was the total quota of this State under all calls made by the Federal Government on the 9th [8th] ultimo. You answered him that all matters relating to draft would be considered in time. * This answer is not satisfactory, and I now respectfully request a definite answer to that inquiry. RICHARD YATES, Governor. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 42. Washington, February 2, 1864. The following regulations for the care of field-works and the gov- ernment of their garrisons, prepared by Brigadier-General Barry, inspector of artillery, U. S. Army, are published for the government of all concerned: 1. It is the duty of the commanding officer of each work to provide for the care of the armament and the safety and serviceable condition Gf the magazines, ammunition, implements, and equipments; and by frequent personal inspections to secure the observance of the rules prescribed for this purpose. 2. The fixed armament, consisting of the heavy guns and those the positions of which are prescribed, will be numbered in a regular series, commencing with the first gun on the right of the entrance of the main gate. Where there are platforms temporarily unoccupied by guns they will be numbered in the regular series. The ammuni- tion will be kept in the magazines, with the exception of a few stand of grape, canister, and solid shot, which will be piled near the guns. 3. The gun carriages will be kept clean and all axles and journals well lubricated. They will be traversed daily, and never be allowed to rest for two successive days on the same part of the traverse circle. If the gun carriage does not move easily on the chassis the tongue will be occasionally greased The upper carriage should not rest habitually on the same part of the chassis. 4. The elevating screw and its box will be kept clean and well greased. When the guns are not in use the screw will be run down as far as it will go, the breech of the piece being first raised until the muzzle is sufficiently depressed to prevent water running into it, and kept in that position by a wooden quoin or block. The tompion should be kept in the muzzle and the apron over the vent. 5. The piece is not to be kept habitually loaded. It will be time to load when the enemy appears, or when special orders to that effect are given. 6. The commanding officer will see that a shed is constructed for the implements and equipments. For each drill these will be issued to the gunners by the ordnance sergeant, or other non-commissioned officer acting as such, who will receive and put them away after the drill is over, and be at all times responsible to the commanding officer for their safety and serviceable condition, and that the supply is ade- quate. When sheds cannot be provided, the implemnents will be kept near the pieces or in the bombproofs. The equipments (haversacks, *See January 9, p. 17 Page 62 62 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. tube pouch, & c.) may be kept at the entrance of the magazine, where they will be sheltered. Platforms for projectiles will be laid near the gnus; for canisters, a couple of pieces of scanthing for skids will answer. A watershed, made by joining two boards together at the edges, should be placed over them. When the wooden sabots become wet they swell and burst the canisters, so that they cannot be put into the gun. When this happens dry the sabot until it shrinks sufficiently for the canister edges to be brought together and tacked. 7. When not supplied by the Engineer Department materials for constructing the sheds and for skidding will be furnished by the Quartermasters Department, on requisitions made to the Chief of Artillery. 8. The magazines must be frequently aired in dry weather. For this purpose the ventilators and doors must be opened after 9 a. in., and must be closed at latest two hours before sunset. The ammuni- tion for different classes of guns will be carefully assorted, and the shelves, boxes, or barrels containing each kind plainly marked. When there is more than one magazine the ammunition will be so distributed as to be near to the particular guns for which it is provided. Cartridges must be moved, and, if necessary, rolled once a week to prevent caking of the powder. In doing this care must be taken not to pulverize the grains. Friction-primers must be kept in the tin packing boxes and carefully protected from moisture. They will be frequently examined and dried by exposure to the sun. This must always be done immediately after wet weather of long continuance. The supply of friction-primers for each gun must be 50 per cent. greater than the number of rounds of ammunition provided for it. A dozen primers will always be kept in the tube pouches in use at each gun. Three lanyards will be provided for each gun, one of which will be kept in store, the other two in the tube pouches. As soon as received the hooks will be tested to see if they are sufficiently small to enter the eye of the primer, and yet strong enough for use. 9. In order that practice may be had in the use of friction-primers, authority is given to expend on drill five per gun each month. These primers will always be taken from those longest at the post. 10. There should be one lantern for every three or four gun s,and two good globe lanterns for each magazine. 11. No person will be allowed to enter the magazine except on duty, and then every precaution against accidents will be taken. Lights must always be in glass lanterns, and carried only by the person in charge of the magazine. Swords, pistols, canes, spurs, & c., will not be admitted, no matter what may be the rank of the person carrying them. Socks or moccasins will be worn, if they can be procured; if they cannot, then all persons must enter with stocking-feet. No fire or smoking will be allowed in the vicinity when the doors or venti- lators are open. Too many precautions cannot possibly be taken to avoid the chances of an explosion. A copy of this paragraph, legibly written, will be conspicuously posted near or on the door of every magazine. 12. Companies will be assigned to guns in such proportions as will furnish at least two, preferably three, reliefs in working them, and sufficient men in addition for supplying ammunition from the maga- zines. From fifteen to twenty men should therefore be assigned to each gun and instructed in its use. Companies should habitually serve the same guns, each man being assigned a special number at the gun, and thoroughly instructed in all its duties. As occasio Page 63 UNION AUTHORITIES. 63 offers, all of the officers and enlisted men should be instructed at each of the different kinds of gun at the post, as well as in the duties of all the numbers at each gun. Every night at retreat or tattoo the men who are to man the guns in case of a night attack should be paraded at their pieces and inspected, to see that all their equipments, imple- ments, and ammunition are in good order, and the guns in serviceable condition and easy working order. The men so stationed should call off their nunibers before being dismissed. In case of alarm at night all should repair at once to their posts, equip themselves, and await orders, without losing time by forming upon their company or battalion parade grounds. 13. Each gun should be nuder charge of a non-commissioned officer, and to every two or three guns should be assigned a lieutenant, who will be responsible to the captain for their serviceable condition at all times. The captain will be responsible to the commanding officer for the condition of the pieces and the instruction of the men of his com- pany. Artillery drills will be frequent until all of the men are well instructed, and there will never be less than one artillery drill per day when the weather will permit, nor will any officer be excused from these drills unless it is unavoidable. For action, all the cannoneers not actually serving the guns will be provided with muskets, and will be stationed near the guns to which they belong, for service on the bauquettes or elsewhere, in case of assaults. 14. Each company should be supplied with three copK~s of the Tactics for Heavy Artillery, and rigidly adhere to its directions. Tables of ranges will be found in the work. One copy of Instructions for Field Artillery should be supplied to each company. All author- ized books can be obtained on written application to the chief of artillery, who will obtain them from the Adjutant-General of the Army. The books so drawn are the property of the United States for the use of the company, and will be accounted for on the muster- rolls. 15. The commanding officer will make himself conversant with the approaches to his work, the distance to each prominent point com- manded by his guns, the nature of the ground between them and his post, and the most probable points of attack upon it. He will also make it his duty to see that all of his officers, and, as far as possible, his non-commissioned officers, are thoroughly acquainted with these matters. The distances will be ascertained by actual measurement and not left to conjecture. Tables of ranges or distances for each point, and the corresponding elevation, according to the nature of the projectile, with the proper length or time of the fuse, when shell or case-shot are used, will be made out for each gun and furnished to the officer and nou-commissioned~ officers serving it. These tables should be painted upon boards and securely fastened in a conspic- uous place near the gun. As these tables differ for different kinds of gun, the same men should be permanently assigned to the same piece. 16. The projectiles should be used in their proper order.. At a dis- tance, solid shot; then, shells or case-shot, especially if firing at troops in line; canister or grape is for use only at short ranges. When col- umns are approaching so that they can be taken in direction of their length, or very obliquely, solid shot is generally the best projectile, because of its greater accuracy and penetrating power. If the column consists of cavalry, some shells or case-shot will be useful, from the disorder their bursting produces among the horses; but shells and case-shot should not be used against any troops when moving rapidly Page 64 64 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. The absolute distances at which the projectiles can be used with effect vary with the description and caliber of the gun, and can be ascertained oniy by consulting the tables of ranges. The prominent points on the approaches to the works should be designated, their dis- tances noted, and directions drawn up for the different kinds of ammunition to be used at each gun for these different points. During the drills the attention of the chief of pieces and gunners should be frequently drawn to this subject. 17. Commanding officers will pay special attention to the police and preservation of the works. ALL filth will be promptly removed and the drainage particularly attended to. No one should be allowed to walk ou the parapets, or move or sit upon the gabions, barrels, or sand-bags that may be placed upon them. When injuries occur to the earth-works they should be repaired as quickly as possible by the garrison of the work. If of a serious nature, they should be at once reported to the engineer officer in charge of the work. All injuries to the magazines or platforms of the guns will be promptly reported as soon as observed. The abatis, being a most important p9rtion of the work, must be always well looked to and kept in perfect order. 18. Special written or printed instructions as to the supply of ammu- nition at the different posts, and the proportion for the different classes of guns, will be furnished by the chief of artillery to the commanders of posts. Instructions will also be furnished as to the special objects of each work, on proper application for this purpose to the chief engineer or chief of artillery. 19. No person not officially connected with the garrisons of the field- works will be allowed to enter them, except such as visit them on duty, or who have passes signed by competent authority; nor will any person except commissioned officers, or those whose duty requires them to do so, be allowed to enter the magazines, or touch the guns, their implements, or equipments. 20. The garrison can greatly improve the work by sodding the slopes of the parapet, and those of the ramps and banquettes, or by sowing grass seed on the superior slope, first covering it with surface soil. The grass-covered or sodded portions of the parapets, traverses, magazines, & c., should be occasionally watered in dry weather and the grass be kept closely cut. Early in the spring and late in the autumn they should be covered with manure. 21. As a great deal of powder is wasted in unnecessary salutes, attention is called to paragraph 268 of Army Regulations, edition of 18611863: 268. A general officer will be saluted but once in a year at each post, and only when notice of his intention to visit the post has been given. 22. The practice of building fires on the open parades, for cooking and other purposes, is prohibited, as it endangers the magazines. 23. The armament of a fort having been once established, will not be changed except by authority of the commander of the district, geographical department, or army corps, and then only on consulta- tion with the chiefs of engineers and artillery. 24. The machinery of the Whitworth, or other breech-loading guns, will not be used except by special orders from the commanding officer of the post. 25. Experience having conclusively shown that rifi~d guns, of large caliber especially, must be subjected to most careful treatment and skillful management in order to secure their maximum efficiency Page 65 UNION AUTHORITIES. 65 both in range and penetration, and especially their maximum endur- ance, the attention of all officers using rifled guns of large calibers is called to the following rules: Sponges well saturated with oil shall alone be used; and for this purpose the necessary supply of oil shall be provided for all batteries of position in which rifled guns form the part or whole of its armament. A little grease or slush upon the base of the projectile adds much to its certainty, and should be always used when possible. The bores of the gnus should be washed, and the grooves cleaned of all residuum and dirt subsequent to the firing, after the gun has cooled. Great care must be taken to send the projectile home in loading, that no space may be left between the projectile and the cartridge. Before using shells, unless already loaded and fused, they must be carefully inspected both on their exterior and interior, and scrapers should be used to clear the cavity of all molding sand before charg- ing the shell. Special attention should be given to the insertion of the fuses, and the threads of the fuse-hole should be carefully cleaned before screwing in the fuse. In all Parrott projectiles it should be carefully observed that the brass ring or cup is properly wedged, and that, in the case of the ring, the cavities between it and the projectile are not clogged with dirt or sand. In loading shells care will be taken to fill them entirely with powder, leaving no vacant space after the fuse is screwed in. For the 10, 20, and 30 pounder Parrott guns powder of too large a grain should not be used. . The best powder for the projecting charge of these guns is what is called mortar powder. 26. Pole-straps and pole-pads of field limbers, not belonging to horse batteries, are to be kept in the implement room or in the trays of the limber chest. They should be occasionally washed and oiled, as prescribed for the care of harness in Field Artillery Tactics. 27. The forts will be inspected daily by their commanding officers~ and by the brigade, division, district, or department commanders, and by the chief of artillery, as frequently as possible. Particular attention will be paid at all inspections to the drill and discipline of the garrison and police of the work; to the condition of the armament, ammunition, and magazines, and as to whether the proper supply of ammunition, implements, & c., is on hand at the post. INSTRUCTIONS FOR FIRING. 1. The firing in action should be deliberatenever more than will admit of accurate pointing. A few shots effectively thrown is better than a large number badly directed. The object in killing is to inspire terror so as to deter or drive off the enemy, and precision of fire and consequent certainty of execution is infinitely more important in effecting this than a great noise, rapid firing, and less proportional execution. 2. To secure accuracy of fire the ground in the neighborhood must be well examined, and the distance to the different prominent points within the fields covered by each gun measured and noted. The gunners and cannoneers should be informed of these distances, and in the drills the guns should be accurately pointed at the objects noted in succession, the gunner designating it, calling the distance in yards, and the corresponding elevation in minutes and degrees, until all the distances and corresponding elevation are familiar to the men. 5 R RSERIES III, vOL i Page 66 66 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. When hollow projectiles are used the time of flight corresponding to the distance must be given to the man who goes for the projectile. He tells the ordnance sergeant, or the man who furnishes the ammunition, and the latter cuts the fuse to burn the required time. 3. The gunner is responsible for the aiming. He must therefore know the distance to each prominent object in the field covered by his gun, the elevation required to reach that point, and the time of flight of the shell or case-shot corresponding to each distance or elevation. lie must have a table of these ranges, taken from the Heavy Artillery Tactics, pages 236 to 247 (edition of .1862). a 4. These tables will be promptly prepared under the direction of the commanding officer, and copies furnished for each gun and used habitually in the drills. They will be examined and verified by the chief of artillery. 5. The attention of all officers in charge of artillery in the works is directed to the articles in the Tactics on Pointing guns and howit- zers, Night firino & c., pages 76 to 90. 6. Commanding officers of the works will keep themselves accurately informed of the amount and kinds of ammunition in the magazines. The supply must always be kept up to the amount prescribed by the chief of artillery or other competent authority. When it is less than that amount a special report of the fact will be made to the chief of artillery, with requisitions for the ammunition necessary to complete the supply. Commanding officers will also see that the necessary equipments are always on hand for the service of all the guns, as prescribed in the tactics or in general orders. 7. Hand grenades are intended to be used against the enemy when he has reached such parts of the defenses (the bottom of the ditch, for example) as are not covered by the guns or by the muskets of the infantry posted on the banquettes. 8. After the enemy has passed the abatis and jumped into the ditch hand grenades will be used; andthen if he mounts the parapet he must be met there with muskets. A resolute defense against a Noriix(The last table on page 240 should read 8-inch sea-coast howitzer on barbette carriage, instead of 8-inch sea-coast mortar.) For example: The cartridges for the 24-pounder guns all weigh six pounds, as issued in the Defenses of Washington. The table (p. 286) therefore applies as follows: Twenty-four-pounder gun on siege or barbette carriage. a a .0 ~ Ball. a -~ a a a ci o ~ Lbs 0 Yards. 6 Shot 0 0 412 That is, the bore (not line of sight) being level, a range of 400 yards. 6 do 1 0 842 1 degree elevation, range about 850 yards. 6 do 1 30 953 lj degrees elevation, range about 950 lards. 6 do 2 0 1,147 2 degrees elevation, range about 1,150 yards. 6 do 3 0 1, 417 3 degrees elevation, range about 1,400 yards. 6 do 4 0 1, 666 4 degrees elevation, range about 1,660 yards. 6 . . , .do 5 0 1, 901 5 degrees elevation, range about 1,900 yards. The extreme range of 24-pounder round shot. Thus, supposing the enemy at a point 1,000 yards distant, by looking at the table it will be observed that 950 yards require 1~ 30 elevation; 1,150 yards require 2~ therefore, elevate a very littleS to 10 over V 30, or simply give 1030 full Page 67 UNION AUTHORITIES. 67 assault must also be made by posting men with muskets so as to fire over the tops of traverses, bombproofs, or magazines. By command of Major-General Halleck: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. SPECIAL ORDERS, HDQRS. OF THE ARMY, ADJT. GEN.S OFFICE, No. 52. Washington, February 2, 1864. 1. Brig. Gen. Julius White, U. S. Volunteers, will proceed without delay to Springfield, Ill., and relieve Brig. Gen. J. M. Corse, U. S. Volunteers, in command of the depot for drafted men at that place. * * * * * * * By commaud of Major-General ilalleck: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistjtnt 4djutant- General. WASHINGTON, D. C., February 2, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: In reply to your communications of the 29th ultimo and 1st instant I have the honor to report that the quantity of clothing now on hand, exclusive of that already distributed to the provost-marshals, the draft rendezvous, and to the depots of the armies in the field, is, with the exception of a few items, sufficient for the equipment of 200,000 men either white or colored, the uniform being the same for both. For those items of eqnipment which are partially deficient contracts are already made and in process of fulfillment, which, it is presumed, will enable the Quartermasters Department to meet with promptness any immediate demands within the above-mentioned limits that may be made upon it. In reply to the question as to the number of men this department will be prepared to clothe in three months from this date, the Secre- tary of War is respectfully informed that the officers in charge of the purchasing depots at New York, Philadelphia~ and Cincinnati are act- ing under instructions from this office under date of March last to the effect that they each endeavor to accumulate as a reserve stock, in addition to the current wants of the service, a supply of clothing suf- ficient for the immediate equipment of 100,000 men; and in October last, in view of the Presidents call for 300,000 men, this number was increased for the New York and Philadelphia depots to 150,000 men each. From the stock~ thus provided there has been since the date of the call (19th October) issued to the provost-marshals and local quar- terinasters, especially for the new levies, a supply of clothing suffi- cient to equip a little more than 100,000 men, which, together with what had already been distributed and was remaining in the hands of those officers, has been sufficient to clothe from me,ooo to 200,000 men. Under the existing arrangements, as above stated, it is believed, if the supply in the market, which is said to be short of kerseys, shall equal the demand, that the department will be able to provide in due time the balance of clothingsay for 150,000 menthat will be required to furnish the additional 200,000 called into service by the Presidents order for a draft the 1st instant Page 68 68 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. RECAPITULATiON. Already distributed to provost-marshals and rendezvous outfits for 150,000 Quantity on hand, exclusive of that in large field depots 200,000 Quantitytobeprovided - 150,000 500,000 I have no doubt the department will be able to provide the quan- tity stated. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, - M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster- General. NEW ORLEANS, February 2, 1864. [President LINCOLN:] SIR: An increase of business men from the North and West in New Orleans and the accumulation of funds make it impossible to resist the pressure in favor of opening trade with the people beyond the lines of the army. If it is refused, as it steadily has been by me, the profits of an illicit commercial intercourse are so gigantic that it is almost impossible to prevent the subornation of subordinate officers. So long as the unauthorized trade continues it will be managed accord- ing to the interests of those engaged in it, and the result is that guerrillas and small detachments of rebel troops on the east bank bf the river receive their supplies, not only of clothing, but of equip- ments and arms, from persons doing business in New Orleans, who are stimulated and are enabled to transact their business through the numerous profits attending the change of these products for cotton with the agents of the enemy. I am satisfied that if the blockade upon the west bank of the river could be made completely effective the rebel army would be in a great measure compelled to abandon the coast and a greater part of Louisiana and Texas within a short time. I believe the time has come when the Government will be compelled to establish some regulations controlling this trade. There are two principles which must be established in any trade regulations. The first is that private parties should not be allowed to appropriate rebel property to their own use. The property of the rebel Government, as far as possible, should be applied to the pay- ment of the expenses of the war. The second is that no property in considerable amount should be allowed to pass through the port of New Orleans with the consent of the Government officers, unless there is sufficient guarantee that it could not be used for the purchase in Europe of rams or other vessels to prey upon and destroy American commerce; otherwise, when indemnity shall be demanded, it will be answered that the purchase money for such vessels passed through the hands of the Government with the knowledge of its officers. I have myself never consented to any commerce of this kind, but have recommended always to the Government to take a guarantee for security against possible wrong. There are in the State of Louisiana about 105,000 bales of cotton belonging to the rebel Government, for which it has title papers from the private owners. In Arkansas and Texas there is probably as much more, making at least 200,000 bales of cotton, the exclusive property of the rebel Government. The state of the rebellion and the impoverished condition of its officers west of the Mississippi is such that they are willing to take measures for the preservation of this cotton wherever it may be found, and allow it to be taken and sold by the officers of the Govern Page 69 69 UNION AUTHORITIES. ment, appropriating the proceeds, except 18 cents a pound to be reserved for their use in the hands of the chief quartermaster, until satisfactory guarantees are given that it is not to be used by any per- son in hostile acts against the United States, it being understood that no objection will be made to this portion of the proceeds of the cotton being paid to any private parties for private personal use wherever they may be. The effect of such an arrangement will be, first, to put into the Treasury of the United Stateswhich will be paid over to the assistant treasurer of this department upon its receiptfrom two- thirds to three-quarters of the value of this cotton, whatever its quan- tity may be; second, to deprive the rebel Government of any possible advantage hereafter of the appropriation of this property to its use by any chance whatever; third, to relieve our manufactories and increase our commerce to this extent, whether it be more or less; and fourth, to demoralize the principal and subordinate officers of the army west of the Mississippi by providing them with means for escaping from the service in which they are engaged, it being evident that a man who has secured to himself, within the limits of the United States, a competency for himself or his family, will not continue to risk his life in a hopeless cause.- The effect of the introduction of this cotton to the market will be material to the Treasury Department of the United States in two ways: First, it will stop the drain of gold to New Orleans, which is continually taking place, for shipment within the rebel lines for purchase of this cotton upon private specu- lation. The drain upon the gold market for this purpose is a serious one, and cannot but be felt by the Treasury Department. In the sec- ond place, it substitutes property to this extent, which is the equiva- lent of gold both in our own and in the European market. From this brief statement it seems to me that the Government will obtain, if the project can be carried through, most important advantages, and guar- antee itself against any possible injury that may arise from the ship- ment of this property, and that it will at the same time regulate and control a business which cannot be prevented, and which cannot otherwise be carried on without serious injury. Believing this to be the case, I have directed the quartermaster to enter into any arrangement with private parties representing the chief rebel officers to carry into effect this operation. Copies of the papers are herewith inclosed, to which I ask early attention. * J transmit them by this mail, in order that should the proposition be disapproved by the Government, immediate informa- tion may be given. It cannot go into effect until our armies shall move into the Red River country. A second proposition, to which a second paper herewith inclosed refers, is of the same character, but differing a little in terms. * J~ relates to the shipment of 15,000 bales of cotton to the mouth of Red River, or to some more convenient point on the Mississippi, within one month, securing to the parties engaged in this a certain amount of the proceeds of this cotton, which is stated in the papers, and leav- in g the balance in the hands of the Government of the United States for its own use; the whole of. it, with the exception of $100,000, to remain under the control of the United States until that part which is to be appropriated to individuals engaged in the transaction can be safely paid to them without a possible injury to this Government. This also probably relates to cotton belonging to the rebel Govern- ment, although it is not so specified. * Not found as inclosures and not otherwise identified Page 70 70 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. A third proposition which I have to make upon this subject covers, with the two prece(ling, the whole questiou of cotton trade, which is to allow the importation from beyond the lines of the army of cotton belonging to private parties, which is not, and has not been, owned by the rebel Government, for sale in American markets; one-third of the quantity of cotton in kind, or its proceeds in interest-bearing bonds of the United States, to be held by the Government officers until the Government at Washington shall be satisfied that it can be used for no hostile purposes, and shall order its payment to the individuals who may deposit it for that purpose. I am informed that if these three propositions can be carried into effect that from 200,000 to 300,000 bales of cotton can be brought into the market, and that a greater part of the whole can, in the way I have specified, be appro- priated to the use of the Government of the United States as a means of carrying on the war. It will not assist, but, on the contrary, weaken the enemy; it will not diminish, but facilitate and strengthen our operations against the enemy. The Government will be represented by the quartermaster, who will be obliged to render full accounts of all the details of the transaction, both of the money reserved for the Government and of the individuals to whom that portion not reserved for the Government is paid; and this money will be turned over to the Assistant Treasurer of the United States as it is received. I am unable to perceive that there is any danger or opportunity for disreputable proceedings on the part of the officers of the Government, or that it will in any way cOmpromise its honor; and I recommend the approval of these measures, or, in the event of disapproval, ask that early information may be given to me upon the subject for my guidance. I have the honor to be, with much respect, your obedient servant, N. P. BANKS, .lllajor- General, Commanding. STATE OF CONNECTICUT, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Norwich, February 2, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General, Washington: SIR: I have the honor to inclose to you a resolution of the General Assembly of this State, passed at its recent session, approved January 15, 1864, and to say that in carrying out the wishes of the Assembly, expressed in that resolution, I would ask your attention to your com- munication of the 3d of December, 1863,* to Maj. D. D. Perkins, acting assistant provost-marshal-general of this State, and by him communicated to this department, covering a copy of your letter to Messrs. Bell and Bogart, f and stating that the principles therein announced will, so far as they may be applicable, goveru with regard to the State of Connecticut. In your communication to Messrs. Bell and Bogart, to which I would refer you, you made use of the following language: First. That quotas be apportioned to towns and wards in the several Congres- sional Districts in the State of New York, and that assurance be given to such towns and wards as may furnish their full quota of volunteers, under the recent call of the President for 800,000 men, that they will be exempt from time pending draft, should one be rendered necessary in January next. Second. That the several towns and wards receive credit for all such volunteers *See Vol. ill, this series, p. 1116. jlbid., p. 1108 Page 71 UNION AUTHORITIES. 71 as may have been mustered into the service of the United States since the draft, and that the number so credited be deducted from their proportion of the quota assigned the State under the recent call. I thereupon issued an address to the people of Connecticut, a copy of which is herewith inclosed. Acting upon. these declarations the towiis of this State, and especially those which are earnest in the sup- port of the Government, anticipating a relief from the incubus which was forced upon them when the district at large was required to sup- ply the deficiency occasioned by the tardiness of less loyal towns, with commendable energy and much success, made vigorous efforts to comply with the demands of the Government. Their estimates of the demand made upon them were predicated upon the quota apportioned, based upon their proportionate share of the district quota, and determined from the U. S. enrollment. I would further call your attention to a telegram of the date December 29, 1863, from you to Major Perkins, and by him furnished to me, as follows: The rule established in relation to credits is to credit to the locality in which they enlist and accept bounty, without regard to the place where they may havc been originally enrolled under the enrollment act. Under this last decision you will notice that when men who have been enrolled in one town or sub-district and who have been induced to enlist in and accept bounty from some other, the ability of the town where they reside and are enrolled to meet the requisitions of a draft when ordered by the Government is diminished. This may be carried to such an extent in some towns that the entire arms-bearing population which remains will not be sufficient to furnish the quota. In like manner the towns which shall have thus induced enlistments may furnish their full quota from other districts and shield their active population from a draft and the performance of the duty required. I would therefore earnestly and respectfully urge upon your notice these views, and request that you will, if possible, accede to the wishes of our General Assembly, believing that by so doing the loyal people of this State will be encouraged and stimulated to still greater exertions than they have yet made in support of the Gov- ernment and the Administration. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, WM. A. BUCKINGIIAM, Governor of Connecticut. [Inclosure No. 1.] STATE OF CONNECTICUT, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Norwich, December 7, 1863. For the information of the public, I hereby announce that the War Department has authorized the following principles to govern in rais- ing the quota of Connecticut under the present call for 300,000 men: First. Quotas will be apportioned to the several towns in the sev- eral Congressional districts, and such towns as may furnish their full quota of volunteers under the recent call of the President for 300,000 men will be exempt from draft, should one be rendered necessary in January next. Second. The several towns will receive credit for all such volun- teers as may have been mustered into the service of the United States since the draft, and the number so credited will be deducted from their proportion of the quota assigned the State under the recent call. WM. A. BUCKEN GRAM Page 72 72 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. [Inclosure No. 2.] GENERAL ASSEMBLY, November Special Session, A. D. 1868. Whereas, His Excellency the Governor, by a general order, gave notice that the towns should receive credit for all volunteers mustered into the service of the United States under recent call of the Presi- dent, and that the number so credited should be deducted from their proportion of the quota assigned the State nuder said call; and Whereas, nnder an order of the Provost-Marshal-General of the United States, volunteers enrolled and actually residing in certain towns have been credited to other towns paying local bounties: Therefore Resolved, That His Excellency the Governor be requested to pro- cure such a modification of the order of the Provost-Marshal-General as will enable the provost-marshals of Connecticut to give credit for volunteers to the towns where such volunteers were enrolled or resided at the time of being mustered into the service of the United States. Approved January 15, 1864. DES MOINES, IOWA, February 2, 1864. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President: I have just received a copy of your order for a draft of 500,000 troops after the 10th of March. There will be no draft in Iowa. You shall have our quota without it. We are coming, Father Abraham, with 500,000 more. By order of Governor Kirkwood: N. B. BAKER. Exhibit of the number of soldiers furnished by the several States and Territories for the Volunteer Army of the United States under the calls of 18e1 and 18e2. n a+-~~ un- ~On ~ p o ~-p~o ~ 0 o~ ~0 o-~~8 ~ 9,195 -5,602 2,508 1,799 58,689 1,698 30,359 337 a3,767 24,438 2,936 5,129 6,463 - 6,644 - 7,620 3,586 1,615 16,519 16,685 17,656 1,167 4,626 199 28,324 b2, 715 6,390 1,736 5, 499 10, 787 30,950 . 78,905 1,7811 863 58,325 -- ~......1 2,736 30, 891 32, 215 3, 708 2,742 2,059 4,369 4,781 4,925 1,148 14,472, 958 aXot called for by proclamation, bIn 1861. Connecticut 10, 865 Delaware 1, 826 Illinois 81, 952 Indiana 59, 643 Iowa 21,937 Kansas 6,953 Kentucky 29, 966 Maine 18, 104 Maryland 9,355 Massachusetts 32, 177 Michigan 23, 546 Minnesota..... 5, 770 Missouri 22, 324 New Hampshire 8,338 NewJersey 11,523 New York 89, 281 Ohio 83, 253 Pennsylvania 85, 160 Rhode Island 6,286 ve~ont 9, 508 West virginia 12, 757 Wisconsin 1 25, 499 Sta?tes. furnished. I ii Page 73 Oa ~ ~ n: o , 00 00- 0 . ~ . a. ::~-~~~: ~ 0~. 00 000000 00 3000000 ~00A 00 00000000 A 00-100000000 A A 00-1-1000000-10000 0 -~ A 000000000000000000000000000000000 -~ 000 0000000000000000000 A 00000 -~ 00000000000 A 00 -~ 00 -~ 0000000000 A A 00-100000 -~ 000000000-1 w a Under the acts of July 22 and 25, 1861 (3 years). : liTndercallofJuly ?-~~ 2,1862(lyears). 001. . . . 00000000000000-1000000000000000A00A 0000000-10000000000000001000000100 001: : : : : : 0A0000000000000000000000000000000000 A000000 00 00 00 000000 00AA00000 00000-10000000000A000000001 0000000-10000-1A00000000000-1000000-1 00000000000000-100000000000001-100A00A 0A000000000000000000000000000000000000 ~00 n ~ ~ ~50~ 000 00 00 00 000000 00000000 00000000000000~-0000 0000 -100 A 0000000000-100000000 0000 A lJndercallof Aug. 4, 1862, for mili- tia (9 months). 0 0 a Dates involved as to troops furnished. H 0 a A HZZC~ ~ a- 0 0 0 u ~ ~ ~ 0 ~ ~ ~-Haa a ~ ~: ~ ~ 00A 0000-1-3 00000 000000 A001 00000000 cc a Under the acts ap- proved July 22 and July 25, 1861, for 500,000 men, respec- tively (3 years). Under the acts ap- 00 ~~~~ provedJuly22and 0 July 25, 1861, for 00 ...... 100,000 men, respec- 00 0 .,.,. tively (2 years) - Under the acts ap- provtd July 22 and July 25, 1861, for 500,000 men, respec- tively (12 months). A . July~ 00 , Under call of 0 00 : 00 1862(1 years). 00 0 00 00 . -100 0 0000000000000. 000 00 00000000A000. 0-1 ..... Under call of Aug. 4, 1862, for 100,000 00 00 militia (9 months). 00 00 Under Presidents proclamation of June 15, 1863, for militia (6 months). 00 -I 00 0 00 00 00. 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0 00 00 00 00 0 00 H 0 a 81 H 81 z H H z H 81 z 81 cc -~81 cc H oz 00~ z 0 z H 0 H ~j Page 74 ~%~u~ ~j~: ~a. . , u-. . a aova), a)OOa). a) ~o. a) a) a: a). a). a). a)a) a). 0a) a). . . . a). a) 9-months men. 6-months men. n ::::::a: ::::Y::h: 1-years men. a)a). . . - . - a). ..... a). a)e~. . . - . . . . a). a)~ , - a). 2.years men. H 0 a a40000~. 4 . ea c~ %~no~ - . ~ ~ 4. ~. 0a Number linder ~ calls prior to na). a)00a)0-1a) ~a) ~0a)Ha)a)000a)a)a)4~a)a)a)a)0a)0a)oa)a) July 2,1862. -~ a) a) . , a). - - . Adjustments. -i: : ~a)00a). a). ~ . a)a)- a) Recruits. a)a)~-a). ~0a)~a)003 a)a) a)a)a)a) a)a)0 a)a) a)a)a) 0: ~ V1a)a)a)a)a)V1a)a)a)0a)0i~~0 Total. ,0. a)a) aa)aa)a)a)a)a)a)a)a)000a)0a)a) a. a)a)~. 0-la) a) 0)a)1a)a)a)a) 00a) a)a)a)- a) a)a)a) a)a)a) a)a)a) a). - . ~a)-a)a)a) a). a)a)0a)a)0a)a)a)a)a)0a)a)0a)a)a)a)a)a)a) 0. 0a)0a)a)a)a)a)0a)a)a)0a)a)a)a)a),~.a)a)a) Number under call of July 2, 1862. a) a) a). a) a) ~: Adjustments. a) ~ a..,,, a) a). ~ a)a). a) - . . a) 0 . . . ~)~a)a)0 a)aa)a)a)a) a) a) a)a) a).-. ~ ~ ~ Recruits. 0 - a)a)- a)V~. a)0a)a)0a)a)a)OOa)0a)a)0a)a)00a)a)a)a)a) a) a) - a) a)a)a) a)a)a) Ora) .a)a) a)a)a)a)0a)a)a)a)a)a)-..a)a)a)a)a)a)oa)a)0 a) 0 0 a) - ~1~a)00nIa)a)0a)a)a)a)a)a)a)a)~.0~5.a)a)a).... 0 a)a)a)00a)~. a)a)-a)05.0a)000a)a)a)a)a)~p..a)a)a)a)a)~0 a) a)a)0a)a)a). 0a)a)a)0a)a)a)a)00a)a)a)0a)a)a)a)a)00a)a) Total. 0 -I) a) 0 0 a) a) ~ ~ 0 Ho H ~ 0 0 o ~ o H 0 H H ~. 0 a) 0 0 0 a)- CD 0 ~j2 C z 0 0 0 0 a a) a C a 0 Page 75 UNION AUTHORITIES. 75 Number of soldiers furnished by the several States and Territories, etc.Continued. SUPPLEMENT TO FOREGOING EXHIBITContinued. States. .0 .0 -Q O 0 o 0 California Washington Territory Oregon Nevada Territory Dakota Territory Colorado Territory New Mexico Nebraska Tennessee Total 87, 558 15, 689 9, 056 30, 950 THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant-General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, February ~, 1864. CONFIDENTIAL. I WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, February 8, 1864. Brig. Gen. M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster- General: GENERAL: The following order has been made by the President: Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: You are directed to have a transport (either a steamer or sailing vessel as may be deemed proper by the Quartermaster-General) sent to the colored colony estab- lished by the United States at the island of Vache, on the coast of San Domingo, to bring back to this country such of the colonists there as desire to return. You will have the transport furnished with suitable supplies for that purpose, and detail an officer of the Quartermasters Department who, under special instructions to be given, shall have charge of the business. The colonists will be brought to Washington, unles~ otherwise hereafter directed, and be employed and provided for at the camps for colored persons around that city. Those only will be brought from the island who desire to return, and their effects will be brought with them. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. You will please proceed to carry this order into execution, and report to me the name of a suitable officer of your department to whom the special instructions mentioned by the. President may be given. Your obedient servant, EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. HDQRS. KENTUCKY VoLs., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Frankfort, February 8, 1864. Maj. W. H. SIDELL, U. S. Army, Actg. Asst. Prov. Jlfar. Gen., Dist. of Ky., Louisville, Ky.: MAJOR: On March 11, 1862, an act of expatriation against all who joined, aided, or abetted the so-called Confederate States, passe Page 76 76 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. the General Assembly of Kentucky, thus greatly reducing the num- ber of enrolled militia in the State as shown by the census of 1860. The quotas for troops under the calls of 1861 and 1862 were assigned, we understand, in conformity with that census return. Kentucky, however, having lost such an immense proportion of her strength, this assignment was manifestly unjust. Steps are being taken to learn as accurately as possible the number thus expatriated, on which we will ask a revision of our entire pro- portion from the beginning. The justice of this proceeding we think is apparent and cannot work detrimentally to our great cause. I write this to inform you of our action. Our enlistments are pro- gressing rapidly and we hope to escape the ignominy of a draft by receiving the justice we now seek from the Government, and by pressing strenuously the recruiting throughout the State. Respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN BOYLE, Adjutant- General of Kentucky. QUARTERMASTER-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., February 4, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of yesterday directing me to carry into execution the Presidents order to send a transport to the island of Vache, on the coast of San Domingo, to bring to Washington City, with their effects, such of the colored colo- nists as desire to return to this country. The ship Maria L. Day has been chartered in the port of New York. She is being fitted, victualed, and watered as for a voyage to Aspin- wall by the Windward Passage, to bring to Boston 500 troops. I have directed Major Van Vliet, quartermaster at New York, to hold the ship ready to take on board the officer who may be desig- nated to go in her, and to obey his orders to stop at any other port than Aspinwall, and to proceed in any direction he may order. I respectfully name Capt. Edward L. Hartz, assistant quartermaster, U. S. Army, as the officer to receive the special instructions to be given as by the order of the President. I propose to order Captain Hartz to proceed at once to New York to report to Major Van Vliet and receive from him the charge of the ship, and to proceed in her under the inclosed instructions. I respectfully suggest the propriety of ordering an assistant surgeon and a guard of a subaltern and twenty men and non-commissioned officers of the Invalid Corps to proceed on the ship. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster- General. [Inclosure.] CONFIDENTIAL.] QUARTERMASTER-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. U, February 4, 1864. Capt. EDWARD L. HARTZ, Assistant Quartermaster, U. S. Army: You will open the inclosed sealed order when you reach the lati- tude of 20 degrees north on your voyage in the Maria L. Day, via th Page 77 UNION AUTHORITIES. 77 Windward Passage toward Aspinwall, and until you reach latitude 26 degrees north will not make it known that you have such orders. In case of sickness you will place this package in such a position as to be seen and opened by the next officer in rank and command on board the ship. Respectfully, your obedient servant, M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster- General. [Sub-inclosure.] QUARTERMASTER-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., February 4, 1864. Capt. EDWARD L. HARTZ, Assistant Quartermaster, U. S. Army: CAPTAIN: You will proceed in the U. S. transport ship Maria L. Day to the island of La Vache, on the southwest coast of Saint Domingo, put yourself in communication with the colored colonists of the United States upon that island, and taking on board such, and such only, as desire to return to the United States, will bring them and their property to the port of Washington, D. C. Upon arriving at Washington you will anchor in the stream and report in person for further orders. Inclosed~ you have a copy of the orders of the President of the United States of the 1st of February, and of the Secretary of War of the 3d of February, under which these instructions are given. * I am, very respectfully, your. obedient servant, M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster- General U. S. Army. WAR DEPT., PROvOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., February 4, 1864. His Excellency Governor YATES, Springfield, ill.: Can you raise promptly forty companies of infantry, to be combined by you into regiments as fast as companies are completed? If so, please enter upon it at once and complete the undertaking as soon as possible. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. SPRINGFIELD, February 4, 1864. CoL J. B. FRY: The State of Illinois has two regiments and eight indepeuident bat- teries. I respectffilly request authority to raise four more batteries and organize a third regiment. I dont think Illinois has had the privilege of raising her portion of artillery, and I am anxious to raise four more batteries. I shall consider it a great privilege to do so. RICHARD YATES, Governor. * See p. 75 Page 78 78 CORRESPONDENCE~ ETC. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., February 4, 1864. Governor 0. P. MORTON, Indianapolis, md.: Can you raise promptly twenty companies of infantry, to be com- bined by you into regiments as fast ~s companies are completed? If so, please enter upon it at once and complete the undertaking as sooii as possible. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. STATE HOUSE, Augusta, Me., February 4, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY: You may expect our best efforts. More organizations better for the service. If Maine will advance money to purchase horses, can we be allowed themcavalry and artillery? SAMUEL CONY, Governor of Maine. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE Governor CONY, Washington, D. 0., February 4, 1864. Augusta, Me.: The Government does not desire to accept cavalry and artillery at present, even on the terms proposed in your dispatch. infantry is wanted as soon as possible. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WASHINGTON, February 4, 1864. Brigadier-General CARLETON, Santa F~, N. Mex.: GENERAL: Judge Knapp, of New Mexico, in a communication to the Attorney-General, has complained, among othei~ things, that under your authority military commissions in your department have taken cognizance of and adjudicate upon actions of debt, trespass, & c., between persons not in the military service. I am directed by the Secretary of War to say that military commis- sions and military courts in your department have no jurisdiction of such cases, and that their decisions are utterly null and void. More- over, the individual members may thus render themselves liable to punishment and damages. The practice, if it exists, should be imme- diately discontinued. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. W. H.ALLECK, General-in- Chief W~ DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE Governor SEYMOUR, Washington, D. C., February 4, 1864. Albany, N. Y.: You are authorized to raise forty new companies of infantry, to be combined into regiments as fast as companies are completed Page 79 UNION AUTHORITIES. 79 The force thus to be raised is assigned to the Ninth Army Corps, under General Burnside, for such service as the War Department may specially designate.~ Letter by mail. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February 4, 1864. His Excellency Governor BROUGH, Columbus, Ohio: Can you raise promptly thirty companies of infantry, to be combined by you into regiments as fast as companies are completed? If so, please enter upon it at once and complete the undertaking as soon as possible. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, February 5, 1864. Brigadier-General THOMAS, Adjutant- General, Nashville, Tenn.: Your telegram received. * The battery is ordered. I wish you would send me by telegraph a statement of the whole number of colored troops organized, so far as you have information. Some clamor is being raised at the lack of energy and industry on that subject. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. INDiANAPOLIS, February 5, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: I can put twenty infantry companies into old regiments. It will take some days to make the arrangements for consolidation in the old regiments and arrange the terms, but I will do it at the earliest moment if you say so. I have 5,500 cavalry, and only 500 horses purchased. Can you expedite this matter any? I have published a proclamation to raise the quota of Indiana under the last call, and hope to be able to do it. 0. P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February. 5, 1864. Governor BLAIR, Detroit, iliEich.: You are authorized to raise a company for the Fourth Michigan as proposed in your dispatch. Would you like to undertake raising some other companies to be formed into a regiment when complete? JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. * Of February 4 (here omitted), requesting armament for a battery Page 80 80 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. HDQRS. PROV. MARSHALS OFFICE, FOURTH CONG. DIST., New York, February 5, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY: COLONEL: I take the liberty of sending to you for perusal a copy of a memorandum of conversation between Colonel Nugent, Governor Seymour, and myself last October in relation to the enrollment of the State. I made the memorandum immediately after the interview, and thinking that it would nol~ be amiss should you know the views of His Excellency in detail, I inclose it to you. I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, JOEL B. ERHARDT, Capt. and Provost-lllarshal, Fourth District of New York. [Inelosure.] On October 16, 1863, Col. Robert Nugent, acting assistant provost- marshal-general for the Southern Division of New York, called at my office and stated that he wished me to go with him to Albany that night and see Governor Seymour, and said he would call at 4.30 that p. m. We arrived in Albany by the 5.30 train, and the next morning called at the Capitol. The Governor had not yet arrived and we were shown into the adjutant-generals room. We were shown into the Governors room on his arrival about 10 oclock or after, and found His Excellency busy reading the mail. He politely showed us a seat and after the task was finished turned to Colonel Nugent and stated the reason he had telegraphed for him was to consult with him in relation to the recruiting service, and pro- ceeded to ask what the colonel had thought of the plan of recruiting proposed and sanctioned by Major Diven and Major Townsend, and approved by Colonel Fry. The colonel stated that he had received no order from the Provost-Marshal-General in relation to the matter, and could, therefore, give no opinion on the subject. The Governor then stated, in substance, this plan, which he said met his unqualified approval. It was the appointment of four men from each Congressional district in the State, two to be appointed by the Union men ud two by himself, who were to be the recruiting officers and to receive the pay authorized by Government for the production of a soldier. This plan he thought good, since, ~Tith a recruiting board of four, two of each party, a spirit of emulation would be excited, the result of which would be the production of more men to the Government than the ordinary routine of recruiting, and more just, since it would prevent those frauds constantly being practiced on line officers where State commissions are given to raise regiments, as had been the course heretofore, to which the colonel assented. Without hazarding an opinion on the motive of His Excellency, the desire that the Government should appoint two Union men, and he two, seemed to indicate too strong a disposition to draw a line between the Government, seeking to protect its integrity, and the disloyal, to hamper it, than would justify great expectations as to the benefit of such a committee. The conversation turned on the enrollment of the State under the act of March 3, but more particularly on the erroneous enrollment of certain districts, the Governor asserting that the enrollment in those sections which gave a decided majority for him exceeds the actua Page 81 UNI& N AUTHORiTIES. 81 number liable to military duty, while in those districts which gave a Union majority he claimed it was equally fraudulent in not giving all who were thus liable, or the frand of excess in city and deficiency in country districts; this he thought quite natural. Thus, while he attributed intentional fraud on the part of the Federal Government one moment, the next found him asserting that it arose from the nature of things; that while in a crowded city to enroll all requfred consummate skill, yet there was a constant disposition to duplicate names, which could not well be avoided. In the country, he alleged, that, living many miles from each other, persons were not known, and the enrollment sheets being concealed from the public gaze, there was a constant fault in not placing all on. Thus alternating between the charge of fraud by the General Government and excusing in next breath those alleged frauds as errors which could not be avoided, he blew now hot, now cold. The enrollment per Se, he urged, was excess- ivefirst, as compared with the census. But, I asked, Why measure the accuracy of the enrollment by the census any more than the accu- racy of the census by the enrollment? He replied that the general increase of population afforded some criterion; the census of 1860 compared with that of 1860, and so back, established the accuracy of that, but there had been but one enrollment. But, I urged, the cen- sus of 1860 was not supposed to be correct so much because of its being a regular increase on that of 1860, but because the people were counted by canvassers and found to be a certain number, which was the same rule which governed the enrollment, while there had been a State enrollment the previous year which agreed with this. But, I urged, if the census is correct, yet the enrollment might also be, the seeming disparity in numbers being no error in either, for the census included all, while the enrollment only a particular class, and hence one is no criterion for the other. He then urged that on its face the city enrollment bore marks of excess, since the fact was notorious that many were enrolled twice and even thrice, and also because many were afterward found incom- petent by reason of alienage or physical disability or non-residence; to which it was answered that no duplicates existed, because weeks had been spent and no expense spared before the draft in correcting this very charge, so that now a personal examination would prove the fact that there was an absence of duplicates; the sheets were open to his inspection, and had been, if he had desired so to do. To his second objection it was stated that a perfect enrollment would be an anomaly in the history of the world, if not an impossibility, since claims for exemption, very properly under the law, were to be heard after draft by the Boardnot before enrollment by the enrolling officer; that it was true many were borne upon the sheets who afterward were exempted; whereupon he stated that this made the discrepancy all the more glaring, since they were. on the enrollment sheets, swelling the number on which the quota was apportioned. In answer to this we stated that though this might be true, yet it showed no discrep- ancy, for, if a fault, it was a general one of all the district enroll- ments, and swelling each a little made it disproportionate to none. Still he urged it was a fault, whi]e he admitted the impossibility of making an enrollment perfectly correct; but we replied that Circular No. , in which the department ordered that the place of persons so drawn, exempt by reason of alienage, & c., should not be filled from the 60 per cent. additional, makes it as fair as possible to all. 6 R KSERIES III, ~OL i Page 82 82 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. his Excellency then referred, in Judge Waterburys report, to cer- tain alleged facts, to which we took exception. The Governor then replied that it was Judge Waterbnrys report, not his, which, to say the least, seemed nngracious, since he had produced it in testimony, and had made it the foundation of his complaint through the medium of the press. We casually remarked that it would be strange if so skillful a stat- istician as Jndge Waterbury could not arrange figures so that they should seem to show any result he desired; that figures in the abstract were unerring, yet the result frequently differed according as one divided or subtracted; that a proper comparison of votes, census, and State enrollment would prove the enrollment, in the main, correct. It was then stated that we hoped the new enrollment would be more perfect than the old, and we had no doubt it would be, for perfection is never attained as the result of a first effort; and so we did not call our enrollment perfect, but in the new one we hoped to approach nearer the desired end, with the aid of His Excellency. At the same time we ventured to express the opinion that more would be enrolled in the new than had been in the last, which His Excellency said he did not doubt, and therefore he urged that the new enrollment should not be made, but an attempt made to correct the present one; a new enrollment would aggravate the evil by making more liable to draft in the city than were already enrolled. His complaint to the Presi- dent was, not that there were too many or too few enrolled in the city, but only, comparatively, that he wished the city districts left as they were, and the country districts brought up to that standard to equalize the draft; but we stated, if all the men were not enrolled in the city districts, then the old enrollment was deficient, and we pre- sumed His Excellency wished accuracy as well as proportion, to which he replied that it was necessary, to be just to all, to be propor- tionate to all. True, we stated, but if the enrollment be made accu- rate in each district, proportion would necessarily ensue, but it was but a premium on inaccuracy to attempt to harmonize alleged errors by pro- portion; proportion would always follow upon accuracy, but accuracy not always upon proportion; that the figures might bear a proper pro- portion and still be themselves wrong, so that if the city districts were, as he alleged, incorrectly enrolled, they should be corrected first. His Excellency repeated with great force that he did not wish a new enrollment; he had not asked for it; that New York was always loyal, but dragging off her citizens under unjust laws was repugnant to the spirit of our institutions, which was not the question in issue. After talking about the loyalty of the State, he said again the num- ber would be increased and nothing gained. But, we urged, you take exception to certain districts, and to satisfy yourself the President says to us, Commence from the beginning, and ask yourself, by your agents, to witness every step; to which His Excellency replied, This would involve expense; the State would appropriate no money; she had none; and each officer would have to have a State officer at his elbow to correct error or note fraud; that all he wanted was to let the people see that it was fair. I suggested that to let them see it and to endeavor to make them admit it were very different matters; that it was impossible; if they were so disposed they could see it now; the sheets were open, and always were. He said lie thought not; that they would willingly admit its fairness if it was fair. We then asked His Excellency if he thought of any plan which would make impartiality patent to all, and remove imputation of unfairness Page 83 UNION AUTHORITIES. 83 He, after thinking a little, replied that he could scarcely see how it could be made more fair than it was. We then stated that his friends ought to admit its accuracy, and if he could find no means to make the enrollment more fair how could he expect the Government to obtain the admission of the lower class of society, who, for the most part, are unlearned and violent, that the draft, as a result of the enroll- ment, was or could be correct. The plan His Excellency suggested was, that copies of the old enrollment be printed and circulated throughout the district for the people to correct, he alleging that the interest of each would be greatly benefited by this; that persons would see that many were down who should [not] be, and others placed on who had been left off. This, however, we stated, would be attended with no good results, for men living years in the city did not know their neighbors or who lived with them; and His Excellency afterward remarked that this might answer in the country, but he questioned its expediency in a crowded thoroughfare; still, he gave no opinion one way or the other. I asked if he meant to take the present enrollment as correct and the one to be used, subject to be corrected, as information of those who had seen the copies in print suggested, to which he seemed to assent. The conversation, occupying more than three hours, was in sub- stance what I have written, yet, long as it was, little was said to justify the belief that discrepancies in the enrollment were the cause of his dissatisfaction, but much that captiousness was the secret of his opposition to the law. I made a memorandum of the conversation as soon as I arrived home, that in case any question arose as to what ti~anspired, then a memorandum of the conversation might prove beneficial. COLUMBUS, OHIo, February 5, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY Provost-Jifarshal- General: Your dispatch received. We can raise the thirty companies, we think, in thirty days. Do you design them for new regiments, or to fill up veteran regiments? We prefer the latter. We have gone to work. JOHN BROUGH, Governor of Ohio. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February 5, 1864. Governor BROUGH, Columbus, Ohio: The intention was to form the companies into new regiments; but if you have old regiments now requiring new companies to complete them, enough of the new companies to be raised may be assigned for that purpose; but it would not be well at this time to commence con- solidation in order to create vacancies in old regiments. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General Page 84 84 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February 5, 1864. THOMAS WEBSTER, Esq., 1210 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.: SIR: In reply to your letter of the 28th ultimo I am directed to say that you are hereby authorized to raise another regiment of infantry, to be composed of colored men, and to be mustered into the service of the United States for three years or during the war. The regi- ment raised under this authority will be known and designated as the Thirty-second Regiment U. S. Colored Troops. The instructions here- tofore given you in reference to organization, musters, & c., will govern in this case. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, C. W. FOSTER, Assistant Adjutant-General of Volunteers. CIRCULAR ~WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 15. Washington, February 6, 1864. I. The attention of officers appointing general courts-martial is respectfully called to paragraph No. 897, Revised Army Regulations, which requires that copies of all orders confirming, or disapproving, or remitting the sentences of courts-martial, shall be sent to the Adjutant-General of the Army. Such copies are to accompany the original proceedings of the general courts in every instance. II. By direction of the Secretary of War recruiting officers are hereby authorized to enlist and re-enlist all men for the Regular Army for three years, under joint resolution of January 13, 1864, General Orders, Nos. 20 and 25, of 1864. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. INDIANAPOLIS, IND., February 6, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: Four six-months regiments returning to be mustered out here are arriving. Will you authorize them to reorganize if they will re-enlist as veterans? I believe the most of them will re-enlist if authority is given. 0. P. MORTON, Governor. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, February 6, 1864. GOVERNOR OF RHODE ISLAND, Providence, P. I.: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th ultimo* in reference to troops furnished by Rhode Island, and asking for a corrected exhibit to include December 31. In reply I regret to say that the pressure of business at this time upon the roll roomfrom which the data would have to be obtainedis so great Omitted Page 85 UNION AUTHORITIES. 85 that the exhibit cannot be furnished from this office. I would add, however, that the information must already be in the office of your adjutant-general, since by paragraph 15 of the Revised Mustering Regulations copies of the muster-in rolls are directed to be furnished him. In addition I will state that no changes have been made by this Department in the exhibit from this office of May 19, save to credit your State with 152 men of the First Cavalry, and the 82 men of the Hospital Guard, making a total of 234 men. On the 30th of November I had the honor to inform you that 9,150 men had been mustered into service. Deducting therefrom 6,663 (strength of regiments per statement of May 19, exclusive of recruits and nine-months men), there appeared a gain of 2,487, and deducting the 2,131 recruits, as per that statement, a net gain of 356 three-years men. Since that date additional musters have been made, and the account, therefore, stands at the date of December 31 as follows, viz: Exhibit of May 19: Three-years regiments _____ 6 663 Three-years recruits _____ 2 131 Two regiments nine-months (2,059)equivalent, when reduced to the three-years standard, to -. 515 (Four nine-months equals one three-years.) Letter of November 5: First Cavalry and Hospital Guard 234 Letter of January 22: Mayl9toSeptember30, 1863 799 October ito December 31, 1863 _____ 1 183 Total credits to December 31 _____ 11 525 In reply to that portion of Your Excellencys letter in reference to the three-months men, I have to state that as yet no State has been credited with that class of troops. Can you conveniently cause me to be furnished from your State records with an exhibit, by regiments, of the number of such troops furnished by the State? If so, it will be useful for the purpose of comparison with the returns here filed. I have the honor to remain, your obedient servant, THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutar~4. General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, IYashington, D. 0., February 6, 1864. Governor KIRKwooD, Davenport, Iowa: You are authorized to raise ten companies of infantry to be com- bined by you into a regiment. Please state whether you can accoin- plish it; and if so, whether you will enter upon it at once. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Ylarshal.. General. NASHVILLE, TENN., February 6, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: Telegram of 5th received. The whole number of colored troops organized and mustered into service in Middle and East Tennessee will number 7,500. In addition, General Dodge, at Pulaski, has a third regiment nearly full. I now intend to enlist the able-bodied negroes in the employ of loyal citizens, in accordance with Genera Page 86 86 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Orders, No. 329, of 1863. The people of Tennessee appreciate the views of the Administration, and beyond doubt the recruiting of colored troops in this section will prove eminently successful. L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, February 7, 1864. Governor MORTON, Indianapolis: Six-mouths regiments cannot be received as veterans. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. BOSTON, February 7, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: Having raised all the white cavalry undertaken, I desire that First Massachusetts Infantry Volunteers, commanded by Colonel McLaugh- len, of regular cavalry service, may be changed to cavalry and ordered home to recruit. Merely changing the arm will do great good. Col- onel McLaughlen and city government of Boston, where regiment was raised, both desire it. Mens time out so soon that extra inducement to re-enlist is just. It is the oldest three-year~ regiment, probably, in service, having fought under every general in Potomac army, beginning with McDowell. I want to begin the two new companies immediately, and two more also to add to the Fortieth, which, Colonel Henry writes me, General Gillmore has changed to cavalry. JNO. A. ANDREW. INDIANAPOLIS, IND., February 8, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: My question was not whether the six-months regiments could be received as veterans and paid the veteran bounty, but whether, if they would re-enlist for three years, I will be authorized to reorgan- ize them into regiments bearing the same number and preserve their identity. 0. P. MORTON. BOSTON, February 8, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: Major Walker, of First Massachusetts Infantry, declares that he believes nearly every man would enlist if regiment was changed to cavalry. JOHN A. ANDREW, Governor, & c. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washingtov, D. C., February 8, 1864. Governor ANDREW, Boston: Your telegrams respecting change of infantry to cavalry have been considered with anxious desire to conform to your wishes. The pre Page 87 IJNTON AUTHORITJES. 8 (A ent cavalry organizations are adapted to over 200,000 cavalry, a n~m- ber far beyond the capacity of the Government to support. Every State is auxipus to raise cavalry, because it is easier to raise than infantry, while it is beyond all comparison more expensive to equip and support. Putting aside every other question, the finances of the Government will not admit of new cavalry organizations or the trans- fer of infantry into cavalry. You are as anxious as any one can be to get through this wai without a financial catastrophe. In consid- ering the matter in every point of view the General-in-Chief has reported in substance: First. That the existing cavalry organizations are sufficient, and, if filled up, would be more than the exigency of the war requires, and much greater than the Government can sustain. Cavalry enlistments to fill up old reginients only can be received. Second. That new cavalry organizations are not needed, and would occasion an increased expense that cannot be justified. Even now the Treasury cannot promptly fill all the requisitions. This Department, therefore, cannot authorize new organizations of cavalry, nor transfers of infantry into cavalry, beyond the actual authority given heretofore in one or two instances for special pur- poses. If General Gillmore has made transfers under proper author- ity they will not be altered if they have been carried into effect, but they cannot be extended beyond transfers actually consummated. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. DETROIT, February 8, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: In your telegram of 5th instant you say, Would you like to undertake raising some other companies to be formed into a regi- ment when completed? If you mean entire new companies, with officers, to be put into old regiments in the field, I do and would like to have such authority. Please answer. AUSTIN BLAIR, Governor of Michigan. FEBRUARY 8, 1864. MEMORANDA OF GOVERNOR PARKER, OF NEW JERSEY. As I understand, the account now stands with New Jersey about as follows: The recent order of the President is for draft (after deducting credits) for 500,000 New Jerseys quota of that number is about 16 000 To be credited all raised last summer, about 5,000 Since then about 6,000 ______ 11,000 _______ 5 000 Deficiencyabout But it is said that there was a former deficiency under Governor Olden of about 12,000 And if that is insisted upon, the deficiency would be about 17,000 I learn to-day for the first time that it is in contemplation to include that 12,000 in the draft ordered in March Page 88 88 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. It is unjust to require and draft for the old deficiency of 12,000, for the following among other reasons: First. Because at that early day (under Governor Olden) no quota was assigned to the State, and the State of New Jersey was not informed of the full number of men it is now said she was liable to furnish. Second. She raised them in full, all calls made upon her and two regiments over. Third. Governor Olden urged the Secretary of War to accept more regiments, and he declined to do so. Fourth. At that time (when Governor Olden could not obtain per. mission to raise more men) a large number of regiments were raising, under authority of the Secretary, in New York and Pennsylvania, and during the furore for volunteering then existing nearly 12,000 men went from New Jersey to those and other States and enlisted in their regiments. I ask the President tliat allowance be made to New Jersey for those men. New Jersey at that time could and would have raised the men, if permitted to do so, and they were lost to New Jersey regiments, but are in the service of the United States. If the President is not now prepared to cancel the deficiency, I ask that no draft be ordered for any part of that 12,000 men until a state- ment of facts be fully made and evidence offered on the subject to the President. WOODSTOCK, VT., February 8, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General, Washington, D. C.: What is the total quota of Vermont under the call for 500,000 volunteers, and what are we entitled to offset against it? The towns will not begin to work in earnest until they know what is required of them. Please answer by telegraph immediately. PETER T. WASHBURN, Adjutant and Inspector General. WASHINGTON, D. C., February 8, 1864. General P. T. WASHBURN: I am preparing quota and will make known very soon. I hope you will get the towns to work zealously in anticipation of their exact quotas. The Government bounties cease on the 1st of March, and what is easy for the towns now will be difficult after that time. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WOODSTOCK, VT., February 8, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: Your telegram received, and also your telegram of February 6 to General Pitcher. The towns will not work zealously until they know precisely what is required of them. If I can be informed imme- diately the total number charged to the State, so that I can asses Page 89 U MON AUTHORITIES. 89 town quotas without delay, there will be uo draft in Vermont. Please give me the total charge against the State. PETER T. WASHBURN, Adjutant- General. DES MOINES, February 9, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: Do you mean ten companies for a new infantry regiment or ten detached companies? I can raise them and will commence iinme- diately. WM. STONE, Governor. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, TYashington, ft C., February 9, 1864. Governor AUSTIN BLAIR, Detroit, Jlliich.: I meant for you to raise entire new companies with officers. They may be put into old regiments if vacancies shall be found to exist when they are completed. If not, they will be formed into a new regiment or battalion. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., February 9, 1864. Governor H. A. SWIFT, Saint Paul, Minn.: You are authorized to raise ten companies of infantry, to be com- bined by you into a regiment. Please state whether you can accom- plish it; and if so, whether you will enter upon it at once. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., February 9, 1864. His Excellency A. LINCOLN, President of the United States: SIR: I beg leave to ask authority for Lient. Col. R. T. Van Horn, of this State, to raise a brigade in Missouri and Arkansas. He has been in the military service ever since this war began, was at the battles of Lexington and Shiloh, and is a man of talents. He is at present a senator in our State Senate from Jackson County. Very respectfully, WILLARD P. HALL, Governor of Missouri. [First indorsement.] FEBRUARY 26, 1864. Submitted to General Rosecrans. A. LINCOLN Page 90 90 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. [Seco,~d ifl(lorsernelJt.] MARCH 2, 1864. As the Secretary of War does not approve the above submission, let the paper be filed. A. LINCOLN. [Inclosure.] ABRAHAM LINCOLN President of the United States: Your petitioners, senators and representatives in the General Assembly of Missouri, respectfully ask that you will give Col. R. rp Van Horn, of this State, authority to raise a brigade of troops in Missouri and Arkansas. Colonel Van Horn was one of the earliest men in this State to take up arms in defense of the Government, and as lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty-fifth Regiment of Missouri Vol- unteers distinguished himself in the field. Very respectfully, Geo. W. Anderson, senator from Pike; Saml. Bonner, sen- ator from Saint Louis; John Severance, senator from Buchanan; Norman Cutter, senator from Saint Louis; W. B. Edwards, senator from Dallas; David Wagner, senator from Lewis; A. L. Gilstrap, senator from Macon; Win. P. Harrison, senator from Marion County [and 67 others in number16 senators and 51 repre- sentatives]. SPECIAL ORDERS, NASHVILLE, TENN. No. 15. * February 9, 1864. * * * * * II. It being understood that Maj. George L. Stearns, assistant adju- tant-general of volunteers, and commissioner for the organization of colored troops in Middle and East Tennessee, has resigned his posi- tion in the service of the United States, Capt. R. D. Mussey, Nine- teenth U. S. Infantry, is hereby charged with the organization of those troops in the section of the country above referred to. By order of the Secretary of War: L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General. WASHINGTON, February 9, 1864. Mr. NICOLAY, Private Secretary, & c., Washington, D. C.: SIR: Obeying your instructions of this date, I have the honor to submit the following suggestion, together with plan for carrying into effect the circulation of the Presidents amnesty proclamation within the enemys lines. Almost invariably the first questions asked by deserters coming within our lines are, What are you going to do with us? Are we to be shut up in prison? Are we to be pressed into your army? & c. This they are taught by their officers will be if they desert to us. They also ask, What privileges can we have if we take the oath of allegiance? & c. These questions the proclama- tion does not answer so plainly to all as not to admit of a doubt. Could an order be made and affixed to the proclamation answering them as far as possible, I think it would aid the cause much. The plan I would suggest for distributing is: Let scouts carry it withi Page 91 UNION AUTHORITIES. 91 the enemys lines; let cavalry expeditions be sent out supplied with it; leave copies at every house possible, and scatter wherever the enemy will be likely to find it. In this way it can soon be distrib- uted throughout the entire South and rebel armies. Many will be found by rebel soldiers and many will be sent to them by mail from their friends. North Carolina troops are deserting very fast, and the work ought to commence there as soon as practicable. If a regiment of cavalry can be furnished to me at different points along the enemys front, I will, if permitted, volunteer to, as far as is in my power, see this carried into effect personally. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. A. ALGER, Colonel Fifth Michigan Cavalry. SPRINGFIELD, February 10, 1864. Colonel FRY: It is important to this State that I should know our quota under call of 200,000 as soon as possible. I therefore respectfully request to be informed as soon as practicable what our quota under said call is, and what is the basis upon which it is made. RICH4RD YATES, Governor. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February 10, 1864. Governor KIRKWOOD, Des Moines, Iowa: I mean ten detached companies to be formed into a new regiment or battalion or attached to old regiments if you have any requiring additional companies. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. NASHVILLE, TENN., February 10, 1864. SECRETARY OF WAR: I leave this afternoon for Chattanooga and Knoxville. I have just ordered a regiment of heavy artillery, of African descent, to be raised here, for the purpose of garrisoning the forts around Nashville. I expect the men can be raised in this city very shortly. But few negroes ~an be received in the front before a movement farther south is made. A number of negroes will yet be recruited in Tennessee, including those who cross the lines from Kentucky. L. THOMAS. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February 10, 1864. Governor J. G. SMITH, Woodstock, Vt.: Can you not raise ten more new companies of infantry, to be formed into a new regiment, or added to old regiments in case there are vacancies in your old regiments? If so, please enter upon it at once. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General Page 92 92 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. HEADQUARTERS RECRUITING SERVICE SECOND CORPS, New York, February 11, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: COLONEL: I have the honor to submit the following considerations to you in favor of postponing the draft, say until April 10, and extending the time for the payment of bounties until April 1. The great object, as I understand it, is to bring into service before the spring campaign the greatest possible number of effective men. I submit that if volunteering closes by March 10, or the Govern- ment ceases to encourage it by paying bounties after March 1, the machinery of the draft will produce but few men in time for the next campaign, and we shall lose a large number of the men that would be secured by voluntary enlistment during the period in which the draft is being put in operation. If it were generally understood that the people would have until April 1 to fill their quotas, and that the draft would be then enforced, say April 10, it is my opinion that the Government would get more men and in less time than by any other plan. When the draft is put in operation many localities and many per- sons will pay the commutation. This will delay our getting the men. If the same money is used in March, we will have many troops by April 1 which we would not have by the draft. The localities will generally pay local bounties. If Government bounties are added we will get men certainly. The draft might be deferred in all localities where it is believed the people are making exertions to fill their quotas and be executed where they are not. I make these suggestions merely to call the subject to your atten- tion and to give you my opinion, as I feel interested in getting men promptly. I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant, WINFIELD S. HANCOCK, Major- General of Volunteers. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., February 11, 1864. Governor YATES, Springfield, Ill.: I am making up the quotas, and will give you that of Illinois as soon as practicable. Whatever the quota of the State may be upon present calls, another call may be made at any moment. I therefore suggest that volunteering be continued with all the spirit possible while the large Government bounties are authorized. Illinois will need any surplus she may thus acquire. The enrollment of the first and second classes is taken as a basis in making up the quotas. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. INDIANAPOLIS, February 11, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: As the bounties will cease on the 1st day of March, I ask that the superintendent of volunteer reernitin~ be authorized to place al Page 93 UNION AUTHORITIES. 93 the officers of returned veteran regiments on recrniting duty dnring the fnrlongh of the men. Under existing instructions he does not feel authorized to do so. 0. P. MORTON. INDIANAPOLIS, IND., February 11, 1804. Hon. E. M. STANTON: The Thirty-fifth Indiana (Irish) re-enlisted and came home. Their furlough is out, and they are ordered to the field. They are recruit- ing well, and I shall be glad to have them remain until the 1st of March. They are recruiting from an element nobody else can reach. 0. P. MORTON. STATE OF MINNESOTA, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Saint Paul, February 11, 1864. Hon. ALEXANDER RAMSEY, U. S. Senate, Washington, D. C.: SIR: On the evening of the 9th instant I received a dispatch from the Provost-Marshal-General.(ColOnel Fry) stating that I had permis- sion to raise an infantry regiment, and asking whether it could be done. I replied, Yes; within one month, if bounties are continued; shall I proceed? To this dispatch I have no answer up to this evening. Will you have the kindness to see the proper authorities and explain to them that our southern border is nearly 200 miles from Saint Paul and that our recruits must be transported by wagons, and that owing to this diffi- culty and the scattered condition of our population we cannot recruit and rendezvous a regiment in a shorter time than I have named. But if the draft can be postponed until April 1, with a certainty that it will then occur, and the bounties and credits to towns be con- tinued until that time, I can, if notified promptly, raise one regiment of infantry, increase Major Bracketts three companies cavalry to a full regiment, and raise one artillery company; and I hereby propose to raise them, as above indicated. If this privilege be declined, I can raise the regiment of infantry upon four weeks notice. I earnestly solicit your good offices in the premises. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, S. MILLER. PROVIDENCE, February 11, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: Will Rhode Island be accredited with all men furnished under the draft of July 3, 1863, and no charge be made by number called for nuder said draft, as has been granted to State of New Hampshire? Please answer by telegraph. JAS. Y. SMITH, Governor of Rhode Island Page 94 94 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. SPECIAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE No. 70. 5 Washington, February 12, 1864. * * * * * * 44. Col. S. M. Bowman, Eiglity-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers, is hereby assigned to duty as chief mustering and recruiting officer for colored troops in the State pf Maryland, and will relieve Brig. Gen. William Birney, U. S. Volunteers. Brigadier-General Birney on being relieved will proceed, in coin- mand of the Seventh and Ninth Regiments U. S. Colored Troops, to Hilton Head, S. C., and report to the commanding general Depart- ment of the South. * * * * * * * By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant AdjutanV. General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February 12, 1864. Hon. RICHARD WALLACH, Washington, D. C.; SIR: In reply to questions contained in communication of the 1st instant, I have the honor to say: First. The quotas of this District under the call of the President are as follows: Quotaunder calls of 1861 8,235 Quotaunder call of July, 1862 1,771 Quota under call of 1862 (800,000 nine-months volunteers) 1,771 Total - 6,777 Second. Had a quota been assigned to the District it would have been 6,777. Third. Unsettled state of the population and its division of feeling on the subject of the warin other words, the District was viewed in the same light as were Kentucky and Missouri of the Border States, to which no quotas were assigned until recentlywas the reason that no quota was assigned to the District. Fourth. There is no rule of the Enrolling Bureau that prevents the District from obtaining credit for the troops furnished. Fifth. The District of Columbia is on the same footing with the States, and entitled to the same rights relative to furnishing troops under the calls of the President. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, HENRY E. MAYNADIER, Gaptain, U. S. Army, in Charge of Enrollment Bureau. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, February 12, 1864. Governor 0. P. MORTON, Indianapolis, md.: It will be impossible to extend the time of the Thirty-fifth Indiana Regiment (Irish) without endangering the whole organization of the Army. The leaves of absence are arranged so as to give the differen Page 95 UNION AUTHORITIES. 95 regiments enlisted an equal chance. If the time of one regiment is extended, all others will claim it. To extend the time of one regi- ment is to deprive another of its fair turn for leave of absence. I hope you will not interfere with the arrangements that have been made by generals in the field in regard to the leaves of absence of their troops, but aid this Department in carrying them out for the benefit of the service. Nothing is so disorganizing as the changes of regulations in special cases, and there is nothing so embarrassing in the administration of this Department. I know your anxious desire to promote the welfare of the service, and I count upon your cordial co-operation in this great necessitythe prompt return of regiments to the Army upon the expiration of their furloughs. In no way can you do more good. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. INDIANAPOLIS, IND., February 12, 1864. Hon. E. A. STANTON: Your dispatch received. The Thirty-fifth Indiana Regiment will leave for the field to-morrow. I will aid the Government to the extent of my ability in the prompt return of all troops. 0. P. MORTON. WAR DEPT., PRovosT-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February 12, 1864. Governor 0. P. MORTON, Indianapolis, md.: Colonel Baker already has authority to put on recruiting service all officers of returned regiments whose services are necessary and use- ful upon that duty. See printed instructions to him from Adjutant- Generals Office. JAMES B. FRY, Provost -Marshal- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February 12, 1864. Lieut. Col. W. II. CHESEBROUGH, Asst. Adjt. Gen. of.Vols., lid qrs. lYliiddle Dept., Baltimore, Md.: SIR: By direction of the Secretary of War you are hereby author- ized to raise in the city of Baltimore and vicinity a regiment of colored troops, said regiment to be known and designated as the Thirty-ninth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, to be composed of colored men, and to be mustered into the service of the United States for three years or during the war. To these troops no bounties will be paid. They will receive $10 per month and one ration, $3 of which monthly pay may be in clothing. The organization of the regiment must conform strictly to the provisions of General Orders, No. 110, War Depart- ment, Adjutant-Generals Office, 1863. The prescribed number of commissioned officers will be appointed as provided in General Orders, Nos. 143 and 144, War Department, Adjutant-Generals Office, 1863. The commissioned officers will be mustered into servic Page 96 96 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. on the presentation to the proper mustering officer of their appoint- ments signed by the Secretary of War. The enlisted men will be mustered in accordance with mustering regulations. The expenses properly chargeable for subsisting, quartering, & c., between the dates of enlistment and muster will be defrayed from the fund for collecting, drilling, and organizing volunteers. Your attention is specially directed to General Orders, No. 329, War Department, Adjutant-Generals Office, 1863, copy herewith, * which provides that the recruiting officers for colored troops shall give certificates of enlistment and descriptive lists to loyal owners whose slaves may be ehlisted. Your recruiting officers should be supplied with the neces- sary blank forms. You will establish your camps of rendezvons at such point or place in the vicinity of the city of Baltimore as the commanding general Middle Department may direct. I have the honor to be, & c., C. W. FOSTER, Assistant A6~jutant- General of Volunteers. KNOXVILLE, TENN., February 12, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON Secretary of War: What authority, if any, has been given to the commander of this department to appoint officers for the lo~al regiments of North Caro- lina troops now being raised in this vicinity? If none has been so given, I would request that it be granted so far as to appoint officers provisionally, sending rosters to the Adjutant-General for approval and issuing of commissions by the President. J. M. SCHOFIELD Major- General, Commanding. INDIANAPOLIS, February 12, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: I have four full regiments of cavalry and seven companies in a fifth regiment. Shall I fill the fifth regiment? 0. P. MORTON. CIRCULAR~ WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 19. Washington, February 13, 1864. When recruiting officers of the Regular Army in the field are not furnished with funds the $2~5 advance bounty authorized by section 1$ of the act approved July 29, 1861, and the $2 premium authorized by the act approved June 21, 1862, will be credited to the soldier on the first muster-roll after his enlistment or re-enlistment and paid by the paymaster who pays him. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF No. 24. New Orleans, February 13, 1864. I. Every free white male twenty-one years of age who has been a resident of the State twelve months and six months in the parish in See Vol. III, this series, p. 800 Page 97 UNION AUTHORITIES. 97 which he offers to vote, who is a citizen of the United States, and who shall have taken the oath prescribed by the President in his proclamation of the 8th of December, 1863, shall have the right to vote in the election of State officers on the 22d day of Febrnary, 1864. II. Citizens of the State who have been expelled from their homes by the public enemy on account of their devotion to the Union, and who would be qualified voters in the parishes to which they belong, will be allowed to vote for State officers only in the election precincts in which, for the time being, they may reside. III. Citizens of the State who have volunteered for the defense of the country in the Army or Navy, and who are otherwise qualified voters, will be allowed to vote in the election precincts in which they may be found on the day of election; and if the exigencies of the public service be such as to prevent their attendance at any estab- lished precinct, then commissioners, fairly representing the interests involved in the election, will be appointed to receive their votes, wherever they may be stationed on that day, and to make due returns thereof, as well as of their own votes, to the Military Governor of the State, as provided for other commissioners of election. IV. The commissioners of election at any election precinct are authorized to administer the oath of allegiance, as prescribed by the President, to any person otherwise qualified to vote, and to register the name of such voter in New Orleans, where a register is required, or to receive it in other parishes where no register is required, at any time before the polls are closed on the day of election. V. The commissioners of election in the several parishes will make prompt returns of the votes given to the sheriff of the parish, as provided by law, or in his absence to the provost-marshal, who will immediately return the same to the Military Governor of the State. VI. The sheriffs of the several parishes, and in their absence the provost-marshals, will take especial care that the polls are properly opened and that suitable judges of election and other officers are appointed. It is desirable that all persons properly qualified shall vote, but it is more important that illegal or fraudulent votes shall not vitiate the election. VII. The situation of Louisiana is not identical with that of other States designated by the President, but the test of loyalty required by him as a basis for the restoration of governnient is unequivocal. Full opportunity has been given to the people for the suggestion of any obligation more in accordance, if possible, with the condition of this State; but no general unity of sentiment appears to exist as to the test of fealty which should be demanded. The inference is irresistible that all parties prefer the form prescribed by the Presi- dent to any other than their own. The oath prescribed by him offers amnesty and pardon only to those who have committed treason. To all others it is a simple pledge of continued fealty to the Government. The oath of allegiance cannot be materially strengthened or impaired by the language in which it is clothed, but it may be accompanied by such explanations as to make known to the public the sense in which it is administered and received. Allegiance cannot be more or less than unreserved, uncon- ditional loyalty. The repetition of an oath once taken, or when unnecessarily clothed in unusual language, may well cause hesitation; but if it be identified with the restoration of a government at a time when secret evasions 7 R RSERIES III, vo~ i Page 98 98 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. and reservations have sapped public integrity and endangered the safety of the nation it is an nnsound patriotism that criticises the form or hesitates at its renewal. In times of public danger the Government has a right to demand an nnreserved declaration of the purposes of all its people, and to provide, if necessary, an iron-clad defense against the weapons of its enemies. Those who seek its favor and protection must yield to its just demands. An exemption from all duties, and the enjoyment of all privileges at the same time, is a greater degree of happiness than is accorded to any man in this life. Let the people of Louisiana look at things as they are, and base their political action upon a declara- tion of loyalty that cannot be misunderstood or misinterpreted. Upon this depends the restoration of peace and of private and public prosperity. By command of Major-General Banks: RICHARD B. IRWIN, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., February 13, 1864. Governor 0. P. MORTON, Indianapolis, md.: You can complete the fifth regiment of cavalry, for which you report that you have seven companies already raised; but do not raise any more, as it is not wanted by the Government. Your infantry regiments are wanted for field service immediately. Please let me know the earliest moment at which they can be ordered. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, February 13, 1864. Governor SMITH, Providence, 1?. I.: The same rule is applicable to all the States in regard to crediting on the quota of 500,000. All men raised by draft and volunteer- ing not heretofore credited will be credited on the call for 500,000. If Rhode Island has raised her quota, I would suggest that you, never- theless, continue volunteering while Government bounties are paid, and thus create an excess to stand against the next call, which may come at any time. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, February 13, 1864. Hon. HORACE MAYNARD, Nashville, Tenn.: Your letter of 2d received. * Of course Governor Johnson will pro~ ceed with reorganization as the exigencies of the case appear to him * Not found Page 99 UNION AUTHORITIES. 99 to require. I do not apprehend he will think it necessary to deviate from my views to any ruinous extent. On one hasty reading I see no such deviation in his programme, which you send. A. LINCOLN. OFFICE ACTG. ASST. PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERAL, Brattleborough, Vt., February 13, 1864. Colonel FRY, Provost-Marshal- General, Washington, D. C.. SIR: The appended slip, a proclamation of Governor Gilmore, of New Hampshire, was forwarded to me by General Washburn, adjutant- general of Vermont. Does not His Excellency misapprehend your telegrams? If he is correct, we will have but few men to raise horn. This proclamation is having a very bad effect in this State, as town meetings were being called in the northern part of the State with a view of offering town bounties, but this proclamation has stopped them. The Vermonters think that if New Hampshire is clear of the draft, they are. Respectfully, your obedient servant, T. G. PITCHER, Brigadier-General, Actg. Asst. Prov. Mar. General. NEW HAMPSHIRE OUT OF THE DRAFT. It will be seen by the following proclamation that New Hampshire has already raised a sufficient number of iuen to meet the wants of the Government under the two last calls. This will be gratifying news to the people of that State: By His Excellency Joseph A. Gilmore, Governor of the State of New Hampshire, a proclamation to the people of New Hampshire. I am informed by telegraph from Washington, on the authority both of the Secretary of War and the Provost-Marshal-General, that our State will be accredited with all men furnished under the draft of July 3, 1863, while no account will be made of men called for under that draft. As a consequence of this decision I am happy to say that New Hampshire is in excess of all demands upon her at the present time. Our deficiency at the beginning of the present official year was - - - -. 388 Quota called for October 17, 1863 3,768 Quota as estimated under call of February 1, 1864 2,512 Total -~ 6,668 Men furnished under the draft _______ 3 012 Men furnished under call of October 17 3,768 Re-enlistments from old regiments not reckoned as a part of our quota under the call of October 17 387 Total - 7,167 In addition to the re-enlistments already reported at the adjutant- generals office, a number of men have been mustered as veterahs from the Third, Seventh, and Eighth Infantry and the New Hampshire cavalry, and these are yet to be credited to the State. It is not to Page 100 100 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. much to hope that New Hampshire is at the present time at least 600 men in excess of all demands upon her. It is certain that her quota under every call is full. While this cheering news relieves us from the necessity of any especial exertion to avoid a draft in the Old Granite State, let me appeal to her patriotic citizens to keep the balance on the right side. Other calls may be made upoii us, and in meeting them New Hamp- shire must still head the column. Let us send into the field in the spring a full regiment of cavalry, composed exclusively of the sturdy yeomanry of our own State. As an incentive to continued effort in this direction, I do hereby announce that the State bounty of $100 will continue to be paid till further notice to citizens of New Hamp- shire who enlist either as fresh recruits or veteran volunteers to the credit of towns in which they have residence. The bounties offered by the General Government of $300 for fresh recruits and $400 for veterans will be paid up to March 1, 1864. Given at the council chamber, in Concord, this 9th day of February, in the year of our Lord 1864, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth. JOSEPH A. GILMORE. By 1-us Excellency the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Executive Council: ALLEN TENNY, Secretary of State. WOODSTOCK, VT., February 13, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: Governor Gilmore has issued his proclamation stating that he has official information that all men raised under the draft and all raised under the call for 300,000 volunteers are to be credited against the present call for 500,000 vQlunteers, thus making the total call under the draft only 200,000, and that therefore New hampshire has no men to raise. This has stopped enlisting in Vermont, as, if reliable, we have furnished all required and have a large surplus. If this is not so, and you would have enlisting resumed in Vermont, it is necossary that you inform me at once. PETER T. WASHBURN, Adjutant and Inspector General of Vermont. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., February 14, 1864. General P. T. WASHBURN, A4utant- General of Vermont, Woodstoclc, Vt.: All men not heretofore credited, whether raised by volunteering or drafting, will be credited on the quota of 500,000. Another call may, however, be made at any moment, and it would be exceedingly unwise in any locality to cease its efforts to raise volunteers, espe- cially while Government bounties last. If an excess should be raised by any town, it would only be providing when labor is light for a call that will come when a much greater effort would be necessary t Page 101 UNiON AUTHORITIES 101 answer it. Your general order same time since is so sound and wise that I am led to hope there will be no abatement in volunteering in your State for some time to come. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., February 15, 186~4. Major-General SCHOFIELD, Knoxville, Tenn.: The commander of your department was authorized to appoint officers for loyal regiments raised finder his directions, subject to the approval of this Department; the rosters to be forwarded to the Department, and the officers, if approved, to be commissioned by the President. The same authority is conferred upon you. Why is it that you are compelled to make the inquiry? Did not your prede- cessors turn over their orders to you? Can you spare the Sixth New Hampshire, now at home recruiting, until the 10th of March? Their furlough expires 29th of February. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. KNOXVILLE, TENN., February 15, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: I arrived here yesterday evening. The regiment of heavy artillery (colored troops) here has on its rolls nearly 500, and will rapidly be completed. I have set forward the organization of infantry regi- ments. Altogether, East Tennessee will furnish from 3,500 to 4,000 colored troops. It would greatly facilitate recruiting if artillery clothing was at once sent here for the first-named regiment. I only remained at Chattanooga a few hours, intending to give orders there on my way back to Nashville, in the course of a few days. I am pleased with the condition of affairs here, and am satisfied that Gen- eral Longstreet cannot touch this place, but that he will be obliged before long to leave this hill country. L. THOMAS, Adjut ant- General. WooDsTOCK, VT., February 15, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: Am I to understand from your telegram just received that Vermont is to be charged with her quota of 500,000 men based upon the enroll- ment, and credited with the whole number furnished under the draft, and with the surplus furmiished beyond her quota under the last call for 300,000 volunteers, and that besides this which will apply mainly to towns deficient under the draft, and under the call for 300,000 volun- teers? It is desirable to raise all the men practicable within the time allowed. Many towns are to hold meetings in the next three days to vote bounties, and all are asking of me how many men are absolutely required. Many, if not most of them, if not informed will dissolve and do nothing, as some have already done through influence of Go Page 102 102 CORRESPONDEIWE, ETC. ernor Gilmores proclamation and want of other information. If defi- cient towns are to be required to make good their deficiencies, it is specially important to them and to the State that they know it soon. PETER T. WASHBURN, Adjutant and Inspector General. WASHINGTON, D. C., February 15, 1864. General P. T. WASHBURN, Adjutant- General of Vermont, IYoodstock, Vt.: The debits and credits of Vermont are as stated in yonr dispatch; but deficient towns shonld at once fill their qnotas to secnre them- selves from draft under the amended act likely to pass Congress. And while Government bonnties last all towns should raise men to meet an additional call, which may be made at any moment. Letter by mail gives your quotas and credits to January 31. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., February 16, 1864. His Excellency GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS: SIR: I have the honor to inform you that from June 11 to December 31, 1863, the following credits of volunteers for three years service have been given the State of Illinois: Three- Aggregate years men. three-years standard. 1863. June 11 to Sept. 30 10, 94i 10,947 Oct. 1 to Nov. 30 686 686 Dec.ltoll 2,594 2,594 Additional credits a3, 129 b 1,244 Total number credited 18,600 a As per first adjustment between Illinois and Missouri. b As per second adjustment between Illinois and Missouri. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant- General. SAINT NICHOLAS HOTEL, New York, February 16, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY: DEAR COLONEL: We have at last finished our work and to-day mail our report, and which we hope may be satisfactory. * Under all the circumstances it was all we could do. Our work was narrowed down to two things, either to report a new enrollment necessary, which was inexpedient, or adjust the quota from such census reports, & c., as were reliable. We make some suggestions, which I hope you will take as suggestions merely. They were made because, from the attention * Next, post Page 103 UNION AUTHORITIES. 103 we had given the whole question, we thought might be valuable to the Department. One item in our accounts we were not clear about, viz, the charge for hotel expenses in New York. None of us are particular on that point; but whatever may be the decision, I assure you that with that allowed, my expenses will not be met. The tables we hope you may find of use in the future, as I doubt not they will satisfactorily explain our action. Many other calculations were made and tables prepared, but we did not think them of sufficient importance to make part of the report. Should you wish them for your office, they can be had by writing to Hon. Leander Babcock, Oswego. Wishing you every success in the arduous duties of your office, and again offering you any assistance in my power or information I can give as to my State, I am, yours, very truly, JOHN LOVE. P. S.I leave for home to-night. ~. L. NEW YoRK, February 17, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: I have the honor to inclose herewith the report of the Commis- sion to revise and correct the enrollment and quota of the city and State of New York. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. F. ALLEN, Chairman Gomrrusswn. [Inclosure.] NEw YoRK, February 16, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON Secretary of War: The special Commission appointed by the Secretary of War by order bearing date the 5th day of December, 1863, to revise the enrollment and quotas of the city and State of New York, and report whether there be any and what errors and irregularities therein and what corrections, if any, should be made, respectfully report: That in pursuance of said order the Commission met and organized in the city of New York on the 16th day of December, 1863, and appointed Leander Babcock, of the city of Oswego, clerk; that they remained in session during that and the two succeeding days, and after conferences with General William Hays, acting assistant provost-marshal-general on duty in the city of New York, and Colonel Nugent, his predecessor, and determining so far as they could upon the mode of procedure and what information and documents would be required to enable them to discharge the duties devolved upon theni, adjourned to meet at the same place on Tuesday, the 5th day of January, 1864. During the recess General Love, one of the said commissioners, at the request and by the direction of his associates, visited Washington and Albany to confer with the War Department of the General Government and the proper authorities of the State of New York and obtain such informa- tion and documents as then could be procured; and subsequently Mr. Smith, another member of the Commission, at the request of his asso- ciates, visited Washington for a like purpose Page 104 104 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. The Commission again convened in the city of New York on said 6th day of January, 1864, and have continued in session from day to day until the present time, making such progress in the work assigned them as they could with the means and information at hand or within their reach. There has been some delay ii~ the investigation and examination for the want of information and documents from the War Department, which could not at once be furnished, and some of which had to be obtained by the Department from different branches of the same or from other sources. This explanation is made not for the information of the War Depart- ment, but for the benefit of others interested in the action of the Com- mission, and who may not be familiar with all the facts. The Commission take pleasure in acknowledging the readiness and promptness with which Colonel Fry, the Provost-Marshal-General of the United States, has furnished them with the documents and infor- mation asked, and facilitated, so far as he could, all their labors. They have also received valuable aid in the form of statistics, tables, and estimates of the different classes of population in the several States from Hon. Mr. Kennedy, of the Census Bureau, at Washington. They have also been attended from time to time by Colonel Nugent, and have called before them and examined the provost-marshals of the several districts in the cities of New York and Brooklyn who were in service and took part in the enrollment of 1863. They were also assisted for a time in their labors by Captain Turner, of the volunteer service, who was detailed by General Hays for that purpose; and they would state generally that every desired aid and facility has been fur- nished by General Hays and all under his command, or in any way connected with the military service. General J. B. Stoneho use, assistant adjutant-general of the State of New York, has attended the Commission upon several occasions, and made valuable suggestions, and placed at the disposal of the Commission such records and documents as were in the State offices. The object of the Commission was, first, to ascertain whether the enrollment of the city and State of New York was perfect and accurate or so nearly so as to constitute a just and equitable basis for the assignment of quotas and the apportionment of men to be furnished for the military service of the United States; and secondly, in case the enrollment should appear to be so materially and substan- tially imperfect or erroneous as not to form a proper basis for the purpose named, to determine whether it could be corrected and made perfect and complete, or reasonably so; that is, so corrected as to show with reasonable accuracy the actual number of men in the State and the several districts thereof liable to be enrolled and to military serv- ice under the act of Congress of March 3, 1863. An excessive enrollment in any State will not work an injustice as a basis for a draft, provided men are called into service only by draw- ing a given number or proportion of those enrolled, and only such are taken as are obtained and held to service upon such draft. The enrollment of exempts, or the swelling of the lists by fictitious names or the names of non-residents, increases the number to be drawn from, and, of course, the number of names to be drawn; but the names improperly enrolled represent a like number in the draft and the names actually drawn, and thus balance the account. But if the number which the proportion called for would give is required to be furnished, either by repeating the draft until it is obtained or by volunteers to be furnished by the State, it is obviou Page 105 UNION AUTHORITIES. 105 that an accurate enrollment is indispensable, and an excessive enroll- ment operates to the prejndice of the State. For example, in a given district there are precisely 500 men belonging to the first class, as defined in the conscription act, and these are all enrolled, and with them 500 who are non-residents, aliens, or otherwise exempt. Upon an order for a draft of seventy-five the Government would be entitled to 100 men, and very likely would obtain but that number upon a draft from the whole 1,000, although 200 names would be drawn. But if the draft is repeated, or the district made to furnish volun- teers until one-fifth of the 1,000 are furnished, the Government will get 200 men instead of 100; that is, two-fifths instead of one-fifth of the 500 men properly enrolled. Again, if the enrollment of one State is excessive as compared with other States, it will not coustitute a proper basis for the apportionment of men to be furnished by the several States for the U. S. military service, and whether one State enrolls more than the proper number, or the other States enroll less, the result will be the same. For instance, suppose two districts, each containing precisely 1,000 men of the first class, and who should be enrolled, and in one the whole 1,000 are enrolled, while iu the other but 800 are enrolled; upon a draft of one-fourth, ordered upon the basis of the enrollment, the former district would furnish 250 men while the latter would furnish but 200. So that even upon a draft ordered upon an apportionment among the several States in propor- tion to the number of men enrolled, or in any way upon the basis of the enrollment, it is indispensable to complete justice between the States that the enrollment should be substantially complete and per- fect in all of the States; that is, that all should be enrolled who are liable to serve in the national forces, as defined by the act of Con- gress before mentioned. If the enrollment in any one State is defect- ive it will destroy the equality of the apportionment. In proceeding to ascertain the accuracy of the enrollment the Commission had before them the law of Congress nuder which the same was made and the several orders emanating from the War Department to the officers charged with the enrollment, and called before them and examined upon interrogations, and, when deemed necessary, orally and without oath, the several provost-marshals under whose immediate direction and sapervision the enrollment in the cities of New York and Brooklyn was made. The result of this branch of the investigation accords substantially with the suggestions of Colonel Fry in his report to the Secretary of War dated November 17, 1863, that imperfections and errors will necessarily occur to a greater extent in a large city thaii in a rural district, and the more transient and floating the population in a given district the greater the liability to an erroneous and excessive enrollment. Difficulties were encountered by the officers in making the enroll- ment in the metropolitan districts which did not exist, certainly to so great an extent, elsewhere. In the older settled and agricultural districts the age, condition, and liability to military service of every male citizen would be very likely known to the enrolling officer, so that but little if any reliance need be placed upon information acquired while collecting the names or perfecting the enrolled lists, while the officer could in the nature of things know but little, if anything, of the great mass of individuals in the more populous districts of large cities Page 106 106 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. In some districts the officer would be compelled to rely mainly upon what he could learn upon inquiries iuade while traversing his district in the discharge of this particular duty, and, bearing in mind as lie should the great aversion of the masses to the enrollment as a pre- liminary to a draft, he would receive with distrust and suspicion every statement which would tend to keep the name of an individual from the list of the enrolled, and in a majority of cases would, in the lan- guage of the officers examined, give the Government the benefit of the doubt and enroll the man, leaving him to establish his exemption before the enrolling board. Again, questions of alienage, physical disability, & c., could not be decided by the enrolling officers, but were left to the decisions of the boards. In fact, they were not passed upon until after the draft and in respect to those who, when drafted, claimed exemption upon the ground suggested. Indeed, these questions cannot be either well or satisfactorily decided in the progress of an enrollment. Alienage can- not well be determined except upon an investigation to some extent judicial, and physical disability can in most cases only be passed upon by a competent surgeon. Residence and age may in some, and per- haps most, instances be determined by the enrolling officer if sufficient time and opportunity for investigation be given. To speak particularly of the city of New York, several causes oper- ated, it may be said necessarily, to produce an erroneous and excessive enrollment: First. There is in the city a large floating populationsaid by some to amount to 30,000 or overhaving no permanent residence or none that can be satisfactorily ascertained, and many moving from place to place, and whose proper place of enrollment, even if liable at all, will always be doubtful. This class would be very likely enrolled wherever found and in as many districts as they should be found in while the enrollment is being made. Second. At all times the city has been the resting-place and tem- porary abode of a large body of alien immigrants, and this class has largely increased since the existence of the war, as immigration has been greatly stimulated by the high price of labor and other causes, and while there has been a large drain from the foreign population into the Army, the aggregate number now in the city is probably not less than at former periods, and the population of aliensthat is, those who have not taken any steps to become naturalizedit is thought is larger than before. This class are all necessarily enrolled for the reasons suggested beforethat the enrolling officers had no power to pass upon the question of alienage. Third. In some portions of the city as in other places there are large manufacturing establishments and other branches of business carried on employing many men, and it is fair to presume that many of these employ6s, residents of other districts, have been enrolled at the place of their work, and perhaps also at their residence, and this for the reason that the officer could not, with the means at his command, sat- isfactorily determine the proper place of enrollment; and the indi- vidual perhaps has winked if not connived at an enrollment in the wrong rather than in the right district for the obvious reason that a draft in the former would not compel him to service. One fact should be stated in this connection which was disclosed by the examination of one of the provost-marshals of the city of New York, exemplifying very strongly the difficulties in the way of a cor- rect enrollment in the view of the officer. In order to correct the enrollment of his district, after the draft of 1863, he resorted to th Page 107 UNION AUTHORITIES. 107 election poll lists of his district, and transferred over 5,000 names from such lists to the enrollment lists without inquiry as to age or condition. Of course, a faithful officer would not have taken this step had there been any mode or means at his command in or by which an accurate enrollment could have been made. The time allowed for making the enrollment, while it was ample for the mere collection of names, was entirely too limited for such inquiries and investigations as might have been made, the better to enable the officers to exercise the very restricted discretionary powers vested in them, as to who were the proper subjects of the enrollment. The law itself, as well as the orders issued by the War Department for its execution, and of which no complaint is made, as they were evidently proper in the emergency, necessarily compelled an excessive enrollmentthat is, the enrollment of aliens, the physically incompe- tent, and other exemptsand did not and could not effectually guard against the enrollment of non-residents and those not within the proper ages, or other errors and imperfections; and the consequences of these defects in the systemif defects they areare, of course, more serious and more apparent in cities than in the country. The Commission, by way of testing the regularity and correctness of the enrollment of the State of New York, instituted a comparison between it and that of the other States. They ascertained the whole number within the ages and description of those composing the first class of the national forces under the conscription act in each State by an estimate and calculation based upon the census of 1860, and upon the principle adopted by the Census Bureau at Washington. Perfect accuracy is not claimed for this estimate, but it approximates sufficiently near the truth for the purpose for which it is used, and no injustice is done to any State by any comparison based upon it. The Commission then ascertained the percentage actually enrolled of the number thus estimated as belonging to the first class in each State and in each district of the State of New York. The tables hereto annexed, marked A and B, give the results of these comparisons. The discrepancies cannot, in the judgment of the Commission, be explained upon any theory which has been suggested. The variances are entirely disproportioned and, in some instances, in direct opposi- tion to the census exhibit of the relative proportion of males and females, as well as of the males within the military ages, in the several States. The lowest enrollments are in Delaware, Rhode Island, and Vermont, while the largest is in New York, and they range from 575 in Delaware to 1,350 in one district in New York City to each thousand of the first class of the males estimated as above. The average enroll- ment to the thousand in the State of New York is 818, and in Vermont 614, and in all the States, exclusive of New York, 721, and including New York 737. The average enrollment to the thousand in all the New England States, 637; in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, 764, aizid in Michi- gan, Illinois, and Indiana, 767. The result of this grouping of the several States, as well as the comparative enrollment in each State, shows conclusively that there has been no uniformity in the enrollment in the several States, or even in the different districts of the same State. If the same proportion of those estimated as above, belonging to the first class, had been enrolled in New York as the average enrolhnent in the other States, the enrollment in New York would have been 380,822, instead of 427,469. Most of this excess is in the cities of New York and Brooklyn. Other things being equalthat is Page 108 108 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. there being nothing in the character of the population of New York to cause it to differ from the other States and districtswe should expect to find the enrollment of so large a city and State about on an average with the other Statesthat the enrollment would be a medium or mean between the two extremes, and not the most extreme. Nothing will be found in the character of the population to account for the difference that actually exists. In the city, as well as in the entire State, the females exceed the males in number. In New York City it is true that there is a greater proportion of males within the military ages than in some other districts, but this is more than compensated by the large number of aliens and other exempts found in the city. So that there is nothing in the character of the population of the city or State of New York to call for a larger enrollment than is made in the other States. The result of the draft was resorted to as another test of the enroll- ment, it being supposed that if the enrollment was uniform and equal in the several States and districts the result of the draft would be substantially the same in all. Upon investigation it was found that in the districts where the enrollment was largest, and especially in those districts where, for the reasons suggested, if anywhere, an excessive enrollment might be looked for, the results of the draft were the least favorable to the Government, the fewest men were obtained, and the greatest number failed to report, or have been since found. The inference is that many of those enrolled and drafted were non- residents, or had no existence at all, or for some other reason were improperly placed upon the enrollment. The consequence is that the Government is the loser by an excessive or defective enrollment in this, that it does not get the men wanted or expected from any draft from it. A table annexed, marked C, shows the results of the draft in several of the States and districts and exemplifies the truth of these suggestions. The Conimission, after a full investigation, and in view of all the facts elicited, are unanimously of the opinion that the enrollment in the State of New York is imperfect and erroneous, excessive in some districts and possibly too small in others, and certainly excessive in the cities of New York and Brooklyn, and especially as compared with other States, and cannot be relied upon as a just and equitable basis for the assignment of the quota of the State of New York, or among the several districts thereof. Justice to the enrolling officers and agents requires that it should be distinctly stated that their fidelity or integrity is by no means impeached by any inaccuracies that may exist in the enrollment. They were the necessary result of the execution of the law under the circumstances, and with the means at the command of the officers, and it is not perceived how they could be avoided. Second. The second subject of inquiry was whether and if so,by what means and in what manner, the enrollment could be corrected, so as to make it a just and proper basis for the assignment of quotas. A new enrollment was of course out of the question, and could one have been made it is not perceived how the difficulties before encoun- tered could have been overcome or the mistakes and errors of the first enrollment amended. The resort to the poll lists was an attempt by an experienced officer, familiar with the enrollment from the first, to correct the enrollment in his district. The same causes of error and imperfection still exist and are at work, and would undoubtedly produce the same results. The difficulty in the first enrollment wa Page 109 UNION AUTHORITIES. 109 not in the enrolling agents, bnt in the system and means and appli- ances at the command of the agents. The Commission were nnable to devise any process or means to correct the enrollment and make it what it should be as a reliable and satisfactory basis for the adjust- inent of qnotas. Whatever might be done in this direction would necessarily be by estimates and calculations, and these would be founded upon some assnined data, so that there would be nothing reli- able in any result that should be attained. At best, the estimate would be the result of a guess, or proceed upon some arbitrary rule which it might be supposed would equalize the enrollment of the State of New York with that of the other States. But the result would not inspire any confidence as to its correctness, either absolutely or com- paratively. If the New York enrollment should be made to conform to the average of the other States, to wit, 721 to each thousand of the first class, it would be the result of a rule adopted for convenience an~ without foundation in reason or principle. Such correction would leave the enrollment and quota of New York larger than that of the New England States, and would make it smaller than that of Pennsyl- vania and some of the Western States, with nothing in the character of the population to justify the discrimination. The same remarks will apply with like force to any other plan or process for equalizing or correcting the enrollment of New York by estimates and calcula- tions. The Commission were therefore unable to correct the enroll- ment and make it right, or substantially or comparatively so, and as the quota assigned upon an enrollment imperfect and erroneous is necessarily erroneous and may be unjust, they were compelled to resort to some other means to correct it. The facts and figures show conclusively that the enrollment of the cities of New York and Brook- lyn are excessive, and the Commission are of the opinion that any enrollment made by faithful agents, with the present limitations upon their powers and discretion, and with their present helps and means. must be excessive and cannot constitute a proper basis for apportion- ment of men to be furnished upon a call for volunteers. The quota assigned to the city and State of New York under the call of October 17, 1863, being therefore excessive, the next inquiry was, in what way the error could be corrected and the quota made ri(~ht. Three methods were suggested: First, to adjust it upon the basis and in proportion to the entire male population; second, upon the basis and in proportion to the male population between the ages of twenty and forty-five; and, third, upon the basis and in proportion to the entire population. The first two methods were rejected and the third adopted, for the following among other reasons: First. It was less favorable to the city and State of New York than either of the other two, and yet, while it was so, it was a rule of which the State could not complain, as it was a rule by which other benefits and burthens are distributed among the States. Second. A call for volunteers is in one sense a tax upoit the States and communities; large bounties have to be paid to obtain the men, and States and communities act upon this established fact, and by tax compel each man to contribute his share, so that the burthen falls upon property as directly as if Congress had laid a direct tax for the same purpose. In this respect representative population is a consti- tutional basis for the apportionment of this burthen. Third. In all the acts of Congress thus far passed upon the subject of raising volunteers by calls upon the several States, population has been made the basis of the apportionment. Acts of July 22, 1861, Jul Page 110 110 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 25, 1861, and July 17, 1862, are explicit upon the subject. These acts are not repealed and still apply to any calls made nnder them, and whether they should govern the call of October 17, 1863, is not for the Commission to decide. They are only referred to as expressions of the judgment of the legislature of the proper basis for a call for volunteers where no other mode is prescribed. Fourth. While taking either of the other methods the result might be varied in some of the States, the method adopted will, it is thought, place the burthen where it can best be borne as a tax to some extent upon property and produce no hardship anywhere. Without questioning or calling in question the construction of the conscription act in the orders or calls made under it, the Commission, in view of the fact that the enrollment is clearly and confessedly inaccurate and imperfect, and in the city of New York excessive, are ~inanimously of the opinion that the population constitutes the only safe and proper basis for the assignment of quotas and the appor- tionment of men to be furnished by the State of New York upon a call for volunteers. But while no other basis than the enrollment is recommended for any draft that may be ordered, the Commission are unanimously of the opinion and recommend that in any case, if a State or district will and do furnish its just. share and proportion of men required under any call or order for a draft, in proportion to popula- tion, such State or district should be held to have fully complied with the call and be relieved from the draft. The Commission fully believe that in no other way can justice be done or satisfaction given, and that by any other procedure the calls and drafts will be regarded as oppressive and become odious. Upon the basis suggested, which is comiuended by its equity and fairness and is believed not to be opposed to law, there can be no doubt that every call for men will everywhere be responded to cheerfully and heartily, and neither men nor money for the suppression of the rebellion and restoration of the Union in its integrity be withheld or given grudgingly or stintedly. Nothing but an appearance of wrong can create an opposition in the popular heart or mind to any demand of the Government for aid in this the time of its great struggle. In conclusion, the Commission are of the opinion, and so report, that the quota assigned to the State of New York and the quotas assigned to the several districts of the cities of New York and Brook- lyn are erroneous and excessive and should be reduced. That the just and fair quota of the State of New York under the call for 300,000 men in October, 1863, is 52,858, and that the State should not, under that call, ~be required to furnish a greater number of men as volunteers. The Commission have prepared a table, which is annexed to and forms a part of this report, and is marked D, in which the proper quota above stated is apportioned among the several districts of the State of New York, and they report that said quota so apportioned to the several districts is, in their opinion, the just and equitable quota for the said districts, respectively, and they unanimously recommend the adoption of this table of corrected quotas in lieu and correction of the assignment of quotas heretofore made by the War Department regarding the call as for volunteers. All which is respectfully submitted. W F. ALLEN. JOHN LOVE. CHAUNCEY SMITH Page 111 00n~o00 ~-: 0~.%0~0 ~tO a 00 110 00. n~00n3~ ~ 000. . 0. ~.0000 000000000000000000000000 0000 ~ 00000000000000000-10000 -~ 00 ~ 00000000000000000000000 ~ 0 -~ 00 ~ 000000 -~ 000000 1000000000 1 ~ 000000 -~ 0 -~ 0000 ~ 000 0000000000 1 00000 -~ 000000 ~ ~ 000000000000 ~ 0000000000 -~ 000000 Males 20 to 35. Males 35 to 00000~10~.1000000000000000000000i5000000000.100I~.0000 45. 0000 ~ 00000000000000000 -~ 00000000 ~ ~ 000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000 ~ 000 -~ ~ 0000000000000000000 -~ 00000-1000000 ~ 00-00000000000000000000 First-class 0000 1 00 00 00 00 00 0000 1 0 000000 national 00 -~ 00 -~ 00000000000000000 ~ 0000000000000000000000 -~ 00 ~ 0000 000000-1 10000000000000000000000000 ~ 00000000000000000000000 forces. 00000000-1 1 0000- 0-100000*-0000 000000 0000 0000000000 ~ 000 00 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 N umber en- 00000000000000000000000 b~ 0000-100000000000000000-10000000 S-0000000000i5 O00000~S- 000000000000-100iS.00000001S.-10000i1-00 rolled. 00000000000000000000000000 ~ 0000000-10000000000 ~ 000000000 -10000 -J 0000000000000000000000-1 ~ 000000000000-100-1000000 00100 001 11 001 1 1 11 11 001 1 1100 000 0 000000000000 1 00000000~000000000~o0000~0000A000000000000000000 00000 -DS.0000000000000000-1000000000000000000000000000.00 Ratio en- rolled. H ts 0 0 00 00 00. 00.0 00 00 00 0 00 ~00 00.0 0000. 0 o-s 00 00 0 0 0 a 0 0 a z 0 0 0000~ 0000 0000 000000 ~ -100000000000-10000000000 00 ~ 00000-100 ~- 00 ~ 000000-100000 00-10000000 ~ 0000000000-1-1-10 ~ 00000000000-100000000000000000 Males, 20 to 35. 00 0 000000 -1 S0000000000000000~5..100000000 00 Males, 35 to ~01O10~S-10C000100-~0-.1030000 45 00 000000-10000-1~005-00000--1-100 00 000000-100~5.00~-0000-40000000000 00 000000000000-1~00000000-100~-.-1 00 ~ 00 000000 0000 0000 0~ 000000000L300~00000.1-100-10000 00 First class. ~00000-1000000000~ 00 00 0010000100001*.0000000000001 5. 0000000000000000000-1000000000000 -1 000000100-10000~00000000000-1 00 00 0000~S. 00 0000 Number of 00 100001000000000.1000000000 00 ~ 00 ~ --~~ 5. 0000 5. 0000S00000000000000 -100 5. enrolled. 00 0000000000~-100000-10000000000 00 00000000000000,5.000000000000-10000 -1 -10000-1-100-100-1-1000000-1-10000 00 0000000000000,50000000000~100 -Ii 00~000000000000o000000000000 Ratio to first class. 00 a H t4 0 0 0 .~ 00 0 000 00 00-~ oO 000 0-I 00-00. .0 -t 00 0 00 00 0 NI 0 0 H a. 0 00~ oa 0 00 00~ 00 000 0 ~ 00 00 a.00 on 00 a an- 00 0~00 00 a GO 0 a z 0 z H 0 H 1 Page 112 112 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. TABLE CShowing the ratio of men held to service of those drafted in 1863 in the several States and in the metropolitan and country districts of New York. 0 0 a -~ ~. ~. States. ,~ ,0,0 ,O~ ~ 9 8 a z Maine 16, 089 4,641 288 New Hampshire 8, 004 3, 109 388 Vermont 7, 071 2,844 402 Massachusetts 32, 114 6, 303 196 Rhode Island 4, 271 1, 233 289 Connecticut 11, 540 3, 950 341 New York 100,164 24,569 245 Pennsylvania 82, 317 27, 723 337 Delaware 2,454 845 344 Maryland 8,018 863 108 District of Columhia 5, 798 1, 183 204 Michigan 6,426 2,573 400 Wisconsin 15, 290 4, 883 319 Total 299,556 84,719 283 Districts from 2 to 9, inclusive, in New York 26, 278 3,502 133 The remaining districts of New York, exclusive of the ahove 73,886 21,067 285 TABLE D.Showing the quota of the several districts of the State of New York of 300,000 men assigned on the basis of the total population by the census of 1860. 0~. Districts. 0 o 0 84 First 126, 142 1, 718 Second 146, 950 2, 002 Third 132,172 1,800 Fourth 134, 766 1, 836 Fifth 129,983 1,771 Sixth 117,148 1,596 Seventh 132, 524 1, 805 Eighth 173, 991 2, 370 Ninth 125,241 1,706 Tenth 135, 991 1, 858 Eleventh 96, 197 1, 310 Twelfth 112, 113 1,527 Thirteenth 108, 311 1, 475 Fourteenth 148, 388 2, 021 Fifteenth 132, 227 1, 801 Sixteenth 95, 383 1, 299 Seventeenth 114, 524 1, 560 Eighteenth 129, 778 1, 768 Nineteenth 133, 556 1, 819 Twentieth 138, 960 1,893 Twenty-first 105, 201 1, 433 Twenty-second 119,418 1,627 Twenty-third 116, 980 1, 568 Twenty-fourth 131, 664 1, 793 Twenty-fifth 104, 399 1,422 Twenty-sixth 114, 902 1, 565 Twenty-seventh 135, 487 1, 845 Twenty-eighth 129, 365 1, 762 Twenty-ninth - - 114, 553 1, 560 Thirtieth 141,971 1,934 Thirty-first 102,304 1,419 FEBRUARY 25, 1864. SECRETARY OF WAR: You will observe that the main argument in the report is one to show that in raising troops equal and exact justice cannot be meas- ured out by the assignment of quotas calculated upon an erroneou Page 113 UNION AUTHORITIES. 113 basis, and the Commission demonstrates this point by illustrations and examples. I have never known any intelligent persou to enter- tam a doubt as to the fact thus elucidated by the Commission. Having established this point, the Commission, without giving the reasoning in full, announces its conclusions. I state and remark upon them seriatim. The Commission determines: First. As stated above that an erroneous enrollment used as a basis for assigning quotas may operate to the prejudice of the State. Second. That imperfections and errors in an enrollment will necessarily occur to a greater extent in a large city than in a rural district, and the more transient and floating the population in a given district the greater the liability to an erroneous and excessive enrollment. Third. That in the city of New York several causes operated, and necessarily, to produce an erroneous and excessive enrollment. Three of these causes are named: First, floating population; second, presence of alien immigrants; third, the presence in the city of large manufacturing establishments whose emnploy~s do not or may not reside at their place of labor. A manifest error of judgment, not previously known to this office, on .the part of one of the provost- marshals in having transferred names from the election poll lists to his enrollment lists, which action was entirely exceptional, is also set forth by the Commission as a further proof of erroneous enrollment. In this connection the Commission says: The law itself, as well as the orders issned by the War Department for its execu- tion, and of which no complaint is made, as they were evidently proper in the emergency, necessarily compelled an excessive enrollmentthat is, the enrollment of aliens, the physically incompetent, and other exemptsand did not and conld not effectually guard against the enrollment of non-residents and those not within the proper ages, or other errors and imperfections, and the consequences of these defects in the system if defects they areare of conrse more serious and appar- ent in cities than in the country. Fourth. That the enrollment in the State of New York is imper- fect and erroneous, excessive in some districts and possibly too small in others, and certainly excessive in the cities of New York and Brooklyn, and cannot be relied upon as a just and equitable basis for the assignment of quota of the State of New York or the districts thereof. That the inaccuracies were the necessary results of the execution of the law under the circumstances, and it is not perceived how they could be avoided. Fifth. The Commission were unable to devise any process or means to correct the enrollment and make it what it should be as a reliable and satisfactory basis for the adjustment of the quota. The Com- mission did not perceive how the difficulties before encountered could have been overcome or the mistakes and errors of the first enroll- ment amnended. The same causes of error and imperfection still exist and are at work and would undoubtedly produce the same results. Sixth. The quota assigned to the city and State of New York under the call of October 17, 1863, being excessive, the way in which the error could be corrected and the quota made right is to assign the quotas upon the basis and in proportion to the entire population. To the conclusion of the Commission as enumerated I reply as folloxvs: To the first: It cannot be denied that with an imperfect basis, 8 R RSERIES III, VOL i Page 114 114 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. exact justice may not be found in the assignment of quotas. This needed no proof, but in the matter under consideration a perfect basis cannot be found, nor can exact justice be dealt out. To the second: The conclusion is entirely correct; the fact needed no indorsement. To the third: It is true that in the city of New York many causes operated necessarily to produce an erroneous and excessive enroll- ment, but I have already explained to you (see my report of August) that special care and great diligence and labor were bestowed to neutralize the evil effects of these causes, and I have shown, and can if necessary show further, that the pains taken did prevent or remove in a reasonable degree the errors likely to arise from the causes operating. That a floating population, the presence of aliens, and the existence of large manufacturing establishments should add to the difficulties of an enrollment in New York City is plain enough. These difficulties, however, are common to all large sea-board cities, and prevail in taking the census, which the Commis- sion recommends as a basis for making the quotas right. The only source of error in the enrolhnent peculiar to the city of New York, and, which probably did not exist to the same extent in taking the census, arises from the fact that the political condition of New York during the spring and sunimer was such as to breed a senseless opposition to a correct enrollment. Ignorant men and women were led to think that the execution of a law distasteful to them and dangerous to the hopes of their leaders might be defeated by the straws they threw in its way, and that by obstructing the enrollment they niight prevent a draft. On this account it is doubt- less true that the enrolling officers in many cases, finding themselves unable to get correct information, entered fictitious names and names which should have been omitted, and failed to procure names which should have been entered. The draft has not yet been carried far enough to make these defectsfor which the people are responsible burdensome, and notwithstanding the discouraging view takeii of it by the Comniission, I have no doubt the defects will be essentially corrected before any great hardship will result from them. You will perceive in this third conclusion of the Commission that the manner of carrying out the law as regards making the enrollment is approved, but it is clearly stated that the law itself necessarily compels error and injustice. I regret to say that the entire report seems to me to have been prepared with a view to prove that the law must neces- sarily produce error, injustice, and hardship. I do not feel it my duty to enter upon a defense of this measure further than to say that, in my opinion, less inj ustice is likely to result from the assignment of quotas under this law than under any other, and that the wisdom and patriotism of the last and the present Congress could not have been more clearly displayed than in making and amending the enrollment act. The results of the direct and indirect operation of this law in strengthening the Army, periodically reported to you, give evidence on this point, and I think afford a sufficient answer to the political effect likely to be producedwhether intentional or notby the report of the Commission. To the fourth: I do not dispute that the enrollment in the State of New York is imperfect and erroneous, but I deny, and the Commission has failed to establish, that its errors and imperfections are greater than those to be found in any other basis that could be obtained. I do not dispute that it cannot be relied upon as a just and equitabl Page 115 UNION AUThORITIES. 115 basis for the assignment of quotas, but I assert, and no oue can deny, that uo just aud equitable basis cau be found for the assigumeut of quotas; aud iu this war our cause would be lost if all meu stood exactly upon the order of their going, aud it is iujured by auy effort or argumeut to iuduce them to do so. The Commission states that the iuaccuracies of the enrollment were a uecessary result uuder the circumstauces, but it fails to show that inaccuracies to au equal or greater exteut do not aud would uot prevail ou auy other basis. The Commission seems to have disregarded the fact that the sources of error were well known to the officers of this Bureau and that extra- ordiuary paius were takeu to remove them, aud it condemns the enrollineut after arriviug at certaiu results by a comparisou of the enrollmeut of 1863 with certaiu tables prepared by it from the ceusus of 1860. It is uot deemed uecessary to discuss at length the results derived from such a comparisou. The ceusus of 1860 is uo more likely to have been correct throughout the country at the time it was taken than the enrollment is now. In the city of New York it was less likely to have been correct, as especial care was taken there to perfect the enrollment. (See my report of August.) But if the census in 1860 and the enrollment in 1863 were at those periods equally near correct, it is unreasonable, if not absurd, to suppose that the mutations of three years have not added so much to the inaccuracies of the census of 1860 as to render it at this time more unreliable and unjust as a basis for quotas than the enrollment of 1863. The Commission in these tables exposes itself to other sources of error which it is not necessary to notice in detail; as, for example, it assumes that a cer- tain number of the males in the census tables between the ages of thirty- five and forty-five were married, and makes calculations upon this assumption to show what the number enrolled in 1863 ought to have been. The first entry in Table A, for example, shows, on the premises assumed as above, that in 1860 there might have been in Connecticut 62,727 men liable to be enrolled in the first class, and that in 1863 we actually enrolled in that class 38,456. I am unable to perceive the force of this mode of proving that the present enrollment in New York is excessive. To the fifth: If correct, this conclusion of the Commission, in con- nection with what precedes it, would of course lead to an entire abandonment of the enrollment and all action dependent upon it. I think, however, it has already been showncertainly the contrary has not been proventhat the enrollment, though imperfect, is as nearly correct as any other basis; and notwithstanding the inability of the Commission to devise any means by which the enrollment can be umade what it should be as a reliable basis, I think there is no doubt whatever about removing many of its material inaccuracies. The Commission is wrong in stating that the same causes of error and imperfection still exist and are at work and would doubtless produce the same results. The inexperience of the officers and agents does not still exist. One cause of error was the magnitude of the work to be done; what has already been done removes to some extent this cause. A greater cause, which does not still exist, was the ignorance or misapprehension of the people as to the effect of an erroneous enrollment upon those actually and properly enrolled. They now see that justice in the assignment of quotas makes it to their interest to have the lists purged of all names erroneously entered, and fairness among those liable to draft makes it to their interest to have entered the names of all who are liable. It is no Page 116 116 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. necessary to mention other causes which existed formerly and do not exist now. To the sixth: If the quota assigned to New York in October last is wrong, the means proposed by the Commission to make it right are, to say the least of it, very extraordinary. The enrollment upon which its quota was assigned was made in 1863, in pursuance of law, by persons of acknowledged efficiency and honesty, and who are fully indorsed by the Commission itself. It was subjected to close and immediate scrutiny and repeated revision; and although it may be in excess, it is still an enrollment only of men of age to bear arms, and must be more accurate as a basis for present purposes than the pop- ulation of 1860, which includes men, women, and children, old and young, but excludes the thousands of able-bodied men who have taken up their residences in New York since 1860, and who, in one way or another, are made to go far toward filling New Yorks quota of troops. The reasons given by the Commission for its conclusion on this point are, if possible, more extraordinary than the conclusion itself. The first is, that this mode of assigning quotas would be less favor- able to the city and State of New York than certain other modes discussed. There is no disposition in this Bureau to favor a plan because it is unfavorable to the city or State of New York, nor can I perceive any reason for doing so. The second reason given is that a call for volunteers is in one sense a tax upon the States and coin- munities; large bounties have to be paid to obtain the men, and States and communities act npon this established fact and by tax compel each man to contribute his share, so that the burden falls upon prop- erty as directly as if Congress laid a direct tax for the same purpose. In this respect representative population is a constitutional basis for the apportionment of this burden. The call of October 17 was not a call for volunteers in the sense in which the Commission applies this reason. The proclamation of the President and the instructions issued and information given at the time made this apparent, and the Commission was made aware of it by me through one of its members. It was an announcement of draft intended for January 5 under the enrollment act, and the quotas assigned were quotas for draft, subject to suitable corrections at the proper time. They were announced in advance that the people might have an opportunity to reduce them by volunteering if they desired to do so. The whole scheme was under the enrolluient act, and was only a liberal and gentle application of that law. This statement also covers the third reason of the Commission, which is that in all the acts of Congress thus far passed upon the subject of raising volun- teers by calls upon the several States, population has been made the basis of the apportionment. Acts of July 22, 1861, July 25, 1861, and July 17, 1862, are explicit upon the subject. Fourth reason: The niethod adopted will, it is thought, place the burden where it can best be borne, as a tax to some extent upon property, and produce no hardship anywhere. As stated above, the burthen of October 17 was laid under the enrollment act, which contemplates personal service or an equivalent from every man liable to military duty, and not to levying a tax upon property. There is an inconsistency in the reasoning of the Commis- sion which may here be noticed. It satisfies itself in the first place that an excessive and consequently unjust quota has been assigne Page 117 UNION AUTHORITIES. 117 to New York. It then gives as a reason for resorting to another method of assignment that that method will be less favorable to New York than certain other methods. Another reason then given for its plan is that by it the bnrthen will be placed where it can be best borne. I have no desire to see an undue burthen placed upon any locality, but if there is a place that could on account of wealth, men, and commercial interests bear a heavy burthen it would be New York, and an excess there would be placing it where it can best be borne. The Commission finally reports as follows, viz: That they are unanimously of the opinion that population constitutes the only safe and proper basis for the assignment of quotas and the apportionment of men to be furnished by New York upon a call for volunteers. But while no other basis than the enrollment is recommended for any draft that may be ordered, the Commission are unanimously of the opinion and recommend that in any case if a State or district will and do fur- nish its just share and proportion of men required under any call or order for draft, in proportion to population, such State or district should be held to have fully complied with the call and be relieved from the draft. I disagree with the Commission in this opinion and recommendation. The Commission has evidently been absorbed by the conviction that the raising of men is, and will necessarily continue to be, equivalent to levying special taxes and raising money, and they would therefore require the same proceeds under the enrollment act from a district of rich women which they would from a district with the same number of men of equal means. I assume that we are looking for personal military service from those able to perform it; that we make no calls for volunteers in the sense in which the Commission understands it, but that we assign to the districts under the enrollment act fair quotas of the men we have found them to contain; that to defer personal service for the time the people of certain States and localities now raise moneybountiesof their own accord, and not through the laws or order of the General Government, and purchase substitutes; that this practice will naturally prevail while men and money are plenty, but that it may cease at any time, and is not a sufficient cause for the Government to depart from the sound principles of the law by which it can require and secure the services of its forces; and that, if politic, it would be a departure from the law to do so. The Commission has assured the Government that upon the basis suggested, every call for men will everywhere be responded to cheerfully and heartily, and neither men nor money for the suppres- sion of the rebellion and restoration of the Union in its integrity be withheld or given grudgingly or stintedly. My experience and obser- vation in this Bureau justify me in asserting that the generosity and patriotism of the good people of the United States and of the State of New York will not in raising troops be dependent upou the adop- tion of the basis suggested by the Commission, nor upon the decision of any other question that has arisen in connection with this subject. There is no practical point to be considered in connection with the assignment of quotas under the call of October 17, as the Presidents order of February 1 for a draft on March 10 for ~00,000 men includes the 300,000 announced on October 17, as the quota for draft on 5th of January. The order of February 1 and the quotas assigned are wholly under the enrollment act Page 118 118 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. In conclusion, I would recommend that the quotas in certain districts in New York for the draft on 10th of March be reduced in the same ratio in which the President reduced them for the draft in July last, and that the Presidents orders then given as to a new enrollment be carried out without interfering with the draft now ordered. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE No. 64. Washington, February 18, 1864. REFUGEES AND REBEL DESERTERS. Whenever refugees from within the rebel lines, or deserters from the rebel armies, present themselves at U. S. camps or military posts they will be immediately examined by the provost-marshal with a view to determine their character and their motive in giving them- selves up. If it appear that they are honest in their intention of forever deserting the rebel cause, care will be taken to explain to them that they will not be forced to serve in the U. S. Army against the rebels, nor be kept in confinement. The Presidents proclamation of December 8, 1863, will be read to them, and if they so desire the oath therein prescribed will be administered to them. They will then be questioned as to whether they desire employment from the United States; and if so, such arrangements as may be expedient will be made by the several army commaiiders for employing them on Govern tnent works within their commands. Those who come to the Army of the Potomac will be forwarded to the Military Governor of the District of Columbia, at Washington, with reports in their cases, that employ- ment may be given them if desired; or, if not, that they may be sent as far north as Philadelphia. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT Washington City, February 18, 1864. The SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, Washington, D. C.: SIR: The Secretary of War instructs me to transmit to you the inclosed copy of the final report of Brig. Gen. R. Saxton, dated at Beaufort, S. C., February 7, 1864, of the result of the agricultural operations carried on by him on behalf of the Government for the past year. I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, ED. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier- General and Assistant Adjutant- General. [Inclosure.] HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES, Beaufort, S. C., February 7, 1864. lion. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: In closing up all the agricultural operations which I have car- ried on for the Government during the past year I deem it my duty to report as the final result 470,000 pounds of seed cotton, which wil Page 119 UNION AUTHORITiES. 119 considerably more than meet all my expenditures. In addition, the people have raised sufficient food for their own subsistence; all this on the lands which were bid in by the Government at tax sales. Of those sold to private individuals, and which have been cultivated by them, I have no accurate account, but there is no doubt that fully as much more cotton has been produced by them. I can give, then, as the result of my labors during the past year, by directing the industry of some 15,000 freedmen, that they have produced enough to supply themselves with food without cost to the Government, and cotton enough to pay all contingent expenses. This does not apply to desti- tute refugees who came into our lines after seedtime had passed. Such of these as were unable to work have received rations from Government unless they had relatives who could support them, which in many instances was the case. I can safely report, however, that when the final balance is struck between all the freedmen have received from the Government and all it has paid out for them in this department the balance will be against the Government and in favor of the freedmen. As the lands here are all to be sold or pre-empted under the late order of the President, I cannot, of couuse, carry them on another year for the Government. As the guardian, by your orders, of the 15,000 colored people in this department, and the only one to whom they have to look to represent them, I also deem it my duty to enter in their name a solemn protest against the action of the majority of the board of U. S. tax commissioners for this district with regard to the disposal of the public lands here. On the first of the year the President issued to them the accompanying order, which I respect- fully inclose and invite your attention. This order, so wise and proper, I communicated at once to the people under my charge, in order that they might avail themselves of its just and humane pro- visions in time to prepare their grounds and plant them in season to prevent their becoming a tax on the bounty of the Government for want of food. I regret to report that two of the commissioners have thus far refused to carry out these orders of the President, on the ground, as they assert, of their illegality, and, I understand, censure me for my action in the matter. I am pleased to report that lion. A. D. Smith, the only lawyer on the Board, pronounces them legal and just, and has done everything in his power to have them carried out. I have so munch faith in the beneficent results to the people under my charge of the faithful carrying out of these orders that I should not be true to my trust did I not in the miame of the people present these facts for your consideration. Trusting that my own action will meet with your approval, I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant R. SAXTON, Brigadier- General of Volunteers. [Sub-inclosure.] CIRCULAR.] HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES, Beanfort, S. 0., January 16, 1864. The following instructions, which have been received by the U. S. direct tax commissioners, are announced for the information and benefit of all concerned: TREASURY DEPARTMENT, December 30, 1863. U. S. DIRECT TAX COMMISSIONERS: GENTLEMEN: By direction of the President I transmit the following instruc- tions, which you will observe in disposing of lands struck off to the United States Page 120 120 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. You will consider them as applying to all lands in your district which are now, or may be hereafter, owned by the United States, except such as are or may be set apart for military, naval, school, or revenue purposes, and the plantations on Saint Helena Island, known as Lands End, and the Ben Chaplin Place, and the city of Beaufort, on Port Royal Island. All previous instructions or parts thereof which conflict with those now given are hereby rescinded. Yours, respectfully, S. CHASE. ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS TO THE DIRECT TAX COMMISSIONERS FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA IN RELATION TO THE DISPOSITION OF LANDS. 1. You will allow any loyal person of twenty-one years of age or upward, who has at any time since the occupation by the national forces resided for six months or now resides upon or is engaged in cultivating any lands in your district owned by the United States, to enter the same for pre-emption to the extent of one, or, at the option of the pre-emptor, two tracts of twenty acres each, paying therefor $1.25 per acre. You will give preference in all cases to heads of families and to mar- ried women whose husbands are engaged in the service of the United States, or are necessarily absent. 2. You will permit each soldier, sailor, or marine actually engaged in the serv- ice of the United States, or any who may have been or hereafter shall be honor- ably discharged, to pre-empt and purchase in person or by authorized agent, at the rate of $1.25 per acre, one tract of twenty acres of land if single, and if mar- ried two tracts of twenty acres each, in addition to the amount a head of family or married woman, in the absence of her husband, is allowed to pre-empt and pur- chase under the general privilege to loyal persons 3. Each pre-emptor on filing his claim and receiving his certificate of pre-emption must pay in U. S. notes two-fifths of the price, and the residue on receiving a deed for the parcels of land pre-empted, and a failure to make complete payment on receipt of the deed will forfeit all rights under the pre-emption as well as all par- tial payments for the land. 4. When persons authorized to purchase by pre-emption desire to enter upon and cultivate lands not yet surveyed they may do so, but they will be required to con- form in their selections as nearly as possible to the probable lines of the surveys, and to take and occupy them subject to correction of title and occupation by actual surveys when made. 5. In making surveys such reservation for paths and roadways will be made as will allow easy and convenient access to the several subdivisions entered for sale and occupancy by pre-emption or otherwise. Approved December 31, 1863. A. LINCOLN. These instructions, it will be seen, apply to all soldiers as well as citizens. The superintendents and teachers in this department are hereby directed to give their entire attention to the carrying out of these instructions, and to assist the people to the extent of their power in locating, staking out their claims, and securing their title deeds under this order of the President, which, in its beneficent results, is to be second only to the proclamation of emancipation. I also recommend the people to lose no lime in pre-empting their claims and in preparing their grounds for the coming harvest. The founda- tion of all national wealth and prosperity is in the soil. No people can be truly prosperous who neglect its cultivation. Freedmen, you should plow deep, plant carefully-and in season, cultivate diligently, and you will reap abundant harvests. First pro- vide for an ample supply of corn and vegetables, then remember that cotton is the great staple here. I advise you to plant all you can of it. So profitable was its culture in the old days of slavery that your former masters said: Cotton is king. It is expected that you will show in a free South that cotton is more of a king than ever. R. SAXTON, Brigadier- General and Military Governor Page 121 UNION AUTHORITIES. 121 WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., February 18, 1864. Governor 0. P. MORTON, Indianapolis, md.: It is very desirable to know exactly when your new regiments of infantry can take the field. Please inform me. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. AUGUSTA, ME., February 18, 1864. SECRETARY OF WAR: I do not want any more batteries or cavalry raised in this State until the infantry regiments iiow in process of organization are filled. They would interfere badly. SAML. CONY, Governor. HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE EAST, New York City, February 18, 1864. Maj. Gen. H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief: GENERAL: All our information from the South indicates that the leaders of the rebellion are making the most desperate efferts to bring into the field every man capable of bearing arms at the open- ing of the campaign in the spring. The rapid increase of our debt, bringing with it the dangers to which the public credit is always exposed under the pressure of heavy expenditures, the long continu- ance of the war, and the importance of terminating it as soon as pos- sible render it incumbent on us to put forth all our strength as soon as military operations can be resumed. I suppose we must have a very large force in forts and intrenchments, including the city of Washington, and this force out of active employment must be con- siderably augmented by troops in the interior of the loyal States like those, for instance, guarding prisoners at Johnsons Island. It has occurred to me that all these troops might be relieved by the local militia of the loyal States, and that thus a strong addition might be made to our active force. I have muio doubt that a great number of regiments would volunteer during the spring and summer for service at Baltimore, in the intrench- ments at Washington, and in all the forts in all our harbors. I think at least ten Fegiments could be obtained in this State for such a serv- ice, and that the other loyal States would contribute as liberally. It is hardly to be expected that the Presidents order for a draft ~,yill bring out the number of men called foe, and in any event the measure proposed could hardly be otherwise than salutary. I. have taken the liberty of making this suggestion, with the assur- ance that if the plan could be carried out an overwhelming force might be thrown upon the enemy and the war brought to a successful comiclusion during the year 1864. The great stake the country has in such a speedy issue of the con- flict will, I am sure, be regarded as a sufficient apology for calling your attention to the subject. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN A. DIX, Major- General Page 122 122 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Providence, February 18, 1864. Maj. C. W. FOSTER Asst. A~jt. Gem., Chief of Colored Bureau, Washington, D. C.: MAJOR: I have the honor to request authority to raise a regiment of infantry, to be composed of colored men. I would request authority be given to muster in the regiment by companies, and, if possible, by squads, as this method would add much to the convenience of both the men and the State in the pay- ment of bounties, & c. I most respectf ally request, and will consider it a personal favor, that the regiment may be designated as the Fifteenth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers (Colored), in the same manner as our last wasthe Fourteenth Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (Colored). Yet, if you should find it impossible to grant this I would consent to raise the regiment under some other name. The former would be of some advantage in raising the regiment, and I trust it may be so called. I have the honor to be, major, with much regard, your obedient servant, JAMES Y. SMITH, Governor of Rhode Island. KNOXVILLE, TENN., February 18, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: No order can be found here giving authority to the department commanders to appoint officers for new regiments, and General Foster did not know of such an authority. I am glad to have it, and can use it to advantage. I can spare the Sixth New Hampshire until the 10th of March, but it may delay the furloughing of other Veterans. J. M. SCHOFIELD ]Jiliajor- General, Comunanding. INDIANAPOLIS, IND., February 19, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: I can put the infantry in the field in ten days if necessary, but would prefer longer time if it can be granted, as the recruiting is going on well. If I put them in the field in that time I must make consolida- tions, but in cases where if it is delayed a little longer I can have full regiments. Answer me what I shall do, and I will do it. 0. P. MORTON, Governor. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE Washington, D. C., February 19, 1864. Governor S. MILLER, Saint Paul, Miun.: Your answer to my dispatch of the 9th instant, quoted by you in a letter to Senator Ramsey, has never been received. Tl~ie boun- ties as now authorized by law, to wit, $300 for raw recruits and $40 Page 123 123 UNION AUTHORITIES. for veterans, will be paid so long as the law permits, to wit, March 1. After that date but $100 can be paid by existing laws. This has ref- erence to the authority given you to raise ten companies of infantry. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. GENERAL ORDERS, ~ WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 66. Washington, February 20, 1804. BOUNTY FOR RE-ENLISTMENT. All soldiers enlisted or re-enlisted into the Regular Army for the period of three years, under the provisions of the joint resolution of January 13, 1864, and General Orders, No. 2~5, of 1864, are entitled to a bounty of $402, to be paid as follows: a 1. Upon enlistment they shall be paid one months pay in advance $18 First installment of bounty 25 Premium 2 Total on enlistment 40 2. At the first regular pay-day after two months service an additional install ment of bounty will be paid 50 3. At the first regular pay-day after six months service an additional install- ment of bounty will be paid 50 4. At the first regular pay-day after the end of the first years service an addi- ~j0~~linstallmentof bounty Wilibepaid - 50 5. At the first regular pay-day after eighteen months service an additional jns~allmentofbountywillbepaid 50 6. At the first regular pay-day after two years service an additional install- ment of bounty will be paid - 50 7. At the first regular pay-day after two years and a half service an addi- tional installment of bounty will be paid 50 S. At the expiration of three years service the remainder of the bounty wili bepaid - By o.rder of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. CULAR WAR DEPT. PRov. MAR. GENERALS OFFICE, CI~06 ~ Washington, February 20, 1864. When a drafted person pays the sum of $300 commutation money, in order to be exempted from a draft, the receiver shall sign trip- licate~ receipts for the amount. The original shall be retained by the receiver to be forwarded by him, with his weekly summary state- ment and abstract of moneys received, to the Provost-Marshal-General. The. duplicate~ and triplicate shall be given to the irafted per- son for presentation to the Board of Enrollment. If the Board grant a certificate of exemption, they shall return the triplicate to the drafted person and retain the duplicate to be forwarded to the Pro- vost-Marshal-General with the weekly abstract of persons exempted from military service. Paragraph II, of Circular No. 34, June 30, and Circular No. 38, July 3, 1863, and the last clause of the circular letter of February 8, 1864, aSee General Orders, No. 191, of 1863 Page 124 124 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. from the Provost-Marshal-Generals Office, are hereby amended accordingly. The clause of the circular letter of the 8th of February, 1864, above referred to, requiring the original of each certificate of deposit to be forwarded to the Treasurer of the United States, is also hereby amended so as to read as follows, viz, and the original of each certificate will be forwarded to the Honorable Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. CHATTANOOGA, TENN., February 20, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: Colonel Eaton, Ninth Louisiana Colored Rec4ment, superintendent of freedmen on the Mississippi, has deemed it expedient to join me in East Tennessee, to report the condition of affairs in that section of country. Since Mr. Mellen has taken charge of the abandoned planta- tions, instead of reorganizing what had already been done under my instructions for the present year, he required all permits to be revoked, and introduced a system the workings of which the men of experience on the river assert to be impracticable. The consequence is that a large number of persons who had selected plantations have become dissatisfied and are rapidly leaving the country, returning the freedmen upon our hands for support. May not too great and impracticable changes break the good faith of the Government and create a most injurious distrnst? The system adopted by Colonel Eaton has now the result of experience, and works well. My system of taking the abandoned plantations for the purpose of giving employ- ment to the blacks, under all the disadvantages, which have been many, has also worked well. Under these plans, with such modifica- tions as experience has taught us, the Treasury agents and the mili- tary authorities would have worked in harmony. Then the blacks had been made self-supporting. Now, as the season is rapidly advancing and the plantations are being given up by the lessees, I fear we will have many thousand blacks to feed and clothe. It is said Mr. Mellen has gone to Washington to ask for a large appropri- ation of money, for which I can see no necessity, as under my system many thousand dollars have been placed in the Treasury with little expense to the Government. I shall immediately proceed down the river (Mississippi). Fortu- nately, my arrangements in this State are nearly completed. A tele- gram will reach me at Nashville. I do not wish to have anything to do with the abandoned plantations, but if the Government will send a commission, or appoint Mr. Field to take charge, I will operate with them cordially and furnish all the labor required; I consider the negroes under my controlfurnishing, of course, labor under the calls of the Treasury agents; but Mr. Mellen assumes that they are entirely under him, and lie desires to issue orders accordingly. The military authorities must have command of the negroes or there will be an endless confusion. I will keep this control unless ordered to the contrary. L. THOMAS, Brigadier and Adjutant General Page 125 UNION AUTHORITIES. 125 WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February 20, 1864. Hon. RICHARD WALLACH, Mayor of Washington, D. C.: SIR: In reply to your letter of the 15th instant I am directed to state: First, that the number 5,077 included all reported by the Adjutant- General to be credited up to January 5, 1864, as per accompanying statement. In reply to your second query, that the number 6,777 covers all that is required of the District of Columbia under former calls, to which is to be added the further number of 4,256the quota assigned under the last call for 500,000 men. To your last and third query I have to reply that 1,183 men have been furnished by draft, including all who were held to service, paid commutation, or furnished substitutes. The quota of the District under the calls is therefore 11,033; credits by voluntary enlistment and draft, 6,260; leaving a balance still due the United States of 4,773, which amount is subject to deduction for any number of men which have been furnished sub- sequent to the 5th of January and not yet reported by the Adjutant- General. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, HENRY E. MAYNADIER, Captain, U. S. Army, in charge of Enrollment Bureau. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February 20, 1864. His Excellency Governor 0. P. MORTON, Indianapolis, md.: The general-in-chief will move your regiments of infantry on the 1st of March. Please make your arrangements accordingly. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February 21, 1864. Col. S. M. BOWMAN, Eighty-fourth Regt. Pa. Vols., Must. and Recruit. Officer for Colored Troops, Camp Stanton, Bryantown, Md.: COLONEL: Lient. Col. W. H. Chesebrough, assistant adjutant- general of volunteers, having been authorized to raise a regiment of colored troops in the city of Baltimore, I am directed to say that after mature consideration it is not thought necessary that you should drop Baltimore from your list of recruiting stations. Lieu- tenant-Colonel Chesebrough will, however, recruit under the direct authority of the War Department, and will be independent of your command. I have the honor to be, & c., C. W. FOSTER, Assistant Adjutant- General Page 126 126 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 69. Washington, Febrmary 2~, 1864. The following proclamation is published for the information of all concerned: B~ THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A PROCLAMATION. Whereas, by my proclamation of the nineteenth of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, the ports of the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Ala- bama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas were, for reasons therein set forth, placed under blockade; and whereas, the port of Brownsville, in the dis- trict of Brazos Santiago, in the State of Texas, has since been blockaded, but as the blockade of said port may now be safely relaxed with advantage to the inter- ests of commerce: Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, pursuant to the authority in me vested by the fifth section of the act of Congress approved on the thirteenth of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, entitled An act further to provide for the collection of duties on imports, and for other purposes, do hereby declare that the blockade of the said port of Brownsville shall so far cease and determine from and after this date, that commercial intercourse with said port, except as to persons, things, and information hereinafter specified, may from this date be carried on, subject to the laws of the United States, to the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and, until the rebellion shall have been suppressed, to such orders as may be promulgated by the general commanding the department, or by an offi- cer duly authorized by him and commanding at said port. This proclamation does not authorize or allow the shipment or conveyance of persons in or intend- ing to enter the service of the insurgents, or of things or information intended for their use or for their aid or comfort, nor, except upon the permission of the Secretary of War, or of some officer duly authorized by him, of the following pro- hibited articles, namely: Cannon, mortars, firearms, pistols, bombs, grenades, powder, saltpeter, sulphur, balls, bullets, pikes, swords, boarding caps (always excepting the quantity of the said articles which may be necessary for the defense of the ship and those who compose the crew), saddles, bridles, cartridge- bag material, percussion and other caps, clothing adapted for uniforms, sail cloth of all kinds, hemp and cordage, intoxicating drinks, other than beer and light native wines. To vessels clearing from foreign ports and destined to the port of Brownsville, opened by this proclamation, licenses will be granted by consuls of the United States upon satisfactory evidence that the vessel so licensed will convey no per- sons, property, or information excepted or prohibited above, either to or from the said port; which licenses shall be exhibited to the collector of said port immedi- ately on arrival, and, if required, to any officer in charge of the blockade; and on leaving said port every vessel will be required to have a clearance from the col- lector of the customs, according to law, showing no violations of the conditions of the license. Any violations of said conditions will involve the forfeiture and condemnation of the vessel and cargo, and the exclusion of all parties concerned from any further privilege of entering the United States during the war for any purpose whatever. In all respects, except as herein specified, the existing blockade relnains in full force and effect as hitherto established and maintained, nor is it relaxed by this proclamation except in regard to the port to which relaxation is or has been expressly applied. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington this eighteenth day of Febi~uary, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth. 1 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. s.J y the President: WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant A~juiant- General Page 127 UNION AUTHORITIES. 127 WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., February 22, 1864. His Excellency J. G. SMITH Governor of Vermont, Washington, D. C.: SIR: In reply to your inquiries I have the honor to inform you that the enrollment act, as lately amended by Congress, requires that towns which have failed to furnish the quotas assigned them shall be drafted for the deficiencies, and the draft continued in said towns until the required number shall be obtained. The fact that a State may have furnished a number of men equal to the number of men assigned to all its towns, will not, under the present law, exempt the delinquent towns from draft. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, Washington, D. C., February 23, 1864. Maj. Gen. JOHN A. DIX, New York City: GENERAL: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 18th instant. I believe the authorities here are fully aware of the desperate efforts making by the rebels for a campaign the coming spring, and I know of no effort omitted by the Executive Department of the Gov- ernment to increase our own forces in the field; but, of course, noth- ing could be done in regard to a draft till the bill passed Congress, which has been debating it for nearly three months. I presume that now that the law has passed very active measures will be taken to carry it into execution. But this will take time, and the forces so raised will not be available till the first shock of the campaign is over. It certainly is to be regretted that there has been so much delay in Congress. I can not agree with you in regard to the use of local militia and temporary enlistments of volunteers to occupy out forts, harbors, and intrenchments. Such troops are exceedingly expensive and of very little use in actual service. They have already cost us hundreds of millions with very little advantage. Moreover, the raising of such troops in any State diminishes the volunteering for old and new regiments nearly equal to the same amount of force. After the experience of the past three years I think it would not be well to resort to local militia and short enlistments, except in cases of absolute necessity. Very respectfully, your obedient servant H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief. LITTLE RocK, February 24, 1864. His Excellency A. LINCOLN, President of the United States: I hope you will not send General Sickles here, and if an order has been made to that effect that it may be revoked. His coming her Page 128 128 CORRESPONJ)ENCE, ETC. would only be an annoyance and will do no good. Everything is working well. General Steele is doing everything that can be done. ISAAC MURPHY, Provisional Governor of Arkansas. LITTLE ROCK, ARK., February 24, 1864. His Excellency A. LINCOLN, President of the United States: It is of the greatest importance to the true Union men of Arkansas that the Administration give its hearty support to Major-General Steele in his efforts to aid the loyal people in organizing the free State of Arkansas. The general commanding here is acting in per- fect harmony with the unconditional Union men of Arkansas, and is doing all in his power to aid them in bringing out large vote on the 14th of March, and no private grievances of any officers of the U. S. Army or other persons should be allowed to disturb in this critical moment. We freely and fully advise Major-General Steele. Let no private difficulties interfere with our movements here. ISAAC MURPHY, Provisional Governor of Arkansas. FREEMAN WARNER, Chairman Executive Committee of Arkansas. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 75. Washington, February 25, 1864. The following act of Congress is published for the information of all concerned: PUBLIcNo. 11. I. AN ACT to amend an act entitled An act for enrolling and calling ont the national forces, and for other pnrposes, approved March third, eighteen hnndred and sixty-three. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States shall be authorized, whenever he shall deem it necessary, during the present war, to call for such number of men for the military service of the United States as the public exigencies may require. SEc. 2. And be it further enacted, That the quota ofeach ward of a city, town, township, precinct, or election district, or of a county, where the county is not divided into wards, towns, townships, precincts, or election districts, shall be as nearly as possible in proportion to the number of men resident therein liable to render military service, taking into account, as far as practicable, the number which has beer~ previously furnished therefrom; and in ascertaining and filling said quota there shall be taken into account the number of men who have here- tofore entered the naval service of the United States, and whose names are borne upon the enrollment lists as already returned to the office of the Provost-Marshal- General of the United States. SEc. 3. And be it further enacted, That if the quotas shall not be filled within the time designated by the President, the provost-marshal of the district within which any ward of a city, town, township, precinct, or election district, or county, where the same is not divided into wards, towns, townships, precincts, or election districts, which is deficient in its quota, is situated, shall, under the direction of the Provost-Marshal-General, make a draft for the number deficient therefrom; but all volunteers who may enlist after the draft shall have been ordered, and before it shall be actually made, shall be deducted from the number ordered to be drafted in such ward, town, township, precinct, or election district, or county Page 129 UNION AUTHORITIES. 12Q And if the quota of any district shall not be filled by the draft made in accordance with the provisions of this act, and the act to which it is an amendment, further drafts shall be made, and like proceedings had, until the quota of such district shall be filled. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That any person enrolled under the provisions of the act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other pur- poses, approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, or who may be hereafter so enrolled, may furnish, at any time previous to the draft, an accept- able substitute, who is not liable to draft, nor, at the time, in the military or naval service of the United States; and such person so furnishing a substitute shall be exempt from draft during the time for which such substitute shall not be liable to draft, not exceeding the time for which such substitute shall have been accepted. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That any person dr4ted into the military service of the United States may, before the time fixed for his appearance for duty at the draft rendezvous, furnish an acceptable substitute, subject to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War; that if such substitute is not liable to draft, the person furnishing him shall be exempt from draft during the time for which such substitute is not liable to draft, not exceed- ing the term for which he was drafted; and if such substitute is liable to draft, the name of the person furnishing him shall again be placed on the roll, and shall be liable to draft on future calls, but not until the present enrollment shall be exhausted; and this exception shall not exceed the term for which such persou shall have been drafted. And any person now in the military or naval service of the United States, not physically disqualified, who has so served more than one year, and whose term of unexpired service shall not at the time of substitution exceed six months, may be employed as a substitute to serve in the troops of the State in which he enlisted; and if any drafted person shall hereafter pay money for the procuration of a substitute, under the provisions of the act to which this is an amendment, such payment of money shall operate only to relieve such per- son from draft in filling that quota; and his name shall be retained on the roll in filling future quotas; but in no instance shall the exemption of any person, on account of his payment of commutation money for the procuration of a substitute, extend beyond one year; but at the end of one year, in every such case, the name of any person so exempted shall be enrolled again, if not before returned to the enrollment list under the provisions of this section. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That boards of enrollment shall enroll all persons liable to draft under the provisions of this act, and the act to which this is an amendment, whose names may have been omitted by the proper enrolling officers; all persons who shall arrive at the age of twenty years before the draft; all aliens who shall declare their intention to become citizens; all persons dis- charged from the military or naval service of the United States who have not been in such service two years during th~ present war; and all persons who have been exempted under the provisions of the second section of the act to which this is an amendment, but who are not exempted by the provisions of this act; and said boards of enrollment shall release and discharge from draft all persons who, between the time of the enrollment and the draft, shall have arrived at the age of forty-five years, and shall strike the names of such persons from the enrollment. SEc. 7. And be it further enacted, That any mariner, or able or ordinary seaman, who shall be drafted under this act, or the act to which this is an amendment, shall have the right, within eight days after the notification of such draft, to enlist in the naval service as a seaman; and a certificate that he has so enlisted being made out, in conformity with regulations which may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy, and duly presented to the provost-marshal of the district in which such mariner, or able or ordinary seaman, shall have been drafted, shall exempt him from such draft: Provided, That the period for which he shall have enlisted into the naval service shall not be less than the period for which he shall have been drafted into the military service: And provided furl her, That the said certificate shall declare that satisfactory proof has been made before the naval officer issuing the same, that the said person so enlisting in the Navy is a mariner by vocation, or an able or ordinary seaman. And any person now in the military service of the United States who shall furnish satisfactory p roof that he is a mariner by vocation, or an able or ordinary seaman, may en is into the Navy under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the President of the United States: Provided, That such enlistment shall not be for less than the unexpired term of his military service, nor for less than one year. And the bounty money which any mariner or seaman, enlisting from the Army into the Navy, may have received from the United States, or from the State in which he enlisted 9 B BSERIES III, VOL I Page 130 130 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. in the Army, shall be deducted from the prize money to which he may become entitled during the time required to complete his military service: And provided further, That the whole number of such transfer enlistments shall not exceed ten thousand. Sxc. 8. And be it further enacted, That whenever any such mariner, or able or ordinary seaman, shall have been exempted from such draft in the military service by such enlistment into the naval service, under such due certificate thereof, then the ward, town, township, precinct, or election district, or county, when the same is not divided into wards, towns, townships, precincts, or election districts, from which such person has been drafted, shall be credited with his services to all intents and purposes as if he had been duly mustered in the military service under such draft. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That all enlistments into the naval service of the United States, or into the Marine Corps of the United States, that may here- after be made of persons liable to service under the act of Congress entitled An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes,~~ approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, shall be credited to the ward, town, township, precinct, or election district, or county, when the same is not divided intowards, towns, townships, precincts, or election districts, in which such enlisted men were or may be enrolled and liable to duty under the act afore- said, under such regulations as the Provost-Marshal-Geueral of the United States may prescribe. Sxc. 10. And be it further enacted, That the following persons be, and they are hereby, exempted from enrollment and draft under the provisions of this act, and of the act to which this is an amendment, to wit, such as are rejected as phys- ically or mentally unfit for the service, all persons actually in the military or naval service of the United States at the time of the draft, and all persons who have served in the military or naval service two years during the present war and been honorably discharged therefrom; and no persons but such as are herein exempted shall be exempt. SEc. 11. And be it further enacted, That section third of the Act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes, approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and so much of section ten of said act as provides for the separate enrollment of each class, be, and the same are hereby, repealed; and it shall be the duty of the Board of Enrollment of each district to consolidate the two classes mentioned in the third section of said act. SEc. 12. And be it further enacted, That any person who shaliforcibly resist or oppose any enrollment, or who shall incite, counsel, encourage, or who shall con- spire or confederate with any other person or persons forcibly to resist or oppose any such enrollment, or who shall aid or assist, or take any part in any forcible resistance or opposition thereto, or who shall assault, obstruct, hinder, impede, or threaten any officer or other person employed in making, or in aiding to make, such enrollment, or employed in the performance, or in aiding in the performance, of any service in any way relating thereto, or in arresting, or aiding to arrest, any spy or deserter from the military service of the United States, shall, upon convic- tion thereof in any court competent to try the offense, be punished by a fine of not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding five years, or by both of said punishments, in the discretion of the court. And in cases where such assaulting, obstructing, hindering, or impeding, shall produce the death of such officer or other person, the offender shall be deemed guilty of murder, and, upon conviction thereof upon indictment in the circuit court of the United States for the district within which the offense was committed, shall be punished with death. And nothing in this section contained shall be construed to relieve the party offending from liability, under proper indictment or process, for any crime against the laws of a State committed by him while violating the provisions of this section. SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of War shall be author- ized to detail or appoint such number of additional surgeons for temporary duty in the examination of persons drafted into the military service, in any district, as may be necessary to secure the prompt examination of all such persons, and to fix the compensation to be paid surgeons so appointed while actually employed. And such surg eons so detailed or appointed shall perform the same duties as the sur- geon of the Board of Enrollment, except that they shall not be permitted to vote or sit with the Board of Enrollment. SEc. 14. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of War is authorized, whenever in his judgment the public interest will be subserved thereby, to permit or require boards of examination of enrolled or drafted men to hold their exami- nations at different points within their respective enrollment districts, to b Page 131 UNION AUTHORITIES. 131 determined by him: Provided, That in all districts over one hundred miles in extent, and in such as are composed of over ten counties, the Board shall hold their sessions in at least two places in such district, and at such points as are best calculated to accommodate the people thereof. SEc. 15. And be it further enacted, That provost-marshals, boards of enrollment, or any member thereof acting by authority of the Board, shall have power to summon witnesses in behalf of the Government, and enforce their attendance by attachment, without previous payment of fees, in any case pending before them, or either of them; and the fees allowed for witnesses attending under summons shall be six cents per mile for mileage, counting one way; and no other fees or costs shall be allowed under the provisions of this section; and they shall have power to administer oaths and affirmations. And any person who shall will- fully and corruptly swear or affirm falsely before any provost-marshal, or Board of Enrollment, or member thereof acting by authority of the Board, or who shall, before any civil magistrate, willfully and corruptly swear or affirm falsely to any affidavit to be used in any case pending before any provost-marshal or Board of Enrollment, shall, on conviction, be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars, and imprisoned not less than six months nor more than twelve months. The drafted men shall have process to bring in witnesses, but without mileage SEc. 16. And be it further enacted, That copies of any record of a provost- marshal or Board of Enrollment, or of any part thereof, certified by the provost- marshal, or a majority of said Board of Enrollment, shall be deemed and taken as evidence in any civil or military court in like manner as the omiginal record: Provided, That if any person shall knowingly certify any false copy or copies of such record, to be used in any civil or military court, he shall be subject to the pains and penalties of perjury. SEc. 17. And be it further enacted, That members of religious denominations, who shall by oath or affirmation declare that they are conscientiously opposed to the bearing of arms, and who are prohibited from doing so by the rules and articles of faith and practice of said religious denomination, shall, when drafted into the military service, be considered non-combatants, and shall be assigned by the Secretary of War to duty in the hospitals, or to the care of freedmen, or shall pay the sum of three hundred dollars to such person as the Secretary of War shall designate to receive it, to be applied to the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers: Provided That no person shafl be en~tled to the benefit of the provisions of this section uiless his declaration of conscientious scruples against bearing arms shall be supported by satisfactory evidence that his deportment has been uniformly con- sistent with such declaration. SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That no person of foreign birth shall, on account of alienage, be exempted from enrollment or draft under the provisions of this act, or the act to which it is an amendment, who has at any time assumed the rights of a citizen by voting at any election held under authority of the laws of any State or Territory, or of the United States, or who has held any office under such laws or any of them; but the fact that any such person of foreign birth has voted or held, or shall vote or hold, office as aforesaid, shall be taken as conclusive evidence that he is not entitled to exemption from military service on account of alienage. SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That all claims to exemption shall be verified by the oath or affirmation of the party claiming exemption to the truth of the facts stated, unless it shall satisfactorily appear to the Board of Enrollment that such party is, for some good and sufficient reason, unable to make such oath or affirma- tion; and the testimony of any other party filed in support of a claim to exemp- tion shall also be made upon oath or affirmation. SEc. 20. And be it further enacted, That if any person drafted and liable to ren- der military service shall procure a decision of the Board of Enrollment in his favor upon a claim to exemption by any fraud or false representation practiced by himself or by his procurement, such decision or exemption shall be of no effect, and the person exempted, or in whose favor the decision may be made, shall be deemed a deserter, and may be arrested, tried by court-martial, and punished as such, and shall be held to service for the full term for which, he was drafted, reck- oning from the time of his arrest: Provided, That the Secretary of War may order the discharge of all persons in the military service who are under the age of eight- een years at the time of the application for their discharge, when it shall appear upon due proof that such persons are in the service without the consent, either express or implied, of their parents or guardians: And provided further, That such persons, their parents or guardians, shall first repay to the Government and to the State and local authorities all bounties and advance pay which may have been paid to them, anything in the act to which this is an amendment to the con- trary notwithstanding Page 132 132 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. SEC. 21. And be itfurt her enacted, That any person who shall procure, or attempt to procure, a false report from the surgeon of the Board of Enrollment concerning the physical condition of any drafted person, or a decision in favor of such person by the Board of Enrollment upon a claim to exemption, knowing the same to be false, shall, upon conviction in any district or circuit court of the United States, be punished by imprisonment for the period for which the party was drafted. SEC. 22. And be it further enacted, That the fees of agents and attorneys for making out and causing to be executed any papers in support of a claim for exemp- tion from draft, or for any services that may be rendered to the claimant, shall not, in any case, exceed five dollars; and physicians or surgeons furnishing cer- tificates of disability to any claimant for exemption from draft shall not be enti- tled to any fees or compensation therefor. And any agent or attorney who shall, directly or indirectly, demand or receive any greater compensation for his services under this act, and any physician or surgeon who shall, directly or indirectly, demand or receive any compensation for furnishing said certificates of disability, and any officer, clerk, or deputy connected with the Board of Enrollment, who shall receive compensation from any drafted man for any services, or obtaining the performance of suc,h service required from any member of said Board by the provisions of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall, for every such offense, be fined not exceeding five hundred dol- lars, to be recovered upon information or indictment before any court of compe- tent jurisdiction, one-half for the use of any informer, who may prosecute for the same in the name of the United States, and the other half for the use of the United States; and shall also be subject to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, at the discretion of the court. SEC. 23. And be it further enacted, That no member of the Board of Enrollment, and no surgeon detailed or employed to assist the Board of Enrollment, and no clerk, assistant, or employ6 of any provost-marshal or Board, of Enrollment, shall, directly or indirectly, be engaged in procuring, or attempting to procure, substi- tutes for persons drafted, or liable to be drafted, into the military service of the United States. And if any member of a Board of Enrollment, or any such sur- geon, clerk, assistant, or employ6, shall procure, or attempt to procure, a sub- stitute for any person drafted, or liable to be drafted as aforesaid, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction, be punished by impris- onment not less than thirty days nor more than six months, and pay a fine not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, by any court competent to try the offense. SEC. 24. And be it further enacted, That all able-bodied male colored persons between the ages of twenty and forty-five years, resident in the United States, shall be enrolled according to the provisions of this act, and of the act to which this is an amendment, and form part of the national forces; and when a slave of a loyal master shall be drafted and mustered into the service of the United States, his master shall have a certificate thereof; and thereupon such slave shall be free, and the bounty of one hundred dollars, now payable by law for each drafted man, shall be paid to the person to whom such drafted person was owing service or labor at the time of his muster into the service of the United States. The Secre- tary of War shall appoint a ~ommission in each of the slave States represented in Congress, charged to award to each loyal person to whom a colored volunteer may owe service a just compensation, not exceeding three hundred dollars, for each such colored volunteer, payable out of the fund derived from commutations; and every such colored volunteer, on being mustered into the service, shall be free. And in all cases where men of color have been heretofore enlisted, or have vol- unteered in the military service of the United States, all the provisions of this act, so far as the payment of bounty and compensation are provided, shall be equally applicable as to those who may be hereafter recrnited. But men of color, drafted or enlisted, or who may volunteer into the military service, while they shall be credited on the quotas of the several States or subdivisions of States wherein the.y are respectively drafted, enlisted, or shall volunteer, shall not be assigned as State troops, but shall be mustered into regiments or companies as United States colored troops. SEC. 25. And be it further enacted, That the fifteenth section of the act to which this is amendatory be so amended that it will read as follows: That any surgeon charged with the duty of such inspection, who shall receive from any person whomsoever any money or other valuable thing, or agree, directly or indirectly, to receive the same to his own or anothers use, for making an imper- fect inspection or a false or incorrect report, or who shall willfully neglect to make a faithful inspection and true report, and each member of the Board of Enrollment who shall willfully agree to the discharge from service of any drafte Page 133 UNION AUTHORITIES. 133 person who is not legally and properly entitled to stich discharge, shall be tried by a court-martial, and, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not less than three hundred dollars and not more than ten thousand dollars, shall be imprisoned at the discretion of the court, and be cashiered and dismissed the service. SEC. 26. And be it further enacted, That the words precinct and election district, as used in this act, shall not be construed to require any subdivision for purposes of enrollment and draft less than the wards into which any city or vil- lage may be divided, or than the towns or townships into which any county may be divided. SEC. 27. And be it further enacted, That so much of the act entitled An act for enr iling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes, approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-tbre2, as may be inconsistent with the provisions of this act, is hereby repealed. Approved February 24, 1864. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. U., February ~5, 1864. Major-General STEELE, Little Rock, Ark.: General Sickles is not going to Arkansas. He probably will make a tour down the Mississippi and home by the Gulf and ocean, but he will not meddle in your affairs. At one time I did intend to have him call on you and explain more fully than I could do by letter or tele- graph, so as to avoid a difficulty coming of my having made a plan here while the convention made one there for reorganizing Arkansas, but even his doing that has been given up for more than two weeks. Please show this to Governor Murphy to save me telegraphing him. A. LINCOLN. HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, New Orleans, February ~5, 1864. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: SIR: The election of the 22d of February was conducted with great spirit and propriety. No complaint is heard from any quarter, so far as I know, of unfairness or undue influence on the part of the officers of the Government. At some of the strictly military posts the entire vote of the Louisiana men was for Mr. Flanders; at others for Mr. Hahn, according to the inclination of the voters. Every voter accepted the oath prescribed by your proclamation of the 8th of December. The aggregate number of voters is about 11,000. There is no sounder basis for a State government in this country than is presented by this population, nor any where the proportion of men hostile to the chief measures of the Government for the suppression of the rebellion will not be equal or greater. The ordinary vote of the State has been less than 40,000. The proportion given on the 22d of February is nearly equal to the territory covered by our arms. The convention for revision of the constitution will confirm the absolute extinction of slavery, upon which the election has proceeded, and to which every voter has assented, and provide for such extension of suffrage as will meet the demands of the age. I have been and still am unable to write as fully as I could wish, but I desire to say in a word that th Page 134 134 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. whole people of this country will be satisfied with the results of the effort for reorganization of the State govermuent when it is com- pleted, and that it cannot be rejected without throwing the power into the hands of the enemy North, if not South. The change that has occurred in this State since January, 1863, is without parallel in history. It has been far greater than could have been anticipated with reason, and it will become in two years, under a wise and strong. gov- ernment, one of the most loyal and prosperous States that the world has ever seen. I need not say, wLiat you know so well, that Mr. Hahn and the gentlemen elected with him are earnest, faithful, and efficient friends of your Administration, who wait opportunity to serve your interests and that of the whole country. On the 5th of March I expect to move in co~operation with Generals Steele and Sherman, or as soon as they may be ready, one or both. My own force is not sufficient to execute the orders of the War Depart- ment without the assistance of one or both. We are ready and impa- tient, expecting daily the word of command from either General Steele or General Sherman. A considerable number of troops have arrived here, fully enough to compensate for the loss we sustain by furloughs for veteran regiments. Our campaign will be decisive and successful. I have the honor to be, with high respect, your obedient servant, N. P. BANKS, Major- General. Inclosed you will please find an official copy of the vote as far as received. The aggregate will exceed 11,000 votes. Your letter relating to the oath to be prescribed as a basis of the election did not reach me until a few days before the election. That adopted which was embodied in your proclamation of the 8th of December was the best that could have been offered, and was cheer- fully, promptly, and generally accepted. On the constitution the vote will exceed 20,000. N.P.B. [Inclosure.] STATE OF LOUISIANA, MAYORALTY OF NEW ORLEANS, City Hall, February 25, 1864. ADDITIONAL ELECTION RETURNS. La Fourche Parish.Complete returns from this parish give the total vote as 790, divided as follows: Hahn and the Free State ticket, 222; Fellows and the Conservative ticket, 392; Flanders and the Radical ticket, 176. RECAPITULATION. Hahn. Fellows. Flanders. New Orleans 3, 546 1, 139 1, 009 Baton Rouge 388 16 4 Carroliton 245 41 17 Port Hudson 13 . 107 IDonaldsonville 313 65 86 Algiers 79 69 108 Franklin 308 1 21 Fort Macomb 6 Fort Jackson 41 . Buras 5ettle,nent 166 1.0 Madisonville 103 Page 135 UNION AUTHORITIES. 13~ RECAPITULATIONContinued. Hahn. Fellows. Flanders. Brashear 59 21 Iberville Parish 31 Napoleonvile 15 Gretna 70 50 10 Boutte Station 12 37 7 Woods Cotton Press 107 24 Concordia Parish 97 Saint Bernard Parish 5 199 64 Jefferson City 178 109 22 Centerville 7 Pensacola 107 Opelousas Railroad 50 21 La Fourche Parish 222 176 Total 6,153 2,144 1,921 Total vote of the State 10,218 Hahns majority over Fellows 4,009 Hahns majority over Flanders 4,232 Hahns majority over both 2,088 AUGUSTA, ME., February ~5, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: The Fourteenth Maine Regiment is here, having about one hundred men enlisted at i4ew Orleans who have not served quite two years. These men are chiefly foreigners, and re-enlisted by direct orders of General Franklin, approved by General Banks. They are furloughed with the others one of the privileges of re-enlistment. They re-enlisted under the inducement of $300 offered by Maine. This bounty they expect, and if not paid this State is disgraced, for it was promised them by our officers, and a mutinous spirit will be engen- dered which will virtually destroy the regiment. With their fur- loughs in their pockets escape to Canada is easy, and the Government will lose the service of these men for the rest of their term. I shall order the bounty paid, and shall expect that this State will have credit for the men. We cannot afford to be disgraced at home. SAMUEL CONY, Governor of Maine. STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Providence, February ~5, 1864. Col. JAMES B. Fry, Provost-Marshal- General, Washington, D. C.: COLONEL: Much to my surprise a communication reached me yesterday through the acting assistant provost-marshal-general for this State, informing us that though the State of Rhod& Island has furnished largely more than her quota, the men so furnished had been so assigned to districts and sub-districts that a draft might be made in some towns. I am more surprised at this, as I received a letter from you on the 21st of October, 1863, leaving the assignment entirely to me, and I then positively stated that I desired no subdivisions in this State, but stated distinctly that Rhode Island would furnish her quota, and she has done so and has some thousands in excess Page 136 136 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. I would therefore respectfully request that you make exception in our case, inasmuch as we are so far ahead on all calls, and no other system be adopted until due notice of the intended change be given to this department. I have the honor to be, with much respect, JAMES Y. SMITH, Governor of Rhode Island. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, February 25, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: I have the honor to inclose a copy of a note of yesterdays date from Baron von Gerolt, together with its printed accompaniment, and will thank you to enable me to comply with his request for informa- tion concerning the true meaning of the general order (No. 2) of the military authority at Memphis to which he refers. I am, sir, your obedient servant, WM. H. SEWARD. [Indorsement.] WAR DEPARTMENT, February 29, 1864. Respectfully referred to the General-in-Chief for report. By order of the Secretary of War: ED. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier- General and Assistant Adjutant- General. [Inclosure.] PRUSSIAN LEGATION, Washington, February 24, 186.4. Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State of the United States, Washington: SIR: His Majestys consul at Saint Louis, on the application of sev.- eral Prussian subjects residing at Memphis, Teun., has sent to me the inclosed general order (No. 2) of the military authority at Memphis, of January 30 last, by which, according to article 2, it seems the sub- jects of foreign governments have to be enrolled in the military service of the militia, or will be required to leave the District of Memphis, & c. As I have reason to doubt whether it was intended to apply this article to aliens residing iii the District of Memphis, I would feel obliged to you by being informed of the true interpretation of the aforementioned order on this subject. I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration; your obedient servant, FR. GEROLT. [Slip (printed) inclosed was cut from a newspaper. It is a publica- tion of General Orders, No. 2, headquarters First Brigade Enrolled Militia, District of Memphis, dated Memphis, January 30, 1864, filed with S. 531, Headquarters of the Army, 1864. Page 137 UNION AUTHORITIES. 137 GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS QPFICE, No. 76. . Wa8hington, February 26, 1864. SENTENCE OF DESERTERS. The President directs that the sentences of all deserters who have been condemned by court-martial to death, and that have not been otherwise acted upon by him, be mitigated to Imprisonment during the war at the Dry Tortugas, Fla., where they will be sent under suitable, guards by orders from army commanders. The commanding generals, who have power to act on proceedings of courts-martial in such cases, are authorized in special cases to restore to duty deserters under sentence when in their judgment the service will be thereby benefited. Copies of all orders issued under the foregoing instructions will be immediately forwarded to the Adjutant-General and to the Judge- Advocate-General. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. MADISON, WIs., February 26, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON Secretary of War: The Legislature has just passed unanimously a joint resolution requesting postponement of draft and continuance of large bounties until April 1. I cordially approve of the resolution, and hope the request will be granted. J. T. LEWIS, Governor of Wisconsin. STATE OF WISCONSIN, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Madison, February 26, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War, Washington, D. U.: SIR: I have the honor to transmit the inclosed memorial* of the Hon. Ed. ONeill, mayor of the city of Milwaukee, in this State, for the postponement of the draft one month and the continuance of the large bounty for the same period. I would respectfully call your attention to this memorial, and also state that our Legislature has passed an act authorizing towns and cities to pay bounties to volunteers, which was oiily perfected on the 23d instant. The time is very short in which to hold public meetings, vote tax, and realize the money necessary for this purpose. I feel quite certain, from present appearances, that Wisconsin can and will fill its quota if opportunity be given to avail ourselves of the large Government bounty and also of the local bounties just being offered. I have nearly raised oiie regiment (the Thirty-sixth Volun- teer Infantry) since the 12th instant, and believe I can raise the * Omitted Page 138 138 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Thirty-seventh, which has just been authorized, if I can have thirty days longer time, or even an extension up to the 10th of March. I would therefore very earnestly request that, if possible, the draft be postponed and the large bounty be continued for the time specified in the memorial, or at least that you use yonr influence to have the bounty continued until the time of draft. Respectfully, JAMES T. LEWIS. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., PRov. MAR. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 7. ~ Washington, February 27, 1864. I. Boards of enrollment will at once commence to prepare cards for draft of men enrolled, including the second class. The cards will be uniform in shape, size, and color with those of the first class, and will contain the name and residence of the person enrolled, with the number which is opposite his name on the enrollment lists. II. The names of persons stricken from the lists, either of class 1 or 2, under the provisions of Circular 101, dated November 17, 1863, will not be placed in the box or wheel; nor the names of those who were dra,fted and held to service, or paid commutation, or furnished a substitute under the preliminary part of the draft in 1863. The names of those known to be actually in service at the date of receipt of the order for the draft will also be left out of the box or wheel. The names of all other persons enrolled will be put in the draft box. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. NOTEAmended circularThe one of the same number previously issued to be destroyed. LOUISVILLE, KY., February 27, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secret& ry of War: I arrived here this morning. In my letter of the 1st instant I requested instructions respecting the First Artillery Regiment Col- ored Troops, to be raised at Paducah, Ky. Shall I proceed with its organization? I will await your instructions here. It is very impor- taut that I should proceed down the Mississippi as soon as possible. I hope still to be able to provide for the vast amount of work to be returned on our hands. If the Treasury agent should insist on carrying out his regulations for leasing abandoned plantations and furnishing hands, none of the blacks can be provided for. If, how- ever, the scale of wages and the regulations adopted by Superintend- ent Eaton, approved by Major-General Grant and myself, be adopted, and the control be continued by the military authorities, there is yet time to lease plantations by the Treasury agent and provide for a vast amount of labor. May I request an early reply? Very respectfully, your obedient servant, L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General U. S. Army Page 139 UNION AUTHORITIES. 189 LOUISVILLE, KY., February 27, 1864. lion. EDWIN M. STANTON Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.: I have seen Mr. Mellen this evening and promised to meet him at Vicksburg in a few days to consult with him on the subject of the lure of the freedmen. L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General. EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, February 27, 1864. Honorable SECRETARY OF WAR: SIR: You ask some instruction from me in relation to the report of special Commission constituted by an order of the War Department, dated December 5, 1863, To revise the enrollment and quotas of the city and State of New York, and report whether there be any, and what, errors or irregularities therein, and what corrections, if any, should be made. In the correspondence between the Governor of New York and myself last summer I nnderstood him to complain that the enroll- ments in several of the districts of that State had been neither accn- rately nor honestly made; and in view of this I, for the draft then immediately ensuing, ordered an arbitrary reduction of the quotas in several of the districts wherein they seemed too large, and said: Aftem this drawing these four districts, and also the seventeenth and twenty- ninth, shall be carefully re-enrolled, and, if you please, agents of yours may wit- ness every step of the process. In a subsequent letter I believe some additional districts were put into the list of those to be re-enrolled. My idea was to do the work over, according to the law, in presence of the complaining party, and thereby to correct anything which might be found amiss. The Com- mission, whose work I am considering, seem to have proceeded upon a totally different idea. Not going forth to find men at all, they have proceeded altogether upon paper examinations and mental processes. One of their conclusions, as I understand, is that as the law stands, and attempting to follow it, the enrolling officers could not have made the enrollments much more accurately than they did. The report on this point might be useful to Congress. The Commission conclude that the quotas for the draft should be based upon entire population, and they proceed upon this basis to give a table for the State of New York, in which some districts are reduced and some increased. For the now ensuing draft, let the quotas stand as made by the enrolling officers in the districts wherein the table requires them to be increased, and let them be reduced accordingly to the table in the others; this to be no precedent for subsequent action. But as I think, this report may, on full consideration, be shown to have much that is valuable in it, I suggest that such consideration be given it, and that it be especially considered whether its suggestions can b~ conformed to without an alteration of the law. Yours, truly, A. LINCOLN Page 140 140 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC~ [Indor8ement.] FEBRUARY 27, 1864. Referred to Colonel Fry, Provost-Marshal-General, with directions to make the ensuing draft in New York in conformity with the instructions of the President, herein contained. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, Harrisburg, Pa., February 27, 1864. His Excellency A. LINCOLN, President: SIR: I have to assure you that if the draft be postponed and the bounties continued till the 1st of April, Pennsylvania will have filled her quota of volunteers. I am informed by U. S. officials having charge of enlistments in this State that we had supplied up to the 1st of February about 17,000 men. Since that date enlistments in the Western Division, closing with this day, will be 10,000, and, although I have not data altogether reliable, I do not think those in the Eastern Division for the same period will be much less. This does not include soldiers enlisted in the field during the month of February, which, when ascertained, will no doubt largely increase the number to be credited the State. I have before me letters received from Major-General Hancock, Colonel I3oinford, and Major Gilbert, provost-marshals, in reply to inquiries which I addressed to them, which appear to sustain these statements beyond a doubt. Meanwhile I will observe that the system which has been adopted of ceediting enlisted men not to the localities from which they come, but to such as they may select, has rendered a draft impossible with- out great injustice. The military population of some townships in this State has been so reduced by volunteering that unless they be allowed credit on their quota for all their resident citizens who have enlisted nearly the whole remaining population of able-bodied men will be swept away by a draft. The same remark applies measurably to the State at large, it being understood that her citizens are allowed to be credited to other States if they so elect. The sole reason for allowing credit for volunteers in making a draft is to prevent the undue exhaustion of the military population of the States and localities whose citizens have gone freely into the military service. By the system to which I have referred this reason is entirely lost sight of. Matters are even worse than if no allowance on the quotas were made at all, inasmuch as in that case townships which had sent no men, or very few, as volunteers, would at least be obliged to furnish their quota of the draft, whereas at present they may escape entirely, while the whole burden is thrown upon loyal localities from which men have gone freely. If I am correct in the views which I have expressed, you will hnve the quota of the State filled by the 10th of April, whereas if a draft is to be made it will probably be several months later before you get the men, even if you should get them at all. I beg to solicit your attention to the subject-matter of this letter. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, A. G. CURTIN Page 141 UNION AUTHORITIES. 141 [Indorsement.] FEBRUARY 29, 1864. The I~resident respectfully refers the within letter from the Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania to the Honorable Secretary of War. JNO. G. NICOLAY, Private Secretary. WASHINGTON, February 27, 1864. Hon. E. II. EAST, Secretary of State, Nashville, Teun.: Your telegram of the 26th instant asking for a copy of my dispatch to Warren Jordan, esq., at Nashville Press office, has just been referred to me by Governor Johnson. In my reply to Mr. Jordan, which was brief and hurried, I intended to say that in the county ~mnd State elections of Tennessee the oath prescribed in the proclamation of Governor Johnson on the 26th of January, 1864, ordering an election in Tennessee on the first Saturday in March next, is entirely satisfactory to me as a test of loyalty of all persons proposing or offering to vote in said elections, and coi~iing from him would better be observed and followed. There is no conflict between the oath of amnesty in my proclamation of 8th December, 1863, and that pre- scribed by Governor Johnson in his proclamation of the 26th ultimo. No person who has taken the oath of amnesty of 8th December, 1863, and obtained a pardon thereby, and who intends to observe the same in good faith, should have any objection to taking that prescribed by Governor Johnson as a test of loyalty. I have seen and examined Governor Johnsons proclamation, and am entirely satisfied with his plan, which is to restore the State government and place it under the control of citizens truly loyal to the Government of the United States. A. LINCOLN. Please send above for Governor Johnson. A. L. U. S. MILITARY TELEGRAPH OFFICE, Washington, lliliarch 1, 1864. I certify that the above telegram is a verbatim copy of a dispatch forwarded this day to Nashville, Teun., and now on file in this office. CHAS. A. TINKER, Gip her Glerlr. P. S.Please send copy of foregoing telegram to James 13. Biugham, Memphis, Tenn., and oblige, ANDREW JOHNSON, Military Governor of Tennessee. STATE OF WISCONSIN, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Madison, February 27, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.: SIR: I am directed by the Governor to transmit you the inclosed copy of a joint resolution of the Legislature of this State relative t Page 142 142 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. the extension of time for the payment of Government bounties to volunteers, which passed both houses by a unanimous vote. The Gov- ernor cordially approves the resolution and hopes the request therein contained will be granted and that you will use your influence to that end. Respectfully, FRANK H. FIRMIN, Private and Jliliilitary Secretary. [Inclosure.] JOINT RESOLUTION relative to the extension of time for the payment of Government bounties to volunteers. Whereas, the time limited for the payment of bounties to volun- teers by the Government expires on the first day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and the quotas recjuired to be furnished by the State of Wisconsin under the late calls of the President are not yet filled; and Whereas, under the patriotic action of the people the business of recruiting has been going forward for.several weeks past, and is now going on with much vigor, and recruits are coming forward as rapidly as they can be conveniently mustered into service or provided with camp accommodations, and there is good reason to believe that if the payment of bounties shall be continued for a few weeks longer the full number of soldiers required from this State will be supplied and the necessity for a draft will be obviated: Therefore, Resolved by the Assembly (the Senate concurring), That the Sena- tors and Members in Congress from this State be requested to use all possible exertions to procure an extension of time for the payment of bounties to volunteers in and for the State of Wisconsin until the first day of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-four. WILLIAM W. FIELD, Speaker of the Assembly. WYMAN SPOONER, President of the Senate. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, February 27, 1864. His Excellency JOHN BROUGH Governor of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio: SIR: Your letter of the 27th of January* in relation to the dam- ages occasioned by Morgans raid in Ohio has remained unanswered with a view to ascertain the sentiment of Congress upon claims of this nature, and to consult with Representatives from different States in like condition as to the best mode of affording redress. No doubt is entertained by me that the General Government is bound to afford compensation for losses sustained from these military raids in the respective States; but there is much difficulty in determining what is the best mode of ascertaining the damages actually sustained and guarding the Government against fraudulent claims. It seemed to me to be useless to bring the matter before the attention of Congress until the questions relative to the draft and the increase of the armies * Omitted Page 143 UNION AUTHORITIES. 143 should be determined. These bills having passed, it is my design to present an e~timate covering the claims in the respective States, and to ask Congress to provide for their liquidation and appropriate an adequate sum for their payment. No payment has been made to the State of Pennsylvania, or to any other State; but the State of Penn- sylvania has presented a claim, on which her Representatives have asked an appropriation. I do not think that method expedient, and I do not believe that it will pass. Whatever appropriation is made should be general, and sufficient to meet equally the claims of all States in like condition. There can be no objection to the individual States providing, in any manner that may be deemed proper by their authorities, for the ascertainment of the amount of the losses sustained. That was done in Minnesota and in one or two other instances. The procedure, however, is one in no degree binding upon the General Government, and I do not perceive how it can be regarded as impos- ing any new obligation upon the State to make redress to its own citizens, if redress cannot otherwise be obtained. It certainly can- not be construed as relieving the General Government from any obligations resting upon it. The opinion entertained by me as to the duty of General Government to make provision for these losses is, however, my individual opinion. There has been no action by the President or any branch of the Executive government upon the question. A difference of opinion seems to exist in Congress. My view rests simply upon what I conceive to be the relations of the Federal to the State government and the duties arising in a war of the present nature. Your obedient servant, EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. P. S.In relation to the men in the gun-boat service of the Western waters, the State has received the proper credit. These men were originally a part of the military land force. The gun-boats were built and manned by the War Department. Although they have recently been transferred to the Navy Department, the men were enrolled and mustered in the War Department, paid by it, and form a part of the credit given to the State. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. 0., February 28, 1864. General L. THOMAS, Louisville, Ky.: I see your dispatch of yesterday to the Secretary of War. I wish you would go to the Mississippi River at once and take hold of and be master in the contraband and leasing business. You understand it better than any other man does. Mr. Mellens system doubtless is well intended, but from what I hear I fear that if persisted in it would fall dead within its own entangling details. Go there and be the judge. A Mr. Lewis will probably follow you with something from me on this subject, but do not wait for him. Nor is this to induce you to violate or neglect any military order from the General-in-Chief or Secretary of War. A. LINCOLN Page 144 144 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 79. Washington, February 29, 1864. COMMANDANTS OF RENDEZVOUS FOR DRAFTED MILITIA. Any anthority which may have been heretofore given for the appoint- ment of commandants of rendezvous for drafted men or volunteers by Governors of States is hereby rescinded. By order of the Secretary of War: W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 81. Washington, February 29, 1864. The following resolution is published for the informatioii and guid- ance of all concerned: PUBLIC RESOLUTIONNO. 14. A RESOLUTION relative to the transfer of persons in the military service to the naval service. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, First. That the Provost-Marshal-General be, and is hereby, directed to enlist such persons as may desire to enter into the naval service of the United States, under such directions as may be given by the Secre- tary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, which enlistments shall be credited to the appropriate district: Provided, nevertheless, That inasmuch as persons enlisted in the naval service receive prize money, persons so enlisting shall not be entitled to receive any bounty upon their enlistment. Second. That the Presi- dent of the United States may, whenever in his judgment the public service requires, authorize and direct the transfer of persons who have been employed in sea service, and are now enlisted in regiments for land service, from such regi- ments to the naval service, upon such terms and according to such rules and regu- lations as he may prescribe: Provided, nevertheless, That the number of transfers from any company or regiment shall not be so great as to reduce such company or regiment below the minimum strengta required by the regulations of the mili- tary service: And provided further, That such sums as may have been paid to persons so transferred, as bounty for entering into the military service, shall be transferred from the recruiting fund of the naval service to the credit of the proper appropriation for the land service. SEc. 2. And be it further resolved, That there shall be paid to each enlisted able or ordinary seaman hereafter enlisted into the naval service an advance of three months pay, as a bounty, to be refunded to the Treasury from any prize money to which such enlisted man may be entitled. Approved February 24, 1864. By order of the Secretary of War: W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant-General. LOUISVILLE, Ky., February 29, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: Presidents dispatch of yesterday received. Shall leave for the Mississippi this afternoon to execnte his orders. They will not inter- fere with my organization of colored troops, which latter I consider my paramonnt duty. L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General Page 145 UNION AUTHORITIES. 145 WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., February 29, 1864. Maj. Gen. II. W. HALLEcK, Commander-in-Chief U. S. Army, Washington, D. C.: GENERAL: During the late enlistments of volunteers the heavy artillery has been a favorite arm of service, and I am informed that many regiments of that arm have now more than their maximum. It is stated that the Fourth N~w York has 2,300 men. I know them all to contain many men. Their organization permits about 1,800 men to a regiment. I respectfully suggest that special returns and reports of the heavy artillery be called for to show their condition on February 29, and that where regiments have a large excess of recruits they be trans- ferred to infantry regiments. I would also suggest that on account of the large number of recruits received by this arm, as stated, some of the regiments or battalions from them might be sent into the field as infantry. I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. INDIANAPOLIS, February 29, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal-General, Washington City: On the basis of population shown by the census of 1860, including one-half of the white population of Kentucky, Missouri, Delaware, Maryland, Western Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and omitting California, Oregon, all the rebel States and Territories, the calls made on Indiana in 1861 and 1862 were excessive 6,199. On the basis of the enrollment the calls during same years were excessive to the number of 9,986. Upon any basis of calculation with the number of men known to be recruited in the State and re-enlisted in the field it is certain that the State has more than filled her quota under all calls. Many localities are paying heavy bounties, and it will occasion great complaint if they ar~ allowed to do this after the quota is filled. Statement mailed to-day. 0. P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 21. Washington, March 1, 1864. Disbursing officers of the funds for collecting, organizing, and d~~ill- ing volunteers have been instructed to pay any one, citizen or soldier, until further orders, the sums of $15 and $10 ($15 for a veteran and $10 for a recruit) who may present to them the certificate of a regular recruiting officer that they have furnished an acceptable recruit to such officer. The $2 premium authorized by General Orders, No. 74, of July 7, 1862, will not be paid in the above cases. In all cases where the sol- 10 R RSERIES III, VOL I Page 146 146 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. dier presents himself the premium of $2 will be paid to him by the recruiting officer. The term veteran in the above case is intended to apply to those soldiers of the regular service only who have served out their full term of enlistment and who may re-enlist. W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., PRov. MAR. GENERALS OFFICE No. 8. Washington, March 1, 1864. 1. Pursuant to section 24 of the act approved February 24, 1864, amendatory of the act of March 3, 1863, boards of enrollment in dis- tricts in which there are any colored persons held to service will with- out delay proceed to enroll all such persons as are liable to military duty. 2. Enrolling officers will conduct the enrollment in the manner pre- scribed by existing orders and regulations and such other directions as the acting assistant provost-marshals-general of the States may give. 3. Enrollment lists will be made upon the printed forms (Nos. 35 and 36), altering the heading to suit, and in the column headed Former military service the name of the person to whom service is owed will be written 4. A list, with a recapitulation of the number enrolled, will be made for each sub-district, and as soon as the enrollment of the district is completed these lists will be forwarded to the acting assistant provost- marshal-general for transmission to the Provost-Marshal-General. Copies of the list will be kept in the offices of the district provost- marshal. Those lists by sub-districts will not be consolidated. 5. The provost-marshal will furnish each person to whom the per- sons owe service a list of those owing service to him who have been enrolled, specifying their names, ages, and date of enrollment. 6. It is made the duty of the acting assistant provost-marshal- general to superintend this enrollment, and to give such orders and directions as may be necessary to make it accurate and complete. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. NoTE.Amended circularThe one of the same number previously issued to be destroyed. HARRISBURG, PA., March 1, 1864. His Excellency A. LINCOLN, President of the United States: I regret to learn from Mr. Stevens that there is danger that the bill to refund money to the citizens of this State [who] paid militia last summer is in danger in the House, and that it may be before it to- morrow. This money was advanced to pay debts of the United States incurred in the actual defense of the country and the enforcement of the laws Page 147 UNION AUTHORITIES. 147 I learn that the chairman of the Military Committee opposes the bill. I would deplore the necessity of presenting this subject to our Legisla- ture, for reasons I explained to you, with the promise of the Secretary of War for you to the citizens who advanced the money and to m.e as Governor of the State. It will seem strange to the public that with a majority in both branches such a bill cannot be passed. I cannot leave Harrisburg to-day. If I could, such is my anxiety on this subject that I would go to Washington if my presence there would in the least help the passage of the bill. A. G. CURTIN, Governor of Pennsylvania. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., March 1, 1864. His Excellency JAMES Y. SMITH, Governor of Rhode Island, Providence, R. I.: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of February 25, urging that as Rhode Island has furnished her quota that none of her delinquent towns shall be subject to draft, and expressing your surprise that any other course should be proposed, and asking that no other system than the one you propose be adopted until due notice of the intended change be given to you. In reply I inclose a copy of the act approved February 24, 1864, amendatory of the enrollment act, from which you will see (section 3) that the smbject has been fixed by law. ~ I therefore respectfully notify you of the intention of this Bureau to change the system you understood to have been in force so far as to make it conform to the present law, which law did not exist at the date of my letter to you of October, 1863. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., PRov. MAR. GENERALS OFFICE, No.9. ~ Washington, March 2, 1864. Boards of enrollment will commence on the 10th instant to make the draft in all sub-districts which had not filled their quotas before the 1st instant. All volunteers who may enlist before the draft is actually made will be deducted from the quotas by the Board of Enrollment in accordance with orders, to be given in each case, by the acting assistant provost-marshals-general of the States. If the quota shall not be filled by the first draft, the Board shall make further drafts until the entire quota is obtained. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. * See p. 128 Page 148 148 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, March 2, 1864. Hon. HENRY WILSON, Chairman Committee on Military Affairs, U. S. Senate: SIR: Your note of this date requesting my views regarding Joint Resolution No. 41 of the House of Representatives, to continue the payment of bounties, & c., has just been received, and in reply I have the honor to state: First. That in my opinion the requisite troops can be raised more expeditiously by continuing the payment of bounties to the 1st of April than by any other means. Second. That at present great exertions are being made in the several States to raise their quotas by volunteers, so as to avoid a draft, the people preferring that method of furnishing troops. Third. That General Buruside, General Hancock, and State Legis- latures and Executives are earnestly requesting the continuance of the bounties until the 1st of April. Fourth. That in my opinion the joint resolution of the House is wise and judicious, and that its speedy passage by the Senate would greatly promote the public welfare and strengthen the military force more quickly and efficiently than can be accomplished in any other mode. Your obedient servant, EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. SPRINGFIELD, ILL., March 2, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON,- Secretary of War: Insurrection in Edgar County, Ill. Union men on one side, copper- heads on the other. They have had two battles; several killed. Please order Lieutenant-Colonel Oakes, assistant provost-marshal- general, to send two companies of the Invalid Corps to Paris, Ill., to put down the disturbance and keep the peace. I have no arms for militia, as you are well aware. Please answer immediately. RICHARD YATES, Governor. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., March 2, 1864. Governor YATES, Springfield, Ill.: Orders will be immediately given Lieutenant-Colonel Oakes to render you assistance, and Major-General Heintzelman will be ordered immediately to your aid. His headquarters are at Columbus. You can communicate with him as commander of the department. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War Page 149 UNION AUTHORITIES. 149 WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., March 2, 1864. Major-General HEINTZELMAN, Columbus, Ohio: You will repair forthwith to Paris, Edgar County, Ill., and, on con- sultation with Governor Yates, assist the civil authorities in restoring order and enforcing the law. Lieutenant-Colonel Gakes, with two companies of invalids, has been ordered there, with instructions to report to you on your arrival. Governor Yates reports an insurrec- tion in Edgar County and asks for troops to restore order. H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief. GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE CUMBERLAND, No. 39. Chattanooga, Tenn., March 2, 1864. The raising of two regiments of infantry of African descent will be commenced at this place without delay, nuder the direction of Col. T. J. Morgan, commanding Fourteenth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops. Colonel Morgan will receive all recruits enlisted by Mr. J. A. Spooner, agent for recruiting of colored troops at this place, as well as those recruited at such other stations as he may establish, and organize them into companies, under command of the officers of his regiment, until officers are appointed. One of these regiments will be com- posed of such men only as can pass the physical examination required of all men entering the military service of the United States. The other will be composed of all classes of colored men capable of per- forming the ordinary fatigue duties of a military depot, and as soon as companies are organized they will be subject to such details for fatigue duty as the commanding general of the department may direct. William W. Wright, chief engineer U. S. military railroads, Divis- ion of the Mississippi, has been appointed colonel of the second regi- ment named above. The major-general commanding the department will nominate for appointment the additional field and line officers, selecting such as he may deem best fitted for the service. Their names will be reported to the Bureau for Colored Troops at Washington, D. C., through Capt. R. D. Mussey, Nineteenth U. S. Infantry, acting commissioner for the organization of colored troops, when the appointments will be for- warded and the regiments receive their designation. The quartermasters, commissary, and ordnance departments will fill Colonel Morgans requisitions for the necessary stores. By command of Major-General Thomas: WM. D. WHIPPLE, Assistant Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 87. Washington, March 8, 1864. The following act of Congress is published for the information of all concerned: PUBLICNO. 12. AN ACT reviving the grade of lieutenant-general in the United States Army. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the grade of lieutenant-general be, an Page 150 150 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. the same is hereby, revived in the Army of the United States; and the President is hereby authorized, whenever he shall deem it expedient, to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a lieutenant-general, to be selected from among those officers in the military service of the United States, not below the grade of major-general, most distinguished for courage, skill, and ability, who, being commissioned as lieutenant-general, may be authorized~ under the direction and during the pleasure of the President, to command the armies of the United States. SEc. 2. And be it further enacted, That the lieutenant-general appointed as hereinbefore provided shall be entitled to the pay allowances, and staff specified in the fifth section of the act approved MaST twenty-eight, seventeen hundred and ninety-eight; and also the allowances described in the sixth section of the act approved August twenty-three, eighteen hundred and forty-two, granting addi- tional rations to certain officers: Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed in any way to affect the rank, pay, or allowances of Winfield Scott, lieutenant-general by brevet, now on the retired-list of the Army. Approved Februtary 29, 1864. By order of the Secretary of War: W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant- General. MEMORANDUM.] WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, ilfarch 3, 1864. General Orders, No. 76, dated February 26, 1864, applies to soldiers convicted only of desertion, and does not relate to persons convicted of other crimes. The latter class will be punished according to tlieir respective sentences. By order of the Secretary of War: W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant-General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington (Jity, March 3, 1864. Governor YATES, Springfield, Ill.: By authority of joint resolution of Congress passed to-day the pay- ment of bounties will be continued until further orders. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. (Same to Governor Morton, Indianapolis; Governor Andrew, Bos- ton, Mass.; Governor Seymour, Albany, N. Y.; Major-General Burn- side, New York; Major-General Hancock, Harrisburg; Andrew G. (Jurtin, Governor of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg; John Brough, Gov- ernor of Ohio, Columbus.) SPRINGFIELD, March 3, 1864. Major-General HEINTZELMAN: Have dispatch from Secretary of War that you render aid in quell- ing disturbance in Edgar County, Ill. I deemed it necessary only to send two companies of Invalid Corps to Paris, and so requested War Department Page 151 UNION AUTHORITIES. 151 Lieutenant-Colonel Oakes, assistant provost-marshal-general, Illi- nois, has been ordered to Paris with two companies by General Hal- leck, and I think that all action necessary at this time. RICHARD YATES, Governor of Illinow. INDIANAPOLIS, March 3, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: DEAR COLONEL: Let me earnestly invite the Government to pause before adopting a construction requiring a draft in a State that has filled her quota in the aggregate. ~. P. MORTON. LEAVENWORTH, March 8, 1864. Hon. S. C. POMEROY: Have Fry stop draft. Sixteenth nearly raised. Seventh and Eighth re-enlisted. Two hundred for old regiments since 300,000 call. We can meet all calls without draft. THOS. CARNEY. WAR DEPT., PROvOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., March 3, 1864. Lient. Col. JOSEPH DARR, Jr., Actg. Asst. Provost-Marshal- General, Wheeling, W. Va.: Inform General Kelley of the times and places of drafting in your State and arrange with him for such military force as may be required. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 91. Washington, March 4, 1864. Section 7 of the act approved February 24, 1864, provides as follows: And any person now in the military service of the United States, who shall furnish satisfactory proof that he is a mariner by vocation, or an able seaman, or ordinary seaman, may enlist into the Navy under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the President of the United States: Provided, That such enlistment shall not be for less than the unexpired term of his military service, nor for less than one year. And the bounty money which any mariner, or seaman, or ordinary seaman, enlisting from the Army into the Navy, may have received from the United States, or from the State in which he enlisted in the Army, shall be deducted from the prize money to which he may become entitled during the time required to complete his military serVice: And provided further, That the whole number of such transfer enlistments shall not exceed ten thousand. The following regulations are prescribed by the President of the United States to carry this act into effect: The Secretary of the Navy designates the whole number, not exceed-~ ing 12,000, which it is desirable to have at each of the several naval stations fixed upon by him, as follows: At Cairo, Ill 1,000 At Boston 2,000 AtNewYork -- 5,000 At Philadelphia ~ 000 At Baltimore 1,00 Page 152 152 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. To facilitate as much as possible the execution of the law above cited, it shall be the duty of every officer commanding a company, and of every officer commanding a recruiting rendezvous or depot, to forward all the applications made to him for transfer by seamen or ordinary seamen of his company or detachment, together with the proof that the applicants are mariners by vocation, or able or ordinary seamen, through the proper authorities, to the headquarters of the army or department in which the company is serving, or in which the rendezvous or depot may be situated; and he shall indicate in his report those of the applicants who have served longest at sea, and whether in the merchant or naval service. Not less than two years sea service will constitute an ordinary seaman, and not less than four an able seaman; and, in the absence of other proof, the applicant may be required to make oath as to the service he has seen at sea. All recruits who may be found qualified for transfer to the Navy will be retained at the depot until the decision of the army or depart- ment commander is made known. Each commanding general of an army or department which has been required to furnish a quota for transfer to the Navy will at once designate one or more officers, as may be required, to examine the applications and determine from them, according to the qualifications of the applicants and the number to be furnished, what men shall be transferred to the Navy, care being taken that the transfer enlistments shall be so apportioned among the companies of each command that no regiment shall be reduced below the minimum organization. As fast as selections are made the men selected for transfer will be sent to the designated stations in the most expeditious manner, under suitable conduct; and the officer in charge of each detachment will be furnished with complete descriptive list~, containing statements of the pay, bounty, and clothing received and due, which will be turned over with the men to the commandant of the station. Upon being accepted at the naval station the men will be dropped from the rolls of their companies as transferred to the Navy by enlist- ment; but if rejected for physical disability or for not having seen the prescribed sea service they will be sent back to their companies; and if guilty of fraud or misrepresentation in their applications the expense of transportation will be charged against their pay. Weekly reports of the men transferred under the provisions of this order will be made to the Adjutant-General of the Army. By order of the Secretary of War: W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant-General. SPRINGFIELD, ILL., March 4, 1864. Maj. Gen. S. P. HEINTZELMAN, Paris: I am surprised that the Secretary of War ordered you to Paris, as I telegraphed him to let me send two companies of the Invalid Corps there, which I supposed would do for the present. Colonel Oakes is on his way to Paris; left here this morning. I desire you to confer with Doctor Kyle and George M. Rives, of Paris Page 153 UNION AUTHORITIBS. 153 All that I can suggest is that the 2,000 men represented by Rives and Kyle to be in arms, be informed that any insurrection on their part will be at once put down by the Government. RICHARD YATES, Governor of Illinois. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., March 4, 1864. THOMAS WEBSTER, Esq. 1210 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.: SIR: In reply to your letter of the 27th ultimo I am directed to say that you are hereby authorized to raise another regiment of infantry, to be composed of colored men, and to be mustered into the service of the United States for three years or during the war. The regi- ment raised under this authority will be known and designated as the Forty-third Regiment U. S. Colored Troops. The instructions here- tofore given in regard to organization, musters, & c., will govern in this case. I have the honor to be, & c., C. W. FOSTER, Assistant Adjutant- General of Volunteers. WHEELING, March 4, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: I have been shown a dispatch from you to Lieutenant-Colonel Darr, acting assistant provost-marshal-general of this State, requiring him to inform General Kelley of the times and places of drafting in this State, and to arrange with him for such military force as may be required. I cannot understand this, as this State. has furnished more than quota of volunteers as fixed by you, and 1,500 of an excess, according to the statement of my adjutant-general. This is to the 1st of March; by the 10th of March the excess will be over 2,000. I shall be pleased to have your understanding of the matter and to know what you yet claim. A. I. BOREMAN, Governor of West Virginia. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., March 4, 1864. His Excellency Governor A. I. BOREMAN, Wheeling, W. Va.: Your telegram of to-day received. Orders have been sent this date suspending the draft. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General Page 154 154 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., March 4, 1864. Maj. J. W. T. GARDINER, Acting Assistant Provost-Marshal- General, Augusta, Me.: Orders requiring draft on 10th instant are suspended. A subse- quent day for commencing the draft will be announced in time to make all necessary preparations. Notify the Governor. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. (Operator will send similar dispatches to the following: Brig. Gen. E. W. Hunks, Concord, N. H.; Brig. Gen. T. G. Pitcher, Brattleborough, Vt.; Maj. Francis N. Clarke, Boston, Mass.; Capt. William Silvey, Providence, R. I.; Maj. D. D. Perkins, Hartford, Conn.; Brig. Gen. William Hays, New York City; Maj. Frederick Townsend, Albany, N. Y.; Maj. A. S. Diven, Elmira, N. Y.; Lieut. Col. R. C. Buchanan, Trenton, N. J.; Maj. C. C. Gilbert, Philadelphia, Pa.; Lient. Col. J. V. Bomford, Harrisburg, Pa.; Col. N. L. Jeifries, Baltimore, Md.; Lieut. CoL Joseph Darr, jr., Wheeling, W. Va.; Maj. W. H. Sidell, Louisville, Ky.; Col. E. B. Alexander, Saint Louis, Mo.; Col. J. H. Potter, Columbus, Ohio; Col. Conrad Baker, Indianapolis, md.; Lieut. Col. James Oakes, Springfield, Ill.; Lieut. Col. Bennett H. Hill, Detroit, Mich.; Maj. Thomas Duncan, Davenport, Iowa; Col. James D. Greene, Madison, Wis.; Lieut. Col. John T. Averill, Saint Paul, Minn.; Capt. Sidney Clarke, Leavenworth, Kans.) GENERAL ORDERS, ~ WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 92. Washington, March 5, 1864. The following -joint resolution by the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives of the United States of America is published for the infor- mation of the Army and all concerned: PUBLIC REsoLUTIoNNo. 16. JOINT EESOLUTION to continue the payment of bounties. Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the bounties authorized to be paid under existing laws, and by regulations and orders of the War Department, to veterans re-enlisting or persons enlisting in the regular or volunteer service of the United States for three years or during the war, shall continue to be paid from the first day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, to the first day of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, ~tnything in any law or regulation to the contrary not- withstanding; the said bounties to be paidoutof anymoneys already appropriated for such purposes. Approved March 3, 1864. By order of the Secretary of War: W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., March 5, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: I have the honor to request that the organization known as the Invalid Corps may be hereafter called the Veteran Reserve Corps Page 155 155 UNION AUTHORITIES. There are in my judgment good and sufficient reasons for this change. This change of name is not intended to alter any of the principles or rules upon which the corps was organized and by which it is governed. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. (Indorseinont.] Approved. E. M. STANTON. PARIS, ILL., March 5, 1864. Maj. Gen. H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief: I arrived here yesterday at 8 a. in., and at 3 p. m. Captain Hills company of invalids from Chicago; Lieutenant-Colonel Oakes at 1 this morning. Some more troops are expected momentarily. I found the town perfectly quiet, the account being greatly exagger- ated. No one has been killed and but three wounded. I will order Lieutenant-Colonel Oakes back to his duties as his troops arrive, and will leave for my headquarters by the first train. A more detailed report will be furnished. * S. P. IIEINTZELMAN, Major- General. SENAT~ CHAMBER, THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, Washington City, March 6, 1864. Colonel FRY: SIR: I have received this telegraph from Governor Carney, of my State. t As those additional regiments are nearly full, of course you will not order a draft in Kansas. Our quota is full, if you get the returns in season. I hope you will telegraph at once to the Governor. Truly, S. C. POMEROY. HDQRS. ACTG. ASST. PRov. MAR. GEN., STATE Oi~ KENTUCKY, Louisville, Ky., March 5, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal-General, Washington, D. C.: COLONEL: I have the honor to inclose herewith a letter from Adju- tant-General Boyle, of this State, asking a question which I have not the data to answer, viz: Why, under the call for 500,000 men in 1861, Kentucky was required to furnish 27,211 men, while now under a call for the same number she is required to furnish but 14,471. My reply to General Boyle suggests that the deductions now made while there were none to be credited in 1861 may account for the discrepancy. I inclose also copy of my letter addressed to one of my provost- marshals, being of the general form addressed to each. It was issued *See April 8, p. 221. tSeep. 151 Page 156 156 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. immediately after receipt of your letter of 23d February, and was intended to convey its information to the provost-marshals severally. I would respectfully ask if it be in strict conformity with your letter of 23d of February, as I find some ambiguous points in that letter. I assume that the work of the commissaries of musters has been adjusted in the Adjutant-Generals Office, as there are no returns whatever of this work in this office. Lieutenant-Colonel Flint is chief commissary of musters of the Department of the Ohio, through whom the commissaries report, and also, as I understand, report directly to the Adjutant-General. I respectfully ask to be informed on this point, in order that I may speak advisedly when consulted by the Governor or other proper authorities. I am, colonel, respectfully, your obedient servant, W. H. SIDELL, Major Fifteenth U. Infly., Acty. AssI. Prov. Mar., Gen. [Inclosure No. 1.1 HDQRS. KENTUCKY VOLS., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Franlcfort, March 4, 1864. Maj. W. H. SIDELL, 1J. S. Army, Actg. Asst. Prov. Mar. Gen., Dist. of Ky., Louisville, Ky.: MAJOR: The Louisville Journal of this day contains a notice from yourself that bounties will be paid until April 1 proximo. Does this indicate a suspension of the draft until that time? Mr. ilaydon has delivered me your letter and accompanying papers, for which I thank you. Does it not appear unreasonable, however, that under a call for 500,000 men in 1861 Kentucky should be required to furnish 27,211 (which she more than did), while under a similar call now she is expected to raise only 14,471? Ought we not in justice be credited with our overplus for 1861 and 1862? I forbear to say more at present until we learn of the suspension of the draft or not. If suspended, I will endeavor to see you before April 1. Please answer early. Respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN BOYLE, Adjutant- General. (Inclosure No. 2.] HDQRS. ACTG. ASST. PROY. MAR. GEN., STATE OF KENTUCKY, Louisville, Ky., March 1, 1864. Capt. ROLAND II. hALL, Provost-Marshal, First Dist. of Kentucky, Paducah, Ky.: CAPTAIN: I have been furnished by the Provost-Marshal-General. with the quota for Kentucky to fill the call of the President for 500,000 men for the several districts; also the number of volunteers up to 31st January from the districts at large not heretofore credited, so far as known to him. These numbers for the First District are as follows: Quota under the Presidents call 1,767 Number of volunteers up to January 31, as above, not heretofore credited - 483 First. You will at once proceed to ascertain the proper proportions of the qaota (1,767) of the district for the several sub-districts on th Page 157 UNION AbUTIIORITIES. 157 basis of the total enrolled of first and second classes in the manner heretofore explained. Second. You will also by the same rule and process ascertain the proportions for the several sub-districts of the number of volunteers (as above, 483) not heretofore credited up to January 31. Others not heretofore credited are now to be considered for the several sub-dis- tricts and credited accordingly, as follows: Third. The number recruited directly for the sub-districts prior to 1st of February, as heretofore (8th of February) sent you from this office, and repeated as follows: Sub-district. County. Number. First McCracken 1 Eighth Crittenden 804 Eleventh Lyon 75 Twelfth Caidwell 71 Thirteenth Trigg 71 Fourteenth Marshall 1 Tenth Livingston 11 All other None. Total Fourth. The number of recruits made at these headquarters in the seVeral sub-districts in February, viz: All sub-districts, none. Fifth. Any and all recruits that have been enlisted and mustered by you during the month of February you will also add to the number to be subtracted from the ~whole quota, though the reports tn-monthly may have been forwarded to these headquarters. Sixth. The number of veterans recruited at this office for the several sub-districts, for which the sub-district will, in like manner as above, be credited as follows: All sub-districts, none. The numbers obtained under the second head and shown under the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth heads for each of the several sub- districts, as obtained under the first head. The remainder will be the number subject to draft in the several sub-districts. You will please make out the quota of the sub-districts without the least delay, and report them with all the figures and particulars, as soon as made, to this office in duplicate. I am, captain, respectfully, your obedient servant, W. II. SIDELL, Major Fifteenth U. S. Infly., A. A. P. M. G. for Kentucky. M1~MPrns, TENN., March 7, 186410 a. m. Hon. EDwIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: Mr. Mellen has just arrived, and I proceed with him to Vicksburg in an hour. Of colored troops at this place there are two regiments of heavy artillery, aggregate, 2,284; one light battery, 98; three regi- ments of infantry, 2,901; grand aggregate, 5,283. As these regiments have remained here during the absence of General Shermans com- mand, I cannot account for the report made at Washington that ther Page 158 158 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. were two or three colored regiments on the river. I shall find com- petent garrisons for other troops on the river by the end of the month. An additional regiment of infantry will be organized here. L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General U. S. Army. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, March 7, 1864. Maj. Gen. N. P. BANKS, U. S. Volunteers, Gomdg. Department of the Gulf, New Orleans, La.: GENERAL: I am directed to invite your attention to General Orders, No. 47, from your headquarters, dated June 6, 1863. The organization therein established is in numbers inconsistent with Mustering Regulations and General Orders, No. 110, War Depart- ment, Adjutant-Generals Office, 1863. It is not supposed that this fact has escaped your attention, and it is believed that some special considerations, unknown to the Department, have rendered it neces- sary in your opinion that the colored troops be organized in the man- ner set forth in the order referred to. The latest returns on file in this office do not show that the regiments and companies have been increased to the maximum as provided in the first paragraph of said order. A report from you on this subject is respectfully requested. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, C. W. FOSTER, Assistant Adjutant- General. [MARCH 8, 1 864.For joint resolution of thanks of Congress to the volunteer soldiers who have re-enlisted in the Army, approved March 3, 1864, and announced in General Orders, No. 88, War Department, Adjutant-Generals Office, see Series I, Vol. XXXIV, Part II, p. 627.] GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OF~FICE, No. 89. Washington, March 8, 1864. All Confederate bills, notes, or bonds in the hands of officers or agents of the Government will be transmitted to the Adjutant-Gen- eral of the Army, with a specified statement how and from whom they were received. If captured, the circumstances of the capture will be stated; and .if any portion has been expended, the amount and mode of expenditure will be given. Commanding officers of departments, armies in the field, independent posts, regiments, and companies are charged with the execution of this order. By order of the Secretary of War: W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant- General Page 159 UNION AUTHORITIES. 159 CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No.22. ~ Washington, March 8, 1864. I am directed to inform you that all men enlisting or re-enlisting into the Regular Army from the different armies in the field, or from the District of Columbia, will be allowed to select the State, district, township, town, and ward to which they prefer being credited. The localities to which men prefer being credited must be indorsed on their enlistment papers. Enlistments or re-enlistments into the Regular Army made in the loyal States will be credited to the localities where the enlistments or re-enlistments are made. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. OFFICE ACTG. ASST. PROY. MAR. GEN. FOR ILLINOIS, Springfield, March 8, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal-General, Washington, D. C.: COLONEL: I have the honor to ask if any action is contemplated to check the removal from the State of persons subject to military duty. In view of the near approach of the draft this movement has already begun and is rapidly assuming a serious character. Captain Westlake, provost-marshal, Ninth District, under date of March 7, 1864, says: At least 1,000 young and able-bodied men intend to leave this district for California, Idaho, and other places, with a view of escaping the draft. * * * The copperheads are the ones who intend to leave. Something shouldbe done to stop them from leavingthe State, & c. Having received similar information from other portions of Illinois, I would respectfully suggest that the matter should receive the early attention of the Government, and measures be taken to arrest this tide of emigration, if practicable, at least until after the draft, or that parties leaving should be made answerable in a proper bond, or other- wise, for their appearance if drafted. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAMES OAKES, Lient. Col. Fourth U. S. Cavalry, A. A. P. M. G. for Illinois. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 23. Washington, March 9, 1864. Under the provisions of General Orders, No. 91, current series, from this office, relative to enlistments from the Army into the Navy, the following quotas are assigned the departments herein enumerated, as follows: Department of the East 3,000 Middle Department 1, 500 Department of Virginia and North Carolina 1, 500 Department of Washington - 2,500 Department of the Susquehanna 2,000 Department of the Monongahela 500 Northern Department 1,000 Total 12,00 Page 160 160 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Commanding generals of departments will communicate with the Navy Department, and cause the men selected for transfer to be sent to the designated stations in such numbers as may be fixed by the Secretary of the Navy. W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant- General. WASHINGTON, D. C., March 9, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: Under the provisions of the act of April 4,1862, which author- izes the President to assign to command officers of the same grade, without regard to seniority of rank, the undersigned, a major-general, was assigned in July, 1862, to the command of the land forces of the United States. Since that time the higher grade of lieutenant-gen- eral has been created, and the distinguished officer promoted to that rank has received his commission and reported for duty. I there- fore respectfully request that orders be issued placing him in com- mand of the Army and relieving me from that duty. In making this request I am influenced solely by a desire to conform to the provisions of the law, which, in my opinion, imposes upon the lieutenant-general the duties and responsibilities of the General-in-Chief of the Army. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief. BOSTON, March 9, 1864. SECRETARY OF WAR: The Granite State has uttered her voice in favor of the war policy of the Government. The soldiers of New Hampshire have aided civilians and citizens to achieve a great constitutional victory, on the field or at their homes. Our boys in blue will give no quarter to treason. J. A. GILMORE, Governor of New Hampshire. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., March 9, 1864. Governor GILMORE, Boston: Accept my thanks for your telegram and my cordial congratula- tions to yourself and the patriotic people of the State for their great loyal victory. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D. C., March 10, 1864. Under the authority of an act of Congress to revive the grade of lieutenant-general in the U. S. Army, approved February 29, 1864 Page 161 UNION AUTHORITIES. 1161 Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, U. S. Army, is assigned to the com- mand of the Armies of the United States. * ABRAHAM LINCOLN. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 96. Washington, March 10, 1864. ARMS AND CAMP EQUIPAGE OF FURLOUGHED REGIMENTS. 1. When veteran volunteer regiments are sent on furlough, the men of the regiments who go home will take their arms and accouterments with them to the State rendezvous, where they will be left in store until the regiment assembles again at the expiration of its furlough. 2. The superintendent of the recruiting service will detail as many reliable regimental officers as may be necessary to remain at the ren- dezvous in charge of the arms and accouterments thus left, and will immediately report to the Adjutant-General the names of the officers detailed. They will receive their furloughs after the regiment returns to the rendezvous. 3. The officers detailed to take charge of this property will be held strictly accountable that it is preserved in good order. They will exchange invoices and receipts for the same, on which the condition of each article will be noted, and will make a special return of it to the Adjutant-General, on which the regiments and companies to whom it belongs will be specified. 4. At the expiration of the furlough granted the regiment, the arms and accouterments will again be turned over to the regimental and company officers, who should be responsible for them when in the hands of the men; and they will be responsible that when the men return to the Army, their arms and accouterments shall return with them in serviceable condition. 5. This order is not intended to apply to men furloughed as indi- viduals when their regiments do not re-enlist, who will turn in their arms and accouterments to the officer responsible therefor before they leave their companies. 6. The camp and garrison equipage of a furloughed regiment will be properly cared for until its return, according to orders which may be given by the commanders in the field. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, March 10, 1864. Major-General HEINTZELMAN, Commanding Northern Department, Columbus, Ohio: SIR: The Secretary of War directs me to transmit to you, herewith inclosed, a copy of a communication from the acting assistant pro- vost-marshal-general for Indiana to the Provost-Marshal-General, relating to the supposed treasonable designs of certain disloyal parties in Indiana and Illinois. 11 R RSERIES III, VOL IV *For Grants order assuming command, see Series I, Vol. XXXII, Part III, p. 83 Page 162 162 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. The Secretary of War desires that you give the matter early and diligent attention, and that you keep the Department posted about the movements of the parties referred to and the action taken by you to defeat their plans. The employment of the persons named in Col- onel Bakers letter is authorized for this purpose, as well as the employ- ment of any oth~ir means that you may think necessary and proper in the premises. Very respectfully, ED. R. ~. CANBY, Brigadier- General and Assistant Adjutant- General. I Liiclosure.1 OFFICE IIDQRs. ASST. PROV. MAR. GEN. FOR INDIANA, Indianapolis, md., March 5, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: SIR: The evidence is daily accumulating of an intention on the part of the disloyal portion of the citizens of this State and of the State of Illinois to revolt against the Government as soon as their plans are perfected and a favorable opportunity offers. I think, with proper skill and energy, their treasonable schemes could be exposed and some of their leaders brought to merited punishment. I have strong reasons for believing that arrangements have been made for procur- ing arms from Canada, and that they are to be distributed from Chicago, Fort Wayne, and other points. The machinery by which the dupes of these leaders are to be educated up to the point of open resistance to the Government consists of secret oath-bound societies, the organization of which is fast being perfected all over the State. I am in communication with two of the members of this organiza- tion, who connected themselves with it for the purpose of serving the Government, and both of whom I believe to be thoroughly loyal and reliable. One of them, John Jackson, has within a few days enlisted as a soldier in the One hundred and first Regiment Indiana Volun- teers, and I think, with the knowledge he possesses of the plans of these traitors, and having their confidence as he has, he could be much more useful to the Government by retaining him in this State than by sending him to the field. The other is a man with good social position, a physician by profes- sion, quite intelligent, and possessed of considerable property. He has already spent some money and much time in making himself acquainted with the plans of these men, for the purpose of ultimately using the information for the benefit of the Government. His name is Henry I. Zumro, and his residence Huntington, md. I beg leave to suggest the propriety of employing him for detective purposes at such salary as would justify the risk of loss of life and property he would incur in the event of his relations to the Government being discovered. His services could be secured for $100 per month. If he were employed in the ordinary way, through the provost-marshal of the district, the employment would most probably be known. If he should be employed the fact should only be known by himself and the officer employing him. I further suggest that if the recruit Jackson should be detailed for similar duty in this State the fact of the detail should not be made known to any person or officer in the State, except himself and the officer to whom he might be directed to report. I would then have him to perform the part of a deserter and return t Page 163 UNION AUTHORITIES. 163 his disloyal associates, by whom he would be sure to be treated with new marks of confidence. Through these two men I think other reliable men could be initiated into the order and an amount of evi- dence could be accumulated which would secure a complete exposure and the punishment of the most guilty. I am satisfied that the assassination of the Governor of this State is one of the objects contemplated by some of the men connected with this treasonable organization, the design being to transfer the execu- tive power of the State to disloyal hands by vesting it in an officer who is known to sympathize with treason. If the suggestions I have made are deemed worthy of serious con- sideration, their execution might be intrusted to- the major-general commanding the department. If it was thought necessary to have an officer on duty in this State in immediate connection with the parties employed, I beg leave to suggest that Brigadier-General Carrington, now on duty with Governor Morton, is well fitted for the duty. Believ- ing that the subject merits attention, I have thought it proper to submit these views for your consideration. The hostility to the Government among the disloyal portion of the citizens of this State is less demonstrative than it was last summer, but it is also better organized and more determined, and therefore more dangerous. I have the honor, colonel, to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, CONRAD BAKER, Colonel and Acting Assistant Provost-Marshal-General. HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI, Saint Louis, March 10, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: Having carefully examined into the condition and position of this department, I am satisfied that the interests of the service require the following measures: First. The provost-marshal-generals department here should be filled throughout the State with able and impartial military men, prop- erly qualified and free from all interest or bias in local politics, while they should be sound, earnest, national men. This being in my power, I am effecting. Second. The security of internal peace and order, the suppression of guerrilla and other unlawful or thieving orgaiiizations, will be best effected by disciplined, well-officered troops from other States. This will require from one to two regiments of infantry and four regiments of cavalry from elsewhere, but it will disband 2,400 enrolled militia and enable us to more than double the force we thus borrow by con- verting the Missouri troops now in the U. S. service and U. S. Volun- teers ready for duty out of the State. This change of troops is demanded by many high considerations, political and economical, and all the more necessary in view of the approaching political canvass for State officers and policy. The people are ripe for it and it will save expense. Third; The ten regiments of Missouri State Militia troops now in our service ought to be converted into U. S. Volunteers or veterans, or disbanded. This will save us $250,000 per annum, and increas Page 164 164 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. the efficiency of the troops which will then be available for service outsid~ of the State. Fourth. When these are effected, these Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas troops should be combined and sweep the country west of the Mississippi to the Gulf. The season is advanced, and to make effectual work on the suggestions proposed your immediate decision should be announced. Further reasons and details relating to these views will be furnished if desirable. W. S. ROSECRANS, Major- General. ORDERS No. 7.] VICKSBURG, Miss., March 11, 1864. All troops of African descent will hereafter be designated by num- bers, and be reported by the number as regiments of U. S. cavalry, heavy artillery, light artillery, or infantry (colored). Those in the Department of the Tennessee will be numbered as follows, herein- after. Those in the Department of the Gulf will be numbered as soon as complete returns of the same have been received. After the regi- ments have been designated in accordance with the above, under no circumstances whatever will any other number or denomination be given them. CAVALRY. First Regiment Mississippi Cavalry, of African descent, as the Third. HEAVY ARTILLERY. First Regiment Tennessee Heavy Artillery, of African descent, as the Second. Second Regiment Tennessee Heavy Artillery, of African descent, as the Third. First Regiment Mississippi Heavy Artillery, of African descent, as the Fourth. Second Regiment Mississippi Heavy Artillery, of African descent, as the Fifth. LIGHT ARTILLERY. First, Second, and Third Louisiana Batteries, of African descent, as Batteries A, B, and C, Second. The Memphis Light Battery, of African descent, as Company D, Second. INFANTRY. First Regiment Arkansas Volunteers, of African descent, as the Forty-sixth. Eighth Regiment Louisiana Volunteers, of African descent, as the Forty-seventh. Tenth Regiment of Louisiana Volunteers, of African descent, as the Forty-eighth. Eleventh Regiment Louisiana Volunteers, of African descent, as the Forty-ninth. Twelfth Regiment Louisiana Volunteers, of African descent, as the Fiftieth Page 165 UNION AUTHORITIES. 165 First Regiment Mississippi Volunteers, of African descent, as the Fifty-first. Second Regiment of Mississippi Volunteers, of African descent, as the Fifty-second. Third Regiment Mississippi Volunteers, of African descent, as the Fifty-third. Second Regiment of Arkansas Volunteers, of African descent, as the Fifty-fourth. First Regiment Alabama Volunteers, of African descent, as the Fifty-fifth. Third Regiment Arkansas Volunteers, of African descent, as the Fifty-sixth. Fourth Regiment Arkansas Volunteers, of African descent, as the Fifty-seventh. Sixth Regiment Mississippi Volunteers, of African descent, as the Fifty-eighth. First Regiment West Tennessee Volunteers, of African descent, as the Fifty-ninth. First Regiment Iowa Volunteers, of African descent, as the Sixtieth. Second Regiment West Tennessee Volunteers, of African descent, as the Sixty-first. First Regiment Missouri Volunteers, of African descent, as the Sixty-second. Ninth Regiment Louisiana Volunteers, of African descent, as the Sixty-third. Seventh Regiment Louisiana Volunteers, of African descent, as the Sixty-fourth. Second Regiment Missouri Volunteers, of African descent, as the Sixty-fifth. Fourth Regiment Mississippi Volunteers, of African descent, as the Sixty-sixth. Third Regiment Missouri Volunteers, of African descent, as the Sixty-seventh. Fourth Regiment Missouri Volunteers, of African descent, as the Sixty-eighth. By order of the Secretary of War: L. ThOMAS, Adjutant- General. ORDERS No. 8.] VICKSBURG, Miss., March 11, 1864. Brig. Gen. W. A. Pile, U. S. Volunteers, now charged with the organization of colored troops in Missouri, is authorized to assigu such officers and enlisted men as may be disposable for the purpose of recruiting colored troops in the State of Missouri. No officer detailed for this duty will be permitted to remain at any one point longer than it becomes evident that all available men have been recruited in the locality where he may be stationed. On the application of Brigadier-General Pile, the major-general commanding the Department of the Missouri will detail such commis- sioned officers and enlisted men from regiments as the former officer may desire, to fill positions in the colored regiments to be raised under his (General Piles) supervision. All so detailed will receive the appointments to which they may be nominated by General Pile on that officer making application to Brig. Gen. L. Thomas, Adjutant- General U. S. Army, at Vicksburg, Miss., provided all that are s Page 166 166 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. nominated have passed a satisfactory examination before a properly authorized board. As soon as General Pile has completed the organization of the colored regiments now being raised he will commence recruiting one or more additional regiments. By order of the Secretary of War: L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General. ORDERS No. 9.] VJCKSBURG, Miss., March 11, 1864. The following regulations respecting the leasing of plantations within the limits of the Military Division of the Mississippi, and the management of the freedmen thereon, are published for the informa- tion and government of all concerned: The rules adopted by Maj. Gen. N. P. Banks in the Department of the Gulf have, for the sake of uniformity, been taken as a basis, with such modifications as the experience of the past year has dictated as most beneficial to the interest of this section of the country. The occupation of the plantations and employment of the freedmen, having been directed by the President of the United States, must be regarded as a settled policy of the Government, and it is the duty of all military commanders and troops to afford protection to the fullest extent to this most important interest whenever it can properly be done. When steam-boats are employed by proper authority, transporting freedmen or supplies for plantations, such boats will not be taken possession of unless under an imperative necessity, and then only under the immediate order of the general in command of the depart- ment, corps, or district. I. The enlistment of soldiers from plantations under cultivation in this department, having been suspended by order of the Government, will not be resumed except upon direction of the same high authority. II. Provost-marshals shall be distributed at convenient points in the neighborhood of leased plantations, whose duty it shall be to see that justice and equity are observed in all relations between employers of freedmen and those employed, and to exercise such other police duties as shall be assigned to them by the district commanders appoint- ing them. The districts over which they shall exercise these duties shall be called police districts. III. Provision will be made for the establishment of a sufficient number of schoolsone at least for each of the police districtsfor the instruction of colored children under twelve years of age, which will be established by and placed under the direction of the superin- tendent of public education. IV. Soldiers will not be allowed to visit plantations without the written consent of the commanding officer of the regiputent or post to which they are attached, and never with arms, except when on duty, accompanied by an officer. V. Plantation hands will not be allowed to pass from one place to another, except under such regulations as may be established by the provost-marshal of the police district. VI. Flogging and other cruel or unusual punishment are inter- dicted. VII. Planters will be required as early as practicable after the publication of these regulations to make a roll of persons employe Page 167 UNION AUTHORITIES. 167 upon their estates, and to transmit the same to the provost-marshal of the district. In the employment of hands the unity of families will be secured as far as po~Kble. VIII. All questions between the employer and the employed, until other tribunals are established, will be decided by the provost-mar- shal of the police district, subject to appeal to the higher authorities. IX. Sick and disabled persons will be provided for on the planta- tions to which they belong, except such as may be received in estab- lishments provided for them by the Government at the freedmens home farms, which establishments shall be under the exclusive control and direction of the respective superintendents thereof, and all commanders of military forces stationed thereon will see that all proper military protection is afforded, and wilt aid in carrying out the police regulations thereof as desired by the superintendents. X. The unauthorized purchase of clothing or other property from laborers will be punished by fine and imprisonment. The sale of whisky or other intoxicating drinks to them or other persons, except under regulations established by the commander of the dis- trict, will be followed by the severest punishment. XI. The possession of arms or concealed or dangerous weapons, without authority, will be punished by fine and imprisonment. XII. Laborers shall render to their employer, between daylight and dark ten hours in summer and nine hours in winter, of respectful, honest, faithful labor, and receive therefor, in addition to just treat- ment, healthy rations, comfortable clothing, quarters, fuel, medical attendance, and instruction for children, wages per month as follows, payment of one-half of which, at least, shall be reserved until the end of the year, and lessees will discourage all payment of monthly wages as far as it can be done without discontent, and reserve the same as above stated: The minimum wages for males over fourteen years of age, and competent to do a well mans work, $10 per month; for females over fourteen years of age, and competent to do a well womans work, $7 per month; children from twelve w fourteen years of age, inclusive, and of those too feeble to earn full wages, half the above amounts will be paid, or a specified amount to be agreed upon by the employer and the employed, subject to the approval of the superintendent of the freedmens home farm nearest thereto. Engineers and foremen, when faithful in the discharge of their duties, will be paid such additional sums as shall be agreed upon and approved by the proper home farm superintendent. This schedule of wages may be commuted by agreement between the employer and the employ6s, subject to approval as above. Wages will be deducted in case of sickness, and rations also when sickness is feigned. Indolence, insolence, disobedience of orders, and crime will be suppressed by forfeiture of paysuch forfeitures to go to the fund for the support of the helpless freed peopleand such punish- ments as are provided for similar offenses by Army Regulations. Sunday work will be avoided when practicable, but when necessary will be considered as extra labor, and paid at the rates specified herein. XIII. When laborers are furnished with employment they will be held to their engagement for one year, under the protection of the Government. In cases of attempted imposition, by feigning sickness or stubborn refusal of duty, they will be turned over to the provost- marshal of the police districts for labor upon the public works with- out pay Page 168 168 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. XIV. Laborers will be permitted to cultivate land on private account, as shall be agreed between them and the employers, subject to the approval of the provost-marshal of the district. The encour- agement of independent industry will strengthen all the advantages which capital derives from labor, and enable the laborer to take care of himself and prepare for the time when he can render so much labor for so much money, which is the great end to be attained. XV. To protect the laborer from possible imposition no commuta- tion of his supplies will be allowed, except in clothing, which may be commuted at the rate of $3 per month. The crops will stand pledged, wherever found, for the wages of labor. XVI. It is advised, as far as practicable, that employers provide for the current wants of their hands by perquisites for extra labor or by appropriation of land for share cultivation. XVII. A free labor bank will be established for the safe deposit of all accumulations of wages and other savings; and in order to avoid a possible wrong to depositors, by official defalcation, authority will be asked to connect the bank with a treasury of the United States in the Military Division of the Mississippi. XVIII. The rules and regulations of the supervising special agent of the Treasury Department dated January 7, 1864, and the terms and conditions of all contracts made in pursuance thereof for leasing abandoned plantations and employing freedmen, are hereby approved, except as to the classification and compensation of hands, and as to police matters, which shall be as herein provided. XIX. The last years experience shows that the planter and the negro comprehend the revolution. The overseer, having little inter- est in capital and less sympathy with labor, dislikes the trouble of thinking, and discredits the notion that anything new has occurred. He is a relic of the past and adheres to its customs. His stubborn refusal to comprehend the condition of things occasioned most of the troubles of the past year. Where such incomprehension is chronic, reduced wages, diminished rations, and the mild punishments imposed by the Army and Navy will do good. XX. These regulations are based upon the assumption that labor is a public duty and idleness and vagrancy a crime. No civil or mil- itary officer of the Government is exempt from the operation of this universal rule. Every enlightened community has enforced it upon all classes of people by the severest penalties. It is especially neces- sary in agricultural pursuits. That portion of the people identified with the cultivation of the soil, however changed in condition by the revolution through which we are passing, is not relieved from the neces- sity of toil, which is the condition of existence with all the children of God. The revolution has altered its tenure, but not its law. This universal law of labor will be enforced upon just terms by the Gov- ernment, under whose protection the laborer rests secure in his rights. Indolence, disorder, and crime will be suppressed. Having exercised the highest right in the choice and place of employment, he must be held to the fulfillment of his engagements until released therefrom by the Government. The several provost-marshals are hereby invested with plenary powers upon all matters connected with labor, subject to the approval of the commanding officer of the district. The most faithful and discreet officers will be selected for this duty, and the largest force consistent with the public service detailed for their assistance. XXI. Employers, and especially overseers, are notified that undue in fiueuce used to move the marshal from his just balance between th Page 169 UNION AUTHORITIES. 169 parties representing iabor and capital will result in immediate change of officers, and thus defeat that regular and stable system upon which the interests of all parties depend. XXII. Successful industry is especially necessary at the present time, when large public debts and onerous taxes are imposed to main- tain and protect the liberties of the people and the integrity of the Union. All officers, civil or military, and all classes of citizens who assist in extending the profits of labor and increasing the products of the soil, upon which in the end all national prosperity and power depend, will render to the Government a service as great as that derived from the terrible sacrifices of battle. It is upon such consid- eration only that the planter is entitled to favor. The Government has accorded to him, in a period of anarchy, a release from the dis- orders resulting mainly from insensate and mad resistance to sensible reforms, which can iiever be rejected without revolution, and the criminal surrender of his interests and power to crazy politicians, who thought by metaphysical abstractions to circumvent the laws of God. It has restored to him in improved, rather than impaired, condition his due privileges, at a moment when, by his own acts, the very soil was washed from beneath his feet. XXIII. A more majestic and wise clemency history does not exhibit. The liberal and just conditions that attend it cannot be disregarded. It protects labor by enforcing the performance of its duty, and it will assist capital by compelling just contributions to the demands of the Government. Those who profess allegiance to other governments will be required, as the condition of residence in the Military Division of the Mississippi, to acquiesce, without reservation, in the demands presented by Government as a basis of permanent peace. The non- cultivation of the soil, without just reason, will be followed by tempo- rary forfeiture to those who will secure its improvement. Those who have exercised or are entitled to the rights of citizens of the United States will be required to participate in the measures nec- essary for the re-establishment of civil government. War can never cease except as civil governments crush out contest and secure the supremacy of moral over physical power. The yellow harvest must wave over the crimson field of blood and the representatives of the people displace the agents of purely military power. XXIV. It is therefore a solemn duty resting upon all persons to assist in the earliest possible restoration of civil government. Let them participate in the measures suggested for this purpose. Opin- ion is tree and candidates are numerous. Open hostility cannot be permitted. Indifference will be treated as crime and faction as trea- son. Men who refuse to defend their country with the ballot-box or cartridge-box have no just claim to the benefits of liberty regulated by law. All people not exempt by the law of nations, who seek the protection of the Government, are called upon to take the oath of alle- giance in such form as may be prescribed, sacrificing to the public good and the restoration of public peace whatever scruples may be suggested by incidental considerations. The oath of allegiance, admin- istered and received in good faith, is the best of unconditional fealty to the Government and all its measures, and cannot be materially strengthened or impaired by the language in which it is clothed. XXV. The amnesty offered for the past i~ conditioned upon an unreserved loyalty for the future, and this condition will be enforced with an iron hand. Whoever is indifferent or hostile must choose between the liberty which foreign lands afford, the poverty of th Page 170 170 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. rebel States, and the innumerable and inappreciable blessings which our Government confers upon its people. May God preserve the Union of the States! By order of the Secretary of War: L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRs. DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, No. 35. New Orleans, March 11, 1864. I. An election will be held on Monday, the 28th day of March, at 9 a. in., in each of the election precincts established by law in this State, for the choice of delegates to a convention to be held for the revision aud amendment of the constitution of Louisiana. II. The several parishes shall be entitled to elect the number of delegates herein assigned to each, upon the basis of white population exhibited by the census of 1860, to be chosen in each parish on one ticket by the qualified voters of the parish, except in the parish of Orleans, in which parish the election shall be held in the several rep- resentative districts established by law, for the number of delegates herein assigned to each district, to be chosen on one ticket, by the qualified voters of the district, as follows, viz: 0~ 0- ~ a Parishes. 5-8 On Ascension 3,940 Assumption 7,189 Avoyelles 5,908 Baton Rouge, East 6,944 Baton Rouge, west Bienville 5,900 Bossier 3,348 Caddo 4,733 Calcasien 4,452 Caidwell 2, 888 Carroll 4,124 Catahoula 5,492 Claiborne 8, 996 Concordia 1,242 De Soto 4, 777 Feliciana, East 4, 081 Feliciana, West 2,036 Franklin 2, 758 Ibervil1e~ 3,793 Jackson 5,367 Jefferson 9,965 Lafayette 4, 309 Lafourche 7,500 Livingston 3, 120 Madison 1,640 Morehouse 3,784 Natchitoches 6,306 Orleans 149,068 First Representative District Second Representative District - Third Representative District - Fourth Representative District Fifth Representative District Sixth Representative District Seventh Representative District - Eighth RepresentativeDistrict Ninth Representative District Tenth Representative District Right Bank (Algiers) Onachita 1,887 Plaquemine 2,595 Pointe CoupOc 4,094 Rapides 9,71 Page 171 UNION AUTHORITIES. 171 ~4 O~ Parishes. o 5 ~ ~ Sabine 4,115 2 Saint Bernard 1,771 1 Saint Charles 938 1 Saint ilelena 3,413 1 SaintJames 3,348 1 Saint John Baptist 3,037 1 Saint Landry 10, 703 4 Saint ~iartins 5,005 2 Saint Marys ~ 3,508 1 Saint Tammany 3,153 1 Tensas 1,479 1 Terrebonne 5,234 2 Union 6,641 3 Verinillion 3,001 1 Washington 2,996 2 Winn 5,481 2 Total 357, 629 152 III. Any parish not now within the lines of the army shall be enti- tled to elect delegates as herein specified, at any time before the dis- solution of the convention, should such parish be brought within the lines of the army. IV. Every free white male, twenty-one years of age, who has been a resident of the State twelve months, and six months in the parish in which he offers to vote, who is a citizen of the United States, and who shall have taken the oath prescribed by the President in his procla- ination of the 8th of December, 1863, shall have the right to vote in the election of delegates. V. Citizens of the State who have been expelled from their homes by the public enemy on account of their devotion to the Union, and who would be qualified voters in the parishes to which they belong, will be allowed to vote for delegates in the election precincts in which, for the time being, they may reside. VI. Citizens of the State who have volunteered for the defense of the country in the Army or Navy, and who are otherwise qualified voters, will be allowed to vote in the election precincts in which they may be found on the day of election. VII. The commissioners of election appointed to superintend the polls at the election of State officers February 22, 1864, are author- ized and directed, in the absence of other orders, to fulfill and discharge all the duties of commissioners of election in their respective precincts for this election. VIII. The commissioners of election at any election precinct are authorized to administer the oath of allegiance, as prescribed by the President, to any person otherwise qualified to vote, and to register the name of such voter in New Orleans, where a register is required, or to receive it in other parishes where no register is required, at any time before the polls are closed on the day of election. IX. The commissioners in the several parishes will make prompt returns of the votes given to the sheriff of the parish, as provided by law, or in his absence to the provost-marshal, who will immediately return the same to the Secretary of State, in the same manner and form as for members of the General Assembly. X. The sheriffs of the several parishes, and in their absence the provost-marshals, will take especial care that the polls are properl Page 172 172 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. opened, and that suitable judges of election and other officers are appointed. It is desirable that all persons properly qualified shall vote, but it is more important that the integrity of the election shall not be vitiated by illegal or fraudulent acts. XI. The delegates duly elected to the convention shall meet at Liberty Hall, Executive Building, in the city of New Orleans, at 12 m. on Wednesday, the 6th day of April, 1864. In case any vacancy occurs, by resignation or death, after the organization of the conven- tion, a writ of election shall be issued by the convention to fill the vacancy. By command of Major-General Banks: RICHARD B. IRWIN, Assistant Ac~jutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT Washington City, March 11, 1864. Governor SAMUEL CONY, Augusta, life.: Your telegram of the 25th February was referred to the Provost- Marshal-General for report, which has just been received. The orders of the Department are explicit that no soldiers shall be enlisted and receive bounty as veterans who have not served two years. The act of Congress, moreover, only anthorizes the payment of bounties to those who are enlisted in accordance with the regulations of the Department. Unauthorized engagements by officers in the field or elsewhere will not be recognized by the service. To recognize them as valid would prove an abuse of great magnitude. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 98. Washington, March 12, 1864. The President of the United States orders as follows: I. Maj. Gen. H. W. Halleck is, at his own request, relieved from duty as General-in-Chi~s~f of the Army, and Lient. Gen. U. S. Grant is assigned to the command of the Armies of the United States. The Headquarters of the Army will be in Washington, and also with Lieutenant-General Grant in the field. II. Maj. Gen. H. W. Halleck is assigned to duty in Washington as chief of staff of the Army, under the direction of the Secretary of War and the lieutenant-general commanding. His orders will be obeyed and respected accordingly. * * * * * *. * V. In relieving Major-General Halleck from duty as General-in- Chief the President desires to express his approbation and thanks for the able and zealous manner in which the arduous and responsi- ble duties of that position have been performed. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General Page 173 UNION AUTHORITIES. 173 Unsigned memorandum indorsed by Secretary of TVar as General Hallecks report. The campaign of 1863 had virtually closed at the date of my last annual report, and military operations during the winter and previ- ous to the appointment of Lieutenant-General Grant to the general command were confined, in most of the departments, to making and repelling raids with unimportant results to either party. In the early part of November Brigadier-General Averell encountered and defeated a rebel force at Droop Mountain, near Lewisburg, capturing a piece of artillery and about 100 prisoners. Our loss was 129 killed, wounded, and missing. The reported loss of the enemy, killed and wounded, about 250. In another cavalry raid to Salem in December General Averell destroyed a large quantity of rebel stores with slight losses on both sides in killed and wounded. The rebels made several attempts during the winter to destroy the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- road, but caused very little damage. In February Brigadier-General Seymour undertook an expedition into Florida, but was defeated on the 20th at Olustee. The details of this expedition have been published by Congress. Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman in February last made an expedi- t~on from Vicksburg across the State of Mississippi, destroying a large extent of railroads and a great amount of rolling-stock and public stores. His loss was only 170 in killed, wounded, and missing, while he brought in some 400 prisoners of war, 3,000 animals, 1,000 white and 5,000 colored refugees. In this and the co-operating expe- dition, under Brig. Gen. W. Sooy Smith, 140 miles of railroad were destroyed. In the early part of November General Banks sent an expedition to the coast of Texas, which captured and occupied Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Aransas, & c. On the 3d of November Brigadier- General Burbridge had a severe engagement with the enemy at Bayou Bourbeux, La., in which he lost 716 men. On the arrival of re-en- forcements, under Brigadier-General Cameron, the rebels retreated. From this time until the early part of March General Banks was pre- paring his forces for an expedition up Red River, in which he was to have had the co-operation of General Sherman after his return to Vicksburg. Near the end of November General Meade crossed the Rapidan and made an unsuccessful attempt to turn the enemys intrenched posi- tion on Mine t~un. The only other operation of the Army of the Potomac during the winter was an unsuccessful cavalry raid by Brig- adier-Generals Kilpatrick and Custer about the 1st of March upon Richmond. Our loss in this expedition was about 400 killed, wounded, and missing. Among the first was Colonel Dahlgren, an officer of much promise. Our loss in the affair of Mine Run, 1,661 in all. The remaining military operations of this year are given in the report of the lieutenant-general. STATE HousE, Augusta, Me., March 12, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: In crediting enlisted men in the Navy to the several States, under recent act of Congress, cannot some plan be adopted which will giv Page 174 174 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. States and localities their proper credits? This cannot be done if the place of enlistment is taken as the place of credit, for, while Maine has, from her extended sea-board, a large proportion of seamen in the Navy which should be credited to her, many of these enlisted in Boston, New York, or large places out of the State. Would not the place of birth, except in case of alienage, be the most reliable and equitable basis of credit? JOHN L. HODSDON, Adjutant- General. HDQRS. ACTG. ASST. PROV. MAR. GEN., STATE OF KENTUCKY, Louisville, Ky., March 13, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal-General, Washington, D. C.: COLONEL: I think it proper to make mention to you of a speech delivered at Lexington on Thursday last, 10th instant, by Colonel Wolford, First Kentucky Cavalry, another of the same kind having been previously delivered by him at Danville, which, no doubt, will have an evil effect on the enrollment and draftparticularly on the enrollment of negroes now in progress. Colonel Wolfords speech, I am credibly informed, denounced the President and his Administration, and even went so far as to counsel forcible resistance to the enrollment of negroes under the present act of Congress. Governor Bramlette was on the stage at the time of the delivery of Colonel Wolfords speech, and gave no evidence of dissent then or subsequently. There is some reason for supposing that he knew what its purport would be before the delivery, for Colonel Wol- fords views were well known, and he had exhibited them only a few days previously at Danville. The assistant adjutant-general of General Schofield at Lexington, Capt. J. Bates Dickson, issued an order for the arrest of Colonel Wolford as soon as informed of the character of the speech, and thus the case stands. Captain Dickson writes me that there is much excitement in Lex- ington, and I do not doubt that it will extend throughout the State. It is not improbable that Colonel Wolford and others of his school are willing that it shall be so, and will aid to create it by their speeches. Although they may not sympathize with the rebellion, the State is filled with such as do, some of these being returned rebels who have been received on too easy terms; othersby far the greater numbersuch as will not volunteer. In fact, so many volunteers have been drawn from the State that the great mass of able-bodied men who remain are unreliable. To-day the colonel of a veteran Kentucky regiment, returned from furlough and on its way to the front, informed me that the bad spirit had even appeared in his regiment, and suggested~ that it would extend to the other Kentucky regiments. I believe myself that the Kentucky soldiers are really indifferent to the question of enrolling negroes, but that they will always conform to what Kentucky leaders seek to do in the name of Kentucky. It is a sweet privilege to coerce the superior power of the Nation, however mean it may be to take advantage of its dire necessity. Public opin- ion, however, grows very fast in the State, and the chief hope of the disaffected is in the short time for the enrollment. Unfortunatel Page 175 UNION AUTHORITIES. 175 there is no really loyal newspaper in the State, so that no means exist to set forth loyal views. A short article which I preparednothing but a summary of sec- tion 24 of the act of February 25, without a word of commentwas refused publication in the Louisville Journal on the ground that it would tend to break the peace, though the editor was willing to pub- lish the section itself, and General Boyle, late commander of the District of Kentucky, upheld him in his refusal. To-morrow, 14th instant, I will send, as you direct, my report of the progress of the enrollment, though I think little more will appear than reports of refusals of enrolling officers to act and appointments of others in their places. My chief apprehension in the whole matter is that the dissatisfaction created by these rash leaders on this one subject will introduce unwillingness for cordial co-operation in other matters, i. e., the draft, independently of the negroes. I inclose a slip from the telegraphic column of the Louisville Jour- nal of to-day. I should not omit to say that Brig. Gen. S. G. Bur- bridge, now in command of the District of Kentucky, is firm in his determination to use all the force at his control in carrying out the law. He has ordered one company to the headquarters of each of the district provost-marshals (except First District, not in his command), and made them subject to the provost-marshals orders. I regret, however, to hear the rumor that General Burbridge is to be relieved. I am, colonel, respectfully, your obedient servant, W. H. SIDELL, Major 15th U. S. Infly., Acig. Asst. Provost-Marshal-General. rmclosure.] FRANKFORT, March 12. To THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: It is understood that Governor Bramlette has addressed an earnest remonstrance to the President in regard to the enrollment and enlist- ment of slaves in Kentucky, and has notified the President that he will execute the laws of Kentucky against all who attempt to take slaves from their owners without their consent. He claims that Kentucky has furnished 50,000 of her sons to defend the Government, and is willing to furnish still moreall that may be allotted to her; that she has proven her loyalty, and must be regarded as such, and her laws, constitutionally enacted, must be respected. DANVILLE, KY., March 13, 1864. His Excellency the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: SIR: I have just written a letter to my personal friend, Governor Bramlette, who, I learn, has sent a dispatch to the provost-marshal in this place, ordering him to desist from the enrollment of the negroes; begging him not to bring the State government into conflict with the Federal authorities in this eventful proceeding. While I am satisfied that any unwise conflict of authority exercised by Governor Bramlette would meet the decided condemnation of a majorityI hope and believe of a large majority of those who elevated him to officeyet, I take the liberty, as a loyal citizen, and one who intends to continue so under all contingencies, happen what may, t Page 176 176 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. entreat Your Excellency to forbear the enforcement of this measure in Kentucky. It is eminently distasteful and obnoxious to the largest portion of the loyal people of the State, and there is no small danger of its pro- ducing an outbreak of a portion of our loyal people, and I dreadfully fear a conflict between the Federal and State authorities. Are such evils and dangers as these to be incurred for the sake of the few frightened and unwilling soldiers, to be obtained by drafting the negroes? Permit me to suggest to Your Excellency this compromise with the people and authorities of Kentuckythat our State should furnish as many white troops in addition as would be drafted from the negro population, according to a fair estimate to be made of the number of that part of population. This, I think, would bring our people to a pause. If they should accept the proposition, the Government would receive the additional number of white soldiers from the State, instead of the black, which would certainly be satisfactory. If it should be declined, it would lead the mass of our people to feel that it was better to furnish a portion of the troops necessary to defend the State from our black population than to subject the whites to larger and repeated drafts. I am inclined, also, to think that if $300 were paid for the drafted slaves it would quiet opposition. I beseech Your Excellency, at all events, not to hurry forward this enrollmentnot by hasty action to excite the unwise part of our people to any conflict with the Government. Permit me further to sugges that you would cause Colonel Wolfords command and himself to be removed immediately from the State. He has been making some silly speeches, or portions of speeches, for nine-tenths of his speech is loyal in the highest degree. He is a val- uable and faithful officer, and if sent out of the State will continue to be so. What prompts his present course I cant divine, unless it is silly vanity and fondness to hear himself talk, and for receiving the temporary applause of silly people. With the highest respect, I am, your obedient servant, J. A. JACOBS. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., March 13, 1864. General HoDsDoN, Adjutant- General of Jlfaine, Augusta, life.: The law requires men enlisting in Navy to be credited to the place where they are liable to enrollment and military duty under the enrollment act. Necessary forms and instructions have been sent by me to Navy Department to be issued to naval recruiting officers. JAMES P. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. VICKSBURG, Miss., March 14, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: After full consultation with Mr. Mellen I have issued regulations respecting plantations and the employment of freedmen, which ar Page 177 UNION AUTHORITIES. 177 satisfactory to him, and will be so to the lessees. With the military protection I shall be able to afford I think the system will work well. The order of promulgation will be forwarded as soon as a copy can be obtained from the printer. * Lake Providence, Goodrichs Landing, and Millikens Bend, in Louisiana, and Skipwiths Landing, in Missis- sippi, I propose to occupy with troops. I shall also strengthen Vidalia, opposite Natchez, and endeavor to put a force near Lake Saint Joseph, La. Negroes brought in by the Sherman expedition will about fill the regiments at this place and in its immediate vicinity, of which there are eleven regiments and two light batteries. I shall be able in a few days to arrange my business here, and will then proceed to Natchez and New Orleans, where my presence is necessary. L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, March 14, 1864. ADJUTANT-GENERAL OF IOWA, Davenport, Iowa: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 1st instant in reference to the credits to the State of Iowa. In reply I am directed to inform you that the State has been credited with 992 men additional in Missouri regiments. Under the rulings of the Department the change of credit of the eighty-three men of Company A, Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry, cannot be made in favor of Iowa without the claim being first adjusted between the Governor of Iowa ana the Governor of Pennsylvania, the men having already been credited to the latter State. The credits made the State for musters therein during the months of January and February have already been communicated to His Excellency the Governor. No credits of re-enlisted veterans have yet been made to the State, as it is desirable before acting to get complete reports from mustering officers in the field. So soon as the credits of said troops are made due notification will be given you. I have ,the honor to remain, your obedient servaht THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant- General. HDQRS. ACTG. AssT. PRov. MAR. GEN., STATE OF KENTUCKY Louisville, Ky., March 14, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General, Washington, D. C.: COLONEL: In obedience to your telegraphic order of the 9th instant directing me to report on the 14th, 20th, and 25th of this month the progress and completion of the enrollment of slaves in this State, I have the honor to state that circulars were addressed promptly to the several provost-marshals of districts to report to me the necessary muformatmon. In the cases of the most distant districts there has not been sufficient time for replies from them, and I make up the infor- mation from the general returns. * See Orders No. 9, March 11, p. 166. 12 R RSERIES III, VOL I Page 178 178 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. First District.Captain Hall, of First District, reports, under date of the 10th instant, referring also to his of the 8th, that, his district being in the Department of the Tennessee, a regiment of blacks has been organizing for the last two months, and that the feeling against it is very strong, so that he had at that date found it very difficult to get enrolling officers. Also that the district is overrun with guer- rillas, which increases the difficulty of obtaining these officers. He asks a strong cavalry force to aid him. He states that all necessary orders have been issued to his deputies, and that the Board of this district will not shrink from doing their utmost to carry out their orders; nevertheless, it is his opinion, and that also of all the best Union men, that the enrollment cannot be carried out (in time). Second District.No report whatever on the subject of the enroll- ment has come in from Captain Grissom, provost-marshal of this dis- trict. Third District.Captain Hobson reports March 10 that he is mak- ing every effort to enroll the blacks, but fears it cannot be done in the time specified. iNew officers will have to be obtained in many cases to replace the old, who, either from fear or dissent, wiJi not undertake the work. In the first sub-district, Warren County, it was not until the 9th instant that he could get an enrolling officer. In second sub-district, Logan County, three enrolling officers decline, and others to supply their places must yet be sought and a military force sent to protect them. In third sub-district, Todd County, two have declined, and the others not reported. In the fourth sub- district, Simpson County, one declined, but his place is filled. A mil- itary force has been detailed for this county. In the fifth, Allen County, new appointments have been made. Guerrillas interrupt operations. In the sixth, Hart County, one declined, and his place will be filled. The seventh, Metcalfe County, has not been heard from, and the eighth, Russell County, the same. In the ninth, Bar- ren County, one only is known to have declined, but it is supposed this will be general and new appointments will have to be made. In the tenth sub-district, Monroe County, the eleventh, Cumberland, and the twelfth, Clinton, the officers will all serve, but nothing is known as yet of their operations. Force will be necessary in these last-named sub-districts. This was the condition of things in the Third District on 10th instant, since which nothing has been reported, excepting in general the opposition of opinion to the measure of en- rolling the blacks. Fourth District .Capt am Fidler, provost-marshal, Fourth District, reports to-day, 14th instant, enrolling officers are at work in the eoun- ties of shelby, Meade, and Anderson. No official report has been received from the deputies in the other counties (eleven) of the dis- trict, but have reason to believe that in most of them enrolling offi- cers are at work. In Marion, Nelson, and Spencer Counties, however, no enrolling officers willing to do the work have yet been obtained. Nelson County is peculiarly difficult, and force will be required even to serve notices after the draft independently of any consideration of the negroes. Fifth District.Report of Capt. G. W. Womack, provost-marshal, Fifth District, this date, 14th instant, states that no progress in actual enrollment has been made. It is very difficult to procure the proper persons to make the enrollment, and the Board determined to be very careful in these selections and get the most suitable men and those least objectionable to the people. Every effort is being made to for- ward the business Page 179 UNION AUTHORITIES. 179 Sixth District.Capt. G. W. Berry, provost-marshal, Sixth District, reports that he has appointed enrolling officers for all the counties of his district, excepting Trimble and part of Kenton, but finds it very difficult to get persons to accept. Seventh District .Capt. T. H. Moore, provost-marshal, Seventh Dis- trict, writes under dates of 8th, 10th, and 11th instant of the diffi- culty of procuTing enrolling officers. The enrollment has begun in Bourbon, Jessamine, Fayette, and Scott Counties. Nothing further is known. Eighth and Ninth Districts.From these no reports have been received, the headquarters being too distant for reply to my circular letter up to this time. It will be seen that all the provost-marshals and almost all the deputies are well disposed to the work, while objection is made by such as are to do the enrolling, for very evident reasons. All the provost-marshals speak of the necessity for military force, and the measures taken in this matter are as follows: Immediately after receipt of your telegram of the 3d instant, direct- ing me to inform General Schofield of the time and places of the draft, I wrote him, giving this information in detail and asking for the necessary force, to which I have as yet received no response, per- haps by reason of the time for the draft being deferred. I observe here that a portion of Kentucky east of the Tennessee River, being a part of the First District in the Department of the Tennessee, and therefore beyond General Schofields command. But before your order to write to General Schofield I had already written to General Burbridge, commanding District of Kentucky, to the same effect; also to Brig. Gen. Hugh T. Reid, in command at Columbus, Ky., of Dis- trict of Cairo. General Burbridge has accordingly placed one com- pany of mounted infantry at headquarters of each provost-marshal, to be under their orders, excepting the First District, Paducah being in Department of the Tennessee. General Reid replies, indicating willingness, but states that the troops at his disposal are hardly of fit character. I answered, asking him to do his best. The First District is unfortunately divided between the Department of the Ohio and Tennessee. But previously to all this correspondence, and as far back as last November, General Boyle, then commanding District of Kentucky, issued his Order No. 62 (copy inclosed*) at my solicitation, which order is still in force and gives provost-marshals and deputies a right to call for the services of any troops of his command. I inclosed a copy of this order when first issued to each provost-marshal, as General Boyle did to his officers, but I doubt if it was of much effect, and therefore I count but little on it now. I have the honor to be, colonel, your obedient servant, W. H. SIDELL, Major Fifteenth U. S. Infly., A. A. P. M. G. for Kentucky. OFFICE ACTG. ASST. PRoY. MAR. GEN. FOR MD. AND DEL., [Col. J. B. FRY:] Baltimore, March 14, 1864. COLONEL: I have the honor to report, in pursuance of your instruc- tions of the 9th instant, of the progress of the enrollment of slaves in the several districts of Maryland, to wit: Enrolling officers have been procured in all of the counties of the * Omitted Page 180 180 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. First District and the enrollment is progressing, except in Queen Anne County, where the provost-marshal has been unable to obtain the services of any one, and asks that he be furnished with a military force sufficient to make the enrollment. I have deemed it advisable not to employ the military for this pur- pose, and have directed that enrolling officers be obtained from the adjoining counties. Great difficulty was experienced in obtaining enrolling officers in the Second District, but they have been procured and the enrollment is being made throughout the district. In the Third District enrolling officers were readily obtained, and the enrollment in the first, fourth, and sixth sub-districts has been completed, and the remaining sub-districts will be at an early day. Enrolling officers are at work in all of the sub-districts in the Fourth District, and there is a promise of a speedy enrollment of that district. The provost-marshal of the Fifth District reports that he expe- rienced considerable difficulty in procuring enrolling officers in his district; but that the enrollment is in progress in all of the counties. I shall be able, I trust, to report more in detail in my next report. I have exerted every effort to have the enrollment of the slaves promptly and properly made. I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant, N. L. JEFFRIES, Colonel and Acting Assistant Provost-Marshal- General. COLUMBUS, March 14, 1864. Hon. E. N. STANTON, Secretary of War, Washington City, D. C.: SIR: In your general remark to the Senate that State executives were pressing the extension of bounties, I hope you made a men- tal reservation in favor of your servant. I have favored the draft steadily from the day the proclamation ordering it on the 10th was issued. The result of this last postponement has fulfilled my predic- tion to the President. Recruiting has virtually stopped. The boun- ties even will not tempt, and the local authorities and citizens, having the fear of the draft removed, are making no further effort to fill quotas. They regard the postponement of the dr4t as indefinite, both because of the recruiting and because, as they say, Ohio is so near being out she will not be drafted, even if a draft is ordered. We shall do very little more in thia State until our people realize that a draft will be had on a fixed day, and that promise must be kept.V~ favor a draft for another cotisideration: I regard our financial posi- tion as rapidly becoming the most critical one connected with the war. With every man we put into the Army costing us over ~300, we are amassing a debt and corresponding taxatiQn that will soon force us to resort to the same means as the Confederacy to get rid of it, except that in our case such a measure will be our destruction. If the call is to be filled, let us have the draft on the 1st of April. Yours, very truly, JOHN BROUGH Page 181 UNION AUTHORITIES. 181 GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 100. Washington, March 15, 1864. ADDITIONAL DRAFT OF 200,000 MEN. The following is an order by the President of the United States: EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, March 14, 1864. In order to supply the force required to be drafted for the Navy, and to provide an adequate reserve force for all contingencies, in addition to the 500,000 men called for February 1, 1864, a call is hereby made and a draft ordered for 200,000 men for the military service (Army, Navy, and Marine Corps) of the United States.* The proportional quotas for the different wards, towns, townships, precincts, or election districts, or counties, will be made known through the Provost- Marshal-Generals Bureau, and account will be taken of the credits and deficien- cies on former quotas. The 15th day of April, 1864, is designated as the time up to which the numbers required from each ward of a city, town, & c., may be raised by voluntary enlist- ment, and drafts will be made in each ward of a city, town, & c., which shall not have filled the quota assigned to it within the time designated for the number required to fill said quotas. The drafts will be commenced as soon after the 15th of April as practicable. The Government bounties, as now paid, continue until April 1, 1864, at which time the additional bounties cease. On and after that date $100 bounty only will be paid, as provided by the act approved July 22, 1861. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Official: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 103. Washington, March 16, 1864. PAY OF OFFICERS RESIGNING OR DISMISSED. 1. An officer on leave who resigns will be paid to the date given in the acceptance of his resignation. 2. An officer on duty who resigns will be paid to the date at which he received notice of the acceptance of his resignation, provided he continued on duty till that time; otherwise to the date when he was relieved from dnty. 3. An officer on leave when he is dropped or dismissed fro the military service will be paid to the date, inclusive, of t, e order dropping or dismissing him, provided no other time be sp7ecified in the order as the date when his pay should cease, or when he ceased to be an officer, and, in such case, to the date so specified. * Under this call the quotas and credits were as follows, the first number indi- cating the quota, and the second the number of men furnished: Maine, 4,721; 7,042. New Hampshire, 2,558; 2,844. Vermont, 2,800; 1,601. Massachusetts, 10,689; 17,822. Rhode Island, 1,388; 1,906. Connecticut, 8,168; 5,294. New York, 32,794; 41,940. New Jersey, 6,704; 9,550. Pennsylvania, 25,993; 35,036. Delaware, 985; 652. Maryland, 4,317; 9,365. District of Columbia, 1,702; 1,142. West-Vir- ginia, 2,051; 3,857. Kentucky, 5,789; 6,448. Ohio, 20,595; 31,193. Michigan, 7,821; 7,344. Indiana, 13,008; 14,862. Illinois, 18,524; 25,055. Missouri, 3,925; 10,137 (includes militia furnished for six months, 5,679; for nine months, 2,311; for one year, 1,954credited as 2,174 three-years men). Wisconsin, 7,941; 10,814. Iowa, 6,439; 11,579. Minnesota, 2,180; 2,469. Kansas, 1,409; 2,563. Making a grand total of 259,515 men furnished Page 182 182 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 4. An officer on duty or in hospital when he is dropped or dis- missed from the military service will be paid to the date at which the order dropping or dismissing him was received at his post or hospital, if no other time be specified in the order as the date when he ceased to be an officer, and, in such case, to the date so specified. 5. An officer dismissed by sentence of court-martial will be paid to the date when the order approving the sentence was received at the post where the officer was, if no other time be specified in the sen- tence, or in the order promulgating it, as the termination of his serv- ice and pay. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. EXECUTIvE MANSION, Washington, D. 0., March 15, 1864. His Excellency MICHAEL HAHN Governor of Louisiana: Until further orders you are hereby invested with the powers exer- cised hitherto by the Military Governor of Louisiana. Truly, yours, ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Copy of commission of General Shepley and of instructions to him of June 3, 1862, sent in original of this to Governor Hahn March 16, 1864. E. D. T. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Indianapolis, March 15, 1864. To the PEOPLE OF INDIANA: On the 14th day of September, 1863, a settlement was effected between the War Department and Indiana for the number of men furnished by the State, of which the following is a copy: WAR DEPARTMENT, PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., September 14, 18e3. His Excellency OLIVER P. MORTON, Governor State of Indiana, Indianapolis, md.: SIR: I have the honor to inform you that the State of Indiana stands credited upon the books of the Adjutant-General of the Army with an excess of 28,501 over all the calls for troops in 1861, 1862, and 1863, up to the 4th day of June. The quota of the State for the present draft is 26,833. TWe excess of troops heretofore furnished by it over the quota is 1,668. There kill, therefore, be no draft in Indiana under the present call for troops, and the ~umber of 1,668 will stand to its credit in the future demands of the General Go~ernment. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal-General. On the 19th day of October, 1863, the President of the United States issued a proclamation calling for 300,000 volunteers. On the 21st day of October, 1863, I received a dispatch from the Secretary of War assigning the quota of Indiana under this call at 18,997 men. This quota was apportioned among the various counties of the State upon the basis of the settlement made between the State and th Page 183 UNION AUTHORITIES. 183 War Department in September, taking into account the number of enlistments made between the date of the settlement and the appor- tionment of the quota as far as they could be ascertained. On the 1st day of February, 1864, the President issued another call for 200,000 additional men. Adopting the ratio under call of October, 1863, the quota of Indiana under this call would be 12,66~5 men, which, added to the quota under the call of October, would be in the aggregate 31,662 men. Immediately after the last call was made Adjutant-General Noble visited Washington by my direction to effect a settlement between the State and War Department, if possible, and ascertain the number of men already furnished and the number that was still required from the State. The War Department was not prepared to make the settlement or give the required information, and General Noble returned without accomplishing his mission. General Love returned from Washington last week, whither ho had gone on the same business. He brought with him the adjustment, which will be found hereafter in the letter addressed to Colonel Baker, but as it was not officially furnished, and was subject to revision, no publication was made. Yesterday Colonel Baker, the assistant provost-marshal-general, received from Col. James B. Fry, Provost-Marshal-General, the following communication: WAR DEPARTMENT, PRovosT-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFIcE, Washington, D. 0., March 10, 1864. Col. CONRAD BAKER, Acting Assistant Provost-Marshal-General, Indianapolis, md.: SIR: The quota of Indiana to fill the call of the President for 500,000 men is as follows: First Congressional District 3,134 Second Congressional District 2 398 Third Congressional District 2,645 Fourth Congressional District 2,161 Fifth Congressional District 2 464 SixthCongressionalDistrict 3,300 Seventh Congressional District 2 881 Eighth Congressional District 3,019 Ninth Congressional District 3 695 Tenth Congressional District 3,478 EleventhCongressiOlialDistrict 3 346 The credit to the State for all men enlisted up to January 31, except veteran re-enlistments, is as follows: First Congressional District _______ 3 843 Second Congressional District 2,940 ThirdCongressioflalDistrict 3 242 Fourth Congressional District ~ ______ 2 649 Fifth Congressional District 3 021 Sixth Congressional District 4 045 Seventh Congressional District 3,531 _____ 3 -701 EighthCongressionalDistrict ______ 4529 Ninth Congressional District ______ 4 248 Tenth Congressional District Eleventh Congressional District __ 4 102 The surplus of these credits over quotas and credits for all men enli~sted from February 1 to April 1 will be carried to the credit of the districts and sub-districts on future calls. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAMES B. FRY, Provost -Marshal-General. From this it will be seen that Indiana on the 1st day of February last had furnished her quota under all calls, and had an excessof 7,330 men not including re-enlisted veterans. To this excess is to b Page 184 184 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. added the number of men mustered into the old and new regiments since the 1st of February, and the number supposed to be enlisted not mustered in, and the number of re-enlisted veterans, in all esti- mated at 17,000 men, making the total excess about 24,000 men, which number will probably be largely increased by the 1st of April next. The settlement made in September was not satisfactory, as I believed that full credit had not been given for recruits which had joined the army in the field, and that the original basis itself was incorrect. But I had no data, nor did it exist in the War Department, upon which to correct it. In the present adjustment it will be per- ceived that the September settlement is entirely ignored. On the 1st day of March Colonel Baker received from the Provost- Marshal-General the following dispatch: Col. CONRAD BAKER, WASHINGTON, February 29, 1864. Acting Assistant Provost-Marshal-General, Indianapolis: Be fully prepared to commence the draft on March 10, and to make it in every sub-district which shall not have raised its quota before March. 1. Vol- unteers between March 1 and 10 may be deducted after draft commences. Make known to Governor. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal-General. On being furnished with a copy of this I sent the following dis- patch to Colonel Fry: INDIANAPOLIS, March 1, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal-General, Washington Gity: Colonel Baker has just shown me a dispatch in which he is required to com- mence the draft on the 10th of March in all sub-districts that have not furnished their quota. Are we to infer from this that sub-districts are to be drafted when the State in the aggregate has filled her quota? 0. P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana. To this I received the following answer: Governor o. P. MORTON, WASHINGTON, March 2, 1864. Indianapolis: Section 3, act approved February 24, 1864, requires the draft to be made in every sub-district which is deficient in its quota. Orders for draft will be given accordingly, without regard to the aggregate raised by the State at large. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal-General. The third section of the act approved February 24, 1864, is in these words, to-wit: SEc. 3. And be it further enacted, That if the quotas shall not be filled within the time designated by the President, the provost-marshal of the district within which any ward of a city, town or township, precinct, or election district, or county where the same is not divided into wards, towns, townships, precincts, or election districts, which is deficient in its quota, is situated, shall, under the direction of the Provost-Marshal-General, make a draft for the~ number deficient therefrom; but all volunteers who may enlist after the draft shall have been ordered and before it shall be actually made, shall be deducted from the number ordered to be drafted in such ward, town, township, precinct, or election district, or county. And if the quota of any district shall not be filled by the draft made / in accordance with the provisions of this act, and the act to which it is an amendment, further drafts shall be made, and like proceedings had until the quota of such district shall be filled. Aecording to the construction given to this section by Colonel Fry, a draft would be made in every ward of a city or township in Page 185 UNION AUTHORITIES. 185 county that may not have furnished its quota, although the State in the aggregate may have furnished its quota and more. Whether this construction will be adhered to and acted upon by the Government I am unable to say. The adjutant-general is preparing for publica- tion as rapidly as possible a statement of the number of men fur- nished by each county from the beginning of the war, including the proper credits for the re-enlisted veterans. The veterans are re- enlisted in the field, and the locality to which they are to be credited is determined by themselves at the time of re-enlistment, and put down upon rolls. The statement cannot, therefore, be completed until these rolls shall have been received. When we consider the great number of troops that have been furnished by the State ~for the prosecution of the war, the promptness with which they have responded to the calls of the Government, and the great and uniform gallantry they have displayed upon so many bloody fields, we may well be proud of the record which Indiana has made. Since writing the above Colonel Baker has received the following dispatch: WASHINGTON, March 15, 1864. (Jol. CONRAD BAKER, Acting Assistant Provost-Marshal-General: The President of the United States has made a call for 200,000 men in addition to the call of February 1, 1864, for 500,000. The quota will be two-fifths of the quota of 500,000, subject to additions for deficiencies and deduction for excesses on that quota. As soon as practicable you will be informed of the number required for each district of your State. Notify the Governor immediately. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal-General. Under this new call the quota of Indiana, according to the ratio adopted under the call of October last, will be 12,665, but according to the assignment in the letter addressed to Colonel Baker, above quoted, will be 13,008 men. The excess furnished by the State over former calls is almost double the quota under the last, yet it is not likely that under the operation of the section quoted from the act of February 24, 1864, as construed by the Provost-Marshal-General, the draft may fall upon a number of counties that have failed to do their part. As before stated, the liabilities and credits of each county will be given as soon as the necessary data can be procured in the adjutant-generals office, and when that has been done the quota of each county can be approximately distributed among the several townships or wards in cities. 0. P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana. GENERAL ORDERS, ~ WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 106. ~ Washington, lI/larch 16, 1864. UNIFORM SYSTEM OF AMBULANCES. The following act of Congress is published for the information and guidance of all concerned: PUBLIcNo. 22. AN ACT to establish a uniform system of ambulances in the & rmies of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the medical director, or chief medica Page 186 186 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. officer, of each army corps shall, under the control of the medical director of the army to which such army corps belongs, have the direction and supervision of all ambulances, medicine, and other wagons, horses, mules, harness, and other fix- tures appertaining thereto, and of all officers and men who may be detailed or employed to assist him in the management thereof, in the army corps in which he may be serving. SEc. 2. And be it further enacted, That the commanding officer of each army corps shall detail officers and enlisted men for service in the ambulance corps of such army corps, upon the following basis, viz: one captain, who shall be com- mandant of said ambulance corps; one first lieutenant for each division in such army corps; one second lieutenant for each brigade in such army corps; one sergeant for each regiment in such army corps; three privates for each ambulance, and one private for each wagon; and the officers and non-commissioned officers of the ambulance corps shall be mounted: Provided, That the officers, non-com- missioned officers, and privates so detailed for each army corps shall be examined by a board of medical officers of such army corps as to their fitness for such duty; and that such as are found to be not qualified shall be rejected, and others detailed in their stead SEc. 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be allowed and furnished to each army corps two-horse ambulances, upon the following basis, to wit: three to each regiment of infantry of five hundred men or more; two to each regiment of infantry of more than two hundred and less than five hundred men or more; and one to each regiment of infantry of less than two hundred men; two toeach regiment of cavalry of five hundred men or more; and one to each regiment of cavalry of less than five hundred men; one to each battery of artilleryto which battery of artillery it shall be permanently attached; to the headquarters of each army corps two such ambulances; and to each division train of ambu- lances two army wagons; and ambulances shall be allowed and furnished to division brigades and commands not attached to any army corps upon the same basis, and each ambulance shall be provided with such number of stretchers and other appliances as shall be prescribed by the Surgeon-General: Provided, That the ambulances and wagons herein mentioned shall be furnished, so far as practi- cable, from the ambulances and wagons now in the service. SEc. 4. And be it further enacted, That horse and mule litters may be adopted or authorized by the Secretary of War, in lieu of ambulances, when judged neces- sary, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the medical director of each army corps. SEc. 5. And be it further enacted, That the captain shall be the commander of all the ambulances, medicine, and other wagons in the corps, under the immediate direction of the medical director, or chief medical officer, of the army corps to which the ambulance corps belongs. He shall pay special attention to the condi- tion of the ambulances, wagons, horses, mules, harness, and other fixtures appertaining thereto, and see that they are at all times in readiness for service; that the officers and men of the ambulance corps are properly instructed in their duties, and that their duties are performed, and that the regulations which may be prescribed by the Secretary of War, or the Surgeon-General, for the govern- ment of the ambulance corps are strictly observed by those under his command. It shall be his duty to institute a drill in his corps, instructing his men in the most easy and expeditiousmanner of moving the sick and wounded, and to require in all cases that the sick and-wounded shall be treated with gentleness and care, and that the ambulances and wagons are at all times provided with attendants, drivers, horses, mules, awl whatever may be necessary for their efficiency; and it shall be his duty also to see that the ambulances are not used for any other pur- pose than that for which they are designed and ordered. It shall be the duty of the medical director, or chief medical officer, of the army corps, previous to a march, and previous to and in time of action, or whenever it may be necessary to use the ambulances, to issue the proper orders to the captain for the distribution and management of the same, for collecting~the sick and wounded and conveying them to their destination. And it shall be the duty of the captain faithfully and diligently to execute such orders. And the officers of the ambulance corps, includ- ing the medical director, shall make such reports, from time to time, as may be required by the Secretary of War, the Surgeon-General, the medical director of the army, or the commanding officer of the army corps in which they may be serving; and all reports to higher authority than the commanding officer of the army corps shall be transmitted through the medical director of the army to which such army corps belongs. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the first lieutenant assigned to the ambulance corps for a division shall have complete control, under the captain of his corps and the medical director of the army corps, of all the ambulances Page 187 UNION AUTHORITIES. 187 medicine, and other wagons, horses, mules, and men in that portion of the ambu- lance corps. He shall be the acting assistant quartermaster for that portion of the ambulance corps, and will receipt for and be responsible for all the property belonging to it, and be held responsible for any deficiency in anything appertain- ing thereto. He shall have a traveling cavalry forge, a blacksmith, and a saddler, who shall be under his orders, to enable him to keep his train in order. He shall have authority to draw supplies from the depot quartermaster, upon requisi- tions approved by the captain of his corps. the medical director, and the com- mander of the army corps to which he is attached. It shall be his duty to exercise a constant supervision over his train in every particular, and keep it at all times ready for service. SEc. 7. And be it further enacted, That the second lieutenant shall have com- mand of the portion of the ambulance corps for a brigade, and shall be under the immediate orders of the first lieutenant, and he shall exercise a careful super- vision over the sergeants and privates assigned to the portion of the ambulance corps for his brigade; and it shall be the duty of the sergeants to conduct the drills and inspections of the ambulances, under his orders, of their respective regiments. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the ambulances in the armies of the United States shall be used only for the transportation of the sick and wounded, and, in urgent cases only, for medical supplies, and all persons shall be prohibited from using them, or requiring them to be used, for any other purpose. It shall be the duty of the officers of the ambulance corps to report to the commander of the army corps any violation of the provisions of this section, or any attempt to violate the same. And any officer who shall use an ambulance or require it to be used for any other purpose than as provided in this section shall, for the first offense, be publicly reprimanded by the commander of the army corps in which he may be serving, and for the second offense shall be dismissed from the service. Sno. 9. And be it further enacted, That no person except the proper medical officers, or the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the ambulance corps, or such persons as may be specially assigned, by competent military authority, to do duty with the ambulance corps for the occasion, shall be per- mitted to take or accompany sick or wounded men to the rear, either on the march or upon the field of battle. SEc. 10. And be it further enacted, That the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the ambulance corps shall be designated by such uniform or in such manner as the Secretary of War shall deem proper: Provided, That officers and men may be relieved from service in said corps and others detailed to the same, subject to the examination provided in the second section of this act, in the discretion of the commanders of the armies in which they may be serving. SEC. ii. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the commander of the army corps to transmit to the Adjutant-General the names and rank of all officers and enlisted men detailed for service in the ambulance corps of such army corps, stating the organizations from which they may have been so detailed; and if such officers and men belong to volunteer organizations, the Adjutant-General shall thereupon notify the Governors of the several States in which such organiza- tions were raised of .their detail for such service; and it shall be the duty of the commander of the army corps to report to the Adjutant-General, from time to time, the conduct and behavior of the officers and enlisted men of the ambulance corps, and the Adjutant-General shall forward copies of such reports, so far as they relate to officers and enlisted men of volunteer organizations, to the Govern- ors of the States in which such organizations were raised. SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act shall be construed to diminish or impair the rightful authority of the commanders of armies, army corps, or separate detachments, over the medical and other officers and the non commissioned officers and privates of their respective commands. Approved March 11, 1864. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General. FRANKFORT, KY., ]Ifarch 16, 1864S a. m. (Received 10.40 a. in.) President LINCOLN: We came to Frankfort to-night in fear of trouble. We have spent the night with the Governor. Heard his proclamations which will b Page 188 188 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. published to-morrow. It has the national ring. Kentucky will do her duty to the Nation. There need be no fears about the enrollment in this State. The law will be obeyed. S. G. BURBRIDGE, Brigadier- General, Commanding District of Kentucky. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 24. ~ Washington, March 17, 1864. So much of paragraph 6 of General Orders, No. 376, of 1863, from this office, as orders the assignment of men not re-enlisting as veteran volunteer.s to duty in other companies and regiments until the expira- tion of their term of service is revoked; and all enlisted men assigned or transferred to other companies or regiments under this provision will be returned to their original companies or regiments at once, if in the field, or in case the regiment is on furlough, as soon as it returns. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. LITTLE RoCK, March 17, 1864. His Excellency A. LINCOLN, President of the United States: Only eight counties heard from; they give 3,6~56 votes, only 137 votes against constitution. We feel sure of 10,000 when the other counties are heard from and soldiers vote obtained. Guerrillas made immense efforts to hinder the election. The people are full of enthusiasm, but much alarmed. Will you give them assurance of the energetic protection of the Government? Praise be to God! ISAAC MURPHY, Provisional Governor. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. ill. Washington, March 18, 1864. The name of the organization authorized by General Orders, No. 106, War Department, 1863, as an Invalid Corps, is hereby changed to that of Veteran Reserve Corps. All orders relating to the Invalid Corps will remain in force, as at present, with respect to the Veteran Reserve Corps. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 26. Washington, March 18, 1864. The following regulations are published concerning the payment of bounties, & c., for the information and guidance of all concerned: I. To persons deputized by the Provost-Marshal-General to arrest deserters and procure recruits, who shall deliver to the proper author- ity a deserter from the Army of the United States, including deserter Page 189 UNION AUTHORITIES. 189 from the late draft (see section 13, enrollment act), the sum of $30 shall be paid; said payment to be made in accordance with the rules now governing the payment of reward for deserters. No expenses of apprehension or delivery of deserters will be allowed. II. Bonnties, & c., as follows will be paid to all persons who may be properly accepted as recruits, in accordance with this order, to wit: To every recrnit who is a veteran volunteer, as defined in general orders for recruiting veteran volunteers, one months pay in advance, and a bounty amonnting to $400, shall be paid as follows: 1. At the general rendezvous, and before leaving the same to join his regi- ment or company, the veteran volunteer recruit will be paid one months pay in advance $13 First installment of bounty 60 Total pay before leaving general rendezvous $73 (This will be paid in cash, or checks for transmittal, in whole or part, as the man may desire.) 2. At the first regular pay-day, or two months after muster in, an additional installment of bounty will be paid 50 3. At the first regular pay-day after six months service he shall, in addition to his pay, be paid an additional installment of bounty 50 4. At the first regular pay-day after the end of the first years service, in addi- tion to his pay an additional installment of bounty will be paid 50 5. At the first regular pay-day after eighteen months~ service, in addition to his pay an additional installment of bounty will be paid 50 6. At the first regular pay-day after two years service, in addition to his pay an additional installment of bounty will be paid 50 7. At the first regular pay-day after two and a half years~ service, in addition to his pay an additional installment of bounty will be paid 50 8. At the expiration of three years service, or to any soldier who may be hon orably discharged after two years service, the remainder of the bounty will be paid - 40 To all other recruits, not veterans, accepted and enlisted as herein required, one months pay in advance, and in addition a bounty amounting to $300, shall be paid, as follows: 1. At the general rendezvous, and before leaving the same to join his regi- ment or company, the recruit accepted under this authority will be paid one months pay in advance $13 First installment of bounty 60 Total pay before leaving general rendezvous $73 (To be paid in cash, or checks for transmittal, in whole or in part, as the recruit may desire.) 2. At the first regular pay-day, or two months after muster in, an additional installment of bounty will be paid 40 3. At the first regular pay-day after six months service, in addition to his pay he shall be paid an additional installment of bounty 40 4. At the first regular pay-day after the end of the first years service, in addi- tion to his pay an additional installment of bounty will be paid 40 5. At the first regular pay-day after eighteen months service, in addition to his pay an additional installment of bounty will be paid 40 6. At the first regular pay-day after two years service, in addition to his pay 40 an additional installment of bounty will be paid 7. At the expiration of three years service, or to any soldier who may be hon- orably discharged after two years service, the remainder of the bounty will be paid If the Government shall not require these troops for the full period of three years, and they shall be mustered honorably out of the service before the expiration of their term of enlistment, they shall receive, upon being mustered out, the whole amount of bounty remaining unpaid, the same as if the full term had been served. The legal heirs of recruits who die in service shall be entitled to receive the whole bounty remaining unpaid at the time of the soldiers death Page 190 190 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. RECAPITULATION. Rewards to be paid for arrest of deserters: For arrest and delivery of a deserter $30.00 Total amounts to be paid in cash to recruits as pay and bounty: Before leaving general rendezvous -. $73.00 If continued in service for three years, the pay and bounty received will be at the following rates: For veteran volunteers, per month $24.00 For other soldiers, not veterans, per month 21.30 If discharged at the end of two years the pay and bounty received will be at the following rates: For veteran volunteers, per month $29.70 For other soldiers, not veterans, per month 25.50 III. The time for re-enlisting veteran volunteers is not limited, and will continue until further orders. After the 31st of March, 1864, the bounty to soldiers (both veteran and recruits) will be $100 only, as provided by law for two years service; $25 of this to be in advance, together with one months pay in advance. This does not refer to local bounties, which are paid by local authorities, according to local arrangements. IV. The Veteran Reserve Corps re-enlists as provided for volunteers. Detailed instructions are furnished by the Provost-Marshal-General. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, D. 0., March 19, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: SIR: I commend to your favorable consideration the suggestions contained in the inclosed copy of a letter addressed to me by Lord Lyons on the 17th instant on the subject of the forthcoming draft and in relation to proceedings concerning claims for exemption there- from on the ground of alienage. I am, sir, your obedient servant, W. H. SEWARD. [Inclosure.] WASHINGTON, March 17, 1864. Hon. W. II. SEWARD, & c.: M~ DEAR SIR: An order for a fresh draft appeared in the newspa- pers yesterday. This leads - me to make to you two suggestions with the objecton the one hand of relieving British subjects from unnec- essary trouble, expense, and anxiety, and on the other of checking the increase of the official applications from this legation to the State Department, the number of which, notwithstanding all my endeavors to keep it as small as possible, continues to grow larger, and has, I am too well aware, been a serio as inconvenience. My first suggestion is that the boards of enrollment should be so ordered not to subject again to the risk of being drafted, and conse- quently to the necessity of proving afresh their titles to exemption, aliens whose claims have been admitted on the occasion of previou Page 191 UNION AUTHORITIES. 191 drafts. I understand that a circular of the Provost-Marshal-General, issued last month, directed that the names of certain classes of indi- viduals specified by him should not be placed again in the wheel, but that aliens who had been drafted and subsequently exempted on the grounds of their foreign allegiance were not included in the classes so specified. My second suggestion is, that means should be taken to enforce the observance by boards of enrollment of the last clause of the Provost-Marshal-Generals Circular No. 53, of the 19th of July last, which was communicated by you to the foreign legations on the 20th of July last. If in obedience to the provisions of this clause, the boards of enrollment, in all cases in which they are not satisfied that a party claiming exemption is entitled thereto, refer the case for decision to the State Department, and in the meantime suspend any action on the case until the decision of the State Department be made, the intervention of this legation in behalf of British subjects would rarely be necessary. I am not aware of there being any seri- ous difference of opinion between the State Department and the legation as to the general rules by which decisions on claims to exemption should be guided. The great majority of applications from the legation are in cases in which boards of enrollment have peremptorily rejected claims to exemption and ordered the claimants at once into actual service; and the results of these violations of the Provost-Marshal-Generals order have been, in several instances, that British subjects, whose claims to exemption have finally been admitted, have been detained in actual military service, or in confinement, for very long periods. In connection with this subject I would observe that, considering the caution exercised by Her Majestys consuls in granting certifi- cates of nationality, it may not be unreasonable to expect that if such certificates are not held to be conclusive, they shall at least command so much respect as to preclude all risk of the claims of those who hold them being rejected by the boards without reference to the State Department. You will not, I am sure, understand me as addressing you in a spirit of complaint; on the contrary, my desire in making the sug- gestions which I have ventured to submit to you is to prevent occa- sions of complaint. My objects are to save my countrymen from anxiety and annoy- ance and to diminish the necessity for applications from the legation to the State Department, which by their very number, however care- fully the correspondence respecting them may be conducted on both sides, tend to produce inconvenience and misunderstanding. Believe me to be, my dear sir, your very faithful, humble servant, LYONS. IIDQRS. DEPT. OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA, Fort Monroe, March ~& O, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: I have now more than a minimum regiment of repentant rebels, whom a friend of mine calls transfugees, recruited at Point Lookout. They behave exceedingly well, are very quiet, and most of them I am certain are truly loyal, and I believe will make as efficient a regiment as there is in the service. I should like to organize and arm it at once. I have had some experience with the same sort of material i Page 192 192 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Louisiana, having a regiment composed almost entirely of rebel de- serters. By organizing this regiment at once I can have one more regiment who will fight 4 loutrance for the spring campaign. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, BENJ. F. BUTLER, Major- General, Commanding. YAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., March p31, 1864. Maj. Gen. J. A. Dix, New York City: It is reported that there are regiments, companies, and detachments of soldiers and recruits in the Northern and Western States which can and ought to be immediately sent to the field. You will cause exam- inations and inspections to be made in your department, and report to the Adjutant-General of the Army any such bodies or detachments that may be found. Particular attention should be given to recruit- ing depots for general and special service, as it is reported that recruiting officers and provost-marshals are negligent in reporting and forwarding recruits. It is not intended by these instructions to interfere with the present arrangement in regard to orders for such service, but to collect such information as may enable the War Department to get troops more promptly into the field. H. W. HALLECK, Major- General and Chief of Staff. (Same to General Couch, Harrisburg, Pa.; General Brooks, Pitts- burg, Pa., and General Heintzelman, Columbus, Ohio.) CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., PRov. MAR. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 10. ~ Washington, March 22, 1864. The following opinion of the Hon. William Whiting, Solicitor of the War Department, is republished for the information of all persons liable to be enrolled in the military forces of the United States, and intending to leave their places of residence for other places at a dis- tance therefrom. The laws against desertion will be rigidly enforced: When a person has been drafted, in pursuance of the enrollment act of March 8, 1863, notice of such draft must be served within ten days thereafter, by a writ- ten or printed notice, to be served on him personally, or by leaving a copy at his last place of residence, requiring him to appear at a designated place of rendez- vous for duty. Any person failing to report for duty after notice left at his last place of residence, or served on him personally. without furnishing a substitute or paying $800, is pronounced by law to be a deserter; he may be arrested and held for trial by court-martial and sentenced to death. If a person after being drafted, and before receiving notice, deserts, the notice may still be served by leaving it at his last place of residence, .and if he does not appear in accordance with the notice, or furnish the substitute, or pay the $300, he will be in law a deserter and must be treated accordingly. There is no way or manner in which a person, once enrolled, can escape his public duties, and when drafted, whether present or absent, whether he changes his residence or absconds, the rights of the United States against him are secured, and it is only by performance of his duty to the country that he will escape liability to be treated as a criminal. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General Page 193 UNION AUTHORITIES. 193 GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, No. 38. New Orleans, March 22, 1864. In pursuance of the provisions of General Orders, No. 23, current series, for the rudimental instruction of the freedmen of this depart- ment, placing within their reach the elements of knowledge which give intelligence and greater value to labor, and reducing the provi- sions necessary therefor to an economical and efficient school system, it is ordered that a board of education, consisting of three persons, be hereby constituted, with the following duties and powers: 1. To establish one or more common schools in each and every school district that has been or may be defined by the parish provost- marshals and under orders of the provost-marshal-general. 2. To acquire, by purchase or otherwise, tracts of land, which shall be judged by the Board necessary and suitable for school sites, in plantation districts, to be not less than one-half acre in extent; to hold the same in trust for themselves until such schools shall have been established, when they shall transfer all the right and title thereto that may have vested in them to the superintendent of public institutions, or other competent State authority. 3. To erect upon said plots of land such school-houses as they may judge necessary and proportioned to the wants of the population of the district where there are no buildings available and proper for school purposes. And in this, as in all their other duties, they shall exercise the strictest economy. 4. To select and employ proper teachers for said schools, as far as practicable, from the loyal inhabitants of Louisiana, with power to require their attendance for the purpose of instruction in their duties one week at least at a normal school to be conducted by the Board. 5. To purchase and provide the necessary books, stationery, and apparatus for the use of such schools, and, in addition thereto, to pur- chase and furnish an outfit of a well-selected library, & c., for each freed person in the several school districts who is above the age of attending school duty, at a cost to each, including a case to contain the same, not exceeding $2. 50, which sum shall be included in the general tax hereinafter provided, but shall be deducted from the laborers wages by his employer when such books are furnished. 6. To regulate the course of study, the discipline, the hours of instruction for children on week days, and adults on Sundays, to require such conformity to their regulations, and such returns and reports from their teachers as they may deem necessary to secure uniformity, thoroughness, and efficiency in said schools. 7. To have generally the same authority and perform the same duties that assessors, supervisors, and trustees have in the Northern States in the matter of establishing and conducting common schools. And for the full accomplishment of these purposes and the per- formance of the duties enjoined upon them, the Board shall have full power and authority to assess and levy a school tax upon real and personal property, including crops of plantations, in each and every before-mentioned school district. The said taxes so levied shall be sufficient in amount to defray the cost and expense of establishing, furnishing, and conducting for the period of one year the school or schools so established in each and every of the said districts; and said taxes shall be collected from the person or persons in the occu- pation of the property assessed. S. The taxes so assessed and levied in and for each district shall be collected and paid over to the Board by the parish provost-marshal 13 H HSERIES III, VOL I Page 194 194 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. within thirty days after the tax list and schedule shall have been placed in his hands; and he shall forthwith report to the Board whether there are in the districts of his parish any buildings available and suitable for school-houses, and shall at all times, when required, assist by his authority the Board in carrying out the spirit of this order. The taxes, when collected, shall be forthwith deposited in the First National Bank of New Orleans, subject only to the order of the whole Board, who shall make a monthly exhibit of accounts and report of their doings to the commanding general. 9. In the performance of all their duties the Board shall co-operate as far as practicable with the superintendent of public education, recently elected. 10. The current school year shall be estimated from February 1, 1864, to February 1, 1865. 11. The following officers and citizens are appointed upon this Board, and will be obeyed and respected accordingly: Col. H. N. Frisbie, Twenty-second Infantry, Corps dAfrique. Lieut. E. M. Wheelock, Fourth Infantry, Corps dAfrique. Isaac G. Hubbs, New Orleans. By columand of Major-General Banks: RICHARD B. IRWIN, Assistant Adjutant- General. LITTLE ROCK, ARK., March 22, 1864. His Excellency A. LINCOLN, President of the United States: More than 8,000 votes reported; the entire vote will exceed 10,000. The people have been enthusiastic in view of the protection of law, voting in imminent risk of loss of life and property, the guerrillas having threatened to hang every one that went to the polls. Should the army leave the line of the Arkansas unprotected terror would prevail the State. Will the Government accept of two regiments of artillery (one black) and a regiment of cavalry, armed for pursuit of guerrillas? The swamps and mountains are full of armed rebels waiting for the movement of the army, to pounce upon unprotected points and cat off communication. A few more regiments here would give confidence to the people and a forward movement could be made with safety. As it is, the risk is great; all may be lost that has been gained by the election. We need arms to arm the loyal. They will be organized soon. ISAAC MURPHY, Provisional Governor. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., PRov. MAR. GENERALS ~OFFICE, No. 11. Washington, March 23, 1864. The following opinion of the Hon. William Whiting, Solicitor of the War Department, is published for the information and guidance of all officers of this Bureau: In regard to credits on the quotas of wards, towns, & c., of persons enlisting into the naval service or Marine Corps of the United States. (Section 9, act of Con- gress, approved February 24, 1864, amendatory of the enrollment act.) Opinion.Of those persons who, since the 24th of February, 1864, shall have entered the naval service or Marine Corps of the United States, some are, and others are not, .by law, to be credited to the quotas of towns, wards, & c Page 195 UNION ~UTHORLTIES. 195 No person so enlisting is to be credited to any quota unless he is liable to service under the enrollment act, whether he has or has not been enrolled. Thus~, if an alien, ~fust landed in a sea-port, is erroneously or improperly enrolled, he owes the United States no allegiance, is not, against his will, liable to military duty, and if he enlists in the Navy cannot lawfully be credited to the quota of the town where he happened to enlist. So, if a citizen, who by reason of his age or for any other cause is not liable to military service under the laws of the United States, should be by error enrolled, and should then enlist in the Navy, he can- not be credited to any quota, because the law allows credits only for seamen who are liable to service~~ under said act. When such credits are to be given they must be given to the towns, wards, & c., in which said enlisted mariners, & c., were or might have been enrolled, and were actually liable to duty under the enrollment act. The three questions of your letter are therefore to be answered as follows: First. A person enlisting into the Marine Corps or naval service of the United States who is (according to the provisions of the act of March 3, 1863) liable to military service, whether enrolled or notif he might be enrolledis to be credited to the quota of the place where he was liable to military service. Second. Persons not liable to military service, whether enrolled or not enrolled, should not be credited to any quota. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. U., March 23, 1864. Maj. W. H. SIDELL, Actg. Asst. Provost-Marshal- General, Louisville, Ky.: Can you not, by sending your deputies, your assistants, and visit- ing yourself the different districts, hasten and secure the enrollment of slaves as required by law? I fear the provost-marshals waste time in finding enrolling officers. The commanding generals will doubt- less give you sufficient military force on application. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI, Saint Louis, March 23, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.: SIR: The system for recruiting negroes in this department pre- scribed by General Orders, No. 135, of which a copy is inclosed,* had the approval of the President, and when properly enforced, as it will be if I retain command, works well. Inclosed is an order from Gen- eral Thomas, t which nullifies this order and places the supervision of the whole recruiting service and its mode of operation on an entirely different basis. I refer these two orders to the Department for instruc- tions as to which system shall be preferred, with the following: General Orders, No. 135, is full, explicit, and provides for a proper supervision of the recruiting service by provost-marshals who, being spread over the State and constantly acting as conservators both of the public interests and private rights, can better watch and punish unlawful hindrances of enlistments and fraudulent attempts to put upon the Government crippled, infirm, or unsound slaves, as well as better preserve peace and order. As soon as I can get proper assistant provost-marshals and send them some of the approved * See Vol. III, this series, p. 1034. t See Orders No. 8, of March 11, 1864, p. 165 Page 196 196 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. candidates for promotion in the colored regiments for assistants in recruiting, we shall succeed well. I object to General Thomas order (No. 8) of March 11, 1864. First. Because it overthrows an existing system which is well organized and supported for other purposes and adds expense but not increased efficiency. Second. It will require more officers than can be spared from the department to put in operation. Third. It directs the department commander to detail such officers and men as General Pile may desire. Such a sweeping order puts the department commander under the control of General Pile, and could not be executed without serious detriment to the interests of the service, if at all. Fourth. I am well satisfied that the carrying out of General Thomas order at this time will endanger the public peace and be a fruitful source of disorder and violence. Awaiting your decision in this matter, I am, very respectfully. yours, W. S. ROSECRANS, ]Jfajor- General. [First indorsement.] WAR DEPARTMENT, April 5, 1864. The recommendation of Major-General Rosecrans is approved, and recruiting for the colored regiments in Missouri will be reinstated upon the basis established by General Schofield. By order of the Secretary of War: ED. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier- General and Assistant Adjutant- General. [Second indorsement.] WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, April 6, 1864. Respectfully returned to Maj. Gen. W. S. Rosecrans, commanding Department of the Missouri, Saint Louis, Mo., and attention invited to the indorsement hereon of Briga4ier-General Ganby, assistant adjutant-general. By order: C. W. FOSTER, Assistant A~jutant- General of Volunteers. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, March 24, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: In answer to your inquiry, what bounty, if any, the Missouri State Militia, or recruits for the same, are entitled to, who have been mustered into the U. S. service for three years, unless sooner dis- charged (under provisions contained in General Orders, No. 96, of 1861, from the Adjutant-Generals Office), I have the honor to reply that the forces referred to were a body of State militia raised by the Governor of Missouri, by authority of the general order above referred to, to serve during the war, to co-operate with the tr9ops in the servic Page 197 UNION AUTHORITIES. 197 of the United States in repelling the invasion of the State of Missouri and in suppressiug rebellion therein, to be governed by the Regula- tions of the U. S. Army, subject to the Articles of War, bnt not to be ordered out of the State of Missouri, except for the immediate defense of the said State. The general order above referred to further provides: The State forces thus authorized will be, during such time as they shall be actually engaged as an embodied military force in active service, armed, equipped, clothed, subsisted, transported, and paid by the United States in accordance with the Regulations of the U. S. Army and such orders as may from time to time be issued from the War Department, and in no other manner; and they shall be con- sidered as disbanded from the service of the United States whenever the President may direct. The Missouri State Militia, therefore, were, in the language of the order, State forces, or militia of the State, bound to serve as such during the war, to co-operate with the troops in the service of the United States in repelling invasion and putting down rebellion in their own State, with provision that when such State militia should be engaged in active service they were to be armed, equipped, sub- sisted, and paid by the United States; but they were not to be ordered out of the State for general service, and they were to be disbanded from the service of the United States (but not from the service of the State) whenever the President might so direct. They are, therefore, militia of the State of Missouri, and not a part of the regular or volunteer forces of the United States. Their right to bounty does not depend upon the degree of merit or efficiency of their public services. They are entitled only to what the acts of Congress secure to them. This inquiry does not relate to pensions nor allowances for re- enlistments. The statute of the United States passed July 22, 1861; section 5, pro- vides that any volunteer non-commissioned officer, private, musi- cian, and artificer who enters the service of the United States under this act shall have~ certain pay and allowances; and, in addition thereto, if he shall have served for a period of two years or during the war, if sooner ended, the sum of one hundred dollars;~ and the stat- ute, chapter 24, of 1861, section 5, secures to the men enlisted in the regular forces the same bounties as those allowed, or to be allowed, to the volunteer forces. By statute passed July22 [5], 1862, chapter 133, section 6, one-quarter part of this bounty may be paid, immediately after enlistment, to every soldier of the regular and volunteer forces thereafter enlisted. The statute passed July 17, 1862, chapter 201, section 3, gives to men volunteering for nine months a bounty of ~25, to be paid when their company or regiment is mustered into service, and section 4 of the same statute authorizes the acceptance of volunteers for twelve months to fill up regiments of infantry then in the U. S. service; and these recruits, when mustered in, are to be, in all res~pects, on the same footing as similar troops in the U. S. service, except as to service bounty, which shall be $50, one-half to be paid upon their joining their regiments and the other half at the expiration of their enlistment. In all these enactments there appears to be no provision for payment of service bounty to State militia. The statute passed July 29, 1861, chapter 25, authorizes the President of the United States to call into service the militia of the States in certain cases, and, in section 3, provides that the militia so called into service of the United State Page 198 198 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. shall, during their term of service, be entitled to the same pay, rations, and allowances for clothing as are or may be established by law for the Army of the United States; but no provision is made for payment of any service bounty, and we must infer that it was designedly omitted. The general order (No. 96) under which the body of Missouri forces referred to was raised, states that these State forces shall be armed, equipped, clothed, subsisted, transported, and paid in accordance with the Regulations of the Army and such orders as may be issued from the War Department, and in no other manner; and nothing is said of a service bounty, and no regulation of the Army or special order of this Department is known to exist giving to these troops a bounty of that description. A distinction is clearly made in the statutes between regular and volunteer forces enlisted directly into the service of the United States under the special acts and militia of the several States temporarily called into service by the President. Thus, in the statute passed February 7, 1863, chapter 23 (which gives authority to the Governor of Kentucky to raise in that State a volunteer force to be employed within the limits of Kentucky), the fourth section provides that these troops shall be mustered into serv- ice, and be placed on the same footing as other volunteers in the service of the United States as to pay, subsistence, clothing, and other emoluments, except bounty, for and during the time they may be in actual service. It may reasonably be supposed that Congress intended to give to the militia of Kentucky raised under this act as liberal rewards for patriotic services as to the militia of Missouri. Neither are entitled to the enlistment bounty or to the service bounty under the statutes and general orders above cited. I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, WILLIAM WHITING, Solicitor of the War Department. [Indorsement.] WAR DEPARTMENT, ilfarch 81, 1864. Approved. By order of the Secretary of War: ED. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier- General and Assistant Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OI3PFICE, No. 119. Washington, lJfarch 84, 1864. I. In order to remedy existing evils in the waste and destruction of cavalry horses, a board of three officers will be appointed by the War Department to make thorough inspections of the mounted troops in each army in the field, and to report to the adjutant-general of the armies such regiments and companies as, for want of discipline and neglect and ~yaste of their horses, ought to be dismounted or broken up, and transferred to other organizations from the same State. Where regiments or coumpanies are broken up the officers will be mustered oat of service. II. Authority is hereby given to commanding generals of armies and military departments to dismount and transfer to infantry reg Page 199 199 UNION AUTHORITIES. ments from the same State any mounted man whose horse is, through his OWil fault and neglect, rendered unfit for service, the regiment to which he is transferred furnishing a proper substitute. III. In addition to such transfers being noted on the next muster- roll thereafter, they shall be immediately reported to the Adjutant- General of the Army. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 120. Washington, March 24, 1864. RULES FOR PAYMENT OF CLAIMS IN DEPARTMENT OF MISSOURI. The following rules are adopted for the payment of claims arising under act of Congress of March 25, 1862, for pay, bounty, and pen- sions due the officers and men actually employed in the Western Department, or Department of Missouri, examined by the Commis- sion appointed under General Orders, No. 64, of 1863: 1. Such claims shall be settled at Saint Louis, by an officer of the Pay Department of the Army, to be especially designated for that duty, assisted by Major Sherman, additional paymaster; and they shall be paid by no other officer and nowhere else. 2. The officer so designated shall be furnished with a certified list of all the claims passed by said Commission, showing the amounts allowed for pay and bounty in each case, the dates between which the services were rendered, the military rank in which the claimant served, the name of the person in whose favor the claim is allowed, and any other information that may be necessary for use in settling such claims. 3. All claims shall be settled and payment made only to the claim- ant himself, if living, or to his regularly authorized agent or attorney, appointed specially to receive payment, and by a power of attorney executed since the claim was allowed by the commission. 4. Each claim presented for payment shall be accompanied by the original order or decision of the Commission furnished the claimant and notifying him that his claim had been allowed, which order, & c., shall be retained by the paymaster and filed in his vouchers. 5. The receipts to be given shall be, in the case of commissioned officers, the ordinary officers pay-rolls; and in case of enlisted men, their receipts on the form of receipts used for discharged soldiers. 6. Claims for pensions cannot be settled under the orders of the War Department, but must be submitted to the Secretary of the Inte- rior, to be entered on the regular pension-lists. 7. A list of all the claims allowed by the Commission will be fur- iiished the Paymaster-General, for the purpose of examining whether some may not already have been paid by paymasters, and yet agaiii submitted to the Commission. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General Page 200 200 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 28. ~ Washington, March 24, 1864. Recruits presented for enlistment, or already enlisted, in the regu- lar or volunteer service of the United States will not be rejected if at least five feet in height, provided they are otherwise physically qualified to perform the duties of a soldier. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., PRov. MAR. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 12. Washington, March 24, 1864. MEMORANDUM. The muster in of re-enlisted veterans is made in the field by the regimental and company officers, and the U. S. commissary Qf mus- ters, under the general direction of the Adjutant-General of the Army; The muster-in rolls are made, signed, and certified by the regi- mental and company officers and U. S. commissary of musters. These rolls belong to and are filed in the Adjutant-Generals Depart- ment of the Army. All questions, propositions, or inquiries in regard to them should be presented to the Adjutant-General (Major Vincents office) and not to the Provost-Marshal-General. The credits for re-enlisted veterans are made up by the Adjutant- General from the muster-in rolls above referred to, and when so made up the numbers to be credited and the places to which they are to be credited are reported by the Adjutant-General of the Army to the Provost-Marshal-General, to be deducted from the quotas for draft. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY lion. E. M. STANTON, Washington, March 24, 1864. Secretary of War: SIR: A letter of the Ilonorable Secretary of State, dated February 25, inclosing copy of Baron von Gerolt, in regard to General Orders, No. 2, issued at Memphis on the 30th of January last, having been referred to General Grant, he reports from Nashville March 16: General Buckland has been instructed to revoke his Order No. 2, of date Janu- ary 30, 1864, SO far as the same relates [to] aliens, and to report fully the reasons for his issuing the same. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. W. HALLECK. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL~GENERALS OFFICE, Major-General BUTLER, March 24, 1864. Fort Monroe, Va.: GENERAL: Tn reply to your application of the 20th instant, you are hereby authorized to recruit aiid organize a regiment at Poin Page 201 UNION AUTHORITIE8. 201. Lookout, Md., to serve for three years or during the war. The recruitment, muster, and organization must conform to the require- ments of the Mustering Regulations of the Army. All appointments of officers will be made by the War Department upon your recoin- mendation. Arms and other supplies will be furnished by the proper supply departments upon your requisition. I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. IIDQRS. ACTG. ASST. PRoY. MAR. GEN., STATE OF KENTUCKY, Col. ~. B. FRY, Louisville, Ky., March ~4, 1864. Provost -Mars hal- General, Washington, D. U: COLONEL: Touching your telegram of yesterday on the trouble in enrollimig negroes, I have to state that I have no fear, and never have had, of the completion of the enrollment; the only question was in re- gard to the time set. This short limit of time encouraged such as were indisposed to the work to assume that they could stop it entirely, but they have gotten over that feeling pretty generally by this time, being well assured that with time the work could and would be done peace- ably or forcibly. I think that things are now in fair progress, though of course difficulties occasionally occur as in every other business. The general sense of the State is opposed to Colonel Wolfords course, and the unwilling, including rebels concealed or open and other mischief-makers, begin to find that they can make no head against the execution of the law. Yesterday I received a report that a deputy and two enrolling officers were threatened and put to flight in Cumberland County by drunken (and other) citizens and soldiers of a regiment stationed there, and the colonel of the regiment refused to give the necessary aid. I conferred with General Burbridge, who promptly brought the colonel to terms, and to-day informs me he will do his whole duty, and the provost-marshal of Third District tele- graphs me to the same effect. Other circumstances of like nature occur from time to time and involve some little delay, but that is all. I think that the dismissal of Colonel Wolford would serve a good purpose in tranquilizing the State as indicating to others that they would not be sustained in resistance and as showing that the General Government is omnipotent in enforcing its laws. The provost-marshals and deputies do visit the troublesome locali- ties and provide against contingencies, and I cannot doubt that the work will be soon completed. In the First District, a part of which is in the Department of the Tennessee, there is some difficulty in getting the necessary force of the proper kind, viz, mounted men. As this part of the district is also subject to guerrilla interference, the force is more than usually necessary. General Reid, commanding District of Cairo, in that department, writes me that he has no proper force, and I think that the commanding general of the department should be directed from Washington to provide the force for him, say two companies of good mounted men. Each of the other provost-marshals has or should have, as the order has been issued, a mounted company at his disposal. I have in some cases been asked by the provost-marshals if they ~ould use the military directly in enrolling. I have considered i Page 202 202 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. inexpedient and have not sanctioned it on the ground that small squads roaming from house to house would induce collisions which might grow and enlarge to be conflicts. I consider that the moral effect of a knowledge that a sufficient force is close at hand to aid an officer when he calls for aid is more potent than the exhibition of squads. I doubt if anything more can be done than is now doing to insure or to expedite the completion of the work. I am, colonel, respectfully, W. H. SIDELL, Major Fifteenth U. S. Infantry, Actg. Asst. Prov. Mar. Gem. CIRCULAR~ WAR DEPT., PROY. MAR. GENERALS OFFICE No. 13. ~ Washington, March 25, 1864. In accordance with A resolution relative to the transfer of persons in the military service to the naval service, approved February 24, 1864, provost-marshals, in addition to their other duties, will recruit for the naval service and the Marine Corps. The following regulations are published for their guidance in the performance of this duty, viz: 1. Upon the application of any person to be enlisted in the naval service, the provost-marshal shall cause such person to be physically examined by the surgeon of the Board of Enrollment, and if such applicant pass the examination prescribed for drafted men and volun- teers, he shall be sent to the nearest naval rendezvous with a descrip- tive list and letter of transmittal to the commanding officer thereof, stating the name of the recruit and the sub-district to which he is to be credited. When the man shall have presented himself at the naval rendezvous and been examined, the commanding officer will notify the provost-marshal that the person has been received or rejected. 2. When any person between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five, and not less than five feet four inches high (veteran soldiers that have served one full enlistment and are of robust health may be taken at forty years of age), applies to be enlisted in the Marine Corps, the provost-marshal shall cause such person to be physically examined by the surgeon of the Board of Enrollment, and if such applicant pass the examination prescribed for drafted men and volunteers, he shall be sent to the nearest recruiting rendezvous for the Marine Corps with a descriptive list and letter of transmittal to the recruiting officer thereat, stating the name of the recruit and the sub-district to which he is to be credited. When the man shall have presented himself at the rendezvous and been examined, the marine recruiting officer will notify the provost-marshal that the person has been received or rejected. 3. Separate abstracts and accounts for subsisting and lodging and for transportation of these persons to the rendezvous will be kept by provost-marshals and will be sent at the end of every month direct to the Provost-Marshal-General. 4. Able or ordinary seamen enlisted into the naval service receive an advance of three months pay as bounty, to be refunded from any prize money to which they may be entitled. This advance bounty will be paid by the naval officers. Recruits enlisting in the Marine Corps do not receive advance pay or bounty from the United States, but are entitled to prize money. Men for the naval service or Marine Corps are credited on the quotas for draft the same as men for the Am~my Page 203 UNION AUTHORITIES. 203 5. The rendezvous established for the naval service are as follows, viz: Portsmouth, N. H.; Boston, Mass.; New York, N. Y.; Philadel- phia, Pa.; Baltimore, Md.; Washington, D. C.; Erie, Pa.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Ill., and Cairo, Ill. 6. The rendezvous established for the Marine Corps are as follows, viz: Portsmouth, N. II., navy-yard; Boston, Mass., navy-yard; Brook- lyn, L. I., navy-yard; Philadelphia, Pa., navy-yard; Baltimore, Md., receiving ship Alleghany; Cairo, Ill., navy-ya7rd, and Washington, D. C., marine barracks. 7. Provost-marshals will give proper publicity by short advertise- ments to the subject of recruiting for the Navy and Marine Corps, and will send the bills therefor direct to the ProVost-Marshal-General. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE EAST, No. 23. New York Gity, March 25, 1864. The attention of the commanding general has been called to the fact that the county of Richmond, N. Y., the town of West Farms, Westchester County, N. Y., and several other towns within the limits of this department, have made provision for a bounty of $300 and upward, to be paid to persons enlisting in the military serv- ice of the United States, and that the corporate authorities of said counties and towns have provided that at least $100 shall be paid to the recruit, leaving the disposition to be made of the balance ($200 or upward, as the case may be) undefined and to be bargained for by the recruit and the bounty broker, usually with fraudulent repre- sentations on the part of the latter. The result is that the person presenting the recruit for enlistment gets, in many cases, $200 or more, and the recruit only $100. As numerous deceptions and frauds on the recruits necessarily occur, and are daily occurring, under such an arrangement; as it is an outrage to the tax-payers, who intend that the money levied upon their property shall go to the recruit who perils his life for his country, and not to the bounty runner who stays at home, and to whom the United States pays a liberal and fixed compensation for his trouble in procuring the recruit, the commanding general hereby orders that all provost-marshals and enlisting officers shall refuse to enlist in behalf of any county or town making such or similar indefinite provision as is hereinbefore referred to, unless such provost-marshal or enlisting officer shall be convinced that such recruit has actually received the full amount of the bounty raised in such county or town, and such recruit will not be allowed to part with any portion of his said bounty to any person for any pretended services in enlisting him or any pretended service to him after his enlistment, even though an agreement be shown; such agreements being almost always fraudu- lent, without consideration, and contrary to public policy. It is the unalterable determination of the commanding general of the department to protect recruits from the frauds practiced upon them, and to punish the offenders if he can reach them, being fully convinced that nothing can be more discouraging to enlistments, or more disreputable to the community, than the depredations which have recently been committed upon persons enlisting into the military service Page 204 204 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Wherever, therefore, a certain amount per man is levied upon a county or town as bounty, he will hold that this amount shall be paid to the recruit, and that any other appropriation of it is unlawful. If the county or town authorities raise money to pay the expenses of recruiting as well as for bounty, then the amount they appropriate for each purpose should be distinctly and specifically stated; that is, so munch as bounty to each recruit and so much for the person who presents him. If they say in ~o many words, as one county has done, that the recruit shall have $200 and the man who presents him $100, in addi- tion to the fixed sum paid by the United States, however unjust such a distribution may be to the recruit and the tax-payers, there is no authority to interfere with it. The only remedy for the recruit is to enlist where he is more liberally treated, and for the tax-payers to place their money in the hands of men who will not lavish it on runners and bounty brokers. By command of Major-General Dix: D. T. VAN BUREN, Colonel and Assistant Adjutant- General. LITTLE ROCK, ARK., lllarch 26, 1864. (Received 6 p. m. 27th.) His Excellency A. LINCOLN, President: Are new recruits enlisting in Arkansas regiments now forming and to be formed entitled to the $300 bounty? A speedy answer is very important to the recruiting service just now. In organizing State government, want of funds is the trouble. There are none. Will you advise me? Answer. ISAAC MURPHY, Provisional Governor of Arkansas. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, March 26, 1864. General N. B. BAKER, Adjutant- General of Iowa, Davenport, Iowa: GENERAL: In my letter of the 14th instant I inadvertently omitted to refer to the 209 recruits mustered into service in the field, and for which you claim credit. Concerning these men, we have no reports from mustering officers showing the musters, nor can the muster-in rolls be traced. In claims of this kind the circumstances under which men were mustered into service in the field should be stated, as the regulations look to all musters for field regiments being made in the States and by the U. S. mustering officers thereof. Murters made otherwise are in violation of regulations and cause delays in making credits. Under the rules, therefore, the said men cannot now be credited, but they will be credited promptly so soon as the proper rolls and reports shall have been received. The foregoing is in reply to your letter of the 18th instant. I have the honor, & c., THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant A~jntant- General Page 205 UNION AUTHORITIES. 205 SPECIAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 128. * * Washington, ilfarch 26, 1864. * * * * * 54. Col. M. D. Hardin, Twelfth Pennsylvania Reserves, will at once relieve Brig. Gen. J. T. Copeland, U. S. Volunteers, in command of the depot for drafted men at Pittsbnrg, Pa. On being relieved General Copeland will report in person without delay to the commanding general of the Department of the Missouri for assignment to duty. * * * * * * * By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, Alexandria, La., ilfarch 27, 1864. ADJUTANT-GENERAL ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, Washington, D. C.: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communi- cation of 7th instant, relating to the organization of the negro troops in this department under General Orders, No. 47, and to state in reply thereto that the order was issued while the army was upon the march at Opelonsas. Up to the date of the order three regiments of negroes had been o~ganized according to the provisions of the Army regula- tions. These regiments absorbed all the material that was available at that time. It became necessary during the campaign of last year to organize new regiments for instant service. The men, of course, were utterly unused to everything appertaining to military service, the negroes of Central and Northern Louisiana being, perhaps, less adapted for this service than those of any other State. The officers, with few exceptions, were necessarily taken from the ranks. These regiments being required for immediate service, it was necessary that the number of men should be limited, so that inexperienced officers might render wholly uninstructed troops available in the shortest possible time. The number of each company was limited to fifty, it being the intention as soon as more country opened to us to fill the regiments to the minimum or maximum number, and also to recruit from the plantations within the lines of the army, in accordance with the instructions which I had received from General Halleck. From these two sources the regiments we had formed could have been easily filled. A subsequent order from the Adjutant-General of the Army suspended the recruiting from the plantations within the lInes of the army, and the extended siege operations at Port Hudson prevented our covering as much territory and getting as many recruits as had at first been anticipated. From the moment these regiments were organized they entered active service, and have been from that day constantly in the presence of the enemy from Brashear to Port Hud- son. Two brigades will participate in this campaign. I was conscious that there was a departure from the regulations of the Army upon this subject, but the necessities of the case seemed to justify it. These regiments did excellent service, and it is no more than just to say that the campaign of last year could hardly have been accom- plished without their aid. The restriction as to numbers is in accord- ance with military experience in regard to the organization of recruit Page 206 206 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. intended for immediate service. To one instance I may properly refer. In France, under Napoleon, when intended for immediate service, the battalions were limited to 300 instead of 1,000 men. My experience in this department fully justified this practice where troops are required for instant service. Under other circumstances a depar- ture from the Army regulations would be inexcusable. It is my intention to fill these regiments to the minimum and maximum num- ber as soon as possible, and I hope that this campaign may furnish the material for such purpose. With much respect, your obedient servant, N. P. BANKS, Major- General, Gornmanding. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 123. Washington, March 28, 1864. 1. Circular No. 23, of March 9, in relation to the transfer of enlisted men of the Army to the naval service, is revoked. 2. Every department and army commander will cause to be trans- ferred as speedily as possible to the nearest naval station named in General Orders, No. 91, alL enlisted men who desire to enlist in the Navy, and who fulfill the conditions required in General Orders, No. 91, without regard to the restriction in said orders as to reduction of regiments and companies below the minimum organization, which restriction is ~removed. 3. Daily reports by telegraph will be made to the Adjutant-General of the number of men transferred and the station to which they are sent. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Aajntant- General. EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, March 28, 1864. Honorable SECRETARY OF WAR: Mv DEAR SIR: The Governor of Kentucky is here and desires to have the following points definitely fixed: First. That the quotas of troops furnished and to be furnished by Kentucky may be adjusted upon the basis as actually reduced by able-bodied men of hers having gone into the rebel service, and that she be required to furnish no more than her just quotas upon fair adjustment on such basis. Second. That to whatever extent the enlistment and drafting, one or both, of colored troops may be found necessary within the State, it may be conducted within the law of Congress, and as far as prac- ticable free from collateral embarrassment, disorders, and provoca- tions. I think these requests of the Governor are reasonable, and I shall be obliged if you will give him a full hearing, and do the best you can to effect these objects. Yours, very truly, A. LINCOLN Page 207 UNION AUTHORITIES. 207 GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 125. Washington, March 29, 1864. Furloughs, not to exceed thirty days in each case, to the non-com- missioned officers and privates of the Army who may desire to enter the free military school at Philadelphia, may be granted by the com- manders of armies and departments when the character, conduct, and capacity of the applicants are such as to warrant their immediate and superior commanders in recommending them for commissioned appointments in the regiments of colored troops. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 127. & Washington, March 29, 1864. I. Medical directors of departments will establish a general hospital at some convenient point within their respective departments for the reception and treatment of sick and wounded officers, but no expendi- tures for the construction of new hospitals for this purpose will be incurred without special authority. They will detail a surgeon-in- charge, who will make requisitions upon the medical purveyor for medicines, hospital stores, furniture, & c., according to the standard supply table of the Medical Department, and will hire the nurses, cooks, and laundresses required. Hospital stewards assigned to offi- cers general hospitals will be paid on the regular muster and pay rolls. II. On the recommendation of the medical director of the depart- ment, a commissioned medical officer will be detailed to act perma- nently as treasurer for each officers general hospital, who shall not be removed without sufficient cause. The treasurer shall have the custody of the funds of the hospital, and shall perform such duties in relation to collecting, disbursing, and accounting for the same, and such other duties as may be prescribed by the Surgeon-General. III. On the last day of each calendar month, and immediately on leaving the hospital, by return to duty, furlough, or otherwise, each officer shall pay to the treasurer the sum of $1 for each and every day he has been in the hospital, and for which he has not already paid as herein provided. When an officer has employed a special attendant, he shall pay 30 cents a day additional for each day such attendant was subsisted in the hospital. Company officers of volunteers, while in such officers general hospital, shall be considered as on detached service without troops, for the purpose of drawing their pay and settling their indebtedness to the hospital, and may be paid on sepa- rate pay accounts instead of on the muster and pay rolls. IV. When an officer is not provided with money, and is unable to obtain it, he will give a certificate of indebtedness, in triplicate, to the treasurer of the hospital, in such form as shall be prescribed by the Surgeon-General, for the amount due from him to the hospital. The treasurer shall immediately forward, for stoppage, two copies of the certificate to the chief paymaster of the pay district in which the hospital may be located, retaiuing the remaining copy for his own reference and security. When an officer is discharged from the hos- pital to return to a regiment serving beyond the limits of the pay dis- trict rn which such hospital is located, th~ treasurer shall forward the certificates of indebtedness which the officer may have given t Page 208 208 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. the proper chief paymaster, if known to him, otherwise, to the Pay- master-General, for such reference. V. The chief paymaster of the pay district will imniediately cause the certificates of indebtedness to be placed in the hands of the pay- iiiaster of the hospital (or of the regiment, should the officer have left the hospital), with instructions to stop the amounts on the first pay- ment of the officers by whom the certificates were given. The pay- master will take the receipt of each officer for the full amount of his pay account, and transmit the deducted sums to the treasurer of the hospital to which they are due, who will indorse receipt therefor upon the duplicate certificates in the paymasters hands, or furnish dupli- eate abstracts of receipts signed by him, and embracing in one receipt the names of all the officers on whose accounts the sums have been remitted. The paymaster will also forward monthly an abstract of certificates thus paid to the Surgeon-General. VI. Officers of the Subsistence Department will make separate abstracts of the sales to each officers general hospital during each calendar month, and will report the same to the Commissary-General of Subsistence in the manner provided by regulations in relation to sales to officers. Payment for stores thus purchased of the Subsist- ence Department shall be made by the treasurer monthly, and in cash when practicable; but when the treasurer has not money on hand sufficient to liquidate the entire indebtedness of the hospital to the Subsistence Department, he shall give to the commissary accountable for the stores sold a certificate of indebtedness, in duplicate, for the amount remaining unpaid, which certificate shall be a valid claim against the hospital, and be paid from the first moneys received there- after by the treasurer, and until paid shall be considered as a suffi- cient cash voucher to the commissary for the amount stated therein. When the treasurer pays this certificate of indebtedness he shall take the receipt of the commissary for the amount thus paid him, and shall report his action in this matter to the Commissary-General of Subsist- ence, stating the date and amount of each certificate thus canceled, the name of the commissary receiving the money therefor, & c. VII. Medical directors of armies in the field, when necessary, will establish temporary hospitals in the rear of such armies, to be gov- erned by the following regulations: Medical directors of armies and of departments a id medical inspect- ors will frequently inspect officers general hospitals, and in addition to the usual course of hospital inspection they will investigate the manner in which the treasurer performs his duties, and promptly report any neglect on his part to the Surgeon-General. VIII. No officer whose certificate of indebtedness to a hospital reuiains unpaid by him shall receive pay without deducting therefrom the amount of this indebtedness and leaving it in the hands of the paymaster, who shall give him duplicate receipts therefor, one of which the officer shall immediately forward to the treasurer of the hospital for which the stoppage is made. A violation of this para- graph will subject ~he officer so offending to court-martial for dis- obedience of orders. IX. When an officer dies in hospital the treasurer shall immedi- ately ascertain the amount of his indebtedness to the hospital, and prepare an account thereof in triplicate, which shall be certified to be correct by both the treasurer and the surgeon in charge. One copy of this account shall be retained by the treasurer and the remaining two copies be forwarded to the Second A~tdjtor of the. Treasm~y, ii Page 209 UNION AUTHORITIES. 209 order that upon the filial settlement of the officers accounts the amount of his indebtedness may be deducted from any pay due him and remitted to the treasurer of the hospital. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, No. 41. Alexandria, La., March 29, 1864. I. In accordance with the provisions of General Orders, No. 35, issued at headquarters Department of the Gulf, March 11, 1864, elec- tions will be held the 2d day of April, at 9 a. in., at Opelousas for the election of three delegates to represent the parish of Saint Landry; at Marksville, for the election of two delegates to represent the parish of Avoyelles; at Harrisonburg, for the election of four delegates to represent the parish of Catahoula; at Alexandria, for the election of four delegates to represent the parish of Rapides, in the convention to be held in the city of New Orleans on the 6th day of April, 1864, for the revision and amendment, of the constitution of the State of Louisiana. LI. Every free white male twenty-one years of age who has been a resident of the State twelve months, and six months in the parish in which he offers to vote, who is a citizen of the United States, and who shall have taken the oath prescribed by the President in his proclamation of the 8th of December, 1863, * shall have the right to vote in the election of delegates. III. Citizens of the State who have been expelled from their homes by the public enemy on account of their devotion to the Union, and who would be qualified voters in the parishes to which they belong, will be allowed to vote for delegates in the election precincts in which, for the time being, they may reside. IV. A. Casabat, N. Taylor, II. T. Burgess and are hereby appointed commissioners of election for the parish of Rapides; M. B. Wells, R. W. Talafierio, C. A. looper, and Hawkins, for the parish of Catahoula; N. Jenkins, J. J. Beauchamp, and Jonas Wales, for the parish of Saint Landry; T. J. Edwards and W. Mas- ters, for the parish of Avoyelles; and will make all necessary arrange- ments for the opening and closing of the polls, and return of the votes given to the secretary of state, as provided in the election of members in the General Assembly. By command of Major-General Banks: GEORGE B. DRAKE, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., March- 29, 1864. Col. J. B. Fny, Prov. Mar. Gen. of the United States, Washington, D. C.: COLONEL: I am instructed by the Secretary of War to request you to instruct the officers of your department in the State of West Vir- ginia to enlist into the service of the United States for three years or * See Series II, Vol. VI, p. 680. 14 R nSERIES III, VOL i Page 210 210 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. during the war all colored persons of suitable age and condition who may offer themselves for enlistment. After enlistment they will be assigned to the Forty-fifth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops and sent to Lieut. Col. H. A. Oakman, Thirtieth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, at Clarksburg, Va. I have the honor to be, & c., E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. LouisviLLE, March 29, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: Loyal slave-holders willing to abide by the law, or to allow their slaves to volunteer, complain that they run off in great numbers for Canada to escape military service. Can any check be applied under the law to prevent this? Answer by telegraph immediately. W. H. SIDELL, Major and Acting Assistant Provost-Marshal- General. [Indorsement.] Shown to Secretary March 31. File. J. B. F. [MARCH 30, 1864.For General Orders, No. 128, War Department, Adjutant-Generals Office, promulgating the Presidents proclamation of March 26, 1864, defining the cases in which insurgent enemies are entitled to the benefits of the proclamation of December 5, 1863, see Series II, Vol. VI, p. 1113.] WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, March 30, 1864. Governor MURPHY, Little Rock, Ark.: Your telegram to the President of the 27th [26th] instant has been referred to this Department. Three hundred dollars bounty is not payable to new recruits after the 1st of April. In respect to funds for organizing the State government, examination has been directed as to whether any advance can be made out of existin~ appropriations, and the result will be communicated to you in a few days. Your com- munications on these subjects should be addressed to this Department. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. NATCHEZ, Miss., March 30, 1864. Maj. Gen. W. T. SHERMAN, Commanding Military Division of the Mississippi: DEAR GENERAL: I received your letter of the 11th instant* at this place, which will account for your not receiving an answer by your bearer of dispatches. I thank you very kindly for it. I regret exceedingly that I did not see you on my way down the river, as I wished to have a full conversation respecting the Presidents orders *See Series I, Vol. XXXII, Part III, p. 56 Page 211 UNION AUTHORITIES. 211 to immediately go on the Mississippi River and take control of the plantation system. Last year the abandoned plantations were taken possession of by me as a necessity, in order to provide labor for the large number of negroes coming within our lines. I was glad to be relieved of the business this year, and glad that it was transferred to the Treasury Department, bnt feeling satisfied that without the aid of the military it could not successfully be carried out, and so stated to the Secretaries of War and the Treasury. The Treasury agents adopted rules which could not be carried out, and the troops being mainly withdrawn from the west side of the river, lessees had to leave their plantations, as they were subject to frequent inroads of guerrillas, and the negroes could not be induced to remain on them. I found this state of things, and at once modified the system adopted by Mr. Mellen, and asked General McPherson to give me some troops to restore confidence to the lessees. The general cheerfully acceded to my wishes. I agree with you perfectly that placing troops on the banks of the Mississippi is no way to give protection to the river. Your operations did certainly cover the east bank of the river, but Hawkins brigade, at Haines Bluff, has not prevented raid upon raid in the neighborhood of Skipwiths Landing. I should like to see a brigade at Harrisonburg, with orders to maneuver up the Washita and Tensas, which would effectually cover the district. I do not wish to interfere in the disposition of the troops, and prefer leaving it to the proper commanders; still, general, you must see that with no troops on the west bank of the river, except at Helena, there would be very little or no protection to plantations. The operations of the forces against the rebels I regard as paramount, and, if necessary, all other minor interests must give way, but if the operations can be success- fully carried on and these minor interests be protected, then I think it should be done. My special duties here are to organize colored troops, and I expect full co-operation on the part of all military com- manders to enable me to execute those special orders of the Secretary of War. The President has taken an interest in the plantation sys- tem, and I desire fully to execute his orders. I have left it in the hands of the Treasury agents, subject to my supervision and control. I congratulate you on your assignment to your high and responsible command, and feel in my own mind that you are equal to the trust. May your military operations be crowned with brilliant success. Sincerely and truly, yours, L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 131. Washington, March 21, 1864. General Orders, No. 75, series of 1862, are hereby rescinded, and the following orders will govern hereafter in lieu thereof: I. In organizing new regiments or independent companies of volun- teers the Governors of States are hereby authorized to appoint, in addition to the staff officers heretofore authorized, one second lieu- tenant for each company, who shall be conditionally mustered into service at the date of his appointment. Any officer thus appointed and mustered shall only be entitled to be paid on the muster and pay roll of his company, and should he fail to enlist an organized coin- pany within such time as the War Department may designate, tIme men enlisted by him shall be transferred to some other company, hi Page 212 212 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. appointment shall be canceled, and he shall be discharged withont pay, unless the Governor give him a position in the consolidated com- pany to which his men shall have been transferred. II. Mustering officers will report promptly to the Adjutant-General of the Army the name of every recruiting lieutenant mnstered into the service by them, nnder a conditional letter of appointment, together with the company and regiment for which he is recrniting. Officers will be mustered into the service only on the authority of the Governor of the State to which their regiments belong. III. Articles of enlistment will be made out in duplicate by snch recrniting officers, and will be disposed of as provided by paragraph 15, page 80, Recrniting Regulations, Volunteer Service. Recruits will be sent to the regimental rendezvous at least as often as once a week, where they will be immediately examined by the snrgeon of the regi- nient, or other surgeon employed for that purpose by the superin- tendent volunteer recruiting service, and, if found unfit for duty by reason of permanent disability, will be discharged from the service forthwith by the U. S. mustering officer, who will report such dis- charges to the superintendent volunteer recruiting service, and also to the adjutant of the regiment, noting particularly those cases where the disability was obvious at the time of enlistment. As soon as the organization is complete, it shall be carefully inspected and mustered by a U. S. mustering officer, who will see that at least the minimum number of each company is present; no absentees will be counted. IV. Until regiments or independent companies are organized and mustered in they will be under the control of the Governor of the State; but all requisitions for quartermaster, medical, and ordnance stores, all contracts for fuel, straw, and subsistence, and all requisi- tions for transportation, must be approved by the superintendent of volunteer recruiting service for the State or division. V. No accounts for expenses incurred in raising new organizations shall be paid by disbursing officers unless approved by the superin- tendent of volunteer recruiting service. By order of the Secretary of War: B. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, April 2, 1864 Ordered, That the Executive order of September 4, 1863, in rela- tion [to] the exportation of live-stock from the United States, be so extended as to prohibit the exportation of all classes of salted provis- ions from any part of the United States to any foreign port, except that meats cured, salted, or packed in any State or Territory border- ing on the Pacific Ocean may be exported from any port of such State or Territory. A. LINCOLN. TIDQRS. DIST. OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH, Jacksonville, Fla., April 8, 1864. Brig. Gen. J. W. TURNER, Chief of Staff and of Artillery, Department of the South: GENERAL: If it is the intention of the Government to occupy the State of Florida I would urge upon the general commanding the grant- ing me authority to raise a Florida regiment of white men, to serv Page 213 UNION AUTHORITIES. 213 only in this State. I am more than ever convinced that such a regi- ment would very soon be filled, and would be of great service in bringing the State back to its allegiance. Very respectfnlly, your obedient servant, JNO. P. HATCH, Brigadier- General, Commanding. CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, April 4, 1864. On motion of Mr. Arnold: Resolved, That the Secretary of War be directed to furnish to this House, if not incompatible with the public interest, a statement of the number of men called into the military servicc of the United States since March, 1861, the quota of each State under each call, the number furnished, and also the number tendered under each call, the length of time for which they were accepted, what State or States furnished an excess over its quota, and how many; also what State or States did not furnish its quota, and the number deficient. Attest. EDW. McPHERSON, Clerk. J. CLINTON LLOYD, Chief Clerk. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERAL~ s OFFICE, No. 138. Washing/on, April 4, 1864~ The following act of Congress is published for the information of all concerned: PUBLIcNo. 36. AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Military Academy for the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-five. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums be, and the same are hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropri- ated, for the support of the Military Academy for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-five: For pay of officers, instructors, cadets, and musicians, one hundred and seven- teen thousand one hundred and seventy-six dollars. For commutation of subsistence, four thousand one hundred and sixty-one dollars. For pay in lieu of clothing to officers servants, sixty dollars. For current and ordinary expenses, as follows: Repairs and improvements, fuel, and apparatus, forage, postage, telegrams, stationery, transportation, print- ing, clerks, miscellaneous and incidental expenses, and departnient of instruction, forty-one thousand two hundred and eighty dollars. For gradual increase and expense of library, one thousand dollars. For expenses of the Board of Visitors, four thousand dollars. For forage for artillery and cavalry horses, eight thousand six hundred and forty dollars. For supplying horses for artillery and cavalry exercise, one thousand dollars. For repairs of officers quarters, one thousand five hundred dollars. For targets and batteries for artillery exercise, one hundred dollars. For furniture for hospital for cadets, including fixed washtubs, hot and cold water bath apparatus and water-closets, one thousand dollars. For annual repairs of gas pipes and retorts, three hundred lollars. For warming apparatus for barracks, fifteen thousand dollars Page 214 214 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. For rebuilding public wharf and opening approach to the same from the south six thousand dollars. Sxc. 2. And be it further enacted, That the thirty-fifth section of the act entitled An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes, approved March three, eighteen hundred and and sixty-three, shall not be deemed hereafter to prohibit the payment to enlisted men employed at the Military Academy of the extra-duty pay heretofore allowed by law to enlisted men when employed at constant labor for not less than ten days continuously. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That from and after the first day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, the annual pay of cadets at the Military Acad- emy at West Point shall be the same as that allowed to midshipmen at the Naval Academy, and the amount necessary for that purpose is hereby appropriated. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That cadets found deficient at any examina- tion shall not be continued at the Military Academy, or be reappointed except upon the recommendation of the Academic Board. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That no part of the money hereby appropri- ated shall be applied to the support or pay of any cadet hereafter appointed not in conformity with the expressed provisions of law regulating appointments of cadets at that Academy. Approved April 1, 1864. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 32. Washington, April 4, 1864. The discharge and final statements for pay of all men forwarded to naval stations for enlistment in the Navy in obedience to General Orders, Nos. 91 and 123, should be made out by the proper officers and pnt in the hands of the officer who condncts the men to the naval station. The Paymaster-General will designate an officer of his department who will pay at each naval station all the transferred men who may be accepted by the naval anthorities everything dne them from the Army up to the date of their discharge by transfer to the Navy. The discharge papers of such men as are sent back to their companies becanse they are not accepted by the Navy will be canceled. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. ORDERS No. 16.] NEw ORLEANS, LA,, April 4, 1864. All troops of African descent in the Depariment of the Gulf will hereafter be designated as regiments of U. S. cavalry, heavy artil- lery, light artillery, or infantry (colored). Such regiments as may hereafter be pnt in process of organization will be reported to Brig. Gen. L. Thomas, Adjutant-General U. S. Army, at Vicksbnrg, Miss., in order that they may receive their proper number. - CAvALRY. First Cavalry, Corps dAfriqne, as the Fourth. HEAVY ARTILLERY. First Regiment Heavy Artillery, Corps dAfriqne, as the Seventh. First and Second Battalions, Fourteenth Regiment Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, Corps dAfriqne, as the Eighth Page 215 215 UNION AUTHORITIES. INFANTRY. First Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Seventy-third. Second Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Seventy-fourth. Third Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfriqne, as the Seventy-fifth. Fourth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Seventy-sixth. Fifth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Seventy-seventh. Sixth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Seventy-eighth. Seventh Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Seventy-ninth. Eighth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfriqne, as the Eightieth. Ninth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Eighty-first. Tenth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Eighty-second. Eleventh Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Eighty-third. Twelfth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Eighty-fourth. Thirteenth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfriqne, as the Eighty-fifth. Fourteenth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Eighty-sixth. Sixteenth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Eighty- seventh. Seventeeiith Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Eighty- eighth. Eighteenth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfriqne, as the Eighty- ninth. Nineteenth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Ninetieth. Twentieth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Ninety-first. Twenty-second Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Ninety- second. Twenty-fifth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Ninety- third. Twenty-sixth Regiment Infantry, Corps dAfrique, as the Ninety- fourth. First Regiment Engineers, Corps dAfrique, as the Ninety-fifth. Second Regiment Engineers, Corps dAfrique, as the Ninety-sixth. Third Regiment Engineers, Corps dAfrique, as the Ninety-seventh. Fourth Regiment Engineers, Corps dAfrique, as the Ninety-eighth. Fifth Regiment Engineers, Corps dAfrique, as the Ninety-ninth. By order of the Secretary of War: L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General. NORWICH, CoNN., April 4, 1864. (Received 1 a. m. 5th.) Hon. E. M. STANTON: Union State ticket elected. Majority probably over 6,000. Gain of three [3,000?]. Union Senators all right. WM. A. BUCKINGHAM, Governor of Gonnecticut. STATE OF NEW YORK, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Albany, April 4, 1864. Maj. J. B. STONEHOUSE: DEAR SIR: I am informed that agents from States other than New York are enlisting men from a New York corps now at Rush Barracks, Washington, to fill the quotas of the States they represent. I lear Page 216 21C CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. that a large number have been thus enlisted for New Jersey, the agents paying from $350 to $375. Massachusetts, I am informed, has done the same, paying $400 cash down. All this is done under a recent general order by which men re-enlisting can be credited to any State. they see fit. This is all wrong, and should be remedied at once if possible. I wish you would ascertain the facts and report to me at once. Truly, yours, & c., HORATIO SEYMOUR. It may be that no such order as the one herein referred to exists. WAR DEPARTMENT lion. hANNIBAL JIAMLIN, Washington City, April 5, 1864. President of the Senate: SIR: I transmit herewith the report of the Adjutant-General, made in compliance with the resolution of the Senate dated March 22, 1864, calling for the number of troops raised for nine months service under the act of July 17, 1862, specifying what number have been raised as volunteers and what number as militia; also, whether the bounty of $25, provided in the third section of said act, has been paid to all the volunteers so raised, and if not, to what number, and for what reasons said bounty has been withheld from any such volunteers; also, whether said bounty has been paid to any of the militia called out under said act. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. [Inclosure.] WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, lion. E. M. STANTON, Washington, D. C., April .5, 1864. Secretary of War: SIR: In reply to a resolution of the Senate dated March 22, 1864, relative to the number, & c., of nine-months troops called out under the act of July 17, 1862, and which was referred to this office, I have the honor to report as follows: First. Number of troops raised or received into service under said act: Nine-months volunteers - - 18,884 Nine-months militia 65,3O~ Total 84,189 Second. The bounty of $25 has been paid to all fhe volunteers (18,884) accepted under said act. This number was called out by the Governor of Pennsylvania without any call being made by the President for such volunteers. No call under that section was made upon any State, but the men having been raised, as stated, in Pennsylvania, and the bounty pro- vided by that section promised them by the Governor of that State, the President, under these circumstances, determined to accept them into the service as nine-months volunteers Page 217 UNION AUTHORITIES. 217 The said 18,884 volunteers from Pennsylvania are all the iiine- months volunteers that were accepted. Third. Bounty has been paid to five regiments of Vermont nine- months militia, numbering 3,934 men, but without authority from this Department. The payments of the bounty to this class of troops resulted from the U. S. mustering officers and paymasters erroneously thinking that the troops were nine-months volunteers. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., April 5, 1864. Hon. J. W. GRIMEs, U. S. Senate: SIR: I attach hereto a report of remarks made yesterday in the Senate by Hon. Henry Wilson, chairman of Military Committee, U. S. Senate, regarding the recrniting service, in regard to which I take the liberty of stating to yon as follows: Mr. Wilson asserts that the Government does not know how to enlist men, and that if we authorize the States to raise men they could raise 100,000 quicker than the Government can raise 5,000. This assertion is not sustained by recorded facts. Since March, 1863, the recruitment of nien has been conducted mainly by the General Government. The results, with which you are acquainted, show a decided success in this business, notwithstanding the fact that volun- teering nnder the old system, controlled by State authorities, was dead at the time the General Government took hold of it. There has been one special exception made in the plan now in operation of recruiting by the General Government. That exception is the State of Massa- chnsetts, which Mr. Wilson represents as a Senator. In that State entire control has been left with the Governor. I regret to say that the results, as compared with those in most other States where the General Government has mainly conducted the business, are very unfavorable. As the zeal, ability, and loyalty of the Governor of Massachusetts are acknowledged, and the circumstances attending recruiting in that State do not differ essentially froni those in the neighboring States, is it not reasonable to assume that the system there is not so good as that pursued elsewhere? When called upon by Senator Wilson I have, from time to time, shown him tables of the progress and results of the recruiting service, and he has expressed himself satisfied with them, and has remarked that we have raised enough men. I am, sir, very respectfully, yonr obedient servant, JAS. B. FRY, Provost -3iIiarshal~ General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. 0., April 5, 1864. Governor BUCKINGILAM, Norwich, Oonn.: Accept for yourself and the patriotic people of your State my hearty congratulations for the gre at victory you have achieved in behalf of our country. EDWIN M. STANTON Page 218 218 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, April 6, 1864. I-Ion. GIDEON WELLES, Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C.: SIR: The Secretary of War instructs me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 4th instant, suggesting that 1,000 seamen may be transferred from the command of Major-General Gilimore to the South Atlantic Squadron, to be credited to the 12,000 to be trans- ferred from the Army to the Navy, and in reply to inform you that the order has been issued in conformity therewith, which will be tele- graphed to New York, to be sent by the regular steamer, which leaves to-morrow. I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, ED. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier- General and Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 33. ~ Washington, April 6, 1864. 1. So much of War Department General Orders, No. 105, of 1863, as forbids the discharge of any man upon surgeons certificate of disability who may be fit for service in the Veteran Reserve Corps is so far modified as not to include enlisted men who have less than six months to serve. 2. Enlisted men transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps who may have served more than two years, and who desire to re-enlist in that corps for three years, may do so, and will be paid the bounty for former service, as provided by existing orders of the War Depart- ment. Furloughs not exceeding thirty days may be granted to men re-enlisting in the Veteran Reserve Corps, at the discretion of the proper commanding officers. Men who enlist or re-enlist in the Vet- eran Reserve Corps will be credited the same as other troops, but are not entitled to any bounty or premium from the United States for such re-enlistment. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. SPECIAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 140. Washington, April 6, 1864. * * * * * * * 18. In addition to his duties as commander of the District of Ken- tucky, Brig. Gen. S. G. Burbridge, U. S. Volunteers, is charged, under the direction of the proper bureaus of this Department, with a general superintendence of the execution of the acts of Congress for raising troops in Kentucky by voluntary enlistment and bydrafting. The assistant to the provost-marshal-general of the State will continue in the performance of the duties heretofore assigned him, but will receive from General Burbridge such orders as the latter may deem necessary to secure the most prompt and faithful execution of the laws in question. * * * * * * * By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Ac~jutant- General Page 219 UNION AUTHORITIES. 219 GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 154. Washington, April 7, 1864. Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson, U. S. Volunteers, is hereby relieved as Chief of the Cavalry Bureau of the War Department, and will report to Lieutenant-General Grant for assignment to duty. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE MILITARY DIRECTOR AND SUPERINTENDENT RAILROADS OF UNITED STATES, Washington, April 8, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: Having learned that doubts have been expressed as to the necessity for purchasing the large equipment recently contracted for, to be used in working the railroads in the Military Division of the Mississippi, I beg to call your attention to the following extract from my report to you, under date of January 9, 1864: When the Northwestern Railroad and the line from Chattanooga to Knoxville are completed, the following lines will be in operation: Northwestern Railroad, from Miles. Nashville to the Tennessee River 72 Nashvilleto Chattanooga 151 Nashville to Stevenson via Decatur - 185 Chattanoogato Knoxville 111 Whole distance - -- 519 To work these lines I am informed that there is on hand, or will soon be, 70 locomotives and 600 freight cars. This supply is entirely inadequate. I may say here that on certain emergencies we had in use between Washington and Culpeper 60 locomotives and 800 cars, a distance of 70 miles. It is true, this was an extreme case, but one not unlikely to occur on all military railroads. The railroad from Aquia Creek to Falmouth, distance 14 miles, required at times 14 locomotives and 165 cars. The ordinary supply of rolling-stock in use upon the various railroads in this country will average 1 locomotive and 12 freight cars to every 2 miles in length of road in use, and on many lines the supply is even greater. Thus, according to the above statement, the 70 locomotives will be barely suffi- cient to stock 140 miles, and 600 cars sufficient only to stock 100 miles of rail- road. Add to this the liability to destruction by raids, and the necessity of being prepared, if possible, for sudden and rapid movements, it is apparent that with the present equipment no advance of the army can be made, if I am correct in assuming that it must depend upon railroads for supplies. There should be on hand in this department not less than 200 locomotives and 3,000 cars, which should be added to as the army advances southward from Knoxville. It may be said, in answer to the above, that while many miles are to be operated, the actual tonnage hauled is less than upon lines operated by and belonging to private corporations. This is undoubt- edly true, but the difficulties surrounding the operating of all military railroads much more than compensate for the difference in tonnage, the necessity of being at all times prepared to make rapid and large movements, both in advance and retreat, to save not only the supplies, but the rolling-stock itself, which, even under the most careful man- agement, is sometimes destroyed to save it from the enemy, and i Page 220 220 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. frequently at the mercy of the latter. The great difficulty in properly guarding a long line increases the hazard; and although the move- inent may be comparatively light, the difficulties attending the same are much greater than any railroad manager, no matter how compe- tent as such, but without experience and a proper understanding of the military service, can possibly estimate. In addition to the facts stated, we are called upon suddenly to reconstruct lines, on which a large portion of rolling-stock is required. This is an important item, and one which would not ordinarily be taken into account. As an illustration, we have at this moment in use in repairs and construction of railroads in the Military Division of the Mississippi 18 locomotives and 180 cars. After an experience of many years as a railroad manager, and having been for more than two years engaged in operating military railroads, I feel that I hazard nothing in the assertion that the most competent railroad manager in this country, if without military railroad experience, would find in attempting the work that the requirements of the service would set at naught all his former opinions and experience. Your recent order directing the purchase of locomotive engines has been executed to the best of my ability. The duty was a delicate one, interfering, as it unavoidably does, with almost every railroad com- pany in the country; add to which a strong disposition on the part of manufacturers to combine, and thus make a large advance on market prices. Had their clamor been yielded to I would have been sub- jected not only to the censure of yourself, but would have drawn down upon my acts the united condemnation of the whole railroad interests. rrhe manufacturers were distinctly informed that the Gov- ernment would not pay f~1 above the market price, and in case of a refusal to comply I should ask for authority to manufacture the machinery on Government account. I have thus succeeded fully in performing the responsible duty imposed without incurring the dis- pleasure of any. Hoping that my actions will meet your approval, I am, very respect- fully, your obedient servant, D. C. MCCALLUM, Colonel, Director and General Manager Military Railroads United States. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, April 8, 18G4. Colonel TOWNSEND and Colonel FRY: Lieutenant-General Grant wishes that active measures be taken to get into the field all recruits, new organizations, and all old troops that can be spared. Those in Ohio and east of that State to rendez- vous at Washington, and those west of that State at Louisville. This does not apply to veterans who should return to their commands, nor to recruits raised for particular corps, unless otherwise especially ordered. The above instructions should be given to all who can assist in their execution as soon as possible. I have directed General Heintzelman to inspect and report to you in regard to his department. H. W. HALLECK, Major- General and Chief of Staff Page 221 UNION AUTHORITIES. 221 WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., April 8, 1864. Maj. W. H. SIDELL, Acting Assistant Provost-Marshal- General, Louisville, Ky.: Lieutenant-General Grant directs that active measures be taken to get into the field all recruits, new organizations, and all old troops that can be spared. Those in your State will rendezvous at Louis- ville, Ky. This does not apply to veterans, who should return to their commands, nor to recruits raised for particular corps, unless otherwise specially ordered. Execute this order as soon as possible. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. Operator will please send similar dispatch to following: Col. E. B. Alexander, Saint Louis, Mo.; Col. Conrad Baker, Indi- anapolis, md.; Lient. Col. James Oakes, Springfield, Ill.; Lient. Col. Bennett H. Hill, Detroit, Mich.; Maj. Thomas Duncan, Davenport, Iowa; Col. James D. Greene, Madison, Wis.; Lieut. Col. John T. Averill, Saint Paul, Miun.; Capt. Sidney Clarke, Leavenworth, Kans. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, I). C., April 8, 1864. Maj. J. W. T. GARDINER, Acting Assistant Provost-Marshal- General, Augusta, life.. Lieutenant-General Grant directs that active measures be taken to get into the field all recruits, new organizations, and all old troops that can be spared. Those in your State will rendezvous at Wash- iiigton. This does not apply to veterans, who should return to their commands, nor to recruits raised for particular corps, unless other- wise specially ordered. Execute this order as soon as possible. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General Operator please send similar dispatch to the following: Capt. William Silvey, Concord, N. H.; Brig. Gen. T. G. Pitcher, Brattleborough, Vt.; Maj. F. N. Clarke, Boston, Mass.; Capt. Wee- ley Owens, Providence, R. I.; Maj. D. D. Perkins, Hartford, Coun.; Brig. Gem William Hays, New York City; Maj. Frederick Townsend, Albany, N. Y.; Maj. A. S. Diven, Elmira, N. Y.; Lient. Col. R. C. Buchanan, Trenton, N. J.; Maj. C. C. Gilbert, Philadelphia, Pa.; Lient. Col. J. V. Bomford, Harrisburg, Pa.; Col. N. L. Jeifries, Baltimore, Md.; Lient. Col. Joseph Darr, jr., Wheeling, W. Va.; Col. J. H. Potter, Columbus, Ohio. HEADQUARTERS NORTHERN DEPARTMENT, Columbus, Ohio, April 8, 1864. Maj. Gen. H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief U. S. Army, Washington, D. C.: GENERAL: At 11 p. iii. 2d of March I received your telegram direct- ing me to repair forthwith to Paris, Edgar County, Ill., to assist the civil authorities in restoring order and enforcing the law. I left immediately on the 2.05 a. m. train. I took advantage of a delay of a couple of hours at Indianapolis to see Governor Morton amid learne Page 222 222 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. that there was no serious outbreak. Before leaving here I tele- graphed to Governor Yates to communicate with me at Terre Haute, but got no reply from him. The next morning a little before daylight I took a freight train and reached Paris at 8 a. m. on the 4th of March. I immediately put myself in communication with some Union persons to whom I had been referred and learned substantially what had been told me at Terre Haute. I again telegraphed to the Governor inquiring what he wished done. I soon after got answer to my first telegram through Terre Haute. At 3 p. m. on the 4th Captain Hill, with sixty men of the Invalid Corps, arrived from Chicago. I quartered them in the court-house. An hour later got a telegram from Governor Yates that Colonel Gakes was on his way to Paris. In the night Colonel Oakes arrived. At 2. SOp. m. on the 5th some forty more men arrived from Springfield. I left in the same train for my headquarters. As Lieutenant-Colonel Gakes services are indispensable for the draft, I ordered him to return to Springfield in the next train. The troops under Captain Hill will remain at Paris for the present. I procured a statement of the different officers and of the condition of the disloyals aiid inclose them with copies of all telegrams received and sent. * This man Johnson is said by some to be an escaped prisoner of war from Camp Chase and under an assumed name. If I can trace him and find this true, I will direct the arrest of a few of the most trouble- some in the vicinity of Paris, which would aid in quieting this ill-feel- ing. I think it advisable that the troops now there should remain for the present. I inclose descriptions of the last affair; cut one from the loyal the other from the disloyal paper of the town. ~ I have the honor to be, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, S. P. HEINTZELMAN, Major- General. PHILADELPHIA, PA., April 8, 1864. I hereby certify that the city of Philadelphia has paid relief to families of residents of the city mustered into the service from May, 1861, to July 1, 1863, as follows: Men mustered for three years 16 035 Men mustered for two years 79 Men mustered for one year 41 Total 16,155 This relief is only given when volunteers in service have left fami- lies who were dependent upon them. I have served as secretary to the commission for distributing this relief from its organization, April 26, 1861, until the present time, and from my observation I know that considerably less than one-half of the volunteers from this city have had families who have applied for this relief. SAMUEL C. DAWSON, Secretary. * See Halleck to Heintzelman, March 2, p. 149; Yates to Heintzelman, March 3, p. 150; Yates to Heintzelman, March 4, p. 152; Heintzelman to Halleck, March 5, p. 155. All other inclosures omitted Page 223 UNION AUTHORITIES. 223 WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., April 9, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: COLONEL: I have the honor to submit the following report in refer- ence to a communication addressed to Maj. J. B. Stonehouse by His Excellency Horatio Seymour, Governor of New York, concerning the accrediting of re-enlisting men of the Veteran Reserve Corps to other States than those to whose regiments they belonged when in active service. * The differentia of the Veteran Reserve Corps, distinguishing it from the volunteer service, is the same as that of the Regular Army; it is a national organization. This is readily seen when we consider that the one is officered by the General Government, the other by the Executives of the States. The best evidence, however, of the nature and nation- ality of the Veteran Reserve Corps lies in the fact that individual companies and regiments are not composed of men from the same county or State, but that in each one representatives of all the States may be found. This being so, the same regulations which govern the accrediting of men who re-enlisted in the Regular Army should also do so in the Veteran Reserve Corps (similia similibus). The decision of the point mooted by His Excellency Horatio Seymour, Governor of New York, must therefore be made in accordance with these regulations. Paragraph 3, Circular No. 6, Adjutant-Generals Office, January 20, 1864, is explicit: Soldiers re-enlisting will be credited to the localities to which the re-enlist- ments show them as belonging. They will be allowed to select the places from which they prefer to re-enlist, and that selection will determine the quotas on which they will be credited. The fact, therefore, that the soldier once belonged to a New York regiment is not a sufficient reason why he should always be bound to give that State the benefit of his service. The records of the Army show that many of the regiments from that State and others were composed in part, at least, of recruits drawn into them by the induce- ments held out by both State influence and private enterprise. Who is to determine when these men come to re-enlist, if they ever do so, to what State they shall be accredited? Even were they re-enlisting in active regiments it would be necessary to give them the privilege of determining the locality to which they would be accredited; whether to their native State or to another. The enlisted man of the Veteran Reserve Corps certainly has an equal claim to this choice, apart from the peculiar right he acquires from the nature of the corps to which he belongs. Again, the justice and humanity of depriving him of a bounty which the liberality of any State may bestow, may well be ques- tioned. If Massachusetts or New Jersey could succeed in filling their quotas by securing the credit of all re-enlisted men of the Regular Army, without incurring censure, they should also do so, the Veteran Reserve Corps being in question. The re-enlistments to which Gov- ernor Seymour refers were made. It is unnecessary to specify the number. The right on the part of the agent of any State to secure as *See p. 215 Page 224 224 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. many of them as he can is unquestionable. The nature of the corps permits and the law sanctions it. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, M. N. WISEWELL, Colonel and Assistant to Provost-Marshal- General. Since writing the above a ruling has been obtained from the Adju- tant-Generals Office declaring that the m~n of the Veteran Reserve Corps may be re-enlisted and accredited in the same manner as the men of the Regular Army. I have also the honor to inform you that a table has been prepared of all the enlisted men who have been transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps from New York regiments. This table with your approval will be held subject to the order of the - adjutant-general of New York, should he wish to use it for the pur- pose of re-enlisting any of them. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, April 11, 1864. Col. J. B. Fnv, Provost-Marshal- General: - COLONEL: Your letter of the 5th instant has been received, in which you inform me that complaints have been made in some instances that the enrollments are excessive, and you request my opinion as to the legal and most proper mode of proceeding under the cir- cumstances herein set forth. In reply, I have the honor to say that the original enrollment was made in strict pursuance of the provisions of the act of March 3, 1863, chapter 75; and though some names were omitted which should have been added, and other names were inserted which should have been omitted, yet, considering the novelty of the law, the great num- ber of officers acting under it without experience, and the magnitude and difficulty of the labor they were called on to perform, it is remarkable that the enrollment was so speedily and correctly made. In order to remove, as far as practicable, any errors from the lists of names, you issued an order, No. 101, under date of November 17, 1863, in which you authorized and required the collection of all facts necessary for that purpose. This order was carried into effect. Not willing, however, to leave untried any means within your power of discovering mistakes in the enrollment, you went beyond the requisi- tions of the statutes and ordered printed lists of all the enrolled men to be prepared and made public, so that in every community the citi- zens might have an opportunity to aid you in the performance of a high public duty while protecting themselves against all liability to bear an unequal share of the public burdens. Having taken this precaution, and having given to all concerned the power to have all existing errors corrected, and having amended the lists according to the best of your information, the fact that any mistakes still remain must be owing to the negligenceor willful fault of those who now make complaint. The law requires you to proceed with the draft according to the enrollment as it stands at the date of the draft, and there is no other way for you to perform your duty than to take the lists then prepared. If any over-draft is made at the present time the excess will be taken into account in arranging the quota for the uext succeeding draft if more troops should be required. WILLIAM WHITING, Solicitor of the . War Department Page 225 UNION AUTHORITIES. 225 HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISION OF THE Mississippi, Nashville, Teun., April 12, 1864. General LORENZO THOMAS, Adjutant- General U. S. Army, Vicksburg, ]Jfiss.: DEAR GENERAL: Yours of March 30, from Natchez, is received, and I take pleasure in answering. I confess I fear to enunciate any plan that can reconcile all objections, but am willing to say that I will use all my official power and influence to carry out yours or that of the War Department. My objections to the plantation scheme are purely military. The Mississippi is a long, weak line, easily approached from the rear. Plantations of, say, three whites and fifty blacks to a mile of river can be broken at any point by a guerrilla band of 100 with perfect impunity. You and I know the temper of the whites in the South. I heard a young lady in Canton, educated at Philadelphia, who was a communicant of a Christian church, thank her God that her negroes, who had attempted to escape into our lines at Big Black, had been overtaken by Ross Texas brigade and killed. She thanked God, and did so in religious sincerity. Now, a stranger to the sentiment of the South would consider this unnatural, but it is not only natural but universal. All the people of the South, old and young, rich and poor, educated and ignorant, unite in this, that they will kill as vipers the whites who attempt to free their slaves, and also the ungrateful slaves who attempt to change their character from slave to free. Therefore, in making this change, which I regard as a decree of nature, we have to combat not only with organized resistance of the Confederate forces, but the entire people of the South. Now, I would prefer much to colonize the negroes on lands clearly forfeited to us by treason, and for the Government to buy or extinguish the claims of other and loyal people in the districts chosen. I look upon the lands bordering the Mississippi, Steeles Bayou, Deer Creek, Sunflower, Bogue Phalia, Yazoo, & c., in that rich alluvial region lying between Memphis and Vicksburg, of which Haines Bluff, Yazoo City, and Grenada are the key points, as the very country in which we might collect the negroes, and where they will find more good land already cleared than in any district I know of, and it would enable the negro at once to be useful. If, however, the Government prefer the lessee system, then I shall favor the occupation by a black brigade of Harrisonburg, and cover as well as may be the Mississippi country lying between the Washita and Yazoo. General Slocum will soon come down, and we believe he will co-operate with you with his whole heart. Of course the possession of Vicksburg is a sine qua non. We dont want the task of taking it again; but if he can spare troops he will be instructed, in connec- tion with Natchez, to hold Harrisonburg, with one or more gun-boats up the Washita and Tensas. Steele is ordered to hold the line of Red River, but I. must have Smiths command, which I loaned for but thirty days, and I have rea- son to know that Banks must swing over against Mobile, so Steele will have only his Arkansas command, and that may be insufficient; of this we cannot judge until we know what is already done. If Shreveport be taken before these orders reach Steele, he may hold that point; otherwise, all he should attempt would be Alexandria, in connection with the gun-boats. 15 B RSERIES III, VOL I Page 226 226 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. We have sure enough a big job on hand, and the only way is to go on trusting to consequences following naturally grand results. Lee and Johnston must be whipped, and it should not be deferred an hour beyond the first possible practicable moment. I necessarily write in soiue haste, but you will catch the drift of my argument. With respects, your friend and servant, W. T. SHERMAN, Mc~jor- General, Commanding. UNOFFICIAL.] BEAUFORT, S. C., April 12, 1864. Maj. C. W. FOSTER: DEAR SIR: .Believing that you will not find it unpleasant to have a letter from one of your former constituents, I will send this in Welds envelop& I am still on my way to Florida, having been caught up in trausitu by our friend Major-General Gillmore and put to work here as commandant of the post, General Saxton being engaged on a general court-martial (Gordons) at Hilton Head. My first experience of the kind was at Fortress Monroe, where Major-General Butler caught me up when I touched for water, and sent me, troops and all, to Suffolk, or rather to the line near Suffolk. I was placed in com- mand of the front, reconnoitered and occupied Suffolk, caught a courier sent by the rebel General Ransom, ascertained the strength and position of the rebels and that they would not attack us, and got relieved. My present position is pleasant and honorable. It was necessary that some one should be here to command, and I was the only officer available of the proper rank. As soon as the general court-martial is over I hope to proceed to Florida. My Seventh and Ninth Regiments are very much admired in this department. I am proud of having raised two such fine bodies of men. My present ambition is to raise fifteen regiments in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. I know you are somewhat startled at this number, but I have studied the subject aiid think it can be done. Indeed, if I had not wished to maintain my reputation with you for moderation I should have said twenty. Now for my plan. I offer my services to carry out the executive part of it here, and stake my official honor and position on the result. As my plan involves bringing off large numbers of women and children, as well as men (because you cannot get the latter without bringing off the former), the first step is to make proper and adequate provision for their support. If placed on land, sheltered, and provided with houses, the women and children can support themselves after the first crop, with the aid of the fathers pay. Before that time, if near one of the rivers (all abound with fish), they can support themselves, with the aid of the pay of the father, if Government will furnish sub- sistence at cost. What I ask, therefore, is that the Government shall give the enlisting soldier forty acres of land as a bounty and furnish his family commissary stores at cost. As the land costs nothing to the United States and no loss would accrue from the sale of the com- missary stores there is nothing unreasonable in this demand. Other things needed by the families would be supplied by private benevo- lence at the North. It is implied that the soldiers are to be paid as much as white soldiers. How legislators can imagine we can raise troops, as a permanent thimig, at $7 a month I cannot see. The man must have $2 for himself, and he cannot support his family on th Page 227 UNION AUTHORITIES. 227 other $5. Hence the great number of desertions in this department. The black soldiers deserted by the score because their families were starving. Colonel Montgomery shot two men, but that did not stop desertion. Congress can stop it by giving the black soldier enough to support his family. But, you may say to me, you got recruits in Maryland at $7 a month. Yes; but the family was left provided for by the master, and where it could be found again, aud where the slavery was mild. None of these conditions exist here. Land bounty and equal pay; these being granted I am ready to go to work. The first demand I make of material is four stern-wheel, low pressure, light-draft steam-boats, such as are used on the New England rivers, of staunch build, staunch enough to bear an armament of a 20-pounder Parrott and one howitzer, for grape and canister. The draft should not exceed four feet. As the mean height of the tide here is six and one-half feet, there would not be much danger of running aground. The boats could always be floated off at high tide. These boats would be used as patrols and to protect landings and embarkations. For transporting troops I should want stern-wheel (or side-wheel would do) steam-boats, of light draft and easy turning to the rudder, protected by iron sheeting from musket shots. Protection from artillery I do not regard as possible, being iiot consistent with the necessary light draft. For that we should depend on the vigilance of our gun-boats and the precision of their fire. To boats like these there are several hundred miles of coast exposed between Charleston and Fernandina. The negroes are now thick on the rice plantations, because we have not raided for a long time. It has been two years since any advance in force was made on the mainland, and the planters are reassured. If these desultory remarks strike you favor- ably, I will elaborate my views and send them to you. The field here is black for the harvest, and I wish to be in with my sickle. Very truly, yours, WM. BIRNEY. I am much pleased with Major-General Gillmore, but have not had the opportunity of becoming well acquainted with him. He is at Hilton Head, twelve miles from this place. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 158. Washington, April 13, 1864. The following act of Congress is published for the information of all concerned: PUBLICNo. 44. AN A~ to amend section nine of the act approved July seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty- two, entitled An act to define the pay and emoluments of certain officers of the Army, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States 9f America in Congress assembled, That the rank of chaplain, without command, in the regular and volunteer service of the United States, is hereby recognized. Chaplains shall be borne on the field and staff rolls next after the surgeons, and shall wear such uniform as is or may be prescribed by the Army Regulations, and shall be subject to the same rules and regulations as other officers of the Army. They shall be entitled to draw forage for two horses, and when assigned to hos- pitals, posts, and forts, they shall be entitled to quarters and fuel within the hospitals, posts, or forts, while they are so assigned, without the privilege of commutation, subject to the same conditions and limitations as are now by law provided in the case of surgeons. When absent from duty with leave, or on account of sickness or other disability, or when held by the enemy as prisoners Page 228 228 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. they shall be subject to no other diminution or loss of pay and allowances than other officers in the military service are under like circumstances. And chap- lains who have been absent from duty by reason of wounds or sickness, or when held as prisoners in the hands of the enemy, shall be entitled to receive full pay, without rations, during such absence. Jn all other respects the pay of chaplains shall be the same as now provided by law. SEC. 2. And 1e it further enacted, That the act approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, entitled An act to grant pensions, is hereby so amended as to include chaplains in the regular and volunteer forces of the Army: Provided, That the pension to which a chaplain shall be entitled for a total dis- ability shall be twenty dollars per month, and all the provisions of the act to which this section is an amendment shall apply to and embrace the widows, chil- dren, mothers, and sisters of chaplains of the land forces who have died since the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, or shall die, of wounds or disease contracted in the service of the United States, and while such chaplains are, or shall be, in the line of their duty. SEc. 3. And be itfurt her enacted, That it shall be the duty of chaplains in the military service of the United States to make monthly reports to the Adjutant- General of the Army, through the usual military channels, of the moral condition and general history of the regiments, hospitals, or posts to which they may be attached; and it shall be the duty of all commanders of regiments, hospitals, and posts, to render such facilities as will aid in the discharge of the duties assigned to them by the Government. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That all chaplains in the military service of the United States shall hold appropriate religious services at the burial of soldiers who may die in the command to which they are assigned to duty, and it shall be their duty to hold public religious services at least once each Sabbath, when practicable. Approved April 9, t564. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., April 13, 1864. Lient. Col. JAMES A. EKIN, Chief of Cavalry Bureau, Washington, D. C.: SIR: You will at once proceed in person to the various points where horses are being purchased, either in open market or by contract, for the use of the troops belonging to 2the Eastern armi& , visiting, first, the places where the largest number are reported to be serviceable, and will devote your personal energies to expediting the sending for- ward of the necessary animals. You will cause arrangements to be made for buying in open market at any points not yet visited by the agents of the Cavalry Bureau, where you may find it practicable to procure horses, reporting such points instantly to this Department, and keeping it advised of the state of the supply at all places of pur- chase, and of the number of horses forwarded either to the depot at Giesborough, Annapolis, Fortress Monroe, or the Department of West Virginia. By order of the Secretary of War: C. A: DANA, Assistant Secretary of War. INDIANAPOLIS, April 13, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: The telegram to Colonel Baker, requiring transfer of horses of new cavalry regiments to mount one of them, will lose to the men from ~1 Page 229 UNION AUTHORITIES. 229 to $$90 each and their traveling expenses. Under authority of the War Department, and promised by General Wilson to ride their own horses, the men brought in favorite private horses, and their friends aided them. The present order will not only wrong the soldiers to the pecuniary expense named, but greatly demoralize them. The Ninth and Twelfth Regiments could soon complete their mounting, the officers agreeing to do it within thirty days if permitted to do so. 0. P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. 0., April 13, 1864. Governor MORTON, Indianapolis: I do not perceive how it is possible for the men to lose anything by the order referred to. The Government pays them the stipulated price for their horses, and having become Government property the men have no right to control the Government in their use. As to the men becoming demoralized, that is the usual argument for disobedi- ence to orders and cannot prevail against public necessity. I have no fears of troops raised by you becoming demoralized from any such cause. The necessity for every horse and man being in the field without a days delay is imperative, and of far more consequence than a brigade of horses two or three weeks after the time they are wanted. I have perfect confidence in your patriotic zeal and influ- ence overcoming all personal considerations and dissatisfaction in this urgent hour, and that no man would more deeply lament that Indiana cavalry failed to respond to the trumpet-call from any cause, and especially such as are urged against the order made at the special instance of the Commander-in-Chief. Come, gird yourself up, and once more to the field, old chief, with every horse and man! EDWIN M. STANTON. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 162. Washington, April 14, 1864. IN RELATION TO THE CAVALRY BUREAU. I. That the Cavalry Bureau shall be under command of the chief of Army staff, who shall perform the duties of chief of the Cavalry Bureau prescribed by existing orders; and the officers of that Bureau respectively will report to him. II. All the duties relating to the organization, equipment, and inspection of cavalry will be performed by a cavalry officer specially assigned to that duty. III. The duties in relation to purchase and inspection of horses, the subsistence and transportation of horses purchased, will be per- formed by and under the direction of an officer of the Quarter- masters Department, specially assigned to that duty. IV. Lieutenant-Colonel Ekin is assigned to the quartermasters duties of the Cavalry Bureau. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General Page 230 230 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Statement showing the number of regiments and independent organizations fur- nished by the District of Columbia (not including three-months men) with recruits furnished under all calls, compiled from muster-in rolls on file in Adjutant-Gen- erals Office, Washington, D. ~.,to the date of January 5, 1864. F-o ;~o .~ Q+~ . n c~ ~ ,~ a ~ ,c~-- ~Q~j i ~~ ~ n Number of regiment or letter of company. ,~ ~ n ~ QP~ Q~P~ o 1-4 1st Regiment Infantry 629 295 924 2d Regiment Infantry 890 415 1, 305 Enlisted in 66th Pennsylvania Volunteers I 1 Enlisted in 71st Pennsylvania Volunteers 94 94 Enlisted in 3d Pennsylvania Cavalry 97 97 Enlisted in 16th Virginia Volunteers 30 30 Enlisted in Scotts 900 New York Cavalry 282 282 Enlisted in 2d New York Artillery liP 119 Captain Whitneys District of Columbia Cavalry Company 84 84 1st District of Columbia Cavalry 205 205 Drafted men from the District of Colmubia a 272 272 Total 1,795 1,618 3,413 Colored troops b i 1, 664 1, 664 a Unassigned drafted men. S From records furnished by Major Foster. RECAPITULATION. Infantry: On flr8t call, to July 2, 1862 1, 614 Recruits to January 5,1864 740 2, 354 Unassigned drafted men 272 Cavalry: Under first call, to July 2, 1862 181 Under second call, to January 5, 1864 487 Artillery 119 3,413 Colored troops 1, 664 Total furnished to January 5, 1864 5, 077 MEMORANDA. The quotas of the District in 1861 and 1862, as determined in this office, were calculated on the basis of population as per the census of 1860. The male population therein given for the District is 29,584. In determining the quota I did so by considering the quotas and popu- lation of the State of Kansas. The quota of the District was found to be nearly one-half that of Kansas, which was as follows: Under calls of 1861, volunteers (three-years) ii; 235 Under calls of July, 1862, volunteers (three-years) 1,771 Under calls of 1862, militia (nine-months) 1,771 I find now that I hurriedly sent a memorandum of the quotas to the Provost-Marshal-General, and in so doing inadvertently gave the quotas for Kansas instead of the quotas of the District, which should have been as follows, viz: Under calls of 1861 (three-years) 1,627 Under call of July, 1862 (three-years) 890 Undercallof 1862 (nine-months) 890~ 225 The total quotas for 1861 and 1862, three-years standard, would, therefore, be as follows: 1,627+890+225=2,742. THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant-General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, April 14, 1864 Page 231 UNION AUTHORITIES. 231 WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, April 14, 1864. GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS Springfield, Ill.: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a cominunica- tion from Colonel Loomis, aide-de-camp, asking for a statement of the exact quotas and credits under each call for troops from Illinois from the 15th day of April, 1861, to the present date. In reply I am directed to inform you that the information in part, as requested, was furnished by statement from this office of date June 11, 1863, and that since that date no general statement of the char- acter asked for has been prepared for any State. The quotas assigned and credits made have, however, been duly communicated as per let- ters of various dates from this office and that of the Provost-Marshal- General. The latter officer has communicated the quotas fixed since March 3, 1863, the date of the enrollment act. It is therefore seen that the information desired is already on file in the office of the adjutant-general of the State. With the present pressure of business upon the Department it is not practicable to communicate the infor- mation under the special form, as requested by Your Excellency. I have the hoiior to be, sir, your obedient servant, THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL~ S OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., April 14, 1864. Maj. Gen. N. P. BANKS, U. S. Volunteers, Commanding Department of the Gulf, New Orleans, La.: GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th ultimo, giving your reasons for organizing certain colored regiments in your department on a different basis from that prescribed by existing regulations, and am directed to say that your action is approved. It is hoped, however, that the exigencies of the service will permit you to fill these regiments to the maximum before commencing new organizations. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, C. W. FOSTER, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, April 14, 1864. GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND, Annapolis, Md.: SIR: Upon the application made by Mr. Alexander and Colonel Simpson, the latter, late of the Ninth Regiment Maryland (six-months) Volunteers, forwarded to the department with your ind6rsements, you are hereby authorized to organize two regiments of volunteer infantry to serve for three years or the war. The recruitment and organization to be complete within thirty days after the receipt of this authority by you. The recruitment, organization, and musters of the regiments will be governed by the existing regulations of the department, with the condition that if the regiments are not completed within the time specified the men enlisted for them will be transferred to or among any other organized Maryland regiment, or regiments, without clai Page 232 232 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. on the part of those engaged in said recruiting to commissions as officers or for compensation on account of expenses incurred. All supplies will be furnished in accordance with established regulations. I am, sir, your obedient servant, JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. Hon. E. M. STANTON: CONCORD, N. II. April 14, 1864. If the State of New Hampshire will offer an extra bounty sufficient to fill the First New Hampshire Cavalry to their maximum number, will you permit the companies now here to remain, and here mount the entire regiment? I saw General Burnside in New York, and from him have received his hearty approval. Orders have already been issued from the Cavalry Bureau to commence the purchase of horses, and preparations to that effect have already been made. If we can fill this regiment we shall have a surplus of 500 on all calls made upon us. J. A. GILMORE, Governor. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE Washington, D. U, April 14, 1864. Lient. Col. JOSEPH DARR, Jr., Actg. Asst. Provost-Marshal- General, Wheeling, W. Va.: The Secretary of War directs that the officers of this department in West Virginia enlist into the service of the United States for three years or during the war all colored persons of suitable age and con- dition who may offer themselves. After enlistment they will be assigned to Forty-fifth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, and sent to Lient. Col. H. A. Oakman, Thirtieth Regiment U. S. Colored Troops, at Clarksburg, Va. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. LITTLE ROCK, ARK., April 15, 1864. His Excellency A. LINCOLN, President of the United States: Both houses of the Legislature have organized to-day, a quorum being present. The vote for constitution 12,179, against 226. For Governor, 12,430. We ask your sympathy and aid. The country north and south of the Arkansas River is full of guerrillas; one mem- ber killed while coming here. If re-enforcements are not sent soon or General Steele ordered to return we are in great danger. ISAAC MURPHY, Provisional Governor of Arkansas. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Maj. Gen. F. STEELE, U. S. Volunteers, April 18, 1864. Commanding Department of Arkansas, Little Rock: SIR: You are hereby authorized by the Secretary of War to raise in the State of Arkansas as many regiments of volunteer infantry t Page 233 UNION AUTHORITIES. 233 serve for three years or the war as can be recruited. No additional cavalry can be authorized, nor will recruiting officers be authorized or allowed to recruit men under the supposition that they will serve as mounted infantry. The authority herein granted is given with the condition that but one regiment will be placed under recruitment at any one time. In other words, as soon as one regiment is recruited, organized, and mustered into service a second one may be commenced by yon, not sooner. The depot or rendezvous for recruits will be at Little Rock. The organization, recruitment, and musters must con- form to the existing regulations of the War Department. All musters into service will be made by the superintendent of recruiting service and chief mustering officer for the State, and in accordance with the Mustering Regulations of the Army. At the commencement of the organization one second lieutenant for each company may be appointed, under the conditions as enumerated in General Orders, No. 7~5, series of 1862, from the War Department. The duties and powers of the said lieutenants are defined by that order. All officers will be appointed aud commissioned by His Excellency the Governor upon your nomination or approval. All supplies will be furnished under the requirements of existing regulations. Captain Swain, the superintendent of recruiting service for the State, will, upon receipt of a copy of this, with which he has been furnished, confer with you, so as to arrange the necessary details. His report to this office of date the 30th ultimo embraces much valuable information in refer- ence to the recruiting service in the State. I am, sir, your obedient servant, JAS. B. .FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. (Copy for Governor of Arkansas, Little Rock, and superintendent recruiting service, Arkansas.) GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY, No. 34. Louisville, Ky., April 18, 1864. I. In obedience to orders from the War Department the general commanding, in addition to the duties incumbent upon him as com- mander of this district, assumes, under direction of the proper bureaus of the War Department, a general superintendence of the execution of the acts of Congress for raising troops in Kentucky by voluntary enlistments and by drafting. II. The assistant to the Provost-Marshal-General of the State is not relieved from any of the duties heretofore assigned him, but will receive from the general commanding such orders as he may deem necessary to secure the most prompt and faithful execution of the laws in question. All reports and returns heretofore required will be made to him by his subordinates, and not to these hea4qnarters. III. The recruiting of able-bodied slaves and free colored persons will be conducted within the limits of this State, under the following restrictions: 1. The assistant to the provost-marshal-general of the State, the provost-marshals of districts, and the deputy provost-marshals in each county are directed to receive and regularly enlist as soldiers in the service of the United States all able-bodied negro slaves and free colored persons of lawful age who may apply to them to be enlisted, and in case of slaves whose owners may request the enlistment; an Page 234 234 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. no one will be permitted to recruit or enlist such slaves or free colored persons save such provost-marshals, deputy provost-marshals, and authorized agents. 2. As soon as enlisted the recruit will be at once forwarded to the provost-marshal of the district for muster into the service of the United States; and as soon as mustered and squads of such recruits are collected they will be at once forwarded to the general rendez- vous at Louisville; thence forwarded by the commandant of the rendezvous to the nearest rendezvous or camp of instruction outside of the State, for the purpose of being equipped and assigned to companies and regiments. 3. It shall be the duty of the provost-marshal, whenever he accepts and musters into the U. S. service a slave belonging to a citizen of the State, to give the citizen such certificate of the fact, in duplicate, as will enable him to receive from the Government the compensation authorized by law for such recruits. IV. Any person who may be found recruiting, enlisting, or attempt- ing to recruit any negro slave or free colored person in this State who is not, under the provisions of this order, authorized to do so, will be arrested and forwarded to these headquarters; and all officers serving in this district are charged with the enforcement of this order. V. Camps for instruction and drill of colored volunteers within this district are interdicted, and recruits will, in all cases, be for- warded as herein directed with all practicable dispatch. By command of Brigadier-General Burbridge: THOS. B. FAIRLEIGH, Lieutenant- Colonel and Acting Assistant Adjutant- General. [Indorsement.] The first four paragraphs of the within order are approved, and as the recruits are to be removed from Kentucky the fifth paragraph is superfluous. EDWIN M. STANTON. CLEVELAND, April 18, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON Secretary of War: If you will authorize me to call out, under orders of General Heintzel- man, one regiment of volunteer militia, who are armed and equipped for guard duty at Johnsons Island, you can take the two veteran reg- iments down there to the front. My regiment can be out in twenty- four hours notice. Will you give the authority? Answer to-day, as I leave here in morning. JOHN BROUGH. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., April 18, 1864. Governor BROUGH, Cleveland: You are authorized to call out one regiment of Ohio volunteer mili- tia, to serve under orders of Major-General Heintzelman for guard duty at Johnsons Island for three years, unless sooner discharged. If the length of time is objectionable, please state what period will suit. I Page 235 235 UNION AUTHORITIES. is not likely they will be needed more than twelve months, but I have named three years if there be no objection. Some term of service should be specified. EDWIN M. STANTON. CLEVELAND, OHIO, April 18, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: I wish to call out a regiment for sixty days, then relieve it by another, alternating every sixty days, so long as the service may be needed, the transportation in alternating to be paid by the State. Will this be acceptable? I will keep a regiment on duty all the time until other wise ordered. JOHN BROUGH, Governor. NEW ORLEANS, LA., April 19, 1864. Col. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General, Washington, D. C.: Mv DEAR COLONEL: Please say to Mr. Stanton that when the Pres- ident sent me in double-quick from Kentucky to take charge of the plantation system I found all along the river great confusion; every- thing at odds and ends, and the opposers of the system for the proper employment of the poor blacks glad of it. I saw immediate action was necessary, and that the strong military power must be exerted to bring order out of chaos. I went to work with all the vigor I possessed, and, not wishing to show any one the least ground for believing that the Departments were in the slightest degree inhar- monious, I put the whole matter in the hands of the Treasury, after making necessary changes, and determined to carry it on under my military supervision. I desired to give it the highest sanction, and used the Secretary of Wary s name. I paid a compliment for the very reason stateda desire for uniformitythough really the system is mine and not so perfect. Mellens and Yeatmans regulations were beautiful in theory, but utterly impracticable. Think of the negroes, who never hitherto provided for themselves, being required to feed themselvessimply a license to run all over the country stealing. I rapidly provided some military protection and gave confidence to the lessees. I shall keep the inspectors on the river. My business is constantly increasing, and it is already enormous. I no sooner leave one place than my presence is called for at another, to pull the darkey out of the wood-pilei. e., correct abuses. I am happy to say I keep my health, thanks to Divine Providence, for there is my sure hope and trust, and with this blessing I can go forward in the path of duty cheerfully and hopefully. There has been a terrible gloom over this city, and notwithstand- ing what we hear from the Red River, does not seem to dispel it. There has been a most sanguinary battle fought, and, whilst we have repulsed the enemy, it is evident we fell back miles and miles, and our onward movement is checked. By criminal neglect somewhere we were hampered with a large train and the surplus artillery, both of which we lost. The former may be a blessing, for we move as did the Eastern hosts. We have been three years in the war and hav Page 236 236 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. much to learn. Franklin and A. J. Smith fully demonstrated their high military qualities. General Banks writes to me cheerfully and says: We are in the midst of a very exciting campaign in which everything promises success equal to our most sanguine expectations. The general aspect of affairs, however, is different from what was anticipated by our army and the Government. The river is falling when it should be rising, and the enemy is in great force when it was not expected they would offer fight. It may consume a little more time, but I am mistaken if both these results are not beneficial to our cause. He further says: We immediately advanced on a line somewhat different from that hitherto pur- sued by the way of the river. Some doubt his ability to advance; I do not. Others think he will have to return here. How greatly would I prefer an operation on Mobile, which we could take, and how greatly such a movement would help our armies above. There are those above me whose duty it is to think for me, and I will try honestly to do my part. Greatlywouldlpreferbeingattheheadof my own Bureau, but I see I cannot leave the Father of Waters. The Turner Quitman plantation, on Palmyra Bend, I gave up to the Quitman ladies before receiving the papers from Mr. Stanton. I felt for them, for they had nothing, but two of their husbands, the worth- less Lovells, were in the rebel service. * Kind regards to all the gentlemen of the office. I go upstream Friday. Yours, very truly, 1. THOMAS. WAR DEPARTMENT, Governor ~ A. GILMORE, Washington City, April 19, 1864. Concord, N. H.: Your telegram of the 14th was duly received, and has been under consideration of the Department, with an anxious desire to conform to your wishes; but, after considering the matter in all its bearings, it is believed that the order of the 8th of April is the best~ provision that can be made for the servicethat the seven companies should be forwarded immediately to Washington, to be mounted and equipped here, the remaining incomplete companies to stay in New Hampshire until filled up. The extra bounties will no doubt exercise a very ben- eficial influence in filling them up. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. WAR DEPARTMENT, Governor BROUGH, Washington, D. C., April 19, 1864. Columbus, Ohio: The plan proposed by you for raising prison guards has carefully been considered by the Department. Report is made to me that it will not afford guards of sufficient experience to be relied upon, and * Some strictly personal matter here omitted. For an inclosure to this commu- nication, see circular of October 27, 1868, Vol. III, this series, p. 939 Page 237 UNION AUTHORITIES. 237 would increase the danger of escape. Although the plan is desirable so far as it would give veteran troops to the service, the serious nature of the objections force me to the conclusion that it cannot safely be adopted. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. SPECIAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 153. * Washington, April 20, 1864. * * * * * * 62. Brig. Gen. E. R. S. Canby, U. S. Volunteers, will proceed to the city of New York, and such other points as he may find it necessary to visit or inspect, with a view to hasten the forwarding of recruits and detachments to their regiments and posts at the front. He is fully authorized by the Secretary of War to issue such orders in his name pertaining to the forwarding of recruits, relief of detachments, their transportation, & c., and all other matters pertaining to the military service in the sphere of his inspection, as he may deem to be advantageous to the public interest. * * * * * * * By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Ac~jutant- General. WAR DEPT., PROvOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, April 20, 1864. GOVERNORS OF LOYAL STATES: The Secretary of War has ordered that new regiments of heavy artillery that may be organized and filled up to the legal standard of 1,738 men, within the period of twenty days from this date, will be received and credited. If regiments are not full on or before the 10th of May the recruits will be put into other artillery or infantry organi- zations. This order will not postpone the draft, but such troops as may be raised prior to the draft will be deducted from the quotas for draft. JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, April 21, 1864. To the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I. The Governors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin offer to the President infantry troops for the approaching campaign, as follows: Ohio 30,000 Indiana 20,000 Illinois ______ 20000 Iowa - 10,000 Wisconsin ______ 5000 II. The term of service to be 100 days, reckoning from the date of muster into the service of the United States, unless sooner discharged Page 238 238 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. III. The troops to be mustered into the service of the United States by regiments, when the regiments are filled up, according to regula- tions, to the minimum strengththe regiments to be organized according to the regulations of the War Department. The whole number to be furnished within twenty days from date of notice of the acceptance of this proposition. IV. The troops to be clothed, armed, equipped, subsisted, trans- ported, and paid as other U. S. infantry volunteers, and to serve in fortifications, or wherever their services may be required, within or without their respective States. V. No bounty to be paid the troops, nor the service charged or credited on any draft. VI. The draft for three years service to go on in any State or dis- trict where the quota is not filled up; but if any officer or soldier in this special service should be drafted he shall be credited for the service rendered. JNO. BROUGH, Governor of Ohio. 0. P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana. RICHD. YATES, Governor of illinois. W. M. STONE, Governor of Iowa. JAMES T. LEWIS, Governor of Wisconsin. WAR DEPARTMENT, April 22, 1864. An estimate has been made of the probable expense of the force mentioned in the foregoing proposition and it is believed that its cost to the United States will amount to ~25,000,000. The views of Lieutenant-General Grant are indicated in the telegram, a copy of which is annexed, and which is a response to my inquiry as to whether he woald desire the acceptance of 100,000 men as at first proposed by the Governors. * In view of the importance of the ensu- ing campaign and the judgment~ of General Grant that the troops offered may be of vast importance, I am in favor of accepting the offer. The present estimates are inadequate to meet the expense and additional appropriation will be required. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. APRIL 23, 1864. The foregoing proposition of the Governors is accepted, and the Secretary of War is directed to carry it into execution. A. LINCOLN. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, April 21, 1864. Lieutenant-General GRANT, Galpeper: The Governors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa are here, and propose to offer to the Government 100,000 men, to be ready for the field, clothed, armed, and fully equipped, within twenty days from *See p. 239 Page 239 239 UNION AUTHORITIES. date of notice, and to serve for the period of three months in fortifi- cations, or wherever else their services may be required, and in any State. The Department would be glad to have your opinion as to whether this offer should be accepted or refused. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. CULPEPER, VA., April 21, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON Secretary of War: As a rule I would oppose receiving men for a short term, but if 100,000 men can be raised in the time proposed by the Governors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa they might come at such a crisis as to be of vast importance. I would not recommend accepting them in lieu of quotas now due on any previous calls for three-years troops. Otherwise I would. U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant- General. APRIL 21, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: I inclose an approximate estimate in reply to your questions of this morning, as accurate as can be prepared without taking much more time. We have at the principal constructing arsenals and depots regulation clothing with which 200,000 men could be fitted out at once. Of irregular clothing there are on hand: Coats, 20,000; trousers, 50,000; greatcoats, 120,000. The supply is therefore small at present. The actual cost of clothing 100,000 first outfits, regulation clothing, I estimate at this time at $4,400,000. If greatcoats are not issued and they are not necessary for a summer campaignthe cost would be $3,400,000. Camp and garrison equipage, tents, & c., for 100,000 men would cost $800,000. Total thus far, $4,200,000. To supply 100,000 men with complete wagon trains for active oper- ations on the scale existing in our armies would cost $3,000,000. The above estimate has been hurriedly made. If action is to be taken upon this I should desire to be allowed time to cause a more careful estimate to be made, with time to examine recent contracts for supplies. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster-General. [Inclosure.] Estimated cost of 100,000 volunteers for three months, exclusive of bounties, of incidental expenses of a campaign, and of ammunition and arms. Quartermasters Department: Outfit of clotlung at present prices $3, 400,000 (If greatcoats are issued add $1,000,000.) Campaudgarrisonequipage 800,000 Wagoutrainsforactiveservice 3,000,000 Transportation to rendezvous and to the seat of war 1,000,000 Forage for 20,000 animals 90 days 900,000 Quartermasters Department 9,100,00 Page 240 240 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Pay Department: Pay for three months $7,364,164 Subsistence Department: Subsistence, 9,000,000 rations _______ 1 980,000 18,444,164 If greatcoats are issued 19,444,164 (To this should be added arms, ammunition, guns, and the inci- dental expenses of an active campaign.) QUARTERMASTER-GENERALS OFFICE, April 21, 1864. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., April 21, 1864. His Excellency the GOVERNOR OF IOWA, Davenport, Iowa: SIR: I have the honor to inform you that the State of Iowa has been credited with re-enlisted veterans as follows: Volunteers, 6,529. The number (6,529) is the same as that claimed by the State, per the exhibit of your adjutant-general embracing returns made to him to include the 15th instant. The Provost-Mar- shal-General of the United States has been requested to credit locali- ties with the number set forth in said exhibit. The number credited is supported by the records of this office, but thus far returns here received will permit me to assign only 4,535 to localities. I have the honor to remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant, THOMAS M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, April 21, 1864. His Excellency Governor SEYMOUR, Albany, N. Y.: It is desirable to furnish General Grant with all the veteran force at the disposal of the Government. General Dix has been instructed to forward from New York all the U. S. troops that can be spared, and the President requests that you would furnish one or two regi- ments of your city militia to act in the city as guards, escorts for deserters, stragglers, & c., and similar special duty. This would ren- der a very material service to the country at the present juncture, and General Dix has been directed to call on you for such militia force as he may need for the above specified purpose. Please inform me if you can answer his call. The service would be for three months unless sooner discharged. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, April 21, 1864. Major-General HEINTZELMAN, Columbus: Governor Brough proposes to furnish a regiment of volunteer mili- ha as a guard at Johnsons Island. This he purposes to alternat Page 241 UNION AUTHORITIES. 241 every sixty days by substituting a regiment for the one relieved, at expense of transportation by the State. Will this constitute a safe and sufficient guard, and is the process of alternating regiments satis- factory to you, so as to relieve the veteran regiments now at Johnsons Island? EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. COLUMBUS, OHIo, April 21, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: I much prefer the veteran regiments, but believe that I can hold the prisoners at Johnsons Island safely with this volunteer niilitia. S. P. HEINTZELMAN, Mc~jor- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 174. Washington, April 22, 1864. EMPLOYMENT OF CAVALRY ORGANIZATIONS NOT MOUNTED. Cavalry organizations which cannot immediately be supplied with horses will be armed and employed temporarily as infantry. They may be used to guard depots and railroads or be assigned to infantry brigades in the field. When regiments so assigned are partially mounted the horses will be transferred to others. Commanders of departments and separate armies are authorized to dismount and employ as infantry any cavalry regiment which has been neglectful or wasteful of its horses, or has proved inefficient in the field, and transfer its horses to others. The proportion of cavalry to be temporarily converted into infantry will not exceed 40 per cent. of any command, unless it be found that the remaining 60 per cent. cannot be kept efficiently mounted. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. GENEiRAL ORDERS, ?~ WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 175. Washington, April 22, 1864. LIABILITY OF TEAMSTERS, & C., TO TRIAL FOR DISOBEDIENCE OF ORDERS. Great inconvenience and injury to the public service having arisen from the failure or refusal of teamsters and other employ6s of the Quartermasters Department to go to the front and other points when so required, hereafter any employ~ of the department who fails or refuses to obey such orders shall forfeit all pay and allowances which may be due to him, and will also be liable to arrest and trial before a military tribunal for disobedience of orders, according to the Sixtieth Article of War. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. 16 R RSERIES III, VOL I Page 242 242 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE No. 176. Washing/on, April 22, 1864. The following act of Congress is published for the information of all concerne(l: PUBLICNo. 51. AN ACT to amend an act for enrolling and calling out the national forces so as to increase the rank, pay, and emoluments of the Provost-MarshalGeneral. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the rank, pay, and emoluments of the Pro- vost-Marshal-General, authorized by section five of said act, shall be those of a brigadier-general. Szc. 2. And be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. Approved April 21, 1864. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, April 22, 1864. Major-General Dix, Commanding Northern Department: The President directs me to say that you are authorized by him to call upon his Excellency Governor Seymour for one or more regiments of State militia to replace the U. S. troops sent forward. Governor Seymour informs the Department that he will furnish them. * EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War STATE OF NEW YORK, INSPECTOR-GENERALS OFFICE, Albany, April 22, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.: In reply to your telegram of the 21st instant, which is just received, I am instructed by His Excellency Governor Seymour to state that the regiments of State militia required by you will be promptly furnished for the purposes indicated. JOSIAH T. MILLER, Inspector- General State of New York. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 177. Washington, April 28, 1864. IN RELATION TO PUBLIC HORSES, WAGONS, & C. I. Every officer of the Army, other than of the Quartermasters Department, and the chief medical officer of departments, armies, and army corps, who has in his possession, or under his control, any horse, ambulance, spring wagon, or vehicle of any kind, belonging to the Government of the United States, whether used in the performance 5See Miller to Stanton, next, post Page 243 UNION AUTHORITIES. 243 of his public or private duties, will immediately turn in the same to the Quartermasters Department. II. Hereafter no officer of the Army will use any horse, ambulance, spring wagon, or vehicle of any kind which is the property of the Government of the United States, whether for the transaction of his official or private business, without an order in writing from the Adjutant-General authorizing such use. This order will not apply to officers entitled to be mounted under General Orders, No. 277, from this office, of August 8, 1863. III. The Regulations of the Quartermasters Department provide for the transportation of officers traveling under orders, and their bag- gage. When, on proper requisition, an officer has obtained transpor- tation, the horse or vehicle so obtained will be returned to the officer accountable therefor, or to some officer of the Quartermasters Depart- ment, as soon as the journey is performed. IV. The Quartermaster-General and Inspector-General will cause this order to be enforced by the officers of their departments through- out the armies of the United States; and for its violation, reported by the officers of these departments, the same penalty is attached as pro- vided by section 8 of an act of Congress, published in General Orders, War Department, No. 106, current series, in reference to the use of ambulances. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, April 23, 1864. Governor MORTON, Saint Nicholas Hotel, New York: The President has accepted the proposition. Let me know when you expect to leave New York. EDWIN M. STANTON. NEW YORK, April 23, 1864. (Received 5 p. in.) Hon. E. M. STANTON: Have telegraphed my proclamation home. Will be here until Monday evening. Please telegraph the terms of the proposition to Adjutant-General Noble at Indianapolis. 0. P. MORTON, Governor of Indiana. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, April 23, 1864. Major-General HEINTZELMAN, Columbus, Ohio: General Brough has been authorized to raise a regiment of militia to guard the public stores at Gallipolis. They will be under your orders, and you will issue tents, & c., to them. As soon as they occupy that place General Sigel will be authorized to withdraw his present guard and leave the place in your charge. Consult with the adjutant- general of the State in the Governors absence. H. W. HALLECK, Major- General and Chief of Staff Page 244 244 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, April 25, 1864. Hon. HENRY WILSON, Chairman Military Committee of the Senate: SIR: The Governors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin have tendered to the President on the 23d instant a large number of volunteers from their respective States for service during the present campaign. They are expected to nnmber from 80,000 to 100,000 men, their term of service 100 days from muster in. It is believed they can render useful service. They are to be paid no bounty, and are not to diminish or delay the draft for three-years men in States where the quota of pending draft is not filled np. The quota is filled up in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, and less than 10,000 are due from Ohio. The expense of these troops is not provided for in the war estimates heretofore submitted. It is estimated that $25,000,000 will meet the costs of 100,000 of these extra volunteers. I respectfully recommend a special appropriation for that purpose, and submit a joint resolution for that purpose. The impending operations render it expedient that there should be early action by Congress upon the proposition, so that if sanctioned all needful provisions may be made in due season. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. (Same to Hon. Robert C. Schenck, chairman of Military Committee, House of Representatives.) BOSTON, MASS., April 25, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: General Dix telegraphs me that all our heavy artillery will be imme- diately ordered to field, and requests militia regiments called out to relieve them at Fort Warren and elsewhere, and be mustered into service for that local duty for sixty days. This confuses me somewhat, since work of aggregating a regiment of militia companies must be done at once, and our militia is disintegrated by volunteering. It shall immediately be done, but it will probably render impossible any chance to raise new heavy artillery regiments before the 10th of May, as most probably recruits for such regiments will tnrn out as militia. In order to systemize matters I wish you would let our twelve heavy artillery companies be organized and march as a regiment. Eight companies were raised for general service. Cabots battalion of four companies, though raised with a special understanding, yet will march willingly with orders, eight in regimental organization, under him as colonel, for heavy-artillery duty. JNO. A: ANDREW. NATCHEZ, MISS., April 26, 1864. Col. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant A6~jntant- General, Washington, D. C.: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of a communication from Maj. Gen. W. S. Rosecrans to the Honorabl Page 245 UNION AUTHORITIES. 245 Secretary of War in relation to orders issued by me with reference to the recruiting of colored troops in Missouri, with the indorsement of Brig. Gen. E. R. S. Canby thereon.* Iii accordance with the wishes of the Department I have issued an order revoking my Order No. 8, dated Vicksburg, March 11, 1864. The system of recruiting in Missouri npon the basis adopted by Major-General Schofield has not, in my opinion, operated as success- fully as nuder the orders issued by me. This was manifest in my recent inspection of the colored troops at Port Hudson. The Second and Third Missouri Regiments, raised by provost-marshals, report a vast increase over the First Missouri Regiment in the number of dis- charges on account of disability, and the mortality has been much greater in those regiments. Altogether, I am satisfied the men in those regiments are much inferior to those raised under my directions. I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant, L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General. ORDERS No. 17.] NATCHEZ, MIss., April 26, 1864. I. So much of Orders Nos. 7 and 16, current series, as designates the regiments of African troops as U. S. cavalry, artillery, or infan- try (colored) is changed. Hereafter they will be called regiments of U. S. colored cavalry, colored artillery, or colored infantry. All the regiments enumerated in the above-named orders will retain their numbers given therein except the heavy and light artillery, which will hereafter be reported as regiments of U. S. colored artil- lery (heavy), or U. S. colored artillery (light), and will be numbered as follows: Batteries A, B, C, and D, Second Regiment U. S. Light Artillcry (Colored) as Batteries C, D, E, and F, Second Regiment U. S. Colored Artillery (Light). The Second Regiment U. S. Colored Artillery (Heavy) as the Third Regiment. The Third Regiment U. S. Colored Artillery (Heavy) as the Fourth Regiment. The Fourth Regiment U. S. Colored Artillery (Heavy) as the Fifth Regiment. The Fifth Regiment U. S. Colored Artillery (Heavy) as the Sixth Regiment. The Sixth Regiment U. S. Colored Artillery (Heavy) as the Seventh Regiment. The Seventh Regiment U. S. Colored Artillery (Heavy), now being raised at Padncah, Ky., as the Eighth Regiment. The commanders of colored troops will at once make the proper notifications of the changes in the designation of these regiments. II. Orders No. 8, dated Yicksbnrg, Miss., March ILl, 1864, are hereby revoked. By order of the Secretary of War: L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General. *See March 23, p. 196 Page 246 246 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, April 26, 1864. His Excellency JOHN A. ANDREW, Governor of Massachusetts, Boston, Mass.: The Secretary of War considers it inexpedient to authorize the consolidation of the heavy artillery companies referred to in your dispatch of yesterday. These companies will come on at once, and will be replaced as rapidly as possible by the militia that General Dix has called on you for. By order of the Secretary of War: ED. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier- General and Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., PROV. MAR. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 15. f Washington, April 27, 1864. VETERAN RESERVE CORPSRECRUITING SERVICE. 1. The recruiting service in the various States for the Veteran Reserve Corps will be under the charge of the acting assistant provost- marshals-general as general superintendents. 2. All soldiers honorably discharged for disability, of good char- acter and not liable to draft, whether discharged from the Regular Army, Marine Corps, or volunteers of this war, or any time previous, may be enlisted in the Veteran Reserve Corps, notwithstanding that the disability under which they may have been discharged has dis- appeared and that they are over forty-five years of age, provided they are able to do duty in the First Battalion of the Veteran Reserve Corps. 3. Men desiring to re-enlist in this corps will present themselves to the Board of Enrollment for the district in which they reside for examination by the surgeon thereof, who shall make a personal exam- ination of them and report the result to the Board of Enrollment (according to the form furnished). 4. The Board shall then consider each case, and if the applicant is found to fulfill the conditions specified below the Board shall give him a certificate (according to the form furnished) to that effect, viz: First. That he is unfit for service in the field. Second. That he is fit for duty in the First Battalion, Veteran Reserve Corps, according to rules laid down in General Orders, No. 212, War Department, 1863. Third. That he is meritorious and deserving. Fourth. That he was honorably discharged from the service on account of disability. Those fulfilling the above conditions will be enlisted by the provost- marshal. The enlistments will be signed by the provost-marshal as recruiting officer and by the surgeon of the Board of Enrollment as examining surgeon. The oath will be administered by the provost- marshal. 5. The term of enlistment in the Veteran Reserve Corps shall be for three years. Enlistments will be made in duplicate upon the printed forms furnished for the purpose from this Bureau. 6. The provost-marshals will make all reports and returns of the recruiting service of this corps and forward them in the same [man- ner] as they are required to do for other troops Page 247 UNION AUTHORITI1~S. 247 7. All other details will be conducted in the manner prescribed in the General Regulations. 8. Men who enlist or re-enlist in the Veteran Reserve Corps will be credited to the quota of the district from which they enlist, the same as other troops, but are not entitled to any bounty or premium from the United States for such enlistment. 9. The expenditures of mustering and disbursing officers for the recruiting service of the Veteran Reserve Corps are confined to the payment of the expenses enumerated in Circular No. 84, of 1863, from this Bureau. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, April 27, 1864. Hon. WILLIAM P. FESSENDEN, Chairman of Committee on Finance, U. S. Senate: SIR: Referring to my letter of the 25th instant, addressed to the chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs of the Senate, and now pending before your committee, I have the honor to transmit herewith for your information a copy of the communication made to the President by the Governors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, and of the Presidents acceptance of the troops therein tendered,* together with a copy of the estimated cost of 100,000 vol- unteers for three months, prepared at the office of the Quartermaster- General. t To this estimate should be added 33~ per cent. for all contingencies, including injury to arms, ammunition, medical attend- ance, & c., which will make the aggregate expense about $25,000,000, as stated in my letter of April 25. No call has been made by the President for the troops thus offered and accepted, as it is understood that this duty is to be performed by the respective Governors of States named who have made their calls. Your obedient servant, EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. P. S.For obvious reasons the proposition of the Governors and Presidents acceptance should not be published, but is transmitted for the information of yourself and your committee. E. M. S. FRANKFORT, KY., April 27, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: Will you receive 10,000 troops from Kentucky for six months or three months on the same conditions that other States are raising them? They can be furnished. THOS. E. BRAMLETTE, Governor of Kentucky. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE FOR RECRUITING COLORED REGTS., No. 1210 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, April 27, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.: SIR: I have the honor to ask for authority to raise another regiment of colored troops. The Forty-third Regiment, which we are now *Seep 237. ~Seep. 238 Page 248 248 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. raising, lacks about 150 men of being full. We supposed that the late horrible massacre at Fort Pillow, if noticed, as the people gener- ally anticipate it will be, by a vigorous proclamation from the Gov- ernment, directing severe retaliation on the enemy for any similar outrages in the future, will impart a fresh momentum to recruiting. The colored people are excited. They now need to be encouraged. If the Government will give emphatic expression to the general desire on the subject of the barbarous massacres of Pillow and Plymouth, and Congress should speedily place black troops on the same footing as other troops, we could raise, in my judgment, two, three, or more regiments here. At present recruiting is dull in spite of the liberal bounties offered. The determination of the status of the colored soldiers and words of encouragement to the colored race are the two measures needed to create enthusiasm and give new life to recruiting in the free States. I have the honor to be, with respect, your obedient servant, THOMAS WEBSTER, Chairman. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, April 28, 1864. Governor BRAMLETTE, Franlefort, Ky.: The arrangement in the Northwestern States was for 100-days serv- ice. Of that short time there is probably quite as many as can be used. But if you can raise six-months men let me know, and I can then give a definite answer to your inquiry. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., April 28, 1864. Brig. Gen. S. G. BURERIDGE, U. S. Volunteers, Commanding District of Kentucky, Louisville: GENERAL: By direction of the Secretary of War I have respectfully to inform you that the first four paragraphs of General Orders, No. 34, current series, from your headquarters, establishing regulations for the enlistment of colored men in the State of Kentucky, are approved. The fifth paragraph is regarded as superfluous. I am further directed to instruct you to cause the recruits eulisted in pursuance of said order to be sent to Capt. R. D. Mussey, Nineteenth U. S. Infantry, acting commissioner for organization of colored troops, at Gallatin, Teun., or Nashville, Teun., as may be determined between yourself and Captain Mussey, who will organize the recruits and assign them to regiments. In all cases where a recruit has been held to service under a master or owner the name of such owner will be entered on the mnster-in roll opposite the name of the recruit. Duplicate muster and descriptive rolls of the detachments will in all cases be forwarded with such detach- ments to Captain Mussey, one of which he will forward to this office after having entered upon the roll opposite the names of each of the recruits the designations of the regiments to which they have been assigned. These measures are necessary for ready reference at thi Page 249 UNION AUTHORITIES. 249 office in cases where claims for payment are made by owners in conse- quence of the enlistment of their slaves. Certificates of enlistment and descriptive lists will be furnished to loyal owners whose slaves are enlisted. A supply of the former, as per inclosed copy, * will be forwarded to you from this office. I have the honor, & c., C. W. FOSTER, Assistant Adjutant- General of Volunteers. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., PRov. MAR. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 16. Washington, April 29, 1864. The following opinion of the Hon. William Whiting, Solicitor of the War Department, is published for the information and guidance of all officers of this Bureau: In regard to the question whether the plea of non-residence in the district where a drafted man may have been enrolled should, under all circumstances, be regarded by boards of enrollment as a legal and proper ground for exemption from military service under the draft in that district, & c. Opinion.When a person who has been enrolled and drafted claims exemption from the draft on the ground of non-residence, the Board of Enrollment will be justified in granting it if he makes satisfactory proof on three points: 1. His non-residence in the district where he claims exemption at the time of his enrollment therein. 2. What his place of actual residence was at the time when the enrollment therein was made. 3. That he was or is actually enrolled and has been drafted or is liable to draft in his place of actual residence. All persons from whom military service is required under the act of Congress are liable to enrollment and draft in some district. The notation of the occupa- tions and residence of persons enrolled is not required to enable unpatriotic citi- zens, by technical objections, to avoid their fair share of public duty, but to identify the persons drafted and assist in equalizing among the different districts their respective quotas. Whoever has been enrolled in one district and intends to claim exemption from draft by reason of residence elsewhere must take care to be enrolled where he resides. If the corrected enrollment be promptly effected, an application thereafter made to the Provost-Marshal-General or to the boards of enrollment will protect him against double liability; but if he neglect this privilege he ought not escape all military service in time of war by proving that an error had been made in the place of his residence, the spelling of his name, or the description of his trade or occupation. It is deemed a privilege to enter into the military service of the United States. The patriot owes it to his country, the man of honor owes it to his neighbors, to see that every citizen liable to military duty is properly enrolled. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. FRANKFORT, Ry., April 29, 1864. E. M. STANTON: Ten thousand six-months men can be raised promptly is the opinion of Adjutant-General Boyle. T. E. BRAMLETTE, Governor. * Omitted Page 250 250 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. OFFICE ACTING ASSISTANT PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERAL, Boston, April 29, 1864. Brig. Gen. JAMES B. FRY, Prov. Mar. Gen. United States, War Dept., Washington, D. C.: SIR: I have the honor to inform you that I proposed to commence the draft in this State on Monday, the 2d of May, bnt in consequence of the entire absence of troops in this State, until the militia can be mustered into service, and the urgent reqnest of the Governor that the draft should be postponed until snch muster should take place, I have consented to postpone the draft for at least fonr days beyond the 2d of May. His Excellency wishes to be prepared in the event of any 6meute or disturbance that we have reason to believe would occur in the absence of any controlling force. I am, sir, very respectfully, yonr obedient servant, F. N. CLARKE, Major, Fifth Artillery, Actg. Asst. Provost-Marshal- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., April 30, 1864. Major-General MEADE, U. S. Volunteers, Commanding Army of the Potomac: SIR: The following instructions, which will not be printed, are furnished by order of the Secretary of War for your information and guidance, and are to be sent by you to the officers under your com- mand, to whom they will apply: I. Generals commanding armies and army corps in the field will take the proper measures to supply, so far as may be possible, the wants of their troops in animals and provisions from the territory through which military operations are conducted. Private property so taken will be receipted and accounted for in accordance with existing orders. Special care will be taken to remove horses, mules, live-stock, and all means of transportation from hos- tile districts infested or liable to be infested by guerrilla bands of rebels. II. Commanding officers will establish proper regulations in accord- ance with the usages and customs of war for the enforcement of this order. Please acknowledge receipt. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. (Same to Maj. Gen. F. Sigel, U. S. Volunteers, commanding Depart- muent of West Virginia; Maj. Gen. B. F. Butler, U. S. Volunteers, commanding Department of Virginia and North Carolina; Maj. Gen. W. F. Smith, U. S. Volunteers (care of Major-General. Butler); Com- manding general Department of the South; Maj. Gen. N. P. Banks, U. S. Volunteers, commanding Department of the Gulf; Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman, U. S. Volunteers, commanding Military Division of the Mississippi; Maj. Gen. George II. Thomas, U. S. Volunteers, commanding Department of the Cumberland; Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson, U. S. Volunteers, commanding Department of the Ten- nessee; Maj. Gen. Frederick Steele, U. S. Volunteers, commanding Department of Arkansas; Maj. Gen. J. M. Schofield, U. S. Volunteers, commanding Department of the Ohio. Page 251 UNION AUTHORITIES. 251 WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., April 30, 1864. His Excellency Governor SAMUEL CONY, Augusta, life.: Do you think it advisable to proceed to draft in the deficient sub- districts of your State, so that all of them shall thus be made to fill the quotas heretofore assigned? Please answer by telegraph. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. Operator will send copy to the following: Governor J. A. Gilmore, Concord, N. H.; Governor Smith, Woodstock, Vt.; Governor James Y. Smith, Providence, R. I.; Governor Buckiugham, Hartford, Conn.; Governor A. I. Boreman, Wheeling, W. Va.; Governor Richard Yates, Springfield, Ill.; Governor 0. P. Morton, Indianapolis, md.; Governor Austin Blair, Detroit, Mich.; Governor James T. Lewis, Madison, Wis.; Governor H. R. Gamble, Jefferson City, Mo.; Gov- ernor Thomas Carney, Leavenworth, Kans. STATE OF CONNECTICUT, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Norwich, April 30, 1864. General JAMES B. FRY, U. S. Army, Provost-Marshal- General, Washington: SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your telegram of this date inquiring whether I think it advisable to proceed to draft in the deficient sub-districts of the State, that all may be thus made to fill the quotas heretofore assigned, to which I would reply that as Connecticut had furnished up to the 1st of April 3,172 more men for three years service than had been required by the President, I do not think it desirable to order the draft in the deficient sub-districts unless the President shall make a requisition for more men. In that case I would recommend that the draft be made in sub-districts for deficien- cies, and that the order be issued at the time a requisition for more men shall be made. I have no doubt but the plan suggested within is decidedly the best. I am, very respectfully, yours, WM. A. BUCKJNGHAM, Governor of Connecticut. LEAVENWORTH, April 30, 1864. Colonel FRY: Governor Carney is on his way to Washington. Will be there about the 4th of May. A. R. ]3ANKS. DETROIT, April 30, 1864. Colonel FRY: Governor Blair is now in or near Washington and will answer your telegram of this date in person. F. MORLEY, Assistant AcUntant- General of Michigan Page 252 252 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. PROVIDENCE, R. I., April 30, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: Your telegram received. Every district and sub-district is more than full. The State has quota for a 300,000 call in excess. Of course, this being so, no draft can be made. I write you by mail to-night. JAS. Y. SMITH, Governor of Rhode Island. WHEELING, April 30, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: Dispatch of this date received. The State having greatly exceeded her quotas under all calls made upon, there should be no draft in any sub-districts. A. I. BOREMAN, Governor. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, May 1, 1864. Hon. HENRY WILSON, U. S. Senate, Washington, D. C.: SIR: The Secretary of War instructs me to state, in reply to your reference of the correspondence between this Department and Gov- ernor Andrew in relation to the companies of heavy artillery in Boston Harbor, that as the companies were raised under different conditions of service, and will probably be required to serve at different points, and not in connection with each other, it has been and still is con- sidered inexpedient to give them a regimental organization. If, how- ever, Governor Andrew should be able to raise a sufficient number of companies of heavy artillery for general service in addition to those already organized, to make up twelve companies, there will then be no objection to giving the companies raised for that service a proper regimental organization. Cabots battalion was organized for special service, and it would be improper to include it in a regiment organ- ized for the general service. It was included in the order bringing the troops from Boston Harbor to this city because it was understood that the officers and men were anxious to come forward and would make no objection to temporary service in this neighborhood, the battalion returning to its original conditions of service as soon as the present necessity has passed. The Secretary of War therefore sees no sufficient reasons for changing the orders heretofore given. Very respectfully, & c., ED. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier- General and Assistant Adjutant- General. AUGUSTA, ME., May 1, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: I do not think it expedient to draft in the different sub-districts of this State. SAML. CONY, Governor of Maine Page 253 UNION AUTHORITIES. 253 GENERAL ORDERS, ~ WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 189. Washington, May 2, 1864. ISSUE OF SHELTER TENTS. 1. The attention of all officers is called to General Orders. No. 160, series of 1862, providing for the issue of shelter tents instead of com- mon wall or Sibley tents. When troops refuse to accept shelter tents they will not be furnished with any. Troops in garrisons, at stations, or in detachments can construct huts, if they prefer them to shelter tents. Quartermasters are prohibited from issuing tents other than the kind provided for, no matter by whom the requisitions are approved, or by whose order the issues are directed to be made, until otherwise ordered through the Adjutant-General of the Army. 2. Commanding officers of departments, and of troops, and the Quartermaster-General will be held responsible for the enforcement and due observance of this order; and any one who shall issue or direct the issue of tents other than as prescribed will be tried by court-martial or reported for summary dismissal. By command of Lieutenant-General Grant: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 36. Washington, May 2, 1864. I. To provide for certain cases of muster, which may arise at the dates the original terms of service of volunteer organizations will expire, the following regulations are established and announced for the information and guidance of all concerned. Their execution will be under the supervision and direction of the commissaries of musters for corps and departments: MUSTERS-OUT AND DISCHARGES FROM VETERAN REGIMENTS WHERE THREE-FOURTHS THEREOF HAVE RE-ENLISTED. 1. In regiments where three-fourths of the men have re-enlistedand which are therefore veteransthe organization they may have at the dates of expiration of term (see sec. 1, General Remarks) will be maintained, but all men who have not re-enlisted (except those who have .joined since date of original organization) will, on said date, be mustered out and discharged the service. The musters-out will be made by the assistant commissary of musters of the division to which the troops belong, and that officer will be held strictly accountable that the muster-out rolls are accurate, and made out in accordance with the Mustering Regulations. A separate muster-out roll will be made, on the prescribed form, for the detachment from each company. Particular attention is invited to the Mustering Regulations, in so far as the formal discharge paper of the volunteer is concerned. (See sec. 5, General Remarks.) After the muster-out and discharge papers shall have been fully prepared the department or corps commander will cause the discharged men to be formed into detachments, under competent officers, and forward them to the States (see sec. 6, General Remarks) to whic Page 254 254 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. they respectively belong, there to be paid off promptly, under such regulations as the Paymaster-General may establish. The senior officer of each detachment will take charge of the muster- out rolls and discharge papers, and be responsible for their safety until placed in the hands of the paymaster. OFFICERS FOR VETERAN REGIMENTS. 2. Under paragraph 9 of General Orders, No. 191, 1863, it is an- nounced that officers in service whose regiments or companies may re-enlist (now applicable to regiments or companies where three- fourths have re-enlisted), will have their commissions and rank con- tinued. To this end officers will coutinne to serve under existing musters until the original term of their regiments shall have expired, when they will be remustered, under their existing commissions, for three years. To secure the back ranknot payof the grade in which they may be remustered, the assistant commissary of musters will make the following remark upon the remuster-in roll: To rank from , 186, nnder paragraph 9, General Orders, No. 191, War Department, 1863. No provision herein will be construed as authorizing the detention in service of unfit officers. All snch should be reported by the depart- ment or army commander to the Adjutant-General of the Army, with the view to their discharge. MUSTERS-OUT OF REGIMENTS NOT VETERAN. 3. Where regiments fall under the provisions of section 1, General Remarks, and less than three-fourths thereof have re-enlisted, the re-enlisted men and all recruits (drafted and volunteer) who have joined the regiment since the date of its original muster-in (sec. 1, General Remarks) will be formed into one or more companies of the legal maximum standard, and officered by such officers as may be selected by the department or army commander. The remainder of the regiment will then be placed en route to the State, there to be mustered out and paid off in accordance with the Mustering Regula- tions of the Army. In regiments falling under the provisions of section 2, General Remarks, and where less than three-fourths have re-enlisted, at the dates the periods of service of the respective companies expire, the nien thereof entitled to discharge, and the company officers (present and absent), will be mustered out by the assistant commissary of musters of the division, in accordance with the rules enunciated in section 1 of paragraph 1. The remainder (re-enlisted men and recruits who have joined since the date of original organization) will be tem- porarily assigned to the last company to be mustered out. When the men of all the companies entitled to discharge have thus been dis- posed of, the remainder will be formed into one or more companies of the legal maximum standard, and officered by such offibers as may be selected by the army or department commander. II. Nothing herein will be considered as interfering with the require- ments of General Orders, No. 182, series of 1863, from this office. GENERAL REMARKS. III. 1. Where all the companies of a regiment were mustered in within two months of the date at which the organization commenced, the date of muster-out of the organization will be determined b Page 255 UNION AUTHORITIES. 255 reckoning the period of service from the date of muster-in of the last company. In accordance with this, if the last company of a regiment was mustered into service on the 20th of May, 1861 (that date is con- sidered as the date of original organization and muster-in of the regiment), the period of service of the regiment will expire May 19, 1864 (expiration of original term), and at that date all the members of the regiment, except re-enlisted ones, and those who have joined since date of original organization, should be discharged. 2. Where there is a difference of two months or more between the dates of muster-in of the first and last companies, the companies will be mustered out separately, and the field and staff reduced propor- tionally, and in the inverse order in which they were mustered in, under paragraph 85, Mustering Regulations. The field officers, how- ever, to be mustered out at each stage of the reduction will rest with the commander of the army or department. The musters-out will be made by the assistant commissary of musters for the division. 3. When troops are mustered out of service all officers and men, present and absent, who are entitled to be discharged, will be consid- ered as mustered out at one time and place, except prisoners of war, who will be considered as in service until their arrival in a loyal State, with an allowance of time necessary for them to be returned to their respective places of enrollment. With Dfficers and men of this class, commanding officers of regiments and companies will exercise great care in stating, in the remarks on the muster-out rolls, the dates and places of capture, thus: Prisoner of war. Captured at December , 186. 4. Officers and men absent from their commands, on detached service, sick in hospital or paroled (after the officer under whose command they may be has satisfied himself that their terms of service have expired), will be furnished with transportation by the Quartermasters Department to the place where the regiment is to be mustered out, in time to be present at the said muster. The trans- portation will be furnished upon the requisition of the commanding officer under whom the officer or soldier may be serving, or of the surgeon in charge of the hospital where he may be sick. The descrip- tive lists of the men will accompany them, and be turned over to the officer who may be charged with mustering out the force, by whom (after the data therefrom has been entered on the muster-out rolls) they will be forwarded to the Adjutant-General of the Army. If from sickness or other proper cause enlisted men cannot be sent in time, as above directed, they will be discharged at the hospital, and their final papers there made out, under direction of the surgeon in charge, and forwarded to the commander having the power to discharge, as in the case of surgeons certificate of disability. The principles announced in paragraphs 3 and 15, Appendix B, Revised Army Regulations, will be applied in such cases; and with a view to determining claims for pension, all information will be given in the paperswhich will throw light on the nature and cause of the soldiers sickness. 5. The following extracts from the Mustering Regulations are published for the information and guidance of all concerned: Whenever volunteers, or militia, are mustered for final discharge, on the expiration of their term of service, a discharge will be furnished for each officer and soldier, whether present or absent. The blanks for these must be filled with great care and neatness, and signed, with official rank affixed (at the left hand), by the colonel or other regimental commander for the field and staff, by captains or other company commanders for their respective companies, and by the mustering officer, and by the mustering officer returned to the said commanders for delivery to the individuals Page 256 256 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. FORM OF DISCHARGE. To ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: [Coat of Arms.] Know ye, That -, a of Captain company [], regiment of volunteers, who was enrolled on the day of , one thousand eight hundred and , to serve years or during the war, is hereby discharged from the service of the United States, this day of -_____ 186, at , by reason (of being mustered out of service on the expiration of his term.) a No objection to his being re-enlisted is known to exist. Said was born in , in the State of , is years of age, feet inches high, complexion, eyes, hair, and by occupation, when enrolled, a Given at , this day of , 186. Commanding Company (or Regiment.) A. B., Capt. , U. S. Infantry and Mustering Officer. Where troops are mustered out of service, final statements must not be given. The muster-out rolls take the place of final statements in such cases. 6. As a general rule, in returning troops to their States for muster- out they will be sent to the points therein where they were mustered in, there to be met by mustering officers and paymasters. 7. To hasten the muster-out of troops it is hereby made the duty of regimental and company commanders, under the direction of the com- missary of musters of the corps or department, and assistant commis- sary of musters for the division, to look after the data necessary for the preparation of the muster-out rolls. To this end it is directed that each company commander shall have the muster-out roll of his company, or such men thereof as are to be discharged, made out in rough, so that it can be quickly arranged, and a fair copy made at the required time. 8. As the interest of an enlisted man is always prejudiced if his record on the rolls is imperfect, mustering officers and paymasters will promptly report all officers who may neglect to have the rolls of their regiments and companies accurately made, with a view to their being recommended for dismissal from the service. IV. In mustering out independent companies and batteries, or frac- tional parts thereof, the principles, so far as applicable, laid down herein for regiments will be observed. Questions which may arise relative thereto will be decided by department and army com- manders. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, - Assistant Adjutant- General. a This sentence will be erased, should there be anything in the conduct or phy- sical condition of the soldier rendering him unfit for duty in the Army. SPRINGFIELD, ILL, May 2, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: Governor Yates absent. The State having furnished a large excess over quota, and responding freely to call for 100-days men, draft as proposed by you seems not advisable. F. A. HOFFMAN, Acting Governor of Illinois Page 257 UNION AUTHORITIES. 257 JEFFERSON CITY, May 2, 1864. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: You - telegram of Saturday received. I answer No. WILLARD P. HALL, Governor of Missouri. COLUMBUS, May 2, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: Colonel Potter, assistant provost-marshal-general, has orders to muster only maximum regiments under the 100-days call. The agreement of the Governors April 21 provides for musters with minimum numbers. Please have Colonel Potters order changed immediately, as we have large numbers now in camp awaiting muster. Have reports of more than 30,000 National Guards in camp and ready for muster. B. R. COWEN, Adjutant- General of Ohio. DAVENPORT, May 3, 1864. (Received ~5 a. m. 4th.) Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON Secretary of War: Iowa is all right. The 10,000 are coming rapidly. We intend to beat Illinois and Indiana. Hurry up arms and clothing. W. M. STONE. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, May 3, 1864. Governor BRAMLETTE, Franlcfort, Ky.: Congress has just passed a bill making appropriation for short service. This Department will accept 10,000 volunteer infantry from your State for six months service, reckoned from the date of mustering in of the respective regiments. The regiments to be mustered when filled to their minimum strength according to the rules and regulations of the War Department. These troops to be credited pro rata on any quota a deficiency of the draft for three-years troops, and any person drafted to be credited for his service. The troops to be raised within twenty days from this date. I hasten immediately on the passage of the bill to notify you, and await your answer. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. FRANKFORT, May 3, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: The time allowed for raising six-months men is too limited to effect much. Those sections which furnish our troops would not be notified in time to complete organizations. I must therefore decline the attempt. T. E. BRAMLETTE. 17 R RSERIES III, ~OL I Page 258 258 CORRESPONDEYCE, ETC. CONCORD, N. H., May 3, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: In answer to your dispatch of April 30 I will say that equity and justice demand that every town, city, or sub-district should furnish their quota of men. Any instructions you may give I will do all in my power to have promptly executed. J. A. GILMORE, Governor of New Hampshire. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, May 3, 1864. CoL J. H. POTTER, Superintendent, Columbus, Ohio: The 100-days troops are to be mustered in by regiments with mini- mum regimental organizations. Telegram of May 1 from Colonel Fry so states. Inform Governor. THOS. M. VINCENT, Assistant Adjutant- General. SAINT ALBANS, VT., May 3, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: I think an order for draft in different towns had better be issued, giving time, and, that they may have a chance to fill their quotas by volunteers, I wish the order might be issued to draft in the towns, naming them, and be ordered for the State, as it is largely in excess, and I do not wish the impression to be that the State is behind. J. GREGORY SMITH, Governor. MADISON, May 3, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: Wisconsin having furnished her quota I think draft should be post- poned till after another call, when each sub-district should be required to make up deficiencies or stand draft. JAMES T. LEWIS. [MAY 310, 1864.For correspondence between Stanton and Brough in relation to the equipment and disposition of the Ohio 100-days regiments, see Series I, Vol. XXXVII, Part 1, pp. 374, 375, 379, 380, 390, 391, 403, 404, 425.] QUARTERMASTER-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., May 4, 1864. Brig. Gen. E. R. S. CANBY, Assistant Adjutant- General, War Department: GENERAL: In reply to your note of this date requesting a menio- randum of the arrangements that have been made for supplying the militia that have been called out in the Western States with cloth- ing, & c., I have the honor to inform you that Lieutenant-Colone Page 259 UNION AUTHORITIES. 259 Vinton, deputy quartermaster-general at New York, was ordered by telegraph the 2d instant to pack for transportation the clothing, except uniform coats and greatcoats, and equipage, except tents, for about 40,000 men. At the same time Colonel Crosman, assistant quartermaster-general at Philadelphia, was directed to prepare in a similar manner to supply about 30,000 men. Orders were yesterday sent by mail to Colonel Vinton to send to Capt. George T. Browning, assistant quartermaster at Indianapolis, Ind., clothing and equipage in such quantities as will enable him, with the stock now on hand at that depot, to supply the 20,000 men to be furnished by the State of Indiana; to send in a similar manner to Capt. James Campbell, assistant quartermaster at Springfield, Ill., supplies sufficient to enable him, with his stock on hand, to clothe and equip 20,000 men to be furnished by the State of Illinois, and to send to Capt. N. B. Van Slyke, assistant quartermaster at Madison, Wis., the necessary clothing and equipage to enable him to supply the 5,000 men to be furnished by that State. Colonel Crosman was directed to send to Capt. Thomas J. Kerr, assistant quartermaster at Columbus, Ohio, the clothing and equi- page necessary for equipping the troops (30,000) to be furnished by the State of Ohio. The orders in each case directed the shipments to be made as early as practicable, but a subsequent letter was sent to Colonels Crosman and Vinton advising them to send only about one-half the articles immediately, and to hold the remainder ready for shipment as soon as the subordinate rendezvous might be designated. The first installments on the above orders will probably leave the depots at New York and Philadelphia on the morning of the 6th (Friday), and the remainder as soon thereafter as the subordinate rendezvous is designated. By order of the Quartermaster-General. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, A. G. ROBINSON, Captain and Assistant Quartermaster. ORDNANCE OFFICE, WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, May 4, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: SIR: I have the honor to report the measures taken thus far to pro- vide arms for the three-months men to be furnished by certain West- ern States. Fifteen thousand Enfields were issued from Washington Arsenal on the 28th ultimo for Columbus Arsenal, with orders for them to be sent with dispatch. Ten thousand sets of accouterments were issued from~ Allegheny Arsenal May 2, and 5,000 sets from New York Agency April 29, for same destination and under similar orders; and 5,000 Enfield muskets and sets of accouterments were ordered to be issued May 1 from New York Agency for Columbus Arsenal. This makes 20,000 muskets and accouterments sent to Columbus, and Captain Bradford has been specially ordered to hasten the arming of the Ohio troops. Four thousand Enfield muskets were issued from Columbus Arse- nal to Indianapolis Arsenal April 26, and 6,000 ordered to be issued to the same place on April 22 Page 260 260 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Ten thousand sets accouterments were issued for these arms from Allegheny Arsenal on April 29. Captain Whittemore has similar orders as Captain Bradford so far as regards Indiana troops. Five thousand Enfield muskets and accouterments were issued to Governor Yates from Detroit Arsenal on April 28, and 200,000 car- tridges for these arms were ordered from Indianapolis Arsenal on April 22. Lieutenant Arnold has been ordered from Saint Louis Arsenal to Springfield, Ill., with similar instructions as the other two officers. Most of the foregoing stores should have reached their des- tination by this time. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, GEO. D. RAMSAY, Brigadier-General and Chief of Ordnance. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., lJIay 4, 1864. His Excellency Governor 0. P~ MORTON, Indianapolis, md.: Do you think it advisable to proceed to draft in the deficient sub- districts of your State, so that all of them shall thus be made to fill the quotas heretofore assigned? Please answer by telegraph. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. Operator send similar dispatch to Governor Kirkwood, Des Moines, Iowa. INDIANAPOLIS, May 4, 1864. Brigadier-General FRY: I should regard it as simply inexpedient to draft in Indiana in view of her large excess and what she is now doing. 0. P. MORTON, Governor. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, May 4, 1864. His Excellency W. M. STONE, Governor of Iowa, Davenport, Iowa: Please report by telegraph places of rendezvous of the 10,000 troops, in order that arms and clothing may be sent to them at once. By order of the Secretary of War: ED. R. S. CANBY, Brigadier- General and Assistant Adjutant- General. DAVENPORT, IOWA, May 4, 1864. Brigadier-General CANBY, Assistant Adjutant-General; One regiment will organize at Keokuk and the others at Davenport. Send arms and equipments accordingly. W. M. STONE Page 261 UNION AUTHORITIES. 261 WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, May 4, 1864. Governor STONE, Davenport: Orders for arms and clothing for yonr troops are issued. Thanks for yonr promptness. Lientenant-Colonel Graham will be mustered in as yon reqnest; it has been ordered. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, May 4, 1864. His Excellency W. M. STONE, Governor of Iowa, Davenport, Iowa: Your telegram is received. Arms and clothing are already ordered to Davenport. Supplies for one regiment will be sent to Keoknk. By order of the Secretary of War: ED. R. S. CANBY, Brige~dier- General and Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, May 4, 1864 Governor BRAMLETTE, Frankfort, Ky.: The time named is the same asked for and allowed the Governors of the Western States; bnt if fnrther time be required in Kentucky, it would be extended to snch reasonable limits as the circumstances might justify, provided it was not too long for the pending campaign. Please inform me what period you need for raising the troops in your State. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. FRANKFORT, Ky., May 4, 1864. (Received 8.30 a. m. 5th.) Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: Will attempt to raise the troops in twenty days, but will likely require a month. T. E. BRAMLETTE, Governor of Kentucky. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., May 4, 1864. Maj. W. H. SIDELL, U. S. Army, Lonisrille, Ky.: The 10,000 six-months troops accepted from Kentucky are to be organized, clothed, armed, equipped, subsisted, transported, and paid as other U. S. infantry volunteers. They are to be mustered into U. S. service by regiments, when the regiments are filled to minimu Page 262 262 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. strength under the regulations governing. The troops are to be raised within twenty days from date of yesterday. Acknowledge receipt. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. CONFIDENTIAL.] WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., May 4, 1804. Governor BROUGH, Columbus: General Grant crossed the Rapidan this morniug and is moving on Lee. Sherman moved to-day on Johnston from Chattanooga. Another army will move to-morrow. Yonr force cannot be ready for the field too soon. Let me know whatever is wanted and it will be supplied. EDWIN M. STANTON. (Same to Governor Morton, Indianapolis; Governor Yates, Chicago; Governor Stone, Iowa; Governor Lewis, Wisconsin.) SENATE CHAMBER, May 4, 1864. [Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War:] M~ DEAR SIR: I beg to call your attention to a communication of Governor Andrew with reference to troops doing garrison duty in Massachusetts. Faithfully yours, CHARLES SUMNER. [Inclosure.] COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, EXECUTIVE DEPT., Boston, May 2, 1864. Hon. CHARLES SUMNER, U. S. Senate: SENATOR: I will be much obliged if you will read the written com- munication which has been officially addressed to me by the adjutant- general of this Commonwealth, and then present it to the Secretary of War with any remarks which it may occur to you to make, if the views therein expressed shall meet with your concurrence. I have the honor to remain, very truly, your obedient servant, JOHN A. ANDREW, Governor of Massachusetts. [Sub-inclosure.] COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Boston, May 2, 1864. His Excellency JOHN A. ANDREW, Governor and Commander-in- Chief: GOVERNOR: Orders have been received to forward the battalion and unattached companies of heavy artillery doing garrison duty at the several forts in this Commonwealth, also the two companies at Gal- loups Island. Seven of these companies have already left the State. One is at Fort Independence, but will be sent forward to-day, or as soon as relieved by the company of militia commanded by Captai Page 263 UNiON AUTHORITIES. 263 Bird. The battalion of four companies (Major Cabot) are yet at Fort Warren, and I think the safety of the fort and harbor requires that they should remain there. There are now 172 rebel prisoners at the fort, among whom are Cap- tain Read, of the Tacony, Captain Webb, of the Atlanta, half a dozen of Morgans guerrillas, and a large number of blockade runners. These men require close watching. There are 101 guns mounted, and the magazines are well supplied with proper ammunition. Major Cabot has given great attention to the discipline of his men in heavy artillery practice, and has made a valuable chart showing the range of the various channels. This knowledge is of great value, and has been gained through much practice. These are a few of the reasons why I think it would not be well to have this battalion removed and its place supplied with raw militia who are wholly ignorant (officers and men) of heavy artillery practice and garrison duty in so important a post. There is a constant detail of seventy-five men for guard duty. The garrison has been weakened by the withdrawal of one of the heavy artillery companies; more men are required for duty there, and at least two companies of militia should be sent there immediately. If the battalion is removed, at least eight companies of militia should be sent to take its place. I have thought it my duty to bring this matter to the attention of Your Excellency, as its importance has forced itself strongly upon my mind. I presume the subject has been already considered by you. I shall be pleased if the views herein expressed shall meet your approval. With great respect, I have the honor to be, Your Excellencys obe dient servant, WM. SCHOULER, Adjutant- General. BOSTON, May 4, 1864. Brig. Gen. J. B. FRY: I respectfully request that orders to Major Clarke to enforce draft in Massachusetts be suspended until document is received from the city government of Boston and myself, now being prepared. This is after conference with Major Clarke. We are now gaining far more men than draft could possibly yield. JOHN A. ANDREW, Governor. COLUMBUS, OHIO, May 4, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: The National Guard of Ohio have fully responded to my call. They dQ not want to be credited on the quota, and they want the draft to go forward, but they ask to be exempted from it, that the draft may fall on the stay-at-homes; that is, if the man is drawn who belongs to the National Guard it be laid aside the same as an enlisted volunteer, and another name be drawn. For many reasons I recommend this. If it can possibly be done it will increase rather than decrease our mili- tary strength, and will somewhat equalize the burdens of the service. Our guard is composed exclusively of Union men. JOHN BROUGH, Governor Page 264 264 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. SPRINGFIELD, ILL., May 5, 1864. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: Your dispatch urging haste in raising Illinois troops under last call is received, but to this hour no transportation, subsistence, or sup- plies could be procured for volunteers now ready to go into camp. Please instruct the proper officers to furnish without delay. Remein- ber that I have no military organization, but the troops will be raised within the time limited if these facilities are promptly furnished. RICHD. YATES, Governor of Illinois. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington Gity, May 5, 1864. Governor MORTON, Indianapolis: Your telegram has been referred to General Canby, who has charge of the supplies for the new volunteers. The regiments should be pushed forward to Nashville as fast as they are filled up. Major- General Milroy has been ordered to Nashville to receive and organize them. Nothing heard from the front to-day. I will keep you advised of results. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. WASHINGTON, D. C., May 5, 1864. Governor MORTON, Indianapolis, md.: Of the first ten regiments of militia raised in Indiana five will be sent to Nashville, subject to orders of Major-General Thomas, and five to Louisville, subject to orders of General Schofield. II. W. HALLECK, Mqjor- General and Chief of Staff. DAVENPORT, May 5, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: Iowa requires no draft. We have furnished all quotas and will send you volunteers in addition. N. B. BAKER, Adjutant- General. DAVENPORT, May [5], 1864. Colonel FRY: The Governor directs [me] to say that he wants no draft in Iowa, we being 10,000 men in excess of all calls N. B. BAKER, Adjutant- General of Iowa Page 265 UNION AUTHORITIES. 265 WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, May 5, 1864. Major-General IIEINTzELMAN, Columbus, Ohio: Of the first ten regiments of militia raised in Indiana send five to Nashville, Tenn., subject to orders of Major-General Thomas, and five to Louisville, subject to orders of General Schofield. Of first ten regiments raised in Illinois send five to Memphis and five to Colum- bus, Ky., subject to orders of General McPherson. Telegraph to these officers as regiments are sent. H. W. HALLECK, hf cuj or- General and Chief of Staff. WAR DEPT., PROvOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., May 5, 1864. His Excellency Governor AUsTIN BLAIR, Detroit, Mich.: Do you think it advisable to proceed to draft in the deficient sub- districts of your State, so that all of them shall thus be made to fill the quotas heretofore assigned? Please answer by telegraph. I repeat this dispatch as I was unable to see Governor Blair in Washington. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. DETROIT, MICH., May 5, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: Governor Ulair has not returned to Michigan. Your dispatch of this date will be presented immediately on his arrival. F. MORLEY, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, May 5, 1864. His Excellency JOHN BROUGH, Governor of Ohio, Columbus: After mature consideration of your suggestion in regard to the draft, it seems to me impossible for the Department to conform to your wishes, for the following among other reasons: First. Any change in the terms agreed upon between the Governors and the President in one instance would form certain occasion for an infinite number of changes that would be applied for by others, and would lead either to great discontent at their being refused or to serious injury to the service by adopting them. Second. The terms of the arrangement were called for by the Com- mittee on Finance, and form the basis of their recommendation for the appropriation. In their view and in the view of General Grant it was deemed an indispensable condition that the special volunteers should in nowise interfere with the operation of the law for drafting. A change now made in the particular you mention would .be charged immediately as a breach of faith on the part of the Executive with Congress, and might lead to very serious complication. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War Page 266 266 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. COLUMBUS, OHIO, lliay 5, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: My request was to exenipt members of the National Guard actually in service from operations of the present draft to fill Ohios quota on the last call, but not to extend to any draft on any future call. No other State tendering militia can object to this, as their last quotas are all full. Neither does it break any faith with Congress, as it does not change the position of the State as to filling her quota by draft. I propose that the draft shall go on and the quota be filled thereby, but simply to limit its operations to men who have not enlisted or responded to the call for the National Guard. Thus I put you 30,000 National Guard into the 100-days service, and by draft fill my quota of 9,200 from other citizens of the State. I do not reduce you a man in the service, but add to it in the number of men who may be drafted from the guard. I do not ask any credit for the guard on quotas, nor any exemption for it on future calls, if any are made. Is not this reasonable and just? I know it will be acceptable to our people. JOHN BROUGH. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Madison, IYis., May 5, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.: SIR: I am directed by the Governor to hand you the inclosed copy of General Orders, No. 11, in regard to the raising of volunteers for 100 days in this State. Respectfully, FRANK H. FIRMIN, Private and Military Secretary. [Inclosure.] CALL FOR 100-DAYS MEN: GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. 11. Madison, Wis., May 2, 1864. I. The General Government will accept volunteers from this State for service of 100 days as U. S. troops, provided they are offered within fifteen days from date. The limited time remaining in which to complete the organization of these troops will require immediate and energetic action. This service is voluntary. Opportunity is herein given to those citizens of the State whose duties have hereto- fore prevented their enlistment for the longer terms of active service to unite their energies with those of our regiments already in the field, and, by relieving our veteran troops from posts and fortifications, to share in the glory of an endeavor to render the immediate campaign both successful and decisive. II. The present State militia organization will be the basis of four regiments, should they tender their services, in which case the pres- ent regimental and company commanders are requested to take imme- diate steps to recruit the companies to the minimum prescribed by existing regulations of the War Department, to wit: One captain, 1 first lieutenant, 1 second lieutenant, 1 first sergeant, 4 sergeants, 8 corporals, 2 musicians, 1 wagoner, and not less than 64 privates. When complete to a minimum the commanding officer of each com- pany will immediately report the fact to this office and to the colonel commanding the regiment Page 267 UNION AUTHORITIES. 267 III. Companies and recruits for the First and Second Regiments will rendezvous at Camp Washbnrn, Milwaukee, and for the Third and Fourth at Camp Randall, in Madison. Persons not connected with either of the regiments desiring to enter this service can report at either of the above-named camps, at which mustering officers will be stationed for the receipt, subsistence, and muster of recruits for this service. IV. These troops are to be organized, clothed, armed, equipped, subsisted, transported, and paid as other U. S. infantry volunteers. rfhey will be mustered into the service of the United States by regi- ments when the regiments are filled to the minimum strength, and are to serve in fortifications, or wherever their services may be required within or without this State. No bounty will be paid these troops, nor thc service charged or credited on any draft; and soldiers in this service will be subject to draft for three-years service, should such draft be ordered; but should any officer or soldier be drafted while in this special service he will be credited for the service already rendered. V. Contracts for subsistence of recruits while at company rendez- vous must be made, subject to the approval of the superintendent of recruiting service, Col. J. D. Greene, Eighth [Sixth] U. S. Infantry, Madison, Wis., and conform to provisions of General Orders, No. 131, War Department. Transportation for companies or squads will be furnished upon application to this office. VI. All communications pertaining to the organization of these forces should be addressed to the adjutant-general as the proper medium of communication with the commander-in-chief. The prop- osition on the part of the Governors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wis- consin, and Iowa to furnish extra men for service of 100 days orig- inated in an ardent desire on their part to put the success of the approaching campaign beyond question, and thus speedily crush the rebellion which has so long cursed our land; and although no one will be compelled to go upon this extra service, yet, believing that this will be the last great struggle; that the rebels are about to make a last desperate effort; that a heavy and well-directed blow at this time may and probably will close the war and save us much sacrifice in the future; that a few thousand men at this time will be of great service to the Union cause, the Governor hopes and desires to see Wisconsin add new glory to the fame she has already acquired in this war by promptly furnishing at least 5,000 of her sons to take part in what he trusts will prove the decisive and closing campaign of the war. By order of the Governor: AUG. GAYLORD, Adjutant- General. QUARTERMASTER-GENERALS OFI~ICE, IVashington, D. C., May 6, 1864. Brig. Gen. EDWARD R. S. CANBY, War Department, Washington, D. C.: GENERAL: In reply to your communication of May 5 with reference to the steps taken by this office toward hurrying forward the supplies for the 100-days men in the West, I have the honor to submit the following statement: The supplies for Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin were ordered from New York, Philadelphia, ad Cincinnati the first of this wee Page 268 268 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. by telegraph, the details of the requisitions being sent the same day by mail. The contingent of Iowa was received afterward and the orders given in the same way on the 4th instant. The necessity of the greatest dispatch in forwarding the supplies was duly impressed, and instructions to forward the first installment at once were sent to Colonels Vinton, Crosman, and Swords at their respective depots. A portion of these supplies were on hand at the subordinate State depots, from whence they can be issued at once. Everything, it is confidently expected, will go forward this week toward its destination. Tele- graphic dispatches were sent to Philadelphia and New York this morning to ascertain the progress made. They have not as yet been answered. Details of the steps taken ~were forwarded to you from the Clothing Bureau on the 4th instant. The supplies for Ohio were ordered as follows: For three regiments, to Zauesville and Bellaire, via Wheeling, Va.; for fourteen regiments, to Cincinnati; for ten regiments, to Columbus; for six regiments, to Cleveland; and for two regiments, to Johnsons Island. Those for Illinois were sent for 12,000 men to Springfield, and for 8,000 to Chicago. Those for Indi- ana all to Indianapolis. Those for Wisconsin were sent for 3,000 men to Milwaukee and for 2,000 men to Madison. Those for Iowa were sent for one regiment to Keokuk, the remainder to Davenport. Officers at these several points were ordered to distribute the sup- plies with all dispatch, and the Governors of the respective States notified by telegraph to-day of the destinations of the supplies. In fact, every available means has been taken to hasten the distribution of these supplies. The Adjutant-General was this day notified that the Quartermasters Department was prepared to equip 10,000 six- months men at once in Kentucky, and suggestion made that the sup- plies be collected at Louisville. QUARTERMASTER-GENERALS OFFICE, May 7, 1864. The above was prepared yesterday and handed to me this morning for signature. I add that on returning last evening, learning that all the material had not yet gone, I telegraphed the officers at Philadel- phia and New York to send trusty agents to accompany each ship- ment to its place of destination. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster- General. SPRINGFIELD, May 6, 1864. Colonel FRY: I fully concur in the dispatch sent by Lieutenant-Governor Hoff- man in relation to draft, and fear such a step would be almost revolutionary. R. YATES, Governor. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, May 6, 186412 p. in. Governor BROUGH, Columbus: Dispatches received from General Butler report his movement up the James River and the successful landing of his army at City Point Page 269 UNION AUTHORITIES. 269 The Army of the Potomac and Lees army came in collision yester- day near Chancellorsville, and a partial engagement ensued withont any definite resnit. A general battle was expected to take place to-day. Nothing has yet been heard from the field. General Sher- man expects a battle with Johnston at Tunnel Hill to-morrow. You will be kept advised. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. (Same to Governor Morton, Indianapolis; Governor Stone, Daven- port; Governor Lewis, Wisconsin.) GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 193. Washington, May 7, 1864. ACTING ORDNANCE OFFICERS OF DIVISIONS, BRIGADES, & C. For the purpose of more perfectly organizing the service of the Ordnance Department as connected with armies in the field and the military departments, and at the same time securing for that depart- ment the services of a body of efficient officers, trained to its special duties, it is ordered: 1. That there shall be attached to the general staff of every division in the Army of the United States, and to that of each brigade or military district where no division organization exists, an acting ordnance officer, who shall be held directly responsible to the chief ordnance officer at the general headquarters of the army or depart- ment in which he may be serving for the manner in which he shall perform the special duties of his office. 2. These officers shall be captains and lieutenants in the line of the regular or volunteer service, selected for the position on account of their peculiar fitness for it, and, if possible, from those who have already had some experience in ordnance duty. They shall be appointed and assigned to duty by the commander of the army or department, and .by him alone, upon the recommendation of the senior ordnance officer on duty at general headquarters; and all removals or changes of station of these officers are to be made by the same authority, and on the recommendation of the senior ordnance officer. 3. It shall be the duty of such officers to keep themselves thoroughly acquainted with the armament of each regiment and battery in the division, brigade, or district with or in which they serve, to see that all arms, accouterments, and equipments are kept in a serviceable condition by timely repairs, and to promptly report to the chief ordnance officer of the army or department all injuries to or losses of ordnance property, which may be due to the neglect or carelessness of regimental or company commanders. 4. They will have charge of the ammunition supply trains attached to the division or brigade and will be held responsible that ample snpplies of ammunition are at all times in the hands of the troops, and that there is a full reserve supply in the train or the district depot. 5. Immediately after an engagement, in case our forces hold the field, they will take charge of all ordnance and ordnance stores found on that portion of it occupied by the division or brigade in whic Page 270 270 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. they are attached; they will see that regimental and company com- manders collect and secure all arms, accouterments~ and ammunition belonging to soldiers of their companies or regiments who have been killed or wounded or who have abandoned such supplies; they will give receipts for all such ordnance stores as are no longer needed by the regiment, and will cause them to be sent, together with all cap- tured ordnance stores of whatever description, to the nearest ordnance depot or arsenal for deposit and repair. All defects in arms, aminu- nition, or any other ordnance stores coming under their observation will at once be reported to the chief ordnance officer of the army or department, together with all the information to be obtained, which may aid the Ordnance Department to correct the evil. 6. It shall be their duty to ascertain, at the close of every official qnarter, whether the ordnance and ordnance stores in hands of the troops have been duly accounted for by the officers responsible for them, for the whole time they are so responsible, and to report all delinquent officers to senior ordnance officers at general headquarters, to be by him reported to the Chief of Ordnance, at Washington. 7. All requisitions for ordnance and ordnance stores for the use of any troops in the division, brigade, or district must be duly approved by them before being transmitted to general headquarters, and they will be held responsible that all requisitions so transmitted are made in strict compliance with the regulations of the Ordnance Department. 8. In addition to these duties, they will promptly execute all special orders which may, from time to time, be given them by the chief ordnance officer to whom they report. 9. In order that the Ordnance Department may be kept fully advised of the names of all officers who are thus temporarily attached to it, a report of the acting ordnance officers in every army or depart- ment, designating the division, brigade, or district to which they are attached, shall be made on the last day of every month to the Chief of Ordnance, at Washington, D. C., by the senior ordnance officer of each army or department. 10. Hereafter, whenever it may become necessary to establish tem- porary ordnance depots for the service of an army in the field, it shall be done only by the order of the officer commanding the army or department, on the recommendation of his chief ordnance officer. The officers to take charge of such depots shall all be selected by the chief ordnance officer and assigned to duty or transferred from one depot to another by the officer commanding the army or department, and by him alone. The names of all such depots, and those of the officers in charge of them, will at once be forwarded to the Chief of Ordnance, at Washington, D. C., and their names will be included in the monthly report of acting ordnance officers of divisions, pre- scribed in the preceding paragraph. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. MAY 7, 1864. The SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES: In compliance with the request contained in a resolution of the Senate dated April 30, 1864, I herewith transmit to your honorable body a copy of the opinion by the Attorney-General on the rights o Page 271 UNION AUTHORITIES. 271 colored persons in the army or volunteer service of the United States, together with the accompanying papers. * ABRAHAM LINCOLN. [Juclosure No. 1.1 ATTORNEY-GENERALS OFFICE, Aprit 23, 186~4. The PRESIDENT: SIR: You have done me the honor to refer to me a communication to yourself from His Excellency John A. Andrew, Goveruor of Mas- sachusetts, with accompanying papers, relative to the claim of Rev. Samuel Harrison for pay as chaplain of the Fifty-fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers. It appears by Governor Andrews letter and the other papers that Mr. Harrison, who is a colored man, was duly elected, and on the 8th day of September, 1863, commissioned by Governor Andrew as chap- lain of the Fifty-fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers in the service of the United States; that on the 12th of November, 1863, he was mustered and accepted into the service of the United States at Morris Island, S. C., by the proper mustering officer, and actually performed the dnties of chaplain of that regiment then and since serving in South Carolina. On demanding his pay as chaplain he was met by the following refusal in writing, signed by the paymas- ter at Hilton Head: Samuel Harrison, chaplain of the Fifty-fourth Regiment Massachusetts Volun- teers (colored troops), asks pay at the usual rate, $100 per month and two rations, which, he being of African descent, I decline paying, under act of Congress, passed July 17, 1862, employin~, persons of African descent in the military service of the United States. The chaplain declines to receive anything less. You have requested my opinion whether the paymaster should have paid as demanded, and, if he should, whether it is your duty to order him to do so. The Fifty-fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers was organ- ized in the same manner as were other regiments of State volunteers under the following order of the War Department, dated January 26, 1863, viz: Ordered, That Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, is authorized, until further orders, to raise such number of volunteer companies of artillery, for duty in the forts of Massachusetts and elsewhere, and such corps of infantry for the volun- teer military service as he may find convenient, such volunteers to be enlisted for three years or until sooner discharged, and may include persons of African descent, organized into separate corps. He will make the usual needful requisi- tions on the appropriate staff bureaus and officers for the proper transportation, organization, supplies, subsistence, arms, and equipments of such volunteers. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. I do not know that any rule of law, consJtutional or statutory, ever prohibited the acceptance, organization, and muster of persons of African descent into the military service of the United States as enlisted men or volunteers. But whatever doubt might have existed on the subject had been fully resolved before this order was issued, by the eleventh section of the act of July 17, 1862, chapter 19~5, which * The commission of Chaplain Harrison by the Governor of Massachusetts, the certificate of his muster into the U. S. service, and letter from the Attorney- Generals Office, dated May 4, 1864, transmitting copy of the opinion in this case, are here omitted Page 272 272 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. authorized the President to employ as many persons of African descent as he might deem necessary and proper for the suppression of the rebellion, and for that purpose to organize and use them in such man- ner as he might judge best for the public welfare, and the twelfth section of the act of same date, chapter 201, which authorized the Pres- ident to receive into the service of the United States for the purpose of constructing intrenchments or performing camp service or any other labor, or any military or naval service for which they might be found competent, persons of African descent, such persons to be enrolled and organized under such regulations, not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws, as the President might prescribe. The Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment was therefore organized and mustered into the seivice of the United States under clear author- ity of law. But the fifteenth section of the act of July 17, 1862, chapter 201, after directing that all persons who have been or shall be enrolled in the service of the United States under that act shall receive the pay and rations then allowed by law to soldiers, according to their respect- ive grades, contains this proviso: That persons of African descent who, under this law, shall be employed shall receive ten dollars per month and one ration, three dollars of which monthly pay may be in clothing. Whether persons of African descent enrolled in the service of the United States as private soldiers are included within the words per- sons of African descent who under this law shall be employed, thereby limiting their pay as soldiers to $10 a month, is not the question you have submitted to mefor Mr. Harrison was not a private soldier, but an officer, serving under the commission of the Governor of Massa- chusetts, the authenticity and validity of which were recognized and admitted by the United States when he was mustered into its service but the question is, Can a person of African descent lawfully hold the office and receive the pay of chaplain of a volunteer regiment in the service of the United States? I have already said that I knew of no provision of law, constitu- tional or statutory, which prohibited the acceptance of persons of African descent into the military service of the United States; and if they could be lawfully accepted as private soldiers, so also might they be lawfully accepted as commissioned officers, if otherwise qualified therefor. But the express power conferred on the President by the eleventh section of the act of July 17, 1862, chapter 19~5, before cited, to employ this class of persons for the suppression of the rebellion as he may judge best for the public welfare, furnishes all needed sanc- tion of law to the employment of a colored chaplain for a volunteer regiment of his own race. Nor is any prohibition of the employment of such person found in the statutes which declare the qualifications of chaplains. The ninth section of the act to authorize the employ- ment of volunteers, & c., of July 22, 1861, chapter 9, provides that there shall be allowed to each regiment one chaplain, who shall be appointed by the regimental commander on the vote of the field offi- cers and company commanders on duty with the regiment at the time the appointment shall be made. The chaplain so appointed must be a regularly ordained minister of a Christian denomination, & c. The seventh section of the act of August 3, 1861, chapter 42, for the better organization of the military establishment, declares that one chaplain shall be allowed to each regiment of the army, to be selected an Page 273 UNION AUTHORITIES. 273 appointed as the President may direct, provided that none but regu- larly ordained ministers of some Christian denomination shall be eligible to selection or appointment. The eighth section of the act of July 17, 1862, chapter 200, declares that the two sections last cited shall be constrned to read as follows: That no person shall be appointed a chaplain in the United States Army who is not a regularly ordained minister of some religious denomination, and who does not present testimonials of his present good standing as such minister, with a recommendation for his appointment as an army chaplain from some authorized ecclesiastical body, or not less than five accredited ministers belonging to said religious denomination. The closest inspection of these provisions will discover nothing that precludes the appointment of a Christian minister to the office of chaplain because he is a person of African descent. I therefore con- clude that Mr. Harrison was the lawfully appointed and qualified chaplain of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment. The ninth section of the act of July 17, 1862, chapter 200, provides that thereafter the compensation of all chaplains in the regular or volunteer service or army hospitals shall be $100 per month and two rations a day when on duty. Was Mr. Harrison entitled to this rate of compensation, or was he limited to the pay of $10 a month and one ration, fixed by the proviso to the fifteenth section of the act of July 17, 1862, chapter 201? It will be observed that this proviso declares that $10 a month and one ration shall be rec~ived by persons of African descent employed under the law of which it is a part, viz: the act of 17th July,, 1862, chapter 201. Now, we have seen that it is not necessary to resort to that law to find authority for the appointment of Mr. Harrison as chaplain, for, apart from the authority which might be presumed to exist prior to the enactment of any of these statutes, the eleventh sec- tion of the act of July 17, 1862, chapter 195, sufficiently warranted it. To bring him, then, within the sweep of this proviso, and thus withdraw him from the reach of the act which specifically fixes the pay of the class of officers to which by clear law he belongs, would violate the plainest principles of construction. The act, of which the proviso is a part, was not intended, in my opinion, either to authorize the employment or fix the pay of any persons of African descent, except those who might be needed to perform the humble offices of labor and service for which they might be found competent. The twelfth section authorizes them to be received into service for the purpose of construct- ing intrenchments, or performing camp service, or any other labor, or any military or naval service for which they might be found competent. The thirteenth section declares that when any man or boy of African descent, who by the laws of any State shall owe service or labor to any person aiding the rebellion, shall render such service as this act provides for, he, his mother, wife, and children shall be free there- after, with certain exceptions. And the fifteenth section fixes their pay, as before stated. Whilst it is true that the words of the twelfth section are broad enough to embrace all persons of African descent who may be received into the military or naval service of the United States, it is yet quite evident from the terms of the whole section, as well as from the promise of freedom held out to such persons who were slaves, in the thirteenth section, that in limiting their pay to $10 a month and one ration, Congress had in view the class who were fitted only for the humbler kinds of service referred to, and not persons who, under the authority of other laws, might be appointed 18 R RSERIES III, voL i Page 274 274 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. to positions requiring higher qualifications and entitled to a higher rate of pay. To assnme that because Mr. Harrison is a person of African descent he shall draw only the pay which this law establishes for the class it obviously refers to, and be deprived of the pay which another law specifically affixes to the office he lawfully held, wonld be, in my opinion, a distortion of both laws, not only unjust to him, but in plain violation of the purpose of Congress. I therefore think that the paymaster should have paid Mr. Harri- son his full pay as chaplain of a volunteer regiment. Your attention having been specially called to the wrong done in this case, I am also of opinion that your constitutional obligation to take care that the laws be faithfully executed makes it your duty to direct the Secretary of War to inform the officers of the Pay Depart- ment of the Army that such is your view of the law, and I do not doubt that it will be accepted by them as furnishing the correct rule for their action. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, EDWARD BATES, Attorney- General. [Inclosure No. 2.] COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, EXECUTIVE DEPT., Boston, IEarch ~4, 1864. His Excellency ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States, Washington, D. C.: SIR: I beg leave to submit to your consideration by this communi- cation and accompanying papers the case of the Rev. Samuel Har- rison, lately chaplain of the Fifty-fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers. Mr. Harrison was duly elected chaplain of the Fifty-fourth Massa- chusetts Volunteer Infantry August 22, 1863; was commissioned by me as such September 8, 1863, and was mustered into the service of the United States November 12, 1863, at Morris Island, S. C., by Charles. A. Brooks, mustering officer. On demanding his pay as chaplain of the U. S. paymaster at Hilton Head, S. C., he was met by the following refusal in writing, viz: HILTON HEAD, S. C., February e, 18e4. Samuel Harrison, chaplain of the Fifty-fourth Regiment Massachusetts Volun- teers (colored troops), asks pay at the usual rate, $100 per month and two rations, which, he being of African descent, I decline paying, under act of Congress passed July 17, 1862, employing persons of African descent in the military service of the United States. The chaplain declines to receive anything less. A. TEN EYCK, Paymaster, U. S. Army. I respectfully ask Your Excellencys attention, as a preliminary inquiry, to the manner in which the Fifty-fourth Regiment of Massa- chusetts Volunteers, and its companion, the Fifty-fifth, were organized. They were organized as Massachusetts Volunteer& precisely in the same manner as were other regiments of State volunteers, and under the following order of the War Department, viz: WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, January ~6, 18e3. Ordered, That Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, is authorized, until further orders, to raise such number of volunteer companies of artillery, for duty in the forts of Massachusetts and elsewhere, and such corps of infantry for the volun- teer military service as he may find convenient, such volunteers to be enlisted fo Page 275 UNION AUTHORITIES. 275 three years or until sooner discharged, and may include persons of African descent, organized into separate corps. He will make the usual needful requisi- tions on the appropriate staff bureaus and officers for the proper transportation, organization, supplies, subsistence, arms, and equipments of such volunteers. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. In no respect do the troops raised and organized under this order differ, as to the provision by the order for their organizations, rights, liabilities, or pay, from any other regiments of volunteers. And admitting, for the sake of the argument, that any men mustered as sol- diers, and doing a soldiers duty, can be rightly turned off with less than a soldiers pay, still these two regiments from Massachusetts are under no such possible disability. They were raised, enlisted, mus- tered, sworn in, and used under the laws for raising and accepting volunteers. They stand in every respect, as the foregoing order shows, upon the same laws which support the rights of white soldiers. The order of the President of the United States, issued under the hand of the Secretary of War, the contract of enlistment, the muster- rolls, and the commissions of their officers are all evidence of the identity of these regiments in rights and legal character with all other regiments of State volunteers. They were raised in direct pursuance of, in specific reference and conformity to, and, by express words, under, the act of Congress for the recruitment and acceptance of State volunteers, and the laws for the payment of the volunteer army of the United States apply to these men, or they apply to nobody. Under the eleventh section of the one hundred and ninety-fifth chap- ter of the acts of 1862 the President is specifically authorized to employ persons of African descent, and for this purpose he niay organize and use them in such manner as he may judge best for the public wel- fare. Acting through the Secretary of War, the President did think best to cause these men to be organized into regiments as volunteer soldiers, under the act of Congress for the acceptance of volunteers. They became such volunteers by the concurrent act of the Government and themselves. But before the passage of this act, indeed, your Excel- lency was not restricted to the acceptance of white men by the laws authorizing you to accept volunteers. A man of African descent has always been competent to be enlisted into the Regular Army of the United States, into the Navy of the United States, and to be employed in any arm of either service. In the Navy, men of color have always been employed and have been paid according to the grade of their employment. Even in the Army, colored men, acting in the capacity of stevedores and as employ6s of the Quartermasters and Ordnance Departments, have been and are employed, and are paid according to the value of their services, sometimes, as I am informed, even at the rate of $1 by the day. So that not only is the distinction made by the paymaster against these troops contrary to the law and to justice, but opposed to the daily practice of the Government itself. The case of Chaplain harrison, however, carries us a step further, as it is the case of an officer, duly mustered into the service of the United States, who has performed the duties of an officer and claims the full pay of an officer. More than this, it is the case of a man filling a sacred office; one who has presented the lawful testimonials of the appropriate ecclesiastical authorities, proving that he is a clergyman in good and regular standing with his denomination; one who has been legally elected by the votes of the field officers and company commanders of a voluntee Page 276 276 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. regiment to the office of chaplain ; who has, pursuant thereto, been duly commissioned as such by the Governor of his State, according to the law and the regulations of the Army, and who has been mustered as such into the military service of the United States, and who, so long as his health permitted, has continued to perform the religious and official functions pertaining to his capacity and duty. If, as private soldier, he might not have been, by reason of his color, entitled to the full pay of a soldier, even while performing the full duty of a soldier; if as an officer of U. S. Voluuteers, he was, by reason of his color, to be deprived of the compensation provided by law for officers of his rank and grade; yet it will be the first time, I believe, since the Christian era that a man in holy orders in the Christian church has, by reasoii of his color, descent, or origin, been refused the rights, immunities, and privileges pertaining to his office and character. In the ancient church of Rome, whose history antedates all other Christian churches, the road has been open to men of African descent to positions of high dignity and honor. Not only to the lower orders of the priesthood, but even bishoprics have been filled by men of this complexion. Nor is color or national origin the condition of reception or the ground of rejection in any Protestant church of Christendom, whether in regard to laymen or clergymen. For the first time now in history has it happened that such a laborer is pronounced to be unworthy of secular recognition; and I earnestly ask Your Excellency to consider whether it can be possible that a man set apart by a branch of the church as a competent minister of religion, elected by his brother officers as one of themselves, commissioned according to the law, and mustered as an officer, and entitled, as I have shown by Your Excellencys own order, to all the rights of other officers of vol- unteers, shall be condemned, in contempt of his origin according to the flesh, to suffer loss of the pay and allowances provided for incum- bents of the office he filled, and be degraded in his compemsation to the rank of persons unenlisted, uninspected, unsworn, and unmus- tered, who are employed in mass under an exceptional statute for whatever services they may severally and respectively be found after- ward competent to perform. I appeal, therefore, to Your Excellency, as the supreme executive magistrate, to direct the Pay Department of the Army to recognize the rights of this chaplain, and to pay him accordingly. I appeal not merely in behalf of the men of African descent against a decision made in defiance of the law and of the contract, but in behalf of the official character of an officer of volunteers which this decision appealed from seeks to reduce to that of a chance employ6 at day labor; and also in behalf of the Christian church, whose creed forbids any respect of persons, save that founded in religion itself, before whose altars all earthly distinctions vanish, the peasant and noble kneeling alike in the humility of a common penitence, and at whose altars its ministers serve a celestial master, bound together by the ties of a spiritual brotherhood, not after the law of a carnal com- mandant, but after the power of an endless life. In one word, may it please Your Excellency, the sacraments, the doctrines, the consola- tions of the Christian church do not derive their efficacy from the origin, color, or social position of its ministers; nor are the prejudices of men, moved by secular ambition and worldly motives and prin- ciples, entitled to any place at the altar of God. The church decides who are its pastors. The flock, in this instance, according to the law Page 277 277 UNION AUTHORITIES. chooses its own shepherd or chaplain. A refusal by an officer of the Executive Department to recognize the capacity arid the rights of this chaplain is alike in violation of the rights of the Christian church and of the laws of Congress. I have the honor to be, Your Excellencys obedient servant, JNO. A. ANDREW. [Indorsement.] APRIL 4, 1864. ATTORNEY-GENERAL: Please give me your legal opinion whether the paymaster should have paid as demanded; and if yea, is it the duty of the President to order him to pay? A. LINCOLN. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., May 7, 18647.10 p. m. Major-General Dix, New York: General Peck is authorized to report to you for duty. We have no official reports from the Army of the Potomac since Wednesdays dis- patch from General Grant announcing his crossing of the Rapidan. There is no telegraphic or railroad communication within thirty or forty miles of his headquarters. It is certain, however, that the Army of the Potomac and Lees forces came in collision on Thursday and an indecisive action was fought yesterday. The report of the Tribune correspondent, published this morning and forwarded from here last night, is the substance of all that is known here at this hour. Many reports are in circulation of advantages on one side or the other, but are mere conjectures or inventions. There will be no restriction upon the publication of transpiring events, and you shall be promptly notified of all that is known. A dispatch from General Butler, just received, reports him in position with his whole force, on the road between City Point and Petersbnrg, his expectations being thus far fully realized. Nothing for two days from Sherman, who expected a battle to-day at Tunnel Hill. General Canby has been assigned to command the forces on Red River, and has gone forward. The reports received are not favorable to General Banks. We have no official intelligence of Steele having fallen back to Little Rock, but it is believed by Assistant Quartermaster-General Allen to be true. Major-General Foster has been assigned to command in the Department of the South, Gillmore being with General Butler. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, May 8, 18647 a. m. Major-General Dix, New York: We have no official reports from the front, but the medical director has notified the Surgeon-General that onr wounded were being sent to Washington and will number from 6,000 to 8,000. The chief quartermaster of the Army of the Potomac has made requisition for seven days grain and for railroad constrnction trains, and states tha Page 278 278 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. the enemy is reported to be retiring. This indicates General Grants advance and affords an inference of material success on our part. The enemys strength has always been most felt in his first blows, and these having failed and onr forces not only maintained their gronnd bnt preparing to advance, lead to the hope of full and com- plete success, for when either party falls back disorganization by straggling and desertion commences, and the enemys loss in killed and wonnded mnst weaken him more than we are weakened. Nothing later than my last nights dispatch has been received from General Butler. A dispatch from General Sherman dated at 5 p. in.- of yes- terday states that General Thomas had occnpied Tunnel Hill, where he had expected a battle, and that the enemy had taken position at Bnzzards Roost Pass, north of Dalton. Skirmishing had taken place, bnt no real fighting yet. Nothing later from General Banks. You may give such publicity as yon deem proper to the information trans- mitted to you. It is designed to give accurate official statements of what is known to the Department in this great crisis and to withhold nothing from the public. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington Gity, May 8, 18644 p. m. Major-General Dix, New York: We are yet without any official dispatches from the Army of the Potomac, except those referred to this morning from the medical director and chief quartermaster, and nothing additional has been received by the Department from any other source. It is believed that no fighting took place yesterday. A part of the wonnded arrived in ambulances this morning at Rappahannock Station, and are on the way in by railroad. The Department will probably receive dispatches by that train, which will arrive to-night. A dispatch from General Bntler, jnst received, and which left him yesterday, states that a demonstration had been made by his forces on the railroad between Petersbnrg and Richmond, and had succeeded in destroying a portion of it, so as to break the connection; that there had been some severe fighting, but that he had succeeded. He heard from a rebel deserter that Lee is dangerously wounded, Pickett also, and Jones and Jenkins killed. Nothing has been heard to-day from General Sherman. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE No. 194. Washington~, May 9, 1864. The following joint resolution of the Senate and Honse of Repre- sentatives is published for the information of all concerned: PUBLIC REsoLUTIoNNo. 26. JOINT RESOLUTION for the payment of volunteers called out for not less than one hundred dnys. Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Gongress assembled, That the sum of twenty-five millions of dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated out of any moneys in the Treasury no Page 279 UNION AUTHORITIES. 279 otherwise appropriated, for arming, equipping, clothing, subsisting, transport- ing, and paying volunteers that may be received by the President for any term not less than one hundred days. Approved May 6, 1864. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. CIRCULAR WAR DEPT., ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, No. %7. Washington, May 9, 1864. The following order of January 15, 1864, is republished for the information of all concerned: Ordered, That where regiments, authorized by the War Department to be organized as veteran volunteers, shall contain veterans to the number of not less than 500, the new recruits already enlisted for such regiments shall stand on the same footing as recruits enlisting into old regiments in the field; and the new recruits so enlisted, or that may enlist to fill up such regiments, may be paid the same bounty as recruits to old existing regiments, to wit, $300. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, May 9, 1864. DEPARTMENT COMMANDERS: The regiments and batteries of the Regular Army will be excluded from the operation of General Orders, No. 91, current series, from this office, which provides for the transfer of enlisted men from the Army to the naval service. By order of the Secretary of War: SAMUEL BRECK, Assistant Adjutant- General. STATE OF MARYLAND, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Annapolis, May 9, 1864. Col. JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: DEAR SIR: The public announcement of the fact that the draft in this State will take place in a few days induces me to address you upon the subject of the proper credit for colored troops mustered into service from this State, and which I feel assured we have not yet received. The rolls of these colored troops, except a. few recently received for the purpose of the bounties, have never been returned to this department, so that I have no means of stating officially or with entire accuracy the number of these troops that we have furnished, but from the best information I can obtain I feel satisfied that it will amount to from 7,000 to 8,000 men. Indeed, the number, according to the usual estimate of our citizens, would largely exceed this, but I make all due allowance for those who have been actually lost to the State and their owners but not actually mustered, nor perhaps, tech- nically speaking, a proper credit to our quota. Nevertheless, the fac Page 280 280 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. universally admitted, that the State at the lowest calculation has lost of her laborers of this class at least double the number of those actually mustered into the service, and lost them, too, in a great meas- nre by reason of the irregularities practiced by the recruiting officer in taking off those obviously unfit for military service, is a circum- stance to be taken into account in awarding us the full credit for those who have actually entered the service. In many of the counties of our State so complete has been this drain upon their agricultural labor that large portions of their arable lands are left this year uncul- tivated. You will therefore, sir, see, I am sure, the justice, so far at least as these rural districts are concerned, of postponing any draft until we have had the opportunity of allowing them all the credits for these colored troops to which they are entitled. By your instructions to Colonel Jeifries furnished a short time since, and a copy of which he sent me, I find that the credits of all kinds to 15th of April are set down at 11,566. Now, if I am right in regard to the number of colored recruits from the State (and I am satisfied I am not far wrong), there must be a large number of that class of troops for which we have yet secured no credit. In fact, from the best information I can procure, I have reason to believe that the whole of these recruited by Colonel Birney are still uncredited. I have requested Colonel Jeifries to furnish me with an account of all the colored troops from this State of which h6 has any knowledge; and if you would be good enough to recur to the statement to which I have above adverted and inform me how many of said total credit of 11,566 are constituted of that kind of troops the result would tend to show how many are still nncredited who properly onght to be. I forbear to dwell at all upon other circumstances in the history of the condition of this State, growing out of the number of her disloyal citizens who have gone South that would justly entitle the loyal ones at home to liberal con- siderations; but dealing with us ever so strictly, we have certainly the right to expect that those intrusted with the recruiting of all kinds of volunteers should make complete returns of them, and that we should be allowed full credit for them. I feel assured that I may rely on you to see that this simple justice is done us. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, A. W. BRADFORD. Col. J. B. FRY, DETROIT, May 9, 1864. Provost-Marshal- General: The Governor directs me to inform you that he thinks it advisable, as soon as all the veterans are properly credited, to proceed with the draft in the deficient sub-districts of the State. JNO. ROBERTSON, Adjutant- General. WAR DEPARTMENT, Governor BROUGH, Washington City, May 9, 186412 m. Columbus: Advices to-day lead to the belief that General Grant has driven the enemy at all points and is achieving a complete victory. At the latest date, Saturday night, Hancock was pushing forward rapidly to Spot- sylvania Court-House. General Lee, in an official report to the rebe Page 281 281 UNJON AUTHORITIES. authorities at Richmond of Fridays operations, states that Longstreet was dangerously wounded, also Generals Pegram and Stafford, and that General Jenkins is killed. I regret to have to announce that on our part Brigadier-General Wadsworth has been killed. The number of wounded on both sides large, but a large proportion slight wounds, no artillery having been used on either side. The condition of our troops is represented to be admirable; their cool, determined courage has proved an overmatch for the frenzied fury of the rebels. EDWIN M. STANTON. (Same to Governor Morton, Indianapolis; Governor Yates, Spring- field; Governor Stone, Davenport; Governor Lewis, Madison, Wis.; Governor Bramlette, Frankfort.) WAR DEPARTMENT, Wjztshington Oily, lYllay 9, 1864. Governor BROUGH, (Jolumbus, Ohio: I have been anxious to conform to your wishes iu respect to the draft as far as might be proper, but on consultation with the Provost- Marshal-General and Solicitor Whiting there appear to be insur- mountable obstacles to it. The Government can have no safety but in strict conformity with the agreement sanctioned by the President and Congress. Governor Yates is already asking terms and condi- tions not in conformity with the offer and in the face of the Solicitors opinion, of, which a copy is mailed to you. I cannot assent to your request. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of IVar. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, ]lfay 9, 1864. THOMAS WEBSTER, Esq., & c., Philadelphia: SIR: I am instructed by the Secretary of War to say that you are hereby authorized to raise eight companies for the Forty-fifth Regi- ment U. S. Colored Troops, commencing at Company C. The com- panies raised under the above authority will be mustered into the service of the United States to serve for three years or during the war. The instructions heretofore given will govern in the organization and muster of these companies. I have the honor, & c., C. W. FOSTER, Assistant Adjutant- General of Volunteers. WAR DEPT., PROYOST~MARSHALGENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. 0., May 10, 1864. His Excellency A. W. BRADFORD, Governor of Maryland, Annapolis, Md.: SIR: Your letter of May 9, requesting a postponement of the draft in Maryland on the ground that all the colored men enlisted in you Page 282 282 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. State have not been credited, has been received. Due credit has been given for all the men, both white and colored, who are in any way known to this department to have been mustered into the U. S. service. Yesterday an additional credit for 2,252 colored men was given upon a certificate of Colonel Jeifries that they were credit- able. This was done without waiting, as is customary, for more certain and formal rolls and returns. The total number of colored recruits now credited to the State is 6,404. I know of no data upon which to base further credits, nor of any reason to postpone the draft. If, however, any further musters are reported they will be credited up to the latest possible moment. I am unable to discover wherein this Bureau has disregarded the cir- cumstances~ which have justly entitled~ the loyal citizens of Mary- land to liberal considerations~ as set forth in Your Excellencys letter, or that you have been dealt with ever so strictly. The facts are these, as they appear to me: First. The quotas assigned to you since March 3, 1863, have all been based upon an enrollment of the white persons found to be still in the State after the disloyal persons had gone South. The quotas being in proportion to the number of men left, the fact that some men had gone South previous to the enrollment worked no hard- ship. Second. After having assigned quotas in proportion to the enroll- ment of white men as above, the slaves were enrolled and are used for filling the quotas of volunteers and draft, but have not been counted to increase the quota. That is surely not dealing strictly with you. Third. During the years 1861 and 1862 quotas were assigned to your State, as to other States, on the basis of population. Those quotas were not raised, and on a settlement of your accounts for those years you were found to be deficient 9,892 men. Instead of being added to the number now required of you, as has been the case in other States, this large deficit has been entirely omitted from your account. I think, therefore, that Maryland has received liberal considerations, and that Your Excellencys claim for simple jus- tice has been more than satisfied. As hereinbefore stated, however, I shall take pains to order further credits and deductions up to the latest practicable moment for all men not heretofore credited whose muster may become known to me. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, EXECUTIVE DEPT., Boston, May 10, 1864. lion. A. H. RICE, M. C., Washington, D. U: Mv DEAR SIR: I have just received your favor of the 7th instant, in reply to mine forwarding the letter of the city government and of General Schouler. I do not wish Mr. Stanton to suppose that I, on behalf of this Commonwealth, ask any favor whatsoever. I have never yet done so, and I do not propose ever to do so hereafter, unless under the Providential imposition of uncontrollable necessity. We advised and suggested the not ordcring Major Clarke to proceed t Page 283 UNION AUTHORITIES. 283 execute the draft. If General Fry xviii leave him alone, he will know how to obey the law of Congress and still not precipitate a draft and stop gaining men (which a draft is likely to do) at a time when by the voluntary action of the people we are so rapidly supplying the wants of the Army and making up our contingent of soldiers. My returns this morning show me that the average number who passed through the surgeons hands at Faneuil Hall last week was sixty per day. And outside of that we gained more than an average of fifty per day. On Saturday night we were but 4,076 men short on all our quotas, including that of the last call of 200,000 made the 14th day of March. Besides this are other figures of which neither Major Clarke nor the adjutant-general had returns. And still further, there are the naval enlistments of which we have not the credits. At the recent and con- stant average rates of progress we are sure of being full and more than full inside of forty days more. Moreover, in the sense of stop- ping recruitment, I wish to treat the quotas of the State as never full while the war lasts, and I expect the Legislature will authorize me to continue to pay bounties after the present contingents are filled, and in anticipation of future calls. Having a clear opinion, shared by the mayor of Boston (where a large part of our present deficiency is), by the adjutant-general of Massachusetts, and by Major Clarke, the U. S. assistant provost-marshal-general, of what good sense and practical judgment require, it seems to me better that the Secretary of War and Provost-Marshal-General should quietly allow the men so much needed to be recruited, and snspend orders for draft temporarily, there being as we show sufficient legal reason, if they choose to avail of it, in the fact that the particulars needed for the basis of a correct draft are not entirely complete. In this connection let me call your attention to the point about the naval enlistments for which, under the act of February 24, 1864, we are entitled to the credit. Relying on the law, the local officers have paid their bounties and urged naval enlistments. The Navy was strnggling hard for men, and we have helped it to them. The remark of Mr. Fox which you cited is not to the point. It is true, no doubt, that New York enlists naval recruits, and what is more, so do we. And unless we are to be credited with them so much the worse for us. What we want is, that for the men whom we have put into the Navy, under the law and relying on the law, we may have the credit according to the law. The last call was made after the act of February 24, 1864. Our people have gone into the Navy, and our money has been paid out in bounties for naval recruits on the faith of that law by town officers. The State has voted $100 bounty besides. The men rely on our paying it to them, but we cannot get any credit for them, and have therefore no basis on which to pay this bounty, which is made payable to every man enlisted and credited, & c. Such things bring government into dis- repute and prevent people from yielding compliance to it. They must be accidental and unintended, or else some one is intrusted with the direction of these details who is unfit for his functions. Will you be good enough to show this letter to Mr. Eliot and to any other of your members to whom you may think proper to exhibit it, as also the document accompanying. In view of the letter from Major Ruggles to Major Clarke, I am told by General Schonler that Major Clarke cannot credit the naval enlistments on the present draft at all; and yet, New Bedford and many cape towns have been and are putting their sailors into the Navy, as their only means of filling their quotas. Yarmouth, for example, sent up four new names to-day. It has pai Page 284 284 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. town bounties to them, but thus far for nothing. N ow, if the draft was kept off and we were permitted to work on, the practical applica- tion of these errors, in their direct effect, would be little noticed. And thus it is that I have desired that we might be let alone, and permitted to do the most useful thing, instead of being compelled to submit to the harsher operation of a draft. I am, very respectfully, yours, JOHN A. ANDREW. NEW YORK, May 10, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: There are from 8,000 to 10,000 men on a strike in this city. The police have notified me that their entire force is engaged in maintain- ing order, and the mayor has requested me to suspend the draft for a few days. I have taken the responsibility of doing so in the city districts. It is going on in the country districts. The deficiency in this city is only 1,000. I send copy of the mayors communication by mail. JNO. A. DIX, Major- General. SENATE CHAMBER, May 10, 1864. General J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: DEAR SIR: I inclose a dispatch which speaks for itself. Others as well as Mr. Weed have fears. Yours, truly, E. D. MORGAN. [Inclosure.] ASTOR HousE, N. Y., May 10, [1864]. E. D. MORGAN, Washington: If possible to do so, stop the draft to-morrow. T. WEED. DES MOINES, IOWA, May 11, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: My 10,000 shall be raised. Several counties and townships are behind on ~ll former calls because they are copperheads. This embarrasses me. I am anxious and determined they shall come to time. I earnestly ask for and must have a draft, so that these unfriendly sub-districts may be compelled to furnish an amount of 100-days men in proportion to their delinquencies under three-year calls. This is but justice, and the real sentiment of the State demands it. Assure me that I may have it and I will succeed. Instruct pro- vost-marshals accordingly, and charge responsibility to me. W. M. STONE Page 285 285 UNION AUTHORITIES. DES MOINES, IowA, May 11, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: The thanks of a grateful people are dne to General Grant and his heroic army for their gallant condnct and splendid achievements, and to the War Department for the able and cordial supptrt he has received at all times in his plans and movements against the enemy. W. M. STONE. DES MOINES, May 11, 1864. Col. J. B. FRY: Onr State being ahead on three-year calls, I wonld not advise draft for them, bnt I desire and mnst have draft in delinqnent copperhead sub-districts for 100-days men somewhat in proportion to their delin- quencies under former calls. W. M. STONE. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, May 11, 1864. Governor LEWIS, Madison, This.: Officers whose resignations have heretofore been approved and accepted by this Department may be commissioned in the 100-days service, bnt no officer will be allowed now to resign and be recoin- missioned. We are in nrgent need of yonr troops to strike a finishing blow. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. GENERAL ORDERS, L WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 195. May 12, 1864. The snbjoined standard snpply table of horse medicines, with reg- ulatious for the government of the Veterinary Department of the Army, prepared by a board of officers convened by Special Orders, No. 137, cnrrent series, from this office, have been adopted and are published for the information and guidance of all concerned. I. Standard snpply table: Quantities for three months. For field service. For hospital service. Articles. a a a ~ a a a ~ a ~ o a a Si a o ~ .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 ~ .0 ~.0 .0 g o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o 0 0 - 0 0 0 - Cs 0 ~5 ~ Cs 0 Aloes ounces.. 1 2 3 4 2 4 6 8 Alcohol gallons.. ~ 1 lj i~ 1 2 3ft Asatketida pounds.. ~ ~ 1 ~ 1 1~ 2 Alnm do.... 1 2 4 8 2 4 8 16 Blister liquid quarts.. 1 2 3 1 2 4 6 Bluestone pounds.. ~ ~ 1 2 1 1~ 2 4 Borax do.... 1 l~ 3 4 2 3 6 8 Calomel do.... j ~ I lj Castile soap do .... 10 15 20 30 20 30 40 60 Ground fiaxseed do .... 8 10 15 20 16 20 30 4 Page 286 286 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Quantities for three months. For field service. For hospital service. Articles. U a a a a v a ~ a a a a a o ~ a a o ,.~ ;~ p~ 0 0 0 ~ 0 0 0 .~ .n n -~ ~ ~n o 0 0 0 0 0 0 u ~ Hartshorn gallons. - ~ 1 1 1~ 2 Lunar caustic [ounces] . - ~ 1 1 4 2 Laudanum quarts.. 1 4 2 4 2 3 4 8 Simple cerate pounds.. 2~ 5 5 10 5 W 10 20 Mercurial ointment do . . -. ~ 1 4 2 1 4 ~ustangliniment bottles.. 2 3 4 6 4 12 Olive oil gallons.. ~ 1 2 1 1 6 Gillinseed do .... ~ 1 2 :3 1 6 turpentine do .... ~i 1 4 Powells liniment bottles.. 2~ 1 4 4 12 Resin pounds.. ~ I 4 1 4 Salts do.... 2 31 4 4 12 Sulphur do.... ~, ~ 1 4 Saltpeter do.... 1 2 3 2 10 Sweet spirits niter quarts.. ~ 1 I 2 1 6 Sugarlead pounds.. 1 2 4 2 10 Tar gallons.. ~ ~ 1 4 ~ Tartar emetic pounds.. ~ 1 ~ 2 DRESSINOS. Adhesive plaster yards.. 1 4 2 4 2 3 4 8 Musliu (coarse) do .... 10 12 11 20 20 24 10 40 Red flannel (coarse) do.... 2 3 4 6 4 6 8 12 Sponge pounds.. ~ 4 3 4 4 1 6 8 Silk for ligatn.re ounces.. ~ 1 ~ ~ 1 2 INSTRUMENTS. Abscess knife (2-blade) 1 1 1 1 2 Ball forceps number 1 1 1 1 2 Corkscrews do 1 1 1 1 2 Funnels do 1 1 1 1 2 Graduate glasses do 1 1 1 1 2 Mortar and pestles (iron) do 1 1 1 1 2 Needles dozen ~ 1 Probes number 1 1 1 1 2 liowling needles do .... 1 1 1 1 2 Scales and weights do 1 1 1 1 2 Springs [syringes] do .... 1 1 1 1 2 Springlancet .do 1 1 1 1 2 Straight scissors . . .do 1 1 1 1 2 Spatulas .do 1 1 1 1 9 Trocar do 1 1 1 1 2 Tenaculum do 1 1 1 1 2 II. Regulations for the Veterinary Department: 1. The standard of horse medicines for the army in the field and in hospitals is the supply table. This table will not be deviated from except in extreme emergencies, and then only for hospital use, when the reasons must be clearly and satisfactorily stated. 2. Requisitions will be made quarterly and in duplicate, confbrm- ing strictly to the standard supply table. 3. Quartermasters will hold veterinary surgeons strictly responsible for the instruments issued to them, and in case of loss through care- lessness or damage from neglect, the cost price of the instruments so lost or damaged will be charged to them. 4. Quartermasters responsible for medicines and dressings will take care that these articles are used for their legitimate purpose, and will hold the veterinary surgeons strictly accountable for their loss or damage through neglect, & c. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General Page 287 UNION AUTHORITIES. 287 GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 196. Washington, ]Jfay 12, 1864. General Orders, No. 76, War Department, Adjutant-Generals Office, February 26, 1864, commuting the capital sentences of deserters to imprisonment during the war at the Dry Tortugas, Fla., are so amended as to direct the discharge from the service of the United States, with forfeiture of pay and allowances due, of all persons to whose cases the provisions of the general orders apply. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERALS OFFICE, No. 198. Washington, ]Iiliay 12, 1864. DUTIES OF ASSISTANT SURGEON-GENERAL. To facilitate the prompt transmission of medical supplies to points developed by emergencies, secure the proper distribution and presence of medical officers and their assistants where their services are most required, and to provide comfortable, abundant, and available hospi- tal accommodation for the sick and wounded of the armies of the West and Southwest, the office of the assistant surgeon-general is established at Louisville, Ky. To fully accomplish these important objects, Asst. Surg. Gen. R. C. Wood will have immediate control, nuder the general direction of the Surgeon-General, of the medical affairs in the Military Department of the Northwest, the Northern Department, the Departments of Kansas, Missouri, and those composing the Division of the Mississippi, except that officers assigned to duty with any army or department will not be removed therefrom, unless by order of the War Department. The orders, circulars, and instructions heretofore published by the assistant surgeon-general, and such as may in future be required, will be obeyed and respected by all under his jurisdiction. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant A6~jutant- General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., May 12, 1864. Governor W. M. STONE, Des .Moines, Iawa: Your dispatch to Secretary and one to me in relation to draft for 100-days men have been received and considered. We cannot draft for 100-days men, but will immediately order the draft in all sub-districts deficient on the quotas heretofore assigned them, for three-years men, unless you make known some objections to this course. Will not this answer your purpose? JAMES B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General. [MAY 12, 13, 1864.For correspondence between Stanton and Brough, relating to acceptance and disposition of Ohio 100-days regiments, see Series I, Vol. XXXV II, Part I, pp. 443, 444, 450, 451. Page 288 288 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. DES MOINES, IOWA, May 13, 1864. General J. B. FRY, Washington: Until other States furnish their quotas I could not favor draft here for three-years men, unless we fail to promptly furnish the 10,000 100-days men; then I should. I think, with your dispatch, I can succeed. W. M. STONE. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, May 13, 186410 a. m. Governor BROUGH, Golumbus: Official dispatches have been received from the Army of the Poto- mac. A general attack was made by General Grant at 4.30 a. m. yes- terday, followed by the most brilliant results. At 5 oclock Hancock had taken 4,000 prisoners, including Maj. Gen. Edward Johnson and several brigadiers, and between 30 and 40 cannon. Now is the time to put in your men. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. (Same to Governor Mortoii, Indianapolis; Governor Yates, Spring- field; Governor Bramlette, Frankfort; Governor Stone, Davenport; Governor Lewis, Madison.) [MAY 13, 1864.For correspondence between Stanton and Parker and Stanton and Bradford, relating to organization of troops for 100- days service, see Series I, Vol. XXXVII, Part I, pp. 451, 452.] SPRINGFIELD, ILL., May 14, 1864. Hon. E. M. STANTON: As we have no organized militia in this State, our quota has to be recruited as heretofore. During twelve of the twenty days we were without transportation and supplies; therefore I have the honor respectfully to request that the time for raising our quota be extended to the first of next month. I have had much opposition from the cop- perhead press. Still, the recruiting is going bravely on, with a suffi- cient number of companies to fill the quota, lacking but few men. I hope in a few days to be able to turn out half the regiments with their numbers full. R. YATES, Governor. LOUISVILLE, KY., May 14, 1864. Brig. Gen. J. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal- General: The presence of guerrillas and a sympathizing population and absence of mounted force create great difficulty in First District. In four counties negroes cannot be enrolled, aud their enrollmen Page 289 UNION AUTHORITIES. 289 in three other counties is incomplete. After drawing it is impossible to serve notices within ten days. It is also certain that a large pro- portion of the whites enrolled have gone off with the enemy by force or consent. The seven counties west of Tennessee River are not in General Bnrbridges command, and these are the worst, but Captain Hall, having the order to draft immediately, will begin on 18th unless directed otherwise. Under these circumstances would it not be better to defer the drawing in First District until we can control it by our forces? Please answer. W. H. SIDELL, Major and Acting Assistant Provost-Marshal-General. WAR DEPT., PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERALS OFFICE, Washington, D. C., May 14, 1864. Maj. W. H. SIDELL, Actg. Asst. Provost-Marshal-General, Louisville, Ky.: Your dispatch about First District received. Consult with General Burbridge, and act as you and he think best. Report action here. JAS. B. FRY, Provost-Marshal-General. [MAY 14, 1864...For correspondence between Stanton and Parker, relating to organization of a militia force in New Jersey for 100 days, see Series I, Vol. XXXVII, Part I, p. 460.] Final report of the American Freedmens Inquiry Commission to the Secretary of War. OFFICE OF THE AMERICAN FREEDMENS INQUIRY COMMISSION, New York City, May 15, 1864. To the Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: Praying reference to our preliminary report heretofore made,* we have nowthe honor to submit to you the final report of our Commission. Observations on portions of the country which had not been visited at the date of our former report, and on the free colored population of Canada West, are contained in supplementalreportsAandB.t The present report embraces considerations of a more general character some historical, some legal, some prospectiveall connecting them- selves with the well-being and destiny of the race now in a state of transition among us from slavery to freedom. The terms of your order which created the Commission demanding *See Vol. III, this series, p. 430. t In view of the material extracts therefrom, embodied herein, the su lemental reports relatingto The Self-Freedmen of Canada West (A), and ~e Eman- cipated Slave face to face with his Old Master, Valley of the Lower Mississippi (B), are omitted. 19 R RSERIES III, VOL I Page 290 290 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. an inquiry as to the measures which may best contribute to the pro- tection and improvement of the recently emancipated freedmen of the United States, and to their self-defense and self-support, involve not alone the question whether a system of provisional or permanent guardianship be necessary or proper to effect these objects, and (in case that should appear to be so) the further question what the details of such a system should be, but also, incidentally, the prior inqniry whether the protecting freedom of these peopl6 is reliably founded, and whether it can endure unless emancipation beconie universal throughout the Union, extending to the border as well as to the rebel States. There is involved yet another question, inseparably con- nected with the future destiny of the Nationthe great question whether, in the course of human events, with or without the aid of precautionary measures, it be likely that the two races hitherto the dominant and subordinate shall be able, when both shall be free, per- sistently to endure side b~y side, and to live together in one common country harmoniously and with mutual advantage. And, in connec- tion with the preceding subjects of inquiry, lying, indeed, at the base of the whole matter, it has seemed to the Commission proper briefly to review the history, in this Western Hemisphere, of these two races so far as they have been connected with each other, the character and effect of that connection, and the results that have sprung and are yet to spring from it. Guided by this view of our duties, we offer on the general subject some prefatory observations. CHAPTER 1.Slavery. The greatest social and political problems of the world connect themselves more or less intimately with the subject of labor. A peo- ple who regard work as degradation, though arts and letters flourish among them, are but emerging from barbarism. It has been some- times said, with much truth, that the grade of civilization in a nation may be measured by the position which it accords to woman. A stricter test is the degree of estimation in which labor is held there. Our race in its gradual advance from ignorance and evil to compara- tive knowledge and good, has not yet, even in countries the most favored, outlived an error fatal to true progress. Sometimes avow- edly, more often practically, a certain stigma still attaches to human laborto that labor from which, in one shape or other, the world receives everything of good, of useful, of beautiful, that charms the senses or ministers to the wants of man; to which we owe life, and everything that makes life desirable. According to the structure of society in each country this error is modified in form. In certain nations of continental Europe the great line of social demarcation is drawn between the titled classes, whether noble by birth or ennobled by royal creation, constituting the privi- leged and all other persons, including merchants, though wealthy, and lawyers, though eminent, and authors, though popular, constitut- ing the unprivileged. More liberal England begins to admit within the pale the distinguished and successful among the professional classes, and from the mercantile and literary ranks we ourselves, pro- fessing to honor industry and talking occasionally of the nobility of labor, liave opened somewhat wider, but only throughout a portion of our Republic, the door which admits within the precincts of respectability Page 291 UNION AUTHORITIES. 291 Only throughout a portion of our Republicin fifteen of these United Statesthe opinions, the feelings, the practice of the inhabit- ants, as regards laborers and labor itself, have been, more perverted, have been less civilized than in the most despotic countries of Europe. In these States the class of working husbaudmen has been degraded, both as regards civil rights and social position, below the pariahs of India. This cannot happen in any nation without producing results fatal alike to its prosperity and to the moral worth and essential dig- nity of its population. The only doubt as to these results is, whether their influence has been more pernicious on the enslavers or on the enslaved. The introduction into our hemisphere of this terrible element of social demoralization was almost coeval with its discovery by Europeans. It was in October of the year 1492 that Columbus first landed; and it was just eight years afterward, in the month of October, 1500, that Francis de Bobadilla was guilty of two outrages: One, the sending home in chains of the great discoverer; the other, the reducingto bond- age of the gentle islanders whose fair land he discovered. Bobadilla granted liberal donations of Indians to all who applied for them.a The first year of the sixteenth century saw introduced into America that baneful system, abhorrent to Christian civilization, which was to spread and to gather numbers and strength and influence, until, after more than three centuries and a half of evil growth, it was to bring a million of combatants into the field, to sacrifice, on the field of battle, hundreds of thousands of lives and thousands of millions of treasure. There is scarcely a page in history so replete with horrors as that which records the inception of slavery in this hemisphere. That terrible abuse caused, in an incredibly short period, the extinction of a racea race whom all the historians of that day concur in represent- ing as the most kind and inoffensive and hospitable of mankind. Gold must be had. Columbus had been disgraced because he had failed to send home a sufficiency of it. His successors resolved to escape that imputation. The mines must be worked, and the forced labor of the feeble natives was employed to work them. After a time royal sanction was obtained for the act. Isabella, just, if severe, who had issued orders that the Indians should be free from servitude and from molestation, b died in 1504; and in 1511 Ferdinand issued a decree of his privy council declaring that after mature consideration of the Apostolic Bull and other titles by which the crown of Castile claimed the right to its possessions in the New World, the servitude of the Indians was warranted both by the laws of God and man. c Thus was legalized that system of repartimientos, under which there had been previously assigned to each Spaniard, by an order on some cazique, a certain number of natives, who were to be instructed in the Catholic faith. What the character of their masters and teachers was may be gathered from the factthat Columbus himself had recommended the transportation to ilispaniola of malefactors convicted of the less a Robertsons History of America, London, 1792, Vol. 1, Book 2, p. 222. Her- rera, General History of the Vast Continent and Islands of America (Stevens translation)~ London, 1725, Vol. 1, p. 244. bOvando was particularly charged by the queen that all the Indians of Hispaniola should be free from servitude, and that none should molest them. (Herrera, Vol. 1, p. 247.) cRobertsons History of America~ Vol. 1, p. 307. This decree was passed against the protest of the Dominicans, the abolitionists of those days Page 292 292 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. atrocious capital crimes. The prisons of Spain, says Robertson, were drained to collect members for the intended colony. a We are not left to imagine the fate of the helpless wretches confided to such hands. Irving tells us: They (the Indians) were separated the distance of several days journey from their wives and children, and doomed to intolerable labor of all kinds, extorted by the cruel infliction of the lash. * * * When the Spaniards who superintended the mines were at their repasts, says Las Casas, the famished Indians scrambled like dogs for any bone thrown to them. * * * If they fled from this incessant toil and barbarous coercion and took refuge in the mountains, they were hunted like wild beasts, scourged in the most inhuman manner, and laden with chains to prevent a second escape. b Las Casas terrible history is full of horrors of which he himself was eyewitness. I have found, says he, many dead in the road, others gasping under the trees, and others, again, in the pangs of death, faintly crying, Hunger! hunger! c So intolerable, says Washington Irving, were the toils and suf- fering inflicted upon this weak and unoffending race that they sank under them, dissolving, as it were, from the face of the earth. d There is no exaggeration in this statement, incredible if it seem. Robertson confirms it, giving some general statistics on the subject. He tells us: The original inhabitants, on whose labor the Spaniards in Hispaniola depended for their prosperity and even their existence, wasted so fast that the extinction of the whole race seemed to be inevitable. When Columbus discovered Hispaniola the number of its inhabitants was computed to be at least 1,000,000. They were reduced to 60,000 in fifteen years. e This was in 1507. Scarcely half a generation had elapsed since Europeans had found these people weak and ignorant indeed, but sim- ple, cheerful, and happy; and in that brief period so atrocious had been the cruelty of their treatment that 94 out of every 100 of these victims sank and perished under it. But the picture in all its blackness is not yet filled up. The deaths had increased with such frightful rapidity that the common operations of life were arrested thereby. The dead laborers had to be replaced by fresh victims. And then it was that, as the culmination of enor- mities that have left an indelible stain on the Spanish name, an expe- dient was resorted to, in the conception of which, to inhuman barbarity, treachery and blasphemy were superadded. This infamous expedient is ascribed to Ovando. At all events, under his governorship, in 1508, the king (Ferdinand) was advised, says Herrera, that the Lucayo Islands,f being full of people, it would be convenient to carry them over to Hispaniola that they might be instructed in the Christian religion and civilized. Ferdinand, per- haps deceived by this artifice, more probably willing to connive at an act of violence which policy represented as necessary, gave his assent a Robertson, Vol. 1, pp. 192, 193; Herrera, Dec. 1, Lib. 8, C. 2. blrvings Columbus, Vol. 2, p. 427. cLas Casas Hist. md., Lib. 2, Cap. 14; MS. quoted by Irving. dlrvings Columbus, Vol. 2, p. 428. e Robertsons America, Vol. 1, p. 262. It is from Herrera, the most correct and intelligent of the Spanish historians of that period, that Robertsons calculation is taken. There seems no reason to discredit it, incredible if it seem. Other histo- rians estimate the original inhabitants much higher. Beuzoni puts the number at 2,000,000. f Now the Bahama Islands Page 293 UNION AUTHORITIES. 293 to the proposal. ilerrera informs us in what manner it was carried into effect: The Spaniards who went in the first ships told these people that they came from Hispaniola, where the souls of their parents, kindred, and friends lived at their ease; and if they would go see them they should be carried over in these ships. For it is certain that the Indian nations believed that the soul is immor- tal, and that when the body was dead it went to certain places of delight, where it wanted for nothing that might give it satisfaction. a That simple people, says Robertson, listened with wonder and credulity; and fond of visiting their relatives and friends in that happy region, followed the Spaniards with eagerness. By this artifice over 40,000 were decoyed into ilispaniola to share in the sufferings which were the lot of the inhabitants of that island, and to mingle their groans and tears with that wretched race of men. b By this expedient the number of Indians in Hispaniola was raised to 100,000. But the work of human destruction went on. Nine years later, to wit, in 1517, Roderigo Albuquerque, being appointed prin- cipal officer to distribute the repartimientos, caused an enumeration of the Indians to be made. The number was found to be reduced to 14,000. Six-sevenths had perished in nine years! The survivors were put up to sale in different lots. The secrets of their prison house what tongue can ever reveal! Such was the first advent in this hemisphere of that system under which human labor is stigmatized as a degradation. ~Fhe mind can- not realizethe imagination shrinks from conceivingthe atrocious barbarities to which such a system must have given birth ere a race of men could have perished in a single generation before it; a terrible attestation to the immeasurable sufferings that ma~ result from a single great crime. Well has De Tocqueville said: There is one calamity which penetrated furtively into the world, and which was at first scarcely distinguishable amidst the ordinary abuses of power. It originated with an individual whose name history has not preserved; it was wafted like some accursed germ upon a portion of the soil; but it afterward nurtured itself, grew without effort, and spread naturally with the society to which it belonged. This calamity is slavery. Christianity suppressed slavery, but the Christians of the sixteenth century re-established it, as an exception, indeed, to their social system, and restricted to one of the races of mankind. c That another race was not subjected to it; that the Indians of Hispaniola and of the adjacent islands escaped perpetual servitude, is due, not to the forbearance of their oppressors, but to the tender mercies of deaththe great liberator. An incident, to which is popularly ascribed the first substitution of the African negro for the native of ilispaniolathe first introductioii, therefore, into our hemisphere of that race who were to be thence- forth, for centuries, branded with the mark of Cainmay teach us how humanity, in her aberrations sometimes, with the best intentions, aids in laying broad the foundations of misery and of crime. Bartolomeo de las Casas, a Dominican monk, had accompanied Columbus on his second voyage. A man of eminent benevolence and quick sensibilities, the sufferi~ngs of the down-trodden Indians pro- duced upon him a profound impression. After spending many years in ilispaniola in fruitless efforts to ameliorate the condition of the aHerrera, Vol. 1, p. 825. bRobertsons History of America, Vol. 1, p. 263. cDemocracy in America, by De Tocqueville (Cambridge edition, 1862), Vol. 1, p. 457 Page 294 294 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. natives, he returned to Spain previously to the death of Ferdinand, was favorably received by that monarch and by his minister, the Car- dinal Ximenes, and succeeded in procuring the appointment of three superintendents of the colonies, to whom he himself was joined, with the well-earned title of Protector of the Indians. The mission, however, was of small avail. The Spaniards of Hispaniola opposed every obstacle, representing that without compulsion the Indians would not labor, and that without their labor the colony could not subsist. Finding no countenance iu the island, Las Casas again returned to Spain, where he arrived shortly before the death of Ximenes, and found Charles V successor of Ferdinand. Then it was, after a vain endeavor to procure the freedom of the aborigines, that Las Casas, thinking that a hardier race than they would suffer less as slaves,a recommended to Ximenes the policy of supplying the labor market of Hispaniola with negroes from the Portuguese settlements on the African coast. This, though affirmed by Robertson,b following Herrera, is denied by several modern authors of repute. c But the simple fact that Las Casas did make such a proposal, though not until after a certain number of African slaves had been imported into the New World, is beyond denial, seeing that it has been stated, and nobly atoned for, so far as frank acknowledgment of error can atone, by Las Casas himself, writing his own history shortly before his death, in that retirement to which, after years of fruitless exertion in behalf of the suffering natives, he betook himself. These, literally translated, are his words: This advice, that license be given to bring negro slaves to these lands, the ecclesiastic Casas first gave, not taking note of the injustice with which the Portuguese seize them and make them slaves; which advice, after he had reflected on the matter, he would not have given for all he possessed in the world, for he always held that they were made slaves unjustly and tyranically, seeing that the same rule applies in their case as in that of the Indians. d Ximenes, whether from motives of policy or humanity, rejected Las Casas proposal, dying soon after. Las Casas renewed the proposal, after Ximenes death, to the min- isters of Charles, by whom it was more favorably received. And the officers of the India House of Seville~ having recommended 4,000 as a Herrera (Dec. 1, Lib. 9, C. 5) affirms that one negro was considered equal. as laborer, to four Indians. b Robertsons History of America, Vol. 1, p. 321. The censure conveyed in the words of this author, when he says of Las Casas, In the warmth of his zeal to save the aborigines from the yoke, he pronounced it to be lawful and expedient to impose one still heavier on the Africans, implies, when given thus without explanation, too harsh a judgment of a good man. c Dollinger (Hist. Eccl., Vol. 3, Sec. 160, p. 897) makes an argument, with evi- dence adduced, in proof that the imputation is unjust. Cochin discredits the charge, stating that in the debates which Las Casas was forced to sustain against Quevedo, bishop of Darien, and also against the confessor and historian of Charles, Sepulveda, this opinion is found neither on his lips nor on those of his adversaries. (LAbolition de lEsclavage, Vol. 1, p. 286.) The explanation of this may be that by that time he may have repented the advice which a few years before he had given. d Este aviso de que se diese licencia para traer esclavos negros i~ estas tierras, di6 primero el cl6rigo Casas, no advirtiendo la injusticia coti que los Portugueses los toman y hacen esclavos; el qual despues de que cuy6 en ello, no lo diera por quanto habia en el mundo. Por que siempre los tuvo por injusta y tiranicamente hechos esclavos, por que la misma razon es de ellos que de los Indias. (Las Casas, Hist. de las Indias, bib. 3, Tom. 2, Cap. 101.) Las Casas here speaks of himself in the third person Page 295 295 UNION AUTHORITIES. the proper number to be sent,a the young King acted upon the recommendation. In accordance with the monopoly-favoring policy of that age, Charles granted to one of his Flemish favorites a patent for the importation into the colonies of 4,000 negro slaves. That pat- ent was sold to a company of Genoese merchants, who, about the year 1517, carried it into effect. This, as regards America, was the germ of a traffic, the foulest blot on the history of Christendom; a traffic carried on, in defiance of law, human and divine, to exempt from labor one race of men at expense of brutal degradation to another; a traffic that has brought upon the American hemisphere a moral curse worse than war, pestilence, or famine, and which, as to every nation that persists in it, leadsever must leadsooner or later, by one way or another, to national ruin. For well has Augustin Cochin said, Over the entire surface of the globe the races who compel others to labor without laboring themselves fall to decay. b The statistical details are lacking which might enable us to form a strictly accurate numerical estimate of the victims to this detestable trade, the operations of which extended through three centuries and a half; diminishing, however, during the last quarter of a century, and soon, we may confidently hope, to cease forever. An approxima- ting estimate of the number of negroes transported to America is all that can now be obtained. The assientos, treaties, or contracts of the Spanish Government for the supply of its American colonies with slaves, commencing in 1517, were occasionally granted through the sixteenth century and multi- plied in the seventeenth and eighteenth. Some were to individuals, some to .companies, some to governments. Nothing more strongly marks the character of these treaties for the delivery of human beings than the terms employed in wording them. An assiento was granted in 1696 to the Portuguese Guinea Company, by which that company bound itself to deliver to Spain in her trans- Atlantic colonies 10,000 tons of negroes. c England, to designate the human chattels she agreed to supply, employed a term such as ven- dors of broadcloth or calico might use. By treaty with Spain, bear- ing date March 26, 1713, his Britannic Majesty nndertook to introduce into Spanish America 114,000 pieces of India, of both sexes and all ages. d These various treaties, concluded in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, e contained not one article, not a single provision of any a The suggestion of Las Casas was approved by the chancellor, and by Adrian, the colleague of the late cardinal (Ximenes), and, indeed, it is probable that there was hardly a man of that time who would have seen further than the excel- lent clerigo did. Las Casas was asked what number of negroes would suffice. He replied that he did not know; upon which a letter was sent to the officers of the India House of Seville, to ascertain the fit number, in their opinion. They said that 4,000 would, at present, suffice; being 1,000 for each of the islandsHis- paniola, San Juan, Cuba, and Jamaica. (Conquerors of the New World, and Their Bondsmen: London, 1852.) b Sur la surface enti~re dn globe, les races qui font travailler, sans travailler elles-m~mes, tombent en d6cadence. (LAbolition de lEsclavage, par A. Cochin, Paris, 1861, Tom. 2, p. 190.) c Diez mil toneladas de negros is the expression in the original. The text can be found in the Cantillo Collection, p. 32. d Piezas de Indias are the words in the Spanish text. (LAbolition de lEsclav- age, par Cochin, Tom. 2, p. 286.) This treaty gave England a monopoly of the slave trade to Spanish colonies for thirty years, namely, from 1713 to 1734. e El nombre de la santisima Trinidad Page 296 296 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. kind for the humane treatment or for the protection from outrage of the human merchandise therein stipulated to be delivered.a The extent of these treaties and their lucrative character to the Spanish Crown may be gathered from the following: A single Government, Spain, which assumes the name of Catholic, concluded in less than two centuries more than ten treaties to authorize, protect, and profit by the transportation of more than half a million of human beings. It levied on each of these human heads, reckoning them by the piece or by the ton, a tax which amounted in the aggregate to upward of 50,000,000 francsb (say $10,000,000). The above treaties were with England, France, and Portugal, the grants to individuals and to companies not being included. In the middle of the eighteenth century the English slave-trade, which, up to that time, had been more or less of a monopoly, was thrown open. Statute 23, George II (that is, in 1750), c. 31, after reciting that the African slave-trade is very advantageous to Great Britain, enacts that it shall be lawful for all His Majestys subjects to trade and traffic to and from any port or place in Africa, between the port of Sallee, in South Barbary, and the Cape of Good Hope.~~ Great Britain, the first to abolish this infamous traffic, was, previ- ous to its abolition, the most extensively engaged in it. Her connec- tion with it, the manner and extent to which it was conducted, together with many statistical details, imperfect indeed, but instruct- ive as far as theygo, are set forth in a ponderous folio volume, published by official authority in the year 1789, being a Report of the Lords of the Committee of Council, appointed for the consideration of all mat- ters relating to trade and foreign plantations, submitting to His Maj- estys consideration the evidence and information they have collected in consequence of His Majestys order in council, dated February ii, 1788, concerning the present state of the trade to Africa, and particu- larly the trade in slaves; and concerning the effects and consequences of this trade, as well in Africa and the West Indies as to the general commerce of this kingdom. There can be no safer document than this from which to draw information such as it contains. The lords composing this committee of council gave the slave-holders the most ample opportunity to state their case, both by testimony and argument. Three-fourths at least of the witnesses examined are slave-dealers, or captains of slavers. They admit also, it is true, testimony and documentary evidence (especially as to deaths of sailors on slave ships) offered by the cele- brated Thomas Clarkson; but they scrupulously abstained from all opinions in regard to the slave-trade and from all recommendations or suggestions touching its abolition. In this volume we find two estimates as to the number of negroes then annually carried to the American colonies; the first puts it at 80,000 annually; the second, containing a detailed estimate of slaves annually sold at sixteen dif- ferent points on the African coast, sums up 74,000. c Of these, one- half are said to be procured on the Gold Coast, at Bpnny and New Calabar, and at Loango, Melimba, and Cabenda; about 38,000 set a After enumerating the various assientos made by Spain, Cochin says: Dans tous ces trait~s, pas une disposition, pas une syllabe destin6e ~ d6fendre ces mal- heureux contro les abus et les sonifrances. (Work cited, Vol. 2, p. 288.) b Work cited, Vol. 2, p. 288. o The first is containea in the testimony of Mr. Penny (Report, Part I, Sheet I); the second in that of Mr. Norris (Report, Part I, Sheet K). The table, in detail, is given, PartlY, No. 14. The volume not being paged (except as to a single brief document contained in it, to wit, Minutes of Evidence before a Committee of the Whole House), more exact references cannot be given Page 297 UNION AUTHORITIES. 297 down as purchased by the British, 20,000 by the French, 10,000 by the Portuguese, and the rest by the Danes and Dutch. It would appear from a statistical table given in another part of the same volume that these estimates fall short of the truth. This table gives the total number of vessels sailing annually from Liver- pool, from the year 1751 to the year 1787, distinguishing the slavers and giving their tonnage, from which it appears that about one-tenth of all the vessels that sailed from that port during the above thirty- six years were engaged in the slave-trade, and that their tonnage ran up from a little over 5,000 tons in 1751 to about 15,000 in 1786 and 1787. a But, as we shall show hereafter, the number of slaves carried averaged over two to a ton; consequently British ships from the port of Liverpool alone carried upward of 30,000 annually. Another table b shows that the tonnage of African slavers from all the ports of Great Britain was, in 1787, 22,263 tons. Consequently the annual number of slaves transported to America, at that time, in British bottoms, was upward of 45,000, instead of 38,000, as esti- mated. In this proportion the total estimate, including vessels of all countries, would be run up to nearly 90,000 slaves a year. The figures seem to indicate that even this is below the actual number. The calculations produced before the French Committee of Inquiry of 1848 place the number of slaves exported from 1788 to 1840 at from 100,000 to 140,000 a year, and from 1840 to 1848 at from 50,000 to 80,000. c The rate after 1848 continued to diminish. Nevertheless, in 1860 it was still nearly 30,000 a year. d These figures enable us to calculate with approximate accuracy the extent of the slave-trade from 1788 to 1860; that is to say, for the seventytwo last years of its course, thus Annual deportation of slaves from the year 1788 to the year 1840say, fifty-two years, at an average of 120,000 a year 6,240,000 Annual deportation of slaves from 1840 to 1848say, eight years, at an average of 65,000 a year 520,000 Annual deportation of slaves from 1848 to 1860say, twelve years, at anaverageof30,00~ayear 360,000 Total in seventy-two years - 7,120,000 What annual rate we ougnt to assume as a fair average for the two centuries preceding 1788, during which, as Cochin reminds us, all Europe abandoned itself openly to the negro slave-trade, e it is some- what difficult to determine. In the report by the Lords of the Com- mittee of Council, already referred to, is a table f showing the annual a Lords of Council Report, Minutes of Evidence before Committee of the Whole House, p. 49. bLords of Council Report, Part IV, No. 1. eSce Cochin, Vol. 2, p. 810. Lord Palmerston, from his p lace in the House of Lords, July 26, 1844, said: According to the report of Messrs. Vendervelt and Buxton, from 120,000 to 150,000 slaves are landed annually in America. This calculation applied to the early years of the present century. dWhen we remember that 140,000 were yearly carried away from Africa, while this year the number has not reached 30,000, we should neither deny the progress nor abandon the hope of a complete suppression of this traffic. (Speech of Lord John Russell in Parliament, June 8, 1860.) At least 80,000 slaves are annually imported into Cuba. (Speech of Mr. Cave in Parliament, June 8, 1860.) eAn dix-septi~me et an dix-huiti~me si~cle lEurope enti~re se livre ouverte- ment A la traite des noirs. (Cochin, LAbolition de lEsclavage, Tom. 2, p.281.) f Lords of Council Report, Jamaica. Appendix, Part III, Sheet P Page 298 298 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. importation of slaves throughout seventy-four years of that period (namely, from 1702 to 1775, both inclusive) into a single English colony, to wit, the island of Jamaica. The total is 497,736, being an average of 6,726 a year. Nor is there a regular increase, for in the decade from 1720 to 1730 there were as many imported as in the last ten years of the term, the average for each of the years in either decade being about 7,700. But we shall hereafter furnish proof that to the number of slaves delivered in the colonies we must add at least 25 per cent. to obtain the number shipped on the African coast. This would bring up th~ annual average exported from Africa for Jamaica to 8,407. If we assume the total deportation of slaves from Africa in the year 1788 to have been 100,000, which is the French committees lowest estimate for any year from 1788 to 1840, and if we suppose that there were annually exported during each year of the two centuries pre- ceding 1788 two-fifths only of that number, say 40,000, we shall be assuming the annual total throughout these two centuries at less than five times the number that we know to have been annually exported during seventy-four years of that period to supply the single island of Jamaica. So far as, at this distance of time and with the scanty materials before us, one can judge, the estimate is a moderate one.a Previous to the year 1588that is to say, for eighty years after the beginning of the negro slave-trade in 1518the true average is still more uncertain. The Spanish assientos of that period were usually for the delivery of from 3,000 to 5,000 negroes annually. Let us assume the entire slave-trade by all nations during that period at 5,000 negroes only for each year. Adopting the data above suggested we obtain the following general results: Total deportation of negroes by the slave-trade from the year 1518 to the year 1860. From 1518 to 1588, 80 years [sic], at an average of 5,000 a year 400,000 From 1588 to 1788, 200 years, at an average of 40,000 a year - - ________ 8 000,00~3 From 1788 to 1860, 72 years, as already estimated ---- - 7,120,000 Totalin342years - 15520,000 Upward of fifteen millions and a half of human beings forcibly toni from their native country, and doomed to perpetual slavery themselves and their offspringin a foreign land. b a By a table, already referred to (Part IV, No. 1), in the report of the Lords of Council, it appears that as early as 1701 104 British vessels were employed in the slave-trade. The number, however, varied very widely in different years, the lowest number (in 1715) being but 24, and the highest (in 1771) being 192. The table was obtained from the inspector-general of imports and exports. b The Commission have endeavored in the above estimate to avoid error, except it be on the side of moderation. Very reputable authorities put the importations in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries considerably higher than we have assumed them. Bancroft, who appears to have carefully investigated the matter, says: The English slave-trade began to attain its great activity after the Assiento Treaty. (That treaty was dated March 26, 1713.) From 1680 to 1700 the English took from Africa about 300,000 negroes, or about 15,000 a year. The number dur- ing the continuance of the assiento may be averaged not far from 80,000. (It con- tinued for thirty years, to wit, from 1713 to 1744.) Raynal considers the number of negroes exported by all European nations from Africa before 1776 to have been 9,000,000, and the considerate German historian of the slave-trade, Albert Illine, deems his statement too small. A carefnl analysis of the colored population of America at different periods, and the inference to be deduced from the few authen- tic records of the numbers imported, corrected by a comparison with the authenti Page 299 299 UNION AUTHORITIES. But we cannot attain to a just conception of the aggregate of evil and suffering produced by this gigantic outrage upon human rights, nor of the loss of life attendant thereon, without considering, first, the mode in which slaves were supplied to the European traders; secondly, the manner in which they were transported to their desti- nation, and thirdly, the result, especially in its influence on population in the slave colonies. As to the two first subjects, the report of the Lords of Council unim- peachable testimony furnishes many suggestive particulars. It is proved, in the first place, that the sources whence slaves were obtained on the African coast were: First. As prisoners of war. The evidence as to this source of supply was obtained from almost all the witnesses who had visited the African coast. Major-General Rooke said: When a ship arrived to purchase slaves, the King of Deruch sent to the chiefs of the villages in his dominions to send him a given number; but if they were not to be procured on this requisition, the King went to war till he got as many as he wanted. During his stay at Gor6e of four or five months he heard of two battles being fought for slaves, a Capt. T. Wilson, employed on the business of Government in 1783 and 1784, states as to the Kingdom of Derneh: When they were at war they made prisoners and sold them, and when they were not at war they made no scruple of taking any of their own subjects and selling them, even whole villages at once. * * * He has been told that the King of Derneh can bring 70,000 or 80,000 men into the field. a Captain Hills: There was scarcely an evening in which he did not see people go out in war dresses to obtain slaves from the neighbor- ing villages. This was at Gor6e. b The manner in which Sir George Yonge understood that slaves became so is, first, as prisoners of war, and these, he thinks, are the greatest number. This was in Senegal and Gambia, but the same account was given to him all along the coast. e The Rev. Mr. Newton: The greater number of slaves are cap- tives made in war. d Mr. Dalrymple says: One of the modes of making slaves adopted by the kings and great men is by breaking up a village; that is, setting fire to it and seizing the people as they escape. This occurs products oh slave labor, as appearing in the annals of English commerce, seem to prove beyond a doubt that even the estimate of Raynal is larger than the reality. (Bancrofts History of the United States, Vol. 8, p. 412.) Raynals estimate, thought too low by Hilne, is 9,000,000 up to 1776, and, as the exportations averaged about 80,000 a year from 1776 to 1788, that would give 1,000,000 more, bringing his calculations up to 10,000,000 if extended to 1788. But our estimate as above, up to that year, is but 8,400,000; that is, upward of 1,500,000, or just 16 per cent. below Raynals. Bancroft thinks that we shall not err much if in the century previous to 1776 we assume the number imported by the English to have been 8,000,000. But the Commission have assumed the total imported by all nations in the two centuries preceding 1788 to have been 8,000,000. Bancroft estimates importation in a single century by one nation only at 8,000,000. We estimate importation in two centuries by all nations at 8,000,000. The probability will be conceded that the former estimate is at a higher rate, in proportion. than the latter. a Lords of Council Report, Part I, Sheet G. bReport cited, Part I, Sheet G. cReport cited, Part I, Sheet H. dLords of Council Report, Part I, Sheet I Page 300 300 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. sometimes in a neighbors territory; more frequently in their own. The practice is notorious. The witness speaks of Gambia and countries adjoining, a Another mode of procuring slaves is akin to this. They are panyared, to employ the phrase of the country; that is, kidnaped by individuals. Dr. A. Sparrman, inspector of the Royal Museum at Stockhohu and a traveler in the interior of Africa, deposed: They seize one another in the night, when they have an opportunity, and sometimes invite each other to their houses and there detain and sell them to the European traders. * * * The number of persons so kidnaped is considerable. He himself witnessed two instances. b Mr. Falconbridge, a slave-trader, testifies: On the windward coast the negroes are afraid of stirring out at night lest they be kidnaped. A woman, big with child, told him she was caught as she was return- ing from a neighbors house.c Mr. Devoynes says, speaking of the Gold Coast: The greater part of the slaves are brought from the interior. They are sold from hand to hand, and many of them come from a great distanceit is said from 800 to 900 miles. d The next source of supply is the selling of criminals. The uni- versal testimony is that the chief crimes for which they are sold are adultery, theft, and witchcraft; sometimes for murder; occasionally they are sold for debt. Some stake their liberty in gambling and are sold if they lose. Admiral Edwards said: Adultery is the crime for which they are most usually sold. In this case the person offended has a claim not only to the man and woman offending, and to all their property, but also to their family and slaves. e Theft is common among them. One witness, Mr. Daizell, testi- fies that he purchased a son of his father, who sold him to avoid the punishment which the son had incurred for stealing from a white man, which, the witness adds, is never pardoned. This was in the Kingdom of Dahomey.e A witness (Mr. Weaver) explained that they understand by witch- craft the power of doing mischief by supernatural means. f Another witness (Mr. Matthews) testifies that having refused to purchase a man suspected of witchcraft, who was offered to him for sale, they tied a stone around his neck and threw him into the sea. g The Rev. Mr. Baggs, chaplain to Commodore Thompson during two voyages (in 1783 and 1784), says of the African coast generally: The revenue of the kings of the country depends on the sale of slaves. They therefore strain every nerve to accuse and condemn. Their codes of law are made subservient to the slave-trade. h Mr. Penny deposes: Some are made slaves in consequence of gaming, of which they are very fond. They stake themselvesfirst a leg, then an arm, lastly the head, and when they have lost that they surrender themselves as slaves. If a man - stake and lose a leg only, he continues gambling until he has lost the whole of himself, or is cleared.g a Report cited, Part I, Sheet G. b Lords of Council Report, Part I, Sheet G. c Report cited, Part 1, Sheet N. d Report cited, Part I, Sheet K. e Lords of Council Report, Part I, Sheet L. f Report cited, Part I, Sheet L. g Report cited, Part 1, Sheet 1. h Lords of Council Report, Part I, Sheet N ~ Page 301 UNION AUTHORITIES. 301 There is no evidence that slaves are bred for sale. The concurrent testimony is against it. There is abundant testimony in proof that as to negroes offered for sale as slaves and rejected by the slave-dealers on account of their state of health or otherwise, their fate was usually a sad one. Even delay in the market often caused their death. The Rev. Mr. Baggs said he had proof that when marauding parties come with their booty in slaves to the coast and find no ves- sels, they kill the slaves because of the expense of sending them back. a Mr. Falconbridge, a slave-trader, said he had seen slaves who were offered for sale and refused cruelly beaten. b Mr. Penny, who had made elexTen voyages as captain of slavers, deposes: He has been repeatedly informed that slaves brought for sale, and rejected by the slave-dealers on account of disease or otherwise, are destroyed as not worth their food. c Sir George Yonge saw a beautiful child, about five years old, brought from the Bullam shore, opposite Sierra Leone. As the child was too young to be an object of trade, the persons who had him to sell gave him no food and threatened to throw him into the river. Sir George, to save his life, offered a quarter cask of Madeira for him, which was accepted; brought him to England and made a pres- ent of him to the Marquis of Lansdowne. He understood this child had been kidnaped.d Mr. Arnold, surgeon on board a slaver, testified: One day a woman with a child in her arms was brought to us to be sold. The captain refused to purchase her, not wishing to be plagued with a child on board. So she was taken back to shore. On the following morning she was again brought to us, but without the child and apparently in great sorrow. The black trader admitted that the child had been killed in the night to accommodate the sale. e What a lifting of the veil upon a terrible series of atrocities is there even in these brief extracts, coldly and dispassionately worded as they are! For what a catalogue of crimes were they responsible who sent slavers to the African coast? What wars have they not stirred up? What murders instigated? What temptations have they not presentez1 to the cupidity of savage sovereign and subject alike? If the King ot Dahomey or some other royal barbarian perverted criminal law to obtain convictions as a source of revenue; if a black trader put to death the infant that the mother might be salable, who were the tempters to such acts? Who the original authors of this wickedness? The horrors of the middle passage were surpassed by those that necessarily preceded it. The ministers of the British Crown cannot be accused of senti- mentalism. They are no declaimers; no propagandists; no extremists in speculative philanthropy. Their humanity is tempered with moderation and suggested by official evidence. Yet with what perse- verance have they labored even to the present day, after themselves abolishing the slave-trade in 1807, to procure its subsequent abolition by all civilized nations. Within twenty-five years, to wit, between 1818 and 1842, they concluded twenty-three treaties on the subject with Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Austria, Prussia, Naples, Tuscany, Sardinia, the Hanse Towns, the United States, Hayti, Texas, a Lords of Council Report, Part I, Sheet N 5. b Report cited, Part I, Sheet M. c Report cited, Part I, Sheet I. ci Lords of Council Report, Part I, Sheet H. e Lords of Council Report, Part I, Sheet N 4 Page 302 302 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Mexico, Colombia, New Granada, Venezuela, Ecuador, Uruguay, Buenos Ayres, Chili, Peru, and Bolivia. Lord Palmerston, speaking in the House of Lords in 1844, gave some of the reasons which stirred the government to move in this matter. He said: The negroes destined for the slave-trade are not taken from the neighborhood where they are embarked; a great number come from the interior. Many are captives made in wars excited by thirst for the gain procured by the sale of the prisoners. But the greatest number arise from kidnaping expeditions and an organized system of man-stealing in the interior of Africa. When the time approaches to set out with the slave caravans for the coast, the kidnapers surround a peaceful village at night, set it on fire, and seize on the inhabitants, killing all who resist. If the village attacked is situated on a moun- tain offering facilities for flight, and the inhabitants take refuge in the caverns, the kidnapers kindle large fires at the entrance, and those who are sheltered there, placed between death by suffocation and slavery, are forced to give them- selves up. If the fugitives take refuge on the heights, the assailants render themselves masters of all the springs and wells, and the unfortunates, devoured by thirst, return to barter liberty for life. The prisoners made, they proceed to the choice. The robust individuals of both sexes, and the children above six or seven years of age, are set aside to form part of the caravan, which is to be driven to the sea-shore. They rid themselves of the children under six years by killing them on the spot, and abandon the aged and infirm, thus condemning them to die of hunger. The caravan sets out. Men, women, and children traverse the burning sands and rocky defiles of the mountains of Africa barefoot and almost naked. The feeble are stimulated by the whip; the strong are secured by chaining them together or placing them under a yoke; many fall from exhaustion on the road, and die or become the prey of wild beasts. On reaching the sea-shore, they are penned np and crowded together in buildings called barracoons, where they fall a prey to epidemics; death often cruelly thins their ranks before the arrival of a slave-trader, a Lord Palmerstons general deduction from these and other facts connected with the trade is contained in the same speech. It is cal- culated~ he says, that of three negroes seized in the interior of Africa, to be sent into slavery, but one reaches his destination, the two others die in the course of the operations of the slave-trade. Whatever may be the number yearly landed, therefore, we must triple it to obtain the true number of human beings which this detestable traffic annually carries off from Africa. A portion of the facts which form the data of such a calculation remain to be consideredthe manner, namely, of stowing and of treating negroes in slave ships, and the mortality thence resulting. The report of the Lords in Council, from which we have already so copiously quoted, furnishes evidence the most exact and conclusive as to the space commonly allowed to slaves during their passage. The vesseLs employed were usually from 100 to 250 or 300 tons burden, averaging in early times little over 100 tons, but toward the end of the eighteenth century being of the capacity of 150 or 200 tons. The universal testimony is, that the average number carried per ton was two persons and upward. John Anderson, master of slaver, conceives that two slaves to a ton cannot crowd a ship. Sir George Yonge (of the British Navy) says the usual allowance of space is two slaves to a ton, sometimes three. If two were allowed to a ton, lie thought there would be room enough. A bill had been introduced into Parliament which proposed to limit the number for each ton. Evidence was taken as to its effect, result- ing as follows: James Penny had made eleven voyages as captain of slaver. He a Speech of Lord Palmerston, delivered in the House of Lords, July 26, 1844 Page 303 UNION AUTHORITIES. 303 was asked, If the blank of the bill is filled with one and a half to a ton, will it, in your opinion, tend to the abolition of the trade? Answer. I am clearly of opinion that it will. a This witness handed in a table, of which the accuracy was after- ward indorsed by Mr. Tarleton, a Liverpool merchant extensively engaged in the slave-trade, exhibiting the estimate of profit or loss on a vessel of 100 tons at different rates of slaves per ton. Here it is: . s. d Atoncmanperton,theloSSiS 590 1 0 At one man andahaif perton, the lossis 206 19 9 Attwomenperton,thcprOfitiS 180 3 6 Attwomenandahalfperton,theprOfitiS b761 5 6 James Jones, six years captain of a slaver, deposed: If a ship of 200 tons does not purchase 400 slaves and more, she must certainly sink the owners money. He was asked, What measurement do the merchants allow for each slave? Answer. In a ship of 200 tons and under, merchants all carry more than two slaves to each ton. Being asked what width was allowed, at that rate, to each slave when stowed below, he answered: A full-grown slave takes sixteen inches in width; smaller slaves, twelve to fourteen inches. c John Matthews, seventeen years in the slave-trade, was asked, What space in length and breadth do you consider sufficient for the health and comfort of the negroes on board? Answer. The space they occupy when they lie on their backs is always considered suffi- cient for them. When asked for the number of inches, he at first refused to give it, saying he did not know; afterward he gave four- teen and two-third inches as a fair average. d Another slave captain (James Bowen) expressed a different opinion. He said: The average number of slaves carried is two to a ton. * * * Is of opinion that the greatest number of slaves which a ship can carry consistent with their preservation is not above one per ton.e James Penny, a part of whose evidence has already been quoted, said: The average allowance of width to a slave is fourteen and two- thirds inches. Captain Parrey was sent to Liverpool by Government in 1788 to take the dimensions of ships employed in the African trade. A plan and sections are given of one of these, the Brooks, a ship of 297 tons burden, well known in the trade. The room said by her owners to be allowed for each slave was: For men, each, six feet by sixteen inches for women, each, five feet ten inches by sixteen inches; for boys, each, five feet by fourteen inches; for girls, each, four feet six inches by twelve inches. At these rates Captain Parrey found that she could carry 470 slaves. But she did carry 607, being about two to a ton. This reduces the width actually allowed to the men to less than twelve inches and a half; and the rest in proportion. f ________ a Lords of Council Report, Minutes of Evidence, p. 41. b Report cited, Minutes of Evidence, p. 21. c Lords of Council Report, Minutes of Evidence, Pl. 44, 4~. d Report cited, Minutes of Evidence, pp. 24, 25. e Lords of Council Report, Part III, Sheet U. f Mr. William James, who had made three voyages on slavers, testified that on board the Britannia the height between decks was about five feet and a half. No slave whatever had room to turn himself when the cargo was completed. The chief mate, boatswain, and an active young man were employed in stowing or packing them together, as in adjusting their arms and legs and prescribing a fixed space for each. (Lords Report, Part JI, Sheet D 7. Page 304 304 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. What terrible glimpses of human suffering are furnished by these dry mathematical details. The slaver, to make money, must stow his human cargo with twelve to sixteen inches only of board for each to lie on. Lord Palmerston, speaking of African slave ships, strikingly says: A negro has not as much room in them as a corpse in a coffin. a As the witnesses examined by the Lords in council were, for the most part, masters or surgeons of slavers or merchants engaged in the trade, the results of this frightful system only occasionally came to light. The slaves, thus stowed away like so much inanimate cargo, often felt their lives so grievous a burden that they attempted sui- cide, sometimes by throwing themselves overboard, sometimes by refusing all food. To prevent the first mode of self-destruction, as well as to avoid the dangers of insurrection, the men slaves were always put in irons, fastened two and two, the chains being locked at different intervals to the deck, b and when released and brought on deck, as they were every fine day, were compelled, by fear of the lash, to exerciseto dance, as the phrase of the trade wasin their fet- ters.c As to the second mode of suicide, by self-inflicted starvation, its frequency rendered it an object of suspicion and of punishment. Captain Hull, a slave-trader, deposes: Has known instances of slaves being punished for not eating, supposed to be from stubbornness, when in reality it was from indisposition; and in some instances the slaves so punished have been found dead next morning. d The women and children were not chained, and had usually more liberty than the men. But a surgeon of a slaver (Mr. James Arnold) thus indicates the spirit in which they were sometimes treated: When the women were sitting by themselves below he had heard them singing, but always, at these times, in tears. Their songs con- tained the history of their separation from friends and country. These songs were so disagreeable to the captain that he has taken them up and flogged them in so terrible a manner for no other reason than this, that he (Mr. Arnold) has been a fortnight or three weeks in healing the incisions made. e In severe weather, when the slaves could not be brought on deck, the mortality was often frightful. An instance is stated of a schooner which carried only 140 slaves meeting with a gale of wind which lasted eighteen hours, and losing, in that brief space of time, 50 slaves, upward of one-third of the whole number. But worse misfortunes than storms sometimes overtook these poor wretches. Mr. William James testifies as follows: In the year 1779, being master of the Hound, sloop-of-war, and coming from the bay of Honduras to Jamaica, he fell in, off the Isle of Pines, with two Liver- pool Guineamen on the middle passage, commanded by Captains Ringmaiden and Jackson, who had very imprudently (but whether willfully or not he cannot say) missed the island of Jamaica. Captain Nugent gave them chase and came up with them. Mr. James upon boarding them found them in great distress, both on account of pro- visions and water. He asked the captains (for both of them were on a Speech already quoted, of July 26, 1844. b Testimony of John Newton, mate of slaver. (Lords Report, Part II, Sheet B 2.) c While the slaves are upon deck it is thought necessary that they should take exercise, for which purpose the chief mate and the boatswain are stationed with a cat-of-nine-tails to compel them to dance, as it is called. (Testimony of Wil- liam James, Lords Report, Part II, Sheet D 7.) d Lords Report, Part II, Sheet C 2. e Lords Report, Part II, Sheet D 2 Page 305 UNION AUTHORITIES. 305 board one ship) why they did not go into the watering place at the west end of the Isle of Pines (near Cuba). They replied, that they had attempted to get in, but got into shoal water. He then asked them MThat they intended to have done with their slaves if they had not fallen in with the Hound. They replied, to make them walk the plank that is, to jump overboard. Mr. James asked them again why theydid not turn a number of the slaves on shore at the Isle of Pines and endeavor to save the rest. They replied again that in such case they conld not have recovered the insurance, and that the rest would have gotten on shore. a The supply of water usually taken appears to have been very scanty. The same witness, speaking of his experience on board the Britannia, says: Their rooms were so hot and intolerable that they were continu- ally calling out for water, and they generally came upon deck in a sweat. * * * They were served twice a day with water, which is given them in a pannikin of tin of such dimensions as to hold not quite half a pint. a Dysentery and diseases of a similar character were common among them. The details, as furnished by eye-witnesses who have given their experience, are too loathsome for reproduction. Mr. Falcon- bridge, a surgeon in this trade, who published a work on this subject in 1789, after giving a minute description of the scene below, adds: The deck or floor of their rooms resembled a slaughter-house. If is not in the power of the human imagination to picture to itself a situ- ation more dreadful or disgusting. Numbers of the slaves fainted and were carried on deck, where some of them died, and the others were, with difficulty, restored. It had nearly proved fatal to me also. b That, under such a system, the average mortality should be very great can surprise no one. What the true average was is somewhat difficult to determine. That it was chiefly caused by the plan of packing human beings, sometimes for days and nights together, in a width of from twelve to sixteen inches each, is certain. The Rev. John Newton, who in early life had gone out as mate in a slaver, after stating that on his first voyage they buried one-third of the number taken, added that on a subsequent voyage they did not lose one the only instance of the kind that was ever known, he admits. Being cross-questioned as to the probable cause of this exceptional result, he said it was to be ascribed to the fact that with room for 220 slaves, the number for which his cargo was calculated, they carried 90 only. The mortality was least from the windward coast, greatest from Bonny, Calabar, Benin, and Gaboon. Individual instances were fre- quently adduced by the witnesses in which it was about 5 per cent. Occasionally a witness alleges that to be the average, but this was in the windward trade. From the other points named they usually admit an average of 10 per cent. Mr. James Penny, eleven years a slave captain, speaking of the trade generally, said, on an average he esti- mated (from his own experience and the best information he could collect) that the mortality was one-twelfth. The only official table on this subject given in the Lords Report indicates a much higher rate of mortality than that admitted by these slave-traders. This table is taken from the books of the Board of a Lords Report, Part II, Sheet D 7. b Falconbridges Account of the Slave-Trade, p. 31, 20 R RSERIES III, VOL I Page 306 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Trade. It exhibits the number of negroes shipped and the number delivered throughout nine years, namely, from 1680 to 1688, both inclusive, by the African Company, and is from a statement made by the company itself. It is as follows: Years. Negroes Negroes Yearly Average shipped. del vered. loss, loss. Per cent. Per cent. 1680 ... 5,190 3,751 27* 1681 6,327 4,989 21~ 1682 6,330 4,494 29 1683 9,081 6,488 28* 1684 5,384 3,845 28* 1685 8,658 6,304 29* 1686 8,355 6,812 18* 1687 5, 606 4, 777 14* 1688 5,852 4, 936 15* Total 6O,78fl 46,394 23~ The mortality, it will be observed, was 14,389 out of 60,783 shipped; that is 23~ per cent. a The results from an official table like this, presenting an average on so large a scale, are far more reliable than any deductions from isQlated cases or individual testimony or opinion. The very witnesses who spoke of 5 per cent. as the usual loss, when pressed in cross- questioning, admitted far heavier losses to be of frequent occurrence, as John Newton, Archibald Dalzell, Thomas Eldred. This last ad- mitted that on a single voyage he lost half his slaves and half his crew. The great crime avenged itself on those who aided in its perpetra- tion. The epidemics which prevailed among the slaves were often communicated to the sailors, exposed as they were on deck day and night, and daily employed in occupations the most infectious and revolting, cleansing the lower decks and the like. Sir George Yonge says a Guinea ship seldom returns with more than half her complement of sailors, and he believes the annual loss of seamen in that trade is equal to the manning of two ships of the line. The celebrated Thomas Clarkson supplied to the Lords committee evidence on this point. ile submitted a table exhibiting the results as to eighty-eight slavers that returned to Liverpool in the years 1786 and 1787. It showed that out of 3,170 sailors shipped there came home but 1,428, less than one-half; 642 (about 20 per cent.) are recorded as having died. The rest had deserted or were left behind on account of sickness. Of those who returned many went to the hospital and never recovered their health. Another table shows the deaths of seamen on 24 West Indiamen, in a single voyage, to have been 6, while in 24 slavers it was 216. The average number of seamen employed on slavers being 36 on each (as 3,170 on 88 vessels in the table just referred to), th~ above is a mor- tality of 216 out of 864, or just 25 per cent. Mr. Clarkson shows by other tables that the loss of seamen on board slavers is twenty times as great in proportion to numbers as on board vessels in the Petersburg or Newfoundland or Greenland trade; and he adds an expression of his belief that the annual loss of seamen a It is worthy of regard, in connection with this excessive mortality, that it occurred among persons all taken in the very prime of life. 30 Page 307 UNION AUTHORITIES. 307 in English slave-traders is greater than that in all other English tra- ding vessels put together. a So odious did this service become that seamen could usually be obtained for it only by fraudulent means through crimps and land- lords of sailors boarding-houses, though two months wages (instead of the usual months pay) were offered in advance. Upon the whole, it seems to be sufficiently established that the usual rate of mortality among seamen was not less than 25 per cent. for each voyage; that is, during one year, for the rule of the African slave-trade was one round voyage each year. As to the mortality among the slaves, there seems no good reason why we should not adopt the rate of loss shown in the statement of the African Company as the average on 60,000 slaves shipped in their vessels, namely, 23~ per cent. But even to this terrible mortality a material item may have to be added: Among the documents in the Lords Report is a report presented December 12,1788, by a committee of the Jamaica House of Assembly to that house. This committee, desiring to avert the inferences as to ill-treatment of slaves, liable to be drawn from the great decrease of~the slave pop- ulation of the island, made inquiry as to the number of new negroes that have perished in the harbors of this island between the time of their being reported at the customhouse and the day of sale, all which are reported in official books and returns as negroes actually imported. They found, from the examination of a negro factor (Mr. Lindo), that out of 7,873 negroes consigned to him in the years 1786, 1787, and 1788, and reported at the customhouse, 363 died in the harbor of Kingston before the day of sale. b This gives a mortality of about 4~- per cent. on shipboard after entry and before landing. It does not clearly appear from the table of the African Company whether by negroes delivered they mean those entered as arrived in the books of the office, or those actually offered for sale. If the former, then we have 4~ per cent. to add to 23~- per cent. furnished in the African Companys table; making an aggregate of 28-i per cent. as the average mortality incident to the passage. What shall we say of the estimates of those slave-dealers who would have us believe that the entire average mortality among slaves on the terrible middle passage amouiited to but one-fifth of the mortality among the crews of slavers, and only to about the percentage which by official documents we find to have taken place after the close of the voyage during a few days delay in harbor previous to disembarkation? On the whole, whether this loss in harbor is to be added to the Afri- can Companys estimate or not, it may be confidently assumed that the mortality among slaves imported from the Eastern to the Western Hemisphere, estimated from the time of shipping to that of landing, did not fall short of from 20 to 25 per cent. Lest we exaggerate, however, let us put it at 20 per cent. only. c a Lords of Council Report, Part II, Sheet F 3. bLords of Council Report, Part III, Sheet R. cIt may not be wholly unnecessary to remind the reader, if he be not familiar with the calculation of percentages, that if 20 per cent. of the negroes received on board be the number lost on the middle passage, while we must deduct that percentage from the total shipped to ascertain the nrtmber landed in the colonies, we must add not 20 but 25 per cent. to the number landed if we wish to obtain the number shipped. Thus, if the number of negroes shipped be 100, we obtain th Page 308 308 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. It is considered a bloody battle when 10 per cent. of the combatants engaged are killed or wounded. The loss at Gettysburg did not amount to so high a percentage. Nor even when that proportion of killed and wounded is reached does the ultimate mortality amount to 5 per cent. Through what a frightful ordeal, then, were these poor wretches, during their incarceration of eight or ten weeks on board Christian- owned slavers, doomed to pass! Their ranks twice decimated in that brief period; their numbers, without regard to age or sex, thinned by death, as the numbers of soldiers passing through four sanguinary battles seldom are; not inspired, as the soldier may be, by zeal in a cause; not sustained, as the soldier in battle is, by hope of victory; their future dark, purposeless, despairing, as the prospect of pitiless slavery, ending only at death, could make it; what people, even under the harrow of pagan victory, were ever made to endure what they endured? And this crime of one portion of Gods creatures against another portion was committed not in the case of thousands, not even of mil- lions only; it was committed through the persistent barbarities of three centuries and a half, in the case of tens of millions! When we consider the character of the means employed in Africa to fill up the slave cargoes; the wasting wars waged to procure prisoners; the marauding bands of kidnapers firing villages and killing all who resisted; the slaughter of those who were too young, and the abandon- ment of those who were too old or infirm to be marketable; the deaths on the long, desert journey; and again the pestilence-invaded barra- coons; and yet again in the dungeons of the slave shipwhen we reflect upon all these prolific sources of mortality we shall not be inclined to consider Lord Palmerston guilty of exaggeration when he calculated that we must treble the number of slaves actually landed in the colonies to find the total of persons who were consigned to death or slavery by the various operations of the trade from its inception in the Old World to its close in the harbors of the New. But lest in this the British premier should have exaggerated, let us assume that the number of those who perished in Africa by slave wars, marauding murders, pestilence, and the extremity of hardship, pre- vious to embarkation, was but equal to the number embarked. In other words, let us, to obtain the entire number of victims, lower the estimate to double the number only that were actually received on board slave ships. Then, according to our previous calculation, assuming the number shipped from Africa in the three and a half centuries through which this traffic lasted to have been 15,500,000, we have 31,000,000 as the total number of negroes who have been con- signed to death or to foreign slavery that one race of men might live by the labor of another. Thirty-one millions! a portion of mankind equal in number to the entire inhabitants, Northern and Southern, white and colored, of the United States! Of these 31,000,000 upward of 3,000,000 (a population equal to that of the United States when independence was declared) were number landed, namely, 80, by deducting 20 per cent. from 100; but to those 80 we must add 25 per cent. on 80 in order to obtain the original number shipped, namely, 100. The term middle pass~e is not to be understood as designating the trans- oceanic route to the West Indies from any particular portion of the slave coast. Middle passage, or mid-passage; the passage of a slave ship from Africa across the Atlantic Ocean. (Worcesters Dictionary. Page 309 UNION AUTHORITIES. 309 cast into the Atlantic,a while less than 12,500,000 were landed in colonial ports and distribnted to planters from the auction block. Never, in any three centuries of mans written history, was the violation of a great principle, alike in political economy, in national morals, and in the religion of Christ, followed by a succession of outrages against Gods creaturesin numbers a vast nationso openly sanctiOned by public law and solemn treaty, so shamelessly countenanced by public opinion, yet so marked at every stage of its progress by those flagrant enormities which usually arouse loud- spoken indignation, even when they do not stir to practical reform, among mankind. But we have raised the curtain on but the first two acts of the great tragedy, the scene being laid of the first in Africa, of the second in the prison-slaver. The third and last, opening on colonial planta- tions, remains to be glanced at. We must say a few words as to the treatment of those who survived death to become, in a foreign land, slaves and the progenitors of slaves. The graphic recital of individual barbarities, authentic examples of which can be found without number, are best calculated to stir indig- nation; but a doubt may obtrude itself, in reading these, as to how far they constitute the rule, and how far they are to be taken as the exception only. Statistical details on a large scale, grave and dis- passionate though their language be, addressed not to the heart but to the reason, carry with theni a force of evidence far beyond that of individual example; a force of evidence against which sophistry strives in vain; which compels conviction, except when the mind is closed against all proof by the hermetic influence of prejudice. We select an example of such evidence, based on official tables running through nearly three-quarters of a century, and bearing upon the character of slavery in the principal English colony in the West Indies. The character of England for humanity, as compared with that of other owners of slave coloniesSpain, France, Hollandis not below the average; and on that score the example may be assumed as fair. To the Jamaica House of Assembly, convened by the Governor of the colony, August 6, 1702, a return was made of the negroes and stock then on the island. The number of slaves was 41,596. b In the report of the Lords in council, from which we have already so copiously extracted, is a table c giving the number of negroes annually imported into and exported from the island of Jamaica, from the year 1702 to the year 1775, both inclusive; that is, during seventy-four years. Imported 497,736 Exported 137,014 Leaving an addition, by importation, to the negro population of the island, in seventy-four years, of 360,722 aThe dead were thrown overboard even in port. Captain Cook, commanding a trading vessel on the east coast of Africa, in 18361838, informed Mr. Fowell Buxton that slaves who die on board in ports are never interred on shore, but are invariably thrown overboard, when they sometimes float backward and forward with the tide for a week, should the sharks and alligators not devour them. (The African Slave-Trade, by Thomas Fowell Buxton, London, 1839, p. 93.) b Annals of Jamaica, by the Rev. G. W. Bridges, A. M., London, 1827, Vol. 1, p. 331. c Lords of Council Report, Part Ill, Jamaica, Sheet P Page 310 310 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. These two items of 4lp596 negroes in the island in 1702, and of 360,722 imported from Africa from that time up to 1775together, 402,318give the number of negroes who would have been in the island in 1775 if the population had neither augmented by natural increase nor diminished by mortality in the previous seventy-four years. But, in point of fact, this population of 402,318 was repre- sented in 1775 by only 192,787 survivors, a It had diminished in three-quarters of a century by 209,531; that is, to less than one-half. A similar table to that above referred to for Jamaica is given for the British West Indian colony next in importance, namely, the island of Barbadoes. It extends, however, over seventeen years only, namely, from 1764 to 1780, both inclusive. b It indicates a rate of decrease in the slave population far greater even than that in Jamaica. It appears from the table that in 1764 there were in the island 70,706 negroes; that there were imported in the next seventeen years, namely, up to 1780, 38,843, no importations of negroes in the last seven years of the period nor any exportations of them throughout the period being recorded. To 70,706 (the number in 1764) add 38,843 (the number imported in seventeen years) and we have 109,549 as the number of negroes who, if there had been no natural increase or decrease of population, would have been alive in 1780, but in that year there were but 68,270 alive on the island. At this rate of de- crease the population would have diminished to one-half in twenty- three years. But, to obtain general results, we must look to more comprehensive estimates than these. Unfortunately there are to be found no full statistical details which might enable us to calculate with accuracy the number of negroes and their descendants of mixed blood now on the Western Hemisphere. We know that there were in 1860 4,435,709 in the United States. c We know that in the West Indies, including Guiana, there were emancipated by England, France, Denmark, Sweden, and Holland about 915,000 slaves; d and the usual estimate is, that to these should be added one-fifth to oltain the present colored population of these colonies. This would give 1,098,000or say, in round numbers, 1,100,000as the entire colored population of the West Indian cob- a The Rev. Mr. Bridges, after quoting the table above given, and stating that after deducting the negroes exported from those imported, 360,722 were left for the supply of the island, adds that the number alive in 1775 was 192~787. (Work cited, Vol. 2, p. 456.) A resident for years in Jamaica, Mr. Bridges had access, through the Duke of Manchester, Governor of the island, to all important official documents. An apologist of slavery, he may be trusted as to any evidence against it. bLords of Council Report, Part LII, Barbadoes, Table A, No. 15. cPreliminary Report of Eighth Census, p. 7. dThe total number emancipated was as follows: England 770, 390 France 248, 560 Holland 45,000 Denmark 27, 144 Sweden 531 Total 1, 091, 625 But of the slaves emancipated by England 102,363 were not in the Western Hemisphere, namely, at the Cape 35,700, and in the Mauritius 66,613. There were also among those liberated by France 74,501, in the Eastern Hemisphere, namely, in the island of Bourbon 60,651, in Senegal 10,350, and in Nossi-b~ 3,500. Deduct- ing these two items of 102,363 and 74,501 from 1,091,625 we have 914,661 as the total of slaves emancipated in the West Indies, including Guiana Page 311 UNION AUTHORITIES. ~iI flies of England, France, Holland, Denmark, and Sweden, a let us say in 1860. The census returns of the Spanish West Indian colonies, still slave, are imperfect, and the several estimates of population in these islands vary widely. The most authentic estimates based on actual census returns make the slave and free colored population of Cuba, as late as 1853, a little more than half a million~ b with a fair allowance for increase since that date, we may put it in 1860 at 530,000. Porto Rico, a flourishing and increasing colony, contained, by a census return of 1846, c 447,914 inhabitants, of whom about 54 per cent. were white, leaving about 206,000 colored. The rate of increase for the sixteen years preceding was a little upward of 2 per cent. a year. As but 50,000 or 55,000 of the colored people in this island are slaves, so that the gradual falling off of the slave-trade would not very seriously affect the population, we may suppose that some 25 per cent. (say 51,500) have been added since; making in all 257,500 for the entire colored population of Porto Rico. This would give in the Spanish West Indian colonies a colored population in 1860 of 787,500. We have not been able to find any official returns of the population of Hayti later than 1826. In 1820, in a Memoire sur Saint Dominique, a This is probably a full estimate. There were freed in Jamaica 311,070 slaves, one-third of the whole number emancipated in the West Indies. But by the cen- sus of 1844 the total black and colored population of the island was but 361,657, having diminished in ten years nearly 20,000. Sewell (Ordeal of Free Labor in the British West Indies, New York, 1862, p. 245) says: If the estimate of mor- tality by cholera and smallpox within a few years be correct, I do not believe, after making every allowance for a proper increase by birth, that the black and colored population of Jamaica exceeds at the present day 350,000. This is but 12 per cent. more than the number of slaves freed. If Cochins estimate of the pop- ulation of the West Indies be correct, there were in the British West Indian colo- nies in 1855 but 845,000, of whom between 140,000 and 150,000 were whites, leaving, say, 700,000 for the entire colored population. (Cochin, Tom. 1, p. 478 and pp. 366, 367,) But England emancipated in the West Indies 670,000 slaves (Cochin, Tom. 1, p. 367), or within 30,000 as many as comprised in 1855 (according to Cochins estimate) the entire colored population in her West Indian colonies. The addition to the number of slaves emancipated in the West Indies of one- fifth, or 20 per cent., to make up the total colored population, say in 1860, is evidently ample. bI take these from a work published in 1855, entitled Cuba, from the Spanish of Don J. M. de la Torre, edited by R. S. Fisher, statistical editor of Coltons Works. A table (p. 119) gives census returns at intervals from 1775. The three last are: Free col Year. white. ored and Slaves. Total. black. In 1846 425, 767 149, 226 323, 759 898, 752 Iii 1849 457,133 184,410 323,897 945,440 In 1853 501,988 176,647 330,425 1,009,060 In 1846 there were 472,982 [sic] free and slave; in 1853 there were 507,072, an increase in seven years of about 34,000. If (as the supplies from the slave-trade haVe been diminished) we put the increase since then at 43,000, we shall have 550,000 as the present total. cPorto Rico, by J. T. ONeil, edited by R. S. Fisher, 1855, has returns from an early date. The three last are: 1830 330,051 1834 358, 836 1846 447,914 In the census of 1834 the whites were 54 per cent. of the whole population, the free colored being 35 per cent., and the slaves 11 per cent. The proportion of slaves at this time is said to be 9 per cent. only Page 312 312 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. by Lieut. Gen. Baron Pamphile de Lacroix, the population of the island is put at 501,000, of whom oniy 1,000 are set down as white.a In 1825 M. Placide Justin estimates the population at 700,000. b But in 1826 Charles Mackenzie, British consul-general in ilayti, obtained an official population return, not published, which had recently been made to the Haytien Chamber of Commerce. It gives the population of each commune separately, making the total population of the island at that time 423,042. c This return Mr. Mackenzie considers more reliable than any other. It affords proof how little trustworthy are vague estimates of population, which usually overrun the truth, in consequence probably of the desire of a nation or its government, in the absence of an undeniable census, to represent its numerical strength as great as possible. Some very partial returns of an authentic character, furnished by Mackenzie,d give the rate of natural increase in the population in cer- tain communes at about three-quarters of 1 per cent. only per annum. But no trustworthy deductions can be made from returns so limited. The actual rate of increase from 1836 [1826] to 1860thirty-four yearsis probably double this, say 1~ per cent. a year. Allowing for omissions e and for Mackenzies opinion that the cen- sus given, though the most reliable document he could obtain, may be an underestimate,f let us, instead of the total of 423,042, there given as the population in 1826, assume the black and colored population of Hayti in 1826 at Baron deLacroixs estimate of 500,000, adding thereto, to bring it up to 1860, lj per cent. a year for thirty-four yearsthat is, 51 per cent.and we have the total negro and mulatto population of the island at 755,000.g a The estimate is: Blacks 480,000 Mulattoes 20,000 Whites 1, 000 Total 501,000 bNotes on Hayti, by Charles Mackenzie, F. R. S., London, 1830, Vol. 2, p. 112. cNotes on Hayti, above cited, Vol. 2, pp. 113, 114. The population is thus divided: Population of the north, west, and south (late French part) of the island 351, 819 Population of the east (Spanish part) 71, 223 Total 423,042 d These returns show an annual excess of births over deaths of eighty on an average of five years, in the commune of Saint Jago, containing 11,056 inhabit- ants; and again, a similar excess of 75 per annum, on an average of six years. in the commune of Cape Haytien, on 12,151 inhabitants; in neither case reaching three-quarters of 1 per cent. (Notes on Hayti, Vol. 2, pp. 117, 119.) e Grands Bois, the residence of the. Maroons or refugee negroes, then inhabiting the mountains which stretch from the neighborhood of Mirebalais to the coast on the east of Jacmel, is omitted, as that wandering people could not be reached, so as to enumerate them. Their number at that time is commonly estimated at 6,000. f Notes on Hayti, Vol. 2, p. 116. qVictor Sch~Ucher, who in 1842 published Les Colonies Fran~aises, is the author of two volumes, published in 1843, entitled Colonies Etrang~res et Haiti. The spirit in which his works are written may be judged from the motto: It would be as easy to regulate humanely assassination as slavery, and his opinions on Hayti are entitled to the more weight, as they are the result of a personal visit to that island and exploration of its interior. He says: -There has been no census taken for the last fifteen years. * * * Though children swarm in the cabins, those who speak in good faith concur in the admis- sion that the population does not increase. The Government, indeed, puts th Page 313 UNION AtTTIIORITIES. 313 As respects Central and South America, any estimate of the num- ber of negroes and their descendants of mixed blood must be founded on data still more uncertain than those which relate to the West Indies. Not only are we without any census of modern date to aid in the research, but an element of uncertainty intervenes which even census returns would fail to dispel. The aboriginal Indian races and their descendants of mixed blood are in large proportion all over this country, and are so blended in some portions of it that it is impos- sible to distinguish between them and the African mulatto of various shades. Brazil, the only considerable portion of the South American con- tinent in which slavery exists, contains, of course, by far the larger number of negroes, probably four-fifths, or more, of all that are to be found in Central or South America. Into this country slaves were imported from Africa in considerable numbers as late as fifteen years ago.a A census, spoken of as official, bearing date June 22, 1831, states the entire population at 5,035,000, of which 2,000,000 are set down as slaves.b The free colored population is not given. An estimate in the Penny Cyclopedia puts the negro population in 1836 at 2,000,000, namely, 1,600,000 slaves and 400,000 free.c If the proportion here given between slaves and free be correct, and if the census of 1831 may be trusted, the number of free colored of African descent was then 500,000. This would make the entire colored popu- lation of African descent in 1831 2,500,000; that is about one-half of the whole population, the other half being whites, Indians, and a mixed race, sharing the Indian blood. From the year 1831 to the year 1856 we find no record of any population returns claiming to be official. In 1856 the Brazilian Government published returns, sum- ming up 7,678,000, but not distinguishing the races. The latest and probably the most reliable authority on this subject is the work of Kidder and I~ letcher on Brazil, from which (p. 612) the above returns are taken.d These gentlemen believe the government population at 800,000, but the general opinion is that it does not exceed 700,000. (Colonies Etrang~res et Haiti, Vol. 2, pp. 264, 265.) This is the judgment of one whose book is a defense of the Haytiens and of their character, and who is evidently disposed to represent everything as favor- ably as truth will warrant. Coltons Descriptive Atlas (1863) gives the entire population of the island in 1860 at 708,500. Some others put it as high as from 800,000 to 900,000. Upon the whole, the data here brought together induce us to believe that these latter figures, like the government estimates to which Scholcher alludes, are an exaggeration; and that in estimating the colored population of the island in 1860 at 755,000 we are as likely to exceed the actual amount as to fall short of it. The number of whites in the island are scarcely worth reckoning. Diligent search has convinced us that reliable documents as to the actual pop- ulation of this island are not to be obtained. aM. de Souza, Brazilian minister of foreign affairs, stated, under date May 14, 1853, that the number of slaves imported was: i546 50,324 i848 - 60, 000 1847 56, i72 i849 54, 000 He added that in 1852 the number imported had been reduced to 700 (Cochin, Tom. 2, p. 238.) bHorners Brazil and Uruguay, p. 71. o Penny Cyclopedia, Vol. 5, Art. Brazil. d Kidder and Fletcher inform us in their preface that their experience in the Brazilian Empire embraces a period of twenty years; and they add: The authors have consulted every important work in French, German, English, and Portuguese that could throw light on the history of Brazil, and likewise various published memoirs and discourses read before the flourishing Geographical and Historical Society at Rio de Janeiro. For statistics they have either personally examined the imperial and provincial archives, or have quoted directly from Brazilian State papers (Brazil and the Brazilians, Preface, pp. 4, 5. Page 314 314 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. returns of 1856 to be an overestimate; and they give, as more trust- worthy, a table, made up from the estimates of Seilor Francisco Nunes de Souza, a native statistician, quoted also by Ewbank. The table was published in the Agricultor Braziliero. It is for 1856, and sums up 7,040,0Q0.a The same authors give us also estimates of the percentage of slaves to the free population in one-half of the provinces composing the empire. It is to be regretted that the proportion in the other half, the most populous, containing more than three-fifths of the popula- tion, cannot be obtained. rfllese estimates, we are told, are from the very careful computation of the Hon. J. W. Petit, formerly U. S. consul at Maranham. They show an aggregate of 944,623 slaves in a population of 2,680,000. b The number of free colored is not given. To bring these estimates up to 1860 we must add the increase of pop- ulation during four years. The rate of increase, deduced from the average of estimates going back thirty years, is about l~ per cent. a year, or 7 per cent. in four years. This gives us 492,800; which, added to 7,040,000, raises the total population of Brazil in 1860 to 7,532,800; an estimate which, in default of an official census, we adopt. It is somewhat above the average of the current estimates of the day. c If the proportion of slaves to free persons be the same in the remain a In the Province of In the Province of Arnazonas 30, 000 Espirito Santo 60, 000 Paul 190, 000 Rio de Janeiro ... 1, 400, 000 Maranhao 280, 000 5ao Paulo 680,000 Piauhy 170, 000 Paran~ 70, 000 Ceara 350, 000 Santa Catharina 90, 000 Rio Grande do porte 160, 000 Rio Grande do Siil 240,000 Parahiba 230, 000 Mlinas-Geraes 800,000 Pernambuco 800, 000 Matto (irosso 100, 000 Alag6as 210, 000 (ioyaz 120, 000 Sergipe 180, 000 Bahia 880, 000 Total population of Brazil 7,040,000 (From Brazil and the Brazilians, already cited, p.. 599.) b The details are as follows: 0 a, 0~ o0~~ a~ ~o P-~.n-~ ,Ofr ~ ~4-~z a a ~ o au.%, s H Paul 190,000 ito 1.431 78,157 Pianliy 170, 000 1 to 2. 666 46, 372 Rio Grande do iNorte 160, 000 1 to 7. 221 19,462 Alag6as 210, 000 1 to 4. 221 40, 222 Sergipe 180, 000 1 to 2. 927 45, 836 Espirito Santo 60, 000 1 to 2. 009 19, 940 Rio de Janeiro 1,400,000 1 to 1. 181 641, 907 Santa Catharina 90, 000 1 to . 5 15, 000 Goyaz 120, 000 1 to - 7 15, 000 Matto Grosso 100, 000 1 to 3. 4 22, 727 Total 2, 680, 000 944, 623 (From Brazil and the Brazilians, p. 599.) c Of popular estimates found in modern gazetteers and descriptive atlases, a few are a little above this, while others are considerably below it. The average of these would make the population in 1860 about 7,250,000 only. The Imperial Gazetteer puts the total in 1854 at 6,065,000; Harpers Gazetteer in 1855 at 6,150,000. Passing by McCullochs Gazetteer, where it is vaguely estimated at 5,000,000, we have the estimate in Mitchells Descriptive Atlas of 7,700,000 as the population in 1860. Colton puts it for the same year at 7,780,000. Adding to the two first estimates at the rate of 1~ per cent. a year to bring them up to 1860, we have 6,701,300, 6,688,130, 7,700,000, and 7,787,000 as various est Page 315 UNION AUTHORITIES. 315 ing ten provinces as in those estimated, then the total number of slaves in the Empire of Brazil was in the year 1860 2,655,000. But inasmuch as tile largest proportions of slaves to free persons are to be found in the populous provinces on the Atlantic Coast, and as three of these, to wit, Pernambuco, Bahia, and Minas-Geraes, each with a population of 800,000 or upward, are among the provinces not estimated, we think the above total of 2,655,000 slaves is probably somewhat too low, and that it may bear an addition of 10 per cent. This would give for the Empire of Brazil in 1860 2,920,500 slaves; an estimate which we believe to be as near the truth as anything we are likely to obtain, a We find no reliable data in regard to the number of free persons of African descent, of which the probable reason is the great mixture of colored races. The aborigines of Brazil at the period of its conquest are said to have numbered between 4,000,000 and 5,000,000,b and though probably not more than a fifth of that number now survive, the half and quarter breeds are very numerous. Ewbank gives an estimate by Seilor de Souza (the same writer probably whose calculation of later date is relied on by Kidder and Fletcher), in which, pntting the total at about the same we have given,c he divides the population into 2,160,000 whites, 3,120,000 negro slaves, 800,000 domesticated Indians,d 180,000 free blacks, and 1,100,000 free colored. Unless all the Indian half and quarter breeds are included in the class of domesticated Indians, which is not likely, we cannot regard the free colored as all of African blood. On the other hand, it is certain that the number of free negroes and mulattoes in Brazil is largelarger probably than in any other slave country. By the Brazilian laws a slave can go before a magistrate, have his price fixed, and can purchase himself.e Large numbers avail themselves of this privilege, and the class of freemen is rapidly increasing. All writers agree that more than half the population of Brazil consists of persons of African descent, slave and free. Under these circumstances, as it is our object not to overstate the case, and therefore to avoid all underestimates of the number of negroes mates of the population in i860. Averaging these, we have 7,219,107 as the total population of Brazil. We are of opinion, however, that the estimate we have adopted, based on the calculations of M. de Souza and indorsed by Messrs. Kiddem and Fletcher, and which exceeds the above by 323.000, is more reliable and probably approaches nearly the truth. a Cochin, accurate as he usuafly is, undoubtedly understates the number of slaves in Brazil. Writingin 1861, he says in one place more than 2,000,000, and in another he assumes 2,000,000 as the number. Pres de 4,000,000 esclaves aux Etats Unis, plus de 2,000,000 an Br6sil, is his expression. And again: Les 2,000,000 Africains, esclaves an Br~sil. (Cochin, Vol. 2, p. 237.) 6 Life in Brazil, by Thomas Ewbank, 1856, p. 430. c The exact figures are 7,360,000, and the date appears to be 1845. This is but 40,000 less than his subsequent estimate for 1856. Ewbank says: Nothing like positive data was within this writers reach. From De Souzas last calculation we may infer that he formed his estimate for 1845 too high. d A report by Councillor Vellosa, made in 1819 (quoted by Ewbank, work cited, p.430), giving the total population at 4,396,321, includes 800,000 wild Indians e Brazil and the Brazilians, p.133. The author adds: Some of the most intel- ligent men that I met with in Brazileducated at Paris and Coimbrawere of African descent; men whose ancestors were slaves. Some of the closest students in the National Library are mulattoes. The largest and most successful printing establishment in Rio, that of Sr. F. Paulo Brito, is owned and directed by a mulatto. In the colleges, the medical, law, and theological schools, there is no distinction of color. * * I wasinformed that a man of mental endowments, even if he had been a slave, would be debarred from no official station, however high, unless it might be that of imperial senator Page 316 316 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. who have survived the horrors of the middle passage and the cruel- ties of slavery, we will assume De Souzas figures, without any deduc- tion for Indian blood, making the free negro population of all shades 1,280,000. This, added to the slaves, gives us as the population, free and slave, of African descent in the Empire of Brazil for the year 1860 a total of 4,200,500, leaving less than three millions and a third for whites, Indians, and Indian mixed races. One item still remains, the niost vague and uncertain of anythe number of negroes and mulattoes in the free republics of Central and South America. In all of these the aboriginal races and their descendants vastly predomni- nate; in all of them the mixture of race and gradations of color defy analysis. In none of them has slavery had more than a com- paratively ephemeral existence. But as negroes do not voluntarily emigrate to the Western Hemisphere, all the negroes or mulattoes to be found in these countries must be originally due to the slave-trade, with such trifling additions as the straying off of slaves or of free colored persons from the West Indies or from Brazil may occasionally have made. In Mexico the number of negroes seems to be accurately ascer- tained. The various estimates differ but a few hundreds; none under 6,000, and none over 7,000.a Let us assume the latter number as the negro population of Mexico in 1860. In Central America, as in Mexico, the representatives of the African race are a very insignificant part of the population. Squier, formerly charge daffaire~ of the United States to the Republics of Central America, is undoubtedly one of the best, if not the very best, author- ity on that point. He says: The population of Central America, in the absence of reliable data, can be calculated only approx- imately The following table probably exhibits very nearly the exact pro- portions in Central America, so far as they may be deduced from existing data and from personal observation :b Whites 100,000 1ndians~.~. 1,109,000 Mixedraces 800,000 Negroes 10,000 Total 2,019,000 aAlbert M. Gilliam, late U. S. consul to California, in his Travels Over the Table-Lands and Cordilleras of Mexico, 1846 (p. 164), says: The census of the population of Mexico, it is said, cannot be accurately taken. From the various estimates made by those having the best opportunities of knowing, a table was furnished me by a gentleman who, from his long residence in the country, and by some attention paid to the subject, may be relied on as measurably correct. The table is as follows: Indians . 4,500, 000 Other castes 3 000, 000 Negroes 6, 000 Total Brantz Mayer, formerly secretary of legation to Mexico, in his work entitled Mexico: Aztec, Spanish, and Republican, 1853 (Vol. 2, p. 43), estimates the different classes of the population thus: 4,354,886 1,110,000 Mestizoes 2, 165, 345 Negroes 0,600 Total 7,636,831 bSquiers Notes on Central America, pp. 53, 54 Page 317 UNION AUTHORITiES. 317 This would give us, for Mexico and Central America, 17,000. Let us say, in round numbers, 20,000. If we pass to South America, we find, in Venezuela, a country coterminous with the slave colonies of Guiana, a considerable num- ber of negroes. Bonnycastle estimated in 1818 that there were 54,000 negroes in Venezuela.a Codazzi puts down in 1841 49,782 slaves. b Negroes were employed in the wars of this Republic, and in these many are said to have perished. c It is certain they have not increased in late years. Bonnycastles calculation for 1818 is prob- ably a full estimate for 1860. But we have put the number at 60,000. New Granada appears to contain a larger number of negroes than any other of the South American republics. Cobb in his Historical Sketches of Slavery puts the total in 1853 at 80,000. d Bollaert, ap- parently one of the most reliable authorities, so far as his researches extend, estimates that in 1860 there were of the Ethiopian race in New Granada 80 000.e Colton in his Descriptive Atlas, 1860, apparently following these authorities, puts the population at 2,243,054, of whom 80,000 are negroes. We shall assume that to be the number. In Ecuador the number is small. Bollaert sets it down for the year 1860 at 7,831 ;f and Colton has the same estimate. In Peru the largest proportion of negroes is to be found in the province of Lima. Hill estimates for the province 7, 500.g Doctor Von Tschudi puts the slaves in 1847 in the same province at 4,792. h Bollaert estimates the total negroes in Peru at 40,000. i We cannot find, after much search, any estimate that seems more reliable than this last. In Chili there have never been more than a few negroes, either free or slave. The usual remark of the traveler (as Cobb, Schmidtmeyer, Mollina, and others) is that very few negroes are to be found there. Bollaert puts the number at thirty-one only; but this must be an error, for in 1825 slavery was abolished, without difficulty or disturbance, it is true, which would indicate that the number was small; but it is not likely that so small a number as Bollaerts estimate indicates would be made the subject of legislation at all. We have put down for Chili 1,000, which will probably cover all that are to be found there at this time. In Bolivia, in a population chiefly Indian, amounting to about 2,000; 000, we have no estimate whatever. Few pure Africans, says Colton. Some few Africans, says Bollaert. Probably 3,000 may cover the total amount. In the Argentine Confederation previous to the revolution of July 9, 1816, slavery prevailed, and many slaves had been importedsome directly to Buenos Ayres; others through Brazil. At the present time the negroes in La Piata are not numerous. There are a good many in Mendoza. The great mass of the population, however, are aBonnycastles Spanish America, Vol. 2, p. 319. b Codazzis Geografia de Venezuela, 1841, p. 241. cColombia; Its present State, & c., by Col. Francis Hall, hydrographer in the service of Colombia, p. 15. dHistorical Sketches of Slavery, 1858, pp. 206, 207. eAntiquarian, Ethnological, and other Researches in New Granada, Ecuador, Peru, and Chili, by W. Bollaert, 1860, p. 7. f Work cited, p. 94. gTravels in Peru and Mexico, 1860, Vol. 2, p. 88. hTravels in Peru, 18381842, by Dr. J. J. von Tschudi, 1847, p. 64. Of ~the above 4,792 he says 2,186 were males and 3,606 females. The negro population of Peru does not appear to have been due directly to the slave-trade. iAntiquarian, Ethnological, and Other Researches in New Granada, Ecuador, Peru, and Chili, by W. Bollaert, 1860, p. 115 Page 318 318 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Indians. If we put the total number of negroes within the Confeder- ation at 25,000 we shall probably be above rather than below the truth. In Paraguay there are few negroes to be found. a Five thousand will, we believe, cover the amount. They are more numerous in Uruguay. To this Republic, previous to 1842, about which time slavery was abolished, there had been brought negroes both directly from Africa and also through Southern Brazil. One writer estimates the number of negroes in Uruguay at 20,000,b and, as we find in the various works on this country no other estimate, we adopt this. In Patagonia it would appear from the various authorities that no negroes are to be found. Thus we have for Mexico, Central America, and South America, apart from Brazil, the following estimate: Mexico and Central America 20,000 Bolivia 5,000 Venezuela 60,000 Argentine Confederation 25,000 NewGranada 80,000 Paraguay 5 000 Ecuador 7,831 Uruguay 20,000 Peru 40,000 Chili 1,000 Total 263,831 Bringing together these various results, we find an approximating estimate of the number of negroes and their descendants on the West- ern Continent in the following table: Number of negroes and their descendants in the Western Hemisphere in the year 1860. United States English, French, Dutch, Danish, and Swedish West Indies, including 4,435,709 Guiana 1,ioo,ooo Spanish West Indies 787,500 Island of Hayti 755,000 Empireof Brazil 4,200,500 The rest of South America and in Central America 263,831 Canada 20,000 Total 11,562,540 The total somewhat exceeds 11,500,000; but seeing that after dili- gent search c we have been compelled to make up our estimates, espe- cially for South America, from scanty materials, and desiring to put forth no argument founded on exaggerated data, and therefore not to underestimate the remnant remaining alive as descendants and repre- sentatives of the negroes brought to America from Africa, we add a quarter of a million to the sum of our estimate, and will assume the number of negroes and their descendants in the Western Hemisphere in 1860 to have been 11,812,540 souls. This is, beyond question, not an underestimate of the actual number left. What is the conclusion, then, at which we are forced to arrive? The 15,500,000 of poor wretches who were sentenced by the slave-trade to transportation and slavery iu foreign lands are now, after three cen- turies of servitude, represented in these lands by less than four-fifths of their original number. a Historie du Paraguay, par Demersey, 1860, Tom. 1, p. 374. Quelques n~gres, en tr6s petit nombre. bMedical Topography of Brazil and Uruguay, by G. R. B Homer, surgeon, U. S. Navy p. 184. c For the statistics of the negro population of South America alone we have examined upward of 150 volumes Page 319 UNION AUTHORITIES. 319 When we consider the tendency to natural increase in human beings which has gradually swelled the population of the world to its 800,- 000,000 or 1,000,000,000, the above statement as it uow stands must be confessed to embody a terrible condemnation of that system which, as to a population half as large as that of the United States, not only arrested for eight or ten generations of men the operations of one of the great laws of the world, but without the life-destruction of war, a without the deadly agencies of pestilence or famine, not, as we some- times express it, by the visitation of God, but by the sole operation of mans crime, and the misery thence resulting, produced a retrogression of numbers at a ratio which, had it spread over the habitable earth, would have extinguished in a few centuries all human existence. But the matter has been very imperfectly presented yet. The actual results were far more fatal than the simple statement we have given serves to indicate. To obtain an accurate and intelligible view of these results we must separate the L5,500,000 of expatriated Africans into two por- tions, and trace out the separate destiny of each. More than a third of the present representatives of these 15,500,000 inhabit, it will be observed, the United States; less than two-thirds are scattered over the West Indies, Central and South America. But what proportion, let us inquire, of the negroes shipped in slavers from Africa were the progenitors of the present colored population of the United States, and what proportion went to the West Indies and to Southern America? Here, as in our previous calculation, though the materials be insuf- ficient for absolute accuracy, we can approximate the truth. In the report of the Lords of Council, so often already referred to, there is but one table bearing on the subject. b It exhibits the expor- tation of negroes from the West Indies (then the principal place of their deposit and sale) for five years, namely~ from 1783 to 1787, both inclusive, showing that in these five years, out of 20,773 negroes exported to all parts, 1,392 went to the States of America;~ that is, only about one-fifteenth of the whole, or 278, annually. Since so small a proportion out of the whole export was directed to the United States, it is evident that the demand for slaves at that time could not have been great; nor do we find throughout the report any allusion to a direct trade by slavers from the African coast to the con- tinental colonies. Of course it existed, but evidently not to a large extent. The public opinion, as well as the legislation, of the colonies had uniformly been against it. e a There was, indeed, the war in Hayti, which terminated in 1804 in independ- ence. But the loss of life consequent thereon has been far more than made up by the natural increase of the population of Hayti since it became free. Humboldt calculated the population in 1802 at 350,000; and after the death of Dessalines, the first Emperor, it was rated at 400,000. (Notes on Hayti, heretofore cited, Vol.2, p. 110.) Jt has 3ince nearly doubled. b Lords of Council Report, Part IV, Table No. 4. c The agency of the British Government in fastening slavery upon the conti- nental colonies is well known. Bancroft has placed it distinctly onrecord: The inhabitants of Virginia were controlled by the central authority on a sub- ject of vital importance to themselves and their posterity. Their halls of legis- lation had resounded with eloquence directed against the terrible plague of negro slavery. Again and again they had passed laws restraining the importation of negroes from Africa; but their laws were disallowed. How to prevent them from protecting themselves against the increase of the overwhelming evil was debated by the King in council, and, on the 10th day of December, 1770, he issued an instruction, under his own hand, commanding the Governor, under pain of the highest displeasure, to assent to no law by which the importation of slaves should be, in any respect, prohibited or obstructed. In April, 1772, this rigorous orde Page 320 320 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. The English continental colonies, says Bancroft, were, in the aggregate, always opposed to the African slave-trade. Maryland, Virginia, even Carolina, alarmed at the excessive production and consequent low price of their staples, at the heavy debts incurred by the pnrchase of slaves on credit, and at the dangerous increase of the colored population, each showed an anxious preference for the intro- duction of white men; and laws designed to restrict importation of slaves are scattered copiously along the records of colonial legislation. The first Continental Congress which took to itself powers of legisla- tion gave a legal expression to the well-formed opinion of the country, by resolving (April 6, 1776) that no slaves be imported into any of the thirteen Uiiited Colonies. a As to the number of slaves actually imported during colonial days, the same historian says: It is not easy to conjecture how many negroes were imported into the English continental colonies. The usual estimates far exceed the truth. Climate came in aid of opinion to oppose the introduction of them. * * * From the first they appear to have increased, though, owing to the inequality of the sexes, not rapidly in the first generation. Previous to the year 1740 there may have been introduced into our country nearly 130,000; before 1776 a few more than 300,000. b The Duke de Rochefoucault Liancourt, who traveled in the United States in 1795, says: Nearly twenty vessels from the harbors of the United States are employed in the importation of negroes to Georgia and to the West India Isles. The duke designates the merchants of was solemnly debated in the Assembly of Virginia. They were very anxious for an act to restrain the introduction of people, the number of whom already in the colony gave them just cause to apprehend the most dangerous conse- quences. * * * Virginia resolved to address the King himself, who in council had cruelly compelled the toleration of the nefarious traffic. They pleaded with him for leave to pr.otect themselves against the nefarious traffic, and these were the words: The importation of slaves into the colonies from the coast of Africa hath long been considered as a trade of great inhumanity, and, under its present encourage- ment, we have too much reason to fear, will endanger the very existence of Your Majestys American dominions. We are sensible that some of Your Majestys subjects in Great Britain may reap emolument from this sort of traffic; but when we consider that it greatly retards the settlement of the colonies with more use- ful inhabitants, and may in time have the most destructive influence, we presume to hope that the interest of a few will be disregarded when placed in competition with the security and happiness of such numbers of Your Majestys dutiful and loyal subjects. Deeply impressed with these sentiments, we most humbly beseech Your Majesty to remove all those restraints on Your Majestys governors of this colony which inhibit their assenting to such laws as might check so very pernicious a commerce. in this manner Virginia led the host who alike condemned slavery and opposed the slave-trade Thousands in Maryland and New Jersey were ready to adopt a similar petition; so were the Legislatures of North Carolina, of Pennsylvania, of New York. Massachusetts, in its towns and in its Legislature, unceasingly com- bated the holding as well as the sale of slaves. There was no jealousy among one another in the strife against the crying evil. Virginia harmonized all opinions, and represented the moral sentiment and policy of them all. When her prayer reached England, Franklin, through the press, called to it the sympathy of the people. Again and again it was pressed upon the attention of the ministers. But the Government of that day was less liberal than the tribunals; and while a ques- tion respecting a negro from Virginia led the courts of law to an axiom, that as soon as any slave sets his foot on English ground he becomes free, the King of England stood in the path of humanity and made himself the pillar of the slave- trade. Wherever in the colonies a disposition was shown for its restraint, his servants were peremptorily ordered to maintain it without abatement. (Ban- crofts History of the United States, Vol. 6, pp. 413, 414, and 415.) In the entire history of Great Britain there is scarcely a more disgraceful page~ a Bancrofts United States, Vol. 3, p. 411. b Bancrofts United States, Vol. 3, p. 407 Page 321 UNION AUTHORITIES. 321 Rhode Island as the conductors of what he calls the accursed traffic, which they are determined to persevere in till the year 1808, the period fixed by the constitution when it is perniitted to abolish it; but, he observes, they ship only one negro for every ton of the bur- den of their vessels, which, moreover, he adds, are small ones.a The tables given in the Lords of Council Report show that a considei- able portion of the slavers in those days were but of a 100 tons burden. This was probably the capacity of the Rhode Island slavers. If so, the number of slaves annually carried by each was 100 only; making, in all, an annual importation by them of 2,000 slaves. But a portion of these went to the West Indiesanother proof, it may be remarked, that the demand at home was not great. On the other hand, slaves may have been imported in English bottoms; some were in Dutch; and it is true, as already stated, that a few huiidred slaves were annually brought from the West Indies. Upon the whole, it seems a high estimate to put the annual impor- tation, for some years after the close of the Revolutionary War, at 3,000. During that war, as commercial intercourse with foreign nations was almost wholly suspended, few or no slaves could have been imported, and the trade was probably resumed but gradually after the war. From 1776 to 1790 there were only six years when the trade could be considered open. If we estimate that 2,500 were imported during each of these six years, we have 15,000 as the impor- tation from 1776 to 1790. Let us suppose Bancrofts a few more than 300,000 to mean 310,000, and we have the total number of slaves imported into the United States up to the year 1790, as follows: Up to the year 1776 310,000 Fromthe year l776tothe year 1790 15,000 Total imported up to 1790 325,000 At this point we emerge, in a measure, into light. The census com- mences. We know that the colored population of the United States in 1790 was 757,363, of whom 59,466 were free. The 325,000 that had been imported were in that year represented by 757,363. rrhe col- ored population of the United States had already considerably more than doubled itself by natural increase. At the end of the next decadethat is to say, in the year 1800this population was 1,001,436, having increased in ten years at the rate of about 32~ per cent. How much of this accession was due to natural increase and how much to slave-trade importation? The rate of increase among the colored populatiomi of the United States has been, by the census, as follows: In the decade from Per cent. 1790to 1800 32.23 l800to 1810 (slave-tradeceases) 37.58 1810 to 1820 28.58 1820 to 1830 31.44 1830 to 1840 23.41 1840 to 1850 26.62 1850to1860 21.90 During the first decade, in which there was no disturbing element by importation of slaves, to wit, from 1810 to 1820, the rate of increase 21 R RSERIES III, ~OL Iv a Travels by the Duke de Rochefoucault Liancourt, Vol. 2, p. 292 (of English translation) Page 322 322 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. was 28.58; during the next decade, 31.44. Let us assume the former as the rate of natural increase from 1790 to 1800. Deducting it from the actual increase during that period, namely, 32.23, we have a remainder of 3~ per cent. as the increase from Africa. That would give 27,770 as the number of slaves imported in the ten years from 1790 to 1800, or at the rate of 2,777 a year. In the next decade, eight years of which only were open to slave importation, that importation appears to have greatly increased. The colored population amounted by the census of 1810 to 1,377,810, exhibiting an increase iu the decade at the rate of 37.58 per cent. If, as before, we rate the natural increase at 28.58, we shall have 9 per cent. on 1,001,436 (that is to say, 90,123) of accession to the popula- tion in question, due to other causes than natural increase. But dur- ing this decade, to wit, in 1803, Louisiana, purchased from France, became a part of the Union, and her colored population, free and slave, added 42,245 to the census returns of 1810. Deduct this amount from 90,123, and we have 47,884 as the number of slaves that may have been directly imported into the United States in the eight years from 1800 to 1808, being at the rate of 5,985 a year. The rate of importation was evidently increasing with rapidity. Fortunate was it for our country and for the cause of humanity that Congress availed itself of the constitutional provision which permitted, in 1808, the abo- lition of the slave-trade. Another item remains to be determined ere we can complete our estimate of importation. Of the colored population which Louisiana brought into the Union, what proportion may we properly ascribe to the slave-trade and what proportion to natural increase? The total number at the date of purchase appears to have been about 30,000.a To supply this number, how many had probably been im- ported under colonial rule? Except as to difference of nationality in her owners, Louisiana pre- vious to 1803 was not differently situated from the Southern States of the Union. Part of the same continent, coterminous in her chief boundaries, with similar climate and general condition, there seems no good reason to suppose that the natural increase of her colored population had been at a rate much lower than ours. a By an accurate census of Louisiana taken in 1785 the total population was 28,537, of whom about 14,000 were slaves and 1,000 free colored. From that date there seems to have been no separate authentic census of the colony until one was made in 180~s by the consul of the United States at New Orleans, under orders from the Department of State. From the best documents he could obtain he put the total population at 49,473, but without separating whites and blacks. (See History of Louisiana from the Earliest Period, by Fran~ois Xavier Martin, New Orleans, 1827, Vol. II, pp. 77, 78, and .) Other authorities put it higher, as Maj. Amos Stoddard, in his Sketches, His- torical and Descriptive, of Louisiana, p. 226. He admits that there are no precmse data to determine the population in 1803, but estimates 50,700 whites and 42,600 colored; together, upward of 93,000. This, however, is clearly an overestimate, as our own official census of 1810 makes the entire population of Louisiana in that year but 76,556. At first sight the consuls estimate of 49,473 seems too low; since, if it be not, 50 per cent. was added to the population in the seven years from 1803 to 1810. This would seem improbable, but for the remarkable fact that the entire population of Louisiana (chiefly, of course, by immigration from other States in the Union and from Europe) doubled in the next decade, amounting, in 1820, to 152,923. As a medium term between these conflicting authorities we may assume the entire population in 1803 to be 60,000, of whom half were colored. This agrees with Mr. Careysestimate. Speaking of the colored population, Mr. Carey says: Nearly 3G,000 were found in Louisiana at her incorporation into the Union. (The Slave-Trade, Domestic and Foreign, p. 17. Page 323 UNION AUTHORITIES. 323 But in 1800 our colored population had very nearly trebled its orig- inal numbers. Let us suppose (to avoid the chance of overestimate) that in 1803 the slaves and free colored people of Louisiana had only doubled in number as compared to their African descendants. That would give us 15,000 as the number imported into that colony up to the time when it became part of the United States. a Summing up these various items, we have the total number of slaves imported into the United States up to the date of the abolition of the slave-trade, as follows: Uptol79O,as before 825,000 From 1790to 1800 27,770 Froml800tol8lO ____ 47884 Imported into Louisiana previously to her purchase from France 15,000 Total slaves imported into the United States 5415,654 It is to be observed that this is an estimate, not of the slaves that were exported from Africa destined to the United States, but of those that were actually landed there. If the loss on the voyage was, as we have estimated, 20 per cent., c the above 415,654 negroes represent about 520,000 shipped on the African coast, whether directly for this country or coming by way of the West Indies, since 520,000 less 20 per cent. is 416,000. If the statement of the Duke de Rochefoucault,d that the Rhode Island slavers carried but one negro for eaeh ton burden, may be relied on, the average mortality on board slave ships bound to North America was likely to have been less than 20 per cent. It would, probably, be safe to estimate that out of 500,000 negroes shipped from Africa, the number above estimated to have reached us may have been landed. Referring now to our estimate of the number of slaves taken from the African coast during the three centuries and a half of the slave- trade, namely, 15,520,000, we may assert, in round numbers, that half a million of these went to our own country, chiefly during its colonial existence, and 15,000,000 to the West Indies and to South and Central America. a We ought here, in strictness, to add that proportion of the slave and free col- ored population of Texas at the time of her admission, which may be supposed to have been me to the African slave-trade. But, in the first place, it was small, a very large proportion of the total (it was about 58,500 in 1850, five years after annexation) being undoubtedly due to natural increase; secondly, we cannot tell how many slaves may have been taken thither from the United States; and, lastly. it is more than offset by the fugitive colored population of Canala and the colo- nized population of Liberia, neither of which enter into the U. S. census, though both go to increase the total to which the 500,000 slaves shippsd in Africa for the United States had actually swelled in 1860. bAn industrious and painstaking author, accustomed to statistics, makes the total one-fifth less than this. Mr. H. C. Carey, in his Slavery, Domestic and For- eign, Philadelphia, 1853, p. 18, after furnishing his reasons for each separate esti- mate, sums up as follows: Prior to 1714 30, 000 From 1771 to 1790 34,000 From 1715 to 1750 90, 000 Subsequent to 1790 70, 000 From 1751 to 1760 35, 000 From 1761 to 1770 74, 500 TotaL number imported up to 1808 333, 500 We think Mr. Carey has estimated the rate of natural increase in early days, say from 1714 to 1770, too high, not allowing for the effect, then sensibly felt, of that disproportion between the sexes incident to the slave-trade, to which we shall hereafter have occasion to advert. o See p. 71 [307], ante. dSeep. 120 [320], ante Page 324 324 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. We have now the means of answering the following questions: What became of each of these two so unequal divisions of this expa- triated people? What has been the respective destiny of each? How are they now represented? The answer involves results so extraordi- nary, at first sight so incredible, aiid in effect, even when thoroughly examined, so difficult of satisfactory explanation, that we have devoted much time and labor to the critical revision of the materials whence our conclusions are drawn before venturing to place them on record. This is the answer: The 500,0CC shipped for North America have increased nearly ninefold, being represented in 1860 by a population exceeding 4,400,000, while the 15,000,000 sent to the West Indian colo- nies and to Southern America have diminished from age to age until they are represented now by less than half their original number. a How marvelous, beyond all human preconception, are these results! had the 15,000,000 whose lot was cast in the southern portion of our hemisphere increased in the same proportion as the 500,000 who were carried to its northern continent, their descendants, instead of dwindling to half, would have been to-day a multitude numbering more than 130,000,000 of men. What is the explanation of this startling marvel? Is it to be found solely in the greater humanity with which the negroes of the United States have been treated as compared with those of other slave countries? A little research will show us that there were other causes in opera- tion to produce these strange resultscauses chiefly due to the fact that the slave-trade to the United States was brief in its duration and unimportant in its operations compared to the slave-trade to the West Indies and South America. But wherever the operations of the slave-trade are of great magni- tude the effect is to check the natural increase of the slave population on plantations. In the first place, it introduces an unnatural element into that pop- ulation which it is proper here to set forth; and to this element a portion of the decrease in the negro population of the countries to which our estimates extend is indisputably to be ascribed. The abnormality referred to is the uniform practice of dealers, in selecting cargoes of negroes on the African coast, to purchase a con- siderably larger proportion of males than females. All the witnesses agree in the fact, though they differ as to the motive. Some testify that it was more difficult to procure salable women than men, ascrib- a Those who may be tempted to object to this latter calculation, as based in part on approximating estimates, would do well to bear in mind that it is fully borne out by another calculation, already given (pp. 79, 80, 811309,310], ante),and which is based upon official tables alonea calculation covering a period of seventy-four years in the last century and extending to the entire negro population of the largest English West India colony, Jamaica; throughout these seventy-four years the results, in condensed view, being as follows: Negroes in Jamaica in 1702 41,596 Negroes imported from 1702 to 1775 497, 736 Deduct exported from 1702 to 1775 137, 014 Leaving in the island imported slaves 360, 722 Total in 1775, if the population had heen stationary 402, 318 But the actual population in 1775 was 192,787, showing a reduction in three- quarters of a century in the negro population of Jamaica of more than one-half Page 325 UNION AUTHORITIES. 325 ing this to various causes; as, to the prevalence of polygamy in Africa; to the fact that there were fewer female criminals than male criminals; ak~o, that as to the chief offense for which criminals were sold to slavery, namely, adultery, it was sometimes pardoned in the women, but never in the men. a Other witnesses, however, affirm that there was no difficulty in procuring as many female slaves as males. Mr. Eldred, captain of a slaver from Rhode Island, testifies: Female slaves can be procured on the coast with more facility than male slaves.b The true motive is probably given by a slave surgeon, Mr. Falcon- bridge, who deposes: On the coast of Africa the captains of slave ships never wish to purchase more than one-third females. The planters in the West Indies, in many cases, prefer males, because they lose the labor of a female in the latter end of preg- nancy, and for a little time afterward.c Most of the witnesses state the usual proportion between fhe two to be three males for one female. The Rev. Mr. Newton says: The number of male slaves purchased usually exceeded that of the females in the proportion of four to three, and sometimes of two to three.d The exact average proportion appears to have been between these two rates. In the report of the Jamaica House of Assembly, already quoted from,e in which this disparity in th~ number of the sexes is adduced as a chief cause of the decrease in their slave population, tables are given showing the exact proportion in the case of 49,135 negroes imported by the chief negro factors into Kingston from 1764 to 1788. Of these, 30,636 were males and 18,539 were females, the relative proportion being, as nearly as may be, five males to three females. Of each 1,000 negroes imported then, there were, on the average, 625 men and 375 women. Each 1,000, therefore, was only equal, so far as power of reproduction was concerned, to a populatiomi of 375 men and 375 women; in other words, to a normally constituted population of 750. It follows that, as to any given West Indian or other slave popula- tion, kept up by constant supplies through the slave-trade, we must deduct 25 per cent., or, in other words, take three-fourths only of its nominal amount on which to estimate its power of natural increase.f To this extent, then, it is to be confessed that the decrease of pop- ulation in the West Indies and South America is miot to be wholly ascribed to the more cruel treatment or more oppressive labor to which the slaves were subjected by the planters, but to the policy pursued by the African slave-traders in selecting their human cargoes. That such a disturbance of a great natural law must have produced immoral results in an aggravated form cannot be doubted. As little - a Testimony of Mr. Miles, Lords Report, Part I, Sheet 0. Mr. Weaver, same page, says: Few women are sold for any other crime than adultery, and that is very often forgiven them. bLords Report, Part I, Sheet N 6. clibid. Mr. Falcoubridge made five voyages as surgeon. dlbid. eP. 68 [307], ante. f The committee of the Jamaica House of Assembly, from whose report the above is extracted, fall into a remarkable error. They deduct from the whole number imported two-fifths. to bring the sexes to an equality; that would be 40 per cent., reducing each 1,000 to 600. But as each 1,000 contained 375 women, it was evidently equal, in power of reproduction, to a population of 375 men and 375 women; in other words, to an ordinary population of 750 Page 326 326 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. doubtful is it that this immorality was carried to an excess, which still further diminished the rate of natural increase. As, however, it must be supposed that the slave-traders brought to the market precisely the assortment of cargo which they found the most salable, the above abuse is chargeable indirectly to the planters themselves. Had they desired on their plantations an equal number of each sex, the slave-dealer would doubtless have found means to supply it.a The slave-trade had another still more sinister influence. It is beyond a doubt that wherever that trade prevailed it tended directly to aggravate the condition and to shorten the lives of the plaiitation slaves. This happened because it increased the temptation to cruelty and overwork. An author who resided twenty years in Brazil, and who has dealt tenderly with slavery, confesses: Until 1850, when the slave-trade was effectually put down, it was considered cheaper, on the country plantations, to use up a slave in five or seven years, and purchase another, than to take care of him. This I had, in the interior, from native Brazilians, and my own observation has confirmed it. But since the inlin- man traffic with Africa has ceased. the price of slaves has been enhanced, and the selfish motive for taking greater care of them has been increased.b Of the two influences to check population above indicated as flow- ing directly from the slave-trade, the first, connected with the dis- parity in the numbers of the sexes, is totally insufficient to account for the unexampled decrease in the JA5~OOO~OOO of slaves sent to the Gulf and to South America. Suppose that entire population when it left the shores of Africa to have been in the proportion of five men to three women, its power of natural increase would have equaled only that of a normally constituted population of 11,250,000. But had the slaves in question actually numbered but 11,250,000, and had they increased in the same proportion as the 500,000 shipped for the United States have done, the census return of their descendants to-day would have been 98,000,000more than three times the pop- ulation, white and black, of the United States. The immoral influence of the disparity in the relative numbers of the sexes already alluded to and its tendency to check population is here to be taken into account. But that disparity prevailed among imported negroes only, and did not, of course, extend beyond the first generation. Unquestionable as the tendency of the influence in question was to diminish the rate of natural increase, we can receive it only as a partial element not seriously affecting the general result. Thus the marvelous variance in the fate of the two divisions of negro immigrants is not explained, though the exact figures are varied by the disproportion of the sexes in these immigrants. As to the second influence growing out of the temptation gradually to work to death laborers who can be replaced any day by fresh pur- chases, it is hard to believe that it should have exerted over human a Many of the largest and best sugar estates on the island of Cuba belong to the different ecclesiastical orders. Under the mask of discouiaging a vicious inter- course of the sexes, some of them religiously resolved to purchase only male negroesa devout austerity which would appear to have originated in the idea that men can do more work than women. Deprived of connections resulting from one of the chief laws of nature, and driven to desperation, the unhappy negroes, not unlike the first Romans, have been known to fly to the neighboring estates, seize on the women, and carry them off to the mountains. (History of the Maroons, by R. C. Dallas, London, 1803, Vol. 2, p. 60.) bBrazil and the Brazilians, by the Rev. D. P. Kidder, D. D., and the Rev. J. C. Fletcher, 1857. It is Mr. Fletcher who writes the above Page 327 UNION AUTHORITIES. 327 cupidity so terrible a sway as to cause the reduction to 7,500,000 of men of a population which, had they been treated and had they thriven but as well as the slaves of the United States, would have numbered to-day 98,000,000 of souls. Climate may have had something to do in working out the ultimate results. Yet there is no evidence to show that the climate of the West Indies and of Brazil is less suited or more fatal to the negro race than that of our slave States. A more influential circumstance, especially in the West India Islands, was the habitual absenteeism of many of the proprietors. The slaves were left at the mercy of over- seers, often uncultivated and mercenary, who had no interest in their preservation so long as those who died could be profitably replaced by what were called new negroes. Most of these overseers were unmarried men; and writers on the condition of the colonies fre- quently allude to the fact that, when this was the case, the lack of female care and considerate forethought, as regarded the slave mothers and children, had a very considerable influence in diminishing the population. Upon the whole, however, it must be confessed that while the gen- eral facts in this case are indisputable the explanations we have been able to offer seem inadequate to account for the extraordinary results we have disclosed. But the lesson taught to mankind by this stupendous crime is far beyond the marvel of its results. Four years ago that lesson was in part foreshadowed only and could not have been fully read. To-day it is written in terrible characters all over the history of our country. Four years ago it might have been said, with a certain plausibility, that the experiment of human slavery had two phasesthe phase of failure and the phase of success. With a certain plausibility only, it is true, there has been success in this country, so far as the mere physical increase of the slave pop- ulation can attest the factno further. But population has increased in the world in spite of ceaseless warsin spite of constant vice and misery. It increased in famine-stricken Ireland. It increased in England throughout the term of that feudal system which made of the island one great military camp. It increased in France through- out the centuries of that old r6gime, of which the insufferable iniq- uities were at last requited by popular vengeance, and culminated in the first Revolution. It is to be admitted, however, that an annual increase from natural causes alone of 2& to 3 per cent., prevailing throughout a term of years in any population (as among the slaves of the United States from 18110 to 1830), indicates that they have not been subjected to the extremity of hardship which marks the fate of negro slaves in other portions of this hemisphere. And as, even to the present day, the rate of natural increase among slaves in this country has been considerable, it may be fairly inferred that slavery in the United States, even in its latter and severer phase, has been, as a general rule, more merciful and lenient than in the West Indies and South America. It will probably be claimed, in addition, that it indicates a very considerable amount of physical comfort and well- being. But any such admission would convey a false impression in regard to the actual condition of the slave, especially in the cotton and sugar States. The investigations of the Commission, personal and from testimony, thoroughly convince them that the statements made in their preliminary report as to the condition of the slave popu- lation of South Carolina, apply substantially to that of Georgia, Ala Page 328 328 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. bama, Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas, a and, with no very consider- able modifications, to Florida, to a few portions of North Carolina, and to the western half of Tennessee. We repeat here, as applicable to the States above named, that which, antecedent to more general examinations, we had predicated only of South Carolina: This is one of the States in which the system of negro slavery seems to have reached its furthest development with the least modification from contact with external civilization. There it appears to have run out nearer to its logical con- sequences than in any other we have visited. There it has been darkening in its shades 9f inhumanity and moral degradation from year to year, exhibiting, more and more, increased cruelty, a more marked crushing out, in the case of the negro race, of the humanizing relations of civilized life, and a closer approach, in prac- tice, to a monstrous maxim; the same which a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, perverting history, alleges to have been the sentiment of the civilized world when the U. S. Constitution was adopted, and in the spirit of which he assumes (in virtue of such perversion) that Constitution to have been framed, namely, that the negro has no rights which the white man is bound to respect. b The evi- dence before the Commission shows that half a century ago its phase was much milder than on the day when South Carolina seceded. It is the uniform testimony of ~ll emancipated South Carolinian slaves above the age of sixty that their youth was spent under a state of things which, compared to that of the last thirty years, was merciful and considerate. As a general rule, these old men are more brighi- and intelligent than the younger field hands, in many of whom a stolid, sul- len despondency attests the stupefying influence of slave-driving under its more recent phase. The disintegration of the family relation is one of the most striking and most melancholy indications of this progress of barbarism. The slave was not permit- ted to own a family name; instances occurred in which he was flogged for pre- suming to use one. He did not eat with his children or with their mother; there was no time for that. In portions of this State, at least, a family breakfast or din- ner table was a thing so little known among these people that ever since their enfranchisement it has been very difficult to break them of the life-long habit that each should clutch the dish containing his portion and skulk off into a corner, there to devour it in solitude. The entire day, until after sunset, was spent in the field; the night in huts of a single room, where all ages and both sexes herded pro- miscuously. Young girls of fifteen, some of an earlier age, became mothers, not only without marriage, but often without any pretense of fidelity to which even a slave could give that name. The church, it is true, interposed her protest; but the master, save in exceptional cases, did not sustain it, tacitly sanctioning a state of morality under which ties of habitual affection could not assume a form danger- ous or inconvenient to despotic rule. The men, indeed, frequently asked from their masters the privilege of appro- priating to themselves those of the other sex. Sometimes it was granted, some- timeswhen the arrangement was deemed unprofitableit was refused. Some cases there were in which a slave-holder, prompted by his own sense of morality or religion, or urged thereto by a pious wife, suffered these connections of his slaves to have the sanction of religious ceremony. But it is evident that to con- nect even with such a quasi marriage the idea of sacredness or religious duty was inconsistent with that legal policy of the slave States which forbade to render indissoluble among slaves a relation which to-morrow it might be for the interest of their owner to break up. The maternal relation was often as little respected as the marital. On many plantations, where the system was most thoroughly carried out, pregnancy neither exempted from corporal punishment c nor procured a diminution of the daily task; and it was a matter of occasional occurrence that the woman was overtaken a We do not here include Louisiana because the phase of slavery in that State is set forth in detail in Supplemental Report B, herewith submitted. b Dred Scott vs. John F. A. Sandford, December term, 1856,23 Howard, 407. c Another of my visitors had a still more dismal story to tell. Her name Was Die. She had had sixteen children, fourteen of whom were dead. She had had four miscarriages; one had been caused from falling down with a very heavy bur- den on her head, and one from her arms strained up to be lashed. I asked her what she meant by having her arms tied up. She said their hands were first tied together, sometimes by the wrists, and sometimes, which was worse, by the thumbs, and they were then drawn up to a tree or post, so as almost to swing them off the ground, and then their clothes rolled round their waist, and a man wit Page 329 UNION AIJTHORITIES. 329 by the pains of labor in the field, and the child born between the cotton rows. Humane masters, however, were wont to diminish the task as pregnancy advanced, and commonly gave three, occasionally four, weeks exemption from labor after childbirth. The mother was usually permitted to suckle her child during three months only; and the cases were rare in which relaxation from labor was allowed during that brief period. On the other hand, instances have occurred in which the more severe drove the negress into the field within forty-eight hours after she became a mother, there to toil until the day of the next birth. A noble exception, among others, to such a system of inhumanity, gratefully testified to by the negroes who enjoyed it, was to be found on the plantation of ex-Governor Aiken, one of the largest and most influential planters in the State. His habitual clemency, it is said, gave umbrage to many of his neighbor planters as endangering their authority under a severer rule. Under such a slave system as this, where humanity is the exception, the iron enters deep into the soul. Popular songs are the expression of the inner life; and the negro songs of South Carolina are, with scarcely an exception, plaintive, despondent, and religious. When there mingles a tone of mournful exaltation, it has reference to the future glories of Zion, not to worldly hopes. If to the above details touching slave life in this State we add the fact that because of the unhealthy climate of the sea islands off the South Carolina coast (chiefly due, it is said, to causes which may be removed), the least valuable and intelligent slaves were usually placed there; further, that being much isolated in small communities, these slaves frequently had children of whom the father and mother were near blood relatives, producing deterioration of the race, it can excite no surprise that the negroes of South Carolina as a class are inferior to those from more northern States. An intelligent negro from a northern county of North Carolina, who had there learned the blacksmiths trade and had been hired to work on a railroad in South Carolina, stated to the Commission that he never knew what slavery really was until he left his native State. While there he was comparatively contented. Within a month after he reached South Carolina he determined to risk his life in an attempt 5o escape. To judge whether a natural increase of population is necessarily connected with physical comforts, it behooves us to look to the inte- rior slave life of the South, to the motives which encourage such increase, and to the conditions which attach to it. We find these well set forth by one who had the best opportunities to observe, having resided some five mouths on her husbands plantation in Georgia, and being iii the habit of recording from day to day events as they occurred. It is doubtful whether there has been presented to the public in modern times a more authentic or more faithful chroni- cle of every-day life in the cotton States than is to be found in the journal from which our extract is taken. The writer had been con- versing with a negress who had formerly been a favorite house servant, and thus proceeds: She named to me all her children, an immense tribe; and, by the bye, E ,it has occurred to me that, whereas the increase of this ill-fated race is frequently adduced as a proof of their good treatment and well-being, it really and truly is no such thing, and springs from quite other causes than the peace and plenty which a rapidly increasing population are supposed to indicate. * * * Peace and plenty are certainly causes of human increase, and so is recklessness. Here it is more than recklessness, for there are certain indirect premiums held out to obey the early cemumand of replenishing the earth, which do not fail to have their full a cowhide stands and stripes them. I give you the womans words. She did not speak of this as anything strange, unusual, or especially horrid and abominable; and when I said, Did they do this to you when you were with child? she simply replied, Yes, missis. * * * I gave the woman meat and flannel, which were what she came for, and remained, choking with indignation amid grief, long after they had all left me to my most bitter thoughts. (Journal of a residence on a Georgian plantation in 183839, by Frances Anne Kemuble, p. 200.) Mrs. Kemble says, elsewhere in her journal, Never forget in reading the details I send you, that the people on this plantation are well off, and consider themselves well off, in comparison with the slaves on some of the neighboring estates Page 330 330 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. effect. In the first place, none of the caresthose noble cares, that holy thought- fulness, which lifts the human above the brute parentare ever incurred here, either by father or mother. The relation, indeed, resembles, so far as circum- stances can possibly make it so, the short-lived connection between the animal and its young. * * * But it is not only the absence of the conditions which God has affixed to the relation which tends to encourage the reckless increase of the race; they enjoy, by means of numerous children, certain positive advantages. In the first place, every woman who is pregnant, as soon as she chooses to make the fact known to the overseer, is relieved frnm a certain portion of her work in the field, which lightening of labor continues, of course, as long as she is so burdened. On the birth of a child certain additions of clothing and an additional weekly ration are bestowed on the family, and these matters, small as they may seem, act as powerful inducements to creatures who have none of the restraining influences actuating them which belong to the parental relation among all other people, whether civilized or savage. Moreover, they have all of them a most distinct and perfect knowledge of their value to their owners as property; and a woman thinks, and not much amiss, that the more frequently she adds to the number of her mas- ters live-stock by bringing new slaves into the world the more claims she will have upon his consideration and good will. This was perfectly evident to me from the meritorious air with which the women always made haste to inform me of the number of children they had borne and the frequent occasions on which the older slaves would direct my attention to their children, exclaiming, Look, Missis: lit- tle niggers for you and Massa; plenty little niggers for you and little Missis. a We have had abundant evidence of the correctness of the view here taken. General Saxton, for example, deposes: Question. Were the women, under the slave system, taught chas- tity as a religious duty? Answer. No, sir; they were taught that they must have a child once a year. The prohibition against suckling their children longer than three months is part of the same system. b The result is that the slave fam- ilies are usually very numerous. We found in South Carolina, among the freedmen, several instances in which the mother had had twenty children and upward in as many years. The result is disclosed, beyond possible denial, throughout Mrs. Kembles graphic volume. Fxcess- ive child-bearing, coupled with ceaseless toilan interval of three weeks only being allowed after childbirththese are conclusively showmi to have been the source of shocking diseases and terrible suffer- ing to the female slaves.c The argument to be deduced from the great natural increase of the slave population in the United States would be much stronger than it is had the ratio of increase, as it was during the two first decades after the abolition of the slave-trade, been kept up to the present day. But it has not been kept up. We have already had occasion, in the extract) cited from the preliminary report of the Commission, to advert to the fact that the system of slavery among us has been a Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-39, by Frances Anne Kemble, New York, l8f~3, pp. 59, 60. b Among the witnesses whose testimony is given in the Report of the Lords in Council are several physicians residing in the island of Jamaica. One of these, Adam Anderson, of the parish of Saint Ann, testifies: Great.losses are sustained in the increase of negroes from the length of time the negro women continue their children at the breastseldom less than two years and many of them mole.~~ (Lords Report, Part III, Jamaica, Appendix No. 7.) If this habit was common throughout the colonies, its effect, taken in connection with the custom so widely different in our slave States, is to be enumerated among the causes which went to produce the great variance of results as to increase of slave population in the West Indies and in the United States. cJournal of a Residence in Georgia. (See p. 29, also 39, a very bad case; also pp. 79, 122, 190, 191, 192, 196,214, 215, 233, 251, with very strong evidence, and many others. The whole work is a most dreary picture, a terrible daguerreotype of what daily negro life was in a cotton State before the war. Page 331 331 UNION AUTHORITIES. increasing in severity and hardship from year to year, especially for thirty years past. a A glance at the census shows that statistics con- firm what we had deduced from personal observation. From 1830 the rate has been gradually diminishing; for, as the superintendent of the census remarks, the greater apparent increase among slaves from 1840 to 1850 is connected with the admission of Texas in 1845.b In these thirty years the ratio of natural increase has diminished over 10 per cent. in the decade, or I per cent. a year. At the same diminishing ratio less than a quarter of a century would have witnessed a state of things nuder which the slave popu- lation would have been annually decreasing. Whether it would have fallen still lower, until, as in Jamaica and other West Indian Islands, the deaths had so far exceeded the births that, in less than a century, half the population would have disappeared, must now ever remain, let us thank God, a matter of conjecture. The duration of slavery as a system in the United States has been but brief, as compared with its prolonged existence in the West Indian colonies. Here that system had not borne its deadliest fruits. Here, especially for four or five decades after the Revolutionary War, certain featnres of a patriarchal c character tended to alleviate its harshness. But, in all its various phases, that system which confers on one race the fatal privilege of idleness at expense of forced drudgery imposed upon another race, differs rather in the degree than in the character of its results. These results are, as a general rule, wherever slavery exists at all, essentially and degradingly evil; evil to the victim of the injustice; evil, as certainly, to the inflictor of it, for there is no human crime that does not recoil on the criminal. Alike in the slave States of the Union as in the colonies of the West Indies, and in every other land in which the system of slavery prevails; its victims maybe said to live deprived, directly or indirectly, of every natural right. One of the most universal objects of human desire and of human endeavor is the acquisition of property; but the laws of slave States forbid that the slave shall ever acquire any. The holiest of human relations is marriage; but a slave cannot legally contract it. The dearest of human ties are those of family; but .a slave may see them broken forever, without redress, any hour of his life. Of all human privileges the highest is the right of culture, of moral and mental improvement, of education; but to the slave the school is forbidden groundreading and writing are penal offenses. The most prized of personal rights is the right of self-defense; but a slave has it not. He may not resist or resent a blow, even if it endanger limb or life. What remains to the enslaved race? Life to man? honor to woman? Any security for either? Nominally, yes. Actually, save in exceptional cases, no. In the statute laws against murder or rape the word white is not to be found. Persons of either color appear to a See extract from Preliminary Report of the Commission, given at page 148 [3~rOf this report. eliminary Report of Eighth Census, p. 7. c We have found indications of this in taking the evidence of freedmen, espe- cially in the more northern slave States. Mrs. Wilkinson, a colored woman in Canada West, testified: I was raised in Winchester, Va. * * * I have seen a good deal of hard treatment of others, but never had any myself. I was brought up like one of the family. I used to call my master father and the old lady mother until I came to this country. That is the way I was raised. This woman was set free by her mistress after her masters death. (Supplementary Report A, on The Refugees from Slavery in Canada West. By one of the Coin- mission. P. 98. Page 332 332 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. be equally protected. But amoug the same statutes iii every slave State of the Uuiou is incorporated a provision to the following or similar effect: A negro, mulatto, Indian, or person of mixed blood, descended from negro or Indian ancestors, to the third generation inclusive, though one ancestor of each generation may have been a white person, whether bond or free, is incapable of being a witness in any case, civil or criminal except for or against each other.a As far as regards the two worst crimes against the person, the above provision is the exact equivalent of the following: Murder or rape by a white person committed against a negro, mulatto, Indian, or person of mixed blood, descended from negro or Indian ancestors, to the third generation inclusive, though one ancestor of each generation may have been a white person, shall go unpunished, unless a white person shall have been present, and shall testify to tbe commission of the crime. The apology for a law according to which a woman cannot testify against the violator of her person, or a son against the murderer of his father, is, that in a community where negro slavery prevails such a provision is necessary for the safety of the white race. The same apology is adduced to justify the taking from the slave the right of property, of marriage, of family ties, of education, of self-defense. The apology may be valid. It may not be possible to force one race to hopeless laborthey and their children after themfrom sunrise till sunset, day after day, year after year, till deaththus to toil unrequited, save by the coarsest food and clothing, in order that another race may exist in idlenessit may not be possible safely to carry on such a system without depriving the laboring race of every right, civil and social, and of every protection to life and property, for which man has been struggling through all the centuries of history. It may be one of the conditions of safety to the master race, thus usurping the labor of their fellows, that some of their own children should be as utterly disfranchised as the imported African. The phraseology of the section we have quoted is very suggestive to the third generation inclusive, though one ancestor of each generation be white, are the words. The white man makes the law, and his son, his grandson, his great grandson, so that these share to the extent of one-eighth the blood of the attainted race, may, whether slave or free, be murdered with impunity, if the murder be not committed in the presence of some one without that eighth of taint. The white man makes the law, and exposes the chastity of his own daughter, fairer of skin, it may be, than himself, to brutal outrage, without possibility of bringing the ruffian who commits that outrage to justice, unless the wretch, adding folly to infamy, selects his opportunity when one of his own race happens to be within hearing or sight. These may all be necessary conditions, without which, under the slave system, domestic tranquillity cannot be maintained. Let us assume that in this matter the slave-holder is in the right, and that while slavery exists these are his conditions of safety; what then? In what sense, except a blasphemous one, can we pronounce that system to be successful which cannot maintain itself except in violation of every principle of justice and virtue which God has implanted in the heart of man, except by the abrogation, as to an entire race of men, of those rights of property, of family, and of person, to assert and maintain which, in all ages of the world, good and brave men have willingly sacrificed life? a Code of Tennessee, t858, Sec. 3808, p. 087. We have selected this section from the code of one of the Middle States as a f~ ir average example Page 333 UNION AUTHORITIES. 333 But there are other conditions, not set forth in statute law, with which the existence of slavery is inseparably connectedthose, namely, which affect the masters of slaves. Of all forms of prayer none is more strictly adapted to the nature and the wants of man than this: Lead us not into temptation. Men, in the mass, cannot be habitually tempted with impunity. It was said of one only that He was tempted like as we are, yet with- out sin. But of all human temptations, one of the strongest and most danger- ous is that which attends the possession, throughout life, of arbitrary and irresponsible power. As a rule it is always abused. A benefi- cent despotism is the rarest of exceptions. This is one of the great lessons of history, upon which is based the doctrine of popular rights and the theory of a republican government. Under no phase of society has the operation of the law which con- nects sin with ceaseless temptation been more apparent than in States where slavery prevails. One of our greatest statesmen, himself a sufferer under the evils he deprecates, has set forth in strong terms the practical results. There must, doubtless, said Jefferson, be au unhappy influence on the mauners of our people, produced by the existence of slavery among us. The whole commerce between master and slave is a per- petual exercise of the most boisterous passionsthe most unremitting despotism on one part, and degrading submissions on the other. Our children see this, and learn to imitate it, for man is an imitative animal. * * * The parent storms; the child looks on, catches the lineaments of wrath, puts on the same airs in the circle of smaller slaves; and thus nursed, educated, and daily exercised in tyranny cannot but be stamped with its odious peculiarities. The man must be a prodigy who can retain his manners and his morals under such circumstances. a It has been customary to illustrate the influence of slavery on the dominant race by adducing individual examples of barbarous cruelty exercised toward slaves by their masters. b These might be multi- plied indefinitely, but they are less conclusive of the effects insep- arable from the system than the picture drawn by Jefferson, the exact truth of which every one familiar with the interior of Southern society will admit. aJeffersons Notes on Virginia, chapter on Customs and Manners, p. 270. bA single example from among many that came to our notice may here suffice. It is selected as exhibiting the uncontrolled passion and fearful inhumanity of that spirit, bred by arbitrary and irresponsible power, which could visit with ter- rible punishment a light and venal offense. It was testified to by an eye-witness, a respectable colored mechanic, Solomon Bradley by name, who was employed for several years on the railroad between Charleston and Savannah. One morning this witness, going for a drink of water to a house near the line of the railroad, occupied by a Mr. F., heard dreadful screams in the door-yard. Looking through an aperture in the board fence, he saw a woman stretched, face downward, on the ground, her hands and feet bound to stakes. Over her stood her master, Mr. F., striking her with a leather trace belonging to his carriage- harness. As the strokes fell the flesh of her back and legs was raised in welts and ridges. Occasionally, when the poor creature cried out with insufferable pain, her tormentor kicked her in the mouth to silence her. When he had exhausted himself by flogging, he called for sealing wax and a lighted candle, and, melting the wax, dropped it on the womans h~cerated back. Then, taking a riding-whip and standing over the poor wretch, he deliberately picked off, by switching, the hardened wax. While this scene of torture was acted, Mr. F. s grown-up daughters were looking on from a window that opened on the yard. Afterward Bradley made inquiry of the womans fellow-servants as to wha Page 334 334 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. Slavery breeds imperiousness of manner, impatience of contradic- tion or delay, ungovernable passion, contempt of labor. While it produces a certain carelessness of wealth and easy profuseness in expenditure, it discourages hardy enterprise in useful fields. Habits of regulated industry are seldom formed within the sphere of its influence, its tendency being to substitute for these indolent fashions of dependence and luxurious self-indulgence. It weakens the supremacy of law, with its sobering and chastening influence. It engenders, in young men especially, a spirit of reckless daring, a sor.t of careless courage that takes little account of human life; a love of violent excitement, sometimes running into military ardor, and ever liable to take the form of gambling, or intemperance, or that debas- ing licentiousness which must needs prevail wherever, in any class or race, female chastity is neither respected by custom nor protected by law. Hence a state of society in which, with manners often cultivated, with an impulsive generosity and free hospitality to equals in station, there mingles a certain essential barbarism, which not only shows itself habitually in the treatment of those occupying servile or infe- rior positions, but also breaks out toward others in bursts of temper so frequent and violent that the old regulator in ages when force was law, the wager of battle in its modern form of duel, is openly sanc- tioned by public opinion as a necessary check to social insult or law- less outrage. These remarks apply in their full force to society as it existed at the time the Southern insurrection declared itself in the States we have designated as those in which the slave system has been fully developed; the States which first rebelled; the States which will be the last to return to their allegiance. No reflecting and dispassion- ate observer, who has sojourned in any of these States long enough to become familiar with their manners and morals and social condition will pronounce the view we have taken of the results of slavery to be intemperate or unfair. From one or other of these results no man or woman born and bred in a slave community, no matter whether they learn to approve slavery or to hate it, can be reasonably expected wholly to escape. It is true as to the Border States, where the tilled estates more frequently assume the aspect of farms than of plantations, where the owner and his sons sometimes work along with the slaves, and even where they do not actually work with them, yet personally. superintend their labor so as to recognize and take interest in them as individual human beingsit is true, and should here be stated, as to crime she had committed, and was told that it consisted in burning the edges of the waffles she had been cooking for breakfast. The sight of this thing, the witness added, made me wild, and I could not work right that day. I prayed the Lord to help my people out of their bondage. This witness was born and brought up in a northern county of North Carolina, where, he said, such cruelty was unheard of. Slaves were flogged there; but if one broke away during the punishment no attempt was made to renew it. What a fearful addition to the atrocities of this scene that the young women were wit- nesses of the ungovernable rage and savage cruelty of a father! And what must have been the character of the father who could thus expose himself before his children? The least evil that could result was, that it excited within them detestation of their parent. More probably the influence was brutalizing, dead- ening in their young hearts the sentiment of humanity, and preparing them to become themselves, in after life, merciless tyrants on the slightest provocation. Outrages so gross may not have been common, even in South Carolina; but when they did occur they passed unnoticed either by law or by public opinion. What must have been the state of that society in which crimes so grave were committed with utter impunity Page 335 UNION AUTHORITIES. 335 these States, that the phase of slavery there existing is sensibly modi- fied, and is divested more by practice, however, than by relaxation of law of some of its most odious features. On small estates especially, slaves in the Border States often have by sufferance a certain amount of property; continue to live by sufferance as if legally married; are frequently trusted with important charges; are sent to market with cattle or produce; are consulted in regard to the management of the estate. a Under such circnmstances, they are greatly improved by coming into daily contact with white persons, and instances occur in which they are treated by the family with as much consideration as if their skin exhibited no tinge of African blood. In these States the chief aggravation of the system is the inter- state slave-trade; the forcible separation of families t~ fill up those melancholy gangs, assorted like droves of cattle, and whose destina- tion is to that mysterious and undefined land, the terror of the border negro, known to him only as down South.b But even under this comparatively moderated phase of slavery, the inherent injustice of the system exhibits itself in the character of the very indulgences, which in other slave States are forbidden by law. c In visiting the colored population of Louisville this presented itself in a marked manner to the notige of the Commission. We found living there many slaves who, as the usual phrase is, had hired their time. One case was of a slave woman, apparently fifty years of age, named Charlotte, belonging to Mr. . She had been hiring her- self for more than fifteen years. She had two childrenone t~hirteen, the other seventeenboth of whom worked in a tobacco factory. Their regular wages were $2 a week each; sometimes they did extra work, earning more. She hired their time also. For herself and these two cjiildren she paid her owner $5 a week; a dollar a week for herself and $2 a week for each of the children. She had brought up these children without any aid whatever from her master, feed- ing them, clothing them; and this she continued to do even now, when her master took their wages. She inhabited, with them, a single room, in a tenement house, about twelve feet square, paying her own rent. She supported herself by washing. A large bed and an ironing table, which together filled up most of the room, were piled with clothes prepared for ironing when we entered. a See testimony taken in Kentucky, p. 12. [Here omitted.] b This domestic slave-trade appears to have been increasing rather than diminishing up to the commencement of the war. Judge Ballard, of Louisville, deposed before the Commission: A few years since more cruelty, I think, was tolerated by the sentiment of the State than when I was a boy. We saw more frequently negro gangs driven through the city. Formerly a man did not like to be seen in that position, but five or six years ago it became quite common; there was iao effort to conceal the thing. I :ecollect well that thirty years ago I knew a man, who was a physician in this city, to be tried by his church for the offense (committed as administrator of an estate) of unnecessarily separating, by sale, a slave from his wife. c No person shall hire to any slave his time; nor shall any person owning the legal or equitable title of any slave, absolutely or for a term of time, his agent or attorney, or other person having the control of a slave, willfully permit or suffer such slave 1. To own hogs, cows, horses, mules, or other like property. 2. To trade in spirituous liquors, hogs, cows, horses, or mules, or provisions, or other like property. 3. Nor, as if he were a free person of color, to live by himself. 4. To hire himself out. 5. To work and labor; to spend his or her time, or to do other acts. (Code of Tennessee, 1858, Sec. 2685, p. 578. Page 336 336 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. This woman made no complaint, and did not appear to regard her condition as one of unusual hardship. The only thing she seemed to have expected from her master was a little aid in sickness. In reply to a question as to what he did for hei, she answered: My master never gives me anything, not even a little medicine, no more than if I did not belong to him. As her appearance indicated feeble health, we made inquiry on that score, to which she replied that she was ailing, but that she managed to keep. up enough to make her wages. She added: I get along well enough, and keep the hire paid up. You could not pay me to live at home if I could help my- self. We asked her if she had to pay the hire for her boys in any event, and her reply was: If the boys make more than $2 a week apiece, I get what is over; if they dont make that, I have to make it good to him. He has got to have it Saturday night, sure. Another case was marked by an additional feature. It was that of a slave woman, apparently about thirty-five years of age. Coming upon her without any notice of our visit, we found her in a room tidily kept, and herself decently dressed. She had been hiring herself eleven years at $72 a year. Her husband, she told us (of course he could not be legally such), was a slave, and was hired by his master as cook in one of the Louisville hoI~els for $300 a year. Out of this his master, she said, gave him once or twice a year a $3 notenothing else. We saw in the room two bright intelligent-looking children one a boy about ten years old, the other a girl two or three years younger. One might go, at a venture, into a dozen dwellings of per- sons of the middle class in fair circumstances and not find their chil- dren cleaner in person and more neatly and suitably clad as were these two young slaves. We expressed to the mother our satisfaction at their appearance. Hem face saddeiied and she said: The white people have two of my children and that boy is about big enough to go. We inquired how this was, and she informedus that her master left her children with her till they were about eleven years old and then took them home to work. Up to that age she fed and clothed them at her own expense. The last they had taken was a little girl between eleven and twelve years old. Four months ago the mother had gone to the plantation to visit her, not having seen her then for ten months. She had saved a dress for the child and took it with her. I knew, she said, that she would need it; but I never expected to find her as bad as she was. I could not help crying when I saw her. She was not dressed as a human creature should be. I took off her rags and washed her. She was serving my young master, and he had whipped the child so that you could not lay your hand anywhere along her back where he had not cut the blood out of her. I did all I could for her and dressed her, but I could not stay. Here the poor creatures eyes filled with tears. I brought back the rags my child was covered with. I have them yet. We asked if we could see them. She went out, it seemed reluctantly, and brought us a small bundle of filthy tatters which she appeared ashamed that we should see. If I could only have kept the children, she said, I would not have cared for all the rest. I liked so much to have them clean and nice. This woman made her living, as we ascertained, solely by washing and ironing. She, like the other, had paid her expenses of every kind, the doctors bill inclusive. Truly, the tender mercies of slavery are cruel! Under what other system would men, assuming to be gentlemen, commit toward poor, hard-working women such flagrant injustice as this Page 337 UNION AUTHORITIES. 337 In the first case the woman Charlotte, in feeble health, advancing in years, with no means of living except labor in washing and ironing, pays to her master $260 a year for the privilege of supporting, by such labor, herself and her children. The man who received this human rental had literally furnished no equivalent. For more than fifteen years the woman had not received from him even a little aid in sickness. The children for whom he now demanded a rental of $100 each had cost him nothing. For fifteen years the mother had fed and clothed them, cared for them in sickness and in health; she continned, nnreqnited, to feed and clothe them still. Who, if not that mother, was entitled to their wages now? Who, except one in whom slavery had blunted every perception alike of justice and delicacy, would consent to receive and to use money coming from such a sonrce as that? In the second case, $372 annually had been paid for eleven years by the woman and him whom she called her husband, the law of the State forbidding that she should be his lawful wife. Four thousand and ninety-two dollars the master had received from them in that time, for which he had rendered nothing, except some $10 a year in the form of a gratuity to the man. Was this $4,000 considered by the master enough to take from these two working people? The mother in this case, as in the former one, had brought up her children at her own expense; had fed them and had clothed and kept them as any respectable yeoman might have been glad to see his children clothed and kept. Were the father and mother, after the payment of this $4,000, after the care and cost of bringing up these children, suffered to enjoy the comfort of having them with them, and the aid which, as they grew np, they might be able to afford? No. While t~he children were a burden, that bnrden was thrown on the mother; she, too, as in the other case, earning a living as washerwoman. As soon as they were of an age to be of service they were removed to the piantation. And how treated there? The young girl was taken neatly and com- fortably clad from her mothers care. One would have thonght that the most common regard for decency, to say nothing of justice, would have suggested that the worse than orphaned child should have been kept, as the servant of a rich man, at least as reputably as the poor slave mother had kept her. Yet she was suffered to go about ,the honse before her masters eyes in filthy rags. One would have sup- posed that the recollection of the $4,000 received from the hard-work- ing parents might have risen np to saveif Christian feeling could not savethis poor child, deprived of natural protectors, from brutal cruelty. Yet she was treated as no man with the least pretense to humanity would have treated a dumb beast. Let no one say that these were cases of unusual hardship. The parties themselves evidently did not consider them such. There was no tone of querulous complaint. The facts came out only in answer to our direct inquiries, and neither of the women seemed to consider hers~Af especially to be pitied. Charlotte thought a little hard of it that her master did not send her medicine when she was sick. The hire of her children did not seem to have suggested itself to her as any injustice. Even the other said she would be willing to part with the children if she only knew they were well treated. Had she been suffered to retain them, her gratitude to her master for his generosity would, it was evident, have been unbounded. One could see that the $4,000 subtracted from her own and her husbands earnings never 22 R RSERIES III, ~OL I Page 338 338 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. occurred to her except as a usual thing. Both women expressed the greatest satisfaction that they were allowed to hire themselves. It was sufficiently apparent that nothing short of compulsion would cause either of them to return to what they still called home. What sort of a home could that be to which the privilege of hard labor at the washtub, purchased by a weekly payment in money coupled, in one case, with a similar payment for the children, and in the other with the loss of themwas regarded as a favor and a blessing? Let us not imagine that the masters in these two cases were sin- ners above all men that dwelt in Kentucky. They may have been indulgent in their own families, kind to their white neighbors, honor- able in their business dealings, esteemed in society. The anomaly is presented of men whose characters, in one phase, entitle them to be called cultivated and civilized, yet in anotherto wit, in their deal- ings with a proscribed raceexhibiting such utter disregard of the mild graces of Christianity, mercy, charity, long-suffering, kindness, and good will to men, that it is not too harsh to say they live in a state of semi-barbarism. Such results are chargeable far less to the individuals who have thus gone astray than to the system which has formed their character. But a system has lamentably failed that results in the arrest of human civilization and Christian progress, in injury to the national character, and in disregard, under any circum- stances, of the natural and inalienable rights of man. Such a system is fraught with mischief, politically as well as morally. They who violate the rights of one race of men lose a portion of their reverence for the rights of all. It comes to this, that the peculiarities of character stamped more or less on every country in which slavery exists are, in spirit and in practice, adverse, not to religion and civil- ization alone, but to democracy also. No people exposed to the in flu- ences which produce such peculiarities will ever be found imbued with a universal sense of justice, with a respect for industry, with a dispo- sition to grant to labor its just position among mankind; nor can any people subjected to influences so deleterious ever be expected to remain, in perpetuity, contented and happy under republican rule, a In no sense, then, neither political, moral, nor religious, can the exper- imqnt of slavery in these States be regarded in any other light than as an utter failure. All this might have been said four years ago in reply to any argu- ment that might then have been adduced in support of the assertion that slavery, though it failed in the West Indies and South America, had succeeded in the United States. But how instructive, how invalu- able the experience of these eventful four years! New views of the subject present themselves to-day; aspects of the slavery question hidden until now come conspicuously into the light. History had previously recorded the social and economical evils of the system. Now she has presented to us its political consequences. a After dinner the conversation again turned on the resources and power of the South, and on the determination of the people never to go back into the Union. Then cropped out again the expression of regret for the rebellion of 1776, and the desire that if it came to the worst England would receive back her erring children, or give them a prince under whom they could secure a monarchical form of government. There is no doubt about the earnestness with which these things are said. (My Diary, North and South, by William Howard Russell, 1862, Chap. 17.) This was in April, 1861, on a South Carolinian plantation. Mr. Russell repre- sents these sentiments as then common in the South Page 339 UNION AUTHORITIES. 339 And now, therefore, going back to our starting point on the African coast, and following up once more the two diverging branches of the great stream of slave immigration flowing westthe one branch bear- ing 500,000 captives to this northern continent, the other conveying 15,000,000 to islands and a continent farther southwe are able, by the light of recent experience, to present more fully and clearly than ever before the comparative results in either case. Increase or de- crease, apparent success or undeniable failure, the ultimate results have been fatal alike. The 15,000,000 dispatched to the West Indian colonies and to South America never, as a population, took healthy root in the lands to which they were banished. They had no growth from the first; and ever after, century by century, they melted away under the influences of the system that degraded and destroyed them. Their fate and the lesson it conveyed were immediate and apparent. God stamped the policy which enslaved them at every stage of its progress with His reprobation. But, as to the 500,000 that came among us, the mark of Divine condemnation, apparently suspended for a time, came in a different form at last. For a time that 500,000 increased and multiplied and replenished the earth; for a time their masters were wealthy and prosperous, as men usually rate prosperity; for a time these masters increased in political power; they held sway in the Republic; they controlled the National Legislature; they obtained a majority of the public offices. The end was delayed, and, when it came at last, it was the direct result of the peculiarities of character impressed by slavery on its votaries. Imperious and insubordinate, they rebelled against lawful authority. Spurning wholesome control, they rejected the President who was the choice of the majority. Despising a working people, they sought to sever connection with the Northa race of unblushing laborers. Seduced by evil habit into the belief that mans noblest condition is to live by the exertions of others, they undertook to erect a separate political system of which slavery was to be the corner stone. Thus did slavery bring on a civil war between brethren of the same race, and tongue, and faitha war widespread, and embittered and desolating as wars have seldom been. Thus will slavery have caused the violent death, in the country which tolerated it, of 500,000 of free people. Thus will slavery leave behind it, in the country where it held its millions in bonds, a public debt little short, it may be, of that which loads down the industry of Great Britain. If God in his mercy shall, in the end, preserve us from results to which these deaths and losses are but as dust in the balance; if