approval of their respective governors, to raise companies and regiments, within the period of sixty days, and, if the company or regiment authorized to be raised shall be filled up and mustered into service within the said period of sixty days, the officers may be recommissioned at the date of their original commission, and, for the time engaged in recruiting, they will be entitled to receive the pay belonging to their rank. Eighth: Volunteers or militia now in service, whose term of service will expire within ninety days, and who shall then have been in service at least nine months, shall be entitled to the aforesaid bounty and premium of $402, provided they reenlist before the expiration of their present term for three years, from date of reënlistment or for the war, and said bounty and premium shall be paid in the manner herein provided for other troops reentering the service. Ninth: After the expiration of ninety days from this date, volunteers serving in three years' organizations who may reenlist for three years from the date of such reenlistment or for the war, shall be entitled to the aforesaid bounty and premium of 8402, to be paid in the manner herein provided for other troops reentering the service. Tenth: Ollicers in service, whose regiments or companies may reenlist in accordance with the provisions of this order, before the expiration of their present term, shall have their commissions continued so as to preserve their date of rank as fixed by their original muster into the United States service.

Eleventh: As soon after the expiration of their original term of enlistment as the exigencies of the service will permit, a furlough of thirty days will be granted to men who may reenlist in accordance with the provisions of this order.

:

Twelfth Volunteers enlisted under this order will be credited as three years' men in the quotas of their respective States, Instructions for the appointment of recruiting officers, and for enlisting veteran volunteers, will be immediately issued to the governors of By order of the Secretary of War.

States.

E. D. TOWNSEND, Asst. Adjt.-Gen. By an order issued Sept. 11th, section 9 of the above order was amended, so as to read as fol

lows:

9-After the expiration of ninety days from this date (June 25th) volunteers serving in three years' organizations, who may reenlist for three years or the war in the companies of regiments to which they now belong, and who may have, at the date of reenlist ment, less than one year to serve, shall be entitled to the aforesaid bounty and premium of $402 to be paid in the manner provided for other troops reëntering the service. The new term will commence from the time of reenlistment.

Another order, dated in December, extended the time for reënlisting veteran volunteers in the respective States under General Orders No. 191, current series, to Jan. 5th, 1864.

A further order from the War Department, dated Nov. 21st, provided that volunteers then in the service, reenlisting as veteran volunteers under General Orders, No. 191, should have a furlough of at least thirty days previous to the expiration of their original enlistment; and that when three fourths of a regiment or company should reënlist, the men so enlisted might go home in a body with their officers; the individuals of the regiments or companies not reenlisting to be assigned, during the absence of their comrades, to duty with other organizations. This modification of the original order, together with the liberal bounty offered to veteran volunteers, had the effect of inducing

large numbers to reënlist, and, subsequent to the middle of December, a steady stream of furloughed regiments poured northward, affording indications that the army, when reorganized in the spring of 1864, would contain a considerable nucleus of disciplined troops.

The men raised by drafting were distributed, from time to time, among the regiments or companies of their States, and those volunteering under the October call, it was understood, at the close of the year were to be similarly disposed of. Few of the latter class of recruits, however, had been forwarded to the seat of war at that date. The great body of them were in temporary State camps, and in many of the States the number of these was still inconsiderable.

As an additional means of promoting the efficiency of the army, a plan of consolidation in depleted regiments was authorized by the two following sections of the Enrolment and Conscription Act:

SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That whenever a regiment of volunteers of the same arm from the same State is reduced to one half the maximum number prescribed by law, the President may direct the consolidation of the companies of such regiment; Prorided, That no company so formed shall exceed the maximum number prescribed by law. When such consolidation is made, the regimental officers shall be of companies. reduced in proportion to the reduction of the numbers

SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That whenever a regiment is reduced below the minimum number allowed by law, no officer shall be appointed in such regiment beyond those necessary for the command of such reduced number.

regiments which had dwindled to insignificant In accordance with these provisions, some proportions were consolidated into five or a less number of companies, where the interests of the service seemed to demand it; but, in the majority of cases, they were allowed to remain as originally organized, for reasons deemed conclusive by those having discretion in the matter, and which can be best understood by reference to the following order providing for the mustering out of supernumerary officers in such consolidated regiments:

less number of batteries, and the colonel, two majors, and one assistant surgeon mustered out.

4. The companies and batteries formed by consolidation will be of the maximum strength, and will be organized as now directed by law and regulations. The first letters of the alphabet will be used to designate the companies.

5. The company officers, commissioned and noncommissioned, rendered supernumerary, will be mustered out of service at the date of consolidation. All other officers and non-commissioned officers will be retained.

6. The officers to be retained will be selected by the division and corps commanders, under the instructions of the commanding general of the army or department, from among the most efficient officers of the respective regiments. After the consolidation, as herein directed, the reduced proportion of officers will be maintained, and no appointments to vacancies will be made except upon notification from the adjutant-general of the army. To this end commanders of armies and departments will report weekly to the adjutant-generals the vacancies to be filled. The said reports will be separate for each State, and must embrace the name, rauk, and regiment of the party creating the vacancy, with date and cause thereof. If an order was issued in the case, its number, date, and source must be given. Commissaries and assistant commissaries of musters will closely observe this paragraph, and make no musters in except of the proportion herein fixed.

The difficulty attending the execution of this order, and the positive loss which the service would incur by the withdrawal of numerous competent officers, apart from the injustice to the officers themselves, were readily perceived; and soon after its promulgation the corps commanders of the army of the Potomac unanimously requested the commander-in-chief to take no action in the matter until the disastrous effect of such a step could be laid before the President. In accordance with these suggestions, the power has been but sparingly used, and only where the discharge of officers would prove a positive benefit to the regiment or the service. Recruiting was wisely substituted as a means of restoring efficiency; and old regiments, reduced by battle and hardships, but proud of their well earned fame, were al lowed to retain their experienced and familiar leaders, whom, in many cases, they considered an indispensable part of their organization. By official returns made in January, 1863, it was estimated that there were then absent from duty, 8,987 officers, and, 280,073 noncommissioned officers and privates, of whom only a part were really disabled or sick, the rest being mainly deserters or stragglers who absented themselves in order to avoid duty. The Government itself was responsible in a measure for this state of things, from the readiness with

which it had permitted furloughs to be granted, and from its neglect to punish abuses of the privilege. Many of the absentees were living openly at their homes, having far exceeded the reasonable time allowed for recovery from wounds or sickness, and among these

a lax sentiment had grown up in regard to the obligations of a furlough, which they began finally to consider as equivalent to a discharge from the service. Many probably honestly believed that, having obtained a furlough, they

might overstay their time without incurring the reproach of desertion; and more still, seeing that no measures were taken to reclaim or punish deserters, openly defied the authority of the Government by resuming their ordinary occupations in time of peace. There was abundant evidence, also, that disaffected persons were systematically employed in promoting desertion, either by enticing men from their regiments, or persuading them to overstay their furloughs until they were afraid to return to the army, and become amenable to punishment.

The publication of these statistics naturally alarmed the country, and with a view of restoring to the service much of its proper material, and of discouraging the practice of desertion, a special clause was inserted in the Conscription Act, upon which the President framed the following proclamation:

EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 10th, 1563.

In pursuance of the twenty-sixth section of the act of Congress, entitled an act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes, ap: proved on the third of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, I, Abraham Lincoln, President and commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, do hereby order and command that all soldiers enlisted or drafted into the ser

vice of the United States, now absent from their regi ments without leave, shall forthwith return to their respective regiments, and I do hereby declare and proclaim that all soldiers now absent from their respective regiments without leave who shall on or before the 1st day of April, 1963, report themselves at any rendezDepartment, No. 55, hereto annexed, may be restored Yous designated by the General Orders of the War to their respective regiments without punishment, except the forfeiture of pay and allowances during their absence, and all who do not return within the ting above specified, shall be arrested as deserters, and punished as the law provides.

And whereas evil disposed and disloyal persons, at sundry places, have enticed and procured soldiers to desert and absent themselves from their regiments, thereby weakening the strength of the armies and prolonging the war, giving aid and comfort to the enemy, and cruelly exposing the gallant and faithful soldiers remaining in the ranks to increased hardships and dangers;

I do, therefore, call upon all patriotic and faith ful citizens to oppose and resist the aforementioned dangerous and treasonable crimes, and aid in restoring to their regiments all soldiers absent without leave, and to assist in the execution of the act of Congress for "enrolling and calling out the national forces and for other purposes," and to support the proper authorities said act, and aid in suppressing the insurrection and in the prosecution and punishment of offenders against the rebellion.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight the United States eighty-seventh.

By the President:

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. The proclamation had the effect of inducing many deserters to return voluntarily to their duty, and the enforcement of strict orders issued by the commanders of several depart ments caused the compulsory return of others. In a corresponding degree the temptation to

overstay furloughs or to desert was lessened, and the efficiency of the army thereby greatly promoted. As the example of officers abusing the privileges of their furloughs was naturally supposed to exert an injurious influence upon the rank and file of the army, the commanderin-chief, in accordance with a special privilege in the Conscription Act, instructed courts martial, in all parts of the country, that they had power to sentence officers who should absent themselves from their commands without leave, to be reduced to the ranks to serve three years or during the war; and, by a general order from the War Department, commanding officers were required to report in their monthly returns of deserters the names of men joined from desertion, as well as those who deserted during the month. So effective were these provisions, that at the close of the year the general-in-chief was enabled to report a considerable abatement in straggling and desertion, as well as in the overstaying of furloughs, although he was of the opinion that the punishment was not quite sufficiently prompt and certain to entirely prevent the evil. From the report of the provost marshal-general, to whom was intrusted the general direction of the subject, it appears that, between May 1st and November 1st, nearly twenty-two thousand deserters and absentees were arrested; and that, Owing to the greater probability of arrest and to the punishments that had been inflicted, the number of deserters in September and October was only one half as great as in May and June. Previous to 1863, the employment of colored soldiers in the United States service was confined to two or three localities. At Hilton Head, S. Carolina, Gen. Hunter had caused the able-bodied negroes from the neighboring plantations to be formed into regiments and drilled by competent officers; and Gen. Butler, finding in New Orleans a colored corps of the Louisiana State militia, raised under the certificate of a former governor of the State, placed it in the service of the Government, and encouraged the formation of similar organizations. These troops were originally intended chiefly for local service, or, if sent beyond the localities in which they were raised, were to be employed to garrison posts which the unacclimated Northern soldiers could not safely occupy during the unhealthy season. Public opinion had not yet decided that they could become an integral portion of the army and as such be available for every species of military service, notwithstanding that Congress, by two acts passed in July, 1862, had expressly authorized the employment of colored men as

troops.

The first of these, known as the Confiscation Act, permitted 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 manner as he might judge best for the public welfare. The

second act authorized him to receive into the service of the United States for any species of labor or military or naval service for which they might be found competent, persons of African descent, who should be enrolled and organized under such regulations, not inconsistent with the Constitution and the laws, as he might prescribe; and should receive $10 per month and one ration per day, of which monthly pay $3 dollars might be in clothing.

Both laws were made with reference to those persons who by force of arms or by provisions of statutes had been recently freed from bondage; and the important class of colored soldiers from the free States was probably not then in the contemplation of Congress. Many considerations were urged upon the President to induce him to exercise the power conferred upon him in a restricted sense only. The employment of negroes as laborers upon fortifications, teamsters, boatmen, and in similar capacities, was declared legitimate and sufficient for the present needs of the country; but, in the opinion of many, the arming of any considerable body of such persons was a measure fraught with ominous consequences. Whether or not these reasons were deemed conclusive, it is certain that, previous to 1863, the number of persons of African descent employed as soldiers was exceedingly limited. But with the commencement of the year, a vigorous movement was initiated in various parts of the country to organize colored regiments, and especially to bring to the aid of the Government the latent strength of the large negro population in the seceded States.

On January 12th, Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, introduced into the House of Representatives a bill authorizing the President to raise, equip, and organize 150,000 colored troops, which, after being amended so as to provide for the enlistment of not over 300,000, was passed, February 2d, in the face of a determined opposition from members of the border States, and from some friends of the administration. A similar bill introduced by Mr. Sumner in the Senate, having been reported back from the Committee on Military Affairs, with a recommendation that it should not pass, on the ground that sufficient authority to raise such troops was conferred by the act of 1862, no further action was taken on either bill.

The

subject had, however, been by this time very generally discussed, both in and out of Congress, and in deference to the wishes of a large portion of the community, and of many prominent public men, including officers of experience, the President determined to exercise, to their fullest extent, the powers conferred upon him by the act of 1862. Congress having in the Conscription Act avoided making any distinetion between white and colored citizens, and required them equally to be enrolled and drafted in the armies of the United States, the policy of the administration thenceforth became clearly defined, and "persons of African descent,"