... acceptance of it, until which last event he still retains his lower rank, and may serve for a time as a lieutenant, for instance, after he is commissioned a captain. Thus, in the case of Bancroft, Eugene Adolphus , he appears as a private of Illinois Volunteers from May 6 to Nov. 9, 1861, because, although commissioned on Oct. 24, 1861, as Second Lieutenant, 4th U. S. Artillery, he did not accept the promotion...