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1.-Military measures of Congress.
No. 1.
employment of volunteers.
In pursuance of the Proclamation of the
President, of the fifteenth of April, 1861, the Thirty-seventh Congress assembled on the fourth of July.
On the sixth,
Mr. Wilson, of
Massachusetts,
Chairman of the
Committee on Military Affairs, agreeably to notice given on the first day of the session, introduced into the Senate the following bills and joint resolution:
A bill to authorize the employment of volunteers to aid in enforcing the laws and protecting public property;
A bill to increase the present military establishment of the
United States;
A bill providing for the better organization of the military establishment;
A bill for the organization of a volunteer militia force, to be called the National Guard of the
United States; and
A joint resolution to ratify and confirm certain acts of the
President for the suppression of insurrection and rebellion.
These bills and this joint resolution were referred to the
Committee on Military Affairs, consisting of
Mr. Wilson, of
Massachusetts,
Mr. King of
New-York,
Mr. Baker, of
Oregon,
Mr. Lane, of
Indiana,
Mr. Lane, of
Kansas,
Mr. Rice, of
Minnesota, and
Mr. Latham, of
California.
Mr. Wilson also introduced a bill to promote the efficiency of the army, which was referred, on motion of
Mr. Grimes, of
Iowa, to a special committee of nine, consisting of
Mr. Wilson,
Mr. Hale,
Mr. Sherman,
Mr. Powell,
Mr. Cowan,
Mr. King,
Mr. Kennedy, and
Mr. Howe.
On the eighth of July,
Mr. Wilson, from the
Committee on Military Affairs, reported back the bill to authorize the employment of volunteers, with amendments.
The original bill proposed that the
President be authorized to accept the services of volunteers in such numbers as he might deem necessary, and that the sum of four hundred millions of dollars be appropriated to carry the act into effect; that each regiment of infantry should have one colonel, one
lieutenant-colonel, one major, one adjutant, one paymaster, one quartermaster, one surgeon, and one
assistant surgeon, one
sergeant-major, one
regimental quartermaster sergeant, one
regimental commissary sergeant, one hospital steward, two principal musicians, and twenty-four musicians for a band; and should be composed of ten companies, each company to consist of one captain, one
first lieutenant, one
second lieutenant, one first sergeant, four sergeants, eight corporals, two musicians, one wagoner, and from sixty-four to eighty-two privates; that these forces should be organized into divisions of three or more brigades each; and each division should have a major-general, each brigade should be composed of four or more regiments, and should have one
brigadier-general; that the
President should be authorized to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for the command of the forces provided for, a number of major-generals, not exceeding six, and a number of brigadier-generals, not exceeding eighteen; that the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates should, in all respects, be placed on the footing, as to pay and allowances, of similar corps of the regular army, and their allowances for clothing be three dollars and fifty cents per month;
That volunteers who might be wounded or otherwise disabled in the service, should be entitled to the benefits which might have been or might be conferred on persons disabled in the regular service; and the legal heirs of such as died or might be killed in service, in addition to all arrears of pay and allowances, should receive the sum of one hundred dollars;
That there should be allowed to each regiment, one chaplain, who must be a regular ordained minister of a Christian denomination, and who should receive the pay and allowances of a captain of cavalry;
That the general commanding a separate department, or a detached army, be authorized to appoint a military board or commission of not less than three nor more than five officers, whose duty it should be to examine the capacity, qualifications, propriety of conduct, and efficiency of any commissioned officer of volunteers within his department or army;
That whenever a regiment of volunteers should be mustered into the service, the colonel,
lieutenant-colonel, major,
adjutant, and quartermaster thereof, should each have the privilege of franking any letter from any person belonging, in any capacity, to such regiment, not weighing over two ounces.
