Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 10.
Frank Moore, Ed.

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[70] wit: The first division should have charge of the purchase, procurement, and disposition of horses and mules. The second division should have charge of the purchase, procurement, issue,and disposition of cloth and clothing, camp and garrison equipage, and accoutrements. The third division should have charge of the purchase, charter, hire, and maintenance of all vessels to be used in the transportation of the army, and of prisoners of war, and of their supplies. The fourth division should have charge of the purchase, charter, hire, maintenance, and procurement of all transportation for the army, and its supplies by land and upon the western rivers. The fifth division should have charge of the purchase, procurement, issue, and disposition of forage and straw. The sixth division should have charge of the erection, procurement, maintenance, and disposition of all barracks, hospital buildings, storehouses, stables, bridges, wharves, and other structures composed in whole or in part of lumber, and of all lumber, nails, and hardware for building purposes. The seventh division should have charge of the purchase, procurement, issue, and disposition of all wagons, ambulances, travelling-forges and harness. The eighth division should have charge of all inspections of the quartermaster's department, and of all reports made by officers assigned to inspection duty, analyzing and preserving the reports as received, and communicating, through the Quartermaster-General, to the chiefs of the proper divisions such portions of the reports as might be necessary for their information and use. The ninth division should have charge of all the correspondence, returns, reports, and records received, filed, and preserved in the office of the Quartermaster-General. That the supplies and material for the quartermaster's department should be purchased, after due public notice, by the heads of the several divisions, except in cases of supplies procured within the field of active military operations. That the heads of the several divisions should, under the direction of the Quartermaster-General, from time to time advertise for proposals for the supplies necessary for the movements and operations of the several armies, and for other military purposes, in newspapers having general circulation in those parts of the country where such supplies could be most advantageously furnished; and all such supplies should be subject to careful inspection ; and all clothing and camp and garrison equipage should be subject to a double inspection-first, as to the quality of the material, and second, as to the kind and character of the workmanship. That it should be the duty of the Quartermaster-General to establish depots, from time to time, at places convenient to the principal armies in the field, for receiving and distributing the supplies necessary for such armies. That when an emergency should exist requiring the immediate procurement of supplies for the necessary movements and operations of an army, and when such supplies could not be procured from any established depot of the quartermaster's department, or from the head of the division charged with the duty of furnishing such supplies, within the required time, then it should be lawful for the commanding officer of such army to order the chief quartermaster of such army to procure such supplies during the continuance of such emergency, but no longer. That it should be the duty of the Quartermaster-General, immediately after the passage of the act, and at least once in every three months thereafter, to require from the principal quartermasters of the several military departments and depats, approximate statements of the aggregate amounts of supplies on hand, and estimates of the additional amounts required for the service for the ensuing three months, stating at what places such supplies would be required, and what amounts were legally contracted for but not delivered. That all inspectors of horses, mules, clothing, fuel, forage, lumber, hired transports, and other supplies of the quartermaster's department should be sworn to perform their duties in a faithful and impartial manner, and should, for any corruption, wilful neglect, or fraud in the performance of their duties, be liable to punishment by fine and imprisonment, by sentence of court-martial or military commission. That if any contractor or person furnishing supplies or transportation should give, or offer to give, or cause to be given, to any officer or employee of the quartermaster's department having charge of the receipt or disposition of the supplies or transportation furnished by him, or in any way connected therewith, any money or other valuable consideration, directly or indirectly, all contracts and charters with such person should, at the option of the Secretary of War, be null and void. That whenever it should become necessary to purchase any steam or sailing vessel for the use of the quartermaster's department, the same should be first inspected by one or more competent naval officers. That the officers placed in charge of the several divisions should, during the time that they remain in such charge, each have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel in the quartermaster's department. And that during the continuance of the rebellion, the Secretary of War might assign to duty, as inspectors of the quartermaster's department, six officers, to be selected from the regular and volunteer officers who should have served for not less than one year in that department, who should have, while so assigned and acting, the temporary rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonels of the quartermaster's department.

On the eleventh of May, the Senate, on motion of Mr. Wilson, proceeded to the consideration of the bill; the amendments were agreed to, and the bill, as amended, passed without a division.

On the sixteenth, the House, on motion of Mr. McIndoe, of Wisconsin, referred the bill to the Committee on Military Affairs. On the twenty-fourth of June, Mr. Schenck, of Ohio, reported it back with amendments, and on the twenty-eighth, the amendments of the Committee, together with an amendment of Mr. Dawes, of Massachusetts, were agreed to, and the bill as amended passed.