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

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[38] allowing forty cents per day for the use and risk of horses of company officers of cavalry; and it was agreed to — yeas, forty-eight; nays, forty-seven. The tenth amendment proposed to amend the thirteenth section, providing that an officer under arrest should be discharged unless a copy of the charges against him should be served on him within eight days, so as to read, “may be tried whenever the exigencies of the service will permitt.” On motion of Mr. Edwards, of New-Hampshire, the amendment was amended by adding the words, “within twelve months after such release from arrest ;” and the amendment as amended was agreed to. The eleventh amendment proposed to strike out the fourteenth section, providing for retiring officers borne on the army or navy register forty-five years, or who should be sixty-two years of age; but the amendment was lost — yeas, twenty-eight; nays, sixty-eight. The twelfth amendment, striking out the fifteenth section, authorizing the President to assign to duty retired officers, was disagreed to. The thirteenth amendment proposed to strike out the sixteenth section, relating to the mileage of members of Congress. Mr. F. A. Conkling, of New-York, moved to amend the amendment so as to allow members of Congress their actual travelling expenses, and it was agreed to — yeas, ninety; nays, thirty-three. The amendment as amended was agreed to. Mr. Washburne moved to reconsider that vote, and lay the motion on the table. This motion was agreed to, so the sixteenth section was stricken out. The House, by a vote of seventy-three to twenty-one, agreed to the fourteenth amendment, striking out the eighteenth section, disallowing commutation of fuel and quarters to officers. The bill was amended by agreeing to the sixteenth amendment, placing volunteer engineers on the same footing, in regard to pay, emolument, and organization, as engineers of the regular army. The seventeenth amendment proposed to add a new section, providing that vacancies occurring among officers of volunteer regiments should be filled by the President, on the recommendation of officers of the regiments. Mr. Holman, of Indiana, and Mr. McPherson, of Pennsylvania, opposed the amendment, and Mr. Browne, of Rhode Island, advocated it. On the twelfth, the consideration of the bill was resumed, and the amendment rejected. The eighteenth amendment, providing that volunteer officers should have equal rank with officers of like grade having commissions from the United States, was agreed to. An amendment was adopted repealing the law retaining two dollars per month of the pay of privates in the regular army until the expiration of their term of service. The twentieth amendment was agreed to, authorizing the President to accept the services of foreign officers, and grant them commissions in the volunteer forces, A new section was added, requiring volunteers to be examined as to their physical condition, in the same manner as men enlisted into the regular army. The twenty-second amendment of the Committee authorized the President to assign army officers as field-officers, upon the application of Governors of States; and the amendment was agreed to. The twenty-third amendment, providing that any alien of the age of twenty-one years and upward, who had enlisted or should enlist in the armies of the United States, either the regular or volunteer forces, and had been or might be thereafter honorably discharged, might be admitted to become a citizen of the United States upon his petition, without any previous declaration of his intention to become a citizen, was agreed to. The twenty-fourth amendment was agreed to, providing that thereafter, every contractor for subsistence, clothing, arms, ammunition, munitions of war, and for every description of supplies for the army or navy of the United States, should be subjected to the rules and articles of war, so far as the same were applicable. On motion of Mr. Dunn, of Indiana, the bill was amended by adding a new section, providing that there should be added to the Adjutant-General's department, by regular promotion of its present officers, one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, and nine majors; and that the grade of captain in said department be abolished, and all vacancies occurring in the grade of major should be filled by selection from among the captains of the army. Mr. Blair called for the previous question on the passage of the bill; it was ordered, and the bill passed without a division.

In the Senate, on the fourteenth, the House amendments were referred to the Military Committee, and on the eighteenth Mr. Wilson reported back the bill and House amendments, with an amendment. On the nineteenth, the Senate, on motion of Mr. Wilson, proceeded to the consideration of the amendments of the House; agreed to some of them, and disagreed to others, and agreed to others with amendments. On motion of Mr. Wilson, on the twentieth, the Senate asked a committee of conference, and Mr. Wilson, Mr. Nesmith, and Mr. Howard were appointed managers on the part of the Senate. The House insisted upon its amendments, agreed to a committee of conference, and Mr. Olin, of New-York, Mr. Dunn, of Indiana, and Mr. G. H. Browne, of Rhode Island, were appointed managers. On the seventh of July, Mr. Wilson, from the committee of conference, reported to the Senate that they recommend to their respective Houses: “That the Senate adhere to their disagreement to the amendments of the House to the said bill; and that the House adhere to its disagreement to the Senate's amendments to the House amendments to said bill.” The Senate and House both concurred in the report of the conference committee.

Mr. Wilson, by unanimous consent, then introduced a bill to define the pay and emoluments of certain officers of the army, and for other purposes, which was read twice. The bill provided that officers entitled to forage should not be allowed to commute it, but might draw forage in kind. That when forage in kind could not be furnished, then officers might commute it. That