By the Governor of Virginia.
a proclamation.
By an Act of the General Assembly, passed on the 7th of March, 1862, the Governor is required to organize and call out a special force from certain cities and corporations for the defence of the State.
He is forthwith to prescribe regulations for calling out and rendering this force sufficient.
Now, therefore, I, John Letcher, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, by virtue of the authority aforesaid, do hereby order and prescribe the following, and require the officers hereafter mentioned to execute this law and these provisions with promptness and energy.
The enrolling officers, who are the Sheriffs, Sergeants, and Commissioners of the Revenue, shall enroll all the white male inhabitants of the city of Richmond who reside in and around it, within one mile of the corporation line, on the North side of James river; all the white male inhabitants of the cities of Petersburg, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Lynchburg, and of the town of Fredericksburg, who reside within a half mile of the said cities and town, and who are between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, and forty-five and fifty-five years, including sojourners who may be refugees from any other paris of this State, and are not elsewhere enrolled under the provision of the act of the eighth of February last.
The persons so to be enrolled constitute the Second Military Class.
This class is required to be formed into companies, battalions, and regiments.
Each company to consist of not less than fifty nor more than one hundred men, rank and file; each battalion of five companies, and each regiment of two battalions.
The enrolling officers, after the said force of each city and town is ascertained, shall lay off the company and battalion districts and assign to each the number of men necessary, taking care not to form, two regiments until one is formed of not less than one thousand men. As soon as the said formation is completed, they shall cause the companies to be summoned to meet at a time and place to be designated by them, and cause a captain and two lieutenants to be elected by a majority of the men for each company.
Certificates of election shall be returned to the Adjutant General, that commissions may be issued.
For the election of field officers, the Adjutant General shall issue the requisite order for the officer first in rank in the proposed regiment; and it shall be the duty of such officer to convenes the company officers at some convenient place, and when a majority of all the commissioned officers of the regiment shall be assembled, they shall proceed in like manner to elect field officers for the regiment.
The officer convening the company officers shall make returns of the election to the Adjutant General, that commissions may be issued.
Non-commissioned and staff officers shall be appointed as prescribed by the existing militia laws.
No person, unless entitled to exemption from all military duty under laws now in force, can be exempted, and the board constituted for hearing such cases is the only authority to allow exemptions.
Commandants of companies shall cause their companies to be summoned and to be drilled every Monday at 3 o'clock P. M.
Commandants of battalions shall cause their battalions to be summoned and drilled every other Friday, at the same time.
Commandants of regiments shall cause their regiments to be summoned and drilled every alternate Friday in like manner, so that all the companies shall be on duty twice a week — once in company and once either in battalion or in regiment.
Each man shall be kept on duty from three o'clock until sundown.
The Second Military Class is to be governed by the laws heretofore in force prescribing regulations for the militia.
This force is to hold itself in readiness at all times for draft, after the draft upon the First Class is exhausted.
Given under my hand as Governor and under the seal of the Commonwealth, at Richmond, this 13th day of March, 1862, and in the year of the Commonwealth the 86th. John Letcher.
By the Governor:
Secretary of the Commonwealth.
mh 14--1w
Papers in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Petersburg, Fredericksburg, and Lynchburg, will publish daily for one week each.
By the Governor:
Secretary of the Commonwealth.
mh 14--1w
Papers in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Petersburg, Fredericksburg, and Lynchburg, will publish daily for one week each.
