The men in the original organizations were granted permission to elect their officers, but thereafter all appointments and promotions were to be made by the Confederate President, in conformity with the act of April 16.

A second law, October 11, 1862, directed that a place of rendezvous be established in each county, parish, or district where persons enrolled for military duty should report for examinations by surgeons employed by the Confederate Government.

The second section recognized the Congressional district as the natural limit for territorial recruitment, by prescribing that there should be appointed in each, an examining board consisting of three surgeons, who were to conduct the examinations at the rendezvous designated. Persons who through sickness were unable to attend for examination, were reported to the commander of the nearest camp of instruction, to whom they were to present themselves as soon as their disability was

removed.

A third act, October 11, 1862, increased the rigors of conscription by diminishing the number of exemptions. Persons exempted on account of religious scruples, were compelled to furnish substitutes or pay a tax of $500.

October 13, 1862, the Confederate President was authorized to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in case of arrests made by the authorities of the Confederate government, or for offenses committed against it, the act to continue in force for thirty days after the next meeting of Congress. A second act gave commutation in lieu of quarters to the "superintendent of the army intelligence office." A third act made the pay of cadets of the service of Confederate States the same as that of second lieutenants."

EXAMINING BOARDS.

A third act, and one of the most important of the session, authorized every general commanding a Department, whenever "the good of the service and the efficiency of his command" required it, to appoint an "examining board" to inquire into the qualifications of such officers as might be brought before it. The report of the board was to be forwarded by the Department Commander, through the War Department, to the Confederate President, who was authorized to honorably retire without pay or allowances, or drop any officer found unfit for his position.

The fourth section, recognizing the importance of personal reports, and also relieving them of the odium of being "confidential," prescribed:

That in order to secure reliable information of the efficiency and competence of officers, it is hereby made the duty of each officer commanding a regiment, separate battalion, company, battery, or squadron to make to his immediate commanding officer, who shall transmit the same to the brigadier-general commanding, a monthly report, in tabular form, a copy whereof shall be retained by the reporting officer, subject to the inspection of all officers interested therein, containing a list of all commissioned officers of such regiment, separate battalion, company, battery, or squadron, in which shall be stated the number of days each officer has been absent from his command, with or without, or on sick leave, the number of times each officer has been

observed to have been absent from his command, when on march or in action, wehn and where each officer has been observed to have performed signal acts of service, when and where negligent in the performance of duty and inattentive to the security and economy of public property, printed blank forms of which said reports, shall be furnished by the Secretary of War, for the use of the officers whose duty it is to make such reports.

The fifth section, while continuing the objectionable principle of company promotion, reaffirmed the right of the Confederate President to make the appointments and promotions in the Provisional Army. It prescribed:

That whenever any officer of a company, battalion, squadron, or regiment shall have been dropped or honorably retired, in accordance with the provisions of this act, then the officer next in rank shall be promoted to the vacancy, if competent, such competency to be ascertained as provided in the first and second sections of this act, and if not competent then the next officer in rank shall be promoted, and so on until all the commissioned officers of the company, battalion, squadron, or regiment shall have been gone through with, and if there be no officer of the company, battalion, squadron, or regiment competent to fill the vacancy, then the President shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, fill the same by appointment: Provided, That the officer appointed shall be from the same State as that to which the company, battalion, squadron, or regiment belongs: And provided further, That nothing herein contained shall be construed as limiting the power heretofore conferred upon the President by existing laws, to fill any vacancy by the promotion of officers or the appointment or privates "distinguished in the service by the exhibition of extraordinary valor and skill:" And provided further, That vacancies arising under the operation of this act in regiments or battalions which were organized under the laws of a State for the war, or for a period not yet expired, shall be filled as in case of death or resignation.

MEDALS OF HONOR AND BADGES OF DISTINCTION.

A fourth act authorized the Confederate President to bestow medals upon officers "conspicuous for courage and good conduct on the field of battle," and also to confer a badge of distinction upon one private or noncommissioned officer of each company after every signal victory it shall have assisted to achieve." The principle of election which throughout the war proved so detrimental to the discipline of the Confederate armies, was recognized in the manner of bestowing the badge of distinction. The law prescribed:

That the noncommissioned officers and privates of the company who may be present on the first dress parade thereafter may choose, by a majority of their votes, the soldier best entitled to receive such distinction, whose name shall be communicated to the President by commanding officers of the company, and if the award fall upon a deceased soldier, the badge thus awarded him shall be delivered to his widow, or if there be no widow, to any relative the President may adjudge entitled to receive it.

The principle of bestowing rewards by election is recognized in the regulation for conferring the Victoria Cross. As a practical application, it is reported that when one was given to a battery of horse artillery which had achieved great distinction in the siege of Delhi, the men unanimously bestowed it upon the cook.

By a fifth act, of October 13, 1862, "for the purpose of local defense in any portion of the Confederate States," any number of persons not less than twenty, who were over 45 years of age or were not otherwise liable to military duty, were authorized

to associate themselves as a military company, elect their own officers, and establish rules and regulations for their own government.

Sec. 4, Chap. LVII, second session, first congress.
Same as sec. 5.

Chap. LXI.

The local volunteers, who could be disbanded at any time by the Confederate President, were declared to be a part of the Provisional Army of the Confederate States, "serving without pay or allowances, and entitled, when captured by the enemy, to all the privileges of prisoners of war." The sixth act, of October 13, 1862, and the last of the second session of the First Congress, authorized the appointment of twenty general officers, to be assigned to such appropriate duties as the Confederate President might deem expedient."

THIRD SESSION, FIRST CONFEDERATE CONGRESS.

The third session of the First Confederate Congress began at Richmond, January 12, 1863, and ended May 1, 1863.

The extravagance of the Confederate military policy may be inferred by a few extracts from the act making appropriations for the support of the Government for the period from February 1, 1863, to June 30, 1863, as also to supply deficiencies prior thereto:

Quartermaster's Department:

Pay of the Army

Transportation of troops, stores, purchase of horses, etc

For bounty of $50 to soldiers in service for three years or the war,

on the basis of 60,000.

Commissary Department:

Subsistence

February 20, 1863, the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to adjust the true amount of war tax" due from the State of Alabama and to refund any amount overpaid by the State."

March 20, 1863, the Secretary of War was authorized to select one company of engineer troops from each infantry division in the service; the companies to be organized into regiments of ten companies, with the usual field and staff. Mounted engineers were also authorized to be selected from the cavalry.c

IMPRESSMENTS.

At no time did the Confederate Congress permit the war to languish, through hesitation or fear to exercise its constitutional powers. When volunteer enlistments failed, it boldly resolved to raise armies by conscription, and when, in consequence of an exhausting policy, its notes became so depreciated that the people refused them supplies, it as boldly resolved to support its armies by taxes in kind and impressments.

The first section of the act of March 26, 1863, regulating impressments, prescribed

That whenever the exigencies of any army in the field are such as to make impressments of forage, articles of subsistence, or other property absolutely neces sary, then such impressments may be made by the officer or officers whose duty it is to furnish such forage, articles of subsistence, or other property for such army. In cases where the owner of such property and the impressing officer cannot agree

a Chap. LXIII.

Chap. VI.

© Chap. VII.

upon the value thereof, it shall be the duty of such impressing officer, upon an affidavit in writing of the owner of such property, or his agent, that such property was grown, raised, or produced by said owner, or is held or has been purchased by him, not for sale or speculation, but for his own use or consumption, to cause the same to be ascertained and determined by the judgment of two loyal and disinterested citizens of the city, county, or parish in which such impressments may be made; one to be selected by the owner, one by the impressing officer, and in the event of their disagreement, these two shall choose an umpire of like qualifications, whose decision shall be final. The person thus selected, after an oath to appraise the property impressed fairly and impartially (which oath, as well as the affidavit provided for in this section, the impressing officer is hereby authorized to administer and certify), shall proceed to assess just compensation for the property so impressed, whether the absolute ownership or the temporary use thereof only is required.

On seizing the property, the officer was required to pay for it at the price appraised, or in lieu, give vouchers payable by the proper disbursing officer of the Department. If impracticable to appraise the property at the time of impressment, its value was subsequently to be appraised under oath, by two or three arbitrators selected as before.

The fifth section prescribed that the Confederate President should appoint a commissioner for each State and request the governor to appoint another, the two commissioners to receive a compensation of $8 per day and mileage at 10 cents per mile, to be paid by the Confederate Government.

The commissioners were to constitute a board, whose duty it was

to fix upon the prices to be paid by the Government for all property impressed or taken for the public use as aforesaid, so as to afford just compensation to the owners thereof.

The commissioners were also required to "agree upon and publish a schedule of prices every two months," and in case they could not agree, they were empowered

to appoint an umpire to decide the matter in dispute, whose decision shall be the decision of the board, the umpire to receive while so employed the same compensation as the commissioners.

The closing part of the section shows with what care the Confederate Congress provided against the possible lukewarmness or opposition of any of the States. It read:

That said commissioners shall be residents of the State for which they shall be appointed; and if the governor of any State shall refuse or neglect to appoint said commissioner within ten days after a request to do so by the President, then the President shall appoint both commissioners, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.b

The seventh section regulated the quantity of supplies and property to be exempted from seizure. It read:

That the property necessary for the support of the owner and his family, and to carry on his ordinary agricultural and mechanical business, to be ascertained by the appraisers, to be appointed as provided in the first section of this act, under oath, shall not be taken or impressed for the public use; and when the impressing officer and the owner can not agree as to the quantity of property necessary, as aforesaid, then the decision of the said appraisers shail be binding on the officer and all other persons.c

The ninth section permitted the impressment of slaves, "to labor on fortifications or other public works," but no impressment was to be

a Third session First Congress, Chap. X, first section, p. 102.
Ibid, fifth section, p. 103.

Ibid, section 7, pp. 103, 104.

932°-17-31

made when they could be hired or procured by the consent of the owner or agent.

To guard against an abuse of power, the eleventh and last section

read:

That any commissioned or noncommissioned officer or private who shall violate the provisions of this act shall be tried before the military court of the corps to which he is attached, on complaint made by the owner or other person; and on conviction of an officer he shall be cashiered and put into the ranks as a private, and if a noncommissioned officer or private, he shall suffer such punishment not inconsistent with military law as the court may direct, a

April 13, 1863, the punishment of any soldier "by whipping or the infliction of stripes upon his person " was prohibited.

TAXATION.

April 24, an act was approved—–

to levy taxes for the common defense and carry on the government of the Confederate States.

The fifth section prescribes that for the year ending December 31, 1863, and for each subsequent year, a tax either of money or moneys, and a percentage on the gross amount of sales should be levied on each trade, business, or occupation as follows: Bankers, $500; auctioneers, $50 and 2 per cent; wholesale dealers in liquors and wines of all kinds, $200 and 5 per cent; retail dealers, $100 and 10 per cent; retail dealers of groceries or merchandise, $50 and 24 per cent; wholesale dealers of groceries or merchandise, $200 and 24 per cent; pawnbrokers, $200; distillers, $200 and 20 per cent; brewers, $100 and 2 per cent; hotels, first class, $500; hotels, second class, $300; hotels, third class, $200; hotels, fourth class, $100; hotels, fifth class, $30; brokers, $200; commercial brokers and commission merchants, $200 and 2 per cent; tobacconists, $50 and 24 per cent; circuses, $100 and $10 for each exhibition; jugglers, $50; bowling alleys and billiard rooms, $40; livery stables, $50; cattle brokers, $50 and 24 per cent; butchers, $50 and 1 per cent; peddlers, $50 to $100 and 24 per cent; jewelers, apothecaries, photographers, and confectioners, $50 and 24 per cent each; lawyers and physicians, $50 each.

The seventh section imposed an income tax of 1 per cent on the salaries of all persons not in the military or naval service, when the gross amount did not exceed $1,500 per annum, and 2 per cent for salaries above that amount.

The eighth section imposed a tax on all incomes derived from business as follows: Over $500 and not exceeding $1,500, 5 per cent; over $1,500 and less than $3,000, 5 per cent on the first $1,500 and 10 per cent on the excess; over $3,000 and less than $5,000, 10 per cent; over $5,000 and less than $10,000, 12 per cent; over $10,000, 15 per cent. All farmers and planters after deducting for their families 100 bushels of corn, 50 bushels of sweet potatoes, 50 bushels of Irish potatoes, 50 of wheat, and 20 bushels of pease or beans, were required to deliver to the agents of the government a tithe of all wheat, corn, tobacco, sugar, cotton, and all other articles of consumption produced by them.

The tithes imposed by the eleventh section were to be delivered at depots not more than 8 miles distant within two months after the Chap. XIX.

a Chap. X, sec. 11.