case, to furnish any further evidence that said husband was entitled to a pension; nor shall any evidence, in any case, be required to entitle the widow to a pension, when the evidence is in the archives of the government, other than such proof as would be sufficient to establish the marriage between the applicant and the deceased pensioner in civil personal actions in a court of justice: Provided,' That, upon a revision of the testimony in the case of the deceased husband, the commissioner be satisfied that the pension was properly granted.

[Sec. 3. Act of 1845, chap. 71, sec. 4, respecting the reopening of settled accounts, and the limitation of claims on the United States, not to apply to pensions.]

[Approved, May 7, 1846.]

CHAPTER 16.-Approved, May 13, 1846.-Vol. 9, p. 9.

An Act providing for the prosecution of the existing war between the United States and the Republic of Mexico.3

Whereas, by the act of the republic of Mexico, a state of war exists between that government and the United States:

That, for the purpose of enabling the Government of the United States to prosecute said war to a speedy and successful termination, the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to employ the militia, naval, and military forces of the United States, and to call for and accept the services of any number of volunteers, not exceeding 50,000, who may offer their services either as cavalry, artillery, infantry, or riflemen, to serve twelve months after they shall have arrived at the place of rendezvous, or to the end of the war, unless sooner discharged, according to the time for which they shall have been mustered into service; and that the sum of $10,000,000, out of any moneys in the treasury, or to come into the treasury, not otherwise appropriated, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this act into effect.

SEC. 2. That the militia, when called into the service of the United States by virtue of this act, or any other act, may, if in the opinion of the President of the United States the public interest requires it, be compelled to serve for a term not exceeding six months after their arrival at the place of rendezvous, in any one year, unless sooner discharged.

SEC. 3. That the said volunteers shall furnish their own clothes, and, if cavalry, their own horses and horse equipments; and when mustered into service shall be armed at the expense of the United States.

1 Proviso repealed 26 June, 1848, chap. 71.

2 This section of the act of 1845 repealed 10 Aug. 1846, chap. 175, vol. 9, p. 97. 3 See 18 June, 1846, chap. 29, and 19 July, 1848, chap. 164.

SEC. 4. That said volunteers shall, when called into actual service, and while remaining therein, be subject to the rules and articles of war, and shall be in all respects, except as to clothing and pay, placed on the same footing with similar corps of the United States army; and in lieu of clothing every non-commissioned officer and private in any company, who may thus offer himself, shall be entitled, when called into actual service, to receive in money a sum equal to the cost of clothing of a non-commissioned officer or private (as the case may be) in the regular troops of the United States. SEC. 5. That the said volunteers so offering their services shall be accepted by the President in companies, battalions, squadrons, and regiments, whose officers shall be appointed in the manner prescribed by law in the several states and territories to which such companies, battalions, squadrons, and regiments shall respectively belong.

SEC. 6. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby authorized to organize companies so tendering their services into battalions or squadrons, battalions and squadrons into regiments, regiments into brigades, and brigades into divisions, as soon as the number of volunteers shall render such organization, in his judgment, expedient; and the President shall, if necessary, apportion the staff, field, and general officers among the respective states and territories from which the volunteers shall tender their services, as he may deem proper.

SEC. 7. That the volunteers who may be received into the service of the United States, by virtue of the provisions of this act, and who shall be wounded or otherwise disabled in the service, shall be entitled to all the benefit which may be conferred on persons wounded in the service of the United States.

SEC. 8. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized forthwith to complete all the public armed vessels now authorized by law, and to purchase or charter, arm, equip, and man such merchant vessels and steamboats as, upon examination, may be found fit, or easily converted into armed vessels fit, for the public service, and in such number as he may deem necessary for the protection of the seaboard, lake-coast, and the general defence of the country.

SEC. 9. That whenever the militia or volunteers are called and received into the service of the United States, under the provisions of this act, they shall have the organization of the army of the United States, and shall have the same pay and allowances; and all mounted privates, non-commissioned officers, musicians, and artificers shall be allowed 40 cents per day for the use and risk of their horses, except of horses actually killed in action; and if any mounted volunteer, private, non-commissioned officer, musician, or artificer shall not keep himself provided with a serviceable horse, the said volunteer shall serve on foot.1

[Approved, May 13, 1846.]

1 Very similar acts were passed in the called session of July, 1861, for carrying on the war against the southern states in rebellion against the government.

CHAPTER 17.-Approved, May 13, 1846.—Vol. 9, p. 11.

An Act to authorize an increase of the rank and file of the army of the United States.1

That the President of the United States be, and is hereby, authorized, by voluntary enlistment, to increase the number of privates in each or any of the companies of the existing regiments of dragoons, artillery, and infantry, to any number not exceeding one hundred, whenever, in his opinion, the exigencies of the public service may require the same, and to reduce the same to sixty-four, when the exigencies requiring the present increase shall cease: Provided, That said enlistments shall be for the term of five years, and no longer, unless sooner disbanded by the President."

CHAPTER 21.-Approved, May 15, 1846.-Vol. 9, p. 12.

An Act for the organization of a company of sappers, miners, and pontoniers. 2. Pay and rations. Clothing, and other allowances. 3. Placed on the same footing as other troops of the United States. 4. To be attached to the corps of engineers, and to be officered by officers of that corps, &c. Liable to serve by detachments in working on fortifications. 5. The chief engineer to regulate and determine the number, quality, &c., of the necessary vehicles, pontons, &c. That there be added to the corps of engineers one company of sappers, miners, and pontoniers, to be called engineer soldiers; which company shall be composed of ten sergeants, or master-workmen, ten corporals, or overseers, two musicians, thirty-nine privates of the first class, or artificers, and thirty-nine privates of the second class, or laborers; in all, one hundred men.

SEC. 2. That the pay and rations of the sergeants, or masterworkmen; of said company, shall be the same as those now allowed by law to the master-workmen employed by the ord. nance department, excepting that the engineer sergeants shall receive one ration only per day, instead of one ration and a half; of the corporals, or overseers, the same as those now allowed by law to the armorers, carriage-makers, and blacksmiths employed by the ordnance department, excepting that the engineer corporals shall receive one ration only per day, instead of one ration and a half; of the privates of the first class, or artificers, the same as those now allowed by law to the artificers employed

1 Repealed, 14 August, 1848, chap. 173.

2 Provisions of this act made applicable to the regiment of mounted riflemen authorized by chap. 22, 19 May, 1846.

3 Three more companies added to engineers by sec. 4, chap. 42, 3 August, 1861, and one company to topographical engineers by chap. 57, sec. 2, (by chap. 58,) 6 August, 1831.

4 150 privates to all engineer companies, by same act.

by the ordnance department; of the privates of the second class, or laborers, the same as those now allowed by law to the laborers employed by the ordnance department; and of the musicians, the same as those allowed by law to the musicians of the line of the army; the said non-commissioned officers, privates, and musicians being respectively entitled to the same clothing and other allowances as are granted by law to non-commissioned officers, privates, and musicians of the artillery in the army of the United States.

SEC. 3. That the said engineer company shall be subject to the rules and articles of war, shall be recruited in the same manner, and with the same limitation, and shall be entitled to the same provisions, allowances, and benefits, in every respect, as are allowed to the other troops constituting the present military peace establishment.

SEC. 4. That the said engineer company shall be attached to and compose a part of the corps of engineers, and be officered by officers of that corps, as at present organized; they shall be instructed in and perform all the duties of sappers, miners, and pontoniers, and shall aid in giving practical instructions in these branches at the Military Academy; they shall, moreover, under the orders of the chief engineer, be liable to serve, by detachments, in overseeing and aiding laborers upon fortifications or other works under the engineer department, and in supervising finished fortifications as fort-keepers, preventing injury and applying repairs.

SEC. 5. That the chief engineer, with the approbation of the secretary of war, be authorized to regulate and determine the number, quality, form, dimensions, &c. of the necessary vehi cles, pontons, tools, implements, arms, and other supplies, for the use and service of said company as a body of sappers, miners, and pontoniers.

[Approved, May 15, 1846.]

CHAPTER 22.-Approved, May 19, 1846.-Vol. 9, p. 13.

An Act to provide for raising a regiment of mounted riflemen, and for establishing military stations on the route to Oregon.1

1. Regiment of mounted riflemen raised. Organization. 2. Pay and emoluments. 3. To be subject to the rules and articles of war, and recruited in the same manner as other troops of the United States. Provisions for wounds and disabilities, and for widows and children, &c. 4. Extra compensation when on fatigue duty. That there shall be raised one regiment of mounted riflemen, to be composed and organized as follows, to wit: one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, one major, one quartermaster-sergeant, and two chief buglers, one adjutant, who shall be a lieutenant, one sergeant-major, one chief musician, and ten companies; each company shall consist of one captain, one first lieutenant, one second lieutenant, (exclusive of the adjutant-lieutenant,) four sergeants, four corporals, two buglers, one farrier, one blacksmith, and sixty-four privates."

SEC. 2. That the officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates shall be entitled to the same pay and emoluments as are allowed to dragoons, and that the farrier and blacksmith shall receive the same pay and allowances as are allowed to an artificer of artillery.

SEC. 3. That the said regiment of riflemen shall be subject to the rules and articles of war, and shall be recruited in the same manner as other troops in the service of the United States, and with the same conditions and limitations; and the officers, noncommissioned officers, musicians, privates, blacksmiths, and farriers shall be entitled to the same provisions for wounds and disabilities, and the same provisions for widows and children, and the same allowances and benefits, in every respect, as are allowed to other troops composing the army of the United States.

SEC. 4. That the non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates of said regiment, when employed in constructing fortifications, making surveys, cutting roads, or performing other labor, shall be allowed fifteen cents per day each, with a commutation in money for the extra spirit ration, as provided by

1 Mounted riflemen are now denominated cavalry.

2 Provisions of chap. 17, 13 May, 1846, made applicable to this act by sec. 18, chap. 61, 3 March, 1847.