army or of volunteers, who have died since the first day of April, one thousand eight hundred and forty-six, or who may die' during the war with Mexico, from wounds received or from disease contracted while in the line of duty, shall be entitled to the same rate of pension as is provided for in the first section of the before-mentioned act, under like limitations and restrictions: Provided, Said death has occurred, or may hereafter occur, while said officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, or privates were in the service of the United States, and in the line of duty; or while returning to their usual place of residence in the United States, after having received a discharge upon a surgeon's certificate for disability incurred from wounds received or disease contracted while in the line of duty, or while on their march to join the army in Mexico: And provided, further, That this act shall not be applicable to the widows and orphans of such officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, or privates, who have not served in Mexico, or at posts or stations on the borders of Mexico; except where such officers, noncommissioned officers, musicians, or privates have died while on their march to join the army in Mexico.

SEC. 3. That all pensions under this act shall be granted under such rules, regulations, restrictions, and limitations as the Secretary of War, with the approbation of the President of the United States, may prescribe.

[Approved, July 21, 1848.]

CHAPTER 120.-Approved, July 29, 1848.-Vol. 9, p. 265.

An Act for the relief of certain surviving widows of officers and soldiers of the revolutionary army.

1. Certain widows of revolutionary officers and soldiers, &c., to be entitled to a pension of equal amount to that their husbands would be entitled to if living. No widow now receiving a pension to be entitled to a further pension under this act. 2. No mortgage, sale, assignment, &c., of claims under this act to be valid. Rules of evidence.

That the widows of all officers, non-commissioned officers,

1 Or be discharged, or had remained till death, or have died from wounds or disease: 22 Feb. 1849, chap. 72, and Res. No. 20, 28 Sept. 1850.

2 Or, if the rolls show the disease, with surgeon-general's certificate, Res. No. 14, 3 March, 1849.

musicians, soldiers, mariners, or marines, and Indian spies, who shall have served in the Continental line, state troops, volunteers, militia, or in the naval service, in the revolutionary war with Great Britain, shall be entitled to a pension, during such widowhood, of equal amount per annum that their husbands would be entitled to, if living, under existing pension laws; to commence on the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, and to be paid in the same manner that other pensions are paid to widows; but no widow now receiving a pension shall be entitled to receive a further pension under the provisions of this act; and no widow married after the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred, shall be entitled to receive a pension under this act.

SEC. 2. That any pledge, mortgage, sale, assignment, or transfer of any right, claim, or interest, in any way granted by this act, shall be utterly void and of no effect, nor shall the annuities or pension granted by this act be liable to attachment, levy, or seizure by any process of law or equity, but shall inure wholly to the personal benefit of the pensioner or annuitant entitled to the same. The same rules of evidence, regulations, and prescriptions shall apply and govern the commissioner of pensions and pension agents under this act as now' prevail under existing pension laws which relate to widows of revolutionary officers and soldiers.

[SEC. 3. This act to take effect immediately.] [Approved, July 29, 1848.]

CHAPTER 168.-Approved, August 12, 1848.-Vol. 9, p. 303.

An Act concerning the pay department of the army.

That the paymaster-general be, and he is hereby, authorized to allow any of the paymasters of the army, who shall have been employed in the payment of volunteers, during the late war with Mexico, such a commission, not exceeding one-half of one per centum on all sums disbursed by them as aforesaid, as he shall deem a reasonable compensation for the risk and labor attending such service: Provided, That the said commission to any one paymaster shall not exceed $1000 per annum, from the commencement to the close of the war.3

17 June, 1832, chap. 126.

27 July, 1838, chap. 189; 23 August, 1842, chap. 191; 2 February, 1848, chap. 8. 3 See chap. 224, 14 July, 1834. This allowance was only during the Mexican war.

SEC. 2. That the said paymaster-general may, in his discretion, allow to any paymaster's clerk, in lieu of the pay now allowed by law, an annual salary of seven hundred dollars.1

[Approved, August 12, 1848.]

CHAPTER 173.-Approved, August 14, 1848.-Vol. 9, p. 304. An Act making appropriations for the support of the army, for the year ending the thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.

SEC. 2. That the act entitled "An act to authorize an increase of the rank and file of the army of the United States," approved May 13, 1846, be, and the same is hereby, repealed: Provided, That the President of the United States may, by transfer from other regiments, increase the number of privates, of not more than five regiments, to such number as he may think discreet, not exceeding 100 privates to each of the companies of said five regiments.

SEC. 3. That any more commissioned [non-commissioned] officer, musician, or private in the regiment of mounted riflemen, who has been in service in Mexico, shall, on application, receive an honorable discharge from the service of the United States, and stand as if they had served out their respective terms: Provided, That any vacancy caused by such discharge shall be filled at the discretion of the President of the United States.

CHAPTER 180.-Approved, August 14, 1848.-Vol. 9, p. 332.

An Act in relation to military land warrants.

That any non-commissioned officer, musician, or private, or his widow or heirs, who shall receive and hold in his own right a land warrant, issued by the Government of the United States for military service, may locate the same in on legal subdivision, on any public land subject to private entry, taking said land at the price at which the same is subject to private entry, and reckoning the warrant at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre for the number of acres therein contained, and paying the balance, if any, in money; but no claim shall exist on the government to pay for any balance on said warrant in money.

1 And one ration per day on duty, by sec. 5, chap. 110, 31 Aug. 1852; and that commuted at 75 cents per day.

2 Chap. 17.

RESOLUTION 2.-Approved, March 9, 1848.-Vol. 9, p. 333.

Joint Resolution expressive of the thanks of Congress to Major-General Winfield Scott, and the troops under his command, for their distinguished gallantry and good conduct in the campaign of eighteen hundred and forty-seven.

That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby, presented to Winfield Scott, major-general, commander-in-chief of the army in Mexico, and, through him, to the officers and men of the regular and volunteer corps under him, for their uniform gallantry and good conduct conspicuously displayed at the siege and capture of the city of Vera Cruz, and Castle of San Juan de Ulloa, March 29, 1847; and in the successive battles of Cerro Gordo, April 19 and 20; and the victories achieved in front of the city of Mexico, September 8, 11, 12, and 13, and the capture of the metropolis, September 14, 1847, in which the Mexican troops, greatly superior in numbers, and with every advantage of position, were in every conflict signally defeated by the American arms.

SEC. 2. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, requested to cause to be struck a gold medal, with devices emblematical of the series of brilliant victories achieved by the army, and presented to Major-General Winfield Scott, as a testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of his valor, skill, and judicious conduct in the memorable campaign of 1847.

SEC. 3. That the President of the United States be requested to cause the foregoing resolutions to be communicated to Major-General Scott, in such terms as he may deem best calculated to give effect to the objects thereof.

RESOLUTION 4.-Approved, March 24, 1848.-Vol. 9, p. 334.

[In all applications for bounty land warrants, the honorable discharge of the applicant predicated on a surgeon's certificate to be deemed sufficient evidence.]

RESOLUTION 7.-Approved, May 9, 1848.-Vol. 9, p. 334.

Joint Resolution of thanks to Major-General Taylor.

That the thanks of Congress are due, and they are hereby tendered, to Major-General Zachary Taylor, and, through him, to the officers and soldiers of the regular army, and of the volunteers under his command, for their valor, skill, and good conduct conspicuously displayed on the 22d and 23d days of February last, in the battle of Buena Vista, in defeating a Mexican army of more than four times their number, consisting of chosen troops, under their favorite commander, General Santa Anna.

That the President of the United States be requested to cause to be struck a gold medal, with devices emblematical of this splendid achievement, and presented to Major-General Zachary Taylor, as a testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of his judicious and distinguished conduct on that memorable occasion.

That the President of the United States be requested to cause the foregoing resolutions to be communicated to Major-General Taylor, in such terms as he may deem best calculated to give effect to the object thereof. [Approved, May 9, 1848.]

RESOLUTION 8.-Approved, June 16, 1848.-Vol. 9, p. 335.

Joint Resolution in relation to the transportation and discharge of the military forces of the United States at the close of the war with Mexico.

That on the restoration of peace with Mexico, by a treaty of peace duly ratified and proclaimed, all the military forces of the United States, whether volunteers, regulars, or the marine corps, who by law or the terms of their engagement are to be discharged at the close of the war, shall, under the direction of the President of the United States, be transported or marched, with the least practicable delay, to such posts or places in the United States as may be least expensive and most convenient to the troops; and at such places they shall be discharged from the service of the United States; and that until they shall respectively reach such places and be discharged, the officers and men shall be considered, paid, and treated as in the service of the United States, in the same manner as if the war had not closed.

RESOLUTION 9.-Approved, June 16, 1848.-Vol. 9, p. 335.

Joint Resolution providing for payment of the regiment of Texas mounted troops called into the service of the United States, under the requisition of Colonel Curtis, in the year eighteen hundred and forty-seven, and for other purposes.

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and required to cause to be paid, out of any unexpended appropriations for the prosecution of the war between the United States of America and the Republic of Mexico, the regiment of Texas mounted troops which was mustered into the service of the United States for six months, under the requisition of Colonel Curtis, in the year 1847, and discharged before joining the army, the pay and allowances of mounted men, from the time the several companies thereof arrived at San Antonio, the place of rendezvous, until they were mustered out of service, and the usual pay and travelling allowances from the time they left their homes until they reached San Antonio, and from the places where they were mustered out of service until they reached their homes; and the companies of Captains Smith and Hill, until they refused to be mustered out of service, or were disbanded by their respective captains; and also that he cause to be paid to the said regiment the full value of all horses which he shall be satisfied were lost by them for want of forage, during the periods herein specified: Provided, That nothing in the act approved 2 March, 1847, entitled "An act to amend an act to provide for the payment of horses and other property lost and destroyed in the

1 Chap. 30.