A bill to be entitled An act to provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia of the Confederate States and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the Confederate States, and for calling them forth to execute the laws of the Confederate States, suppress insurrections and repel invasions

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A Bill to ^e entitled An Act

to provide for organizing, arming and
disciplining the militia of the Confederate

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First printing;; for the members
Congress

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George Washington Flowers
Memorial Collection

DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

ESTABLISHED BY THE

FAMILY OF

COLONEL FLOWERS

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A. BILL

To be entitled An Act to provide for organizing, arming and dis-
ciplining the militia of the Confederate States, and for governing
such part of them aa noaj be employed in the service of the Con-
federate States, and for calling them forth to execute the laws of
the Confederate States, suppress insurrections and repel invasions.
1 Section 1. T/ic Congress of the Confedtraie Si.iles of America do

i enact, That every able-bodied white male resident of the respec-

3 tive States, who is, or shall be, of the age of seventeen years and

4 under the age of fifty years, who sh-ill not bo exempted by this

5 act, shall be enrolled in the militia.

1 Sec. 2. That it is hereby made the duty of the captain or

Z commander of each company within tho bounds of whose com-

3 pany any such person may reside, within fifteen days next after

4 he shall be informed of such residence, and at all times h?re;;fcer,
o to enroll each person hereby made liable to serve ia the miliiia,
G and to notify him of the time and place of raustor ; and also all
" those who may, from time to time, a^rivc• at the nge of feeventccn
>» years, ai. 1 being under tlfiy yenrii of age. -^ 'li '■ • « » • ''side
!' within the bounds of the company, unless exuiupt ui.dtr tiic j)ro-

iw visions of this act. Such notice mty bo eervod and proved b/
1 1 any Don-commifsioncd ofhcer of the company.

8

1 Sec. 3. That as soon as practicable, after the passage of this

2 act, the militia of the several iScates shall be arranged into

3 divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions and companies, as the

4 Legislature of the said States shall direct, and until such ar-

5 rangements shall be made, the existing organizations shall be

6 recognized ; each division, brigade and regiment shall be nura-

7 bered at the formation thereof, and a record made of such num-

8 bers in the Adjutant General's office in the State; and when in
t> the fields or in the service of the State, each division, brigade

|() and regiment shall respectively take rank according to their

1 1 numbers, reckoning the first or lowest number highest in rank.

1 Sec. 4. That if the same be convenient, each brigade shall

2 consist of four regiments, each regiment of two battalions, and

3 each battalion of five companies. That each company of infantry

4 shall consist of not less than ninety, nor more than one hundred

5 and twenty-fire, privates ; each company of artillery, of four
G pieces, seventy privates ; each company of cavalry of sixty pri-

7 vates ; each company of sharpshooters of from ninety to one

8 hundred and twenty-five privates. For each battalion of infantty

9 there shall be one company of sharpshooters, and for each brigade
10 one company of artillery of four pieces.

1 Skc. 5. The officers and non-commissioned officers of the mili-

2 tia of each State shall be as follows :

3 A commander-in-chief.

r

4 An adjutant general, who eliall be the inspector general of -^

5 militia, and a qaartcrtn\ster general, each with the rank of briga-

6 (lier general.

7 A'l'ls to the commander-in-chief, with the rank of lieutenant

8 colonel, not exceeding in number.

9 To each division there shall be one major general, one division

10 inspector and adjutant, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel ;

1 1 two aids-de-camp ; one division quartermaster, each with the
15 rank of major.

13 To each brigade there shall be one brigadier genera); one-

14 brigade inspector, with the rank of major ; one brigade ©lUarter-

15 master, and one aid-de-camp, with the rank of captain.

16 To each regiment there shall be one colonel ; one lieutenan

17 colonel and one major; one adjutant, one quartermaster, each

18 with the rank of lieutenant ; one surgeon ; one sergeant-ma-

19 jor and one quartermaster-sergeant.

20 To each separate battalion there shall be one lieutenant col-

2 1 onel, when the battalion is composed of six companies or nvore, or
23 major, if of less ; one adjutant with the rank of lieutenant : one

23 sergeant-major; one quartermaster-sergeant, and a chief mu-

24 sician or bugler, according to the cojps.

25 To each company of infantry there shall be one captain ; ono

26 firi=t lieutenant; two second lieutcn.Tnt!» one ensign ; four ser-

27 geants ; four corporals and two mu^cians.

4

28 To each company of cavalry there shall be one captain ; one

39 first lieutenant ; two second lieutenants ; four sergeants ; four

30 corporals ; one farrier ; one blacksmith and two musicians.

31 To each company of artillery there shall be one captain ; one

32 first lieutenant; two second lieutenants; four sergeants ; four

33 corporals and two musicians.

34 To each company of sharpshooters there shall be the same

35 officers as in a company of infantry.

36 To -every company there shall be a clerk who shall be one of
57 the sergeants.

1 Sec. G. There may be formed in each division a number of

3 volunteer companies of cavulry, artillery and sharpshooters, not

3 exceeding two for each regiment, which shall be clothed in uni-

4 form, to be furnished at their own expense. In case of war, in-
.5 vasion, and for the execution of the laws, these companies shall
♦j be first ordered into service. It shall be the duty of the briga-

7 dier general to encourage th-e formation of such companies, and

8 to promote,, as far as practicable, the diffusion among them of a

9 knowledge of tactics and the army regulations, suitable for a cora-

10 pacy. These conjpanies may be combined to form battalions or

1 1 regiments, in locaiitiea favorable for such organizations, and may
] 2 be attached to such brigades and divisions as convenience may ui-

13 rect, under the orders of the commander-in-chief, and all exist-

14 ing organizations of this kind are hereby recognized as a part of

5

1.5 the militia, and shall be attached to eoxce division and brigade, as

16 the commandcr-in-chiof shall direct.

1 Sec. 7. The appointment of officers to the command of the

2 militia in the several States, and the authority for training the

3 same, according to the discipline prescribed bj Congress, shall

4 be according to the Constitution and laws of the States respec-

5 lively.

1 Sec. 8. The system of discipline and field exercise, vrhich is,

2 and shall bo ordered to be observed by the army of the Confede-
5 rate States in the different corps of infantry, artillery, cavalry

4 and sharpshooters, shall also bo observed by the militia in the

5 exercises and discipline of the said corps respectively throughout

6 the Confederate States.

1 Sec. 9. That all organizations which have been, or may be

2 made of the residents of any of the States, under the laws of

3 any of the States other than those mentioned in the first section

4 of this act for service as militia, shall be held and deemed to be

5 militia of the Confederate States, and shall be organized, armed

6 and disciplined in conformity to this act.

1 Sec. 10. That tliere shall be appropriated annually the sum of

2 dollars for the purpose of providing arms and

3 military equipments for the whole body of the militia of the

4 Confederate States, either by purchase or manufacture by and on
.5 account of the Confederate States. All the arms thus procured

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6 shall be divided among and delivered to the States and territo-

7 ries of the Confederacy, in proportion to their effective militia

8 force, and shall be distributed under such rules and regulations

9 as may be made by the several Legislatures thereof.

1 Sec. 1 1. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of War to direct

2 the manner in which the several corps composing the militia

3 shall be armed and equipped, and to modify from tirao to time

4 these directions as experience and the vrants of the public service

5 shall require, Vihich directions shall be communicated through
G the several commanders-in-chief in the different States, and shall
7 constitute the rule on the subject.

1 Sf.c. 12. The Adjutant General in each State shall distribute all

2 orders from the commander-in-chief; shall obey all orders rela-

3 tive to carrying into execution and perfocting any system of

4 military organization established by law ; and shall be in atten-

5 dance when the commander-in-chief reviews the militia.

6 II. He shall furnish blank forms of rolls, and of the different

7 forms that may be required, explaining the principles upon which
-S they should be made ; of orders for the commander of division
9 or brigade corps relative to inspections, trainings, reviews and

JO elections of officers, and of the notices to be given to their sub-

1 1 OEvdinates, and make proper abstracts from the returns of those

113 commanders for the examination of the commander-in-chief.
13 III, He shall annually make a return in duplicate of the mili-

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14 tia of the State, with their arnip, accoutrements and ammunition,

15 according to such directioDB as he may receive from the Secretary
'16 of War of the Confederate States; one copy of which he sliall
17 deliver to the commander-in-chief, and transmit the other to the
IS Secretary of War, on or before the first day of January in cacli

19 year.

20 IV. He shall obpy all orders from the Secretary of War vel.i-

21 tive to the organization, arming and disciplining of the militia,

22 and for calling them' into the service of the Confederate States,

23 under the conditions that may be prescribed by any act of Con-

24 gress, and shall communicate the same to any officer of the

25 militia as he shall be directed.

1 Skc. 13. That the Ci>aarterma8tor General shall receive, and

2 hold for safe-keeping, all the arm?, munitions of war. military

3 stores, intrenching tools, and other implements of war. which

4 may from time to time be transmitted to the State for the service

5 of the militia, until the same shall bo distributed according to

6 the laws cf the State : and until such distribution be made, these

7 shall be a deposit for the use, and be subject to the coatrol, of

8 the Confederate States. The arms and munitions, and other
a property aforesaid, shall not, at any time, be €U>iject to attach-

lU ment, execation or distress, or be iiible for any claim against

1 1 the person in whose custody they may be. The Quartermaster

12 Goneral shall annually make a report, ia duplicate, of the prop-

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13 erty he may have on hind, one of which shall be delivered to

14 the comraander-in-chief, and the other shall be forwarded to the

15 Secretary of Vfar, on or before the first day of January of every

1 6 year.

1 Sec. \i. The following persons shall be exempt from service

2 in the militia : The Vicc-rresidcnt of the Confederate States,

3 the officers, judicial and executive, of the Government of the

4 Confederate States, the members of both Houses of Congress and

5 their respective officers, the officers and employees engaged in

6 the collection of the revenue and mariners actually employed in

7 navigation, postmasters, assistant postmasters, and their clerks,
S post-officers, route agents, post riders, and stage drivers in the
9 care and conveyance of the mail, the artificers and workmen

10 employed in any armory, arsenal, workshop, manufactory, mine

1 1 or forge, or in quartermasters' or subsistence or medical depart-

12 ments of the Confederate States, or who may be specially en-

13 rolled, enlisted or detailed for d,uty in any of the departments of

14 the Confederate Government, or under any act of Congress; the

15 officers, judicial and executive, of the State governments, the
IG members of the Legislature of any of the States, and the officers

17 of cither braoch of any State Legislature, and such other persons

18 as may be exempt by law under any act of the States respec-

19 tively.

1 Sec. 15. The division inspector of each division, the brigade

2 major of each brigade, and the adjutant of each regiment, bat-

3 talicn or corps, shall constantly keep a correct roster of the
A conuKaml to which ho belongs, and an order bock, in which he
o ehall record orders received and issued. A fair and exact roll
6 of each company shall be kept by the clerk, under the direction
7/ of the captain or commander, with the state of the arms and

8 equipments of each man, in the form prescribed for the returns

9 of the militia by the Adjutant General. IIo shall also keep^
in an exact and fair roll of the names of all persons in the bound*

11 of his company, who, being otherwise liable for military duty,

12 shall claim exemption under this act, with the statement of the

13 cause of exemption, and the date of its allowance. Sach rolls

14 shall be revised in the month of of each year, and cor-

15 rected from time to time, as the state of the company and altcra-
IG tions of it may require. These company rolls shall be revised

17 from time to time by the regiraentnl, brigade and division com-

18 mandcrs, and ciro f-hould be taken to prevent any evasion of tl.o
10 service by any person legally subject to it. The brigade inspec-
tiO tors shall atten<l the regimental and battalion meetings of tho
21 militia, composing their several brigades, daring the time of their
2Z being under arms, to inspect their armf, ammunition and accou-

23 tremeDts, superintend their exercises and manoeuvres, and in-

24 troduce the system of niilitirj' discipline, prescribed by law,
2o throughout the brigades and such orders as may from time to

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36 time ba given bj tli3 coaivQaader-ia-cliicf; to raika returns to

27 the Adjutant General of the State, at least once in every year,

28 of tho militia of the brigade to which he belongs, reporting

29 therein the actual situation of the arms, accoutrements and am-

30 munition of the several corps, and every other thing which, in

31 his judgtnent, may relate to their government and the advatic«-

32 raeut of good-order and military discipline. The division ir-
-33 spector shall perform similar duties in regard to the brigades of

34 his division, and make similar reports.

1 Sec. 16. Whenever the Confederate States shall be invaded,

2 or be in danger of invasion from any foreign nation or Indian

3 tribe, or when any insurrection shall arise in any State against;

4 the Government, or laws thereof, and the Governor of the same,

5 if the Legislature be not in session, or the Legislature thereof,
G shall require assistance of the President to suppress such insur-

7 rection ; or whenever the laws of the Confederate States shall

8 be opposed, or the execution thereof obstructed in any State by
0 combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary

10 course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the

1 1 marshals of the Confederute States, it shall be lawful for the

12 President of the Confederate States to call forth the militia of

13 such State, or of any other State or States, as may be necessary
1 } to repel such invasion, or to suppress such insurrection or coai-
Id binations, and to cause the law3 to be enforced, and the use of

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16 Bucli militia, so to Le called forth, may be continued, if neces-

17 sary, until the expiration of thirty days after the coraraencfamcnt

18 of the then next session of Congress: Provided^ however. That,

19 during the existing war, it shall be lawful to employ the militia,

20 when their services are necessary, for the term of six months.

1 Sec. 17. That, whenever the occasion shall arise, in the j'^'lg-

2 ment of the President, for the employment of the militia for the

3 purposes mentioned in the preceding section, he may order for
\ service divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions or companies',

5 or may order to be detached parts or companies thereof, or any

6 number to be drafted therefrom, and may cause officers to be dc-

7 tailed from the officers of any of the said militia organizations,
b in sufficient numbers to organise and command the forces.

1 Sec. 18. Militia in actual service, in field, camp or garrison,

2 shall be subject to the rules and articles of war. Sutlers and

3 retainers to the army, drivers, conductors, and all persons re-

4 cciving pay for services, in or with the said militia, in actual ser-

5 vice, shall be taken to be a portion of the same, and governed

6 by those rules and articles. The o^iiitia, while in actual service,

7 shall receive the same pay, rations and allowances, as the re;:!;u-

8 lar troops of the Confe leracj. The cxfenses incurrc 1. an 1 to

9 be incurred for collecting the militia ai tii'; [dace of rcniu;;. uei,
ID upon any call or requisition of tho President, or which may b«
1 1 incurred by any State or territory with his approbation before

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12 or after the call, sliall be adjusted and paid in like manner as the

13 e.Tpenses incurred after their arrival at such place of rendezvous
1 1 on the requisition of the President of the Confederate Statefi.

I 5 But no items of expenditure are hereby authorized, but such as

16 have been provided for by existing huvs and regulations under

17 similar circumatanc^s.

1 Sec. 19. That every ofiicer, non-comraissioned oi'Hcer, or pri-

2 vate -nho shall fail to obey the orders of the President of the

3 Confederate States under the sixteenth section of this act shall

4 be subject to trial before a court martial, and suc-a officer shall,

5 upon conviction, be liable to forfeit not exceeding one year's pay,
G and to be cashiered by the sentence thereof, and, moreover, to be

7 incapacitated from holding any military commission for a period

8 not exceeding five years from the date of the sentence, and such

9 non-commissioned ofHcer or private shall, upon conviction, bo
10 fined not exceeding one thousand dollars, and upon a failure to

I I pay the same to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding six

12 months. The record of the court martial in such cases shall be

13 returned into the Distiict Court of the Confederate States for

14 the district in which the defendant shall reside, by the judge

15 advocate thereof, and, upon motion of the district attorney, the

16 court shall award execution in favor of the Confederate States

17 against the defendant for the amount of the fine and the fulfil-
ls ment of the sentence and costs.

IS

1 Sec. 20. Every citizen duly curolled in iho militia shall 1)0

2 constantly provided with arms, accoutrements, and ammunition

3 from and after the time that he shall he duly notified of his en-

4 rollraent, according; to the tcrrris of this act. Tho arms and

5 equipments thus required, until otherwise ordered, shall be thotje

6 provided for by law previously to the first day of November,

7 IS60.

1 k^EC. 21. Whenever a marshal or other public officer of the

2 Confederate State?, authorized to execute any process delivered

3 to him, bhall find or have reason to apprehend that resistance

4 vrill be mnde to the execution of such process, he shall be
[ 5 authorized to command as many of the male inhabitants of the

6 district as he may deem necessary, and any military company or

7 companies in said district, armed and equipped, to assist him in

8 overcoming such resistance, and, if necessary, in seizing and

9 confining the persons resisting, their aiders and abettors,' to be
10 dealt with according to law.

1 Sf.c. 22. Whenever an officer under any of the laws for the

2 collection cf the revenue or regulating commerce, navigation or

3 intercourse, shall }»e empowered to roaho any rcarch, seizuro (.r

4 arrest, and shall find or have reason to apprehend resistance in
.5 the fulfilment of bis dutie«, he shall call upon the marshal of the
C district or bis deputies for as9i?tancc,who shnll render ibe sam<», and
7 Bhall have all the power to overcome the re.'istance and to arrest

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8 aud confine the aiders and abettors of the same, as if the resist-

9 ance were made to the execution of process.

1 Sec. 23. The exercise of the power of the President to call

2 out the militia in cases where the laws are opposed, or the exe-

3 cution thereof shall be obstructed by combinations too powerful

4 to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings,
o or by the powers vested in the marshals, as conferred by this

6 act, shall be accompanied by a proclamation declaring the nature

7 of the resistance and the extent of the combinations which occa-

8 sions the same; and shall command all persons to desist from

9 rendering any aid or assistance to those opposing or obstructing

10 the execution of the laws or the execution of process from lawful

1 1 authority, and all persons who shall, after said proclamation,

12 resistor assist in resisting the execution of any law, or the

13 obstruction or execution of any process, or in resisting

14 any force ordered out for overcoming the same, or who shall aid
lo or attempt to rescue any prisoner from lawful custody or confine-

16 mcnt, shall be guilty of a high misdemeanor, and shall, on con-

17 viction thereof, be subject to a fine not exceeding three thousand

18 dollars, and to imprisonment, with or without labor, for a term

19 not exceeding three years.

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