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GENERAL ORDERS,

WAR DEPARTMENT,

No. 366.

ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, November 13, 1863.

The following revised order is published for the guidance of Mustering and Disbursing Officers in relation to their expenditures from the appropriation for "collecting, drilling, and organizing volunteers," and all previous orders or regulations conflicting therewith are hereby revoked:

I..In organizing new regiments of volunteers or companies, if they are independent ones—the necessary transportation, as well as subsistence of the recruits, prior to the completion of the organization, will be chargeable against the appropriation for "collecting, drilling, and organizing volunteers;" or, should a regiment fail to complete its organization, until the recruits for the said regiments are transferred to, or consolidated with, another organization. After the organization of the regiments is complete, and they have been inspected by the Mustering Officer for the State or District, transportation will be provided by the Quartermaster's Department, and subsistence by the Subsistence Department.

II..All passes for transportation by railroad will fully explain, in the case of officers, the necessity for the journey and the nature of the service; in the case of enlisted men, the number of recruits, their company and regiment, and whether prior or subsequent to muster-in of the organization to which the recruits belong; or, if the recruits be for an old organization, whether prior or subsequent to the muster-in of the recruits themselves. A complete statement of these facts is necessary to settle satisfactorily the accounts of railroad companies.

III..The certificate to all vouchers for transportation by private conveyance must state that the prices charged were the current rates of the place where the expense was incurred; also, that transportation by railroad or steamboat could not be obtained. The vouchers must be approved by the Superintendent of the Volunteer Recruiting Service, or Chief Mustering and Disbursing Officer of the District, and show that the expenditure was incurred for recruits of old organizations prior to muster, or of new regiments prior to complete organization, or for officers and enlisted men travelling under orders on the

recruiting service, after having been assigned to duty by the Superintendent. The number of men, their company and regiment, the number of miles travelled, and rate per mile, will, in each case, be specified, as in passes for railroad transportation.

IV..Subsistence for recruiting parties detailed from regiments in the field, and for recruits of regiments already organized, will be provided by the Subsistence Department.

V..Recruiting parties and recruits, both of old and new organizations, will be quartered at the rendezvous, if possible; but when convenience and economy require it, a contract for lodgings may be made by the Superintendent, or the Chief Mustering and Disbursing Officer of the District, not to exceed 12 cents per night for each man. The rent of rendezvous, recruiting offices, and accounts for lodgings, will be paid from the appropriation for "collecting, drilling, and organizing volunteers," when approved by the Superintendent, but not otherwise.

VI..Subsistence for new organizations, as specified in Par. I of this order, will be furnished under contracts made by, or under the direction of, the Superintendents, subject to the approval of the Provost Marshal General.

VII..All vouchers for subsistence will be accompanied by an abstract of issues, (see Forms 17, Subsistence Department, Army Regulations of 1861, and 19, of Army Regulations, 1863,) certified by the officer ordering the issues. In the column of remarks, the company and regiment to which the recruits belong will be stated. The vouchers will specify the date of contract, by whom made and approved, and be supported by a certificate of the Superintendent or Disbursing Officer ordering the issues, that the expense was necessary for the public service for troops raised for the United States; that the recruits charged for were present at the time the orders for rations were signed, according to the morning report of the officer in charge; that they were actually enlisted prior to the date charged for; and that the regimental organization was not complete at the date of the account.

VIII..All Disbursing Officers authorized to purchase public property from the appropriation for "collecting, drilling, and organizing volun teers," will be held strictly accountable for every article purchased, and the property must be accounted for as required by Pars. 962 and

1040, Army Regulations of 1861, in order that the accounts may pass to the credit of the officer making the purchases.

IX..In addition to knives, forks, tin plates, and tin cups, authorized in General Orders No. 70, of 1861, spoons will be allowed to vol

unteers.

X..Superintendents of the Volunteer Recruiting Service, and Chief Mustering and Disbursing Officers, will, in future, be more careful in their instructions to recruiting officers under their direction, as it is believed that a large amount of money has been improperly expended by them in good faith, and through ignorance of the Regulations, which cannot be reimbursed. It should be understood that they have no right to incur expense without proper authority, and no authority to expend money on account of the United States for recruits in their charge, except in cases of extreme emergency, when the vouchers therefor shall fully explain the necessity, be approved by the Superintendent, and presented for payment before the recruiting officer leaves the State. Advance bounties and premiums will under no circumstances be paid by recruiting officers.

XI..All expenses incurred on account of recruits (hereafter enlisted by recruiting officers, either for old or new regiments) who shall be rejected, after medical inspection, for obvious disability existing at the time of their enlistment, will be charged on the muster-in roll, opposite the name of the officer enlisting them, and stopped from any pay which may thereafter be due him from the Government.

XII..Returns of property in charge of recruiting officers should be forwarded monthly to the Superintendent or Chief Mustering and Disbursing Officer of the District for examination and approval, and transmitted by them to the Provost Marshal General, as soon as practicable, after the expiration of the month for which they may be due.

XIII..All vouchers for commutation of quarters and fuel of recruit. ing officers, detailed in accordance with General Orders Nos. 105, of 1861, and 8, of 1862, must be accompanied-1st, by a certified copy of the original order detailing them; 2d, by the order of the Superintendent assigning them to duty, or his certificate that they have been so assigned; also a copy of the order relieving them from duty, (with the final accounts.) The certificates prescribed in Form 21, Quarter

master's Department, Army Regulations, must in all cases be signed by the proper officers, or the accounts will not be allowed.

BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR:

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The members, recorder, and witnesses of and before Boards instituted under section 17, act of August 3, 1861, to determine the cases of Officers recommended for the Retired List, will be allowed the same extra pay and travelling allowances as in the case of a General CourtMartial. This regulation will take effect from the passage of the act herein cited.

BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR:

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Paragraph 1420, General Regulations, edition of 1863, (paragraph 1389, edition of 1861,) is modified, by inserting after the words “to his command," in the first sentence, the following sentence:

The Commanding Officer of a Regiment or Battalion serving in the field will be accountable for all the surplus and reserve Ordnance Stores of the Regiment. The transportation of these stores will be provided for the same as the transportation of other stores, under the direction of the Commanding General.

BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR:

E. D. TOWNSEND,

Assistant Adjutant General.

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