ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, His Excellency MARCUS MORTON: SIR-I have the honor of transmitting the annual returns of the militia, and of the Quarter Master General's department, which are required by the laws of the State and of the United States. By the act, in addition to the several acts concerning the militia, of the 24th of March last, it was provided, that the active militia of the Commonwealth should consist of volunteers or companies raised at large, but that the whole number should not exceed ten thousand men ; and that every other able-bodied white male citizen, who is or shall be of the age of eighteen years and under the age of forty-five years, excepting persons absolutely exempted, idiots, lunatics, common drunkards, vagabonds, paupers, and persons convicted of infamous crimes, should be enrolled by the assessors of the respective towns within which they reside, and that the rolls thus prepared should be placed in the hands of the clerks of every city and town, who are required to record the names borne thereon, in a book to be kept for that purpose, and annually transmit returns of the militia, thus enrolled, to the Adjutant General, in the month of May or June. The persons who constitute the enrolled militia are not required to supply themselves with arms or equipments, and are not to be called upon to perform any duty, except in the event of war, invasion, to prevent invasion, to suppress riots, or to aid civil officers in the execution of the laws; and as, in all such cases, the volunteer corps are to be first ordered into service, it is not probable that it will ever be found necessary to detach any portion of the reserved troops, except when the country is actually invaded; and even in such a contingency, it is confidently believed, that any additional force which may be deemed necessary, could be better raised by voluntary enlistment, than in any other manner, and this could be done, to a great extent, without increasing the number of divisions, brigades or regiments, or even that of the companies, for the number of soldiers could be more than doubled in the latter without inconvenience, as the rank and file in each would not then exceed one hundred, if the companies which are hereafter raised, to complete the whole authorized number of volunteers, should not contain more soldiers than is the average number in those which now exist; and this would augment the volunteer force to more than 20,000 men. A very essential change having thus been produced in the militia system, it was considered expedient that a different organization should be established, and to effect that object, an order of Council was adopted on the 24th of April last, in which it was directed that the then existing divisions and brigades, and the regiments and companies of the infantry of the line should be disbanded, and the volunteer companies arranged into three divisions, six brigades, two battalions of cavalry, two regiments and six battalions of artillery, eleven regiments and two battalions of light infantry. By your directions, that order has been carried into effect, and the vacancies of company, battalion, regimental and brigade officers having been filled, it only remains for the Legislature to elect the Major Generals, to complete the organization. By the accompanying return, it will be seen that the whole number of volunteers amounts to 7,255, and by the returns of persons liable to military duty, which have been enrolled in the several towns throughout the Commonwealth, and transmitted to this office by the respective town clerks, except those of eleven towns, it appears that they amount to 83,602, making the aggregate militia force 90,857. In conformity to the 20th section of the militia act of last March, muskets have been furnished to those volunteer companies which have applied for the same, in such numbers as were required for each. There not having been received from the United States, a sufficient number of rifles and swords for equipping all the companies of riflemen and artillery, forty of each of those kinds of arms, that were in the arsenal, have been assigned by lot to nine companies of the former and ten of the latter. In consequence of several corps of cavalry having been disbanded, there were sabres and pistols enough for equipping the remaining companies. The whole number and kinds of arms which have been delivered, are as follows: From the zealous and determined spirit which has been evinced by the volunteer companies, to increase the number of privates in each, and improve their appearance in uniform, discipline and efficiency, and the anxious disposition which the general and regimental field and staff officers have manifested, to carry into full and successful operation the system of organization which has been established for the volunteer militia, there is the most cheering prospect, that a highly respectable and sufficiently ample military force will be thus established and maintained, which can be confidently relied upon, for all the purposes required by the laws of the State and of the United States. It relieves more than ninety thousand persons from the expense and loss of time, which were incurred under all previous regulations, and at the same time affords a far more certain and substantial defence against internal commotion and foreign aggressions, while many serious evils will be obviated, which resulted from the often repeated and ineffectual attempts to maintain even the form of an organization among imperfectly armed, undisciplined, and a merely nominal army of troops, among which it was so impracticable to find persons who were capable and willing to hold commissions, that not only a large number of companies, but whole regiments and brigades were for years destitute of officers. It is respectfully suggested, whether it would not be just and equitable to require those persons who are liable to military duty, but have been exempted therefrom except in the event of war or insurrection, to pay such an amount annually to the treasurers of the towns, in which they reside, as will produce a fund sufficient to defray the expense of supporting the volunteer troops. By the 20th section of the act of March last, it is. requisite, before arms can be furnished to any volunteer company, that the officers should execute and deliver to the Adjutant General, a sufficient bond for the safe keeping and return of the same, when required by the Commander in Chief; but as the officers are not exonerated from their obligation, when they die or are discharged from office, and the arms pass into the possession of their successors, who are not made either responsible to them, or the Commonwealth therefor, the former and their heirs are ever after liable to the exaction of the penalty, in the event the arms are not safely kept or returned when required. This is considered as onerous by the officers who are obliged to sign the bonds before any arms can be received for their companies, while the security to the State is continually being diminished, by deaths, resignation and removals out of the State, and will in most cases, after a few years, become unavailing for the purposes intended. It is therefore recommended, that the selectmen or treasurers of the towns, within which armories are or may be established, for the reception of the arms of volunteer companies, should, in behalf of such towns, execute the bond for their safe keeping and return, instead of the offiThis would not only afford a just and proper relief to the officers from responsibilities, for which they should not be made accountable, after they cease to have the custody and control of the public property, which had been temporarily entrusted to their care, but would render it more certain that the arms would at all times be kept in good condition, and secure against being lost, or improperly disposed of, in the event of the dissolution of the company for which they had been furnished. cers. |