INSTANCES OF THE RAPIDITY WITH WHICH TROOPS WERE RAISED BY PARTICULAR LOCALITIES.

The following cases are cited as instances of the rapidity with which troops were furnished by different localities in times of emergency:

Under the call of July 2, 1862, for three hundred thousand (300,000) threeyears men, and of August 4, 1862, for three hundred thousand (300,000) ninemonths men, the quota of the State of Illinois, under each call, was twenty-four thousand one hundred and forty-eight, (24,148,) or an aggregate of fifty-two thousand two hundred and ninety-six, (52,296.)

The promptness with which these calls were responded to by this State is without parallel in the history of the war.

The adjutant general of the State, in his report dated January 1, 1863, says: "The order of the Secretary of War, making the call upon the State, assumed that a draft would be necessary; and in anticipating that the States would not be able to contribute their quotas of the call in July for three years' service, announced that if any State should not furnish its quota of the three-years volunteers, the deficiency would be made up by a special draft from the militia. "On the evening of the 9th of August, 1862, the Adjutant General of the army decided, on fixing the quota of volunteers, not to regard those in the field before the call.

"To raise fifty-two thousand two hundred and ninety-six (52,296) volunteers, (with perhaps the exception of one thousand (1,000) who had enlisted between July 7 and August 5,) but thirteen days were allowed. In the event of a failure, a draft would be made for the deficiency.

"The floating population of the State who would enlist, had done so.

"These new volunteers must come, if come at all, from the farmers and mechanics of the State.

"Farmers were in the midst of their harvest; and it is no exaggeration to say, that, animated by a common purpose and firmly resolved on rescuing the government, over fifty thousand (50,000) of them left their harvests ungathered, their tools on the benches, the plough in the furrows, and before eleven days expired the demands of the country were met and both quotas filled.

"When the historian shall write the records of these eventful days in August, 1862, no prouder record can be erected to the honor and memory of a free people than a plain full narrative of actual realities."

The records of this office corroborate the foregoing statement, and show that fifty-eight thousand six hundred and eighty-nine (58,689) men were put into service by the State of Illinois under these two calls.

Under the call for one-hundred-days troops in April, 1864, preparatory to the opening campaigns of that year, the governor of Ohio offered thirty thousand (30,000) men for active service "for one hundred days, unless sooner discharged." He ordered his troops to rendezvous in the most eligible places in their respective counties on the 2d day of May, and to report by telegraph at four o'clock of the same day the number present for duty.

Reports were received the same day at seven and one-half (7) o'clock that thirty-eight thousand (38,000) men were in camp, and clamorous to be sent forward.

Then came the labor of consolidation, organization, muster, and equipment. By the 16th of May the regiments were ready to be forwarded. Between the 5th and 16th of May, a period of twelve (12) days, forty-one regiments and one battalion of seven companies, in all thirty-six thousand two hundred and fifty-four (36,254) men, were consolidated, organized, mustered, clothed, armed, equipped, and presented for transportation to the field.

On the 24th of May, twenty-two (22) days from the time this Ohio force

The greatest number of three-years men put into service in any one month, under the call of October 17, 1863, was in the month of February, 1864, viz: sixty-nine thousand five hundred and thirty-three (69,533.)

The greatest number of three-years men raised in any one month under the call of July 18, 1864, was in the month of September following, when one hundred and fifteen thousand (115,000) men were put into service.

In the month of February, 1865, pending the draft under the call of December 19, 1864, sixty-nine thousand (69,000) men were put into service for one, two, and three years, of which the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin furnished forty-one thousand and twelve (41,012,) viz:

or sixty per cent. of the entire number raised by all the States.

During the months of February and March, 1865, one hundred and thirty-six thousand (136,000) men were put into service, of which the above-named States furnished sixty-six thousand nine hundred and thirty-four (66,934,) viz:

or forty-nine per cent. of the entire number raised by all the States during these two months.

It is proper to remark that no troops were required from Connecticut, Iowa, and Kansas under the call of December 19, 1864, for the reason that they had a large excess of credits in advance of the call, while the quotas which would ordinarily have been assigned to the States of New Hampshire, Vermont, Mas-* sachusetts, and Rhode Island were reduced by reason of a proportionate excess of credits over former calls.

HUNDRED DAYS TROOPS CALLED FOR IN 1864.

During the winter of 1863-4, the army in the field was strengthened by new recruits, and was reorganized as just shown under the head of "Veteran Volunteer Force," over one hundred and thirty-six thousand (136,000) of the men in service having re-enlisted for a new period of three years.

As the season for active operations approached, further re-enforcements were deemed necessary, mainly to relieve from garrison and defensive duty experienced troops, in order that they might take active part in the great campaign which opened in the east with the battle of the Wilderness, and in the west with the advance on Atlanta.

An offer was therefore accepted by the President on the 23d of April, 1864, from the governors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, to furnish an aggregate of eighty-five thousand infantry, to serve for one hundred days, the whole to be furnished within twenty days from the date of notice of their being required. The results of this recruitment in the different States are given in table in Appendix.t The State of Ohio was particularly successful in this effort. Between the 1st and 24th of May, 1864, (inclusive,) a period of twenty-four

*See Appendix, Doc. 18, Art 2.
+ See Appendix, Doc. 6, table 3.

(24) days, forty-two (42) regiments raised under this call left the State fully armed and equipped.

In the month of July, 1864, special calls, not embraced in that just named, were made upon the States of New York and Pennsylvania for four thousand (4,000) men, for the term of one hundred days.

In addition to the above, the States of New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maryland, and Kansas offered to furnish stated numbers of one-hundred-days troops, and authority was given by the War Department to raise them.

The extent to which men were furnished under these calls and offers is shown in Appendix, Doc. 6, table 4.

REPRESENTATIVE RECRUITS.

The commutation feature of the enrolment law, was repealed by the act approved July 4, 1864. In anticipation of its passage and the consequent rise in the price of substitutes, it was determined to make an effort to procure some recruits without a formal call. At this time the call of July 18, 1864, had not been made, and the business of filling the call of March 14, 1864, was nearly completed; the draft had borne heavily in many places upon those liable to it, and the sympathy of that large class not liable to conscription, but possessed of ample means, seemed to be aroused in their behalf. An appeal was therefore made to their patriotism and generosity in the following order:

["Circular No. 25.]

"WAR DEPARTment, Provost MARSHAL General's Office,

Washington, D. C., June 26, 1864. "Persons not required by law to perform military duty have expressed a desire to be personally represented in the army. In addition to the contributions they have made in the way of bounties, they propose to procure recruits at their own expense, and present them for enlistment in the service.

"Their patriotism is worthy of commendation and encouragement.

"Provost marshals, and all others acting under this bureau, are ordered to furnish all the facilities in their power to enlist and muster promptly the acceptable representative recruits presented in accordance with the design herein set forth. "The name of the person whom each recruit thus represents will be noted on the enlistment and descriptive rolls of the recruit, and will be carried forward from those papers to the other official records which form his military history. "Certificates of this personal representation in the service will be forwarded from this office and issued by provost marshals.

"JAMES B. FRY, "Provost Marshal General."

The "certificate" was prepared on parchment paper, bearing the arms of the United States engraved. The circular order above given was printed on the face of the certificate, which also bore the following:

"To all who shall see these presents, greeting:

of. —, in the State of

a citizen of the United

"Whereas States, not being required by law to perform any military service, has voluntarily and at his own expense furnished in the State of

of

as a representative recruit to serve in his stead in the military forces of the Union; he is in accordance with the foregoing order, entitled to this official acknowledgment of his disinterested patriotism and public spirit.

66

"JAMES B. FRY,

Brigadier General and Provost Marshal General."

"By the Provost Marshal General:

This appeal, though carefully distributed throughout the United States, and very generally commended, was not attended with material success. Only twelve hundred and ninety-two (1,292) representative recruits were put in service. The lamented late President, Abraham Lincoln, was one of the first to answer this appeal and put a personal representative into the ranks. The names of all persons (including several ladies) by whom representative recruits were furnished are given in the Appendix, Doc. 39.

THE RE-ENLISTMENT AND REORGANIZATION IN 1863 AND 1864 OF REGIMENTS THEN IN SERVICE, (TERMED, AFTER REORGANIZATION, “VETERAN VOLUNTEERS.")

The loss by expiration of enlistment of entire regiments and companies, after they had seen service enough to become valuable soldiers, proved a serious drawback to military operations during the first two years of the war. Soon after the organization of this bureau its attention was directed to the discovery and application of a remedy for this evil. An examination in the summer of 1863 showed that, of the nine hundred and fifty-six (956) volunteer regiments, seven (7) independent battalions, sixty-one (61) independent companies, and one hundred and fifty-eight (158) volunteer batteries, then in service, the terms of four hundred and fifty-five (455) regiments, three (3) battalions, thirty-eight (38) independent companies, and eighty-one (S1) batteries, would expire prior to December 31, 1864, leaving the army to consist, at that date, of five hundred and one (501) regiments, four (4) independent battalions, twenty-three (23) independent companies, and seventy-seven (77) batteries, and such new men in addition as could be raised in the mean time.

The importance of retaining in the field as many as possible of these experienced organizations was evident.

To effect this a scheme was prepared and submitted by me for the re-enlistment of three-years men still in service, having less than one year longer to serve, and of men enlisted for nine (9) months or less, who had less than three (3) months to serve.

The inducements held out were:

1st. A furlough of at least thirty (30) days to both officers and men of the organizations re-enlisting for three (3) years. Where a large proportion reenlisted the regiment was sent home in a body at government expense, and during its stay reorganized and recruited its ranks.

2d. A bounty of four hundred dollars, ($400,) anticipated from the commutation fund, and payable in instalments, was authorized for every soldier reenlisting under this plan. His accounts arising from his first enlistment were closed up and payment of dues made. The second enlistment was to take effect at its date, and thus shorten the first enlistment by so much as had not yet expired. It was stipulated that, if the government did not require these troops for the full period of three (3) years, they should, nevertheless, when honorably mustered out on that account, be entitled to the whole amount of bounty remaining unpaid. The rank of the officers was made continuous from the date of their original muster into service.

3d. The force thus reorganized was termed "veteran volunteers," and, as an honorable distinction, "service chevrons" were authorized for it by the War Department.

This plan was not carried into effect until late in the fall of 1863, when the great campaigns of that year had closed, and the troops resting from their labors and looking forward to a season of comparative inactivity, were most anxious to visit their homes. That privilege was guaranteed to them by your General Order of November 21, 1863,* and eminent success in their reorganization promptly followed.

* See Appendix, Doc. 25, Art. 2.

By this expedient over one hundred and thirty-six thousand (136,000) tried soldiers, whose services would otherwise have been lost, were secured, and capable and experienced officers continued in command. The exact value of the services rendered by any particular part of the military forces may not be ascertained, but it may safely be asserted that the veterans thus reorganized and retained performed, in the closely contested campaigns subsequent to their reenlistment, a part essential to the final success which attended our arms. In his official report of 1864 the Secretary of War says in relation to this subject, "I know of no operation connected with the recruitment of the army which has resulted in more advantage to the service than the one referred to."

The patriotic determination of these troops who had taken a prominent part in the war to continue it until brought to a satisfactory close was the foundation of the success which attended this enterprise. Its advantages were not only those resulting from the actual military force thus retained. It produced a favorable effect on the recruiting service generally, and was as encouraging to the friends of the government as discouraging to the insurgents.

EXPLANATION OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN CALLED FOR AND MEN RAISED.

In estimating the number of troops called into service, it has been the rule of the department to take into account the whole number of men mustered, without regard to the fact that the same persons may have been previously discharged after having been accepted and credited on previous calls.

Under the different calls volunteers have been accepted for various terms of service, viz: three, six, and nine months, and one, two, and three years, respectively, and a large number of persons who had served under one call have subsequently enlisted under another. Thus a portion of those who enlisted under the call in April, 1861, for seventy-five thousand (75,000) threemonths men again enlisted under the call in July following for three years; others re-entered the service for nine months, or for one or two years, and at the expiration of these periods again re-enlisted for three years; and the entire "veteran volunteer" force consisted of those who, having served two years, re-enlisted for three years more.

It will be observed, therefore, that a large portion of the number counted in filling calls has been furnished, first, by the re-enlistment of those in service; and second, by those who have re-entered the service after a discharge from a former enlistment under which they had been credited. That is, in filling the different calls each accepted enlistment was credited, instead of limiting the credit to the actual number of persons who entered the service anew; and hence, to determine the number of men actually entering the service for the first time under the different calls, the number credited should be reduced in the same ratio that the enlistments of the same persons have been repeated. The extent of this reduction cannot be calculated at this time, or even estimated with sufficient accuracy to be useful.

It follows, therefore, that, on account of a necessary repetition of credits incident to enlistments, the tax upon the military basis of the country has been less than would appear by considering simply the number of men embraced in the different calls for troops, or the number of credits allowed upon these calls. But the necessary repetition of credits, incident to repeated enlistments properly made, of the same men, is not the only cause of discrepancy between the number of men called for and the actual drain upon the population of the country resulting from the successive calls. While it was true that the success attained in the recruitment of the armies resulted mainly from the patriotism of the people, and was greatly advanced by the labors of many zealous citizens and efficient committees, it is a fact that there were places in which the military service demanded by patriotism was entirely or in part evaded, and that