I. AN ACT to provide for the deficiency in the appropriation for the pay of the two and three years' volunteers and the officers and men actually employed in the Western Department. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be, and hereby is, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of thirty millions of dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to enable the Government to pay the two and three years' volunteers called into the service of the United States, being an additional amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30th, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That there be, and hereby is, appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to carry into effect the act approved March twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixtytwo, to secure pay, bounty, and pensions to officers and men actually employed in the Western Department, or Department of Missouri. Approved May 14, 1862. IL-AN ACT to facilitate the discharge of enlisted men for physical disability. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the medical inspector general, or any medical inspector, is hereby authorized and empowered to discharge from the service of the United States any soldier or enlisted man, with the consent of such soldier or enlisted man, in the permanent hospitals, laboring under any physical disability which makes it disadvantageous to the service that he be retained therein, and the certificate, in writing, of such inspector general or medical inspector, setting forth the existence and nature of such physical disability, shall be sufficient evidence of such discharge; Provided, however, That every such certificate shall appear on its face to have been founded on personal inspection of the soldier so discharged, and shall specifically describe the nature and origin of such disability; and that such discharge shall be without prejudice to the right of such soldier or enlisted man to the pay due him at the date thereof, and report the same to the Adjutant General and Surgeon General, Approved May 14, 1862. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR: L. THOMAS, Adjutant General. General Orders, No. 54, WAR DEP'T, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE. I. Brigadier General C. P. Buckingham, U. S. Volunteers, is assigned to special duty in the War Department from the 1st instant. II. The Commissary General of Prisoners and commanding officers having. charge of prisoners of war, will, as soon as practicable, forward to this office lists of the prisoners showing their rank, regiment, where captured, date of confinement, and where confined. Similar lists will be furnished of new detachments as often as they may arrive at their several places of confinement. III. By direction of the President of the United States, Assistant Surgeon J. J. Butler, U. S. Army, is hereby stricken from the rolls of the Army. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR: L. THOMAS, Adjutant General. General Orders,} No. WAR DEP'T, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, May 24, 1862. I.—The following Act of Congress is published for the information of all concerned. AN ACT to authorize the appointment of Medical storekeepers and chaplains of hospitals. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War be authorized to add to the medical department of the army, medical storekeepers, not exceeding six in number, who shall have the pay and emoluments of military storekeepers in the quartermaster's department, who shall be skilled apothecaries or druggists, who shall give the bond and security required by existing laws for military storekeepers in the quartermaster's department, and who shall be stationed at such points as the necessities of the army may require: Provided, That the provisions of this act shall remain in force only during the continuance of the present rebellion. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States is hereby authorized to appoint, if he shall deem it necessary, a chaplain for each permanent hospital, whose pay, with that of chaplains of hospitals heretofore appointed by him, shall be the same as that of regimental chaplains in the volunteer force; and who shall be subject to such rules in relation to leave of absence from duty as are prescribed for commissioned officers of the army. Approved May 20, 1862. II.-The following are the Regulations which will govern the appointment of medical storekeepers under the first section of the foregoing act of Congress : 1. A board of not less than three medical officers will be assembled by the Secretary of War to examine such applicants as may, by him, be authorized to appear before it. 2. Candidates, to be eligible to exmination, shall be not less than 25 years, nor more than 40 years of age; shall possess sufficient physical ability to perform their duties satisfactorily; and shall present with their applications satisfactory evidence of good moral character. 3. Candidates will be required to pass a satisfactory examination in the ordinary branches of a good English education, in pharmacy and materia medica; and to give proof that they possess the requisite business qualifications for the position. 4. The board will report to the Secretary of War the relative merits of the candidates examined, and they will receive appointments accordingly. 5. When appointed, each medical storekeeper will be required to give a bond in the amount of $40,000, before he shall be allowed to enter on the performance of his duties. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR: General Orders, No. 56. L. THOMAS, Adjutant General. WAR DEP'T, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, May 29, 1862. Officers serving in the Quartermaster's Department will issue to signal parties of the Army serving in their vicinity, such supplies as may be necessary for their proper equipment, on the requisition of the officer in charge of such parties. Rations will be issued to signal parties in like manner by officers of the Commissary Department. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR: L. THOMAS, Adjutant General. General Orders,} No. 57. WAR DEP'T, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, June 1, 1862. The Department of Virginia is extended to include that part of Virginia south of the Rappahannock and east of the Railroad from Fredericksburg to Richmond, Petersburg and Weldon. Major General George B. McClellan U. S. Army, will assume command thereof, and of all the United States forces within its limits. Major General John E. Wool, U. S. Army, is assigned to the command of the Middle Department, and will proceed to Baltimore and assume the command thereof. Major General John A. Dix, U. S. Volunteers, will proceed immediately to Fort Monroe and assume command at that point, reporting to Major General McClellan for orders. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR: L. THOMAS, Adjutant General. General Orders,} No. 58. WAR DEP'T, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, The following act of Congress is published for the information and government of all concerned: AN ACT to prevent and punish fraud on the part of officers intrusted with making of contracts for the government. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, of the Secretary of the Navy, and of the Secretary of the Interior, immediately after the passage of this act, to cause and require every contract made by them, severally, on behalf of the government, or by their officers under them appointed to make such contracts, to be reduced to writing, and signed by the contracting parties with their names at the end thereof, a copy of which shall be filed by the officer making and signing the said contract in the Returns Office" of the Department of the Interior (hereinafter established for that purpose) as soon after the contract is made as possible, and within thirty days, together with all bids, offers, and proposals to him made by persons to obtain the same, as also a copy of any advertisement he may have published inviting bids, offers, or proposals for the same; all the said copies and papers in relation to each contract to be attached together by a ribbon and seal, and numbered in regular order numerically, according to the number of papers composing the whole return. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the further duty of the said officer before making his return according to the first section of this act, to affix to the same his affidavit in the following form, sworn to before some magistrate having authority to administer oaths: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that the copy of contract hereto annexed is an exact copy of a contrac made by me personally with ; that I made the same fairly, without any benefit or advantage to myself, or allowing any such benefit or advantage corruptly to the said or any other person; and that the pipers accompanying include all those relating to the said con r. ci as redired by the statute in such case made and provided." And any officer ed of falsely and corruptly swearing to such affidavit, shall be pains and penalties now by law inflicted for wilful and corn 3. And be it further enacted, That any officer making co d failing or neglecting to make returns of the same, al. provisions of this act, unless from unavoidable accident and not within his control, shall be deemed, in every case of such failure or neglect, to be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished with a fine of not less than one hundred dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars, and be imprisoned for not more than six months, at the discretion of the court trying the same. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior, immediately after the passage of this act, to provide a fit and proper apartment in his Department, to be called the "Returns Office," within which to file the returns required by this act to be filed, and to appoint a clerk to attend to the same, who shall be entitled to an annual salary of twelve hundred dollars, and whose duty it shall be to file all returns made to said office, so that the same may be of easy access, filing all returns made by the same officer in the same place, and numbering them as they are made in numerical order. He shall also provide and keep an index book, with the names of the contracting parties, and the number of each and every contract opposite to the said names; and he shall submit the said index book and returns to any person desiring to inspect the same; and he shall also furnish copies of said returns to any person paying for said copies to said clerk at the rate of five cents for every one hundred words, to which said copies certificates shall be appended in every case by the clerk making the same, attesting their correctness, and that each copy so certified is a full and complete copy of said return; which return, so certified under the seal of the Department, shall be evidence in all prosecutions under this act. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, of the Secretary of the Navy, and of the Secretary of the Interior, immediately after the passage of this act, to furnish each and every officer severally appointed by them with authority to make contracts on behalf of the government, with a printed letter of instructions, setting forth the duties of such officer under this act, and also to furnish therewith forms, printed in blank, of contracts to be made, and the affidavit of returns required to be affixed thereto, so that all the instruments may be as nearly uniform as possible. Approved June 2, 1862. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR: L. THOMAS, Adjutant General. General Orders, No. 59. WAR DFP'T, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, A Camp of Instruction for fifty thousand men-Cavalry, Artillery and Infantry, in due proportion-will be immediately formed near Annapolis, Md. Major General Wool, U. S. Army will command the Camp in addition to his duties as Department Commander. The ground will be selected, and the troops, which will be assembled as rapidly as possible under orders from the War Department, will be placed in position as they arrive. Brigadier General L. P. Graham is assigned to duty as Chief of Cavalry at the Camp. Brevet Brigadier General Harvey Brown as Chief of Artillery, according to his brevet. A Chief of the Infantry arm will hereafter be designated. The Chief of Ordnance, the Quartermaster General, Commissary General, Surgeon General, and Paymaster General, will each designate an experienced regular officer as the Chief of their respective departments at the Camp. These officers will be subject to the orders of General Wool, and under his supervision will, without delay, establish a hospital, and depots of all the supplies necessary for the health and efficiency of the troops at points where issues may be conveniently made. The long experience of the veteran officer assigned to command the Camp will dictate the most efficient details for brigading, equipping, drilling, and disciplining the Reserve Corps d'Armée to be thus formed under him. Chiefs of the different Staff Bureaux are hereby directed to aid him by promptly. meeting his reasonable requisitions for the material of war. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR: L. THOMAS, Adjutant General. General Orders, No. 60. WAR DEP'T, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, June 6, 1862. I. The Volunteer Recruiting Service, discontinued by "General Orders," No. 33, of April 3, 1862, is hereby restored according to the principles laid down in "General Orders," Nos. 105, of 1861, and 3, of 1862. Invalid or disabled officers, necessarily absent from their regiments, will be detailed for this duty whenever they are able to perform it. II.-A large number of volunteers are absent from their regiments who are now fit for duty. To enable them to return, the Governors of States are authorized to give them certificates or passes which will entitle them to transportation to the station of the nearest U. S. Mustering Officer or Quartermaster, who will pay the cost of transportation on such certificate or pass, and provide transportation for the soldier to his regiment or station. III.-All Captains of Companies are hereby required to report quarterly to the Chief of Ordnance the kind of arms in use by their companies, their opinion of the suitableness of the arm, the general extent of service, and the number requiring repairs since the previous report. IV. The principle being recognized that Medical Officers should not be held as prisoners of war, it is hereby directed that all Medical Officers so held by the United States shall be immediately and unconditionally discharged. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR: L. THOMAS, Adjutant General. General Orders, } No. 61. WAR DEP'T, Adjutant GenERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, June 7, 1862. The great number of officers absent from their regiments without sufficient cause is a serious evil which calls for immediate correction. By paragraph 177, General Regulations, the power of commanding officers to grant leaves of absence is limited to a "time of peace." In time of war, leaves of absence will only be granted by the Secretary of War, except when the certificate of a medical officer shall show, beyond doubt, that a change of location "is necessary to save life, or prevent permanent disability." (Paragraph 186, General Regulations.) In such case the Commander of an Army, a Department, or District, may grant not exceeding twenty days. At the expiration of that time, if the officer be not able to travel, he must make application to the Adjutant General of the Army for an extension, accompanied by the certificate of a medical officer of the army, in the usual form, and that he is not able to travel. If it be not practicable to procure such a certificate, in consequence of there being no army physician in the place where the officer resides, the certificate of a citizen physician, attested by a civil magistrate, may be substituted. All officers of the Regulars and Volunteers, except those on parole, now absent from duty with leave, will be considered "absent without leave," (para |