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ated for the support of 2,000 additional troops, to be called out for twelve months for service at Charleston, whenever they might be required.

The same day, by another act, the sum of $6,533,760 was appropriated for the support of the Regular Army of the Confederate States for twelve months. March 12 the sum of $5,000,000 was appropriated for the support of such volunteers as might be called into service under the act to provide for the public defense," approved March 6. March 14, the General Staff, as first organized by the act of February 26, was reorganized as follows: The Adjutant and Inspector-General's Department to consist of: 2 lieutenant-colonels (assistant adjutantsgeneral), 2 majors (assistant adjutants-general), 4 captains (assistant adjutants-general).

The second section allowed another brigadier-general in addition to the four already authorized in the Regular Army, any one of the five, at the discretion of the Confederate President, to be assigned to duty as adjutant and inspector-general.

The third section changed the organization of the QuartermasterGeneral's Department from 1 colonel and 6 majors to 1 colonel (Quartermaster-General), 1 lieutenant-colonel (Assistant Quartermaster-General), 6 majors (quartermasters), 4 majors (assistant quartermasters), an increase in all of 5 officers; subalterns, as before, to be detailed from the line.

The fourth section changed the organization of the CommissaryGeneral's Department from 1 colonel and four captains to 1 colonel (Commissary-General), 1 lieutenant-colonel (commissary), 1 major (commissary), 3 captains (commissary), an increase of 1 officer; subalterns, as before, to be detailed from the line. In each of these laws it will be observed that the military legislators sought to economize in the staff, at the expense of the troops.

The fifth section of this law for the reorganization of the staff deserved special attention. Mindful of the value of the trained officers, which our Government daily permitted to resign, knowing that they intended to join the Rebellion, the Confederate Congress enacted:

That in all cases of officers who have resigned or who may within six months tender their resignations from the Army of the United States, and who have been or may be appointed to original vacancies in the army of the Confederate States, the commissions issued shall bear one and the same date, so that the relative rank of officers of each grade shall be determined by their former commissions in the United Statss Army held anterior to the secession of these Confederate States from the United States.

This section, enacted after the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, nearly one month before Fort Sumter was fired upon, should have been sufficient to indicate to the Government the proper policy it ought to have pursued in reference to the officers who began to tender their resignations.

If the above laws should appear on their face crude and inadequate, it should be remembered that during the first session of the provisional Congress, which began February 4 and terminated March 16, the deputies of the assumed sovereign and independent States had other matters to attend to than the public defense. In the brief space of thirty-three working days they adopted a provisional and a permanent Constitution, elected a President, established Executive Departments, and passed all the laws essential to the inauguration and support

of a government which was destined to wield a power over the lives and prosperity of its citizens scarcely surpassed by the strongest despotisms of the Old World.

SECOND SESSION PROVISIONAL CONGRESS.

The second session of the Confederate Provisional Congress began at Montgomery, Ala., April 29, 1861, and ended May 22, 1861.

The first act of the second session of the Provisional Congress, May 3, authorized the Confederate President to appoint as many chaplains for the Confederate Army as he might deem expedient, the chaplains to receive $85 per month and to be mustered out at the close of the war. May, 4 a regiment of zouaves of ten companies was added to the regular Confederate Army. May 6, an act was approved recognizing the existence of war between the United States and the Confederate States and authorizing the Confederate President to use the whole land and naval forces of the Confederate States to meet the war thus commenced and to issue to private armed vessels letters of marque and general reprisal. May 8, abandoning the principle of short enlistments, the Confederate President was authorized, without regard to the place of enlistment, to accept, "for and during the existing war, unless sooner discharged," as many volunteers of all arms as he might deem expedient.

The second section of the law asserted the right of the Confederate President to appoint all the field and staff officers, and company officers to be selected by the enlisted men.

The vicious principle of election, which was thus for the first time sanctioned in a Confederate force raised independently of the States, was also extended to filling every vacancy in each company. If this occurred in the grade of captain, a second lieutenant who curried favor with the men might be jumped over the head of the first lieutenant, or a popular sergeant might be advanced over both.

March 10, the Confederate President was authorized to receive such companies of light artillery as might volunteer their services.

March 11, an act was approved to make further provision for the public defense.

EXISTENCE OF WAR RECOGNIZED.

The preamble and first section, which utterly ignored the sovereignty of States, were as follows:

Whereas war exists between the Confederate States and the United States; and whereas the public welfare may require the reception of volunteer forces into the service of the Confederate States without the formality and delay of a call upon the respective States: Therefore, the Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, that the President be authorized to receive into service such companies, battalions, or regiments, either mounted or on foot, as may tender themselves, and he may require, without the delay of a formal call upon the respective States, to serve for such time as he may prescribe.

The second section authorized the enlistment of battalions and regiments in States "not of this Confederacy."

The third section prescribed:

The President shall be authorized to commission all officers entitled to commissions, of such volunteer forces as may be received under the provisions of this

act.

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It will be seen from this section that as all the forces called into service under the act were raised by the Confederate Congress under its unrestricted power "to raise and support armies," the authority to commission all the officers was wisely and rightfully vested in the Confederate President.

The last half of the section shows that the deputies, who had stripped their respective States of the last attributes of sovereignty, had a glimmering appreciation partly of the value of professional training, but instead of prescribing that a trained officer should be commissioned colonel of each regiment, which would have enabled him to instruct ten companies in all the details of tactics, administration, and discipline, they authorized the Confederate President, "upon request," to detail or attach a regular officer to each company, not as its commander with full authority to correct every mistake or abuse, but as a hangeron, whose advice could be accepted or rejected by his inexperienced superiors.

This profitless position could be accepted by few, if any, of the regular officers for the reason that at the time the Regular Confederate Army was, to a large extent, but an organization on paper, a circumstance that enabled the Confederate President to advance in the volunteers such professional officers as joined the Rebellion to the command of divisions, corps, and armies.

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The same day that troops, unlimited in number, were authorized to be called into the service without the delay of a formal call upon the respective States," the deputies thereof, in a manner equally striking, exercised their supreme power by giving to the Confederate President the right to assume control of, or, if necessary, to seize all telegraph lines within the limits of the Confederacy.

CONTROL OF TELEGRAPHS.

The first three sections of this law, approved May 11, 1861, were as follows:

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact that, during the existing war, the President be, and he is hereby, authorized and empowered to take such control of such of the lines of telegraph in the Confederate States and of such of the offices connected therewith as will enable him to effectually supervise the communications passing through the same, to the end that no communication shall be conveyed of the military operations of the government to endanger the success of such operations, nor any communication calculated to injure the cause of the Confederate States or to give aid and comfort to their enemies.

SEC. 2. The President shall appoint trustworthy agents in such offices, and at such points on the various lines as he may think fit, whose duty it shall be to supervise all communications sent or passing through said lines and to prevent the transmission of any communication deemed to be detrimental to the public service.

SEC. 3. În case the owners and managers of said lines shall refuse to permit such supervision, or shall fail or refuse to keep up and continue the business on said lines, the President is hereby authorized to take possession of the same for the purposes aforesaid, a

The remaining seven sections authorized the Confederate President to issue all needful regulations, to appoint the telegraph operators as the government agents, and to extend telegraph laws, when necessary. They further prohibited all dispatches in cipher, unless the contents were made known and prescribed that any person who should knowingly send or transmit any message without first submitting it "to

a C. S. A., P. 106.

the agent of the Government," or any message calculated to aid and promote the cause of the enemies of the Confederate States should, on conviction in the district courts, be fined "not less than five hundred dollars and imprisoned for a term not less than one year."

These laws at this early stage of the Rebellion indicated that the deputies of the States had resolved that regard for the personal liberty of the people should in no manner delay the adoption of measures necessary to convert Rebellion into successful revolution.

The next act, May 16, related to the increase of the Regular Army. The first section added 1 regiment of cavalry and 2 of infantry, giving in all a corps of artillery of 40 companies, 2 regiments of cavalry, and, including the regiment of zouaves, 9 regiments of infantry.

The second section of the act raised the 5 general officers already appointed from the rank of Brigadier-General" to General," which it was declared should be the highest military grade known to the Confederate States."

The third section added 1 lieutenant-colonel and not to exceed 5 captains to the corps of engineers.

The fourth section added to the Quartermaster-General's Department 1 lieutenant-colonel (Assistant Quartermaster-General) and 2 majors (quartermasters); to the Commissary-General's Department 1 major (assistant commissary), 1 captain (assistant commissary), and to the Medical Department 6 surgeons and 14 assistant surgeons.

The eighth section recognized the value of professional education, and prescribed: "That until a military school shall be established for the elementary instruction of officers for the Army," the President should be authorized, on the basis of Congressional representation, to 'appoint cadets to companies in the Army, who were to be competent for promotion under such regulations as might be established by the Confederate President or Congress.

The ninth section authorized the assignment of officers of the army of the Confederate States to staff duty with volunteers or professional troops, with rank corresponding to the duty they were to perform.

The tenth section gave to every able-bodied man duly enlisted to serve in the army of the Confederate States "a bounty of ten dollars," payment of five dollars to be deferred till the recruit should be mustered into the regiment in which he was to serve."

This piecemeal legislation and small bounty should have indicated to any statesman the insignificant part which the regular Confederate Army was destined to play in the existing conflict.

May 16, to meet the expenses of the war, the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to issue fifty millions of dollars on bonds, bearing interest at 8 per cent, payable semi-annually. In lieu of these bonds, to the extent of twenty millions, the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to issue treasury notes, without interest, the notes to be receivable for all government dues, except for export duty on cotton, or in exchange for the bonds authorized by the act. The notes were to be redeemable in specie at the end of two years, and at any time were to be convertible into 8 per cent bonds, payable in ten years, interest payable semi-annually, the notes and bonds, in which the notes were redeemable, at no time to exceed twenty millions of dollars.

May 17, the Corps of Engineers was increased by a company of sappers and bombardiers, composed of 4 officers and 100 men, making in all 2 companies.

May 21, an act was approved to put in operation the government under the permanent Constitution of the Confederate States. The act appointed the first Wednesday in November, 1861, for the election of members of the House of Representatives. The same day the electors for President and Vice-President were also to be elected or appointed, which electors were to meet on the first Wednesday in December to vote for President and Vice-President. Congress was to meet on the 18th of February, 1862; on the 19th the certificates were to be opened and counted, and on the 22d the Confederate President was to be inaugurated.

May 21, same day, the sum of $39,375,138 was appropriated for additional expenses in the military service for the year ending February 18, 1862.

Of the above amount, the sum of $550,485 was appropriated" for the pay of 1 regiment of legionary formation," composed of 1 company of artillery, 4 companies of cavalry, and 6 companies of voltigeurs. This regiment was modeled substantially on the Legion of the United States (abandoned).

The same day, May 21, an act was approved authorizing the Confederate President, on the application of any commanding officer of a regiment or battalion of volunteers raised for the war, to assign a subaltern of the line of the army to the duties of adjutant of such battalion or regiment.

While this act was an improvement on the one allowing officers to be attached as supernumeraries to volunteer companies, it still shows that in failing to put the regular officers at the heads of tactical and administrative units the value of educated officers was imperfectly appreciated.

These tentative steps, however, led to another act approved the same day, May 21, which read as follows:

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President shall be authorized to confer temporary rank and command, for service with volunteer troops, an officer of the Confederate Army; the same to be held without prejudice to their positions in said Army, and to have effect only to the extent and according to the assignment made in general order. «

May 21, resolution was approved, according to which the Confederate Congress was to adjourn the following Tuesday to meet on the 20th of July, 1861, at Richmond, Va.

THIRD SESSION PROVISIONAL CONGRESS.

The third session of the Confederate Provisional Congress began at Richmond July 20, 1861, and ended August 31, 1861.

The first military legislation of the third session of the Provisional Congress, by the act of August 2, authorized one lieutenant-colonel and one major for each battalion of volunteers of not less than six companies. The second section repaired the long neglect of the AdjutantGeneral's Department by authorizing for the volunteer forces as many Assistant Adjutants-General as the service might require; the officers so appointed to have rank corresponding to the Assistant AdjutantsGeneral in the Regular Army.

The next act, of August 3, repealed so much of the act of May 11 as authorized supernumerary officers to be detailed from the Regular

@C. S. A., p. 127.

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