No. 120. Act authorizing the Employment of Volunteers July 22, 1861 A BILL to authorize the employment of volunteers, in accordance with the recommendation of President Lincoln in his message of July 4, 1861, was introduced in the Senate, July 6, by Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, and passed that house on the 10th by a vote of 34 to 4. On the 12th the action was reconsidered, and the bill with further amendments was again passed by a vote of 35 to 4. The passage of a substitute bill by the House caused a reference of the matter to a conference committee, whose report was agreed to by the two houses on the 18th. The discussion in each house had to do mainly with the details of organization of the volunteers provided for by the bill. REFERENCES. - Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII., 268-271. For the debates see the House and Senate Journals and Cong. Globe, 37th Cong., 1st Sess. On the efficiency of volunteers and the condition of the militia see House Exec. Doc. 54 and House Report 58, 36th Cong., 2d Sess., and House Report 1, 37th Cong., 1st Sess. A summary view of early military legislation, Union and Confederate, is given in McPherson, History of the Rebellion, 115-121. An Act to authorize the Employment of Volunteers to aid in enforcing the Laws and protecting Public Property. WHEREAS, certain of the forts, arsenals, custom-houses, navy yards, and other property of the United States have been seized, and other violations of law have been committed and are threatened by organized bodies of men in several of the States, and a conspiracy has been entered into to overthrow the Government of the United States: Therefore, Be it enacted . . ., That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to accept the services of volunteers, either as cavalry, infantry, or artillery, in such numbers, not exceeding five hundred thousand, as he may deem necessary, for the purpose of repelling invasion, suppressing insurrection, enforcing the laws, and preserving and protecting the public property: Provided, That the services of the volunteers shall be for such time as the President may direct, not exceeding three years nor less than six months,' and they shall be disbanded at the end of the war.. 1 A supplementary act of July 25, 1861, provided that volunteers should "be mustered in for 'during the war."" - ED. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said volunteers shall be subject to the rules and regulations governing the army of the United States, and that they shall be formed, by the President, into regiments of infantry, with the exception of such numbers for cavalry and artillery, as he may direct, not to exceed the proportion of one company of each of those arms to every regiment of infantry, and to be organized as in the regular service. . . . ... [The remainder of the act relates to the organization of the volunteers, the appointment of officers, etc.] No. 121. on the Nature and War Resolution July 22, 1861 A RESOLUTION declaratory of the nature and object of the war was offered in the House, July 22, 1861, by John J. Crittenden of Kentucky. In the vote the resolution was divided, the first part, through the word "capital," being adopted by a vote of 122 to 2, and the remainder by a vote of 117 to 2. A resolution in practically identical terms was offered in the Senate, July 24, by Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, and on the 25th, after a long discussion, was adopted, the vote being 30 to 5. The resolutions, which "gave expression to the common sentiment of the country," were the only formal declarations out of a great number submitted which passed the houses. REFERENCES. - Text in House Journal, 37th Cong., 1st Sess., 123. For the debates see the Cong. Globe. A list of the principal declaratory resolutions submitted, with the action on each, is given in McPherson, Rebellion, 285-290. Resolved. . ., That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon the country by the disunionists of the southern States, now in arms against the constitutional government, and in arms around the capital; that in this national emergency, Congress, banishing all feelings of mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country; that this war is not waged on their part in any spirit of oppression, or for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, or purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain' the supremacy of the Consti tution, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease. No. 122. Act for Calling out the Militia July 29, 1861 A BILL "to provide for the suppression of rebellion," etc., was introduced in the House, July 10, by John A. Bingham of Ohio, and on the 16th passed without a division. The bill passed the Senate on the 26th, and on the 29th the act was approved. REFERENCES. Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII., 281, 282. For the proceedings see the House and Senate Journals and the Cong. Globe. The changes made by the act are set forth in the House proceedings of July 16; compare President Buchanan's remarks on the employment of the militia under the acts of 1795 and 1807, in his annual message of December 3, 1860. An Act to provide for the Suppression of Rebellion against and Resistance to the Laws of the United States, and to amend the Act entitled "An Act to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union," &c., passed... [February 28, 1795]. Be it enacted That whenever, by reason of unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages of persons, or rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States, it shall become impracticable, in the judgment of the President of the United States, to enforce, by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, the laws of the United States within any State or Territory of the United States, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to call forth the militia of any or all the States of the Union, and to employ such parts of the land and naval forces of the United States as he may deem necessary to enforce the faithful execution of the laws of the United States, or to suppress such rebellion in whatever State or Territory thereof the laws of the United States may be forcibly opposed, or the execution thereof forcibly obstructed. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That whenever, in the judgment of the President, it may be necessary to use the mili tary force hereby directed to be employed and called forth by him, the President shall forthwith, by proclamation, command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes, within a limited time. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the militia so called into the service of the United States shall be subject to the same rules and articles of war as the troops of the United States, and be continued in the service of the United States until discharged by proclamation of the President: Provided, That such continuance in service shall not extend beyond sixty days after the commencement of the next regular session of Congress, unless Congress shall expressly provide by law therefor: . SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the marshals of the several districts of the United States, and their deputies, shall have the same powers in executing the laws of the United States as sheriffs and their deputies in the several States, have by law, in executing the laws of the respective States. A BILL "to define and punish certain conspiracies" was presented in the House, July 15, by John Hickman of Pennsylvania, and passed by a vote of 123 to 7. In the Senate the printing of a minority report submitted by Bayard of Delaware and Powell of Kentucky was refused by a vote of 10 to 29, and on the 26th the bill in amended form passed the Senate. Nine Senators entered a protest against the bill. The amendment of the Senate was concurred in by the House on the 30th, and the next day the act was approved. REFERENCES. - Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII., 284. The important proceedings are those of the Senate for July 24 and 26 (Cong. Globe, 37th Cong., 1st Sess.). An Act to define and punish certain Conspiracies. Be it enacted That if two or more persons within any State or Territory of the United States shall conspire together to overthrow, or to put down, or to destroy by force, the Government of the United States, or to levy war against the United States, or to oppose by force the authority of the Government of the United States; or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States; or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States against the will or contrary to the authority of the United States; or by force, or intimidation, or threat to prevent any person from accepting or holding any office, or trust, or place of confidence, under the United States; each and every person so offending shall be guilty of a high crime, and upon conviction thereof in any district or circuit court of the United States, having jurisdiction thereof, or district or supreme court of any Territory of the United States having jurisdiction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not less than five hundred dollars and not more than five thousand dollars; or by imprisonment, with or without hard labor, as the court shall determine, for a period not less than six months nor greater than six years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. No. 124. Confiscation Act August 6, 1861 A BILL "to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes" was introduced in the Senate, July 15, by Lyman Trumbull of Illinois. When the bill was reported by the Committee on the Judiciary, on the 25th, Trumbull proposed an additional section, embodying in a shorter form the provisions of section four of the act. The amended bill passed the Senate July 22. The proposed forfeiture of the claims of owners to such of their slaves as had been compelled to work in aid of the rebellion aroused strong opposition in the House, but an amendment in the form of a substitute for the final section of the Senate bill, being section four of the act as passed, was agreed to, August 3, by a vote of 60 to 48. By a vote of 24 to 11 the Senate concurred in the amendment of the House, and on the 6th the act was approved. The Confiscation Act was the first legislative step towards emancipation. REFERENCES. Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII., 319. For the proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 1st Sess., and the Cong. Globe. For the retaliatory act of the Confederate Congress, August 30, see Confederate Statutes at Large, 201. On Butler's course see Butler's Book, 256 seq., and War Records, Series I., Vol. I., 53. |