VOLUNTEERS AND MILITIA, SINCE REVOLUTION.

West, or the Department of the Missouri, the pay and bounty as in cases of regular enlistment. 1

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the officers and non-commissioned officers, musicians and privates so employed, who may have been wounded or incapacitated for service, shall be entitled to and receive the pension allowed for such disability: Provided, That the length and character of their enlistment and service be such as to entitle them, under existing laws, to such pension.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the heirs of those killed in battle, or those who may have died from wounds received while so in service, shall be entitled to receive the bounty and pay to which they would have been entitled had they been regularly mustered into service; Provided, That the bounty and pay referred to in this act shall not be payable unless their term of enlistment and service be of such duration as to entitle them to receive the same, according to existing laws.

[Approved, March 25, 1862.]

An act approved, July 14, 1862, entitled "an act to grant pensions," makes the following provision for the invalids of the war of 1861.

AN ACT to Grant Pensions.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That if any officer, noncommissioned officer, musician or private of the army, including regulars, volunteers and militia, or any officer, warrant or petty officer, musician, seaman, ordinary seaman, flotillaman, marine, clerk, landsman, pilot or other person in the navy or marine corps, has been, since the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, or shall hereafter be disabled by reason of any wound received or disease contracted while in the service of the United States and in the line of duty, he shall, upon making due proof of the fact according to such forms and regulations as are or may be

1 By a resolution of July 12, 1862, payments under this act are suspended until the report of the commissioners appointed to investigate claims coming within the purview of this act. The committee are required to report upon the claims of persons who actually served, within sixty days from the time of their appointment.

VOLUNTEERS AND MILITIA, SINCE REVOLUTION.

provided by or in pursuance of law, be placed upon the list of invalid pensions of the United States, and be entitled to receive, for the highest rate of disability, such pension as is hereinafter provided in such cases, and for an inferior disability an amount proportionate to the highest disability, to commence as hereinafter provided, and continue during the existence of such disability. The pension for a total disability for officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians and privates employed in the military service of the United States, whether regulars, volunteers or militia, and in the marine corps, shall be as follows, viz: Lieutenant-colonel and all officers of a higher rank, thirty dollars per month; major, twentyfive dollars per month; captain, twenty dollars per month; first lieutenant, seventeen dollars per month; second lieutenant, fifteen dollars per month; and non-commissioned officers, musicians and privates, eight dollars per month. The pension for total disability for officers, warrant or petty officers, and others employed in the naval service of the United States, shall be as follows, viz: Captain, commander, surgeon, paymaster and chief engineer, respectively, ranking with commander by law, lieutenant commanding and master commanding, thirty dollars per month; lieutenant, surgeon, paymaster and chief engineer, respectively, ranking with lieutenant by law, and passed assistant surgeon, twenty-five dollars per month; professor of mathematics, master, assistant surgeon, assistant paymaster and chaplain, twenty dollars per month; first assistant engineers and pilots, fifteen dollars per month; passed midshipman, midshipman, captains' and paymasters' clerk, second and third assistant engineer, masters' mate and all warrant officers, ten dollars per month; all petty officers and all other persons before named employed in the naval service, eight dollars per month; and all commissioned officers, of either service, shall receive such and only such pension as is herein provided for the rank in which they hold commissions.

This act will be found entire under the title "INVALID PENSIONS-REGULAR SERVICE," Chapter III, Section I. The 3d and 4th secs. of what is termed "The New Militia Law," entitled "a bill to amend the act calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, approved, February 28,

VOLUNTEERS AND MILITIA, SINCE REVOLUTION.

1795, and the acts amendatory thereof, and for other purposes," approved July 16, 1862, provides:

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the President be, and he is hereby authorized, in addition to the volunteer forces which he is now authorized by law to raise, to accept the services of any number of volunteers, not exceeding one hundred thousand as infantry, for a period of nine months, unless sooner discharged. And every soldier who shall enlist under the provisions of this section shall receive his first month's pay, and also $25 as bounty, upon the mustering of his company or regiment into the service of the United States. And all provisions of law relating to volunteers enlisted in the service of the United States for three years, or during the war, except in relation to bounty, shall be, and the same are extended to, and are hereby declared to embrace the volunteers to be raised under the provisions of this section.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That, for the purpose of filling up the regiments of infantry now in the United States service, the President be, and he hereby is, authorized to accept the services of volunteers in such numbers as may be presented for that purpose, for twelve months, if not sooner discharged. And such volunteers, when mustered into the service, shall be in all respects upon a footing with similar troops in the United States service, except as to service bounty, which shall be fifty dollars, one half of which to be paid upon their joining their regiments, and the other half at the expiration of their enlistment.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

In making applications for pensions on behalf of volunteers or militia, in general, the acts which should be consulted are those of April 16, 1816; March 16, 1802; January 11, 1812; January 29, 1813, and March 3, 1815 (some of which will be found noticed under title "INVALID PENSIONS REGULAR SERVICE," Chapter III, Section I). To these acts all others granting invalid pensions have either direct or indirect relation. The first two acts named have the most general application. It has been held (Commissioner Waldo, February 4, 1854), that

VOLUNTEERS, ETC., SINCE REVOLUTION-REGULATIONS AND FORMS.

the militia of the several States are allowed pensions for injuries received while in the service of the United States only under act of April 24, 1816.

There is at the present time no distinction between regulars, volunteers and militia, so far as relates to the rates of pensions or the manner of obtaining the allowance of the same.

For pensions in cases arising in the war of 1861, reference must be had to the act of July 14, 1862.

SECTION II.

FORMS AND REGULATIONS FOR OBTAINING INVALID PENSIONS-VOLUNTEERS AND MILITIA.

The Forms and Regulations pertaining to applications for pensions in the case of invalids of the regular army, are also applicable to the case of volunteers and militia. These Forms and Regulations will be found at the close of title "INVALID PENSIONS-REGULAR SERVICE," Chapter III, Section II.

A few forms by way of illustration and simplification are here given:

for the county and State above named, and by law duly authorized to administer oaths for general purposes, personally appeared a resident of, in the State of, aged – years, who being duly sworn according to law, declares that he is the identical- who was a private [or if an officer mention the grade], in company commanded by Captain in the

regiment of volunteers, commanded by Colonel -, in the war of 1861 and 1862, for the suppression of rebellion, and the preservation of the Union [or other war]. That he volunteered at, in the State of on or about the day of, 18-, for the term of ——, and was honorably discharged at —, 18-, as will appear by his certificate of discharge herewith presented. [If no certificate was received,

on the

day of

VOLUNTEERS, ETC., SINCE REVOLUTION-REGULATIONS AND FORMS.

that fact should be stated; if received, and afterwards lost or destroyed, stute the fact, with the particulars of loss or destruction].

of

That while in said service, in the line of his duty, at -, on the

in the State

day of -, 18. [Here give details of the manner

in which, the time when and the place where the wound was received, or disease contracted; with its nature or character, and its physical effect].

That since leaving said service this applicant has resided at his occupation has been

and

He makes this declaration for the purpose of being placed on the invalid pension roll of the United States, by reason of the disability above stated; and hereby constitutes and appoints his attorney, to prosecute this claim, and procure a pension certificate.

9

(Claimant's Signature.)

Sworn to, subscribed and acknowledged before me, the day and year first above named, and on the same day personally appeared and residents of and made oath that they are personally acquainted with who has made and subscribed the foregoing declaration in their presence, and that they have every reason to believe from the appearance of the applicant, and their acquaintance with him, that he is the identical person he represents himself to be; that they reside as above stated, and are disinterested in this claim for a pension; that since leaving the service of the United States, as aforesaid, his habits have been uniformly good, and his occupation

(Witnesses' Signatures.)

Sworn to and subscribed before me; and I certify that I am not interested in this claim or concerned in its prosecution; that I know the affiants to be credible witnesses, and that the claimant is the person he represents him

self to be.

(Officer's Signature.)

This declaration must be made before a Court of Record, or Judge or Clerk of such Court. The certificate of the Clerk, under the seal of the proper Court, must be appended in all cases

Surgeon's Affidavit to Disability of Invalid.

of performing the duty of a soldier, by reason of wounds received [or disease contracted] while he was actually in the service aforesaid, and in the line of his duty, viz.: