The general suspension of hostilities after the middle of April rendered it unnecessary to proceed with the draft, and the remainder of the 300,000 men required by this call were never put into the service.

The payment of the bounties to recruits authorized in the previous year continued during the early part of 1865, until recruiting was stopped. In reply to a communication from the House Committee on military affairs of the Thirty-ninth Congress, asking for information concerning the amount required to equalize the bounties of volunteers during the rebellion, the Secretary of War presented reports from the Provost-Marshal General and the Paymaster General, showing that 1,722,590 enlisted men received bounties as follows:

1,156,368 at $100 each

10,606 at $200 each

296,709 at $300 each

158,509 at $400 each

63,402,800

$800,223,500

. $115,696,800 2,121,200

119,012,700

1,722,590

The number of enlisted men who received no bounties was 738,372. To pay each soldier or his representative enough to bring his bounty up to $400, the largest bounty paid by the General Government, would require $684,197,300. To pay each soldier such highest bounty, in proportion to the time of his service, would require $551,392,900. After reverting to these figures the Provost-Marshal General adds:

I will take the liberty of reminding the Secretary of War that the foregoing inquiries and answers relate only to the expenditure that would result from an attempt to equalize the bounties of the General Government; and if this object were attained, even at the enormous cost shown above, it would be but a partial advance toward equalizing all the bounties, Government, State, and local, which have been paid to men for enlisting during the rebellion. The subject of requiring the General Government to assume all the bounties paid is already discussed, and if affirmatively decided, the present attempt to equalize Government bounties, if carried out, would establish a precedent for a further equalization of the expense of the Government of all bounties, and this would cost probably thousands of millions, instead of hundreds of millions. I feel justified in saying that in either attempt to equalize, but a small fraction of the money will ever reach the soldiers for whom it is intended.

From returns made by the Provost-Marshal General, it appears that the aggregate quotas charged against the several States under all the calls made by the President from April 15, 1861, to April 15, 1865, amounted to 2,759,049; and that the aggregate number of men credited on the several calls and put into the service during the same period was 2,656,553, leaving a deficiency on all calls, when the war closed, of 102,496, which would have been obtained in full if recruiting and drafting had not been discontinued. This number does not embrace the "emergency men put into the service at various times during the summer of 1963, amounting to upward of 120,000 men, who served periods of two or three weeks. The following tables, furnished to Congress by the Secretary of War, in compliance with a

Illinois. Michigan.. Wisconsin Minnesota. Iowa Missouri Kentucky Kansas.

Total..

Number of troops furnished under different calls.

Call of April 15, 1861, for 75,000 men.... Call of May 3 and July 22 and 25, 1861, for 500,000 men.......

Call of July 2, 1862, for 500,000 men.... Call of Angust 4, 1862, for 300,000 men..

Proclamation of June 15, 1863, for militia, Calls of October 15, 1863, and February 1, 1864, for 500,000 men.. Call of March 14, 1864, for 200,000 men.. Militia mustered into service in spring of 1864......

Call of July 18, 1864, for 500,000 men....

Call of December 19, 1864, for 800,000

men

Number of Terms of men. enlistment.

98,235 3 months. 2,715 6 months. 9,056 1 year. 80,952 2 years. 657,863 8 years. 419,627 3 years. 86,860 9 months. 16,861 6 months. 374,807 3 years. 284,021,3 years.

$3,612 100 days. 149,356 1 & 2 yrs. 234,798 3 years.

728 4 years. 151,105 1 year. 5,076 2 years. 48,065 3 years. $12 4 years

In estimating the number of men called into the service, it has been the rule of the War Department to take into account only 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. Hence, as volunteers have been accepted for terms varying from three months to three years, many thousands of persons were enlisted under two or more calls. A notable instance of this practice was the reënlistment of nearly 150,000 "veteran volunteers" in 1863 and 1864. In order, therefore, to ascertain the number of men 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. To what extent this reduction must

be made it is not now possible to determine with any degree of accuracy. The only fact at present settled beyond a doubt is, that the tax upon the military resources 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.

The colored troops continued, during 1865, to form a large and efficient portion of the army, and at the several battles before Nashville, the capture of Fort Fisher, the final operations around Richmond, and numerous minor engagements, sustained their previous wellearned reputation for bravery and soldierly qualities. Such was the popularity of this branch of the service that, in addition to the 101,950 colored soldiers reported in arms in November, 1864, 49,509 were enlisted within the next six months, which, considering the difficulties of recruiting from this class of the population, must be considered a very large number. Of these 4,244 were recruited in the insurrectionary States and credited to the other States under the provisions of the act of July 4, 1864. The whole number enlisted into the service during the war was 178,975, and the losses within the same period from sickness, desertion, or casualties incidental to military life, amounted to 68,178. On July 15, 1865, the number of this class of troops in the service was 123,156, organized as follows:

One hundred and twenty regiments of infantry.....
Twelve regiments of heavy artillery.
Ten batteries of light artillery..
Seven regiments of cavalry.

Total........

penses, which were rapidly eating into the resources of the nation. The immediate release of half a million or more of men was also urgently needed in the agricultural districts, where in the preceding year the want of able-bodied farm laborers had been keenly felt. Accord ingly, as an earnest of what was to follow, the Secretary of War issued on April 18th, four days before Lee's surrender, the day before the assas sination of President Lincoln, the following notice:

WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, April 13-6 P. M. The Department, after mature consideration and consultation with the Lieutenant-General upon the results of the recent campaigns, has come to the fol lowing determinations, which will be carried into effect by appropriate orders to be immediately issued. First-To stop all drafting and recruiting in the loyal States.

Second-To curtail purchases for arms, ammuni tion, quartermaster and commissary supplies, and reduce the military establishment in its several

branches.

98,988

1.311

7,245

123,156

This was the largest number of colored soldiers in service at any one time during the war. The following table shows that commissions in these organizations, which at the outset few competent officers were willing to accept, subsequently became in considerable request:

9,019

8,790 1,472 2,318

Number of applicants for commissions.. Number examined.. Number rejected.. Number appointed... Total number of appointments and promotions....... 8,573 From the returns made at the bureau for colored troops, it appears that the whole number of claims for compensation on account of the enlistment of slaves from Delaware and Maryland was 3,971, of which twenty-five have been paid, amounting in the aggregate to $6,900. Two hundred and ninety-four were rejected, and the remainder are under consideration by the local boards, or the commission established by General Orders of October 3, 1863.

The surrender the army under Gen. Lee, on April 9, 1865, gave the death blow to the Southern cause; and although considerable forces under Johnston, Taylor, and Kirby Smith still kept the field, the speedy termination of the war seemed so certain that the Government determined at once to curtail its iminense military ostalishment, and thereby reduce the ex

was returned to the peaceful pursuits of civil The following general order gave the

life.

necessary details:

General Orders No. 77.

WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, April 28, 1565. For reducing the expenses of the military estab lishment, ordered, 1st, that the chiefs of the respective bureaus of this Department proceed immediately to reduce the expenses of their respective depart ments to what is absolutely necessary in view of an garrison, and the speedy termination of hostilities immediate reduction of the forces in the field and in and that they severally make out statements of the reductions they deem practicable.

2. That the Quartermaster-General discharge all in remote departments. All river and inland trans ocean transports not required to bring home troops portation will be discharged, except that required for the necessary supplies of troops in the field. Purportation will be stopped, also purchases of forage, chases of horses, mules, wagons, and other land transexcept what is required for immediate consumption. All purchases for railroad construction and transpor tation also to be stopped.

3. That the Commissary-General of Subsistence discontinue the purchase of supplies in his department, except such as, with what is on hand, be required for the forces in the field to the first of June

next.

4. That the Chief of Ordnance stop all purchases of arms, ammunition, and materials therefor, and reduce the manufacture of arms and ordnance stores in Government Arsenals as rapidly as can be done without injury to the service.

5. That the Chief of Engineers stop work on all field fortifications and other works, except those for which specific appropriations have been made by Congress for their completion, or that may be required for the proper protection of works in progress. 6. That all soldiers in hospitals who require no further medical treatment be honorably discharged from service, with immediate payment. All officers and enlisted men who have been prisoners of war and are now on furlough or in parole camps, and all recruits in rendezvous, except those for the Regular Army, will likewise be honorably discharged. Officers whose duty it is under the regulations to make out rolls and other final papers connected with the discharge and payment of soldiers, are directed to make them out without delay, so that this order may be carried into effect immediately.

7. The Adjutant-General of the Army will cause immediate returns to be made by all commanders in the field, garrisons, detachments, and posts of their respective forces, with a view to their immediate

reduction.

8. Quartermasters of Subsistence, Engineers, and Provost-Marshal Generals of departments will reduce the number of their clerks and employés to that absolutely required for closing the business of their respective departments, and will without delay report to the Secretary of War the number required of each class or grade. The Surgeon-General will make similar reductions of surgeons, nurses, and attendants in

his bureau.

9. The chiefs of the respective bureaus will immediately cause proper returns to be made out of the public property in their charge and statements of property in each that may be sold upon advertisement and publication without prejudice to the service. 10. The Commissary of Prisoners will make out the name, residence, time and place of capture and occupation of all prisoners of war who will take the oath of allegiance to the United States, to the end that such as are disposed to become good and loyal citizens of the United States, and who are proper subjects of Executive clemency, may be released upon terms that the President shall deem fit and consistent with the public safety.

By order of the Secretary of War.

W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant-General. Official: THOMAS W. VINCENT, A. A. G..

In furtherance of this order, regulations were prepared and promulgated for the muster out and discharge of the volunteer troops in the service. Accordingly rendezvous were established in the field as well as in most of the States, at the former of which all surplus property was taken possession of by the staff officers of the respective supply departments, and the muster out rolls and other discharge papers prepared under the direction of the commissaries of musters and their assistants. Corps and department commanders were instructed to see that the work was pushed with energy, using for that end the division and brigade commanders and their respective staff officers to superintend it. As soon as a regiment or other organization had its muster-out papers prepared, it was placed en route to its State for payment and tinal discharge. At the State rendezvous was stationed the chief mustering officer of the State, or one or more of his assistants, with paymasters quartermasters, commissaries of subsistence, and ordnance officers, who were charged with the payment and final discharge of the troops; their care while awaiting the same; the reception of the public property surren VOL. V.-3 A

September 14 ... 741,107 October 15.. 785,205 November 15...... 800,963

From which it appears that during the quarter succeeding the promulgation of general orders No. 77, troops were disbanded at the rate of nearly 300,000 a month, and that within six months after the complete suspension of hostilities four-fifths of the army had disappeared. Such a speedy and quiet absorption of so large a body of armed men into the industrial life of a nation, with scarce a trace left behind of the influence or evil effects of their recent calling, is probably unexampled in the history of the world. A partial exception to this general disbanding was made with respect to the colored troops, of whom 85,024 remained in the service in November, 33,334 having been mustered out.

Upon the discharge of troops the services of a great number of staff, field, and other officers were no longer required. Many of these at once resigned, many were honorably mustered out, and until the close of the year the Government continued to rid itself of superfluous generals as occasion required. commissions in the regular army as a general Those who held rule resumed them, but many of these, not caring to lapse into the condition of a subaltern of regulars, after having been general officers of volunteers, and dreading, too, the inertness of military life in peaceful times, availed themselves of the opportunity to engage in civil professions or a political career. "No doubt," says the Secretary of War in his annual report, "in many instances it has been painful for gallant and accomplished officers to leave that service to which they have been accustomed, and where they have won honorable distinction. But it is to the credit of the volunteer service that they have recognized the obligation of the Government to reduce the military establishment with the occasion that called it into existence, and that their own wishes or interest have not been importunately urged against the necessities of the service." In another part of the same document, alluding to the rapidity with which troops were raised during the war, he says: "Our experience on this point is significant. When Lee's army surrendered, thousands of recruits were pouring in, and men were discharged from recruiting stations and rendezvous in every State. On several occasions when troops were promptly needed to avert impending disasters, vigorous exertion brought them into the field from remote States with incredible speed. Official reports show that after

the disasters on the Peninsula in 1862, over 80,000 troops were enlisted, organized, armed, equipped, and sent to the field in less than a month. 60,000 troops have repeatedly gone to the field within four weeks. And 90,000 infantry were sent to the armies from the five States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin within twenty days." As a corollary from the above he concludes that our resources in men, arms, and ammunition, clothing, transportation, and subsistence supplies are so extensive as to enable the Government to reduce its standing military force in time of peace to a lower degree than any other nation.

Accordingly the estimates for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1867, are $33,814,461.83 as against $516,240,131.70 for the preceding year, and are based upon a standing force of 50,000 men, so organized as to admit of an increase, without additional organizations, to 82,000 troops of all arms. The public mind does not, however, appear to be yet settled with regard to the size or composition of the force to be retained as a standing army in time of peace, and several projects for the reorganization of the army have been initiated at the first session of the thirty-ninth Congress. A bill reported by the Senate Committee on military affairs provides that the army shall consist of

Five regiments of artillery...
Twelve regiments of cavalry..
Fifty-five regiments of infantry.

Total.....

......

9,000 men. 12,000 85,000

66 66

to be called the Army of the United States. The artillery regiments are to have the same organization as at present, and the President may at his discretion cause four of the cavalry regiments to be drilled as infantry. The infantry regiments are to consist of the ten regiments of ten companies each now in the service; the remaining nine regiments made into twenty-seven, by adding to each of the three battalions of eight companies each, of which they are composed, two companies; ten regiments of colored men, and eight of disabled men, or men discharged by disability. The officers of the two latter classes of regiments are to be taken from the officers of colored troops, the veteran reserve corps, and other officers of volunteers disabled in the service. No officer below the rank of general officer is to be promoted without passing an examination, and those failing in such examination are to be suspended or dropped. No persons are to be commissioned in any regiment until examined by boards convened by the Secretary of War, which are to ascertain the candidate's attainments in military history, his services during the war, and general qualifications. The infantry regiments can be increased if necessary to fifty-five thousand men, which would make an army corresponding, both on a peace and a war footing, very nearly with the estimate of the Secretary of War. The general officers contemplated by this bill are one lieutenant-general, five major-generals, and ten brigadier-generals.

Another project for the reorganization of the army provides for a force of 160,000 men, composed of regiments ten companies strong each, and commanded by a general-in-chief, three generals, sixteen major-generals, and thirty-two brigadier-generals. A field staff and department staff are also provided for. One-half of the promotions are to be made according to seniority and the other half according to merit, to be determined by boards of examiners. It requires an officer to serve two years in the line before entering the staff of the army, and makes West Point a staff school. Any one who can pass the necessary examination may enter the army as second lieutenant. The plan exempts officers' salaries from taxation, allows officers to be retired after twenty-five years' service, and gives them the right to hold civil office while in retirement. It incorporates the old regular army as a part of the new army, and prescribes rules for uniform, leaves of absence, furloughs, and court-martials.

Pending the adoption of a plan of reorganization, the forces in the service at the close of 1865 comprised the old regular army, viz.: nineteen regiments of infantry, of which ten are of ten companies each, and nine of twentyfour companies each; six regiments of cavalry, and five of artillery, together with somewhat over a hundred thousand troops, white and colored, of all arms, the remains of the veteran reserve corps and old volunteer organizations. The latter are being gradually mustered out as occasion ceases for their services, while active efforts are making to recruit the regular regiments, service in which was never so popular during the war as in the volunteer organizations. From the report of the adjutant-general it appears that the number of regular recruits enlisted for all arms from October 31, 1864, to October 1, 1865, was 19,555. The regular regiments are now distributed over all parts of the country, and have an authorized strength of 952 officers and 41,819 men. Their actual strength in January, 1866, according to a return made by the Secretary of War, was 1,124 officers and 23,795 men, an aggregate of 24,919. Of the officers, 100 in the cavalry are absent, 113 in the artillery, and 368 in the infantry. Of the men, 5,472 are recruits assigned since the last return. All the regiments except the 17th are assigned to military departments. the close of the year several thousand applications for commissions in the regular service were on file, and for the purpose of securing the requisite number of competent officers, a board was appointed to examine applicants and determine their relative merits. Two years' actual service in the war are indispensable for appointment.

At

With the termination of the war, the operations of the Provost-Marshal General's bureau, which in former years were of great importance and extent, have been very considerably curtailed. At the close of the year, the surgeons and commissioners of boards of enrolment in

all the districts, three hundred and seventy in number, had been discharged, and but thirtythree provost-marshals were in the service, all of whom, it was supposed, could soon be dispensed with.

The following statement exhibits the operations of the Paymaster General's Department: Balance in hands of paymasters and unissued requisitions in the Treasury at the beginning of fiscal year (July 1, 1864) . Received from the treasury during the fiscal year (including unissued requisitions in treasury on Jane 30, 1865)..

Eeceived by paymasters from other sources, exelusive of sums transferred among themselves,

Total to be accounted for.............. Accounted for as follows:

Disbursements to the regular army....

$86,039,808

837,200,000

6,815,137

$430,054,946

7,839,225

153,099

300,738,635

Disbursements to the Military Academy....

Disbursements to the volunteers...

Since the commencement of the current fiscal year, besides the above sums in the hands of paymasters, and the unissued requisitions, $94,900,000 were disbursed or distributed for disbursement, making a total expenditure, from Jane 30, 1864, to October 31, 1865, of $524,54,946. Of this large sum, more than one-half, $270,000,000, was paid to disbanded volunteer troops mustered out of service, and who numbered in the aggregate over 800,000 men. The total amount of money disbursed by the pay department during the four years of war, was $1,029,239,000, at an expense of $6,970,600, or less than seven-tenths of one per cent. of the a disbursed. The total losses and defalcations during the same period amounted to $541,9, of which it is estimated that fully one-half will be recovered.

The operations of the Quartermaster General's bureau during the year were on an unsally extended scale, and those connected with the transportation of large bodies of troops, as that of the 23d Corps, in January, from Nashville to the Atlantic seaboard, a distance of 1,400 miles, afforded, to quote the language of Secretary Stanton, "striking illustrations of the improvements in the art of war which have been developed in the late contest." In that instance the transfer was made in the depth of a inclement season, in the brief space of eleven days. Transportation was promptly supplied, caring the spring and summer, to the disbanded aies, and in this service, as well as for the veyance of stores, upward of 1,000 vessels employed on the ocean and inland waters. The ocean fleet alone numbered seven hundred Tels, of which only three were lost. At the e of the year nearly all of these had been pt out of commission or sold, and the monthly penses of this branch of the service were relared $1,814,130. Until the cessation of hostilities the construction corps of the depart

were

ment was actively employed in the repair and maintenance of the great railroad lines of communication in the Southern States. The surrender of the Confederate armies, and the pacification of the South, enabled the department to return to their former possessors most of the railroads which had been in military possession during the war. Under the direction of the executive, the great quantities of rolling stock on these roads accumulated by the department during the war, have been distributed to the different companies, who are required to pay for it within two years, at a valuation fixed by a board of officers and experts assembled by the Government. The supplies furnished during the year from the depots of the department are indicated by the following table:

From Sept. 1, 1864, to June 30, 1865, 20,714 artillery horses were purchased; and from July 1, 1864, to June 30, 1865, 58,818 mules. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1865, the number of cavalry horses purchased amounted to 141,632. The reduction of the army has enabled the department to dispense with large numbers of horses and mules, the sums realized from the sale of which amounted, at the close of the year, to upward of $8,000,000. In all, 83,887 persons employed by the department had been discharged at the end of December, 1865, reducing the monthly expenses $4,086,093; and the sales of property of all kinds reported and recorded on the books of the Quartermaster General's office, from April 20 to Nov. 8, 1865, amounted to $13,357,345. In the single item of forage alone the saving in Sept., 1865, was $2,160,000, as compared with the expenditure of the preceding March.

The burial records of the Quartermaster's Department, which do not include the names of those who fell in battle, and were buried on the field by their comrades, show the interment of 116,148 persons, of whom 98,827 were loyal, and 12,596 disloyal; and 95,803 were whites, and 22,345 colored persons. A detail of men was sent to the prison at Andersonville, where the graves of 12,461 Union soldiers were identified, and marked with appropriate headboards. On 451 graves the inscription, "Unknown U. S. Soldier" was placed.

At the termination of active military movements 204 general hospitals, with a capacity of 136,894 beds, were in operation. Within the next eight months, upward of 170 of these establish ments were discontinued, and the vast accumulations of surplus medicines and hospital supplies were disposed of at auction. Most of the