Be it enacted by
the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled, That the President of the The United States may, at
his discretion, at any time hereafter call for any number of men as volunteers
for the respective terms of one, two, and three years for military service; and
any such volunteer, or, in case of draft, as hereinafter provided, any
substitute, shall be credited to the Volunteers or town, township, ward of a
city, precinct, or election district, or of a county not so subdivided, towards
the quota of which he may have volunteered or engaged as a substitute; and
every volunteer who is accepted and mustered into the service for a term of one
year, unless sooner discharged, shall receive, and be paid by the United
States, a bounty of one hundered dollars; and if for a term of two years,
unless sooner discharged, a bounty of two hundred dollars; and if for a term of
three years, unless sooner discharged, a bounty of three hundred dollars; one
third of which bounty shall be paid to the soldier at the time of his being
mustered into the service, one third at the expiration of one half of his term
of service, and one third at the expiration of his term of service; and in case
of his death while in service, the residue of his bounty unpaid shall be paid
to his widow, if he shall have left a widow; if not, to his children, or if
there be none, to his mother, if she be a widow.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That in case the quota, or
any part thereof, of any town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district,
or of any county not so subdivided, shall not be filled within the space of
fifty days alter such call, then the President shall immediately ordered, order
a draft for one year to fill such quota, or any part thereof, which may be
unfilled; and in case of any such draft no payment of money shall be accepted
or received by the government as commutation to release any enrolled or drafted
man from personal obligation to perform military service.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for
the Recruiting by executive of any of the states to send recruiting agents into
any of the states declared lo be in rebellion, except the states of Arkansas, Tennessee,
and Louisiana, to recruit volunteers under any call under the provisions of
this act, who shall be credited to the state, and to the respective
subdivisions thereof, which may procure the enlistment.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That drafted men,
substitutes, and volunteers, when mustered in, shall be organized in, or
assigned to, regiments, batteries, or other organizations of their own states,
and, as far as practicable, shall, when assigned, be permitted to select their
own regiments, batteries, or other organizations from among those of their
respective states which at the time of assignment may not be filled to their
maximum number.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the twentieth section of
the act entitled, “An act to amend an act entitled ‘An act for enrolling and calling
out the national forces, and for other purposes,’” approved February
twenty-four, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, shall be construed to mean that
the Secretary of War shall discharge minors under the age of eighteen years
under the circumstances and on the conditions prescribed in said section; and
hereafter, if any officer of the United States shall enlist or muster into the
military service any person under the age of sixteen years, with or without the
consent of his parent or guardian, such person so enlisted or recruited shall
be immediately discharged upon repayment of all bounties received; and such
recruiting or mustering officer who shall knowingly enlist any person under
sixteen years of age, shall be dismissed the service, with forfeiture of all
pay and allowances, and shall be subject to such further punishment as a
court-martial may direct.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That section three of an act
entitled “An act to amend an act entitled ‘An act for enrolling and calling out
the national forces, and for other purposes,’” approved February twenty-four,
eighteen hundred and sixty-four, be, and the same is hereby, amended, so as to
authorize and direct district provost-marshals, under the direction of the
provost-marshal general, to make a draft for one hundred per centum in addition
to the number required to fill the quota of any district as provided by said section.
Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That instead of travelling
pay, drafted persons reporting at the place of rendezvous shall be allowed transportation
from their places of residence; and persons discharged at the place of
rendezvous shall be allowed transportation to their places of residence.
Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That till persons in the
naval service of the United States who have entered said service during the
present rebellion, who have not been credited to the quota of any town, district,
ward, or state, by reason of their being in said service and not enrolled prior
to February twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, shall be enrolled
and credited to the quotas of the town, ward, district, or state, in which they
respectively reside, upon satisfactory proof of their residence made to the
Secretary of War.
Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That, if any person duly
drafted shall be absent from home in prosecution of his usual business, the
provost marshal of the district shall cause him to be duly notified as soon as
may be, and he shall not be deemed a deserter, nor liable as such, until notice
has been given to him, and reasonable time allowed for him to return and report
to the provost-marshal of his district; but such absence shall not otherwise
affect his liability under this act.
Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That nothing contained in
this act shall be construed to alter, or in any way affect, the provisions of
the seventeenth section of an act approved February twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred
and sixty-four, entitled “An act to amend an act entitled ‘An act for enrolling
and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes,’” approved March
third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three.
Sec. 11. And be it further enacted. That nothing contained in
this act, shall be construed to alter or change the provisions of existing laws
relative to permitting persons liable to military service to furnish
substitutes.
Approved, July 4, 1864.
SOURCE: George P. Sanger, Editor, Statutes at Large, Treaties and Proclamations
of the United States of America, from December 1863, to December 1865, Vol.
8, p. 379-80
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