Key-Notes of American Liberty Part 18

LAFAYETTE S. FOSTER,

_President of Senate pro tempore_.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES UNITED STATES,

_July_ 16, 1866.

The President of the United States having returned to the House of Representatives, in which it originated, the bill ent.i.tled "An act to continue in force and to amend 'An act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees,' and for other purposes," with his objections thereto, the House of Representatives proceeded, in pursuance of the Const.i.tution to reconsider the same; and

_Resolved_, That the said bill pa.s.s, two-thirds of the House of Representatives agreeing to pa.s.s the same.

Attest: EDWARD MCPHERSON,

_Clerk House of Representatives of the United States._

IN SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES,

_July 16, 1866._

The Senate having proceeded, in pursuance of the Const.i.tution, to reconsider the bill ent.i.tled "An act to continue in force and to amend 'An act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees,'

and for other purposes," returned to the House of Representatives by the President of the United States, with his objections, and sent by the House of Representatives to the Senate with the message of the President returning the bill--

_Resolved_, That the bill do pa.s.s, two-thirds of the Senate agreeing to pa.s.s the same.

Attest: J.W. FORNEY,

_Secretary of the Senate of the United States._

PROVOST MARSHAL-GENERAL'S REPORT.

SHOWING THE NUMBER OF MEN ENLISTED, NUMBER OF KILLED, WOUNDED, AND DEATHS FROM DISEASE, DURING THE REBELLION.

WAs.h.i.+NGTON, D.C., Friday, April 27, 1866.

The following is a condensed summary of the results of the operations of this bureau, from its organization to the close of the war.

1. By means of a full and exact enrollment of all persons liable to conscription, under the law of March 3 and its amendments, a complete exhibit of the military resources of the loyal States, in men, was made, showing an aggregate number of 2,254,063, not including 1,000,516 soldiers actually under arms, when hostilities ceased.

2. One million one hundred and twenty thousand six hundred and twenty-one men were raised, at an average cost (on account of recruitment exclusive of bounties,) of $9.84 per man, while the cost of recruiting of 1,356,593 raised prior to the organization of the Bureau was $34.01 per man. A saving of over seventy cents on the dollar in the cost of raising troops was thus effected under this Bureau, notwithstanding the increase in the price of subsistence, transportation, rents, &c., during the last two years of the war. (Item: The number above given does not embrace the naval credits allowed under the eighth section of the act of July 4, 1864, nor credits for drafted men who paid commutation, the recruits for the regular army, nor the credits allowed by the Adjutant-General subsequent to May 25, 1865, for men raised prior to that date.)

3. Seventy-six thousand five hundred and twenty-six deserters were arrested and returned to the army. The vigilance and energy of the officers of the Bureau, in this line of the business, put an effectual check to the wide-spread evil of desertion, which, at one time, impaired so seriously the numerical strength and efficiency of the army.

4. The quotas of men furnished by the various parts of the country were equalized, and a proportionate share of military service secured from each, thus removing the very serious inequality of recruitment, which had arisen during the first two years of the war, and which, when the bureau was organized, had become an almost insuperable obstacle to the further progress of raising troops.

5. Records were completed showing minutely the physical condition of 1,014,776 of the men examined, and tables of great scientific and professional value have been compiled from this data.

6. The casualties in the entire military force of the nation during the war of the rebellion, as shown by the official muster-rolls and monthly returns, have been compiled with, in part, this result:

KILLED IN ACTION OR DIED OF WOUNDS WHILE IN SERVICE.

Commissioned officers 5,221 Enlisted men 90,868

DIED FROM DISEASE OR ACCIDENT.

Commissioned officers 2,321 Enlisted men 182,329 -------- Total loss in service 280,739

These figures have been carefully compiled from the complete official file of muster-rolls and monthly returns, but yet entire accuracy is not claimed for them, as errors and omissions to some extent doubtless prevailed in the rolls and returns. Deaths (from wounds or disease contracted in service) which occurred after the men left the army are not included in these figures.

7. The system of recruitment established by the Bureau, under the laws of Congress, if permanently adopted, (with such improvement as experience may suggest,) will be capable of maintaining the numerical strength and improving the character of the army in time of peace, or of promptly and economically rendering available the National forces to any required extent in time of war.

THE UNITED STATES ARMY DURING THE GREAT CIVIL WAR OF 1861-65.

The following statement shows the number of men furnished by each State:

---------------------+-----------------+-----------------+--------------- | Men furnished | Aggregate No. | Aggregate | under Act of | of men | No. of men | April 15, 1861, | furnish'd under | furnish'd STATES. | for 75,000 | all calls. | reduced to | militia for | | the 3 years'

| for 3 months. | | standard.

---------------------+-----------------+-----------------+--------------- Maine | 771 | 71,745 | 56,595 New Hamps.h.i.+re | 779 | 34,605 | 30,827 Vermont | 782 | 35,246 | 29,052 Ma.s.sachusetts | 3,736 | 151,785 | 123,844 Rhode Island | 3,147 | 23,711 | 17,878 Connecticut | 2,402 | 57,270 | 50,514 New York | 13,906 | 464,156 | 381,696 New Jersey | 3,123 | 79,511 | 55,785 Pennsylvania | 20,175 | 366,326 | 267,558 Delaware | 775 | 13,651 | 10,303 Maryland | ... | 49,731 | 40,692 West Virginia | 900 | 32,003 | 27,653 District of Columbia | 4,720 | 16,872 | 11,506 Ohio | 12,357 | 317,133 | 237,976 Indiana | 4,686 | 195,147 | 152,283 Illinois | 4,820 | 258,217 | 212,694 Michigan | 781 | 90,119 | 80,865 Wisconsin | 817 | 96,118 | 78,985 Minnesota | 930 | 25,034 | 19,675 Iowa | 968 | 75,860 | 68,182 Missouri | 10,501 | 108,773 | 86,192 Kentucky | ... | 78,540 | 70,348 Kansas | 650 | 20,097 | 18,654 Tennessee | ... | 12,077 | 12,077 Arkansas | ... | ... | ...

North Carolina | ... | ... | ...

California | ... | 7,451 | 7,451 Nevada | ... | 216 | 216 Oregon | ... | 617 | 581 Was.h.i.+ngton Ter'ty | ... | 895 | 895 Nebraska | ... | 1,279 | 380 Colorado | ... | 1,762 | 1,762 Dakota | ... | 181 | 181 New Mexico | 1,510 | 2,395 | 1,011 | ------ | --------- | --------- Total | 93,326 | 2,688,523 | 2,154,311 ---------------------+-----------------+-----------------+---------------

HISTORY OF THE FLAG.

BY A DISTINGUISHED HISTORIAN.

Men, in the aggregate, demand something besides abstract ideas and principles. Hence the desire for symbols--something visible to the eye and that appeals to the senses. Every nation has a flag that represents the country--every army a common banner, which, to the soldier, stands for that army. It speaks to him in the din of battle, cheers him in the long and tedious march, and pleads with him on the disastrous retreat.

Standards were originally carried on a pole or lance. It matters little what they may be, for the symbol is the same.

In ancient times the Hebrew tribes had each its own standard--that of Ephraim, for instance, was a steer; of Benjamin, a wolf. Among the Greeks, the Athenians had an owl, and the Thebans a sphynx. The standard of Romulus was a bundle of hay tied to a pole, afterwards a human hand, and finally an eagle. Eagles were at first made of wood, then of silver, with thunderbolts of gold. Under Caesar they were all gold, without thunderbolts, and were carried on a long pike. The Germans formerly fastened a streamer to a lance, which the duke carried in front of the army. Russia and Austria adopted the double headed eagle. The ancient national flag of England, all know, was the banner of St.

George, a white field with a red cross. This was at first used in the Colonies, but several changes were afterwards made.

Of course, when they separated from the mother country, it was necessary to have a distinct flag of their own, and the Continental Congress appointed Dr. Franklin, Mr. Lynch, and Mr. Harrison, a committee to take the subject into consideration. They repaired to the American army, a little over 9,000 strong, then a.s.sembled at Cambridge, and after due consideration, adopted one composed of seven white and seven red stripes, with the red and white crosses of St. George and St. Andrew, conjoined on a blue field in the corner, and named it "The Great Union Flag." The crosses of St. George and St. Andrew were retained to show the willingness of the colonies to return to their allegiance to the British crown, if their rights were secured. This flag was first hoisted on the first day of January, 1776. In the meantime, the various colonies had adopted distinctive badges, so that the different bodies of troops, that flocked to the army, had each its own banner. In Connecticut, each regiment had its own peculiar standard, on which were represented the arms of the colony, with the motto, "Qui transtulit sustinet"--(he who transplanted us will sustain us.) The one that Putnam gave to the breeze on Prospect Hill on the 18th of July, 1775, was a red flag, with this motto on one side, and on the other, the words inscribed, "An appeal to Heaven." That of the floating batteries was a white ground with the same "Appeal to Heaven" upon it. It is supposed that at Bunker Hill our troops carried a red flag, with a pine tree on a white field in the corner. The first flag in South Carolina was blue, with a crescent in the corner, and received its first baptism under Moultrie. In 1776, Col.

Gadsen presented to Congress a flag to be used by the navy, which consisted of a rattle-snake on a yellow ground, with thirteen rattles, and coiled to strike. The motto was, "Don't tread on me." "The Great Union Flag," as described above, without the crosses, and sometimes with the rattle-snake and motto, "Don't tread on me," was used as a naval flag, and called the "Continental Flag."

As the war progressed, different regiments and corps adopted peculiar flags, by which they were designated. The troops which Patrick Henry raised and called the "Culpepper Minute Men," had a banner with a rattle-snake on it, and the mottoes, "Don't tread on me," and "Liberty or death," together with their name. Morgan's celebrated riflemen, called the "Morgan Rifles," not only had a peculiar uniform, but a flag of their own, on which was inscribed, "XI. Virginia Regiment," and the words, "Morgan's Rifle Corps." On it was also the date, 1776, surrounded by a wreath of laurel. Wherever this banner floated, the soldiers knew that deadly work was being done.

When the gallant Pulaski was raising a body of cavalry, in Baltimore, the nuns of Bethlehem sent him a banner of crimson silk, with emblems on it, wrought by their own hands. That of Was.h.i.+ngton's Life Guard was made of white silk, with various devices upon it, and the motto, "Conquer or die."