U B a. CIVIL WAR VOLIWTEJDR OPPICERS' RETIRJilD LIST. --- 1912 --- Clnss 'J. '::L 4 ■■^ 1 ■\ Book ^ \ £ a. 'AN - '3SnOVHAS ■sm CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST HEARING BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS UNITED STATES SENATE SIXTY-SECOND CONGRESS THIRD SESSION ON S. 2006 A BILL TO CREATE IN THE WAR DEPARTMENT AND THE NAVY DEPARTMENT, RESPECTIVELY, A ROLL DESIGNATED AS "THE CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST," TO AUTHORIZE PLACING THEREON WITH RETIRED PAY CERTAIN SURVIVING OFFICERS WHO SERVED IN THE ARMY, NAVY, OR MARINE CORPS OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE CIVIL WAR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Printed for the use of the Committee on Military Affairs WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OEPIOE 1912 In the Skxatk of the United States, December 6, 1912. Ordered, That one thousand copies Hearings T'efore a Subcommittee of the Committee on :Militai-y Affairs. United States Senate. "Civil War volunteer officers' retired list." he printed for the use of the subcommitlee. Attest : Chakles (t. Bennett, (^eeretary. MEMBERS OF SUBCOMMITTEE. NORRIS BROWN, Nebraska. Chainiian. WESLEY L. JONES. Washington. .TOSKPH F. .TOHNSTON, Alabam.a. NEWELL SANDERS. Tennessee. GILBERT M. HITCHCOCK, Nebraska. 2 D. OF D. JAr^ 13 1913 I i 'k\y\l WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' REIIRED LIST. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 1912. Committee on Military Affairs, United States Senate. The subcommittee of the Committee on Military Affairs having under consideration Senate bill 200() met at 10.30 oV'lock a. m. The bill under consideration is as follows : [S. 200(>, Sixty-second Congress, first session.] A RTT.L To create in tlic War Department and in the Navy Department, respectively, a rol desi^Sas ''the Civil War volimteer officers" retired list," to authorize^ placing thereon '^th retired pay certain surviving officers who served n the Army. Navy, or M^rfne oA-ps of the United States in the Civil War, and for oth.-r purposes. Be it enacted hy the S^eiuite uiul House o/ Representatives of the United States of Americain Congress assembled. That in recognition of meritorious srvice rendered to the Government of the United States, m the Livil ^\ ar for the preservation of the Union, there is hereby created in the War Department and Navv Department, respectively, a roll designated as "the t ivil ^^ ar volun^ teer ofhcers' retired list." Upon written application made to the Secretary ot the proi.er department, and subject to the conditions and requirements herein- after contained, the name of each surviving officer of volunteers who served as an officer in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States in the Civil War and was honorably discharged from service by muster out resignation, or otherwise, shall be entered on said list as of the highest rank held by him during said service. Each surviving officer so entered on said list shall have served in said Armv Navv. or ISIarine Corps in said war not less than six months shall not have been retired with continuing retired pay. and shall not belong to the United States Army. Navy, or Marine Corps: Prodded, That a surviving officer who lost an eye. an arm, or a leg in the line of duty, or who was honorably diseharsed from service by muster out. resignation, or otherwise because of a wound or other bodily injury received or incurred in the line of '1"<,>-- f .^?*^;1"^.^ of disability incurred in the line of duty while a prisoner of war. shall, it othei- wise eligible imder the terms hereof, be entitled to be placed on said list and o receive the maximum retired pay herein provided for officers of his former rank without regard to the length of his said service: And provided fuithei. That m computing the length .if service of any surviving officer for the purposes ot this act there shall be included, in addition to his service as an officer of any rank, , all 'such service as he shall have rendered in said war as an enlisted man oi as an appointed petty officer. Applications for entry on said ^-'^^"^ ^ ^J^^, :"''"": teer officers' retired list shall be made in such form and under such regulations as «hall be prescribed by the War Department and Navy Department, respec- ti'velv and proper blanks shall be furnished for said purpose upon request made to the proper department by surviving officers claiming the beuehts of this act \ certificate of service, and of enrolhnent under this act, proper y pre- pared in the War Department and Navy Department, respectively, shall be fur- nished to each surviving officer whose name shall be entered on said list. Surviving officers wh<. served as officers in the Regular Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States during the Civil War, and who were honor- ably discharged from service by muster out, resignation, or otherwise, and have 4 CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS RETIRED LIST. ii(»l Itt'cii rt'inslaU'd in s;ii(l scix ii-c iiur retire!! willi eoiit inniiiic retired pay, hsliiill. upon ai)]!licati the niaxinnmi liniitalinn nf r<'tir(Ml iiay hereinaftei- contained, each surviving cfficer \vh()se name shall have been duly entered on said list, who shall have served as .ifdi-esaid in the Civil War a term (ir terms ai^.^regating two years or more, shall receive, out of any money in the Treasury not other- wise appropriated, retired pay accordiui,' to his former highest raid^ and former bi'anch o fservice as entered on said list, which retii'ed i>ay shall be equal to one- half of the initial active pay now received )\v officers of like or equivalent rank in the United States Army. Navy, or Mai-ine Corps, respectively; and each sur- viving ofticer whose name shall have been duly entered on said list who shall have served as afores.-iid in the Civil War a term or terms aggreg.ating less than two yeirs. l)nt not less tiian six mouths, shall receive, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise aiipropri.ated, retired ]»ay. each according to liis former raidv and aggregate l<'i'm of service, the amount thereof bearing such j)roportion to the retired iiay herein granted to officers of the same rank for two years' service .as the aggregate term of service be.ars to said term of two years The retired i)ay ]a-ovided for by this act shall begin njton the date of the passage of this act .and continue during tbe natvu'al life of the beneficiary; it shall lie payable qu.arterly, and shall not exceed, in the case of any surviving officer, three-fourths of the initi.al iictivc ji.ay now received by a captain in the United St.ales Army. Each surviving olMcer who sh.ill i-eceive letired pay nus. Senator Brown. Gentlomeii, the coniiiiittec finds itself this morn- ing witliont a full tittendatiee. Senator Jones is engaoed in a con- ference eoininittee which makes it impossible for him to be here. Senator Sanders is in Chicago. Senator Tlitchcock, my colleague, I suppose will be here, although he has another meeting, before the Committee on Foreign Relatintis. which is set for 11 o'clock. How- ever, if it is agreeable to you we Avill proceed and take yoitr arguments and statements and have them printed, and then we will get the subcomtnittee together as soon as ]")Ossil)le to consider the arguments and what you luive jiresented. and report to the full committee at the earliest possible day. ^Ir. Torrance, if you will take charge of the pre.sentation of the matter and i^roceed with such arjimnetit as yon may desire to make, or have your associates malce, the committ<'e will l)e very glad to hear you. STATEMENT OF LIEUT. ELI TORRANCE, UNITED STATES VOL- UNTEERS, AND PAST COMMANDER IN CHIEF GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC. Mr. ToRRANCF.. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, let me first state that I appear in the ca])acity of acting chairman of the executive committee of the National Association of the Surviving Volunteer Officers of the Civil War. Gen. Edward S. Salomon, of San Francisco. Cal., chairman of the committee, has been disabled by illness since December last, and I being the ranking member of the executive committee, the duty has devolved upon me of taking CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS RETIRED LIST. 5 charge, to a large degree, of this matter. There are present this morning, besides myself, of the executive committee Col. F. S. Hessel- tine, of Boston. IVlass., and of the general committee Capt. A. D. Gaston, of Washington, D. C., Capt. Hartwell Osborn, of Evanston, 111., and Acting Connnander F. P. B. Sands, of the United States Navy, Washington, D. C. There are also present Col. John L. Vance and Col. A. G. Patton, of Columbus, Ohio, wlio represent the Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion, and Col. Charles R. E. Koch, of Chicago, 111., adjutant gen- eral of the Grand Army of the Republic and ex-commander of the Illinois Commandery of the Loyal Legion, who represents that com- mand'ery on this occasion and also represents the commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Re]")ublic. appearing in behalf of himself and the commander in chief. ITarvey 5l. Trimble, of Princeton. 111. There is also ])resent this morning Corpl. eTaines Tanner, past com- mander in chief of the Grand .Vi'my of the Re]in!)lic. and we feel satisfied that your connnittce will be glad to hear a few wortls from him. IIoAv many may s]ieak at this time will d(^[)('nd largely upon the time that your counnittee has at its disjjosal. but we would like to submit our case quite fully, so that it may be as complete and strong as possil)le. , We are here to urgi' a careful consideration of and favorable action by your counnittee on the bill introduced by Mr. Townsend on May 4, 11)11, known as Senate bill 200('). A bill similar in all respects to this has been introduced by Mr. Sulzer in the House. In brief, the ])uriiose of the bill is to create in the AVar aiul Xavy Departments, respectively, a roll to be designated as the Civil War Volunteer Officers' Retired List. \\\Hm which shall be entered the name, with highest rank, of ex'ery surviving volunteer officer who served for a period of not less than six montlis and was honorably discharged from such service. LTpon enrollment, a certiHcate of servi(^e is to \)v properly prepared in the AVar and Navy I)ej)artments. respecti\ely. and furnished to each surviving officer whose name is entered on the roll. A ser^'ice of two years is named as the maxinuun and six months' service as the mininunn u])on which the retired ])ay is based, those l)aving to their ci-edit a term or terms of service aggregating two years oi- more, service as an enlisted nuin, if any. -to be computed as part thereof, to receive one-half of the initial active pay now received by officers of like rank in the United States Army, Navy, or Marine Corjjs, res])ectivelv, provided that in no case shall any officer receive pay in excess of three-fourths of the pay of a ca]:)tain in the Army, those who served less than two years to receive such proj^ortion of the ])ay granted to officers of like rank for two years as said term of service bears to said term of two yeai-s. There are other provisions in the bill wliich it is not necessary for me uoav to einunerate. but readily a])])e/r upon iiispection of the bill. The chtiu's of these officei's have been before Congress for the past seven years. When first presented, there were alxuit 27.000 surviving Union officers of the Civil War. There are now living less than 18.000, and those eligil)le to enrollment under the terms of the bill we are now considering" will not exceed Ki.OOO in number, many of whom are officei's who held subordinate rank, and the retired pay they 6 CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICEKS ' RETIRED LIST. Avoiild severally I'eeeive under this measure would not greatly exceed the amount tliey are entitled to receive under present jjension laws. The average age of these oflicers is about 74 years, and the death rate exceeds 1,500 each year. During the war 9.r>8-l- officers perished in defense of their country, and within a very "TdTort time the survivors of those who led the mighty hosts of the Union will be fewer in number than their asso- ciates who died on the fields of battle. "We have had abundant encouragement that our just claims would be recognized. A great majority of the Members of the present Con- gress have signified their readiness to vote in favor of the bill when- ever an opportunity is afforded. The legislatures of the great States of New York, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana. Michigan, Maine, Wisconsin, Kansas, Wyoming, and Colo- rado have unanimously approved the enactment of such a measure and requested the Senators and Eepresentatives from those States to support it with their votes in Congress. No State legislature has declined to take similar action, and if the opportu.nity was presented many other Commonwealths would follow the lead of their sister States in this matter. In the Sixty-first Congress favorable reports were made on bills in most respects similar to the one now under consideration by the respective Committees on Military xVffairs. In the Senate Mr. War- ner, on l)ehalf of the Military Aff'airs Committee, made a favorable report February 20, 1011. In this report the beneficiaries w^ere divided into two classes, those who had served not less than one year and those who had served two years or more. Those who had served less than two years, but not less than one year, were retired with the following pay: Colonels and those of higher rank, $650 i)ei' annum; lieutenant colonels and majors, $500 per annum; captains and lieutenats. $450 per annum. Those who had served two years or more were allowed the following sums: Colonels and those of higher rank. $000; lieutenant colonels, $800; majors, $700; captains, $000; and lieutenants. $500, no one to be eligible to the benefits of the retired pay until he had reached the age of 70 years and no one to receive any pecuniary benefit under the bill whose income was $1.'J0() per year. The Military Affairs Committee of the House, on April 18, 1010. through Mv. Prince, submitted a favorable re]>ort on II. R. 18800, in which the minimum service was fixed at six months, and one-third of the initial pay received l)y officers of like raidv in the United States Army was awarded to each beneficiary, jirovided he had served for a period of not less than two years, and a ])roportionate lesser amount to those who had served for a shorter period of time but not less than six months. It was further i)rovide(l that no officer should receive less than $400 |)er amium. and no officer who had served for a period of two and a half years or more should i^ceive less than $000, and no officer of any rank to receive more than two-thirds of the present pay of a captain of Cavalry in the Regular Army. The bill was amended in other particulars and contained a new section that all enlisted men wdio had served 00 days or more and whose physical or mental con- dition was of such a degree of disability as to require the frequent and periodical aid and attention of another person should receive CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS RETIRED LIST. 7 $30 per month. Neither of these reports were reached on the calen- dar for consideration prior to the adjournment of the Sixty-first Con- gress, and little regret for such failure was felt or expressed by the woidd-be beneficiaries for the reason that they failed to do justice and equity to the surviving Civil War officers. At the hearings before both committees Gen. A. B. Nettleton, since deceased, was chairman of the executive committee and represented the officers in the presentation of their claims. His argmnent was an able and convincing one and I shall, with your permission, submit a portion of it at tliis hearing for the consideration of your com- mittee. In the reports of the Senate and House Committees on Military Affairs just referred to the justice of our claims and the obligation of the Government to meet them was fully recognized and in every par- ticular conceded, as an inspection of said reports will disclose; and I shall not trespass upon your time by a rehearsal of the argmnents contained in Gen, Nettleton's address. I must, however, in justice to the splendid body of comrades whom I represent on this occasion, and especially on account of their advanced age and feebleness and the brief allotment of time yet left to them, present their cause from a slightly different viewpoint and supplement with some additional facts the arguments that have heretofore been so cogently made in their behalf. And, first, as to the equality of treatment of the regular and volun- teer forces, as promised at the beginning of the war, I call your atten- tion to the statement submitted last February to the Senate by the Secretary of War in compliance with Senate resolution No. 221. This statement shows the number of officers and enlisted men on the retired list of the Army February 23, 1912, of what rank, and the total amount of yearly compensation paid to such officers and enlisted men. The officers number 1,004, and their average retired pay is $3,310 per annum. On this list are many officers retired with rank and retired pay one grade above that actually held by them at the time of their retirement. Between six and seven hundred Regular Army officers have been given the benefit of increased rank and i)ay upon retirement solely in consideration of their Civil War service — whether as officers or enlisted men — rendered 40 years previously. According to the report of Secretary Stimson the enlisted men num- ber 3,339, and their average yearly retired pay is $T1S.91. Of these enlisted men, 590, or IT^ per cent, ''served creditably during the Civil War" and receive pay of the next higher enlisted grade u))on the retired list by reason of such service, so that evei'v officer and enlisted man now on the retired list of the Kegular Army and Navy who served with credit during the Civil War is i-eceiving extra pay solely on account of such service. This is just as it should be and is a proper recognition on the part of the Government of the high character and value of the soldiers' service in defense of the Nation's life; but it is sadly out of harmony with the Govermnent's pledge, as Ave understand it, made at the beginning of the war. that there should be absolute equality of recognition, consideration, and reward for Civil War service as between the volunteer and the reoular forces, rank for rank. 8 CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS RETIRED LIST. Senator Warner, in reportino- S. 41So February 20, 1011, used the following language : At the bei^imiini.': of tlic ('i\il W;ir. when for llic lirst tiiiK" on ;i .ui.s;;uitic scale, the Nation was reqnin^l to solve the problem of employing side by side, in a long ;ind bloody conllict. Regular and Volunteer troops of equal value and efficiency. President Lim-oln and the Thirty-seventh Congress ])ledged equally of treatment and ivward r's betwcMMi the two lines of service. On the faith of this pledge, the I'nion Army was enrolled, and these othcers accepted their task. But in the absence of sucli a formal jironuse. failure to enforce that equality of treatment and re\\ard between the Nation's conunon defenders would have been botli indefensible and suicidal. * * * This rule of the square deal, the Ivepublic's word of hon«n'. was observed toward all during the years of the war. Since the war it has been uniforndy violated in the case of the Union volunteer officers. * '■■ * In contrast with this generous Civil War bounty to i-egnlar officers against which volunteer officers have made no complaint, consider the fact that no corresjionding and approximate recog- nition or provision is made for Civil War volunteer officers, even those of the most prolonged, perilous, and distinguished service. Instead of the iiromised equality of treatment, a colonel of N'ohniteers who served in the field from Bull Kun to Appomallox. and has reached three score and ten. is left abso- lutely without recognilion of his former rank and -ci'vices. No jxissible com- ment can add force to this simple statement of fact. I here quote tlie folloAving langtiage used by iNIi'. T*riiice. from the Committee on Militarv Alfairs, in favorablv reporting IT. R. 18899, April 13. 1010: President Lincoln and the Congress of that period realized that both in tlie then iiending struggle and thereafter, such a nnlitai'y combination could not be either effect ixc or enduring except through tlie enfoi-cement of entir-^ fairness and e(iuality of treatment and reward by the Feirnishe(l by them assui'ance of this eipial protection, reward, and recognition. 'I'liat assurance, mainly embodied in the statute of .luly 2"-!. isc.l. is !-easonably understood l>y the now surviving volunteer officers .is an eiiuitable giiai'anty that whatever iiro- vision the Ctovernment miglit make for old age of its Kegidar Army officers and enlisted men because solely of service in the Civil War. it would make equal provision for old age of its surviving officers and enlisted men of Volunteers because of identical service and sacrifice. This Federal guaranty only reen- forced the higher and permanent dictates of natural justice and of enliglitened expcHlieney. On tlie faith of this pronnse nearly 2.225.000 Volunteers enlisted in the Union Army and Navy, and acco)nplislied tlieir difficult task in the greatest war of history. Senator Bi?own. As I understand it. that bill is in substance the same bill that has been introduced by Senator Townsend, and which we have before us ? Mr. Torrance. Yes, sir. The promise of equality of treatment as to the enlisted men has finally been fulfilled, and to-day every surviving enlisted man who served in the Union Army receives larger pay in the shape of pensions than he ever received as a soldier. Attention is here called to a report of Mr. Clapp. of the Committee on Naval Affairs, made to the Senate April 4 last, recommending for ]>assage S. 2G05, which provides that petty officers, noncommissioned officers, and enlisted men of the United States Navy and Marine Corps on the retired list, who had creditable Civil War service, shall receive the rank or rating and the pay of the next higher enlisted grade, and if sucii advanced rank or rating does not carry with it an increase of pay or if there was no higher enlisted grade to which advancement might l^e made, then, and in such cases, said men shall receive an increase of pay of 20 per cent over and above the retired CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST. 9 pay artuallv received by them, respectively, at the time of the p^i.- ''SnM^ '•''■ll.l:>. the hnnorable Secretary of AVar api.roved the m^oHai of-certan. enlisted .uen of the ^-^-^^l^^y^^^^^'^Z the retired list Avith increased pay, by reason ^Sl, \\V' iWorl !ervice and the Secretary of the Navy recommended that 11. enlistee men^ the N^t and Marine Corps now on the retired ^f^^^^ Tre^tired and receive the rank -i" rating and the pay ot the n.xt hio-her enlisted o-rade because of creditable Civil AA ar ^cr ice. f wo dtls appear that ^ creditable Civil War service is worthy of and has received recognition and reward m every msance except Tn le cise cff those officers who volunteered, educated themselves in miHtaiT tactics, trained their subordinates m the art of war. and .ed tlip T'nion troops to victory. . ^ , i i , \s art oi my argument I desire to submit and have marked as Fxhilts V Tnd B. Senate Document No. 042 and Senate C alend:, io 5^ iV^'l^^rt No. 568, Sixty-second Congress, second «'ssion uW dso to ubmit in support of my argument an article m;^^:^; ^ ^^:^ hibit C" that appeared in the Army and Navy Journal Mai <-h -., m^ whidi oi historical value as shoeing the attitude <;t C cng.vss nnd of the various States toward the officers and soldiers ot the Ke o- ^^^^^v\n the way of land grants, said grants rangujg n, value from ^640 to a private soldier to $25,000 to a major-general. T also submi for the information of your committee copies o the acJs of Congress of May 15, 1828, June T, f^^^^^'^ ■M-nviilimr retired pav for t he slirvivoi-s of the hevolutionary Arnij , ^^nd Pii of he icts of Congress relating to the nghts of survv.ng RendTand Volmiteer ottieers in tlie Civil Wur. ino ndnig five acts gSing to Jgular oiHcersadvaneed rajd. and ret,r^ k^;'^S.Sa;hnTj:ip^r^S,xS,fend "'^hese^'lSto be marUe.l •■ Jxh.bit D.'' This exldbit cover, four R Letke is esident and Col. F. A. Battey is secretary. T'>- 1« " Hon has been printed in pamphlet form and the reasons ""< » S". mentfin support thereof cover 21! pages. I now hand a copy the. eot to the cha 'nan of this committee, and will take pleasure in f "".f h" L a copy to e.ach member of the Senate Committee on Miliary "lairs 'iMso. all your attention to. ancl j«-- ^''t'! y°- ^Hob ' ;,^i;"::^ rt '^^i:? f;s'^'ri^er^^ft.^f; \i:^ vXinteer Officers of the Civil War. which presents with convincing clearness the grounds upon which our claims rest. Both these briefs are well worthy of your careful consideration. OFFICERS DISCRIMINATED A(;AINST. Durine- the war the officers enjoyed some distinction. Their gal- lon trv and fiddity to duty was a matter of world-wide fame and atoat'om In countless orders, general and special, they were com- 10 CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OEEICEHs' RETIRED LIST. mended for gallant and nieritoriuns conduct on fields of battle. Pro- motion followed jironiotion, and commission after connnission was issued to these splendid war-tested and capable officers, a large per- centage of whom were promoted from the ranks as a reward for their steadfastness and good behavior. Many of these commissions bore the signatures of Abraham Lincoln, and to others was affixed the names of such great war gcnernors as Andrew G. Cnrtin, of Pennsyl- vania; Oliver P. Morton, of Indiana; and John A. Andrews, of Mas- sachusetts. When the annies of Meade and Sherman marched in grand review at Washington in 18G5, many of the regiments, batteries, and squad- rons were by reason of the casualties of battle commanded by line officers, and even though in command of a lieutenant every noncom- missioned officer and private in the ranks Avho had followed the battle- rent flag was i)roud of his commander because he had shown himself worthy to lead and had in a conspicuous manner added to the honor and fame of the command. There was no jealousy then between the officers and the enlisted men, and the better the soldier's record the more highly he esteemed and honored his commanding officer. Not until years afterwards coidd a soldier be found who would speak in disparagement of these officers who had l)een selected for special honors, duties, and responsibilities by the innnortal I^incoln and the great wai' goxcrnors. Not until |)eusions and politics became l)edfellows did the peace veteran undertake to dis])lace the war veteran and become the self- apjjointed hero of the gi'eat conflict for the ])reservation of the Union. Not until DO days* service was made (he sole basis for recognition by the Nation of her defenders in the greatest crisis of her history; not until the volunteer oHiccrs of the I nion Army wei'e reduced to the ranks: not until tlie bronzed xetci'ans who. under (irant. fought from tlic Kapidan to Appomattox, and the seasoned soldiers that marched \\ itli Shermnn to the sea. \vcr<' rerevet nuijor generals, three brigadier genei'als. and five brex'et brigadiei' generals. One of them received the surrender of ]Mol)ile. ()iH> stubboi'jdy and braxely held the giouud at Oedar Creek until the ;!rri\'al of »Sheridan. ( )ne led a l)rigade of troo])S on the victori- ous field of Nashville, and two connnanded brigades under (xen. Sherman. All are over 7.") vears of ao-e. three are over SO vears of CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS RETIRED LIST. age, and under the pension laws as existed prior to May 11, 1012, none of tliese distinguished ofiicers coukl draw a pension in excess of $20 per month or an amount equal to that received by a soldier who had served for the brief and uneventful period of 00 days. The mere statement of such a fact ought to move a patriotic Con- gress of a grateful Nation to immediate action in behalf of this de- serving class of her soldier citizens. The injustice so long inflicted upon the Union officers composed of a class of men selected and approved by reason of their special qualifications, fitness, and trust- worthiness should be righted without further delay. It is due to them personally. It is due to the memory of their associates wdio have 'gone to their honored graves. It is due to the great Nation whose aliundant life is in large part the result of their fidelity, skill, and self-sacrifice. We do not ask that retired pay be given to every officer, but only to those whose service was for a period of at least six months, unless disabled in the line of dut3\ We desire it to be a roll of honor, of merit and high distinction — one that the Nation will be proud of, and one that Avill advance and emphasize the standard of worthy military service. Our re((uest is nu)-^t reasonable, and avc wish to urge our just claims with becoming modesty, and ai'e willing in our old age to share in part with the (iovernment the financial burden that the enactment of this law may impose. Arguments have been earnestly urged in behalf of those officers whose term of service was ld^s.,thaii six months, but we have not thought of departing from the six months standard. Many have insisted that we should be retired on three-fourths })ay, and in the judgment of my committee such a contention is justified on moral considerations and by legislative precedent, but to evidence our willingness to share public burdens noAv as we did in the sixties we are content to be retired on half pay with the limitation that no officer, however high liis rank, shall receive more than three-fourths of the initial active pay now received l)y a captain in the United States Army. This would limit the pay of a major general to $1,800 l^er annum, and company officers would receive from $850 to $1,200, according to rank, j^rovided they had served for a period of not less than two years. If such service was less than two years and not less than six uionths then they would receive an amount bearing such proportion to the retired pay as such term of service l)ears to the Uxo years. In other words, if the service was one year it would be one-half that which an officer of the same rank who served two years would receive, and right here it should be stated that since the bill under consideration was introduced in the Senate the pension rates have been materially increased, so that the passage of the bill in its present form would not be of any pecuniary benefit to a large number of the surviving line officers. For example, a second lieutenant who had served but six months would receive but one-fourth the amount that an officer of the same rank would receive who had served two years, viz, $212.50, which in practically every case would be less than such officer would receive as a pension. The same result w^ould attach to many first lieutenants and to some captains. 12 CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST. The bill should therefore l)e amended providing- that no officer eligible t() benefits of the act should receive less than $400 per annum, and that an officer who served for a i)eriod of two and one-half years or more should receive not less than $600 per annum. This would conform to bill IT. K. 18S01). Sixty-first Congress, favorably reported by the House Committee on Military Affairs April 13, 11)10. Report No. 1010. A provision of this nature seems neces- sary to do justice and equity between the officers themselves and to give proper recognition to those of low rank and long service, most of which was rendered as enlisted men. INCO:\[E CLAUSE. Strange as it may seem, the paymaster deducted a r> per cent income tax from our pay for the support of the war to which we had already dedicated our lives. To this we made no objection, but we do desire to enter an emphatic protest to the insertion of an income clause in any bill that this committee may report in our favor to the Senate. Such a ])rovision was inserted in the report of tlie Senate Committee on Military Affairs made Fel)ruary 20, IDll, and met with universal disapproval on the part of the officers. It has ne\ er found a place in tlie pension legislation of the country, and should not have one in this measure. It w^ould defeat the purpose of making the roll a roll of honor. Some of the most worthy and distinguished surviv- ing officers of the war would, if such a clause were inserted, be oxcluded from its benefits. Those who would be entitled to its benefits would feel humiliated in being compelled to disclose their poverty. The surviving officers would be divided into two classes — the so-called well to do and those whose last days were days of penury. Such a clause or condition in the bill Avould be wholly contrary to its spirit and purpose and w^ould be the Government's final word of discrimination against and disap])roval of this gallant and historic body of men. Patriotism and parsimony should not be compounded in the cuj) of honor that is offered to these heroes as they Avave a final salutation to the land they love better than their lives. (■()X(I>1 SKtX. It is now fixe years since I iii'st became interested in the enactment of the xohiuteer officers' retired bill. T was then ('»•) years old. and fi-oiii the beginning 1 faA't)re(l an age limit of "0 yeai's. The divine ordinance lixes the boundary of human life at three score years and ten. and it se(>me(l to me that no legislati\e body could turn a deaf ear to the }u>{ and reasonnl)le re<|uest of a class of venerable gray-haired men who in their eai-ly manhood had given to their connti'v in her hour of <'x!reinity their sn])r(int> ser^■ice and devotion. It seemed to nie that a sim])!e suggestion was all that would be necessary und that tlie (iovennnent thr.t liad grown great and prosjicrous throngh the ^elf-denials and sacriHces of these men would liasten to l):'stow noon them ^uitabk' recognition and rewards. But I was in a niea--nre mistaken. The Nation that once was claimed to b(» a rope of sand had become a great and mighty world i)ower. It had l)ecome so Ijusy and deeply intei'ested in the world's affairs that it had not time to stop and consider the claims of those of its own household. It could hear the cry of distress and stretch out its CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST. 13 strong' arm across the sea to help alien people, and was so rich that it could freely expend ^aOO.OOO.OOO in a policy of friendly intervention toward the people of Ciil)a and t,he Philipj)ines. but thus fai- it lias failed to do justice to those who in the old and now almost forirotten time had been the Nation's shield and defense. Durino; these years of waitino- all my predecessors in office, v.ith the exception of (len. Salomon, have passed to their reward, and the gap between Cio and TO years has almost closed. Bi(rden>ome and discouraging as at times my work has been, it has always been a labor of love; and though it should residt in fail- ure I shall not complain, for I Avould rather labor and lose in behalf of my fellow ofKcers of the Civil War than to labor and win in a less worthy cause. But, gentlemen, I feel sure that you will deal justly with these men. I am confident that j'our sympathv and apprecia- tion go out to these veterans. I doubt not that your judgment will be in accord with that of your colleagues, who heretofore have conceded the claims of these officers and the obligation of the Government to discharge its too long delayed duty toward them, and that your committee will speedily report in favor of the passage of the bill under consideration. I thank you for your considerate attention. Senator Brown. We thank you, General, for your presentation, and will be very glad to hear from any of your comrades who are here. Mr. Torrance. I will call on the other member of the executive committee present, Col. Hesseltine. He with a number of other gentlemen have just reached Washington this morning, and I have not had opportunity to plan or arrange for the order of speaking. STATEMENT OF LIEUT. COL. FRANCIS S. HESSELTINE, OF BOSTON, MASS. Senator Bro^vn. Col. Hesseltine, will you please state your full name ? Col. Hesseltine. Col. Francis S. Hesseltine. Senator Brown. Where do you live? Col. Hesseltine. I live in Boston. I was captain of the Third Maine Regiment, lieutenant colonel and colonel of the Thirteenth Maine. Senator Brown. Are you a member of the executive committee? Col. Hesseltine. I am a member of the executive committee, and I am also here as president of the Massachusetts Association of Union Volunteer Officers of the Civil War. I have reached the age of 79 years. I have come back here in gray to-day. as I came here in 1861 in gra}', wdien I slept in this building with ni}' company over night wdien we landed here in Wash- ington. Gray as well as IjIub may now be a national color. The fact of the Nation's call for volunteers, its indebtedness and obligation to those who responded, and its duty to promptly recog- nize and express its gratitude to the surviving volunteer officers is well known and almost universally acknowledged. That the country would gratefully remember and reward those who responded to its call for the preservation of the Union, as it did in 1828 reward the surviving officers of the Revolutionarv Armv. who secured our inde- 14 CIVIL WAR VOI.rXTEEK OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST. peiideiice, Avas jJiiblisluHl as an incentive to induce men to respond in the days of our greatest ])eril. This was publicly expressed in the dark days of lS(i;j. when the struggle for national life was as severe and strenuous as in the darkest days of the Revolution. The day after tlie First Battle of Bull l\un, when the country was staggered by the disastrous defeat and rout of the only organized Union Army, and the victorious enemy were only a two days' march from the Capital. President Lincoln issued a call for ^^)00,000 volun- teers, declaring that they should have an absolute equality of recog- nition, consideration, and reward for their services with the Regular Army, rank for raidc; and Congress, by an act on July ^'I, 1861, pledged the public faith that the Volunteers should be placed in all resjiects on the footing, as to pay and allowance, of similar corps of the Regular Army. The volunteers are justly entitled, to all which has l)een conferred on the Regulars for service in the Civil War. The Regular Army oHicers who served a single day then have been recognized with increased rank and retired pay. The enlisted regu- lar and volunteer soldiers and sailors have now received full pay for life as a pension, but the volunteer commissioned officers have not l>een granted distinctive recognition, lionorable retirement with re- tired ])ay. They ought now from a grateful Nation receive honor- able recognition with such retired ])ay as Congress may deem just and deserving. In answer to the Nation's call, men fitted to connuand troops left their professions, l)usinesses. their homes and families, everything, to devote their lives and sacrifice them if need be to defend and ]>reserve the Union. AVithout their swords, the United States would have perished and ceased to exist as a united nation. Whether or nc^ the surviving volunteer officers as a matter of right under that call should lie recognized and retired 50 years after the successful close of the war. the gratitude of the country ought to be expressed to them as it was to the Revolutionary officers. Hear what noble. ])atriotic men heretofore have said as to the Nation's indelitedness to those w-ho devoted their lives to defend and save it in time of great peril and what generous effort should be made by the country to repay the debt of gratitude. Gen. (xeorge Wash- ington said at Newburgh, June 18, 1783, on resigning command of the Army : 111 tliis state of absolute froee found who wishes to remain indebted 1(U- tlie defense of his own person and property to the exertions, th.e bravery, and the blood of othei-s without making one generous effort to reiniy the del)t of honor and of gratitude? President ^lonroe, in his first annual message, December 2, 1817, said : In coiitcinplaliiig tlic hapjiy silnalidu of the T'nitcd Stales our attention is drawn with |ieculiar interest in the surviving otiicers and soldiers of the llev- ohitioiiary Army. wIik so eminently contributed by their services to lay its loundaliuns. .Mcsi of these very meritorious citizens have paid the debt of nature and gone to their repose. It is believed that among the survivors there .-ire Some not provided for ]),v existing laws, who are reduced to indigence and ev<'n real distress. These men have a claim on the gratitude of their country, CIVIL WAR VOIATNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED FIST. 15 ;iii(l it will do I'.iium- io tlicir couiUry to [irovide for tiieiii. Tlic hipst' of ;i ftnv years more :uul the oiiiiornmity will lie forever lost. Iiidfcil. sc iouu lias idrcndy been the iuter\:il that the niiiDher to he he;ietlted hy any iii-c^is'oii which may be made will not he ,ij;rent. Pre.si<]eiU John Quiiicy A(]aiii:s in liis tir.-t annnal message. Decem- ber G, iSiir). referi-ino; to what had already l)een done by the (u>vern- ment. said, "More than a milli(ii and a hali' (h Ihirs has lieen devoted to the debt of g'ratitnde to the warriors of the Kevohition,'' and in his second annual address, December 5. 182G, he said, "'The distril)U- tion of the fund of pnblic oratitnde and justice, a million and a half in the form of pensions, o()es as a scarcely ade(|nate tribute to the servicer and sacrifices of a former age." The bill passed by Congress in 1828, recognizing the debt of grati- tude to the oflicers of the Kevolution by retiring them with full pay for life, was approved and signed by President John Qiiincy Adams. President Andrew Jackson in his first annual message, December 8, 1820, reconnnended the extension of the benefits of the act of 1828 to every Revolutionary soldier who aided in establishing our liberty and independence. He said : These relics of the War for ludei)endenee have strong claims upon their conn- iry's gratitude and hotinty. Such an amendment is called for hy the symiiathies of the people as well as hy considerations of public jiolicy. Let me repeat the noble speech of Daniel Webster, delivered in the United States Senate .April 25, 1828, which secured the passage of the bill retiring with full pay the surviving officers of the Army of the Revolution. No more potential words for the passage now by this Congress of this bill retiring the surviving volunteer officers of the Civil War can be uttered. His arguments were unanswer- able then and are now equally forceful, most applicable for the passage of the bill pending. The Revolutionary officers secured liberty and union; the Civil War officers preserved that Union with universal liberty. Hear him. Though dead, he yet speaketh : I confess that I feel wounded — deeply hurt — at the observation of the gen- tleman from Georgia, when he said. " So. then, these modest, high-minded gentlemen will take a pension at last." * * * There is. I know, something repulsive and opprol)ious in the name " Pensin it without so discussing it as to woimd the feelings which education inspires, the habits of military life cherished, and a just self-respect is desirous to maintain. I confess that I meet this claim not only with a desire to do something in favor of these officers, but, to do it in a manner indicative not only of d<»coruni, but of deep resitect— that resjiect which years, age, public service, patriotism, and broken fortune tomniand to spring up in every manly breast. * * * 16 CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST. Mr. I*rosi(leiit. alli)\v me l."),")— 12 2 18 CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS ' RETIRED LIST, to take charge e of them. These men should be recognized in the interests of patriotism, in my judg- ment. It is said that the lleguhir Army otiicer should he treated dilferently from the volunteer, because he has been rendering his service to the country since the wai'. Yes, that is true: but it has been a most desirable one, from every possible standpoint. A num who was in the Regular Army, without any immediate prospect of ever having to risk his life or health in actual service, has been given a position of importance socially, his future has been cared for — it is a job for life, and as for these few men who went out of the Volunteer Army and entered the regular service, I do not want to detract from their patriotism, but I want to say that in time of peace it was a very natural thing, and a very nice thing, and has been a very splendid thing for men in the Regular Army. On the other hand, these men, many of tliem, who might have remained in the Regular Army, left the service with their scars on them, many of them in broken health, and took up the work of peace. They helped to rej)air the ravages that were wrought during the awful period of the Civil War. And so. for me, I can see reasons why possil)ly the volunteer oiHcer ought to be recognized over the regular officer. But I can never see how it is any way right to jnit him below the reg'ular officer. jNIr. C'hairnuin, (Jen. l'(»rrance, who has charge of this conunittee, succeeded (len. Salomon, with whom I was closely related, a man who with the l)urdeii of this great work has broken down. His predecessor Was (tcu. Nettleton, a sweet character, a splendid gentleman, who ottered np his life for this particular work — because he was not strong. None of these men are strong. r>ut he t(M)k it uj) and put his whole life into it, and died in the harness. Gen. Torrance says that he has favored the 7<>-year age limit, and that he is willing that that i)rovision shall be inserted : that this recog- nition shall not begin until these men reach the ageof TO. Personally, I would like to wij)e that out. I never have l)een in favor of any age limit. I am (|uite inclined to favor ])utting in a jirovision, saying, for instance, that they shall have had a service of six months at least, possibly; but there should be no age limit in this proposition. Every officer who served six months or more should be recognized upon this roll of honor. I can not see it in any other way. If it is a matter of right, then we ought to recognize it as such. The amount of i)ay is going to be small. Again i-everting to the fad that the volunteer men have been opposed to this, some of them; yet. gentlemen, you know as I know, who have served in Congress, that whenever there has been any pension legislation up in Congress looking to the beneht of the i-ank an. in Ivich- mond, and when he cjinie ont he fonnd tliat the i-egiment was consoli- dated with another regiment, and he was nnistei-ed ont of the service with his oflicers bef(tre he liad l)een exciianged. 'i"o-day he sits in a modest room over in Jersey City, !»! years of age, livijig on a pension of $^0 a month, rejoicing in the fact that the bill yon recentlv enacted into hiAV jMits him np $10 more. I am impressing nj^on onr genial and splendid Connnissioner of Pensions that he has got to hnrry np in that case or (lod will get him before tlie pension increase gels him. One thing, fnrthei'more, th.at I desire particniai-ly to s|)eak on is this. I think. Senator Townsen that Republics were ungrateful had not had much ex- perience with the United States of America. I remember a few years ago — quite a nmnber of years ago, in fact — wdien for several succes- sive years I w-as on the pension committee of the national body of the Grand Army of the Eepublic, and we got out here to secure legis- CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST. 21 lation on specific lines. Pensions were ninch lower then than now, and onr committee sat down in the El)l)itt llonse. and lookino- over the list of Congressmen, certain Congressmen were being allotted to this, that, and the other one of iis. There were 2() ex-Confederates in the House at that time, and onr chairman said, '' Well. Tanner, yon know a lot of these fellows. We will give you the bunch." I said, '' I will take them ; '■ and the next day I came up here and introduced myself to Gen. Charles Hooker, with his one empty sleeve. I told him who and what I represented and wdiat we were after. He did not give me time to get through. His one hand went up to my shoulder, und he said, " You don't have to say anything more to me. If we liad won, we would have pensioned onr boys royally." He said, ''We have h'st all, and we can not expect that; l)ut you can count on me for the highest figure, every time." Then Gen. Joe Wheeler. 20 minutes thereafter, said, "Put me with Hooker": and we had the vote of every ex-Confederate that was in the House. On another occasion 1 sat in the gallery and saw a spectacle when the bill was reported from the Pension Committee of the House. The House was then Democratic, and they were striking a blow at the widows that hurt, and I saw Amos Cumnungs. a splendid man, rise and break from his party on that point, and again I saw cx-Confed- erates vote Avith Cummings. and they beat the report of the commit- tee. I specify these tilings to show that we remenil)er them, that we are grateful, and that we are confident. Standing to-day as we do with the splendid surroundings and the magnificent prospect we have, and in the position that this country occupies, with the faith that we have in ourselves, and the knowledge that we have that there is just as much loyalty to the flag and the Constitution down below Mason and Dixon's line as there is north of it^and God knows we had that exemplified in the Spanish War — I say to you, gentlemen of the committee, that we come asking for this measure; and do not understand that we come asking with the slightest shadow of com- plaint in our hearts. We come with tlie very spirit of exultation, but we do ask that the men who led us with leadership so necessary, who pressed forward so valiantly when death was devastating our ranks, shall have this, and it is up to what should l)e demanded by your individual, your collective, your political, or your personal pride, that the men who so worthily wore the uniform of the Gov- ernment in the days when the Nation was battling for its life should not be denied the connnon necessaries of life now. I am satisfied, from what I have heard and seen, and what 1 have expressed, that this nuilter is in safe hands, and I have no doubt Senator Townsend voices it when he says that it is late in the session, and probably you can not get it through lo-day. or this session: !)ut it is also true that by the time the next session comes many who wouhl be beneficiaries if it should pass now will be under the sod. We have got to take those chances in this life. But give us tlie rej^ort of this couunittee for present and future use. Mr. Torrance. Mr. Chairman. I desire very much tliat the Grand Army of the Republic, through its commander in chief and adjutant general, Coi. Koch, who is here, should be heanl briefly. There are a number of gentlemen here whom I would like to call upon, and I think some of them have briefs, which I will ask them to submit, if they can be printed. 99 CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS RETIRED LIST. Senator Brown. Tlie oonimittee would be very glad to have any written briefs or arguments that anyone has. Mr. Torrance. There are several here, and I will hand them to the stenogra]:)her : but I would like you to hear the adjutant general, Col. Koch, if you will. STATEMENT OF COL. CHARLES R. KOCH. ADJUTANT GENERAL OF THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC. Col. Koch. If you will permit me. I will treat this subject from a more practical standpoint than that which has been presented here- tofore, and there is a practical bir-iness side to this proposition that I believe has never been touched upon. Exhaustive arguments have for several years been presented before the ^Military Committees of l^oth Houses of Congress in favor of the creation of a volunteer retired list of the Civil War. In these the military history, the precedents, and the various enactments by Con- gress have been thoroughly exploited, as well as the expressed views of the first civil and military leader of our country. George Washing- ton, and tho>e of the great statesman. Daniel Webster. All of these clearly show that in tlie organization of our armies, from the earliest days of our national development, there has always been a diiference between the duties and rcs])onsibilities imposed upon commi>sioned officers and upon enlisted ruen: there has also always been a differ- ence in the compensation, eu.ioluments. or rewards bestowed upon such officers and eidisted men by our Government. The ]Dension law enacted in 1nOi> amiulled and abrogated this Avell-established. essen- tial, and statutory distinctioji so far as it concerned the surviving (officers of the great war that resulted in the restoration and preserva- tion of the I^nion by >aying that " rank should not be considered " in these disability ]:)ensions. In effect this act degraded all these officers and took from them distinctive rights theretofore always not only conceded to them, but rights that had been well established in laws, regulations, and orders. Take the rank of captain, for instance, and his rate for disal)ility was about three times that of an enlisted man during the Civil War. This degradation lia- been perhaps unconsciously heaped ti})on a '-lass of deserving citizens. l)ut the Army and the Navy of the United States noAv in s(u-vice. and the National Guard of the country that niu>t be relied upon to meet the first emergency call, if otir country should be so unfortunate as again to need soldiers for war, are still permitted to work tnider the old system that makes a dis- tinction in the reward for service between officers and enlisted men. It must be rememliered that to some extent the blame of this unfortunate degradation is not entirely due to Congress. The sense of r(>sponsibility for the comfort and care and well-being of the enlisted men. which during the four years of war grew into a habit with the officers, had much to do in their silence and in their neglect to protest against the degradation heaped upon themselves. They realized that po.-sibly. if they shoidd insist upon a continuance of the prerogatives guaranteed them by law and precedent, they might injure the securing of needed benefits by the enlisted men who sur- vived the war. and therefore they stepped aside in order that the great majority of the veteran soldiers of the country might derive such benefit as these enactments gave them. Their acquiescence CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST. 23 without protest removed any dano-er there might have been tliat the bills should not pass. It was always the ofhcers' bounden duty to give first consideration to the care and comfort of the men. In this, we believe, the surviving officers have been consistent through- out these many years, which has been finally proven in the gener- ous pension act ])assed by the present Congress, which practically gives the enlisted man the full pay of his rank, and in some instances more. It seems now eminently proper that Congress, having dealt not only justly but generously with the men who carried the guns, should also now deal justly with the officers who trained them, who led them, who were res])onsible for tliem, and who have ever since, in times of peace, commanded the respect and affection of these enlisted men. It seems time that the rank and emoluments to which tliese officers are entitled, and which were taken from them by the error of the act of 1S90 and subsequent acts, sliould be restored to them. In addition to the many precedents for distinction between officei-s and enlisted men that have always existed in our armies, we beg to call attention to the following : During the War of ISIU-ISC).") a cartel foi- exchange of prisoners existed between the two contending foi'ces. Rank was then con- sidered. It requ.ired the turning back of eight ju'ivates in excliange for a captain, for instance. From 186l' on. the (Tovcrninent offered bounties for enlistments. None Avere ]niid to olliceis. If an enlisted man became an officer before he had served two years as an enlisted man. he not only for- feited his bounty, l)ut Avas ol)liged to restore any advance he may have received on this account to the (irovernment. IJank was then considered. The surviving (ifficer> fully I'ealize that when Congress -Nvrote in the act of ISDO and in several stibsequent acts " rank sh;d! not Ir- con- sidered," there was no ]:)ur])ose (u* intent to slur or insul; a large class of useful and influential citizens, a class wlio had s(M'\(h1 the country well in its direst need and wlio are enjoying tJie res[)ect and esteem of their fellow citizens now. They realize that it was done in the interest of suj)i)osed economy, as without the insertion of that clause it Avas fearen and then said, "This promise to pay a dollar*' is a dollar, althouoh the purchasing \i\\\\v of this hat dollar at one time ran down to about H7 cents. The officers of the Army and Navy were in effect, however, the most exclusive sufferers. The enlisted man received his subsistence, equipment, clothing, and armament, as well as hospital care if sick, in kind, bought and paid for at the increased cost, so that the de- creased value of the currency only affected his ])ay. This was increased from $lo to $1.") ])er month, and later (in ISIU) bounties were paid him amounting to $100 per annum, which together neirly amounted to double his ])ay at the l)eginning of the Avar, and now the survivors are entitled to receive in money on a gold basis e(iualing more than their monthly pay as soldiers. The officer had to purchase his own equipment, arms, clothing, and food, and if sick had to i)ay lio>i)ital charges. In 1S('.4 his ])ay did not ])urchase half as much as in ISC)-.', but it was not increased during the war. There was an increase in his raiion allowance late in the var. increasing the ilaily ration from 80 to .")0 cents, but that was not a i)erceptible increase. He I'cceived no bounty, but was respimsible for the pi'oi)erty of tlu' (i()\-ei'innent in his charge, and freijuently Avas nuide to i>ay for l(»sses. lie made no teians oi- cd the experience of his {jrototyjie. the officer of the Revolutionary War. who. from the aspect of the depi'eciated cui'renc\. would ha\(' had a fellow f'e(ding w ith hiin. P>ul We wish to remind the coiuitry. and es|)eci;tlly Congress, that our counti'v. then weak and ixxu'. saw the justice of restoring the difference to the survi\()rs of that war between the \alue of the money ])aid and the money ])romised. by rejiaying it latiM'. and by ])lacing Ihem on a footing where they should draw the p;iy td' theii' i-aidv dur- ing the remainder of their d(.ubt the Congress cf to-d;iy de.^ii'cs to be as ju^t and as gen- erous to the oflic(U>. of the ('i\il ^^';n• a> was the ( '(ngress of IS-JS- bS;^'2 to those cf tlse Uevolutioii. IJeviewing the ]>remiums the greenback had to pay in exchange for gold, we as<'ei'taiii that iipproxiisiately the money \alue of the green- l)acl<: paid to ollicei's was : I'loiii .Inly. ISCL In .Inly. Isc,:; .$(». s:; l-'reiii .Inly. isr,2, I.. .Inly, tsi;;; . (!7 Fruui .Tilly. ISC):;, n. .Inly. lsr,-| .41 From July, 1S(;4. to .luly, isci .r>0 CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST. 25 The pay of the officers of a regiment of Infantry amounted approxi- mately to $54,000 per annum. The Cavalry and Artillery regiments had 12 companies instead of 10 as in the Infantry, and the pay of the individual officers of these branches of the service was larger than that in the Infantry, hut for the purpose of a computation we shall base our calculation on the lower scale paid to the officers of one regiment ui)()n the Infantry standard. Taking, then, the average value of the greenback, and computing the pay of a regiment of Infantry, we find that the (xovernment saved on the officers of one such Infantry regiment: First yehr i);!). 170 Second year 17, 820 Third year 81, 800 Fourth year 27, 0<10 Saving on one re.ijiment 8."». 8r.O Senator Johnston. Will you i)ermit me to ask you what you mean by "the saving"? Col. KocfT. The dift'erence in the payment of the officers in green- backs and tlieir payment in gold, when every other man who served under the (Tovernment was ])aid on the gold basis and the officers of the Army were paid in greenbacks. Senator Johnston. But afterwards the (Government had tc) re(U'em all those notes. Col. Koch. Yes; if you will j)eniiit me to go a little further in my argument I will cover that. There were, in round numbers, in the armies of the United States during the war, 2,000 regiments. These, however, did not all serve three years, but it would be eminently fair to compute the number of regiments by claiming for our calculation that there were 1,000 regiments covering the period of four years. On this basis we will find that the officers alone of 1,000 organized regiments, on the In- fantry basis, saved the (lovernn.ient, by receiving depreciated cur- rency tendered them at its face value, the sum of $85,850,000. But these officers of the line were only a portion of the entire organiza- tion. There were nearly 500 general officers and several thousand staff officers, and then there w^ere all the officers of the Navy. If the saving upon these could be computed, we are (juite sure that the sum would amount to considei"ablv oAer $100,000,000. But let us place it at the low mark of $100,000,000, and then let us add to this amount, justl}^ due these officers if the Government intended to pay them in the same coin that it did the bondholder and the contractor. sim])le intei-est at 4 per cent for 47 veai-, and w^e shall have a fund to the credit of these officers amounting to $288,000,000. If this amount were now invested at 4 per cent, it would result in $11,520,000 per annum. This would go a long way toward the i)ay- ment of the retired pav of the survi^'ing officers at the present time. The amount of $100,000,000 wliich was "taken from all of the officers during the four yeai's of war. by reason of the (i(>vernment discharg- ing its financial obligations to Ihem In* paying them in fiat dollars in ])lace of real dolhirs, would j^ay the full amount pro[)os('d in the veteran's retired bill to all the sui'\'iviiig ollieers who are now living for the renuiinder < f tiieii' dav>. tnid the enormous amount of neai'lv 26 CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS ' RETIRED LIST. $200,000,000 of interest saved on this is simply an additional contri- bution made by the officers who assisted in saving the country. If there are now 20,000 ex-nilicers livinc:, and we understand the average age is now 72 years, in the nature of things death will claim them all, or nearly all, within the next IH or 14 years. If retired pay to be given to them should average at $1,200 per man at the beginning, we would require $24,000,000 for the first year. P'rom this would be deducted the amount of at least $0,000,000 by reason of relinquish- ment of pensions, which would still require $18,000,000 for the first year. The second year and each succeeding year would reduce this amount by probably 10 ))er cent, so that tlie debt that the country justly owes these officers, l)ased upon any fair interi)retation of moral obligation, would moi'e than take cai'e of this payuiciit to the last survivor. It is true that i( was not so stipulated in the bond, but soldiers, when a country needs saving, do not sto|) for the consideration of money or reward. They have faith in the country that is worth saving, and they ha\e faith that the country that has l)een saved will deal honestly and justly with them. It may be said that this debt, wdiich we honestly claim to be a debt, if accepted as such, wonld still be subject to the criticism that, if a debt, it was contracted by a generation long passed off the stagt- ; and that the people of to-day knew of the service of these officers only as a matter of history or tradition, and that it would not l)e fair to tax the people of to-day to discharge a debt incurred so long ago. especially as this debt has not been established by the evidence of bonds with coupons attaclied. To this we woidd say that there is not a municipality, city, county, or State in this grand country of ours in which debts were not contracted by generations of long ago for betterments, imj^rovemenls. and what not, of which the present gcnoation is receiving the full ])euefit and for wliich they willingly now pay the bills. It certainly can not be questioned that the j^resent greatnes- and grandeur of the United States as a result of tlie successful achieve- ments of the Union Army has made the people of these Ignited States more prosperous than any people on earth; has put in the hands of every citizen greater enjoyment than any other people on earth; has been a beneiit which the presen.t generation is enjoying to its fullest extent. In view of the foregoing it would seem that the ^"olunteer officers of the Ci^il War would be justified in demanding th;;t they should be placed on the retired list with three-fourths ])ay of their rank, as payment of a debt justly their due. and as a jMirely financial obliga- tion, and not in any way as a gratuity or generous I)eneficence. Because they did not ask for the signing of a bond with sti]:)ulations and coupons attached when the counti-y needed and accepted the loan of their prospects of life, th the convincing and bigical force of their arguments. The self-sacrificing labors of those ofiieers, who, neglecting their jiei-sonal interests and at the risk of health, have devoted four years to the presenting of this claim for your action, are an illustration of the pati'iotii- feeling that animates all of the beneficiaries under tlie bill. I will add, however, that the claim of the surviving officers of the Civil War are as deserving of consideration and recognition as were any officers that serveil in the Revolutionary and Mexican Wars. What this measure will give, although not fully what we deserve, will here- after for us serve mainly as treasured evidence of the gratitude with which our Civil War service has been remembered l)y our country. In the sum accorded by the measure to its beneficiaries who served as volun- teer officers of the Navy during that war, who numbered 2.50 in lilOS (and of theses scant 200 survive to-day), there is nothing to be taken as by taxation from the Treasury. The interest on the naval pension fund of $14.tM)0 0(lO. the in-oceeds of tiur prizes in that war, suffices to pay all we get under this 1)111. In 1S(!8 that fund was invested at G ])er cent interest, which paid all the naval pensions, but a liberal (?) Congress covered the money into the Treasury, and declared that it would only pay 3 per cent interest thereon and thereafter. 28 CIVIL WAE VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST. This saved t<> ilic (Joveniinpnt il;4l'0,()( i( i |)it aiiiiuiii, so lliat (not cuiniiouiulinj? tli.it iiitei'est) tlic 44 years of interest saving lias put into the Treasury the total of !i51.S,4S(MMI(). Can we not fairly ask i,'«'!ierons action at your haudsV Yet we, surviviu.ii volunteer oHieers of the Xa\y. (.nly ask to share under the measure equally with those otheers who so brilliantly and su<-cessful!y led the Nation's armies (o vi<-tory and preserved a nation whose interests are in your hands. Uesp(^ctftdly. I"i:axc'is P. P.. Sands. I'oi-iiirrl 1/ Acfiiif/ Miislcr. I'iiit((I States Nari/, 1862-67. Mr. ToRUAKCK. Capt. Oshorn. of Chicago, a niembei" of the general comniiltee, is here. Captain, have you a l)rief to submit, or anvthinof to otter > STATEMENT OF CAPT. HARTWELL OSBORN. Ca!)t. OsBitRN. I have no ehihorate argument to present. The subjt'ct lias been fully presented, but perha})s a word of the argument ad hominem might be illuminating. I went from the Western Iveserve College into the Fifty-hfth Ohio, and served four years. The regiment went out with 37 commissioned ofRcei's. Of those ')7 original officers, 3 returned. The rest had been removed by the accidents of the service. All of the other officers who wu»re serving at the close of the war were enlisted men who had earned their commissions by \alor and by ability, and of those there are, T think, oidy 10 now living. T think that illustrates the character of those who are now asking for this recognition. I want to call your attention to a classmate of mine, in com})arison with his color.eh (lilbert S. Carpenter went from the class of 1859 into the Nineteenth Ohio — the three months' service. At the end of that time he eidisted, with a a'reat many other college boys, in the Eighteenth Iveguhirs. He died not long sint-e, alxait a year ;igo, having attained the rank in the Ilegular Army of colonel, and was retired as a brigadier general; and, in conseciuence of his !)() days' service in the volunteer service, w\as advanced one rank, to that of brigadier general, and received $1,500 per annum for that service of 90 days. That is (he way that hxAV worked. His colonel was Sam Reatty, but the major of the regiment was C. F. Manderson, who, with Beattv, I'corganized the Nineteenth Ohio at the close of the war and carried it Ihi-ough the three years' service and the veteran service besides. Beatty was made a brigadier general, and ]\Ianderson was in cont- mand of the regiment at the close of the war. He elected to assume the duties of peace, rather than those of war. and became a Senator of the United States. Senator Bijoavn. From Nebraska. . Capt. OsnoKN. And he was warmly interested in this bill. T have seen him a gre;ii many times, and he said to me one day: ''When Na])oleon reorganized the French Army he took all the teamsters and all th(^ subordinates wdio Avere not soldiers and made soldiers of them and then boasted that in the knapsack of every French soldier was the baton of a field marshal of France." That is the principle at the bot- tom of our bill. We want it to be shown to succeeding generations that volunteei- officers are on the same basis as Regular Army officers. Senator Manderson at the close of the Avar receiA'ed a pension of $12 a month, the same as any cook in his regiment received, and no more. T simply i-efer to that as a specimen. CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS ' RETIRED LIST. 29' Mr. Torrance. T wish to niinoimce to the comn)ittee thnt Cols; Vance and Patten, of Cohnnbus, Ohio, representing the Commandery of the State of Ohio, are here. Do you wish to be heard. Col. Vance? Col. Vance. No; thank you. Mr. Torrance. Or you. Col. Patten? Col. Patten. No; thank you. Mr. ToRHANCE. I think I have called upon Capt. (iaston, who was invalualde in the service rendered to the committee. I believe that closes the presentation of our case at this time, Mr. Chairman, and, with your permission. I will file with the clerk several briefs that are here an(J one or two that I have at the office. Senator Brown. I wish you would do that, if you will. The com- mittee are very nuich obliged to you and your comrades for your presentation. Mr. Torrance. We are grateful for the consideratiou shown us, Mr. Chairman. May I ask about the printing of this hearing? We would like a good many copies, if we can get them, as they will be extremely interesting. Senator Brown. AVe shall try to get some extra copies for you. Whereupon, at 12 o'clock m., the hearing was adjourned. The following papers were submitted hy Oen. Torrance: Akgumknt. IX Part, of (Ikn. A. B. Nettleton, now Deceased, and Former Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Volunteer Officers' Retired I^ist. [Made before the subcommittee of the Senate on Military Affairs, Feb. 19, 1910.1 OUK position. Let lis not be niisiimlerstood. We ask of the Government no gratnity — ^no. charity. We present to the (iovernnient no aijpeal and make niion it no arbi- trary fleniand. Wo sinijily point to the record, and rcipiest llie (Jovcrnnient to render eqnity to men who believe they have earned, and tlms far failed to. receive, equity. The present request for our ]troposed legislation is based on this Hvefold' sanction: (1) The general merits of the case, including the inagnitude, i-esults, and value of the service rendered, national expediency, and patriotic gratitude; (2) the pledges given hy Congress and I'resident Lincoln at the opening of the Civil War to the several States and to the Volunteers furnished by them; (3) the action and policy of the (Tovernment since the war in extending to practi- cally all surviving ofhcers of the Regular Army and Navy si)eeial rewards exclusively for Civil War service, which, contrary to the pledges referred to, have thus far been withheld from surviving volunteer officers; (4) the com- manding precedent furnished by the United States Covernment in L'^28 and 1.S32 in granting to the aged surviving officers of the Revolutionary Army full pay, limited to that of a captain, during the remainder of life: (.5) present public sentiment in the Nation as shown, among many other jn'oofs, by the unanimous action of the legislatures of 10 States, speaking for nearly ;30.000,000 of our people, recommending the enactment of such a measure. We avail ourselves of your courtesy to present the following summary of the reasons which seem to us fully to establish both the justice of our re^piest and the necessity and entire practicability of granting it now. If we briefly cite certain events of history it is not because they are new, but "lest we forget." OUR DUAL military SYSTEM REGULARS AND VOLUNTEERS. It has always been the policy of the T'nited States to maintain only a smali permanent army, in war and peace, and to meet great military emergencies by relying mainly upon citizen volunteers, whose service is thus wholly performed 30 CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST. amidst the (l:in,cer .miuI stress of actual warfare. This course avoids the grave political perils and tiiiaiicial burdens of a great standing army in a republic and enables the Nation, without inconvenience, to devote a fraction of what such a standing army would annually cost to i)roviding for the old age and other dis- ability of the surviving volunteer veterans of its occasional wars. Obviously, this e.xpenditure for pensions and retired pay is as legitimate and inevitable a part of the cost of such wars as the purchase of military supplies during hos- tilities or the ])aynieiit of war loans afterwards. Government records show that during the Civil War jitMiod of between four find five years the aggregate number of individual enlistments in tho Army and Navy of the TJuited States was iibout 2.2r)0.iit of nations, whose friendly might and enlight- ened example render it the natural leader and umpire of the world, and wdiose material wealth, power, and ]>rosperity have well-nigh ceased to be measured or comprehended by ordinary standards. As recently testitied by President Taft, the surviving veterans of the Union Army have, since Ai>pomattox. rendered to the Rei>ublic a service scarcely less impoi'tant and beneficent than that of their victorious battles. The.y have furnished the chief impetus and influence in reuniting the North and South: in healing the recijirocal wounds of war. in ol>literating the prejudices and misconceptions of a bygone conflict; in welding two i)eoi)les into one by the power of fraternal esteem, of mutual respect, and preserved self-respect. They have recognized in theii- one-time foes a valor, a gallantry, a sincerity of purpose equ;il to their own: and. not least, they have proclaimed that the survivors of the lost cause would be unworthy of our regard if they did not fitly cherish and honor the memory of the men who led their Confederate armies, and of their unreturning hosts who laid down their lives for what the.v believed to be right. VOLUNTEER OFFKERS. The officers of Volunteers, whether they i-ecruifed, trained, and led in action companies, r(>giments, brigades, and divisions of the Volunteer Army, or whether they rose to conunand from the ranks through the educating and sifting ]>rocess of service and merit on the battle field, contributed that indis- ])ensible element of tried leadershiji and i'esiK)nsibilily whose distinctive value all (lavernmenfs at all time recognize in. their laws ;ind i)ractice. Their average age considerably exceeded that of the sjilendid l>ody of young soldiers in their commands. They went to the war from l!u> highest of motives. In doing so most of them abandoned assured i»ositions and chosen occui)ations for which they were fitted. Without iH^sifation they surrcMidered to others, who remained in the security of home, their places, their vocations, their busi- ness imrsuits, and ])rospects. They uttered no comi)laint when their Army pay was in arreai-s for months, thus cutting off their means of self-supiiort in the field, nor when the currency in which they were jinid was depreciated one-half to two-thirds, nor even when the i)aymast<'r in the field deducted a 5 i>er cent income tax for the supi>ort of a war to which they had already dedicated their lives. After years of absence and wearying duty at the fi'ont. their p.-ifriotic CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS RETIRED LIST. 31 task eonipleted. the survivors rornnied to civil life. They wasted no regrets over their obvious handicap, which no transient stipend received during service could compensate; of former positions filled; of educational purposes and life plans shattered or dwarfed; of vitality often impaired by wounds or hard- ship; of employment and opportunity relinquished at the critical life period, to be sought anew amidst crowded and acute competition. Their life problem was in sharp contrast to the well-earned and assured situation of the otHcers of the Regular Army and Navy at the close of hostilities. DISCRIMINATION AND XINFITLFILLKD PLEUCES. (I) At the oufbre:ik of the war. and again during its darkest days, the Con- gress and I'resident Lincoln, in order to secure military justice, to stimulate the enlistment of volunteers, and sustain the courage of the volunteer armies already doing their work on the firing line, pledged equality of treatment as between Regulars and Volunteers. (2) During the Civil War the volunteer fox'ces constituted Ot» ])er cent of the Army of the Cnited States, did 1)0 ihm; cent of its campaigning and fighting, and furnished i>G i)er cent of its killed, wounded, and otherwise disabled: the Regular Army. 4 per cent. (3) Of all the valuable rewards, honors, and emoluments extended by the (Government since the war to the comltined surviving Volunteer and Regular Army otficers as such, exclu- sively in recognition of their Civil War service and sacrifice. Regular Army otficers have receved 100 per cent; Volunteer officers, nothing. (4) From llie Civil War to the present time, nearly half a century, not a line of legislation has been enacted by Congress in recognition or reward of surviving Civil War voluntetn- otficers as such. During the same i)eriod. from 1806 to 1908, inclu- sive, by at least five successive enactments. Congress has enforced uj^on all sur- viving Regular Army officers who i)erfornied Civil War service, either as Vol- unteers i>r Regulars in any grade, or for any time, however short, most dislin- guished honors and benefits of increased rank and retirenlisted man, as volunteer or regular, in the Civil War and never lieinl a hostile shot fired, and subsequently durin.i,^ the 40 ye-irs of vii'tnal jie.-ice reidied the rank of c(donel in tlie Ee.nular Army is entitled to be retired at the aire of ((2 as a brisaneral, thus receiviuii' duriuii the remainder of Ins natural life $4.r)0(» a year retired pay, of which .$Lr>0() per annum is excess retired i>ay. ex'insively in apprec-iation and reward for Ids one day of Civil V','ar service. «' . ■ a.L,Miiist tliis. one who served as a viiluideer four yeais .it the front in tlie < i>,| \\';ir. e.irniuLi the rank of major i^eneral and c(aiinianilinLC a shcndd be ;d»solute eciualily of recoiruition, consideration, and reward for Ci\il War service as between the N'olunteer and the Ifeirul;ii- forces, rank for rank? The specific present application of this is that whatever ])rovisioii the Government mi.irht make for the old av:o of the surviving otticers of the Regular Army, because solely of service in the Ci\il War. it is bound to m.ake ecpially for the surviving otiicers of Volunteers of like Civil War service. Any other construction would ajtpear to he a mockery. We ;isk that this pledge be fulfilled. THE NATION. THE STATES, AND THE VOLTTNTEERS. If such a wrong is to remain unrighted. if this undeserved I)adge of demerit and di.^paragemeut is to be i»ermanently alH.ved to (he surviving \'olunteer offi- cers of such a war, this question suggests itself: In future emergencies involv- ing the Nation's life, what effect will such an e.xample and continuing policy of unfair preference, through \iy the Fe guai'anties by the Nation to the SLdes, as well as t(» their volunteei's, were honor.-dily recoginze. 72 To captains 34. fi To first lieutenants 33.8 To second lieutenants 19.2 Total 100. THE FINANCIAL ASPECT. It goes without saying that but for the money cost of this proposed legislation it could be enacted in 24 hours. We wish to meet the financial problem frankly. The Government's policy of exceptional economy, pending the now progressive improvement in revenues, deserves approval. P.ut is not this a sane and fair view of the situation? It is a truism that our Government has, subject to call, abundant resources and credit with which to meet at maturity all its obliga- tions — legal and equitable, statutory and moral. The reasonable meaning of the present rule of economy and retrenchment, as we understand it, does not by any means require or warrant the denial or the harmful postponement of any recognized obligation of the Republic. It has not been suggested in any quar- ter that, for the passing relief of the Treasury, there should be either reduction or delay in the payment of congressional or executive salaries, or of the inter- est on the public debt, or of the active oi' retired pay of the Army or x\avy. If the cause which we represent in fact stands for an obligation of the United States, legal or honorable, that obligation is peculiarly one which, in our judg- CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST. 35 nient, ought not to be disowned in the name of economy or indefinitely post- poned in the interest of retrenchment. It is an obligation which can not be put off without, to a large extent, involving its final cancellation, nnhouored and unpaid, which means its repudiation. We who request this legislation have an average age of between 70 and 80 years. We can not obtain a reprieve under Nature's death sentence. We have already waited until of the 131 major gen- erals of Volunteers commissioned by President Lincoln for Civil War service only 2 sux-vive: of the 44G brigadier generals, less than a score are now living; and of the 3,030 colonels of regiments, 199 are left. The thinning of ranks in the junior grades would be in proportion, except for their lower average age. NO REAL OBSTACLE APPARENT. When, in 1S28-1S32, the young Republic made provision with full pay for the old age of the surviving officers of the Revolutionary Army the population of the United States was 12,866,000 and the country's wealth was $2,760,000,000, a per capita of $215. On January 1, 1910, oar estimated population was 90,000,000 and our aggregate wealth $1 20.000,000.000, a i)er car>ita of $1,333. All agree that national prosperity has returned. In tlie 12 years now- closing our Nation has expended as a gratuity more than $500,000,000 in its policy of friendly intervention toward the people of Cuba and the Philippines. We are expending $375,000,000 on the Panama Canal, thus far wholly from current revenues. It is in contemplation soon to enter upon other great and costly undertalvings. For some of these purposes United States bonds have been or may be authorized. For none of these vast disbursements, past or prospective, have we any word of criticism, but they carry with them their own advertise- ment that, while the demands of American connuerce and of national philan- thropy toward alien peoi)les are thus generously cared for, there can be no real economic obstacle to the doing of tardy and partial justice now, at rela- tively slight cost, to the men whose cause we urge to-day and whose service and sacrifice went far to render all these world-embracing enterprises possible. Our National Treasury is never free from pressing demands. A request that we wait until that pressure ceases would, of course, be simply an uncourageous but final refusal. Where there is no wish nor intention to take any action, al! dates for desired action are " inopportune." But this can not l»e such an instance. If this statement which we have now presented is substanti.illy well grounded, it is difficult for us to comprehend how any American citizen, either in or out of Congress, who was a contemporary of the Ci^il War period, or any man of the younger generation who in prosi)erous peace is reaping his " unearned incre- ment " from the service and sacrifice of the men of J 861-1865, can obtain his own consent either to openly oppose the pending measure or tacitly contribute to its defeat by indifference or delay. Walter Kempster, M. D., of Mihvaiikee, Wis., late first lieutenant Company D, Tenth New York Cavalry, and former ex-coiiimander of the Wisconsin Commandery of the Loyal Legion, submitted the f olloAving argnment : It does not appear to me to be necessary to reenact something provided in the bill which was passed by the Congress, July 22. 1861, wherein may be found the following language: " That the officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates, organized as above set forth, shall, in all respects, be i)laced on the footing as to pay and allowances of similar corps of the Regular Army." This is plain and unmistakalile language. It is the pletlge of the Government of the United States that the officers and enlisted men volunteering for service in the Civil War should receive the same pay and allowances given to those who were in the Regular Army. It is my opinion that the law above quoted means now just what it meant in July, 1861, and that the only law now necessary to discharge the obligation incurred by the Government in July, 1861, is one which will provide money to enable the Government to do so. There can be no misrake about the meaning of the law above quoted. Tlie woi-ds "pay and allowances" used in making provision for the Regular Army in 1861, are in use for the same purpose to-day. The expression " pay of retired officers" is used now, as it was then, and conveys the same idea. It appears to me that the only thing to be settled now is, whether the present 36 CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST, Congress of the United States will provide the necessary money to carry out the promises made by tlie Congress of 1861. Those promises were not condi- tional, they have not been repudiated, and it is my belief that when tliose promises are made known to the proi)er officials they will at once recognize the facts as they are. It 'may not he necessary to cite precetlents to secure fulfillment of govern- mental pi-omises, but there is one so plainlj^ stated by the immortal Washington that I venture to quote it. In his letter written when he took leave of the Army, referring to retired jiay for officers, he wrote: " I may be allowed to say it was the price of their blood and of your inde- pendence; it is therefore more than a common debt; it is a debt of honor. It can never be considered as a pension or gratuity, nor be canceled until it is fairly discharged." SlinuilaTed by these ringing words, the Congi-ess of tliat day enacted a law providing tliat every honorably discharged officer who served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War should receive retired pay for one grade higher than the rank held by him at the close of the war. The men of the Revolutionary Army made the country. Those of the Union Army saved it. Is the one less deserving than the other? Bvt. Brio-. Gen. W. D. Hamilton, of Columbus, Ohio, of the national committee of the Association of Surviving: Union Volunteer Officers of the Civil War, submitted the following- statement : First. Most of the ofiicei's who organized, drilled, and took the field with troops in lSC»l-(i2 were men who had already chosen, and af er due prepara- tion had entered ui)on. their life work. This was given up, and in many cases sacrificed, by reason of their long military service. Their average age was mox'e than six years greater than that of the enlisted men. They ai'e now over 75 years of age. and in many cases unable to earn that comfortable support to which they are entitled. Second. They were emjiloyed to restore the Union of the States. This con- tract was fulfilled on their i)art at A])poma'tox. It can hardly be said that they have received the full measure of pay for their services in advancing public credit until Ihe 7 per cent bonds of the war were redeemed with securities draw- ing 3 i)er cent since its close, and in changing i' from a second-class power to become the wealthiest Government on earth and among the first in power and influence. In accomplishing this they got plenty of i)raise, but as it was not "nomina'ed in the bond" the Government got everything else. Third. Our reunited country surely owes as much to the Union officers of the Civil War for their services in saving the Union as the united colonies of the Revolution did to the Army that se-ured their independence. F(n-ty-five years afterwards a grateful country recognized its obligation to the survivors of that war by placing both otticers and men on full pay during the remainder of their lives, and now, after 50 years, our Congress has, for similar services, given the enlisted men of the Civil War nearly double their former pay, but the officers' services have been ignored. The bill now pending, after deducting Ihe pension that each officer is allowed under the act of May 11, 1912, will call for an appropriation of a sum that would in no way be a burden to the country. The followino- resolutions were passed unanimously by the com- mandery of the State of Colorado at a stated meetino; held May 7, 1<)12: Whereas the rajiid mortality that is occurring in the ranks of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion sirs us anew to the realization that in a very short time nothing will be left of the grand organization to which we belong. In proof of this condition the records of this commandery, which show that 12 of our members ont of a total number of 120 of Civil War officers died between Oc'ober, 1911, and March, 1912, a period of less than six months; that is, 10 per cent of the tot.-il in less than six months ; Therefore be it Resolved, That this fact ])e comnnuiicated to the Military Committee of the National House and Senate, before whom the bill for the Civil War volunteer retired officers' list is now under consideration, and that these committees be assured that their action on said bill is being watche acres; ])rigadier general, 850 acres. Several of the States also granted land t() their officers and soldiers. For example. New York gave a private 600 acres, and officers a larger amount. Pennsylvania gave a private 200 acres, and officers up to 2.000 acres for a major general. In 1779 Virginia had increased its grants as follows to those who enlisted for the war and shall have served to the end of it : Soldier or sailor, 200 acres; noncommissioned officer, 400 acres; subaltern, 2.000 acres; captain, 3,000 acres; major, 4,000 acres; lieutenant colonel. 4, .500 acres; colonel, 5,000 acres. And in 1780 it granted to brigadier general 10.000 acres; major general, 15,000 acres, and an additional bounty to all officers in the proportion of one- third of any former bounty heretofore granted. The Revolutionary War practically ended October 19, 1781. In April, 1782, North Carolina made the following grants of land to officers and soldiers: 40 CIVIL WAR \'()[,UNTEER OFFICERS' RETIRED LIST, Pi'ivMtes, 640 acres; noucoininissioned officer, 1,000 aci-es; subaltern, 2,560 acres; captain, 3,S40 acres; major. 4,800 acres; lieutenant colonel, r>.760 aci-es; lieuten- ant colonel commandant, 7.200 acres; colonel. 7.200 acres; brisradier general, 12,000 acres; cliaplain, 7,200 acres; surgeon, 4,S0O acres; surgeon's mate, 2,560 acres. The same act granted to Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene 25,000 acres. It appears from Waddell's Annals of Augusta County, Va., page 336, that at the time of these grants of land to officers and soldiers farming land in Virginia in large bodies sold at $4 an acre, but the i>urchase power of money was then twice what it is now. Ten years later, or in 1703. the same land was sold at $9.50 an acre, equivalent in our money to about $20 an acre. In 1790 Congress fixed the mininmm price of public lands at $2 per acre, then equal to aI)out $4 of our money. Considering the greater purch.-ise power of money at that time, I think it can be safely assumed that the lands granted to officers and soldiers of the Revolution were worth fully $1 per acre of our money. In such case, the value of the lands granted by North Carolina to officers and soldiers was as follows: Trivate. $640; noncommissioned officer, $1,000; subaltern, $2,560; cap- tain, .$3,840; major, .$4,800; chaplain, $7,200; surgeon, $4,800; surgeon's mate, $2,.560; lieutenant colonel, $5,760; lieutenant colonel commandant. $7,200; colonel, $7,200; bridagier general, $12,000; Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene, $25,000. The acts of Congress of April 23. 1904; June 29, 1906; and March 2, 1907, in effect declare that the ivtired (tfficers of the Army and Navy who served in the Civil War had not been sufficiently paid for such service; that there was due them in the nature of bounty for such service an additional amount, and that accordingly each should have his rank and pay increased one grade. The effect of this was, for example, that an officer retired as colonel was advanced to brigadier general, with $1,-500 increase of pay annually for life. Under these acts about a thousand officers of the Army and Navy are receiving in- creased pay averaging about $822 a year for life, solely for service they had rendered in the Civil War. This is simply additional pay in the nature of bounty, and there is no satisfactory explanation why the surviving officers of Volunteers in the Civil War who are not in the Regular Army or Navy should not receive a similar bounty. ACTS OF eONGKKSS PUOVIDINC RETIRED PAY FOR THE STTRVIVORS OF TITE REVOLU- TIONARY ARMY. I Note. — The ti-eaty of peace between Great Britain and the United States was signed in Paris in September, 178.''., and ratified by the Congress of the United States January 4. 17S4. Practically 45 years hiter. May 15. 1S2S. the Twentieth Congress of the United States passed the following law, to take effect March .", 1S26, or about 42 years after the ratification of the treaty of peace.] Act of Cougresf^ of May /.T, 1H2R. Be it enacted />// tlie Heiiate aiul IIoui^c of ]frpresentatirc.'< of the United States of Ameriea in Vongress asseniJjted, That each of the surviving officers of the Army of the Revolution in the continent.nl line who was entitled to half pay by the resolve of October twenty-one, one thousand seven hundred and eighty, be authorized to receive, out of any money in the Treasury not other- wise ai^propriated, the amount of his full pay in said line, according to his rank in the line, to begin on the third day of March, one thousand eight hundi'ed and twenty-six, and to continue during his natural life: Provided, That under this act no officer shall be entitled to receive a larger sum than the full pay of a captain in said line. Sec. 2. Avd it is further enacted. That whenever any of said officers has received money of the United States, as a pensioner, since the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, aforesaid, the sum so received shall be deducted from what said officer would otherwise be entitled to under the first section of this act. Sec. 3. And he it fiirtlur enacted. That every noncommissioned officer, musi- cian, or private in said army who enlisteay of one grade above that actually held by him CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEER OFFICERS^ RETIRED LIST. 43 at the time of retirement: Provided, That this act shall not apply to any officer who received an advance of grade since the date of his retirement or who has been restored to the Army and placed on the retired list by virtne of the provisions of a special act of Congress. (Act of Apr. 23, 1904.) Act of June 29, 1906. That any officer of the Navy not above the grade of captain who served with credit as an officer or as an enlisted man in the Regnlar or Volunteer forces during the Civil War prior to April ninth, eighteen hunded and sixty-five, otherwise than as a cadet, and whose name is borne on the official register of the Navy, and who has heretofore been, or may hereafter be, retired on account of wounds or disability incident to the service, or on account of age, or after forty years' service, may, in the discretion of the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, be placetl on the retire