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A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875

Journal of the Confederate Congress --TUESDAY, February 14, 1865.

Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume 4]
TUESDAY, February 14, 1865.

OPEN SESSION.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. Dalton:

Mr. President: The House of Representatives have passed the joint resolution of the Senate (S. 28) of thanks to the officers and soldiers of Gen. Bushrod Johnson's old brigade of Tennessee troops and the brigade of the late General Archer, composed of Tennessee and Maryland troops, now in the Army of Northern Virginia.

The House of Representatives have agreed to the report of the committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the bill (H. R. 304) to increase the efficiency of the cavalry of the Confederate States.

Mr. Sparrow presented a series of resolutions passed at a meeting of the officers and men of the Donaldsonville Artillery in relation to the measures best calculated to secure peace, and urging a vigorous prosecution of the war; which were ordered to lie upon the table and be printed.

Mr. Watson presented a series of resolutions passed at a meeting of the officers and men of Davis' brigade, recommending Congress to put negro troops in the Army; which were ordered to lie upon the table and be printed.

Mr. Caperton submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

Resolved, That the Committee on Naval Affairs be instructed to inquire whether the proposed appropriations for completing and building ironclads and other vessels of war for river and harbor defense may not be reduced with safety to the public interest.

Mr. Johnson of Missouri, from the committee of conference on the part of the Senate on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the bill (H. R. 304) to increase the efficiency of the cavalry of the Confederate States, reported

That they have had the same under consideration and report that they recommend that the Senate recede from their amendment to the bill, and that the House bill be amended by striking out all from the word "That," in the second line, down to and including the word "serving," in the fifth line of the first section, and inserting as follows: "the Secretary of War, upon application from the general commanding an army in the field with which any regiment, battalion, or company of cavalry is serving, is hereby authorized."

The Senate proceeded to consider the said report; and

On motion by Mr. Henry,

Resolved, That they concur therein, and that the bill be amended accordingly.

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Ordered, That the Secretary inform the House of Representatives thereof.

The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the bill (S. 173) to receive volunteer troops for the war; and

An amendment having been proposed by Mr. Henry,

On motion by Mr. Henry,

Ordered, That the further consideration of the bill be postponed until Thursday next, and that the amendment be printed.

A message from the President of the Confederate States, by Mr. B. N. Harrison, his Secretary:

Mr. President: On the 11th instant the President of the Confederate States approved and signed the following act and joint resolution:

• S. 168. An act to authorize the appointment of a commissary-general, with the rank of a brigadier-general; and
• S. 27. Joint resolution of thanks to Capt. Raphael Semmes, of the Confederate States war steamer Alabama, and the officers and crew under his command.

Ordered, That the Secretary inform the House of Representatives thereof.

The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the bill (S. 187) to regulate the business of conscription.

On motion by Mr. Orr, to amend the bill by inserting after "service," section 5, line 5, the words "or shall present to such enrolling officer a certificate of discharge on account of permanent disability, heretofore granted,"

It was determined in the affirmative.

On the question to agree to the amendment proposed to the bill by Mr. Watson, to wit: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

That there shall be established at the city of Richmond, under the orders of the President and Secretary of War, a bureau of conscription for the purpose of supervising, controlling, and directing all matters concerning the administration of conscription, and of performing such other duties in relation thereto as, by regulations, the Secretary of War may charge on said bureau; and the President is authorized to assign to the superintendence and management of said bureau such officer as he may select: Provided, That such officer shall not be of rank below that of brigadier-general: And provided, That said officer shall not, during such time as he is exercising the office of superintendent, hold or exercise any actual military command in the field, nor in the reserve forces, nor in any other military organization. And with like limitations the President shall assign to duty in said bureau one officer with the rank of colonel, one officer with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, one officer with the rank of major, one officer with the rank of captain, three officers with the rank of first lieutenant, and such clerks as may be found necessary: Provided, That all such officers, except the superintendent, shall be selected from the classes hereafter indicated in thesections of this act.

• Sec. 2. That there shall be assigned from the General Staff, or Invalid Corps, or from officers certified by the proper medical boards to be unfit for service in the field, and from drillmasters now employed in the enrolling service, a sufficient number of officers to perform the duties herein prescribed in the several States with the temporary rank of colonel, lieutenant-colonel, major, captain, or lieutenant, according to the nature and importance of the duties prescribed.
• Sec. 3. That the President may appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for duty in the conscript service, with the temporary rank aforesaid, persons from civil life: Provided, That the said persons so appointed be otherwise exempt from military service, or found by medical examination for light duty, or over the age of forty-five years.
• Sec. 4. That nothing in this act shall be construed to prevent the President from assigning to conscript service officers now engaged in that service, or officers in the army of any rank.
• Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of the officers of conscription, under the control and direction of the bureau, to make and keep records of the condition of the various branches of the military service within their respective districts, and to make monthly

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  returns of the same to the bureau through the commandant of conscripts of the State, and in furtherance of this purpose it shall be the duty of all officers and others employed in the service of the Confederate States, and not actually in the field, nor attached to any army in the field, including quartermasters and commissaries and their agents, commanders of posts, provost-marshals, officers of the ordnance, niter and mining and medical bureaus, and others, to make certified monthly returns to the nearest conscript officer, of the nature and exact condition of their service, which return shall be forwarded as above directed.

• Sec. 6. That generals commanding the reserve forces shall he required, on the demand of the commandant of conscripts for the State, to place at his disposal, and for the enforcement of the duties imposed upon him, such detachments of the reserve forces as may be deemed necessary.
• Sec. 7. That for the purpose of facilitating the granting of details and exemptions, under the laws in such cases made and provided, to persons who may be more useful to the country in agricultural and mechanical pursuits than in the military service, there shall be appointed by the President in each county, district, or parish, an agricultural board, consisting of three farmers or planters, over the age of fifty years, to whom shall be referred, by the county, district, or parish enrolling officer, every application for a detail in their respective counties, districts, or parishes; and whose duty it shall be to inquire and report upon the merits of such applications, which report, with the application, shall be forwarded to the commandant of conscripts for the State; and if he approve such application, the detail shall he allowed. If the commandant of conscripts disapprove such application, the applicant shall have the right of appeal to the superintendent of the bureau of conscription, whose decision shall be final, hut during the pendency of such appeals the appellants shall be liable to military service.
• Sec. 8. That there shall he assigned to each Congressional district a medical board, consisting of three surgeons, at least one of whom shall be an army surgeon, who, after due notice of the time and place of their meeting, shall, under the direction of the commandant of conscripts, visit each county of the district at least once in every two months, and shall examine for discharge, or recommendation for light duty, all conscripts who may he brought before them. Every discharge granted by the said medical board shall be final, and shall relieve the party so discharged from all military, service in the future when the disability is permanent and the cause of it is set forth in the certificate.
• Sec. 9. That the power to order general courts-martial assigned in the sixty-fifth article of war to general officers commanding armies, or colonels commanding separate departments, is hereby extended to the general or field officer acting as superintendent of conscription, in all cases of persons attached to the conscript service or under his orders, other than general officers. He shall also have power to order courts of inquiry in like cases, under the condition of the ninety-second article of war. The general court-martial hereby authorized to be ordered, shall not be composed of less than three, nor more than seven members, who shall he selected from among any officers of the invalid corps, or drillmasters, or officers of the General Staff or line of the Army who may be at the time attached to the conscript service, whether by transfer or temporary assignment, including the detachments of reserve forces, hereinbefore provided for in section six of this act,

• It was determined in the negative,
• Yeas ... 6
• Nays ... 13

On motion by Mr. Watson,

The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present,

Those who voted in the affirmative are,

Messrs. Graham, Johnson of Georgia, Maxwell, Orr, Walker, and Watson.

Those who voted in the negative are,

Messrs. Baker, Brown, Burnett, Caperton, Haynes, Henry, Hunter, Johnson of Missouri, Oldham, Semmes, Simms, Sparrow, and Wigfall.

On motion by Mr. Graham, to amend the bill by striking out "and the office of commandant of conscripts," section 9, line 2, and inserting after "conscription," in the first line of the same section, the word "and,"

it was determined in the affirmative.

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No further amendment being made, the bill was reported to the Senate and the amendments were concurred in.

Ordered, That the bill be engrossed and read a third time.

The said bill was read the third time.

On the question,

Shall the bill now pass?

It was determined in the affirmative,
• Yeas ... 14
• Nays ... 5

On motion by Mr. Orr,

The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present,

Those who voted in the affirmative are,

Messrs. Baker, Brown, Burnett, Caperton, Haynes, Henry, Hunter, Johnson of Missouri, Oldham, Semmes, Simms, Sparrow, Walker, and Wigfall.

Those who voted in the negative are,

Messrs. Graham, Johnson of Georgia, Maxwell, Orr, and Watson.

So it was

Resolved, That this bill pass, and that the title thereof be as aforesaid.

Ordered, That the Secretary request the concurrence of the House of Representatives therein.

On motion by Mr. Caperton,

The Senate resolved into executive session.

The doors having been opened,

Mr. Oldham submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

Resolved, That the President of the Confederate States be requested to cause the several heads of the Executive Departments to send to Congress estimates for appropriations to carry on the Government for twelve months.

On motion by Mr. Burnett,

The Senate adjourned.

EXECUTIVE SESSION.

The following messages were received from the President of the Confederate States, by Mr. B. N. Harrison, his Secretary:

Executive Department, Confederate States of America,
Richmond, February 14, 1865.

To the Senate of the Confederate States:

Agreeably to the recommendation of the Secretary of War, I nominate Isaac M. St. John, of Virginia, to be Commissary-General, with rank of brigadier-general in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States of America.

JEFFERSON DAVIS.

No. 199.]War Department, Confederate States of America,
Richmond, February 14, 1865.

Sir: I have the honor to recommend the nomination of Col. Isaac M. St. John, to be Commissary-General, with rank of brigadier-general in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States of America, to date from confirmation.

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE,
Secretary of War.

To His Excellency Jefferson Davis,
President, etc.

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Executive Department, Confederate States of America,
Richmond, February 11, 1865.

To the Senate of the Confederate States:

Agreeably to the recommendation of the Secretary of War, I nominate the officers on the accompanying list to the grades affixed to their names, respectively.

JEFFERSON DAVIS.

No. 198.]War Department, Confederate States of America,
Richmond, February 11, 1865.

Sir: I have the honor to recommend the following nominations for appointment in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States of America:

Second lieutenants.
• Channing M. Smith, of Virginia, to be second lieutenant, First Virginia Battalion (enlisted men), to rank from January 30, 1865.
• H. L. Gunnell, of Virginia, to be second lieutenant First Virginia Battalion enlisted men), to rank from January 30, 1865.

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE,
Secretary of War.

To His Excellency Jefferson Davis,
President, etc.

Richmond, Va., February 13, 1865.

To the Senate of the Confederate States:

Agreeably to the request contained in your resolution of the 8th instant, I hereby return for further action by the Senate the name of E. G. Lee, of whose confirmation to be brigadier-general, on the 3d instant, I was officially informed on the 4th.

JEFFERSON DAVIS.

The messages were read.

Ordered, That they be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. Sparrow, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred (on the 14th December, 1864) the nomination of Maj. Gen. S. D. Lee, to be lieutenant-general (under act approved February 17, 1864), reported, with the recommendation that said nomination be confirmed.

The Senate proceeded to consider said report; and

After debate,

On the question,

Will the Senate advise and consent to the appointment of S. D. Lee, to be lieutenant-general?

It was determined in the affirmative,
• Yeas ... 11
• Nays ... 7

On motion by Mr. Orr,

The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present,

Those who voted in the affirmative are,

Messrs. Baker, Burnett, Garland, Graham, Henry, Hunter, Johnson of Georgia, Orr, Simms, Sparrow, and Watson.

Those who voted in the negative are,

Messrs. Brown, Haynes, Johnson of Missouri, Oldham, Vest, Walker, and Wigfall.

So it was

Resolved, That the Senate do advise and consent to the appointment of S. D. Lee, to be lieutenant-general, agreeably to the nomination of the President.

The Senate proceeded to consider the motion submitted by Mr. Sparrow (on the 13th instant) to reconsider the vote confirming the nomination of E. G. Lee, to be brigadier-general; and

The motion was agreed to.

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The Senate resumed the consideration of the nomination of E. G. Lee; and

On motion by Mr. Sparrow,

Ordered, That it be recommitted to the Committee on Military Affairs.

On motion by Mr. Oldham,

The Senate resolved into open legislative session.

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