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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 --EIGHTEENTH DAY--MONDAY, March 10, 1862.
OPEN SESSION.
The House met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by the Rev. Dr. Hoge.
Mr. Miles, from the Committee on Military Affairs, by the unanimous consent of the House, reported
A bill to increase the clerical force of the War Department;
which was read the first and second times.
The rules were suspended;
The bill was taken up, engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
Mr. Dargan offered
A resolution that the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire if any legislation is necessary to enable sergeant-majors and quartermaster-sergeants to receive their pay:
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Clopton presented the memorial of Wilson Williams, relating to the invention of a new gun; which was referred to the Committee on Patents, without being read.
Mr. Smith of Alabama offered
A resolution that the Committee on Ways and Means be instructed to inquire into the expediency of appropriating -- dollars for the relief of the Confederate prisoners taken at Forts Henry and Donelson, and to report to this House, by bill or otherwise;
which was read and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Chilton, from the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads, reported
A bill to establish certain post routes therein named;
which was read the first and second times.
The rules were suspended;
The bill was taken up, engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
Mr. Garland introduced
A bill to amend an act to establish the judicial courts of the Confederate States;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. Royston offered
A resolution that the Committee on Public Buildings be requested to ascertain and report to this House what stun is now being paid for the use of the business houses now occupied or used by the different departments of the Confederate Government in the city of Richmond; which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Hilton offered
A resolution that it be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary to inquire into the constitutionality and expediency of limiting, by taxation, penal enactment, or other legislation, the production of cotton the present year, and that they be instructed to report by bill or otherwise;
which was read and laid on the table.
Mr. Strickland presented the petition of sundry citizens of Georgia, asking the extension of mail route No. 6241; which was referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads, without being read.
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Mr. Kenner offered
A resolution that the resolution of this body, passed on the 4th March, calling on the President for the estimates of the public service to the end of the next fiscal year be, and the same is hereby, repealed, and that the President be requested to direct that the said estimates be December 1862 and that they be submitted made up to the 1st day of to Congress at as early a day as practicable; which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Conrad, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, reported
A bill to establish a volunteer navy;
which was read the first and second times, placed upon the Calendar, and ordered to be printed.
Mr. H. W. Bruce offered
A resolution that the Doorkeeper of this House be directed to purchase two hundred dollars' worth of stationery for the use of the committees of this House, to be paid for out of the contingent fund of the House;
which was read and agreed to.
Upon motion of Mr. Gaither, leave of absence was granted to Mr. McDowell until Monday next.
Mr. Gaither moved that the special committee appointed to investigate the disasters at Roanoke Island, etc., be allowed a clerk; which was agreed to.
Mr. Boyce offered
A joint resolution recommending the planters of the Confederate States to refrain from the cultivation of cotton and tobacco and devote their energies to raising provisions;
which was read the first and second times.
The rules were suspended;
The resolution was taken up, engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
Mr. Currin offered
A resolution touching the management of the quartermaster and commissary departments in the State of Tennessee;
which was read and referred to the special committee raised to inquire into the disasters at Forts Henry and Donelson, etc.
Mr. Foote offered the following resolution, to wit:
Resolved, That the Secretary of War be requested to give information to this House on the following points, to wit:
At what period was it that the Confederate forces under General Johnston first established themselves in the city of Bowling Green; and what was our force at that time and within the period of a week?
What was the force of the enemy at that time, between Bowling Green and the Ohio River, and where located?
What prevented General Johnston, at that time, from making a forward movement toward the Ohio? Was he restrained by instructions from the War Department, or was he left to his own discretion in the matter?
What forces, if any, were sent from Bowling Green to Fort Donelson previously the first battle at that place, and under whose command?
What number of forces did General Johnston retain at Bowling Green up to the time of its evacuation?
Did General Johnston reenforce, or attempt to reenforce, the Confederate Army at Fort Donelson during the progress of the conflict at that place?
Is it within the knowledge of the War Department that any applications were made by the commander of our forces at Fort Donelson for reenforcements previous to or during the conflict at that place?
Was General Johnston restrained, by orders from the War Department, from sending reenforcements, or was he left to his own discretion in that regard?
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What means of transportation had General Johnston at Bowling Green to enable him to reenforce Fort Donelson during the contest had he been disposed to do so?
When were the fortifications at Fort Donelson and Fort Henry constructed, and in what mode?
Was there any military reconnoitering done along the banks of the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers, with the view to judicious selections of places for fortifications, before the sites for Forts Henry and Donelson were selected?
Did General Johnston fall back from Bowling Green in accordance with instructions from the War Department, or was he left to his own discretion in the matter?
Why was Nashville surrendered to the enemy? Did General Johnston proceed upon his own discretion or under instructions from the War Department in regard to the act of surrendering that city into the hands of the enemy?
When General Johnston, about the first of October last, made a call upon several of the States of the Southwest, including the State of Tennessee, for large numbers of troops, why was that call revoked? Was the act of revocation in pursuance of an order from the War Department, or upon his own judgment merely?
Has the War Department received any official reports of the affair at Fort Henry or Fort Donelson, or touching the surrender of Nashville? If so, communicate the same.
The resolution was taken up.
Mr. Royston called the question on agreeing to the same; which being seconded,
Mr. Foote demanded the yeas and nays; and
The demand being sustained,
The yeas and nays are recorded,
Yeas: Arrington, Atkins, Ayer, Batson, Bell, Bonham, Boteler, Boyce, Horatio W. Bruce, Burnett, Chilton, Clapp, Clopton, Currin, Davis, Dawkins, De Jarnette, Dupré, Elliott, Ewing, Foote, Foster, Gardenhire, Garland, Garnett, Gartrell, Gray, Hanly, Heiskell, Holcombe, Johnston, Jones, Kenan of North Carolina, Kenner, Lyon, Machen, Marshall, Menees, Miles, Moore, Perkins, Preston, Ralls, Royston, Sexton, Smith of North Carolina, Smith of Virginia, Staples, Trippe, Villeré, Wright of Texas, and Mr. Speaker.
Nays: Baldwin, Barksdale, Clark, Crockett, Curry, Davidson, Herbert, Holt, Jenkins, Lander, Lewis, Lyons, McLean, McRae, McQueen, Pugh, Singleton, Smith of Alabama, Strickland, Swan, Welsh, Wilcox, and Wright of Georgia.
So the resolution was agreed to.
Mr. Boteler offered
A resolution that the Committee on Ways and Means be instructed to inquire into the expediency of reporting a bill making Confederate Treasury notes a legal tender in the payment of debts during the continuance of the present war for independence;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Staples offered
A resolution that the bill reported by the Committee on Military Affairs of the Provisional Congress, increasing the pay of chaplains to the Army, be withdrawn from the from and referred to the present Committee on Military Affairs, with instructions to inquire into the expediency of reporting the same to this House;
which was read and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Also, a resolution that the Committee on Military Affairs inquire into the expediency of reporting a bill exempting postmasters, mail carriers, and other persons in the postal service from military duty.
Mr. Chilton moved to refer the resolution to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads; which motion prevailed.
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Mr. Smith of Virginia presented the memorial of John Hooe, of Prince William County, in relation to damage done by Confederate troops; which was referred to the Committee on Claims, without being read.
Mr. Baldwin presented a letter from A. B. Irick, relating to a change of legal tender; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, without being read.
Mr. Boteler presented a letter from William M. Buck in relation to snaking Confederate notes a legal tender; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, without being read.
Mr. Holcombe presented a memorial from sundry citizens of Nelson County, Va., in relation to the extension of a post route from Tye River to Tyro Mills; which was referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads, without being read.
Mr. Lyons introduced
A bill to authorize the President to confer temporary rank and command for service with volunteer troops on officers of the Marine Corps of the Confederate States;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
Mr. Preston offered a memorial of sundry citizens of Russell County, Va., asking for a pension; which was referred to the Committee on Claims, without being read.
Mr. Barksdale, from the Committee on Printing, reported
A bill to provide for the election of a printer for each House of Congress;
which was read the first and second times.
The rules were suspended;
The bill was taken up; and
The first section being under consideration; which is as follows:
That the Senate and House of Representatives shall each elect a printer during the present session, and hereafter at or after the beginning of every Congress.
Mr. Royston moved to amend by striking out the whole of the same and inserting in lieu thereof the following, to wit:
Congress shall, by a joint ballot, elect a public printer, who shall do all the printing required by both Houses of Congress.
The amendment was agreed to.
On motion of Mr. Jones, the bill was recommitted to the Committee on Printing, with instructions to report a bill providing for the election of one printer for both Houses of Congress.
Mr. Gartrell, from the Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred
A bill to fix the time of the meeting of Congress,
reported the same back, asked to be discharged from its further consideration, and that the bill lie on the table; which was agreed to.
Mr. Gartrell, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A bill to regulate the appointment of officers,
reported the same back, asked to be discharged from the consideration of the same, and that the same lie on the table; which was agreed to.
Mr. Gartrell, from the same committee, reported the following resolution; which was read and agreed to, to wit:
Resolved, That the usual number of the reports of the Attorney-General be printed for the use of this House.
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Mr. Moore, from the same committee, to whom was referred joint resolution relating to the estates, property, and effects of alien enemies, reported the same back, asked to be discharged from its further consideration, and that the resolution lie on the table; which was agreed to.
Mr. Kenner, from the Committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred
A bill to amend an act to authorize the issue of Treasury notes, and to provide a war tax for their redemption,
reported the same back, with the recommendation that the same do not pass.
On motion, the bill was placed on the Calendar.
Mr. Kenner, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A resolution of the convention of North Carolina in relation to mints in the Confederacy,
reported the same back, asked to be discharged from its further consideration, and that the resolution lie on the table; which was agreed to.
Mr. Kenner, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A bill to levy a war tax on cotton produced in the year 1862,
reported the same back, with the recommendation that it do not pass.
On motion, the bill was placed on the Calendar.
Mr. Kenner, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A bill to provide for the payment of pensions in the Confederate States of America and the Indian tribes under their protection,
reported the same back, asked to be discharged from its further consideration, and that the bill be referred to the Committee on Claims; which was agreed to.
Mr. Miles, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred
A resolution in relation to exemptions from military service, reported and recommended the passage of a bill declaring what persons shall be exempt from militia duty.
The bill was read first and second times, placed on the Calendar, ordered to be printed, and made the special order for Wednesday next.
Mr. Pugh, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A bill for the enlistment of cooks in the Army,
reported the same back, with the recommendation that it pass with an amendment.
On motion of Mr. Smith of Virginia, the bill was placed on the Calendar, ordered to be printed, and made the special order for Friday next.
Mr. Swan, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A bill fixing the rank and pay of adjutants and first sergeants, reported the same back, with the recommendation that it pass with an amendment.
On motion, the bill was placed on the Calendar.
Mr. Swan, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A bill for the appointment of a chief laboratorian, and for other purposes,
reported the same back, with the recommendation that it pass.
On motion, the bill was placed on the Calendar.
On motion of Mr. Foote, which was seconded,
Congress [The House] then resolved itself into secret session.
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SECRET SESSION.
The House being in secret session,
The Chair presented the following communication from the President, viz:
Richmond, March 10, 1862.
To the Speaker of the House of Representative.
Sir: Annexed I submit a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, indicating a plan for the further defense of the Bay of Mobile and the Alabama River, asking for an appropriation to carry it into execution.
The general purpose and means proposed are similar to those authorized by an act of the Provisional Congress for the better defense of the Mississippi River.
I commend the proposition to the favorable consideration of Congress, and would suggest, if it be adopted, that the disbursement of the money be made in the manner provided for appropriations for the Navy.
JEFFN. DAVIS.
The communication, together with the letter of the Secretary of the Navy, detailing the plan and the estimate to carry the same into execution, were referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
The Chair laid before the House a communication from the President, transmitting the report of the Superintendent of Public Printing, which should have accompanied the report of the Attorney-General.
The same, with accompanying documents, were referred to theCommittee on Public Printing.
On motion of Mr. Read,
The House adjourned until 12 m. to-morrow.
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