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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 --TWENTY-SIXTH DAY--THURSDAY, February 12, 1863.

Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume 6]
TWENTY-SIXTH DAY--THURSDAY, February 12, 1863.

OPEN SESSION.

The House met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by the Rev. Dr. Burrows.

The Chair laid before the House a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury in relation to appropriations for ministers or agents

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who reside abroad; which was read, ordered to be printed, and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. Lyons moved that the House resolve itself into secret session.

The motion was lost.

Mr. Holt introduced

A bill to be entitled "An act further to provide for the local and public defense of the Confederate States;"
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. Strickland presented a memorial of sundry citizens of Georgia, praying the establishment of a mail route from Hiawassee to Clayton, Ga.; which was referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads, without being read.

Mr. Strickland also presented the memorial of sundry citizens of Georgia, praying the establishment of a mail route from Canton to Ball Ground, in that State; which was, without being read, referred to the same committee.

Mr. Clark introduced

A bill to be entitled "An act regulating the granting of furloughs and discharges in hospitals;"
which was read the first and second times.

Mr. Clark moved that the rule requiring a reference of the bill to a committee be suspended, and demanded the yeas and nays thereon.

The yeas and nays were ordered,

And are recorded as follows:
• Yeas ... 35
• Nays ... 45

Yeas: Arrington, Ashe, Atkins, Bell, Boyce, Breckinridge, Bridgers, Eli M. Bruce, Chilton, Clark, Clopton, Collier, Dargan, Davidson, Foster, Gaither, Hilton, Kenan of Georgia, Kenan of North Carolina, Lander, Lewis, McDowell, McLean, McQueen, McRae, Munnerlyn, Perkins, Read, Royston, Smith of Alabama, Smith of North Carolina, Strickland, Trippe, Vest, and Wilcox.

Nays: Baldwin, Barksdale, Batson, Boteler, Horatio W. Bruce, Burnett, Chambliss, Chrisman, Conrad, Conrow, Crockett, Curry, De Jarnette, Dupré, Foote, Freeman, Gardenhire, Garland, Gartrell, Goode, Graham, Hanly, Hartridge, Hodge, Holcombe, Holt, Johnston, Kenner, Lyon, Lyons, Machen, Marshall, Menees, Miles, Moore, Pugh, Ralls, Russell, Sexton, Simpson, Singleton, Staples, Villeré, Wright of Tennessee, and Mr. Speaker.

So the rule was not suspended.

On motion of Mr. Clark, the bill was referred to the Committee on the Medical Department.

Mr. Gartrell presented the memorial of sundry mail agents, praying an increase of compensation; which was referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads, without being read.

On motion of Mr. Hodge,

A bill for the establishment and equalization of the grade of officers of the Navy of the Confederate States, and for other purposes, was taken up and made the special order of business for Thursday next.

Mr. H. W. Bruce offered the following resolution, viz:

Resolved, That it be referred to the Committee on Hospitals to inquire into the expediency of giving matrons in hospitals commutation for board, lodging, fuel, and lights in lieu of the same;
which was read and agreed to.

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Mr. H. W. Bruce also introduced

A bill to be entitled "An act to provide a uniform currency;"
which was read the first and second times, ordered to be printed, and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. Conrad offered the following resolution, viz:

Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs inquire into the expediency of prohibiting the detail of officers of the line to serve in the staff;
which was read and agreed to.

Mr. Conrad also offered the following resolution, viz:

Resolved, That the President be requested to inform this House what real estate, if any, has been sold under the provisions of an act entitled "An act for the sequestration of the [estates,] property, and effects of alien enemies, and for the indemnity of citizens of the Confederate States and persons aiding the same in the existing war with the United States," approved August thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and acts amending the same, where situated, and what amount has been paid into the Treasury arising from such sales;
which was read and agreed to.

Mr. Dupré introduced

A bill to amend an act entitled "An act to provide for the safe custody, printing, publication, and distribution of the laws, and to provide for the appointment of an additional clerk in the Department of Justice;"
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Printing.

Mr. Dupré also offered the following resolution, to wit:

Resolved, That the Committee on the Medical Department be requested to inquire into the propriety of not receiving any more sick or wounded soldiers into the hospitals in Richmond until those now confined in the hospitals shall be discharged or furloughed, and until said hospitals are thoroughly cleansed and fumigated, and to fix a time, either by legislation or otherwise, when the sick and wounded may be admitted anew in the Richmond hospitals;
which was read and agreed to.

Mr. Barksdale offered the following resolution, viz:

Resolved, That the President be requested to cause this House to be informed what system of paying the claims of deceased soldiers is at present pursued in the Treasury Department, and whether additional legislation is necessary to insure the more speedy settlement of such claims;
which was read and agreed to.

Mr. McRae introduced

A bill to be entitled "An act to provide for exemptions from military service;"
which was read the first and second times.

Mr. McRae moved that the rule requiring a reference of the bill to a committee be suspended.

The motion was lost, and the bill was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. Smith of North Carolina introduced

A bill to be entitled "An act to alter and amend an act entitled 'An act for the sequestration of the estates, property, and effects of alien enemies, and for indemnity of citizens of the Confederate States and persons aiding the same in the existing war with the United States,' [approved August thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one,]" approved February 15, 1862;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

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Mr. Davidson introduced

A bill to be entitled "An act to provide for the payment of all sums due to soldiers from North Carolina for services rendered after they were received into the State service and before they were turned over to the Confederate States;"
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on the Military.

Mr. Moore called for the order of the day.

Mr. Lyons moved that the House resolve itself into secret session.

Mr. Goode demanded the yeas and nays;

Which were ordered,

And are recorded as follows, viz:
• Yeas ... 20
• Nays ... 60

Yeas: Atkins, Bell, Boyce, Bridgers, Eli M. Bruce, Burnett, Conrow, Dupré, Ewing, Foote, Hodge, Lyons, Read, Sexton, Simpson, Strickland, Vest, Villeré, Wilcox, and Mr. Speaker.

Nays: Arrington, Ashe, Baldwin, Barksdale, Batson, Boteler, Breckinridge, Horatio W. Bruce, Chambliss, Chilton, Chrisman, Clark, Clopton, Collier, Conrad, Currin, Curry, Davidson, De Jarnette, Elliott, Foster, Freeman, Gaither, Gardenhire, Garland, Garnett, Gartrell, Goode, Graham, Hanly, Harris, Hartridge, Hilton, Holcombe, Holt, Johnston, Jones, Kenner, Lander, Lewis, Machen, Marshall, McDowell, McLean, McQueen, McRae, Menees, Miles, Moore, Munnerlyn, Perkins, Preston, Pugh, Ralls, Royston, Russell, Singleton, Staples, Trippe, and Wright of Tennessee.

So the House refused to go into secret session.

The House then proceeded to the consideration of the special order; which was

A bill to authorize and regulate impressment of private property for the use of the Army and other military purposes.

The bill having been read as follows, to wit:

• Section 1. The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, Any officer of the Confederate States commanding a military district or department may authorize the impressment of property for the use of the Army or other military purpose, by order in writing, whenever he is satisfied that the same can not be procured in due time, except by impressment.
• Sec. 2. Where slaves are required to labor on fortifications or other public works, the impressment shall be made in accordance with the law of the State where they are employed; in the absence of such law, in accordance with rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, to be prescribed from time to time by the Secretary of War.
• Sec. 3. In no instance shall any individual be deprived, by impressment, of the amount of provisions required for the comfortable support of his family, nor, except under circumstances of extreme urgency, to be declared in the order of the commanding general, shall any individual be deprived of the grain, forage, slaves, or other property necessary for the use of his plantation.
• Sec. 4. In all cases of impressment just compensation shall be made for the property seized, whether the absolute ownership or the temporary use or hire only thereof is demanded. If the owner and the impressing officer can not agree upon the amount of such compensation, it shall be ascertained and determined by the judgment of three loyal and disinterested freeholders of the city, county, or parish in which the impressment is made--one to be selected by the owner, one by the impressing officer, and the third to be chosen by these two. The persons thus selected, after taking an oath to appraise the property impressed fairly and impartially, which oath the impressing officer is authorized to administer, shall proceed to assess the full value of the property seized, as well as the amount of compensation for its temporary use or hire, where that only is required; and also to determine upon the application of the impressing officer, which application is to be made only in extreme cases, what

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  amount of provision would furnish a liberal support for the family of the owner. And it shall be the duty of such persons to make out a certificate, to be signed by all the parties, in which the valuations herein provided for shall be declared, and the property impressed, where its temporary use or hire only is demanded, described with such minuteness as to identify it, and to deliver one copy thereof to the owner, and one to the impressing officer.

• Sec. 5. Where property has been impressed for temporary use or hire, and is lost or destroyed without the default of the owner, the Confederate States shall pay the full value thereof, as ascertained under the provisions of this act. If such property, when returned, has, in the opinion of the owner, been injured whilst in the public use, the amount of damage thereby sustained shall be determined in the manner prescribed in the fourth section of this act; the officer returning the property being authorized to act on behalf of the Confederate States, and upon such inquiry, the certificate of the value of the property, when originally impressed, shall be received as conclusive evidence thereof.
• Sec. 6. Any officer of the Confederate States impressing property in violation of the provisions of this act shall be liable to such punishment as the military court of the district or department to which he belongs may in its discretion inflict, unless compliance with the requirements thereof be prevented by the owner of the property, or by the public enemy. And in the latter event the impressing officer shall be liable to the penalties of this section, unless he shall cause the property seized to be appraised in the manner pointed out in this act as soon as practicable, or if this be impossible, by reason of the occupation of the enemy, then by an appraisement in the city, county, or parish most convenient to that in which the property was impressed,

Mr. Lyons moved to amend the same by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following, to wit:

• Section 1. Whenever any officer having a separate command of a portion of the Army of the Confederate States shall not be supplied with quartermaster's or commissary's stores, or tools, or implements of any kind, which may be necessary for the use of the army under his command, and the exigency of the case will not admit of delay until the supplies or articles needed can be furnished him in the usual mode by the commissary or quartermaster, he shall purchase them of the person or persons possessing the same, who may be most convenient to him, paying therefor the usual market rate at the place for the same, or if he has not money to pay for the same, giving an obligation in the name of the Confederate States, payable on demand for the same.
• Sec. 2. If the person or persons owning the articles needed will not consent to sell the same, or will not agree as to the price with the said officer, the officer may impress the same, but before he removes it, he shall call upon the sheriff of the county or city, if he be accessible to him, or if the sheriff be not accessible, upon the nearest magistrate accessible to him, or if there be no such magistrate, upon the nearest farmer, if in the country, or a freeholder, if in a city or town, and not interested in the property, to fix the market value of the same, who, after being sworn by the officer truthfully and impartially to perform that duty, shall ascertain and fix the said value, and furnish to each party, at the cost of the Government, a written statement thereof, signed by him. If there be any disagreement between the owner of the property impressed and the officer aforesaid as to the quantity of the article impressed, the person called on as aforesaid to fix the market value of it shall, being first sworn as aforesaid, ascertain the quantity, and state that also in his certificate aforesaid. For the price thus ascertained as aforesaid, the officer shall immediately pay the cash if he has it, and if not, he shall execute and deliver to the vendor the obligation of the Confederate Government for the same, payable on demand, and then he may remove the property purchased or impressed and not before: Provided, That under no circumstances shall a person be deprived by impressment of the quantity of meat, grain, flour, meal, forage, or other property necessary to the comfortable support of his family, slaves, and stock, and the working of his farm or plantation; and in the event of disagreement between the officer and owner as to what is necessary for the said purpose, the question shall be determined in the manner before prescribed as to the price. Slaves may be impressed for the purpose of laboring upon fortifications or other military works, or to act as teamsters for the Army, when they can not be hired at the usual market rates from their owners, and not otherwise; but such impressments shall always be made in conformity with the law of the State in which the impressment is made, if there be any such law. If there be no such State law, then, before any impressment is made, the following rules shall be observed, to wit: The impressing officer shall procure from the court of the city, county, or town in which the slaves to be impressed are, or from the circuit judge, the appointment of

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  three disinterested farmers or planters, if in the country, and freeholders if in town, being slave owners, to go with him, and in the presence of the owner of the slave, if he will attend after notification, assess the hire and ascertain the value of the slave to be impressed, and his fee simple value, of which they shall furnish each party with a certificate in writing, signed by themselves; and at the foot, or upon the back of such certificate, the impressing officer shall give to the owner a receipt for the slave or slaves impressed: Provided, however, That in no instance shall a slave be impressed who is under the age of eighteen or over the age of forty years, or who is unsound, or from any defect incompetent to perform the duty required of him. But the owner may, if he pleases, substitute a slave over the age of forty for one under that age, before the valuation is made, if the substitute be sound and able-bodied.

• Sec. 4. The rate of impressment of slaves shall never exceed five per cent of the slaves owned by one person, exclusive of those under the age of five years and over the age of sixty-five, and where a person owns only one able male slave, he shall not be impressed.
• Sec. 5. The Government shall furnish without charge to the owner all proper medical attendance and medicines for the slaves hired or impressed by it, as well as food and necessary clothing; and if any slave hired or impressed by it shall, without the connivance of the owner, run away, so that he is not returned to the owner, or die, or become diseased, maimed, or crippled in the service of the Government, the Government shall pay to the owner his assessed value and become the owner of the slave, to be subsequently disposed of as the Secretary of War may direct.
• Sec. 6. All persons in every city, county, and town who own so few slaves that five per cent thereof can not be taken, shall be arranged in classes according to neighborhoods and the number of slaves owned by them, and required to furnish their quota of the slaves called for, and on failure to do so, after five days' notice, they shall each furnish one slave, who shall be impressed by the proper impressing officer.
• Sec. 7. When the officer directing impressment shall be of the rank of colonel or a superior grade he shall direct the impressment by a written order, which shall express fully and minutely the things to be impressed and the course to be pursued by the impressing officer, and detail for its execution an officer, a captain or major, or both, of the Quartermaster's and Commissary Department, with such number of men, with their proper officers to aid him, as may be deemed necessary.
• Sec. 8. False swearing under this act shall be deemed perjury, and punished accordingly.
• Sec. 9. If any officer, noncommissioned officer, or private shall, in the performance of his duty under this act, violate its provisions, and thereby inflict wrong or injury upon any citizen, he shall be deemed to be guilty of a military offense, to be punished by a court-martial, and shall also be liable to the action of the party aggrieved for the damages inflicted.
• Sec. 10. The Secretary of War may publish such orders, rules, and prescribe such forms for enforcing this act, and not inconsistent with it, as he may deem proper.

Mr. Lyons moved that the amendment offered by him be printed; which was agreed to.

Mr. Lyons also moved that the further consideration of the bill and amendment be postponed until 12 o'clock to-morrow.

The motion was lost.

Mr. Baldwin moved to amend the first section of the bill by inserting after the word "impressment" the words "by a commissioned officer, under special order, of a grade not lower than captain."

Mr. Lyons moved to amend by striking out the whole of the first section and inserting in lieu thereof the following, to wit:

• Section 1. Whenever any officer having a separate command of a portion of the Army of the Confederate States shall not be supplied with quartermaster's or commissary's stores, or tools, or implements of any kind, which may be necessary for the use of the army under his command, and the exigency of the case will not admit of delay until the supplies or articles needed can be furnished him in the usual mode by the commissary or quartermaster, he shall purchase them of the person or persons possessing the same, who may be most convenient to him, paying therefor the usual market rate at the place for the same, or if he has not money to pay for the same, giving an obligation in the name of the Confederate States, payable on demand for the same.

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Pending the consideration of which,

The House took up the motion of Mr. Foster to reconsider the vote by which a bill of the Senate was passed, entitled "An act to authorize the appointment of assistants to the Register," etc.

The motion to reconsider was lost.

On motion of Mr. Kenner,

The House adjourned until 12 o'clock to-morrow.

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