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U.S. Statutes at Large
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Historical SummaryA BILL to authorize the employment of volunteers, in accordance with the recommendation of President Lincoln in his message of July 4, 1861, was introduced in the Senate, July 6, by Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, and passed that house on the 10th by a vote of 34 to 4. On the 12th the action was reconsidered, and the bill with further amendments was again passed by a vote of 35 to 4. The passage of a substitute bill by the House caused a reference of the matter to a conference committee, whose report was agreed to by the two houses on the 18th. The discussion in each house had to do mainly with the details of organization of the volunteers provided for by the bill. REFERENCES. — Text in House and Senate Journals and Cong. Globe, 37th Cong., 1st Sess. On the efficiency of volunteers and the condition of the militia see House Exec. Doc. 54 and House Report 58, 36th Cong., 2d Sess., and House Report 1, 37th Cong., 1st Sess. A summary view of early military legislation, Union and Confederate, is. given in McPherson, History of the Rebellion, 115–121.
No. 120.
Act Authorizing the Employment of Volunteers
July 22, 1861
An Act to authorize the Employment of Volunteers to aid in enforcing the Laws and protecting Public Property.
WHEREAS, certain of the forts, arsenals, custom-houses, navy yards, and other property of the United States have been seized, and other violations of law have been committed and are threatened by organized bodies of men in several of the States, and a conspiracy has been entered into to overthrow the Government of the United States: Therefore,
Be it enacted . . . , That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to accept the services of volunteers, either as cavalry, infantry, or artillery, in such numbers, not exceeding five hundred thousand, as he may deem necessary, for the purpose of repelling invasion, suppressing insurrection, enforcing the laws, and preserving and protecting the public property: Provided, That the services of the volunteers shall be for such time as the President may direct, not exceeding three years nor less than six months,1 and they shall be disbanded at the end of the war. . . .
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said volunteers shall be subject to the rules and regulations governing the army of the United States, and that they shall be formed, by the President, into regiments of infantry, with the exception of such numbers for cavalry and artillery, as he may direct, not to exceed the proportion of one company of each of those arms to every regiment of infantry, and to be organized as in the regular service. . . .
[The remainder of the act relates to the organization of the volunteers, the appointment of officers, etc.]
1 A supplementary act of July 25, 1861, provided that volunteers should "be mustered in for ’during the war.’" — ED.
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Chicago: "Act Authorizing the Employment of Volunteers," U.S. Statutes at Large in Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, ed. William MacDonald (1863-1938) (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1916), 439. Original Sources, accessed July 26, 2024, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=UTRA4BVACB51V6B.
MLA: . "Act Authorizing the Employment of Volunteers." U.S. Statutes at Large, Vol. XII, in Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, edited by William MacDonald (1863-1938), New York, The Macmillan Company, 1916, page 439. Original Sources. 26 Jul. 2024. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=UTRA4BVACB51V6B.
Harvard: , 'Act Authorizing the Employment of Volunteers' in U.S. Statutes at Large. cited in 1916, Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, ed. , The Macmillan Company, New York, pp.439. Original Sources, retrieved 26 July 2024, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=UTRA4BVACB51V6B.
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