The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 3, Volume 5. Page: 53
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UNION AUTHORITIES.
53
or two-thirds thereof, which had actually accrued before the date of his discharge.
If, for instance, he volunteered for two years, and is mustered out before the
expiration of the first year of his service, he cannot claim either the second or
the third installment of the bounty of $200 which would have been payable to
him had he continued in the service till the expiration of the two years for which
he enlisted. The volunteer only who, at the time of his discharge, has completed
one-half of the term of service for which he enlisted, is entitled to the second
installment of one-third of the amount of bounty given to him by the act; and
he is entitled to no more of that bounty. If he is discharged on the next day
after the expiration of one-half of his term of enlistment, the second installment
of the bounty is due and payable to him. The Government cannot reclaim it if
it has been paid, nor withhold it if it remain unpaid. But the discharge pre-
cludes him from receiving the third installment; that only is due to a volunteer
who may have served through the whole term for which he enlisted.. I confess
that there is some obscurity in the act, and that there is a little difficulty in deter-
mining its meaning. But, on the whole, I am of opinion that the Paymaster-
General has arrived at the true construction of the statute.
The third question is, whether commissioned officers of volunteers below the
rank of brigadier-general, whom the Government may now muster out of service
because their services are no longer required, are entitled respectively to receive,
on their leaving the service, "three months' pay proper," under the provisions of
the fourth section of the act of March, 1865.
The right of these officers to receive that allowance depends upon the deter-
mination of the point whether they have continued in the service " to the close
of the war" within the meaning of the statute of 1865. I am of opinion if such
an officer continue in the Army till he is honorably mustered out, because his
military services are no longer needed, and till the Government thus declares that
it no longer requires him to perform any duty on its behalf under his commission,
that he is within the provision of the statute, and in its contemplation he has
continued in the military service "to the close of the war." The war, so far
as he is concerned in his capacity as an officer, has closed. He has performed
his duty-his entire duty-to the Government and the cause for which he drew
his sword. When his country, by its appropriate organ, commands him to return
his sword to the scabbard, and retires him honorably from its service, I know not
how we can, with respect to that officer, say that the war has not closed. I am
of opinion that an officer of the class named in the statute now, and thus mus-
tered out of service, is entitled to receive " three months' pay proper."
I am, sir, most respectfully, your obedient servant,
JAMES SPEED,
Attorney-General.
By order of the Secretary of War:
E. D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant- General.
WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
June 10, 1865.
COMMANDING GENERALS OF DEPARTMENTS AND ARMIES:
Under General Orders, No. 101, May 30, current year, from this
office, soldiers honorably mustered out, who desire to do so, are
authorized to retain their arms and accouterments on paying therefor
their value. To this end soldiers who desire to take advantage of
the said order must signify their intention before leaving the field,
so that the prices may be entered on their muster-out rolls.
The prices fixed by the Ordnance Department are as follows:
Muskets, all kinds, with or without accouterments, $6; Spencer car-
bines, $10; all other carbines, $8; sabers and swords, with or without
belts, $3.*
Please promulgate this order for the guidance of commissaries of
musters and all others concerned.
E. D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant- General.
* Also announced in Circular No. 24, Adjutant-General's Office, June 10, 1865.
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United States. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 3, Volume 5., book, 1900; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139267/m1/62/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.