AMBULANCE CORPS.

296. The medical director, or chief medical officer, of each army corps shall, under the control of the medical director of the army to which such army corps belongs, have the direction and supervision of all ambulances, medicine, and other wagons, horses, mules, harness, and other fixtures appertaining thereto, and of all officers and men who may be detailed or employed to assist him in the management thereof, in the army corps in which he may be serving. -Sec. 1, March 11, 1864, chap. 27.

297. The commanding officer of each army corps shall detail officers and enlisted men for service in the ambulance corps of such army corps, upon the following basis, viz.: one captain, who shall be commandant of said ambulance corps; one first lieutenant for each division in such army corps; one second lieutenant for each brigade in such army corps; one sergeant for each regiment in such army corps; three privates for each ambulance, and one private for each wagon; and the officers and non-commissioned officers of the ambulance corps shall be mounted. Provided, That the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates so detailed for each army corps shall be examined by a board of medical officers of such army corps as to their fitness for such duty; and that such as are found to be not qualified shall be rejected, and others detailed in their stead. Sec. 2, March 11, 1864, chap. 27.

298. There shall be allowed and furnished to each army corps two-horse ambulances, upon the following basis, to wit: three to each regiment of infantry of five hundred men or more; two to each regiment of infantry of more than two hundred and less than five hundred men or more; and one to each regiment of infantry of less than two hundred men; two to each regiment of cavalry of five hundred men or more; and one to each regiment of cavalry of less than five hundred men; one to each battery of artillery, to which battery of artillery it shall be permanently attached; to the headquarters of each army corps two such ambulances; and to each division train of ambulances two army wagons; and ambulances shall be allowed and furnished to division brigades and commands not attached to any army corps, upon the same basis; and each ambulance shall be provided with such number of stretchers and other appliances as shall be prescribed by the surgeon-general. Provided, That the ambulances and wagons herein mentioned shall be furnished, so far as practicable, from the ambulances and wagons now in the service.-Sec. 3, ibid.

299. Horse- and mule-litters may be adopted or authorized by the secretary of war, in lieu of ambulances, when judged necessary, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the medical director of each army corps.-Sec. 4, ibid.

300. The captain shall be the commander of all the ambulances, medicine, and other wagons in the corps, under the immediate direction of the medical director, or chief medical officer of the army corps to which the ambulance corps belongs. He shall pay special attention to the condition of the ambulances, wagons, horses, mules, harness, and other fixtures appertaining thereto, and see that they are at all times in readiness for service; that the officers and men of the ambulance corps are properly instructed in their duties, and that their duties are performed, and that the regulations which may be prescribed by the secretary of war, or the surgeon-general, for the government of the ambulance corps are strictly observed by those under his command. It shall be his duty to institute a drill in his corps, instructing his men in the most easy and expeditious manner of moving the sick and wounded, and to require in all cases that the sick and wounded shall be treated with gentleness and care, and that the ambulances and wagons are at all times provided with attendants, drivers, horses, mules, and whatever may be necessary for their efficiency; and it shall be his duty also to see that the ambulances are not used for any other purpose than that for which they are designed and ordered. It shall be the duty of the medical director, or chief medical officer of the army corps, previous to a march, and previous to and in time of action, or whenever it may be necessary to use the ambulances, to issue the proper orders to the captain for the distribution and management of the same, for collecting the sick and wounded, and conveying them to their destination. And it shall be the duty of the captain faithfully and diligently to execute such orders; and the officers of the ambulance corps, including the medical director, shall make such reports, from time to time, as may be required by the secretary of war, the surgeon-general, the medical director of the army, or the commanding officer of the army corps in which they may be serving; and all reports to higher authority than the commanding officer of the army corps shall be transmitted through the medical director of the army to which such army corps belongs. -Sec. 5, March 11, 1864, chap. 27.

301. The first lieutenant assigned to the ambulance corps for a division shall have complete control, under the captain of his corps and the medical director of the army corps, of all the ambulances,

medicine, and other wagons, horses, mules, and men in that portion of the ambulance corps. He shall be the acting assistant quartermaster for that portion of the ambulance corps, and will receipt for and be responsible for all the property belonging to it, and be held responsible for any deficiency in anything appertaining thereto. He shall have a traveling cavalry forge, a blacksmith and a saddler, who shall be under his orders, to enable him to keep his train in order. He shall have authority to draw supplies from the depot quartermaster, upon requisitions approved by the captain of his corps, the medical director, and the commander of the army corps to which he is attached. It shall be his duty to exercise a constant supervision over his train in every particular, and keep it at all times ready for service.-Sec. 6, ibid.

302. The second lieutenant shall have command of the portion of the ambulance corps for a brigade, and shall be under the immediate orders of the first lieutenant, and he shall exercise a careful supervision over the sergeants and privates assigned to the portion of the ambulance corps for his brigade; and it shall be the duty of the sergeants to conduct the drills and inspections of the ambulances under his orders, of their respective regiments.-Sec. 7, March 11, 1864, chap. 27.

303. The ambulances in the armies of the United States shall be used only for the transportation of the sick and wounded, and, in urgent cases only, for medical supplies; and all persons shall be prohibited from using them, or requiring them to be used for any other purpose. It shall be the duty of the officers of the ambulance corps to report to the commander of the army corps any violation of the provisions of this section, or any attempt to violate the same. And any officer who shall use an ambulance, or require it to be used, for any other purpose than as provided in this section, shall, for the first offense, be publicly reprimanded by the commander of the army corps in which he may be serving, and for the second offense shall be dismissed from the service.-Sec. 8, ibid.

304. No person except the proper medical officers, or the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the ambulance corps, or such persons as may be specially assigned, by competent military authority to duty with the ambulance corps for the occasion, shall be permitted to take or accompany sick or wounded men' to the rear, either on the march or upon the field of battle.-Sec. 9, ibid.

12 The penalty for quitting the ranks, without urgent necessity, or without permission from proper authority, is discretionary with the court. See Chap. xxiii., ¶ 692.

305. The officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the ambulance corps shall be designated by such uniform or in such manner as the secretary of war shall deem proper. Provided, That officers and men may be relieved from service in said corps and others detailed to the same, subject to the examination provided in the second section of this act, in the discretion of the commanders of the armies in which they may be serving.-Sec. 10, ibid.

306. It shall be the duty of the commander of the army corps to transmit to the adjutant-general the names and rank of all officers and enlisted men detailed for service in the ambulance corps of such army corps, stating the organizations from which they may have been so detailed; and if such officers and men belong to volunteer organizations, the adjutant-general shall thereupon notify the gov ernors of the several States in which such organizations were raised of their detail for such service; and it shall be the duty of the commander of the army corps to report to the adjutant-general from time to time the conduct and behavior of the officers and enlisted men of the ambulance corps, and the adjutant-general shall forward copies of such reports, so far as they relate to officers and enlisted men of volunteer organizations, to the governors of the States in which such organizations were raised.-Sec. 11, ibid.

307. Nothing in this act shall be construed to diminish or impair the rightful authority of the commanders of armies, army corps, or separate detachments, over the medical and other officers and the non-commissioned officers and privates of their respective commands. Sec. 12, March 11, 1864, chap. 27.

FREEDMEN'S HOSPITAL.

308. After June 30, 1872, the Freedmen's Hospital in the District of Columbia shall, until otherwise ordered by Congress, be continued under the supervision and control of the secretary of war," who shall make all estimates, and pass all accounts, and be accountable to the treasury of the United States for all expenditures.Sec. 1, June 10, 1872, chap. 415.

13 But by a proviso of this act no part of the appropriation (made for the support of this hospital in the year ending June 30, 1873) shall be used in the support of, or to pay any expenses on account of, any persons hereafter to be admitted to said hospital and asylum, unless persons removed thither from some other government hospital.

14" After June 30, 1872, all business relating in any way to the "Freedmen's Hospital and Asylum at Washington, D. C.," with all the accounts connected therewith, of whatever character or date, be conducted through the surgeon-general of the army, to whom all the records, papers, funds, and property will be turned over by the 1st of July proximo [1872].”—G. O. No. 55, A.-G. O., 1872.

CHAPTER XI.

THE PAY DEPARTMENT, AND PAY OF THE ARMY.

ORGANIZATION AND DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT.

310. THE pay department' of the army shall hereafter consist of one paymaster-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general;a two assistant paymaster-generals, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; two deputy paymaster-generals, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenantcolonels of cavalry; and sixty paymasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry, to be selected from persons who have served as additional paymasters.-Sec. 18, July 28, 1866, chap. 299.

Ib

1 THE PAY DEPARTMENT, by that name, was first organized under the act of April 24, 1816 (chap. 69); but a paymaster for the army, "to reside near the headquarters of the troops of the United States," and "to receive from the treasurer all the moneys which shall be intrusted to him for the purpose of paying the pay, and arrears of pay, subsistence or forage, due to the troops of the United States," had been authorized by the act of May 8, 1792. This officer exercised supervision over the regimental and battalion paymasters, and in 1796 he was by law designated as paymaster-general. Other paymasters and assistants having been added to the army in 1802, the corps of officers thus formed has since that time been designated as a department, and is so recognized in the act of 1816.

(a.) The paymaster general.—But the act of June 4, 1872 (chap. 286), enacted "That the 6th sec. of the act of March 3, 1869 [¶ 538], making appropriations for the support of the army, is so far modified, that the President is hereby authorized to appoint a paymaster-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel, said appointment to date from the time the appointee assumed the duties of the office, to fill the vacancy now existing." Under the act cited in 536, he is to be appointed by selection from the department, and provision is made for supplying temporary vacancy in his office, by acts cited in ¶¶9-12. See also first paragraph of this note. (b.) Appointments and promotions.-And, under the act of April 24, 1816, all officers of this department are to be "submitted to the Senate for their confirmation, in the same manner as the officers of the army." See ¶¶ 36, 312, 317, and clause e of this note.

So much of above section (310) as requires paymasters to be appointed from those who have served as additional paymasters had reference undoubtedly to the first appointments, to fill the original vacancies created by the act. Subsequent vacancies in the lowest grade are to be filled either from the line of the army, or from civil life. See532. But all appointments and promotions (except as provided for in clause a of this note) have been suspended. See ¶ 538.

(c.) Status of the department.-Under the act of May 15, 1820, paymasters of the army were to be "appointed for the term of four years, but shall be removable from office at pleasure," and it was held by attorney-general Wirt (April 29, 1826) that this act, embracing also the paymaster-general, was not modified by the act of March 2,