Deserters.

soldier not be administered upon within a short period after his decease, they shall be disposed of by a Council of Administration, under the authority of the commanding officer of the post, and the proceeds deposited with the Paymaster, to the credit of the United States, until they shall be claimed by the legal representatives of the deceased.

154. In all such cases of sales by the Council of Administration, a statement in detail, or account of the proceeds, duly certified by the Council and commanding officer, accompanied by the Paymaster's receipt for the proceeds, will be forwarded by the commanding officer to the Adjutant-General. The statement will be endorsed, "Report of the proceeds of the effects of late of company (−) regiment of, who died at

the

ARTICLE XVIII.

DESERTERS.

day of

186-."

155. If a soldier desert from, or a deserter be received at, any post other than the station of the company or detachment to which he belonged, he shall be promptly reported by the commanding officer of such post to the commander of his company or detachment. The time of desertion, apprehension, and delivery will be stated. If the man be a recruit, unattached, the required report will be made to the AdjutantGeneral. When a report is received of the apprehension or surrender of a deserter at any post other than the station of the company or detachment to which he belonged, the commander of such company or detachment shall immediately forward his description and account of clothing to the officer making the report.

156. A reward of five dollars will be paid for the apprehension and delivery of a deserter to an officer of the army at the most convenient post or recruiting station. Rewards thus paid will be promptly reported by the disbursing officer to the officer commanding the company in which the deserter is mustered, and to the authority competent to order his trial. The reward of five dollars will include the remuneration for all expenses incurred for apprehending, securing, and delivering a de

serter.

157. When non-commissioned officers or soldiers are sent in pursuit of a deserter, the expenses necessarily incurred will be paid whether he be apprehended or not, and reported as in case of rewards paid.

158. Deserters shall make good the time lost by desertion, unless discharged by competent authority.

159. No deserter shall be restored to duty without trial, except by authority competent to order the trial.

Discharges.

160. Rewards and expenses paid for apprehending a deserter will be set against his pay, when adjudged by a court-martial, or when he is restored to duty without trial on such condition.

161. In reckoning the time of service, and the pay and allowances of deserter, he is to be considered as again in service when delivered up as a deserter to the proper authority.

162. An apprehended deserter, or one who surrenders himself, shall receive no pay while waiting trial, and only such clothing as may be actually necessary for him.

ARTICLE XIX.

DISCHARGES.

163. No enlisted man shall be discharged before the expiration of his term of enlistment without authority of the War Department, except by sentence of a general court-martial, or by the commander of the Department or of an army in the field, on certificate of disability, or on application of the soldier after twenty years' service.

164. When an enlisted man is to be discharged, his company commander shall furnish him certificates of his account, usually called final statements, according to Form 4, Pay Department. And to ensure his being at the post to get these, no leave of absence, terminating with his service, will be given to him. He may, however, be discharged in advance of the latter, under the circumstances and conditions described in General Orders No. 24, from the War Department, of November 30, 1859.

165. Blank discharges on parchment will be furnished from the Adjutant-General's office. No discharge shall be made in duplicate, nor any certificate given in lieu of a discharge.

166. The cause of discharge will be stated in the body of the discharge, and the space at foot for character cut off, unless a recommendation is given.

167. Whenever a non-commissioned officer or soldier shall be unfit for the military service in consequence of wounds, disease, or infirmity, his captain shall forward to the commander of the Department or of the army in the field, through the commander of the regiment or post, a statement of his case, with a certificate of his disability signed by the senior surgeon of the hospital, reginent, or post, according to the form prescribed in the Medical Regulations.

168. If the recommendation for the discharge of the invalid be approved, the authority therefor will be indorsed on the "certificate of disability," which will be sent back to be completed and signed by the

Traveling on Duty.- -Leaves of Absence to Officers.

commanding officer, who will then send the same to the Adjutant-General's office.

169. Insane soldiers will not be discharged, but sent, under proper protection, by the Department commander to Washington for the order of the War Department for their admission into the Government Asylum. The history of the cases, with the men's descriptive list, and accounts of pay and clothing, will be sent with them.

170. The date, place, and cause of discharge of a soldier absent from his company will be reported by the commander of the post to his company commander.

171. Company commanders are required to keep the blank discharges and all certificates relating to discharge carefully in their own custody.

172. No volunteer will be discharged upon Surgeon's certificate of disability until the certificate shall have been submitted to the Medical Director, and shall have been approved and countersigned by him

ARTICLE XX.

TRAVELING ON DUTY.

173. Whenever an officer traveling under orders arrives at his post, he will submit to the commanding officer a report, in writing, of the time occupied in the travel, with a copy of the orders under which the journey was performed, and an explanation of any delay in the execution of the orders; which report the commanding officer shall transmit, with his opinion on it, to Department Head-Quarters. If the officer be superior in rank to the commander, the required report will be made by the senior himself.

174. Orders detaching an officer for a special duty, imply, unless otherwise stated, that he is thereafter to join his proper station.

ARTICLE XXI.

LEAVES OF ABSENCE TO OFFICERS.

175. In no case will leaves of absence be granted, so that a company be left without one of its commissioned officers, or that a garrisoned post be left without two commissioned officers and competent medical attendance; nor shall leave of absence be granted to an officer during the season of active operations, except on urgent necessity.

176. When not otherwise specified, leaves of absence will be considered as commencing on the day that the officer is relieved from daty at his post. He will report, monthly, his address for the next thirty lays, to the commander of his post and of his regiment or corps, and to

Leaves of Absence to Officers.

the Adjutant-General, together with every change of address; and in his first report state the day when his leave of absence commenced. The expiration of his leave must find him at his station.

177. In time of peace, commanding officers may grant leaves of absence as follows: the commander of a post not to exceed seven days at one time, or in the same month; the commander of a geographical department not to exceed sixty days. Applications for leaves of absence for more than four months, or to officers of engineers, ordnance, or of the general staff, or serving on it (aides-de-camp excepted), for more than thirty days, must be referred to the Adjutant-General for the decision of the Secretary of War. In giving a permission to apply for the extension of a leave of absence, the term of the extension should be stated. The term of the extension approved by the Department commander will be regulated by the season and the usual opportunities for reaching the officer's station, so that he may not be absent during the time for active operations.

178. The War Department will not grant leaves to officers on applications made out of the proper military channel; or longer extensions of leave than are recommended by the competent authority.

179. The immediate commander of the officer applying for leave of absence, and all intermediate commanders, will indorse their opinion on the application before forwarding it.

180. The commander of a post may take leave of absence not to exceed seven days at one time, or in the same month, reporting the fact to his next superior.

181. Three months' leave of absence will be allowed to graduates, from the time of quitting (as cadet) the Military Academy.

182. No leave of absence exceeding seven days, except on extraordi nary occasions, when the circumstances must be particularly stated (and except as provided in the preceding paragraph), shall be granted to any officer until he has joined his regiment or corps, and served therewith at least two years.

183. Officers will not leave the United States, to go beyond sea, without permission from the War Department.

184. All leaves of absence to Chaplains and Schoolmasters employed at military posts will be granted by the commanding officer, on the recommendation of the post Council of Administration, not to exceed four months.

185. An application for leave of absence on account of sickness must be accompanied by a certificate of the senior medical officer present, in the following form:

Leaves of Absence to Officers.

regiment of

of the having applied for a certificate on which to ground an application for leave of absence, I do hereby certify that I have carefully examined this officer, and find that — [Here the nature of the disease, wound, or disability is to be fully stated, and the period during which the officer has suffered under its effects.] And that, in consequence thereof, he is, in my opinion, unfit for duty. 1 further declare my belief that he will not be able to resume his duties in a less period than [Here state candidly and explicitly the opinion as to the period which will probably elapse before the officer will be able to resume his duties. When there is no reason to expect a recovery, or when the prospect of recovery is distant and uncertain, or when a change of climate is recommended, it must be so stated.] Dated at this

day of

Signature of the Medical Officer.

186. Leaves of absence on account of sickness will not be granted to officers to go beyond the limits of the Military Department within which they are stationed, unless the certificate of the medical officer shall explicitly state that a greater change is necessary to save life, or prevent permanent disability. Nor will sick leaves to go beyond the Department limits be given in any case, except of immediate urgency, without the previous sanction of the War Department.

187. On the expiration of a leave of absence given on account of sickness, if the officer be able to travel, he will forthwith proceed to his post, although his disability may not have been removed. Exceptions to this general rule must be made in each case by the War Department on full and explicit medical certificates setting forth the reasons for delay and the length of time delay is considered necessary.

188. When an officer is prevented by sickness from joining his station, he will transmit certificates in the above form monthly, to the commanding officer of his post and regiment or corps, and to the Adjutant-General; and when he cannot procure the certificates of a medical officer of the army, he will substitute his own certificate on honor to his condition, and a full statement of his case. If the officer's certificate is not satisfactory, and whenever an officer has been absent on account of sickness for one year, he shall be examined by a medical board, and the case specially reported to the President.

189. In all reports of absence, or applications for leave of absence on account of sickness, the officer shall state how long he has been absent already on that account, and by whose permission.