LOCAL DEFENSE. In the act of the general assembly of the State of Missouri, approved May 14, 1861, quoted in this paper under the title of "Missouri State Guard," division inspectors were authorized to organize companies of Home Guards, to be composed of persons not within the age limits required for membership of the regiments of the State Guard organized for general service. 66 Provision was also made by the Confederate Government for the organization of corps for local defense. By an act of Congress approved August 21, 1861, the President was authorized to accept volunteers for the defense of exposed places or localities," or for such special service as he might deem expedient, such troops to be mustered into the service of the Confederate States and to be subsisted and paid for such time as they should be employed under the orders of the President. Following is a copy of the act: AN ACT to provide for local defense and special service. The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to accept the services of volunteers of such kind and in such proportion as he may deem expedient, to serve for such time as he may prescribe, for the defense of exposed places or localities, or such special service as he may deem expedient. SEC. 2. And such forces shall be mustered into the service of the Confederate States, for the local defense or special service aforesaid, the muster roll setting forth distinctly the services to be performed; and the said volunteers shall not be considered in actual service until thereunto specially ordered by the President. And they shall be entitled to pay or subsistence only for such time as they may be on duty under the orders of the President or by his direction. SEC. 3. Such volunteer forces, when so accepted and ordered into service, shall be organized in accordance with and subject to all the provisions of the act entitled "An act to provide for the public defense," approved March sixth, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and may be attached to such divisions, brigades, regiments, or battalions as the President may direct, and when not organized into battalions or regiments before being mustered into service the President shall appoint the field officers of the battalions and regiments when organized as such by him. Approved, August 21, 1861. [Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series IV, Vol. I, p. 579.] By an act approved April 21, 1862, the President was authorized to organize" bands of partisan rangers" for a more permanent service, to be received into the service of the Confederate States and to receive the same pay, rations, and quarters, and be subject to the same regulations as other troops. This enactment reads as follows: AN ACT to organize bands of partisan rangers. SECTION 1. The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to commission such officers as he may deem proper with authority to form bands of partisan rangers, in companies, battalions or regiments, either as infantry or cavalry, the companies, battalions, or regiments to be composed each of such numbers as the President may approve. SEC. 2. Be it further euacted, That such partisan rangers, after being regularly received into service, shall be entitled to the same pay, rations, and quarters during their term of service, and be subject to the same regulations, as other soldiers. SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That for any arms and munitions of war captured from the enemy by any body of partisan rangers and delivered to any quartermaster at such place or places as may be designated by a commanding general, the rangers shall be paid their full value in such manner as the Secretary of War may prescribe. Approved, April 21, 1862. 66 [Ibid., p. 1094.] In a later act, approved October 13, 1862, provision was made for the formation of squads or companies for local defense, in any part of the Confederacy, by the voluntary association together of individuals over the age of forty-five years, or otherwise not liable to military duty," who should elect their own officers and be governed by rules and regulations to be established by themselves, and be considered as belonging to the Provisional Army of the Confederate States, serving without pay or allowances, and entitled, when captured, to all the privileges of prisoners of war. This act contained the proviso that in the States and districts in which the act of April 16, 1862 (the conscription act), was suspended, persons of any age, resident therein, might volunteer and form parts of such squads or companies so long as the suspension of the operation of the conscription act should continue, the only condition being that the persons so volunteering should first take the oath of allegiance to the Confederate States. The enactment referred to is here quoted: AN ACT to authorize the formation of volunteer companies for local defense. The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That for the purpose of local defense in any portion of the Confederate States, any number of persons not less than twenty, who are over the age of forty-five years, or otherwise not liable to military duty, may associate themselves as a military company, elect their own officers, and establish rules and regulations for their own government, and shall be considered as belonging to the Provisional Army of the Confederate States, serving without pay or allowances, and entitled, when captured by the enemy, to all the privileges of prisoners of war: Provided, That such company shall, as soon as practicable, transmit their muster roll, or a list of the names of the officers and privates thereof, to the governor of the State, the commanding general of the department, or any brigadier-general in the State or Confederate service, to be forwarded to the Secretary of War; but the President or the commander of the military district may, at any time, disband such companies: Provided, That in the States and districts in which the act entitled "An act to further provide for the public defense," approved April the sixteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and the acts amendatory thereof, have been suspended, persons of any age, resident within such States or districts, may volunteer and form part of such companies so long as such suspension shall continue: Provided, That no person shall become a member of said company until he shall have first taken the oath of allegiance to the Confederate States of America in writing, a copy of which shall be filed with the muster roll of said company as above prescribed. Approved, October 13, 1862. [Ibid., Series IV, Vol. II, p. 206.] In the regulations formulated by the Confederate War Department about February, 1863, for the organization of troops," it was announced that no troops would be accepted for local service "unless required by the officer commanding the district in question," and then only as prescribed by the act of August 21, 1861, "receiving pay, subsistence, etc., only while in actual service." (Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series IV, Vol. I, p. 824.) S. Doc. 412-21 In an order issued by the War Department April 28, 1862, it was announced, under the head of "Additional Corps-Guerrilla Service," that applications for the formation of bands of partisan rangers under the act of April 21, 1862, should be made through the commanding generals of the military departments in which such corps were to be employed (Ibid., p. 1098), and in the same order it was further announced that corps raised for local defense (evidently those formed under the act of August 21, 1861) would retain their organization during the terms of their enlistment unless previously disbanded. (Ibid., p. 1099.) The irregularities reported as having been committed by the partisan corps rendered it necessary that they be brought under stricter discipline than had before been enforced, and the commanders of military departments were therefore directed to combine them into battalions and regiments, in order that they might be brought under the same regulations and discipline as other troops. Such of the partisan corps as were serving within the enemy's lines were, however, excepted from the operation of the order. The order of the War Department on this subject, dated June 12, 1863, reads as follows: GENERAL ORDERS, ADJUTANT AND INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE, The second section of the act entitled an act to organize partisan rangers provides that such partisan rangers, after being regularly received into service, shall be entitled to the same pay, rations, and quarters during their term of service and be subject to the same regulations as other soldiers. The irregularities reported to this department as having been committed by such corps renders it proper that these corps shall be placed under stricter regulations than those heretofore adopted. The generals commanding the departments in which they are serving are hereby authorized to combine them into battalions and regiments with the view to bringing them under the same regulations as other soldiers in reference to their discipline, position, and movements; and the same officers will recommend any further measures for their organization as an integral portion of their commands as will in their opinion promote their efficiency and the interest of the service. The general of the department will recommend field officers for the organizations that may be made, to be submitted for the consideration of the President. Such partisan corps as are serving within the enemy's lines are for the present excepted from this order. By order: [Ibid., p. 585.] S. COOPER, Adjutant and Inspector General. By an act of congress approved February 17, 1864, the act of April 21, 1862, authorizing the organization of partisan bands was repealed and measures similar to those previously adopted by the War Department were authorized for the purpose of bringing into a proper state of discipline the bands then in existence. As in the War Department order, however, the partisan corps serving within the enemy's lines were, within the discretion of the Secretary of War, excepted from the contemplated changes. Following is a copy of the act referred to: A BILL to repeal an act to organize bands of partisan rangers, approved April twenty-first, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and for other purposes. The congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the act of congress aforesaid be, and the same is hereby, repealed: Provided, That organizations of partisan rangers acting as regular cavalry at the passage of this act shall be continued in their present organization: Provided, They shall hereafter be considered as regular cavalry and not as partisan rangers. SEC. 2. That all the bands of partisan rangers organized under the said act may, as the interests of the service allow, be united with other organizations, or be organized into battalions and regiments, with the view to bringing them under the general conditions of the Provisional Army as to discipline, control, and movements, under such regulations as the Secretary of War may prescribe. SEC. 3. The Secretary of War shall be authorized, if he deems proper, for a time, or permanently, to except from the operation of this act such companies as are serving within the lines of the enemy, and under such conditions as he may prescribe. Approved, February 17, 1864. [Ibid., Series IV, vol. III, p. 194.] It can not be ascertained from any accessible records what number of Home Guards, if any, was organized under the act of the Missouri legislature of May 14, 1861, or what number of "Partisan Rangers" or troops for "local defense," if any, was raised in the State of Missouri under the acts of the Confederate Congress quoted above, but it is known that a very large number of individuals not belonging to any regular military organizations were engaged in that State in opposition to the military forces of the United States and the State militia and Home Guards serving in cooperation with the Federal troops. Of this the following from Confederate sources alone is sufficient evidence: On December 3, 1861, President Davis, writing to Hon. W. P. Harris, of Mississippi, said: "The contest [in Missouri] is therefore to be on a scale of very different proportions than that of the partisan warfare witnessed during the past summer and fall." (Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Vol. VIII, p. 701.) On the 13th of December the Missouri delegation in congress remarked in a letter to General Price: "The President is further pleased to intimate that our guerrilla fighting in Missouri must now give place to a different mode, that of regular, systematic warfare" (Ibid., Series I, Vol. LIII, p. 762), and on June 10, 1862, Hon. Thomas A. Harris, a member of congress from Missouri, addressed a letter to the Secretary of War relative to the character of the contest in Missouri and the class of troops employed. In this letter he said: Hon. GEORGE W. RANDOLPH, Secretary of War. RICHMOND, June 10, 1862. SIR: In pursuance of the understanding involved in our conversation of this morning, I proceed to reduce to writing the inquiries then propounded, with the view of eliciting answers which I may be at liberty to use in furtherance of the policy adopted by the Government; and if in the course of propounding the inquiries I should digress in such a manner as to introduce a suggestion or an argument, I indulge the hope that you will not attribute it to any impertinent attempt at dictation or a desire to introduce unsolicited advice. On the contrary, I feel assured that in the anomalous and unfortunate condition of the gallant people of Missouri, whom I have the honor in part to represent, sufficient justification may be found for any anxiety which I may manifest. But to proceed to the object of my letter: The State of Missouri at this moment is at the mercy of the enemy. Not a single Confederate soldier treads her soil, and her brave sons, as far as possible, have been transferred to the east bank of the Mississippi River by the act of the Confederate Government. It is not my purpose to dwell in eulogy upon the self-sacrificing patriotism of those brave men of Missouri who, after a protracted campaign of endurance and glory, have followed their heroic leader through the fatiguing marches of the mountains of Arkansas to the soil of Tennessee, leaving behind their homes and families to the mercy of an unprincipled enemy. History will do justice to the act of magnanimous patriotism. The object of this letter is to ascertain the line of policy which this Government would recommend to the people of Missouri now within the limits of the State to pursue. It can not be unknown to you, sir, that a general system of guerrilla warfare now desolates the State; that the loyal citizens, writhing under the yoke and oppression of the enemy, are struggling unaided and illy provided with the indispensable materials of war to assist and maintain their liberty, property, and selfrespect; that acts of unprecedented oppression and barbarity, in violation of all the principles of civilized warfare, are daily perpetrated upon that gallant people. We can ascribe this continued and self-sacrificing struggle maintained by the people of Missouri so unequally to none other cause than their utter detestation of the enemy and their loyalty to the Government of the Confederate States. The question then presents itself, Does this exhausting and unequal system of defense adopted by the people of Missouri obtain the approbation of the Government? And does it, in the opinion of the Government, contribute toward the ultimate success of the common cause? An answer in affirmative to the inquiry would in my opinion devolve upon this Government the institution of such retaliatory measures as would compel the enemy to treat prisoners captured in the State of Missouri in accordance with the rules of civilized warfare, and the additional obligation of supplying the men in the field in that State promptly and to the extent of its ability with such munitions of war as are indispensably necessary. Further, I may say that the troops in the field under State authority, commanded by officers duly commissioned by the governor of Missouri, should be placed upon a footing of absolute or approximate equality with other soldiers of the Confederate Army. But should your reply be in the negative, is it not proper and expedient that the Government of the Confederate States should interpose so far as to convey to the people of Missouri an expression of its disapproval of the policy there inaugurated, and indicate such a line of policy for them to pursue as would harmonize with the views of the Government? It is for the Government to judge of the difficulty, sacrifice, and advantage to result from maintaining military operations in Missouri hundreds of miles from any efficient supporting column, in which determination the extraordinary difficulties of communication and transportation will of course receive due consideration. Further evidence on the same subject is found in a letter from General Price to Governor Reynolds, dated November 2, 1863, of which the following is an extract: CAMP BRAGG, ARK., November 2, 1863. Marshall, Tex. His Excellency Governor THOMAS C. REYNOLDS, DEAR SIR: I have the honor to inclose to you an official copy of Colonel Quantrill's report of his march from Missouri River to Canadian, detailing in a terse but graphic style his attack upon Fort Baxter and upon Major-General Blunt and escort. This report was handed to me by Captain Brinker, whom you will see bore a conspicuous part in the attack. Colonel Quantrill has now with him some 350 men of that daring and dashing character which has made the name of Quantrill so feared by our enemies, and have aided so much to keep Missouri, though overrun by Federals, identified with the Confederacy. The services of these men can not be spared, but an obstacle presents itself which I fear will require more than my exertions to overcome. To engage your valuable assistance in the task is the object of this communication. It is with much regret that I find a disposition in these men to avoid coming into the service of the Confederacy. Indeed, it is this reluctance which has caused them to avoid the proximity of this army in the march southward in search of that rest which they and their horses require so much. Yet they have sent Captain Brinker to me to make known their wants as to the selection of service, for as to clothing, arms, ammunition, horses, they want nothing, and indeed they are totally indifferent as to pay. They desire to serve with me as partisans, and in this they are adepts, and could be made very valuable as such to the army; but for reasons which they hold good they will not come under the direct command of General Holmes, nor will they be attached to any brigade, but are willing and anxious to serve if allowed to do so as above. I have urged upon them to join regularly our army and subject themselves to such orders as its welfare might require. As it is possible they will visit your neighborhood, you could use your influence to good advantage by urging them to attach themselves to the army. Their objections are not without foundation. In the first place, many of those restless spirits, chafing under the inactivity of the army in Arkansas during the last winter and spring, deserted from General Hindman's and General Holmes's commands to seek more active scenes of operations-errors might be overlooked by an extension of the President's clemency toward deserters. Again, they have been outlawed by the Federal authorities, and expect no mercy or clemency at their hands, not even the chances of prisoners of war; and they think that if used only as scouts and rangers, to ascertain and watch the movements of an enemy, they would be able to protect themselves against any |