Delaware journal. [volume] (Wilmington [Del.]) 1827-1832, 1827-07-10
THE SIX MILITIA MEN.
From the MARYLAND Republican.

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The period for which militia may legally be de-
tanned in service of the United States is fixed by the
permanent act of Congress of 28th February 1895,
sect. a, NO officer, non commissioned officer, or
private OF the militia shall be compelled to serve
more than three months after his arrival at the
place OF rendezvous in any one year. nor more than
IN due rotation with every other able bodied man"
During periods Of particular danger Congress
have passed acts extending the term OF service six
nonths-but each ofthese acts have been limited In
duration to particular period, which when expir-
Ell, leaves the original act in force again. The act
OF April in 1912, authorised a call for six months
service-but that act was limited to years. 1t ex-
| PRED in April 1914. Col. Pipkin's regiment was
drafted in May 1914, and therefore not under that
/ law.
On the 18th April 1914, Congress passed an act
which was to expire with the then existing war. by
the Sd section of this it is provided that the militia
when called into any service "may if in the opn-
ion of the president Of the United States the public
interest requires it, be compelled to serve for a
term not exceeding six months.''
Such are the laws which could by possibility have
loperated in the case
lis hardly possible that the requisition for Col.
Ppkin's regiment could haveI been made under the
last mentioned law, considering that law only passed
Congress on the 18th April, and that the requisltor
would have to be made from Washington, first upor
p0VefnOr OF enneSSee. anu tnen Tic SoVcih
or ofTennessee upon the military of his State, be
fore the draft could take pace.-Whereas the draf
was made in May.
Again, even if the requsition had been made un
der the law ofApril 1914, that law did not author
Use OBTAINING the men longer than three months, es
cept in particular cases, when &c in the opinion 9
= the President the United States the public nteres
lt requred t.'' Of course, except the president j
his requsition had expressly directed them to be dc
tailed for six MONTHS or in some way signified his de
cison that " that the public interest required thei
detention for that term they could not have been le
gally detained longer than three months 1t Is nc
pretended that any such order exists We are tot
on the contrary, from Washington that At as on recoT
there that the President expressly directed goUern'
n. Biaat to consider his draft of militia as called
under the la,o of l795-and it is absolutely certa
that if he made the requisition on governor Blu
previous to the 18th April, and which is very pr
bable, that was the only law under which he cou
make the call--That law, as we have shown, e
pressy limited the service ofmilitia to three month
These are all the data we have seen or know
where to look for by which to judge whether tt
court martial had any authority to try the Tenne
see militia men by martial law. The examinati
certainly leaves decided impression that the M
had completed the tour which they could legally
required to perform-that they were entitled to
discharge, if not an honorable discharge, instead
a sanguinary punishment.