Daily national Republican., 1863-06-13
OFFICIAKNOITCES
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Pnoyogr MARaaAL 0EEERkL's oFTIcE,
Altl WksnIn6ToR CRY, June ., losd I'-Ai 7
TNa folIovlna opinion Of Hon, tplllni6 tVhihpf
solioitoE6 6Etbs war Dspaftneht, ASBeth ofdafed
TO be ppblithed by the secretary Of Weri d. -,
Ths natiohal forces, lIahle 70 perform MILITARY
duty, inciuds ali sbie-6odisd male ctiEens u the
United alhtes, and persons OF foreign birth Who
have dpelalsd E,aiE latsntion 70 become citizens
according law, being between 20 and IS Year, Of
age. aIisl q ~
Certain persons are excepted, divided into eight
classes, No persons but such az are therein ex-
cepted ahall Be exempt tseo AZ T..s, !
It iS declared the duty ofths enrolling ofiosfs 10
enroll all persons subject to military duty, (sec.
All persons thus enrolled shall be subject for two
years afsr July Ist succeeding the enrolment 10 b
called into the military service, tsec nj g-.
The national forces mot now In the military
servos enrolled under the act shall be divided into
two classes. (sec. ~ aa. on. ."...
Those Of the second class AhAll not be called out
until those OF the ArSt elahs shall have been eN-
| hAuated. . ... ....
Thus It seems, by the true construction Of this
act, that while all persons coming within ita pro-
visions are to be enrolled in the national foross
nevertheless, under the Arst enrolment, thaSs who
were in the military service at the time the act
went into effect are not TO be included In that
class which is subject 20 the frat draft.
Several provisions Of the statute are inconsistent
with the idea that then in the service were
TO be treated As liable to draft from the first class
Thus 1t IL provided, in the seventh section, that
regulars, volunteers militia men, or person. called
into the service under this Gny other act Of Con-
gress, were TO be arrested az tsserters, wherever
they might be found, by the Provost Marshal, and
to be sent to the nearest military post, thus admit
tiAg q plain distinction between these different
classea OF persons,viz those who were then In the
| Service and those who were 10 be drafted in.
h.t, Nhna ayrhn UNnrai m
the service and those who were to be drafted n Is
recognized in section 10, which provides bounties
| TO those who, being then In the service, should
volunteer 10 re-enlist.
The statute, in providing for the classification OF
troops from which drafts are to be made, enaots as
follows (seotion S) That the national forces Of the
United States not Ro0 ne military SsrVce, enrolled
under this act, shall be divided into two clasSes
Thus, those who are "now" (that is to say, on the
Sd of March, 1885, In the military service not to
be included In either OF these two classes.
And As those hea (MArch sd) In the service were
not included in either of these two classes, they
may be said to constitute hird class OF foIces 10
be enrolled under the provisions Of the act
As between the first and second glasses the law
(Section ~ requires that the second class shall no,
In any district be called into the service OF the
United states until those Of the first class shall
have been thus called In.
Volunteers or regulars who have been In the ser
vice, and who had been discharged therefrOm, oI
had resigned prior to the ID day Of March, 1862 are
liable TO be drafted in the same manner AS II they
had never been in the service. No regard ls TO bC
paid to their former period Of service, or to the
length brevity Of the period between the date o
their discharge and that Of the draft.
Volunteers who were In the service Of the United
States the sd of March, 1885, and have since thai
time been discharged, not, therefore, included
In the first class from which the hrst drAft is In
tended to be made, and are therefore not now liza
BILE to be called on by draft which Is TO be made
from that class of the forces Of the United StAteI
under the provisions OF this act.
WILLIAM WHITING,
Solicitor OF the War Department.
JAMES b. FRY,
Ieli Provost Marshal General.