The Soldiers' journal. (Rendezvous of Distribution, Va.) 1864-1865, 1865-06-07
Answers to Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents.
Our recent articles on bounties. mastering out,
&C., have elected several questions from parties
Interested We are glad to have the opportunity
of answering all such questions within our
knowledge, as we thereby give information to-
all similarly situated = te .,f of f.za ..la .
"a LIEUTENANT'' desires to know wheth-
er those officers are entitled to three months
pay proper whose commissions datefrOm Febru-
airy, or some previous month, but who have
been mustered into the service since March Sd,
1865, the date of the approval of the law. Ans
Any service as an officer before the approval
OF the act (and we are not sure but that any
service Since) entities the party to its benefit
The spirit of the law is that :" all mustered out
in consequence of the government not requiring
their services no matter when commissioned
or mustered in as officers, should be equally
entitled We know of many cases where SER
geants are now receiving commissions one day
and being mustered out the next. By this ar
rangement they lose the government bounties
they entitled to as non-coms, and it would
be manifestly unjust to deprive them also of the
three months pay proper The decision of the
Adjutant General should be Immediately urged
IN. e. 81 Co. b. SD Mass, calls attention to
the statement in our issue of May "a, that no
drafted men or substitutes entitled to boun-
ty, and quotes the National Militia Actapproved
March 2, 1868. Section H. of that act entities all
drafted men in service after the LIST of July sue
ceeding, to the same pay and bounties as volun-
teerS, and Sec. XVII. entities substitute to the
same pay and allowance provided by law if
he had been originally drafted into the service of
the United StateS-AnS. Your position is cor
rect, so far as it goes, but the law spoken of was
annulled July Is, 1864; consequently those
tering the service between March 2, 1868, and
July 49, 1864 are entitled to the benefits of that
law, but any entering the service since July 49,
1884, will get no bounty by virtue of any present
law. In regard to your second question, we take
the broad ground that the time of all voJunteers
and drafted expires aOith the close of the aOaa
The war, however, is not yet O6fciGkiu closed
and it will take some time to dischaaryeour inn
mense army.
'Sergt. j. w. C-K, Co. I, 2lst Wis We
were not sufficiently explicit in our Law of
Bounties relative to drafted men. All drafted or
going as substitutes between March 3D. 1868, and
$780, contracted for, and when paid $25 adj
vance, will get $75. This does not hold good of
any entering the service as drafted men SUBJ
stitutes after July Is, 1864. This reply must be
accepted for the many letters we have received
on the same su bject. $50 HtaL
"B Nell" 10th Pa. Vols, enlisted in April
1864, and wishes to know if he will get the gov
eminent bounty of $500. No. that bounty was
stopped after March l. 1864; but you will get 500
on being mustered out, unless paid advance,
when that portion will be deducted.
TROOPS TO BE MUSTERED OUT-The number
of troops in the Army of the Potomac and in the
Armies of Sherman, whose terms of service ex-
pire prior to October LIST, and under orders
for muster out, is estimated at 122, $40, as fol-
lows -
139 three-year regiments of 1S62......... 55, 600
Threey year recruits of 1762............... 20, $50
% year regiments of 1S64............... H. $40
One year recruits of 1864......-........ 81, 720
Total, .122, $40