The Washington herald., 1907-06-14
Terms of General Law.

Terms of General Law.
II will be noted that under the gem
eral law a soldier is pensionable be-
/ cause Of wounds or disease contracted
by him in the line Of duty in the serv-
/ ice. regardless of the length Of his
/ service, that under the act OF 1890
/ he is pensi0nable for disabilities not
! due TO his own vicious habits. occur-
ring after his discharge. on condition
that he served ninety days in the civil
war and was honorably discharged.
and that under the McCumber act he
| is pensionabIe as stated II he served
| ninety days IN the civil war and was
| honorably discharged
/ Il is not necessary that the soldier
/ served in the same organization the
4 ninety days or that he had a continu-
/ Ous service OF ninety DAYS. but that the
I sum total Of his services, If he had
/ more than one enlistment. is ninety
/ days, which satisfies the requirements
/ of the law. but the service or services
must have been IN the civil war.
Case of Mechanic FuSiIicrS.
/ 1t appears from the official records that
in 1861 one J. ". Wilson vas authorized
/ TO raise a regiment. which was after
ward designated as the Fifty-siXth Illi-
/ nois Infantry CMechanic Fusiliersl. that
he enlisted several hundred men in the
States OF Illinois. Indiana. Ohio. and Wis
consin upon fraudulent promises that
they would receive more than the usual
compensation, and were 10 perform
special kinds Of services, as skilled labor
ers. mechanics, carpenters. &c; that the
members OF the organization rendez-
voused at Chicago but upon learning Of
the deception and fraud practiced in their
enlistment, they became dissatisfied and
refused 10 be mustered in. Upon a con-
sideration OF all the facts IN the case,
| directions were given by the War De-
partmaHt 10 muster the regiment in and
out Of service as infantry. and. in ac-
cOrdsnce with those directions, the field
and staff and men Of the regiment were
I mustered In and ont Of service as in
fantry on various occasions between jan
uary q and February :. 1852, not having
left their camp Of rendezvous and never
having performed any actual service In
the civil war. but, on the contrary, hav-
ing refused 20 be mustered In as soldiers
and become part Of the Federal army.
Were Confederate Prisoners.
The enlisted men Of the First, Second,
Third. Fourth. Fifth, and Sixth United
States Volunteers were Confederate pris-
oners and enlisted for frontier service
alone with a distinct understanding that
they were not to be sent South 10 meet
in battle their recent companions in the
! Confederate service. a portion OF them,
! however. are held TO have had a ninety
days service In the civil war IN the
Army Of the Potomac, but eventually
they were all ordered to and served on
the plains agains hostile Indians.
/ In April, 1851 the President called for
] 75.e'0 volunteers FOR three months. and
. the call was promptly filed by enlist
ments. The men, assembling at camps Of
/ rendezvous in their respective States by
/ companies. were mustered into the service
+ for a term Of three months. and the CCm-
/ panies assigned 10 regiments with dcsg-
mated numbers. Many Of these regiments
/ remained az their places Of rendezvous in
/ their respective States and never went
. INcIeIuTrl, nutaoiN those or Illinois and
Ohio, drilling and preparing TO perform
the duties of soldiers from forty TO sew
entv days. when Il was found that Il
would not be advisable 20 attempt 20 use
them IN actual service in the civil war.
their enlistments being for so short
time and the President, IN June 1851,
called for 3o,O00 volunteers for term OF
three years. The men who had enlisted
for three months were asked 70 volunteer
and enlist for three years, their regiments
being organized with their old number
designations as three-year regiments, In
stead OF three-monthS regiments, and to
| theirCredit a great majortyof those three
months volunteers stood by their guns
and their country, and not only promptly
enlisted for three years. but later. after
more than two years Of soldier life. with
ali its dangers and hardships, again re-
enlisted for three years.
Refused 10 Re-enlist.
small proportion Of the Mechanic
Fusiliers and a small proportion of those
three months men refused 10 enlist for
three years. and while the Mechanic
/ Fusiliers were mustered in and mustered
out substantially on the same day. the