following conditions, namely, upon the requisition of the governors of said States or Territories showing the absolute necessity of arms for the protection of the citizens and their property against Indian raids into said States or Territories, also that militia companies are regularly organized and under control of the governors of said States or Territories to whom said arms are to be issued, and that said governor or governors shall give a good and sufficient bond for the return of said arms or payment for the same at such time as the Secretary of War may designate: Provided, That the quota to the States now authorized by law shall not hereby be diminished. Joint Res. No. 13, July 3, 1876 (19 Stat. 214). 1381. The same. -That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to cause to be issued to each of the Territories of the United States (in addition to arms and ammunition the issue of which has been heretofore provided for), such arms not to exceed one thousand in number as he may deem necessary, and ammunition for the same not to exceed fifty ball cartridges for each arm: Provided, That such issue shall be only from arms owned by the Government of the United States, which have been superseded and no longer issued to the Army: And provided further, That said arms shall be issued only in the following manner, and upon the following conditions, namely, upon the requisition of the governors of said Territories showing the absolute necessity for arms for the protection of citizens and their property against hostile Indians within or of Indian raids into such Territories: And provided further, That the said governor or governors of said Territories to whom the said arms may be issued shall give good and sufficient bond or bonds for the return of said arms, or payment therefor, at such time as the Secretary of War may designate, as now provided for by law. Joint Res. No. 26, June 7, 1878 (20 Stat. 252). CHAPTER XXXII. VOLUNTEERS. Same-vacancies in Regular Army 1382 caused by appointment of officers 1389 Land forces of the United States, composition of.... Volunteer forces, only to be organized during existence of war, etc. 1383 Same-returns and muster rolls of.. 1390 1382. Land forces of United States, composition of. -That the land forces of the United States shall consist of the Regular Army, the organized land militia while in the service of the United States, and such volunteer forces as Congress may authorize. Sec. 1, Act of Apr. 25, 1914 (38 Stat. 347). 1383. Volunteer forces, only to be organized during existence of war, etc. That the volunteer forces shall be raised, organized, and maintained, as in this Act provided, only during the existence of war, or while war is imminent, and only after Congress shall have authorized the President to raise such a force: Provided, That the term of enlistment in the volunteer forces shall be the same as that for the Regular Army, exclusive of reserve periods, and all officers and enlisted men composing such volunteer forces shall be mustered out of the service of the United States as soon as practicable after the President shall have issued a proclamation announcing the termination of the war or the passing of the imminence thereof. Sec. 2, id. 1384. Same-raising, organizing, etc.; President's proclamation for. That when volunteer forces are to be raised the President shall issue his proclamation, stating the number of men desired for each arm, corps, and department, within such limits as may be fixed by law, and he shall prescribe such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the terms of this Act, as may be necessary for the purpose of examining, organizing, and receiving into the service the 48985°-15-33 513 men called for: Provided, That the power to organize volunteer forces shall include the power to provide, within such limits as are or may be prescribed by law, the officers and enlisted men of all grades and classes, and the trained nurses, male and female, that may be necessary in the various arms, corps, and departments: Provided further, That when three-fourths of the prescribed minimum enlisted strength of any company, troop, or battery, or when threefourths of the prescribed minimum enlisted strength of each company, troop, or battery comprised in any battalion or regiment of the organized land militia of any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, organized as prescribed by law and War Department regulations, shall volunteer and be accepted for service in the Volunteer Army as such company, troop, battery, battalion or regiment, such organization may be received into the volunteer forces in advance of other organizations of the same arm or class from the same State, Territory, or District, and the officers in the organized land militia service with such organization may then, within the limits prescribed by law, be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, as officers of corresponding grades in the Volunteer Army and be assigned to the same grades in the said organization or elsewhere as the President may direct: Provided further, That all enlisted men received into the service in the volunteer forces shall, as far as practicable, be taken from the several States and Territories and the District of Columbia in proportion to the respective populations thereof: Provided further, That when the raising of a volunteer force shall have been authorized by Congress, and after the organized land militia of any arm or class shall have been called into the military service of the United States, volunteers of that particular arm or class may be raised and accepted into said service in accordance with the terms of this Act regardless of the extent to which other arms or classes of said militia shall have been called into said service. Sec. 3, id. 1385. Same-subject to laws, regulations, etc., governing Regular Army. That the volunteer forces shall be subject to the laws, orders, and regulations governing the Regular Army in so far as such laws, Under the authority conferred by the acts of April 20, and April 22, 1898, and in pursuance of the declaration of war with the Kingdom of Spain contained in the act of April 25, 1898, a call was addressed to the governors of the several States for a force of 125,000 volunteers. (G. O. 30, A. G. O. 1898.) For regulations respecting the enrollment, armament, and equipment of the volunteer forces thus called into the service of the United States, see General Orders 26, 31, 33, and 41, A. G. O. of 1898. Section 6 of the act of April 22, 1898, conferred authority upon the President to organize companies, troops, battalions, or regiments, possessing special qualifications, from the nation at large, not to exceed three thousand men, under such rules and regulations, including the appointment of the officers thereof, as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War. The act of May 11, 1898 (30 Stat. 405), authorized the organization of "a volunteer brigade of orders, and regulations are applicable to officers or enlisted men whose permanent retention in the military service, either on the active list or on the retired list, is not contemplated by existing law; and no distinction shall be made between the Regular Army, the organized militia while in the military service of the United States, and the volunteer forces in respect to promotion or to the conferring upon officers or enlisted men of brevet rank, medals of honor, certificates of merit, or other rewards for distinguished service, nor in respect to the eligibility of any officer of said Army, militia, or volunteer forces for service upon any court-martial, court of inquiry, or military commission: Provided, That the organization of all units of the line and of the signal troops of the volunteer forces shall be the same as that prescribed by law and regulations for the corresponding units of the Regular Army: Provided further, That when military conditions so require the President may organize the land forces of the United States into brigades and divisions and such higher units as he may deem necessary, and the composition of units higher than the regiment shall be as he may prescribe: Provided further, That to each regiment of Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery, and to each battalion of Engineers and Signal Corps troops organized under this Act, there shall be attached the same personnel of the Medical Department as are attached to like organizations of the Regular Army: Provided further, That the organization of the coast defenses, of machine-gun detachments, establishments of the Medical Department, remount depots, military trains, secret-service agencies, military prisons, lines of communication, including their supply depots, and of other adjuncts that may be necessary in the prosecution of war, and the organization of which is not otherwise provided for by law, shall be as the President may from time to time direct. Sec. 4, id. 1386. Same-President to appoint officers of. - That except as otherwise provided herein the President is authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint all volunteer officers required by this Act, but the number and grade of such officers shall not exceed the number and grade of like officers provided for a like engineers from the nation at large, to consist of not more than three regiments and not more than three thousand five hundred men, possessing the special qualifications necessary for engineer troops, under such rules and regulations, including the appointment of the officers thereof, as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War." By the same enactment the organization of an additional volunteer force of not exceeding ten thousand enlisted men possessing immunity from disease incident to tropical climates" was also authorized. The officers of these forces were to be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and they were not apportioned among the States and Territories, as required in section 5 of the act of April 22, 1898. The act of May 18, 1898 (30 Stat. 418), authorized the formation of a volunteer signal corps. This statute contained the requirement that "two-thirds of all officers below the rank of major and a like proportion of the enlisted men shall be skilled electricians or telegraph operators." |