Clothing balances payable May 15 1872, c. 117. Sergeants of July 16, 1892, ordnance. v. 27 p. 174. Uniforms and equipments not bartered, ex etc. 75, s. 23, v. 12, p. 753. The amounts of deposits and clothing balances accumulating to the soldier's credit under sections thirteen at discharge. hundred and two and thirteen hundred and five shall, 61, s 5, v. 17, p. when payable to him upon his discharge, be paid out of Sec. 1308, R. S. the appropriations for "pay of the Army" for the then current fiscal year. Sergeants of ordnance shall receive the same allowance of clothing as other sergeants in like staff departments. Act of July 16, 1892 (27 Stat. L., 174). 754. The clothes, arms, military outfits, and accouterments furnished by the United States to any soldier shall to be sold, not be sold, bartered, exchanged, pledged, loaned, or given changed, loaned, away; and no person not a soldier, or duly authorized offi- Mar. 3, 1863, c. cer of the United States, who has possession of any such clothes, arms, military outfits, or accouterments, so furnished, and which have been the subjects of any such sale, barter, exchange, pledge, loan, or gift, shall have any right, title, or interest therein; but the same may be seized and taken wherever found by any officer of the United States, civil or military, and shall thereupon be delivered to any quartermaster, or other officer authorized to receive the same. The possession of any such clothes, arms, military outfits, or accouterments by any person not a soldier or officer of the United States shall be presumptive evidence of such a sale, barter, exchange, pledge, loan, or gift. 735. Sec. 3748, R.S. spoiling clothing. etc.. pen alty. 755. Any soldier who sells or through neglect loses or Selling or spoils his horse, arms, clothing, or accouterments shall be punished as a court-martial may adjudge, subject to such limitation as may be prescribed by the President by virtue of the power vested in him. Seventeenth article of war. ALTERING CLOTHING. 756. It shall be lawful for the commanding officer of each, regiment, whenever it may be necessary, to cause the coats, vests, and overalls or breeches which may from time to time be issued to and for his regiment to be altered and July 27, 1892, v. 1 Art. War. 27, p. 277. ing. Altering cloth69, v. 19, p. 243. Feb. 27, 1877, c. Sec. 1220, R.S. ing drawn by him; the difference between the two amounts will be the amount due the United States or the soldier. Par. 1306, ibid. A deserter is entitled to clothing allowance from the date he surrenders or is apprehended, and the amount due him will be computed from the tables then and subsequently in force. A new clothing account will be opened without reference to his account at date of desertion. Par. 1307, ibid. Clothing allowance accruing to a soldier after return to the service from desertion will not be used to reduce the amount of the soldier's indebtedness at date of desertion; the full amount of the soldier's indebtedness must be charged on the roll, to be deducted by the paymaster when he settles the soldier's account. Par. 1309, ibid. Section 1297, Revised Statutes, forbidding the allowance of clothing to ordnancesergeants, was repealed by the act of July 14, 1892. 27 Stat. L., 578, H. Doc. 545-19 Limit of cost. Mar. 2, 1889, v. 25, 831. new made, so as to better to fit them to the persons respectively for whose use they shall be delivered; and for defraying the expense of such alterations, to cause to be deducted and applied out of the pay of such persons a sum or sums not exceeding twenty-five cents for each coat, eight cents for each vest and for each pair of overalls or breeches. 759. Hereafter the regimental price fixed for altering and fitting soldiers' clothing shall not exceed the cost of making the saine at the clothing depots.' Act of March 2, 1889 (25 Stat. L., 831). HISTORICAL NOTE.—The office of Quartermaster-General was created during the war of the Revolution by a resolution of Congress of June 16, 1775; by a subsequent resolution dated July 19, 1775, the appointment to the vacancy was vested in General Washington, and by a resolution of December 22, 1775, the rank of colonel was attached to the office. The appointment was conferred upon Thomas Mifflin, of Pennsylvania, who continued to exercise its functions until August 5, 1780, save for the period between June 5 and October 1, 1776, when the office was held by Col. Thomas Moylan. Upon the resignation of General Mifflin he was succeeded by Gen. Nathaniel Greene, who was appointed to another command on August 5, 1780, and was succeeded by Col. Timothy Pickering, who continued to perform the duties of the office until the close of the war. On July 25, 1785, the office expired by statutory limitation. After the close of active military operations in 1781 the practice of supplying the troops by a system of contracts which had been resorted to during the war, and had been approved by a resolution of Congress dated October 2, 1778, was resumed and continued to exist until its failure as an efficient method of supply was demonstrated during the war of 1812. The office of quartermaster was established by sections 5 and 6 of the act of March 3, 1791 (1 Stat. L., 222); the incumbent of this office was designated as Quartermaster-General, and the rank of lieutenant-colonel was conferred by sections 10 and 11 of the act of March 3, 1795 (ibid., 431), and the office as thus established was continued in the acts to ascertain and fix the military establishment, approved May 30, 1796 (ibid., 483), and March 3, 1797 (ibid., 507). The provisional establishment authorized in contemplation of war with France by the acts of May 28, 1798 (ibid., 558), and March 3, 1799 (ibid., 740), made provision for a Quartermaster-General, with the rank of major-general, with deputy quartermasters-general for armies and quarter masters for divisions, who were to be selected from the line. Operations looking to an increase of the Army were suspended by the acts of February 20, 1800 (2 Stat. L., 7), and May 14, 1800 (ibid., 85). The duties hitherto performed by the Quartermaster's Department were, by section 3 of the act of March 16, 1802 (ibid., 133), devolved upon the Paymaster-General, and upon the military agents and assistant military agents authorized by that enactment, and this arrangement continued until the establishment of the Quartermaster's Department in 1808. The procurement of supplies for the military establishment during the period immediately following the organization of the Government under the Constitution was regulated by section 5 of the act of May 8, 1792 (1 Stat. L., 280), which contained the requirement that "all purchases and contracts for supplying the Army with provisions, clothing, supplies in the Quartermaster's Department, military stores, Indian goods, and all other supplies or articles for the use of the Department of War be made by or under the direction of the Treasury Department." The office of purveyor of public supplies in the Treasury Department was created by the act of February 23, 1795 (ibid., 419), and this officer was to perform the duties, in connection with contracts and purchases, which had been prescribed in the act of May 8, 1792. The power to make purchases for the military establishment, by contract or otherwise, was vested in the Secretary of War by section 3 of the act of July 16, 1798 1 LAUNDRY WORK FOR RECRUITS AT DEPOTS. The Quartermaster's Department is authorized to pay from the appropriation for clothing and equipage a sum not exceeding $1.50 for the laundry work of each recruit at rendezvous and stations who has no funds of his own. The expenditure will be charged on the clothing account of the recruit and so noted on his descriptive and assignment card. Par. 1316, A. R., 1901. (ibid., 610); and by section 6 of the same enactment, the corresponding power was withdrawn from the purveyor of public supplies, the purpose of the statute being to vest the power of purchase in the Secretary of War and that of auditing the vouchers of purchase in the accounting officers of the Treasury. By the act of March 3, 1809 (2 ibid., 535), a method of making purchases and of accounting for the same was prescribed by statute. The Quartermaster's Department, eo nomine, was established by the act of March 28, 1812 (2 Stat. L., 690), and consisted of a Quartermaster-General with the rank of brigadier-general, four deputy quartermasters, and as many assistant deputy quartermasters as, in the opinion of the President, the public service might require; in section 3 the duties of the department were defined. A commissary-general of purchases was also authorized, and a purchasing department was established, to consist of a commissary-general of purchases, a deputy for each division, six assistant commissaries of issues, and as many military storekeepers as the service might require. The duties of the purchasing department, which were to some extent in conflict with those prescribed for the Quartermaster's Department, appear to have been restricted to the procurement of subsistence stores and supplies, leaving the purchase of forage, the provision of transportation, etc., to the Quartermaster-General. The act of April 23, 1812 (ibid., 710), established a corps of artificers as a component part of the Quartermaster's Department; and by the act of May 22, 1812 (ibid., 742), a force of barrack masters was authorized, and officers of the department were required to give bond for the faithful expenditure of public moneys and accounting for all public property which might come into their hands. The office of superintendent-general of military supplies was created by the act of March 3, 1813 (ibid., 816), and charged with the duty of supervising the rendition and audit of accounts and returns from officers in the military service; this office was abolished by the act of March 3, 1817 (3 ibid., 366), the duties of audit being transferred to the accounting officers of the Treasury. In the reorganization of the staff, which was accomplished by the act of April 24, 1816 (3 Stat. Ľ., 297), the services of the Quartermaster-General were retained and a deputy quartermaster-general was authorized for each division and an assistant for each brigade, who were to supersede the existing quartermasters of brigades. By section 3 of the act of April 14, 1818 (ibid., 426), the department was to consist of a Quartermaster-General (brigadier-general), four assistant deputy quartermastersgeneral, and as many additional assistants as the President might deem proper. At the general reduction of 1821 the strength of the department was fixed at a QuartermasterGeneral (brigadier-general), two quartermasters (majors of cavalry), and ten assistant quartermasters, to be detailed from the line with $10 per month additional compensation. By section 4 of the act of May 18, 1826 (4 ibid., 173), two quartermasters and ten assistants were added, who were also to be taken from the line. This statute imposed upon the department the duty of distributing (but not purchasing) the clothing, camp and garrison equipage required for the use of the troops. By section 9 of the act of July 5, 1838 (5 ibid., 256), two assistant quartermasters-general (lieutenant-colonels), and eight assistant quartermasters (captains) were added, and officers already in the department were placed on the same footing in respect to rank, pay, and emoluments (that of officers of dragoons of corresponding rank) as those therein authorized; forage and wagon masters, not to exceed twenty in all, were also authorized. The office of commissary-general of purchases was abolished by section 3, act of August 23, 1842 (5 ibid., 512), and its duties were merged in those required to be performed by the Quartermaster's Department. At the outbreak of the war with Mexico provision was made for the expansion of the department in section 5, act of June 18, 1846 (9 Stat. L., 17), by the appointment of a quartermaster (major) for each brigade and an assistant quartermaster (captain) for each regiment. By section 10, act of February 11, 1847 (ibid., 126), four quartermasters and ten assistant quartermasters were added to the department; by section 10, act of July 19, 1848 (ibid., 247), so much of the act of February 11, 1847, as required the discharge of the additional officers therein authorized was repealed. Five military storekeepers were added by the act of March 3, 1857 (11 ibid., 200). For the volunteer forces called into the service at the commencement of the war of the rebellion, brigade quartermasters (captains) were authorized for each brigade, and the permanent force of the department was increased by the addition of one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, four majors, and twenty captains by section 3 of the act of August 3, 1861 (12 Stat. L., 287); captains after fourteen years' service were to be advanced to the grade of major, and wagon masters and teamsters were authorized with the pay and allowances of sergeants and corporals, respectively. The number of military storekeepers was increased to twelve by section 8 of the act of 1862 (ibid., 509). The office of the Quartermaster-General was reorganized into eight divisions, and six inspectors and ten chief quartermasters of armies and departments (colonels) and division quartermasters with the rank of major were authorized for the period of the war. At the general reorganization of 1866, the strength of the department was increased to the following: One Quartermaster-General (brigadier-general), six assistant quartermasters-general (colonels), ten deputy quartermasters-general (lieutenant-colonels), fifteen quartermasters (majors), and forty-four assistant quartermasters (captains), section 13, act of July 28, 1866 (14 Stat. L., 334). The vacancies created by the act were to be filled by the appointment of persons who had served in the Quartermaster's Department during the war of the rebellion; so soon as the vacancies created by the act had been once filled, however, there were to be no appointments or promotions to the grades of captain and major until the number of officers in those grades had been reduced to twelve and thirty respectively. Promotions and appointments were prohibited until the further order of Congress by section 6, act of March 3, 1869 (15 Stat. L., 318, sec. 1194, R. S.), but this prohibition was removed by the act of March 3, 1875 (18 ibid., 330), which provided the following permanent organization for the department: One Quartermaster-General (brigadier-general), four assistant quartermasters-general (colonels), eight deputy quartermasters-general (lieutenant-colonels), fourteen quartermasters (majors), and thirty assistant quartermasters (captains); no more military storekeepers were to be appointed, and the office was eventually to cease to exist upon the death or retirement of the storekeepers then in service. Appointments to the grade of captain from civil life were authorized, in the discretion of the President, by the act of March 3, 1883 (22 ibid., 456), but this requirement was repealed by the act of August 6, 1894 (28 ibid., 234), which restricted such appointments to officers of the next lower grade in the line of the Army. The corps of quartermaster-sergeants was added by the act of July 5, 1884 (23 ibid., 107), and the corps of army service men was attached to the department by the act of June 20, 1890 (26 ibid., 163). At the outbreak of the war with Spain the Secretary of War was authorized, by the act of July 7, 1898 (30 ibid., 714), to assign four officers of the department to duty as inspectors, and these officers, together with the four principal assistants in the office of the Quartermaster-General, the heads of the divisions in the same office, and the officers in charge of the principal depots, not exceeding twelve in number, were to have, during such assignment, the rank and pay one grade higher than that actually held by them in the regular or volunteer service; such increase in rank, however, was in no case to exceed that of colonel, and was to continue for a period not exceeding one year after the close of the war. Two colonels, two lieutenant-colonels, three majors, and twenty captains were added to the volunteer force of the department for the period of the existing war. The corps of post quartermaster-sergeants was increased to a total strength of one hundred and five by the act of July 8, 1898 (ibid., 728). By section 16 of the act of February 2, 1901 (31 Stat. L. 751), the permanent strength of the department was fixed at one Quartermaster-General with the rank of brigadiergeneral, six assistant quartermasters-general with the rank of colonel, nine deputy quartermasters-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, twenty quartermasters with the rank of major, and sixty quartermasters with the rank of captain mounted. A system of details was also established by the operation of which the permanent commissioned personnel of the department will be gradually replaced, as vacancies occur, by officers detailed from the line of the Army for duty in the Quartermaster's Department. Composition. Sec. 1140, R. S. 758. The Subsistence Department shall consist of one Commissary-General of Subsistence with the rank of 17, v. 31, p. 752. brigadier-general, three assistant commissaries-general with the rank of colonel, four deputy commissaries-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, nine commissaries with the rank of major, twenty-seven commissaries with the rank of captain, mounted, the number of commissarysergeants now authorized by law, who shall hereafter be known as post commissary-sergeants." Sec. 17, act of February 2, 1901 (31 Stat. L., 752). For note containing the statutory history of the Subsistence Department see end of chapter. 2Section 17 of the act of February 2, 1901 (31 Stat. L., 752), contained the requirement that "all vacancies in the grades of colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major, ereated or caused by this act, shall be filled by promotion, according to seniority, as now prescribed by law;" the same enactment also contained the proviso that "to fill vacancies in the grade of captain created by this act, the President is authorized to appoint officers of volunteers commissioned in the Subsistence Department since April 21, 1898." See also the act of March 2, 1901, paragraph 578, ante. Section 2 of the act of July 7, 1898 (30 Stat. L., 715), authorized the Subsistence Department of the volunteer service to be increased "during the present war, and not to exceed one year thereafter, eight majors and twelve captains for the discharge of such subsistence duties as may be assigned to them by the Secretary of War, to be nominated and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to be appointed by the President." The same statute contained the requirement that "during the existence of the present war, and for not exceeding one year thereafter, every commissary of subsistence, of whatever rank, who shall be assigned to the duty of purchasing and shipping subsistence supplies at important depots, shall have the rank next above that held by him and not above colonel, but the number so assigned shall only be such as may be found necessary, not exceeding twelve; also that the two commissaries of subsistence who may be detailed as assistants to the Commissary-General of Subsistence, shall have the rank of colonel: Provided, That when any such officer is relieved from said duty, his temporary rank, pay, and emoluments shall cease, and he shall return to his lineal rank in the Department.' These statutes were repealed by section 11, act of March 2, 1899 (30 Stat. L., 979). For the volunteer subsistence staff, see the act of March 2, 1899 (30 ibid., 979). |