1285. A column that halts to let another column pass resumes the march in advance of the train of this column. If a column has to pass a train, the train must halt, if necessary, till the column passes. The column which has precedence must yield it if the commander, on seeing the orders of the other, finds it for the interest of the service.-[Regs. 1863, ¶ 707.]

BATTLES.

1286. Dispositions for battle depend on the number, kind, and quality of the troops opposed, on the nature of the ground, and on circumstances which it is impossible to anticipate; and, therefore, the general disposition is left to the judgment and discretion of commanding officers.-[Regs. 1863, ¶ 718.]

1287. In making an attack, the communications to the rear and for retreat must be secured, and the General must give beforehand all necessary orders to provide for that event.-[Regs. 1863, ¶ 731.]

1288. Before the action, the Generals indicate the places where they will be; if they change position, they give notice of it, or leave a Staff officer to show where they have gone.-[Regs. 1863, ¶ 733.]

1289. During the fight the officers and non-commissioned officers keep the men in the ranks, and enforce obedience if necessary. Soldiers must not be permitted to leave the ranks to strip or rob the dead, nor even to assist the wounded except by express permission, which is only to be given after the action is decided. The highest interest and most pressing duty is to win the victory, by winning which only can a proper care of the wounded be insured. -[Regs. 1863, ¶ 734.]

1290. Before the action, all the necessary arrangements are made for the transportation of the wounded. Ambulance depots are established in the rear, and necessary instructions are given for the service of the ambulance wagons and other means of removing the wounded.-[ Regs. 1863, ¶ 735.]

REPORTS.

1291. Written reports for the General commanding are made by commandants of regiments, batteries, and separate squadrons, and by all commanders of a higher grade, each in what concerns his own command, and to his immediate commander. From these the Commanding General prepares for the War Department his report of the battle, campaign, or important movements of his army. and forwards it to the Adjutant General, together with all the subordinate reports. [Regs. 1863, ¶ 742.]

1292. When an officer or soldier deserves mention for conduct in action, a special report shall be made in his case, and the General commanding decides whether to mention him in his report to the

War Department and in his orders. But he shall not be mentioned in the report until he has been mentioned in the orders to the Army. These special reports are examined with care by the intermediate commanders, to verify the facts, and secure commendation and rewards to the meritorious only.-[Regs. 1863, ¶ 743.]

1293. The report of battles, which must frequently be made before these special reports of persons are scrutinized, is confined to general praise or blame, and an account of the operations.—[Regs. 1863, ¶ 744.1

1294. After an action, the officers of Ordnance collect the munitions of war left on the field, and make a return of them to the General. The Quartermaster's Department collects the rest of the public property captured, and makes the returns to headquarters.[Regs. 1863, ¶ 741.]

1295. Á return of prisoners, and a report of the number and description of the killed and wounded of the enemy, will be forwarded to the Adjutant General's Office, Washington, D. C.-[Regs. 1863, ¶ 469.]

PRISONERS OF WAR.

1296. Prisoners of war will be disarmed and sent to the rear, and reported as soon as practicable to the headquarters.—[Regs. 1863, ¶ 745.]

1297. The private property of prisoners will be duly respected, and each shall be treated with the regard due to his rank. They are to obey the necessary orders given them. They receive for subsistence one ration each, without regard to rank; and the wounded are to be treated with the same care as the wounded of the Army. Other allowances to them will depend on conventions with the enemy. Prisoners' horses will be taken for the Army.-[Regs. 1863, ¶ 746.]

1298. A General commanding in the field, or a Department, will make arrangements for the safe-keeping and reasonable comfort of his prisoners. For this purpose he may appoint a Provost Marshal to take charge of them, and place them under a guard already on duty, or detach a guard for the special service. The General will give no order exchanging prisoners, or releasing them, except under instructions from the Secretary of War.-[G. O. 190, 1864.]

1299. In emergencies admitting of no delay, the General will act upon his own authority, and give any order in relation to his prisoners the public interest may require, promptly reporting his proceedings to the War Department through the Adjutant General.-[Regs. 1863, ¶ 781; G. O. 190, 1864.]

1300. Commanders of Departments and of armies in the field, in all cases, when having prisoners in possession, will require full rolls, giving rank, regiment, and company, and time and place of capture, to be forwarded, without delay, to the Adjutant General of the Army, with a letter of transmittal, showing what disposition

is made of the prisoners, and giving any other information that may be useful. All rolls should be signed by the officer who is in charge of the prisoners at the time they are prepared.-[G. O. 190, 1864.]

1301. Generals commanding Departments, or in the field, may, at their discretion, send their prisoners to the general depots, furnishing a proper roll with them, showing the rank, regiment, and company, and when and where captured; after which their charge of them will cease. Immediately on the arrival of prisoners at a depot, the commanding officer will forward to the Commissary General of Prisoners a copy of the roll received with them, noting such changes as may have been made by escape or otherwise.-【G. O. 190, 1864.]

1302. Sick and wounded prisoners of war will be collected at hospitals designated under the instructions of the Surgeon General for their exclusive use, so far as practicable. A suitable guard, which shall be responsible for the security of the prisoners, will be detailed by the Department Commanders, or the General in immediate command. The commander of the guard will make all the returns and reports required of depot commanders.-[G. O. 190, 1864.]

1303. Convalescent prisoners will be sent to the permanent depots as often as may be convenient.-[G. O. 190, 1864.]

1304. The principle being recognized that Medical officers and Chaplains should not be held as prisoners of war, they will be immediately and unconditionally discharged.-[G. O. 190, 1864.]

1305. In time of war, a Commissary General of Prisoners will be announced, and all communications relating to prisoners will pass through him. Depots for prisoners will be designated by the Secretary of War, to which suitable and permanent guards will be assigned, the whole to be under the orders of the Commissary General of Prisoners. He will establish regulations for issuing clothing to prisoners, and will direct the manner in which funds arising from the saving of rations at prison hospitals or stations shall be accounted for and disbursed by the proper disbursing officer, to provide such articles as he may deem necessary for the welfare of the prisoners. He is authorized to grant paroles to prisoners, on the recommendation of the Medical officer attending the prison, in cases of extreme illness, but under no other circumstances.—[G. O. 190, 1864.]

1306. If not otherwise provided, guards for depots and prison stations will be detailed by the Department Commander on the application of the Commissary General of Prisoners. They will not be relieved or changed without informing him of the fact; but all returns and reports of these guards will be made to the Department Commanders, to whom they are responsible for discipline, as in the case of other troops.-[G. O. 190, 1864.]

1307. The Commissary General of Prisoners has authority to call for such reports from officers in command of guards over pris

oners as may be necessary for the proper discharge of his own duties, and he will be prepared to furnish all information in relation to prisoners called for by the Adjutant General.-[G. O. 190, 1864.] 1308. A full record of all prisoners will be kept in the office of the Commissary General of Prisoners, in suitable books, giving the name, rank, regiment, and company of each military prisoner, the residence of each civil prisoner, with the charges against him, and the time and place of capture or arrest. Any special information of importance will be added from time to time in the column of remarks. When disposed of by exchange or otherwise, the fact and the authority for it, with the time, should be noted on the record.— [G. O. 190, 1864.]

1309. The Commissary General of Prisoners is empowered to visit places at which prisoners may be held, and to recommend to the General whose guards are responsible for them whatever modification in their treatment may seem to him proper or necessary, and report the same to the War Department.-G. O. 190, 1864.]

PAROLING AND EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS.

1310. Exchanges of prisoners, and releases of officers on parole, depend on the orders of the General commanding-in-chief under the instructions of Government.-[Regs. 1863, ¶ 747.]

1311. The obligations imposed by the general laws and usages of war upon the non-combatant inhabitants of a section of country passed over by an invading army cease when the military occupation ceases; and any pledge or parole given by such persons, in regard to future service, is null and of no effect.-[G. O. 207, 1863.] 1312. A military parole not to serve until exchanged must not be confounded with a parole of honor to do or not to do a particular thing not inconsistent with the duty of a soldier. Thus, a prisoner of war actually held by the enemy may, in order to obtain exemption from a close guard or confinement, pledge his parole of honor that he will make no attempt to escape. Such pledges are binding upon the individuals giving them; but they should seldom be given or received, for it is the duty of a prisoner to escape if able to do so.-[G. O. 207, 1863.]

1313. Whenever prisoners of war are released on parole and sent through the lines, the officers who release them will immediately send rolls to the Adjutant General of the Army, containing an exact list of the prisoners' names, rank, regiment, and company, date and place of capture, and date and place of parole. These rolls are indispensable in effecting exchanges of prisoners.-[G. O. 190, 1864.]

1314. The following rules in regard to paroles are established by the common law and usages of war:-[G. O. 49, 1863.]

An officer who gives a parole for himself or his command on the battle-field is deemed a déserter, and will be punished accordingly,

For the officer, the pledging of his parole is an individual act, and no wholesale paroiing by an officer, for a number of inferiors in rank, is permitted or valid.

No prisoner of war can be forced by the hostile Government to pledge his parole; and any threat or ill treatment to force the giving of the parole is contrary to the law of war, and not binding.

No prisoner of war can enter into engagements inconsistent with his character and duties as a citizen and a subject of his State. He can only bind himself not to bear arms against his captor for a limited period, or until he is exchanged, and this only with the stipulated or implied consent of his own Government. If the engagement which he makes is not approved by his Government, he is bound to return and surrender himself as a prisoner of war. own Government cannot at the same time disown his engagement and refuse his return as a prisoner.

His

No one can pledge his parole that he will never bear arms against the Government of his captors, nor that he will not bear arms against any other enemy of his Government, not at the time the ally of his captors. Such agreements have reference only to the existing enemy and his existing allies, and to the existing war, and not to future belligerents.

While the pledging of the military parole is a voluntary act of the individual, the capturing power is not obliged to grant it, nor is the Government of the individual paroled bound to approve or ratify it.

Paroles not authorized by the common law of war are not valid till approved by the Government of the individual so pledging his parole.

The pledging of any unauthorized military parole is a military offense, punishable under the common law of war.

1315. The Commissary General of Prisoners has charge of the United States officers and men on parole, and correspondence relating to them. All details concerning them will pass through him.— [G. O. 190, 1864.]

1316. The exchange of prisoners is made under a cartel mutually agreed upon by the belligerents, and stating at what times and in what manner the exchanges shall be made and the prisoners delivered.-[G. O. 142, 1862; G. Q. 100, 1863.]

1317. A declaration of exchange can only properly emanate from the office of the Adjutant General of the Army. Whenever commanders are authorized to make exchanges, their authority is confined to delivering prisoners of war, and receiving others as equivalents. They should then furnish the Commissary General of Prisoners with lists of all persons thus received and delivered, upon which the order declaring the exchange will be issued by the Adjutant General. Such lists should be full as to names, rank, place of capture, and place of delivery.-[G. O. 62, 1865.]

1318. The following may be used as a form of the cartel, the