and that whenever General Grant moved victory was always his constant attendant, began to desert from their ranks, and came within the Union lines in large numbers. To prevent them from being retaken and summarily punished by the rebel authorities, the commanding General issued the following order for their disposition and protection: [General Orders, No. 10.] HEAD-QUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF To obtain uniformity in the disposition of deserters from the Confederate armies coming within this military division, the following order is published: I. All deserters from the enemy coming within our lines will be conducted to the commander of division or detached brigade who shall be nearest the place of surrender. II. If such commander is satisfied that the deserters desire to quit the Confederate service, he may permit them to go to their homes, f within our lines, on taking the following oath: THE OATH. "I do solemnly swear in the presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Union of States thereunder, and that I will in like manner abide by and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and so far as not yet repealed, modified, or held void by Congress or by decision of the Supreme Court, and that I will in like manner abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so far as not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme Court, so holp me God. "Sworn and subscribed to before me at -this- -day of -186 ." III. Deserters from the enemy will at once be disarmed, and their arms turned over to the nearest Ordnance Officer, who will account for them. IV. Passes and rations may be given to deserters to carry them to their homes, and free passes over military railroads and on steamboats in Government employ. V. Employment at fair wages will, when practicable, be given to leserters by officers of the Quartermaster and Engineer Departments. To avoid the danger of re-capture of such deserters by the enemy, they will le exempt from the military service in the armies of the United States. By order of Major-General U. S. GRANT. T. S. BOWERS, A. A.-G. General Grant also issued an order that " no encouragement will be given to traders or army followers, who have left their homes to avoid enrollment or the draft, and to speculate upon the soldiers' pay; and this class of persons will not be tolerated in the armies of the Military Division of the Mississippi." He also promulgated orders for the better protection of the property of loyal citizens residing within the rebellious States, and for the proper seizure of the effects of rebels forfeited to the United States under the special act of Congress passed for that purpose. The following are the orders alluded to: [General Orders, No 11.] HEAD-QUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF All Quartermasters within the Military Division of the Mississippi who now have, or may hereafter receive, moneys for rents accruing from abandoned property, or property known to belong to Secessionists within this Military Division, are hereby directed to pay such moneys into the hands of the nearest Treasury Agent, taking his receipt therefor, excepting such sums out of said moneys so collected as may be requisite to pay the necessary expenses of collection and the taxes due the United States upon the same. Any property now held by any Quartermaster, and upon which rents are collected by him, shall, when satisfactorily proven to belong to loyal citizens, be restored to the possession of the owners, together with all moneys collected for rents upon the same, excepting only such sums as may be required to pay the necessary expenses of collection, and the taxes due to the United States upon the same. Department and Corps Commanders and Commandants of Military Posts and Stations within this Military Division, are hereby required and directed, whenever called upon by proper authority, to promptly afford all necessary assistance in enforcing the collection of the taxes due upon all property within this command. Corps Commanders within this Military Division are directed to immediately seize, or cause to be seized, all County Records and documents showing titles and claims to property within the revolted States in their respective districts, and hold the same until they can be delivered to an authorized Tax Commissioner of the United States. Where property is used by the Government without paying rent, the collection of taxes on it will be suspended until further orders. By order of Major-General U. S. GRANT T. S. BOWERS, A. A.-G. [General Orders, No. 12.] HEAD-QUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF 1. All seizures of private buildings will be made by the Quartermaster's Department, on the order of the commanding officer. The buildings of disloyal persons alone, will be taken to furnish officers with quarters, and the need for public offices and storehouses must be supplied in preference. 2. When the urgent exigencies of the service require it, the buildings of loyal persons may be taken for storehouses and offices, but only after all suitable buildings belonging to disloyal persons have been seized. 3. In the seizure of buildings, the owner will be allowed to retain all movables except the means of heating. 4. All officers will remain in the immediate vicinity of their commands, and if having a less command than a division or a post, when the command is in tents they will occupy tents themselves. 5. Commanding officers are prohibited from quartering troops in nouses, without the special written authority of the General commanding the Corps or Department to which they belong. 6 In furnishing quarters to officers not serving with troops, the Quartermaster's Department will be governed by existing regulations. 7. Ten days after the receipt and distribution of this order, Corps Commanders will cause an inspection of their commands to be made by their Assistant Inspectors General, and will arrest and prefer charges against every officer who may be occupying quarters not assigned to him by the Quartermaster's Department, or in violation of paragraph 4 of this order. By order of T. S. BOWERS, A. A.-G. Major-General U. S. GRANT. General Grant, ever mindful of the comforts of the soldiers under his command, ordered the following important notice to be sent on Dec. 22, 1863, from the office of the Chief Quartermaster at Louisville, Ky., to prevent any stoppage of the supplies to his army: All requisitions made by Captain J. A. Potter, Assistant Quartermaster United States Army, for military supplies, will be immediately and promptly filled. In case of delay or refusal on the part of any railroad, Captain Potter is authorized to take such means as may be necessary to enforce compliance. By order of Major-General U. S. GRANT. ROBERT ALLEN, Brig.- Gen. and Chief Quartermaster. CHAPTER LVIII. GEN. GRANT PERSONALLY INSPECTS HIS GRAND DEPARTMENT. HAVING thus secured all that appeared at that time to require his personal attention, General Grant determined to visit the outposts of his department, and left Chattanooga for Nashville. An army correspondent at the former place thus records his departure: Gen. Grant left Chattanooga yesterday on the noble and fast-sailing government steam packet Point Rock, en route for Nashville and Louisville. Head-quarters of the Military Division of the Mississippi will soon be established in the last-named town. Gen. Sherman accompanied him. But Gen. Grant has not yet entirely recovered from the effect of the injuries received by the fall from his horse last summer, and the sickness has made sad work with his once robust frame. He walks slowly, sometimes with a cane, and has come to stoop a very little. the cheery look, which brightens into a cordial smile so rapidly, does not convey any idea of suffering. The soldiers and sub-officers at Chattanooga will miss him very much; for they had cause to know him from his daily walk in the streets among them. "Then, Grant is so easy to approach," say they. If a sub-officer or private wishes to gain the private ear of the General, and the request is well founded, it is not necessary to wade through a "regular channel !" of thirty-two gorgeous and curt staff officers to see the chief. General Grant will have no one between him and his army but his adjutant, Brigadier-General Rawlings, who is a hearty, jovial, plain-spoken, hard-working staff officer, just such as is indispensable to an energetic chief like "Old Vicksburg."* |