ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



21 



supply the annual loss from deaths; 101 the 

 loss from discharges from service, mainly 

 from disability ; 85 the loss from missing in 

 action and from desertions, and 2 from other 

 cau> 



The number of " missing" and of " deserters" 

 in the Eastern volunteer army is more than 

 double the number of those classes in the West- 

 ern volunteer forces. 



Taking the returns of the period from the 

 1st of June, 1861, to the 1st of March, 1862, as 

 the basis of calculation, it is estimated that to 

 secure in the field a constant force of 500,000 

 effective men, the nation must not only main- 

 tain 58,000 sick men, but must also recruit the 

 ranks of the enlisted portion of these forces 

 with new material at the rate of 123, 000 per an- 

 num so long as the war shall last a rate some- 

 what exceeding 10,000 recruits per month. Of 

 those 123,000 annual recruits 83,000 are to sup- 

 ply losses by death and discharges from service 

 (exclusive of discharges for expiration of term 

 of enlistment) ; 34,000 for desertions and miss- 

 ing in action; and 6,000 to supply other losses 

 specified and unspecified. 



The desertions from the army in the autumn 

 of 1862 became so great as to cause the ap- 

 pointment of officers to arrest and return such 

 persons. An order of Gen. Buell, dated near 

 Florence, Alabama, on June 24, stated that 14,- 

 000 officers and soldiers were absent from the 

 various divisions of his army. Some had gone 

 without any authority, and others with the per- 

 mission of officers not authorized to grant it. 

 Sickness was generally stated to be the cause 

 of this absence, but in many cases it had noto- 

 riously ceased to exist. In September the War 

 Department issued the following order : 



Orders respecting Specwl Provost Marshals, and defin- 

 ing their duties. 



WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, ) 

 WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 1S62. ) 



First. There shall be a Provost Marshal General of 

 the War Department, whose headquarters will be at 

 Washington, and who will have the immediate super- 

 vision, control, and management of the corps. 



Secorvi. There will be appointed in each State one or 

 more Special Provost Marshals, as necessity may re- 

 quire, who will report to, and receive instructions" and 

 orders from the Provost Marshal General of the War 

 Departmsnt. 



Tkirl. It will be the duty of the Special Provost 

 Marshals to arrest all deserters, whether regulars, volun- 

 teers, or militia, and send them to the nearest military 

 commander, or military post, where they can be cared for 

 and sent to their respective regiments ; to arrest, upon 

 the warrant of the Judge Advocate, all disloyal persons 

 subject to arrest under the orders of the War Depart- 

 ment ; to inquire into and report treasonable practices, 

 seize stolen or embezzled property of the Government, 

 detect spies of the enemy, and perform such other du- 

 ties as may be enjoined upon them by the War Depart- 

 ment; and report all their proceedings promptlv to the 

 Provost Marshal General. 



Fourth. To enable Special Provost Marshals to dis- 

 charge their duties efficiently, they are authorized to 

 call on any available military force within their re- 

 spective districts, or else to employ the assistance of 

 citizens, constables, sheriffs, or police officers, so far 

 as may be necessary under such regulations as may be 

 prescribed by the Provost Marshal General of the War 



Department with the approval of the Secretary of 

 War. 



Fifth. Necessary expenses incurred in this service 

 will be paid on duplicate bills certified by the Special 

 Provost Marshals, stating the time and nature of the 

 service, after examination and approval by the Provost 

 Marshal General. 



'< . The compensation of Special Provost Mar- 

 shals will be dollars per month, and actual 



travelling expenses and postage will be refunded OH 

 bills certified to under oath and approved by the Pro- 

 vost Marshal General. 



nth. All appointments in this service will be 

 subject to be revoked, at^he pleasure of the Secretary 

 ofWar. 



Eighth. All orders heretofore issued by the War 

 Depa'rtment, conferring authority upon other officers to 

 act as Provost Marshals (except those who have re- 

 ceived special commissions from the War Department), 

 are hereby revoked. 



By order of he Secretary of War, 



J. THOMAS, Adjutant-General. 



The operations for the surgical department 

 have been aided by humane and benevolent as- 

 sociations. The horrors of battle have been 

 assuaged by ministers of mercy, and the services 

 of the medical profession have been voluntarily 

 and gratuitously offered on every occasion. 

 Eelief associations in every State have done 

 much to comfort and assist the sick and wound- 

 ed in camps and hospitals, and their vigilant 

 superintendence has perhaps operated to check 

 the negligence, abuse, and fraud that too often 

 prevail even in such institutions. Religious 

 congregations and societies have also tendered 

 to the Government their church buildings for 

 hospitals, while their pastors have ministered 

 to the patients. 



The subsistence of the armies during the year 

 has been reported as good and wholesome. 

 Fresh beef has generally been supplied to the 

 armies in the field on the hoof, to lessen, as far 

 as possible, the quantity of transportation re- 

 quired, and in larger proportion of the ration to 

 marching columns. The troops on the coasts 

 of the Carolinas, and at the Gulf posts, includ- 

 ing New Orleans, received their fresh beef by 

 shipment from New York. In addition to the 

 troops, subsistence has been furnished to all 

 political prisoners and prisoners of war, to a 

 large number of contrabands, and to the suffer- 

 ing Union inhabitants found in the march of 

 armies in the Confederate States. It is stat- 

 ed by the general-in-chief Halleck that no 

 armies in the world are so well supplied as the 

 armies of the United States. 



Notwithstanding the extraordinary demand 

 for arms occasioned by the new levies, and the 

 enormous losses occasioned b/the casualties of 

 war, and, in some instances, by the misconduct 

 of officers and men, over four hundred thou- 

 sand new troops suddenly called into the field 

 were supplied at once. The issues from the 

 'ordnance department include 1.926 field and 

 siege, and 1,206 fortification cannon, 7,294 gun 

 carriages, caissons, mortar beds, travelling 

 forges and battery wagons : 1,276,686 small 

 arms, 987,291 sets of equipment and accoutre- 

 ments, and 213,991,127 rounds of ammunition 

 for artillery and small arms. 



