KENTUCKY. 



461 



become, within ten days after the passage of 

 the act, a member of the active militia, there 

 should be assessed in lieu of military service the 

 sum of five hundred dollars annually, to be col- 

 lected as the county levy, and to be paid into 

 the State treasury, to be kept as a distinct 

 militia fund. This act was repealed at the 

 extra session in May. 



Subsequently, on April 29th, Gen. Palmer 

 issued the following order : 



HEADQUARTERS OP THE DEPABTMENT OF KENTUCKY, 1 



April 29. J 



The functions of the civil courts in this Department 

 being, to a certain extent, suspended by martial law, 

 makes it the duty of every officer to be scrupulously 

 observant of public and individual safety, and to af- 

 ford, as far as possible, complete protection to' the 

 people. 



The power of arrests will hereafter be sparingly 

 exercised, and directed against the real offenders. 

 There is no justice in pursuing foolish people for a 

 foolish word. There is no longer in this Department, 

 hostile to the Government, an organization which de- 

 serves to be characterized as a military band. Those 

 patrolling through the country are simply guerrillas 

 and robbers, and are to be treated as such. They 

 will be allowed to surrender for trial. 



The people of this Department are to be protected 

 without regard to color or birthplace. Complaints 

 reach these headquarters of the beating of women for 

 claiming the benefit of the amnesty oath, and the act 

 of Congress freeing the slaves of all persons who have 

 been in rebellion against the Government of the 

 United States; and who have aided the rebellion 

 against the Government of the United States; and 

 who have aided or given any comfort to those in re- 

 bellion; and the joint resolution freeing the wives 

 and children of enlisted men, and others who have 

 acquired the right under the laws, the executive proc- 

 lamation, and military orders. 



All such persons are under the protection of the 

 Government. Colored people within the laws, reso- 

 lutions, proclamations, and orders referred to, are 

 free; and, whether free or not, are to be protected 

 from cruelty and oppression in all cases. 



When the state of the country and the organization 

 and rules of civil tribunals will permit them to en- 

 force justice, offenders against the local laws will be 

 handed over to them for trial. 



In no case, however, will any person or court be 

 allowed to deprive any one of his or her liberty un- 

 der the acts, resolutions, proclamations, and orders 

 above referred to, or to harass, by persecution or 

 otherwise, those who may desert the enemy, in earn- 

 ing a support or maintaining their rights. 



By command of Maj.-Gen. JOHN M. PALMER. 



J. BATES DICKSON, Captain, A. A. G. 



The disturbance from guerrillas, however, 

 continued until the surrender of the Confeder- 

 ate armies ; and on May 1st the old command 

 of Gen. John Morgan surrendered to Brig.-Gen. 

 E. H. Hobson, at Mount Sterling. 



The force consisted of about one thousand 

 men and one hundred and five officers, and 

 was commanded by Col. Giltner. For some 

 days they held out against Gen. Hobsori's 

 terms, demanding to be received and treated as 

 prisoners of war, to retain all private property, 

 horses, side-arms, etc., to take no oath to sup- 

 port the Government, but return to their alle- 

 giance to the United States Government when- 

 ever the Confederate Government should no 

 longer claim an existence, or the right to re- 



move to some other country, claiming a safe 

 transit thereto. 



These terms Gen. ITobson declined to grant, 

 and they not being exactly in a position to dic- 

 tate terms, finally surrendered unconditionally. 

 The officers, however, were allowed to retain 

 their side-arms. The men appeared as if they 

 had seen hard service, scarcely one having a 

 complete uniform. An order was also issued 

 by Maj.-Gen. Thomas, offering the same terms 

 as those upon which Gen. Lee surrendered. If 

 produced the desired effect. The leaders, Pat- 

 terson and Norwood, surrendered at Decatur, 

 Ala., on May 3d, and Gen. Koddy accepted the 

 same terms. Col. Malone, at the head of a 

 considerable command near Clarksville, Ky., 

 and afterwards at Springfield, also Harper, in. 

 the vicinity of Gallatin, took advantage of the 

 same order. In a short time the invaders en- 

 tirely disappeared. 



On the return of disbanded Southern soldiers 

 to their homes in Kentucky and other States 

 which had resisted the South, the question was 

 at once raised, " whether the Confederate offi- 

 cers and soldiers surrendered under the terms 

 agreed upon by Gens. Grant and Lee had a 

 right to return to their homes in loyal States." 

 The terms of surrender provided for the sur- 

 render of arms, the paroles to be given by the 

 officers, etc., and said, " This done, each officer 

 and man will be allowed to return to their 

 homes, not to be disturbed by the United States 

 authorities so long as they observe their parole 

 and the laws in force where they may reside." 

 Nothing is said in this agreement about the 

 locality of the homes of the officers or men. 

 But the Secretary of War soon submitted to 

 the Attorney-General (Speed) this question for 

 his opinion. In reply, he says : 



The rebels were dealt with by Gen. Grant as belli- 

 gerents. As belligerents their homes were, of neces- 

 sity, in the territory belligerent to the Government 

 of the United States. The officers and soldiers of 

 Gen. Lee's army, then, who had homes prior to the 

 rebellion in the Northern States, took up their resi- 

 dences within the rebel States and abandoned their 

 homes in the loyal States ; and when Gen. Grant gavo 

 permission to them, by the stipulation, to return to 

 their homes, it cannot be understood as a permission 

 to return to any part of the loyal States. 



This was followed by the following order 

 from the War Department : 



General Order No. 63. 



WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, \ 

 WASHINGTON, April 24, 1865. f 



The attention of all commanders of military divi- 

 sions, departments, districts, detachments, and posts, 

 is drawn to the annexed opinion of the Attorney-Gen- 

 eral, which they will observe, and regulate their ac- 

 tion in accordance therewith. 

 By order of the Secretary of War. 



W. A. NICHOLS, A. A. G. 



By taking the oath of allegiance the force of 

 the order was set aside, and finally caused no 

 practical restraint. 



But the disorganization of labor continued. 

 The inevitable tendency of events was steadily 

 toward emancipation. The negroes were prac- 



