ARMY, CONFEDERATE. 



31 



the age of thirty years who are now and have been 

 for the last seven years in the practice of their profes- 

 sion, but the term physician shall not include dentists. 

 [The old law exists covering professors and teachers.] 

 All superintendents of public hospitals established 

 by law before the passage of this act, and such em- 

 ployes as the said superintendent shall certify on 

 oath to be essential to the management thereof. 



4. There shall be exempt one" person as owner or 

 agriculturalist on each farm or plantation upon which 

 there are now and were, on the first day of January 

 last, fifteen able-bodied field hands between the ages 

 of sixteen and fifty, upon the following conditions : 

 1st. This exemption shall only be granted in cases 

 in which there is no white male adult on the farm or 

 plantation not liable to military duty, nor unless the 

 person claiming the exemption was, on the 1st day 

 of January, 1504, either the owner and manager or 

 overseer of said plantation ; but in no case shall 

 more than one person be exempted for one farm or 

 plantation. 2d. Such person shall first execute a 

 pond, payable to the Confederate States of America, 

 in such form and with such security and in such 

 penalty as the Secretary of War mav prescribe, 

 conditioned that he will deliver to the Government, 

 at some railroad depot, or such other place or places 

 as may be designated by the Secretary of War, with- 

 in twelve months next ensuing, one hundred poufcds 

 of bacon, or, at the election "of the Government, its 

 equivalent in pork, and one hundred pounds of net 

 beef (said beef to be delivered on foot), for each able- 

 bodied slave on said farm or plantation within the 

 above said ages, whether said slaves are in the field 

 or not, which said bacon, or pork and beef, shall be 

 paid for by the Government at the price fixed by the 

 Commissioners of the State under the impressment 

 act : Provided, That when the person thus exempted 

 shall produce satisfactory evidence that it has been im- 

 possible for him, by the exercise of proper diligence, 

 to furnish the amount of meat thus contracted for 

 and leave an adequate supply for the subsistence of 

 those living on said farm, the Secretary of War shall 

 direct a commutation of the same to the extent of two- 

 thirds thereof in grain or other provisions to be deliv- 

 ered by such persons as aforesaid at equivalent rates. 



Such person shall furthermore bind himself to sell 

 the marketable surplus of provisions and grain now 

 on hand, and which he may raise from year to year, 

 while the exemption continues, to the Government 

 or to the families of soldiers, at prices fixed by the 

 Commissaries of the State, under the impressment 

 act : Provided, That any person exempted as afore- 

 said shall be entitled to a credit of twenty-five per 

 cent, on any amount of meat which he may deliver 

 within three months from the passage of this act : 

 Provi : . That persons coming within the 



provisions'of this exemption shall not be deprived of 

 the benefit thereof by reason of having been enrolled 

 since the first day of February, 1864. 



In addition to the foregoing exemptions, the Sec- 

 retary of War may, under the direction of the Presi- 

 dent, exempt or d'etail such other persons as he may 

 be satisfied ought to be exempted on account of pub- 

 lic necessity, and to insure the production of grain 

 and other provisions for the army and for the fami- 

 lies of soldiers. He may also grant exemptions or 

 details, on such terms as he may prescribe, to such 

 overseers, farmers, or planters, as he may be satisfied 

 will be more useful to the country in pursuits of 

 agriculture than in the military service : Pro 

 That such exemption shall cease whenever the farmer, 

 planter, or overseer shall fail diligently to employ, in 

 good faith, his own skill, capital, and labor exclusive- 

 ly in the production of grain and other provisions, to 

 be sold to the Government and the families of sol- 

 diers at such prices not exceeding those fixed at the 

 time for the articles by the Commissaries of the State 

 under the Impressment Act. 



The old law is reenacted relating to railroads. 



6. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as 



repealing the act approved April 14, 1863, exempting 

 contractors for carrying the mails of the Confederate 

 States, and the drivers of post coaches and hacks, 

 from military service: . i'uat all the exemp- 



tions granted under this act, shall only continue 

 while the persons so exempted are actually engaged 

 in their respective pursuits or occupations. 



10. That the President be, and he is hereby, au- 

 thorized to grant details, under general rules and 

 regulations to be issued from the War Department, 

 either of persons between forty-five and fifty years 

 of age, or from the army in the field, in all cases 

 where, in his judgment, justice, equity, and necessity 

 require such details, and he may revoke such orders 

 of details whenever he thinks proper: Pi'" 

 That the power herein granted to the President to 

 make details and exemptions shall not be construed 

 to authorize the exemption or detail of any con- 

 tractor for furnishing supplies of any kind "to the 

 Government by reason of said contract, unless the 

 head or Secretary of the department making such 

 contract shall certify that the personal services of 

 such contractor are indispensable to the execution 

 of the contract : Provided, further, That whenever 

 such contractor shall fail diligently and faithfully to 

 proceed with the execution oi such contract, his" ex- 

 emption or detail shall cease. 



12. That in appointing local boards of surgeons 

 for the examination of persons liable to military 

 service, no member composing the same shall be 

 appointed from the county or enrolling district ia 

 which they are required to make such examination. 



Under the provisions of this bill, almost the 

 whole male population can be employed either 

 in the army, or in raising supplies. On the 

 5th of October, an order was issued revoking 

 all details, furloughs, and temporary exemp- 

 tions of men, between the ages of eighteen and 

 forty-five. At the session in December, 186-i, 

 a new bill was introduced which omitted the ex- 

 emption of fifteen field hands. 



These acts have never been executed strictly. 

 In November the States of North Carolina 

 and Georgia had respectively fourteen .thou 

 saiid and fifteen thousand exempts acting as 

 State officers. More than thirty thousand were 

 estimated to be exempted as State officers by the 

 Conscription Bureau, and a hundred thousand 

 from physical disability. The number of phy- 

 sicians exempted was estimated between three 

 and four thousand ; and farmers, one hundred 

 and fourteen thousand. 



No facts can at present be obtained by which 

 to determine the strength of the armies in the 

 field, or the real military power of the Con 

 federacy. The following estimate was pub 

 lished at Richmond, Dec., 1861 : 



Knmber between IT and 50 in 1S60. 1.299,700 



Arrived at IT since 1S6J 331,650 



Total 1,631.350 



Deduct lor ordinary mortality 2'Xi,000 



For population within enemy's lines 340,515 



For losses in battle, and by unusual dis- 

 c-uses. 2-2.3.000 



765,515 



Eemainder SC5,S35 



Deduct 10 per cent, for exemptions for 



disability and other causes. ". 



Prisoners in the enemy's hands. 50,000 



1G6.554 



Subject to military duty. 729.251 



Left the country .' ' 3o.462 



Total 692,789 



