706 



TENNESSEE. 



HEADQUARTERS TENNESSEE STATE GITAKDS, ) 

 NASHVILLE, March 6, 186T. $ 



1. Captains of companies, to whom commissions 

 have been forwarded, together with a copy of this 

 order, are authorized to enlist for a period of three 

 years, unless sooner discharged, one hundred able- 

 bodied men, who. when enrolled, shall proceed to 

 elect their other officers, who shall be commissioned 

 when the captain shall certify the same to me at these 

 headquarters, each company in the service to be mus- 

 tered as infantry. 



2. As many as twenty-five in each company shall 

 be mounted 'to act as scouts, etc., under the com- 

 mand of such officers as the captains from time to 

 time may designate. 



For drunkenness, and a wilful neglect of duty, the 

 commander-in-chief reserves to himself the right to 

 dismiss any officer from the service, the charge being 

 previously sustained. 



5. Captains or lieutenants commanding companies 

 or squads will see, on all occasions, that 110 man's 

 premises are trespassed upon ; that no poultry or 

 stock is taken or killed ; that no fence-rails are de- 

 stroyed ; no timber cut down and used without a fair 

 compensation being paid ; and that no grain or forage 

 be taken without the consent of the owner, and then 

 at th e market value. These rules must be observed. 



6. Every officer and private, before entering the ser- 

 vice, shall take and subscribe the following oath : 



" I do solemnly swear that I have never volun- 

 tarily borne arms against the Government of the 

 United States, for the purpose or with the intention 

 of aiding the late rebellion ; nor have I, with any 

 such intention, at any time, given aid, comfort, coun- 

 sel, or encouragement to said rebellion, or to any act 

 of hostility to the Government of the United States. 

 I further swear, that I have never sought or accepted 

 any office, either civil or military, under the authority, 

 or pretended authority, of the so-called Confederate 

 States of America, or of any insurrectionary State, 

 hostile or opposed to the United States Government, 

 with the intent and desire to aid said rebellion ; that 

 I have never given a voluntary support to any such 

 Government or authority. So help me God." 



A subsequent order delegates the command 

 of this force to General Jos. A. Cooper. In 

 this order he says : 



2. There are now twelve companies ready for the 

 service ; and, although I find no trouble in raising 

 companies, there will not be called into service more 

 than twelve or fourteen companies, all told, unless 

 the rebellious conduct of the people shall make it 

 necessary to increase the force. 



3. The length of time that this small force of State 

 militia will be continued in the service depends en- 

 tirely upon the conduct of the people. The indica- 

 tions are that we are to have disturbances at different 

 points, prompted by bad and rebellious men ; but in 

 this, I hope, for the sake of the country, that I may 

 be disappointed. 



A new franchise law was enacted in Feb- 

 ruary, which abolished all distinction on ac- 

 count of race or color in the qualification re- 

 quired of electors, but an attempt to admit 

 colored persons to the privilege of sitting on 

 juries was unsuccessful. Further disabilities, 

 with regard to the exercise of the franchise, 

 were imposed upon persons who had partici- 

 pated in any insurrectionary movements, either 

 within the State or beyond its limits. The 

 power of appointing commissioners of regis- 

 tration was given to the Governor, who was 

 also invested with the authority to set aside 

 the registration in any county where he was 

 satisfied that any fraud or irregularity had been 



employed in making such registration. "With 

 regard to the appointment of judges of elec- 

 tions, the former law provided that those offi- 

 cials should be chosen for each voting precinct 

 by the County Court, at the session next pre- 

 ceding the day of election; and, in case the 

 Court failed to appoint, or any person appoint- 

 ed refused to serve, " the sheriff, with the ad- ' 

 vice of three justices, or, if none be present, 

 three respectable freeholders, shall, before the 

 beginning of the election, appoint said inspect- 

 ors or judges." The provision of the new law 

 on this point is contained in the following sec- 

 tion: 



SEC. 10. Be it further enacted. That in case any 

 County Court shall fail or refuse to induct into office 

 any of the officers elected under this act, it shall be 

 lawful for the commissioner of registration, upon 

 orders from the Governor, to perform that duty, and 

 to administer all necessary oaths, and to take and ap- 

 prove all necessary official bonds, and the same shall 

 be good and valid in law. The judges and clerks of 

 all elections shall hereafter be selected and appointed 

 by the commissioner of registration in each county 

 in the same manner, and governed by the same rules 

 and laws heretofore provided by law, conferring the 

 said selection and appointments by sheriffs. 



A case was brought in the Supreme Court of 

 the State to test the constitutionality of this 

 franchise law, and a decision was rendered on 

 the 21st of March sustaining its validity. The 

 case was carried by appeal to the Supreme 

 Court of the United States. 



The election, at which a Governor and other 

 State officers were to be chosen, occurred on 

 the 1st of August. The nominating convention 

 of the Eepublicans was held on the 22d of 

 February, and decided that "Wm. G. Brownlow 

 was the choice of the party for Governor. A 

 body of resolutions was adopted, setting forth 

 the principles of the Eepublicans of Tennessee, 

 approving of the past administration of Govern- 

 or Brownlow, and sustaining the action of the 

 Federal Congress. The convention declared 

 that the people of Tennessee looked upon Gen- 

 eral Geo. H. Thoraas as their adopted son, the 

 savior of their State capital from the hands of 

 traitors, and as the man who never made a mis- 

 take, and never lost a battle ; and therefore it 

 was "Resolved, That he is the choice of Ten- 

 nessee for the next President of the United 

 States." 



The Conservative Convention met at Nash- 

 ville on the 16th of April, and nominated Em- 

 erson Etheridge for Governor. The following 

 is the platform adopted : 



"We, the Conservative Union men of Tennessee, 

 adopt the following platform of principles : 



1. We are in favor of the Union of the States, under 

 the Constitution of the United States, and we pledge 

 ourselves to support and defend the same. 



2. We are the friends of peace and civil law, and 

 believe that these great objects can be best promoted 

 by legislation recognizing equal and exact justice to 

 all, exclusive privileges to none. 



3. We are in favor of the immediate restoration of 

 our disfranchised fellow-citizens to all rights, privi- 

 leges, and immunities of full and complete citizen- 

 ship. 



4. That our colored fellow-citizens, being now citi- 



