fested by the people to raise the required number of men without drafting, and also fully mindful of his obligations to the government, on the 29th of November issued the following proclamation, which clearly presents the requirements of the government at that time, and the mode by which they are to be met:

To the People of the State of Michigan:

It is essential to the maintenance of the honor of the State, by meeting its obligations to the Federal Government, that the, quota of the troops required of Michigan under the call for 600,000 men should be speedily furnished. I have felt great confidence that this might be done without resort to a draft, but it will be impossible at the rate enlistments have been making for the last month and more. The number required of each town and ward in the State has been assigned upon the principle of giving credit for all recruits furnished since the first of July last. Substantial justice in this respect has been done toward all. To be exact was impossible, and to go back of the first of July was impracticable, both because the order of the Secretary of War did not authorize it, and because there was no reliable record by which such credit could be made up with any chance of fairness.

It is, therefore, indispensable that the several towns and wards of cities should furnish the number of recruits assigned to them, and I take this occasion to assure the people that unless the men are furnished by voluntary enlistment they will be taken by the draft.

For the purpose of still giving abundant opportunity to fill the quota of the State by voluntary enlistment, recruiting will be continued as follows:

1st. Recruits will be received for new regiments now forming in the State, and for all the old regiments now in the field, until and including the 29th day of December next. These must be enlisted for the term of three years or during the war.

2d. From the 1st to the 16th day of December next volunteer recruits will be received for the old regiments only, to serve for nine months, in pursuance of the act of Congress.

3d. On the 30th day of December next the draft will commence and proceed until the requisite number is obtained in all those towns and wards which shall then be found delinquent.

Less than four thousand men are now required to fill the entire quota of the State, and I earnestly hope that they will be found to come forward cheerfully and enlist for the war, as all our troops thus far have done. And I desire this not so much because there is anything discreditable in a draft, as because it is exceedingly desirable that all the troops from Michigan should stand on the same footing in the army. Let the people of Michigan make one more loyal and vigorous effort, and the entire number required can be obtained, and the high reputation of the State for patriotism and promptness will be maintained. AUSTIN BLAIR.

Dated Jackson, November 29, 1862.

The following from the Adjutant General's reports shows the aggregate number of troops enlisted and mustered up to December 23, 1862:

"Total, including recruits, sent to the field before July 1st, 1862, 24,281; 'Lancers' and 'Hughes's Horse Guards,' regularly mustered into the service,

but disbanded without leaving the State, 987; three regiments of cavalry, ten of infantry, and one battery, sent since July 1st, 13,739; recruits (including six for nine months) received from July 1st to December 23d, 2,162; estimated strength of three regiments of cavalry, two of infantry, one of sharpshooters, and two batteries, organized in the State, 4,400. Total, 45,569.

"This does not include volunteers from this State who have gone into the regiments of other States, to a number known to exceed 1,400.

"A considerable number of recruits had also been enlisted in the State during the summer and fall for the regular army, probably three or four hundred at least.

"These troops, with the exception of a few of the earlier regiments that were mustered into service by the late Lieutenant Colonel E. Backus, Captain J. C. Robinson, and Captain H. R. Mizner, U. S. army, were mustered under the direction of the late General J. R. Smith, U. S. army, a citizen and resident of Michigan, who was United States military commander in the State, and chief mustering officer until the adoption of the provost marshal's system, when he was detailed as commissary of musters, in which capacity he served until the close of the war. The energetic and faithful services rendered by him aided much in facilitating the speedy despatch of troops to the front."

The report closes with the following extract, which undoubtedly expressed the estimation in which the Michigan troops were held, and did not by any means over-estimate their services, and certainly was correct as to the loyalty and patriotism of the people at that period of the war:

"At the time of making the last annual report from this department, covering only a small portion of the force now in the service from this State, it was thought that the regiments then reported would be all that would be required to suppress the rebellion; but another year is nearly closed, and regiment after regiment has been raised, until a large army has gone from the State, and still the rebellion goes on. Notwithstanding all this, the loyalty and patriotism of the people are not exhausted. The same determination seems to exist as at the commencement of the war, that it must be put down, and the Nation redeemed at any sacrifice. The promptness and cheerfulness with which every call made by the General Government upon the State has been responded to bespeaks the intelligent loyal patriotism of its people. The people of Michigan are intelligently loyal on the subject of the war, and her soldiery are intelligently brave and patriotic, true to the honor of their State and their Nation, preferring on all occasions death before dishonoring either. "The troops from the State of Michigan have gained a prominent position in the armies of the Nation. They have done their duty faithfully and fearlessly, and borne the brunt of many well-fought fields. Some of them have proved an anomaly in modern warfare. Suddenly called from the common avocations of life, and within a very few days of the time of leaving their native State, they have been pitted against the veteran troops of the enemy of their country in superior numbers, and completely routed them. It has been. the fortune of some of them voluntarily and successfully to lead the 'forlorn hope,' regardless of opposing numbers. Their scars and thinned ranks now attest their services to their country. The honor of their Nation and their State has been safe in their hands, and both will cherish and reward them. Monuments to the memory of the brave dead are now erected in the hearts of

the people, and National monuments to their memory will be erected by a grateful country."

The military operations in the field in 1862 had not been very favorable for the Union cause. In December the Union army in Virginia had failed in its attack on Fredericksburg, the Western army had been successful at Stone River in the same month, both important engagements, and in effect nearly balancing. Yet the people of the country seemed not to be discouraged nor to falter in their determination to press on to ultimate success by putting down the nefarious rebellion. In good old Michigan, loyalty and patriotism seemed in the ascendant.

Governor Blair, in his message to the Legislature, in January, 1863, in speaking of the Michigan soldiers in the field, alludes to their services as follows:

"I commend the Michigan troops to your active sympathy and support. By their heroic endurance of the hardships of war, and by their splendid bravery in battle, they have crowned the State with glory. Their battle cry is 'Michigan! Remember Michigan!' and Michigan must remember them. We have already a long list of immortal heroes dead in battle. I hope you will, in some appropriate way, place upon the enduring records of the State your appreciation of the valor and patriotic devotion of these brave men. Let us hand down their names to posterity upon an illuminated page, that they may be revered as examples for all time to come. They belong to history now. We must take care that it is rightly written. Your hearty thanks are also due to the gallant men who still uphold the flag of our country in the field, and have lately borne it on to victory over bloody ground. Let us send them warm words of cheer from home. May God give them other and greater victories, and bring them back speedily in peace and triumph. Then, indeed, shall heaven's arches ring with glad shouts of welcome."

In February following, the Legislature expressed in a joint resolution the sentiments of Michigan people on the war question:

"That we are unalterably opposed to any terms of compromise and accommodation with the rebels, while under arms and acting in hostility to the government of the Union, and on this we express but one sentiment-unconditional submission and obedience to the laws and constitution of the Union."

In March, the following preamble and resolutions were passed by the Legislature in compliment to the Michigan soldiers in the field:

"WHEREAS, The citizen soldiers of Michigan have responded cheerfully to their country's call, have never hesitated or faltered when duty prompted or danger threatened, and by their indomitable fortitude under the fatigues and privations of war, their heroic bravery and brilliant achievements upon the battle-field, have crowned themselves with glory, and given to Michigan imperishable renown; therefore,

"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Michigan, That, tendering to them the thanks of the State for their valuable services, we also assure them that while Michigan thus holds them forth as

examples of emulation to the soldiers of other States, she is also proudly grateful to them for the renown which their noble deeds have shed upon her name; and claiming them for her own, she points to them with feelings of maternal pride, and in the language of the noble Roman mother exclaims, "These are my jewels.'

66

Resolved, That the Governor be and he is hereby required to forward a copy of the foregoing preamble and joint resolution to each of the regiments and batteries of Michigan soldiers now in the field."

An act was passed by this Legislature authorizing the payment by the Quartermaster General of $50 State bounty from March 6th, 1863, which was continued until November 20th following. The Legislature also legalized the action of the townships, cities, and counties in raising bounties for volunteers. In compliance with a recommendation of the Governor, the Legislature generously appropriated $20,000 to assist sick and wounded soldiers in the field, and likewise to aid those in the State, and in payment for services of agents to properly carry into effect the measure. In 1865 an additional amount of $25,000 was set apart for that purpose.

Under the law referred to six agents were appointed, and entered upon this duty: Benjamin Vernor, at Detroit; Dr. J. Tunnecliffe, Jr., at Washington, D. C.; Luther B. Willard, at Nashville, Tenn.; J. B. Gillman, at Louisville, Ky.; Weston Flint, at St. Louis, Mo.; and Darius Clark, in New York city. During the latter part of the war, D. A. Millard was employed at the Washington agency.

The necessity for these agencies became more and more apparent every day as the war progressed, proving of immense benefit to the Michigan troops in general, and particularly to those who found it necessary to accept pecuniary assistance. The agencies were managed by gentlemen much in sympathy with the cause of the soldiers, taking much interest in their welfare, consequently laboring faithfully in their behalf.

The quota of the State, under the President's call of August 4th, 1862, for 300,000 militia remaining unfilled, a draft was made in February following, on the basis of the census of 1860, in the counties then in arrears for the small deficiency then existing. The number of men drafted was 1,278. Of this number (either of themselves or by substitutes), 710 were delivered at the United States barracks at Detroit, 545 of whom were sent to various regiments and batteries in the field, a few of the remainder deserting, while others were discharged for alien age, disability, or other causes, by United States authori ties. Of the 545 men thus realized from the draft for a service of nine months each, 430 were induced to enlist for three years, 115 only going into the field for the shorter term. These facts are exhibited in a clearer detail in the subjoined table, showing the result of the draft:

In March, 1863, the Congress of the United States passed "An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces," which provided elaborate details for the accomplishment of the object in view, leaving their execution exclusively in the hands of the Federal authorities.

Under the law referred to, the national force was declared to consist, with certain specified exceptions, of "all able-bodied male citizens of the United States and persons of foreign birth who shall have declared on oath their intention to become citizens under and in pursuance of the laws thereof, between the ages of twenty and forty-five years;" and this force was divided. into two classes, the first to comprise "all persons subject to do military duty between the ages of twenty and thirty-five years, and all unmarried persons subject to do military duty above the age of thirty-five and under the age of forty-five;" the second to comprise "all other persons subject to do military duty;" and it was provided that the latter class "shall not, in any district, be called into the service of the United States until those of the first class shall have been called." Each Congressional district was formed into an enrollment district, a provost marshal and board of enrollment provided for each, and these districts were again divided into sub-districts, consisting of wards and townships.

Lieutenant Colonel Bennett H. Hill, 5th U. S. Artillery, was appointed by the War Department Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General of the State.