eral officer of the United States commanding an army or department, or the chief executive officer of the State or Territory by which such company, battalion, or regiment was called into service.

APPROVED, JUNE 3, 1858.

Be it further enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That when proof has been or shall hereafter be filed in the Pension Office, during the lifetime of a claimant, establishing, to the satisfaction of that office, his or her right to a warrant for military services, and such warrant has not been or may not hereafter be issued until after the death of the claimant, and all such warrants as have been heretofore issued subsequent to the death of the claimant, the title to such warrants shall vest in the widow, if there be one, and if there be no widow, then in the heirs or legatees of the claimant; and all such warrants, and all other warrants issued pursuant to existing laws, shall be treated as personal chattels, and may be conveyed by assignment of such widow, heirs, or legatees, or by the legal representatives of the deceased claimant, for the use of such heirs or legatees only.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of the first section of the act approved March twenty-two, eighteen hundred and fifty-two, to make land warrants assignable, and for other purposes, shall be so extended as to embrace land warrants issued under the act of the third March, eighteen hundred and fifty-five.

INSTRUCTIONS AND FORMS.

NOTE.

In all references to claims for bounty land under the above acts, and in all inquiries relative to the same, parties will be careful to state the name of the applicant, the number of the application, and the act under which it was made.

These acts entitle each of the surviving persons in the following classes to a certificate or warrant for such quantity of land as shall make, in the whole, with what he may have heretofore received, one hundred and sixty acres, provided he shall have served a period not less than fourteen days, to wit:

1. Commissioned and non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates, whether of the regulars, volunteers, rangers, or militia, who were regularly mustered into the service of the United States in any of the wars in which this country was engaged between the year 1790 and March 3, 1855.

2. Commissioned and non-commissioned officers, seamen, ordinary seamen, flotillamen, marines, clerks, and landsmen in the navy in any of said wars.

3. Militia, volunteers, and State troops of any State or Territory called into military service, and regularly mustered therein, and whose services have been paid by the United States.

4. Waggon masters and teamsters who have been employed, under the direction of competent authority, in time of war, in the transportation of military stores and supplies.

5. Officers and soldiers of the revolutionary war, and marines, seamen, and other persons in the naval service of the United States during that war.

6. Chaplains who served with the army in the зeveral wars of this country.

7. Volunteers who served with the armed forces of the United States in any of the wars mentioned, subject to military orders, whether regularly mustered into the service of the United States or not.

Each of the surviving persons in the following classes are entitled to a like certificate for a like quantity of land, without regard to the length of service, provided he was regularly mustered into service, to wit:

1. Officers and soldiers who have actually been in battle in any of the wars in which this country was engaged prior to March 3, 1855.

2. Those volunteers who served at the invasion of Plattsburg, in September, 1814.

3. The volunteers who served at the battle of King's Mountain, in the revolutionary war.

4. The volunteers who served at the battle of Nickojack against the confederated savages of the South. 5. The volunteers who served at the attack on Lewistown, in Delaware, by the British fleet, in the war of 1812.

In addition to these classes, these acts also extend to all Indians who have served the United States in any of their wars the provisions of this and all the bounty land laws heretofore passed, in the same manner and to the same extent as if said Indians had been white men.

Where the service has been rendered by a substitute he is the person entitled to the benefit of these acts, and not his employer.

In the event of the death of any person who, if

living, would be entitled to a certificate or warrant as aforesaid, leaving a widow, or, if no widow, a minor child or children, such widow, or, if no widow, such minor child or children, is entitled to a certificate or warrant for the same quantity of land such deceased person would be entitled to receive under the provisions of said acts, if now living.

A subsequent marriage will not impair the right of any such widow to such warrant, if she be a widow at the time of her application. Persons within the age of twenty-one years on the 3d day of March, 1855, are deemed minors within the intent and meaning of said acts.

To obtain the benefits of these acts, the claimant must make a declaration, under oath, substantially according to the forms hereto annexed. The signature of the applicant must be attested, and his or her personal identity established, by the affidavits of two witnesses, whose residence must be given, and whose credibility must be sustained by the certificate of the magistrate before whom the application is verified.

The best evidence of identity is the affidavits of the witnesses, or the certificates of the magistrate to the same, as a matter within their personal knowledge. Statements of belief merely will not be sufficient. If, however, the witnesses or magistrate cannot state from personal knowledge, statements of belief, with the grounds of such belief, will be received. If from acquaintance, the particulars of the acquaintance should be stated, so that it may be seen how far they warrant the belief stated. So if from other grounds.

The accompanying form is the proper one where the

identity of the applicant is within the personal kuowledge of the magistrate. It can be varied according to the circumstances, but must be in conformity with the foregoing instructions.

No certificate will be deemed sufficient in any case, unless the facts are certified to be within the personal knowledge of the magistrate or other officer who shall sign the certificate, or the names and places of residence of the witnesses by whom the facts are established be given, and their affidavits, properly authenticated, be appended to the certificate.

All papers necessary to be verified by oath must be sworn to before, and certified and authenticated by, proper public officers who have no interest in the result of the case, and are not concerned in its prosecution; and every such public officer must set forth in his certificate that he is not so interested or concerned.

The official character and signature of the magistrate who may administer the oath must be certified by the clerk of the proper court of record of his county, under the seal of the court. Whenever the certificate of the officer who authenticates the signature of the magistrate is not written on the same sheet of paper which contains the signature to be authenticated, the certificate must be attached to said paper by a piece of tape or ribbon, the ends of which must pass under the official seal, so as to prevent any paper from being improperly attached to the certificate.

When the commission of a notary public, or a certified copy of his appointment, with his official seal and signature attached, and the certificate of the clerk of a court of the genuineness of his signature, is filed