USA > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania, colonial and federal : a history, 1608-1903, Volume Three > Part 16
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The act also provides that the adjutant-generals, major-gen- erals, brigadier-generals and brigade inspectors are to be appoint- ed and commissioned by the governor. Major-generals are to appoint their own aids-de-camp, and brigadier-generals their own brigade majors. Field officers of regiments appoint the regi- mental staff. The militia of each district elect lieutenant- colonels ; those of the battalions elect the majors; and the militia of each company elects its captain, lieutenant, ensign, four ser-
1No arms were furnished to the militia, in the first instance, by the State itself, but were furnished by the United States to all the States and Territories. By an act of congress passed in 1808 (amended in 1855) the sum of $200,000 annually was appro-
priated for the purchase of arms to be dis- tributed in proportion to the respective num- ber of militia, and later, by the amend- ment, in proportion to the respective repre- sentation in congress.
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geants and four corporals. All regiments are given designating numbers, and the pay of the militia in service is to be the same as in the United States army.
A brief review of the physical condition of the militia organ- ization1 of the State at this time is interesting in this connection. According to the report of Adjutant-General Humpton to the gov- ernor, in February, 1802, the number of men subject to military duty was 88,707. The territory of the State comprised thirteen military divisions, and each division two brigades. The major and brigadier-generals, with the total number of enrolled militia in each division, were as follows: First division (city and county of Philadelphia), Thomas Proctor, major-general; Jacob Mor- gan, John Shea, brigadier-generals; enrolled militiamen, IO, .
279. Second division (Bucks and Montgomery counties), An- drew Porter, major-general; Francis Swaine, Augustine Willett, brigadier-generals ; militiamen, 7,507. Third division (Chester and Delaware), John Heifter, major-general; John Boyd, John Davis, brigadier-generals, militiamen, 6,412. Fourth division (Lancaster), John Steele, major-general; Henry Hambright, Benjamin Mills, brigadier-generals; militiamen, 6,412. Fifth
division (York and Adams), William Gilleland, major-general ; Conrad Sherman, Michael Simpson, brigadier-generals; militia- men, 6,288. Sixth division (Berks and Dauphin), John A. Hanna, major-general; Christian Lower, Philip Gehr, brigadier-
generals ; militiamen, 8,235. Seventh division ( Cumberland and Franklin), William Irwin, major-general; James Chambers, David Mitchell, brigadier-generals; militiamen, 7,086. Eighth division (Northampton and Wayne), Thomas Craig, major-gen- eral; Robert Brown, Samuel C. Seely, brigadier-generals ; militia- men, 4,883. Ninth division ( Northumberland, Lycoming and Luzerne), William Montgomery, major-general; William Hep-
1The militia forces of the State com-
prised artillery, cavalry, grenadiers, light infantry and riflemen.
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burn, William Wilson, brigadier-generals; militiamen, 6,535. Tenth division ( Mifflin, Centre and Huntingdon), John Patton, major-general; John Bratton, William McAlevy, brigadier-gen- erals ; militiamen, 5,033. Eleventh division (Bedford, Fayette and Somerset), John Piper, major-general; Ephraim Douglass, Robert Philson, brigadier-generals; militiamen, 6,784. Twelfth division (Washington and Greene), John Taylor, major-general ; John Hamilton, John Minor, brigadier-generals; militiamen, 5,622. Thirteenth division (Westmoreland, Allegheny and Crawford), Presley Neville, major-general; Charles Campbell, Alexander Fowler, brigadier-generals ; militiamen, 8,500.
The evident purpose of the act of 1802 was to establish the militia of the State on a basis similar to that employed in the mili- tary department in other States, and while that end was in part accomplished the system did not long continue without further legislative alteration. By an act passed April 9, 1807, the whole military establishment was again remodeled, and many of the pro- visions of the act of 1802 were repealed. Under the new law regi- ments were to contain not less than 500 nor more than 1,000 men ; volunteer companies were authorized and regulations were pro- vided for them; the regiments were renumbered, and special rules provided how and when the militia might be called into active service. On March 26, 1808, a supplemental act authorized addi- tional volunteer companies, the formation of which appears to have become popular about this time. This movement had its origin in Philadelphia and soon extended into other localities, un- til nearly every company in the service was resolved into a volun- teer organization with a distinguishing name, yet remained a part of the military system of the State. In 1808 the legislature authorized the troops of cavalry, companies of artillery, riflemen and light infantry comprising the "Military Legion of Philadel- phia," to elect a colonel commandmant and other field officers.
Thus was constituted the militia forces of the State during the second war with Great Britain. The records of its soldiery
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View from Observatory, showing first day's battlefield. Reproduced for this work from a negative by W. H. Tipton
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in that struggle cannot become a part of this chapter, being treat- ed elsewhere in this work, yet the deeds of valor performed by the volunteers and the regular militia form an honorable page in na- tional military history.
In 1822, by an act passed April 2, the militia system was again remodeled, and the territory of the State was made to comprise sixteen military divisions, constituted as follows: First division, the city and county of Philadelphia; Second, the counties of Bucks and Montgomery; Third, Chester and Delaware; Fourth, Lancaster ; Fifth, York and Adams; Sixth, Dauphin, Lebanon, Berks and Schuylkill; Seventh, Northampton, Pike and Lehigh; Eighth, Northumberland, Union, Columbia, Luzerne, Susque- hanna and Wayne; Ninth, Lycoming, Potter, Mckean, Bradford and Tioga; Tenth, Mifflin, Centre, Huntingdon and Clearfield; Eleventh, Cumberland, Perry and Franklin; Twelfth, Bedford, Somerset and Cambria; Thirteenth, Westmoreland and Fayette; Fourteenth, Washington and Greene; Fifteenth, Allegheny, Arm- strong, Indiana and Jefferson; Sixteenth, Beaver, Butler, Mer- cer, Crawford, Erie, Venango and Warren.
Under this act the regiments retained their former numbers and many of the old regulations were readopted. The main pur- pose of the act appears to have been the establishment of courts martial and the definition of their powers and duties, regarding which previously there had been some controversy between the State and federal authorities, growing out of the imposition of fines during the war of 1812-15. On May 4, 1822, the United States congress passed an act vesting in Pennsylvania the right of the federal authorities to all fines assessed for non-performance of military duty during the war. This State had furnished the government with more men than was required, and among the number were many members of volunteer companies. However, in the enforcement of drafting regulations the number of delin- quencies was so great that the fines assessed aggregated nearly $350,000. The dispute arose over the question whether the fed-
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eral or State authority was entitled to recover the fines, and it was settled by the act referred to.
After the reorganization of the militia in accordance with the provisions of the act of 1822 there was no further material change in that department until 1844, when the legislature (April 25) passed "An act to reduce the expenses of the militia system of this Commonwealth," etc. Under the previous laws many of the companies had changed in character to parade organizations and frequently were furnished with costly and showy uniforms, while discipline and military regulations were of second importance. The acts of assembly, from 1808 to 1844, abound in laws for designating independent volunteer companies with high-sounding names, in exempting them from drill with the regular militia, as provided by the regulations, and occasionally appropriations were made for the benefit of certain companies. On days of general muster music was a special feature of the occasion and its cost was made a charge upon the State. Numerous demands in one way and another led to extravagant expenditures, and at last the legislature saw the necessity of retrenchment ; hence the act, which was in the nature of a reform measure rather than a change in the military establishment.
In 1843 the sum appropriated for militia expenses was $20,- 000, but the act of 1844 provided that no compensation be allowed any company for music at regimental or battalion training, except the sum of three dollars to be paid by the commanding officer of the regiment or battalion. It was also provided that in future each company should be entitled to one bass and one tenor drum- mer and one fifer for four days in each year, at one dollar each per day. In 1846 the State appropriated $15,000 for militia ex- penses. In 1847 the amount was $12,000, but in the next year the appropriation was increased to $22,000.
On April 17, 1849, the legislature passed "An act to revise the militia system, and to provide for the training of such only as shall be uniformed." This act repealed all former laws regulat-
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Culp's Hill, Gettysburg
From East Cemetery Hill. Engraved for this work from a negative by W. H. Tipton
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ing the militia and established that department upon a more prac- tical and permanent basis of operation, and as well cleared the ser- vice of several embarrassing elements. It required that every free able-bodied white male person (except those exempt from military duty) between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years must pro- vide himself with such uniform as should be considered proper for a volunteer company ; that persons so uniformed should form com- panies, and the companies form battalions; that uniformed com- panies meet for training twice yearly ; that each county constitute a separate brigade, and that the city and county of Philadelphia constitute three brigades; that the territory of the State should comprise twenty military divisions; that the adjutant-general prepare and distribute rules for the government of the volun- teers, and that brigade inspectors annually report to the adju- tant-general the number and condition of all regiments and battalions.
Still another step was taken in the direction of more perfect organization in 1858, under an act passed April 21, entitled "An act for the regulation of the militia of this Commonwealth," which provided that all able-bodied white male citizens between the ages of twenty-one and forty-five years (not exempt) should be sub- ject to military duty. The former requirements relating to mili- tary divisions and brigades were retained, and it was provided that each brigade, regiment, battalion, company, troop and squad- ron be made to conform to the United States regulations relating to discipline and uniform, but that a regiment might consist of five companies. Volunteer companies were authorized, and provision was made for the appointment and election of all officers, for the safe-keeping of arms, for parades and rendezvous of the troops, for courts martial and the enforcement of penalties, and also for the appointment of twenty aids (one for each division) to the commander-in-chief, each with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
In his annual report of the condition of the military depart- ment for the year 1859, Adjutant-General Wilson makes some
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brief allusion to the benefits derived from the militia laws enacted in the preceding year and says that through the earnest co-opera- tion of the commissioned officers the department has attained a high degree of efficiency and further : "A true military spirit seems to pervade all ranks. The citizen soldier is our sure de- fense from a foreign foe, and our certain reliance in time of in- surrection, disorder and riot." The report shows that the whole number of persons in the State subject to military duty at that time was 350,000, of whom 17,500 were members of uniformed volun- teer companies.
According to the adjutant-general's report for the year ending December 31, 1860, the entire militia force of the State subject to military duty was about 355,000 men, of which number about 19,000 were members of uniformed volunteer companies; that there were 476 of these companies, the average membership in each being about forty men. The arms of the State, all in posses- sion of the companies, comprised 12,080 muskets, 4,706 rifles, 2,809 cavalry swords and sabres, 3, 149 pistols, 69 pieces of ord- nance (six-pound bronze cannon) and about 575 camp tents in fair condition. Of these arms about 2,500 muskets were of new model and 1,200 rifles were of modern style, but the balance was comprised of old heavy flint-locks, unfit for use in the field, "as likely to injure the possessor as any one else." The pieces of ordnance were in good condition, though not of modern types, but only about 500 of the cavalry swords were fit for service.
Thus, at the outbreak of the war of 1861-5, the volunteers of the Pennsylvania militia possessed only 4,200 effective small arms, while 14,500 members of organized and uniformed companies had no arms fit for use when they entered the United States service in response to the president's call for troops in the spring of 1861. During the period of the war the character and composition of the military forces were changed and enlistments were accepted both below and above the age limits prescribed by the act of 1858. The military rolls show thousands of names of volunteers under the
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Little Round Top in the foreground, on which is seen Warren's statue. The view looks over the Valley of Death to Wheatfield, Peach Or- chard and Bloody Angle. Engraved especially for this work from a negative by W. H. Tipton.
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age of twenty-one years at the time of enlistment, while many others are noted who were over forty-five years.1 But of what- ever age, condition or calling, the demand for troops met with generous, loyal response, and on April 18, 1861, three days after President Lincoln's first call for 75,000 militia from the several States to suppress treasonable insurrection, five volunteer com- panies of Pennsylvania troops arrived in Washington, ready for active service.
Under that call the quota of this State was 14,000 men, and within ten days next following April 18 more than 25,000 loyal sons of Pennsylvania were in Camp Curtin at Harrisburg, where all the organized militia were ordered to assemble. The volun- teers whose services were not immediately required by the war department were temporarily held at Harrisburg, and after the passage of the act (May 15) to organize the "Reserve Corps of the Commonwealth," the men comprising that famous command were ordered to camps of instruction at Harrisburg, Pittsburg, Easton and West Chester. When fully organized the corps, more frequently known as the "Pennsylvania Reserves," comprised fif- teen regiments and numbered nearly 16,000 men, there being thirteen regiments of infantry, one of cavalry and one of artillery. They were called into service July 21, 1861, and for the next three years participated in many of the fiercest battles of the war.
Under the several calls throughout the period of the war Pennsylvania furnished troops as follows :
1861-Under the president's call of April 15, for three months men ?.. 20,979 Reserve corps of Pennsylvania volunteers, sent into the service
of the United States for three years under the call of July 22. . 15,856 Organized under act of congress July 22, for three years. 93,759
130,594
1Enlistments were accepted between the ages of eighteen and fifty years, and many recruits were received under the age of seventeen years.
2The three months men were organized and sent out as an army under command of general officers seleeted by the governor from among the officers of the militia troops of the State.
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1862-Under president's call of July 7 (including eighteen nine months regiments) 40,383
Organized under draft ordered by president, August 4. 15,100
Eight independent batteries of artillery organized up to this. time 1,358
Recruits for three years regiments, forwarded by superintendents of recruiting service. 9,259
Enlistments in other States and in regular army 5,000
71,100
1863-Nineteenth Cavalry (180th regiment), organized under special au- thority of the war department, for three years. . 1,066 Organized in department of Monongahela, five regiments; ninety days militia, one company unattached artillery and one company unattached cavalry 3,750
Organized in department of Monongahela for six months service, one battalion and one company of infantry and one battalion and one company of artillery. 1,416
Organized in department of Susquehanna in June, militia for ninety days' service. 21,292
Organized in department of Susquehanna for six months' service 3,068
"Emergency" militia, department of Susquehanna 7,062 Recruits forwarded by superintendents of recruiting service. 4,458
Enlistments in regular army. 934
43,046
1864-Three years men, regiments 181 to 191, both inclusive. 9,867
Under call of July 6, for one hundred days' service. 7,675
Under president's authority to raise ten new regiments under call of July 18, for 500,000 men for one year. 16,094
Recruits forwarded by superintendents of recruiting service at Philadelphia and Harrisburg 26,567
Drafted men and substitutes. 10,65I
Recruits for regular army 2,974
Re-enlistments of volunteers 17,876
91,704
1865-Under call of December 19, for 300,000 for one year. 2,657
Seventy-five companies of infantry, assigned to regiments in ser- vice 6,988
Forwarded by superintendents of volunteer recruiting service. 9,133
Drafted men and substitutes 6,675
Recruits for regular army 387
25,840
During the early years of the war the legislature passed sev- eral acts for regulating the military system, but none of them was of especially important character. The act of April 12, 1861,
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provided for the appointment of a grand staff to the commander- in-chief, and for other officers of rank made necessary by the exi- gencies of the war. The act of April 18 of the same year pro- vided for the appointment of medical and other staff officers, and the act of May 15, following, authorized the appointment of a
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General Lee's Headquarters
On Chambersburg turnpike, Seminary ridge, Gettysburg. Engraved especially for this work from a negative by W. II. Tipton
major-general to have command of all the militia forces of the State, and for the designation of not more than eight camps of instruction. The act of May 4, 1864, effected a practical re- organization of the militia, gave preference to volunteer com- panies in entering the service, provided for new organizations and their officers, and also authorized the establishment of State arm- ories. This act was important in its character and effect, and while often modified by supplemental acts it was the foundation of the present militia system of the State.
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The first supplementary act was passed August 22, 1864, and provided for the organization of a military corps to be styled the "Pennsylvania State Guard," to comprise fifteen regiments of in- fantry, cavalry and artillery, to be armed, equipped and disciplined in the same manner as similar troops in the United States service ; to be enlisted for not more than three years, and subject to mili- tary service in case of insurrection or to repel invasion. A fur- ther supplemental act passed August 24, 1864, provided that all officers of the State guard be chosen with reference to fitness and experience and from among the soldiers who had been in service under the national flag in the war then in progress.
The reorganization of the militia in accordance with the pro- visions of the act of May 4, 1864, and the supplemental acts of the same year proved a more difficult undertaking than the framers of the law had supposed. At that time the military resources of the State were severely taxed and the work of re-establishment was accompanied with many hardships. The original act con- templated a careful enrollment by the assessors and county com- missioners of the names of all persons in their respective counties subject to military duty, including the names of members of mili- tary companies, and the transmission of their reports to the ad- jutant-general's department. The inspector-general was charged with the supervision of the enrollment, but that officer encountered many difficulties in carrying out the work of classification of the militia in conformity to the provisions of the act. In fact, in 1865 only two companies complied with the requirements and gen- erally there was shown a disposition to ignore them on account of the hardships they imposed.
This condition of affairs prompted the inspector-general to re- port the situation to the commander-in-chief, and to state that it was idle to issue orders, and call upon the people voluntarily to submit to the burdens imposed by the act. He says: "The day of voluntary, gratuitous service for the State seems to have passed away forever, and the universal response to every proposi-
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tion on the part of the public authorities is, what will it pay?" He also ventures the opinion that an expenditure of $100,000 will be necessary to accomplish an organization of the militia under the act, and suggests that if the State is to have a militia system at all, it should be an uniform one, well sustained by liberal appropria- tions for its organization and support. "The want of such a sys- tem," he continues, "and such teaching during the late war, re- sulted in measureless suffering, and inefficiency that not only cast a stigma on our reputation, but also subjected us to losses and ex- penses that would far more than have paid for the amplest preparation. Our laws on the subject are multitudinous, incon- gruous and inconsistent, and productive of trouble, expense and inutility. Year after year our militia acts have descended from bad to worse, until the very mention of the subject became a re- proach and an invitation for mockery and scorn. The true rem- edy for all this will be found in a faithful and full revision of the whole matter, by competent and practical men, whose knowledge of military operations, gained by personal experience and observa- tion, would enable them to build up a system suited to our wants and circumstances and honorable to the State."
The inspector-general concludes his remarkable communica- tion with a recommendation that the legislature be asked to pro- vide for the appointment of a committee authorized to prepare a law for the regulation of the militia, to take the place of all pre- vious legislation on that subject, and "supply the void which now exists."
There is no doubt that at the time mentioned the militia sys- tem of the State was in a seriously disorganized condition, due in part to the exigencies of the war and in part to the multiplicity of laws previously adopted for the regulation of the military forces. The adjutant-general, also, appears to have shared in the views so freely expressed by his associate, and asked for more definite and practical laws for the reconstruction of the mili- tia. Their appeals were heard, and immediate steps were taken
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toward reforming the system, but not until several years after- ward did the legislature give the much-needed relief.
In itself the act of 1864 was elaborate in general plan and de- tail so far as it related to the reorganization of the militia, but, un- fortunately, no provision was made for payment to persons who were affected by it, many of whom had previously served in the army. However, under its provisions the militia began to revive and independent companies were organized in various parts of the State, although without regularity in the matter of uniforms and equipment, except in the large cities. To command this force of more than three hundred companies of infantry and cavalry there were appointed no less than twenty-one major-generals, each with a large territory and comparatively few soldiers. The act con- tinued in force until 1873, when the legislature limited the com- panies to two hundred in number, and provided a moderate allow- ance for compensation, repealing the militia tax imposed under the former act. In 1874 the number of major-generals was reduced to ten, and regimental organizations were established throughout the State.
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