Duke University Libraries D03209806S MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT. Confederate States of America, j Executive Department, / September 6, 1862. ) To the House of Representatives : I herewith transmit a letter from the Secretary of War, enclosing a communication from the Quartermaster General, in response to a resolution of the House of Representatives requesting information relative to the payment of troops. The organization of the Army of the Confederate States gives a Paymaster to each Regiment, by de- volving the payment of troops on Regimental Quartermasters, a sys- tem by which we avoid at the same time all danger, from delay in pay- ment, by the absence of the proper officer, as well as the hazard of transporting large sums of money from camp to camp, as would be the case if a corps of officers were employed for the sole purpose of paying the troops. The failures to pay regularly, as required by re- gulations, should disappear with the prompt and regular supply of funds to the Quartermasters of the different Regiments. The ability of the Government to do this it is hoped will increase with the further development of the means of the Treasury Department. JEFFERSON DAVIS. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Dul Richmond, September o, 1862. ) His Excellency, Jeffkkson Davis, President C. S. A. : Sir : I have the honor to enclose a letter from the Quartermaster General in response to a resolution of the House of Representatives, relative to the payment of troops. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, GEO. W. RANDOLPH, Secretary of Wetr. Quartermaster General's Office, ) September 3, 1862. \ Hon. Geo. W. Randolph, Secretary of War : Sir : In reply to the communication of the President, to the War Department, accompanying a resolution of the House of Representa- tives, relative to the payment of troops, referred to this oflfilce for con- sideration and report, I have the honor to explain : that the Army regulations do not require the troops to be paid monthly. Par. 1,056 is in these words: "The troops will be paid in such man- ner that the arrears shall, at no time, exceed two months, unless the circumstances of the case render it unavoidable," etc. Circumstances have arisen, in numerous instances, to cause four months, and occasionally, six or eight months to elapse between the dates of psyment. This failure to pay is attributable not to the fact that Quartermasters do not promptly forward their estimates for the funds requisite ; but to the difficulty in obtaining money from the Treasury, after requisitions have been sent in, owing to causes which, no doubt, will be fully explained by the Honorable Se- cretary of the Treasury. It not unfrequently happens though, that, owing to interruption of mail communication between the Seat of Government and the points at which the Quartermasters are stationed, the estimates fail to reach the Department in season to be acted on, BO that payment to the troops may not be deferred. Again, a particular body of troops, after having been estimated for in one military department, may be removed to a different and distant point, before the Quartermaster's estimate has been acted on, or re- sponded to. The Quartermaster, whose duty it may be to procure funds to disburse to the command to which they are removed, will not have embraced them in his estimate, and payment to them will, of course, be delayed. The practice prevailed with the U. S. Government to pay troops at the end of every two months ; never for a less period were companies mustered for pay. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, A. C. MYERS, Quartermaster General. p6RmaliP6ยป pH8.5