LcrriL /z mo "«» Umve jty _ Special report C°nf Pam 12^0^6 SPECIAL REPORT OF THE MILITARY BOARD, TO THE LEOISLATUHE OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA BATON JtOTlGE I 3 , M. TAYLOR, STATE PRTNTER 1861. *?. &. .1 / ,i SPECIAL REPORT To the Honorable, the General Assembly of the State of Louisiana: The undersigned,- appointed at your recent session a Military Hoard, un- der an act entitled " An act to promote the formation of Military Com- panies and to provide for arming' and equipping the same," beg leavo respectfully to report that they have been actively engaged since their ap- pointment in carrying out the provisions of the act. That unexpected circumstances have occurred requiring prompt action, in which they have taken responsibility not contemplated by the Legisla- ture, perhaps, but justified, as they sincerely believe, by State necessity. These matters have already been referred to and explained in the Mes- sage of His Excellency, the Governor. In the practical execution of the trust, we have to report, that we have made a contract for the purchase of five thousand stand of the most ap- proved small arms now in use in Europe, with ammunition, accoutrements, etc., which, -with the arms since obtained, and some slight addition to be made to the Artillery, and in matters of detail, will, in our opinion, be all that is required for the present. Under the provisions authorizing us to provide for the formation of the Volunteer Military Companies, we adopted the following regulations, to wit : Regulations for the organization of Volunteer Companies, adopted by the Military Board of Louisiana, at Baton Rouge, December -25th, 1860. 1. Each full Company of Infantry, shall consist of one Captain, one First Lieutenant, one Second Lieutenant, four Sergeants, four Corporals, two Musicians, and not less thru sixty privates. 2. A minimum Company shall consist of one Captain, one Second Lieutenant, two Sergeants, two Corporals, two Musicians, and thirty Privates. 3. For a Company of forty 'five, and less than sixty Privates, there shall be one Captain, one First Lieutenant, one Second Lieutenant, throe Ser- geants, throe Corporals, and two Musicians, 4. A Company of Light Artillery shall consist of one Captain, two First Lieutenants, one Second Lieutenant, four Sergeants, four Corporals, two Bugler*, four Artificers, and sixty Privates. To be armed with four light field guns. At the discretion of the Board, Sections may be formed in locations where full Companies cannot be organized, with one Captain, one Second Lieutenant, and half the above number of men. Resolved, That the system of Tactics for Riflemen and Light Infantry by Lieut-Col. Hardee, is hereby adopted as the basis of instruction for all Companies on foot, and that a sufficient supply be obtained to furnish one copy to each Captain with the arms sent to his Company. Ordered by the Military Board of the State of Louisiana, That the fol- lowing Articles be subscribed to in duplicate by all members of Volunteer and other companies to whom arms and equipments (shall be furnished by this Board, one copy of which shall be sent to the Adjutant General of the State, before the said arms and equipments are delivered, and the other re- tained among the archives of the Company : Article 1st. We, the undersigned, Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Privates of Company, do hereby agree and pledge ourselves upon the receipt of commissions to our Officers, and arms and equipments to our Company, to hold ourselves in readiness at all times to obey the commands of the Governor of the State of Louisiana and our superior offi- cers, in entering into any active service that may be required of us. Art. 2d. We, the Officers of said Company, hereby agree to receipt for and give bond with approved security, to the Governor of the State of Louisiana, in the penalty of double the value of the arms and equipments we may receive, for the preservation and safe-keeping of said arms and equipments. And each and all of us bind ourselves to be individually responsible to said Officers for all arms and equipments we may receive, and pledge ourselves to keep the same in good order for use ; and in the event our Company disbands, to return the same, through our officers, in good order to the Adjutant General of the State, or any person legally ap- pointed to receive the same. Art. 3d. We further agree and bind ourselves to attend a regular drill of our Company once a week, at such time and place as may be appointed- Ordered further, That the following shall be the form of oath to be ad ministered to the Officers of Volunteer corps : "I, elected of Company do solemnly swear, or affirm, that I will support the Constitution of the State of Louisiana, and the Or- dinances and Laws which may be passed by its Conventions and Legisla- ture, .and obey the commands of my superior officers, and demean myself properly whilst acting as as aforesaid. Which regulations were published in the newspapers of the State, and printed copies were extensively circulated, and under which we have to report Companies as having formed of the following names and locations, to whom arms have been issued : COMPANIES. CAPTAINS. MEN. Crescent Rifles Gladden 45 Louisiana Guards Todd . 100 Orleans riacachas, No. 1 Abadie 70 Atchafalaya Guards R. M.Boone 46 Chasseurs St. Jacques A. Roman 60 Orleans Bacachas, No. 2 Duncan.... 56 Montgomery Guards Nolan 60 Orleans Cadets Oreux 40 Orleans Light Guards Vincent 42 Bienville Guards of Par. of PlaqueminesWilkinson 60 N. O. Home Guards Muller 50 Co. 1, Orleans Guards G. Crozart Ill " 2, " " O. Labatut 108 " 3, " " C.Roman 109 " 4, " " E. P. Poupard 61 Terrebonne Guards F. S. Goode 60 Grosse Tete Guards W. C. Keep 45 Thibodaux Rifles T. E. Vick 60 Shreveport Greys Y. H. Beard 80 Assumption Guards F. T. Nicholls 40 Delta Rifles H. M. Favrot 60 Caddo Rifles ..W. R. Shivers 80 Clinton Guards J.Y.Smith 56 Pelican Rangers S. M. Hyams 38 Carter Minute Men J. W. Fuqua 40 Madison Dragoons C. H. Moore 30 Carroll Guards Jno. S. Richards 38 Lake Providence Cadets F. Whicher 120 We also report, that we found it necessary to authorize the formation of five companies of volunteers for four months, which were mustered into service by order of the Governor, to take charge of and hold the public pro- perty, under such compensation for officers and men as is paid in the United States service, and we respectfully recommend that this action be approved. We also propose to direct some indispensable work to be done on the forts in the State, under the direction of experienced engineers and workmen. Wc have had the services of a number of the volunteer corps tendered to the State, but as most of them are composed of gentlemen of families and business, we do not think they could well render the continued regular ser- vice required by the State under existing circumstances. We think it deserving of honorable mention also, that among our free colored population, a large number of the old veterans of 1812, and their descendants, have volunteered their services to the State, 6 The Board would earnestly recommend that liberal appropriations be made to the different volunteer corps throughout the State, and especially in the city of New Orleans. The officers and members of the corps have incurred, and are constantly incurring, heavy expenses, and arc entitled to great credit for having kept up their organizations. Accompanying the report,. we furnish a detailed statement of the amount drawn by the Board, out of the appropriation made by the Legislature. Many of the expenditures are not such as come within the letter of the law ; but they were expenses necessary to be incurred in the emergency, and properly chargeable to the State, in making which, the Board acted under the authority and with the advice of the Governor, and with all regard to economy in their power. Detailed accounts are kept by the dis- bursing officers, but accounts are not yet rendered in full. As 'a matter of economy, the Board urgeutly recommends the creation, at an early day, of a Military Bureau, in the State Government. It is essen- tial for the economical and safe disbursement of money which the necessities of the service will require, and it is the only way in which the Executive can be relieved from a pressure of military details which now absorb a large portion of his time, and materially interfere with his appropriate duties. A limited military force, to be regularly enlisted and paid, for the occu- pation of the. forts and arsenals, is urgently recommended. Our citizens ought not to be expected to remain voluntarily in the discharge of these irksome duties. When called on to repel invasion, they will, no doubt, respond with alacrity, and give not only their time, but their lives, if neces- sity. But before that emergency arrives, they cannot afford to leave their homes and occupations to discharge ordinary garrison duty, even if mustered into service and placed on pay. And it is a well established fact, the ex- panse of supporting a volunteer force, owing to a want of system and knowl- edge of details, is about double that of regularly enlisted troops. We already have had experience enough to satisfy us of this fact. It is, there- fore, recommended that a regular force, of some fifteen or sixteen hundred men, be enlisted and organized into regiments for the defense of the State. All of which, is respectfully submitted, THOMAS 0. MOORE, President Military Board. The foregoing was already prepared and ready for the Legislature, when a call was made by the Convention of the State for a report from the Board. This was submitted, and, as will appear from the proceedings of the Con- vention, some of its most important suggestions adopted with great una- nimity. A supplementary report, on the subject of the Militia, is imw nearly- ready, and will be submitted in a few days, . DatoxRougk, February 14. 18QI. f List of Warrants drawn against the Appropriation for Military Purposes, made by the Act of December 12, 1861. 1860. Dec. 26.— To Major Theo. Lewis, for 2,500 muskets bought of the United State? $6,250 00 Dee. 20. — To Adjutant General M. Grivot, to expend as per orders of the Board ] ,000 00 1861. Jan. 9. — To J. K. Duncan, Asst. Adj't (Jen., for cur- rent military expenses 250 00 Jan. 12. — For Adj't Gen. Grivot, to expend as per order of the Board 10,000 00 Jan. 14. — To .Moore, 'Burden & Co., proprietors of wharf boat, board and quarters for troops, 257 00 Jan. 17. — To P. II. Thomson, for current expenses of the Commissary Department 2,500 00 Jan. 17.— For Col. W. T. Sherman, Ordnance officer, Central State Arsenal, to provide for the transportation and storage of arms 500 00 Jan. 28. — For M. Grivot, for current military expenses as above 10,000 00 Jan. 28. — For Col. W. T. Sherman, one year's salary as Ordnance officer ( No regular appro- priation.) 500 00 Jan 30.— To P. 11. Thomson, Q. M. and C. S., Baton Rouge Arsenal, for debts and supplies for February, 1861 ' 750 00 Jan. 30. — To H. Oladowski, Captain of Ordnance, Baton Rouge Arsenal, for salary and pay of men for January, 1861 663 9 1 $32,670 91 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Duke University Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/specialreportofm01loui Hollinger Corp. pH 8.5