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 MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT 
 
 VKTOING THE 
 
 MEDICAL BILL 
 
 To thi House of Representatives 
 
 of the Confederate States of America : 
 
 I regret to find myself compelled to return without my signilure 
 an act, which originated in your body, entitled "An Act tore-organ- 
 ize and promote the efficiency of the Medical Department of the Pro- 
 visional army." I entirely concur in the desire to accomplish the 
 objects contemplated in the act, and have delayed its return in the 
 hope that some additional legislation might obviate the difficulties that 
 would embarrass the operation of the act in its present form. 
 
 The act seems to be based on the assumption that there exists i^ 
 " medical department of the provisional army," and this fact is not 
 only set forth in the title, but some of the provisions are so worded 
 as to be inoperative, by reason of this assumption. 
 
 Thus, the first section provides, *' that the rank, pay and alloAvances 
 of a Brigadier General in the " provisional army of the Confederate 
 States be, and the same are hereby conferred on the Surgeon General 
 of the same.^^ There exists no such officer, as the Surgeon General 
 of the provisional army. The plain intent, therefore, of Congress to 
 confer the rank, of Brigadier General, in the provisional army on the 
 Surgeon General of the permanent army would be defeated, unless the 
 language of this section be changed. 
 
 According to the provisions of the law, as it now stands, there- is a 
 medical department organized for the permanent army, under the Act 
 of the 26th of February, l«61, entitled, "An Act for the establish- 
 ment and organization of a general staff for the army of the Confed- 
 erate States of America," the chief of which is styled the Surgeon 
 
Greneral. Tlie only legislation proviilinj]; for medical officers, for pro- 
 visional troops, is the Oth section of the Act of 6th March, 1861, 
 which enacts that when volunteers or militia are called into the ser- 
 vice of the Confederate States in such numbers that the " officers of 
 the medical department which may he authorized by law for the regu- 
 lar service, are not sufficient for * * * * furnishing them with 
 the rc(|uisite medical nttendar.ce, it shall be lawful for the I'resident 
 to appoint, with the advice and consent of the Congress, as many ad- 
 ditional oflicers of the said department, as the service may require, 
 not exceeding * * • * * one Surgeon, and and one Assistant Sur- 
 geon, for each regiment; * * * to continue in service only so 
 long as their services may be rocjuired, in connection with the militia 
 or volunteers." 
 
 There is an act of I4ih August, 18G1. on the same subject,- but it 
 confines the appointments authorized by it to such surgeons and assis- 
 tant surgeons as may be necessary for the various hospitals. 
 
 The third and fourth sections of the act now returned to you, 
 permit and require the assignment of a number of surgeons and assis- 
 tant surgeons to military (Icpartments, to divisions, to brigades and 
 to infantry and cavalry regiments, largely in excess of the number 
 allowed by the law just quoted, but no .authority is given for the 
 appointment of the increased number of medical officers, and it would 
 be impracticable to execute the law, unless by adopting the inadmis- 
 sible construction, that an authority to assign officers to duty implies 
 an authority to appoint new officers. Such a construction would be 
 the less justifiable in the present instance, because in the second 
 section in which new officers are authorized, the language of the act 
 directs (ippointmcnts to be made, but in the third and fourth sections 
 the language is changed, and nssignmenis only are permitted. 
 
 There is another omission in the act which raa.y give rise to preten- 
 sions, prejudicial to the service. In declaring the rank to which the 
 several medical officers shall be entitled in the provisional army, in- 
 cluding those of Brigadier-General, Colonels and Lieutenant-Col- 
 onels, no express exclusion is made of their right to command troops, 
 as has wisely been done in the law which regulates their rank in the 
 regular or permanent army. The officers of the medical corps have 
 long evinced the desire to have some right of command of troops in 
 certain contingencies, and this command ought either to be expressly 
 forbidden, or the cases in which it may be exercised ought to be dis- 
 tinctly defined. 
 
 The chief objection to the bill, however, remains to be stated. The 
 fifth section is designed to effect a most humane and desirable object, 
 but its provisions are inadequate to the end proposed. The purpose 
 of Conpress is evidently to provide some additional means for the care 
 of the sick and wounded of armies in the field. At present, after 
 each battle, the" wounde'd are necessarily left in such temporary 
 quarters as can be procured in the vicinity, but on the movement of 
 the army, most of the medical officers attached to it are compelled to 
 follow, and the wounded : re thus left with medical aid and attendan<;e 
 entirely insufficient for their relief. 
 

 The fifth section of the act, provides for an infirmary corps of fifty 
 men for each brigade, officered with one 1st and one 2nd Lieutenant, 
 two sergeants and two corporals, but no provision whatever, is made 
 for any additional medical ofiicers, nor does the act provide for any 
 control by medical ofllcers over these infirmary corps, nor assign to 
 these corps any fixed duties. Unless some provision be made on these 
 points, the present deficiency of surgical aid will continue to exist, 
 and the infirmary corps will necessarily follow the army to which they 
 are attached, when it moves after a battle, or if left behind will be 
 subject to the orders only of their own officers, who are not medical 
 men, or conflicts will arise lictwccn these officers and the medical 
 officers. 
 
 Entertaining the conviction, therefore, that this act in its present 
 form, while entailing heavy expense, Avill fail in the beneficial effects 
 contemplated by Congress, I deem it .ly duty to return it, without my 
 approval, but with the hope that some additional legislation may be 
 devised to accomplish the purpose contemplated by its passage. 
 
 ^ JEFFERSON DAVIS. 
 
 Cktobtr 1 3. 1863. 
 
 ^ Ti^ 
 
AN ACT 
 
 To reorganize and promote the efficiency of the Medical Department 
 of the Provisional Army. 
 
 Section I. The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact. 
 That the rank, pay and allowances of a Brigadier General in the pro- 
 visional army of the Confederate States, be, and the same are hereby 
 conferred on the Surgeon General of the same. 
 
 Sec. 2 Be it further enacted. That there shall be appointed in the 
 provisional army of the Confederate States, two Assistant Surgeons 
 General, with the rank, pay and allowances of Colonels of Cavalry; 
 one Medical Inspector General with the rank, pay and allowances of 
 Colonel of Cavalry, and such number of Medical Inspectors not ex- 
 ceeding twelve, as the President shall deem expedient, with the rank, 
 pay and allowances of Lieutenant Colonels of Cavalry. 
 
 Sec. 3 Be it furtluer enacted, That there may be assigned to each 
 army in the field, or military department, one surgeon as medical 
 director, -who, for tlie time so occupied, shall be entitled to tho rank 
 pay and allowances of a lieutenant colonel of cavalry ; that there 
 may be assigned to each division, one surgeon, as division surgeon. 
 and to each brigade, one surgeon, as brigade surgeon, and two assist- 
 ant surgeons for staff or other duty. 
 
 Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That to each regiment of cavalry or 
 infantry there shall be assigned one surgeon, with the rank of Major, 
 and two assistant surgeons each, with the rank of captain. 
 
 Sec 5. Be it furtlier enac'ed, That there shall be enlisted and mus- 
 tered into service, an in6rmary corps of able bodied men, to be com- 
 poaed of fifty men to each brigade of an army in the field, and said 
 infirmary corps shall be organized into companies of fifty, and officer- 
 ed with one first lieutenant and one second lieutenant, two sergeants 
 and two corporals, and paid in like manner as commissioned officers, 
 non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Confederate service. 
 
 Sec 6. The appointment of a mgdical officer of the regular army 
 to any office created by this act shall not affect his rank in the regular 
 army. TPI. S. BOCOCK, 
 
 Speaker of the House of BeprtseiUatives. 
 R. M. T. HUJSTER, 
 President pro tempore Senate. 
 
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