This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --Boundary_(ID_1ZfWWxBmCmwHJLsdYvvYdg) Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Content-disposition: inline I am trying to find a web link or the text for an Act of Congress that pardoned deserters from the Union Army. I am researching a soldier named Joseph B. Smith of the 8th Maine Infantry. He deserted at Cold Harbor on June 1, 1864 and returned to duty in April 1865. The Commissioner of Pensions wrote in his file: Taken up from desertion Ap. 27th, '65. Absent sick. The charges of desertion of May 30 and June 1 '64 against this man are removed under the provisions of section 2 of the act of Congress, approved Mch. 2nd, '89. He was absent withoug leave from May 30, '64 to June 8th, '64. I interpret this to mean he deserted for a week but was absent on sick leave until the following April, 1865. But I have been unable to find the Act of Congress provisions that specially address the "pardons" for Joseph and other soldiers on the lam. Peg --Boundary_(ID_1ZfWWxBmCmwHJLsdYvvYdg) Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT CIVIL-WAR-D Digest Volume 03 : Issue 151 Today's Topics: #1 Re: [CIVIL-WAR] Letters Home [Hyacinthus <hyacinth@ala.net>] Administrivia: To unsubscribe from CIVIL-WAR-D, send a message to CIVIL-WAR-D-request@rootsweb.com that contains in the body of the message the command unsubscribe and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too. ______________________________ --Boundary_(ID_1ZfWWxBmCmwHJLsdYvvYdg) Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN Content-transfer-encoding: 8BIT Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2003 20:55:19 -0500 From: Hyacinthus <hyacinth@ala.net> Subject: Re: [CIVIL-WAR] Letters Home To: CIVIL-WAR-L@rootsweb.com Message-id: <4.1.20030712203713.00944580@mail.ala.net> Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-transfer-encoding: 8BIT X-Message: #1 At 09:28 AM 7/12/03 -0400, Edward Harding wrote: One good website online some of you >may enjoy is Extracts of Letters Home by CSA Major General Bryan Grimes from >Pitt County, North Carolina, my wife's Great Grandfather. Edward has a great site, I encourage all of you to visit! I'd like to share a couple of letters home written by my great-great-uncle James Smith, of the 25th Alabama Infantry Regt. I have always cherished these letters and the loving devotion he showed to his parents. Original images of the letters are here if anyone is interested: http://flemingmultimedia.com/Personal/CSA/smithletters2.html Georgia Fleming Coffee County, Alabama His war record is interspersed chronologically with the letters he sent home. Oct 22 1861 Enlisted at Talladega, Ala. by Lt. Col. McClellan for 3 yrs. or the war. Dec 1861 Sick in hospital at Auburn, Ala. May 1862 Letter from near Corinth, Miss. as follows: Camp of the 25th Ala. Vols. Near Corinth Miss. May the 20th 1862 Mr. S. & Nancy W. Smith My Dear Beloved Parents. I this afternoon have time to answer your kind letters under dates of 10th & 11th inst. Which I read with a degree of pleasure and pain. I was glad to hear that you was in good health to go there with the rest of my friends and relatives in Hillabee. I am sorry to hear of the trouble that you all seem to see about the loss of mine & Jacks presence in the family circle of Home. I would to God that this cruel war would close this evening then we could return back to our former vocations in life. We could then once more enjoy the rights of freemen and the peaceful presence of dear sympathizing friends. Oh just one hours quiet conversation with either or both of you would afford a balm for my aching heart and weary soul. A few days since I was fully persuaded that the war would come to a close very soon. But I am at present fully persuaded to believe it will last several months yet. It really seems that no proposition will satisfy the Bloodthirsty Yankies. All they desire is to Subjugate or exterminate the South. They cant do neither, they can starve us to death. This they are now doing very fast. We the Soldiers of the Boasting Confederacy are now the Subjects of almost starvation. Our rations has again & again been curtailed until we are living half of our time on nothing but Bread without shortning and Rye Tea. The Soldiers will either disband or the Grave yards filled up with starved soldiers. This may in all probability be the last letter that I shall ever write to you for the whole force at Corinth is now ordered to go and attack the enemy in his strong fortifications. The force of the enemy is said to be 160 000 Thousand. We will leave this evening at 6 oclock P.M. Tonight we will camp within a short distance of the formidable Enemy early Thursday morning we will make the attack I or Brother H. J. (His brother, Hiram John Smith) or some of the rest of our dear fellow soldiers may fall. The God who knows all things can alone tell the result. If I should be among the slain I am fully impressed with the hope that All will be well with me in the world to come. Let us put our trust in him who can alone save our lives and permit us once more to commune together on Earth. Poppa I shall send you Fifty Dollars as soon as I can see a safe opportunity. I want you to use the money that I send Home to the best advantage for us both. If I should never return all my effects is yours. If you should lack for any of the common nesissaries of life you are at liberty to use all or a portion of my money. When I return I will once more consent to be Poppas & Mothers Boy. I will stay with you whilst we live. If you have got any salt on hand I would advise you not to use it to any degree of extravigance. It is now selling for $300.00 per sack. And in fact you would do well to live more saving in every particular. I view that famine is now staring the people of the South in the face and even now thousands of persons are suffering for the lack of proper food for their sustainance. I am indeed sorry that (you) have been compelled to have to follow the plow. I wish it was so that you could hire a plow Boy for the space of one month or more. I am fearful that you will not be able to follow the plow regularly when the weather becomes to be very warm. I dont want you to overdo yourself try to cultivate your crop with as little plowing as will possibly do. Have the Girls to help hoe when it is necessary. Tell them not to gripe at the task it is altogether Honorable. I hope you not be troubled as to the safety of me and Jack in the approaching Battle. I trust that the God of Battles will save us from Harm. Capt. Ed Turner [Edwin C. Turner] has abandoned H Company again just as we was about to [several words lost here due to paper deteriorating and missing] has rendered himself very unpopular ---- come Back to the company nomore I dont think. I have not heard from Wilson Smith since the 5th Inst. W. McClellan is also gone to the Hospital. G. H. Russell is not able to go into the Big fight. Jeptha W. Roberts is improved in health and remarkable to say he is strictly a moral man. J. C. Price is still allright. I shall look for you to send me those good things to Eat if you can get an opportunity But dont put yourself to too much trouble. You will pleas send me my course Lennin Pants By the first passing. Tell Brother M. L. (his brother, Miles L. Smith) that I will write to him on my return from the Battle field. Tell Miles not to dispose of Carmachial. I want him in case I ever get back home. Give my Respects to Mr. Geo. W. Price & family also to E. Russell & wife. Send Martin & family to Mr. W. A. Dickinson W. H. Hobbs & family and Especially to Miles & family [word lost]. Mrs. W. T. Whatley, Wesley W. Ballard and family and all the meritorious People of Hillabee besides. Poppa I want you to use a portion of the money that I have sent home in Buying Paper Ink Envelopes & pens for the Girls & Taylor (his youngest brother, William Taylor Smith) to write to us. As I have now about exhausted my little stock of news I will close for the present. Write soon and often fail not [words possibly lost] --- will probably forever remain. Your Loving Son as ever J. H. June 1862 Absent with leave July-Aug 1862 Sick, Okalona, Miss. Oct. 1862 Captured near Springfield, Ky. Oct. Nov. 1862 Sick in Kentucky, place unknown Nov. 18, 1862 Prisoner of War paroled by the 1st Div., 14th Army Corps, Dept. of the Cumberland, Gallatin, Tenn. Oct. 1863 Furloughed for 10 days by order of General Bragg Nov. 1863 Captured at Missionary Ridge, Tenn. Dec. 5 1863 Exchanged at Louisville, Ky. June 25, 1864 Letter from Rock Island Prison Hospital, Ill. as follows: (Letter addressed to Stephen Smith, Bowdon P O, Talladega, Co., Ala.) Hospital Prison Rock Island, Illinois June the 25, 1864 To Mr. Stephen Smith My Dear Father Once more I seat myself to write you a few lines. I have long been anxiously expecting to receive a letter from you but alas my fond hopes have been blighted. The last letter I received from you was dated April the 22nd. I have wrote to you once a month ever since I have been in Prison. I have been an inmate of this hospital ever since the 6th of May. I cannot say that my health has improved materially. The disias which I am suffering with seems quite stubborn (It being chronic Diarrhea). I have but little expectation of ever being able to reach home But I have a burning hope of meeting all my friends in a world where there will be no wars to separate us. I would here say to you not to let my condition trouble you I receive good attention in this Hospital. Hiram J. Smith was well when I last heard from him. Say to Mrs. M. A. Fain that her husband Died of Chronic Diarrhea and acute Rheumatism at 9 oclock on the night of the 7th Inst. He told me a few days prior to his death that all was well with him. I want you to write to me as often as you can while I am in prison give me all the news of a private nature that you can. Say to Dr. J. H. to write to me you can give him my address Tell Bro. M. L. to do likewise. Direct your letter to J. H. Smith Prisoner of War Barrack 17 Rock Island Ill. Your son as ever J. H. Smith Dec. 15 1864 Captured at Nashville, Tenn. July 5, 1865 Released from Hospital at Camp Douglas, Chicago, Ill. James Smith died in Mississippi on the journey home, as did his brother John Hiram "Jack" Smith. --Boundary_(ID_1ZfWWxBmCmwHJLsdYvvYdg)--
Listers, Some of you may be interested. I sent for a pension file and received it in 39 days. The national Archives advises that the expected wait is 60-90 days. Sharon
Peg This measure appears to have been some form of wide scope budgetary legislation. Most internet references are to the Indian Bureau, a memorial to General Rosecrans and some mention of Pensions none having to do with desertions. It may be necessary to obtain a copy of the entire bill to understand the reference and how it applied to your man. I have found that this type of reference made to justify some or another action being performed by a government functionary sometimes only refers to the allocation of funds for Pensions and may not be dersertion-specific, but only a reading of the legislation would tell for sure. Mike > Taken up from desertion Ap. 27th, '65. Absent sick. The charges of > desertion of May 30 and June 1 '64 against this man are removed under > the provisions of section 2 of the act of Congress, approved Mch. 2nd, > '89. He was absent withoug leave from May 30, '64 to June 8th, '64.