Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

THIRTIETH CONGRESS—FIRST SESSION.
H. R. 95.
(Report No. 105.)
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
January 19, 1848.
Read twice, and committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
state of the Union.
Mr. Burt, from the Committee on Military Affairs, reported
the following bill:
A BILL
To found a Military Asylum, for the relief and support of invalid
soldiers of the army of the United States.

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11 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That all enlisted soldiers of the army of the
United States, and all enlisted soldiers who may hereafter
be of the army of the United States, and not belonging to
corps or regiments raised for a limited period, or for a
temporary purpose or purposes, shall be, according to the
provisions and restrictions hereafter contained, members
of the institution to be created by this act, and to be known
as the “Soldier’s Retreat,” with all the rights, privileges,
and advantages, annexed thereto.

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4 Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That, for the good
government and attainment of the objects proposed by the
institution aforesaid, the General-in-Chief commanding the
army, the generals commanding the eastern and western
geographical military divisions, the Quartermaster Gen-
eral, the Paymaster General, the Surgeon General, the
Commissary General of Subsistence, and the Adjutant
General, shall be ex-officio commissioners of the same,
constituting a board of commissioners, a majority of whom
shall have power to establish, from time to time, regula-
tions for the general and internal direction of the institu-
tion, to be submitted to the Secretary of War for approval,
and may do any other act or acts necessary for the gov-
ernment and interests of the same, as authorized herein.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the officers
of the institution shall consist of a governor, two deputy
governors, and a secretary, the latter to be also the trea-
surer; and the said officers shall be appointed or removed,
from time to time, as the interests of the institution may
require, by the Secretary of War, upon the recommenda-
tion of the board of commissioners.
to be appointed for the government of the institution, as
provided for in section three, shall be taken from the offi-
cers of the army of the United States.

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1 Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That there shall
be a meeting of the board of commissioners at the city of
Washington, at least once in each year, and they may be
assembled at such other times as the interests and wants
of the institution may demand, at the discretion of the Sec-
retary of War; and the commissioners, at their annual
meeting, shall examine and audit the accounts of the gov-
ernor and the treasurer, who are hereby required to make
to the board of commissioners quarterly statements of the
receipts and expenditures of the institution; and the com-
missioners shall, at any other time, have power to investi-
gate and report upon all matters in relation to the offices
of the said governor and treasurer.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the Com-
missioners shall report the proceedings of every meeting
to the Secretary of War; and all moneys received or col-
lected for the benefit and use of the institution, excepting
such moneys as may be held in trust by the Secretary of
War, as provided for in section sixteen of this act, shall
be paid to the said commissioners. And it shall be the
duty of the commissioners also to make a statement and
report of the affairs and condition of the institution, annual-
ly, to the Secretary of War, to be by him submitted to
Congress.
Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That for the sup-

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2 port of the institution, all stoppages or fines adjudged
against soldiers by sentence of courts martial, over and
above any amount that may be due for the remuneration
of government or of individuals; all forfeitures on account
of desertions; all moneys, not exceeding two-thirds of the
balance on hand of the hospital fund of each military sta-
tion, after deducting the necessary expenditures for that
year; and all moneys belonging to the estates of deceased
soldiers, which now are, or which hereafter may be, un-
claimed for the period of twelve months subsequent to the
demise of the said soldier or soldiers, to be repaid by the
commissioners of the institution upon the reclamation of
the heirs or legal representatives of decedents, be, and the
same are hereby, appropriated.
Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That from the
first day of the month next ensuing after the passage of
this act, there shall be deducted from the pay of every pri-
vate, musician, artificer, and non-commissioned officer of
the army, according to the restrictions expressed in section
first, the sum of twenty cents per month; which sum, so
deducted, shall be, by the pay department of the army, passed
to the credit of the commissioners of the institution, for its
use and benefit.
Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That every enlisted
man of the army of the United States, who has served, or

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8 shall have served, honestly and faithfully, twenty years in
the same, after arriving at the age of eighteen years, or who
shall have suffered by reason of disease or wounds incur-
red in the service, and in discharge of his military duty,
rendering him unfit for further military service, if such dis-
ability have not been occasioned by his own negligence,
drunkenness, or misconduct, be admitted to the privileges
and benefits of this institution: Provided, That no deser-
ter, mutineer, or habitual drunkard, shall be received with-
out such evidence of subsequent service, good conduct, and
reformation of character, as the commissioners shall deem
sufficient to authorize his admission: And provided, also,
That any enlisted man admitted into the institution for dis-
ability as aforesaid, and who shall recover his health to fit
him again for military service, shall be (he being under
the age of fifty years) discharged from the institution, and
may be re-enlisted into the army of the United States.
Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the pro-
visions of the foregoing section shall not be extended to
any soldier who may incur disease by neglect or vicious
conduct, or who may protract his cure by design or per-
verse conduct, or shall maim himself wilfully, to unfit him
for military service. Nor shall any person convicted of
felony, or other disgraceful or infamous crime of a civil
nature, be admitted to the benefits of this institution. And

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5 all persons thus excluded shall forfeit, for the benefit of
the institution, any moneys previously paid by them to the
same.
Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That it shall be
lawful for the governor of the institution, or the person
acting as governor of the same, to inflict punishment by
confinement, under the regulations of the commissioners,
not exceeding twenty days, and by stoppages of any al-
lowances that may be made, having regard to the reforma-
tion and health of the delinquent, for a violation of the re-
gulations of the institution; and any member or inmate of
the institution, who shall be guilty of continued perverse
and insubordinate conduct, or of drunkenness, or other vi-
cious and immoral habits, or be convicted of a felony, or
other infamous or disgraceful crime, shall, upon the report
of the governor to the War Department, be dismissed from
the same, and forfeit all moneys hitherto paid by him into
the treasury of the institution. And it shall be unlawful,
thereafter, to enlist any such person into the land or naval
service of the United States.
Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the com-
missioners shall have power (provided the means or money
of the institution be sufficient for such purpose) to fix the
daily rate of allowance, not to exceed three cents a day,
to be paid in money to each invalid soldier admitted into

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12 the institution, permanently, or for a time only; and not ex-
ceeding fifteen cents a day to each soldier entitled to ad-
mission, but who may, for particular and especial reasons,
be permitted by the board of commissioners to reside else-
where, according to the following scale, the first being of
the highest degree: one, length of service; two, wounds
received in battle; three, disabilities after fifteen years’ ser-
vice; four, disabilities under fifteen years’ service. And no
pecuniary emolument for disability shall be granted, under
the provisions of this, or any of the foregoing sections,
except in cases expressly and strictly limited to disabilities
caused in and by the service.
Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That the com-
missioners be authorized to allow to the governor of the
Soldier’s Retreat a sum not exceeding four hundred dol-
lars per annum; and to the secretary and treasurer of said
institution, a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars per
annum; and the commissioners may also authorize the
governor of the Soldier’s Retreat to employ as many as
two clerks, to be taken from the inmates or members of
the same, as may be necessary, and allow for the services
of each clerk so employed, a sum not exceeding seventy-
five dollars per annum; and that the said sums of money,
and all others incurred in the administration of the affairs of

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7 the institution aforesaid, be paid out of the funds belonging
to the same.
Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That the Com-
missary and Ordnance Departments are hereby author-
ized (when the same can be done without injury to the
public service) to furnish such stores of their respective de-
partments to the institution as may be needed and required
by the governor, under the regulations of the commission-
ers; the costs of the same to be refunded by the institu-
tion to the United States.
Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, that the Ordnance
Department is hereby authorized (whenever the public ser-
vice may require the same) to purchase from the Soldier’s
Retreat prepared ordnance stores: Provided, The cost
of said stores be not higher than that similar or like ar-
ticles of prepared ordnance stores, when furnished by the
arsenals of the United States.
Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary
of War, or his successors in office, shall be authorized to
receive from any person or persons, individual or corpo-
rate, by bequest or otherwise, any money or moneys, and
estate, real or personal, of any description whatsoever,
as trustee, in behalf of, and for the sole use and benefit of,
the Soldier’s Retreat; which property may be, under his

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4 direction, sold, or otherwise disposed of; and with the
money aforesaid, applied for the current expenses of the
institution, or to be invested, constituting a fund for the
benefit of the same; and any other moneys belonging to
the institution, which may be reported by the board of
commissioners on hand, and not presently needed for the
current expenses of the institution aforesaid, shall be, under
the direction of the Secretary of War, as trustee, invested
for the benefit and use of the said institution; and the
aforesaid trustee shall annually, on or before the
day of make a report of the same to Congress.
Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That all moneys
belonging to the Soldier’s Retreat, excepting such as may
be held in trust by the Secretary of War, as provided for
in section sixteen of this act, shall be deposited to the
credit of the treasurer of the said institution, in such place
or places as the commissioners thereof shall direct. And
no moneys shall be drawn out by the said treasurer, ex-
cept upon the warrant of the commissioners, countersigned
by the Secretary of War.
Sec. 18. And be it further enacted, That, each com-
missioner previous to entering upon the discharge of his
duties, shall make and subscribe the following declaration:
“I do hereby declare, upon my honor, that I will duly and

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11 impartially inquire into the matters to be brought before
this board; and will decide, in all questions, according to
the laws and regulations of the Soldier’s Retreat; and if
any doubt shall arise, according to my conscience, the best
of my understanding, and the custom of the service in
like cases.” And the governor, and the other officers of
the institution, shall previous to entering upon the duties
of their office, make and subscribe the following declara-
tion: “I do hereby declare, upon my honor, that I will
honestly and faithfully execute the trust reposed in me, ac-
cording to law, and the regulations for the Soldier’s Re-
treat; and if any doubt shall arise, according to my con-
science, the best of my understanding, and the custom of
the service in like cases.”
of the army connected with the Soldier’s Retreat, as pro-
vided for in the foregoing sections of this act, may, for
violations of the laws and regulations of the said institu-
tion, or any of them, be punished according to the discre-
tion of a general court martial, which shall be ordered by
the authority and under the restrictions contained in the
act of Congress entitled “An act for establishing rules and
articles for the government of the armies of the United
States,” approved April tenth, eighteen hundred and six,
or of such other as may hereafter be established.

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7 Sec. 20. And be it further enacted, That the Presi-
dent of the United States is hereby authorized to grant to
the Soldier’s Retreat, for their use and occupancy, such
unoccupied barracks, and lands adjacent, belonging to the
United States, and which are or may not be needed for
military or other public purposes, as shall be designated by
the Secretary of War.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all enlisted soldiers of the army of the United States, and all enlisted soldiers who may hereafter be of the army of the United States, and not belonging to corps or regiments raised for a limited period, or for a temporary purpose or purposes, shall be, according to the provisions and restrictions hereafter contained, members of the institution to be created by this act, and to be known as the “Soldier’s Retreat,” with all the rights, privileges, and advantages, annexed thereto.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4	Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That, for the good government and attainment of the objects proposed by the institution aforesaid, the General-in-Chief commanding the army, the generals commanding the eastern and western geographical military divisions, the Quartermaster Gen- eral, the Paymaster General, the Surgeon General, the Commissary General of Subsistence, and the Adjutant General, shall be ex-officio commissioners of the same, constituting a board of commissioners, a majority of whom shall have power to establish, from time to time, regula- tions for the general and internal direction of the institu- tion, to be submitted to the Secretary of War for approval, and may do any other act or acts necessary for the gov- ernment and interests of the same, as authorized herein. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the officers of the institution shall consist of a governor, two deputy governors, and a secretary, the latter to be also the trea- surer; and the said officers shall be appointed or removed, from time to time, as the interests of the institution may require, by the Secretary of War, upon the recommenda- tion of the board of commissioners. Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the officers to be appointed for the government of the institution, as provided for in section three, shall be taken from the offi- cers of the army of the United States.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1	Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a meeting of the board of commissioners at the city of Washington, at least once in each year, and they may be assembled at such other times as the interests and wants of the institution may demand, at the discretion of the Sec- retary of War; and the commissioners, at their annual meeting, shall examine and audit the accounts of the gov- ernor and the treasurer, who are hereby required to make to the board of commissioners quarterly statements of the receipts and expenditures of the institution; and the com- missioners shall, at any other time, have power to investi- gate and report upon all matters in relation to the offices of the said governor and treasurer. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the Com- missioners shall report the proceedings of every meeting to the Secretary of War; and all moneys received or col- lected for the benefit and use of the institution, excepting such moneys as may be held in trust by the Secretary of War, as provided for in section sixteen of this act, shall be paid to the said commissioners. And it shall be the duty of the commissioners also to make a statement and report of the affairs and condition of the institution, annual- ly, to the Secretary of War, to be by him submitted to Congress. Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That for the sup-
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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2	port of the institution, all stoppages or fines adjudged against soldiers by sentence of courts martial, over and above any amount that may be due for the remuneration of government or of individuals; all forfeitures on account of desertions; all moneys, not exceeding two-thirds of the balance on hand of the hospital fund of each military sta- tion, after deducting the necessary expenditures for that year; and all moneys belonging to the estates of deceased soldiers, which now are, or which hereafter may be, un- claimed for the period of twelve months subsequent to the demise of the said soldier or soldiers, to be repaid by the commissioners of the institution upon the reclamation of the heirs or legal representatives of decedents, be, and the same are hereby, appropriated. Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That from the first day of the month next ensuing after the passage of this act, there shall be deducted from the pay of every pri- vate, musician, artificer, and non-commissioned officer of the army, according to the restrictions expressed in section first, the sum of twenty cents per month; which sum, so deducted, shall be, by the pay department of the army, passed to the credit of the commissioners of the institution, for its use and benefit. Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That every enlisted man of the army of the United States, who has served, or
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3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8	shall have served, honestly and faithfully, twenty years in the same, after arriving at the age of eighteen years, or who shall have suffered by reason of disease or wounds incur- red in the service, and in discharge of his military duty, rendering him unfit for further military service, if such dis- ability have not been occasioned by his own negligence, drunkenness, or misconduct, be admitted to the privileges and benefits of this institution: Provided, That no deser- ter, mutineer, or habitual drunkard, shall be received with- out such evidence of subsequent service, good conduct, and reformation of character, as the commissioners shall deem sufficient to authorize his admission: And provided, also, That any enlisted man admitted into the institution for dis- ability as aforesaid, and who shall recover his health to fit him again for military service, shall be (he being under the age of fifty years) discharged from the institution, and may be re-enlisted into the army of the United States. Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the pro- visions of the foregoing section shall not be extended to any soldier who may incur disease by neglect or vicious conduct, or who may protract his cure by design or per- verse conduct, or shall maim himself wilfully, to unfit him for military service. Nor shall any person convicted of felony, or other disgraceful or infamous crime of a civil nature, be admitted to the benefits of this institution. And
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9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5	all persons thus excluded shall forfeit, for the benefit of the institution, any moneys previously paid by them to the same. Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the governor of the institution, or the person acting as governor of the same, to inflict punishment by confinement, under the regulations of the commissioners, not exceeding twenty days, and by stoppages of any al- lowances that may be made, having regard to the reforma- tion and health of the delinquent, for a violation of the re- gulations of the institution; and any member or inmate of the institution, who shall be guilty of continued perverse and insubordinate conduct, or of drunkenness, or other vi- cious and immoral habits, or be convicted of a felony, or other infamous or disgraceful crime, shall, upon the report of the governor to the War Department, be dismissed from the same, and forfeit all moneys hitherto paid by him into the treasury of the institution. And it shall be unlawful, thereafter, to enlist any such person into the land or naval service of the United States. Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the com- missioners shall have power (provided the means or money of the institution be sufficient for such purpose) to fix the daily rate of allowance, not to exceed three cents a day, to be paid in money to each invalid soldier admitted into
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6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12	the institution, permanently, or for a time only; and not ex- ceeding fifteen cents a day to each soldier entitled to ad- mission, but who may, for particular and especial reasons, be permitted by the board of commissioners to reside else- where, according to the following scale, the first being of the highest degree: one, length of service; two, wounds received in battle; three, disabilities after fifteen years’ ser- vice; four, disabilities under fifteen years’ service. And no pecuniary emolument for disability shall be granted, under the provisions of this, or any of the foregoing sections, except in cases expressly and strictly limited to disabilities caused in and by the service. Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That the com- missioners be authorized to allow to the governor of the Soldier’s Retreat a sum not exceeding four hundred dol- lars per annum; and to the secretary and treasurer of said institution, a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars per annum; and the commissioners may also authorize the governor of the Soldier’s Retreat to employ as many as two clerks, to be taken from the inmates or members of the same, as may be necessary, and allow for the services of each clerk so employed, a sum not exceeding seventy- five dollars per annum; and that the said sums of money, and all others incurred in the administration of the affairs of
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13 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7	the institution aforesaid, be paid out of the funds belonging to the same. Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That the Com- missary and Ordnance Departments are hereby author- ized (when the same can be done without injury to the public service) to furnish such stores of their respective de- partments to the institution as may be needed and required by the governor, under the regulations of the commission- ers; the costs of the same to be refunded by the institu- tion to the United States. Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, that the Ordnance Department is hereby authorized (whenever the public ser- vice may require the same) to purchase from the Soldier’s Retreat prepared ordnance stores: Provided, The cost of said stores be not higher than that similar or like ar- ticles of prepared ordnance stores, when furnished by the arsenals of the United States. Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of War, or his successors in office, shall be authorized to receive from any person or persons, individual or corpo- rate, by bequest or otherwise, any money or moneys, and estate, real or personal, of any description whatsoever, as trustee, in behalf of, and for the sole use and benefit of, the Soldier’s Retreat; which property may be, under his
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8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4	direction, sold, or otherwise disposed of; and with the money aforesaid, applied for the current expenses of the institution, or to be invested, constituting a fund for the benefit of the same; and any other moneys belonging to the institution, which may be reported by the board of commissioners on hand, and not presently needed for the current expenses of the institution aforesaid, shall be, under the direction of the Secretary of War, as trustee, invested for the benefit and use of the said institution; and the aforesaid trustee shall annually, on or before the day of make a report of the same to Congress. Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That all moneys belonging to the Soldier’s Retreat, excepting such as may be held in trust by the Secretary of War, as provided for in section sixteen of this act, shall be deposited to the credit of the treasurer of the said institution, in such place or places as the commissioners thereof shall direct. And no moneys shall be drawn out by the said treasurer, ex- cept upon the warrant of the commissioners, countersigned by the Secretary of War. Sec. 18. And be it further enacted, That, each com- missioner previous to entering upon the discharge of his duties, shall make and subscribe the following declaration: “I do hereby declare, upon my honor, that I will duly and
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5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11	impartially inquire into the matters to be brought before this board; and will decide, in all questions, according to the laws and regulations of the Soldier’s Retreat; and if any doubt shall arise, according to my conscience, the best of my understanding, and the custom of the service in like cases.” And the governor, and the other officers of the institution, shall previous to entering upon the duties of their office, make and subscribe the following declara- tion: “I do hereby declare, upon my honor, that I will honestly and faithfully execute the trust reposed in me, ac- cording to law, and the regulations for the Soldier’s Re- treat; and if any doubt shall arise, according to my con- science, the best of my understanding, and the custom of the service in like cases.” Sec. 19. And be it further enacted, That the officers of the army connected with the Soldier’s Retreat, as pro- vided for in the foregoing sections of this act, may, for violations of the laws and regulations of the said institu- tion, or any of them, be punished according to the discre- tion of a general court martial, which shall be ordered by the authority and under the restrictions contained in the act of Congress entitled “An act for establishing rules and articles for the government of the armies of the United States,” approved April tenth, eighteen hundred and six, or of such other as may hereafter be established.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7	Sec. 20. And be it further enacted, That the Presi- dent of the United States is hereby authorized to grant to the Soldier’s Retreat, for their use and occupancy, such unoccupied barracks, and lands adjacent, belonging to the United States, and which are or may not be needed for military or other public purposes, as shall be designated by the Secretary of War.