New York. January 6^th 18634

 

Gentlemen;

                        On the 29^th ultimo I was honored by a communication from you, as representing the Great War Meeting held at the Cooper Institute on the 3^d ulto. and requesting me to visit the Army of the Potomac, for the purpose of presenting to the soldiers the inducements at present offered for re-enlistment. Also authorizing the association with myself, of some other proper person, that I might select. On my solicitation James A. Scrymser formerly Captain and Aid on the Staff of Gen'l Smith, serving for two years in the Army of the Potomac, accompanied me. As the Bounties and Privileges would cease upon the 5^th of January 1864 we had no time to lose.

 

                        At noon of the 30^th we arrived in Washington, and called at the War Department, where we were afforded all the information needed, and every facility for the accomplishment of our mission. We arrived at the Headquarters of the Army the night of the 31^st all day having been consumed on the way from Washington. General Meade and his very obliging and indispensable Adjutant General, General Seth Williams received us very kindly / From them we obtained much valuable information, and anticipating which enabled us to anticipate the questions and objections we would probably meet with, were enabled to and prepare ourselves to reply, and counteract them. Based upon this information, and a careful examination of your instructions, and the several orders from the War Department, we drew up a circular addressed to the New York State Troops having less than fifteen months to serve, and containing briefly a condensation of these orders, with bounties, privileges &c accruing to those soldiers, who should re-enlist. This circular or rather the manuscript, was telegraphed to Alexandria by General Seth Williams, and three hundred copies ordered to be printed. For some unexplained cause it failed to reach the hands of the printers, as the appended telegraphic dispatch from General Williams states, stating too his readiness to distribute any circulars we might send, among the New York troops. I append however a manuscript of this circular, which cannot now be distributed as the county bounty is only paid to those soldiers whose town of service expires before the 5^th of July 1864. Now that the time for re-enlistments is extended, we would respectfully suggest the expediency of having some similar circular printed, and distributed among our troops. / This plan would more directly reach them, and we know would do much good. It would be necessary however to obtain fuller information as regards the bounties paid by the different local authorities, and counties.

 

            We first commenced our mission in the 6^th Corps. Visiting the different regiments in it, we found the inducements &c generally well understood, but by reason of a multiplicity of orders issued by different authorities and both complicated and contradictory, the men seemed most ignorant or doubtful how to avail themselves of them. In such instances a circular would prove valuable. Four Companies of the 43^d New York had already gone home and re-enlistments were progressing satisfactorily in other Reg'm'ts. In the 65^th 49^th 67^th & 77^th Reg'm'ts over seven hundred men had re-enlisted and our remarks were well received in each. Our attention here was first directed to a circumstance that not arrested would have proved highly injurious and unjust to our county. In an official letter to one of your committee Colonel A. B. Eaton U.S.A. from the War Dep'tm't Washington D.C. the decision is given that "All men serving with Reg'm'ts in the field who were originally enrolled and mustered into service as from the City of New York will be / duly credited to the City so soon as they re-enlist, and are re-mustered" and "All who are re-mustered prior to January 5^th 1864 will be credited to present call" Notwithstanding this decision, we found many mustering Officers who entirely disregarding original enrollments and musters, allowed the soldiers to select their places of residence of county for re-muster. Of course a soldier would select, and therefore be mustered in to the credit, of that County paying the largest bounty. Thus Washington County paying five hundred dollars, has received the majority of enlistments, and we believe that thus her quota will be filled, and in many instances by men that should be credited to New York County, according to the above decision of the War Department. We will remark that this decision was unknown to the Mustering Officers, until we directed their attention to it and requested them to retain a copy for their governance. By this interference we believe we have saved many men to our County. On the morning of the 2^d January we started for Culpepper, to visit the 1^st Corps, commanded / by Maj-Genl Newton and containing eight New York Regiments and Batteries eligible for re-enlistment. Here we saw in the Herald of the 31^st ulto. a decision of the County Volunteer Committee Orison Blunt, Chairman, to the effect that our county bounty would be paid only "to those soldiers now in the United States Army whose term of service expires on or before the 4^th of July 1864, and who may re-enlist for the term of three years, or the war. Provided such men shall be credited as a part of the quota of the County of New York on the draft ordered by the President in his Proclamation for January 6^th '64". This Resolution, seemed to render any further action on our part useless, as regarded our own County; as but a very few of our Reg'm'ts go out of service before that date. We think the local and county bounties should be paid to every soldier whose re-enlistment goes to the credit of the county, and the War Department has decided that this shall be the case with "all who have less than one year to serve". Many of the soldiers, undecided as to re-enlisting brought this resolution of the county committee in the Herald to our notice and asked its interpretation. We told them that this / decision was made in our opinion, without fully comprehending its nature and effects, and that we felt convinced it would be changed upon proper representation. Its effects however were of a very unpleasant character, and placed us in an equivocal position. By your instructions we were authorized to state that the county bounty would be paid to all re-enlisting before an actual draft, and even after the U.S. bounties had ceased. For re-enlistments the main inducement however appeared to be the furlough.

 

So many re-enlisting, all could not obtain this at once, and much dissatisfaction and changing was produced. Many refused to be sworn in, because of the uncertainty of going home. The extension of time, to the 1^st of March, in which re-enlistments may go on, is therefore a wise one. Those Reg'm'ts or men who have gone home, will before that period have returned to the Army, and as many more can then re-enlist and be furloughed at once. In the First Corps enlistments progressed more slowly in proportion to numbers than in any of the others, mainly because of inability to secure an immediate furlough. The 14^th State Militia, Colonel Fowler has one hundred and thirty men, who go out / of service by next May. Before the holidays one hundred and twenty six had signified their readiness to re-enlist, if permitted to return home at once. This was impossible, and now but two men can be prevailed on to re-enlist. In this Corps some one hundred and fifty men have already been re-mustered for three years. The Fifth Corps has but one Reg'm't in it viz the 44^th that can re-enlist. Twenty five of this Reg'm't have already done so. The Third Corps had done better than any other, over twelve hundred having been now re-enlisted. In the Second Corps some seven hundred men have re-enlisted and the number is increasing. The re-enlistments in the Sixth Corps number some eight hundred. We append a memo of enlistments in Reg'm'ts &c. We found generally that the officers and soldiers understood the matter, agents from other States, and counties of our own state, having been among them; but in many instances gross neglect and misunderstandings prevailed and then we were enabled to effect much good. Respectfully referring you to the annexed memo^s we will state that fewer soldiers from this state go out of service in 1864 than is generally / supposed and a very satisfactory proportion of these will re-enlist. A large county or local bounty had better be paid to one of these veterans, than to a recruit, particularly when both are credited on the quota of the county. The figures accompanying this report should not of course be made public.

           

With sentiments of the highest consideration

                       

We beg to remain

                                   

Your very Ob't. Sv'ts

J. Fred Pierson

 Ja^s A Scrymser

 

To                                           

Mess. Col. Geo. Bliss Jr.

            "     A. B. Eaton U.S.A.

            "     Frank E Howe

         Committee

 

 

[endorsement]

 

Jan. 6. 1863

Report of J. F. Pierson

and J A Scrymser

            as

Commissioners of the

Great War Meeting

to Army Potomac

SOURCES