OFFICE OF COMMISSARY GENERAL OF PRISONERS,}
WASHINGTON, April 20, 1864. }
[_Circular._]
By authority of the War Department, the following Regulations will be
observed at all stations where prisoners of war and political or state
prisoners are held. The Regulations will supersede those issued from this
office July 7, 1861:--
I. The Commanding Officer at each station is held accountable for the
discipline and good order of his command, and for the security of the
prisoners; and will take such measures, with the means placed at his
disposal, as will best secure these results. He will divide the prisoners
into companies, and will cause written reports to be made to him of their
condition every morning, showing the changes made during the preceding
twenty-four hours, giving the names of the "joined," "transferred,"
"deaths," &c. At the end of every month, Commanders will send to the
Commissary General of Prisoners a Return of Prisoners, giving names and
details to explain "alterations." If rolls of "joined" or "transferred"
have been forwarded during the month, it will be sufficient to refer to
them on the return, according to forms furnished.
II. On the arrival of any prisoners at any station, a careful comparison
of them with the rolls which accompany them will be made, and all errors
on the rolls will be corrected. When no roll accompanies the prisoners,
one will immediately be made out, containing all the information required,
as correct as can be, from the statements of prisoners themselves. When
the prisoners are citizens, the town, county, and State from which they
come will be given on the rolls, under the headings Rank, Regiment, and
Company. At stations where prisoners are received frequently, and in small
parties, a list will be furnished every fifth day--the last one in the
month may be for six days--of all prisoners received during the preceding
five days. Immediately on their arrival, prisoners will be required to
give up all arms and weapons of every description, of which the Commanding
Officer will require an accurate list to be made. When prisoners are
forwarded for exchange, duplicate parole rolls, signed by the prisoners,
will be sent with them, and an ordinary roll will be sent to the
Commissary General of Prisoners. When they are transferred from one
station to another, an ordinary roll will be sent with them, and a copy of
it to the Commissary General of Prisoners. In all cases, the officer
charged with conducting prisoners will report to the officer under whose
order he acts the execution of his service, furnishing a receipt for the
prisoners delivered, and accounting by name for those not delivered; which
report will be forwarded, without delay, to the Commissary General of
Prisoners.
III. The hospital will be under the immediate charge of the senior Medical
Officer present, who will be held responsible to the Commanding Officer
for its good order and the proper treatment of the sick. A fund for this
hospital will be created, as for other hospitals. It will be kept separate
from the fund of the hospital for the troops, and will be expended for the
objects specified, and in the manner prescribed, in paragraph 1212,
Revised Regulations for the Army of 1863, except that the requisition of
the Medical Officer in charge, and the bill of purchase, before payment,
shall be approved by the Commanding Officer. When this "fund" is
sufficiently large, it may be expended also for shirts and drawers for the
sick, the expense of washing clothes, articles for policing purposes, and
all articles and objects indispensably necessary to promote the sanitary
condition of the hospital.
IV. Surgeons in charge of hospitals where there are prisoners of war will
make to the Commissary General of Prisoners, through the Commanding
Officer, semi-monthly reports of deaths, giving names, rank, regiment, and
company; date and place of capture; date and cause of death; place of
interment, and number of grave. Effects of deceased prisoners will be
taken possession of by the Commanding Officer--the money and valuables to
be reported to this office (see note on blank reports), the clothing of
any value to be given to such prisoners as require it. Money left by
deceased prisoners, or accruing from the sale of their effects, will be
placed in the Prison Fund.
V. A fund, to be called "The Prison Fund," and to be applied in procuring
such articles as may be necessary for the health and convenience of the
prisoners, not expressly provided for by General Army Regulations, 1863,
will be made by withholding from their rations such parts thereof as can
be conveniently dispensed with. The Abstract of Issues to Prisoners, and
Statement of the Prison Fund, shall be made out, commencing with the month
of May, 1864, in the same manner as is prescribed for the Abstract of
Issues to Hospital and Statement of the Hospital Fund (see paragraphs
1209, 1215, and 1246, and Form 5, Subsistence Department, Army
Regulations, 1863), with such modifications in language as may be
necessary. The ration for issue to prisoners will be composed as follows,
viz.:--
Hard Bread, { 14 oz. per one ration, or
{ 18 oz. Soft Bread one ration.
Corn Meal, 18 oz. per one ration.
Beef, 14 " " "
Bacon or Pork, 10 " " "
Beans, 6 qts. per 100 men.
Hominy or Rice, 8 lbs. " "
Sugar, 14 " " "
R. Coffee, 5 lbs. ground, or 7 lbs. raw, per 100 men.
Tea, 18 oz. per 100 men.
Soap, 4 " " "
Adamantine Candles, 5 Candles per 100 men.
Tallow Candles, 6 " " "
Salt, 2 qts. " "
Molasses, 1 qt. " "
Potatoes, 30 lbs. " "
When beans are issued, hominy or rice will not be. If at any time it
should seem advisable to make any change in this scale, the circumstances
will be reported to the Commissary General of Prisoners for his
consideration.
VI. Disbursements to be charged against the Prison Fund will be made by
the Commissary of Subsistence, on the order of the Commanding Officer; and
all such expenditures of funds will be accounted for by the Commissary, in
the manner prescribed for the disbursements of the Hospital Fund. When in
any month the items of expenditures on account of the Prison Fund cannot
be conveniently entered on the Abstract of Issues to Prisoners, a list of
the articles and quantities purchased, prices paid, statement of services
rendered, &c., certified by the Commissary as correct, and approved by the
Commanding Officer, will accompany the Abstract. In such cases it will
only be necessary to enter on the Abstract of Issues the total amount of
funds thus expended.
VII. At the end of each calendar month, the Commanding Officer will
transmit to the Commissary General of Prisoners a copy of the "Statement
of the Prison Fund," as shown in the Abstract of Issues for that month,
with a copy of the list of expenditures specified in preceding paragraph,
accompanied by vouchers, and will indorse thereon, or convey in letter of
transmittal, such remarks as the matter may seem to require.
VIII. The Prison Fund is a credit with the Subsistence Department, and at
the request of the Commissary General of Prisoners may be transferred by
the Commissary General of Subsistence in the manner prescribed by existing
Regulations for the transfer of Hospital Fund.
IX. With the Prison Fund may be purchased such articles, not provided for
by regulations, as may be necessary for the health and proper condition
of the prisoners, such as table furniture, cooking utensils, articles for
policing, straw, the means for improving or enlarging the barracks or
hospitals, &c. It will also be used to pay clerks and other employees
engaged in labors connected with prisoners. No barracks or other
structures will be erected or enlarged, and no alterations made, without
first submitting a plan and estimate of the cost to the Commissary General
of Prisoners, to be laid before the Secretary of War for his approval; and
in no case will the services of clerks or of other employees be paid for
without the sanction of the Commissary General of Prisoners. Soldiers
employed with such sanction will be allowed 40 cents per day when employed
as clerks, stewards, or mechanics; 25 cents a day when employed as
laborers.
X. It is made the duty of the Quartermaster, or, when there is none, the
Commissary, under the orders of the Commanding Officer, to procure all
articles required, and to hire clerks or other employees. All bills for
service or for articles purchased will be certified by the Quartermaster,
and will be paid by the Commissary on the order of the Commanding Officer,
who is held responsible that all expenditures are for authorized purposes.
XI. The Quartermaster will be held accountable for all property purchased
with the Prison Fund, and he will make a return of it to the Commissary
General of Prisoners at the end of each calendar month, which will show
the articles on hand on the first day of the month; the articles
purchased, issued, and expended during the month; and the articles
remaining on hand. The return will be supported by abstracts of the
articles purchased, issued, and expended, certified by the Quartermaster,
and approved by the Commanding Officer.
XII. The Commanding Officer will cause requisitions to be made by his
Quartermaster for such clothing as may be absolutely necessary for the
prisoners, which requisition will be approved by him, after a careful
inquiry as to the necessity, and submitted for the approval of the
Commissary General of Prisoners.
The clothing will be issued by the Quartermaster to the prisoners, with
the assistance and under the supervision of an officer detailed for the
purpose, whose certificate that the issue has been made in his presence
will be the Quartermaster's voucher for the clothing issued. From the 30th
of April to the 1st of October, neither drawers nor socks will be allowed,
except to the sick. When army clothing is issued, buttons and trimmings
will be taken off the coats, and the skirts will be cut so short that the
prisoners who wear them will not be mistaken for United States soldiers.
XIII. The Sutler for the prisoners is entirely under the control of the
Commanding Officer, who will require him to furnish the prescribed
articles, and at reasonable rates. For this privilege the Sutler will be
taxed a small amount by the Commanding Officer, according to the amount of
his trade, which tax will be placed in the hands of the Commissary to make
part of the Prison Fund.
XIV. All money in possession of prisoners, or received by them, will be
taken charge of by the Commanding Officer, who will give receipts for it
to those to whom it belongs. Sales will be made to prisoners by the Sutler
on orders on the Commanding Officer, which orders will be kept as vouchers
in the settlement of the individual accounts. The Commanding Officer will
procure proper books in which to keep an account of all moneys deposited
in his hands, these accounts to be always subject to inspection by the
Commissary General of Prisoners, or other inspecting officer. When
prisoners are transferred from the post, the moneys belonging to them,
with a statement of the amount due each, will be sent with them, to be
turned over by the officer in charge to the officer to whom the prisoners
are delivered, who will give receipts for the money. When prisoners are
paroled, their money will be returned to them.
XV. All articles sent by friends to prisoners, if proper to be delivered,
will be carefully distributed as the donors may request; such as are
intended for the sick passing through the hands of the Surgeon, who will
be responsible for their proper use. Contributions must be received by an
officer, who will be held responsible that they are delivered to the
person for whom they are intended. All uniform, clothing, boots, or
equipments of any kind for military service, weapons of all kinds, and
intoxicating liquors, including malt liquors, are among the contraband
articles. The material for outer clothing should be gray, or some dark
mixed color, and of inferior quality. Any excess of clothing, over what
is required for immediate use, is contraband.
XVI. When prisoners are seriously ill, their nearest relatives, being
loyal, may be permitted to make them short visits; but under no other
circumstances will visitors be admitted without the authority of the
Commissary General of Prisoners. At those places where the guard is inside
the enclosure, persons having official business to transact with the
Commander or other officer will be admitted for such purposes, but will
not be allowed to have any communication with the prisoners.
XVII. Prisoners will be permitted to write and to receive letters, not to
exceed one page of common letter paper each, provided the matter is
strictly of a private nature. Such letters must be examined by a reliable
non-commissioned officer, appointed for that purpose by the Commanding
Officer, before they are forwarded or delivered to the prisoners.
XVIII. Prisoners who have been reported to the Commissary General of
Prisoners will not be paroled or released except by authority of the
Secretary of War.
W. HOFFMAN,
Col. 3d Infantry, Commissary General of Prisoners.