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MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT. 
 
 RicHV'OND, Va., Jan 13, 1864. 
 
 To the House of Representativex : 
 
 In response to your resolution of the 17th ult., I herewith trans- 
 mit, for your information, a communication from the Secretary of 
 War, relative to the steps taken in rcfeienco to *'An Act to prevent 
 the absence of officers and soldiers without leave," approved the 16th 
 of April, 1863. .^. 
 
 —V' JEFFERSON DAVIS, 
 
 "lit- 
 
 
 COMMUNICATION OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 
 
 Confederate States of America* ^^r Dep\rtment, 
 Richmond, ^a., Jan. 11, 1864. 
 
 To th'. President of the Confederate States : 
 
 SuR : I have received the following resolution of the House of 
 Representatives, reterred by your Excellency to this department: 
 
 '■'R-'solved, That the President be requested to inform this House if 
 any steps have been taken by commanding officers to enforce the pro- 
 visions of au act of Congress entitled 'An Act to prevent the 
 absence of officers and sjidiers without leave,' approved the iCth of 
 April, 1863." 
 
 In response, I have the honor to transmit herewith a report from 
 the Adjutant General, enclosing a letter from the Quartermaster 
 General, and copies of the general orders relating to the subject. 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 JAMES A. SEDDON, 
 
 Secretary of War. 
 
COMMUNICATION OF AD.l'T AND INSPECTOR GENERAL 
 
 Adjutant and Insp'r General's Office, f 
 RirhmonJ, Jan. 9, 1864, \ 
 
 Hon. Jamp> a. Seddon, 
 
 Secretary of War, Richmond : • 
 
 Sir : In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives, 
 of the 1 7th ult., inijuiring whether ''any steps have been taken by 
 comraan<lin_f; officers to enforce the provisions of an act of Congress 
 entitled *An Act to prevent the absence of officers and soldier? with- 
 out leave,' approved April Hi, 1863," and referred to this office, Dec. 
 23d, I respectfully enclose a copy of my letter of the 7th instant, to 
 the Quartermaster General and his reply thereto. It will thus be 
 Been that the act referred to was published to the army, in general 
 orders, soon after it became a law. 
 
 I also enclose copies of general orders Nos. fifteen and twenty- 
 eight, of February and March, 1863, showing that the subject in 
 question had received the attention of the department prior to the 
 passage of the law of April 16, and its design, in this way, anticipa-' 
 ted as far as seemed practicable. 
 
 What additional measures may have been adopted by "commanding 
 officers'' to secure the observance of this law, I regret not to have the 
 means of stating. 
 
 I am, sir, very respectfully. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 S. COOPER, 
 A. and J. General. 
 
 Adj't and Insp'r General's OffIce, 
 
 Richmond, Feb. 6, 1863. 
 
 GENERAL ORDERS, 
 No. 15. 
 
 EXTRACT, 
 
 I. All the commissioned officers of the army in the service of the 
 Confederate States, who are absent from their respective commands 
 without sufficient authority, and from whom satisfactory reports hav<i 
 not been received, will be considered as no longer in service, thirty 
 days after the publication of this order, when their names will be 
 erased from the returns of regiments and corps. All quartermastera 
 of the army, charged with the payment of troops, are hereby prohib- 
 ited from making payments to officers who do not exhibit sufficient 
 authority for absence from their proper commands ; and where any 
 
doubt exists in the mind of the paying officer, for want of such 
 authority, he will suspend payment, and report the case to this office, 
 with the namo and residence of the officer so absent, and the regiment 
 or corps to which he belongs. 
 
 **♦****» 
 
 By order. 
 
 S. COOPER, 
 Adft and Insp'r GeneraL 
 
 Adj't and Insp'r General's Office, 
 Richmond, March 13, 1863. 
 
 GENERAL ORDERS, i 
 
 No. 28. S 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
 IV. The impositions attempted to be practiced on officers of the 
 Quartermaster's Department, charged with paying troops, call for the 
 following regulation in respect to the payment of officers absent from 
 their proper commands, viz : Regimental quartermasters will furnish 
 to officers of their regiments about to leave their commands on 
 detached duty, certificates of last payments made by them to such 
 officers ; which certificates will be deposited with the pay officer making 
 the next payment, who will, on such further payment, give the officers 
 a like certiiicate. Payments to officers absent from their appropriate 
 commands, except those placed on detached duty by competent author- 
 ity, and sick and wounded officers absent by like authority, are 
 expressly prohibited. 
 
 By order. 
 
 S. COOPER, 
 Adft and Insp'r General, 
 
Adj't and Insp'r General's Office, 
 
 Richmond, Va., Jan. 7, 1864. 
 
 Brig. Gen. A. I\. Lawton. 
 
 Qurter/naster General : 
 
 S'lR : Herewith I enclose you a, copy of a resolution of the House 
 of Representatives of the 17th ultc, together with a copy of the 
 general order No., 108, of 1803, from this office, and I havo respect- 
 fully to reqv.est that you will, at as early a period as possible, state 
 whether or not the officers of your department, have been governed .n 
 their payments by the requirements of the order, above mentioned. 
 1 have the honor. General, to be, 
 
 Very respectfully, your ob't servant, 
 
 S. COOPER, 
 Adft and Insp'r General. 
 
 Adj't a>d Insp'r General's Office, } 
 Richmond, Va., Jan. 8, 18G4. ^ 
 
 Official copy. 
 
 John Withers, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant General. 
 
 Adj't and Insp'r General's Office, 
 
 Richmond, August 4, 1863. 
 
 GENERAL ORDERS, 
 
 No. 108. 
 
 extract. 
 
 The following acts are published for the information of the army : 
 
 ********* 
 
 An act to prevent the absence of Officers and Soldiers without leave. 
 
 " The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact : That 
 no officer or soldier of the army shall receive pay for any period dur- 
 ing which ho may bo absent without leave, or beyond the leave granted, 
 from competent authority, according to the regulations of the army : 
 Provided, That this restriction shall not aflfcct the Kick or wounded in 
 Vrx^pltalti. 
 
 v'5EC. 2. In order to enforce the requirements of the foregoing seo- 
 lion, it is hereby made the duty of commanding officers of companies 
 I'l state upon the muster and pay rolls of their companies the length 
 ut: time any officer or soldier has been absent therefrom, without leave 
 f competent authority, since the previous payment, when the de- 
 i action of pay for such absence will be made by the quartermaiter 
 from the amount otherwiae due the officer or soldier ; and any com- 
 
mander of a company who shall fail to note such absence on the mus- 
 ter and pay rolls of the company shall be required to refund to the 
 Government the amount forfeited by such absent officer or soldier, 
 unless it shall already have been received from the officer or soldier 
 so absent. 
 
 Sec. 3. Officers shall certify upon honor on their pay accounts 
 whether they have or have not been absent, without leave by compe- 
 tent authority, within the time for which they claim pay ; and if ab- 
 sent without leave, they shall state in their cerdficates the time atd 
 period of such absences. In lik;; manner, commanding officers of 
 companies shall certify on honor on their pay accounts that they have 
 stated fully and correctly on the muster and pay rolls of their compa- 
 nies the length of time each officer and soldier of the company has 
 been absent without leave since the last payment of the company. 
 
 Sec. 4. That this act bhall not be conatrued to relieve any officer or 
 private from any other penalty to which he may be liable by existing 
 laws or regulations." [Approved April 16, 1863.J 
 
 ******** 
 By order. 
 
 S. COOPER, 
 Adjutajit and Inspector General. 
 
 
 
 ^■pp 
 
 
 ?■ V 
 
 
 ^^ -._ 
 
 '■•- 
 
 
 
 
 '•V 
 
Confederate States of America, > 
 
 Quartermaster General's Office, v 
 Richmond, Jau. 7, l.^G4. S 
 
 Gen. S. Cooper, Adj't and Insp'r d'eneral : 
 
 Sir : Your communication of this da^<^, enclosing a copy of u reso- 
 lution of the House of Representatives, requesting to be informed 
 " if any eteps have been taken by commaudinrr officers, to enforce the 
 provisions of an act to prevent the absence of officert; and soldiers 
 without leave, approved the 16th of April, 1S63," and asking infor- 
 mation as to whether or not, the officers of this department have been 
 governed in their payments by the requirements of general orders 
 No. 108, last series, has been received. 
 
 I have to state, in reply, that the act referred to, makes it the duty 
 of commanding officers of companies, to state upon the muster and 
 pay rolls of their companies, the length of time any such officers or 
 soldiers have been absent therefrom; requires officers to certify on 
 their pay accounts, whether they have or have not, been absent with- 
 out leave, within the time tor which they claim pay, and company 
 commanders to make the additional certificate that they have noted 
 upon the company muster rolls, the period of abscence of the officers 
 and men under their command. 
 
 So far as I have been enabled to ascertain, the officers of this Depart- 
 ment have complied with the provision of said order. If, in any in- 
 stance, there has been a failure to observe its requirements, it has 
 been without my sanction or knowledge. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 A. R. LAWTON, 
 Quartermaster General. 
 

 
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