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- 47
AN
sº
ºf ABSTRACT
t
º
º-
of THE
PUBLIC DOCUMENTS,
EXHIBITING THE MEASURES RECOMMENDED BY THE ADMINIS,
TRATION, AND THE PROCEEDINGS IN RELATION TO THEM
IN congress, TENDING to subject the people of
the UNITED STATEstow .
: MILITARY conscription,
‘TQ fill The assºor rus REGULAR aw,
* A - -
NAVAL IMPREssMENT,
ro supply SEAMEN FOR THE PUBLIC ARMED vessels
of THE UNITED STATES, -
GEORGETOWN :
PRINTED BY RobºFT ALLESON,
- 4815.


+
pledge for an honorable peace.”
be raised, he submits to the consideration of the committee fou
distinct plans, which will be stated, as far as brevity will permit
property among the several classes.
AN ABSTRACT
of THE PUBLIc DocuAIENTS.
| - '-
* - - - $% jº º
on the 17th October 1814, colonel Monroe, secretary at war
#ade a formal communication in writing to the military commi
tee of the house of representatives, stating his views in regard t
the prosecution of the war, and his plans for filling the ranks o
the regular army.
In this communication, he declared, that it was not enough fo
us in our military operations to repel the incursions of the enemy
In his own language, ‘. . . . \ -
** To bring the war to an honorable termination, we must not be conten
ed with defending ourselves. Different feelings must be touched and appr
hensions excited in the British government. By pushing the war into Ca
mada, we secure the friendship of the Indian tribes, and command their se
vices; otherwise to be turned by the enemy against us ; we relieve the coas
from the desolation which is intended for it, and we keep in our hands a saf
To effect these great purposes, his communication states, “tha
it will be necessary to bring into the field next campaign, not les.
than one hundred thousand regular troops.” Then proceeding t
the difficult and important inquiry how shall these regular troop
in his own words. Colonel Monroe's FIRST PLAN for raising reg
ular troops, is as follows: - - - -
“Let the free male population of the United States, between eighteen and
forty-five years, be formed into classes of one hundred men each, and let eacl
class furnish four men for the war, within 30 days after the classification, and
replace them in the event of casualty. " . - - - • -
“The classification to be formed with a view to the equal distribution o
“If any class fails to provide the men required of it, within the time spe
cified, they shall be raised by draft on the whole class : any person thus draf
ed being allowed to furnish a substitute,






4 -
... *The present bounty in land to be allowed to each recruit and the present
bounty in money, which is paid to each recruit by the United States, to be
paid to each draft by all the inhabitants within the precinct of the class, with-
in which the draft may be made, equally, according to the value of the pro-
perty which they may respectively possess; and if such bounty be not paid
within, days, the same to be levied on all the taxable property, of the
said inhabitants. And in like manner, the bounty, whatever it may be, which
may be employed, in raising a recruit, to avoid a draft, to be assessed on the
taxable property of the whole precinct. & * -
“The recruits to be delivered over to the recruiting officerineach district,
to be marched to such places of general rendezvous as may be designated by
the department of war.” . . . . . . . . - $
This extraordinary power in the general government to force
any or all of the free male population of the United States to be-
come regular soldiers during the war, Mr. Monroe supposed to
be clearly constitutional, and, if exerted in the manner'hé pro-
posed, perfectly equitable in its application to our fellow citizens.

The summary of his argument is, - *
- : * a . . . . ‘. . . . º '3%. &
“Congress have a right, by the constitution, to raise regular armies, and
no restraint is imposed in the exercise of it, except in the provisions which are
intended to guard generally against the abuse of power, with none of which
does this plan interfere, . It is proposed, that it shall operate on all alike, that
none shall be exempted from it except the chief magistrate of the U. States,
and the governors of the several states.” : * ~ *
- - º º ..] t '#,
To meet the objection that the constitution had prescribed, tººt
whenever the militia were called into service, they should is
eommanded by their own officers, he descended to the follows.
subtilty *** - - - • . , * - - - §s " ;- ‘‘s.
&
• , . * .
“The men are not drawn from the militia, but from the population of the
country: when they enlist voluntarily, it is not as militiãºmen'that they act;
but as citizens. If they are drafted it must be in the same sense. In botlain.
stances they are enrolled in the militia corps, but that, as is presumed, canº.
not prevent the voluntary act in the one instance, or the compulsive in ºthè
9ther. The whole population of the United States within certain: ages bee'.
Hong to these corps. If the United States could not form regular armies fém”
them, they eould raise none.” ". . . . . . ºf
The second plan is, - ; - *, * *.
“A classification of the militia, and the extension of their terms of service.
“Let the whole militia of the United States be divided into the following.
classes, viz : . . . t
All free mate persons, capable of service, between the ages of 18 and 23. ~ *
rto one class ; all those between the ages of 25 and 32 into another class, and
those between 32 and 45 into a third class. , ' ' . +
. It is proposed also, that the president shall have power to call into the ser,
vice any portion of either of these classes, which in his judgment the exigen-
cies of the country may require, to remain in service two years, from the time
each corps shall be assembled at the appointed place of rendezvous. .-
tº,
A.
By the third plan, “it is proposed to exempt every five men
* from militia service who shall find one to serve during the war.”
- 5
And under the fourth plan, it was stated, --- t
# Should all the preceding plans he found objectionable, it remains that the
present system of recruiting be adhered to, with an augmentation of the boun-
ty in land. Should this be preferred, it is advised, that in addition to the one
hundred and sixty acres of land now given, one hundred be allowed annually
for every year while the war lasts. º .
“These plans are thought more deserving the attention of the committee
than any that have occurred. The first, for the reasons stated, is preferred.
It is beiieved that it will be found more efficient against the enemy, less ex-
pensive to the public, and less burthensome on our fellow-citizens.”
On the 15th of November 1814, the honorable William Jones,
secretary of the navy, made a report to congress relative to the
better organization of the navy, in which report the IMPRESS-
MENT OF SEAMEN, for service in ships of war, is distinctly
recommended; as appears by the following extract from the re-
port : ‘r * ... • , . . .
“There is another branch of the service, which appears to me to merit the
serious deliberation of the legislature, with regard to the establishment of
some regular system, by which the voluntary enlistinents for the navy may
derive occasional reinforcement, from the services of those seamen, who, pur-
suing their own private occupations, are exempt, by their itinerant habits,
from public service of any kind. In my view there would be nothing incom-
patible with the free spirit of our institutions, or with the rights of individuals,
if registers, with a particular descriptive record, were kept in the several
districts, of all the seamen belonging to the U. States, and provision made by
law #3classing and calling into the public service, in succession, for reasona.
ble giated periods, such portions or classes, as the public service might re-
quitº...and if any individual so called, should be absent at the time, the next
in Sã9éession should perform the tour of duty of the absentee, who should, on
his return, be liabla to serve his original tour, and his substitute be exempt
from his succeeding regular tour of duty.” --
On the 27th of October 1814, Mr. Troup, chairman of the mili.
tary ſommitte of the house of representatives to which committee
colonel Monroe’s communication had been addressed, reported a
. . . “A BILL, .
“Entitled an act making further provision for filling the ranks
of the regular army by classifying the free male population of the
“ United States.” - - --
The first section of this bill, provides for the classification of
the FREE white MALE Population of the United States, be-
tween the ages of eighteen and forty-five, into classes of twenty
five each. , - * " . . .
The 2d section provides that within days after the classifi-
eation, each class shall furnish for the service of the United States
AN ABLE BoDIED RECRUIT To SERVE DURING THE war, who shall
be delivered to the assessor, or marshal, or his deputy, to be by
HIM DELIVERED TO AN of FIGER or THE UNITED STATEs.
The other sections of the bill point out the manner of making
the draft, and imposes heavy fines upon any class failing to fur-
nish such a recruit for the war, which fines are to be devied and
eoilected on the property of every taxable person within the pre-
cinet of the class, and to be paid over under the direction of the se.
eretary of war to recruit the army of the United States.
The consideration of this bill was postponed in the house in or.
der to await the issue of certain bills known to be reported in the
senate by Mr. Gile, the chairman of the military committee of
that body. These were-LFirst,
- .” i y * 66 A BILL, - * ,
“Entitled an act making further provision for filling the ranks
“ of the army of the United States.” . . . . .
The distinct and avowed object of this-àet was to authorise the
enlistinent of minors, wards, and apprentiees, between the ages
of eighteen and twenty-one into the regular army of the United
States, and to make such enlistments absolute and binding, with-
out the consent of parents, guardians, or masters. This biii, after
strºng opposition, passed both houses of congress, and on the ioth
of January received the approbation & signature of the president.
The second bill reported by Mr. Giles was entitled,
. . . . “A BILL,
“To authorise the president of the United States to call upon
* the several states and territories for their respective quotas of
“ eighty thousand militia, for the defence of the frontiers of the
“ United States.” . . . . . . . . • . - . . . . . .
... This bill provided, that the whole body of the militia of the
U. S. should be made to furnish 80,000 men, to serve for twº ARs
—Each state was to furnish its quota of these 80,000, according
to its ratio of representatives in congress. This quota was to
be raised by dividing the militia of each state into as many class-
es as it was required to furnish men, and by forcing each class to
provide a man, either by contract or by draft. Any three
classes who would join and furnish two soldiers for the ‘regular ar-
my to serve during the war, were to be exempted from the duties
enjoined by this aet. . This bill passed the Senate, after an able
and animated discussion, by the following vote: ".
AYEs —Messrs. Bibb, Biedsoe, Brent, Brown, Chase, Condit,
Fromentin, Gaillard, Giles, Lacock, Morrow, Roberts, Smith,
Tait, Taylor, Turner, Walker, Wharton, Worthington—49. .
NoFs—Messrs. Anderson, Daggett, Dana, German, Goldsbo-
rough, Gore, Horsey, Hunter, Lambert, Mason, Thompson, Var-
*
Tº illn—12. ' - *
At the passage of this bill, Mr. King of New-York was absent thro' ill health]
In the House of Representatives several alterations were made
in this Biłł. The most important of theſe were, 1st. the insertion
of a clause authorizing the President to give his orders for classi-
fying the militia of a state to any officer he thought proper, if the
Governor should refuse or neglect to have it made. 2d., the strik-
ing out of a clause which limited the service of the 80,000 men to
the states in which they were raised, or states contiguous to them;
g
and 3d. the reduction of the term of service from two years to one
- year. A proposition, made by Mr. Baylies, of Massachusetts,
to declare that these men should be used only for militia purpo-
ses “ to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, and execute the
laws of the union” was rejected. The bill after many days of ar-
dent and able debate, passed the House of Representatives by the
following vote : • * . i
YEAs–Messrs. Alston, Anderson, Archer, Avery, Barbour,
Bard, Bines, Bowen, Brown, Calhoun, Chappell, Clark, Clopton,
Comstock, Condit, Crawford, Creighton, Cuthbert, Denoyelles,
*... ;
Besha, Duvall, Earle, Eppes, Evans, Farrow, Findley, Fisk, of
N. Y. Forney, Forsythe, Franklin, Goodwin, Gourdin, Griffin,
Hall, Hasbrouck, Hawes, Hawkins, Hopkins, of Ky. Humphreys,
Ingersoll, Ingham, Irving, Irwin, Johnson of Wa. Johnson of Ky.
Kent, of Md. Kershaw, Kilbourn, King, of N. C. Lefferts, Lown-
des, Lyle, MºCoy, Mºkee, Mºkim, M*Lean, Montgomery, Moore,
Murfree, Nelson, Newton, Ormsby, Parker, Pickens, Piper, Plea-
sants, Rea, of Penn. Rhea, of Tenn. Ringgold, Roane, Robertson,
Sage, Saybert, Sharp, Smith, of Penn. Smith, of Va. Tannehill,
Taylor, Telfair, Udree, Ward of N. J. Williams, Wilson, of Penn.
Yancey—84. - ‘. . .
Nogs–Messrs. Alexander, Baylies, Bayley, Bigelow, Boyd,
Bradbury, Bradley, Breckenridge, Burwell, Butler, Caperton,
Caldwell, Champion, Cilley, Cooper, Coxe, Culpepper, Dana, Da-
venport, Davis, of Mass. Davis, of Penn. Ely, Fisk, of Vermont,
Gaston, Geddes, Gholson, Grosvenor, Hale, Harris, Henderson,
Howell, Jaekson, of R. I Kennedy, Kent, of N. Y. Kerr, King, of
Mass. Law, Lewis, Lovett, Macon, Miller, Mosely, Markell, Oak-
ley, Pearson, Pickering, Pitkin, Potter, John Reed, Wm. Reed,
Rich, Ruggles, Schureman, Sheffey, Shipherd, Skinner, Slayma.
ker, Smith, of N. Y. Stanford, Stockton, Sturges, Taggart, Thomp-
son, Wase, Ward, of Mass. Webster, Wheaton, White, Wilcox,
Wilson, of Mass. Winter, Wright—72. y
When the bill was returned to the Senate, the alterations made
in it by the bouse were disapproved of. Attempts were made to
reconcile these differences by a conference of managers appointed
by the two branches of the legislature. Before these attempts
were concluded, Mr. King of New York, moved in the senate,
that the further consideration of the subject be postponed to the
2d Monday of March, a day beyond the session. This motion,
tantamount to a motion to reject, obtained by the following vote;
AYEs—Messrs. Chase, Daggett, Dana, Fromentin, Gore, Hor-
gey, Hunter, King, Lambert, Mason, Robinson, Thompson, War.
Elum, Wells—14. . -
- i
Noes—Messrs. Bibb, Bledsoe, Condit, Gaillard, Lacock, Mor-
row, Roberts, Smith, Tait, Taylor, Walker, Wharton—13. --
This rejection of Mr. Giles’ bill, seems to have put an end for
8
the present, to the projects of conseription and impressment. A
resolution had been introduced in the House of Representatives,
on the 7th of December, by Mr. Ingersoll in the following words:
“Itesolved, That the committee on military affairs, be instruct-
“ed to report to this house, a bill or bills for classifying the FREE
* MALE PopULATION of the U. States, from the age of 24 years, to
“the age of 45 years, for the purpose of drafting therefrom a suf-
“ficient number, ANNUALLY, to fill up the ranks of the Regu.
“LAR ARMY.” . , -- - -
This resolution for a plain downright conscription—Mr. Troup's
bill for filiing the ranks of the regular army, by classification of
the free male population of the U. States—and Mr. Secretary
Jones’ seheme for a system of naval impressment, have never since
been stirred. It is probably supposed that a failure to insinuate
conseription under the disguise of a militia draft, forbids all ex-
Pectation of success, when presented in its naked deformaity.
w
woTE.
-*
We ere requested to subjoin the Yeas and Nays in both houses
pf congress, on the Declaration of War, in June 1812:
- IN THE SENATE.
FOR THE W.A.R—Messrs. Anderson, Brent, Bibb, Cutts, Condit, Crawford,
Campbell, Franklin, Gregg, Giles, Gaillard, Leib, Robinson, J. Smith, Samuel
Smith, Turner, Tait, Taylºr, Varnum—18. Y ' r
: AGAINST THE W.A.R—Messrs. Bayard, Dana, Goodrich, Gilman, Ger.
man, Hunter, Howell, Horsey, Lloyd, Lambert, Pope, Reed, Worthington—13.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
FOR THE W.A.R—Messrs. Alston, Anderson, Archer, Avery, Blackledge,
Hard, Bassett, Bibb, Brown, Burwell, Butler, Calhoun, Carr, Cheves, Clopton,
Cochran, Condit, Crawford, Davis, Dawson, Desha, Dinsmore, Earle, Findley,
Fisk, Gholson, Goodwyn, Green, Grundy, B. Hall, O. Hall, Harper, Hyneman,
Hawes, Johnson, J. Kent, W. R. Kent, Lacock, Lefever, Little, Lowndes, Lyle,
Macon, Moore, M'Coy, M“Kee, M*Kim, Morgan, Morrow, Nelson, Newton
New, Ormsby, Pickens, Piper, Pleasants, Pond, Richardson, Ringgold, Rhea,
Roane, Roberts, Sage, Seaver, Sevier, Seybert, Shaw, Smilie, G. Smith, John
Smith, Strong, Taliaferro, Troup, Turner, Whitehill, Williams, Widgery,
Winn, Wright—79. º *. - • . - *
J. G. I.N ST THE W.A.R—Messrs. Bartlett, Brigham, Bleecker, Breckens
ridge, Baker, Boyd, Chittenden, Champion, Cooke, Davenport, Ely, Emott,
Fitch, Gold, Goldsborough, Hufly, Jackson, Key, Law, Lewis, Mosely, Mit-
chell, Metcalf, Maxwell, Mijnor, M*Bride, Newbold, Potter, Pitkin, Pearson,
Quincy, Reed, Ridgely, Rodman, Randolph, Sullivan, Sturges, Sammons,
Stow, Stuart, Stanford, "'aggart, Taiman, Tracey, Talmadge, Van Cortlandt,
Śwheaton, White, Wilson–49. - .
| | | | | OF MICHIGAN
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