Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton.
Sir: I have received your dispatch (No. 188) of September 3, which is accompanied by a petition addressed to the President by A. Girard, a captain in the French army, who offers to join our military forces with a corps of one thousand men, on condition that their transportation to the United States shall be paid. This paper has been referred to the Secretary of War, who, I doubt not, will bestow due consideration upon it.
Meantime it cannot be improper for me to mention that all foreigners, as well as many of our own citizens, widely misapprehend the manner in which the American armies are organized. They assume that the President has full authority to receive and commission at his pleasure all officers who may tender their services and to accept all masses of soldiers who may be anywhere enlisted, on terms and conditions fixed by himself.
On the contrary, the President, from the very exigencies of the case, charges himself with none of the details of organization. They are devolved upon the Secretary of War, and by his direction executed mainly under the superintendence of the general commanding the national forces, who is constantly at Washington. The regular army, or army proper, is small, and officered mainly from the pupils of West Point, and promotions are made according to seniority or merit, in cases of vacancy.
The great mass of our military forces consists of volunteers. These are raised by the governors of the States on requisitions of the President, in rateable proportion to the federal population. The volunteers choose their own company officers and the field officers of their respective regiments. All these officers derive their commissions from the governors, and vacancies are filled by promotion according to seniority. The President, by authority of Congress, appoints only general officers, quartermasters and paymasters for the volunteer forces. All the care of recruiting volunteer troops is exercised under and by authority of laws passed by Congress, which define the ways, means, bounties, wages, and pensions.
From this statement you will perceive that when an European officer tenders his service with or without a body of soldiers, upon terms and conditions not conforming to the laws of Congress, he makes an offer which is impracticable.
The President in July last called on the governors for 300,000 volunteers, and for 300,000 additional troops to be raised by draft. It is understood that the first mass of three hundred thousand is already enlisted and either in the field or in camp. The other three hundred thousand are not yet drafted because volunteers for the war are coming forward so rapidly as to induce the belief that the draft may be dispensed with. Any foreign officer coming on our shores with a body of men who should then enlist would doubtlessly be received with his recruits by the governor of the State, and the bounty money and wages they would speedily receive would be more than adequate to reimburse the expenses of transportation across the Atlantic. There, is however, no authority anywhere to make contracts in foreign countries for recruits.
One word more. We have become already a martial people. There is competition among our own citizens for every military command in any case of vacancy. The volunteers naturally prefer the command of one who is personally known to them, and who speaks their language, to that of a stranger, who has that language yet to learn. We have many foreign officers, as well as American, already in commission, for whom places are not esaily found; [Page 383] hence the reluctance of the military authorities to hold out inducements even to meritorious foreigners.
These general statements are the results of my own observations, and are not made upon any understanding with the Secretary of War. When I shall have received his answer to the proposition of Captain Girard it will be communicated to you without delay.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
William L. Dayton, Esq., &c., &c., &c.