Mr. Hovey to Mr. Seward
Sir: The 34th section of an act of Congress entitled “An act to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States,” passed July 28, 1866, and the act of Congress passed at the last session forbidding the use of [Page 774] uniforms or court dress, will be a sufficient apology for asking the following questions of the Department of State :
1. Can I wear my uniform of major general on court occasions or days of ceremony in Peru, without infringing upon the recent act of Congress?
2. Am I entitled to be addressed as Brevet Major General A. P. Hovey, envoy extraordinary, &c., &c., instead of A. P. Hovey, esq., &c., &c., &c., as in despatches and letters received at this legation?
The 34th section of the act above referred to reads:
And be it further enacted, That all officers who have served during the rebellion as volunteers in the armies of the United States, and who have been or may hereafter be honorably mustered out of the volunteer service, shall be entitled to bear the official title, and upon occasions of ceremony to wear the uniform of the highest grade they have held by brevet or other commissions in the volunteer service.
In case of officers of the regular army, the volunteer rank shall be entered upon the official army register: Provided, That these privileges shall not entitle any officer to command, pay, or emoluments.
The questions involved are matters of personal pride more than of substance, but at the same time they are not altogether unimportant in this country, in other points of view. Should the department be pleased to give me my name alone, without the Mr., in accordance with what they may deem to be the policy or the law, I shall be content; but I know of no just right to be styled esquire, any more than I have to be yclept “my lord.”
It seems to me that the act of Congress of July 28, 1866, conferred an honor equal to the cross of the legion, or the ribbon of the garter, upon those who served their country in the hour of its greatest peril. If I am right in this position, I am not only entitled to wear my old uniform when I please, but I am likewise entitled, as well as some captains now in the regular service, to be addressed as a general. If a captain or colonel in the regular service can wear his uniform and be addressed by his volunteer rank, I see no reason why the same honor should not be awarded to those now serving in the diplomatic corps. I shall be pardoned for saying that I have too much of the feeling of the soldier yet to be indifferent to any honor that my country may think proper to bestow upon those who have done battle for her cause.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.