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PRISONERS
OF WAR.
624. WHEN soldiers are captured by the enemy, they must expect to
be closely guarded and subject to great inconvenience. The customs
of war, however, entitle the prisoner to certain privileges. He
should be permitted to keep all his personal effects that can
readily be transported with him and that cannot be used to effect
his escape. If his money is taken from him, it should be used to
supply his wants, and the balance returned when he is released or
exchanged; he is entitled to food and clothing; he is entitled to
kind and considerate treatment as long as he is submissive and
obedient, and can claim to be treated as an ordinary prisoner of
war. Guerrillas, spies, &c. are not ordinary prisoners of war,
and are, therefore, at the mercy of their captors.
625. "A prisoner of war is a public enemy, armed or attached
to the hostile army for active aid, who has fallen into the hands of
the captor, either fighting or wounded, on the field or in the
hospital, by individual surrender or by capitulation." (GO. No.
100, 1863, Par. 49.)
626. A prisoner of war, in order to claim the immunities of such
a situation, must belong to the hostile army in some authorized way,
or be in the employ of the Government in some official capacity, and
as an enemy he must first throw down his arms, and ask for quarter,
and be submissive to his captors.
627. Troops using the enemy’s uniform or flag to deceive, are
at the mercy of their captors when taken. If captured clothing is
used, it should be worn with some distinctive mark or badge
indicative of their character
628. Prisoners who have escaped and are recaptured sho uld not be
punished for escaping, although they may be subjected to stricter
confinement. It is the duty of prisoners to escape if they can. They
should, therefore, avoid any parole which would prevent them from
taking advantage of any opportunities to escape.
629. Enlisted men are prohibited from taking a parole, except
through an office. A soldier giving his parole without the approval
thereto of his commanding officer, subjects himself to the penalty
of desertion, and the parole is void. It is only admissible for a
soldier to parole himself when he has suffered long imprisonment and
been properly separated from his command, without the possibility of
being paroled through an officer. (G. 0. No. 49, 1863.)
630. Paroling on the battle-field is prohibited; and no parole
should be taken or given under any circumstances until the prisoners
are secured beyond the possibility of recapture. When paroles are
given, it is done "by the exchange of signed duplicates of a
written document, in which the same and rank of the parties paroled
are correctly stated."
631. Paroles are of two kinds—a military
parole and a parole
of honor A military parole
is where the prisoner is released from custody, and pledges himself
not to take up arms against his captors until properly exchanged. A
parole of honor is where the prisoner, still under the control of
his captors, pledges himself to do or not to do a certain thing, so
far as he himself is concerned; as where for the privilege of being
released from prison he promises to make no attempt to escape. (G.O.
No. 207, 1863.)
632. Neither parole should be given except under circumstances
that would manifestly justify their being given. The prisoner is
performing a service to his own cause in compelling his captors to
guard and provide for him, and his own Government is supposed to
take all the necessary measures for procuring his proper exchange.
633. The inhabitants of a hostile country are not treated as foes
so long as they remain peaceable and submissive to the forces
occupying. Individuals are to be treated as spies and guerrillas who
perform any overt acts of hostility or give information to the
enemy. The inhabitants of the country are treated as prisoners of
war only when they rise en
masse to repel the invading
forces.
634. Prisoners of war are entitled to pay during their
imprisonment the same as if they were off duty. (G.O. No. 9,1862.)
"The following plan for paying to the families of officers
and soldiers in the service of the United States, who are or may
become prisoners of war, sums due them by the Government, having
been approved by the President, it is published for the information
of all concerned.
"Payment will be made to persons presenting a written
authority from a prisoner to draw his pay; or, without such
authority, to his wife, the guardian of his minor children, or his
widowed mother, in the order named.
"Application for such pay must be made to the senior
paymaster of the district, in which the regiment of the prisoner is
serving, and must be accompanied by the certificate of a Judge of a
Court of the United States, of a District Attorney of the United
States, or of some other party under the seal of a court of record
of the State in which the applicant is a resident, setting forth
that the said applicant is the wife of the prisoner, the guardian of
his children, or his widowed mother, and, if occupying either of the
last two relationships towards him, that there is no one in
existence who is more nearly related, according to the above
classification.
"Payments will be made to parties thus authorized and
identified, on their receipts made out in the manner that would be
required of the prisoner himself, at least one month’s pay being
in all cases retained by the United States. The officer making the
payment will see that it is entered on the last previous muster-roll
for the payment of the prisoner’s company, or will report, if
those rolls are not in his possession, to the senior paymaster of
the district, who will either attend to the entry or give notice of
the payment to the Paymaster-General, if the rolls have been
forwarded to his office." (GO. No. 90, 1861.)
635. Prisoners of war are also entitled to pay for rations during
the period of their imprisonment, which will be commuted to them by
the Subsistence Department at the cost price of the ration. (G.0.
No. 24, 1862.)
DESERTERS.
636. DESERTION is one of the most serious military crimes that a
soldier can commit, and is punishable with death in time of war, and
is the only offence for which flogging is now allowed, in time of
peace, in the army. Nor can a soldier ever free himself from the
penalties of desertion except by surrendering himself for trial or
trusting to pardon. He is constantly liable to be apprehended by
anyone who may be tempted by the reward offered; and the constant
fear which a deserter must experience should deter the soldier from
the act, and make him bear with the hardships to which he may be
temporarily exposed.
637. Desertion consists in leaving the command with the intention
of not returning to it, after having been duly enlisted or mustered
into service. It is only necessary that the soldier shall have
received pay in some form to make him guilty of the crime of
desertion (Art. 20) before enlistment, if he leaves the service
without proper authority.
638. The reward now offered for deserters is thirty dollars. Any
one may apprehend a deserter and claim the reward. The expenses of
his apprehension are charged against him, and he is required to make
good the time lost by his desertion, even when he is restored to
duty without trial. The officer who has authority to order a
court-martial to try a deserter is competent to restore him to duty
without trial; and it is sometimes done with the conditions that he
forfeit all pay and allowances due him up to the date of his
surrender or apprehension, and that he make good his time lost, and
pay the expenses of his apprehension.
639. A soldier cannot absent himself from his company or command
without exposing himself to the penalties of desertion, without some
authority in writing, as an order,
furlough, pass, permit, or
something to show that he is on duty or has permission.
640. A soldier wishing to be absent, if for two or three days or
a certain number of hours, should provide himself with a pass
or permit
in the following form, which
is written out and presented for signature to the officers
indicated, and in the order of signature:—
FORT SCOTT, KANSAS, Jan. 1, 1862.
Private John Smith, Company "A," 1st U.
S. Infantry, has permission to be absent for the purpose of (here
state the object of the absence) until Retreat.
JOHN BROWN,
1st Sergt. Co. "A," 1st U. S. Inft’y.
A— B—,
Capt. Co. "A,’ 1st U. S Inft’y.
Approved, J— B—,
Cot. 1st U. S. Inft’y, Com’dg.
641. Sometimes the orders may require the pass to be signed by
the brigade or division commander, or even still higher authority.
Orders are usually issued in each army regulating the matter of
passes and furloughs, and are changed from time to time, according
to circumstances.
642. For longer periods, furloughs are given according to a form,
page 34, Revised Regulations. Blanks for furloughs are usually to be
had at regimental or post head-quarters.
643. Soldiers should bear in mind that unless they return
punctually at the expiration of their pass or furlough, they are
liable to be treated as deserters. Soldiers are entitled to
commutation for their rations whilst absent on furlough, if not
drawn in kind from the commissary.
OBEDIENCE TO
ORDERS.
644. OBEDIENCE to the orders of their superiors is enjoined upon
officers and enlisted men, and the instances are extremely rare
where an inferior can assume the responsibility of disobeying the
orders of his superior The illegality of the orders may sometimes be
so apparent that an inferior can assume the responsibility of
disobeying them; but, as a rule, such a course would involve him in
greater difficulties than to obey them.
645. Generally, however, soldiers are liable to act upon some
erroneous impression that they are required to do more than their
proper share of duty, and that, therefore, the officer has no right
to require such duty from them. In such cases, the proper course for
the soldier is to obey the order, and complain of the injustice of
the treatment afterward. It must be an order manifestly illegal that
can justify positive disobedience.
646. Disobedience of orders is a serious offence, and is even
punishable with death. (Art. 9.) It must, however, be a lawful
order; but the party required to execute the order is the last
person entitled to decide upon its legality. It is probable that the
person ordering is the most competent to decide this point. There
are many orders which may be improper on the part of the superior
that the inferior could not therefore assume the responsibility of
disobeying. As a rule, in such cases, the responsibility rests with
the officer giving the order.
647. An order, when it is legal, is binding upon the person to
whom it is given, whether made by a corporal or a general. The
latter has more power to enforce his order than the former, but
obedience is due as much to one as to the other.
648. In the execution of orders, much depends upon a correct
understanding of them, as also upon giving them in a clear and
decisive manner. A good officer, having a perfect understanding of
what he wishes done, will give his orders in a clear and distinct
manner, and will take pains to see that they are understood; whilst,
on the other hand, a good soldier will not start to execute an order
until he understands fully what he has got to do, and then, if
conscientious, will execute it to the best of his ability.
649. Important orders should always be written; and
non-commissioned officers and soldiers are recommended to carry a
memorandum-book and pencil, and always write down their orders and
instructions: It serves the memory, and the order is obtained
correct.
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