On March 3, 1865, as the nation entered what became, though it could not have been known at the time, the final campaign of the war in the east, Congress approved an amendment offering amnesty to Union deserters, provided they returned to the ranks by May 10.  President Lincoln announced the amnesty on March 11 (General Lee had announced a similar amnesty for Southerners in mid-February). All Union deserters, who either returned to their units or reported “themselves to a provost marshal, shall be pardoned, on condition that they return to their regiments and companies, or to such other organizations as they may be assigned to, and serve the remainder of their original term of enlistment, and…a period equal to the time lost by desertion.” Those who did not return to the ranks would lose “their rights of citizenship and their rights to become citizens,” as well as the opportunity to hold “any office of trust or profit under the United States.” As similar amnesties had been offered during the war, Lincoln’s proclamation did not surprise me. But another plan did. 

Even as the government tried to entice Union deserters back into the ranks, General Grant sought to induce Confederate soldiers to desert and come into the Union lines. By late-February, senior commanders sent daily tallies of deserters coming into their lines, to Grant’s headquarters. For example, on March 2, Gen. Horatio Wright reported 12 Southerners coming into his line, “seven bringing their arms.” Though I have not yet located a copy, Grant had previously issued an order suggesting that deserters might be paid for any weapons they brought with them, as evidenced by his question to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton on March 3: A great many deserters are coming in from the enemy bringing their arms with them, expecting the pay for them as a means of a little ready cash. Would there be any objection to amending my order so as to allow this? Stanton replied, “There is no objection to your paying rebel deserters for their arms, horses, or anything they bring in, a full and fair price. That kind of trade will not injure the service.”

Meade also referenced the order on March 3, telling Grant, “Provost-marshal general reports thirty-six deserters…Of these…twenty-one [brought] in their arms…expecting pay for them, under their construction of your order.” Meade added, “I deem it of great importance these arms should be paid for and would be glad to have authority to do so. Some price should be fixed – say the contract price of the Ordnance Department for similar arms and equipment. Now that the sources of supply are cut off it is important to get away from the enemy all the arms we can.” Grant agreed, authorizing Meade, “to order payment at a fair valuation for arms, accouterments, or any other species of property brought in by the rebel deserters. Circulars to this effect may be distributed if you desire it.” Not having found the order, the exact wording remains unknown, as does the manner in which the offer had been conveyed to Southern soldiers.

Possibly caught by surprise, the Army of the Potomac’s Ordnance officer queried Gen. Alexander Dyer, head of the Ordnance Department, seeking guidance as to how much the Southerners should be paid. Dyer appears to have been equally surprised, eventually instructing the officer to “pay deserters for arms turned in by them at the rate of eight dollars each, until further orders.”

Dyer’s delay in responding may have been necessitated by the need to find the money to pay the men. In other words, from whose budget was the money to be taken. As he told the ordnance officer for the Army of the James on March 18, he had remitted $10,500 “out of the appropriation for ‘Ordnance, Ordnance Stores and Supplies,’ which may be applied to paying for Deserters arms.” He also admitted that “no instructions have been received at this office on the subject,” beyond those in Grant’s order. Dyer received similar requests for guidance from subordinates around the country.

The system established to pay the men, as finally explained by General Dyer appears rather cumbersome and I wonder just how many Southerners received any money. When an officer in Indiana asked the Adjutant General in Washington for guidance, the general forwarded the letter to Dyer, who explained, “The deserters who have presented certificates for arms turned in by them and have applied at this office, have been paid for them at the Washington Arsenal. Arrangements are being made to have similar claims paid by the Acting Ordnance Officer of the Department of Washington at General [Christopher] Auger’s Head Quarters. If it is determined that all similar claims shall be paid by the Ordnance Department, a General Order to that effect should be published, and that order should direct all officers giving certificates for deserter’s arms, to specify in each case, the value of the item to be paid for; that price should not exceed, in [any] instance the price of similar stores on the last price list published by this Department. Any further instructions that may be given on this subject will be communicated to you with the least possible delay.” So, if I understand correctly, a Southern soldier who deserted and entered Union lines, was, in the example given, relieved of his weapon (s), given a certificate for it and then, after being processed and or imprisoned in Washington, supposed to make his way to the arsenal to redeem his certificate for cash. As I said, I wonder just how many soldiers received a dollar.

Two days later, apparently responding to a query from the officer commanding the arsenal, Dyer valued each musket at $11.50, each revolver or carbine at $12, and sabers at $4.00. Dyer then added, “As a measure of security against fraud, you will pay no certificate unless countersigned or endorsed by…some duly authorized officer …” In a follow-up note, Dyer told the officer to pay only the original holder of the certificate, “and not speculators or others who may have purchased these receipts.”

The following day, Dyer relayed the above information to General Meade’s Ordnance Officer at City Point. By March 27, General Dyer and his subordinates may have tired of the entire matter. As one told Meade’s aide, “Any arrangements which you may deem advisable to make in that connection, if it accomplishes the object, will be satisfactory to this Department.”

Sources:

Documents in the National Archives

The Official Records

New York Daily Herald