J. P: Garesohe to Waabkz Department, December 3, 1862
December 3, 1862.
No. 30. Nashville, Tenn., December 3, 1862.
The following regulations will govern the conduct of all foraging expeditions from this army:
I. Details must be made the day before, and the expedition will start at daylight. The officer commanding will be furnished with a copy of this, and of General Orders, No. 17, from these headquarters.
II. The officer commanding the escort shall have command of the whole expedition, and will be held responsible for the acts or omissions of every man who goes with it. The quartermaster and all his assistants are, therefore, to yield him implicit obedience.
III. The brigade or regimental quartermaster, or, if he be sick or absent, an officer to represent him, shall, under direction of the officer commanding, have immediate charge of the working parties, the details for which must be made separate and distinct from those of the military escort. Four men, in addition to the teamsters, will be detailed to each wagon. They will remain with, forage for, and load it; and none but they will be allowed to doso. They will carry their arms, ammunition, and equipment, and must march on foot as soon as the wagons are loaded. A proper number of officers and non-commissioned officers will be detailed to superintend the working parties.
IV. When aregiment or brigade is detailed for foraging duty, whether as escort or fatigue party, every officer able for duty must accompany it. This rule is positive.
V. Rolls must be made out beforehand of all the officers and men detailed for the expedition, and none but they will be allowed to go with
Cuar. XXX11. CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.â-UNION. Ly
it. No citizer whatever will be permitted to fall in with it, either in or outside the lines. The rolls must be called at the picket line, both going out and coming in, and all not belonging to the expedition found with it will be turned over to the grand guard, and sent immediately to the provost-marshal. Absentees, if caught before the return of the expedition, will be tied behind the wagons, and thus marched back to camp, and there turned over to the provost-marshal.
The commanding officer, when his command shall have passed out, will report the fact to the commander of the grand guard; after which no one claiming to belong to the expedition will be allowed to pass out. A similar report will be made on the return of the expedition; after which every straggler from it, coming in, will be arrested. The rolls will again be called after every halt, and at least three times, besides, in the course of the day.
VI. Advance, rear guards, and flankers will be thrown out on the march, and every precaution be taken against surprise. Whenever a halt is ordered, vedettes and sentries will be posted in advance of these outguards; and if there are woods in the neighborhood, they will be patrolled. The maia body of the escort will be distributed in the manner best calculated to protect the train, and repel an attack, if attempted. A small cavalry force should, if possible, form part of the escort.
These rules are imperative, and must be rigidly observed. It is of no consequence whether danger be anticipated or not; our troops need practice and training in these particulars, and must have it.
VII. No officer or soldier of the escort shall remove any part of his clothing or equipments. The working parties will stack their arms where they can most readily lay hold of them; will hang their equip ments on the stacks, and the escort will then take charge of these.
VIII. Forage will be procured in accordance with General Orders, No. 17, from these headquarters. Forage blanks must accordingly be taken with the train.
IX. Officers and soldiers are warned not to straggle, go into houses, abuse the inhabitants, or commit any depredations whatever. Such conduct is a disgrace to the soldier, to the flag, and the cause, and it shall not be toleratedâit shall no longer go unpunished. The commanding general is resolved that the discipline of this army shall be maintained; and to that end he will hold all officers accountable for the conduct of their men. Whenever any act of pillage, therefore, or other outrage is brought home to a particular regiment or company, and the culprits are not ferreted out and reported by the coijonel or captain, punishment will be visited on the latter. For it is the duty of officers to enforce discipline among their men; and if they fail to do so, they fail in the very object for which they were appointed, are consequently an incubus on the service, and may rest assured that they will not long be permitted to remain 80.
By command of Major-General Rosecrans:
J. P: GARESOHE,
Assistant Adjutant-General and Ohief of Staff.
ââ-
WaABkz DEPARTMENT,
Washington, December 4, 1862.
Major-General ROSECRANS, Nashville, Tenn. :
The President is very impatient at your long stay in N ashville. The
favorable season for your campaign will soon be over. You give Bragg