1st Session. No. 1. IN SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. JANUARY 10, 1850. Mr. BORLAND made the following REPORT: [To accompany bill S. No. 13.] The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill for the relief of Cincinnatus Trousdale and John G. Connelley, of Arkansas, report the facts and circumstances upon which this bill is founded to be as follows: On the 26th day of September, 1846, while at San Antonio, in Texas, General Wool ordered six companies of the Arkansas regiment of mounted volunteers, commanded by Colonel Yell, and as part of Colonel Harney's command, to advance upon the Rio Grande, leaving the remaining four companies, composing the rifle battalion of said regiment, commanded by Major Borland, at an encampment several miles distant from the other portions of the army, then at and near San Antonio. Under these circumstances it became necessary, and was ordered by General Wool, that the commander of the battalion should select and appoint two individuals of the corps, one as acting adjutant, and the other as acting quartermaster and commissary of the battalion, who should receive the same pay and allowances as were provided by law to be paid to adjutants and quartermasters, and commissaries, respectively, in regular commission. Under this order, Major Borland selected and appointed the said Cincinnatus Trousdale acting adjutant, and the said John G. Connelley acting quartermaster and commissary of his battalion, reported the appointments to General Wool, and received his approval of them. Soon after this, General Wool left San Antonio accompanied by a portion, and subsequently followed by the remainder of his forces in detachments, leaving Major Borland with his battalion at the post, to bring up the rear, and escort a large wagon train on the march into Mexico as soon as the necessary arrangements could be made in the way of bringing up supplies, &c. These arrangements completed, Major Borland with his battalion, (to which had been attached a number of convalescent invalid soldiers belonging to other corps,) set out from San Antonio on the 23d of October, to overtake the main body of General Wool's command, wherever it had gone, or might be going. The march, thus commenced, continued until the 18th of November, 1846, when General Wool was overtaken at Monclova, Mexico, and the separate command of Major Borland ceased by reuniting his battalion with its proper regiment. This march was a very tedious and laborious one, some three hundred and fifty miles in distance, much of the time during very inclement weather, and over a road, in great part, difficult in its character. During this time, from September 26 to November 18, 1846, the said Cincinnatus Trousdale and John G. Connelley performed faithfully and efficiently the duties of their appointments, respectively, those duties being new to them, and always laborious and of considerable responsibility. The claims of Trousdale and Connelley have been presented to the proper accounting officers of the treasury, but have been rejected for want (as these officers allege) of any law or army regulation provided in such cases, as both Trousdale and Connelley were not commissioned officers, upon whom such appointments are usually conferred. The committee are of opinion that, as the interests of the service required these appointments to be made, and as they were sanctioned and approved by the commanding general, who also promised that the usual pay and allowances attaching to the rank to which Trousdale and Connelley had been temporarily appointed should be paid to them, the payment should now be made. The bill, therefore, is herewith reported back to the Senate, and its passage recommended. 1st Session. No. 2. IN SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. JANUARY 14, 1850. Mr. STEWART made the following REPORT: [To accompany bill S. No. 7.] The Committee of Claims, to whom was referred the "bill for the relief of Charles Reeder, Walter R. Johnson, and the legal representatives of Thomas P. Jones," have had the same under consideration, and adopt the report made by the Committee on Naval Affairs of the Senate, at the 1st session of the 30th Congress, in the case of Walter R. Johnson, the second person named in the present bill. The Committee on Naval Affairs state: "That the claim of Mr. Johnson is for his services in making researches and experiments and an elaborate report on coal, under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy, in 1844, and for payments made to others aiding him in that service. The whole claim is $611 31, and has been allowed and approved by the Secretary of the Navy; but, the fund from which he was to have been paid having been exhausted, the necessity has arisen for an application to Congress." Under the above statement of facts, your committee recommend the passage of the bill under consideration. $ |