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THE HOME GUARD.

By THE EDITOR.

After the conscript act had been extended to embrace all
able-bodied men from 18 to 45, only the officers of the militia,
the Justices of the Peace and other State officers were left.
It was necessary to organize some force for the preservation
of order, to arrest deserters, guard bridges and to be ordered
out for emergencies. On 7 July, 1863, was ratified the act
to provide a “Guard for Home Defence,” which became
known as the Home Guards. By its terms all able-bodied
men, between the ages of 18 and 50 and exempt from Con-
federate service, were enrolled and organized, save the very
few exemptions named in the act, which were the Governor,
Judges, members of the General Assembly and Congress,
ministers of the Gospel, Registers of Deeds, Clerks of Court,
and Sheriffs. In this the militia officers served as privates
(except the commanding officer of each regiment and Bri-
gade Generals), unless also chosen officers of the Guard.
Foreigners who had been residents thirty days, were enrolled
as also were those exempt from Confederate service by rea-
son of the “fifteen negro” law, and those permanently dis-
charged therefrom by reason of disability if able to render
any service. Those who had furnished substitutes to exempt
them from Confederate service, were none the less liable to
serve in the Home Guards.

The number of men thus mobilized, after exempting those
allowed by the statute were reported 16 May, 1864, to be
25,098.

As those physically disabled or otherwise exempted
amounted to probably half, there was left for Home Guard
duty, 12,500, of whom 2,650 were militia officers, and nearly
3,000 were magistrates and other civil officers. This force
was organized into a battalion in each county, except in four
counties, which furnished only one company each, and eight
regiments where a county was large enough to furnish a reg-