John B. Sanborn to Unknown

General Head Quarters,

STATE OF MINNESOTA,

Adjutant General's Office,

SAINT PAUL, Nov. 29th, 1861.

To the Commissioned Officers of the Minnesota Volunteers.

GENTLEMEN:--It is deemed proper to announce, for the benefit of all concerned, the principles governing the State Authorities in organizing new regiments and in making promotions after regiments have been fully organized.

It is of the utmost importance in a volunteer service like the present to secure and continue the support of all parties and every section of the State, as public feeling and sentiment and the public interests are at a time like the present closely united. Hence the locality of men to be appointed, the service rendered in raising volunteers, &c., &c., must be taken into consideration, and will have great weight in all cases, except when parties can be found of military education, experience, and capacity, who are willing to enter the service and take command.

In organizing new regiments, all appointments (whether conferred upon citizens of the State or upon men in the rank or file of older regiments) are appointments "de novo" and are not promotions in a military sense, but are made upon the principles above indicated. And it is desired that these appointments should not be looked upon in the light of promotions. It is considered that a promotion is a transfer of an officer of one rank to the office of another rank of higher grade already in existence. But in making appointments for new regiments, the appointment and commission creates the office.

So when appointments and commissions for a new regiment are conferred upon officers of the older regiments, it is not to be understood or inferred that this is done by promotion or on account of extraordinarily meritorious conduct, but because, in view of all the circumstances and considerations that should enter into the determination of the matter, and especially the locality of the appointee, such appointment is deemed to be the best for the service and the country.

The following rule of promotion will be applied in filling all vacancies occurring in regiments after they are once fully organized and have passed beyond the immediate control of the State Government:-

Promotions to field offices will be made regimentally - to line offices by companies.

Each regiment and each company will for this purpose be considered a separate military organization and not a part of the Minnesota Army nor part of a Corps de Armee; and no promotions will be made from one regiment to another nor from one company to another.

The above rule will be adhered to in all cases, unless the commanding officer of the regiment shall represent that the party entitled to be promoted under the rule is incompetent for the position vacated In adopting this rule, we are conscious that it does not conform to the rules of the regular army of the United States. But you will perceive that there is a wide difference between the volunteer and the regular service. In the regular service men are enlisted from various sections of the country, with no acquaintance and with no attachment for each, and the men enlist as privates with little if any hope of promotion, and are usually a different class of men, with aspirations and ambitions far inferior to those who enlist in the volunteer service.

Many of these are among the most respectable of our citizens, and whole companies generally come from the same neighborhood or county, feeling often as if they were members of the same family, and claiming, as it now seems to us rightly, that whatever office, honor or emolument falls to any one company should be conferred upon that alone, and not be transferred to others no more meritorious.

The enlisted men of each company qualified for the position of commissioned officers, of whom there are many in our regiments, are, as it seems to us, entitled to chances of promotions the same and to the same extent as the commissioned officers. This opportunity the men of each company could not have, if promotions were by the rule of the regular army.

There would seem to be little justice in a rule, that, when a company by extraordinary exposure and valor on the field of battle should lose one, two or three of its officers, would supply their places with men from another company less exposed. The same reasoning would apply with greater force to regiments. For the above reasons, with many others, the rule above stated seems to us at present to be the most equitable and just towards all the officers and men of our volunteer service. But we have no such pride of opinion in regard to this matter as will induce us to adhere to the rule for a single moment after it shall be made to appear to work inequitably, or the reason for it cease to exist, or any other or better rule be adopted by other States or the Federal Government and brought to our attention.

JOHN B. SANBORN,

ADJUTANT GENERAL.

communication from Adjt. Genl. Minnesota

organization of Volunteers

Sanbourn, Jno B.

A.G.