Provost Marshals

[TnFed]

What exactly is the authority of a Provost Marshal? How big an area was he in charge of? Did he have to hold a certain rank? Did he command military and civilian authorities? Thanks for any info.
TnFed.

 

[limestone1863]

Very good question. Read some about several of them, the answer would put much into perspective.

 

[Dan Kohli]

The regulations don't require an exact rank for the officer who is provost marshal. I would imagine that it would correlate with the size of the region/unit that they were supposed to be policing. I would need to do more research on the authority they have over civilian maters.

 

[TnFed]

The regulations don't require an exact rank for the officer who is provost marshal. I would imagine that it would correlate with the size of the region/unit that they were supposed to be policing. I would need to do more research on the authority they have over civilian maters.

Thanks, I was just wondering. A former Colonel of some of my tory ancestors' regiment became provost marshal in a county in East TN . He was killed by Confederate partisans in '65. I had other reb ancestors associated with that group. He was either shot or beaten to death. There are conflicting reports. I guess it all came down to " failure to communicate ".

 

[lupaglupa]

In the records I have seen officers were appointed to serve as provost marshal on a rotating basis. Several of the men I saw serving this way had legal backgrounds.

 

[Lampasas Bill]

Provost Marshals played an important role in bitterly divided Missouri. Provost Marshal records for Missouri are online here:

Missouri Digital Heritage : Union Provost Marshal Papers: 1861 - 1866

 

[lupaglupa]

The Provost Marshal records provide a fascinating look at civilian life in occupied areas. They are hard to use since they are in two different large files and oddly grouped (generally by name, but with no attempt to distinguish people with the same name).

 

[TnFed]

The Provost Marshal records provide a fascinating look at civilian life in occupied areas. They are hard to use since they are in two different large files and oddly grouped (generally by name, but with no attempt to distinguish people with the same name).

How many people did the Provost Marshal have enforcing his directives? Did any civilian authority work under him?

 

[Stryker65]

What exactly is the authority of a Provost Marshal? How big an area was he in charge of? Did he have to hold a certain rank? Did he command military and civilian authorities? Thanks for any info.
TnFed.

I have a great book on this subject: "Rebel Watchdog: The Confederate States Army Provost Guard". Here are some selections from Chapter 1:
- "The initial issue of whether [the provost guard] would be under the control of state or national government was complicated and exacerbated by the question of its existence outside of the operational areas near the fronts."
- "[Polk] advised [the Secretary of War] of controversy over what name to give an officer responsible for the military police of a city or town. Should this officer be known as the provost marshal or as the chief of police? [...] It is easy to see why because this term ["provost marshal"] implied military control over civilians."
- "[T]he secretary of war agreed that provost authority did not extended over civilians, except in areas where martial law was in force."
- "[Senator Oldham] proposed to allow the general[s...] to appoint a provost marshal with a suitable guard or police force to take charge of prisoners, but under no circumstances would they have authority over civilians or the towns or cities. The secretary of war was specifically admonished that he could not limit or otherwise restrict the jurisdiction of civil courts. In effect, provost marshal powers could not extend beyond the army...On October 3 [1862] Oldham's resolution was defeated, but it was passed, after some amendment, by Congress eleven days later. Nevertheless, as the war intensified and the Confederacy's military fortunes declined, the army often ignored these provisions."
- In March, 1864, General Polk "promulgated a general order dividing [his department] into nine districts: four in Mississippi and four in Alabama, with Louisiana east of the Mississippi River as a single district. A chief provost marshal was appointed at each district headquarters. Major Jules C. Denis, Polk's provost marshal general, was authorized to assign additional marshals to each district."

 

[MWood1841]

from National Archives:

Established: In the War Department by an act of March 3, 1863 (12 Stat. 731). Functions: Arrested deserters, enrolled men for the draft, enlisted volunteers, and compiled statistics on the physical condition of recruits and on army casualties.

would presume that they served same
or similar functions with both Union and Confederate armies.

my 3rd great uncle (Confederate) was shot and killed during a second desertion attempt of evading provost marshals. They were military police and same in today's Army as well, the MP's fall under the Provost Marshal's Office on Army installations.

 

[Stryker65]

Of Chapter 2:
- "Initially many provost duties were performed by civilians. One of the first instances occurred late in February, 1862 when President Davis placed Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, under martial law. By appointing the mayor of Norfolk provost marshal of that city, Davis clearly indicated his wish to quiet civilian fears of military control of the city. In the eyes of the populace, the mayor -- the civilian authority -- would still have control.
Of Chapter 3:
- "[In September, 1864], at just six posts an average of thirteen officers and forty-six men were present for duty."
Of Chapter 4:
- "In a general sense the provost system was established to provide police protection in a country at war. Briefly, the provost was responsible for the arrest of offenders against Confederate military law, including the drunk and disorderly and the cowards who attempted to desert their units. The guarding of these prisoners and deserters was also a provost concern. In addition, provost controlled the departure of ships from Confederate ports; posted guards on railroads to control initially military and then civilian traffic; controlled the impressment of Negroes, so necessary to sustain the war effort; and provided guards for the protection of military installations throughout the Confederate States. As well, provost administered the passport system, which was designed to check desertion and straggling, detect spies, and prevent communication with the enemy. And finally, in places like Richmond, Charleston, Norfolk, and Portsmouth, where martial law was imposed, the provost were responsible for administration of the law."
- "In the beginning the provost had no authority over civilians, but the harsh realities of war led to great extension of their power."

 

[Stryker65]

@TnFed The book also contains a list of all civilians and soldiers known to have served in the or as a Confederate Provost at one point or another. As to your rank question, here are some samples:
- Capt. Joel Houghton Abbott (8th Va. Cav.), PM of the Dept. of S. W. Va., May 1862
- Lt. J. P. Alexander, PM of Ross's cavalry brigade at Deasonsville, Miss., in February, 1865
- Lt. Col. John H. Anderson (2nd NCJR Bn.), PM of Weldon, N. C., in September, 1864
- Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Armistead, PM of the A. N. V. in September, 1862
- Maj. Richard Lee Turberville Beale, PM at Camp Lee, Va., in December, 1861
- Mr. Jules L. Blanc, Temporary PM of St. Tammany Parish, La., in September, 1862
- Col. Alex H. Brown, Asst. PM of Charleston, S. C., in May, 1862
- Judge Victor Burthe, PM of Jefferson Parish, La., in March, 1862
It appears that most PMs were Captains or Lieutenants.
Additionally, here's the General Order that Polk did to establish his department's Provost Guard:

 

[TnFed]

Of Chapter 2:
- "Initially many provost duties were performed by civilians. One of the first instances occurred late in February, 1862 when President Davis placed Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, under martial law. By appointing the mayor of Norfolk provost marshal of that city, Davis clearly indicated his wish to quiet civilian fears of military control of the city. In the eyes of the populace, the mayor -- the civilian authority -- would still have control.
Of Chapter 3:
- "[In September, 1864], at just six posts an average of thirteen officers and forty-six men were present for duty."
Of Chapter 4:
- "In a general sense the provost system was established to provide police protection in a country at war. Briefly, the provost was responsible for the arrest of offenders against Confederate military law, including the drunk and disorderly and the cowards who attempted to desert their units. The guarding of these prisoners and deserters was also a provost concern. In addition, provost controlled the departure of ships from Confederate ports; posted guards on railroads to control initially military and then civilian traffic; controlled the impressment of Negroes, so necessary to sustain the war effort; and provided guards for the protection of military installations throughout the Confederate States. As well, provost administered the passport system, which was designed to check desertion and straggling, detect spies, and prevent communication with the enemy. And finally, in places like Richmond, Charleston, Norfolk, and Portsmouth, where martial law was imposed, the provost were responsible for administration of the law."
- "In the beginning the provost had no authority over civilians, but the harsh realities of war led to great extension of their power."

It would certainly appear that their powers were extremely fluid. No doubt worked that way on both sides. Thanks.

 

[lupaglupa]

I think the Union provost marshals and Confederate provost guards operated under different rules.

In the records I have seen for Union provost marshals, they did not have civilian employees. They were a function of the Army and used soldiers as staff.

 

[Stryker65]

3rd District, Mississippi: Lt. Col. Joseph Hanlon (6th LA)
1st District, Alabama: Lt. Col. John W. Estes (52nd TN)
2nd District, Alabama: Lt. Col. Thomas H. Baker (55th TN)
Louisiana District: Lt. Col. William E. Pinkney (8th LAHA Battalion)

 

[TnFed]

I think the Union provost marshals and Confederate provost guards operated under different rules.

In the records I have seen for Union provost marshals, they did not have civilian employees. They were a function of the Army and used soldiers as staff.

Thanks to you and Stryker for the info. This was a job that could make a lot of enemies. Lt. Colonel Joseph Devine was beaten to death/ shot during the war by rebel partisans. He was Provost Marshal in Monroe County TN. Wound up dead in McMinn County. As I said before my ancestors were in the Union Regiment he formed and I had relatives with the reb partisans .

 

[GELongstreet]

From Kautz's Customs of Service for Officers (freely avaliable on archive.org right over here):

362. Provost Marshal. — Provost Marshals are of two kinds. The strictly Military Provost Marshal is a Military Police officer, whose duty it is to suppress marauding and depredations, and to prevent all kinds of disturbances ; to keep order and regulate drinking establishments and other resorts, and prevent drunkenness, and all kinds of disorders ; to enforce orders with regard to the conduct of a camp or city, and Regulations for the markets, hotels, taverns, and places of public amusement ; to make searches, seizures, and arrests ; to execute sentences of military courts, involving imprisonment and corporeal or capital punishment.

363. The Provost Marshal takes charge of all prisoners, whether captured from the enemy, or otherwise held; he arrests stragglers and other offenders of the command, and forwards them to their proper regiments and companies, with the written charges against them ; he has the supervision of the passes of officers and soldiers, and signs the passes to citizens authorized within the lines for trade or other purposes ; he investigates complaints of citizens arising from the conduct of the troops ; and may have charge of scouts and spies employed in the command.

364. Such is the character of the duties that are usually assigned to the Provost Marshal, but usually only some part of them would fall to his lot at one time, unless at the headquarters of an army, where the Provost Marshal might have all the foregoing, and more too, to attend to. It is only in time of war that a Provost Marshal is greatly needed, and 'then he is an officer of great importance, and should not be dispensed with, and he should be selected with reference to his fitness and capacity for the duty.

305. To establish a bureau to control the enrolment of the militia, the enlistment of volunteers and to execute the draft the Provost Marshal General's Department was organized, first by the War Department, and subsequently by act of Congress. (G. 0., No. 140, 1862; Act March 3d, 1863, sec. 5.) Provost Marshals were appointed for each Congressional District, each Territory, and the District of Columbia, and Deputy Provost Marshals to assist them were authorized, who, in addition to enrolling and drafting, were charged with the arrest and confinement of deserters, spies, and persons resisting or interfering with the enrollment or draft.

366. The District Provost Marshals were appointed from civil life, and were under the orders of the Provost Marshal of the State, and all received their orders and instructions from the Provost Marshal General at Washington. This Provost Marshal system, improperly named, was called into existence by the necessity of raising large armies to suppress the rebellion, which being achieved, the necessity for such a bureau no longer exists, although there is no doubt a bureau where the enrolment of the male population of the country could be kept correctly, would be of vast assistance in the event of another war,

367. In the field the Provost Marshals were selected from the line officers, and varied in rank from Lieutenants to Generals. They were attached to brigades, divisions, corps, and armies, and often local Provost Marshals for cities, towns, and districts, wore appointed, and even detachments, operating independently for a few days, had their Provost Marshals for the time being to look after stragglers, marauders, and pillagers, and to take charge of prisoners.

 

[TnFed]

From Kautz's Customs of Service for Officers (freely avaliable on archive.org right over here):

362. Provost Marshal. — Provost Marshals are of two kinds. The strictly Military Provost Marshal is a Military Police officer, whose duty it is to suppress marauding and depredations, and to prevent all kinds of disturbances ; to keep order and regulate drinking establishments and other resorts, and prevent drunkenness, and all kinds of disorders ; to enforce orders with regard to the conduct of a camp or city, and Regulations for the markets, hotels, taverns, and places of public amusement ; to make searches, seizures, and arrests ; to execute sentences of military courts, involving imprisonment and corporeal or capital punishment.

363. The Provost Marshal takes charge of all prisoners, whether captured from the enemy, or otherwise held; he arrests stragglers and other offenders of the command, and forwards them to their proper regiments and companies, with the written charges against them ; he has the supervision of the passes of officers and soldiers, and signs the passes to citizens authorized within the lines for trade or other purposes ; he investigates complaints of citizens arising from the conduct of the troops ; and may have charge of scouts and spies employed in the command.

364. Such is the character of the duties that are usually assigned to the Provost Marshal, but usually only some part of them would fall to his lot at one time, unless at the headquarters of an army, where the Provost Marshal might have all the foregoing, and more too, to attend to. It is only in time of war that a Provost Marshal is greatly needed, and 'then he is an officer of great importance, and should not be dispensed with, and he should be selected with reference to his fitness and capacity for the duty.

305. To establish a bureau to control the enrolment of the militia, the enlistment of volunteers and to execute the draft the Provost Marshal General's Department was organized, first by the War Department, and subsequently by act of Congress. (G. 0., No. 140, 1862; Act March 3d, 1863, sec. 5.) Provost Marshals were appointed for each Congressional District, each Territory, and the District of Columbia, and Deputy Provost Marshals to assist them were authorized, who, in addition to enrolling and drafting, were charged with the arrest and confinement of deserters, spies, and persons resisting or interfering with the enrollment or draft.

366. The District Provost Marshals were appointed from civil life, and were under the orders of the Provost Marshal of the State, and all received their orders and instructions from the Provost Marshal General at Washington. This Provost Marshal system, improperly named, was called into existence by the necessity of raising large armies to suppress the rebellion, which being achieved, the necessity for such a bureau no longer exists, although there is no doubt a bureau where the enrolment of the male population of the country could be kept correctly, would be of vast assistance in the event of another war,

367. In the field the Provost Marshals were selected from the line officers, and varied in rank from Lieutenants to Generals. They were attached to brigades, divisions, corps, and armies, and often local Provost Marshals for cities, towns, and districts, wore appointed, and even detachments, operating independently for a few days, had their Provost Marshals for the time being to look after stragglers, marauders, and pillagers, and to take charge of prisoners.

He certainly has a wide range of authority. Thanks for this info.