Confederate example

01 22 1863 [Thursday] Vicksburg, MS.

Special Orders No. 48

1st Lt. J. M. Bryant of the 43rd Tennessee Reg’t. is detailed to proceed to East Tennessee for the purpose of obtaining recruits and securing conscripts and apprehending all stragglers, for said regiment or any regiment in this command and report to his command within six weeks.

A. W. Reynolds Commanding 4th Brigade
Approved-the Officer is authorized to apprehend all stragglers & deserters from this Div.

By command of
Maj. Gen. Stevenson
Hd. Qrs. Stevenson’s Div.
Vicksburg, Jan’y. 22, 63

Transportation furnished in kind to Montgomery, Ala.

1st Sgt. James H. Wade, Co. A, 43rd Tenn. was recipient of the same orders

The above orders were issued in response to a circular order from Gen. S. Cooper in Richmond which LGen. Pemberton ordered MGen. C. L. Stevenson to send back to Tennessee no more than 5 officers and/or non-commissioned officers per regiment, for a period up to six weeks for the purpose of collecting and returning to their regiments stragglers