Until the enactment of the Militia Act of 1903, the land forces of the United States were divided into three separate and distinctive organizations: The term Volunteers was first used in the Act of May 28, 1789, during the Northwest Indian War, which authorized the President of the United States to accept companies of volunteers who offered themselves for service.
During the troubles with Spain in 1803, the president was, by the Act of March 3, 1803, authorized to require the several states to organize forces of militia, including corps of volunteers.
[2] An act of January 12, 1812, authorized the President to raise up to six companies of rangers, either volunteers or men enlisted for a one-year period, whenever he had evidence of actual or threatened invasion of any Indian tribes.
[4][5] On February 6, 1812, the Congress enacted the Volunteer Military Corps Act, which provided for the raising of a force up to 50,000 soldiers for a period of 12 months.
While in actual service they were entitled to the same rules and regulations as the United States Army, and received the same emoluments.
[7] Through the act of July 6, 1812, the right to appoint commissioned officers of the volunteers was given to the president with the advice and consent of the senate.
[9] The act of February 6, 1812, was not successful; field officers were not appointed until a sufficient number of companies had been formed into regiments.
[10] In 1818, during the First Seminole War, General Edmund P. Gaines authorized Colonel David Brearley of the 7th U.S. Infantry to receive into the service of the United States Indians of the Creek Nation, to muster, inspect and provision them, and to order them to march to Fort Scott.
Including Chief Onir Haujo and 75 warriors mustered into service on December 8, 1817, the whole Creek volunteer force 1,613 men.
[12] Andrew Jackson authorized the raising of volunteers from Tennessee and Kentucky, and 1,286 men were mustered and organized as two mounted rifle regiments.
[13] Two companies of volunteer rangers of 145 men under Captains Boyle and Gist were also mustered into United States service by order of General Jackson.
The opening of the Santa Fe Trail led to demands for military escorts of the annual trading caravans across the prairies.
At the end of 1831, Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri put forward a bill authorizing President Jackson to organize a mounted ranger unit of volunteers for frontier defense.
[16] The decision to organize a volunteer battalion instead of a regular cavalry regiment, emanated from the prevalent attitudes of the ruling Democratic Party toward the United States Army.
The Regular Army was seen as a stronghold of aristocratic West Pointers in contrast with the virtuous citizen soldiers of the militia.
[20] Rules for pay and other emoluments of the volunteers in federal service provided that volunteers, and militia in federal service, would receive the same monthly pay, rations, clothing or money in lieu of clothing, forage, and travel allowance as offices and men of the United States Army.
The president was authorized to organize the volunteers into brigades and divisions if required, and appoint the staff, field and general officers among the several states.
[29] Thirty regiments of one-year volunteers were mustered, but in November 1846 it was obvious that their enlistment would expire before the end of the war.
[32] At Matamoros in 1846, about two thousand "gentlemen" who had enlisted as private volunteers mutinied because they had to draw water and chop wood, something they expected the Regular Army to do for them.
[35] The reverse was true for the Regular Army, where few of the field officers were trained at West Point and many were ineffective through old age or infirmity.
[29] After Fort Sumter in mid-April of 1861, President Lincoln called for 75,000 state militia to serve for three months.
If a state failed to fulfil its quota of volunteers according to the previous call, a special draft would take place from the militia.
[41] Since the Constitution prohibits calling up the militia for purposes other than repelling invasions, executing the laws of the United States, or suppressing rebellions, each militiaman had to volunteer individually.
Later the organization of a volunteer brigade of engineers and a force of 10,000 soldiers immune to tropical diseases were added to the President's prerogatives; all officers were to be appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate.
For the duration of the Philippine–American War, the regulars were to be supplemented by 35,000 volunteers recruited at large and organized directly by the federal government.