of each enlisted man. The act of Congress of
March 3, 1859, changed the provisions of the original act and reduced
the number of commissioners to three--the commissary general of
subsistence, the surgeon general, and the adjutant general of the
army, substituted the name of "Soldiers' Home" for "Military Asylum,"
and extended the benefits of the Home to the soldiers of the War of
1812. The act of Congress of March 3, 1883, added the general in chief
commanding the army, the quartermaster general, the judge advocate
general, and the governor of the Home to the board of commissioners;
these officers, together with those already named, compose the board.
By the same act pensioners who are inmates of the Home may assign
their pension and have the same or any portion thereof paid to a wife,
child, or parent if living; otherwise the pension is paid to the
treasurer of the Home and held by him in trust for the pensioner, who
may, while an inmate, draw upon it for necessary purposes, and receive
whatever balance may remain upon his discharge.

In 1851 temporary asylums were established at New Orleans, La.,
Greenwoods Island, Miss., and Washington, D.C. The one at New Orleans
continued about one year. A tract of land was purchased in Mississippi
comprising one hundred and ten acres in 1853, and was occupied until
1855. At this date the inmates were removed to a branch asylum near
Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Ky. This latter asylum was discontinued in
1858 under the act of March 3, 1857, and the inmates transferred to
the Home near Washington, which was established in 1851-'52. This Home
is situated about three miles due north of the Capitol of the nation.
At first it comprised two hundred and fifty-six acres of land.
Subsequent acquisitions by purchases have been added, so that now the
grounds comprise five hundred acres and three quarters. The largest
part of the grounds are woodland, a portion being cultivated for the
benefit of the Home, and through it nearly ten miles of graded,
macadamized roads have been constructed, winding through the groves of
native and foreign selected trees. The park is open to the public at
proper hours, and forms a favorite drive and walk for the residents of
and visitors to Washington. The principal building for the inmates is
of white marble, the south part being called the Scott Building, after
the founder of the institution, and the addition on the north is
called the Sherman Building, after Gen