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Jackson had to conform to the policies of the Bureau which included very
precise paperwork, and careful attention to titles. Inevitably, Jackson
made errors in his correspondences with other Bureau agents. He seemed to
have been perpetually filling out forms and posting letters, as evidenced
by the large number of documents that are simply receipts of letters
sent, or correspondence required by Bureau policy.
There are many letters between Jackson and McDonnell that illustrate the stress on titles. There was an insistence on titles including both the Freedmen's Bureau title, such as "agent" for Jackson, and his military title, "Captain." Jackson often was drawn away from other duties by the high level of paperwork. There was so much paperwork that Jackson faced, that there are examples of him simply not responding to queries from McDonnell. This may have been an example of his incompetence or forgetfulness, but Jackson seemed to face such massive quantities of paperwork that he was unable to respond or accurately fill out everything. This may also have been a result of complicated policies which he was supposed to follow. Some of these policies seem to make little sense, and seem to be counterproductive. The paperwork not only slowed Jackson down in the field, but also caused him to make mistakes, which resulted in confusion between him and McDonnell. This confusion hampered the distribution of the scant supplies available. These mistakes and miscommunications were problems endemic throughout the Bureau. The Bureau was staffed primarily by former military officers who had little, if any, experience with running such an agency, or having to comply with so many procedures. The vast majority of officers in the Civil War were not career military men, and therefore, were not trained by the military to face such a hierarchy or bureaucracy. "Circulars" were routinely sent out from Washington which required a response from the individual agents. They were forwarded by the sub-assistant commissioners, such as McDonnell, and mandated what procedures the agents should follow. This is another example of the behavior of the agents being dictated from afar. Their behavior is even governed away from their Bureau responsibilities. officials in Washington direct how they should behave in their daily lives so as to present an appropriate and positive image of the Bureau. One example of this is a circular which states, "It is not thought advisable that Bureau Officers or Agents should attend political conventions." |