Service during war.
No master, mate, pilot, or engineer of steam vessels licensed under title fifty-two [R. S., 4399-4500] of the Revised Statutes shall be liable to draft in time of war, except for the performance of duties such as required by his license; and, while performing such duties in the service of the United States, every such master, mate, pilot, or engineer shall be entitled to the highest rate of wages paid in the merchant marine of the United States for similar services; and, if killed or wounded while performing such duties under the United States, they, or their heirs, or their legal representatives shall be entitled to all the privileges accorded to soldiers and sailors serving in the Army and Navy, under the pension laws of the United States. (May 28, 1896; sec. 2.)