soldier found guilty of hiring his duty as also the party so hired to do another's duty, shall be punished at the next regimental court-martial. ART. 8. And every non-commissioned officer conniving at such hiring of duty aforesaid, shall be reduced for it; and every commissioned officer, knowing and allowing of such ill practices in the service, shall be punished by the judgment of a general court-martial. ART. 9. Any person belonging to the forces employed in the service of the United States, who by discharging of fire-arms, drawing of swords, beating of drums, or by any other means whatsoever, shall occasion false alarms in camp, garrison or quarters, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a general court-martial. ART. 10. Any officer or soldier who shall without urgent necessity, or without the leave of his superior officer, quit his platoon or division, shall be punished according to the nature of his offence, by the sentence of a court-martial. ART. 11. No officer or soldier shall do violence to any person who brings provisions or other necessaries to the camp, garrison or quarters of the forces of the United States, employed in parts out of the said states, on pain of death, or such other punishment as a court-martial shall direct. ART. 12. Whatsoever officer or soldier shall misbehave himself before the enemy, or shamefully abandon any post committed to his charge, or shall speak words inducing others to do the like, shall suffer death. ART. 13. Whatsoever officer or soldier shall misbehave himself before the enemy, and run away, or shamefully abandon any fort, post or guard, which he or they shall be commanded to defend, or speak words inducing others to do the like; or who, after victory, shall quit his commanding officer, or post, to plunder and pillage; every such offender, being duly convicted thereof, shall be reputed a disobey er of military orders; and shall suffer death, or such other punishment, as by a general court-martial shall be inflicted on him. ART. 14. Any person belonging to the forces of the United States, who shall cast away his arms and ammunition, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a general court-martial. ART. 15. Any person belonging to the forces of the United States, who shall make known the watch-word to any person who is not entitled to receive it according to the rules and discipline of war, or shall presume to give a parole or watch-word different from what he received, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a general court-martial. ART. 16. All officers and soldiers are to behave themselves orderly in quarters and on their march; and whosoever shall commit any waste or spoil, either in walks of trees, parks, warrens, fish-ponds, houses or gardens, corn-fields, inclosures or meadows, or shall maliciously destroy any property whatsoever, belonging to the good people of the United States, unless by order of the then commander in chief of the forces of the said states, to annoy rebels or other enemies in arms against the said states, he or they that shall be found guilty of offending herein, shall (besides such penalties as they are liable to by law) be punished according to the nature and degree of the offence,by the judg ment of a regimental or general court-martial. ART. 17. Whosoever belonging to the forces of the United States, employed in foreign parts, shall force a safe-guard, shall suffer death. ART. 18. Whosoever shall relieve the enemy with money, victuals, or ammunition, or shall knowingly harbor or protect an enemy, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as by a court-martial shall be inflicted. ART. 19. Whosoever shall be convicted of holding correspondence with, or giving intelligence to the enemy, either directly or indirectly shall suffer death, or such other punishment as by a court-martial shall be inflicted. ART. 20. All public stores taken in the enemy's camp, towns, forts, or magazines, whether of artillery, ammunition, clothing, forage or provisions, shall be secured for the service of the United States; for the neglect of which the commanders in chief are to be answerable. ART. 21. If any officer or soldier shall leave his post or colors, to go in search of plunder, he shall, upon being convicted thereof, before a general court-martial, suffer death, or such other punishment as by a court-martial shall be infiicted. ART. 22. If any commander of any garrison, fortress or post, shall be compelled by the officers or soldiers under his command, to give up to the enemy, or to abandon it, the commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, or soldiers, who shall be convicted of having so of fended, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be inflicted upon them by the sentence of a court-martial. ART. 23. All suttlers and retainers to the camp, and all persons whatsoever serving with the armies of the United States, in the field, though no inlisted soldiers, are to be subject to orders, according to the rules and discipline of war. ART. 24. Officers having brevetts, or commissions of a prior date to those of the regiment in which they now serve, may take place in courts-martial and on detachments, when composed of different corps, according to the ranks given them in their brevetts, or dates of their former commissions; but in the regiment, troop, or company, to which such brevett officers, and those who have commissions of a prior date, do belong, they shall do duty, and take rank, both on courts-martial and on detachments, which shall be composed only of their own corps, according to the commissions by which they are mustered in the said corps. ART. 25. If upon marches, guards, or in quarters,different corps shall happen to join, or do duty together, the eldest officer by commission there, on duty, or in quarters, shall command the whole, and give out orders for what is needful to the service, regard being always had to the several ranks of those corps, and the posts they usually occupy, ART. 26. And in like manner also, if any regiments, troops or detachments of horse or foot shall happen to march with, or be encamped, or quartered with any bodies or detachments of other troops in the service of the United States, the eldest officer without respect to corps, shall take upon him the command of the whole, and give the necessary orders to the service. SECTION XIV. Administration of Justice. SECTION XV. Effects of the dead. ART. 1. When any commissioned officer shall happen to die, or be killed in the service of the United States, the major of the regiment or the officer doing the major's duty in his absence, shail immediately secure all his effects or equipage then in camp or quarters; and shall, before the next regimental court-martial, make an inventory thereof, and forthwith transmit the same to the office of the board of war, to the end that his executors may, after payment of his debts in quarters, and interment, receive the overplus, if any there be, to his or their use. ART. 2. When any non-commissioned officer or soldier shall happen to die, or to be killed in the service of the United States, the then commanding officer of the troop or company shall, in the presence of two other commissioned officers, take an account of whatever effects he dies possessed of, above his regimental clothing, arms, and accoutrements, and transmit the same to the office of the board of war; which said effects are to be accounted for, and paid to, the representative of such deceased non-commissioned officer or soldier. And in case any of the officers, so authorized to take care of the effects of dead officers and soldiers, should, before they shall have accounted to their representatives for the same, have occasion to leave the regiment, by preferment or otherwise, they shall, before they be permitted to quit the same, deposit in the hands of the commanding officer, or of the agent of the regiment, all the effects of such deceased non-commissioned officers and soldiers, in order that the same may be secured for, and paid to, their respective representatives. SECTION XVI. ART. 1. All officers, conductors, gunners, matrosses, drivers, or any other persons whatsoever, receiving pay or hire in the service of the artillery of the United States, shall be governed by the aforesaid rules and articles, and shall be subject to be tried by courts-martial, in like manner with the officers and soldiers of the other troops in the service of the United States. ART. 2. For differences arising amongst themselves, or in matters relating solely to their own corps, the courts-martial may be composed of their own officers; but where a number sufficient of such officers cannot be assembled, or in matters wherein other corps are interested, the officers of artillery shall sit in courts-martial with the officers of other corps, taking their rank according to the dates of their respec tive commissions, and no otherwise. SECTION XVII. Militia doing duty and rank. ART. 1. The officers and soldiers of any troops, whether minute men, militia, or others, being mustered and in continental pay, shall, at all times, and in all places, when joined, or acting in conjunction with the regular forces of the United States, be governed by these rules or articles of war, and shall be subject to be tried by courts-martial, in like manner with the officers and soldiers in the regular forces, save only that such courts-martial shall be composed entirely of militia officers, of the same provincial corps with the offender. That such militia and minute men as are now in service, and have, by particular contract with their respective states, engaged to be governed by particular regulations, while in continental service, shall not be subject to the above articles of war. ART. 2. For the future, all general officers and colonels, serving by commission, from the authority of any particular state, shall, on all detachments, courts-martial, or other duty wherein they may be employed in conjunction with the regular forces of the United States, take rank next after all generals and colonels serving by commissions from congress, though the commissions of such particular generals and colonels should be of elder date: And in like manner, lieutenant colonels, majors, captains and other inferior officers, serving by commission from any particular state, shall, on all detachments, courts-martial, or other duty, wherein they may be employed in conjunction with the regular forces of the United States, have rank next after all officers of the like rank serving by commission from the congress, though the commissions of such lieutenant colonels, majors, captains, and other inferior officers, should be of elder date to those of the like rank from Congress. SECTION Relative to the foregoing Articles. ART. 1. The aforegoing articles are to be read and published once in every two months at the head of every regiment, troop or company, mustered or to be mustered in the service of the United States, and are to be duly observed and exacly obeyed, by all officers and soldiers, who are or shall be in the said service. ART. 2. The continental general commanding in either of the American states for the time being, shall have full power of appointing general courts-martial to be beid, and of pardoning and mitigating any of the punishments ordered to be inflicted for any of the offences men tioned in the aforementioned rules and articles for the better governe ment of the troops, except the punishment of offenders under the sen tence of death by a general court-martial, which he may order to be suspended until the pleasure of congress can be known; which suspens sion, with the proceedings of the court-martial, the said general shall immediately transmit to congress for their determination; and every offender convicted by any regimental court-martial, may be pardoned, or have the punishment mitigated by the colonel, or commanding offi cer of the regiment. ART. 3. No person shall be sentenced to suffer death, except in the cases expressly mentioned in the foregoing articles; nor shall more than one hundred lashes be inflicted on any offender, at the discretion of a court-martial. That every judge advocate, or person officiating as such, at any gea neral court-martial, do, and he is hereby required to transmit, with as much expedition as the opportunity of time and distance of place can admit, the original proceedings and sentence of such court-martial,to the secretary at war, which said original proceedings and sentence shall be carefully kept and preserved in the office of the said secretary, to the end, that persons entitled thereto, may be enabled, upon application to the said office, to obtain copies thereof. That the party tried by any general court-martial, shall be entitled to a copy of the sentence and proceedings of such court-martial, upon demand thereof made by himself, or by any other person or persons on his behalf, whether such sentence be approved or not. ART. 4. The field officers of each and every regiment are to appoint some suitable person belonging to such regiment, to receive all such fines as may arise within the same, for any breach of any of the forego ing articles, and shall direct the same to be carefully and properly ap plied to the relief of such sick, wounded or necessitous soldiers as be long to such regiment; and such person shall account with such officer for all fines received, and the application thereof. ART. 5. All crimes not capital, and all disorders and neglects whicĺt officers and soldiers may be guilty of, to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, though not mentioned in the above articles of war, are to be taken cognizance of by a general or regimental court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offence, and be punished at their discretion. ART. 6. That the general and commander in chief for the time bea ing, shall have full power of pardoning or mitigating any of the pun ishments ordered to be inflicted, for any of the offences mentioned in the rules and articles of war, for the better government of the troops raised and to be raised, and kept in pay by, and at the expense of the United States of America, the fourth article resolved in congress the fourteenth day of April last notwithstanding. (Passed May 27, 1777.) ART. 7. That a general officer, commanding in a separate depart= ment, be empowered to grant pardons to, or order execution of, persons condemned to suffer death by general courts-martial, without being W |