by Congress, or by their orders, for furnishing such provisions, and with respect only to the species of provisions so contracted for.

ART. 2. If any officer shall think himself to be wronged by his colonel, or the commanding officer of the regiment, and shall, upon due application made to him, be refused to be redressed, he may complain to the continental general commanding in the state where such regiment shall be stationed, in order to obtain justice; who is hereby required to examine into the said complaint, and take proper measures for redressing the wrong complained of, and transmit, as soon as possible, to Congress, a true state of such complaint, with the proceedings had thereon.

ART. 3. No sentence of a general court-martial shall be put in execution, till after report shall be made of the whole proceedings to Congress, the commander-in-chief, or the continental general commanding in the state, where such a general court-martial shall be held, and their or his orders be issued for carrying such sentence into execution.1

ART. 4. 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 held, and of pardoning or mitigating any of the punishments ordered to be inflicted for any of the offences mentioned in the aforementioned rules and articles for the better government of the troops; except the punishment of offenders, under sentence of death, by a general court-martial, which he may order to be suspended until the pleasure of Congress can be known, which suspension, 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 his punishment mitigated by the colonel, or officer commanding the regiment."

IN CONGRESS-May 27, 1777.

Resolved, That the general, or commander-in-chief, for the time being, shall have full power of pardoning or mitigating any of the punishments ordered to be inflicted for any of the offences mentioned in the rules and articles, for the better government of the troops raised, or 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 14th day of April last, notwithstanding.

Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States, be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."

IN CONGRESS-June 18, 1777.

Resolved, That a general officer commanding a separate department, be empowered to grant pardons to, or order execution of, persons condemned to suffer death by general courts-martial, without being obliged to report the matter to Congress or the commander-in-chief.

1 Modified by resolutions of 27th May, and 18th June, 1777.

2 Altered by act of 13th January, 1794, and established 4th April, 1818, chap. 34.

IN CONGRESS-April 12, 1785.

Resolved, That the non-commissioned officers and privates to be raised by the resolution of the seventh day of the present month, April, be furnished by the states hereinafter mentioned, in the following proportions:

That the following commissioned officers be furnished by the said states, for the said troops, in the following proportions:

One lieutenant-colonel from Pennsylvania.

Two majors, one from Connecticut, and one from New York, each to command a company.

Eight captains, ten lieutenants, one to act as adjutant, one as quartermaster, and one as paymaster. Ten ensigns, one surgeon and four mates, to be furnished by the said states in proportion to the number of privates which they respectively furnish.

That the pay of the lieutenant-colonel be fifty dollars per month; that of the major, forty-five; captain, thirty-five; lieutenant, twenty-six; ensign, twenty; sergeant, six; corporal, five; drum, five; fife, five; private, four; surgeon, forty-five; mate, thirty.

That the lieutenants acting as adjutant, quartermaster and paymaster, shall receive, in consideration of the said extra duty, each ten dollars per

month.

That each officer and soldier shall receive one month's pay after they are embodied, before their march.1

That the secretary of war be directed to form the said troops when raised into one regiment, consisting of eight companies of infantry, and two of artillery, to appoint their places of rendezvous, direct their subsequent operations, and make all other inferior necessary arrangements not herein particularly mentioned, subject to the order of Congress, and of the committee of the states in the recess of Congress; and that the commissioners of the treasury be instructed to furnish on his warrant, the sums necessary for carrying the same into effect.

That the said troops when embodied, on their march, on duty, or in garrison, shall be subject to all the rules and regulations formed for the government of the late army, or such other rules as Congress or a committee of the states may form.

That the secretary at war ascertain the necessary clothing and rations proper for the troops, and report the same to Congress.

That the commissioners of the treasury contract for the supply of rations at such places and in such quantities as the secretary at war shall judge necessary.

IN CONGRESS-May 31, 1786.

WHEREAS crimes may be committed by officers and soldiers, serving with small detachments of the forces of the United States, and where there may

1 The provisions of this resolution in regard to pay were adopted by a resolution of the 3d October, 1787, and again by an act of Congress of 29th September, 1789. Repealed and supplied by act of 30th April, 1790.

not be a sufficient number of officers to hold a general court-martial, according to the rules and articles of war, in consequence of which criminals may escape punishment, to the great injury of the discipline of the troops and the public service.

Resolved, That the 14th section of the rules and articles for the better government of the troops of the United States, and such other articles as relate to the holding of courts-martial, and the confirmation of the sentences thereof, be, and they are hereby repealed.

Resolved, That the following rules and articles for the administration of justice, and the holding of courts-martial, and the confirmation of the sentences thereof, be duly observed, and exactly obeyed by all officers and soldiers, who are, or shall be in the armies of the United States.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

ART. 1. General courts-martial may consist of any number of commissioned officers from five to thirteen inclusively; but they shall not consist of less than thirteen, where that number can be convened without manifest injury to the service.

ART. 2. General courts-martial shall be ordered, as often as the cases may require, by the general or officer commanding the troops. But no sentence of a court-martial shall be carried into execution until after the whole proceedings shall have been laid before the said general or officer commanding the troops for the time being; neither shall any sentence of a general court-martial in time of peace, extending to the loss of life, the dismission of a commissioned officer, or which shall either in time of peace or war respect a general officer, be carried into execution, until after the whole proceedings shall have been transmitted to the secretary at war, to be laid before Congress for their confirmation, or disapproval, and their orders on the case. All other sentences may be confirmed and executed by the officer ordering the court to assemble, or the commanding officer for the time being, as the case may be.

ART. 3. Every officer commanding a regiment or corps, may appoint of his own regiment or corps, courts-martial, to consist of three commissioned officers, for the trial of offences, not capital, and the inflicting corporeal punishment, and decide upon their sentences. For the same purpose, all officers, commanding any of the garrisons, forts, barracks, or other place where the troops consist of different corps, may assemble courts-martial, to consist of three commissioned officers, and decide upon their sentences.

ART. 4. No garrison or regimental court-martial shall have the power to try capital cases, or commissioned officers; neither shall they inflict a fine exceeding one month's pay, nor imprison, nor put to hard labor, any noncommissioned officer or soldier, for a longer time than one month.

ART. 5. The members of all courts-martial shall, when belonging to different corps, take the same rank in court which they hold in the army. But when courts-martial shall be composed of officers of one corps, they shall take rank according to the commissions by which they are mustered in the said corps.

ART. 6. The judge-advocate, or some person deputed by him, or by the general or officer commanding the army, detachment or garrison, shall prosecute in the name of the United States of America; but shall so far consider himself as counsel for the prisoner, after the said prisoner shall have made his plea, as to object to any leading question to any of the witnesses, or any question to the prisoner, the answer to which might tend to criminate himself; and administer to each member the following oaths,

which shall also be taken by all members of regimental and garrison courts-martial.

"You shall well and truly try and determine, according to evidence, the matter now before you, between the United States of America, and the prisoner to be tried, So help you God."

"You, A. B., do swear, that you will duly administer justice, according to the rules and articles for the better government of the forces of the United States of America, without partiality, favor or affection; and if any doubt shall arise, which is not explained by said articles, according to your conscience, the best of your understanding, and the custom of war, in the like cases. And you do further swear, that you will not divulge the sentence of the court, until it shall be published by the commanding officer. Neither will you, upon any account, at any time whatsoever, disclose or discover the vote or opinion of any particular member of the court-martial, unless required to give evidence thereof, as a witness, by a court of justice, in a due course of law. So help you God."

As soon as the said oaths shall have been administered to the respective members, the president of the court shall administer to the judge-advocate, or person officiating as such, an oath in the following words:

You, A. B., do swear, that you will not upon any account, at any time whatsoever, disclose or discover the vote or opinion of any particular member of the court-martial, unless required to give evidence thereof as a witness, by a court of justice, in a due course of law. So help you God."

ART. 7. All the members of a court-martial are to behave with decency and calmness; and in giving their votes, are to begin with the youngest in commission.

ART. 8. All persons who give evidence before a court-martial, are to be examined on oath, or affirmation, as the case may be, and no sentence of death shall be given against any offender by any general court-martial, unless two-thirds of the members of the court shall concur therein.

ART. 9. Whenever an oath or affirmation shall be administered by a courtmartial, the oath or affirmation shall be in the following form:

"You swear (or affirm, as the case may be) the evidence you shall give in the case now in hearing, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help you God."

ART. 10. On the trials of cases not capital, before courts-martial, the depositions of witnesses, not in the line or staff of the army, may be taken before some justice of the peace, and read in evidence, provided the prosecutor and person accused are present at the taking the same.

ART. 11. No officer shall be tried but by a general court-martial, nor by officers of an inferior rank if it can be avoided. Nor shall any proceedings or trials be carried on, excepting between the hours of eight in the morning and three in the afternoon, except in cases which, in the opinion of the officer appointing the court require immediate example.

ART. 12. No person whatsoever shall use menacing words, signs, or gestures in the presence of a court-martial, or shall cause any disorder or riot to disturb their proceedings, on the penalty of being punished at the discretion of the said court-martial.

ART. 13. No commissioned officer shall be cashiered, or dismissed from the service, excepting by order of Congress, or by the sentence of a general court-martial; and no non-commissioned officer or soldier shall be discharged the service, but by the order of Congress, the secretary at war, the commander-in-chief, or commanding officer of a department, or by the sentence of a general court-martial.

ART. 14. Whenever any officer shall be charged with a crime, he shall be

arrested and confined to his barracks, quarters or tent, and deprived of his sword by his commanding officer. And any officer, who shall leave his confinement before he shall be set at liberty by his commanding officer, or by a superior power, shall be cashiered for it."

ART. 15. Non-commissioned officers and soldiers, who shall be charged with crimes, shall be imprisoned, until they shall be tried by a court-martial, or released by proper authority.

ART. 16. No officer or soldier, who shall be put in arrest or imprisonment, shall continue in his confinement more than eight days, or until such time as a court-martial can be assembled.

ART. 17. No officer commanding a guard, or provost-marshal, shall refuse to receive or keep any prisoner committed to his charge by any officer belonging to the forces of the United States, provided the officer committing shall, at the same time, deliver an account in writing signed by himself, of the crime with which the said prisoner is charged.

ART. 18. No officer commanding a guard, or provost-marshal, shall presume to release any person committed to his charge, without proper authority for so doing; nor shall he suffer any person to escape on penalty of being punished for it by the sentence of a court-martial.

ART. 19. Every officer, or provost-marshal, to whose charge prisoners shall be committed, shall, within twenty-four hours after such commitment, or as soon as he shall be relieved from his guard, make report in writing, to the commander-in-chief, or commanding officer, of their names, their crimes, and the names of the officers who committed them, on the penalty of his being punished for disobedience or neglect at the discretion of a court-martial.

ART. 20. Whatever commissioned officer shall be convicted before a general court-martial, of behaving in a scandalous and infamous manner, such as is unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, shall be dismissed the service.

ART. 21. In cases where a court-martial may think it proper to sentence a commissioned officer to be suspended from command, they shall have power also to suspend his pay and emoluments for the same time, according to the nature and heinousness of the offence.

ART. 22. In all cases where a commissioned officer is cashiered for cowardice or fraud, it shall be added in the sentence, that the crime, name, place of abode, and punishment of the delinquent be published in the newspapers, in and about the camp, and of the particular state from which the offender came, or usually resides; after which it shall be deemed scandalous for any officer to associate with him.

ART. 23. The commanding officer of any post or detachment, in which there shall not be a number of officers adequate to form a general courtmartial, shall, in cases which require the cognizance of such a court, report to the commanding officer of the department, who shall order a court to be assembled at the nearest post or detachment, and the party accused, with the necessary witnesses, to be transported to the place where the said court shall be assembled.

ART. 24. No person shall be sentenced to suffer death, except in the cases expressly mentioned in the aforegoing articles; nor shall more than one hundred lashes be inflicted on any offender at the discretion of a courtmartial.

Every judge-advocate, or person officiating as such, at any general courtmartial, shall 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