W.
WAD, (Bourre,Fr.) Ingunnery, a substance made of hay or straw, and sometimes of tow rolled up tight in a ball. It serves to be put into a gun after the powder, and rammed home, to prevent the powder from being scattered, which would have no effect if left unconfined.
Wad-mill. A hollow form of wood to make the wads of a proper size.
Wad-hook. A strong iron screw, like those that serve for drawing corks, mounted upon a wooden handle, to draw out the wads, or any part of cartridges, which often remain in guns, and when accumulated stop up the vent.
WADAorWADADARY,Ind.A farm of a district.
WADABUNDY,Ind.Stated periods or dates, on which money is to be paid.
WADADAR,Ind.A government officer, who is responsible for the rents of a zemindary.
WADDING. Oakum, hay or straw, or any other article generally carried along with the guns to be made into wads.
Experiments relative to the effects ofWadding. The quantity of powder requisite to raise a shell weighing 218 lb. clear of the mortar and bed was found to be 4 oz. 2 dr. without any wadding; but with the help of a little wadding, rammed over the powder, 3 oz. 1 dr. were sufficient. The powder, requisite to raise a shell weighing 106 lb. clear of the mortar and bed, was found to be 2 oz. 6 dr. without any wadding; but with wadding, properly rammed over the powder, 2 oz. were found to be sufficient.
To raise a shell of 16 lb. 4 dr. were sufficient without wadding, and only 3 dr. with wadding.
And to raise a shell of 8 lb. 2 dr. were enough without wadding, and 1 dr. two-thirds with wadding.
From the above experiments it may be observed, that the judicious ramming of a little wadding over the powder, adds about ¹⁄₄ part of the whole effect.
WAGGON, inthe army, (Chariot,Fr.) is a four-wheel carriage, drawn by four horses, and for sundry uses.
Ammunition-Waggon. (Chariot d’artillerie,Fr.) A carriage made for transporting all kinds of stores, as also to carry bread, it being lined round in the inside with basket-work. SeeCaisson.
Waggon-Train. The waggons, caissons, carts, &c. provided for the use of an army are so called. One great engine, on which the movements of an army depend, is a proper establishment of waggons. In all wars great abuses have, as well as great ignorance, prevailed in this department.
In the seven years war the British had a general contractor for the waggon train, and his contract was kept up until the year before the peace, when that government bought the train of him. In the American war, waggons were considered almost as a privilege by the departments to which they were attached, until Brook Watson was appointed commissary general, who found it necessary to make great reforms in that branch of the service. The same gentleman, when he went out to the continent of Europe with the duke of York in 1793, made use of the waggons of different contractors: but in the beginning of 1794, an experiment was made by raising a corps called the corps of royal waggoners, and purchasing waggons and horses. Its miserable state became proverbial in the army: it failed completely in every part, and on many occasions, the service suffered very materially in consequence of the abuses of contractors.
The idea of this corps was probably taken from the fine well regulated establishment of the French, from whom the Austrians copied it as a standing establishment, having officers and men trained to the service, and a system improved and perfect.
The British waggon-train was sold, and every purchaser of not less than fifty waggons was admitted to the advantages of a contract for all the waggons he purchased; he was insured the duration of his contract for three months, and was only to deposit one-third of the cost, allowing the remainder to be paid out of his earnings. The form of the contract and the pay of the waggons were previously fixed, and by this mode a most advantageous sale was procured, while a new set of contractors were introduced, with the additional advantage of obliging old contractors to reduce their prices, and to come under the same terms.
The space of ground occupied by a waggon with four horsesis about 16 yards; a mile will therefore hold 110 waggons; but allowing a short distance between each waggon in travelling, a mile may be said to contain about 100 waggons. Waggons in convoy may travel from one to two miles per hour, according to the roads and other circumstances. A great object in convoys is to preserve the horses as much as possible from fatigue. For this purpose, if the convoy amounts to many hundred waggons, they must be divided into divisions of not more than 500 each. Should it consist of thousands, it will be advisable to divide them intogranddivisions, and then again into subdivisions of 500 each: by this means, and the time of departure being calculated by the following rules, each division may remain at rest, till just before its time of movement; and which will prevent the necessity of the latter part of a large convoy being harassed for a considerable time before its turn to move.
Rule 1.To find the time in which any number of waggons may be driven off: Divide the number of waggons by 100, and multiply by the time of travelling one mile.
Rule 2.To find the time in which any number of waggons will drive over any number of miles: To the time they take in driving off, add the time any one of the waggons takes to travel the distance.
The different divisions of the convoy should be numbered, and obliged each day to change the order of their marching.
WAGGONER, (Charretier,Fr.) One who drives a waggon.
Corps ofWAGGONERS, (Corps de Charretiers,Fr.) A body of men employed in the commissariate, so called.
WAGRAM,battle of. Decided the war between France and Austria in 1809.
WAKANAGUR,Ind.A writer of occurrences.
WAINROPE. The large cord with which the load is tied on the waggon.
WAIT. To lie in wait; to lay wait. SeeAmbush.
WALL. A series of brick, stone, or other materials carried upwards and cemented with mortar. When used in the plural number, wall signifies fortification; works built for defence.
To be driven to theWall, (Etre acculé,Fr.) A figurative term signifying to be so pressed, that you can neither advance nor retreat.
Wallsof a Tent or Marquee. That part of the canvas which is attached to the fly or top by means of hooks and eyes, and which is fixed to the earth with wooden pegs. These walls should be frequently lowered in order to admit fresh air. When there is an hospital tent, this precaution is indispensible, if the weather will permit.
WALLET. SeeHaversack,Knapsack.
WALLOON, Spanish troops from the Netherlands.
WAPENTAKE, (from the Saxon.) The same as what we call a hundred, and more especially used in the northern counties of England beyond the Trent. There have been several conjectures as to the original of the word; one of which is, that anciently musters were made of the armor and weapons of the inhabitants of every hundred; and from those that could not find sufficient pledges of their good abeating, their weapons were taken away; whence it is saidWapentakeis derived.Spensersays it was so named, of touching the weapon or spear of their alderman, and swearing to follow him faithfully, and serve their prince truly.
WAR. A contest or difference between princes, states, or large bodies of people, which, not being determinable by the ordinary measures of justice and equity, is referred to the decision of the sword, &c.
It is that important event, for which all military education is designed to prepare the soldier. It is for this that in peace, he receives the indulgence of a subsistence from society; and for this he is gratefully bound to secure the repose of that society from the outrage of an enemy and to guard its possessions from the devastations of invaders.
It would be needless as impossible to show, how often the art of war has accomplished the design of its institution; we shall, however, distinguish those English wars which are remarkable in history.
War with Scotland, 1068.
War with France, 1116.
War with France, 1161.
Peace with ditto, 1186.
War again with France, 1194.
Peace with ditto, 1195.
Peace with France, May 8, 1360.
Peace with France, May 31, 1420.
Peace with France, Oct. 1741.
Peace with France, Aug. 7, 1514.
War with Scotland, directly after.
Peace with France and Scotland, June 7, 1546.
Peace with both, March 6, 1550.
Peace with ditto, Aug. 18, 1604.
Peace with Spain and France, April 14, 1629.
Peace with ditto, April 5, 1654.
War with Spain, 1655.
Peace with Spain, Sept. 10, 1660.
Peace with the French, Danes, and Dutch, Aug. 24, 1667.
Peace with Spain, Feb. 13, 1668.
War with the Algerines, Sept. 6, 1669.
Peace with ditto, Nov. 19, 1671.
War with the Dutch, March, 1672.
Peace with ditto, Feb. 28, 1674.
War with France, May 7, 1689.
Peace general, Sept. 20, 1697.
War with France, May 4, 1702.
Peace of Utrecht, March 13, 1713.
War with Spain, Dec. 1718.
Peace with ditto, 1721.
Peace with France and Spain, Feb. 10, 1763.
War with the caribbs of St. Vincent in 1773.
War against America, commenced July 14, 1774.
War against France by the English, Prussians, Austrians, and other German powers, in 1793, called thefirst coalition.
Peace between Prussia and the French Republic, 1795.
Peace between Spain and the French Republic, 1795.
Peace between the French and the Sardinians in 1796.
Peace between the French and the Austrians in 1797.
War between the British and Tippoo Saib in India, in 1797.
War against the French or the second coalition of the Austrians, Russians, Neapolitans, &c. 1798.
War with the Turks, and the invasion of Egypt, in 1798.
Peace between the French and the Russians in 1799.
Peace between the French and Austrians in 1800.
Preliminaries of peace commenced between the French and the Ottoman empire in consequence of the reduction of Egypt by the British forces in 1801.
Preliminaries of peace between France and Great Britain, &c. called the peace of Amiens, 1801.
War renewed against France in 1804 by England.
War renewed by Austria in 1805.
War by Prussia in 1806.
War renewed by Austria in April 1809. SeeHistorical Dictionaryof wars, battles, sieges, by the American editor of this work.
There are five different kinds of war, each of which is to be conducted differently the one from the other, viz. the offensive; the defensive; that between equal powers; the auxiliary, which is carried on out of our own territories to succor a state or ally, or to assist a weaker whom a more powerful nation has attacked; and a civil war.
Offensivewar must be long meditated on in private before it be openly entered upon; when the success will depend upon two essential points: that the plan be justly formed, and the enterprize conducted with order. It should be well and maturely considered and digested, and with the greatest secrecy, lest, however able the leaders or council may be, some of the precautions necessary to be taken, be discovered. These precautions are infinite both at home and abroad.
Abroad, they consist in alliances and security not to be disturbed in the meditated expedition, foreign levies, and the buying up of warlike ammunition, as well to increase our own stores as to prevent the enemy from getting them.
The precautions at home, consist in providing for the security of our distant frontiers, levying new troops, or augmenting the old ones, with as little noise as possible; furnishing your magazines with ammunition; constructing carriages for artillery and provisions; buying up horses, which should be done as much as possible among your neighbors; both to prevent their furnishing the enemy, and to preserve your own for the cavalry and the particular equipages of the officers.
Defensive war, may be divided into three kinds. It is either a war sustained by a nation, which is suddenly attacked by another who is superior in troops and in means; or a nation makes this sort of war by choice on one side of its frontiers, while it carries on offensive war elsewhere; or it is a war become defensive by the loss of a battle.
Adefensivewar which a nation attacked by a superior enemy sustains, depends entirely upon the capacity of the general. His particular application should be, to chuse advantageous camps to stop the enemy, without, however, being obliged to fight him; to multiply small advantages; to harass and perplex the enemy in his foraging parties, and to oblige them to do it with great escorts; to attack their convoys; to render the passages of rivers or defiles as difficult to them as possible; to force them to keep together: if they want to attack a town, to throw in succors before it is invested; inshort, in the beginning his chief aim should be, to acquire the enemy’s respect by his vigilance and activity, and by forcing him to be circumspect in his marches and manner of encampment, to gain time himself, and make the enemy lose it. An able general, carefully pursuing these maxims, will give courage to his soldiers, and to the inhabitants of the country; he gives time to his government to take proper precautions to resist the enemy who attacks him; and thus changes the nature of this disagreeable and vexatious kind of warfare.
The management of a defensive war requires more military judgment than that of an offensive one.
A war between equal powers, is that in which the neighboring states take no part, so long as the belligerent parties obtain no great advantage, the one over the other. This sort of war never should last long if you want to reap any advantages from it. As to its rules, they are entirely conformable to those already given; but we may look on it as a certain maxim in this sort of war, that the general who is the most active and penetrating, will ever in the end prevail over him, who possesses these qualities in a lesser degree; because, by his activity and penetration, he will multiply small advantages, till at last they procure him a decisive superiority. A general who is continually attentive to procure himself small advantages, ever obtains his end, which is to ruin the enemy’s army; in which case he changes the nature of the war, and makes it offensive; which should ever be the chief object of his prince.
AuxiliaryWar, is that in which a nation succors its neighbors, either in consequence of alliances or engagements entered into with them; or sometimes to prevent their falling under the power of an ambitious prince.
If it is in virtue of treaties, he observes them religiously, in furnishing the number of troops prescribed, and even offering to augment his quota, if required; or in making a diversion by attacking the common enemy, or its allies.
If it is to prevent a neighboring prince from being crushed by a power, who after this conquest may become dangerous to yourself, there are several measures to be taken for your own particular interest. One of the chief is, to exact from those you succor, the possession of some place in security, lest they make their peace without your knowlege, or to your prejudice.
The general, therefore, who is chosen for the command of this auxiliary corps, should have wisdom, penetration, and foresight; wisdom, to preserve a proper discipline in his corps, that the allied prince may have no cause to complain of him; foresight and penetration, to prevent his troops suffering for want of subsistence, or being exposed to the perils of war, but in proportion to their numbers with those of the allied prince; and, finally, that nothing shall pass without his knowlege, which may be prejudicial to his master.
Civil or intestineWar, is that between subjects of the same realm, or between parties in the same state. In this sense we say, the civil wars of the Romans destroyed the republic; the civil wars of Grenada ruined the power of the Moors in Spain: the civil wars in England began 1641, and ended in the tyrant’s death.
ReligiousWar, is war maintained in a state on account of religion, one of the parties refusing to tolerate the other.
HolyWar, is that species of warfare which was anciently maintained by leagues and crusades, for the recovery of the Holy Land.
Civil and religiousWarsare ever unhappy for the states who sustain them. These sorts of war, which the animosity of the different parties, and fanaticism, always carry beyond the bounds of humanity, and the duties of society, have in general, no other rules but those of theoffensiveanddefensive. It has however always been observed, that civil wars form great men and good soldiers; because the rich and poor, citizens and laborers, being equally obliged to fight for their property and preservation, have all an opportunity of learning the art of war. This species of war may likewise be called revolutionary, with the additional circumstance, that in the latter sense it is of a more extensive nature.
Warof opinion. SeeOpinion.
Articles ofWar.
Sect. I.Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That from and after the passing of this act, the following shall be the rules and articles by which the armies of the United States shall be governed:
Art. 1. Every officer now in the army of the United States, shall, in six months from the passing of this act, and every officer who shall hereafter be appointed, shall before he enters on the duties of his office, subscribe these rules and regulations.
Art. 2. It is earnestly recommended to all officers and soldiers diligently to attend divine service; and all officers who shall behave indecently or irreverently at any place of divine worship, shall, if commissioned officers, be brought before a general court-martial, there to be publicly and severely reprimanded by the president; if non-commissioned officers or soldiers, every person so offending shall, for his first offence, forfeitone sixth of a dollar, to be deducted out of his next pay; for the second offence, he shall not only forfeit a like sum, but be confined twenty-four hours; and for every like offense shall suffer and pay in like manner; which money, so forfeited, shall be applied bythe captain or senior officer of the troop or company, to the use of the sick soldiers of the company or troop to which the offender belongs.
Art. 3. Any non-commissioned officer or soldier who shall use any profane oath or execration shall incur the penalties expressed in the foregoing article, and a commissioned officer shall forfeit and pay for each and every such offence one dollar, to be applied as in the preceding article.
Art. 4. Every chaplain commissioned in the army or armies of the United States, who shall absent himself from the duties assigned him (except in cases of sickness or leave of absence) shall, on conviction thereof before a court-martial, be fined not exceeding one month’s pay, besides the loss of his pay during his absence; or be discharged, as the said court-martial shall judge proper.
Art. 5. Any officer or soldier who shall use contemptuous or disrespectful words against the president of the United States, against the vice-president thereof, against the congress of the United States, or against the chief magistrate or legislature of any of the United States in which he may be quartered, if a commissioned officer, shall be cashiered, or otherwise punished as a court-martial shall direct; if a non-commissioned officer or soldier, he shall suffer such punishment as shall be inflicted on him by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 6. Any officer or soldier who shall behave himself with contempt or disrespect towards his commanding officer, shall be punished according to the nature of his offence, by the judgment of a court-martial.
Art. 7. Any officer or soldier who shall begin, excite, cause, or join in any mutiny or sedition in any troop or company in the service of the United States, or in any party, post, detachment, or guard, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as by a court-martial shall be inflicted.
Art. 8. Any officer, non-commissioned officer, or soldier, who, being present at any mutiny or sedition, does not use his utmost endeavor to suppress the same, or coming to the knowlege of any intended mutiny, does not without delay, give information thereof to his commanding officer, shall be punished by the sentence of a court-martial with death or otherwise, according to the nature of his offence.
Art. 9. Any officer or soldier who shall strike his superior officer, or draw or lift up any weapon, or offer any violence against him, being in the execution of his office, on any pretence whatsoever, or shall disobey any lawful command of his superior officer, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall, according to the nature of his offence, be inflicted upon him by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 10. Every non-commissioned officer, or soldier, who shall inlist himself in the service of the United States, shall, at the time of his so inlisting, or within six days afterwards, have the articles for the government of the armies of the United States, read to him, and shall, by the officer who inlisted him, or by the commanding officer of the troop or company into which he was inlisted, be taken before the next justice of the peace, or chief magistrate of any city or town corporate, not being an officer of the army, or where recourse cannot be had to the civil magistrate, before the judge advocate, and, in his presence, shall take the following oath or affirmation: “I A. B. do solemnly swear, or affirm, (as the case may be) that I will bear true allegiance to the United States of America, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies, or opposers, whatsoever, and observe and obey the orders of the president of the United States, and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the rules and articles for the government of the armies of the United States.” Which justice, magistrate, or judge advocate is to give the officer a certificate, signifying that the man inlisted, did take the said oath, or affirmation.
Art. 11. After a non-commissioned officer or soldier, shall have been duly inlisted and sworn, he shall not be dismissed the service without a discharge in writing; and no discharge granted to him shall be sufficient, which is not signed by a field officer of the regiment to which he belongs, or commanding officer, where no field officer of the regiment is present; and no discharge shall be given to a non-commissioned officer or soldier, before his term of service has expired, but by order of the president, the secretary of war, the commanding officer of a department, or the sentence of a general court-martial, nor shall a commissioned officer be discharged the service, but by order of the president of the United States, or by sentence of a general court-martial.
Art. 12. Every colonel, or other officer commanding a regiment, troop, or company, and actually quartered with it, may give furloughs to non-commissioned officers or soldiers, in such numbers, and for so long a time as he shall judge to be most consistent with the good of the service; and a captain or other inferior officer commanding a troop or company, or in any garrison, fort or barrack of the United States, (his field officer being absent), may give furloughs to non-commissioned officers or soldiers, for a time not exceeding twenty days in six months, but not to more than two persons to be absent at the same time, excepting some extraordinary occasion should require it.
Art. 13. At every muster, the commanding officer of each regiment, troop, or company there present, shall give to the commissary of musters, or other officer who musters the said regiment,troop, or company, certificates signed by himself, signifying how long such officers, as shall not appear at the said muster, have been absent, and the reason of their absence. In like manner, the commanding officer of every troop, or company, shall give certificates, signifying the reasons of the absence of the non-commissioned officers and private soldiers, which reasons, and time of absence, shall be inserted in the muster-rolls opposite the name of the respective absent officers and soldiers. The certificates shall, together with the muster-rolls, be remitted by the commissary of musters, or other officer mustering, to the department of war as speedily as the distance of the place will admit.
Art. 14. Every officer who shall be convicted, before a general court-martial, of having signed a false certificate, relating to the absence of either officer or private soldier, or relative to his or their pay, shall be cashiered.
Art. 15. Every officer who shall knowingly make a false muster of manor horse, and every officer or commissary of musters, who shall willingly sign, direct or allow the signing of muster-rolls, wherein such false muster is contained, shall, upon proof made thereof by two witnesses, before a general court-martial, be cashiered, and shall be therefore utterly disabled to have or hold any office or employment in the service of the United States.
Art. 16. Any commissary of musters or other officer, who shall be convicted of having taken money or other thing, by way of gratification, on the mustering any regiment, troop or company, or on the signing muster-rolls, shall be displaced from his office, and shall be thereby utterly disabled to have or hold any office or employment in the service of the United States.
Art. 17. Any officer who shall presume to muster a person as a soldier, who is not a soldier, shall be deemed guilty of having made a false muster, and shall suffer accordingly.
Art. 18. Every officer who shall knowingly make a false return to the department of war, or to any of his superior officers, authorised to call for such returns, of the state of the regiment, troop, or company, or garrison, under his command; or of the arms, ammunition, clothing, or other stores thereunto belonging, shall, on conviction thereof before a court-martial, be cashiered.
Art 19. The commanding officer of every regiment, troop, or independent company, or garrison of the United States, shall, in the beginning of every month, remit through the proper channels, to the department of war, an exact return of the regiment, troop, independent company, or garrison, under his command, specifying the names of officers then absent from their posts, and the reasons for, and the time of their absence. And any officer who shall be convicted of having, through neglect or design, omitted sending such returns, shall be punished according to the nature of his crime, by the judgment of a general court-martial.
Art. 20. All officers and soldiers, who have received pay, or have been duly inlisted in the service of the United States, and shall be convicted of having deserted the same, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as by sentence of a court-martial shall be inflicted.
Art. 21. Any non-commissioned officer or soldier, who shall, without leave from his commanding officer, absent himself from his troop, company, or detachment, shall, upon being convicted thereof, be punished according to the nature of his offence at the discretion of a court-martial.
Art. 22. No non-commissioned officer or soldier, shall inlist himself in any other regiment, troop, or company, without a regular discharge from the regiment, troop, or company, in which he last served, on the penalty of being reputed a deserter, and suffering accordingly. And in case any officer shall knowingly receive and entertain such non-commissioned officer or soldier, or shall not, after his being discovered to be a deserter, immediately confine him, and give notice thereof to the corps in which he last served, the said officer shall by a court-martial be cashiered.
Art. 23. Any officer or soldier, who shall be convicted of having advised or persuaded any other officer or soldier, to desert the service of the United States, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be inflicted upon him by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 24. No officer or soldier shall use any reproachful or provoking speeches or gestures to another, upon pain, if an officer, of being put in arrest; if a soldier, confined, and of asking pardon of the party offended, in the presence of his commanding officer.
Art. 25. No officer or soldier shall send a challenge to another officer or soldier, to fight a duel, or accept a challenge, if sent, upon pain, if a commissioned officer, of being cashiered; if a non-commissioned officer or soldier, of suffering corporeal punishment at the discretion of a court-martial.
Art. 26. If any commissioned or non-commissioned officer commanding a guard, shall knowingly or willingly suffer any person whatsoever to go forth to fight a duel, he shall be punished as a challenger; and all seconds, promoters and carriers of challenges, in order to duels, shall be deemed principals, and be punished accordingly. And it shall be the duty of every officer, commanding an army, regiment, company, post, or detachment, who is knowing to a challenge being given, or accepted, by any officer, non-commissioned officer, or soldier, under his command, or has reason to believe thesame to be the case, immediately to arrest and bring to trial such offenders.
Art. 27. All officers, of what condition soever, have power to part and quell all quarrels, frays, and disorders, though the persons concerned should belong to another regiment, troop, or company; and either to order officers into arrest, or non-commissioned officers or soldiers into confinement, until their proper superior officers shall be acquainted therewith; and whosoever shall refuse to obey such officer (though of an inferior rank) or shall draw his sword upon him, shall be punished at the discretion of a general court-martial.
Art. 28. Any officer or soldier, who shall upbraid another for refusing a challenge, shall himself be punished as a challenger; and all officers and soldiers are hereby discharged from any disgrace or opinion of disadvantage, which might arise from their having refused to accept of challenges, as they will only have acted in obedience to the laws, and done their duty as good soldiers, who subject themselves to discipline.
Art. 29. No sutler shall be permitted to sell any kind of liquors or victuals, or to keep their houses or shops open for the entertainment of soldiers, after nine at night, or before the beating of the reveilles, or upon Sundays, during divine service or sermon, on the penalty of being dismissed from all future sutling.
Art. 30. All officers commanding in the field, forts, barracks, or garrisons of the United States, are hereby required to see that the persons permitted to sutle, shall supply the soldiers with good and wholesome provision, or other articles, at a reasonable price, as they shall be answerable for their neglect.
Art. 31. No officer commanding in any of the garrisons, forts, or barracks of the United States, shall exact exorbitant prices for houses or stalls let out to sutlers, or connive at the like exactions in others; nor by his own authority, and for his private advantage, lay any duty or imposition upon, or be interested in the sale of any victuals, liquors, or other necessaries of life, brought into the garrison, fort, or barracks, for the use of the soldiers, on the penalty of being discharged from the service.
Art. 32. Every officer commanding in quarters, garrisons, or on the march, shall keep good order, and to the utmost of his power, redress all abuses or disorders, which may be committed by any officer or soldier under his command; if upon complaint made to him of officers or soldiers beating, or otherwise ill treating any person, of disturbing fairs or markets, or of committing any kinds of riots, to the disquieting of the citizens of the United States, he, the said commander, who shall refuse or omit to see justice done to the offender or offenders, and reparation made to the party or parties injured, as far as part of the offender’s pay shall enable him or them, shall, upon proof thereof, be cashiered or punished, as a general court-martial shall direct.
Art. 33. When any commissioned officer or soldier, shall be accused of a capital crime, or of having used violence, or committed any offence against the persons or property of any citizen of any of the United States, such as is punishable by the known laws of the land, the commanding officer, and officers of every regiment, troop, or company, to which the person or persons, so accused, shall belong, are hereby required, upon application duly made by, or in behalf of the party, or parties injured, to use their utmost endeavors to deliver over such accused person or persons, to the civil magistrate, and likewise to be aiding and assisting to the officers of justice, in apprehending and securing the person or persons so accused, in order to bring him or them to trial. If any commanding officer or officers, shall wilfully neglect, or shall refuse, upon the application aforesaid, to deliver over such accused person or persons, to the civil magistrates, or to be aiding and assisting to the officers of justice in apprehending such person or persons, the officer or officers, so offending, shall be cashiered.
Art. 34. If any officer shall think himself wronged by his colonel, or the commanding officer of the regiment, and shall, upon due application being made to him, be refused redress, he may complain to the general, commanding in the state, or territory 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 the department of war, a true state of such complaint, with the proceedings had thereon.
Art. 35. If any inferior officer, or soldier, shall think himself wronged by his captain, or other officer, he is to complain thereof to the commanding officer of the regiment, who is hereby required to summon a regimental court-martial, for the doing justice to the complainant; from which regimental court-martial, either party may, if he thinks himself still aggrieved, appeal to a general court-martial. But if, upon a second hearing, the appeal shall appear vexatious and groundless, the person, so appealing, shall be punished at the discretion of the said court-martial.
Art. 36. Any commissioned officer, store keeper, or commissary, who shall be convicted, at a general court-martial, of having sold, without a proper order for that purpose, embezzled, misapplied, or wilfully, or through neglect, suffered any of the provisions, forage, arms, clothing, ammunition, or other military stores, belonging to the United States, to be spoiled, or damaged, shall at his own expence,make good the loss or damage, and shall moreover, forfeit all his pay, and be dismissed from the service.
Art. 37. Any non-commissioned officer or soldier, who shall be convicted, at a regimental court-martial, of having sold, or designedly, or through neglect, wasted the ammunition delivered out to him, to be employed in the service of the United States, shall be punished at the discretion of such court.
Art. 38. Every non-commissioned officer or soldier, who shall be convicted before a court-martial, as having sold, lost, or spoiled, through neglect, his horse, arms, clothes, or accoutrements, shall be put under such weekly stoppages (not exceeding the half of his pay) as such court-martial shall judge sufficient for repairing the loss or damage; and shall suffer confinement or such other corporeal punishment as his crime shall deserve.
Art. 39. Every officer, who shall be convicted before a court-martial, of having embezzled, or misapplied any money with which he may have been entrusted, for the payment of the men under his command, or for enlisting men into the service, or for other purposes, if a commissioned officer, shall be cashiered, and compelled to refund the money; if a non-commissioned officer, shall be reduced to the ranks, be put under stoppages until the money be made good, and suffer such corporeal punishment as such court-martial shall direct.
Art. 40. Every captain of a troop, or company, is charged with the arms, accoutrements, ammunition, clothing, or other warlike stores belonging to the troop, or company under his command, which he is to be accountable for to his colonel, in case of their being lost, spoiled, or damaged, not by unavoidable accidents, or on actual service.
Art. 41. All non-commissioned officers and soldiers, who shall be found one mile from the camp, without leave, in writing, from their commanding officer, shall suffer such punishment as shall be inflicted upon them by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 42. No officer or soldier, shall lie out of his quarters, garrison, or camp, without leave from his superior officer, upon penalty of being punished according to the nature of his offence, by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 43. Every non-commissioned officer and soldier shall retire to his quarters or tent, at the beating of the retreat; in default of which he shall be punished according to the nature of his offence.
Art. 44. No officer, non-commissioned officer or soldier, shall fail in repairing, at the time fixed, to the place of parade, of exercise or other rendezvous, appointed by his commanding officer, if not prevented by sickness, or some other evident necessity; or shall go from the said place of rendezvous, without leave from his commanding officer, before he shall be regularly dismissed or relieved, on the penalty of being punished according to the nature of his offence by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 45. Any commissioned officer, who shall be found drunk on his guard, party, or other duty, shall be cashiered. Any non-commissioned officer or soldier so offending, shall suffer such corporeal punishment as shall be inflicted by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 46. Any centinel who shall be found sleeping upon his post, or shall leave it before he shall be regularly relieved, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be inflicted by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 47. No soldier belonging to any regiment, troop, or company, shall hire another to do his duty for him, or be excused from duty, but in cases of sickness, disability, or leave of absence; and every such soldier found guilty of hiring his duty, as also the party so hired to do another’s duty, shall be punished at the discretion of a regimental court-martial.
Art. 48. And every non-commissioned officer conniving at such hiring of duty aforesaid, shall be reduced; and every commissioned officer, knowing and allowing such ill practices in the service, shall be punished by the judgment of a general court-martial.
Art. 49. Any officer belonging to the service of the United States, who, by discharging of firearms, 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. 50. Any officer or soldier, who shall, without urgent necessity, or without the leave of his superior officer, quit his guard, platoon, or division, shall be punished according to the nature of his offence, by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 51. 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 any parts out of the said states, upon pain of death, or such other punishment as a court-martial shall direct.
Art. 52, Any officer or soldier, who shall misbehave himself before the enemy, run away, or shamefully abandon any fort, post, or guard, which he or they may be commanded to defend, or speak words inducing others to do the like; or shall cast away his arms and ammunition, or who shall quit his post or colors to plunder and pillage, every such offender being duly convicted thereof, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a general court-martial.
Art. 53. Any person belonging to the armies 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. 54. 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, enclosures of meadows, or shall maliciously destroy any property whatsoever, belonging to the inhabitants of the United States, unless by order of the then commander in chief of the armies of the said states, shall (besides such penalties as they are liable to by law,) be punished according to the nature and degree of the offence, by the judgment of a regimental or general court-martial.
Art. 55. Whosoever, belonging to the armies of the United States, employed in foreign parts, shall force a safe-guard, shall suffer death.
Art. 56. 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 shall be ordered by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 57. 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 shall be ordered by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 58. 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 commanding officer is to be answerable.
Art. 59. If any commander of any garrison, fortress or post, shall be compelled, by the officers and 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 offended, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be inflicted upon them by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 60. All sutlers and retainers to the camp, and all persons whatsoever, serving with the armies of the U. States in the field, though not inlisted soldiers, are to be subject to orders, according to the rules and discipline of war.
Art. 61. Officers having brevets, or commissions, of a prior date to those of the regiment in which they serve, may take place in courts-martial and on detachments, when composed of different corps, according to the ranks given them in their brevets, or dates of their former commissions; but in the regiment, troop, or company, to which such officers belong, they shall do duty and take rank, both in 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. 62. If upon marches, guards, or in quarters, different corps of the army shall happen to join, or do duty together, the officer highest in rank of the line of the army, marine corps, or militia, by commission there, on duty, or in quarters, shall command the whole, and give orders for what is needful to the service, unless otherwise specially directed by the president of the U. States, according to the nature of the case.
Art. 63. The functions of the engineers being generally confined to the most elevated branch of military science, they are not to assume, nor are they subject to be ordered on any duty beyond the line of their immediate profession, except by the special order of the president of the U. States; but they are to receive every mark of respect, to which their rank in the army may entitle them, respectively, and are liable to be transferred, at the discretion of the president, from one corps to another, regard being paid to rank.
Art. 64. 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. 65. Any general officer commanding an army, or colonel commanding a separate department, may appoint general courts-martial, whenever necessary. But no sentence of a court-martial shall be carried into execution until after the whole proceedings shall have been laid before the officer ordering the same, or the 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, or 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 of war, to be laid before the president of the U. States, for his confirmation or disapproval, and orders in 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. 66. Every officer commanding a regiment, or corps, may appoint, for his own regiment, or corps, courts-martial, to consist of three commissioned officers, for the trial and punishment of offences, not capital, and decide upon their sentences. For the same purpose, all officers,commanding any of the garrisons, forts, barracks, or other places, where the troops consist of different corps, may assemble courts-martial, to consist of three commissioned officers, and decide upon their sentences.
Art. 67. 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 non-commissioned officer or soldier, for a longer time than one month.
Art. 68. Whenever it may be found convenient and necessary to the public service, the officers of the marines shall be associated with the officers of the land forces, for the purpose of holding courts-martial and trying offenders belonging to either; and in such cases the orders of the senior officer of either corps, who may be present and duly authorised, shall be received and obeyed.
Art. 69. 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 U. States, 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 to administer to each member of the court, before they proceed upon any trial, the following oath, which shall also be taken by all members of the regimental and garrison courts-martial:
“You A. B. do swear that you will 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; and that you will duly administer justice, according to the provisions of ‘An act establishing rules and articles for the government of the armies of the United States,’ without partiality, favor, or affection: and if any doubt shall arise, not explained by said articles, according to your conscience, the best of your understanding, and the custom of war in like cases: and you do further swear, that you will not divulge the sentence of the court until it shall be published by the proper authority: neither will you 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.”
And as soon as the said oath 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 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 due course of law; nor divulge the sentence of the court to any but the proper authority, until it shall be duly disclosed by the same.So help you God.”
Art. 70. When a prisoner arraigned before a general court-martial shall, from obstinacy and deliberate design, stand mute or answer foreign to the purpose, the court may proceed to trial and judgment as if the prisoner had regularly pleaded not guilty.
Art 71. When a member shall be challenged by a prisoner, he must state his cause of challenge, of which the court shall, after due deliberation, determine the relevancy or validity, and decide accordingly; and no challenge to more than one member at a time shall be received by the court.
Art. 72. 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. 73. All persons who give evidence before a court-martial, are to be examined on oath or affirmation in the following form:
“You swear or affirm (as the case may be) the evidence you shall give in the cause now in hearing, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.So help you God.”
Art. 74. On the trials of cases not capital, before courts-martial, the deposition of witnesses not in the line of staff of the army, may be taken before some justice of the peace, and read in evidence: provided, the prosecutor and the person accused are present at the taking the same, or are duly notified thereof.
Art. 75. 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, excepting in cases, which, in the opinion, of the officer appointing the court-martial, require immediate example.
Art. 76. No person whatsoever shall use any menacing words, signs, or gestures, in presence of a court-martial, or shall cause any disorder or riot, or disturb their proceedings, on the penalty of being punished, at the discretion of the said court-martial.
Art. 77. Whenever any officer shall be charged with a crime, he shall be arrested and confined in his barracks, quarters, or tent, and deprived of his sword, by the 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 officer, shall be cashiered.
Art. 78. Non-commissioned officers and soldiers, charged with crimes, shall beconfined, until tried by a court-martial, or released by proper authority.
Art. 79. No officer or soldier who shall be put in arrest, shall continue in confinement more than eight days, or until such time as a court-martial can be assembled.
Art. 80. No officer commanding a guard, or provost marshal, shall refuse to receive or keep any prisoner committed to his charge, by an 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. 81. 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 the penalty of being punished for it by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 82. 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 commanding officer, of their names, their crimes, and the names of the officers who committed them, on the penalty of being punished for disobedience or neglect, at the discretion of a court-martial.
Art. 83. Any commissioned officer convicted before a general court-martial of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, shall be dismissed the service.
Art. 84. 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. 85. In all cases where a commissioned officer is cashiered for cowardice or fraud, it shall be added in the sentence, that the crime, name, and 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 where he usually resides, after which it shall be deemed scandalous for an officer to associate with him.
Art. 86. The commanding officer of any post or detachment, in which there shall not be a number of officers adequate to form a general court-martial, 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 necessary witnesses, to be transported to the place where the said court shall be assembled.
Art. 87. No person shall be sentenced to suffer death, but by the concurrence of two thirds of the members of a general court-martial, nor except in the cases herein expressly mentioned; nor shall more than fifty lashes be inflicted on any offender, at the discretion of a court-martial; and no officer, non-commissioned officer, soldier, or follower of the army, shall be tried a second time for the same offence.
Art. 88. No person shall be liable to be tried and punished by a general court-martial for any offence which shall appear to have been committed more than two years before the issuing of the order for such trial, unless the person, by reason of having absented himself or some other manifest impediment, shall not have been amenable to justice within that period.
Art. 89. Every officer authorised to order a general court-martial, shall have power to pardon or mitigate any punishment ordered by such court, except the sentence of death, or of cashiering an officer; which, in the cases where he has authority (by article 65) to carry them into execution, he may suspend, until the pleasure of the president of the United States can be known; which suspension, together with copies of the proceedings of the court-martial, the said officer shall immediately transmit to the president, for his determination. And the colonel or commanding officer of the regiment or garrison, where any regimental or garrison court-martial shall be held, may pardon or mitigate any punishment ordered by such court to be inflicted.
Art. 90. Every judge advocate, or person officiating as such, at any general court-martial, 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 of war, which said original proceedings and sentence shall be carefully kept and preserved in the office of said secretary, to the end that the persons entitled thereto may be enabled, upon application to the said office, to obtain copies thereof.
The party tried by any general court-martial shall, upon demand thereof made by himself or by any person or persons in his behalf, be entitled to a copy of the sentence and proceedings of such court-martial.
Art. 91. In cases where the general or commanding officer may order a court of inquiry to examine into the nature of any transaction, accusation, or imputation against any officer or soldier, the said court shall consist of one or more officers, not exceeding three, and a judge advocate, or other suitable person as a recorder, to reduce the proceedings and evidence to writing, all of whom shall be sworn to the faithful performance of their duty. This court shall have the same power to summon witnesses as a court-martial, and to examine them on oath. But they shall not give their opinion on the merits of the case, excepting they shall be thereto specially required. The parties accusedshall also be permitted to cross examine and interrogate the witnesses, so as to investigate fully the circumstances in question.
Art. 92. The proceedings of a court of inquiry must be authenticated by the signature of the recorder and the president, and delivered to the commanding officer: and the said proceedings may be admitted as evidence by a court-martial, in cases not capital, or extending to the dismission of an officer, provided that the circumstances are such, that oral testimony cannot be obtained. But as courts of inquiry may be perverted to dishonorable purposes, and may be considered as engines of destruction to military merit, in the hands of weak and envious commandants, they are hereby prohibited, unless directed by the president of the United States, or demanded by the accused.
Art. 93. The judge advocate, or recorder, shall administer to the members the following oath:
“You shall well and truly examine and inquire, according to your evidence, into the matter now before you, without partiality, favor, affection, prejudice, or hope of reward. So help you God.”
After which the president shall administer to the judge advocate, or recorder, the following oath:
“You, A. B. do swear that you will, according to your best abilities, accurately and impartially record the proceedings of the court, and the evidence to be given in the case in hearing. So help you God.”
The witnesses shall take the same oath as witnesses sworn before a court-martial.
Art. 94. When any commissioned officer shall 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, or in any post or garrison, the second officer in command, or the assistant military agent, shall immediately secure all his effects or equipage, then in camp or quarters, and shall make an inventory thereof, and forthwith transmit the same to the office of the department of war, to the end that his executors or administrators may receive the same.
Art. 95. When any non-commissioned officer, or soldier, shall die, or 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 what effects he died possessed of, above his arms and accoutrements, and transmit the same to the office of the department of war; which said effects are to be accounted for, and paid to the representatives of such deceased non-commissioned officer or soldier. And in case any of the officers, so authorised to take care of the effects of deceased officers and soldiers, should, before they have accounted to their representatives for the same, have occasion to leave the regiment, or post, 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 assistant military agent, 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.
Art. 96. All officers, conductors, gunners, matrosses, drivers, or other persons whatsoever, receiving pay, or hire, in the service of the artillery, or corps of engineers 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.