Lying out of quarters, &c. without leave. Retiring to quarters at retreat beat. Absence from parade. Drunkenness on ART. 2. 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. 3. 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, by the commanding officer. ART. 4. No officer, non-commissioned officer, or soldier, shall fail of repairing, at the time fixed, to the place of parade or 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, or from his guard, 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. 5. Whatever commissioned officer shall be found drunk guard or other duty. on his guard, party, or other duty under arms, shall be cashiered for it; any non-commissioned officer or soldier so offending, shall suffer such corporeal punishment as shall be inflicted by the sentence of a court-martial. Sentinels sleeping on post. Hiring of duty. Conniving at the hiring of duty. False alarms. Quitting the ranks. Violence to traders. ART. 6. Whatever sentinel 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. 7. 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 case 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 next regimental court-martial. ART. 8. And every non-commissioned officer conniving at such hiring of duty as 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 said states, on pain of death, or such other punishment as a court-martial shall direct. ART. 12. Whatsoever officer or soldier shall misbehave him- Cowardice. self 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. fore the enemy ART. 13. Whatsoever officer or soldier shall misbehave him- Misbehaviour beself before the enemy, and run away, or shamefully abandon any pillaging after vicfort, post, or guard, which he or they shall be commanded to de- tory. fend, 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 disobeyer of military orders; and shall suffer death, or such other punishment, as, by a general court-martial, shall be inflicted on him. &c. ART. 14. Any person, belonging to the forces of the United Casting away arms, 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. word to persons ART. 15. Any person, belonging to the forces of the United Imparting watchStates, who shall make known the watch-word to any person not entitled to rewho is not entitled to receive it according to the rules and dis-ceive it. cipline 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. marches-not to der of the com ART. 16. All officers and soldiers are to behave themselves Officers & soldiers to behave orderly orderly in quarters, and on their march; and whosoever shall in quarters and on commit any waste or spoil, either in walks of trees, parks, war- commit waste or rens, fish-ponds, houses or gardens, corn-fields, enclosures or spoil unless by ormeadows, or shall maliciously destroy any property whatsoever mander-in-chief. 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 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 judgment of a regimental or general court-martial. guards. ART. 17. Whosoever belonging to the forces of the United Forcing safeStates, employed in foreign parts, shall force a safe-guard, shall suffer death. enemy. ART. 18. Whosoever shall relieve the enemy with money, Relieving the 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. emy. ART. 19. Whosoever shall be convicted of holding corre- Holding corresponspondence with, or giving intelligence to the enemy, either di- dence with the enrectly or indirectly, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as by a court-martial shall be inflicted. Public stores cap ART. 20. All public stores taken in the enemy's camp, towns, tured from the enforts, or magazines, whether of artillery, ammunition, clothing, emy. 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. Leaving post or colors in search of plunder. Posts forcibly sur garrisons. 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 inflicted. ART. 22. If any commander of any garrison, fortress, or post, rendered by their 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 offended, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be inflicted upon them by the sentence of a court-martial. Sutlers and retainers subject to orders. Brevets and former to take effect. ART. 23. All sutlers and retainers to a camp, and all persons whatsoever serving with the armies of the United States, in the field, though no enlisted soldier, are to be subject to orders, according to the rules and liscipline of war. ART. 24. Officers having brevets, or commissions of a prior commissions--when 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 brevets, or dates of their former commissions; but in the regiment, troop, or company, to which such brevet officers and those who have commissions of a prior date do belong, they shall do duty and take rank both on court-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. Troops joining on marches, guards or mand the whole ART. 25. If upon marches, guards, or in quarters, different in quarters eldest Corps shall happen to join or do duty together, the eldest officer. officer shall com- by commission there, on duty, or in quarters, shall command the and give out orders whole, and give out orders for what is needful to the service; to the service. regard being always had to the several ranks of those corps, and the posts they usually occupy. for what is needful Troops marching or encamped to ART. 26. And in like manner also, if any regiments, troops, gether; eldest offi- or detachments of horse or foot, shall happen to march with, or Fer without respect 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. to corps shall command the whole. SECTION XIV.* ART. 1. A general court-martial in the United States shall not consist of less than thirteen commissioned officers, and the president of such court-martial shall not be the commander-inchief or commandant of the garrison where the offender shall be tried, nor be under the degree of a field officer. ART. 2. The members both of general and regimental courtsmartial shall, when belonging to different corps, take the same * This section, and such articles as relate to the holding of courts-martial and confirmation of sentences, were repealed and supplied by resolutions of the 31st of May, 1786-See chap. 8. of the court. rank which they hold in the army; but when courts-martial shall to the composition be composed of officers of one corps, they shall take their ranks according to the dates of the commissions, by which they are mustered in the said corps. neral to prosecute ART. 3. The judge-advocate general, or some person deputed Judge advocate-geby him, shall prosecute in the name of the United States of Ameri- in the name of the ca; and in trials of offenders by general courts-martial, admin- United States. ister to each member the following oaths: "You shall well and truly try and determine, according to Oaths of members. your evidence, the matter now before you, between the United States of America, and the prisoners 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 the said articles, according to your conscience, the best of your understanding, and the customs of war in like cases. And you do further swear, that you will not divulge the sentence of the court, until it shall be approved of by the general, or commander-in-chief; neither will you, upon any account, at any time whatever, 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: cate. "You A. B. do swear, that you will not, upon any account, Oath of judge-advo 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. 4. All the members of a court-martial are to behave Behaviour of members, and mode of with calmness and decency; and in the giving of their votes, voting. are to begin with the youngest in commission. amined on oath ART. 5. All persons who give evidence before a general court- Witnesses to be exmartial, are to be examined upon oath; and no sentence of two-thirds of the death shall be given against any offender by any general court- to a sentence of martial, unless two-thirds of the officers present shall concur death. therein. members necessary punishable. ART. 6. All persons called to give evidence, in any cause, be- Witnesses refusing fore a court-martial, who shall refuse to give evidence, shall be to give evidence, punished for such refusal, at the discretion of such court-martial: The oath to be administered in the following form, viz: "You swear the evidence you shall give in the cause now in Oath of witnesses. hearing, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help you God." ART. 7. No field officer shall be tried by any person under Field officers-trial the degree of a captain; nor shall any proceedings or trials be ceeding. of-hours of pro Sentences of gene carried on excepting between the hours of eight in the morning and of three in the afternoon, except in cases which require an immediate example. ART. 8. No sentence of a general court-martial shall be put ral courts-martial. in execution, till after a report shall be made of the whole proceedings to Congress, or to the general or commander-in-chief of the forces of the United States, and their or his direction be signified thereupon.* Disputes between individuals of dif ferent corps. Regimental courts ART. 9. For the more equitable decision of disputes which may arise between officers and soldiers belonging to different corps, it is hereby directed, that the courts-martial shall be equally composed of officers belonging to the corps in which the parties in question do then serve; and that the presidents shall be taken by turns, beginning with that corps which shall be eldest in rank. ART. 10. The commissioned officers of every regiment may, martial-powers. by the appointment of their colonel or commanding officer, hold regimental courts-martial for the inquiring into such disputes, or criminal matters, as may come before them, and for the inflicting corporeal punishments for small offences, and shall give judgment by the majority of voices; but no sentence shall be executed till the commanding officer (not being a member of the court-martial) or the commandant of the garrison, shall have confirmed the same. Organization of regimental courtsmartial. Garrison or detachment courts-martial. Dismissal of com ART. 11. No regimental court-martial shall consist of less than five officers, excepting in cases where that number cannot conveniently be assembled, when three may be sufficient; who are likewise to determine upon the sentence by the majority of voices; which sentence is to be confirmed by the commanding officer of the regiment, not being a member of the court-martial. ART. 12. Every officer commanding in any of the forts, barracks, or elsewhere, where the corps under his command consists of detachments from different regiments, or of independent companies, may assemble courts-martial for the trial of offenders in the same manner as if they were regimental, whose sentence is not to be executed until it shall be confirmed by the said commanding officer. ART. 13. No commissioned officer shall be cashiered or dismissioned officers. missed from the service, excepting by an order from the Congress, or by the sentence of a general court-martial; but noncommissioned officers may be discharged as private soldiers, and, by the order of the colonel of the regiment, or by the sentence of a regimental court-martial, be reduced to private sentinels. Conduct in presence ART. 14. No person whatever shall use menacing words, signs, or gestures, in the presence of a court-martial then sitting, or shall cause any disorder or riot, so as to disturb their proceedings, on the penalty of being punished at the discretion of the said court-martial. *Repealed and supplied by resolution of 14th April, 1777-See chap. 3. |