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bis 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 general or commander-inchief of the continental forces, in order to obtain justice, who is hereby required to examine into said complaint, and see that justice be done.

XIV. If any inferior officer or soldier, shall think himself wronged by his captain or other officer commanding the troop or company to which he belongs, 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 to be vexatious and groundless, the person so appealing, shall be punished at the discretion of the general court-martial.

XV. Whatsoever non-commissioned officer or soldier, shall be convicted, at a regimental court martial, of having sold, or designedly, or through neglect, wasted the ammunition, arms, or provisions, or other military stores, delivered out to him, to be employed in the service of this continent, shall, if an officer, be reduced to a private sentinel; and if a private soldier, shall suffer such punishment as shall be ordered by a regimental court-martial.

XVI. 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 on him or them by the sen tence of a regimental court-martial.

XVII. No officer or soldier shall lie out of his quarters or camp, without leave from the commanding officer of the regiment, upon penalty of being punished according to the nature of his offence, by order of a regimental courtmartial.

XVIII. 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 order of the commanding officer.

XIX. 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 the 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 penalty of being punished according to the nature of his of fence, by the sentence of a regimental court martial.

XX. Whatsoever commissioned officer shall be found drunk on his guard, party, or duty, under arms, shall be cashiered for it; any non-commissioned officer or soldier so

offending, shall suffer such punishment as shall be ordered. by the sentence of a regimental court-martial.

XXI. Whatsoever sentinel shall be found sleeping upon his post, or shall leave it before he shall be regularly relieved, shall suffer such punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a general court martial.

XXII. Any person belonging to the continental army, who, by discharging of fire arms, beating of drums, or by any other means whatsoever, shall occasion false alarms, in camp or quarters, shall suffer such punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a general court-martial.

XXIII. Any officer or soldier, who shall, without urgent necessity, or without 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 regimental courtmartial.

XXIV. No officer or soldier shall do violence, or offer any insult, or abuse, to any person who shall bring provisions, or other necessaries, to the camp or quarters of the continental army; any officer or soldier so offending, shall, upon complaint being made to the commanding officer, suffer such punishment as shall be ordered by a regimental court-martial.

XXV. Whatsoever officer or soldier shall shamefully abandon any post committed to his charge, or shall speak words inducing others to do the like, in time of an engagement, shall suffer death immediately.

XXVI. Any person belonging to the continental army, 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.

XXVII. Whosoever belonging to the continental army, shall relieve the enemy with money, victuals, or ammunition, or shall knowingly harbor or protect an enemy, shall suffer such punishment as by a general court-martial shall be ordered.

XXVIII. Whosoever belonging to the continental army, shall be convicted of holding correspondence with, or of giving intelligence to, the enemy, either directly or indirectly, shall suffer such punishment as by a general courtmartial shall be ordered.

XXIX. All public stores taken in the enemy's camp or magazines, whether of artillery, ammunition, clothing, or provisions, shall be secured for the use of the United Colonies.

XXX. If any officer or soldier shall leave his post or colors, in time of an engagement, to go in search of plunder, he shall, upon being convicted thereof before a general court

martial, suffer such punishment as by the said court-martial shall be ordered.

XXXI. If any commander of any post, intrenchment, or fortress, shall be compelled, by the officers or soldiers under his command, to give it up to the enemy, or to abandon it, the commissioned officer, non-commisssioned officers, or soldiers, who shall be convicted of having so offended, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as may be inflicted upon them by the sentence of a general court-martial.

XXXII. All sutlers and retailers to a camp, and all persons whatsoever, serving with the continental army in the field, though not enlisted soldiers, are to be subject to the articles, rules, and regulations of the continental army.

XXXIII. No general court-martial shall consist of a less number than thirteen, none of which shall be under the degree of a commissioned officer; and the president shall be a field officer: And the president of each and every courtmartial, whether general or regimental, shall have power to administer an oath to every witness, in order to the trial of offenders. And the members of all courts-martial shall be duly sworn by the president; and the next in rank on the court martial, shall administer the oath to the president.

XXXIV. The members, both of general and regimental courts-martial, shall, when belonging to different corps, take the same rank which they hold in the army; but when courtsmartial shall be composed of officers of one corps, they shall take their ranks according to their commissions by which they are mustered in the said corps.

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

XXXVI. No field officer shall be tried by any person under the degree of a captain; 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 require an immediate example.

XXXVII. The commissioned officers of every regiment may, by the appointment of their colonel or commanding of ficer, hold regimental courts-martial for the inquiring into such disputes or criminal matters as may come before them, and for the inflicting corporeal punishment, for small of fences, 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) shall have confirmed the same.

XXXVIII. No regimental court-martial shall consist of less than five officers, excepting the cases where that number cannot be conveniently 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, not being a member of the courtmartial.

XXXIX. Every officer commanding in any fort, castle, or barrack, or elsewhere, where the corps under his command consists of detachments from different regimen's 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 till it shall be confirmed by the said commanding officer.

XL. No person whatsoever 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 proceeding, on the penalty of being punished at the discretion of the said court-martial.

XLI. To the end that offenders may be brought to justice; whenever any officer or soldier shall commit a crime deserving punishment, he shall, by his commanding officer, if an officer, be put in arrest; if a non-commissioned officer or soldier, be imprisoned till he shall be either tried by a courtmartial, or shall be lawfully discharged by proper authority.

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

XLIII. 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 continental forces; which officer shall at the same time deliver an account in writing, signed by himself, of the crime with which the said prisoner is charged.

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

XLV. Every officer or provost marshal, to whose charge prisoners shall be committed, is hereby required, within twenty-four hours after such commitment, or as soon as he shall be relieved from his guard, to give in writing to the colonel of the regiment to whom the prisoner belongs (where the prisoner is confined upon the guard belonging to the said regiment, and that his offence only relates to the neglect of duty in his own corps,) or to the commander-inchief, their names, their crimes and the names of the officers who committed them, on the penalty of being punished for his disobedience or neglect, at the discretion of a general court-martial.

XLVI. And if any officer under arrest shall leave his confinement before he is set at liberty by the officer who confined him, or by a superior power, he shall be cashiered for it.

XLVII. Whatsoever commissioned officer shall be convicted before a general court-martial, of behaving in a scandalous, infamous manner, such as is unbecoming the character of an officer and a gentleman, shall be discharged from the service.

XLVIII. All officers, conductors, gunners, matrosses, drivers, or any other persons whatsoever, receiving pay or hire, in the service of the continental artillery, shall be go verned 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 continental troops.

XLIX. For differences arising amongst themselves, or in matters relating solely to their own corps, the courts-martial may be composed of their own officers; but where a number sufficient of such officers cannot be assembled, or in matters wherein other corps are interested, the officers of artillery shall sit in courts-martial, with the officers of the other corps.

L. All crimes, not capital, and all disorders and neglects, which officers and soldiers may be guilty of, to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, though not mentioned in the articles of war, are to be taken cognizance of by a general or regimental court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offence, and be punished at their discre

tion.

LI. That no persons shall be sentenced by a court-martial to suffer death, except in the cases expressly mentioned in the foregoing articles; nor shall any punishment be inflicted at the discretion of a court-martial, other than degrading, cashiering, drumming out of the army, whipping not exceeding thirty-nine lashes, fine not exceeding two months' pay of the offender, imprisonment not exceeding one month.

LII. The field officers of each and every regiment are to appoint some suitable person belonging to such regiment, to receive all such fines as may arise within the same, for any breach of any of the foregoing articles, and shall direct the same to be carefully and properly applied to the relief of such sick, wounded, or necessitous soldiers as belong to such regiment; and such person shall account with such officer for all fines received, and the application thereof.

LIII. All members sitting in courts-martial shall be sworn by the president of said courts, which president shall himself be sworn by the officer in said court next in rank: The oath to be administered previous to their proceeding to the trial of any offender, in form following, viz:

"You A. B. swear that you will well and truly try, and impartially determine the cause of the prisoner now to be tried, according to the rules for regulating the continental army. So help you God."

LIV. All persons called to give evidence, in any case, be

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