[I have proofread these transcriptions.]
- general order 2, HQ 91st PA, 7 Mar 64
- special circular, HQ 91st PA, 13 Sep 64
- general order 13, HQ 91st PA, 23 Sep 64
- circular, HQ 91st PA, 15 October 1864
ARTICLE XIII. [paragraphs 90-130]
COMPANIES
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116. In camp or barracks, the company officers must visit the kitchen daily and inspect the kettles, and at all times carefully attend to the messing and economy of their respective companies. The commanding officer of the post or regiment will make frequent inspections of the kitchens and messes. These duties are of the utmost importance--not to be neglected.
[ ..... ]125. Soldiers taken as officers' waiters shall be acquainted with their military duty, and at all times be completely armed and clothed, and in every respect equipped according to the rules of the service, and have all their necessaries complete and in good order. They are to fall in with their respective companies at all reviews and inspections, and are liable to such drills as the commanding officer shall judge necessary to fit them for service in the ranks.
126. Non-commissioned officers will, in no case, be permitted to act as waiters; nor are they, or private soldiers, not waiters, to be employed in any menial office, or made to perform any service not military, for the private benefit of any officer or mess of officers.
[ ..... ]ARTICLE XVIII. [paragraphs 155-162]
DESERTERS.
155. If a soldier desert from, or a deserter be received at, any post other than the station of the company or detachment to which he belonged, he shall be promptly reported by the commanding officer of such post to the commander of his company or detachment. The time of desertion, apprehension, and delivery will be stated. If the man be a recruit, unattached, the required report will be made to the Adjutant-General. When a report is received of the apprehension or surrender of a deserter at any post other than the station of the company or detachment to which he belonged, the commander of such company or detachment shall immediately forward his description and account of clothing to the officer making the report.
156. A reward of five [In the AMHI's copy, the amount is crossed out, and '30 (G.O. 325 1863)' written in] dollars will be paid for the apprehension and delivery of a deserter to an officer of the army at the most convenient post or recruiting station. Rewards thus paid will be promptly reported by the disbursing officer to the officer commanding the company in which the deserter is mustered, and to the authority competent to order his trial. The reward of five dollars will include the remuneration for all expenses incurred for apprehending, securing, and delivering a deserter.
157. When non-commissioned officers or soldiers are sent in pursuit of a deserter, the expenses necessarily incurred will be paid whether he be apprehended or not, and reported as in case of rewards paid.
158. Deserters shall make good the time lost by desertion, unless discharged by competent authority. [A handwritten note is added here in the AMHI's copy, but it is mostly illegible.]
159. No deserter shall be restored to duty without trial, except by authority competent to order the trial.
160. Rewards and expenses paid for apprehending a deserter will be set againt his pay, when adjudged by a court-martial, or when he is restored to duty without trial on such condition.
161. In reckoning the time of service, and the pay and allowances of [a] deserter, he is to be considered as again in service when delivered up as a deserter to the proper authority.
162. An apprehended deserter, or one who surrenders himself, shall receive no pay while waiting trial, and only such clothing as may be actually necessary for him.
ARTICLE XIX. [paragraphs 163-172]
DISCHARGES
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171. Company commanders are required to keep the blank discharges and all certificates relating to discharge carefully in their own custody.
[ ..... ]ARTICLE XXV. [paragraphs 211-219]
SUTLERS.
211. Every military post may have one Sutler, to be appointed by the Secretary of War.
212. A Sutler shall hold his office for a term of three years, unless sooner removed; but the commanding officer may, for cause, suspend a Sutler's privilege until a decision of the War Department is received in the case.
213. In case of vacancy, a temporary appointment may be made by the commanding officer upon the nomination of the Council of Administration.
214. Troops in campaign, on detachment, or on distant service, will be allowed Sutlers, at the rate of one for every regiment, corps, or separate detachment; to be appointed by the commanding officer of such regiment, corps, or detachment, upon the recommendation of the Council of Administration, subject to the appoval of the general or other officer in command.
215. No tax or burden in any shape, other than the authorized assessment for the post fund, will be imposed on the Sutler. If there be a spare building, the use of it may be allowed him, he being responsible that it is kept in repair. If there be no such building, he may be allowed to erect one; but this article gives the Sutler no claim to quarters, transportation for himself or goods, or to any military allowance whatever.
216. The tariff of prices fixed by the Council of Administration shall be exposed in a conspicuous place in the Sutler's store. No difference of prices will be allowed on cash or credit sales.
217. No Sutler shall sell to an enlisted man on credit to a sum exceeding one-third of his monthly pay, within the same month, without the written sanction of the company commander, or the commanding officer of the post or station, if the man does not belong to a company; and not exceeding one-half of the monthly pay with such permission.
218. Three days before the last of every month the Sutler shall render, for verification, to the company commander, or to the commanding officer, as the case may be, according to the meaning of the preceding paragraph, a written and separate account in each case of any charges he may have against enlisted men for collection, and the officer shall submit the account to the soldier for acknowledgement and signature, and witness the same. In the case of death, desertion, or removal from the post (of the soldier), the account will be rendered immediately. If the soldier dispute the account and the Sutler insist, and in the case of death and desertion, the Sutler will be required to establish the account by affidavit indorsed on it before any officer authorized to administer an oath. Debts thus verified as due the Sutler are to be noted on the Muster Rolls, and will be paid by the Paymaster out of the arrearages due to the soldier at the time of death, desertion, discharge, or sentence of court-martial: the sums due the Government and laundress being first paid. Every facility will be afforded to the Sutler in the collection of the just debts contracted with him. He will, to this end, be allowed to take his place at the pay-table with his books and accounts.
219. Sutlers shall not farm out or underlet the business and privileges granted by their appointment.
ARTICLE XXVI. [paragraph 220]
MILITARY DISCUSSIONS AND PUBLICATIONS.
220. Deliberations or discussions among any class of military men, having the object of conveying praise, or censure, or any mark of approbation toward their superiors or others in the military service; and all publications relative to transactions between officers of a private or personal nature, whether newspaper, pamphlet, or hand-bill, are strictly prohibited.
ARTICLE XXVII. [paragraphs 221-229]
ARRESTS AND CONFINEMENTS.
221. None but commanding officers have power to place officers under arrest except for offenses expressly designated in the 27th Article of War.
222. Officers are not to be put into arrest for light offences. For these the censure of the commanding officer will, in most cases, answer the purposes of discipline.
223. An officer in arrest may, at the discretion of his commanding officer, have larger limits assigned him than his tent or quarters, on written application to that effect. Close confinement is not to be resorted to unless under circumstances of an aggravated character.
224. In ordinary cases, and where inconvenience to the service would result from it, a medical officer will not be put in arrest until the court-martial for his trial convenes.
225. The arrest of an officer, or confinement of a soldier, will, as soon as practicable, be notified to his immediate commander.
226. All prisoners under guard, without written charges, will be released by the officer of the day at guard-mounting, unless orders to the contrary be given by the commanding officer.
227. On a march, company officers and non-commissioned officers in arrest will follow in the rear of their respective companies, unless otherwise particularly ordered.
228. Field officers, commissioned and non-commissioned staff officers, under the same circumstances, will follow in the rear of their respective regiments.
229. An officer under arrest will not wear a sword, or visit officially his commanding or other superior officer, unless sent for; and in case of business, he will make known his object in writing.
ARTICLE XXVIII. [paragraphs 230-236]
HOURS OF SERVICE AND ROLL-CALLS
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ROLL-CALLS.
234. There shall be daily at least three roll-calls, viz., at reveille, retreat, and tattoo. They will be made on the company parades by the first sergeants, superintended by a commissioned officer of the company. The captains will report the absentees without leave to the colonel or commanding officer.
235. Immediately after reveille roll-call (after stable-duty in the cavalry), the tents or quarters, and the space around them, will be put in order by the men of the companies, superintended by the chiefs of squads, and the guard-house or guard-tent by the guard or prisoners.
236. The morning reports of companies, signed by the captains and First Sergeants, will be handed to the Adjutant before eight o'clock in the morning, and will be consolidated by the Adjutant within the next hour, for the information of the Colonel; and if the consolidation is to be sent to higher authority, it will be signed by the Colonel and the Adjutant.
ARTICLE XXIX. [paragraphs 237-302]
HONORS TO BE PAID BY THE TROOPS.
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253. It is equally the duty of non-commissioned officers and soldiers, at all times and in all situations, to pay the proper compliments to officers of the navy and marines, and to officers of other regiments, when in uniform, as to officers of their own particular regiments and corps.
254. Courtesy among military men is indispensable to discipline. Respect to superiors will not be confined to obedience on duty, but will be extended to all occasions. It is always the duty of the inferior to accost or to offer first the customary salutation, and of the superior to return such complimentary notice.
255. Sergeants, with swords drawn, will salute by bringing them to a present--with muskets, by bringing the left hand across the body, so as to strike the musket near the right shoulder. Corporals out of the ranks, and privates not sentries, will carry their muskets at a shoulder as sergeants, and salute in like manner.
256. When a soldier without arms, or with side-arms only, meets an officer, he is to raise his hand to the right side of the visor of his cap, palm to the front, elbow raised as high as the shoulder, looking at the same time in a respectful and soldier-like manner at the officer, who will return the compliment thus offered.
257. A non-commissioned officer or soldier being seated, and without particular occupation, will rise on the approach of an officer, and make the customary salutation. If standing, he will turn toward the officer for the same purpose. If the parties remain in the same place or on the same ground, such compliments need not be repeated.
[ ..... ]ARTICLE XXXVI. [paragraphs 473-850]
TROOPS IN CAMPAIGN
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GENERAL POLICE.
[ ..... ]782. Private servants, not soldiers, will not be allowed to wear the uniform of any corps of the army, but each will be required to carry with him a certificate from the officer who employs him, verified, for regimental officers, by the signature of the Colonel; for other officers under the rank of Colonel, by the chief of their corps or department.
[ ..... ]ARTICLE XXXVIII. [paragraphs 880-901]
COURTS-MARTIAL.
880. In appointing a general court-martial, as many members will be detailed, from five to thirteen inclusively, as can be assembled without manifest injury to the service.
881. The decision of the officer appointing the court, as to the number that can be assembled without manifest injury to the service, is conclusive.
882. A President of the court will not be appointed. The officer highest in rank present will be President.
883. Form of Order appointing a general court-martial; the last paragraph omitted when the court can be kept up with thirteen members.
Head-Quarters, ----, &c.
A General Court-martial is hereby appointed to meet at ----, on the ---- day of ----, or as soon thereafter as practicable, for the trial of ---- and such other prisoners as may be brought before it.
Detail for the Court:
| 1. | ----- | 8. | ----- | |
| 2. | ----- | 9. | ----- | |
| 3. | ----- | 10. | ----- | |
| 4. | ----- | 11. | ----- | |
| 5. | ----- | 12. | ----- | |
| 6. | ----- | 13. | ----- | |
| 7. | ----- | ----- | -----, Judge Advocate. |
No other officers than those named can be assembled without manifest injury to the service.
By order of ---- ----, commanding ----.
---- ----, Assistant Adjutant-General.
884. In the detail the members will be named, and they will take place in the court, in the order of their rank. A decision of the proper authority in regard to the rank of the members cannot be reversed by the court.
885. The place of holding a court is appointed by the authority convening it.
886. Application for delay or postponement of trial must, when practicable, be made to the authority convening the court. When made to the court, it must be before plea, and will then, if in the opinion of the court well founded, be referred to the authority convening the court, to decide whether the court should be adjourned or dissolved, and the charges reserved for another court.
887. Upon application by the accused for postponement on the ground of the absence of a witness, it ought distinctly to appear on his oath, 1st. that the witness is material, and how; 2d. that the accused has used due diligence to procure his attendance; and, 3d. that he has reasonable ground to believe, and does believe, that he will be able to procure such attendance within a reasonable time stated.
888. The President of a court-martial, besides his duties and privileges as member, is the organ of the court, to keep order and conduct its business. He speaks and acts for the court in each case where the rule has been prescribed by law, regulation, or its own resolution. In all their deliberations the law secures the equality of the members.
889. The 76th Article of War does not confer on a court-martial the power to punish its own members. For disorderly conduct, a member is liable as in other offences against military disciplines; improper words are to be taken down, and any disorderly conduct of a member reported to the authority convening the court.
890. The Judge Advocate shall summon the necessary witnesses for the trial; but he shall not summon any witness at the expense of the United States, nor any officer of the army, without the order of the court, unless satisfied that his testimony is material and necessary to the ends of justice.
891. Every court-martial shall keep a complete and accurate record of its proceedings, to be authenticated by the signatures of the President and Judge Advocate; who shall also certify, in like manner, the sentence pronounced by the court in each case. The record must show that the court was organized as the law requires; that the court and Judge Advocate were duly sworn in the presence of the prisoner; that he was previously asked whether he had any objection to any member, and his answer thereto. A copy of the order appointing the court will be entered on the record in each case.
892. Whenever the same court-martial tries more prisoners than one, and they are arraigned on separate and distinct charges, the court is to be sworn at the commencement of each trial, and the proceedings in each case will be made up separately.
893. The record shall be clearly and legibly written; as far as practicable, without erasures or interlineations. The pages to be numbered, with a margin of one inch on the left side of each page, and at the top of the odd and bottom of the even pages; through this last margin the sheets to be stitched together; the documents accompanying the proceedings to be noted and marked in such manner as to afford an easy reference.
894. No recommendation will be embraced in the body of the sentence. Those members only who concur in the recommendation will sign it.
895. The legal punishments for soldiers by sentence of a court-martial according to the offense, and the jurisdiction of the court are--death; confinement; confinement on bread and water diet; solitary confinement; hard labor; ball and chain; forfeiture of pay and allowances; discharges from service; and reprimands, and, when non-commissioned officers, reduction to the ranks. Ordnance Sergeants and Hospital Stewards, however, though liable to discharge, may not be reduced. Nor are they to be tried by regimental or garrison courts-martial, unless by special permission of the departmental commander. Solitary confinement, or confinement on bread and water, shall not exceed fourteen days at a time, with intervals between the periods of such confinement not less than such periods; and not exceeding eighty-four days in any one year.
896. The Judge Advocate shall transmit the proceedings, without delay, to the officer having authority to confirm the sentence, who shall state, at the end of the proceedings in each case, his decision and orders thereon.
897. The original proceedings of all general courts-martial, after the decision on them of the reviewing authority, and all proceedings that require the decision of the President under the 65th and 89th Articles of War, and copies of all orders confirming or disapproving, or remitting, the sentences of courts-martial, and all official communications for the Judge Advocate of the Army, will be addressed to "The Adjutant-General of the Army, War Department," marked on the cover, "Judge Advocate."
898. The proceedings of garrison and regimental courts-martial will be transmitted without delay by the garrison or regimental commander to the department head-quarters for the supervision of the department commander.
899. The power to pardon or mitigate the punishment ordered by a court-martial is vested in the authority confirming the proceedings, and in the President of the United States. A superior military commander to the officer confirming the proceedings may suspend the execution of the sentence when, in his judgment, it is void upon the face of the proceedings, or when he sees a fit case for executive clemency. In such cases, the record, with his order prohibiting the execution, shall be transmitted for the final orders of the President.
900. When a court-martial or court of inquiry adjourns without day, the members will return to their respective posts and duties unless otherwise ordered.
901. When a court adjourns for three days, the Judge Advocate shall report the fact to the commander of the post or troops, and the members belonging to the command will be liable to duty during the time.
ARTICLE ** [re recruiting]
[ ..... ]927. If minors present themselves, they are to be treated with great candor; the names and residences of their parents or guardians, if they have any, must be ascertained, and these will be informed of the minor's wish to enlist, that they may make their objections or give their consent.
[ ..... ]929. Any free white male person above the age of eighteen and under thirty-five years, being at least five feet three inches high, effective, able-bodied, sober, free from disease, of good character and habits, and with a competent knowledge of the English language, may be enlisted. This regulation, so far as respects the height and age of the recruits, shall not extend to musicians or to soldiers who may "re-enlist," or have served honestly and faithfully a previous enlistment in the army.
[ ..... ]931. No person under the age of twenty-one years is to be enlisted or re-enlisted without the written consent of his parent, guardian, or master. The recruiting officers must be very particular in ascertaining the true age of the recruit.
ARTICLE XLI. [paragraphs 989-1063]
PUBLIC PROPERTY, MONEY, AND ACCOUNTS
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996. If any disbursing officer shall bet at cards or any game of hazard, his commanding officer shall suspend his functions, and require him to turn over all the public funds in his keeping, and shall immediately report the case to the proper bureau of the War Department.
[ ..... ]1027. If any article of public property be lost or damaged by neglect or fault of any officer or soldier, he shall pay the value of such article, or amount of damage, or cost of repairs, at such rates as a Board of Survey, with the approval of the commanding officer, may assess, according to the place and circumstances of the loss or damage. And he shall, moreover, be proceeded against as the Articles of War provide, if he demand a trial by court-martial, or the circumstances should require it.
[ ..... ]ARTICLE XLII. [paragraphs 1064-1175]
QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT
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1167. But--with the exception of under-clothing and shoes, of which, when there are no other means of procuring them, a reasonable quantity may, on the officers' certificate to that effect, be purchased for them from the quartermaster--no officer's private servant, not a soldier, shall be permitted to draw or to wear the uniform clothing issued to the troops.
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