Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

Casting away arms, &c.

Imparting watch word to per sons not entitled to receive it.

Officers and

have orderly in

marches-not to

spoil unless by order of the

commander in

chief.

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.

ART. 14. Any person, belonging to the forces of the United 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 courtmartial.

ART. 15. Any person, belonging to the forces 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 courtmartial.

ART. 16. All officers and soldiers are to behave themsoldiers to be selves orderly in quarters, and on their march; and quarters and on whosoever shall commit any waste or spoil, either in commit waste or Walks of trees, parks, warrens, fish-ponds, houses or gardens, corn-fields, enclosures or meadows, or shall maliciously destroy any property whatsoever 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.

Forcing safe guards.

Relieving the enemy.

Holding correspondence with the enemy.

Public stores captured from the enemy.

ART. 17, Whosoever, belonging to the forces of the United States, employed in foreign parts, shall force a safe-guard, shall suffer death.

ART. 18. 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 by a court martial shall be inflicted.

ART. 19. 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 by a court-martial shall be inflicted.

ART. 20. 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 commanders-in-chief are to be answerable.

colors in search

ART. 21. If any officer or soldier shall leave his post Leaving post or or colors to go in search of plunder, he shall upon of plunder. - being convicted thereof before a general court-martial, suffer death, or such other punishment as by a courtmartial shall be inflicted.

their garrisons.

ART. 22. If any commander of any garrison, fortress Posts forcibly or post, shall be compelled by the officers or soldiers surrendered by 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.

tainers subject to

ART. 23. All sutlers and retainers to a camp, and all Sutlers and repersons whatsoever serving with the armies of the orders. United States, in the field, though no enlisted soldier, are to be subject to orders, according to the rules and discipline of war.

mer commis

ART. 24. Officers having brevets, or commissions of Brevets and for. a prior date to those of the regiment in which they now sions-when to serve, may take place in courts-martial and on detach- take effect. ments, 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.

guards or in

officer shall com

ART. 25. If upon marches, guards, or in quarters, Troops joining different corps shall happen to join or do duty together, on marches, the eldest officer by commission there, on duty, or in quarters-eldest quarters, shall command the whole, and give out orders and the whole for what is needful to the service; regard being always des for what is had to the several ranks of those corps, and the posts eve they usually occupy.

and give out or

needful to the

ing or encamped

officer without

ART. 26. And in like manner also, if any regiments. Troops marchtroops, or detachments of horse or foot, shall happen to together-eidest march with, or be encamped or quartered with any bo- respect to corps dies or detachments of other troops in the service of the shall command United States, the eldest officer, without respect to corps, shall take upon him the command of the whole, and give the necesary orders to the service.

the whole.

General courtsmartial not to

consist of less

than thirteen

SECTION XIV.*

ART. 1. A general court-martial in the United States shall not consist of less than thirteen commissioned officommissioned of cers, and the president of such court-martial shall not be the commander-in-chief or commandant of the garrison where the offender shall be tried, nor be under the degree of a field officer.

ficers.

Members to take

to the composi

ART. 2. The members both of general and regimental rank according courts-martial shall, when belonging to different corps, tion of the court. take the same rank which they hold in the army; but when courts-martial shall 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.

Judge advocate

secute in the

name of the

ART. 3. The judge advocate general, or some person general to pro- deputed by him, shall prosecute in the name of the United States of America; and in trials of offenders by general courts-martial, administer to each member the following oaths:

United States.

[blocks in formation]

"You shall well and truly try and determine, according to 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 custom of war in the like cases. And you do further swear, that you will not divulge the sentence of the court, until it shall be 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:

"You A. B. do swear, that you will not, upon any ac

*This section, and such articles as relate to the holding of courtsmartial and confirmation of sentences, were repealed and supplied by resolutions of the 31st of May, 1786-See chap. 8.

count, at any time whatsoever, disclose or discover the vote or opinion of any particular member of the courtmartial, 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 Behaviour of behave with calmness and decency; and in the giving of members, and their votes, are to begin with the youngest in com

mission.

mode of voting.

examined on

ART. 5. All persons who give evidence before a ge- Witnesses to be neral court martial, are to be examined upon oath; and oath-two-thirds no sentence of death shall be given against any offender of the members by any general court-martial, unless two-thirds of the sentence of officers present shall concur therein.

necessary to a

death.

evidence, pun

ART. 6. All persons called to give evidence, in any witnesses recause, before a court-martial, who shall refuse to give fusing to give evidence, shall be punished for such refusal, at the dis- ishable. cretion 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 hearing, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help you God.”

Oath of witnesses

trial of-hours of

ART. 7. No field-officer shall be tried by any person Field officersunder the degree of a captain; nor shall any proceedings proceeding. or trials be 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.

eneral courts martial.

tween individuals of different

ART. 8. No sentence of a general court-martial shall Sentences of gebe put 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 directions be signified thereupon *. ART. 9. For the more equitable decision of disputes Disputes be which may arise between officers and soldiers belonging to different corps, it is hereby directed, that the courts- corps. 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 regi- Regimental ment may, 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 exRepealed and supplied by resolution of 14th April, 1777-See chap. 3, art. 3.

courts martialpowers.

Regimen al

ecuted 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 ART. 11. No regimental court-martial shall consist courts-martial. 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.

Garrison or de tachment courtsmartial.

Dismissal of commissioned officers.

Conduct in pre

martial, &c.

ART. 12. Every officer commanding in any of the forts, barracks, or elsewhere, where the' under corps 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 dismissed from the service, excepting by an order from the Congress, or by the sentence of a general court martial; but non-commissioned 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.

ART. 14. No person whatever shall use menacing sence of courts words, signs, or gestures, in the presence of a courtmartial 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 courtmartial.

Offenders to be arrested and confined,

Limitation of ar

ment.

ART. 15. To the end that offenders may be brought to justice, it is hereby directed, that whenever any of ficer 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 court-martial, or shall be lawfully discharged by a proper authority.

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

Refusal to re

ART. 17. No officer commanding a guard, or provostceive prisoners. martial, shall refuse to receive or keep any prisoner committed to his charge, by any officer belonging to the forces of the United States; which officer shall, at the

« AnteriorContinuar »