Acanzi. In military history, the name of the Turkish light-horse who formed the vanguard of the sultan’s army.
Adoni, or Adonani. A city in Hindostan, formerly strongly fortified; captured by Tippoo Sahib in 1787; sold to England after his death in 1800.
Afabuar (Fr.). Color-bearer of the ancient Icelanders. Every war-vessel had one of these officers aboard, who commanded the soldiers. These officers were selected for this duty for their bravery.
Alains (Fr.). People of ancient Sarmatia; they followed the Huns in their invasions, and penetrated as far as Spain in the 6th century.
Alexandria. A port in Egypt, where, on March 21, 1801, the French army destined by Napoleon Bonaparte to conquer Egypt, and afterwards proceed to India with hostile designs, was routed by the British under Sir Ralph Abercromby. The town capitulated to Hutchinson on September 2, 1801; and surrendered upon a subsequent occasion to Gen. Fraser, on March 20, 1807.
Allezoir. A frame of timber firmly suspended in the air with strong cordage, on which is placed a piece of ordnance with the muzzle downwards. In this situation the bore is rounded and enlarged by means of an instrument which has a very sharp and strong edge made to traverse the bore by force of machinery, or horses, and in a horizontal direction.
Allezures. The metal taken from the cannon by boring.
Ancient. A term formerly used to express the grand ensign or standard of an army.
Anspessade (Fr.). This term was originally used to denote dismounted horsemen, who were obliged to serve temporarily in the infantry, and who broke off the tops of their lances so as to reduce their length to that of the halberds of the sergeants. Also, a non-commissioned officer who acts subordinate to a corporal; a lance-corporal.
Antoninus, Wall of. Was a rampart or defense (the remains of which still exist under the name of Graham’s Dyke), which was erected in Scotland in 139 by the Romans against the incursions of the North Britons.
Aquileia (Istria). Made a Roman colony about 180 B.C., and fortified A.D. 168. Constantine II. was slain in a battle with Constans, fought at Aquileia towards the close of March, 340. Maximus was defeated and slain by Theodosius, near Aquileia, July 28, 388. Theodosius defeated Eugenius and Arbogastes, the Gaul, near Aquileia, and remained sole emperor, September 6, 394. Eugenius was put to death, and Arbogastes died by his own hand, mortified by his overthrow. In 452 Aquileia was almost totally destroyed by Attila the Hun, and near it in 489 Theodoric and the Ostrogoths totally defeated Odoacer, the king of Italy.
Auberoche, Guienne. In Southern France. The Earl of Derby defeated the French, besieging this place, August 19, 1344.
Auray (Northwest France), Here on September 29, 1364, the English under John Chandos defeated the French and captured their leader, Du Guesclin. Charles of Blois, made duke of Brittany by the king of France, was slain, and a peace was made in April, 1365.
Band, Military.[1] Consists of a body of musicians attached to each army regiment or battalion. The law provides for a band at the Military Academy at West Point. And for each artillery, cavalry, and infantry regiment a chief musician, who shall be instructor of music; and for each artillery and infantry regiment two principal musicians; each cavalry regiment to have one chief trumpeter. Musicians for regimental bands are enlisted as soldiers, and formed under the direction of the adjutant, but are not permanently detached from their companies, and are instructed in all the duties of a soldier.
[1] Incorrectly printed in the body of the work.
Bander (Fr.). To unite; to intrigue together for the purpose of insurrection.
Barry. In heraldry, the term applied to a shield which is divided transversely into four, six, or more equal parts, and consisting of two or more tinctures interchangeably disposed. Barry-bendy is where the shield is divided into four, six, or more equal parts, by diagonal lines, the tincture of which it consists being varied interchangeably. Barry-pily is where the shield is divided by diagonal lines, the different colors being interchanged.
Bassinet (Fr.). The pan of a musket.
Bautzen. A town in Saxony, near which desperate battles were fought May 20-22, 1813, between the French, commanded by Napoleon, and the allies under the emperor of Russia and the king of Prussia. The struggle commenced on the 19th, with a contest on the outposts, which cost each army a loss of above 2000 men. On the 20th (at Bautzen), the French were more successful; and on the 21st (at Murschen), the allies were compelled to retire; but Napoleon obtained no permanent advantages from these sanguinary engagements. Duroc was killed at Rachenbach by a cannon-ball on May 22, to the great sorrow of the emperor and the French army.
Beaver, or Bever. That part of a helmet covering the lower part of the face, which shifted on pivots to allow the wearer to drink. The word is derived from the Latin word bevere, to drink.
Bethune. A town of France, in the department Pas-de-Calais; it is strongly fortified, part of the works and the citadel having been constructed by Vauban; taken by the French in 1645; retaken by the allies in 1710, but was restored to France by the treaty of Utrecht, 1714.
Biset (Fr.). Was a member of the national guard who performed his duty in civilian’s dress, before the wearing of uniform on duty was made obligatory.
Blackstock’s Hill. A hill situated in South Carolina, United States, memorable for the victory the Americans gained over the English in 1780.
Blakemere. A village of England, near where a memorable battle was fought between the Scots and the troops of Edward II. of England, in which the latter were defeated.
Blumenau. In Lower Austria; on July 22, 1866, the Austrians in possession of this place were attacked by the Prussians on their march towards Vienna, a severe conflict was interrupted by the news of the armistice agreed to at Nikolsburg; and the same evening Austrians and Prussians bivouacked together.
Brabant. Part of Holland and Belgium, an ancient duchy, part of Charlemagne’s empire, fell to the share of his son Charles. In the 17th century it was held by Holland and Austria, as Dutch Brabrant and the Walloon provinces, and underwent many changes through the wars in Europe. The Austrian division was taken by the French in 1746 and 1794. It was united to the Netherlands in 1814, but South Brabant was given to the kingdom of Belgium, under Leopold, 1830. The heir of the throne of Belgium is styled Duke of Brabant.
Braquemart, or Jacquemart (Fr.). In antiquity, a two-edged broadsword.
Breda. A strongly fortified town of Holland; taken by Prince Maurice of Nassau in 1590; by the Spaniards under Spinola in 1625, and by the Dutch in 1637; taken by the French in 1793. The French garrison was expelled by the burgesses in 1813.
Briche (Fr.). A machine of war formerly used to throw stones.
Broad Arrow. A mark for goods belonging to the royal dock-yards or navy, England; is said to have been ordered to be used in 1698, in consequence of robberies.
Brussels. Once capital of Austrian Brabant, now of Belgium (since 1831), was founded by St. Gery, of Cambray, in the 7th century. It was bombarded and captured by Marshal Villeroi in 1695; taken by the French in 1701 at the beginning of the War of Succession; captured by the Duke of Marlborough in 1706; by the French under Marshal Saxe in 1747, and by Gen. Dumouriez in 1794; the revolution commenced in 1830.
Cabacle (Fr.). Military coat of the modern Grecians.
Cabas (Fr.). A large shield or buckler, which served to protect the archers who attacked in intrenchments.
Cage de la Bascule (Fr.). A space into which one part of a draw-bridge falls, whilst the other rises and conceals the gate.
Calosiers. Soldiers of ancient Egypt, who with the Hermotybes composed the particular guard of the king.
Calotte (Fr.). The back plate of a sword-handle; the cap of a pistol; species of skull-cap worn by French cavalry, sabre-proof, made of iron or dressed leather.
Candjiar, or Canjar. A kind of crooked Turkish sabre.
Carcas (Fr.). The name given to a quiver during the Middle Ages.
Chadd’s Ford. A village in Delaware Co., Pa., on the Brandywine Creek. Near here was fought the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777.
Charlestown. A former city and seaport of Middlesex Co., Mass.; is now a northern suburb of Boston. Was burnt by the British forces under Gen. Gage, June 17, 1775. On Bunker’s Hill a monument is erected commemorating the battle of that name, which was fought June 17, 1775.
Charlestown. A village of Jefferson Co., West Va. In this place John Brown was tried and executed, December, 1859. On October 18, 1863, a Confederate force of 1200 or 1400 men, under Gen. Imboden, surrounded the place at daylight, and attacked the Union troops stationed there. Being surprised, they were panic-stricken, and, flying in confusion, were nearly all captured. The place was recaptured within an hour by a force of U. S. troops under Col. George D. Wells, and the Confederates driven from the town.
Chateau Cambresis. A fortified town of French Flanders, on the Selle, where the French republican army was defeated by the Duke of York in April, 1794.
Cherry Valley. A village of Otsego Co., N. Y. It was the scene of a dreadful massacre by the Tories and Indians in the British service, October 11, 1778. Thirty-two inhabitants, nearly all women and children, were murdered, besides sixteen soldiers of the Continental army. The rest of the citizens were made prisoners and taken away, and all the buildings were burned.
Chickasaw Bluffs, Battle of. Before Vicksburg, Miss. The U. S. forces under Gen. W. T. Sherman assaulted this strongly fortified position, December 29, 1862, but, though the head of the assaulting column reached the works, the severe fire from the rifle-pits and batteries caused them to fall back to the point of starting, leaving many dead, wounded, and prisoners on the field. The Confederate loss was but light.
Clipeadus. So were called, in ancient times, the soldiers who were armed with the Grecian buckler, which was large and round. By clipeadus chlamyde was understood combatants, who, in place of the shield, wound their coats (chlamyde) around their left arms.
Clunaculum. A poniard carried by certain Roman troops in ancient times. It was so called because it was carried on the back of the soldier.
Cnemidas. A kind of leggings, made of bronze, which were worn by Grecian soldiers.
Cnidos (now Crio). A town of Anatolia, in Asia Minor; in its neighborhood a battle was fought between the Lacedæmonian and Persian fleets in 394 B.C.; the latter gained the victory.
Colismarde (Fr.). A long, slender sword.
Colletin (Fr.). So was called, in ancient times, that part of an armor which protected the neck and upper part of the breast.
Custozza. Near Verona, Northern Italy. Here the Italians were defeated by Marshal Radetzky, July 23, 1848; and here they were again defeated, June 24, 1866, after a series of desperate attacks on the Austrian army. The Italians were commanded by their king, Victor Emmanuel, and the Austrians by the Archduke Albrecht.
Davids Island. An island of 100 acres in Long Island Sound, within the township limits of New Rochelle, Westchester Co., N. Y. It was purchased in 1867 by the U. S. government, to be used for military purposes.
Dinkelsbuhl. A town of Bavaria, surrounded with a high wall, flanked with towers and ditches. It suffered much during the Thirty Years’ War.
Dorylæum (Phrygia). Soliman, the Turkish sultan of Iconium, having retired from the defense of Nicæa, his capital, was here defeated with great loss by the Crusaders, July 1, 1097.
Douglas. An ancient noble family of Scotland. The earls of Douglas, the earls of Angus, and the earls of Morton belonged to this family. Sir James Douglas, surnamed “The Good,” was the founder of their fame and grandeur. He commanded the left wing at Bannockburn in 1314, and was killed by the Saracens in Spain about 1330, in a pilgrimage to Palestine. James the second, earl of Douglas, was a famous warrior, and was killed at the battle of Otterburn in 1388. Archibald the Grim, third earl, fought for the French at Poitiers, and died about 1400. He was succeeded by his son Archibald, fourth earl, who displayed great courage at the battle of Shrewsbury (1403), where he fought against Henry IV., and rendered important services to Charles VII. of France, who rewarded him with the duchy of Touraine. He was killed at the battle of Verneuil, in France, in 1424.
Dry Tortugas. A group of ten small, low, barren islands belonging to Monroe Co., Fla. These islands served as a place of imprisonment for persons under sentence by courts-martial during the late civil war. Several criminals concerned in the conspiracy in which President Lincoln was murdered were confined here.
Egard (Fr.). An ancient tribunal of Malta which decided, by commission, suits among the knights.
Eleasa. In Palestine; here Judas Maccabæus was defeated and slain by Bacchides and Alcimus, and the Syrians about 161 B.C.
Entrenchments. The field-works which are hastily thrown up to cover a force in position.
Erivan, Irvin, or Irivan. A fortified town of Russian Armenia, situated on the Zenghi. It was taken by the Turks in 1553 and 1582, but recovered by Abbas the Great, 1604; after being several times captured, it was ceded to Persia, 1769. The Russians blockaded this place during six months in 1808, and were repulsed, with great slaughter, in an attempt to storm it. In 1827, however, it was taken by them.
Ermin. An order of knights instituted in 1450, by Francis I., duke of Bretagne, and which formerly subsisted in France. The collar of this order was of gold, composed of ears of corn in saltire, at the end of which hung the ermine, with the inscription a ma vie. But the order expired when the dukedom of Bretagne was annexed to France.
Erouad, or Erroad. A town of Hindostan, in the province of Coimbetoor. This town was reduced in size during the reign of Tippoo Sahib; and during the invasion of Gen. Meadows the town was destroyed. It was taken by the British in 1790, and retaken by Tippoo; but it came into the final possession of the British, along with the province, in 1799.
Evans Rifle. See Magazine Guns.
Fabian. Delaying; dilatory; avoiding battle, in imitation of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, a Roman general who conducted military operations against Hannibal, by declining to risk a battle in the open field, but harassing the enemy by marches, countermarches, and ambuscades.
Gad. The first-born of Zilpah, Leah’s maid, was the seventh son of Jacob. The tribe of Gad numbered in the wilderness of Sinai more than 40,000 fighting-men. Nomadic by nature, they preferred to remain on the east side of Jordan, and were reluctantly allowed to do so by Joshua, on condition of assisting their countrymen in the conquest and subjugation of Canaan. The men of Gad—if we may judge from the eleven warriors who joined David in his extremity—were a race of stalwart heroes; “men of might, and men of war, fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains.”
Gomer Chamber. Chamber of the 24-pounder Coehorn mortar; it is in the form of a frustum of a cone, superior diameter 3 inches, and inferior, 2 inches.
Gore. In heraldry, a charge consisting of one-third of the shield cut off by two arched lines, one drawn from the dexter or sinister chief, and the other from the bottom of the escutcheon, meeting in the fess point. A gore sinister is enumerated by heralds as one of the abatements or marks of dishonor borne for unknightly conduct. See Gusset.
Guelf, Guelph, or Welf. The name of a noble family in Germany, the founder of which lived in the time of Charlemagne.
Half Merlons. The merlons at the ends of the parapet.
Harrow. In a military sense, means to lay waste; to ravage; to destroy.
Here. Is a word used by soldiers at a regimental roll-call, to intimate their presence.
Magnano. In Northern Italy; here Scherer and a French army were defeated by the Austrians under Kray, April 5, 1799.
Mars. The name of the Roman god of war, was a contraction of Mavors. He was supposed to be a son of Jupiter and Juno, and was identified with the Ares of Greek mythology. According to Ovid he was a son of Juno, but had no father. Homer and other poets relate that Mars fought for the Trojans at the siege of Troy, and was wounded by Diomede. Mars was believed to love war for its own sake, and to delight in carnage. He is usually represented as a grim soldier in full armor,—sometimes as driving furiously in a war-chariot.
Moliones, or Molionidæ. Regarded as the sons of Neptune (Poseidon); according to Homer the Moliones, when yet boys, took part in an expedition of the Epeans against Neleus and the Pylians. When Hercules marched against Augeas, the latter intrusted the conduct of the war to the Moliones; but as Hercules was taken ill, he concluded peace with Augeas, whereupon his army was attacked and defeated by the Molionidæ. In order to take vengeance, he afterwards slew them near Cleonæ, on the frontiers of Argolis. Their sons, Amphimachus and Thalpius, led the Epeans to Troy.
Nugent. The name of a noble family, originally from Normandy, who settled in Ireland in the 12th century. Richard Nugent was created by King James I. earl of Westmeath in 1621. George Thomas John Nugent, born in 1785, became marquis of Westmeath in 1822. Sir George Nugent, grandson of Viscount Clare, born in 1757, served in America and the Netherlands. He was successively appointed governor of Jamaica and commander-in-chief of the army in the West Indies, and in 1846 field-marshal. Died in 1849. His brother, Sir Charles Edmund Nugent, served with distinction under Rodney, and was created admiral of the blue in 1808. In 1833 he received the title of admiral of the fleet. Died in 1844.
Paneas, or Panius (Syria). Here Antiochus the Great defeated Scopas, the Egyptian general, and his Greek allies, 198 B.C.
Percy. The name of an ancient and noble English family, descended from William de Percy, who, in the reign of William the Conqueror, possessed several manors in the counties of Lincoln and York. He was probably a Norman. In the reign of Edward I. a Henry de Percy acquired Alnwick and other estates in Northumberland. Another Henry de Percy, in the reign of Edward III., married Mary Plantagenet, a great-granddaughter of King Henry III., and had two sons, Henry, earl of Northumberland, and Thomas, earl of Worcester. Henry Percy, surnamed Hotspur, a son of Henry last named, rebelled against Henry IV., and was killed at the battle of Shrewsbury (1408). A son of Hotspur was restored to the earldom, fought for the house of Lancaster, and fell at Saint Albans, in 1455, leaving several sons, who were killed in the war of the Roses. In the reign of Elizabeth, a Percy, earl of Northumberland, was executed for rebellion (1572).
Pharaoh. The term applied in the Bible to the kings of Egypt, of which many explanations have been proposed, as pa-ra, “the sun;” pi-ouro, “the king;” per-aa, “the great house,” “court;” pa-ra-anh, or “the living sun.” None of these etymologies are altogether satisfactory, some not being found at an early period. It is still less possible to connect it with the name of any Egyptian monarch, and it must have been a common appellation like khan, cæsar, or czar. Pharaoh is the one under whom the Israelites were in bondage, and who compelled them to build the treasure-cities of Pithom and Rameses of bricks; and it was under him or his successor that Egypt was afflicted with the ten plagues, and that Moses and Aaron led the Israelites out of Egypt, and the Egyptian army in its pursuit of the retreating Israelites was drowned in the sea, although it is doubtful if Pharaoh perished with them. The identical Egyptian monarch who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus has been a subject of dispute, but it is principally confined to the period of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties. The other Pharaohs mentioned in the Bible are the father of Hadad the Edomite, supposed to be a king of the twenty-second dynasty; the father-in-law of Solomon; one of the predecessors of Sheshanka or Shishak; that monarch himself, who overran the Holy Land and pillaged Jerusalem; Tirhakah the Ethiopian, who for a time wrested Egypt from the Assyrians; Nekau or Necho II., who invaded Palestine to reduce it to subjection, then in alliance with the Assyrians, but was finally defeated at Carchemish by Nebuchadnezzar, then at a youthful age, 605 B.C.; and Uah-pa-ra, Hophra or Apries, of the twenty-sixth dynasty, who marched to relieve the siege of Jerusalem, causing the Babylonians to retire for a while, although it was finally taken by Nebuchadnezzar, 588 B.C. It is remarkable that the Ethiopian Kings Zerah and so mentioned in the Bible are not styled Pharaohs, like the Egyptian rulers, as if for some reason they had not the same title or were recognized as lawful rulers of the country.
Phylarque (Fr.). A Grecian cavalry officer who commanded the cavalry of his tribe.
Reichenbach (Prussia). Here was signed a subsidy treaty between Russia, Prussia, and England, whereby the last engaged to provide means for carrying on the war against Napoleon I. on certain conditions, June 14-15, 1813. Austria joined the alliance soon after. Here Duroc was killed during the conflicts between the French and the allies, May 22, 1813.
Shako. A kind of military cap.
Tesseræ Militares. Military watchwords, or countersigns, among the ancient Romans.
Viana. A town of Portugal, in the province of Minho, situated on the Lima, 38 miles north from Oporto. This place surrendered to Admiral Sir Charles Napier in the civil war which deprived Don Miguel of the throne of Portugal.
Section 1342. The armies of the United States shall be governed by the following rules and articles. The word officer, as used therein, shall be understood to designate commissioned officers; the word soldier shall be understood to include non-commissioned officers, musicians, artificers, and privates, and other enlisted men, and the convictions mentioned therein shall be understood to be convictions by court-martial.
Article 1. Every officer now in the Army of the United States shall, within six months from the passing of this act, and every officer hereafter appointed shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office, subscribe these rules and articles.
Art. 2. These rules and articles shall be read to every enlisted man at the time of, or within six days after, his enlistment, and he shall thereupon take an oath or affirmation, in the following form: “I, A B, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the United States of America; that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies whomsoever; and that I will 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 of War.” This oath may be taken before any commissioned officer of the Army.
Art. 3. Every officer who knowingly enlists or musters into the military service any minor over the age of sixteen years without the written consent of his parents or guardians, or any minor under the age of sixteen years, or any insane or intoxicated persons, or any deserter from the military or naval service of the United States, or any person who has been convicted of any infamous criminal offense, shall, upon conviction, be dismissed from the service, or suffer such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 4. No enlisted man, duly sworn, shall be discharged from the service without a discharge in writing, signed by a field-officer of the regiment to which he belongs, or by the commanding officer, when no field-officer is present; and no discharge shall be given to any enlisted man before his term of service has expired, except by order of the President, the Secretary of War, the commanding officer of a department, or by sentence of a general court-martial.
Art. 5. Any officer who knowingly musters as a soldier a person who is not a soldier shall be deemed guilty of knowingly making a false muster, and punished accordingly.
Art. 6. Any officer who takes money, or other thing, by way of gratification, on mustering any regiment, troop, battery, or company, or on signing muster-rolls, shall be dismissed from the service, and shall thereby be disabled to hold any office or employment in the service of the United States.
Art. 7. Every officer commanding a regiment, an independent troop, battery, or company, or a garrison, shall, in the beginning of every month, transmit through the proper channels, to the Department of War, an exact return of the same, specifying the names of the officers then absent from their posts, with the reasons for and the time of their absence. And any officer who, through neglect or design, omits to send such returns, shall, on conviction thereof, be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 8. Every officer who knowingly makes a false return to the Department of War, or to any of his superior officers, authorized 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. 9. All public stores taken from the enemy shall be secured for the service of the United States; and for neglect thereof the commanding officer shall be answerable.
Art. 10. Every officer commanding a troop, battery, or company, is charged with the arms, accoutrements, ammunition, clothing, or other military stores belonging to his command, and is accountable to his colonel in case of their being lost, spoiled, or damaged otherwise than by unavoidable accident, or on actual service.
Art. 11. Every officer commanding a regiment or an independent troop, battery, or company, not in the field, may, when actually quartered with such command, grant furloughs to the enlisted men, in such numbers and for such time as he shall deem consistent with the good of the service. Every officer commanding a regiment, or an independent troop, battery, or company, in the field, may grant furloughs not exceeding thirty days at one time, to five per centum of the enlisted men, for good conduct in the line of duty, but subject to the approval of the commander of the forces of which said enlisted men form a part. Every company officer of a regiment, commanding any troop, battery, or company not in the field, or commanding in any garrison, fort, post, or barrack, may, in the absence of his field-officer, grant furloughs to the enlisted men, for a time not exceeding twenty days in six months, and not to more than two persons to be absent at the same time.
Art. 12. At every muster of a regiment, troop, battery, or company, the commanding officer thereof shall give to the mustering officer certificates, signed by himself, stating how long absent officers have been absent and the reasons of their absence. And the commanding officer of every troop, battery, or company shall give like certificates, stating how long absent non-commissioned officers and private soldiers have been absent and the reasons of their absence. Such reasons and time of absence shall be inserted in the muster-rolls opposite the names of the respective absent officers and soldiers; and the certificates, together with the muster-rolls, shall be transmitted by the mustering officer to the Department of War, as speedily as the distance of the place and muster will admit.
Art. 13. Every officer who signs a false certificate, relating to the absence or pay of an officer or soldier, shall be dismissed from the service.
Art. 14. Any officer who knowingly makes a false muster of man or horse, or who signs, or directs, or allows the signing of any muster-roll, knowing the same to contain a false muster, shall, upon proof thereof by two witnesses, before a court-martial, be dismissed from the service, and shall thereby be disabled to hold any office or employment in the service of the United States.
Art. 15. Any officer who, willfully or through neglect, suffers to be lost, spoiled, or damaged, any military stores belonging to the United States, shall make good the loss or damage, and be dismissed from the service.
Art. 16. Any enlisted man who sells, or willfully or through neglect wastes the ammunition delivered out to him, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 17. Any soldier who sells or, through neglect, loses or spoils his horse, arms, clothing, or accoutrements, shall suffer such stoppages, not exceeding one-half of his current pay, as a court-martial may deem sufficient for repairing the loss or damage, and shall be punished by confinement or such other corporal punishment as the court may direct.
Art. 18. Any officer commanding in any garrison, fort, or barracks of the United States who, for his private advantage, lays any duty or imposition upon, or is interested in, the sale of any victuals, liquors, or other necessaries of life, brought into such garrison, fort, or barracks, for the use of the soldiers, shall be dismissed from the service.
Art. 19. Any officer who uses contemptuous or disrespectful words against the President, the Vice-President, the Congress of the United States, or the chief magistrate or legislature of any of the United States in which he is quartered, shall be dismissed from the service, or otherwise punished as a court-martial may direct. Any soldier who so offends shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 20. Any officer or soldier who behaves himself with disrespect towards his commanding officer shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 21. Any officer or soldier who, on any pretense whatsoever, strikes his superior officer, or draws or lifts up any weapon, or offers any violence against him, being in the execution of his office, or disobeys any lawful command of his superior officer, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 22. Any officer or soldier who begins, excites, causes, or joins in any mutiny or sedition, in any troop, battery, company, party, post, detachment, or guard, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 23. Any officer or soldier who, being present at any mutiny or sedition, does not use his utmost endeavor to suppress the same, or having knowledge of any intended mutiny or sedition, does not, without delay, give information thereof to his commanding officer, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 24. All officers, of what condition soever, have power to part and quell all quarrels, frays, and disorders, whether among persons belonging to his own or to another corps, regiment, troop, battery, or company, and to order officers into arrest, and non-commissioned officers and soldiers into confinement, who take part in the same, until their proper superior officer is acquainted therewith. And whosoever, being so ordered, refuses to obey such officer or non-commissioned officer, or draws a weapon upon him, shall be punished us a court-martial may direct.
Art. 25. No officer or soldier shall use any reproachful or provoking speeches or gestures to another. Any officer who so offends shall be put in arrest. Any soldier who so offends shall be confined, and required to ask pardon of the party offended, in the presence of the commanding officer.
Art. 26. No officer or soldier shall send a challenge to another officer or soldier to fight a duel, or accept a challenge so sent. Any officer who so offends shall be dismissed from the service. Any soldier who so offends shall suffer such corporal punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 27. Any officer or non-commissioned officer, commanding a guard, who, knowingly and willingly, suffers any person to go forth to fight a duel, shall be punished as a challenger; and all seconds or promoters of duels, and carriers of challenges to fight duels, shall be deemed principals, and punished accordingly. It shall be the duty of any officer commanding an army, regiment, troop, battery, company, post, or detachment, who knows or has reason to believe that a challenge has been given or accepted by any officer or enlisted man under his command, immediately to arrest the offender and bring him to trial.
Art. 28. Any officer or soldier who upbraids another officer or soldier 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 challenges, as they will only have acted in obedience to the law, and have done their duty as good soldiers, who subject themselves to discipline.
Art. 29. Any officer who thinks himself wronged by the commanding officer of his regiment, and, upon due application to such commander, is refused redress, may complain to the general commanding in the State or Territory where such regiment is stationed. The general shall examine into said complaint and take proper measures for redressing the wrong complained of; and he shall, as soon as possible, transmit to the Department of War a true statement of such complaint, with the proceedings had thereon.
Art. 30. Any soldier who thinks himself wronged by any officer may complain to the commanding officer of his regiment, who shall summon a regimental court-martial for the doing of justice to the complainant. Either party may appeal from such regimental court-martial to a general court-martial; but if, upon such second hearing, the appeal appears to be groundless and vexatious, the party appealing shall be punished at the discretion of said general court-martial.
Art. 31. Any officer or soldier who lies out of his quarters, garrison, or camp, without leave from his superior officer, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 32. Any soldier who absents himself from his troop, battery, company, or detachment, without leave from his commanding officer, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 33. Any officer or soldier who fails, except when prevented by sickness or other necessity, to repair, at the fixed time, to the place of parade, exercise, or other rendezvous appointed by his commanding officer, or goes from the same, without leave from his commanding officer, before he is dismissed or relieved, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 34. Any soldier who is found one mile from camp, without leave in writing from his commanding officer, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 35. Any soldier who fails to retire to his quarters or tent at the beating of retreat, shall be punished according to the nature of his offense.
Art. 36. No soldier belonging to any regiment, troop, battery, or company shall hire another to do his duty for him, or be excused from duty, except in cases of sickness, disability, or leave of absence. Every such soldier found guilty of hiring his duty, and the person so hired to do another’s duty, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 37. Every non-commissioned officer who connives at such hiring of duty shall be reduced. Every officer who knows and allows such practices shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 38. Any officer who is found drunk on his guard, party, or other duty, shall be dismissed from the service. Any soldier who so offends shall suffer such punishment as a court-martial may direct. No court-martial shall sentence any soldier to be branded, marked, or tattooed.
Art. 39. Any sentinel who is found sleeping upon his post, or who leaves it before he is regularly relieved, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 40. Any officer or soldier who quits his guard, platoon, or division, without leave from his superior officer, except in a case of urgent necessity, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 41. Any officer who, by any means whatsoever, occasions false alarms in camp, garrison, or quarters, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 42. Any officer or soldier who misbehaves himself before the enemy, runs away, or shamefully abandons any fort, post, or guard, which he is commanded to defend, or speaks words inducing others to do the like, or casts away his arms or ammunition, or quits his post or colors to plunder or pillage, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 43. If any commander of any garrison, fortress, or post is compelled, by the officers and soldiers under his command, to give up to the enemy or to abandon it, the officers or soldiers so offending shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 44. Any person belonging to the armies of the United States who makes known the watch-word to any person not entitled to receive it, according to the rules and discipline of war, or presumes to give a parole or watch-word different from that which he received, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 45. Whosoever relieves the enemy with money, victuals, or ammunition, or knowingly harbors or protects an enemy, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 46. Whosoever holds correspondence with, or gives intelligence to, the enemy, either directly or indirectly, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 47. Any officer or soldier who, having received pay, or having been duly enlisted in the service of the United States, deserts the same, shall, in time of war, suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct; and in time of peace, any punishment, excepting death, which a court-martial may direct.
Art. 48. Every soldier who deserts the service of the United States shall be liable to serve for such period as shall, with the time he may have served previous to his desertion, amount to the full term of his enlistment; and such soldier shall be tried by a court-martial and punished, although the term of his enlistment may have elapsed previous to his being apprehended and tried.
Art. 49. Any officer who, having tendered his resignation, quits his post or proper duties, without leave, and with intent to remain permanently absent therefrom, prior to due notice of the acceptance of the same, shall be deemed and punished as a deserter.
Art. 50. No non-commissioned officer or soldier shall enlist himself in any other regiment, troop, or company, without a regular discharge from the regiment, troop, or company in which he last served, on a 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. 51. Any officer or soldier who advises or persuades any other officer or soldier to desert the service of the United States, shall, in time of war, suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct; and in time of peace, any punishment, excepting death, which a court-martial may direct.
Art. 52. It is earnestly recommended to all officers and soldiers diligently to attend divine service. Any officer who behaves indecently or irreverently at any place of divine worship shall be brought before a general court-martial, there to be publicly and severely reprimanded by the president thereof. Any soldier who so offends shall, for his first offense, forfeit one-sixth of a dollar; for each further offense he shall forfeit a like sum, and shall be confined twenty-four hours. The money so forfeited shall be deducted from his next pay, and shall be applied, by the captain or senior officer of his troop, battery, or company, to the use of the sick soldiers of the same.
Art. 53. Any officer who uses any profane oath or execration shall, for each offense, forfeit and pay one dollar. Any soldier who so offends shall incur the penalties provided in the preceding article; and all moneys forfeited for such offense shall be applied as therein provided.
Art. 54. Every officer commanding in quarters, garrison, 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; and if, upon complaint made to him of officers or soldiers beating or otherwise ill-treating any person, disturbing fairs or markets, or committing any kind of riot, to the disquieting of the citizens of the United States, he refuses or omits to see justice done to the offender, and reparation made to the party injured, so far as part of the offender’s pay shall go towards such reparation, he shall be dismissed from the service, or otherwise punished, as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 55. All officers and soldiers are to behave themselves orderly in quarters and on the march; and whoever commits any waste or spoil, either in walks or trees, parks, warrens, fish-ponds, houses, gardens, grain-fields, inclosures, or meadows, or maliciously destroys any property whatsoever belonging to inhabitants of the United States (unless by order of a general officer commanding a separate army in the field), shall, besides such penalties as he may be liable to by law, be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 56. Any officer or soldier who does violence to any person bringing provisions or other necessaries to the camp, garrison, or quarters of the forces of the United States in foreign parts, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Art. 57. Whosoever, belonging to the armies of the United States in foreign parts, or at any place within the United States or their Territories during rebellion against the supreme authority of the United States, forces a safeguard, shall suffer death.
Art. 58. In time of war, insurrection, or rebellion, larceny, robbery, burglary, arson, mayhem, manslaughter, murder, assault and battery with an intent to kill, wounding, by shooting or stabbing, with an intent to commit murder, rape, or assault and battery with an intent to commit rape, shall be punishable by the sentence of a general court-martial, when committed by persons in the military service of the United States, and the punishment in any such case shall not be less than the punishment provided, for the like offense, by the laws of the State, Territory, or district in which such offense may have been committed.
Art. 59. When any officer or soldier is accused of a capital crime, or of any offense against the person or property of any citizen of any of the United States, which is punishable by the laws of the land, the commanding officer, and the officers of the regiment, troop, battery, company, or detachment, to which the person so accused belongs, are required, except in time of war, upon application duly made by or in behalf of the party injured to use their utmost endeavors to deliver him over to the civil magistrate, and to aid the officers of justice in apprehending and securing him, in order to bring him to trial. If upon such application, any officer refuses or willfully neglects, except in time of war, to deliver over such accused person to the civil magistrates, or to aid the officers of justice in apprehending him, he shall be dismissed from the service.
Art. 60. Any person in the military service of the United States who makes or causes to be made any claim against the United States, or any officer thereof, knowing such claim to be false or fraudulent; or
Who presents or causes to be presented to any person in the civil or military service thereof, for approval or payment, any claim against the United States or any officer thereof, knowing such claim to be false or fraudulent; or
Who enters into any agreement or conspiracy to defraud the United States by obtaining, or aiding others to obtain, the allowance or payment of any false or fraudulent claim; or
Who, for the purpose of obtaining, or aiding others to obtain, the approval, allowance, or payment of any claim against the United States or against any officer thereof, makes or uses, or procures or advises the making or use of, any writing, or other paper, knowing the same to contain any false or fraudulent statement; or
Who, for the purpose of obtaining, or aiding others to obtain, the approval, allowance, or payment of any claim against the United States or any officer thereof, makes, or procures or advises the making of, any oath to any fact, or to any writing or other paper, knowing such oath to be false; or
Who, for the purpose of obtaining, or aiding others to obtain, the approval, allowance, or payment of any claim against the United States or any officer thereof, forges or counterfeits, or procures or advises the forging or counterfeiting of, any signature upon any writing or other paper, or uses, or procures or advises the use of, any such signature, knowing the same to be forged or counterfeited; or
Who, having charge, possession, custody, or control of any money or other property of the United States, furnished or intended for the military service thereof, knowingly delivers, or causes to be delivered, to any person having authority to receive the same, any amount thereof less than that for which he receives a certificate or receipt; or
Who, being authorized to make or deliver any paper certifying the receipt of any property of the United States, furnished or intended for the military service thereof, makes, or delivers to any person, such writing, without having full knowledge of the truth of the statements therein contained, and with intent to defraud the United States; or
Who steals, embezzles, knowingly and willfully misappropriates, applies to his own use or benefit, or wrongfully or knowingly sells or disposes of any ordnance, arms, equipments, ammunition, clothing, subsistence stores, money, or other property of the United States, furnished or intended for the military service thereof; or
Who knowingly purchases, or receives in pledge for any obligation or indebtedness, from any soldier, officer, or other person who is a part of or employed in said forces or service, any ordnance, arms, equipments, ammunition, clothing, subsistence stores, or other property of the United States, such soldier, officer, or other person not having lawful right to sell or pledge the same,
Shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by fine or imprisonment, or by such other punishment as a court-martial may adjudge. And if any person, being guilty of any of the offenses aforesaid, while in the military service of the United States, receives his discharge, or is dismissed from the service, he shall continue to be liable to be arrested and held for trial and sentence by a court-martial, in the same manner and to the same extent as if he had not received such discharge nor been dismissed.
Art. 61. Any officer who is convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman shall be dismissed from the service.
Art. 62. 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 foregoing Articles of War, are to be taken cognizance of by a general, or a regimental, garrison, or field-officers’ court-marshal,[2] according to the nature and degree of the offense, and punished at the discretion of said court.