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| CHAP. II.
|
| An
| Ordinance for the better government of the forces to be
raised and employed in the service of the colony and dominion of Virginia.
|
|
| BE it ordained, by the representatives of the people in
Convention assembled, and by the authority of the same, That the following rules and
articles be established, that is to say:
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| Article I. That every officer and soldier who shall serve
in the provincial army, either of regulars or minute-men, shall, at the time of accepting his
commission, and enlistment, subscribe the following rules and regulations, and thereafter be
bound by the same; and moreover, every officer and soldier (except quakers, who are to make a
solemn affirmation to the same effect) shall take the following oaths, to be administered by the
committee of safety to the field-officers, by the respective county committees to the officers to
be by
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Articles of war.
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| them nominated, and by a justice of peace to any soldier, not under two days from the
time of his enlistment, or a member of the committee of any county, city, or borough, where he
may be enlisted.
|
| OATH OF A COMMANDER IN CHIEF.
|
| I, A. B. do swear, that I will be faithful and true to the colony
and dominion of Virginia; that I will serve the same to the utmost of my power, in defence of the
just rights of America, against all enemies whatsoever, that I will, from time to time, obey such
orders as I may receive from the general convention, or other authority by them appointed; and
that I will disband all the forces under my command, and lay down my arms when required by the
general convention, or the General Assembly, of Virginia.
So help me God.
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Oath of commander in chief.
|
| OATH OF THE OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS.
|
| I, A. B. do swear, that I will be faithful and true to the colony
and dominion of Virginia; that I will serve the same to the utmost of my power, in defence of the
just rights of America, against all enemies whatsoever, that I will, obey the orders of such
officers who may be set over me, and lay down my arms when required so to do, either by the
general convention, or the General Assembly, of Virginia.
So help me God.
|
Oath of officers and soldiers.
|
| Article II. It is earnestly recommended to all officers
and soldiers diligently to attend divine service; and all officers and soldiers who shall behave
indecently and irreverently at any place of divine worship shall, if commissioned officers, be
brought before a court-martial, there to be publickly and severely reprimanded by the president.
If non-commissioned officers or soldiers, every person so offending shall, for the first offence,
forfeit one day's pay; for the second offence, he shall not only forfeit the like sum, but be
confined for any time not exceeding twenty-four hours; and for every other like offence shall
forfeit and pay in like manner, to the use of the sick soldiers of the regiment to which the
offender belongs.
|
| Article III. Whatsoever commissioned or non-commissioned
officers, or soldiers, shall use any profane oath or execration, shall incur the penalties
expressed in the second article; and if a commissioned officer be
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| thus guilty of profane cursing or swearing, he shall forfeit for each and every such
offence one day's pay. And whatsoever commissioned or non-commissioned officer, or soldier, shall
practise any species of gaming, he shall, on being convicted thereof before a regimental
court-martial, pay such fine, or suffer such punishment as may be inflicted by the said court.
|
| Article IV. Any officer or soldier who shall behave
himself with contempt or disrespect towards the generals, or general or commander in chief of the
provincial forces, or shall speak false words, tending to his or their hurt or dishonour, shall
be punished according to the nature of his offence, by the judgement of a general court-martial.
|
| Article V. Any officer or soldier who shall be begin,
excite, cause, or join, in any mutiny or sedition, in the regiment or company to which he
belongs, or in any other regiment or company of the provincial forces, either by land or sea, in
any party, post, detachment, or guard, on any pretence whatsoever, shall suffer such punishment
as by a general court-martial shall be ordered.
|
| Article VI. Any officer, non-commissioned officer, or
soldier, who, being present at any mutiny or sedition, does not use his utmost endeavours to
suppress the same, or, coming to the knowledge of any mutiny, or intended mutiny, does not,
without delay, give information thereof to the commanding-officer, shall be punished by order of
a general court-martial, according to the nature of his offence.
|
| Article VII. Any officer or soldier who shall strike his
superiour officer, or draw, or offer to draw, or shall lift up any weapon, or offer any violence
against him, being in the execution of his office, on any pretence whatsoever, or shall disobey
any lawful commands of his superiour office, shall suffer such punishment as shall, according to
the nature of his offence, be ordered by the sentence of a general court-martial.
|
| Article VIII. Any non-commissioned officer or soldier who
shall desert, or, without leave from his commanding-officer, absent himself from the company to
which he belongs, or from any detachment of the same, shall, upon being convicted thereof, be
punished according to the nature of his offence, at the discretion of a general court-martial.
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| Article IX. Whatsoever officer or soldier shall be
convicted of having advised or persuaded, any other officer or soldier to desert, shall suffer
such punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a general court-martial.
|
| Article X. All officers, of what condition soever, shall
have power to part and quell all quarrels, frays, and disorders, though the persons concerned
belong to another regiment or company, and either order officers or soldiers to be confined and
imprisoned, till their proper superiour officer shall be acquainted therewith; and whosoever
shall refuse to obey such officer (though of an inferiour rank) or shall draw his sword upon him,
shall be punished at the discretion of a general court-martial.
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| Article XI. No officer or soldier shall use any
reproachful or provoking speeches or gestures to another, nor shall presume to send a challenge
to any person to fight a duel; and whosoever shall knowingly and willing suffer any person
whatsoever to go forth to fight a duel, or shall second, promote, or carry any challenge, shall
be deemed as a principal; and whatsoever officer, or soldier, shall upbraid another for refusing
a challenge, shall also be considered as a challenger; and all such offenders, in any of those or
such like cases, shall be punished at the discretion of a general court-martial.
|
| Article XII. Any officer commanding in quarters, or on a
march, shall keep good order, and to the utmost of his power redress all such abuses or disorders
which may be committed by any officer or soldier under his command. If upon any complaint made to
him of officers or soldiers beating, or otherwise ill treating, any person, or of committing any
kind of riot, to the disquieting of the inhabitants of this colony, he, the said commander, who
shall refuse or omit to see justice done on the offender or offenders, and reparation made to the
party or parties injured, as far as the offender's wages will enable him or them, shall, upon due
proof thereof, be punished as ordered by a general court-martial, in such manner as if he himself
had committed the crimes or disorders complained of.
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| Article XIII. If any officer or soldier should think
himself to be wronged by his colonel, or the commanding-officer of the regiment of the regiment,
and shall, upon due application made to him, be refused to be redressed, he may
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| complain to the general or commander in chief of the provincial regulars, in order to
obtain justice; who is hereby required to examine into the said complaint, and see that justice
be done.
|
| Article XIV. If any officer or soldier shall think himself
wronged by his captain, or other officer commanding the 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 thins 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 a general
court-martial.
|
| Article 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 colony, 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.
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| Article XVI. All non-commissioned officers and soldiers
who shall be found one mile from the camp, without leave in writing from the commanding-officer,
shall suffer such punishment as shall be inflicted on him, or them, by the sentence of a general
court-martial.
|
| Article XVII. No officer or soldier shall be out of his
quarters or camp without leave from the commanding-officer to the regiment, upon penalty of being
punished, according to the nature of his offence, by a regimental court-martial.
|
| Article XVIII. Every non-commissioned officer and soldier
shall repair 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 a regimental
court-martial.
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| Article 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
necessity; or shall go from the said place of rendezvous, or from his guard without leave
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| leave from his commanding-officer, before he shall be regularly dismissed or relieved,
on penalty of being punished, according to the nature of his offence, by the sentence of a
regimental court-martial.
|
| Article XX. Whatsoever commissioned officer shall be found
drunk on his guard, party, or other duty, under arms, shall be cashiered for it. Any
non-commissioned officer, or soldier, so offending, shall suffer such punishment as shall be
ordered by the sentence of a regimental court-martial.
|
| Article 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.
|
| Article XXII. Any person belonging to the provincial 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.
|
| Article XXIII. Any officer or soldier who shall without urgent necessary, [necessity,] or without leave of his superiour officer, quit his platoon
or division, shall be punished according to the nature of his offence, by the sentence of a
regimental court-martial.
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| Article 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 provincial army. Any officer or soldiers, so offending, shall suffer such
punishment as shall be ordered by a regimental court-martial.
|
| Article XXV. Whatsoever officer or soldier shall
shamefully abandon any post any post committed to his charge, or shall induce others so to do, in
the time of an engagement, shall suffer death immediately.
|
| Article XXVI. Any person belonging to the provincial 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.
|
| Article XXVII. Whosoever belonging to the provincial army
shall relieve the enemy with money, victuals,
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| or ammunition, or shall knowingly harbour or protect an enemy, shall suffer such
punishment as shall by a general court-martial be ordered.
|
| Article XXVIII. Whosoever belonging to the provincial army
shall be convicted of holding correspondence with or of giving intelligence to the enemy, either
directly or indirectly, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as by a general
court-martial shall be ordered.
|
| Article XXIX. All publick stores taken in the enemy's camp
or magazine, whether of artillery, ammunition, clothing, or provisions, shall be secured for the
use of the colony of Virginia.
|
| Article XXX. If any officer or soldier shall leave his
post or colours, at the 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.
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| Article 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, or non-commissioned officer or soldier,
who shall be convicted of having so offended, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as may
be inflicted on them by the sentence of a general court-martial.
|
| Article XXXII. All suttlers and retainers to a camp, and
all persons whatsoever serving with the provincial army in the field, though not enlisted as
soldiers, are to be subject to the articles, rules, and regulations, of the provincial army.
|
| Article 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 court-martial,
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 to the court-martial shall administer the oath to the president.
Provided, that when any person is to be tried for his life, under any of the foregoing or
subsequent articles, the commanding-officer shall appoint twenty four members, at least, to be of
the court-martial, two of which shall be field-officers, and ten shall be captains, out of which
the
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| offender may choose fifteen, one of whom shall be a field-officer, and five of them
captains, and sentence of death shall not be pronounced unless twelve of the court-martial concur
in such sentence.
|
| Article XXXIV. The members, both of general and regimental
courts-martial, shall, when belonging to the different corps, take the same rank that they hold
in the army; but, when courts-martial 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.
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| Article XXXV. All the members of a court-martial are to
behave with calmness, decency, moderation, and impartiality; and, in giving their votes, are to
begin with the youngest or lowest in commission.
|
| Article XXXVI. No field-officer shall be tried by any
person under the degree of a captain; nor shall any proceedings or trial 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.
|
| Article XXXVII. The commissioned officers of every
regiment 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 inflicting corporal punishment for small offences, and shall give judgment by the
majority of voices; but no sentence shall be executed till the commanding-officer (not being a
member of the court-martial) shall have confirmed the same.
|
| Article XXXVIII. No regimental court-martial shall consist
of less than five officers, excepting in cases where that number cannot be conveniently
assembled, when three may be sufficient; who are likewise to determine upon the sentence by a
majority of voices, which sentence is to be confirmed by the commanding-officer not being a
member of the court-martial.
|
| Article XXXIX. Every officer commanding in any fort,
castle, or barrack, or elsewhere, where the corps under his command consists of detachments from
different regiments, and any other forces that may compose the corps, 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.
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| Article XL. No person whatsoever shall use menacing words,
signs, or gestures, in the presence of a court-martial, when sitting, or shall cause any disorder
or riot, so as to disturb their proceedings, on the penalty of being punished at the discretion
of the said court-martial.
|
| Article 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 court-martial, or shall be lawfully
discharged by proper authority.
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| Article 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 conveniently assembled.
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| Article XLIII. No officer commanding a guard, or
provost-martial, shall refuse to receive or keep any prisoner committed to his charge by an
officer belonging to the provincial forces; which officer shall, at the same time, deliver an
accusation, signed by himself, of the crime with which the said prisoner is charged.
|
| Article XLIV. No officer commanding a guard, or
provost-martial, 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.
|
| Article XLV. Every officer or provost-martial 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 is confined upon the guard belonging to the said regiment, and that his offence
only relates to neglect of duty, in his own corps, or to the commander in chief, their names,
their crimes, and the name of the officer who committed them, on the penalty of being punished
for his disobedience or neglect at the discretion of a general court-martial.
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| Article XLVI. Whatsoever commissioned officer shall leave
his confinement before he is set at liberty by the officer who confined him, or by a superior
power, shall be cashiered for it.
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| Article 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.
|
| Article XLVIII. All officers, conductors, gunners,
matrosses, drivers, or any other persons whatsoever, receiving pay or hire in the service of the
provincial artillery, shall be governed 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 provincial
forces.
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| Article XLIX. For differences arising among themselves, or
in matters relating solely to their own corps, 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 corps.
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| Article 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 discretion.
|
| Article LI. That no person shall be sentenced by the
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.
|
| Article 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.
|
| Article LIII. All members sitting in courts-martial shall
be sworn by the president of the said court, which president shall himself be sworn by the
officer in the said
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| court next in rank; the oath to be administered previous to their proceeding to the
trial of every 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
provincial army.
|
| So help you God.
|
| Article LIV. All persons called to give evidence in any
case before a court-martial, who shall refuse to give evidence, shall be punished for such
refusal, at the discretion of such court-martial; the oath to be administered in the following
forms, viz:
|
| You shall swear the evidence you shall give, in the case now in
hearing, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
|
| So help you God.
|
| Article LV. Every officer commanding a regiment, or
company, shall, upon notice given to him by the commissary of the musters, or from one of his
deputies, assemble the regiment, or company, under his command, in the next convenient place for
their being mustered.
|
| Article LVI. Every colonel or other field-officer, or
officer commanding any corps to which there is no field officer, and actually residing with it,
may give furloughs to non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, in such numbers, and for so long a
time, as he shall judge to be most consistent with the good of the service; but no
non-commissioned officer or soldier shall, by leave of his captain, or inferior officer
commanding the company (his field officer not being present) be absent above twenty days in six
months; nor shall more than two private men be absent at the same time from their company
excepting some extraordinary occasion shall require it; of which occasion the field officer
present with, and commanding the regiment, or independent corps, is to be judge.
|
| Article LVII. At every muster the commanding officer of
each regiment or company then present shall give to the commissary of musters certificates,
signed by himself, signifying how long such officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers,
who shall not appear at the said muster, have been absent, and the reason of their absence; which
reason, and the time of absence, shall be inserted in the muster rolls, opposite to the
respective
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| names of such absentees, the said certificate, together with the muster roll, be by the
said commissary transmitted to the commanding officer of the provincial forces, and by him to the
committee of safety appointed by this convention, within twenty days, next after such muster
being taken; on failure whereof, the commissary so offending shall be discharged from the
service.
|
| Article LVIII. Every officer who shall be convicted before
a general court-martial of having signed a false certificate, relating to the absence of either
officers or non-commissioned officers, or private soldiers, shall be cashiered.
|
| Article LIX. Every officer who shall knowingly make a
false muster of a man or horse, and every officer or commissary who shall willingly sign, direct
or allow the signing of the muster rolls wherein such false muster is contained, shall, upon
proof made thereof by two witnesses, before a general court-martial, be cashiered, and moreover,
forfeit all such pay as may be due to him at the time of conviction for such offence.
|
| Article LX. Any commissary who shall be convicted of
having taken any gift or gratuity on the mustering any regiment or company, on the signing the
muster rolls, shall be displaced from his office, and forfeit and pay as in the preceeding
article.
|
| Article LXI. Any officer who shall presume to muster any
person as a soldier who is at all times accustomed to wear a livery, or who does not actually do
his duty as a soldier, shall be deemed guilty of having made a false muster and shall suffer
accordingly.
|
| Article LXII. Every officer who shall knowingly make a
false return to the commander in chief of the provincial forces, or to any of his superior
officers authorised to call for such returns of the state of the regiment, company or garrison,
under his command, or to arms, ammunition, clothing, or other stores thereunto belonging, shall
by a court-martial be cashiered.
|
| Article LXIII. The commanding officer of every regiment,
or other corps, or of any garrison in the service aforesaid, shall, in the beginning of every
month, remit to the commander in chief of the said forces an exact return of the state of the
regiment, troops, or other corps, or of any garrison under his command, specifying the names of
the officers not then residing at their posts, and the reason for and time of their absence.
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| Whoever shall be convicted of having, through neglect or
design, ommitted [omitted] the sending such
returns, shall be punished according to the nature of their offence, by the judgment of a
general court-martial.
|
| Article LXIV. No suttler shall be permitted to sell any
kind of liquor or victuals, or to keep their houses or shops open for the entertainment of
soldiers, after nine at night, or before the beating the reveilles, or upon Sundays during divine
service or sermon, on the penalty of being dismissed from all future suttling.
|
| Article LXV. All officers commanding in the camp, or in
any forst, barracks or garrisons, are hereby required to see that the persons permitted to suttle
shall supply the soldiers with good and wholesome provisions at a reasonable price, as they shall
be answerable for their neglect.
|
| Article LXVI. No officer commanding in any camp, garrison,
fort, or barracks, shall either themselves exact exorbitant prices for houses or stalls let out
to suttlers, or shall connive at the like exactions in others, or lay any duty or imposition
upon, or be interested in, the sale of such victuals, liquors, or other necessaries of life,
which are brought into the camp, garrison, fort, or barracks, for the use of the soldiers, on the
penalty of being discharged from the service.
|
| Article LXVII. That the commanders in chief for the time
being shall have full power of pardoning, or mitigating, any of the punishments ordered to be
inflicted for any of the offences mentioned in any of the foregoing articles; and every offender
convicted as aforesaid, by any regimental court-martial, may be pardoned, or have his punishment
mitigated, by the colonel or officer commanding the regiment.
|
| Article LXVIII. When any commissioned officer shall happen
to die or be killed in the service of this colony, the major of the regiment, or the officer dong
the major's duty in his absence, shall immediately secure all his effects or equipage then in
camp or quarters; and shall before the next regimental court-martial, make an inventory thereof,
and forthwith transmit the same to the office of the secretary of the committee of safety, to the
end that his executors may, after the payment of his debts, in quarter and interment, received
the overplus, if any be, to his or their use.
|
| Article LXIX. when any non-commissioned officer or private
soldier shall happen to die or be killed in
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| the service of this colony, the then commanding-officer of the company shall, in the
presence of two other commissioned officers, take an account of whatever effects he dies
possessed of, and transmit the same, as in the case above provided for, in order that the same
may be secured for, and paid to, their respective representatives.
|
| Article LXX. No chaplain who is commissioned to a
regiment, company, or garrison, shall absent himself from the said regiment, company, or
garrison, (excepting in cases of sickness, or leave of absence) upon pain of being brought to a
court-martial, and punished, as their judgment, and the circumstances of the offence, may
require.
|
| Article LXXI. What ever chaplain to a regiment or garrison
shall be guilty of drunkenness, or of other scandalous or vicious behaviour, derogating from the
sacred character with which he is invested, shall, upon due proofs before a court-martial, be
discharged from his office.
|
| Article LXXII. No sentence of a court-martial, whereby the
pains of death are to be inflicted on any offender, shall be carried into execution till the same
hath been approved of by the committee of safety, and such approbation certified to the commander
in chief.
|
| Article LXXIII. The foregoing rules and regulations shall
be publickly read at the head of each regiment, once in three months, by order of the colonel or
commander in chief of such regiment, under the penalty of fifty pounds, to be paid by such
colonel or commander for every neglect.
|
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| CHAP. III.
|
| An
| ordinance appointing a Committee of Safety, for the more
effectual carrying into execution the several rules and regulations established by this
convention for the protection of this colony.
|
|
| WHEREAS in the present time of danger, and the alarming and
distressed situation of the country, it is judged necessary that a committee of safety should be
established, for the better and more effectual carrying into execution the several ordinances and
resolutions of this convention:
|
Preamble.
|
| Be it therefore ordained, by the delegates deputed to represent
the several counties and corporations within this colony in the present general convention, and
it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same, That Edmund Pendleton, George Mason,
John Page, Richard Bland, Thomas Ludwell Lee, Paul Carrington, Dudley Digges, William Cabell,
Carter Braxton, James Mercer, and John Tabb, esquires, be, and they are hereby appointed and
declared a committee of safety throughout this colony for the purposes aforesaid.
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General committee of safety appointed.
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| And the said committee shall, so soon as may be, assemble at such
convenient time and place as may be appointed by the person first named of the said committee,
and being so assembled, and having first taken an oath, to be administered to the member first
named by any two other members, and afterwards by him to the rest of the committee, well and
faithfully to execute the duties of their office, shall proceed to the election of a president,
and vice-president, to act in case of the death or necessary absence of the president, and shall
also appoint a clerk, who for his services shall receive such salary as may be judged reasonable
by the general convention; and the said committee shall have power to adjourn from time to time,
and to such place as they think fit and convenient, and if exigencies should occur that may
render an intermediate meeting of the said committee necessary, the president, or in case of his
absence the vice-president, may convene the
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How organized.
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| said committee, or any six of them, and proceed to do business, as if such meeting was
regularly appointed. Provided, that in case of the death, sickness, or necessary absence, of the
president and vice-president, the said committee may choose other of their member to either
office pro tempore.
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| And the said committee, or a majority of any six or more members
being present, shall have full power and authority to grant commissions under their hands to any
officer or officers, and to appoint any commissioners, paymasters, commissaries, or contractors,
pursuant to the several ordinances and resolutions of this convention, and to issue their
warrants from time to time to the treasurer appointed by this convention, or pursuant to their
ordinance, for the payment of all such sums of money as are or shall be directed to be paid by
this convention to any person whatsoever, or shall be agreed to be paid by the said committee to
any commissioner, paymaster, commissary, or contractor, either for provisions, clothing, tents,
arms or other incidental charges, and for their expenses and trouble in procuring the same; and,
in general, to carry into complete and full execution all and every the ordinances and.
regulations of this convention, according to the true intent and meaning thereof.
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Their powers.
To commission officers.
General powers.
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| And be it farther ordained, That the said committee of
safety, or a majority of them, as aforesaid, shall have full power, from time to time, to
superintend, direct, and appoint stations, marches, and encampments, for the regular forces to be
raised, so that they may be on all emergencies employed for the more effectual assistance and
defence of any part of the country most exposed to danger; and they shall, moreover, have full
power and authority to call forth into actual service any detachments or companies of minute-men,
or any parts of the militia from any district or county within this colony, having regard to the
convenience and vicinity of such district or county to the place of immediate danger, and also to
the internal security of such district or county. And if any companies of minute-en, or militia,
shall be called out pursuant to the power given to the chief commanding-officer, or other
officers, the said committee shall and my judge and determine on the necessity or propriety of
making such draughts, and give such orders as to discharging or
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To direct the movements of this army;
and
call the minute-men and militia into service.
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| continuing them in service, as to the said committee shall seem most expedient and
necessary for the advantage and security of the publick.
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| And be it farther ordained, That in case of any
extraordinary exigency, the said committee shall have power to call in any assistance that may be
necessary, and can be procured, from either of the neighbouring colonies; and, if required by
such colonies as may be exposed to danger, shall likewise have power to send them any assistance
from this country that can be conveniently spared.
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To call for aid from neighbouring colonies, and to sent them
aid.
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| Provided always, That the militia at large of any county
shall not be called into actual service, except in cases of the most urgent and imminent danger,
nor continued, on any pretence whatever, longer on duty than their places can be supplied by
minute-men, to be drawn from the most convenient districts. And all chief and
commanding-officers, as well of the regulars as of the minute-men and militia, shall, and they
are hereby required, to pay strict obedience to such orders as they shall from time to time
receive from the said committee of safety; and if any chief or other commanding-officer shall
refuse or neglect so to do, the said committee shall make a full report of such misconduct to the
next convention.
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Restrictions in calling out the militia.
All
officers to obey the genera committee of safety.
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| And whereas, till the forces are raised and embodied, it may be
necessary to the security of the country that the militia and volunteer companies should be
called into service, Be it farther ordained, That the said committee of safety shall
have full power and authority to call into service, in cases of danger, to be judged of by the
said committee, so many volunteer companies, and such parts of the militia, as they may think
necessary for the defence and security of any part of the county; and shall appoint some fit and
able person, or persons, to command the same, as need may require. And the said volunteers, and
militia, shall be entitled to, and receive, the same allowances as are appointed for the militia
in other cases.
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May call militia and volunteers into service.
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| And in order to obtain the most authentick intelligence in all
matters of importance, and to avoid false alarms, Be it farther ordained, That the
committee of safety shall keep up a correspondence with the committees of the several counties
and corporations, the commanding-officers as well fo the regulars as the minute-men, and shall
have full pwer to appoint a sufficient
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To keep up a general correspondence.
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| number of look-outs and advice-boats at proper stations, and to engage necessary
expresses, in different parts of the country, to be in constant readiness to set out on the
shortest notice; and shall issue their warrants, from time to time, to the treasurer for paying
the same.
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| And the said committee of safety shall cause all their proceedings
and transactions to be fairly entered in a book, or books, to be provided at the publick expense
for that purpose, which shall be laid before the next convention; to whom the said committee
shall be accountable for their conduct touching the premises, in every respect whatever. And each
member of the said committee shall receive for his trouble and expenses in discharging the duties
of his office, and the important trust hereby reposed in him, such reasonable allowance as may be
thought fit by the general convention.
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Their proceedings to be recorded.
Their
compensation.
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| And for the better security of the publick treasury, and publick
records in the different parts of the country, Be it farther ordained, by the authority
aforesaid, That the committee of safety shall, in case of apparent danger, have full power
to cause the said treasury and records to be removed, at the publick expense, to such place or
places of safety as they shall think fit and necessary.
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May cause treasury and public records to be removed.
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| Whereas it is provided, by an
ordinance passed this convention for raising a number of men for the protection of this
colony, that several officers shall be appointed by district by district committees, composed of
deputies from different counties; and whereas, from the usual method of conducting the business
of committees, the chairmen are not allowed to vote on any question, except in cases where the
other members are equally divided in opinion, which in this instance may be attended with
inconvenience: Be it ordained, That in all appointments of officers by a district
committee the chairman of such committee shall have equal right to vote in common with the other
members, though they should not be equally divided; and in case it should happen that the whole
committee, including the chairman, is equally divided, the matter shall be fairly represented by
the district committee to the committee of safety, who shall have full power to determine the
election in favour of such of the candidates as they may think fit, and grant their commission
accordingly.
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Mode of appointing officers by district committees, altered.
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| And be it farther ordained, That the said committee of
safety shall have power, and they are hereby desired, to collect together all the arms lately
taken away from the publick magazine, and all other arms purchased at the publick expense, at
some place most convenient for that purpose, and that they repay the expense incurred by
repairing the same; and also all such ammunition and warlike stores as are now the publick
property in this colony, or may hereafter be purchased on the publick account; and dispose of
such arms, ammunition, and store, as they shall judge most conducive to the safety of this
colony, until the farther order of this or some other convention.
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Power of general committee as to arms, ammunition, &c.
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| And be it farther ordained, That any person who shall
hereafter accept of any office of profit, or pecuniary appointment, under the crown, shall be
disqualified from sitting or voting in the committee of safety; and no member of the committee to
safety shall hold any military office whatever, after the end of the present session of the
convention. And that the said committee of safety shall continue in office, and exercise the
powers hereby given them, until the sitting of the next general convention, or for one year, in
case the convention should not meet within that time.
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Person accepting office or appointment under the crown
disqualified.
How long committee to safety to continue in office.
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Pages 53-74
