Pages 306-330
|  Pages 357-381
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| Pages 306-330
| Pages 357-381
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| AT A GENERAL ASSEMBLY, | |||
|
Henry Lee, esq. governor. | ||
 CHAP. I. | |||
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| (Passed the 26th of December, 1792.) | |||
| SECT. 1. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That the counties of this Commonwealth shall be divided into nineteen districts, in manner following, to wit: −− The counties of Frederick and Berkely shall compose one district: The counties of Augusta, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Rockbridge, and Bath, shall compose another district: The counties of Hampshire, Hardy, Pendleton, Randolph, Harrison, Monongalia, and Ohio, shall compose another district: The counties of Wythe, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Lee, Russell, Montgomery, Grayson, and Washington, shall compose another district: The counties of Franklin, Bedford, Botetourt, Henry, and Patrick, shall compose another district: The counties of Halifax, Pittsylvania, and Campbell, shall compose another district: The counties of Prince-Edward, Charlotte, Buckingham, Cumberland, and Powhatan, shall compose another district: The counties of Brunswick, Mecklenburg, Lunenburg, and Greensville, shall compose another district: The counties of Dinwiddie, Amelia, Nottoway, and Chesterfield, shall compose another district: The counties of Sussex, Southampton, Surry, | Arrangement of districts for the election of representatives in congress; |
| and Prince-George, shall compose another district: The counties of Norfolk, Princess Anne, Isle of Wight, and Nansemond, shall compose another district: The counties of York, Accomack, Northampton, Elizabeth City, Warwick, Gloucester, and Mathews, shall compose another district: The counties of Henrico, Hanover, New-Kent, Charles City, and James City, shall compose another district: The counties of Albemarle, Amherst, Fluvanna, and Goochland, shall compose another district: The counties of Orange, Spottsylvania, Louisa, and that part of Culpeper established as a county by the name of Madison, shall compose another district: The counties of King & Queen, King William, Essex, Middlesex, and Caroline, shall compose another district: The counties of Loudoun, Fairfax, and Prince William, shall compose another district: The county of Culpeper as now divided, with the counties of Fauquier, and Stafford, shall compose another district: and the counties of Richmond, Westmoreland, King George, Lancaster, and Northumberland, shall compose another district. | |
| SECT. 2. And be it further enacted, That the persons qualified by law to vote for members to the house of delegates in each county and corporation composing a district, shall assemble at their respective county courthouses, on the third Monday in March next, and also on the third Monday in March in every second year thereafter, and then and there vote for some discreet and proper person, being a freeholder and resident within such district, as a member of the house of representatives for the United States. | Qualification of electors; Elections, when & where to be held; |
| SECT. 3. The high sheriff of each county, or in case of his sickness or inability to attend, one of the deputy sheriffs (except in such counties where there shall be no sheriff) shall conduct the said election, at which no determination shall be had by view, but each person qualified to vote, shall fairly and publicly poll, and the name of the voter shall be duly entered under the name of the person voted for, in proper poll books, to be provided by the officer conducting the election, for which purpose he shall appoint so many writers as he shall think fit, who shall respectively take an oath, to be administered by him, or make solemn affirmation, that they will take the poll fairly and impartially. He shall deliver a poll book to each writer, who shall enter in distinct columns under the name of the person voted for, the name of each | By whom; How to be conducted; |
| elector voting for such person. Like proclamation and proceeding shall be had for conducting, continuing, and closing the polling each county of a district, as is prescribed by law in the election of members to the General Assembly: and proclamation shall also be made at the courthouse door, or place of holding such election of the person having the greatest number of votes on the poll on the closing thereof. Each elector shall be entitled to the same privilege from arrests, and be subject to the like penalty and forfeiture for failing to attend and vote at such election, as is prescribed by law, in the case of election of members to the General Assembly. Such failure to attend to be discovered and proceeded on in like manner, and under the same penalties, as is by law provided against such failures in the election of members to the General Assembly. | Privilege of electors; Penalty for not voting; |
| SECT. 4. Immediately after each election in a county, the clerks of the poll having first signed the same, shall deliver the same to the sheriff or other officer who conducted the election, and such sheriff or other officer, together with the respective sheriffs and other officers who conducted the poll of the several counties in the district (but in case of sickness, death or other disability of the officer who shall have conducted the poll, then any other sheriff or officer of the county in which such disability may happen) shall on the eighth day after the election, assemble at the courthouse of the county first named in such district, and then and there compare the polls respectively taken at the elections in their several counties, and having ascertained by faithful addition, and comparison of the numbers on the respective polls, the person having the greatest number of votes upon the whole, giving their own votes in any case of the two foremost on such poll, having an equal number of votes, shall proceed to certify such election, under their hands and seals, in manner and form following, to wit: | Duties of the returning officers. |
| "We, A. B. sheriff of county (or deputy sheriff, as the case may be) C. D. sheriff of county (as the case may be) and so reciting the name of the sheriff or magistrate, and whether principal or deputy of each county in the district, composing one entire district entitled by law to elect a member to the house of representatives of the United States, do hereby certify and make known that at an election held on |
| " at the place of holding elections in our respective counties, pursuant to law, the electors qualified to vote for the member to the house of delegates, caused to be chosen one person, to wit, G. H. to represent the said district as a member of the house of representatives for the Untied States. Given under our hands and seals, this day of one thousand hundred and | |
| Two fair duplicates of such certificate and return shall be made by the said sheriffs and other officers under their hands and seals, in the manner before recited, one of which shall be delivered to the person elected to represent the district, and the other shall be transmitted to the governor and council, within twenty days, under the penalty of three hundred dollars upon each sheriff, or other officer, in case of failure or neglect herein; to be recovered by motion in any court of record, by the auditor of public accounts to the use of the Commonwealth, on ten days previous notice of such motion. | |
| SECT. 5. The said sheriffs and other officers, shall also under like penalty and recovery, deliver to the clerks of their respective counties, within ten days after such return, the original poll books, to be by such clerk entered of record under the like penalty for failure, as for failing to record the poll books taken at the election of members to the General Assembly −− and where a poll shall be taken in any county which shall not become so, until after the election, which shall first be holden in pursuance of this act, the office conducting such election shall deliver the poll books by him kept, to the clerk of his county, as the same now stands, to be by him also recorded under the like penalty. | Poll books to be recorded. |
| SECT. 6. It shall be the duty of the executive to inclose to the Congress of the United States, the certificates and returns of elections aforesaid, transmitted to them from the respective districts without delay. | Certificates of elections to be transmitted to Congress; |
| SECT. 7. Any sheriff or other officer, refusing to take the poll when he shall be required by a candidate or elector; or taking it in any other manner than is herein before prescribed; or making or signing a false certificate or return of election as herein before directed; or making any erasure or alteration in the poll book; or refusing to suffer any candidate or elector at his own expence to take a copy of the poll book, shall forfeit and | Penalty on sheriffs for any neglect of duty; |
| pay six hundred dollars; which penalties may be recovered with costs, in actions of debt, by any person who will sue for the same; one half to his own use, and the other half to the use of the Commonwealth. | |
| SECT. 8. Any candidate or other person in his behalf, who shall directly or indirectly, give or agree to give, any elector or pretended elector, money, meat, drink, or other reward, in order to be elected, or for having been elected, shall forfeit and pay fifteen hundred dollars for each offence; to be recovered with costs, by action of debt, to the use of any person who sill sue for the same. | Penalty for bribing electors; |
| SECT. 9. And be it further enacted, That the sheriffs and other officers, shall receive for their trouble and expence in conducting the said elections, one dollar and sixty-seven cents for the day on which they shall attend to compare the different polls, together with an allowance of ferriages, and four cents a mile for travelling to and from the county, in which they shall meet for that purpose, to be paid in the same manner as the electors, who are to vote for a president of the United States, are paid. | Allowance to the sheriffs for their trouble and expenses; |
| SECT. 10. Until the counties of Madison, Grayson, and Lee shall take effect, elections of representatives for Congress shall be holden at the places appointed by law for holding the first courts in such counties, and shall be conducted by the first magistrate of the said counties, or in case of sickness or other inability, the next in commission who shall attend the election, under the like regulations as elections are held in the other counties within this Commonwealth. | Elections in three new counties, how to be conducted; |
| SECT. 11. Provided, That no person entitled to suffrage in pursuance of this act, shall during the same election, vote more than once for the same candidate, under the penalty of one hundred dollars, to be recovered by action of debt, in any court of record, by any person who will sue for the same. | No elector to vote more than once for the same candidate. |
| SECT. 12. So much of every other act, as prescribes the time of electing representatives to serve in the Congress of the United States, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed. | Repealing clause. |
| This act shall commence and be in force from and after the passage thereof. |
| CHAP. II. | ||
| ||
| (Passed the 3d of December, 1792.) | ||
| SECT. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That the public taxes for the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, shall be as follows, to wit: On lands for every hundred pounds value, agreeably to the equalizing law, five shillings; for every slave above the age of twelve years, (except such as have been or shall be exempted by reason of age or infirmity by the respective county or corporation courts) one shilling and eight pence; for every stud horse and jack ass, the price at which such horse or ass covers a mare the season; for all other horses, mules, mares and colts, four pence each; for every ordinary license, forty shillings; for every billiard table, fifteen pounds; for all lots and houses in towns, sixteen shillings and eight-pence on every hundred pounds of the rents thereof, to be ascertained by the rent paid by the tenant, and where such house and lot is in the occupation of the proprietor, the yearly rent or value shall be ascertained by the commissioners of the revenue, or either of them, by a comparison of its valse [value] with other houses or lots actually rented: Provided, that the owner or proprietor of any such house or lot, if he thinks himself aggrieved by such valuation, may appeal to the court by whom the commissioner was appointed whose judgment as to the yearly rent or value shall be final. And the said commissioners, or either of them, to ascertain the rent paid on houses or lots actually leased, may call on the tenant or proprietor to declare upon oath, or solemn affirmation, what is the amount of the rent paid for the same: And every person so called upon and refusing to declare, shall forfeit and pay the sum of three hundred dollars, to be recovered by motion, on ten days previous notice to be made by the commissioners of the revenue, or either of them; for every coach, chariot, or post chaise, six shillings for each wheel; for every other riding carriage with four wheels, four shillings for each wheel; for every other riding carriage with two wheels, two shillings for each wheel: Provided that no tax shall be collected | Taxes on lands and other property; |
| on lands, lots, houses, or other property belonging to this Commonwealth, or to any county, town, college, houses for divine worship, or seminary of learning. | |
| SECT. 2. And be it further enacted, That the following taxes on process shall be paid: On each writ or declaration in ejectment instituting any suit in the district court or subpœna in the high court of chancery, the sum of one dollar; on each appeal to the high court of chancery, two dollars; on each writ of error, supersedeas, and habeas corpus cum causa, or certiorari, issued from the general court, a district court, or high court of chancery, one dollar; on each appeal from any county court, or court of hustings, to a district court, one dollar; the said taxes shall by the respective clerks be taxed in the bill of costs; on each certificate under the seal of any county or corporation court, there shall be paid a tax of one dollar. No writ, subpœna, nor any writ of error, supersedeas, certiorari, or habeas corpus cum causa, shall be issued, or declaration in ejectment filed by any clerk, unless the taxes hereby imposed thereon, be first paid down. In all appeals, no transcript of the record shall be delivered to the appellant by the clerk of the court, or forwarded by him to a superior court before the tax imposed thereon be paid, nor shall any certificate under the seal of any county or corporation court be granted, until the tax thereon shall have been first paid to the clerk keeping such seal. There shall be paid forty-two cents for every transfer of a surveyor's certificate for land, to be collected by the register of the land office before the issuing of the patent; for every attestation, protestation, and all other instruments of publication from a notary public under his seal of office, forty-two cents, to be collected and accounted for by the said notary public, and one dollar for each certificate under the seal of the commonwealth, to be collected by the clerk of the council, before the delivery of such certificate, which last mentioned taxes shall be accounted for and paid in the like manner, and with the like commission for collecting as is directed in the case of other taxes imposed by this act. | On process, appeals, certificates under seals of courts, transfers of surveys, notaries, attestations and certificates under the seal of the commonwealth. |
| This act shall commence and be in force, from and after the passing thereof. |
| CHAP. III. An act for appropriating the public Revenue. (Passed the 26th of December, 1792.) | |
| SECT. 1. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That the arrearages of the revenue taxes, which by an act of the last session of Assembly, intituled, "An act for appropriating the public revenue," were made to constitute the aggregate fund, shall still continue to constitute the said fund, and remain charged with the payment of all debts heretofore charged thereon, and shall further be charged with all warrants to be issued by the auditor of public accounts in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, for interest on any debt due by this Commonwealth, and with all sums of money directed to be paid by the present General Assembly, for which no other provision has been made, and all warrants and other facilities which have been heretofore receivable in discharge of the respective taxes, which constitute the aggregate fund, and all warrants, with the payment of which the aggregate fund is charged by this act, may be paid in discharge of the taxes which constitute the said fund; and the sheriffs or collectors of the revenue taxes which constitute the said fund, shall on payment thereof into the public treasury, have credit for the same accordingly; the monies which may be paid into the treasury, in discharge of the taxes which constitute the said fund, and also the money which may be received on sales of tobacco, paid in discharge of the same, or so much thereof as shall be necessary, shall be paid by the treasurer to the holders of warrants on the said fund at certain periods. And to the end that all holders of such warrants, may receive in proportion to their respective claims, the treasurer shall give in the Virginia Gazette, six weeks previous notice of the time, when payment is to be made, in order that such warrants may be previously registered, and the money belonging to the said fund duly apportioned amongst them. | Aggregate fund; charges thereon. |
| SECT. 2. And be it further enacted, That all taxes and arrearages of taxes, except those constituting the aggregate fund, shall continue as appropriated by the aforesaid act of the last session of Assembly, intituled, "An | Former appropriations continued. |
| act for appropriating the public revenue;" and that all branches of revenue which shall arise to the Commonwealth, between the last day of December, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, and the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, shall be appropriated to the support of civil government, and for the contingent charges thereof; and shall also be charged with the payment of all unsatisfied warrants charged on the said taxes and arrearages of taxes by the aforesaid act of last session of Assembly, of warrants which shall be hereafter issued for expences attending criminal prosecutions; for the state's shares in the Patowmac, James River, and Dismal Swamp canal companies; for the hospital for the reception of persons of unsound mind; to the directors of the public buildings; for erecting public buildings at the federal seat of government on the Patowmac; for the expences attending the arsenal at the Point of Fork; for all pensions allowed by the Commonwealth; and for expences which may accrue, by order of the executive, in defence of the western frontier. And if the funds herein appropriated to the payment of the officers of civil government, and of warrants issued by direction of the executive for the contingent purposes thereof; on account of the state's shares in the Patowmac, James River, and Dismal Swamp canal companies; for the hospital for the reception of persons of unsound mind; for erecting the public buildings at the federal seat of government on Patowmac; for all pensions due by this Commonwealth, and for expences which may accrue, by order of the executive, in defence of the western frontier, should not be productive early enough for those purposes, it shall be lawful for the executive to direct the treasurer to borrow as much money as shall be deficient, out of any other funds, and to replace the same as soon as possible. | Charges on the revenue of 1792. Deficiency in certain funds to be supplied by borrowing from others. |
| SECT. 3. So much of every act of Assembly as comes within the purview of this act, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed. | Repealing clause. |
| SECT. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the treasurer to pay to the agent of Caron de Beaumarchais, on warrant or warrants from the auditor, military, or other certificates of the sinking fund dated prior to the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety, to the amount of the liquidated claim of the said De Beaumarchais, and in like manner to any | Certificates in the sinking fund to be exchanged for others in the hands of certain creditors. |
| other public foreign creditor willing to accept of such payment; and also to exchange certificates of the said fund of a prior date to the said period, for any of the certificates to this Commonwealth, dated subsequent to the first day of January one thousand seven hundred and ninety, and bearing an interest of six per centum. | |
| SECT. 5. This act shall commence in force from and after the passing thereof. | |
| CHAP. IV. An act for regulating the militia of this Commonwealth. (Passed December the 22d, 1792.) | |
| SECT. 1. WHEREAS the Congress of the United States did at their last session pass an act, intituled, "An act more effectually to provide for the national defence, by establishing an uniform militia throughout the United States;" and it is expedient for this legislature to carry the same into effect, so far as it respects this state: | Preamble. |
| SECT. 2. (a) Be it therefore enacted, That the counties of Accomack, Northampton, Princess-Anne, and Norfolk, shall compose one brigade; the counties of Nansemond, Isle of Wight, Southampton, Surry, Sussex, and Prince-George, one brigade; the counties of Elizabeth City, Warwick, York, James City, Charles City, New-Kent, Henrico, and Hanover, one brigade; the counties of Gloucester, Mathews, Middlesex, Essex, King William, King and queen, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland, one brigade: and the said brigades shall compose one division. That the counties of Loudoun and Fairfax shall compose one brigade; the counties of Fauquier, Prince William, Stafford, and King George, one brigade; the counties of Culpeper, Orange, Spotsylvania, and Caroline, one brigade; the counties of Louisa, Goochland, Fluvanna, Albemarle, and Amherst, one brigade: and the said brigades shall compose another division. The counties of Frederick and Berkeley, shall compose one brigade; the counties of Rockingham, Augusta, | Arangement of the militia in brigades and divisons; (a) See also the 16 § of the 1 Chap. of the acts of 93. |
| and Shenandoah, one brigade; the counties of Wythe, Russel, Washington, Lee, Grayson, and Montgomery, one brigade; the counties of Botetourt, Rockbridge, Greenbrier, Bath, and Kanawha, one brigade; the counties of Hampshire, Hardy, Pendleton, Randolph, Harrison, Monongalia, and Ohio, one brigade; and the said brigades shall compose another division. The counties of Henry, Patrick, Franklin, Campbell, and Bedford, shall compose one brigade; the counties of Pittsylvania, Halifax, Charlotte, and Prince Edward, one brigade; the counties of Dinwiddie, Greensville, Brunswick, Lunenburg, and Mecklenburg, one brigade; the counties of Chesterfield, Amelia, Nottoway, Powhatan, Cumberland, and Buckingham, one brigade; and the said brigades shall compose another division. | |
| SECT. 3. And be it further enacted, That the counties of Berkeley, Culpeper, Loudoun, and Frederick, shall compose two regiments, and four battalions each; that the counties of Middlesex and Essex, shall each compose one battalion, which two battalions shall compose one regiment; that the counties of King & Queen and King William, shall each compose one battalion, which two battalions shall compose one regiment; that the counties of Northumberland and Lancaster, shall each compose one battalion, which two battalions shall compose one regiment; that the counties of Richmond and Westmoreland, shall each compose one battalion, which two battalions shall compose one regiment; that the counties of Powhatan and Cumberland, shall each compose one battalion, which two battalions shall compose one regiment; that the counties of Harrison and Randolph, shall each compose one battalion, which two battalions shall compose one regiment; that the counties of Russel and Lee, shall each compose one battalion, which two battalions shall compose one regiment; and the counties of Charles City and new-Kent, shall compose each one battalion, which two battalions shall constitute one regiment; the counties of Elizabeth city and Warwick, one battalion, and the counties of York and James City, one battalion, which two battalions shall compose one regiment; and each of the other counties in this Commonwealth, and also the city of Richmond, and borough of Norfolk, shall compose each one regiment and two battalions. | In regiments and battalions. |
| SECT. 4. And be it further enacted, That the General | Officers, how |
| Assembly shall by joint ballot of both houses, appoint an adjutant-general for the militia of this state, and also a major-general to each division, and a brigadier-general to each brigade; which major-generals and brigadiers shall reside within the limits of their respective commands. Each major-general shall appoint his own aids de camp, and each brigadier-general his own brigade inspector, who shall also reside within the limits of their respective divisions and brigades. | to be appointed. |
| SECT. 5. And be it enacted, That the courts of the several counties and corporations, shall from the field and other officers who at present hold commissions in the militia of the respective counties and corporations, proceed to recommend to the executive, the officers necessary to complete the regiments and battalions and companies, pursuant to this act, by grades and seniority; and the persons so recommended, shall be commissioned by the governor, agreeable to the constitution of this state. | Officers to be recommended by grades. |
| SECT. VI. All persons holding commissions under the late militia laws of this state, and who shall not be recommended by their respective courts, shall be considered as supernumerary officers, and may be recommended by the respective county and corporation courts to supply vacancies hereafter happening in the officers of the militia. | Officers not recommended by the county courts to become supernumeraries. |
| SECT. 7. And whereas it will be productive of considerable advantages to the disciplining the militia, to have frequent meetings of the commissioned officers of the several regiments and battalions: Be it enacted, That the commissioned officers of the several regiments and battalions shall meet twice in every year, for the purpose of being trained and instructed by the brigade inspector. The days and places of meeting to be fixed on by the commanding officer of the brigade to which the regiments and battalions belong. The officers thus assembled, shall each continue two days and no longer, for every time they shall be called out. Every officer failing to attend such meeting on being summoned (not having a reasonable excuse, to be adjudged of by a court-martial) shall forfeit and pay five dollars, to be appropriated as the other fines are by this act directed. | Commissioned officers to meet twice in every year to be trained. |
| SECT. 8. It shall be the duty of the executive to number by ballot the several divisions, brigades and regiments, and cause the same to be registered in the office | Divisions, brigades and regiments to be numbered and |
| of the adjutant-general; and every commission hereafter issued by the executive, shall express the number of the division, brigade or regiment respectively, to which the person to whom the same is directed shall belong. | registered in the adjutant-general's office. |
| SECT. 9. And be it further enacted, That the commanding officers of regiments, battalions, and companies, to be appointed and commissioned by virtue of this act, shall meet at their respective courthouses on some day in the month of March or April next, to be appointed by the commanding officers of regiments, then and there to divide their respective counties into districts for the purpose of forming the regiments, battalions, and companies, by this act established; which districts so laid off shall be designated by certain lines and bounds to be established by them, and recorded by the clerks of the courts-martial respectively, herein-after to be appointed. | Counties to be divided into districts for forming regiments, battalions and companies. |
| SECT. 10. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the commanding officers of each company so inrolled, to proceed forthwith to divide his company into divisions by ballot from one to ten, for the purpose of a regular rotine of duty when called into actual service, and shall return a roster of each division and its number in rotation, within fifteen days, to the commanding officer of his battalion, who shall forthwith transmit the same to the commanding officer of the regiment, who shall order the same to be recorded by the clerk of the court-martial. The same regulations shall be observed by every commanding officer of a company, battalion, and regiment on the subsequent inrollment of any person therein, unless such person shall produce a certificate of his having been before draughted for the above purpose, in which case he shall be inrolled accordingly. | Companies to be divided into divisions. |
| SECT. 11. And be it further enacted, That the members of the council of state; judges of the superior courts; speakers and clerks of both houses of the General Assembly; the clerks of the superior and inferior courts; the attorney-general; the treasurer and his clerks; the auditor of public accounts and his clerks; clerks of the council of state; the register of the land-office and his clerks; all inspectors to tobacco; all professors and tutors and students at the college of William & Mary, and other public seminaries of learning; all ministers of the gospel licensed to preach according to the rules of their sect, who have previously taken before the court of their county an oath of fidelity to the Commonwealth; | Persons exempted from militia duty. |
| keepers of the public, district, and county jails, and of the public hospital; millers; and all quakers and menonists religiously scrupulous of bearing arms, and having a certificate from their respective societies, according to the rules thereof, of their being members of such society, shall be, and they are hereby exempted from the duties required by this act. | |
| SECT. 12. And whereas it will be of great utility and advantage in establishing a well disciplined militia, to annex to each battalion a light company to be formed of young men from eighteen to twenty-five years of age, whose activity and domestic circumstances will admit of a frequency of training, not practicable or convenient for the militia in general, and returning to the main body on their arrival at the latter period, will be constantly giving thereto a military pride and experience, from which the best of consequences will result. | |
| SECT. 13. Be it enacted, That the governor with the advice of council, shall issue commissions for a captain, lieutenant and ensign to each battalion out of the present commissioned officers therein; and the said companies shall be distinguished by the denomination of grenadiers, light-infantry or riflemen, at the discretion of the commanding officer of the battalion. Every person belonging to the said light companies, shall wear while on duty, such caps and uniforms at the executive shall direct, to be purchased by the commanding officer of the battalion, out of the monies arising on delinquents. The captain thereof shall after qualifying as is directed for other officers, proceed to enlist by voluntary enlistments in his company, a sufficient number of young men as before described. And as the men of such light company shall from time to time arrive at the age of twenty-five years, the captain shall make report thereof to the commanding officer of the battalion, who shall order them to be inrolled in the company, whose districts they may respectively live in, and deficiencies shall be supplied by new enlistments, and the said companies shall in all respects be subject to the same regulations and orders as the rest of the militia. | A company of grenadiers, light infantry, or riflemen, to be annexed to each battalion. |
| SECT. 14. And be it further enacted, That the governor with the advice of council, shall and he is hereby empowered to appoint and commission at their own discretion, at least one captain and two lieutenants in each division, who are hereby authorised and empowered to | A company of cavalry and a company of artillery, to be annexed to each division. |
| enlist by voluntary enlistment, and in such proportion to each officer respectively so appointed as the executive shall direct, a company, to be denominated the company of artillery. In like manner commissions shall issue for at least one captain, two lieutenants, and one cornet, who shall also by voluntary enlistments, and in the same proportions to their respective ranks, enlist a company, to be denominated the company of cavalry, Provided, that the number of companies of artillery and of cavalry, shall not exceed one for each brigade. | Proviso. |
| SECT. 15. And be it further enacted, That each and every officer appointed and commissioned by virtue of this act, shall previous to their entering on the execution of their respective offices, take the following oath: −− "I −−− do swear that I will be faithful and true to the Commonwealth of Virginia, of which I profess myself to be a citizen, and that I will faithfully and justly execute the office of a in the regiment of the militia of Virginia, according to the best of my skill and judgment: So help me God." | Oaths of Officers. |
| SECT. 16. The adjutant-general shall have full power and authority to convene the brigade majors and inspectors, at such time and places as the good of the service may require, and he shall think proper, and generally to establish such rules and regulations for conducting the business of his department, as he may think expedient and necessary. Any brigade major or inspector, failing to attend such meeting, when duly notified thereof, not having a reasonable excuse for such failure, shall forfeit and pay fifty dollars, to be appropriated as the other fines are directed by this act. | Adjutant-general may convene brigade-majors, and inspectors. |
| SECT. 17. There shall be a private muster of each company of grenadiers, light-infantry, riflemen, artillery, and cavalry, once in every two months, except in the months of December, January and February, in every year, and every other company, formed by virtue of this act, once in three months, (except as before is herein excepted) to be appointed by the commanding officer thereof, at or as near as may be to the centre of his company district. There shall be a muster of each battalion in the month of May, in every year, to be appointed by the commanding officers of the regiments to which such battalions respectively belong, at, or as near as may be to | Musters of the companies; Of the battalions. |
| the centre of the battalion, and a muster of each regiment in the month of October in every year, to be appointed by the brigadier general or commanding officer of the brigade, to which such regiment belongs, at, or as near as may be, to the centre of the regimental district; which said company, battalion, and regimental musters shall continue one day each, and no longer. Of the times and places of the said musters the brigadier generals or commanding officers of brigades for the time being, shall cause notice to be given to the commanding officers of regiments; the commanding officers of regiments shall give notice of the regimental and battalion musters to the commanding officers of battalions; the commanding officers of battalions shall give notice of the regimental and battalion musters, to the captains or commanding officers of the companies; and the captains or commanding officers of companies shall give notice of the regimental battalion and private musters, to every person of their respective companies; and to that end the commanding officers of companies shall have power to order so many of their serjeants as they shall think fit to give such notice, which may be done by personal summons by the said commanding officer, or serjeant so ordered, or by either of them leaving notice in writing at the usual place of abode of the person so to be notified. The notice to be given by the commanding officers of brigades, regiments and battalions, shall be in writing delivered in person, or left at the usual place of abode of each person to be notified, either by such commanding officers themselves, or by such officer or officers of their respective commands, as they may think fit to order. The said notices shall be given by the commanding officers of the brigade to the commanding officers of regiments, at least thirty days; by the commanding officers of regiments to the commanding officers of battalions, at least fifteen days; by the commanding officers of battalions to the commanding officers of companies, at least ten days; and by the commanding officers of companies to each person in their companies at least five days before such regimental, battalion, or private musters, (as the case may be) shall be appointed to be had. Any officer ordered as aforesaid to give such notices, and failing therein, shall for every offence forfeit and pay twenty dollars: And every serjeant so failing shall forfeit and pay three dollars for every such failure, to be recovered as other fines | Of the regiments; Notices of them, by whom and how to be given. Penalties on officers, and serjeants failing to give the notices; |
| hereafter to be established. Every officer and soldier shall appear at his respective muster field on the day appointed by eleven o'clock in the forenoon. At every muster, each captain or commanding officer of a company shall call his roll, examine every person belonging thereto, and note down all delinquencies occurring therein, and make return thereof at the next regimental or battalion muster to the commanding officer of his battalion, including those which may occur on that day. And every commanding officer of a battalion, shall at their regimental or battalion musters (as the case may be) in like manner call his roll, examine and note down all delinquencies in his battalion, and make return thereof, together with those reported from commanding officers of companies, to the commanding officer of the regiment to which he belongs, on the day next succeeding such regimental or battalion musters, (as the case may be) who shall lay the whole before the court hereafter appointed to take cognizance of, and determine on them; Provided, that the commanding officer of a battalion shall not be obliged to extend his roll call, or individual examination, beyond the officers, unless he shall observe some apparent necessity therefor; and to each of the said returns shall be annexed the following certificate, to wit: "I do certify that the returns hereunto annexed, contain all the delinquencies which have occurred in my company since my last return, having examined the same as the law directs." And to the battalion returns shall be added, "and that the reports which accompany them, are all which have been made by the commanding officers of battalions." | Rolls to be called, and delinquencies noted. Form of delinquencies. |
| SECT. 18. Every captain or commanding officer of a company, shall within ten days after every regimental and battalion muster, make up and report to the commanding officer of his battalion, a return of his company, in such manner and form as shall be furnished by the proper officer from time to time. It shall be the duty of the commanding officers of battalions to make like returns to the commanding officers of regiments in ten days after such regimental or battalion musters, who shall cause the adjutant of his regiment to make like returns thereof to their respective brigade inspectors within thirty days thereafter. | Returns of companies; Of battalions; Of regiments; |
| SECT. 19. Each captain or commanding officer of a company, shall appoint to his company four serjeants, | Drummer and fifer to be appointed to |
| four corporals, a drummer and fifer, to be approved of by the commanding officer of his battalion, and all vacancies, which may thereafter happen, shall be filled up by appointments in like manner. | each company. |
| SECT. 20. In all cases of death, absence or resignation, of any lieutenant colonel commandant, major, or captain, the next officer in rank in his respective command, shall be considered as the commanding officer during such vacancy, and liable to perform the duties required by this act, and for neglect herein, shall incur the penalties annexed thereto. | The officer next in rank to take command, in the absence of his superior. |
| SECT. 21. It shall be the duty of every commander of a regiment, battalion, or company, at every of their respective musters, to cause the militia to be exercised and trained agreeable to the mode of discipline prescribed by Congress, under pain of being arrested and tried for breach of their duty, and for this purpose the said officers are hereby authorised to order the most expert and fit officer in their respective commands, to perform that duty. | Militia to be exercised. |
| SECT. 22. And to the end that a general knowledge of the rules of discipline established by Congress in their resolution of the twenty-ninth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine, may be diffused, the executive is hereby authorised and required, to procure and have a sufficient number of copies of the said rules printed and bound in boards, to afford to every commissioned officer of the militia, one; and to cause them to be delivered to the commanding officers of brigades, to be by them duly distributed without delay; and upon the death, resignation, or removal of any officer, as aforesaid, the plan delivered him shall revert to the public, and the commanding officer of the battalion in which such vacancy shall occur, shall deliver the same to a new appointed officer, who may not have received one, and for defraying the necessary expense thereof, the executive shall draw on the contingent fund. | Officers to be furnished with printed copies of the rules of discipline. |
| SECT. 23. Any officer who shall be guilty of disobedience, or other misbehaviour when on duty, or shall at any time be guilty of any conduct unbecoming the character of an officer, shall be put under arrest by his commanding officer, and tried as hereafter shall be directed. | Officers may be arrested for misbehaviour. |
| SECT. 24. If any on-commissioned officer, or soldier, shall behave himself disobediently or mutinously, when on duty, or before any court, or board directed by this act to be held, the commanding officer, court, or board, | Non-commissioned officers and soldiers may be confined, or bound |
| may confine him for the day, or cause him to be bound neck and heels for any time not exceeding five minutes. | neck and heels for disobedience or mutiny. |
| SECT. 25. If any bystander shall interrupt, molest, or insult any officer or soldier while on duty at any muster, or shall be guilty of like conduct before any court or board as aforesaid, the commanding officer, or such court or board, may cause him to be confined for the day. | Bystanders may be confined for molesting any officer or soldier on duty. |
| SECT. 26. The commanding officers of regiments shall cause to be purchased, out of the money arising from the fines, a set of colours for his regiment, and also a set of colours for each battalion in his regiment. He shall also procure in like manner, for each company in his regiment, a drum and fife, or bugle-horn, and on the colours and drums shall be marked the number of the regiment and battalion, together with the name of the county to which they belong. | Colours to be procured; Drums and fifes, or bugle horns. |
| SECT. 27. And be it further enacted, That the governor, with the advice of council, be authorised and empowered, on any invasion or insurrection, or probable prospect thereof, to call forth such a number of militia, and from such counties as they may deem proper; and for the accommodation, equipment, and support of the militia, so at any time to be called forth, the governor, with the advice aforesaid, may appoint such quarter-masters, commissaries, and other staff, as to them shall seem proper, and to fix their pay and allowances, and shall also take such measures for procuring, transporting, and issuing all stores which may be necessary, as to them shall seem best. Orders for the militia to be called forth, as aforesaid, shall be sent to the commanding officers of brigades, with a notification of the place or places of rendezvous, who shall immediately take measures for detaching the same, with the necessary number, and ranks of officers by detail and rotation of duty. | Militia to be called forth in case of invasion or insurrection. |
| SECT. 28. The lieutenant colonel commandant, or commanding officers of regiments from which such detachments are drawn, shall cause to be procured by impressment or otherwise, for each company, a waggon, team, and driver, six axes, and six camp-kettles, or pots of convenient size, all which shall be delivered to the commanding officer of the company, who shall be accountable for returning the same when his tour is over, and the articles aforesaid shall be returned to the owners, who shall be allowed for the use of the same, whatever shall be adjudged by the court herein-after appointed for | Each company to be furnished with a waggon, team, &c. by impressment or otherwise. |
| enquiring into delinquencies: And to the end that if any article impressed be lost, the owner may be paid for the same, the lieutenant colonel commandant, or commanding officer, shall cause all property by him impressed by virtue of this act, to be valued by two or more freeholders on oath, before the same shall be sent away; and upon proof being made of any article being lost, the valuation thereof shall be allowed, without any allowance for the use, and the said allowance shall be certified to the auditor of public accounts. The said court shall make enquiry into the cause of such loss, and if it shall appear that the said loss was occasioned by the misconduct or inattention of any officer, the lieutenant colonel commandant, or commanding officer, is hereby authorised and required to prosecute a suit against such officer for the recovery of damages for the use of the Commonwealth. | Articles impressed to be valued, and the owners paid therefor if lost; Officers answerable to the public, if lost through neglect. |
| SECT. 29. If it shall appear to the executive, upon calling forth the militia as aforesaid, that the necessary number and ranks of officers will not attend the detachments for officering them at the places of rendezvous, the governor, with the advice of council, is hereby authorised to appoint such officers as may be necessary from the counties called upon, as they may think proper, to join the detachment so raised. | Executive to appoint officers when necessary. |
| SECT. 30. If a sudden invasion shall be made into any county in this Commonwealth, or in case of an insurrection in any county, the commanding officer in such county is hereby authorised and required, to order out the whole or such part of his militia as he may think necessary, and in such manner as he may think best, for repelling or suppressing such insurrection, and shall call on the commanding officers of regiments in the adjacent counties, for such aid as he may think necessary, who shall forthwith in like manner furnish the same; and for assembling the militia required upon such occasions, or by orders of the executive, the same measures shall be taken to summon them as is directed in the case of musters. | Commanding officer in a county may order out militia in invasions or insurrections. |
| SECT. 31. Whenever any militia shall be called forth into actual service as aforesaid, they shall be governed by the articles of war which govern the troops of the United States. And courts-martial shall be held as are therein directed, to be composed of militia officers only, for the trial of any person in the militia; but tot he cashiering of any officer, or capital punishment of any person, the approbation of the executive shall be necessary; | Militia in service to be governed by the articles of war of the United States. |
| and when any militia shall be in actual service, they shall be allowed the same pay and rations as are allowed by the Congress of the United States to the troops in the service of the United States. | Their pay and rations; |
| SECT. 32. And be it further enacted, That the commanding officer of every battalion of militia, shall from time to time, as he shall deem it necessary, appoint an officer, and so many men of the militia as to him shall seem necessary, not exceeding four, once in every month, or oftener if thereto required by such officer, to patrole and visit all negro quarters and other places suspected of entertaining unlawful assemblies of slaves, servants, or other disorderly persons, as aforesaid, unlawfully assembled, or any others strolling about from one plantation to another, without a pass from his or her master, mistress, or owner, and carry them before the next justice of the peace, who, if he shall see cause, is hereby required to order every such slave, servant, stroller, or other disorderly person as aforesaid, to receive any number of lashes, not exceeding twenty, on his or her bare back; and in case one company of patrollers shall not be sufficient, more companies may in like manner be ordered for the same service. And after every patrole, the officer of every party shall return to the captain of the company to which he belongs, a report in writing upon oath(which oath such captain is hereby empowered to administer) of the names of those of his party who were upon duty, and of the proceedings of such patrole; and such captain shall once in every month deliver such patrole returns to the commanding officer of his battalion, by whom they shall be certified and laid before the next court martial; and if they shall adjudge the patrollers to have performed their duty according to law, the said court shall certify the same to the county court, who are thereupon empowered and required to levy fifty cents for every twelve hours each of them shall so patrole; and every commanding officer failing to appoint patrollers according to the directions of this act, shall forfeit and pay thirty dollars; and every person appointed to patrole, failing to do his duty, shall forfeit and pay three dollars for every such failure; which fines, shall be laid, collected, accounted for, and appropriated as is herein directed for laying, accounting for, and appropriating the several fines and penalties by this act directed. | Patrollers to be appointed; Their duty; Their pay; Penalty for failing to do their duty. |
| SECT. 33. And whereas it is necessary that certain tribunals be instituted for the trial of officers as they are to be viewed in a military light, as well as for enquiring into delinquencies and assessing fines thereon: Be it therefore enacted, That the governor shall have power to arrest the major generals and all other officers for any misconduct whatever, and upon trial and conviction, may censure or cashier them; a lieutenant colonel commandant may arrest any officer under his command, and report him to the governor for trial, or at the option of such lieutenant colonel commandant, a general court-martial, to consist of thirteen officers, may by his order be held within the limits of his regimental district, for trial of such as shall be under the rank of a field officer. The president of the said court shall be a field officer, and six at least of the members shall be captains, and where there is not a sufficient number of officers in any regiment to constitute a court where the arrest is made, the commanding officer of the regiment may call upon the commanding officer of any adjacent regiment, to order as many offices from such regiment as will be sufficient to make a court, and such court may, on conviction, censure or cashier any officer so tried, and their sentence shall be final; saving to such officer an appeal to the executive, if he shall think proper, in which case the commanding officer shall furnish him with a copy of the proceedings of the said court. Any non-commissioned officer, or soldier, offending, shall be tried by a like general court martial, and may, on conviction, be censured or fined at the discretion of the court. For obtaining the necessary evidence for the trials aforesaid, the governor or the commanding officer of the regiment (as the case may be) shall issue his summons, and any person so summoned failing to attend, shall forfeit and pay, upon a summons from the governor, thirty dollars, and upon a summons from the commanding officer of a regiment, fifteen dollars; to be reported by the commanding officer, amongst other delinquencies, to the court aforesaid. | Courts-martial to be held for the trial of officers; Officers, by whom to be arrested. Appeals may be made from the sentence of a court-martial to the executive; Evidence, how to be procured. |
| SECT. 34. And be it further enacted, That the commanding officers of regiments shall, on some day in the months of May and October, not exceeding fifteen, nor less than ten days after their regimental and battalion musters, order the commanding officers of battalions and of companies, to meet at the places where their last battalion musters respectively were held, a majority of | Courts for assessment of fines, when and where to be held; |
| who shall form a court of enquiry and assessment of fines, and it shall be the duty of the lieutenant colonel commandant to preside at such boards, and in case of his absence by sickness or otherwise, the next officer in rank shall preside. The said court shall take the following oath, to be administered by the senior officer present, and afterwards by any other officer of the said board to him, to wit: "I do swear, that I will truly and faithfully enquire into all delinquencies which appear on the returns to be laid before me, and will assess the fines thereon as shall seem just, without favor, partiality, or affection; So help me GOD." The lieutenant colonel commandant shall then lay before the said court all delinquencies, as directed by this act, whereupon they shall proceed to hear and determine on them. | |
| SECT. 35. All fines to be assessed by virtue of this act, shall be collected by the sheriff of the county, upon a list thereof certified by the clerk of the said court, and delivered to the sheriff, on or before the first day of January, in every year, who shall give his receipt therefor, and account for the same to the lieutenant colonel commandant, or his successor, and be allowed the same commissions as for other public monies, on or before the first day of November in the same year; and on failure, the commanding officer, or his successor, shall, on ten days previous notice, obtain judgment for the same in the county or corporation court with costs; and should any person so charged with fines, fail to make payment on or before the first day of May, in any year, the sheriff is hereby authorised to make distress and sale therefor, in the same manner as is directed in the collection of the taxes. | Fines to be collected by the sheriffs, by distress, when necessary; |
| SECT. 36. The commanding officer of every regiment shall on or before the thirty-first day of December, in every year, render to the executive an account upon oath of all monies which have come into his hands by virtue of his office, and of his disbursements; and if there shall remain any money in his hands, the same shall be paid into the treasury in aid of the contingent fund. | Officers to render accounts of fines received. |
| SECT. 37. And for enforcing obedience to this act, Be it enacted, That the following forfeitures and penalties shall be incurred for delinquencies, viz. By a lieutenant-colonel commandant, or commanding officer of a regiment, for failing to take any oath, to summon any court or board, to attend any court or board, to transmit any | Fines to be paid for delinquencies; By a commanding officer of a regiment; |
| recommendation of an officer or officers to the governor, to deliver any commission or commissions, to appoint a regimental or battalion muster, to report delinquencies, to make returns of his regiment as by this act directed, shall for each and every such offence or neglect, forfeit and pay seventy dollars; failing to send into actual service any militia legally called for, or to turn out his militia upon any invasion or insurrection of his county, two hundred dollars. By a major for failing to take any oath, to attend any court or board, to give notice of any regimental or battalion muster, to examine his battalion, to report delinquencies, or to make any return as directed by this act, he shall forfeit and pay for each and every offence or neglect, thirty dollars; failing to call forth from his battalion with due dispatch, any detachment of men and officers, as shall be required from time to time by the commanding officer, or any call from the governor, invasion of or insurrection in his county, or requisition from any neighbouring county, eighty dollars. By a captain for failing to take an oath, to attend any court, to inroll his company, to appoint private musters, to give notice of a regimental or battalion muster, to attend any muster armed, to call his roll, examine his company and report delinquencies, to make any return as directed by this act, he shall forfeit and pay for each and every such offence and neglect, twenty dollars; failing to call forth such officers and men as shall from time to time be legally called from his company, upon any call from the governor, invasion of, or insurrection in the county, or requisition from an adjacent county, or failing on any such occasion to repair to the place of rendezvous, he shall forfeit and pay forty dollars. By a subaltern officer for failing to take any oath, to attend any court, or muster armed as directed, for each and every such offence he shall forfeit and pay ten dollars; failing to repair to the place of rendezvous, armed as required, when ordered upon any call from the governor, invasion of, or insurrection in the county, or requisition from a neighbouring county, he shall forfeit and pay twenty dollars: And moreover the said officers, for any of the said offences, shall be liable to be arrested and tried for the same as military offenders. By a non-commissioned officer or soldier, for failing to attend at any muster, armed and equipped as directed by law, fifty cents; failing to repair to his rendezvous when ordered, upon any call from the governor, invasion of, or | By a major; By a captain; by a subaltern; By a non-commissioned officer or private. |
| insurrection in the county, or requisition from a neighbouring county, he shall forfeit and pay ten dollars. | |
| SECT. 38. All arms, ammunition, and
equipments of the militia, shall be exempted from executions and distresses at all times, and
their persons from arrests in civil cases, while going to, continuing at, or returning from
musters, and while in actual service.
SECT. 39. The commanding officers of regiments shall on the day of his regimental muster first to be held under this act, his muster being over, order the majors and captains of his regiment to assemble at some convenient place, at or near the muster-ground, and then and there appoint by ballot a clerk and provost martial, who shall attend the courts or boards herein before directed to be held; such clerk shall keep a fair record of the proceedings of such courts or boards, as also of the roster returned by the several captains or commanding officers of companies for regular rotine of duty, and all other duties required by this act; and together with the provost martial, receive such allowance, to be paid out of the fines arising from delinquencies, as the court or board shall think reasonable. |
Arms, &c. of militia exempted from executions, distresses, &c. and their persons from arrests, at musters and in service. |
| SECT. 40. The militia of the city of
Williamsburg, city of Richmond, and borough of Norfolk, shall have their officers appointed, and
be under the same rules and regulations as the different counties.
SECT. 41. The commanding officers of regiments are hereby empowered to receive the commission of any officer in his regiment, who may think proper to resign, and shall notify such resignation to the next succeeding court, in order that such vacancy may be supplied. |
Richmond, Williamsburg, and Norfolk militia to be under the like regulations as the militia of the counties. |
| SECT. 42. Any court martial may for good cause shewn, remit any fines imposed by a former court martial, provided that not more than two courts martial shall have intervened between such imposition and application for remissions. | Courts martial my remit fines; |
| SECT. 43. Courts martial may exempt any militia man from duty on account of bodily infirmity, and may again direct such persons to be inrolled when able to do duty. | And exempt persons from militia duty for bodily infirmities. |
| SECT. 44. For the trial and punishment of the adjutant general, major generals, and brigadier generals, Be it enacted, That any major general or brigadier general offending under this act, shall be arrested and tried in the following manner, viz. A major general shall be arrested by the commander in chief of the state upon any | Courts martial for the trial of general officers. |
| misconduct of his own knowledge, or upon complaint lodged in writing by any commissioned officer, who shall thereupon order a general court martial, to consist if convenient of the remaining major generals, the brigadier generals of the division, over which such major general is appointed, or as many of them as can conveniently attend, and as many lieutenant colonel commandants and majors, as shall make up the number of thirteen in the whole, who shall constitute a court martial for the trial of such offenders. Any brigadier general may in like manner be arrested for any offence committed under this act, by the commander in chief of the state, or by the major general of the division to which he belongs, and tried by a court martial, to consist of one major general, and not more than four brigadiers, and as many lieutenant colonel commandants, majors, and captains, as will be sufficient to constitute a court, to consist of thirteen members in the whole, which courts shall proceed to hear and determine all such offences, and give judgment according to the right of the case, to be approved or disapproved by the commanding officer of the state. | By whom they may be arrested. |
| SECT. 45. And be it further enacted, That the adjutant general shall be allowed four hundred dollars per year; and that each brigade inspector shall be allowed one hundred and fifty dollars per year, for the duties herein required of them, to be paid by the treasurer, on warrant from the auditor, who is hereby authorised and required to grant the same quarter yearly, on proper application being made. | Salaries of the adjutant general and brigade inspectors. |
| SECT. 46. This act shall commence and be in force from and after the passing thereof. |
| Pages 306-330
| Pages 357-381
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