  Section 1342. The armies of the United States shall be governed by the following rules and articles. The word officer, as used therein, shall be understood to designate commissioned officers; the word soldier shall be understood to include non-commissioned officers, musicians, artificers, and privates, and other enlisted men, and the convictions mentioned therein shall be understood to be convictions by court-martial. Article 1. Every officer now in the Army of the United States shall, within six months from the passing of this act, and every officer hereafter appointed shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office, subscribe these rules and articles. Art. 2. These rules and articles shall be read to every enlisted man at the time of, or within six days after, his enlistment, and he shall thereupon take an oath or affirmation, in the following form: “I, A B, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will bear Art. 3. Every officer who knowingly enlists or musters into the military service any minor over the age of sixteen years without the written consent of his parents or guardians, or any minor under the age of sixteen years, or any insane or intoxicated persons, or any deserter from the military or naval service of the United States, or any person who has been convicted of any infamous criminal offense, shall, upon conviction, be dismissed from the service, or suffer such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 4. No enlisted man, duly sworn, shall be discharged from the service without a discharge in writing, signed by a field-officer of the regiment to which he belongs, or by the commanding officer, when no field-officer is present; and no discharge shall be given to any enlisted man before his term of service has expired, except by order of the President, the Secretary of War, the commanding officer of a department, or by sentence of a general court-martial. Art. 5. Any officer who knowingly musters as a soldier a person who is not a soldier shall be deemed guilty of knowingly making a false muster, and punished accordingly. Art. 6. Any officer who takes money, or other thing, by way of gratification, on mustering any regiment, troop, battery, or company, or on signing muster-rolls, shall be dismissed from the service, and shall thereby be disabled to hold any office or employment in the service of the United States. Art. 7. Every officer commanding a regiment, an independent troop, battery, or company, or a garrison, shall, in the beginning of every month, transmit through the proper channels, to the Department of War, an exact return of the same, specifying the names of the officers then absent from their posts, with the reasons for and the time of their absence. And any officer who, through neglect or design, omits to send such returns, shall, on conviction thereof, be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 8. Every officer who knowingly makes a false return to the Department of War, or to any of his superior officers, authorized to call for such returns, of the state of the regiment, troop or company, or garrison under his command; or of the arms, ammunition, clothing, or other stores thereunto belonging, shall, on conviction thereof before a court-martial, be cashiered. Art. 9. All public stores taken from the enemy shall be secured for the service of the United States; and for neglect thereof the commanding officer shall be answerable. Art. 10. Every officer commanding a troop, battery, or company, is charged with the arms, accoutrements, ammunition, clothing, or other military stores belonging to his command, and is accountable to his colonel in case of their being lost, spoiled, or damaged otherwise than by unavoidable accident, or on actual service. Art. 11. Every officer commanding a regiment or an independent troop, battery, or company, not in the field, may, when actually quartered with such command, grant furloughs to the enlisted men, in such numbers and for such time as he shall deem consistent with the good of the service. Every officer commanding a regiment, or an independent troop, battery, or company, in the field, may grant furloughs not exceeding thirty days at one time, to five per centum of the enlisted men, for good conduct in the line of duty, but subject to the approval of the commander of the forces of which said enlisted men form a part. Every company officer of a regiment, commanding any troop, battery, or company not in the field, or commanding in any garrison, fort, post, or barrack, may, in the absence of his field-officer, grant furloughs to the enlisted men, for a time not exceeding twenty days in six months, and not to more than two persons to be absent at the same time. Art. 12. At every muster of a regiment, troop, battery, or company, the commanding officer thereof shall give to the mustering officer certificates, signed by himself, stating how long absent officers have been absent and the reasons of their absence. And the commanding officer of every troop, battery, or company shall give like certificates, stating how long absent non-commissioned officers and private soldiers have been absent and the reasons of their absence. Such reasons and time of absence shall be inserted in the muster-rolls opposite the names of the respective absent officers and soldiers; and the certificates, together with the muster-rolls, shall be transmitted by the mustering officer to the Department of War, as speedily as the distance of the place and muster will admit. Art. 13. Every officer who signs a false certificate, relating to the absence or pay of an officer or soldier, shall be dismissed from the service. Art. 14. Any officer who knowingly makes a false muster of man or horse, or who signs, or directs, or allows the signing of any muster-roll, knowing the same to contain a false muster, shall, upon proof thereof by two witnesses, before a court-martial, be dismissed from the service, and shall thereby be disabled to hold any office or employment in the service of the United States. Art. 15. Any officer who, willfully or Art. 16. Any enlisted man who sells, or willfully or through neglect wastes the ammunition delivered out to him, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 17. Any soldier who sells or, through neglect, loses or spoils his horse, arms, clothing, or accoutrements, shall suffer such stoppages, not exceeding one-half of his current pay, as a court-martial may deem sufficient for repairing the loss or damage, and shall be punished by confinement or such other corporal punishment as the court may direct. Art. 18. Any officer commanding in any garrison, fort, or barracks of the United States who, for his private advantage, lays any duty or imposition upon, or is interested in, the sale of any victuals, liquors, or other necessaries of life, brought into such garrison, fort, or barracks, for the use of the soldiers, shall be dismissed from the service. Art. 19. Any officer who uses contemptuous or disrespectful words against the President, the Vice-President, the Congress of the United States, or the chief magistrate or legislature of any of the United States in which he is quartered, shall be dismissed from the service, or otherwise punished as a court-martial may direct. Any soldier who so offends shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 20. Any officer or soldier who behaves himself with disrespect towards his commanding officer shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 21. Any officer or soldier who, on any pretense whatsoever, strikes his superior officer, or draws or lifts up any weapon, or offers any violence against him, being in the execution of his office, or disobeys any lawful command of his superior officer, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 22. Any officer or soldier who begins, excites, causes, or joins in any mutiny or sedition, in any troop, battery, company, party, post, detachment, or guard, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 23. Any officer or soldier who, being present at any mutiny or sedition, does not use his utmost endeavor to suppress the same, or having knowledge of any intended mutiny or sedition, does not, without delay, give information thereof to his commanding officer, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 24. All officers, of what condition soever, have power to part and quell all quarrels, frays, and disorders, whether among persons belonging to his own or to another corps, regiment, troop, battery, or company, and to order officers into arrest, and non-commissioned officers and soldiers into confinement, who take part in the same, until their proper superior officer is acquainted therewith. And whosoever, being so ordered, refuses to obey such officer or non-commissioned officer, or draws a weapon upon him, shall be punished us a court-martial may direct. Art. 25. No officer or soldier shall use any reproachful or provoking speeches or gestures to another. Any officer who so offends shall be put in arrest. Any soldier who so offends shall be confined, and required to ask pardon of the party offended, in the presence of the commanding officer. Art. 26. No officer or soldier shall send a challenge to another officer or soldier to fight a duel, or accept a challenge so sent. Any officer who so offends shall be dismissed from the service. Any soldier who so offends shall suffer such corporal punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 27. Any officer or non-commissioned officer, commanding a guard, who, knowingly and willingly, suffers any person to go forth to fight a duel, shall be punished as a challenger; and all seconds or promoters of duels, and carriers of challenges to fight duels, shall be deemed principals, and punished accordingly. It shall be the duty of any officer commanding an army, regiment, troop, battery, company, post, or detachment, who knows or has reason to believe that a challenge has been given or accepted by any officer or enlisted man under his command, immediately to arrest the offender and bring him to trial. Art. 28. Any officer or soldier who upbraids another officer or soldier for refusing a challenge shall himself be punished as a challenger; and all officers and soldiers are hereby discharged from any disgrace or opinion of disadvantage which might arise from their having refused to accept challenges, as they will only have acted in obedience to the law, and have done their duty as good soldiers, who subject themselves to discipline. Art. 29. Any officer who thinks himself wronged by the commanding officer of his regiment, and, upon due application to such commander, is refused redress, may complain to the general commanding in the State or Territory where such regiment is stationed. The general shall examine into said complaint and take proper measures for redressing the wrong complained of; and he shall, as soon as possible, transmit to the Department of War a true statement of such complaint, with the proceedings had thereon. Art. 30. Any soldier who thinks himself wronged by any officer may complain to the commanding officer of his regiment, who shall summon a regimental court-martial for the doing of justice to the complainant. Either party may appeal from such regimental court-martial to a general court-martial; but if, upon such second hearing, Art. 31. Any officer or soldier who lies out of his quarters, garrison, or camp, without leave from his superior officer, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 32. Any soldier who absents himself from his troop, battery, company, or detachment, without leave from his commanding officer, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 33. Any officer or soldier who fails, except when prevented by sickness or other necessity, to repair, at the fixed time, to the place of parade, exercise, or other rendezvous appointed by his commanding officer, or goes from the same, without leave from his commanding officer, before he is dismissed or relieved, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 34. Any soldier who is found one mile from camp, without leave in writing from his commanding officer, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 35. Any soldier who fails to retire to his quarters or tent at the beating of retreat, shall be punished according to the nature of his offense. Art. 36. No soldier belonging to any regiment, troop, battery, or company shall hire another to do his duty for him, or be excused from duty, except in cases of sickness, disability, or leave of absence. Every such soldier found guilty of hiring his duty, and the person so hired to do another’s duty, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 37. Every non-commissioned officer who connives at such hiring of duty shall be reduced. Every officer who knows and allows such practices shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 38. Any officer who is found drunk on his guard, party, or other duty, shall be dismissed from the service. Any soldier who so offends shall suffer such punishment as a court-martial may direct. No court-martial shall sentence any soldier to be branded, marked, or tattooed. Art. 39. Any sentinel who is found sleeping upon his post, or who leaves it before he is regularly relieved, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 40. Any officer or soldier who quits his guard, platoon, or division, without leave from his superior officer, except in a case of urgent necessity, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 41. Any officer who, by any means whatsoever, occasions false alarms in camp, garrison, or quarters, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 42. Any officer or soldier who misbehaves himself before the enemy, runs away, or shamefully abandons any fort, post, or guard, which he is commanded to defend, or speaks words inducing others to do the like, or casts away his arms or ammunition, or quits his post or colors to plunder or pillage, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 43. If any commander of any garrison, fortress, or post is compelled, by the officers and soldiers under his command, to give up to the enemy or to abandon it, the officers or soldiers so offending shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 44. Any person belonging to the armies of the United States who makes known the watch-word to any person not entitled to receive it, according to the rules and discipline of war, or presumes to give a parole or watch-word different from that which he received, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 45. Whosoever relieves the enemy with money, victuals, or ammunition, or knowingly harbors or protects an enemy, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 46. Whosoever holds correspondence with, or gives intelligence to, the enemy, either directly or indirectly, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 47. Any officer or soldier who, having received pay, or having been duly enlisted in the service of the United States, deserts the same, shall, in time of war, suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct; and in time of peace, any punishment, excepting death, which a court-martial may direct. Art. 48. Every soldier who deserts the service of the United States shall be liable to serve for such period as shall, with the time he may have served previous to his desertion, amount to the full term of his enlistment; and such soldier shall be tried by a court-martial and punished, although the term of his enlistment may have elapsed previous to his being apprehended and tried. Art. 49. Any officer who, having tendered his resignation, quits his post or proper duties, without leave, and with intent to remain permanently absent therefrom, prior to due notice of the acceptance of the same, shall be deemed and punished as a deserter. Art. 50. No non-commissioned officer or soldier shall enlist himself in any other regiment, troop, or company, without a regular discharge from the regiment, troop, or company in which he last served, on a penalty of being reputed a deserter, and suffering accordingly. And in case any officer shall knowingly receive and entertain such non-commissioned officer or soldier, or shall not, after his being discovered to be a deserter, immediately confine him and give notice thereof to the corps in which he last served, Art. 51. Any officer or soldier who advises or persuades any other officer or soldier to desert the service of the United States, shall, in time of war, suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct; and in time of peace, any punishment, excepting death, which a court-martial may direct. Art. 52. It is earnestly recommended to all officers and soldiers diligently to attend divine service. Any officer who behaves indecently or irreverently at any place of divine worship shall be brought before a general court-martial, there to be publicly and severely reprimanded by the president thereof. Any soldier who so offends shall, for his first offense, forfeit one-sixth of a dollar; for each further offense he shall forfeit a like sum, and shall be confined twenty-four hours. The money so forfeited shall be deducted from his next pay, and shall be applied, by the captain or senior officer of his troop, battery, or company, to the use of the sick soldiers of the same. Art. 53. Any officer who uses any profane oath or execration shall, for each offense, forfeit and pay one dollar. Any soldier who so offends shall incur the penalties provided in the preceding article; and all moneys forfeited for such offense shall be applied as therein provided. Art. 54. Every officer commanding in quarters, garrison, or on the march, shall keep good order, and, to the utmost of his power, redress all abuses or disorders which may be committed by any officer or soldier under his command; and if, upon complaint made to him of officers or soldiers beating or otherwise ill-treating any person, disturbing fairs or markets, or committing any kind of riot, to the disquieting of the citizens of the United States, he refuses or omits to see justice done to the offender, and reparation made to the party injured, so far as part of the offender’s pay shall go towards such reparation, he shall be dismissed from the service, or otherwise punished, as a court-martial may direct. Art. 55. All officers and soldiers are to behave themselves orderly in quarters and on the march; and whoever commits any waste or spoil, either in walks or trees, parks, warrens, fish-ponds, houses, gardens, grain-fields, inclosures, or meadows, or maliciously destroys any property whatsoever belonging to inhabitants of the United States (unless by order of a general officer commanding a separate army in the field), shall, besides such penalties as he may be liable to by law, be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 56. Any officer or soldier who does violence to any person bringing provisions or other necessaries to the camp, garrison, or quarters of the forces of the United States in foreign parts, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Art. 57. Whosoever, belonging to the armies of the United States in foreign parts, or at any place within the United States or their Territories during rebellion against the supreme authority of the United States, forces a safeguard, shall suffer death. Art. 58. In time of war, insurrection, or rebellion, larceny, robbery, burglary, arson, mayhem, manslaughter, murder, assault and battery with an intent to kill, wounding, by shooting or stabbing, with an intent to commit murder, rape, or assault and battery with an intent to commit rape, shall be punishable by the sentence of a general court-martial, when committed by persons in the military service of the United States, and the punishment in any such case shall not be less than the punishment provided, for the like offense, by the laws of the State, Territory, or district in which such offense may have been committed. Art. 59. When any officer or soldier is accused of a capital crime, or of any offense against the person or property of any citizen of any of the United States, which is punishable by the laws of the land, the commanding officer, and the officers of the regiment, troop, battery, company, or detachment, to which the person so accused belongs, are required, except in time of war, upon application duly made by or in behalf of the party injured to use their utmost endeavors to deliver him over to the civil magistrate, and to aid the officers of justice in apprehending and securing him, in order to bring him to trial. If upon such application, any officer refuses or willfully neglects, except in time of war, to deliver over such accused person to the civil magistrates, or to aid the officers of justice in apprehending him, he shall be dismissed from the service. Art. 60. Any person in the military service of the United States who makes or causes to be made any claim against the United States, or any officer thereof, knowing such claim to be false or fraudulent; or Who presents or causes to be presented to any person in the civil or military service thereof, for approval or payment, any claim against the United States or any officer thereof, knowing such claim to be false or fraudulent; or Who enters into any agreement or conspiracy to defraud the United States by obtaining, or aiding others to obtain, the allowance or payment of any false or fraudulent claim; or Who, for the purpose of obtaining, or aiding others to obtain, the approval, allowance, or payment of any claim against the United States or against any officer thereof, makes or uses, or procures or advises the making or use of, any writing, or other paper, knowing the same to contain any false or fraudulent statement; or Who, for the purpose of obtaining, or aiding others to obtain, the approval, allowance, or payment of any claim against the United States or any officer thereof, makes, Who, for the purpose of obtaining, or aiding others to obtain, the approval, allowance, or payment of any claim against the United States or any officer thereof, forges or counterfeits, or procures or advises the forging or counterfeiting of, any signature upon any writing or other paper, or uses, or procures or advises the use of, any such signature, knowing the same to be forged or counterfeited; or Who, having charge, possession, custody, or control of any money or other property of the United States, furnished or intended for the military service thereof, knowingly delivers, or causes to be delivered, to any person having authority to receive the same, any amount thereof less than that for which he receives a certificate or receipt; or Who, being authorized to make or deliver any paper certifying the receipt of any property of the United States, furnished or intended for the military service thereof, makes, or delivers to any person, such writing, without having full knowledge of the truth of the statements therein contained, and with intent to defraud the United States; or Who steals, embezzles, knowingly and willfully misappropriates, applies to his own use or benefit, or wrongfully or knowingly sells or disposes of any ordnance, arms, equipments, ammunition, clothing, subsistence stores, money, or other property of the United States, furnished or intended for the military service thereof; or Who knowingly purchases, or receives in pledge for any obligation or indebtedness, from any soldier, officer, or other person who is a part of or employed in said forces or service, any ordnance, arms, equipments, ammunition, clothing, subsistence stores, or other property of the United States, such soldier, officer, or other person not having lawful right to sell or pledge the same, Shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by fine or imprisonment, or by such other punishment as a court-martial may adjudge. And if any person, being guilty of any of the offenses aforesaid, while in the military service of the United States, receives his discharge, or is dismissed from the service, he shall continue to be liable to be arrested and held for trial and sentence by a court-martial, in the same manner and to the same extent as if he had not received such discharge nor been dismissed. Art. 61. Any officer who is convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman shall be dismissed from the service. Art. 62. All crimes not capital, and all disorders and neglects, which officers and soldiers may be guilty of, to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, though not mentioned in the foregoing Articles of War, are to be taken cognizance of by a general, or a regimental, garrison, or field-officers’ court-marshal, Art. 63. All retainers to the camp, and all persons serving with the armies of the United States in the field, though not enlisted soldiers, are to be subject to orders, according to the rules and discipline of war. Art. 64. The officers and soldiers of any troops, whether militia or others, mustered and in pay of the United States, shall, at all times and in all places, be governed by the Articles of War, and shall be subject to be tried by courts-martial. Art. 65. Officers charged with crime shall be arrested and confined in their barracks, quarters, or tents, and deprived of their swords by the commanding officer. And any officer who leaves his confinement before he is set at liberty by his commanding officer shall be dismissed from the service. Art. 66. Soldiers charged with crimes shall be confined until tried by court-martial, or released by proper authority. Art. 67. No provost-marshal, or officer commanding a guard, shall refuse to receive or keep any prisoner committed to his charge by an officer belonging to the forces of the United States; provided the officer committing shall, at the same time, deliver an account in writing, signed by himself, of the crime charged against the prisoner. Art. 68. Every officer to whose charge a prisoner is committed shall, within twenty-four hours after such commitment, or as soon as he is relieved from his guard, report in writing, to the commanding officer, the name of such prisoner, the crime charged against him, and the name of the officer committing him; and if he fails to make such report, he shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 69. Any officer who presumes, without proper authority, to release any prisoner committed to his charge, or suffers any prisoner so committed to escape, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Art. 70. No officer or soldier put in arrest shall be continued in confinement more than eight days, or until such time as a court-martial can be assembled. Art. 71. When an officer is put in arrest for the purpose of trial, except at remote military posts or stations, the officer by whose order he is arrested shall see that a copy of the charges on which he is to be tried is served upon him within eight days after his arrest, and that he is brought to trial within ten days thereafter, unless the necessities of the service prevent such trial; and then he shall be brought to trial within thirty days after the expiration of said ten days. If a copy of the charges be not served, or the arrested officer be not brought to trial, as herein required, the arrest shall Art. 72. Any general officer, commanding the army of the United States, a separate army, or a separate department, shall be competent to appoint a general court-martial, either in time of peace or in time of war. But when any such commander is the accuser or prosecutor of any officer under his command, the court shall be appointed by the President, and its proceedings and sentence shall be sent directly to the Secretary of War, by whom they shall be laid before the President, for his approval or orders in the case. Art. 73. In time of war the commander of a division, or of a separate brigade of troops, shall be competent to appoint a general court-martial. But when such commander is the accuser or prosecutor of any person under his command, the court shall be appointed by the next higher commander. Art. 74. Officers who may appoint a court-martial shall be competent to appoint a judge-advocate for the same. Art. 75. General courts-martial may consist of any number of officers from five to thirteen, inclusive; but they shall not consist of less than thirteen when that number can be convened without manifest injury to the service. Art. 76. When the requisite number of officers to form a general court-martial is not present in any post or detachment, the commanding officer shall, in cases which require the cognizance of such a court, report to the commanding officer of the department, who shall, thereupon, order a court to be assembled at the nearest post or department at which there may be such a requisite number of officers, and shall order the party accused, with necessary witnesses, to be transported to the place where the said court shall be assembled. Art. 77. Officers of the Regular Army shall not be competent to sit on courts-martial to try the officers or soldiers of other forces, except as provided in Article 78. Art. 78. Officers of the Marine Corps, detached for service with the Army by order of the President, may be associated with officers of the Regular Army on courts-martial for the trial of offenders belonging to the Regular Army, or to forces of the Marine Corps so detached; and in such cases the orders of the senior officer of either corps who may be present and duly authorized, shall be obeyed. Art. 79. Officers shall be tried only by general courts-martial; and no officer shall, when it can be avoided, be tried by officers inferior to him in rank. Art. 80. In time of war a field-officer may be detailed in every regiment, to try soldiers thereof for offenses not capital; and no soldier, serving with his regiment, shall be tried by a regimental Art. 81. Every officer commanding a regiment or corps shall, subject to the provisions of article eighty, be competent to appoint, for his own regiment or corps, courts-martial, consisting of three officers, to try offenses not capital. Art. 82. Every officer commanding a garrison, fort, or other place, where the troops consist of different corps, shall, subject to the provisions of article eighty, be competent to appoint, for such garrison or other place, courts-martial, consisting of three officers, to try offenses not capital. Art. 83. Regimental and garrison courts-martial, and field-officers detailed to try offenders, shall not have power to try capital cases or commissioned officers, or to inflict a fine exceeding one month’s pay, or to imprison or put to hard labor any non-commissioned officer or soldier for a longer time than one month. Art. 84. The judge-advocate shall administer to each member of the court, before they proceed upon any trial, the following oath, which shall also be taken by all members of regimental and garrison courts-martial: “You, A B, do swear that you will well and truly try and determine, according to evidence, the matter now before you, between the United States of America and the prisoner to be tried, and that you will duly administer justice, without partiality, favor, or affection, according to the provisions of the rules and articles for the government of the armies of the United States, and if any doubt should arise, not explained by said articles, then according to your conscience, the best of your understanding, and the custom of war in like cases; and you do further swear that you will not divulge the sentence of the court until it shall be published by the proper authorities; neither will you disclose or discover the vote or opinion of any particular member of the court-martial, unless required to give evidence thereof, as a witness, by a court of justice, in a due course of law. So help you God.” Art. 85. When the oath has been administered to the members of a court-martial, the president of the court shall administer to the judge-advocate, or person officiating as such, an oath in the following form: “You, A B, do swear that you will not disclose or discover the vote or opinion of any particular member of the court-martial, unless required to give evidence thereof, as a witness, by a court of justice, in due course of law; nor divulge the sentence of the court to any but the proper authority, until it shall be duly disclosed by the same. So help you God.” Art. 86. A court-martial may punish, at discretion, any person who uses any Art. 87. All members of a court-martial are to behave with decency and calmness. Art. 88. Members of a court-martial may be challenged by a prisoner, but only for cause stated to the court. The court shall determine the relevancy and validity thereof, and shall not receive a challenge to more than one member at a time. Art. 89. When a prisoner, arraigned before a general court-martial, from obstinacy and deliberate design, stands mute, or answers foreign to the purpose, the court may proceed to trial and judgment, as if the prisoner had pleaded not guilty. Art. 90. The judge-advocate, or some person deputed by him, or by the general or officer commanding the army, detachment, or garrison, shall prosecute in the name of the United States, but when the prisoner has made his plea, he shall so far consider himself counsel for the prisoner as to object to any leading question to any of the witnesses, and to any question to the prisoner the answer to which might tend to criminate himself. Art. 91. The depositions of witnesses residing beyond the limits of the State, Territory, or District in which any military court may be ordered to sit, if taken on reasonable notice to the opposite party and duly authenticated, may be read in evidence before such court in cases not capital. Art. 92. All persons who give evidence before a court-martial shall be examined on oath, or affirmation, in the following form: “You swear (or affirm) that 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.” Art. 93. A court-martial shall, for reasonable cause, grant a continuance to either party, for such time, and as often, as may appear to be just: Provided, That if the prisoner be in close confinement, the trial shall not be delayed for a period longer than sixty days. Art. 94. Proceedings of trials shall be carried on only between the hours of eight in the morning and three in the afternoon, excepting in cases which, in the opinion of the officer appointing the court, require immediate example. Art. 95. Members of a court-martial, in giving their votes, shall begin with the youngest in commission. Art. 96. No person shall be sentenced to suffer death, except by the concurrence of two-thirds of the members of a general court-martial, and in the cases herein expressly mentioned. Art. 97. No person in the military service shall, under the sentence of a court-martial, be punished by confinement in a penitentiary, unless the offense of which he may be convicted would, by some statute of the United States, or by some statute of the State, Territory, or District in which such offense may be committed, or by the common law, as the same exists in such State, Territory, or District, subject such convict to such punishment. Art. 98. No person in the military service shall be punished by flogging, or by branding, marking, or tattooing on the body. Art. 99. No officer shall be discharged or dismissed from the service, except by order of the President, or by sentence of a general court-martial; and in time of peace no officer shall be dismissed, except in pursuance of the sentence of a court-martial, or in mitigation thereof. Art. 100. When an officer is dismissed from the service for cowardice or fraud, the sentence shall further direct that the crime, punishment, name, and place of abode of the delinquent shall be published in the newspapers in and about the camp, and in the State from which the offender came, or where he usually resides; and after such publication it shall be scandalous for an officer to associate with him. Art. 101. When a court-martial suspends an officer from command, it may also suspend his pay and emoluments for the same time, according to the nature of his offense. Art. 102. No person shall be tried a second time for the same offense. Art. 103. No person shall be liable to be tried and punished by a general court-martial for any offense which appears to have been committed more than two years before the issuing of the order for such trial, unless, by reason of having absented himself, or of some other manifest impediment, he shall not have been amenable to justice within that period. Art. 104. No sentence of a court-martial shall be carried into execution until the whole proceedings shall have been approved by the officer ordering the court, or by the officer commanding for the time being. Art. 105. No sentence of a court-martial, inflicting the punishment of death, shall be carried into execution until it shall have been confirmed by the President; except in the cases of persons convicted, in time of war, as spies, mutineers, deserters, or murderers, and in the cases of guerilla marauders, convicted, in time of war, of robbery, burglary, arson, rape, assault with intent to commit rape, or of violation of the laws and customs of war; and in such excepted cases the sentence of death may be carried into execution upon confirmation by the commanding general in the field, or the commander of the department, as the case may be. Art. 106. In time of peace no sentence of a court-martial, directing the dismissal of an officer, shall be carried into execution, until it shall have been confirmed by the President. Art. 107. No sentence of a court-martial Art. 108. No sentence of a court-martial, either in time of peace or in time of war, respecting a general officer, shall be carried into execution, until it shall have been confirmed by the President. Art. 109. All sentences of a court-martial may be confirmed and carried into execution by the officer ordering the court, or by the officer commanding for the time being, where confirmation by the President, or by the commanding general in the field, or commander of the department, is not required by these articles. Art. 110. No sentence of a field-officer, detailed to try soldiers of his regiment, shall be carried into execution, until the whole proceedings shall have been approved by the brigade commander, or, in case there be no brigade commander, by the commanding officer of the post. Art. 111. Any officer who has authority to carry into execution the sentence of death, or of dismissal of an officer, may suspend the same until the pleasure of the President shall be known; and, in such case, he shall immediately transmit to the President a copy of the order of suspension, together with a copy of the proceedings of the court. Art. 112. Every officer who is authorized to order a general court-martial shall have power to pardon or mitigate any punishment adjudged by it, except the punishment of death, or of dismissal of an officer. Every officer commanding a regiment or garrison in which a regimental or garrison court-martial may be held, shall have power to pardon or mitigate any punishment which such court may adjudge. Art. 113. Every judge-advocate, or person acting as such, at any general court-martial, shall, with as much expedition as the opportunity of time and distance of place may admit, forward the original proceedings and sentence of such court to the Judge-Advocate General of the Army, in whose office they shall be carefully preserved. Art. 114. Every party tried by a general court-martial shall, upon demand thereof, made by himself, or by any person in his behalf, be entitled to a copy of the proceedings and sentence of such court. Art. 115. A court of inquiry, to examine into the nature of any transaction of, or accusation or imputation against, any officer or soldier, may be ordered by the President or by any commanding officer; but, as courts of inquiry may be perverted to dishonorable purposes, and may be employed, in the hands of weak and envious commandants, as engines for the destruction of military merit, they shall never be ordered by any commanding officer, except upon a demand by the officer or soldier whose conduct is to be inquired of. Art. 116. A court of inquiry shall consist of one or more officers, not exceeding three, and a recorder, to reduce the proceedings and evidence to writing. Art. 117. The recorder of a court of inquiry shall administer to the members the following oath: “You shall well and truly examine and inquire, according to the evidence, into the matter now before you, without partiality, favor, affection, prejudice, or hope of reward. So help you God.” After which the president of the court shall administer to the recorder the following oath: “You, A B, do swear that you will, according to your best abilities, accurately and impartially record the proceedings of the court and the evidence to be given in the case in hearing. So help you God.” Art. 118. A court of inquiry, and the recorder thereof, shall have the same power to summon and examine witnesses as is given to courts-martial and the judge-advocates thereof. Such witnesses shall take the same oath which is taken by witnesses before courts-martials, Art. 119. A court of inquiry shall not give an opinion on the merits of the case inquired of unless specially ordered to do so. Art. 120. The proceedings of a court of inquiry must be authenticated by the signatures of the recorder and the president thereof, and delivered to the commanding officer. Art. 121. The proceedings of a court of inquiry may be admitted as evidence by a court-martial, in cases not capital, nor extending to the dismissal of an officer: Provided, That the circumstances are such that oral testimony cannot be obtained. Art. 122. If, upon marches, guards, or in quarters, different corps of the Army happen to join or do duty together, the officer highest in rank of the line of the Army, Marine Corps, or militia, by commission, there on duty or in quarters, shall command the whole, and give orders for what is needful to the service, unless otherwise specially directed by the President, according to the nature of the case. Art. 123. In all matters relating to the rank, duties, and rights of officers, the same rules and regulations shall apply to officers of the Regular Army and to volunteers commissioned in, or mustered into said service, under the laws of the United States, for a limited period. Art. 124. Officers of the militia of the several States, when called into the service of the United States, shall on all detachments, courts-martial, and other duty wherein they may be employed in conjunction with the regular or volunteer forces of Art. 125. In case of the death of any officer, the major of his regiment, or the officer doing the major’s duty, or the second officer in command at any post or garrison, as the case may be, shall immediately secure all his effects then in camp or quarters, and shall make, and transmit to the office of the Department of War, an inventory thereof. Art. 126. In case of the death of any soldier, the commanding officer of his troop, battery, or company shall immediately secure all his effects then in camp or quarters, and shall, in the presence of two other officers, make an inventory thereof, which he shall transmit to the office of the Department of War. Art. 127. Officers charged with the care of the effects of deceased officers or soldiers shall account for and deliver the same, or the proceeds thereof, to the legal representatives of such deceased officers or soldiers. And no officer so charged shall be permitted to quit the regiment or post until he has deposited in the hands of the commanding officer all the effects of such deceased officers or soldiers not so accounted for and delivered. Art. 128. The foregoing articles shall be read and published, once in every six months, to every garrison, regiment, troop, or company in the service of the United States, and shall be duly observed and obeyed by all officers and soldiers in said service. Sec. 1343. All persons who, in time of war, or of rebellion against the supreme authority of the United States, shall be found lurking or acting as spies, in or about any of the fortifications, posts, quarters, or encampments of any of the armies of the United States, or elsewhere, shall be triable by a general court-martial, or by a military commission, and shall, on conviction thereof, suffer death. Ornamental line |
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