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A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
Journals of the Continental Congress --THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 1780
A petition from a number of the inhabitants of Kentucke was read; on which2
[Note 2: 2 This petition, dated May 15, 1780, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 48, folio 237.]
A motion was made by the delegates of Virginia, that this petition, together with that read yesterday, from a number
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of the inhabitants of the said country, be transmitted to the governor of Virginia; which on the question, passed in the negative.
A letter from the Board of Admiralty was read.1
[Note 1: 1 This letter, dated August 24, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 37, folio 299.]
The Board of War, to whom was referred the memorial of Major Christ: Holmer, delivered in a report; Whereupon,
At a Board of War, Augt. 23d. 1780
Present Mr. Peters Col. Grayson
The board having considered the memorial of Major Christ. Holmer, praying that a sum in specie, or an equivalent in current money may be advanced him on account of the depreciation of his pay; are of opinion that there is nothing singular in the case of Major Holmer to entitle him to the particular attention of Congress, and that a compliance with his request would subject Congress to embarrassing demands from all their Officers,
They therefore beg leave to report,
Resolved, That it is not at this time expedient to comply with the prayer of the memorial.2
[Note 2: 2 This report is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 147, IV, folio 505.]
The Board of War, to whom was referred the letter, of 3, from Baron Steuben, with the plan for conducting the inspector's office, delivered in a report, which was read.
At a Board of War. Augt. 23d. 1780
Present Mr. Peters, Col. Grayson
The Board having considered the letter of the 3d inst. from Baron Steuben together with his proposed plan for the establishment of the department of the Inspectorship, beg leave to recommend the following
In Congress
Establishment of the department of the Inspectorship.
Whereas the institution of this department hath been found productive of great utility to the armies of the United States, and experience
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hath shewn that it may be rendered still more useful by an extension of its powers and objects
Therefore Resolved
That the former establishment by a resolution of the 18 of February 1779 be repealed, and that the department hereafter have the following form, powers and privileges.
There shall be an Inspector General to the armies of the United States with the rank of Major General, who, in all future appointments shall be taken from the line of Major Generals.
There shall be an Assistant Inspector General, who shall be the Adjutant General of the Main Army for the time being.
There shall be an Inspector to each division of the Army, one to the Corps of Cavalry, one to the Corps of Artillery, (one to the independent Corps, Garrisons and to the militia in service with the continental army) to be taken when circumstances will permit, from the line of Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels.
There shall be a Sub Inspector to each Brigade, who when circumstances will permit, shall be a Major in the Brigade, besides which there shall be one to the Cavalry, another to the Artillery, and another to the independant Corps, garrisons and Militia connected with the Main Army--and if thought necessary by the Inspector General, approved by Congress, the Board of War, Commander in Chief or Commander of a separate Army, one of each of these to every separate Army.
It shall be the duty of the Inspector General to frame a System of Regulations for the exercise and discipline of the Troops, in the manual evolutions and maneuvres, for the Service of Guards and detachments, and for all Camp and Garrison duty, and to superintend the execution of these Regulations, throughout the Army, as well in the Corps of Cavalry and Artillery, as in that of Infantry, except that he is not to interfere with the interior arrangement of the Artillery,--in what is peculiar to it as a distinct Corps; but only in those general rules of duty and discipline, an uniformity in which is necessary to be observed throughout the Army.
The Assistant Inspector General shall assist in the general duties of the department, according to the orders he shah receive from the Inspector General, and in his absence shall have the chief direction of the same. He shall nevertheless continue to have the sole Charge of regulating the details of the Army, of collecting and digesting
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the returns, of issuing the general Orders, and shall perform all the other duties incident to his office of Adjutant General, as heretofore.
The Inspectors shall superintend the execution of the regulations established for the Army in their respective divisions, at all times performing the duties of Adjutant General to the same, and when a detachment of more than one division is sent from the Army, the Inspector oldest in office shall act as Adjutant General to the detachment--as shall also be the case in a separate Army. They shall receive their Instructions relative to the department from the Inspector General and Assistant Inspector General.
The Sub Inspectors shall keep rosters of the Battalions of their Brigades, regulate the details, take care of the formation and march of all Guards, detachments &c, receive the general and division orders, communicate them to the Commandants of Brigades and Regiments, and through the Adjutants, &c, all the officers; and in general inspect the police of the Camp, the discipline of the Troops, and the order of the service within the Brigade. They are to receive their orders relative to the department from the Inspector General, Assistant Inspector General and Inspector of the division or detachment to which they belong.
Agreeable to a resolution of Congress of the 12th of January last for annexing the mustering department to that of the Inspectorship, the Inspector General and his Assistants shall review and muster the Troops and Militia in service, at such times and in such manner as shall be hereafter specified, at which reviews he or they shall inspect the number and condition of the men, their discipline and exercise, the state of their Arms, accoutrements and camp Equipages, the rations they have drawn since the last review, rejecting such recruits as are unfit for the service, discharging or transferring to the invalid Corps such as by disabilities contracted in the Service, have become unfit for it, noting all alterations which have happened since the last review or muster, and as far as possible in what manner, reporting them with the deficiencies, neglects and abuses to the Commander in Chief or Commanding Officer of a detachment and to the Board of War.
There shall be a review or muster once every month, and at every muster three rolls shall be made out by the Commanding Officer of each Troop or Company, sworn to and signed by him, in the manner
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hereafter directed, one of which rolls shall be returned to him certified by the mustering officer (one shall be retained by the mustering officer) and the other shall be delivered certified by him also to the Regimental Pay Master to be affixed to the Pay Rolls.
Each Brigade shall be mustered by its Sub Inspector under the superintendency of the Inspector of the division who shall also be responsible for the exactness and fidelity of the musters.
The Sub Inspectors shall deliver an abstract of the Brigade musters regimentally digested to the Inspector of the division who shall digest them into division abstracts, in the same form, and transmit them to the Inspector General.
All detached Corps and Militia in service shall be mustered in the same forms, by the officers heretofore appointed for these purposes, according to the directions of the Inspector General, to whom they shall transmit their abstracts.
The Inspector to a seperate Army, shall receive all the abstracts of that Army, deliver one copy to the Commanding Officer of the Army, and transmit another to the Inspector General.
The Inspector General shall transmit once every month, a copy of the abstracts of the musters of the whole Army, to the Commander in Chief, and another to the Board of War.
No commanding officer of a Regiment shall solely muster the regiment he commands, but another shall be appointed to do the duty, by the Inspector General, in such manner as not to interfere with the regularity of the abstracts here required.
The oldest Inspector, in a separate Army, shall exercise the same duties in that Army, respecting the musters, as the Inspector General in the whole Army according to the Instructions he receives from him, and the orders of the commanding officer of such separate Army.
All the muster rolls or inspection returns shall be made out agreeable to the forms the Inspector General shall from time to time prescribe.
The Commissary of Issues shall be obliged to deliver monthly, to the Inspector General, an abstract by Brigades of the rations actually issued, and an abstract of the rations issued to the independent and other distinct Corps, and to the Garrisons. All muster Rolls directed to be taken shall be sworn to before the Inspector and Sub
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Inspector who is hereby empowered to administer the oath, and a Certificate thereof shall be given on the back of each muster Roll, the oath and Certificate to be in the words following. "I, A. B. do swear that the within muster Roll is a true state of the Company without fraud to these United States, or to any individual, according to the best of my knowledge."
A B.
Captain or Lt. Commandant
Sworn to before me this day of 17--
The mustering officers shall be empowered and directed to require from the officers whose Troops are mustered, all papers and vouchers relative to the inlistment and muster.
As the duties of the Inspector General will be very numerous, laborious and important, he shall be allowed two Aides de Camp, in addition to the two he is entitled to as Major General, taken from the line in the same manner and on the same terms.
The Inspectors shall keep accounts with the Officers commanding Regiments of all the Arms and Accoutrements delivered their Regiments, and returned in by them, for which purpose no Arms or Accoutrements shall be delivered by the Brigade Conductor, without an order from the Inspector of the division, to whom returns for Arms and Accoutrements wanted shall be made in the form directed in the regulations for the orders and discipline of the Troops of the United States.
All the officers of the Inspectorship shall retain their rights of command and promotion, in the same manner as if they had not assumed the Office; but as the duties of this department are very extensive and demand great attention, they are to suspend the exercise of their respective Commands, except when they happen to be the superior officers in the division, brigades or regiments, to which they belong, or when they are appointed to execute any particular service, by the Commander in Chief or Commanding Officer in a separate Army. They are to be exempted from common Camp and Garrison duties, to attend more carefully to those of the Inspection, and in time of action when not in actual command are to be employed to assist in executing the Field Maneuvres directed by the Officers commanding the divisions and brigades, to which they are attached.
The Inspector General in all that relates to the Inspection shall be subject to the Orders of Congress, the Board of War, and the Commander
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in Chief only, but the Inspectors and Sub Inspectors shall also be subject to the officers commanding the divisions and brigades, to which they are attached.
The Inspector General, as often as circumstances will permit, shah visit every part of the Army, and review the regiments himself, to see that uniformity prevail throughout the Armies of the United States.
The Inspector General shall keep Books, in which the returns &c. passing through his office shall be registered. He shall be charged with collecting into one or more volumes all the resolves of Congress and regulations of the Board of War relative to the Army.
To serve as an Escort in his Journeys and convey his orders, he shall be allowed when circumstances will permit, a non commissioned officer and four dragoons.
The travelling and other incidental expences necessary for the execution of the business of the office shall be settled by the auditors with the Army upon such principles as shall be established by the Commander in Chief, and paid out of the Military Chest.
In consideration of the various and extensive duties of the office, the Assistant Inspector General shall receive four hundred dollars pr month, in addition to his pay as Adjutant General, from the first day of February last, to the first day of August instant from which time he shall receive in the Bills emitted in pursuance of the Act of Congress of the 18th. of March lastdollars pr month additional pay.
The Inspectors shall receive from the said first day of Feby. to the first of August three hundred dollars pr month, and from that time in the said new Billsdollars pr month, and the Sub Inspectors shall receive from the said first day of Feby. to the said first day of August two hundred dollars pr month, and from that time in the new Billsdollars pr month, in addition to the pay and subsistence to which they are entitled by their respective ranks.
The Qr. Master Genl. shall furnish all necessary books and papers for the Department.
The Inspectors and Sub Inspectors shall be allowed forage for three horses, including those they are entitled to as officers in the Line.
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Each Inspector shall be allowed when the circumstances of the Army will permit a marquee and a common tent, each Sub. Inspector a horseman's and a common tent.
All the regulations respecting the objects of this department shall be finally approved and established by Congress, but the exigency of the service requiring it, temporary ones may from time to time be introduced by the Inspector General, with the approbation of the Commander in Chief, and transmitted to the Board of War with all convenient dispatch--that being examined and reported by them to Congress, they may be rejected, altered, amended or confirmed as Congress shall deem proper1
[Note 1: 1 This report is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 147, IV, folio 509. See August 30 for its reference to a committee.]
A letter, of 23, from the Board of War was read, stating the necessity of appointing a commissary general of prisoners, and enclosing a letter, of 8, from Abraham Skinner on the subject.2
[Note 2: 2 This letter is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 143, I folio 179.]
Congress took into consideration the report of the committee on the memorial of the general officers, when a motion made Mr Livingston, seconded by motion was made by Armstrong,
That as a farther encouragement to the officers of the army, and as a full compensation for the enhanced prices of commodities,it be recommended to the respective states not having made other provision, to extend half pay to them for life; and to the widows of such as die, or shall die in the service, to be continued to them during their widowhood; and in ease there shall be no widow, to the orphan child or children of such officer, till such child, or if there are more than one, till the youngest child shall be of the age of fourteen years. On the question to agree to this, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. Clark,
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{table}
So it passed in the negative.
Congress proceeded in the consideration of the report and thereupon,1
[Note 1: 1 A marginal note says: "This struck out by general consent, 25th."]
The Committee to whom was referred the Memorial of the General officers, upon reconsideration of the same, on the re-commitment of a paragraph of their former report, beg leave to submit to Congress the following observations and resolutions.
That when an army was first raised by the four Eastern States, on the commencement of hostilities in the Massachusetts Bay, by the British forces in April, 1775, the pay and rations of the several officers were fixed (as was then supposed) in due proportion to their different ranks and expences in the army.
That in June 1775 when Congress took the army under their direction, they made a new appointment of general officers, and fixed their pay as it now stands, leaving the pay of the other officers as fixed by the said States.
That on the 7th of October 1776, the pay of the officers of the battalions, was augmented fifty per cent; and had the pay of a general officer been augmented only at that rate, above what was fixed by the Eastern States, it would have been 66 per cent lower than it now is.
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Wherefore your Committee are of opinion that the pay and subsistance of the general officers is as high as that of the other officers of the army in proportion to their station--and that the pay and subsistence of all the officers, ought to be made as good to them during the whole time of their service, as it was on the 7th of October 1776.
That the seven years half pay granted in May 1778 was in consideration of the depreciation of the currency and the enhanced prices of the necessaries of life. That the amount of the said half pay ought to be allowed to the widows and orphan children of such of the officers as die in the service and that such further provision as may be necessary for the comfortable support of such widows and orphans as may be in indigent circumstances ought to be made by the respective States to which they belong.
That it is inexpedient to augment the pay or subsistance of the officers at this time; but if the measures taken to introduce a stable currency should not prove effectual to reduce the prices of the necessaries of life to what they were in the year 1776, it can be better determined hereafter what compensation is equitable to be made them.
Whereupon the Committee submit the following resolutions:
Resolved, That the officers of the line of the army, commanding corps, when in camp, be allowed to draw so many of the rations of provisions heretofore allowed them when in camp withheld, as the Commander in Chief, or the commander of a seperate army, shall judge necessary; but that no provision be issued for back rations not drawn on the days they become due:
That if it shall appear that the subsistance money, allowed to officers in lieu of the rations withheld, is not equal to the cost of the rations, the deficiency shall hereafter be made up to them: or if the monthly pay that they shall hereafter receive shall appear to be of less value compared with the prices of the necessaries of life than their pay was in the year 1176 a reasonable compensation shall be made them for the deficiency.
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That the resolution of the 15 day of May, 1778, granting half-pay for seven years to the officers of the army who should continue in the service to the end of the war, be extended to the widows of those officers who have died, or shall hereafter die in the service; to commence from the time of such officer's death, and continue for the term of seven years if the widow of such officer continue so long in a state of widowhood; or if there be no widow, or in case of her death or intermarriage, the said half pay be given to the orphan children of the officer dying as aforesaid, if he shall have left any; and that it be recommended to the legislatures of the respective states to which such officers belong, to make provision for paying the same, on account of the United States and to make provision at the expence of such State for continuing the same, to such widows, during their widowhood, whose indigent circumstances, may require it, and also to make such further provision as may be necessary for orphan children in like circumstances, provided such States have not already made competent provision in the cases aforesaid, pursuant to the recommendation of Congress of the 17th of August 1779:
That the restricting clause in the resolution of the 15th of May, 1778, granting half-pay to the officers for seven years, expressed in these words, viz. "and not hold any office of profit under these states, or any of them," be and hereby is repealed.
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of Roger Sherman, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 21, folio 247.]
The committee, appointed to devise means to prevent the further issue of certificates, &c. and
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The Committee on the Post Office, to whom was referred the motion of Mr. [Thomas] Bee; and
The committee, appointed to ascertain and declare the privileges of members of Congress until the Confederation shall be ratified by all the states; and
The Committee appointed to ascertain and declare the privileges of Members of Congress, until the Confederation shall be ratified by all the States in the Union,
Beg leave to report as follows.
Whereas by the Confederation and perpetual Union of these States, in the fifth article it is (among other things) agreed "that freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached or questioned in any Court or place ont of Congress, and the Members of Congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests and imprisonments during the time of their going to and from and attendance on Congress, except for treason, felony and breach of the peace."
And whereas the said Confederation is not yet in all its parts ratified by the State of Maryland, and it is absolutely essential to the great trust reposed in members of Congress, that they should at all times enjoy the privileges above mentioned as well as the other privileges belonging to a legislative Body.
Resolved, And it is hereby declared,
That the Members of Congress have, and of right ought to have all the privileges and immunities expressed in the clause of the fifth article above recited.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of Thomas McKean, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 23, folio 59. It is indorsed by Thomson: "Read. August 24, 1781, Not to be acted upon."]
The committee, to whom were referred the letter, of 8 June, from Governor Trumbull and the letter, of 21 July, from Mr. T. Burke, delivered in their respective reports.
At a Board of War, Augt 24. 1780
The board having considered the memorial of the Justices and Field Officers in the counties of Accomack and Northampton in Virginia, requesting that the men raised in those counties as part of the Virginia quota of troops be permitted to remain therein, beg leave to inform Congress
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That in the opinion of the Board the reasons stated in their report on a former application on this subject which was agreed to by Congress on the 2d March 1778 still prevail with this variation That the board do not know of any imported property belonging to the United States now in those counties. The property of the citizens of these States who find it convenient to make use of the great variety of Inlets and Harbors in those counties, as well as that of the Inhabitants being subject to the daily ravages of the enemy's cruizers which now infest their Coasts in unusual numbers, is constantly in a precarious and perilous situation. It is therefore submitted to Congress whether considering the circumstances before stated, and that the numbers of fencible men in those counties are not great, nor can they from their detached situation, and the numbers of disaffected which surround them, be speedily relieved in case of invasion, it would not be expedient to continue the measure formerly adopted by Congress of leaving the men raised in those counties for the Continental Army (which as we are informed do not amount to more than the complement of one company) as a permanent guard. Should Congress be of this opinion, it is conceived proper that it should be resolved
That from the peculiar situation of the Counties of Accomack and Northampton in the State of Virginia, the men raised as part of the quota of that State for the Continental Army remain in those counties until the further order of Congress or the Commander in Chief.
That it be recommended to the Executive of the State of Virginia to appoint officers for the men in proportion to their numbers out of those officers of the Virginia line, who are in that State unemployed; and that the said Executive take the necessary measures for clothing, paying, and providing for the said officers and men at the expence of the United States during their stay in the said Counties.
That a copy of the memorial of the said Justices and Field Officers be transmitted to the Governor and Council of Virginia, to the end that eventual measures may be taken by the Government of the State for the defence of the said counties, in case it should hereafter be found expedient to remove the Continental troops therefrom.1
[Note 1: 1 This report is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 147, IV, folio 503. It is indorsed: "Postponed."]
Adjourned to 10 o'Clock to Morrow.
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