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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, JANUARY 10 1782
The committee, consisting of Mr. [Ezekiel] Cornell, Mr. [James] Lovell, Mr. [Isaac] Motto, to whom was referred a plan for conducting the inspector's department reported by the Secretary at War, delivered in their report, which being read, was agreed to as follows:
PLAN FOR CONDUCTING THE INSPECTOR'S DEPARTMENT.
Resolved, That the establishment of the inspector's department by the resolutions of the 25 of September, 1780, and all subsequent resolutions relative thereto, be, and hereby are, repealed; and that the department hereafter have the following form, powers, and privileges, viz.
There shall be an inspector general of the armies of the United States, to be appointed by Congress from the general officers, and to be allowed one secretary in addition to the aids, which he has in the line of the army: the secretary shall be taken from the line, and be entitled to the pay and emoluments of an aid-de-camp. There shall be one inspector for each seperate army, to be taken from the field-officers of the line of the army, to be allowed thirty dollars per month, in addition to his pay and emoluments in the line.
The inspector general or inspector of a seperate army shall, once in every month, in such time, place, and mode as the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a seperate army, shall direct, review and muster the troops of every denomination in service, at which review they shall inspect the number and condition of the men and horses, the discipline of the troops, the state of their arms, accoutrements, ammunition, cloathing and camp equipage, and make returns thereof to the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a seperate army; noting the deficiencies, neglects and abuses, and, if possible, the manner in which they happened; and at the same time pointing out the alterations and amendments
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they may think necessary, in any branch of the military system: duplicates of which returns shall be transmitted by the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a seperate army, to the Secretary at War.
At the end of every review the commanding officer of the corps reviewed, shall exercise his corps in the manual and evolutions before the inspector, so as to enable him to inspect and report the discipline of the troops agreeably to the foregoing paragraph; and when the inspector general, or inspector of a seperate army finds it necessary to have any particular evolutions or manoeuvres performed, either by one or several corps, he shall furnish a plan of such evolutions to the commanding officer of the army, who will approve or amend them, and order them executed as he may think proper.
At every review, the commanding officers of companies and corps shall produce to the inspector, returns of the state of their respective companies and corps, and such other papers and vouchers relative to the inlistment of the men, as he shall think necessary: three muster-rolls shall also be made out by the commanding officer of each troop or company and signed by him, one of which shall be returned to him, certified by the inspector; one shall be certified and delivered to the regimental paymaster, to be affixed to the pay-roll, and the other shall be retained by the inspector.
The inspector general or inspector of a seperate army shall, as soon as possible after every muster, transmit an abstract of the musters of the whole army in which he is serving, to the commanding officer, who shall transmit a duplicate thereof to the Secretary at War.
As soon as possible after every review, the inspector shall report to the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a seperate army, all such soldiers whom, from inability or other causes, it may be necessary to discharge or transfer to the invalids; and no discharge shall in future be valid, unless
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unless signed by the Commander in Chief or officer commanding the army where such discharge is given.
The inspector general, or inspector of a seperate army, shall be authorised to call on the quartermaster general, cloathier general, and field commissary of military stores, or their deputies, for returns of the articles which have been issued from and returned to their several departments by each corps, that the inspectors may see whether every article so delivered has been regularly and satisfactorily accounted for, or charged to the corps, agreeably to the established regulations.
The inspector general, or inspector of a seperate army, shall be authorised and required to visit the military hospitals of the United States from time to time, to examine the general state of them, and the treatment of the patients, which he shall report to the officer commanding the army; and the director, deputy director, or superintending surgeon of any hospital, shall furnish them with such returns as they may find necessary for the better execution of their office.
The inspector general shall himself, previous to the opening and at the close of every campaign, or as often as the Commander in Chief shall think fit to order, visit every part of the army, to see that uniformity prevails throughout the armies of the United States.
The inspector general and inspectors of a seperate army, in the execution of their offices, shall be subject only to the orders of Congress, the Secretary at War, Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a seperate army; and, that the inspectors may attend the better to the duties of their offices, they shall be exempted from all other duties, except when the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a seperate army, shall think proper to order otherwise.
All returns in the inspector's department are to be made agreeably to the forms which shall be delivered by the inspector general.
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Each inspector of a seperate army shall be allowed to take an officer from the line of captains or subalterns, to assist him in the duties of his office, who shall be allowed ten dollars per month in addition to his pay in the line.
The travelling and other incidental expences for the execution of the business of the office shall be settled upon such principles as shall be established by the Commander in Chief and paid out of the military chest.
Resolved, That Major General Baron Steuben be, and hereby is, continued inspector general of the armies of these United States, and vested with power to appoint all officers necessary to carry the aforegoing plan into execution, they being first approved of by the Commander in Chief.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of James Lovell, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 22, folios 99--107.]
On a report of a committee, consisting of Mr. [Abraham] Clark, Mr. [Ezekiel] Cornell, and Mr. [Thomas] Bee, to whom was referred a memorial of the Rev. Mr. Sproat, late a hospital chaplain,
Ordered, That the present purveyor of the hospital, who was late assistant deputy director of the middle district, settle and certify the pay and other allowance due to the officers in the late hospital department north of Potomack, up to the 4 day of October, 1780, the time that a new choice of officers took place.2
[Note 2: 2 This report, in the writing of Abraham Clark, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 19, folio 379.]
[Motion of Mr. Abraham Clark, Mr. Ezekiel Cornell, for repealing a part of the act of 25th May 1781]
Whereas many inconveniences may arise in the promotion of general officers by the rules laid down in the act of Congress of the 25th day of May last for remedy whereof, and to place such promotions upon the rules heretofore laid down and practised by Congress,
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Resolved, That so much of the resolution of the 25th of May last as directs the forming certain districts for Brigades; and the appointment of Battalion officers to the rank of Brigadiers in such districts; and the promotion of Major Generals from the eldest Brigadiers in the Army whether belonging to the Infantry, Cavalry or Artillery be and hereby are repealed.1
[Note 1: 1 This motion, in the writing of Abraham Clark, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 36, I, folio 253. The indorsement states that, it was referred to the Secretary at War on this day. See post January 19.
On this day, according to the indorsement, was read a petition, dated Lower Dublin, Pa., January 4, 1782, from Samuel Jones. It was ordered to lie on the table. It is in No. 42, IV, folio 58.
Also, the petition, dated January 9, 1782, of John Sullivan. It was ordered to lie on the table. It is in No. 42, VII, folio 135.
Also, instructions dated October 30, 1781, from the legislature of New York to the delegates of that state relative to Colonel Van Schaick. It is in No. 67, II, folio 436.]
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