Mount Adams October 15^th 1799 The following Orders of Major General Hamilton, have been transmitted to the Commanding Officer on the Mississippi for publication and are to be duly Respected Viz. "General Orders, New York June 1^st 1799. Major General Hamilton announces to the officers of the Troops under his Command the following regulations respecting Extra allowances to officers Established by an act of the war department dated the 9^th of December last. In all cases where officers are attached on Services that oblige them to incur expences on the road and at places where there are not Military posts, except where the Law has Specifically provided for traveling Expences, the following regulations are to govern in their Accounts —— 1^st Every officer attached as aforesaid, besides his legal pay and Emoluments, Shall receive a Dollar and twenty five Cents for day for man and Horse, for each day that the officer Must Sleep at a place not a military post and when the officer is of a rank to be entitled to a Servant, then the addition of Seventy five Cents p^r day for the Servant and his Horse. That the foregoing rules shall apply to all p[undecipherable] but the Seat of government, and the principal [undecipherable] in each State, at which places the allo[undecipherable] to be a Dollar and a half for the officer and Horse —— 2^d That in extraordinary Cases only [Allowances may be] which greater indispensable be refied to the Special discretion of the Secretary of W[ar to] be asserted by a Certificate from the Comma[nding officer] by whom the officer claiming was detached [for] the Special Service Stating the reasons a[nd] Circumstances — 3^d That fifty Cents with[out] reference to rank is allowed to every officer g[oing] from one Military post to another which may reach the same night not [undecipherable] Miles distant in this place it is contemp[lated] the Servant came without any inconvenience [to bring his] own Provision with him —— 4^th That days journey may be regulated by the N[umber] of Miles in the following proportion Viz. [undecipherable] Miles a day when the whole distance do[es not] Exceed two Hundred Miles thirty to a day all above Two Hundred and not Exceeding [Three] Hundred and fifty, twenty five to a day above Three Hundred and fifty, and not Ex[ceeding] Six Hundred — twenty to a day for all a[bove] Six Hundred —— 5^th That these rates [shall not] retrospect but regulate future allowan[ces] only those all[eged] and [undecipherable] Cases before a reasonable Notice of the Same be Settled on the former principles of reasonable expences according to Circumstances it being Supposed that the application of a new rule may produce hardship and injustice where the Service may have been performed in the expectation of the practice on former Occasion may prevail — respecting the greater allowances in extraordinary Cases which by the 2^d Article is referd to the Special discretion of the Secretary of war it is understood that no Application to that Effect Can be made with propriety until a Certificate is produced from the Commanding by whom the officer claiming Such Extra allowance was detached Stating particularly the reasons and Circumstances inducing Extraordinary Expences and that in all cases that the Orders of the Commanding officer must be produced in writing previous to any allowance being made Signd Abraham R. Ellery Ast Ag.^t Genl. General Orders New York June 6^th 1799. Pursuant to the Instructions from the Se[cretary] of war, the following addition to the rules and regu[lations] respecting the recruiting Service are to be observe[d] None but Citizens of the United States shall be Inli[sted] persons not born within the Said States who ar[e] within the Same on the 4^th day of July 1796 sh[all] be declared Citizens for the purpose of Inlistm[ent] every person not born within the United Sta[tes] who have emmagrated Either Since that da[y] must produce a Certificate of Naturalizatio[n] from Some competent Magistrate or Court be[fore] he Can be inlisted any person whosoever not b[orn] within the United States before he Can be inli[sted] must produce proofs by the affidavits of two reputable inhabitants of the County in [which] he Shall offer himself to be inlisted taken a[nd] Certified by one Magistrate Authorized to ad[min]ister Oaths that he resided in Such Coun[ty] for at least one year immediately precedi[ng] the time when he shall so offer himself to be Inlisted. the Said Certificates and affidavit[s] when indispensably necessary shall be prod[uced] to the Officer who shall first Muster an[d the] Recruit to whom they are aff[i]d[avited] after he Shall have Served his regiment towards the Justification of the Officer by whom he shall have been inlisted. Apprentices Shall on no pretence be inlisted, if any apprentice shall be inlisted though Ignorance of the Officer inlisting him he Shall be discharged first refunding and returning any Money or other articles which he may have received —— Major General Hamilton enjoins the Strict observance of these regulations as points Material Consequence to the Service he equally enjoins a particular attention to those parts of the Original rules and regulations which forbid the inlistment of persons in a State of Intoxication and limit the age within which recruits must be inlisted. It is learned with regret that in Several instances they have not been particularly attended to, a faithful army is preferably to a numerous one and a regard to Justice and propriety in the conduct of every part of the Military Service Cannot fail ultimately to promote the honour and interest of those Concerned in it as well as the public good. It is expected that the Commanders of Regiments will carefully advert to all wilful and Negligent breaches of these rules and if any occur will exert the means which the articles of war provide for refusing orders and neglects to the prejudice [of] good order and Military discipline —— Signd Abraham R. Ellery Adj. Gen. Extract from General Orders New York June 13^th 1799 The Articles of war being obscure and inexplicit [as] to the power Appointing a General Court Martial and it being very material that there Sha[ll be] no doubt about the legality of the Constitu[tion] of the Court which is intrusted with the po[wer] of inflicting the highest punishment kno[wn in] our Military Code, Major General Hamil[ton] thinks it proper to declare the Constitutio[n of the] articles upon this point which after careful ex[amination] and reflection he has adopted as that to govern within the Sphere of his Command this, every General [de]partment in [the] army. Every General Commanding Troops [at] a Station to detached from the army a[nd] its ordinary police as [undecipherable] officer inferior in rank to a General on wh[om] the Command of a General may have qu[itted] in one or other of the above Cases may legally Constitute a General Court Martial, but no Officer who does not Command as the immediate Representative of a General especially no officer merely Commanding a Regiment, or other Corps Whether entire or Composed of detachments not Superior to a Regiment, Can Constitute a General Court Martial. Consequently no officer Commanding any of the Garrisons or Sea board and no officer Commanding part of the Western army except the Commander of that army for the time being can of his own authority direct the holding of such a court. It follows that all pending Sentences of any Courts denominated General Courts Martial which have not been appointed in Conformity with the foregoing Constructions are to be held Void. —— It is also Considered essential to the regularity of a General Court Martial that there shall be a person who is not a member of the Court acting as Judge advocate —— It is also for greater Caution directed that in the Cases in which the Concurrence of two thirds of the members of the Court is required it Shall be expressed in the body of the Sentence that two thirds or more than two thirds as the Case may be did Concur —— A different practice having Obtained at different posts in regard to Issuing liquor to the Troops it is thought proper to direct that the allowance of half Gill p^r day may be every where issued when ever the Contractors Can furnish the Supply, this however is not to re[strain] the discusionary power of issuing for fatigue or on Extra ordinary Cases —— Signd Abraham R. Ellery Ast. Adjt. Gen. Extract from General Orders New York June 15^th 1799 A pretention having been raised by Some Contractors, to Issue either fresh or Salt Meat [to] Troops at their discretion. Major General H[amilton] thinks it proper to declare his Sense that this p[retention] is unfounded and [undecipherable] Express declaratio[n] in the Contract that the option is reserv[ed to] the Contractors; it must be understood [as] reserved to the publics; it is expected therefor[e] except in Situations which do not admit [of it] that fresh meat will be furnished five day[s] every week as the General Rules, nevertheless Commanding Officers of Posts or Corps and[undecipherable] are left at liberty to vary this proportion [in] Such manner as may be most Satisfacto[ry to] those under their Command, and with[out] accommodation to public Circumstance[s] All letters relating to Major General Hamilton on matters relating to the Service which pass through the post office are to be endorsed on public Service and with the name of the writer —— Signd Abraham R. Ellery Ast Adjt. Gen. Major Cushing has received the proceedings of the Court Martial of which Major Husey was president, but in Consequence of the General Order of the 13^th of June he does not think himself Authorized to Carry its decision into Effect, and the Court is dissolved of Course —— The prisoner is therefore to be released from Confinement —— Sergeant Carter will Join the Company to which he belongs, and that Partie will Join Captain Pikes Compy —— A Confidensial Sergeant and twelve good Men will be ready for Command two days Provision tomorrow Morning at Six o'Clock the Sergeant will call on Maj. Cushing for orders this evening —— It appears by a letter from Maj. Gen. Hamilton that during the absence of General Wilkinson that Colonel Hamtramck is considered as Commanding the western army and the following Orders have accordingly been received with directions from the Colonel to have them published [etc.] [Head]