ASSIGNMENT TO DUTY ACCORDING TO BREVET RANK. SEC. 1211. Officers may be assigned to duty or command according to their brevet rank by special assignment of the President; and brevet rank shall not entitle an officer to precedence or command except when so assigned. 16 April, 1818, c. 64, s. 1, v. 3, p. 427. 3 Mar., 1869, c. 124, s. 7, v. 15, p. 318. UNIFORM AND TITLE. SEC. 1212. No officer shall be entitled, on account of having been brevetted, to wear, while on duty, any uniform other than that of his actual rank; and no officer shall be addressed in orders or official communications by any title other than that of his actual rank. 15 July, 1870, c. 294, s. 16, v. 16, p. 319. CADETS MAY BE ATTACHED AS SUPERNUMERARIES. SEC. 1213. When any cadet of the United States Military Academy has gone through all its classes and received a regular degree from the academical staff, he shall be considered a candidate for a commission in any corps for whose duties he may be deemed competent. If there be no vacancy in such corps, he may, subject to the provisions of section twelve hundred and fifteen, be attached to it by the President as a supernumerary officer, by brevet of second lieutenant until a vacancy shall happen." 29 Apr., 1812, c. 72, s. 4, v. 2, p. 721. [Appointments of civilians, except such as are regular graduates of the United States Military Academy who have been honorably discharged from the service, to be second lieutenants in any of the regiments of the Army, shall be made in time of peace only when more vacancies exist in the Army than will be required in the assignment of the next graduating class of cadets at the United States Military Academy: Provided, Nothing herein shall prevent the appointment for a commission in the Army of meritorious non-commissioned officers or private soldiers.—Act of Congress approved June 11, 1878, sec. 2.] [That from and after July first, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, only such number of the graduates of the United States Military Academy in any one year shall be entitled to appointments as second lieutenants in the Army as are required to fill vacancies of that grade existing on the first day of July in each year; those entitled to appointment to said vacancies to be determined by the academic board on the basis of their standing in the graduating class. And hereafter no supernumerary officers shall be attached to any company or corps of the Army, and all graduates of the Military Academy who are not appointed to the Army under the provisions of this act shall be discharged upon the graduation of their class.—Act of Congress approved June 11, 1878, sec. 3.] NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS, WHEN ELIGIBLE FOR COMMISSION. SEC. 1214. Non-commissioned officers may, under regulations established by the Secretary of War, be examined by a board of four officers, as to their qualifications for the duties of commissioned officers in the line of the Army, and shall be eligible for appointment as second lieutenants in any corps of the line for which they may be found so qualified. If there be no vacancy in such corps, any non-commissioned officer so found qualified for a commission therein may be attached to it by the President as a supernumerary officer, by brevet of second lieutenant, subject to the provisions of section twelve hundred and fifteen. LIMIT TO NUMBER OF SUPERNUMERARY OFFICERS. SEC. 1215. Only one supernumerary officer shall be attached to any company at the same time under the provisions of the two preceding sections. 29 Apr., 1812, c. 72, s. 4, v. 2, p. 721. 4 Aug., 1854, c. 247, s. 5, v. 10, p. 575. CERTIFICATES OF MERIT FOR PRIVATES. SEC. 1216. When any private soldier shall have distinguished himself in the service, the President may, on the recommendation of the commanding officers of the regiment to which such private soldier belongs, grant him a certificate of merit. 3 Mar., 1847, c. 61, s. 17, v. 9, p. 186. COMMISSIONS NOW HELD NOT VACATed. SEC. 1217. None of the provisions of this Title, relating to the organization of the Army, shall be construed to vacate the commission of any officer now properly in the service, or borne on the Army Register as an officer retired from active service, or to require new appointments to fill the grades mentioned herein, which are now properly filled according to said provisions. 28 July, 1866, c. 299, s. 31, v. 14, p. 337. PERSONS WHO SERVED IN THE REBELLION INELIGIBLE. SEC. 1218. No person who has served in any capacity in the military, naval, or civil service of the so-called Confederate States, or of either of the States in insurrection during the late rebellion, shall be appointed to any position in the Army of the United States. 28 July, 1866, c. 299, s. 28, v. 14, p. 336. TIME OF ACTUAL SERVICE CONSIDERED IN FIXING RANK. SEC. 1219. In fixing relative rank between officers of the same grade and date of appointment and commission, the time which each may have actually served as a commissioned officer of the United States, whether continuously or at different periods, shall be taken into account. And in computing such time, no distinction shall be made between service as a commissioned officer in the Regular Army and service since the 19th day of April, 1861, in the volunteer forces, whether under appointment or commission from the President or from the governor of a State. 2 Mar., 1867, c. 159, s. 1, v. 14, p. 434. RETURNS OF ORDNANCE; DAMAGES. SEC. 1220. Every officer commanding a regiment, corps, garrison, or detachment shall make, once every two months, or oftener if so directed, a report to the Chief of Ordnance, stating all damages to arms, equipments, and implements belonging to his command, noting those occasioned by negligence or abuse, and naming the officer or soldier by whose negligence or abuse the said damages were occasioned. [It shall be lawful for the commanding officer of each regiment, whenever it may be necessary, to cause the coats, vests, and overalls or breeches which may from time to time be issued to and for his regiment to be altered and new-made, so as to better to fit them to the persons respectively for whose use they shall be delivered; and for defraying the expense of such alterations, to cause to be deducted and applied out of the pay of such persons a sum or sums not exceeding twenty-five cents for each coat, eight cents for each vest and for each pair of overalls or breeches.] 8 Feb., 1815, c. 38, s. 7, v. 3, p. 204. RETURNS OF CLOTHING AND CAMP-EQUIPAGE. SEC. 1221. Every officer who receives clothing or camp-equipage for the use of his command, or for issue to the troops, shall render to the Quartermaster-General, at the expiration of each regular quarter of the year, quarterly returns of such supplies, according to the forms which may be prescribed, accompanied by the requisite vouchers for any issues which shall have been made. [Said returns and vouchers, after due examination by the Quartermaster General shall be transmitted for settlement to the proper accounting officer of the Treasury Department.] 18 May, 1826, c. 74, s. 2, v. 4, p. 174. 27 Feb., 1877, c. 69, v. 19, p. 243. ACCEPTING OR HOLDING CIVIL OFFICE. SEC. 1222. No officer of the Army on the active list shall hold any civil office, whether by election or appointment, and every such officer who accepts or exercises the functions of a civil office shall thereby cease to be an officer of the Army, and his commission shall be thereby vacated. 15 July, 1870, c. 294, s. 18, v. 16, p. 319. ACCEPTING OR HOLDING DIPLOMATIC OR CONSULAR OFFICE. SEC. 1223. Any officer of the Army who accepts or holds any appointment in the diplomatic or consular service of the government shall be considered as having resigned his place in the Army, and it shall be filled as a vacancy. 30 Mar., 1868, c. 38, s. 2, v. 15, p. 58. CIVIL EMPLOYMENT PROHIBITED TO OFFICERS ON ACTIVE LIST. SEC. 1224. [Officers of the Army on the active list shall not be separated from their regiments or corps for employment on civil works of internal improvement, nor be allowed to engage in the service of incorporated companies, or be employed as acting paymaster, or disbursing agent of the Indian department, if such extra employment require that he be separated from his regiment or company, or otherwise interfere with the performance of the military duties proper.] [No officer of the Army shall be employed on civil works or internal improvements, or be allowed to engage in the service of any incorporated company, or be employed as acting paymaster or disbursing agent of the Indian Department, if such extra employment requires that he shall be separated from his company, regiment, or corps, or if it shall otherwise interfere with the performance of the military duties proper.] [See § 2062.] 5 July, 1838, c. 162, s. 31, v. 5, p. 260. OFFICERS AND ARMS FOR COLLEGES. SEC. 1225. The President may, upon the application of any established college or university within the United States, having capacity to educate, at the same time, not less than one hundred and fifty male students, detail an officer of the Army to act as president, superintendent, or professor thereof; but the number of officers so detailed shall not exceed [twenty] [thirty] at any time, and they shall be apportioned throughout the United States, as nearly as may be practicable, according to population. Officers so detailed shall be governed by general rules prescribed, from time to time, by the President. The Secretary of War is authorized to issue at his discretion and under proper regulations to be prescribed by him, out of any small arms or pieces of field artillery belonging to the Government and which can be spared for that purpose, such number of the same as may appear to be required for military instruction and practice, by the students of any college or university under the provisions of this section; and the Secretary shall require a bond in each case, in double the value of the property, for the care and safe-keeping thereof, and for the return of the same when required. [See § 1667.] 28 July, 1866, c. 229, s. 26, v. 14, p. 336. 4 May, 1870, Res. 40, v. 16, p. 373. 5 July, 1876, c. 167, v. 19, p. 74. Long's Case, 8 C. Cls., 398. PRIVILEGES ON ACCOUNT OF VOLUNTEER SERVICE. SEC. 1226. All officers who have served during the rebellion as volunteers in the Army of the United States, and have been honorably mustered out of the volunteer service, shall be entitled to bear the official title, and, upon occasions of ceremony, to wear the uniform of the highest grade they have held, by brevet or other commissions, in the volunteer service. The highest volunteer rank which has been held by officers of the Regular Army shall be entered, with their names respectively, upon the Army Register. But these privileges shall not entitle any officer to command, pay, or emoluments. 28 July, 1866, c. 299, s. 34, v. 14, p. 337. ARMY CORPS BADGES. SEC. 1227. All persons who have served as officers, non-commissioned officers, privates, or other enlisted men, in the Regular Army, volunteer or militia forces of the United States, during the war of the rebellion, and have been honorably discharged from the service, or still remain in the same, shall be entitled to wear, on occasions of ceremony, the distinctive Army badge ordered for or adopted by the Army corps or division, respectively, in which they served. 25 July, 1868, Public Resolution No. 73, v. 15, p. 261. RESTORATION OF DISMISSED OFFICERS. SEC. 1228. No officer of the Army who has been or may be dismissed from the service by the sentence of a general court-martial, formally approved by the proper reviewing authority, shall ever be restored to the military service, except by a re-appointment confirmed by the Senate. 20 Jnly, 1868, c. 185, v. 15, p. 125. OFFICERS DROPPED FOR DESERTION. SEC. 1229. The President is authorized to drop from the rolls of the Army for desertion any officer who is absent from duty three months without leave; and no officer so dropped shall be eligible for re-appointment. And no officer in the military or naval service shall in time of peace be dismissed from service except upon and in pursuance of the sentence of a court-martial to that effect, or in commutation thereof. Art. of war, 99. Art. of war, 106. 15 July, 1870, c. 294, s. 17, v. 16, p. 319. 13 July, 1866, c. 176, s. 5, v. 14, p. 92. OFFICERS DISMISSED BY PRESIDENT MAY DEMAND TRIAL. SEC. 1230. When any officer, dismissed by order of the President, makes, in writing, an application for trial, setting forth, under oath, that he has been wrongly dismissed, the President shall, as soon as the necessities of the service may permit, convene a court-martial, to try such officer on the charges on which he shall have been dismissed. And if a court-martial is not so convened within six months from the presentation of such application for trial, or if such court, being convened, does not award dismissal or death as the punishment of such officer, the order of dismissal by the President shall be void. 3 Mar., 1865, c. 79, s. 12, v. 13, p. 489. POST AND GARRISON SCHOOLS. SEC. 1231. Schools shall be established at all posts, garrisons, and permanent camps at which troops are stationed, in which the enlisted men may be instructed in the common English branches of education, and especially in the history of the United States; and the Secretary of War may detail such officers and enlisted men as may be necessary to carry out this provision. It shall be the duty of the post and garrison commander to set apart a suitable room or building for school and religious purposes. 28 July, 1866, c. 299, s. 27, v. 14, p. 336. ENLISTED MEN NOT TO BE USED AS SERVANTS. SEC. 1232. No officer shall use an enlisted man as a servant in any case whatever. 15 July, 1870, c. 294, s. 14, v. 16, p. 319. COMPANY COOKS. SEC. 1233. Cooks shall be detailed, in turn, from the privates of each company of troops in the service of the United States, at the rate of one cook for each company numbering less than thirty men, and two cooks for each company numbering more than thirty men; and they shall serve on each detail ten days. 3 Mar., 1863, c. 78, s. 9, v. 12, p. 744. [That section twelve hundred and thirty-three of the Revised Statutes be, and the same is hereby, repealed.—Act of Congress approved January 29, 1879.] 29 Jan., 1879, c. 34, v. 20, p. 276. SUPERINTENDENCE OF COOKING. SEC. 1234. The line officers of the Army shall superintend the cooking done for the enlisted men. [See § 1174.] 3 Mar., 1863, c. 78, s. 8, v. 12, p. 744. WORKING PARTIES. SEC. 1235. Working parties of soldiers shall be detailed for employment as artificers or laborers, in the construction of permanent military works or public roads, or in other constant labor, only upon the written order of a commanding officer, when such detail is for ten or more days. 13 July, 1866, c. 176, s. 7, v. 14, p. 93. DETAILS TO SPECIAL SERVICE FROM FORCES IN THE FIELD. SEC. 1236. Details to special service from forces in the field shall be made only with the consent of the commanding officer of the forces. 3 Mar., 1863, c. 75, s. 35, v. 12, p. 736. EXEMPTION FROM ARREST. SEC. 1237. No enlisted man shall, during his term of service, be arrested on mesne process, or taken or charged in execution for any debt, unless it was contracted before his enlistment, and amounted to twenty dollars when first contracted. 16 Mar., 1802, c. 9, s. 23, v. 2, p. 136. FEMALE NURSES. SEC. 1238. Women may be employed, instead of soldiers, as nurses in general or permanent hospitals, at such times and in such numbers as the Surgeon-General, or the medical officer in charge of any such hospital, may deem proper. 3 Aug., 1861, c. 42, s. 6, v. 12, p. 288. MATRONS. SEC. 1239. Hospital matrons and nurses may be employed in post or regimental hospitals in such numbers as may be necessary. 16 Mar., 1802, c. 9, s. 4, v. 2, p. 134. LAUNDRESSES. SEC. 1240. Women may be allowed to accompany troops as laundresses, in numbers not exceeding four to a company. 16 Mar., 1802, c. 9, s. 5, v. 2, p. 134. [That hereafter women shall not be allowed to accompany troops as laundresses: Provided, That any such laundress being the wife of a soldier as is now allowed to accompany troops, may, in the discretion of the regimental commander, be retained until the expiration of such soldier's present term of enlistinent.-Act of Congress approved June 18, 1878, sec. 5.] 18 June, 1878, c. 263, s. 5, v. 20, p. 150. SALES OF STORES. SEC. 1241. The President may cause to be sold any military stores which, upon proper inspection or survey, appear to be damaged, or unsuitable for the public service. Such inspection or survey shall be made by officers designated by the Secretary of War, and the sales shall be made under regulations prescribed by him. 3 Mar., 1825, c. 93, ss. 1, 2, v. 4, p. 127. · ARMS AND ACCOUTERMENTS IN POSSESSION OF PERSONS NOT SOLDIERS. SEC. 1242. The clothing, arms, military outfit, and accouterments furnished by the United States to any soldier shall not be sold, bartered, exchanged, pledged, loaned, or given away; and the possession of any such property by any person not a soldier or officer of the United States shall be prima-facie evidence of such sale, barter, exchange, pledge, loan, or gift. Such property may be seized and taken from any person, not a soldier or officer of the United States, by any officer, civil or military, of the United States, and shall, thereupon, be delivered to any quartermaster or other officer authorized to receive the same. 3 Mar., 1863, c. 75, s. 23, v. 12, p. 735. CHAPTER TWO. RETIREMENT. RETIREMENT UPON OFFICER'S OWN APPLICATION. SEC. 1243. When an officer has served forty consecutive years as a commissioned officer, he shall, if he makes application therefor to the President, be retired from active service and placed upon the retired list. When an officer has been thirty years in service, he may, upon his own application, in the discretion of the President, be so retired, and placed on the retired list. 3 Aug., 1861, c. 42, s. 15, v. 12, p. 289. |