Military Laws And Rules And Regulations For The Armies Of The United States.

Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office Washington, May 1st , 1813

The superintendent will be held strictly responsible for the good conduct, order, and discipline, of the parties within his district, and will transmit weekly returns, showing the name, rank, regiment, and station, of every officer employed therein, on the recruiting service, the strength of their parties, and the alterations since the last return; and he will use every possible exertion to promote the said service, by visiting the different rendezvous within his district, and by directing his recruiting officers to places where they are known, or to such as promise most success. It shall be his further duty to report to the War Department al commissioned and non-commissioned officers who may be incapable, or negligent, or unsuccessful, in the discharge of their functions.

Recruiting officers will receive money, &c. for their recruits, from the superintending officer of the district, for which they will give the proper duplicate receipts, and be held accountable.  They will transmit to him a statement of their accounts weekly, showing the amount of money, clothing, &c. received and distributed, and the balance remaining on hand.

All the recruiting officers within the district shall report weekly to the superintendent, the strength of their parties, the names of their recruits, and the description of their persons, respectively, and shall detach these to the general rendezvous, where they shall be embodied and organize into squads or companies, for the purposes of discipline.

Soldiers enlisted by the officers of any particular regiment shall be given over to that regiment, nor shall any transfer of soldiers from one corps to another he made, without the assent of the officers commanding both corps, or by the orders of the War Department.  When a recruiting officer shall send a party of recruits to the principal rendezvous, he will transmit to the commanding officer an exact statement of each man's account, as respects clothing, subsistence, bounty, and pay; and a like statement must accompany every man sent to the regiment, to be entered in the books of the company for which he enlisted.  No person shall be received as a recruit, who has sore legs, scurvy, scald head, ruptures, or other infirmities.  Healthy, active boys, between fourteen and eighteen years of age, may be enlisted for musicians; and whenever the recruit, who is under age, shall have a parent, guardian, or master, his consent shall be obtained, and accompany the enlistment. The recruiting officer shall be accountable for any loss which the United States would otherwise sustain by enlisting recruits of either of the above descriptions.

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