A military dictionary

by William Duane

II. As soon as the troops are on board, an officer from each company will personally see, that the arms and accoutrements, the clothing neatly packed in the knapsacks, together with the hats, are to be placed in order, and properly secured, over their respective births, on the racks and pins ordered for the purpose: the arms are all to be provided with cloth tompkins; they are to be oiled, and handled daily, during the voyage, and are to be frequently inspected by the officers, to prevent their being injured by rust.

III. The men must be allotted to births, in the order in which they roll in their companies, and are to be divided into messes by squads, with a non-commissioned officer at the head of each, who is to be responsible for the good order and cleanliness of it; particular attention must be paid to the cooking, for which purpose two men must be detailed weekly from the company to attend to this duty, and it is essential that every other soldier should be prohibited from going to the camboose.

IV. An officer of the day will be appointed, whose duty it will be to enforce regularity, cleanliness and order amongst the men; to see that their provisions are well cooked and equally distributed; and in case of neglect, in any instance, he must immediately report the circumstance to the officer commanding, who will chastise the offender, if necessary.

V. The men must not be permitted to go below during the day, except in case of indisposition, or bad weather; and the bedding must invariably be brought on deck every morning, if not prevented by rain, and taken down always before sun set.

VI. To prevent accidents by fire, no candles must be suffered below, but in lanterns, and smoking between decks must be on no account, permitted. All lights are to be extinguished at eight o’clock; and the officers, to set an example of good order, should not indulge themselves in sitting up beyond a reasonable hour.

VII. General parades and calls of the roll are to be had at troop and retreat, with arms and accoutrements, in good weather, and without in bad; and on every Saturday, the commanding officer must make a complete inspection of arms, accoutrements and clothing.

VIII. To ensure cleanliness, the men must be compelled to wash their heads and hands every morning, and their feet every evening.

IX. A serjeant’s guard must be mounted daily, and a sufficient number of sentries posted, to enforce these regulations; and particularly one or more at the necessary, camboose and hatchways, with their side arms.

X. In case of coming to anchor, care must be taken to prevent the men having any communication with the shore; and attention must be paid to prevent their purchasing liquor or green fruit, from boats coming along side.

XI. The commanding officer is to co-operate with the master of the transport, in whatever may be necessary to promote the voyage; and in approaching a sail, he is positively forbid shewing a single soldier on deck: the sentries are in such case to be removed below.