Every officer who shall knowingly make a false muster of man or horse, and every officer and commissary, or muster-master, who shall wittingly sign, direct, or allow the signing of the muster rolls, wherein such false muster is contained, shall, upon proof made thereof, by two witnesses before a general court-martial, be cashiered, and suffer such other penalty as he is liable to by the act for punishing mutiny and desertion.
Any commissary or muster-master, who shall be convicted before a general court-martial, of having taken money, by way of gratification, on the mustering any regiment, troop, or company, or on the signing the muster-rolls, shall be displaced from his office, and suffer such other penalty as he is liable to by the said act.
Every colonel, or other field officer, commanding a regiment, troop, or company, and actually residing with it, may give furloughs to non-commissioned officers and soldiers, in such numbers, and for so long a time, as he shall judge to be most consistent with the good of our service; but no non-commissioned officer or soldier, shall, by leave of his captain, or inferior officer, commanding the troop or company, (his field officer not being present) be absent above twenty days in six months; nor shall more than two private men be absent at the same time from their troop or company, unless some extraordinary occasion shall require it; of which occasion the field officer present with and commanding the regiment is to be the judge.
It is strictly forbidden to muster any person as a soldier who does not actually do his duty as a soldier, &c. See Livery.
Muster-master-general, Commissary-general of the Musters, one who takes account of every regiment, their number, horses, arms, &c. reviews them, sees that the horses are well mounted, and all the men well armed and accoutred, &c.
MUSTER-ROLL, (état nominatif, Fr.) a specific list of the officers and men in every regiment, troop, or company, which is delivered to the muster-master, regimental or district paymaster, (as the case may be) whereby they are paid, and their condition is known. The names of the officers are inscribed according to rank, those of the men in alphabetical succession. Adjutants of regiments make out a muster roll, and when the list is called over, every individual must answer to his name. Every muster-roll must be signed by the colonel or commanding officer, the paymaster and adjutant of each regiment, troop, or company: it must likewise be sworn to by the muster-master or paymaster, (as the case may be) before a justice of the peace, previous to its being transmitted to government.
MUSTI. One born of a mulatto father or mother, and a white father or mother.
MUTILATED. In a military sense, signifies wounded in such a manner as to lose the use of a limb. A battalion is said to be mutilated, when its divisions, &c. stand unequal.
MUTINE, or MUTINEER, a soldier guilty of mutiny.
MUTINY, in a military sense, to rise against authority. Any officer or soldier who shall presume to use traitorous or disrespectful words against the president of the United States, against the vice president, against the congress of the United States, or against the chief magistrate or legislature of any of the United States, in which he may be quartered, is guilty of mutiny.