Part 419

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.

XII. The men are to be furnished with two flints; twenty four rounds of ball cartridges, each: six in their cartridge boxes, and the residue packed in kegs.

These regulations are to be strictly observed in every particular; and any officer who may violate them, by omission or commission, will be brought before a general court-martial.

Given at Head Quarters, city of Washington, Dec. 15, 1808.

This closes the whole body of Regulations for the United States force, as far as the American editor has been able to collect them.

To buy or sell at the REGULATION, to give or receive no more for a commission than what has been settled by the king’s authority in the British service. When an officer is allowed to retire from a regiment with permission to sell, the one next for purchase is supposed to pay the regulation price or his commission; but it frequently happens that parties agree among themselves with respect to terms; and it sometimes occurs, that young men of interest and fortune stop the regular promotions of officers by overbidding the market. This traffic, so infamous in its principle, as well as in its abuses, was exhibited in an odious light in the case of the duke of York and his courtesans in 1809.

Cavalry REGULATIONS, specific instructions for the formations and movements of cavalry.

Infantry REGULATIONS. A system of tactics for infantry. The general principles for the formations and movements of cavalry and infantry being invariably the same, their more particular explanation in several points, is to be found in the regulations for the infantry. See American Military Library.

General REGULATIONS and orders. A collection of certain general rules which were published for the British army by authority on the 20th of August, 1799, and which are to be considered as the ground work of those instructions that generals commanding districts, and officers in the command of brigades and regiments, forts or garrisons, may find it necessary to issue to the troops under their respective commands. To use the words of the adjutant general, this publication does by no means comprehend the whole detail which the various duties and services, and the interior economy and management of regiments may require. They are principally extracted from a book, intituled The Rudiments of War, which was published by N. Conant in 1777, they are directed to be considered as the standing orders of the army at large. They cannot be altered, or in any sense be deviated from, without the king’s or commander in chief’s approbation. It is however to be observed, that a book manifestly calculated for the interior management of the army, and consequently a necessary companion to the rules and regulations, should have been more specific. Many circumstances, apparently insignificant in themselves, and, of course, unnoticed at head quarters, grow into objects of serious discussion among the different regiments of the service, both at home and abroad. It is an old maxim, that he who neglects small faults will soon fall into great offences.

RE-IMBODY. To re-imbody, is to imbody again any regiment or corps that has been disbanded. Thus, the English militia is disbanded, and partially re-imbodied for 28 days in every year during peace.

REIN, that part of a bridle which extends from the head of a horse to the hands of the rider, &c.

REINFORCE, in founding guns, that part of a gun next to the breech, which is made stronger than the rest of the piece, in order to resist the force of the powder. There are generally two in each piece, called the first and second reinforce: the second is something smaller than the first, upon the supposition that when the powder is inflamed, and occupies a greater space, its force is diminished, which is not the case. See CANNON.

REINFORCE ring. There are three in each gun, called the first, second, and third: they are flat mouldings, like flat iron hoops, placed at the breech end of the first and second reinforce, projecting from the rest of the metal by about ¹⁄₄ of an inch.

REINFORCEMENT to the army, is an addition of fresh troops to strengthen an army, in order to enable it to go on with an enterprise, &c.

To REJOIN. To meet again. To return. He left his regiment when it broke up camp, but rejoined it again before the army marched into the enemy’s country·

REJOUISSANCES publiques, Fr. Public rejoicings, or thanksgivings. Chevalier Folard makes a curious and interesting comment relative to this subject, in one of his notes upon Polybius. He therein asserts, that the Te Deum, or thanksgiving to God, was as much practised among the heathens as it is among the moderns.

REITRES, Fr. a body of armed horsemen, who came out of Germany, and entered into the French service during the reign of Henry III. They were incorporated with the carabineers.

RELAYER, Fr. to relieve; to lessen the labor of any particular set of men by occasionally sending fresh workmen.

RELAIS, Fr. a term used in fortification to signify a space, containing some feet in breadth, which is between the foot of the rampart and the scarp of the fosse. It serves as a convenient receptacle for the earth that occasionally crumbles off.

RELAY horses, in the artillery, are spare horses that march with the artillery and baggage, ready to relieve others, or to assist in getting up a hill, or through bad roads, &c.