Act for Embodying, Supplying and Paying the Army of Observation

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An Act for embodying, supplying and paying, the Army of Observation, ordered to be raised for the defence of the Colony.

Be it enacted by this General Assembly, and by the authority of the same it is enacted, That the fifteen hundred men ordered to be raised by this Colony be formed into one Brigade, under the command of a Brigadier-General, and consist of three Regiments, each of which shall be commanded by one Colonel, one Lieutenant-Colonel, and one Major; that there be one Adjutant of Brigade, or Adjutant-Major, for such purposes as appertain to that office; that there be one Adjutant, one Surgeon, one Surgeon' s Mate, and one Quartermaster to each Regiment; that each Regiment consist of eight Companies; each Field Officer' s Company to be commanded, under such Field Officer, by one Captain-Lieutenant, one Lieutenant, and one Ensign; and each of the other Companies by one Captain, one Lieutenant, and one Ensign: and that one of the Companies be a Train of Artillery, and have the use of the Colony' s field-pieces.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That each Regiment be placed in the said Brigade upon the flanks and in the centre by rotation, so that a perfect equality in rank be preserved. And that a similar equality be preserved among the Field Officers of the different

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And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That each able-bodied effective man, who shall enlist into the service, and find himself a Small-Arm, Bayonet, and other Accoutrements, shall be allowed and paid forty Shillings as a bounty; and each able-bodied effective man, not finding himself a Small-Arm, Bayonet, and other Accoutrements, shall receive twenty-four Shillings as a bounty.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That each Officer and Soldier shall receive the following monthly wages, while in the service, to wit: each Colonel fifteen Pounds, each Lieutenant-Colonel twelve Pounds, each Major ten Pounds, the Adjutant of Brigade, or Adjutant-Major, nine Pounds, each Captain and Captain Lieutenant six Pounds, each Lieutenant four Pounds, each Ensign three Pounds, each Adjutant of a Regiment five Pounds ten Shillings, each Surgeon seven Pounds ten Shillings, each Surgeon' s Mate four Pounds, each Quartermaster three Pounds, each Sergeant two Pounds eight Shillings, each Corporal two Pounds four Shillings, each Drummer and Fifer two Pounds four Shillings, and each private man forty Shillings.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That each Field-Officer be allowed ten Shillings per week, and each other Officer and Soldier six Shillings per week, for billet, while in this Colony after enlistment, and before the Regiments are embodied. And each Soldier shall also have a Blanket and Knapsack given him by the Colony.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That each Officer and Soldier be paid his wages, and the weekly billet that shall be due, as soon as may be; and that one month' s wages be paid in advance before the Troops march out of the Colony.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That each Soldier be enlisted by signing the following Enlistment, to wit: I, the subscriber, hereby solemnly engage and enlist myself as a Soldier in His Majesty' s service, and in the pay of the Colony of Rhode-Island, for the preservation of the liberties of America, from the day of my enlistment, to the last day of December next, unless the service admit of a discharge sooner, which shall be at the discretion of the General Assembly; and I hereby promise to submit myself to all the orders and regulations of the Army, and faithfully to observe and obey all such orders as I shall receive from time to time from my officers.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That no officer or soldier be arrested, prosecuted, or detained in jail, for any debt whatsoever less than fifteen Pounds lawful money, due to one creditor; and that every apprentice who shall enlist into the said Army shall be entitled to the whole of the bounty, and one half of his wages; his master receiving the other half.

And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That for supplying the Troops with Arms, Provisions, &c˙, five hundred barrels of Flour, three hundred barrels of Pork, one hundred barrels of Beef, fifteen hundred Blankets and Knapsacks, and fifteen hundred Small-Arms and Bayonets, with suitable Accoutrements, be immediately procured on the Colony' s account.

And that the said Troops may be supplied with clothing and other necessaries, It is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That a Commissary be appointed, who shall go sutler to the Troops, and have one and a half per cent upon all the business he shall transact. And such Commissary is hereby directed and required to deliver unto the soldiers such things as the Colony shall send for the use of the Regiments at the prime cost, including all charges that may accrue thereon; provided that the said officer deliver nothing to any soldier without an order from the Captain or Commanding Officer of the company for the time being to which such soldier belongs. And the officers are hereby restricted and forbid drawing any order or orders on the Commissary, exceeding the monthly wages due to the soldier that applies for the same.

And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That whoever shall be appointed Commissary and Sutler, shall give security to the General Treasurer, in the penal sum of two thousand Pounds, for the faithful performance of his duty; and shall not carry with him, on his own account, any necessaries of the same kind with those that

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And for the purposes aforesaid. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That a Committee of Safety be chosen by this Assembly, one of whom shall reside in each County, excepting the County of Providence, which shall have two, to furnish and pay the officers and soldiers in such County; and that each Committee-man shall give bond with surety to the General Treasurer, in the sum of one thousand Pounds lawful money, for the faithful discharge of his trust.

And he it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said Committee provide Arms, Tents, Provisions, and every other Accoutrement necessary for the Army; and that they be allowed one and a half per cent, for transacting the business.

And for supplying the General Treasury, Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the sum of Twenty Thousand Pounds, lawful money hills, be immediately printed, and signed by the Honourable Metcalf Bowler, esq˙, Henry Ward, Joseph, Clarice, John Cole, and Thomas Greene, Esquires; that all Bills under five Shillings be signed by one of the Committee, and all the other Bills by two of the Committee; that the same shall be a lawful tender in discharge of all contracts, debts, dues and demands, whether of a publick or private nature; that one half of the said Bills shall be redeemed within two years, and the other half within five years, from the time of the emission, together with the interest thereon accruing, at the rate of two and a half per cent. per annum, by a general tax to be levied on the inhabitants of this Colony; and that the Bills shall be of the following value, to wit:

Which Bills shall be of the following form: "The possessor of this Bill shall be paid, by the Treasurer of the Colony of Rhode-Island, ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ lawful money, at the rate of six Shillings and nine Pence for one ounce of Silver, within five years from the date hereof, with interest at two and a half per cent. per annum until paid. — By order of Assembly. — Providence, the third day of May 1775." And on the said Bill there shall be the same impression and motto as on the lawful money Bills heretofore emitted.