Wednesday September 18. 1776.

The Board of War, brought in a report, which was taken into Consideration and six resolutions adopted, from it, which appear on the Journal. The Remainder of the Report postponed.1

Resolved that the Board of War be directed to prepare a resolution for enforceing and perfecting Discipline in the Army.

Congress took into Consideration the Instructions to the Commissioners &c.

These I suppose, were the Ministers to France, and other Courts in Europe.

Thursday September 19. 1776.

The Board of War brought in a report, which was taken into Consideration, and five Resolutions adopted from it, which see in the Journal.1 The last of these, is in these Words.

That the Commander in Chief of the forces of these States in the several departments, be directed to give possitive orders, to the Brigadier Generals and Colonels, and all other Officers in their several Armies, that the Troops under their command may every day be called together, and trained in Arms, in order that Officers and Men may be perfected in the manual Exercises and Manoeuvres, and inured to the most exemplary discipline, and that all Officers be assured, that the Congress will consider Activity and Success, in introducing discipline into the Army, among the best recommendations for promotion.

This Resolution was the Effect of my late Journey, through the Jersies to Staten Island. I had observed such dissipation and Idleness, such Confusion and distraction, among Officers and Soldiers, in various parts of the Country as astonished, grieved and allarmed me. Discipline, Discipline had become my constant topick of discourse and even declamation in and out of Congress and especially in the Board of War. I saw very clearly that the Ruin of our Cause and Country must be the Consequence if a thoughrough Reformation and strict Discipline could not be introduced. My Zeal on this Occasion was no doubt represented, by my faithfull Ennemies, in great Secrecy however, to their friends in the Army, and although it might recommend me to the Esteem of a very few, yet, it will be easily believed that it contributed nothing to my Popularity, among the many.

A Memorial from the Chevalier Dorre was read. Ordered that it be referred to the Board of War.

Congress resumed the Consideration of the Articles of War, and, after some time, the farther Consideration thereof was postponed.

This was another Measure, that I constantly urged on with all the Zeal and Industry possible: convinced that nothing short of the Roman and British Discipline could possible save Us. Yet the Upright Hamilton with his usual Veracity, charges me, with being an Ennemy to a regular Army.2

Fryday September 20th. 1776.

Congress resumed the Consideration of the Articles of War, which being debated in Paragraphs, were agreed to as follows.

Resolved that from and after the publication of the following Articles, in the respective Armies of the United States, the Rules and Articles, by which the said Armies have heretofore been governed, shall be, and they are hereby repealed. The Articles are inserted in the Journal of this day, and need not be transcribed, they are the System which I persuaded Jefferson to agree with me in reporting to Congress. They fill about sixteen Pages of the Journal.1—In Congress Jefferson never spoke, and all the labour of the debate on these Articles, Paragraph by Paragraph, was thrown upon me, and such was the Opposition, and so indigested were the notions of Liberty prevalent among the Majority of the Members most zealously attached to the public Cause, that to this day I scarcely know how it was possible, that these Articles could be carried. They were Adopted however, and have governed our Armies, with little variation to this day, the 7th. of June 1805.

Ordered that the foregoing Articles of War be immediately published.

Ordered that the Resolutions for raising the new Army be published, and copies thereof sent to the Commanding Officers in the several departments, and to the Assemblies and Conventions of the several States.

These were for raising Eighty Eight Battalions, with a Bounty for inlisting the Men during the War, granting Lands &c. which may be seen page 357 and 358 of the Journal of 1776.2

Here again the Honesty of Hamilton appears. The Articles of War and the Institution of the Army during the War, were all my Work, and yet he represents me as an Ennemy to a regular Army. Although I have long since forgiven this Arch Ennemy, yet Vice, Folly and Villany are not to be forgotten, because the guilty Wretch repented, in his dying Moments. Although David repented, We are no where commanded to forget the Affair of Uriah: though the Magdalene reformed, We are not obliged to forget her former Vocation:3 though the Thief on the cross was converted, his Felony is still upon Record. The Prodigal Son repented and was forgiven, yet his Harlots and riotous living, and even the Swine and the husks that brought him 435to consideration, cannot be forgotten. Nor am I obliged by any Principles of Morality or Religion to suffer my Character to lie under infamous Calumnies, because the Author of them, with a Pistol Bullet through his Spinal Marrow, died a Penitent. Charity requires that We should hope and believe that his humiliation was sincere, and I (sincerely) hope he was forgiven: but I will not conceal his former Character at the Expence of so much Injustice to my own, as this Scottish Creolion Bolingbroke in the days of his disappointed Ambition and unbridled Malice and revenge, was pleased falsely to attempt against it. Born on a Speck more obscure than Corsica, from an Original not only contemptible but infamous, with infinitely less courage and Capacity than Bonaparte, he would in my Opinion, if I had not controuled the fury of his Vanity, instead of relieving this Country from Confusion as Bonaparte did France, he would have involved it in all the Bloodshed and distractions of foreign and civil War at once.4