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Naval Transports....Convoys.

699....Officers of the Army ordered for passage in ships-of-war may mess separately from the officers of the Navy, in which case a messplace will be assigned to them; or, by mutual agreement or order of the Department, may mess with the officers with whom they are authorized to live, they paying their proportion of mess expenses.

700....Officers of the Army embarked with troops in Navy transports, or in troop ships, shall mess together, and separately from the Officers of the Navy, unless otherwise mutually agreed upon with the sanction of the Commanding Officer of the vessel and of the troops.

701....When any part of the Army, volunteers or militia, of the United States shall be embarked in any vessel of the Navy for duty therein, they shall, until they are regularly detached therefrom, be subject to the laws for the government of the Navy, and to the regulations of police for the vessel, in the same manner and to the same extent as marines when they form a part of the complement of a vessel.

702....Whenever any part of the Army, volunteers or militia, of the United States shall be embarked on board any vessel of the Navy for transportation only, they shall not be subject to the laws and regulations for the government of the Navy, but to the laws for the government of the Army; but they shall, nevertheless, be subject and conform to the internal regulations of the vessel in which they may be embarked, upon pain of confinement by the Commander of such vessel while on board, and of such punishment as an army court-martial may direct, after they shall have been landed.

703....No army courts-martial shall be held on board any vessel in the Navy when in commission, nor shall army, volunteer, or militia officers order any public punishment or confinement in irons to be inflicted on board such vessel, without the previous approval of the Commanding Officer of such vessel.

ARTICLE XIV.

Convoys.

704....The Commanding Officer of a vessel ordered to afford convoy to merchant vessels, is to arrange with their masters such signals as

Convoys.

will enable him to regulate movements, and them to communicate wants; and he will give them in writing, or in print, such directions for their government as may be necessary for their protection. Should it be expedient to provide them with secret instructions or signals, he will enjoin upon each master not to inform any person of the same, and not to allow an enemy, in the event of capture, to become possessed of the same.

705....He shall take a list of the names of the vessels under his convoy, specifying their rig, the places to which they belong and are bound, the date of their joining, and the names of their masters, owners, and supercargoes, a copy of which he is to transmit to the Secretary of the Navy; and on his arrival in port he is to send another list to the Secretary of the Navy, setting forth the names, &c., of the vessels that arrived with him, and of those that did not so arrive, mentioning, with regard to the latter, the time and supposed cause of their separation.

706....Before taking under his convoy a vessel bound to a belligerent port, he shall require satisfactory proof that there are no articles of contraband on board; and without such proof he is not to take her under his convoy, or afford her protection en route against a belligerent claim, unless specially directed.

707....An officer charged with a convoy must be very vigilant in guarding against attack or surprise, and if attacked he must defend it. He must never weaken the convoying force by detaching a part of it to go in chase beyond signal distance, nor must he himself separate from the convoy, unless such course would be the means of preserving it from an enemy.

708....He shall adopt all possible measures to prevent the separation of the convoy, and may direct such vessels to repeat his signals as he may deem proper.

709....He will make report to the Secretary of the Navy of the name of any vessel, and of the master, who shall disobey the instructions or signals for the convoy, or leave the convoy without permission, or otherwise misbehave, stating the particulars of his misconduct, so that insurance offices may be informed of the same.

710....Whenever the master of any vessel under convoy shall wilfully or repeatedly neglect or refuse to conform to the instructions

Convoys.

or signals of the Commanding Officer of the convoying force, the said Commanding Officer may refuse him any further protection, and be released from any further responsibility for the safety of the vessel.

711....When different convoys shall sail at the same time, or shall meet at sea, they shall sail together as long as their course shall be in the same direction; but the different convoys shall be kept as distinct from each other as circumstances will allow.

712....While two convoys continue together, the senior Officer commands the whole; and the vessels of the convoying forces will wear different distinguishing flags, for the information of the respective convoys. 713... The Commanding Officer is enjoined not to receive, or suffer any person under his authority to receive, under any pretence, any fee, reward, or gratuity, from any owner or master, or other person, for the protection afforded.

714....Vessels-of-war of the United States are not to take under their convoy the vessels of any power at war with another with which the United States is at peace, nor the vessels of a neutral power, unless specially ordered so to do, or some very particular circumstances should occur to render it expedient and proper, of which they are to advise the Navy Department at the earliest possible moment.

715.... The Commanding Officer of a vessel of the Navy, about to sail from a foreign port during war, or when it is probable that war will soon occur, is, if the nature of the orders under which he is acting will permit, to give timely information to the merchant vessels of the United States lying therein of the day of his intended departure, anu to take under his protection all such bound the same way as may be desirous and ready to accompany him; and he is also to take under his protection any other vessels of the United States that he may fall in with on the passage, which may desire it, and conduct them in safety as far as his course and theirs are the same.

716....No lights are to be carried at night by either the public or private vessels of a convoy, except by the authority of the officer who may command it. If he directs any one or more of these vessels to carry one or more of them, they are to do so.

717....The Commanding Officer of a convoy is not to permit the vessels under his protection to be searched or detained by any belligerent or other cruiser.

Prizes, or Vessels Seized as Such, and Prisoners.

ARTICLE XV.

Prizes, or Vessels Seized as Such, and Prisoners.

718....The attention of Commanding Officers of the Navy is particularly called to the laws in relation to captured vessels.

719.... When a vessel shall be seized as a prize, it shall be the duty of the Commander of the vessel making the capture, to cause all the hatches and passages leading to the cargo to be secured and sealed, except such as may be indispensably necessary for the use of the persons on board and for the management of the vessel. The log-book, and all papers relating to the vessel and cargo, shall also be sealed up, and placed in charge of the prize-master, for delivery with the vessel and cargo.

720....Should it be absolutely necessary to take out of a vessel seized as a prize any property, either for its better preservation or for the use of vessels or armed forces of the United States, a correct inventory shall be made of it, and also a careful appraisement of its value, by suitable officers, qualified to judge of such value. This inventory and appraisement shall be made in duplicate, one part of which shall be transmitted to the Secretary of the Navy, and the other to the judge or United States attorney of the district to which the prize may be sent.

721....If, from unavoidable circumstances, it should become neces. sary to sell any portion of the captured property, a full report of the facts shall be made to the United States attorney or judge of the district into which the prize is sent, and any proceeds of sale shall be held subject to the order of the district court.

722....The prize-master will vigilantly guard the captured or seized property intrusted to his care from spoliation and theft, such offences leading to a forfeiture of the prize-money, and such other punishment as a prize court may inflict, both of the crew and the prize-master.

723....The Commanding Officer of any vessel of the Navy making a capture, shall report to the Navy Department all the material facts attending it; and shall in this report, and also in his report to the

Prizes, or Vessels Seized as Such, and Prisoners.

United States district judge, state the names of all vessels within signal distance at the time, together with all the circumstances of their position, so far as he may be cognizant of them.

724....The Commanding Officers of all vessels claiming to share in a prize shall cause the prize list, which they are required by law to transmit to the Navy Department, to exhibit not only the name and rank, or rating, but also the rate of annual or monthly pay of each person borne on the books at the time of the capture to which the list refers. They shall also, in all cases, forward a statement of their claims, with the grounds upon which they are based, to the Department, and to the judge of the district to which the prize was sent.

725....On forwarding prize lists to the Department, they will see that a note is made against the name of any person who may come under the seventh section of the act approved February 24th, 1864, for enrolling and calling out the national forces.

726....The law requires that the master of the captured or seized vessel shall be sent in, his evidence being considered primary; and as many of the officers and crew of the captured or seized vessel as can properly be taken care of should be sent forward, in custody of the prize master, who will report, immediately on his arrival, to the United States Attorney, as well as to the Department. The mate and supercargo, next to the master, are the most important witnesses before a prize court, and should always be sent with the captured or seized vessel, or carried into the port to which she may be sent for adjudication, without delay.

727....Although in time of war the Commander of a vessel is to exercise constant vigilance to prevent supplies of arms, munitions, and contraband articles being conveyed to the enemy, yet under no circumstances is he to seize any vessel within the waters of a friendly nation.

728....A Commanding Officer in time of war is to diligently exercise the right of visitation and search on all suspected vessels, yet in no case is he authorized to chase and fire at a vessel without showing any colors and giving her the customary preliminary notice of a desire to speak and visit her; i. e., first, a blank cartridge shall be fired; second, a shotted gun, aimed so as not to hit; third, a shot fired at the vessel; nor is he to chase or fire at any such vessel,

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