1782 N.C. Sess. Laws 413-14

I. Whereas the time of service of the troops raised to compleat the Continental Battalions of this State by an Act of Assembly passed at Halifax in February, one thousand seven hundred and eighty one, is nearly expired; and whereas it is absolutely necessary the said battalions be immediately compleated, and the common mode of recruiting being found ineffectual; II. Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the colonel or commanding officer of each battalion in this State is hereby directed to order the field officers and captains of his battalion to meet at the place by law appointed for the general muster of his battalion, or at some other convenient place, on or before the fifteenth day of June next, and the field officers and captains shall then and there divide the said battalion, officers and men of every rank between the ages of sixteen and fifty included, (his excellency the Governor, Judges of the Superior Courts of Law, Attorney General, Continental Delegates, the Speakers of both Houses of the General Assembly, and Moravians, Quakers, Menonists and Dunkards, who are by law subject to a three fold tax, in lieu of all draughts and military duty, excepted) into classes of twenty men each, after deducting all such as have been captured and made prisoners when in actual service of this or the United States and are now on parole, and all such as have been lately drafted, or have turned out as volunteers in behalf of classes and have performed their respective tours of duty either by personal service, or by hiring a substitute who shall have performed his tour of duty agreeable to law, and all such who are now in the service of this State under an Act for raising troops out of the militia of this State for the defence thereof, provided such exemption be agreeable to the said Act; and provided that all delinquents who have been turned over to the Continental service for desertion or other military offence, within twelve months preceeding the fifteenth day of March last, shall not be included in any class for raising the aforesaid Continental troops if they have actually served the time prescribed by law, and shall produce a discharge from the proper Continental officer certifying the same. III. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the commanding officer of the several regiments within their respective counties in this State shall cause all the inhabitants of their counties between the ages of sixteen and fifty to be enrolled, no respect being had to any exemptions, and hold a court of enquiry to exempt such who are unfit for service, previous to the day directed by this Act for the classing the militia as aforesaid; and whereas it may happen that a number not sufficient to make a class may be left, after dividing the battalions into classes of twenty, then and in that case, it shall be lawful for the said commissioned officers, field officers and captains, by lot to determine what men shall be of the said number, and to which class each of them shall be added, therein to stand a draft, provided the class to which he may belong do not produce a volunteer on the day of the general muster; and the commanding officer of each battalion of militia shall, within ten days after classing his battalion as aforesaid, order a general muster of his said battalion at the place aforesaid, and shall then and there require each class to furnish one able bodied man, who shall serve in the Continental battalion; belonging to this State for eighteen months from the day of their meeting at such place of rendezvous as is hereafter appointed: And the said volunteers shall be subject to the same rules and discipline, and have the same pay and rations as the Continental troops belonging to this State, from the day of their being inlisted. And in case a sufficient number of volunteers do not then inlist, the commanding officer shall immediately order one man to be drafted from each of the classes who have failed to produce a volunteer, and each of the men so drafted shall be entitled to receive the same pay and rations as if they had inlisted, and shall be obliged to serve in the Continental battalions of this State for the same term, and be subject to the same rules and discipline as the said volunteer, or produce an able bodied substitute on the day, and at the place appointed by this Act for the district rendezvous, which substitute on being approved of by the field officer delivering, and the Continental officer receiving him, shall be entitled to the same pay and rations, and shall be obliged to serve for the same term, and be subject to the same rules and discipline, as the drafted man would have been had he not hired such substitute. IV. Provided always, That no British or Hessian deserter who hath not been a resident of this State twelve months, or orphan or apprentice under eighteen years of age, Indian, sailor or negro slave, shall be received as a substitute for any class volunteer or draft whatever: And provided further, That no militia officer shall take or receive any person offered as a substitute for any person, then being himself a substitute for any person or class under this Act, on pain of forfeiting for every such offence, the sum of fifty pounds specie, to be recovered by action of debt in any court of record in this State, by any person who will sue for the same, and applied one half to his own use, the other half to the use of the State, and becoming moreover liable to be removed from office. V. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the field officers and captains shall class the men in such manner that each class may be of equal value, as near as may be, agreeable to the assessment of their taxable property for the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty one. VI. And be it further enacted, That each and every captain, or other officer commanding the respective companies of militia in this State, shall, previous to the time of classing their battalion, make return on oath to the colonel or commanding officer of their regiment of all the effective men belonging to their companies respectively, under pain of forfeiting fifty pounds specie for each and every neglect or refusal, to be recovered by any person suing for the same, in any court of record in this State, and applied one half to his own use, and the other half to the use of the State.