Articles of War

And They were personally, personally well-trained, and they lost.

The British Royal Navy was governed by the Articles of War, which outlined dozens of specific military offenses.

Historically, roughly half of the listed infractions, including mutiny, cowardice in the face of the enemy, and desertion, carried the mandatory or potential sentence of death, often by hanging from the yardarm.

Punishments were deliberately carried out in public on the open deck so the entire crew could witness the consequences of breaking the rules.

However, it convicts him of failing to do his utmost.

And under the Articles of War, as amended seven years earlier, there is exactly one sentence available for that offense, and the court has no discretion whatsoever.

In fact, the officers who convicted him immediately and unanimously petitioned for mercy, but the king refused.

Bing wrote a short statement the night before and handed it to the marshals on the quarter day.

According to the rules...

The Articles of War.

According to the rules of the Articles of War.

Well, fellas, now we're in the army.

Hey, kid, how's it feel being a soldier? Well, it feels sort of goose-piffly on me.

Obedience to the President and to the officers set over him.

all of it governed by a body of law called the Articles of War.

The practical difference showed up in small ways a recruit felt immediately.

A civilian could quit a job and walk into another one the same afternoon.

The reasoning behind it was put plainly rather than dressed up.

A military organization was a team that had to stay trained and ready for duty at any moment, and a team whose members came and went as they pleased couldn't be counted on to be there when it mattered.

The Articles of War themselves were the law that made all of it enforceable, passed by Congress governing military justice, spelling out which offenses went before a court-martial and what punishments a court could hand down.

Every soldier heard them read aloud shortly after he joined.