The chief of these military laws, so far as they relate directly to the duties and obligations of the individual soldier, are embodied in the so-called Articles of War, which constitute sections 1312 and 1343 of the Revised Statutes.5

3 Art, II, Sec. II, C1. 1.

4 The latest compilation of these rules is that prepared by the Judge-Advocate-General George B. Davis, under the direction of the Secretary of War, and published by the United States Government as House Document No. 545, Fifty-sixth Congress, second session.

5 Historical note. The following historical note is taken from the compilation of the Military Laics of the United States, pp. 962 - 3:

"In the early periods of English history military law existed only in time of actual war. When war broke out troops were raised as occasion required, and ordinances for their government, or, as they were afterwards called, Articles of War, were issued by the Crown, with the advice of the constable or of the peers or other experienced persons, or were enacted by the commander in chief in pursuance of an authority for that purpose given in his commission from the Crown.

"These ordinances or articles, however, remained in force only during the service of the troops for whose government they were issued, and ceased to operate on the conclusion of peace. Military law in time of peace did not come into existence until the passing of the first mutiny act in 1689.

"The system of governing troops in active service by articles of Avar, issued under the prerogative power of the Crown, whether issued by the King himself, or by the commanders in chief, or by other officers holding commissions from the Crown, continued from the time of the Conquest till long after the passing of the annual mutiny acts, and did not actually cease till the prerogative power of issuing such articles was superseded in 1803 by a corresponding statutory power.

"The earlier articles were of excessive severity, inflicting death or loss of With the details of this considerable body of statutory law we are not here concerned. With its general character, and especially with its relations to the other civil portions of the law of the land, we are, however, interested.