MUTINY AND DESERTION (IN AMERICA) ACT (1775). An Act to amend and render more effectual in His Majesty's Dominions in America an Act, passed in the present Session of Parliament, intituled, An Act for punishing Mutiny and Desertion, and for the better Payment of the Army and their Quarters, and for extending the Provisions of the said Act to His Majesty's Marine Forces in America. TOGETHER WITH: 1 Continuation Act (1776).

AMERICAN REVOLUTION. Great Britain. Parliament.

Published by London: Charles Eyre and William Strahan, 1775

About this Item

QUARTERING OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES. 2 Acts (1775 and 1776). (1) An Act to amend and render more effectual in His Majesty's Dominions in America an Act, passed in the present Session of Parliament, intituled, An Act for punishing Mutiny and Desertion, and for the better Payment of the Army and their Quarters, and for extending the Provisions of the said Act to His Majesty's Marine Forces in America. Folio (12 inches). 15 George III, Chapter 15 (1775). General title leaf + pages 383-406. (2) An Act to continue an Act made in the last Session of Parliament, intituled, An Act to amend and render more effectual in His Majesty's Dominions in America an Act, passed in the present Session of Parliament, intituled, "An Act for punishing Mutiny Desertion, and for the better Payment of the Army and their Quarters;" and for extending the Provisions of the said Act to His Majesty's Marine Forces in America. Folio (12 inches). 16 George III, Chapter 11 (1776). General title leaf + pages 335-336. Royal coats of arms, headpiece ornament, and factotum initial. Text in Black Letter. Light tide mark along upper margins. Both Acts have been neatly extracted from bound volumes and expertly mended. The Mutiny and Desertion (in America) Act, 1775 was a modified version of the Mutiny and Desertion Act passed annually by Parliament to govern, regulate, provision, and fund the activities of the British armed forces. Given the unrest in the American colonies, the legislation was tailored to assist with the circumstances confronting the forces stationed in the colonies. The Mutiny and Desertion (in America) Act, 1775 addressed the sensitive and almost universally abhorred issue of quartering British troops in the colonies. In the absence of sufficient means to quarter officers and soldiers in the barracks available to them, they were to be quartered and billeted in inns, livery stables, alehouses, victualling houses, and public alehouses by authority of the governor and council of each respective colony (or their assign). If additional shelter was required, suitable uninhabited houses, outbuildings, barns, or other buildings could be necessary to secure. Details on accommodation, food, drink and expenses were outlined in detail, as were penalties for persons harbouring deserters, or buying soldiers arms, clothes, or other accoutrements. The Mutiny and Desertion (in America) Act, 1775 was effective as of 24 March 1775, and was to last no more than a period of two years. On 19 April 1775, less than a month after the Act became valid, the first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. The following year, in 1775, with the war well under way, it was deemed necessary to extend the 1775 Act for a further term. Thus, the Mutiny and Desertion (in America) Act, 1776 (designed to continue the legislation until 24 March 1778) received the Royal Assent on 22 March 1776. Shortly thereafter, on 4 July 1776, the Declaration of Independence was unanimously ratified by the Second Continental Congress composed of delegates from each of the Thirteen Colonies which, in itself, was an act of high treason against the British Crown.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: MUTINY AND DESERTION (IN AMERICA) ACT (1775). An Act to amend and render more effectual in His Majesty's Dominions in America an Act, passed in the present Session of Parliament, intituled, An Act for punishing Mutiny and Desertion, and for the better Payment of the Army and their Quarters, and for extending the Provisions of the said Act to His Majesty's Marine Forces in America. TOGETHER WITH: 1 Continuation Act (1776).
• Publisher: London: Charles Eyre and William Strahan
• Publication Date: 1775
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • AMERICAN REVOLUTION
  • GREAT BRITAIN Military