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MSS 097, Item 130, Constitution, bylaws and standing resolutions adopted by the board of officers of the First Regiment of Rifles Attached to the Third Brigade First Division PV, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.
Processed and encoded by Evan Echols, March 2009.
The First Regiment of Rifles was a military unit based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1857.
Two of the officers, Colonel Turner G. Morehead and Lieutenant William L. Curry participated in the recruitment of the 5th California, later known as the 106th Regiment of Infantry, Pennsylvania Volunteers, in 1861 and served as its commanders until 1864. The 106th was part of the Philadelphia Brigade and participated in many pivotal battles of the American Civil War.
This volume consists of the 1857 Board of Officers (First Regiment of Rifles, Third Brigade, First Division, Pennsylvania Volunteers) constitution, bylaws, and resolutions as well as the signatures and addresses of the officers. Also included are recipes for inks, medicines, cements, pastes, dyes, wines, colognes, and waxes. There are 21 pages of additional recipes and treatments for various medical conditions.
The first page of the volume lists the field and staff officers: Colonel T.G. Morehead, Lieutenant Colonel William L. Curry, Major John McManus (succeeded by Asher Leidy), Adjutant Asher Leidy, Quarter Master D. Mann King, Pay Master Charles Sines (succeeded by Rudolph Stein), Surgeon Josiah Cooper, and Quarter Master Sergeant Thomas McAdams. The positions of Assistant Surgeon and Sergeant Major are listed but do not have a name assigned to them. The word "deceased" and another name is written next to the Major, Quarter Master, and Pay Master positions with a different pen (presumably at a later time).
The constitution begins on the second page of the volume with a preamble stating that the Board of Officers was constituted in order to "secure the more perfect discipline of the Regiment." The following bylaws are organized into fourteen articles. These bylaws establish the requirements for meetings of the Board as well as the order of business, voting procedure, financial transactions, and proper behavior during meetings. There are four standing resolutions listed, the first and third establishing fines for neglect of duties, the second setting a deadline for being excused for absence from duty, and the fourth confirming the ability of the commander to appoint a substitute to serve notices for meetings in absence of the Sergeant Major. The resolutions are followed by names and addresses of the officers, along with their signatures.
Nineteen pages of recipes and remedies follow the constitution. Included are recipes for everyday goods such as ink, syrup, dye, cologne, wax, cement, and paste. There are cures for many different ailments such as rheumatism, diarrhea, whooping cough, and even a cure for dandruff. Laid in are 21 pages of additional recipes and remedies.
The pages of the volume are unbound with sewn on linen tape. The majority of the pages in the volume are unused. The constitution, bylaws, and resolutions are written in a formal hand. The recipes and remedies are written in a more casual hand. The laid in pages containing additional recipes are smaller, single sheets of paper.
This item forms part of MSS 097 Diaries, Journals, and Ships' Logs collection.