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different grades. An ensign for ensign, for instance, however ancient the date of his commission, must forever be junior to a lieutenant, let the date of the lieutenant's commission be never so recent. And a lieutenant be his present or former commission ever so old, is still but a lieutenant and can never arrive at equality with the youngest captain and so of the other ascending grades. And in the organization of a Courtmartial the only thing to settle is the relative rank of the officers in each respective grade; the distinction of grades being already fixed by law and the nature of things. The president being always the superior officer, the first inquiry will be respecting the grades of which the members of the Court consist suppose the highest of these to be majors, their relative rank will first be settled by the rule prescribed in the sq. sect. of the law above mentioned, & their seats on the right & left of the president, occupied accordingly, then the relative rank of the captains, & so on through all the grades present, always remembering that no inferior grade, however old the date of commission, can ever come in competition with a superior grade.

H: Sewall, M. Gen.

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                             Commonwealth of Massachusetts

General Orders, Headquarters, Feby. 7. 1803.

The Commander in chief having had the advice of Council respecting several alterations proposed to be made in the eighth division & the forming a new regiment in the first brigade of said division, thereupon orders as follows viz.