Recruiting Instructions for the Royal Fusileers
November 17, 1775
"You are not to inlist any men for the Service of the
Regiment Who has been a Sailor, Or is in the Militia, Or that has been in the
Service before, without He produces an Honourable Discharge.
You are to take particular care that such men as you inlist are free from Ruptures, Scabbed Head, Sore or Crooked legs, In(?), or any other deformity.
You are allowed to inlist men of five feet six inches provided they are able bodied, Broad Shoulders well Limbed and not above Twenty Years of Age, if any man has not the above Qualifications or looks unmistakably Older then He Loans Himself to be, He will be Rejected; Young Lads of five feet High will be allowed of provided they are Well Limbed and Likely to Grow.
Five Guineas will be Allow to the Recruiting officer for each Recruit that they shall be approved of, of which the Recruit is to have Three Guineas, Notwithstanding any former Regulation, and Ten Shillings to the Recruiting Party out of the above money, Two thirds of the Ten Shillings to go to the Person that shall bring + inlist the men, the remainder of the Ten Shillings to be equally divided among the Rest of the Recruiting Party and to compensate the loss the Recruiting officer may sustain by the Additional Bounty of the Recruits in case of Desertion, it is His Majesty’s pleasure that the Commanding officer of the Regiment, As Person authorised to pass the Recruits should certify the Number of Men who may have Deserted previous to their being approved of as proper Recruits that One Guinea + a half may be allowed to be Charged for each Deserter in the Contingent Bill of the Regiment.
You are to take care that each man that you inlist be immediately provided with knapsack (page is cut off at bottom), Necessarys they may want, which is to be out of the Inlisting money.
As Often as you send Recruits You are to send their Attestations, with an account of their Inlisting money on the Back + a list of what Necessarys they are provided with.
As soon as you are at the place appointed for Recruiting, You are to Draw on the Agent for Fifty pounds for the Recruiting account of which you are to advise Him, whey forty of the Fifty are Expended for levy money and Subsistance, You may Draw for fifty more with advice as before, inclosing to the agent an account of the first fifty according to the annex’d form, this you are to do every time you Draw, carrying the expenses of levy money and subsistence forward from our account to the other, so that the last account You make will Thin the ballance in your Hands.
These Directions You are Strictly to follow the agent having orders not to answer the Drafts of any officers who shall not comply with their instructions.
You are to send Returns of Recruits an accounts according to the annex’d form the first of every month, to Lord Robert Bertie on Morhimer (sp?) Street, or every half year to the Commanding officer in America, which may be sent to Lord Robert + He will forward them, the first whom to be made on the first day of Ja 1776 which is to begin from the 27 Day of Last Nov-ber from which these Recruiting Instructions are to be inforced.
The Recruiting officers are to have duplicates on their Returns + accounts that they may be able to make a General onr (sp?) when Ordered.
Satisfied with the behavior of the Partys under their Command."
You are to take particular care that such men as you inlist are free from Ruptures, Scabbed Head, Sore or Crooked legs, In(?), or any other deformity.
You are allowed to inlist men of five feet six inches provided they are able bodied, Broad Shoulders well Limbed and not above Twenty Years of Age, if any man has not the above Qualifications or looks unmistakably Older then He Loans Himself to be, He will be Rejected; Young Lads of five feet High will be allowed of provided they are Well Limbed and Likely to Grow.
Five Guineas will be Allow to the Recruiting officer for each Recruit that they shall be approved of, of which the Recruit is to have Three Guineas, Notwithstanding any former Regulation, and Ten Shillings to the Recruiting Party out of the above money, Two thirds of the Ten Shillings to go to the Person that shall bring + inlist the men, the remainder of the Ten Shillings to be equally divided among the Rest of the Recruiting Party and to compensate the loss the Recruiting officer may sustain by the Additional Bounty of the Recruits in case of Desertion, it is His Majesty’s pleasure that the Commanding officer of the Regiment, As Person authorised to pass the Recruits should certify the Number of Men who may have Deserted previous to their being approved of as proper Recruits that One Guinea + a half may be allowed to be Charged for each Deserter in the Contingent Bill of the Regiment.
You are to take care that each man that you inlist be immediately provided with knapsack (page is cut off at bottom), Necessarys they may want, which is to be out of the Inlisting money.
As Often as you send Recruits You are to send their Attestations, with an account of their Inlisting money on the Back + a list of what Necessarys they are provided with.
As soon as you are at the place appointed for Recruiting, You are to Draw on the Agent for Fifty pounds for the Recruiting account of which you are to advise Him, whey forty of the Fifty are Expended for levy money and Subsistance, You may Draw for fifty more with advice as before, inclosing to the agent an account of the first fifty according to the annex’d form, this you are to do every time you Draw, carrying the expenses of levy money and subsistence forward from our account to the other, so that the last account You make will Thin the ballance in your Hands.
These Directions You are Strictly to follow the agent having orders not to answer the Drafts of any officers who shall not comply with their instructions.
You are to send Returns of Recruits an accounts according to the annex’d form the first of every month, to Lord Robert Bertie on Morhimer (sp?) Street, or every half year to the Commanding officer in America, which may be sent to Lord Robert + He will forward them, the first whom to be made on the first day of Ja 1776 which is to begin from the 27 Day of Last Nov-ber from which these Recruiting Instructions are to be inforced.
The Recruiting officers are to have duplicates on their Returns + accounts that they may be able to make a General onr (sp?) when Ordered.
Satisfied with the behavior of the Partys under their Command."
The original document resides in the Royal Fusilier Museum, Tower of London and was transcribed by Andrew Vollman.