The inventory of militia resources called "Return of Militia" was authorized by the
Militia Act of 1792. Presidents Washington and Adams had ingnored the "Return of Militia" but President Jefferson for ideological reasons wanted to emphasize the militia over the regular army and ordered the militia inventory be reported to him. The first "Return of Militia" was ASPMA (American State Papers Military Affairs) No. 51 reported to Congress March 1, 1803. ASPMA No. 52, reported to Congress March 22, 1804 for the years 1802 and 1803 was more complete. It is presented here. The ASPMA are now available on
Library of Congress website.
The "turn to image" box roughly corresponds to the page numbers in the papers.
Enter numbers in the image box or change the last number in URL to
get to certain pages.
The American State Papers were the officials records of the Federal Government through 1838.
Other militia returns running through the 1820s can be found in the INDEX of ASPMA and located through the page numbers.
Also,
Secretary of War Henry Knox's 1790 militia proposal to Congress is No. 2 in the ASPMA.
Or,
http://www.potowmack.org/washknox.html.
ASPMA No. 57 and 98 are the only ones we can find anything remotedly related to constitutional militia rights of the people. Interested parties are invited to search for other mentions.
From the Militia Act of 1792:
. . .
X. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the brigade inspector, to attend the regimental and battalion meeting of the militia composing their several brigades, during the time of their being under arms, to inspect their arms, ammunition and accoutrements; superintend their exercise and maneuvres and introduce the system of military discipline before described, throughout the brigade, agreeable to law, and such orders as they shall from time to time receive from the commander in Chief of the State; to make returns to the adjutant general of the state at least once in every year, of the militia of the brigade to which he belongs, reporting therein the actual situation of the arms, accoutrement, and ammunition, of the several corps, and every other thing which, in his judgment, may relate to their government and general advancement of good order and military disciple; an adjutant general shall make a return of all militia of the state, to the Commander in Chief of the said state, and a duplicate of the same to the president of the United States.
Communicated to Congress, March 22, 1804
[In "their incompleteness" we are still waiting for "the attention of Congress". From what we see here the militia clauses in the Constitution, the Second Amendment, the Militia Act of 1792, and the Return of Militia were about military organization not the civil rights of private individuals. Militia duty was conscript duty. There are no civil rights of the sort claimed today in conscript duty.]
For original page on the Library of Congress'
American State Papers Military Affairs file.
Insert 168 in the empty box and click on "Turn to image" box.
How to print from the LOC file you will have to figure out on your own.
It is possible.
Print in "landscape" orientation on legal (8.5x14) paper.
A clearer copy of this can be found on the Library of Congress'
American State Papers Military Affairs file.
Insert 169 into empty box and click on "Turn to Image" box..
How to print from the LOC file you will have to figure out on your own.
It is possible.
Categories: "General and Field Staff", "Field Officers and Regimental Staff", "Artillery".
The categories are obviously of a military nature.
Print in "landscape" orientation on legal (8.5x14) paper.
A clearer copy of this can be found on the Library of Congress'
American State Papers Military Affairs file.
Insert 170 into empty box and click on "Turn to Image" box..
How to print from the LOC file you will have to figure out on your own.
It is possible.
Categories: "Cavalry", "Grenadiers", "Light Infantry".
Again, the categories are obviously of a military nature.
Print in "landscape" orientation on legal (8.5x14) paper.
Print in "landscape" orientation on legal (8.5x14) paper.
A clearer copy of this can be found on the Library of Congress'
American State Papers Military Affairs file.
Insert 171 into empty box and click on "Turn to Image" box.
How to print from the LOC file you will have to figure out on your own.
It is possible.
Categories: "Riflemen", "Infantry", "Arms, Ammunition, and Accoutrements."
What begins on this page as "Arms, Ammunition, and Accoutrements" is the artillery of the day, Three to Twelve Pounders. Some of these were, in fact privately owned, but, nevertheless, subject to militia call up and inventory detailing without mention of a constitutional right of protection against the knowledge and reach of the tyrannically encroaching powers of the federal government. Not even the National Rifle Association these days claims constitutional protection for the artillery of the day. The National Firearms Act of 1934 requires federal registry of privately owned weapons of greater bore than 50 caliber (1/2 inch). The next page is the small arms.
Print in "landscape" orientation on legal (8.5x14) paper.
A clearer copy of this can be found on the Library of Congress'
American State Papers Military Affairs file.
Insert 172 into empty box and click on "Turn to Image" box.
How to print from the LOC file you will have to figure out on your own.
It is possible.
Under the category "Arms, Ammunition, and Accoutrements" is included "Artillery Side Arms", "Sabres", "Pairs of Pistols", "Muskets", "Rifles", "Fuses", "Bayonets", "Cartridge Boxes", "Knapsacks", "Ram Rods", "Espontoons", "Pounds of Powder", "Cartridges with Balls", "Tumbrils and Wagons", "Drums and Fifes", "Loose Balls", "Wires and Brushes", "Flints", "Scabbards and Belts", and "Stands of Colors".
These categories included privately owned small arms and accountrements to be reported to the federal government. These were, in most cases, individually owned private property. There is still no mention of constitutional protection for privately owned weaponry and accoutrements outside of militia duty. In those day the public had a claim for public purposes. There are long lists of adulturated quotes from that period that circulate around today about "private arms." All the persons who were sources for those quotes were around in 1792. There was no outrage or even concern expressed then that an inventory of privately owned weaponry and accoutrements reported to the federal government would somehow "infringe" on the right of the people, asserted today as the "armed populace at large" fantasy (which the NRA has argued to the Supreme Court (p. 1)), to maintain a balance of power between a privately armed populace and any and all government. This balance of power is what is contained today in the gun lobby/libertarian right of privately armed individuals to be armed outside of the knowledge and reach of law and government, state or federal. According to this inventory, home reloaders could be required to report their "Pounds of Powder", "Cartridges", not yet loaded bullets ("Loose Balls") and primers ("Flints") if the malignancy of government should decide that a count of these were necessary for public duty. Hey, let's maintain an inventory of "Wires and Brushes" kept for gun barrel cleaning purposes. How about "Knapsacks"? Why not knives ("Bayonets" and "Sabres")"? Why not flags, "Stands of Colors"? Why not vehicles, "wagons" and "tumbrils", but then vehicles, except farm equipment like "tumbrils" (a two wheel farm wagon), are already registered and their operators are already licensed. If we are going to maintain inventories of farmers' guns for militia duty let's also enrolled their tumbrils for militia duty.
