RECORD GROUP 98

Most of the entries in this inventory describe orderly books and company books These were the two main books kept by each office or unit An orderly book typically contains War Department General Orders division department and district orders and regimental and garrison orders both received and issued A company book may contain registers of commissioned officers noncommissioned officers men transferred out men transferred in deaths desertions men fined by courtmartial men discharged men furloughed men in captivity descriptive lists of officers and enlisted men clothing accounts accounts of arms and ammunition and accounts of camp equipage and stationary This inventory has been organized according to geographical command and units of the Army The geographical command entries are divided into three periods 17841813 March 1813May 1815 and May 1815May 1821 The entries for the units are arranged alphabetically by type of unit and regiment number if applicable Companies seldom issued orders and all companies copied all the orders they received into their orderly books as did adjutants and inspectors Consequently if all companies of a regiment were at the same post all company orderly books of that regiment generally duplicate each other In the belief that the searcher would be aided by having theses orderly books grouped in series even if incorrectly identified an attempt has been made to assign these books to companies by name when a reasonable choice of name could be made