The Recruiting Act 1778 (18 Geo.3 c.53) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, which created a bounty system for

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

and instituted

impressment Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is the taking of men into a military or naval force by compulsion, with or without notice. European navies of several nations used forced recruitment by various means. The large size of ...

to recruit more soldiers for the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

. The Act received royal assent on 28 May 1778.

Background

After the losses at the

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

and the apprehended hostilities with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, the existing voluntary enlistment measures were judged to be insufficient.

The Act

It provided that each volunteer receive a bounty of £3, and that he should be entitled to discharge after three years unless the nation were at war. It also empowered the

justices of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

to levy and deliver to the recruiting officers "all able-bodied idle, and disorderly persons, who could not upon examination prove themselves to exercise and industrially follow some lawful trade or employment, or to have some substance sufficient for their support and maintenance". A reward of 10s. was offered to the discoverer of any person liable within the provisions of the Act. Impressed men could demand discharge after five years, unless the nation were at war. Geographically its operation was confined, by the direction of the Secretary for War, to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

and to "the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, the city and liberties of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

, and such parts of the County of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

as are within the Bills of Mortality". The chief advantage of this Act was in the number of volunteers brought in under the apprehension of

Repeal

It was repealed by section 1 of the

Recruiting Act 1779 The Recruiting Act 1779 (19 Geo.3 c.10) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. It was a press Act for the recruiting of his Majesty's Land Forces. After the losses in the American Revolutionary War and the apprehended hostilities with Fr ...

and replaced by that Act.

References

Bibliography

* {{UK legislation Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1778 British laws relating to the American Revolution American Revolutionary War Repealed Great Britain Acts of Parliament

Background

The Act

Repeal

See also

References

Bibliography