I believe a "prisoner within the line " was a soldier who had been found guilty of an offence (disobedience, theft), but continued to serve (on "Defaulters") with his company. A prisoner "outside the line" was a guilty soldier who had been removed from combat and either incarcerated or held in chains in the rear (in "Jankers") awaiting severe punishment fro some other cfinme (desertion, striking an officer). If your man had run off to get married while serving as a prisoner "within the lines," he would soon find himself as a prisoner "outside the lines" if he had been caught, or returned of his own volition. Jay Underwood Elmsdale NS Coming soon: "Fleming's Army: The civil engineers who built the Intercolonial Railway" From Railfare*DC Books. Contact author for details Also from Railfare: "Ghost Tracks" supernatural stories from Nova Scotia's Railways. http://www.railfare.net/Ghost%20Tracks.html http://www.railfare.net/FromFollyToFortune.html http://www.railfare.net/builtforwar.html >From Pennydreadful Publishing: "Confederation Conspiracy: The curious career of a civil engineer" http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1617638 "Kings of the Iron Road: The men who made Nova Scotia's railways work" http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2002384 Or see author for details www.Pennydreadfulpublishing.com ---- Fred Bartlett <bartlett@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote: > When looking at the British muster rolls of the Revolutionary War of 1775 - 1782, I find a number of notations of "Prisoner within the line" or "Prisoner without the line". > > In the case at point, a British soldier was cited as "Prisoner within the line" in one muster roll, and "Prisoner without the line" in the next muster roll. In between the two muster rolls, he was married. > > Does anyone know the official meanings of the "Prisoner" statements? > > Fred > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > List Announcements can be found at > http://www.rootsweb.com/~nbcharlo/nblistann.htm > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NEWBRUNSWICK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message