First as to the organization of the court martial, there was to be a general and a regimental court, the general, the higher and the regimental the lower court. The general court was to consist of not less than thirteen members none of whom were to be under the rank of a commissioned officer and the president was to be a field officer. The regimental court was to consist of not more than five members and in case five could not be assembled three were sufficient, and any commissioned officer of a regiment by the appointment of his colonel could hold the court in the regiment for minor cases.[209] All crimes not capital and all disorders and neglect that officers and soldiers might be guilty of, though not mentioned in the Articles of war, were to be taken into a general or regimental court according to the nature of the crime. The offense could be punished at the court's discretion, but no one was to be sentenced to death except in the cases mentioned in the rules layed down by congress and no sentence was to be executed until the commanding officer had approved it. The commanding officer also had the power to pardon or suspend sentence if he saw fit. According to the organization of the court martial, it was to inflict at its own discretion only degrading, cashiering, drumming out of camp and whipping not exceeding thirty-nine lashes.[210] According to entries made in orderly books and diaries, those orders were often overlooked and the originality of the members of the court was worked into service. Thacher said of the punishments ordered by the court martial "Death has been inflicted in a few instances of an atrocious nature, but in general, the punishment consists in a public whipping, and the number of stripes is proportioned to the degree of offense. The law of Moses prescribing forty stripes save one but that number has often been exceeded in our camp. In aggravated cases, and with old offenders in our camp the culprit is sentenced to receive one hundred lashes or more. It is the duty of the drummers and fifers to inflict the chastisement, and the drum major must attend and see that the duty is faithfully performed. The culprit being securely tied to a tree or post receives on his naked back the number of lashes assigned him by a whip formed of several small knotted cords which sometimes cut through the skin at every stroke. However, strange it may appear, a soldier will often receive the severest stripes without uttering a groan or once shrinking from the lash even while the blood flows freely from the lacerated wounds.