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In February 1778, the Continental Congress instituted an "Oath of Affirmation" required to be taken by every person holding a commission from the government. The bulk of this book consists of verbatim transcriptions of more than 1,600 officers who subscribed to the Oath of Affirmation, mostly between March and June 1778. Typically, each entry gives the name of the Oath taker, his rank, office or occupation, the location and date of the Oath, and the name of a witness to the Oath. Since these individuals are identified in a particular place at a particular time, any number of them may well be a heretofore undiscovered Revolutionary War ancestor.