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 Keith Pugsley, Ken Miles


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Admirals in Court: Discipline, Honour and Naval Justice, 1778-1814


ISBN13: 9781350467279
To be Published: July 2025
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: UK
Format: Hardback
Price: £85.00



Exploring the role that courts martial played in the professional lives of flag officers in the late Georgian Royal Navy, this book examines the genesis, proceedings and outcomes of nine trials faced by British admirals in the American and French wars. Despite only one admiral being found guilty as charged, the implications of facing trial were highly significant on all of these officers' careers and their surrounding political climates. For some officers, courts martial provided them a means of preserving their honour and professional reputations in the face of perceived mistreatment or criticism.

This study sets the experiences of these nine admirals in the context of the naval courts martial system and considers their charging and conviction rate with other naval personnel in the period to understand how the naval justice system worked at the top of society. Drawing on a range of sources, from Admiralty records in the National Archives to official and personal papers, publications of the Naval Records Society and press literature, it sheds new light on prominent individuals' careers and key moments in 18th century naval history.

Subjects:
Legal History
Contents:
Introduction

Part I: The Naval Courts Martial System
The Framework
Procedures and Practices
Divergent Pathways

Part II: Duty, Obedience and Respect
The Keppel-Palliser Affair: a question of appropriate zeal
The Palliser-Keppel Affair: a question of obedience
The limits of discretion: Vice Admiral William Cornwallis versus Lord Spencer
Judgements and Misjudgements: Vice Admiral Sir Robert Calder
Accuser and Accused: Sequels to Admiral Lord Gambier's action of Basque Roads

Part III: Wealth without Honour
A Hostage to Enmity: Vice Admiral Sir William Parker versus Earl St Vincent
'For the Use of the Ship?': Vice Admiral Sir John Duckworth's extraordinary baggage
'Guilty in Part': Vice Admiral Charles Stirling's Misadventures in the West Indies
Conclusion

Notes
Index