Proceedings of the first naval court martial held under the Constitution.
Silas Talbot.
Proceedings of the first naval court martial held under the Constitution.
Aboard the U.S.S. Constitution, 27-28 June 1799
22 manuscript pages, concluding with a final certification and signature by Silas Talbot as captain and president, on 11 leaves (12 x 7¼ inches) partially conjoined on top edge by sealing wax; minimal wear.
The Navy held courts martial dating back to 1775 under the "Rules for the Regulation of the Navy of the United Colonies of North-America," but the power was not officially granted under the United States Constitution until Congress passed the 2 March 1799 "Act for the Government of the Navy of the United States."
Offered here is an official transcript of the first naval court martial held under this authority. Adding greatly to the interest: the court was held aboard the Navy's most celebrated vessel, the U.S.S. Constitution, "Old Ironsides," while it was docked in Boston. Furthermore, the court's president was the famed captain of the Constitution, Silas Talbot (1751-1813). Among the other members of the court were his son Lieutenant Cyrus Talbot; and Captain George Little.
The officer on trial was Lieutenant John B. Cordis, who had been accused by the Constitution's previous captain on two counts: "First, for violently and cruelly beating John Hunt, an ordinary seaman" and "2ndly, for sleeping when commanding officer of the watch, and being disguised in liquor when on duty, the same not only being utterly subversive of all discipline, but endangering the loss of the ship."
This packet includes transcripts of the prosecutor's opening statement, and testimony of the witnesses. Isaac Hull, later a distinguished commander of the Constitution, was then a lieutenant on the ship: "He says that he never saw the Def't disguised with liquor, neither did he ever know him sleeping in his watch, but that he always did his duty, as became an officer."
At the close of the second day, the court cleared Cordis of both charges, finding that while the beating was against naval regulations, it was done under a direct order by a superior; and that the charges of drinking and sleeping on duty were not supported.
This edited draft of the official proceedings is in an unknown hand, with a fair number of crossed-out passages and insertions--some of them in Talbot's hand. The final two paragraphs are also in Talbot's hand. The official proceedings, with minor textual differences, appear in "Naval Documents Related to the Quasi-war Between the United States and France," volume 4, pages 412-420, published in 1935.
With--a partial Letter Signed by F. Kent Loomis as Acting Director of Naval History (circa 1961-1966), stating that "the first court martial in the Navy, as reorganized under the Constitution, was held on June 27, 1799 . . . on board U.S.S. Constitution."
Silas Talbot.
Proceedings of the first naval court martial held under the Constitution.
Aboard the U.S.S. Constitution, 27-28 June 1799
22 manuscript pages, concluding with a final certification and signature by Silas Talbot as captain and president, on 11 leaves (12 x 7¼ inches) partially conjoined on top edge by sealing wax; minimal wear.
The Navy held courts martial dating back to 1775 under the "Rules for the Regulation of the Navy of the United Colonies of North-America," but the power was not officially granted under the United States Constitution until Congress passed the 2 March 1799 "Act for the Government of the Navy of the United States."
Offered here is an official transcript of the first naval court martial held under this authority. Adding greatly to the interest: the court was held aboard the Navy's most celebrated vessel, the U.S.S. Constitution, "Old Ironsides," while it was docked in Boston. Furthermore, the court's president was the famed captain of the Constitution, Silas Talbot (1751-1813). Among the other members of the court were his son Lieutenant Cyrus Talbot; and Captain George Little.
The officer on trial was Lieutenant John B. Cordis, who had been accused by the Constitution's previous captain on two counts: "First, for violently and cruelly beating John Hunt, an ordinary seaman" and "2ndly, for sleeping when commanding officer of the watch, and being disguised in liquor when on duty, the same not only being utterly subversive of all discipline, but endangering the loss of the ship."
This packet includes transcripts of the prosecutor's opening statement, and testimony of the witnesses. Isaac Hull, later a distinguished commander of the Constitution, was then a lieutenant on the ship: "He says that he never saw the Def't disguised with liquor, neither did he ever know him sleeping in his watch, but that he always did his duty, as became an officer."
At the close of the second day, the court cleared Cordis of both charges, finding that while the beating was against naval regulations, it was done under a direct order by a superior; and that the charges of drinking and sleeping on duty were not supported.
This edited draft of the official proceedings is in an unknown hand, with a fair number of crossed-out passages and insertions--some of them in Talbot's hand. The final two paragraphs are also in Talbot's hand. The official proceedings, with minor textual differences, appear in "Naval Documents Related to the Quasi-war Between the United States and France," volume 4, pages 412-420, published in 1935.
With--a partial Letter Signed by F. Kent Loomis as Acting Director of Naval History (circa 1961-1966), stating that "the first court martial in the Navy, as reorganized under the Constitution, was held on June 27, 1799 . . . on board U.S.S. Constitution."
