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

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.