The Last Sex Court Martial

With the conclusion of the Africaine courts martial, the hanging of the men convicted of sodomy, and the floggings and imprisonment of those guilty of less serious offenses, no more prosecutions for sexual irregularities perturbed the navy for a dozen years. Only an incident in the South American Squadron suggested homoeroticism still lurked in darkened bays, canvas cubbies, and private cabins of British warships. At Callao in 1820, a guilt-ridden Lieutenant Horatio Darby deserted his ship when his homoerotic liaisons became general knowledge among the crew. 1 It was not until almost a decade after Darby’s precipitate departure that three naval courts martial dealt with sex offenses. The first was the 1829 case of Boatswain William Maxwell who was accused of buggering young William Pack. The court judged Maxwell guilty, thus providing him with the unsought distinctions of being both the last man convicted of sodomy in the sailing navy and the last to be executed for the crime. Of the two courts martial for sex offenses that followed, both dealt with minor breaches of regulations that did not fall under the twenty-ninth article of war. These last trials were far different in cast and composition than any that had been held in the previous one hundred and fifty years. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Ancient history · Criminology · Dozen · Homosexuality · Imprisonment · Martial law · Navy · Political science · Politics · Sodomy · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · History · Law · Maritime Security and History · Psychology · Sex work and related issues

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