Dr. Barton's Case and the Monroe Precedent of 1818

O N January 3, i8i8, George M. Dallas, judge advocate of a naval court martial about to be convened in Philadelphia, issued a subpoena to President James Monroe, requiring the president to appear the Navy Yard in the city of Philadelphia on Wednesday the I4th day of January i8i8 at eleven o'clock in the forenoon . . . in order to give your evidence in the case of Dr. William P. C. Barton, a surgeon who had recently been appointed to the staff of the United States naval hospital at Philadelphia.1 On only two other occasions in the nation's history are subpoenas known to have been served on a sitting presidentin i807 in connection with the treason trial of Aaron Burr, and during the Watergate inquiries of I973-I974.2 Of the three, the episode of i8i8 is by far the least familiar.3 The charge against Dr. Barton contained two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. He was accused of having criticized as dangerously overcrowded and unsanitary the conditions in the Philadelphia naval hospital and of having insidiously solicited the

Art · American Constitutional Law and Politics · History