General Courts-Martial and Courts of Inquiry of the Navy Department.

A Guide to the Microfilmed Records at the National Archives.

Terry Foenander.

The General Courts Martial and Courts of Inquiry records of the United States Navy covering the period of the Civil War are included on 54 rolls of microfilm encompassing those cases heard between the commencement of the war in April, 1861 and June 8, 1865. Additional records of cases heard after this particular date may include some cases relevant to the Civil War period.

Each case includes the transcripts of the proceedings, although some documents may not be complete, as this author has found.

The information included in the records show the place and date of the trial, as well as the names of the person or persons charged, as well as the nature of the offense. Additional information includes the names and ratings of personnel comprising the court, who were usually officers of the United States Navy, as well as names and ratings of witnesses, and other relevant persons involved in the case. It also included details of the location of the offense, names of vessels on which the personnel served, as well as vessels on which the Courts Martial took place. Final sentences and some other information are also usually included within the context of the transcripts.

The Navy records at the National Archives are included in Record Group 125, and the Court Martial microfilm copies are referenced as M273. These are further classified by microfilm roll numbers, those covering the Civil War being numbered from roll 97 to roll 150. Each roll includes the documents and transcripts for several cases.

The following two rolls, number 110 and 112, are in possession of this author, and the case numbers, names of personnel charged and their station or vessel, as well as the charge, are indicated below. I have also included links to the complete transcription for some of the cases on these rolls. Where the transcripts are quite lengthy, I have included a short synopsis, or article relating to the case.

Copies of these, and other microfilms which include Courts Martial and Courts of Inquiry material can be purchased at a reasonable rate from the National Archives, Washington, D.C. Reel Number 2 in this microfilm series includes an index of the cases for the Civil War years.

Reel Number 110 (covering those cases heard between July 15, 1863 and August 15, 1863.)

3285 - Charles D. Jones, Ensign, USS Hartford; absent from duty.

3286 - Claude Babcock, Acting First Assistant Engineer, USS Hollyhock; disobeying his superior officer.

3287 - Thomas Henderson, Acting Third Assistant Engineer, USS Estrella; absent without leave.

3288 - Augustus P. Cooke, Lieutenant Commander, USS Albatross; keeping his vessel out of danger, against the enemy.

3289 - Daniel P. Upton, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant, USS Arizona; failing to engage the enemy.

3290 - John W. Robinson, Seaman, USS Pensacola; desertion.

3291 - Thomas Hearn, Orderly Sergeant, and Francis Bingham, Corporal, U.S.M.C., USS Lancaster; conspiracy against their commanding officer.

3292 - John Brown, Ordinary Seaman, USS Brooklyn; stabbing a sailor aboard the USS Potomac.

3293 - Henry Gifford, Seaman, USS Tuscarora; using obscene language against, and threatening, his superior officer.3294 - Court of Inquiry into the disabling of the engine of the USS Cimarrone.

3295 - William Thompson, Seaman, USS Potomac; assault against a fellow sailor.

3296 - Franklin P. Hanafy, Private, U.S.M.C., USS Narragansett; making

a false and malicious report.

3297 - John Murphy, Coal Heaver, USS Chocura; intent to murder a fellow sailor.

3298 - Amos H. Geary, Acting Master's Mate, USS Sunflower; assault on a subordinate.

3299 - John McDonald, Seaman, USS Sacramento; desertion.

3300 - Edward McDonald, Seaman, USS Ossipee; assaulting a superior officer.

3301 - Jeremiah McCathy, Landsman, USS Octorora; desertion.

3302 - W.E. Keene, Seaman, USS Ossipee; threatening to assualt a superior officer.

3303 - John Lee, Seaman, USS Tuscarora; insubordination.

3304 - William Emmons, Acting Third Assistant Engineer, USS Mount Vernon; insubordination.

3305 - Nicholas White, Ordinary Seaman, USS Mount Vernon; attempting to strike a superior officer.

3306 - David M. Howell, Acting Third Assistant Engineer, USS Kensington; disobedience.

Reel Number 112 (covering those cases heard between September 11, 1863 and October 10, 1863.)

3325 - Alexander Webster, Seaman, USS Savannah; desertion.

3326 - James Cullen, Landsman, USS Savannah; striking his superior officer.

3327 - Henry Hines, Seaman, USS Baron De Kalb; mutinous conduct.

3328 - William Fordham, Seaman, USS Baron De Kalb; mutinous conduct.

3329 - Charles H. Hurd, Acting Ensign, USS Savannah; neglect of duty.

3330 - F.C. Almy, Acting Master's Mate, USS Savannah; neglect of duty.

3331 - J.F. Holmes, Acting Ensign, USS Tyler; misappropriation of a cheque.

3332 - John McDermott, Landsman, USS Iron Age; desertion (3 charges).

3333 - W.S. Stamm, Chief Engineer, USS Canandaigua; negligence in obeying an order.

3334 - S. Livingston Breese, Lieutenant Commander, USS Sangamon; drunkenness.

3335 - J. Van Boskirk, Acting Master, USS A. Hugel; allowing prostitutes to solicit aboard his vessel.

3336 - Daniel P. Upton, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant, and George W. Ward, Acting Master, both of the USS Arizona; appropriation of property from plantations and private residences along the Atchalafaya River.

3337 - John F. Walker, Seaman, USS Tyler; desertion.

3338 - George T. Hughes, Ordinary Seaman, USS Wamsutta; disobeying a superior officer.

© Terry Foenander.

July, 2001.