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COURTS MARTIAL (You are here)

The 1776 Rules and Articles of War that prescribed military punishment were still in effect when the
 Corps of Discovery left Camp Wood, Illinois in 1804.
Name Dates of Disciplinary Action
John Collins - Private

May 17, 1804
Charged with :
> Being absent without leave (AWOL)
>"behaving in an unbecoming manner at the ball" on the evening of May 16, 1804 in Saint Charles
> "for speaking in a language after his return to camp tending to bring into disrespect the orders of the Commanding Officer"
Pleads : GUILTY of 1st charge, NOT GUILTY to 2nd & 3rd charge
Court: Guilty of all three
Punishment: Fifty lashes on bare back

June 29, 1804
Charged with :
>
"getting drunk on his post in this morning out of whiskey put under charge as a sentinel"
> " for suffering Hugh Hall to draw whiskey out of the said barrel intended for the party"
Pleads
: NOT GUILTY
Court:
Guilty
Punishment:
One hundred lashes on bare back


Hugh Hall - Private

May 17, 1804
Charged with :
> Being absent without leave (AWOL)
Pleads : GUILTY
Court: Guilty
Punishment: Twenty lashes on bare back (punishment was not carried out)

June 29, 1804
Charged with :
>
"taking whiskey out of the keg this morning which whiskey was stored on the bank (and under the charge of the Guard).
Pleads
: GUILTY
Court:
Guilty
Punishment:
Fifty  lashes on bare back


William Werner-Private

May 17, 1804
Charged with :
> Being absent without leave (AWOL)
Pleads : GUILTY
Court: Guilty
Punishment: Twenty lashes on bare back (punishment was not carried out)


Alexander Willard - Private
(Willard's offense, under the military regimen of the party, was punishable by death according to the regulations.  Hence, the captains themselves constituted the court, instead of a panel of enlisted men as was the case with lesser offenses.  It is doubtful that they had any intentions of inflicting so severe a penalty, but they wished to impress on everyone the seriousness of such a lapse, which in the event of a surprise attack could mean the deaths of many or all the party.)

July 12, 1804
Charged with :
>
"Lying down and Sleeping on his post whilst a Sentinal, on the night of the 11th"
Pleads
: GUILTY
Court:
Guilty
Punishment:
One hundred lashes on bare back, at four different times


Moses Reed - Private

August 18, 1804
Charged with :
>
"Deserted & Stold a public Rifle Shot-pouch Powder & Bals"
Pleads
: GUILTY (Moses Reed requested that the court be "favourable" with him.) 
Court:
Guilty
Punishment:
"Run the gantlet four times through the Party & that each man with 9 swichies should punish him and for him not to be considered in future as one of the Party-"


John Newman - Private

October 13, 1804
Charged with :
>
"having uttered repeated expressions of a highly criminal and mutinous nature; the same having a tendency not only to distroy every principle of military discipline, but also to alienate the affections of the individuals composing this detatchment to their officers, and disaffect them to the service for which they have been so sacredly and solemnly engaged."
Pleads : NOT GUILTY
Court:
Guilty
Punishment:
Seventy -five lashes on bare back and "discarded" from the permanent party. 


Thomas Howard - Private
(For some reason the trial was not recorded in detachment orders.  As far as the record goes, this was the last serious disciplinary problem of the expedition, or at least the last meriting trial by court-martial.)

February 10, 1805
Charged with :
>
"Setting Such a pernicious example to the Savages."  If any hostility developed with the local Indians, the knowledge that the walls were so easily scaled would be dangerous. 
Court:
Guilty
Punishment:
Fifty lashes, but the court recommended mercy and Lewis forgave him the punishment. 


 

History
Lewis & Clark 101
Lewis & Clark Biography 
Thomas Jefferson & Louisiana Purchase
Corps of Discovery
Lewis & Clark with Sacagawea
Lewis & Clark Among the Tribes
York, Clark's man-servant
Seaman, Lewis' Dog
Clark as Cartographer
Lewis as Botanist
Medical Aspects
Courts Martial

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