Courts Martial

[haggins]

Gentlemen,
While recently discussing with an attorney friend an upcoming Court Martial re-enactment he is planning, some interesting questions were raised that I wish to present to the forum, in the interests of maintaining authenticity with the hopeful anticipation that the same may be able to provide said answers (practicing my legalese:))
First, would the Advocate General carry a haversack or briefcase of some sort, and if so, what would it most probably resemble?
Second, would the officers and those participating take notes in pen and ink, or use pencil?
I know these questions may seem to some like arcania, but by G-d with a man's life in the balance we want to make sure we get it right!

Mike Radinsky
3rd MD Regmt. Co. B
"Without Fear, There is no Courage"

[Tom Ezell]

Re: Courts Martial

Mike:

We just did one of these back in January, so if you're looking for an outline and the boilerplate language to open the court, swear the court and the JA, witnesses, &c., go peek at http://www.geocities.com/capitalguards/dodd2004.html. There's a copy of a record of trial there, plus the script that I developed from it using the old Manual for Courts-Martial and DeHart's Observations on Courts-Martial... If you're patient, DeHart's Observations is still available from Amazon, though it was a two-month wait.

Kautz's The Company Clerk has some good hints on preparing charge sheets, though it's alwaysbest to refer to DeHart, which is much more a handbook on military case law and the duties of the judge advocate than it is a handbook on how to run a court-martial.

As far as taking notes, the JA should provie a clerk to record the proceedings verbatim as part of the day's record of trial. I had an enlisted "clerk" madly scribbling away in the corner, at the end of the presentation of evidence and the closing of the court, a little legerdemain transformed his fools cap into a hand written (Houston Pen True-type font) copy of the record. Before each new day's testimony is begun, the court always goes over and proof's the previous day's record of trial so as to catch any errors or omissions. And the Court will have the hand-written copy of the Record for use in its deliberations.

For notes, and questions to be posed by the Court, I had slips of paper and pencils distrbuted around the table for the use of the members.

As judge advocate, I wore my dress coat, dark blue trowsers and sash, white shirt & cravat. I carried my notes in a period folio, and the various items of evidence were in a bag, then laid out on the panel's table as they were introduced into evidence.

If done right, court-martials can be an interesting and educational addition to a living history program; sadly, they usually turn out to be some drumhead kangaroo shoot-the-guilty-bastard farce.

I still get a lot of calls and good comments on the January '04 program...

your pard,

Tom
Co. A, 6th Arkansas

[markj]

Re: Courts Martial

Greetings,

If you really want to know how courts-martials were handled, then you must go to the National Archives and peruse the proceedings of these affairs in Record Group 153 (there is an alphabetized listing of CM case files in the new research area on the ground floor of NARA in Washington). Depending on the officer and circumstances, these could be relatively simple events (one-day) or, for higher ranking officers, take a week or longer.

I had time to review the case file for Lt. Col. William C. Kise, 10th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he was accused of falsifying portions of his AAR for Mill Springs KY (19 Jan 62). His trial lasted over a week and his case file ran to over 150 handwritten pages, including Kise's final statement of 21 double-sided pages (!) prior to the board rendering judgment (he was acquitted of all charges).

Furthermore, the file included interviews with witnesses for both the prosecution and the defense. In short, an absolute goldmine of material about the Mill Springs engagement incorporating information available nowhere else. Even more gratifying, Kise's file included statements from a number of individuals giving fairly precise information about HOW an actual "charge bayonet" was carried out (what they have to say might surprise you).

Check it out!

Mark Jaeger

[Pvt Schnapps]

Re: Courts Martial

Excellent site, Mr. Ezell.

One small note: I believe it's Kautz's Customs of Service for Officers that has an extended description of court-martial procedures.

Also, Mr. Radinsky, with a little practice you'll find a pen much easier to use for taking notes than a pencil, even if you need to make a neater copy later.

As for carrying papers, a very wide variety of portfolios seem to have been in use. Lord's Encyclopedia, under "Locks", even shows a pasteboard folder with a small lock that's not far different from something you might find in an arts supply store today.

If all else fails, you can carry the papers bound in red silk ribbon.

[Tom Ezell]

Re: Courts Martial

Excellent site, Mr. Ezell.

One small note: I believe it's Kautz's Customs of Service for Officers that has an extended description of court-martial procedures.

If all else fails, you can carry the papers bound in red silk ribbon.

Kautz's The Company Clerk tells how to fill out the forms for the charge(s) and specifications. His Customs of Service for Officers of the Army tells what to do with them, as well as suggestions and an outline for keeping the record of trial. Similar, but less expansive instructions, are in the back of Gilham's Manual for Instruction for Volunteers and Militia as well. Dehart's Observations... is a good reference on the application of the law and articles of war to the actual presentation and consideration of evidence... matching evidence and testimony to support the charges, what's admissible, what's an appropriate punishment, etc.

We may try one of these again sometime with a more open-ended conclusion one of these days...

And yes, we wrapped it all up with a yard or so of Mr. Sullivan's excellent red tape. ;-)

Tom