Question concerning Courts-Marshal

[Shantyman]

Several questions,
Is anyone familear with a manual for the procedue of a courts-marshal in the Confederate or Federal Army or Navy?
Second in Co. Aytch: The Classic Memoir of the Civil War by a Confederate Soldier on pg 37. it talks about the defendants lawyer adressing th court, I first assume this is an army officer apointed as an attourney but it dosnt say. Could a soldier on trial at a military tribunal from a well-off family have the option of hiring a civilian attourney?
What "courticies" could be given to a man condemed to be hanged or shot dead by musketry?

[KeystoneGuard]

Re: Question concerning Courts-Marshal

I would recommend three books: 1863 Laws & Articles of War, Rebel Watchdog: Confederate Provost Guard, and Tarnished Eagles: The Court Martial of fifty Federal Colonels. All books are a wealth of info on the subject and can all be found on Amazon.com.

If you need anything further, feel free to send me a PM.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Question concerning Courts-Marshal

Hallo!

I would also add: Kautz's "THE 1865 CUSTOMS OF SERIVCE FOR OFFICERS OF THE ARMY, courts-martial are covered in detail under the "Military Justice" section (138 et al).

IMHO, courts-martials are a diffrent beastie than civilian courts. There is a Judge Advocate that counsels the defendent, as well as a counsel. He can be a civilian, however as with a counsel I would be hard pressed to see where a "civilian" either as Judge Advocate or Counsel would be knowledgeable or competent on and in matters of "military justice" and differences between civilian and military courts.

Curt

[Silas]

Re: Question concerning Courts-Marshal

Try this : A Treatise on Military Law and the Practice of Courts-martial by Capt. Stephen Vincent Benét (New York : 1864). Go to page 166 or follow this link for the formalities on execution of sentence.

[Horace]

Re: Question concerning Courts-Marshal

'Madness, Malingering and Malfeasance' by R. Gregory Lande has alot of descriptions of the nuts and bolts of what went on in a court martial.