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1868 DATED COURT MARTIAL DOCUMENTS FT.
LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS – LISTS STOLEN FIREARMS – NAMES
SOLDIERS FROM THE 3RD & 7TH
CAVALRY REGIMENTS, THE 4TH ARTILLERY
REGIMENT, AND THE 3RD, 5TH, 30TH
& 38TH, INFANTRY REGIMENTS: Once
bound in a single volume, these individual reports of
courts martial proceedings contain the names of the
soldiers charged with the offenses, the details of the
proceedings, the finding of guilty or not guilty, and
the punishment to which the convicted soldier was
sentenced. All of these proceedings took place at Ft.
Leavenworth, Kansas, the Department of the Missouri
under the command of Major General Sheridan, during the
months of February through August, 1868, and were
prepared by the Assistant Adjutant General, Brigadier
General (bvt.) Chauncey McKeever.
These documents, measuring 7 by 4 ¾”, vary from 3 to 6
pages in length, depending on the number of soldiers
charged and the complexity of the charges. I have
photographed one of these records to provide you with a
sample of overall condition, size and format. All of
the records are in identical condition with no missing
pages, the binding edge of the pages are attached, and
there is no tears other than the minor clips along the
binding edge where these were sewn into one volume at
one time.
These records were selected from a larger grouping
specifically for their interesting content and each
court martial record includes at least one soldier who
was charged with the theft of a revolver or carbine.
Due to the amount of information in each document, I
can’t provide the full text of each, however I have
included some sample passages below:
“Specification – In this, that
Private Robert Hornby, of Co. K, 3d U.S. Cavalry, did
conspire with … to rob the Ordnance Room at Fort Selden,
N.M., … and steal therefrom one box containing 14
Spencer Carbines, ten screw-drivers, three extra main
springs, three extra tumbler screws and one box of
Spencer carbine ammunition … The said Hornby being at
the time a sentinel and in charge of the Ordnance room.”
Another soldier’s adjudication in this same document
illustrates that the officers were not without their own
special style of humor when dealing the transgressions
of these miscreants. Pvt. Ogilvie was charged with, and
found guilty of desertion, having forged a pass, however
the Court reversed their findings having determined the
Private was suffering from delirium tremens at the time
of the offense. The reviewing authority disagreed with
the acquittal, offering: “There is nothing in the
evidence to show that the accused … was not sufficiently
sound in mind to enable him to distinguish the
criminality of his acts. No evidence of insanity was
discovered…. That the prisoner had been a nervous,
worthless, and drunken soldier for a considerable period
prior to committing the offense … is scarcely good
reason for remitting all punishment.”
If nothing else, these documents illustrate that for the
average company grade officer and first sergeant, the
dawning of each new day presented them with new and
interesting challenges.
Each General Court Martial Order (GCMO) is listed below
with the number of soldiers charged and their regiments,
the location and nature of the offenses, and the type of
weapon stolen or lost. Each document is priced
individually depending on the desirability and
entertainment value of the content.
GCMO 28: 5 soldiers, 5th & 38th
Infantry, 7th Cavalry; Fort Harker, KS,
desertion; theft of Spencer Carbine and full set of
accoutrements and horse equipment (listed individually)
along with value of equipment. $35
GCMO 41: 7 soldiers, 7th
Cavalry, 3rd, 5th & 30th
Infantry; Fort Lyon, C.T., desertion, disrespecting an
officer, drunk on duty, allowing prisoners to escape,
“conduct to the prejudice of good order”, theft of money
from a Monte table; use of a Colt Pistol to shoot
another soldier (both in the 7th Cav.), theft
of Springfield Breech loading rifle. (Ft. Lyon seems to
have been a fairly frisky post.) $35
GCMO 47: 4 soldiers, 3rd
Infantry, 3rd & 7th Cavalry; Fort
Sumner, NM, desertion; theft of a Carbine, a Remington
Pistol, cavalry horse and full set of accoutrements and
horse equipment. $35
GCMO 98: 5 soldiers, 37th
Infantry, 3rd Cavalry; Fort Wingate, NM,
desertion, theft of tobacco, assaulting a servant girl
(the girl was “of notoriously bad character” – the
soldier was found guilty, but his sentence was then
commuted); theft of Spencer Carbine, a Remington
Pistol, and full set of accoutrements and horse
equipment (listed individually). $35
GCMO 107: 3 soldiers, 37th
Infantry, 3rd Cavalry; Fort Wingate, NM,
desertion, theft of boots, overcoat, pants, two
blankets, trousers, two more overcoats, etc. as well as
three Remington revolving pistols (this soldier had gone
into business for himself). It is interesting that in
ordering all pay and allowances of one solider to be
forfeited, the board did order the post laundress to be
paid what he owed her – an obvious sense of fair play
and one that shows up regularly in these documents. $30
GCMO 121: 3 soldiers, 38th
Infantry, 7th Cavalry; Fort Harker, KS,
desertion, “conduct to the prejudice of good order” (two
soldiers stole muskets, deserted, and then fired at the
patrol sent to find them); theft and sale of a Spencer
Carbine, his drawers and his boots and along with value
of carbine and clothing. $35
GCMO 122: 5 soldiers, 7th
Cavalry, 4th Artillery; Fort Leavenworth, KS,
desertion, AWOL, sleeping in the stables, sleeping on
guard duty; theft of Spencer Carbine and full set of
accoutrements and horse equipment (listed individually)
along with value of equipment. $35
GCMO 126: 4 soldiers, 3rd
Infantry, 7th Cavalry; Fort Lyon, C.T.,
desertion, absent from guard post; theft of Spencer
Carbine and full set of accoutrements (listed
individually) along with value of equipment, stolen from
Captain Benteen’s company. $40
GCMO 129: 3 soldiers, 3rd
Cavalry; Fort Selden, NM, desertion; sentencing of the
chronic drunk and theft of a box containing 14 Spencer
Carbines, etc. (this is the document quoted above, good
content). $40
GCMO 144: 5 soldiers, 37th
Infantry, 3rd Cavalry; Fort Union, NM, drunk
and sleeping on duty at the corral, refused to report to
stable call, deserter arrested by a party of Navajo
Indians, and last, but not least, throwing a rock
through the window of the 1st Sergeant’s room
and calling him a “damned Dutch son of a bitch and a
lousy puppy”; two soldiers charged with the theft of
arms – one a Spencer Carbine and a full set of
accoutrements and horse equipment (listed individually)
along with value of equipment, and one a Sharps Rifle
and the value of that rifle. $40
Overall, these are an interesting view into the type of
problems encountered by the army in attempting to
maintain a disciplined, trained force on the frontier
and not the sort of material and insight you are likely
to find in the normally encountered history books.
Framed and displayed with Indian War period arms and
accoutrements, these documents make a nice addition to
your collection.
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