A British court-martial in Boston

In Women in the American Revolution, Dr. Sarah Pearlman Shapiro writes for the venerable American Philosophical Society about records of British courts-martial, including a sexual assault case in occupied Boston in 1775. Excerpt:

Among the rows and rows of microfilm reels at the David Center for the the American Revolution at the American Philosophical Society are the “Courts Martial Proceedings and Board of General Officers' Minutes.” From Gibraltar to Boston, these administrative records detail punishments meted out for infractions ranging from desertion and theft to mutiny and assault. Court martial records provide glimpses into soldiers’ violent behavior and conduct against local women. These instances of assault were not new to colonial women. Rather, these documents contain testimony from women across the spectrum of unfreedom, often omitted in the archive. [Anne] Moore’s recorded experience is emblematic of many women assaulted at the hands of both British and Continental Army soldiers. Even when women were not victims, court martials included the testimony and, therefore, their perspective. Maintaining order within the ranks required interviewing witnesses regardless of status, race, and political affiliation.