Fun facts or not

You may be familiar with the execution of Admiral Byng after his court-martial--a case surrounded by controversy. Traditionally, officers were executed by firing squad, while enlisted men (apparently including midshipmen[1]) were hanged. For example, some of the Spithead and Nore mutineers. 

A recent article in the The Indian Express reminds us of some other naval traditions. For example, the firing of a single gun indicates that a court-martial is to begin. In Royal Navy parlance, this signal was known as the “rogue’s salute” (or sometimes “one-gun salute”). The Express article suggests that:

• The practice is not well attested in modern times: one article notes, “It is not known whether this practice of firing a gun on the days a court martial is conducted is still in effect.”

• Some navies (for example the Royal New Zealand Navy) claim to continue a nearly-identical tradition: at Devonport Naval Base (NZ) a shore-based saluting cannon fires a single shot at 0800 on each day a court-martial sits, and the national flag is hoisted/lowered accordingly.

• On the Royal Navy side, websites of historical naval tradition still record the “one-gun congress” at court-martial day: “A special gun salute, the firing of a single gun known as the ‘rogue’s salute’, is fired at colours on the day a court-martial convenes at sea or on land.”

(Superficial reading suggests) The “court-martial gun” / “rogue’s salute” is still prescribed in the current Queen’s Regulations for the Royal Navy, but in practice is often omitted because modern courts-martial sit ashore in built-up areas.

[1] Note reference to a certain king who granted clemency to the midshipman in the Sandwich case.