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Lot 312
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Court of Inquiry Investigates Virginia Captain for Profiting from Substitute
Court of Inquiry Investigates Virginia Captain for Profiting from Substitute
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Description:

Revolutionary War
Winchester, VA, May 21, 1781
Court of Inquiry Investigates Virginia Captain for Profiting from Substitute
MDS
[REVOLUTIONARY WAR.] Francis Taylor, Manuscript Document Signed, Court of Inquiry against Thomas Porter, May 21, 1781, Winchester, [Virginia]. 3 pp., 8" x 12.875". In paper frame; silked; general toning.

This signed report summarizes the Court of Inquiry held to examine charges made against Captain Thomas Porter by Colonel James Wood II (1741-1813), who commanded the British and German prisoners of war captured at the Battle of Saratoga and known as the Convention Army. Wood went on to serve as governor of Virginia from 1796 to 1799. Wood accused Captain Porter of improperly discharging William Kendal from the Regiment of Guards so that Kendal could join the Continental Army as a substitute for draftee Thomas Standley. For Porter's assistance, Standley allegedly gave him a horse, saddle, and bridle. Standley went on to serve as wagon master of the post of Albemarle Barracks.

Complete Transcript
At a Court held at Winchester, on Monday, May 21st 1781 to enquire into charges lodged against Capt. Thomas Porter of the Regiment of Guards.
Colo Taylor President
Capt. Purvis / Ensn Merewether / Lieut Paulett / Ensn Kennedy / Members
Charges being lodged against Capt Thos Porter by Colo Wood.
For "Discharging William Kendal a Soldier in the Regimt of Guards, in order to go into the army as a substitute for Thomas Standley a drafted soldier; and receiving a consideration of a Horse, saddle and bridle to his own use, and giving the recruit a sum greatly inadequate to the value of the Horse &c.
Capt Porter denied the charges exhibited.
Thomas Standley being sworn to declare the truth on the case in hearing, Capt Porter objected to his giving testimony because he thinks the said Standley is a party concerned. The opinion of the Court being taken, they think the said Standley ought to be an evidence. The said Standley deposeth That being drafted for eighteen months in the County of Albemarle some time last March, he mentioned in Company of Capt Porter that it did not suit him to go into the service, and that many individuals would suffer greatly if he should be obliged to go and leave his publick accounts unsettled, and asked Capt Porter to befriend him by giving leave to exchange with a Soldier of the Guards, which Capt Porter said he could not do with the approbation of Colo Taylor, That afterwards he said he would give a Waggon and Team for a substitute on which Capt Porter said he would get a man for the Waggon & Team, Standley then replied it was too much, but finally said he was willing to give his Horse, saddle & bridle and the bounty allowed by Law for a substitute, on which Capt Porter promised to try to get a man for that, and in a day or two afterwards engaged William Kendal as a soldier of the Regiment of Guards for a substitute and the said Standley undertook to serve in the said Kendals stead during the stay of the Convention troops at Albemarle. The said Standley further deposeth that he paid the said Kenal One thousand pounds and delivered Capt Porter a Horse, Saddle & bridle and by agreement was to pay two hundred pounds more, as part of the bounty for Kendal, to Capt Porter. That Capt Porter passed a bond to Kendal for the sum of Three Thousand two hundred pounds, and kept the Horse, Saddle &c. That he does not know whether or not Kendal received the Horse & afterwards sold him to said Porter, and that he was offered Seven Thousand pounds for the Horse a few days before he agreed to deliver him to Capt Porter.
Daniel Hollandback being sworn deposeth, that he was present when the Conversation passed between Mr Standley and Capt Porter about getting a substitute for said Standley, and as nearly as he can remember the conversation was as the testimony of said Standley before this Court.
Roger Shackleford being sworn deposeth, that Wm Kendal being confined in the Guardhouse at Albemarle Barracks for theft he frequently heard said Kendal say, he had rather enlist for the War than be kept in confinement, even if he was to get no bounty, and if he could be excused from punishment would be willing to take Mr Standleys place for nothing.
Thomas Smith being sworn, deposeth that he heard William Kendal agree to take the place of Mr Standley as a Soldier, and that he heard said Kendal agree to let Capt Porter keep the Horse for which Capt Porter was to pay him, but does not know the sum Kendal was to have for the Horse, and heard Capt Porter tell Kendal that he did not want to take any advantage of him, or make any bargain without his consent, That Captain Porter gave a bond to Kendal, that Kendal asked Capt Porter to keep the bond and send it or the money to him afterwards by a safe hand, on which Capt Porter promised to keep the bond as requested by Kendal.
Question by Mr Standley. Did you know whether Kendal knew he was to get the bounty besides the horse? Answer I did not know. Q. Did Kendal know it was my riding Horse? A. I cannot tell, but heard him say he hated to part from the Horse.
Capt Porter in his defence says that his motives for suffering William Kendal and Thomas Standley to exchange places, was that the said Standley might have it in his power to settle the Public accounts for debts contracted in his department, when Kendal might answer a better purpose in the field being a disciplined Soldier. And agreeable to a letter received from Colo Taylor, he had great cause to believe the Regt of Guards would be discharged in a few days, therefore he thought it would be an advantage to the Publick, which he thought it his duty to promote. The conversation that passed between Standley and him about giving a Waggon and Team for a substitute, he looked upon to be no more than words of course, and no way tending to a bargain. As to purchasing the Horse of Kendal, the bargain was far, and the value of the Horse might by many be thought less than the sum he purchased him for.
Fra Taylor, President

Historical Background
In October 1777, British General John Burgoyne surrendered his army after the American victories at the Battles of Saratoga. Approximately 5,900 British, German, and Canadian troops surrendered at Saratoga, and American guards marched them to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they arrived in early November. During the next year, approximately 1,300 of the prisoners escaped, often to wed local women on nearby farms. When Burgoyne refused to give descriptions of his officers (to ensure that they did not return if exchanged), the Continental Congress ordered the prisoners to be transferred south. From November 1778 to January 1779, they marched to Charlottesville, Virginia, with 600 more prisoners escaping along the way. The remainder were held at the poorly constructed Albemarle Barracks until late 1780. They were guarded by a 600-man Virginia regiment under former Continental officers. Congress adopted this Regiment of Guards in January 1779, but it remained under the control of the Virginia governor.

As British forces became active in Virginia in late 1780, Governor Thomas Jefferson ordered the Convention Army to be moved to Frederick, Maryland, to avoid their liberation. When the prisoners were moved to Maryland, the Regiment of Guards was disbanded in the spring of 1781 at Winchester and Watkin's Ferry. The Convention Army was held in Frederick until the formal end of the war in 1783.

Thomas Porter (1734-1799) was born in England and immigrated to Fauquier County, Virginia, where he purchased land in 1765. He enlisted as a sergeant in July 1777 for a term of three years. In 1779, he served as a lieutenant in Captain Garland Burnley's company in the Regiment of Guards, commanded by Col. Francis Taylor. He later commanded a company in the same regiment.

Francis Taylor (1747-1799) was born in Orange County, Virginia. He was commissioned as a captain in the 2nd Virginia Regiment in May 1776 and was promoted to major in 1778. From January to March 1779, he commanded the Albemarle Guards as a lieutenant colonel and Governor Thomas Jefferson commissioned him as colonel in March 1779. He continued to command the regiment until it was disbanded in June 1781. Taylor inherited the Midland Plantation in Orange County from his father and died there.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8" x 12.875"
  • Medium: MDS

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