ABSTRACT
Because there were very few records of prostitution aside from fairly cryptic references to “lewd women”, “disorderly women”, or “nightwalkers” in court records, it can be surprisingly hard to find concrete evidence to support the popular assumption that soldiers frequently consorted with prostitutes. The First Foot Guards Regimental court’s occasional reference to sex workers is a rare window into soldiers’ illicit connections with London women. (For more context of this court see Part I: Experiences of Courtship and Marraige, p. 15.) Not only does it show how abusive soldiers might be toward these women, it provides a hint that the enlisted men might label someone a “wife” that his officers would label a “whore”. Nevertheless, these women occasionally had enough of a voice and faith in the regiment to approach its court with a domestic violence complaint.
