ABSTRACT
As the only records of regimental justice that have survived in any significant quantity for this period, the First Regiment of Foot Guards’ Regimental Courts Martial books are a valuable window into common soldiers’ family experiences. The Regimental courts tended to look at petty offences like “absence without leave” and they were presided over by only five regimental officers, instead of the thirteen that sat on the General Court Martial. The regimental commander was the only one to review the verdict and sentence, which partly explains why these records have survived so poorly in comparison to those of the General Courts Martial, which had to be sent to the War Office for royal review. As a regiment that was mostly stationed in Britain, the Guards did not face the difficulties of their counterparts that were more frequently on the move. Regiments of the line often lost, jettisoned, or simply did not generate records at this level of military justice. The Guards’ records are more likely than those of other regiments to mention family, since their soldiers often lived within walking distance of wives. They nonetheless can provide broader insight into the flexibility of military marriage. Some “wives” were only recognised as such by particular individuals, and soldiers’ courtship involved a fair amount of womanising. Amours posed dangers to the men as well as the women. Soldiers faced charges of bigamy or begetting bastards, or found themselves in debt from their wives’ overspending. Despite these threats, there was also the potential for affection and loyalty in some relationships. These records also indicate that the constraints of army life caused more challenges to these couples than their civilian counterparts faced.
