ABSTRACT
Late in 1805, Lt. Arthur Walter Adair quit HMS Endymion for sick quarters in Portugal. His captain, Edward Durnford King, soon reported to his superiors that he had actually left the officer behind because he suspected he was guilty of “indecent and unnatural attempts” on two ships’ boys but doubted he could prove it at a trial. The Admiralty consequently dismissed Adair from the navy. In the years that followed, Adair fought hard for a reconsideration of his case, pleading with the Admiralty for a trial and reinstatement. He wrote the Admiralty so frequently that officials began to complain about the “indefatigable letter writer.” 1
