ABSTRACT
Late in 1809, a court martial convicted James Nehemiah Taylor, surgeon of HMS Jamaica, of felony buggery with his servant, a marine boy of sixteen or seventeen named Thomas Ashton. Taylor was executed on board his ship shortly thereafter. He would prove to be one of the highest-ranking men put to death by the navy for a sexual crime. His case also produced a major scandal, one comparable to the trial and execution of Lt. William Berry just a few years earlier (Document 3). Taylor’s rank and respectability ensured public attention and newspaper coverage, as did shocking allegations made during his trial. Events after his conviction all but guaranteed a scandal.
