“So Full an Acquittal”

Lt. Lionel R. Place of HMS Queen stood two trials at his own request in September 1842. ¹ As he hoped, both cleared him of accusations of sexual misbehavior. While the original records of his trials do not appear to have survived, reporting like this example from the Australian Colonial Times newspaper have preserved many details of what occurred. Newspapers acted as virtual witnesses at trials, and one of their most important functions was spreading news that officers had been cleared of suspicions of wrongdoing. Navy courts functioned as courts of honor, complete with public rituals that declared that defendants emerged free of guilt and with their honor intact. Reports like this one spread news of defendants’ public vindications widely.