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A collection of TEN Naval Discipline Acts (1661-1884) containing the ARTICLES OF WAR and LEGISLATION for COMMAND AND DISCIPLINE OF THE ROYAL NAVY. The Articles of War served as the British statutory provision that governed operations of the Royal Navy. First introduced in 1661 under King Charles II, the Articles of War (as outlined in the Naval Discipline Act, 1661) consisted of thirty-five articles designed to curb the indiscipline of officers and seamen alike, establish a penal code for the Royal Navy, and introduce the Court Martial. The Articles of War dealt with a wide range of offences, such as: swearing and drunkenness, treasonous behaviour, absconding with booty or seized money, refusal to fight or pursue the enemy, non-observance of commands and insubordination, neglect of duty, desertion, mutiny, quarrelling or striking a superior officer, wasting ammunition, sleeping while on watch, murder, robbery, theft, sodomy, and various other misdemeanours at sea. Disciplinary punishment administered to officers and sailors were an integral part of Navy life. Death was a punishment in many cases, and could only be imposed by sentence of a Court Martial. High-ranking officers were sentenced to death by firing squad, but the standard method of execution of sailors was hanging from a yard-arm. The Naval Discipline Act, 1661 was augmented in 1745 and then revised and consolidated under the auspices of Vice Admiral George Anson and passed as the Naval Discipline Act, 1749. The 1749 Act established the power and independence of naval courts-martial, but allowed little room to avoid the prescribed penalties. The harsh nature of the rules inadvertently resulted in one of the most tragic episodes in the history of the Royal Navy, namely the execution of Admiral John Byng. The loss of the Battle of Minorca (fought at the beginning of the Seven Years War within the European theatre) was blamed on Byng: the court-martial sitting in judgment of his actions acquitted him of cowardice, negligence and disaffection, but found him guilty of failing to do his utmost to prevent Minorca from falling to the French, and was sentenced to death by firing squad aboard HMS Monarch on March 14, 1757. Byng's death was considered the worst legalistic crime in the Nations annals and was the last of his rank to be executed in this fashion. The Naval Discipline Acts of 1661 and 1749 applied to Great Britain and its Colonies, including those in America, and the regulatory code of conduct bore a strong paternal resemblance to the American Articles of War, 1799. The Naval Discipline Act, 1749 and Articles of War were amended in 1779 to ease some of the more draconian regulations and punishments, and to allow courts-martial some measure of discretion in their rulings to permit alternative punishments to the death penalty. The rules remained unchanged until Lord Clarence Paget, First Secretary of the Admiralty, proposed a more enlightened approach to Royal Navy management and the Articles of War by means of the Naval Discipline Act, 1860. The 1860 code of conduct was revised somewhat in 1861, 1864, and 1865. A more permanent version of the Articles of War, together with provisions for Punishments, Courts-Martial, Penal Servitude, and related issues, was outlined in the Naval Discipline Act, 1866 (revised only slightly by the Naval Discipline Act, 1884), which remained in place until 1957. This collection consists of nine Naval Discipline Acts, dated: 1661, 1745, 1749, 1779, 1860, 1861, 1864, 1865, 1866, and 1884. The 1661 Act is contained in the whole volume for the year of 13 Charles II (which also contains the Militia Act, 1661 that declared King Charles II the supreme commander of the army and navy and gave him unprecedented authority to maintain a standing army. All other Acts (1745-1884) have been neatly removed from bound volumes and mended. Please consult the image for precise titles and descriptions of each Act in the collection.
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