Date Thesis Awarded
7-2012
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Arts (BA)
Department
History
Advisor
Chandos Michael Brown
Committee Members
Paul W. Mapp
Richard Lowry
Abstract
From the end of the War of 1812 through 1825, the US naval officer corps was plagued by a series of publicized tribunals and duels among its most prestigious officers. These men were members of the first generation of officers to be promoted to the rank of captain (rather than appointed to that rank upon entering the service), and their disputes and disciplinary problems were heavily influenced by the system of honor which dominated the early Navy. This paper analyzes the meaning of honor to the first generation of promoted captains and the role it played in facilitating conflicts between the officers. It will also examine the Navy's responses to these disputes, and the effects of dueling and tribunals on the Navy's reputation with the public.
Recommended Citation
Bailey, Roger A., "'Nothing but a Pack of Boys:' Preble's Boys and the Culture of Honor in the Early Naval Officer Corps, 1798-1825" (2012). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 479.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/479
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Comments
Thesis is part of Honors ETD pilot project, 2008-2013. Migrated from Dspace in 2016.