The 23d febry 1771. Ensigns Johnstone & Strickland haveing requested of the commanding officer that Thomas Carlile, late Sergt. in generall Armstrong’s Company, should be restored, he is therefore restored to his former rank (after signing, I fancy, uncommon preliminarys dictated to him by the Destroyer of his peace and tranquility). He is to be obeyed as such. One infamous restoration indeed when the terms are narrowly scrutinized.
N. B.: That upon the 26th febry. 1771. Capt. Turnbull, Commandant, Issued verbal orders to Sergt. [Mc]Murray of the General’s Company to Erase the proceedings of the Regimental Court Martial concerning Sergt. Carlile’s tryal out of the Regimental Orderly book, & if he could, would get it Erased out of the orderly book of the Lieut. Colonel’s Company also. Accordingly Sergt. McGann of the Colonel’s Company did erase it, without any previous notice given to the officer who commanded the Company. As that officer was not a little surprized at such uncommon proceedings, he immediately confined him in the guard-house, who in his own defence told his officer he received positive orders from the acting Sergt. Major so to do, who had told him it was the orders of the day by the commanding officer, Capt. Turnbull. Upon which the officer commanding the Coll’s Company sent for the acting Sergt. Major who acknowledged to him he had received orders from the Commanding officer of the Fort to have the tryall of Sergt. Carlile torn out of the Book of both Companies doing duty in Garrison. Upon which Declaration the officer set Sergt. McGann at liberty.
Michilamackinac, 22d. febry 1771
Sir—
I hope You will pardon my takeing this Liberty to trouble You, but to ease my own mind I cannot avoid it, by the instigation of my own Notions. I was so imprudent to object to Ens. Johnstone’s being a member of my Court Martial, altho’ I am now well convinced that his own Honnour would not allow him to do anything prejudicial to Justice. The only Excuse I can make to him & Ens. Strickland is that a Woman who I have the greatest regard for distracted me by her imprudent behaviour. This, Sir, I hope in some part will Extenuate my Crimes, & I shall only further beg leave to Observe that Ens. Johnstone has behaved to me as a good officer, & I have no ground of Complaint against him, & I am extreamely sorry for, & beg his forgiveness & Ens. Strickland’s for my past behaveour, which I never will be guilty of again.
I have the Honnour to be, Sir,
Your most Dutifull & humble Servant,
Signed—Tho’s Carlile, late Sergt.
To Capt. Turnbull
Commanding at Michilamackinac
The above is a coppy of a Letter directed to Capt. Turnbull by order of Ens. Johnstone.
a true Copy
Signed/ Tho’s McMurray
acting Sergt. Major
Ft. Michilimackinac during the 1770’s
IV
A Catalogue of Foul Deeds
Dr. Morison now summarizes the evidence he had collected against Ensign Johnson into a catalogue of his “exploits.” In addition to proving that the ensign was a respecter of no one, regardless of age, rank, sex, or position, the catalogue includes the intriguing report of alleged intimacies between Johnson and Mrs. Robert Rogers. This information may be true since we learn from another source that Major Rogers was said to have been jealous of Johnson. The ironical aspect of this whole matter is that ten years later when Elizabeth Rogers sued for a divorce from the major one of her grounds for the action was that her husband had been unfaithful to her while they were at Michilimackinac.
Ensign Johnson finally met his match in the tough Connecticut trader, Phineas Pond, and resigned his commission in November, 1771, and disappeared from the scene.
Sentencing a soldier to receive a thousand lashes, which Morison also relates in this chapter, was an unusually brutal penalty, although at least one sentence of fifteen-hundred lashes of the “cat” is on record. Ordinarily ten lashes was regarded as sufficient punishment for most offenses and as many as thirty-nine lashes was considered cruel.