Essex County MA Archives Military Records.....Goodale, Ebenezer September 1811
Warof1812 First Brigade, 2nd Div Mass militia
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Record Of The Proceedings Of A General Court Martial Against Ebenezer Goodale, Major General Of The Second Division Of The Militia [of Danvers], In The Library Of Congress, Call # UB 856.G6
The summary of the charges against him were as follows:

"First.-The said Ebenezer Goodale, while Brigadier General of the first Brigade 
second division of the militia of Massachusetts, ands acting Major General 
thereof, viz. In September, A.D.1811, received a set of charges against 
Ebenezer Bowditch, Captain of the Salem Cadet company, a company in the first 
Brigade and second Division aforesaid, dates September 1811: and of the 
following purport, viz."

"To Ebenezer Goodale, Esq. Brigadier General of the first Brigade second 
Division of the Militia of Massachusetts, and commanding officer of said 
division."

"The subscribers complain of Ebenezer Bowditch, Captain of the Salem Cadet 
Company, and exhibit against him the following charges:

"1. The said Bowditch excused a private belonging to his company, viz. Jonathan 
P. Saunders, for unnecessary absence from training on the fourth day of July, 
last past."

"2. The said Bowditch paraded his company for training by his own orders two 
several days only in the year 1810, in addition to the company inspection on 
the first Tuesday of May in said year, and so neglected to call out his company 
as often as is required by law."

"3. The said Bowditch has been guilty of neglect of duty in not returning the 
name of Jonathan P. Saunders, in his return of the list of the names of the men 
belonging to his company, to the commanding officer of the regiment, in April 
1811: and in not returning the name of said Saunders, in his annual return in 
May, last past."

"4. The said Bowditch has been guilty of unmilitary and illegal conduct, and of 
willfully oppressing and injuring persons under his command, by illegally 
giving the names of privates belonging to his company to the Clerks of the 
militia companies, within the bounds of which they respectively reside, and 
illegally causing the said privates to be enrolled in the said militia 
companies and to do military duty in the same, when they had never been 
discharged from his, the said Bowditch's, company."

"5. The said Bowditch has been guilty of unmilitary, unofficerlike, and illegal 
conduct, and of willfully oppressing and injuring persons under his command, by 
fraudulently and illegally procuring the discharge of two privates belonging in 
his company, viz. Ebenezer Worcester and Daniel Millet, without their 
knowledge, and contrary to their wishes, and by giving the names of the said 
Worcester and Millet to the Clerks of the companies, within the bounds of which 
they respectively reside, that they might be enrolled in the said militia 
companies, and made to do duty in the same all which has been done by said 
Bowditch since the first day of August, last past,"

"6. The said Bowditch has been guilty of neglect of duty, in not instructing 
his company in the company exercise and evolutions, when paraded by his order 
on the fourth day of July, last past."

"7. The said Bowditch has expended the money, which he has received of the 
Clerk of his company, without consulting the other commissioned officers of the 
said company."

"8. The said Bowditch has excused privates belonging to his company, viz. 
Jonathan Tucker, Francis H. Boardman, Aaron Porter, jun. Simeon Flanders, and 
Cornelius D. Stanwood, for unnecessary deficiency in their equipments at two 
company trainings, within the year now last past."

"9. The said Bowditch was guilty of unmilitary, unofficerlike, and illegal 
conduct in receiving several persons into his company, at a company training on 
the fourth day of July, last past, and permitting the said persons, who did not 
belong to the said company, to parade as privates with the said company."

"10. The said Bowditch has been guilty of unmilitary and illegal conduct by 
making the following statement, in his annual return of said company in May 
last: viz.-He returned Christopher Turner and Isaac Needham, jun. As both being 
completely equipped according to law, when in fact the said Turner and said 
Needham did not parade with the said company- and their arms and equipment were 
not produced at the company inspection on the first Tuesday of May last:- Also 
he returned Jonathan Tucker, Francis H. Boardman, Simeon Flanders, and 
Cornelius D. Stanwood, privates in said company, as completely equipped 
according to law, when in fact the said Tucker, Boardman, Flanders, and 
Stanwood, did not, nor did either of them, produce at the said inspection, a 
single article of equipment, as required by law."

"Wherefore the subscribers pray, that a Court-Martial may be ordered for the 
said trial of the said Bowditch upon the charges aforesaid, and that he may be 
dealt with relative to the same as the law and justice shall appertain. Signed 
Isaac Cushing, and others."

"To which said Goodale never attended, nor ordered a court-martial, as was his 
duty, for behaving in an unofficerlike, illegal and unmilitary manner, has 
neglected to call a court-martial, assigning as a reason, their being dated 
prior to his being notified by the Governor of the resignation and discharge of 
Maj. Gen. Derby, of the Division aforesaid."

"Second.-The said Goodale, while acting in the capacity aforesaid, viz. On the 
eleventh day of December, 1811, received another set of charges against said 
Ebenezer Bowditch in the same words, and of the same purport as before 
mentioned, dated ninth December, 1811, to which said Goodale has never attended 
(although he at that time had received official notice of Gen. Derby's 
resignation and discharge,) but behaving in an unofficerlike, unmilitary, and 
illegal manner, has neglected to do his duty in that particular, has not 
ordered a Court-Martial, but refused and still refuses so to do; thereby 
exempting from military duty several persons, who are members of said 
Bowditch's company, and causing them to be deprived a most important privilege-
the right to vote in choice of officers and all other privileges to them 
belonging."

"Third. The said Goodale, since he received official notice of the discharge of 
Maj. Gen. Derby, has been guilty of the most degrading, ungentlemanlike, and 
unofficerlike conduct, by advising the persons (who are said to be discharged 
from the Cadet company illegally, as per charge in the fourth complaint against 
said Bowditch) not to obey the notification of the several Captains of the 
militia companies to do military duty in the companies of the wards, within 
which they reside; and afterwards, viz. Immediately after the annual training 
in May last, advising and requesting a Captain or Captains of said militia 
companies to prosecute at law said persons (so said to be discharged) for their 
fines for non-attendance at said company training."

"Fourth.-The said Goodale, both since he has been Major General of the Division 
and while Brigadier General, has been guilty of unmilitary conduct, by 
illegally delegating his authority, and etc. to officers under him, 
particularly his having given his Brigade Major general orders to discharge 
privates and others, from any volunteer corps within the brigade, upon any 
application of any commanding officer, and others equally illegal; thereby 
giving the management and direction of the brigade, and even of the division, 
to persons who were not authorized by law to perform the same."

"Fifth.-The said Goodale has been guilty of unmilitary conduct, and of 
willfully injuring and oppressing persons under his command, even depriving the 
officers of the brigade the right of choosing their Brigadier General, by 
withholding a request for a discharge of a Lieutenant Colonel within said 
brigade, who, by a visitation of God, is deprived the use of his reason, and 
thereby rendered unfit any longer to hold a commission as Lieutenant Colonel; 
and so preventing the filling of an existing vacancy in said brigade.-And,"

"Lastly.-The said Goodale, in an unofficerlike manner, at and before the late 
meeting of the Field Officers for the election of a Brigadier General for the 
first brigade, interfered in said election, by undue and improper influence, 
biased the minds of the electors, and used his officer as an instrument of 
overawing and influencing the voters, so that, by his electioneering arts and 
contrivances, equally degrading to the soldier and dishonorable to the citizen, 
the said Field Officers were restrained and prevented from making a choice of 
said Brigadier General; and in consequence thereof the senior officer in said 
brigade has been superseded, according to the intent of said Major General, and 
general dissatisfaction and discontent produced through said brigade."

"Wherefore the subscribers pray, that a Court-Martial may be ordered for the 
trial of said Ebenezer Goodale upon the aforesaid charges, and that he may be 
dealt with relative to the same as the law and justice shall appertain."

Maj. Gen. Ebenezer Goodale was adjudged 'not guilty of the 1st and 3rd articles 
of charges, but to be guilty of the 2d, 4th, 5th, and 6th articles of charges, 
and was sentenced to be removed from his office, and adjudged him to be 
disqualified from holding any military office for the term of five years.

Additional Comments:
This Ebenezer Goodale received his title of General before the War of 1812, by 
election, as was the custom with the militias then. This may also be the 
Ebenezer Goodale, who had been an absentee proprietor of New Salem, 
Massachusetts, ISAAC [III] and his wife DEBORAH GOODALE moved their family to, 
in 1734. This General was court-martialed in 1812. There is a complete 
transcript of the Record of the Proceedings of a General Court Martial Against 
Ebenezer Goodale, Major General of the Second Division of the Militia [of 
Danvers], in the Library of Congress, Call # UB 856.G6, of which this 
researcher has a photocopy.
The printed text of this court-martial is 80 pages long, and contains 
transcripts of the testimony of each of the men interviewed by the court, 
including Ebenezer Goodale himself. It is too long to be repeated here, but is 
quite colorful and revealing of the lives and times of these men. This 
researcher recommends to the curious reader, that it is worthwhile to order a 
photocopy of this booklet, from the Library of Congress. Contact their website 
for an official photoduplication order form. 

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