Court Martials on the Isle de Leon in 1814

[inaramol]

Dear Forum,
I am researching my husband's family tree and one of his forebears was court martialled on the 25th & 26th April 1814 on the Isle de Leon, Spain. I assume he was in service at the time for the British Army ? His name was John Bradley and he was transported for life on the ship Baring to Australia in 1815. How would I go about finding out what happened and more information about his service record generally?
Thanks. Inara

[thewideeyedowl]

Hi Inara and a very warm welcome to Brit Gen...

I cannot offer any specific help, I am afraid - (sorry) - but these are the holdings at The National Archives (TNA) that mention Isla de Leon: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/s/res?_q=%28%28Isla+AND+de+AND+leon%29%29&_sd=1800&_ed=1820. Not very many, but might be worth a look.

For my own Napoleonic Wars research, I find this website very useful: http://www.britisharmyresearchnapoleonicwars.co.uk.

Swooping off now.

Owl

[inaramol]

Dear Owl!

Thank you so much for your quick response. I'll check out your suggestions now.

Inara

[thewideeyedowl]

Hi again, Inara

Have had a further look on TNA. The holding WO 90/1 is entitled "Judge Advocate General's Office: general courts martial registers, abroad. 1796-1825". Here is the link: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/details?Uri=C1026631. You will see that this archive has not been digitised so the only options are either to go to Kew to see it or to request a quotation for some or all of it to be copied and sent to you.

If you have a good browse round TNA's website, starting at the home page, you will be able to discover how to put in a request. Also, do please read the very useful Research Guides on the site - they are always an excellent starting point.

When I tried Ancestry for a John Bradley for this period about 140 came up. So I gave up. Sorry. IF you knew approximately where he was born, the list could be thinned down drastically.

For general background, you could also take a look at the napoleon-series.org websites. These, mainly, report on articles and books on (often obscure) aspects of these wars, and cover many - possibly all? - of the countries that got drawn into the conflict. (In Europe, this war was known as The Great War until the 1914-1918 one came along a century later.)

You could also try Australian websites for info about transportees, and there are lots of Brit Gen members who could help you if you try that approach; if you go down that route, start a new thread on John Bradley in the appropriate forum.

Off to roost now

Owl