HISTORY

Court-martial of Louis Bache

In August of 1814, after the British burned Washington, Simon Snyder, the Governor of Pennsylvania, called out the state militia to defend Philadelphia. Among those reporting was a regiment under Lt. Col. Louis Bache. Being both undermanned and without a full stock of weapons, many militia detachments were merged with regulars so that each company would have at least 100 men, as per War Department orders. This often resulted in too many officers and so some militia officers were sent home.

Bache reported to a US Army post in October 1814 with 351 men and announced that his force was an auxiliary force and could not be commanded by regular officers. The regular army officers saw Bache's men as replacements and ordered him to break up his unit to fill the ranks of other understrength regular companies. Bache refused.

Bache and five other officers, each of which had successively replaced Bache as commander (and also refused to comply) were arrested. A court-marshal was held on October 20, 1814. Bache's defense was that many young men in the regiment were only allowed to volunteer because their parents knew and trusted their officers and that they should not be commanded by strangers. The government held that the camp commander was a US Army officer and that by entering the camp and being equipped by the supplies of that camp therefor subjected Bache's detachment to the orders of officers of the United States.

Bache was found guilty of all charges and ordered dismissed from the service.