Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin was a Continental Army officer who was the focus of one of three possible cases of sodomy documented in the Continental Army under General George Washington.
Early life and family "Gotthold Friderich Ensslin" was christened the day after his birth in the Lutheran Church in Oberkochen, Wuerttemberg, Germany on 11 August 1755, son of Pastor Johann Friderich Ensslin and Magdalena Elisabetha Venningerin.I. Daniel Rupp, A collection of upwards of thirty thousand names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727-1776, p. 416. Philadelphia: Stuart Leary, 1927. He seems to have arrived in Philadelphia on the ship Union from Rotterdam on 30 September 1774. Military Career and Case Enslin joined the Continental Army in March 1777, in an independent company affixed first to the 6th Virginia RegimentMuster Rolls, July 1777, Samuel Kearsley’s Company, US, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783; Wright Jr., Robert K. The Continental Army. Center of Military History, United States Army (Washington D.C., 1983), 287. and later to Malcolm's Additional Continental Regiment.Muster Rolls, July 1777, Samuel Kearsley’s Company, US, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783; Wright Jr., Robert K. The Continental Army. Center of Military History, United States Army (Washington D.C., 1983), 323.
The case began with a charge against an ensign for slander against another soldier. At Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, in February 1778, Ensign Anthony Maxwell was brought before a brigade court-martial charged with "propagating a scandalous report prejudicial to the character of Lieut. Enslin." Maxwell was ultimately acquitted of the charge.
In March 1778, Enslin was brought to trial before a general court-martial. According to General Washington's report: "...Lieutt. Enslin of Colo. Malcolm's Regiment tried for attempting to commit sodomy ..." Washington's secretary continues to describe the results of the trial: "His Excellency the Commander in Chief approves the sentence and with Abhorrence & Detestation of such Infamous Crimes orders Lieut. Enslin to be drummed out of Camp tomorrow morning...."The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799, Vol. 11, John C. Fitzpatrick, Ed., United States Government Printing Office, 1934.
The diary of Lieutenant James McMichael records the sentence being carried out on 15 March 1778:
Later Life Enslin moved to Boston, where he married a widow named Elizabeth Geyer, née Cooler,Boston Marriage Publications, 1782-1798, 6:52. and worked as a bookkeeper.Boston (Mass.). Assessing Dept, City of Boston tax records 1797-98, 819. Their home was among those affected by the fire of 1787,Boston Gazette, April 23, 1787Massachusetts Centinel, April 21, 1787, p. 3. though it appears they were able to rebuild and return. He died in the summer of 1800, age 44 or 45.Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States records, images 22-26. See also Sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States military
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