Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Frederick Gotthold Enslin was a

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

officer who the focus of one of three possible cases of

sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''s ...

documented in the

under General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

. The case began with a charge against an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

for

slander Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

against another soldier. At Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, in February 1778, Ensign Anthony Maxwell was brought before a 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 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 Excellency is an honorific style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder usually retains the r ...

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: He may be identical to "Gotthold Fried. Enslin" who arrived in Philadelphia on the ship ''Union'' from

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

on 30 September 1774.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. "Gotthold Friderich Ensslin" was christened the day after his birth in the Lutheran Church in Ober Kochen, Wuerttemberg, Germany on 11 August 1755, son of Johann Friderich Ensslin and Magdalena Elisabetha Venningerin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enslin, Frederick Gotthold Year of birth missing Year of death missing 18th-century American people Continental Army officers from Germany Continental Army personnel who were court-martialed American military personnel discharged for homosexuality History of LGBT civil rights in the United States 18th-century LGBT people American people convicted of sodomy

See also

References