Ungentlemanly Acts: The Army's Notorious Incest Trial [Hardcover]

Louise K. Barnett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2000

In April 1879, on a remote military base in west Texas, Captain Andrew Geddes, a decorated Army officer of dubious moral reputation, faced a court-martial. The trial unearthed shocking tales of seduction, incest, and abduction. The highest figures in the United States Army got involved, and General William Tecumseh Sherman made it his personal mission to see that Geddes was punished for his alleged crime.

But just what had he done? Geddes had spoken out about an "unspeakable" act - he had accused a fellow officer, Louis Orleman, of incest with his teenage daughter Lillie. The Army quickly charged not Orleman but Geddes with "conduct unbecoming a gentleman," for his accusation had come about because Orleman was preparing to charge Geddes with attempting to seduce and abduct the same young lady. Which man was the villain and which the savior?

Louise Barnett's compelling examination of the Geddes drama is at once a suspenseful narrative of a very important trial and a study of the then prevailing attitudes toward sexuality, parental discipline, the Army, and the appropriate division between public and private life. It will enrich any reader's understanding of the tumultuous post-Civil War period, when Americans were striving to define their moral codes anew.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

How do you accuse someone of an unspeakable sin? In post-Civil War America, you did not, if you were smart, for speaking of an unspeakable sin was unpardonable. In 1879, in west Texas, Captain Andrew Geddes accused a fellow officer, Louis Orleman, of having incestuous relations with his (Orleman's) daughter. Orleman countercharged that Geddes had seduced his daughter and planned to abduct her, and that the incest charge was merely an attempt to deflect responsibility from his own devious actions. The result was a court-martial of Geddes; no person in a position of authority seriously considered the possibility that Orleman could be guilty of incest, for Americans of the time, according to Barnett, "preferred to believe--regardless of evidence--that it [incest] simply did not occur...." Barnett, a professor of English at Rutgers, carefully chronicles the trial. Her thesis is that while Geddes was no saint, his trial was a mockery of justice and the unprosecuted charges against Orleman probably contained more truth than those pressed against Geddes. A guilty verdict was set aside by the army's highest judicial officer, the judge advocate general, but the continued hostility toward Geddes within the army led to his ultimate dismissal. The greatest strength of this volume is the way events are placed within historical and cultural context. A real sense of army life on the frontier and how the larger values of society shaped the proceedings are skillfully woven into the narrative. Through a relatively unknown incident, Barnett presents a morality play showcasing late-19th-century social values that have evolved but are still in effect. 24 b&w photos not seen by PW. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Barnett (English, Rutgers; Touched by Fire) examines the army's court-martial of Captain Andrew Geddes and contemporary novels such as Infelice to illuminate late 19th-century American thought on incest. Her book stages the conflict that sent Geddes to trial: he had accused fellow officer Louis Orleman of incest with his teenage daughter, Lillie; but Orleman accused Geddes of attempting to seduce and abduct Lillie. Barnett argues that the army court-martialed Geddes largely because public scrutiny of incest uncomfortably forced Americans to question their views of family, sexuality, and gender roles. She also places the trial in the context of life on a western Texas military fort staffed mainly by black soldiers surrounded by white civilians, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans. This is an absorbing, well-documented book, although more discussion of 19th-century laws and attitudes about incest might have enriched it. Recommended for public and academic libraries with military, gender, or American West history collections.
-Charles L. Lumpkins, Pennsylvania State Univ., State College
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 287 pages
• Publisher: Hill & Wang Pub; 1ST edition (February 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809073978
• ISBN-13: 978-0809073979
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #737,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A page turner about frontier life and the Army legal system, February 17, 2000

By 

Kenneth S. Smith (Goleta, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ungentlemanly Acts: The Army's Notorious Incest Trial (Hardcover)

This is a fascinating account of the court marshal of Army Captain Andrew J. Geddes for 'Conduct Unbecoming and Officer'. He accused another officer, Lieutenant Louis H. Orleman, of incest with his daughter Lillie. Orleman preempted the charges of Geddes by filing his own complaint that Geddes tried to seduce and abduct his daughter. The act of incest was so unspeakable at the time (1879), the Army chose to court marshal Geddes instead Orleman for 'Conduct Unbecoming' with specifications 'not fit to be specified'. The Army was out to get Geddes (for other improprieties) and the trial was a sham with Geddes found guilty and cashiered from the Army. He was reinstated due to the diligence of Inspector General Dunn, but higher powers, General Sherman in particular, wanted Geddes out of the Army as unfit. Geddes was tried a few years later on trumped up charges of being drunk on duty and again cashiered.

The main events of this book took place at Fort Stockton in Western Texas. The author masterfully paints a picture of the bleak frontier and the problems inherent with isolated outposts: drunkenness, adultery, seduction, gossip, and petty feuds that blossomed into hatred. The book also contains a wealth of interesting information about the Army legal system, the moral mindset of the time, Army units and personnel, literature of the time, and many other facts and observations. I read this book cover-to-cover and highly recommend it to any fan of American History.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Odd but Revealing Slice of American History, October 25, 2003

By 

mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ungentlemanly Acts: The Army's Notorious Incest Trial (Hardcover)

In "Ungentlemanly Acts", author Louise Brooks gives us a history lesson in military law and in the sexual attitudes of polite society in 19th century America. "The army's notorious incest trial", in which Captain Andrew Geddes was accused of committing "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman", took place in 1879 and concerned events that took place at Fort Stockton, in the no-man's land of the West Texas frontier. Captain Geddes was court-martialed because he had accused a fellow officer, Lieutenant Louis Orleman, of conducting an incestuous relationship with his teenaged daughter, Lillie Orleman. The courtroom drama lasted three months, during which the despotic nature of military law and the obsessive propriety of Victorian society combined to produce what now looks like a bizarre spectacle, indeed, as well as a probable miscarriage of justice. And the scandal didn't end there. Eventually, even General of the Army William Sherman involved himself in the saga.

Louise Brooks places Geddes' trial in its social and historical context by delving into the culture's attitudes towards incest, as evidenced at the time by the Lord Byron-Harriet Beecher Stowe scandal, virginity, and the military's view of justice and proper conduct. It is interesting to see how 19th century social mores, with all of their contradictions and peculiarities, were so graphically reflected in this one scandalous court-martial. Notorious court cases frequently make excellent eyes through which to see a culture's less public character. I have to disagree with the author's assertion in the book's epilogue that incest continues to be a taboo subject. I think it could be described as a genuine preoccupation in some circles these days. And I question the author's repeated claim that incest was thought to be so improbable and unnatural that the possibility of its existence was emphatically denied in Victorian society. There is ample evidence to indicate this was the case among the literate middle class -at least in public. But I find it unlikely that incest was so denied among the vast poor and rural populations who did, after all, share beds with their siblings well into their teens and, in many cases, lived on isolated homesteads or farms where they had limited contact with people outside of their own families. My understanding of rural and peasant culture leads me to believe that incest was tacitly acknowledged by most of America while it was being categorically repudiated by polite society. Regardless, Captain Andrew Geddes' court-martial is a revealing slice of American history, and "Ungentlemanly Acts" does a good job of explaining the context and implications of the case. Recommended to anyone interested in the social history of the United States or in the history of military law and codes of conduct.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sex and Lies on the Frontier, November 3, 2000

By 

Ricky Hunter (New York City, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ungentlemanly Acts: The Army's Notorious Incest Trial (Hardcover)

Louise Barnett's Ungentlemanly Acts looks at the rather odd court martial of Andrew Geddes who goes on trial after accusing another officer of committing incest with his daughter. The author uses this case to examine nineteenth-century attitudes towards incest, including a look at the Byron - Harriet Beecher Stowe incident. There is also much discussion of life on the frontier, the court martial system in the army at the time, and an interesting discourse concerning the concept of viriginity. The book has many interesting detours such as these and they are necessary as the main story is not always as interesting or as siginificant to sustain a full book. All of the various pieces do come together to create a pleasant read.