1094. THE "CONFIDENTIAL" ARCHIVE OF THE BRITISH ROYAL MARINES, 1849-1865 An outstanding and historically important archive of over seventy military documents, all legal folio size, many comprising 4pp. each, each marked "Confidential" and pertaining to protocol decisions regarding the highly elite British Royal Marines who were under the direct jurisdiction of the British Admiralty. This archive destroys the myth that the Royal Marines were all "gentlemen first...and soldiers second". In fact, after review, one might conclude that the Royal Marines were just as ordinary as enlisted men in the regular British Army! Some of the issues addressed include assaults on officers; corporal punishment; AWOL officers (including an incident whereby a Captain who headed a court martial proceeding for the British Admiralty is unaccounted for!) Other colorful incidents include an account of a drunken captain on the promotion list...despite the fact he is drying out in a sanitarium, hallucinating and experiencing tremors. There are documents ordering the arrest of senior officers, the immediate removal of a "commandant" by the British Admiralty, the reluctant allowance of a ten-year-old drummer boy to be discharged from service only after a tear-jerking letter from his father, himself an Officer, is submitted (included). In fact, every document in this archive is important or controversial in nature, offering a never-before-seen view of "The Queen's Royal Elite Marines". All documents are signed by Maj. Generals, Adjt. Generals, and individuals of the highest rank of the era. What we have listed is just the very tip of the iceberg. Undoubtedly this archive is most worthy of further research. Overall fine condition. $2,000 - 3,000