The Battle of Bamber Bridge General Court Martial
Below is a page from an Army General Court Martial. This series contains records of General Courts Martial, as well as records of Special Courts Martial that resulted in bad conduct discharges from military service. The records were compiled by the War Department, Office of the Judge Advocate General, 1884–September 18, 1947. The page below is from the record of the proceedings of the General Court Martial recounting the Battle of Bamber Bridge.
The Battle of Bamber Bridge was a race-related outbreak of violence between white American Military Police (MPs) and African American soldiers of the 1511th Quartermaster Truck Regiment. The MPs attempted to arrest members of the truck regiment for being out of uniform at Ye Olde Hob Inn, a public house in England. The MPs shot and killed Private William Crossland, which sparked an all-out battle between the MPs and the members of the truck regiment, with the two groups exchanging gunfire through the night. 32 members of the 1511th were convicted of mutiny and related crimes.
A page from the Battle of Bamber Bridge General Court Martial. National Archives Identifier: 290085135.
You can download the Bamber Bridge General Court Martial from the National Archives Catalog.
This record is located within Record Group 153: Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (Army). Many of the records in this collection have yet to be digitized. We encourage researchers to visit us onsite to explore these records and learn more about the archival collections held in the National Archives at St. Louis.