Joseph Wall (British Army officer)

Captain Joseph Wall (1737, Dublin–28 January 1802, London) was a British army officer and convicted murderer.

Wall volunteered for service around 1760 and participated in the 1762 siege of Havana during the Seven Year's War for which he was elevated to the rank of Captain. He then served with the British East India Company for a few years until leaving after fighting a duel. Following this he returned to Ireland, where his attempts to find a wife ended when one woman prosecuted him for assault and defamation.

He then moved to England where he obtained a military posting to Senegambia in Africa as an officer of the African Corps (to which he transferred from the 32nd Foot). He was given the local rank of Lt. Colonel. In 1776 he was appointed lieutenant governor of the Gambia. During this governorship he was accused of maladministration and cruelty to subordinates and local people. He was brought before the council of Senegal, but the charges proved to be embellished and were dismissed. The council awarded Wall £1527 damages for removal of goods and false imprisonment, and in further proceedings before the Court of Common Pleas in London, he received a further £1000.

Wall returned to Africa following a French invasion of Senegambia in 1779 with a British squadron under Sir Edward Hughes to occupy the island of Gorée. In 1782, a deputation of soldiers petitioned Wall for unpaid allowances. He considered this an act of mutiny and ordered their leader, Sergeant Benjamin Armstrong, and two others to be flogged without court martial in contravention of military practice. After receiving 800 lashes, all three died days later. Wall left for England following the order and made no report of a mutiny to his superiors, however rumours of his actions soon circulated. Wall was court martialled but charges were dropped as a ship carrying witnesses was believed to be lost.

However, the witnesses eventually arrived in England in 1784 and Wall was charged with murder. As Wall was being brought from Bath to London, he escaped custody and fled to the continent. A reward of £200 was offered for his apprehension. Wall was described as being 6'4 and of a "fair complexion with light-brown hair". Whilst abroad, he married Frances, the daughter of the Lord Fortrose. He made several secret trips to Britain but returned in 1801 for financial reasons — he had to clear his name to secure a large property of his wife which was in the hands of trustees.

He was brought to trial at the Old Bailey on 20 January 1802 for the murder of Armstrong before Sir Archibald Macdonald, the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. A guilty verdict was reached and although the Privy Council also considered the matter and there were pleas for pardon, it was not politically prudent so soon after the Spithead and Nore mutinies to spare Wall.

Wall was hanged at Newgate on 28 January 1802 and his remains were buried in the churchyard at St Pancras.

References

• "Jonathan Spain, 'Wall, Joseph (1737–1802)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004". Retrieved 2008-06-15.