Irish Patriot: Wolfe Tone

Tone's worst fears were realized. The British military set up a British court martial to try him. It didn't seem to matter that Wolfe Tone had never served a day in the British military. Officers in charge were taking orders from the lord lieutenant of Ireland - Lord Cornwallis - of American Revolutionary War fame.

Forced to surrender his troops to George Washington at Yorktown, thereby ending the conflict with America, Cornwallis had once been humiliated by rebels. It would not happen again. Cornwallis was not the slightest bit interested in legal precedent and fair trial procedures. He wanted Wolfe Tone, the rebel, executed.

As the "trial" started in Dublin, on November 10th, crowds of people tried to witness a proceeding that Tone himself considered an outrage. As a barrister, Wolfe Tone knew he had been denied all aspects of due process.

Had he been properly tried in a court of law - not a British court martial - Tone may still have been convicted. He would probably have received a death sentence. But legal process would have allowed him to put on a defense. A real trial would have given him time between sentence and execution. He would have been able to personally say good-bye to his family and friends.