I represent Ralph Walsh. I was a lieutenant colonel and commander of His Majesty’s 31st Regiment of Foot. The regiment arrived in Pensacola in 1765, and I immediately became the target of Governor George Johnstone’s jurisdictional conflicts with military leadership. In January 1766, matters came to a head with Johnstone ordering the 21st Regiment out of Mobile to come take over the Pensacola garrison from me. In response, I ordered the 31st to take up arms, ordered the fort gates closed and the guns loaded. As it turned out, talking won out and I agreed to submit to arrest. At trial I argued that I was, indeed, under the command of Maj. General Thomas Gage (commander of the British forces in North America) and not the civilian authorities. The Chief Justice not only agreed in theory, but he was well aware of Johnstone’s vendetta, which predated my command. I was discharged. Soon after, the 31st was transferred to St. Augustine for a time, and Governor Johnstone was invited back to England. In 1768 I was granted 500 acres at the head the west lagoon [Bayou Chico], two and a half miles from Pensacola.
Sources: 3, 13,50, 75, 82