US Naval Corporal Punishment

In 1799, Congress passed the Articles for the Government of the Navy, replacing Colonial rules. The new law codified flogging as acceptable punishment:

Article 3. Any person who shall be guilty of profane swearing, or of drunkenness, if a seaman or marine, shall be put in irons until sober, then flogged if the captain shall think proper.

In the US Navy, flogging was done with hands fastened above the head, legs spread apart, and whipped with a cat-of-nine-tails across a bare back.

“Cats” varied, but mainly consisted of nine whips, 18 inches long, with knots near the end of each whip. Flogging was legal punishment in the US Navy until 1850, when it was abolished by an Act of Congress.

Cat-o-nine-tails

Sailor getting flogged