drumhead court-martial

American  

noun

1. a court-martial held, usually on a battlefield, for the summary trial of charges of offenses committed during military operations.

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drumhead court-martial British  

noun

1. a military court convened to hear urgent charges of offences committed in action

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Etymology

Origin of drumhead court-martial

First recorded in 1825–35; so called from the use of a drumhead as a table during the court-martial

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

drumhead court-martial

But for British magnanimity a drumhead court-martial should have taken the place of the hospitality of the Ceylon planters.

From The Great Boer War by Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir

The elderly and old-fashioned Anglo-Egyptian militarist, with his doctrine and discipline of the barrack-room and the drumhead court-martial, was never regarded by the workers with a shade of suspicion.

From Lord Kitchener by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)

A drumhead court-martial is a hurried trial held in camp.

From The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 25, April 29, 1897 A Weekly Magazine for Boys and Girls by Various

Only the time they needed for a drumhead court-martial.

From The Boy Scouts In Russia by Furman, E. A.

It was not considered wise to let them loose in England, and if they went back to Germany they might have to face the music of a drumhead court-martial.

From The Romance of a Pro-Consul Being The Personal Life And Memoirs Of The Right Hon. Sir George Grey, K.C.B. by Milne, James