A local professor's research has uncovered a historic scandal from the US Revolutionary War era. John Gilbert McCurdy, a professor at the University of Eastern Michigan, was studying 18th-century British General Thomas Gage when he came across correspondence about a trial. The trial involved a chaplain named Robert Newburgh, who was accused of a serious offense.

The details of the trial are found in letters and court transcripts. Newburgh was a chaplain assigned to the Royal Irish regiment in Philadelphia. His case involved allegations of anal sex with his manservant, referred to as "buggery" at the time.

Further details about the trial and its outcome are available from the source, which provides more information about McCurdy's discovery and its significance.