Robert Ross, George Johnston, and colonial military culture

Marine and army officers came from different institutional systems: army commissions were still purchased, whereas Marine commissions followed a system closer to that of the Royal Navy. A distant, unprestigious New South Wales posting was also unlikely to attract the army's most sought-after officers. The colony's abundant primary sources give a different portrait of Major Robert Ross from the creative license used by the 2015 drama Banished. Ross was quarrelsome and resisted Phillip's direction, but he cared for his Marines, wanted fortifications, and was not seeking private enrichment. His refusal to make Marines supervise convicts or sit in criminal courts came from a fear that they would become jailers and turn the settlement into a military colony. George Johnston followed a different path, transferring from the Marines to the New South Wales Corps, accumulating land, facing disciplinary accusations, and eventually commanding the force that removed Bligh. The comparison shows that disagreement over institutional roles could still serve a long-term colonial project, whereas military access to commerce and politics created incentives for corruption and rebellion.