Ct It rani uf
ELLA SMITH ELBERT '68
Jl« JUnimriam
KATKARIirE E. COMAN
"THE LITTLE FiEL/E," 1861-65
My Lohu.I can touch a bell on my rigjh hand, and order the arrest of a citizen of 0wo; I can
fancb a bell agtnu. and order the imprisonment of a atizen of Newark; and no power on earth . except
(bat of me Presidcnt.can release tnem. Can the Queen of England do so much- "
1
Digitized by
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AMERICAN BASTILE.
A HISTORY
OF
The Arbitrary Arrests and Imprisonment of American Cit-
izens in the Northern and Border States, on account
of their Political Opinions, during the late Civil
War, together with a Full Report of the Ille-
gal Trial and Execution of Mrs. Mary E.
SURRATT, BY A MILITARY COMMISSION, AND
A Review of the Testimony, show-
ing her Entire Innocence.
JOHN A. MARSHALL.
" Bitter things I write,
Because my soul is bitter for your sake,
O Freedom ! " Giusti.
ILLUSTRATED WITH THE FINEST STEEL ENGRAVINGS.
PHILADELPHIA :
THOMAS W. HARTLEY & CO.
No. 420 FRANKLIN STREET.
1884.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by
JOHN A MARSHALL,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States in and for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
THIS VOLUME
IS
Respectfully JIUMraUir
TO
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
BY
THE AUTHOR.
gllttBtraiiffit^
Plate I. {Steel)
LIBERTY BELL (1776) See Frontispiece.
This bell, the first in Philadelphia, was imported from England
in 1752; for the State House, but, having met with an acci-
dent in the trial-ringing after it was landed, it lost the tones
received in the fatherland, and had to be conformed to ours
by a recasting.
The ringing of this bell first announced to the citizens, who
were anxiously awaiting the result of the deliberations of
Congress, (which were at that time held with closed doors,)
that the Declaration of Independence had been decided
upou ; and then it was that the bell "Proclaimed Liberty
throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof."
It was subsequently cracked, and is now to be seen in Independ-
ence Hall, proper.
This picture represents " Liberty."
The Goddess of Liberty, with her left hand resting on a shield
which supports the Constitution, holds in her right hand a
laurel wreath which she is about to place on the head of
Washington, as the apostle of Liberty, who has thrown at
his feet the^crown and the broken sword and sceptre — the
emblems of Royalty— of the tyrant, George III., at the
same time uttering the significant words, "Sic semper tyran-
nis" (Thus it is always so with tyrants), when, simultane-
ously, the Goddess commands the bell to " Proclaim Liberty
throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof;"
immediately on the announcement of which, and at the
shrill sound of the Bell, the dark, thick clouds of Despot-
ism begin to disperse, and the bright rays of light emana-
ting from the Sun of Liberty burst forth with effulgent
splendor, inspiring the ever-watchful Eagle, the emblem of
Liberty, to soar heavenward, bearing in his beak a streamer
on which is inscribed, "Liberty throughout all the
LAND, UNTO ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF."
ILLUSTRATIONS.
iii
Plate II. (Steel)
" THE LITTLE BELL" (1861-65) Frontispiece.
[Eighty-five years subsequently to 1776.]
This picture represents " Despotism."
The first scene, or centre, represents the private office of Secre-
tary Seward in the State Department. The hand of an un-
seen person, with the forefinger on the bell, is that of }Ym.
H. Seward, whose left hand contains a telegraphic order for
the arrest of a citizen in a distant part of the country,
which is about being received for execution by the hand of
an unknown Marshal.
In the second, or upper left corner, is seen the arrest of the vic-
tim in his bed, at one, two, or three o'clock at night, by the
Marshal, on the authority of this winged messenger. A
guard is stationed in the chamber door to prevent the egress
or ingress of the family or friends.
In the third, or the upper right corner, the same citizen is seen
in the custody of two soldiers, who are taking him through
the streets at night (you see the street-lamp lighted) to the
depot, where he is placed on the cars and, after being car-
ried hundreds of miles from home, is incarcerated in a dis-
mal casemate of Fort Lafayette, Fort Warren, Fort
McHenry, or some other place of confinement. This prac-
tice, Mr. Seward, the American Inquisitor General, adopted
from the Spanish Inquisition, which made all arrests by
night, that no traces of the missing person might exist.
The fourth, or lower right corner, presents the interior of a cell,
with the emaciated form of the victim, sitting on his pallet,
guarded by a sentinel.
In the last, or lower left corner, is the interior view of the
cell, in which " Liberty in shackles weeps."
This mode of procedure was Mr. Seward's idea of a strong gov-
ernment, and hence his boastful speech to Lord Lyons :
"My LORD, I CAN TOUCH A BELL ON MY RIGHT HAND,
AND ORDER THE ARREST OF A CITIZEN OF OHIO ; I CAN
TOUCH A BELL AGAIN, AND ORDER THE IMPRISONMENT
OF A CITIZEN OF NeWt YORK, AND NO POWER ON EARTH,
EXCEPT THAT OF THE PRESIDENT, CAN RELEASE THEM.
Can the Queen of England do so much?" — Secre-
tary Seward to Lord Lyons.
iv ILLUSTRATIONS.
Plate III.
SEAL OF MAGNA CHARTA Page 46
Plate IV.
INDEPENDENCE HALL 49
Plate V.
PORTRAIT, L. P. MILLIGAN (Steel) 71
Plate VI.
PORTRAIT, MARY B. MORRIS (Steer) 97
Plate VII
PORTRAIT, JAMES W. WALL (Steel) 139
Plate VIII
PORTRAIT, GEO. WM. BROWN (Steel) 253
Plate IX.
OLD CAPITOL PRISON 321
Plate X.
PORTRAIT, DR. CHAS. MACGILL (Steel) 360
Plate XI.
FORT LAFAYETTE, NEW YORK HARBOR 509
Description of, see pages 652-53.
Plate XII
FORT WARREN, BOSTON HARBOR 642
Description of, see page 687.
Plate XIII
PORTRAIT, C. L. VALLANDIGHAM (Steel) 712
Plate XIV
FINE MAP, showing the routes of Booth and the Detec-
tives, and the place where Booth was shot and
Harold captured 757
Plate XV.
PORTRAIT, M. E. SURRATT (Steel) 763
Plate XVI.
F AC-SIMILE OF THE KEY OF THE BASTILE, PARIS... 846
Description of, see page 17.
TO THE READER.
THE importance of the subject required that some one
should write a history of " The Prisoners of State "
during the Administration of the late President Lincoln.
This was due to the Muse of History — to " The Prisoners of
State" — to Posterity — and to the Country.
By a resolution of a Convention of "The Prisoners of
State," held in the city of New York, the Author was selected
the Historian of the "Association of State Prisoners."
This work, therefore, comes before the public in an authentic
form.
It has been impartially prepared, and
" Will a round, unvarnished tale deliver."
" Nothing extenuate,
Nor set down aught in malice."
Everything appertaining to the history of our country — her
institutions — the sovereignty of her people — her liberties — her
progress, and her destiny — must necessarily interest the American
citizen.
The liberty of the citizen is the great prop of Free Gov-
ernment.
The reader will at once see the importance of putting on
record the facts detailed in this volume, while they are fresh in
the minds of the people.
As a matter of history, how interesting, not only to the reader
of to-day, but, also, to the youth of the country, for generations
to come !
T
VI
TO THE READER.
This work contains an authentic account of the Arrest,
Imprisonment, and Terrible Sufferings of American Citizens
incarcerated as Prisoners of State; together with the Orders
for Arrest, Suspending the Writ of Habeas Corpus, Prohibiting
the Employment of Counsel, etc., etc.
The horrors of prison-life in Forts Lafayette, Warren,
McHenry, Delaware, Mifflin, Old Capitol Prison, Penitenti-
aries, and Military Camps, and their condition, are truthfully
delineated.
The book contains Preface, Introduction, translated copy
of the Magna Charta, with its Seal ; the Constitution of the
United States, with the recent Amendments; History and
Incidents of the Old Capitol Prison; together with narra-
tives of about seventy citizens, from all of the Northern States,
except New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin, in-
cluding in the number Foreign Ministers, United States
Senators, Members of Congress, Members of State Legisla-
tures, Judges, Lawyers, Ministers, Doctors, Farmers, Editors,
Merchants, Ladies, and indeed all the walks of life are repre-
sented.
It is, in addition, embellished with a number of the finest
Steel Engravings and Portraits. The frontispiece is ornamented
with " Liberty Bell," and " The Little Bell," while pictures of the
State House, Philadelphia ; Fort Warren, Boston Harbor ; Fort
Lafayette, New York Harbor ; Old Capitol Prison, Washington ;
and the " Key of the Bastile," Paris, illustrate other portions of
the work.
J. A. M.
This book sold only by subscription.
CONTENTS.
Preface, 11
Introduction, 25
Magna Charta, 35
Constitution of the United States, with Amendments, 49
Colonel Lambdin P. Milligan, Huntington, Indiana, . 71
Rev. K. J. Stewart, Spottswood, New Jersey, . . ,92
Mrs. Mary B. Morris, Chicago, Illinois, .... 97
Hiram Wentworth, Minnesota, 107
Hon. Francis D. Flanders, Malone, New York, . . Ill
Judge Joseph R. Flanders, Malone, New York, . . .111
Archibald McGregor, Canton, Ohio, .... 117
Hon. L.W. Hall, Bucyrus, Ohio, 125
Joseph Kugler, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, « . 127
Hon.WM. H. Carlin, Quincy, Illinois, 129
Hon. Chas. Ingersoll, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, . . 134
Edward Ingersoll, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, . . . 134
Hon. James W. Wall, Burlington, New Jersey, . . • 139
Hon. Robert Elliott, Freedom, Maine, 153
Rev. Robert Douglas, Washington County, Maryland, . 156
Captain H. L. Shields, Bennington, Vermont, • . . 165
Warren J. Reed, Whitelysburg, Delaware, . . . 168
Israel Blanchard, M. D., Carbondale, Illinois, . . . 174
Dennis Hickey, Chester County, Pennsylvania, . . . 180
Rev. Judson D. Benedict, Aurora, New York, . . . 183
Isaac C. W. Powell, Esq., Easton, Maryland, ... 206
James Corban Naylor, Winterset, Iowa 213
Hon. Phtneas C. Wright, New York City, New York, . 218
Hon. Richard H. Stanton, Maysville, Kentucky, . . .236
vh
viii
CONTENTS.
PA61
James H. Hall, Maysville, Kentucky, . . . 236
Washington B. Tolle, Maysville, Kentucky, . 236
Benjamin F. Thomas, Maysville, Kentucky, . 236
William Hunt, Maysville, Kentucky, 236
Isaac Nelson, Maysville, Kentucky, - 236
George Forrester, Maysville, Kentucky, .... 236
Wm. T. Castoe, Maysville, Kentucky, 236
John W. Smith, St. Louis, Missouri, 242
General Wm. Brindle, Lecompton, Kansas, . . . 245
John T. Gilmer, M. D., Adams County, Illinois, . . . 249
John H. Cook, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, . . . 251
Hon. Geo.Wm. Brown, Baltimore, Maryland, . . . 253
A. B. Hewitt, M. D., Chatham, Illinois, .... 266
Wm. H. Winder, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, . . . 268
C. F. Rust, Seaford, Delaware, ...... 290
Hon. Andrew D. Duff, Benton, Illinois, .... 293
Invasion of Columbia County, Pennsylvania, . . . 303
Wm. Appleman, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, . . . 308
Rev. A. R. Rutan, Fairmount, Pennsylvania, . . .312
P. S. Reeder, Chesterfield, Illinois, 317
Old Capitol Prison, History and Incidents of, . . . 321
Lieutenant McClune, York, Pennsylvania, .... 324
J. W. Packard, North Bridgewater, Massachusetts, . . 358
Chas. Macgill, M. D., Hagerstown, Maryland, . . . 360
General Geo. W. Jones, Dubuque, Iowa, .... 375
Samuel H. Bundy, M. D., Williamson County, Illinois, . . 385
John Apple, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, .... 400
Hon. Dennis A. Mahony, Dubuque, Iowa, .... 403
Cyrus F. Sargent, Yarmouth, Maine, .... 417
Joseph K. Evans, Winterset, Iowa, 421
William Evans, Madison County, Iowa, .... 422
David McCarty, Madison County, Iowa, .... 423
JonN H. Porter, Winterset, Iowa, 423
Joseph W. Gideon, Winterset, Iowa, . . . . - . 424
V. M. GlDBON, Winterset, Iowa, 424
James Keith, Madison County, Iowa, 424
Hon. Rtcha rd B. Carmichael, Queen Anne County, Maryland 426
Jam km M. Williams, Spring Garden, Illinois, . . .449
Hon. David Sheean, Galena, Illinois, .... 451
CONTENTS. ii
PAOB
Geo. W. Wilson, Upper Marlboro', Maryland, . . . 463
J. Blake Walters, Esq., Clearfield, Pennsylvania, . . 465
Major Jacob Wilhelm, Grahampton, Pennsylvania, . 472
Jacob Hubler, GraHampton, Pennsylvania, .... 478
Tnos. W. Berry, Esq., Baltimore, Maryland, . . . 482
Rev. David R. Mc Anally, D. D., St. Louis, Missouri, . . 487
Ormond Barrett, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, . . . 501
Thos. C. MacDowell, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, . . ,501
J. Montgomery Foster, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, . . 501
M. J. Jones, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 501
Philip Hilbish, Snyder County, Pennsylvania, . . , 504
Hon. Madison Y. Johnson, Galena, Illinois, .... 509
Mrs. Isabel Brinsmade, New York, 511
The Maniac, Baltimore, Maryland, 514
George A. Hubbell, Bridgeport, Connecticut, . . . 536
Walter S. Hawkes, Tamaroa, Illinois, ..... 538
Rev. Henry M. Paynter, Booneville, Missouri, . . . 540
D. C. Wattles, North Branch, Michigan, .... 558
Colonel Saml. North, Otsego County, New York, . . 559
Major Levi Cohn, Albany, New York, 559
Lieutenant Morven M. Jones, Utica, New York, . . 559
H. W. Newland, Benton, Illinois, 580
Major J. J. Noah, Minnesota, 582
Hon. Edson B. Olds, Lancaster, Ohio, 586
John E. Robinson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, . . . 606
Joseph C. Wright, French town, New Jersey, . . .613
Hon. Wm. M. Gwin, California, 616
Hon. Calhoun Benham, California, 616
Robt. J. Brent, Esq., California, . . . . .616
Prof. Robt. W. Newman, Peekskill, New York, . . .621
Hon. Buckner S. Morris, Chicago, Illinois, • . . 624
Aaron Morton, Maytown, Pennsylvania, .... 629
Jacob G. Peck, Maytown, Pennsylvania, .... 630
Benjamin Markley, Maytown, Pennsylvania, . . . 630
Henry Lynch, Marietta, Pennsylvania, .... 631
Hon. Henry Clay Dean, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, . . .632
Frank Key Howard, Esq., Baltimore, Maryland, . . 642
Hon. Clement L. Vallandigham, Dayton, Ohio, . . .712
A. Lincoln, J. W. Booth, M. E. Surratt, . . 752
Conclusion, 842
Appendix, 847
PREFACE.
Author. "Walls in !
Judge H. Good evening, sir. I am glad to find you, as
asual, surrounded by home-comforts — books, manuscripts,
and papers appear to be your evening companions.
Author. I am happy to welcome you, Judge H. Pray,
be seated.
Judge H. Thank you, sir. "What books were you so
attentively examining when I entered ?
Author. I was comparing three important documents —
the Magna Charta, the Declaration of Independence, and
the Constitution of the United States. The Magna Charta
secured Personal Liberty, the Declaration proclaimed it, and
the Constitution guaranteed it ; and yet, notwithstanding
the experience and progress of more than six hundred years,
they have been totally disregarded of late in our own coun-
try, which boasts so much of personal rights and personal
liberty.
Judge H. That is true, sir. The Constitution is the chart
by which every Administration ought to be guided ; but I
regret to say — both for the reputation and stability of our
Government — it has, of late, been a " dead letter."
Author. Do you think, Judge, the people are aware to
what extent their rights have been lately trampled upon, aud
their liberties disregarded ?
Judge H. I have the utmost confidence in the judgment
xii
P E E F A C E.
and patriotism of the people^ They are not blind, nor are
they listless ; yet, I think, they sometimes act without con-
sidering. They are carried away by their enthusiasm in
the support of measures, the consequences of which they do
not see until it is too late to redress the wrong committed.
This, however, cannot exactly be said to be the fault of the
people. They are deluded by leaders, without merit or claim,
who have accidentally been wafted into position — mere ad-
venturers, who have nothing to lose, and who are as igno-
rant of the science of government as they are careless of
preserving what little reputation they possess — in a word,
by men who have
"Skulls that cannot teach, and will not learn."
The people do not even yet know the crimes that have been com-
mitted in the name of Liberty.
Author. Liberty, in the better days of our Republic, was
the birthright of the American citizen. What guarantee
has he that he will be protected in this fireside right in the
future, if we may judge the future by the past ? "When the
Constitution is despoiled of the altar of Liberty, in what
temple can Freedom worship ?
Judge H. With us Liberty has no protective guarantees.
A Seward may again ring his "little bell," and secretly
hurry the citizen from the family circle to the loathsome
casemate by the strong arm of arbitrary power, and what
redress has he? What becomes of the old English maxim,
M Kvcry man's house is his castle ? "
Author. Did you ever mark the contrast in the senti-
ments uttered by William H. Seward, Secretary of State
and William Pitt, Prime Minister cf England?
PREFACE.
xiii
In conversation with Lord Lyons, Mr. Seward said, u3Iy
lord, lean touch a bell on my right hand, and order the arrest
of a citizen of Ohio; lean touch a bell again, and order the im-
prisonment of a citizen of New York ; and no power on earth,
except that of the President, can release them. Can the Queen
of England do so much ? 99
The Earl of Chatham said :
"The poorest man in his cottage may bid defiance to
ALL THE POWER OF THE CROWN. It MAY BE FRAIL ; ITS ROOF
MAY SHAKE ; THE WIND MAY BLOW THROUGH IT ; THE STORM
MAY ENTER ; THE RAIN MAY ENTER ; BUT THE KlNG OF ENG-
LAND CANNOT ENTER: ALL HIS POWER DARES NOT CROSS THE
THRESHOLD OF THA.T RUINED TENEMENT."
Here we have presented the difference between the liberties
of the American citizen, and the rights of the English subject
Judge H. Yes, it presents a melancholy picture.
"He that takes
Deep in hie soft credulity the stamp
Designed by loud declaimers on the part
Of liberty, themselves the slaves of lust,
Incurs derision for his easy faith
And lack of knowledge, and with cause enough :
For when was public virtue to be found
Where private was not? Can he love the whole
Who loves no part? He be a nation's friend
Who is in truth the friend of no man there?
Can he be strenuous in his country's cause
Who slights the charities, for whose dear sake
That country, if at all, must be beloved?"
It is to be hoped that the men in power, who have abused
the confidence of the people, will soon be displaced.
Author. Your language in reference to "abusing the
XIV PREFACE.
confidence of the people," reminds me very forcibly of that
uttered by Cicero, in his celebrated speech against Catiline,
in which he says: "How far, then, Catiline, wilt thou abuse
our patience? How long, too, will that frantic wickedness
of thine baffle our efforts? To what extent will thy un-
bridled audacity insolently display itself?"
Judge H. Yes, and the same language might have been
appropriately used in our own country during the late Ad-
ministration.
Author. I think it would have been quite apropos, for
there were then in our midst many Catilines. Then Liberty
was the synonyme of Fort. Could but the walls of Fort La
Fayette — of Fort Warren — of Fort McIIenry speak, what
untold wrongs of vindictive persecution would the American
people hear from those dark, damp, loathsome casemates!
But a day of retribution will come, must come. Crimes and
criminals never go unpunished. The wail of the mother —
the grief of the wife — or the cry of the daughter may be
suppressed for the time, by the gleaming bayonets of an
obedient soldiery ; but retributive justice will follow him who
robs the citizen of his liberty, even unto the very precincts of
the cold and silent grave ; conscience will smite him on earth,
and he will exclaim :
"The thorns that I have reaped, are of the tree I planted.
They have torn me, and I bleed 1"
Judge II. Some day the history of the political imprison
menta during the late Administration will be written, and
wh&t a sad chapter to be read by posterity! It makes my
heart weep to think that in this land of so-called liberty
there has been so much oppression. We can no longer point
to the Bastiles of France — the Towers and castles of Eng.
PREFACE.
XV
laud, as " barbarous relics of a barbarous age." The Ame-
rican Bastile is now identified with the institutions of our
country. Here the word of the informer was the law — the
sound of the "little bell" the signal — and the telegraph tht
messenger. Citizens were arrested by thousands, and incar-
cerated without warrant. Judges were torn from the bench,
bruised and bleeding. Ministers of the Gospel, while per-
forming the sacred and holy duties of their offices, were
stricken down, dragged through the streets, and imprisoned.
Women were incarcerated, and subjected to insult and out-
rage. Doctors were ruthlessly taken from the bedside of the
dying patient, and immured for months without warrant,
and lawyers arrested and consigned to the same cells with
their clients, whose release they were endeavoring to effect.
Post-offices were searched ; newspapers seized and suppressed,
while the editors were handcuffed and secretly hurried to
prison. The writ of Habeas Corpus was a blank, and all our
inheritable rights, "poor, poor, dumb mouths."
Author. Nor was that all. The citizen was not only de-
nied the great bulwark of personal liberty — the writ of
Habeas Corpus — but even the guns upon the ramparts of
Btrongly garrisoned fortresses, placed there to defend the
Citadel of Liberty against a foreign enemy without, were
used to prevent the execution of the writ to effect the re-
lease of the citizen incarcerated within, and derisively called
the " Habeas Corpus." What solemn mockery !
Judge H. Yes, the civil law was powerless, while military
law ruled supreme. The citizen was utterly helpless. His
liberty and life were in the hands of a reckless military com-
mission, or an obedient Secretary, who had neither conscience
uor mercy
xvi
PREFACE.
Author. Ay, it makes one sad to think there was such
an useless disregard of all personal rights. A Government
so young should protect the liberties of the people, for disso-
lution will soon follow tyranny in a free government.
Judge H. How would you like to write a history of the
political imprisonments during the Administration of the
late Mr. Lincoln ?
Author. My dear Judge, I should prefer to write a
brighter page in the history of my country.
Judge H. That is true. But do you not think it is a
duty we owe to our count ry, as good citizens, to give the
facts to the people, show them that they have been misin-
formed and deceived, and thus, if possible, prevent a repeti-
tion of like encroachments upon their chartered rights?
Author. Do you not think the prejudices of those who
ought to listen, are so strong that they would turn a deaf
ear to the truth ?
Judge H. No. On the contrary, I believe a large portion
of the Republican party was opposed to the illegal arrests
of citizens, and regret that such a course of arbitrary power
was exercised.
Author. I should think so too ; for the name of " Bas-
tile," in free America, involuntarily carries us back tc the
French Revolution, where crimes untold were committed,
as in our own country, in the name of liberty.
Judge II. Can you give me a short history of the Bastile
in Paris ? I know it was demolished, but I have forgotten
the facts in connection with it.
Author. I will endeavor to do so , but you will excuse
me, Judge, if you find me a little rusty. The Fortress of
the Bastile, I think, was erected in the fourteenth century,
PREFACE.
(in the reign of Charles V.,) about the time the city was
surrounded by walls and ditches, to defend it from the incur-
sion* of the English. It was then in the fashionable quarter
of the city. About the year 1594, Henri II. received a
wound, in tilting at a tournament, from the Comte de Mont-
gomery, and in consequence of the death of Henri from this
wound, Catherine de Medicis deserted this quarter, and in
later years the Fortress of the Bastile was used only as a
state prison. Like most edifices of this nature, it became
odious in the sight of the people, " and as the receptacle of
individuals arrested by virtue of Lettres de Cachet, was the
scene of many memorable abuses of authority." It was con-
sequently against this monument of arbitrary power that the
people directed the attack in 1789. They captured it, and
liberated the many unhappy and unfortunate victims therein
confined. It was afterwards totally demolished by a decree
of the National Assembly. On its site stands the Column
July, an ornament of the city of Paris, and an index to the
progress and civilization of the times. One part of this
column is devoted to commemorate the names of those who
fell in the taking of the Bastile, and the other to those who
were killed on the spot in July, 1830. When I stood at the
base of this column in 1859, 1 thought of the presentation
of the key of the Bastile by La Fayette to Washington.
The key was placed in the hands of La Fayette, who for-
warded it, through Thomas Paine, an American in London,
as a present to Washington, together with a drawing repre-
senting the destruction of the prison. In the letter to Wash-
ington, accompanying the gift, the Marquis says:
" Give me leave, my dear general, to present you with a
picture of the Bastile, just as it looked a few days after I
2
xviii
PREFACE.
ordered its destruction, with the main key of the fortress of
despotism. It is a tribute which I owe as a son to ray
adopted father, as an aide-de-camp to my general, as a mis-
sionary of liberty to its patriarch."
Mr. Thomas Paine forwarded from London the drawing
and key, accompanied by a letter, in which he said :
44 I feel myself happy in being the person through whom
the Marquis has conveyed this early trophy of the spoils of
despotism, and first ripe fruits of American principles trans-
planted into Europe, to his great master and patron
" That the principles of America opened the Bastile is not
to be doubted, and, therefore, the key comes to the right
place."
Washington wrote to La Fayette :
" I received your affectionate letter by one conveyance, and
the token gained by liberty over despotism, by another ; for
both which testimonials of your friendship and regard, I pray
you to accept my sincerest thanks. In this great subject of
triumph for the New World, and for humanity in general, it
will never be forgotten how conspicuous a part you bore, and
how much lustre you reflected on a country in which you
made the first displays of your character."
It has been eloquently and truthfully said :
44 The key was hung in Mount Vernon as a memento of
the triumph of American principles of liberty in France, and
an emblem of their all-pervading vigor in our own country.
What a melancholy retrospect for the American ekizcn!
The Bastile is crumbled in France, but the principles of des-
potism that reared it are transplanted into America, and im-
press the character of the very fortress named after its illus-
trious destroyer. The Bastile is here. If the spirits of
PREFACE.
xix
the -mighty dead ever mingle with the destinies of the living,
how must the groans of anguish wafted up to Heaven from
that prison, fall on the mighty spiritR of the immortal Wash-
ington and Lafayette? That key still hangs in the hallowed
shades of Mount Vernon, an Emblem of Liberty."
J udge H. Do you not think the arbitrary power exercised
daring the Administration of Mr. Lincoln, will have a dam-
aging effect upon the influence of free institutions abroad,
and that we had better protect the liberty of the citizen at
home, before we attempt to transplant it into other countries?
Author. The encroachments upon the personal rights of
American citizens, during the Administration of President
Lincoln, would not inspire one with the idea that we had
much of liberty to lose, or, at least, be in a condition to trans-
plant it into other countries, or among other peoples. Far
better would it be, to inscribe on the brow of the Goddess of
Liberty, over the dome of the Capitol at Washington, the
ancient inscription over the entrance into the Temple of
Apollo, at Delphi — "Know Thyself," than attempt to
preach liberty abroad, when we do not enjoy it at home.
Let our citizens be protected by constitutional liberty at
home, and then you may sow the seeds of freedom of speech —
freedom of the press — and freedom of thought — throughout
the world if you choose ; but so long as our own soil is so
poor that liberty will not germinate and fructify iu it — or,
if it does take root, is so feeble as to be swept away by the first
under-current, then the less we boast about American Liberty,
under an American Constitution, the better for our reputa-
tion and the cause for which our forefathers contended.
Judge H. The people ought to know wherein they have
heen robl)ed of their liberties, and by whom. You know it
IX PREFACE.
was the fear of the Roman citizen tha: his libeity was in
danger that caused the assassination of Caesar.
Author. That was the excuse of the conspirators. The
mere presentation of a crown to Caesar, at the Lupercal, how-
ever, did not justify the deed, for he had thrice refused it.
The liberty of the Roman citizen was not in danger, nor had
any as yet been deprived of it. But in our country the case
was quite different, for our citizens were robbed of their
liberties ; and I agree with you, the people ought to know
why, and by what authority they have been deprived of
their constitutional rights.
Judge H. What method would you adopt to let them
know the extent of the wrongs they have endured ?
Author. The most truthful, and, I should think, the most
effectual method, would be to publish a history of the indi
vidual cases of some of those who have suffered. In addi-
tion to this, I would publish a translated copy of the Magna
Charta, a document which should be dear to every American
freeman ; and besides, it would be a great curiosity to the
American reader, for I do not think it has been published
more than three or four times in this country. No one who
could secure a copy of the Great Charter — the Keystone of
English Liberty — would neglect the opportunity. I have
Been the original manuscript in the British Museum, in Lon-
don. It is written in Latin, and is considered a great curi-
osity. Accompanying it, of course, would be its offspring —
the Constitution of the United States, with the recent amend-
ments to it. No man, of whatever political creed, should be
without a copy of the Constitution, because it is as necessary
for him to know its teachings, to understand his civic rights
on earth, as it is important for him to study the precepts of
PREFACE. XXI
0
the Bible to aid hi in in his preparation for heaven. Then I
would illustrate the book with " Independence Bell," with its
inscription ; Mr. Seward's " little bell/' with the hand of
an unseen person touching it ; u Independence Hall," where
the Declaration of Independence waB adopted and proclaimed ;
and the " Old Capitol " at Washington, now demolished,
where Congress (after the destruction of the Capitol by the
British, in 1814,) met, but more recently used for the incar-
ceration of Prisoners of State, together with some of the
Forts in which thousands of citizens, torn from their families,
without warrant or charge, and secretly hurried away from
their homes, were immured for months and years, in damp,
dungeon casemates. While all these things would be inter-
esting to the reader, some of them would reveal secrets in
the history of the Government which would astonish him.
Judge H. You astonish me, and have excited my desire
to see such a book. I am entirely ignorant of many things
of which you have talked to-night. Such a work would be
very instructive, and more interesting than any book that has
ever been published in this country. It would be bought and
read by every man and woman who can read the English
language. What would you call it ?
Author. The "American Bastile."
Judge H. Now I not only request, but urge you to pub-
lish such a book.
Author. But I have already said I would prefer to write
a brighter page in my country's history.
J udge H. So would a judge rather not sentence a criminal
to death.
Author. I will undertake then, though reluctantly to do
what you suggest — write a history of the cases of State
Prisoners. Your advice to me has always been good ; and
while I undertake this work, it will be for the public good.
It will be for the purpose of preventing, in future, a repetition
of the errors and crimes committed in the past, and to aid
in the preservation of those rights, liberties, and franchises
transmitted to us by the fathers of the Republic, to be pro-
tected, defended, and guarded by us, as a sacred trust.
• Judge H. I am heartily glad, my dear sir, that you have
acceded to my suggestions, and hope the history you write
Will find a place on the shelf of every public and private
library in our common country. It will not exhibit the
bright side, but it may be the means of guarding the people
against a repetition of the offences and wrongs committed in
the past, and forewarn them, in the language of the Fathei
of his Country, to " resist with care the spirit of innovation
upon the principles of our government, however specious the
pretext."
Author. I thank you, my dear Judge, for the many kind
suggestions you have made to me to-night, and trust they
are fully appreciated. Your kindness is proverbial ; your
earning acknowledged ; and your patriotism undoubted.
Your disinterested friendship and advice to me have been in-
valuable, and I hope I may continue in the future to merit
your confidence and regard.
Judge H. It will always give me pleasure to promote
your individual interests ; but my advice to you, to-night, has
been more concerning your duty, than interest. The geniua
and science of our Government are based upon personal rights,
and personal liberty. The people under our form of govern-
ment are s vereign. They should know wherein their civil
right* have been violated, and their liberties abridged. Al
PREFACE. iJUii
I a*k of you is to enlighten them on these vital subjects —
subjects that are the very marrow of our institutions. The peo-
ple should know that while they are advancing the interests
of their Government by a hearty co-operation, the Gov-
ernment at the same time is not depriving them of their
personal rights ; for, in the language of the great English
orator and statesman, Edmund Burke, " Let it be once under-
stood that your government may be one thing, and the peo-
ple's privileges another; that these two things may exist
without any mutual relation, the cement is gone — the cohe-
sion is loosened — and everything hastens to decay and disso-
lution." But I have been agreeably entertained by you untD
a late hour. We will talk over these matters soon again,
and in the mean time, my dear friend, farewell.
Author. You are always a welcome visitor — good night.
4
INTRODUCTION.
PERSONAL or civil liberty is that boon which man values
most among the inestimable gifts of God, his Creator,
[n the proper enjoyment of it, he stands forth in the image
of his Maker, self-reliant and strong. Take from him this
inherent natural right — through the forms of government or
law — by subjugation or force — by tyranny or prerogative
and he is a mere machine, worked by the hand of power.
It is equally true that the prosperity and superiority of the
State or Nation having the elements of personal or civil
liberty or freedom incorporated in the formation of the so-
ciety which constitutes it, is in proportion to the extent of
the civil privileges, immunities, and franchises. When a
State properly enjoys liberty, its progress is the more rapid
and stable. When the liberties of the people are abused and
degraded, the State retrogrades.
The proper uses of liberty, in a free government where
emulation receives encouragement and support, stimulate the
citizen, and produce culture, refinement, art, science, inven-
tion, learning, eloquence, oratory, statesmanship, and religion,
in the highest degree. No other form of government ad-
vances the virtues and interests of the people to such supe-
riority and pre-eminence. It invites competition — it is the
Fever of progress — it is the friend of ambition. Hence, when
the whole people — like the individual man — are inspired
XXT
XXVI INTRODUCTION.
witl. a pure, patriotic, and instinctive kve of liberty, the
State becomes great, illustrious, and mighty.
The citizen of a free State has no superior, in point of
liberty or in point of law. The humblest citizen is entitled
to the same rights and privileges, and the same protection, to
which the highest magistrate is entitled. The law in a free
government is no respecter of persons, nor does it make an\
distinction, in so far as liberty is concerned.
In a free government, the Constitution throws around the
citizen certain safeguards or protections to his liberty. It
gives him the right to trial by jury. It secures him against
unreasonable searches and seizures. It protects him against
arrest, except on oath made by a responsible person. If mali-
ciously arrested or falsely imprisoned, he has his redress or
action against the informant or magistrate for trespass or
false imprisonment. "Every restraint upon a man's liberty"
says Kent, " is, in the eye of the law, an imprisonment, wherever
may be the place, or whatever may be the manner in which the
restraint is effected" Even words may constitute an imprison-
ment, if they impose a restraint upon a person, and he sub-
mits.
He, then, who, possessing the power, robs the citizen of his
liberty, even for an hour — yea, for a moment — without the
sanction of law, or deprives him of the right to all the im-
munities of the law, commits a crime against the interests of
the State, which time cannot expiate. By his example, the
people are made reckless of their liberties and their allegiance
to the State.
Blackstone says: " Of so great importance to the public is
the preservation of personal liberty, that, if once it were left
in the power of any, the highest magistrate, to impriUoD
IN TRODU CTIONi XXVii
arbitrarily whoever he or his officers thought proper, there
would soon be an end of all other rights and immunities.
To bereave a man of his life, or by violence to confiscate his
estate, without accusation or trial, would be so gross and
notorious an act of despotism as must at once convey the
alarm of tyranny throughout the whole kingdom ; but con-
finement of the person, by secretly hurrying him to jail, where his
sufferings are unknown or forgotten, is a less public, a less Strik-
ing, and therefore a more dangerous engine of arbitrary power, "
The highest aim of the magistrate in a free government
should be to protect and defend, and not destroy, the liberty
of the citizen. Even when the State is in danger, it is the
province of the Legislature, and not of the magistrate, to
protect it against external or internal foes.
In a free or elective system of government, as in the
United States, where a written Constitution has been adopted*
the different branches of government are so well marked out
and defined, and the duties and offices of each are so inde-
pendent and distinct, that under no possible circumstances
can usurpations in any, or the encroachments of one upon the
other, be excused. Any usurpation whatever, in either
branch, leads to anarchy, demoralization, and finally disrup-
tion. The blow may not be aimed at, but it strikes into the
very heart of liberty.
Hence the absolute necessity of keeping the liberties of the
people pure and immaculate, and free from infringement, by
the makers, the administrators, and the expounders of the
laws.
In order to protect and increase the power and prolong the
independence of the State, the liberties of the people must b«
fostered, guarded, and secured. " It " (liberty), says Burke,
xxriii
INTRODUCTION
"is not only a private blessing of the first order, bat tiie
vital spring or energy of the State itself, which has just bo
much life and vigor as there is liberty in it."
To protect liberty, the streams of legislation, administra
tion, and justice must be kept clear, from the fountain-head
even unto the mouth. Usurpations and encroachments upon
the rights and liberties of the citizen are as deleterious to
the tranquillity and welfare of the State as the unbridled,
unrestrained, and licentious abuse of them by the citizen.
These prefatory remarks are made merely to remind the
general reader of his constitutional rights. Of late, the civic
rights of the citizen have been abridged. It remains to be
seen whether he will maintain them. The permanence and
stability of the government rest entirely with the citizen.
It is for him to say how long free government will exist in
our country.
Although free government may be traced back to a period
of about three thousand years, it is not my intention to
allude to the experiments in establishing it beyond the adop
tion of Magna Charta, in which may be found the vital
principles on which it is based. The political rights which
we enjoy under our Constitution may be said to be derived
directly from that document.
Yet, it is proper to say here, that the principles of liberty
enunciated and the privileges granted by the Magna Charta,
many of which had been digested in a code of laws by Alfred,
were not confined exclusively to the Anglo-Saxons ; for
almost at the same era, upon the election of King Christo-
pher II. of Denmark he was obliged to sign a charter grant-
ing nearly the same privileges and immunities as were con-
tained in the Magna Charta, among which were that no man
INTRODUCTION.
ihould be imprisoned, or deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without public trial and conviction according to law ; and
that no law should be made or altered without the consent
of the Parliament, composed of the best men of the kingdom,
to be held annually at Wyborg.
And it may be said, that in Northern Europe, as well as
in England, at the time of the granting of the Great Charter,
the German tribes generally, and the Danes, were inspired
by the same spirit of liberty which was enkindled in the
hearts of the Anglo-Saxons, their descendants.
From the time of the granting of the municipal privileges
and personal rights, as contained in Magna Charta, signed
by King John on the 15th of June, 1215, but which was not
really established until " after the contests of near a whole
century," for during that time, " it is computed," says Hume,
" that about thirty confirmations of the charter were at dif-
ferent times required of several kings, and granted by them
in full Parliament," the people of England have been
jealous of their personal liberties and watchful of their civic
rights.
Since that period, the genius of the English people has
been strongly and invariably in favor of liberty, while royal
prerogative, until the accession of William and Mary, inclined
as violently towards arbitrary power. •
The Magna Charta laid the foundation for a Constitution,
which has engrafted in it all the attributes and securities
of personal liberty, and stands a monument of enlightened
statesmanship, worthy the pride and admiration of the English
people ; while the Great Charter itself denotes an epoch be-
tween despotism and liberty — semi-barbarism and civiliza-
tion—rudeness and refinement.
INTRODUCTION.
The struggles to maintain the chartered rights of the peo>
pie against the encroachments and usurpations of kingly
prerogative, have been many, great, and even revolutionary.
It has only been by an unconquerable will, and severe con-
tests, that they have again and again been reasserted and
re-established, enlarged and secured.
Encroachments upon the rights and liberties of the people
by Charles I., who caused the arbitrary imprisonment of his
subjects, gave birth to the enactment of the Petition of Right,
and also brought the head of that unhappy monarch to the
block.
To enforce the provisions contained in the Magna Charta
and Petition of Right, for securing the subject in his personal
rights and personal liberty, against arbitrary imprisonments
by command of the King or the Privy Council, the Habeas
Corpus Act was passed, in the 31st Charles II. It may be
called the bulwark of English liberty.
For nearly five centuries, the contests between sovereign
and people, the one for royal prerogative, the other for the
rights of personal liberty, were many and violent.
If the King would threaten with the Star Chamber, the
people would point to the Magna Charta. If the King would
commit by the High Commission Court, the people would
unfold the Petition of Right. If the King would imprison
by the Privy Council, *he people would release through the
Habeas Corpus.
In 1688, these struggles culminated, and ended in the adop-
tion of the Declaration of Rights and the Act of Settlement,
in the dethronement of James II. and the establishment
oi William and Mary, by a Civil Revolution, in which u not
INTRODUCTION.
xxxl
a single new right was given to the people or a single flower
of the crown was touched."
Since then, wise and sagacious legislation may have added
strength to the perpetuity of the Crown; but at the same
time, it has maintained and enlarged the rights and liberties
of the people. It has firmly established a triune govern-
ment— a monarchy, an aristocracy, and a democracy — in
which, happily, democracy is the controlling element and
monarchy a mere formality, while the aristocracy leans to-
wards the democracy for protection.
The acts of the Sovereign are dependent on a ministry re-
sponsible to the Parliament, which has grown so much in
power, especially the Commons, that it may be said the safe-
guards of personal liberty, under the English Constitution,
repose in the breasts of the English people.
After the expulsion of the kings, the Romans, being care-
ful of their liberties, erected and dedicated a temple to the
Goddess of Liberty, and it was then esteemed an honor to
call oneself a Roman citizen — Civis Bomanus.
In our own country, there was a time when the proudest
appellation a man could bear was that of American citizen.
" I am an American citizen," implied liberty and safety —
protection and justice. Then, the national shield was, indeed,
a shield with arms — a shield which defended the citize*
against every act of tyranny and usurpation — a shield which
guarded him on land and sea, at home and abroad. Then,
personal liberty was a citizen's birthright. Then, free speech
was unshackled. Then, Mr. Webster could exclaim : " It "
(free speech) " i? a homebred right — a fi reside privilege. It
has ever bem enjoyed in every house, cottage, and cabin in
fchp nation. It "s not to be drowned in controversy It is as
xxxii
INTRODUCTION.
undoubted as the right of breathing the air and walking on
the earth. It is a right to be maintained in peace and in
war. It is a right which cannot be invaded without destroy-
ing constitutional liberty. Hence, this right should be guarded
and protected by the freemen of this country with a jealous
care, unless they are prepared for chains and anarchy."
"What are the protections of the law now ?
When the arteries which convey the life-blood from the
heart of the constitution to all parts of its body once become
paralyzed, the most skilful treatment can never restore it to
its original vigor and healthful condition. A partial recovery
may be effected, but the disease remains.
Oppressive and illegal acts by one Administration may be
adopted as established precedents for similar encroachments
by succeeding ones ; and who can gainsay the right ? Surely,
not the people, when they not only encourage, but are accessories
in the wrong. Therefore, without a proper and conscientious
regard for the majesty of the law, and the observance of per-
sonal rights, there is no security for permanence in free gov-
ernment.
From the organization of the Government, until the ad-
ministration of the late Mr. Lincoln, we know of no case in
which an American citizen was arrested without warrant,
imprisoned without charge preferred, and released, after
months and years of incarceration, without trial ; although
he who will take the trouble to turn over the leaves of
American history will discover that, in many cases, there was
not only imaginary, but real " disloyalty " among citizens,
dangerous to the common interests of the Government,
during former Administrations.
Educated in the principles of republicanism, intelligent
INTRODUCTION
xxxiii
beyond comparison, and heretofore governed by conservative
magistrates, whose wisdom, experience, and characters com-
manded respect and confidence — a people who had alwaya
supported the Government with alacrity, unselfish devotion,
and fidelity, was unprepared to be obliged to submit, with-
out redress, except by physical resistance, to an arbitrary and
tyrannical prerogative, unrestrained by law, reason, or justice.
The Administration of Mr. Lincoln having been ushered
into existence under the banner of universal freedom, it was
to be expected, from the enlightened condition of the age,
and the conservative and patriotic disposition of the people
in the " loyal " States, that the Government would be admin-
istered in accordance with the promised reforms. In this,
however, the people were disappointed. Legislative enact-
ments were unrestrained by constitutional provisions. The
President assumed quasi plenary power, to make and enforce
laws without the interference, assistance, or aid of the legis-
lative or judicial branches of Government ; and, in a word,
drew around his official person — as he would his mantle
around his individual person — all the powers of government,
Municipal, State, and National, which he enforced through
his obsequious Secretaries. Consolidation of interests, and
centralization of power, were complete. The Government
was the President — the President was the Government.
But we forbear to criticise. "We present facts. Let them
speak. Let the people answer. No words we could use would
bring relief to the harrowed feeling of, or redress the wrongs
perpetrated upon, thousands of unoffending citizens, by theii
unwarranted incarceration in American Bastiles during the
Administration of the late President Lincoln. We contem-
plate the cruelties, oppressions, persecutions, and imprison-
I
xxxiv
INTRODUCTION.
ments, committed during that long night of political despot-
ism, with alarm. We shudder for the future of the country,
when we take a retrospect of the late past.
If a truthful presentation of the facts, as contained in this
volume, will in anywise prevent in the future a repetition
of the wrongs and crimes committed against the rights and
liberties of the people, in the name of liberty, then our highest
ambition has been satisfied. To prevent flagitious wrongs
from being committed against the constitutional rights of
individuals is the duty of every good citizen in a free State.
Liberty is too valuable a privilege, and, as we have endeav-
ored to demonstrate, has been too costly an inheritance, to be
bartered away for the gratification of personal or political
animosity.
May the time never again arrive in the history of this
country, when it may be said to Americans, as was said by
Camille Desmoulins to the Parisians during the French
Revolution: "Ye worship the Goddess of Liberty, not in
principle, but in stone, and never was a more stupid or costly
idolatry. Liberty, heaven-descended, is neither a nymph of
the opera, nor a bonnet rouge, nor yet a dirty shirt and ragged
clothes. Liberty is happiness, reason, equality — the decla-
ration of rights — in a word, the Constitution. If you would
have me worship it, open your prisons ; set free the two
hundred thousand ye have incarcerated as suspects. I find
no such crime in the Constitution or the law."
That has alwaye been in the past, and ever will be in the
futuro, the sincere prayer of
The Authoe.
MAGNA CHARTA
JOHN, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, KING OF ENGLAND, LORD OF IRE-
LAND, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of
Anjou; to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons,
justiciaries, foresters, sheriffs, governors, officers, and to
all his bailiffs and liegemen, greeting i
Know ye, that; in presence of GOD, and for the health of our
soul and the soul of our ancestors and heirs, and to the honor of
God and to the exaltation of His Holy Church, and for the amend-
ment of our kingdom; by advice of our venerable fathers, Stephen,
archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, and cardinal
of the Holy Eoman Church; Henry, archbishop of Dublin; Wil-
liam of London, Peter of "Winchester, Jocelyn of Bath and Glas-
tonbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of Worcester, William of
Coventry, and Benedict of "Rochester, bishops; Master Pandulph,
our lord the Pope's subdeacon and servant ; Brother Aymeric,
master of the Temple in England ; and the noblemen William
Marescall, earl of Pembroke, William earl of Salisbury, William
earl of Warren, William earl of Arundel, Alan de Galloway, con-
stable of Scotland, Warin Fitzgerald, Peter Fitzherbert, Hubert
de Burgh, seneschal of Poictou, Hugh de Neville, Matthew Fitz-
herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip de Albiney, Robert
de Roppelaye, John Marescall, John Fitzhugh, and others our
liegemen; we have granted to GOD, and by this our, present
charter confirmed, for us and our heirs forever:
1. That the English church shall be free and enjoy her whole
liberties inviolate. And that we will have them so to be observed,
appears from this that of our mere good will we granted, and by
our charter confirmed, the freedom of elections which was reck-
oned most necessary for the English Church, and obtained the
XXXT
xxxyi
MAGNA CHART A.
confirmation thereof from our lord the Pope Innocent the Thirdt
before the discord which has arisen between us and our barons;
which charter we will ourselves observe, and will that it bo
observed in good faith by our heirs forever. We have also for
us and our heirs forever granted to all the freemen of our king-
dom, all the underwritten liberties to have and to hold to them
and their heirs from us and our heirs.
2. If any of our earls or barons, or others holding lands of us
in capite by military service shall die, and when he dies his heir
shall be of full age and owe a relief, the heir shall have his inherit-
ance by the ancient relief ; the heir or heirs of an earl for a whole
earl's barony, by one hundred pounds ; of a baron for a whole
barony, Dy one hundred pounds (marks) ; of a knight for a whole
knight's fee, by one hundred shillings at most; and he who owes
a less relief shall pay less according to the ancient custom of his
fee.
3. But if the heir shall be under age, and shall be in ward,
when he comes of age he shall have his inheritance without relief
or fine.
4. The warden of the heir under age shall take only reason
able issues, customs, and services; and that without destruction
or waste of men or things. And if we shall commit the guar-
dianship of these lands to the sheriff or any other who is answer-
able to us for their revenues, and he shall make destruction or
waste on the ward lands, he shall make satisfaction ; and the
lands shall be intrusted to two lawful and discreet men of that
fee, who shall be answerable to us. Or, if we shall give or sell
the wardship of lands to any one, and he shall make destruction
or waste, he shall lose his wardship, and the lands shall be in-
trusted to two discreet men of that fee, who shall be answerable
to us as aforesaid.
5. The warden, for as long as he shall hold the land, shall, from
the revenues thereof, maintain the houses, parks, warrens, ponds,
mills, and other things thereto pertaining; and he shall restore
to the heir when he comes of age his whole land stocked with
ploughs and carriages according as the line of wainage shall
require, and the revenue of the estate will reasonably allow.
6. Heirs shall be married without disparagen ent of their rank,
MAGNA CHABTA,
xxxviv
yet in euch wise, that before the marriage is contracted, the blood
relations of the heir shall be acquainted with it.
7. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall forthwith
and without difficulty have her marriage and her inheritance ;
nor shall she give anything for her dower, marriage, or her in-
heritance which she and her husband may have held on the day
of his decease; and she may remain in the house of her husband
forty days after his death, within which term her dower shall be
assigned.
8. No widow shall be distrained to marry herself while she
shall desire to live without a husband; but she shall give security
not to marry without the king's assent, if she holds of him; or
without the consent of the lord of whom she holds, if she holds
of another.
9. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall seize any land or rent foi
any debt, so long as the chattels of the debtor are sufficient for
the payment of the debt. Nor shall the sureties of the debtor
be distrained, so long as the principal debtor is sufficient for the
payment of the debt. And if the principal debtor fail in the
payment of the debt, not having wherewithal to discharge it,
then shall the sureties be answerable for the debt. And, if they
will, they shall have the lands and rents of the debtor until they
shall be satisfied for the debt they have paid for him; unless the
principal debtor shall show himself acquitted thereof against the
said sureties.
10. If any one shall have borrowed anything from the Jews,
more or less, and shall die before that debt be paid, the debt shall
pay no interest so long as the heir shall be under age, of whom-
soever he may hold ; and if that debt shall fall into our hands,
we will take nothing but the chattel named in the bond.
11. And if anyone shall die indebted to the Jews, his wife shall
have her dower and shall pay nothing of that debt; and if chil-
dren of the deceased shall remain, under age, necessaries shall
be provided for them according to the tenement which belonged
to the deceased ; and out of the residue the debt shall be paid,
saving the rights of lords (from whom the lands are held). In
'ike manner let it be done with debts due to others than Jews.
12. No scutage nor aid shall be imposed in our kingdom, ex-
xxxyiii
MAGNA CHART A.
ccpting for the ransom of our person, to make our eldest son a
knight, and once to marry our eldest daughter; and for these
none but a reasonable aid shall be demanded. So, likewise, lei i\
bo concerning the aid of the city of London.
13. And the city of London shall have all its ancient liberties
wid free customs, as well by land as by water. Furthermore, we
will and grant that all other cities, burghs, tow»s, and ports, havs
all their liberties and free customs.
14. And for the holding of the common council of the kingdom,
to assess aids other than in the three aforesaid cases, and for the
assessing of scutages, we will cause the archbishops, bishops,
abbots, earls, and greater barons to be summoned individually
by our letters; moreover, we will cause all others in general who
hold of us in capite to be summoned by our sheriffs and bailiffs
on a certain day, to wit : forty days at least (before the meeting),
and to a certain place; and in all letters of summons, we will
declare the cause of the summons. And the summons being thus
made, the business shall proceed on the day appointed, according
to the advice of those who shall be present, although all that
shall be summoned may not come.
15. "We will not, for the future, give leave to any one to take
an aid from his own free tenants, unless to redeem his own body,
to make his eldest son a knight, and once to marry his eldest
daughter; and for these none but a reasonable aid shall be paid.
16. No man shall be distrained to do more service for a knight's
fee or other free tenement, than what is justly due therefrom.
17. Common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall be
holden in some certain place.
18. Trials upon the writs of novel disseisin, mort d'ancestre, and
darrein presentment, shall be taken only in their proper counties,
%nd after this manner : We, or, if we shall be out of the realm,
our chief justiciary, will send through every county, four times
in the year, two justiciaries, who, with four knights of the county,
elected by the county, shall hold the aforesaid assizes in th»
eounty, on the county day, and at the county place.
19. And if tho aforesaid assizes cannot be held on the county
day let as many of the knights and freeholders, who have been
present at the county court, remain behind, as shall be sufficient
MAGNA. CHART A.
xxxix
to conduct the trials, according as the business shall be, more or
less
20. A freeman shall not be amerced for a slight offence, but in
proportion to the degree of the offence ; and for a great offence
he shall be amerced according to its magnitude, saving to him
his contenement; likewise, a merchant shall be amerced, saving
to him his merchandise; and a villain in the same way, saving
his wainage if he falls under our mercy ; and none of the afore-
said amerciaments shall be assessed, but by the oath of honest
men of the neighborhood.
21. Earls and barons shall not be amerced but by their peers
and according to the degree of their offence.
22. No clerk shall be amerced for his lay tenement but in the
manner of the others aforesaid, and not according to the quan-
tity of his ecclesiastical benefice.
23. Neither town nor man shall be distrained to build bridges ovei
rivers, save those who anciently and rightfully are bound to do it.
24. No sheriff, constable, coroners, or other our bailiffs shall
hold pleas of our crown.
25. All counties, hundreds, trethings, and wapentakes shall stand
at their old rents without increase, except in our demesne manors.
26. If any one, holding of us a lay fee, dies, and the sheriff or
our bailiff shall show our letters patent of summons concerning
a debt due to us from the deceased, it shall be lawful for the
sheriff or our bailiff to attach and register the chattels of the
deceased found upon his lay fee, to the amount of that debt, by
the view of lawful men, so that nothing be removed until our
whole debt be paid : and the rest shall be paid to the executors
to fulfil the will of the deceased ; and if there be nothing due
from the deceased to us, the chattels shall remain to the deceased
saving to his wife and children their reasonable shares.
27. If a freeman shall die intestate, his chattels shall be dis-
tributed by the hands of his nearest relations and friends, by
view of the church, saving to every one the debts which the
deceased owed.
28. No constable or other our bailiff shall take the corn or
other goods of any man unless he instantly pay money for it, ox
obtain a respite of payment by the free will of the seller.
MAGNA CHABT1.
29. No constable (of a castle) shall distrain any knight to give
money for castle guard, if he be willing to do guard in hia own
person, or by another able man, if he himself, for reasonable
cause, cannot perform it. And if we shall have led or sent him
to the army, he shall be excused from castle guard according to
the time he shall be in the army by our order.
30. No sheriff nor bailiff of ours, nor any other person, shall
take the horses or carts of any freeman, for carriage, without
the free consent of the said freeman.
31. Neither we nor our bailiffs will take anothei man's timber
for our castles or other uses, unless by the consent of the owner
of the timber.
32. We will not retain the lands of those who have been con-
victed of felony, but for one year and a day, and then they shall
be delivered to the lord of the fee.
33. All wears shall, for the future, be wholly removed from the
Thames and Medway, and throughout all England except on the
seacoast.
34. The writ which is called praecipe shall not for the future be
granted to any one of any tenement whereby a freeman may
lose his court.
35. Throughout our whole kingdom there shall be one mea-
sure of wine ; and one measure of ale ; and one measure of corn ;
namely, the quarter of London ; and one width of dyed cloths,
and russets, and halberjects, namely, two ells within the lists.
And it shall be with weights as with measures.
36. From henceforth nothing shall be given or taken for the
writ of inquest of life or limb; but it shall be given without
charge, and not denied.
37. If any man hold of us by fee-farm, socage, or burgage, and
hold land of another by military service, we shall not have the
wardship of the heir or of the land which belongs to another
man's fee on account of the aforesaid fee-farm, socage, or bur-
gage ; nor shall we have the wardship of the fee-farm, socage,
or burgage, unless the fee-farm owe military service. We shall
not have the wardship of any man's heir, or of the land he holdg
of another on account of any petty serjeantry he holds of us by
the service of giving us daggers, arrows, or the like.
88. No bailiff shall henceforth put any man to his law npon
MAGNA CHAETA.
Xli
his own single accusation without credible witnesses produced
for that purpose.
39 NO FREEMAN SHALL BE TAKEN, OR IMPRISONED, OR DISPOS-
SESSED, OR OUTLAWED, OR BANISHED, OR IN ANY WAY DESTROYED J
NOR WILL WE PASS UPON HIM, NOR COMMIT HIM, BUT BY THE LAW-
FUL JUDGMENT OF HIS PEERS, OR BY THE LAW OF THE LAND.
40. TO NO MAN WILL WE SELL, TO NONE WILL WE DELAY, TO
NONE WILL WE DENY RIGHT OR JUSTICE.
41. All merchants shall have safety and security in coming
into England and departing out of England, and in tarrying and
travelling through England, as well by land as by water, to buy
and sell without any evil tolls, according to the ancient and just
customs ; except in time of war, when they shall be of any nation
at war with us. And if any such be found in our land at the
beginning of a war, they shall be apprehended without injury of
their bodies or their goods, until it shall be known to us or our
chief justiciary how the merchants of our country are treated
who are found in the country at war with us. And if ours be
safe there, the others shall be safe in our land.
42. Henceforth it shall be lawful to any person to go out of our
kingdom and to return safely and securely, by land or by water,
saving his allegiance to us, unless for some short space in time
of war, for the common good of the kingdom ; except prisoners
and outlaws by the law of the land, people of a country at war
with us, and merchants who shall be treated as aforesaid.
43. If any man hold of any escheat, as of the honor of Wal-
lingford, Nottingham, Boulogne, Lancaster, or any other escheats
which are in our hand and are baronies, and shall die, his heir
shall not give any other relief, nor do any other service to us,
than he would to the baron if the barony were in a baron's
hand ; and we will hold it in the same way in which the baron
held it.
44. Men who dwell without the forest shall not hereafter come
before our justiciaries of the forest on a common summons, unless
they are parties to a plea or sureties for any who have been
apprehended for something concerning the forest.
45. We will not make justiciaries, sheriffs, or bailiffs except of
such as know the law of the land, and are disposed duly to ob-
serve it.
xlu
MAGNA CHART A.
46. All barons who have founded abbeys which they hol<
charter of the kings of England, or by ancient tenure, shall ,
tho custody thereof wheu they fall vacant, as they ought to 1
47. All forests which have been made in our time shall be im-
mediately disforested; and it shall bo so done with the embank-
ments which have been erected as obstructions to the rivers in
our reign.
48. All evil customs of forests and warrens, foresters and war-
reners, sheriffs and their officers, embankments and their keepers,
shall forthwith be inquired into in every county by twelve sworn
knights of the same county, who must be elected by the good
men of the county ; and within forty days after the holding of
the inquisition they shall, by the said knights, bo utterly abol
ished so as never to be restored ; provided that we be first noti
fied thereof, or if we be not in England, our chief justiciary.
49. We will forthwith restore all hostages and charters which
have been delivered to us by the English in security of peace and
faithful service.
50. "We will remove from their bailiwicks the kinsmen of Gerard
do Athyes, so that henceforth they shall have no bailiwick in Eng-
land ; Engelard of Cygony ; Andrew, Peter, and Gyone do Chan -
cell; Gyone de Cygony; Geoffrey de Martin and his brothers;
Philip Mark and his brothers, and Geoffrey his brother, and all
their retinuo.
51. And immediately after the conclusion of peace we will re-
move from the kingdom all foreign knights, crossbowmen, and
mercenary soldiers who have come with horses and arms to the
injury of the kingdom.
52. If any man hath been by us deprived or dispossessed, with-
out the lawful judgment of his peers, of lands, castles, liberties,
or rights, we will forthwith make restitution ; and if any dis-
pute arise on this head, then the matter shall be settled by the
judgment of five and twenty barons hereinafter mentioned for
tho preservation of the peace. Concerning all those things of
which any man hath been deprived or dispossessed, without the
legal judgment of his peers, by King Henrj'- our father, or King
Richard our brother, which we hold in our own hand or others
hold under our warrant, we shall have respite until the common
term of tho Crusaders ; except those concerning which a plea hat
MAGNA CHART A.
xliii
been moved, tr an inquisition made by our direction, belore our
taking the cross; but so soon as we shall return from our expe-
dition, or if by chance we should not go upon our expedition,
we will fortwhith do therein full justice.
53. We shall have like respite, and upon the like conditions,
in doing justice by disforesting the forests which Henry our
father or Kichard our brother afforested, and the same concerning
the wardship of lands belonging to another man's fee, of which
we have hitherto had wardship on account of some fee held by
the tenant from us by military service; and concerning abbeys
founded in a fee which is not ours, and in which the lord hath
claimed a right; and when we shall have returned, or if we
should not go upon our expedition, we shall forthwith do full
justice to complainants in these matters.
54. No man shall be taken or imprisoned on the appeal of a
woman for the death of any other than her husband.
55. All fines that have been made unjustly and contrary to the
law of the land, and all amerciaments imposed unjustly, contrary
to the law of the land, shall be wholly remitted ; or order shall
therein be* taken by the five and twenty barons hereinafter men
tioned for the security of the peace, or by the verdict of the
greater part of them, together with the aforesaid Stephen, arch-
bishop of Canterbury, if he can be present, and such others aa
he may think fit to bring with him ; but if he cannot be present,
the business shall nevertheless proceed without him ; yet so, that
if any one or more of the aforesaid five and twenty barons have
a like plea, they shall be removed from that particular trial, and
others elected and sworn for that trial only by the residue of the
five and twenty shall be substituted in their room.
56. If we have deprived or dispossessed any Welshmen of their
lands, or liberties, or other things, without a legal verdict of their
peers, restitution shall forthwith be made; and if any dispute
shall arise upon this head, then let it be determined in the
Marches by the judgment of their peers; for tenements of Eng-
land, according to the law of England ; for tenements of Wales,
according to the law of Wales ; and for tenements of the Marches,
according to the law of the Marches. The Welsh shall do the
same to us and to our subjects.
57. Also, concerning those things of which any Welshman hat*
been deprived or dispossessed without the lawful judgment oi
xliy
MAGNA CHART A.
his peers, by King Henry our father, or King Eichard our bro-
ther, and which we hold in our hand or others hold under our
warrant, we shall have respite until the common term of the
Crusaders, except for those concerning which a plea hath been
moved, or an inquisition made by our command before taking
the cross. But as soon as we return upon our expedition, or if
by chance we should not go upon our expedition, we shall imme-
liately do full justice therein, according to the laws of Wales
and of the parts aforesaid.
58. We will forthwith release the son of Llewellyn, and all
the charters and hostages of Wales which were delivered to us
for security of the peace.
59. We will do to Alexander, King of Scotland, concerning
the restoration of his sisters and hostages, and concerning his
liberties, and concerning his rights, according to the form in
which we do to our other barons of England, unless it ought
otherwise to be according to the charters which we have from
William, his father, the late King of Scots ; and this shall be by
the judgment of his peers in our court.
60. All the aforesaid customs and liberties which we, for our
part, have granted to be holden in our kingdom by our people,
let all within the kingdom, as well clergy as laity, observe toward
their vassals.
61. But forasmuch as we have granted all these things afore-
said to GOD, both for the amendment of our kingdom and for the
better settling of the discord which has sprung up between us
and our barons; and forasmuch as we desire that these things
should remain in perfect and complete stability forever ; therefore
we do make and grant them the security underwritten, to wit :
that the barons may elect twenty-five barons of the kingdom,
whom they please, who shall, with their whole power, observe,
keep, and cause to be observed, the liberties which we have
granted and confirmed to them by this our charter: that is to
say, if wo or our justiciary, or our bailiffs, or any of our officers,
shall have injured any one in anything, or shall have transgressed
Any article of peace or security, and the injury shall be shown
to four of the aforesaid five and twenty barons, the four barons
thai] come to us, or to our justiciary if we shall be out of the
kingdom, and making known to us the wrong committed, shall
MAGNA CHART A.
petition us to cause it to be redressed without delay. And if we,
or our justiciary if we be not in the kiugdom, do not redress the
wrong within the term of forty days, to be reckoned from the
time when we were notified thereof, or when our justiciary was
notified, if we were not within the kingdom, the aforesaid four
barons shall lay the cause before the residue of the five and
twenty barons ; and they, the five and twenty barons, with the
community of the whole land, shall harass and distress us in
whatever ways they shall be able, by the capture of our castles,
lands, and possessions, and by any other means they can, until
the injury have been redressed according to their judgment:
saving harmless our own person and the persons of our queen
and children : and when the wrong hath been redressed, they
shall behave to us as they have done before. And whoever of
our land shall please, may swear that he will obey the com-
mands of the aforesaid five and twenty barons in accomplishing'
all these aforesaid things, and that, together with them, he will
harass us according to his power. And we do publicly and freely
grant, to every man who chooses, leave to take this oath, nor
will we ever forbid any man to take it. But all men of our land,
who, of themselves and of their own choice, shall be unwilling to
swear to the five and twenty barons to distress and harass us,
together with them, we will compel by our command to swear
as is aforesaid. And if any of the five and twenty barons shall
die, or leave the country, or in any other way be hindered from
the execution of the things aforesaid, then the rest of the afore-
said five and twenty barons shall, at their pleasure, choose an-
other in his stead, who shall be sworn in the same manner as
the rest.
Now, in all the things which are intrusted to be executed
by these five and twenty barons, if it happen that the five and
twenty shall be present, and shall disagree concerning any
matter; or if some of them, having been summoned, be unwil-
ling or unable to attend, that which the greater part of those
who may be present shall determine or decree, shall be held as
firm and valid as if all the twenty-five had been agreed therein ;
and the aforesaid five and twenty men shall swear that they will
faithfully observe all the aforesaid things, and to the utmost of
their power cause them to be observed. And neither by ourself
nor through another will we obtain anything from any man,
through which any of these grants and liberties mfey be revoked
or lessened. And if any such thing shall have been obtained, it
xlvi
MAGNA CHART A.
shall be null and void; and we will never use it, through oursolf
or through another.
G2. Ana to all men we have fully remitted and pardoned all
the ill wills, resentments, and rancors, which have arisen between
us and our subjects, lay and clerical, from the commencement of
our disagreement. Moreover, we have fully remitted, and so far
as in us lies, have fully pardoned to all the clergy and laity, all
transgressions, committed by occasion of the same disagreement,
from the Easter of the sixteenth year of our reign to the con-
clusion of the peace. And further, we have caused testimonial
letters patent to be made for them concerning this security and
the aforesaid grants from the lorn Stephen, archbishop of Can-
terbury, the lord Henry, archbishop of Dublin, and from Master
Pandulph.
63. Wherefore we do will and firmly do command that the
Church of England be free; and that all men in our kingdom
have and hold all the aforesaid liberties, and rights, and grants,
well and in peace, freely and quietly, fully and wholly, as afore-
said, to them and
their heirs, from us
and our heirs for-
ever. It is also
sworn, as well on
our part as on that
of the barons, that
all the things afore-
said 6hall be ob-
served in good faith
and without evil in-
tention. Witnessed
by the above and
many others. Given
by our own hand,
in the mead called
Runny mode, be-
tween Windsor and
Staines, this fif-
teenth day of June
in the seventeenth
year of our reign.
SEAL OF MAGNA CHARTA.
COVENANT OF SECURITY.
THIS is the covenant made between our lord John, king of
England, on the one part, and Eobert Fitzwalter, elected
marshal of GOD and of the Holy Church in England, and Rich-
ard earl of Clare, Geoffrey earl of Essex and Gloucester, Roger
Bigod earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, Saher earl of Winchester,
Eobert earl of Oxford, Henry earl of Hereford, and the barons
underwritten: that is to say, William Marshall the younger
Eustace do Yescy, William de Mowbray, John Fitz Robert,
Robert do Mont-Begon, William de Lauvalay, and other earls
and barons and freemen of the whole kingdom, on the other
part: namely, That they, the earls and barons, and others before
written, shall hold the custody of the city of London in bail
from our lord the king ; saving that they shall clearly render all
the debts and revenues within the same to our lord the king,
until the term of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
in the seventeenth year of his reign.
And the lord of Canterbury shall hold, in like manner of bail,
from our lord the king, the custody of the tower of London, to
the aforesaid term : saving to the city of London its liberties
and free customs, and taking his oath, in the keeping of the said
tower, that our lord the king shall, in the meanwhile, not place
a guard, or other forces, in the aforesaid city, nor in the tower
of London.
And that, also, within the aforesaid term, the oaths to the
twenty-five barons be tendered throughout all England, as it is
tendered in the charter granted concerning the liberties and
security of the kingdom, or to the attorneys of the twenty-five
barons, as it is contained in the letters granted concerning the
election of twelve knights for abolishing evil customs of the
forests, and others. And moreover, within the said term, all the
other demands which the earls, barons, and other freemen do
ask of our lord the king, which he himself has declared to be
grafted to them, or which by the twenty-five barons, or by the
xhr'ri
slviii
COVENANT OF SECURITY.
greater part of them, shall be judged proper to be granted, ar€
to be given according to the tenor of the said charter. And if
these things shall be done, or if our lord the king, on his part,
dhall agree to do them within the term limited, then the city
and tower of London shall, at the same term, be delivered up to
our lord the king; saving always to the aforesaid city its liber-
ties and free customs, as it is before written. And if these things
ihall not be done, and if our lord the king shall not agree to do
them within the period aforesaid, the barons shall hold the afore-
said city, and the lord archbishop the tower of London, until
the aforesaid deed shall be completed. And in the meanwhile,
all of both parts shall recover the castles, lands, and towns
which have been taken in the beginning of the war that ha/
arisen between our lord the king and the baroni.
INDEPENDENCE HALL. PHILADELPHIA.
CONSTITUTION
OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
We the people of the United States, in order to form a
more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic
Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote
the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Lib-
erty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of
America.
ARTICLE L
Section 1.
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Con-
gress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and
House of Representatives.
Section 2.
!The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members
chosen every second Year by the People of the several States,
and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications re-
quisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State
Legislature.
2 No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have at-
tained to the Age of twenty-five Years, and been seven Years a
Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected,
be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
3 Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among
the several States which may be included within this Union,
according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined
4 xlix
1
CONSTITUTION OF
by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those
bound to Service for a Term of Years, and exclading Indians not
taxed, three fifths of ail other Persons. The actual Enumera
tion shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of
the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent
Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.
The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every
thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Repre-
sentative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State
of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts
eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connec-
ticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight,
Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five,
South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
4 When vacancies happen in the Representation from any state,
the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to
fill such Vacancies.
*The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and
other Officers ; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section 3.
irThe Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof,
for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
* Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence ot
the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as maybe into
three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall
bo vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second
Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class
at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one-third may b«
chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resigna
tion, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any
State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appoint-
ments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall
then fill such Vacancies.
•No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to
the Ago of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant
of that State for which he shall be chosen.
*The Vice President of the United States shall be President
THE UNITED STATES.
li
of the Senate, but shall have no Yote, unless they be equally
divided.
•The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a Presi-
dent pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when
he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.
•The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.
When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirma-
tion. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief
Justice shall preside. And no Person shall be convicted without
the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
T Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further
than to removal from Office, and Disqualification to hold and
enjoy any Office of honour, Trust or Profit under the United
States : but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and
subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment,, accord-
ing to Law.
Section 4.
'The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Sena-
tors and Eepresentatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the
Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law
make or alter such Regulations, except as to the places of xmusing
Senators.
'The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and
such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in Decemberr unless
they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section 5.
'Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and
Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall
constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the
Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such
Penalties as each House may provide.
•Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings,
punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Con.
currence of two thirds, expel a Member.
•Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from
time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in
their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the
lii
CONSTITUTION OF
Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of
one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
* Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without
the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor
to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall
be sitting.
Section 6.
*The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensa-
tion for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out
of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, ex-
cept Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from
Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective
Houses, and in going to and returning from the same ; and for
any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be ques-
tioned in any other Place.
•No Senator or Kepresentative shall, during the Time for which
he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Au-
thority of the United States, which shall have been created, or
the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such
time ; and no Person holding any Office under the United States,
shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in
office.
Section 7.
'All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with
Amendments as on other Bills.
■Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representa-
tives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented
to the President of the United States ; If he approve he shall
sign it, but if not ho shall return it, with his Objections to that
House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the
Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider
it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall
agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objec-
tions, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be recon-
sidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall
become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both House*
shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Per-
sons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Jour-
THE UNITED STATES.
iiii
nal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned
by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it
shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a law, in like
Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Ad-
journment prevent its Keturn, in which Case it shall not be a
Law.
•Every Order, Kesolution, or Vote to which the Concurrent
of the Senate and House of Eepresentatives may be necessary
(excent on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the
President of the United States; and before the Same shall take
Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him,
shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Eepre-
sentatives, according to the Kules and Limitations prescribed in
the Case of a Bill.
Section 8.
The Congress shall have power
*To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay
the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Wel-
fare of the United States ; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises
shall be uniform throughout the United States ;
• To borrow Money on the credit of the United States ;
•To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the
several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
*To establish an uniform Eule of Naturalization, and uniform
Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United
States ;
•To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign
Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
•To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securi-
ties and current Coin of the United States ;
1 To establish Post Offices and post Eoads ;
•To promote the progress of Science and useful Arts, by se-
curing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive
Bight io their respective Writings and Discoveries;
•To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
10 To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the
high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
"To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Eeprisal, ana
make Eules concerning Captures on Land and Water ;
CONSTITUTION OF
"To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money
to that "Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years ;
"To provide and maintain a Navy;
14 To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the
land and naval Forces;
"To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws
of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
w To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Mili-
tia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed
in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States re
spectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority
of training the Militia according to the Discipline prescribed
Congress ;
"To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever,
over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by
Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress,
become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to
exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent
of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for
the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, Dock-Yards, and other
needful Buildings; — And
18 To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for
carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other
Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the
United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Section 9.
'The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the
States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be pro-
hibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight
hundred and eight, but a Tax or Duty may be imposed on such
Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
'The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be sus-
pended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public
Bafety may require it.
•No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
4No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in
Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein tiefore directed
to bo ^aken.
THE UNITED STATES. W
•No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any
State.
•No Preference shall be given by any Eegulation of Commerce
or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor
shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter,
olear, or pay Duties in another.
TNo Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Conse-
quence of Appropriations made by Law ; and a regular State-
ment and Account of the Eeceipts and Expenditures of all publio
Money shall be published from time to time.
•No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States:
And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them,
6hall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any pre-
sent, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from
any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Section 10.
xNo State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confedera-
tion; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money ; emit
Bills of Credit ; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Ten
der in Payment of Debts ; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post
facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or
grant any Title of Nobility.
•No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any
Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be
absolutely necessary for executing its inspection Laws : and the
net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on
Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the
United States ; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision
and Control of the Congress.
•No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any
Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of
Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State,
or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually
invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of Delay
ARTICLE II.
Section 1.
lThe executive Power shall be vested in a President of the
United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the
to
CONSTITUTION OF
Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President,
chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:--
'Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature
thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whola
Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may
be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Eepresentative,
or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United
States, shall be appointed an Elector.
•The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Elec-
tors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which
Day sball be the same throughout the United States.
*No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the
United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution,
shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any
Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the
Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident
within the United States.
•In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of
his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and
Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice
President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case
of Removal, Death, Resignation, or Inability, both of the Presi-
dent and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act
as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the
Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
•The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services,
a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished
during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he
shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from
the United States, or any of them.
'Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take
the following Oath or Affirmation : —
11 1 do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute
M the Office of President of the United States, and will to the
M best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitu-
" tion of the United States.
Section 2.
*The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army
and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several
THE UNITED STATES.
Ivii
States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;
he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer
in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating
to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power
to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United
States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
"He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent
of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Sen-
ators present concur ; and he shall nominate, and by and with
the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassa-
dors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme
Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appoint-
ments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be
established by Law : but Congress may by Law vest the Ap-
pointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the
President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departs
ments.
•The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that
may happen during the Eecess of the Senate, by granting Com-
missions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Section 3.
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information
of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration
such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he
may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either
of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with
Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to
such Time as he shall think proper ; he shall receive Ambassadors
and other public Ministers ; he shall take Care that the Laws be
faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the officers of the
United States.
Section 4.
The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the
I nited States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment
for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes
and Misdemeanors.
Iviii
CONSTITUTION OP
AKTICLE III.
Section 1.
Tho judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in
one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress
may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both
of the supremo and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during
good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Ser-
vices, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during
Lheir Continuance in Office.
Section 2.
'The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and
Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United
States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their
Authority; — to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public
Ministers, and Consuls; — to all Cases of admiralty and mari-
time Jurisdiction ; — to Controversies to which the United States
shall be a Party; — to Controversies between two or more
States ; — between a State and Citizens of another State ; — be-
tween Citizens of different States; — between Citizens of the
same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and
between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Cit-
izens or Subjects.
'In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers
and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be a Party, the
supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other
Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate
Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions,
and under such Eegulations as the Congress shall make.
•The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment,
shall bo by Jury ; and such Trial shall be held in the State where
tho said Crimes shall have been committed ; but when not com-
mitted within any State, the Trial shall be at «uch Place 01
Places as tho Congress may by Law have directed.
Section 3.
'Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levy-
ing War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving
thorn Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted if Trea-
THE UNITED STATES.
lix
8011 unless'on the Testimony of two Witnesses Lo the same overt
Act, or on Confession in open Court.
•The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment; of
Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of
Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person
attainted.
ARTICLE IY.
Section 1.
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public
Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.
And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in
which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and
the Effect thereof.
Section 2.
lThe Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges
and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
•A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other
Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State,
shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from
which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having
Jurisdiction of the Crime.
•No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the
Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any
Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or
Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom
*uch Service or Labour may be due.
Section 3.
'.New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union ;
but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdic-
tion of any other State ; nor any State be formed by the Junc-
tion of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Con-
sent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of
the Congress.
•The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all
needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other
Property belonging to the United States ; and nothing in this
Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of
the United States, or of any particular State.
b
CONSTITUTION OF
Section 4.
Tbo United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union
» Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of
them against Invasion ; and on Application of the Legislature,
or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened)
against domestic Violence.
ARTICLE V.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem
it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or,
on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several
States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which,
in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part
of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three
fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths
thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be pro-
posed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which
may be made prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and
eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the
Ninth Section of the first Article ; and that no State, without its
Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
ARTICLE VI.
'All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before
the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the
United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
'This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which
shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or
which shall be made, under the authority of the United States,
shall be the supreme Law of the Land ; and the Judges in every
State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or
Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
•The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the
Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and
judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several
States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this
Constitution ; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a
Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United
States.
THE UNITED STATES.
bd
ARTICLE VII.
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be
sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the
States so ratifying the Same.
Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the
States present the Seventeenth Day of September in
the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and
Eighty-seven and of the Independence of the United
States of America the Twelfth. In Witness whereof
We have hereunto subscribed our Names,
GEO WASHINGTON—
Presdt and deputy from Virginia
John Langdon,
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Nicholas Gilman.
Nathaniel Gorham,
MASSACHUSETTS.
Rufus King.
Wm. Saml. Johnson,
CONNECTICUT.
Roger Sherman.
NEW YORK.
Alexander Hamilton.
Wil: Livingston,
Wm. Paterson,
NEW JERSEY.
David Brearley,
Jona. Dayton.
PENNSYLVANIA.
B. Franklin,
Robt. Morris,
Tho: Fitzsimons,
James Wilson,
Thomas Mifflin,
Geo: Clymer,
Jared Ingersoll,
Gouv: Morris.
DELAWARE.
Geo: Read,
John Dickinson,
Jaco: Broom.
Gunning Bedford, Jun'r,
Richard Bassett.
James M'Henry,
Danl. Carroll.
MARYLAND.
Dan of St. Thos. Jenifer.
lxii CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
John Blaib,
Wm. Blount,
Hu. Williamson.
j. rutledge,
Charles Pinckney,
William Few,
Attest:
VIRGINIA.
Jas. Madison, Jr.
NORTH CAROLINA.
Rich'd Dobbs Spaight,
SOUTH CAROLINA.
Charles Coteswoeth Pinckney,
Pierce Butler.
GEORGIA.
Abr. Baldwin.
WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary.
ARTICLES
IN ADDITION TO, AND AMENDMENT OF,
THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several
States, pursuant to the fifth article of the original Constitution.
(AETICLE I.)
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.
(AETICLE II.)
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a
free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall
not be infringed.
(AETICLE III.)
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house,
without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in
a manner to be prescribed by Law.
(AETICLE IY.)
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers and effects, against unreasonable seaiches and seizures,
shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon prob-
able cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly,
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to
be seized.
bail
Ixiv
AMENDMENTS.
(ARTICLE Y.)
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand
Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the
Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger;
nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice
put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any
Criminal Case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall
private property be taken for public use, without just com-
pensation.
(ARTICLE VI.)
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right
to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State
«»r»d district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which
district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be con-
fronted with the witnesses against him; to have Compulsory
process for obtaining "Witnesses in his favour, and to have the
Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
(ARTICLE VII.)
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be4 pre-
served, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined
in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules
of the common law.
(ARTICLE VIII.)
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im-
posed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
(ARTICLE IX.)
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people.
(ARTICLE X.)
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Consti.
tution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the
States respectively, or to the people.
AMENDMENT 8.
Ixv
(ARTICLE XI.)
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed
U extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted
against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or
by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.
(AETICLE XII.)
The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by
ballot for President and Yicc-President, one of whom, at least,
shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves;
they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President,
and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Yice-President,
and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as Presi-
dent, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the
number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify,
and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United
States, directed to the President of the Senate; — The President
of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of E&-
presentatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then
be counted; — The person having the greatest number of votes
for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority
of the whole number of Electors appointed ; and if no person
bave such majority, then from the persons having the highest
numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as
President, the House of Eepresentatives shall choose immedi-
ately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President,
the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each
state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist
of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a
majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if
the House of Eepresentatives shall not choose a President when-
over the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth
day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act
as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional
disability of the President. The person having the greatest
number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President,
if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two
highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-
6
Ixvi
AMENDMENTS.
President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirdi
of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the wholt
number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitn-
tionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that
of Vice-President of the United States.
(AETICLE XIII.)
Section 1.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punish-
ment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly con-
victed, 6hall exist in the United States, or any place subject to
their jurisdiction.
Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropri-
ate legislation.
(AETICLE XIV.)
Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States and sub-
ject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States
and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities
of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive
any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal pro-
tection of the laws.
Section 2.
Eepresentatives shall be apportioned among the several Stateo
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole num-
ber of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But
when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors
for President and Vice-President of the United States, represent-
atives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State,
or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of
the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of
age and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged,
except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which
AMENDMENTS.
ixvii
the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number
of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator, or representative in Congress,
or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office,
civil or military, under the United States, or under any State^
who, having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress,
or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State
Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to
3upport the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged
in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or
comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote
of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4.
The validity of the public debt of the United States author-
ized by law, including debts incurred for the payment of pen-
sions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or
rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States,
ior any State, shall assume to pay any debt or obligation in-
curred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United
States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave;
but all such debts, obligations, and claims, shall be held illegal
and void.
Section 5.
Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legisla-
tion, the provisions of this article.
(AETICLB XV.)
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
The following is prefixed to the first ten * of the preceding amendments.
* It may be proper here to state that twelve artic.es of amendment were pro-
posed by the first Congress, of which but ten were ratified by the States — tht
Lxviii
AMENDMENTS.
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
Be«;iiu and held at the City of New York, on Wednesday, the fourth of March,
>ne thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.
The Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time
of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order
to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further
declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added : And as ex-
tending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will
best insure the beneficent end of its institution ;
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
Mates of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses
concurring, That the following Articles be proposed to the Legis-
latures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution
of the United States, all, or any of which articles, when ratified
by three-fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents
and purposes, as part of the said Constitution ; viz. ;
Articles in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution
of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and
ratified by the Legislatures of the several States pursuant to the
fifth article of the original Constitution.
The first ten amendments of the Constitution were ratified by
the States, as follows, viz. :
By New Jersey, 20th November, 1789.
By Maryland, 19th December. 1789.
3y North Carolina, 22d December, 1789.
By South Carolina, 19th January, 1790.
By New Hampshire, 25th January, 1790.
By Delaware, 28th January, 1790.
By Pennsylvania, 10th March, 1790.
By New York, 27th March, 1790.
By Ehode Island, 15th June, 1790.
By Vermont, 3 November, 1791.
By Virginia, 15 December, 1791.
first and second in order not having been ratified by the requisite numoer of
States.
1 hese two were as follows:
Article the first....After the first enumeration required by the first Article of
the Constitution, there shall be one Representative for every thirty tnousand,
until the rumber shall amount to one hundred, after which, the proportion
AMENDMENTS?.
The following is prefixed to the eleventh of the preceding amendments.
THIRD CONGKESS OF THE UNITED STATES :
At the first session, begun and held at the city of Philadelphia, in tht
State of Pennsylvania, on Monday the second of December, out
thousand seven hundred and ninety-three.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses
concurricg, That the following Article be proposed to the Legis-
latures of the several States, as an amendment to the Constitu-
tion of the United States; which when ratified by three-fourtha
of the said Legislatures shall be valid as part of the said Con-
'titution, viz. :
r he following is prefixed to the twelfth of the preceding amendments:
EIGHTH GONGKESS OF THE UNITED STATES :
At the first session, begun and held at the city of Washington, in the
Territory of Columbia, on Monday the seventeenth of October, one
thousand eight hundred and three :
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America, in Congress assembled, Two thirds of both Houses
concurringpthat in lieu of the third paragraph of the first section
of the second article of the Constitution of the United States,
the following be proposed as an amendment to the Constitution
of the United States, which when ratified by three-fourths of the
legislatures of the several states, shall be valid to all intents and
purposes, as part of the said Constitution, to wit :
The first ten of the preceding amendments were proposed at
the first session of the first Congress, of the United States, 25
September, 1789, and were finally ratified by the constitutional
number of States, on the 15th day of December, 1791. The
shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall not be less than one hundred
Representatives, nor less than one Representative for every forty thousand
persons, until the number of Representatives shall amount to two hundred,
after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall
not be less than two hundred Representatives, nor more than one Representa-
tive for every fifty thousand persons.
Article second....No law, varying the compensation for the services of th«
Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Represent
•tires shall have intervened.
lxx
AMENDMENTS.
eleventh amendment wa8 proposed at the first session of tn«
third Congress, 5 March, 1794, and was declared in a message
from the President of the United States to both houses of Con-
gress, dated 8th January, 1798, to have been adopted by the con-
stitutional number of States. The twelfth amendment was pro-
posed at the first session of the eighth Congress, 12 December,
1803, and was adopted by the constitutional number of States in
1804, according to a public notice thereof by the Secretary of
State, dated 25th September, of the same year.
AMERICAN BASTILE.
COLONEL LAMBDIN P. MILLIGAN.
LAMBDIN P. MILLIGAN is of Irish descent, and was
born and raised in Belmont County, Ohio. His only
opportunities for acquiring an education were enjoyed before
he was eight years of age, at which time he could read well.
At seventeen he evinced a great desire to have an education
preparatory to the study of medicine. His father, proud of
his attainments, promised to send him to college, but was
compelled to forego so doing by the opposition of his wife,
who insisted that no distinction should be made in the educa-
tion of their children.
Subsequently he left home, regardless of the wishes and
threats of his father, who declared that he would disinherit
him if he did so. Without a dime in his pockets he began
his career among strangers. Thrown upon his own resources,
all the energies of his mind and body were exerted to obtain
a livelihood, and to these efforts may be traced his after
success.
He had previously abandoned the idea of studying medi-
cine, and had chosen the profession of law, which he read with
great earnestness, and mastered with facility. He stood at
the head of a class of nine, examined by a committee of the
Supreme Court of Ohio, consisting of Judges Goodnow, Ken-
non, and Cowan, Governor Shannon, Mr. Alexander, and Mr.
Carroll. Of this class there are now living the Hon. Matthew
Gaston, Cambridge, Ohio; Hon. Peter Saltman, St. Clairs-
(71)
72
AMEBICAN BASTILE.
ville, Ohio ; and the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, ex-Secretary
of War.
A few years after, Colonel Milligan removed to Hunting-
ton, Indiana, where he still resides. For several years he
Buffered much from epilepsy and spinal meningitis, with
paralysis of the lower limhs, during which time he was
unable to practise at his profession.
In 1853, Colonel Milligan, having recovereu his health,
commenced the practice of his profession, and soon rose to
the foremost rank at the bar. He is not a politician ; but, in
1861, opposed with great energy every movement looking
toward a collision between the North and South.
In 1863, he addressed a meeting at Plymouth, Indiana ,
and by his speech most conclusively demonstrated that the
war had neither been beguu nor prosecuted to preserve the
Union. He referred to the antecedents of the party then in
power, their oft-repeated declarations of hostility to the Con
stitution, and the many opportunities for a compromise, con-
sistent with the integrity of the Union, which had beeu
spurned, and the war continued for the purpose of breaking
down the influence of the agricultural districts of the coun-
try, and elevating the moneyed and manufacturing interests,
that the party in power might control the legislation of
Congress.
Detectives having reported the speech, the Republican press
soon teemed with denunciatory articles, charging him with
treason. Early in 1864, Dr. Zumro, a special detective, was
appointed to watch him. A part of the plan consisted in an
arrangement to have the doctor arrested on some political
charge, when he was to visit Colonel Milligan for counsel,
gain his confidence, and learn his personal sentiments. In
pursuance of this arrangement, a military officer was sent
from a distant part of the State, and the arrest of Dr. Zumro
made with great formality. This hireling sought the coun-
sel of the Colonel, and employed him as attorney to defend
mm. The doctor, in his anxiety, played his part so poorl}
that he was detected, and the scheme failed.
♦
COLONEL LAMBD1K 1*. MILLitJ AN 7-J
On the 13th of August, in the same year, the Colonel ad-
dressed a large meeting at Fort Wayne. A detective, Mr.
Bush, was sent from Cincinnati purposely to report his speech,
which he did in a manner to please his employers. The
speech was an able aDd eloquent one, and prophetically pic-
tured the future, which time has demonstrated. The Ad-
ministration, and particularly Governor Morton, who was
then a candidate for re-election, were greatly incensed at itT
and resolved on the destruction of its author. Shortly after
this, Colonel Milligan was taken sick ; erysipelas attacked his
left leg. He lost the entire use of the limb, and was confined
to bed. In this condition he remained for several days, his
neighbors hourly expecting to hear, of his death.
While thus confined, on the 5th of October, 1864, about
11 o'clock p. m., a train of cars stopped at his residence with
a company of soldiers, under the command of Captain Case,
who immediately surrounded his house, and arrested the
Lionel without affidavit, warrant, or any form of authority.
They kept the house guarded until four o'clock in the morn-
ing, when they carried him to the cars, the captain repeatedly
giving* orders to his men that, upon the first noise of any
kind, they must shoot the prisoner. The train conveying
the prisoner arrived at Indianapolis, a distance of a hun-
dred miles, about 3 o'clock p. m., where an infuriated mob
of thousands thronged the streets, uttering threats and
imprecations. Here he was transferred to an ambulance,
and taken to General Hovey's headquarters, where he de-
manded to be liberated on bail, offering to answer any charges
that might be brought against him. This request was denied,
and he was told that he had " no rights which a loyal citizen
was bound to respect." Thence he was taken to the post
commander's headquarters, who had received a telegram
from an evil-disposed person, to the effect that the prisoner
was not sick, but merely pretending to be so.
The post-commander, Colonel Warner, burning with rage,
denounced the prisoner in a coarse, vulgar, and even brutal
manner; avowing that no quarter should be shown him,
/
74 AMERICAN BASTILE.
Colonel Milligan replied to this tirade of abuse, saying : " It
is easy to make charges, but sometimes difficult to prove
them.', Colonel Warner told him that he would have to
prove himself innocent, but that no Copperhead evidence
would be taken.
He was then taken to one of the temporary hospitals, and
placed in an open shed. It was now 5 o'clock p. M. The Co-
lonel, who had had no refreshments of any kind for twenty
four hours, was then furnished with some cold pork and
hardtack, which he could not eat, and from exhaustion soon
fell asleep. "When he awoke he found himself literally cov-
ered with vermin. The next day, workmen commenced build-
ing a house around and over him, causing noise enough to
distract a sick man whose nerves were already shattered by
the suffering he had endured. The sawdust and chips from
the work fell upon him, and in his bed, making his situation
miserable.
He remained confined in this place for ten days, surrounded
by thousands of drunken soldiers, who had come home on
furlough to vote for Governor Morton at the approaching
election. Some of these miscreants manifested their loyalty
by insulting him, pointing their guns at, and threatening to
shoot him. " Loyal " citizens visited him to get a sight of
their victim, and rejoice over their diabolical work. From
this shed he was carried to a prison in the Federal court
building, and placed in a room with a wretch, who, to save
his own neck, had consented to play the spy upon him.
He remained here until he, together with Colonel Wm. A.
Bowles, Stephen Horsey, Andrew Humphrey, and Horace
Heffner, was put upon trial, on the following charges, to all
of which he pleaded not guilty. The charges and specifica-
tions are too long to insert here in extenso. We give tnem
in an abridged form, as contained in Wallace's United States
Supreme Court Reports, page 6, vol. iv. (This case is fully
reported in the above volume, covering 140 pages, and is one
of the most important ever decided in this country.) From
Wallace's Reports, we quote:
COLONEL LAMBDIN P. MILLIGAN. 75
" Lambdin P. Milligan, a citizen of the United States, and
a resident and citizen of the State of Indiana, was arrested
on the 5th day of October, 1864, at his home in the said
State, by the order of Brevet Major-General Hovey, military
commandant of the District of Indiana ; and, by the same
authority, confined in a military prison at or near Indiana-
polis, the capital of the State. On the 21st of the same m onth,
he was placed on trial before a ' military commission,' con-
vened at Indianapolis, by order of the said general, upon the
following charges, preferred by Major Burnett, J udge Advo
cate of the Northwestern Military Department, namely :
" 1st ' Conspiring against the Government of the United
States.'
" 2c?. ' Affording aid and comfort to rebels against th€
authority of the United States.'
" 36?. ' Inciting insurrection.'
" ' Disloyal practices ; ' and
"5th. 'Violation of the laws of war.'
" Under each of these charges there were various specifica-
tions. The substance of them was joining and aiding, at
different times between October, 1863, and August, 1864, a
secret society known as the ' Order of American Knights,'
or 'Sons of Liberty,' for the purpose of overthrowing the
Government and duly constituted authorities of the United
States ; holding communication with the enemy ; conspiring
to seize munitions of war stored in the arsenals ; to liberate
prisoners of war, etc. ; resisting the draft, etc., . . . ' at a
period of war and armed rebellion against the authority of
the United States, at or near Indianapolis,' (and various
other places specified,) ' in Indiana, a State within the mili-
tary lines of the army of the United States, and the theatre
of military operations, and which had been and was con-
stantly threatened to be invaded by the enemy.' " These were
amplified and stated in various forms.
We proceed with the trial.
The commission which had been organized to try II. II.
Dodge, Esq., was directed to try these charges; but, by the
76 AMERICAN BASTILE.
Interposition of some influential persons who were anxioui
for conviction, it was subsequently reorganized. Induce-
ments were held out to men who signified their willingness
to convict in advance. The commission was enlarged.
Stephens, Bennett, Williams, and Heath were added to it.
Nothing now was required but the formalities of a mock
trial. Conviction was sure. The chamber where the com-
mission sat was close to the prison, and, night after night, it
was made hideous by the army officers, who declared fidelity
to the murderous adventure. The prisoners frequently heard
the members of the commission declare their intention to
nang them. Preferring the court to the camp, they were
neither sparing of their pledges to convict, nor chaste in their
terms of denunciation. The members of the commission
were as obsequious to their employers as they were vulgar
and insolent to the prisoners and their counsel. The J udge
Advocate was Henry L. Burnett, whose talents and courage
manifested themselves in acts of impudence and tyranny.
An objection, raised by Colonel Milligan, as to the author-
ity of the commission to try him, was overruled.
The trial commenced with much pomp. Witnesses were
hired, suborned, or intimidated. Testimony was manufac-
tured to the morbid relish of an excited public. Reporters
were called and sworn. False and exaggerated rumors were
accepted as evidence. Public excitement ran high, and
clamor grew louder and louder. Lawlessness assumed form.
Thick clouds of terror gathered along the horizon, and, rising
higher and higher, now towered to the zenith — their folds
livid with blood. Friends, with few exceptions, retired with
pallid cheeks. Heffher sank a victim to his fears, took the
witness stand, and swore as men swear with a halter arounc*
their necks. Colonel M. remained firm and collected during
this trying ordeal, and exhorted his counsel to be true and
steadfast, regardless of the consequences.
About the time of the trial he was removed from the
Federal court building, to the Soldiers' Home prison. He was
forced to walk the distance, over a mile, upon a crutct> *nd,
COLONEL LAMB DIN P. MILLIGAN.
77
aever having tried to walk on one before, the effort was too
much for him. It paralyzed his arm, and threw him into a
fever, from which he did not recover for several days. In
this prison he was put into a small cell, near a pork-house
and hog-yard, and the stench emitted from these, together
with the squealing of the hogs not yet slaughtered, com
bined to render the place horrible. The prison had been
planked up with rough, green plank, placed perpendicularly,
the joints of which remained unbroken. These had shrunk
until the cracks were a full inch wide.
The weather was extremely cold, and through these cracks
the chill winds of winter whistled in bitter mockery on the
half-starved and scantily clothed inmates. These crevices re-
mained open for more than two weeks after the Colonel oc-
cupied the cell. There were four persons in the cell with
him, but it had been occupied by a much larger number, and
was as filthy as it could possibly be.
On some occasions when the rations were served, the Colo-
nel could not get to the cubby-hole as quickly as the servant
thought he ought, and for that reason threw his rations into
the filth on the floor. The prison had a hall in the centre,
and a row of cells on each side. At the south end of the
hall was a large room as wide as the hall and both rows of
cells combined. In this room more than three hundred per
Bons were crowded, rendering the atmosphere suffocating and
sickening. There was one general roof over the whole build-
ing. The attic remained undivided, and was occupied by the
guard ; and as the cells were merely covered with lattice-
work, upon which they patrolled, the whole upper part of the
b lilding was in communication with the lower part. Whep
the south wind blew, pestilential exhalations from the large
room filled every cell. None of the occupants could remedy
this, because the room was so crowded that filth was un-
avoidable.
In the hall opposite the cell occupied by the Colonel was a
trap-door, whbh led to the coal-hole, an excavation ten feet
deep, without Hght or ventilation. This was a place of pun-
78
AMERICAN BASTILE.
iehment for refractory soldiers, citizens, bounty-jumpers, and
drunken men. The innocent and the guilty were alike its
occupants. Any one who fell under the ban of the com-
mandant, or his subordinates, was consigned to that horrible
place. Some were taken out alive and survived, others were
taken to the hospital to die, while a few died in it. An ex-
speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, named
Tarboth, was placed in this modern "black-hole" at 10
o'clock p.m., and taken out at 9 a.m., the following morning,
death-stricken. In two days afterward his funeral was
noticed in the papers.
The hall in this prison was made hideous with the groans
of the victims of cruelty, who had been strung up with a
hand-cord round the wrists, until their agonies were more
than humanity could silently endure.
We give one instance where a poor Irishman, who hailed
from Kendallville, Indiana, was subjected to this inquisitorial
torture. He was found on the streets dressed in blue, was
seized, brought before Colonel Warner, who directed that he
be swung up one half-hour, then put in the coal-hole an hour,
and this treatment alternated until he would tell to what
regiment he belonged. Sergeant Wm. Williams had charge
of him. He inquired of him to what regiment he belonged.
He said he " did not belong to any regiment, that he had en-
listed at Kendallville, as a substitute for a drafted man, whoso
name he gave, and that he had been directed to report at
Camp Carrington, and that he had not yet been assigned to
any regiment."
This answer, although not doubted, was not the answer
that Colonel Warner had directed him to exact, and the
sergeant could not release him. The poor victim begged the
sergeant to report his answer to Colonel Warner, but he re-
plied that the colonel had gone to bed, and his orders were
to continue the punishment until he answered to what regi-
ment he belonged. This cruelty was inflicted throughout
the entire night and until 10 o'clock A. M., the following
day, when the colonel ordered its suspension.
COLONEL LAMBDIN P. MILLIGAN.
79
This per fellow lost the use of both hands. Of all the
punishment inflicted on Colonel Milligan, as he afterward
remarked, none was so severe as the agonizing wails of the
poor victims, who were punished, in many instances, to
gratify the caprice of the commander of the post.
The Colonel was found guilty on all the charges, and sen-
tenced to suffer death by hanging.
The commission became intoxicated, and published their
sentence the same night he was found guilty, but it created
little sensation, as the public had been anticipating it. The
Colonel remained in the situation we have described, specu-
lating much as to the final result, until the assassination of
Mr. Lincoln, when the public clamored loudly for blood.
Heavy irons were placed on the prisoners, the guards were
doubled, and relieved each other with imposing formality.
This continued until the 8th of May, when the sentence was
approved by President Johnson. He was ordered to be ex-
ecuted on Friday, the 19th of the same month, between 12
and 3 o'clock. On the 10th, Milligan filed his petition in the
Circuit Court of the United States for the District of Indiana.
Nothing further occurred until the 18th, when an order was
read to him respiting his execution until the 2d of June,
and then it was stated that no further interference with the
sentence would take place. The friends of Colonel Milligan
exhausted their arguments in endeavoring to persuade him
to write to the President for a pardon. But all of no avail.
For two weeks he remained in confinement awaiting his
doom, passing many otherwise lonely hours but for the com-
pany of his little son, twelve years of age, who remained
with him.
Of his fellow-prisoners, Horsey was humble and Bowles
was old. A victim was demanded, and Colonel Milligan
was selected. The Indiana delegation in Congress had filed
a protest against the interference of the President with tho
sentence of the court martial. Radical papers in and out
of the State, with a few honorable exceptions, teemed with
vituperation at the delay. Letter-writers and stump speaker!
30
AMERICAN BASTILE.
were imperious in their demands. Fulpit and bar-room
orators were eloquent in their appeals for the sacrifice. The
populace clamored more and more for blood. Friends who
attempted to petition were marked and forced to desist.
Jealousy and hate revelled in the anticipated carnival, until
friends and foes looked upon the tragedy as a fixed fact.
Now retaliation was assuming form, though repressed by
prudent counsels. It was seething and surging and growing
into an almost irresistible fury, when Governor Morton,
knowing that he was the cause of the outrage, and would
be held personally responsible, instituted extraordinary mea-
sures to counteract his own work.
The Governor commissioned Hon. J. "W". Pettit to visit the
President and protest, in the name of the State, against the
execution of the sentence. At 9 o'clock p. m., on the 1st of
June, the Colonel was informed that his sentence had been
commuted to imprisonment for life, at hard labor, in the'Ohio
penitentiary. It was a sad night for him. He knew the
fate that awaited him when placed in the custody of those
who were selected for their cruelty, each of whom felt that
he constituted an important portion of the commonwealth,
and to him belonged the honor of his conviction. The Colo-
nel had fully weighed the matter, and preferred that the sen-
tence of death should be executed than that he should suffer
imprisonment for life. In the event of their execution of the
sentence, he had prepared a number of written instructions
for the conduct of a suit, under the laws of the State, for his
imprisonment and murder ; and, with the skill of a profound
practitioner, had written in a clear, smooth hand, as if in his
study, an address to he read by himself, on the scaffold, to
the people.
In this gloomy, forbidding cell, he had been immured from
December to June ; and now, the weather being warm, the
want of ventilation, together with inhaling the fetid air,
which at times sickened him to faintness, caused his health
to become so affected that he was reduced to a mere skeleton.
During this time he had not seen the light of day, except
COLONEL LAMBDIN P. MILLIGAN.
81
when taken before the commission ; and to all human appear-
ances, he was within a few hours of that night that knows
no morning. It was day without light ; night without hope
"Here no dear glimpse of the sun's lovely face
Strikes through the solid darkness of the place ;
No dawning morn does her kind red display —
One slight, weak beam would here be thought the day;
No gentle stars, with their fair gems of light,
Offend the tyrannous and unquestion'd night. '
When the news of the order for commutation was circu-
lated, it was currently reported that General Hovey would
disregard it and have the sentence executed. Much excite-
ment prevailed in the city. Colonel Gardiner, who was in
command of the post, to prevent a collision, set out with
Colonel Milligan and his companions, in the morning, before
it was fairly light, under a strong .guard, to the penitentiary.
Here the Colonel and his fellow-prisoners were placed
under the control of a modern Simon, as cruel a wretch as
ever inflicted punishment on man or brute. The felon's garb
was put upon them, and the Colonel placed in a room over
an oven, in which files were tempered in liquid lead. The
exhalations from the smouldering charcoal were diffused
throughout this room, and made it notoriously unhealthy.
Every one who had occupied it for any length of time had
lost his life. The Colonel could not endure it long. He was
taken sick and conveyed to the hospital, where he remairved
many days very ill. During the first two weeks of his con
finement here, and while he was able to work, almost every
fine evening he was exhibited to curious visitors.
This prison is constructed of heavy masonry, with a build-
ing within of the same material, upon which the sun never
shines. The inner building is situated in the centre of the
prison, with a hall on each side. It is divided into cells, of
which there are five tiers. The cells are about three feet
wide, six and a half long, and six feet high. They all open
into this closed hall. The second cell, occupied by the Colo-
nel, was on the ground-floor on the north side, and so damp
6
82
AMERICAN BASTILE.
that the straw in his bed would not rattle, and the hay in
his pillow was equally as bad. A thousand men were con-
fined in these cells, all breathing the air that circulated in
the halls, and which was poisoned by the noxious exhalations
of men afflicted with all kinds of diseases. While confined
in this prison, Colonel Milligan contracted a cold, from the
effects of which he became deaf and lost the sense of smell.
He was so bad that he could neither hear the ringing; of bells
nor smell assafoetida.
The most disgusting part of this prison was the dining-
room. The prisoners were frequently fed on hash for break-
fast. This was made by taking the refuse scraps of meat,
and putting them, together with onions and potatoes, in a
large mill, and grinding them into hash. This mash was
then placed on a table, where it was allowed to remain over
night, food for the rats that swarmed the prison. To this
room the prisoners were taken for breakfast, when they
found the food covered with flies and vermin. The room
being poorly ventilated, the stench arising from this semi-
putrid meat was almost intolerable, and many of the prison-
ers turned away from the loathsome mass, unable, even witb
the cravings of hunger, to endure it.
After Colonel Milligan 's sentence had been approved, and
ordered to be carried into execution, he, through his counsel,
sued out a writ of habeas corpus. General Hovey declared
he would disregard it. The judges of the Circuit Court of
Indiana were divided, and the case was certified to the
Supreme Court of the United States in banco. After he had
suffered several months of imprisonment, and the time for
hearing his case was approaching, endeavors were made by
some parties to stay the proceedings, as his case was the only
one before the court embodying the legality of a " military
commission " to try a civilian where the civil courts were un-
obstructed and in full force. Numerous persons, alleging
that they had been to Washington, and knew the state of
feeling pervading society, endeavored to persuade him to
withdraw the suit from the Supreme Court, and no difficulty
COLONEL LAMBDIN P. MILLIGAN. 83
would be experienced in getting a pardon from the President.
To all such offers he answered emphatically, " No."
Colonel Milligan had not forgotten the reply of the Presi-
dent to his counsel, Mr. Coffroth, when the latter asked a
commutation or a respite of the sentence, until the case could
be heard in the Supreme Court, to wit : " What ! the very fact
of the prisoner resorting to the court upon a technical question of
jurisdiction is a confession of his guilt" and, assigning that as
his reason, refused the application. About the time the court
was expected to decide the case, a member of the Ohio Legis
lature sought, through the warden, an introduction to the
Colonel. He assured the prisoner that the court would sus-
tain the authority of the "military commission that the
war was then over, and with it had passed away all that
animosity of feeling engendered by it ; that it was the desire
of the party in power to obliterate all remembrances of the
difference of opinion, as far as possible ; that the Administra-
tion desired to grant a full and free pardon to all ; but that
this could not be done without the Administration should
first be solicited to do so, and especially while Colonel Milli-
gan was pressing his claim before the court ; that a ruling in
his favor would be not only a direct condemnation of the
whole policy of the President, but of the Government ; that
the peace of the country required that " bygones should be
bygones," and that all had suffered excitement to engender
feelings that had better be forgotten. Colonel Bowles, who
was sick and suffering from the experiments of an ignorant
empiric, and was very weak, both physically and mentally,
yielded to the importunities which environed him, and gave
an order to dismiss his case, but his counsel disregarded his
instructions.
At length the case came up for argument in the Supreme
Court of the United States.
Mr. J. E. McDonald, Mr. J. S. Black, Mr. J. A. Garfield,
md Mr. David Dudley Field, of counsel for the petitioner
Lambdin P. Milligan.
Mr. Speed, Attorney-General United States ; Mr. Stanberry
34
AMERICAN BASTILE.
and Mr. B. F. Butler, special counsel of the United States
contra.
The case was most ably and elaborately argued on both
sides. The argument of the Hon. J. S. Black was one of
the most able, eloquent, and erudite forensic efforts that haa
been made in this or any other country. Mr. Justice Davis
delivered the opinion of the court. Among the fourteen
points enumerated in the syllabus of the case as decided, were :
1st. " Military commissions, organized during the late civil
war, in a state not invaded and not engaged in rebellion, in
which the Federal courts were open, and in the proper and
unobstructed exercise of their judicial functions, had no juris-
diction to try, convict, or sentence, for any criminal offence, a
citizen who was neither a resident of a rebellious State, nor
a prisoner of war, nor a person not in the military or naval
service."
And Congress could not invest them with any such power
2d. " The guarantee of trial by jury, contained in the Con-
stitution, was intended for a state of war as well as a state
of peace, and is equally binding upon rulers and people, at
all times and under all circumstances. "
3d. " The Federal authority having been unopposed in the
State of Indiana, and the Federal courts open for the trial of
offences and the redress of grievances, the usages of war
could not, under the Constitution, afford any sanction foi
the trial there of a citizen in civil life, not connected with the
military or naval service, by a military tribunal, or for any
offence whatever."
\th. "Neither the President, nor Congress, nor the Judi-
ciary can disturb any one of the safeguards of civil liberty
incorporated into the Constitution, except so far as the right
is given to suspend, in certain cases, the privilege of the writ
of habeas corpus."
6th. " A citizen, not connected with the military service,
and resident in a State where the courts are all open, and in
the proper exercise of their jurisdiction, cannot, even when
the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended, be
COLONEL LAMBDIN P. MILLIGAN.
85
tried, convicted, or sentenced otherwise than by the ordinary
courts of law."
6th. " Suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus
does not suspend the writ itself. The writ issues, as a matter of
course, and, on its return, the court decides whether the applicant
is denied the right of proceeding any further."
7th. "A person who is a resident of a loyal State, where he waa
arrested, who was never a resident in any State engaged in rebel-
lion, nor connected with the military or naval service, cannot be
regarded as a prisoner of war."
This decision struck the shackles from Colonel Milligan, and he
was free — free from the grasp of tyrants — free from arbitrary
power — free from fiendish sycophants.
The following are extracts from the decision of the Supreme Court:
" Have any of the rights guaranteed by the constitution been
violated in the case of Milligan? and, if so, what are they?
Every trial involves the exercise of judicial power; and from
what source did the military commission that tried him derive
their authority ? Certainly no part of the judicial power of the
country was conferred on them, because the constitution expressly
vests it i in the Supreme Court and such inferior courts as the
Congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish/ and it is
not pretended that the commission was a court ordained and estab-
lished by Congress. They cannot justify on the mandate of the
President, because he is controlled by law, and has his appropriate
sphere of duty, which is to execute, not to make the laws ; and there
is " no unwritten criminal code to which resort can be had as a
source of jurisdiction.1 But it is said that the jurisdiction is com-
plete under the ' laws and usages of war.' It can serve no useful
purpose to inquire what those laws and usages are, whence they
originated, where found, and on whom they operate; they can
never be applied to citizens in States which have upheld the
authority of the government, and where the courts are open and
their process unobstructed. This court has judicial knowledge
that in Indiana the Federal authority was always unopposed, and
its courts always open to hear criminal accusations and to redress
grievances; AND NO usage op war could sanction a mili-
tary TRIAL THERE, FOR ANY OFFENCE WHATEVER, OF A CITIZEN
86
AMERICAN BASTILE.
IN CIVIL LIFE, IN NOWISE CONNECTED WITH THE MILITARY
service. Congress could grant no such power; and to the honor
of our national legislature be it said, it Jias never been provoked
by the state of the country even to attempt its exercise. One of
the plainest constitutional provisions was., tJierefore, infringed when
MlLLIGAN WAS TRIED BY A COURT NOT ORDAINED AND ESTAB-
LISHED by Congress and not composed of judges appointed
during good behavior. Why was tiq not delivered to the Cir-
cuit Court of Indiana, to be proceeded against according to law f
" No reason of necessity could be urged against it, because Con-
gress had declared penalties against the offences charged, provided
for their punishment, and directed that court to hear and deter-
mine them. And soon after this military tribunal was ended
the Circuit Court met, peacefully transacted its business and ad-
journed. It needed no bayonets to protect it, and required no mili-
tary aid to execute its judgments. It was held in a State eminently
distinguished for its patriotism by judges commissioned during
the rebellion, who were provided with juries, upright, intelligent,
and selected by a marshal appointed by the President. The gov-
ernment had no right to conclude that Milligan, if guilty, would
not receive in that court merited punishment, for its records dis-
close that it was constantly engaged in the trial of similar offences,
:tnd was never interrupted in its administration of criminal justice.
If it was dangerous in the distracted condition of affairs to leave
Milligan unrestrained of his liberty because he * conspired against
the government, afforded aid and comfort to rebels and incited the
people to insurrection/ the law said arrest him, confine him closely,
render him powerless to do further mischief, and then present his
case to the grand jury of the district, with proof of his guilt, and,
if indicted, try him according to the course of the common law.
"The great minds of the country have differed on the correct
interpretation to be given to various provisions of the Federal
constitution ; and judicial decision has been often invoked to
settle their true meanings ; but until recently no one ever doubted
that the right of trial by jury was fortified in the organic law
against the power of attack."
Upon receiving information of the decision of the court
denying the jurisdiction of the military commission to try
COLONEL LAMBDIN P. MILIIGAN. 87
civilians — a decision that enthroned the law and snatched
the sceptre from the grasp of the mailed tyrant of military
despotism, and brought gladness to the numerous friends of
constitutional liberty — the Colonel wrote a note to the ward-
en, calling attention to the fact, and requesting him to in-
form himself of his duty, and that his duty and the Colonel's
wishes tended in the same direction. He then sent for a
friend to learn the name of a notary, and also what judge
was accessible. Before the notary arrived, Mr. Coffroth
reached the city, and had a writ of habeas corpus sued out
and the Colonel discharged, after an imprisonment of eighteen
months. It was now evening. Mr. Coffroth also had a writ
sued out for Colonel Bowles and Mr. Horsey, but, before it
could be served, an order came from the President directing
the warden to discharge all the prisoners.
After receiving many friends at the Neil House, during
the evening and the next morning, he started at noon, April
12th, 1866, for home, without any intimation of the joyful
reception that awaited him, which we copy from the papers
of the day.
" The return of Colonel L. P. Milligan to his home, on last
Thursday morning, was the occasion of a demonstration, on the
part of his friends and neighbors, to which all history fur-
nishes but one parallel, that is, the ovation of welcome which
greeted the immortal Demosthenes upon his return to Piraeus,
from his exile at Megara. As the great Athenian was re-
ceived, upon his arrival in that city, by its magistrates and
dignitaries and citizens, so was our illustrious fellow-citizen
received by the Mayor, the Common Council, and all the
citizens, with the utmost manifestation of affection and joy,
blended with sorrow and indignation at the flagitious wrongs
and cruel persecution to which he had been subjected during
the last eighteen months. Colonel Milligan was released, as
we stated last week, upon a writ of habeas corpus sued out by
his attorney, Hon. J. R. Coffroth, who had gone to Columbus
for that purpose. He was set at liberty on the afternoon of
last Tuesday, and on the evening of that day we received a
88
AMERICAN BASTILE.
message to that effect. We issued an extra immediately
which was distributed the next day ; but far in advance of
the extra, the gratifying news spread, as on the wings of tho
wind, in all directions, and occasioned universal joy. On
Wednesday evening, a party of gentlemen, who had been
chosen by Colonel Milligan last May to receive his remains in
the event of his execution, went to Peru for the purpose of
escorting him home. This party consisted of Messrs. Charles
H. Lewis, John Roche, Samuel F. Day, John Zeigler, and
Rev. R. A. Curran. Mr. Geo. R. Corlew was also of the
party, but he had accompanied Mr. Coffroth to Columbus.
Messrs. Milligan, Coffroth, and Corlew arrived at Peru at a
late hour, on Wednesday night: notwithstanding this, cannon
were fired and other demonstrations of joy made. Despotism
had succumbed to Constitutional Law, and its victim was
free ! There was cause for rejoicing.
"Thursday morning, at Huntington, was ushered in by the
roar of cannon, and at a very early hour the people began to
flock in from every direction, to welcome their distinguished
fellow-citizen to his old home. Every adjacent county was
ilul}T represented in this grand spontaneous ovation. Every
point where the intelligence had reached that Colonel M.
would be home 1 on Thursday ' was represented, and all
were burning with a desire to see him, to welcome him, and
to assure him of their sympathy and friendship. The train
from the west, conveying the party, moved up to the station
amid the waving of handkerchiefs and hats, the wildest ac-
clamation of the immense concourse, the music of the brass
bands, and the loud thunder of cannon. The appearance oi
the tall and dignified form of Colonel M. on the platform
was greeted with a fresh burst of enthusiasm, and a simul-
taneous movement of the throng was made to grasp him by
the hand. When his manly, graceful, but emaciated form,
upon whose features it appeared that every * god had set his
seal to give assurance of a man/ became recognized, as it
was by all who had met him before, and instinctively by
those who had not. there would have been a cheer that would
COLONEL LAMBDIN P. MILLIGAN
89
have made the welkin ring, but the hearts of all were too full
to give uttcrauce to any voice, either of joy or sorrow. Mr.
Coffroth formally introduced Colonel Milligan in a few neat
and appropriate remarks.
"Hon. ¥ra. C. Kocher, Mayor, surrounded by the Commou
Council, and in behalf of the town, then delivered a beauti
ful and impressive address of welcome. He said :
" 1 Colonel Milligan : In behalf of your fellow-citizens oi
Huntington, and I may say in behalf of this large assembly
of people collected together from the surrounding country, I
bid you a welcome once more to your home, to mingle with
your family and these people, who have so long and so well
known you, and who have long since looked upon you as a
man of eminent legal ability, a statesman, and one who has
ever been true to the Constitution and laws of the country.
On the 5th of October, 1864, while at home, surrounded by
the family you loved, lying prostrate upon a bed of affliction,
at the dark hour of midnight you were ruthlessly dragged
away from family and friends, and conveyed to a political
Bastile, where you were confined for months, without any ac-
cusation made against you. Charges were then preferred for
what? Treason! Treason to what? Treason not against the
Government, but that you did not support the Administra
tion, whose principles were not in accordance with the plain
and broad teachings of the Constitution of your country.
Tried by a mock court, principally composed of drunkards —
men who were not familiar with the first principles of law —
you were condemned to be hanged until you were dead —
dead ! Through the influence of friends your sentence was
commuted to imprisonment for life. You were conveyed in
irons to the Ohio penitentiary, where for a long time you
occupied a cell dedicated alone to felons. Your case was
brought before the Supreme Court of the United States.
After long and laborious .arguments of the most eminent
counsel of the country, a Republican court decided that you
had been illegally condemned and sentenced.
M 4 To-day, your feDow-citizens at home, and all good citizens
90
AMERICAN BASTILE.
throughout the land, look upon your arrest and imprison
ment as an outrage upon American liberty, a dark spot upon
the pages of American history. You come home to-day
honored and beloved. You come to enjoy the society of
friends and neighbors. You come home to obey the Consti*
tution and laws, as you have done during your entire life.
This large assembly of your fellow-citizens bears me witnesi
of the fact. While they look upon you to-day, their hearts
are filled with emotions of joy, that you are once more among
them, enjoying your liberty, and the society of family and
friends.
" 4 They know that your actions and your sentiments in the
past will be a guarantee for the future. Therefore they know
you, they trust you. In their behalf, again I say, thrice wel-
come, Colonel Milligan.'
" Colonel Milligan's response was particularly happy.
Though his voice was weak, and the occasion one requiring
much self-control, yet he did infinite credit to himself in all
respects. He responded as follows :
" 4 Mr. Mayor : Friends and neighbors, and such I know
you are, did my sense of propriety call for an extended
response to so imposing a reception, I have neither the physi-
cal nor mental ability to give it ; but, overcome by the spon-
taneous enthusiasm of the occasion, the acclamations of
gladness that greet me, the tears of joy that flow from the
thousands around me fill my bosom with emotions that have
no utterance, and I can only thank you for so proud a testi-
monial. I prize it because it comes from you, my neighbors,
with whom I have spent the best energies of my life, and
from whom I never concealed the most secret aspirations of
my heart. I value it more because it is not the addled pa-
geant of a giddy multitude tendered to a great name, whose
success may have lent dignity to crime ; but it is the un-
tutored expression of your conviction that I never wronged
my country or my fellow-man ; nor did those who clamored
loudest for my oppression ever suspect me of any wrong. I
thank you, and accept it as an approval of my life as a citi-
COLONEL LAMBDIN P. MILLIGAN.
91
zen and neighbor, and a proof that it in not the acts or worde
of others that can degrade a man, but that each must stand
upon the basis of his own manhood.
" ' What revolutions in government or society have inter-
vened since my seclusion I know not ; but I am, and alwaya
have been, opposed to revolutions, believing that seldom, if
ever, have their fruits equalled their cost in treasure, blood,
and moral retrogression. I thank you, friends and neigh
bors, for this glowing tribute of esteem, and I would be the
more happy recipient of it if I was sure that, through the
ordeal which I have just passed, my deportment was worthy
of so flattering a token. Your kindness has imposed upon
me obligations that I will never be able to discharge, and
must remain unrequited ; but to live among you, and com-
mingling, as heretofore, our efforts for the promotion of the
interests of our country and the happiness of our race, is the
highest ambition of my heart. My friends, I must leave
you. There is one I have not yet seen, who has wept most
for my mi'sfortunes, but, I hope and trust, will never have
occasion to blush for any act of mine, and whose claims to
my presence I cannot resist. Thanking you again, please
excuse any further remarks.' x
" Colonel Milligan then retired. A carriage was in waiting,
in which were seated the committee above named, who had
been appointed by the Colonel to bring home his remains.
They escorted him to his residence, about a mile from the
court-house, followed by hundreds. There was a perfect
jam at his house from that until late at night. In the
3treets, from his residence to the great meeting, there was a
grand double procession marching and counter-marching.
" The public meeting was kept up all the afternoon, and
until late in the evening. Speeches were made by distin-
guished men from all parts of the country, who had assem-
bled to welcome the Colonel to his home. Resolutions of
respect and sympathy were passed, and his house was
thronged for many days with persons offering testimonials
of respect."
REV. K J. STEWART.
A CONSTITUTION may be set aside by the political no-
cessities of men in power; houses and towns may be
destroyed under military necessity, and vested rights may be
disregarded by men who seek to gain or maintain empire for
the public good. But no cause can ultimately succeed, whose
leaders openly disregard the rights of the Church, and tram-
ple upon the persons of innocent and helpless men, women,
and children, whose only fault is that they cannot agree
with them in devastating homes and subverting their gov-,
ernment.
Men, therefore, who were loyal to the United States Gov-
ernment during the war, but at the same time desired to be
loyal to the great interests of religion, and to the interests
of our common humanity, must be vexed, if not fearful of
divine retribution, as they discover, if such persons can ever
venture to read, what history must reveal.
In the fall of 1861, the first year of the war, Rev. K. J .
Stewart, a clergyman of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Alex
andria, Va., was rudely interrupted while at the altar of the
church, on the Lord's day, and in the act of offering up
prayers for all Christian rulers and magistrates, by a detail
of armed men, under the command of a captain, lieutenant,
and sergeant, by the direct authority of the Government of
the United States, under circumstances of peculiar sacrilege,
tyranny, and shame. The alleged ground of the arrest was
that he refused to pray for the President of the Uniteu
States. The true object was to intimidate and compel the
clergy of the Border States to withdraw the support and con-
solation of the Christian religion from a stricken people, who
92
REV. K. J. STEWART.
93
tied to it as their only hope, and who used it to strengthen
themselves to great endurance.
It will be seen that the whole matter was planned at Wash
ington, by the head of the State Department ; that it waa
executed by agents selected with reference to the moral de-
gradation of the work, and that it was done deliberately ;
that the Government refused to repudiate the act, and that
the time, mode, and sequel were a refinement upon the atro
cities perpetrated on religion in the reign of the bloody Mary
Nor has any apology ever been made, or any reparation
offered. A quiet and peaceful minister of the Gospel was
arrested without cause, condemned without trial, his church
closed, and subsequently polluted and ruined — the people
scattered and shut out from public worship, and he driven
forth a homeless wanderer. And all this without the sha-
dow of military necessity or political obstruction. For the
clergyman had not refused to use the forms of prayer pre-
scribed in any and all places where he sojourned ; and the
people had been so often arrested in their beds at night, that
they were as a flock of timid sheep, unarmed, and incapable
of resistance, who crowded together in their fold, the tem-
ple of God, to worship Him and seek protection from those
who, with a refinement of cruelty, came upon them almost
every night, burned their houses, and took away to prison
men, women, and children.
It was indeed a reign of terror. No man was safe, no
place, or sanctuary, or conduct was secure. Laws were set
aside ; rank, character, and religious principles only invited
ridicule, insult, or hatred. Few found themselves so secure
as to be safe in asking justice for a fellow-citizen, and none
thought of mercy to the imprudent.
It was one of those solemn occasions when even the most
hardened men are subdued. The priest was about cele-
brating the supper of our blessed Lord — the silent but elo
quent emblems of love were upon the altar. In order to
avoid any embarrassment or misunderstanding in the conduct
of the services, the priest had written to the Department
94
AMERICAN BASTILE.
and explained his exact position, (he was personally known
to more than one of the heads of the Departments.)
The gentlemanly officer in charge as military governor of
the district had been invited to be present and inspect the
services, which he reported to the Government as nnexcejv
tionable, except in the private feelings of the people and the
non-committal nature of the prayers.
The priest had taken the additional precaution to explain
from the desk, that while the prayer appointed to be used
for the President of the Confederate States was voluntarily
omitted, being an American citizen, he could not allow
the State to dictate to the Church what petition should
be asked of the Great King. That it would be better to dio
than to allow the Church to be used as a political tool.
In order to avoid the possibility of mistake, an old sermon
had been preached ; but it alluded to the historical fact that
all our most precious things were " blood-bought," as was
that salvation now about to be commemorated. But while
these people were thus seeking strength in and from our
blessed Lord, in their eucharistic feast, that they might the
more constantly subdue their excited passions and yield due
obedience to the stern powers that were over them, two emis
saries of that very Government were engaged in noting down
from the distant galleries such words as might justify medi-
tated outrage.
Captain. " All precious things are 4 blood-bought ; 1 that means
that freedom is blood-bought ; it means the Magna* Charta is
blood-bought ; it is aimed at the President's proclamation. Write
it down as treason. Damn the 'priests! I intend to make them
preach and pray my way. We fll see which has the longest sword,
their master, or ours! "
Government agent. "If I break this fellow down, all the rest
will cave in."
It was then arranged that they should return and report
to the head of the State Department at Washington ; that
they should come back to church on the next Sunday;
that the most desperate characters should be selected, armed,
RE7 K. J. STEWART.
95
and brought to church; and that in the midst of public
worship this armed band should surround the minister while
in the very act of presenting the request of the people to
his God, and, by presenting sabres and revolvers at his breast,
they would compel him to say such prayers as they should
dictate.
This was carried out to a fuller extent than they contem-
plated. The high official who had authority from the State
Department to set aside all laws, and arrest any one, even
the general in command, stood before the altar of God and
demanded of his ambassador to pervert the power of religion
to the purposes of political jurisprudence, and pray at his
dictation. The officers and men formed around the altar
The minister calmly continued :
"From all evil and mischief ; from all sedition, privy con-
spiracy —
The people. " Good- Lord, deliver us."
Minister. " Bless all Christian rulers and magistrates, and
give them grace to execute justice and maintain truth"
Government officer. " You are a traitor ! in the name and by
the authority of the President of the United States, I arrest youl"
The minister, finding, in the indescribable confusion which
had ensued, that his friends were likely to become involved
in trouble, (for men, whose ideas of religious toleration were
American, were becoming mad by oppression,) slowly arose,
(but not until an officer had wrested the holy book from his
hands, an$ dashed it on the floor,) and facing the chief
officer, said, (as if remembering his Master's words,) " 1 Bet
these go, take me but before I yield myself up to you, I sum-
mon you to appear before the bar of the King of kings, to answer
the charge of interrupting his ambassador, while in the house
of God, and in the discharge of his duty"
Conscious-stricken, the whole band fell back, and one of
them remonstrated at the proceedings ; but the order was
given, and two sergeants, with drawn revolvers, had the
honor of escorting a surpliced priest to prison, through the
streets of the city. There were attendant circumstances,
96
AMERICAN BASTILE.
such as the dragging through the streets young and delicate
females of his family and friends, persons whose rank, sex,
and tenderness of years should have shielded them from the
brutal gaze of the street mobs : circumstances which were
enough to make wise men mad.
And this was on the Lord's day, and under the precincts
of the seat of Government. General Montgomery said to
them : " What ! could you not come on a week-day f Could you
not have had some sort of investigation or trial f Could you not
have consulted me?" They replied, that they acted with the
knowledge and under the direct orders of Government
Upon inquiry, this was found to be a fact.
The newspaper that published a statement of the facts
was destroyed and its office burned. The type of a religious
journal, the " Southern Churchman," was burned, and the
enormities that ensued exceeded those perpetrated upon
peaceable Christian communities by the Mohammedans.
They drove the minister from his home, and after reveng-
ing himself by ministering to the soldiers who had oppressed
him, upon the field of battle, in the prisons, etc., binding up
their wounds, and administering to them the consolations of
religion in the hour of death, and after having the satisfac-
tion of holding back the soldiers of the Confederate States
from interrupting another minister, when praying for Presi-
dent Lincoln, he awaits the grand conclusion of these things.
It is said that a stranger, who was present on the occasion of
this sacrilege, observed, "If the men engaged in this affair do
not all meet with some signal judgment of the Almighty, I shall
begin to question the truth of religion I "
Rev. Mr. Stewart is now located at Spotswood, New Jer-
sey, is a faithful servant in the cause of Christ, and is
the author of "Commentaries on Revelation," and other
religious works.
I
MRS. MARY B. MORRIS.
THE subject of this narrative, Mrs. Mary B. Morris, suf-
fered, perhaps, as great indignities, and was subjected to
as much cruel and barbarous treatment as any other person
incarcerated in the Bastiles of the country during the war.
This lady, whose noble nature is overflowing with the milk
of human kindness, was born in Kentucky, and reared be-
neath a Southern sky. Having removed to Chicago, some
ten or twelve years before the breaking out of the war, with
her husband, Hon. B. S. Morris, who was a staunch sup-
porter and able leader of the Whig party in the State of
Illinois, and who looked upon secession as being wholly
wrong, it was natural that she should entertain the same
views. But it was equally natural that, when the war
actually commenced, and the tread of hostile armies was
pressing the soil that gave her birth, her sympathies should
be enlisted in behalf of those who were near and dear to
her by the ties of consanguinity and friendship — that her
prayers should go up to the God of the Universe, supplicat-
ing Him to protect and defend them. That her sympathies
were thus enlisted, that her prayers were of this character,
was but natural, no one will deny.
The war progressed, fearful and bloody battles were fought,
and, as one of the common results of the war, prisoners were
captured. And as, at the commencement, there was no cartel
for the exchange of prisoners between the North and South,
the prisoners on each side were kept in confinement, at dif
ferent points where prisons were located, for their safe keep-
ing. One of these prisons was located at Chicago, and
known as Camp Douglas.
It was here that Mrs. Morris commenced the ministrations
7 07
08
AMERICAN BASTILE.
of kindness and love toward those unfortunate men who
had heen captured in battling for the lost cause. Many of
these men arrived at the prison in the most destitute condi-
tion, some sick, some wounded, all nearly naked, the blood
marking the tracks of their shoeless feet. Their suffering
condition drew forth the sympathies of women born in the
North, and it is but natural that those who had friends and
relatives among them should endeavor to relieve their wants,
and engage in the merciful mission of providing for them
clothing, to protect them from the chilling winter winds,
and in furnishing medicines and proper food for the sick and
wounded in a strange land.
Seeing her friends and relatives thus circumstanced, the
generous heart of Mrs. Morris was roused to action, and she
immediately set about devising plans whereby she could at
once ameliorate their sad condition. She applied to the com-
mandant of the prison for permission to visit the hospitals,
and, after numerous entreaties and appeals, she obtained it.
From morn till eve did she sit by the bedside of the sick and
dying, supplying the place of mothers far away. She took
with her nice little dainties, that she knew so well were
needed in sickness. Bed-clothing she furnished in lar^o
quantities, to make them comfortable. But not only did she
administer to the wants of the sick: she also took upon
herself the duty of furnishing them well with clothing, of
which all were scantily supplied ; and so assiduously did she
apply herself to the work, that in a short time she saw all
of those poor fellows warmly clad'.
The war went on, the strife grew deadlier, the breach
wider, battles were more frequent and fierce, the worst pas-
dions of men were stirred up, and as all things grew worse,
bo the treatment of prisoners of war. Camp Douglas had a
change of commandants — one that was not at all advan-
tageous to the prisoners. An officer was placed in command
who rejoiced over the death of any and all Rebels, and did
everything that he could to render the prisoners under his
MBS. MARY B. MORRIS.
control more miserable than they were before. One of his
acts was to prohibit Mrs. Morris from visiting the camp.
This was the severest blow that he conld have inflicted
apou the unfortunate prisoners, and their sufferings wero
greatly increased. Still she did all that she could, notwith-
standing she was thus debarred from visiting the prison.
She sent in food and clothing, but alas ! the most of it was
appropriated by the officers in charge. This privilege of
sending in food and clothing was, however, soon denied her,
and hence the charitable offices and humane labors which
this lady had so arduously and constantly performed were
brought to an end.
She had done all that she could, or was allowed to do, in
this humane work. What she did, was done with the full
knowledge and consent of those in command of the prison,
with the exception, that on a few occasions, she furnished
money to escaped prisoners to enable them to get to Canada.
These were mere boys, who, upon their arrival in Canada,
were placed at school, and there kept until the close of the
war. So that, instead of working against the Government,
she actually did it a service.
We give this brief statement of facts in order to show the
malignity of the Government in the arrest and imprison
ment of this estimable lady.
In November, 1864, the vindictiveness of the party in
power was at its highest pitch, and all who dared to differ
from it became the recipients of a relentless persecution. The
Hon. B. S. Morris was one of this class, although obeying
the laws of his country, and doing nothing but what the
Constitution guaranteed him the right to do. At midnight
his house was surrounded by armed soldiers. He was ordered
to open his doors, when fifty soldiers, wearing the uniform
of the United States, marched in, seized and dragged him
off to prison. This was the commencement of the cruel treat-
ment that was so mercilessly heaped upon Mrs. Morris. Afte?
they had imprisoned her husband, she requested that she
might be allowed to see him. The answer from his brutal
100
AMERICAN BASTILE.
jailer was that " she would not see him again ; thai ne would
be hanged, and that speedily ; " thus adding insult to injury,
increasing the fears of a woman already racked with the
pain of uncertainty as to her husband's fate.
But she was permitted to see him sooner than she expected,
and under circumstances that she little dreamed of. In
about four weeks after his arrest and imprisonment, early in
the morning, she was informed by a servant that the house
was again surrounded by armed soldiers. The cause of their
being there she could not surmise — certainly the United
States Government was not going to degrade itself by arrest-
ing a woman. Yes, this was the mission of its seventy-five
soldiers, on that November morning. The house was opened,
and the healthy and robust Captain of the Invalid Corps,
(into which he had got in order to keep at a safe distance
from Rebel bullets,) after having placed some fifty of hit
men around the house to see that the object of his pursuit
did not escape, marched boldly at the head of his remaining
twenty-five men into the house, called for Mrs. Morris, and
informed her that she was his prisoner. He then ordered
her to produce all of her letters, that he might examine them.
This she was compelled to do. After he had examined them,
and finding that no treason was contained in them, he con-
cluded that the treasonable documents were kept back, and
thereupon instituted a search himself. He ransacked every
drawer and closet in the house, and carried otf more than a
bushel of letters, but found nothing objectionable. He then
ordered her to go with him to prison. It being early in the
morning, and having only thrown on her wrapper, she re-
spectfully asked the privilege of putting on some more suit-
able clothing. She was informed that she would not be
allowed to go out of his sight for one minute. She told him
that she could not go out apparelled as she was, and musk
put on more comfortable clothing, and that he could go into
her room and examine everything in it again, if he was not
satisfied with his first search, and convince himself that there
was nothing there that she wished to destroy, or that he might
MRS. MART B. MORRIS.
101
not see. But the valiant Captain was not inclined *o allow
the first prisoner he had captured any possible chance of
escape, and 2onsequently would not allow her to go alone.
She was compelled to have him in her room while she changed
her clothing, a servant-girl standing in front of her to protect
her, as much as possible, from his sight.
She was taken to Camp Douglas and delivered into the
hands of Captain Sherley, who was a subordinate of Colonel
Sweet, the commandant. The Colonel ordered Captain Sher-
ley to confine her in what was known as the White-Oak
Dungeon. This was a dark, damp, filthy place, swarming
with vermin. But the Captain, being a man in whose breast
the instincts of manly honor were not quite dead, refused em-
phatically to obey the order. The Colonel informed him
that if his order was not obeyed, he would place him
under arrest. To which the Captain retorted that he would
let it be known that the cause of his arrest was for his refusal
to obey a brutal order. This caused him to paus% and con-
sider, and he finally concluded to allow the Captain to take
her and her husband into his own charge, and confine them
whore he saw fit. He very generously took them to his own
quarters, and had a room fitted up for them, which was in-
side of the camp enclosure, and made them as comfortable
as he could under the circumstances. She remained here for
about two weeks, not knowing why she was arrested and im-
prisoned, or what charges they had against her. She was
then ordered to Cincinnati for trial, when she was informed
that she had been arrested upon the charge of conspiring
to effect the release of the prisoners in Camp Douglas, and
for which she would very likely be hanged ; and if she was
not, she ought to be. She was taken to Cincinnati under a
strong guard. Before she started, her numerous friends
wished to see her, and begged the Colonel for permission to
do so, but he was deaf to all their entreaties.
She arrived in Cincinnati in the dead of winter, was con-
veved to McLean Barracks in company with her husband,
aud put into a miserable, gloomy, and filthy room, the furni-
102
AMERICAN BASTILE.
ttire of which consisted of a wooden bench and a bunk, made
of rough, unplaned boards. The grate in the fire-place was
small and broken, and the fuel furnished not sufficient to
make a fire.
She begged for permission to send out and purchase a*
least a bed and bedding, if they would allow her nothing
more. But no attention was given either to her request or
condition. Imagine her horrible situation — in dead of winter,
confined in a cold and cheerless room, where daylight could
scarcely be seen through the cracks of its boarded-up win-
dows— little or no fire by which to warm her benumbed
limbs — nothing to be seen but the armed sentinel, as he
walked to and fro upon the corridor in front of the open
door — nothing to be heard, save the wind as it moaned
without or whistled through the apertures of the broken
windows. Night came on — she was almost worn out by the
fatigue of her journey, harassed in mind and body, sick and
suffering from the inhuman treatment she was subjected to
and compelled to endure : how badly she needed rest and re-
pose ! But how was she to sleep upon those hard, rough
boards, through that cold winter night, with no covering but
the smoked and blackened ceiling of the filthy room ! She
»at upon the wooden bench over the smouldering embers in
the broken grate until far into the night, when nature at
last overcame her, and she stretched her wearied and almost
exhausted form upon the hard and uninviting boards, pray-
ing God to protect and preserve her through the rest of the
eight, hoping that the morning would bring relief, and
thinking that the authorities in whose hands she was did
aot know of her cruel treatment, and that when they ascer-
tained the facts, they would certainly remove her to better
and more comfortable quarters. But she was doomed to dis-
appointment. The authorities knew full well where she was,
and how she was being treated, had indeed ordered it, just
M it was, and, instead of bettering her condition, they would
havo made it worse, if possible.
The morning of the second day of her imprisonment id
UBS. MARY B. MOEEIS.
103
this wretched place found her suffering severely from cold
and hunger, for she had eaten nothing for thirty-six hours.
Those in charge of the prison had furnished nothing but a
tin cup half filled with a vile concoction, which resembled
very dirty dish-water, but which they termed soup. This
was all that was furnished, and neither she nor any other
human being could have eaten it. It looked as if death was
to be meted out to her by the slow and painful process of
starvation.
The Government officials knew the charges they had made
against her were groundless, without a particle of proof to
sustain them, as the sequel proved. But they thought as the
charges could not be sustained, they would by their brutal and
inhuman treatment caase her death at all events. And they
came very near accomplishing their hellish purpose. Her
treatment during the succeeding three days was but a repe-
tition of the cruelty of the first. On the fifth day, Mrs,
Sarah Teter, a friend of Mrs. Morris, through the influence-
of her son, Mr. Peter, who was a warm supporter of the Ad-
ministration, succeeded in obtaining permission to send to
the prisoner a few eatables. And General Willich, who,
although an infidel, set an example worthy to have been imi-
tated by those who had immediate control of the prison, and
who claimed to be Christian men, after seeing the wretched,
and horrible condition in which she was placed, swore, by
that place that we all hope to avoid, that she should be al
lowed, at least, to buy the necessaries of life. But this small'
relief was not afforded until after she had been there some
five or six days. She had induced a soldier to sell her an old
wornout straw bedtick, to cover the boards on which she
had been sleeping until her limbs and body pained and ached.
The Government about this time magnanimously furnished
her with a coarse army-blanket. Thus did she live for mom
than two months — December, January, and part of Febru-
ary— in this wretched, cold, and filthv room, not being al-
lowed for one minute to go out of it.
This horrible treatment and severe confinement began to
104
AMERICAN BASTILE.
tell upon her health. Her constitution was breaking down
beneath it. At last a physician had to be consulted. lie
at once went before a justice of the peace, and made an affi-
davit that, unless she was allowed to take some exercise, and
her treatment otherwise materially improved, she could not
possibly live six weeks longer. Upon this statement made
under oath, her relentless and cruel persecutors permitted her
to walk out on the corridor fronting her room one hour and
a half daily. But this slight improvement of her condition
was not made until it was almost too late to benefit her,
for soon after disease seized her, and she was compelled to
keep her bed. Her only nurse or attendant was her hus-
band, and when he was absent, in attendance upon his trial,
which occupied some six hours a day, a Mr. Patton, who was
a prisoner in the barracks, was placed in the room.
On this trial, all the evidence they had against Mrs. Morris
was brought out. The one solitary witness against her was
John T. Shanks, one of the meanest and most despicable
villains that ever the gallows has been cheated of — a liar, a
thief, and a forger, as was known to Government officials,
and fully proven on the trial. When the war broke out this
Shanks was undergoing a sentence of imprisonment, in the
Texas penitentiary, for forgery. A mistaken clemency
granted him a pardon, that he might join the Southern army.
Captured with General Morgan's forces, in his famous raid
north of the Ohio, Shanks was imprisoned with the privates
of Morgan's command, at Camp Douglas. Here he secretly
hired himself, as a spy and informer, to the military author-
ities. Not satisfied with acting the spy in the camp, he
volunteered to play the role of an escaped prisoner, in order
to entrap Mrs. Morris, by appealing to her sympathies.
With inconceivable meanness and hypocrisy, he went to her
house, and representing himself as an escaped prisoner in
destitute circumstances, induced her to furnish him some
money, promising, on his honor, it should never be spoken
of to her injury. Returning to the camp, he was put forth
MRS. MARY B. MORRIS.
105
by the military conspirators as her accuser, and on his infor
mation she was arrested.
Such was the instrument and such the trickery employed
by the Government officials, to manufacture a charge of
treason against a lady whose only crime was that she had a
generous and feeling heart, which could not resist the appeals
of misfortune. It was infamous to set such a wretch to
awaken her sympathy, by lying tales of destitution and dis-
tress, only to make her kindness of heart an excuse for cast-
ing her into prison, and subjecting her to unheard-of indig-
nities and sufferings. The officials who descended to such
base artifices disgraced the Government they represented.
Their conduct only illustrated the unprincipled malignity
which then animated its councils. This persecution of an
innocent lady will remain a foul blot on the Administration
which countenanced it.
After this vile informer and perjured wretch had given
his testimony against Mrs. Morris before the military com-
mission, on the trial of Judge Morris and others, and its
falsity and incompetency were fully exposed, the Government
had no longer any excuse for continuing her imprisonment.
As the condition of her release, she made a confession that
she had been guilty of the high crimes and misdemeanors of
having given, on several occasions, food, clothing, and money,
to escaped prisoners, to enable them to get to Canada. This
confession was eagerly sought by Mrs. Morris's persecutors, as
the flimsy excuse by which they hoped to justify to the pub-
lic their own flagrant violations of the Constitution, in incar-
cerating a lady in one of their horrible Bastiles, without due
process of law, and inflicting upon her a severe and protracted
punishment, without trial by any tribunal whatever. To
obtain it, they promised to permit her to remain in Cincin
nati with her husband, during his trial — a promise which
they intended to violate when they made it.
A valorous Adjutant of the Home Guard sent this confes-
sion to headquarters, accompanied by a missive of his own,
full of bitter and vindictive denunciation, and containing a
106
AMERICAN BASTILE.
recommendation that she be summarily banished from thu
country. But his superiors, not seeing the matter in thia
light, or perhaps fearing to proceed farther in this merciless
and illegal persecution of a lady of the highest respectability,
mitigated the sentence recommended by the brave and mag-
nanimous Adjutant, by banishing her, during the Avar, to the
residence of her father, in the loyal State of Kentucky.
Thus was closed this disgraceful chapter in the history of
the persecution of American citizens by a Government which
boasted that it was the best the world ever saw, and yet was
guilty of acts of oppression and perfidy to its own citizens,
which would disgrace a Russian autocrat or a Turkish despot
HIRAM WENT WORTH.
TIIE following letter is from a victim of despotism. As
it speaks for itself, we make no comments. The lettei
is addressed to Hon. M. Y. Johnson, of Galena, 111., a fel-
low-prisoner in Fort Delaware, formerly an inmate of Fort
Lafayette :
* Hon. M. Y. Johnson :
"Dear Sir: Yours of the 16th arrived on the 17th, in company
with a note from Senator Rice, which I will copy verbatim, for
you to dispose of as you may think proper. Such a document
ought not to be kept in the dark. Here it is :
" ' Washington, Dec. 14, 1862.
M "Sir: Yours of the 11th inst. is received — you were suspected
of disloyalty — arrested — offered your freedom if you would take
the oath of allegiance — this you refused — thus confirming tho
suspicions of your disloyalty — as it appears optional with your-
self whether you remain in prison longer or not — I cannot seo
the necessity of giving myself any trouble upon the occasion —
you say you ask no favors — your independence may keep you
company until you are satisfied that you cannot receive all the
blessings and protection of a free country, while refusing to sup-
port her iustitutions.
"'Respectfully, yours,
"'Henry M. Rice.'
"So much from Mr. Rice — the Honorable Henry M. Rice — i
the squaw-compell'tng Rice, of Minnesota. It's all very fine, Mr.
Rice, but what has become of m}T constitutional rights? Did
my being 4 suspected of disloyalty' annihilate them? Did an
arbitrary arrest deprive me of my birthright? Having been ar-
rested and imprisoned on suspicion of disloyalty, have I not
clearly the right to demand either an unconditional release, or
such a trial as the Constitution provides for those accused of thai
107
108
AMERICAN BA8TILE.
crime? 'Tis a fine thing to offer a man his freedom, if he will
aweai ahegiance to a tyrant who is murdering him piecemeal,
without the shadow of a cause. 'Tis an extravagant eulogy on
the recent conduct of his Dakota relatives in Minnesota — a des-
perate attempt to make 6avage treachery virtuous by compari-
son — for this Indian fur-trader (whose popularity with the red-
skins alone elevated him to Congress) to tell a loyal, native-bom
citizen (who has been in close confinement nearly seven months,
rather than plead guilty to a false charge which would make his
name infamous forever) that his independence may keep him
company until he is satisfied that he cannot receive all the bless-
ings and protection of a free country, while refusing to support
her * institutions/ My independence, which this descendant of
Esau attempts to ridicule, was -purchased with the blood of a
noble ancestry, and will be scrupulously maintained at all hazards.
He could not have consigned it to better company or safer
keeping. I am already satisfied that the blessings and protection
of a country whose institutions come and go at the bidding of
one man, are not worth receiving; but I am receiving them, satis-
faction, health, and Esau's opinion to the contrary notwithstand-
ing; and if 'refusing to support her institutions' is a proof of
disloyalty, refusing to support her Constitution becomes an evi-
dence of loj'alty, for many of the former are flagrant viola-
tions of the latter; and yet his blockheadcd stupidity informs
me that my refusing to take the oath of allegiance confirmed the
suspicions of my disloyalty. Well, supposing it did ? I have
challenged suspicions repeatedly, and received no answer. Did
my refusal to plead guilty preclude me the right of a trial? His
extreme dulness accuses me of asking no favors; but does it there-
fore follow that I shall receive no justice? His unblushing
treachery says, in other words, that 1 may remain here until I
am satisfied with purchasing my inalienable rights at Abolition
prices — which means forever.
"During the last Presidential canvass, I was three times
arrested for expressing Union sentiments in a Southern State.
At the commencement of the war, I declined the offer of a com-
mission in the Confederate arm}-, and enlisted as a private in the
brst regiment of Minnesota volunteers. After serving nearly
five months in that capacity, I was discharged for 'military in-
ability,' (wearing lon^ hair,) my protest to the contrary notwith-
HIRAM WIKTWOEIH.
109
standing I subsequently served as an indepesdent soldier more
thai) a month, gratuitously, in the same regiment; several weeks
after whuh, 1 was 'suspected of disloyalty' — and by whom?
Why, by a drunken lieutenant, who had never seen me before in
his life; but who said, nevertheless, that he believed me to be
'a damned rebel spy, and that if he could have his way, he would
hang me on the spot with a piece of telegraph wire/ Having,
however, no authority to hang me, he graciously contented him-
self with arresting me and taking me to Martinsburg, where he
tried to lionize himself by reporting that he had captured Colo-
nel Ashby, which created so much excitement, that the guard
found it quite difficult to prevent my being taken from them
before they could get me to the Provost-Marshal's office ; and the
Marshal found it necessary to double the guard, and send also an
advance guard to clear the way to the jail, where he ordered me
to be kept for my own safety till the false report could be satis-
factorily contradicted, and the mob dispersed, which numbered
not less than two thousand men. Thus the scene closed at
about 9 o'clock p.m. of the 6th of June last. About twenty-four
hours later, the Marshal (Major Walker, of the Tenth Maine
regiment,) ordered my release, provided I would leave town im-
mediately. I countermanded his order, by informing him that 1
did not now propose to 1 leave town,' till I could have daylight
to do it by, and my own time to do it in. The next (Sunday)
morning I was unconditionally released ; but, owing to the reli-
gious habits of Virginia cars, I did not 'leave town ' until Mon-
day, when I returned to Harper's Ferry, where I had previously
engaged myself as brakesman on the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-
road ; and there, about 2 p.m. of the same day, I was again
arrested — whether on 'suspicion of disloyalty,' or on the sup-
position that I had neither money, friends, nor constitutional
rights, I cannot tell : all I can say is, I was kept there two
days, in a filthy guard-house, without being allowed to send a
telegram, or even a letter, to Washington, and was then sent to
Baltimore, without the privilege of going or sending to my
boarding-house, in Harper's Ferry, for a carpet-sack full of cloth-
ing, before starting. After several days treatment in the Balti-
more city jail, the overseer of that extensive liberty-mill came
to my cell, and asked me if T was willing to take the oath of
allogiance; to which I replied, ' I am now. as I have over been,
110
AMERICAN BASTILE.
a lo}-al citizen of the United States; and whenever anything din-
loyal to the Constitution has been proved against nic, I shall bo
ready to renew my allegiance.' The operator then said, ' The
question is, will you take the oath of allegiance? I want a
monosyllable for an answer — yes or no.' As I had one of tho
words he mentioned at my tongue's end, of course, I instantly
relieved the patriotic agony of the suffering miller, by giving
him his inevitable toll, lie seemed to accept it as a great favor,
and ground me some seven weeks without any extra charge.
The operation was performed in a small apartment, vulgarly
called a cell, where 1 fared sumptuously, on rye bread and bean
soup, every day. I was then favored with a gratuitous pleasure-
trip to Fortress Monroe, and afterward lodged in another citizen-
factory, which was also conducted on the oath principle by Gen-
eral Morris, who also wanted a ' monosyllable.' As the one I
experimented with in tho city succeeded so well, I supposed it
would win in Fort McHenry; but General Morris is a crabbed old
cuss ; I don't think anything would suit him ; he only ground me
two weeks in a stable hay-loft — on hard bread and salt horse, at
that. I was glad to get 'shut' of him, and regard my second
attempt with tho talismanic 'no' as a 'great Union victory/
after all. It wins in Fort Delaware ever}' time. I repeated it,
the day I received the letter, with the utmost assurance, as I
cow consider myself permanently located. I must confess 'I
cannot sec the necessity' of my 'supporting her institutions/ as
long as 'her institutions' insist on supporting me; nor is it 'op-
tional with myself whether I remain in prison longer or not/
while honor is demanded of me as the price of liberty.
" Mr. Jobnson, one favor — a message to bear:
Tell Abe Lincoln I've no allegiance to spare;
Tbat tbe freedom be seeks for tbe African slave,
Will not pay for tbe sbackles and blood of tbe brave i
Tbat 1 ask for no favor — would utter no groan,
Tbougb my life for political sins should atone:
But tbat justice must bave me, if guilty of crime,
Or I will bave justice, if robbed of my time.
Ob, Democracy! once the proud boast of our land,
Be tbou treason or not, here 's my heart and my band;
I am proud of the chains that. I wear for thy sake,
But, oh! why dost thou slumber? Awaken! awake t
"Yours, truly, HIEAM WENTWOKTH.
•« Fort Delaware, Dec. 20, 1862."
BON. FRANCIS D. FLANDERS, AND JUDGE JOSEPH
R. FLANDERS.
HON. FRANCIS D. FLANDERS, and Judge Joseph R.
Flanders, brothers, reside at Malone, Franklin County,
New York.
They were arrested about seven o'clock, on the morning
of Tuesday, the 22d day of October, 1861, by four Deputy
Marshals, coming in upon them while they were at break-
fast with their families. They were told by the officers that
their instructions were to disregard any writ of habeas cor-
pus which might be issued in their behalf, and arrest any
person attempting to take them from their custody, under
any process or authority whatever.
The following is a copy of the order under which the
Deputy Marshal acted :
"Department op State,
Washington, Oct. 11, 1861.
"Edward I. CnASE, Esq., United States Marshal of the Northern
District of New York, Lockport:
"Sir: Please confer with the United States District Attorney
for the Northern District of New York, and arrest Francis D.
Flanders, and Joseph R. Flanders, and convey them to Fort
Lafayette.
" Very truly yours, •
« Wm. H. Seward."
There was a regiment of volunteers in camp at Ogdensburg,
about sixty miles from the place of their arrest, the two
places being connected by railroad. The Deputy Marshal
said they had made arrangements for any requisite number
of these soldiers being brought down upon them in case of
any resistance. The chief officer who made the arrest told
them that Judge Ilall, the United States District Judge for
ill
112
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the Northern District of New York, was at Albany when
they left, and that if he was still there, they should be taken
before him and have an examination.
But they did not allow them to stop at Albany, and evi*
dently did not intend to do so when they gave this assurance
They were taken to the cars at ten o'clock, and travelled
night and day, until they reached Fort Lafayette, in the
afternoon of the next day. They were delivered by the
Deputy Marshal to Colonel Burke, at Fort Hamilton, and
by him sent over to, and placed in the custody of a ruffianly
civilian lieutenant, of the name of Wood. He took from
them all their money, giving a written acknowledgment for
it. They were then placed in a large battery-room of the
Fort, in which were five or six guns upon carriages. This
room was then tenanted by forty or fifty prisoners, of a most
promiscuous sort, and of every variety of character. They
had no tables, chairs, washstands, or bowls, and all the
prisoners had to go out in the square of the Fort to wash,
the weather being cold and frosty. The beds furnished them
at Fort Lafayette were comfortable. All that they had to
eat was cooked by a soldier, and served to them in the soldiers'
mess-room on a common table. Their meals immediately
succeeded those of the soldiers, and consisted, for breakfast,
of a slice of half-boiled fat pork, a slice of very poor stale
bread, and a tin-cup of black, bitter liquid, called coffee, with-
out milk, and sweetened with strong and unpleasant sugar
or molasses. At dinner they had the same kind of bread,
some thin beef-soup, and boiled beef or pork. For supper,
the same as breakfast.
A day or two before they left for Fort Warren they were
furnished with tables, chairs and pails. They remained in
Fort Lafayette one week, and were then conveyed, on the
steamer State of Maine, together with about a thousand
others, prisoners of war, political prisoners, and a guard, to
Fort Warren, in Boston Harbor. They were on board the
State of Maine some forty hours, including two nights, and
all felt that, overloaded as it was, should a storm arise.
THE BROTHERS FLANDERS.
113
nothing could save them from destruction. The few state-
rooms were occupied by those fortunate enough to get them ;
all the rest slept on chairs, round stools, settees, and on the
floor of the deck. They had nothing to eat but hard bis-
cuit and raw meat, with coffee once or twice, without milk,
brought around in horse-buckets, and dipped out in tin cups.
When they entered Fort Warren, on the morning of the
1st November, no provision had been made for them, and
the first that they got to eat was late in the afternoon, when
a barrel of hard biscuit, and a raw ham set upon the head
of a barrel, were placed on tbe parade-ground of the fort,
and from tbese the prisoners made their only meal that day.
Things were but little, if any better, the next day. After that
the prisoners were allowed soldiers' rationc, but no conve-
niences for cooking, without going into a large room where
there were forty or more prisoners all struggling for the use
of one common stove.
When they arrived at Fort Warren, they had nothing to
Bleep on but a stone or brick floor, or some wooden slats like
a gridiron, without beds or blankets. After a week or more
they were furnished with a straw tick and a sboddy blanket,
and some time afterward, with a moss mattress and pillow
and some additional blankets, and an iron bedstead.
After they had been in the Fort some weeks, Seth E. Haw-
ley, of New York, as agent of Mr. Seward, came to the Fort
and offered to investigate the cases of all prisoners of state,
who would first take the oath prescribed by the Lincoln
Government, called the oath of allegiance.
The prisoners drew up and caused to be handed to him
their reasons for refusing the Lincoln oath, and a protest
against it, of which the following is a copy :
•* The undersigned prisoners confined in Fort Warren, Boston
Harbor, having been offered a discharge upon the condition of
our taking the oath prescribed for certain officers of the United
States, by a law passed at the late extra session of Congress,
decline to take said oath, upon the following grounds : — We
8
114
AMERICAN BASTILE.
have been guilty of no offence against the laws of our country,
but have simply exercised our constitutional rights as free
citizens in the open and manly expression of our opinions upon
public affairs. We have been placed here without legal charges,
or indeed any charges whatsoever being made against us, and
upon no legal process, but upon an arbitrary and illegal order of
the Hon. Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of the United States. Every
moment of our detention here is a denial of our most sacred
rights. We are entitled to, and hereby demand an unconditional
discharge; and, while we would cheerfull}7 take the oath pre-
scribed by the Constitution of the United States, because we are,
always have been, and always intend to be loyal to that instru-
ment, (though, at the same time, protesting against the right of
the Government to impose even such an oath on us as the con-
dition of our discharge,) we cannot consent to take the oath now
required of us, because we hold no office of any kind under the
Government of the United States, and it is an oath unknown to,
and unauthorized by the Constitution, and commits us to tho
support of the Government, though it may be acting in direct
conflict with the Constitution, and deprives us of the right of
freely discussing, and by peaceful and constitutional methods
opposing its measures — a right sacred to freedom, and which no
American citizen should voluntarily surrender. That such is tuo
interpretation put upon this oath, and such its intended effect,
is plainly demonstrated by the fact that it is dictated to us as a
condition of our discharge from an imprisonment inflicted upon
as for no other cause than that we had exercised the abovo
specified constitutional rights.
" F. D. FLANDERS.
"J. E. FLANDEIIS."
Nothing further was heard of this.
A few weeks afterward the wives of the prisoners, accom
panied by their fathers, and carrying a letter from Hon. E. D.
Morgan, Governor of New York, to the President, urging a
hearing of their cases, proceeded to "Washington, and were,
by the kind offices of Hon. Erastus Corning, immediately
introduced to Mr. Lincoln. They stated the object of their
tifcit, when the President replied that these things belonged
THE BROTHERS FLANDERS.
115
entirely to Mr. Seward 'a department ; he knew nothing about
them ; had never heard of their cases before, and they must
go to Mr. Seward.
They accordingly went to the office of the Secretary of State,
where they were received very reluctantly, and only through
Mr. Coming's influence. Scarcely had they become seated
when the Hon. Secretary turned to one of the ladies, and in a
very loud and excited tone of voice, said : " Well ! what pro-
positions have you got to make?" She replied: "We "did
not come to make propositions, but to demand a trial for
our husbands, or their unconditional release." "No!" was
the short answer, in a still higher key. Astonished more by
his manner than his answer, a pause ensued, when he said :
"Have you anything more to say?" Mrs. F. D. Flanders
Raid : " Our husbands object to taking the Lincoln oath, but
are willing to take the oath prescribed by the Constitution."
He replied : "Any loyal man will take that oath ; your hus-
bands are traitors ; I have put them in there, and they shall
stay there." She answered: " They are not traitors." He
said : " They are traitors ; you say they are not traitors, and
1 say they are traitors ; now what are you going to do about
it?" She then said: " Governor Morgan wrote a letter to
the President, calling for a trial for them as citizens of his
State." He replied : " I don't care if all the governors in the
world should ask it, they shan't come out till they take that
oath." One of the ladies then asked: "Won't you tell us
what they have done ? " "I make no charges ; I won't argue
with you ; they shall take that oath ;" was the reply, in the
most excited manner. He then added : "If you haven't any-
thing more to say, I have done with you ; I have nothing
more to say to you." Mrs. J. R. Flanders, whose father is a
Republican, then asked: "Won't you hear my father? He
supports your Government, and is a Republican." " The
more shame to him that he has not brought up his daughter
and her husband better," was the dignified and courteous
answer of the Hon. Secretary of State. Dr. Bates, the fathe?
of Mrs. F. D. Flanders, then said "The gentlemen have
INT
AMERICAN BASTILE
been in prison almost four months; haven't you punished
them enough to let them have a trial ?" "I have no trial to
give ; I leave that to my successor ; " was the reply. Mr.
Raymond (the Republican) then said : " I am sorry to hear
such a remark from you as you made to my daughter a mo-
ment ago." "I am not sorry. I repeat it. You ought to be
ashamed, not to have brought your daughter up better," said
this model of suavity, and thus the interview ended.
On the 14th day of February, 1862, Hon. Edwin M. Stanton,
who had succeeded General Cameron, issued an order, by direc-
tion of the President, taking the political prisoners, as prisoners
of state, out of the hands of Seward, and placing them under
the control of the head of the War Department, and stating
that all who were not spies of the enemy, or of such charac-
ter that their liberation would be dangerous to the public
safety, would be liberated upon their signing a parole not to
give aid and comfort to the enemy, of which the following ia
a copy :
{i Fort Warren,
Boston Harbor, Feb. 22, 1862.
" 1, {here follows the name,) a prisoner, do pledge my word of
honor, that I will render no aid or comfort to the enemies in
hostility to the Government of the United States.
{Signature)'1
They signed this parole on the 22d of February, and on
fche next day, the 23d, they were landed at Boston, and
Government care for them ceased.
On the twelfth day after the arrest of these gentlemen,
two of the marshals concerned in their seizure returned to
Malone, and, taking with them the sheriff of the county and
several constables to protect them against helpless women
and children, thoroughly searched their houses and offices,
took from them all the private letters and papers, the accu-
mulation of years, many of them valuable, and sent them
to the Secretary of State ; and up to this time they have not
l>een able to recover them
ARCHIBALD McGREGOR.
ARCHIBALD McGREGOR was born in Hamilton, Scot-
land, in December, 1819. His father, John McGregor,
was educated at Glasgow University, was a teacher in Scot-
land, and, till near his deuth, was a successful teacher of an
academy at "Wadsworth, Ohio, where Archibald received his
education. It was love of liberty, and opposition to the Brit-
ish system of government, that induced the father to emigrate
with his family to America, in 1828. In these principles, he
carefully educated his family ; and, like his father, the subject
of this sketch has ever been a zealous and influential Democrat.
In 1848, Mr. Archibald McGregor was solicited by the leading
Democrats of Canton, where he was teaching, to take charge
of the " Stark County Democrat." He accepted the offer,
and still continues the business, assisted by his son. Mr.
McGregor has filled the positions of County School Examiner,
County Auditor, member of the Canton Board of Education,
and School Examiner for the Canton Union School. As an
editor, he has always published a vigorous, fearless, and
decidedly Democratic paper — devotion to principle trans-
cending all personal considerations.
In 1854-55, his paper dealt heavy blows against Know
Nothingism ; and his speeches over the county, exposing that
infamous organization, brought down upon him the whole
vengeance of the party. Ever avoiding personal wrangling,
he, as a public man, has been accustomed to great plainness
of speech. As will be seen, Mr. McGregor was an object of
especial Radical attention during the late war. His invariablii
gentlemanly deportment, and high character as a citizen,
always commanded the respect of the Conservative portion of
bis political opponents, even in the time of their wildest fury
117
118 AMERICAN BASTILE.
From the beginning of the late civil war, Mr. McGregor
was greatly persecuted and maligned by the " trooly loil "
denizens of his section. He has suffered imprisonment, loss
of property, and received other attentions, tending to prove
him an unswerving friend of constitutional liberty, and one
not to be driven from the path of duty by the clamor or
threats of his opponents.
On the evening of the 17th of April, 1861, Mr. McGregor
was seized by a mob of several hundred excited and infuri-
ated men, at Massillon, Ohio, whither he had gone on busi-
ness — their excuse being that his paper did not favor the
war, which had then broken out.
The mob were about to hurl him into the canal, when the
Mayor — a Republican — came to his rescue, and succeeded
in getting him into his office. The mob surrounded it, and
yelled for a victim. After about an hour or so, a carriago
was procured, and, aided by a body-guard, he succeeded in
passing through the vindictive crowd, whose demoniacal
shouts rent the air, and, having entered the vehicle, was
rapidly driven to Canton, a distance of eight miles.
Arriving there, and before going to his home, he called
upon a Democratic friend, to inform him of the outrage at
Massillon, and there learned that an excited crowd had also
Been ranging about Canton, in search of him as their chief
object of vengeance. This mob had been in waiting at the
railroad depot, expecting him to return home in the evening
train, and, not finding him there, proceeded thence to hia
house, where they called for him by name. Mrs. McGregor
stepped upon the portico, and demanded their business with
her husband, and ordered them away. These were the first
lucky escapes, but by no means the last ; for his paper, com-
ing out every week, kept alive the animosity of the war
party, and made him a constant object of their vindictive-
ness. This they manifested in various ways — withdrawal
of patronage — loss of subscribers — threats of persona* in-
jury, and lestroying his office, which was done on th ?£J
of August.
ARCH. BALD McGEEGOK.
119
It is unnecessary to detail the numerous personal risks
to which such a man as Mr. McGregor was subject. For a
time he could not walk the street without hearing from be-
hind him, frequently muttered, "Traitor." If he took tho
cars to travel, he was sure to be recognized by some sneak,
who would endeavor to excite the ire of the passengers or
"soldiers" — which latter generally comprised a large por-
tion of the passengers — against him. This may serve to
show the constant danger to which prominent Democrats
were exposed, during the first }^ear of the war, and even
afterward, from the fury of a mob, who, ceasing to be gov-
erned by reason, were led on by their frenzied passions.
Although Canton was usually a Democratic town, yet there,
as elsewhere, the Abolition war furor was paramount.
If a Democratic paper did not proclaim war with the zeal
of ti Mohammedan, and denounce all who opposed it with tho
opprobrious epithet of " traitors," and recommend them as
fit subjects for " the rope and the halter," the editor himself
was liable to receive these delicate attention?.
The feverish state of the public mind wa?» such, that in a
few minutes a crowd of frenzied individuals could be got
together ready for the commission of almo/it any manner of
violence. Ropes were hung upon all the lamp-posts about
the town, and "Death to traitors " was p ominently posted
up. Amid this wild fury and rage, Mr. M< Gregor continued
to issue his paper, without swerving or cri nging, yet with a
degree of prudence of expression which gave his venomous
political enemies no opportunity for wreaking vengeance upon
him, although they frequently sent maiked copies of his
paper to the Departments whence issued the orders for arbi
trary arrests.
On the night of August 22, 1861, the newspaper and job
office of the " Stark County Democrat " was broken into by a
squad of new recruits, mostly sons of prominent families of
Canton. The leader in this nefarious work was Lieutenant
Edward S. Meyer, son of an attorney at law in Canton. He
was aided by Jeff Reynolds, son of Madiso:; Reynolds, 0. F
120
AMERICAN BAST1LE.
Browning, Jr., Thomas Patton, Jr., and several others,
about twenty in all. The office wa9 in the second story of
the county buildings, on the first floor of which were the
county offices. The building not being occupied, no alarm
was given, and they went on with their work of destruction
unmolested. Several Democrats saw the affair, but gave no
alarm, fearful, probably, that serious consequences might
ensue by arraying one portion of the community against the
other.
The marauders did their work effectually, making a bon-
fire in the street, and burning wood, type, stands, cases, and
all that was combustible. The destruction was complete,
the old newspaper hand-press being the only article Oi any
value that escaped.
Mr. McGregor knew nothing of the destruction of his
office till near breakfast-time the next morning, lie had
been in the habit of guarding it till eleven or twelve o'clock,
and at times having a guard remain over night. The estab-
lishment had often before been threatened with destruction,
but hopes were entertained that it would continue to escape.
The news spread over the country like wildfire, and the
excitement and indignation amons: Democrats were intense.
Two days after, a meeting was called, and it was largely at
tended by the staunch Democratic farmers and others. Mr
McGregor addressed the meeting in some suitable remarks,
daring his enemies to point, in his paper, to one expression
of his opposing the Constitution and Union of our fathers,
or advocating secession, or a dissolution of the Union.
A few contemptible " War Democrats " busied themselves
»n poisoning the minds of regular Democrats against Mr.
McGregor and his paper. In fact, the needy crew were after
profitable places in Radical Egypt, and wished to gain favor
by preventing the re-establishment of the paper under the
auspices of its old editor, on the plea that he was too extreme
in bin views, etc. Learning their scheme, Mr. McGregor as-
sured the meeting that he would issue a Stark County Demo-
Tat the next week, and every week afterward. It might not
ARCHIBALD McGEEGOR.
121
be larger than his hand, hut it would appear, and in time
become of the usual size, and of the usual tone, evincing a
Tree press. This was loudly cheered by the meeting ; and he
was as good as his word, and his paper has continued in well-
doing, and still ranks among the decided and staunch Demo-
cratic papers of tt e State.
The morning after the destruction of his property, Mr.
McGregor had nine of the culprits arrested on criminal pro-
cess, and bound over to the Common Pleas Court, in five
hundred dollars each. The readiness with which twenty-two
of the leading Republican citizens stepped forward and
bailed the burglars and destroyers of private property,
showed plainly that they indorsed this act of vandalism.
By a writ of habeas corpus, the culprits were taken before
Probate Judge Underhill, an old Radical Abolitionist, who
reduced the bail bond to three hundred dollars, and who
neglected to file the proceedings in the Common Pleas Court,
as required by statute.
After the case had been continued for several terms, it was
at last called by the prosecuting attorney, then a Yankee
Radical, named Baldwin. The suit for damage:} is still pend-
ing, having been continued for six years ! Thus have Radi-
cal courts dispensed justice and maintained the supremacy
of the law.
The usually quiet and law-abiding citizens of Canton were
surprised, on the morning of Sunday, October 12, 1862, to
lind their town in possession of the military. During the
night previous, the 120th Regiment 0. V., under the com-
mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Speigle, had arrived in a special
train. These were subject to the orders of Jacob Brinker-
hoif, then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio. In-
stead of arresting by civil process, he came, in propria persona,
in military hat, with his belt and sword, and well provided
with arms, prepared to seize civil, unresisting citizens by the
power of the bayonet. No wonder this "mighty man of
war" put on lofty military airs, and made his grand entry
in kingly style. This military force came from Camp Mans
122
AMERICAN B A STILE.
field, a camp for drafted men, then commanded by Charlee
T. Sherman, now Judge of the U. S. District Court of North
ern Ohio. The soldiers had been led to believe that the citi
sens of Canton were in open revoli, and had fortified the
town. Great was their surprise to find the place as quiet at
a summer moraine:.
Quite a number of the " trooly loil " were on hand, at tho
station, to receive and welcome the troops ; and great was
their delight when the military arrived. They waited upon
Judge Brinkerhoff, each with his proscription list of " trai-
tors," whom, as good Christian neighbors, these loyal worthies
would consign to imprisonment, or a " rope and halter " at
the first lamp-post. Judge Brinkerhoff referred the list to
Draft Commissioner Bierce, who, after due and careful de-
liberation, returned the list, saying his only duty was " to
use the military to arrest the drafted soldiers," a few of whom
had refused to report, as per order. The draft had taken
place on the 3d of October, and it was important to get the
drafted men to camp, before the election on the 14th inst.
The Lincoln leaders well knew the dangers from the draft.
Judge Brinkerhoff, failing to get Commissioner Bierce to
take the responsibility, ordered the Deputy U. S. Marshal,
Anson Pease, of Massillon, to arrest Archibald McGregor
and Peter N. Reitzell. Accordingly, between 9 and 10 o'clock
a.m. on that beautiful Sabbath morning, Pease, with a squad
of soldiers, first arrested Mr. Reitzell in the Baptist church,
where he was teaching a Sabbath-school class, and afterward
Mr. McGregor, in his editorial office.
On being arrested, Mr. McGregor demanded to know his
authority, but the only reply was, " No matter ; come right
along " — and the military compelled obedience to this man-
date. Surrounded by them, he was marched across the pub-
lic square to Commercial Hall, where he found Mr. Reitzell.
The streets were crowded with citizens, most of whom wit-
nessed the spectacle in silence, but with joy, for most were of
the Radical class, and hence justified the infamous deed. Onlj
a couple of Democrats uttered an iudigr.ant exclamation.
\
ARCHIBALD McGEEGOR.
123
Id passing Cassilly Corner, Mrs. Grimes, an old !ady friend)
came to the door, and, with the cheering tones of a noble
voice, said >
" Ah, Mack, the villains have got ye at last ! But don't
be cast down I "
McGregor. " Kot a bit of it, Mother Grimes ; I 've done
nothing I am ashamed of!"
Mrs. Grimes. " No, indeed ! shake that viper (the Mar-
shal) from your arm. Don't let the villain touch you ! "
A few minutes' march brought them to the hall. Of course
the news flew over the country, and while there was much
indignation, it took no such shape as when the loyal minions
of King George III. attempted the same arbitrary measures
in 1775. Well might the sufferers of the Lincoln tyranny
exclaim :
"Oh, for the sword of former time!
Oh, for the men who bore them —
When, armed for right, lJ*ey stood sublime,
And tyrants fled before them ! "
The alarm cf friends, wives, and children, at these unwar-
ranted and ruthless arrests, can scarcely now be conceived.
Nor can the prevailing terror of that despotic period be fully
appreciated.
That afternoon, the two prisoners were marched with great
parade to the station, and taken by special train to Camp
Mansfield. A large crowd of the loyal, old and young, joy-
fully witnessed the spectacle, and some of the females waved
their handkerchiefs, and gave chuckling laughs as the
prisoners passed by.
Arriving at the camp, they were placed in the miserable
dungeon-room, in the camp guard-house, without sleeping
conveniences of any kind. The intention was to furnish no
blankets for them; but Mr. McGregor received a call, by re-
quest, from Colonel French, of the 120th Kcgimcnt, who
ordered blankets for them. The next day, through tho
kindness of Colonel French, the prisoners were assigned to a
amall and open shanty, twelve by thirteen feet, in which
124
AMERICAN BASTILE.
they were securely guarded, and furnished with no comforts
The cold nights required continual walking to keep up the
circulation.
After repeated efforts, on the third day the prisoners
obtained an interview with Commandant Sherman, when
something like the following conversation ensued:
McGregor. " Colonel Sherman, we are prisoners in your
camp, and we desire to know of what we are accused, and
who are our accusers."
Sherman. " I do not know: your arrest was ordered from
the Department through Governor Tod, and I am merely
your custodian."
McGregor. " We desire an immediate trial before a legal
tribunal, but fear not to appear before any, as we have
been guilty of no infraction of the laws. But really it is
singular you cannot inform us of our accusers or the charges
preferred."
Sherman. " "Well, I will write to Canton to Mr. Bierce,
to try and get the information. As I told you, I am merely
your custodian, and know nothing about your case or a
trial."
McGregor. " Well, can you not let us go on bail ? We can
furnish you any amount of security."
Sherman. " As, merely your custodian, 1 cannot let yoo
out on bail. I might give you the privilege of the camp."
This favor Sherman did grant, and said, as they would
have to remain, probably, for some time in camp, they had
better get a stove to make themselves comfortable ; and if
they chose to do their own cooking, they might draw rations.
At the end of a week, the prisoners were fully installed at
house-keeping ; two others, Daniel Tuttle, of Crawford
County, and Rev. G. W. Ilenning, of Stark County, having
been added to their household. Mr. Tuttle had been too
outspoken, and Mr. Ilenning had been drafted, and had not
reported.
The prisoners were in danger of bcii g shot in their quarters,
so frenzied and vindictive were those who surrounded them.
ARCHIBALD McGREGOR.
125
Some ten days after their arrest, the prisoners were in-
formed by Judge Sherman that he had received papers from
Draft Commissioner Bierce, containing the charges. On
examination, they were found to be mere statements of three
loyal worthies of Canton, two of whom swore to the same
statement : Thomas Lloyd, an ex-English beadle, and Louie
Miller, of the firm of Aultman, Miller & Co., of . The
other was an insane man.
These were all ex-parte statements, no opportunity having
been given to cross-examine. This farce was performed by
men of the legr.l profession, but who could not have had
much regard for the " majesty of the law."
These statements sought to give a little color to the charge
that the prisoners had endeavored to obstruct the draft. Of
course they were afforded no opportunity to meet their un
principled accusers face to face. This trio of willing instru-
ments pretended to swear to remarks the prisoners had made
at the meeting of drafted men, on October 6, when Mr.
Keitzell, by request, had addressed them, and when Mr.
McGregor, though requested, had declined to do so. The
fact of the prisoners having no trial whatever, shows the utter
groundlessness of the charge ; for had the authorities been
able to make out a case against them, it would undoubtedly
have been done, or at least attempted.
There was one other prisoner with them — Hon. L. W.
Hall, of Bucyrus — who was allowed to board himself in the
town of Mansfield, and report to Judge Sherman, in camp,
every day. Judge Hall was an eminent lawyer, and had re-
presented his district in Congress, and served as Common
rieas Judge. Mr. Hall died in January of the following
year. His arrest was for some remark, reported by a Lincoln
knave.
On the 5th of November, Judge Sherman called on the
prisoners with a despatch from Governor Tod, ordering him
to release them on their taking the oath. After a day's con-
sultation, and feeling convinced that no trial would be given
them, they accepted the proposition, and, with the adv ce of
126
AMERICAN BASTILE.
friends, took the oath. Judge Sherman drew the oath mild,
merely requiring them to support the Constitution and laws,
together with the orders of the President in pursuance there-
with. After spending in confinement twenty-five " watchful,
weary, tedious nights," they again found themselves enjoy-
ing that freedom of which they had been so unjustly deprived.
The following day, on arriving at the Canton depot, Messrs.
McGregor and Reitzell were met by a large concourse of
earnest friends, with a hand of music, and accompanied to the
public square amid the joyful, ringing cheers of the crowd.
The ladies who waved their handkerchiefs were not the same
who had given such demonstrations of joy when they were
arrested and as prisoners were being dragged ruthlessly from
their homes, a few weeks previous. Friends accompanied
them to their respective homes, and, at Mr. McGregor's resi-
dence, that gentleman, in a few appropriate remarks, thanked
them cordially for the noble demonstration, and said that he
would remember and cherish it as the proudest moment of
his life. He had done nothing he regretted — nothing that
he or his family might blush for ; that he had stood up for
liberty, and that he should still continue to advocate truth,
justice, and constitutional liberty. He immediately relieved
Mrs. McGregor from the editorial charge of his paper; and
his friends, and enemies too, have since continued to hear
from him through the columns of a free and untrammelled
fre*a.
JOSEPH KUGLER.
JOSEPH EXJGLER was born in Hunterdon County, New
Jersey, in 1805, and spent the most of his life there. lie
was a farmer by occupation, and had, through industry and
economy, accumulated considerable property. He was a de-
voted Christian, and had for several years prior to his death
been an elder in the Presbyterian Church. He never sought
political preferment. His generosity and charity, together
with tbe kindness and meekness of his disposition, endeared
him to all who knew him.
At Ihe breaking out of hostilities in 1861, he was watched,
and often drawn into conversation by his political opponents,
who, knowing him to be a firm and devoted Democrat, hoped
that he might utter some sentiment which would enable
them to procure his arrest and incarceration.
On the 16th of August, 1862, he was arrested at his house
at Frenchtown, N. J., by Deputy Marshal Abraham Harris,
assisted by a man, named Dean, from Trenton, lie was
lodged in the jail at Mount Holly, Burlington County, where
he remained for six days, when, by the order of Edwin M.
Stanton, Secretary of War, he was transferred to the Old
Capitol Prison, Washington, D. C.
His arrest was made on the affidavit of S. 33. Hudnut, and
others, who certified that on the 8th of August, 1862, he
had said: "Lincoln had no right to call out seventy-five
thousand troops, without first convening Congress ; and that
if the South had her just dues there would never have been
a rebellion ; and that his conversation generally had a tend-
ency to discourage enlistments." On ascertaining the cause
of his arrest, his son obtained several affidavits from men of
both parties, denying the above-stated assertions of Hudnut
127
128
AMERICAN BASTILE.
and others. These he placed in the hands of Judge Advocate
Turner at Washington.
Through the influence of ex-Governor Vroom, of Trenton,
Colonel Murphy, of the 10th New Jersey Volunteers, and
others, Mr. Kugler was released from confinement, after a
detention of eigfht days, without being required to take the
oath of allegiance.
He returned home, where he peacefully resided until early
in 1864, when he was stricken down by sickness, and died
like a Christian, with his " converse with heaven alone."
HON. WILLIAM HEWITT CARLO*.
" Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house."
HON. WILLIAM HEWITT CARLEN" was the son oi
the late Governor Carlin, of Illinois. His father waa
a Kentuckian, his mother a Georgian. Mr. Carlin was born
April 20, 1816, in Madison County, Hlinois, and spent his
life on the banks of the Mississippi River.
He was educated in Jacksonville, Illinois, and was a good
scholar, of a highly cultivated taste. He commenced the
practice of law under the Hon. J. N. Morris, formerly a dis-
tinguished Democratic member of Congress, of Illinois, and
a particular friend of the late Hon. Stephen A. Douglas.
He was elected to the Senate of the State of Illinois, and
served the people with ability for five years. He was post-
master at Quincy, under President Buchanan ; and had been
Clerk of the Circuit Court of Greene County, Illinois. Such
were the ancestry and public career of Mr. Carlin in the re-
spective communities where he was born, raised, educated,
and honored by the people.
Mr. Carlin was intimately acquainted with Abraham Lin-
coln ; had always treated him with the greatest kindness,
and was his friend, when Lincoln needed friends. Between
himself and Lincoln there was great disparity in every respect.
In ancestry, Carlin was the son of the Governor of the State ;
Lincoln was of obscure origin. Carlin was a scholar ; Lin-
coln understood no language. Carlin was courteous, kind,
and polished ; Lincoln was uncouth, dogmatical, and vulgar.
On the 15th day of May, 1863, while over the Missouri
River, in West Quincy, Mr. Carlin was arrested by a gang of
8 129
130
AMERICAN BASTILE.
that untamable rabble known as the Missouri Militia, thau
whom no greater outlaws were ever intrusted with a human
being as prisoner. He was carried to Palmyra, taunted, tor-
tured, and threatened with death by these vagabond merce-
naries, who robbed him of his arms, worth about fifty dollars,
and other valuables on nis person. His only crime was his
manly defence of liberty, when there was scarcely a friend
left to do it homage. He was imprisoned in McDowell's Col-
lege, and subjected to the most rigorous treatment, although
Colonel James 0. Broadhead, the Provost-Marshal, had been
his intimate friend. The following correspondence will ex-
hibit this, as a sample of arbitrary power and the instru-
ments employed to enforce it :
" Colonel Broadhead :
" Sir : As all my efforts to communicate with you personally
have failed, permit me to occupy your attention for a moment,
with this note. I have been a prisoner since the 15th of May,
and to-day do not know for what I was arrested, or upon what
charge I am now held. All communications for this information
remain unanswered. Under these circumstances, I am tendered
a 'release from my present arrest' upon condition that I take an
oath of allegiance. If I should take that oath, it would certainly
imply two things :
4< First. A plea of guilty to an unknown charge.
" Secondly. An admission on my part, that I had already for-
feited my allegiance to the Government.
u Truth and self-respect forbid any such concessions. "Would
it not be reasonable to furnish me with a copy of the charges,
give me time to take testimony, or procure witnesses and prepare
a defence? Holding me thus in ignorance and suspense is ruin-
ous. My business, my family, and my health (now seriously
impaired) are all neglected. Under these circumstances, may T
not hope for a definite answer? W. H. Carlin."
The following luminous epistle will sound strange in the
ears of a well-educated American lawyer :
14 Ever)- government reserves to itself the right of requiring,
through its proper authorities, the renewal of the obligations of
WILLIAM HEWITT CASLIN.
131
allegiance, which rests upon every citizen, and it is no impeach-
ment of his loyalty that he should be required to do so.
Jas. O. Broadhead.
Pro. Mar. Gen."
"Headquarters Department or the Missouri,
Office Provost Marshal General,
St. Louis, June 17, 1863.
" PAROLE.
"1, W. H. Carlin, of Adams County, Illinois, do hereby promiso,
upon my word of honor, that I will remain within the limits of
the city of St. Louis, Missouri, until further orders from the
Provost Marshal General, pending the examination of my case,
and that I will report in person to said Provost Marshal General
tri-weekly, until further orders. W. H. Carlin.'*
"On the above parole, said Carlin has been this day released
as above. Jas. O. Broadhead,
Lieut.-Col. and Provost Marshal General.
"James F. Dwight, Capt., and Assist. Insp. General,
Department of the Missouri."
"Headquarters Department of the Missouri,
Office Provost Marshal General,
St. Louis, July 7, 1863.
"The within parole of W. H. Carlin, of Adams County, UK
nois, is hereby modified, and extended so as to permit him to
go to the State of Illinois, and the State of Missouri, and to re-
side in either State, and report weekly by letter to this office.
Jas. O. Broadhead,
Lieut.-Col. and Pro. Marshal General,
Department of the Mo."
"Headquarters Department op the Missouri,
Office Provost Marshal General,
St. Louis, June 20, 1863.
" PAROLE.
" I, W. H. Carlin, of Adams County, Illinois, in consideration
of being permitted to go to Quincy, Illinois, for one week from
this date, do hereby promise, upon my word of honor, that I
will return to the city of St. Louis, Missouri, and will report
132
AMERICAN BASTILE.
in person to the Provost Marshal General, Department of th«
Missouri, at the expiration of that time, and will hold no com-
munication with any disloyal persons. W. H. Carlin.
"Witness: Edward Spahr, Clerk, office of the Provost Marshal
General, Department of the Missouri.
"Keported back, June 27, 1863.
Edward Spahr, Clerk."
"Headquarters Department op the Missouri,
Office of the Provost Marshal General,
St. Louis, June 20, 1863.
" Special Order, No. 22.
* IV. The parole of W. H. Carlin, of Adams County, Illinois,
is hereby extended so as to permit him to go to Quincy, Illinois,
for one week, at the expiration of which time he will report back
to this office.
"By command of Major-General Schofield.
Jas. O. Broadhead,
Provost Marshal General/*
"Headquarters Department of the Missouri,
Office Provost Marshal General,
St. Louis, July 7, 1863.
" Special Orders, No. 32.
"VII. The parole of W. H. Carlin, of Adams County, Illinois,
is hereby modified and extended so as to permit said Carlin to
reside in the State of Illinois, or in the State of Missouri, and to
report weekly by letter to this office.
" By command of Major-General Schofield.
Jas. O. Broadhead,
Lieut.-Col. and Provost Marshal General/'
"Headquarters Department of the Missouri,
Office Provost Marshal General,
St. Louis, August 18, 1863.
••The parole of W. H. Carlin is hereby extended so as to in-
clude the State of Iowa. Jas. O. Broadhead,
Lieut.-Col. and Provost Marshal General,
Department of the Missouri."
WILLIAM HEWITT CAELIN.
133
No charges were ever preferred against Mr. Carlin, aud
through the brutal treatment to which he was exposed, he
died, and died without a release from his parole. The Gov-
ernment of Russia, Austria, or China has never exceeded the
crimes which led to the death of Senator Carlin.
His mind was utterly impaired by his imprisonment ; until
the day of his death he never recovered. At Chicago, in 1864,
during the Convention, he became exerted, and all the outrages
which had been inflicted upon him recurred to his mind in
their most offensive form. He became more and more in-
flamed until his death. He was attacked on Friday morning
with general congestion, and died Saturday evening, about
four o'clock. His suffering in prison was more intensified
and aggravated by the following facts :
1st He was the personal friend of Lincoln, though hi*
political enemy.
2d. There were no charges against him.
3d. His Republican creditors bankrupted him while in
prison, and left his helpless family in destitution.
HON. CHARLES INGERSOLL, AND EDWARD
INGERSOLL, ESQ.
ON the 13th of April, 1865, on the occasioD of the celebra-
tion of Jefferson's birthday, in the city of New York,
Mr. Edward Ingersoll, in answer to a toast deprecating the
enormous Federal indebtedness, with which the war had
overwhelmed the country, advocated the doctrine of State
Rights as the only real basis of our Federal Union, or upon
which, in the nature of things, our Union could permanently
rest. Mr. Ingersoll also argued that if this overwhelming
debt was revolutionary, either in its purpose or in its effect,
if it had been created either in express disregard of the pro-
visions of our written Constitution of Government, or still
more, if it had been created with the design of overthrowing
our liberties and system of laws, the people, who were in-
terested in protecting their wise system of free government,
were certainly not bound to recognize as honest the obliga-
tions of such a debt ; that no sense of national honor, how-
ever refined or impracticably delicate, could call upon a people
who loved their institutions, and were willing to defend them,
to pay a debt created in the teeth of the express provisions
of their Constitution of Government ; and the certain poli-
tical result of the permanent establishment of which debt
must be to render that Constitution of Government irre-
coverably and forever impossible. Whether there was truth
and logic in this proposition that struck hard at the money
powers of the country, who for some years past had been
allowing themselves to be made the tools of political Aboli-
tionism, we cannot say, but certain it is that Mr. Edward
Ingersoll, a Philadelphia lawyer and a respectable citizen,
who had heretofore been but little before the public, wai
134
OHAKLES AND EDWARD INGERSOLI 135
thought worthy of the fiercest newspaper denunciation and
assault. President Lincoln's assassination on the night of
Good Friday, April 14th, had aroused the people, as well as
the madmen who had heen for some years misgoverning the
country, to a sense of solemnity, at least. Several of the
partisan presses of Philadelphia were untiring in their efforts
to excite against Mr. Ingersoli some mode of personal attack.
A well-known member of the Union League assured a friend,
that, to his knowledge, nothing had prevented Mr. Ingersoli 's
house being burned, but the fact that he occupied a rented
one, and which belonged to a loyal man. Mr. Ingersoli was
threatened, by an official communication from the United
States District Attorney of Philadelphia, with prosecution
for treason, for some of the sentiments of the "New York
speech. He was notified by the president of the bank where
he had for many years deposited his money, to withdraw his
account, as a person unworthy of even such exalted pecu-
niary relationship. So indignant was the exhibition of feel-
ing on the part of the money powers against what Mr. In-
gersoli thought to be the fair defence of a free citizen in behalf
of the institutions of his country, that these facts, together
with the receipt of anonymous threatening letters, induced
him (most fortunately as it proved) to provide himself with
a pocket pistol, to meet the event of unavoidable necessity,
should it occur.
On the morning of April 27th, on entering the cars as
usual, in coming to his place of business, from his residence
in the neighborhood of the city, Mr. Ingersoli was assailed
by the cry of " Traitor " from an adjoining car, and found
himself the object of considerable observation. Nothing
further was said or done, however, till, on stepping from the
cars when the train had arrived at the depot, a man was ob-
served calling to some persons to follow, and saying, pointing
to Mr. Ingersoli, " There he goes." Mr. Ingersoli walked to
the corner close by, to wait for the street car. While there,
the assailant, with his backers, came up, and after some in-
solent demand, which was promptly and fitly replied to, an
136
AMERICAN BASTILE.
attack was made upon him, led on, as tie subsequently learned,
by a little Captain of volunteers, the son of a Yankee Ger-
mantown schoolmaster, the father being also in the assault-
ing crowd. Mr. Ingersoll defended himself as well as ho
could, till, overwhelmed by odds, and his cane breaking in his
band, he retreated a few yards, and drawing his pistol from
Qis pocket, cocked it promptly in the face of his assailants.
The effect was magical. The assailants with unanimity, Cap-
tain and all, retreated with such precipitancy as to endanger
their limbs ; some of them actually falling in the street.
There could be no popular sentiment against anything that
Mr. Ingersoll had said or done. There was none, nor any
mob in any bold sense of the word. The battle was over,
and Mr. Ingersoll would have ridden down to his place of
business in the street cars, as usual. Here, however, the city
government, whose duty it is to protect good citizens, and
repress evil-doers, stepped in.
Mr. Ingersoll was seized by, first, one policeman, then two,
to whom he, of course, offered no resistance. He was carried
through the streets for several squares, followed by a gaping
crowd of girls and boys, who gather promptly to a street
scene. Taken to a station-house, a police magistrate was
sent for, and then, after a mock examination, at which the
Captain who had led the assailants had the impudence to
appear and give his testimony, the prisoner was committed,
in default of $2,000 bail, "/or assault and battery with intent
to kill, and carrying concealed deadly weapons" After being
much jeered and insulted by the numerous body of police-
men who frequented the station-house, the prisoner was
locked in a cell, and there kept during the remainder of the
day ; bail having been refused on the ground that the au-
thorities at Washington had been written to, and a charge
of high treason was to be preferred against him.
In the mean time, in the afternoon of that day, Mr. Charles
Ingersoll, a brother of the prisoner, who was approaching
the station-house in a carriage to visit his brother, with a
view to legal arrangements for his release, was, immediately
CHARLES AND EDWARD INGERSOLL. 137
in front of the station-house, assaulted and most violently
and brutally beaten. A night watchman at the Custom
House, a hired bully of the town, was one of the immediate
assailants. There was at the time within and immediately
in front of the station-house, a very large force of police.
No arrests were made, nor any effort of the sort. Indeed,
when Mr. Ingersoll got into the house, wounded and bleed-
ing as he was, the plain, though mutually expressed senti-
ment of the numerous surrounding policemen was, that it
was " a good thing " " well done." Mr. Ingersoll presented
a terrible spectacle, and for several days much apprehension
was entertained for the safety of his life.
Hon. Charles Ingersoll is a citizen of Philadelphia, not
only of the highest respectability and character, but has been
prominently before the political public as a Democrat. Dur-
ing the early years of the war, when Mr. President Lincoln
and his minions first boldly undertook to disregard the law
and the rights of citizens, Mr. Ingersoll had been arrested
by orders from Washington for his bold use of " free speech "
in opposing the madness of the hour. He was at that time
discharged on habeas corpus by the Federal District Judge.
On the evening of April 27, Mr. Edward Ingersoll was
carried to prison, and there confined until the next day, when
he was discharged on bail. During his transit to prison, tho
policeman who conducted him kept up, most anxiously, the
same feigned apprehension of alarm from popular excitement
against the prisoner. The idea was sedulously given out that
but for the invaluable police force, the life of the citizen would
be unsafe. The truth was, that but for these rascally authori-
ties, who were fomenting outrages against respectable citizens of
certain political sentiments, there was then no element what-
ever of public violence in the streets of Philadelphia.
On the 5th of May, resolutions were introduced into each
branch of the City Councils, proposing an inquiry into the
conduct of the police on the occasion of the assault upon Mr.
Charles Ingersoll, and instructing the Mayor to offer a reward
of five hundred dollars for the arrest and conviction of the
138
AMERICAN BASTILE.
assailants. After considerable debate, the resolutions, in both
chambers, were rejected by an overwhelming and strict party
vote.
The President of the Select Council, in giving his vote
against the resolutions, said : " The action of the Chamber
should be placed on one single ground.
" It is not the business of loyal men to go out of their way
to save disloyal men from the consequences of their conduct."
"A poor negro was in court yesterday," said another of
the members, " complaining that he had been badly beaten.
Why not offer a reward of five hundred dollars for his assail-
ant, for he is far more entitled to respect than such a man aa
Charles Ingersoll."
Eng'V John AO"Neill.New"iSik
HOK JAMES W. WALL.
HOK JAMES W. WALL, of New Jersey, was arrested
on the 11th day of September, 1861. The circum-
stances of the arrest were as follows: — He was about sit-
ting down at his dinner-table, when a servant announced
that a Mr. Thomas, with whom he had some business trans-
actions, desired to see him at once in his office. All uncon-
scious of harm, he proceeded to his office, and there, instead
of Mr. Thomas, found the United States Marshal for the Dis-
trict of New Jersey, Benajah Deacon, and the Mayor of the
City of Burlington. The Marshal informed him, on entering,
" that he had a warrant for his arrest." He asked him " at
whose suit?" The Marshal replied: "At the suit of the
Government." Mr. Wall at once responded : " I do not owe
the Government anything, I believe ; but, however, let me
look at your warrant." He immediately handed him a copy
of a telegram, in these words:
"To Benajah Deacon, Esq., Marshal.
"You are hereby commanded to arrest James W. Wall, of the
city of Burlington, and convey him to Fort Lafayette, New York
Harbor, forthwith.
" By order of the Secretary of War
"Dated September 11, 1861."
Upon reading this most curious document, he asked him
how he received it, and the reply was, by telegraph. Mr.
Wall said, " The Government is rather expeditious. How-
ever, I demand to know the nature of the accusation, and to
see the copy of the affidavit upon which this winged warrant
is based ? " To these interrogations the Marshal replied : " I
know nothing of either." Mr. Wall further asked: "Is
139
140
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Simon Cameron, who now claims to be Secretary of War, a
judicial officer?" To all this the Marshal's reply was the
same as before : "I know nothing about all this," adding,
" nor is it my business to know." Mr. Wall quickly responded:
" It is your business, sir ; you have entered my house against
my will, without legal authority, and if you were to attempt
force to execute that order you hold in your hand, and I was
to kill you in the act, I would stand perfectly justified in the
eye of the law ; and I now inform you, that I shall decline
accompanying you as your prisoner, and if you attempt to
coerce me, you will do so at your peril." He very quickly
replied : " Oh ! I know you, and have not come unprepared ;
see there ! " opening, as he said so, a Venetian blind, that
screened the window looking into the back yard. He looked,
and there saw some five men, who, the Marshal said, were
his deputies to aid him in the arrest. Mr. Wall sprang upon
him at once, seized him by the throat, and, hurling him
nearly across the room, made for the interior of the house,
and when just at the turn of his main staircase, the front
door was burst violently open, and four more ruffians made
their appearance, the five in the rear yard closing rapidly on
him. He struck one of the men in front, knocking him
down, when he was assaulted by four or five. In the strug-
gle he had the bosom of his shirt torn out and the sleeve
entirely off. Without a hat, he was forced violently upon
the pavement, and by main force, though resisting most of
the way, was carried to Belder's Hotel. His family were
compelled to witness this outrage without being able to ren-
der him any assistance, except in bitter remonstrances against
the outrage, and of course were very much terrified and
alarmed. Mr. Wall was at Belder's Hotel but a few minutes
before the train arrived from Philadelphia ; but during that
time, the Marshal, observing a gathering outside, and appre-
hending a rescue, remarked : "It will do no good to rescue you;
as T have orders to call for one of the regiments in that event, now
in Trenton, and execute the -process" There was no attempt
at rescue, nor was there any time, for it was not more than
JAMES W. WaLL.
141
five minutes after his arrival at the hotel before the train
came.
He was then taken, accompanied by the Marshal and some
seven of his deputies, and handed over to the custody of
Colonel Burke, then commanding at Fort Hamilton, and by
him transferred to the custody of Lieutenant Wood, at Fort
Lafayette, in New York Harbor. Here he remained a close
prisoner until the 24th day of September of the same year ;
when he was released by order of Wm. H. Seward, Secretary
of State. Mr. Wall was confined in cell ~No. 3, in that For-
tress. It was an arched casemate with a brick floor, and
lighted with two narrow barred windows. This cell was
some fifteen feet in width by twenty in depth, and at the
time of his incarceration contained some twenty prisoners. It
was exceedingly damp, so much so that the moisture ran
down the walls, saturating the bedding. Several of the
prisoners, and himself among the rest, in consequence suffered
from severe attacks of rheumatism. During the day, the
prisoners had the range of the Fort, upon obtaining permis-
sion from the guards. In the evening at five o'clock they were
locked in their cells, and not released until early in the morn
ing. There were no conveniences of course for washing, and
all that had to be done outside,, with fetid water taken from
a cistern containing the foulest of wells ; indeed, for the first
week, the water from the cistern was the only water that
they had to drink, and several in consequence suffered from
dysentery. Those of the prisoners who had money were
permitted to form a mess, employing the steward of the Fort
to furnish two meals a day ; but those who had no means,
were compelled to partake with the soldiers of the garrison,
of their rough and scanty fair.
Their correspondence was submitted to the most rigid
surveillance of the commander of the post, and all letters con-
taining applications for release, or the employment of counsel,
were returned to them, with a statement that by orders of the
" Government " no such letters were allowed to pass out the Fort.
Lieutenant Wood himself exhausted his ingenuity in devising
142
AMERICAN BASTILE.
ways and means to annoy and irritate the prisoners, by the
exercise of every species of petty tyranny. This man had
formerly been a railroad conductor, and was rewarded by
Lincoln with a commission in the army, on account of hip
services in carrying him safely from Harrisburg, at the timo
he went secretly to Washington, disguised in a Scotch cloak
and military cap. At the time of Mr. Wall's confinement,
there must have been over four hundred prisoners in the Fort.
Some were blockade-runners, some were prisoners of war;
but the greater part were prisoners of state, most of them
from the Border States. The members of the Maryland Le»
gislature only arrived the evening before he left, a new case-
mate having been opened for their accommodation.
He never to this day, has been able to ascertain the grounds
of his arrest. He had been very active in denouncing the
war and the constitutional violations of the rights of the
citizen; and had for three months previously written the
principal editorials of the New York " Daily News." He had
also addressed a letter, which was published, to Montgomery
P. Blair, then Postmaster General, denouncing severely the
interference with the liberty of the press by that Depart-
ment, in which, among other things, he said :
" Your recent high-handed unconstitutional act in preventing
certain newspapers from being circulated through the mails, ^ill
meet, as it deserves, the indignant protest of every freeman. If
the proscribed papers have reflected severely upon this tjrranni
cal Administration, they had a perfect right so to do in a re-
public, where it has been our most cherished boast that the
acts of our rulers were open to the freest scrutiny. In fact, the
right of examining the character of our public servants, and
commenting freely upon their public conduct, is the sentinel
standing at the door, and guarding every other right. If the
people relinquish this, they deserve to be slaves
u Our fathers were intimate friends, and although your father
to-day belongs to the Republican party, I cannot believe that he
indorses the recent arbitrary acts of your Department; or else
he must prove recreant to the doctrine he proclaimed years ago
JAMES W. WALL.
143
In the 1 Globe,' of which he was, at the time, the editor. In
that able and influential journal, in speaking of the attempt
made to pass a bill through the Senate, preventing the interfer-
ence of Federal officers in elections, against which my father
had made a report in his place in the Senate, as Chairman of the
Judiciary Committee, he once said: ' Under no possible circum-
stances, not even in insurrection, or amid the throes of civil war, could
the Government justify official interference with the freedom of speech,
or of the press, any more than with the freedom of the ballot. Tht
licentiousness of the tongue or the pen is a minor evil, compared with
the licentiousness of arbitrary power.' Little could he have then
supposed that one of his own sons would lend himself to carry
out an arbitrary edict, that prostrated this boasted freedom at a
blow. Yet he has lived to see it.
"You have assumed to dictate to me what political papers I
may receive. "Where do you derive that right ? You have just
as much right to say what religious journals I may receive. I
am in favor of peace ; I have a right to be for a cessation of this
most cruel, unnatural war, for an appeal from the acts of this ty-
rannical Government to the people, an appeal from 'Philip drunk
to Philip sober.' I will work for it, write for it, pray for it, do
anything but fight for it, in defiance of all the imperial ukases
that may be issued from Washington. If this war must go on,
let it be waged within the limits of the Constitution. "Wage it
against the enemy south of the Potomac, and not against peace-
loving citizens of the North, whose only crime consists in loving
the old Constitution so well, that they cannot possess their souls
in patience when they behold the far-famed higher laws of the
infamous Seward substituted in its place/'
He also, in a public speech denunciatory of the war, declared :
"The war had a fourfold object. First, power; second, plun-
der; third, negro equality; and fourth, Southern subjugation.
They have already taken two sides of this quadrilateral ; and let
them triumph, and they will take the other two; and the rights
of the States and constitutional liberty will find their graves,
from which there shall be no resurrection."
Hh zeal, activity, and earnestness brought down upon him
144
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the intense hatred of the lying Abolitionists of the city of
Burlington. The Mayor of the city, Wm. R. Allen, and
Jacob Lawmaster, the Postmaster, despatched a letter to
"Washington, declaring that he was a dangerous person, and
the order came in response over the telegraphic wires, such
as we have given above. " Those were times," as Mr. Wall
said afterward in the U. S. Senate, on the Indemnity Bill,
" when the post-offices had become each like the lion's mouth
at Venice, where the secret and dastardly informer might
lodge his lying accusation, and from a tribunal as inexor-
able as the far-famed Council of Ten, would come as swift
and as sure over the telegraphic wires, the mandate that con-
signed the unsuspecting citizen to some military dungeon of
the republic — it might be Fort Warren, it might be Fort
Lafayette."
On his return home from his imprisonment , Mr. Wall was
honored with a public ovation by the citizens of his town,
which is thus described in the journals of his county :
" The release of Colonel Wall from Fort Lafayette, and his
reception on Friday night, when he returned to his family, his
home, and numerous friends, produced a rejoicing exceeding any-
thing ever before known in that city. Notwithstanding the dis-
appointment of a large number of people who had assembled at
Mount Holly to come in by railroad, and the severity of a heavy
storm of wind and rain, which made it impossible for hundreds
of others to leave Beverly, Bancocas, Jacksonville, and other
villages in our county — and so with many others in Philadelphia
and Bristol, and many of our own citizens — there were not less
than one thousand persons at the depot waiting his arrivel.
"As he stepped upon the platform, the dense mass greeted
him in the fulness of their hearts. It was no strained effort on
the part of many who had sympathized with himself and family,
for the cheers of welcome came iong, loud, full, and free. Ho
entered a carriage in waiting, preceded by a large transparency,
bearing the words: 'James W. Wall, the Defender of the Consti-
tution, Welcome Home,' with the American flag. The carriage
was encircled by a large number of men bearing torchlights,
JAMES W. WALL. 145
followed by a band of music and some five hundred torch-bear-
ers in procession.
"As the procession moved along, Main Street was filled with
men, women, and children, while all the houses of prominent
Democrats were illuminated. Continued cheering rent the air. •
At the steps of his residence he was received between two lines
of young ladies, dressed in white, who strewed flowers along his
pathway, from the carriage to the house. As he entered his
door, the band struck up the air of 'Home, sweet home ! ' After
a few moments spent with his family, he returned to his steps,
and thus addressed the immense crowd that completely blocked
up the square, as follows:
"'My fellow-townsmen: My heart is full to-night, so full that
I can scarcely give adequate expression to the emotions that
crowd upon me, as I look out upon this heartfelt, this magnifi-
cent demonstration. What a striking contrast is presented to
the melancholy scene, hardly a fortnight ago, when I was
dragged ruthlessly from these steps, torn mercilessly from the
clinging embraces of the dear ones at home, and consigned to
the tender mercies of the brutal military despotism that rules
with iron sway within the gloomy walls of the American Bastile
This enthusiastic reception, my friends; these shouts of hearty
welcome ; these bright and happy faces ; these beautiful flowers
strewn in my pathway by such fair hands; the cheering, dancing
light of your flaming torches; and the inscription on your trans-
parencies— all un.te to convince me how lovingly you bear me
in your hearts. Such a reception is the more .welcome, because
it wears a double significancy. It assures me, in the first place,
that you, my neighbors and friends, among whom I have gone
in and out so many years, sympathize with me in the cruel
wrongs and outrages to which I have been subjected. In the
second place, it is a manifestation, strong as holy writ, that you
believe that I am wholly innocent of any charge of disobedience
to the laws, or any imputation upon my fame as a Constitution-
loving citizen. " Charge/' did I say ? Why, my friends, would
you believe it, from the hour that I was torn so ruthlessly from my
home, through the long and tedious moments of my cruel im-
prisonment, up to this joyful moment, when I look out once more
a freeman, over these kindly, gladsome faces, now upturned to
10
146 AMEKICAN BASTILE.
greet and cheer me, 1 have not been able to ascertain what those
charges are. I have in vain demanded from the Government the
nature of the charges, and claimed the constitutional privilege
of being informed of the nature and cause of the accusation,
and to be confronted with the witnesses against me. But up to
tins hour, the grave could not have been more silent. Great
heavens ! can it be possible. If we have no rights under our
Constitution, what then becomes of the value of the Union for
which it is pretended we are fighting. We have heard a great
deal, during the wretched strife in which the nation is engaged,
in tearing out its own heart-strings, of preserving the National
life, but the Constitution is the Union. The Constitution and
the Union, according to the theory in which I have been taught,
are one and inseparable.
" 1 In fact, the Constitution was made to form a more perfect
Union. They live in and by and through each other. "When
the one perishes, the other dies — the destruction of the one in-
volves the subversion of the other; nay, the subversion of the
Constitution is revolution, for it changes the whole framework
of our Government. I care not whether the blow comes from
the North or the South, that is aimed at the Constitution, it is
aimed at the Nation's life.
"'In that Constitution, the reserved rights of the States are
there secured — the granted powers of the Government there
defined.
" 1 Those great, absolute rights of the citizen, securing free
speech, free thought, and free person, are there. These are the
solemn clauses that protect the citizen's person from arbitrary arrest,
his property from arbitrary invasion, and his life from arbitrary inter-
ference. These all are to be found in the amendments to your
Constitution, that have been most appropriately called, 1 The Ten
Commandments of American Freemen.1 It is true they were not
delivered like those of old, 'mid the lightnings and thunder
of Sinai, but they were no less written upon the hearts of free-
men by Divine inspiration, they are God-given rights, to be en-
joyed as the air you breathe, or as the water you drink, and the
man who would deprive you of them is a tyrant, and the people
who would submit to such deprivation are fit only to be slaves.
"'Our fathers caught the inspiring strain from Magna Charts,
JAMES W WALL. 147
and it was prolonged in that sonorous sentence in our own Con-
stitution — ' No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
wthout due process of law' — 'due process of law/ 'the law which
hears before it condemns, and punishes only after conviction/
Cherish, my friends, these great rights thus guaranteed to you in
your Constitution — never surrender them, never allow them to
be compromised, or gainsayed, for they constitute the Keystone
of the Arch of Freedom. Take them away, and the springing
arch falls in ruins. We only call that Government free, which
not only shelters its subjects from the injustice of the many, but
from the tyranny of the one or the few. We, as a people, are
free, because from ancient times there came laws, as if written
with the finger of the Highest — free, because to us in this day,
it was thought conscience and opinion were free. It is a glorious
thought that the law of the land recognizes there is a part about
every man's affairs so sacred that it must not be crossed either
by inquisition or inquiry. The freedom of the citizen from all
illegal arrest, the freedom of his hearth -stone from arbitrary in-
vasion, and the freedom of his conscience from all manner of
restraint; these constitute the Urim and the Thummim, the
breastplate of Light and Truth round the heart of the American
citizen, in the time of trial and danger; and when he demands
rights that have been denied him, they will impart a rich elo-
quence to his tongue, the wisdom of authority, and the mighty
pathos of justice to the utterance of his lips.' "
Mr. Wall continued in this strain for over an hour, hold
mg the crowd spell-bound upon his lips. After the conclu-
sion of his speech they were invited into his mansion, and
for two hours, men, women, and children thronged in to take
him by the hand, and thank him for the courage he had
manifested, and to sympathize with him in the sufferings he
had so bravely borne. At the next session of his State Le-
gislature, after his imprisonment, Mr. "Wall addressed a long
memorial to that body, denouncing the violation of the Bill
op Rights ov the State, in his person, and arguing the un*
constitutionality of the proceeding, and which concluded as
follows :
148 AMERICAN BASTILE.
" What course you, the representatives of the State of New
Jersey, may deem proper to take, in reference to thia wantoo
outrage upon the constitutionally guaranteed rights of one of
your citizens, must be left to your own judgments. It is for you
to say whether it shall be passed over without, at least, a solemn
remonstrance. If, by your silence now, you constitute such
silence as a precedent, it may be for you to declare of what value
hereafter shall be those high-sounding clauses in the Bill of
Rights, in your own Constitution, to the citizens of New Jersey
" That Bill of Rights was intended as the enunciation of certain
general principles of free government, to serve as the landmark
of liberty and law. Did your present Senator in Congress, Mr.
Ten Eyck, when he introduced it in your Constitutional Conven-
tion, and his fellow-members, when they voted upon it, consider
its clauses only as a mass of glittering generalities ? And yet
what else do they become, if any cabinet officer may, under one
of these ' general warrants,' invade your State writh an armed
force, kidnap its citizens, and incarcerate them, beyond the limits
of the State, at his sovereign will and pleasure, in one of the
military fortresses of the Government? Surely, if such outrages
are to be passed over in silence, and such acts done with impu-
nity, then I do not hesitate to declare that your State Govern-
ment is a farce, and the clauses in your Bill of Rights the most
contemptible and wicked shams.
" I speak earnestly, because I feel so. I have been made to
know the insolence of arbitrary power. The most degraded
criminals in any of your prisons could not have been treated as
I have been, without an outcry of indignation from every honest
citizen in the State. I have been arrested without the form of
legal warrant — condemned without the shadow of a trial, and
punished by a degrading imprisonment of weeks, without, to
this hour, knowing the nature and cause of the accusations
against me. I know and appreciate my rights as a citizen of the
United States, and as a citizen of the State of New Jersey; and
no man shall invade and trample upon those rights with impu-
nity, if there is any courage or sense of justice left in the com-
munity. I envy not the heart, for it is corrupt, nor the brain, for
it is diseased, that can attempt to approve, or by reason, justify
such an atrocious act of arbitrary power as this. If such as
JAMES W. WALL. 149
act can be done in a republic without redress, and with the ap-
proval of its citizens, then I know no difference between it ard
the vilest despotism upon earth, save that the latter is the most
honest government of the two."
Such, however, was the terrorism of the Federal Govern
ment, that the House of Assembly, although largely Demo-
cratic, through the Chairman of its Judiciary Committee,
Jacob Yannater, Esq., of Morris County, reported that " it
was not expedient" to take any action on this memorial, for
fear the State Government might be brought into antago-
nism to the acts of the Federal Government, which was a
virtual and cowardly indorsement of arbitrary power.
The next Legislature elected Mr. Wall United States Sena -
tor, to fill the unexpired term of Hon. John E. Thomson,
deceased, and during his short service in that body, his voice
was heard in denunciation of the Emancipation Policy pro-
posed to be pursued in the purchase of the slaves of the State
of Missouri by the Federal Government, and in opposition to
the infamous Bill of Indemnity to screen the President and
his subordinates from all the legal consequences of their un-
constitutional and arbitrary acts. In this last speech he
alluded in the following language to his imprisonment :
"But who is it, that takes a retrospective glance over the stir-
ring, awful history of the last two years, but feels how the fine
gold has grown dim beneath the tarnishing touch of the rude
hand of despotic power. Those great, absolute rights of the
citizen, which were intended to be beyond the reach of arbitrary
influence, the right of personal liberty, of property, of free
speech and a free press, rudely and ruthlessly violated. Of those
absolute rights, during what was not inaptly called the ' Keign
of Terror,' there was not one heart, that was not trampled upon
by the Executive, or his subordinates ; and what was worse than
oil, every assault that was made upon them was applauded to
the echo by timid jurists, divines, and contract-hunting, renegade
Democrats, whose cowardly hearts, either ran away with their
better judgments, or who really did not comprehend the very
first principle of the Constitution under which they lived. Men
150
AMEBIC AN BASTILE.
were arrested and papers seized without warrant, or oath ol
probable cause; prisoners were held without presentment or
indictment, denied a speedy and a public trial, carried away by
force from the State or district where their offence, if any, must
have been committed, and incarcerated for months, ay, for
years, in the military Bastiles of this Government, and then set
free without being even informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation against them. Every constitutional outpost was
driven in, and every personal guarantee of the citizen brushed
away by a tyrannical Executive, as easily as cobwebs by the
hands of a giant.
"And this, Mr. President, by a Government professing it was
fighting for the Union, the Constitution, and the" enforcement of
the laws ; for these at the outset of the war were the proud
watch- words that glittered on your military standards. Doc-
trines were preached in high places directly at war with the fun-
damental principles of this Government. The central power,
under the bold pretence of preserving the Government, assumed
a new and fearful energy, until men went about with 'bated
breath and whispering humbleness,' not knowing where the next
blow was to fall, or who was the next friend that was to be
stricken down at their sides. Of these times, I may exclaim :
' Quorum pars sui.'
" It was my lot, sir, to have felt the fierce grasp of arbitrary
power, and within the damp, grated casemate of one of the
Bastiles of this Government, to have discovered how helpless a
thing is the citizen, who is deprived of those absolute rights,
which, if they do not exist in your Constitution at all times,
whether in peace or war, then your Constitution is a delusion
and a snare. Having been arrested without cause shown, I was
liberated in the same way, after enduring personal indignities
which, to a high-spirited man, 'eat like iron into the soul;' and
from the hour of my liberation up to this moment, when I stand,
upon this floor the representative of a sovereign State, I have
been unable to ascertain what those charges were. I have in
vain demanded of the proper Department what were the charges
against me, claiming the freeman's constitutional privilege 'to
be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, and to
bo confronted with the witnesses against me.
JAMES W. WALL.
151
u Great heavens ! Mr. President, is it possible that such things
can be, under a Constitution whose boast it has been that it waa
for the protection of the inalienable rights of man against oppres-
sion? If this boast has been in vain, then your Constitution has
but a name to live, an outer seeming to beguile and deceive —
it is but a delusion and a snare — it is the worthless husk, when
the golden grain is gone — the now empty casket from which
the jewel has been stolen.
" The liberty, sir, I claim, and those who act with me upon this
floor, under our Constitution, is not the liberty of licentiousness,
but the liberty united with law, the liberty sustained with the
law, and that kind of liberty we have ever supposed was gua-
ranteed to every man, rich or poor, high or low, proud or hum-
ble, under all exigencies, whether in peace or in war, or the state
in the fearful throes of civil strife. This is my loyalty, and that
of my friends upon this floor — the allegiance, the devotion to
organic law I know no other loyalty, and will never bow my-
self at the shrine of any other. In our republic, its Constitution
declares : * No citizen shall be deprived of his life, liberty, or pro-
perty, without due process of law.' We may be made to part
with all these by the power of the state ; but that power must
look well to it, sir, that, in its exercise, it does not transcend the
limits within which it is appointed to move. If it does, it be-
comes despotic, and then among men who know their rights, and,
knowing them, dare to maintain them, resistance follows, as nat-
urally as light succeeds darkness. If by a simple mandate, nay
by the lightning's flash over the telegraphic wires, as was my own
iase, any cabinet officer, in States where the people are obedient
to law, and where the courts are open, may consign you or me
for an indefinite time to the gloomy walls of a government
fortress ; then the same mandate, or despatch, only altered in its
phraseology, may consign us immediately to the hands of the
executioner, or deprive us of our properties, confiscating them to
the state. If not, why not? The right to have our lives secure
against interference without due process of law, is equally
guaranteed in the same clause which protects our liberty and
Our property. These privileges can trace their lineage back to
the grassy lawns of llunnymede, where they were born many
centuries ago. They were extorted then, and there, by the rebel*
152
AMERICAN BASTILE.
lious barons, and uttered in glowing language that has come
down to us from the ages long ago, and is still sounding in our
ears as the sweetest note ever sounded from the clarion of
freedom. Listen, Senators, to its music, as it sounded 1 strong,
and without overflowing,' full in the ears of a tyrant king : 'iV7o
freeman shall be seized or imprisoned, or disseized, or outlawed, or in
any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him, or send upon him, except
by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land' Our fathers
caught the inspired strain, and it was prolonged in that sonorous
sentence I have quoted above from our own Constitution."
Since Mr. Wall left the Senate, he has not been idle. He
has been connected editorially with three daily Democratic
journals, furnishing the chief editorial matter for all.
RON. ROBERT ELLIOTT.
HON. ROBERT ELLIOTT, one of the political pris-
oners of 1861, is a citizen of Freedom, Waldo County,
Maine. He is a gentleman in independent circumstances,
and about fifty years of age. Having entered into the
mercantile business in the town of Freedom, nearly thirty
years ago, he readily acquired a competency by his energy
and industry, and there continues to own and superinteno
an extensive stock in trade. By his intelligence and integrity,
he has made himself very popular, particularly in his own
town, where he has for the past twenty years continued to
fill the most important offices. His elections by the people,
have always been by large majorities, and not unfrequently
by an unanimous vote. He at one time represented his dis-
trict in the Legislature, and was also a member of the Gov-
ernor's Council.
In the latter part of the night of September 7, 1861, Mr.
Elliott waa aroused from his slumbers, at his residence in
Freedom, by Chas. Clark, who was acting as Marsbal for the
State of Maine. The Marshal, after gaining admittance into
the house, was quickly followed by ten or twelve men who
had hitherto been invisible, having secreted themselves in
the out-buildings, and under the fences, until their peculiar
services were required. Not one of these men, it is proper
to mention, resided in Waldo County. Mr. Elliott, thus sur-
prised and surrounded at the hour of midnight, was ordered
to dress and prepare himself to accompany Clark and his
men ; receiving no other explanation of his untimely arrest,
than that it was done by authority of a despatch from Simon
Cameron, Lincoln's Secretary of War. And long before his
friends and neighbors had begun to break the stillness of the
1*3
154
AMERICAN BASTILE.
morning, Mr. Elliott was far on his way to Fort Lafayette,
a prisoner in the hands of his Government. Thus seized
and carried away from his home, his family, and his friends,
he was thrown into prison, where he remained nearly two
months, without any charge having been preferred against
him. Being unable to subsist on the rations furnished him
here by the Government, because of their unwholesome
nature, he united with other prisoners, and had suitable pro*
visions furnished from New York, at their own expense.
From this noted Bastile he was conveyed to Fort "Warren,
and confined there one week. He was then unconditionally
discharged on the 7th of November of the same year, without
receiving intelligence from any official source, why the sanc-
tity of his home had been invaded, and his personal liberty
violated. Close confinement and its attendant horrors of
impure atmosphere, and, for a portion of the time, unwhole-
some diet, made serious inroads upon his health and strength,
but failed to weaken his fidelity and adherence to Democratic
principles, or to diminish his sense of the wrong and injury
which had been inflicted upon him.
During this vile and wicked persecution of his person for
his political opinions, the Republican press of the country,
under sanction of the Government at Washington, was
filled with incendiary articles, false and libellous in their na-
ture, calculated and intended to excite the prejudices and ill-
feelings of the mob, not only against him, but other similar
victims of political cruelty. And who can question the right
of the masses to practise mob law, when Government officials
lead the way, and establish the rule that might is right ?
How successful they were in their teachings, can be farther
iieen in the destruction of Elliott's property by hirelings,
desperate characters, and Government spies. During the
night of August 16, 18QJB, his two barns, at the time wet
filled with hay, were fired, and the wind blowing in the pro
per direction, the flames were communicated to his dwelling-
house and other buildings, including a large amount of pro-
porty, all of which were entirely destroyed The loss which
ROBERT ELLIOTT.
15S
he sustained was very heavy, as only a small portion of the
property was insured. He then built a large barn, at great
expense, on the same site, and stored away in it more than a
hundred tons of hay. But before the workmen had more
than half completed the task of pressing it, and while Elliott
was in Boston to arrange for the sale of it, in the night of
December 31, 1866, the barn was set on fire, and it, together
with the hay, hay-press, and other property of value, entirely
consumed. His loss, at this second fire, was also great, only
about one-third of the property destroyed being covered by
insurance. There can be no doubt that this diabolical treat-
ment of Elliott, in his person and property, was nothing more
or less than political persecution.
REV. ROBERT DOUGLAS.
rpHE subject of this sketch, was one of eight brothers, dis^
tinguished for their height, their erectness, their hand-
some personal appearance, and their manliness. The smallest
of this fraternal band, was six feet one and a half inches tall
— the largest, six feet four inches. Born in the northern
part of Ireland, but of immediate Scotch descent, they were
in physical stature and bearing the very type of the historic
family of " Black Douglas," to which they belonged, and in
their uncompromising spirit they seemingly embodied much
of that courage and independence which kept the hills of
Scotland so long free, and to whose keeping, in the person
of James Douglas, Robert Bruce bequeathed his heart in
trust.
Robert Douglas was tall and stately, with dark complexion,
black hair, brilliant ^ark hazel eyes, and a mouth denoting
firmness of purpose ; which, added to the dignity of his car-
riage, made up the measure of a very handsome man. In
his boyhood he was conspicuous for his swiftness of foot, for
daring horsemanship, and for various kinds of manly accom-
plishments. In the northern part of Ireland, a ditch which
was the scene of a fearful leap by him when a school-boy,
still bears his name. Robert, full of the spirit of adventure,
left home at the early age of sixteen, and parting from his
father and mother, and brothers, he determined to seek that
fortune and freedom in America which the oppression of Eng-
land denies the youth of Ireland. Reared in comfort by a
father of respectable means, and cared for fondly by an affec-
tionate mother, his natural independence and self-reliance
had been nurtured and not smothered, and it must have been
strong indeed when it impelled him to abandon the home ht
156
KEY. EOBEET DOUGLAS.
157
loved, to go so far away as America seemed then, and among
a people to whom he was an entire stranger. But he came.
Three of his brothers afterward followed him. One of them
fell, it is believed, at Buena Yista, in command of a company
of infantry ; another died of yellow fever. But two of the
eight now remain : one in Mississippi, the other in Ireland.
As soon as his feet touched the shores of the United States,
Robert Douglas sought employment ; at first as a store-boy,
afterward as a clerk, and then as a merchant. He was
always busily occupied, and yet he did not neglect the culti-
vation of his mind. He was a great reader of books, and
held frequent intercourse with the muses. His poetical effu-
sions, which would have made a volume, and which disap-
peared mysteriously a few years ago, doubtless by the incen
diary hands of their author, evinced an imagination of the
chivalric and heroic kind rather than the sentimental. " Scot-
land and Scottish Chiefs," the " Black Douglas," " Masters of
Scottish Kings," Ireland and her wrongs, evidently occupied
much of the young poet's thoughts. Although these poems
as a whole were scarcely worthy of the press, sometimes his
youthful pen, at the mention of the distant home and kin-
dred from whom he was separated, would express the out
pourings of a warm and deeply moved heart, in very tender
and beautiful verse. After a while, Mr. Douglas determined
to prepare himself for the practice of law, a profession for
which he was eminently adapted, and in which he must have
attained the highest rank. In pursuance of this purpose, he
commenced reading with his uncle, the Hon. Samuel Douglas,
Attorney General of Pennsylvania, and continued in the
preparation for nearly two years. He then suddenly con-
cluded to turn his attention to the ministry, and gave up the
study of law. As he was not a man of weak purposes, it ie
difficult to account for the change, and it is useless now tc
speculate upon it. He went to the Theological Seminary at
York, Pennsylvania, and after a due season was admitted to
the ministry in the German Reformed Church. In this call-
ing ho continued literally to the day of his death, nevei
158
AMERICAN BASTILE.
neglecting an appointment nor a duty, and never wearying
in well-doing. After having preached to a number of con-
gregations, he removed in 1850, to his farm on the Potomac,
in Washington County, Maryland, the birthplace of his last
wife, who was the daughter of Colonel John Blackford. He
did not, however, retire from the ministry, but undertook
the charge of four different congregations. And as these
were widely separated, his whole time was occupied in attend
ing to his parochial duties. Holding himself aloof from
politics, he rarely went to the polls.
When the war burst over the Union in 1861, Mr. Douglas
saw the horrors of it inaugurated, by the burning of the
beautiful bridge over the Potomac. War continued to pour
blood freely over the land. Excitement and bitter feelings
raged along the border. The troubled times and advancing
age rapidly whitened the gray head of the preacher of the
Gospel. Yet he willingly permitted no interruption to his
duties ; he went his regular rounds, comforting the sick,
burying the dead, and spreading the Gospel. But soon the
iron hand of persecution was laid upon him ; sentinels and
spies lurked about his house and dogged his footsteps.
His sermons were reported, and the very prayers that he
offered over the graves of those he buried were searched for
words of treason.
Before destruction began its red carnival with fire and
blood in the valley of the Shenandoah, the torch was applied
to his property, and one dark night his handsome barn blazed
up against the heavens, casting an ominous glare over the
Potomac, and then sank into ashes and a mass of ruins.
The fences of his farm were in time taken down ar_d burned,
and his horses and cattle passed from his presence into the
hands of the soldiers, to assist in the suppression of the Re-
bellion.
Mr. Douglas soon became a prisoner in his own house ;
and if he walked out upon his land, he was either halted at
nis outer gate, or followed by a suspicious sentinel. His life
became almost unendurable ; he was turned back when h«
REV. ROBERT DOUGLAS.
159
went out to perform the last rites to the dying ; armed squads
searched his house at the pleasure of each new commander;
invading the chambers of his wife and daughters — looking
through the contents of their bureaus and wardrobes, and
turning their beds upon the floor with their bayonets ; each
member of his family was insulted by the brutal soldiery ;
and finally, he was ordered to close the shutters of all the
windows that looked out upon Virginia.
The battle of Sharpsburg was fought on the 17th of Septem-
ber, 1862. The Confederate lines extended to within about
three miles of the residence of Mr. Douglas, and their line
of retreat, on the 19th, into Virginia, was through his farm.
The Federal army followed to the Potomac, was repulsed at
Blackford's Ferry, and then stretched itself in camp along
the river. One corps was encamped on Mr. Douglas's farm,
" Ferry Hill Place," and immediately his fences, wheat, corn,
and every thing destructible was swept away, until that
beautiful plantation became as bald and unprotected as a
common.
All the crops of the season were taken without compensa-
tion, and without the pretence of military seizure. Tents
were pitched in the yard, cannon planted about the house,
and the inmates were in a state of siege. The battle having
increased the animosity among citizens of opposite sympa-
thies, frequent reports were made to headquarters of the
rank disloyalty of that " Old Rebel preacher " — that he was
n underground and treasonable communication with the
Confederate General ; and it was a subject of suspicion and
complaint that one of his sons was on the personal staff of
General " Stonewall " Jackson. It was a period credulous
of evil report, and although the Federal officers, to whom
these reports were made, would have concluded upon a mo-
ment's reflection that the scanty information of which Mr.
Douglas, a prisoner in his own house, was possessed, would
be of little value to the enemy, yet they acted in accordance
with their prejudices.
About the latter part of October, on a dark and rainy
160
AMERICAN BASTILE.
night, one of the shutters, which had been kept closed by
order, was forced open by the storm. Mrs. Douglas, in going
to her chamber with a lamp, unfortunately passed by this
window, and a slender stream of disloyal and sympathetic
light was poured over the Potomac into the Confederacy.
The watchful sentinel upon the bank of the river saw the
terrible flash, and made haste to report to an eager officer
that a signal light had been given from the house of that
" Old Eebel." It was a grievous charge, and most grievously
did Mr. Douglas answer for it. Here was treason, if not
stalking abroad, at least alive and active in the camp of loy-
alty. It must be sorely punished.
On the next evening, without warning or reason given, the
venerable gentleman was taken from his home and family,
and marched to the quarters of General Fitz-John Porter.
He requested an interview with the General, but that was
refused. This man, charged with disloyalty, had no rights
which the Federal commander was bound to respect, and
unheard, he was committed to the vulgar treatment of such
soldiers as generally composed the provost guard. Had not
such wrongs become common, it would seem both shameful
and cruel that an aged gentleman of high social position,
a minister of the Gospel, well known throughout all that
country, should be dragged so suddenly from his family and
condemned to prison, without an opportunity for explanation.
And how simple was the explanation, and how easily refuted
the charges upon which Mr. Douglas was arrested ! Genera]
Porter thought little of the bitter draught he was forcing
npon that unoffending civilian. Perhaps he thought of it
afterward, when in retributive justice the poisoned chalice
was commended to his own lips by that very Government in
whose behalf he was doing the cruel wrong. The wheel was
turning which was to drag General Porter down.
" Though the mills of God grind slowly,
Yet they grind exceeding small."
The same evening of his arrest, Mr. Douglas was hurried
on to Berlin, below Harper's Ferry. Here, in the open air,
K E V. ROBERT DOUGLAS.
161
without shelter or any covering hut the cloak he wore, and
forbidden the use of fire, the old prisoner passed that cold
and dreary night upon the frozen ground, while his family,
ignorant of the cause of his arrest or his fate, passed the same
nis:ht in tearful grief and fear. But greater than all the
prisoner's personal sufferings was the thought of the mani-
fold trials and sorrows that his arrest would bring upon his
family, left alone and unprotected in the midst of his ene-
mies. It was to him a night of wrestling between outraged
honor and the Christian forgiveness and forbearance which
he had been wont to preach throughout the land. And
when, after the long night, the light of day appeared again,
it witnessed the sad spectacle of the white hair of the old
man mingling with the snow that lay all about him. A
second and a third night was spent in the same manner, ex-
cept that a subordinate officer, whose heart was not steeled
against compassion, declared his treatment was a disgrace,
and offered him one of his own blankets to lie upon. Wq
care not to dwell upon the sorrows that were inflicted upon
Mr. Douglas during these days, or the gloom and wretched-
ness that prevailed in his household. After a few days he
was taken before General Burnside, where the oath of alle-
giance was offered him as the price of his release. This he
declined, and demanded an investigation of the charges
against him. Had he taken the oath under such circum-
stances, he must first have crushed out the spirit of indepen-
dence he inherited from his ancestors. His request was in
turn disregarded, and he was hurried away to Fort McHenry.
The fate of many who went within the walls of this Bas-
tile suggests that over the gate should have been written
as over the entrance of Dante's Hell :
" He who enters here, leaves hope behind/'
For a while after Mr. Douglas reached Fort McHenry, he
was shut up in what had been a horse-stable, with deserters,
criminals in ball and chain, and prisoners of the lowest grade.
In all his experience, never had he seen such a mass of
wretchedness, wickedness, and despair. A proper respect for
162
AMERICAN BASTILE.
decency, forbids a minute description of the scene in tho
midst of which he passed those miserable days and more
miserable nights. And yet his age, appearance, and charac-
ter had their effect even upon the wretches who surrounded
him. They soon began to regard him with kindness and
consideration. A fellow-prisoner thus describes Mr. Douglas's
situation at this time and in this place :
"A large number of prisoners, perhaps four hundred, occu-
pied the hay-loft, and a larger number the stables below.
After having seen Captain Barlow in regard to my quarters,
and securing certain privileges for myself, he remarked to me
that they were having a lively time in the front stable. An
old graj'-haired man was in there preaching to the soldiers,
and he seemed to understand his business. He added that
it was a bitter shame to have that old Christian gentleman
;n there, but that he could not help it. He was charged with
giving signal-lights to the rebels ; he (Captain B.) did not be-
lieve it, but General Morris did, and there was no use in trying
to get him out. He asked me to look through the bars and see
if I knew the prisoner. He was holding service. At its con-
clusion, I looked in and saw him seated upon a board, and
when he arose and approached, I at once recognized him,
and we shook hands. We had some conversation, and as we
parted he said, (in a full, earnest voice,) ' They may put me in
prison ; they may confine my body ; but they cannot imprison
my spirit and my soul. I have plenty of work in here for
my Master, and, by his grace, I intend to do it.' He con-
star tly held prayer in that stable, and his fellow-prisoners, as
far as I could ascertain, exercised toward him the greatest
affection and reverence." Soon after, by the kindness of the
P-ovost Marshal, Mr. Douglas was taken from the horse-
stable and placed in somewhat more comfortable quarters,
with his young friend and other state prisoners.
The record of the imprisonment of Fort McHenry is too
well known to make it necessary to add that his exposure)
and sufferings were still great, too great for one of his age
and failing health to endure very long. While he remained
with those kind gentlemen, they resolved that he should be
REV. ROBERT DOUGLAS.
163
as their guest, and should perform none of the duties of their
prison-life. His health, however, rapidly declined. His white
hairs became fewer ; the fire in his eye began to burn dimly,
and his body to bend. Always unwell, at one time he was
very ill. He attributed the beginning of his sickness to the
severe cold he had caught when lying out upon the ground the
several nights after his arrest. He grew weak and cold ; the
poor covering of a quilt and a flimsy blanket were not suffi-
cient to keep him warm. " He had prayers morning and
evening with his room-mates. He prayed always for univer-
sal humanity, for his enemies and his friends. His conversa-
tion was mostly upon religious subjects, and thrice only he
joined the little band in a war of wits." His illness increased,
and at one time he thought he was dying. He said his spirit
was strong enough, but his body was growing weak ; yet
weak as his body became, his spirit never deserted him.
The ladies of Baltimore, as usual, ministered kindly unto
him, and did much to assuage his sufferings. To " Father
Douglas," as they called him, they brought cheerfulness and
material comfort. He had nothing to offer in return but his
blessings and his prayers.
Having been in confinement about six weeks, Mr. Douglas
was brought before the Provost Marshal. By this gentleman
he was treated with much courtesy, and he ascertained, after
having undergone an examination, that there was no evi-
dence against him, and that no written charges had ever
been preferred. He had been arrested and imprisoned on sus-
picion, prejudice, and the vaguest rumors. Feeble and sick, but
the shadow of his former self, he was released and graciously
permitted to return to his home.
But imprisonment had done its fatal work. The seeds of
disease had taken deep root, and they continued to grow.
He resumed his parochial duties, but he appeared among his
people as one stepping along the confines of the grave ; and
that deep-toned voice which they knew so well, and which
had often thrilled them with its power, was weakened and
unsteady. The succeeding years of war, bringing with them
Dew trials and difficulties, aggravated his ailment. His son*
164
AMERICAN BASTILE.
were wounded in battle, and false rumors of their death
reached his ears time and again. On one occasion, when he
went to Hagerstown to seek for news of \ia eldest son, whose
obituary he had read in the papers, he was not permitted to
alight from his buggy, his horse was seized and turned toward
home, and he was ordered to leave the town. These wrongs
were too much for his proud soul and his failing health, and
he fast grew wan and weary. A few years had done the
usual work of a score. Mr. Douglas was spared to the min-
istry for a few years longer, but nothing could arrest the
fatal disease which had taken hold of him in Fort McIIenry.
He seemed to know that his end was approaching, but he
continued his labors. His family entreated him to retire,
and leave his unfinished work to others, but he replied that
he would die at his post. He still hesitated in strange un-
willingness to cease his ministerial labors ; but, on the next
Sunday, started to take leave of his people. At Mount
Moriah he preached a morning sermon, which his devoted
parishioners still speak of as full of truth, humility, and
resignation. At Keedysville, on the same day, his congre-
gation looked with surprise on his feeble frame, and listened
attentively to the words which impressed them with more
than usual solemnity. The venerable man seemed to be con-
scious that he was speaking to them for the last time, and
while they were silent, his earnestness rose for a time above
his bodily weakness, and triumphed. The effort was toe
great : toward the end of his sermon his voice trembled and
his sight grew dim, and at its close he sank exhausted into
his seat. It was a solemn scene. He had spoken as Elijah
might have spoken just as he was raised from earth to hea-
ven. The people dispersed, and their aged pastor was taken
to the house of a friend, where he lay for several days, at-
tended by his wife and physicians. He was then removed
to his home, where, after lingering a few days longer, he, on
the 20th of August, 1867, passed to God, under whose ban-
ner he had fought for more than thirty years, and faithfully
even unto the end.
A sentinel on the watch-tower of Zion, he fell at his post
CAPTAIN" H. L. SHIELDS.
nAPTALN" H. L. SHIELDS graduated at the United Slates
\-J Military Academy at West Point, in 1845, about the
commencement of the Mexican War.' He served through
that war, was present in seven or eight battles, and was twice
brevetted for gallant conduct. After the close of the war,
he was attached for several years to Sherman's battery of
light artillery, in the 3d Regiment. He afterward served
under General Wool, as an aide-de-camp, and acting Judge
Advocate of the Eastern Division of the United States Army.
He resigned from the army in 1854, and in a few years there-
after took possession of, and has occupied since then, a stock
raising farm, near Bennington, Vermont.
One rainy morning in October, 1861, while Captain Shields
was engaged with his men in some out-of-door farm-work,
a boy rode up from Bennington, (two miles distant,) and in-
formed him that some friends, who proposed going off in the
cars in an hour, were anxious to see him before leaving. He
immediately ordered his wagon, and, without waiting to
change the rough dress he wore, drove rapidly to the village.
On reaching the hotel he was shown into the parlor, where a
man introduced himself as the United States Marshal for
Vermont, at the same time informing the Captain that he
had an order to arrest him, and take him to Fort Lafayette,
Captain S. was greatly astonished, and inquired who issued
the order. The Marshal replied, " The Secretary of State."
The order was signed by the Assistant Secretary of State.
After a few moments' reflection, the Captain expressed Iub
willingness to accompany the Marshal, but requested him to
go with him to his residence, that he might get some cloth
iiiff. This he refused to do, remarking that he had no time
165
166 AMERICAN E AS TILE.
to lose. The Marshal escorted him to the cars, while a posst
with the Sheriff of the county proceeded to his house, and
demanded of his wife his letters and papers. They enter-
tained themselves for an hour, in examining private papers
and letters, hoping, no doubt, to find "treasonable corre-
spondence" but in this they were disappointed. The Marshal
in the mean time took the Captain to Fort Hamilton, where
he was turned over to Colonel Martin Burke, United States
Army, who had been his commander in Mexico.
Thence he was taken to Fort Lafayette, and placed in a
casemate in which there were numerous heavy guns. This
casemate was occupied by some twenty or thirty " prisoners
of state." The greater portion of these were prominent
members of the Legislature of the State of Maryland. They
comprised the entire Democratic representation from that body.
Sick and well were alike crowded together in these damp,
illy ventilated and unhealthy casemates. The listless ennui
of prison-life, the grating and heavy iron doors, the bars
and chains, the poor fare, the tyranny of the officers, the
brutality of the ignorant guards, and the longing for home
and friends contributed much to sow the seeds of disease
in many of the prisoners. On entering the Fort, Captain
S. (like all who were its inmates) was divested of his money,
arms, and valuables. He was permitted to join a mess of
other prisoners, who had two meals served each day, for
which they paid one dollar each per diem. The prisoner
who had no money fared badly. " The food," says Captain
Shields, " which, if well cooked, would have been wholesome
and sufficient, was wretchedly served up by the same inex-
perienced recruits who guarded the Fort." About the first
of November an order came to remove tlie state prisoners
to Fort Warren, in Boston Harbor. Many rejoiced at the
change, as that Fort was known to be larger, the accommo-
dations for quarters better, and because Colonel Justin Dimick,
an old officer, was known to be a Christian and a gentle-
man, as well as a thorough soldier.
We again quote from Captain S. : " We bade adieu to Fort
CAPTAIN II. L. SHIELDS.
Lafayette in the morning, and, after hours of unnecessarj
delay, we re-embarked at Fort Columbus, on board the
steamer 'State of Maine.' On this boat, which years before
was considered unseaworthy and unsafe in a gale, without
accommodations for sleeping and no preparations for feeding
so many men, were huddled together about one hundred
* state prisoners,' several hundred military prisoners, and
United States troops as a guard. Fortunately the weather
was propitious, and on the evening of the third day we landed
on the wharf at Fort Warren. General Dimick and his com-
mand (a Massachusetts regiment) did, apparently, all they
could to make us comfortable, although he had been in-
structed to prepare for only one hundred 4 state prisoners.'
At Fort Warren more liberty was granted us for exercise,
and the fare was vastly better, while General D. was at al]
times approachable, and anxious to do all he could, consistent
with safety, to make us comfortable."
Captain Shields was discharged from the Fort without
trial, and is still ignorant of the charge upon which he was
arrested and imprisoned. All the money he had handed
over to the commandant at Fort Lafayette was " absorbed
in some way," and but for the kindness of General Dimick
in furnishing him with funds with which to reach his home,
he would have been a sojourner in Boston, among strangers,
and without money or friends.
It will be perceived by this unjust imprisonment of Cap*
tain Shields, that it made no difference with the Adminis-
tration of Mr. Lincoln in what capacity a man had served
his country ; if he did not openly support the " Government,"
he was at the mercy of spies, informers, and United Statest
Marshals, whose actions were always indorsed by the Admin-
istration, whether right or wrong.
WARRKN* J. REED.
ARRE1ST J. REED was born near the village of White-
lysburg, in Kent County, Delaware, on the 2 2d day
of August, 1836. His father dying when the subject of this
sketch was but fourteen years of age, and he being cast
upon the world so young and destitute of means, ^iis edu-
cation was necessarily limited. At his majority he engaged
in business on his own account in his native village, which
proved unprofitable for the young merchant after a continu
ance of three years.
Having diligently applied himself to study during his
leisure hours, his mind was much improved, and an oppor-
tunity presenting itself, he commenced teaching school, and
was thus employed at the time of his arrest. At the breaking
out of the late war, he was commissioned, by Governor Bur-
ton, Justice of the Peace for Murderkill Hundred, Kent
County.
Having from his youth taken an active part in politics, being
a firm advocate of the State Rights doctrine as enunciated by
Jefferson, his outspoken defence of free speech and his bold
denunciation of the tyrannical arrests of the Administration
made him obnoxious to the Radicals of Delaware ; and his
galling invectives against their little co-workers in that
State, furnished a sufficient pretext, if any were needed, for
his arrest, which took place in September, 1862. He was at
the time teaching school in Murderkill Hundred. During
school-hours, two men — a Sergeant Johnson, of ISTew York,
and a Mr. Ilelverson, a private soldier in a Delaware regi-
ment— stepped into the school-room and inquired if Mr.
Reed was present. When informed that he was, they pro-
ceeded to make known their business, by first displaying
their arms — the one a sabre and musket, the other a rcvol-
rcr. Then informing him that he was their prisoner, they
lliH
WARREN J. REED.
ICS
ordered him to immediately dismiss the school. Permission
to visit his home that he might obtain some money and ne-
cessary articles was refused him, although the distance was
only a mile.
He was then quickly placed in a carriage and hurriedly
driven to Felton Station, on the Delaware Railroad. Arriving
there, they conducted him to a hotel, with the intention of
placing him in close confinement ; but upon the intercession
of some friends, this rigorous treatment was so far mitigated
as to permit him to remain in a room below, with a soldier
by his side. When the Wilmington train arrived he was
placed on it, and one of the soldiers who had made the arrest
took a seat beside him, while the other, who had been joined
by a companion, took his seat in the rear.
Arriving at Wilmington at 9 o'clock p.m., he was taken
from the train by a squad of soldiers and marched through
several streets to a hotel, where he was placed in a small,
filthy room in the fourth story, the door carefully locked,
and a squad of soldiers placed in the passage-way. After
these precautions, the prisoner was deemed safe for the night.
Safe he might be, but as for sleep, he could obtain none, the
bedbugs and fleas having taken undisputed possession of the
room. They considered their right prior to his, and looking
upon him as an intruder, prepared to welcome him in any
other than a complaisant manner. They immediately com-
menced an attack upon him, in which they battled earnestly
for their rights, stoutly contending for every inch of territory
until daylight, when they retired in good order, expecting
to renew the attack the next night. The soldiers, too, were
in the passage, engaged in frequent broils, mingled with oaths,
which sounded hideously during the long hours of the night.
Morning came at last, and with it some relief. Breakfast
was furnished the prisoner about 7 o'clock a.m., of which he
was much in need.
Soon after, he was taken into the presence of Colone" A. II.
Grhusliaw, commanding a Delaware regiment, a man of low
and sordid nature, who, feeling that he was 41 dressed hi a
170
AMERICAN BASTILE.
little brief authority," determined to display it. The prisoner,
supposing that he was to have a trial, demanded the charges
against him, and was informed by the petit Colonel, in a voice
scarcely audible, that it was all right, or something like that.
Mr. Reed wondered if he were still in the Diamond State
of Delaware, or had been transported to Turkey, and whether
he was in the presence of an United States officer, or a
Cadi of Constantinople. The proceedings seemed to favor
the latter, as the laws of Delaware accord to every accused
person an examination, face to face with his accusers, the
privilege of counsel for his defence, compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and a speedy and impartial
trial by a jury of his peers; all of which were violated in his
person. Instead of a trial, he was commanded to stand against
the wall, and there underwent the formula similar to that
practised on all condemned culprits, namely, the registering
of his height, color of eyes, hair, complexion, occupation,
age, residence, etc., which was done with the greatest preci-
sion. "While anxiously waiting to see what the next thing
would he, his ears were greeted with the cry from the out-
side of the building, "All ready!" which being responded
to in the affirmative, he, with two others of the prisoners,
was placed in a carriage and started for where they knew
not, until their arrival at Delaware City, at about 2 o'clock
p.m., when all doubt as to their destination was removed.
As a special act of kindness, they were permitted to obtain
some food at the hotel, after which a small boat was obtained,
and the order given to take them across the channel to the
Fort.
The wind was blowing hard at the time, and the water
was so rough that the boatmen deemed the passage too dan-
gerous to attempt, and did not wish to go.
But the officer in command ruled otherwise, and Mr. Reed
and three or four others were placed in the boat and passed
safely over to the Fort, where they arrived about dark, and
were immediately ushered into the headquarters of the com-
mandant, Major H. S. Burton, a gentlemanly officer, who in
WARREN J. REED.
171
a few weeks after was relieved of his command for strictly
obeying orders from "Washington, as will be seen in the
sequel. The Major not being in the Fort at the time, the
command devolved upon a subordinate officer, who placed
them in a room about forty feet in length, by twenty feet in
breadth, in the second story of the barrack, with a guard at
the door.
It being bedtime, they lay down on the floor. Mr. Reed
was fortunate enough to find a small piece of broken box,
which answered for a pillow, and, with no covering save the
clothing he wore, fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. Awak-
ing at daybreak, before the rest of the prisoners were astir,
he arose and took a survey of the room. Here burst upon
his view a sight never, it is to be hoped, again to meet the
eyes of an American citizen. Stretched lengthwise upon the
floor lay three rows of prisoners, each covered with his
blanket. That made his bed. In all there were about twenty-
five or thirty men — American freemen. They were all politi-
cal prisoners. Not one of them had had a trial or was even
charged with a crime. All were the victims of despotic
power. He stood for some time contemplating the scene
before him, and finally sat down, and, like Ludlow and Syd-
ney, mourned the lost liberties of his country.
The walls of the room had been plastered but a short
time previously, which, considering the chill air of September
and October without fire, made the situation of the prisoners,
Dot only uncomfortable, but unhealthy.
At meal-times they were marched about two hundred yards
to an old tent, where the Confederate prisoners were fed, and
sometimes the march was scarcely necessary, as upon several
occasions they were handed only a slice of bread in the
oiorning, with neither meat nor coffee, and compelled to sub-
sist upon that the whole day.
At other times they received in addition, for dinner, a tin-
cup of bean-water, in many instances not having a single bean
or any other vegetable in it. This food, to men accustomed to
172
AMERICA N BASTILE.
the comforts of home and of substantial living, was starvation
diet, and all the prisoners showed the effects of it.
After nearly a month of confinement in the Fort, Mr.
Reed was discharged through the intercession of his friends
^ hose frequent applications for his release, to the Secretary
of War, Edwin M. Stanton, at last induced that official to
issue an order for his discharge. At the same time, George
P. Fisher, a Eepresentative of the State of Delaware, but
now on the bench of the Supreme Court of the District of
Columbia, together with the enrolling officer, John Green,
and two other persons, addressed letters to Major Burton,
imploring him to hold the prisoner at all hazards and upon
their responsibility, until they could get the order for his
release rescinded, assigning as a reason that the election was
oear at hand, and they deemed it absolutely necessary that
he be detained, as his release would have a damaging effect.
Major Burton paid no attention to their request, but released
Mr. Reed, and for his temerity was, on the Monday following
relieved of the command of the Fort, and not given another
for fifteen months.
Mr. Reed arrived at home on Sunday morning, having
been confined nearly a month, much to the detriment of his
health. Being arrested to gratify the malice of his political
enemies, and having been foiled in their attempt to keep him
incarcerated, it is not to be supposed that party vengeance
would stop at one outrage.
Kor did it. In June, 1863, while at dinner, he was again
made prisoner by a detachment of eight cavalrymen, com-
manded by Sergeant Wilson, and acting under orders of
Colonel Edwin Wilmer — since convicted of appropriating to
his private purposes the moneys paid by drafted men for
procuring substitutes, and sentenced to the Albany State Pen-
itentiary for ten years; but the sentence never having been
carried into execution, he is now living in luxury in Wil-
mington, Delaware.
At the time of his second arrest, he, together with' his
family, was grossly '.nsulted. The officer in command of
WAKREN J. REED.
173
the squad remarked that, if he had his way, he would hang
all such men, and several other remarks of a similar nature.
Mr Reed was taken to the Fulton Station, and was com-
pelled to walk by the side of the cavalrymen, until a friend
kindly took him in his carriage. At the Station he was
placed under guard until the train arrived, and was after-
ward conveyed to Smyrna, the headquarters of Colonel
Wilmer. At Smyrna he marched through the streets, which
was very fatiguing, as the day was quite warm, and placed
in a small dirty room, in the old Quaker church, which had
not been used for years, and consequently contained its accu-
mulation of filth. Here he spent the night, with nothing to
lie upon, or anything necessary for his comfort, nor did he re«
oeive any of the necessary articles until some friends kindly
furnished them. lie was refused the privilege of going out
to attend the calls of nature during his confinement of eight
weeks, his door being constantly guarded by a soldier with
a drawn sabre.
At the expiration of the above-mentioned period, he was
taken into the office of Colonel Wilmer, and questioned as
to his political opinions, and was told that he could go home,
as there was no charge against him ; thus clearly proving that
both were partisan arrests.
Mr. Reed still holds the office of Justice of the Peace, and
is also Notary Public and Commissioner of Deeds. He is
again in the mercantile business, with fair prospects of suc-
cess. Being a sober and steady young man, energetic in
business and courteous in demeanor, he is held in high esti
mation by his neighbors.
ISRAEL BLASTCHARD.
TSR AEL BLANCHARD was born on the 4th day of June,
*- 1825, near Mount Morris, Livingston County, New York.
At the age of seventeen he commenced the study of medicine
m his father's office, near Buffalo. He graduated and received
the degree of M.D. from the Botanic Medical College of Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, in February, 1847. On his return from college
he commenced the practice of medicine in Erie County, New
York, in which he continued until the spring of 1850, when,
in company with many others, he left his home with the in-
tention of going to California, by the Texas overland route.
Soon after arriving in Texas, he was taken violently ill with
inflammatory rheumatism, which prevented him from travel-
ling for the ensuing few months. Upon his recovery, (his
companions having all left him,) he remained in Texas until
1852, when he left that State, and settled in the town of
Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois.
Here he resumed the practice of his profession, which he
continued until the fall of 1860. At that time, owing to
general debility, induced by the arduous labors of his profes-
sion, he removed to Murphysboro', the county seat of Jackson
County, Illinois, and commenced the study of the law.
The following spring he was admitted to the bar, and has
since continued to practise in that profession with ability and
success. During the summer of 1861 the clamor of war re-
Bounded through the land. The city of Cairo was filled with
Federal troops ; Big Muddy Bridge, on the Illinois Central
Railroad, in Jackson County, was strongly guarded, and vol-
unteers by the thousands were rushing forward to fill up the
ranks of the Federal army. The 18th Regiment of Illinois
Volunteers, known as the " infamous 18th," was then sta-
174
ISRAEL BLANCHARD,
175
tioned at the town of Anna, on the Illinois Central Railroad.
This regiment afterward became notorious for its robberies
and murders of women and children.
In August, 1862, while riding in his baggy, in the streets
of Carbondale, Illinois, he was met by five men, who pre-
sented cocked revolvers at his head, and commanded him to
surrender. Considering discretion the better part of valor,
he did so, and was taken into custody.
When the Captain of the squad who had thus unceremo-
niously arrested him, was asked by Blan chard to show his
authority for the arrest, he pulled out his revolver, presented
it at his head, and replied : " There is my authority." He was
then taken to Big Muddy Bridge and placed in the guard-
house, to await the Cairo train, which passed down at dark.
Immediately a despatch was sent to the Colonel of the 18th
Regiment, stationed at Anna, twenty-five miles distant,
stating that Blanchard was in custody, and would pass on
the ten-o'clock down train.
When the train arrived at Big Muddy Bridge, Blanchard,
with a guard of five men, was placed on it for Cairo. At
ten o'clock the train arrived, and stopped at Anna. The 18th
Regiment was drawn up in line on the platform of the depot.
When the train stopped they gave three cheers for General
Prentiss, and immediately afterward three groans for Dr.
Blanchard.
The cry was then raised, "Take Blanchard out and hang
him J1 Some of the soldiers attempted to enter the car, but
were prevented by the conductor telling them that Blanchard
was in the forward car. A rush was then made for the for-
ward car, but not finding him there, they were returning to
the rear car, when the train started. As the train moved
off, the windows of the rear car were smashed in, but the
guard presented bayonets, and thus prevented the soldiers
from clambering in the windows until the cars were beyond
their reach. The prisoner was then taken to Cairo and
handed over to General Prentiss, who, after exacting and
receiving his parole of honor that he would not escape,
176
AMERICAN BASTILE.
allowed liim the privilege of the city, and required him to
report at his office every day, until witnesses* could be sum
moned against him.
Blanchard was kept at Cairo four days, when all the wit-
nesses which had been summoned against him having ap-
peared, an examination was had before General Prentiss.
The charges preferred were, that he had spoken disrespect-
fully of President Lincoln, discouraged enlistment, and at-
tempted to raise a company to burn Big Muddy Bridge.
To the first charge he pleaded "guilty" but denied the
others. Witnesses were examined who swore that his con-
versation had a tendency to discourage enlistments.
"Whereupon General Prentiss sent him in charge of a lieu-
tenant to the United States Marshal at Springfield, Illinois.
The Marshal refused to receive him, and returned him
under guard to General Prentiss at Cairo. He was then
immediately liberated by the General and sent home, where
he remained, continuing the practice of the law until his
second arrest.
In the latter part of July, 1863, while walking the streets
of Murphysboro', he was accosted by a man in the uniform
of a captain of volunteers, who inquired if his name was
Blanchard. Being answered in the affirmative, the captaiD
requested him to accompany him to the hotel, which he did.
Upon entering the bar-room of the hotel he was surrounded
by five men, having muskets with fixed bayonets.
The captain then informed him that he had been ordered
by the United States Marshal to arrest and convey him to
Centralia on the next day; that it was a very unpleasant
duty to perform, but he was bound to obey " orders."
Upon signifying his readiness to accompany the officer he
was allowed an hour in which to prepare for his departure.
At the expiration of that time, all being in readiness, he
was taken in a carriage to Carbondale, and thence to De
Soto, on a hand-car. Here the captain allowed him to remain
on parole over night, to meet him at the train at six o'clock
n the morning. He met the officer punctually and went
ISRAEL BLANCHARD,
177
with him to Centralia. While in the custody of this officer,
Captain Howard, he was treated in the most gentlemanly
manner. At Centralia he was delivered over to one Major
Board, Deputy United States Marshal, who immediately con-
fined him in a room with some ten or twelve other prisoners,
to await the arrival of the Springfield train.
"When the train was heard approaching, handcuffs were
produced, the prisoners driven into one corner of the room,
surrounded by a squad of soldiers with fixed bayonets, and
handcuffed like convicted felons. They were then placed in
a private car and taken to the camp at Springfield, where
they were detained for two days.
After the expiration of two days, United States Marshal
D. S. Phillips appeared, took Dr. Blanchard, and several
others, and put them on a train and started for Washington ;
where, on their arrival, they were immediately consigned to
the Old Capitol prison.
Here he remained for six weeks. Mr. Wood, the superin-
tendent of the prison, generally treated his prisoners well,
with the exception of fare. After he had been incarcerated
about three weeks, the Illinois prisoners (about twenty in
number) were placed in a room to themselves, and allowed to
buy their own provisions.
From that period until the Illinois prisoners were dis-
charged, they passed their time as well as men could who
were kept in close confinement.
After having been imprisoned for six weeks, Blanchard, in
company with five others, was taken before the Judge Ad-
vocate, when the following conversation ensued :
Judge Advocate. What is your name?
Answer. Israel Blanchard.
J udge Advocate. Where are you from ?
Answer. From Illinois.
Judge Advocate. What are you in prison for?
Answer. I do not know.
The Judge then arose, went to a desk, and took out a
12
178
AMERICAN BASTILE.
bundle of papers, and after looking over them, again turned
to the prisoners:
Judge Advocate. Do you belong to the Knights of the
Golden Circle?
Answer. I am not acquainted with any such organization.
Judge Advocate. Have you ever belonged to any secret or-
ganization ?
Answer. I have belonged to the Odd Fellows, and the Sons
of Temperance, and I once joined something that was calhd the
Know-Nothings.
Judge Advocate. I do not mean that: do you belong to any
political organization.
Answer. I do : I belong to the Democratic organization.
Judge Advocate. Where do you meet ?
Answer. We usually meet at the Court House, in Murphys-
boro', Illinois.
Judge Advocate. Do you meet at night, or in the daytime?
Answer. Sometimes we meet at night, and sometimes in day-
time.
Judge Advocate. Do you have any secret signs or pass-
words by which yo\x are admitted ?
Answer. We have none.
Judge Advocate. What do you do there when you meet ?
Answer. We appoint committees for different purposes, at-
tend to our own political business, and concoct measures to beal
the Republicans at the election.
Judge Advocate. Were you, in June last, at a meeting of tht
Golden Circle, near Pinckneyville, Perry County, Illinois?
Answer. I was not ; I have not been in Perry County in two
years, except to pass through it on the cars.
Question by Blanchard. Judge, I would like to see those
papers, or would like to have you tell me who has made com-
plaint against me, and what the charges are?
Answer by Judge Advocate. We have made it a rulo not
to let prisoners see the papers filed against them, ncr to tell them
who made complaint against them, or what the charges are, as
it might lead to unpleasant consequences hereafter.
This ended the examination, and he was immediately dis-
ISRAEL BLANCHARD.
179
charged, without knowing why he was arrested and im-
prisoned, what the charges were against him, or who made
them, if any were ever made. He was furnished with trans-
portation, and permitted to return home.
Arriving at home, he was immediately nominated by the
Democratic party for State Senator, for the Third Senatorial
District of the State of Illinois, and was in the following
November elected by 3,000 majority.
On the first Monday of January, 1864, he took his seat in
the State Senate, and served the people well and faithfully
during that stormy session of the Illinois Legislature. After
the close of the session, in March, 1864, he returned to his
home at Murphysboro', Illinois, where he is busily engaged
in the practice of his profession, and still continues to be a
sterling advocate of the principles of Liberty and Free Gov-
enrment
DENNIS IIICKEY.
MONG the many other victims of despotism confined In
Fort Lafayette was a poor Irishman, named Dennis
Hickey.
He was apprehended in his potato patch, in Chester County,
Pennsylvania. He was not permitted to go to his house in
order to procure a decent suit of clothes ; but was taken in
his dirty and torn shirt and pants, and crownless old straw-
hat, and lodged in Fort Lafayette as a political prisoner.
Poor fellow ! he seemed to feel that he was like a " cat in a
strange garret." The idea that this poor laboring-man could
be dangerous to an Administration with nearly a million of
3oldiers, seemed more like one of Lincoln's jokes than a real-
ity. The charge against him was, that he would not turn
informer upon his Democratic neighbors.
It seems that some Republicans in his neighborhood wished
to find evidence that certain Democrats in that locality had
discouraged enlistments. They wanted Dennis Hickey to
tell what he knew about them. U J did not come to this
country to turn informer" was his indignant answer ; and for
this honest, manly, Irish sentiment he was seized, and con-
signed to Fort Lafayette.
The other prisoners sympathized deeply with poor Dennis,
and contributed from their own clothing to dress him in a
decent suit until he could supply himself from home. After
some six weeks of confinement in the Fort, without any
trial, Dennis was discharged upon taking the oath, or as it
t^as called in the Fort, "kissing Lincoln's great toe."
The following letter, written by Mrs. Dennis Hickey to
her husband, while he was a prisoner in Fort Lafayette, re-
reals the position and honest character of poor Hickey, and
180
DENNIS HICKEY.
181
the insufficiency of the reasons assigned for his arrest. It ia
as follows :
"New London, Sept. 21, 1862.
"Dear Dennis: I take the present opportunity of writing
these few lines to you, hoping that they may find you as well as
they leave me and the children. Thanks to God, I received your
first letter on the 5th, and was glad to hear that you were alive.
Then I made no delay, but sent you, as you told me, John MuL
lin's carpet-bag, and it full of clothes, and a letter with five dol.
lars. I sent them on Monday, the 8th, by express, and had to
pay a dollar for them. I was full sure you had got them by this
time. Eobert Kelton gave me a receipt for them, and I want
you to get some one to see if they are there, and if they ain't,
please write to me soon again, so I may look after them. I did
not know any one there to direct in care of, so I directed them
to 'Dennis Hickey, Fort Lafayette/ Dear Dennis, I was very
uneasy then, until I received your second letter, on Saturday, the
20th, which gave me great pleasure to know that you were still
alive, for I thought, to be sure, you were killed. Dear Dennis, I
cannot tell you how much trouble I have been in about you,
since you have been stole away. I set up all that night waiting
for you, expecting you home, and as soon as I seen the first peep
of day, I went to New London and inquired if there had been
such men there, and they told me they did not see them. I was
sure they had taken you out in the woods somewhere and killed
you, until Peter Mungen told me you had been arrested, and was
in the jail of Philadelphia ; but I did not know what it was for
until I got a letter from one of the officers that took you, stating
that you had been arrested by order of the War Department, and
would be sent to "Washington. I was told that they were very
well paid for stealing you. The neighbors were opposed to your
being kidnapped in that way. Then I got a petition wrote, and
the neighbors signed that — allowing that they had never, in
conversation with you, heard you say anything against the
North. We are going to send that to the Commander-in-chief
of Fort Lafayette. The enemies have put it in the paper that
you abused Joel Conrad when he came to enroll your name; but
Joel Conrad denied that in the paper, and said that Dennis
Hickey was as civil a man as he met with. All my trouble ia
182
AMERICAN BASTILE.
about you, that I do not know how you are treated there. Write
to me as soon as you get this, and tell me if I went there would
I be allowed to see you. It grieves me very much to have you
taken away in your dirty clothes; and did you not get any
ohange of clothes since you were stole away? I cannot rest and
content myself and have you be there; but putting my trust in
Almighty God that you will soon be home. John Mullin's arm
is getting better, and he has been working here since you were
stolen away. "We got the potatoes out, and Elijah Thompson
drilled the wheat in yesterday ; Elijah threshed the wheat and
the oats. The neighbors are all well. Joel Conrad, James Mich-
ener, and a good many others have gone to Harrisburg and
Chambersburg at the call of the Governor. So no more at
present, but remain yours truly until death.
"Ellen Hickey."
Can anything be more touching and truthful than this re-
cital of wrongs perpetrated upon these poor but honest peo-
ple? Poor woman, well might she think that her husband,
who had been thus ruthlessly stolen from his potato patch,
nad been " kilt intirely" Shame upon an Administration
that could thus invade the poor man's sanctuary !
REV. JUDSON D. BENEDICT.
REV. JUDSON D. BENEDICT is about sixty-one yea re
of age, of fine physical and intellectual appearance. He
is a minister of the Gospel, of the Campbellite persuasion,
and was born and reared in the State of Vermont. He had
not voted for fifteen years prior to his arrest, which took
place at his residence in East Aurora, Erie County, New
York, September 2, 1862.
On Sunday, the 31st of August, he preached a farewell
sermon to his congregation at Aurora, which numbered some
three or four hundred persons. His text was taken from
"Christ's Sermon on the Mount." The objectional part
of the sermon was the fact, that he had given it as his
opinion that the command of the New Testament was ex-
plicit that Christians should not engage in wars of any kind.
He referred to the Constitution of the State of New York,
which granted military exemption to Quakers, and said he
saw no reason why his brethren should not obtain like im-
munity.
If such were not granted in the case of a draft, he advised
his brethren not to resist it, but rather, as law-abiding citi-
zens, to submit cheerfully to any penalty the law might im-
pose. He said that there was no binding rule of the church ;
that a majority of its members held a different opinion ; and
that the subject was one for every man to decide for himself,
according to his understanding of the word of God. On
Monday, a complaint was made to Deputy Marshal A. G.
Stevens, that Rev. Mr. Benedict had uttered seditious lan-
i guage "tending to discourage enlistments," and requesting
him to come to Aurora and obtain the proof.
Mr. Stevens went to Aurora on Monday night. At a
1*3
184
AMERICAN BASTILE.
private house that night and the next morning he took the
affidavits of four persons, neither of whom were memhers of
Mr. B.'s church. The contents of these affidavits are to this
day unknown, the Marshal having repeatedly refused to fur
nish the prisoner or his counsel with copies of them. During
the preceding winter, the Eev. George B. Cheever preached
a sermon at the Church of the Pilgrims, in New York, to
about two thousand people, and published the same, in which
he insisted that the policy of the President, in prosecuting
the war, was to restore the Union as it was, and that, if suc-
cessful, it would leave slavery unabolished ; that therefore no
. Christian, in any way, could give aid to the Administration
in the prosecution of the war against the rebels, without
sinning against God. Although listened to by many leading
citizens who favored the Administration, and disapproved
by them, none ever thought that Mr. Cheever could bo
arrested for the sentiments he had expressed. Yet it was a
strong denunciation of the war, and tended more toward
discouraging enlistments, delivered as it was in a city, and
before five times the number of people, than any sentiment
contained in the sermon which caused the arrest of Rev. Mr.
Benedict.
On the supposed evidence contained in these (mute) affi-
davits, Marshal Stevens arrested Mr. Benedict at his resi-
dence, before breakfast, on Tuesday morning, September 2.
He took him to Buffalo, and confined him in the guard-
house at Fort Porter, with other political prisoners as com-
panions in tribulation. Mr. Benedict says: "One was a
' wild Irishman,' of no possible utility but to cut bog and
consume bad whiskey ; the other, an old German of some
seventy years of age, who could not speak three words of the
English language ; and the third a crazy man by the name
of Ckrk, whose business appeared to be selling 1 wooden nut-
megs ' and other New England indispensables." They had
all been arrested for " using language tending to prevent
enlistments."
He remained immured in the filthy guard-house until
REV. JUDSON D. BENEDICT.
185
W ednesday morning at 11 o'clock, without having food or
drink offered him. At noon he was transferred to the
county jail, by order of the Marshal. During the transit,
"handcuffs" were applied to the other prisoners, but he was
spared the indignity, and permitted to accompany his custo-
dians without wearing Mr. Stanton's official and ornamental
jewels.
On the 3d of September, his counsel, Mr. Albert Sawin,
of Buffalo, applied to several Federal officers and citizens for
letters to the Secretary of War, recommending his release.
These they all refused. He then applied to Deputy Marshal
Stevens for a like recommendation. The Marshal refused,
saying that he had " discretion to exercise in arresting," but
that he had "no power to discharge." Whereupon Mr.
Sawin said to him, " but the War Department, upon being
advised by you that the Government would be strengthened
by his discharge, would undoubtedly be governed by your
opinion, and order his release."
To which he replied, " I shall make no such recommenda-
tion."
The question here arises, "Should a man, under any cir*
cumstances, do that which conflicts with his conscience or is
against good morals." If a superior makes an order, should
an inferior obey it right or wrong? Only he who is merce-
nary in all the affairs of life, would permit his integrity to be
influenced by the mandate of a superior, when he was con-
scious the order under which he acted was contrary to his
own sense of justice.
The following statement, signed by a large number of the
prominent citizens of Aurora, was then presented to Marshal
Stevens. The loyalty and integrity of the subscribers were
certified to by Judges Hall and Sheldon :
" We, the undersigned, would respectfully represent to the
proper authorities, (if they can be reached,) that we are pained to
learn that Eev. J. D. Benedict was arrested on Tuesday morning,
for preaching a sermon in Aurora, on Sunday last, which sermon,
it is alleged, was calculated to discourage enlistments. We, the
186
AMERICAN BASTILE.
andorsigned, attentively listened
such construction on it.
" Aurora, September 3, 1862.
Gen. Aaron Riley,
Horace Hoyt,
Daniel D. Stiles,
Sabina Potter,
Alonzo Havens,
Harry H. Person,
Nehemiah Smith,
Ephraim Woodruff,
Dorr Spooner,
Whipple Spooner,
Edward Spooner,
to said sermon, and can put no
Robert Person,
Wm. D. Jones,
Timothy Paine,
Wm. B. Paine,
Isaiah Phillips,
Reynolds Cole,
John P. Wilson,
Horace Prentice,
N. A. Turner,
Jonathan Smith,
Hugh Mintcn,
together with numerous ladies, members of the church and
congregation."
Mr. Sawin further inquired of the Marshal, " Will you
certify to the good character of the people of Aurora, who
have signed that statement?" This he obdurately refused to
do. He then applied to the Supreme Court for a writ of
habeas corpus, which was refused him by twro of the three
Judges on the bench. Judges INoah Davis, of Albion, and
James G. Hoyt, of Buffalo, refusing the writ, while Judge
Martin Grover, of Angelica, dissented. He then, on the
same day, requested Deputy Marshal Stevens to informally
consent to, or not oppose an allowance of a writ of habeas
corpus by Judge Hall, for the sole purpose of enabling Mr.
Benedict to give bail; that he could give bail, to the amount
of $50,000, to comply with any condition the Federal officers
might impose. Stevens replied he would consent to no such
thing, and he would "disobey any order for his release on bail,
which Judge Hall might make." And yet, in the case of Mr.
Barker, of Gowanda, such bail, with the consent of a Deputy
Marshal of Buffalo, had been given, and Barker released.
Mr. Sawin soon after had an interview with Marshal Chase,
who proposed that, on a future day, witnesses should be ex-
amined on both sides, before a Federal commissioner, in tne
HEV. JUDSON D. BENEDICT.
187
regular way, by examination and cross-examination in pub-
lic, and be would forward tbeir depositions to Washington.
This Mr. Sawin agreed to, and on the day fixed, several
men and women who heard the sermon that occasioned
Mr. Benedict's arrest appeared as witnesses. But instead
of being examined publicly, Marshal Chase insisted that
the affidavits should be drawn in private ; that each witness
should be brought to his private room, when he would cross-
examine them in private, which might be written down as a
part of their depositions. This was agreed to, and five hours
were spent by the prisoner'3 counsel in the work. When
finished, Marshal Chase said that he might forward the
papers, and he would write to the Department, recommend-
ing the restoration of the prisonei to liberty.
Mr. Sawin took the affidavits drawn by Marshal Chase,
with his consent, to his office, and directed his student to
copy them. In about fifteen minutes afterward, and during
Mr. Sawin's absence, Deputy Marshal Grant entered the office
and said to his student : " The Marshal has sent me for those
depositions."
The latter replied : "I am copying them."
Grant then took them from the table and proceeded to the
Marshal's office, accompanied by the student, Mr. Miller,
who said to Stevens : "I am copying the papers." Stevens
replied " there was no use of copying them, and Sawin knew
it ; and Sawin could not make any damned political capital
of it. I want the papers to send off immediately, and if
Sawin wants a copy of them, he can take them and go to h — 1
with them." But he nevertheless retained them.
The family and friends of Mr. Benedict waited for a week
after this for word from Washington, but none came. The
papers of Noah B. Clark, who had been committed for " dis-
couraging enlistments," had been forwarded to Washington
by the United States Marshal two days later, and he was
released.
After the release of Clark, and being unable to learn that
there was any prospect of voluntary action on the part of
188
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the Marshal or the Secretary of War for the prisoner's dis»
charge, Mr. Sawin, at the request of Mr. Benedict's family
and friends, presented the papers to Judge Hall for a writ of
habeas corpus.
For the benefit of our readers, we give the subjoined copies
of such papers, together with the writ and proof of service,
the return of Best and Stevens, the order of Judge Hall on
Chase, the first petition for a writ of habeas corpus, and the
papers accompanying the same :
To the Hon. Nathan K. Hall, United Stales District Judge for
the Northern District of New York.
" The petition of Judson D. Benedict shows :
" That he is now confined and restrained of his liberty in tho
jail of the County of Erie, by William F. Best, the keeper of
said jail.
" That your petitioner is not committed or detained by virtue
of any process issued by any Court of the United States, or any
judge thereof, or by virtue of the final judgment or decree of
any court, or by virtue of any process of any kind or description.
" That the only cause of such detention by said jailor is a
paper delivered to him by A. G. Stevens, Deputy United States
Marshal, a copy of which is hereto annexed, marked schedule (A).
" That A. G. Stevens arrested your petitioner at Aurora
Tuesday morning, ihe 2d of September inst. All he said to youi
petitioner at the time of arrest was: 'I have an unpleasant duty
to perform ; I have come to arrest you. I suppose you are wil-
ing to go with me without opposition?' Your petitioner re-
plied, 'Most certainly.' Said Stevens then took deponent to
Fort Porter, and left him there, where your petitioner stayed
until removed to jail.
" Said Stevens showed no paper to your petitioner, nor did he
state any cause for such arrest.
" Your petitioner has neither by act nor speech been disloyal
to the Constitution or laws of the United States, or been guilty
of any violation of any order of the War Department, or of the
President of the United States, or been guilty of any offence or
act subjecting him to arrest.
"That your petitioner alleges, that such arrest and imprison
EEV. JUDSON D. BENEDICT.
189
ment are illegal, for the reason that he has not been charged with
any offence known to the laws, no process has been issued by any
court or magistrate for his arrest; and deponent refers to an-
nexed affidavit of Albert Sawin, his counsel, for the only pretence
for his arrest given by the United States Deputy Marshal.
" Your petitioner therefore prays your Honor to direct and
authorize the issuing of a writ of habeas corpus, to be directed to
said A. G. Stevens, such Deputy Marshal of the United States,
and William F. Best, aforesaid jailor of the County of Erie,
directing and requiring said Deputy United States Marshal and
said jailor to produce the body of your petitioner before your
Honor, that the cause of such imprisonment may be inquired
into, and your petitioner may be set at liberty.
(Signed) J. D. Benedict."
" The United States of America, ")
The Northern District of New York, Vss.
County of Erie. )
s Judson D. Benedict, being duly sworn, says that he has heard
the foregoing petition signed by him, read, and knows the con-
tents thereof, and the same is true of his own knowledge.
(Signed) J. D. Benedict.
"Sworn to before me, this 15th day of September, 1862.
(Signed) P. G. Parker,
U. S. Commissioner for Erie Co."
("A")
"Marshal's Office, )
Buffalo, September 2, 1862. }
"David M. Grant will take from Port Porter, Thomas Cum-
mings, James Parker, Antoine Quanliet, Noah B. Clark, and Jared
Benedict, prisoners confined there, committed under orders of
the War Department, and remove them to the Erie County jail
for safe-keeping, and there detain them until further order, and
the sheriff or jailor of said county will keep them, until further
order, in said jail.
(Signed) A. G. Stevens,
U. S. Deputy Marshal
;< To Col. E. P. Chapin, and the
Sheriff and Jailor of Erie County."
190
AMERICAN BASTILE.
" United States of America, ")
Northern District of New York, [ ss.
County of Erie. )
"Albert Sawin, counsellor at law, being duly swore, says that,
at the request of the above-named Judson D, Benedict, on the
3d day of September inst., he inquired personally of Deputy
United States Marshal Stevens, at his office in Buffalo, if he
arrested said Benedict by virtue of any order, process, or paper.
He said he did not, but he showed deponent a slip cut from a
newspaper, printed, a copy of wThich is hereto annexed, and said
that printed slip was his only authority for the arrest of said
Benedict.
(Signed) Albert Sawin
"Sworn this 15th day of September, 1862.
(Signed) P. G. Parker, U. S. Commissioner."
"War Department,)
August 8, 1862. j
"Ordered :
"First. That all United States Marshals, and Superintendents
and Chiefs of Police of any town, city, or district, be and they
are hereby authorized and directed to arrest and imprison any
person or persons who may be engaged by act, speech, or writing
in discouraging volunteer enlistments, or in any way giving aid
and comfort to the enemy, or for any other disloyal practice
against the United States.
"Second. That immediate report be made to Major L. C. Tur-
ner, Judge Advocate, in order that such persons may be tried
before a military commission.
" Third. The expense of such arrest and imprisonment will be
certified to the Chief Clerk of the War Department for settle-
ment and payment.
(Signed) Edwin M. Stanton,
Secretary of War."
indorsement on petition.
"Northern District of New York, ss.
" On the within petition I allow a writ of habeas corpus, to be
directed to Albert G. Stevens, United States Deputy Marshal,
and William F. Best, the keeper of Erie County Jail, and made
BEV. JUDSOK D. BENEDICT.
191
returnable on the 18th day of September inst., at 1C A. m., before
me ; and I direct the Clerk of the District Court to prepare tbfl
writ, that T may indorse an allowance thereon.
(Signed) N. K. Hall,
U. S. District Judge.
« Dated September 15, 1862."
the writ of habeas corpus.
"The President op the United States op America,
To Albert G. Stevens, Deputy Marshal of the United States, and
^ g i William F. Best, the Keeper of the Erie Coun*y Jail,
' Greeting:
"You are hereby commanded, that you have the body of
Judson D. Benedict, by you imprisoned and detained, as it is
said, together with the time and cause of such imprisonment and
detention, by whatsoever name the said Judson D. Benedict
shall be called or charged, before the Honorable Nathan K. Hall,
District Judge of the United States for the Northern District of
New York, at the United States Court-room, at the corner of
Washington and Seneca Streets, in the City of Buffalo, in
said Northern District of New York, at ten o'clock in the fore-
noon of the eighteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, to do and re-
ceive what shall then and there be considered concerning the
said Judson D. Benedict. And have you then and there this writ
"Witness, the Hon. Nathan K. Hall, Judge of the District Court
of the United States for the Northern District of New York, at
the city of Buffalo, the sixteenth day of September, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
(Signed) Geo. Gorham, Clerk."
indorsement.
Northern District op New York, ss.
" The within writ, on petition of the within named Judson D.
Benedict, has been allowed, and hereby is allowed by me, in pur*
luance of the statute in such case made and provided, Septembei
16, 1862.
(Signed) N. K. Hall,
District Judge of the United States, for the Northern
District of New York."
192
AMERICAN BASTILE.
THE JAILOR'S RETURN TO THE WRIT.
w To the Hon. Nathan K. Hall, Judge of the United States foi
the Northern District of New York :
" The statement of William F. Best respectfully showeth :
" That he is now, and since the first day of September instam
has been the keeper of Erie County Jail. That on or about the
third day of September instant, he received into said jail one
Judson D. Benedict, by the name of Jared Benedict. That he
received him under and by virtue of a written order signed by
A. G. Stevens, as a Deputy Marshal of the United States, of which
a copy is hereto annexed, and not otherwise. That since he so
received the said Benedict he has held and now holds him by
virtue of said order, and no other order or process ; that he has
held and so holds him as the bailee or custodian of said Deputy
Marshal and his principal, and not otherwise. That on or about
the sixteenth day of September instant, he was served with a
writ of habeas corpus, issued by your Honor, directed to said A
G. Stevens, and to him the said William F. Best, as keeper of the
Erie County Jail, commanding them, among other things, to bring
and have the body of the said Judson D. Benedict, and said writ
before your Honor as such Judge, on the eighteenth day of
September instant, at 10 o'clock a.m., at the United States Court-
room, in Buffalo. That in obedience to said writ, it was the in-
tention of me, the said William F. Best, in good faith, to bring
and have the body of the said Benedict before your Honor at the
time and place last aforesaid, as by the said writ commanded,
and to that end I, the said William F. Best, had made and an-
nexed to said writ my return thereto, which return comprised
a copy of the order under which said Benedict was held by me,
and a statement that it was by virtue of that alone that I held
him, and that I produced the body of said Benedict before your
Honor, as by the said writ commanded. That this morning, at
about the hour of half-past nine o'clock, in the office of Edward
I. Chase, the Marshal of the United States for the Northern
District of New York, in Buffalo, the said Edward I. Chase
asked me to let him take and look at said writ and return. That
not suspecting bad faith on his part, and believing that he would
return tne same to me, and at the suggestion of Asher P.
REV. JUDSON D. BENEDICT.
193
Nichols, my counsel, I handed the same to him. That after ex-
amining the same he said it was his writ, and refused to return
it to me. That thereupon, I made a formal demand on him for
the same, which demand he refused to comply with. That having
no writ, I cannot have here the said writ or make a formal re-
turn thereto, as by the said writ I was commanded; nor can I
have the body of said Judson D. Benedict here, as commanded by
said writ, for the reasons above stated.
11 Dated, September 18, 1862.
(Signed) William F. Best.
"Northern District op New York, ss.
"William F. Best being sworn, says he is the person described
in and who signed the within statement ; that he has heard the
same read and knows the contents thereof, and the same is in all
respects true, as he verily believes.
(Signed) William F. Best.
* Subscribed and sworn this 18th day of September, 1862, bo-
fore me.
(Signed) N. K. Hall, U. S. District Judge."
" United States of America, *)
Northern District of New York, vss.
County of Erie, )
"Albert Sawin, being duly sworn, says he is counsel for Judson
D. Benedict, named in a writ of habeas corpus, a copy of which
is hereto annexed, and also a copy of original order of allowance
indorsed thereon.
" That on the sixteenth day of September inst., he served the
said writ of habeas corpus, with said copy and order, upon Albert
G. Stevens, the Deputy Marshal therein named, by delivering a
copy of the same, and of said order of allowance, so indorsed
personally, to said Stevens personally, at the city of Buffalo, and
at the same time showing him the said original writ, and said
original order, indorsed thereon. That on the same day he de-
livered to said William F. Best, keeper of the common jail of the
County of Erie, personally, said original writ, with said order
indorsed thereon. That this morning, about the hour of eight
o'clock, deponent paid to said William F. Best, two dollars and
IS
194
AMERICAN BASTILE.
fifty cents, being the fees named by him, allowed by law for tfcs
return to and execution of said writ, who received the same.
" That on the morning of the 17th day of September inst., de-
ponent was present at an interview between said Stevens and
said Best, in which said Stevens told said Best he had received
instructions from the War Department to resist said writ, and
he, said Stevens, directed said Best not to obey it, such being the
order of the War Department. Deponent said, 1 Of course Mr
Best will obey the writ, and bring Benedict before Judge Hall.'
Said Stevens said he would have a force to prevent. Deponent
said, ' Mr. Best, I will be present to-morrow morning as one to
assist you in obeying said writ, though at the peril of being
shot/ Said Stevens replied, lThen you will be shot, and 1 will re-
port you to the War Department.'
" Deponent further says, that this forenoon he inquired of said
Stevens what fees he demanded for making return to said writ
of habeas corpus, and informed him he, deponent, was ready to
pay the same ; the only reply he made was, ' No matter/
(Signed) Albert Sawin.
" Sworn and subscribed this 18th day of September, 1862.
(Signed) A. P. Nichols, U. S. Commissioner."
Deputy Marshal Stevens's return to writ.
" To the Hon. Nathan K. Hall, District Judge of the United
States for the Northern District of New York :
" The annexed paper was delivered to me. It purports to be
a writ of habeas corpus. It is not under the seal of the Court;
the signature to the same is not the handwriting of the Clerk,
nor is the signature to the allowance indorsed on the same in
the handwriting of your Honor, nor is it certified to be a copy
of an original process. I understand that an original writ was
served upon, and is in the hands of William F. Best, one of the
persons to whom the same is directed ; the said Best refuses to
allow me to have said writ, or recognize any authority on my
part to the prisoner therein named, or to allow me to have the
custody and control of the prisoner, and claims that he alone
should make return to said writ. I would further state that
said prisoner was legally arrested by me by authority of the
President of tho United States, and delivered by me in custody,
REV. JUDSON D. BENEDICT.
195
nnder such authority, in the jail of Erie County, where I placed
him for safe keeping merely, and where he now is, and that I
still have lawful right to said prisoner; but the jailor of said Erie
County jail, on demand of said prisoner this day made by me
of him for said prisoner, refused to deliver said prisoner to me,
as he rightfully and lawfully should do. I further state that no
return made by said Best, to said writ, can present the true facts
of the case, or the cause of the detention of said prisoner.
(Signed) Albert G. Stevens.
U. S. Deputy Marshal."
IN HABEAS CORPUS.
"In the Matter of Judson D. Benedict.
"It appearing to my satisfaction, by the affidavit of William
F. Best, that Edward I. Chase, now present, has received from
him, on request, and detained from him, against his will, the writ
of habeas corpus heretofore issued in this matter, (and directed
and delivered to said William F. Best,) and thereby prevented
his obedience to said writ ; I hereby order and direct the said
Edward I. Chase to deliver the said writ to the said Best, or to
the undersigned, or show cause, before me, at the United States
Court-room in Buffalo, at half-past two o'clock this afternoon,
why he shall not be committed for a contempt.
K K. Hall,
« September 18, 1862. U. S. District Judge."
Albert G. Stevens, Deputy Marshal, was made a party as
well as the jailer, who had his actual custody. The return of
Stevens is a curiosity. The object of making Stevens a party
was to enable him to produce any evidence showing Benedict
had done anything worthy of bonds. He declined to do this.
Marshals Chase and Stevens had previously declared that
Jailer Best should not take Benedict from the jail to Judge
Hall's court-room, and they would use force to prevent it.
Accordingly, in the absence of the Colcnel of the regiment,
Marshal Chase procured from Camp Morgan a company of
Boldiers, and placed them in the vicinity of the jail for the
purpose of executing that threat. The friends of the jailer.
Best, were likewise in the vicinity in sufficient numbers to
196
AMERICAN BASTILE.
enable him to obey the writ, no matter how much force the
Marshal might have obtained. However, without opposi-
tion, the loyal jailer was permitted to obey the writ.
44 U. S. District Court. — Judge Hall presiding.
September 18th.
44 The case of the writ of habeas corpus commanding A. G.
Stevens, Deputy United States Marshal, and Wm. F. Best, Jailor,
of Erie County, to produce the body of Rev. Judson D. Benedict
in court, was before the court.
"A. Sawin made a statement of the service of the writ of
habeas corpus upon the jailor of the Erie County jail.
44 A. P. Nichols, Esq., the attorney for the jailor, made a return,
stating that the jailor had handed the writ of habeas corpus to
United States Marshal Chase, by the advice of his attorney, and
that Mr. Chase had refused to return it to him, and that it was
impossible to return either the writ or the prisoner.
44 United States Marshal Chase claimed that the prisoner was
in his custody, having been arrested by order of the President,
through the Secretary of "War; that the jailor was simply a ma-
chine, and that he was the proper custodian of the prisoner.
44 This was the position taken by United States District Attor-
ney Dart.
44 Mr. Nichols claimed that the prisoner was now held by the
jailor by virtue of the writ of habeas corpus, and that he could
not surrender him until that writ was vacated.
" After a somewhat extended argument, Judge Hall made an
order that Marshal Chase return the writ to the jailor; and that
he make a return at two and a half o'clock, etc.
44 The court adjourned till that hour."
During the recess of the court, Marshal Chase offered to
deliver up the writ of habeas corpus, which he had withheld
from Jailer Dest, on the condition that the jailer would
deliver the prisoner into his custody. This the jailer refused ;
and before two o'clock Marshal Chase surrendered the writ,
evidently not wishing to disobey the order of the court.
The jailer, now being in possession of the writ, took the
prisoner, in company with Sheriff Best, and escorted him to
REV. JUDSON D. BENEDICT.
197
the court-room, where he was cordially greeted by many
of hi 8 friends.
u United States Marshal Chase came into court and delivered
to the Judge a return to the writ of habeas corpus, setting forth
by what authority his deputy had arrested the prisoner, and that
the writ of habeas corpus having been suspended, and he ordered
to resist any attempt to execute it, he could not obey the order
of the court. This was understood to be the substance of the
return.
" Marshal Chase requested the jailor to give bin. a copy of the
order of the court compelling him to return the writ.
" The Judge said a copy would be furnished him.
" A. P. Nichols, Esq., then made the proper return to the writ,
and produced Kev. J. D. Benedict in court.
" United States District Attorney Dart said, that a turnkey
had in some way obtained possession of a United States prisoner,
arrested by order of the President of the United States, through
the Secretary of IVar, for uttering seditious language, or language
calculated to weaken the confidence of the people in the Govern-
ment. In such cases, the President suspended the writ of habeas
corpus, and ordered that forcible resistance be made to its execution.
He hoped that the occasion for arrests under this order had
ceased, and that there would be no conflict of jurisdiction in this
case. He asked the suspension of proceeding until Tuesday fol-
lowing, trusting that the matter might be satisfactorily arranged"
before that time.
"Albert Sawin opposed the postponement. It was important
that the great question of personal liberty, in connection with
the arbitrary arrests, should be disposed of by a legal tribunal.
"Judge Hall said the real question at issue was whether the
President had the power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, and
if this was the question to be argued, the time asked was not
unreasonable. He was anxious that the matter should be fairly
canvassed, and a conflict of authority avoided. He would, there-
fore, grant the request of the United States District Attorney,
and adjourn the case to Tuesday next, September 23, at 11a.m.,
meanwhile the prisoner to remain in the custody of the jailor, to
be again produced in court at the time named.
198 AMERICAN BASTILE.
" The District Attorney desired the Judge simply to remand
the prisoner, without naming the custodian.
"Mr. Sawin opposed this. The Marshal wished to gain posses
sion of the prisoner for the purpose of placing him in military
custody, and beyond the jurisdiction of the court.
"A. P. Nichols, Esq., asked the court to make an order stating
by what authority the jailor held the prisoner, whether by order
of the Marshal, or under the writ of habeas corpus and the order
of this court. He wished the duty and the authority of the
jailor clearly defined.
"Mr. Dart desired that the court would make no such order,
but simply remand the prisoner. He thought the court ought to
have confidence in the Marshals, and believed they would respect
the court.
"Judge Hall said the custody of the prisoner will continue with
the jailor as it is now. The prisoner is now held by virtue of the
writ of habeas corpus. He is removed from the custody of the
Marshal or Deputy Marshals, and neither of them can interfero
with him until the hearing and determination of this writ.
" Marshal Chase wished to know whether his authority in this
case was at an end.
"The Judge replied, that he had as much and no more to do
with it than any other citizen. If he, or any other man, knew
of any crime the prisoner had committed, it was his duty to
inform against him, that he might be punished according to law.
It was especially the duty of the United States District Attor-
ney to ascertain the facts and proceed against him, if he had
been guilty of any violation of the laws of the land."
The following is the copy of the order of J iidge Hall in
the case :
"on the habeas corpus
11 In the Matter of Judson D. Benedict.
" The said Judson D. Benedict having this day been brought
before me by TV. F. Best, the keeper of the common jail in the
County of Erie, in obedience to the annexed writ of habeas corpus,
and the hearing under the said writ, and the return made thereto,
having, at the request of the Hon. Wm. H. Dart, United States
District Attorney, been adjourned until Tuesday, the 23d day of
September, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, it is hereby ordered,
REV. JUDSON D. BENEDICT.
199
oi) the motion of the counsel for the defendant, that the said
Judson D. Benedict be and he is hereby remanded and com-
mitted to the custody of Wm. F. Best, as such jailor, to be kept
and detained by him under the authority of such writ of habeas
corpus, and this order, until the time to which said hearing is so
adjourned; and that said Wm. F. Best produce and bring the
body of the said Judson D. Benedict and the said writ of habeas
corpus before the undersigned, at the United States Court-room,
m tne city of Buffalo, on the 23d day of September inst.. at 11
o'clock a.m., then and there to do and receive what shall then
and there be considered in that behalf.
(Signed) N. K. Hall,
U. S. District Judge.
"September 18, 1862."
After the necessary papers were made out, Rev. Mr. Bene-
dict walked, in company with Mr. Best, back to his apart-
ments at the jail. It was rumored that the Marshal would
attempt the rescue of the prisoner, but this was unfounded.
" XJ. S. District Court. — Buffalo, September 23d, 1862.
.... " Shortly before 11 o'clock, the prisoner appeared in court,
in company with the jailor, Wm. F. Best. A. P. Nichols, Esq.,
attorney for the jailor, handed up the original writ of habeas
corpus, with the order of the Judge, remanding the prisoner to
jail, engrossed upon it.
"The court did not understand that any demurrer had been
made to the writ as returned, or issue taken on the facts stated
in the return.
" Albert Sawin, Esq., claimed that the return, as made, stated in
what manner the prisoner was arrested and was held, sufficiently
clear to enable the court to determine that the arrest is illegal,
and that the prisoner should be discharged.
" The court inquired if the United States District Attorney was
to be present, and directed the officer of the court to inquire if
the District Attorney desired to be heard in the case.
" Marshal Chase soon after appeared in court, and held a conver-
sation with Judge Hall, which was not audible. After the clos«
of the interview, the Court announced that the U. S. District At-
torney did not proposo to appear, or to make any further state
200
AMERICAN BASTILE.
met ts to the Court, or furnish any proofs in the case ; that neither
the Marshal nor his Deputy, Stevens, would appear; and that, so
far as they were concerned, the case was left to the Court in iU
present condition.
" The Court desired to say to any person and to all person
present, that if they knew of any crime that the prisoner had
committed against the laws of the United States, or any cause of
arrest, other than that set forth in the return, they should make
it known. He had prepared an opinion in the case, embodying
its legal bearings, which he should publish as his justification."
The opinion of Judge Hall, discharging the Rev. Mr. Bene-
dict on writ of habeas corpus, is replete with learning and
research, and we regret that want of space prevents us from
presenting it to the reader in full. He refers to English and
American statutes and constitutions from the settlement of
England by the Saxons to the present time, and cites from
the Magna Charta, the Petition of Right, the Bill of Rights,
the Act of Settlement, and quotes from Hume, Hallam, Black
stone, Story, and other authors. He refers to the decisions
of the purest and ablest jurists of England and America in
support of his opinion, and concludes his erudite and profound
reasoning as follows :
" The decisions referred to have been before the profession
and the country for more than forty years ; and, so far as I
know, they had not, until a very recent period, been ques-
tioned, or their doctrines assailed by any respectable jurist.
I cannot but endeavor to follow, though with feeble and un-
steady steps, in the paths of constitutional duty, clearly and
distinctly marked with the ineffaceable footprints of Marshall,
of Story, of Washington, of Livingston, of Martin, and of
Taney; and, guided by the serene and steady light of their
recorded opinions, I may certainly hope not to go far astray."
This opinion alone stamps Judge Hall as one of the purest,
most learned, and upright jurists that America has produced.
At the conclusion of the opinion, Judge Hall made an
order discharging the prisoner from arrest, no cause having
been shown why he should be detained.
KEY. JUDSON D. BENEDICT.
201
The following is a copy of his order :
"in habeas corpus,
"In the Matter of Judson D. Benedict.
41 The said Judson D. Benedict, having this day been again
brought before me in pursuance of the annexed writ of habeas
corpus and order, and the counsel of the said petitioner having
filed a demurrer to the return of the said writ, made by W. F.
Best, jailor, and to the statement heretofore made by A. G.
Stevens, Deputy Marshal, (no one appearing to oppose the dis-
charge,) I having proceeded ex-parte to hear and consider the case
as now presented, and determined that no legal cause for the
arrest, imprisonment, and detention of the said Benedict is shown
by said return, or said statement and return, and having invited
all persons present to make proof, if any could be made, that the
said Benedict had been guilty of any offence against the laws of
the United States, or was subject to arrest for any cause other
than that appearing on said return, and no such proof being
offered, I do hereby order and direct that the said Judson D.
Benedict be and is hereby discharged from custody.
(Signed) N. K. Hall,
XL S. District Judge/'
Marshal Chase stated that previous to the issuing of the
writ of habeas corpus by Judge Hall, he had written to the
War Department, recommending the release of Mr. Benedict,
and that he would have been released before, had it not been
for the attempt of Sawin to raise an issue with the United
States Government. Mr. Benedict, who had been discharged
from arrest by the order of the highest court known to the
Constitution, was again arrested by the United States Mar-
shals, although his release had been recommended by Mr.
Chase. Several members of the police force were seen to
enter the court and disperse themselves aDout the room,
while Marshal Chase, and Deputy Tyler, of Lockport, sought
positions near the then free citizen of the United States,
Btanding in the Temple of Justice, and awaiting a copy of
the proclamation of emancipation just issued by the Judge.
As soon as ho received a copy of the order, Officer Tyler
202
AMERICAN BASTILE.
was observed to speak to him, and the reverend gentleman*
with his papers in his hand, demanded to be shown tho
authority for his arrest. He said he did not propose to resist,
but wished to know by whose orders he was seized. He was
told, " We will show you the authority, when we get you where
we want you." He was hurried, Marshal Chase on one side
of him, and Officer Tyler on the other, down the stairs, and
to a carriage in waiting, in which Deputy Marshal Stevens
sat. A large crowd gathered about the carriage, and much
feeling was exhibited, but no attempt was made to rescue
the prisoner. The carriage was driven off, Marshal Chase on
the box with the driver, and the prisoner inside with Officers
Tyler and Stevens. This was done by special order of the War
Department to Marshal Chase, directing him to resist the
writ, or, in the event of the prisoner's discharge, to re-arrest
him. Mr. Sawin again applied to Judge Hall for a writ of
habeas corpus, which was granted, and served upon the Mar-
shal by Harvey B. Eansom, as the annexed return will show :
"United States of America, j gg
Northern District of New York, j
" Harvey B. Eansom, being duly sworn says : that he is wel]
acquainted with Edward I. Chase, named in annexed copy of
writ of habeas corpus. That he served upon said Chase, at the
city of Buffalo, on the 23d day of September inst., at or about the
hour of five o'clock p.m. of that day, an original writ of habeas
corpus, with the original order of allowance, signed by Judge
Hall, indorsed thereon, copies of w'hich writ and order are hereto
annexed, by delivering the same, at the time and place aforesaid,
to said Chase personally. That deponent and said Chase went
yesterday afternoon, on same train of cars, to Lockport. Depo-
nent saw, after his arrival, within named Benedict in front of said
Chase's office, at Lockport, said Chase, as deponent was informed,
being in his office at the time.
(Signed) Harvey B. Eansom.
" Sworn and subscribed before me, this 24th day of Septembe*
1862.
(Signed) A. P. Nichols, U. S. Commissioner.*
REV. JUDSOK D. BENEDICT.
203
The writ of habeas corpus was made returnable at 10 o'clock
a.m., on Thursday, the 25th inst., at the United States Court-
room in Buffalo, at which time United States Marshal Chase
made the following return, to wit :
'To the Hon. Nathan K. Hall, District Judge of the United
States for the Northern District of New York :
• The annexed writ was delivered to me between five and six
o'clock in the afternoon of the 23d day of September last. Be-
fore that time, and about noon of that day, Judson D. Benedict,
the person named in said writ, had been arrested by me for dis-
loyal practice, by order of the President of the United States,
and put in charge of Daniel G. Tucker, with direction to convey
him to the Old Capitol Prison in the city of Washington, and
said Tucker immediately left Buffalo with the prisoner for that
purpose.
" Under general orders made by the President, through the
War Department, bearing date the 18th of August, 1862, said
Benedict had been, on September 2, 1862, arrested by my deputy,
A. G. Stevens, for such disloyal practice, and said deputy was
ordered by the War Department to detain him in custody until
the further order of said Department. For safe keeping, said
Benedict was removed from Fort Porter to the jail of Erie
County.
"Afterward, as is said, a writ of habeas corpus, directed to said
Stevens and William F. Best, the jailor, was delivered to said
jailor. The War Department was informed by said Stevens of
the allowance of said writ, and said Stevens was directed by said
Department not to regard said writ. But said William F. Best,
the jailor, refused to allow me or my deputy, Mr. Stevens, to
have any control of the prisoner, or of the writ, and avowed his
intention to make return to said writ, and produce the prisoner
before your Honor.
"I informed the War Department of such refusal and avowal.
In answer, I received an order made by the Secretary of War,
saying, in substance: 'Your deputy, Mr. Stevens, was directed
to disregard the writ of habeas corpus. If Stevens or the jailor
permits Benedict to be discharged on habeas corpus, arrest him
again, and convey him to the Old Capitol Prison at Washington '
204
AMERICAN BASTILE.
"The original order was delivered by me to Mr. Tucker, into
whose charge I delivered the prisoner, and I have no perfect
copy. The above is a substantial copy, and in all essential par-
ticulars is correct.
"In pursuance of such order, after said Benedict was, on tho
23d inst., discharged from the custody of said Best, and said Ben-
edict had left the United States Court-room, I arrested him, and
put him in charge of Mr. Tucker, with the directions above
stated.
" A formidable insurrection and rebellion is, as is well known,
now in progress in this country, and the writ of habeas corpus
suspended, and the President of the United States, by one of the
orders above referred to, made on the 8th of August, declares the
same to be suspended in case of disloyal practices. I would also
refer your Honor to the proclamation of the President of the
United States of the 24th September inst.
" I, therefore, understand that the above arrests are military
arrests, in relation to which the writ of habeas corpus is sus-
pended. 1 have, however, out of respect to your Honor, and the
judicial authority of the country, thought it my duty to return
to you the annexed writ of habeas corpus, and make the fore-
going statement. Yery respectfully,
(Signed) Edward I. Chase,
U. S. Marshal.
"Dated the 25th of September, A.D. 1862."
After the prisoner had been placed in a carriage, with three
Deputy Marshals as a special guard, he was driven to Lock-
port, in the County of Niagara, a distance of about forty
miles.
At about 9 o'clock p.m., he was again placed in a carriage,
and conveyed through highways and byways, until 3 o'clock
the next morning, when he arrived at Batavia, a few miles
from Buffalo, on the Central Railroad. At 6 o'clock, he was
placed on the cars for Canandaigua, and from there to New
York, thence to Baltimore, and finally to Washington, where
he remained for some weeks an inmate of the Old Capitol
Prison.
When the Majesty of the Despotism that ruled at Wash-
EE V. JUDSON D. BENEDICT.
205
ington became appeased, Mr. Benedict was taken before one
of the instruments of its tyranny, L. C. Turner, Judge Ad-
vocate, who received the reverend gentleman with one of his
hypocritical smiles. After the usual interchange of cour-
tesies, the Judge Advocate informed Mr. Benedict that he
was discharged. (He was released on the 2d October, 1862.)
Mr. Benedict ventured to inquire why he had been impris-
oned. " Oh" said the Judge Advocate, " it was only to show
the people that the military power is now above the civil power"
The Bourbons and Napoleons in France, the Stuarts and
other despots in England, all pleaded the "necessity of cir*
cumstances " for their arbitrary acts of power, and their
infringement on the rights and liberties of the people.
Louis XIV., of France — to go back into historic times
no farther — said, " I am the State." James of England
said to the Duke of Somerset, who told the King that
he could not obey him without violating law, " I will make
you fear me as well as the law. Do you not know that I am
above the law ? " And this monarch said to his Parliament :
14 For matters of privileges, liberties, and customs, be not
over-curious. We do what is for the best, and as necessity
prompts. Let not any one stir you up to law questions,
debates, or that sort of thing, for of these cometh evil."
Mr. Lincoln acted on the principle established by these
arbitrary monarchs.
♦
ISAAC C. W. POWELL, ESQ.
1 SA AC C. W. POWELL was born in Sussex County, Del*
ware, December 31st, 1823. In 1842, he entered Union
College, New York, under Dr. Nott and Dr. Potter, and gra-
duated, 1845, delivering the .valedictory of his class. In 1846,
he attended the law-school at Yale College, New Haven. After
leaving this school, and studying some months in the office
of John Glenn (afterward Judge of the Circuit Court of the
United States) in Baltimore, he opened an office for the prac-
tice of his profession in Baltimore, adjoining that of Hon.
James L. Bartol, for many years a Justice of the Court of
Appeals of Maryland, and now its Chief Justice ; with whom
he had always been on the kindest and most intimate terms
of friendship. From Baltimore, Mr. Powell was called, in
January, 1848, to his home on the beautiful Wye River, in
Talbot County, Maryland, by the illness of his lather. He
reached home only in time to close his parent's eyes in death,
and pay the last sad offices to his memory. He was obliged,
as one of his father's executors, to remain in Talbot County
to settle his estate, and therefore closed his office in Balti
more, where he had commenced his professional career with
the most flattering prospects. He then opened his l^w-office
in Easton, in 1848. In 1840, he was chosen a member of the
Legislature of Maryland, and served with credit in that ses-
sion in which the reform of the old Constitution was the
great issue , and, as a member of the Judiciary Committee
of the House, contributed in no small degree to the passage
of that measure. He married, in 1850, Miss Lucy A. Barker,
of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and settled down in the
practice of his profession at Easton ; from which he hae
never been allured by political preferment, although many
206
ISAAC C. W. POWELL.
207
opportunities offered. In 1859, he was elected State's Attor-
ney for Talbot County, to serve for four years.
In 1861 and the early part of 1862, citizens were arrested
In his county, without cause, by the military miscreants who
ruled the hour. The Constitution of the State and of the
United States were violated in open day, by those acting
under the authority of the sword and the bayonet. The
armory of the State at Easton was sacked and rifled by a
company of United States soldiers on a peaceful Sunday
afternoon ; and public and private property carried off by
those who would have been treated as ruffians and robbers,
but for their epaulets. One old citizen, who dared to
deny the falsehood of a political speaker, was seized at
midnight and dragged from the side of his wife, to spend
a week of unjust imprisonment in a camp, and subjected
to every kind of indignity and inconvenience. Slaves,
who were then recognized as property alike by the Federal
and State laws, were taken from their owners (women and
children as well as men) in scores, under the pretence of
enlistment in the United States military service. Negro sol-
diers were quartered on the county, and sent about in the
m6st insulting manner to the residences of the citizens, to
annoy and rob them. Provost Marshals were appointed, and
spies and eavesdroppers and detectives hunted down, every-
where, those who opposed the Lincoln dynasty.
Indeed, so many and grievous were the outrages of the
minions of the new power, that the grand jury, under the
ruling of the Hon. Richard B. Carmichael, Judge of the Cir-
cuit Court, presented a number of the most prominent offend-
ers, who were indicted, and process issued by the court for
their apprehension. At the session of the court in May,
1862, they (being out of the county) had not been taken
under the writ issued. By preconcert and collusion with
Samuel T. Hopkins, Clerk of the Court, (who was one of the
lirst of the men of Talbot to rush to Baltimore, after the
affair of the 19th of April, to repel the Federal soldiers in
their passage througl that city but became afterward one
208
AMERICAN BASTILE.
of the most bitter of those who sided with that cause,) these
men came to Easton on the 25th of May, 1862, bringing with
them a certain J. K. McPhail, of Baltimore, a maker of
hats, as a sort of Marshal under the new order of things.
The order had gone forth from the petty powers in Balti-
more, borrowed from their superiors in "Washington, to
arrest those who resisted the aggressions upon civil liberty in
Talbot County. The faithful, who had been directed to arrest
Judge Carmichael for the honest discharge of his duty in his
instructions to the grand jury, resolved to arrest Mr. Powell.
Accordingly, on the 28th day of May, 1862, while the
court was in session, and a cause on trial, in which Mr. Powel
was engaged as counsel, McPhail, with a body of police, fol
lowed by a party of petty military officers, entered the court-
room, marched to the Judge's chair, and, without exhibiting
any authority, attempted to arrest him on the bench. The
Judge, not knowing the persons, demanded their authority.
McPhail said he was Marshal of Police in Baltimore, but
declined to show any voucher for this or any order for Judge
Carmichael's arrest. His policemen drew their pistols. The
Judge called for the Sheriff, who being absent from his place,
ordered him to be sent for by the crier at the door. He did not
appear. One of the coarse villains then following, or rather
leading McPhail, rushed on the Judge, who spurned him with
his foot, as he would have done any other cur. Immediately
the other rascals (McPhail among them) sprang upon the
Judge from behind, and struck him many blows upon the
head with their pistols, completely stunning him, and pros-
trating him on the floor. He was then dragged out of the
court-room into an entry, (where another citizen was fired
upon by the party and others assaulted;) but the chief ruffian,
becoming alarmed at the extent of the proceeding, had him
brought back, into the court-room, his head covered with
wounds, the scars of which he must bear to his grave, and
the blood streaming from his venerable locks, and covering
his garments to his feet. A company of one hundred oi
more soldiers had been ordered from Baltimore for the occa-
ISAAC C. W. POWELL.
209
sion; and the brave McPhail did not make his onslaught
upon the Judge until they were at the suburbs of the town.
McPhail then ordered the arrest of Mr. Powell.
The Judge and Mr. Powell, with two other citizens arrested
by these lawless wretches, were taken on board the steamer,
which was guarded by the troops, and were placed in Fort
McHenry the same night, or rather in the dirty loft of one
of the stables within the enclosure of the Fort, where some
twenty-five others were imprisoned and guarded. The
apartment in which they were placed was used for the pur
poses of eating and lodging, with no proper ventilation, and
with the effluvia from filthy soldiers' quarters underneath
poisoning the atmosphere. From this stable-room, noisome
with stench and filth, the Judge and Mr. Powell were, by
the intervention of friends, removed in a short time to more
comfortable quarters. The improvement was, however, v^ry
slight ; for they, with four other prisoners, were confined in
a room about eight by ten feet in size. Here they remained
from the 1st of June to the 10th of July, and the season
being hot and unwholesome, but for the kindness of General
Morris, commandant, who gave them on their parole the
privilege of walking about the grounds, they would probably
have perished.
On the 10th of July, they were summarily sent to Fort
Lafayette, where a coarse, ill-tempered creature, named "Wood,
and wearing the epaulets of a Lieutenant, was in charge.
This low-bred, cowardly fellow took from them their money,
watches, liquors, and every thing except their clothing.
He had the whole party stripped and searched by his dirty
Dutch sergeant and corporal, in a room filled with handcuffs and
gyves, with an armed sentry at the door ; and it is more than
likely that if one of the prisoners, from a tight boot or other
cause, had stamped heavily, the frightened Lieutenant would
have ordered them to be shot.
On the night of their arrival, they, with a large number of
other prisoners, were crowded into a room where most of
them were made sick, and some were near dying. In the
14
210
AMERICAN BASTILE.
morning the Judge and Mr. Powell, for permanent quarters,
were placed in a small arched room, where the apex could ba
touched with the hand, and the rise of the arch was only
three feet from the floor. In this cell or den were crammed
twelve human beings, with their baggage, beds, cooking
utensils, table, table-ware, chairs, water arrangements, etc.,
and it required much study and mechanical ingenuity to pro-
perly dispose of the bedding during the day, and the other
furniture at night. There is not a murderer in one of our
jails or penitentiaries who has not equal or better accom
modations than these gentlemen had, who were imprisoned
from mere political malice.
It is unnecessary to speak of the outrages they endured in
this fort — damp, dirty, and disagreeable as it was, under the
management of such a creature as commanded it in 1862.
On the first day of October, 1862, Mr. Powell was trans-
ferred to Fort Delaware, by orders from Washington ; to which
place he had been preceded, a few days, by Judge Carmichael.
This was an amelioration of their condition, brought about
by the influence of such friends as Hon. James A. Pearce
and Hon. Reverdy Johnson, Senators of Maryland, William
A. Spencer, Esq., and others, whose earnest endeavors were
unequal to the task of releasing the citizens of their State,
so illegally and wantonly imprisoned and abused, from the
clutches of the tyrant who then controlled the Government.
Mr. Lincoln, to whom Judge Carmichael sent a copy of his
charge to the grand jury, with a statement of the facts of
his illegal arrest, expressed to Senator Pearce his conviction
that these gentlemen ought to be discharged ; but added,
that Stanton would not consent to it ; thus proving that that
Jacobin ruled his weak master.
At Fort Delaware, it is due to Major Burton, then in com-
mand, to say that, he deported himself toward the prisoners
as an officer and gentleman ; and never descended from his
position, in either capacity, to an act of meanness or oppres-
sion. They were allowed on parole the privilege of the en-
tire grounds of the Fort for exercise and amusement, and
ISAAC C. W. POWELL.
211
all the comforts which they could procure or receive from
friends to alleviate the gloom and outrage of imprisonment.
On the 7th of December, 1862, (Judge Carmichael having
been released by order about a week before,) Colonel Perkins,
the new commandant of the Fort, who had superseded Major
Burton a few days previously, (for his kindness to the pris
oners,) entered the room of Mr. Powell at eleven o'clock at
night, and informed him that he was no longer a prisoner,
as an order had come from Mr. Stanton for his release. His
room-mates and fellow-sufferers were Dr. E. S. Sharpe, of
Salem, New Jersey, and Hon. Madison Y. Johnson, of Ga-
lena, Illinois.
Colonel Perkins was a regular United States officer of the
West Point stamp, and discharged his duties most courteously
and properly.
On the following morning, Mr. Powell, at the Colonel's
request, called at his office, and read the following order, (of
which he desired an official copy ;) but Colonel Perkins, not
wishing to place Mr. Stanton in any danger, would only
authorize Mr. Powell to make a transcript of the order him-
self. This he did, and called the attention of both Colonel
Perkins and Major Burton to its correctness. It came by
telegraph, and in these words :
" Washington, D. C, December 6, 1862.
" To Commanding Officer, Fort Delaware :
"You will immediately release I. C. W. Powell, a prisoner, who
M said to have been arrested at the same time with Judge Car.
michael, and who is said to be now in Fort Delaware.
Edwin M. Stanton,
Secretary of War."
Thus did Edwin M. Stanton ignore the facts which were
not only officially, but personally known to him ; for both
by the records of his office, and by the application of personal
friends of the prisoners, was he well-informed of the where-
abouts of Mr. Powell; and yet in his order for discharge, he
quibbles in saying that Mr. Powell is said to have been arrested
212
AMERICAN B A STILE.
at the same time with Judge Carmich.ael, and is said tc be now in
Fjrt Delaware.
Mr. Powell was greeted on his return home by a rush of
the citizens of Easton to meet and welcome him ; and after
discharging his official duties for the two successive terms of
the court, was again, by an unanimous vote of the convention,
nominated for the position of State Attorney.
On the same day he was re-arrested, together with some
twenty other gentlemen composing the Democratic ticket,
just nominated, and some prominent members of the nom-
inating convention, and informed that, by order of the mili-
tary authority then in power under the Provost Marshal, no
Democratic ticket would be allowed to be presented for the
suffrages of the people of that county. A new Clerk was
elected to the place, because no one was allowed to oppose
him, but only by about one-fifth of the vote of the county.
He died soon after, and the vacancy was filled by appointment
of the quasi Judge of the hour. The term of office of the
late incumbent expired on the 1st of January, 1868, and Mr.
Powell was re-elected to the place from which he had been
twice ejected by military force. He now holds his position,
sanctioned by the sentiments of the people ; and will be re-
spected and honored long after the mantle of oblivion shall
have fallen on the names of his persecutors.
JAMES CORBAN NAYLOR
TAMES CORBAN NAYLOR was born April 22, 184a,
J in Wirt County, Virginia. His father's name was James
Naylor, son of William ISTaylor, one of the first settlers of
Virginia. He was a wheelwright by trade, a pioneer most of
his life, and a Methodist minister for about sixty 3^ears.
He died February 9, 1862, nearly ninety-one years of age.
James C. Baylor was born when his father was seventy years
old. His mother, Adaline Naylor, was the daughter of
Esquire David P. Morgan, of Virginia, descended from the
family of David Morgan, the " Indian fighter."
Mr. Naylor received a common school education only, and
this mostly from his father. He was reared on a farm, but
his father being in easy circumstances, his youth was spent
in reading, the study of nature, and writing poetry, of which
last he was especially fond. Most of his effusions were writ-
ten for self-amusement, but many of them have found way
into the public prints.
In 1860, at the age of eighteen, he made a vigorous canvass
for Douglas in Clark County, Iowa, to which his father had
removed in 1856. He was always immovably fixed in his
political principles, and unmistakably plain in his method of
defending them. Abolitionism (or destructionism, as he
called it) never received a smile from him, and he lost no
opportunity to denounce it in the roundest terms. White
this endeared him to his political friends, it raised a storm
of opposition on the part of his enemies, which came near
ending in the destruction of his life. Upon the election of
Mr. Lincoln, he prophesied war, but declared himself opposed
to both secession and disunion, and in favor of compromise.
When secession became a fact, he still cherished a hope of
2i<5
214
AMERICA X BASTILE.
an amicab.e adjustment, and declared, with General Scott
and Beecher, that " secession would be but the dust in tha
balance compared with war."
On the 27th day of August, 1862, in the twentieth year oi
his age, he was arrested by an armed mob, calling themselves
soldiers, on a charge (as they verbally stated) of discouraging
enlistments, and treasonable utterances against the President.
On the same day he was taken to Osceola, under promise of
trial, in company with Judge John Beal, a man sixty years
of age, and at that time an invalid. This man had been
brutally driven from his house at the point of the bayonet,
without the opportunity of bidding farewell to his weeping
family. On the next day, J. IT. Lafollett, of the same neigh-
borhood, was arrested and taken to Osceola on the same
charge. Here they remained for three days, when they were
removed to Des Moines, where they were incarcerated for
two weeks, by order of the United States Marshal, Hoxie.
All inquiries as to the cause of arrest, or the time of trial,
were answered by brutish indignities.
Their fare consisted of indifferent victuals, in quantity
scarcely sufficient to sustain life. They had no bedding, ex-
cept a buffalo robe, which was filled with vermin. Here they
were cut off from all communication with the outside world,
except such as was approved by their custodian, a man named
Alexander Bowers.
After two weeks' confinement at Des Moines, the prisoners
were removed at night (increased in number by the addition
of C. C. Mann, who was arrested on a similar charge, and
all ironed like murderers!) to Newton Jail, in Jasper County
where they were well treated for one week.
Thence they were removed, in irons, in company with
seven others from Madison County, arrested on similar
charges, to Davenport, on the Mississippi, and from that
place to Camp McClellan, near by. Here they all remained
until the 9th of December, 1862, except Judge Beal, who
was released on the 1st.
Their treatment here, though now proven to be not past
JAMES CAEBIN N A Y L J) It.
215
endurance, is past description. Arrested in summer clothes,
they remained until the 16th of October in an open shanty,
which had been occupied by soldiers during the warm season,
still later used as a cavalry stable, and was now considered a
Buitable place of confinement for prisoners of state, whose
only violation of law was that they had advocated obedience
to law, at all times, by all men.
The north and south entrances of this frigid abode were
always open, and the sides were full of cracks, large enough
to admit the passage of a man's hand. No fire whatever
was allowed, and the only sleeping accommodations were
loose boards to lie upon, and one blanket to each prisoner for
a covering.
The victuals were in keeping with other things. The
prisoners were compelled to march out, and eat at a table in
the open air, regardless of rain or snow.
When Mr. ISTaylor appealed to the authorities for better
treatment, he was informed that " such treatment is good
enough for rebels." To this he replied, "Your hearts are
colder than the weather, but not so open as our house. But
mark you ! you will get fire in the next world for refusing it
to us in this."
On the 16th of October, the quarters were changed. But
such a change ! They were told they should have fire. This
news itself warmed them. But if the fire had been mixed
with brimstone, the disappointment would not have been
greater. They were removed to a shanty which had been
used as a chapel ; but, as the camp increased, it had been
converted into a sink, without any change in its condition,
except such as was made with a spade. They were taken
into this place, where there was a fire, which rendered their
condition much worse. The prisoners hastened to the cracks,
(which were, fortunately, numerous,) tore open a window,
which had been boarded up, and gladly allowed the fire to go
out, in order to get rid of the horrible stench. Here they
were allowed straw beds, but no more covering. After some
fime, almost an eternity of distress, they obtained meanR of
216
AMERICAN BASTILE.
renovating the floor. But chill December winds would not
be tempered by a small stove in such a tenement.
They appealed for means to stop the crevices. This request
was granted them the day before their release.
On the 9th of December they were set free in the streets
of Davenport, on parole, without trial or explanation, ragged,
dirty, sick, and half starved, nearly three hundred miles from
home, and without money. By the kindness of Alfred Ed
wards, Esq., they were enabled to reach home alive. On Mr
Naylor's return to Osceola, he was met and welcomed by an
immense concourse of enthusiastic friends, who had convened
for that purpose.
But Mr. Naylor's persecutions and sufferings did not end here.
In September, 1864, when he was at home, two vagabonds, dis-
gracing the name of soldiers, who were home on furlough,
robbed the neighboring house of Rev. Thomas Gobel, and so
threatened the old man's life that he deemed it unsafe to
remain, and accepted the protection of his neighbors until
he could make necessary preparations to leave. Mr. Bay-
lor and eight others, viz., Oliver Morgan, William Evans, 0.
P. Gideon, H. B. Stover, Garot Shippy, John Shippy, Graig
and John Conner, repaired to the house in the evening to
afford the necessary protection. Next morning at daylight
they found themselves surrounded by a numerous armed
mob. Immediate preparations were made for defence. By
12 o'clock M., the mob had increased to about three hun-
dred. But the besieged kept them at bay, defying an attack.
Finally it was agreed that the besieged should go quietly
before a Justice of the Peace without arms, and allow infor-
mation to be filed and have a legal trial. But as soon as they
had vacated the house and left their arms, they were basely
seized as prisoners of war and brutally treated.
It should have been stated, that Conner left the house aa
soon as the mob appeared, was followed to his own house by
a part of the mob, and in company with another man brutally
murdered that night. The prisoners were taken to Osceola
and kept there through the night.
JAMES CAEBIN NAYLOR.
217
The next morning, after the most fiendish insults, they
were started under guard for Des Moines. A few miles on
the way, they were overtaken by an order to " have Baylor,
Morgan, Gobel, the two Shippys, and Evans shot, and the
others released, as there is fighting to do at another place."
This order wTas countermanded before the bloodthirsty cow-
ards had time to execute it.
The prisoners were taken to Indianola, and after Evans
had been beaten over the head with a musket, and the others
badly abused, (amid the applause of the bystanders, political
scorpions,) the commandant ordered them to be put in a dun
geon over night ; and in a damp underground cell, on a wet
stone floor, with a murderer and a horse-thief overhead, with-
out bedding, and with the offensive atmosphere from the
room occupied by the malefactors, the prisoners spent a night,
worse than death.
Next morning everything was changed. The prisoners
were well treated, hurried into wagons, after a good break-
fast, driven within ten miles of Osceola, and released.
The malignant captors had heard that the roads, on the
way to Des Moines, showed evident signs of lurking thunder,
and being informed that the arrest itself was a crime, they
were glad to get out of the scrape. Several unsuccessful
attempts to murder Mr. Naylor were afterward made.
Being pecuniarily reduced by outrage and the suspension
of his business for almost five years, he is now struggling to
support his family. Firm, however, in his principles, and
a bold, able denunciator of lawless tyranny, he hopes to liv«
to see fanaticism and usurpation swept from the land.
HON. PHIKEAS C. WRIGHT.
HON. PHINEAS C. WRIGHT, now a resident of the city
of New York, is a native of Rome, Oneida County,
State of New York, and was forty-four years of age at the
time of his arrest. He removed from New York to New Orleans,
thence to St. Louis, about a year prior to the beginning of
the war, and when arrested, was a citizen of Missouri. He
was incarcerated fifteen months — one day in Fort Wayne,
eleven months in Fort Lafayette, and four months in Fort
Warren, and was never permitted to know of what he was
accused, nor who was his accuser.
On the morning of the 27th of April, 1864, he was at
Grand Rapids, Michigan, on business, and was arrested at
the " Rathbun House," by Captain Wilson, of the 20th In-
fantry, United States Army, commanding Fort Wayne.
The order for his arrest ran thus :
" You will proceed to the Russell House, in the city of Detroit,
or wherever else he may be found, and arrest P. C. Wright,
formerly a New Orleans lawyer, whose plantation and slaves
now confiscated, who is now staying at said house. You will
take him to Fort Wayne in a carriage; treat him with courtesy
as a gentleman. You will confine him in a room by himself, and
make him comfortable. You will allow no one to communicate
with him. You will be careful to secure any papers he may
have with him.
(Signed) J. Randolph Smith,
Colonel U. S. A.,
Commanding Department of Michigan."
This order was placed in the hands of Captain Wilson a
tew days after Mr. Wright had started from Detroit for
Grand Rapids. Learning of his absence from Detroit, the
218
PHINEAS C. WRIGHT.
219
Captain followed him, stopping at all the important towns
along the line, until he found Mr. W. at the Rathbun House.
He was courteous in the performance of his duty. He had
been in the " Old Army " twenty years, and had been pro-
moted from the ranks as a guerdon of merit. On making
the arrest, he stated his business to Mr. "Wright in a few
words, and handed him the order for his arrest, remarking,
"I am charged especially to treat you as a gentleman, and
was assured that I would have no occasion to do otherwise."
Mr. Wright replied, "I shall give you no trouble, sir." The
Captain then said, "I shall take an apartment in the sleeping
car to Detroit, to-night, and no one shall know of your arrest
from my words or actions." Then stepping to the door,
Captain Wilson called in a man whom he introduced to Mr.
Wright as " Mr. Cutcher, a detective." The party then pro-
ceeded to the prisoner's room, to " secure any papers he had
with him." This being done, Captain Wilson left the pris-
oner in charge of Detective Cutcher, and did not again appear
until 4 o'clock p.m., when he met them at the depot, and all
took seats in the cars.
They arrived in Detroit at 7 o'clock the following morning.
As they were emerging from the cars the Captain perceived
the provost guard drawn up in line in the depot. He became
much excited, and requesting Mr. W. to take his seat, he
stepped up to the guard and ordered them to their quarters.
He then came back to the cars, and, accompanied by Mr.
Wright and the detective, walked to the " Biddle House,"
near by, for breakfast.
Arriving there, the Captain stepped to the office, and ad-
dressing the clerk, said : " I want a private room with a fire,
and breakfast for three. I have a prisoner of state, and I
don't want to expose him to unpleasant curiosity." This
was said in an undertone, and was plainly not intended for
the ear of Mr. Wright. But having heard it, he protested
Against the " private room." The large dining-room, being
open, looked warm and cheerful in that frosty morning, and
no guests being astir at that early hour, he induced Captaio
220
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Wilson to take breakfast in the dining-room ; after whichj
lighting their cigars, they took seats in a close carriage, and
were driven toward Fort Wayne, three miles distant.
The party had proceeded about three squares when the
carriage was stopped, and a long, lean, lathy, and cadaverous
individual thrust his countenance into the open door of the car-
riage, and squeaked forth in a cracked voice, " Good morning,
Capt'n ! We made a big arrest yesterday ; we got a great
lecturer — " The fellow did not finish what he had evidently
intended to say, for Captain Wilson, flushed with anger
cried out sternly, " Drive on, and don't stop again until I tell
you." He proved to be, as Mr. W. afterward learned, aD
itinerant preacher, then a chaplain with some volunteers, and
had been subsequently promoted to a post on the provost
guard. The prisoner felt thankful to the fellow, for he had
unwittingly given him the only clue to the cause of his arrest
he ever received. About two weeks previously he had read
a lecture to a large and interested audience of citizens, of
every shade of political sentiment and opinion, at the beauti-
ful town of St. Clair, near Detroit.
Arriving at Fort Wayne, Mr. Wright was passed through
the office and its routine, and conducted to a small but cheer-
ful room in the third story of the long line of barracks,
which were used as the officers' quarters. A small boy
brought an armful of wood and kindled a cheerful fire. A
sentry was placed on the landing at the foot of the half
flight of iron stairs which led to the door of his room. Mr
Wright was instructed to call him by a rap on the inside of
the door, if he wanted anything.
Presently, Captain Wilson made his appearance, accom-
panied by Lieutenant Jones, a polite, cultivated young gen-
tleman, in whose charge he leit his prisoner for the day,
as he himself was going to the city to report to Colonel
Smith. Mr. Wright immediately asked for books and writ-
ing materials. Lieutenant Jones presently brought him both,
of books an armful, and from them the prisoner was assured,
that he was a gentleman of fine taste and culture. Availing
PHINEAS C. WRIGHT.
221
himself of \he kindness of Captain Wilson, Mr. "Wright ad-
dressed the foLowing letter to "Colonel J. Randolph Smith,
commanding Department of Michigan : "
" Sir : I am your prisoner. May I be permitted to know why
I am here, and what are the specific charges against me?"
Mr. Wright says : "I then gave myself to musing upon
the scene from my window, which, in the glorious sunlight
of that lovely spring morning, was beautiful beyond descrip-
tion. The view embraced the entire city of Detroit, with a
large section of the surrounding plain dotted with neat sub-
urban cottages and a few beautiful mansions, with finely im-
proved grounds ; and on the opposite side of the river, a large
portion of Windsor, the neat, pretty hamlet of Sandwich,
with a long stretch of beautiful shore and a wide expanse of
back country, all glorious in the freshness of young verdure.
Further upward, * Belle Isle ' seemed to float like a beautiful
emerald on the silvery bosom of the waters ; and still beyond,
the eye could take in the vast marshes known as the % St. Clair
Flats.' The broad, green river was literally covered with
vessels, sailing and in tow, that seemed rushing in flocks like
migratory fowls to the 'Upper Lakes.' Indeed, a more en-
trancing scene than that which greeted my first gaze from a
prison-room is rarely enjoyed by mortals, even in f reedom. I
was in a spell, real, palpable. I mused of liberty, and for
the first time began to estimate and appreciate its priceless
worth. Then my gaze would linger and fix itself upon the
Canada shore. There nature seemed to glow and bloom in
quiet loveliness, as if conscious of the genial sway of peace.
There the genius of liberty seemed to have found sure refuge
from the madness which had rudely driven and scourged her
from the land where our sires erst enshrined her ; and I
thought she seemed weeping in sorrow for the shameful
degradation of their sons !
"I turned to look upon the noble city, when my eyes
instinctively seemed to fall upon the dome of the ' City Hall,1
which, as it glistened with the silver light, seemed in playfui
222
AMERICAN BASTILE.
wantonness to throw back the warm kisses of the ardent
sunbeam — ay ! upon that lofty roof hard by — for beneath i8
one who knows not yet my present sorrows, who, through
sunny years has nestled in my heart of hearts ! Thou
art still unconscious of my fate ! Then sleep on ! 0 Memory,
how faithful is thy record to my first hours in my cell ? "
About four o'clock, Captain Wilson returned and presented
Mr. Wright with the following answer from Colonel Smith :
" Sir : I am in possession of your letter, and will state that I
was ordered to arrest you, by telegraph from General Heintzel-
man, on last Saturday p.m.
"I am, sir, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
(Signed) J. E. Smith, Col. U. S. A.,
Commanding, etc
" Detroit, April 28, 1865."
About 5 o'clock p.m., Captain Wilson again visited him,
saying : " I must part with you. I am ordered to deliver
you to Captain Tyler, of Colonel Smith's staff, who is wait-
ing below. I am sorry to part with you ; but I hope it is for
the best. I had promised myself a pleasant time with you."
After descending to the office, the prisoner was presented to
Captain Tyler, who, after receiving him politely, remarked :
" I am ordered to deliver you to Colonel De Radowitz, of
General Ileintzelman's staff, at the Cleveland boat."
After taking leave of Captain Wilson, Lieutenant Jones,
ind other officers of the garrison, he was placed in a carriage,
and driven to the wharf. Of the two above-named gentle-
men, Mr. Wright says: "If Captain Wilson or Lieutenant
Jones be living or dead, I know not ; but I know that their
memory will live with me while my heart can recognize one
emotion of gratitude." At the boat, they found Colonel J)c
Radowitz in waiting. He received them courteously, remark-
ing : " I have an unpleasant duty to perform, Mr. Wright ;
I am ordered to conduct you to New York, and deliver you
PHINE AS C. WRIGHT.
223
to General Dix, but I shall not make myself disagreeable to
you." Mr. "Wright thanked the Colonel, and informed him
that he need give himself no occasion for the least anxiety on
his account. From that moment, until he was delivered to
Colonel Burke, he was not subjected to the slightest con-
straint Dr the least surveillance by Colonel De E., who treated
him, in every respect, as a travelling companion.
Mr. Wright remarks :
" We took leave of Captain Tyler, and went on board tne
boat as the sun was setting. We proceeded to an elegant
state-room, or two state-rooms connecting ; one of which
was mine, and the other was occupied by Colonel De R. ;
and, leaving there our satchels and heavy overcoats, we took
seats in the ladies' cabin. Soon came in Cutcher, with six
soldiers, and stood before us. Colonel De R. immediately
arose, much excited, and sternly ordered Cutcher to go with
his men at once to the forward part of the boat, and remain
there. Subsequently, all but two were sent back, and those
two accompanied us to New York ; but I did not see them
until we were crossing on the Jersey Ferry, when I heard
Colonel De R. order them to go to the Park Barracks, and
remain there until further orders.
" I feel constrained to record here my impressions of Colo-
nel De Radowitz. He was about twenty-four years of age,
was an officer in the army of the King of Prussia, and was
on ' leave of absence ' for two years, that he might ' see ser-
vice in America.' He was first on the staff of General
McDowell, then of General McClellan, and last of General
Heintzelman, which station he then held as 6 aide-de-camp.'
He was dressed in neat undress uniform, and wore a service-
sword, but no revolver, the inevitable and disgusting append-
age of our volunteers. Over all, he wore a light overcoat —
not uniform. He was tall, graceful, refined and polished ic
manners, and withal a handsome man among a thousand.
A more perfect gentleman I have never met. He pronounced
the English language correctly, but with a slight foreigu
accent. During our whole progress to Xew York, he essayed
224
AMERICAN BASTILE.
to entertain me as if he would lighten my heavy load of sor-
row, which seemed almost insupportable.
" I contemplate the strange fact, unaccountable even now,
that from the first moment of my arrest, and during my
entire journey to ISew York, I never thought of Fort Lafay-
ette, and least of all things, the possibility that I was des-
tined for eleven months to its dismal, living death."
About one o'clock on the 30th of April the party arrived
in New York city. On landing from the ferry-boat the
prisoner was placed in a carriage, accompanied by Cutcher.
Colonel De Radowitz stepped aside as if seeking some one,
and was met by a young man who handed him a packet, in
a large Government envelope. Immediately on receiving the
packet and reading it, he stepped to the carriage and took a
seat beside the prisoner. He seemed much agitated, and the
carriage had proceeded some distance in the direction of the
Battery, when he broke the ominous silence with these words :
" I have bad Dews for you, Mr. Wright, very bad news ! "
The prisoner inquired quickly — not suspecting its purport
— what the news was like ? " I am ordered to carry you to
Fort Lafayette" replied Colonel De Radowitz with visible
emotion. They proceeded in silence. Arriving at Fort Ham-
ilton, they descended a flight of steps to the wherry, and
were conveyed across the channel to Fort Lafayette.
Ascending to the Adjutant's office, Mr. Wright was form-
ally delivered to Colonel Martin Burke, a man apparently
seventy years of age, with features as hard as iron. His
face plainly spoke " orders " in every feature and lineament.
He looked as though he could stand by the rack, thumbscrew,
or gibbet unmoved by the agonies of his victim, if " ordered."
He was the man for the Bastile.
After bidding farewell to Colonel De Radowitz and Cut-
cher, the former of whom left him with cheering words, the
victim of despotism was passed through the routine of office,
relieved of his valuables, and thence conducted to casemate
No. 3, scratched in the paint on the door-casing of which
were the words :
' ' Who enters here leaves hope behind."
PHINEAS 0. WRIGHT.
225
We again quote from Mr. W right :
"Here, during my eleven months, there were never lesa
than eight, and often thirteen men. We were locked up
after heing counted at 4 retreat,' and released at 4 reveille,*
but in the day we were permitted to walk on three sides of
the area along the borders of the parade grounds. W^e were
provided with iron bedsteads, which folded against the walls
during the day and were let down at night, and with good
mattresses, pillows, sheets, and blankets in abundance ; but
these were not furnished by the Government, but were tho
gift of the ladies of Baltimore to the members of the Legisla-
ture of Maryland, who were arrested by General McClellan,
and thrust into Forts Lafayette and Warren, some of whom
were detained thirteen months. Government furnished no-
thing for the prisoners save very plain food, scantily dealt out
by a thieving commissary, who was subsequently detected,
and fled from the punishment he so well deserved. I will
not write his name, lest I should lighten by a shade, in com-
parison, the character of the mean fellow who succeeded
him. His successor was Lieutenant , of the 17th In-
fantry, U. S. A. He had been, in the beginning of the war,
a member of the noted 'Shriver Guard,' of Wheeling, Ya.,
but deserted his friends and the cause of his State for 4 loil '
service, which paid better. He will know himself in this
brief sketch, and will be long remembered by many prisoners.
44 At the period of my arrival there were about ninety
prisoners in the Fort, about sixty of whom were prisoners
of war, including blockade-runners, and citizens picked up in
various localities to count for exchange. Of these latter,
none had been in the service. Most of them were too old
and infirm for any service.
44 Later came Joseph Howard, Jr., of the Proclamation
notoriety, whom Colonel Burke would always call 4 Bogus
Joe.' He was a man of good heart, sprightly intellect, and
line culture, quick, lively sensibilities, and withal a most
genial gentleman and a good companion. I missed him
when he left us. With him came Mr. Mallison, his coad-
15
226
AMERICAN BASTILE.
jutor, who was popular with all the prisoners through lna
good-nature, genial mirthfulness, and lively wit, which seemed
ever gushing from an exhaustless fountain.
" The monotony in Lafayette was often broken by the
arrival of the small steamer ' Henry Burden/ bringing fresh
prisoners, but more often visitors, and still oftener the ' Com-
mission ' and Judge Advocate Bolles. There was not a pri-
soner in the Fort, except the accredited ' prisoners of war,'
save myself, who had not been called up before that august
tribunal once, twice, or thrice. Every time the boat's whis-
tle was heard, the boys would cry out, 'Fresh fish,' meaning
new prisoners, or i Commish,' or 4 Bolles.' That cry always
raised my anxious expectation. I would fancy my trial was
near, and I never doubted that my release would follow ; but
I learned that I was not answerable to that jurisdiction, but
that I was the ' President's prisoner.'
" I must omit, for want of room, the narration of many
aotable incidents in my experience of life in Lafayette. I
cannot do justice to my own feelings, nor to the memories
which I shall cherish through life, without mentioning the
kindness which I received from all the prisoners, without a
single exception, and also the uniform good feeling that pre-
vailed among them. There were many men of education
and fine culture. We were denied the advantage of religious
instruction from the outer world. No spiritual friend and
counsellor could come within those dark walls to say good
words to us. In our mess, and in other apartments were
several gentlemen who were members of the Episcopal
Church. A friend sent to me, by my own request, eighteen
prayer-books, and a book of church music. I read service
every Sunday morning at 11 o'clock, in the ' Battery,' which
would scarcely contain all the prisoners, and there were few
who did not attend regularly. We had several young men
who sang well. We had musical instruments — flutes and
violins — and our Sunday choir might have been welcomed
in any church in the city of New York, or elsewhere."
PHINEAS C. WRIGHT.
227
On the 30th of August, 1864, Mr. Wright sent the follow-
ing letter to Mr. Lincoln, which was never answered. Other
similar letters were addressed to the President by the pris-
oner and his friends, asking for a trial or release ; but they
availed nothing, although Mr. Lincoln several times promised
to grant one or the other. Similar applications were like-
wise made to Mr. Dana, and, after his succession, to President
Johnson — but all to no purpose, as far as known. The letter
reads ae follows :
"Fort Lafayette, August 30, 186*4.
"To Hw>. Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States:
"Sir: I have been a prisoner in this fortress four months this
day. I was arrested at Grand Eapids, Michigan, on the 27th day
of April last, 'by order of the President, through General Heint-
zelman,' and by Colonel J. R. Smith, commanding Department
of Michigan. Until this hour I am unadvised of any charge or
charges against me, or of any special cause why I was arrested.
My position is most painful and mortifying. In regard to my
political sentiments generally, or my opinions touching the mo-
mentous questions of the day, I am prepared, as I ever have been,
to make a frank avowal of them. In regard to my actions
touching the questions at issue, or the parties to that issue, since
the commencement of the war, I have nothing which I desire to
conceal. I am a citizen of the State of Missouri, resident in the
city of St. Louis, by profession a lawyer. The story of my
private life, or of my relations, of blood, or social, cannot interest
you just now.
" From you, as Chief Magistrate and Executive of my Govern-
ment, I have the right, respectfully, to demand justice. As a
citizen, I would fain appeal to your humane and Christian sym-
pathies. I am incapable of crime, or of premeditated wrong.
I dislike notoriety of any kind, and now respectfully request
that I may be permitted to communicate personally with some
one in whom you may confide, who shall be empowered to set
me at liberty, in the event that he shall be satisfied that there is
no just cause for my further detention. I trust that my motive*
in this communication will not be misapprehended.
228
AMERICAN BAST1LE.
" The welfare of my country, and her restoration to unity, peac«
and prosperity, have been the burden of my highest aspira-
tions. I am not a criminal, begging for mercy, but a free citizen
demanding justice, to know whereof I am accused, and who is my
accuser, to be confronted with the witnesses against me, tried by
the law, and by it be convicted or acquitted.
" General Dix, as my counsel advises me, and Colonel Burke,
have both promised that any communication which I might de-
sire to send to you shall be promptly forwarded to you, if
proper.
" I have the honor to subscribe myself with due respect,
P. C. Wright."
On the 13th of March, 1865, Mr. Wright was, together
with seven other political prisoners, transferred to Fort
Warren, while the prisoners of war were sent to Fort Dela-
ware. He arrived at the Fort the following day, (March
14.) and was informed, had he arrived the day previously,
he would have been discharged, with some forty others, of the
same class who had been released that day. The Fort was
commanded by Major Allen, U. S. A., and was garrisoned
by a detachment of the 4th Massachusetts Heavy Artillery,
Governor Andrews's pet corps, under the command of Major
Appleton, in all about four hundred men. They were a fine
body of men, and were uniformly kind and just toward all
the prisoners. Among the notable prisoners there, were
Commodore Tucker, of the Confederate Navy, Generals Ed-
ward Johnson, Ewell, Jackson, Marmaduke, Barton, and
many others of General Lee's army. These general officers
were separated from the other prisoners, and were assigned
very comfortable quarters on the officers' side of the Fort.
They were allowed all reasonable privileges, but were not
permitted to speak to the other prisoners. Mr. Wright was
assigned casemate No. 6, in which were about twenty-five
prisoners. There were seven of these rooms appropriated to
the prisoners, but two, Nos. 6 and 7, were never locked at
night, as were the other five, as the icmates of the former
were under parole.
PHINEAS C. WRIGHT.
229
The prisoners were privileged to walk on the ram pails
each day as long as they chose ; but having been conducted
thither by a corporal in the morning, they were compelled to
remain out, or if returned to their rooms, they could not go
out again that day. The two rooms 6 and 7 were not
so crowded as the rest, which contained fifty, and two of
them between sixty and seventy persons. It is surprising
that there was so little sickness among the prisoners ; but the
most of them were young men who had been well nurtured,
and were cleanly in their habits. Early in April he was re-
moved from No. 6 to a very pleasant room under the officers'
quarters, and for eight weeks was permitted to remain there,
the last four of which he was alone.
About the last of April, Mr. Wright was informed by
Lieutenant Woodman, commissary of the prisoners, that
Major Bolles, Judge Advocate on General Dix's Commission,
was at the Fort, and had come to see him. The Lieutenant
then called a corporal and directed him to escort Mr. Wright
to the august presence of the Major, who occupied the room
of an officer in a distant part of the Fort. The Major re-
ceived him graciously and bade him be seated. After ex-
changing a few commonplace remarks about the weather,
the prisoner's health, and the manner in which he had en-
dured his incarceration, and boasting of some of the exploits
while in the performance of his official duties as Judge Ad-
vocate in West Virginia and elsewhere, he said : " I have
called to see you, Mr. Wright, upon very important business,
and I am authorized to propound to you certain questions,
and to assure you that upon your answer to those questions
will depend your immediate release, or your further deten-
tion." Mr. Wright became very angry and much excited
at the insolent tone in which he had been addressed, but
calming himself, he said, " You do not know me, sir, or you
would not thus insult me. I will hear your questions, and
will answer them truly if I can, or if I shall deem it proper
to answer them, whether I shall be released now, or remain
here to the end of my natural life. What I shall say will bo
230
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the truth, whether it should suit your purpose or not." After
profuse apologies, he said : "> I am Judge Advocate on tho
Btaff of General Dix, and am here in my official capacity. I
have had much experience of late as a Judge; I am pushing
inquiries relative to that dreadful affair of Good Friday last,"
pulling some papers from a large envelope ; " I refer to the
assassination of President Lincoln." Springing to his feet,
Mr. Wright exclaimed, "What do you mean, sir?" The
Judge Advocate hade Mr. W. to be calm, and cast his eye
toward the stalking sentry at the door, with an ominous
glance toward the prisoner, which bespoke power. Then
opening a paper, he read its contents, commenting on the sen-
tences as he read them. He argued that the prisoner must
unquestionably be a party to a conspiracy long since organ-
ized to assassinate President Lincoln, remarking that the
"argument teas well drawn, and the conclusion inevitable"
When the reading of the papers was over, and the infer-
ences discussed, as far as force of patience on the part of the
prisoner would allow, the Judge Advocate asked for a state-
ment of his case, which Mr. Wright freely gave him. Bolles
listened attentively, and noted accurately his words :
" I stated that I came from New Orleans to the W est in
the spring of 1857, and in the spring of 1859 I brought my
family, with our servants, to St. Louis, and settled myself
there for life, and engaged in the practice of my profession.
It seemed to me needful to state that, during the latter part
of 1857, and all of 1858, I had been in Iowa and Illinois,
until I went to St. Louis, in the spring of 1859. He took
down this statement, but used the word 'citizen,' making me
to say that I was a citizen of Iowa and Illinois prior to my
removing to St. Louis. I objected, saying, 'I was never a
citizen of those States, but was merely a sojourner or denizen,*
He made the correction I desired, anil then added, 4 You are
now a citizen of Massachusetts, and are likely to remain so
for some time to come.' " Thus another political farce ended,
and with it died the prisoner's new-born hope of release.
Mr. Wright remained a prisoner in Fort Warren about
PHINEAS C. WEIGHT.
231
four months, and was released from his long and unjust con-
finement of fifteen months, about the first of August, 1865.
No specific charges were ever made against him, nor any trial
accorded him, unless a just public can pronounce the above
examination, by Judge Advocate Bolles, a trial.
In conclusion, Mr. Wright says :
"I would not cherish a spirit of hatred nor revenge
toward any man, not even toward one of those who perse-
cuted me so mercilessly. I would fain believe that they were
even conscientious in regard to their treatment of me, and
that they thought themselves to be doing the behests of jus-
tice in view of a supreme necessity, which, if it had existed,
would not have justified such outrage upon my rights to
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. "While I will freely
ascribe to them proper motives and just considerations, I
shall demand of them a due respect for my own motives, and
a just consideration of all my actions touching affairs of
great public interest and concern.
"I aver, that from the first hour of the signal epoch which
has made up its scroll for the recording angel, I have never
known but one sentiment in regard to my country, my whole
country ; and that had for its burden her past and future
renown, through the exaltation of splendid States, each free
and independent, the grand creation of her sovereign people.
It is, it was, my simple right, nay more, my highest duty, as
a free citizen, to scrutinize the conduct of men who had been
raised to the places of power as servants of the people, and
to judge their policy in regard to affairs committed to them,
equally in a season of public emergency which threatened
the destruction of all that we hold sacred, and even the
entire social order, as in time of peace and tranquillity. I
availed myself of that sacred right, and that was the sum of
my offending. I shall again and always use that right;
though the gates of the Bastile should again close behind me,
and the leaden-winged months once more inscribe afresh the
horrors which time cannot efface from my memory.
" While my soul would fain exalt itself in praise to Almighty
232
AMERICAN BASTILE.
God for his dispensations, whether terrible or joyful, I would
bless anew the tyrant, my oppressor, and all his myrmidons,
in that they were, unwittingly, however, His appointed
agencies for my instruction and exaltation. I have learned
4 how sweet are the uses of adversity ' — how far more pre-
cious than gold are the lessons which persecution may impart
to him who will admit into his soul the cheering light of
sublime faith — how sweetly wisdom comes with her gentle
insinuations in the darkest hour of trial, though in the sun-
shine of prosperity and success she had knocked at the door
only to be scorned and denied admittance ! How sweetly
the grateful memories come, troop on troop, to the prisoner
in his cell — come on the moonbeams, on the wings of
zephyr, and even upon the harsh breath of the storm as it
makes the voices of midnight revelry around battlement and
tower. Ay ! some holy recollections are mine ! ye tyrants,
usurpers, myrmidons of power ! But they can never be yours !
never ! Ye have gathered spoils, of war and of fraud — the
price of blood and the purchase of the soul's virtue ! Ye
flaunt the gems which meanest power has filched from
weakness and innocence, until the sunlight blushes red in
their flashing brilliancy ! Ye may gather to these all that
Golconda, Peru, and the unravished bed of the ocean may
yield, and yet, with their sum twice told, ye may not pur-
chase the immortal gems and pearls I gathered in your grim
4 Bastile by the Sea ! ' Your day has come, but its fading
light proclaims the fearful night ye contemplate with fear
and trembling, like cowards that await an avenging jus
tice without hope ; while your victims wait their morning,
whose dawning light even now climbs up the hea¥ens U>
their view."
The following beautiful poem was composed by Mr. Wright
while a prisoner in Fort Warren :
PHINEAS C. WRIGHT.
MY BASTILE YEAR.
Oh! heavy, sad, and gloomy yean
As now thy retrospect I scan,
Memory waits to drop one tear
For th' inhumanity of man :
Thy record, traced upon my soul,
Each burning line instinct with life.
As though some fiend had marred the sCToll,
Is stained with hate and fear and strife.
There lingers yet an angry cloud
Which shuts out every cheering ray;
I list the thunder, deep and loud,
And watch the vivid lightnings, play ;
Anon, that cloud by thunder riven
And scattered in the lightning's gleam,
I see beyond a silvery heaven
Where blessed rays of promise beam.
I note some weird pictures there,
And seem to hear th' enraptured strain*
Of wildering accents on the air
Which zephyr wakes along the plains.
There Love's enchantments lingering glow
As now she weaves her magic spell;
I list her voice in numbers flow
Like echoes of a fairy bell.
Dear Friendship, too, handmaid of love,
Hath left the impress of her hand,
As to my questioning heart she *d prove
Her kindred with the angel band.
Now Hope essays her magic powers
To lend her radiance to the scene,
Still strives to cheer my weary hours.
Yet with illusions sweet, I ween ;
She nestles under fancy's wings,
And glistens in the beams of noon.
Now her entrancing carol sings
And flies me with the waning moon.
Oft she has sought my casemate coll
To lure me with a cheering beam.
AMERICAN BASTILE.
But when the stalking sentries yell
She flees like phantom of a dream,
But at ill she points me to the skies,
And leads her sister, Faith, to mf».
That from despair my soul may rise.
And bright, celestial joys may see.
Faith, sweet messenger of Heaven
To every wretched child of earth,
Now whispers me her mission given
To tell my soul its heavenly birth j
She blends her light with Hope and Love,
And sheds her pure, transcendent rays
T' illume the path to realms above,
Where pleasures dwell through endless daye
And Faith brings Patience in her train,
The virtue gentle, meek, and fair ;
She constant sings her dulcet strains
With chorus spirits of the air.
Be still, sad heart! thy murmuring cease,
And heed the message from above!
There 's nought of earth thy pain can ease,
Make room for Patience, Faith, and Love.
Now, Memory ! the scroll is thine,
Essay thereon thy weird skill,
Bid hate to mar no single line
By faintest trace of suffered ill.
Let envy's dull envenomed trace,
As serpent slimes the fairest flowers,
Thy precious tablets ne'er deface,
Nor soil the wings of golden hourb.
Dispel the dark'ning shades of fear
That come like shadows of the night ,
Tell my sad heart that God is near,
He ever will defend the right.
Let malice ne'er the cup infuse,
Which angels proffer to my lips,
Brimful with nectar, pure as dews
The bee from th' opening rosebud sipB
Should she, perchance, prevail to blot
Thy record of my Bastile year,
Bid Charity conceal the spot,
Or cleanse it with a shining tear.
P1IINEAS C. WEIGHT.
Oh! let oblivion's darkest wave
Roll o'er thy gathered horrors now,
Or hide them in that welcome grave,
O'er which eternal waters flow.
Thy task is done ; bind up the scroll ;
Bear it in triumph to thy shrine,
And thither lead my willing soul,
To dream in pleasures only thine.
HON. RICHARD H. STANTON.
N O more flagrant outrage upon the rights of citizens waa
perpetrated during the war, than the arrests made at
Maysville, Kentucky, on the 2d of October, 1861, by General
William Nelson. They were not made because the exigencies
of the military service or the safety of the country demanded
them, but because a few political leaders, to whom General
Nelson had surrendered himself, expected to promote their
party interests, by getting rid of the most influential Demo-
crats in the community.
General William Nelson was at that time recruiting his
brigade in Mason, and the adjoining counties, and had estab-
lished a camp a short distance from Maysville. His head-
quarters were in the city, where he was surrounded by his
counsel of advisers, a few men who had been the life-long
enemies of the Democratic party. These men made out a
proscription list for General Nelson, embracing about twelve
of the leading and most influential Democrats of the city,
and urged their arrest and departure from the State.
On the morning of the 2d of October, 1861, two hundred
armed soldiers, from the camp, under General Nelson's orders,
were marched into the city, and stationed at the market-
tiouse. Squads were sent out, and the following gentlemen,
whose names had been selected by the political coterie who
controlled General Nelson, were suddenly seized and placed
in custody of the armed force at the market-house: the
Hon. Richard H. Stanton, James H. Hall, Washington B.
Tolle, Benjamin F. Thomas, Wm. Hunt, Isaac Nelson,
George Forrester, and William T. Oastoe.
Mr. Stanton had been an influential and leading Democrat,
who represented his district in Congress, from 1849 to 1855,
236
RICH A ED H. STANTON.
237
aDd filled other important and responsible public positions.
He was, at the time of his arrest, the Prosecuting Attorney
for the judicial district in which he lived, and has since been
unanimously nominated for Circuit Judge, and elected by a
majority of about twenty-five hundred. He is now presiding
as Judge in the Fourteenth Judicial District of Kentucky.
James H. Hall was the proprietor of a large flour manu-
facturing establishment, and a most estimable and worthy
citizen. Though a decided Democrat, he had never actively
participated in political strife.
Washington B. Tolle was a leading member of the mer-
cantile firm of Pierce, Tolle & Holton, a quiet, amiable gen-
tleman, who had taken so little part in politics, that hia
Democratic sentiments were absolutely unknown outside of
his own immediate personal friends. %
Benjamin F. Thomas was the senior member of the firm
of B. F. & 0. H. P. Thomas, and one of the best-beloved
citizens of the place ; distinguished for his integrity and pri-
vate virtues, and, although firm and decided in his political
sentiments, was always modest and unobtrusive in giving
them expression.
William Hunt was a tobacco merchant, an upright and
worthy citizen, and universally esteemed by the community.
Isaac Nelson was a liquor and commission merchant, a man
of generous nature, sterling integrity, and much personal
popularity
George Forrester was a Democratic editor, and William
T. Castoe a young lawyer of fine talents and conversational
powers.
John H. Richardson, another merchant of high standing,
was also upon the proscriptive list, and was arrested ; but, by
the intercession of some of his friends, was released after a
short detention.
Each of these gentlemen was in the quiet pursuit of his
business when the arrests were made. Others had been de-
liberately marked as victims, but were either not in town,
or received timely warning, and managed to keep out of the
238
AMERICAN B \STILE.
way. The sudden seizure of so many of the best, and least
to be suspected citizens of the town, produced intense alarm
and indignation, and in a few minutes the whole community
was aroused. The friends of Mr. Stanton immediately ap-
plied to the Hon. E. C. Phister, then Circuit Judge, for a
writ of habeas corpus, which was promptly granted, and
placed in the hands of the Sheriff. He proceeded to execute
it, but was prevented by General Nelson and his soldiers.
The prisoners were then marched through the streets to a
steamboat in waiting at the wharf, and carried to Cincinnati,
under charge of a squad of soldiers. After the departure of
the prisoners, the indignation and excitement of the com-
munity continued, and became so intense as to alarm the
valiant General Nelson, and the political conspirators by
whom he had been induced to commit so wanton and un-
provoked an outrage, for their personal safety. A regiment
of soldiers was sent for and brought from Ripley, Ohio, for
their protection.
The appearance of this re-enforcement gave General Kelson
and his friends relief, but caused hundreds of brave and
gallant men of Mason, and the adjoining counties, to hasten
into the Confederate lines. Not only did the young men
rush in crowds to the ranks of the Confederate army, but
many of the very be3t and worthiest of the old citizens, ter-
rified by the brutal and wanton arrest of quiet and peaceful
citizens, and apprehending for themselves like treatment, fled
for safety to the mountains, and placed themselves under the
protection of the Confederate Generals Marshall and Wil-
liams.
Nothing contributed so much to recruit the armies of the
Confederacy from Kentucky, as this, and similar outrages
committed by the Federal authorities upon her citizens. Of
the ten hundred and thirty-one Confederates who met,
whipped, and drove General Nelson and his army of three or
four thousand men from Ivy Mountain in disorder and con-
fusion, fully one-half were of those who had been compelled
to leave their homes in Kentucky, under the terror inspired
RICHARD H STANTON.
239
by arbitrary arrests, and other outrages upon the rights of
peaceful citizens. The exploit at Ivy Mountain was so dis-
graceful to General Kelson, that President Lincoln, when he
heard of it, could not refrain from illustrating it by a charac-
teristic anecdote, which many will remember, as not iess distin-
guished for its obscenity than for its appropriateness.
The gentlemen arrested at Maysville had committed no
offence, done no act, which authorized their arrest, or in any
manner compromitted themselves as loyal citizens. They
were never apprised of any charges made against them.
They were arrested, exiled from the State, and imprisoned,
for no other reason than being Democrats. They preferred
to suffer persecution and outrage, rather than sacrifice their
political convictions.
Mr. Stanton and his fellow-prisoners were taken to Cin-
cinnati, and there delivered to General 0. M. Mitchell, then
in command at that place. Judge Leavitt, of the United
States District Court, upon the application of Mr. Stanton,
issued a writ of habeas corpus, commanding the prisoners to
be brought before him, that he might inquire into the legal-
ity of their detention. Here, as at Maysville, the law was
trampled under foot by the military authorities — General
Mitchell refusing to allow this great writ of liberty to be
executed. Congress had not then passed any law suspending
the writ of habeas corpus.
The prisoners were hurried off to Camp Chase, where
they were confined, with two hundred others, in a plank
enclosure of about one hundred and fifty feet square, during
the whole of the month of October. "When the prisoners
were thrust into this pen, no particular place was assigned
them. They were compelled to depend upon the charity of
those occupying the place before their arrival, for a spot
upon which to rest themselves. Sixteen men were huddled
together in each of the little plank shanties within the
enclosure, and required to eat and sleep, crammed together,
like so many hogs in a railroad car. This the Maysville
prisoners were compelled to endure for a month. The
240
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Anderson ville prison, or any other in the Confederacy, could
not have been worse in its accommodations than Camp
Chase, during the month of October, 1861 ; and yet these
gentlemen were taken from the comforts of their homes and
thrust into this wretched place, not because they had com-
mitted any offence against the laws, but to appease the
malice of political enemies, or give eclat to the exploits of
petty military upstarts.
During the whole period of their confinement in Camp
Chase, they were without fire to keep them warm, were
furnished with but one blanket each, and compelled to sleep
upon the hard floor of their filthy cabin. The food furnished
by the Government, consisted of coarse bread, fat bacon, and
refuse pieces of beef. No negro upon his master's plantation
ever fared worse
On the 1st of November, a cold, rainy, and cheerless day,
a Lieutenant made his appearance at the door of the Mays-
ville prisoners, and required them to answer to their names.
They were then ordered to pack up their baggage and pre
pare to leave. They were placed in an omnibus and driven
to Columbus, where they took the cars, without knowing
their destination. It was not until some time after the cars
had left, that the Lieutenant apprised them, that they were
ordered to Fort Lafayette, in the harbor of New York.
They reached New York on the 2d of November, and
entered the Bastile the next morning. They found their
quarters there more comfortable, and the bearing of the
jailers more gentlemanly and humane.
They were kept in Fort Lafayette for two months, and
then discharged, without having been allowed a trial or even
informed of any charges which existed against them. Mr.
Stanton's friends, from various parts of the United States, and
the friends of his fellow-prisoners, made frequent applications
to the Secretary of State, William H. Seward, to know for
what offence they had been arrested, and upon what charge
they were detained. The universal response was, that there
were no charges against them, but that Maryland had been
KIOHAED H. STANTON. 241
kept in the Union by arresting her best citizens, and that
Kentucky should be treated in the same manner.
The insufferable meanness of Mr. Seward was well illus-
trated by an incident which occurred during Mr. Stanton's
confinement. Some friends of the Secretary had fallen into
the hands of the Confederates, whom it was desirable to have
released by exchange. It was thought Mr. Stanton's desire
to be released would incline him to accept readily a proposi-
tion of exchange for one of Mr. Seward's friends. A New York
lawyer was commissioned to go to the Fort, suggest the pro
position to Mr. Stanton, and, if possible, obtain his consent.
The commission was executed ; the lawyer made his proposi-
tion, but went back with this indignant message to the Sec-
retary : " Go, sir, and tell Mr. Seward, who sent you, that I
am a citizen of Kentucky, unjustly deprived of my liberty
and that I will not leave this prison unless unconditionally
discharged. I am no Confederate, and the Government has
no right to make me one against my consent, and shall not do
it if I can prevent it."
Judge Stanton was released on the 26th of December, 1861,
after an imprisonment of nearly two months in Fort Lafay-
ette, and after the wily Secretary had vainly exhausted his
resources to entrap him into an admission of guilt by an
exchange.
ia
JOHN W. SMITH, alio* THE WANDERING JEW
" 1 am as homeless as the wind that moans
And wanders through the streets."
'pUE WANDERING JEW, as Mr. John W. Smith was
familiarly called during his sojourn in the Old Capitol
Prison, was an old man, of not less than sixty-five years,
blind of one eye, a homeless, and apparently friendless wan-
derer. He was a native of one of the counties of Virginia
contiguous to Washington, but had left his native State in
his youth, and wandered to the West, where he spent most
of his subsequent life on the frontiers. He migrated to Kan-
sas soon after that portion of the country became organized
into a Territory, and engaged in merchandising and general
trading.
During the troubles in the Territory between the John
Brownists and their opponents, he lost his property by the
theft of the John Brown and Lane gangs of marauders.
This naturally soured him against the Abolitionists, whom
he regarded with an aversion which, with him, knew no
bounds.
The immediate cause of his arrest (as well as it can be as-
certained) was his invention of a bomb for disabling locomo-
tives while in motion, without injury to the railroad trains.
The object, it would seem, of Mr. Smith, in this invention,
was to place it at the disposal of the Federal Government,
as soon as he got it perfected, and proper models made for its
experiment. He had a friend in St. Louis, to whom he com-
municated his invention and design, requesting aid to enable
him to get up a proper model, as the Ordnance Department,
it appears, takes no notice of inventions whose utility cannot
be practioahy demonstrated.
242
JOHN W. SMITH.
243
The correspondence between Mr. Smith and his friend at
St. Louis was seized, on suspicion of its having referred to
some diabolical design against the Federal Government, and
Smith himself was seized at Jacksonville, Illinois, early in
August, 1862, and transported to the Old Capitol Prison.
He was placed in the hospital, temporarily, with Dr.
Ilewitt and others, for whom there was no accommodation
elsewhere, and in due time became an occupant of room No.
13, and subsequently of No. 16.
The conduct of the Administration toward this feeble, pen-
niless, infirm old man, aroused the sympathies of his fellow-
prisoners. When first introduced to them in No. 13, he had
neither coat nor hat, and no change of clothing of any kind,
and it was some time before those who had the means to
help him found an opportunity to do so. Being a Free-
mason of high degree in the order, he contrived to make his
situation known to his brethren in Washington, and through
the kind offices of Dr. Hull, who had access to the prison,
the Masons supplied some of his wants.
When Mr. Smith was brought to the Old Capitol he was
stripped nude, and his rags of clothes and person searched for
evidences of whatever charge was made against him, or of
the suspicions entertained of him. But nothing was found
to implicate him, or convict him of any offence. Neverthe-
less, he was kept nearly two months in the building, and was
only released at last (as were several others at the same time)
to make way for some other victims.
Like all others, he was wantonly kidnapped and cruelly
punished without cause, trial, or judgment.
Papers of value to him were taken from his person when
arrested, and on applying for them when he was released,
they were withheld. He had an inventive mind, and was
continually thinking of improvements in implements of hus-
bandry and domestic economy; and, during the war, of im-
provements of arms, projectiles, etc. He had patented seve-
ral improvements in beehives and farm implements, but, like
244
AMERICAN BASTILE.
most inventors, realized little or nothing from the fruits of
his genius.
The papers taken from him had reference to inventions,
and when he was set at liberty they had been confiscated,
doubtless, as was the property of many other victims. When
this poor, miserable man was discharged, he was compelled to
beg the means to feed himself, on his way home, the Govern-
ment furnishing only transportation.
I
GENERAL WILLIAM BRIKDLE.
GENERAL ¥M. BRINDLE is a native of Muncy, Ly-
coming County, Pennsylvania. He represented, with
ability, his county in the Legislature, during the session of
1850-51, and was one of the committee that drew up the
Tariff report, which was presented to the House on the 3d of
February, 1851.
Early in the year 1856, he removed to the Territory of
Kansas, and was commissioned by President Pierce, (with
whom he had served in the Mexican war,) Indian Land
Agent, with authority to sell United States lands in the Ter-
ritory, and receive the proceeds arising from the sales. His
commission reached him on the 13th of September of that
year, the anniversary of the entrance of the American army
into the city of Mexico. General Brindle continued to hold
this position until the election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presi-
dency, when he resigned, but was not relieved by the appoint-
ment of a successor until May, 1861.
During the Kansas difficulties of 1856 and 1857, General
Brindle took an active part in the politics of that State, and
was mainly instrumental in ferreting out and defeating the
now well-known " Candle Box " election frauds of Calhoun
and McLean, and in proving the perjury of the latter. The
General, although a Democrat, opposed both extremes of
the u Kansas Question," and, as a friend of the people, he
used his utmost endeavors to obtain for them a fair election.
He was arrested about 1 o'clock p.m., on the 28th of July,
1862, at his residence in Lecompton, Kansas, by a Govern-
ment detective, named Carpenter, supported by a company
of Wisconsin cavalry.
246
AMERICAN BAST1LE.
General Br indie demanded to know by what authority hid
premises were surrounded by armed men, and he deprived
of liberty. The officer in command replied that it was by
order of General Blunt.
When asked to produce the order, the officer commanded
I he ten men in the room to draw their revolvers, which they
did, covering the person of the General. On being informed
that no resistance was contemplated, the soldiers lowered
their weapons.
The General then inquired upon what charge or charges
lie was arrested, and was informed that it was on account of
his being a terror to the Union men, and having arms in his
house.
The absurdity of the first charge is manifested by the fact
that there were seated in the room, at the time, several ex-
treme Abolitionists of Lecompton and the vicinity, who had
just dined at the General's table.
Accompanied by his wife, he set out for Fort Leavenworth
the same evening, guarded by the detachment of cavalry.
The command halted in the city of Lawrence for the night,
when, through the influence of an extreme anti-slavery man,
but a personal friend, he was released on his parole to report
the following morning at nine o'clock.
Here the General and wife were hospitably entertained by
Dr. C. E. Miner and family, of that city. The Doctor, who
was present at the time of his arrest, and knowing its in-
justice, and who was, moreover, a bold and defiant friend of
constitutional liberty, and a sworn enemy to the despotism
then reigning supreme in Kansas, went with him to the head
quarters of Captain Stout, where, in the presence of the mili-
tary authorities and detectives, he boldly denounced the
arrest, and offered to accompany the General to Fort Leaven-
worth.
The command pushed forward, and arrived at Leavenworth
City about dark. The General obtained permission to ac-
company his wife to the Planters' House, where he met some
friends connected with the army, who, learning of his arrest,
GENERAL WILLIAM BRINDLE. 247
volunteered to go to the Fort and procure his release, which
they did the same evening.
He was confined in one of the most filthy prisons it is pos-
sible to conceive, and which he found to be full of old resi-
dents of the Plains, who had been seized, dragged from their
homes, and imprisoned for weeks, without any known cause,
and denied all intercourse with outside persons.
The sanitary condition of the prison was totally neglected,
and the stench, arising from the accumulated filth on the
floor, was sickening. Soon after entering it, he had an
opportunity to see the food furnished the prisoners for sup-
per, which was as loathsome and disgusting as it was un-
wholesome, and was totally unfit to be eaten by a human
being.
This, together with other uncalled-for inhumanities which
were practised on those noble pioneers of civilization, who
were charged with no offence, and whose fealty to the Gov-
ernment was above reproach, was an act of cruelty and in-
justice which will be remembered by the citizens of the
West, long after its perpetrators shall have sunk into the
tomb of the Capulets.
As soon as the friends alluded to could go to the Fort and
obtain an order for the General's release, he was discharged,
but ordered to report at 9 o'clock a.m., on the 30th of July.
He reported at the Provost Marshal's office at the ap-
pointed time, and was informed by that official, that there
were no charges against him, but that he must enter into
bond, with security, not to leave the State without the per*
mission of the Military Commission, and to appear before it
when notified to answer to any charges that would be made
against him.
On the 18th of August, he demanded an honorable release
from his bond, which was sent to him with the following
indorsement :
"Prisoner honorably discharged, August 26, 1862, and bond
cancelled. (Signed) E A. Calkins,
Major 3d Wisconsin Cavalry, and Provost Marshal "
248
AMERICAN BASTILE
On the morning after his release, he made known to the
residents of the city of Leavenworth, that a large numher
of persons were held in durance by the military authorities,
who did not know why they had been arrested, as no charges
had been filed against them. He succeeded, with consider-
able difficulty, in obtaining their release on the last day of
July.
General Brindle returned to his native State in October
1862, where lie has since resided.
JOHN T. GILMER, M.D
DR. JOHN T. GILMER, of Adams County, State of Illi-
nois, was born in Wilkes County, Georgia, in the year
1808. He was a son of Dr. John T. Gilmer, a Virginian by
birth and education, who removed from Virginia to Georgia,
and from Georgia to Kentucky, in the year 1813, and from
Kentucky to Illinois in 1833.
The subject of this sketch had in early boyhood embraced
the Christian religion, and, throughout his life and in the
hour of death, he was cheered and sustained by its influence.
He was courteous, kind, generous, and hospitable. These
virtues drew around him the poor, who sought his beneficence,
the helpless, to whom he extended a generous aid, and the
persecuted, who found shelter beneath his roof.
A hungry man never left the house of Dr. Gilmer, nor did
a shivering stranger ever approach it without receiving an
invitation to warm at his fires, and share the comforts of
his home.
When the reign of cruelty, torture, and terror was supreme
in Missouri, hundreds of its best citizens were driven out of
their houses to witness the destruction of their property,
insult to their families, and to make their escape at midnight,
by the dazzling light of their burning dwellings. Others,
seeing their parents or children shot down, fled, to escape
with their lives, and in distant places sought shelter, until
the murderous storm was over.
"Wherever they hoisted their standards black,
Before them was murder, behind them was wreck."
Men were shot down in the fields, and their remains wer? fed"
to the swine. Nameless cruelties were perpetrated, until many
249
250
AMERICAN BASTILE.
of the people of Missouri were strangers aud pilgrims, scat«
tered over the Mississippi Yalley.
The wide extent of Dr. Gilmer's acquaintance, as a mem-
ber of the Christian Church and as a physician, attracted
many of the most respectable of these refugees to his house,
where he entertained them with a liberality, which will be
kindly remembered after his persecutors are dead and for-
gotten. This kindness was considered an offence against
" loyalty," and occasioned his arrest.
In the summer of 1863, the Doctor was seized at his home
and dragged to Quincy, by a regiment of mercenaries,
mainly Austrians, who had been engaged with llaynau in
his butcheries in Hungary, and who had committed several
murders in the Quincy military district. From Quincy he
was taken to Springfield, Illinois, by these brutes, (who had
insulted his family at the time of his arrest,) cast into a miser-
able, filthy prison, and there detained until the indignation
of the people, at the grossness of these outrages, became so
wide-spread, that the authorities were compelled to release
him.
He had committed no offence, unless it be an offence to
feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick.
This imprisonment wounded his proud and sensitive spirit
to such an extent, that he never afterward enjoyed good
health. He had a stroke of apoplexy, induced by his im-
prisonment, from which he partially recovered, but finally
yielded to its power.
He died as he lived, the friend of liberty, and the servant
of God.
JOHN* H. COOK.
THE case of Mr. John H. Cook, although not a grievous
one in comparison with others, because he was not sub
jected to the personal indignities which many others suf-
fered, is an interesting one from the fact that it shows the
malice, the lawlessness, and the vindictiveness with which
he was persecuted.
Mr. Cook was born in the village of Seaford, Sussex
County, Delaware, on the 22d day of July, 1817. He has
been for thirty-three years a resident of the city of Philadel-
phia, and has always borne an unexceptionable character.
He was arrested on the 22d of September, 1862, on an
order issued by the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton,
and directed to Benjamin Franklin, Chief of the Detective
Police Force of the City of Philadelphia. The names of
those who are supposed to have made the affidavit on which
the warrant for Mr. Cook's arrest was issued, are George
Wood, William Lowry, and Thomas Naylor. The order
was placed in the hands of John Lemon and W. Barthol-
omew, who made the arrest. Mr. Cook knew not then, nor
has he yet been informed of the cause of his arrest, but sup-
poses it was because he had the moral courage to openly
proclaim himself a Democrat.
At the time of his arrest, he was engaged at his daily
business, he being the receiving teller in the Kensington
National Bank, which position he has held with credit for
fifteen years. He was taken from the bank to the Mayor's
office, and incarcerated in the room of the detectives.
Mr. Cook having, on his way thither, incidentally met with
I Newton Brown, Esq., a member of the Philadelphia bar,
in an undertone stated his case, and requested Mr. Brown to
251
252
AMERICAN BASTILE.
apply for a writ of habeas corpus, which he did immediately,
while the prisoner was still in confinement. Mr. Lemon, one
of the detectives who had made the arrest, called him ont
after an hour or so, and was about to take him away, to
lock him up in a cell until the train left in the evening for
the city of Washington. Mr. Cook asked where he was
going, and the reply was as above stated. He solicited the
favor of another half-hour, knowing that before its expira-
tion Mr. Brown would return with the writ. The request
was granted, and he was returned to the office, and shortly
afterward ordered before the court.
The writ was granted, and the officers having him in
custody not being able to name any charge against him, the
United States District Judge, Cadwalader, proposed hold-
ing him in his own recognizance, but the detectives claimed
him as a prisoner of the Government. Cook, feeling secure
for the time being, said he was perfectly willing they should
hold him as a prisoner of the Government. They then
imprisoned him in a station-house during the night, " a
lock-up " for thieves, burglars, and pickpockets. The next
day he was brought before the United States Court, George
A. Coffey, Esq., acting as counsel for the Government; but
he not having received any instructions from the Depart-
ment at Washington, requested the case might be continued
until the following day. This was granted, and Mr. Cook
was held in three thousand dollars bail for his appearance.
On the succeeding day, Mr. Cook made his appearance in
court with his counsel, Messrs. George M. Wharton, Charles
Ingersoll, and John A. Marshall, who had been retained for
the prisoner, in addition to Mr. Brown. On his second
appearance, the Judge Advocate, Mr. John C. Knox, sur-
prised the Court, and the anxious spectators, by the announce-
ment that the Government had ordered the prisoner's dis-
charge.
Thus ended this unjust attempt to injure and disgrace a
most worthy citizen of Philadelphia, whose son at that time,
was in the army, fighting for and protecting these miscreants
a* home.
/ z
HON. GEORGE WILLIAM BROWN.
HON. GEORGE WILLIAM BROWN, a distinguished
lawyer of Baltimore, was elected Mayor of that city,
in the autumn of 1860. For a number of years previously,
the city had been entirely under the control of the Know
Nothing party.
After that party came into power, it so mismanaged public
affairs that it fell largely into the minority ; but, having the
appointment of all the officers, including the judges of elec-
tion and police force, it succeeded in carrying every election
by a system of organized fraud and violence at the polls,
which, up to that time, was without a parallel in the history
of the country.
This state of things led to the formation of the Reform
party. After a strenuous and determined, but ineffectual
resistance at the polls, the leaders of the Reform movement
applied for and obtained from the Legislature of the State, a
system of laws, very carefully prepared by them, which pro-
vided for the creation of a Board of Commissioners by the
State, with power to appoint and control the police, and also
appoint the judges of elections.
Under the operation of these laws, there was held, in the
autumn cf 1860, the first fair and peaceable election which
had taken place in the city of Baltimore for many years, and
Mr. Brown, as the nominee of the Reform party, (of which,
from the beginning, he had been a prominent member,) was
chosen Chief Magistrate of the city by a very large majority.
One of the cardinal principles of the party was to keep
the affairs of the city carefully separated from national poli-
tics, and this principle Mr. Brown steadfastly adhered to
throughout his administration, notwithstanding the difficul
ties interposed by the breaking out of the war.
253
254
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Mr. Brown's opinions on national affairs were, however, very
decided, and were freely expressed. He was opposed to slavery,
and earnestly desired to see it abolished by constitutional and
legal means, but by those only. He did not think that a
State had a institutional right to secede from the Union,
but he believed that the constitutional rights of the Southern
States had been persistently violated by the iNorthern States,
on a point which the former had always regarded as funda-
mental — the rendition of fugitive slaves; and that not only
was the General Government both unable and unwilling to
afford redress, but that the advent of the Republican party
to power on the basis of the Chicago platform, and with its
avowed hostility to slavery, clearly boded additional aggres-
sions on the rights of the slaveholding States.
On these grounds, while he deprecated secession as an un-
wise step, he thought that the Xorth should either guarantee
to the South its constitutional rights, or let it depart in peace,
and he was therefore opposed to the war, which he believed
to be waged for the purpose of subjugation.
Maryland being a Border State, it was natural that the
sympathies of her people should be divided, but it is un-
doubtedly true that the feelings of the large majority, both
in the State and in the city of Baltimore, were strongly en-
listed on the side of the South. When, therefore, the Presi-
dent, by his proclamation issued in April, 1861, called out a
volunteer force of seventy-five thousand men, who were to
assemble in Washington, a violent feeling of indignation was
aroused. It was regarded as an attempt to overrun and sub-
jugate the South.
The first detachment of troops came from Pennsylvania,
and were without arms. They were escorted through the
city by the police, who protected them from violence from
the angry crowd who followed them.
The next day, the memorable 19th of April, a body of
troops fully armed and equipped, arrived from Massachusetts.
The police authorities had previously, but in vain, endea-
vored to ascertaio the precise time of their arrival, in order
GEORGE WILLIAM BROWN.
255
that proper arrangements might be made for their reception^
and had kept the whole police force for many hours in readi-
ness, so that they were almost worn out from fatigue. But
the authorities of the United States kept back all informa-
tion, until about an hour before the troops actually arrived,
and then gave instructions which proved to be most injudi-
cious.
The police authorities were directed to receive the troops
at the Camden or Washington Station, although they were
to arrive at the other end of the city, at the Philadelphia
Station. They were not to march through the city, but were
to be carried through on the cars. The first cars came safely
through to the Camden Station, where the police were drawn
up in force, but the last were not so fortunate. A mob tore
up the rails near the Philadelphia Station, and a force, con-
sisting of several companies, was compelled to leave the cars
and march.
The mob was unarmed, except a few pistols, and attacked
the soldiers with stones and such missiles as they could lay
hands on. The Mayor had left the Camden Station, suppos-
ing that all the troops had safely arrived there, and that the
danger was over, and was walking to his office in the direc-
tion of the advancing companies, when information was
brought to him of the attack. He immediately hastened tc
the spot, and sent an order to the Marshal to follow with a
body of the police. He met the troops rapidly marching,
the crowd following. He placed himself at the head of the
troops and marched with them, but his presence did not avail
either to protect them from attack or the citizens from their
indiscriminate fire.
Men were killed and wounded on both sides. Soon, how-
ever, the Marshal of Police, at the head of about fifty men,
rushed forward from the direction of the Camden Station,
parsed to the rear of the troops, threw themselves across the
street, and, with pistols presented, kept back the advancing
mob.
The soldiers, thus protected, marched to Camden Station,
256
AMERICAN BAST1LE.
were placed in the cars, and sent forward to "Washington,
and but for this timely succor would have suffered severely.
The effect of the collision on the people was instantaneous
and prodigious. Citizens not engaged in the strife had been
killed. Scenes of future bloodshed were apprehended ; the
passions of the young and excitable were fearfully aroused,
and the most sober-minded, and even those of the strongest
Union sentiments, for a time shared in the excitement.
The people appeared to have come to the unanimous de-
termination that no more troops should pass through the
city. But other troops were known to be on the way, and
might arrive at any moment, and their arrival would have
been the signal for the renewal of the strife.
The authorities of the city telegraphed to "Washington,
but received no reply. In this dilemma, the Mayor and
Police Commissioners, with the approbation of Governor
Hicks, who was then in Baltimore, caused certain bridges on
the Northern Central Eailway, and the Philadelphia, "Wil-
mington and Baltimore Railroad, to be disabled; and this
was done just in time to prevent a body of unarmed troops,
^rom Pennsylvania, entering the city.
On Sunday morning, April 21, at about 3 o'clock, Mr.
Brown received a telegram from President Lincoln, request-
ing him and Governor Hicks to go to Washington, and stat-
ing that a special train would be provided for the purpose.
Governor Hicks had gone to Annapolis, but Mr. Brown, ac-
companied by several friends, proceeded at once to "Washing-
ton, and had a long interview and frank explanation and in-
terchange of opinions with the President and Cabinet, and
also with the Commander-in-chief, General Scott, who was
present at the meeting.
The substance of the interview was published at the time
in the following card, which appeared in the papers :
"Baltimore, April 21, 7 1 o'clock p.m.
" Mayor Brown received a telegram from the President of the
United States, at 3 o'clock this morning, directed to himself and
GEORGE WILLIAM BROWN. 257
flovernoi Hicks, requesting them to go to Washington by spe-
cial train, in order to consult with Mr. Lincoln for the preserva-
tion of the peace of Maryland. The Mayor replied that Gov-
ernor Hicks was not in the city, and inquired if he should go
alone.
"Receiving an answer by telegraph in the affirmative, his
Honor, accompanied by George W. Dobbin, John C. Brune, and
S. T. Wallis, Esqs., whom he had summoned to attend him, pro-
ceeded at once to the station.
"After a series of delays, they were enabled to procure a spe-
cial train, about half-past seven o'clock, in which they arrived in
Washington about 10. They proceeded at once to the Presi
dent's House, where they were admitted to an immediate inter-
view, to which the Cabinet and General Scott were summoned
A long conversation and discussion ensued. The President, upon
his part, recognized the good faith of the city and State authori-
ties, and insisted upou his own.
"He admitted the excited state of feeling in Baltimore, and
his desire and duty to avoid the fatal consequences of a collision
with the people. He urged, on the other hand, the absolute,
irresistible necessity of having a transit through the State for such
troops as might be necessary for the protection of the Federal
Capital.
"The protection of Washington, he asseverated with great
earnestness, was the sole object of concentrating troops there,
and he protested that none of the troops brought through Mary-
land were intended for any purpose hostile to the State, or aggres-
sive as against the Southern States. Being now unable to bring
them up the Potomac in security, the Government must either
bring them through Maryland, or abandon the Capital.
" He called on General Scott for his opinion, which the General
gave at length, to the effect that troops might be brought through
Maryland without going through Baltimore, by either carrying
them from Perrysville to Annapolis, and thence by rail to Wash-
ington, or by bringing them to the Relay House, on the Northern
Central Railroad, and marching them to the Relay House, on
ths Washington Railroad, and thence by rail to the Capital.
u If the people would permit them to go by either of these
routes uninterruptedly, the necessity of their passing through
258
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Baltimore would be avoided. If the people would not permit
them a transit thus remote from the city, they must select their
own best route, and if need be, fight their way through Balti
more, a result which the General earnestly deprecated.
"The President expressed his hearty concurrence, and said
that no troops should be ordered through Baltimore if they were
permitted to go uninterrupted by either of the other routes sug-
gested. In this disposition the Secretary of War expressed his
participation. Mayor Brown assured the President, that the city
authorities would use all lawful means to prevent their citizens
from leaving Baltimore to attack the troops in passing at a dis-
tance; but he urged, at the same time, the impossibility of their
being able to promise anything more than their best efforts in
that direction.
" The excitement was great, he told the President j the people
of all classes were fully aroused, and it was impossible for any
one to answer for the consequences of the presence of Northern
troops anywhere within our borders. He reminded the Presi-
dent, also, that the jurisdiction of the city authorities was con-
fined to their own population, and that he could give no promises
for the people elsewhere, because he would be unable to keep
them if given.
"The President frankly acknowledged this difficulty, and said
that the Government would only ask the city authorities to use
their best efforts with respect to those under their jurisdiction.
" The interview terminated with the distinct assurance, on the
part of the President, that no more troops should be sent through
Baltimore, unless obstructed in their transit in other directions,
and with the understanding that the city authorities should do
their best to restrain their own people.
" The Mayor and his companions availed themselves cf tfte
President's full discussion of the questions of the day, to urge
upon him, respeotfully, but in the most earnest manner, a course
of policy which would give peace to the country, and especially
the withdrawal of all orders contemplating the passage of troops
through any part of Maryland.
" On returning to che cars, and just about to leave, at 2 p.m.,
the Mayor received a despatch from Mr. Garrett, announcing tho
approach of troops to Cockeysville, and the excitement conse-
quent upon it in Ih™ city.
GEOKGE WILLIAM BKOWK.
259
" Mr BrowD and his companions returned at once to the Pre-
sident, and asked an immediate interview, which was promptly
given. The Mayor exhibited Mr. Garrett's despatch, which gave
the President great surprise.
" He immediately summoned the Secretary of War and General
Scott, who soon appeared, with other members of the Cabinet.
" The despatch was submitted. The President, at once, in the
most decided way, urged the recall of the troops, saying that he
had no idea they would be there to-day ; and lest there should
be the slightest suspicion of bad faith on his part, in summoning
the Mayor to Washington, and allowing troops to march on the
city during his absence, he desired that the troops should, if it
were practicable, be sent back, at once, to York or Harrisburg.
" General Scott adopted the President's views warmly, and an
order was accordingly prepared by the Lieuten ant-General to
that effect, and forwarded by Major Belger, of the Army, who
accompanied the Mayor to this city.
" The troops at Cockeysville, the Mayor was assured, were not
brought there for transit through the city, but were intended to
be marched to the Eelay House, on the Baltimore and Ohio Kail-
road. They will proceed to Harrisburg, from there to Phila-
delphia, and thence by the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, or
by Perrysville, as Major-General Patterson may direct.
" This statement is made by the authority of the Mayor, and
Messrs. Geo. W. Dobbin, John C. Brune, and S. T. Wallis, who
accompanied Mr. Brown, and who concurred with him, in all
particulars, in the course adopted by him in the two interviews
with Mr. Lincoln.
(Signed) George Wm. Brown, Mayor"
On the 27th day of June, 1861, the Marshal of Police wab
arrested by a military force, under orders from Washington,
and placed in confinement. Soon afterward, by the same
authority, the police force of the city was dismissed, and
another police was established under military rule. Shortly
afterward, and by the same authority, the Police Commis-
sioners were arrested and placed in confinement.
The Mayor was, however, for some months longer left in
the discharge of the functions of his office, except those per-
taining to him as one of the Board of Police Commissioners,
260
AMERICAN BASTILE
and he studiously endeavored to discharge his duties in such
a manner as not in any way to come in conflict with the Gov-
ernment of the United States.
The following correspondence hetween himself and Gen-
eral Dix, then the General in command in the city, will serve
to show the spirit in which he acted, and the difficult posi
tion in which he was placed :
" Headquarters Department of Pennsylvania,
Baltimore, Md., 3d September, 1861.
" To Hon. Geo. Wm. Brown, Mayor of the City of Baltimore:
" Sir : Eeasons of state, which I deem imperative, demand that
the payment of compensation to the members of the old City
Police, who were, by a resolution of the Board of Police Com-
missioners, dated the 27th of June last, declared 1 off duty/ and
whose places were filled in pursuance of an order of Major-
General Banks of the same date, should cease, I therefore direct,
by virtue of the authority vested in me as commanding officer
of the military forces of the United States in Baltimore and its
vicinity, that no further payment be made to them.
"Independently of all other considerations, the continued
compensation of a body of men who have been suspended in
their functions by the order of the Government, is calculated to
bring its authority into disrespect; and the extraction from the
citizens of Baltimore by taxation, in a time of general depression
and embarrassment, of a sum amounting to several hundred
thousand dollars a year, for the payment of nominal officials,
who render it no service, cannot fail, by creating wide-spread
dissatisfaction, to disturb the quietude of the city, which I am
most anxious to preserve.
" I feel assured that the payment would have been voluntarily
discontinued by yourself, as a violation of the principle on which
all compensation is bestowed — as a remuneration for an equiva-
lent service actually performed — had you not considered your-
self bound by existing laws to make it.
" This order will relieve you from the embarrassment, and I do
not doubt that it will be complied with.
11 1 am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
(Signed) John A. Dix,
Major-General Commanding/1
GEORGE WILLIAM BROWN.
261
"Mayor's Office,
City Hall, Baltimore, September 5, 1861.
"Major-General John A. Dix, Baltimore, Md. :
" Sir: I was not in town yesterday, and did not receive until
this morning, your letter of the 3d inst., ordering that no further
payment be made to the members of the City Police.
" The payments have been made heretofore in pursuance of
the laws of the State, under the advice of the City Counsellor,
by the Eegister, the Comptroller, and myself.
" Without entering into a discussion of the considerations of
which you have deemed sufficient to justify this proceeding, I
feel it to be my duty to enter my protest against this interfer-
ence, by military authority, with the exercise of powers lawfully
committed by the State of Maryland to the officers of the city
corporation ; but, it is nevertheless not the intention of the city
authorities to offer resistance to the order which you have issued,
and I shall therefore give public notice to the officers and men
of the City Police, that no further payments may be expected
by them.
11 There is an arrearage of pay of two weeks due to the force,
and the men have by the law and rules of the Board been pre-
vented from engaging in any other business or occupation.
Most of them have families, who are entirely dependent for sup-
port on the pay received.
u I do not understand your order as meaning to prohibit tho
payment of this arrearage, and shall therefc»re proceed to make
it, unless prevented by your further order.
" I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
(Signed) Geo. Wm. Brown,
Mayor of Baltimore."
" Headquarters Department of Pennsylvania,
Baltimore, Md., September 9, 1861.
'Hon. Geo. Wm. Brown, Mayor of the City of Baltimore:
"Sir: Your letter of the 5tb inst. was duly received. I can-
not, without acquiescing in the violation of a principle, assent to
the payment of an arrearage to the members of the old City
Police, as suggested in the closing paragraph of your letter.
262
AMERICAN BASTILE.
rt It was the intention of my letter to prohibit any payment tc
them subsequently to the day on which it was written.
"You will please, therefore, to consider this as the 'further
order 9 referred to by you.
" I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
(Signed) John A. Dix,
Major-General Commanding."
"Mayor's Office,
" City Hall, Baltimore, September 11, 1861
11 Major-General John A. Dix, Baltimore:
" Sir : I did not come to town yesterday until the afternoon,
and then ascertained that my letters had been sent out to my
country residence, where, on my return last evening, I found
yours of the 9th, in reply to mine of the 5th inst., awaiting me.
It had been left at the Mayor's office yesterday morning.
"Before leaving the Mayor's office, about 3 o'clock p.m., on the
9th inst., and not having received any reply from you, I had
signed a check for the payment of arrears due the Police, and the
money was on the same day drawn out of the bank and handed
over to the proper officers, and nearly the entire amount was by
them paid to the Police force before the receipt of your letter.
" The suggestion in your letter as to the 1 violation of a princi-
ple/ requires me to add that I recognize in the action of the
Government of the United States, in the matter in question,
nothing but the assertion of superior force.
" Out of regard to the great interests committed to my charge
as Chief Magistrate of the city, I have yielded to that force, and
do not feel it necessary to enter into any discussion of the prin-
ciples upon which the Government sees fit to exercise it.
"Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
(Signed) Geo. Wm. Brown, Mayor."
The last letter of this correspondence is dated the 11th of
September ; and about one o'clock on the morning of the 13th,
Mr. Brown was arrested at his country residence, by a de-
tachment of police and a file of soldiers, and taken as a pris-
oner to Fort McIIenry. He was thence removed to Fortress
Monroe, thence to Fort Lafayette, and finally to Fort
Warren.
GEORGE WILLIAM BROWN"
263
The arresting officer professed to act by authority of the
United States, but exhibited no warrant, and said he had none.
The reason of the arrest has never been assigned, but it
was undoubtedly because the Government of the United
States was determined that the control of the city of Balti-
more should pass into the hands of those who were devoted
to the war-policy of the National Government.
Soon afterward, the City Council were, by General Wool,
then in command in Baltimore, compelled to resign, and a
new City Council was chosen, by an election held in such a
way as to secure the result designed by the Government.
Various offers were made to Mr. Brown, on the part of the
Government, to release him from imprisonment, provided he
would take an oath of allegiance and resign his office, or give
his parole not to return to Baltimore, but he refused to accept
any such conditions.
The following correspondence, which occurred while he was
in Boston, on parole, for the purpose of attending to some
private business, shows the position which he maintained :
"Boston, January 4, 1862.
" Marshal Keys, Boston :
" Sir : I called twice to see you during this week, and in your
absence had an understanding with your deputy that I was to
surrender myself to you this morning, on the expiration of my
parole, in time to be conveyed to Fort Warren, and I have ac-
cordingly done so.
"As you have not received any instructions from Washington
in regard to the course to be pursued with me, I shall consider
myself in your custody until you have had ample time to write
to Washington, and obtain a reply.
"I desire it, however, to be expressly understood, that no
further extension of my parole is asked for, or would be accepted
at this time.
" It is my right and my wish to return to Baltimore, to re-
sume the performance of my official and private duties.
Bespectfully,
(Signed) Geo. Wm. Brown."
264
AMERICAN BA8TILE
"Department of State,
"Washington, January 6, 1862.
"John S. Keys, Esq., U.S. Marshal, Boston:
" Sir : Your letter of the 4th instant, relative to George W,
Brown, has been received.
" In reply, I have to inform you that, if he de&ires it, you may
extend his parole to the period of thirty days. If not, you will
please recommit him to Fort Warren, and report to this Depart-
ment.
" \ am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
(Signed) F. W. Seward,
Acting Secretary of State."
"Boston, January 10, 1862.
"Marshal Keys, Boston:
" Sir: In my note to you of the 4th instant, I stated that I
did not desire a renewal of my parole, but that it was my right
and wish to return to Baltimore, to resume the performance of
my private and official duties.
" My note was, in substance, as you informed me, forwarded
to Hon. W. H. Seward, Secretary of State, in a letter from you
to him.
"In reply to your communication, F. "W. Seward, Acting
Secretary of State, wrote to you, under date of the 6th inst.,
that 'you may extend the parole of George W. Brown, if he
desires it, but if not, you are directed to recommit him to Fort
Warren/
"It was hardly necessary to give me the option of an exten-
sion of parole which I had previously declined, but the offer ren-
ders it proper for me to say, that the parole was applied for by
my friends, to enable me to attend to important private busi-
ness, affecting the interests of others as well as myself — that the
necessities growing out of this particular matter of business no
longer exist, and that I cannot, consistently with my ideas of
propriety, by accepting a renewal of the parole, place myself in
the position of seeming to acquiesce in a prolonged and illegal
banishment from my home and duties.
Kespectfully,
(Signed) Geo. Wm. Brown."
GEORGE WILLIAM BROWN.
265
On the 11th of January, Mr. Brown returned to Fort
Warren, and on the 14th an offer was made to him by the
Government, to renew and extend his parole to ninety days,
upon condition that he would not pass south of the Hudson
River. This was also declined by him.
On the 27th of November, 1862, after his term of office
had expired, and another Mayor had been elected, Mr. Brown
was unconditionally released.
For an account of his imprisonment, the reader is referred
ho the narrative of Frank Key Howard, Esq.
A. B. HEWITT, M.D.
DR. A. B. HEWITT, a practising physician of i hai ham,
Illinois, was one of the occupants of room No. 13 of the
Old Capitol Prison, a name now familiar to Americans as
occupying a place in history, corresponding to that of the
Bastile in the capital of France, during the French Revo-
lution.
His lameness was so great that it excited the pity of his
fellow-prisoners, and should have prevented his arrest, with-
out the proof of the crime with which he was charged Was
unquestionable. Nevertheless, early in August, 1862, he was
kidnapped at his home, in Illinois, and conveyed to Wash-
ington City, where he was imprisoned until the month of
November, and then released without a trial, and without a
charge of any kind having been preferred against him.
On his arrival at the prison, in consequence of the Bastile
proper being filled from yard to attic, he was placed tempo-
rarily in the hospital. On the 26th of August, he and the
"Wandering Jew" were transferred to room No. 13, where
they remained until the close of September. No. 13 being
needed about that time for the accommodation of some
Federal officers accused of serious offences, the occupants
were transferred to No. 16, which afterward became famous
as the abode of nearly all the prisoners of state confined in
the « Old Capitol."
Dr. Hewitt whiled away the time of his captivity in
making finger-rings out of peach-stones, until the supply
was exhausted ; and then his mind, being unemployed, and
allowed to dwell upon the wrongs and cruelties to which he
was subjected, became affected almost to frenzy.
The prisoners, with scarcely an exception, were haggard
266
V
A. B. HEWITT, M. D. 267
in appearance, and restless in their movements as caged wild
beasts, and, in a word, exhibited in their persons pictures of
such a cruel despotism as would have moved to madness,
had they seen them, the American people, and incited them
to emulate the illustrious example of the Parisians to tear
open the Bastile and avenge the wrongs perpetrated upon its
inmates.
But care was taken that they should neither be seen nor
heard ; and their correspondence being subjected to the
strictest surveillance of the tyrants and their underlings,
the people could learn nothing of the treatment measuret
out to them by the hand of despotic power.
1
WILLIAM H. WINDER.
MR. WILLIAM H. WINDER, the subject of this nar
rative, is descended from a Maryland family of that
name, which settled some two hundred years ago, in Somer-
set County, on the Eastern shore of that State. His father,
the late General Wm. H. Winder, who died in 1824, removed
about the year 1801 to Baltimore, at which place he was
contemporary with Pinckney, Luther Martin, Robert Goodloe
Harper, Roger B. Taney, and others, with whom he was on
intimate terms of friendship. The General was in high
standing in the society of both Washington and Baltimore,
and wielded considerable influence as a Senator in the Legis-
lature of his State.
His son, Wm. H. Winder, born in Baltimore, but
anterior to 1832, removed to Philadelphia, where he resided
at the date of his arrest. He was for some years in the
mercantile business, but in 1839 became a contractor and
builder, and as such erected the Government building, corner
of F and 17th Streets, Washington. The National Theatre,
fronting Pennsylvania Avenue, near Willard's Hotel, but
subsequently burned, was also erected by Mr. Winder. In
the construction of the former of these buildings, he used
iron girders to make fire-proof floors, being the first that
had ever been used.
Mr. Winder was a frequent contributor to the newspapers ;
and there are few men who have furnished more matter
gratuitously than this gentleman. Early in the late struggle
between the North and South, he wrote a number of articles,
to prove that the North must adhere to the Constitution, as
the ark of its safety ; and at different periods, furnished some
elaborate articles to the press, and to private individuals,
268
WILLIAM H. WINDER. 269
deprecating civil war, and deploring its consequences, avow,
ing his belief that the Union was founded on fraternal love
and fellowship ; that it could never be cemented by blood, or
upheld by the bayonet ; and that war would not only spill
the best blood of the nation — burden it with thousands of
millions of indebtedness — alienate the affections of the
people, and arouse their worst passions — but would demoral-
ize society to such an extent, that years of peace would not
restore it to its former condition.
We now proceed to lay before the public some of his coi
respondence, which, it is supposed, led to his arrest and in
carceration. We regret that our space prevents us from giv-
ing the letters in full. On the 30th of August, 1861, Mr.
Winder, from Philadelphia, addressed a letter to General
Simon Cameron, then Secretary of War, indorsing an appli-
cation for a second lieutenancy in § the regular army for
Henry Hay, of^that city. Mr. Hay's former application,
signed by Commodore Stewart and several other prominent
citizens, had failed to obtain the appointment or elicit a
reply ; hence the indorsement of Mr. Winder. In the latter
part of his letter, he expressed, at some length, his views on
the political situation of affairs, deploring the rashness of the
men who were urging the two sections of the country on to
a monstrous, wanton, and suicidal civil war, declaring his
conviction that a Union was impracticable, unless founded in
peace and fraternal fellowship, and closed his letter by ex-
pressing to the General his high personal regard. General
C, in his reply, regrets his inability to appoint Mr. Hay to
the desired position, as the vacancies were all filled, and
closed by saying: "We have never agreed very well in
politics, but I have never doubted that you had at heart the
best interests of your country."
Emboldened by this frank declaration of General Cameron,
and considering that his personal relations with Governor
Seward had always been friendly, and presuming that a letter
from him might be received in an equal spirit of candor, Mr,
Winder, on the 10th of September, 1861, addressed him the
270
AMERICAN BASTILE.
letter which, he supposes, exercised a potent influence ic
keeping him in confinement. This letter was but a reitera-
tion of the sentiments contained in the letter to General
Cameron, expressed at more length, and citing more authori
ties to substantiate his position. But the gall of it consisted
in an attack upon Abolitionism and its pernicious doctrines,
and a sharp denunciation of the infamous " Helper Book,"
which, it will be remembered, had received the indorse-
ment and encomiums of the Secretary. Immediately, as
he supposes, on the perusal of this letter, and with all the
imperiousness of manner and amiability of purpose of Rich-
ard, he pronounced the doom, " Off with his head ! " in his
laconic despatch to Marshal Millward, ordering his arrest.
On the evening of the 10th of September, between seven and
eight o'clock, he was arrested by Detective Franklin, put in
a stution-house cell, and confined there all night. Franklin
showed him a warrant, issued by the Mayor of Philadelphia,
induced by a despatch from General Andrew Porter, Provost
Marshal of Washington, directing it. "When brought before
Mayor Henry, in the morning, that gentleman told Mr.
Winder, in the presence of Detective Franklin, that he had
given express orders not to arrest him that day, unless he
could do it before half-past two o'clock, in order that the pris-
oner might have time to obtain bail. But Franklin chose,
purposely, to disregard this peremptory order. He knew
where to find Mr. W., who was at his office or hotel during
the entire day, but his principal object was to prevent his
presence during the ransacking of his office, from which,
besides papers relating to political matters, he took books
and pictures ; also letters having no shadow of relation to
politics, but referring to the sacred secrets of other parties ;
and many additional things were taken wholly unjustifiably
even supposing the right of search to have existed.
Arrested in the armory of the company to which he was
attached, he was taken to his chamber, and there searched by
Detective Franklin, and his papers, keys, etc., taken from
him, except his office-key, which he held in his hand. Trunks,
WILLIAM H. WINDER.
271
closets, drawers, etc., were searched; every scrap of paper
taken, although none of them were of a political nature, as
he saw by reading. After imprisoning him in the station-
house, he proceeded to Mr. Winder's office, broke open the
door or picked the lock, and made an examination of his
papers there. On the following morning, his clerk found a
piece of candle and other evidence of a nocturnal visit. He
also found an officer there, who proceeded with the examina-
tion of his papers. On leaving the office, Detective Franklin
told this gentleman, that he had better not come to the office
again, during the time he held possession of it. They held
possession of the office for two weeks, during which time the
work of pillage went on, ransacking safe, chests, drawers,
cases, etc., and a collection of papers of some thirty years,
violating the sanctity of private correspondence during all
that time, under the pretence of hunting treasonable matter
during the few months preceding. Access to his private
papers was allowed to reporters of the press for the purpose
of publication, and false, garbled, and malicious slanders
were published as the alleged contents of such letters. At
the end of two weeks, his clerk was permitted to take posses-
sion of his office, they, as Mr. Winder supposes, holding keys
for access at pleasure. They carried off letter-books, letters
to him, copies of his letters, a scrap-book containing extracts
from newspaper articles that he had written for the press.
They stole copies of his letters to Cameron and Seward, and
General Cameron's letter to him. They purloined his Army
Dictionary and Navy Register, his genealogical tree, pictures,
and autograph letters. From such a large collection of
papers as he had, it was impossible to determine with cer-
tainty the full amount of the robbery.
On the morning of the 11th of September, he was taken to
the Mayor's office, when the Mayor told him, that on sign-
ing a bond for two hundred dollars in his own recognizance
to appear in October, he would discharge him. Mr. Winder
signed the bond, supposing there was an end of the matter,
when to his surprise, the Mayor said to him that, in compli-
272
AMERICAN BAST1LE.
ance with the request of the United States District Attorney,
he would hand him over into the custody of the United
States Marshal, whose deputy was there to take him in charge.
That official immediately stepped up and took him in charge,
remarking as he did so, that he was to have a hearing before
the Commissioner that afternoon, at four o'clock. In the
mean time he was confined in Moyamensing Prison.
At four o'clock, he appeared at the Commissioner's office
with his counsel, G eorge W. Biddle, Esq. , for whom he had sent.
At the opening, the District Attorney Coffey stated that he
had been unable to procure the expected evidence, but that
reports of Mr. Winder's conversation had reached his ears,
and he wished the hearing postponed until the 13th inst., at
4 o'clock p. m., to give him time to hunt up evidence. Not-
withstanding this confession of the destitution of evidence
to justify his arrest, and that flimsy pretext of hoping to
hunt up reports of conversations, the Commissioner, instead
of discharging the prisoner, granted the delay, and recom-
mitted him to Moyamensing.
On the afternoon of the 13th, at the hour appointed, Mr.
Winder and Ids counsel were at the office of the Commis-
sioner. District Attorney Coffey kept them waiting an hour
before he made his appearance. This delay was doubtless
designed to allow him no time to take out a writ of habeas
corpus before he could be hurried off to New York, as had
been determined on. On coming in, Mr. Coffey stated to the
Commissioner, that the paper which he held in his hand would
render further action before him unnecessary, and desired his
discharge by the Commissioner, in order, that the directions
in the paper might be carried into effect. This paper pur-
ported to be a despatch from Simon Cameron, Secretary of
War, worded as follows:
"Washington, September 11, 18G1.
"George A. Coffey, U. S. District Attorney:
" Have telegraphed Marshal Millward to arrest Wm. IT. Winder,
and transfer him to Fort Lafayette.
(Signed) Simon Cameron,
Secretary of War."
WILLIAM H. WINDER.
273
Instantly on his discharge by the Commissioner, the Mar-
shal took him into custody, telling him that he must go to
New York. Mr. Winder was immediately placed in a car
riage in waiting, and driven to his rooms for his clothing,
trunks, etc., then conveyed to Market Street wharf, where
they crossed the river, walked down to the Camden and Am-
boy depot, and took seats in the train for New York. While
in the carriage, the Marshal, in order, as he said, to show his
consideration for him, pulled from his pocket the following
despatch :
"Washington, September 11, 1861.
" Send Wm. H. Winder to Fort Lafayette.
(Signed) Wm. H. Seward."
The Marshal said that this despatch had been in his pos-
session several days, then the 13th inst., but had not been
used. Mr. Seward was probably unaware of his victim's ar-
rest, the night previous, when he dictated his first despatch ;
but on the 12th, when he learned of it, he again telegraphed
to the Marshal :
u Send Wm. H. Winder to Fort Lafayette, New York, ana
deliver him into the custody of Colonel Martin Burke. Send the
papers and evidence here. He is reported to have been arrested by
"Detective Franklin. W. H. Seward,
Secretary of State."
At the cars, Marshal Mill ward confided him to the charge
of two deputies, who accompanied him to New York, where
they engaged a hack and drove him to Fort Hamilton, and
with him they delivered to Colonel Burke the letter con-
signing him to a military Bastile. The Colonel immediately
sent him under guard to Fort Lafayette. The abominable
treatment of the prisoners at this place, is fully detailed
elsewhere.
Mr. Winder remained incarcerated in Fort Lafayette until
the 29th cf October, when he, together with a number of
others, was placed on board the steamer " State of Maine,'
18
274
AMEKICAK BASTILE.
for Foit Warren, Boston Harbor. On the 1st of November,
1861, he entered the Fort, where no preparation had been
made for the reception of such a number of prisoners as the
steamer contained. The rooms had not even a chair or bench,
and for eight days they had nothing but the bare floor to lie
upon, over which they spread their overcoats, having neither
bed nor blanket. Some few perfectly raw hams were cut up on
a barrel-head, in the open air, and distributed, and thus some of
the prisoners obtained something to eat. The Commandant,
Dimick, manifested throughout a disposition to grant every
indulgence consistent with his instructions, and his whole
course was in marked and favorable contrast with that of
the fellows at Fort Lafayette.
On the 5th of December, 1861, Mr. Winder addressed a
letter to Secretary Seward, but which elicited no response
from that official. In this letter he stated his long imprison-
ment of thirteen weeks, his inability to find the charges
against him, and his unconsciousness of any wrong done by
him, or any disloyal act toward the Government, requesting
a parole, that he might go to Washington to have his case
nvestigated. This application was made in pursuance of a
letter from Secretary Seward, which was read to the prison-
ers of the Fort, making a request to them to send a state-
ment of their cases to him.
On the 14th of January, 1862, he was offered his release on
condition of " taking the oath of allegiance." This he em-
phatically declined to do, giving the same reasons for his re-
fusal as the other prisoners. Senator Pearce, of Maryland,
to whom, among others, he had written to learn of what his
imputed offence consisted, replied, January 21, 1862, saying
" your frequent correspondence and bold conversations have
marie you obnoxious. I fear there is no influence, certainly I
have none, to avail for your purpose." Again, on the 2d of
February, he said, " With Mr. Seward I can do nothing. I
saw him yesterday, and he is as rigid as cast iron." On the
16th of February he was again offered his release, if he would
take what was denominated " a modified oath ;" and on the
WILLIAM H. WINDER. 275
22d of the same month, the " Amnesty" and " Parole" were
tendered him as a condition of release. These he also refused,
stating his reasons at some length in a letter to the Secretary
of War.
On the 15th of March, Mr. "Winder opened a correspond-
ence with General Cameron, to ascertain the charges against
him, and what had induced him to consign him to Fort La-
fayette. This letter produced the following reply :
"Lochiel, 24th March, 1862.
•(Wm. H. Winder, Esq.:
" Sir : You surprise me by saying, in your letter of the 15th
inst., received to-day, that it was by my order that you were
taken from Philadelphia to Fort Lafayette and placed in con-
finement, etc. I knew nothing of your arrest until I saw the
fact stated in the newspapers; and being at the time closely en-
gaged in the discharge of my official duties, neglected to inquire
into the cause; presuming, however, that it was done by order
of the State Department, which has charge of such cases as 1
presumed yours to be. Eespectfully,
(Signed) Simon Cameron."
"Fort Warren, March 31, 1862.
''Hon. Simon Cameron, Lochiel, near Harrisburg:
" Sir: I have to thank you for your prompt reply to my re-
quest for information as to the causes which induced you to issue
an order for my transfer to Fort Lafayette. Your reply of the
24th, stating your surprise at learning I had been sent there by
your order, and that you knew nothing of my arrest until you
saw it in the papers, and presumed it had been done by order of
the State Department, confirms me in my supposition, that your
name had been used either without your knowledge, or inadvert-
ently signed to a paper without heeding its contents. It was
obtained somehow through the District Attorney. I give you a
copy of the document upon which Colonel Burke took charge of
me and placed me in Fort Lafayette :
"'Philadelphia, September 13, 1861
•"Lieut.-Col. Martin Burke, Commanding Fort Hamilton:
u i Dear Sir : Permit me to introduce to you my Deputy, Mr.
276
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Sharkey, who carries with him Mr. Winder, to be delivered to
your custody per order of Secretary of "War.
Your obedient servant,
(Signed) Wm. Millward, U. S. Marshal.
" I am respectfully yours,
(Signed) Wm. H. Winder."
" Fort Warren, 31st March, 1862.
"Hon. Simon Cameron, Lochiel, near Harrisburg:
" Sir : Since writing to you to-day, I have received the follow-
ing copy of a despatch from Philadelphia.
«<65. Washington, 11th September, 1861.
"'Geo. A. Coffey, U. S. District Attorney:
"'Have telegraphed Marshal Millward to arrest Wm. H.
Winder, and transfer him to Fort Lafayette.
(Signed) Simon Cameron, Secretary of War.*
" I have supposed this may recall to your mind the communi
cation of Mr. Coffey, to which apparently it is a reply.
" I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,
(Signed) Wm. H. Winder."
" Lochiel, 2d April, 1862.
'W. H. Winder, Esq.:
" Sir: I have enclosed your letter of the 31st, received to-daj
to the Secretary of State, and disavowed all knowledge of youi
arrest, with request for your release, if you have been held by
my direction. Very respectfully,
(Signed) Simon Cameron."
" Fort Warren, 5th April, 1862
"Hon. Simon Cameron, Lochiel, near Harrisburg:
" Sir: 1 have been much gratified by the receipt of your lettei
of 2d April, in which you advise me of your having sent my
(first) letter of 31st March, to the Secretary of State, with re-
quest for my release, if I have been held by your direction.
" This is satisfactory, and is all the action the case requires at
your hands, unless, indeed, a disregard of your request should
render it proper for your own vindication against an act which
you repudiate, but the responsibility for which is placed on youi
name by the record. Your obedient servant,
(Signed) W. H Winder."
WILLIAM H. WINDER.
277
On the 6th of May, he was summoned into the presence of
the Commissioners Dix and Pierpont. General Dix sought
by argument to remove his objections to giving his parole,
contending, that doing so could not be construed into a taint
upon his conduct. Mr. Winder gave his reasons on the other
side, that if no taint was intended, and it was, as he said,
their object to hold him guiltless, an unconditional discharge
would leave no doubt of an entire acquittal, while to hold
him there, admittedly guiltless of wrong, except on condition
of parole, was without excuse. General Dix specified as ex-
ceptional items his correspondence with Senators Davis and
Toombs, and Messrs. Breckinridge, Burnett, Yallandigham,
and Hallo ck of the "Journal of Commerce." Mr. Winder
took issue with him upon them, in the manner stated in a let-
ter of the 9th of May, to these gentlemen. The Secretary,
Webster, said he had received treasonable letters from C. H.
Winder, of Washington ; but on Mr. Winder objecting to the
word " treasonable," General Dix directed the Secretary to
strike out the word from his notes. General Dix said he (W.)
knew that the war to which he was opposed, was forced on
the Federal Government by an impending attack on the
Federal Capital.
Mr. Winder denied in toto the fact or purpose of an impend-
ing capture of Washington. He stated that the Confederacy
had not a soldier within five hundred miles of the City of
Washington ; that not a single soldier had been set in motion
to proceed there; that the States of North Carolina and
Virginia interposed their whole breadth between Washington
City and the Confederacy ; that the first had refused to call
a convention, even to consider the question of secession, and
that two-thirds of the convention of the latter were opposed
to secession ; that in fact there did not exist a scintilla of
evidence that the Confederacy entertained the purpose, much
less had forces in imminent proximity hastening to the cap-
ture. To all of this General Dix had nothing to urge but
that he believed that in Virginia, Mason and others were
raising troops for that purpose. He acquitted Hunter, as
being a mere "doctrinaire " as he called him, from anv active
278
AMERICAN BASTILE.
participation. Mr. Winder stated, in regard to the relative
position of the State and Federal Governments, that the re
solutions of 1798-9 embodied his opinion. The Secretary
(Webster) greedily snatched at this statement, as though he
had pinned him with conclusive evidence of treason ; and he
noticed, a few days afterward, in a Republican paper in Bos-
ton, a bitter article, denouncing these resolutions as the cock-
atrice egg from which the monster secession was hatched.
Mr. Winder addressed Messrs. Dix and Pierpont a long
letter, in which he refutes the card of those gentlemen, pub-
lished in New York papers of November. The subjoined
copy of the card is taken from the " New York Herald," of
19th November, 1862:
" November 12, 1862.
''Dear Sir: In answer to your inquiry as to the facts of the
case of Wm. H. Winder, a prisoner of state in Fort Warren, we
reply, that on investigation it appears that Winder was arrested
by order of the late Secretary of War ; that a large number of
letters and papers were seized, tending to show disloyalty to the
Government, and a purpose to aid the rebellion. But after a
careful investigation of all the papers, and after a personal exam-
ination of Mr. Winder, we determined to release him on his giv-
ing his parole not to take up arms against the United States, or
to give aid to the enemy, which he refused, and as we are advised,
there has been no day since when he might not have freely left
the Fort upon that simple parole.
Very respectfully yours,
(Signed) John A. Dix, Major-General,
Edwards Pierpont."
In August, 1862, he addressed the following letter to Mr.
Stanton, of which no notice was ever taken :
" Fort Warren, 20th August, 1862.
" To Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Washington :
"Sir: More than eleven months have elapsed since my arrest
and the seizure of all my papers. During the last six months
of this confinement^ my clerk has been sick and absent from the
city so that I have not had a word from him, and my affairs,
WILLIAM H. WINDER.
279
already most damagingly embarrassed, are threatened with a
more complete ruin.
" At the present moment, my personal attention is vitally im-
portant to the carrying into effect some proposed arrangements
in relation to my affairs, and for this purpose I desire a leave
of absence from this Fort for thirty days. In order to obviate
any hesitation which might arise, I will state my readiness to
give parole not to engage in political or military discussions, also
to report myself to the commanding officer of this Fort within
thirty days from the date of my leaving it. As numerous par-
ties confined with me have had this leave, after only a few months'
imprisonment, I trust it is no misplaced reliance by me to antici-
pate a like consideration.
" I am, sir, your obedient servant,
(Signed) W. H. Winder, of Philadelphia."
On the 26th of October, 1862, Messrs. George W. Biddle,
Wm, B. Eeed, and Peter McCall, of Philadelphia, arrived Li
Boston, to sue out a writ of habeas corpus. Mr. Biddle tele*
graphed to the Secretary of War for permission to see the priu
oner, but received a peremptory refusal. Thus it will be
seen he was refused access to counsel, while other prisoners
were allowed visitors, and in some instances, daily.
On the 28th of October, his counsel applied for a writ of
habeas corpus, the issue of which had been delayed to enable
the District Attorney to receive instructions from "Washing
ton. If the Administration had relied on Horace Binney's
argument and authority to suspend the habeas corpus, the
District Attorney would have received instructions to oppose
the issue or plead this right. If not sure on that point, and
it had any evidence of guilt, legal or moral, on his part,
which would secure public condemnation and palliate the
outrage on the Constitution and law by a too eager, but
manifestly patriotic impulse, it would have adduced it. But
discarding Mr. Binney's argument as unsound, and destitute
of the other, it aggravated its wickedness by imposing upon
the commander of Fort Warren the ignominy of sneaking
from the just action of the law, and with the military resist-
280
AMERICAN B A STILE.
Lug the rightful action of the Court. The following return
to the writ of habeas corpus issued by Justice Clifford, wiL
explain the state of affairs, and the remarks of William B,
Reed, Esq., and Judge Clifford will complete a picture, which
will ever cause posterity a blush of shame over the frailties
of the present generation.
At the opening of the United States Circuit Court, Octo-
ber 29, 1862, at ten o'clock, Mr. ¥m. B. Reed read the fol-
lowing affidavit of B. F. Bayley :
" I, Benjamin F. Bayley, being duly sworn, do depose and say
that I am one of the deputies of the Sheriff of the County of
Suffolk, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. That on Tues-
day, the 28th day of October, A. D. 1862, there was placed in my
hands for service a writ of habeas corpus, a copy of which is
hereto annexed, directed to Colonel Justin Dimick, Command-
ant of Fort Warren, or to any officer under him having charge
of William H. Winder, commanding him to bring the body of
said Winder, then confined in said Fort Warren, to be dealt with
as to law and justice should appertain. That upon receiving
said writ, I immediately proceeded to Commercial Wharf, in the
port of Boston, where the steamboat plying between the said
port and said Fort Warren was lying, and stated to the captain
in charge of said boat, that I desired to proceed therein to Fort
Warren as a messenger from the United States Court, with papers
for said Colonel Justin Dimick. The said captain told me that
his orders were positive not to allow any one to go in said boat
without a pass from Colonel Dimick, said orders having been
received on Friday last, the 24th inst. That being prevented
from proceeding in said boat, I did, on the morning of Wednes-
day, the 29th day of October, 1862, receive from the counsel of
said Winder, certain instructions in regard to the service of the
said writ of the following tenor:
" You are intrusted with the service of a writ of habeas corpus,
issued by order of Hon. Nathan Clifford, a Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States, to be served upon Colonel Justin
Dimick, at Fort Warren.
" You will have with you the original writ, with an attostod
copy thereof.
WILLIAM H. WINDEK.
281
" You will procure a proper conveyance to take you to Fort
Warren, and land there, in order to serve the writ as directed.
"Upon landing, or meeting the sentry, or other person at the
Fort whom you may first meet, you will respectfully inquire for
Colonel Dimick, stating you have a paper to deliver to him from
Judge Clifford, a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United
States. Should you be allowed to see Colonel Dimick, you will
respectfully deliver to him the original writ, saying, at the same
time, 1 This is a writ from Judge Clifford/ and at once return to
Boston, when you will draw up a statement of the time and
mode of service. Should the sentry or party with whom you
first communicate refuse you permission to see Colonel Dimick,
you will ask by what authority you are refused; if none is
stated, and the refusal be persisted in, you will hand a copy of
the writ to the sentry or other party, asking him to deliver it to
Colonel Dimick, saying you will wait for an answer, and bring
it, if received. If this be refused, you will return at once.
" Should you be refused permission to land, and the refusal bo
persisted in upon your stating that you have a paper for Colonel
Dimick, you will at once return, and make a report of what you
have done.
"Should Colonel Dimick be absent from the Fort, you will
communicate, or endeavor to communicate, with the officer in
command, in the manner herein above set forth.
"That upon receiving said instructions, I hired a sail-boat, in
the port of Boston aforesaid, manned with two men, and was
accompanied by John H. Clark, a reputable citizen of the County
of Middlesex, in this Commonwealth, and proceeded therein to
Fort Warren, to serve the said writ according to my instructions.
That I arrived near to said Fort Warren at about three o'clock of
the afternoon of said 29th day of October, when I perceived a body
of about fifty armed men, drawn up in military array, near the
place of landing. That, upon nearing the landing, I was hailed
by a sentinel, and told by him to keep off. That I then told said
sentinel that I had a communication to make to Colonel Dimick,
and approached a little nearer to said landing. That the said
force was marched down to the landing, when I was again per-
emptorily ordered, by a person in command of said force, to
keep off, and was prevented from landing. That, finding it im.
282
AMERICAN BASTILE.
possible to land, or approach nearer to the said Fort, I directed
the boat, in which I was, to be put about, and returned to the port
of Boston, where I arrived at about five o'clock of the afternoon
of the same day, having been forcibly prevented from serving
the said writ. That I verily believe, had I attempted to effect a
landing at said Fort "Warren, after having been warned away, aa
hereinbefore stated, I should have been prevented from so doing
by a force of armed men drawn up at the landing j and that, to
the best of my belief, it was impossible for me to land and servo
the said writ. And that further I say not.
Benj. F. Bayley.
" Sworn and subscribed this 30th day of October, A.D. 1862.
G. S. Hillard, Justice of the Peace."
Mr. Reed then addressed the Court as follows :
" May it please your Honor: Having presented to the Court
this affidavit, the counsel for the relator beg leave to say, that
we came to this jurisdiction to solicit the process of the law
in order to release from a long, and, as we believe, unlawfu
imprisonment (for nearly fourteen months) a fellow-citizei
of Pennsylvania. We deferred any action until the District
Attorney should have full opportunity of communicating
with the authorities at Washington. We came prepared and
anxious to meet and discuss any grave questions of law which
the officers of the Government might raise in opposition to
this discharge. The Court granted the writ of relief which
was asked for, but its execution has been evaded and resisted,
60 as to prevent the consideration and decision of these ques-
tions. In the case decided by the Chief Justice of the United
States, that of Merriman, the military officer to whom the pro-
cess wras directed made a return, in form respectful, and this,
too, at a time of local disturbance, and on the edge of actual
war. But, here in Massachusetts, many hundred miles away
from any scene of war, where perfect peace reigns, and every
peaceful relation of life is maintained, and the Court is regu-
larly transacting the ordinary and profitable business of the
Government — here in Massachusetts, the writ which your
WILLIAM H. WINDER.
283
Honor granted is both evaded and resisted, and an imprisoned
American citizen is denied the common right of knowing who
are his accusers, and of what he is accused. Your Honor's
writ is that of the United States ; and that peaceful writ the
military force of the Government prevents us from executing.
At this moment, we can do no more. "We submit the facts
this affidavit discloses. We beg to express to your Honor our
high sense of the kindness and consideration we have received
at your hands in this effort to assert the supremacy of the
law and the rights of the citizen."
Judge Clifford remarked, that nothing more could be done
toward effecting a service of the writ. The service has been
prevented by force. He deeply regretted that any officer
should obstruct the service of process, especially a process of
this kind. But he was beyond the control of the law, and
the Court could not command the physical force necessary to
compel its service. Let the writ be placed on file, to be
served when service may be practicable.
It may perhaps not be inappropriate here to state, that this
action of Messrs. Reed, Biddle, and McCall was spontaneous
and unprompted, and of which Mr. Winder had no intima-
tion until after their arrival at Boston. It was a generous
and patriotic attempt to rescue the civil authorities from the
military grasp, which had paralyzed it, and a noble endeavor
to vindicate the supremacy of the Constitution and the laws.
In Boston, they were met in a spirit of cordiality by some of
the most distinguished members of the bar of that city —
Judge Curtis, Sydney Bartlett, Esq., Samuel Dexter Brad
ford, Esq., Hon. George S. Hillard, Mr. Tickner, and others,
all of whom felt the deep humiliation of the country under
the ignoble despotism of a perjured Administration. On the
31st of October, Mr. Winder addressed a letter to Hon. George
S. Hillard, of Boston, who had been one of his counsel, thank-
ing him for his services rendered, and making some com-
ments on his case. The letter was returned to him as con«
traband, with the following indorsement :
284
AMERICAN BASTILE.
" Kespectfully returned, as being contrary to instiuctions of
Colonel Dimick.
" By order of Colonel Dimick.
Edward K. Parry,
1st Lieut. 14th Infantry, Post Adjutant."
On the return of the letter, he addressed Colonel Dimick
the following :
" Fort Warren, November 1, 1862.
Sir: Yesterday you refused to let pass a note to my counsel
In Boston, unless all of its contents should be expunged except
the paragraph making acknowledgments of his professional ser-
vices.
" I therefore deem it due to myself to call your attention to
the following facts :
"1. That my confinement in Fort Lafayette was under an
alleged order of the Secretary of War, Simon Cameron ; and that
there is on record no other authority for my confinement there
and here.
" 2. That you are perfectly aware that General Cameron de-
nies all knowledge of my arrest, repudiating the act, because the
whole of my correspondence with him on the subject passed
through your hands, open, and under your perusal.
"3. You know perfectly well that an imprisonment here under
order of a Department, without charge, warrant, or other form
cf law, would be a clear violation of the rights of a citizen under
the Constitution and the laws, subjecting the violators to penalty.
" 4. You know that the record does not show even the color
of that authority.
" 5. You know how stringently the law prohibits the opening
(>f letters of other parties, even if lawfully in custody.
"6. You know full well the unquestionable right of all citizens
to have counsel, and to confer with them alone and by sealed let-
ters, even though legally in custody under charge of the most
serious crime.
"7. You know I have sedulously sought to learn if there was
any charge of crime against me, declaring my readiness to meet
any such.
" 8. You know that no charge of crime has been made against
aie.
WILLIAM H. WINDER.
285
u 9. You know that, for the express purpose of forcing a lawful
issue on the question of my incarceration here, a writ of habeas
corpus was issued and addressed to you.
"10. You know that you diligently and designedly thwarted
the process of the Court, preventing by threatened force its service
npon you, evading your just responsibility to the law.
H 11. You know full well, that in accordance with the Consti-
tution and the laws, it was your bounden duty as a good citizen
and officer to allow the service of the writ, and to obey its sum-
mons.
"If to your knowledge or in your opinion I have erred in any
of the above, I beg your prompt correction, as it would cause me
great regret to have misrepresented you in any manner ; but on
the contrary, I will rejoice at any explanation which may relieve
you of what now seems to be your responsibility.
" If I have not erred, then the deduction from the foregoing
would seem to be clear, that, knowing that I have been feloni-
ously incarcerated, and that there is no warrant or lawful au-
thority for my detention, you nevertheless continue to hold me
in custody, an abettor.
" That with a full knowledge of the law in regard to opening
letters, you aggravate its daily breach by refusing to allow us to
receive or to send freely our letters.
" That, knowing as you do, the undoubted right of every citizen
to appeal to the law for relief against illegal restraint, you have
by force and design resisted and defeated the solemn efforts of
the law, because you knew you held me in unlawful confinement,
and excluded from personal interview as my counsel have been,
you suppress a letter which is addressed to my counsel, and ex-
clusively confined to such views of my case as I wish presented
to him.
"I now protest against any interposition between me and my
counsel by you, and indeed against your keeping me here, and I
demand of you evidence of any authority whatever, real or pre-
tended, except the physical force of your soldiers, for holding me a
prisoner, for opening and reading all my letters to and fro, and
for suppressing all that are distasteful.
"If you have the means to justify yourself, I shall certainly
receive such an answer : if you can find none to justify you, I
286
AMERICAN BASTILE.
would suggest that you would adopt such a course as will find
its justification in the Constitution and the laws which you have
iworn to support, on penalty of perdition if you prove false to
them. Respectfully yours,
(Signed) W. H. Winder.
" Col. Justin Dimick."
A letter to the Hon. James Brooks, member of Congress
from New York City, was at first suppressed, and afterward,
on his importunity, sent by the Colonel to the Adjutant-Gen-
eral's Office, Washington, from which Mr. Brooks never re-
ceived it.
In a few days afterward, every prisoner was unconditionally
discharged, without even the stain of a charge ! They gladly
left Fort Warren, and would, if they could, have left behind
the recollection of the indignities endured within its walls.
The state and war prisoners were mixed up promiscuously.
Mr. Winder had war prisoners in the room with him, who
were more favored, for they had the liberty of the whole
island, while the state prisoners were restricted to the square
within the wails of the Fort, until after the visit of Messrs.
Dix and Pierpont.
Immediately after his release, he proceeded to Washington
to obtain his papers from Mr. Seward. The following corre-
spondence will give the history of the matter.
"Hon. Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of State:
" Sir : At the request of Wm. H. Winder, Esq., one of my
constituents, I would ask the return to him of his books, letter-
books, letters, papers, and a picture of John C. Calhoun, taken
from Mr. Winder's office and domicil in Philadelphia, at the time
of his arrest in that city, in September, 1861. These effects are
now in the custody of Mr. Webster, of your Department, as Mr,
Winder is informed.
" An early reply will oblige him, and,
Yery respectfully, your obedient servant,
(Signed) Chas. J. Biddle.
"Houso of ^Representatives, December 9, 1862."
WILLIAM H. WINDER.
287
"Department of State,
" Washington, December 10, 1862.
"The Hon. Charles J. Biddle, House of Kepresentatives :
" Sir : Your letter of the 9th instant has been received, and
referred to the War Department.
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
(Signed) F. W. Seward,
Assistant Secretary."
14 Sir : 1 learned from the Mayor of Philadelphia, that my
books, letters, papers, etc., had been sent to you by your order,
(copy of which he showed to me,) by Detective Franklin, who
took receipt for them. I learned this from several parties who
had interviews with you, and that they were under special charge
of Mr. Webster, of your Department, who acted as secretary to
Messrs. Dix and Pierpont. Under this state of affairs, I feel I
have a right to claim of you their return ; for wherever they
may be, they are attainable by you.
" I do, therefore, now demand of you the immediate return
of all my books, papers, and letters, and whatever else of mine
which may have been sent to you. I look to you personally for
their return, and trust that, recognizing the propriety of my
demand, you will take the necessary steps to put me promptly
in possession of them.
" I am, sir, your obedient servant,
(Signed) W. H. Winder.
v Hon. Wm. H. Seward, Washington, 22d December, 1862."
To this letter, Mr. Seward made the following reply .
"Mr.- Seward presents his compliments to Mr. Winder, and
has to inform him that his note of this date has been referred
to the proper officer, Major L. C. Turner, Associate Judge Advo-
cate of the Army.
" Department of State, 22d December, 1862.
Mr. Winder replied to the Secretary in a long letter, ac-
knowledging his court eousness — stating the violation of his
papers at the time of arrest — his fruitless endeavors for
three weeks to recover them, and the means which he had
taken to obtain them, and the evasion and procrastination
238
AMERICAN BASTILE.
that had been practised on him, and urging the immediate
return of them. Mr. Winder again addressed the Secretary
on the 27th instant :
"Washington, 27th December, 1862.
"Sir: I beg leave to recall your attention to my note to yo^i
of 23d instant. While I fully appreciate the engrossing nature
of your official duties, in excluding other matters from your
attention, I am sure you will make equal allowance to my
urgency to be freed from a very inconvenient expenditure of
time in seeking to obtain my property, which I had a right to
expect to receive immediately on demand.
" I am, sir, your obedient servant,
(Signed) W. H. Winder."
On receiving the evasive reply to Mr. Biddle, Mr. W. wrote
to the Mayor of Philadelphia, for a copy of the receipt which
Detective Franklin stated, he had received on the surrender
to the State Department of the papers. He replied : "I
directed Chief Franklin to furnish a copy of the receipt given
to him for the papers delivered to the Government, and this
morning, after search among the documents in his office, he
reports to me that he is unable to find it, but as soon as dis-
covered you shall be informed of its purport."
On the 3d of January, the Mayor, in reply to Mr. "Winder's
let ter, asking the name of the party signing the receipt and
its tenor, enclosed Mr. Franklin's report. The report says :
u Some weeks since, I was requested by your Honor to furnish
the receipt given me for certain papers belonging to Mr. Win-
der, of this city, seized at the time of his arrest by order of the
Government. I have carefully examined my papers, but have
been unable to find it, and have no doubt it has been destroyed
with other surplus matter. I think, however, there can be no
difficulty in finding all the documents referred to, as I understood
from Mr. Geo. Coffey, United States District Attorney, yesterday,
that he was in possession of all of them; and I have no doubt,
M*r. Winder may get all the information desired by communi-
eating with him.
(Signed) Benjamin Franklin,
Chief Detective, Department Police "
WILLIAM H. WINDER.
289
It occurred to Mr. "Winder, when reading this, 1hat his
correspondence with Secretary Seward had induced him to
send on the papers to Philadelphia, to keep up the idea, that
he had not possession of them. Upon his return to Phila-
delphia, he called on Mr. Coffey, and showed him the report
of Franklin. He said he was in correspondence with the
State Department, and the di&position of them would depend
upon the result of it. Winder understood him to say, tha**
under direction of the Department, he was examining to see
if a prosecution could not be made, and that any further
communication on the subject mu it be made through counsel.
After some time, his counsel, Mr. Diddle, wrote to Mr. Coffey,
requesting the return of Mr. W.'s effects, to which Mr. Coffey
verbally replied, by stating, that he would write to the State
Department, and if no order to the contrary should be re-
ceived, he would return them. Accordingly, after a week's
delay, he surrendered a box, on the top of which was —
" From the Department of State, TJ. S. A.
Geo. A. Coffey, Esq., U. S. District Attorney,
Philadelphia, Penna."
— showing it came from the State Department — was in possession
of Secretary Seward, while he was referring Mr. Biddle and Mr.
Winder to the War Department. This box contained all of
the effects which have as yet been returned.
19
C. F. RUST.
THIS case presents an instance in which the malice and
vindictiveness of the " one-man power" banished an un-
offending citizen from his home, and drove him into the
Confederacy, there to remain during the war, under penalty
of death should he return.
About four o'clock, on the morning of Friday, the 8th of
May, 1863, an individual named Isaac H. D. Knowles, an
United States Detective, called at the house of Mr. 0. F.
Rust, near Seaford, Sussex County, Delaware, and anested
him. AVhen asked for his authority, he replied, " By order
of General Schenck," and when requested to produce it, pre-
sented a general order for the arrest of deserters, blockade-
runners, and dangerous persons, which was signed by that
officer. Mr. Rust replied, that he did not belong to either
of the classes of persons named ; but this explanation had no
effect in his case, as his arrest had been predetermined.
Knowles made no specific charges, nor did he inform the
prisoner why he had been arrested.
He was conveyed to "Wilmington, and thence to Baltimore,
where he was confined in a cell at the Central Police Station,
and detained there until sunrise, with the drunkards, thieves,
and prostitutes that find their way thither during the night.
He was removed from there to the Gilniore House, and
placed in a front basement, formerly used as a billiard saloon,
without either chair or bed. While confined there, he ad-
dressed a note to Thomas F. Bayard, Esq., an attorney at
law, of Wilmington, (son of the Hon. James A. Bayard,) who
was then sojourning in Baltimore, requesting him to call
npon him at the Gilmore House, as he wished to obtain his
advice. Mr. Bayard called, but was refused an audience with
the prisoner.
290
C. F. RUST.
291
Removed from his confinement at the Gilmore House, he
was placed on the cars and carried to Harper's Ferry, leaving
Baltimore at half-past eight o'clock on Saturday night, and
arriving at the Ferry before daybreak on Sunday morning.
He was then placed in a church, under guard, until Mon-
day, when he was taken to Martinsburg, West Virginia, and
incarcerated in the county jail at that place, with several
other prisoners. The nights being chilly, and having an
insufficiency of clothing, he suffered much from cold, until
kindly furnished with a blanket by a deserter from an Ohio
regiment.
While confined in the jail, Mrs. Young, the wife of the
postmaster at that place, requested permission to furnish him
with some food, which was denied.
On Monday morning, he was placed in a Government wagon,
without seats, sent over a rough pike to Winchester, and
there taken before a Provost Marshal, named Alexander, of
whom he inquired the cause of his arrest, and was informed
that it was u disloyalty to the flag." Rust asked how he
knew that he was disloyal, when he had received no trial,
and no proof had been adduced to substantiate the charge.
Alexander replied, that the fact of his being arrested and
exiled from his home, was proof conclusive. He then asked
the Marshal if he thought the arresting of a man without a
warrant, exiling him from his home, and forbidding him to
return, during the continuance of the war, on pain of being
treated as a spy, would make him love and respect a flag
under which such flagitious outrages were committed.
The Marshal made no reply to Mr. Rust, but handed an
order to a sergeant, directing him " to conduct him (Rust) to
Dixie, never to return."
The sergeant conducted him to the turnpike gate, about
one and a quarter miles from Winchester, on the road lead-
ing to Strasburg, the intervening space being considered
neutral ground, as Winchester was then occupied by the
Federal forces, and Fisher's Hill by the Confederates. At
the gate, he was directed by the sergeant to make his way to
292
AMERICAN B A STILE.
Richmond, or any other place in the Confederacy that might
suit him, at the same time reiterating the Marshal's order.
The order was promptly obeyed, Rust being glad to escape
confinement even upon such terms. He was thus separated
from his family for two years and four months, without any
sufficient reason ever being assigned for it.
During his exile, his son, William C. Rust, a boy of sixteen,
was confined in Fort Delaware for one hundred days, on sus-
picion of having assisted his uncle, William T. Cooper, (a son
of Ex-Governor William B. Cooper,) to escape from prison,
the said Cooper having been a Rebel soldier, captured at
Romney, Virginia. Mrs. Rust was several times before mil
itary commissions, and annoyed in other ways during her
husband's absence.
At the time of his arrest, Mr. Rust was forty -four years
of age. By occupation he is a farmer. He has never held
an office, although in the politics of his county he has always
activoly participated.
HON. ANDREW DUNCAN DUFF.
HON. ANDREW DUNCAN DUFF, was born in the State
of Illinois, in 1820, and has resided in Franklin Connty,
in that State, since 1825. Of him it may be truly said, " he
has been the architect of his own fortune," for, iu the year
1836, he was left an orphan boy, destitute of means, and with-
out education. In 1845, he was married to Miss Mary Eliza
Powell. In 1847, he commenced the study of law in the
office of Hon. W. A. Denning, then President Judge of the
Third Judicial Circuit of Illinois ; but shortly after, the Gov-
ernor of the State having called for four regiments of volun-
teers, to be commissioned during the war with Mexico, young
Duff enlisted as a private, and served with great distinction
under Colonel E. W. B. Newly, until the close of the war.
After his return from Mexico, he resumed the study of the
law in the office of Judge Denning, and was admitted to the
bar in 1850. He soon attained a high standing and reputa-
tion at the bar, and after having filled many offices of honor
and trust, both by election and appointment, with great satis-
faction and credit, he was, in 1861, elected Judge of the
Twenty-sixth Judicial Circuit of Illinois, then composed of
Williamson, Franklin, and Saline Counties, for the term of
six years. In the same year he was elected a member of the
Constitutional Convention of Illinois, and took a prominent
part as Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. In
order to defeat the re-election of Judge Duff to the bench,
the district was attempted to be changed. Franklin County
was stricken from the district, and other counties added.
But the Supreme Court set aside the proceedings as illegal
and void, and Judge Duff, having received a renomination,
293
294
AMERICAN BASTILE.
was again elected by a large majority, although the district
had gone Republican the year before.
Judge Duff, after his re-election to the bench, established
a law-school in Benton, Illinois, which is now in a nourishing
condition. He is deservedly popular, is a good jurist, and an
able speaker and writer. At the time of his arrest and im-
prisonment, his family consisted of a pious and Christian wife,
a son eight years of age, and three daughters still younger.
Judge Duff himself is in communion with the Church, and
is in all respects a high-toned and Christian gentleman.
On Monday, August 11, 1862, Judge Duff commenced the
August term of the Williamson County Circuit Court, at
Marion, twenty miles south of Benton, the place of his resi-
dence. On Thursday evening, August 14, two United States
Detectives, named Scott and Woodruff, arrived in Marion,
from Cairo. Scott was an Englishman, and possessed some
of the traits of a gentleman. Woodruff was in appearance
the embodiment of villany. In the evening, after the ad-
journment of court, Scott, who was personally acquainted
with Judge John H. Mulkey, of Cairo, privately communi-
cated to him their business, which was to arrest him (Judge
Mulkey,) Hon. Wm. J. Allen, then a member of Congress
from the Ninth District ; John A. Clemenson, State's Attor-
ney for the Twenty-sixth Judicial Circuit ; and J udge A. D.
Duff, the President Judge of said Circuit, and several other
prominent gentlemen of that section of the State.
The gentlemen, on learning the facts, and knowing the ar-
bitrary power then existing, had an interview with Detective
Scott, and informed him that he might consider them prison-
ers ; tnat they would be ready at 12 o'clock m., the following
day, to accompany him to Cairo. This proved satisfactory
to him. At 10 o'clock a.m., on Friday, the 15th inst., Judge
Duff adjourned the court, leaving a large amount of both
sriminal and civil business unfinished.
They reported at the hotel, according to the arrangement
of the day previous, and soon after started for Cairo, in
ANDREW DUNCAN DUFF.
295
charge of the two detectives ; at which place they arrived
about sundown the same evening.
The party were taken before Major J. W. Merrill, Pro-
vost Marshal, who required them to report to him the next
day at 9 o'clock a.m. They were given the freedom of the
city on parole, but were required to report in person once a
day at the Marshal's office, until further orders. The most
painful case among these arrests was that of Dr. Bundy,
(whose case is elsewhere narrated,) the foreman of the grand
jury, who was torn from the unfinished grave of his departed
child, and not even allowed to pass his house to give a part-
ing word of advice to his disconsolate wife and the heart-
broken mother, in that afflicting hour of bereavement and
death. The officer, who took them into custody, exhibited no
writ or warrant for Judge Duff's arrest, nor, indeed, for any
of the others, as no affidavit had then been made against any
of the party.
The Judge was arrested, as Officer Scott said, on informa-
tion contained in a letter from Frankfort, at which place, he,
on the 21st of the preceding July, had made a speech. Thia
accurate and truthful letter stated it was made on the 28th.
This statement was made in the presence of the Hon. Wm.
J. Allen, Judge Mulkey, and others. Judge Duff then in-
quired of the officer, what part of the speech was considered
disloyal. In reply he said, " that he " (the Judge) u was charged
with exposing frauds perpetrated on the Government, and that
such exposition tended to discourage enlistments." Judge
Duff said, that " he would plead guilty of that, if it was the
charge, as he regarded it as the proudest day of his life, to
be arrested for pleading for even-handed justice, and common
honesty, in the use, management, and distribution of the
people's money ; and for publicly denouncing the thieves and
villains who were robbing a tax-ridden people. Henceforth,
he felt that his arrest had been determined on by the great
3anhedrim or conclave of public plunderers at Springfield."
On the way to Cairo, the officers informed him that they
would have to go back to Franklin County, for proof against
296
AMERICAN BASTILE.
him. These proofs were the ex-parte affidavits afterward
produced.
On Monday morning, the officers left Cairo for the purpose
of obtaining the evidence. They went to Frankfort and
Benton, and there took the affidavits of four or live persons,
who were the bitter partisan enemies of the Judge. The
affidavits consisted of garbled and ex-parte statements of what
the affiants had heard him say in different speeches, com-
mencing in September, 1861, and running through the whole
of his speeches, from that time, until the Frankfort speech,
made but a few weeks previously. These affidavits contained
nothing more than could be found in almost all the Demo-
cratic speeches of that period. As the officers were return-
ing to Cairo, they found at Big Muddy Bridge, eighty miles
distant, a vile wretch, named George Meyers, who was willing
to swear to anything. This was the man so long looked for.
Connovers, the future outgrowth of the war, were not so
plenty then as at a subsequent period. He was conducted to
Carbondale, seven miles distant, and there, with a Republi-
can named Dudding for an amanuensis, the following affida-
vit was drawn up at night, and reported as sworn to before
a Justice of the Peace of Perry County, Illinois.
George Meyers, Sergeant of Captain Creed's company, sta-
tioned at Big Muddy Bridge, in Jackson County, Illinois, aged
twenty -three years, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
"I am a member of the Knights of the Golden Circle, and have
visited two meetings of that order in Williamson County. The
first was on the night of the 10th of July, at the school-house,
about six or seven miles from Marion, at which I was initiated
by a person who was termed the 'Worthy Chief.' A man named
William Andrews went with me ; on which occasion, they took
a book and read to me the laws, which were, as near as I can
recollect : ' We are not to take up arms either for or against the
United States, but we will bear true allegiance to those who may
be members of the Golden Circle, and that we shall not take up
arms against them, but be one, under a solid body/ This I was
sworn to under penalty of death. I was not to allow it to be
ANDREW DUNCAN DUFF.
297
known that I belonged to the order, except to those whom 1
knew to be members. I was then shown the sign and pass-
words.
" The second meeting was held about three miles from Blairs-
ville, in Williamson County. Judge Duff was there, and seven
or eight other speakers. Judge D. addressed the members, and
said that regiment No. — (giving a number which I do not re-
collect,) was to keep still for a few days, and they would have
a great deal to do at home, as they would have to carry out what
a third party had laid out to be done against Union men, as soon
as the volunteers should have left. Several others addressed the
meeting. From the conversation, I understood the members
were expecting arms from Missouri. There were 300 persons
present.
his
(Signed) George {xj Meyers."
mark
This affidavit was an unmitigated falsehood from begin-
ning to end. It contained no semblance of truth, as will be
seen in the sequel. Furthermore, it was illegal. Judge
Duff proposed to the Marshal to bring Meyers to Cairo, and
to satisfy himself of the truth of the statement, by an exam-
ination, privately or otherwise. He wished to show, at the
same time, that this falsifier could not tell a word about his
antecedents, personal appearance, age, complexion, or height,
and further, he offered to bear the expenses of the trip.
This proposition the Marshal refused, in defiance of the ex-
plicitly worded sixth amendment to the Constitution of the
United States, which says : "In all criminal prosecutions, the
accused shall enjoy the right . ... to be confronted with the wit-
nesses against him ; " and also of the ninth section of the Bill
of Rights of the Constitution of the State of Illinois, which
reads as follows : " In all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath
a right to be heard by himself or counsel, to demand the nature
and cause of the accusation against him, to meet the witnesses
face to face." Our readers will here perceive, that the Con-
stitution of the United States and that of the State of Illi*
noie, were violated by this one act. The Judge then said
298 AMERICAN BASTILE.
" I have not been in Perry County since the 1 Oth of June,
when I made a speech at Tamaroa, nor have I been nearer
Blairsville than Carbondale or De Soto, since 1857 ; nor did
I ever make a speech in my life but what was a public speech,
addressed to persons of all political opinions who would
come and hear me ; neither is there a truthful being on earth,
who can say, that I ever joined, or ever belonged to the or-
ganization of K. G. C.'s, under that or any name whatever.
I never joined them, nor did any man ever ask me to join
them." During the conversation with the Marshal, one of
the detectives (Woodruff) informed the latter, that he knew
Meyers in the 2d Illinois Cavalry, that he was then known
under another name, and was universally regarded as ua liar,
blackleg, and scoundrel"
While still confined at Cairo, the Marshal, Major Merrill,
told Judge Duff, that he would have discharged him, but
that Governor Yates had commanded him not to do so ; that
" he " (the Governor) " would be able in a few days to send
him ten times more evidence, and of a much more positive
character."
On the 26th of August, the " Daily Chicago Tribune " con-
tained a copy of the Meyers affidavit, and what purported to
be an additional one, which filled more than two columns of
that paper. This was the Governor's mouse — the mighty
production of his herculean mental labors, which astonished
the eyes of an alarmed and startled world. The earth shook
under it, to its deepest foundations ! the heavens were gently
bowed ! the sun was clothed in darkness ! the moon turned
to blood ! and all nations and tribes of the earth fell on their
faces and did mourn ; even his Excellency, the Governor —
blushed. The following was " the ten times more evidence "
— the St. John's Gospel, which was intended to corroborate
the Meyers affidavit. It boldly stated that on Sunday, the
10th of August, 1862, he had attended a secret meeting of
the Knights of the Golden Circle, at a place ten miles north
of Pinckneyville, in Perry County ; that there were at least
100 Knights of the Golden Circle present, and that Judge
ANDREW DUNCAN DUFF.
299
A. D. Duff, Francis M. Youngblood, H. W. Newland, Joseph
Crouch, and James S.Moore, of Franklin County; David
Neal, David Williams, Ezra Johnson, Dr. Blanchard, James
Blenhois, Thomas Logan, (the General's brother,) Benjamin
Harris, Cartright Davis, and Philip Davis, of Jackson County ;
George W. Wall, D. M. Hoge, E. B. Rushing, Thomas Hush*
ing, S. A. Baird, S. M. Pyle, Dr. Ross, 0. H. McCarver, Bed-
ford Turman, W. A. Harris, Stephen Duncan, and many
others, of Perry County, were present, and that all those
mentioned made speeches on the occasion. It further pre-
tended to give an abstract of what each one said, and, as a
matter of course, the language used by each was disloyal.
Thomas Logan, in closing the meeting — as it averred —
openly declared that, " as for himself, he was for Jeff Davis
and the Southern Confederacy." The great length of this
pronunciamento of the Governor prevents us from giving it
in toto. But we quote verbatim one important paragraph.
Speaking of the proceedings at the meeting, it says : " A
letter was produced and read to the meeting, directly
from Jeff Davis and Beauregard, to Edell Jones, stating
THAT IF THE K. G. C.'s OF ILLINOIS, COULD FURNISn TWO THOU-
sand men for the confederate army, the confederate
States would be fully able to succeed in their undertak-
ing." This was an astounding revelation. At a time when
the Federal Government was organizing an army of twelve
hundred and fifty thousand men for the suppression of the
rebellion, Jeff Davis and Beauregard write to a poor, obscure
orphan boy of Franklin County, Illinois, who could scarcely read
or write his own name, informing him that if the K. G. C.'s
could furnish them with two thousand men, their cause would be
safe. Could such an idea emanate from a
. . . . " brain
Healthful and undisturbed by factious fumes? "
"When this document first appeared m the papers, the
Judge and his friends called upon the Provost Marshal, and
demanded the name of the party who swore to it, but were
300
AMERICAN BASTILE.
informed that the Governor had directed it to be withheld.
At Washington City, Judge Duff again demanded the name
of the person from the Judge Advocate, and received the
same reply : " The Executive of the State of Illinois has re-
quested the name to be withheld from the public.5 ' The
Judge then came to the conclusion, that it had never been
swore to, but that it had been forged to assist in partisan
measures, and that the document had been sent with a blank
space, to Tamaroa, to be filled up with the names of all
such persons as the Executive wished to oppress.
Court convened in Williamson County, on Monday, the
11th of August, 1862, at Marion, midway between Benton
and Vienna. The Judge having left one of his children quite
ill at home on the 3d, he determined upon adjourning court
at Vienna on Saturday, to enable him to reach his home that
night, if possible, so as to spend Sunday with his family, and
be at Marion, Monday morning, in time for court. Accord-
ingly, on Saturday morning, the 9th inst. at about 10 o'clock,
he left Vienna in company with Judge Mulkey, both travel-
ling in the same buggy, Judge Mulkey going to Marion,
Judge Duff to Benton. About seven miles from Marion the
buggy broke down. He then left Judge Mulkey at the house
of a gentleman named Cash, from whom he borrowed a sad-
dle, unharnessed his horse, and rode to Marion, which he
reached at sundown. He then left his horse, borrowed a
horse and buggy from Hon, William J. Allen, and started
for his home, which he reached at midnight. Sunday was
spent at his home, and about town, where he saw and talked
with many of the citizens of the place. On the following
day, (Monday,) he convened the court at Marion, and was
proceeding with business when arrested. The affidavits of
nineteen citizens, of both political parties, were filed with the
Judge Advocate at Washington, proving the truth of the
above statement, but it availed him nothing.
As we have already shown the falsehood of this document
in the Judge's case, we shall digress a little, to give our
»
ANDREW DUNCAN DUFF.
301
readers further proof of it in the case of others. The Rev.
0. H. McCarver, one of the party mentioned, preached to a
large congregation on the day mentioned, (to wit, the 10th,)
some twelve miles from Pinckneyville, when the affidavit
says, that he was one of the twenty-five persons who ad-
dressed the meeting at said place, and even giving his words.
His arrest was also a cruel act of persecution. He was torn
from his family, friends, and home, ironed like a criminal,
sent to Washington, and there confined in a loathsome prison
for months. He was discharged without a trial, or even
having any charge made against him, further than such as
was contained in the Governor's evidence, and upon which
he had been arrested.
The party were started for Washington about the 1st
of September, and on the 3d were committed to the Old
Capitol Prison, with the exception of Judge Allen, who, be-
ing very sick, was paroled, and left at the Kirkwood House.
Judge Duff was cruelly treated, for the first few days, in
regard to eating and sleeping. He was at first compelled to
eat with criminal prisoners, deserters, drunken soldiers, and
those under court-martial, at what was called the hog-pen, a
place where several hundred prisoners rushed at meal-time
to satisfy the cravings of hunger. Unable to bear the stench
of the place, and the sight of the disgusting mass of half-
putrid meat, he would grasp a piece of bread in his hand,
and rush into the open air to eat it. Subsequently, through
the intercession of Superintendent Wood, he was permitted
to associate himself with other gentlemen, and form a mess.
Henceforth he fared much better.
While in the prison, a fellow-prisoner, Mr. Wm. A. Harris
received a letter from Mr. B. G. Roots, of Tamaroa, where
the evidence on which he had been arrested was fabricated by
his calumniators. Mr. Roots occupies a prominent position
in the Republican party of Southern Illinois. It was written
without any solicitation, or even communication, fron. Mr.
Harris. It reads as follows :
302
AMERICAN BASTILE.
"Tamaroa, Illinois, September 10, 1862
" Wm. A. Harris, Esq. :
" Dear Friend : Believing, as I most fully do, that you are
entirely innocent of any crime against the Government of the
United States, I earnestly wish that I could do something to aid
you in getting a trial, as I fully believe that all that is wanting
to procure your release is an investigation of your case
1 believe that the only evidence against you is an affidavit first
published in the * Chicago Tribune.' .... But I speak delib-
erately, and say only what I am ready to prove in any court,
and before any officer who will take the testimony that I will
procure, when I say that the affidavit contains so many lies,
wilful, wicked lies, as shows fully that the affidavit is utterly un-
worthy of belief. I say publicly, that if the man who swore to
zhat affidavit knew what he swore to, that is, if he knew what
statements were contained in the affidavit, he knew that he was
swearing to a lie. Yes, to a host of lies." ....
We leave a candid public to make its own comments.
Judge Duff was held a prisoner for three months, sixty
eight days of which were spent in the Old Capitol. On the
11th of November, 1862, he was discharged without a trial,
or without being before any tribunal to hear his case. Before
being discharged, he, together with Judge Mulkey and
Messrs. Mahoney and Sheward, was required to subscribe
and swear to an affidavit that they would not prosecute the
persons who caused their arrest, or the heads of the Depart-
ments.
In concluding this narrative, we again quote from the
Judge, who says : " Instead of regret, I feel a pride in the
course I have hitherto pursued, in relation to the conduct of
the late Federal Administration ; and when I die, I ask no
prouder inscription on my humble tomb, than, 4 Andrew D.
Duff, one of the Tyrant's prisoners in the "Old Capitol,"
during the great moral strugg/e between freedom and despot-
ism, ;n 1862/ "
EVASION OF COLUMBIA COUOTY,
PEKSrSYLYANEA.
THAT the more distant reader may the hetter understand
the matter recorded in the following pages, a short de-
scription of the place and people is necessary.
The locality is the valley of the Fishing Creek, which, for
romantic scenery, beautiful landscape, purity of its waters,
health of its climate, and the richness of its soil, is not sur-
passed by any of the many valleys that abound in Central
Pennsylvania. It is situated in Columbia County, and de-
rives its name from the stream that passes through its entire
length. Fishing Creek rises in the North Mountain, and,
after passing through the county from north to south, emp-
ties into the Susquehanna a short distance below Bloomsburg.
The farms of the valley lie on both sides of this beautiful
stream; while the valley itself is bounded, on either side,
by high ridges. Along the northern part of the valley lie
four townships — Sugar-Loaf, Benton, Fishing Creek, and
Jackson. These townships, being the principal grounds of
operation during the invasion, demand this further notice:
Sugar-Loaf lies north along the mountain, and is bounded
on the east by the line of Luzerne County; Benton lies
south of Sugar-Loaf ; Fishing Creek, south of Benton ; and
Jackson, west of Sugar-Loaf and Benton.
The people are mostly farmers, with merchants, mechanics,
etc. necessary in a rural district. They are a hard-working,
industrious people, and instead of waiting for the crumbs
that fall from some lordly table, they carefully nurse the
earth, and she rewards them bountifully for their labor.
They are hospitable and kind ; and the weary and needy arc
never turned from their doors empty. They contribute cheer-
fully and liberally for the support of their schools, their poor,
803
304
AMERICAN BASTILE.
their roads and their churches. Like their own mountains
and the limpid ^streams that flow through them, they are free
and independent.
On Saturday evening, August 13, 1864, the quiet village of
Bloomsburg, the county seat of Columbia County, was sud-
denly disturbed by the appearance on its streets of eight
cavalrymen and forty infantry, with two pieces of artillery.
The town was instantly in a state of great excitement. The
exultation of the Abolitionists was most intense. Their eyes
sparkled with delight, their loyal tongues were untied, and
threats against Democrats and Democratic printing-offices,
with statements that troops were to scour the country, were
in the mouths of loyal-leaguers and their followers. And a
fierce desire, on the part of some of them, to inaugurate a
reign of riot and bloodshed, was painfully apparent.
On Tuesday morning following, Major-General Couch, com-
manding the Department of the Susquehanna, (which in-
cluded Columbia County,) with two hundred and fifty more
troops, made his headquarters in Bloomsburg. On the night
of the 13th of August, a report reached Stillwater that it was
their purpose to arrest the people, and to burn and destroy as
they went. On consultation, it was concluded to call a meet-
ing the next day, to consider the situation and determine
what should be done. Accordingly, runners were sent out in
every direction, and on Sunday a large number of persons
collected at the barn of John Rantz, in Benton township.
The most of the men were armed, and some of them advised
opposition ; but better counsel prevailing, it was concluded to
remain quiet, unless the troops commenced aggression ; in
that case, they resolved to defend themselves as best they
could. The non-reporting men who had been drafted, formed
themselves into squads, and sought refuge in different places,
to await the result of the coming of the soldiers.
On Sunday morning, August 21, the troops at Blooms-
burg struck their tents, and took up the line of march for
the seat of the " Fishing Creek Rebellion." Toward evening,
they reached the point where the main road crosses the
INVASION OF COLUMBIA, PENNA. 305
creek at Stucker's Bottom. Here they encamped for the
night, and on Monday the inhabitants were greeted with the
novel spectacle of armed men marching in hostile array
through their hitherto quiet valley. Yet, the array was not
very terrible in appearance, though there were infantry,
cavalry, and artillery, five hundred strong. Unmolested, they
continued their march to Appleman's Bottom, near Benton,
where they encamped. On the following Sunday, their num-
ber was increased to a thousand men. The citizens of the
valley now enjoyed the sight (many of them for the first
time) of a military camp. Here, the people flocked to hear
the fife and drum, and to witness the manoeuvres of dresi
parade. The morning reveille awoke the sleeping echoes of
the surrounding hills, and the bugle enlivened the evening
with its stirring notes. Trains of baggage- wagons, moving
up and down the creek-road every day, and squad* of men in
uniform, either on foot or on horse, travelling in aii direc-
tions, presented to the ear and eye of the people, so unaccus-
tomed to such things, scenes that kept them continually in a
state of pleasant excitement. So harmless did the soldiers
appear, and so peaceful were the intentions of the people, that
a mutual acquaintance and friendship sprang up between
them ; and the former enjoyed the kindness of the latter, in
the form of baskets well filled with the most substantial pro-
visions. Though the Republicans knew of the raiding party,
and had stated, in a few instances, the object of its coming,
yet, having been in the neighborhood some time without
making any demonstration that led to distrust, the people
were lulled into .security. It is true, that some had got an
inkling of what was going on, and left their homes and
remained in the woods all night, only to run into the snare
that was laid for them as they returned to their homes in
the morning.
Some time during the night of the 30th of August, a num-
ber ol squads were detailed, and each one placed under its
appointed leader. The utmost secrecy was enjoined, and
instructions given them to halt and retain any person they
20
306
AMERICAN BASTILE.
met otj the road, to surround each house, and guard it until
daylight, and then to arrest every man and well-grown hey
that should be found. These squads took different direc-
tions : one portion of them taking the main road down the
creek, dividing off at each cross-road, until they reached
nearly every house as far down as Stillwater, a distance of
four mile3. Another portion proceeded up the main road,
and so dividing off at each cross-road, as before, until they
extended their guards into Sugar-Loaf and Jackson. Ano-
ther squad advanced as far as Cambria and Columbus, near
the line, in Luzerne County. Such was the secrecy of their
movements, that the people knew not of their coming until
they found themselves surrounded. As many of these houses
ie off from the main roads, and some of them in obscure
places, the question arises, How did the soldiers know where
to go ? or who piloted them to their destinations ?
Let the Republicans of Benton hang their heads with
shame, whenever these questions are asked ; for each one of
them knows best to what house he led the way, and well
knew, also, the object of the search. In some instances,
relatives were reported by relatives ; thus fulfilling the Scrip-
ture — for prophecy, as well as history, often repeats itself —
" A man's enemies shall be those of his own household. "
But the night of fearful apprehension to the inhabitants
of these mountain homes was drawing to a close. The gray
light of the morning began to creep along the eastern hills,
and day dawned to witness one of the most shameful and
illegal n.ilitary exploits ever performed by men calling them-
selves guardians of American liberty. What a libel upon
the name of freedom ! What a prostitution of military
power ! And what a fearful demonstration of the danger of
an army guided by political opinions, and pushed forward by
the force of party spirit ! At the approach of day, the open-
ing of each door was demanded, and every man, found about
the premises, was ordered to "fall in," without time, in many
instances, to prepare for decency or comfort. They were aU
marched to the Benton Church. Among the number col
INVASION OF COLUMBIA, PENNA. 307
lected, there were a few whose names were not on the " roll
of Lonor." These were dismissed, while the remainder (forty-
four in number) were hurried off without food, save what
little was brought to them hastily by their friends. It was a
sad spectacle, indeed, to the few who were left behind, to see
this mournful procession as it passed along. Here were the
aged, whose locks were whitened by the frosts of threescore
years, some of them tottering on their feet through illness.
Here, also, were the able-bodied and the young, the rich and
the poor, and those who held high places in life, all huddled
together, surrounded by bayonets, and hurried forward, like
cattle to the slaughter-pen, or slaves to the galleys. And
this, in that beautifully secluded valley, where the rippling
waters dance to the music of freedom, and where the mur-
mur of the gentle breeze seemed to rebuke the spirit of the
tyrant. And this, too, in the United States of America —
the boasted home of the oppressed of all the earth — a nation
of the freest people on the globe, whose star-spangled banner
is a respected passport to every harbor in the world, and a
pledge of protection to every child at home.
But on move the tyrant's minions, driving forward their
victims to their filthy destination. Greatly to the disap-
pointment of the prisoners, instead of stopping at Blooms-
burg, they were hurried to the cars, and conveyed to Phila-
delphia, and thence, on the afternoon of the same day, to
Fort Mifllin.
One thing, observable on this march, was the unnecessary
cruelty practised toward them. Some of them were arrested
and taken from their homes without breakfast, and all of
them were conveyed the whole distance to Philadelphia, and
kept until the next day, before any food was furnished them.
In addition to this, they were marched and countermarched
through the streets of the city, up one street and down
another, footsore, hungry, some of them sick, and all worn
out, until old men wept like children, and young men cursed
the perpetrators of so foul a wrong.
Fort Mifflin is located on the Delaware River, six miles
308
AMERICAN BASTILE.
from Philadelphia. It was built to protect the interests of
that great city from the invasion of a foreign foe ; but, like
most of our northern Forts, during the late war, it was pros
tituted to the uses of a political prison. Its situation is most
unhealthy, and its internal arrangements, as a prison, of the
most shocking character. The particular part of the Fort,
into which these unoffending citizens of Columbia County
were thrust, was bombproof No. 3, the dimensions of which
are given in the sworn statement of Mr. Wm. Appleman, as
follows :
" We arrived in Philadelphia at eight or nine o'clock iu
the morning, (September 1,) and were taken to the Barracks
at Fifth and Butt on wood Streets. Here, at noon, we ob-
tained something to eat, tincups of soup, and some bread and
meat, which was the first food furnished us from the time
of our arrest. At the Benton Church, some eatables were
sent to us from the house of John J. Stiles, by his direction,
(he being one of the prisoners,) which was all we had had.
Myself and sons were taken from home before breakfast. On
the afternoon of the same day, we were taken to Fort Mifllin,
and put in bombproof No. 3. This bombproof is partly
below the level of the river, is arched overhead, and has
thick walls of stone and brick. By stepping it, we made its
width to be nineteen feet, and its length fifty-four feet. This
was the space allotted to the prisoners, forty-four in number.
One of the original prisoners had been discharged before we
arrived at the Fort, on the ground that he had been arrested
by mistake
" Air and light were imperfectly admitted on one side, and
at one end of the bombproof, through openings in the wall,
perhaps a dozen in number. The main ones may have been
four inches wide by a foot in height on the outside, widen-
ing toward the interior. The floor was of hard earth or
gravel, and firm. On the sides, scantling was laid on the
ground, lengthwise of the room ; and across these, boards
were placed. Again, at the ends of the boards next the wall,
short pieces of scantling or blocks were laid at intervals, end-
INVASION OF COLUMBIA, PENNA. 309
wise to the walls, across which boards were placed, forming
a narrow platform along the walls a few inches high. This
constituted a substitute for pillows, the lower and wider
platform answering the purpose of a bed, A single soldier's
blanket was furnished to each man, but no bedding — not
e 7en a little straw. The room was very damp and wet at
times ; the water came through the arch overhead, from the
earth upon it, dropping down in the part farthest from the
fire. To check this dampness, it was necessary to have a
lire constantly in the grate at one end of the room ; but this
was not sufficient, although attended night and day. The
fire was also useful to some extent in procuring ventilation ;
and from the chilliness of the room it was required for com-
fort, even in September.
" Our prison fare was as follows : To each a loaf of baker's
bread for the day, one slice of boiled pork or beef at noon,
and a tin of coffee morning and night. Sometimes one tin
of bean or pea soup was substituted at dinner for the slice
of meat. On three or four occasions, we drew potatoes, boiled
in the skins, instead of soup, at dinner. Several times the
meat was not good, and five or six times there was none fur-
nished. The prisoners, however, purchased provisions for
themselves, to some extent, at enormous rates. The expense
incurred in this way was very considerable during the time
I remained in confinement. Half of a single candle was fur-
nished at night for the whole room, so we were obliged to
furnish lights at onr own expense. We were supplied with
a filth-tub, made by sawing a barrel across the middle, and
standing upright on the closed end. A stick was run across
it, through holes bored a little way below the top, and thus
provision was made for its being carried by two men. It had
no cover. For about three weeks it stood in the gangway or
entrance passage, outside the door of our prison-room, during
the day-time. Afterward, upon my application, we were
permitted to keep it during the day in an emrty room ad-
joining the gangway. Two of the prisoners occasionally
took it out under guard. Always at night it was necessarily
310
AMERICAN BASTILE.
kept in our 100m, the door being locked. This whole matter
was a great grievance.
" The prisoners were mostly over forty years of age, and
accustomed to active employment, upon whom imprisonment
bore severely. About the end of September, ¥m. E. Rob-
erts and John Yorks were taken sick with bowel complaints,
and were removed to the hospital, near the Fort. Robertr
died about ten days afterward."
But we will leave the prisoners a while in their gloomy
cell and return to camp. Having made the foregoing arrests,
the "Army of Fishing Creek" broke camp and proceeded
up the creek about ten miles, and rested at the foot of the
mountain. The situation of this encampment, and the object
of this move, are stated by a correspondent of the " Philadel-
phia Inquirer," of September 6, 1864, thus :
" On Friday, we once more took up our line of march, and are
now in the mountains. Our camp is located in a valley on the
east branch of Fishing Creek. Mountains are all around us.
The valley is barely wide enough for our camp, the mountains
on each side rising almost perpendicularly for over seven hundred
feet. Of course, I am not aware of the information possessed at
headquarters ; but from all that I can learn, the insurgents are
encamped in a gorge in the mountains, where they have intrench-
ments, mounting two field-pieces. They are said to be from three
to five hundred strong, and from their location, it will be ex-
tremely difficult to approach them with sufficient numbers to
overcome their very strong position. It is the prayer of every
soldier in the command, that they remain and give us fight. We
hardly have hopes of this from the cowardly course they have
pursued up to this time. Still they are hemmed in, and may be
brought to bay.
"The 'Army of Fishing Creek/ commanded by General Cau-
wulader in person, is spoiling for a fight, and is praying that the
insurgents will give them an opportunity of achieving something
worthy of their mighty powers, and the labors and expense of
a thousand men."
They had obtained one victory, but that was bloodless, as
INVASION OF COLUMBIA, PENNA. 311
the correspondent elsewhere remarks : " Ahout one hundred
men were quietly arrested and brought into camp." But
here was a chance to show their courage by stormiug the
breastworks of nature, made stronger by the arts of a force
of " insurgents from three to five hundred strong."
The report had been extensively circulated, that a large force
was strongly fortified in the mountains. Some had seen the
forts, and others had seen the trail where the cannon had been
dragged up to their positions. The object of this encampment,
was to find and destroy these fortifications, and scatter and
break up the "Fishing Creek Confederacy." They reconnoi-
tred until they supposed they had defined the position of thd
enemy, and then made the necessary arrangements for the
attack.
The result of this grand movement is best given in the
language of John G. Freeze, Esq., of Bloomsburg, in a
speech at the Nob Mountain meeting, in August, 1864. He
said : " I wish I could fairly describe to you General Cad-
walader's hunt after that 'fort mounting two field-pieces.'
"What trouble he had to get guides and scouts, (there were
no intelligent contrabands in that country ;) how he sent a
squad of men after my old friend, James Hess ; how, after a
midnight ride, he captured a boy, who knew some other boy,
who knew where the Fort was ; how that boy did n't know,
but could show them where there was a boy who did ; and
how, at last, somebody was found who undertook to fix the
spot. Then the Major-General's scientific knowledge of mili-
tary matters came into full exercise ; his strategic ability had
a foeman worthy of his fame ; and his thousand men were
divided, and located, and timed with the utmost military
skill and precision. The grand 4 Army of Fishing Creek,'
in three divisions, advanced against that lonely Fort. After
clambering for half a day over rocks and stones, through
briers and huckleberry-bushes, and finding three or four old
bear-traps, which my old friend, John McHenry, had set up
there, they began to find signs of a place where somebody
had been ; and then, ' Look to your arms, boys, and keep your
312
AMERICAN BASTILE.
powder dry.' And so, this valiant army progressed — each
division coming up in order and at the proper time; when,
suddenly surrounding the top of the mountain, they captured
a place where some of your boys and girls had been having a
huckleberry picnic ; and that was all they ever did find. No
Fort, no intrenchments, no rifle-pits, no field-pieces, no five
hundred men, no rebellion, and no nothing. That was the
eud of the expedition ; and Cadwalader, like that ancient
King of Spain,
'With twenty thousand men,
Marched up the hill, and then marched down again.'
•He was thoroughly disgusted ; he came to Bloomsburg,
and, upon his knowledge and experience as a military officer,
he pronounced — I use his own words — the whole thing a
farce. What then should he have done? He had arrested
about one hundred of our citizens ; he had incarcerated forty-
four of them in bombproofs at Fort Mifflin ; he had satisfied
himself, after a thorough search in all directions, that the
Fort was moonshine, and the rebellion 4 a farce ; ' and as an
honest man, as an officer deserving the name, he should
have made it a personal matter to procure their release."
Thus ended this mighty movement to put down the
•'Fishing Creek Rebellion." And, nothing more left for
*hem to do there, they returned down the creek, and en-
camped on Coleman's farm, above Stillwater. But, they were
not satisfied with their success in this expedition ; if they
could not find men fortified in the mountains, they could
find men in their unfortified homes. They, therefore, made
several other arrests of citizens of Sugar-Loaf township, but,
for some reason, soon released them.
The most important arrest that they made, at this time,
was that of Rev. A. R. Rutan, of Fairmount, Luzerne
County. We here give, in his own words, a statement from
Mr. Rutan :
" I was born in New Jersey, and, when nineteen years old,
came to Luzerne County, in this State, where I now reside.
L have tiied to preach the Gospel of peace for twenty years,
INVASION OF COLUMBIA, PENNA. 313
and I have always tried to practise what I preached, and to
be a law-abiding citizen. But to my great surprise, on the
31st of August, 1864, three soldiers came to my house and
arrested me. They said, Colonel Steward wished to see me
at Benton, to make some inquiries of me about things
around there ; and they said I must go — their orders were to
arrest me, and bring me without delay. I was taken to
Benton that night, about ten o'clock. I was then permitted
to go where I pleased, until the next day, about one o'clock,
when I was put under arrest until dark. Then, I went with
Colonel Steward to see General Cadwalader, and was released
on a verbal parole of honor, that I would give bail to appear
at court when called for. I went home and remained there
until the evening before the October election, when six
drunken soldiers came to my residence, at a late hour of the
night, and commanded me to open my door, or they would
break it open. I opened the door. They came roughly in,
and said they had come to arrest me, and that I must go
immediately with them. I asked for their authority, but
they gave me no satisfaction. They compelled J. W. Steel
to drive my team to camp. I was taken to the camp near
Coleman's — was kept there two nights, sleeping on the
ground. I was then taken to Bloomsburg, and was there
one night and one day, and permitted to go where I pleased,
without a guard. I spent the most of that day at C. S.
Fisher's. I was then taken to Harrisburg, before Judge
Advocate Wessels, and from him received another verbal
parole, by promising to tell what I knew about a meeting
near Benton, when Mr. Hadley preached. Mr. Wessels
wished me to write what I knew of this meeting, and I
agreed to write ; but before I had written, Samuel J. Pealer
came to see me, and made arrangements with me to clear me
from all further trouble with the military, or the Govern-
ment . as he called it. / was to give him sixty-Jive dollars, a
Devonshire heifer, and a fine dog, which he said would clear
me of all, and there would be no more arrests made on me,
and there would be no soldiers troubling my family by
314
AMERICAN B A S T I L £.
coming after me. But in less than one week, three soldiers
came in the night, ordered me to open the door, and said I
was their prisoner. I was again taken to Harrisburg, where
I was interrogated about the disloyalty of different men, of
whom I knew nothing wrong. I was kept in prison until
about the last of November, when I had some kind of a trial.
About four weeks after my trial I was taken to Fort Mifflin,
and confined there until March 1, 1865. During my im-
prisonment, my family had to suffer many deprivations. I
lost nearly all my crops. My loss was not less than six hun-
dred dollars, besides all the suffering of my family and
myself."
Such is the modest statement of this respected clergyman.
And, however humble his position as such, it shows, that
no class was free from the cruel grasp of military power.
While the farmer was dragged from his plough, the mechanic
from hi* shop, and the merchant from his counter, the
minister of the Gospel of peace, also, was torn from his
family, and the flocks of his charge, and thrust into a filthy
prison, for daring to speak in opposition to the reign of
terror.
After the prisoners had been taken away, there was scarcely
a man left at home : they either fled from the neighborhood,
or kept out of the way in the daytime, and slept in the woods
at night. Old men of more than threescore years, who had
ever been good and peaceful citizens, and had labored hard
to secure homes for their old days, were not willing to lie
down upon their own beds in their own houses, for fear they
would be gobbled up by these military cormorants.
Let us now return to Fort Mifflin, and look in upon the
prisoners. Shut up for days together in that dark, damp
place, with its foul air and stinking water, with its scanty
and sometimes unwholesome fare, is it surprising that the
health of many began to fail? Some of them bectme so
dangerously ill, that it was necessary to remove them to the
hospital. Among these was William E. Roberts, who never
returned — he died on the sixth day Df October, 1864. His
INVASION OF COLUMBIA, PENNA, 3l5
friends were permitted to take charge of the body, and convey
it to his home. He lies in the cemetery in Jackson Town-
ship, near the Union Church ; and his grave will be long
pointed out as that of one of whom it may be truthfully said,
"They have murdered him."
"Sleep on, old friend, thy sleep is dreamless,
No midnight raids disturb thee now ;
To thee the Tyrant's shafts are aimless,
He 's struck his last, though fatal blow.
While guided by some "loyal" minion,
They reached thy distant cabin door ;
And for thine honest heart's opinion,
Thee from thy wife and children tore.
With tottering steps we saw thee going,
And marked thy walking in the row ;
Thine aged form 't was easy knowing,
Thy locks and beard like fleecy snow.
With cruel haste they urged thee onward,
Yes, onward to the filthy goal ;
From which thy friends soon carried homeward
Thy body emptied of its soul.
Though gone, the patriot heart will cherish
Each recollection of thy name ;
And from the record shall not perish,
For thou shalt have historic fame.
We leave thee in thy silent slumber ;
Our feeble pen can do no more
Than mention thee among the number,
The murdered of the forty-four."
Some of the prisoners were released after several weeks'
confinement, without any trial, or without knowing why
they had been arrested. But few of them were ever tried ;
and of the whole number arrested, but seven were con-
victed, and they by a military commission, on testimony that
would not have been received in a court of justice. Of the
seven men convicted, one paid his fine, one was pardoned by
President Lincoln, and five by President Johnson.
316
AMERICAN BASTILE.
List of Prisoners.
The following is a list of the names, ages at time of arrest,
occupation, and length of incarceration of those arrested,
bo far as can be obtained :
Detained.
No.
Name.
Age.
Occupation.
Mo.
1 Days,
1
Daniel McHenry,
37
Farmer, Merch., Co. Tr.,
A
4
2
Elias G. McHenry,
33
"
1
Q
y
3
Joseph Coleman,*
68
M
J
1 o
19
4
Mathias Kline,
52
M
J
no
6
Abraham Kline,
M
OQ
16
6
Samuel Coleman,
45
«<
r
1
no
16
7
Josiah Coleman,
41
It
15
8
Charles Coleman,
26
«<
oo
9
John Lemons,
35
" and Painter,
**
I i
10
Silas Benjamin,
31
Carpenter,
16
11
Samuel Appleman,
46
Farmer,
*
OQ
16
12
William Appleman,
61
" and Lumberman,
*
22
13
Reuben Appleman,
25
•«
no
11
14
Thomas Appleman,
22
it
OQ
16
15
James McHenry,
44
Merchant,
1 1
11
16
Dyer L. Chapin,
Elias McHenry,
44
<«
2
17
47
Farmer,
1
19
18
Samuel Kline,
19
John Rantz,
60
M
o
o
11
20
William E. Roberts, f
67
Carpenter,
21
John Yorks,
67
Farmer,
22
Henry Hurliman,
46
ii
A
4
n
9
23
George Hurliman,
48
u
A
Q
O
24
John G. Stiles,
39
Innkeeper,
A
25
Hiram F. Everett,
33
Merchant,
A
4
26
Scott E. Colley,
62
Farmer,
4
27
Benjamin Colley,
37
ii
8
11
OQ
Joseph Vansickle,
[County,
29
Rohr McHenry,
36
Farmer, Distiller, Com. of
2
30
John Karns,
59
<<
1
23
31
John C. Karns,J
23
<<
1
23
32
Montgomery Cole,
40
u
1
23
33
Russel McHenry,
26
ii
4
6
34
James Evans,
Jonathan Steel,
64
ii
1
23
35
<<
36
Henry J. Hurliman,
21
Carpenter,
1
19
37
William Hurliman,
19
Farmer,
1
23
88
Valentine Fell,
49
Blacksmith,
8
11
89
John R. Davis, \
68
Farmer,
1
23
40
Arwillis Davis,||
20
Carpenter
6
8
41
Samuel McHenry,
67
Farmer,
4
17
42
M. D. Appleman,
26
Wheelwright,
1
23
43
John Baker,
44
44 and Farmer,
1
23
44
Abraham Hartman,
29
Farmer,
4
4
* Was a soldier of the War of 1812. f Died at the Fort.
| Had been in the service nine months. § Sick when arrested.
|| Drafted while in the West, and knew nothing of it until he returned home.
P. S. READER.
rpiHS gentleman, the victim of abused power, was of
Macoupin County, in the State of Illinois, where he
resided to within a few months of his decease, which took
place in Texas.
He was, by occupation, a farmer, and, by industry and
economy, had accumulated considerable property. Having a
taste for mechanics, he built the first mill in that section of
the country, and continued, throughout life, to hold an in-
terest in it. Shortly after his settlement in Macoupin County,
he was elected Justice of the Peace, which office he retained
for twelve years. He was known as an affable gentleman
and a liberal-minded man, who took great interest in the
educational and charitable institutions of his county and
State, and to which he contributed liberally.
Condemning as pernicious to the interests of the country
the doctrines advocated by the Republican party, and as bit-
terly averse to the secession movement, then about taking
place in the Southern States, he strenuously urged compro-
mise measures for healing the breach between the North and
South ; although, when the tocsin of war was sounded in
1861, he freely gave his sympathies to the Union cause, and
liberally extended his assistance in the raising of volunteers
for the defence of the Government.
In 1862, the young men of Chesterfield, irrespective of
party, incited by the pomp and parade of war, undertook the
formation of a Home Guard, to which Mr. Reader became
attached, and gave them, in their organization, the benefit
of his former training and experience, acquired in the Illinois
militia.
From his connection with this organization, a rumor was
317
318
AMERICAN BASTILE.
circulated that lie intended joining the Confederate Army
with from eight hundred to a thousand men, whom he was
then arming and equipping ; and that a Confederate flag had
been raised in his yard. Knowing that these reports were
promulgated by his enemies, for the gratification of malice,
Mr. Reader deemed them of too flimsy a nature to demand
attention, and passed them by unnoticed. At no time were
there over fifty men in arms for drill, parade, or any other
purpose ; while the Stars and Stripes were floating from a
staff erected on his premises, and had been for months pre-
viously, lie frequently attended, and spoke at the war meet-
ings, and at one of them opposed the enlisting of boys of
Buch tender years as to be unable to bear the fatigue incident
to a soldier's life, and as only calculated to impede the army,
and fill the hospitals. This, together with his oft-expressed
desire for the closing of the fratricidal war by compromise,
was quickly construed into opposition to the enlistment of
volunteers ; although in the course of the same remarks he
had expressed sympathy and encouragement for the troops
then in the field.
We have given a somewhat extended synopsis of Mr. Rea-
der's political actions, which, together with the fact, that he
afterward received no trial, when in the hands of the Govern
ment,will enable the impartial reader to judge of the cause
of his arrest, which took place before sunrise on the morning
of August 12, 1862.
He was called from his chamber, and afterward enticed
from his house, on pretence of meeting a young captain of
volunteers, to whom he had promised assistance in recruit-
ing troops. Having no idea of arrest, he went out to meet
him, and was immediately surrounded by a body of armed
men, and arrested without a warrant or other legal author-
ity, by the United States Deputy Marshal, who simply said,
"You are my prisoner, sir, and must accompany me to
Springfield, by order of the United States Marshal."
Being undressed at the time, he was permitted, under
guard, to enter his house and put on the first old coat and
P. S. READER.
319
hat that he could lay his hands on, and these, together with
a pair of shoes, formed his attire. He was then hurried
away, without heing allowed time to comfort his weeping
family. Fearful of a rescue from his indignant friends, when
they should hear of his arrest, his captors removed him
swiftly away to Carlinville, and thence conveyed him to
" Camp Butler," near Springfield, on the Sangamon River.
Arriving there, he was placed in a filthy harrack, and neither
permitted to have communication with his family or friends,
nor to receive any money or clothing from them. A gentle-
man who was acquainted with him, while on a visit to the
camp, to see a friend, met him clandestinely and communi-
cated his situation to his family, who, thereupon, sent him
money and some necessary articles of clothing, which were
committed to the care of an officer, and never after heard of.
The commandant of the post said, upon application heing
made to him for their restoration, " that he would make no
inquiry concerning them," which assertion was carried out
literally, as they were never recovered.
While confined at "Camp Butler," a petition, praying for
his release from custody on taking the oath of allegiance to
the United States, and signed by over a hundred of his
friends and neighbors, was presented to G overnor Yates, who
refused to take cognizance of the case, averring that it was
a matter appertaining to the General Government.
The prisoner, after remaining a fortnight at " Camp But-
ler," was then, together with nine other political prisoners
from the southern part of the State, removed to Washing-
ton under heavy guard, with threats of being handcuffed in
case an attempt at escape was made.
Arriving in that city, he, with some state prisoners from
Virginia, was confined in the " Old Capitol," receiving an
assurance, that he would be granted a trial at some future
day.
Prohibited from receiving any letters, or holding any com-
munication with his family, he suffered much mental anguish.
At this juncture his friends, of both political parties, entered
320
AMERICAN BASTILE.
into a bail-bond of fifty thousand dollars, which was trans-
mitted to Washington, where it lay for a short time, no
notice having been taken of it, until after the defeat of Gene-
ral Pope, and the reinstating of General McClellan in com-
mand of the Army of the Potomac
Mr. Reader was then called to the Judge Advocate's office,
and required to sign the bond, when he was released, after
being incarcerated for eight weeks. Being without means,
he was furnished with a pass to Springfield, Illinois. Arriv-
ing there, and feeling keenly the injustice of his own im-
prisonment, and being satisfied of the innocence of his fellow-
prisoners, he made an appeal, in their behalf, to Major-Gene-
ral John A. McClernand, from whom he elicited the response
that, " Such men as yourself, and Judge Allen, deserve to be hung,
and you will he, too, soon, if you are not careful." Being ex-
tremely sensitive, he was discouraged and disheartened ; and
feeling that "scorn's slow, unmoving finger" pointed toward
him, he returned to the bosom of his family, and there, in
quiet and seclusion, sought a balm for his wounded spirit ;
steadfastly refusing to take any part in politics, although
earnestly solicited to do so by his numerous friends.
In 1867, he was attacked with inflammatory rheumatism
and scrofula, diseases from which he had previously suffered,
but which had evidently been aggravated by his confinement.
He started for Texas for the benefit of his health, which had,
upon a previous occasion, been much improved by that cli-
mate. As he was getting ready to return home, he was
seized with a severe attack of typhoid pneumonia, and soon
found a grave, "a stranger in a strange land." He had
neither friends nor relatives near him, to minister to his com.
fort, mitigate his sufferings, or proffer him the solace of re
ligion.
"Earth serenely now may give her calm
To whom she gave her anguish."
THE OLD CAPITOL PRISON:
Its History and Incidents.
THE buildings known as the Old Capitol, but now de
molisbed, were not erected at one time. The Old Capital
proper, included only the building fronting on First Street ;
that on A Street adjoining, and forming a part of the prison,
was built subsequently.
The Old Capitol Prison, situated on the corner of A and
First Streets, "Washington, was an old and dilapidated brick
building, which was erected in 1817, to accommodate the
National Legislature, the Capitol building having been de-
stroyed by fire. It was used for that purpose until the Cap-
itol was rebuilt, when the additions and alterations were
made, and it was fitted up for a boarding-house, and as such,
was, for many years, patronized by members of Congress
and others, who visited the city during the sessions of Con-
gress, and whose daily attendance on the Legislative halls
made a contiguous dwelling desirable. It was in this build-
ing that the Hon. John C. Calhoun breathed his last. And
little did this revered champion of liberty, or his compeers,
who legislated within its walls, or reposed beneath its roof,
think that the day would come, when this building, within
3ight of the Capitol of the Nation, whose dome is sur-
mounted by the Goddess of Liberty, would be turned into a
Bastile and dungeon for the victims of despotism.
The building forms two sides of a square. The entrance
on First Street is under a large arched window, which
admitted light to the former Senate Chamber, but which,
through its broken and filthy panes, permitted the winter's
wind and drifting snow to fall on the unhappy inmates of
21 321
322
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the infamous " room $o. 16. On entering the building
from First Street, a large hall or passage-way presents itself.
This was used as an anteroom, or lounging-place for th?
soldiers who formed a part of the military guard of the
prison. On the right, there were two rooms which wero
used as offices, into which the prisoners were taken on their
arrival, questioned, and searched by one or more officers of
the guard. In the discharge of this and kindred duties,
Lieutenant Miller, of the 10th New Jersey Volunteers, made
himself so unenviably notorious and tyrannically officious, as
to merit and call forth the unanimous execrations of every
inmate of the prison, as well as the officers, guards, and
negro attendants, and for which he was promoted to the
office of Chief Jailer of the adjoining Bastile, called " Duff
Green's Row." The innermost of these offices opens into a
hall, on which there was one room for prisoners, which was
about twenty feet square, containing a number of bunks or
sleeping berths, like those used on canal-boats, but having
three berths, one above another. These berths were about three
feet wide and six feet long, and, from constant use and want
of cleaning, were literally alive with bedbugs and other ver-
min. Indeed, this but faintly describes the condition of
every room in the building at that time ; and the weary
hours of the inmates were often industriously employed in
the disgusting occupation of killing vermin.
From this hall, the principal stairway ascends ; and at the
end of, and opposite to, the first flight of stairs was room ~Ro.
19, for some time used as the private office of the Superin-
tendent. Not a few of our readers will call to mind their
visits to this inquisitorial chamber, for it was there that
Detective Baker and Superintendent Wm. P. Wood held
their interviews with their innocent victims, and tortured
their harmless, though often fearless, expressions into evi-
dence against them ! and, in hundreds of cases, this was the
only evidence they possessed, with which they hoped to
criminate or intimidate them into tacitly submitting to the
terms of extortion proposed as a condition of their release.
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
323
Following up the stairs from this room brought you to the
principal floor of the building, which was once used by the
Senate and House of Representatives, but, latterly, was
divided into five large rooms, numbered, respectively, from
14 to 18, of which room ~No. 16 was the centre and largest.
These rooms strongly resembled the one already described,
being fitted with similar bunks, filled with filth of every
imaginable kind, and entirely destitute of any furniture or
other accommodations indispensable to the humblest cabin.
These rooms, which usually contained from eighteen to
twenty-five prisoners in each, were less than thirty feet
square ; and, with the accumulation of filth, the inevitable
consequence of overcrowding and neglect of cleanliness, pre-
sented a condition that can better be imagined than described.
The hall or vestibule in front of these rooms, and from
which they all open, was continually paced by a sentry, whose
duty it was not to allow more than two of the prisoners, at
a time, to leave their rooms for the purpose of obeying na-
ture's calls, and on their doing so, to shout to the sentry on
the next landing, that " All is right, "No. 6," that being the
number of the post. Each sentry had a number to his post,
and one waa stationed on every landing in the building, so
that the new comer to that terrible dungeon, in consequence
of the continued calls of the sentries, the clanking of their
arms, and the changing of the guard once in every two hours,
had but little hope of becoming oblivious to his sorrows, or
forgetful of his wrongs, in sleep.
Rooms No. 14, 15, and 18 were usually filled with citizens
of Virginia — farmers living within the Federal lines. And
many of these were gentlemen of the highest respectability,
education, and patriotism ; some found themselves inmates
because they owned a fine horse coveted by some shoulder-
strapped upstart ; and others had refused to swear allegiance
to a Government that was then totally powerless to protect
their persons or property. Room ~No. 17 was filled with of-
ficers of the Federal service, many of whom were ignorant of
the cause of their arrest, and some were sent there because
324
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Provost Marshal Doster wished to coerce them into conipli.
ance with his mandates, and who proposed to release them or»
their sending in an unconditional resignation of their posi.
tions. In this room was confined a Lieutenant McClune, of
the 135th Pennsylvania Volunteers, whose offence consisted
in saying he disapproved President Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation. For this grave and heinous crime he was in-
carcerated four months, without a trial ; and finally, when
tried, the Colonel (Porter) of his regiment, who desired the
position for a friend, was made president of the court-martial.
The result, as might he expected, was finding him guilty,
and sentencing him to dismissal from the service, and impri-
sonment, during the war, at the Dry Tortugas.
Adjoining this was room No. 16, famous alike for having
been the quarters of the Western prisoners and for having
contained the leading spirits of the prison. This room, like
the others, contained twenty-one bunks, but few of which,
however, could be used by the occupants, as they were thickly
infested by vermin. Here, at different periods, were confined
men from almost every State of the Union — honorable repre
sentatives of the learned professions, merchants of the high-
est character and standing ; and in fact, some from nearly alJ
the walks of life.
The reader, to form a correct idea of the mess-room, No.
16, must imagine he sees before him a large and desolate-
looking apartment, with one large window at the end,
opposite to that from which he enters. In the centre, a
large dirty cylinder stove. Around the room, and against
its dirty walls, the whitewash on which was discolored with
age, and festooned with spiders' webs, were distributed the
bunks already mentioned, and in addition, three or four iron
bedsteads — these bunks, at times, filled with boxes, bags,
valises, pots, pans, newspapers, pipes, cigars, old playing
cards, empty bottles, and one or more of every garment of
men's wear, indiscriminately packed together in chaotic con
fusion, with the debris of the last meal, and the materials
for tho next. Sitting on chairs, benches, and impromptu
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
325
contrivances for seats, around two dirty pine tables, each
aoout five feet long, were twelve or fourteen gentlemen,
whose ages ranged from twenty to fifty. These formed the
mess of the room, and were diligently discussing a ham-bone,
<>r a piece of commissary beef, which, from its quality, was
eommonly denominated " mule."
When the reader reflects that these gentlemen were kid-
napped from their homes, where they were always surrounded
with the comforts and luxuries of civilized life, and for no
earth ij reason immured in that filthy prison-pen, destitute
of evuy comfort, cut off from all correspondence with their
families or friends, and denied the well-known rights of any
accused person, he will cease to wonder at the wrecks of
mind aiid body produced by their incarceration. Scattered
around tlv* room in every imaginable attitude, or crowding
to the wirv'vow to see the latest arrival, whom, within an
hour, they would greet as a fellow-prisoner and sharer of
their privations, are seen the other occupants of the room.
Suddenly, the tvhout of " Fresh fish " is raised, when all rush
eagerly to the window to witness the arrival, under escort
of one or mora detectives, of the last victim of military
necessity. Or it may be, that the call is, " A sympathizer,"
when with equal avidity the prisoners would press forward
to salute, or return the friendly but furtive greeting of some
one of the many ladies of Washington, whose noble hearts,
touched with sympathy at their sufferings, daily passed the
prison to give them a cheering and kind look, which, though
harmless, often involved them in difficulty ; for scarcely a
day passed that the sentry did not, under orders of Lieutenant
Miller, or some other aspirant for Administration favor and
promotion, arr&st, on the sidewalk, or in carriages, ladies
and gentlemen who dared to recognize, by look or salutation,
a relative or a friend, who had the misfortune of incurring
the displeasure of the War Department.
These arrests were of daily, and sometimes, hourly occur-
rence, and many ladies of the highest respectauility have been
dragged from their carriages for saluting a relative at the
326
AMERICAN BASTILE.
window of this prison, taken into the office, and for hours,
subjected to the insulting familiarity and impudent question-
ing of these uniformed plebeians, who were paid and pampered
for the protection of these women whom they thus outraged.
Nor was that the only consequence of a friendly look or
word ; for if the prisoner receiving or returning it could be
discovered, he was at once locked up in a dark, dirty, narrow
hole, which was dignified with the name of guard-house,
where he was closely confined without food or bed, until the
wrath of the official was appeased by some fellow-prisoner, or
by the soothing influence of a consideration. And those dis-
coveries were not infrequent ; for the War Department secured
daily reports of all the movements and conversations of the
prisoners, by placing a spy in each room, who, though osten-
sibly a prisoner, was the paid informer of the officials. We
will mention one marked instance of the kind which occurred
in room No. 16. A fellow named Corbett, acting in that capa-
city, wrote daily reports to Detective Baker, one of which
described the indignant denunciation by a prisoner of the
corruption of this official, for which Baker had him placed
in solitary confinement.
During the half-hour allowed for recreation to the occu-
pants of the large room in the yard of the prison, the spies,
assuming the air and bearing of injured victims, mingled
freely with the prisoners, and obtained their confidence, with
the intention of betraying it.
Ascending a short flight of rickety stairs, from the floor
on which these large rooms were situated, you arrive at room
No. 13, on the third floor, which forms a part of the addi-
tion to the Old Capitol proper. It was by rough measure-
ment eight feet wide by fourteen feet long, from the door to
the window facing the street opposite. The floor proper
extended over only about ten feet of the length of the room ;
a raised sort of platform occupied the remainder of the space.
This platform extended across the width of the room, and
was elevated to a level with the bottom of the window facing
north The furniture of this room consisted of a small table
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
327
and two chairs, which had been purchased b} some of tho
first occupants of the room, and left there when they were
discharged. Beside these, there were two bunks for sleeping,
each one having a place for two occupants, canal-boat fashion.
These bunks were furnished with a tick each, having in them
but a scanty quantity of old straw, which had done service
ever since the place had been used as a prison. Each berth
was also furnished with a dirty quilt, and beside these, there
were two small blankets in like condition, which did service
for the occupants of this room by turn. For pillows, a board
had been mortised into the head ends of the berths. This
room, witl four others of unequal size, but of equally filthy
condition, opening on a corridor, was at times devoted to
prisoners kept in solitary confinement, and cut off from all
conversation or privilege of recreation.
It was in a room on the second floor of this part of the prison
that the well-known Belle Boyd was confined; and the list of the
names of the occupants written on the walls vied in length
and respectability with the registers of our largest and best
hotels. These rooms were in the wing of the building on A
Street, and from the windows of some of them could be seen
the railroad depot, Camp Sprague, (afterward used as a hos-
pital,) and the negro village wTith the euphonious name of
Swamppoodle. The barred casements of the rooms were
constantly lined with the pallid and anxious faces of the
inmates, who gazed with envy on the contrabands enjoying
that liberty of which they were so unjustly deprived. That
portion of the building which contained the rooms was, as
before stated, used for prisoners kept in close confinement,
who never breathed the fresh air of heaven but once a
day, when they were allowed, under escort of o- corporal, to
visit the sink.
On the lower floor of this building, which was reached by
a dilapidated and dangerous stairway used by the prisoners,
(none of them being allowed to use the principal stairway,
which was reserved for the officers, guards, and negroes,!
were two rooms, one of them running the entire width of
328
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the building In this room the Confederate prisoners of
war were confined, but from which they were removed, in
the coldest part of December, 1862, to an out-house. This
change was made to accommodate the negro washerwomen,
who were by far the most important of the prison inmates.
From this floor the visitor passed to the prison-yard, about
one hundred feet square, one-half of which was paved with
bricks or round stones ; the remainder was (in wet weather)
a quagmire.
It was here, during the summer months, that five large Sib-
ley tents were erected, in which, and on the brick pavement,
several hundred prisoners of war were huddled together,
night and day, for many weeks.
In a line with that portion of the prison last described,
there extended a two-storied wooden building, the upper part
of which was used for a hospital, with its steward's rooms
and apothecary shop. The approach to it was by a flight of
steps outside of the building, at the foot of which stood a
sentry, to prevent intrusion by any but the favored few who
had succeeded in getting a whiskey pass from the Superin-
tendent.
This was obtained by first procuring from the Surgeon in
charge a written permit to purchase and keep in the hospital
liquor for the bearer's use, which, on being countersigned by
the Superintendent, allowed the fortunate possessor to open
negotiations with Corporal Brown, the sutler or commissary
of the prison, for the purchase of whiskey ; and as Corporal
Brown set an exalted estimate on his time, and said, "He
never bought any but the best," the liquor, including the
sample taken out of it in the office for examination as to its
quality by the guard, who, having the health and welfare of
the prisoners at heart, jealously scrutinized whatever they
purchased for consumption, cost more than Imperial Tokav
by the time it reached the owner.
The hospital accommodations were, with some exceptions,
as good as could be expected in a place conducted without
regard to system, unless it was a system of plundering the
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
329
unfortunate prisoners, which was done in a hundred different
ways. Conspicuous among them was the sale to the prisoners
of certain articles, such as tobacco, cigars, matches, station-
ery, pies, cakes, bread, cheese, and other edibles, all of them
of the poorest quality, but for which a profit of five hundred
per cent, was charged by Corporal Brown or his partner, who
held this lucrative, if not dignified, office by virtue of his
being a nephew of the Superintendent. The only opportunity
afforded to make the purchases was during recreation, when
the space in front of the sutler's shop was crowded with the
eager throng, cash in hand, which they were glad, from neces-
sity, to exchange for the miserable rubbish peddled to them
at ten times its value ; and, in addition, to submit to the im
pertinent and obscene familiarity of a vulgar puppy, who
presumed on his relationship to the Superintendent to take
advantage of the peculiar position of the prisoners. The
scenes of daily occurrence, in front of this swindling shop,
were often decidedly racy.
The friendly badinage of some of the prisoners as
they called out their wants, (for an armed sentry prevented
their approaching within several yards of the door,) was
highly amusing, often witty, and but seldom personal, as the
quality of the articles, the enormity of the charges, and the
childish tyranny of the ever-changing prison rules, formed
fruitful topics for the exercise of their wit and repartee,
while many of the prisoners were thus engaged. If the
weather permitted, others were vieing in exhibitions of
strength or agility, or seeking exercise for their limbs,
weary with the confinement, by repeated marchings around
the narrow limits of the yard. To those varied modes of
passing the coveted half-hour for recreation, sudden stop
would be put by a sergeant calling out, " Time is up :
repair to your rooms ; " when they would again return to
inhale the fetid and unwholesome atmosphere of their over-
crowded apartments.
Adjoining the sutler's shop, and nearer the hospital, was
the mess-room of the prison, for the use of those who had
330
AMERICAN BASTILE.
not the means or the privilege of procuring their own food.
It was a long, dimly-lighted room, with a pine bench running
its whole width and around its walls, on which, at meal hours,
the prisoners' food, consisting of half-boiled beans, musty
rice, and pork or beef in a state of semi-putrefaction, was
thrown in heaps, from which they helped themselves, with-
out knife, fork, or plate. The accumulated filth and grease,
on the floor and table, sent forth such an odor, that many,
nay, most of them, on snatching a piece of meat in one hand,
and bread in the other, were obliged to go into the open air
to eat them. The total disregard of cleanliness in this hog-
pen, and the fetid effluvia from the half-cooked and decom-
posing food, together with its proximity to the hospital,
must have caused or hastened the many deaths that occurred
there. Opposite to this, and extending to the gate, was a
stone building, one story high, which contained the cook-
house, wash-rooms, and the guard-house, already described.
Behind this building, and at the west of the wood-shed,
the sinks were situated ; and consisted of wide trenches,
partially covered over, but open in front, with long, wooden
rails, on which the eighteen or twenty persons, using them,
were obliged to stand. The accumulated excrement — for
months, of several hundred men, many of whom were suf
fering from diseases of the intestines, produced by these
sinks — sent forth an offensive effluvium that poisoned the
atmosphere of the whole prison, and disgusted the sickened
senses of its inmates. In front of the cook-house, and on the
west side of the yard, a wooden fence was placed, to divide
it from that portion designed for the use of the guards. At
the end of this fence were two other sinks, differing from
those described only by being enclosed. These were reserved
for the officials, and a favored few who were admitted by
card, which was closely scrutinized by the sentry in front
of them. And any person who approached them was ordered
to halt and show his ticket, without which none could enter
either of those reserved, though equally loathsome, premises.
The negroes had, also, for their use, covered sinks ; as in this,
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
331
so in every other particular, their comfort was considered of
vastly more importance than that of the prisoners.
Kunning along the southern side of the yard, a two-story
wooden building was erected to accommodate, or rather con-
tain, a portion of the Confederate prisoners. Its interior, for
want of cleanliness and light, beggars description. Adjoin-
ing it was the gate opening into an alley-way, at which
were continually congregated a herd of hungry swine, wait-
ing for the slush that oozed from the prison yard, the daily
offal of several hundred men.
In December, 1862, the President ordered the execution of
a soldier in the prison yard. The gallows was erected in
front of the Confederate quarters last mentioned, and as vis-
itors were expected, the entire prison received the long
needed cleansing and whitewashing. For several weeks after
the execution, the revolting instrument of death was left
standing in the yard — as it was said, to be a terror to the
prisoners. After the elections in November, 1862, the num-
ber of arbitrary arrests having greatly diminished, the con-
dition of the prison became somewhat improved. This de-
scription is literally true in every respect ; and in no other
city or country would such a nuisance have been tolerated,
or allowed to pollute the atmosphere by its existence.
On the same street, in the adjoining block, a row of houses,
known as "Duff Green's Kow," was also used as a prison, for
the incarceration of prisoners of state. Its condition and
management were so like the Old Capitol as to render unne-
cessary a detailed description of it.
On the arrival of a prisoner at the door, his presence was
announced by the sentinel who was patrolling the pavement
in front of the building. He called out, " Corporal of the
guard, No. 1." The corporal would shortly make his appear-
ance and take him in charge. He was then pushed into the
prison, and within its doors he would find several dirty-look-
ing soldiers lounging around, a true type of the establish-
ment that was to be his abode for some weeks, probably
months. He was likely to be kept in the anteroom for some
332 AMERICAN BASTILE.
time, if there should be a visitor in the inner room, and then
he would be ushered into the august presence of Lieutenant
Holmes, who was known in the prison by the sobriquet of
" Bullhead," and must undergo an examination of baggage
and person, and be duly registered.
This officer, like many other civilians who never before
had any authority over their fellow-men, arrogated to him-
self all the power, as well as authority, which he dared exer-
cise with impunity, over the defenceless victim intrusted to
his guardian care. After reading the commitment from the
orderly, who had brought it from the office of the Military
Governor, Lieutenant Holmes would proceed to inquire of
the prisoner whether he had arms, liquors, or other contra-
band goods ; and if the reply was satisfactory, he was passed
to some one of the rooms of the building that the lieutenant
might designate as a proper receptacle for his person. If
the reply was unsatisfactory, he would thrust his hand into
the valise, or package, as the case might be, and if any-
thing contraband was found, he would appropriate it to
himself, as was the rule at Washington.
Wishing to visit a friend confined in the Old Capitol, the
visitor had first to obtain a pass, and then, on presenting
himself at the door, he would be halted by the sentinel, who
would call lustily for the corporal of the guard. The corpo-
ral, on making his appearance with his musket at his shoulder,
would conduct him into the august presence of the sergeant
of the guard. The sergeant would seize his musket and
enter an inner room to announce his presence to the lieuten-
ant. If that dignitary were disengaged, he would permit the
visitor to enter, and the sergeant would announce that per-
mission accordingly. As there was only one reception-room
for the visitors of all the prisoners, and as only one person
was allowed to enter that at a time, the visitor was com-
pelled to await his turn in the antechamber. The lieu-
tenant would then examine hi3 pass inside and out, spell out
some words, and guess at the rest, and then inquire the name
of the person Le wished to see, for it was very doubtful if the
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
333
Military Governor could decipher the manuscript. After
these preliminaries, a corporal would be directed to bring
down Mr. from room "No. — . In due time the prisoner
would come. If the visitor expected to have a private tete-ct
tete, he would soon be undeceived, for the military keeper
would seat himself directly in front of him, at about three feet
distance, listen attentively to every word, watch every motion,
and see that nothing was done to overthrow the Government.
The visitor would feel exasperated at the idea of having an
eavesdropper and intermeddler listening to all that was said,
and feel, too, an almost irresistible impulse to insult him ; but
he would not have long to think on this breach of courtesy,
for presently he would see the keeper place his hand on his
watch, and call out, " Gentlemen, time is up." The fifteen
minutes granted for an interview have fled. The prisoner is
motioned to his room, and the visitor required to withdraw.
Prison fare in the Old Capitol — and it appeared to have
been much the same in Forts Lafayette, Warren, McHenry,
Mifflin, and Delaware — consisted of bread, (sometimes good,)
salt pork, and occasionally beef. The pork was of poor
quality, and was made worse by being badly kept, and illy
cooked. The beef was such as was seldom eaten by those
who had any means of procuring better, and who had the
permission to do so. It had the appearance (when cooked, it
was generally fried,) of a piece of thick sole-leather, steeped
in grease, and subjected to the heat of the fire, in an iron
utensil. Those who had good teeth might masticate it,
with an effort, but even then they could not swallow it.
Under these circumstances, prisoners of state, and others
who could afford it, clubbed together and formed messes in
their rooms, and by the aid of Corporal Brown in the Old
Capitol, procured such edibles as they could prevail on that
functionary to purchase for them. The principal mess of
this kind, m the Old Capitol, among the prisoners of state,
was in room No. 16. Each member of the mess paid, when
called on by the commissary, his portion of the week's ex
penses for provisions.
334
AMERICAN BASTILE.
This, of course, did not include tobacco, cigars, and such
other luxuries as individuals chose to indulge in. When
meats were procured, through the gracious aid of Corporal
Brown, and the permission of Superintendent "Wood, the
cooking was done by one of the contrabands of the establish-
ment, who was always paid, of course, for his services.
Before the formation of this mess, the prisoners of state fared
badly, and many of them were indebted to their families
and friends for the wholesome food that was at times
furnished them. It is just to say of Superintendent Wood,
that it was no fault of his that the prisoners of state fared
so badly. General Mansfield, when Military Governor of
"Washington City, gave orders that the prisoners should be
fed on side pork and hard biscuit — the worst that could be
procured. Mr. Wood remonstrated with the General on this
order, saying that the prisoners were not convicts, that they
were under no sentence of any tribunal, judicial or military,
but were merely held to await a trial, and that most of them
were gentlemen who were not used to such hard living as he
prescribed.
" D — n them ! " was General Mansfield's reply ; " they are
all traitors, or they would not be there " — meaning the Old
Capitol. " They shall have nothing else but what I have
ordered — that is good enough for them."
Superintendent Wood became indignant at this, and told
the General to his face, that " the prisoners were just as good
men as he was, and he'd be d — d if they did not have good
bread, at least while he was Superintendent of the Old
Capitol." And he made his word good, for, on being refused
bread for his prisoners by General Mansfield, he engaged the
bakers near the prison to furnish all that he needed.
When the Almighty became so provoked at the wicked-
ness of the King of Babylon, that he could not suffer him-
self to be outraged any longer, He wrote the mysterious sen-
tence of the King's punishment on the wTall of his dining-
hall. Whether it was in imitation of this that the Old
Capitol prisoners wrote their condemnation of Mr. Lincoln
OID CAPITOL PitlSON.
335
and his fellow-tyrants on the walls of their prison, we cannot
say, hut certain it is that these prison walls were almost liter
ally covered with sentiments expressive of the indignation ©f
those who had been deprived of their liberties and rights. It
was a custom of the prisoners to write their names in pencil on
the walls of the first room in which they were incarcerated,
adding the date of their arrest, the alleged cause of it, if sus-
pected or known, and then adding their opinions, sometimes
in doggerel, of their rulers. It is easy to see that by degrees
— a little being added by every new comer — the walls would
soon be covered with writing. This was the case, and it be-
came so offensive that whitewashing was resorted to, in order
to destroy it. 'Nor was it writing alone with which the Old
Capitol walls were disfigured, speaking administratively.
Various designs of flags, caricatures, etc., were conspicuously
displayed on them, some of which laid considerable claim
to artistic merit. As a number of the prisoners were Con-
federates, the devices on the walls were generally such as sig-
nified the feelings and sentiments of the people of the South.
Rebel flags, both of the Southern States and of the Confede-
racy , were profusely displayed ; and in one room was a nearly
full-bized figure of Stonewall Jackson on his war charger.
Thrown in among Rebel songs, sentiments, and flags, a
Northerner would have a fling at the Administration, in
some >f his sentiments. "We here give our readers two speci-
d lens tfhich were copied from the walls of room ~No. 10 :
" In fancy free my mind doth roam
From prison walls to distant home ;
No prison walls my thoughts can bound,
No tyrant's power can make me fear;
Though hireling bayonets me surround,
What I was free, I still am here.
I still am free by truth and right,
A prisoner, not by law, but might.
The victim of a despot's will,
I 'm doomed a felon's place to fill :
I 'm called a traitor, base pretence ;
I love my country, my offence
336
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Country, once now happy thou,
But where are all thy glories now f
"Where that liberty, thy boast,
Where that Union, once our toast T
Liberty in shackles weeps,
While her avenger rashly sleeps.
Avenger, sayst thou ? Where are they
Who once o'er this broad land held sway !
Where are the freemen who would not brook
The rule of sceptre, crown, or crook ?
Degenerate they in every state
Which made their fathers good and great."
Another wa8 as follows :
AN APPEAL TO FREE AMERICANS.
" Freemen, ye sleep while the Nation is dying ;
Arouse from your stupor, ye sons of the brave ;
See, in the Bastiles your comrades are lying ;
Shall tyranny trample them down to the grave ?
No ! you reply,
Freemen will die,
Rather than one shall live as a slave.
'* Come, then, to the rescue, let each one be striving
For who shall be foremost in liberty's cause :
Down with the Bastiles ! see, the tyrants are flying,
Who outraged their country, its honor and laws.
Victims of might,
Servants of right,
The tyrants are worsted — join us in applause."
At the bottom of this was signed the name of the author,
so that there could be no mistaking who was the offender.
This was but one of the many evidences written on the walls,
and uttered in the hearing of those whose duty it was to
convey the information to headquarters, of the spirit which
still animated the emaciated bodies of those political martyrs.
They could be imprisoned by might — they could be treated
<vith indignity, without having the physical strength to re-
sent it — they could be almost starved to enforce submission ;
but it was not in the power (mighty as it became with a
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
33?
million of armed men at its back,) of the Administration to
shackle the spirits of freemen.
On a pleasant Sunday morning in August, 1862, the occu-
pants of the prison were startled by an extraordinary excla-
mation, which rang through every room of the Eastile : " All
ye who want to hear the Lord God preached according to
Jeff Davis, go down to the yard ; and all ye who want to
hear the Lord God preached according to Abe Lincoln, go
down to No. 16." Before the inmates had fully recovered
from their surprise, Superintendent Wood made his appear-
ance at the door of No. 13, repeating the invitation to its
inmates as he had to those of the other rooms, as he came
along. " Suppose," inquired one of the prisoners, " that we
do not want to hear the Lord God preached according either
to Jeff Davis or Abe Lincoln, what then, Mr. Wood ? " To
which the accommodating Superintendent replied : " Oh, then,
you can stay in your room."
Mr. Wood, as the reader may as well be informed, was au
infidel, or pretended to be such; and was no doubt sincere in
his profession. It was not so much the respect he bore Jeff
Davis or Abe Lincoln, that he invited the prisoners to heai
the Lord God preached according to either of their standards,
as the utter disbelief in the Gospel itself, and a desire to
manifest his contempt for the word of God, and pity for any
who were so credulous as to believe in it. And yet, with
all, he had a good heart, when his better feelings were not
thwarted by his prejudices, and especially by his partisan
failings. When the dictates of humanity, and the interests
of party conflicted with each other, the struggle for mastery
was often strong and violent. The partisan generally had
the best of it in the outset, but in due time passion became
gratified, reason asserted its influence, and the finer feelings
of the heart took possession of the man, and directed his
actions. Although none of the prisoners cared to hear the
Lord God blasphemed by a Jeff Davis or Abe Lincoln
preacher, yet all availed themselves of the opportunity to
obtain an airing in the yard. The preaching, according to
22
338
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Jeff Davis, was done by a Hard-shell Baptist, who delivered
a sensible discourse on the causes which produced the then
existing difficulties. He attributed the war to the fanaticism,
zealotry, and bigotry of New England — to her temperance
lecturers, her tract distributers, her missionary societies.
Those, he argued, constituted one of the exciting causes of
the war, as well as Abolitionism. New England, he said,
assumed that all the rest of mankind, and especially the
Southern States, were living in ignorance of the knowledge
of God, and of the words and works of God ; and she felt
herself called on to be, not only the instructress of the world,
Irat guardian of the weak, and chastiser of the wicked.
Hence she sent her lecturers through the country, declaiming
against the immoralities of the South, when it was a statis-
tical fact that there was more immorality in herself, than in
any other portion of the Union. She scattered her religious
tracts through the South, not for the purpose of teaching
the reader how to know and love God, but, in a latent, in-
sidious manner, to teach the slaves how to become disobe-
dient and rebellious toward their masters. Such was the
conduct of New England, said " the preacher according to
Jeff Davis," toward the South, and it was such conduct
that resulted in provoking the South to resist the injuries
sought to be inflicted on her. There was not much Gospel,
but a considerable amount of fact in it, and the conclusions
drawn by the preacher accorded with the judgment of his
audience. As soon as the speaker had closed his discourse,
the Superintendent, who liked neither the religious nor
political sentiments of the preacher, called his attention to
another text of Scripture, which says, " I did not come to
present you with peace, but with a sword." The sermon or
discourse having been founded on the beautiful hymn of the
angels, " Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to
men of good will." And it was both to show there was a
contradiction in the word of God, and to confound the
preacher, that his attention was called to the other text.
But the preacher was not at all disconcerted. On the con-
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
339
trary, he turned the tables on the unbeliever, and instrument
of arbitrary power, showing him that the sword Christ re-
ferred to, was the word of God, which he was using with
effect, on just such persons as he and those in whose employ
he was. His audience approved of the castigation of the
Superintendent, and could scarcely refrain from applauding
him. Thus ended the " preaching of the Lord God, accord-
ing to Jeff Davis," on that Sunday. " The preaching of the
Gospel, according to Abe Lincoln," was done by an Aboli-
tionist named Spears, and his wife. Spears very charitably
and disinterestedly (he was looking after a chaplaincy, which
he soon after secured,) volunteered his Sunday services to
carry the glad tidings of the Gospel, according to the fashion
of the day, to the inmates of the Old Capitol.
He was accompanied by his wife — one of those lank, skinny,
cadaverous she-males, to which nature in some of her freakB
or blunders gave the sex of woman. Mrs. Spears not only
spoke through her nose, as most of her kind do, but when
she did speak, she put a finger to that organ, as if to make
her nasal twang more perfect in her estimation, and more
disagreeable to her hearers. She, of course, spoke first, and
it was with some difficulty that her audience refrained from
a burst of laughter, so ludicrous was her tout ensemble, and so
impudently presumptuous was her address. She spoke but
a few minutes, being satisfied, no doubt, that her efforts were
not appreciated. It was then the turn of her spouse, who
was an excellent match for her in every respect. He was an
Abolitionist and a preacher on the same principle that one
is a shoemaker or other tradesman — it paid. And, although
but a very indifferent exponent of either Abolitionism or
" the Gospel, according to Abe Lincoln," he made up in pre-
sumption what he lacked in ability. His sermon, if such a
farrago of cant and nonsense as he uttered could be so called,
was a mixture of scriptural quotations, jumbled together with-
out application, and of suggestions to the prisoners that there
was hope even for them in the kingdom of Christ. The
hypocritical knave ! just as if the meanest person confined
340
AMERICAN BASTILE.
there was not an angel of light compared to him, who had
volunteered to give spiritual comfort to the inmates of the
Bastile, only that attention might he attracted to his disin-
terested services, (?) and that he might he rewarded with
-what he was seeking to obtain — a chaplaincy in one of the
city hospitals.
As there were no guards in No. 10, considerable " skylark-
ing " was indulged in by the prisoners, in their endeavor to
while away the lonely and wearisome hours of their im-
prisonment; and it was on such occasions that the dance,
of which we are about to give an account, occurred. Being
unable to sleep for the vermin, Messrs. Sheward and Apple
proposed to Mr. Crolly to have a dance.
Mr. Crolly was an old bachelor, who had been engaged for
many years as a railroad contractor in Virginia. On the
breaking out of the war, the State of Virginia was largely in
his debt. It so happened that, at the time of the battles be-
fore Richmond, Mr. Crolly was at that place, endeavoring to
procure a settlement of his account with the State, which he
had effected so far as to ascertain how much was due him,
but did not get his money. After obtaining the settlement,
Mr. Crolly returned to his home, in Western Virginia, then in
possession of the Federal army, and recognizing the authority
of the Federal Government. Being an industrious man, he
determined to turn his attention to mercantile business ; and,
for that purpose, visited Baltimore, late in August, 1862, to
purchase goods. While there, he fell in with an Irishman,
a countryman of his, who, it turned out, was in the employ
of Baker, Chief Detective of the War Department. This
fellow soon found out that Crolly was a goose well feathered,
and, learning from hiin some of his antecedents, had him
arrested and taken before the Provost Marshal of Baltimore,
who, after hearing Mr. Crolly make an honest statement of
himself, discharged him. But his quondam friend, the de-
tective, determined that he should not get off in that way,
procured an order from Washington for his apprehension.
This time, he was in Baker's clutches, from whose grasp
OLD CAPITOL PRISON. 341
there was no escape, but by tbe relaxing power of money.
So Orolly was tbrust into the Old Capitol, and became an in-
mate of No. 10, where, from a fancied resemblance to General
Jackson, he was called by that name, and was so known by
his fellow-prisoners.
Mr Crolly was an old man, of not less than sixty years of
asje, but he was as straight as a shingle, and prided himself
on his many accomplishments, among which was that of
dancing.
" Can you dance, Jackson ? " inquired Apple, putting his
head out of his bunk, on the occasion referred to.
u Huh ! in faith, I can," was the reply.
* What can you dance ? " inquired the mischievous Apple.
" Anything at all you wish," replied Jackson.
By this time, every one in the room was sitting up in bed^
and a light had been struck.
" Sheward," inquired Apple, " can you whistle?"
" Yes," replied Sheward ; " what do you want me to do?"
" Jackson, here, says he can dance, and I just want to see
if he can. If you will whistle, I '11 beat 4 juber ' for him, and
we will see if he is playing off on us or not. Jackson," con-
tinued Apple, " come down here, and let us see what you
can do."
Jackson, when thus addressed, was in the bunk ovei
Apple, and without more ado, down he came, in his night-
shirt and drawers, straightened himself up, and took position
to begin. Sheward whistled, Apple beat "juber," Crolly
danced with a will, and the rest of the crowd roared with
laughter. Crolly 's feet were applied to the floor so vigor
ously, that the rickety old building fairly shook, and in a
few minutes, a crash was heard below.
" To bed with you, you devil ! " was shouted at Crolly; and
to bed he jumped, as nimbly as a youth of sixteen. He wa%
Bcarcely there before the corporal of the guard made his ap-
pearance at the door.
" What the h — 1 and d n are you fellows doing ap
here ? " inquired the irritated corporal.
342 AMERICAN BASTILE.
" ^Vhy, what 's the matter, corporal," said one of the
prisoners, in a voice as if he had just been aroused from
sleep.
" The whole ceiling under here has just fallen down on Col
onel Kohler, and he is d — d near dead."
" How did it happen, corporal ? " was the apparently anx-
ious inquiry.
" Happen," replied the corporal, " why, you fellows have
been making a noise up here ; that 's how it happened, and
there '6 the devil to pay."
" Corporal, just look here," said one. " Do you see this
man lying on the floor," pointing at the same time to TVar
ner Perry, whose bedstead was the floor. "Every time he
rolls over, this house shakes. Perry," said he, addressing
the gentleman on the floor, " won't you roll over, to let the
corporal see how it is ? "
Mr. Perry, who weighed fifty pounds under or over three
hundred, gave a roll which shook the building. "There,
corporal," continued the spokesman, " if anything has hap-
pened down stairs, it came of leaving that man sleep on the
floor."
u D — d if I don't believe it 's so," remarked the corporal
and immediately left, satisfied that nothing wrong had oc
curred in Xo. 10. The occupants were in glee at the decep
Hon practised on the corporal, but anxious to learn if any
harm had befallen Colonel Kohler. Their fears, however,
were allayed by his appearance among them the following
morning, by special permission. His first salute to them, on
entering the room, was : " AVhat the devil were you fellows
about last night ? " Seeing that he had escaped unhurt, they
told him the whole story^and he enjoyed it as much as any
of them.
From him they learned the extent of the catastrophe. It
appears that a large piece of the ceiling had fallen down, but
fortunately missed both the Colonel and a Major who waa
bis room-mate.
About the latter part of March, or the first of April, Mr
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
343
Jesse W Wharton, a young man of about twenty-six yeara
of age — son of Dr. Wharton, Professor of Agricultural
Chemistry in Prince George County, Maryland — was wan-
tonly murdered by Harrison Baker, a member of the 91st
Pennsylvania Regiment, then stationed as a guard at the Old
Capitol.
One of the regulations of the prison was that no one should
protrude his head or limbs beyond the line of the building
when looking from the windows. On this unfortunate occa-
sion, the deceased gentleman was standing at the window of
room Xo. 10, and was strictly within the prescribed limits,
when Baker, the sentry in the yard, very insultingly ordered
him away, " or he would blow his d — d head off." Mr.
Wharton, feeling indignant, made some rejoinder, then turn-
ing, paced the room several times, and quickly presented
himself at the window again, with his arms folded over his
breast, looking out. The sentinel (Baker) again, without
any reasonable provocation, ordered him away with a threat
Mr. Wharton, believing he was not infringing any of the
rules, paid no attention to the levelled musket in the guard's
hands, and kept his position in the room, his arms still folded,
when the sentry, with the most guilty thirst for the blood of
an unarmed prisoner, confined without the least chance of
escape, took deliberate aim and fired his piece : the minie
ball passing through the hand of the left arm, and the elbow
of the right, breaking the bone, and entering exactly at the
right nipple, passed out near the spine, going through the
lungs. Still erect, he gazed fixedly at his murderer a mo-
ment, then began to reel backward, when two of his room-
mates caught him in their arms and lowered him to the floor.
ITe remained quiet until the doctors came, when he called for
the Lieutenant (Mulligan) commanding the post, and ho
having come, "Wharton bid him face him, when he clearly
and distinctly, in the presence of the doctors and his fellow-
prisoners, accused Lieutenant Mulligan of having given the
order to fire — he having heard him — and branded him as his
murderer ; calling upon him to look upon a dying man, and
344
AMERICAN BASTILE.
hear his sentence from the chilling lips of his unoffending
victim. Whatever the officer thought, he exhibited no emo-
tion, but the most slavish fear, and then left the room with-
out a word, with Cain's brand upon him. The dying pris-
oner lingered eight hours from the time of his being shot,
(about 11 o'clock a.m.,) and was attended by his young wife
and two sisters, until his last gasp betokened him death's
prisoner, and the grave his next cell.
" Near, and more near
They bent, with pale inquiry, and close ear :
His eyes were shut — no motion — not a breath —
The gentle sufferer was at peace in death."
Mr. Wharton was formerly an officer in the United States
regular service, noted for the most undaunted courage, and
a liberality of heart and qualities of mind which had made
him numerous friends wherever he had sojourned. He re-
signed his commission in the Federal Army, and was conse-
quently arrested by the Government, and confined, for fear
of his going South. The sentinel who shot him was after-
ward promoted — a sad commentary on national honor, as
expounded by the Administration of Mr. Lincoln.
In the latter part of May, the same year, Mr. Harry Stew-
art, aged about twenty-three years, and a son of Dr. Frederick
Stewart, of Baltimore, was shot by a sentinel belonging to
the 86th Regiment New York Volunteers, under the follow-
ing circumstances. Mr. Stewart was a fine young gentleman,
of short, but robust stature, and of excellent qualities, and
having been to Richmond, was arrested on his return as a
spy. The charge being a serious one, he was anxious to
escape, and the sentry who shot him having several times
committed himself by introducing such remarks as would
lead the prisoners to believe him open for a bribe, Stewart
managed to converse with him, when the sentinel told him
positively that he would, for fifty dollars, connive at his
escape, and permit him to pass from the second-story window
to the pavement below, without molestation. For at least
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
345
a week this plan was discussed, giving the guard ample time
to revoke his bargain, if he desired ; but he still encouraged
Stewart in the attempt, and finally fixed the night himself,
be being on guard from 10 to 12, and from 4 to 6 o'clock.
Mr Stewart remained up all night waiting the signal of his
co-operator, which occurred about 4 o'clock a. m., the sentinel
calling him, and saying, " now was his time," and to make
haste. Stewart, trusting to the man's honesty of purpose,
swung himself, by a rope, from the window, and before ho
was three feet below the window, the sentry cried halt ! and
in less than a second, he fired his musket : the ball, penetrat-
ing the right leg below the knee, and passing through it,
completely splintered the bone, and passed out between the
knee and the hip on the inside. His friends pulled him into
the room again, and before the proper applications could be
administered, great loss of blood prostrated the sufferer
exceedingly. About 11 o'clock, the prison surgeon, Dr.
Stewart, car_ie, when he determined to amputate the leg,
there being no other hope. The operation was performed
before the system had rallied from the great nervous shock
sustained, and the loss of blood being severe, the patient
expired within an hour of the amputation. Chloroform
was administered. The fifty dollars were found in the young
man's pocket, wrapped up for the sentry ; and written on
the paper containing the money was the sentence : " This is
the money I promised you." The bribery was clearly proven,
the deliberation attending the attempt to murder was ap-
parent, and proof that the sentry called him was ready,
and yet the authorities did not even punish the guilty
sentinel, but actually put the villain on guard afterward.
The same sentinel deserted, and was brought back in Novem-
ber to the Old Capitol, a prisoner. He was one of the most
villanous-looking human beings that ever had the face and
head of a man.
It frequently happened that prisoners would be brought in
at night. When this was the case, the scene presented to
the new comer's vision was anything but prepossessing. Let
346
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the introduction be in No. 16, for the purpose of giving the
reader some idea of the scenes presented to the prisoner's
view. After passing through the ordeal of an examination
of baggage, etc., (if he was so fortunate as to have any,) in
the " Captain's office," he would be accompanied up stairs to
16, by probably a Sergeant, or Corporal of the guard, or pos-
sibly by a Lieutenant. The door of the room was unlocked
by the sentinel or guard, and the light of a candle, carried
by the officer, revealed to the inquisitive eye of the prisoner
his future quarters, containing, say, twenty persons. To the
right as he entered were three or four shakedowns on the
floor, each one occupied by a sleeper. To his left, and a little
farther on, and with just space enough to walk carefully be*
tween the sleepers, were two or three more of the victimf.
On tables in the centre of the room were two others. Thes.e
tables were used in the daytime for eating on and playing
cards. At night, a couple of straw ticks were laid on then .
and they were used by some of the prisoners as beds. Juit
beyond were the beds on the floor. Every foot, almost, of the
floor was occupied in that way, while most of the bunks, of
which there were twenty-one, were empty.
The officer would then hunt round, with the aid of Com-
missary Brown, or his assistant Charley, until he found a
place for the new comer to lie down, when he would leave
him to undergo a cross-examination by some of the sleepers,
who had been waked by the noise and confusion, and who
would proceed to put to him such queries as the following :
" Stranger, it is the custom of this place to inquire of every
new comer his name, place of residence, and for what he was
sent here. In accordance with this custom, although yea
may think the inquiry impertinent, I now ask your name.
Stranger gives his name.
a Will you now please to tell us where you are from ? "
Stranger complies.
" The next question we have to put, and to which we re*
quest an answer, is, what have you done? or what are yon
accused of having done?
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
347
This was generally a poser, as not one in a hundred knew
what the charge was upon which he had been arrested. So
some explanation was given, which generally led to such a
conversation between the new comer and the other prisoners,
as enabled them to form a pretty accurate opinion of the
character of their new associate.
There are but few circumstances in life, in which men
could be placed, where their character could be sooner esti-
mated, and properly appreciated, than in the Old Capitol.
Nature in man had more of its influence in such a place than
when he was at liberty, his good and ill qualities becoming
apparent at once ; and it was seldom that a proper estimate
was not made of a man in No. 16, on his first introduction.
The stranger having answered the queries put to him, if by
his deportment and manner he had shown himself to be
worthy of respect, he was asked if he had had supper? or, if it
was in the daytime, after the usual hours of meals, whether
he had had breakfast or dinner, as the case might be. If he
replied in the negative, Commissary Sheward rummaged his
larder, and generally produced some bread and butter, (the
latter purchased by the prisoners themselves), and possibly a
portion of meat, of which there was generally some on hand,
the purchase also of the prisoners, that furnished by the
Government being seldom eaten. This, and a general intro-
duction all round, concluded the initiatory ceremonies of a
new prisoner to No. 16 ; and thenceforward, the new comer
was treated as a brother victim of the despotism which then
reigned in Washington. The new comer was duly informed,
if he had only swindled the Government, and especiaPy of a
large sura, or run the blockade, or done anything else con-
trary to law which resulted in putting money in his pocket,
he was all right, and would soon be released — a part of the
money he had made would do it; but if he had dared to
think and say that his country's liberties were in dangei,
then God help him. Three months, at least, would not oa
piate his crime
348
AMERICAN BASTILE.
"Shun sycophants of all denominations,
All clever fellows with the mark of danger ;
Shut close your soul to all, and be alone."
The Administration, not content with having deprived its
victims of their rights, and with holding them writhing in its
tyrannical grasp, established a system of espionage over them.
This was done by means of detectives, who ostensibly appeared
among the other prisoners, as prisoners of state. One of these
detectives, it was understood, indeed, one of the officers of
the prison so stated, was in every room of the prison, and
that no word could escape his hearing, and no act his obser-
vation. Lieutenant Miller, who appeared to be, for a time,
the principal officer of the Old Capitol, next to Superin-
tendent Wood, made a boast, that there was nothing said or
done in any room of the prisons that he was not aware of.
This was, to some extent at least, true ; but in spite of the
espionage of these detectives, the prisoners would and did
Lave communication with each other, and once in a while
with friends.
It is unnecessary to enter into a description of a guard-
house. It is sufficient to say that it was a place of punish-
ment for drunken and refractory soldiers. It was used in the
Old Capitol for other purposes. A Confederate captain was
placed in the guard-house, contrary to the rules of war, by
Lieutenant Miller, who was in command of the guard at the
time. This was in September, 1862. But it was not prison-
ers of war alone, who were subjected to the indignity of the
guard-house. Prisoners of state, and other Federal prisoners,
were subjected to this punishment on the most frivolous
grounds.
A Mr. Hopkins, of Washington City, who was arrested and
sent to the Old Capitol for selling liquors contrary to the
orders of Military Governor Wads worth and Provost Mar-
shal Doster, was sent to the guard-house under the following
circumstances : Mr. Hopkins asked and obtained permission
to send for some brandy for his own use. The permission
OLD CAPITOL PRISON. 349
was granted, with the condition that he would place the
liquor in charge of the hospital steward, which condition
he complied with.
On the following morning, after receiving his liquor, he
went, according to agreement, to get a portion of it, when he
was informed by the steward that Lieutenant Miller had,
during the night, taken the liquor away, adding that the
Lieutenant had some brother officers for company, and as he
presumed Mr. Hopkins's liquor to be of good quality, he made
free to take it. As might be supposed, this information was
not very welcome, or pleasing intelligence to Mr. Hopkins,
who left the hospital immediately to return to his room.
On the way through the yard, he fell in with Lieutenant.
Miller, who bid Hopkins good morning very cordially and
familiarly. " Good morning, Lieutenant," returned Hopkinw,
who by this time had recovered his usual good humor. A
few more words passed between them, when Hopkins ven-
tured in the most familiar tone to remind the Lieutenant
that he had purloined his liquor, and spoke of his disappoint-
ment. It was not said reproachfully, for Hopkins cared
but little about it, as he would have given it freely if
asked, but as one familiar and even friendly with another
might intimate. Lieutenant Miller took the matter in
another light, however, and seized Mr. Hopkins by the collar
in the most ruffianly manner, dragged him to the guard-
house, and kept him there in filth and without food until
the next day. Every person in the building was indignant
at this outrage, and it would not have taken much provoca-
tion to have incited them to resist it.
Sundays were observed by refraining from the usual amuse-
ments which occupied the time and attention of the prisoners
on other days. On one occasion, (Sunday,) Mr. V. R. Jackson,
a resident of Washington, was looking through the window
in Ko. 16, when some acquaintances of his chanced to ride by
in a barouche. They recognized each other — they by bowing
to him, and he by touching his hat to them.
One of the guard, who was on the qui vive to observe the
850
AMERICAN BASTILE.
gestures of the passers-by, ordered the gentlemen in the
barouche to halt, which they, of course, did, not wishing to
have a bullet shot into it, which would have been the inevi-
table consequence of noncompliance with the order. The
party was compelled to alight from the vehicle, and enter the
prison, when they, no doubt, to exculpate themselves, in-
formed Lieutenant Miller that they had only bowed in return
to a salute from their friend, Mr. Jackson. Lieutenant Miller
started up stairs immediately, accompanied by a corporal.
He inquired who it was that had made a sign of recognition
to those gentlemen who had just been arrested by the guard.
No one answered at first ; when he directed his inquiry to
Mr. Jackson, asking that gentleman if his name was not
Jackson, and if he was not a clerk in the Post-Office. Mr.
Jackson replied in the affirmative. The Lieutenant then
asked him if he had not taken his hat off to the gentlemen
in the barouche. Jackson replied that he was not certain
that he had done that, but admitted that he had touched his
hat to the gentlemen, they being acquaintances and friends
of his, and he was not aware that it was forbidden. " Take
him to the guard-house," commanded Miller to the corporal,
and Jackson was seized suddenly by the corporal, and de-
tained until bedtime, and would probably have been kept
there all night, had it not been for the solicitations of his
fellow-prisoners and the interposition of the Superintendent.
Frank P. Blair, Jr., a son of General Frank P. Blair, Jr.,
of Missouri, was put in the guard-house for going into the
room next to No. 16, and was sent there another time foi
making a little more noise than Lieutenant Miller thought
it right for a prisoner to do. It was small business for Lieu-
tenant Miller to outrage the " private and hallowed " feelings
of gentlemen who happened to be placed in his power, by
placing them in the guard-house for bowing to a friend on
the streets of Washington through the barred windows of
the Old Capitol. Petty tyranny, exercised by a shoulder-
strapped official, was never better exemplified than it was in
several instances in this prison, where, beside the cases re-
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
351
ferred to above, two insane men (one, a man formerly well
known in New York in connection with the anti-rent excite*
ment, by the name of Bnrrell,) were repeatedly placed in the
guard-house, not to prevent them from doing mischief, but as a
punishment for some trifling offence.
Burrell, better known in the prison as General Thunder-
bolt, imagined himself to be the person designated by Provi-
dence to command the Federal Army, and lead it to victory.
Under the influence of this hallucination he had sought an
interview with President Lincoln, at his country residence,
the Soldiers' Home, and being taken into custody by some
one, the President and his friends took it into their frightened
heads that Burrell was an assassin, and so the poor lunatic
was sent down to the Old Capitol. It appeared that he had
been to Richmond, which circumstance gave color to the
accusation of evil designs upon the President.
Whenever Burrell happened to be in the yard at recreation
time, he was the centre of attraction. Insane as he was, he
was as caustic in his sarcasms and witty in repartee as if his
intellect were perfectly sound.
One day, Lieutenant Miller inquired of him what he
thought of the Rebel soldiers in comparison with those of
the Federal Army. Said Miller : " Don't you think, General,
that you could whip them Rebels yourself? "
" Yes," said General Thunderbolt, " of course I could ! But
I '11 tell you what, Lieutenant, if the Federal Army were all
like you, one Rebel could whip every five of you."
Of course this disparaging compliment, albeit applied by
a crazy man, could not be brooked with impunity. So the
poor " General " was sent to the guard-house.
There was another crazy fellow, an Irishman in appearance,
who any one might see at a glance was insane. He was an
inoffensive creature, yet this poor demented fellow and Thun-
derbolt were oftener in the guard-house, than any other pris-
oners in the establishment. It was purely an exercise of
brute tyranny to send either of them to such a place.
The prisoners generally in the Old Capitol were permitted
352
AMERICAN BASTILE.
to spend a half-hour at each mealtime in the yard, or rathei
so much of that time as was not occupied in eating. The
prisoners who took their meals in their room could so arrange
the time of eating as to take the whole half-hour allowed in
the yard in recreation : most of the time, however, there was
no room in it to indulge in any exercise. It was full of tents
and prisoners, both Federal and Confederate, so that all the
recreation which could be indulged in, was for them to gather
in a crowd, and elbow their way through the throng. Even
that was made disagreeable to them by being dogged by the
detectives and spies, who were ever on the alert to listen tc
their conversation and watch their actions. No sooner would
a few prisoners stand in a group to converse with each other,
than one of these detectives, pretending to be a prisoner like
the others, would approach, and manifest the greatest poss.-
ble interest in the subject of the conversation. If it hajv-
pened to be on the affairs of the Government, or the state c f
the country, or the outrageous course of the Administration,
as their conversations often were, then the spies became trebly
interested.
They were sure to put in a word which was calculated to
draw out others. Sometimes one would forget for the mo-
ment that he was a prisoner, and feeling as an American free-
man, would give such expression to his emotions and convic-
tions as would thrill his audience, and load the detective with
valuable information for headquarters. Of course, every con-
versation of that kind was carefully noted, and those who
had participated in it were more vigilantly observed. Dur-
ing the month of October, and up to the 22d of November,
1862, (when the discharge of the political prisoners occurred,)
the yard was comparatively clear of rubbish, so that the
prisoners had, during the half-hour of time allowed them, an
opportunity to exercise. This they did generally in pairs,
one object of which was to avoid the detectives.
In this way, the prisoners, who were well acquainted with
each other, would take what was called their recreation.
Those who were not so fortunate as to have acquaintances,
OLE CAPITOL PRISON.
353
fell of course into the hands of the detectives, who tl rough
them found out what they could of those whom they could
not so familiarly approach. About the latter end of October,
several balls and chains were placed in the yard. Their
appearance was regarded, by most of the prisoners, as
significant, nothing of the kind having been there before.
For some days, no one ventured near these instruments of
punishment, their very appearance in such a place being so
suggestive of disagreeable emotions, as to keep off the most
reckless. At length, however, some of the younger prisoners
ventured to approach and handle them, and soon after they
were used by the crowd for gymnastic exercise. The yard
recreation, though monotonous, had nevertheless some variety,
as there was something new occurring every day. Often, dur-
ing the time of recreation, new prisoners were brought in.
The whole crowd would gather round the stranger to learn
the news, and for the time being the scene would be quite
animated. If the new comers happened, as was often the
case, to be prisoners of war, more reliable information was
obtained from them of the result of the battles in which they
participated, than the news agent was allowed to publish.
The amusements of the prison proper were but few and
simple. Most of the prisoners played cards all day long, and
until roll-call, at nine o'clock at night. The favorite game
was bluff, or poker, and the stakes or chips were one-cent
pieces. It was as amusing to a looker-on to see with what
earnestness and feeling the game was played, as it was to the
players themselves. They would have had nothing to keep
them from thinking of the outrages to which they were sub-
jected, had it not been for card-playing. Whoever invented
cards, no matter how much they have been the means of
doing mischief, contributed to the gratification of his fellow-
beings in no small degree. And that there is amusement in
them for the most enlightened and cultivated intellect, as
there is for the simplest and most ignorant of mankind,
cannot be questioned.
L-e-t-t-e-r-s ! Once a day, the Superintendent, or, in his
23
3/34
AMERICAN BASTILE.
absence, Lieutenant Miller, called at the rooms of the prison
for letters. When the Superintendent came round, every ono
crowded about him, each urging some request or other. One,
that a letter might he allowed to reach his wife ; another,
that his might be sent, for certain, to his mother ; and so on
through the whole number. The Superintendent invaria-
bly did his best to have the prisoners' letters passed through
the hands of the Provost Marshal, or Judge Advocate, as
the case might be. Every letter written by the prisoners
was handed to the Superintendent or his deputy, indorsed,
except letters to high officials, which might be sealed. The
letters were examined in the prison, and by some one in the
office of the Marshal, or the Judge Advocate, so that it de-
pended on the caprice of those officials, or of their clerks,
whether any letter should ever reach its destination or not.
Of course, many letters, of the greatest importance to the
prisoners and their families, never reached the Post Office
and it was more by the attention and favor of Superintendent
Wood that letters ever reached their destination, than it was
from the attention given to them by any other person con-
nected with the Government. Hence it was no wonder that
the prisoners looked more to the Superintendent, than to any
one else, for the favor, yes, the favor, of having their letters
sent to their families. Enter, reader, one of the Old Capitol
Prison rooms, in imagination, when the Superintendent called
for " letters,'' announcing his presence for the purpose of
being the bearer of messages, which told mothers, wives, and
children at home, how fared the son, husband, or father, in
the Bastile. No sooner would Mr. Wood enter the room
than a rush would be made for him, by from half a dozen to
twenty persons, each one eager to have the first chance to
impress him with the importance of what he wanted to com-
municate, and to appeal to his feelings, as a man, in behalf
«f the missive he held in his hand. " Now, Wood, I am
sure my letters have not reached home,', one would urge in
a voi'je modulated to earnest pathos, "or if they have been
eonf, their letters to me have been suppressed. Won't you
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
355
see whether there are any letters for me at the Provost Mar-
shal's office ?" As likely as not the Superintendent would
reply : " There are several letters for you at the office of the
Provost Marshal, hut they are not examined : some of the
Miss Nancy clerks up there have become so important, in
their own estimation, since they have got into the position
of examining letters, that they 'take on airs/ and do as they
please. I cannot help it if your letters are not forwarded,
or if letters do not reach yon." "We know that, Mr,
"Wood," several voices would exclaim in concert. " But," one
would continue, " it is hard to he deprived of the privilege
of hearing from home ; and it is equally an outrage to our
families to he allowed no opportunity to hear from us while
we are confined in a place like this." " I know it is hard,'
would he the admission of the Superintendent; "but you fel-
lows had no business to be Locofocos." This, of course, would
be said in a jest, so far as the Superintendent was concerned,
but it was no joke for the prisoners. Their crime was truly
that they were what Mr. Wood had called them — "Locofocos'
— and for that they were kidnapped and imprisoned, and
deprived of the privilege of hearing from their families, ex-
cept at the caprice of " Miss Nancy " clerks in the office of
the Provost Marshal, at Washington. "Wood, here is a
letter — a very short one — containing nothing but to say that
I am well : cannot this be sent to my wife, without its being
subject to the risk of being destroyed, in the office of the
Provost Marshal?" Such would often be the appeal of a
prisoner. Mr. Wood's reply would be as follows: "I cannot
send any letters for you, except through the Provost Marshal,
or Judge Advocate Turner ; but I will do my best to have
your letter examined and passed."
"Here ii a business letter, Wood," another prisoner would
urge. "It is of the most vital importance to me and my
family, that it should reach its address as soon as possible :
why cannot it be sent immediately?" "That I cannot an-
swer," woui'i be the reply of the Superintendent. " I am here
to carry out the orders of the Government, and not to do my
356
AMERICAN BASTIi E.
own will. The Government, or rather the officers of tne
Government, have their own way of doing things, and 1
must either obey their orders, or give up my place." " "We
would all be sorry that you did that," would be the sincere
declaration of the prisoners. "If you were not here. Wood,
we should not receive one in ten of our letters, nor would
our friends know whether we were dead or alive."
The very first letter sent out by one of the prisoners, called
forth the following decree :
"Headquarters Provost Marshal's Office,
"Washington, D. C, 1862.
".Nothing but family and business letters are allowed to pass.
W. Y. C. Murphy."
This signature had something affixed to it, of which no
one could make any sense, but it was probably designed to
show that this Murphy was a person of authority. Whether
he was or was not, it is very certain that he assumed a great
deal in opening letters and papers, and throwing them aside
or destroying them, if they contained anything which he
deemed objectionable to his masters. Shortly after this, the
same prisoner was served with a notice to the effect that, if
his wife did not write her name in full, her letters would be
suppressed.
Scenes, similar to those described between the Superinten-
dent and the prisoners, were of daily occurrence.
Immediately after the battles fought in the vicinity of
Washington, in August, 1862, the city was placed under
martial law. The sale of liquor was prohibited by the Mili-
tary Governor, under penalty of confiscation. Here was a
favorable opportunity for the detectives of the War Depart-
ment to ply their vocation, and make a harvest. The plan
of operation mapped out was for some one of the number,
who was best acquainted with a liquor-dealer or saloon-keeper,
marked as a victim, to go and procure from him, if possible,
something to drink. If successful in the application, no
matter whether on the score of old acquaintance, familiarity
OLD CAPITOL PRISON.
357
or friendship, information was to be filed fort h with before
the Provost Marshal, and then the liquors would be seized.
Tins programme was carried into effect, and most, if net ail
the liquors seized, were placed under the control of the Pro-
vost Marshal, better known as Detective Baker. Some time
after the promulgation of this military order, a Mr. Spahr
was arrested in Washington City. He suggested to the
officer, a detective who had him in custody, that it would
not be amiss for them to go and get something to drink, bo-
fore he was taken to the Old Capitol, as it was not likely
that while there he would be allowed to indulge in that way.
The officer thought the suggestion a good one, and consented
to the proposal. Spahr, not wishing to be the means of ac-
quainting the detective with any of the places known to him,
where the military order respecting the sale of liquors was
violated, suggested that the officer indicate a place where
they could be accommodated, with which suggestion the
officer complied very cheerfully. The two went to find a
place of refreshment, and, to the surprise and amusement of
Mr. Spahr, he was taken into a room back of Provost Mar-
shal Baker's office, where there was a bar in full blast, well
supplied with liquors, which, by the way, as Spahr ascertained,
had been confiscated from the saloon-keepers in Washing-
ton, who had violated the order of Military Governor Wads-
worth. Mr. Spahr paid the reckoning at the Provost Mar
shaPs bar, and went to the Old Capitol, full of meditations
on the system of government introduced by Mr. Lincoln.
An investigation into the detective business of the War
Department would reveal such flagitious violations of law
decency, and personal rights, and such corrupt and out
rageous practices, having for their sole object the gratifica
tion of the lust of avarice, if not the lust of the flesh, as
would place the Government, as administered ander Abra-
ham Lincoln, in disparaging comparison with the most un
principled of any nation, extant or extinct.
J. W. PACKARD.
J"W. PACKARD was born in North Bridgewatjr, Mas*
• sachusetts, in 1833. He resided in Philadelphia from
1858 until 1860, when he went to Richmond, Virginia, and
was engaged as a manufacturer of sewing-machine needles.
On the 17th of September, 1862, he received permission to
return North. Before he left, however, he was arrested by
the city authorities as a " suspicious character,'' but after
an examination, was discharged. The Confederate Govern-
ment, at the time he left, issued passes to aliens only, unless
it was shown that the person wishing to leave would do
nothing detrimental to the " cause" of the South.
Through the influeuce of some Confederate officials he
succeeded in obtaining a permit to pass through the lines,
and immediately availed himself of the opportunity to leave
the Confederacy.
On the way to his home, he stopped in Philadelphia, and
while there, was arrested by Detective Benjamin Franklin.
He was deprived of his money, valuables, and clothing, and
incarcerated in Moyamensing Prison. He was not informed
why he had been arrested, nor permitted to see any of his
friends.
The jailer (Money) brought a member of the Philadelphia
bar to see him. He represented that he could, with a writ
of habeas corpus, obtain his release, as he was a Republican ;
and thought that if the case came into court, he, the pri-
soner, would be discharged, as there was nothing against
him sufficient to justify his confinement.
Mr. Packard told him that if he would get him out, ho
would willingly give him fifty dollars for his services ; but
if he calculated to impose upon him, he would stay there
358
J. W. PACKARD.
359
until his friends worked up his case, and obtained his re-
lease. This was on the second day of his confinement ; and
the attorney, at the close of the conversation detailed above,
agreed to find out the charges against him, and meet him
the next morning. Shortly after this interview, Detective
Franklin, with an assistant, appeared at the prison, and in-
formed him that he was to go to Fort Lafayette, and ordered
him to get ready at once. This was easily done, as the detec-
tive was in possession of his travelling bags containing his
clothing.
Arriving in New York, he was again incarcerated over
night, in one of the city prisons, and the following day re-
moved to Fort Lafayette, where he was kindly greeted by
the occupants, who did all that gentlemen could to alleviate
the burden of his imprisonment.
The second day of his confinement he was taken sick, and
sent for the surgeon in charge of the Fort, but he had no
time or inclination to attend him. One of his room-mates
suggested to him to request the services of a medical gentle-
man who was in the same casemate. This gentleman attended
him faithfully, find relieved him of his sickness.
After being immured for ten days, an order came for
his release. On applying for his money in Philadelphia,
he was told a bill must be paid before it could be restored to
him. Mr. Packard, knowing of no services rendered him,
demanded to see the bill, and was shown one of three hun-
dred dollars. .After some disputation, two hundred and fifty
dollars in gold was retained. Another bill for two days' board at
Moyamensing Prison was presented him, which he paid, at the
rate of four dollars per diem. There was no cause assigned
for his arrest, and he certainly never did anything to justify
it. Mr. Packard now resides at Bridge water, Massachusetts,
and is still a manufacturer of sewing-machine needles.
CHARLES MACGILL, M.D.
DR. CHARLES MACGILL is a native of the city of
Baltimore, and came of distinguished ancestry. His
grandfather on the maternal side was Thomas Jennings, who
filled the position of King's Attorney under the Colonial Gov-
rnment of Maryland. His great-grandfather on the pater-
nal side was the Rev. James Macgill, from Perth, Scotland,
who settled in Maryland in 1728, and was the first Rector of
Queen Caroline Parish, Elkridge, Anne Arundel County,
Maryland. Charles Macgill, the subject of this sketch, was
educated at the old Baltimore College, Samuel Knox and
Gerandine, Professors : the wife and daughter of the latter
lost their lives by the burning of the Marshall Theatre, Rich-
mond, Virginia, in 1811, an event still remembered by many.
Completing his collegiate studies in 1823, he entered the
Dflice of Dr. Charles G. Worthington, of Elkridge, Maryland,
where he remained two years, and acquired much knowledge
m medicine and surgery by association with that noted
savant. Subsequently he became a student of the Baltimore
Hospital, in charge of Dr. Collin Mackenzie, Sen., and the
private student of Dr. John B. Davidge, founder of the
University of Maryland, and its first Proctor. Young Mac-
gill graduated with high honors in the University of Mary-
land, in 1828. He at once entered upon the practice of his
profession at Hagerstown, Maryland, in connection with his
brother, Dr. William D. Macgill. This association continued
up to the fall of 1828, when he removed to Martinsburg, Vir-
ginia. In 1829, he was united in marriage to the daughter
of Richard Ragan, Esq., of Hagerstown, Maryland. His
brother William djing in 1833, he settled permanently in
Hagerstown, where his many accomplishments of head and
3C0
CHARLES MACGILL, M. D.
361
neart won for him high position as a leading citizen. He led
or assisted in many public undertakings. He assisted in
establishing the "Hagerstown Mail," in 1828, and subse-
quently that of the "Martinsburg Republican." He was
appointed by President Van Buren a Visitor to West Point,
in 1839, and was, in 1840, a State Elector on the ticket of
Martin Van Buren, in the Presidential contest of that year
He was appointed by Governor Philip Francis Thomas, Lieu-
tenant-Colonel of the 24th Regiment, Maryland Militia, and
upon the death of Colonel Robertson, then commanding, Gov-
ernor Thomas G. Pratt commissioned him Colonel. His rank
was afterward raised by Governor Ligon to that of Major-
General of the Maryland Militia, Fourth Division. For seve-
ral years, Dr. Macgill resided quietly at Hagerstown, devoting
his time and talents to his increasing practice, and the care
and education of a large family.
In 1861, when the war broke out, Major Swan, a gallant
son-in-law of Dr. Macgill, left for Virginia. His movement
caused the family to be suspected. Each male member of it
was constantly under the surveillance of Federal spies, and
numerous indignities were offered their persons and property.
Op to this time, Dr. Macgill had returned good for evil.
In 1861, when General Patterson's army was encamped at
Hagerstown, and some of his soldiers were injured by an
accident, the Doctor attended them in a surgical capacity,
and exerted his skill for their relief. At the same time, his
residence was entered and searched, his private papers and
correspondence violated, the bureaus and trunks of his wife
and daughters broken open, and the sanctity of his home
generally invaded, without warrant or authority. Notwith-
standing these outrages upon an honorable gentleman and
las family, a short time afterward, when General Patterson
advanced into Virginia, leaving many of his sick in hospital at
the Female Academy in Hagerstown, he requested Dr. Mac-
gill to attend them, a request with which the Doctor readily
complied, daily ministering to their necessities.
About this time, Colonel Ely, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,
3G2
AMERICAN BASTILK
was captured in Virginia. A few days after the departure
of Patterson's army, the Doctor was coming out of a house
where he had been visiting a patient, when he was sur-
rounded by a squad of soldiers, the Captain of which said he
had orders to arrest him as a hostage for Colonel Ely, to be
held until that officer should be given up by the " Rebels."
The Doctor, with a good deal of hauteur and composure,
remarked : " Why, gentlemen, I am a Major-General ; you
cannot take and hold me for a Colonel. " He was soon
released. General Patterson returned from Virginia to
Maryland, and on the evening of the 30th of September,
1861, Macgill was at home with his family, when the rat-
tling of sabres and the tramp of soldiers were heard.
In a moment, a squad of soldiers entered his house, filed
into the parlor, and stood in the presence of the man the
military authorities professed to fear "more than any other
in the State of Maryland." Said the leader of the squad:
"Dr. Macgill, you are my prisoner." " By whose order ? "
inquired the Doctor. The reply was : " By order of Colonel
Kenly, who has instructions from the Secretary of State."
The following is a copy of the order :
(Indorsed.)
" Governor Seward, confidential letter. Rec'd Sept. 28th. Ans.
Sept. 29th. Orders given to Colonel Kenly, Williamsport, Sept
29th."
(Copy.)
"Department of State,
Washington, September 21, 1861.
" Major-Gen eral N. P. Banks, Darnestown, Md. :
u General : If you can arrest Dr. Charles McGill, of Hagerstown,
Maryland, or cause him to be arrested and sent to Fort M^Henry,
lo be thence conveyed to Fort Lafayette, let it be done.
" I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
(Signed) William H. SEW>*u>.n
(Indorsed.)
"Colonel Kenly, on the arrest of Dr. Macgill, answered Oct
Ed, same day of its receipt."
CHARLES MACGILL, M. D.
363
(Copy.)
" Headquarters, Williamsport,
September 30, 1861.
* Major-General N. P. Banks, Commanding Division :
" General: Dr. Macgill is now a prisoner in my camp. If one
man can be dangerous, he is the man. I shall send him direct
to Fort McHenry by Captain Waltemeyer, of my regiment. He
will be there to-morrow night.
" "With the highest regard,
" John E. Kenlt, Col. 1st Md. Keg't."
The within-named Waltemeyer, who carried out this order,
had been tried and convicted in the Baltimore County Crim-
inal Court for whipping a woman, afterward pardoned and com-
missioned by Governor Hicks.
Mr. Seward's " little bell " had been touched again, and
Dr. Charles Macgill was the victim this time. A detailed
squad of eighty-five Pennsylvania Home Guards, under the
command of one Captain Saul, surrounded his house.
The Doctor accepted the situation, recognized himself a
prisoner of state, and prepared to accompany his captors.
His wife being ill up stairs, he asked permission to visit and
bid her farewell. Not supposing that such a humane request
would be denied him, he had started on his way when the
command was given to " stop him." A number of privates
now advanced to seize the prisoner, when he turned upon them
and dashed two of them down the stairway. This provoked a
desperate struggle. Dr. Charles Macgill, Jr., now came to the
assistance of his father. Miss Macgill, a daughter, who had
just returned from riding, and was equipped in a riding habit,
and carried in her hand an ivory-headed riding-whip, came
to the rescue and bravely defended her brother, who had re-
ceived a sabre-cut in the neck. At this juncture the soldiers
drew their sabres and revolvers on Miss Macgill, and but for the
timely interference of Captain Saul, the consequences might
have been not only serious but tragical. The Captain ordered
the arrest of both father and son, and they were carried
364
AMERICAN BASTILE.
away to Camp Banks, near Williamsport. Saul reported
with his prisoners to Colonel Kenly, commanding, who, swell-
ing wi th importance, ordered the release of the son. as his
arrest was not contemplated in the order. Dr. Macgill was
then quartered in a tent which was guarded, the guards keep-
ing a light burning all night.
The next morning he was placed in an army wagon and
taken back to Hagerstown. The military must have feared
an attempt at rescue, for the road for six miles was lined with
blue uniforms, and extra precautions taken against a dash
from the " Rebels " of Hagerstown and Washington County.
At Hagerstown, the distinguished state prisoner was received
by another body of soldiery, and being placed on the cars,
was taken to Chambersburg, and thence to Baltimore. At
Baltimore, a company of soldiers was in waiting at the depot,
the phantom of a Rebel rescue having likewise disturbed the
imagination of the military commanders at that place. A
coach was in waiting also, and Dr. Macgill, being hastily
hustled into a seat with the guards, was driven off to Fort
McIIenry.
Here he was confined in a cell next to that occupied by
" Garrona " Thomas, and Messrs. Glenn and Johnson, of Bal-
timore.
Colonel Morris, the commandant of the Fort, refused to
permit his new prisoner to dine with these gentlemen, but
left him in solitary confinement. He permitted his friends to
visit him, however, and he was treated kindly. The com-
mandant was by nature and education austere, and a stickler
for rules and discipline. After five days' imprisonment in
Fort McIIenry, the steamer from Annapolis, with the Hat-
teras prisoners, touched at the Fort, and he was booked for
Fort Hamilton, New York Harbor, and thence was trans-
ferred to Fort Lafayette, where he found congenial compan-
ionship in the company of many other state prisoners from
Maryland, other States of the United States, and the then
Confederate States. Lieutenant Wood, the officer in com-
mand at Fort Lafayette, was one of those who held his ap»
CHARLES MAOGILL, M. D.
365
pointment through the favor of Mrs. Lincoln, the "Rosy
Empress " of the White House. He had shown her and lief
family great attention on the occasion of the memorable trip
from Harrisburg to Washington, before the inauguration of
Lincoln, and he received his reward in the appointment to
the command of a Government Bastile. "Wood was a man
of cruel heart, low instincts, and despicably mean principles.
About the last of October, 1861, the Hatteras officers and
state prisoners, including Dr. Macgill, Commander Barron,
and others, were transported from Fort Lafayette to Fort
Warren.
The steamer " State of Maine," on board of which tho
prisoners were shipped, was not seaworthy, having been pro-
nounced so by Captain Berry, of the steamer Columbia.
For the eleven hundred men on board, the provisions were
insufficient in quantity, and were unwholesome in quality.
They consisted of rancid pork, hardtack, and salt meat.
When well at sea, a plot was entered into among the prisoners
to rise upon the guard, overpower them, together with the
officers and crew, take possession of the steamer, and run her
into Halifax. No doubt was entertained about the success
of the seizure ; but when it was considered among the leaders,
Dr. Macgill included, that the vessel was unsea worthy, that
she was neither coaled nor provisioned for such a voyage, the
"State of Maine" proceeded to her original destination, Fort
Warren, in Boston Harbor, her officers none the wiser of her
contemplated change of course and commanders.
Colonel Dimick commanded at Fort Warren. He was a
humane gentleman, and a great favorite with all the pris-
oners. He was taken by surprise, and was totally unprepared
for the accommodation or entertainment of the large number
of additional guests so unceremoniously thrust upon his
hospitality by the United States Government. The conse-
quence was, the prisoners were shut up on board the " State
of Maine " until late the next day. In the mean time prepara-
tions having been made in the Fort, they were landed. The
Doctor was quartered in a lower casemate, without windows
366
AMERICAN BASTILE.
and though he was repeatedly offered hetter quarters by
Colonel Dimick, he refused to vacate this dreary cell, for fear
he might incommode some poor sickly fellow, he being hale
and in excellent health. His cell-mates were Dr. Jeffreys, of
Norfolk, Dr. Lindsay, Dr. Page, Thomas W. Hall of Balti-
more, Wyatt, and others, all of them most companionable
gentlemen.
At this period there existed a great deal of sickness, espe-
cially among the Southern prisoners, and through the kind-
ness of Colonel Dimick, Dr. Macgill was permitted, at the
request of the sick, to take charge of their cases, the post
supplying the medicine. Prison life is monotonous at best,
and employment brings relief to mind and body. Dr. Mac-
gill entered upon the duties with devotedness and alacrity.
He did not wait to be summoned to the cot of the sick, but
went the rouuds of the sick-ward both day and night. His
extensive knowledge of medicine made him a general favorite,
and he was frequently called in by the post physician for
consultation, particularly in dangerous cases.
At Fort Lafayette the Doctor was offered his release, and
the largest liberty, upon the single condition of his taking
the oath, but it was declined. At Fort Warren the same
offer was renewed, and refused, as before, only more em
phatically. When his imprisonment at Fort Warren had
lengthened into the eighth or ninth month, Judge Pierpont
and General Dix paid a visit to the Fort. Dix magnani
mously informed Macgill he could leave upon giving his
parole of honor, whereupon the General was informed by the
unyielding prisoner of state, that he would neither degrade
himself in his own estimation, nor disgrace his record in the
eyes of his people. lie was a Southern man, was born such,
and as such he preferred to die without a stain upon his sou!
in the next world, or his memory in this. This Reman firm
ness and adhesion to principle astonished Dix, who indulged
in some apologetic remarks concerning the course of the
Government. "There is nothing against you, Doctor, it is
CH/ARLES MACGILL, M. D.
367
true," be continued, "but you have been arrested, and are
now held by the Government, and as this has engendered
some hard feelings, perhaps, we must hold you still." It was
upon the occasion of this interview that the Doctor discovered
upon whose accusation he had been arrested. It was upon
the oath of three men, John Schleigh, Postmaster at Hagers-
town, appointed by Lincoln as a reward for the betrayal of
his neighbors, John Cook, a blacksmith, and one Robinson,
a shoemaker. This was the first knowledge the Doctor had
received as to who were his accusers, or to whom he was in
debted for his fourteen months' enforced sojourn in Forte
Lafayette and Warren.
Meanwhile, Dr. Macgill continued his philanthropic work at
Fort Warreu, in the visitation and treatment of the sick, with
the most gratifying results. On the occasion of a large body
of exchanged officers leaving the Fort, they drew up and
placed in the hands of the Doctor a most honorable testimo-
nial, recognizing in affecting terms his worth, skill, and
kindness. This testimonial, engrossed on broad parchment,
was signed by every officer who experienced medical treat-
ment at his hands. This certificate, framed, now hangs in
the Doctor's office, and he takes commendable and honest
pride in calling to it the attention of visitors. We present
the reader with a subjoined copy :
" Fort Warren, Mass.,
July 31, 18G2.
To Charles Macgill, M.D., of Hagerstown, Md., now a Prisoner
of State at Fort Warren :
"Your fellow-prisoners, confined with you for many months in
this Bastile, have been too often indebted to your professional
skill for relief from painful, and, in many cases, most dangerous
illness; and in their social intercourse with you have found so
much to admire, that they cannot, now on the eve of departure
for their beloved country, part without retui ning thanks and
giving expression to their grateful acknowlei jgments of your
disinterested conduct.
868
AMERICAN BASTILE.
" Hoping that you may be sp(
ures of your happy home,
J. C. Brown, Col. 3d Tenu. Vol.
J . E. Bailey, Col. 49th Tenn. Y.
E. W. Gautt, Brig.-Gen., C. S. A.
W. T. Glassell, Lieut., C. S. N.
J. K. Mitchell, Comdt., C. S. N.
A. M. De Brie, Lieut., C. S. N.
H. Meyer, Paymaster, C. S. N.
A. Heinman, Col. 10th Tenn. Y.
J. Jackson, Lt.-Col. 27th Ala. Y.
R. K. McGavock, Lt.-Col. 11th
Tenn. Yol.
Ed. C. Cook, Col. 32d Tenn. Y.
Lloyd Tilghman, Brig.-Gen., C.
S. A.
W. E. Baldin, Col. 14th Miss.
Yol.
W. M. Yorhies, Col. 48th Tenn.
Yol.
Alex. I. Brown, Col. 55th Tenn.
Yol.
W. L. Lowell, Lieut.-Col. 48th
Tenn. Yol.
F. M. Boone, Lieut.-Col. 26th
Miss. Yol.
J. M. Wills, Lieut.-Col. 3d Miss.
Yol.
S. Baron, Flag Officer, C. S. N.
R. Fargutaison, Col. 41st Tenn.
Yol.
A. A. Hughes, Col. 27th Ala.
Yol.
J. C. Cranberry, 11th Ya. Inf.
M. M. Lellard, Col. 26th Tenn.
Yo1
N*. F. Cheairs, Maj. 3d Tenn.
Yol.
jdily restored to the quiet pleas
" We are your friends.
Jas. I. Odell, Col. 26th Tenn. Y.
G. Gautt, Lt.-Col. 9 Tenn. Yol
H. B. Lyon, Lieut.-Col. 8th Ky
Yol.
Saml. K. Hays, Q. M., C. S. A
Robt. G. McClure, Lieut.-Col
41st Tenn. Yol.
John Gregg, Col. Texas Yol.
L. J. Clay, C. S. A., Gen. Buck
ner's Staff.
A. G. Scott, Capt. and Q. M,
14th Miss. Yol.
W. L. Doss, Maj. 14th Miss. Y.
C. B. Alexander, Col. 2d Mo.
S. G.
J. L. Gavin, Maj. 3d Ala. Batt.
F. G. Miller, Maj. 41st Tenn.
Yol.
W. F. Singleton, C. S. A., Ky
W. E. Rogers, Maj. 3d Minn. Y
R. W. Johnson, Adj. 15th Ark.
Yol.
Thelson Youngblood, Lieut. C.
S. Navy.
John B. Sloan, Lt. and Adj. S.
C. Rifles.
J. Wilkinson, C. S. N.
Jos. W. Boyle, C. S. N.
Thos. H. Handy, Lt. Crescent
Art.
Alex. Mack, 3d Louis. Bat.
P.LYNCiiLEE,Maj.l5th Ark.R.Y.
G. Waggoner, Lt.-Col. 10th Lou
W. F. Estip, Capt. 2d Ky. Yols.
H. C. Lockhart, Lt.-Col. 50tb
Tenn. Yol
CHARLES MACGILL, M. D.
R. H. Simpson, Capt. nth Ya
Infantry.
J. N. Galliqher, Priv. Sec. Gen.
Buckner.
W. W. Mackall, Brig.-Gen., C.
S. A.
J. Turner, Maj. 30th Tenn. Yol.
A. S. Hamilton, Lieut.-Col. 1st
Miss. Yol.
S. F. Parker, Maj. 26th Miss. Y.
A. Glaiden, Lt.-Col. 18th Tenn.
Yol.
H. B. Granberry, Col. Texas Y.
J. C. Palmer, Col. 18th Tenn. Y.
Edwd. Pendleton, Lieut.-Col. 3d
La. Yol.
J. F. Gray, Maj. 48th Tenn. Y.
F. A. Lynn, Maj. 49th Tenn. Y.
Morton Mayree, Lt.-Col. 11th
Ya. Yol.
J. Rivers, Maj. 49th Ga. Yol.
L. E. Brook, Paymaster, C. S. N.
A. F. Warley, C. S. N.
369
S. B. Buckner, Br.-Gen., C. S. A
John McGee, Col. 15th Ark. Y.
Beverly Kennow, Lt. Com. C
S. N.
F. M. Harris, C. S. N
James H. Toombs, C. S. N.
Saml. D. McChesney, Capt. 3u
La. Bat.
W. C. Whittle, Jr., Lt. C. S. JSL
J. W. Towers, Lt.-Col. 8th Geo.
Yol.
T. E. Stake, Lt. 2d Ky. Yols.
Roger W. Hanson, Brig.-Gen.
Ky. Yols.
C. B. Robinson.
R. H. Murphy, Lt.-Col. 30th
Tenn.
Calvin Jones, Adj. 3 2d Tenn
Yol.
Louis Slaughter, Lt. lUh Ya
Inf.
T. B. Mockall, Lt. and A. D. C
Time wore on, and the Government began to weary of the
care and keeping of its state guests. They became national
elephants, expensive to keep, and not to be gotten rid of hon-
orably. On the 26th of November, 1862, an order came to
release certain of the state prisoners unconditionally, and
Dr. Macgill and his Maryland compatriots were among the
number restored to liberty.
The following is a list of the discharged prisoners :
Geo. P. Kane, Geo. Wm. Brown, Charles Howard,
Frank K. Howard, Henrt M. Carfield, Wm. G. Harrison,
Robt. Hull, S. Teakle Wallis, Chas. Macoill,
Wm. Gatchell, Thomas H. Hall, T. Parkin Soott.
Wm. H. Winder. R. L. Cutter,
24
V
370 AMERICAN BASTILE,
" The above-named persons are released, agreeable to the fol-
lowing telegram.
(Signed) J. Dimick,
Col. 1st Artillery, Comd'g Post
" 'Washington, Ncv. 26, 1862.
n 1 Col. J. Dimick, TJ. S. Army, Fort Warren, Boston :
" ' The Secretary of War directs that you release all tho Mary-
land state prisoners, and also any other state prisoner that may
be in your custody, and report names to this office.
(Signed) E. D. Townsend,
Assist. Adjt. Gcn'l/
"True copy. Fort Warren, B. H., Nov. 27, 1862.
J. DixMicK, Col. 1st Art'y, Comd'g Post."
From the Fort, they were forwarded to Boston, and there
abandoned by the Government, without transportation to
their homes, and very many of them without means. Dr.
Macgill was among the more fortunate of the abandoned
guests of the Government, turned so unceremoniously out
side tho hospitable doors of Fort Warren, where, for months,
it had been the constant care of the Government to keep him
from his family and from his extensive practice. Upon
reaching Baltimore, he was welcomed by his friends with an
enthusiasm unbounded. He remained in Baltimore a few
days, the guest of his hospitable friend, Thomas C. Jenkins,
Esq., and then set out for that home from which he had been
bo ruthlessly dragged fourteen months before. He was met
on the road by his old friends, in carriages, who took him
from the public stage, and escorted him to his home, where
many others were awaiting his arrival.
Here, quietly resuming the practice of medicine and sur-
gery, he remained until General Lee invaded Maryland, in
the summer of 1863. His old spirit, unbroken by imprison-
ment, began to stir the blood of the Macgills again. He felt
eb if ne had been wronged, his rights disregarded, and the
Government, to which he looked for protection, had become
CHARLES MACGILL, M. D.
371
his oppressor. His long, unjust imprisonment in American
Bastiles bad alienated his sympathies and love from a Govern-
ment for which, before, he would have sacrificed his life. At
this auspicious day, when it looked as if Lee had effected a
permanent lodgment in Maryland, Dr. Macgill established,
at Ilagerstown, in that State, a hospital for the sick and
wounded, and received into it hundreds of the Confederates,
wounded at Gettysburg and the battles in Maryland. He
superintended it in person, and his noble example aroused to
active duty the whole Southern sympathy of Washington
County ; the ladies', particularly, whose devotion was beyond
all praise. When General Lee was compelled to fall back,
and place the Potomac between his army and the enemy, the
Doctor knew he could no longer remain in his native State
with safety.
Duty also drew him, and he then and there cast his lot
with the fortunes of the Southern Confederacy, then passing
through the black eclipse of that dreadful slaughter on the
heights of Gettysburg. Packing a case of instruments,
equipped in his cvery-day garments, he reported to Genera)
Lee, and with him fell back to Virginia'. But his instru-
ments were hardly idle an hour, for many days of dreadful
agony and suffering to hundreds of wounded. At Williams-
port, Marti nsburg, or wherever a wounded Confederate was to
be found, there was Dr. Macgill, with his lint and bandages,
his knife and saw, if necessary. When Lee had taken up
his new position, and all danger of pursuit had passed, he
went to Eichmond and met President Davis, and without
any solicitation on his part was appointed by Davis full
Surgeon in the Army of Northern Virginia. In the next
campaign, that of 1864, Dr. Macgill signally distinguished
himself and rendered most efficient service. At the bat-
tics of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania he was constantly
with the Army of Northern Virginia, and was of invaluable
service to them in many respects, unto the end. lie sur-
rendered with the remnant of that army at Appomattox
Court-house, having contended like a good physician to the
372
AMERICAN BASTILE.
last, that " while there 's life there 's hope." Knowing that
he would not be permitted to return to his home in Mary-
land, unless he asked a pardon, which he would not do, he
identified his interests entirely with those of Virginia. He
now resides in Richmond with his family, in the enjoyment
of a most lucrative and growing practice, and drives in his
gig the same gray horse upon whose back he surrendered
in April, 1865.
Dr. Macgill is sixty-two years of age, of a physique not
unlike that of the late General Winfield Scott, broad shoul-
ders, large head, smooth-shaven face, features full and bold in
outline, indicative of an iron will and energy, and an intel-
lect of force and method. He has lived what he himself
terms a well-ordered and careful life, and as a consequence,
his health and vigor at sixty-two is as well preserved as that
of the majority of men at forty.
At the same moment when Dix was apologizing for the
unjust incarceration of the distinguished state prisoner in
Fort Warren, the Government, through other officials, was
acting in quite a different manner. His house in Hagers-
town, where his tfife and daughters resided, was guarded,
and no one permitted to enter or leave it without permission.
Articles of food were prohibited. Meals prepared by the
servants were taken and eaten by the guards, and petty indig-
nities continually offered them. When the army fell back
after the battle of Gettysburg, the house was surrounded and
taken possession of by Kilpatrick's men, who were looking
for the Doctor to hang him, as their officers said. An officer
isked his daughter where her father was — at the same time
•putting a pistol to her head, and saying, "By the gods ! woman
as you are, I have a mind to blow your brains out." She put the
pistol aside and said, " When you behave like a gentleman,
I will answer you ; " and afterward remarked, " The Doctor
has gone with Lee's army." But they would not believe it,
and so anxious were they to hang him that they took posses-
sion of the house again, and held Mrs. Macgill and her
daughters prisoners for five weeks. During the time of
CHARLES MACGILL, M. D.
373
their imprisonment, an order was sent them by Genera.
u Baldv " Smith to prepare to leave for the South. The order
was not carried out, as Mrs. Macgill and her little son were
ill at the time, and a Federal doctor testified that she could
not be removed.
Then an order came from him, to take two of her daugh-
ters, Mrs. Robert Swan and Alice, across the lines, as the
neighbors had sworn that a Federal soldier, who had been
killed in front of her house in a fight the day before, hac
been shot by them from the windows. General Smith after,
ward gave the names of the informers to a member of Dr.
Macgill 's family. They were neighbors, and, although mem
bers of church, had perjured themselves. Permission was
asked of General Smith to allow the daughters to remain
twenty-four hours with their mother, but he positively re-
fused. Their trunks were packed and every article examined
by one Lieutenant Mullenburg of Smith's staff, afterward
Brevet Major of 5th Artillery.
They were taken to Baltimore in charge of a guard, then
taken before Colonel Fish, acting Provost Marshal, (who was
afterward sent to the Albany Penitentiary.) He treated
them in a most insulting manner. Their trunks were exam-
ined, and they were confined all night under guard in a filthy
garret filled with rats and vermin. The next day they were
sent with a guard to Winchester, Virginia. They were
obliged to pay all expenses, or their trunks would have been
taken from them. Mrs. Macgill's house was searched every
day for two weeks by Kilpatrick's men, carpets torn up,
locks broken, ostensibly for the purpose of finding arms or
flags, (which they never did,) but their real object wa3 pil-
fering.
The wife of Dr. Charles Macgill, Jr., came from Shep-
pardstown, Virginia, to visit her mother-in-law, bringing
with her a child four years old, and an infant of six weeks.
They had not been in Hagerstown two hours when a squ&d
of soldiers came to the house and arrested her on the charge,
by a neighbor, that she had brought a mail from the South
874
AMERICAN BASTILE.
with her. She was torn from her children, put into a buggy
with a soldier, and sent to Harper's Ferry, where she arrived
late at night. She was then taken before General Sullivan,
who, when he heard her statement, was shocked at such
cruelty, and sent her back to her children the next morning,
in an ambulance, with one of his staff. But the persecution
of Mrs. Macgill had not yet ceased.
In 1864, a squad of soldiers entered her house, with an
order from the Secretary of War, ordering her and her daughters
to leave their house, giving them twenty minutes to collect
some clothing. When they were preparing to depart, one of the
soldiers was observed filling his pockets with spoons, which
her daughter took from him. The soldiers kept possession
of the house several weeks, stole many valuable things, and
Mrs. Macgill only succeeded in getting them back through
the influence of a Union friend and Francis Thomas, a mem-
ber of Congress from that district. Such were some of the
persecutions to which Dr. Charles Macgill and his family
were subjected. Envy, malice, cruelty, and rapine were at
the bottom of it all. While he was ministering to the wants
of the Federal army, the Federal Government was laying
its oppressive hands upon him and his family, until, finally,
more despotic than the King of Dahomey, it drove them
from the land of their birth.
GENERAL GEORGE W. JONES.
rpiIE following sketch of General George W. Jones we
extract from Lanman's " History of Congress," of 1859 :
"Jones, George W., born at Vincennes, Indiana, and gradu
ated at Transylvania University, Kentucky, in 1825. He
was bred to the law, but ill health prevented him from prac-
tising. He was Clerk of the United States District Court in
Missouri in 1826 ; served as an aide-de-camp to General Henry
Dodge in the Black Hawk war; was chosen Colonel of Mili-
tia in 1832, subsequently Major-General — also as Judge. In
1835 was elected Delegate to Congress from the Territory of
Michigan, and served four years. In 1839 was appointed by
President Van Buren Surveyor General of the Northwest —
was removed in 1841, on account of his politics, but re-ap-
pointed by President Polk, and remained in the office until
1849. In 1848 he was elected an United States Senator from
Iowa for six years, and re-elected in 1852, and is now Chair-
man of the Committee on Pensions, and on Enrolled Bills,
and a member of the Committee on Territories." General
Jones's term of service, as Senator, expired on the 4th of
March, 1859.
When his old political and personal friend, President Bu-
chanan, with whom, as Delegate and Senator, he had served
for several years in Congress, unknown to him, or to any
friend, save the members of his Cabinet, nominated him to the
Senate as United States Minister Resident at Bogota, the
nomination, at the instance of Senators Harlin and Grimes,
of Iowa, political opponents, was unanimously confirmed,
without a reference to the Committee on Foreign Relations,
as is usual, the rules of the Senate having been unanimously
suspended for the purpose.
8T5
376
AMERICAN BASTILE.
General Jones, being informed of the high compliment
paid him by the Administration and the Senate, immediately
declined an acceptance of the same. But on his return home
to Dubuque, Iowa, he was induced by his family and friends
(bis physicians at Washington City and Dubuque concurring
therein, as a means of restoring his health,) to signify to the
President that he would recall his letter declining the honor-
able position, if agreeable to that officer.
Mr. Buchanan, believing that the General would regret his
refusal to accept the position, purposely refused to make any
other appointment, though often and earnestly urged to do
so, by applicants for the mission. He directed General Cass,
the Secretary of State, to notify General Jones of his re-ap-
pointment, requesting him at the same time to return to
Washington for his instructions, and to proceed to the Lega-
tion at Bogota, which he very promptly did. Sailing from
Few York on the 7th of May, 1859, and receiving at the
time highly complimentary notices from the press, and, as he
rode down the bay, a salute from the guns at Fort Lafayette,
little did he then think that ere three years should elapse he
would spend three long, wearisome months in that Fort, a
victim to the perfidy of William H. Seward.
General Jones having successfully arranged the important
international question which hurried him to Bogota, under
the orders of Secretary Cass, obtained a leave of absence, and
returned home in the summer of 1860, where he received at
the hands of all parties — the whole community participating
therein — a magnificent ovation, such as had scarcely ever
been tendered to any public servant on returning to his home.
Public meetings of the citizens and of the City Council were
called by order of the Mayor, then, and still, a leading,
wealthy, and influential Republican, to make arrangements
for his reception, the Mayor and Council crossing the Missis-
sippi to welcome him on his arrival. On landing on the
wharf at his home, he was met and escorted by a committee
of reception on the part of the people, when Mr. Bissell, tho
late Republican Attorney General of Iowa, as orator of the
GENERAL GEORGE W. JONES.
377
day, made an eloquent and pathetic reception address. A
long procession of military, and citizens on foot, in carriages,
and on horseback, escorted the General to his residence in the
suouros, on the Bluff, when he was again the recipient of six
or seven other formal addresses by the commanders of volun-
teer companies and others of the legal profession.
General Jones returned to his mission in South America
in the fall of 1860 ; and, finding the country there involved
in civil war, which broke out during his absence, he made
the most strenuous efforts, with both parties engaged in it,
to procure a reconciliation and cessation of hostilities, as his
despatches, on file in the State Department at Washington,
fully show. Those despatches are conclusive that he would
have succeeded, in all probability, in making peace between
the contending parties, but that the Government, or Conser-
vative party, as it was called, could not brook the idea of
treating with the rebels, or Liberals, as the other party was
designated. The latter party, under General Mosquera, tri-
umphed over the Government, and took possession of the city
of Bogota on the 18th of July, 1861.
The correspondence of the Minister Resident Jones with
the State Department, under Secretary Cass, first, and Sew-
ard, his successor, shows that he made use of great tact and
energy, if not ability, in his efforts to procure, by compro-
mise concessions, an amendment of the laws or of the Consti-
tution, to bring about a peace even before the expenditure of
any great amount of money or effusion of blood, for which ef-
forts he was highly complimented by all parties at the Court
to which he was accredited, as well as by both Administra-
tions of the Government at "Washington.
General Jones was recalled by Secretary Seward as early
as March, immediately after the induction of that function-
ary into the Secretaryship. The letter of recall itself, being of
the most complimentary character, much surprised the Presi-
dent of the Republic — Mosquera — when he read it. He re-
marked, as he did so, that it was strangely contradictory,
indeed, thus to treat a public servant, acknowledged in that
378
AMERICAN BASTILE.
letter, as he was, to have been faithful and efficient, and by
both Governments. But, as the letter said, the President
and his Cabinet had " their friends to reward, and their
political enemies to punish/' and accordingly the fiat was
sent forth.
General Jones did not reach the Federal City until Decern
bcr 5, 1861, his successor not having arrived at Bogota, t6
relieve him, until the 1st of November preceding.
On his arrival at Washington, the General was met first
by Secretary Seward, at the entrance of the State Depart-
ment, and greeted in the most affectionate and cordial man- *•
ner, in the presence of a regiment of infantry from Cayuga
County, New York, and some hundreds of citizens and
strangers then present. Mr. Seward conducted him to the
President's mansion, both being followed by the regiment
and people, where, after President Lincoln had addressed the
troops en route South, Mr. Seward, formally and in an im-
posing manner, introduced General Jones to the Chief Magis-
trate as "Our friend, General Jones, just returning as Min-
ister from Bogota." Mr. Lincoln, being equally warm and
friendly in his reception of the General, said that he recol-
lected forming a short but pleasant acquaintance with him at
Springfield, some fifteen years before; which Mr. Jones no*
recollecting, the President invited him to call on him the
next eveuing, at eight o'clock, when he would explain the
circumstance of their first introduction to each other.
The following evening he called, and was kindly and re-
spectfully treated by Mr. Lincoln, in the presence of the
M Blair family," as he (Lincoln) termed F. P. Blair, Senior
and Junior, and the Postmaster General. There were other
gentlemen present, among them Mr. George D. Prentice, of
the "Louisville Journal," who was endeavoring to effect tho
release from imprisonment of Dr. Gwin, late Senator from
California, Mr. Calhoun Brcnham, his brother-in-law, and
Mr. Brent, they having been arrested by General Sumner, on
l>oard the steamer "Uncle Sam," at Panama, New Granada
in November, 1801, and were then prisoners in Fort Lafuy-
GENERAL GEORGE W. JONES.
379
ette. These arrests were made in violation of the laws of
our own countrjT, of nations, and of the treaty with New
Granada.
11 C h ! what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practise to deceive."
While at Washington, Secretary Seward gave General
Jones a diplomatic dinner, and extended to him other and
the usual civilities between old friends. Strange and incom-
prehensible as it may appear, Seward, the Talleyrand of the
day, was all the while meditating the arrest and imprison-
ment of his old friend and companion, to whom he had for
years extended acts of hospitality and civility, just as he
had done toward our returning Minister Plenipotentiary to
France, the Hon. Charles J. Faulkner, of Virginia, who, as
he too was on his way to join his family, was arrested and
immured in Fort Lafayette.
General Jones remained in Washington for the settlement
of his accounts as Minister returning home, until the 19th
of December, when he took leave of his old Senatorial
associate, Secretary Seward, who expressed an apparently
earnest hope that he might have a speedy and pleasant trip,
find his family well, etc.
On his arrival in New York city, General Jones was
arrested, at the " New York Hotel," by Detective Farley,
on the following telegram from Secretary Seward :
" Washington City, D. C, December 19, 1861.
"Hon. George W. Jones, late Senator in Congress from Iowa,
and late Minister to Bogota, leaves hero this afternoon for New
York. Arrest him, and send him to Fort Lafayette
(Signed) Wm. II. Seward."
This despatch was addressed to Kennedy, the Superin-
tendent of Police, and was ail the authority which ho said
he had for his arrest. General Jones availed himself of per-
mission to write a letter to his wife, who was to meet him
in the city, on the 25th instant, detailing his arrest, etc
Telegraphic despatches were sent to the President and the
380
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Eowa delegation in Congress, soliciting a hearing at TVash*
ington, or elsewhere. He received no reply to either des-
patch, nor was he ever informed of the cause of his arrest,
further than a conversation with a friend, after his release,
enlightened him. This friend had a conversation with
Seward, in which the latter remarked, " that nothing had
ever pained him so much as to have been compelled to arrest
and imprison General Jones, but that it was necessary to
make examples of the heads of families and parties some-
times."
He evidently intended to punish the General, because one
of his sons had gone South in April, 1861, although unknown
to him, and while he was five thousand miles away. He
knew nothing of the fall of Fort Sumter, or the commence-
ment of civil war, until in May, 1861.
He was taken in a carriage to Fort Hamilton, thence to
Fort Lafayette, where he was conveyed from the sally-port
to the Commandant's office. He was required to divest him-
self of his clothing, and give up his purse and its contents, his
watch, pocket-knife, pencil, and even his gold studs, and the
sleeve and collar buttons on his shirt. His trunks were kept at
the Police headquarters in New York, where they were ran-
sacked, and his private papers, and letters from his wife and
children, examined and read. The same thing was done at
Forts Hamilton and Lafayette, before he received them.
On entering the casemate, the General was furnished with
a dirty straw pallet and an iron bedstead, without sheet,
blanket, or pillow. The food furnished the prisoners was
meagre in quantity and poor in quality, and inferior to that
furnished to the garrison.
They would have suffered for the necessaries of life, but for
the humane attention of such charitable, Christian ladies as
Mrs. George A. Gelston, of Fort Hamilton ; Mrs. Sullivan
and Mrs. Lucy Dodge Leadbeater, of New York ; Mrs. Dr.
Cuthbert, (whose husband was a prisoner in the Fort :) Mrs.
Austin Dale and Mrs. Norris, of Baltimore, and many others
like them from Philadelphia, who sent them tea, coffee, sugar,
GENERAL GEORGE W. JONES.
381
and meats, and medicines, as well as bedclothes and wearing
apparel. These ladies received no return but the prayers of
the prisoners and the consciousness of having done noble acts.
The General is confident that the treatment which he and
his fellow-prisoners endured in the Fort was worse than that
shown to prisoners in penitentiaries, confined for the most
diabolical offences.
General Jones and his fellow-prisoners were required to
sweep and scrub the brick floors of their casemates, or allow
them to remain as filthy as they found them. They had to
carry in their wood and coal, after obtaining the necessary
permission from the sergeant, empty their slops, and perform
still more menial offices. He learned to cook and wash. The
other prisoners desired to do it for him, but the Genera]
refused, saying that he was born in the West, and would
share their privations with them.
When not dreaming of giving offence, they were addressc d
in the most offensive language by the soldiers as they passed
them, (always by permission,) in going to their meals, to the
cistern for water, to the wood or coal pile, or to the rear. A
musket with a fixed bayonet was sometimes placed at their
breasts.
On one occasion, as General Jones was passing from his
casemate diagonally across the court or area of the Fort, the
sentry in a gruff and insulting tone commanded him to
" halt," and demanded to know where he was going, present-
ing, as he spoke, his musket and bayonet at a charge. The
General replied, " To the Kentucky room, to take some med
icine to a sick friend, and by permission of Lieutenant C. 0.
Wood." The guard then ordered him to pass around the
other way, saying, " I have a mind to give you the contents
of this," alluding to his gun. On another occasion, he heard
a soldier, on guard, curse a gentleman in the water-closet,
because he did not sit down upon the bench or plank, which
was literally covered with mud and filth. The soldier en-
forced his order by presenting his bayonet at the prisoner s
breast ; and had he not obeyed, he would either have been
382
AMERICAN BASTILE.
shot or run through, for the brutality of the soldiers 3carce
knew any bounds.
We give but one more incident, although we could men-
tion many. A few days before the General left the Fort,
Mr. Burnett, of Kentucky, was placed in the guard-house,
merely because he walked to and from the rear with Mr. Coe,
of Baltimore, with whom he was engaged in conversation.
The General was intimately acquainted with Burnett, who
had been a class-mate of one of his sons at the Kentucky
Military Institute. Hence he dared incur the displeasure of
the soldiers, by appealing in his behalf to the commander,
who, after much solicitation, released the prisoner on the fol-
lowing morning. These brutal actions of the soldiery were
evidently encouraged by Lieutenant C. 0. Wood, a favorite
of Mr. Lincoln's, and one of his appointees. He was a very
depraved man, and totally unfit for the grade of a lieutenant
His character is well delineated by Cowper, as having
"A sordid mind,
Bestial, a meagre intellect, unfit
To be the tenant of man's noble form."
General Jones was discharged on the 22d of February,
1862, after an incarceration of sixty-four days. We are un-
able to give the real cause of the arrest and imprisonment
of the subject of this notice, for, at the time, one of the New
York newspapers, in the confidence of the Government,
stated that it was because of treasonable letters written from
Bogota to Jefferson Davis, and other Southern men, giving
them aid and comfort. Another averred that it was because
he (Jones) had sent two of his sons to the South to fight for
secession. The facts are as follows: General Jono? had
formed his first acquaintance with Mr. Davis, in 1820-21, at
Transylvania University, Kentucky. They afterward served
together in the Black Hawk war in 1832, in Congress in
1838, and were room-mates while in Washington — were
brother Senators previous to and after Davis was Secretary
of War under President Pierce. They corresponded through
GENERAL GEORGE W. JONES. 383
a period of thirty-five years, and continued to do so until
after the inauguration of civil war. "While Minister to
Bogota, letters were passing and repassing between them, in
many of which he stoutly denounced secession as disintegra-
tion, and subversive of our republican institutions. The last
letter he received from Davis was dated January 10, 1861,
and was in answer to one of his own, soliciting the co-opera-
tion of Air. Davis in hating his son, William A. B. Jones,
reinstated to a lieutenancy in Colonel Joseph E. Johnston's
cavalry regiment, which position he had resigned through
the mistaken advice of the Surgeon of the regiment. The
disloyal letter which Mr. Seward avers he dropped in the
State Department, when closing his accounts, and which he
published in a mutilated form, giving garbled extracts which
gave it another meaning, contained his last admonition to
Mr. Davis of the fallacy of secession, which was then threat-
ened by the South, and pleading for them " to remain in
the Union, and, if necessary, to fight for their rights under the
Constitution in the Union" further pledging himself and sons
to stand by and light with them, if necessary. This letter
he sent, with his other correspondence, through the State De-
partment, as he had done when General Cass was secretary
of State, and which was the custom, and one that General
James Watson Webb, his (Seward's) bosom friend, availed
himself of, when arrested for debt in "New York, previously
to his departure as Minister to Eio de Janeiro, under Seward's
appoiutment. The contents of this letter, and other letters
written by General Jones to his family and friends, before he
was aware that civil war had broken out in the United
States, (a fact which he did not learn until the latter part of
May, 186!,) were violated by the Secretary, and, after being
read, were, as it is supposed, filed away in the archives of
the State Department, as trophies of the duplicity of a man,
who, in his official capacity, as Secretary of State, by his
correspondence with, and subserviency to crowned heads,
did more than all bis predecessors to lower the dignity and
honor of the United States.
384
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Hi 3 sycophantic and cowardly course in the Trent affair
and with the Emperor of France, particularly in reference to
the Monroe doctrine, as applied to the late war in Mexico,
his deceptive course toward Fenianism, by first inducing the
march into Canada, and then by shamefully, ignorantly, and
dastardly permitting American-born and naturalized citizens
to be imprisoned and executed, under the British Govern-
ment, should consign him to disgrace, as history will his
□ame, to " fester in the infamy of years."
M In friendship false, implacable in hate ;
Resolved to ruin or to rule the state ;
To compass this, the triple bond he broke
The pillars of the public safety shook."
SAMUEL H. BUNDY, M.D.
DR. SAMUEL H. BUNDY was born near the Cumberland
River, in Smith County, Tennessee, on the 8th of April,
1822. His father was a respectable farmer, of French de-
scent, who emigrated from North Carolina to that State at
an early period of its settlement. He labored on the farm
with his father until about his sixteenth year, when he was
sent to Wirt College, then a flourishing school near Castalian
Springs, in his native State, where he received a substantial
education. After leaving college, he entered upon the study
of the law, and was admitted to the bar in 1846 ; but having
a dislike for that profession, he soon abandoned it, and studied
medicine, which, being more congenial to his tastes and
sympathies, he has closely followed to the present time.
In 1852, he removed with his family to Williamson County,
Illinois, where he has since resided, and held a prominent
place in the political and educational affairs of his adopted
State. Having been reared near the residence of the im-
mortal Jackson, and his father having served under him
through the War of 1812, he early became a warm admirer
of the policy of that eminent statesman, and, of course, iden-
tified with the Democratic party ; and being a speaker of
considerable fluency and power, he has frequently taken the
stump in defence of its principles.
In the canvass of 1860, he took a deep interest, and warned
the people, wherever he addressed them, with almost pro-
phetic accuracy, of the terrible calamity that would result
from the elevation of a sectional candidate to the Presidency.
During the campaign, he dealt many heavy blows against
the party represented by Mr. Lincoln ; but being decidedly
conservative in feeling, he neither held extreme views, nor
25 385
386
AMERICAN BASTILE.
gave utterance to the violent language indulged in by such
men as Logan, Kuykendall, Palmer, and others. And in
1861, when the country was wild with excitement, while
these men were stirring up the people of Central and South-
ern Illinois by inflammatory harangues, denunciatory of the
Abolition party and the coercive policy of Mr. Lincoln, Dr.
Bundy was pleading for moderation and the adoption of
the compromise measures proposed by Crittenden, Douglas,
and others, as the best means of quieting the popular mind,
until "sober, second thought" should bring about recon-
ciliation, without the effusion of blood. AVhen a large con-
course of citizens assembled at Carbondale, for the purpose
of driving away the troops stationed at Big Muddy Bridge,
on the Illinois Central Railroad, (having been excited almost
to frenzy by the reports spread through the country that they
had been sent there by Abolitionists, without authority,) Dr.
Bundy hastened to the place, and spent the day in disabusing
their minds, and urging them to refrain from violence, and
quietly disperse to their homes ; which they finally did
For doing this, he was cursed for " a white-livered coward,"
by some who were urging on the strife, who have since be-
come ranting " Union men," and cursed him soundly as a
" Copperhead."
Soon after the disastrous battle of Bull Run, General
Logan, who had, in his speeches during the summer of 1861,
wished that his hand might wither if he ever took up arms
against his Southern brethren," returned from Congress and
commenced raising a regiment ; alleging, in his addresses to
liis old constituents, that "it was necessary for Democrats to
get hold of the muskets, and save the Government from the
invasion of the Southerners on the one hand, and the corrupt
and illegal pohcy of the Abolitionists on the other ; that Mr.
Lincoln and his party had neither the military skill and
bravery necessary to conduct the war successfully, nor the
statesmanship and honesty to administer the Government
legally ; and between them and the Rebels, our form of gov-
ernment was in great danger of being subverted." And he
SAMUEL H. BUNDY, M. D.
387
exhorted his friends to "join him in forcing the Rehels into
obedience, when they would all turn around and whip out
the Abolitionists." This sudden " change of front " pro-
duced the most intense excitement. From this time forward,
men, who had been life-long friends, began to distrust and
suspect each other ; and the people were distracted by divi-
sions and suspicions. Troops were quartered at Cairo and
various points along the borders of the State, and detach-
ments scoured the country in all directions, foraging upon and
insulting the citizens. The country swarmed with detectives,
spies, and secret reporters. With many honorable exceptions,
the Republicans became informers ; and every political or
even religious difference, or personal spite, was made the oc-
casion of a secret mission to the Provost Marshal at some mil-
itary station, with a report of disloyalty against the offender.
Citizens of all classes and professions were arrested, searched,
and cast into the various guard-houses ; generally, without
knowing whom, when, or in what they had offended, or
who were their accusers. Men, who would not have been
believed on oath in any court where they were known, and
could not have obtained credit for fifty cents at any country
store, were made swift witnesses and instruments in inflict-
ing untold miseries upon the most inoffensive and valuable
citizens.
Such was the state of affairs when the August term of the
Circuit Court commenced at Marion, in 1862, Hon. Andrew
D. Duff presiding. Dr. Bundy was appointed foreman of
the grand jury, but, after serving two days, was excused, in
consequence of the illness of his family, three children being
dangerously sick with whooping cough and diphtheria. Soon
after he left, two men, alleging they were Government Detec-
tives, reached town, and, under orders from one Major Merrill,
Provost Marshal at Cairo, arrested the Judge on the bench,
and several members of the bar ; and inquired for the fore-
man of the grand jury. On being informed that he was at-
home, they male some further arrests, and determined to
call for him as they returned to Cairo.
\
f
888 AMERICAN BASTILE.
When they reached his house, August 14, he nad gone
to a neighbor's, to visit a sick child. On account of the ill-
ness in his family, they yielded to the entreaties of Mrs.
Bundy, and the assurances of Judges Duff, Allen, and Mul-
key, that the Doctor would attend at Cairo or elsewhere as
soon as the condition of his family would permit, and con-
cluded to go on with the gentlemen already in charge, and
leave him at home for the time being. As soon as the Doc-
tor returned to his house, he addressed a note to the Provost
Marshal, stating the condition of his family, his fears that
his children could not live, the absolute necessity of his pre-
sence as a father and physician to care for them ; and from
the depths of his affliction, appealing to his better nature, and
his own tender family ties, he assured him that, as he was un
conscious of having violated any law, or done any man
wrong, he would not hesitate to report at any point to which
he might be ordered by competent authority, as soon as the
condition of his family would permit. But neither this note
nor the statement of his officers as to the affliction of the
Doctor's family, nor the assurances of the gentlemen they
had in charge that he would attend as soon as he could leave
his sick children, seemed to have any effect on Merrill, whc
sharply reprimanded his subordinates, and ordered one of
them (one Scott) to return and bring the Doctor to Cairo.
On the 17th, death entered the family circle, and took for
his victim a bright little boy, between six and seven years of
age, whose remains the sorrowing parents followed to their
resting-place at a church one and a half miles from their
residence. As they were returning from the grave, they
were met by Merrill's officer, who ordered the Doctor out of
the carriage, containing his afflicted wife and other members
of the family, into his own buggy, and hurried him off to
Cairo. Mrs. B. had, for many years, been in very feeble
health, and was quite overcome with grief. The Doctor
begged permission to accompany her home, and comfort her
as far as possible ; to provide as best he could for the other
children, who were in a most critical condition, and supply
SAMUEL H. BUNDY. M. D. 389
himself with clothing and funds for his contemplated absence.
But the officer was deaf to all entreaty ; alleging that his
former lenity had been reproved, and he must reach Cairo
that night. On arriving at Carbondale, where they were to
take the cars for Cairo, his haste seemed to have ended ; and,
leaving the Doctor in the sitting-room of the Union House,
with orders to remain until called for, he strolled off into the
town, and was absent until after midnight.
The Doctor soon perceived that something of interest was
going on in an adjoining room, as he could hear many voices,
and persons were continually passing in and out at the door,
which was kept closed, and seemed to be guarded on the in-
side. So, when night came on, as it was dark and misting
rain, he stepped out on the pavement, and went to an open
window, which permitted a full view of the persons and pro-
ceedings within. A number of persons, with most of whom
he was well acquainted, were engaged in preparing evidence
against himself and the other gentlemen who had been
arrested about the same time. Several men seemed to be
present as witnesses, some of whom were total strangers to
him ; others he knew to be of the lowest character, and all
whom he recognized were political enemies. Dr. George L.
Owen, originally from Ohio, an avowed Abolitionist, was
acting as attorney, and drew out the testimony to his own
liking ; while one Dick Dudding, an unscrupulous pettifog-
ger, wrote down the statements in language suited to the
purpose. The witnesses were all in the room together ; were
all the political friends and allies of Owen and Dudding, who
prompted such statements as they wished ; and when any
testimony appeared favorable to the accused, it was rejected.
When through the examination, they were sworn to what Dud
ding had written, without having it read over. Only one man
was observed to require his statement to be read before he
would sign his name and be qualified to it, and then de-
manded several changes to be made.
In the mean time, Dr. Bundy had gone to the door, and
aaked permission to go in, as he perceived that they were
390
AMERICAN B A S T I L £.
lakirig evidence against himself and others. He claimed the
right to meet his accusers face to face, and cross-examine
ihem, but it was peremptorily refused, and the door shut in
Ilia face. Jefferson J. Allen, an attorney, and brother to
lion. \Villiam J. Allen, one of the prisoners, also requested
permission to go in and question the witnesses, but was
refused. All the Abolitionists about town, however, seemed
to pass in and out ad UbUum. Sext morning, the Doctor
reached Cairo, and the officer, who was quite drunk and
oyercome with drowsiness, merely told him to report at the
Proyost Marshal's office at nine o'clock, and staggered away
to seek his own comfort.
After separating from Officer Scott, Dr. Bundy sought a
hotel, and tried to refresh and brace himself preparatory to
the ordeal of meeting the Marshal. But his heart was too
full. He could not eat. The loss of his dear boy, the dan-
gerous condition of his other children, the dark cloud whit h
he knew was oyershadowing his loyed home and crushing
out the life of his afflicted wife, with the knowledge that he
was a prisoner, the yictim of malice and reyenge, and unable
to render assistance or consolation, almost droye him to mad-
ness. At 9 o'clock a.m., August 19, he went to the office
of that most arbitrary and iniquitous of all military officers
— the Provost Marshal. ^Vhen he entered, Major Merrill
was engaged with some other prisoners, and seemed to take
no notice of his presence for some time. Judges Allen, Duff,
and Mulkey, Attorneys Youngblood and Clementson, Rev.
Alexander C. Xelson, and some others, were present. After
a while the Marshal ordered the roll of the Marion prisoners
to be called, and then took from a desk a bundle of papers,
which he ordered a clerk to read as evidence against them.
It proved to be, in part, the statements heard by Dr. Bundy
at Carbondale the night previous, which had been sent by
Scott, and accounted for the delay. Such a jumble of im-
probabilities, contradictions, and falsehoods was, perlaps,
never found outside of a Provost Marshal's office.
After the readiDg was concluded, Dr. B. informed the
SAMUEL H. BUNDY, M. D.
391
Marshal of what he had witnessed the previous night ; urged
the unfairness of the manner in which the testimony had
been taken, mentioning the fact of some of the witnesses
not having read what was written down by Dudding ; the
refusal to admit him into the room to cross-examine the
witnesses ; the rejection of all testimony favorable to the ac-
cused, and declared that the statements as to his having used
" disloyal words in a Fourth of July speech at Stroud's," were
wholly untrue, as he could prove within five days, by the
best men in Williamson County, if allowed to do so. Other
gentlemen present made similar declarations. The Marshal
replied that all this might be true, but that he had nothing
to do with taking the evidence, and no authority to hear rebut-
ting, testimony.
The Doctor then laid before him the afflicted condition ol
his family, and the necessity of his presence and assistance at
home ; and offered to obligate himself in any sum, with ade-
quate security, to attend at any time, or as often as every
second day, at that office, or elsewhere, within his reach, if
permitted to return home while his children remained in a
critical condition. Several other gentlemen warmly seconded
the request. But it was of no avail. The Marshal merely
removed his cigar, and remarking that he was not there to
look after afflicted families, told the Doctor that he could
either go to the " guard-house," or have the limits of the city,
on his parole of honor, and report at nine o'clock each morn
ing. Of course, he preferred the latter.
For two weeks, Dr. Bundy remained a prisoner on his
parole, in Cairo, within a few hours' travel of his home,
where two of his children still lay at the point of death,
without being able to visit them and minister to their wants.
Scarcely an hour passed that the condition of his family was
not on his mind.
Under the impulse of excitement, a man may rush into a
burning building, or bare his bosom to a thousand deaths on
the battle-field without a care ; but who that has a heart
swelling with a husband's and father's love, can control its
'6d2
AMERICAN BAST1LE.
promptings, and remain day after day, without employment
to divert his mind, within a few miles of an invalid wife,
whom he had nursed for years, now bowed in affliction, and
his darling little ones, prostrate and expected to die, without
bitter anguish ? ]STo language can describe the intense anxiet)
suffered by this victim of tyranny, as day and night he tra-
versed the pavements, or walked to and fro in his room,
mainly striving to escape his grief and quiet his restless
spirit. The little form cold in death, the new-made grave,
the agony of the weeping mother, left to seek her stricken
home alone, and the prostrate forms of those still suffering
under disease, were constantly before him.
In the mean time, he resolved to make one more effort to
reach the better feelings of Major Merrill ; and wrote *him
a note representing the condition of his family, and enclosed
a letter from Mrs. B., full of touching sorrow, and giving
the opinion of the attending physician that their little
daughter could not recover ; appealing to his kinder nature
and own domestic endearments ; and, finally, as he wore on
his bosom the badge of a secret order, " ancient and honor-
able," appealing to its tokens of distress and fraternal obliga-
tions, and offering to obligate himself in any way to return,
or to pay the expense of a guard to his house, if he was only
permitted to visit his family, and see his child, before the
earth should cover her loved form from his sight. This
touching appeal was read and handed back with the coarse
and brutal remark, " If this is repeated, you will be put into
close confinement."
Thus he remained for two weeks, reporting to the Marshal
at 9 a. m., each day, according to orders.
At 9 o'clock p.m., September 2, Dr. Bundy, with his fellow-
prisoners from Marion, was summoned before the Marshal,
who delivered them into the custody of Major Bond and
Isaac W. Phillips, who immediately took them to a car on
the Illinois Central Railroad, and locked them up, placing a
guard of four men over them, in Federal uniform, armed with
muskets, who replied to inquiries that the prisoners were
SAMUEL H. B U N D Y, M. D.
393
going to Springfield, Illinois, for trial. At thi3 information
the j were all highly elated, for they knew that an impartial
investigation, before any just tribunal, could result only in
their liberation and speedy return to their families.
The assurance from the guard, to Dr. Bundy, that he
Bhould have a fair hearing immediately on reaching Springfield,
nearly made him wild with joy, and he managed, by the dim
car-light, to pencil a note to his family full of comfort and
encouragement, expressing strong hopes of being with them
in a few days to share their grief and minister to their wants ;
which he handed to a friend as the train passed Carbondale.
At this point, an incident occurred which must ever remain
green in the memory of grateful hearts. J ust as the prison-
car was moving from the station, Joseph M. Campbell, a mer-
chant of that place, sprang upon the platform and asked
admission, as he had very important business with some of
the gentlemen. "With a scowl he was refused. The door was
locked. In a trice, he hoisted one of the end windows of the
car, and before the bewildered sentinels had decided what to
do, he was inside. "With a roll of bank-bills in one hand, he
grasped the hands of his old friends with the other, and gave
them a hearty shake, saying, " Boys, there is no telling where
these fellows will take you, nor how long you will be gone.
I have a little money here, and if any of you are likely
to need it, you are welcome ; and if this is not enough, I
have plenty more." About one hundred dollars were dis-
tributed to those who would take it. From Mr. Campbell,
Dr. Bundy received the last news from his afHicted family,
that reached him, until after his release from confinement.
When the train reached Centralia, a number of other pris-
oners were found waiting ; and it was soon learned from con-
versation among the officers, who seemed to have a warm
dispute over the prize, that they were destined for "Washing-
ton City, under special orders from the "War Department.
All hopes of a speedy deliverance vanished immediately, and
the fond anticipation of embracing his sick family faded from
the Doctor's mind, as the glow of sunset sinks into nignt.
394
AMERICAN BASTILE
From this point lie was borne along from his home through
weary days and nights, more dead than alive, and he re
tains but an imperfect recollection of the occurrences upon
the route ; except that Bond proved to be a contemptible,
petty tyrant, and omitted no opportunity of insulting and
annoying his victims ; being so overbearing, that on several
occasions, Phillips voluntarily interfered in their behalf.
On the 5th of September, the party reached Washington,
and the prisoners were taken directly to that far-famed recep-
tacle of Democratic offenders, the Old Capitol Prison, except
Hon. William J. Allen, who, being dangerously ill, was left
at a hotel, and a few days afterward was remanded to Spring-
field, Illinois. But, though sick and in bonds, his generous
heart was not unmindful of his fellow-prisoners. Before
leaving Washington, he deposited with a friend a large sum
of money, subject to their orders in case they should need it.
This Military Bastile has a world-wide reputation from the
number of gentlemen of every social rank, who were confined in
it during the war, the harsh and cruel treatment to which they
were subjected, and the loathsome and disgusting condition of
its cells. The simple statement, that one was confined within
the Old Capitol Prison, conveys to most readers a pretty cor-
rect idea of what he experienced, without entering into the
details of locks, bars, sentinels, filth, vermin, prison fare, and
official insults. When Dr. Bundy and his friends entered the
prison, Lieutenant J. Miller, of the 10th Xew Jersey Volun-
teers, was in command, with a strong military force under
him, and William E. Wood was Superintendent. Miller was
a supple tool of the unscrupulous tyrants he served — Gen-
eral Wad>worth, commanding the District of Columbia, and
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. Mr. Wood seemed to
be personally a gentleman of generous impulses.
The room in which they were first confined was filthy
beyond description. The floor was literally obscured by ex-
crement, that emitted a stench which no human being could
loug have borne. It was supplied with sleeping-bunks ranged
in tiers around the walls, which contained a few old mat-
SAMUEL H. BUNDY, M. D.
395
Messes and soiled blankets, swarming with vermin. There
was not a chair, or bench, or table, on which a man could
rest. One small window heavily grated, afforded the only
means of light and ventilation. The door was bolted and
guarded by a sentinel. The food was of the poorest sort of
prison-fare, badly prepared, and served to the prisoners as
if they had been caged animals in a menagerie, ratber than
human beings, not to say gentlemen, accustomed to the pro-
prieties and amenities of refined society.
So intolerable was their condition that they were con-
strained to address a strong appeal to the Superintendent,
Mr. Wood, who in a few days had them removed to No. 16,
a tolerably large room on the third floor, which they were
allowed, after much delay, to have cleansed and furnished
with rude seats and tables, at their own expense. Finally,
they were permitted to board themselves, by purchasing pro-
visions in the city, and hiring the negroes, who had unre-
stricted access to the prison yard, to cook for them. A ser-
geant was detailed to purchase the provisions for them, and
for others who were allowed the same privilege. No. 16 con-
tained twenty-one men, literally jammed together.
Thus they remained week after week in close confinement,
denied even the privilege of conferring or corresponding with
any of their friends. Hon. T. H. Campbell, and other influ-
ential gentlemen from Illinois, warmly interceded in their
behalf, and urged that they might be admitted to trial, but
in vain. They were in the grasp of a tyranny which neither
law, justice, nor the appeals of mercy could relax. No attor
ney was allowed to counsel them, and no judge dared to issue
a writ of habeas corpus to inquire into the legality of their
confinement.
Dr. Bundy was attacked with dysentery soon after enter-
ing the prison, from which he did not recover until long
after his release. He wrote to his family every few days, to
inform them of his condition, and try to comfort and
encourage them in their sore affliction. But his letters
probably never went beyond the office of the prison. Not
396
AMERICAN BASTILE.
one of them ever reached his family ; who heard nothing
directly from him after he passed Carbondale, and were con-
tinually tortured by reports from " reliable sources," and
newspaper articles, that he was " condemned to be shot ; "
that he was " sent to prison during the war;" that "the
proof against him was overwhelming," etc., etc. Nor was he
allowed to hear a single word from his family or friends,
although they addressed letters to him daily, informing him
of the dark shadow which rested upon his house, and of the
efforts that were being made for his release.
Of what was occurring in the outer world he was kept in
as profound ignorance as if he had been enclosed in the
centre of the earth. He heard nothing except an occasional
item of news that a sentinel might chance to utter within
reach of his ear. His mind was constantly harrowed by the
consciousness that those dearer to him than life or liberty
were in deep affliction ; and uncertainty and suspense in-
creased his mental agony to a degree which a free, healthy
mind cannot conceive.
On the last day of September, Dr. Bundy was summoned
to the prison office, where Mr. Wood met and informed him
that he was to go before Judge Turner for "trial." The
Doctor replied that he was in no condition for an impartial
trial, having been denied counsel, and having no witnesses
nearer than Illinois. Wood, however, informed him in a con-
fidential tone, that " that made no difference — that all would
come out right." They went in company to the office of
Judge Turner, who was engaged at the time they entered,
listening to a clerk reading some kind of a document, and
was leaning back in his chair, with his feet elevated on the
table, smoking a cigar. He was soon at leisure, when Mr.
"Wood introduced Dr. Bundy as " one of the prisoners of
state from Illinois." The Judge removed his cigar, nodded
his head, and pointing to a chair, told the Doctor to be
seated. He then asked him a few unimportant and silly
questions, puffed his cigar, and remarked that he had
examined the evidence against him, and considered it insuf
SAMUEL H. BUND Y, M. D.
397
ficient to justify his confinement, and he would therefore be
released.
All this farce was enacted in a careless manner, that
plainly stamped it as the merest mockery, the most con-
temptible trifling with the forms of justice*, and utter disre-
gard of the feelings and rights of American citizens.
The Judge's order, prepared by a clerk, was put into the
hands of Wood, who conducted Dr. Bundy back to the prison
office, and gave it to Lieutenant Miller. He read it, and then
asked the Doctor if he would take the oath of allegiance to
the United States, who replied that he owed allegiance to no
other Government, and would take the oath daily, if required
Miller then administered the oath, and handed him the fol
lowing certificate, which seemed to have been already pre
pared :
"Old Capitol Prison,
Washington, D. C, September 30, 1862.
" To all whom it may concern :
" Know ye, that Samuel H. Bundy (a prisoner of state) has
been nonorably released from this prison, he having taken the
oath of allegiance to the United States Government.
" By order, Secretary of War.
Lieutenant J. Miller, 10th N. J. Vols."
Thus, after being torn from the unfinished burial of his
dear boy, dragged from the side of the weeping mother and
his other sick children, imprisoned for a month and a half,
and subjected to insult and abuse, it was found that the
proof was insufficient, and he was honorably discharged,
nearly a thousand miles from his home, to find his way back
as best he might ! What a commentary upon justice ! What
an example of boasted American liberty !
The most cruel and heartless chapter of this outrage on
the most sacred of human rights and feelings, and which
should consign its authors to eternal infamy, is still untold.
After handing the Doctor his certificate of re1 ease, Miller
took from his desk and gave him a large bundle of letters
from his family and friends at home ; all of which had been
398
AMERICAN B A STILE.
opened and read. Here were the tear-blotted words of grief
and love from the companion of his youth, the bereaved and
heart-broken mother of his children, and kind words of sym-
pathy and encouragement from warm-hearted friends — let-
ters informing him of the great bereavement he had suffered
in the loss of his children, and of the threatening condition
of his wife's health ; and letters telling him of the numerous
affidavits of men of all parties, which had been forwarded to
him by his friends. And yet, of all this he had been kept,
in profound ignorance.
The first letter he opened happened to be from Hon. "^Til
liam J. Allen, who had reached his home, and contained the
6ad news of the death of his idolized daughter, five years of
age, who had died on the 12th of September, and also of the
still dangerous illness, not only of another child, but of his
wife.
The shock was too much for his already overstrained
nerves. The letters fell from his hands, and he was sup-
ported to a cot, where he lay insensible for several hours.
Eeturning consciousness only brought back the terrible grief
to his heart. The sweets of liberty were imbittered, and the
fond anticipations of soon embracing his loved ones were
crushed. The thought that he had been wronged and mocked,
and that he must now return to his desolate home, to th^
graves of his children and to his suffering wife, and bear his
grief without the power to obtain justice or to vindicate
himself before the world, quite unmanned him, and for a time
his feelings had entire control of him. Late in the afternoon
he rallied, went to his room for his clothes, told his sorrows
to a few of his fellow-prisoners, bid them an affectionate fare-
well, and left the Old Capitol Prison for his home in Illinois.
Nothing occurred to interest him on the journey, for he
noticed little that passed. His mind was busied with far
diiierent subjects. He reached home on the morning of
October 5. The meeting with his family we will not attempt
to portray. How changed was the little circle ! Two va-
uant seats were at the hearth — two fresh graves were in
SAMUEL H. BUKDY, M. D.
399
the church-yard. Mrs. Bundy's feehle frame was completely
shattered, and she gradually declined in health, until death
called her to rest beside her children.
Such, dear reader, were the doings of the party which
professed to labor for " God and humanity." Such was tie
heartless tyranny of men, who, clothed with a " little brief
authority," set the laws at defiance, trampled under foot the
principles of justice, disregarded the rights of citizens, and
outraged family endearments, Christianity, and common de-
cency. Shall they go unwhipped of justice ? Shall they escape
the verdict of history and a just retribution? "Will Ameri-
can freemen suffer them thus to destroy the fair temple of
liberty, without raising their voices and hands to stay the
work of ruin ?
JOHN APPLE.
MR. JOHN APPLE, of Philadelphia, was arrested by
order of the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, on
the 15th of August, 1862, by Deputy Marshal Schuyler.
His arrest was made at the Jefferson House, on the corner
of Fifth and Poplar Streets, Philadelphia, and the prisoner
was taken thence to the Marshal's office.
He inquired of the Marshal the cause of his arrest, anc
was informed that it was for discouraging enlistments. Mr.
Apple as:ain asked who had made the charge, and was told
that it had been made by a man named T5urns. He then
employed two attorneys to obtain for him a writ of habeas
corpus, which they applied for, although the Marshal had
told them his arrest was by order of the authorities at
Washington, and a writ could not be granted, as he (the
prisoner) was to be tried in that city. The writ was not ob-
tained.
He was started for Washington the same night, arriving
there about seven o'clock on the following morning, (August
16.) and was, at his request, taken to see Colonel Thomas B.
Florence, who, together with the Marshal, accompanied him
to the office of Judge Advocate Turner.
Mr. Florence stated his case to the Judge, who said he
had nothing to do with it, and remarked to the Marshal,
" You have been ordered to take this man to the Old Capitol
Prison, have you not? " The Marshal replied that such were
the orders. The Judge then said that the prisoner would
have to be taken there, as he had nothing to do with the
case.
He was then taken to the Old Capitol Prison, and placed
in charge of Superintendent Wood. Apple remarked to
400
JOHN APPLE.
401
Wood, that the Marsha] had no warrant for his arrest, nor
any charge against him. The Superintendent replied, " We
will find a charge against you." The Marshal was then sent
to the office of the Provost Marshal of the District of Colum-
bia, for a commitment for the prisoner. On his return, Wood
placed him (Apple) in the hospital, in which there were from
sixty to seventy sick soldiers, confined with different diseases,
these being constantly augmented by fresh arrivals from the
different camps.
Here, he was compelled to eat and sleep, amid the vitiated
air of the room, and the noxious exhalations of fever-stricken
men. The food served them was poor in quality, and meagre
in quantity. Those who had means were permitted to pur-
chase such things as they wished, of which permission he
quickly availed himself. He was detained in the hospital
for about three weeks, and then removed to a room where a
number of state prisoners were confined. This room was
much cleaner than the hospital, and more healthy ; but both
were full of rats, mice, and other vermin.
During the term of his imprisonment, he saw but one
friend. Others called to see him, but were refused admit-
tance. In the single instance just mentioned, he was brought
down stairs to the office, and held a short conversation with
his visitor, while an officer stood between them, who would
not permit him to make mention of his case.
The duration of the interview was limited to fifteen min-
utes, and at the expiration of that time he was returned to
his room, where he remained until discharged. The letters
that he received were opened and examined by three or four
parties, stamped on the back, and approved by the Provost
Marshal, before they were given to him.
His letters passed through the same course, and if they
contained anything which was deemed obnoxious, they were
cither sent back or detained.
He remained immured for six weeks, when, in company
with six others, he was conducted by the Superintendent to
the Judge Advocate, who asked him if he belonged to any
26
402
AMERICAN BASTILE.
secret political organization? He replied that he did not.
He then inquired if he would take the oath of allegiance, to
which Mr. Apple replied that he was a Democrat, and as
such owed allegiance to the Government already. The Judge
Advocate then wished to know if he would give a bond for
§5,000. He asked what for, and the answer was, to keep the
peace. He then told the Judge Advocate he had never
broken the peace, and would give no bond, as he preferred
going to prison again to debasing himself; and asked that a
trial be accorded him.
The Judge Advocate then blandly said that " he looked
like a good-natured man, and he did not think he would do
any injury," and discharged him from custody.
HOK. DEPOTS A. MAHO!NY.
HOK DEKNTS A. MAHOKY, Editor of the "Dubuque
Herald," was arrested about 4 o'clock a.m., on Thursday
the 14th of August, 1862, at his residence in Dubuque, Iowa.
He was aroused from his slumbers by a man named Gregory,
knocking at his door, who said he desired to see him iu
his office. Mr. Mahony replied, that he could do nothing
there at that hour in the morning, nor could he get in, if he
so desired, as the keys were in possession of his clerk. Having
been the recipient of several anonymous and threatening let-
ters, and thinking that his visitor's midnight mission por-
tended no good, he cried out loudly, with the intention of
arousing the neighbors. Gregory gave a signal-whistle, when
Marshal Hoxie and his Deputy, P. H. Conger, together with
a number of soldiers, appeared in front of his house, and
demanded admittance. He, seeing that his arrest was de-
sired, reproached Marshal Hoxie, with whom he was person-
ally acquainted, with the disgraceful manner in which he was
conducting the affair, and further inquired of him by what
authority he made the arrest. He replied, by order of the
Secretary of War.
Mrs. Mahony became almost frantic with fear at the pro-
bable fate of her husband ; and from the array of soldiers
around the house, and their menacing remarks, she became
much alarmed, when one of them brutally ordered her to
u hush up," or he would blow her brains out.
Mahony prepared himself to accompany his captors, and
was taken under escort to the Key City House for breakfast.
Professing to be in a hurry to reach the steamer for Daven-
port, Hoxie did not give him time to obtain a change of
dothing, and he, thinking, in all probability, that when he
408
404
AMERICAN BASTILE.
had an interview with Governor Kirkwood, which the Mar-
shal had promised him, he would he released, did not insist
on it. His desire to see the Governor arose from the fact
that that official was a personal friend, and had on a former
occasion declared that no one should he taken from the State
of Iowa, without first having had a trial to see whether the
accused person was guilty of any offence. Mr. Mahony made
a second demand on the Marshal, for his authority in thus
tearing him from his home and business, subjecting him to
insult, and, above all, for depriving him of his personal liberty.
But to this the Marshal made no reply.
Fearing a rescue, Mahony remarked to Hoxie, that he had
better send the soldiers one way, and they would go another,
in order to allay any excitement that his arrest might occa-
sion. Captain Pierce, commanding the company of Regulars,
approved of the suggestion, and the Marshal and his prisoner,
closely followed by Deputy Conger, hurried on to the Key
City House. Hoxie, after leaving him in the care of Deputy
Conger, went out, and, as Mahony afterward learned, rejoiced
with his friends on what had occurred, with fanatical zest.
On his return, he took Mr. Mahony on board the steamer
" Bill Henderson," bound for Davenport. The prisoner took
every opportunity to prevent a collision between the people
and the military. Yet, Marshal Hoxie circulated the report
that he had tried to resist his writ. Arriving at the steamer,
they found a company of soldiers drawn up on the levee, and
two guards, with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets, were
placed over him. His friends were allowed to approach him
only by twos. From the steamer he wrote a letter to his
friends in the city, stating the fact of his arrest, and detail-
ing the ungentlemanly treatment by the Marshal and his
deputies. A committee of the citizens of Dubuque was on
the steamer, but none of them had the manly courage to
speak to him, with the exception of Mr. D. S.Wilson, and he
did so in a very formal manner, being a personal friend. He
was guarded down the river by two soldiers, who had been
selected for that purpose on account of their known antipathy
DENNIS A. MAHONY.
405
to all Democrats. The Marshal seemed to consider it a part
of his duty to point him out to all the new recruits on board,
who thereupon followed him around until he was forced to
enter his state-room to escape their scrutinizing gaze, where
he remained until they reached Davenport. This was not
the only instance in which his " private and hallowed feel-
ings " were outraged by the Marshal, who pursued a system
atic course of mean tyranny toward him, as will be seen in
the sequel.
Arriving in the city of Davenport, he was lodged at the
Burton House, where he expected to meet the Governor, but
was informed that he was not there. On inquiring of the
Marshal, that official informed him that the Governor would
arrive on the morrow, but one of the guard hooted at the idea ;
and, as the Governor did not arrive at the appointed time,
Mr. Mahony has no doubt that Hoxie wrote him not to come
to the city — a fair sample of the treachery and duplicity of
other officials higher in power, of which Marshal Hoxie was
but an epitome. To a subsequent letter to the Governor, he
received a cold and insolent reply, couched in insulting lan-
guage, charging him with disloyalty, and declining an inter-
view with him either at Iowa City or Davenport. He then
felt satisfied that his bold defence of constitutional liberty
had made him the object of partisan malignity, which was
being manifested in the most despotic manner. He spent the
night in the hotel, under guard, and, when he awoke in the
morning, he was forcibly reminded, by the recumbent position
of one of the sentinels, that his imprisonment was not an
ideal thing, but a stern reality. After receiving Hoxie 's per-
mission, he sauntered down the street, accompanied by his
guard, to visit some friends. As he passed along, he met
Judge Grant, who asked him what had happened to him,
and, being informed, he volunteered to obtain a writ of habeas
corpus for him. But Mahony declined the Judge's offer,
remarking that he intended quietly to submit, as he thought
he would be discharged as soon as his case was examined by
the Governor.
406
AMEBIC AN BASTILE.
"While at Davenport, several personal friends called, and
among them a Mr. Richardson, Editor of the " Democrat
and News," Counsellor Parker, H. V. Dilden, an old ac-
quaintance, and Mrr. D. V. Wilson, who, woman-like, kindly
assisted in procuring him some changes of clothing, in which
bhe was assisted by other noble ladies, to whose kindness he
feels deeply indebted. On Friday, it was intimated to him
that, instead of proceeding direct to Washington, he was to
be taken down the river to Burlington ; for what reason, he
could not then conceive. The Marshal, however, insinuated
that other arrests were to be made, and subsequently in-
formed him that David Sheward, Editor of the " Constitu-
tion and Union," of Fairfield, Iowa, was one of the individ-
uals to be seized.
They arrived late on Saturday night at Burlington, and
walked to the Barrett House, where he was placed in one of
a suite of rooms selected by the Marshal. It having been
noised about the town that he was there, a prisoner of state,
on Sunday, numbers of political friends called to see him, and
manifested more feeling and sympathy than the same class
had done either at his home or at Davenport. The crowd
became so demonstrative as to frighten the Marshal, whe
grudgingly gave permission to his friends to visit him.
Wishing to go to church, and leave having been hesitatingly
granted him, he was accompanied by an orderly sergeant of
the regular service. They proceeded thither, and took seats
in the same pew, presenting, at that time, a strange appear-
ance in the free United States.
During Sunday, the object of the visif- to Burlington was
revealed by the arrival of Mr. Sheward. To secure his arrest,
as speedily as possible, the Marshal had engaged a powerful lo-
comotive from the Superintendent of the Burlington and Mis-
souri Railroad, and, accompanied by that individual, had pro-
ceeded to Fairfield, and arrested Sheward at the house of a
friend, where he was dining. Placing him on the locomotive,
they soon arrived at Burlington, where Mr. Sheward was for
mally presented to the person who, from that day forward.
DENNIS A. MAHONY.
407
(the 17th of August,) was to be his fellow-prisoner and room-
mate, for the three following months, in the now historic Old
Capitol Prison. The excitement in the city became more
intense when it was found that She ward was also in custody.
Under the pretext of removing them to more comfortable
quarters, Hoxie placed them in a part of the house more re-
mote from access by their mutual friends, quadrupled the
guard, and gave positive orders to shoot either of them should
they attempt to elude their vigilance. This order came near
proving fatal to Mr. Mahony, who, in attempting to speak
to the guard as to the disposal of an intoxicated man, was
thrust back, with the imprecation, " D— n you, stand back,
or I '11 shoot you." Mahony 's indignation was aroused, but
his humiliating position, in the hands of his enemies, would
not admit of his resenting the insult, and he was obliged to
submit to their taunts, jeers, and insulting badinage.
Sunday evening, and a part of Monday, were spent in
visiting friends, and receiving visitors. The Marshal had his
headquarters in the office of the "Hawk Eye," an Abolition
journal, that made a craven attack on Mr. Mahony, when
first arrested. Here all persons wishing to have an interview
with the prisoners were obliged to go, to obtain the neces-
sary pass, which, of course, was very humiliating to them.
Senator Grimes, a personal friend of Mr. Mahony since 1854,
made him a friendly call while in Burlington, and promised
to address the Secretary of War, demanding for him a speedy
trial, which promise he fulfilled in a delicate, dignified, and
friendly manner. Mr. Postlewaite, on vibiting them, forced
upon them the contents of his purse, observing, prophet-
ically, as it turned out, that they might need it before they
again obtained their freedom. Rumors were circulated dur-
ing the day that Judge Hall, Messrs. Postlewaite, Browning,
and Carpenter, and General Dodge, were to be arrested.
But these gentlemen, regardless of the clamor, visited them
at the hotel.
In the evening, they were ordered to prepare themselves
to start for Washington. This was easily done, as Mahony
408
AMERICAN B A 8 T I L R.
wan almost destitute, and had but little means with which
to make a few necessary purchases. Sheward would have
been as badly off, had not his wife arrived on Monday even-
ing, with clothing and money. A guard was detailed to
take them to the ferry boat. The streets were crowded,
some of the people looked on approvingly, but the majority
with a scowl at their custodians, and a silent pity for the
captives. In the cars, en route to Chicago, they were guarded
by the Marshal and a Sergeant. An accident, caused by the
collision of two freight trains, detained them for some hours,
60 that they did not reach Chicago until the next morning.
The Marshal, after providing himself at the Quarter-
master's office with transportation to Washington, took them
to the cars of the Chicago, Fort Wayne, and Pittsburg Rail
road, on which, as elsewhere, they were examined by an
official, whose dut}- it was to examine all travellers, to pre-
vent persons from evading the draft by escaping to foreign
countries. But as they were then in the custody of the Gov
ernment, no difficulty was experienced in passing. Hoxie took
especial pains here, as elsewhere, to inform the bystanders
that he had " two Democratic prisoners of state." At Har-
risburg they found themselves within the influence of martial
law. The railroad, from that place to Baltimore, was under
a guard of armed men, and the cars were full of soldiers
returning home on furlough, or going for the first time to
the tented field.
This was the case all the way to Washington, which they
reached about noon on the 21st of August. They were im
mediately marched to the office of the Military Governor,
General AVadsworth, and left to stand in the hot sun, in
front of the building, while the Marshal, and a friend named
Taylor, also in the Government employ, entered the office to
obtain their commitment. On their return, Hoxie ordered
the prisoners to get into a prison van, which stood at the
door, and they were driven to the Old Capitol, and turned
over to Lieutenant Holmes, who examined their baggage,
fjuestioned them in regard to the possession of arms, liquors.
DENNIS A. MAHONY.
409
or valuables ; and not being satisfied with the answers, took
hold of them, shook them roughly, and finding nothing con-
traband that he might confiscate, handed them over to a
guard, with directions to take them to room No. 13, which
the reader will find fully described in the history of the Old
Capitol Prison. This room they found occupied by two Vir-
ginia gentlemen, and Dr. J. C. Stanley, of Chicago. After
undergoing the formalities of an introduction, and a cross-
examination, and registering themselves, they set about
"learning the ropes." A few hours brought darkness, and
with it their first night in the Old Capitol. The next day
after their incarceration, they were visited by Judge Charles
Mason, of Iowa, who volunteered to act as counsel for them,
and arrangements were made for bringing their cases to the
notice of the Secretary of War, with a view to a trial as
speedily as possible.
A few days afterward, Mr. Mahony was visited by the
correspondent of the " Chicago Times, " F. B. Wilkie, Esq.,
who had formerly been local editor of the " Dubuque Herald."
During the conversation, Mr. Mahony was informed by that
gentleman that he had been nominated for Congress. This
remark displeased Lieutenant Holmes, who immediately put
an end to the interview. On returning to his room, and
consulting with his fellow-prisoners, they advised him to
write a letter to his constituents accepting the nomination,
which he did, and which was returned to him with the
order, in reference to letters, given elsewhere. Feeling that
he was detained in prison to gratify partisan malice, he wrote
another long letter to his constituents, reiterating his former
acceptance, and expressing his views on the leading topics of
the day, at much length. This letter was passed out sur-
reptitiously, and, after publication, caused much surprise to
the officials of the prison.
Judge Mason's application to the Secretary of War for the
charges against Mr. Mahony, brought a denial from that
official of all knowledge of any. The Assistant Secretary, P.
IL Watson, declined granting him the privilege of examining
410
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the records in the Provost Marshal's office to ascertain the
charges against hirn, and, in his reply to the Judge, delivered
this unique sentence: "Let him prove himself innocent."
" Innocent of what ? " inquired Judge Mason. " IIow is he to
know of what he is to prove himself innocent ? " From that
time until he was discharged, after an imprisonment of three
months, he did not learn the nature of the charges against
him, and all the applications that he made for that purpose
were alike futile. Mr. Mahony fared badly until the or-
ganization of messes. Previous to that, his fare consisted
of bread with the addition of beef for dinner, (denominated
mule,) and coffee of a miserable quality. This regimen was
sometimes changed by the arrival of boxes from some dis-
charged prisoner, containing butter and some other solid and
palatable food ; but they were " like angels' visits, few and
far between."
While confined here, Mr. Mahony was affected by one of the
most touching incidents of his life, in the compassionate re-
gard shown him by a contraband. Shortly after the second
battle of Bull Run, Banks's corps d'armee arrived in Wash-
ington, destitute of provisions. Requisition was at once
made for all the bread that could be obtained. Prisoners of
state were among the first deprived of bread, and hardtack
was substituted, some of which was so hard that Dr. Ross,
of Tamaroa, Illinois, figuratively said " he had knocked fire
from them;" and Sheward declared "that the barrel contain-
ing the crackers was marked 400 B. C, an indication of their
age," which our readers will readily understand without ex-
planation. But we digress. The contraband "Bob" ap-
proached him on the second day, in an awkwardly familiar
manner, saying, as he came near, " Dese crackers is too hard
for massa, an' I to't I 'd bring him dis 'ere loaf uv bread,"
saying which, he pulled out from his bosom a small loaf, a
part of his own rations, and handed it to him. Mr. Mahony
was overpowered with conflicting emotions. His treatment
und that of his fellow-prisoners, their subjection to such
DENNIS A. MAHONY.
411
usage a= they were then enduring, and the humanity of the
poor negro, with other thoughts, crowded together in hia
mind, and for a moment he was without the power of utter-
ance. As soon as he regained his self-control, he inquired of
" Bob " whether the servants, all colored, were furnished with
bread rations. He replied that they were. So it appeared
that only the victims of despotism were obliged to put up with
the cracker fare. Mahony, at times, when his indignation
was aroused, denounced the tyrannical acts of the Administra-
tion in round terms.
During the campaign before Washington, in August, 1862,
the prisoners distinctly heard the booming of the distant
cannon, which created much excitement among them. Often
for hours did they sit by the barred windows, looking into
the street, and listening to the firing, which daily became
more distinct. Various were the conjectures of the prisoners
as to their probable fate, should they fall into the hands of
the Confederates ; for the prisoners and deserters who flocked
into "Washington, gave color to the idea current among them,
that disaster and defeat had overtaken the troops at the front.
That the army was falling back on the city soon became evi-
dent to all.
The Rebel prisoners in the yard were jubilant, and were
confident that victory was gracing their standard. As their
shouts of exultation rent the air, many a prisoner
. . . . " felt a filial heart
Beat high within him at a mother's wrongs."
And many were the prayers for her preservation, by those
victims whose supplications to the President, for their owl
liberty, had " been answered only by repeated injury."
The culpable carelessness of the prison guard in firing
through the ceiling, came near, on one occasion, causing
Mr. Mahony 's death. We copy a statement drawn up and
oertified to by his fellow-prisoners, viz. :
412
AMERICAN BASTILE.
" Old Capitol Prison,
Washington, D. C, October 22, 1862.
"The urdereigned, prisoners in the Old Capitol, do hereby tes-
tify, that on this day, viz., the twenty-second of October, 1862,
at two o'clock and forty minutes p.m., a ball -was fired through
the floor of room No. 16, in which we, the undersigned, were at
the time present. The ball passed through the head of the bed
on which D. A. Mahony, a prisoner of state, was at the time re-
clining, and on which he had been lying most of the day, ill. At
the moment the ball went through his bed, he had raised him-
self up on one of his elbows to speak with a fellow-prisoner, Dr.
Moran, who was shaving at the time. Had Mr. Mahony been
lying down as he had been most of the day, the ball would have
gone through his head inevitably. The force with which the
ball was shot will be understood from the fact that, after passing
through the ceiling and floor underneath room No. 16, it went
through one of the slats of the bed, through two bedticks,
through a blanket of twelve thicknesses rolled up as a pillow,
and through a feather pillow, and then penetrated the ceiling of
room No. 16. As an evidence of the truth of all of which, wo
hereby subscribe our names, in presence of Hon. Andrew D. Duif
Judge of the Twenty-sixth Judicial Circuit, Illinois.
John H. Mulkey,
M. L. Boss,
Frank P. Blair, Jr.
" This will certify that I was present during the affair above
described, and believe, if it was not designed, to be the result of
gross carelessness on the part of those having the control of the
guard of the Old Capitol Prison.
Thos. T. Ellis, M. D.,
Late Post Surgeon, New York, and Medical Director."
Next morning after this occurrence, one of the guard shot
himself through the head, in front of the prison. No public
mention was ever made of the occurrence. Not only were
some of the guard careless and reckless, but several of them
were rude and vicious to a degree bordering on brutality.
One day, Mr. Mahony was standing at one of the windows
DENNIS A. MAHONY.
413
in room "No. 10, looking out, in a contemplative mood. The
guard upon the pavement below, observing him, called to
him to stand back from the window. Mahony replied that he
was as far back as the rules of the prison required.
"Damn you," said the guard, "if you do not stand back,
I '11 shoot you."
Mahony very complacently remained standing where he
was, but watched the guard's motions closely. After two or
three commands similar to that first given to stand back,
the guard brought his musket to his shoulder, and was about
to take aim, when Mr. Mahony peremptorily ordered him to
" Shoulder arms ! " He was so suddenly startled by the com-
mand coming, as he no doubt supposed, from the chief officer,
that he quickly shouldered his musket. A shout of derisive
laughter from the other window of the prison, facing the
guard's position, was the first conscious intimation the fellow
had that he had obeyed the order of Mr. Mahony.
During the remainder of the time that this man remained
on duty, he seldom took his eye off" the window at which
Mahony had stood, and the latter was equally as attentive,
but at a respectful distance. After Superintendent Wood's
return from Richmond, where he had been on a peace mis-
sion, he promised to have the Western prisoners, who had
been confined nearly three months, released.
They were all suffering more or less from their confine-
ment, especially Mahony, who was failing so rapidly, that
the physicians in the room became alarmed at his situation.
After examining him, they expressed their opinion in the
subjoined certificate :
" This will certify that we, the undersigned physicians and
surgeons, having carefully examined Dennis A. Mahony, a pris-
oner of state, now confined in the Old Capitol Prison at Wash-
ington, D.C., do hereby affirm it as our professional opinion, that
the bad health of Mr. Mahony is the result of continued confine*
ment ; and, further, we believe the disease which be is now sufc
fering from, (namely, incipient paralysis,) is aggravated by his
414
AMERICAN BASTILE.
imprisonment, and that a protraction of it will continue to affect
him injuriously, and thereby endanger his life.
Thomas T. Ellis, M. D., and M. E. C. L. S.
John J. Moran. M. D.
"In presence of A. D. Duff."
On the 10th of November, Superintendent ¥m. P. Wood
presented to Judges Duff and Mulkey, and Messrs. Mahony
and Sheward, a paper, adding that he was directed to do so
by the Judge Advocate Turner, and to inform them that
they could not be released until they signed it, and agreed to
comply with its requirements. On examination it proved to
contain these obligations: an oath, both of allegiance to the
Government, and an obligation not to prosecute the Federal or
State officers concerned in their arrest and imprisonment of them.
The first impulse was to refuse to take that or any oath
as a condition of release. Not that they objected to the
taking of an oath of allegiance, but to do so would imply
that they were guilty of some offence against the Govern-
ment. Reflection, and the urgent advice of their fellow-pris-
oners, together with the declaration of the Superintendent
that they would not be discharged if they refused, and that
it was exacted to protect those in the employ of the Govern-
ment from suits for damages, (several of which had been
commenced by prisoners after their discharge,) induced them
to take it.
That our readers may see what the oath was, we append
the subjoined copy:
" I, , of , do solemnly that I will support, pro-
tect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United
States against all enemies, whether domestic or foreign, and
that I will bear true faith, allegiance, and loyalty to the same,
any ordinance, resolution, or law of any State Convention or
Legislature to the contrary notwithstanding; and further, that I
do this with a full determination, pledge, and purpose, without
any mental reservation or evasion, whatever; and further, that
I will neither enter any of the States now in insurrection against
tko authority of the Federal Government or hold any corre-
DENNIS A. MAHONY.
415
Bpondence whatever with them, or with any persons in them,
daring the rebellion, without permission of the Secretary of War, and
that I will in all things deport myself as a good and loyal citizen
of the United States; and that I will not cause or commence
any action or suit against the officers o£ any loyal State, or of
the United States, for causing my arrest or imprisonment, at any
future time, so help me God. Sworn to and subscribed before
me, this — day of .
"A true copy. J. J. Moran, M.D.
Frederick, Md."
On the 11th of November, Judge Duff, of Benton, Illinois ;
Judge Mulkey, of Cairo, Illinois ; David Sheward, of Fair-
field, Iowa ; and Dennis A. Mahony, of Dubuque, Iowa, were
taken before Judge Advocate Turner, who, without giving
them a trial or an examination, further than to question
them as to whether they were members of the Knights of
the Golden Circle, administered the oath to them, and dis-
charged them. The discharge read as follows :
" Old Capitol Prison,
Washington, D. C, November 11, 1862.
"To all whom it may concern :
" This will certify that the bearer, Dennis A. Mahony, a pris-
oner of state, has been duly and honorably discharged from
custody at this prison.
" By order, Secretary of War.
Captain B. L. Higgins,
Co. A, 86th N. Y. V., Commanding."
Similar discharges were given to the others. They returned
to their room, to pack up the few pieces of clothing that
remained, and bid farewell to their fellow-prisoners.
A leave-taking supper was prepared for them by the few
remaining victims, to be partaken of in room No. 16, " the
scene of triumphs, and the scene of pains." The room was
lighted with candles, and the mess-tables drawn together and
filled with such articles as the prisoners could procure. The
Superintendent was invited to partake of the viands. He
replied that it was against the rules for him to eat with the
416
AMERICAN B A STILE.
prisoners ; but as the four gentlemen about to leave were no
longer prisoners, he would accept the invitation, which he
did, and appeared as much affected as the rest.
The gentlemen about to leave had been the longest in
prison. All the later*arrivals looked up to them for counse1
and sympathy, and they were then about to separate, perhaps,
forever. This and other reflections swelled their hearts with
emotions which found vent only in tears. Forcing them-
selves away, they waved adieu to their old companions, and
took final leave of the Old Capitol Prison.
CYRUS F. SARGENT.
MR. CYRUS F. SARGENT, the subject of this narra
tive, was born in Yarmouth, Maine, in 1814, of highly
respectable parents. When about nineteen years of age, ho
went to Louisiana to engage in business, and spent some two
or three years in the employ of one of the most influential
merchants of New Orleans. He subsequently located in
Union County, Arkansas, as a merchant. The State was at
that time in a prosperous and flourishing condition, and by
strict attention to it, his business proved prosperous, and he
acquired quite a fortune. Owing to sickness, he was com-
pelled to leave the State, and removed North in 1856 or '57.
But his old friends in Arkansas induced him to commence
business in New Orleans in the fall of 1860, his family still
residing in Yarmouth, Maine, which was his home. Hear-
ing of the death of his wife in April, 1861, and having a
family of helpless children at home, he closed his business in
New Orleans and started for Maine. At this time the war
had commenced.
Soon after his return to Maine, he attended, with other Dem-
ocrats, a Convention at Portland. The subject of the war
being the topic of discussion, he was called upon for a state-
ment of the feeling of the Southern people. He told them
that the people of the South felt that the war was forced
upon them, and all they asked was that the Government
should be administered according to the Constitution, and
not as Abraham Lincoln said it should be, viz., on the
Black Republican platform, for that platform was virtually a
declaration of war against the Slave States of the Union.
Mr. Sargent left Portland, Maine, for Boston, Massachu-
setts, on the morning of September 23, 1861. While seated
27 417
418
AMERICAN BASTILE.
in a car reading the morning paper, he was attacked by four
ruffians, shortly after reaching South Berwick Junction.
One, a Deputy United States Marshal, came up behind him,
and jumped upon him, crushing him down between the seats.
The others got hold of him hy the head and arms, three hold-
ing him, while a fourth handcuffed him.
Immediately on being permitted to rise, he demanded their
authority for thus acting, when the Deputy Marshal took
from his pocket a paper, saying, " That is my authority."
Mr. Sargent asked permission to read it, but was refused.
He then requested the Marshal to do so, but this he also de-
clined. After ironing him securely, they searched his per
son, when one of the four, a man named Goddard, drew his
revolver, saying : " This is the thing we settle such fellows
as you with." Sargent called him a contemptible coward to
draw a revolver on a man in irons.
The cars being full, the passengers collected around tho
scene, but no one had the manliness to raise his voice against
the brutal manner in which the prisoner was treated.
The Marshal and his minions then pushed him into a small
saloon-room, and there detained him until the train arrived
in Boston.
He was taken in a coach across the city, and placed in the
cars for Xew York, stopping only a short time in a room con-
nected with the United States Marshal's office.
Deputy United States Marshal Heald, who had him in con-
finement, refused to loose the handcuffs that he might have
an opportunity of writing a few lines to his children and
friends, in Yarmouth, to allay their anxiety at his absence.
They did not even permit him to attend to the calls of nature.
It was with great difficulty that Deputy Marshal Keyes in-
duced Heald to unfasten the irons from one wrist, and that
was replaced within half an hour. On arriving in ^New York,
he was placed in a loathsome dungeon in the Tombs, and
there compelled to pass the night amid a horrible stench.
The next morning, September 24, he was taken to Fort
Hamilton, Heald passing a receipt with General Knox, then
CYRUS F. SARGENT.
419
in command of the Fort. Thence he was immediately trans-
ferred to Fort Lafayette, Lieutenant Wood in command.
Here, he was placed in one of the casemates, which was
crowded with other victims of Puritanical tyranny. He was
without a blanket or mattress for severa1 nights, and suffered
much from the cold while lying on the damp brick-floored
casemate. He was unable to eat the scanty food furnished
him, but soon got a chance to take two meals per day in a
mess made up among the prisoners. They employed a man
connected with the Fort to furnish them with provisions,
which were cooked in his apartments. The prisoners com-
posing the mess paid the bills. The water, for the first ten
days during his imprisonment, was filled with live, snakish-
looking insects, and was so offensive that the prisoners had to
close their nostrils while drinking it.
The last of October, he, together with a number of others,
was removed by steamer to Fort Warren, Boston Harbor.
The suffering of the prisoners, while on this rotten, unsea-
worthy steamer, beggars description. The hold was crowded
with Hatteras prisoners, kept without food for forty-eight
hours ; and, on arriving at Fort Warren, some of them were
nearly dead, and survived but a few days.
The treatment and accommodations at Fort Warren were
much superior to those at Fort Lafayette, while the prisoners
were not obliged to endure the uncalled-for abuse to which
they had been subjected at the latter place. The reader will
see details elsewhere.
He was released in the latter part of November, after hav-
ing been in confinement about two months, without having
any charges preferred against him. His friends went to
Washington, stated the case to Mr. Seward, Secretary of
State, who pretended ignorance of the matter, notwithstand
ing the fact that Mr. Sargent's attorney saw a telegram from
Seward, ordering his arrest by the Marshal, some two weeks
before it was made.
He had been arrested once before on the same telegram,
but his friends had secured a writ of habeas corpus for him.
420
AMERICAN BASTILE.
and the case was abandoned. Previous to the serving of the
writ, he endured forty-eight hours' confinement in jail. While
an occupant of Fort Lafayette, his friends demanded a trial
for him, but all to no purpose. His friends, who were inde-
fatigable in their efforts, next negotiated with the law part-
ner of a United States Senator for his release. "Whether he
was instrumental in obtaining his freedom or not, Mr. Sar-
gent is not aware ; however, he was shortly after discharged,
with a bill of expenses heavy enough to have liberated a
dozen men. He had also requested his friends to make a
demand on the Governor of his State to interfere and demand
a trial. To this, they replied " that Robert Elliott, of his
State, then his fellow-prisoner, had made a similar demand
on the Governor, and that he had declined having anything
to do with it ; " thus permitting citizens of Maine to be
dragged from the State and imprisoned, without a trial, or
even the effort to secure one. Mr. Sargent still resides iD
Yarmouth, a man of undoubted integrity, and a prominent
citizen.
joseph k. evans, john h. porter, william
evans, david Mccarty, james keith, Jo-
seph W. GIDEON, and VALENTINE M. GIDEON.
DURING the night of the 14th, and the morning of the
15th of September, 1862, the following gentlemen were
arrested by armed mobs disgracing the name of soldiers:
Joseph K. Evans and John H. Porter, of Winterset, and
Esquire David McCarty, William Evans, James Keith, Jo-
seph W. Gideon, and Valentine M. Gideon, residing in the
country. Of these we shall give separate sketches, but blend
their history as prisoners.
JOSEPH K EVANS.
J. K. Evans was born in Washington County, Indiana, ii
the year 1819. His father was a native of Wales, and emi
grated to the United States in 1785, served under General
Harrison at " Tippecanoe," etc., and was a faithful soldier
under General Jackson. Mr. Evans's mother was born m
the memorable year 1776. His grandfather on his mother's
side was a soldier in Daniel Morgan's celebrated rifle corps,
and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
Afterward he served under General Greene, and was killed
near Charleston, South Carolina.
Mr. Evans has resided in Iowa since 1841, and his present
nome is in Madison County of that State.
His arrest was made at about two o'clock on the morning
of September 15, 1862, by a company of soldiers claiming to
De a part of the 23d Iowa, acting under orders from United
States Marshal Hoxie, a name synonymous with imbecility
and corruption. The prisoner was driver; from his house at
421
422
AM ERIC AH BASTILE.
the bayonet's point, not being allowed time to dress, his
children following him with his necessary apparel. His
house was robbed, during that morning, of notes of hand to
the amount of four hundred dollars, which he never recovered.
His family were brutally menaced and insulted. Mr. Evans
held the office of Sheriff of Madison County, for several
years, with honor to himself and the party which elected
him. He then retired to private life with means sufficient to
support his family comfortably, by combining industry with
frugality. But the robbery of his house, his imprisonment,
and consequent loss of time and health, have reduced him to
poverty. He is still unflinchingly Democratic ; and with the
proud consciousness of having suffered for his country, and
the determination still to do her service, he bears the 44 slings
and arrows of outrageous fortune M with fortitude. From
Joseph K. Evans, we pass to his nephew,
WILLIAM EVAXS.
Of the personal history of this gentleman we shall be
compelled to speak in more general terms. The statement
made above, of the ancestry of Joseph K., will serve to some
extent for William. His father, Robert A. Evans, was born
in "Washington County, Indiana, has always been a farmer,
and is now an intelligent, influential, hale old man. His
mother is descended from one of the oldest families of Vir-
ginia, and was a school-mate of President John Tyler. His
grandfather, David Shoemaker, served under General Wash-
ington, and also assisted in suppressing the Whiskey Insur-
rection. One of his uncles fell in the Mexican War, and
another in the Indian service.
Mr. Evans was about twenty-three years of age at the
time of his arrest, which took place before daylight on the
morning of the loth of September, 1862. His father's house
was surrounded by a numerous mob, and his surrender
demanded. Resistance was not attempted. The old gentle-
man, in opening the door to admit the mob, (under promise
of proper treatment and speedy trial,) was severely wounded
DAVID McCAKTY — J. H. PORTER. 423
with a bayonet. And after William was in custody, he waa
fired at by the commander of the outlaws, the ball passing
close to him, almost grazing the head of a sleeping child,
and burying itself in the wall. He was then hurried to
Winterset, a guard being left to prevent any of the family
from escaping to give the alarm. Mr. Evans was elected to
the office of Assessor while in prison.
He is a young man of uncommon natural talent and good
information.
He is, however, a contented farmer, and his extreme
modesty has thus far prevented him from seeking or accept-
ing those honors which he so richly deserves, and which hia
niu aerous friends would gladly bestow upon him.
DAVID McCARTY, Esq.
David McCarty is a native of Claiborne County, East
Tennessee, and is descended from Irish ancestry. His father,
Thomas McCarty, was a Captain under General Jackson,
and afterward removed to Putnam County, Indiana, while
it was yet a Territory. Here, David McCarty married the
daughter of Captain Clift Glassbrook, and, in 1839, removed
to Buchanan County, Missouri. In 1851, he went to Iowa,
and settled in Madison County. Here, he filled the office of
Justice of the Peace for six years. He was nominated by
the Democratic party of his district for a seat in the Legis-
lature, and although the district was largely Republican, he
was defeated by but a small majority.
He was afterward elected a member of the Board of Super-
visors, and presided over that body during his term of office.
He was arrested before day, on the loth of September,
1862, by a detachment of ten men, his family insulted, and
he taken from his house without sufficient time to finish
dressing, and hurried off to Winterset.
JOH^ H. PORTER.
John H. Porter was born in Madison County, Indiana.
He was arrested at his house in Winterset, about two
424
AMERICAN BASTILE.
o'clock, on the morning of September 15, 1862. Every
trunk, oox, hole, and corner of the house was searched for
papers. His kidnappers said some persons had sworn that
Mr. Poi ter wa- Secretary of a Lodge of the Knights of the
Golden Circle. This charge, will of course, have its proper
weight with those who know that Mr. Porter cannot write
his own letters. Mr. Porter is a quiet, inoffensive citizen, and
takes no part in politics.
J. W. GIDEON.
Joseph "W. Gideon is, and has always been, a farmer. He
is a man of limited education, and makes very little preten
tions as a politician. He was arrested at night, September
15, 1862, and immediately taken to Winterset. His kidnap
pers promised him a speedy trial, and a traitor's fate.
V. M. GIDEON.
Valentine M. Gideon was arrested at the same time with
itis brother, J. "W". Gideon, and treated in a similar manner.
JAMES KEITH.
James Keith was brutishly torn from his needy family,
before daylight, on the 15th of September, 1862.
He never heard of any charge, verbal, or otherwise,
except " disloyalty." This shameful act of vindictiveness
brought upon the head of its author the hatred of all
good citizens. After the arrest of the gentlemen above
named, they were dragged to Winterset, under promise of
trial at that place ; but for fear of rescue, they were hurriedly
crammed into extra coaches, heavily ironed, (except J. K.
Evans, Porter, and Keith,) and started early in the morning
for Des Moines. The Marshal, Hoxie, by whose direction
they were arrested, gave the guards the following order:
" If a rescue is attempted, shoot the prisoners first. If any
one of the prisoners attempts to escape, shoot, and shoot to kill
— only halt him once.11 On the way to Des Moines, the officers
and guard got dinner, but compelled the prisoners to remain
JAMES KEITH.
425
in the coaches. At Des Moines, the prisoners again demanded
to know (as they had done at the time of their arrest,) upon
what authority and for what cause they were seized. They
were answered that they should know soon enough. They
demanded trial, and were answered with jeers and insults.
Upon arrival at Des Moines, the prisoners, amid all kinds
oi insult, except personal violence, were marched to Camp
Burnside, and given a sick man's allowance of dry bread.
The next day they were again ironed, and driven to Xewtown,
in Jasper County, where they were joined by Xaylor, Mann,
and Beal. Their treatment from this time is given in Mr
Naylor's narrative, all being confined together and treated
alike.
The reception of the prisoners on arriving at "Winterset,
after their release, wa3 most enthusiastic.
Their arrival a^Des Moines was made known at ^Vinterset
in the shortest nme possible, and in ten hours — hours of
night mostly — a concourse of jubilant Democrats, sufficiently
large to form a procession one mile in length, convened at
vVinterset to welcome the martyrs home. The enthusiasm
on the occasion baffles description.
The prisoners were met four miles east of the town, and
escorted in triumph to their homes.
HOIST. RICHARD BEKtfETT CARMICHAEL.
MARYLAND, from the first settlement of the State down
to the present time, has had many citizens to whose
names she can point with pride and admiration. Among
them may be designated Richard Bennett Carmichael. De-
scended from one of the oldest families of the Eastern Shore,
the name — which has been identified with the best inter-
ests of the State, before, during, and since the Revolutionary
War — alone carries with it respect and confidence.
The father of Judge Carmichael was a lawyer of erudition
and distinction, while he himself possesses the reputation of
being one of the soundest and most learned lawyers of his
State.
When quite a young man, he was elected a member of
Congress, which position he filled with great satisfaction to
his constituency. After his retirement from Congress, he
engaged in professional and agricultural pursuits, at the same
time being the recipient of many offices of honor and trust.
Subsequently, he was chosen Judge of the Circuit Court com-
prising the Counties of Kent, Queen Anne, Caroline, and
Talbot.
The election of Mr. Lincoln, in 1861, upon the issues in-
volved, accomplished a great revolution in the State of Mary-
land as well as in the United States generally. The vote of the
State of Maryland disclosed an almost total absence Oi sym-
pathy in the principles which prevailed in that election. The
doctrine of secession had not much favor with either of the par-
ties which had divided the State from the foundation of the
Federal Government. Bat the right of coercion of a State,
by that Government, had never been recognized by either,
and the leading men on both sides had disclosed decided
426
RICHARD BENNETT CAK MICHAEL. 427
opposition to it. The sympathies of the State were with the
South generally, and with Virginia in particular, when the
prospect of separation began to be developed, after the elec-
tion. Little doubt exists with any who observed the condi-
tion of things at that period, that, if Virginia had seceded
in the early part of the winter following, Maryland would
have gone with her. Geographical relation, community of
interests, of institutions, association, and every tie which
binds States and peoples together, served to make their for-
tunes one.
These causes, and the consequences so natural to them,
led to the jealousy which possessed the Federal authorities
toward Maryland throughout the war, and to the continued
and multiplied oppression by which the State was borne down
to its very close. This, at least, is the charitable conclusion
to be drawn from the course and conduct of the Government
in this relation, and no Government ever stood more in need
of charity in finding a pretext for its tyranny to the people
of a " loyal State." For, notwithstanding her sympathy was
in the main the other way, her action, as a State organization
in all the departments, was firmly in adherence to the Union.
If statesmanship at Washington had not been so shallow,
it would have discovered, what the people of the State had
come to feel, long before the war broke out, that participation
in the war on the side of the South, would lead inevitably to
the sacrifice of the material interests of the State. When
the people, in the first view of the situation, were ready to
co-operate with Virginia in the movement of secession, they
were under the sway of sympathy — of impulse to act with
those with whom they felt in common. Moreover, it was
believed that co-operation in such a movement would carry
along Kentucky and Missouri, and a general conviction pos-
sessed every heart, that such concurrent action by these
States would prevent the outbreak of war, and, after a time,
bring about terms of conciliation between the North and the
South. But, while Virginia was debating the policy of sepa-
ration^ impulse in Maryland was giving way to reflection
428
AMERICAN BASTILE.
and, when finally war was inevitable — when Mr. Lincoln, on
the one side of the Potomac, had flung his banner to the breeze
and called his hosts to arms, and Virginia, responsive on the
other side, thundered forth her ordinance of secession — to the
calm, sound, sober thought of Maryland, it was manifest she
had no place but with the Union ; that place she held geo-
graphically, and she assumed it politically. Her Governor,
Hicks — though pledged, time and again, to individuals and to
committees, in private and in public, to join the fortunes of
the South, in the event of conflict between the Xorth and the
South — rallied to the Union ; and her Legislature, although
Democratic, resolved that Maryland had no alternative but to
adhere to the Union.
Individual sympathy remained much with the South, but
State purpose and policy was adhesion to the Union. The
elections followed soon after, and disclosed heavy majorities
in favor of the Union candidates.
In this condition of things, the policy taken by the Federal
Government was to treat the State as a conquered province,
and her people as enemies. The civil power was overborne,
and military rule established on its ruins. Citizens were sub-
ject to the caprice of such characters as Butler, and Banks,
and Dix, and were arrested and cast into prison without war-
rant of laic, or form of trial. Hordes of spies and informers
waited on the bidding of Federal chieftains ; and in that
class, it was found, by the capture of one of their camps by
the Confederate forces, that the Governor, Hicks, had taken
his becoming place. The Marshal of Police of the city of
Baltimore was captured in his bed by a Federal regiment.
The Police Commissioners of that city and the Mayor shared
like fortune; and, as if to assure the people of the State there
was no place or person which they could regard secure against
the march of unbridled power, the Legislature were beleaguer
ed, captured, aud transported to a prison in a distant State.
The subject of this narrative, Judge Carmichael, at this
time, was a Judge of one of the Circuits comprising the Coun-
ties of Kent, Queen Anne, Caroline, and Talbot Before the
RICHARD BENNETT CARMICHAEL. 429
beginning of these arbitrary proceedings, the spring terms in
all these counties had been held. In the course of the sum-
mer, military arrests were made in sundry cases in Queen
Anne and Talbot Counties. On the approach of the fall
elections, squads of the military were sent to both of them,
to overawe the voters. Arrests were made, of persons for
" disloyalty," who had not favored the Union candidate at
the election. The Clerk of the Circuit Court for Queen Anne
was seized and taken to the camp of a Federal regiment
established near the village, and called to answer before a
Federal Colonel, on the very day before the regular fall term
of the Court.
It was a time-honored custom, in this Court, for the Judge
to charge the grand jury in respect of offences subject to
their cognizance, to which Judge Carmichael had conformed ;
and, as the proceedings of the Federal officers had caused
much distress and alarm throughout the jurisdiction, he had
to perform or shrink from the duty belonging to the occasion.
He charged the grand jury, that every arrest, without
" warrant of law," was arbitrary and unlawful, and that the
parties thereto were subject to their cognizance. Bills of
presentment followed, but the camp had been broken up and
the regiment removed before proceedings from the Court
could reach the offenders.
The term of the Court in Talbot County followed in a fort-
night after. In this county, wrongs similar to those presented
in Queen Anne had been suffered ; and here the Judge charged
the grand jury to the same effect, and in the same general
terms as in Queen Anne, with similar results. One of the
county papers made a gross misrepresentation of the terms
and meaning of the charge to the grand jury. The purpose
of this was so transparent that, at the instance of his friends,
the Judge reduced his charge to writing, and gave it to the
press. It was written out, as nearly as might be, in the very
terms delivered, so that those who had heard could verify its
identity when they should see it in print. So it is giver
here, in the simple didactic form in which it was the Judge'*
430
AMERICAN BASTILE.
wont to discourse, " ore tenas" to the grand jury, in respect
of their duties.
"Judge CarmichaeV s Charge to the Grand Jury of Talbot County, on
Arbitrary Arrests, November Term, 1861.
"Having now, gentlemen, charged you generally of the duties
of your high office, here I would dismiss you to your chamber,
if my duty did not require me to invite your notice to acts of
outrage and violence unusual in this quarter.
" Through the public papers and otherwise, it has come to my
knowledge, that violations of law have been committed by per-
sons holding themselves above the law, which, by tacit accord, for
some reason have as yet escaped the cognizance of the authorities.
Violent and dangerous injuries have been committed, upon your
citizens, whilst the process of law has been forbidden to reach
the offender. Arrests have been made, utterly groundless as it
turned out; but whether with cause or not, by persons having
no legal competency to make arrests, and without 1 warrant of
law/ or process from legal authority. A squad of soldiers, with
no pretence of authority but their arms, it is said, have invaded
the homes of your fellow-citizens, and dragged them to their
camp. There they have been detained as long as it suited the
pleasure of their captors.
"These are the cases to which your attention is directed — now
a word about the law. And but for the very peculiar state of
affairs, 1 should be content to leave you to the counsels of the
State. But it belongs to every department to bear its share of
duty in the administration of the law. Yours is imperative,
mine is not less so.
"Is there one in your panel here, where the law has been held
supreme; where, twice in every year, from time immemorial, its
ministrations have been conducted, who does not know that the
facts stated, constitute offence against the law?
"I have told you that your duties extended to every case of
public wrong. The mandate of your solemn obligation requires
that you make 'true presentment of all such matters as shall
come to your knowledge,' and if all, then there is no exception,
and your cognizance must be exercised over the cases mention*'!,
BICHAED BENNETT CAEMICHAEL.
431
unless you find some dispensing power, of which I have found
no mention in the law.
"Offences are the acts of persons. Every person, public or
private, high or low, is subject to the visitation of the law
Whether invested with the robes of power, or covered with
humble rags, all are alike amenable to its sanctions. That 'the
law only is supreme in this land,' you have heard proclaimed by
my honored predecessors, from this place, at every term. Here-
tofore I have so pronounced — my duty now still bids me to re-
peat the same to you, gentlemen, the Grand Inquest, its chosen
ministers.
"Violent and dangerous breaches of the public peace have oo
curred here aforetime. With such offences you are not un-
familiar. They have received the prompt cognizance of your
department, and have met the speedy and certain punishment
which the law denounces upon all, without distinction. They
are now not less obnoxious. In regard to these, I need not add
another word.
"But arbitrary, illegal, and false imprisonments have been un-
known to our modern history. In a practice of more than six-
and-twenty years at the bar, throughout this circuit, and a ser-
vice of a few years upon the bench, I have never known such a
case — either by criminal presentment, or by civil action. Al-
most every crime and misdemeanor, with this exception, have
found persons wicked enough to commit them. It will striko
you, how sacred the right of personal freedom has been held
within this jurisdiction, for more than a quarter of a century.
And, you will be assured, there is ample redress for its inva-
sion— that it has been preserved thus inviolate. It is the he-
reditary right of American freemen. It was the right of their
ancestors, before American Independence.
"Before that day, a British subject could not be arrested, but
under process of law. An arrest and detention of his person
was unlawful, unless made under 'process from the Courts, or
under process from a legal officer, having the power to commit
under his hand and seal.'
" This process was required to be founded on oath, disclosing
the cause of arrest. Indeed, so jealously was the liberty of the
subject guarded, that it was held, at a very early day, by a high
432
AMERICAN BASTILE.
authority, such as Coke, that a felon could not be arrested upon
the warrant of a Justice, until 'after indictment actually found/
This strictness, it is true, was combatted. But from that day,
to the date of American Independence, the arrest of a British
suoject could not lawfully be made, unless under the authority
ol judicial or justicial warrant. Made otherwise, it was 'false
imprisonment;' an offence, which an eminent English jurist de-
nominates 'a heinous public crime,' for which, he says, 'the law
demands public vengeance.' Every arrest without ' due process,'
was regarded arbitrary, illegal, and despotic, and such as the min-
isters, at the date of American Independence, dare not claim for the
British crown. The assertion at this day, of such a power for the
crown, would shake the British throne to its very foundations.
"Exemption from the exercise of such power, is the birthright
of Americans. They trace it back in the musty scrolls of the
mother country for ages long past. It is inscribed, in letters of
light, in the Constitution of Maryland. This right may yet be
found in the Constitution of the United States — the Supreme
law — before which every person, potentate, and power in the
United States must give place.
" I will read it there, gentlemen. But first indulge me while
I read a resolution of the first Congress, which explains why
this, with other privileges of the citizen were inscribed there.
The reading will be both instructive and profitable. ' The Con-
vention of a number of the States, having at the time of their
adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent
misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory
and restrictive clauses should be added. And as extending the
ground of public confidence in the Government, will best insure
the beneficent ends of its institution : Besolved by the Senate
ind House of Eepresentatives of the United States in Congress
assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, that the fol-
lowing articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several
States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States,'
etc. By this reading you will observe that the Constitution as
originally adopted by the Federal Convention, was without those
'restrictive and declaratory clauses.' The Government had been
imbued with all the powers intended to be delegated. Its
framers nad designed that these powers — all of them — should
ho exerted as occasion required, and none others. But they had
RICHARD BENNETT CARMICHAEL. 433
not expressed the prohibitions, which were supposed to be im-
plied. When, however, it came about that the sovereign will
was to breathe life into its being, you find a law — a limit, was
imposed upon its powers simultaneously. When the Constitu
tion was referred to the States for ratification, with one accord
they required the insertion of these articles, 'to prevent miscon-
struction and abuse of the powers ' already expressed.
" There were some things they were not willing to leave to
construction, for fear of misconstruction. There were powers
which they regarded dangerous to put to use, without restric-
tion, from their liability to abuse. Therefore it was that the
first Congress submitted these restrictive clauses to the States
for their adoption. Twelve were submitted to the States. Ten
of them were adopted. They are the ten commandments; for-
ever forbidding any and all the powers of the Government to
infringe the rights of the citizen — to do by construction any-
thing herein forbidden. There is no power to suspend any of
these commandments, as in regard to the habeas corpus. There
is no conflict of jurisdiction as now claimed between the execu-
tive and legislative departments in regard to this great right
Here all the powers of Government are forbidden.
" These are the ten :
ARTICLES
IN ADDITION TO, AND AMENDMENT OP THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES,
" Proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of
the States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitu
tion.
Article 1.
11 Congress shall make no Jaw respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the exercise thereof, or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the peoplo
peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a re-
dress of grievances.
Article 2.
" A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a
free State, the right of the people to keep, and bear arms, shall
not be infringed.
28
434 AMERICAN EASTILE.
•*
Article 3
".No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house,
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a
manner to be prescribed by law.
Article 4.
" The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated, and no warrant shall issue but upon proba-
ble cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to
be seized.
Article 5.
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise
infamous crime, unless upon a presentment or indictment of a
grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces or
in the militia, when in actual service in time of war, or public
danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to
be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled
in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be de-
prived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just
compensation.
Article 6.
" In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right
to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State
and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which
district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be con-
fronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory pro-
cess for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assist-
ance of counsel for his defence.
Article 7.
" In suits at common law, where tho value in controversy shall
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be pre-
served, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-exam«
ined in any court of the United States, than according to the
rules of the common law.
RICHARD BENNETT CAEMICHAEL 485
Article 8.
u Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im-
posed, nor cruel and mynsual punishments inflicted.
Article 9.
" The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people.
Article 10.
" The powers not delegated to the United States by the Con-
stitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to tho
States respectively, or to the people.
" The 4th Article forbids the arbitrary arrest and false imprison
ment of the citizen. It guarantees to him the right heretofore
enjoyed under the British Constitution. It prohibits 'unreason-
able seizure prohibits a warrant for seizure except upon 1 prob-
able cause and requires such cause to be shown under the sanc-
tion of 1 oath or affirmation/
" Here is no room for misconstruction. The supreme law is ex-
press in its terms. It is set up, by its declared terms, as a bar-
rier to the powers to be in the State. It remains to us as a barrier
against ' the powers that be.'
u It has never been repealed, nor can be lawfully repealed, ex-
cept by the power which created the Government, and in the
manner provided by the Constitution itself.
"This freedom fiom imprisonment 1 without due process,' is
absolute in the citizen, with only two exceptions. One, in which
he is found in the very act of committing a felony, which obtains
alike in England and this country; the other, where he has ex-
changed the citizen for the soldier — 'in cases arising in the
land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in
the time of war or public danger/
"Your inquiries will enable you to ascertain if the arrests re
ported have, in fact, been made, and, if you find they have beeo
made, whether they come under the excepted cases just stated.
u If they have been made, and are not within the rule of these
exceptions, then they are public wrongs. It is my duty so to
charge you, and so I do charge you.
"The circumstances in which we are, instruct me to remind you
436
AMERICAN BASTILE.
that your inquiries into, and action upon, this subject are to be
conducted — unmoved by prejudice, unswerved by favor, and un-
awed by fear.
"I cannot doubt that you will not be warped by prejudice cn
the one side, nor by favor on the other. As you are freemen, you
are required to swear that you will not be restrained by fear in
the discharge of your duty. A freeman should have no fear but
of his God. The law is ordained by him. That commands what is
right, and forbids what is wrong. It would be mockery, and I
would not permit you to take the oath to act without fear, if
there was an earthly power to restrain your free will.
" There may be others, besides the persons who committed tho
violations of law heretofore considered, who may be obnoxious
to presentment. If any of your citizens have instigated theso
groundless arrests, they are more guilty than those upon whom
they have imposed. And it is hardly to be supposed that
strangers amongst you would wantonly, and without suggestions
by mischievous persons, molest and harass your people. Such
persons ar3 liable for conspiracy. But your diligent and im-
partial inquiry will ascertain the truth.
" I am admonished, gentlemen, by former misconstructions, to
say to you that my instructions to you are not moved by political
or partisan bias.
" If I have declared to you the law as I understand it, you will
remember it is under the same solemn sanction by which you are
bound. If there be a class or party of persons who are banded
together to oppose or violate the laws, it is my duty to animad-
vert upon their acts. If the facts to which I have alluded art
true, their obvious tendency is not only to disturb the peace of
society, but to subvert the very foundations of the Government
whose laws both you and myself are sworn to administer.
" With the condition of our unhappy country, the evils which
exist, their causes, and those who are to be blamed, I have
nothing to say here. I have my own — a very strong opinion.
Others entertain another opinion. They are entitled to their
own, and I am equally entitled to mine. I would not trespass
upon my own sense of propriety by alluding to these subjects
here. But I should feel myself, and should be regarded by
Others, unworthy this place, if I should fail to charge you of
offences against law, be the offenders who they may."
RICHAKD BENNETT CAKMICHAEL. 437
111 a few days after the publication of this charge the very
air was thick with rumors that the hand of the Federal p.nver
would be laid upon the Judge. The guilty author of the
after outrage was back and forth, more than once, to General
Dix's headquarters. But the time for such outrage had not
yet come. The fate and fortunes of men had not yet fallen
into the ruthless hands which never staid for choice betwixt
right and wrong. The jurisdiction in such cases yet re-
mained in the department where the " little bell " inaugurated
the proceedings.
It was privately said that the little bell had rung, but*,
that before his order was issued, Mr. Seward took counsel
of his duty in the premises, and being advised to read the
obnoxious " charge " and decide for himself, upon considera-
tion he dismissed the subject, with those who had come pan-
dering it to his embrace.
But the assertion of the Constitution and the law, in con-
straint of the power which dispensed with both at pleasure,
was an offence, for which, in the course of time, the Judge
suffered a bloody visitation. When, six months later, he
came to hold the spring term of the court in Talbot County. 1
after the court had been in session for more than a week, in
the midst of the trial of a cause, and while a witness was
under examination before the jury, he was set upon by a
gatg of ruffians from the city of Baltimore, dragged from
the bench, and beaten and hacked, until he was brought sense-
less to the floor and drenched in his blood. And still the
violence was not intermitted, until one of the party, less
brutal than the rest, interposed, and protested it should cease.
If the transaction was such as to shock all civilized men,
there was this to sanctify it to the favor of the loyal — that it
was conducted by Mr. Provost Marshal McPhail, a special
and confidential agent of the War Department, for Maryland.
His was a peculiar jurisdiction there, which commanded the
service of the General Commandant, but held itself indepen-
lent of that officer.
Marshal McPhail came to Easton (the county seat of Tal-
438
AMERICAN B A S T I L E.
bot Count} ) with no other aids to make the arrest of Judge
Carmichael, but a handful of Baltimore roughs, whom he
designated his deputies, and a Colonel and some subalterns
of the Federal arm)'. But after a survey of the ground, he
telegraphed orders to General Dix for a part of his command,
and he, obedient to the high behest, sent them forward with
a steamer, and thereby shared a part of the glory of the
achievement. Occupying a position of much distinction, the
Marshal has suffered deep reproach in violating the temple
of justice and its minister on the bench, and if that was hi.,
choice, he will leave the stain to folloV his name forever,
because there was no obstacle to a quiet arrest from the
moment he reached Easton. On Saturday evening he arrived
with his deputies, and Judge Carmichael remained alone in
the hotel that night, and until noon on Sunday. He had
heard of the advent of this high official, and the reputed
object of his mission, and waived an engagement to spend
that night and the Sabbath in the country with a friend, lest
the invasion of his premises by the Provost Marshal should
alarm the peace of his family. In that proceeding some of
his friends have alleged that the Marshal was controlled by
the guilty author of the order issued for Judge CarmichaeTa
arrest.
The extremity to which the outrage was carried, was jus-
tified on two grounds — one true, the other false. The first
was that, when the Provost Marshal introduced himself aa
Mr. McPhail, and announced his mission, the Judge (never
having seen him before) did not know him, and said, " Sir, I
do not recognize your authority." The second, that he
made resistance. McPhail said, " I arrest you." The Judge
replied, "Who are you?" McPhail returned, "I am Mr.
McPhail — I am the Provost Marshal." The Judge rejoined,
" I do not recognize your authority." McPhail added, " I
have the furce to effect the arrest." The Judge said, "You
shall see," and called for the Sheriff ; but the Sheriff had
escaped before the Marshal appeared, and with him his
deputy.
RICHARD BENNETT CARMICHAEL. 439
The court-room had been cleared of most of the bystanders
by the summons of the hotel dinner-bell, before the invaders
appeared. That moment was seized for the outrage. The
few remaining were arrested or driven from the court-room
by the deputies and the Federal officers, who partook in the
outrage, by the show and threats of pistols. The Judge sat
unmoved, and now, when there was no means of resistance,
or indication of an act so vain, one of the deputies mounted
the platform of the bench, and seizing the Judge by the
beard, called out in a tone of insolent authority, " Come out,
o'here!" This was more than could be borne. There is
a limit at which prudence and dignity can exert control no
longer. At the foul touch of his assailant, the Judge in an
instant was erect, and flung him aside, and kicked him off
the platform of the bench. But the party did not wait for
this retaliation by the Judge to begin their part, but as he
arose and threw off his assailant, at that instant they com-
menced to deliver their blows upon his bald, bare head, with
the hammers of their clubbed pistols, and proceeded until he
was knocked senseless down The pretext of resistance
was put forth to soothe the indignation manifested by some
of the " loyal citizens," when the news went abroad of an
outrage so unparalleled.
These facts are given in detail, so that if a time do ever
return when the law is restored to the respect, love, and
support of the people, they may be warned to what extremity
an unbridled power in the state will outrage those who in-
terpose the authority of the law for the protection of society.
A surgeon was permitted to dress the wounds of the
Judge. He was denied the privilege of going to his room,
under guard, for a change of clothing. This was, perhaps,
well-judged caution. For the sight of his bloody garments
might have stirred the hearts of the people to mutiny,
despite the military array vouchsafed by General Dix.
Judge Carmichael was imprisoned more than six months ;
yet his offence was not ever read or repeated or intimated
to him. He was first lodged in Fort McIIenry. Thence,
440
AMEKICAX BASTILE.
after the lapse of six weeks, he was deported and confined
at Fort Lafayette for more than two months. Here he suf-
fered, from confinement in a damp casemate, an attack of
acute rheumatism, which has left him permanently lame.
"While imprisoned at Fort Lafayette, he addressed a letter
to the President, asking for his discharge, and enclosed to
him a copy of his charge to the Grand Jury of Talbot
County, at Xovernber Term, 1861. (A copy of this letter is
appended.) With him, many others were taken to that post
from Fort McHenry. and a list of their names from Brigadier
General Morris, with the charge or charges under which
each was held, opposite his name. Opposite the name of
Judge Carmichael was entered, " Xo charge at these head-
quarters."
From Fort Lafayette he was conveyed under guard to
Fort Delaware, but no charge against him accompanied the
papers delivered with him at that Fort. Here he remained
from the 23d September to the 4th December, when he was
released without condition.
On the 10th of December, after he had been at home a
few days, he addressed a letter to the President, renewing
his demand for the cause of his arrest, and for the name or
names of those by whose agency it had been ordered. (A
copy of this letter is also appended.) The President never
condescended a reply to either of his letters.
His release returned him to his duties on the bench. The
law he was appointed to administer was unchanged, and no
question against him had been made after arrest, in respect
of his instruction to the grand juries on the subject of
federal wrongs by military officers. During his imprison-
ment, a wholesale seizure of citizens in Caroline County, one
of the counties of his circuit, had been made.
On Saturday, preceding the Monday when the term in
Kent began, in the spring of 1863, the editor of the Demo-
cratic newspaper at Chestertown was arrested. General
Lock wood, of the Federal army, distinguished his militarv
career by this exploit.
ltlCHARD BENNETT CAR MICHAEL. 441
Judge Carmichael charged the grand juries in these coun-
ties in respect of these outrages. Omitting the particular
facts in the cases, his charge is here inserted as read to the
juries.
lie had taken the precaution to have his instructions iu
writing, before delivery, so as to furnish them to the preso,
in case of misrepresentation :
"Charge of Judge Carmichael, at Caroline and Kent Counties,
in 1863, on the subject of Arbitrary and Unlawful Arrests.
%t Early after the outbreak of this unhappy war, it fell to
my duty to charge the grand juries in Queen Anne and
Talbot Counties. Persons pretending to act under Federal
authority, had seized upon citizens without 1 warrant of
law,' and cast them into prison without the form of trial.
I should be content here to dismiss this subject, and to send
a copy of the charge delivered in those counties, as my in-
struction to you, gentlemen, in respect of your duty in this
relation ; but that many pretexts have been set up for such
proceedings, which may tend to disarm the law of its obliga-
tions upon you to take cognizance of them.
" That charge contained little more than a recital of the
law applicable to the subject now before you, including ex-
tracts from the Constitution of the United States, together
with some historic reference to enforce its obligation.
"If it contained the law, then, and for those juries, the
same is the law now, and for you, gentlemen. To the same
effect have several of the courts in Northern States held
the law within a few months, and many eminent jurists have
lent the authority of their names in maintenance of its obli-
gation. Is it possible for any to gainsay it ? If it is so written
in the Constitution, and if that which is written there be the
law, that a citizen is not liable to arrest without 1 warrant of law/
then he cannot be arrested without legal process, unless the
Constitution has been repealed by the power which brought
it into being, or unless it have been deposed by an usurper.
"That it has not been repealed by the authority which
442
AMERICAN BASTILE.
created it, need not be said to you, because that could not be
done without your individual agency in part. If you saj
it has been deposed, be that your part — not mine. Until a
new regime is declared, my obligation stands in the terms and
meaning of my oath, 'to support the Constitution of the
United States,' and 4 to bear true allegiance to the State of
Maryland.' Your obligation is the same, and being the
same, it is not necessary to say it is binding on your con-
sciences, and ought to be supreme over your wills. It would
be a disrespect, of which I shall not be guilty, to persuade
your performance of a duty to which you have been sworn.
"What are the pretexts set up to justify the exercise of the
power of arbitrary arrests? Martial law, it is said, suspends
the civil law, and where it obtains, the process of the civil law is dis-
pensed with. Let it be granted that such is the prerogative
of the law martial, and how does the concession aftect the
question before you? Of what application is martial law in
this jurisdiction? Martial law does not extend beyond the
field of military operations and its immediate surroundings.
" Beyond these limits it may not be, and never was claimed
to extend. Is it now claimed for the President, that he may
proclaim the whole country his camp, and throughout all its
borders his will taken in the place of law? None have yet
gone to this extent It is allowed to the scene of actual
war, but is claimed only for the necessities of the field.
" An army in the field must be surrounded by defined limits
or lines, as they are called, to be secure against defection from
within, or from surprise or espionage from without. These
lines are commonly declared, so that deserters may be pre-
vented from going out, and spies from coming in. This,
gentlemen, you understand. In such limits, the laws of war,
or martial law, prevails, as it is proper it should. But here
there is no enemy — no army — no field of war. 1 Inter anna
silent leges;1 but where arms are not, there the law obtains.
If there be any treason here, the courts of law are open, and
unobstructed, to punish any who may have incurred such
guilt, and their jurisdiction extends to that offence. If there
RICHARD BEKNBT1 CAE1IICHAEL 443
be no field of war here, there can be no martial law. There
jj law, I trust, here — the civil law, whose ministers you are.
The maintenance of martial law, where it belongs, cannot
dispense with the obligations of the civil, where it belongs.
A trespass by a military officer here, is the same offence as a
trespass by a private citizen.
"Another of the pretexts is 4 necessity.' It is a necessity
'that the President should arrest whom he will, even if no actual
violation of law have been committed: a necessity incident to war.'
And how, or why incident to war, more than to peace?
"When before was it suggested in this country, or in any land
where law has held sway? It never has given sanction to
any act in a land of law. It is the plea of force against law.
It is the argument of an unlicensed will, which heeds no
counsel but its own behests, and hurries to its ends, but recks
not of the means. The powers of this Government are ex-
press and defined, and cannot be exerted otherwise than as
prescribed.
'; To preserve the citizen secure against the exercise of con-
structive powers, the Government was instituted in a written
charter. This forbids his arrest, except upon warrant bear-
ing the signet of the sovereign will. This signet is not con-
fided to the Executive power. It belongs elsewhere. And
except the seal of the proper officer, there is no sign which
can challenge the citizen to submit to personal constraint.
The law is absolute in its authority. Its officers are not, and
no necessity can make them. They are designed to be the
servants of the people, not their masters ; the ministers of
the law, not of their own wills. "What they do as ministers
of the law, is the act of the law, and binding upon all.
AVhat they do otherwise, is the act of the private person,
and of no authority. All the sanction they can derive from
necessity to act in violation of law, is the same which belongs
to any private person, and that is just none at all. But I
ueed not proceed further on this head. The exigency of the
law is the only necessity known to our Government.
u But, most extraordinary cf all, it is said the form of the
414
AMERICAN BASTILE.
President's oath affords sanction for the power of arbitrary arresL
This requires of him c to preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution. ' Hence, it is argued, he may do whatever he
thinks proper to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitu
tiou ; that the means to be employed, and the manner of
their use, are in his discretion. Stated in plain terms, the
proposition means that the President may construe the Con-
stitution in contradiction of its terms and meaning, and act
upon that construction, because he is sworn to preserve, pro-
tect, and defend it. It would be waste of time and insult to
your understandings to discuss the proposition. There is
nothing so false that may not be asserted for truth, and there
is hardly a truth which has not been questioned. But let
us for a moment delay to apply this proposition to the sub-
ject before you — arbitrary arrests. The Constitution forbids
arrests 'without process of law.' To preserve, protect, and
defend the Constitution, the proposition asserts that the Pres-
ident may arrest without process. AVhat the Constitution says
he shall not, the proposition claims he may do. He swears to
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, which forbids
him to arrest a citizen without 1 warrant of law.' ^Vith one
hand upon the Bible, and with the other upon the Constitution,
before his God and the country, he swears. Yet, we are told,
no truth is meant by these facts, and only seeming in the
ceremony. Can any man of truth or conscience hear of it
without a shudder ? It is usurpation in the name of the Con-
stitution— it is falsehood — sacrilege in the name of the Most
High. In the conceits of fatuous senility — in the inventions
of corrupt cupidity — in the pleadiugs of fawning sycophancy
t may find place. Xo where else.
uBut it has been said, we ought to presume the President to
be wise and good, and so, being in his hands, this power is safe.
Is this a safe presumption, in a land of law and liberty ? If,
however, that be conceded, would such a power be safe in tho
hands of every subaltern in his appointment? Can the Pres-
ident impart, by the breath of his nostrils, wisdom and good-
ness into the heart of every man employed to do his will ?
RICHARD BENNETT CARMICHAEL. 445
Can he delegate these godlike qualities to every provost
marshal and deputy provost in the land ? And if to all these
questions we should yield assent, still it is forbidden to arrest a
citizen without 4 warrant of law.' And my reading instructs
me that it belongs nowhere in all the powers and persons of this
Government to do what is forbidden; and that whatever is
done which is forbidden, i» wrong, and demands your cogni-
zance. And now I dismiss you to your chamber."
The utterance of such instructions to the grand juries
caused high resentment amongst "loyal" men. Judge Car-
michael was denounced in several of the Republican news-
papers, and efforts were renewed to bring down upon him the
arm of Federal visitation ; but the effect of the former out-
rage was satisfactory. It had disarmed the State jurisdiction
of all power to hold a Federal officer or agent amenable to
the offended law. The grand juries bowed to the necessity,
and forbore presentments in the cases to which their cogni-
zance was invoked. In this condition of things, when he
found his position to be one in which he could render no ser-
vice in the administration of the law, except by the suffer-
ance of a power which transgressed at pleasure, and sustained
its wrongs by the authority of brute force, Judge Carmi-
chael resigned his place on the bench, and retired to the
ouiet pursuits of his farm. Into this retreat, multiplied
testimonials of public favor have followed him. If he suffered
wrongs in the service of the State, which the State waa
powerless to punish, no man was ever more proudly vindi-
cated by his fellow-citizens in the proofs they have tendered
him of trust and confidence.
Letter to the President op the United States.
" Fort Lafayette, 21st July, 1862.
'To His Exceilency the President:
" Sir : Will you allow the complaint of a citizen who is with-
out redress, except in the exercise of Executive authority ? For
two months past, I have been imprisoned ; yet, to this hour, from
no person under the Executive authority has an imputation of
offence been made to me.
446
AMERICAN BASTILE.
" This imprisonment has been in military Forts of the United
States, which imposes the conclusion it is under Federal authority
t was seized and held.
"It has come to my knowledge that representations, by persona
friendly to your Administration, who have been conversant with
all my life — now far advanced — have been volunteered in my
behalf ; the purpose of which was to obtain my release. With-
out knowing what these representations are, I am content to
refer to them for vindication.
" Since my transfer to this place, my attention has been called
to a slip from one of the Baltimore journals — 1 The Sun' — to
the effect that my arrest and imprisonment were for 'treason,
committed in the discharge of official duty.'
" To this, I cannot make issue, as no authority was given foi
the suggestion. But, by way of answer to all such imputations
I forward, herewith, to your Excellency, a copy of a charge
delivered to the Grand Jury of Talbot County. In this is con-
tained all my official action in relation to the Federal Govern-
ment.
"Your Excellency will perceive that the whole extent of my
offending is the claim for the maintenance of the Constitution of
the United States as the supreme law
" If in this there be any treason, then, indeed, I cannot claim
to be released ; but if the law be as declared in that paper, then
is it too much to ask, in the name of the law, that I be dis-
charged from these bonds ?
" With all respect, I am your Excellency's most obedient ser-
vant,
(Signed) Richd. Bt. Carmichael."
Second Letter to the President.
" To His Excellency the President, Washington, D. C:
"More than six months ago, I was seized and imprisoned by
persons who were or pretended to be agents of the Federal Gov-
ernment. Until the 3d instant, I was detained in Forts under
command of Federal military officers. On the evening of that
day, Lieutenant-Colonel D. D. Perkins, commanding at Fort Dela-
ware, where I was then confined, handed me a telogram, of which
tho following is a copy ;
EICHARD BENNETT CARMICHAEL. 447
Dated War Department, December 2, 1862.
"'To the Commandant, Fort Delaware :
" 1 The Secretary of War directs that you discharge Judge Car.
michael from custody. Report receipt of this.
(Signed) E. D. Townsend,
Ass't Adj. Gen.'
44 On the morning of the 4th instant, on a pass to proceed
thence with my baggage, I took my way home, having no reason
for my release signified by the commandant at Fort Delaware,
further than the exigency of the foregoing order contained in
the copy of the Secretary's telegram.
" My seizure on the 27th of May last, and my continued im-
prisonment, were made without cause, imputed by the agents
partaking therein
"My discharge, in the manner above stated, in connection with
these facts, indicates that the authorities with tardy progress
have reached this point in my case, viz., that the accusation
against me, and the accuser (if there be any,) have been discov
ered false.
" In similar cases, no report of proceedings has appeared, by
which the Government has undertaken to vindicate its own
honor or the rights of the citizen. In mine, therefore, I can ex-
pect none. Every case has its own griefs. Your time shall not
be occupied by a recital of mine. Such as belonged to my civil,
political, and official relations were addressed to you long time
ago by a venerated Senator from my State, the Hon. James A.
Pearce, with no apparent effect but to enhance the vigor of exist-
ing outrage.
" Those which concern the more delicate — which have visited
so many fair homes in Maryland with dismay and sorrowing —
shall not be traced into mine, to move compliance with my
reasonable request. As an American citizen — in the name
of the Constitution — I ask to be informed on the following
points :
" 1st. Is there any 1 information ' lodged against me before the
Federal authorities, and if yea, what?
" 2d. The name or names of the persons giving the same, and
the specifications :
448
AMERICAN B A STILE.
"3d. By whose order, in fact, (not by intendment,) were the
seizure and detention of my person?
"My object in addressing your Excellency, is to obtain the
information by which I may apply such measure of redress in
my own case as may be meet in respect of the wrongs done me
and the actual guilt of the wrong-doers.
" I am your Excellency's most obedient servant,
(Signed) Richard Bt. Carmichasi.
« Belle-Vue, 10th December, 1862."
JAMES M. WILLIAMS.
JAMES M. WILLIAMS resides at Spring Garden, Jeffei-
son County, Illinois.
On the 1st of September, 1862, he was arrested in his house,
by a squad of thirteen armed men, commanded by a Captain
Davis, who gave as authority for the arrest, " orders " from
Deputy Marshal Major Board, but did not show them.
While remonstrating against the illegality of his arrest, he
permitted himself to be quietly taken, counselling his friends,
who were congregating, (many of them quite clamorous in
their declarations to rescue him from the hands of the officer,)
to keep quiet, and not disturb the public peace ; deeming it
better that one should suffer " even unto death," than that
the community should be thrown into a tumult, and the blood
of many should be shed.
An hour was granted him, by the Captain, in which to
adjust his affairs, and comfort his family. He was then
taken to Tamaroa, twenty miles distant, by rail, handcuffed
for forty-eight hours, and placed, with other prisoners from
Southern Illinois, on a special car in waiting, and guarded
by a detachment of soldiers with fixed bayonets. Orders
were given to shoot him, if he attempted to elude the vigi-
lance of his custodians.
Thus guarded, he was transported to Washington, D. C.t
and incarcerated, with fifteen others, in room No. 16, in the
Old Capitol Prison.
Here his fare
.... "was such as captive's tears
Have moistened many a thousand years,
Since man first pent his fellow-men
Like brutes within an iron den."
29 449
450
AMERICAN BASTILE.
After an imprisonment of two months, Mr. "Williams was
released by taking the oath of allegiance, and placing him-
self under bonds. As was usual in other cases, no charges
or specifications were ever made against him, nor any trial
accorded him. He was discharged, and left to " guess 99 the
reason, if any, for his arrest and confinement.
HON. DAVID SHEEAN.
rPHE arrest of Hon. David Sheean, at Galena, Illinois, on
-L the 28th of August, 1862, was one among the many
wanton and inexcusable acts of despotic power committed
during the Administration of the late Abraham Lincoln.
Mr. Sheean entered into partnership with John A. Rawlins,
Chief of Staff to General Grant, and at present Secretary of
War, in the practice of law, in 1858, and continued the partner-
ship until the time of his arrest. He had been twice elected City
Attorney of Galena, and once its Mayor — running far ahead
of his ticket. As a lawyer, he stood high in his profession.
For honesty and honor his character was proverbial.
The pride of his political and personal friends, he was
esteemed and respected by all who knew him. Although
an uncompromising Democrat, his bearing toward his oppo-
nents was candid and courteous, commanding their respect
even during that period of frenzied passion which marked
the inauguration of the late war.
A resident of Illinois from his childhood, he was opposed
to the war, not from any sympathy with the South, but
from principle. His opposition went no farther than the
expression of his opinions to those who desired to hear them,
and this right he maintained from the beginning, upon all
occasions, and under every circumstance.
On the evening of the 28th of August, the United States
Marshal, assisted by the Sheriff of Galena, arrested Mr.
Sheean in his office, without any warrant, or other authority,
save the following telegram from Washington City :
" Washington, August 27, 1862.
"To J. R. Jones, United States Marshal, Chicago, Illinois.
"You will arrest David Sheean, lawyer, at Galena, for disloyal
451
452
AMERICAN BASTILE.
practices, and convey him to Fort Lafayette until furthei
ordered.
" By order of the Secretary of "War.
(Signed) L. C. Turner, Judge Advocate."
What the "disloyal practices" were, Mr. Sheean was never
informed, but they may be readily inferred from the follow
ing circumstances.
Every community, at that time, had its " loyal " bully, to
regulate the opinions of Democrats, and incite mobs to acts
of violence. Cowards and sneaks in ordinary times, they
became heroes when numbers backed them in assaults upon
single individuals. Galena had such in the persons of two
brothers, named Harris. They assaulted a poor Irishman on
the streets of Galena, because he refused to enlist unless he
was paid his bounty in advance. Remarking that A. B., who
had enlisted, had not yet got his bounty, and asserting his
right to state this, they beat him most shamefully; then,
with a howling mob at their backs, dragged him senseless to
the County Jail, telling the Sheriff he had been discouraging
enlistments, and must be imprisoned. That official being a
" loyal " man, without any further authority, closed the door
of a felon '8 cell on him. As soon as he recovered sufficiently,
he sent to Mr. Sheean for relief. A writ of habeas corpus was
immediately applied for, but the "loyal" Judge Sheldon, of
that Circuit, had seen a telegraphic despatch to the "New
York Tribune," that persons discouraging enlistments were
to be arrested, and refused the writ on the ground that ho
had heard the prisoner was guilty of that offence.
In vain did Mr. Sheean point out the fact that the prisoner's
petition stated he was guilty of no offence, and was impris-
oned without affidavit or complaint filed against him. In
vain did he urge the utter insecurity of liberty, even of the
Judge himself, under such ruling ; for this same Judge had
declared in a public speech, that he who talked about the
Constitution in those days should be marked as a traitor.
Finding the writ of habeas corpus practically abolished by a
partisan Judge, a trespass suit, for false imprisonment, for
DAVID SHEEAK.
453
ten thousand dollars damages, was then commenced against
the Harris brothers and the Sheriff, who, being naturally
cowards, now became alarmed at the turn matters were
taking. They fancied they had every Democrat chosen for
Imprisonment, and had already got a second victim in the
jail, and if not cheated, would soon fill it. But a claim of
damages for false imprisonment before a jury brought them
to their senses.
They ceased to send any more to jail, and sought the
advice of E. B. Washburne, member of Congress from the
district, as to how they should rid themselves of the suit.
Now was Washburne's opportunity. Sheean was bold and
fearless, placing himself in the pathway of loyal terrorism,
and inspiring others with courage. If he were stricken
down, the road would be clear to trample upon others. Wash-
burne had the ear of the " Government." He could direct
its right arm, the Secretary of "\Yar. Armed with such in-
fluence and a certified transcript of the trespass suit, he de-
parted for Washington on his devilish errand. The forego-
ing telegram was sent back the day after his arrival. The
suit was dismissed for want of prosecution, while Mr. Sheean
was in Fort Lafayette, the plaintiff being then in jail. But
on his return home he commenced the suit again, and had
the satisfaction of hearing the verdict guilty pronounced
against the Harris brothers, by a jury selected by a deputy
of that Sheriff', and a judgment of damages upon the verdict
entered by that Judge.
The arrest of Sheean was made so secretly, that but
two of his friends knew of the occurrence, until he was
far out of the way. The Marshal and his assistant, know-
ing his popularity, feared that a disturbance might be made,
and desired to conduct him from his office to the train
through an unfrequented street ; but receiving his pledge
that no trouble should occur, he was permitted to go the
usual route. Arriving at the railroad depot, he found
the instigators of his arrest had assembled to witness the
effect of it uj on him. A smile of satisfaction played upon
454
AMERICAN BASTILE.
their countenances. They stared at their victim with a feel,
ing of triumph.
He returned it with a look of proud defiance, feeling a
loathing contempt for them. But few, however, of the Re-
publicans of Galena justified the proceedings. The larger
portion of them felt it was wrong. The whole community,
with but a few dishonorable exceptions, declared that he was
the innocent victim of Harris and Washburne. Even the offi-
cer who arrested him declared afterward that no act of his life
gave him so much pain as the arrest of Mr. Sheean. Being
unprepared for the journey, he desired time to obtain funds,
and write a letter to a friend, directing him to take charge
of his affairs. But in such haste had the arrest to be made,
that it was denied him. On arriving, under guard, in New
York, the "Inner Temple," with its prison cells and iron-
grated windows, at the police headquarters, became his tene-
ment until the prisoners' hack was obtained to convey him to
Fort Hamilton. Arriving there, Lieutenant Colonel Burke's
receipt discharged him from the custody of the Marshal, and
placed him under military authority. Then, conducted be-
tween two files of armed soldiers, he was conveyed across the
channel to that silent tomb of living heroes — Fort Lafayette.
Thus guarded he was taken into the presence of the com-
mandant, who divested him of his watch, money, and other
valuables, and then subjected his person and baggage to a
strict search. He was then sent to the battery, and furnished,
like the other prisoners, with an iron cot, a straw mattress,
and a blanket, there to await "further orders."
To the spirit of Mr. Sheean, and others there like him, it was
a long and weary waiting. Marched to and from their meals
like felons, and guarded by armed sentinels while eating —
watched by day and night by the tools of despotism — re-
e ricted to a limited intercourse with each other — insult-
ed daily by an overbearing soldiery, and forced to submit
to rules designed to degrade and humiliate, the plan waa
w ell calculated to break down the boldest spirit, and bring
it lacerated and bleeding to the foot of power. Galling
DAVID SHEEAN.
455
ae it was, Mr. Sheean bore up under it without complaint,
and, conscious of his integrity, defied its influence. On the
9th day of September, 1862, that lackey of tyranny, L. C.
Turner, who had been invested by his master with the title
of Judge Advocate, accompanied by his clerk, visited the
Fort on one of his inquisitorial expeditions, seeking what in-
formation he could get from the prisoners, and reporting it
to "Washington.
Mr. Sheean was ordered before him, and, after the custom-
ary salutations, the following colloquy took place :
Turner. " Well, have you anything to say?"
Sheean. "I wrote you a letter from Chicago, inquiring
of what I was accused, and who was my accuser. I have
received no answer ; I would be pleased to get that informa-
tion."
Turner. " I received your letter, (looking cunningly ;) don't
you know of what you are accused ? "
Sheean. " I do not."
Turner. " Well, now, couldn't you guess H "
Sheean. " I have n't the remotest idea, sir. I supposed
when a man was arrested he would be informed of the cause,
and at whose instance; not be required to guess."
Turner. " You commenced a trespass suit against Harris,
T believe?"
Sheean. "I did."
Turner. " Was your client wealthy ? Did you make an}
agreement about fees ? "
Sheean. " Iso ; my client was a poor man ; I thought a
great wrong had been done him. I did not ask him for fees,
or expect any ; I acted from principle, and would do the same
again."
Turner. "Are you willing to take the oath ? You are a
lawyer, I believe, and have taken the oath to support the
Constitution ; but it is a little different now?"
Sheean. " I have not seen the oath you speak of, and do
not know what it is. The oath I have taken, I am willing
to take again upon a proper occasion ; but I would not take
456
AMERICAN BASTILE.
that now as a condition of release from this place, or volun-
tarily submit to any other condition that would imply wrong
on my part."
Turner. " That is all we want of you, sir ; you can return
to your quarters."
Sheean. " Then you will give me no further informa-
tion?"
Turner. " That is all — that is all, sir."
Mr. Sheean was then remanded in charge of an orderly to
nis quarters. Finding he could get no information from
Turner, he wrote to the Secretary of "War, urging his right
to he informed of the accusation, and the accusers against
him, if any there were ; but no response came to him, or to
others who had written, except to a negro named Steve, who
had been taken upon a blockade-runner and put at cooking
in the Fort. Steve was an ardent rebel ; declared he would
take " no oaf to de Yankees," and gloried in the fighting
qualities, of " Massa Stonewall." Becoming tired of his lim-
ited sphere in the cook-room, he took the advice of one of
the prisoners, and wrote a letter to the Secretary of ^Var,
informing him that he was a " colored man," and desired to
be released. The return mail brought an order for his dis-
charge, and he was set at liberty. The negro could readily
receive attention, but the unfortunate white man was doomed
to wait.
It is difficult to realize the situation of the prisoners at
that time. It was before the fall elections of 1862, which, to
a great extent, burst open the doors of American Bastiles.
The Administration had laid a reckless hand upon thousands.
The tinkling of the " little bell " was heard on every hand.
The people were becoming accustomed to it, and by their
silence apparently approved it. Those within Fort Lafayette
well knew that despotism would not stop at depriving men
of their liberty. Some advance steps would be taken.
Blood would soon be required to keep alive the terrorism
created, and executions would speedily if ollow. The prison-
era realized this to the fullest extent, and frequently talked
DAVIP SHEEAN.
457
about it, each marking out for himself a lino of conduct in
that event. Relief from outside they could not procure ; they
were tightly held in the iron grasp of power, and not a mur-
mur of complaint could reach their friends. The walls of the
Bastile were dumb ; its inmates were gagged, and as com-
pletely separated from the people as the living from the dead.
Their letters to their friends containing hostile sentiments
toward the " Government," or any prominent member of it,
were sent to "Washington, and filed away as evidence of trea-
son. Those relating to their treatment were refused admis-
sion to the mail and returned to the writer.
The extent to which the latter was carried may readily be
seen from the following extract, marked objectionable, and
returned to the writer :
"It is not very generally healthy among the prisoners.
Should we have serious sickness added to our other afflictions,
we shall, without hesitation, avail ourselves of your kind-
ness."
This letter was addressed to Mrs. Gelston, who, together
with Mr. Hopkins, living near the Fort, had, more than once,
gladdened the prisoners' hearts by sending delicacies which
could not be procured within the Fort. It was in reply to
her note, saying that, if any of the prisoners were sick, she
would be happy to send them anything that would relieve
them ; that she " could not release, but could relieve."
But the result of the fall elections brought a feeling of
relief. In it, the prisoners heard the tramp of millions com-
ing to their rescue. Who can say that their fears would not
have been realized had those elections resulted differently?
The " Government " now dared not try its victims, for that
would reveal its villany ; but, as a condition of release, ex-
acted an oath from them that would secure it against legal
proceedings. Many a brave heart, sick with " hope deferred,"
yielded to the terms imposed. But Mr. Sheean was yet un-
conquered. His brother, a lawyer at Anamosa, Iowa, wrote
him, urging him never to yield ; that he would rather follow
him to his grave than have him submit.
458
AMERICAN BASTILE.
The following reply, which found its way out of the Fort
iu the pocket of a released prisoner, shows there was no need
of the aivice :
" Fort Lafayette, November 10, 1862.
"Dear Brother: Your highly appreciated letter of the 4tn
inst. is received. It was thrice welcome, because of the noble
and resolute spirit breathed in every line. Had there been one
drop of cringing blood in my veins, your letter would have
driven it out; but I had long previously determined upon the
course approved in it. Let come what will — even eternal im-
prisonment— no man shall have it to say that I voluntarily dis-
graced myself or my friends to purchase my liberty. No con-
ditions have ever been offered me to obtain a release. It was
known in Washington, as early as the middle of September last,
that none would be accepted. My rights are all I ask, and know-
ing what they are, I will "never yield them. "While I hold my-
self responsible to the laws of my country and to public opinion
for every act of my life, I ask only that naked justice be dealt
out to me by those who are, or ought to be, its executors. These
being my views, oy stay here will be prolonged indefinitely.
So be it. I suppose Fort Lafayette will last as long as my reso-
lution ; but while I feel as I have since its doors closed upon me,
it shall witness my release from this world, rather than from its
own walls, upon conditions unauthoritatively and arbitrarily im-
posed. Your brother,
David Sheean."
As Mr. Sheean predicted, his imprisonment was prolonged,
and would have "been indefinitely, but for the causes operating
upon Washburne stated in the narrative of the arrest of Mr.
Johnson.
Determined, however, to test his resolution, the Secretary of
War, through L. C. Turner, sent an order, on the 13th day
of December, 1862, to release him upon his parole.
The Commandant very earnestly urged him to accept it, and
thinking he might yield, would not take his answer until the
end of an hour ; then he wished to know what reply he
Bhould telegraph back. " Telegraph,'' said Mr. Sheean, u that
DAVID SHEEAN.
459
I will accept no conditions if I stay here a lifetime, and
send this letter, giving my reasons for it ; " handing to the
Commandant the following letter :
" Fort Lafayette, December 13, 1862.
"Major L. C. Turner, Judge Advocate, Washington City
" Sir: Your order for my release upon condition that I would
give my parole that I would conduct myself as a loyal citizen,
and would not aid the rebellion, has been presented to me.
" You well know, both from your interview with me here on
the 9th of September last, and from my letters which have been
intercepted and sent to "Washington since that time, that I would
accept no conditions to get out of Fort Lafayette that could by
implication place me in the wrong. You learn, too, from those let-
ters, that I value my honor more than my life. "Why, then, add
insult to already accumulated injuries, by requiring me to make
an admission of consummated and intended crime as the price
of my liberty. It is intended that, after an attempt to destroy
everything I hold dear, I must be degraded, in order that unau-
thorized and unwarrantable proceedings against me may be pal-
liated— that enemies who have wickedly aided an exercise of
arbitrary power to wrong me, may have an opportunity to jus-
tify their infamy by my own admissions? My liberty has been
taken from me — my life can with equal right be taken ; but my
honor is my own, ani I shall keep it even at the expense of both.
[ have heretofore lived true to the best interests of the Union
and Constitution, and expect to die as I have lived. If the Gov-
ernment have any charges against me alleging the contrary, it
is due to itself and to me to put me on trial. Let me suffer the
penalty, or permit me to vindicate myself by an acquittal. It is
due to itself to punish the guilty and acquit the innocent — to
protect and advocate the citizen — not to violate his rights, and
then degrade him.
"Were I in the wrong — had I violated as much of the Com
stitution as has been done in my arrest by a telegraph ; spiriting
me away over a thousand miles from my own State, and incar-
cerating me for fifteen weeks, without condemnation or trial, or
a knowledge why I was thus treated — I would not hesitate to
purchase my liberty at so cheap a sacrifice as the loss of what-
ever honor was left in me. As I know I am in the right, and
460
AMERICAN BASTILE.
have never v olated any law, I sball never cringingly ask any
favors, much less admit, by implication or otherwise, any guilt;
but insist that my rights as an American citizen shall he dealt
out to me. The Government should not demand more ; my senso
of honor will not allow me to accept less. If my rights will not
be granted, then I am at the further disposal of the powers that
be, to execute upon me what they see fit, and have the power
to do. Yours respectfully,
(Signed) David Sheean."
The following editorial comments are a just tribute to the
spirit shown iu the foregoing letter :
From the Galena "Daily Democrat" of December 24.
'•NOBLE SENTIMENTS.
"In our last issue we placed before the readers of the 'Demo-
crat ' a letter, written by David Sheean, Esq., just after his re-
lease from Fort Lafayette, and addressed to a personal friend of
his in this city. We to day print a letter written by him on the
13th instant, and addressed to the Judge Advocate, in reply to
an official intimation that he would be discharged on his parole,
by taking an oath similar to the one which has been adminis-
tered to others in like circumstances.
"As will be seen, he indignantly spurned the proposal, fair
enough on its face, but evidently intended to entrap an innocent
man into that which might be construed to his disadvantage.
But Mr. Sheean, conscious of his innocence, and determined to
come out of the furnace into which he had been cast without the
smell of fire upon his garments, rebuked the insolence of office,
and stood firmly and defiantly on his integrity, and boldly vin-
dicates his patriotism and his manhood. From our heart of
hearts we thank him for his manly display of moral courage,
and we put it on record, as an example worthy of being imitated
by the young men of our State and nation. In a few hours he
will be with us, 'honorably discharged/ and spontaneously hon-
ored by his friends and fellow-citizens. Let it never be forgotten
that he refused to bow the knee to Baal, or worship at tho
bloody shrine of Moloch. If guilty of any crime, let him be
fairly tried and justly punished, but until confronted oy his
DAVID SHEEAN,
461
accusers, let him be held as innocent as Caesar's wife — 'not only
free from guilt, but above suspicion/ O liberty! what Crimea
are perpetrated in thy name ! "
On the following day after this letter was written, Mr.
Sheean was unconditionally discharged. He was set at lib-
erty in New York, to make his way home as best he could.
No trial or examination was ever offered him. No charge
was ever made against him. He was never informed who
conspired against his liberty or by what means his arrest
was brought about ; all this he was left to surmise. With-
out even an apology for his four months' incarceration,
he was turned out of the Bastile, injured in health and
ruined in business, with a feeling of genuine hatred for the
cause that demanded the sacrifice, and sharpened to reckless-
ness by the wrongs he had endured.
The arrest of Mr. Sheean operated the reverse of what
was intended. Instead of intimidating, it stimulated his
political and personal friends. He who dared to justify was
quickly silenced. They declared themselves ready to follow
him — his cause was theirs, and they openly became his cham-
pions.
The City Council of Galena unanimously passed resolutions
condemning the act, and requesting of the Government a
speedy examination of his case and that of Mr. Johnson.
One thousand citizens of Galena, including a company of
volunteers, signed a petition of the same purport. A request
for an examination of the cases was extorted from the Gov-
ernor of Illinois. General Rawlings sent to the Secretary
of War a similar request as to Mr. Sheean, indorsed by Gen-
eral Grant, but all to no purpose.
The sullen despot at Washington heeded not prayers, peti-
tions, or appeals for justice. That piece of loyal corruption
— Washburne — was at " Court," and his ends were not yet
accomplished. His will had imprisoned, and his will alone
could release. It is a fact worthy of note, that out of twenty-
five letters written by Mr. Sheean, while imprisoned, con-
462
AMERICAN BASTILE.
taining denunciations against Washburne, none ever reached
the persons to whom they were written ; and it is supposed
that ^rashburne to-day is the possessor of them.
After Mr. Sheean's return to Galena, the Democrats, being
determined to rebuke his enemies and reward him, induced
him against his desire to be their candidate for Mayor of the
city, and elected him by a vote of two to one for his Repub-
lican opponent, it being the largest vote ever given for a
municipal officer in Galena,
GEORGE W. WILSON.
GECi.GE W. WILSON, of Upper Marlboro', Maryland,
wrs arrested for the publication of an article in the
Marlboro' Gazette, of which paper he was the Editor. The
article in question was a criticism upon the unjustness of the
apportionment of the population of his State, which included
white and black, freemen and slaves, in the basis for a draft.
The apportionment made three-fifths of the slaves and free
colored population a part of the militia of the State, when the
Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the acts of the Legis-
lature distinctly declared the militia of the State shall con-
sist only of that portion of her free white citizens who are
between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years.
On the morning of the 15th of October, 1862, his house
was searched in his absence by a Government Detective, who
said that he was searching for Government stores, but failed
to find any. He was supported in his nefarious work by a
squad of soldiers, under the command of a Captain Bullock.
Upon Mr. Wilson's return to Marlboro', at noon, he re-
ported himself to the Captain, who at once put him under
arrest. After a private and informal examination of his
case before the Provost Marshal of the County, the Detec-
tive, and the Captain, during which time these functionaries
had quite a sharp discussion as to who had the greatest
power in the case, a parole of two hours was granted the
prisoner, when he was to report, and hear what disposition
had been made of him.
At the expiration of the allotted time, he found a horse
m readiness, and was told that he was to be taken to Wash-
ington. Thither he was conducted, and arrived safely at the
Old Capitol, at 9 o'clock p.m., where he was lodged, with, ten
4G3
464
AMERICAN BASTILE
or twelve other prisoners, in room No. 16. At the examina-
tion in Marlboro', the Marshal and Detective acquitted him
fully of the charge alleged, but the Captain arraigned him
upon the editorials published in that morning's " Gazette.'
He read and re-read them, torturing the language into an
" interference with the draft," and charging him (Wilson)
with sarcasm, in calling his soldiers "the sons of Abraham."
He defended himself by asserting that it was a cognomen of
tneir own choosing, and quoting in support a popular air of
the da}r. His escape from the civil authorities, (the Marshal
and Detective,) and his arrest by the military, brought to
mind the situation of the Irishmen in 1798 :
"Them were hard times for an honest gossoon;
If he missed of the judges, he met a dragoon :
And whether the judges or soldiers gave sentence,
The devil a shart time they gave for repentance."
During the few days Mr. Wilson was an occupant of the
Old Capitol, and an inmate of room No. 16 of the famous —
infamous, rather — Bastile, he made his room-mates forget,
most of the time, that they were victims of despotism.
His bon-mots and witticisms seemed inexhaustible, and the
vivaciousness of his temper tended to dispel the ennui which
had settled upon them.
Nor did his interest in the well-being of his fellow-prison-
ers cease with separation from them. No sooner did he
reach home, some twenty miles from Washington, than he
despatched a large box of provisions, which he knew, by his
six days' experience of the treatment of prisoners of state by
the Administration, they much needed. Mr. Wilson's genial
nature and liberal and gentlemanly conduct will ever be
held in grateful remembrance by his fellow- victims of despot-
ism of room No. 16, Old Capitol Prison.
After remaining in the modern Bastile for six days, his
case was taken up, and he was discharged, mainly through
the exertions of the Hon. Charles Calvert, representative in
Congress from his district.
J. BLAKE WALTERS, riSQ
J BLAKE WALTERS, Esq., is a native of Clearfield
• County, Pennsylvania, was born in that county in 1840,
and has always resided there, with the exception of about a
year spent in Baltimore, where he was employed in the office
of the Division Superintendent, Northern Central Railroad,
and at which place his arrest was made. His father was a
member of the Pennsylvania Legislature during the sessions
of 1847-8-9, and, in 1856, was elected Prothonotary of the
county. He died in 1859. His son, Blake, was a clerk for
him in the office of Prothonotary ; subsequently he was en-
gaged in the lumber and mercantile business for two years,
and for three years has been the law partner of the Hon. W.
A. Wallace, in his native town.
His arrest took place on Friday, the 6th of January, 1865,
at 1 o'clock p.m., in his office in Baltimore, by a Government
Detective, who took him thence to Colonel Wooley's office,
at the corner of Camden and Eutaw Streets, where he was
given in charge of the guard, and locked up in the old negro
jail, or " Slave Pen," with some forty other prisoners, mostly
deserters and bounty-jumpers. The room was in a filthy
condition, being alive with vermin, and without furniture of
any description. At 7 o'clock p.m., he was ordered to pre-
pare to go to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He asked permis-
sion of the Detective who had him in charge, to stop at his
boarding-house, on the way to the depot, to enable him to
obtain some clothing. This was refused, the Detective saying
that he was not permitted to take a prisoner into any house.
On arriving at the depot, he requested one of the clerks to go
for his shawl, which he did, but did not get any other cloth-
ing. He was then taken on the train to Harrisburg, where
30 465
466
AMERICAN BASTILE.
he arrived at 4 o'clock p.m., on the 7th, having been detained
by an accident on the road.
Here he was turned over to Captain Thume, Provost Mar-
shal, who sent him under guard to the "Exchange Guard
House," on Walnut Street, opposite the County Jail, where
he was ushered into a room on the second floor, twenty by
forty feet, with fifty-three prisoners, among whom were a
number of persons from his own and Jefferson County. The
room contained neither beds nor other accommodations, and
the prisoners were compelled to lie upon the filthy floor. From
6 p.m. until 6 a.m., no prisoner was permitted to leave the
room. A half-barrel vessel was given them to be used for the
purposes of nature ; and before morning the vessel would be
overflowed, and the contents running over half the floor,
wetting many of the prisoners. Imagination could scarcely
conceive a more horrible place.
A hot stove in the room, made necessary by the intense
cold, caused a most abominable stench, sickening many of
the prisoners, who were compelled to use the tub already over-
flowed. This was the case when the room contained fifty-
three persons. What must it have been when from seventy-
five to one hundred occupied it, which was not uncommon?
The prisoners were marched in a body to the Soldiers' Rest,
opposite the Pennsylvania Railroad depot, three times a day,
for their rations of bread, meat, and coffee. For dinner,
they were given vegetable soup in the place of meat. They
had as much of these articles as they wished. The bread
and coffee were reasonably good, but the meat was not Mr.
"Walters was removed from this "Black Hole" on the 17th
of January, when, in company with ten others, he was taken
to Fort Mifflin.
Here he was immured in a bombproof, with forty-one
other prisoners, from his own and adjoining counties, com-
prising diafted men, deserters, and bounty-jumpers, but the
greater portion, by far, were like himself, prisoners of state,
who did not know of what their offence consisted. The
bombproof is an amh of brck and stone, laid in cement, and
J. BLAKE WALTERS.
467
intended to be proof against shot and shell. The room 13
about twenty by sixty feet, and twelve feet high in the centre
of the arch. The walls are from five to six feet in thickness,
on the top of which is thrown from five to ten feet of earth.
The floor is of cement, and has the appearance of hard earth
There was a grate in one end of the room, in which they ken*
a fire of anthracite coal constantly burning, the chimney of
which smoked so badly that the eyes of the prisoners were
continually sore. In the opposite end there were nine crev-
ices, three by fifteen inches, through which all the light and
air passed that were admitted into the room. There were
also a number of similar crevices along one side, but these
they were obliged to keep closed on account of the coldness
of the weather. It was so dark that in no part of the room
could any one see to read or write a word at midday, with-
out a candle ; and had the weather permitted them to have
kept all the crevices open, there would not have been enough
light admitted to allow of either reading or writing.
There were no bunks or accommodations for sleeping,
other than a few loose boards thrown along either side, upon-
which they slept. Each prisoner was furnished by the Gov-
ernment with one blanket. These were their only beds — if
beds they could be called — until the 10th of February,
(seven days before they were re-transferred to Harrisburg,)
when bunks were put in for them. Five days afterward,
some hay was furnished them to put on their bunks, and a
few wornout bedticks were given to the old and sick.
Each prisoner was provided with a tin cup and spoon, for
which he paid the sutler thirty cents. This cup was all N
they had in which to get their rations, served up to them
in this manner: In the mornings, each drew an eighteen-
ounce loaf of bread, a small piece of meat, and a tincup of
coffee. This was all the bread and meat furnished for one
day's rations. The bread was good, but the meat was veiy
indifferent. Once or twice a week they were given fresli
beef, and the balance of the time they were furnished with a
poor quality of bacon. The coffee was not the article fur-
468 AMERICAN BASTILE.
nislied by the Government, but an inferior quality of patent
coffee, purchased, probably, at one-fourth the cost of the
genuine article, which they were obliged to use, while the
proceeds of that which was intended for their consumption
passed into the pockets of those connected with the Commis-
sary Department. For dinner, they were given a tincup of
bean-soup, made by putting the beans in the water in which
the meat used the previous day had been boiled, and cook-
ing them a few hours. It was repulsive even to hungry men,
and could scarcely be made more unpalatable or unwhole-
some. At supper, they were again given a cup of the same
kind of coffee as was served in the morning. They had the
privilege of purchasing a few things from the sutler, at three
times their value, but they were of but little use, having no
conveniences for cooking.
Their daily ration of water for fifty-two persons, who then
occupied the room, consisted of as much as they could bring
twice, in a half barrel, from the Delaware. This was all
they had for drinking and washing purposes for twenty-four
hours.
Here, as at the " Exchange," at Harrisburg, they were
furnished with a half barrel, for the same purposes, and with
the same results. This they emptied into the Delaware, at
the same wharf where they obtained their drinking water.
Two-thirds of the prisoners being ill with diarrhoea, caused
by the food and water, were compelled to use the tub for the
calls of nature, and this being kept in the end near the crev-
ices to avoid the fire, emitted a horrible smell, which was
carried by the current of air through the middle of the room,
and thence out at the chimney. The only vessel they had in
which to wash and boil their clothing, was a two-gallon tin
bake-pan, until a short time prior to their departure, when
they were provided with two rusty camp-kettles. The air
was very damp, and during the greater part of the night it
was so cold that they were unable to sleep.
These rooms had never been intended by their builders
for the confinement of prisoners, as the dampness must, in 9
/
J. BLAKE WALTERS. 409
short time, impair, if not destroy the health of those having
the strongest constitution — as the appearance of the prisoners
confined with Mr. Walters fully testified. During his im-
prisonment in the Fort, he was detained in close confinement,
except when he volunteered to go out and work, which he
did several times in order to get fresh air.
The only kind of work the prisoners could get was cutting
and wheeling ice to fill the ice-house, or shovelling gravel on
a new road, which was being built from the Fort to Bell's
Station, on the Philadelphia, "Wilmington and Baltimore
Railroad. The work, although not of a very pleasant char-
acter, was not half as bad to them as the sense of having a
guard at their backs, with a musket and bayonet, watching
them as though they were criminals. To Mr. Walters this
was very humiliating.
On the morning of the 17th of February, after a confine-
meat in the Fort of thirty-one days, he, together with six
others, left for Harrisburg. They were forced to walk to
Philadelphia, a distance of six miles. The road was slushy
and slippery, making it a difficult and painful undertaking to
some of the party, as Mr. Hubler, one of them, was very old, .
and Dr. Krise, another, had just been taken out of the hos-
pital. They arrived at Harrisburg at 4 o'clock p. m. on
the same day, and were lodged in the " Exchange." He
found this place, if possible, more filthy than when, a month
previously, he left it for the Fort.
Mr. Walters now for the first time was enabled to find out
the charges upon which he had been arrested. He had made
inquiry at the Provost Marshal's office in Baltimore, when
first arrested, and was told that they did not know what the
charges were. This he felt satisfied was false, as an article
appeared in the " Baltimore Clipper," a few days afterward,
stating that he was a "desperate character," and the "leader
of the Clearfield County rioters." This information, tie was
confident, came from the office of Colonel Wooley. On being
turned over to Captain Thume at Harrisburg, when first
taken there, he asked for a copy of the charges against him,
470
AMERICAN BASTILE.
which the Captain promised to furnish on the following
Monday, but which was never received. He had frequently
demanded the nature of his offence, but failed to elicit it, and,
after an incarceration of forty -three days, was informed of it
by his friends, which was : " of being an officer of a secret
organization to resist the draft."
The affidavit on whicb his arrest was ordered was made by
John L. Loder, of Bradford Township, who swore that Mr.
Walters had acted as chairman of a meeting at Knept's barn,
held during the previous September or October, for the pur-
pose of resisting the draft, and that he had sworn the men
present to do so. To prove this a falsehood, we need only
mention that he left the county on the 12th of September,
returned on the 26th, remained during the court term, and
on the 2d of October left for Williamsport, and did not again
return to the county until after his release.
The meeting of which Loder gave an exposition was held
ki July, its object being the thorough organization of the
Democratic party of the township, preparatory to the special
election on the 4th of August, 1864, this duty having been
• assigned to Mr. Walters by the Chairman of the State Cen-
tral Committee for that purpose. Loder afterward came to
Mr. Walters, at the " guard-house " in Harrisburg, at the
time his trial was about to commence, and in the presence
of Daniel Curly, informed him that he had told the Judge
Advocate to destroy the affidavit, as he had been " entirely
mistaken," both as to the time of the meeting and its object,
and that he would not appear against Mr. Walters ; and
further, that he would swear that resistance to the draft or
Government had never been mentioned in said meeting.
This statement was made voluntarily, as he had not spoken
to Loder since his arrest. Further conversation with him
convinced Mr. Walters that he (Loder) had been made to
serve the wishes of S. B. Benson, who no doubt conducted
the prosecution to revenge himself for an altercation, which
had taken place a few months before at Philipsburg.
On the evening of the 22d of February, Mr. Walters waa
J. BLAKE WALTERS.
471
taken to the court-house, and handed a copy of the charges
and specifications against him hy Captain Johnson, Judge
Advocate. He was then sent back to the " guard-house,"
after being informed that his trial should commence in the
morning. The following morning, H. Bucher Swoope, Esq.,
called on him, with some other friends, and expressed a will-
ingness to assist in obtaining his release. Mr. Waiters told
him that he was weary of his imprisonment, but would make
no concessions that could in any way sacrifice his manhood
or honor, to secure his liberty.
On the 27th of February, the prisoners were all removed to
the guard-house connected with the cotton-factory barracks,
which, though unfit for the confinement of human beings,
was much better in every respect than the " Exchange,"
which had become so filthy that persons visiting their friends
confined there could not, after leaving the pure air of the
city, endure it more than a few minutes, without being sick-
ened by the intolerable stench which pervaded the room.
On the 1st of March, Mr. Walters and five others from hia
county were marched to the Provost Marshal's office, where
they were released on taking the oath of allegiance, and also
an oath to report in person when requested by the officer
commanding the Department. The oath of allegiance waa
the same as usually administered.
Thus ended fifty-four days' of imprisonment in one of the
Military Bastiles, for a purely imaginary offence, to satisfy
the malice of a satellite of tyranny.
His political friends used every effort to get him released
or tried, but their efforts were looked upon with suspicion,
and their requests treated with contempt by those having
immediate charge of the Department at Harrisburg.
MAJOR JACOB WILLHELM.
THE circumstances attending the arrest of Major "Will-
helm were of a most painful character, and it was one
of the most glaring usurpations of power we have been
called upon to narrate. It shows one of a thousand in-
stances, where an unoffending man has been torn from his
home and family at midnight hours, dragged by a ruthless
soldiery through the intense cold of a December night,
thrust into a prison-pen twelve miles distant, and afterward
detained in prisons so damp as to be fit only for toads.
Jacob "Willhelm was born in Northumberland County,
Pennsylvania, in 1805, and is, consequently, 64 years of age.
He has always been an honest, hard-working man, having
" eaten his bread by the sweat of his brow." He has been
a firm and conscientious defender of the principles of Jeffer-
son and Madison, opposing as firmly in 1861 the hydra-
headed doctrine of secession, as he had through a long life
the pernicious doctrines of centralization, miscegenation, and
abolitionism, with their concomitant train of evils.
He has at different periods of his life held the offices of
Captain and Major of the State Militia, and at present is
Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Clear
field County.
He is an upright, highminded man, and commands the
respect and confidence of all who know him. Opposed to
coercion and the war, he nevertheless, as a law-abiding citizen,
obeyed the laws and acts of Congress, and gave his time,
influence, and money toward the raising of volunteers and
substitutes to fill the quota of his township, and relieve it
of the heartless tyranny of a conscription ; having spent in
all about §2,200 for commutation money, in raising volun-
472
MA JOE JACOB WILLHELM,
473
teers, and for his board and physician's hill during his arrest
and imprisonment.
In 1862, his oldest son and son-in-law enlisted in the army
and served for three years. In the same year, his township
raised money by subscription to avert the draft. In the
year 1864, three drafts were made. The endeavors to raise
funds to fill the quota of men required, without a draft, in
his township, having proved futile, a draft took place, and
his second son was one of the number drawn, for whose ex-
emption the Major paid $365.
The same son was at the time clerk for an ironmaster,
named Lyon, in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, who dis-
charged him for manfully refusing to vote for Mr. Lincoln,
contrary to his convictions, saying that he did not think it
safe to employ clerks who did not look to their employers'
interest. His third son was drafted in the same year, and
paid $940 for a substitute. Four of his family were then
either drafted or in the army. One son only remained, and
he was under the required age.
Major Willhelm was arrested at midnight on the 24th of
December, 1864, by a detachment of soldiers from the 16th
Regiment Veteran Reserve Corps, then stationed at Philips-
burg, Pennsylvania. His son, having taken a drafted man
to the headquarters to report, was compelled to convey the
detachment of soldiers who made the arrest of his father,
and threatened with imprisonment if he should refuse.
"When the squad came to his house, they had two of his
neighbors under arrest. The posse consisted of six men,
who hastily thrust him into his sled and conveyed him to
headquarters, where he arrived about daylight.
Here he was confined in what had formerly been an old
mill, but which was now converted into a barrack for the
troops. It being Sunday, his friends endeavored to get him
released on parole, or on bail, until the following day, when
he was to be taken East. The officers at first refused, but at
length moderated their stringent measures so far, as to grant
him the freedom of the town on bail, with the condition that
474
AMERICAN BASTILE.
he was to report at 10 o'clock a.m., on the following morning
At the expiration of the allotted time, he reported himself
at the headquarters, and was marched, under guard of two
men, to the barracks, there to await the departure of the
train for Ilarrisburg.
"While standing before the grate in the " Spread Eagle "
Hotel, he was closely questioned as to several political gather-
ings that had been held in his township, and, at one of which,
he had acted as president. The meetings in question were
held at the instigation of the Chairman of the Democratic
State Central Committee, for the organization of the party
in the township, prior to the election of October of the same
year ; and which the heated imagination of the " patriots "
had converted into resistance to the draft and subversion of
the Government.
He was taken thence direct to Harrisburg. Arriving at
Tyrone, he wrote to Mr. Lamberton, attorney at law, in Har-
risburg, soliciting his professional services. Mr. Lamberton
not being at home, Mr. D. Fleming called upon him, and
subsequently assisted the former gentleman in conducting his
case.
While confined at the " Exchange Guard-house," admis-
sion was persistently refused to his friends who called upon
him. Hon. AY in. A. Wallace, Senator from his county, was
at first refused admission, but was subsequently admitted
through the influence of Mr. Fleming. He and his fellow-
prisoners were offered their liberty by prominent Republi
cans, if they would debase their manhood and become mem-
bers of their party.
This disgraceful proposition, worthy only of the men who
offered it, was manfully and indignantly refused. On the
4th of January, 1865, he, together with several others, wa<
transferred from the loathsome "guard-house" to Fort Mi*
fiin, near Philadelphia.
Arriving in that city, they were placed in the tourth story
of the barrack at Fifth and Buttonwood Streets, and left
during the night without food or fire, in a room in which
MAJOR JACOB WILLHELM.
475
nearly all the glass was broken from the windows, and through
which blew the chill blasts of winter.
In the morning, Major "Willhelm was furnished with some
bread and meat, and taken to the depot, where he stood until
between 3 and 4 o'clock p.m., when he was started for Fort
Mifflin.
Arriving there about dark, he was immediately immured
in a bombproof about sixty feet in length by twenty feet in
width, and about twelve feet in height from the floor to the
apex. This room had but nine small crevices at one end, for
the admission of light and air, those upon the side being
kept closed on account of the intense cold. In this room
were huddled about forty persons, a majority of whom were
confined fo:* political offences. These persons, groping around
in the dark — for at no time was there light enough to see to
read — and all inhaling the vitiated air of the room, presented
a picture which has scarcely a parallel in the prison annals
of the world.
The room had but one small grate, and this emitted an
insufficiency of warmth, causing much suffering among the
prisoners, who stood by it in turns, some roasting, while
others stood back shivering with cold. This alternation of
positions caused the retiring party to suffer more severely
from the fact that they could see the fire, but not feel its
warmth, and dared not in honor advance until the proper
time. They had neither chair, stool, bench, nor bedstead,
and were compelled to lie and sit upon a few boards thrown
loosely down on the floor, while the dripping from the
walls and roof either ran on the cemented floor or formed
icicles and glades of ice on the walls. Those who had no
blankets were furnished with old ones by the Government,
some of which were full of vermin.
Major "Willhelm had not been long imprisoned, when he
discovered that the sudden change from an active out-of-
door life to confinement in a loathsome cell was impairing
his health ; which continued to grow worse daily, and finally
reduced him to the portals of the tomb.
476
AMERICAN BASTILE.
The faie was meagre, the only good article furnished them
being bread, but this was insufficient in quantity. The meat
was such as was fed to prisoners at the other Forts, much
of it putrid ; and the coffee was a vile compound wholly
unfit to drink. This regimen was sometimes varied by giving
them bean or pea soup, a shadow, void of substance. There
was a sutler-shop in the Fort, where those who had money
might make occasional purchases, paying extortionate prices
for everything. They were compelled to go under u a
guard," who always expected "his whiskey" for his trouble.
Nothing was done gratuitously. Cold boiled hams and bacon
were the principal meats purchased : the former was gene-
rally of good quality, but the latter was as rusty as though it
were a remaining portion of the provisions of the Argonautic
Expedition.
Boxes of provisions sent to the prisoners were opened, and
their contents examined ; ostensibly to prevent the smug-
gling of liquor to the prisoners, but in fact to divide their
contents with the officers, who took a large share.
As time elapsed, Major Wilhelm found his health rapidly
declining. He became very weak, sometimes scarcely able to
walk. Thus far, all the exertions of his counsel and the un-
tiring efforts of his friends to procure his release had been
abortive.
On the 17th of February, he with several others, was taken
to Harrisburg for trial, after an incarceration in Fort Mifflin,
of fortv -four days. Through the intercession of Hon. AVm.
A. Wallace, he was granted the limits of the city, which
somewhat ameliorated his condition. His parole was to ex-
tend to the time that his trial commenced, about a week
afterward. He was then turned over by Captain Thume to
Judge- Advocate Johnson, who renewed it for him, but re-
quired him to report at 9 o'clock a.m., daily.
Shortly after the extension of his parole, he was confined
ro his bed in the "Bolton6, House," for five weeks, with
scarcely a hope of recovery. But, through the attentive care
of hi3 wife and e<m, together with the best medical attend-
MAJOR JACOB WILLHELM.
477
ance, he was enabled, by this time, to bear the fatigues inci-
dent to a journey home, permission to take him thither
having been granted.
His trial lasted two weeks, and for two weeks more he was
held in uncertainty as to the findings, which proved to be
" guilty," with a sentence of two years' confinement in a Gov-
ernment Fort, and a fine of $500. Guilty of what ? Guilt y
of having exercised the right of an American citizen, grant-
ed to him by the Constitution of his country ! Guilty of
having — by the voices of his fellow-citizens — presided over
a political meeting of Democrats, and of having concocted
plans for defeating his political opponents ! A heinous crime,
certainly !
Before his departure from Harrisburg, he was raised up in
bed, and required to sign a parole, agreeing to report himself,
when called upon to do so. Being unable to write his name,
and totally unconscious of the surrounding proceedings, his
hand was taken by H. Bucher Swoope, of his county, and his
name affixed to the bond.
By slow stages he was removed to his home, receiving the
most delicate attentions from his friends on the route.
From Philipsburg, he was conveyed on a bed, placed in a
wagon, being so debilitated as to be unable to sit up for any
length of time.
He arrived at home in May, and in about a month was
called upon to report ; but through the influence of General
Steadman and some other influential friends, he received a
pardon from President Johnson before the expiration of the
time allotted him to appear. He has somewhat recovered
his strength, but not his former health. His constitution
was irretrievably broken by his confinement and consequent
sickness.
JACOB IIUBLER AND SON.
MR. JACOB HUBLER,of Grahampton, Clearfield County,
Pennsylvania, was another of the victims sacrificed to
the bloody Moloch of Abolitionism. He was sixty-five years
of age, and suffering from the infirmities incidental to that
period of life, at the time of his arrest. About 10 o'clock
p.m., in the latter part of December, 1864, he was arrested,
and brutally treated by his captors.
The arrest was made by a squad of soldiers headed by one
Joseph Miller, a citizen, wearing an United States uniform.
On entering the house of Mr. Hubler, they presented their re-
volvers and covered his person with them, demanding to know
at the same time, if there were any men in the house. He re-
plied in the negative. He was then told to pack up his cloth-
ing, as he was a prisoner, and must accompany them. He
asked Miller what crime he had committed against either the
civil or military authority of the United States, that he was
thus to be dragged from his fireside, avowing himself to be a
law-abiding citizen. The officer ordered him to stop his prat-
tle and get ready to leave. In a few minutes after, he, together
with several others who had been kidnapped, was started for
Philipsburg, the regimental headquarters, where he arrived
after suffering much from the inclemency of the weather.
The next day he was examined by the Marshal, who could
find nothing against him to warrant his arrest or detention,
but who nevertheless confined him for several days in an old
barrack, where he was fed on hardtack and coffee. After
four days of imprisonment he was transferred, under guard,
to Harrisburg, and immured in the " Exchange," where he
anxiously awaited his promised trial.
Before leaving Philipsburg, he was told by the command-
478
JACOB HUBLEK AND SON.
479
lug oflicer that he would be held responsible for his ion,
who had been drafted and had not reported. He protested
against the injustice of such action, averring that his son was
of age, and out of his parental jurisdiction. But this did
not palliate his case. A pretext for his arrest was needed,
and that furnished it.
After an incarceration of a week in the " Exchange," he
and forty-two others were placed on the train for Philadel-
phia, where they arrived benumbed with cold. They were
then marched to the barrack, at Fifth and Buttonwood
Streets, placed in the upper portion of the building, in a
room from the window of which nearly all the glass had
been broken. Here, fatigued and hungry, with nothing to
eat, they were left for the night.
Mr. Hubler's boots were frozen on his feet, and he nearly
perished with the cold, which was so intense, that the
younger men were compelled to walk the room to keep up
the circulation of the blood.
The following morning, he, with the others, was furnished
with a ration of bread and meat, marched to the depot at
Broad and Prime Streets, and kept standing for more than
half a day. About four o'clock p.m., they were placed on the
cars for Fort Mifflin, where they arrived about dusk, and
were taken to Colonel Eastman's office, and after standing
for an hour, were placed in a bombproof with more than
forty ethers. His treatment, here, was the same as that of
the other prisoners, which is described in the narrative of Mr.
Walters, who was from that time forth his fellow-prisoner.
"While a prisoner in the Fort, his son, Levi Hubler, who
had been drafted, as he was informed, but had never been
legally notified of it, after keeping out of the way for fear
of arrest by the troops who were scouring the country, re-
ported in the latter part of December, thinking that he
would be treated as a drafted man, as other non-reporting
men hs.d been. Immediately on presenting himself at the
regimental headquarters, he was arrested, and after a few
days' (m nfinement, sent to Harrisburg, and thence to Fort
480
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Mifflin, undergoing the same treatment that his father waa
there receiving.
February 17th, 1865, father and son, together with a
number of others, were marched to Philadelphia, taken to
General Cadwalader's headquarters, and after standing an
hour or more, were taken to the depot, where they were
placed in the cars for Harrisburg.
On the march from the Fort to Philadelphia, Mr. Hubler,
Sen., suffered much from fatigue and weakness. The road
was full of slush and snow, and the prisoners were con-
stantly slipping, which made the march more tedious and
tiresome. Mr. Hubler nearly gave out from exhaustion, and
was supported and assisted in turn by the stronger and more
robust of the party. Arriving at Harrisburg, they were
again placed in the " Exchange," which becoming so filthy
as to disgust even the officials, they were removed to the
" Cotton Factory," which was somewhat cleaner, if not more
commodious.
Their trial, which had been promised them, was delayed
from day to day. They were marched from the prison to the
commission in the morning, full of the expectation of having
a trial and hearing their fate, and after waiting all day in
torturing anxiety, were marched back again, without a word
pf explanation.
Mr. Hubler, Jr., was paroled on the 22d of February,
1865, and has never since been called upon to report.
Mr. Hubler, Sen., failed so rapidly in health, that he was
granted a parole on the 15th of March, 1865, and returned
to his home, where he was confined to his bed, in which he
lingered until the 4th of July, and died on the anniversary
day on which, eighty-nine years before, had been declared
the birth of a nation of freemen.
We conclude these narratives with a list of those who
were arrested and confined from Clearfield County, Pennsyl-
vania. The list is not complete, but is as full as the author
could make it.
JACOB
HUBLER
AND
SON.
481
Name. Age when arrested.
Residence.
Boyer. Geo.,
oo
Henderson Township, Jefferson Co., Pa.
T\nuor "Rpni
-DUVcr, JjcIIJ.,
22
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Hann, John,
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.n.eiier, i_nanes,
22
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Iwihnley, Geo.,
40
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u
T^n Vinlpv Tfinfl
J\ 1 IIII 1 lc> , Uullll,
36
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Rauscher, Geo.,
55
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Rider, John,
52
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Hubler, Jacob,*
Grahampton,
(1
Hubler, Levi,
ii
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"\\ illhelm, Jacob,
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XTUIIIlclglCj U. o.,
tdii
l rouiviiie
(Brady Twp., Clearfield Co.), Pa.
T-T11 fTY» o rrl o Tampl
XI UlillttglC, ISldClj
37
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XVCllci, U aCUU,
35
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TCpllpr Pprpr
37
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TCorb Gpo
22
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Miller, Andrew,
28
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Schucker, Cornelius,
18
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Schucker, Geo.,
21
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Schucker, Henry,
23
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Schindelle, Lewis,
33
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Weber, Geo. J.,
32
Luthersburgh,
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II
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Yoas, Henry,
44
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II
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Walters, J. Blake,
25
Clearfield, "
♦Dead.
While all of these cases were extremely painful on account of
the exposure and hardships to which the prisoners were subjected,
yet that of Jacob Hubler, the senior of the party, was especially
so, because of the intense suffering he endured by reason of his
confinement. He died shortly after his release and return home.
The majority of these prisoners were inoffensive farmers and
mechanics, worthy citizens, who took no part in political affairs
except vote the Democratic ticket ; for which crime such men and
neighbors as George Kramer, Jacob Anthony and James Anthony,
assuming the patriotic role of spies and informers, branded them
as traitors to their country, and had them arbitrarily arrested and
cast into prison.
Perhaps the characters of all these informers may be gathered
from that of James Anthony, who, it was reported, deserted the
army and came home, first, however, having carefully carved his
name on a board and placed it at the head of a newly-made grave
on a recent battlefield. " Such is the way to immortality."
31
THOMAS W. BERRY, ESQ.
BOUT seven o'clock on the morning of the 25th of Marc h
1862, a squad of Company E, 4th Xew York Artillery
gurrounded the house of Mr. Zacariah Berry, in Prince George
County, Maryland, and arrested his brother, Thomas W.
Berry, Esq., a resident of Washington City, then on a visit.
Captain Tudor, after disposing of his men so as to prevent
escape, hastily entered the house and exclaimed : " Ah, Mr.
Thomas, I 've got you, have 1 1 Are you Thomas AY. Berry ? "
Receiving an affirmative answer, he continued, " Then I arrest
you, Captain Thomas Berry, of the Rebel Army, for treason
against the United States. Shall I treat you as a prisoner
of state, or a prisoner of war?" Mr. B. replied, "I am
your prisoner, sir, and you can do as you please."
Immediately on entering the room, Captain Tudor took
from Mr. Berry a fine revolver, which he reluctantly re-
turned to him, after his release from the Old Capitol Prison.
Mr. Berry requested permission to visit his chamber, under
guard, that he might obtain a change of clothing before
leaving. This request was peremptorily refused by the Cap-
tain, who further declined to permit him to visit his sister-
in-law, then lying very ill.
The Captain would not allow him to take breakfast, but
unceremoniously ordered him to " fall in line," at the same
time refusing him the use of a horse or carriage, remarking
that he had a conveyance a short distance from the house.
In the yard among the soldiers stood a man named Wilkin-
»un, of low birth and no standing in the community in which
he lived. This man had piloted the party to the house.
Wilkinson kept a " whiskey shop" at Grimes's Cross Roads,
ji U'rince George County, not far from Fort Greble, and had
482
THOMAS W. BERRY.
433
been detected in selling liquor to the soldiers stationed at
the Fort, in violation of orders. Colonel Doubleday threatened
to confiscate his stock of liquor and put him under arrest.
To avert the threatened danger, he determined to expiate his
offence by an act of " loyalty," and offered to show the
Colonel where he could arrest a " Rebel Captain." Colonel
D. acceded to this offer, and in addition promised him one
hundred dollars for his services. Hence the arrest of Mr.
Berry.
After leaving his brother's residence, Mr. Berry was
marched about ten miles through mud and water, before
they came to the conveyance mentioned by the Captain.
This was a miserable old vehicle, venerable in appearance,
and in such a shattered condition from having been upset
the night previous, that when they came to bad places in the
road, (and these were not unfrequent,) the occupants were
compelled to alight and walk. This was repeated so fre-
quently that Mr. B. insisted upon walking rather than be
continually getting in and out the dilapidated coach. They
rode the last five miles of the road to Fort Greble, opposite
Alexandria, in a regimental wagon without seats. The
wagon contained Captain Tudor, fourteen men, a surgeon,
and the prisoner. Mr. B. estimates that he walked twenty
miles of the distance between his brother's house and the
Fort.
"While on the line of march, Mr. B. was graciously in-
formed by Captain Tudor that he would be hung as a spy,
as it was well known to the Government that he was a
Guerrilla Captain in the Rebel Army, and had murdered a
number of Union citizens, that he had the week previously
crossed the Potomac and stopped with his brother, that he
and his brother had been to Bladensburg and taken the cars
thence to Baltimore, where they had purchased and shipped
South large supplies of medicines for the Confederate Govern-
ment. Mr. B. listened to this piece of information with
mingled feelings of disgust and surprise, and immediately
contradicted the statement in toto, assuring the valiant Cap-
484
AMERICAN BASTILE.
tain that he had no fears of being hung, but that if proof
were needed to substantiate the charges he had made, he
entertained no doubt but that a host of Government spies
would be willing to swear to them, regardless of the perjury
they would commit. After bluntly denying that he had
rendered either aid or comfort to the enemies of the United
States Government, Mr. B. frankly told the Captain that
he was a Southern man, that his sympathies lay with hia
section, and that the Government had done him and
his family enough injury to cause them to despise it : they
had taken possession of the old homestead, "Metropolis
View," about a mile from Washington, and had permitted
the soldiers to wantonly mutilate and destroy the dwelling,
which was elegantly finished and furnished; that the soldiers
had thrust their bayonets into the plastering on the walls
and ceiling, and had shot into the ornamental work. A
party of them even went so far with their vandalism, as to
break into the family vault, and desecrate the remains of the
dead, tearing the silver-plated handles and screws from the
coflin which contained the ashes of his father ; while the
coffins of his infant brother and sister were broken open at
the same time, and their bones left lying on the floor of the
vault; that when John Maguire,an honest Irishman, went to
them, and with tears in his eyes entreated them to desist
and respect the dead, and not to desecrate the remains of the
family, as they had been good to him, he was met by these
unfeeling men with jeers and laughter, and the remark that
they were all rebels, and that they had heard there was
jewelry buried with the dead.
Captain Tudor said he could not believe that such a thing
had occurred. Mr. Berry told him that a written statement
of the facts, as he had related them, had been sent to Gen-
eral McClellau, and that all they could learn of the perpetra-
tors was that the depredations had been committed by some
soldiers of a Pennsylvania regiment, commanded by a Colo-
nel Williams, who gave as an excuse that he was unable to
control his men.
THOMAS W. BERRY. 485
Mr- B. said further, that the Government had driven the
tenant from " Belle Vue," a farm belonging to his sister ; had
torn down the house and built Fort Greble on its site ; that
they had also cut fifty acres of valuable timber from his farm,
and used it in the construction of the forts on the Potomac
River, and had refused to remunerate him for his loss, or pay
for the place, declaring the family were all rebels.
On the arrival of the party in camp, they were received
with cheers and shouts. Captain Tudor was as warmly
greeted by his brother officers as though he had performed
• a valiant act in the capture of one man. Mr. B. was placed
in the mess-room, and a guard put over him. Presently Cap-
tain Tudor came in and offered to the prisoner an apology
for the rudeness he had manifested, in the morning, at his
brother's house, giving as an excuse that he had heard that
the people of Prince George County, and especially the
Berrys, of whom there were quite a number, were violent
aecessionists, and that he had not expected to make the arrest
without a fight, and for that reason had taken a surgeon with
him.
At 6 p.m. he was given a fair supper, and then placed in
an ambulance and conveyed under guard to Fort Carroll,
about a mile from Washington. At the Fort he was con-
fronted with Colonel Doubleday , who commanded the defences
east of the city. The Colonel addressed him as " Captain
Berry, of the' Rebel Army," but was soon made aware of his
error by the prisoner's denial that he had ever held any posi-
tion, civil or military, under the Confederate Government.
The Colonel said that he had been informed to the contrary,
and ordered him to be conveyed to Washington, where he
was taken to the guard-house, and thrust into a room with
about one hundred drunken soldiers, who had been gathered
up by the provost guard during the day. Observing that he
wore the dress of a citizen, the soldiers crowded around him,
anxious to know the cause of his arrest, the most of them
supposing that he had sold liquor to the soldiers surrepti-
tiously ; but when informed that he had been charged with
486
AMERICAN BASTILE.
being a Rebel captain, they advised him to say nothing about
it while there, as everything that was said was reported to
the authorities. The night passed wearily on, and mauy
recollections of it are too horrible to relate. The next morn-
ing he was sent to the Old Capitol Prison — the abode of
many martyrs of tyranny — where, through the kindness of
Superintendent ~Wm. P. "Wood, he was permitted to receive
clothing, and a daily supply of provisions from his mother
and sister, who resided in the City of Washington.
During his imprisonment in the Old Capitol, he was at dif-
ferent times an occupant of rooms 10 and 15.
On the 12th of April, 1862, he was discharged.
" I never had been," says Mr. B., " connected in any way
with the Confederate Government, nor had I ever been farther
south than Alexandria, after the month of April, 1861.
Therefore, all the charges against me were false."
Mr. Berry has since removed to the city of Baltimore,
where he now resides. He is a lawyer by profession, and is
in possession of a large and growing practice. He is highly
•eteemed for his integrity and worth.
REV. DAVID R. McANALLY, D.D.
REV. DAVID R. Mc ANALLY, D.D., is a native oi Earn.
Tennessee. He was born in Granger County, February
17, 1810. His parents were pioneers to that State, and were
highly respectable and deeply pious people. His father was
a minister of the Methodist Church for over forty years, and
died at an advanced age, in 1849.
The subject of this brief sketch had the advantage in early
life of a fine private school, and early evinced an inclination
for study and the pursuit of letters ; graduating in the degree
of A. M., at Emory and Henry College, Virginia. He entered
the ministry at the age of nineteen, and was ordained with
full powers of the ministry in the year 1881. He filled ap-
pointments in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and in
other States, until 1848. when he received the appointment of
President of the Female Institute at Knoxville, Tennessee,
over which he presided for eight years ; during which time
the fame of the Institute drew pupils from all parts of the
United States.
Dr. McAnally was invited by the Conferences of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church, South, having control of the " St. Louis
Christian Advocate " and the Book Depository, located in
that city, to the position of editor and agent. He accepted,
and entered upon these duties in the year 1851. The large
circulation of the "Advocate," and the immense influence it
exerted wherever circulated, attested the popularity of its
editor. !Nor were his labors confined to the editing of this
paper and conducting the business of the publishing house ;
but he preached as many sermons weekly to the unsupplied
churches as those who had been assigned to regular minis-
terial duty ; and this, too, in many instances, " without money
487
488
AMERICAN BASTILE.
and without price." His labors were not restricted to the pul
pits of his own denomination, but he supplied those of other
Christian Churches ; in one instance supplying a Presbyte-
rian pulpit for several months, for which service he declined
any compensation. Since 1857, he has preached regularly at
a neat little chapel in the city of Carondelet,near which stands
his residence. INo minister was ever blessed with a more
devoted congregation than his. During the whole period of
our dreadful civil war, not a jar or discordant word was
heard among them. His persecutions and imprisonment
endeared him all the more to them. His Christian and
ministerial character was never compromised by word or
deed while suffering the indignity of arrest, the insulting
language of petty tyrants in the persons of Provost Marshals,
and during weeks of imprisonment. He came forth from the
prison as pure, if not more pure, than he entered it. None, who
were privileged to hear it, will ever forget his first sermon to
his congregation, the Sabbath after his release, xrom the text,
" I have faith in God." Of all his best and happiest efforts
before and since, none ever approached this in genuine elo-
quence. The effect was electric and almost overpowering.
He was there and then a living illustration of the mighty
truths he, with so much feeling, uttered.
On Sunday, the 10th of May, 1863, an officer came to
arrest him. In the forenoon he had preached an interest-
ing sermon, and after dinner went to his study to prepare a
sermon for the evening. While thus engaged, the officer
presented himself and placed the Doctor under arrest. A
piercing cry from his daughter was heard, when others hast-
ened to the library, where the arrest was made. He calmly
gathered his family together in the library, when he told the
officer that he wished to have prayers before separating from
them. The officer replied that he had no objection. The
Doctor opened the Bible at the twenty-third Psalm, and read
with much feeling and pathos, " The Lord is my shepherd, I
shall not want," etc. The reading of the Psalm finished, he
offered a touching and appropriate prayer, and then affec-
REV. DAVID R. McANALLY, D. D.
489
tionately addressed his orphan son and daughter. The
officer, callous though he may have been, was not an un-
moved spectator of the affecting scene. To his honor he it
recorded, he shed tears freely. It was generally supposed
that Provost Marshal Dick wished to celebrate the capture
of Camp Jackson, and his little soul could devise no more
appropriate mode than the arrest of an humble servant of
Christ on the holy Sabbath-day, the 10th of May, 1863.
For the twelve months previous to his last arrest, Di.
McAnally had, by his parole of honor, been confined to the
limits of the county. He had sacredly kept his parole in
every particular. Confining his ministerial duties chiefly to
his own congregation, administering to the wants of the
needy, visiting the sick, burying the dead, and speaking
words of consolation to the bereaved and distressed, no
man's walk could have been more blameless. Yet, his per-
secutors were not satisfied. It could not have been charged
that politics entered into his sermons or his prayers ; but he
was not a Radical in his politics nor in his religion, and this
constituted his offence.
The following account is from the pen of the Rev. Dr
McAnally :
" On the 21st day of April, 1862, 1 was arrested by order
of the Provost Marshal at St. Louis, and immediately im-
prisoned in what was then called Myrtle Street Military
Prison. The order for arrest and imprisonment was per-
emptory. !No reasons were given ; none were asked, as arbi-
trary arrests were matters of every-day occurrence ; and, in
most cases, if reasons were asked, none were given.
" From the first hour of my imprisonment, I calmly, but
firmly, determined that, with a perfect consciousness of the
purity of my motives and the rectitude of my conduct, I had
violated no law, either civil or military ; that, in my heart,
and in my conduct and conversation, I had been true to the
real interest of my country ; I would take no oath, give no
bond, nor ask any favors, either directly or indirectly. Nor
did I do any of these things from the first to the last. I
490
AMERICAN BASTILE.
never asked why I had been arrested ; what were the charges ;
what the military intended to do, or what they wanted ine
to do. I knew there were no grounds for any charge what-
ever ; that the whole proceeding, in regard to myself and
others, was a low, cowardly eflbrt to intimidate and humiliate
men who formed their own opinions, preserved their own
self-respect, and refused to be swayed to and fro by the in-
iiuence or mere dictation of blind passions. So that, without
anything like stubbornness, and in the entire absence, I trust,
of all unchristian or ungentlemanly feeling, I resolved to
make no concessions — having none to make — ask no favors,
or do anything else that could be construed, either directly
or indirectly, into an acknowledgment, on my part, of the
right of the military to institute and carry out such pro-
ceedings.
" Besides, I was satisfied that it was not against me, per-
sonally, so much as against me as the representative of a
Christian denomination — the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South — that this warfare was to be waged. Many of the
ministers of the same denomination had even then been
driven from their flocks and from the State. Others had
seen the storm coming and had left, while many more had
been arrested and put under heavy bonds by Provost Mar-
shals in different parts of the State ; and then, or soon after,
some six or eight had been shot down as if they had been
ferocious beasts. Some of those arrested had been told by
military commanders that the fact of their being ministers
of the Methodist Church, South, was ' enough to hang
them ; ' and many of our members were put under bonds or
sent to prisons for no other ostensible reason than that they
had subscribed, paid for, and read the 4 St. Louis Christian
Advocate,' an official organ of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South; then, and for ten years previously, undei
my editorial management. I was not a blatant Abolitionist,
and had thrown some serious obstacles in the way of Ecclesi-
astical Radicalism ; hence, the determination to be rid of
both the paper and its editor.
REV. DAVID R. McANALLY, D. D. 49]
M At various times, during more than three months pre?ioua
to the arrest, I had been warned of my danger, because of
the religious, rather than the political opposition to me ; and
some of my friends advised me to leave ; which I could have
done on any day previous to the arrest.
" On Sunday, the 13th of April, there was a consultatioi
among 1 the faithful,' as to what course had best be pur
sued in reference to the 4 St. Louis Christian Advocate,' and
its editor. At this consultation, it was proposed,
" 1st. To incite the soldiers, and let them tear down the
building, and demolish the office of publication. But that
proposition was rejected, because it was thought the influence
on the minds of the people of the State would be bad ; that
it would be going further than would be safe to their own
cause.
" 2d. It was then proposed and agreed to, that an indict-
ment for conspiracy against the Government of the United
States should be drawn up for the action of the grand jury
of the United States District Court, which was to sit next
day. And in the event of the jury failing to find a true bill,
then I must be summarily and arbitrarily arrested by ordei
of the Provost Marshal, and sent to prison, and the paper
suppressed.
"Accordingly, next day, Monday, the 14th, the Court met,
and the grand jury was empanelled. Soon after, a bill was
presented to them. Diligent inquiry was made; witnesses
were summoned and carefully examined. Day after day the
matter dragged on, until finally, on Saturday, the 19th, the
jury, having completed their work, was discharged, and no
action was taken to suppress the ' Advocate,' or presentment
raa<?e against its editor. Partisans as they were, and corrupt
as 1 know some of them to have been, they would not say,
on their oaths, that a true bill for conspiracy could be found.
" Hence, in accordance with the programme previously pre-
pared, on Monday following the paper was arbitrarily sup-
pressed, and I was arrested and imprisoned by order of the
Provost Marshal, as already stated.
492
AMERICAN BASTILE.
" The Marshal was one Captain Leighton, a man whose in-
tellectual, moral, and social qualities, and whose early life
and associations seem to have eminently qualified him for the
work he was called on to perform.
" The keeper of the prison placed me in a room twelve or
fifteen feet square, with ten other prisoners, all of whom were
genteel, worthy men, and some of them highly intellectual
and cultivated. They uniformly and invariably treated me
with respect and kindness, and really seemed to vie with each
other in manifestations of kindly feeling.
" In the same prison, in different parts, there were, per-
haps, from an hundred to an hundred and fifty persons ; a
few of whom had been regularly in the Confederate service,
and captured ; others had been in the Federal service, and
were then in prison for crime; while the great majority were
citizens from different parts of the State, arrested on mere
suspicion, and in some cases had been imprisoned for weeks
and months, with only the scant clothing they happened to
have on when arrested. Some fifty or sixty such as these
were in a miserable condition. But under the rags and dirt
there were some as noble hearts as ever throbbed. These, too,
after I had been but a few days in prison, treated me with
respect and kindness. Nor did any of the officers of the
prison ever use toward me a disrespectful or an unkind word.
I endeavored to deport myself in a dignified, respectful, gen-
tlemanly, and Christian manner, and was everywhere met
with a corresponding course.
" It was my understanding, at the time, that the keeper of
the prison was allowed a per diem for feeding the prisoners ;
but whether that were so or not, he evidently drew rations
for all, but allowed some twelve or fifteen to have their meals
Bent regularly from the Virginia Hotel, and I verily believe
the hotel-keeper sent ' the very best his house could afford.'
My meals were regularly sent three times each day by an
estimable family living close by.
" If any be curious to know how my time was occupied,
they may learn from the following memoranda made at the
REV. DAVID R. Mci NALLY, D. D.
493
time, on some fly-leaves of a Bible I used, and which is nov?
before me:
" April 21, 1862. Imprisoned at 7 o'clock p.m.
" 22d. Read from the 90th Psalm to the close of the Psalms
" 23d. Read Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and
Isaiah.
" 24th. Read Jeremiah and Ezekicl to chapter xx.
" 25th. Read balance of Ezekiel, the Book of Daniel, and
wrote outlines of two sermons.
"26th. Read the twelve Minor Prophets, and wrote
sketches of two sermons.
" 27th. Read the four Gospels.
" 28th. Read Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles, and
wrote two sketches.
" 29th. Read from first of Hebrews to end of Revelation ;
also the Book of Genesis, and wrote two sketches.
" 30th. Read Exodus and wrote two sketches, (was sick.)
" May 1st. Read Leviticus and Numbers, and wrote two
sketches.
" 2d. Read Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, and
wrote two sketches.
" 3d. Read First and Second Samuel, and wrote one sketch,
(was sick.)
"4th. Read First and Second Kings, and wrote three
sketches.
" 5th. Read First and Second Chronicles, and wrote two
sketches.
" 6th. Read Ezra, Kehemiah, Esther, and part of Job, and
wrote two sketches.
" 7th. Read the rest of Job, and the Book of Psalms. This
puts me through the Bible in sixteen days ; and also wrote
in all twenty-four sketches of sermons — two to-day.
" 8th. Read Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and
wrote part of a sermon in extenso.
" 9th. Read Isaiah, and finished the sermon.
" 10th. Read Jeremiah, Lamentations, and part of Ezekiel,
and wrote letters.
494
AMERICAN B A STILE.
"llth. Read the rest of Ezekiel, Daniel, and the twelve
Minor Prophets.
" 12th. Read Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and wrote part
of a sermon and some long letters.
" 13th. Read John, Acts, and Romans, and wrote six or
eight pages of a sermon in extenso.
" 14th. Read First and Second Corinthians, Galatians,
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians , (First and
Second,) First and Second Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and
wrote nine pages of a sermon.
"loth. Read from first of Hebrews to end of Revelation,
and wrote eleven pages on sermon.
"16th. Read Book of Genesis, and wrote on second sermon
for the week.
" 17th. Read Exodus, Leviticus, part of Numbers, finished
aecond sermon (in extenso) for the week, and wrote four long
letters.
" 18th. Read remainder of Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua,
Ruth, and J udges.
" 19th. Read First and Second Samuel, and wrote three
long letters.
" 20th. Read First and Second Kings ; and at two o'clock
the officer of the prison was directed to release me on my
verbal parole, to report forthwith at the office of the Provost
Marshal, which I did, and was then informed that charges
and specifications had been drawn up, to which I would be
required to answer before a Military Commission on the 23d
and on my verbal parole I was released until that time.
" 23d. Reported accordingly, when the parole was extended
fo Monday, the 26th.
" On Monday, the 26th of May, I appeared before what
was called a Military Commission, composed of Colonel Mer
rill, Major Shaw, and Captain Howard, the latter of whom
acted as Judge Advocate.
" These were all of the volunteer service, and, except the
Colonel, were, perhaps, in the service more in name than in
reality. The charge I was required to answer was that of
REV. DAVID R. McANALLY, D. D. 495
having violated ' the articles of war,' by the publication of
sundry specified articles in the 4 St. Louis Christian Advocate.'
£t was a little remarkable that a number of the articles com-
plained of had been copied from 'Blackwood's Magazine/
which publication had been freely circulated in the city for
from one to three weeks before I made the extracts.
"I objected in form to being tried by that tribunal, alleging
that if I had committed an offence at all, it was an offence
against civil, and not military law ; and claimed, as a citizen
and civilian, to be tried by civil law.
" I further objected on the grounds that many, if not all the
articles complained of, had been published before the procla-
mation of martial law in St. Louis ; and as no war had been
formally declared, I could not, under the circumstances, be
justly tried by the articles of war.
" Several other exceptions were regularly filed, but all were
overruled, as, indeed, I supposed they would be, and I only
entered them to make a fair and full record.
" The trial proceeded. The Judge Advocate threw on the
table a number of copies of the ' Advocate/ with certain arti-
cles therein marked, but did not read them openly; and if
either he or the other members of the ' Commission ' ever
read them, the fact was and is unknown to me. The "fiscal
agent of the publishing house where the ' Advocate ' was is-
sued, was examined at great length, and with great care;
and to all questions asked, he gave distinct, prompt, and
truthful answers. This ended the first day's proceedings.
" On the second day, a number of gentlemen were introduced
—some who were well known to be among the most 'loyal'
of the 'loyal,' and others who were suspected of having
4 Southern sympathies,' when my manner of life, in public
and private, my manner of preaching, and the character and
tone of my public prayers, were all diligently inquired mto ;
but no one was found who, on his oath, would say that he
ever saw or heard me do or say aught that was inconsistent
with the character of a peaceful, law-abiding citizen, and
Christian minister.
496
AMERICAN BASTILE.
" I continued to introduce witnesses on these points until
the Court expressed their entire satisfaction.
" It was then ordered that any defence I might choose to
make should he prepared and presented to the Court on the
next day. Accordingly, at the opening of the Court on the
third day, I read a short paper, setting forth the grounds on
which I thought I was entitled to be released from the prose
cution.
" This closed the trial. I was then remanded to the care
of the Provost Marshal, who, on my pledge * not to give aid
and comfort to the enemies of the United States, nor to leave
the county of St. Louis, and to report myself at that office
whenever required/ I was allowed to go. This parole was
kept hanging over me until the 19th day of November,
If 35 — three years and six months from the time of the trial.
The decision of the Court by which I was tried I have never
had, nor ever known to this good hour ! ! Never,
" I kept the parole faithfully, because it was a parole of
honor. I suffered many inconveniences and discomforts be
cause of it, but still kept it, and did so uncomplainingly.
" On Sunday, the 10th of May, 1863, while preparing for
the evening services of the church, I was again arrested ;
this time, by order of Provost Marshal Dick. The arrest
was made at my own house. After gathering a bundle of
clothes, and having prayers with my motherless children,
commending them to 'Him that judgeth righteously,' I
accompanied the officer, and was by him delivered to the
Keeper of the Gratiot Street Military Prison.
" Here there was a great number of persons, many pris-
oners of war, and many citizens from different parts of the
S+ate, some of whom had been long confined ; and there were
many others, residents in the city, who had but a little while
before been brought in.
" On the next day, Monday, the 11th, quite a number of
us were notified that we would be sent South, beyond the
Federal lines, and would be started at twelve o'clock, on
REV. DAVID E. McANALLY, D. D. 497
Wednesday, the 13th. We accordingly made what prepara-
tion we could.
" I was informed that I would he allowed to carry a limited
amount of clothing, and two hundred dollars in money. The
clothing I had. The money I had not. I had but a very
few dollars in the world, and was leaving my children not only
motherless, but penniless. Some friends outside the prison
learned my condition, and the two hundred dollars were
quickly furnished. One-half of the sum was sent by a high-
toned gentleman, who was then serving as a Colonel in the
Federal service — a man whose every sense of honor was out-
raged by the proceedings against me. Had the sum been
needed, I believe two thousand or ten thousand dollars would
have been furnished me.
" On Wednesday, the 13th, those of us who had been
ordered into banishment were paraded and marched, between
two files of soldiers, through some of the principal streets of
the city, to the steamer which was to bear us South. The
whole number of prisoners on the boat was, perhaps, an hun-
dred or more, including men, women, and children.
"Just before the boat left the landing, an order came coun-
termanding the order of my banishment, and directing that
I should be sent to the office of the Provost Marshal. This
was done ; and the other prisoners were sent South. At the
Marshal's office, I was directed to report there in person at
eleven o'clock, the next day, and in the mean time I might
do anything not inconsistent with the parole I had given a
year before.
" At the appointed hour next day, I reported myself at the
office of the Provost Marshal, Colonel Dick. He expressed
a desire for a long conversation, and commenced in a sort :i
apologetic way, by stating how much pleasure it gave him t >
rectify any mistake he might make, or undo any wrong he
might happen to commit ; and, as he had been led into a mis-
take in regard to my arrest and order of banishment, he had
much pleasure in countermanding the order, etc.
" The conversation was protracted, and very plain. The
32
498
AM ERICA X BASTILE.
Colonel was reminded that the old ideas regarding civil rights,
civil law, personal liberty, etc., were not entirely obsolete;
and that it might be well for persons temporarily in authority
I j remember that orders for the arrest, imprisonment, and
banishment of persons, and the confiscation or destruction
of property, ought to be based on something else than suspi-
cion or vague rumor.
" Finally, the conversation was ended by the Colonel sud-
denly remembering that he had some important business just
then, and requesting me to call the next day, that the inter-
view might be renewed. I did call the next day, and the
next, and the next, for many days, but, from the day of that
interview to the present, never found the Colonel at leisure,
Soon after that he was relieved of his position and duties as
Provost Marshal, and not a great while afterward, no doubt
for good and sufficient reasons, he left the city and State.
u The Colonel gave no reasons for my arrest, nor was he
asked for any. Perhaps he was not aware that I had learned
that his order for my arrest had been issued at the instance
of a couple of ignorant and bigoted old women connected
with the ' Loyal League,' and who had been instigated by
two men, who, for private reasons, desired that I might be
banished.
" These two men have since fully developed the very unen-
viable character which I then knew they possessed. And,
perhaps, he was not aware, second, that I had learned that
his order countermanding the order for banishment had been
issued on the peremptory command of the General (Curtis)
then in command. Or, third, that General Curtis had acted
on the representation of at least two of his own Colonels,
who had assured him, first, that the order was in itself
wrong, unjust, and an outrage ; and, second, that to let it bo
carried out would do great harm to the Union cause. One
of them told the General that the very fact of my being in
the South, under the circumstances then existing, would do
as much harm to their cause as could be done by a thousand
armed men. and added : ; 1 do not know what he may do in
REV. DAVID R. McANALLY, D. D. 499
the South ; but I do know that, if he exert himself as I know
him capable of doing, you might as well send five thousand
armed men to help the Rebels as to send him. However
peaceably disposed he may be now, we cannot expect him to
continue so, if this outrage is carried on.'
" Perhaps the Colonel was not aware I had learned all this
and much more. Still, he may have thought of it, when he
asked me what I would do if sent South ? and in reply, 1
©imply answered, 4 You may rely upon it, sir, I will eat no
idle bread.'
" In all this time, I allude only to the arrests which were
followed by actual imprisonment, saying nothing of an arrest
made in September, 1861 ; made not on a charge of anything
having been done, but on suspicion that something 4 might
be done.9
" I was quite ill at the time, but was taken in my office,
carried before the Provost Marshal, where, defenceless and
surrounded by armed men, I was coarsely harangued and
vilified, abused and lectured as to my editorial and minis-
terial duties, during a half-hour or more, which was, at
length, terminated by my plainly informing the Marshal that
as I was in their power, the military could do with me as
they chose ; that they had the power and could suppress my
paper when they pleased ; but until it was suppressed, it
should contain just what I might think proper to put in it,
neither more nor less. The Provost Marshal was one John
McNeil, of Palmyra prisoners' notorietv.
" Nor have I alluded to the fact that, in July, 1861, a mob
of the 1 Home Guards,' so called, threatened to destroy my
dwelling-house and church, because I had publicly baptized
a child, whose parents chose to call it Harry Beauregard;
which mob desisted from their purpose only a few short
hours before that purpose was to have been accomplished ;
and not then, until after one of their principal men had beea
told there were not less than thirty or forty men who would,
at the risk of their lives, hold him personally responsible for
all harm that might befall me from the mob.
500
AMERICAN BASTILE.
" Nor yet have I alluded to the fact that, in July, 1861, a
company of armed meu, forty-four in number, wearing the
uniform of United States soldiers, and acting professedly
under orders from headquarters, surrounded my house, aud
ransacked it from cellar to garret. What they expected to
find, or were looking for, I never asked, I never knew. Nor
to the ransacking of my editorial office ; the destruction of
my private papers, etc., etc., which was done in April, 1862,
when I was absent ; nor to the almost numberless unlawful
and unjust indignities, disabilities, etc., that were put upon
me during the three years and more that I was a prisoner.
Nor yet have I alluded to the horrible outrages, cruelties,
and barbarities which I saw practised on helpless prisoners,
and for no reason whatever. All this I pass by. If an ac-
count of them be given, let it be given by others."
OBMQND BARRETT, THOMAS C. MacDOWELL, J.
MONTGOMERY FOSTER, and M. J. JOXES.
N the 6th of August, 1862, at about 4 o'clock a.m., Pro.
vost Marshal Lafayette C. Baker, of "Washington City,
D. C, accompanied by Captain I. Dodge, (then acting as mus-
tering officer and Provost Marshal at Harrisburg, Pennsyl-
vania,) the Chief of Police of that city, and a file of United
Stares soldiers, arrested Messrs. Ormond Barrett and Thomas
C. MacDowell, Editors and Proprietors of the u Patriot and
Union," a Democratic daily and weekly newspaper, pub-
lished at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, together with J. Mont-
gomery Foster, Assistant Editor, and M. J. Jones, Local Editor
of the said paper. The arrest of the above-named gentlemen
was mide at their respective homes, within a few minutes of
each other. Colonel MacDo well's residence was first visited,
and his arrest first made. When the object of their visit
was ma \e known to the Colonel by the Provost Marshal,
which was done from the steps of his dwelling, where Baker
stood dressed in the full uniform of a Captain of Infantry,
the door was opened and Colonel MacDowell asked the mean-
ing of the presence of armed men, who were surrounding his
premises.
Both Baker and Dodge announced their desire to see Colo
nel MacDowell, and requested to be admitted to the house.
The Colonel answered that Captains Baker and Dodge, and
the Chief of Police might enter, but none of the armed guard
then present. This was assented to, and Baker, Dodge, and
Chief of Police B. Campbell stepped into the parlor, where
the following dialogue ensued :
Colonel MicDowell. "What is your business with me,
gentlemen ? "
601
D02
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Captain Bake*. " I am ordered to arrest you, sir."
Col. MacD. " Have you authority, in writing, to make
n;y arrest?"
Capt. B. « I have."
Col. MacD. " Will you he kind enough to show me the
authority?"
Baker drew from his breast- pocket a paper and handed it
to the Colonel, which purported to he an order from General
H."W. Halleck, General-in-Chief, commanding Baker to pro-
ceed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and arrest Messrs. 0. Bar-
rett, Thomas C. MacDowell, J. Montgomery Foster, and M. J.
Jones, Editors and Proprietors of the " Patriot and Union"
newspaper, and convey them to Washington City, to he tried
by a Military Commission, for publishing a certain handbill
discouraging enlistments, and that he (the Provost Marshal)
" shall seize the presses, type, fixtures, and all the property
found in the 4 Patriot and Union ' printing establishment,
and turn the same over to the United States Quartermaster
at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who shall forward the same to
Washington City." (For some reason, the confiscation por
tion of the order was never executed.)
Colonel MacDowell then asked permission to put up a few
articles of clothing, and also to inform his family of the
necessity of his absence. An hour was readily granted for this
purpose, and on promise of Colonel MacDowell that he would
report himself at the Mayor's office at the expiration of the
allotted time, (5 o'clock a.m.,) the Marshal and his posse left
his premises. About 5 o'clock a.m., Messrs. Barrett, Mac-
Dowell, Foster, and Jones were at the Mayor's office, and at
about six o'clock they were marched off by the Provost Mar-
shal and a file of soldiers, with muskets and fixed bayonets,
to the depot of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad, and put
on the cars, with the Marshal and a guard of soldiers as close
attendants.
On arriving at the cars, they found, for the first time, Brig-
adier-General James Wadsworth, then acting Military Gov-
ernor of the District of Columbia, who, as they were in •
ORMOND BARRETT AND OTHERS. 503
formed, had come to Harrisburg to superintend their arrest,
but who had taken care to be neither seen nor known by any
one until after the arrests were made, and the prisoners seated
in the cars. General Wadsworth was in the full uniform of
a Brigadier-General of the United States Army, without
side-arms. Arriving at Washington, General Wadsworth
ordered the prisoners to be lodged in the Old Capitol Prison,
by the Marshal, who still had them in charge. They were
marched thither and handed over to the Superintendent, Wil-
liam P.Wood, who, after carefully examining their baggage
and persons, assigned them room No. 10, where they were
kept, as the other prisoners were in that place, until the 23d
of August, 1862, when they were liberated, after undergoing
the consummate farce of an examination by Judge Advocate
L. C. Turner, in the presence of General Wadsworth.
When brought before the Judge Advocate, they demanded
the affidavit upon which they had been arrested, the name or
names of their accuser or accusers, and the specific charges
that justified the great outrage that had been perpetrated in
their arrest and incarceration ; but, strange to tell, both the
Judge Advocate and General Wadsworth had to acknowl-
edge that there was no written specific charge, no accuser or
accusers ; and, after taking their respective statements under
oath, in which they severally stated their unconsciousness of
having committed any crime or offence against the Govern-
ment, the Constitution, or the laws of the land, they were
told they were at liberty to go whithersoever they pleased.
They left Washington on the following morning, the 24th
of August, 1862, and arrived at their homes in Harrisburg,
the same evening, after ar imprisonment of eighteen days.
PHILIP HILBISH.
MR. PHILIP HILBISH is a native of Pennsylvania, and
was born in 1813. In early life, with commendable am
bition, he determined to acquire an education. By his own
industry, he fitted himself for, and graduated at college, with
the highest honors.
His first enterprise, subsequently, was to enter into partner-
ship with a friend in the mercantile business, in which he
continued six years. At the expiration of that time, he had
accumulated enough money, from an original investment of
fifteen hundred dollars, to commence business on his own
account. He removed, in 1845, to McKee's Half Falls, about
twelve miles distant from Liverpool, Perry County, and
rented a store and hotel. His busiuess proved eminently
successful, from strict attention, so that, in the third year, he
bought the property he had rented, for twelve thousand dol-
lars, for which he has since been offered forty-five thousand
dollars.
Continued success enabled him to purchase the valuable
property of Dr. A. S. Cummings, at Selin's Grove, Snyder
County, where he now resides, respected for hi3 energy and
perseverance, and beloved for his upright and manly charac-
ter, and practical benevolence. He was invited by his Re-
publican neighbors to call a mass meeting, and urge upon
the people the duty of enlisting in the army to suppress the
rebellion. He firmly but courteously declined, adding " that
he had no objection to any person enlisting in the service
who desired to do so, but that he would urge it upon no one.'
His two sons subsequently joined the army, and were houor-
ably discharged. The one served over two years, and the
other four vears and two months.
504
PHILIP HILBISH. 505
Od tlie 27th of July, 1863, Mr. Ililbish was standing in
front of his hotel, in Middleburg, con versing with a friend
when he was arrested by Captain Cox and Henry S. Boyer,
the latter an unmitigated scoundrel, who spat in his face.
The Captain then requested Mr. Ililbish to walk with them
to his (the Captain's) office, which he declined to do, remark-
ing that if the Captain had any business with him, he could
step into the hotel. After a few moments' further conversa-
tion, Captain Cox told Ililbish to consider himself under
arrest. "JSiot at all," said II., "unless you can show your
authority. " He then turned to go to the Court-house, where
the Democratic Convention was in session. As he did so,
ten or twelve men, who were aiding the Captain in his nefa-
rious work, emerged from various places of concealment, and
pursued II., calling on him to u Stop, or they would shoot
him." Looking back he saw some of them levelling their
revolvers at him. He quickened his pace, hut, before reach-
ing the steps of the Court-house, he was overtaken and sur-
rounded by "these troops of devils, mad with blasphemy,"
who seized him, amid cries of "Hang him," and " Yes, he
must be hung before to-morrow night." While he was held
by those around him, an escaped convict from Centre County,
named Kepheart, stepped in front of him and kicked him
several times in the abdomen. He was repeatedly beaten
over the head and face by the ruffians, and was struck several
tune'j with the butt-end of a revolver, cutting deep gashes
in his face, the scars of which will be effaced only by the
grave. Nearly exhausted from the pain of the blows, and
the blood which flowed freely from his wounds, he was
pushed across the street to a wagon in waiting, and thrust
into it. The noise in the street — the yells of the miscreants
— the groans of the prisoner — and the screaming of the wo-
men who rushed to the scene, aroused the Convention. The
members, who had just nominated Mr. Ililbish, by acclama-
tion, as their candidate for the Legislature, came rushing to
the spot, but were kept back by the menacing attitude of ihe
crowd which encircled him, and which had increased to
506
AMERICAN BASTILE.
about one hundred men. They presented their revolvers,
and pointing them toward the advancing members, frantically
cried, " Stand back, stand back ; we will shoot down any man
that will even dare to speak to him." Exhausted as Mr
Hilbieh was, and with the blood still oozing from his wound,
the wagon was hurriedly driven away, as they said, to
Lewistown. After driving about a mile, they changed their
course, and drove over hills, and through byways, to Lewis-
burg, iu Union County, where the prisoner arrived so weak
from the loss of blood as to be scarcely able to stand. Here
he was confined in a room, refused counsel, or permission to
write to his anxious family to inform them of his where-
abouts. Thence he was hurriedly conveyed to Harrisburg
the same night. Two of his custodians, Kepheart, and an
equally degraded associate, named Woods, continually blas-
phemed and threatened the prisoner's life, from the time he
left Middleburg until they arrived at Harrisburg.
In the evening after Mr. Hilbish's arrest, Major John
Cummings, a man of indomitable energy, believing that the
prisoner had been taken to Harrisburg, proceeded thither,
determined to render his friend all the aid that lay in his
power. At eight o'clock on the following morning, he found
Mr. Hilbish in prison, and ascertained that he was to be tried
at ten o'clock the same day. Having but two hours for in-
vestigation and preparation, he proceeded directly to the
office of General Clement, the District Provost Marshal, to
ascertain the charges against the prisoner. A sheet of fools-
cap paper, filled with charges, was handed him. The prin-
cipal charges on this long list were, belonging to the Knights
of the Golden Circle — speaking disrespectfully of Mr. Lin-
coln and his Administration — discouraging enlistments, and
opposing the Government generally. The Major asked Gen-
eral Clement for permission to take Mr. H. to an attorney
for consultation. His request was reluctantly granted, and
they proceeded under guard to the office of R. Lamberton,
Esq., who, on hearing the particulars, expressed himself
ready and willing to do all in his power to aid the prisoner.
PHILIP HILBISH.
507
After some further consultation, they proceeded to the Court
house, where they arrived at ten o'clock, the hour appointed
for the trial. The prosecution averring that they were not
ready, the case was postponed until four o'clock in the after-
noon, when, the Court being again convened, a further con
tinuance was asked. This was objected to by the counsel foi
the defendant, who urged a trial at once. After going into
an examination of the witnesses, the Government counsel
failed to prove a single charge from the list shown Major
Cummings by the District Provost Marshal. After having
partially proceeded, and admitting their probable failure with
the testimony at their command, the prosecutors again al-
leged that they had and could get other testimony to prove
their charges, and asked for the third continuance, which
was likewise granted. The prisoner was remanded to prison,
to again appear before the court at 2 o'clock p.m., on Tuesday
following.
As Mr. Hilbish's wife had not yet discovered where he
was, and to afford him an opportunity to visit her and
relieve her anxiety, Major Cummings and Mr. Lamberton
offered any amount of security for his appearance on the day
appointed for trial, from one to two hundred thousand dol-
lars if necessary ; but it was refused. Major Cummings then
offered to deposit with the Court one thousand dollars as secu-
rity for his reappearance, and in case of failure, to forfeit the
same. This offer was reluctantly accepted ; but as the Major
turned and was walking through the Court-house toward the
bank to obtain the money, he was recalled and informed by
General Clement that he had no right to accept money, and the
only alternative left was to send the accused back to prison,
and keep him there until the next Tuesday. After a few
moments' consideration, the Marshal offered to release Mr.
Hilbish on his giving bonds for ten thousand dollars, with a
freeholder of Harrisburg as security. "While the bond was
being drawn up, Mr. H. was called upon and asked what he
had to say. He defended himself ably in a short speech,
completely vindicating his character from the foul aspersion!
508
AMERICAN BASTILE.
which malignity had heaped upon him, and exposing the
infamy of the ringleader of the dastardly outrage. At the
conclusion of his remarks, the Court proposed to liberate him
on his own and his friend's word of honor, for his appearance.
This was agreed to, and the Court adjourned. At the ap-
pointed hour on Tuesday, Mr. Hilbish, accompanied by his
counsel and friend, Major Cummings, again appeared before
this august military tribunal. After a few preliminaries, the
Government's counsel arose and said, "As there was no one
appearing against Mr. Hilbish, or to accuse him of any of the
charges alleged, he is therefore discharged, and may go
home." Thus ended this case, which for brutality and injus-
tice is not exceeded in the history of the " Council of Tei* ,f
or tho " Star Chamber " decrees.
0
HON. MADISON Y. JOHNSON.
HON. MADISON Y. JOHNSON resides at Galena, Uli
nois, and is one of the ablest and most successful law
yers in that part of the State. He is a gentleman of fine
personal appearance, and about fifty-five years of age. He
is independent and self-reliant in his character, but of gene-
rous impulses and courteous manners. His arbitrary arrest
and imprisonment were, perhaps, among the most remarkable
that occurred during the war, whether considered in a politi-
cal liftht, or otherwise, from the fact that he had been the
warm personal and political friend of Mr. Lincoln when they
were old Whigs together. The personal friendship, which
had so long existed between them, was not in the least dis-
turbed up to the time of Mr. Johnson's arrest.
Mr. Lincoln, on his last visit to Galena, in the presence of
several of their mutual friends, urged Mr. Johnson to join
his party; and on being told that it would drift into an
Abolition party, and that if it got into power it would cause
a separation of the Union of the States, Mr. Lincoln said :
" We can control the matter if the old Whigs and Conserva-
tives will take hold ; that there would be a change, they were
coming into power, and that new men were to fill the posi-
tions ; and that he (Mr. J.) could have anything he desired
if he would go with them." Mr. Johnson replied, that " his
political views, like his religious opinions, were not a matter
for barter ; that he could hold no political fellowship with
Buch men as Codding and Lovejoy, and that such as they
would control the party."
Mr. Lincoln then said, " he regretted to part with him
more than from any man in that part of the State, but they
should always respect each other."
609
510
AMERICAN BASTILE.
"We allude to these things now to show how faithless to
his promises Mr. Lincoln was, after he became President. "We
need not notice the history of events in this narrative further
than to say, that all the propositions made looking to a set-
tlement of the troubles between the !North and the South,
* without a resort to arms, Mr. Johnson favored ; and when the
actual conflict came, and during its progress, he was found
the uncompromising advocate of peace.
He was the author of a peace resolution passed at a mass
meeting held at Springfield, during the war; and as a part
of the history of the country, and as particularly expressing
his views, we copy it :
" Resolved, That the further offensive prosecution of the
war tends to subvert the Constitution and Government, and
entail upon the nation all the disastrous consequences of mis-
rule and anarchy. That we are in favor of peace upon the
basis of a restored Union ; and for the accomplishment of
which, we propose a National Convention to settle upon terms
of peace, which shall have in view the restoration of the
Union as it was, and the securing by constitutional amend-
ments such rights to the States and the people thereof as
honor and justice demand."
He always advocated the doctrine that the theory of the
American Government was that of consent, and not force.
The particular cause of his arrest, or who instigated it, has
never been known. After a most searching investigation at
the "War Department, and an examination of the public
archives in "Washington, it does not appear that any specific
charge was ever made or filed against him ; but it would
seem that the act was directed by the President himself,
as established in a judicial proceeding subsequently had, ,n
which the United States Marshal pleaded that the arrest was
made by order of the President as a " military necessity, and
that he was held as a belligerent and prisoner of war."
Mr. Johnson, while engaged in the defence of a murder
case, was arrested in open court, on the afternoon of the 28th
of August, 1862, by the United States Marshal, on a tele*
MADISON Y. JOHNSON.
511
graphic despatch from Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War\
without complaint, warrant, or form of law, hurried off,
more than a thousand miles, to a foreign State, and incarcer-
ated within the dark walls of an American Bastile. As it
will be regarded a matter of curiosity in American history
to know how these arrests were made, and how citizens, not
charged with an offence, were treated under the brutal sys-
tem adopted during Mr. Lincoln's Administration, we have
been at some trouble to learn the facts, and here present
them.
Mr. Johnson's case is not dissimilar to the general history
of many others. He was conveyed from his home, in Galena,
Illinois, to Chicago, where he overtook Mr. Sheean, who had
been arrested only a few hours before him ; thence, in com-
pany with that gentleman, he was transported to New York
city, and handed over, at Elm Street, to the tender care of
Kennedy, Superintendent of Police. This man was the well-
known jailer of Mrs. Isabel Brinsmade, who was confined,
for forty days, in a dungeon in one of the station-houses in
New York, without any one knowing where she was, and
without any charge against her. Mr. Johnson was confined
in what was known as the " Inner Temple," a low, dirty, ill-
ventilated room, partially under ground. Here, for the first
time, the prisoner began to realize what it meant to be a
u prisoner of state."
From there, he was conveyed, closely guarded, to Fort
Hamilton, where Lieutenant-Colonel Burke, a gruff old sol-
dier, on seeing the despatch from Stanton to incarcerate him
in Fort Lafayette, ordered out a file of soldiers under an
officer, by whom he was escorted to the vessel which carried
him to the Fort.
While crossing to the Fort, he could observe the dark,
dungeon-like walls of the octagonal-shaped Fort, black, frown-
ing, and solitary, arising from
.... "those hidden rocks, where sleep
The channelled waters, dark and deep."
512
AMERICAN BASTILE.
The thought came hurriedly to his mind, Can this be re-
publican America ? or are we the victims of French and
Austrian despotism ? "When a prisoner entered the portals
of this Fort, he was dead, so far, at least, as the outside world
>vas concerned, and soon found himself subject to the unbri
died caprice of a " despotism that knew no bounds."
On entering the Fort, Mr. Johnson was taken to the office
of the Commandant, who, on learning his name and resi
dence, entered them in a register, without preface or apology
He then, with the sangfroid of a highwayman, demanded his
watch, money, gold pencil, studs, finger-rings, medicines,
trunk-key, etc., as unnecessary to be retained by the prisoner.
Mr. Johnson says, " I handed them over reluctantly to a man
of whom I had formed a bad opinion." He was then taken
to an anteroom, accompanied by a sergeant and two soldiers,
to manage him, should he prove refractory. Here he was
divested of his clothing, and searched. They were rewarded
with finding in his breast-pocket two percussion-caps, which
were, no doubt, laid before the eyes of the astonished Lieu-
tenant as dangerous matter ; perhaps, diminutive torpedoes
by which the massive foundations of the Fort were to be
blown to atoms. After this was accomplished, he was dis.
missed, and told that his trunk would be sent to him when
examined.
He was then taken to Battery Xo. 6, a long room on a levo,
with the ground, and having a brick floor. Here he was
furnished with an iron stretcher, a mattress, and a blanket.
This room contained five heavy cannons, mounted on car-
riages, ranged side by side, and each pointed through a port-
hole, so as to command the channel. The place was filthy,
damp, and dark — the air fetid and unwholesome. He
found in it some forty-seven prisoners, crammed together
among the gun-carriages, and as uncomfortable as they could
be made. These persons soon instructed him in the disci-
pline of the Fort, which consisted of every petty annoyance
that could be invented to render the situation of a prisoner
disagreeable, and, if possible, to break down his spirit, destroy
MADISON Y. JOHNSON.
513
his manhood, and cause him to accept 3uch terms as were
prescribed by the Administration as the price of liberty.
The Bastile, like death, brings to an equality all it swab
lows up. The undaunted patriot, guilty of no crime but
that of maintaining the rights of a freeman, and who dared
to speak in opposition to the Administration, is treated
wilh more severity than the wretch, who would betray
his country for gold. Here were men wearing the insignia
and uniform of an honorable service, degraded to be the
tools of a despotism that has scarcely a parallel even in the
Bastile of France, They were sensible of the shameful and
cowardly service imposed, and sought to justify themselves
as the agents of a lawful power, saying that " they simply
obeyed orders." They had given themselves up as willing
instruments of outrage and wrong, and felt that an ignomin
ious punishment would be a just reward for their compliance.
Had they not lost all self-respect, and submitted themselves,
as mere machines to do the will of arbitrary power, they would
have felt the dishonor of their work sticking as close to them
as did " the poisoned shirt of Nessus to the back of Hercules."
Mr. Johnson was subjected to the rigor and petty tyranny
of a shoulder-strapped turnkey, who compelled the prisoners
to submit to the taunts and insults of the sentinels put over
them, night and day. The prisoners were reprimanded or
punished if they retorted, or resented the taunts or acts of
the soldiery, some of whom took every occasion to insult
them. They were compelled to go to the sally-port and ask
permission of the Sergeant to go to the other prisoners* quar-
ters, or to draw a bucket of water out of the cistern at their
own door. The same permission was required to get coal or
wood. They were compelled, also, to stay in their apartments,
or within a space of fifteen feet square in front of them,
except for a few moments, morning and evening, when all the
prisoners, except Soule*, Mazzaran, and Thomas, were allowed
to mingle together in the open court, a space about thirty
yards square, within the Fort. This was all the exercise
allowed.
38
514
AMERICAN BASTILE.
TLe wives and friends of the inmates who came to visil
them, after first going to Washington, and, as a great favor,
obtaining a pass from Secretary Stanton to enter, were required
to hold their conversations, which were limited to an hour,
in the presence of the Commandant. At the close of these1
interviews, a guard marched the prisoners back to their quar-
ters, and the visitors were set on shore. The interviews were
duly noted and reported to Washington, with such comments
as were thought proper and necessary.
At sunset, the prisoners were compelled to "get into their
holes." The doors were locked upon them, while the window
on the same side, large enough to admit a man's body, was
left open. They were not allowed to talk or have a light
after 9 o'clock p.m. ; and, as Mr. Johnson was informed, the
sentinel had, a short time before he arrived, fired through
this window on the prisoners for conversing, in disobedience
of orders. They were not allowed conversation with the
soldiers, and on one occasion, when one of the latter was
arranging the window, or fire-grate, an officer with an armed
sentinel stood by for hours, to prevent communication.
When a ship was fired on, in order to make her return and
report to the revenue-cutter, they were all locked up ; and
on one occasion, when the British ship " Dispatch " refusec
to return, but anchored under the guns of the Fort, the}
were kept confined for forty-eight hours. They were also
locked up when those in solitary confinement were taken
into the presence of the Commandant.
THE MANIAC.
"A scheming villain forged the tale
That chains me in this dreary cell :
My fate unknown, my friends bewail ;
0 'sentry,' haste that fate to telll
Oh, haste my 'mother's' heart to cheer;
Her heart, at once, 't will grieve and glad
To know, though chained and captive here,
1 am not mad ! I am not mad ! "
There was confined in one of the cells of Fort Lafayette,
MADISON Y. JOHNSON.
515
k poor prisoner from Baltimore. He was a " political prison-
er," and manifested symptoms of insanity. His friends, and
Borne of the physicians who were among the prisoners, called
Lieutenant Wood's attention to the case. He treated the
statement with contemptuous indifference at the time ; but a
few days afterward, the prisoner was sent to the guard-house.
Instead of being sent instantly to the asylum, he was kept in
the guard-house, and in double irons.
His cell was darkened, a sentry marched night and day
before his prison-door ; and he was permitted no intercourse,
not even to see the other prisoners or friends. Surrounded
by strange soldiers, he was, at times, apparently in an agony
of dread. His shrieks were fearful, and one dark night, when
he imagined he was about to be murdered, his screams
were painfully startling to hear. In some of these parox-
ysms, he was actually gagged by the soldiers. So strict wa3
his confinement, that when an aged and widowed mother,
who for months had been seeking to obtain an interview
with her son, at last, having obtained it, came one Sabbath-
day to visit him, he was taken from his dungeon to the
Commandant's room, in which she was permitted to see him,
by a file of soldiers detailed to guard him from his cell ; but
not before all the other prisoners were locked in their rooms,
and a double guard placed in the sally-port. A letter written
by one of the prisoners to the counsel of the unfortunate man,
in Baltimore, urging the exercise of his influence with the Go-
vernment, on behalf of the sufferer, was not allowed to reach its
destination, although directed to the care of Lieutenant-Gen-
eral Scott. He was detained in the Fort until he became a
raving maniac. In this condition, Mr. Stanton's oath of loyalty
was administered to him, and he placed on shore as helpless
as a child. He would doubtless have perished, had he not
been picked up and cared for by strangers. In this instance,
a kind Providence threw in his way Mr. Hopkins and Mrs.
Gelaton, who cared for him until his friends could come 1o
tl eir relief, and bear him home to an early grave.
It may be asked, cruld it be possible, that these thing«
610
AMERICAN BASTILE.
should occur in a Christian community, and not arouse every
instinct of our natures to right the wrong? We forget,
when we ask that question, that a prisoner within the walls
of Fort Lafayette was beyond the reach of the process of the
courts. A brass six-pounder, derisively called the "habeas
corpus" stood loaded, to guard the sally-port of the Fort,
and sweep out of existence the Sheriff and his posse, should
he attempt to execute a writ of habeas corpus on the com-
mander. A prisoner could have no communication with hia
friends, except by permission, and thus every right of a free-
man being outraged, he could have no means of making
known his complaints, or of publicly exposing the crimes
committed by those in authority.
Mr. Johnson says : " Here you would see men from almost
all the States, the largest portion of whom were in the vigor
of manhood. You would find men who had ably represented
our Government at foreign courts, had adorned the United
States Senate, been Governors of States, Judges of Courts,
members of Congress, State legislators, doctors, lawyers,
farmers, and indeed almost all departments of business were
here represented, not one of whom was tainted with any
^rime."
At reveille the doors were unlocked, and light and air
admitted to the prisoners. Shortly after, breakfast would
be announced, when they were marched under guard, a few
yards, to Battery No. 1. Here was set a long table, made by
placing rough pine boards on trestles, so as to raise it about the
height of a man's breast, when standing. On this table, as-
signed to each prisoner, was a dirty tin plate, with a piece of
bread, and a tincup of what was called coffee, made and sweet-
ened in a large iron vessel. This was the breakfast. Supper
was the same, with the addition of a raw onion occasionally,
as an antiscorbutic. Dinner, which was the chief meal, con-
sisted of a cup of water, a piece of boiled fat pork, cold, and a
piece of bread. When the scurvy made its appearance among
some of the prisoners, fresh meat and vegetables were some-
times allowed. The cutlery consisted of a pocket-knife, if
MADISON Y. JOHNSON.
517
the prisoner had been fortunate enough to retain one ; other-
wise his teeth supplied the deficiency. All meals were par-
taken of standing, and in silence. A guard with a musket
and fixed bayonet stood at the backs of the prisoners. When
the meal was finished, they were marched back to their
quarters.
In addition to the many acts of barbarism, we cite one :
John Hipkins was put in the guard-house, a darkened place,
six feet long and proportionately wide, and there compelled
to remain, and sleep upon the brick floor without bedding or
covering, for twelve days and nights. This punishment was
inflicted because he had wrested a chair out of another pris-
oner's hand, which was in dispute between them.
Who can form an idea of the dull monotony of Bastile
life at Fort Lafayette? Language is inadequate to de-
scribe the anxiety and ennui of the prisoners, as hour
after hour, and day after day, they longed for their re-
lease. It was hope baffling despair. "To-day, hope put
forth her tender leaves, which on the morrow were withered
by the sun of despair." To their right and left were men in
solitary confinement, some of whom had not seen the light
of day for months — denied all communication or association
with their fellow-prisoners, and even refused the use of a
Bible — their condition was miserable. The guard, in hand-
ing their scanty supply of bread and water, was prohibited
from answering any questions, further than to say, "I will
report your request to the officer of the day," or, " It is not
allowed." Who can wonder at the wrecks of humanity
incarceration caused?
We now give a short sketch of the casemates. They were
occupied, generally, either as mess-rooms or places for solitary
confinement. Sometimes, however, several persons occupied
one casemate. When casemate No. 4, which had been occu-
pied by Dr Olds as a solitary prison-house or dungeon, was
converted into a mess-room for thirteen prisoners, and the
barricade taken down so as to admit light and air, it was
curious to examine the calendar of events kept by him, on
518
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the walls of that dark and lonesome prison, by means ol ah
old rusty nail, during the long and dreary days and nighta
of his solitary imprisonment, in that dark hell.
To understand the construction of the casemates fully, the
reader is informed that Fort Lafayette is in Xew York Harbor,
;n the centre of the channel, surrounded by water, and having
Forts Hamilton and Richmond on either side. The ground
on which it stands is but slightly raised above the tidal wave.
To make a solid foundation for the second tier of ordnance,
it was necessary to throw up heavy arches. Tl\e rooms under
these arches are called casemates. They are about twenty-one
feet long by thirteen wide at the base, and of sufficient
height, in the centre of the arch, to permit a man to stand
erect. A door and grated window open into the court or
centre of the Fort. At the other end, two small port -holes,
heavily and doubly grated, look seaward. From theo* con-
struction and want of ventilation, surrounded as they are by
the thick stone walls of the Fort, where daylight scarcely
enters, they are exceedingly damp. On first entering them,
the prisoner was sickened by the peculiarly disagreeable
miell. The atmosphere was so damp that, in twenty-four
hours, a green mould would settle upon a leather trunk, so
thick, the prisoners could write their names legibly on it with
their fingers. Such were the quarters in which human beings
were crowded for months and years.
This is a truthful, but feeble picture of an American
Bastile, under the Administration of Abraham Lincoln, in
1861-2-3-4.
Mr. Johnson, believing that some imposition had been
practised on the President, in consideration of his long ac-
quaintance, intimacy, and friendship with him, wrote the
following letter :
"Fort Lafayette, September 7, 1862.
"President Lincoln:
"My Dear Sir: — You will no doubt be as much surprised to find
me here, as I am to be here, by order of the Secretary of "War. I
need hardly say to you, the Government has been imposed upop,
MADISON Y. JOHNSON.
519
as i solemnly declare to you I have never in word, thought, or act
done a disloyal thing to my country. I therefore request that you
will order your Judge Advocate to examine into my case with as
little delay as the public interest may require. Holding myself
-eady to answer for every act of my life, I am, sir,
" Yours truly,
(Signed) M. Y. Johnson."
(Indorsed, "Private.")
From the character of the letter, it will be seen, Mr. John.
Bon had no suspicion that Mr. Lincoln was the instigator of
his arrest. The letter is an open, frank appeal, such as an
honest man would make. But the result was far different
from what might have been expected. It was known to Mr.
Lincoln then, that there had never been any charges filed
against Mr. Johnson. Instead of giving an order for his dis-
charge, Mr. Johnson, in two or three days afterward, received
a visit from the Judge Advocate, and, from what transpired,
no doubt can be entertained but that he would have been
discharged, had he submitted to certain terms and conditions.
It will be remembered, at that time, as a condition of release,
the Administration imposed, in addition to the oath of loyalty,
a condition that the prisoner would not seek any redress, by
suit or otherwise, for the injuries committed. Mr. Johnson
was not the man to tamely submit to an outrage, and volun-
tarily exculpate the perpetrators.
AVhen the Judge Advocate, L. C. Turner, appeared at the
Fort, he was accompanied by his Secretary, who noted down
the admissions of the prisoners. The Commandant of Fort
Hamilton, and the officers of Fort Lafayette, in full uniform,
were present as witnesses. A file of soldiers was stationed
in the anteroom. Several prisoners were examined ; among
them, Mr. Johnson, who was received by the Judge Advocate
with great politeness and suavity of manner, and quickly
engaged in conversation, with the intention of throwing him
off his guard, securing his confidence, and hoping, before his
suspicions were aroused, he might drop some expression that
could be tortured into evidence against him. This was the
520
AMERICAN BASTILE.
manner of acting toward all the prisoners. In this case, it
failed. The Judge Advocate blandly inquired, "Do you
know with what you are charged ? "
Mr. Johnson. "No, sir, I do not."
Judge Advocate. " Are you not Yankee enough to gues3 ? ' '
Mr. J. " I have not a drop of Yankee blood in me, sir,
and no disposition to guess. If there are any charges against
me, I desire to know what they are, and who are my accusers.
I stand ready to defend any and every act of my life."
J. A. " Mr. Johnson, did you bring a suit against Bradner
Smith?"
Mr. J. "I did, but I had too much confidence in the
Government to believe that it would interfere, and make the
professional act of a lawyer, in bringing a suit between two
private individuals, a pretext for an arrest."
The Judge Advocate then requested a statement of the
facts. Having nothing to disguise, Mr. Johnson briefly re-
capitulated the facts, which the Judge Advocate said were
entirely satisfactory to him. Mr. Johnson, feeling satisfied
that whatever the pretext might be, his arrest had been
caused by E. B. Washburne, inquired of the Judge Advocate
if such were the fact. He gave an ambiguous reply, and
said, "I do not know that Washburne was in Washington
when your arrest was ordered by the Secretary of War."
He then continued, " I will ask you a question : you need not
answer it, if you do not choose. Do you belong to a secret
society called the Knights of the Golden Circle ? "
Mr. J. " I do not belong to that or any other secret
society, except the Masonic fraternity."
After some further diplomacy and professions of friendship,
he asked Mr. Johnson : " Are you willing to take the oath
of a loyal man ? "
Mr. J. "I have taken it frequently as a lawyer, and
have never yet violated it. I have not the slightest ob-
jection to taking any oath the law imposes on the citizene
of my State ; but I will take no oath that may be prescribed
by any official, intended, by implication, to impeach my in-
MADISON Y. JOHNSON.
521
tegrity as a man, and cast a doubt on my loyalty to the Con
stitution of my country."
J. A. " If you are a loyal man, you cannot object to
taking an oath to support the Constitution."
Mr. J. " I have no objection to the oath itself ; but my
taking it would be construed into an admission that I have
been guilty of some crime or offence. I would not purchase
my freedom at the expense of my honor and manhood."
At this point the farce ended, so far as the examination
was concerned ; but not its consequences. On the report of
the Judge Advocate to the authorities at Washington, it
appeared that the prisoner was not subdued either in spirit or
temper, and was unfit to be released.
A short time after the above interview with the Judge
Advocate, an order was sent from Washington, to remove
him from Fort Lafayette to Fort Delaware, on the ground
that he was contumacious, and demoralizing the prisoners in
the Fort. He had refused their unconstitutional oaths, and
dared to maintain his manhood. This was demoralization.
They had failed to impose terms, and he was to be further
outraged. With the same mystery that controlled all these
illegal proceedings, the prisoner was taken to the office, and,
without any intimation that he was to be removed, was
handed over to those appointed to take charge of him. He
was receipted for, as though he were dead property. No in-
timation could be obtained, either from the officer of the
Fort or those taking charge of him, as to where he was to be
removed, or what was to be done with him. Finding that he
was to leave the Fort, he asked permission to bid farewell to
his comrades in misfortune, and to see a fellow-prisoner, to
whom he wished to give some money. Permission was given
to leave the money, but he was refused an interview.
He was taken from the Fort, and conveyed to the House
of Detention in New York city, and there thrust into an
apartment among bounty-jumpers, negroes, and thieves.
Here he had his option of remaining in this place, which was
about five feet in width and nine in length, or of enjoying
522
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the liberties of the yard in common with other prisoners.
The yard consisted of an open space, forty feet in width by
one hundred in depth, surrounded by a brick wall thirty
feet high. Unpleasant as the associations and surroundings
were, it was a change from the dull monotony of the Fort,
and was, for a time, some relief to his mind.
But here he was unfortunate in making himself an
object of suspicion. Falling in with one of the principal
officers of the " institution," he inquired " if the jurisdiction
of the Courts of New York were as powerless there as in Fort
Lafayette." The very question seemed to raise in the officer's
mind the writ of habeas corpus, civil and criminal prosecu-
tion, etc. Mr. Johnson was at once excluded from all com-
munication ; and soon an order came, by telegraph, from
Washington, to remove him to Fort Delaware. With the
order, came an admonition to the officer that the prisoner
was a " desperate character, and had better be ironed" When
the order was communicated to him, every feeling of man-
hood was aroused. Turning to the officer, he said: "I may
be further outraged, as I have no power to resist — that is the act
of others ; but to be humiliated by them would be my own act, and
it never shall be done." The officer was impressed with his
manner. He believed the order to be dictated by malignity,
and unnecessary; therefore neglected to put Mr. Stanton's
jewelry on him, and the transfer was safely made without.
On reaching Fort Delaware, he was placed under Major
Henry S. Burton, a regular army officer, then commander of
the Fort. It is but a just tribute to his humanity, as well
as to his honorable conduct, to say the prisoners were relieved
from all petty tyranny, and treated with as much considera-
tion and kindness as his position under the circumstances,
and the nature of the service demanded of him, would admit.
On the 28th of October, not being released, Mr. Johnson
again addressed the President. We copy the letter from the
" Congressional Globe," p. G64, 1st part, 3d sess. 37th Con-
gress, as contained in his memorial to Congress. It is a bold,
manly letter, and speaks for itself:
MADISON Y. JOHNSON
523
"Fort Delaware, October 28, 1862.
"Sir: 1 addressed a letter to you on the 7th of September,
from Fort Lafayette, informing you of my arrest at Galena, on
a telegraphic despatch from the Secretary of War. I was at
once transported beyond the jurisdiction of my State, and after
being detained in Fort Lafayette some sixteen days, I was re-
moved to this place. I have been detained here ever since, and,
strange to say, up to this day I have no knowledge of what offence
1 am charged with, or who is my accuser. I solemnly declare
to you, I have never by word, thought, or act done a disloyal
thing to my country. The Government has been imposed upon
by the machinations of private malice, through the representation
of a dishonorable member of Congress, (as I am induced to believe,
from the facts within my knowledge.) I have patiently endured
all these things, hoping my Government would inquire into my
case and vindicate me. I have addressed communications to the
Judge Advocate, General Wool, and the Secretary of War, respec-
tively, as I was advised at the time I was under each of their
jurisdictions, neither of whom have condescended to answer. I
now appeal to you, as the head of the nation, whose duty it is
to see that personal liberty is protected, to interpose in my behalf.
If I am charged with an offence, let me be informed of it, that 1
can vindicate myself. If I am not, then, in the name of common
justice, do not punish me. It cannot be the object of the Gov-
ernment to punish those who are not guilty of an offence. From
your acquaintance with me and Mr. Washburne for the last
eighteen years, you should be able to determine, with some accu-
racy, whether I am guilty of an offence against my country, or,
taking advantage of the peculiar times, he has availed himself of
his position to carry out petty malice. In either event it is due
to me, the Government, and yourself, that I either be tried or
discharged. You, as well as myself, know that the personal lib-
erty of the citizen is of more importance to the country than all
>ther rights, and without which all others are valueless. Under
these circumstances, believing you should have no other object
in view than to see the law duly administered and individual
liberty protected, I am induced, as a matter of justice to myself,
to ask your interposition, holding myse^ ready to answer for
©very act of my life.
"Under these circumstances, with a knowledge that the Gov-
524
AMERICAN BASTILE.
ernment has been imposed upon, and it being both your duty, ag
it should be 3-our pleasure, to protect her citizens, I cannot doubt,
when your attention is called to my case, you will take action in
the premises. My detention can effect no good to the Govern-
ment, and does me an absolute injury. In no view can my further
detention be justified.
"Hoping soon to be discharged, I am
Eespectfully yours,
(Signed) M. Y. Johnson.
"To His Excellency President Lincoln."
This, like his former letters, brought no reply. With a
full knowledge of the facts, what can be said, after reading
the above letter, in favor of Mr. Lincoln's honesty, his hu-
manity, or his sense of justice. His revolutionary partisans
may seek to excuse his conduct, but they forget he was a
sworn officer. The excuse rendered convicts him of a greater
crime against the Constitution than the outrage complained
of. He wTas sworn " to faithfully execute the office of President,
and to the best of his ability to preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution" Is not personal liberty secured under that
oath? In the Preamble to the Constitution, it is declared to
be the object to " establish justice," and " secure the blessings
of liberty ; " and, to put the matter beyond all cavil and dis-
pute, it prohibits the arrest of a party without oath and war-
rant, or removing him beyond the State. If Mr. Lincoln
had believed Mr. Johnson guilty of an offence, he committed
a greater crime, as the trusted Executive to execute the laws,
as he violated that law when he ordered the arrest and
imprisonment. Mr. Raymond, his apologist and historian,
in speaking of these arbitrary arrests, says : " They have not
been made for punishment, as there has not been an indict-
ment or a trial in a single case, or any punishment whatever,
be3'ond what was purely incidental," etc. (Page 354.)
What, we inquire, were they made for? His friends may
urge that he acted on a " supposed necessity" to preserve the
Government. This is the only reason that*can be assigned.
From whence came this law of necessity ? Who ordained
MADISON Y. JOHNSON.
525
it ? Who are its expositors ? Who is commissioned to a<i
minister it ? Not the President. He is sworn to support the
Constitution of the United States. That to him is declared
to bo the supreme law of the land. This doctrine of necessity-
is the old plea of tyrants, and, whenever submitted to, over-
throws free institutions. To say the Administration may
make arrests without regard to law, is wholly fallacious.
It is a despotism tainted with the odium that justly attaches
itself to the French monarchy, when " Lettres de Cachet"
were the instruments of consigning the victim to a dungeon.
The ukase of Russia's Czar exiles the subject to Siberia — the
order of the Sultan of Turkey consigns the object of his dis-
pleasure to the Bosphorus — and the President, on his plea of
necessity, opens his American Bastiles to receive his victims.
During all the time of his imprisonment, Mr. Johnson's
friends were active in their efforts to secure his release or
hasten his trial. The Executive of the State of Illinois was
appealed to, and made a feeble requisition on the Administra-
tion to have him returned to the Sate for trial. But he was
not charged with an offence ; therefore there was nothing to
try. Petitions and remonstrances had been signed, and sent to
Mr. Lincoln, asking his discharge. The Democratic members
of Congress of the State had joined in a request demanding
his trial or release. The City Council had taken action and
petitioned the President for his release ; a volunteer company
starting for the war had petitioned the Secretary of War
to discharge him. Mr. Johnson himself had memorialized
Congress for an investigation and relief, on the ground that
the Executive would not, and the Court could not protect
personal liberty.
The Administration resisted all these influences, and held
on to the prisoner, with a full knowledge that he was not
only not guilty of any offence, but was not charged with one.
What was perhaps a mistake on their part in making the
arrest, became a crime ; and to protect themselves from the
consequence of their violations of law, it became necessary
that some excuse cr justification should be found. Thej
526
AMERICAN B A STILE.
had arbitrarily invaded a sovereign State, seized and trans,
ported one of her citizens a distance of a thousand miles, and
imprisoned him without any of the forms of law. Their at-
tempt to impose terms and unconstitutional oaths, that could
be construed to his injury, had failed. To shield themselves
and give some color of excuse for their conduct, they called to
their aid their Provost Marshals, spies, and detectives, who, by
ex-parte examinations of Mr. Johnson's servants and those that
had been in his employ, endeavored to find out something on
which to base a charge. But this experiment failed. Perjury
was not as cheap then as afterward. The Department had
not discovered Connover. The Bureau of Military Justice,
with Judge Holt at its head, had not then been organized.
Stanton had not yet ordered Military Commissions, " organ-
ized to convict." Things were becoming desperate. All
confidence in the personal security of the citizen was being
undermined. The country became alarmed at the arbitrary
acts of the Administration, and began to speak out. The
great State of New York had gone Democratic, and elected
Horatio Seymour Governor. Illegal arrests were becoming
unpopular. Mr. Johnson's friends had quartered themselves
in Washington, and were paying daily visits to Mr. Lincoln
and the Secretary of War. A Democratic Legislature for
the State of Illinois was soon to convene, and it was vaguely
hinted that it might take some action prejudicial to the
policy of the Administration. At this juncture, Mr. Hun-
kins, a friend of Mr. Johnson,again called on Mr. Lincoln to
urge his release. In conversation, the President said, " Mr.
Johnson has given us more trouble than all the political
prisoners. He is stubborn, but you must see Stanton." Stan-
ton was seen, and said he would be discharged in a day or
two, under a general order. The general order was issued
and published, (order of 26th of November, 1862,) but it
Drought no release; for when it was published, the Secretary
of War telegraphed to the Commander of the Fort to disre-
gard the general order in his case, and to hold him subject
to "epecial orders " At the same time, in his official report.
MADISON Y. JOHNSON,
527
he informs Congress that all the political prisoners were dis-
charged. Such deceit and hypocrisy on his part were hut
Bhort- lived. In less than ten days his duplicity was dis-
covered, which served only to alarm Mr. Johnson's friends,
who, now beginning to fear foul play, became more clamorous
for his release.
Mr. Hunkins, believing Washburne was the obstacle in the
way of his release, approached a friend of his that he knew
would carry all he said to Washburne, and told him that he
had just heard from home, that there was terrible excitement
there, that Johnson and Sheean's friends believed that he
(Washburne) was the cause of their not being released, and
that his ( Washburn e's) personal safety depended on their being
discharged at once. This had the desired effect. In less than
xn hour, Washburne hunted up Mr. Hunkins, and learning
from him it was the general feeling that they were held at
his instance, Washburne said he would do anything he could,
and asked, " What can I do ? " Hunkins said, write a letter
to the Secretary of War requesting their release, and it will
be done at once. He then invited Mr. Hunkins to his room,
when he said to him, " No, I cannot write it, but you write
it, and I will see the Secretary, and it will do just as well."
Seeing his fears were operating on him, and desiring to com-
mit him beyond retraction, Hunkins said, "I do not know
how to address these officials. You write it, and I will sign it,
and take it to the Secretary of War." Washburne sat down
and wrote the letter, asking their immediate discharge. Mr.
Hunkins signed, and delivered it to Stanton, saying to him,
" Mr. Washburne will call in reference to the subject." Stan-
ton then asked him if he could not see his friends and induce
them to take the oath. Mr. Hunkins replied, "It is no use
to offer it. I know the men ; they will die first" Shortly after
he left the office, Washburne entered. In about an hour, Mr
Hunkins called again, and on entering the office, Stanton
turned to him, remarking, " The order has been sent — your
friends are discharged." A simple recital of the facts is aL
that is necessary to show there was a conspiracy on the pari
528
AMERICAN BASTILE.
of those in authority to outrage and destroy Mr. Johnson;
and it only failed through his firmness and the persistent
efforts of his friends, after some four months' imprisonment.
We ask the apologists of Mr. Lincoln and his Administra-
tion, how they can palliate or excuse such conduct, or recon
cile it either with honor or private or public integrity. Neithei
Mr. Lincoln nor his Secretary of War were in any sense judi
cial officers. They had no legal authority to order the arrest
of any one, either with or without the forms of law. The
State of Illinois was not in rebellion. The courts were open
for the punishment of crime. It was a wanton violation of
duty, for which any monarch of Europe would have lost his
head. We might as well undertake to justify the assassina-
tion by Booth as to defend the acts of usurpation and tyranny
of the Lincoln Administration. It passed beyond the control
of all laws, tribunals, and constitutions, and grasped at arbi-
trary power. If he would not credit the letters of Mr.
Johnson, the examination of his Judge Advocate, the peti-
tions of the people, the demand of the City Councils, the
remonstrance of the members of Congress, the requisition of
the Governor of the State, with the fact that no charge could
be based on the ex-parte examinations of his Provost Marshals,
spies, and detectives, how, we inquire, could his sense of jus-
tice be reached ?
History, in commenting on his acts of usurpation and
tyranny, will tear off the veil of " Honest Old Abe," and place
him as a bad man side by side with Louis XL and Lucretia
Borgia, possessing their malignity, without their virtue or
courage.
When the order came for Mr. Johnson's discharge, and he
was told he was free, liberty itself was not a boon that was
to be accepted without placing himself in a position to be
vindicated, knowing that an Administration that had wan-
tonly violated the rights of the citizen, would not stop at
the act of destroying the records of his incarceration. He
determined to carry with him evidence of their guilt. How
to get it was the question. Mr. Johnson was not long in
MADISON Y. JOHNSON.
529
devising a plan to obtain what lie wanted. He insisted he
might be rearrested, unless he had a written discharge, reca-
pitulating all the facts of his arrest, removal, detention, and
discharge, with certified copies of Stanton's orders. Not
thinking they were furnishing the only link not in their
power to destroy, connecting them with the outrage, they gave
Mr. J. the desired certificate of discharge. Armed with this,
well might Lincoln exclaim, " He has given us more trouble
than all the political prisoners." If his departure from home
was in mystery and silence, his return was in enthusiasm
and joy.
We copy from the daily " Democrat," of December 24,
1862, his return home :
" The progress of M. T. Johnson and David Sheean from the
Eepublican Bastiles toward their homes in Galena, was such as
could not fail to be highly gratifying to them, and not less so to
their thousands of sympathizing friends. At Chicago they were
honored by an extemporaneous ovation, which demonstrated the
fact that the petty tyranny of the Eepublican rulers was justly
repudiated At Freeport, the enthusiasm of the people
burst forth in a way to convince all but the wilfully blind that
arbitrary arrests in Illinois had ended, and that, despite all the
endeavors on the part of the Union haters to perpetuate the
reign of terror, the people were sternly demanding the right to
think, to speak, and to act in accordance with their own cherished
convictions.
" At Scale's Mound and Council Hill, similar and equally enthu-
siastic demonstrations were made, but it remained for the Dem-
ocrats of Jo Daviess County to crown the glory of this most mag-
nificent expression of public joy in Galena, where the 'honorably
discharged ' and now triumphant victims of lawless oppression
were best known and most justly appreciated. A 'dozen bonfire*
crowned the high places by which the city is surrounded. The
murky darkness of the night was dispelled by numberless rock
ets, and the city was adorned by a brilliant illumination and
beautiful transparencies. At the depot, thousands were in wait-
ing to welcome to their homes the now 1 honorably discharged '
victims of lawless power; and on the arrival of the train which
84
530
AMERICAN BASTILE.
brought Messrs. Johnson and Sheean from Chicago, shout aftei
ehout and cheer after cheer went up in testimony of the joy that
was felt by every heart, while the very heavens were lit up by
the grand display of fireworks and innumerable torches borne
by the joyful and deeply excited crowd. A short but eloquent
speech of welcome was delivered by Mr. Shissler, at the house ol
Mr. Johnson, which was feelingly responded to by Mr. Johnson
and Mr. Sheean. They were then escorted through the princi-
pal streets to the City Hall. On the arrival of the procession
the display of fireworks was magnificent beyond description, and
the exultant cheers of the multitude were sufiiciently powerful
to 1 create a soul under the ribs of death.' Here the large assem-
bly was addressed by Messrs. Johnson, Sheean, Mahony, Bichards,
Samuels, Hutchins, and Baggs, after which the crowd dispersed.
"The speech of Mr. Shissler was able and eloquent. He said :
1 Madison Y. Johnson and David Sheean: It is my happy duty, in
behalf of the people, to express their heartfelt joy in greeting
you on your return from a cruel, tyrannical imprisonment. To-
night, the public heart, kindled with wild delight, extends to you
a warm, enthusiastic welcome. You are welcome because you
have stood up like noble and heroic men when the rights and
liberties of American citizens here have been outraged and
trampled down. Your prompt, decided, and energetic action in
opposing this mad spirit of Abolition fanaticism, which threat-
ened to destroy every expression of constitutional liberty in our
midst, caused you to become the shining mark for Government
spies and official assassins. When you were dragged away and
imprisoned in Abolition Bastiles, as the Constitution was violated
in the person of one of you, it was violated as to all citizens.
Your cause then became the people's cause. When you suffered
a long and painful imprisonment, it was in support of our com-
mon rights under the Constitution.'
" He concluded his eloquent address as follows : i In all ages,
men who have dared to oppose a tyrant's mandate, have been
called disloyal. The ancient Eastern king had his furnace of fire
in which to destroy all men who would not obey the flat of
arbitrary Executive power. Our king has his Bastiles in which
to imprison all citizens who proclaim their adherence to the Con-
stitution and laws And, as the furnace of fire has caused that
MADISON Y. JOHNSON.
531
ancient king to be remembered only for his crimes, wickednessj
and folly, so the Bastiles of this country will perpetuato the
ignominy and disgrace of our king down to the latest genera-
tions. Sirs, you have passed through a more than fiery ordeal,
but you have come out crowned with the laurel-wreath of victory,
with your character unstained, your honor unsullied, and your
manhood untarnished. In addition to the outrages suffered by
you, these usurpers and satraps endeavored to impose conditions
which would have brought shame and dishonor upon you. But
you displayed a calm courage, an unbending integrity, a manly
heroism, which can never be forgotten, and which, while it serves
as an example, to excite our admiration and challenge imitation,
it will also exist as a memorial of tyranny, and perpetuate the
infamy of the present Administration. All hail, noble compa-
triots; welcome, thrice welcome, once more, to your homes.'
" Eesponse of Mr. Johnson : 1 Mr. Speaker, and you, my friends
and fellow-citizens : I have no language that can express to you
my feelings at so grand and triumphant a reception as meets our
view on this occasion ; neither have I the vanity to believe, that
any personal popularity of Mr. Sheean or myself could have
induced the multitude that I see before me, to subject themselves
to the inconvenience of both rain and mud to be present. But
let me attribute it to the real cause : that you are here to testify
your approbation of our course, and vindicate constitutional lib-
erty and personal security, as the same has been struck down in
our pe»sons.
" 'N?ar four months ago, by the arbitrary and despotic acts of
one of the chief clerks of the present Administration, without
authority, or any of the forms of law, but in palpable violation
of the Constitution of the United States and this State, two of
your citizens were kidnapped, one in the very presence of the
Court, and with his knowledge, if not his approbation, and trans-
ported beyond the State some twelve hundred miles, and incarce-
rated in a Military Bastile, where it is a crime in the estimatioi;
of this Administration to attempt to avail yourself of the protec
tion of the laws of your country to get a hearing before any tri.
bunal known to the law. Such, however, my friends, is the
enormity of the outrages this beneficent Administration is daily
perpetrating on American citizens, that it woukl shame an Aus-
trian despotism when its venality and tyranny are exposed. J
532
AMERICAN BASTILE.
was arrested by order of the Secretary of War, on a telegraphio
despatch, while engaged in the defence of a murder case, and
have been transported across a half-dozen free States, confined in
two Military Forts of the United States, and also in the House of
Detention in New York, under the care of that estimable pro-
tector of female character, the Kennedy of Mrs. Brinsmade noto-
riety; and during all this time, I have assiduously tried to find
out what I was charged with, or who was my accuser, by
repeated applications of myself and my friends, to the President,
the Secretary of War, the Judge Advocate, and every military
commander in whose charge I have been placed; and to-day,
after nearly four months' imprisonment, I am turned out, without
any information as to who was my accuser, or what offence 1
was charged with, notwithstanding I offered to submit myself to
trial before any tribunal they might appoint, either civil or mili
tary, or a drum-head court-martial, and to defend every act of
my life against the laws of my country.
" 'Such is a part of the usurpation and tyranny that are prac-
tised by this fanatical Administration on free American citizen*
I want to call their attention to a portion of French history; it
may be suggestive to them of an episode in the management of
the Bastiles in America. It is said when ihe heads of Eobes
pierre, Danton, and Marat, and the chief actors in the reign of
terror, came to the guillotine, or were laid low by the poniard,
the Bastiles were opened, and the people regained some of the
liberties they had lost. I have no time to teach history; I caD
only allude to it in passing
" * In conclusion, I thank you again and again for this demon-
stration in favor of civil liberty and personal security. We may
now say the padlock is taken off our mouths. The backbone of
arbitrary arrests is broken ; civil and constitutional liberty once
more proclaimed ; and may the infamous scoundrel be paralyzed
when he seeks to introduce again a reign of terror or hold the
rights and liberties of any of our citizens by despotic power.
Any man, high or low, in office or out of office, that would vio-
late the Constitution on any pretext, or for any purpose, is a
traitor, not only to the laws of his country, but to civil liberty,
and will yet be brought to that just punishment he so richly
merits.' "
MADISON Y. JOHNSON.
533
ADDENDUM.
After Mr. Johnson's release, he commenced legal proceed-
ings against J. Russel J ones, present Minister at the Conrt
of Brussels, John G-. Hawkins, 0. P. Hopkins, Bradner
Smith, and E. B. Washburne, present Minister to France,
who undertook to justify Mr. Johnson's arrest by filing in
the "War Department false affidavits as to his disloyalty.
We have just received, as we are about to go to press,
the result of the suit, which has terminated so signally in
favor of Mr. Johnson, and also in favor of those personal
rights once so sacred in the estimation of the American
citizen.
The defendants, on trial, set up not only the scurrilous and
unfounded matters previously urged in justification of Mr.
Johnson's arrest, but also the two acts of Congress (see Appen-
dix) legalizing all arrests made by the President's order ; and
a " loyal " Circuit Court, releasing all causes of action and
damages to the injured party, held, in effect, that no one
arrested by President Lincoln's order, "had any rights that a
loyal Court was bound to respect." The case was thence ap-
pealed to the Supreme Court, where, in an able opinion, quite
the reverse was held, and substantially as follows :
That the President had no such powers as those exercised
in this arrest, and that he and all those acting under his
orders were trespassers.
That, in his military capacity, his authority was restricted
to the lines of the army.
That he could not declare martial law, or suspend tne writ
of habeas corpus, except in districts where war actually ex-
isted.
That Congress had no power to pass legalizing acts in sup
port of the Executive assumption, and that they were cou
eequently void.
That such power, as claimed for the President and ha
subordinates, cannot safely be intrusted to any Government
584
AMERICAN BASTILE.
by a people claiming to be free. Where it is only limited hj
his discretion, it is an absolute despotism, and constitutional
government merely a theory.
Finally, after striking out all the defence, the Supreme Court
sent the case back, to have the plaintiff's damages assessed ,when
the following judgment was entered of record in the Court :
"State of Illinois, Jo Daviess County. — Circuit Court,
May Term, 1869.
" Madison Y. Johnson vs. J. Eussel Jones, John C. Hawkins,
O. P. Hopkins, E. B. Washburne, and Bradner Smith. — Trespass
for false imprisonment.
u And now come the said defendants, Jones, Hawkins, and
Hopkins, and admit that the said pleas heretofore filed by them
in said case, and the matters and things therein set forth against
said plaintiff, are untrue in substance and in fact; and the defend-
ants ask leave of the Court to withdraw the same, which is
granted by the Court. And the said defendants further confess
the wrongful trespass and imprisonment set forth in said declara-
tion, and that the said defendants are guilty in manner and form
as therein stated, and that said plaintiff has sustained great
damage thereby; and said defendants further confess that the
said seizure and imprisonment of said plaintiff was wrongful,
unjustifiable, and without cause; and the said plaintiff was inno-
cent of the violation of any law, or of doing any act inimical to
the Government of the United States; and that said plaintiff did
no act, used no expression, or exercised any influence to the
knowledge of these defendants, that was not in support of the
Government, the Constitution, and the laws.
"And inasmuch as said suit was brought by said plaintiff for
a personal vindication of his character and conduct as a citizen,
he releases the said damages, except as to the sum of one thou-
sand dollars for costs and expenses incurred by said plaintiff
on account of said wrongful seizure and imprisonment. It is
thereupon considered by the Court, that the said plaintiff have
and recover of and from the said defendants, Jones, Hawkins,
and Hopkins, the said sum of one thousand dollars, and cost of
•uit, and that execution issue therefor.
"Filed and entered of record May 24, 1869."
MADISON Y. JOHNSON.
535
Thus terminated the suit brought by Mr. 3 ahnson.
We venture to say there is not one case, among all the
prisoners mentioned in this volume, which would not have
ended the same way before any impartial court or jury.
What must the Courts of France and Belgium think of
our present national representatives, when this record of their
deliberate infamy and admitted shame is spread before them?
V
GEORGE A. HUBBELL, THE NEWSBOY.
"VJ^EITHER age, sex, nor condition was free from the grasp
of arbitrary power during the long night of political
persecutions that enshrouded the land under the Administra-
tion of Abraham Lincoln. The old man, tottering on the
verge of the grave, and the lad not yet old enough to dis-
criminate between right and wrong, alike felt the heavy
hand of the oppressor, as they were rudely and ruthlessly
snatched up by Government officials, and unceremoniously
thrust into nauseous guard-houses or dismal casemates. The
lady whose sense of honor and independence would not per-
mit her to
14 Crook the pregnant hinges of the knee,
Where thrift may follow fawning; "
or she whose charity and humanity prompted her to minister
to the wants of the dying, not in sympathy with the Ad-
ministration ; and the humble Irishman, who could not be
induced to turn informer on his neighbors, shared the same
fate, and became the occupants of a felon's cell.
George A. Hubbell, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was in-
carcerated in Fort Lafayette on the 20th of September, 1861.
He was a small newsboy — a cripple — who made a scanty
living by selling newspapers on the cars of the Xaugatuck
Railroad. He was arrested as he was stepping on the train
to make his daily journey.
As no charge was preferred against him, and no authority
shown for the commission of such an outrage, this poor little
fellow, who had done no wrong, was bewildered with grief
and astonishment at finding himself a prisoner, and on hi9
way to Fort Lafayelte. 'Sot does he yet know why he was
*636
GEORGE A. HUBBELI.
537
arrested, unless it was because, a short time before, ho had
been to New York, and bought a few copies of the New
York " Daily News " — a paper which was obnoxious to the
Administration, but which had not then been suppressed —
and furnished them to his old customers on his daily route.
He can imagine no other grounds for his arrest and im-
prisonment, as he had not "spoken disrespectfully op
President Lincoln" — had not "attempted to discourage
enlistments " — had not said " it was unconstitutional for
the President to call out 75,000 men without the consent
of Congress " — had not said "the war would be a failure"
— nor had he " attempted to run the blockade."
This poor, little, penniless, and, most likely, friendless
cripple was confined in a damp casemate of the Fort until
the 26th of September, when he was released. He was as
much surprised at his release as he was at his arrest and im-
prisonment. He was astonished at the magnanimity of the
u Government " in discharging a prisoner so formidable,
without first subjecting him to the inquisition of the Bureau
of Military Justice.
WALTER S. HA WEES.
ITT ALTER S. HA WEES was born in Somersetshire County,
' * England, and on the 2d day of December, 1826. He was
educated in his father's office for the profession of a surveyor
and civil engineer, and served in both capacities on railroads
in Wales.
He migrated to the United States in the fall of 1850, and
for many years held positions on the Ohio Central, Cin-
cinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroads, and others. He
has never taken an active part in politics, although he
espoused Democratic principles, and has uniformly voted with
that party.
About two o'clock on the morning of the 22d of August,
1862, he was arrested at his house in Tamaroa, a town on
the Illinois Central Railroad, by a party of armed soldiers,
and marched to the depot. There a special train was in
waiting, under the charge of Major Board, of Ashley, Hli-
nois, who had with him a guard of forty soldiers.
At the depot he met his friends, Dr. Ross, Dr. W. E.
Smith, Bedford Turman, William Haynes, and Rev. 0. H.
McCarver, who had just arrived, and who were likewise
under arrest.
Major Board showed no authority for the arrests, but it ia
presumed that he was acting under orders of the Provost
Marshal of the District.
Mr. Hawkes has since learned the modus operandi of these
arrests. It appears that Zebedee P. Curlee, William Woods,
and D. C. Barber, members of the Union League of Tamaroa,
made a written statement, (the precise contents of which
have not been made public,) hiring a fellow — a non-resident
of the State, and wholly unknown at Tamaroa — to swear to
538
WALTER S. HAWKES.
539
it under an assumed name, before Henry Clay, Notary Public,
who was also a member of the League. This paper was
transmitted to "Washington, and upon it, it is supposed, the
order was issued to Provost Marshal Phillips, for the arrest
of Mr. Hawkes, and many citizens of his and the adjoining
counties. Subsequently, the prisoner, Mr. Hawkes, saw the
paper in the hands of Judge Advocate Turner, at his office
in Washington, D. C.
He was taken directly to Washington City, and imprisoned
in the " Old Capitol," where he remained for six weeks in
close confinement, guarded, and furnished with very indif-
ferent food. It was currently reported at that time that the
inmates of the building numbered four hundred. At the
3xpiration of the above-stated time, Mr. Hawkes was released,
without any charge having been preferred against him, or
any trial granted him.
The room in which he was confined contained eighteen
Illinois prisoners, six of whom were from his immediate
neighborhood; the balance from adjoining counties, some of
whom remained in prison for six months.
Mr. Hawkes is now residing at Dubois Post Office, on tha
Illinois Central Railroad.
REV. HENRY M. PAYNTER.
THERE are some features in the sufferings endured by
Rev. H. M. Paynter, of Booneville, Missouri, during his
imprisonment, which warrant a somewhat lengthened narra-
tive. Descended from an ancient family, he inherited true
love of country from a sire whose blood was spilled in the
Revolutionary War, and whose name has honorable renown.
The blood of those who suffered for righteousness' sake
flows in his veins, his ancestors having been compelled to flee
from France upon the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
After some years of pleasant and profitable labor in the min-
istry at Vicksburg, he entered upon, as he supposed, his life-
long labors at Booneville, Missouri. There, for 6even years,
had he cultivated the field assigned him by Providence ; and
his labors in the Lord's vineyard were greatly blessed to the
good and growth of the Church.
Beside the cultivation of his own field, his labors in differ-
ent parts of the State were attended with the divine bless-
ing. Fulton, Brunswick, Columbia, Lynn Creek, Glasgow,
and Reth Counties witnessed manifestations of grace, which
greatly refreshed God's people, and largely added to the
number of believers in the Lord. There was he employed
when the war began.
Although he sympathized with the people in the South
he opposed secession as both wrong and heretical ; teaching
his people that it was the Christian's duty to be subject to
the powers that be ; since it was not theirs to make or to
unmake government ; but only to be faithful to Christ their
King. His views were expressed in a discourse, preached
January 4, 1861, and published at the request of his people,
and which obtained a very wide circulation at the time.
640
EEV. HENRY M. PAYNTER,
541
When Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated, Mr. Paynter taught
his people that it was their duty to give him that support
and honor to which he was entitled as President of the
United States. Both in his public ministrations and private
work he enforced this duty by his example. His Sabbath-
day prayers for the President were strongly objected to by
some of his people. Thereupon he delivered a lecture upon
the duty of every Christian to give all due allegiance to
whatsoever Government he was under, and whose protection
he enjoyed.
Whatever might be the relation of the seceded States to
the General Government, Missouri had not, by any act of
her people, renounced her allegiance ; and that consequently
Christians in her borders should be peaceable, law-abiding
citizens of the same. And the duty to remember in all pub-
lic prayers the President of the United States, as the Presi-
dent, is plain from 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2, and all similar passages.
In fine, all Christians should be peaceable, law-abiding citi-
zens, walking as Christ walked, and in nothing acting con-
trary to deep and devoted loyalty to Christ their King.
The result was satisfactory. The church, though divided
in sentiment politically, continued united, nor was any objec-
tion subsequently made to the pastor's praying for the Presi-
dent. At the same time he believed in the right of private
judgment, and clung firmly to the cardinal truth, that
" God alone is Lord of the conscience." Opposed to secession
as disintegration and civil death, he yet could not become a
partisan in the strife, nor approve of all that was done in
maintaining the Union.
As pastor, he took no side, but labored for all. After
Booneville was occupied by the Federal forces, he gave his
labors cheerfully to the soldiers. He gave them an invitation
to worship with his people. He visited them in their sick-
ness ; they shared in his prayers for their good. As a minis-
ter of Christ, he labored to promote their spiritual welfare,
and from great numbers did he receive expressions of grati»
542
AMERICAN BASTILE.
tude for his interest in their welfare ; and when a prisoner,
their uniform kindness was a grateful return.
The following extract from a pamphlet published by Mr.
Paynter during the war, explains very clearly his position at
that time: "I close with my confession of political faith. I
owe my Government allegiance, and cheerfully give it. But
more, the sentiment of loyalty is deep and cherished. I love
my country, my whole country. Opposed as I am to those
measures which I believe are fraught with incalculable evil,
I yet say, stand by, and sustain the flag, the emblem of our
nationality and glory. Secession is disintegration, is political
death. One flag, one destiny. The people should never con-
sent to see one stripe erased, or one star blotted out, and my
profound conviction is, they will not be ; but that we shall
come out of this conflict a united people, a prosperous and
powerful nation. May God hasten the time."
Some time in August, 1861, he was very greatly surprised
at seeing a squad of soldiers approaching him with a written
demand to bring his body forthwith to the commander.
Upon reaching the encampment, this astonishment was in-
creased at seeing five respectable citizens escorted with him-
self into the presence of the commander. They were W. G.
Burr, cashier of the bank ; H. M. Ells, a physician ; J. ~W.
Draflin, a lawyer; R. D. Perry, a retired merchant, and J.
W. Harper, a druggist. The officer told them he had no
charges against any of them, but that he expected to be at-
tacked by the rebels, and must defend himself. He had ar-
rested them as persons of great influence, whose sympathies
were with the South ; that he held them as hostages ; that
if their friends desired to save their lives, they must find out
where the enemy was, and keep him away ; for if an attack
was made upon him, he would put his prisoners up as tar-
gets, and if the conflict became severe, their lives should be
the forfeit for the lives of his men.
The statement astonished the prisoners, as they were pro-
foundly ignorant of any movement of the enemy, their where-
abouts, or their designs. A firm but respectful remonstrance
REV. HENRY M. PAYNTER.
543
w&b uselessly urged, and all were put in prison to await the
day of attack.
Some days after, the six were all aroused about daylight,
by the post commander, with the startling statement, " that
the rebels had begun the attack, and that they must take
their chances of life with his soldiers." They were marched
within the intrenchments, and ordered into a tent. After
the conflict had continued some time, and the rebels were
preparing to carry the works by storm, by bayonet thrusts,
accompanied by the most frightful cursing and oaths, the
prisoners were ordered to mount the works and be shot by
the advancing rebels ; or, " if their shots fail, we will shoot
you ourselves," said the demoniacal captors.
No alternative was left but to obey, although they believed
they were going to certain death.
Just before the works* were charged, the commander pro-
posed that if any of the prisoners would go out and dissuade
the rebels from the charge, their lives should be spared. In
the midst of a literal storm of balls, Wm. G. Burr, the one
selected by the commander, passed out into the ranks of the
foe, and by his representations induced General Poindexter to
recall the storming parties, and cease the conflict. The prize
to be gained was the post, and large quantities of military
stores ; and just as that prize was within his grasp, he gave
up all, rather than sacrifice the six non-combatant men, whose
lives would be the forfeit of his success.
The firing having ceased, the commandant sent a paper,
of which the following is an exact copy, to the commander
of the opposing forces :
" The secession forces agree herewith to withdraw from Boone-
ville and vicinity, forthwith, two miles, not to renew any attack
upon Union people, and forces of Booneville and vicinity. There
are not more than seven men allowed to come to town at any
time to procure their necessary supplies. The arms of the
wounded and dead have to remain on the ground where they
fell. For this consideration, the Union forces will agree to an
irmistice for the time of seven days, and release thoir hostages,
544
AMERICAN BASTILE.
with the exception of one, Mr. Paynter, with the understanding
that if these stipulations are not carried out honestly, he will
have to die forthwith.
(Signed) Jos. A. Eppstein,
Major Commanding
u Hostages on our side have to be released.
" September 13, 1861."
" The above is a true copy of an armistice signed by Major
J. A. Eppstein.
"Committee appointed by Major Eppstein,
(Signed) Edmund Gray,
George Yolrath."
Two incorrect impressions rest upon the reader of this
paper. No attack was made upon any citizen nor any person
arrested by the opposing forces.
His fellow-prisoners were released, but Mr. Paynter was
detained, and although every stipulation of the enemy was
faithfully carried out, he did not obtain his liberty until after
the fall of Lexington, Missouri, when he was, through the
unsought but kind offices of General Price, set free. Person-
ally, Mr. Paynter was treated, by both officers and men, with
kindness, so long as Major Eppstein retained command. But
during part of the time of that imprisonment, a Colonel
"Worthington was in command, and he was made to feel the
beginning of those sorrows he subsequently endured.
On the first Sabbath morning after Colonel Worthington 's
arrival, Mr. Paynter was ordered into his presence, ques-
tioned closely as to his thoughts and opinions, condemned
for having so great an influence as he possessed, denounced
for not taking an active part in putting the rebellion down,
and then ordered back to his private tent.
Just before leaving the presence of the Colonel, Mr. Paynter,
who had no opportunity to cleanse his person during his im-
prisonment, and who was then in no enviable plight, begged
the privilege of a room for that purpose. "My men are just
as good as you, and if you will not wash yourself before
BEV. HENRY M. PAYKTEE.
545
them, you shall not wash at all," was the officer's reply.
" I do not deny your statement, but not being accustomed to
that way of doing, I cannot accept your terms. Rather
than expose my person to them, I will continue as I am.
It is disgraceful to you ; it is no disgrace to me." " Then
you can go back and rot in filth, for all I care." He was
accordingly marched back to muse upon the law of kind-
ness as exemplified in his case.
But he wa3 not always kept secluded. One day he was
conducted into a tent, which was opened as wide as possible,
and ordered to lie down. Presently solid files of soldiers were
marched, in order, past the tent. Each file stopped, gazed,
and railed at him. " Is that the G — d — secession preacher?
D — him ! How I would like to shoot him ! How I would
like to hang him as high as Haman ! " and other similar ex-
pressions. These gave way for others, and thus was he kept
a gazing-stock for about the space of two hours.
After his release, and until again arrested, Mr. Paynter
discharged his duties as a minister of Christ, to the remnant
of his people, who had not been scattered by the war, and
to the soldiers who waited on his ministrations. During
this interval, General Halleck, then in command, issued an
order requesting certain classes to come forward voluntarily,
and show their fealty to the Government, by taking the sim-
ple civil oath of allegiance, and thus exert their influence in
assisting to restore quiet to the State. The following cer-
tificate will show Mr. Paynter 's position in the premises :
" Provost Marshal's Office,
Booneville, Missouri, March 5, 1862.
" This is to certify that, H. M. Paynter, of Booneville, Cooper
County, Missouri, has this day filed his oath of allegiance to the
Government of the United States, at this office.
(Signed) Joseph A. Eppstein,
Provost Marshal."
The Marshal, while handing this paper, remarked, " I am
glad you have done this. The whole power of the Federal
Government is solemnly pledged for your protection. You
35
546
AMERICAN BASTILE.
need not henceforth fear any molestation from our soldiers,
and all my power shall be used to protect you from acy
harm." He replied, "All the protection I ask is to be al-
lowed to labor quietly in my calling."
Shortly after this time, the arrest of citizens was an almost
daily occurrence. The most frivolous pretences were given
as reasons. One covered the whole ground — " military ne-
cessity." Some were released soon after arrest. Others were
kept for months, and at hard work. Some returned to their
homes with diseases contracted in prison, from which they
uever recovered. Others never returned home alive.
During those days, Mr. Paynter learned the value of the
assurance that had been given him. He was made to feel
the severities which he had witnessed — and in silence
mourned over — as wrongs in themselves, and injuries to the
cause of the Union.
One Sabbath morning he was in his pulpit, preparing to
begin public worship, when one of his elders stepped up to
him and said : " The Federals are after you again." Recall
ing one very sad scene in which the preacher had been
dragged from his pulpit, while engaged in public prayer, and
determined to avoid a similar scene in his church, he left the
pulpit, and surrendered himself at the door.
The Provost Marshal, when he was taken before him,
remarked: "I arrest you to take the oath." "The oath
you offer you have no right to require, and no man ought to
take. I cannot take it. The civil oath of allegiance I have
already taken." The officer, confounded at this rebuke,
apologized, and let him go.
The following Sabbath he was again arrested, and, without
seeing any officer, was cast into prison. He was afterward
ordered into the presence of the Provost Marshal, Captain
Haverly, who arose to his feet in a towering passion, and
began a most vehement tirade of abuse. " You are a traitor
%nd a perjured villain. I am an infidel, but if I was as notori-
ously bad as you are, I would not preach." Thus he began, and
thus continued ir. a similar strain, for perhaps five minutes.
REV. HENRY M. PAYNTEE.
547
The prisoner saw through his motive, which was tc arouse
passion and excite to rash speaking, and kept silent. When
he had finished, he said, " What say you to this ?"
Prisoner. " You are not my church superior. My Pres-
bytery decides upon my ministerial qualifications. To what-
ever you may say, as a military officer, I will listen ; because
I am under your military authority."
Provost Marshal. "I arrest you, to give bonds ior
$7,500."
Prisoner. " That bond I cannot give. It is an outrage
upon humanity. Have I disturbed the peace ? Have I mo-
lested any man's person or property ? Have I lifted an arm
or voice against the Government, or given aid or comfort to
the enemy ? My manner of life is well known to all the peo-
ple here, and they can testify concerning the same. You
may. imprison or hang me, as you threaten, for I am in your
power ; but I will never give you that bond. I cannot vio
late my conscience. I may lose my life ; but I cannot con-
sent to lose my manhood. If I fall, my hope is in Jesus, my
King. Him I fear. His word I respect. His laws I lova
And I fear not the face of man. I cannot give you that
bond."
The Provost Marshal, enraged at this recital, exclaimed ;
H Listen ! " Then arising from his seat, and pacing the room,
angrily, he opened a drawer and drew forth a paper, which
he read, and which was, as nearly as Mr. Paynter can recall,
as follows :
CHARGE OF TREASON.
(A copy was refused the prisoner ; but being read three
times in his hearing, the words were deeply impressed upon
his memory.)
"The United States ]
vs. y Charge — Treason.
Rev. H. M. Paynter. )
" Specification 1st That the said H. M. Paynter was heard
to say, that he believed the Southern Confederacy would b*
■uccessful, and he hoped it would be.
548
AMERICAN BASTILE.
" Specification 2d. That the said H. M. Paynter was heard
to read a newspaper, with evident satisfaction, to a crowd of
secesh.
." In addition to these there are," he said, "grave charges
against you of smiling on hearing the news of rebel victories ;
of reading the passages of Scripture to your people which incite
to rebellion ; and generally, of not giving active co-operation
and sympathy to the Union cause. The weight of your influ-
ence in this community is for neutrality ; not so much by what
you say, as by what you do not say ; and this cannot be
allowed. You deserve to be hung ; and you shall be tried
to-morrow morning for the capital charge, and if you get off
with any less punishment than death, you will not get your
deserts."
Prisoner. "Admitting the allegations all to be true, no
honest jury, under heaven, would convict a man upon such
charges as those. But not one of them is true. I have never
said that I hoped the Southern Confederacy would be suc-
cessful. I never have hoped it. The blood of the Revolu-
tion flows in my veins. I never want to see this country rent
in twain. To-day would I gladly give my life to save my
country. I have firmly held, and uniformly stated, that
secession was political death. I do not want to see the South-
ern Confederacy successful. As to the second allegation, you
know that no papers are allowed us, except such as military
authority permits. I have never read a forbidden paper, and
any treason I may have read has been such as the military
authorities allowed. Except my religious paper, the only
ones I have seen at all are the 4 Democrat 9 and ' Republi-
can/ of St. Louis.
"The first and second general charges are totally untrue.
As to the third, I have not taken an active part, and I will
not. I am a minister of Christ. I have stuck closely to my
calling, and I mean to abide therein. Part of my people
sympathize one way, part the other. I am pastor of both,
and believe I have the respect and confidence of all. As I
have done, so will I continue, preaching to all who will come,
REV. HENRY M. PAYNIEE,
549
and visiting and laboring, without any regard to the private
opinions of those with whom I live, and for whom I toil."
Then the prisoner asked, " Am I to be tried by a civil
court ? " " No," was the response, " and you ought to be glad.
The most impartial and lenient court is a military commission"
Mr. Paynter then said : " All I ask is an impartial trial
Let me confront the witnesses. Let justice be done me.
If I be an offender, or have done anything worthy of death, let
me die." "You shall have your trial to-morrow morning,"
retorted the officer, and the guard marched him back to
prison. That trial he never had. Any investigation of his
case that may have taken place was kept totally concealed
from him. He was imprisoned, and ultimately banished,
without any other interview with those in command, except
once, to hear his order of banishment read to him.
Before leaving the Marshal's office, he obtained permission
to have daily worship with his fellow-prisoners. On the
Sunday following, that permission was recalled, and never
after renewed. As the prisoners were coming from breakfast
one morning, one of them remarked to Mr. Paynter: " We
are not to have any more prayers." "Why not? " said he.
" Such are the orders, as I have just now been told by our
guard," pointing to the corporal on duty.
u I have received no such orders."
" No, nor will you. This is the way the praying is to be
utopped. The soldiers are to surround the prison, and sing
vulgar songs until it is time for us to lie down."
Strange as this statement may sound, it was verified.
Night after night the prisoners were sickened by the vulgar
and licentious songs, which completely destroyed all opportu-
nity for worship.
The prison was a frame building — nothing but boards on
the sides, and the roof above. The windows had bars, but
no glass. There were no seats but boards. Hay constituted
the beds. The place was filthy and forbidding. The daily
fare was hardtack, flitch, and coffee.
Mr. Paynter says : u How entering a prison, as an inmate,
550
AMERICAN BASTILE.
chills one's frame ! How drearily time passes by ! How the
bird that twitters is envied his freedom ! Yea, the very
worm that crawls where it will. And as the time of rest ap-
proaches, what longing for the friends and comforts of home!,,
We also copy, verbatim, portions of his journal, as follows :
"During the morning, I became acquainted with quite a
number of the prisoners. I found them, like myself, citizens,
arrested many of them on frivolous pretences. One of them
had been many months here for the offence of giving a suit
of clothes to a son of his who was a rebel. Another, a lad
of about fifteen summers, is accused of being a spy, because
he had looked through the fence at the encampment. He is
the son of a plain farmer near town, who had never seen a
body of soldiers.
" Numbers are here because they will not take the military
oath. All are despondent ; some are melancholy. The list-
less apathy of prison life, united with daily hard work, tells
upon the stoutest constitution. The conspicuous ball and
chain are a gentle reminder of the way in which refractory
spirits are dealt with. From the prisoners, I have received
very painful recitals of cruelty, which make my heart feel
for them more than for myself. I have spoken to as many
of them as I can of the precious One 4 who hears the sighing
of the prisoner, ' and pray for grace to be a blessing and com-
fort to them during my sojourn here, which may be longer
than I now suppose. In the evening, held worship with my
fellow-prisoners ; and, having commended my family to His
care who heareth the young ravens which cry, I lay down
upon my pallet of hay."
His diary thus continues : " In the morning, the golden
hopes of yesterday — 'that I would receive a trial' — van-
ished like a dream. Instead of being brought to a trial, I
was ordered out to work. My first day's labor, from 7 a.m.
to 6 p.m., was carrying rods to strengthen the fortifications.
The rods were placed on boards, and the prisoners compelled
to carry the load by putting their hands under the boards,
causing great suffering by the whole weight being cn the
REV. HENRY M. PAYNTER. 551
fiogers. We had daily experience of this, and other kinds
of toil required. We cleaned out the cavalry stables, chopped
wood, threw up fortifications, cleaned up the ground, and
were engaged in such other menial employments as the
officers required. One day, while we were working together,
a fellow-prisoner, Judge Scott, rema/ked : 1 Do you know
that they require the prisoners to clean out the privies of the
officers ? They ordered me, yesterday, to do it, hut I told
them I would do no such thing — I would rather be shot.'
" The day following, six of us were ordered out together,
and taken to the Post Commander's quarters. Two were
ordered to scrub out the kitchen ; another, with myself, was
put to chopping wood. The soldiers told me to cut the wood
a particular length. This I did, piling it up in regular order.
About noon, a negro woman, superbly dressed, came out, and
* bunked me for having cut it of such uniform length. An-
other prisoner, a respectable gentleman, was put to cleaning
out the privy. The first cleansing not proving satisfactory,
he was ordered to clean the place agam. And I shall never
forget the deep-drawn sigh he heaved upon his return to
prison, as, with a most woebegone expression of countenance,
he exclaimed: 'Well, these are tight papers.' His fellow-
prisoners laughed heartily, and replied : 4 Yes ; these are tight
papers.'
"Asa general thing, the soldiers were as kind as allowed
to be. The" officers we seldom saw, except at a distance, or
when coming around to inspect our work. One lay, worn
out with labor, and sick, so that I could scarcely lift up the
spade, (we were throwing up fortifications,) a guard re-
marked : 4 Put down your spade, aiid rest ; they have no
right to make you work as they do.' Scarcely was I seated,
until, with a bayonet thrust and an oath, he ordered me up.
He saw an officer coming, and knew that he would be kept
in the guard-house, if detected in such an act of mercy to a
prisoner.
" One day, my appetite for dinner was completely taken
away by the statement to me of the guard, that the soldi era
552
AMERICAN B A S T I L E.
had killed Dr. Main. He was a Scotchman, an estimable
mail, and a member of my church. He had been taken from
his home, under the plea of showiug them the way ; his head
was broken in, then his body hung up, then cast into the
river. Xone of those who committed the deed were ever
under arrest.
" One day, I was taken before the commander for some
reason ; and, while there, heard the followiug conversation
between the Post Commander and a plain farmer who looked
about sixty years old.
" 4 How shall I enroll you?'
4 As a Union man.'
44 4 What kind of a Union man are you ? '
44 4 1 am for the Union as it was, and for the Constitution
as it is.'
44 4 D — n such an answer ; such men are the d — dest rebels.
I enroll you as disloyal.'
44 4 1 cannot help it ; such are my sentiments. I am a plain
farmer, and a peaceable man. I love my whole country, and
do not want to see it destroyed.'
44 4 All you can say does not affect me. I regard you as a
rebel, and shall enroll you as such.'
" One day, while taking our midday rest, a soldier thrust a
lad about sixteen years old into the room, saying, 4 D — n you,
spy, you will soon be hung.' The poor fellow was terribly
frightened. In a few days, by testimony of the strongest
kind, it was shown that he never had been twenty miles
from home, and knew little about anything ; that he wa3
an errand-boy, and was on an errand when arrested. But
all was of no avail. His daily labor was worth more than
his daily bread, and he was still in prison when I left.
44 The charge against one of the prisoners was treason, in that
he had witnessed the engagement referred to in these pages.
To look oil and not help, was treason ; all his property was
taken, and he only released upon giving bond for good be-
havior. The story of another prisoner is a sad one. After
many weary weeks of hard work, he was ordered before tho
REV. HENRY M. PAYNTEE.
553
Provost Marshal, the first time he had been before any of-
ficer, when the following dialogue, as reported by himself,
occurred :
" 4 Where are you from ? '
i j
44 'I was born in Rhode Island.'
44 4 Have you taken any part in the war ? '
" 4 1 have not. I have not been two miles from home since
I he war began. My first care is my motherless children. '
44 4Are you a Union man ? '
44 4 1 always have been a Union man until you arrested me.
Your treatment has made me in favor of two Confederacies.
Why should I be torn from my home and children, and kept
here at hard work? Your treatment has made me a rebel.'
44 This was enough : he was ordered back to prison and to
hard work ; and from that time was known as the 4 two Con
federacies man.'
44 One Saturday, I met a Mr. Reed, a highly respectable man;
walking about the prison. Supposing he was seeking some
one, I inquired, 4 Mr. Reed, what has brought you here?'
44 4 1 am a prisoner.'
44 4 A prisoner ! What have you done ? '
44 4 Xothing. This morning, a squad of soldiers came to nij
house, and read an order, requiring me to give up all my
corn and hay, and to furnish teams to take them to head-
quarters. When the wagons were loaded, I was ordered to
furnish drivers : this I would not do, and they have brought
me here.'
44 This gentleman, aged about eighty years, was not released
until he had given bonds for §3,000 for good behavior in the
future.
44 But why dwell upon tlie sickening scenes of prison life?
The memory of those days makes me shudder. The unwrit-
ten story of wrong and suffering is more painful than the
writ ten one. Hard work, hard fare, hard beds, every move-
ment directed by the bayonet ; no religious privileges allowed,
except private prayer ; exposed to a violent death — these were
the privations and wrongs of those dreary days. TsTo trial
554
AMERICAN BASTILE.
guaranteed, no prospect of relief ; nothing sustained me but
an unfaltering trust in Him, ' who doeth all things well.'
The end came in a manner to me the most unexpected
Taken one day into the presence of the Marshal, who, in-
stead of mitigating, had studied to increase the rigors of my
imprisonment, I was informed that I was to have no trial,
that my case had been decided, and that a paper, which I
was told to read, would tell me my fate.
" This paper, a copy of which I Legged, but was denied,
was an order of banishment to the northern part of Aroos-
took County, in Maine, to that part which lies beyond the
boundary of civilized life.
" I had borne up firmly during my imprisonment. Conscious
of entire integrity, the only request I had ever made was
permission to cleanse my person. But this blow unmanned
me, on account of my family. I did not know how I was to
support them there ; nor did I believe they would survive
the rigors of a single winter. I pleaded for them, but iD
vain. The unfeeling man replied, 1 1 do not care a d — n for
your family ; you shall go.' Subsequently that order was
revoked, and the following issued :
" 'Headquarters Missouri State Militia,
Booneville, Cooper CouDty, Missouri, August 25, 1862
Special Order, No. 7.
u t Rev. Henry M. Paynter : In obedience to Special Order No. 3,
issued to me by Frank J. White, Provost Marshal General, Cen-
tral Division of Missouri ; and by order of Brigadier General
Totten, commanding the Central District of the above said State.
You are hereby ordered to leave the State of Missouri by the
first day of September, 1862, to take up your residence in the
State of Massachusetts, there to remain during the present war
between the rebels and the Government of the United States.
You are further ordered not to re-enter the State of Missouri
during said war, under penalty of being shot to death.
(Signed) T. T. Crittenden,
Commanding Post, Lt. Col. 7th Reg't of Cavalry, M. S. Vols.
BEV. HENRY M. PAYNTEB.
555
Copy of Special Order No. 3.
'"Office of the Provost Marshal General,
Central Division of Missouri,
Jefferson City, August 20, 1862.
"'Rev. Henry M. Paynter, clergyman, a sympathizer with
the traitors now in rebellion against the United States, will be
released from confinement, upon giving his parole of honor to
leave the State of Missouri ten (10) days after his release, and
to take up his residence in some Northern State, to be selected
by Lieut.-Colonel Crittenden, 7th Cavalry, Missouri State Militia,
commanding at Booneville, Missouri. The said Paynter not to
re-enter the State of Missouri during the war, upon the penalty
of being shot to death.
(Signed) Frank J. White,
Provost Marshal General.
11 ' By order of Brig. General James Totten,
Commanding Central District of Missouri.
"'Attest: T. T. Crittenden, Commanding Post, Lt.-Col. 7th
Keg't Cav. Mo. State Militia.
" 'All Federal troops, in the execution of the above special order,
are therefore commanded to pass the said Henry M. Paynter out
of the State of Missouri into the State of Massachusetts, with
his family, and all other articles necessary for his comfort during
his absence.
(Signed) T. T. Crittenden,
Lt.-Col. 7th Reg't Cav. Mo. S. M.,
Commanding Post, Booneville, Cooper Co., Missouri.'
14 Finding that I must go, and that, to carry out the order,
I must travel on the Sabbath-day, I requested the commander
to allow me to rest on that day. He replied, 'The Govern-
ment will be responsible for that; you must go.'
" I was released from prison. How strange the sensations !
How singular everything appears! How difficult to accept
the fact that the bayonet is not at your back, that the soldier
does not bid you what to do ! Days elapse before the con-
fusion of the new order of things disappears. Personal
Liberty \ What a blessing ! only truly appreciated by those
who have experienced the horrors of prison life. With a
556
AMERICAN B A STILE.
sad heart I left the home where so long we had lived, when
children had cheered us by their presence, and desolated our
hearts by their death ; and the people whom I loved so well,
for whose good so long I have labored, whom, perhaps. I
may never meet again on earth, and with whom I desire to
leave my sleeping dust, when our Father calls me home.
" At Tipton, I received the following pass :
•••Provost Marshal's Office,
Tipton, Missouri, August 27, 1862.
aiPass the bearer, Eev. EL Payuter, and family, to St. Louis,
his business being ordered by the Government.
(Signed) Geo. W. TFashburne,
Provost Marshal.'
"At St. Louis, I was handed the following pass :
■"No. 6594.
Office of the Provost Marshal General.
St. Louis Division,
St. Louis, Missouri, August 28, 1862.
" 1 Permission is given to Eev. H. M. Paynter, aged — years, to
go to Massachusetts.
(Signed) George E. Leighton.
Provost Marshal General, St. Louis Division/
" Thence onward to my place of banishment, called by a
prominent Bostonian ' The Penal Colony of Massachusetts/
which, in the providence of God, I reached in safety.
"The following letter, signed by every officer in my church,
three of whom were Union men, explains itself :
« ' Booneville, February 16, 1863.
u lI)ear Brethren in Christ: The undersigned, officers of the First
Presbyterian Church, Booneville, Missouri, having learned that
our beloved, now exiled, pastor, Eev. Henry M. Paynter, is tem-
porarily supplying your pulpit, would 6tate that Brother Payn-
ter has been pastor of this church for about seven years, during a
great portion of which time our church has been greatly blessed ;
and we take great pleasure in commending him to you as a
Christian and gentleman every way worthy of your confidence
BEV. HENRY M. PATNTEE,
557
"'As to his banishment we can say nothing, as we arc? wholly
ignorant of the charge upon which he was taken away from us,
But we can say to you that, as a Christian minister and gentle,
man, he stands high with his church, and that we deeply feel his
loss. We trust that our Heavenly Father may put it into your
hearts to extend to him that aid and assistance that his condi-
tion, at this time, requires. He has the sympathies and prayers
of his entire church.
(Signed) William S. Myers,')
Marcus Williams, v Euling Elders,
G-. S. Moore, )
Wm. M. Johnson, 1 -p. ,
James Hood, [Deacons.'
Rev. Mr. Paynter is now located at Hopkinsville, Ken-
tucky, and is not only successful in his ministerial labors, but
is also highly esteemed by all who know him.
We have given a plain narrative of the sufferings endured
by a minister of the Gospel, whose fealty to the Government
was beyond doubt, and whose only offence consisted in hia
persistent refusal to take an active part in the struggle, and
prostitute his pulpit to partisan purposes.
Mr. Paynter says : " I will ever remember the words and
acts of kindness of the soldiers, who did all they dared to
alleviate my suffering. I freely and fully forgive all the an-
noyances and indignities I was made to suffer by the officers,
seemingly with delight. And I am glad to cherish no other
feelings toward them ; for one, at least, has since been sum-
moned before that Judge, who will impartially decide whethei
or no what I endured was justly inflicted upon me."
His persecutions will remain a stain on the escutcheon of
the nation, which time cannot efface.
Imprisonment and suffering have not changed his judgment
or feelings as to the value of our Union, nor lessened his love
for those blessings bequeathed to us by our sires
D. C. WATTLES.
FIX) show the world the frail tenure by which the American
people held their liberties under the despotism established
by Mr. Lincoln, and which hung like a funeral pall over the
country, we need only cite the following example. Comment
is unnecessary.
D. C. Wattles, of North Branch, Michigan, was arrested
on the 23d of November, 1862, under the following circum-
stances. The family of this gentleman, a short time pre-
viously, had been straining blackberries. His children, in
their amusement, raised upon a pole the rag that had been
stained by the juice in the process of straining
One of the horde of infamous informers who infested the
length and breadth of the land, advised the War Depart-
ment that Mr. Wattles had raised a secesh flag. He was im-
mediately seized by an inquisitorial Provost Marshal, and
transported more than a thousand miles from his friends,
home, and State, and immured in Fort Lafayette. No
charges were ever preferred against him, nor wa# he told the
name of the secret enemy who had lodged complaint against
him. At the expiration of Jive months, when the Washington
authorities were convinced that he had fully expiated hi§
crime* he was discharged upon v taking the oath"
5ft8
COLONEL SAMUEL NORTH, MAJOR LEVI COHN.
and LIEUTENANT MORYEN M. JONES.
THE trial of Samuel North, Levi Cohn, and Morven M.
Jones, before an United States Military Commission,
commenced at Washington, D. C, November 3, 1864, and
ending January 7, 1865, was one of the most interesting and
important ever held in the United States, involving numerous
and highly important legal and constitutional questions, in-
cluding those affecting the powers of the Government and
the rights and privileges of American citizens.
The commission was instituted on the 27th of January,
1864, more than nine months before the accused were arrested,
to try whoever might be brought before it. General Abner
Doubleday was President. The trial did not end until the
7th of January, 1865. North was retained in prison nine-
teen, and Jones and Cohn thirty-two days, after the trial
closed.
New York had promptly responded to the President's first
call for 75,000 men, and cheerfully met those which followed.
The inexperience of the officers was felt in the care and
management of the sick and wounded. With the hearty
approval of Governor Seymour, the Legislature of New York
passed a bill on the 24th of April, 1863, authorizing the
Governor to appoint suitable agents to provide additional
relief for the sick, wounded, furloughed, and discharged
soldiery, and to facilitate the removal of the bodies of de-
ceased soldiers, and to perform such other duties as he might
direct. He was also authorized to employ surgeons and other
agents to look after the sick and wounded. To meet these
expenses, $200,000 were appropriated.
The Governor appointed Coloml Samuel North, a distin*
659
660
AMERICAN BASTILE.
guished citizen of Otsego County, who had been a magistrate
of his town, clerk of his county, and for seven years an
agent of the Post-office Department, and then a merchant,
agent for the State at the City of Washington. The manner
in which he discharged his duties was satisfactory to all who
did business with him.
At his request, the Governor determined to send a State
paymaster to pay all back bounties, and whatever might be
due to soldiers from the State. The Paymaster General of
the State recommended Major Levi Cohn, then in his own
office, for this employment, and he was selected by the Gov-
ernor, and repaired to Washington to perform his duties.
He stood high in Albany as a book-keeper and merchant's
cashier, and an accurate and trusted business-man.
Nurses were needed at the hospitals. Morven M. Jones
had assisted in raising a company of volunteers at Utica,
and was commissioned a Lieutenant and entered the Army
of' the Potomac. He was in the second battle of Bull Pun,
and was taken prisoner. He was compelled to march four
days without food, and was subsequently thrown into Libby
Prison, where he remained until paroled. He was subse-
quently exchanged. Being advanced in years, his health
became too much impaired to permit him to continue in the
service, and he resigned. The General State Agent, knowing
him and his wife personally, requested them by telegraph to
proceed to Washington to engage in hospital duties. On the
second day after its receipt, their house was closed, and they
on their way to duty. They, like Major Cohn, reported to
Colonel North, and then entered upon their arduous duties.
The manner in which Governor Seymour executed this law
bas never been the subject of complaint by any one.
On the 21st of April, 1864, the Legislature passed another
law, authorizing volunteer soldiers in the national service to
vote, and prescribing the mode of doing so. This law was
so framed that, if not executed in an open and public man
ner, innumerable frauds might be committed under it. Gov-
ernor Seymour proposed to the leading officials of the Repub-
COLONEL NORTH, AND OTHEHS.
561
iican party, so to arrange as to have all the voting in an
open and public manner, under the superintendence of a re-
presentative of each political party. This reasonable propo'
aition was neither accepted, nor even answered.
The law required the votes to be authenticated by a New
York commissioned officer. These being mostly Republicans,
exercised a controlling influence over the soldiers, and espe-
cially so when they were taken in secret.
Neither Colonel North, Major Cohn, nor Lieutenant Jones
was charged by Governor Seymour with any duties under
this act. If soldiers called, wishing to vote, they were
aided by some one person present, but never by Colonel
North or Major Cohn, and only on one or two occasions by
Lieutenant Jones. But it was assumed by Republicans,
Colonel North's office was the headquarters of Democratic
voting, and that great frauds and numerous forgeries were
committed there. It was thought that the arrest and con-
viction of Governor Seymour's agent before election, on
charges of fraud and forgery, would secure the success of
the Republican ticket.
Without an affidavit, or any evidence that a crime had
been committed, Mr. Dana, Assistant Secretary of War, is-
sued an order for the arrest of " Colonel North, James M.
Murphy, Cohn, and Jones," and he directed the seizure of
all the papers of the agency, and all their private papers at
their lodgings. To screen himself from person al responsibility,
he stated in it, that it was issued by order of the President.
Under it, Colonel North, Major Cohn, and Lieutenant Jones
were arrested on the 27th of October, 1864, and thrown into
the Old Capitol Prison, without being informed of the accu-
sations made against them. When Governor Seymour re-
ceived information of this outrage upon citizens of ^ew
York, employed by him and acting for the State, he appointed
Amasa J. Parker, William F. Allen, and William Kelly,
three distinguished and well-known citizens, to proceed to
Washington and investigate the matter, and employ, in be-
half of the State, counsel to defend the accused. Tney
86
562
AMERICAN BASTILE.
faithfully performed these duties and reported to the Gov-
ernor.
The following is an extract from the report of these com-
missioners :
"They found them in the 'Carrol Prison* (a part of the
Old Capitol Prison) in close confinement. They learned that
Messrs. Xorth and Cohn had been confined together in one
room, and had not been permitted to leave it for the four
days they had been prisoners for the purpose of answering
the calls of nature. They had been supplied with meagre
and coarse prison rations, to be eaten in their room, where
they constantly breathed the foul atmosphere arising from
the standing odor. They had no vessel out of which to drink
water, except the one furnished them for the purpose of uri-
nation. They had but one chair, and had to sleep three of
the nights of their confinement on a sack of straw upon the
floor. They had not been permitted to see a newspaper, and
were ignorant of the cause of their arrest. All communica-
tions between them and the outer world had been denied
them."
The visit of these commissioners improved their condition
for a time, and they were permitted to purchase better fare,
and were placed in a room with a dozen other persons. But
they were subsequently separated, kept in solitude, and re-
duced to the hardest of prison fare, compelling them to sub-
sist upon "hardtack," which they could not eat; sometimes,
only three crackers a day for each, with sour apple-sauce and
black coffee.
They were required to obey prison rules which were not
posted up, or otherwise accessible. They offered the Super-
intendent five dollars for a copy, which he refused. They
were required to obey laws of which they had no knowledge.
The object of this severe and brutal treatment was to break
down the independence of the accused, and induce them to
become informers upon one another, and upon Governor Sey-
mour and others in New York, in order to secure themselves
a release, rr, at least, better treatment. After trying it a
COLONEL NORTH, AND OTHERS.
563
second time, the effort to accomplish the object in this man-
ner was abandoned, and they were allowed to supply them-
selves with better food and some needful conveniences. But
they were never permitted to see any person, except in the
presence of some official of the prison. In a written com-
munication from the War Department, Mrs. Jones was ex-
pressly refused permission to see her husband, and the Judge
Advocate roughly told her she had better go home, as her
husband would be convicted and sent to the State Prison, if
not sentenced to anything worse. All correspondence, except
through the prison officials, was forbidden, and for a long time
they were not permitted to read newspapers. At one period,
after the trial began, Cohn was not permitted, for a whole
week, to see his counsel, although it was important that they
Rhould consult together.
The accused were arraigned and charged " with conduct
prejudicial to the military service of the United States, and
in fraud of the election rights and duties of the soldiers and
officers of said service."
The specification set up that they were the ostensible
agents of the State of New York, to aid in the execution of
the law authorizing soldiers to vote, and had fraudulently
signed, or caused to be signed, blanks under said law pur-
porting to have been signed by soldiers, and witnessed and
sworn to in the presence of, and by an officer, and intended
to be used at the election in fraud of the soldiers' rights.
The counsel for the accused pleaded to the jurisdiction of
the commission:
1st. The commission had no jurisdiction over the parties.
2d. Not over the subject-matter.
3d. The subject is not within the powers of the National
Government.
4th. The National Government has never legislated on the
subject.
5th. There is no law of the National Government authoriz.
ing the institution of a military tribunal to try a person, no*
in the military service, for any offence, he not being a spy
»
564 AMERICAN BASTILE.
In support of this plea, the counsel cited numerous autnor
ities, including the Constitution of the United States, defin
Lng the powers of the Judiciary, and prohibiting the exercise
of criminal power, except through presentments by grand
jurors, and limiting military powers to persons in the mili-
tary service.
It was contended that the acts charged were not declared,
by any law, to be an offence, and Congress had not attempted
to confer jurisdiction. No national tribunal could enforce
the penal laws of a State. It had been settled by the Supreme
Court that no common-law offences existed under the Federal
Government. The Courts of the district were open. The
laws had not been suspended, nor martial law been declared.
If the laws of New York had been violated, that State had the
will and capacity to assert her dignity and defend her sove-
reignty. A conviction by the commission could not be plead-
ed in bar, if the accused should be prosecuted in her courts.
This tribunal could not deprive her of her rights to vindicate
her dignity and execute her laws. If the commission has not
jurisdiction, its members will be personally answerable for
their acts. An English soldier had once been proceeded
against and sentenced to be punished by an unauthorized
commission like this. He died while undergoing the punish-
ment it had ordered. Years afterward the officer ordering
it was indicted for murder, convicted, and actually hung.
Shall we be less firm in defence of the rights and lives of our
citizens than mother England ?
The Judge Advocate answered by saying, among other
things, " In time of war, a great many provisions of the
Constitution, which were intended for time of peace, are, pro
tanio, suspended. The Constitution, or rather the mass
of its details, is intended for time of peace ; but, in time of
war, the general war powers therein delegated to Congress
and to the President, take the place of the general provisions
in time of peace."
He did not inform the < ommission who had the power to
•uspend these provisions, or how the people were to learn
COLONEL NORTH, AND OTHFRS. 565
which were suspended, and when that occurred, nor how they
were to know when they were restored. The fallacy and ab
surdity of this argument were most fully exposed. Bu£ the
commission concurred in these monstrous doctrines, and over-
ruled the plea to their jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of
the United States has since decided that they had no jurist
diction.
"When the decision overruling the plea was announced, the
Judge Advocate demanded final judgment against the accused
upon the absurd ground that the plea to the jurisdiction
admits the truth of the charge and specifications. Upon
this motion, a long argument ensued. The proposition was
bo monstrous, and the reasoning against it too strong to be
overcome by the sophistry of the prosecutor, the motion
was overruled, and the accused permitted to plead, where-
upon they entered a plea of not guilty.
After issue joined, the accused demanded separate trials.
This was resisted upon the ground that it would enable one
of them to testify in favor of the others, and thus avoid a
conviction. Although clearly entitled to the privilege of
separate trials, the commission refused to permit it.
The counsel for the accused then moved that the Judge
Advocate be required, before proceeding to trial, to elect
which he would try as principals, and which as accomplices,
both offences being averred in the specification, without any
means whereby they could determine for which offence they
were to be tried. This motion was resisted on the ground
that, if he were now required to make election, it would
dimmish the chances of conviction. The commission refused
the motion.
The counsel for the accused thereupon demanded process
to compel the attendance of witnesses in their behalf. This
brought on a long discussion. The Judge Advocate resisted
their right to require the attendance of more than two wit-
nesses each to establish their good character. The accused
demanded several. The commission, without assigning any
reasoD'S therefor, determined to reserve its decision until a
566
AMERICAN BAS1ILE.
iater period, and thereupon allowed the Judge Advocate to
call witnesses, and proceed with the trial.
Without deciding whether the accused should be allowed
process for any witnesses, the commission arbitrarily and
most wrongfully allowed the trial to commence and progress
A greater outrage was never perpetrated by a tribunal claim-
ing to administer law and justice than the refusal of the
means to procure the attendance of the witnesses of the
accused, as provided in the Constitution, and, at the same
time, permitting the prosecution to proceed in the trial.
James 0. Clephane was then called as a witness by the
Judge Advocate, and testified that he went some two days
before, with the Judge Advocate, who was dressed in citizen's
clothes, to the Carrol Prison, and had Jones, one of the ao
cused, brought before him — that he made a confession, to
which he made oath, being the same published in the " Even
ing Star" the day the trial commenced. This paper contained
statements which, if unexplained, were injurious to Jones,
but on which no conviction could be sustained. On cross-
examination it appeared that Clephane went to the prison as
a stenographer and took notes — that Jones's attention was
not called to this fact, nor was what he took down read over
or stated in substance to him. Without attempting to make
a statement, or to give a narrative of events, he had simply
answered the questions proposed to him by the J udge Ad-
vocate. On being asked if he would be willing to swear to
what he had stated, said he would. Clephane wrote out a
statement, and headed it thus : " Morven Jones, being duly
sworn by John A. Foster, deposeth as follows." This state-
ment was proved by Clephane to be false. The counsel for
the accused required him to produce his notes, and when he
did so, and translated them into English, the concluding
words were :
Q. " Are you willing to be sworn to this statement ? "
A. "lam."
This proves that Jones did not in fact swear to the state-
ment, although willing to swear to what he did say. Clfr
COLONEL NORTH, AND OTHERS.
5G7
phane and the Judge Advocate are respjnsible for getting
up and publishing this fraudulent paper. On comparing thig
pretended affidavit with Clephane's notes, they were found
unlike in many essential particulars, and that Clephane had
Jeft out of the assumed confession what Jones had stated
favorable to the accused, and which proved beyond a doubt
that no crime had been committed, or intended. The fol-
lowing questions and answers he had omitted, but were found
in his original notes :
Q. " Do you know any case where names have been signed
without the parties being present ? "
4. "No, sir."
Q. " And never heard anybody say such a thing had hap-
pened at any time ? "
A. "No, sir."
This covered the whole case, and proved all innocent. Bat
the commission not only allowed this false affidavit to be re-
ceived against Jones, but against North and Cohn, and refused
to strike it out as evidence, when appealed to for the purpose.
Such a violation of the rules of evidence as to make a state-
ment of third persons evidence against those accused, except
where a conspiracy had been charged and proved, cannot be
found in the records of any trial in the civilized world, noi
defended where reason and justice are respected.
Josiah Cleghorn was then called by the prosecution, and
testified that he was a Lieutenant in a negro regiment, and
resided in Erie County, New York, that he called at North's
office on the 20th of October, 1864, and found him and Jones
there, and a man signing his name Murphy, who made out
voting papers for him, which he signed and took away. He
was told where to go to swear to them. That he did not in
fact go and swear to them. That on the 25th or 26th of the
month, he again went to Colonel North's office, when all
three of the accused were there. He informed the persona
present that his papers had been directed to the wrong post-
office, and that he desired new ones to be made out, which
Jones proceeded to do, he using blanks that had been pre-
568
AMERICAN BASTlLJi.
viously signed by an officer. The old papers were twisted
up and thrown under the table, and new ones made out. which
he signed and took away, the envelope containing a Demo-
cratic vote. All was done as he wished, except he did not
like the Democratic vote. On his cross-examination he swore
that he "surrendered" this package to Mr. Clarence Seward,
son of the Secretary, and that when he got the papers pre-
pared it was not his intention to send them away. From
his own statement it is inferrible that he was twice sent to
Colonel North's office to obtain something out of which an
accusation could be framed to cause arrests. Palmer, whose
suspicions had been awakened concerning the State Agency,
swore that early in October his suspicions had been aroused,
and he had communicated them to Assistant Secretary Sew-
ard, at the State Department. He and his brother Clarence
doubtless were acting in concert, and prompted Dana to action.
According to Cleghorn's statement, Jones neither perpetrated
fraud nor forgery, but served him at his request. Cleghorn
was guilty of both fraud and falsehood. He went to the
office with a lie in his mouth, and while there actually told
several. On going a second time he did the same thing.
Jones obligingly served him without fee or reward. What
was prepared for him he did not intend to use, but placed in
hands which caused the arrest of the accused. This whole
proceeding was planned and executed by Government officials
enjoying the confidence of the Administration. They at-
tempted to induce the commission of crime, that they might
cause men to be punished. In this the}r were criminal. But
they failed. This pretended crime was no offence. It was
unmerited kindness bestowed upon a black-hearted conspira-
tor, who was willing to ruin individuals for political effect.
The counsel for the accused renewed his motion for process
to obtain their witnesses. After sundry objections as to the
number, the prosecution having so utterly failed in its proof,
the Judge Advocate consented, and the commission ordered
aubpoenas for such witnesses as were required. As the trial
oould vot be completed before election, and there being no
COLONEL NORTH, AND OTHERS.
569
probability of any testimony damaging to the accused being
obtained, the prosecution consented to adjourn the further
hearing of the case until the 14th of November.
On the reassembling of the commission, the Judge Advo-
cate introduced and swore one Craig, who testified that
Colonel North, early in October, made out voting papers for
him. This wa& shown to be utterly false, as the papers, when
produced, were conclusively proved not to be in his hand-
writing, but in that of one Mott, who was not employed at
the New York State Agency.
One Palmer also swore that Jones, in the presence of Colo-
nel N"orth, tried to induce him to sign a lot of blanks, which
he refused, and of which he gave immediate notice at the
State Department to Assistant Secretary Seward. This story
was improbable and undoubtedly false, as Colonel North had
been, for several days previously and subsequent to the time
he named, absent from Washington in the State of New
York, and that no proceedings preparatory to voting at his
office took place until after his return, and that then neither
of the accused became the actors*.
N© other material evidence was offered by the prosecution
concerning the crimes charged upon the accused. But the
commission indulged the Judge Advocate, contrary to all
just rules of law, in an endeavor to prove that somebody
had committed some other crime, not charged in the specifi-
cations. This seemed to be an effort to find evidence to excuse
the arrest, imprisonment, and trial. It was a failure. No
such crime was proved, even if full credence had been given
to all the idle tales invented by witnesses to secure a trip to
Washington at the expense of the Government.
Various letters and papers found in the New York Agency,
not in the handwriting of either the accused, nor shown to
have been in their possession, were offered in evidence. Their
introduction, without evidence connecting them with the ac-
cused, was objected to. But the objection was overruled and
thsy were admitted in evidence, but proved nothing material.
Here f be opening evidence foi the prosecution was closed.
570
AMERICAN BASTILE.
The prosecution having rested their case, and there being
no evidence against Colonel Korth, nor pretence of anjp
against Major Cohn, a motion was made to discharge them.
This was resisted by the Judge Advocate on the ground, if
discharged, they might be called as witnesses for the defence,
and the conviction wholly defeated. This reasonable and
proper motion was overruled.
The accused introduced a large number of witnesses to
prove their high character, and among them Judge Kelson,
of the United States Supreme Court, Governor Fenton, the
Republican member of Congress from Colonel North's dis-
trict, Judge Garvin, of Xew York, and several distinguished
citizens of Albany, Utica, and Washington. They continued
this sort of evidence until the commission announced that
further evidence on that point was unnecessary.
They then proved that the State Agency was a public place,
where a large number of persons were employed, and others
continually coining and going. That Colonel Bradley, North's
predecessor and a Republican, occupied a place where he
could see and hear whatever occurred. The prosecution did
not call him. It was contended, under such circumstances,
it was not probable that frauds and forgeries had beer, there
attempted.
The accused offered as a witness, Charles M. Schofield.
The Judge Advocate objected to his being sworn, on the
ground that he had inserted in the accusation the name of
" Schofield, " without any given name, or other description,
as a defendant. He had been a daily attendant upon the
trial, and had not been arrested. He had been employed at
the Agency, and could testify to nearly everything that had
occurred there. After full discussion, the commission decided
that no one could be sworn whose family name had been
inserted in the accusation, whether arrested, or put upon trial
or not. They thus, in legal effect, declared that the Judge
Advocate had the power to deprive the accused of all their
witnesses by inserting family names in the charges. Under
this decision, it is the Judge Advocate, and not the law, that
COLONEL NORTH, AND OTHERS.
571
deprives accused persons of evidence to defend themselves,
He may insert the name of every man whom he suspects of
knowing facts in favor of the accused, and thue prevent hia
oeing sworn. This decision excluded another person wht
had also been present and had seen and heard all that
occurred in Colonel North's office.
After the trial had progressed several weeks, Major Cohn
was separated from his companions, and his counsel, Hon. B,. H.
Gillet, refused permission to see him upon his general pass
A new and special one from the Judge Advocate, or Secretary
of War, was required. The former refused to give one, and
informed the counsel that Cohn had employed other counsel,
whose name he would not give, and did not wish to see him.
As he left the prison, Major Cohn beckoned to him from a
window to come up and see him. For a whole week the
counsel daily pressed the Judge Advocate to permit them to
see Major Cohn and learn from him his wishes. But he
refused. On one morning the counsel saw the Judge Advo-
cate and his stenographer going toward the President's, and
renewed his application, but was abruptly refused. At that
very moment the Superintendent of the prison had Major
Cohn in a carriage, not over thirty feet distant, taking him
to the President's, where the Judge Advocate and stenogra-
pher joined them. Major Cohn had been coaxed and threat-
ened, and often told by prison officials while shut up alone,
that he could be set free by coming out with a full statement
of the whole matter. He consented to make such a state-
ment, but only to the President. When the counsel saw the
Judge Advocate and stenographer, Major Cohn was on his
way to make the promised statement.
Before making it, he asked the President if he was to be
released on making it, and was assured by him that he should
be discharged and not tried. He thereupon made a full state-
ment of all he knew of the matter, and among other things
stated that he had never committed forgery or fraud upon
any soldier. The Judge Advocate asked him numerous ques-
tions, and pressed him hard to admit that he had forged t.ha
572
AMERICAN BASTILE.
name of one Smith, but not having done anything of the
kind, he refused to do so. He told the President that Colonel
North had not attended to the filling out of blanks, or voting
ac all, and that he (Cohn) had never seen a vote taken where
the soldier did not sign the papers himself — that he saw
Colonel North, the evening before the arrest, burn the blanks
that Captain Otternott had signed to take and use at Camp
Distribution, and which he had left behind when he went, by
mistake. When Major Cohn was leaving the office, the Pres-
ident told him he would be discharged, and only be required
to remain on parole until after the trial. The President
remarked that he saw no criminality in anything stated by
Cohn.
On going down stairs from the President's office, the J udge
Advocate told Major Cohn, if he were discharged, he should
stats that it was through the influence of his (the Judge Ad-
vocate's) uncle, Henry Smith, a lawyer of Albany, who had
been permitted to have free access to Major Cohn in prison,
after he was separated from his companions, while his regu-
lar counsel had been excluded. Why Mr. Smith came from
Albany to Washington, and why he was allowed to see Major
Cohn when he chose, to the exclusion of his own counsel, and
why Major Cohn was separated from his companions, why
the counsel who had served him through the most important
portions of the trial was excluded, and why he was privately
taken to the President's office with the Judge Advocate and
a stenographer whose reputation had been so seriously dam-
aged by his own oath, to make a statement, and promised a
discharge from trial, can only be answered by drawing the
conclusion which such facts naturally suggest. They fully
authorize the belief that Major Cohn was separated from his
companions and denied the right to see his counsel to break
down his spirit — that Smith was introduced to advise and
persuade him to make such a statement as would cause his
discharge, and if obtained he would expect heavy compensa-
tion from Major Cohu's rich relatives — that an accusatory
confession would save those engaged in the arrest and tria«
COLONEL NORTH, AND OTHERS.
573
from the odium already arising from an unlawful arrest and
brutal imprisonment, and would let them down easy. In
their eyes, Major Cohn committed a new offence by not accus-
ing any one of crime. His integrity had resisted all the
temptations held out to him. By way of punishment, he was
remanded to prison, roughly treated, and tried. He was
acquitted without any of the agency of this Albany counsel,
who so mysteriously came into and went out of the case. In
this strange proceeding, neither the arrest, the crushing im-
prisonment, nor the trial found any justification. The for-
feiture of the President's pledge covered him and those en
gaged in the matter with imperishable infamy.
At the next meeting of the commission, this pledge of the
President was formally brought before it by special plea,
accompanied with a demand, if its truth should be questioned,
of a subpoena requiring the attendance of the President.
After argument, the commission announced, " The court de-
clines to entertain the plea, or application of the accused,
Levi Cohn, unless there is a written order produced, ema-
nating from the President, or Secretary of War." This deci-
sion was a self-stultifying one, furnishing conclusive evidence
that the commission had no settled convictions of duty, and
dare not act upon a vitally important question without the
permission of those creating it, even if such question fur-
nished a controlling issue within their assumed jurisdiction,
involving the honor of the President and the character of the
country. The commission knew that the conditions of action
they imposed could not be complied with. It would have
been more manly to have overruled the plea and said nothing.
Soon after the commencement of the trial, which lasted
over two months, the Judge Advocate opened a place in the
city of !N"ew York, to which people from all parts of the
country were brought at the expense of the Government, by
subpoena, and where they were privately examined, and their
statements taken down by a stenographer. If matter accu-
satory of the defendants was developed, the party was sub-
poenaed to attend the t rial at Washington. This mode of
574
AMERICAN BASTILE.
fishing for evidence brought a vast number to the place of
inquisition. Of all these, a few were brought before the com-
mission. Xot one of those who came testified anything against
either of the accused, or attempted to disprove the good char-
acter imputed to them by their own witnesses. But the skill
of the Judge Advocate invented a new mode of attack, which
the commission tolerated. He was allowed to attempt to
prove that, notwithstanding the high moral character proved
in behalf of the accused, their character was questioned in
political matters, and that they would get political advan-
tages whenever they could. But this effort entirely failed,
except as to Colonel Xorth, who, it was said, had been doubted
by one man. Daniel S. Dickinson had declared that he had
no confidence in him politically after having, at Baltimore,
refused to vote for his nomination for the Presidency. And
here this effort of drowning men to save themselves by catch-
ing at straws, ended.
The case was elaborately argued by W. A. Beach, of Troy,
JN". Y., and R. H. Gillet,of Xew Lebanon, for the defendants,
and by John A. Foster, as Judge Advocate. Mr. Beach elo-
quently remarked :
" You see this case mingles with the great topics of gov-
ernmental power which have stirred the hearts of the world
since the endless struggle began between liberty and oppres-
sion. You cannot, if you would, belittle it. It is not alone
the fate of these defendants you are to decide. Strange as
it may seem, here — even here, before a military commission,
the legal representative of the Government of the United
States demands a judgment, affirming the suspension of the
Constitution.
" He seeks the liberty, if not the lives, of these defendants,
over the shattered fragments of liberty and law. The issue
is sharply made between the Government and the citizen.
The learned Judge Advocate concedes, argumentatively, that
ne can reach the accused only through a broken Constitution.
Your Honors must approve his amazing doctrines, or you
must acquit."
COLONEL NORTH, AND OTHERS.
575
In his concluding remarks, Mr. Gillet, in behalf of the
accused, Raid:
"Forth, Cohn, and Jones are innocent men. If you find
them guilty, you will never be satisfied with your decision, nor
feel proud of having sat in this case. If the law required
you, as m France, to write down in your finding the testimony
again3t each, whose evidence and what words would you
select to show them, or either of them, guilty ? Can you
select aud put on paper words that you will say prove crime?
"When reflecting on your decision, try the experiment — read
what ;y ou collate, and reflect upon it, and consider whether all
you tie os bring together is not consistent with their inno-
cence. Consider whether there is no solution but in crime.
You must be certain, beyond all reasonable doubt, of their
guilt, before you convict. If the proof is not clear and con-
clusive, an inward monitor will remind you, when you hear
this case mentioned, of your own doubts, and your dissatisfac-
tion with the result. You will not feel at ease, nor will the
plaudits of a satisfied republic be yours.
" It cannot be denied that the present trial has grown out
of the recent party conflict. The eyes of Europe, as well as
all America, are upon the proceedings of this commission.
They will be read and scrutinized, and judgment rendered
upon them. All mankind will give a common decision. If
that decision sustains you, you will occupy an inviting page
in history. But if, on the contrary, it shall be that you acted
in violation of the Constitution and without jurisdiction or
authority, that there existed no law which had been vio-
lated, and that you condemned without clear and undoubted
evidence of guilt, then that page will be a blot — a record of
unparalleled wrong and injustice among tribunals claiming to
administer justice. You will make your own record, and
impress upon it the character your acts will bear. In the one
case mankind will admire, and in the other condemn. Your
decision will be impressed upon our country, and give it char-
acter for justice or injustice, both now and in all future time,
'ike the decisions of Hale or Jeffreys. The Administration
576
AMERICAN BASTILE.
which brought this tribunal into existence, sustains it in the
exercise of its functions, and which approves and executes
its decisions, will share in the common approval of mankind,
or will stagger under the weight which will rest upon and
finally crush it. Both the honor of the Administration and
of the country are involved in the decision you shall make.
In my judgment, honor follows acquittal. I speak plainly,
because i t is my duty frankly to express what I believe. The
case of my clients is now with you. I ask no sympathy, but
demand justice for them in the name of the Constitution and
laws of my country."
The final argument before the commission was on the 7th
of January, 1865, although the record, General Holt says,
shows no proceedings after the 4th. The finding of the
commission, as shown on the record as certified by Judge
Advocate General Holt, was in these words :
Final Decision.
" The commission was then cleared for deliberation, and,
after due consideration, do find the accused, Samuel North,
Levi Cohn, and Morven M. Jones, as follows:
" As to the defendants Samuel North and Levi Cohn:
" As to the specification — not guilty.
" As to the charge — not guilty.
"As to the defendant Morven M. Jones:
" As to the specification — guilty, except as to the words
with the intent and for the purpose of having such blanks,
so signed, used as and for the deed of the soldier whose
name purported to be signed thereto, and in fraud of the true
electors.'
" As to the charge — not guilty.
" And do therefore acquit said Samuel North, Levi Cchn,
and Morven M. Jones.
"Signed — John A. Foster, Colonel and Judge Advocate.
"Signed — Abner Doubleday, Major-General Volunteers,
President M. C.
"Official — J. Holt, Judge Advocate General."
COLONEL NORTH, AND OTHERS.
577
General Ho.t, in a letter to Hon. J. L. V. Pruyn, states that
these proceedings were not filed in his office until the 26th
of January, 1865.
Where were they hetween the close of the argument and
making the decision, and their being filed in the Judge Ad^
vocate General's office? This was a period of painful sus-
pense to the prisoners. Public rumor said they were all con-
victed, then that North was pardoned. The "New York
Tribune," of the 27th of January, contained the following
from its Washington correspondent : u Colonel North has beeD
released by the War Department. He was convicted by the
finding of the Court which tried him. Before his trial was
concluded, it was felt here that North would escape all
punishment. The pressure to have his trial stopped was
immense. This was nearly done, but finally desisted from.
The pressure for his unconditional release has been irre
sistible."
Why this reiteration of the falsehood that Colonel North
had been convicted? The record had been withheld for
weeks, either by the Judge Advocate, John A. Foster, or by
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, as it did not reach the
Bureau of Military Justice until the 26th of January, 1885,
to the great injury of the accused, who had been proved not
guilty. This neglect of a public duty doubtless led to the
rumors that North had been convicted, and, when released,
to the further falsehood, that he had been pardoned — all with
the view of satisfying the public that there was good reason
for the arrest and trials. The delay in filing the record was
to allow the public mind to become occupied with some-
thing else, and to have these great wrongs forgotten. Colonel
North was discharged on the 26th of January, 1865, under
an order from tne Assistant General's office, stating his ac-
quittal, and directing his immediate release from confinement,
which was not then communicated to him. lie was mereiy
told J>y the keeper "to pick up his traps and leave the prison
d — d quick — to go where he had a mind to." It was not
until a subsequent time that he was furnished with evidence
37
578
AMERICAN BASTILK
of his acquittal. It is probable that, but for deep censure
emanating from Congress and leading men in all parts of the
country, Colonel North would not have been released at the
time he left the prison. He was well known to a large por-
tion of the American people, who saw nothing in the pub-
lished evidence to warrant conviction or detention, and hence
their efforts to secure his restoration to liberty. This ac-
counts for the doors of his prison being thrown opem. He
was too prominent a man to render it safe and prudent longer
to continue his illegal imprisonment — to deprive him of
liberty without an adequate cause. Fear, and not justice,
prompted this tardy action.
But why were Major Cohn and Lieutenant Jones detained
two weeks after his release ? Was it to avoid showing the
whole failure at once, or because they were much less known,
and deemed more friendless, and might more safely be kept
shut up? It is certain, that E. M. Stanton, Secretary of
War, and Joseph Holt, Judge Advocate General, told Mrs.
Jones and the Rev. Mr. Corey, that they had been convicted
and sentenced to the State prison for life. Mr. Stanton twice
told the Hon. John Ganson, M. C, from Buffalo, the same
thing, and did the same to others. Mrs. Jones returned home
to Utica believing that her husband had been foand guilty
and sentenced to the State prison for life. This belief became
general. Major Cohn's friends, supposing that the story was
true, went to Washington to ascertain what could be done to
secure his release.
What object had Stanton and Holt in telling and repeat-
ing these unmitigated falsehoods? Why strike an almost
deadly blow at a poor woman who had nursed our wounded
and dying soldiers? Why inflict pain and torture upon
Major Cohn and Lieutenant Jones, and compel them to re-
main in a loathsome prison, when they knew they had been
found not guilty, and were entitled to be discharged and to
enjoy freedom ? Were these untruths for the supposed benefit
of their party or friends ? Truth compels us to say, that it
is quite probable that a willingness to allow friends to levy
COLONEL NORTH, AND OTHERS.
57(J
black mail had had something to do with these false pre-
tences. At that time there were many men in Washington
who made very large professions concerning their power and
influence with the President and his Cabinet and their ability
to prosure pardons. Major Cohn's father and uncle were
deemed rich merchants in Albany. The latter, when in
Albany, and often when in Washington, was approached in
mystic language in relation to the release of his nephew.
Except in the single instance of Governor Thomas Ford, of
Ohio, he turned a deaf ear to all such suggestions. Ford's
promises proved fallacious. After being detained two weeks
after the release of Colonel North, on the 8th of February,
1865, the prison doors were thrown open, and they were
ordered to leave as quick as possible. They were unable,
until the 12th of February, 1867, to ascertain what was the
actual decision of the commission. Neither the Secretary
of War nor Judge Advocate General would give either the
information desired. Whether this refusal was because they
disregarded their claims to the information, or for fear it
would conflict with their oral statements, we can only con-
jecture. It may be both.
We place this arrest, imprisonment, and trial on record,
that our countrymen and their descendants may learn the
appalling consequences that flow from disregarding the Con-
stitution and laws, and violating both, to secure and continue
the ascendency of a political party, who claim to act under a
law higher than the Constitution, and who ridicule that
i acred instrument, when its provisions are appealed ta as the
fundamental law of the land.
H. W. NEWLAKD.
HW- NEWLAKD was arrested at his residence near
• Benton, Franklin County, Illinois, on the night of the
19th of August, 1862. The arrest was made by Major Board,
Deputy Provost Marshal, accompanied by a detachment of
United States soldiers. He showed neither warrant nor
other legal authority, merely arresting the persons whose
names were written on a slip of paper which he carried in
his hand. Newland was carried away from his family, who,
like himself, were ignorant of the cause of his arrest. He
was taken to a station on the Illinois Central Railroad, and
placed, in company with eight others who had been made
prisouers at the same time, on a car, and conveyed to Spring-
field, under guard.
At dark, he and his fellow-prisoners were ironed for safety.
At Decatur, however, they were met by United States Mar-
shal D. L. Phillips, who ordered their irons to be taken off.
Here they remained during the night, and on the following
morning were forwarded to Washington City, arriving there
on the 23d. Mr. Newland was confined in the Old Capitol
Prison, fed upon meagre and badly cooked food, and suffered
much from the presence of vermin, and the many indignities
that were heaped upon him, until the 25th of September,
when he was released without a trial, and told to go home
and keep aloof from politics.
He in vain demanded to hear the charges against him, and
to know the cause of his arrest.
Mr. Xewland is by occupation a farmer. Born and reared
m Indiana, he emigrated to Illinois in 1848, and lived in
Stark County until 1859, when he removed to Franklin
County, where he lias since resided.
680
H. W. NEW LAND. 581
He took put little part in politics until the Presidential
contest of 1860, when he became an ardent supporter of Mr.
Douglas. On the election of Mr. Lincoln, he remained
quietly at his home, abiding the issue of events, until aroused
by the injustice the Administration manifested toward ita
political opponents. He spoke freely against arbitrary arrests,
although repeatedly threatened by his neighbors.
His health is much impaired by his confinement and suffer-
ing, but he feels proud that he is one of a host, who suf-
fered political martyrdom at the hands of a corrupt and
unscrupulous Administration.
MAJOR J. J. NOAH.
MAJOR J. J. NOAH is a son of the late distinguished
Editor, Mordecai M. Noah, of New York city. He
emigrated to Minnesota about twelve years ago, where he
obtained a fair reputation at the Bar, beside having filled
some of the highest offices in the State with credit and
ability. The Hon. Henry M. Rice, United States Senator
from Minnesota, states, in a letter from the Senate Chamber,
that —
" Major J. J. Noah, soon after the commencement of the
rebellion, used his influence and gave his time and money
in raising troops. He was a long time in the field in tho
Southwest, but was, from ill health, compelled to resign.
He is a lawyer and a gentleman. His loyalty, where best
known, could never be questioned. "
He had been an officer in the 2d Minnesota Volunteers,
one of the oldest volunteer regiments, with which he had
Berved for a long time in the field, in the Department of
General Buell. He had been detached and placed upon post
duty, in the city of Louisville, Kentucky, when, finding his
health greatly impaired by the exposure incurred in the
winter campaign of 1861-62, he was compelled to tender his
resignation, which was with some difficulty obtained; and
he was honorably discharged the Federal service, the latter
part of June, 1862.
On the 13th of July, 1862, while quietly sojourning with
his family at the National Hotel, in Louisville, he was
arrested by order of Geueral Boyle, the Military Governor,
or Commander of Kentucky, and, although a military prison
was provided within the city for political prisoners, was in
Btantly carried out of the State, and confined in the Jefier
• 682
MAJOR J. J. NOAH.
583
sonville (Indiana) Penitentiary. He was not permitted to
eee any of his friends or family, and the place of his confine
ment was withheld from them — it being currently stated
that he was merely detained at the Gait House, so as to throw
his immediate friends off the track while in search of him.
It appears that a gentleman with whom Major Noah had
a slight acquaintance, accidentally noticing him in prison at
Jeffersonville, and being much astonished thereat, succeeded
in communicating with him. The result was that the place
of his confinement and the facts relating thereto were made
known to George D. Prentice, Esq., the well-known veteran
Editor of the " Louisville Journal," who, being a friend of
Major Noah's, instantly, assisted by Mr. Osborn, also of the
" Journal," set about obtaining his release.
They found General Boyle in a terrible fury, obdurate and
insolent, refusing to make known any charges, and declining
to listen to any communication whatever in reference to the
arrest. It was in vain to plead the well-known character of
Major Noah for integrity and loyalty — to vouch for him in
any way — to draw attention to his military and civil ser-
vices : nothing could be done, and for some time it appeared
that he might remain the inmate of a convict's cell — a guest
of the felon's mansion — until it should please the capricious
will of General Boyle to release him.
Major Noah's arrest occasioned quite a commotion in Louis
ville, as his loyalty was considered beyond question, although
his political opinions were adverse to those of the dominant
party, he being well known as a partisan of the Democratic
school, opposed to emancipation, the suspension of the writ
of habeas corpus, and all illegal and arbitrary arrests. Find-
ing the tide of public opinion setting against him, General
Boyle at last amiably consented to release Major Noah, upon
condition that he should give bonds in the sum of $10,000,
proceed to the State of New York, and there remain during
the rebellion. These terms, after having been first indig-
nantly refused, were eventually complied with under protest .
upon the advice of his friends. Major Noah was released,
584
AMERICAN BASTILE.
and. at a few hours' notice, exiled into the State of New York.
No transportation was furnished him, nor were any of his
expenses paid. It appears he was the first political prisoner
confined in the penitentiary.
Furnished with letters from Messrs. Prentice, Gazlay. and
Other prominent Constitutional Unionists of Kentucky, pon
arriving in New York city, Major Noah communicated with
Secretary Seward, asking an investigation, or an uncondi-
tional release and cancellation of his bonds.
This demand was referred to the War Department, but Mr.
Stanton took no notice whatever of the application or letter.
After more than five months of arrest, upon the interference
of the Hon. Henry M. Rice, United States Senator of Min-
nesota, who threatened, if relief was not granted, to expose
the case in the Senate, Major Noah was released uncondition
• ally, and his bonds cancelled. This took place after the fall
elections, and while the popular mind was under excitement
in reference to these arbitrary arrests.
By the statement of the most reliable gentlemen, both of
Kentucky and Minnesota, it seems that the pretext for Major
Noah's arrest wa3 the performance of a few acts of the sim-
plest courtesy to a Confederate surgeon, who was a fellow
guest at the same hotel. It will be remembered that sur-
geons are non-combatants, and, by express arrangements, are
♦ ot taken prisoners by the contending armies. This surgeon
was liberated from imprisonment at Johnson's Island, by vir-
4ue of General Orders of the TVrar Department, releasing all
surgeons unconditionally .
The officer commanding did not furnish him with trans-
portation, nor indicate to him the route to pursue in returning
to his lines ; but merely turned him loose in prison clothes,
to find his way into the Confederacy as best he might. Beg-
ging his way to Louisville, this surgeon made inquiry of the
host of the hotel for some source of information as to wrhat
he ought to do under these circumstances.
He was without money or decent clothes, and simply de-
aired to conform to the regulations or rules which might
MAJOR J. J. NOAH.
apply in Lis case, and procure him the necessary transpor-
tation. The host introduced him to Major Noah, with a
request that he would advise this surgeon in conformity to
what he believed, from his military experience, would be
requisite. It appears that this act of courtesy was performed,
and for this he was arrested, thrown into a penitentiary,
exiled from his home and pursuits, ruined in purse, and mor-
tified in spirit, without a 'preliminary hearing, or even per-
mitted an explanation.
For five months, the War Department refused to notice
his application for redress ; and, had not the prompt action
of Senator Eice procured his release, he would have remained
under the espionage of the bloodhounds and spies of the city
of New York in the Federal employ, prevented from embark-
ing in any legitimate pursuits, or earning the requisite means
for the maintenance of his family.
This war, in the minds of most in authority, did not per-
mit of any acts of courtesy whatever; and the simplest
motives of benevolence were construed into rank disloyalty,
particularly if the party exercising them was, in opinion,
opposed to any of the acts of the Administration.
HON. EDSON B. OLDS *
rpHE case of the Hon. Edson B. Olds is one of deep and
J- thrilling interest. Dr. Olds was, for more than a quarter
of a century, one of the most active and influential Demo-
crats in the State of Ohio. Previously to his imprisonment,
he had addressed political meetings in almost every county
in the State. He had been twice elected to the popular
branch of the Ohio Legislature from Pickaway County.
He had also represented Fairfield and Pickaway counties in
the Senate, and, during the session of 1846-47, had held the
responsible position of Speaker of that body. In 1848, and
again in 1850, he had been elected a representative to the
Congress of the United States from a district which had been
apportioned for the express purpose of defeating his election.
In 1852, Dr. Olds was again elected to Congress from the
Capital District of Ohio. In Congress, he, for four years,
held the important position of Chairman of the House Com-
mittee on Post Offices and Post Roads.
During the Presidential canvasses of 1856 and 1860, he
was most untiring in his appeals to the people to put down
both the fanaticism of the North and the ultraism of the
South. He dwelt with fervid eloquence upon the appeals of
Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Clay, "Webster, and others,
who frowned down every attempt to organize political sec-
tional parties.
To show the sound and strong Union sentiments held
by Dr. Olds, not only prior to, but during the prosecu*
tion of the war, we will make a few extracts from his cele-
biated Berne Township speech, for the making of which, he
was arrested and imprisoned. After reading copious extracts
* Died January 24, 18G9.
586
EDSON B. OLDS.
587
from the old fathers against the organization of sectional
parties, he says :
u These warnings, time and again, the Democracy have
held up to the view of our Republican friends ; but we have
been met only with taunts and derision There is not
a Democrat within the sound of my voice but knows, as a
matter of fact — knows, as a part of the history of the times,
that, for more than ten years, Democratic papers and Demo-
cratic orators have everywhere, and upon every occasion,
raised their warning voice against a sectional organization.
For myself, I know that in more than a hundred speeches,
almost with tears in my eyes, I have repeated the warnings
and pleadings of Washington and the fathers, for the preser-
vation of the Union. My friends, it was no uncommon thing,
two years ago, to hear myself called, by way of derision, 'a
Union Savior.' .... During the late Presidential canvas3,
so earnest were my pleadings for the Union, that it was a
common occurrence, if I happened to be making a speech, to
hear the prominent Republicans remark, as they passed, wag-
ging their heads, 4 Oh ! it 's only Dr. Olds, saving the Union.'
. . . . I call God to witness here to-day, in the presence of
the Republicans, that if I, by sacrificing myself, could restore
this Union to what it was before the Abolitionists destroyed
it, I would lay myself upon the altar a sacrifice, and give the
very last drop of my heart's blood to repair the evils Aboli-
tionism has brought upon my ruined country I do
not stand here to-day for the purpose of justifying the South
in seceding from the Union. No man condemns secession
more severely than I do. In my judgment it was folly —
consummate folly — for the South to inaugurate such a measure.
The election of Mr. Lincoln was no justification for them to
destroy the Government. They should have sought redress
in the Union, and not by attempting to destroy it
But, most unfortunately for us, and for the whole country,
there were men at the South who, though hating Abolition-
ism, yet played into the l ands of that party, and aided them
in all their mad efforts tc break down the Democratic party,
588
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the only Union party of the country These men
broke up the Charleston Convention expressly to aid the
Abolitionists of the ^orth in electing a sectional President,
that they might thereby have an excuse for seceding from
the Union. For such men I have no sympathy. They have
' sown the wind,' and in the end will ' reap the whirlwind.'"
Iso charges were ever preferred against Dr. Olds. Some
of the Republican papers, in order to excuse the Administra-
tion, charged that, in his Berne Township speech, made on
the 26th of July, 1862, he had discouraged enlistments and
counselled resistance to the draft. In order to show the
untruthfulness of all such charges, we quote verbatim all that
Dr. Olds said on either subject :
" Mr. Chairman, young men are permitted to dream dreams,
and old men to see visions. And as I am an old man, my
Republican friends will permit me to have a vision, and not
call it treason. In my vision I see the ballot-boxes of this
country baptized in blood. Passed events, I acknowledge,
have much to do in producing this vision. At the election in
our sister State of Maryland, less than a year since, the hust-
ings were surrounded by an armed soldiery, and Democratic
voters were driven from the polls at the point of the bayonet.
In Missouri, Democratic candidates, by force of arms, have
been taken off the stump to be incarcerated in Military Bas-
tiles. In Kentucky, a few days since, a Democrat, for having
the temerity to run, as an independent candidate, against a
so-called Union man, had his tickets seized and destroyed by
the Provost Marshal. These things are indications of what
we may expect in Ohio. What mean these military com-
mittees in every county in your State? Are they not de-
signed expressly to overawe the Democracy ? Are they not
to be used as military appliances to control the ballot-box ?
"But, Mr. Chairman, my vision stops not here. I see
other dark clouds hanging over us. I see a Government
recruiting-officer before me. We find them in every nook
and corner of our country. I say to him, that if this war
ceases to be a war for the suppression of the rebellion ; if it
EDSON B. OLDS. 589
is no longer to be prosecuted for the maintenance of 1 the
Constitution as it is,' and the restoration of 4 the Union as it
was,' and is to become an Abolition war ; if your battle-cry,
henceforth, is to be, 4 Throw down your arms, you damned labels,
and free your negroes,' Democrats will refuse to volunteer ;
and, in order to raise these six hundred thousand soldiers,
the Administration will be driven to the draft. Your Gov-
ernor has, by proclamation, told us that he will use his in-
fluence to screen from draft all such persons as shall subscribe
liberally in money toward the bounty to be paid to volunteers.
What, let me inquire, does this language of your Governor
mean? Has he the power to draft whomsoever he pleases?
If so, God help us, poor Democrats. This draft, we know,
will be in the hands of the Republicans. This declaration
of the Governor foreshadows unfairness. The supposition is
a natural one, that the Governor would like to send the
Democrats to the war, so as to keep them away from the
polls, and retain Republicans at home, in order to save their
votes for the party. "With this declaration of the Governor
sounding in our ears, may we not expect to be wofully
cheated in case the draft takes place ?
" In my vision, I see what must be the inevitable conse-
quences of a fraudulent draft. Every man who feels himself
cheated, who feels that he has been unfairly dealt by in this
draft, will refuse to be mustered into service, and such refusal
will cause the shedding of blood ; a file of soldiers will be
Bent for him, and he will resist even at the point of the bay-
onet. If the President wishes to avoid such fearful results ;
if he wishes to avoid bring-ins: civil war and bloodshed into
our peaceful cities and villages, let him make some proclama-
tion, by which we may know that this war is not prosecuted
for the abolition of slavery, and this draft will become un
necessary.
" Let him proclaim that this war, in the future, will bo
prosecuted for the sole object of putting down the rebellion,
foi the maintenance of the CDnstitution and the Union, and
590
AMERICAN BASTILE.
he will find strong arms and willing hearts ready to rally
round the old Star-spangled Banner.
" Let him do this, and this same old Democratic party,
that the Republicans are denouncing as disunionists and
secessionists — this same old Democratic party, that rallied
around his standard, so long as they believed him devoted to
the Union and the Constitution — will as;ain fill the ranks of
his army to overflowing ; they will, as heretofore, more than
count life for life, bone for bone, and blood for blood, with
the Republicans, upon all your battle-fields."
On the 12th of August, 1862, after ten o'clock at night,
Dr. Olds' house was forcibly entered by three Government
ruffians, who, with violence, seized his person, and, holding
a revolver at his head, demanded his surrender. During the
tir e they were making their repeated and violent efforts to
burst open his door, they gave no intimation that they were
Government officers, or that they had any authority for his
arrest. They came like assassins and robbers, they behaved
as such, and had he not been informed, by the boastings of
certain Republicans, that affidavits, designed to cause his
arrest, had been forwarded to the "War Department, he
should, most undoubtedly, have considered them such.
When, after his capture, he demanded to know by what
authority they had thus rudely broken into his room and
seized his person, they harshly informed him that they were
acting under authority of the War Department. He then
demanded to be shown their warrant. They informed him
that he had no right to make such a demand ; that the order
which they held was for their protection, and not for his
gratification. They, however, permitted him to examine it.
The document was signed by C. P. Wolcott, Assistant Secre-
tary of War, and was dated, " Washington City, August 2,
1862." It was directed to W. H. Scott, and commissioned him
to take with him one assistant, and proceed to Lancaster,
Ohio, and arrest Edson B. Olds, convey him to New York,
and deliver him to the commanding officer at Fort Lafayette ;
and that, if he were resisted in the execution of the order, he
ED SON B. OLDS.
591
«vaa diluted to call upon Governor Tod. of Ohio, for such
assistance as might be necessary.
The order contained no intimation of the " nature and
cause " of the accusation against him ; indeed, it charged him
with the commission of no offence whatever, and when he
demanded of his captors to know what were the charges
against him, they replied that they did not know. These
Government ruffians were further directed to "peaceably"
arrest him. Yet with violence they burst open the door of
his room, and, with revolver in hand, they made the arrest.
Thus was he dragged from a sick-bed to which he had
been confined by an attack of acute dysentery. In this
condition, he was hurried into a carriage, and during the
remainder of the night, driven to Columbus, and just at
daylight, placed on the cars and conveyed, in his sick and
exhausted condition, without a moment's delay, to New
York city.
Thence he was taken to Fort Lafayette, where he was
ordered to remove his clothing, that his person might be
searched. To make, if possible, such an insult still greater
to an American citizen, he was taken into a side room, where
around him lay, in heaps, balls with chains, and handcuffs.
With such surroundings, he was stripped and searched, his
watch, money, spectacles, shaving apparatus, and even medi-
cines were taken from him. He was not permitted to retain
even an old newspaper, or a piece of paper of any kind. After
this degrading operation had been performed, and before he
was conducted from the Commandant's room to his dungeon,
all the other prisoners about the Fort were locked in their
rooms, that he might not be seen and recognized, lest, perad-
venture, information might be given to his friends of the
cruelties about to be inflicted upon him. One of the prisoners
having learned, a few days afterward, through the medium
of a newspaper, who the mysterious stranger was, wrote to
a friend, " that Dr. Olds, of Ohio, had been brought to Fort
Lafayette and placed in solitary confinement." His letter
was returned to him by the Commandant, who required him
692
AMERICAN BASTILE.
to strike out that part of it which referred to the case ot
Dr. Olds.
Dr. Olds was now placed in a dungeon. This dungeon was
on a level with the ground, and had a brick pavement or floor
over about the half of it. The dampness was so great that,
in a very short time, a mould would gather on any article
left upon the floor. His bed consisted of an iron stretcher,
with a thin husk mattress upon it, so thin, indeed, that he
could feel every iron slat the moment he lay down upon it.
The brick floor, with all its dampness, would have been far
more comfortable than this bed, had it not been for the rats
and other vermin that infested the room. The only furniture
in his room, beside the bed, was a broken table and a chair.
His daily fare consisted of Government bread, an old rusf y
tin of u Lincoln coffee, " and a slice of boiled salt pork, wil 'a
an onion, occasionally, as an anti-scorbutic. His only drink,
except the nasty coffee, was rain-water. He was not furnish-
ed with a towel, nor could he persuade his keepers to ghe
him one. Neither could he induce his jailers to let him ha\ e
a candle during the long, tedious nights of his illness. No
entreaty could procure him the return of the medicines which
had been taken from him when searched. To relieve his suf-
ferings, again and again he begged for a small piece of opium,
which had been taken from his pocket with the other medi-
cine, but all in vain. After ten days of such treatment and
Buffering, late one night, the sergeant of the guard brought
him some medicine, which, he informed the Doctor, the sur-
geon of Fort Hamilton had sent him. This surgeon knew
nothing about his case, never having seen him, or been in-
formed by him of his condition. With no light in his cell,
and no one to counsel him, the reader can well understand
why he would not take the medicine.
He did not know but that this jailer's design was to poison
him. Their previous treatment justified such an opinion,
lie determined that if he was to die in Fort Lafayette, it
should be a natural death, unless tried by a drum-head court-
martial and shot This he felt they had as much right to
EDSON B. OLDS.
593
do as to arrest and imprison him. By such treatment, his
combativeness was aroused, and this, no doubt, contributed
much toward saving his life, for, as he says : " I was too mad
to die." About this time his son, hearing where he was, vis
ited him ; and who will be surprised that he found hisfathei
u emaciated and careworn ? " If anything could have added
to the cruelty inflicted upon him, during the long days and
nights of his sickness and suffering, it was the refusal of the
Commandant to allow him the use of a Bible. Day after day
he begged the sergeant to procure one for him. His constant
answer was, " The commanding officer says you shan't have
one." The Doctor begged him to remind the officer that they
lived in a Christian, and not a heathen land — that he was an
American citizen, and not a condemned felon. Still the
answer was, " The commanding officer says you shan't have
one, and you need not ask any more ; " and it was not until
after sixteen days of such more than heathenish treatment,
that Colonel Burke, of Fort Hamilton, upon the importunity
of his son, sent an order to the Commandant at Fort Lafay-
ette to let him have a Bible.
It was on the sixteenth day of his lonely imprisonment,
that his son, upon an order of the Secretary of War, was
permitted to see him, not in his lonely cell, tut in the Com-
mandant's room and presence. It was with much difficulty
that, even at that time, he was able to walk from his cell to
the officers' room. This was the first time during his im-
prisonment that he had been able to obtain an interview
with the Commandant. In his weekly inspection of the
prisoners, he had carefully avoided the Doctor's dungeon.
No kindly message of inquiry as to his wants and condition
had ever been made. Dr. Olds seized upon that opportunity
to let him know that he was a human being, and as such
entitled to human treatment, that such a thing as refusing a
prisoner a Bible was unknown in any civilized community
His answer to the prisoner was, that he was not permitted,
under his orders, to let him have one.
He had great reason to be thankful that his son's *isit
88
594
AMERICAN BASTILE.
gave him an opportunity to see the Commandant; for, from
that time, although he was kept in solitary confinement, his
condition was much more comfortable: a better mattress
was put upon his bed, occasionally a raw onion or tomato
was added to his dinner, and on two occasions some pickled
beets were sent him from the cook-room.
His son was compelled to visit Washington, to obtain
from the Secretary of War an order granting him permission
to see him, before he could be admitted to the Fort. As
soon as he learned how he had been treated, he returned im-
mediately to Washington, and, with the assistance of a very
kind friend, procured an order from Secretary Stanton fox
his release from solitary confinement, and that he should
have all the privileges accorded to the other prisoners. And
thus, after twenty-tico days of worse than heathenish treat-
ment, his dungeon door was unlocked, and he was permitted
to hold intercourse with his fellow-prisoners.
After Dr. Olds' release from solitary confinement, he was
put in a casemate with eleven others, making twelve persons
in a room measuring fifteen by twenty-five feet. In this
room they slept, cooked, and ate. In it were their beds,
chairs, tables, trunks, cooking-utensils, table-furniture, etc.
They were locked in their room at sunset, and unlocked
again at sunrise. Through the day they were permitted to
stand or sit in front of their cell, inside the Fort. They had,
morning and evening, what was called a "walking hour."
This hour was sometimes ten, and sometimes thirty minutes
Jong, just as it suited the caprice or whim of the sergeant.
The walking ground was inside the Fort. Dr. Olds says, " We
were permitted to walk backward and forward across the
area of the Fort, which was perhaps a little larger than the
City Hall at Columbus, Ohio. We were permitted, by the
commanding officer, to supply and cook our own food. Wo
were compelled to use rain-water for all purposes, cooking,
washing, and drinking. Each and every time that we drew any
from the cistern, we were required to obtain permission from
tlie dergcant of the guard. This, like all cistern water, was
EDSON B. OLDS.
595
sometimes quite good, and at other times very offensive. Mr.
Chi ids, one of my mess, informed me that at one time, during
the latter part of the winter of 1862, in consequence of the
accumulation of ice in the gutters, all the washings and
scou rings from the soldiers* quarters ran into the cistern, out
of which the prisoners were compelled to draw the water
they used ; that the water became so filthy that they had to
boil and skim it before using it ; and that notwithstanding
they had three other cisterns inside the Fort, full of com-
paratively clean water, the commanding officer compelled
them to use this." We here give an incident that came to
the knowledge of Dr. Olds daring his captivity, which is so
inhuman and monstrous as almost to challenge belief.
There were at one time confined in one of the rooms of
what is called the Battery, some thirty prisoners. One of
these poor fellows was prostrated with sickness, and near
unto death. Night came on, and it was thought that the
poor fellow could not live until morning. The prisoners coiv
fined in the room of the dying man, begged that for ono
night, at least, they might be permitted to have a light in
their prison ; and incredible as it may seem, this request was
refused ; and in this boasted land of liberty, civilization, and
Christianity, these prisoners were locked up in their dark
prison-house, with the dying man. During that long, dark
night, they could hear his dying moans ; louder and louder
grew the death-rattle, until near morning, when all became
Btill and hushed ; and when the light of day broke in upon
that loathsome dungeon, death had done its work. This
poor victim of President Lincoln's despotism had ceased to
live ; his released spirit had gone to that world where " the
wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."
Several times during the last three weeks of Doctor Olds'
confinement, he was offered his liberty upon condition that
he would " take the oath," which he persistently refused, not
because he was, or intended to be disloyal, but because ho
would not submit to be discharged in any manner by which
his enemies could, even by implication, infer that he auknowl-
596
AMERICAN BASTILE.
edged himself rightfully charged with any offence against
the Government.
After four months' imprisonment in Fort Lafayette, twenty-
two days of which were spent in solitary confinement, and
without having any charges made against him, or any trial,
Dr. Olds, on the 12th of December, 1862, was set at liberty,
and on the 20th of the same month, reached his home in
Lancaster, Ohio.
From the Lancaster " Eagle."
" Olds' reception on last Saturday is unparalleled in num
bers and enthusiasm. Lancaster never witnessed such an out-
pouring of the people. Cripples would have stood no chance
at all in the unbroken and tremendous rush and jam. The
first seen of Olds after the train stopped at the Lancaster
depot, was upon the shoulders and heads of the crowding
and solid mass of Democrats. We estimate the crowd at
twelve thousand. The surrounding counties were all credit-
ably represented. An extra train from Circleville brought
about one hundred sound, cheering Democrats, with a brass
band ! We have not space to particularize and comment as
we desire. The eloquent reception speech of Mr. Martin, and
the matter-of-fact, though eloquent remarks of Dr. Olds, pub
lished below, we know will be read and pondered by all
C. D. Martin's Reception Speech.
" Dr. Olds : I have been commissioned by the Democracy
of this county to perform the grateful and pleasing task of
bidding you a formal welcome to your home, your friends,
and your constituents It is the spontaneous and gen-
erous greeting with which a magnanimous people welcome
the deliverance of their friend and representative from the
odious thraldom of a political Bastile. It is, sir, the token
and memorial of the fixed and unalterable deteimination of
the sovereign people that such insufferable wrongs shall not
t>e perpetrated with impunity.
44 On the 1 2th of August last, at the midnight hour, th«
EDSON B. OLDS.
597
privacy of your home was invaded — meanly and stealthily
invaded by armed men — your chamber was broken into, and
yourself, an old man of threescore and ten, wholly unarmed
and unprotected, dragged from a bed of sickness, and forcibly
and secretly abducted. You were transported in the same
secret and violent manner from your home and friends, from
your county and State, and confined within the gloomy
walls of a Military Fortress, whose heavy buttresses and
frowning battlements look out on the deep blue waters.
"You were detained a prisoner for four weary months.
We have heard somewhat ' the secrets of your prison-house. 9
How, for "twenty-two days you were kept in solitary confine-
ment in a dark, gloomy, and ill-ventilated casemate. How
you were completely excluded from the world and all knowl-
edge of home, friends, and country. How every personal
comfort was denied you. And you were permitted to behold
no human countenance but the grim visage of your jailer.
How, in short, those days of imprisonment were imbittered
by the studied arts of refined cruelty. Well you may exclaim,
in the immortal language of the Prisoner of Chillon,
'My limbs are bowed, though not with toil,
But rusted with a Tile repose,
For they have been a dungeon's spoil ;
And mine have been the fate of those
For whom the goodly earth and air
Are banned and barred — forbidden fare.'
" Posterity will read with wonder and shame the story of
your persecution. Even the hardened jailer was touched
with compassion at your sufferings ; for when remonstrated
with by your son, who had found his way to your prison
door, he declared against the iniquities he was compelled to
practise by his superiors at Washington.
44 You were thus arrested, thus abducted, thus imprisoned,
without law, and against law, and in contempt even of th<3
forms of law. You have suffered execution of sentence —
you have suffered an inhuman and barbarous ptmishment,
598
AMERICAN BASTILE.
but without trial, without an opportunity of defence, and
without judgment A secret and insidious political in-
former has heen esteemed the most odious of characters. He
Is held in utter detestation by all honorable men. lie stabs
in the dark. Personal malignity and private gain are hi*
only motives. Falsehood and detraction are the instruments
he employs. In a free country, where the laws are respected
and judicially administered, he has no existence. His vulture
occupation prospers only in a despotism, where arbitrary ar-
rests and secret inquisitions obtain.
" In the issue joined between you and the secret informer
the people have rendered their verdict. Your neighbors, your
fellow-citizens, that public to whom your alleged disloyal
speeches were made, have spoken. When recently an afflic-
tive dispensation of Providence removed from its earthly
home their representative in the State Legislature, the
gifted, lamented Jeffries, they sought you out in the gloom
of the prison, and conferred upon you by their unbought and
unsolicited suffrages, the high honor of that representative
trust. This, sir, is a proud vindication of your loyalty, and
a complete refutation of the calumny laid to your charge. . . .
Peace and Union are the highest aspirations of a Democratic
heart — a peace durable and beneficent, and a Union con-
served by wise constitutional enactments against the assaults
of sectional fanaticism. Wishing you much happiness and
long life, I again, in the name of these lion-hearted Demo-
crats, bid you welcome, thrice welcome, to your home, friends,
and constituents."
Dr. Olds' Reply.
M Mr. Martin : I thank you, and, through you, all this vast
multitude of my friends and fellow-citizens, for this most
cordial reception upon my return from imprisonment. I do
not misunderstand the joy that now warms your hearts and
beams upon your countenances. It is not merely that a fel-
low-citizen is returning to the society of his friends and the
bosom of his family. It is something deeper and broadei
EDSON B. OLDS.
599
than this. It is because, in my restoration to liberty, you
have a quasi guarantee that the reign of terror in this coun
try is coining to an end, and that the keys of the American
Bastiles are being, by the omnipotent voice of the people,
wrested from the hands of the Jacobins now in power, and
held up to the gaze of the Dantons, Murats, and Robespierres
of the Administration, as a warning to them of their approach-
ing doom.
" You rejoice, because, in my restoration, you have made
an advance toward the re-establishment of constitutional lib-
erty ; you rejoice, because, in my release, you feel renewed
confidence in your own freedom ; you rejoice, because you
feel, once more, secure in your persons, your houses, and your
property ; you rejoice, because, in my release, you have a
guarantee that you, yourselves, will no longer be subject to
the worse than Star-Chamber despotism ; you rejoice, my
friends, because you expect, on this occasion, to hear from
one in whom you have confidence, one who knows, by per-
sonal experience, some of the horrors seen and felt in the
secret chambers of the American Inquisition
" Daniel Webster said : 4 The first object of a free people is the
preservation of their liberty ; and liberty is to be preserved by
maintaining constitutional restraints and just divisions of
political power All republics, all governments of law,
must impose numerous limitations and qualifications of
authority, and give many positive and many qualified rights.
In other words, they must be subject to rule and regulation.
This is the very essence of free political institutions.
" 4 The spirit of liberty is, indeed, a bold and fearlesa
spirit ; but it is also a sharp-sighted spirit ; it is a cautious,
sagacious, discriminating, far-seeing intelligence ; it is jealous
of encroachments, jealous of power, jealous of man. It de-
mands checks ; it seeks for guards ; it insists upon securities ;
it intrenches itself behind strong defences, and fortifies itself,
with all possible care, against the assaults of ambition and
passion. It does not trust the amiable weaknesses of human
nature ; and, therefore, will not permit power to overtop itJ
600
AMERICAN BASTILE.
prescribed limits, though benevolence, good intent, and patn
otic purpose come along with it. Neither does it satisfy it-
self with flashy and temporary resistance to its legal author-
ity. Far otherwise. It seeks for duration and permanency.
It looks before and after ; and, building upon the experience
of ages that are passed, it labors diligently for the benefit of
ages that are to come. Tbis is the nature of constitutional
liberty ; and this is our liberty, if we will rightfully under-
stand and preserve it.' ... .
" The Constitution, in the fourth article, expressly forbids the
arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of the citizen. Washington
thought that, in the original Constitution, 'more checks and
barriers against the introduction of tyranny were to be found
than in any government before instituted among mortals/
But our fathers were not satisfied with the protection against
tyranny and arbitrary arrests to be found in the original Con-
stitution. So fearful were they that, under some great emer-
gency, this sacred chart of our liberties might be abused,
under the plea of ' necessity,' that, almost immediately afte^
its adoption, they proposed, and the States ratified, several
amendments, all designed to still further prevent Executive
encroachments, and protect the rights and liberties of the
citizen. The first of these amendments provides that 4 Con-
gress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or
the press.'
44 The fourth amendment says : 4 The right of the people to
be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ; and
no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported
by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.'
44 The fifth amendment says : 4 No person sball be held to
answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on
a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases
arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in
actual service, in time of war or public danger ; nor shall
any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put
EDSON B. OLDS.
601
in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled, in any
criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be de-
prived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law ; nor shall private property be taken for public use with-
out just compensation.' ....
"Such are some of the safeguards thrown around the citizen
by that Constitution which was devised by the wisdom of our
fathers. They are all in full force to-day. They are as much
binding upon the President of the United States and the
Governor of Ohio as upon the humblest citizen — nay, more,
they ought to be doubly binding upon Abraham Lincoln and
David Tod, for they are bound by their oaths of office to sup-
port and maintain this sacred instrument.
"How have these high functionaries kept their solemn
oath? Have they maintained the freedom of speech and
of the press ?
" Have they 1 held inviolate the right of the people to be
eecure in their persons, houses, and effects, against unreason-
able searches and seizures' ?
" Have they deprived no person of liberty without due pro-
cess of law ?
" Have they given all persons whom they have caused to be
arrested, 4 a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury ' ?
'* Have they transported no person whom they have caused
to be arrested, * out of the State and district wherein the
offence was committed ' ?
" Have they informed all persons whom they have caused
to be arrested, 4 of the nature and cause of the accusation
against them ' ?
" Have they caused the persons whom they have arrested,
i to be confronted with the witnesses against them ' ?
" Have they given * the assistance of counsel for their de-
fence ' ?
"Have they 'inflicted upon them no cruel and unusual
punishment ' ?
" I stand here to-day as a living witness, and I will stand
it the bar of God, to add my testimony to that of my fellow-
602
AMERICAN BASTILE.
prisoners^ that, notwithstanding their solemn oaths, thej
have violated every one of these constitutional provisions.
" In violation of the Constitution, Lincoln and Tod had
me arrested for using the freedom of speech.
" In violation of the Constitution, they caused my hous*
to be forcibly entered.
" In violation of the Constitution, they caused my papers
10 be searched.
" In violation of the Constitution, they caused my person
to be seized by armed ruffians.
" In violation of the Constitution, they deprived me of
liberty without due process of law.
" In violation of the Constitution, they held me to answer
infamous accusations, without presentment or indictment by
a grand jury.
" In violation of the Constitution, they denied me the right,
of a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury.
" In violation of the Constitution, they have carried me
out of the State and district in which my alleged offence waa
committed.
" In violation of the Constitution, they have refused to
inform me of the nature and cause of the accusation against
me.
" In violation of the Constitution, they have never con-
fronted me with the witnesses against me.
" In violation of the Constitution, they have not permitted
me to have counsel for my defence. On the contrary, the
Secretary of State directed the Commandant of Fort Lafay-
ette to read to the prisoners an order from the State Depart-
ment, in these words : 4 That the General Government will
not recognize any one as an attorney for political prisoners,
and will look with distrust upon all applications for release
through such channels, and that such applications will be
regarded as additional reasons for declining to release such
persons.' Could there be, by any possibility, a more direct
and defiant disregard of the Constitution than this order ?
" And in violation of the Constitution, and even without bo
EDSON B. OLDS.
603
much as a mock trial, they have inflicted upon ine cruel and
unusual punishrjent
"There stands tc-day, just inside the sallyport of Fort
Lafayette, a brass six-pounder, loaded with a bomb. This
cannon was planted in that position at the time when it was
expected that the Sheriff of jSew York would attempt to
execute a writ of habeas corpus upon the commander of the
Fort. He says that he has practised with it until he has ob-
tained the exact position, so that a bomb fired from it would
explode in the sallyport ; he boasts that with a single bomb
he could utterly destroy the Sheriff with his whole posse comi-
tatus ; and in derision of this writ, he has nicknamed this
cannon 4 his habeas corpus.9 ....
" Upon 1 lettres dc cachet9 a term unknown to the laws and
Constitution of this country — a term borrowed from the
despotism of the dark ages — a process every letter of which
was so rank with the smell of blood, that even the Jacobins
of France discarded it — I was arrested. And as if there
were not infamy enough in such a process, the Administra-
tion deepens its infamy by adopting the long-discarded prac-
tice of the Spanish Inquisition, which caused its victims to
be arrested under cover of night
"My friends, when all the barriers of constitutional liberty
are broken down ; when the habeas corpus is set aside ; when
the tribunals in which, heretofore, the oppressed have found
redress for lawless violence, are resisted and set at nought
with arrogance and contempt ; when loyal, law-abiding citi-
zens are imprisoned at the discretion of some minion of a
Cabinet officer, or on the ' / order the arrest of Dr. Olds,' of
David Tod ; when the sacred right of trial by jury is set
aside for military commissions — the inquiry of what are we
to expect next ? becomes one of momentous interest to every
citizen. It is a question which comes home alike to Repub-
licans and Democrats.
"During the dreadful days of the French Revolution,
party followed party with such rapidity, that it seemed more
like a panorama upon the stage than a living and passiug
604
AMERICAN BASTILE.
drama. Those men who to-day consigned their victims to
the Bastile. or ordered them to the guillotine, were, on the
morrow, by these revolutions of party, themselves the occu
pants of cells in the Eastiles, or their headless trunks lay
bleeding beneath the axe of the guillotine Haman,
vhile basking in the king's favor, raised a gallows fifty
cubits high, upon which to hang Mordecai, the Jew ; but alas,
poor Ilaman ! on the morrow he was hanging from his own
gallows
" The future historian of our country will not only be com-
pelled to darken his pages with Lincoln's imitations of the
reign of terror in France, but he will be compelled to record
also his adoption of the dogmas, the maxims, and the prac-
tices of the Spanish Inquisition
" Not in Austria, not in Spain, not in Xaples, but in free
America — not in the dark ages of superstition and despot-
ism, but in the nineteenth century — not by an Inquisitor-
General, but by Abraham Lincoln, all the outrages of the
Inquisition, so graphically and truthfully described by the
historian Prescott, have been practised upon the victims of
this Administration, in these Military Eastiles. And now,
my friends, what is the plea for all this despotism ?
"It is the plea used by tyrants and despots — the plea of
'necessity.' Let Mr. Lincoln and the people both be admon-
ished in time ; history furnishes us with no example in which
such despotic power, no matter what the emergency may
have been which caused it to be used, has been voluntarily
relinquished. It has always ended either in the complete
subjugation of the people, or the overthrow and death of the
tvrant who fails in maintaining it
" And in conclusion, my friends, permit me to say, that
although I would not 'take the oath.' attempted again and
again to be forced upon me by Mr. Lincoln, as a condition
of my release, yet. when in two weeks from this time, I take
my seat as your representative in the Legislature, I shall
most cheerfully take the oath of allegiance to both the Con-
stitution of the United States and the Constitution of the
EPSON B. OLDS.
605
State of Ohio. That oath, notwithstanding the example of
Loth Lincoln and Tod to the contrary, I shall maintain invi-
olate. All those sacred guarantees which both these consti-
tutions throw around you, to protect you in your inalienable
rights, I will endeavor to enforce to the utmost of my poor
ability, in defiance of the despotism of both the President
and the Governor, although by so doing, I may be again
returned to my lonely cell in Fort Lafayette.
" Again, my friends, for this most extraordinary reception
— for this most cordial greeting, I tender you my heartfelt
thanks."
JCTLX E. ROBINSON.
X the 20th of September, 1864, Mr. John E. Kobinson, a
resident of Philadelphia, was arrested on the streets of
the city of Sandusky, Ohio, at which place he was then
Boj ou ruing. He had been in bad health for some time pre-
viously, and in August, at the solicitation of his father, de«
termincd to make a tour of the Northern States. He had
oeen but a short time in Sandusky when his arrest took
place. As he was returning from a funeral service, he was
accosted by an officer with a squad of marines, from the
United States gunboat Michigan, then lying in the offing of
Sandusky Bay, a body of water about twenty miles long by
five or six wide, making inland from Lake Erie. The officer,
without, farther parlance, arrested and proceeded to convey
him on board the gunboat.
To Mr. Robinson's inquiry as to the cause of his arrest,
he was informed by the officer that he would be made ac-
quainted with ;t on his arrival on the gunboat. lie was
hurried forward through the crowd toward the landing,
whence he was taken on board the vessel and confined. The
streets through which he passed were crowded with people,
many of whom threatened him with personal violence. The
cries from the crowd of "Hang him," " Bring a rope," "Lynch
him," etc., added to personal abuse and maledictions, were
calculated to appal the stoutest heart. When the prisoner
arrived on board the gunboat, he was taken into the presence
of the Captain, who, surrounded by his subordinate officers,
closely questioned him. At the close of the examination he
was told that he would be detained, and was consigned to a
email state-room, where Lc was confined for five days. From
the purport of the ex&Siii ation, Mr. E. concluded that he
COG
JOHN E. ROBINSON.
607
was arrested on suspicion of having been concern ed in the
14 Lake Erie raid," although he was not openly charged with
any offence. On the 25th, he was removed from the «tate-
room, and conveyed to Johnson's Island, once known as
i4the Beautiful Isle of the Lake," but more recently familiar
to the world as the place where Confederate prisoners of
war were confined. Here Mr. B,. was placed in a tent, and
guarded day and night by two sentinels, the one pacing in
front, and the other in the rear of his tent. lie was for-
bidden to converse with any person except the command-
ing officer or the officer of the day. Books and newspaper*
were denied him, and he was prohibited writing more than
one page of common note-paper once a week. On the 29th,
after four days of incarceration in the tent, he was taken to
Cleveland, and placed among thieves, pickpockets, burglars,
and negroes, in the County Jail. Here he remained until
the 8th of October, when he was taken from the jail, hand-
cuffed, and marched through the streets of Cleveland, and
again transported to Johnson's Island, and assigned his old
quarters in the tent. His food, although not good, was com-
paratively better than his bed. Accustomed to the luxury
of a good bed, and all the surrounding comforts of home,
and being in delicate health, he soon began to break down
from the ill effects experienced from lying on the ground.
He had no mattress, and but one old blanket, so narrow that
it would not cover his entire person. This he used to lie
upon, to protect his person from the damp ground. In his
misery he many times begged for some straw or hay to lie
upon, which was often promised him, and as often forgotten.
The chilly winds admonished him of the approach of winter,
and tended to increase the horrors of his situation. Alone,
illy clad, sack, and in prison, without any direct charge
having been preferred, without counsel, and denied a troJ,
H seemed as if he had been taken there to perish.
"While in this condition he was given a small ie beet iron
stove, such as are used in tents. To keep the tent comfort-
able required him to keep the fire burning briskly. Thin
608
AMERICAN BASTILE.
was ]. possible during the day, but at " taps," he was compelled
to let the fire go out, as the opening of the stove-door to put
fuel on the fire, caused the light to flash out into the camp,
which produced from the sentinel the peremptory order of
" put out that fire." This order, of course, had to be obeyed,
and during the remainder of the night the prisoner sat and
shivered with cold, or walked a few steps backward and for-
ward in the tent, to keep up the circulation of his blood.
This treatment continued until about the first of December,
when a sort of shed was built. In this shed the prisoner
was placed, but the change was far from mitigating his con-
dition. The boards, green when worked, soon shrank from
exposure to the sun and wind, until large crevices appeared
on all sides.
The wind howled and moaned round this shed, and whistled
as it came through the cracks, upon its unhappy occupant.
The day on which Mr. R. was transferred from the tent to
this shed was intensely cold, and the ground covered with
about two feet of snow. In walking backward and forward
through the snow, the prisoner's feet were badly frosted, the
right one so badly, indeed, that the skin came off, thus inca-
pacitating him from walking, and causing excruciating pain.
One incident is sufficient to show the character of the
officers in charge of the Island, and their treatment of the
prisoners. During his confinement in the tent, Colonel Hill,
the Post Commandant, had occasion to leave the Island on
business, and Lieutenant Colonel Palmer was left in tempo-
rary command. During the forenoon, Mr. R. succeeded in
borrowing, from one of the soldiers, a book with which to
while away the long, tedious hours of his imprisonment. By
some means, Colonel P. became acquainted with the fact, and
immediately came to the quarters and made search for it.
As the prisoner had no place to hide it, the object of his
official wrath was quickly found. Palmer, in a hasty and
supercilious manner, demanded the name of the party who had
lent him the book, and on the prisoner's refusal to reveal it%
ordered a sergeant to remove from the tent the stove, blan
JOHN E. ROBINSON.
609
ket(?) and candle, together with his pipe and tobacco, con-
cluding this display of authority with a tirade of personal
abuse, threatening Mr. R. with bread and water, if he did
not divulge the name of the person from whom he had ob-
tained the book. This threat was never carried into execu-
tion, Mr. R. escaping it by the magnanimity of the soldier,
who, on learning how matters stood, gave himself up. There-
upon the articles removed were returned, and the man sent
to the guard-house.
Time dragged wearily on until the 25th of January, 1865,
when Mr. Robinson was again taken to Cleveland and placed
in the jail. Here the food was poor. The rations for breakfast
consisted of rye coffee and hard bread. Dinner and supper
1 were merged into one meal, at which the prisoners were
given a poor, thin soup, with a few pieces of tough, stringy
beef, probably the offal. He was detained a prisoner at thiB
place until the 3d of February, when he was again returned
to Johnson's Island, which, in the language of Whittier,
seemed
"The fittest earthly type of hell."
Immediately on his arrival he was taken to his old quar-
ters in the shed, and was much pleased to find them occu-
pied by several gentlemen from the interior of the State of
Ohio, who had been arrested and were detained on the charge
of resisting the draft. They were genial, companionable
gentlemen, and their association tended much to relieve the
ennui of prison life. Here he remained undisturbed until the
12th of May, when, as on former occasions, he was taken out
of his hut to be conveyed he knew not whither. Cleveland
was again his destination. There he was confined about
four weeks. The first week he was imprisoned in the County
Jail, as on previous occasions.
It was now deemed a " military necessity " to separate him
from the other prisoners, and consequently he was conveyed
to the city lock-up, where the nights were made hideous by
the profanity of drunken men, and the sickening, indecent
language of the debased women, who were separated from
89
Bio
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the men only by a narrow corridor and a flight of stairs,
they being in the second tier of cells, the men occupying tho
rooms beneath them. The grated iron doors all opened on
the same hall. Their food was given them in the manner
of feeding swine, that is, a basket of dry bread was thrust
through the wicket in the door, and it was at the option of
the prisoners whether they ate it or not. The drinking
water was obtained from a hydrant in the back part of the
hall. The cell into which Mr. R. was thrust, contained no-
thing but a board fastened along the wall, like a bench, upon
which it was intended that the prisoners should sleep. It
was void of all bedding, and swarmed with vermin.
Disgusted with such debasing associations, Mr. R. entered
complaint to the United States Provost Marshal at Cleve-
land, who, thereupon, caused him to be immediately removed
to better apartments. He was then placed in the women's
department of the County Jail, which was without an occu-
pant, save a large, savage-looking gray cat, that prowled
around at will. Watching the movements of this grimalkin
served to pass away many otherwise weary hours. In the
same department in which the prisoner was then confined, a
woman had committed suicide, about four weeks previously.
The deed had been done by hanging herself to the grating
under the skylight. This event was not calculated to fur-
nish very pleasant thoughts during the hours of solitude.
Three weeks were passed in this prison, when he was again
transferred to Johnson's Island, and confined with the rebel
prisoners of war, in what was known as the "Bull Pen."
Why !>e was removed from the Island to Cleveland, and
thence back to the Island so often, is a fact that he is unable
to account for, never having been informed of the cause.
From his advent among the " Rebs," until his removal to
Fort Lafayette, he was doomed to suffer the gnawing pangs
of hunger. He was much surprised, on going to draw his
rations, and that of his messmates — they being then in a
mess — at getting only a loaf of bread, weighing twenty- two
ounces, and a piece of salt meat, eighteen ounces in weight,
JOHN E. ROBINSON.
611
which constituted the whole of a day's rations for a mess.
The prisoners were all di nded into messes, and, consequently,
all fared alike. Mr. Robinson says : " I have often seen the
men, returning from the prisoners' grave-yard, where they
had been, in squads, to fix up the graves of the dead, carry-
ing rats I asked some of the soldiers what they did with
(hem, and was much surprised when they told me they ate
them. I have also heard it said that it was all up with any
little dog that strayed into the prison enclosure, as he never
came out alive." Such was the desperate strait to which
they were reduced — a fact corroborated by other testimony
in possession of the author, but which does not bear upon
our narrative. Some excitement was caused, about this time,
by the attempt made by some of the prisoners to effect their
escape. They were all recaptured. The few who, for a while,
did succeed in eluding the vigilance of the guards, being
unable to leave the Island, were compelled by hunger to sur-
render themselves.
The prisoners whiled away many weary hours of their
captivity by making fans of wood, finger-rings 01 gutta-
percha, and other trinkets.
A short time after Mr. R.'s return to the Island, an order
came to release all the prisoners of war who would take the
oath of allegiance. This order not applying to Mr. R., who
was regarded as a state prisoner, but whose position was
never definitely understood, he was placed in close confine-
ment, to prevent his escape, while the Rebel prisoners were
being discharged. He had for companions five incorrigible
prisoners of war, who had refused to take the oath.
While on the Island, a number of boxes, containing clothing
and bedding, were sent to him from friends at home, amount-
ing, in the aggregate, to four hundred dollars, none of which
ever reached their consignee. Whatever became of them, he
has been unable to ascertain, all searches having proved futile.
He continued on the Island, after the removal of the other
prisoners, until the following September, when, in company
with the five Rebel prisoners who had refused to take the
612
AMERICAN BASTILE.
*ath,he was sent to Fort Lafayette, and confined in dungeon
So. 1, which had previously bee« prepared for the reception
of Jefferson Davis. Subsequently, he was transferred to No.
3, described in the narrative of Dr. Olds. Here he remained
until the 9th of February, 1866, when he was uncondition
ally released, without having had a trial or a charge pre-
ferred against him. It was afterward alleged that he had
been detained as a witness, but against whom, he knew not,
nor does he yet know.
"When his case was brought by his friends to the notice of
President Johnson, the latter remarked that he thought that
he had been discharged long ago, as there were no charges
on record against him.
During his unjust incarceration on Johnson's Island, and
while he was suffering much in bodily health, his sister visited
Washington, solicited and obtained an interview with Secre-
tary Stanton, and endeavored to effect his release, and to have
her husband, who was confined at Anderson ville, exchanged.
The Honorable Secretary replied in such brutal and unfeel-
ing terms in regard to both, that the lady retired in tears.
After seventeen months and twenty days of incarceration,
this gentleman was again permitted to enjoy the blessings of
home, friends, and freedom.
JOSEPH C. WEIGHT, Esq.
JOSEPH C. WEIGHT, Esq., is a native of Pennsylvania,
having been born in Philadelphia in the year 1809, and
is the grandson of Thomas Wright, who resided at Camden,
N. J., and who took a conspicuous part in the Eevolutionary
War. He removed to the State of New Jersey in 1819, but
after his majority, having become a civil engineer and con-
tractor, did not reside permanently in that State until 1855.
He was a heavy contractor, and was connected with the
principal internal improvements in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and
Virginia, in which States he resided during the progress of
the various works which he constructed. His association
with the leading men of the country, and his firm adhesion
to the principles of the Democratic party as taught by Jef-
ferson, his fine conversational powers, his genial manners,
his great store of information, and his liberality, called
around him a host of friends who sought his society.
On the 19th day of August, 1862, about one o'clock P. M.,
he was arrested at his residence in the peaceful town of Mil-
ford, Hunterdon county, ET. J., without any preliminary
warning, by a military force under the command of Deputy
United States Marshals A. E. Harris and G. Dean, and
immediately placed in a wagon, which was driven off to
Frenchtown, four miles distant, where he was thrust into an
upper room of one of the hotels of that place, and there
guarded by these armed men until the hour of the arrival
of the train for Trenton. When he was placed on the train,
he inquired the cause of his arrest, and by what authority
peaceable citizens were so arrested. He was informed, when
he would arrive at Trenton he would be told why he was
arrested and be shown the warrant. WTien he arrived at
618
614
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Trenton, then the evening, he again demanded to be shown
the process by which he was dragged from his home, his
family and friends. This was still denied him, but with the
promise that when he reached Mount Holly (the county-seat
of Burlington county, !N". J.), it would be read to him.
When he thus compulsorily arrived at Trenton, he was
purposely kept from all public places or hotels, and secretly
hurried, under guard, to a place where private meals were
furnished, and given his supper. After remaining there
during the space of two and a half hours, he was placed on
the cars for Burlington, and on his arrival there was trans-
ferred to a hack and carried to Mount Holly, which place he
reached at eleven o'clock, P. M. On his way thither he was,
for the first time, informed that the jail was his destination.
Here he was given in charge of the turnkey of that estab-
lishment, who placed him in a cell and locked him up for
the night. To a man like Mr. Wright, whose hospitality
had always been unbounded, it may well be imagined that
during that night there was " neither sleep for his eyes nor
slumber to his eyelids." He had never known before there
was such a place in existence, in any land, in which to incar-
cerate white men. There was in it nothing but a straw tick
— no covering — and the whole cell swarming with vermin.
At six o'clock in the morning the door of the cell was un-
locked, and he turned out into the yard in company with
negroes, horse-thieves, robbers, and Jackaloo, the murderer.
His condition was improved the next night by being given
a better cell and bed.
After being in Mount Holly jail ten days, orders were
received there to send him to the Old Capitol Prison, Wash-
ington City. On his arrival there he was immediately fur-
nished with quarters, notwithstanding that establishment,
like the Bastile in Paris during the French Revolution,
under the government of Robespierre, Murat, and Danton,
was pretty well crammed. Still, it was never full. There
was always room for more. It is unnecessary to describe
his treatment while in the Old Capitol, as the treatment of
JOSEPH C. WRIGHT.
615
all the prisoners is fully detailed elsewhere. He was con-
fined in the Old Capitol eight days, and on the morning
of the ninth day, through the interposition of friends who
sought his release, he was approached by the corporal of the
guard, and notified to pack up his baggage — which was
rather amusing, as the prisoners were allowed no baggage —
and report to Lieut. Miller. He was then conducted by the
guard to the office of the lieutenant, who informed him
that his brother was waiting for him on the outside of the
building, and that he was at liberty to pass out, which he
most gladly did ; not forgetting, however, first to obtain
permission to bid " good-bye " to his friends and fellow-
prisoners. This was granted him, but with the injunction
that he should bring out no letters with him, as they were
contraband matter. This mandate he obeyed. Although it
was a sad " farewell " with those he left behind him, still, in
anticipation of once more enjoying the society of his family
and friends, and the hope of personal and constitutional
liberty, he cheerfully bade adieu to the precincts of the Old
Capitol.
No charges were ever preferred against Mr. Wright,
although he demanded of Judge- Advocate Turner who were
his accusers, and what were the charges against him. After
his release, he understood he was arrested and incarcerated
bo that he might not interfere in favor of the nomination
and election of Joel Parker as Governor of New Jersey.
Mr. "Wright now resides at the beautifully-located village
of Frenchtown, situated on the banks of the Delaware, in
the full enjoyment of the society of his friends and neigh-
bors.
HON. WILLIAM M. GWIN, HON. CALHOUN BE]*
HAM, and ROBERT J. BRENT, ESQ.
ARBITRARY arrests and imprisonments, during the late
civil war, were more the offspring of political animosi-
ties than any service that could be rendered, thereby, for tho
good of the state.
It was not pro bono publico, but "I will have vengeance" saith
Mr. Secretary Seward. A more unscrupulous, vindictive, and
revengeful Secretary, perhaps, never occupied a similar posi-
tion. Lord North was a model in comparison. Jeffreys, in
a different sphere, perhaps an equal, when sustained by arbi
trary power. Jeffreys and Seward — both moral cowards.
Secretary Seward, when surrounded by power, was as cold
and " irrepressible " as the frigid climate of Auburn in Janu-
ary— not, indeed,
44 Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain,
Where health and plenty cheered the laboring swain ;
Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid,
And parting summer's lingering blooms delayed" —
which the warm-hearted, genial Goldsmith so pathetically
tells us about ; but the Auburn where Mr. Seward resides —
and where he recently told the American people "great
crimes had been committed in the name of liberty," and
where his future reflections will be refreshed by the recollec-
tions of the past.
From the facts at our command, we cannot give a better
uistory of the arrest, imprisonment, and release of the above-
oamed gentlemen, than that by Mr. Geo. D. Prentice, of the
11 Louisville Journal."
Mr. Prentice says :
6lt
WILLIAM M. GWIN, AND OTHERS. 617
" I have some peculiar reminiscences connected with Fort
Lafayette. In 1861, three distinguished gentlemen — Hon.
William M. Gwin, who had served many years with dis-
tinction in the Senate of the United States ; Hon. Calhoun
Benham, who has been United States District Attorney in
California ; and Mr. Brent, who had been a prominent lawyer
in Baltimore, and was then a very prominent lawyer of Cali-
fornia — embarked on a steamer for some point in the East.
General Sumner was on board the same steamer. When she
was near the Isthmus, the General made them his prisoners.
He simply deigned to tell them that he arrested them on
suspicion that they were intending to fight against the United
States, a suspicion perfectly preposterous in the case of Dr.
Gwin, who was an infirm old man of about seventy years.
When they demanded the ground of his suspicion, he only
answered that he entertained it, and was only responsible to
the Federal Government ; and Mr. Seward, Secretary of State,
ordered them, without an interview, to Fort Lafayette.
"As one of these prisoners wa3 my near and very dear re] a
tive, I hastened to Washington to procure their release. I
had written and telegraphed earnestly to the President for
the release of Governor Morehead, Mr. Durrett, and others ,
but when a member of my own family was a victim of
oppression and tyranny, I felt that I should give my per-
sonal presence to the effort for deliverance. I arrived at the
capital long after dark, and called immediately upon Mr.
Lincoln. He received me with the greatest cordiality and ge-
niality, although he gently intimated that he rather thought
that I had been a little unjust to him. I asked him for the
discharge of the three Fort Lafayette prisoners — Gwin, Ben-
ham, and Brent. He inquired what were the charges against
tliem. Of course, I told him that I didn't know, and sug-
gested whether it wasn't more his business than ours to know.
He answered, 4 Well, I don't know about these things, but 1
am disposed to do what I can for you, and will give you a
letter to Seward.' I took the letter, and called at Mr. Seward's
office the next morning. The distinguished Secretary received
618
AMERICAN BASTILE.
me with his accustomed amenity, but, in regard to the matter
in hand, talked quite diplomatically. It was about my first
experience of a regular diplomatist's conversation. I didn't
much admire or understand it. Mr. Seward invited me to
take tea with him in the evening. I did. After tea, 1
renewed my application for the release of my friends, and
argued the matter as well as I could. He had only this
reply to make : 4 1 am considering the matter, and I shall be
very glad to see you at tea, or breakfast, or dinner, every
day, and we will talk the subject over.'
"One evening, when I had been about four days in Wash-
ington, I ventured to urge my request very strongly upon
the Secretary, and he said: 4 Call at my office to-morrow
morning, at half-past ten o'clock, and I will give you an order
for the release of your friends.' Of course, I was punctual
to the minute. 4 Fred,' said he, addressing his son, and
Assistant Secretary, 'give Mr. Prentice the document I di-
rected you to make out.' The Assistant Secretary placed it
in my hands. I read it. It was not an order for the dis-
charge of the victims. It was only an order that I should
have the privilege of seeing them in their prison, when I
pleased. 4 Why, Mr. Seward, this is not what you promised
me yesterday.' 4 JS~o, it is not, but I specially desire that you
go to Xew York and talk with your friends, and ascertain
their feelings and intentions, and report to me.' I told him,
in terms a little brief, possibly, that he certainly could not
expect me to visit my friends in prison, and enter into a con-
versation with them as a Government spy. 4 Well,' he said,
4 do me the favor to go and see them, and write to me as
you like.' I said, 4 Yes.' I went, and wrote to him every
day as strongly as I could in favor of the release of the pris-
oners. My first three letters were unanswered. In reply to
the fourth, I received a dispatch saying that my friends were
'paroled to Washington for explanation.' Of course I con-
sidered that dispatch as implying a discharge. I went im-
mediately with Dr. G win's wife and daughters to Fort
Lafayette, exhibited the order to the prisoners, and advised
WILLIAM M. GWIN, AND OTHERS. 619
them to proceed to Washington immediately. 'Go with us,'
eaid they. I told them that it would be exceedingly incon-
venient for me to go with them. They were apprehensive
of deceit and treachery. 4 Go with us/ said they, 4 or we
will not go.' I went with them. On arriving at Washing-
ton, I called upon Secretary Seward in their behalf. He re
quired that they should either take a certain obnoxious oath,
or be remanded to prison. I asked them what they would
do, and they agreed that, as there were no charges against
them, and as they had committed no crime, they would
sooner go back to their Bastile than take any oath. All my
appeals to the Secretary were of no avail.
44 Then my appeal was to President Lincoln. At my
second interview with him, he said, 4 1 will set your friends
free. They may go as much at large as any other citizen cf
the United States.' I asked him if he would grant them
permission to go to Europe. He replied that none of our
people had the right to go to Europe without passports, not
even himself, and that therefore he could not give passports,
but that my friends should be just as free as he or any other
man under the Government, to go and come at pleasure. I
requested him to put this declaration in writing. He said,
4 No, it is a very delicate subject, and Seward will be very
mad about it. I will not touch pen to paper in regard to it.
Tell your friends what I have told you, and tell them further,
that I shall be glad to see them.' All of them, I believe,
called upon him and expressed their thanks, though whether
thanks were due, under all the circumstances, is, I think,
quite a question.
44 In 1866, Dr. Gwin, who had not taken and could not have
taken any part in the war, went from this country to Mexico
for his own private purposes, whatever they were, and I have
reason to know that they were right and proper. He wen!:
and took others with him to make money, but, on account
of the miserable condition of Mexican affairs, they failed.
Dr. Gwin came back to the United States in the full con-
•ciousness of right and the expectation of safety. He had
620
AMERICAN BASTILE.
done no wrong to others, and he anticipated no wrong to
himself. But upon his arrival within the Federal lines, then
kept up for no useful or proper purpose, he was snapped up
on not even a pretext, and thrust into Fort Jackson, below
New Orleans. Several of his friends were thrown into Fort
Jackson with him. They were kept there for many months.
They were kept incarcerated, but perhaps not very badly
used. I went to Washington to get them discharged, and
succeeded, although in opposition to all the diplomatic efforts
of Secretary Seward in the opposite direction. And in the
interview on that occasion, Mr. Seward had the very intense
coolness, fifty degrees below zero, the point of the thermo-
meter where the mercury freezes, to say to my face that he
was the man who had discharged my three friends from Fort
Lafayette, and given them all their subsequent liberty."
Duplicity may deceive the uninitiated. It may do to im-
pose on the more generous feelings and inclinations of the
American people, who have been accustomed to be governed
by sincerity and truth ; but our Government is too old, thcugk
young, to allow a Secretary, however unscrupulous, to continue
long to trample upon the rights of the people.
In the madness of the hour, force may overcome judgment
and integrity, but the quietus is affixed to him who, in the
Utopian visions of power, attempts to abridge the liberty of
the citizen.
Those who are his superiors in statesmanship and justice,
will expose the nefarious design, and consign to the shades
of a nation's forgetfulness him who, under the garb of " po-
litical necessity " or psewdo-philanthropy, wishes to hold the
reigns of political permanence at the cost of the liberty of
the citizen.
"Ye friends of truth, ye statesmen who survey
The rich man's joys increase, the poor's decay,
'T is yours to judge how wide the limits stand
Between a splendid and a happy land."
ROBERT W. NEWMAN.
PROFESSOR ROBERT W. NEWMAN is descended from
one of the oldest families of Virginia. His grandfather,
Rohert Newman, served with distinction in the army during
the Revolutionary War, and was honorably discharged. His
father, Catesby Newman, was a soldier in the American army
during the last war with Great Britain. Robert W. Newman,
the subject of this sketch, was born and educated in Virginia,
and, shortly after his graduation from college, was made As-
sociate Principal of the Winchester High School, in that
State, which position he occupied for two years, and then
became proprietor and principal in the Winchester Female
Seminary, in September, 1855.
In April, 1858, he was elected Principal of the Harford
Academy, the State institution, located near Baltimore,
Maryland, which position he retained until July, 1864, when,
owing to the deplorable condition into which the society of
the Border States had been thrown, he yielded to the im-
portunities of his family, and removed to New York. Deem-
ing the unhappy state of affairs likely to last for years, he
established himself in Peekskill, in the State of New York,
m January, 1865, where he has since resided.
His arrest took place at Belair, near Baltimore, in the lat-
ter part of June, 1863, and was made by Lieutenant Offley,
at the head of a detachment of Delaware cavalry, stationed
in Baltimore, and commanded by the notorious Colonel Fish,
then acting as Provost Marshal of the city. The same indi-
vidual was afterward convicted of defrauding the Federal
Government in contracts for supplying horses, and sent to
the Albany State Penitentiary to expiate his crime. Prof.
Newman's arrest was made by the Lieutenant, without a
621
622
AMERICAN BASTILE.
wai rant or any formula of law, other than such as he was
invested with bj the orders of Colonel Fish.
The prisoner was forced from his house before daylight,
taken to the County Jail, and there confined for several days,
without chair, table, or bed, the necessary conveniences that
are furnished even to a culprit. He was treated as a con-
denined felon, or even worse. After much pleading, his fam-
ily were permitted to furnish him with a bed and provi-
sions, while confined in the jail. Thence he was taken, under
an escort of cavalrymen, to Havre de Grace, about twenty
miles distant, to which place he would have been compelled
to walk, but that the humane Offiey, after much persuasion,
permitted him to obtain a conveyance, with the express stip-
ulation that he should pay for it himself.
Arriving there, he was thrust into a guard-house, with
the most abject specimens of humanity, and there compelled
to remain two days and nights, and partake of the miserable
rations furnished to them ; and worse than all, to sleep upon
a floor, the stench from which was scarcely endurable.
From Havre de Grace, he was taken by rail to Baltimore,
and placed in close confinement in the Gilmor House, which
was formerly used as a hotel, but then the headquarters of
Colonel Fish. Here he was treated with the utmost rigor,
and subjected to all the privations and petty tyrannies that
the ingenuity of the Marshal and his officers could invent.
Unfortunately for the honor of the Federal Army, it was
disgraced by too many such officers as assisted Colonel Fish
in his nefarious work.
After the excitement incident to the Battle of Gettysburg
had subsided, part of the prisoners were transferred to Fort
McIIenry, in the harbor, and the remaining few, including
the Professor, were permitted to provide — at their own ex-
pense— food and bedding, and thus in a manner to mitigate
their sufferings. Those who have never been deprived of
their liberty, or felt the restraints of a prison, have no ade-
quate conception of the sufferings endured by those who, be
it remembered, were refined and cultivated gentlemen, mostly
ROBERT W. NEWMAN.
623
from the higher walks of life, and who were especially sensi-
tive to the treatment which they received at the hands of the
officers in charge. The treatment imposed on prisoners of
state could have had but one object, and that was, to destroy
their manly bearing and self-respect, which it was thought
would, ever after, deter them from expressing their views
concerning any act of the Administration, no matter of how
violent or heinous a nature it might be. This object was
steadily pursued in the majority of cases, and was made par-
ticularly severe in case the victim was a man of more than
average intelligence or influence. ,
In the latter part of July, 1863, after about a month's
imprisonment, Professor Newman was released, and in his
case, as in thousands of others, no charges were preferred
against him. During the period of his incarceration his pro-
perty was injured, and his library a^id apparatus at the
Harford Academy were partially destroyed or carried off by
soldiers, urged on to this deed of vandalism by some of the
" trooly loil " gentlemen of his community, who were carry
ing out their Master's precept: "Whatsoever ye would thf
men should do to you, do ye even so to them."
HON. BUCKNER S. MORRIS.
7UDGE BUCKLER S. MORRIS, whose unjust imprison-
" ment and suffering, together with his trial before a Mili-
tary Commission, in Cincinnati, during the winter of 1864,
and which created so much excitement throughout the
country, and particularly in the "West, is sixty-eight years of
age. He was admitted to the bar in 1827, and subsequently
served several years as a member of the Legislature of his
native State, Kentucky. In 1834, he removed to Chicago,
Illinois, tben a small village of about five hundred inhabit-
ants. Here he opened an office, and soon became widely
known as an eminent legal practitioner. In 1851, he was
elected Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Illinois,
which position he filled with marked ability until 1855, when
he declined a renomination on account of failing health. He
then retired from public life, and sought to restore his health
in the quietude of his home.
In the contest for the United States Senatorship, in 1858,
between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, Judge
Morris and his friends lent the weight of their influence in
favor of the election of Douglas, who was returned to the
Senate. During the exciting times of 1860, Judge Morris
permitted his name to be used as a candidate for the Gov-
ernorship of Illinois, on the Bell and Everett National Union
ticket, hoping thereby to defeat the sectional Republican
ticket, the success of which then threatened civil war. Judge
Morris and Mr. Lincoln were personal and political friends
for more than twenty years. They served together in the
Whig party as Electors at large, during the Harrison cam-
paign of 1840. But after Mr. Lincoln became the advocate
624
BUCKNER S. MORRIS.
025
of Abolition principles, their political and social fellowship
ceased.
In 1861, when civil war burst like a storm over the coun-
try, when the soil became deluged with the best blood of the
nation, when the maddened people of both sections were
applying the knife to the throats of their brethren, the
Judge was solicited to take an active part in the contest, but
declined to do so, continuing to devote his time to his pro-
fession and his own private business matters, in and out ol
court.
In the fall of 1864, Colonel Sweet, commandant at Camp
Douglas, who desired to be brevetted a brigadier-general,
together with one or two candidates for office, confederated
together for the purpose of gaining notoriety. They conceived
the happy thought, the execution of which being populai
among the people, would give them the desired influence, and
at the same time assist their master. The arrest of a num.
ber of Democrats was then determined on, to demoralize tha
party, and deter hundreds of others from voting.
Accordingly, at 2 o'clock a.m., on the 6th of November,
1864, the day before the Presidential election, Judge Morris
and a number of others were severally taken from their beds
oy military force, and conveyed to Camp Douglas. The cells
in which they were placed were damp, filthy, and literally
swarming with vermin. Here the Judge remained until the
return of Captain Sheerley from Buffalo, N. Y., who (as the
Judge was informed) caused his removal to a much better
and cleaner room, near his headquarters. In the early part
of December, his wife, Mrs. Mary B. Morris, was also arrested
by a captain of the Invalid corps, and brought to Camp
Douglas. By the kindness of Captain Sheerley, they were
given a room at his headquarters, and permitted to furnish
their own bedding and furniture.
Here, they remained incarcerated until the 23d of the same
month. They were then removed, in company with eight or
ten others, to Cincinnati, Ohio, for trial, some three hundred
miles from their witnesses, friends, and homes, and in viola
40
626
AMERICAN BASTILE.
tion of the laws of the land. They arrived in Cincinnati on
the coldest day of the season, and were forced to ride for sev-
eral hours up and down the streets of that city, until the
officers decided where to imprison then. As their arrival was
unexpected, no place had been prepared for them. Finally,
after much deliberation, the benumbed prisoners were lodged
in prison at the McLean Barracks. Here their treatment by
the officers was insulting and disgraceful in the extreme, as
will be seen by reference to the narrative of Mrs. Morris,
given elsewhere.
Soon after their arrival in Cincinnati, two or more friends
of Judge Morris and his wife, in that city, proposed to Major-
General Hooker, then in command, to take charge of them,
and put them in a hotel, where they might be supplied with
necessary comforts, free of expense to the United States Gov-
ernment ; and, as security for their forthcoming to answer
any charges that might be brought against either, these
friends offered to pledge fifty thousand dollars each. This
offer was refused. Judge T. W. Bartlett also offered to take
the Judge and his wife to his own house, in the city, and
keep them safely, subject to the orders of the commander,
which was also declined.
General Willich, second in command, more humane than
his superior officer, signified his assent to either proposition,
as the Judge was informed.
Early in January, 1865, eight of the prisoners, including
Judge Morris, were placed on trial before a Military Com-
mission. They were charged with :
1st. " Conspiring, in violation of the laws of war, to release
the rebel prisoners of war confined by authority of the United
States, at Camp Douglas, near Chicago, Illinois.
2d. a Conspiring, in violation of the laws of war, to (ay
waste and destroy the city of Chicago, Illinois."
A specification was added to each charge.
The prisoners all filed pleas, denying the jurisdiction of the
Court to try them.
Protesting their innocence, they argued :
BUCKNER S. MORHIS.
627
1st. " That the defendants, being citizens of the United
States, and not connected with the military or naval service
of the United States, are entitled to be tried by the United
States Court of the Northern District of Illinois.
2d. " That, as the offences, alleged to have been committed
in the charges and specifications, are not infractions of any
of the rules and articles of war, but fall within the provisions
of the act of Congress of July, 1861, this tribunal cannot
legally take cognizance of the case.
3d. " That, according to the second section of the act of
Congress of March 3, 1863, authorizing arrests by the mili-
tary authorities in States where the administration of justice
in the civil courts is not impaired, these defendants should be
tried by a civil, and not by a military tribunal.
4th " That this Military Commission is not authorized
or provided for, by any power in the country, except by the
army in the field, and there is no rule or custom providing
what punishment shall be inflicted. It cannot be claimed
that this Commission is a matter of necessity, as she civil
courts of the land are open.
5th. " That, from the nature and manner of the proceed-
ings of this Commission, a fair trial cannot be had, as the
Judge Advocate stands as accuser of the defendants, and
oiust necessarily be prejudiced against them."
This plea being overruled, they then moved for a separate
trial, which was denied them.
The prisoners then pleaded — not guilty.
The trial lasted some four months. During the most of
this time the prisoners were chained in pairs, and so marched up
and down the streets, to and from the Court, until the public
began to complain of such barbarous treatment.
The shackles were then thrown aside. The trial did not
close until after the assassination of President Lincoln, which
the Judge Advocate (Burnett) used with great force against
them, charging the prisoners with being more or less thfi
cause thereof. After a confinement of six months they were
found not guilty, and discharged from military custody..
628
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Judge Bartlett, in closing his remarks before the Commit
sion, said : " My client, Judge Morris, is a man advanced in
years. It is not pretended that he had ever been governed
by any malevolence of heart, enticements of ambition, or al-
lurements of power. He commenced life before either you
or I came on the scene of action. He has labored in all sin-
cerity to maintain and perpetuate what he conceived to be
the true principles of government, and for the advancement
and prosperity and safety of the country.
" His character, both in public and private life, is shown to
have been without a blemish. Ardent, sincere, humane, and
hospitable, he had the confidence of the enlightened and well-
disposed men of all parties. The testimony of Judge Drum-
mond, and others, puts to blush the narrow, grovelling notion,
that a citizen cannot be a true or loyal man in time of war,
unless he advocate and sustain the peculiar war measures
and policy of the Administration in power. Every member
of this Commission, every man who has heard the evidence,
knows that Judge Morris has been guilty of no crime."
Mr. Dawes, of Massachusetts, when speaking of military
courts for the trial of civilians, said: "They have lost sight
of the guarantees of the Constitution, and seem to forget
that every man has a right to trial by jury They seem
formed to convict, whether a man be guilty or not, so that
he who is acquitted by them, must be not only pure indeed,
but above suspicion. We are told that 'arbitrary power
sucks out the heart's blood of civil liberty.' "
Senator John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, in addressing
the United States Senate, used the following powerful lan-
guage : u If trial by jury is overthrown in this country,
then take the rest. If you are going to throw a drag-net
over the land, as they did in Chicago, if you are going to
bring in this whole people, and subject them to the penalties
that may be inflicted by military commissions and courts
martial, then the last step is taken in the humiliation and deg-
radation of this country, and we shall be left fit instruments
for any despotism that the bold and lawless may think
proper to establish over us."
AARON MORTON, JACOB G. PECK, BENJAMIN 11
MARKLEY, and HENRY LYNCH.
ARON MORTON, a citizen of Maytown, Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania, is a brickmaker by occupation.
At the commencement of the late civil war, he volunteered
as a private in Company A, 10th Regiment, Pennsylvania
Volunteers, in response to the first call of President Lincoln
for troops. He served his time faithfully, and was honorably
discharged. During the summer of 1864, Mr. Morton was
drafted, but in common with several others — both Repub-
licans and Democrats — failed to report at Lancaster city, in
answer to his summons. Subsequently his township (East
Donnegal) filled its quota with recruits, thereby exempting
its drafted men.
He remained at home, "pursuing the even tenor of his
way," until Monday, November 7, 1864, when Deputy Mar-
shal Carpenter, of Lancaster, aided by two soldiers, arrested
him. The Marshal said that he must accompany them to
Marshal Stevens's office, in the above-named city. Morton
demanded his authority for making the arrest, and further
inquired the nature of the charges against him. The Mar-
shal failing to produce any warrant or authority, Morton do-
med his right to drag him from his home. Carpenter in-
sisted that his being an United States Deputy Marshal gave
him sufficient authority to make the arrest, and forced him
to comply with his mandate. Morton accompanied him
peaceably, but under protest. On arriving at Provost Mar-
shal Stevens's office, in Lancaster, he was placed under a
guard, and removed thence to the County Prison. While
there confined, he was offered convict's fare, bread and water,
629
630
AMERICAN BASTILE.
but declined it, and paid the usual aharges for board
The jailer afterward remarked : " That is the place where ail
Democrats should be." He subsequently inquired of the
prisoner if, on his procuring his release, he would vote the
Republican ticket. Mr. Morton indignantly spurned the
proposal, and remained in prison until the 10th inst., when
several of his friends demanded his release, or a hearing.
Stevens feigned ignorance of his arrest, and ordered his im-
mediate discharge. When the prisoner was brought ii.to
his (Stevens's) office, the Marshal simply said, " You can now
go home, we have nothing to do with you." Carpenter then
turned toward Mr. Morton and remarked, that " if he had
no money he could walk to his home," (sixteen miles distant.)
u as it was not very far."
JACOB G. PECK.
Jacob G. Peck, a fellow-townsman of Mr. Morton, was
sought for on the same day, but was not at home, and thereby
escaped a few days' incarceration ; it not being the intention
of those in authority to hold them longer than a few days,
as will be seen in the sequel.
BENJAMIN H. MARKLEY.
Benjamin H. Markley, of the same place, while in the. act
of voting at the Presidential election, on Tuesday, November
8, 1864, was touched on the arm by Deputy Marshal Middle-
ton Whitehall, and claimed as a prisoner. The Marshal was
anxious to hurry him away from the polls, but was prevented,
he being unable to show any authority for the arrest. After
Markley had voted, Messrs. George "Wilson, Henry Haines,
Henry Houseal, and other old and respected citizens, requested
Whitehall, if he had authority for making the arrest, to take
the prisoner with him, and assuring him that he should not
be molested in the execution of his duty. This offer he de-
clined, and left the town shortly afterward.
The constable of Maytown, in his next return to the Court
at Lancaster, reported a disturbance of the peace at the eleo
HENRY LYNCH.
C31
tion polls in May town, on Tuesday, November 8, 1864, by
Middleton Whitehall. But when the charge subsequently
came before the Grand Jury, the bill was ignored ; thereby
sustaining men in committing outrages in direct defiance of
the laws.
HENRY LYNCH.
The fourth case we have to chronicle is that of Henry
Lynch, of Marietta. He was arrested by Carpenter, on the
same day, and for the same purpose as the others. He was
charged with being a deserter, which charge, unsustained as
it was, furnished the necessary excuse for his arrest. He
was conveyed to Lancaster and incarcerated with Mr. Mor-
ton in the County Prison, where he remained until the 10th,
when he was released un 3onditionally . Nothing was after-
ward said to him about being a deserter. The charge had
answered the purpose of his arrest, and that was sufficient
for the perpetrators of the outrage.
These premeditated arrests had but one direct purpose — to
prevent citizens from voting. These were but the victims
of the executed portion of a plot for the arrest and imprison-
ment of a number of other citizens named on the proscrip-
tion lists. These gentlemen were known to be staunch and
sterling Democrats, and so determined was the Marshal to
serve his master, that no step was too vile for him to take
in order to accomplish his end. His little soul being unable
to conceive of any other method, he determined to deprive
the above-named gentlemen of their votes, by arresting and
imprisoning them, until after the election. But " time, that
makes all things even," vindicates the innocent, rewards the
persecuted, and inevitably punishes the persecutor.
HON. HENRY CLAY DEAN.
HON. HENRY CLAY DEAN, whose arrest and scan-
dalous treatment we are about to chronicle, resides at
Mount Pleasant, Iowa. He is a lawyer by profession, but
more recently has earned considerable reputation as an
author. In politics, he is a staunch but conservative Demo-
crat. In 1863, at the earnest solicitation of friends, he con-
cluded to address the people of his State on the issues of the
hour, and endeavor, if possible, to stem the torrent of fanati-
cism then sweeping over the State. He, at various times
and places, with a calm and temperate spirit, yet with the
boldness of a freeman, discussed the questions which were
then shaking the very foundations of the Union, and dis
rupting and demoralizing society.
He had been preceded by weak, wicked men, who were
stirring up strife as a daily avocation ; thirsting for blood ;
retailing, with insane satisfaction, the details of some late
murder, some heart-rending catastrophe, or savage slaughter
of innocent children. They had learned themselves, and
were teaching others, to laugh at the conflagration which
laid cities in ashes. They felt that nothing had been well
done where the black visage of war had not gone, or the
track of the bloody foot of desolation had not been well im
printed. Fury seemed to have become a virtue among those
who should have been most calm. Violence was the watch-
word of those whose avocation was to teach meekness as a
law of life, and love as the only preparation for the world to
come.
■ Ministers of the Gospel of Peace were teaching such lessons
of cruelty, ir: such a spirit of violence, and in such language
of intolerant malice, as made the ordinary mind, yet retain-
ing self-control, grow sick. Judges of courts, whose duty it
632
HENRY CLAY DEAN.
633
was tc keep the peace, in open defiance of the obligations
of their oaths of office, in contempt of the long-established
conservative character of the honorable profession in which
they were educated, and to the great scandal of the ermine,
went into the rural districts during the current session of
their courts, and delivered harangues, appealing to the basest
j assions of human nature, encouraging crimes most obnox-
ious to the laws of the country, and indulging in language
well calculated to light the whole land in a blaze of furious,
endless lawlessness and civil war. Yet, in addressing the
people, Mr. Dean found that, underneath all this party bit-
terness and strife, which were but momentary, there was
a flood of good feeling, as pure as the waters that gush
from beneath the Alpine mountains of perpetual snow. The
masses of the people still loved each other, but were misled
until their passions were hot as the burning sand, and explo-
sive as gunpowder. "When he spoke of renewing old neigh-
borhoods, reviving Christian fellowship, and cultivating bro-
therly love, cheering smiles would play upon their faces, wild
huzzas of good feeling would break forth from their manly
lips, and tears would sometimes drive each other down their
sunburnt cheeks, as they prayed the sweet spirit of Friendship
to return, the Angel of Mercy to banish the Angel of Death,
and the Genius of Christianity to again assert her supreme
sovereignty over society — over our divided, distracted, and
wellnigh ruined country.
In these actions, in these speeches, consisted his offence.
The leaders of the Radical party in the State determined to
give him a quietus, regardless of consequences, and only
waited an opportunity for executing their lawless desire for
vengeance. The opportune moment for the gratification of
their fiendish desire at length arrived. In May, 1863, he was
arrested at Keokuk, while on his wpy from Quincy, Illinois,
to Keosauqua, Iowa, to attend a meeting of the Democratic
oarty. Mobocracy had run riot in Keokuk for many months,
ander the auspices of the officers commanding the post and
having in charge the medical department. He had to pass
634
AMERICAN BA8TILE.
through Keokuk to reach the cars. Before he landed at tha
wharf, he learned that the " Gate City," the only paper pub
lished in Keokuk, had demanded his arrest. Nearly every
Puritan paper in the State had joined in the general howl.
The tone of the press was like the bulletins issued in the dark
alleys of Paris, or the handbills posted on the front of the
buildings early on each morning, containing the death-war-
rant of some intended victim of assassination, in the most
terrible days of the French Revolution. This issue of the
paper was but the foreshadowing of the intention of malig-
nant citizens of Keokuk. All the details of his arrest are
not proper for the public eye.
His arrest was agreed upon as soon as his name was regis-
tered at the Billings House. Mr. D. was then, and is now,
unconscious of having ever wronged or justly incurred the
ill-will of any human being in that city, from any cause
whatever. He called to see the Hon. J. W. Clagett, on busi-
ness, and, while sitting on the porch with the Judge, saw
a crowd approaching, who inquired for him, calling him
by name. Instinctively aware that he was about to be ar-
rested, he did not call in question their authority, for the
following reasons :
First. Every soldier is under a most solemn oath, and a
very severe penalty, to obey the articles of war, which forbid
anything like the semblance of a mob.
Second. Every officer is held responsible for the discipline
and conduct of his soldiers, and whenever soldiers become a
mob, or engage iu a mob, the officers are either corrupt or
imbecile.
TJiird. A young man by the name of Ball, while in the
office of the Provost Marshal , informed him> with the grin,
and very much the tone of a Sioux Indian, that he 4 wanted
the boys to take their satisfaction out of him,' and that he
now arrested him in due form, and accordingly handed him
over to the Sergeant of the provost guard.
After his arrest at the house of Judge Clagett, Mr. DeaL
was placed in the front of the crowd, with a low-bred, insolent
HENBY CLAY DEAN.
635
man, who commenced asking him offensive questions, of which
he took no notice. After hurrying him through several
streets, a hollow square was formed, where he was taunted,
threatened, and insulted, for a full half-hour. He was gra-
ciously informed that death was entirely too mild a punish-
ment to be administered to a " Copperhead," who, in the
choice language of their newspapers, was foolhardy and de-
mented enough to venture through Keokuk.
The soldiers were all strangers to him, and were led on and
prompted to their action by the Puritan clique, who had an
unsettled account with him for some candid talk about the
year 1860, when he was a candidate for Elector of the State
at large, on the Democratic ticket, headed by the name of
Judge Douglas.
These benevolent men thought Nature at fault, that she
had not endowed him with at least four separate and distinct
lives, that each of them might be entirely gratified in having
him put to death in his own choice way. On the outside of the
crowd there stood a merchant of thin visage, sharp nose, red
head, and exceeding thin lips, who cried out, at the top of
his voice, u He ought to be drowned, seeing the Mississippi
is so close at hand," when there went up a yell of " Drown
him / " " Drown him ! " " DROWN HIM ! " Another of the
malignants spoke up and said, " Drowning was entirely too
easy and speedy a death for a Copperhead ; " and cried out,
"Hang him!" "Hang him !" "HANG HIM!" Still an-
other commenced, and the cry went up, " Shoot him ! " " Shoot
him!" "SHOOT HIM!"
A fourth, with the murderous laugh of a Pawnee, said,
" Burning would better measure out the allotted punishment,
lengthen the scene of enjoyment, and minister more tho-
roughly to the gratification of the executioners." This gen-
tleman found no response ; his humanitarian idea evidently
being in advance of his coadjutors. Every manner of insult
and opprobrious epithet was used to jeer, mortify, and offend.
After being thus brutally treated, Mr. Dean addressed the
crowd for a few minutes, and informed them that he had
636
AMERICAN BASTILE.
been sick for nearly a week, was then taking medicine, and
desired a place to be at rest.
After much parleying, whooping, yelling, and coarse insult,
he was marched down to the office of the Provost Marshal,
and there commanded by the young man, Ball, to strip him-
self stark naked, which he had to do, in the presence of a
large crowd, and to remain in that condition for fifteen min-
utes, while his clothes were searched, and each one of the party
had taken his full liberty in about the same kind of jesting
that had occurred in the street, except that it was coarser
and broader in the room. Mr. Dean told Ball that he had
understood that he was an officer educated at West Point,
from which he inferred that he was a gentleman. Being
informed to the contrary, that he was not a West-Pointer,
Mr. D. placed it to the lasting credit of that institution.
After he had been allowed to put on his clothes, his carpet-
sack was sent for, carefully searched, and his private letters
fend papers read aloud in the presence of the crowd, open to
the inspection of everybody. The letters of his wife, and
other papers, were jumbled together, and his knife and other
pYticles taken, which he has never been able to recover.
After all this was over, Mr. Ball sent some one of the crowd
to inform the soldiers that he would assure them that Mr. Dean
would be severely dealt with, and they were permitted to
retire. He was soon lodged in the guard-house, where there
was neither chair, stool, nor stand. Sergeant Newport kindly
furnished him a cot. One filthy towel was the wiping-cloth
of a large body of men, some with diseased and scrofulous
eyes. Sergeant Newport, as well as every soldier of the pro-
vost guard, treated him with civility, courtesy, and respect,
and their actions compared favorably with those of their
superior officers.
" I was informed, upon my first entrance into this place,"
says Mr. Dean, " that the central idea of a military pr son
is to make it as nearly the very essence of hell as is possible.
In this they have made a capital success. The room is abou*
Rizteen feet wide by forty-five feet long, with enough taken
FENRY CLAY DEAN.
637
off of the side to make room for a flight of stairs. In this
room there are fifty men lying side by side. They are of
almost every conceivable grade, gathered from every rank in
society, and charged with every manner of offence known to
the laws of God and man. Some of them, even in sickness,
lawless and ungovernable, have been sent in from the hos-
pital, breathing the deadly malaria of all the diseases gene-
rated by the vices of the army. The stench of scrofula issu-
ing from their putrid breath, would nauseate the stomach
of the oldest Bacchanalian. Another squad, that contributed
to the more dense population of the place of this semi-celestial
chamber, which is elevated to the third story of a dilapidated
store-house in the ragged suburbs of a dilapidated river town,
was a body of convalescent soldiers, which has been sent up
for mobbing a quiet country gentleman to avenge the malice
of a drunken Cyprian.
" In this place there were bushwhackers fresh from the
charcoal fields of the guerrilla bands of Missouri, who had
stood like hungry hyenas over the dying, innocent victims
of their rapacity and lust. On the floor of the farther end
of the room lay a gang of rowdies, who were snatched up for
infesting a low brothel in the purlieus of the city. Yery
near them was a group of reckless Rounders, reeking with
drugged liquors, infuriated with madness, belching forth
oaths, and howling obscene songs, compared with which the
jovial scenes of Billingsgate are chaste and mod*>8t. This
body of ruffians were placed for safe keeping in the guard-
house, until the whiskey had died out on their Drams, and
its putrid fumes began to poison the atmosphere. Inter-
mingled with the others were deserters, escaping the hard-
ships and duties of the armies, together with rebel prisoners
arrested on their way back to take up armn against the
Government. There are here confined men who had com-
mitted rape, horse-thieves, watch-thieves, murderers, and
traitors, in a common nest huddled together. To add to the
interest of this society, every evening the patrol gpard would
gather up the beastly drunk and tumble them in
638
AMERICAN BASTILE.
" At about nine o'clock at night the roll was called, and
those most able-bodied and desperate were locked in chains,
two together. Then the whole crowd would break out in
one long-continued, hideous yell, compared with which the
howls of a gang of half-starved prairie wolves are musical and
melodious. To add to the attractions of this new habitation,
tobacco spittle, the expectoration of lungs half rotten with
consumption, the contents of catarrh nostrils, with tbe spon-
taneous relief given by nature to drunken men, were indis-
criminately scattered over the floor, while every stitch of
clothes was literally filled with vermin. And this was the
prison into which a free American citizen was placed for
darins: to be a Democrat.
" For fourteen long and loathsome, dreary days and nights,
feverish with loss of sleep, and gasping for breath, I was con-
fined in this nameless place. Sometimes I would go to the
window for a draught of pure air, only to catch the flood of
dust that swept through the streets, and was breathed in
my nostrils until my lungs became so swollen that I could
scarcely inhale or exhale the air, and my tongue became so
enlarged at the palate that I could with difficulty swallow
my food. The prisoners ate after the soldiers, and com-
plained much of their food. I received my meals regularly
from a kind-hearted Democratic lady, of great intelligence
and worth, whom even mobs could not deter from doing her
duty.
" Through the day, the prisoners, to give exercise to their
limbs, would romp and play like wild horses, until the build-
ing would tremble at its .base. The long loss of rest made
me faint on each returning evening, for the quiet interval of
two hours, from two o'clock till four in the morning, promised
the only quiet which could be enjoyed, even for sleep, in this
pandemonium.
" These men treated me kindly and respectfully underneath
all infirmities and misfortunes. With these poor fellows
there was a great fountain of the pure milk of human kind-
ness still flowing, and a tender sensibility, which, when
HENRY CLAY DEAN.
639
Couched, would break forth in tears, or in tones of subdued
affection, for home, and family, and God. I duly recognized
their sympathy, and addressed myself to its relief, and spent
my time in writing letters for unfortunate husbands to their
wives, who were left in cabins without food or raiment, ex
cept as it was earned by mothers at the wash-tub, or in the
broiling sun. Children wrote to their disconsolate parents
trembling on the verge of the grave. A wild, frolicksom.e
fellow, who had grown sad, talked to me of his black-eyed
Mary of the frontier, her playful eye, her sweet voice, and
the last pledge of love he had made to her before leaving for
the wars. When he spoke, ever and anon a tear would
sparkle in his eye, and the innocence of childhood arise in
hi 3 countenance, checked for a moment by his unfortunate
condition, as the floating cloud obscures the brightness
of the sun. There were other poor fellows, arraigned
for grave offences against God and liberty, law and order, *
whose cases I assisted to prepare for court. There was no
amusement other than the place itself afforded. Our only
theatrical enjoyment was the outburst of fine Irish wit, re-
freshed by such whiskey as would never have found a place
in Ireland."
This place had a chaplain, of whom the prisoners knew
just nothing at all. We suppose him to have been a good,
clever, inoffensive man, as innocent of human nature and its
wants as an Englishman's mastiff is of the common law of the
land. He never spoke to the prisoners of their real spiritual
wants, or assisted them in making their condition happier.
Yet, like a true Government officer, he drew his salary regu-
larly. Mr. Dean left the place with many kind feelings for
the inmates. He tried to impress each of them with the con-
7iction that, while any man may be a prisoner, the prisoner
should not forget that he is still a man. Weighing two hun-
dred and thirty pounds, suffocation wellnigh exhausted his
strength. At the end of fourteen days, his wife, who is a lady
of feeb'e health, and was then sick, stopped at the Billings
Hons?. He obtained a parole of honor to visit her, agreeing
640
AMERICAN BASTILE.
to confine "himself to the hotel. During this time the United
States Court was in session in Des Moines, for the purpose
of finding indictments. Indictments were found against men
for various offences. Any kind of indictment would have
been a relief to the Puritanical persecutors who were hunting
him down. The whole country was raked, scraped, and
canvassed by spies, eavesdroppers, and common informers,
in the genuine spirit of Titus Oates. Every effort was used
— personal spite, political malice, private conversations, news-
paper scraps, written speeches, political associations, and
party antecedents, were all thoroughly examined for treason,
sedition, or anything which would implicate his love of coun-
try or prove his sympathies with its enemies. But no indict-
nient could be found in a good season for indictments, when
one was needed to cover up the wrongs committed against
law, order, and decency by his assailants.
This was not the only instance of wrong suffered, nor the
only act of violence done in the city of Keokuk. They were
frequent and outrageous. The " Constitution " newspaper
office was destroyed. Mr. Hoover's store was destroyed in
the same way. The private dwellings of a number of Dem-
ocrats were assailed in the dead hour of night, by the same
persons. Houses were ransacked in the same way ; and a
note was sent by young Ball, giving notice to an officer not
to attack a private family until the husband returned.
Mr. Dean had not been in the guard-house seventy hours
for exercising the right of free speech, until Governor Kirk-
wood, Congressman Wilson, and Adjutant-General Baker
were posted to speak within hearing of where he was guarded ;
and Mr. Wilson endeavored to convince the people that all
arbitrary arrests were right, and were not of sufficient fre-
quency. It was such passionate harangues that demoralized
the army, and, by a strict and fair construction of military
law, these men were mutineers ; and so long as it was done
thero was no safety to life, liberty, or property.
Mr. Dean says, "I was in danger at any time of assassina-
tion from that class of citizens who incite all the mobs. Odc
HENRY CLAY BEAN.
641
brave soldier told me, during my confinement, that a citizen
of Keokuk had offered him one hundred dollars if he would
assassinate me ; and told the soldier that he need never be
known in the transaction ; that if arrested, he would be ac-
quitted at once ; that he might charge me with running
guard. The same class of citizens spoke of my assassination
in the bar-rooms and elsewhere. Every personal acquaintance
among the soldiers, sick, well, and convalescent, treated me
with kindness. And of every demonstration against any
one, the malignant citizens, the imbecile and corrupt officers
were not only negatively, but positively the acting, moving,
misrepresenting, instigating cause."
On the 11th June, 1863, Mr. Dean was unconditionally
discharged by General J. M. Hiatt, the Provost Marshal,
an officer exceedingly tenacious of his rights and duties, and
who at no time had shown any disposition to favor or screen
him from any testimony that might, in any way, fasten upon
him. But it is but just to say that he was in no wise a party
to the personal insults offered Mr. Dean, but uniformly treated
him with civility.
41
FRANK KEY HOWARD, ESQ.
IT would be impossible, without extending this work far
beyond the limits designed, to give a separate history of
each one of the many cases of gentlemen of Baltimore,
and from different parts of the State of Maryland, who was
arrested and imprisoned.
It will be remembered that the Mayor of the city of Bal-
timore, the Police Commissioners, the Marshal of Police,
members of the State Legislature, and private citizens, not
Dnly from that city, but from all parts of the State, were ar-
rested and thrown into prison, by the edict of Abraham Lin-
coln, and kept there for months, without any warrant of law
whatever.
The prerogative exercised by Mr. Lincoln in Maryland, as
elsewhere, exhibits an assumption of power unparalleled in
the history of any country, at any time. For, be it remem-
bered, Maryland was not in a state of revolution or rebellion.
Mob law may have existed at times in the city of Baltimore,
but did it not exist, at times, in the city of Philadelphia ? Nor
was there any well-founded reason to apprehend that the Legis-
lature of Maryland would pass an ordinance of secession.
Hon. S. Teackle Wallis, a prominent member of that body
— and one of the victims of arbitrary power — in a letter
addressed by him to John Sherman, Senator of Ohio, says :
" The special session of the Legislature of Maryland, called
by Governor Hicks, in 1861, was opened in Frederick, on the
26th of April, in that year. On the next day, April 27, a
select committee of the Senate reported to that body an ad-
dress to the people of Maryland, which, on the same day,
was unanimously adopted, and was shortly afterward pub-
642
FRANK KEY HOWaBD,
CAS
fished, with the individual signatures of the Senators, in alJ
the newspapers of the State.
" The principal feature of that address, in fact almost the
only purpose of its promulgation, is developed in the follow-
ing extract :
" 4 We cannot hut know that a large portion of the citizens
of Maryland have heen induced to believe that there is a
probability that our deliberations may result in the passage
of some measure committing this State to secession. It is,
therefore, our duty to declare that all such fears are without
just foundation. We know that we have no constitutional au-
thority to take such action; you need not fear that there is a pos-
sibility that we will do so,' "
Notwithstanding this enunciation, the Maryland Legisla-
ture was suppressed, the members incarcerated, and citi-
zens by the scores throughout the State imprisoned. There-
fore, in order to embrace the history of many of the cases
o{ citizens in Baltimore — because they are not dissimilar —
in one narrative, we present a most interesting and readable
one, from the pen of Frank Key Howard, Esq., a member of
the Baltimore Bar.
FORT McHENRY.
On the morning of the 13th of September, 1861, at my
residence, in the city of Baltimore, I was awakened, about
half-past twelve or one o'clock, by the ringing of the bell.
On going to the window, I saw a man standing on the steps
below, who told me he had a message for me from Mr. S. T.
Wallis. I desired to know the purport of it, when he in-
formed me that he could only deliver it to me privately. As
it had been rumored that the Government intended to arrest
the members of the Legislature, and as Mr. "Wallis was one
of the most prominent of the Delegates from the city of
Baltimore, I thought it probable that the threatened outrage
nad been consummated, and I hurried down to tne door.
When I opened it, two men entered, leaving the door ajar.
One ol them informed me that he had an order for my arrest
644
AMERICAN BASTILE.
In answer to my demand that he should produce the warrant
or order under which he was acting, he declined to do so,
but said he nad instructions from Mr. Seward, the Secretary
of State.
I replied that I could recognize no such authority, when
he stated that he intended to execute his orders, and that
resistance would be idle, as he had a force with him sufficient
to render it unavailing. As he spoke, several men entered
the house, more than one of whom were armed with revolvers,
which I saw in their belts. There was no one in the house,
when it was thus invaded, except my wife, children, and ser-
vants ; and, under such circumstances, I, of course, abandoned
all idea of resistance. I went into my library, and sent for
my wife, who soon joined me there, when I was informed
that neither of us would be permitted to leave the room
until the house had been searched. How many men were
present, I am unable to say, but two or three were stationed
in my library, and one at the front door, and I saw several
others passing, from time to time, along the passage. The
leader of the gang then began to search the apartment.
Every drawer and box was thoroughly ransacked, as also
were my portfolio and writing-desk, and every other place
that could possibly be supposed to hold any papers. All my
private memoranda, hills, note-books, and letters were col-
lected together, to be carried off. Every room in the house
subsequently underwent a similar search. After the first
two rooms had been thus searched, I was told that I could
not remain longer, but must prepare to go to Fort McHenry.
I went up stairs, to finish dressing, accompanied by the leader
of the party, and I saw that men were stationed in all parts
of the house, one even standing sentinel at the door of my
children's nursery. Having dressed, and packed up a change
of clothes, and a few other articles, I went down into the
library, and was notified that I must at once depart. I
demanded permission to send for my wife's brother or father,
who were in the immediate neighborhood, hut this was re-
fused. My wife then desired to go to her children's room.
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
645
and this request was also refused. I was forced to submit ;
and ordering tlie servants to remain in the room with my
wife, and giving decided expression to my feelings concern-
ing the outrage perpetrated upon me, and the miserable
tyrants who had authorized it, I got into the carriage which
was waiting to convey me to Fort McIIenry. Two men,
wearing the badges of the police force which the Govern-
ment had organized, escorted me to the Fort. It was with
a bitter pang that I left my house in possession of the mis-
creants who had invaded it. I afterward learned that the
search was continued for some time, and it was not until
after three o'clock in the morning that they left the premises.
I reached Fort McIIenry about two o'clock in the morn
ing. There I found several of my friends, and others were
brought in a few minutes afterward. One or two were
brought in later in the day, making fifteen in all. Among
them were most of the members of the Legislature from
Baltimore, Mr. Brown, the Mayor of the city, and one of
our Representatives in Congress, Mr. May. They were all
gentlemen of high social position, and of unimpeachable
character, and each of them had been arrested, as has been
said, solely on account of his political opinions, no definite
charge having been then or afterward preferred against
them. Two small rooms were assigned us during our stay.
In the smaller one of these I was placed, with three com-
panions. The furniture consisted of three or four chairs and
an old rickety bedstead, upon which was the filthiest apology
for a bed I ever saw. There was also a tolerably clean-looking
mattress lying in one corner. Upon this mattress, and upon
the chairs and bedstead, we vainly tried to get a few hours'
Bleep. The rooms were in the second story of the building,
and opened upon a narrow balcony, which we were allowed
to use, sentinels, however, being stationed on it. When I
looked out in the morning, I could not help being struck by
an odd and not pleasant coincidence. On that day, forty-
seven years before, my grandfather, Mr. F. S. Key, then a
[wuer on a British ship, had witnessed the bombardment
646
AMERICAN BASTILE.
of Fort McHenry. When, on the following morning, the
hostile fleet drew off, defeated, he wrote the song so long
popular throughout the country, the " Star-spangled Bau-
ner." As I stood upon the very scene of that conflict, I
could not hut contrast my position with his, forty-seven
years hefore. The flag which he had then so proudly hailed,
I saw waving, at the same place, over the victims of as vulgar
and hrutal a despotism as modern times have witnessed.
At an early hour in the morning, and through the day, a
number of our friends endeavored to procure access to us, but
nearly all failed to do so. Three or four gentlemen and two
or three ladies managed to obtain admission to the Fort, and
Colonel Morris, the commanding officer, permitted them to
interchange a few words with us, in his presence, they being
down on the parade-ground and we up in the balcony. Mr.
Brown was not even allowed to speak to his wife, who had
been suffered to enter the Fort, and could only take leave of
her by bowing to her across the parade-ground. About mid-
day, we sent for our clothes, several of the party having left
home without bringing anything whatever with them. At
4 o'clock p.m., we were notified that we were to be sent at five
o'clock to Fortress Monroe. The trunks of most of us for-
tunately arrived half an hour before we left, and were thor-
oughly searched. Had they been delayed a little longer, we
should undoubtedly have been sent oft' with only such little
clothing as some of us happened to have brought with us
when first arrested. As it was, one or two of the party had
absolutely nothing save what they wore. About six o'clock,
we left Fort McHenry on the steamer Adelaide. The after-
cabin, which was very comfortable, and the after-deck, on
which it opened, were assigned to our use. Sentinels were
stationed in the cabin and on the after-deck. The officers
and crew of the boat treated us with all the kindness and
courtesy it was in their power to show. When we were taken
below to supper, we saw at another table a number of naval
officers, some of whom several of my companions had known
well. These officers did not venture to recognize a single
FRANK KEY HOW1RD.
647
individual of our party, although we were within ten feet oi
them, and within full view. Their conduct was in admirable
keeping with that of the Government they served.
FORTRESS MONROE.
We reached Fortress Monroe about six o'clock, on the
morning of September 14. Major-General John E. Wool was
in command of the Department within which the Fort was
situated, and had his headquarters there at the time. As no
arrangements had been made for our reception, we did not
land until late in the day. The boat lay at the wharf for
several hours, and then ran up above the Fortress about a
quarter of a mile, and anchored in the stream. In the course
of the day, General Wool sent for Messrs. Brown and May.
He stated to them that our arrival had taken him by sur-
prise, and that he had no quarters prepared for us, but said
that some of the casemates were being made ready for ue.
He evidently felt that the accommodations he was about to
give us were not such as we had a right to expect, and inti-
mated that a building known as Carroll Hall, or a portion of
it, would, in all probability, be assigned to us in a few days.
This was the last that any of the party saw of General Wool,
and we heard no more of Carroll Hall. About five o'clock,
we landed, and were marched to our quarters. These con-
sisted of two casemates, from which some negroes were still
engaged in removing dirt and rubbish, when we got there.
Each of these casemates was divided by a substantial parti-
tion, thus making four rooms. The two front rooms were
well finished, and were about fifteen by twenty-three feet
each, and each had a door and two windows which opened
on the grounds within the Fortress. The windows had Ve-
netian shutters to them, and there were Venetian doors also,
outside of the ordinary solid doors. The inner, or back rooms,
if rooms they can be called, were considerably smaller than
the others, and were simply vaulted chambers of rough stone,
whitewashed. They were each lighted by a single, deep em
brasure, which, at the narrowest part, was about forty-fou
648
AMERICAN BASTILE.
by twenty-two inches. Just beneath these embrasures win
the moat, which at that point was more than fifty feet in
width. On the opposite side of the moat a sentinel was eon
stantly stationed. The two back rooms and one of the front
ones we used as sleeping apartments, each being occupied by
five persons. In the other front room we took our meals.
Bedsteads and bedding were furnished us, which, I believe,
were obtained from the Hygeia Hotel, just outside the walls.
About ten o'clock, one of the Sergeants of the Provost Mar-
shal visited us, and carefully searched our baggage. Our
meals were sent from the hotel also, and worse, as we at that
time thought, could not well have been offered us. The
regulations to which we were subjected, were not only unne-
cessarily rigorous, but seem to have been framed with the
deliberate purpose of adding petty insults to our other annoy-
ances. We were required to leave the room when the ser-
vants who brought our meals were engaged in setting the
table, although a sergeant of the guard was always present
at such times, to prevent our holding any conversation with
them. We were notified, by an order from General Wool also,
that the knives and forks were to be counted after each meal. It
is difficult to conceive for what rational purpose such a rule
was made. Fifteen of us would scarcely have thought of
assailing the thousands of troops who composed the garri-
son, with such weapons as might have been snatched from
(he table ; and, closely guarded as we were, it was hardly
possible that we could have effected our escape, had we
thought of doing so, by means of such implements as knives
and forks. The order was one, therefore, which could only
have been intended to humiliate us, and it was certainly such
as no one having the instincts of a gentleman, or the better
feelings of a man, would have suggested or enforced. It
was, however, in accordance with the theory upon which
General Wool thought proper to deal with us throughout.
In front of our casemates a large guard was stationed day
and night, two or three tents being pitched about ten feet
off for their use ; and a sentinel was constantly pacing up
FEANK KEY HOWARD.
G49
and down within four feet of oar doors. For a week we
never left our two casemates for a single instant, for any
purpose whatever. We continually remonstrated against
the manner in which we were treated, and represented the
fact that we were likely, under such circumstances, to suffer
seriously in health. Our complaints were generally followed
by some new restriction. After we had been there two or
three days, the Sergeant of the Guard closed the window-
shutters and the Venetian doors of our rooms, and stated
that he had express orders to do so. At our request, Mr.
Wallis addressed the following note to Captain Davis, the
Provost Marshal :
" Captain Davis, U. S. A., Provost Marshal:
"Sir: The Sergeant who has charge of my fellow-prisoners
nnd myself, has just closed the blinds of our front windows and
doors, excluding us from the sight of passing objects, shutting
out, to a great extent, the light by which we read, and hindering
the circulation of the air through our apartments. These last
arc, at best, damp and unwholesome, and to-day particularly, in
the existing state of the atmosphere, are extremely unpleasant
and uncomfortable — so much so, that we have been compelled
to build a fire for our mere protection from illness. Some of our
number are old men ; others in delicate health; and the restraint
which excludes us from air and exercise is painful enough, with-
out this new annoj-ance, which the Sergeant informs us he has
no right to forego. You are aware of the disgusting necessities
to which we are subjected, in a particular of which we spoke to
you personally, and you will, of course, know how much this
new obstruction must add to our discomfort. I am requested
uy my companions simply to call your attention to the matter,
nnd am,
Yery respectfully,
"S. T. Wallis.
KYortrest3 Monroe, 17th September, 1861."
No reply was made to this by Captain Davis. On the fob
lowing day, iron bars were placed across the shutters, and
650
AMERICAN BASTILE.
padlocked , thus fastening them permanently, and the vene*
tian doors were padlocked also. The keys were kept by the
Sergeant, who was the deputy, or assistant, of the Provost
Marshal, and, in his absence, no one had access to our rooms.
In consequence of this, we were often put to serious incon-
venience, and on several occasions, our meals, which were
trundled up from the hotel on a wheelbarrow, remained for
an hour or two outside of the door, awaiting the pleasure of
the Sergeant. After the closing of the doors and shutters,
our situation was, of course, far more irksome than ever.
The Venetian doors were not quite so high as the solid doors,
and by standing on anything that elevated us a few inches,
we could manage to look out over them. Through these
furtive and unsatisfactory glimpses only, could we obtain
any sight of the outer world on that side of our prison.
From the back rooms we had a limited view of the river,
and of some of the shipping ; and of this prospect it was
impossible by the exercise of any ingenuity to deprive us.
A day or two before we left, we were allowed, at intervals
during the day, the use of an adjoining casemate. Sanitary
considerations, I presume, compelled our keepers to grant us
a privilege, which it was sheer brutality to have so long de-
nied us. A door communicated between our quarters and
this new casemate, at which a sentinel was stationed, who
permitted two persons to pass at one time. The more dis-
gusting and painful details of our imprisonment, I must ab-
stain from dwelling on. Our rooms were swept each morn-
ing, and such other personal services as were absolutely ne-
cessary were hurriedly performed by two filthy negro boys,
under the supervision of the Sergeant of the Guard.
We were permitted to correspond with our families and
friends, all our letters undergoing the scrutiny of one of
General Wool's officers. But we were not allowed to make
any public statements, nor even to correct the falsehoods or
slanders which were circulated about us in the newspapers
On one occasion, a paragraph appeared in the Baltimore
" American," which, by way of justifying our arrest, alleged
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
651
that the Government had in its possession ample evidence of
the fact, that all who had been arrested had in some way
violated the laws. An assertion so utterly false we naturally
desired to contradict, and Messrs. Brown, and Wallis, and
myself, each wrote a brief card for publication in other
journals, denying the truth of the " American's " statement.
These cards were not allowed to go to the newspapers to
which we had addressed them. It apparently suited the
purpose of the Government to have us libelled as well as
punished, and we, of course, were without redress.
For ten days, we lived as I have described, in these dark-
ened and dreary casemates. General Wool never came near
our quarters, nor did he ever, either directly or indirectly,
extend to us the slightest courtesy. He knew as well as any
one, that we had been seized and were held by the Govern-
ment in utter violation of all law, and that he had no decent
pretext for permitting himself to be made our custodian.
He knew, therefore, that we were entitled to be treated with
some consideration. But he ignored, alike, his obligations
as a citizen and as a gentleman, and caused us to be subjected
to indignities that it would have been needless to inflict on
the convicted inmates of his own guard-house. After our
return, we heard in several quarters, that General Wool had
repeatedly said he acted in the matter strictly in accordance
with his instructions from Washington. As implicit defer-
ence to officers of the Government seems to be generally ex-
acted in these days, the public may perhaps accept General
Wool's explanation. For myself, I do not ; and I am sure
there are many who will refuse to credit the statement that
the War Department found time, at such a crisis, to send
special orders to Fortress Monroe, consigning us to the case-
mates in question, and directing the closing of the shutters,
and the counting of the knives and forks. It seems more
reasonable to suppose that General Wool had some discre-
tionary powers in regard to the treatment he was to accord
to his prisoners.
Soon after we reached Fortress Monroe, we began to coi*
652
AMERICAN BASTILE.
aider the probabilities of our release, and the means by which
we might obtain it. It was suggested that we should come
to some understanding as to the course we ought to pursue,
and then act together throughout ; but this proposition was
not for a moment entertained. Almost every one of us
thought that each individual should act for himself, under
his own sense of right. It was very soon evident, however,
that we were all of one opinion. We regarded the outrage
done us personally, as one about which we could make no
compromise. We thought the contemptuous violation of the
laws of our State and the rights of its people, required at our
hands all the resistance we could offer. We saw that Mr.
Lincoln desired, by arbitrary measures, to silence everything
like opposition to his schemes, and wre felt under an obliga-
tion to thwart his iniquitous project, by showing that the
people of Maryland could not successfully be so dealt with.
It seemed clear to us, therefore, that it was the duty of each
of U3, both as an individual and a citizen, to continue to de-
nounce and protest against Mr. Lincoln's proceedings, and
to accept at his hands nothing, save the unconditional dis-
charge to which we were entitled. Of this determination
we notified our friends, during the first few days of our im-
prisonment.
FORT LAFAYETTE.
On the afternoon of the 25th of September, we left Fort-
ress Monroe, on the steamer George Peabody. There were
no otli^r passengers, but the fifteen or twenty soldiers com-
posing the guard. The boat was a Baltimore boat, and we
received from her officers and crew the same courteous treat-
ment that had been extended to us on board of the Adelaide.
We reached Fort Lafayette, in New York harbor, a little
before dark, on the afternoon of the 26th, and were imme-
diately transferred from the boat to the Fort. Fort Lafay-
ette is built upon a shoal, or small island, lying in the Nar-
rows, just between the lower end of Staten Island and Loug
Island, and two or three hundred yards from the latter.
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
653
it is something of an octagonal structure, though the four
principal sides are so much longer than the others, that the
building, on the inside, looks like a square. It is some forty-
iive or fifty feet high. In two of the longer and two of the
shorter sides, which command the channel, are the batteries.
There are two tiers of heavy guns on each of these sides, and
above these are lighter barbette guns, under a temporary
wooden roof. The other two principal sides are occupied,
on the first and second stories, by small casemates ; all those
on the second, and some of those on the first story, being
then assigned to the officers and soldiers. There are, alto-
gether, ten of tl <ise casemates on each story. The whole
space enclosed w.thin the walls is about one hundred and
twenty feet across. A pavement, about twenty-five feet wide,
runs around this space, leaving a patch of ground, some
seventy feet square, in the middle. A gloomier-looking place
than Fort Lafayette, both within and without, it would T.e
hard to find in the whole State of ~New York, or, indeed, any-
where. On the high bluff on Lonsr Island stood Fort Ilamil-
ton, an extensive fortification, whose commanding officer,
Colonel Martin Burke, had also jurisdiction over Fort Lafay-
ette. Lieutenant Chas. 0. Wood, who had, a few months before,
received a commission from Mr. Lincoln, was commanding
officer at Fort Lafayette. The two principal gun-batteries,
and four of the casemates in the lower story, were assigned to
the prisoners. Each of these batteries was paved with brick,
and was, I should judge, about sixty feet long and twenty-
four feet wide. The one in which I was first quartered was
lighted by five embrasures, the breadth and height of each
being about two and a half by two feet, and on the outside
of these, ir >n gratings had been fastened. There were five
large thirty-two-pounders in this room, which were about
eight feet apart, and, with their carriages, occupied a great
deal of space. Five large doorways, seven or eight feet high,
opened upon the enclosure within the walls, and were closed
by solid folding-doors. We were only allowed to keep two
of these do«rs, at one end of the battery, open, and at that
654
AMERICAN BASTILE.
end only could we usually see to read or write. The lower
half of the battery was in a state of perpetual twilight. The
adjoining battery was, in all respects, like the one I have at-
tempted to describe. The four casemates, which were occu-
pied by prisoners, were vaulted cells, measuring twenty-four
by fourteen feet in length and breadth, and eight feet at the
highest point. Each was lighted by two small loop-holes in
the outer wall, about ten inches wide, and by a similar one
opening on the inside enclosure. These casemates were both
dark and damp, but they had fireplaces in them, while it
was impossible to warm the gun-batteries, until stoves were
put up, about a week or ten days before we left.
The Fort could not be made to accommodate twenty
people decently, beside the garrison. Nevertheless, there
were always largely over a hundred crowded into it, and
it one time, there were as many as one hundred and thirty-
five.
When I and my companions reached the wharf, we were
met by Lieutenant Wood. I had seen him at Fort Hamilton
some six weeks before, having gone there to try and see my
father, who was then confined in Fort Lafayette. Wood
recognized me, and requested me to introduce to him the
gentlemen who were with me. This was the first and last
occasion, as far as I know, on which he manifested a dis-
position to treat us with civility. His bearing, at all times
subsequently, was that of an ordinary jailer, except, perhaps,
that he displayed even less good feeling than usually char-
acterizes that class of people. We were marched into the
gun-battery I have mentioned, and as the prisoners already
there, many of whom were our acquaintances or friends,
crowded around us, Lieutenant Wood requested all to leave
the room, except those comprised in what he elegantly
termed the " last lot." We were then required to give up all
the money in our possession. We were each furnished that
night with an iron bedstead, a bag of straw, and one shoddy
blanket. When we had time to look around us, we found
.here were some twenty prisoners already quartered in the
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
G55
nattery, and the number of inmates was therefore increased
to about thirty-fiie by the addition of our party. The beds,
which were arranged between the guns, almost touched each
other. If we had had other furniture, we should not have
known what to do with it, three or four chairs and a
couple of small tables being all that we could afterward
find space for.
We found, in the morning, that the gun-battery adjoin-
ing ours was, if possible, more crowded than the one we
occupied, and the casemates were as much crowded as the
batteries. There wrere, as I have stated, four casemates, on
the lower or ground floor, allotted to prisoners. Three of
these contained nine or ten persons each, and into the fourth
were thrust, at that time, very nearly thirty prisoners, who
were either privateersmen, or sailors who had been taken
while running the blockade on the Southern coast. These
men had neither beds nor blankets, and were all, or nearly
all, in irons. Their situation was wretched in the extreme.
Such was the condition of things at Fort Lafayette when
we reached it, and we were not a little astonished to learn
from our friends, who had been there longer, that their situa-
tion had been even worse a few weeks previously than it then
was. To givs a correct idea of the manner in wThich the
Government dealt with gentlemen who, by its own admis-
sion, had been arrested, or were then held merely by way of
precaution, I insert the following letters, which had, before
my arrival, been sent by my father to the parties to whom
they are respectively addressed :
"Fort Lafayette, N. Y., August 1, 1861.
"Hon. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. :
" Sir : After the interview I had with you in Fort McIIenry, on
the 4th ult., and in view of the assurances you then expressed,
as to the manner in which I and the gentlemen with mo, were
entitled to be treated during our confinement by the Genoral
Government, 1 cannot refrain from expressing my surprise at the
condition in which, by its orders, we now find ourselves. On
656
AMEKICAN BASTILE.
Monday evening last, we were placed on board the steamei
Joseph Whitney, with a detachment of soldiers ; all information
as to our place of destination being positively refused, both
to us and to the members of our families. Both General Dix
a:, d Major Morris, however, gave the most positive assurances
that, at the place to which we should be taken, we would be
made much more comfortable, and the limits of our confine-
ment would be less restricted than at Fort McHenry. Yester-
day, we were landed here, and are kept in close custody. No
provision of any kind had been made here for us, and, last
night, were shut up, eight persons, in a vaulted room or case-
mate, about twenty-four by fourteen feet, having three small
windows, each about three feet by fourteen inches, and a
close wooden door, which was shut and locked upon us soon
after nine o'clock, and remained so until morning. Some of the
party, by permission, brought on our own bedsteads and bedding,
with which we had been compelled to supply ourselves at Fort
McHenry; otherwise we should have been compelled to lie onth<&
bare floor, the officers here stating to us, that they had no sup-
plies whatever, and could not furnish us with blankets, even of
the most ordinary kind. We are distinctly notified that the
orders under which the commanding officer of the post is acting,
require him to impose upon us the following, among other re-
strictions, viz.: we are allowed to receive or forward no letters
from or to, even our own families, unless they are submitted to
inspection and perusal by some military officer; no friend can
visit us without the permission of Colonel Burke, whose quarters
are not at this Fort, and no intimation has been given that such
permission will bo readily granted; we are to receive no news-
papers from any quarter; for one hour in the morning, and one
in the evening only, we are to be allowed to take exercise by
walking about in a small square, not larger than some sixty or
seventy feet each way, surrounded on the four sides by the mas-
sive buildings of the Fort, three stories in height. We were, on
oui arrival here, required to surrender all the money we had, and
all writing-paper and envelopes, our baggage being all searched for
these and other articles that might be chosen to be considered as
contraband. It is unnecessary to give any further details to
satisfy you that our condition, as to physical comfort, is no bet-
ter than that of the worst felons in any common jail in the coun.
FRANK KEY HOWABD.
657
try. Having been arrested, and already imprisoned for a month,
without a charge of any legal offence having been, as yet, pre-
ferred against me, or those arrested at the same time with me, it
is useless to make any further protest to you against the con-
tinuance of our confinement. But we do insist, as a matter of
common right, as well as in fulfilment of your own declarations
to me, that, if the Government chooses to exercise its power, by
restraining us of our liberty, it is bound, in ordinary decency, to
make such provision for our comfort and health, as gentlemen,
against whom, if charges have been preferred, they have not
been made known, and all opportunity for an investigation na»
been denied, are recognized in every civilized community to be
entitled to. It is but just to Colonel Burke, and Lieutenant Wood,
who commands the garrison here, that I should add that both
of those officers have professed their desire to extend to us all
comforts that their instructions will allow, and the means at
their command will enable them to do. They have, however,
each stated that the orders under which they act are imperative,
and that their supplies of even the most common articles are, at
present, very limited. I have written this letter on my bed, sit-
ting on the floor, upon a carpet-bag, there being neither table,
chair, stool, nor bench in the room.
" I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Charles Howard.^
" Fort Lafayette, N. Y. Harbor, August 7, 1861.
"Hon. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. :
" Sir: I addressed a communication yesterday to Colonel Burke,
which he advised me he has forwarded to Washington. In reply,
he has written a note to Lieutenant Wood, and instructed him
to read it to us. The substance of this note was, that as some of
the letters we had written to our families, if they were to find
their way into the newspapers, 'might influence the public mind/
the Colonel had thought it proper to forward them all to the head-
quarters of the army. He further stated that the orders he had
received were, to ' treat us kindly, but keep us safely.' As tc
the first part, allow me to say, that whatever our condition may
be, the minds of our friends, and of all others, who may feel any
interest in the matter, will surely be less apt to be influenced
unfavorably toward the Government by knowing the truth about
42
6o8
AMERICAN BASTILE.
us, than they will be by their finding that our communications
with tlum are intercepted, and that they are allowed to hcai
nothing whatever as to how we are treated. They will necessa-
rily conclude that our imprisonment is exactly like thv* of those
who used to be confined in the Bastile, (as in fact it is,} who were
allowed to hold no communications except such as might be
entirely agreeable and acceptable to their custodians. They will,
of course, be kept in a continual state of great anxiety and
uneasiness, and their sympathies will be constantly excited in
our behalf. The distress that will thus be inflicted upon our
families, can be termed nothing less than cruelty. In the next
place, it is hard to conceive how it can bo reconciled with any-
thing like the idea of 'kind treatment/ to prohibit our reception
of all newspapers whatever, or the unrestricted delivery to us,
without examination, of all letters that may be addressed to us;
while it certainly cannot be shown that such prohibitions are at
all necessary to insure our 'safe-keeping.' The examination of,
and the discretion claimed to retain letters to us from the nearest
members of our families, as well as the preventing us from receiv-
ing newspapers, can only be regarded as measures of punishment,
adopted toward those who have been convicted of no offence; to
whom no opportunity has been afforded for an investigation of
any charges that may possibly have been preferred against
them; and for whose arrest, as our counsel were assured by
General Banks, there were no other reasons than the allegations
«et forth by him in his proclamation; and the continuance of
whose confinement, he stated to be solely a precautionary meas-
ure on the part of the Government. These assurances were
given by him at Fort McIIenry. I will add that, whatever may
be the disposition of the officer commanding the post, and of
those in this garrison, to 'treat us kindly,' they are restricted in
doing so, within extremely narrow iimits, either by other orders
they may have received, or by the means of extending such treat-
ment not having been supplied to them. Wo are isolated — at a
distance of two hundred miles from our families, and all bit a
few friends; and with these we are permitted to havo no inter-
course. Wo are thrown upon our own resources — those of us
who may have means, being allowed to find, at our own cost,
within the Fort, decent, but very ordinary fare, while those who
cannot, in justice to their families, afford such expense, bare
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
G59
ajthing but the ordinary rations of the soldier, which arc of tho
coarsest kind. In consequence of the delay in other depart-
ments of the service, in complying with the requisitions which
the officers hero have made, we should at this moment, though
we have been here a week, have been without a chair or table
but for the courtesy of Lieutenant Stirling, who, seeing our state
of utter discomfort, has lent to us two chairs from his own quar-
ters; and that of the wife of a sergeant, who has lent us a small
stand. We are informed, however, that a supply of such articles
may be expected, for our use, from the city, this evening. Finally,
there are six of us confined in one room, precisely similar, in all
respects, to that described in my letter of the 1st inst., to which
I beg leave to refer you.
"I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Charles Howard."
" Fort Lafayette, N. Y. Harbor, August 8, 1861.
* Lieut. -Gen. Scott, Commander-in-Chief, U. S. A.,
Headquarters, Washington, D. C. :
"Sir: "By a letter received last night from Mrs. Howard, 1
learn that in reply to the inquiries she made of }-ou, sbc was in-
formed that I would be 'decently lodged and subsisted here.' I
wrote to the Hon. the Secretary of "War, on the 1st inst., and
again }^cstcrday, advising him of the treatment which I and my
fellow-prisoners are receiving. A perusal of those letters would
satisfy you that these assurances are not verified. I need here
only say, that we are not 1 decently lodged,' nor arc we, in any
sense of the words, 'decently subsisted' by the Government.
The only proffer of subsistence made to us, has been to feed us
like the private soldiers of the garrison, or to allow us to procure
other meals at our own cost.
14 1 have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Charles Howard."
" Fort Lafayette, N. Y. narbor, August 12, 1861.
"Hon. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War, Washington, I>. C. :
"Sir: I laid before you a statement of tho condition in which.
1 am kept, in two former communications, the one on tho 1st
inst., and the other a few days subsequently; to which I beg
leave to refer And I should not again trouble you, had I not>
660
AMERICAN BASTILE.
s:nce my last, learned on the direct authority of Lieutcnant-
General Scott, that an order had been given by the Department
cf State, that the political prisoners confined at Fort Lafayette
shall be 'decently lodged and subsisted, unless they prefer to
provide for themselves.' The 1 decent lodging' furnished us, con-
sists in putting seven gentlemen to sleep in one room, of which
I have before given you a description. Within this, or at the
door of it, we are required to remain, except during two hours
in the day, or while taking our meals.
" The 1 decent subsistence' offered us, in the alternative of our
declining, or not having the means to provide for ourselves, is
much inferior, in many respects, to that furnished to convicted
felons in the Baltimore Penitentiary and Jail; and so far as I am
informed, in any well-regulated prison in the country.
"The officers here advise us. that this is the only fare which,
under the instructions given, and the means allowed to them by
the Government, they can offer. How far such treatment is in
accordance with the instructions of the Government, as expressed
by the Department of State, with the assurance given to mo
personally by yourself, or with the promises voluntarily made
by Major-General John A. Dix, and Major Wm. W. Morris, I
leave it, sir, for you to judge.
"I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Charles Howard."
" Fort Lafayette. N. Y. Harbor, August 19, 1861.
"Hon. Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. :
"Sir: My family were informed by Lieutenant-General Scott,
under date of the 3d instant., that an order had been given <by
the Department of State, that the political prisoners confined
at Fort Lafayette shall be decently lodged and subsisted, unless
they prefer to provide for themselves.' About the same time, I
was advised by Lieutenant-Colonel Burke, commanding this post,
that his instructions were 1 to treat us kindly, but keep us safely.'
I beg leave, sir, to inform you that your order has not beei
complied with. It cannot be considered as 'decent lodging' to
put a number of gentlemen accustomed to the comforts of life, to
sleep in one low vaulted room, in or at the door of which they
are confined, except for two hours in the twenty-four. The
number sleeping in tbe room in which I am now placed, hai
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
661
varied from five to seven. There are now here, six of us. The
only subsistence provided for us by the Government, as the
alternative of providing for ourselves, has been the proffer of the
single ration, distributed here to the private soldier, which is
inferior, both in quantity and quality, to the fare furnished to the
convicted felons in many of the jails and penitentiaries through-
out the country. And this is the 'decent subsistence' offered to
men who have been arrested, and are held on suspicion only, and
who have not ceased to demand an open investigation of any
charge that may possibly have been preferred against them ; a
demand which has been persistently denied. I have no grounds
for imputing to Colonel Burke, or the officers of this garrison,
any intentional disposition to treat us unkindly. But acting ae
they state themselves to be, in obedience to the orders which
they have received, we are subject to various harsh and arbitrary
restrictions, which are utterly irreconcilable with the idea of
'kind treatment,' while they are equally unnecessary for the
insuring of our safe-keeping. I deem it useless, at present, to go
more into details, as I have already described the condition in
which we are placed, in three communications to the Hon. the
Secretary of War, on the 1st, 7th, and 12th inst., respectively,
and in one to Licutenant-Gcncral Scott, on the 8th inst., of none
of which does any notice appear to have been taken. Should
you, sir, however, desire a fuller statement than I havo here
made, to be addressed directly to yourself, one shall be forwarded,
as 60on as I may be apprised of your wishes.
"I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Charles Howard."
Kot the slightest notice was taken of these letters by tho
persons to whom they were addressed, unless the few chairs,
and sheets, and blankets, which were furnished some time
afterward, were distributed by special order from Wash-
ington.
To show how desirous the officers of the Government were,
at that time, to keep, even from the families of the prisoner*,
all knowledge of their actual condition, I am permitted to
cite this letter from Mr. Gatchell, one of the Police Coin-
662
AMERICAN BA.STILE.
missioners of Baltimore. Lieutenant Wood refused to for
ward it to its destination. It was written in pencil :
u Fort Lafayette, New York.
"My dear Wipe: I write on my knee, and with very little
light — but I cannot help saying to you, so that you may know
as soon as possible, that, notwithstanding the assurances given
to us when we left Fort McHenry, we are altogether as uncom-
fortable as it is possible to be. The gentleman in command has
expressed his desire to do all in his power for our comfort, but
ho has not the means. Don't write until I give you notice, for
at present we are cut off from all communication with our
friends, except writing to them, and our letters inspected. Love
to all. Affectionately,
Wm. II. Gatchell.
" Wednesday Evening, 31st July."
Lieutenant Wood, who had expressed his desire to do all
in his power for the comfort of the prisoners, sent back the
above letter, after the lapse of two or three weeks, to Mr.
Gatchell. He informed Mr. Gatchell, when he returned it,
that it had been forwarded to Washington for inspection,
and that he was not allowed to let it pass.
I had, during the visit to New York, of which I have
already spoken, learned how outrageously my father and his
companions were treated, and I published in the New York
"Daily News" a full statement of the facts. It was never
contradicted by the agents of the Government, and was ap-
parently unnoticed by the public. At that time, also, I met
Major Clitz, of the United States Army, who was then
stationed at Fort Hamilton, who, in reply to some remarks
of mine, admitted that there were not decent accommoda-
tions in Fort Latayette for fifteen prisoners. Major Clitz
came over to Fort Lafayette while I was myself a prisoner
there, and I reminded him of that conversation. He unhes-
itatingly replied that he was still of the same opinion.
Shortly after the visit just mentioned, the prisoners were
permitted to receive the daily papers, and were allowed the
ase of liquor, under certain restrictions. The liquors they
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
663
chose to order were kept by Lieutenant Wood, and wero
given out, day by day, in moderate quantities. The day
after we arrived, we sent to New York for beds, bedding,
and other necessary articles of furniture. These we received
a few days afterward. Before our arrival, those of the pris-
oners who chose to do so, had obtained permission to board
with the Ordnance Sergeant, who had been many years at
the post. He and his family occupied two or three of tho
lower casemates, and he undertook to furnish us two meala
daily, at a charge, to each prisoner, of a dollar a day. Thia
arrangement most of our party adopted. The others pre-
ferred or could not afford to do otherwise than accept tho
Government rations, upon which the majority of the prisoners
were living. These were of the coarsest description, and
were served in the coarsest style. A tin plate and a tin cup
to each person constituted the whole table furniture. Tho
dinners consisted of fat pork and beans, a cup of thin soup
and bread, or of boiled beef and potatoes and bread, on alter-
nate days. For breakfast, bread, and weak, unpalatable
coffee, were distributed. This fare was precisely the same
as that furnished to the soldiers. I more than once exam-
ined these rations after they were served. The coffee was a
muddy liquid in which the taste of coffee was barely per-
ceptible, the predominating flavor being a combination of
burnt beans and foul water. The soup was, if possible,
worse, the only palatable thing about it being the few stray
grains of rice that could sometimes be fished out of each can.
The pork and beef were of the most indifferent quality, and
were at times only half cooked. Over and over again have
I seen gentlemen who had been always accustomed to all
the comforts of life, forced to turn away with loathing from
the miserable food thus provided for them. The fare fur-
nished to those of us who boarded with the Sergeant was
very plain, but good enough of its kind.
Ou the 8th of October we addressed the following remon-
strance to the President. The statements which it contains,
/
664 AMERICAN BASTILE,
were purposely made as moderate and temperate as was con-
■sistent with the truth.
u Fort Lafayette, 8th October, 1861.
"His Excellency the President of the United States:
"" "Sir: The undersigned, prisoners confined in Fort Lafayette,
are compelled to address you this protest and remonstrance
against the inhumanity of their confinement and treatment. The
officers in command at Fort Hamilton and this post, being fully
aware of the grievances and privations to which we are obliged
to submit, we are bound, for humanity's sake, to presume that
they have no authority or means to redress or remove them.
They, in fact, assure us that they have not. Our only recourse,
therefore, is to lay this statement before you, in order that you
may interpose to prevent our being any longer exposed to them.
M The prisoners at this post are confined in four small case-
mates, and two large battery-rooms. The former are about
fourteen feet in breadth by twenty-four or thereabouts in length,
with arched ceilings about eight and a half feet high at the
highest point, the spring of the arch commencing at about five
feet from the floor. In each of these is a fireplace, and the
floors are of plank. The battery-rooms are of considerably higher
pitch, and the floors are of brick, and a large space is occupied
in them by the heavy guns and gun-carriages of the batteries.
They have no fireplaces or means of protection from cold or
moisture, and the doors are large, like those of a carriage-house,
rendering the admission of light impossible without entire ex-
posure to the temperature and weather without. In one of the
small casemates, twenty-three prisoners are confined, two-thirds
of them in irons, without beds, bedding, or any of the commonest
necessaries. Their condition could hardly be worse, if they were
in a slave-ship, on the middle passage. In each of two, out of tho
three other casemates, ten gentlemen are imprisoned; in the
third there are nine, and a tenth is allotted to it; their beds and
necessary luggage leaving them scarce space to move, and render-
ing the commonest personal cleanliness almost an impossibility.
The doors are all fastened from six or thereabouts in tho even-
ing, until the same hour in the morning; and with all the windows
( which are small) left open in all weathers, it is hardly possible
to sleep in the foul, unwholesome air. Into one of tho larger
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
665
battery-rooms, there are thirty-four prisoners closely crowded;
into the other, thirty-five. All the doors are closed for the same
period as stated above, and the only ventilation is then from the
embrasures, and so imperfect that the atmosphere is oppressive
and almost stifling. Even during the day, three of the doors of
ore of these apartments are kept closed, against the remon-
strances of the medical men who are among the inmates, and
to the utter exclusion of wholesome and necessary light and
air. In damp weather, all these unhealthy annoyances and
painful discomforts are of course greatly augmented, and when,
as to-day, the prisoners are compelled by rain to continue within
doors, their situation becomes almost intolerable. The under-
signed do not hesitate to say, that no intelligent inspector of
prisons can fail to pronounce their accommodations as wretchedly
deficient, and altogether incompatible with health; and it is obvi-
ous, as we already feel, that the growing inclemencies of the
season which is upon us, must make our condition more and
more nearly unendurable. Many of the prisoners are men ad-
vanced in life ; many more are of infirm health or delicate con-
stitutions. The greater portion of them have been accustomed
to the reasonable comforts of life, none of which are accessible
to them here, and their liability to illness, is, of course, propor-
tionately greater on that account. Many have already suffered
seriously, from indisposition augmented by the restrictions im-
posed upon them. A contagious cutaneous disease is now spread-
ing in one of the larger apartments, and the physicians who are
among us are positive that some serious general disorder must
be the inevitable result, if our situation remains unimproved.
The use of any but salt water, except for drinking, has been, for
some time, altogether denied to us. The cistern water, itself,
for some days past, has been filled with dirt and animalcules,
and the supply, even of that, has been so low, that yesterday we
were almost wholly without drinking-water. A few of us, who
have the means to purchase some trifling necessaries, ha7e been
able to relieve ourselves from this latter privation, to si mo ex-
tent, by procuring an occasional, though greatly inadequate,
supply of fresh water from the Long Island side.
It only remains to add, that the fare is of tho commonest and
coarsest fnldiers' rations, almost invariably ill-prepared and ill-
cooked. Somo of us, who are better able than tho'rest, are per.
/
666 AMERICAN BASTILE.
mitted to take our meals at a private mess, supplied by the wife
of the Ordnance Sergeant, for which we pay, at the rate of a
dollar per day, from our own funds. Those who arc less fortu-
nate, are compelled to submit to a diet so bad and unusual as to
be seriously prejudicial to their health.
"The undersigned have entered into these partial details, be-
cause they cannot believe that it is the purpose of the Govern-
ment to destroy their health or sacrifice their lives, by visiting
them with such cruel hardships; and they will hope, unless forcea
to a contrary conclusion, that it can only be necessary to present
the facts to you, plainly, in order to secure the necessary relief.
We desire to say nothing, here, in regard to the justice or injus-
tice of our imprisonment, but wo respectfully insist upon our right
to be treated with decency and common humanity, so long as
the Government sees fit to confine us.
"Commending the matter to your earliest consideration and
prompt interference, wo are your obedient servants,
II. May,
Chas. Howard,
E. C. Lowber,
Geo. Wm. Brown,
Wm. G. Harrison,
Wm. 11. Gatciiell,
Robt. Mure,
C. S. Moreiiead,
J no. Williams,
Jas. A. McMaster,
Robt. M. Denison,
Ciias. H. Pitts,
Saml. II. Lyon,
R. II. Alvey,
L. Sangston,
S. T. Wallis,
G. 0. Van Amringe,
Austin E. Smith,
Hilary Cenas,
F. K. Howard,
W. R, Butt,
J. T. McFeat,
B. P. Loyall,
J. K. MlLLNER,
W. H. Ward,
B. Mills, M.D.,
T. Parkin Scott,
Andrew Lynch, M.D.,
P. P. Raisin,
n. R. Stevens,
J no. C. Braine,
J. W. Robarts,
J. 11. Gordon,
R. R. Walker,
C. J. Durant,
Ciias. M. Hagelin,
M. W. Barr,
Bethel Burton,
R. T. Durrett,
S. J. Anderson,
J. Hanson Thomas,
Rich. S. Freeman,
C. J. Faulkner,
Q. P. Pressay,
FRANK KEY HOWARD,
667
L. G. QUINLAN, E. S. RUGGLES,
W. E. Kearney, Jas. E. MuuriiRY,
G. A. Shackleford, Henry M. Warfield,
Jno. H. Cusick, Geo. P. Kane,
Jos. W. Griffith, Chas. Macgill, M. D.,
Robt. Drane, Geo. W. Barnard,
Jno. W. Davis, F. M. Crow,
T. S. Wilson, H. G. Thurber,
Robt. Tansill, E. G. Kilbourne,
A. D. Wharton, T. H. Wooldridge,
Saml. Eakins, L. S. Hobsclaw,
J. B. Barbour, Algernon S. Sullivan,
Edw. Payne, Jas. CnAPiN,
A. Dawson, E. B. Wilder,
Jno. M. Brewer, A. McDowell,
Ellis B. Schnabel, Wm. Grubbs,
H. B. Claiborne, Chas. Kopperl,
F. Wyatt, Thos. W. Hall, Jr."
On the 10th of October, the following note was sent to
Lieutenant Wood, who ordered it to be read to the prisoners :
" Fort Hamilton, New York, October 10, 1861.
"Sir: I am directed by Colonel Burke to say to you, that you
can inform the prisoners, that their petition has been forwarded,
through Colonel Townsend, to the President United States.
"Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. C. Lay,
"First Lieutenant 12th Infantry.
"P. S. — Colonel presumed that boat has brought you a supply
of water."
Of the gentlemen who signed the above remonstrance,
which Colonel Burke thought proper to term a " petition,"
many were members of the Maryland Legislature; a large
number were, up to the time of their incarceration, officers
of the Navy; and others were men of high social or political
position in their respective States. No reply was ever receivo<?
fioin Washington.
AMERICAN BASTILE.
The rules to which we were expected to conform, were posted
on the wails ol the different batteries and casemates. They
read as follows :
' Regulations for the Guidance of Citizen Prisonen ::nfined at this
Post.
"1st. The rooms of the prisoners will be ready for inspection
at 9 o'clock a.m. All cleaning, etc., will be done by the prisoners
themselves, unless otherwise directed. All washing will be done
in the yard.
44 2d. No conversation will be allowed with any member of this
garrison, and all communication in regard to their wants will be
made to the Sergeant of the Guard.
44 3d. No prisoner will leave his room without the permission
of the Sergeant of the Guard
"4 th. Prisoners will avoid all conversations on the political
affairs of this country, within the hearing of any member of this
garrison.
14 5th. Light will be allowed in the prisoners' rooms until
0.15 r.M. After this hour, all talking, or noise of any kind, will
cease.
"Gth. The prisoners will obey implicitly the directions of any
member of the guard.
" Cases of sickness will be reported at 7 a.m.
"8th. Anv transgressions of the forc£oin:r rules will bo cor-
rccted by solitary imprisonment, or such other restrictions as
may be required to the strict enforcement thereof.
(Signed) Charles O. Wood,
Second Lieutenant, 9th Infantry, Commanding Post
44 Fort Lafayette, New York Harbor, August 3, 1861."
Shortly after we arrived at Fort Lafayette, the following
additional order was issued :
44 No prisoners will be allowed to recognize or have any
communication with any persons visiting this Fcrt, excepting
when the visitor brings an order from the proper authority, per-
mitting an interview, which interview will be held in tho pro-
icncc of an officer, and not to exceed one hour; the convoca-
tion during the interview will be carried on in a touo of voic€
FRANK KKY HOWARD. 609
load eno'i^h to ho distinctly hoard hy tho officer in whoso pro-
sonco the intcrviow is licld."
These rules were, with a single exception, strictly enforced.
Those of us whose quarters were contiguous, were Buffered
to pass backward and forward, at will, provided we did not
step off the pavement, which ran around the enclosure. But
wo could not visit the quarter! of those who wore on the
Opposite side of the Fort, without permission of the Sergeant
of the Guard. We were only allowed to walk for one hour
in the morning, and one hour in the afternoon, upon the lit-
tle patch of ground within the Fort. Why the privilege of
walking there, at all times, was denied us, it is hard to con-
jecture. The space inside was so small, that, when we took
our afternoon's exercise, it was literally crowded. The walls
surrounding it were three stories high, and there was hut
one point at which egress was possible, and that was just at
the guard-house, where the guard was always on duty. It
was but a wanton and senseless restriction to confine us to
the pavement in front of our quarters. At first, the prison-
ers had to clean their own rooms, and to perform all other
similar menial offices. Afterward, they were allowed, for an
hour or two in tho morning, to employ one of the soldiers,
who, being unable to speak or understand tho Knglish lan-
guage, maybe presumed to have been unfit for military duty,
as lie certainly was for any other.
The most private communications regarding domestic af-
fairs or business having to bo subjected to the criticism of
Lieutenant Wood, we preferred to be silent concerning such
matters, be the consequences what they might. Such were
the regulations to which the Government, or its agents,
thought, proper to Subject its victims.
Our complaints of the manner in which we were treated,
had been persistent and decided ; and from time to time,
released prisoners made; them known to the public through
the columns of various newspapers. One of these statements
appeared in the New York "Herald," of October 24. It
/
670 AMERICAN BASTILE.
did not contain a line that was not strictly true. On the
2Gth, the following letters were published in the same jour-
nal, I presume, by Colonel Burke's directions. The first was
addressed to the United States Marshal in New York. It
was dated, the " Herald " said, on the 9th of October, 1861.
"Sir: I have the honor to enclose herewith a list of articles
necessary for the state prisoners confined at this post, which you
will please send me at your earliest convenience.
"The water being almost entirely out, you will please send me
a water-boat, with a supply of water to fill two cisterns, which
will last until we have rain enough to obviate the difficulty. You
cannot comply too soon, as it is an immediate necessity.
"List of articles necessary for the comfort of prisoners: 100
blankets, 200 sheets, 200 pillow-cases, 50 single mattresses, 50
pillows, 50 iron bedsteads, 50 arm-chairs, 20 small tables, 50 wash-
stands, 25 washbowls and pitchers, 10 small oval stoves and pipe,
50 wooden buckets, 100 tin cups, 250 yards of rope carpet for
laying on brick floors. I take this opportunity to inform you
that the ship's galley and other articles furnished by you, are
very satisfactory, and answer the purpose for which they were
required.
" I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Charles O. Wood,
Second Lieutenant Infantry, commanding Post.
" Approved : Martin Burke, Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding
Ports Hamilton and Lafayette."
" IIeadquarters, Fort Hamilton, October 24, 1861.
"Robert Murray, Esq., United States Marshal, New York:
"My attention was drawn to a statement in the 'Herald' of
this morning, from a prisoner lately released from Fort Lafay-
ette. Now, 1 wish to call your attention to the same articlo,
and submit its further consideration to your judgment.
"You and I both know how hard the Government has striven
to make these prisoners comfortable, and if, in the whirlpool of
business, they have been apparently neglected, we <;an botn tes-
tify as to the present ample preparations which are being made,
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
671
not only to render them comfortable, but even to put it beyond
the complaint of some who would be unreasonable.
"In regard to myself, I can simply say that I have, to the ut-
most of my ability, tried to do my duty, alike to the Government
and the prisoners.
"Lieutenant Wood is unceasing in his care and watchfulness,
and, as you well know, ready, at any time, to do all he can for
the comfort of those under his charge.
" With regard to improper and false communications from
released prisoners, if such there are, it is a question for the
Honorable Secretary of State to decide how far such com-
munications invalidate the parole of the person or persona
making them.
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Martin Burke,
Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding."
It will be observed that Lieutenant Wood's requisition
was only made the day after the date of the " remonstrance "
which we had sent to Mr. Lincoln. "Whether it would have
been made at all but for that remonstrance, may well be
doubted. "We had been over two weeks in Fort Lafayette
before Lieutenant Wood thought proper to give any such
evidence of that " care and watchfulness " which Colonel
Burke attributed to him. " How hard the Government had
striven " to make the prisoners comfortable may be judged
by the foregoing narrative, and from the fact that the articles,
for which Lieutenant Wood called on Marshal Murray, only
reached the Fort some time about the date of Colonel Burke's
letter, and we had then been imprisoned there nearly a month.
That Colonel Burke made any special efforts to do his duty
to the prisoners is utterly untrue. lie paid a visit to the
Fort about the 5th of August, and did not appear there again
until about the 26th of October, and, but for facts which I
shall subsequently mention, it is not likely that he would
have paid the latter visit at all. Had he chosen to inspect
our quarters more frequently, or give us opportunities of
preferring our complaints, he might, had he so pleased, have
672 AMERICAN BASTILE.
mitigated, in very many respects, the rigors of our imprison-
ment. I may add that no " communications from released
prisoners," that I ever saw, were, in any particular, untrue
or exaggerated, and the promptitude with which Colonel
Burke threw out his sinister suggestion to the Marshal
shows how anxious he was for the suppression of all such
information.
Our correspondence was subjected to the strictest scrutiny,
and letters written by the prisoners were frequently returned
to them, and generally because they contained facts which
the Government did not desire should become known, or re-
flections on the Government itself. On one occasion, Lieu-
tenant Wood returned to me a letter which I had written to
my wife. Xo reason was assigned for this ; but I was forced
to the conclusion that it was sent back because Lieutenant
Wood chose to consider it too long. It was a small sheet of
note-paper. There was nothing in the contents to which he
could object, and as two letters, of the same length as mine,
were returned to the writers that morning, with a message
from Lieutenant Wood that they were too long, I inferred
that mine was sent back for a similar cause. To such annoy-
ances we were continually subjected. At times our condition
became so unendurable, that, finding our complaints unheeded,
we expressed our sense of the indignities put upon us, in per-
fectly plain language. On one occasion, when outraged by
some fresh act of harshness or impertinence, I wrote a letter
to a friend, in which, after describing our situation, T used
this language :
"To have imprisoned men solely on account of their political
opinions, is enough to bring eternal infamy on every individual
connected with the Administration; but the manner in which
we have been treated since our confinement, is, if possible, even
more disgraceful to them. I should have supposed that, if the
Government chose to confine citizens because their sentiments
were distasteful to it, it would have contented itself with keep-
ing them in custody, but would have put them in tolerably com-
fortable quarters If I had been told, twelve monthf
FHANK KEY HOWARD.
G73
ago, that the American people would ever Lave permitted their
rulers, under any pretence whatever, to establish such a despot-
ism as I have lived to witness, I should have indignantly denied
the assertion ; and if I had been then told that officers of the
Army would ever consent to be the instruments to carry out the
behests of a vulgar dictator, I should have predicted that they
would rather have stripped their epaulets from their shoulders.
But we live to learn; and I have learned much in the past few
months."
This letter was returned to me the next morning, and on
the following day one of the sergeants handed me a letter
addressed by Colonel Burke to Lieutenant "Wood, which ho
said the latter had ordered him to read to me particularly,
and to the other prisoners. I was unable to procure a copy
of this letter, but remember the tenor of it. Colonel Burke
expressed his surprise that I should have attempted to make
him and Lieutenant Wood the medium through which to
cast reflections on their superior officers. He was also pleased
to say that as my family had always borne a gentlemanly
character in Maryland, he had not expected that I would be
guilty of conduct " so indelicate, to use no stronger terms."
He concluded by insisting that the Government had been
and would be unremitting in its exertions to make us com-
fortable
I immediately sent him this note :
"Fort Lafayette, October 23.
"Lieutenant-Colonel Burke:
"Sir: Lieutenant Wood has communicated to me the con-
tents of your note to him of this date. Permit me to say, in
reply to your allusions to the course I have thought proper to
pursue, that you mistake me much if you suppose (as you seem
to do) that a mere desire to embarrass or annoy you, or the of
fieers under you, has prompted me to write the letters which
have been returned to me. The fact that little or nothing has
been done to make me or my fellow-prisoners decently comfort-
able, is self-evident to any one who chooses to nispeet our quar-
ters, and it was on that account that I chose to speak in terms
43
C74
AMERICAN BASTILE.
of indignant denunciation of those who are respond ble for the
privations I suffer. If I made, or sought to make, the officers
of the garrison the 'instruments' to convey my complaints, it
was because I am denied any other alternative. The invidious
pllusions which you have deemed it necessary to make in regard
f»o me, I need not, and do not propose, now, to discuss. But you
will permit me to remind you that if you have duties to dis-
charge, I have rights to vindicate. The only one of these which
has not been absol itely destroyed, is the right of free speech
within the narrow bounds of my prison, and this it is my duty
and purpose to defend to the last. In the exercise of this poor
privilege, I wrote the letters which 1 knew were to pass into your
hands. As you have forwarded to the Adjutant-General the cor-
respondence between Lieutenant "Wood and yourself, I beg that
you will do me the justice to forward also this note. I remain,
Your obedient servant,
F. K. Howard."
To the foregoing note, he wrote this reply :
"Headquarters, Fort Hamilton,
New York Harbor, 24th October, 1861.
"Sir: Please say to Mr. Howard, that I cheerfully forward
his note of the 23d instant, to Colonel Townsend, agreeably to
his request.
"However much the efforts of this Government have fallen
short of the expectations of the prisoners, to make them as com-
fortable as they may desire, still I must say that every exertion
is being made by the Government for that purpose, and such
exertions will certainly be continued.
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Martin Burke,
Colonel Commanding.
" Lieutenant Wood, Commanding Fort Lafayette."
My father, to whom Colonel Burke's letter had been read,
frrote to the Secretary of War, denying Colonel Burke'i
allegations, and charging him with neglect of duty i
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
675
"Fort Lafayette, October 23, 18G1.
*• H.on. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.
" Sir : The orderly sergeant has this morning, by order of the
commanding officer of this post, read to me, in presence of ;i
number of persons, a letter from Colonel Martin Burke to Lieu-
tenant C. O. Wood, written in reply to a communication h orn
the Lieutenant to him. Copies of both of these letters, Colonel
Burke states, he has forwarded to Washington. I have asked
for a copy of the Colonel's letter, but have not learned whether
it will be given. In that letter, which is evidently intended as
a rebuke to some of those confined here, Colonel Burke has
undertaken to allude to the character and standing which my
family have borne, for the purpose of introducing an offensive
imputation, that one member of it has acted in a manner unbo
coming a gentleman. This charge, I claim the right distinctly
and directly to repudiate, and I have also to demand that an
inquiry be made under your authority into the conduct of Colo-
nel Burke and Lieutenant Wood, in relation to their treatment
of those confined at this place. I now formally charge Colonel
Burke with conduct unbecoming an officer, and also with neglect
of duty. He has not, so far as any prisoner here is aware, been
within this Fort since on or about the 5th day of August last;
and in undertaking to judge of Lieutenant Wood's manner of
discharging his duty toward the prisoners under his charge, he
must have acted upon the statements of that officer himself.
The surgeon of the post, and one other officer from Fort Hamil-
ton, have occasionally exchanged a few words with some of the
prisoners, but whenever any of the latter have attempted to
make any representations to them of our condition and treat
ment, both of those officers have declared that those matters are
not in any manner within the sphere of their duties. There
has, therefore, been no inspection of this prison, in which up
wards of one hundred prisoners are confined, which would enable
Colonel Burke to judge of the accuracy of the reports which he
may have received. In the absence of all such means of know-
ledge or information, Colonel Burke has stated, in an official let-
ter, that Lieutenant Wood, an officer under his command, has
4 devoted his whole time to promoting the comfort of prisoners'
here, or words to that effec t. This statement I charge to to
<>7G AMERICAN B AS TILE.
Dot warranted by the facts, and to be entirely incorrect. I charge
and aver, that Lieutenant Wood has not only not devoted all, or
even much of his time, to the promoting of our comfort, but that
on the contrary, he has neither in his general bearing, nor in his
conduct toward those consigned to his custody, paid that atten
tion to their comfort, which even under the circumstances which
the Government deemed sufficient to warrant their imprisonment,
the}' have a right to demand. The immediate cause of the re-
buke attempted to be administered to us by Colonel Burke, was
a letter written to a friend by Mr. F. K. Howard, my son. How-
ever strong may have been the language used in that letter, it
was the natural expression of feelings which are shared by every
prisoner here, whose opinion I have heard. Among these are
many gentlemen of as high character and standing as any in the
country. Xo intimation has been given by Colonel Burke, that
any specific fact stated in the letter was not true. Should he
controvert a single one, my relations to the writer of the letter,
and the mention made by Colonel Burke in his official communi-
cation, of my family, to say nothing of the assurances voluntarily
tendered to me by you in Fort McHenry, as to the mode in
which the Government considered me as entitled to be treated,
justify me in demanding an opportunity to substantiate it. Having
already addressed to you three communications, from this place,
of which no notice appears to have been taken, I should not
again have troubled you, but that the issue I have now to make
with Colonel Burke, involves matters of a personal character to
myself, and that I make direct charges against him and Lieu-
tenant "Wood, derogatory to their official positions, as officers of
the army.
u I hope, therefore, I may not be mistaken, in trusting that
this communication may receive your early and serious at-
tention.
" T am sir, your obedient servant,
Charles Howard."
As usual, this letter was unnoticed by the authorities in
Washington.
In the miserable place which I have attempted to de-
scribe, we passed the period between September 26th and
October 30tn. The batteries were very dark when the doors
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
677
were closed, and very cold when the doors were open. We
were locked up every night from dusk until sunrise ; and
lights had to be put out at nine and a half o'clock. In Buch
a crowded place it was almost impossible to read or write.
We found it difficult sometimes to keep ourselves warm
enough even with the aid of overcoats. At times agaiu, the
atmosphere of the room would be positively stifling. Some
one or more of the inmates were constantly under medical
treatment, and it may be imagined how noisome and un
healthy the room often was. As prisoners were, from time to
time, discharged from the casemates, the remaining inmates
would invite one or more of those in the gun-batteries to fill
the vacancies, permission to do so being first asked of the
Sergeant of the Guard. These invitations were given, not
because the casemates were less crowded than the batteries,
but because the first stranger who should be brought in,
would certainly be put in the place of the prisoner who hud
been last discharged, and, as the casemates were to be kept
filled to their utmost capacity, those occupying them pre-
ferred to have their friends and acquaintances for their com-
r. anions. Small and crowded as the casemates were, they
vere, nevertheless, a little more comfortable than the bat-
teries, from having fireplaces and wooden floors. I was
/: >rtunate enough to get into one of these casemates after [
had been some two weeks in the Fort.
About ten days before we left Fort Lafayette, Lieutenant
Wood chose to make the prisoners responsible for the drunk-
enness of one of the soldiers, and prohibited the further use
jf liquor, of any kind, among, the prisoners. It was dis-
covered, a few days afterward, that some of the soldiers had
stolen some of our liquor from the room in which Lieutenant
Wood kept it, and to which the prisoners had no access. It
was also discovered that the soldiers got liquor from the
Long Island side, ^ne of the crew of the boat having been
detected in smuggling it into the Fort for their use. These
facts sufficiently account for the drunkenness of the soldiers,
but Lieutenant Wood did not, on that account, relax hia
078
AMERICAN BASTILE.
new rule. While we were allowed the use of liquor, no
abuse of the privilege came under my observation, nor do 1
believe there was any. Just before the new restriction was
imposed on us, I had received from Xew York two small
boxes of liquor containing a dozen and a half bottles, which
passed, as usual, into Lieutenant Wood's keeping. The
prohibition which followed, prevented my using any of it,
and, when we were about leaving, I requested Lieutenant
Wood, through one of the sergeants, to send it on with me
in charge of the officer who would have us in custody. This
he did not do, and I never saw more of it. One or two of
the prisoners afterward received, at Fort Warren, the liquors
that they had left at Fort Lafayette, and one of the officers
at the former post informed me that there were some
boxes on the bill of lading which did not reach Fort "War-
ren. Whether any of my stores were among these boxes, I
am unable to say. I only know that I never received the
liquor which Lieutenant Wood had, and that many of my
companions suffered iu the same way.
Those of our friends who obtained passes to visit the Fort,
did so with great difficulty. The Government seemed to
have a strong disposition to exclude all strangers from the
place. Six weeks before my arrest, I had made every effort
to procure a permit to see my father, but could not succeed
in getting one. Some Xew York politicians, however, were
more favored. One of them, especially, Mr. William II. Lud-
low, could enter the Fort at his pleasure, and see whom he
pleased. On several occasions when he made his visits, he
sent for different individuals, to whom he represented him-
self as possessing great influence at Washington, and offered
to try and procure their releast, provided he was paid for it.
What he received altogether I do not know ; but I do know
that he received two retaining fees, namely, one hundred
dollars from one gentleman, and one hundred and fifty dol-
lars from another. From the latter he had a promise of a
contingent fee of one thousand dollars. I do not believe he
rendered any service t ) his clients, both of whom were taker
FRANK KEY HOWARD. 679
to Fort Warren and exchanged or released nearly four months
afterward.
The private soldiers at Fort Lafayette were worthy follow-
ers of their commanding officer. They were uniformly as
brutal in their manners toward the prisoners as they dared
to be The sergeants, however, who were there when I was,
were generally civil, and were as kind as they had an oppor-
tunity of being. But, if the situation of those who were
fortunate enough to enjoy good health was almost insupport-
able, the condition of the sick was far worse. Xo provision
whatever was made for them. Men suffering from various
diseases were compelled to remain in their close and damp
quarters, and struggle through as best they could. One mao,
u a political prisoner," had an acute attack of pneumonia, anl
lay for ten days in a damp, dark gun-battery, with some thirty
other prisoners. One of the privateersmen was dangerously
ill with the same disease in the casemate in which so man}
of them were huddled together. When I obtained permis-
sion to carry him some little luxuries, I found him lying oi»
the floor upon two blankets, in a high fever, and without
even a pillow under his head. He would have remained ia
the same condition had not the " political prisoners " relieved
his necessities. It was not until he seemed to be drawing
rapidly toward his end, that he was sent to a hospital, some-
where on Staten Island.
Among the pettier annoyances we underwent, the trouble
we had about our washing may be mentioned. At first, we
were allowed to send our clothes over to Long Island, where
they were well enough washed, but, for some reason best
known to himself, Lieutenant Wood interfered, and deter-
mined to have the washing done inside of the Fort, under
his own supervision. It must have been a very fair speeu
lation for him, for his charges were high, and the work was
bo carelessly performed, that he must have employed tne
fewest hands possible to do it. What he charged me by the
piece, I cannot say, for he helped himself to his bill before
he handed over my money to the officer who escorted us to
680
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Fort barren. Probably it would not have been altogether
safe to have demanded an account, for one' of the sergeants
was put under arrest for complaining, as he stated to the
prisoners, of Lieutenant Wood's prices for wrashing. On
one occasion, Lieutenant AVood, in full view of the prisoners,
kicked one of his boat's crew from the door of his own
quarters, and continued the assault until the man had re-
treated almost the whole length of the balcony upon that
side of the Fort. I mention this as an illustration of his
mode of dealing with his subordinates. Of the propriety
and manliness of such a proceeding, on the part of the com-
manding officer, others can judge for themselves.
Many of the prisoners had friends and acquaintances in
New York, but most of these were either afraid, or did not
care to show any kindness or attention to parties who were
under the ban of a suspicious and tyrannical Government.
Some few people in that city had the courage and inclina-
tion to render us any service in their power, and prominent
among these was Mr. Cranston, of the £Tew York Hotel ;
but the number of those who thus acted was singularly
small.
I cannot take leave of this portion of my narrative without
recording the obligations under which the prisoners in Fort
Lafayette must ever remain to Mrs. Geo. S. Gelston and
Mr. Francis Hopkins, who lived on Long Island just oppo-
site the Fort. They were unwearied in their efforts to alle-
viate our situation. Day after day, for weeks and months
together, they manifested their good will in the most gener
ous and substantial way. Food for those who were too pooi
to buy a decent meal, delicacies of all kinds for the sick,
luxuries for others — all these were supplied by Mrs. Gelston,
with a bountiful and untiring hand. To her tender sympathy
and generosity, very many of the prisoners were indebted
for comforts which were absolutely necessary to enable them
to endure the privations to which they were exposed; and I
know I but inadequately fulfil the wishes of every one of
the former inmates of Fort Lafayette, in thus giving public
FEANK KEY HOWARD.
G81
expression to thanks which they had no opportunity to re-
turn to their good friends in person.
It is scarcely necessary to say, that our opinions ae to the
Bort of resistance we should offer to our oppressors, under-
went no change in consequence of our cruel Imprisonment in
Fort Lafayette. I found, on reaching there, that my father
and most of his companions had taken the same view of
their duty under the circumstances, as we had done; and
with every day's prolongation of our sufferings, we were the
more and more convinced, that with a despotism so atrocious,
we ought to make no compromise.
THE STEAMBOAT "STATE OF MAINE."
On the afternoon of the 28th of October, we were notified
to prepare to leave Fort Lafayette on the following morning.
We were then locked up in the various casemates and bat-
teries for the rest of that day. The next morning our bag-
gage was sent out to the wharf, we being still kept in close
confinement, and a little after midday our baggage was
brought back, and we were informed that the boat would not
be ready that day. We were kept under lock and key all
that day, and only permitted to go out to dinner. There was
no conceivable reason for this last act of insolent harshness.
On the morning of the 30th, we left the Fort on a small
steamer, with a file of soldiers, and were carried up to Fort
Columbus, on Governor's Island, and alongside of the steamer
"State of Maine," which was lying at the wharf. She was
a very ordinary-looking river steamer, very Low in the water,
and very dirty. Her upper forward deck was covered with
soldiers. She had been engaged in transporting soldiers and
horses, and an experienced sea-captain of our party, who
managed to evade the sentinels and go over the vessel, in-
formed me that between-decks forward of the shaft, she was
perfectly filthy. There were about one hundred and ten of
us, and we were sent on board of the " State of Maine," and
directed to pass into the upper after-cabin. This cabin was
jong and dark, and in it there were about twenty -two or three
682
AMERICAN BASTILE.
small state-rooms, each containing two berths. It opened,
aft, upon a covered deck, which was so small that, when onr
party collected there, it was considerably over-crowded. Just
beneath the deck on which we were was the dining-saloon,
along the sides of which ran a double tier of berths. There
may have been about twenty or twenty-five of these alto-
gether. The whole after part of the vessel could not decently
accommodate the one hundred and ten prisoners then on
board. To our astonishment we learned that not only were
we to take on board some seventeen " political prisoners "
from Fort Columbus, but that the officers and soldiers who
had bee^ taken prisoners at Fort Hatteras were to join us
also. These numbered six hundred and forty-five. Remon-
strance or complaint was useless. These additional prisoneis
were marched on board, the officers and " political prisoners "
being sent to the after part of the boat with us, and the pri-
vates being packed in forward of the cabin, wherever it ws.s
possible for them to find standing-room.
"We did not get away from Fort Columbus until about 4 J
p.m. "While we were still lying at the wharf, it seems to have
occurred to some of those in charge of us, that it was part
of their duty to offer us something to eat. A large wicker-
basket, lined with tin, was then brought up full of water.
It had been made to hold dirty plates and dishes, and had
been used for that purpose, apparently, time out of mind, on
the steamer. A soldier then brought up a box of crackers,
and another appeared with a tin plate, which was several
times replenished, containing large square pieces of boiled
pork. Nine out of ten of these pieces were solid lumps of
pure fat. A couple of old dirty-looking horse-buckets of
coffee were also provided. Such was the dinner furnished
us. After this I saw no more of the pork, nor do I think
there was any more on board, at least for the prisoners.
Hunger compelled some of the prisoners to try and swallow
the masses of blubber which were offered them, but many
were unequal to the effort. A large proportion of the party
dined, therefore, on crackers and water. When we started,
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
083
we had on board one hundred and twenty-seven "political
prisoners/' six hundred and forty-five prisoners of war, and
one hundred Federal soldiers, besides the officers and crew of
Ihe steamer. I subsequently learned that the only stores put
on board for our subsistence consisted of one thousand and
six pounds of hard bread, one hundred and twenty-eight
pounds of coffee, and two hundred and fifty-eight pounds of
sugar.
Thus loaded down almost to the water's edge, we headed
for Long Island Sound. The discomfort of our situation
cannot be described. Moreover, we all knew, for the naval
officers among us had so said, and the officers of the boat
admitted, that the vessel was, in her then condition, utterly
unseaworthy, and that, if a moderate gale should catch us at
sea, the chances were largely in favor of our going to the
bottom.
About dusk, I heard that supper had been prepared, in the
dining-saloon, for the officers who had us in charge, and that,
as far as it would go, those of us who chose to pay for it,
could partake of it. It was, at the same time, stated that
the officers of the boat had received no notice of the number
of the prisoners she was to carry, and had not made the
slightest provision for them. Under such circumstances, but
very few of us could get a single meal in the dining-saloon.
By dint of great patience and perseverance, I succeeded in
getting some supper about nine o'clock at night. The next
day, after many ineffectual efforts, I managed to get a very
late breakfast, and that was the last meal I got from the
officers of the boat or Government. I was far better off,
however, than the mass of my companions ; for Mrs. Gelston
again stood our friend. She had heard we were to leave
Fort Lafayette, and had thoughtfully sent to those occupy-
ing the casemate in which I wa% a huge basket of provisions
for our journey. It contained pheasants, chickens, tongues,
pies, and other delicacies, and one of my room-mates, Mr.
War field, and myself, consented, or. perhaps, volunteered, to
take it under our especial charge during the journey. On
684
AMERICAN BASTILE.
these stores, I and my former room-mates lived for the ensu-
ing two days, scaring them, however, as far as we could, with
other friends. But our supplies were wholly insufficient to
meet any but the most limited demand, and we could extend
our invitations to but few. Most of the prisoners had to put
ap with the hard bread and coffee during the two days and
nights we remained on board.
Just before dark, the clerk of the boat came on the after-
deck to distribute the keys of the few state-rooms assigned
to us, which, until then, had been kept locked. The North
Carolina officers had the berths in the dining-saloon. There
were, as already mentioned, about twenty-two state-rooms
altogether in the upper after-cabin, and one or two of these
were used for different purposes by the officers of the boat,
and one or two others could accommodate but one person
each. It was obvious that not more than one-third of us
would get any beds. Here, again, I was very fortunate, for
[ happened to be standing by Governor Morehead, to whom
the clerk gave the first key, and I was able to secure one.
Those who failed to obtain berths, either in the dining-saloon
or state-rooms, and they constituted a very large majority of
the party, had no alternative but to drop down wherever
they could, and try to sleep. After those who had beds had
retired, the cabin presented a scene that no man who was
present will be likely to forget. It was densely packed with
men in every possible position. Upon each of the hard
wooden settees, two or three persons had contrived to stow
themsel ves in half-recumbent positions that were little likely
to afford them the desired rest. Those who had chairs were
sleeping on them, some sitting bolt upright, and some leaning
na^k against the sides of the cabin. But many could get
neither chairs nor places on the settees, and these were lying
or Fitting upon the floor. Over the latter had been strewn
bread and pieces of fat pork, all of which, being saturated
with the expectorations of numberless tobacco-chewers, had
been trampled into a consistent mass of filth by the feet of
one hundred and fifty men. Some of the unfortunates, whom
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
685
Bbsc'ute weariness had compelled to lie down on the floor,
were lucky enough, as they esteemed themselves, to obtain
fiorae newspapers, which they spread hetween the dirt and
their persons ; others had to take the floor as they found it,
and the vacant spaces were so limited that many were not
even allowed a choice of places. As for the prisoners of war,
the privates, they seemed to have slept, if they slept at all,
wherever they could manage to stretch themselves. We
were not suffered to go among them, hut I could see from
the door of the dining-saloon, the morning after we started,
that they were lying about between decks, on piles of coal,
coils of rope, or the bare floor.
We reached Fort Warren about dusk on the evening: of
the 31st, and Colonel Justin Dimick, who commanded the
post, came on board. He said that he had only expected one
hundred and ten prisoners, that not the slightest notice of
the coming of the prisoners of war had been given, and that
he was wholly unprepared to receive us. He, however,
ordered some three hundred of the North Carolina soldiers
ashore, and said the rest of us must remain that night on
board. Thus we had another cheerless and wretched night
to look forward to. It passed like the previous one, and we
were only too glad when day dawned, well knowing that
whatever might happen, our situation could not be made
worse.
That morning, before we left the boat, I vainly endeavored
to procure a glass of drinkable water. There was none to be
had on board. The only supply of water left, was stale and
foul, and was used for washing, though not fit for that pur-
pose. I was too thirsty to be particular, and having dis-
guised the color and flavor of a glassful by pouring into it a
teaspoonful of essence of ginger, I made shift to swallow it.
I then breakfasted on the scraps which remained in our bas-
ket, and prepared to go ashore.
This account of the privations to which we were subjected
an that occasion, I have neither over-stated nor over-colored.
On a convict ship our position could have been no worse, and
686
AMERICAN B A STILE
even on such a vessel, more regard would be manifested for
the safety of the prisoners than was shown for ours. And
all this was endured by numbers of gentlemen who would be
disparaged by being compared, in point of character, intelli-
gence, and position, with Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Stanton, or Mr.
Seward. It was an extremely fortunate thing that the
weather was fine, and the sea calm, after we passed out of
the Sound. Wretched as our situation was, it would have
been aggravated tenfold, had many of the prisoners suffered
from sea-sickness. We were, however, spared such addition
to our troubles. I need not, therefore, surmise how miserable
in such a case our lot would have been, nor what would have
been the inevitable result of our being overtaken by such a
gale as set in the very night after we reached Fort Warren.
With a very little forethought and trouble, and a very slight
expenditure of money on the part of the Government, or of
those of its officers who were charged with our transporta-
tion to Fort Warren, our journey might have been made in
tolerable decency, if not comfort. As it was, we were treated
with as little consideration as cattle. The brutality that
characterized the higher officers of the Government, seemed,
as far as we could then judge, to be equally conspicuous in
most of their subordinates.
FORT WARREN.
When we reached Fort Warren, late in the afternoon of
the 31st, Colonel Dimick came on board, as I have stated,
and informed us that he had only expected about a hundred
" political prisoners." He invited several gentlemen to go
ashore and see the quarters he had set apart for us. Among
these were Commodore Barron, Mayor Brown, and Messrs.
Faulkner. Charles Howard, and Kane. They hurriedly in-
ipected the various rooms by candle-light, and after about an
hour's absence they returned. That night they selected their
quarters and their room-mates, as Colonel Dimick had re-
quested them to do.
Aboul ten o'clock the following morning we landed, and
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
687
we>t<i marched into the Fort, where the roll was called, and
we were shown to our respective quarters. The Fort is situ-
ated on an island containing forty-three acres, nearly the
whoio of which is covered by the fortifications. The interior
work 13 built ir the most substantial manner, of granite, and
encloses a space of some five or six acres. It is an irregular
structure, which it is impossible for me to describe accurately.
The five principal sides are each about three hundred feet
long. Two of these sides are divided into deep casemates, on
a level with, and opening on the parade-ground. One other
side contains rooms intended for officers' quarters. There
were ten of these rooms on a level with, and looking out on
the parade-ground, and immediately in the rear of these
were ten more fronting on the space between the curtain and
an exterior work. Beneath these twenty rooms, both in
front and rear, there were twenty more of the same size as
those above, the inner or front ones being, of course, base-
ment rooms, and opening upon an area about seven feet wide
and ten or twelve deep, and those in the rear looking out on
the space between the interior and exterior works above men-
tioned, which was below the level of the inside enclosure.
Between the front and rear rooms, above and below, there
were also two very small dark rooms, intended, I presume,
for store-rooms. All the interior or front rooms were lighted
by large windows, and those in the rear by narrow loop-holes,
about six inches wide at the outer edge, and four or five feet
high. The upper rooms were all neatly finished, and the se
in front were very light and airy. The lower rooms had
cement floors, and were much less desirable. Sixteen of the
rooms I have attempted to describe were assigned to the
<; political prisoners," and the officers who were prisoners of
war, viz. : four front rooms opening on the parade-ground, and
four immediately beneath them, and eight just in the rear
of these, together with the smaller rooms or closets which
separated the front and rear rooms. One large, long case
mate, in another side of the Fort, was devoted to the same
purpose. Commodore Barron and several of the army officert
688
> M E E I C A N B A STILE.
with hijn, and Marshal Kane, selected one of the four upper
front rooms ; the North Carolina officers of the highest rank
another; the Baltimore Police Commissioners another; and
the Mayor of Baltimore and\Messrs. Morehead and Faulkner
the fourth. These several parties having, in accordance with
Colonel Dimick's request, made choice of their rooms, also
selected as their companions, in their new quarters, those who
had been their room-mates at Fort Columbus and Fort La-
fayette. I thus found myself again among my old room-mates.
The other prisoners, generally choosing their own room-
mates, were quartered in the other rooms and in the casemate
before mentioned. The crowded condition of the room J
occupied will illustrate the situation of our fellow-prisoners
This room was nineteen and a half by fifteen feet, and one of
the little closets of which we had the use was ten by ten
and a half feet. Into this room and closet, nine of us were
crowded. So close together were our beds, that it would
have been impossible to have put another one in the room
without blocking up the doors. There was scarcely space
enough for another, even in the middle of the floor. Those
who got into the long casemate were far worse off than
their other fellow-prisoners. This casemate was, I should
suppose, less than fifty feet long and less than twenty wide,
and so crowded was it, that the inmates were compelled to
sleep in bunks which were arranged one above the other,
in three tiers. They had also to cook their meals in the
same room.
When we were installed in our quarters we began to look
around to see what sort of provision had been made for us.
As we had been told that at least a hundred of us had been
expected, we naturally took it for granted that something
had been done to make us tolerably comfortable. Our former
experience ought to have prevented us from entertaining any
such hopes, but we were not long under any delusion. No
preparation had apparently been made for one single prisoner,
except that fires were kindled in the various rooms. Colonel
Dimick, whose demeanor toward us on all occasions that
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
689
of a gentleman, seemed to be annoyed at the position in which
he found himself. He informed us of his inability to provide
for us decently, and expressed his regret at the fact. But
his good feeling could not much alleviate our situation. Not
a bedstead, bed, blanket, or chair was then furnished any of
us. Those of us who had carried on the bedding we had
purchased at Fort Lafayette, were able to lend a few articles
to our friends, but the great majority of the prisoners were
forced to sleep upon the floor, upon their great-coats and the
few cloaks and shawls they happened to have or could borrow.
This state of things continued two or three weeks, at the end
of which time, Colonel Dimick managed to have the furni-
ture, which had been so tardily provided for us at Fort La-
fayette, sent on to Fort Warren. In the mean time, many
had, at their own expense, supplied themselves from Boston
with necessary articles, but the others had to shift for them-
selves as they best could, until the arrival of the furniture
from our former prison. The day we landed, the only dinner
provided for us consisted of a barrel of crackers and a couple
of raw hams, which were placed on the head of a flour-barrel,
in front of our quarters. We were informed that the Govern-
ment would allow us the ordinary soldiers' rations, but that
we would have to cook them ourselves, and a place would
be given us for the purpose. Mr. Hall, the purveyor for the
laborers and officers at the post, agreed to furnish us that
evening with supper. It consisted of cold, boiled salt beef,
bread, and bad coffee, which however, we were hungry enough
to eat with considerable relish. This was the only meal wo
had that day, or until noon the day following. Not know
ing exactly how we could manage our rations after they
should be distributed to us, a number of us, by Colonel
Dimick's permission, requested Mr. Hall to furnish us two
meals a day, at least until we could make some other arrange
ment. This he agreed to do at the rate of one dollar a daj
each, and a good business he must have made of it, for scan-
tier and worse entertainment we had never seen provided at
anything like half the price. We were forced, however, to
44
690
AMERICAN BASTILE.
continue this arrangement for a week, at the end of which time
we took matters into our own hands. We obtained the use
of two casemates and cooking-stoves, and established two
clubs or messes, and engaged some of the North Carolina
prisoners to cook and wait in the mess-room, and also to
attend to our quarters. As there was a Government boat
running regularly between the Fort and Boston* we ordered
daily supplies of meats, milk, and vegetables, and, with the
addition of our rations, were enabled to live with reason-
able comfort. After the North Carolina prisoners were ex-
changed, 'we from time to time got servants from Boston,
almost invariably foreigners, and continued, though at an
increased expense, to live as we had previously done.
In speaking of our treatment, I speak solely of the " poli-
tical" or " state prisoners." As I know nothing of the way
in which prisoners of war are entitled to be, or usually are
dealt with, I have nothing to say upon that point. I will
merely state that the North Carolina prisoners, numbering
about six hundred, exclusive of their commissioned officers,
were confined in eight casemates. They were thus terribly
crowded. During the first two or three days they had
scarcely anything to eat. I do not know the cause of this,
but the fact is, that they absolutely suffered from hunger.
Afterward they received their rations regularly, aud large
boilers were placed in front of their quarters for them to
cook in. These were in the open air, and not in any way
sheltered, and the men had to cook there in all kinds of
weather, during the time they remained, which was until
they were exchanged, in February, 1862.
In front of the range of rooms occupied by the " political
prisoners," and about ten yards off, sentinels were placed,
and beyond them we were not allowed to go. The officers
who were prisoners of war, were permitted to walk about
the whole island, both within and without the Fort, on their
parole ; but we were confined to the space, some hundred
yards long by ten wide, between our quarters and the line
of sentinels just mentioned. This regulation was enforced
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
C91
for nearly six months, and, as we understood at the time,
was specifically directed by the Government. During that
time, we were kept strictly within those narrow bounds.
"Why men who were taken with arms in their hands were
less rigorously treated than we, was obvious. The Confed-
erate Government could exact certain rights for them, but
there was no power or law in this part of the country to
protect us. The day after our arrival, I wrote to my wife
this hurried account of our journey from Fort Lafayette :
" Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, Saturday, November 2.
" "We have arrived here safely, and a more uncomfortable set
of human beings have never, I trust, been collected before in
these quarters. We left Fort Lafayette on Wednesday morning,
and, together with the prisoners from Fort Columbus, came here
on one of the Sound steamers. There wore about four times as
many on board as the vessel could accommodate, and the only
food which the Government provided was bread and fat pork
and a liquid called coffee. I saw the most prominent gentlemen
of Maryland, Kentucky, and Virginia drinking what purported
to be coffee, out of a dirty horse-bucket, while water was served
out to them from a large tin, such as is used to hold the greasy
plates after dinner. Pieces of fat, about two inches square, were
handed round to those who could swallow them, and a man's
fingers constituted the table furniture. A number of elderly
gentlemen could not at night find a place to sit ; and scores of
my friends slept for two nights upon the floors, which were the
filthiest that you are ever likely to see. At this place no pro-
vision whatever had been made for us. Many of the rooms are
not fit for the accommodation of human beings in the winter
months in this climate. No beds have been furnished, and none
are to be — a sack of straw being the only thing which the Gov-
ernment will supply. Even such bedding as this has not arrived
We have been here twenty-four hours, and most of the party
have lived on a little raw ham and bread, and have slept on the
floor. Not even a blanket has been given us. I have managed
to get along better than most of my fellow-prisoners, for I
brought my mattress and a basket of provisions. I also was
lucky enough to secure a state-room. The privations I have
692
AMERICAN B A STILE.
suffered, serious as they were, have been light compared to thosa
which numbers of my companions have endured. It is now ten
o'clock, and we are as yet vainly trying to get some breakfast,
which a caterer from Boston has agreed to furnish. I thus give
you the brief outlines of this phase of our story. It is not ne-
cessary that I should supply the comments. I will write again
when I have had a little time to look about me. The officers, ap
far as I can judge, are polite and kind, which in my late expe-
riences is a novelty. It has been our misfortune to meet but
few, if any, gentlemen, thus far, and a change in that particular
will be grateful."
I give this letter at length, because it was returned to me
by order of Colonel Dimick, who sent me word that his in-
structions prohibited the transmission of any such intelli-
gence as I had attempted to send my family. It is evident
from the suppression of so simple a statement of facts, that
the Government had determined to resort to all the meane
in its power to prevent the victims of its tyranny from
making their situation known to the public. We were spe-
cifically ordered not to discuss public affairs in our letters.
It is needless to recapitulate all the admonitions we received
upon this point. The following examples will suffice. On
the 8th of April, 1862, a letter was returned to a " political
prisoner 99 with this note, in Colonel Dimick's handwriting :
" The Government require the gentlemen at Fort Warren to
avoid, in their correspondence, discussing the differences between
the North and South, or giving any account of the battles between
the contending forces. This letter is, therefore, respectfully re-
turned."
An order relating to the letters of prisoners was posted id
our quarters on the 10th of April, which concluded thus :
" Military and political subjects must be avoided in all cop-
respondence.
Lieut. James S. Casey, XJ. S. A.,
Officer in Charge/'
FKANK KEY HOWARD.
693
Notwithstanding these regulations, we continued to di»
ci*<5s, from time to time, the forbidden subjects; and, as a
large number of letters were to be inspected every day, many,
which were in violation of the above orders, found their w&y
to our friends. But this happened, I suppose, because the
examining officer had not time to read the letters very care-
fully, for the rules were never directly relaxed or modified.
After we had been a few weeks in Fort Warren, an order,
touching the employment of counsel by prisoners, and signed
by Mr. William H. Seward, the Secretary of State, was read
to us by the United States Marshal for the district. We were
unable to procure an exact copy of that order, but we after-
ward obtained a copy of a similar one, which was read some
where about the same time, to the prisoners then in Fort
Lafayette. This latter order was signed by a Mr. Seth C.
Hawley, Chief Clerk of the Metropolitan Police Commis-
sioners of New York, who subsequently visited us also. He
was acting, as he stated, under Mr. Seward's directions.
(See Appendix.)
From time to time, offers were made to different prisoners
to discharge them conditionally. Sometimes an oath of alle-
giance, which bound the party taking it to support the
"United States Government," notwithstanding any action
which his State might take, was proposed as the price of hie
release. This was almost uniformly declined. Then various
forms of parole were proposed, which bound the respective
parties either not to go into the seceded States, or not to go
into the Border States, or not to correspond with any one in
any of those States, or not to take up arms against the Gov-
ernment. The simplest parole, in form, merely imposed an
obligation not to give " aid and comfort to the enemies in
hostility against the United States ;" but, as any discussion
of the corruption or imbecility of the Administration was
regarded by it as treasonable, this form of parole was. prol>-
ably, for its purposes, the most comprehensive. Many of the
prisoners accepted some or other of the terms proposed, and
were released ; others declined to make any concessions what-
694
AMERICAN BASTILE.
ever, insisting that, as they had been arbitrarily imprisoned,
they would not recognize the right, which Mr. Lincoln
claimed, to impose upon them any conditions. It is to those
who took and maintained this ground that the ensuing por
tion of this narrative mainly refers.
One fact, however, concerning the negro servants of :ha
prisoners of war, may be worthy of mention. There were
with the officers, who were taken at Fort Hatteras, three
negroes, two of whom were slaves. At Fort Columbus, the
Government had offered them their discharge on taking the
oath of allegiance, which they had declined. At Fort War-
ren, the oath was again tendered to them, and again refused.
Finally, they were offered their liberty, on giving their sim-
ple parole not to do anything hostile to the Government.
They inquired whether, if they went out on such conditions,
they would be furnished with passes to go South. They
were told these could not be granted, and they then refused
to accept the terms offered them. They were bent on return-
ing to their old homes in North Carolina ; and one of them
took very high ground in the matter, saying, in reply to an
inquiry about his refusal to give his parole, that he " wanted
to go out honorable." They subsequently went back to North
Carolina with the Fort Hatteras prisoners, when the latter
were exchanged.
On the 14th of November, a notice was posted in the door-
way of our quarters, signed by Mr. Seth C. Hawley, apprising
us of his intention to visit Fort Warren for the purpose of
inquiring what prisoners would take the oath, as a prelimi-
nary to the investigation of their several cases. On the fol-
lowing day Mr. Hawley appeared, and in pursuance of his
purpose, called on the prisoners in their quarters. Almost
every one rejected his proposition, many taking occasion to
couple with their very unequivocal refusal, expressions of
contempt for Mr. Hawley and those who sent him.
Several of the members of the Legislature, desiring to put
in writing the reasons for their refusal to submit to tne con-
ditions which Mr. Hawley came to propose, signed and handed
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
695
to him a paper which Mr. S. T. Wallis had drawn up as hia
own answer to the inquiry :
"Fort Warren, November 15, 1861.
* Mr. Seth C. Hawley :
* Sir: A notice signed by you appeared, this afternoon, upon
the walls of the quarters in which we are confined. We quote
it, in full, as follows, viz. :
" ' The undersigned, appointed by the Secretary of State, U. S.,
to examine into the cases of the political prisoners at Fort War-
ren, desires those prisoners to be prepared, to-morrow, to answer
the question whether they would severally be willing to take the
oath of allegiance to the Constitution and Government of the
United States, if they should be set at liberty. Further inquiry
into each case to depend upon the answer. To-morrow there
will be an opportunity to answer the question.
(Signed) Seth C. Hawley.
" 1 Fort Warren, November 14, 1861.'
" We presume we are among those whom you designate as
♦political prisoners,' and supposing that you may call upon us,
to-morrow, to answer the inquiry which you have indicated, we
desire to furnish our reply in our own language, in order that we
may not be misunderstood or misrepresented.
"As we understand your notice, 'further inquiry into each
case' is to depend upon the willingness of the individual to take
the oath which you propose; that is to say, that no man's case
will be inquired into, unless he first signify his willingness to
swear as required. We have now been in confinement for more
than two months. We were arrested, without process or form
of law, upon the alleged authority of the Secretary of State of
the United States, who clearly has no lawful authority, whatever,
in the premises. We have been dragged from one fortress of the
Government to another, by military force, and have been dealt
with in a manner which would have been indecent if we had
been convicted felons, instead of freemen, accused of no offence
against the laws of our country. We have been separated from
oar homes and families, and exposed to constant Buffering and
privation, to the injury of health, the prejudice of our interests
and good v%me, and in flagrant violation of every right which
696
AMERICAN BASTILE.
we have inherited as American citizens. More than this, as
members of the Legislature of Maryland, we have been unlaw-
fully withdrawn from the performance of our official duties, in
derogation of the constitutional rights of our State and her peo-
ple. To tell us, after all this, that our 'case' has not even been
inquired into, thus far, and that it will not even now be made
the subject of inquiry, by the Government at whose hands we
have suffered so much wrong, unless we will first submit to con-
ditions as unlawful and arbitrary as our arrest and imprisonment,
is to offer to each of us an insult, which we should forfeit our
self-respect if we did not repel.
u If we are accused of having committed any offence known to
the law, we are entitled to be lawfully and publicly charged there-
with and to be tried — not by you, nor by the Secretary of State —
but by the constituted tribunals of the district from which we
have been violently and illegally removed. If we have been
guilty of no crime against the law, we are entitled to be dis-
charged, without any terms or conditions ; and the Secretary of
State — if you really represent him — is only visiting us with an
additional outrage, by attempting to impose such upon us.
"We are your obedient servants,
E. G. Kilbourn, Wm. G. Harrison,
S. Teackle Wallis, Henry M. Warfield,
T. Parkin Scott, J. Hanson Thomas."
The reasons which influenced the parties to the foregoing
document were the same that operated upon all those who
declined to make any compromise with the Administration.
AVe still felt, in addition to our own sense of personal wrong,
that the cause of constitutional liberty in our State was at
stake, and that, as far as our efforts would avail, we were
bound to defend it. A refusal to acquiesce in the proceed-
ings by which the Government had outraged the people of
Maryland, was the only mode of resisting arbitrary power
that was left to us, and we had no hesitation in adhering to
our course. But while we, in Fort Warren, were thus en-
deavoring to discharge what we felt to be our duty in such
an exigency, we were hopefully looking to those who were
differently situated to support us Armed resistance on the
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
697
\ irt of the people of our State would, we well knew, have
L^eu utterly vain ; but we hoped there would, at least, be a
continual and vigorous assertion of their rights from all
whose position gave them any influence, or any opportunity
of making themselves heard. AVe thought it possible that
when Congress met, it might manifest a disposition to compel
Mr. Lincoln to surrender the power he had usurped, and
conform thenceforth to the plain dictates of the Constitution
and the laws. In this we were disappointed. Some few
brave and honest men manfully denounced the course of the
Administration, but an overwhelming majority of both
Houses, while uttering unmeaning platitudes about our
"free Government," our " indestructible Constitution," and
our M inalienable rights," subserviently supported every des-
potic and infamous act of Mr. Lincoln and his advisers.
Others held their peace.
After the Proclamation of February 14th (see Executive
Orders, Xos. 1 and 2, Appendix) was issued, Colonel Dimick
was authorized to release a number of persons upon their
signing a parole not to give " aid or comfort to the enemies
in hostility to the United States ;" and some weeks after the
appointment of Mr. Stanton's commission, orders were received
for the release of other parties upon the same conditions. A
number still refused to accept the proffered terms. Two of
them, Messrs. Wm. H. Gatchell and Wm. G. Harrison, gave
their reasons for so refusing, in the following letters to Mr.
Stanton :
"Fort Warren, February 22, 1S62.
u Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War :
" Sir: I have been arrested and imprisoned for nearly eight
months, in violation of the Constitution and laws of the United
States, having never committed any offence against either.
"I am not, in any legitimate sense, the subject of an amnesty.
That, as I have always understood, is an offer of pardon by the
offended to the offending party. The proclamation and the parole
are to be taken together, and they reverse the order of things.
"i cannot consent to any terms which even seem to justify
698
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the action of the Government toward me, oi will place m© in
any different condition from all other free citizens.
11 Your obedient servant,
Wm. H. Gatchell."
" Fort Warren, February 22, 1882.
M Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War :
" Sir : As a member of the Legislature of Maryland, 1 was
taken from my dwelling-house, at midnight of the 12th of Sep-
tember last, by the military police of the city of Baltimore, and
have since been incarcerated in several prisons, and now nearly
four months in this one, Fort Warren. I was told my arrest
was by orders from Washington. I refused any release, except
an unconditional one, because T will not seem even to acquiesce
in an act which has violated one of the most sacred bonds of our
Government. (Vide Article 4th, Amendments to the Constitu-
tion.) I have been arrested in defiance of law, punished without
charge of crime, or trial and judgment of my peers, and I will
not sanction the insinuation which a parole affords, that any
charge has been made or proved, warranting what has been
done. Respectfully,
W. G. Harrison/'
As I saw, from the Proclamation and Order of the new
Secretary of War, that he intended to deal with us arbitra-
rily, instead of justly, I did not think it necessary to await
propositions which I could not accept, and which might not
even be offered to me. I had never made any statement of
my wrongs, nor had I individually forwarded any remon
strance against my arrest to the Government, and I therefore
took that occasion to put my case upon the records of the
Department, and sent this letter to Mr. Stanton :
" Fort Warren, Mass., March 3, 1862.
14 Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War :
" Sir: For six months past, I have been detained in close cub*
tody in one or other of the Forts of the United States. I am, 1
believe, termed, in the novel language of the day, a 4 political
prisoner,' or 'prisoner of state.' Until recently, I have been
held subject to the order of the Secretary of State, but now ]
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
699
understand that I am special!} in charge of the War Depart-
ment. You, therefore, are respcnsible for my further detention.
Under these circumstances, it is proper that 1 should place upon
record, in your office, a statement of the wrongs done me, and a
demand for an instant and unconditional release.
"On the night of the 12th of September, 1861, between twelve
and one o'clock, I was made prisoner in my own house, in Balti-
more, by a band of armed men, who, although they showed no
warrant or authority for their proceedings, professed, and I
have no doubt truly, to be acting under the orders of Mr. Sew-
ard, the Secretary of State. My house was searched from garret
to cellar — my private papers ransacked, and most of them, as
far as I can learn, were carried off. I was kept for an hour or
more a prisoner in my own parlor — armed men being stationed
throughout my house, and even at the door of my children's
chamber, while this search was proceeding. I will not comment
further upon the indignities then put upon me. I was finally
carried off to Fort McHenry, leaving my house in possession of
the myrmidons who had invaded it, and who refused to allow
me to send for my wife's father or brother, who were in the
immediate neighborhood, and to whom alone my family, at such
a moment, could look for protection. I was detained at Fort
McHenry during the following day, and then transferred to Fort-
ress Monroe. At this latter post I was confined a close prisoner,
with fourteen other gentlemen, for ten days, none of us having
been suffered to leave for an instant the two casemates which
were there assigned to us. So rigid was our imprisonment, that
the very windows and doors, through which we could look out
on the parade ground, were closed and padlocked. I was then
carried, with my companions, to Fort Lafayette. At this latter
post no provision whatever had been made for our reception,
and no decent accommodations were at any time provided. I
slept in the dark, cold gun-battery in which I was quartered,
upon a bag of straw, until I procured bedding from New York ;
and during my whole stay I was compelled to pay for my meals,
as I could not have eaten the wretched rations offered me by the
commanding officer. On the 1st of November last, I was brought
to this place on an over-crowded and filthy steamer, which was
insufficiently supplied even with the miserable pork and bread
700
AMERICAN BASTILE.
provided for our subsistence. But for the fact that 1 had brought
rny bedding wit'j me, I should have been forced, like many of
my companions, to sleep for two weeks after my arrival here
upon the bare floor, and without a single blanket to cover me
Such is a brief statement of the treatment to which I have been
subjected.
" From the moment of my arrest down to this hour, no charge
of any sort has been preferred against me, and none can be
alleged or established, for 1 have not violated any law whatever.
State or Federal. I was, as you may perhaps be aware, one of
the Editors of the 'Daily Exchange,' a morning journal pub-
lished in Baltimore. In that paper I had expressed my politi-
cal opinions without reserve. I had, a year ago, advocated the
adoption of some compromise by Congress which should stay the
then threatened rupture between the North and South. I had
subsequently deprecated any attempt to coerce the South, on the
ground that it would only render the separation of the two sec-
tions inevitable and final. I asserted that war would leave the
country in a worse condition than it found it; and, as it would
entail upon us an enormous debt, I felt it to be my duty to resist,
and I did resist its initiation. I was .unable to see how the
Union could be preserved if a large majority of the Southern
people were bent upon a separation, and I said so. I was unable
to comprehend how the President could, from the injunction
which commanded him to see that the laws were faithfully exe-
cuted, derive authority to supersede and violate the fundamental
laws of the land, and I said so. I was equally unable to see how,
upon the theory of upholding the Constitution, I was under an
obligation to support those who were daily manifesting their
contempt for all its provisions — nor could I conceive how this
Government had any existence whatever outside of the charter
which established it. All these political opinions I had the abso-
lute right to entertain and promulgate. I choose to refer to them
here, because they constitute the offences for which I am under
going punishment. Notwithstanding the fact that many thou-
sands of persons in the Northern States had entertained and
expressed these views within a twelvemonth, the Administration
determined that it was criminal in me to continue to hold and
ntter them, and has, therefore, arbitrarily inflicted upon me the
indignities and wrongs which I have mentioned.
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
701
"Although no direct offer has been made to me to release me
apon any terms whatsoever, I, nevertheless, presume that mino
was one of the cases which either your Proclamation of Feb-
ruary 14th, or your Order of February 27th, was intended to
cover. Now, as I cannot accept a conditional discharge, coupled
with a gracious amnesty for offences which it is assumed I have
committed, and as I must equally refuse to appear at the bar of
an irresponsible tribunal to justify my right to the ordinary
privileges of a citizen of Maryland, it is due to myself, at least,
that I should state the reasons which impel me to the course 1
shall pursue. To the principles which govern my action now 1
shall appeal, when in the future I seek redress and enter upon
my own vindication. It must be obvious to you, sir, that I can-
not, consistently with my own self-respect, accept any such con-
ditional release as is referred to in your Proclamation, or avail
myself of such amnesty. As I was despotically deprived of my
freedom, I can make no compromise to regain it. As I am
punished merely for venturing to dissent from the theories and
policy of the Administration, I need and will ask no pardon.
Nor, even if I should accept the terms mentioned, would I have
any security that I would not, immediately after my release, br)
again subjected to precisely similar outrages to those which have
already been inflicted upon me. As the Administration has once
determined that I, by expressing my political sentiments, was
giving * aid and comfort to the enemies in hostility to the United
States,' I could only escape a re-arrest by consenting to forego
or conceal my opinions. This I will never, for one instant, do.
I deem it to be my bounden duty to defend, to the last, every
privilege and right to which, as an American citizen, I was born;
and I shall do so until I am deprived of these by some kn<nvu
and fair process of law.
"Nor can you fail readily to comprehend why I decline to
submit myself to the jurisdiction of the strange tribunal which
is organized under your order of February 27th. I recognise
no such judges of my guilt or innocence, of my loyalty or dis
loyalty, under the Constitution or laws of this land. The Courts,
both State and Federal, are in the unobstructed exercise of their
several functions in Maryland ; and they could, long since, have
examinea and disposed of any charge which might have been
preferred against me. In them, and in them only, will I meet
702
AMERICAN BASTILE.
any accusation- and, while they are closed to my demand for
justice, I shall Jecline to defend myself before any Star-chambor
commissioners whomsoever.
Such, sir, are the motives of my present action ; and as tho
rights which I seek to uphold are not dependent upon the alleged
necessities of the Administration, or upon the fate of battles, ray-
convictions cannot be affected by the supposed exigencies of the
one, or the results of the other. I shall continue, then, to vindi-
cate them, as I best may, with the consciousness that, after the
delusions, the falsehoods, and the passions of the hour shall have
passed away, my course will be approved by every honest man
who has been educated in the knowledge of the privileges and
duties of an American freeman. I have only now to demand, at
your hands, a prompt release from the imprisonment to which
I am so unjustly and arbitrarily subjected.
" I remain your obedient servant,
F. K. Howard."
The only notice taken of this communication was the fol-
lowing note from the Adjutant-General :
"War Department,
Washington City, D. C, March 10, 1862.
"To Colonel Justin Dimick, Fort Warren, Boston, Massachusetts:
" Colonel: I will thank you to inform Mr. Frank Key Howard
that his letter of the 3d instant has been duly received, and that
his case has been referred to the Commissioners named in the
within order.
" By order of the Secretary of War.
L. Thomas, Adjutant General."
With this letter was forwarded a printed copy of Mr.
Stanton's order of February 27th. The views of all those
who had refused to accept any conditional discharge were, in
the main, those set forth in the above letter to Mr. Stanton.
Our time at Fort \7arren, as at our previous places of
imprisonment, passed, as may be supposed, monotonously
enough. Living, as we did, in over-crowded apartments, it
was impossible to read or write with any satisfaction. Re
atricted, as we were for many months, to our quarters, or to
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
703
a narrow strip of ground in front of them, we could derive
little pleasure from exercising in the open air. To pace up
and down within these contracted limits, where nothing waf-.
to be seen but the dull gray walls of our prison, was not a
cheerful or invigorating mode of exercise. As month after
month dragged wearily on, our hopes of release grew fainter
and fainter; and, though we seldom permitted ourselves to
talk despondingly to each other, we did not think the less
bitterly about the homes we had left and the indignities we
had endured.
At Fort Warren, the soldiers of the garrison differed, we
were glad to find, from their comrades at Fort Lafayette.
While the latter were incapable of delivering a message, or
of giving the simplest order, save in a manner at once in-
solent and brutal, the former were uniformly good-natured
and civil. Colonel Dimick, the Commandant of the Post,
discharged his disagreeable office in a way to which we could
take no exception, and none of us, in any interview with him,
ever found him otherwise than courteous and kind. As far
as lay in his power, he left nothing undone to promote our
comfort.
On the 19th of April, an order was issued giving us per
mission to walk, between 1 o'clock p.m. and sunset, upon
that portion of the ramparts immediately over our quarters.
The space thus assigned us was just the length of that to
which we had been limited upon the parade ground, that is,
about three hundred feet. This extension of our bounds
was an infinite relief to us, as from the ramparts we had a
view of the bay and the surrounding shores.
The unwillingness of the War and State Departments to
grant passes to persons desirous of visiting any prisoner,
may be judged from the following note from Mr. Seward to
Rev. Mr Hitselberger, a Catholic priest residing in Boston.
He had applied, at the request of Mr. T. Parkin Scott, for a
permit to enable him, as a priest, iO visit the latter, and re-
ceived this rer/y :
704
AMERICAN BASTILE.
'•Department of State,
Washington, November 20, 1561.
•To the Rev. A. L. Hitselberger,
Boston College. Harrison Avenue, Boston:
"Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your note of tha
i5th instant, with a copy of that which you addressed to Colo-
nel Dimick. on the 15th of November. This Department having
adopted a rule which precludes all visits to political prisoners,
even from ministers of the Gospel — of any denomination — has
hitherto strictly observed it.
If. however, the persons themselves sLa'ii, in the event of sick-
ness, or any o:her reasonable cause, require th» services of their
spiritual advisers, the rule would be relaxed ip favor of any one
*f undoubted loyalty.
•• I am, sir, your obedient servant,
"William FI. Seward."
It was not until April that Mr. Hitselt er^e* succeeded in
obtaining a pass to visit Fort Warren.
General Bix and. Judge Pierrepont, who had "been appointed
Commissioners to examine the cases of "state prisoners" by
Mr. Stanton's order of February 27, arrived at Fort Warren,
May 7, IS 6 '2. They were engaged about five hours in dis-
posing of these " cases.'' Their ;* examination " consisted in
asking ODe or two simple questions no way touching any
crime or offence known to the laws, and in offering to release,
on parole, most of the parties called before them. Several
persons were released on some special grounds which distin-
guished their ••cases" from those of the strictly ki political
prisoners," who unanimously rejected the proposals of the
Commissioners. The latter did not attempt to ray that the
Government had any specific charges to prefer against those
on whom it wished to impose conditions. That these pris-
oners had been confined simply because their opinions were
in opposition to those of the members and partisr os of the
Administration, was tacitly conceded by the Comr issionera
in their so-called examination.
The following is a memorandum of the interview ^tween
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
705
Mr. W m. H. Gatchell and Mr. Stanton's Commissioners. It
was drawn up by Mr. Gatchell, a few hours after his " exam-
ination."
"As I entered the room in which the Commissioners held their
meeting, General Dix advanced with his hand extended, saying,
•Good morning, Mr. Gatchell.' I declined the proffered hand,
remarking, 'Excuse me, sir, if you please/ In a very short time,
Judge Pierrepont observed, 'I really forget, Mr. Gatchell,
whether you have been offered the parole or not, heretofore.' I
replied, that 'I had been, and that I had declined it, for the rea-
sons stated in my answer to the Secretary of War, which I sup-
posed he had seen.' He said he 'had not seen that answer.' I
told him that 'I would furnish the Commissioners with a copy,
that they might understand the grounds on which I placed my
refusal to accept it.' I was then asked 'whether I continued
of the same mind?' I answered, 'Certainly/ Then, said he,
'For the present, we have nothing more to do with your case.'
"I then turned to General Dix and said : 'At the time we left
Fort McHenry for Fort Lafayette, you, sir, assured our families
and ourselves that our treatment there should be as comfortable,
if not more so, than at Fort McHenry; instead of which, for the
first thirty days we were there, we were treated like brutes —
that, but for the fact of our having taken our bedding with us,
we should have been obliged to sleep upon the bare floor, and for
fifteen days we had not a chair to sit upon.' He said, ' I could
not know what the condition of things was at Lafayette.' 1
replied, 'You ought to have known before you made the promise,
particularly as we were sent there by your orders/ He then
said, ' Mr. Gatchell, nobody knows better than you that what 1
did was by orders from my Government.' 'Yes,' I replied, 'but,
as commander of a military department, those orders must have
been suggested by you, or adopted with your advico and con
sent/"
The reasons why the gentlemen then in Fort TVarreL
refused to give the required parole, have already been ad
verted to. Four of us, Messrs. Scott, TValhs, my father
and myself, whom the Government had not, openly— or
•ecretly, so far as we knew — charged w;th any illegal act,
45
AMERICAN BASTILE.
were not summoned before the Commissioners. Our " cases "
were theiefore not " examined," nor were we offered our lib-
erty on any terms. Colonel Kane, against whom the Govern-
ment had managed to procure au indictment for treason and
who had been carried out of the State immediately afterward,
remained unnoticed also. He had been removed hundreds
of miles away from the place where it was alleged he had
committed a crime, and though for nine months the Govern-
ment had failed to bring him to trial, the Commissioners
suffered his case, also, to pass unexamined. To Mr. Brown,
the Mayor of Baltimore, General Dix said that all parties in
Baltimore bore testimony to his personal integrity, and that
the Government recognized his fidelity in his intercourse with
it ; and he then offered to release him, provided he would
resign his office. Mr. Brown replied that he was in the power
of the Government, and submitted only because he could not
help himself, but he peremptorily refused General Dix's pro-
position to resign his office, remarking that to do so would
be to forfeit his own self-respect. Comment on this infamous
and insolent proposal is needless.
An article which appeared in the Baltimore " American M
on the 15th of May, furnished conclusive evidence of the
spirit in which the Commissioners had acted. The principal
Editor and proprietor of that journal was Mr. Charles C. Ful-
ton, a man who had been for years the apologist of every
species of fraud and violence which had been perpetrated to
advance the ends and interests of his party or himself, and
who was at that time the subservient dependant of General
Dix and General Dix's master. As his account of t he visit
of the former to Fort Warren was mainly correct, so far as
the facts therein stated were concerned, it may be fairly pre-
sumed that he received it from one of the Commissioners 01
their clerk. In that article it was said :
" We understand that the prisoners not examined were Messrs.
S. Teackle Wallis, T. Parkin Scott, Charles Howard, F. Key
Howard, and George P. Kane, all of this city. The reason why
no examination was made in these cases is understood to havo
FKAHK KEY HOWARD.
707
tten tli conviction, on the part of the Commissioners, that they
ought not to be permitted to return to Baltimore, on any condi-
tion, while the class of citizens here of which they are a type
keep up an unrelenting hostility to the Government — provoki:
most justly, a hostile feeling toward them on the part of the
Union men of this city That the feeling of hostility to
which we hare alluded has been fostered and imbittered by the
vindictiveness of the secession women of Baltimore, there can be
no doubt; and to them is due — in a great degree, at least— as
prime movers of disloyalty, the continued imprisonment of their
friends."
It is manifest, from these extracts, that the " hostile feel-
ing" of Mr. Lincoln's partisans toward us was one of the
reasons why the outrage done us remained unredressed ;
and a disposition to inflict vicarious punishment on the
women of Baltimore was another of the manly and just
motives operating upon General Dix. On May 9th, Colonel
Dimick enlarged our bounds. "We had permission, from that
time, to walk where we pleased, both inside and outside of
the fortress, on giving our parole not to attempt to pass
beyond the line of sentinels who were stationed along the
shore. Our parole, also, required us not to communicate with
the shore, or with any one who might land on the island,
and not to talk to the soldiers of the garrison, or to discuss
political matters in their hearing.
On Saturday, May 24th, Colonel Dimick notified us that
the " political prisoners " were to be sent back to Fort La-
fayette. We regarded this as indicating a determination on
the part of the Government to subject us to all such indig-
nities or punishment as it was in its power to inflict. That
the Government itself considered Fort Lafayette as peculiar! v
a place of punishment, was made evident by an order which
was received, at the same time, for the transfer of certain
other persons to the same Fortress. A number of prisoners
of war, who had been taken in the battle below Xew C deans,
had reached Fort Warren but two days before. Among
them were six officers of the steam-battery Louisiana, which
they had blown up rather than suffer it to fall into the hands
AMERICAN BASTILE.
of the Federal forces. For this reason, the Government chose
to regard them as meriting severe treatment. On their arrival,
they, like all other Confederate officers, were allowed the
li berty of the Island npon their parole. "With the order for
oar transfer to Fort Lafayette, came another, directing that
these officers should not be regarded as, nor receive the ordi-
nary treatment of, prisoners of war, and that they should be
sent to Fort Lafayette with us. Their parole was instantly
revoked, and they were placed under all the restrictions to
which we had so long been subjected. It was thus made
manifest that the Government was fully aware of the spe-
cially painful character of the imprisonment which the un-
happy captives in Fort Lafayette were compelled to endure.
On Monday, the 26th, Colonel Dimick received a despatch,
informing him that Fort Lafayette was already full to reple-
tion, and ordering him to retain us, for the time, at Fort
Warren. That morning, the public had been made aware of
the fact that General Banks had been driven by General
Jackson across the Potomac, in great confusion. A special
despatch had been received at Fort Warren to the same
effect, during the previous night, and the garrison left that
day, in great haste, for Washington. Probably, the Govern-
ment had, for some time, more important matters to think
about than the punishment of " political prisoners," for we
heard no more of any orders for our removal. On Thursday,
July 31st, the prisoners of war then in Fort Warren, some
two hundred in number, left on a steamer for James River,
where they were to be exchanged. After their departure,
there were but fourteen " political prisoners 99 left in Fort
Warren.
On the afternoon of the 12th of November, my father
received a telegraphic despatch, informing him of the " ex-
treme illness" of my sister. At the same time, Colonel
Dimick notified him that he was authorized to release him
upon his parole to return to Fort Warren at the expiration
of a limited period, and to commit no act of hostility, in the
mean time, against the Government. This was one of those
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
700
few cases in which we had ah agreed that it would be our
duty to accept a temporary release. Colonel Dimick deeired
to extend this parole to thirty days; but my father stated
his unwillingness to remain in Baltimore, under any condi-
tions whatsoever, any longer than might be absolutely neces-
sary, and gave a parole, therefore, to return to Fort Warren
it twenty days. The friends who had procured for him this
temporary release had applied for one for me also, but of
this application no notice was taken. Had I been then per-
mitted, I should have thought it proper for me to go home.
On the evening of the 14th, I received a message from my
father, dated in the morning, informing me that my sister's
end was rapidly approaching. At the same time, Colonel
Dimick told me he was authorized to release me on parole.
I subsequently learned that this order to him was the result
of a renewed application on my behalf. But it came too late,
and there were no longer any reasons moving me to take ad-
vantage of it, save such as were purely personal to myself
A few moments' reflection satisfied me that, under such cir-
cumstances, I ought not to deviate from my course. I, there-
fore, declined to accept the temporary and conditional release
which Mr. Stanton had so tardily offered me. While my
father was at home, Colonel Dimick proposed to extend the
time of his stay indefinitely, and to receive his simple pled go
to return to Fort Warren when so ordered, without exact-
ing from him any other conditions whatsoever, thus leaving
him, in all other respects, perfect freedom of action. My
father declined, however, to take into consideration any fur-
ther proposition looking to his discharge, temporarily or per-
manently, upon any terms whatsoever, and notified Colone*
Dimick that he would be at Fort Warren on the 3d of
December, the day when his parole would expire.
On the 24th of November, an order of the War Depart-
ment, dated November 22, relating to the discharge of pris-
oners who had been arrested for interfering with the draft,
etc., appeared in the Boston papers. Though the order did
not refer directly to persons in our situation, still there was
710
AMERICAN BASTILE.
bo much ambiguity in its language that it was not clear
whether it might not he intended to include us. On the
same afternoon, Colonel Dimick received this despatch •
"Washington, November 24, 11.50 a.m.
u Commanding Officer, Fort Warren, Boston :
" None of the prisoners confined at your post will be released
under order of the War Department of the 22d instant, without
special instructions from the Department. By order of the
Secretary of War.
E. D. Townsend, A. A. G."
I had not myself thought that the order of November 22
would affect us, though some of my companions were of a
different opinion. The above despatch to Colonel Dimick
effectually banished from the minds of most of them any
doubts upon the point.
Late in the afternoon of the 26th of November, 1862,
Colonel Dimick entered our quarters and, with a manifesta-
tion of much pleasure and good feeling, announced to us that
our captivity was ended. He had just received a telegram
from Washington ordering our release, and containing no
suggestion about terms or conditions. He furnished us, the
uext morning, at our request, with the following certificate :
"Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, November 27, 1862.
George P. Kane, S. Teackle Wallis,
George Wm. Brown, Charles Macgill,
Charles Howard, William Gatchell,
Frank K. Howard, Thomas W. Hall,
Henry M. Warfield, T. Parkin Scott,
William G. Harrison, William H. Winder.
Robert Hull,
" The above-named prisoners are released, agreeably to the fol
(owing telegram.
J. Dimick, Col. 1st Art'y, Com. Post.'
"'Washington, November 26, 1862.
Ul Colonel J. Dimick, 0" S Army, Fort Warren, Boston:
M ' The Secretary of War directs that you release all the Marj
FRANK KEY HOWARD.
711
land state prisoners, also any other prisoners that may be in
rour custody, and report names to this office.
(Signed) E. D. Townsend,
A. A. General/
"'True copy: Fort Warren, November 27, 1862.
J. Dimick,
Col. 1st Art'y, Com'g Post/ "
We left our prison for our homes on the morning of tha
i 7th.
There were, at the time of our release, no other prisoners
il Fort Warren than those named, except one, who was a
native of Massachusetts, and who had been arrested in that
State, a few weeks previously. The gentlemen above named
had, with a single exception, been my companions in Fort
Lafayette, and of course in Fort Warren. All but one had
been imprisoned over a year, and Mr. Gatchell, Colonel Kane,
and my father for nearly eighteen months. Each of them
had determined at the outset to resist, to the uttermost, the
dictatorship of Abraham Lincoln ; and having done so, each
had the satisfaction of feeling, as he left Fort Warren, that
he had faithfully, and not unsuccessfully, discharged a grave
public duty. We came out of prison as we had gone in,
holding in the same just scorn and detestation the despotism
under which the country was prostrate, and with a stronger
resolution than ever to oppose it by every means to which,
as American freemen, we had the right to resort.
HON. CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM.
"T71XILED!" The student of ancient history is familiar
with the names of prominent statesmen, who were sub-
jolted to "banishment" and "ostracism" because the prin-
ciples they advocated were conservative, and not in accord
with the revolutionary sentiments of those who had acquired
power. Then the centralization of power in the capital of
the country was considered the greatest strength of the
republic. The city of Athens, or of Rome, for all practi-
cal purposes, in so far as civil authority or military power
was Concerned, constituted the State. All other divisions of
country, composing these ancient republics, were entirely
subordinate to the power consolidated in these capitals.
Hence there was no appeal from the decisions emanating
from these grand centres of power. Statesmen and patriots,
like Aristides and Pericles and Cicero, were " exiled," and
continued in exile, until the storms of persecution and pro-
scription exhausted themselves, and were then either recalled
by the demand of the people, or voluntarily returned to re-
sume the leadership in the affairs of State.
In modern times, however, with experiments in govern-
ment for more than two thousand years before us, and with
our jurisprudence keeping pace with the civilization and
progress of the age, it was not even mooted that a citizen of
the United States could be subjected to banishment and
exile from a State of which he was a citizen by a simplo
edict from Washington, especially when that State was not
in rebellion against the Federal Government. There is no
clause in the Constitution which would justify such an exer-
cise or usurpation of power. Under monarchical govern-
ments, where centralization still prevails, — as in Austria
712
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM. 713
and Russia, where the political power of the nation is con-
centred in Vienna and St. Petersburg, -- such despotism
has been and is tolerated ; but in the United States, where
all power is inherent in the people, and where each State has
entire control over her own citizens, except when by any
overt act a State, as a State, opposes the laws of the Federal
Government, the banishment of a citizen from his native
State is such an act of usurpation and despotism as would
justify the impeachment and deposition of the official guilty
of the crime.
The principle, as to the rights of citizens in States not in
rebellion, is fully enunciated in the decision of the Supreme
Court of the United States in the Milligan case, where it is
broadly and expressly stated that a citizen residing in a
State not in rebellion, and where the courts are open to hear
complaints, cannot be tried by a military commission or court-
martial, and that the writ of habeas corpus, in such State,
cannot be suspended. The plea of " military necessity does
not justify the interference of military power where the
people are at peace with each other, and where they do not,
by force of arms, oppose the laws of the United States.
But the exile of Mr< Vallandigham was not because of any
pol tical or treasonable offence which he had committed.
His arrest, mock trial, and banishment from his native State,
were wholly for personal and political reasons — for the
double purpose of subserving the interests of " the one-man "
power at Washington, and the intimidation of his fellow-
citizens who acted in accordance with the principles he
advocated for the preservation of the Constitution and for
the restoration of the States.
During those troublous times, when civil authority was
made subordinate to military power, it seemed to be the
object of the government at Washington to appoint agents
to execute its edicts, who were ignorant of both civil and
military law ; who knew not the consequences which would
flow from arbitrary and illegal acts ; who were brutal in their
natures, and who, from this ignorance, brutality, and irre-
714
AMERICAN BASTILE.
sponsibility, would commit the most flagitious wrongs upon
innocent citizens, regardless of either law or justice. Hence
the appointment of General A. E. Burnside over the military
district composed of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois.
It is also a matter of history that, however great the wrong,
illegal the act, and arbitrary and brutal the power exeicised,
the " Washington Government " always indorsed and ap-
plauded the action.
Before proceeding to the arrest, illegal trial, and exile of
Mr. Vallandigham, it may not be inappropriate, as he was
not an ordinary man, to give a brief sketch of his life and
public services.
Clement Laird Vallandigham, the son of Rev. Clement
Vallandigham and Rebecca Laird, his wife, was born in New
Lisbon, Columbiana County, Ohio, on the 29th day of July,
A. d. 1820. His father, besides attending to his ministerial
duties, established a classical school in his own house, partly
for the purpose of preparing his sons for college, and partly
for the support of a large family, for which his meagre
salary was inadequate. Young Vallandigham was both pre-
cocious and studious, so that, at the age of twelve years,
he was sufficiently advanced in Greek and Latin and other
branches of study as to fit him for an entrance into the
junior class in college. Being considered too young for col-
legiate life, he spent his time until he was sixteen years of
age in reviewing his studies, in general reading, and out-
door sports, to build up his constitution, which was naturally
delicate. In 1837 he entered the Junior Class at Jefferson
College, Pennsylvania. He immediately took a high posi-
tion among his fellow-students, especially in debate, in the
literary society (Franklin), to which he belonged. He
remained at college one year, but believing his expenses
there were too heavy a tax on his father, whose income was
small, he obtained the appointment of Principal of Union
Academy, at Snow Hill, Worcester County, Maryland, where
he remained two years. He then returned to Jefferson Col-
lege and entered the Senior Class. Soon after re-entering
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM.
715
college he was chosen debater for his society, in a public
contest between the two literary societies. His connection
with the college, however, did not continue long. A quar-
rel between him and Dr. Brown, President of the college,
originated in a controversy on constitutional law, Mr. Vallan-
digham having advanced certain political opinions to which
the doctor objected and endeavored to refute, at the same time
making use of language which Mr. Yallandigham thought in-
sulting and abusive, and for which he immediately demanded
an honorable dismission. This Dr. Brown gave him, but sub-
sequently partly apologized and requested Mr. Vallandigham
to return, which he declined to do. He returned home and
commenced the study of law with his eldest brother, and on
the 5th of December, 1842, was admitted at Columbus, Ohio,
to practise in the Supreme Court and the other courts of
the State. In 1845 he was unanimously nominated by the
Democratic party of his native county a candidate for repre-
sentative in the State Legislature, to which he was elected in
October, having just attained the constitutional age. As a
member of the Legislature he ranked high, and on his return
home was again nominated by a large majority, although his
county was now only entitled to one member, when pre-
viously it was represented by two — his old colleague having
entered into the contest with him for the nomination.
After an unusually violent canvass, he was re-elected in Octo-
ber by a large majority.
During this political campaign, to wit, on the 27th of
August, 1846, he was married to Miss Louisa A. McMahon,
daughter of Mr. William McMahon, of Cumberland, Mary-
land, and sister of the late Hon. John V. L. McMahon, of
Baltimore.
On the assembling of the Legislature, in December follow
ing his second election, Mr. Vallandigham was compli-
mented with the unanimous vote of his party for Speaker,
but the Whig party in Ohio being in the ascendency, he, of
course, was not chosen Speaker.
Ir. August, 1847, seeking a broader field in which to prao-
716
AMERICAN BASTILE.
tise at his profession, he removed to Dayton, Ohio, and
entered into a partnership with Thomas J. S. Smith, Esq., an
able lawyer, with a large and lucrative practice. At this
time he also became connected with the " Western Empire,"
a Democratic paper of Dayton, as part owner and editor, bat
ievered his connection with it in June, 1849. In August,
1852, he was nominated for Congress in the Third District,
Ohio ; but was defeated, after an animated contest, by Lewis
D. Campbell, by 147 majority. In 1854 he was again nomi-
nated for Congress, his opponent again being Mr. Campbell;
but as the Whig party had now perished with the decease
of Clay and Webster, and the Democratic party having met
with political disaster throughout the country, generally
through the influence of the Know-Nothing organization,
Mr. Vallandigham was again defeated, by a majority of 2565
for Campbell, although he ran considerably ahead of the
State ticket in his district. Not dismayed by his former de-
feats, he was again a candidate for Congress in 1856, Mr.
Campbell again being his competitor, and after a violent
contest, at the conclusion of which both parties were about
exhausted, Campbell once more received the certificate of
election by a majority of 19 votes. Gross and palpable
frauds, however, being apparent, Mr. Vallandigham con-
tested the election in Congress, which resulted in the elec-
tion of the contestant by a majority of 23 votes. On the
25th of May, 1858, he was sworn in and took his seat as a
member of Congress from the Third Congressional District
of Ohio. After his return home from Washington, in
1858, he was again unanimously chosen by the different
county committees of his district for Congress, and was
elected by a majority of 188 over Mr. Campbell, his former
competitor. This election by the people was the more grati-
fying to Mr. Vallandigham, because, although after pre-
viously having been defeated, he had always acted consist-
ently with the principles of his party, and was now rewarded
for his fidelity. His strict adhesion to principle called from
Lim ^he remark : " It cost me ten years exclusion from office and
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM. 717
honor at that period when honors are sweetest. No matter ; 1
learned early to do right and to wait."
In 1860 he was again, for the fifth time, a candidate foi
Congress — without the formality of a Convention — and,
although it was during the Presidential struggle of that
year, when the feelings of the people and the animosity of
parties were most bitter, yet he was returned a member of
the Thirty-seventh Congress, by about the same majority he
had received in 1858. In 1862 the Congressional Convention
of the Third District, now composed of Butler, Montgomery,
Preble, and Warren Counties, met at Hamilton, and nomi-
nated Mr. Yallandigham by acclamation ; but as a new ap-
portionment had been made by an adverse Legislature, and
"Warren County, which was largely Kepublican, added to his
old district, at this election he was defeated ; yet he had a
majority of 800 in his old district, being an increase of
nearly 700 over his previous majority in 1860.
Notwithstanding the great controversies which ensued the
election of Mr. Lincoln, in 1860, — the secession of States,
the declaration of civil war, the clash of arms, and the
persecution, proscription, and imprisonment of Democrats —
to his honor be it said, Mr. Yallandigham never swerved a
hair's-breadth from the constitutional principles to which
his party adhered. Firm in his convictions that, in order
to maintain the Union of the States, the military power
must be made subordinate to civil authority, he was fearless,
yet conservative, in announcing his opinions as a member of
the legislative department of the National Government ;
nor did he shrink from claiming the same rights which his
Republican opponents had demanded during previous politi-
cal contests, to wit, the privilege and right of free speech
and a free press. Assuming a brave and manly position in
and out of Congress, and having the ability and courage to
enunciate his principles and defend his position, he was
assailed from every quarter. During the sessions of Congress
he was frequently attacked by the champions of the Repub-
lican side of the House, but his knowledge of parliamentary
718
AMERICAN BASTILE.
law was so great, his acquirements and eloquence so
marked and convincing, and his reasons so cogent, that he
easily kept his adversaries at bay, and stood in the midst of
them, the lofty Achilles challenging the attack. Nor were
his influence and power over the people and party which he
represented less wonderful than his ability to maintain his
cause. They believed what he said was right, because it
was founded on principle and conviction ; they would trust
him because they knew he would not betray them, and they
would follow him because they were confident he would not
mislead them. Had not brute force, sustained by the bayonet,
prevailed over reason and civil authority, the arguments he
advanced in favor of the preservation and integrity of the
Union, and the cessation of hostilities and bloodshed, would
have been irresistible — the war would have been ended long
before it was — the States would have been restored to their
original status, and peace, harmony, and good-will would
have pervaded all sections of the country.
We come now to the methods adopted by the Republican
party to crush Mr. Vallandigham, and thus intimidate
Democrats generally, who chose to think and act with the
Constitution for their guide.
On the 19th of February, 1862, Mr. John Hickman, of
Pennsylvania, offered a resolution in Congress " instructing
the Committee on the Judiciary to inquire into the truth of
certain charges of disloyalty made in the local columns of a
Baltimore newspaper, against C. L. Vallandigham, of Ohio."
This resolution called Mr. Vallandigham to his feet, and
so completely did he answer the charge, without any pre-
vious notice or preparation, that Mr. Hickman, although
one of the shrewdest Abolitionists on his side of the House,
and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, not only aban-
doned his case, but withdrew the resolution.
We give but one extract from Mr. Vallandigham's speech
in his defence on this occasion, which was in allusion to the
flag which hung above the Speaker's seat, and which called
forth the admiration of the whole House, as well as of those
who were seated in the galleries.
CLEMENT L. VALLAXDIGHAM.
710
He said : "Yet that is all the grand aggregate of the charges, ex-
cept this miserable falsehood which some wretched scavenger, prowl-
ing about the streets and alleys and gutters of the city of Baltimore,
has seen fit to put forth in the local columns of a contemptible news-
paper; so that the member from Pennsylvania may rise in his place
and prefer charges against the loyalty and patriotism of a man who
has never faltered in devotion to the flag of his country — to that flag
which hangs now upon the wall over against him ; one who has bowed
down and worshipped this holy emblem of the Constitution and of
the old Union of these States to his heart's core, ay, in his very heart
of hearts, from the time he first knew aught to this hour ; and who
now would give life and all that he has, or hopes to be in the present
or future, to see that glorious banner of the Union — known and
honored once over the whole earth and the whole sea — with no stripe
erased, and not one star blotted out, floating forever over the free,
harmonious old Union of every State once a part of it, and a hundred
more yet unborn. I am that man ; and yet he dares to demand that
I shall be brought up before the secret tribunal of the Judiciary
Committee — that Committee of which he is chairman, and thus both
judge and accuser — to answer to the charge of disloyalty to the
Union."
Mr. Vallandigham was frequently attacked in the House,
by resolution and otherwise, by those either seeking to cen-
sure him or secure his expulsion from the House — only one
of which attacks we will now mention. In June, 1862,
Messrs. Shellabarger and Gurley, of Ohio, presented printed
petitions from citizens of their own districts — none, how-
ever, from Mr. Vallandigham's district — asking for his ex-
pulsion from the House, as a " traitor and a disgrace to the
State of Ohio." The petitions were referred to the Commit-
tee on the Judiciary, consisting of the following members, to
wit: John Hickman, chairman, John A. Bingham, William
Kellogg, Albert G. Porter, Benjamin F. Thomas, Alexander
S. Diven, James F. Wilson, George H. Pendleton, and Henry
May — all Republicans except Messrs. Pendleton and May.
This Committee, on the very day on which the petitions were
presented, by a unanimous vote, ordered them to be reported
back and laid upon the table; and accordingly, on the first
720
AMERICAN BASTILE.
day that the Committee was called, July 3, 1862, Mr. Bing-
ham reported them back, and on his motion they were laid on the
table, no ev idence whatever of either " treason " or " dis-
grace ,; having been produced to the Committee. Seven
times during the session these attacks were made, and as
often failed.
Thus Mr. Vallandigham was persecuted during the whole
of his subsequent career in Congress ; but when opportunity
was afforded him, he warded off these attacks with consum-
mate skill, and every day afterward, when the tide, from his
ability and courage, began to turn in his favor, he grew
stronger and more popular, and was recognized as one of the
leaders of the Democratic party.
On the 23d February, 1863, Mr. Yallandigham made his
last speech in Congress. It was on the Conscription Bill,
and was one of the ablest efforts of his life. As portions of
this great speech are pertinent to the subject under consid-
eration, his concluding remarks are here given :
" Sir," he said, " I have done now to my objection to this bill. I
have spoken as though the Constitution survived and was still the
supreme law of the land. But if, indeed, there be no Constitution
any longer, limiting and restraining the men in power, then there is
none binding upon the States or the people. God forbid! We have
a Constitution yet and laws yet. To them I appeal. Give us our
rights ; give us known and fixed laws ; give us presentment or indict-
ment by grand juries; speedy and public trial; trial by jury and at
home ; tell us the nature and cause of the accusation ; confront us
with witnesses ; allow us witnesses in our behalf, and the assistance
of counsel for our defence ; secure us in our persons, our houses,
our papers, and our effects ; leave us arms, not for resistance to law
or against rightful authority, but to defend ourselves, from outrage
and violence ; give us free speech and a free press ; the right peacea-
bly to assemble ; and above all, free and undisturbed elections and
the ballot ; take our sons, take our money, our property, take all else,
and we will wait a little, till, at the time and in the manner appointed
by the Constitution and law, we shall eject you from the trusts you
have abused, and the seats of power you have dishonored, and othei
and better men shall reign in your stead."
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM.
721
After the adjournment of the Thirty-seventh Congress, m
the 4th of March, 1863, Mr. Vallandigham returned home
by way of the Eastern cities, and was everywhere most en-
thusiastically received by the Democratic party — many invi-
tations, by its leaders, having been previously extended to
him to visit these localities. During his tour homeward he
made speeches at Philadelphia, New York, and in various
sections of Connecticut, and arrived at his home, in Dayton,
on the 13th of March, where he met with a most cordial
welcome.
When Mr. Vallandigham returned home he found his own
State — Ohio — and Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, as be-
fore remarked, formed into a Military District, and placed
under the command of General Ambrose E. Burnside, of
Rhode Island. This man, who was called the " Butcher 99
of Fredericksburg, when in command of the Army of the
Potomac, was now sent to intimidate and control unarmed
and innocent Democrats of the West. Here, instead of the
Constitution and law, military orders were substituted,
which the people were enjoined to obey. Many orders were
issued, among which were Order No. 38, threatening severe
punishment to those who should be guilty of implied treason
— (to be a Democrat was implied treason); Order No. 15, pro-
hibiting the people to keep and bear arms ; and Order No.
prohibiting any criticism whatever of the civil and military
policy of the administration. All of these orders being in
gross violation of the provisions of the Constitution and
of the rights and liberties of the people, Mr. Vallandigham
could not patiently submit to them, and hence, at varioue
public meetings, denounced them and exposed the usurpa-
tions and tyranny of those who attempted to enforce them.
On the 21st of March, Mr. Vallandigham addressed a large
meeting at Hamilton, Ohio, at which he commented severely
on Order No. 15. Again at Columbus, on the 30th of April,
and at Mount Vernon, on the 1st of May, he addressed large
assemblages of the people, criticising these infamous orders,
but at the same time exhorting the people, who had now
46
722 AMERICAN BASTILE.
become restless under tins despotic and oppressive yoke, not
to resist by physical force, but to assert their constitutional
rights and maintain their liberties through the ballot-box.
Although Mr. Vallandigham in all his speeches kept
within the lines of prudence and " loyalty" yet the "Govern-
ment at Washington," being fearful of the mighty influence
he was exerting, by the sound constitutional principles he
proclaimed, and astounded at the rapturous enthusiasm with
which he was received by the people, who flocked in large
numbers to hear him, determined, regardless of truth, reason,
law, or justice, to arrest him by arbitrary power, and thus
not only silence his voice, but also intimidate his Democratic
followers. A speech which he delivered at Mount Yernon,
Ohio, on the 1st day of May, 1863, was made the pretext for
his arrest. (As the reasons assigned in the " charge " against
him, in his mock-trial before a military commission, will
inform the reader of the great crimes and implied treason
committed by Mr. Vallandigham, it is unnecessary to men
tion them in this connection.)
The day after the mass meeting at Mount Yernon, when
Mr. Vallandigham returned home, he heard many rumors of
his intended arrest ; but as these rumors had previously been
frequent, he did not apprehend any such attempt would be
made. On other occasions he and his friends had stood on
guard, within and without his house, for weeks at a time, in
anticipation that a violent arrest would be attempted, which
they were prepared to resist; but as no attempt had been
made, he felt so well-assured that it would not be made at
this time, that he refused the kind offers of many of his
friends, who were ready to stand guard and protect him
from arrest by brute force.
" It was under these circumstances," says the Rev. James
L. Vallandigham,* " that on the evening of the 4th of May,
Mr. Vallandigham and his family, consisting at that time
of his wife, son, his wife's sister, and a young nephew of his
•This account of Mr. Vallandigham's arrest is written by his brother, Rey
James L. Vallandigham.
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM.
723
own, and two domestics, females both, retired to rest at their
accustomed hour. At half- past two o'clock in the morning
they were rudely awakened from slumber by a violent knock-
ing upon the front door. Arising, Mr. Vallandigham, who
did not immediately suspect that it was a force coming to
arrest him, went to the front window of the room over the
parlor. As he approached it he heard the tramp of armed
men, the low voice of command given by officers, the rattling
of arms, and mutterings and whisperings of many people.
Looking out, lights were seen gleaming amidst the shrubbery
in the yard below, and the glittering of many bayonets shone
bright from the gas-light near the house. As he threw open
the shutters the sounds struck upon his wife's ears, and she
screamed with affright. He demanded what was wanted.
Captain Hutton, an officer of General Burnside's staff, who
was in command, answered that he had been sent by that
General to arrest him, and that he might as well come down
and surrender. Mr. Yallandigham replied that he would
not ; that he, Captain Hutton, had no right to arrest him,
and that General Burnside had no right to issue an order
for his arrest. To this a threat was made that unless he
would come down he would be shot. He answered this in
a defiant manner, and then shouted for the police. By this
time the whole household was up ; his wife and sister-in-law,
both very nervous, timid women, were weeping, nearly crazed
by terror, and begging him to come away from the window ;
the servant girls were equally alarmed. After repeated
threats to shoot, intermingled with entreaties, the officer in
command ordered the front door to be forced ; but it was
found too strong, and a door in the rear was then attacked.
The house now shook with the violent blows of axes upon
the door, and the horrid clamor filled the hearts of the women
with an agony of fear. At last the door gave way, and the
rattling of ramrods and bayonets, as well as the half-sup-
pressed oaths of the men as they rushed into the back parlor,
arose clearly and distinctly in the night air. Mr. Vallandig-
bam still determined he would not surrender whilst there
724
AMERICAN BASTILE.
was any hope of rescue. He desired to delay the soldiery
until some organized effort could be made by his friends out-
side to drive off his assailants. He had dressed himself
whilst the soldiers were bursting open the door below ; and
he arranged with his nephew, who had served in the Union
army, to open fire on the soldiers as soon as they should be
attacked from the outside. Another demand to surrender
was sternly refused, and the soldiers mounted the stair and
commenced battering away at the door of the room in which
he stood. He then retired into another room which com-
municated with the one now attacked. In a few moments
the second door was broken in, but lo! the victim was not
yet brought to bay. A short interval of silence followed,
and Mr. Vallandigham endeavored to soothe the affrighted
ladies whilst he anxiously listened for the sound of footsteps
coming to his aid ; nothing, however, but the measured tread
of the sentinels could be heard on the outside. The third
door was now attacked, and as there was no chance of success-
ful resistance, he concealed his revolver and calmly awaited
the entry of the troops. The house was full of soldiers, though
the oflicer in command had not entered, and directly the
third door gave way the soldiers broke into the room where
he stood, and half a score of muskets were pointed instantly
at him. Thereupon he said : 1 You have now broken open
my house and overpowered me by superior force, and I am
obliged to surrender/ The muskets were lowered, and
hastily though not roughly he was torn from the arms of his
devoted wife and weeping child and hurried down stairs.
Leaving his wife stupefied in agony of grief and alarm, he
passed through the shattered panels of his doors into the
street. The bugles sounded the recall, and, surrounded by
soldiery, he was marched rapidly to the depot, and thence
carried by the special train to Cincinnati, where, after day-
light, he was taken to the military prison, Kemper Barracks.
" The arrest and taking away of Mr. Yallandigham was
made with the greatest expedition. Not more than thirty
minutes elapsed after the arrival of the special train from
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM. 725
Cincinnati before the troops were back to the depot with the
prisoner, and the train immediately moved off. It was day-
light in Dayton before the news of the arrest had become
generally known, although fire-bells were rung a short time
after he was taken away from his house.
" The indignation aroused among the Democrats was fierce.
Men with frowning brows and clinched fists were to be seen
all over the city. As the day advanced the excitement
rapidly increased ; hundreds of men came in from the country
around ; crowds began to gather. The denunciations of the
arrest, and of those concerned in it, became louder and more
violent. Those who had been very bitter and proscriptive
among the Republicans became alarmed, and some left the
city as quietly and secretly as possible. Towards evening
the storm burst: suddenly the Journal office, the Republican
organ of the county, was surrounded by a mob of frantic
men ; pistols and bowie-knives gleamed. The office was
attacked, its defenders fled ; it was completely gutted, every-
thing in it broken up and destroyed ; the torch was then
applied, and the sky was soon illuminated by the red light
of blazing roofs. It was with the utmost difficulty that the
Democratic leaders prevented the fiercely exasperated crowds
from attacking and hanging prominent Republicans and
from burning their dwelling-houses. The railroads leading
to Dayton were torn up ; the telegraph wires were cut. It
seemed as if a new civil war was impending. But the mob
was poorly armed, had no organization or discipline, and no
support from any other portion of the State. The attack
upon the liberties of the people had been so sudden and unex-
pected that no concert of action existed even in Montgomery
County. Leading Democrats were wise enough to see the
folly of any warlike demonstrations, that it would only lead
to useless slaughter, and make bad worse. They exhorted
the more imprudent to return to their homes, and succeeded
in persuading them to do no further acts endangering the
peace of the city ; and when, about ten o'clock the same night,
troops from Cincinnati and Columbus reached Dayton, they
met with no resistance.
726
AMERICAN BASTILE.
" In the meantime, Mr. Vallandigham, who reached Cincin-
nati soon after daylight, hac. been taken immediately to the
military prison, Kemper Barracks. Here he remained until
evening, when, by order of General Burnside, who had
become greatly alarmed lest there should be a popular out-
break and attempt to rescue, he was hurried across the river
to Newport Barracks, Kentucky, and there locked up for the
night. The next morning he was taken back to Cincinnati
and brought before the military commission. The same day,
by Burnside's order, military arrests commenced in Dayton.
More than thirty citizens were arrested and dragged down to
the military prisons at Cincinnati, and for six weeks every
Democrat of Montgomery County was at the mercy of an
inebriate military commandant. Burnside's own brutal
conduct towards the prisoners was consistent with his real
character. He visited them more than once with oaths and
curses, and in one instance with blows vented his rage upon
them. Mr. Vallandigham, during the trial before the mili-
tary commission, was placed in room "No. 246, in the attic ;
he was kept under a strong guard, who were ordered, in case
of any attempt at rescue or escape, to put him to death.
Similar orders had been issued to his captors previous to his
arrest. A guard of soldiers with fixed bayonets and loaded
muskets marched with Mr. Vallandigham to and from the
Commission, and a squad of ten regulars kept watch day and
night over his room, while sentinels paced the pavements
below. Knowing that the object of his arrest was to intimi-
date the Democracy of the country, he took the earliest
opportunity to write an address to the Democrats of Ohio,
which is presented below. He also desired the people to
know that, although ignorant of his fate, he was not alarmed
nor over-awed by the danger staring him in the face, and he
wished to encourage his friends to stand firm and not bend
to the storm. He wrote this address in Kemper Barracks
prison, and it was smuggled out by a relative who visited
him whilst he was kept in the Burnett House, and immedi
ately published to the world:
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM.
727
" Military Prison,
Cincinnati, Ohio, May 5, 1863.
" To rtfE Democracy of Ohio :
"I am here in a military bastile for no other offence than my
political opinions, and the defence of them and of the rights of the
people, and of your constitutional liberties. Speeches made in the
hearing of thousands of you in denunciation of the usurpations of
power, infractions of the Constitution and laws, and of military des-
potism, were the sole cause of my arrest and imprisonment. I am a
Democrat — for Constitution, for law, for the Union, for liberty —
this is my only 1 crime.' For no disobedience to the Constitution ;
for no violation of law ; for no word, sign or gesture of sympathy with
the men of the South, who are for disunion and Southern independ-
ence, but in obedience to their demand as well as the demand of
Northern Abolition disunionists and traitors, I am here in bends to-
day; but
1 Time, at last, sets all things even ! '
Meanwhile, Democrats of Ohio, of the Northwest, of the United
States, be firm, be true to your principles, to the Constitution, to the
Union, and all will yet be well. As for myself, I adhere to ever/
principle, and will make good through imprisonment and life itself
every pledge and declaration which I have ever made, uttered or
maintained from the beginning. To you, to the whole people, to
time, I again appeal. Stand firm ! Falter not an instant !
C. L. Vallandigham."
MOCK TRIAL BEFORE A MILITARY COMMISSION.
The day after his arrest, Mr. Vallandigham was brought
before a military commission for trial, which was had at
Cincinnati, May 6, 1863.
The Judge Advocate read the General Order from the
headquarters of the Department of the Ohio, appointing the
following officers a Commission to try all parties brought
before it.
The following officers composed the Court.*
*One member of the Court was a citizen of Ohio ; one was an unnaturalized
foreign adventurer ; one had been convicted of keeping a disreputable house,
tnd the Judge Advocate subsequently pleaded guilty to certain M nimbi*
•aperings" at the transom light of a lady's bed-chamber in the Burnett Houje
728
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Brig.-Gen. R. B. Potter, Pres.
Capt. J. M. Cutis, Judge Advo-
cate.
Col. J. F. De Oourcy, 16th Ohio
V. L
Major Ya>- Burks, A. D. C.
Lieut. -Col. E. R. Goodrich,
Com. Sub.
Major Browx, 10th Kentucky
Cavalry.
Major Fitch, 115th Ohio V. I.
Captain Lydig, A. D. C.
Mr. VaUandigham. was asked whether he had any objec-
tions to offer to any member of the Court. He said he was
not acquainted with any of the members of the Court, and
had no objections to offer to any of them individually, but
he protested that the Commission had no authority to try
him, he being neither in the land nor naval force of the
United States, nor in the militia in the actual service of the
United States, and was not, theiofore, triable by such a
Court, but was amenable only to the Judicial Courts of the
land.
The members of the Court were then sworn to try his
case impartially. The Judge Advocate then read the fol-
lowing
Charge.
u Publicly expressing, in violation of General Order No. 38, from
headquarters of the Ohio, his sympathies for those in arms agaiust
the Government of the United States, declaring disloyal sentiments
and opinions, with the object and purpose of weakening the power
of the Government in its etforts to suppress an unlawful rebellion.'"
Under this charge was a specification as to what Mr. Val
landigham had said ; but as it was frivolous, it is not neces-
sary to record it here.
Mr. VaUandigham being asked by the Judge Advocate
what his plea was, refused to plead, whereupon the Presi-
dent of the Court ordered the plea of " not guilty m to bo
entered on the record.
The President of the Court asked Mr. VaUandigham
rhether he desired to appear with counsel.
Mr. VaUandigham said he did not His counsel, George
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM. 729
E. Pugh, George H. Pendleton, and Alexander Ferguson,
remained in the adjoining room.
The Judge Advocate announced that the case would be
proceeded with, and called Captain H. R. Hill, of the One
Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Volunteers, the first witness
for the prosecution, who, among other things, testified : *
that he was leaning against the platform about six feet from
the speaker, Mr. Vallandigham (this was at Mount Vernon) ;
that he was in citizens' dress ; that he was sent to the meet-
ing by Captain Andrew C. Kemper, Assistant Adjutant-
General of the Military Command of Cincinnati, to take
notes ; that he reported to Colonel Eastman after the meet-
ing ; that he was from there sent to the headquarters of the
Department of the Ohio ; that he did not take notes of any
other speaker at the meeting ; that he commenced taking
notes of Mr. S. S. Cox's speech, but that he considered it
harmless, and after a short time stopped.
The next witness for the prosecution was Captain John A.
Means, of the One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, who testified, among other things, that he was
present at a meeting of citizens at Mount Vernon, Ohio, on
Friday, May 1, 1863 ; that he heard the accused address the
meeting ; that he stood about ten feet in front of the stand
and heard the whole of the speech ; that he took no min-
utes of the speech, but that after Mr. Pendleton began
speaking, perhaps an hour and a half afterward, he went to
the hotel and wrote some minutes of the speech.
With these two witnesses the case of the prosecution
closed.
Mr. Vallandigham then called Hon. S. S. Cox, who was
present and addressed the meeting at Mount Vernon on the
1st of May, 1863, and in his evidence Mr. Cox either entirely
contradicted the testimony of both the witnesses for the
* The testimony is not here given in detail, as it is unnecessary. The facts
are briefly given to show who the witnesses were; how they came to be at
the Mount Vernon meeting; their manner of reporting speeches, and that th«
■ole object of the proceeding was to convict, whether innocent or guilty.
730
AMERICAN BASTILE.
prosecution, or so modified the language which they said
was used by Mr. Vallandigham, that made it susceptible of
quite a different construction from that put upon it by the
prosecution. The accused ^Mr. Vallandigham) had also
three other witnesses, to wit : Leckey Harper, J. T. Irvine,
and Frank H. Hurd, who were expected, but had not ar-
rived when Mr. Cox concluded his evidence, but the Judge
Advocate said that he agreed with the accused, that they
would testify substantially to svhat Mr. Cox had stated, and
thereupon the case closed.
Mr. Vallandigham then said : 44 Gentlemen of the Court,
very briefly and respectfully I offer the following protest : "
Mr. Vallandigham's Protest.
"Arrested without process of law, without warrant from any judi-
cial officer, and now in military custody, I have been served with a
charge and specifications, as from a court-martial or military com-
mission. I am not in either the land or the naval service of the
United States, and therefore am not triable for any cause by such
Court, but am subject, by the express terms of the Constitution, to
arrest only by due process of law, or warrant issued by some officer
of a court of competent jurisdiction for trial of citizens. I am sub-
ject to indictment and trial on presentation of a grand jury, and am
entitled to a speedy trial, to be confronted with witnesses, and to
compulsory process for witnesses in my behalf, and am entitled to
counsel. All these I demand, as my right as a citizen of the United
States. But the alleged offence is not known to the Constitution,
nor to any law thereof. It is words spoken to the people of Ohio in
an open public political meeting, lawfully and peacefully assembled,
under the Constitution, and upon full notice.
■ It is words of criticism of the public policy, of the public ser-
vants of the people, by which policy it was alleged that the welfare
of the country was not promoted. It was an appeal to the people
to change that policy, not by force, but by free elections and the
ballot-box. It is not pretended that I counselled disobedience to the
Constitution or resistance to the law or lawful authority. I never
have. I have nothing further to submit
" (Signed) C. L. Vallandigham.
"May 7."
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM.
731
Judge Advocate. " I find nothing in the defence of the
accused to call for remark, except that in regard to counsel
and summoning of witnesses. He was permitted to have,
and did have, counsel to consult with, and an opportunity
was offered him to send for witnesses."
The Court was then cleared for deliberation, and after a
session of three hours, their decision was made and sub
raitted to General Burnside for his approval.
FINDING AND SENTENCE.
u The Commission, after mature consideration, on the evidence ad-
duced and the statement of the accused, find the accused, Clement
L. Vallandigham, a citizen of the State of Ohio, as follows :
" Of the charge, ' Guilty/
" And the Commission do therefore sentence him, the said Clement
L. Vallandigham, a citizen of the State of Ohio, to be placed in close
confinement in some fortress of the United States, to be designated
by the commanding officer of this Department, there to be kept dur
ing the continuance of the war.
" II. The proceedings, finding, and sentence in the foregoing case
are approved and confirmed, and it is directed that the place of con-
finement of the prisoner, Clement L. Vallandigham, in accordance
with said sentence, be Fort Warren, Boston Harbor.
" By command of Major-General Burnside.
Lewis Richmond,
Ass't Adj. -General."
Two days after the trial, before the Military Commission,
Hon. George E. Pugh, on behalf of Mr. Vallandigham,
moved for a writ of habeas corpus before Humphrey H.
Leavitt, Judge of the United States Court for the Southern
District of Ohio. The privileges of the writ had not then
been suspended, and the pretence that the President had a
right to suspend it had been exploded. The motion was
argued with great ability by Mr. Pugh, but after two or
three days' consideration, and after consultation (?) with
General Burnside, Judge Leavitt denied the motion, and
refused to grant the writ, on the ground that the arrest was
732
AMERICAN BASTILE.
legal, and that if it were illegal, it would not be obeyed.
One sentence taken from the opinion of this distinguished
jurist will give some idea of the language of the whole de-
cision. He says : " The sole question is whether the arrest was
legal; and, as before remarked, its legality depends on the necessity
which existed for making it, and of that necessity, for the reason
stated, this Court cannot judicially determine" Such ignorance
and disregard of law, and of the administration of justice,
are a disgrace to the profession, and a libel on American
jurisprudence. The position assumed in this opinion is
equal in ignorance and audacity, as an insult to the intelli-
gence of the American people, to that of President Lincoln's
reply in answer to the address of the Albany committee,
who waited upon him in regard to Mr. Vallandigham's
arrest, when he said, " Mr. Vallandigham's arrest had been
for prevention, and not for punishment; not so much for what
had been done, as for what probably would be done"
If the reader will turn to the Milligan Case — in this
volume — he will find that the Supreme Court of the
United States decided — the decision being delivered by a
Republican judge, David Davis, all the members of the
Court agreeing — that both the trial by a military commis
sion, and the denial of the writ of habeas corpus, were
illegal and arbitrary ; and further, that neither the Presi
dent nor Congress could suspend the writ of habeas corpus
in a State not in rebellion ; nor could a citizen of a State, not
in rebellion, be legally tried by a military commission or
court-martial. This decision covers the whole ground occu-
pied by the Democratic party in their defence of constitu-
tional liberty, and in their opposition to the manner in
which the war was conducted, for which they were branded
as being " disloyal" and is an indorsement of all they ever
contended for.
The sentence of Mr. Vallandigham was not made known
until severa'x days after the denial of the motion for the
writ of habeas corpus. The Commission, in their sentence,
contemplated imprisonment in Fort Warren during the war.
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM.
733
The proposition of sending him to the Dry Tortugas Islands
was discussed, and it is even said that it was the original
purpose of General Burnside to have the sentence of death
passed upon him, but was deterred from carrying this pur-
pose into effect by the indignation of the people, especially
Democrats, who had become aroused and violent on account
of the arrest.
When the arrest and the result of the proceedings of the
military commission had become generally known, indigna-
tion meetings — immense in numbers and influential in
character — were held throughout the North and West. At
New York, Philadelphia, Albany, and elsewhere, Demo-
crats assembled by thousands, and tens of thousands, and
protested against this usurpation of power. Committees,
composed of leading and conservative men, were appointed
to wait on the President, and urge him to reconsider and
recall this arbitrary and illegal action, but the only response
they received to these protestations was, " Ephraim is joined
to his idols, let him alone."
On the 19th of May, 1863, Mr. Yallandigham was placed
upon the gunboat Exchange, commanded by Captain John
Sebastian, to be taken to Louisville on his way South. A
day or two after he was placed on board the Exchange, he
was informed of the change in his sentence, from imprison-
ment in Fort Warren to banishment to the South, within
the Confederate lines. Immediately on being informed of
this change in his sentence, he drew up an address to the
Democracy of Ohio, which he delivered to a friend, and at
11 o'clock on the 22d of May, the gunboat started down the
Ohio river with the distinguished exile on board. The fol-
lowing is a copy of his address to the Democracy of Ohio
" Military Prison, Cincinnati, Ohio,
May 22, 1863.
" To the Democracy of Ohio :
" Banished from my native State for no crime save Democratic
opinions, and free speech to you in their defence, and about to go into
exile, not of my own will, but by the compulsion of an arbitrary and
734
AMERICAN B ASTILK
tyrannical power which I cannot resist, allow me a parting word.
Because despotism and superior force so will it, I go within the Con.
federate lines. I well understand the purpose of this order. But in
vain the malice of enemies shall thus continue to give color to the
ealumuies and misrepresentations of the past two years. They little
comprehend the true character of the man with whom they have to
deal. No order of banishment, executed by superior force, can re-
lease me from my obligations, or deprive me of my rights as a citizen
of Ohio and of the United States. My allegiance to my own State
and Government I shall recognize, wheresoever I may be, as binding
in all things, just the same as though I remained upon their soil.
Every sentiment and expression of attachment to the Union, and
devotion to the Constitution — to my country — which I have ever
cherished or uttered, shall abide unchanged and unretracted till my
return. Meantime, I will not doubt that the people of Ohio, cower-
ing not a moment before the threats or the exercise of arbitrary
power, mil, in every trial, prove themselves worthy to be called
freemen. C. L. Vallandigham."
For want of space, we will give but a brief account of Mr.
Vallandigham's travels from the time of the departure of the
gunboat Exchange, from Cincinnati, until the time of his
sudden and unexpected return to his native State, Ohio.
There are many incidents connected with these travels which
are exceedingly interesting, the history of which, however,
do not properly belong to our subject.
The gunboat Exchange arrived at Louisville on the 23d of
May, and after remaining there a few hours, Mr. Vallandig-
ham was placed under a strong guard, and started, by way
of Nashville, for Murfreesboro', Tennessee, then the outpost
of the Northern army. When he reached Murfreesboro' he
was taken to the house of Hon. Charles Ready, the head-
quarters of the Provost-Marshal. Here he first met General
Rosecrans, who rather upbraided him, without being offen-
sive, for his opposition to the war, and also spoke of the feel-
ing in the army against men in the North who were con-
sidered " disloyal." Mr. Vallandigham answered these
allegations of " disloyalty " in a firm and dignified manner;
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGflAM. 735
bo much so that the General was taken by surprise, and,
when he had partly recovered from this unexpected vindica-
tion of himself and his Northern Democratic friends, by Mr.
Vallandigham, he remarked, " Why, sir, do you know that
unless I protect you with a guard, my soldiers will tear you
to pieces in an instant?" Mr. Vallandigham replied, " That,
sir, is because they are just as prejudiced and ignorant ol my
character and career as yourself. But, General, I have a
proposition to make. Draw your soldiers up in a hollow-
square to-morrow morning, and announce to them that Val-
landigham desires to vindicate himself, and I will guarantee
that when they have heard me through they will be more
willing to tear Lincoln and yourself to pieces than they will
Vallandigham."
The General declined the proposition, and said, " He had
too much regard for the life of the prisoner to try it." After
this little episode, the conversation became more general and
pleasant, and when — about midnight — the General arose
to leave, he laid his hand on Mr. Vallandigham 's shoulder,
and remarked to one of his staff officers, " He don't look a
bit like a traitor, now, does he, Joe ? " When their long
interview — about four hours, which was rather convivial
than otherwise — ended, and the General had warmly shaken
the distinguished prisoner by the hand and retired, the
sound of hoofs and the rattling of sabres reminded him that
he was banished, but " not set free."
About two o'clock in the morning Major Miles, the Pro-
vost-Marshal, surrounded by a large body of cavalry, started
in the darkness, with the prisoner, toward the Confederate
lines, by way of the Shelby ville pike, and, after marching
about an hour, stopped at the house of a Mr. Butler, until
the day began to dawn, when they proceeded on their march.
When they had reached within a short distance of the Con-
federate lines a halt was made, and while the officeis in
charge of him went with a flag of truce to inform the officer
in command of the Southern pickets of the arrival of Mr.
Vallandigham, and of their mission, he tarried at the house
736 AMERICAN BASTILE.
of a Mrs. Alexander, where he breakfasted. The Confed-
erate officer, doubting the propriety of receiving Mr. Vallan*
digham within the Southern lines, sent word to General
Bragg of the condition of affairs ; but as General Bragg's
headquarters were sixteen miles in the rear of the advance
post of the Confederate picket-line, and considerable time
would elapse before orders could be received from the Con-
federate headquarters, the Federal officer having the pris-
oner in charge, not wishing to be delayed, took him within
a short distance of the extreme picket-line of the Confederate
forces, and left him at the house of Jeremiah Odell. During
the proceedings of this transfer from the Federal to the Con-
federate lines, it was observable that Mr. Vallandigham was
affected, although he endeavored to conceal his feelings, and
with partial success. A private in the Eighth Alabama
regiment was sent to meet him, but before the Federal
officers left, Mr. Vallandigham addressed these words to the
Confederate soldier: "I am a citizen of Ohio and of the
United States. I am here within your lines by force, and
against my will. I therefore surrender myself to you as a
prisoner of war." The Federal officers then bade him fare-
well and galloped away. In this novel situation Mr. Val-
landigham was left for several hours, before orders were
received from General Bragg. " They were hours," said he,
u of solitude, but calmly spent — the bright sun shining in
the clear sky above me, and faith in God and the future
burning in my heart."
About noon a message came from General Bragg to bring
Mr. Vallandigham to his headquarters, and, seated in an
ambulance, under an escort of cavalry, he was driven through
numerous camps to Shelbyville, where he arrived soon after
dusk, and proceeded immediately to the headquarters of
General Bragg. In the evening, after an interview with
General Bragg, he was invited to the residence of Mrs.
Eakin, where he was provided with a comfortable room, and
retired early, as he had not slept more than half an hour
since the previous Saturday night. He remained in Shelby-
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM. 737
ville about a week, most of the time in seclusion, and on the
1st of June was directed to report, on parole, to General
Whiting, at Wilmington, North Carolina.
While Mr. Yallandigham was at Wilmington, North Car-
olina, to wit, on the 11th of June, the Democratic State Con-
vention of Ohio assembled at Columbus. It was one of the
largest political gatherings ever held in the United States.
People came, in vast numbers, from every section of the
State, and were wild with excitement because of the arrest
and banishment of one of their most prominent and beloved
citizens. When the Convention organized a ballot wa*
taken for Governor, and Mr. Yallandigham was nominated
by a vote of four hundred and eleven to thirteen. The nomi
nation was then made unanimous, amidst the most un-
bounded applause. No greater compliment could be given
to or confidence placed in a man. The Convention was com-
posed of many of the leading men in the State— of many of
his fellow-citizens who had known him from his childhood —
and while he was in " exile," the people arose, en masse, to do
him honor and elevate him to the highest position in his
native State.
It may be proper to state in this connection, that Mr.
Yallandigham, while involuntarily in the Confederate States,
was held as an alien enemy and prisoner of war, on parole,
however, and with the privilege to depart when he wished
to do so.
At Wilmington he embarked on board the steamer Cor-
nubia, Captain Gayle, which, on the evening of the 17th of
June, successfully ran through the blockading squadron, and
arrived at Bermuda on the 20th. An incident occurred,
when he was on board the Cornubia, which showed Mr. Yal-
landigham's entire self-control in case of emergency, and
the fertility of resources which he always had at command.
During the passage from Wilmington to Bermuda, a United
States war-steamer hove in sight and bore down on the
Cornubia. The Captain of the Cornubia, as well as the pas-
sengers, became much alarmed at this demonstration, because
47
738
AMERICAN BASTILE.
there were many things on board contraband of war, and
Confederate officers and agents, who, no doubt, had valuable
papors with them. As the war-steamer approached nearer
and nearer, she being a fast sailing vessel, the alarm in-
creased. In this perplexity the Captain rushed into Mr.
Vallandigham 's room to know what to do. Mr. Vallandig-
ham, without any apparent alarm, inquired if there were
any British uniforms on board, and being informed that
there were, told the Captain to dress his men in these
uniforms and march them up and down the deck, so
as to produce the impression that it was an English trans-
port ship. This ruse had the desired effect — the red coats
made quite a display on the deck of the Cornubia; the
United States war-steamer immediately changed her course,
and the Cornubia went on her way without any further alarm
to Captain or passengers.
Mr. Vallandigham remained in Bermuda about ten days,
and then took ship for Halifax, where he landed on the 5th
of July. From Halifax he went by way of Truro to Pictou,
anxl then by steamer up the Gulf and River St. Lawrence
to Quebec — thence to Montreal and Niagara Falls. At all
these points he was received most hospitably.
A correspondent of a New York paper writing from
Montreal, July 14th, says :
"As soon as it was known that Mr. Vallandigham was in Canada,
Englishmen, Scotchmen, and Irishmen, who, as the sons of men that
for five hundred years fought for the trial by jury, knew the value
of Magna Charta and of habeas corpus, and of the petition of right,
met almost spontaneously to bear tribute to him in whose person
these three great bulwarks of British liberty had been violated."
At Montreal some of the most distinguished gentlemen
of Canada gathered around him. The Club House tendered
him a very handsome entertainment, which he accepted, and
in reference to the speech which he made on this occasion
the same correspondent says :
" Mr. Vallandigham confined his remarks to general principles of
•
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM. 739
liberty, law, Magna Charta, and habeas corpus, without any personal
application to his own case, and dwelt upon how much the framere
of the Constitution were guided by the British Barons of Runymede,
my Lord Coke, the extorters of the right of petition from King
Charles, the persevering energy that drew out that British writ of
liberty, the habeas corpus, &c."
Mr. Vallandigham arrived at Niagara Falls on the 15th
of July, and stopped at the Clifton House. On the same
day he issued an address uTo the Democracy of Ohio" which
was most enthusiastically received and threw new life and
spirit into the campaign. He remained at Niagara Falls
and in the vicinity until the latter part of August, and
thence proceeded to Windsor, C. W., opposite Detroit, Mich-
igan, where he arrived on the 24th inst. From this point
he had frequent communications with his fellow-citizens of
Ohio, although he was continually surrounded by spies and
informers.
We have stated that on the night of the 4th of May, 18G3,
Clement L. Vallandigham, a citizen of the State of Ohio,
was kidnapped by the Government of the United States ;
that on the 6th inst. he was put on mock trial before a mili-
tary commission formed to convict ; that his sentence was
banishment, and that on the 19th inst. he was placed on
board the gunboat Exchange, to be carried down the Ohio
River to Louisville, and thence to be taken and placed
within the Confederate lines, as an exile.
On the night of the 14th of June, 1864, Clement L. Val-
landigham is at Windsor, Canada West, making prepara-
tions for his return to his home, in Ohio. His eyebrows
have suddenly become dark and heavy; his usually clean-
shaven upper lip has been covered with a long, thick-set
moustache ; his closely-cut whiskers have been secreted by
a huge black beard flowing down over his bosom ; his cor-
pulence is much increased by a pillow stuffed beneath his
outer garments, and his entire external appearance presents
a complete metamorphose. Of his intended departure no
one knew ; of his designs no one knew. Thus disguised, he
v
740 AMERICAN BASTILE.
quietly emerges from his room at the Hirons House and
soon joins the passengers on their way to the boat which
plies between the shores of Her Majesty's dominions and
those of the United States. He reaches the boat in safety ;
he crosses the river safely, but " there is many a slip be-
twixt the cup and the lip." Just as he is about to leave the
boat and set his foot once more on the soil of his " own
native land," he is approached by one of those sneaking
United States officials, so obnoxious to every American free-
man during those bitter times, who punches him in the
abdomen, at the same time making the remark : " See here,
old fellow, that won't do — you Ve got contraband there."
Although a man of nerve, Mr. Yallandigham was quite dis-
concerted at this proceeding, and waiting for a moment to
recover from his embarrassment before he would make a
reply, the officer, who by this time concluded he had made a
mistake, came to his rescue, by saying, " Pardon me, I see I
am mistaken ; but I have to watch for tricks." Feeling a
heavy burden lifted from a heavy heart by this unexpected
result, Mr. Yallandigham merely bowed, left the boat and
passed on into the streets of Detroit. Here he was again
subjected to espionage. Having violated a petty municipal
ordinance, of which he was ignorant, he was arrested. The
police-officer who made the arrest said to him, " Come here
to the light ; let me look at you." They both went to a
lamp-post, where they eyed each other sharply under the gas-
light, when the officer said, " Well, you look like an honest
man and a gentleman." Mr. Vallandigham, still keeping
his eye steadily fixed on the officer, said, with emphasis,
u Sir, I am an honest man and a gentleman" To which the
officer replied : " Then it 's all right ; you can go." Mr. Yal-
landigham having escaped another perilous situation, bade
him good-night, and proceeded to the railroad depot. Here
it was necessary for him to say something, and when he
first spoke, he noticed a man turn quickly around and
look at him. On a second observation he saw it was a col-
ored man, and took no further notice of his movements) ;
CLEMENT L. V ALLANDIOH AM. 741
but when he got on the train, the same man came up to him
and whispered, " I know your voice, but you are safe." Mr
Vallandigham had previously done this colored man a kind-
ness, which he had not forgotten, and for which he now
showed his gratitude, and allowed Mr. Vallandigham, who
was in his power, go unmolested. Having thus so narrowly
M escaped perils by sea and land," he was soon comfortably
lodged in the berth of a sleeping-car, and hurried along
through the night to the Democratic Convention, which
met on the 15th, at Hamilton, Ohio, to elect delegates to
the National Democratic Convention, to be held at Chicago.
Passing through Dayton, his own home, he arrived at Ham-
ilton in the forenoon of the day on which the Convention
met, and at the very moment when the Montgomery County
delegation was discussing the propriety of electing him a
delegate to the Chicago Convention, hoping thereby to
facilitate his return. On his arrival at Hamilton, he imme-
diately sent a note to the Convention, of which the follow-
ing is a copy :
** To J. A. McMahon or William H. Gillespie.
" I am in town, and will speak at the Court-House at two. Get out
handbills. _ _ _
" C. L. Vallandigham.
As no one expected his return, the news of his arrival
came like a clap of thunder from a cloudless sky, and created
the wildest excitement. He was elected a delegate to the
Chicago Convention, and in that body moved that the
nomination of General George B. McClellan for President
be made unanimous.
Before the Hamilton Convention had completed its busi-
ness, the news spread abroad that Vallandigham was coming,
and a great crowd ran to meet him. He was borne on the
shoulders of the populace to a platform erected for the occa-
sion, in the Court-yard, from which he spoke as follows :
* Mm of Ohio : — To-day I am again in your midst, and upon the
toil of my native State. To-day I am once more within the District
742
AMERICAN BASTILE.
which for ten years extended to me the highest confidence, and three
times honored me as its representative in the Congress of the United
Statet, I was accused of no crime against the Constitution and laws,
and guilty of none, but whenever and wherever thus charged, upon
due process of law, I am now here ready to answer before any civil
court of competent jurisdiction, to a jury of my own countrymen,
and in the meantime to give bail in auy sum which any judge or
court, State or Federal, may affix ; and you, the one hundred and
eighty-six thousand Democrats of Ohio, I offer as my sureties. Never
for one hour have I remained in exile because I recognized any
obligation of obedience to the unconstitutional and arbitrary edict,
neither did personal fear ever restrain me. And to-day I return of
my own act and pleasure, because it is my constitutional and legal
right to return. Only by an exertion of arbitrary power, itself
against the Constitution and law, and consummated by military force,
I was abducted from my home and forced into banishment. The
assertion or insinuation of the President that I was arrested ' because
laboring with some effect to prevent tKe raising of troops and to en-
courage desertion from the army/ and was responsible for numerous
acts of resistance to the draft and to the arrest of deserters, causing
' assassination, maiming, and murder ; ' or that at any time, in any
way, I had disobeyed or failed to counsel obedience to the lawful
authority, or even to the semblance of law, is absolutely false. I
appeal for the proof to every speech I ever made upon those ques-
tions, and to the very record of the mock Military Commission by
the trial and sentence of which I was outraged. No ; the sole offence
then laid to my charge was words of criticism of the public policy
of the Administration, addressed to an open and public political
meeting of my fellow-citizens of Ohio, lawfully and peaceably as-
sembled. And to-day my only * crime ' is, that in the way which
they call treason, worship I the Constitution of my fathers. But for
now more than one year no public man has been arrested, and no
newspaper suppressed within the States adhering still to the Union,
for expression of political opinion ; while hundreds, in public assem-
bly and through the press, have, with a license and violence in which
I never indulged, criticised and condemned the acts and policies of
the Administration, and denounced the war, maintaining even the
propriety and necessity of the recognition of Southern independence,
Endorsed by nearly two hundred thousand freemen of the Democratic
party of my native State at the late election, and still with the syn*
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM.
743
pathy and support of millions more, I do not mean any longer to be
the only man of that party who is to be the victim of arbitrary
power. If Abraham Lincoln seeks my life, let him so declare ; but
he shall not again restrain me of my personal liberty, except upon
'due process of law.' The unconstitutional and monstrous 'Order
No. 38/ under which I alone was arrested thirteen months ago, was
defied and spit upon at your State Convention of 1863, by the gal-
lant gentleman who bore the standard as your candidate for Lieuten-
ant-Governor, and by every Democratic press and public speaker
ever since. It is dead. From the first it was against the Constitu-
tion and laws, and without validity ; and all proceedings under it
were and are utterly null and void, and of no effect. The indignant
voice of condemnation long since went forth from the vast majority
of the people and pres3 of America, and from all free countries
in Europe, with entire unanimity. And more recently, too, the
' platform ' of an earnest, numerous, and most formidable convention
of the sincere Republicans, and still further, the emphatic letter of
acceptance by the candidate of that Convention, General John C.
Fremont, the first candidate also of the Republican party for the
Presidency eight years ago, upon the rallying cry of Free Speech and
a Free Press, give renewed hope that at last the reign of arbitrary
power is about to be brought to an end in the United States. It is
neither just nor fit, therefore, that the wrongs inflicted under 'Order
Thirty-Eight,' and the after-edicts and acts of such power, should any
longer be endured — certainly not by me alone. But every ordinary
means of redress has first been exhausted ; yet either by the direct
agency of the Administration and its subordinates, or through its
influence or intimidation, or because of want of jurisdiction in the
civil courts to meet a case which no American ever in former times
conceived to be possible here, all have failed. Counsel applied in
my behalf to an unjust judge for the writ of habeas corjyus. It was
denied ; and now the privilege of that writ is suspended by Act of
Congress and Executive order in every State. The Democratic Con-
vention of Ohio, one year ago, by a resolution formally presented
through a committee of your best and ablest men, in person, at
Washington, demanded of the President, in behalf of a very large
minority of the people, a revocation of the edict of banishment. Pre-
tending that the public safety then required it, he refused, saying at
the same time that ' it would afford him pleasure to comply as soon
v he could by any means be made to believe that the public safety
744
AMERICAN BASTILE.
would not suffer by it.' One year has elapsed, yet this hollow pre
tence is still tacitly asserted ; and to-day I am here to prove it un«
founded in fact. I appealed to the Supreme Court of the United
States; and because Congress had never conferred jurisdiction in
behalf of a citizen tried by a tribunal unknown for such purposes to
the law, and expressly forbidden by the Constitution, it was power-
less to redress the wrong. The time has therefore arrived when it
becomes me, as a citizen of Ohio and of the United States, to demand,
and by my own act to vindicate, the rights, liberties, and privileges
which I never forfeited, but of which for so many months I have been
deprived. Wherefore, men of Ohio, I am again in your midst to-day.
I owe duties to the State, and am here to discharge them. I have
rights as a citizen, and am here to assert them : a wife and child and
home, and would enjoy all the pleasures which are implied in these
cherished words. But I am here for peace, not turbulence ; for quiet,
not convulsion ; for order and law, not anarchy. Let no man of the
Democratic party begin any act of violence or disorder ; but let none
shrink from any responsibility, however urgent, if forced upon him.
Careful of the rights of others, let him see to it that he fully and
fearlessly exact his own. Subject to rightful authority in all things,
let him submit to excess or usurpation in nothing. Obedient to Con-
stitution and law, let him demand and have the full measure of pro-
tection which law and Constitution secure to him.
" Men of Ohio : — You have already vindicated your right to hear :
it is now my duty to assert my right to speak. Wherefore, as to the
sole offence for which I was arrested, imprisoned, and banished, free
speech in criticism and condemnation of the Administration, an Ad-
ministration fitly described in a recent public paper by one of its early
supporters, ' marked at home by disregard of constitutional rights,
by its violation of personal liberty and the liberty of the press, and,
as its crowning shame, by its abandonment of the right of asylum, a
right especially dear to all free nations abroad : 1 I repeat here to-
day, and will again, and yet again, so long as I live, or the Constitu-
tion and our present form of Government shall survive, the words
then spoken and the appeal at that time made, and now enforced by
one year more of taxation and debt, and of blood and disaster, entreat-
ing the people to change the public servants and their policy, not by
force, but peaceably, through the ballot. I now and here reiterate
in their utmost extent and with all their significancy, I repeat them,
one and all, in no spirit of challenge or bravado, but as earnest, sober,
•olemu truth and warning to the people.
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIOHAM.
745
"Three years have now passed, men of Ohio, and the great issue,
constitutional liberty and free popular government, is still before you.
To you I again commit it, confident that in this the time of their
greatest peril you will be found worthy of the ancestors who, for so
many ages in England and America, in the field, in prison and upon
the scaffold, defended them against tyrants and usurpers, whether in
council or in arms."
After the meeting was over, Mr. Vallandigham and his
friends took a car to themselves and proceeded to his home,
at Dayton, where, it is unnecessary to say, the greatest en-
thusiasm, on account of his welcome return, prevailed.
Carriages were awaiting at the depot on the arrival of the
train, in which Mr. Vallandigham and his friends drove to
his home, where he was once more surrounded by an affec-
tionate family, from whom he had been separated by " banish-
ment " and " exile " for more than a year.
No attempt at a re-arrest was made. It was said that the
" government at Washington " contemplated the re-arrest of
Mr. Vallandigham, and that when Mr. Lincoln was consid-
ering the question, he asked a Senator from Ohio, " What he
thought of a re-seizure of Mr. Vallandigham? to which the
Senator asked Mr. Lincoln, if he was ready to transfer the
army of Virginia to Ohio ; if not, the attempt had better not
be made."
Had there been an attempt to make a re-arrest, hundreds
of thousands of brave and patriotic men would have rallied
around the standard of Vallandigham in defence of Constitu-
tional liberty.
Subsequent events in the career of Mr. Vallandigham do
not belong to our subject, and here we close this narrative
of his arbitrary arrest, illegal imprisonment, mock trial, ban-
ishment, exile, and return.
Posterity will read this chapter in American history, and
will render an impartial verdict.
Another sad record remains to be made, and we have done
— his death.
Mr. Vallandigham had been employed as counsel to defend
746
AMERICAN BASTILE.
a man 1 7 the name of Thomas McGehan, who was accused
of having shot and killed another, by the name of Thomas
Myers, in a saloon known as " The American," in Hamilton,
Butler County, Ohio, on the night of the 24th of December,
1870. Others, it was said, were implicated in the murder,
but public opinion seemed to point to McG-ehan as the
guilty man, and the people of Hamilton and vicinity there-
upon became greatly excited, and threatened to lynch him.
He was indicted for the offence of killing Myers, as were
several other persons, either as principals or accessories.
The popular feeling against McGehan, however, continued
so great that it was deemed not only prudent, but an act of
justice, that the venire be changed. This was done. It was
changed to Warren County. Here, at Lebanon, the county-
seat of Warren County, the trial of McGehan was com-
menced, on the 6th of June, 1871. Some of the ablest and
most experienced lawyers in the State were employed, both
for the prosecution and for the defence. To Mr. Vallandig-
ham was assigned, by his colleagues, the chief management
of the case for the defendant — McGehan. It is needless to
say he entered upon the discharge of this duty — as was his
nature in everything he undertook to accomplish — with the
most intense ardor and great labor. His whole heart and
soul seemed to be wrapped up in the cause of his client.
The trial was conducted with great ability and untiring
industry on both sides. On Thursday, the 15th of June, the
evidence was closed, and on Friday morning J. F. Follett,
Esq., of Cincinnati, commenced the opening argument for
the State, which he concluded about three o'clock p. m. the
same day. Mr. Vallandigham then asked for an adjournment
of the court until the next morning, so that his colleague,
Thomas Millikin, Esq., could commence his argument for
the defence on Saturday morning, consume the whole day,
and thus allow him (Mr. Vallandigham) Monday to make his
speech, which he had hoped would be the great legal argument
of his life. After a good deal of discussion, the arrangement
was made. Mr. Vallandigham was much pleased at the
CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM.
747
result, and left the court-room in the most exuberant spirits.
It was the last time he ever appeared in a court-room.*
From an account given by a correspondent of the Cincin-
nati Enquirer, we gather the following facts, which appeared
in that paper at the time, in relation to the untimely death
of Mr. Vallandigham :
"After taking supper (the evening of the 16th), he procured from
the landlord of the hotel a bit of white muslin cloth, perhaps a foot
square, for the purpose of testing to his own satisfaction the question
as to whether a shot fired from a pistol in close proximity to it would
or would not leave a mark of powder upon it. Having provided him-
self with this, and put his pistol in his pocket, he and Mr. Millikin
and Mr. Hume went out together to the south edge of the town,
beyond the residence of Governor McBurney. Arriving there, they
were joined by Mr. McBurney, and the trio became a quartette.
" The pistol which he took with him for this purpose is a new
revolver, which he had purchased only a few days before coming to
Lebanon. It is one of Smith & Wesson's manufacture, with a four-
inch barrel and five chambers, and carries a ball of j025 of an inch
calibre. It is a beautiful weapon, handsomely, though not elabo-
rately, ornamented ; and its owner little thought, when so recently
purchasing it, that it would so soon be the instrument of his untimely
death.
" Two shots were fired into the cloth, and all were satisfied with
the result of the experiment, and started back to the hotel.
" Mr. Millikin, ever cautious and thoughtful, said :
" 1 Vallandigham, there are three shots in your pistol yet. You
had better discharge them/
"'For what?' responded Mr. Vallandigham.
" * To prevent any accident/ replied the cautious attorney. ' You
might shoot yourself.'
M 1 No danger of that/ replied Mr. Vallandigham. ' I have carried
and practised with pistols too long to be afraid to have a loaded one
in my pocket/
*The jury in the case of McGehan could not agree and were discharged.
The case was then removed to Montgomery County, where, after a second trial,
the jury brought in a verdict of murder in the second degree, and a motion
being made for a new trial, which was granted, a third jury rendered a ver-
dict of acquittal.
748
AMERICAN BASTILE.
" ' You had better be careful, though,' said Mr. Millikin.
" ' Never fear me,' was the reply.
" They then slowly walked back toward the town, and, before they
had reached the hotel, separated.
" Arriving at the Lebanon House alone, Mr. Vallandigham was
stopped on his way up-stairs by the landlord, and a package, that had
been left for him in his absence, placed in his hands. That parcel
contained another revolver — a weapon that had been exhibited at
the trial in Court, and was not only unloaded, but had had the
chambers removed. Proceeding to his room, he unwrapped the
parcel, and at the same time taking his own weapon from his pocket,
laid the two murderous instruments on the table, side by side.
" A moment later, Mr. Scott Symmes, a young lawyer who had
been connected with the prosecution of the case, passed the door.
" ' Symmes,' said he, 1 Follett is mistaken. A man could easily
shoot himself as Myers was shot. Come, and I will show you how
it 's done.'
" Thus invited, Symmes entered the room ; but a moment later,
6eeing Judge Pope coming up the stairs, excused himself, on the
ground that he was going to Hamilton in the morning, and wished to
see the Judge before he left. He passed out, and a minute or so
afterward Mr. McBurney came into the room Mr. Vallandigham,
still standing by the table on which the pistol lay, said :
" 1 1 '11 show you how Tom Myers shot himself. Follett 's mistaken
when he says it can't be done.' Saying this, he took one of the mur-
derous instruments in his hands, put it into his pantaloons' pocket,
and slowly drawing it out again, cocking it as he drew it forth, he
attempted to place it in the exact position which he believed Myers'
weapon to have assumed at the moment the fatal bullet was sped on
its mission of death. The muzzle of the weapon still within the
lappel of the pocket, he brought it to an angle of about forty-five
degrees.
" ' There, that 's the way Myers held it, only he was getting up —
not standing erect/ Saying this, he touched the trigger.
"A sudden flash — the half suppressed sound of a shot — and
Clement L. Vallandigham, with an expression of agony, exclaimed :
'My God, I've shot myself!' and reeled toward the wall a wounded
and dying man — wounded and dying by his own hands.
"This happened at the hour of nine o'clock, or perhaps five or ten
minutes earlier. In a second of time Mr. McBurney, terrified at the
occurrence, rushed out of the room and along the hall to the apart*
CLEMENT L. VALLAN DIOHAM. 749
ment where the jury was quartered. Rapping at the door, lie eagerly
demanded that some one should come into Mr. Vallandigham's room,
as he had shot himself. Mr. Tischnor, the constable having them in
charge, was momentarily absent, but several of the jurors hurried into
the room. Meantime Mr. J. C. Babbitt, whose room (No. 17) waa
only next door, had heard the sound, and suspecting its cause, also
came in. He arrived first, and found Mr. Vallandigham alone, lean-
ing against the wall. He asked what had happened.
" 1 1 have foolishly shot myself,' said the wounded man, as he sank
into a chair. ' What folly it was to try such an experiment ! By mis-
take I took up the wrong pistol.' The pistol had dropped from his
hand at the moment he fired, and was still lying on the floor. The
other one, empty and harmless, lay on the table.
" A moment later, three or four jurors came in with Mr. McBurney,
and found Mr. Vallandigham with clothes opened, feeling along his
abdomen in search of the bullet. He remained thus employed, and
explaining the mistake he had made, for several minutes, when, grow-
ing faint, he was laid on the bed. . . .
" After the arrival of physicians, an examination of the wound and
a hurried consultation followed, and the prostrate man was informed
that his injuries were of the most serious character, though they hoped
that they might not prove to be fatal.
" * Has the ball been reached ? ' said he to the physicians.
" ' No, it has not,' was the answer.
" 1 Has it entered a vital part ? '
" 1 We cannot tell.'
" Closing his mouth with that firmness of purpose which character-
ized him in everything, he expressed a wish that they would ascer-
tain and tell him the worst feature that the case might present. . . .
" From eleven to twelve o'clock frequent vomitings ensue, and an
increase of pain. Narcotics, which have been administered sparingly
hitherto, are now doubled in the doses, and a sort of lethargy en-
sues. The hour of midnight finds the wounded man comparatively
easy, but with accelerated pulse and frequent and short breathing.
Soon after this he is moved to his right side, and a hemorrhage of
blood follows — a hemorrhage which results in a loss of half a pint of
blood, and reveals the terrible nature of the wound.
" A little past one Dr. Reeve arrives, accompanied by the son of
the unfortunate man. The family physician enters, and with his
practical eye, familiar with his patient, a conclusion is soon arrived at
— the wounded man must die.
750
AMERICAN BASTILE.
"Mr. Vallandigham knew him, and greeted him cheerily.
" 'Doctor, is my wound as bad as that of Jake Rapp's?' referring to
a man on whom the doctor had attended, and who had recovered.
" 1 Yes, it is worse than that.'
" 4 Or of Lambert's?' referring to another and similar one.
"'No, not worse than Lambert.'
" ' Well, if you can get this pain from my stomach, I will get along.'
This with his peculiar smile of self-reliance.
"At this juncture Mr. Vallandigham's son appeared and entered
the room. On approaching the bedside of his father, tears filled the
eyes of the young man, and there was a look of tender affection from
those of the parent that bespoke the wealth of that parent's love.
" Placing his hand on the head of his boy, he fondled for a moment
the object of his love. ' Charley,' said he, fondly, 1 be a good boy.'
After a short time he again turned to him, saying : 1 You are tired ;
you had better go to bed.'
" Weeping, the young man was led from the room
" At four o'clock A. m., the symptoms were thought to be more
alarming. Several friends of the wounded man, who had laid down
to get a snatch of sleep, were roused up. The son appeared at the
bedside again, the associates in trial now in progress, Judge Haynes,
his professional partner Judge McKenny, and several other intimate
personal friends, who had arrived during the night, were grouped
about the room and gathered around the bed. In the past two hours
a very noticeable change had come over the appearance of the
wounded man. His breathing was still more difficult, and he was
manifestly fast losing strength. It was thought that his hour was
come. The gray dawn of morning twilight was just giving way to
the light of day. In the trees on the opposite side of the street might
be heard the song of birds, and the sidewalks below were just begin-
ning to resound to the footsteps of early-rising pedestrians.
" By the side of the bed, and fanning his father, sat young Vallan-
digham. At the foot sat the venerable Judge Smith ; on either side
were his professional associates, Judges Haynes and McKenny, and
Messrs. Hume, Millikin, and others. The sound of approaching
wheels was heard, and in a moment the physician who had been
summoned from Cincinnati drove up to the door. A moment later
he was in the room. He had driven twenty-eight miles through the
dark in four hours, and found out that the patient he had come to
gee was beyond human power to save. He could only alleviate the
luffering, not cure the malady, of him whom he had come to see.
CLEMENT 1. VALLANDIGHAM.
751
"Five, six, and seven o'clock were successively struck, and the
Btrong man lay motionless, and seemingly almost insensible on the
bed. Once or twice he muttered something that indicated that his
mind was wandering, but at no time did courage seem to forsake him.
It seemed to be a struggle for life, with the odds fearfully against it.
"Shortly after seven o'clock Tom McGehan, the man whom he
was here to defend, appeared, under escort of an officer from the jail.
The man charged with murder, who has always been represented as
being cold and remorseless as the grave, could not repress his tears.
They fell thick and fast, and, weeping, he was led from the room back
to his cell.
" Nearly at the same time McGehan's wife and children were ad-
mitted to gaze upon the one whom they had hoped would be the
deliverer of their father and husband, but who, in his zeal for their
cause, had taken his own life. This was one of the most affecting
6cenes of the day.
" From about three o'clock this morning until the hour of his death
the patient seemed to suffer intense agony. Although partially under
the influence of opiates, he was still conscious, and would readily
answer the few questions addressed him by his friends and physicians.
"About half-past nine o'clock, after an unusually violent struggle,
the eyes began to grow glassy and the face to assume that rigidly in-
fallible sign of death. He remained perfectly quiet in this position
for about fifteen minutes, when, by a sudden movement, the body
Etretched its full length in the bed, the eyes closed, and with a deep-
drawn sigh the dauntless soul deserted its tenement of clay, and C. L.
Vallandigham was dead."
The funeral of Clement L. Vallandigham took place in
Dayton, on June 20, 1871.
"On a catafalque covered with black velvet, and placed in the
centre of the hall, rested the coffin. It was of rosewood, richly and
beautifully finished ; on each side were four massive silver handles
with silver tassels; it was ornamented with Masonic emblems, en*
graved on silver shields set between the handles. On the lid was a
broad plate, with the inscription :
"CLEMENT LAIRD VALLANDIGHAM,
BORN, JULY 29th, 1820.
DIED, JUNE 17th, 1871."
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, JOHN WILKES BOOTH,
MARY E. SURRATT.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
,N the evening of Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Abraham Lin-
" coin, President of the United States, together with Mrs.
Lincoln, Miss Clara H. Harris and Major H. R. Rath bone,
visited Ford's theatre, in the city of Washington, to witness the
play of " Our American Cousin."
Mr. Lincoln, and those accompanying him, arrived at the
theatre between eight and nine o'clock in the evening, and im-
mediately proceeded to the proscenium box prepared for their
reception, where they took seats, the President taking the chair
nearest the audience and also nearest the entrance door of the box.
During the performance of the second scene of the third act, at
about ten o'clock in the evening, when all were intent on witness-
ing the play, the discharge of a pistol was heard, at the report of
which, Major Rathbone looking around saw a man, who had
entered the door of the box, which had not been closed, standing
between the door and the President, and heard him shout " free-
dom ! " Major Rathbone instantly sprang toward and seized the
man, who, wresting himself from the grasp, at the same time
inflicting a severe wound in the arm of the major with a knife,
rushed to the front of the box and leaping over the railing, which
was draped with a flag, on which his spur caught, he fell on the
stage, but quickly recovering himself he ran unopposed across
the stage, shouting at the same time — as it is said — "Sic semper
tyi*annis" and disappeared through the rear end of the theatre.
Immediately after this man had made his escape from the box,
752
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
753
Major Rathbone hastened to the President, and seeing that he was
unconscious and that his eyes were closed, he ran to the outer door
of the passage way to the box to call medical aid, but found that
door securely fastened by a heavy piece of timber to prevent, for a
time, egress" or ingress. When the timber or bar, which wa«
about four feet from the floor and extending from the door to
the wall, within the passage way to the box, was removed by
Major Rathbone, and the surgeons summoned came and examined
the President, they found that he had been wounded in the head
by a pistol shot. He was at once removed to the house of Mr.
Peterson close by the theatre, where, after lingering in an uncon-
scious state until seven o'clock and twenty-two minutes, on Satur-
day morning, April 15, 1865, he died calmly and apparently with-
out pain. After the death of Mr. Lincoln an autopsy was made,
and it was found that the ball entered the skull midway between
the left ear and the centre of the back of the head, and passed
nearly to the right eye. The ball was found in the brain.
The profound sensation and extreme agitation which pervaded
the minds of the people throughout the country on hearing the
intelligence of the President's death are indescribable. One por-
tion of the people, who pretended to represent the moral and re-
ligious element, were chagrined that so good a man, as they
vouched him to be, should go to the theatre on Good Friday, and
thus desecrate that holy day which they themselves had com-
memorated with austere reverence. No doubt Mr. Lincoln, with-
out thought of the sanctity of the day, went to the theatre to be
relieved for a time of the burdensome cares of his office, and hence
this arrogance was uncharitable and fanatical, and breathed
the spirit of intolerance and bigotry. Another formidable portion
— a large majority of whom were civilians — whose irascible and
vindictive dispositions during the existence of a four years' civil
warfare had become partially appeased by the unconditional sur-
render of General Lee and his whole army, to the Federal forces
at Appomattox Court-House, Virginia, on the 9th April, 1865,
only a few days before the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, now let
loose anew their passions and permitted them to rage in the wildest
and most unrestrained fury. Almost every man or woman, who
was not of or with them in their madness, was either suspected of
48
754
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the murder of the President, or of being in a conspiracy to
murder, and hence his or her life and liberty were suspended on
the thread of their humor, whilst the bonds of those civilians,
arbitrarily incarcerated in the forts and prisons throughout the
country by the sanction of, if not by the special edict of Mr. Lin-
coln, were more securely riveted. Judgment had fled to brutish
beasts and men had lost their reason.
JOHN WILKES BOOTH.
In this fevered and disturbed condition of the public mind the
services of the army,* which had so recently borne off victorious
laurels by the surrender of General Lee and now about being dis-
banded, were again called into requisition. Spies and informers,
who had infested the land during the war, again appeared on
the surface; detectives were employed without stint; spurious
letter writers increased and were encouraged, and all the machinery
of the war department, so well drilled in the arts of infamy, was
put in motion to find and arrest the man who had fired the fatal
6hot. Heavy rewards were offered by the secretary of war for
the capture and conviction of the assassin and his co-conspirators.
The hope of reward to those who made duty subservient to lucre
was stimulus enough to increase excitement and goad the lawless
to deeds of atrocity. Nor did the less violent in semblance attempt
to restrain the rage of those who coupled revenge with madness.
Indeed, the gall of bitterness secreted in their own breasts, which,
heretofore, their cowardice and assumed respectability had partially
stagnated, now began to ferment and move them to encourage the
fanatic in the commission of crimes they feared to do themselves.
All parts of the country were aroused. The local detective forces
of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other places,
soon arri>*d at Washington, which, together with the entire
military force of the department of Washington, reported for duty
to General Augur, whose headquarters were in Washington. These
* The army — the majority of which — officers and privates — being composed of
all political parties — having enlisted through the patriotic motive of fighting for
the preservation of the Union of the States, was generally much more conserva-
tive than those who fanned the flames of war at home, where no danger environed
them.
JOHN WILKES BOOTH.
755
were either detained in Washington for service or detailed and
despatched to other sections of the country, whithersoever the
assassin and his accomplices were supposed to have fled. De-
tectives were hurried off on the different railroad routes, north,
west and south, and even to Canada, while others sprang up as if
by magic in their own localities; letter writers advanced theories
as fast as the brain could invent them ; hotel clerks and employes
were interrogated and registers examined ; the click of telegraphic
signals was incessant, and all the modes and arts of discovery
which nature and invention could furnish were brought into
requisition. As the assassin, after his escape from the rear of the
theatre, was seen to mount a horse and disappear, the theory \va9
advanced that he still remained in the neighborhood of Washing-
ton, the scene of the tragedy, and hence a full brigade of infantry,
more than a thousand cavalrymen, and two hundred detectives
and citizens were sent into the counties, Prince George, Charles
and St. Mary's, of lower Maryland, to search for him.* With a
cordon of soldiers and detectives, stretching from the Chesapeake
to the Potomac, who were continually marching and counter-
marching, almost every acre of ground in the three counties, in-
cluding upland and morass, was traversed, and every house
and outbuilding — from shore to shore — ransacked. This search
continued for a week, and the assassin was still at liberty. In the
meantime many arrests were made on suspicion, and stories told
by negroes and others, who said they had seen two men on horse-
back, travelling in the direction of the lower Potomac, but whither
they had gone, and where they were, was still a mystery. Uncer-
tainty whetted the tooth of excitement and renewed exertions were
made. Although a week had elapsed and the assassin was still at
large, yet the tangled thread of mystery was so far unravelled
that, while at first it was only surmise, it had now become an
accepted fact that John Wilkes Booth was the immediate assassin
and David E. Harold was the accomplice. All the acquired in-
telligence indicated these as the men who had thus far baffled
arrest, and the finger-boards at the intersection of roads pointed to
* It has been estimated that many more than the above number of infantry
cavalry and detectives were sent into lower Maryland to make search and arrest
the fugitive assassin.
756
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Matthias's Landing as the place where they had crossed the
Potomac into Virginia.
Impressed with this belief, General L. C. Baker, chief of the
Secret Detective Force, secured likenesses of Booth and Harold,
and had them and descriptions of their persons and appearances
printed. He then, being convinced that Booth and Harold had
gone into lower Maryland, sent two of his detectives, Hubbard
and Woodall, together with a telegraphic operator, there to ferret
out the lurking-place of the fugitives, or scent the trail of their
escape. These men left Washington on Sunday afternoon, April
23d, on the steamer Keyport, and reached Port Tobacco, their in-
tended landing-place, late on Sunday night. Soon after landing,
Woodall luckily met with (or discovered) an old negro, who told
him that, from the description, he had seen Booth and Harold, and
that they had crossed the Potomac near Matthias Point, on Sat-
urday night, the 22d of April, and that Booth was lame. Wood-
all, instead of telegraphing, immediately re-embarked early on
Monday morning, on board the Keyport, for Washington, taking
with him the colored man, whom he delivered to General Baker
for examination ; who, after the examination, was thoroughly con-
vinced that Booth and Harold had crossed the Potomac and were
in Virginia. General Baker, without delay, applied, by direction
of the Secretary of War, to Major-General Hancock, now in com-
mand of the Department of Washington, for twenty-five cavalry-
men, well mounted and commanded by a discreet officer. In
obedience to this order, a squad of cavalrymen, of the N. Y. 11th,
twenty-five in number, under the command of Lieutenant Dough-
erty, arrived at the headquarters of General L. C. Baker, and
reported for duty about 2 o'clock P. M., when Lieutenant Dough-
erty was introduced to Colonel Conger and Lieutenant L. B#
Baker, and informed that the expedition was in pursuit of
Booth and Harold, and would be under the direction of Colonel
Conger and Lieutenant Baker. About 4 o'clock in the afternoon
of the same day, the 24th, the squad embarked on board the
steamer John S. Ide, and at about 10 o'clock p. M. landed at
Belle Plain, on the Potomac creek, seventy miles from Washing-
ton. They then commenced a march into the interior of Virginia,
and when about a mile and a half from the Potomac they came to
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Map Rhowing tho routes of Booth and the "Detectives, and the plaee where Booth
w, is shot and Harold captured.
Booth's Route Detectives' Route
JOHN WILKES BOOTH.
757
two roads which diverged, the one leading to Frcdcricksburgh and
the other to Port Conway, on the Rappahannock. They look the
road to the Rappahannock. On the way, during the night, they
represented themselves as rebels who were trying to escape from
the Union soldiers, Conger personating Boyd, a brother of the
Maryland Boyd who had been killed, and visited almost every
house, making inquiries and observations, but got no intelligence
of importance, and arrived at Port Conway, on the Rappahannock,
nearly opposite Port Royal, about 12 o'clock If. on Tuesday,
the 25th, where they halted for half an hour. While here at tl»e
ferry, Lieutenant Baker met with a man by the name of Rollins,
a fisherman, who, after seeing the likenesses of Booth and Harold,
said that in the afternoon of the day before, the 24th, they
arrived there in an old wagon driven by a negro, and were anx-
ious to go on; that Booth was lame, and that he had offered him
(Rollins) ten dollars in gold to take them to Bowlilig Green, a dis-
tance of fifteen miles, on the road leading to Orange Court- 1 louse ;
and that about the same time, three rebels, Bainbridge, Rugglcs
and Jett, who had been a captain under Mosby, came along on
horseback, and after having had a conversation with Booth and
Harold, agreed to help them on their journey. Conger and Baker
now employed Rollins, but ostensibly put him under arrest for the
sake of appearance, to conduct them to Bowling Green, presuming
Booth and Harold* would be taken there, as some of their escort
resided at that place. They reached Bowling Green between 11
and 12 o'clock, Tuesday night, and immediately surrounded the
hotel with dismounted cavalrymen, supposing Booth might be
lodged there. Not being able to arouse the inmates, they found,
after some difficulty, a negro who conducted Colonel Conger to a
hut in the rear of the tavern, and the negro occupant of this hut
told Colonel Conger that a woman and her daughter resided in the
tavern, and that Captain Jett was there. Conger then entered
the house and proceeded to Jett's room and arrested him ; Lieuten-
ants Baker and Dougherty now joining Conger. But Jett, being
alarmed, begged that he might have a private interview with the
commander, and being referred to Conger, Baker and Dougherty
withdrew. Jett then told Conger that he knew that they wanted
Booth and Harold ; that he knew where they were, and that if he
758
AMERICAN BASTILE.
(Conger) would assure him of his personal safety, he would take
him and show him where they were. With the assurance of his
safety, Jett dressed himself, and they two, Conger and Jett, being
now rejoined by Baker, he told them that Booth and Harold were
at Garrett's, about three miles from Port Royal ; Jett, being told
that the party had just come from Port Royal, seemed to be em-
barrassed, because he had supposed they had come from Richmond,
and was fearful lest Booth and Harold might be frightened away
from Garrett's by the party passing by that road. In this con-
jecture Jett was correct. Booth and Harold, being frightened,
had left Garrett's house. The party in pursuit, feeling convinced
that this information of Jett's was true, and being remounted, left
Bowling Green, and proceeding to Garrett's they reached the lane
which led from the main road to the house, at about 2 o'clock on
the morning of the 26th. Very soon afterward they arrived at
Garrett's house, which they surrounded, and the inmates being
aroused and the elder Garrett appearing at a window, Lieutenant
Baker requested him to furnish a light and come out. Conger then
said, when Garrett made his appearance, "Where are the men that
stopped at your house ?"
Garrett. " They have gone."
Conger. " Gone where ?"
Garrett. " Gone to the woods."
Conger. " Whereabouts in the woods?"
At this last question Garrett seemed confused and began to state
that he didn't want the men to stop there, whereupon Conger told
one of his men to bring him a lariat, threatening to hang Garrett
if he didn't tell all he knew concerning the whereabouts of the
men. One of Garrett's sons then came forward and said, " Don't
hurt the old man ; he is scared. I will tell you where these men
are." He then stated that the men had gone to the barn, and vol-
unteered to show them where they were. With this information
the party proceeded to the barn, and surrounded it. The barn
door being locked, Lieutenant Baker sent young Garrett for the
key, which being brought and the door unlocked, Baker having
heard some one walk on the hay, told Garrett to go in and get the
arms from the men, and demand their surrender. Garrett replied
that he was afraid, as they were armed with carbines and pistols
JOHN WILKES BOOTH.
759
and might shoot him ; whereupon Baker said, "They know you,
and you must go in," at the same time stating to the party inside,
" We are going to send in one of the men with whom you have
been stopping, to get your arms, and you must deliver them up
and surrender." Young Garrett now having gone in, or having
been pushed in, Booth was heard to say to him, "Get out of here,
or I will shoot you. Damn you, you have betrayed me." Gar-
rett very soon reappeared at the door much frightened, and stated
that the man threatened to shoot him. He was then allowed to
come out of the barn, when he said to Baker, "You may burn the
barn," to which he had before objected. To the inquiry, how he
knew the man inside was going to shoot him, he answered, " He
reached down in^the hay and got his revolver." It will be remem-
bered that this was between 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning, and
quite dark inside as well as outside of the barn. Lieutenant
Baker then told the men inside to come out in five minutes and
deliver themselves up, or the barn would be set on fire. Booth
then said, " Who are you ? What do you want ? "
Baker. " We want you ; we know who you| are. Give up
your arras and come out."
Booth. " Give us a little time to consider."
Baker. "Very well."
After a pause of ten or fifteen minutes, Booth again said,
" Who are you ? What do you want?"
Baker replied, "It don't make any difference who we are; we
know who you are and want you."
Booth said, " This is hard, because it may be I am to be taken
by my friends."
During this conversation Booth said, " Captain, I know you are
a brave man and I believe you to be honorable ; I have but on©
leg; I am a cripple. If you will withdraw your men one hundred
yards from the door, I will come out and fight you."
Baker replied, " We did not come here to fight ; we simply
came to make you a prisoner."
Booth again said, " If you will take your men fifty yards from
the door, I will come out and fight you ; give me a chance for my
life."
Baker having replied as before, Booth exclaimed, in a theatrical
voice, " Well, my brave boys, you may prepare a stretcher for me."
/60
AMERICAN BASTILE.
One of the Garrett boys, being ordered to pile up some pine
brush against the barn, soon returned to Conger, and said, "That
man says if I put any more brush up there he will put a bullet
through me." Conger then told him he need not go there any
more.
After a little while Booth said, u There is a man here who
wants to come out." To which Baker replied: "Very well: let
him take up his arms and come out."
During a conversation between Booth and Harold, at this time,
Booth was overheard to say, " You damned coward, will you leave
me now? but go, GO, I would not have you stay with me."
Soon after this Harold came to the door and said, " Let me
out."
Baker asked, " Where are your arms?"
Harold replied, " I have none."
Baker said, * You carried the carbine and you must bring it
out."
Booth then said, "Upon the word and honor of a gentleman the
arms are mine have got than."
Harold then put out his hands and Lieutenant Dougherty took
hold of them and pulled him out.
At this time Booth was about the middle of the barn, and again
he spoke in a clear voice, saving, " Captain, give me a chance.
Draw off your men and I will fight them singly. I could have
killed you five or six times to-night, but I believe you to be a
brave man and I would not murder you. Give a lame man a
show."
During this parley the barn was surrounded by cavalrymen
fciationed at proper distances apart. Conger then pulled out some
straw, twisted it and having set fire to it stuck it back into the
barn amongst some hay, which, being speedily ignited, the blaze
soon illumined the interior; when Conger, through a crevice, saw
Booth looking first toward the front door and then turn back and
return to within a few feet of the corner of the barn with his car-
bine in his hand, which he raised to his breast, glancing quickly
along the cracks of the barn ; then, with an expression of anxiety
mingled with despair, he looked at the fire, which was now burning
rapidly, as if to see if it could be extinguished. At this juncture
JOHN WILKES BOOTH.
761
the report of a pistol was heard, and Conger, on going in at the
front door of the barn, saw Lieutenant Baker looking at and partly
holding up Booth. Sergeant Boston Corbitt had taken deliberate
aim at Booth and had shot him in the head back of the car, the
ball coming out a little higher up on the other side of the head.
Booth was then carried out of the barn and laid on the graas
under a tree. At first he had the appearance of being dead, but
water being applied to his face and temples he seemed to revive,
when he said to Conger in a faint voice, "Tell my mother I died
for my country." After this he was carried to the porch of
Garrett's house and laid on a straw bed. Here, with the applica-
tion of water and stimulants, he revived considerably, but could
speak only in whispers, and his expressions being incoherent
are of no special interest. He evidently suffered much, frequently
asking for water, and requesting by signs to be turned on his side
and immediately to be turned back again. A physician was sent
for, but Booth died soon after his arrival, about 7 o'clock on the
morning of the 26th April, 1865.
Immediately after the death of Booth Colonel Conger started
for Washington to report to General L. C. Baker, leaving the dead
body of Booth. Harold, under arrest, was in the custody of
Lieutenant L. B. Baker. Conger arrived at the headquarters of
General Baker, in Washington, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon of
Wednesday, April 26th. On the reception of the news of
Booth's death and Harold's capture, General Baker, together
with Colonel Conger, drove to the office of Edwin M. Stanton,
Secretary of War, who, after hearing the report of General Baker,
directed him to take a boat and proceed with Colonel Conger to
Alexandria, intercept the expected steamer and take charge of
the body of Booth and the prisoner Harold. In the meantime,
after the departure of Colonel Conger from Garrett's, Lieutenant
Dougherty placed the body of Booth in a blanket, which he
sewed up; he then hired a horse and wagon from a negro,
and putting the body of Booth in the wagon the party left
Garrett's, and, proceeding to Belle Plain on the Potomac, em-
barked on board the Ide, which had been kept in readiness for
them, and arrived at Alexandria at half-past eleven o'clock on
Wednesday night, the 26th April. At Alexandria General Baker
762
AMERICAN B ASTILE.
and Colonel Conger were taken on board the Ide, and she pro-
ceeded to the Navy Yard. Here, about midnight, Harold, the
prisoner, was placed in irons and confined in the hold of a gun-
boat (iron-clad), and the dead body of Booth was placed on deck
in charge of a marine guard. Early on Thursday morning, the
27th, a post-mortem examination was held to identify the body
of Booth, after which his body was privately taken from the gun-
boat by General L. C. Baker and Lieutenant L. B. Baker to the
old penitentiary adjoining the arsenal grounds, and there, in one
of the ground-floor cells, used for storing ammunition, a grave
was dug, and in it, beneath a large flagstone, was secretly de-
posited the remains of John Wilkes Booth.
John Wilkes Booth was 27 years old at the time of his death,
and by profession an actor. He was born in Harford county,
Maryland ; was the son of the late celebrated tragedian, Junius
Brutus Booth, and a brother of the present distinguished actor,
Edwin Booth.
Note. — In 1867 Edwin Booth, the actor, sent Mr. Weaver, tne sexton of
Christ's Church, Baltimore, to Washington, with a request that the remains of
his brother might be taken up and removed to the family burial place. Aftei
some delay the request was granted by President Johnson, who was finally ap
pealed to, and Mr. Weaver took the body to the cemetery in Baltimore and
buried it beside the elder Booth and others of the family. The removal was
conducted with great secresy, and was concealed from Secretary Stanton, who
had refused to give his consent.
MARY E. SURRATT. 763
MARY 15. SURRATT *
"If powers divine
Behold our human actions (as they do),
I doubt not then, but innocence shall make
False accusation blush, and tyranny
Tremble at patience."
During a great civil struggle, in which the uncurbed power
of a ruthless opinion is spurred by the spirit of revenge, it would
be an anomaly in the constitution of society if the innocent did
not sometimes suffer on the same scaffold with the guilty.
After the assassination of Mr. Lincoln a large number of per-
sons were arrested and imprisoned on the accusation or the suspi-
cion that they were connected with a conspiracy to murder the
President and others. Among those so arrested and imprisoned
was Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, who resided in the city of Washing
ton. Mrs. Surratt had formerly resided at Surrattsville, in th'
county of Prince George, Maryland, about ten miles from
Washington ; but in October, 1864, having rented her property a*-
Surrattsville she moved to a house she owned in the city of
Washington. Here, being social and hospitable, and, as Mr.
Reverdy Johnson said, in his argument in her defence, and as
testified to by all the witnesses examined on this point, "a devout
Christian, ever kind, affectionate and charitable," it may be
said she kept an open house for the entertainment of her friends
and acquaintances. She did not keep a boarding-house in the
sense which that term generally implies, although, having a
large house and no one to occupy it except herself, son and
daughter, she boarded a few persons. Those who boarded with
her, according to the testimony, from October, 1864, when she
moved to Washington, until April 17, 1865, when she was ar-
rested and imprisoned in the Old Capitol, were John T. Hollahan
and his wife, Eliza Hollahan, Miss Honora Fitzpatrick, and
a youn^man by the name of Lewis J. Weichman.
Many of those who had visited Mrs. Surratt's house at Sur-
* The engraved portrait which is here given of Mrs. Surratt was copied from
a daguerreotype taken several years before her death, and is the only likeness of
her in existence.
764 AMERICAN BASTILE.
rattsville, where she was proverbially kind to her friends and
neighbors, became her guests after her removal to Washington.
Weichman says, in his testimony, "Persons coming from the
country would stop at her house; she had many acquaintances,
and was always very hospitable, and they could get rooms as
long as they chose." It was also a pleasant place to visit, for
Mrs. Surra tt occupied a good social position, was accustomed to
pleasant society, and, being frank and genial in her manners, was
an agreeable companion. These visitors, therefore, when their
friends and acquaintances came to Washington, would either take
them, or recommend them to go to the house of Mrs. Surratt,
where they could spend a day or two more comfortably than at a
regular boarding-house, and at a less expense than at a hotel.
John Wilkes Booth, young, handsome and fascinating, and
growing into some celebrity as an actor, and an acquaintance of
her son, John H. Surratt, called at the house of Mrs. Surratt on
several occasions, but on account of her religious prejudices against
that class of society, he was never a welcome visitor.
During the period between October, 1864, and April, 1865,
among others who were entertained at Mrs. Surratt's house was
Lewis Payne, who called in March and inquired for John H.
Surratt, who, not being at home, he (Payne) was introduced to the
family, by Weichman, as Mr. Wood. Payne, or Wrood, was
well dressed, had supper served for him in Weichman' s room, and
remained at the house of Mrs. Surratt that night, but left for
Baltimore in the early train the following morning.
This man Wood, or Payne, called again in about three weeks,
was again met at the door by Weichman, who showed him into the
parlor, and introduced him, this time, to the ladies as Payne. Miss
Anna Surratt, in her testimony, says: "I went down-stairs and
told mamma that he, Payne, was there, and she said she did not
understand, and did not like strangers coming to the house, but
to treat him politely." This time (Payne's second visit) he re-
mained, according to the testimony of Weichman, about three
days.
Atzerodt also came to the house of Mrs. Surratt, to see John H.
Surratt, who, being absent, Weichman engaged a room for him.
He remained one night, and, after having seen John H. Surratt on
MARY E. SURRATT. 765
his arrival home next day, he left. Weichman testified that "Mrs.
Surratt said she did not care to have such sticks (as Atzerodtj
brought to the house : they were no company for her."
At two o'clock on Saturday morning, April 15, 1865, the
morning after the assassination of the President, McDevitt,
Clark, and others of the Metropolitan Police of Washington,
came to the house of Mrs. Surratt, and, in answer to their call,
she put her head out of an upper window and asked who was
there. The officers asked if Mrs. Surratt lived there. She said
she did. Weichman then came down, opened the door and let
them in the house. In response to the inquiry where John Sur-
ratt was, Mrs. Surratt told these officers that she had not seen her
son, John H. Surratt, for two weeks, but that she had that day
received a letter from him dated in Canada.
On Monday evening, April 17, about 11 o'clock, Major
Smith, Captain W. M. Winnerskerch and Richard C. Morgan,
who were in the service of the War Department, came to the
house of Mrs. Surratt and arrested her, Miss Anna Surratt, Miss
Honora Fitzpatrick and Miss Jenkins — all the inmates then in the
house — imprisoned them and took possession of the house. As
has previously been stated, hundreds of persons were arrested and
imprisoned after the assassination of Mr. Lincoln on suspicion, and
were held to answer any charge that might be preferred against
them.
Indeed many of the witnesses for the Government were under
arrest, and in prison, as suspects, during the trial of Mrs. Surratt ;
and, therefore, being under duress, were not impartial witnesses.
As it would be impossible to write an article commenting on
and drawing conclusions from the testimony in the case of Mrs,
Surratt without being charged with partiality by those who
either condemn her execution or sympathize with it, we have
concluded to incorporate, in this article, all the testimony had
before the Commission relating to her case, and thus allow the
reader to act as a juror and render his own verdict.
With this brief introduction we will now proceed to the trial
of Mrs. Surratt, the origin of the Commission and the proceedings
had under it.
766
AMERICAN BASTILE.
THE MILITARY COMMISSION.
Executive Chamber, Washington City, May 1, 1865.
"Whereas the Attorney-General of the United States has given
his opinion that the persons implicated in the murder of the late
President, Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, and an alleged conspir-
acy to assassinate other officers of the Federal Government, at Wash-
ington City, and their aiders and abettors are subject to the jurisdic-
tion of and legally triable before a Military Commission :
It is ordered; First, That the Assistant Adjutant-General detail
nine competent military officers to serve as a Commission for the trial
of said parties, and that the Judge-Advocate-General proceed to
prefer charges against said parties for their alleged offences, and bring
them to trial before said Military Commission ; that said trial or trials
be conducted by the said Judge-Advocate-General, as recorder there-
of, in person, aided by such assistant or special judge-advocates as
he may designate, and that said trials be conducted with all dili-
gence consistent with the ends of justice, and said Commission to
Bit without regard to hours.
Second, That Brevet Major-General Hartranft he assigned to duty
as special Provost-Marshal-General, for the purpose of said trial and
attendance upon said Commission, and the execution of its mandates.
Tliird, That the said Commission establish such order or rules of
proceeding as may avoid unnecessary delay, and conduce to the ends
of public justice.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
Adjutant-General's Office,
Washington, D. C, May 6, 1865.
[Official Copy.]
W. S. NICHOLS,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
In compliance with this order, the following officers were de-
tailed as members of the Military Commission :
President — Major-General David Hunter.
Members — Major-General Lewis Wallace, Brev.-Maj.-
Gen. August V.TCautz, Brio.-Gen. Albion P. Howe, Brig.-
Gen. Robert S. Foster, Brig.-Gen. James A. Ekin, Brig.-
Gen. Thomas M. Harris, Col. Charles H. Tompkins and
Brev. Col. D. R. Clendenin.
MARY E. SURRATT.
767
The prosecution was conducted by Brigadier-General Joseph
Holt, Judge-Advocate-General, assisted by Brevet Colonel H. L.
Burnett, of Indiana, and Hon. John A. Bingham, of Ohio,
Assistant Judge- Advocates.
The prisoners selected, for their counsel, Reverdy Johnson, of
Maryland ; Thomas Ewing, of Kansas ; W. E. Doster, of Penn-
sylvania ; Fred. A. Aikin, District of Columbia ; Walter S. Cox,
John W. Clampitt and F. Stone, of Maryland.
CHARGES AND SPECIFICATIONS.
The charges and specifications against David E. Harold, George
A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, John H. Sur-
ratt, Edward Spangler, Samuel Arnold, Mary E. Surratt and
Samuel A. Mudd were as follows : *
Charge 1. For maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously, and in aid
of the existing armed Rebellion against the United States of Amer-
ica, on or before the 4th day of March, A. d. 1865, and on divers
other days between that day and the 15th day of April, a. d. 1865,
combining, confederating, and conspiring together with one John H.
Surratt, John Wilkes Booth, Jefferson Davis, George N. Sanders,
Beverly Tucker, Jacob Thompson, William C. Cleary, Clement C.
Clay, George Harper, George Young, and others unknown, within
the Military Department of Washington, and within the fortified and
intrenched lines thereof. Abraham Lincoln, late, and at the time of
said combining, confederating, and conspiring, President of the United
States of America, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy
thereof; Andrew Johnson, then Vice-President of the United States
aforesaid ; William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States
aforesaid ; and Ulysses S. Grant, Lieutenant-General of the army of
the States aforesaid, then in command of the Armies of the United
States, under the direction of the said Abraham Lincoln, and in pur-
suance of, and in prosecuting said malicious, unlawful, and traitorous
conspiracy aforesaid, and in aid of said Rebellion, afterwards, to wit :
On the 14th day of April, a. d. 1865, within the Military Depart-
ment of Washington aforesaid, and within the fortified and intrenched
lines of said Military Department, together with the said John Wilkes
Booth and John H. Surratt, maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously
murdering the said Abraham Lincoln, then President of the United
♦The specification against Mrs. Mary E. Surratt'is alone given here.
768
AMERICAN BASTILE.
States and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United
States as aforesaid, and maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously as-
saulting with intent to kill and murder the said William H. Seward,
then Secretary of State of the United States as aforesaid; and lying
in wait with intent maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously to kill
and murder the said Andrew Johnson, then being Vice-President of
the United States, and the said Ulysses S. Grant, then being Lieu-
tenant-General and in command of the Armies of the United States
as aforesaid.
Specification 1. In this, that they, the said David E. Harold, Ed-
ward Spangler, Lewis Payne, John H. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin,
Samuel Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, George A. Atzerodt, and Samuel
A. Mudd, incited and encouraged thereunto by Jefferson Davis,
George N. Sanders, Beverly Tucker, Jacob Thompson, William C
Cleary, Clement C. Clay, George Harper, George Young, and others
unknown, citizens of the United States aforesaid, and who were then
engaged in armed Rebellion against the United States of America,
within the limits thereof, did, in aid of said armed Rebellion, on or
before the 6th day of March, A. D. 1865, and on divers other days and
times between that day and the 15th day of April, a. d. 1865, combine,
confederate, and conspire together at Washington City, within the
Military Department, and within the intrenched fortifications and
military lines of the said United States, there being unlawfully, ma-
liciously, and traitorously to kill and murder Abraham Lincoln, then
President of the United States aforesaid, and Commander-in-Chief of
the Army and Navy thereof, and unlawfully, maliciously, and traitor
ously to kill and murder Andrew Johnson, then Vice-President of
the United States, upon whom, on the death of said Abraham Lincoln,
after the 4th day of March, a. d. 1865, the office of President of the
said United States, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy
thereof, would devolve, and to unlawfully, maliciously, and traitor-
ously kill and murder Ulysses S. Grant, then Lieu tenant-General
under the direction of the said Abraham Lincoln, in command of the
Armies of the United States aforesaid ; and unlawfully, maliciously,
and traitorously to kill and murder William H. Seward, the Secre-
tary of State of the United States aforesaid, whose duty it was by
law upon the death of said President and Vice-President of the
United States aforesaid, to cause an election to be held for electors of
President of the United States, the conspirators aforesaid designing
and intending by the killing and murder of the said Abraham Lin-
coln and Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant and William H. Seward
MARY E. SURR ATT.
769
aforesaid, to deprive the army and navy of the said United States of
a constitutional commander-in-chief, and to deprive the armies of the
Uuited States of their lawful commander, and to prevent a lawful
election of President and Vice-President of the United States afore-
said, and by the means aforesaid to aid and comfort the insurgents
engaged in armed rebellion against the said United States as afore-
said, and thereby to aid in the subversion and overthrow of the said
United States.
And being so combined, confederated, and conspiring together in
the prosecution of such unlawful and traitorous conspiracy, on the
night of the 14th day of April, a. d. 1865, at the hour of about 10
o'clock and 15 minutes p. M., at Ford's Theatre on Tenth Street, in
the city of Washington, and within the Military Department and
military lines aforesaid, John Wilkes Booth, one of the conspirators
aforesaid, in pursuance of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy, did
then and there unlawfully, maliciously, traitorously, and with intent
to kill and murder the said Abraham Lincoln, discharge a pistol, held
in the hands of him, the said Booth, the same being then loaded with
powder and a loaden ball, against and upon the left and posterior
side of the head of Abraham Lincoln, and did thereby then and
there inflict upon him, the said Abraham Lincoln, then President of
the said United States and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and
Navy thereof, a mortal wound, whereof afterwards, to wit, on the 15th
day of April, a. d. 1865, at Washington City aforesaid, the said
Abraham Lincoln died, and thereby then and there, in pursuance of
said conspiracy, the said defendants and the said John Wilkes Booth,
did unlawfully, traitorously, and maliciously, and with the intent to
aid the Rebellion as aforesaid, murder the President of the United
States as aforesaid.
And in the further prosecution of the said conspiracy, Mary E.
Surratt did, at Washington City, and within the Military Department
and military lines aforesaid, on or before the 6th day of March, a. d.
1865, and at divers other days and times between that day and the
20th day of April, a. d. 1865, receive, entertain, harbor and conceal,
aid and assist, the said John Wilkes Booth, David E. Harold, Lewi?
Payne, John H. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt,
Samuel Arnold, and their confederates, with a knowledge of the mur-
derous and traitorous conspiracy aforesaid, and with intent to aid,
abet, and assist them in the execution thereof, and in escaping from
justice after the murder of the said Abraham Lincoln, as aforesaid,
with intent to aid, abet, and assist them in the execution thereof, and
49
770
AMERICAN BASTILE.
in escaping from justice after the murder of the said Abraham Lin-
coln, in pursuance of the said conspiracy, in the manner aforesaid.
By order of the President of the United States.
J. Holt, Judge- Advocate-General.
TESTIMONY FOR THE PROSECUTION.
Testimony of Lewis J. Weichman.
Examined by Judge- Advocate-General Holt:
Q. State to the court if you know John H. Surratt. A. I do. I first made
his acquaintance in the fall of 1862, in St. Charles county, Maryland, or hi the
fall of 1859 I should say.
Q. How long were you together then? A. Until 1862; I renewed my ac-
quaintance with him in January, 1863.
Q. In this city ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. When did you begin to board at the house of his mother, the prisoner here ?
A. On the 1st of November, 1864.
Q. Where is her house ? A. On H street, No. 541.
Q. See if that is Mrs. Surratt sitting by you there. A. Yes, sir ; that is Mrs.
Surratt.
Q. Will you state when you first made your acquaintance with Dr. Mudd ? A.
It was on or about the 15th of January, 1865.
Q. State under what circumstances. A. I was passing down Seventh street
with Surratt, and when nearly opposite Odd Fellows' Hall some one called out,
'Surratt, Surratt." On looking around Surratt recognized an old acquaintance
of his, of Charles county, Maryland ; he introduced Dr. Mudd to me, and Dr.
Mudd introduced Mr. Booth, who was in company with him, to both of us ; they
were coming up Seventh street and we were coming down.
By the Court :
Q. Do you mean J. Wilkes Booth ? A. Yes, sir ; J. Wilkes Booth.
Q. Where did you go then? A. He invited us to his room at the National
Hotel.
Q. Who ? A. Booth ; he told us to be seated, and ordered cigars and wine to
the room for four, and Dr. Mudd then went out to the passage and called Booth
out and had a private conversation with him. Booth and the doctor then came
in and called Surratt out, leaving me alone.
Q. How long? A. Fifteen or twenty minutes.
Q. Do you know the nature of their conversation ? A. No ; I was sitting on a
lounge near the window; they came in at last, and Mudd came near me on the
settee, and apologized for their private conversation, stating he had private busi-
ness with Booth, who wished to purchase his farm.
Q. Did you see any manuscript of any sort on the table ? A. No. Booth at
one time cut the back of an envelope and made marks on it with a pencil.
Q. Was he writing on it ? A. I should not consider it writing, but marks
alone ; they were seated at the table in the centre of the room.
Q. Did you see the marks? A. No, sir; just saw motion of the pencil ; Booth
MARY E. SURR ATT.
771
also came to me and apologized, and said he wished lo purchase Ifndd*! f irm ,
Mudd had previously stated to me that he did not care to sell his farm to Booth,
as he was not willing to give him enough for it.
Q. You didn't hear a word spoken between them in regard to the farm ? A.
No, sir ; I did not know the nature of their conversation at all.
Q. Did I understand you 10 say that you did not hear any of their conversa-
tion at the table, but only saw the motion of the pencil ? A. Yea, sir.
Q. You continued to board at Mrs. Surratt's? A. I boarded there up to the
time of the assassination.
Q. After this interview at the National, state whether Booth called frequently
at Mrs. Surratt's. A. Yes, sir.
Q. Whom did he call to see? A. He generally called for John II. Surratt,
and in his absence called for Mrs. Surratt.
Q. Were those interviews held apart, or in the presence of other persons ? A.
Always apart; I have been in company with Booth in the parlor with Surratt,
but Booth has taken Surratt to a room up-stairs, and engaged in private conversa-
tion up there ; he would say, " John, can you spare me a word ? come up-stairs ; "
they would go and engage in private conversation, which would last two or three
hours.
Q. Did the same thing occur with Mrs. Surratt? A. Yes.
Q. Have you ever seen the prisoner Atzerodt? A. I have, sir.
Q. Do you recognize him here? A. Yes, sir; that is he.
Q. Have you ever seen him at Mrs. Surratt's? A. He came there about three
weeks after I formed the acquaintance of Booth.
Q. Who did he inquire for ? A. For Mr. Surratt, John H.
Q. Did you ever see him with Booth there, or only with Surratt ? A. I have
never seen him in the house with Booth.
Q. How often did he call? A. Some ten or fifteen times.
Q. What was the name by which he was known by the young ladies of the
house? A. They understood that he came from Port Tobacco, and instead of
calling him by his own name, they gave him the nickname of Port Tobacco.
Q. Did you ever see him on the street? A. Yes, sir. I have met him on the
corner of Seventh and Pennsylvania avenue; it was about the time Booth played
Pescara, in the Apostate; Booth had given Surratt two complimentary tickets
on that occasion, and we went down and met Atzerodt; we told him where we
were going, and he said he was going, too, and at the theatre we met David C.
Harold.
Q. Do you know Harold? Do you see him here? A. Yes, sir. We also met
another gentleman there named Hollahan, who stopped in the house ; we met
him in the theatre, and we remained until the play was over, and the five of us
left together and went together as far as the corner of Tenth and E streets, but
on turning around Surratt noticed that Atzerodt and Harold were not following,
and I went and found them in the restaurant adjoining the theatre, talking con-
fidentially with Booth ; on my approaching they separated, and then we took a
drink, and there was a gentleman there whose face I remember ; we left and
joined the other two gentlemen, and went to another restaurant to have some
oysters.
772
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Q. Do you know where Surratt left his horses in this city ? A. He stated to
me that he had two horses, and that he kept them at Howard's stables, on Q
street, between Sixth and Seventh.
Q. Did you ever see Atzerodt there ? A. Yes, sir, on the day of the assassina-
tion.
Q. What time was it? A. About half- past two o'clock.
Q. What was he doing ? A. He seemed to be hiring a horse ; I had been sent
by Mrs. Surratt to hire a buggy ; when I got there I saw Atzerodt, and asked
what he wanted ; he said he wanted to hire a horse ; he asked Brooks if he could
have a horse, and he told him he could not ; then we left, and both of us went as
far as the post-office ; I had a letter to draw out, and after that he went off toward
Tenth street.
Q. Was this horse that was kept there Surratt's or Booth's? A. I will state
that on Tuesday previous to the assassination I was also sent to the National
Hotel to see Booth, and get his buggy for Mrs. Surratt. She wished me to drive
her into the country. Booth said he had sold his buggy, but he would give me
ten dollars, and I should hire a buggy for Mrs. Surratt, and spoke of the horses
he kept at Brooks' stables. I then said they were Surratt's ; he said they " weTe
mine."
Q. Did Booth give you ten dollars ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you drive her out ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. To what point? A. To Surrattsville ; we left at ten and reached there at
twelve ; that was on Tuesday, the 11th.
Q. Did you return that day ? A. Yes, sir ; we only remained half an hour ;
Mrs. Surratt said she went for the purpose of seeing Mr. Nothy, who owed her
money.
Q. State whether on the following Friday, that is the day of the assassination,
you drove Mrs. Surratt into the country. A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where did you drive to ? A. To Surrattsville ; we arrived there about
half-past four.
Q. Did she stop at the house of Mr. Lloyd? A. Yes, sir; she went into the
parlor.
Q. What time did you have to return ? A. About half- past six.
Q. Can you go down there in two hours? A. When the roads are good you
could easily get down there in two hours.
Q. State whether you remember, some time in the month of March, a man call-
ing at Mrs. Surratt's and giving himself the name of Wood, and inquiring for
John H. Surratt. A. Yes, I opened the door for him. He asked if Mr. Surratt
was in ; I told him no, but I introduced him to the family ; he had then expressed
a wish to see Mrs. Surratt.
Q. Do you recognize him here ? A. Yes, sir ; that's he, that's the man, Payne ;
he called himself Wood then.
Q. How long did he remain with Mrs. Surratt? A. He stopped in the house
all night, and had supper served up to him in my room ; they brought his supper
from the kitchen.
Q. When was that? A. As nearly as I can recollect, it was about eight weeks
previous to the assassination. I have no exact knowledge of the date.
MART E. SURRATT.
773
Q. Did he bring a package ? A. No, sir.
Q. How was he dressed ? A. He had a black overcoat on and a black frock
coat with gray pants at the time.
Q. Did he remain till the next morning? A. Yes; he left in the earliest
train for Baltimore.
Q. Do you remember whether, some weeks after, the same man called again ?
A. Yes. I should think it was about three weeks, and I again went to the door.
I then showed him into the parlor, and again asked his name. That time he
gave the name of Payne.
Q. Did he then have an interview with Mrs. Surratt ? A. Miss Fitzpatrick,
myself and Mrs. Surratt were present ; he remained about three days, and repre-
sented himself to be a Baptist preacher; he said he had been in Baltimore about
a week, had taken the oath of allegiance, and was going to become a good, loyal
citizen.
Q. Did you hear any explanation why he said he was a Baptist minister ?
A. No ; Miss Surratt said he was a queer-looking Baptist preacher.
Q. Did they seem to recognize him as the Wood of former days ? A. Yes,
sir ; in conversation one of the ladies called him "Woods, and then I recollected
that on his previous visit he had given the name of Wood.
Q. How was he dressed then ? A. In a complete suit of gray.
Q. Did he have any baggage ? A. Yes, sir ; he had a linen coat and two
linen shirts.
Q. Did you observe any trace of disguise or preparations for disguises?
A. One day I found a false moustache on the table in my room ; I threw it into
a little toilet-box, and Payne searched for it and inquired for his moustache ; I
was sitting in the chair and did not say anything ; I retained it ever since ; it
was found in my baggage among a box of paints I had in my trunk.
********
Q. Have you seen any letter from him (Surratt) ? (The witness testified that
John H. Surratt left Washington on the evening of the 3d of April.) A. Yes,
I saw a letter to his mother, dated April 12; it was received here on the 14th. I
also saw another written to Miss Ward. I did not see the date, but the receipt
of the letter was prior to the one of his mother.
Q. Did he have any conversation with you, as he passed through, about the
fall of Richmond ? A. Yes ; he told me he did not believe it ; he said he had
seen Benjamin and Davis, and they had told him that it would not be evacuated,
and he seemed to be incredulous.
********
Q. Do you remember, early in April, that Mrs. Surratt sent for you, and asked
you to give Mr. Booth notice that she wished to see him ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was the message ? A. Merely that she wished to see him.
Q. Did she say on private business, or use any expression of that kind 7
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you deliver the message ? A. I did.
Q. What did Booth say ? A. He said he would come to the house immedW
ately, or as soon as he could.
Q. What time was this ? A. Some time in April ; it was the second. When
774 AMERICAN BASTILE.
she sent me I found in Booth's room Mr. McCullough, the actor ; I communi-
cated to Booth her desire, and he did come in the evening of the second.
Q. State whether he called on the evening of the 14th of April, the day of the
assassination. A. Yes, sir; about half- past two o'clock. When I was going
out at the door I met Mrs. Surratt speaking to Booth.
Q. Were they alone? A. Yes, sir; they were alone in the parlor.
Q. Plow long was it after that when you started for the country ? A. He
didn't remain more than three or four minutes.
Q. And immediately after that you set out for the country ? A. Yes, sir.
Cross-examination by Reverdy Johnson:
Q. How long have you been at Mrs. Surratt's ? A. Since November, 1864 ;
Mrs. Surratt, at that time, had moved into the city from the country ; she had
rented her farm.
Q. Did you ever live with her in the country ? A. No, sir ; but I have visited
her.
Q. You knew her very well at that time 9 A. Not very well ; I made her ac-
quaintance through her son, who was a school-mate of mine. I sometimes went
there, and always experienced kindness and courtesy.
Q. What sort of a house had she in the city here ? A. It contained eight
rooms — six large and two small.
Q. Was she in the habit of renting her rooms out? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did she furnish board as well as rooms? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you on intimate terms with her son ? A Very intimate, indeed.
Q. Were you in the habit of seeing young Surratt'almost every day? A. Yes,
sir. He would be seated at the same table. We occupied the same room. He
slept with me.
Q. During the whole of that period you never heard him intimate it was his
intention to assassinate the President? A. No, sir.
Q. Were you a student with him ? A. Yes, sir; I was in the college one year
longer than he.
Q. When did you first drive into the country with Mrs. Surratt? A. The first
occasion was on the 11th of April.
Q. Did she tell you what her object was in going ? A. She said to see Nothy,
who owed her some money, and the interest on it for thirteen years.
Q. Is there such a man? A. Yes, sir; there is.
Q. Do you know whether she then saw him ? A. When we arrived at the
Tillage Mr. Nothy was not there, and she told the bar-keeper to send a messenger
for him, and he sent one. In the meantime we went to Captain Gwynne's
house ; remained there two hours and took dinner. He said he would like to
return with us, and he did, to Surrattsville ; on returning we found Nothy, and
she transacted her business with him.
Q. Did you know the man ? A. No ; Mr. Nott, the bar-keeper, said he was in
the parlor; I didn't go in.
Q. State what her purpose was in the second visit. A. She said she had re-
ceived a letter in regard to this money due her by Mr. Nothy.
Q. Was the letter of the same date ? A. Yes ; and she stated she was com-
pelled again to go to the country, and asked me to drive her down, and I con*
•ented.
MARY E. SURRATT.
770
Q. Did you see the letter? A. No — no, sir; Hhe said that she had received it,
and that it required her to go to Surrattsville ; that's all I know.
Q. Did you go in a buggy ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Any oae else go with you? A. Nobody but I and she went.
Q. Did she take anything with her? A. Only two packages — one with let-
ters concerning her estate, and a smaller package about six inches in diameter;
it looked like two cr three saucers wrapped in brown paper ; this was put in the
bottom of the buggy, and taken out when we got to Surrattsville.
Q. How long did you remain ? A. Till half-past six.
Q. What time did you reach home? A. About half-past nine or ten.
Q. When did you hear, or did you hear, of the assassination of the President
and the attack ou Secretary Seward ? A. I heard it at three o'clock on Saturday
morning.
Q. Who came to the house within the period from your return to the time you
heard of the assassination of the President? A. There was some one rang the
bell, but who it was I don't know.
Q. Was the bell answered ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. By whom? A. By Mrs. Surratt.
Q. Was there any one at the door? A. Yes, sir; I heard footsteps going into
the parlor, and immediately going out.
Q. How long was that after you got back? A. About ten minutes; I wu
taking supper.
Q. Was that before ten o'clock ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Then it was before the time of the assassination, which is said to have been
about ten o'clock ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Had persons been in the habit of coming for rooms to the house? A. Yes;
coming from the country they would stop at the house ; she had many acquaint-
ance:-, and was always very hospitable, and they could get rooms as long as they
chose.
Q. Did Atzerodt take a room ? A. Atzerodt, to my knowledge, stopped in the
house but one night.
Q. Did he take a room ? A. Not that I know of.
Q. Did he leave next day ? A. Yes.
Q. You saw Payne yourself when he came to the house ? A. Yes, sir ; the
first time he gave the name of Wood. I went to the door and opened it, and he
said he would like to see Mrs. Surratt. *
Q. What was his appearance ; genteel ? A. Yes ; he had on a long, black coat,
and went into the parlor; he acted very politely, and asked Mrs. Surratt to play
on the piano for him.
Q. Do you know why Atzerodt left the house? A. No, sir.
Q. Have you any knowledge that he was told that he could not stop there any
longer? A. No.
Q. Did he leave there next day? A. Yes, sir; his leaving was owing to the
arrival of Surratt; he said he wanted to see John, and having seen him he left ;
I heard them afterwards say that they did not care to have him brought to the
house.
• In direct examination the witnew tajt Wood aaked if Mr. Surratt wu la.
776
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Q. What reason did they give for that ? A. Mrs. Surratt said she did not car*
to have such sticks brought to the house ; they were no company for her.
Q. He did not come any more ? A. Not since the 2d of April.
Q. You say you found upon your own table a false moustache ; what was the
color of the hair ? A. Black.
Q. Was it large? A. About medium sized.
Q. This you put into your own box ? A. Yes, in a toilet box and afterwards
in a box of paints ; it was found in rny baggage.
Q. When he came home he seemed to be looking for it ? A. Yes, he said
" Where is my moustache? "
Q. Why did you not give it to him ? A. I suspected, I thought it queer.
Q. But you locked it up ? A. Yes, I didn't like to have it in my room.
Q. But you could have got it out of your room by giving it to him when he
asked for it? A. I thought no honest person had a reason to wear a false
moustache. I took it and exhibited it to some of the clerks in the office. I put
it on with specs and was making fun with it.
Q. Give the date of the letter Mrs. Surratt received from her son John since
he left? A. It was dated Montreal, April 12th, and was received here April
14th.
Q. How did you become acquainted with the date of the letter ; by the post-
mark? A. By the heading of the letter; the letter was written in general
terms.
Q. How was the letter signed ? A. John Harrison ; his name is John Harrison
8urratt.
Q. Was the handwriting disguised? A. It was unusually good for him.
Q. Unusually good, but not disguised? You knew it at once, didn't you? A.
Yes, and I remarked to Mrs. Surratt, John is improving in his writing.
Q. You have known Mrs. Surratt since November ? A. Yes.
Q. What has been her character since that time ? A. Her character was ex-
emplary and ladylike in every particular.
Q. Is she a member of the church? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is she a regular attendant? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Of the Catholic church ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you been with her to church ? A. Every Sunday, sir.
Q. As far as you could judge her character in a religious and moral sense, it
was every way exemplary? A. Yes, sir; she went to her duties every two
weeks.
Q. Did she go in the morning ? A. It was sometimes in the morning and
sometimes in the evening.
Q. Was that the case all the time you knew her ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. If I understand, then, she was apparently discharging all her duties to God
•nd to man ? A. Yes, sir.
Mr. Reverdy Johnson here said :
"I am done, sirl" and rising, left the court-room, and the cross-examination
of the witness was continued by other counsel.
Q. You remarked, sir, that at some time, when you were in company with
Mrs. Surratt, a party would call to see her. Do you remember of Mrs. Surratt
MART E. SURRATT.
777
■ending a request to have a private conversation with Booth ? A. On the 2d of
April she sent me to the hotel and told me to tell him that she would like to nee
him on some private business.
Q. In reference to that ten dollars given you by Booth to obtain a buggy ? A
I thought it an act of friendship. Booth had been in the habit of keeping a
buggy and had promised to let Mrs. Surratt have the loan of it, and when I went
for it he said, u Here is ten dollars ; go and hire one."
Q. Did you ever see Mrs. Surratt leave the parlor to have a private inter-
view with Booth? A. Frequently; she would go into the passage and talk with
him.
Q. How much time did these interviews generally occupy? A. Generally not
more than five or eight minutes.
Q. Well, sir, by any conversation with her were you ever led to believe she wa*
in secret conspiracy with Booth, or any of his confederates?
Here it was remarked by a member of the court that the witness had better
confine himself to a statement of the facts, and the question was waived by the
cross-examining counsel.
Q. Did you ever transact any business for Mrs. Surratt? A. I only wrote a
letter to Mr. Nothy.
Q. What was that ? A. It was as follows : Mr. Nothy : Unless you come for-
ward and pay that bill at once I will begin suit against you immediately.
Q. Anything else ? A. I figured some interest sums for her, the interest on
$439 for thirteen years.
Q. You said Payne paid a visit to Mrs. Surratt, and stopped only one night ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. WTith whom did he appear to have business? A. He appeared to have
business with Mrs. Surratt.
Q. Did he have any other dress, going to show that he wanted to conceal him-
self, that you saw ? A. No, sir.
Q. Was he received by Mrs. Surratt as an intimate friend ? A. He was by
Mrs. Surratt; he was treated as an old acquaintance on his first visit.
Q. Now you say he represented himself to be a Baptist minister ; did they re-
gard him as a man in disguise, or as a minister? A. One of the young ladies
remarked that he was a queer-looking Baptist preacher ; that he wouldn't convert
many souls.
Q. Were you or were you not at Mrs. Surratt's when Payne was arrested ? A,
No, sir.
Q. Were you in the house at three o'clock on Saturday morning when the
officers took possession ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was Payne not there then ? A. No, sir.
Q. I would like to know what professional employment you are in ? A. Clerk
in the office of the commissary-general of prisoners, and have been since the 9th
day of January, 1864.
Q. Colonel Hoffman's office? A. Yes, sir.
On Saturday, May 15, after the record of the testimony of Weichman was read,
Mi Johnson, the senior counsel of Mrs. Surratt, applied to be permitted to ask
the witness, Weichman, some questions before he retired. This was objected to
778
AMERICAN BASTILE.
by Major-General "Wallace, but on the inquiry of the judge-advocate-general
whether it was to be a cross-examination, and being told that it was, the court,
under the judge- advocate's suggestion, permitted the cross-examination.
Examination by Hon. Reverdy Johnson :
Q. I understood you to say on Saturday that you went with Mrs. Surratt the
first time, on Tuesday before the assassination, in a buggy. Do you recollect
whether you stopped on the way to Surrattsville ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where ? A. We stopped on two or three occasions.
Q. Did you stop at Uniontown ? A. I do not know the particular point,
whether it was at Uniontown or not.
Q. Did you stop at a village ? A. We stopped on the road at no particular vil-
lage that I remember.
Q, How do you know Mr. Lloyd? A. I have met him three times.
Q. Did you know him as the keeper of the hotel? A. I knew him as the man
who had rented Mrs. Surratt's house from her, because I copied off the instrument
Q. Do you recollect seeing him go by in a buggy on the way from Washington
to Surrattsville on Tuesday ? A. Yes, sir ; we met his carriage ; it drove past us ;
Mrs. Surratt called to Mr. Lloyd ; Mr. Lloyd got out and approached the buggy;
Mrs. Surratt put her head out and had a conversation with him.
Q. Did you hear it ? A. No, sir.
Q. Did you hear anything about shooting-irons ?
Question objected to by Assistant Judge- Advocate Bingham. The question was
then withdrawn.
Witness. I heard nothing mentioned about shooting-irons ; Mrs. Surratt spoke
to Mrs. Offutt about having this man, Howell, take the oath of allegiance and
get released, and said she was going to apply to General Augur or Judge Turner
for that purpose.
Q. How long was that interview between Mr. Lloyd and Mrs. Surratt on that
occasion? A. That I couldn't say exactly; I don't think it was more than five
or eight minutes.
By Judge Holt:
Q. I understood you to say you did not hear the whole of this conversation ?
A. I did not hear the conversation between Mr. Lloyd and Mrs. Surratt ; Mrs.
Surratt spoke to Mr. Lloyd at some distance from the buggy, and I couldn't
hear it.
By Mr. Johnson :
Q. Do you recollect whether it was raining at that time? A. I don't think it
was raining at that particular time ; it was a cloudy, murky day ; I cannot say
whether it was raining or not ; I don't remember.
May 18. Re-examination of Lewis J. Weichman continued. * * * *
Cross-examined by Mr. Aiken.
Q. What time in the day did you meet Mr. Lloyd on his way to Washington?
A. It must have been about ten o'clock in the morning.
Q. Did you hear any of the conversation that passed between him and Mrs.
Surratt at that time? A. No, sir; I leaned back in my buggy, and Mrs. Sur-
ratt leaned sideways and whispered some words in Mr. Lloyd's ear.
Q. Did she afterwards say anything to you as to what the conversation was
MART E. SURRATT.
770
about? A. No, sir ; the only conversation that I heard at that time wan between
her and Mrs. Offiitt ; she was talking about Mr. Howell.
Q. Was that at the same time? A. No, sir; it was after the conversation be-
tween Lloyd and herself.
Q. Was it on the same spot ? A. No, sir.
Q. By whom were you called upon first to give your testimony in this case?
A. I was called by the War Department.
Q. By what member of the War Department? A. I was called on by Judge
Burnett.
Q. Were you arrested? A. I surrendered myself upon Saturday morning, at
eight o'clock, to Superintendent Richards, of the Metropolitan Police force ; I
stated to him what I knew of these men, Payne, Harold and Booth, visiting Mrs.
Surratt's ; I stated also what I knew of John Surratt.
Q. What was your object in doing this? A. My object was to assist the
Government.
Q. Were any threats ever made to you by any officer of the Government if
you did not give this information ? A. Not at all.
Q. Were any inducements held out to you by any oflBcer of the Government ?
A. Not at all ; I read in the papers that morning a description of the assassin of
Secretary Seward ; he was described as a man who wore a long, gray coat ; I had
seen Atzerodt* wearing a long, gray coat ; I went down to Tenth street, and met a
gentleman, to whom I communicated my suspicions, and then went and delivered
myself up to Superintendent Richards, of the Metropolitan Police force, and
told him where this man Payne had been stopping, and also Atzerodt and
Harold ; I was then sent to General Augur's office ; after leaving that place I
met a man who kept a stable at Thirteenth and E streets, who stated that a man
had been to his place to hire a horse; he described the man as being of small
stature, having black eyebrows and a kind of a smile on his face ; he said the
name was Harold ; I then went with Officer McDevitt to Harold's house, and pro-
cured photographs of himself and Booth ; Officer McDevitt procured a photo-
graph of Surratt; I related what I knew of Harold's habit of riding through
Maryland, and that he had many acquaintances there, and that the assassins
would probably take their course through Maryland.
Q. Did you ever say, previous to your surrendering yourself and going to the
office of Colonel Burnett, that you were fearful of an arrest? A. I myself had a
great deal of fear; being in this house where these people were, I knew that I
would be brought into public notice, f
Q. I'm not asking what you had to fear, but what you said.
Judge Bingham : You had better allow him to answer in his own way.
A. As far as concerned my cognizance of anything wrong, I had no fears at
all; when I surrendered myself to the Government I surrendered myself because
I thought it to be my duty. It was hard for me to do so, situated as I was with
respect to Mrs. Surratt and family ; but it was my duty, and as such I have since
regarded it.
* No doubt the witness meant Payne.
f John T. Ilollahan lived and boarded in the same home, and yet manifested no fear on accounl
of his associations.
780
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Testimony of John M. Lloyd.
Mr. Lloyd sworn.
Q. Where do you reside ? A. At Surrattsville.
Q. Are yon acquainted with John H. Surratt ? A. Yes, since the first of
December, 1864 ; not much previous to that.
Q. Do you know the prisoner Harold ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know the prisoner Atzerodt? A. Yes, sir
Q. Will you state whether or not, 6ome five or six weeks before the assassination
)f the President, any or all of these men came to your house? A. They
were there, sir.
Q. All three? A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did they bring to your house ? A. Atzerodt came first, went on to
T. B., was gone about half an hour, and the three of them returned, Surratt,
Atzerodt and Harold. I noticed nothing with them until all three came back,
when John Surratt called me into the front parlor, and then on the sofa I saw
two carbines and some ammunition.
Q. Anything else? A. A rope.
Q. How long ? A. About sixteen to twenty feet.
Q. Were these articles left at your house ? A. Yes ; Surratt asked me to take
care of them, and I told him I did not like to have these things in the house ; he
then called me into a room I had never seen into before and showed me where I
could place them under a joist.
Q. Were they concealed there ? A. Yes, sir ; I put them there myself.
Q. How much ammunition was there? A. Just one cartridge box.
Q. What kind of a carbine was it? A. Didn't examine them; they had
covers over them.
Q. State whether, on the Monday preceding, Mrs. Surratt came to your house.
A. I met Mrs. Surratt on the Monday previous to the assassination. When she
first broached the subject to me I did not understand her ; she asked me about
the 6hooting-irons, or something of that kind, to draw my attention to those
things; I had almost forgotten they were there, and I told her they were hidden
away ; she said they would be wanting soon ; I don't recollect the first question
she put to me ; she only referred to it in a manner, and finally came out and said
they would be wanted soon.
Q. Now will you state whether, on the evening or day on which the President
was assassinated, Mrs. Surratt didn't come to your house ? A. Yes ; I was out
attending a trial, and found her there when I came back ; I judge it was about
five o'clock ; I met her at the wood-pile, and she told me to have them shooting-
irons ready that night, and said there would be some parties call for them that
night; 6he gave me something in a piece of paper to keep for her, and I found
it was a field-glass ; she asked me also to have two bottles of whiskey ready, say-
ing they would be called for at night.
Q. And were they called for by Booth and Harold that night? A. They both
came, Booth and Harold, and took their whiskey out of the bottles ; Booth didn't
come in, but Harold did ; it was not over a quarter after twelve o'clock ; Booth
was a stranger to me ; Harold came in and took the whiskey, but I don't think he
asked for it ; he said to me, Get me those things.
MARY E. SURR ATT.
781
Q. Did he not say what those things were ? A. No; but he was apprised that
already I knew they were coming for them ; I made no reply, but went and
got them ; I gave them all the articles, with the field-glass and a monkey-wrench.
Q. She told you to give them the whiskey, the carbines and the field-glass ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long did they remain at your house ? A. Not over five minutes.
Q. Did they take both the carbines, or only one? A. Only one; Booth said
he could not take his, because his leg was broken.
Q. Did he drink also? A. Yes, while sitting in the porch; Harold carried
the bottle out to him.
Q. Did they say anything about the assassination? A. As they were leaving
Booth said, " I will tell you some news : J am pretty certain we have assassinated the
President and Secretary Seward."
Q. Was that in Harold's presence ? A. I am not certain. I became so excited
that I am not certain.
Q. At what hour was the new3 of the President's assassination afterwards re-
ceived by you ? A. I suppose it was about nice o'clock.
Q. As the news spread was it spoken of that Booth was the assassin ? A. I
think it was on several occasions,
Q. What was the exact language used when Harold asked you for those things ?
A. For God's sake make haste and get those things.
Cross-examination :
Q. At what time did you rent the house ? A. About the 1st of December.
Q. At the time you commenced the occupation of the premises did you find
iny arms in the house ? No, sir.
Q. No guns or pistols? A. There was a broken gun, a double-barreled gun.
Q. Do you keep a bar there ? A. I do, sir.
Q. Detail the first conversation you had with Mrs. Surratt on the last two times
you saw her. A. It was out of Uniontown ; we had passed each other ; I stopped
and saw it was her and got out and went to her buggy, and she spoke to me in a
manner trying. to draw my attention to those things, the carbines, but she finally
came out plainer, though I am not quite positive, but I think she said shooting-
irons.
Q. Can you swear, Mr. Lloyd, on your oath that she mentioned shooting-irons
to you at all? A. I am pretty positive she did on both occasions, and I know she
did on the last.
Q. At what time on Friday did you meet Mrs. Surratt? A. I did not meet
her on Friday at all ; I was out and when I returned home I found her there.
Q. How long did she remain after you returned? A. Not over ten minutes.
Q. Now state the conversation between you and her during those ten minutes.
A. The first thing she said wa3, "Talk about the devil and some of his imps will
appear," then she said, " Mr. Lloyd, I want you to have the shooting-irons rendy,
some parties will call for them to-night; " she gave me a bundle, but I didn't
open it until I got up-stairs, and I found it was a field-glass.
Q. At what time of day did you have this conversation with Mrs. Surratt? A.
I judge it was about 5 o'clock, but it might have been later. She told me to have
those shooting-irons ready, and I carried them and the other things into the
house. That is all the conversation I had with her in reference to that. I wont
782
AMERICAN BASTILE.
into the barn and she requested me to fix her buggy, the spring of which had be-
come detached from the axle.
Q. Was any other person present during this interview ? A. Mrs. Offutt was
there.
Q. Was she within hearing distance? A. I don't know; I suppose she was.
Q. This was in the yard? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is Mrs. Offutt a neighbor of yours? A. She is my sister-in-law.
Q. When did you first have occasion to recollect these conversations? A.
When I gave all the particulars to Captain Burnett, the Saturday week following.
, Q. Was that the first time you detailed those conversations? A. Yes.
Q. Did you relate any of the circumstances to any other person ? A. Only to
Lieutenant Lovett and Captain Cunningham. I told them it was through the
Surratts I got myself into difficulty, and if they hadn't brought those arms to the
house I would not have been in any difficulty at all.
Q. Were Lovett and Cunningham together when you told them ? A. Yes.
Q. Did ycu talk to Mrs. Offutt about it? A. I don't think I did ; I am not
so positive about that.
Q. How soon after Booth and Harold left did you learn positively of the
assassination of the President? A. I got it from them.
Q. How soon after did you get it from other parties ? A. About eight or nine
o'clock the next morning.
A. Did you have any conversation with the soldiers in regard to it. A. No,
sir.
Q. Did you tell them about Booth and Harold being at your place ? A. I did
not, and I'm only sorry that I did not.
Q. Did Mrs. Surratt have any conversation with you in reference to any con-
spiracy ? A. Never, sir.
Q. Did Mrs. Surratt hand anything to you when she spoke about these shoot-
ing-irons? A. Yes, sir, the field-glass.
Q. Have you any family ? A. I have a wife.
Q. Have you a son ? A. No, sir.
Q. Does any person work for you ? A. Yes, sir ; a couple of colored men.
Q. Were any of them present at the conversation between you and Mrs. Sur-
ratt ? A. No, sir.
Q. Was the package handed to you by Mrs. Surratt' s own hand? A. Yes, by
herself.
Q. Where were you standing when she handed it to you ? A. Near the wood
pile.
Q. Mr. Lloyd, can you recollect who it was, after Booth and Harold left the
house, that first told you it was Booth who killed the President? A. I cannot;
it was spoken of in the bar-room the next morning and throughout the day.
Q. Were the circumstances told, and the manner in which he did it ? A. I
don't remember any circumstances being told.
Q. Do you know whether the soldiers who first came to the house knew it was
Booth ? A. I do not ; I suppose they knew it, as they brought the report from
the city.
Q. Mr. Lloyd, how long before the assassination was it that the three gentle-
MART E. SURRATT.
783
men you referred to came to your house? A. About six weeks; they had two
buggies ; Surratt and Dave Harold were in the buggies; Atzerodt came on horse-
back.
Q. They all came together? A. Yes.
Q. Well, who went down to this place called T. B. ? A. Surratt and Atzerodt.
Q. Did Harold go with them then? A. No; Harold was there the night be-
fore ; he had gone down the country, and told me he had come from T. B., when
they all three came back.
Q. How long were they gone? A. Not over half an hour.
Q. Who handed the carbines to you? A. John Surratt; when they all came
into the bar, Surratt told me he wanted to see me, and took me to the front parlor
and there on the sofa were the carbines.
Q. Do you know which buggy they were taken from ? A. I did not see any-
thing of any arms at all until they were on the sofa.
Q. What became of the rope that was not taken away? A. It was put in the
store-room with the monkey wrench. I told the colonel all about it at the Old
Capitol, and I suppose he sent for it.
Q. Can you say whether it was in Harold's presence that Booth told you he had
killed the President? A. I am not sure, because Harold rode across the yard
like.
Q. You were arrested on the Tuesday following ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where ? A. About fifteen hundred yards from T. B. on my way home.
Q. Did Booth take a rifle with him ? A. No, sir ; but Harold did.
Q. Where were the arms, then ? A. They were in my bed-chamber.
Q. When did you bring them there? A. After Mrs. Surratt left, in conse-
quence of her order.
Q. Did you give them the carbines before they said anything about shooting
the President? A. No, sir; afterwards.
Q. What time was it ? A. A little after twelve ; I woke up just before twelve ;
I had gone to bed about nine o'clock
Q. When the soldiers searched did you give them aid? A. I told them I did
not know anything about it; I should have been perfectly free if I had given
them the information they asked for.
Q. Did you have any conversation with Mrs. Offutt after Mrs. Surratt went
away ? A. I am not certain ; I think I told her.
Q. Where were you standing? A. Near the wood-pile.
Monday, May 15th.
The witness, John M. Lloyd, being recalled, said : If the court will allow me 1
wish to make a statement. When I was examined before I stated thai it was on
Monday when I met Mrs. Surratt at Uniontown. I was confused by my being
summoned to court on two successive Mondays. The first Monday I was sum-
moned to court I did not go. I met Mrs. Surratt at Uniontown ; the next day
after I went to court and consequently it must have been on Tuesday after the
second Monday I was summoned. I also wish to make another statement : I testi-
fied in my last examination that I was not certain whether I carried the bundle
given me by Mrs. Surratt up-stairs or not. I cannot now recollect distinctly, but
I think it likely I laid it on the sofa in the dining-room.
784
AMERICAN BASTILE.
By Judge- Advocate Holt :
Q. You are sure it was the same bundle you examined here? A. Yes, sir ?
I'm sure it was the same bundle.
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. Did I understand you to say you were in liquor at the time you had this
conversation with Mrs. Surratt? A. I was somewhat in liquor, as I think I told
you on Saturday.
Q. And on that account is it that you are at fault in your testimony and wish
to make this explanation ? A. I was not positive whether I carried the bundle up-
stairs or not. The question was unexpected. If I had expected it I might have
recollected more distinctly in my former examination.
Testimony of James McDevitt, police officer.
By Colonel Burnett : I went to Mrs. Surratt's house with other officers, about
2 o'clock the night after the murder ; a lady put her head out of one of the upper
windows and asked who was there ; we asked if Mrs. Surratt lived there, and she
said she did ; Weichman then came down and opened the door ; he appeared as
if he had just gotten out of bed ; he was in his shirt, pants and stockings ; . . .
Mrs. Surratt stated to me when I called there that she had received a letter that
day from John, dated in Canada ; we were inquiring for the son ; she said she
had not seen him for two weeks, but had received a letter from him that day ; I
asked her where it was, she said "somewhere about the house." I could not find
the letter ; I didn't ask Mrs. Surratt to find it.
June 7th. Testimony of John T. Hollahan.
By Colonel Burnett : I have resided in Washington all my life ; commenced
boarding at Mrs. Surratt's house, on H street, the first week in February, and
continued till the Saturday night after the assassination ; saw Atzerodt there sev-
eral times at meals, but did not know him by name ; I saw Payne there once, at
breakfast, under the name of Wood ; Atzerodt was with John Surratt and two or
three friends ; all together at the table ; heard none but general conversation ;
did not know of Mrs. Surratt's defective eyesight; I was always recognized by
her; I have seen Booth there frequently in the parlor with Mrs. Surratt and the
young ladies ; I never saw Harold at the house. . . .
Cross-examination by Mr. Aiken : I don't know who Atzerodt came there to
visit ; I don't know anything of the displeasure of the family at Atzerodt's being
there, except what I have heard them say ; they sometimes made fun of him
while he was there ; I was not at the house often at night, and don't know
whether Mrs. Surratt was able to read and sew by gas-light or not. . . .
Q. Did you go with Weichman to Canada and back ? A. I did ; he appeared
to be a good deal excited ; he was much excited the morning after the murder ;
the first persons who entered Mrs. Surratt's house on the Saturday after the murder
were McDevitt, Clark and others, of the Metropolitan police; it was about 2
o'clock in the morning ; I think Weichman opened the door to let the men in ; I
did not see whether he was dressed or not ; I took Weichman down myself to
Superintendent Richardson the morning after ; he did not express himself aa
wishing to be delivered up.
Testimony of Richard C. Morgan.
Examined by Judge Holt :
MARY E. SURRATT.
785
Q. State whether or not, on the 17th or 18th of April last, you were in the ser-
vice of the government, and if so, in what capacity ? A. I am in the service of
the war department, acting under the orders of Colonel Olcutt.
Q. State whether on one or both of these days you had possession of the house
of the prisoner, Mrs. Surratt. A. Yes.
Q. State where that house is. A. Number 548 H street, city of Washington.
Q. State whether or not you took possession of the house, and what occurred
there. A. About twenty minutes past 11 o'clock on the evening of the 17th of
April, in company with other officers, I went to the house of Mrs. Surratt for the
purpose of seizing the papers that might be found, and of arresting the inmates
of the house ; after we had been at the house about ten minutes, and Major Smith,
Captain Wennerskerch and some other officers had arrested the inmates of the house,
who were in the parlor already to come out, I had sent an officer for a carriage to
take them away, when I heard a knock and a ring at the door at the same time ;
Captain Wennerskerch and myself went to the door and opened it ; the prisoner,
Payne, came in ; he had a pickaxe in his hand ; he had on a gray coat and black
pants, a hat made out of the sleeves of a shirt, I judged ; as soon as he came in,
and immediately closed the door, he said, " I guess I am mistaken ; " said I, " Who
do you want to see ? " He replied, " Mrs. Surratt ; " said I, " You are right, walk
in." He took a seat. I said, "What did you come here for this time of night? "
He said he came to dig a gutter ; that Mrs. Surratt had sent for him ; I asked
when, and he said in the morning ; I asked him where he last worked, and he
said somewhere on Ninth street ; I asked him where he boarded, he said he had
no boarding-house ; that he was a poor man, and earned his living with the pick-
axe in his hand ; I asked him how much he made a day ; he said, nothing at all
sometimes, sometimes one dollar, and sometimes one dollar and fifty cents. " Have
you any money ?" u Not a cent." I asked him why he came at this time of
night? He said he came to see where it was to be dug, so that he could com-
mence early in the morning ; I said, Have you had no previous acquaintance with
Mrs. Surratt? He said, No ; I said, WThy did she select you for this work ? He
replied, that she knew he was working in that neighborhood ; that he was a poor
man, and she came to him ; I asked him how old he was, and he said about
twenty ; I asked him where he was from ; he said from Fauquier county, Va.
Previous to this he had pulled out an oath of allegiance, handed it to me and said,
That will show you who I am ; it contained the name of Lewis Payne,. Fauquier
county, Va. I asked him if he was from the South ; he said he was ; I asked him
when he left there ; he said two months ago, in February ; I asked him why he
left; he said he had to leave or go into the army; that he preferred to earn his
living with the pickaxe ; I asked him if he could read ; he said, no ; I asked him
if he could write ; he said he could manage to write his own name.
Q. Is that the pickaxe he had on his shoulder (producing the pick) 0 A. Yes;
I then told him he would have to go to the provost-marshal and explain ; he
moW a little at that, and did not answer ; the carriage had arrived to take up
the women ; they were sent off, and Payne was also taken away in charge of
officers. Major Smith, Captain Wennerskerch and myself remained to search for
papers; we did not leave till 3 o'clock the next morning.
Q. Did Mrs. Surratt leave the house before Payne came or afterwards I A.
50
786
AMERICAN BASTILE.
They were preparing to leave and were in the parlor ; Mrs. Surratt was directed
to get the bonnets and shawls of the others, so that there should be no communica-
tion with each other; she did so, and they were just ready to go and had started
to go when we opened the door; I think they passed out as Payne came in.
Q. Then she did not see him before she left? A. Yes; she mast have seen
him as she passed out ; I heard no conversation in regard to it.
Q. State what papers you found there. A. I found several papers and photo-
graphs.
At this point there was some testimony in regard to finding photographs of J.
Wilkes Booth and others, but as it is of no consequence it is omitted.
Q. Were you or not afterwards at the provost-marshal's office? A. About three
o'clock in the morning I got there; Mrs. Surratt had been there and had been
taken to the Old Capitol prison before my arrival.
Q. Did you hear Mrs. Surratt say anything in regard to the prisoner at any
time? A. No.
Cross-examination by Mr. Aiken :
Q. State if Mrs. Surratt made any remark in regard to Payne. A. As she
passed out it now comes to my recollection that she made some remark to Major
Smith, but I did not hear what it was.
Testimony of Major Smith.
By Judge Holt :
Q. State whether you were in Mrs. Surratt's house on the night of her arrest.
A.. Yes, I was in charge of the party who took possession of the house.
Q. Did you see Mrs. Surratt after the arrest of the prisoner Payne? A. Yes.
Q. Did you make any inquiry of her in regard to him ? A. After questioning
Payne in regard to his occupation, and as to what business he had at the house
that night, he said he was a laborer and that he came there to dig a gutter at the
request of Mrs. Surratt ; I stepped to the door of the parlor and said, "Mrs. Sur-
ratt, will you step here for a moment?" Mrs. Surratt came there, and said I,
"Do you know this man ?" She said, raising her right hand, "Before God I do
not know this man, and have never seen Aim." I then placed Payne under arrest,
considering him a suspicious character, and that I should send him to General
Augur's headquarters for examination.
Q. Was he standing in full view of her when she made this remark ? A. Yes.
Q. You refer to Mrs. Surratt, the prisoner at the bar? (Mrs. Surratt raised
her veil.) A. Yes.
Cross-examined by Mr. Aiken :
Q. What was transpiring in the house at the time Mrs. Surratt made the asser-
tion you speak of in regard to her knowledge of Payne? A. The man Payne
had just come in at the front door ; I was questioning him at the time in regard
to what his profession was, and if he had any, and what business he had at that
house at that time of night.
Q How was Payne dressed that night? A. He had on a gray coat, black
pants, and a rather fine pair of boots; he had on his head what seemed to be a
gray worsted shirt-sleeve, which was hanging over one side.
Q. Were his pantaloons tucked into his boots? A. They were rolled up over
the top of one leg only.
MARY E. SURRATT.
787
Q. He did not strike you at the time as being a gentleman, from his appear
ance, did he ? A. Not particularly so.
Q. His appearance was not in anywise genteel, was it? A. Not at all.
Q. Are you of the opinion that any one would recognize a person in that garb
as the same person he had seen before dressed as a gentleman ? A. I certainly
am. (A dirty gray worsted knit shirt-sleeve was here produced, and identified
by witness as the one Payne wore on his head the night of his arrest.)
Q. What remark did you make to Mrs. Surratt as you were leaving the house?
A. I made none.
Q. Did you say anything to her about being ready? A. I said nothing at
all ; I said, Get ready.
Q. What was her attitude at that time? A. She was seated at a chair in the
front parlor.
Q. Was she not kneeling? A. She was not.
Q. Who was present at the time of the asseveration she made that she did not
know Payne? A. Captain Winnerskerch, subordinate in the department.
Q. Was that all the remark she made to you about Payne ? A. That was all
the remark she made in my hearing.
Q. Mrs. Surratt did not attempt to evade the question you asked her, did she?
A. No ; her answer was direct.
Q. Was it light in her hall at the time? A. Yes, very light ; the gas was
turned on full head.
Q. Did Mrs. Surratt express any surprise or deep feeling at her arrest ? A. No,
sir ; she did not ask even for what she was arrested ; she expressed no surprise or
feeling at all.
Q. How many persons were arrested together? A. Mrs. Surratt, Miss Sur-
ratt, Miss Fitzpatrick and Miss Jenkins.
Q. Was there no inquiry made of you as to the cause of the arrest? A. None
whatever; when I came there I went up the steps and rang the bell; Mrs. Sur-
ratt opened the window and said, " Is that you, Kirby ? " The reply was that it
was not Kirby, but open the door; she opened the door; I came into the hall
and said, "Are you Mrs. Surratt?" She replied, "I am." "The widow of
John H. Surratt," I added, * and the mother of John H. Surratt, Jr. ? " She re-
plied, " I am." I said, " I have come to arrest you, and am in your house to
take you to General Augur's for examination." (A large, gray, dirty sack-coat
was produced, and identified by witness as worn by Payne the night of his
arrest.)
Q. How do you know that coat to be the one Payne had on ? A. By the way
any one would recognize such an article — from memory.
Q. What marks about it do you recognize ? A. The color and general look of
the coat.
Q. Are you sure the coat he had on was not what is called Confederate gray ?
A. / am very sure, as I said before, this is the coat.
Q. Then are you certain it was not a Confederate gray coat Payne had on
when you arrested him ? A. I have said lam certain this in the coaL
Q. Will you answer my question ? A. I have already testified on that point,
and I do not know whether I am called upon to testify three or four time*.
788
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Another coat, smaller, cleaner and a brighter gray, was produced.
Witness — That is the coat, sir; I recognize it by the buttons; that was all that
was wanting in the other coat ; it was hard in the light in which i was
8TANDING TO TELL.
Q. If you should see a gentleman dressed in black with a white neck-cloth
presenting himself as a Baptist preacher, and two months after you were to see
this same man dressed as you have described Payne tc be, with a dirty shirt-
sleeve on his head, a pick-axe in his hand, and his pantaloons stuffed into his
boots, presenting himself as a laborer, do you think you would immediately
recognize him as the same person ? A. If I was very familiar with his counte-
nance I should.
Q. You could recollect that, but you could not recollect a coat you had only
geen a short time before, nor distinguish it from another so different in appear-
ance as these are ? A. It is very hard to remember, as any one may well know,
the color of a coat seen in the night time.
Testimony of Captain W. M. Wennerskerch.
Examination by Judge Holt :
Q. State whether or not, on the 16th of April, you were at the house of the
prisoner, Mrs. Surratt, in this city ? A. No, sir ; I was there on the night of
the 17th.
Q. Were you present when she and Payne met? A. I was present.
Q. Did you or did you not hear Major Smith address any remark to her, or
make any inquiry of her in regard to Payne ? A. He asked her if she knew
$ Payne.
Q. Was she in the presence of Payne ? A. She saw him.
Q. What did she say? A. She held up her hands, in this position, and said,
"So help me God, I never saw him before, and I know nothing of him."
Q. Do you recognize Payne, then, as the man ? A. That is the man yonder.
Q. And is that woman there Mrs. Surratt ? A. I cannot see her face.
Assistant Judge- Advocate Bingham then requested that Mrs. Surratt be asked
to unveil her face, when he replied, "Yes, sir, that's Mrs. Surratt."
Cross-examination by Mr. Aiken :
Q. Whereabouts were you when Mrs. Surratt made that observation? A. She
was standing in the parlor near the hall door.
Q. What remark did you make to her when you were ready to take her from
the house? A. The remark was made by Major Smith ; he had sent for a cab,
and when he said he was ready to take her away, she requested him to wait
« while, and she knelt and prayed a little ; she knelt doum, but whether she prayed
or not I can't say.
Q. How was Payne dressed when he came in ? A. He was dressed in a dark
coat, and pants that seemed to be black ; he had a close-fitting head-dress, ap-
parently a shirt-sleeve, or the lower part of a pair of drawers, closely fitting
around his head, and hanging down on the side six or seven inches.
Q. Is that the article? A. It looks very much like it; he was full of mud to
his knees.
Q. Do you think you could recognize the coat he had on if you si ould see it
bow? A. Yea.
MART E. StJRRATT.
789
Q. Do you recognize it now? Is that the coat? A. I think it was longer and
darker.
Payne's hat was then placed upon his head and his overcoat removed, and then
the witness said, "That's the coat, and that's the way he had the head-dress on."
Q. Are you sure you recognize the man ? A. Yes, sir ; that is the man.
Q. Do you think if you should see a person dressed in genteel, dark clothe*,
with a white cravat about his neck, looking like a Baptist minister, and then so*
him three weeks after that covered with a shirt sleeve on his head and his pant*
thrust into his boots, you could recognize him as the same ? A. I declare I don't
know how a Baptist minister does look.
Q. You think you would recognize a person in such a change of garb in a dim
gas-light? A. If I were asked to look at him and identify him I think I would ;
the prisoner had taken no particular pains to disguise himself ; his face looked
as it is now, and I would recognize him if he put another coat on and covered
himself with mud.
Q. Was there another remark made to you by Mrs. Surratt, with reference to
Payne ? A. N6, sir ; even the one mentioned was not made to me.
By Judge Holt :
Q. When Mrs. Surratt looked at Payne was there light enough for her to see
him ? A. Where he stood, that place was not only lighted by the hall light, but
also by the light from the parlors.
Testimony of Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant
By the Judge- Advocate :
*********
Q. The military department of Washington, as it is spoken of in military
parlance, embraces the city of Washington, does it not, and did it not during the
past year? A. Yes, sir.
Q. And all the defences of the city ? A. Yes, sir ; and on the other side of the
river and Alexandria.
Q. It embraces all the fortifications on both sides ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. I have in my hand a copy of your commission as lieutenant-general of the
armies of the United States, bearing date the 4th day of March, 1864 ; will you
state whether or not since that time you have continued to be in command, under
that commission, of the armies of the United States ? A. I have.
Cross-examined by Mr. Aiken :
Q. Are you aware that the civil courts are in operation in this city, all of them?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How far towards Baltimore does the department of Washington extend ?
A. I could not say exactly to what point ; any troops that belong to General
Augur's command, however, that he sends out to any point would necessarily re-
main under his command ; he commands the department of Washington.
Q. Is any portion of Maryland in the department of Washington ? A. Oh, yes,
sir; martial law, I believe, extends to all the territory south of the railroad that
runs across from Annapolis, running south to the Potomac and the Chesapeake.
Cross-examined by Mr. Ewing :
Q. By virtue of what order does martial law extend south of Annapolis? A.
I never saw the order ; it is just simply an understanding.
790
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Q. It is just an understanding ? A. Yes, sir ; just an understanding that it
does exist.
Q. You have never seen any order ? A. No, sir.
Q. And do not know that such an order exists? A. No, sir; I have never
seen the order.
M;ty 17th. Testimony of Mrs. Emma Offutt.
Examined by Judge Holt:
Q. State whether or not you are the sister-in-law of John M. Lloyd. A. Yes,
sir.
Q. State whether or not, on the Tuesday, the 11th of April, you were at his
house. A. Yes, sir.
Q. You saw Mr. Lloyd on that day ? A. Yes, sir ; I was in the carriage with
Mr. Lloyd.
' Q. On that occasion did you happen to meet Mrs. Surratt ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. State to the court where the meeting took place. A. Somewhere near
TJniontown.
Q. State whether or not a conversation took place between Mr. Lloyd and Mrs.
Surratt on that day. A. Yes, they talked together.
Q. Did you hear any of the conversation ? A. Yes, sir ; some of it.
" Q. Under what circumstances did the conversation take place? A. Our car-
riages passed each other before we recognized who it was, and Mr. Lloyd went
out to her carriage, and they had a conversation which took place at her carriage,
and not at ours.
Q. Were you at Mr. Lloyd's again on Friday, the 14th of April ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. State whether you saw the prisoner, Mrs. Surratt, there. A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you observe any conversation between her and Mr. Lloyd on that day ?
A. Yes ; I saw them talking together, but I did not hear them at all ; I had occa-
sion to go to the back part of the house.
Q. Did the conversation take place in the back part of the house or in the
yard? A.. In the yard, sir.
Q. Had Mr. Lloyd been to town that day ? A. No, sir ; he had been to Marl-
borough attending court.
Q. What did he bring with him when he came back ? A. Some oysters and
fish, and that is how he came to drive into the back part of the yard.
Q. Was any one else in the yard at the time of this conversation ? A. No,
sir.
Cross-examination by Mr. Aiken :
Q. How far apart were the two carriages when you passed each other? A. Two
or three yards ; I think they talked but a very few minutes together.
Q. Did Mr. Lloyd state what the conversation was ? A. No, sir.
Q. Nor what the conversation on the 14th was about ? A. No ; he did not
Q. Have you been acquainted with Mrs. Surratt for some time? A. Ever
since laRt summer, I believe.
Q. What time did she arrive at Mr. Lloyd's on the 14th ? A. At about four
o'clock, I think.
Q. Did you hear any conversation with her previous to Mr. Lloyd's coming
home? A. Yes, sir; in the parlor.
MARY E . SURRATT.
791
Q. Did you learn what the conversation was on that day?
Question objected to and waived.
Q. Did Lloyd make any statement in reference to his business with Mrs. 8ur-
ratt? A. No, sir.
Q. Did Mrs. Surratt have any business with you on that day? A. No, sir.
Q. Did Mrs. Surratt place in your hands any package ? A. No, sir.
Q. During your visit to Mr. Lloyd's did you hear anything about shooting-
irons ?
Assistant Judge-Advocate Bingham objected, and the objection was sustained
by the court.
June 13th. Re-examination of Mrs. Offutt.
By Mr. Aiken : Saw Mr. Lloyd on the evening of April 14th ; he was very
much under the influence of liquor, more so than I had seen him for some time
past; for some four or five months he had drank freely; I did not hear the full
confession of Lloyd to Captain Cottingham, but heard some remarks ; I did not
hear him say, " That vile woman, she has ruined me."
The witness having desired to correct a portion of her former testimony said,
"When previously I was on the stand, I was asked if Mrs. Surratt handed me a
package, and I said no ; but she did hand me a package, and said she was requeued
to leave it there; that was between five and six o'clock."
The re-examination of the witness was then resumed as follows : Witness had no
knowledge of the contents of that package ; saw something in Mr. Lloyd's hands
after he came in the house, when Mrs. Surratt left ; but could not say that it was
the package ; saw him have the package after he came in, but not while he was coming
in; never heard Mrs. Surratt utter any disloyal expressions; remember instances
of defective eyesight on the part of Mrs. Surratt; on one occasion she told me thai
her eyesight was failing very fast.
By Assistant Judge- Advocate Bingham: Witness stated before that Mrs. Sur-
ratt and John M. Lloyd had a conversation outside the house on the afternoon
of Mrs. Surratt's visit; did not see the package after it was brought into the
house ; do not know whether Mrs. Surratt did or did not hand a package to Mr.
Lloyd.
DEFENSE.
TESTIMONY FOR THE DEFENSE.
May 31st. Testimony of James R. Ford.
By Mr. Ewing :
Q. What business were you engaged in about the time of the assassination of
the President? A. I was business manager of Ford's theatre.
Q. State when you were apprised that the President intended to visit the theatre
that night. A. At about half-past ten o'clock that day the young man from the
President's house, who usually came on such errands, came on that occasion ; I do
792
AMERICAN BASTILE.
not know his name ; he seemed to be a runner ; he had been to the theatre half
a dozen times for boxes previously.
Q. Had the President been previously invited for that night? A. No, sir.
Q. State whether on that day, and if so, how soon after you received that in-
formation, it was communicated to J. Wilkes Booth. A. I saw him about half-
past twelve o'clock, some two hours after I had received the information, on the
corner of Tenth and E streets. He was going up towards Eleventh street. I do
not know whether he had been at the theatre.
Q. Had you any knowledge of the President's intention of visiting the theatre
that night previous to receiving this message? A. No, sir.
By Mr. Cox :
Q. Did you send notice of the President's intended visit to the Star that after-
noon ? A. I did of his intention and of that of General Grant ; I sent it about 12
o'clock.
Q. In whose handwriting was it? A. In mine; I wrote it.
Q. About what time did the first edition containing that notice appear? A.
About two o'clock, I think.
Q. Had you sent it before you met Booth coming up the street with that letter?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you have any conversation with Booth that day ? A. No ; I merely
spoke to him.
. Cross-examined by Colonel Burnett:
Q. Had you seen Booth prior to writing that notice ? A. No, sir.
, Q. How did you send it away ? A. I sent one to the Star and carried the other
to the office of the Republican myself.
May 31st. Testimony of Henry Clay Ford.
By Mr. Ewing :
Q. What business were you engaged in immediately preceding the 14th of April
last ? A. I was treasurer of Ford's theatre.
Q. When was it first known there that the President was coming to the theatre
that night ? A. It was known to me about half- past eleven o'clock ; I had been
to breakfast and come back, and then learned that the President had engaged a
box.
Q. State whether J. Wilkes Booth was at the theatre after that on that day, and
if so, at what time ? A. He was there at twelve o'clock ; about half an hour after
I returned.
Q. State whether or not the fact that the President was coming to the theatre
that night was communicated to Booth. A. I do not know; I did not tell
him.
Q. Did you see anything of Booth afterwards that day ? A. Not until evening.
Q. Did you see him when you were going to the theatre that day ? A. No ; I
saw him coming down the street, I think, as I stood in the door of the theatre; he
commenced talking to some parties there ; one of them went to the office and
brought out a letter, which he sat down and read on the steps of the office; this
was about twelve o'clock, and he stayed, I should think, about half an hour.
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. When you first saw Booth in the theatre that day how long did he remain ?
MARY E. SURRATT.
793
A. I suppose half an hour ; I went into the office and when I came out he waa
gone.
Q. Was the letter Booth had a long or a short one ? A. It was very long ; it
was either four or eight pages, I am not certain which.
Q. Had it been published at the time Booth left the theatre that the President
would be there that night? A. When I came into the theatre that morning my
brother told me that he would write a little notice and put it into the evening
papers that the President would be there.
Q. Then could any one have had a knowledge of the fact, unless they came to
the theatre ? A. Not unless my brother told them.
Q. In what direction did Booth go after he left the theatre ? A. I do not know.
Q. Did he seem to be in a hurry to complete the conversation and get away
from the theatre ? A. No, sir.
Q. When he learned the fact that the President would be there that evening,
did you notice any particular change in his manner or conversation ? A. No,
sir ; he sat down on the steps, opened his letter, and occasionally would look up
and laugh.
Q. Do you recollect the name of the messenger from the White House? A.
No, sir, I do not.
Q. Did this conversation with Booth take place in the theatre ? A. No; but
on the sidewalk in front of the gallery steps.
Q. Where was he when he read the letter ? A. He sat in the main entrance
door of the theatre.
By the Court :
Q. Do you not know that the intended visit of the President was published in
the morning papers ? A. It was not.
Q. Did you state in a drinking saloon, near Ford's theatre, that the President
was to be there ? A. No, sir.
Q. Was it announced chat General Grant was to attend the theatre in company
with the President ? A. It was.
Testimony of George H. Calvert.
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. State whether on or about the 13th of April last you addressed a letter to
Mrs. Surratt, and if so whether this is the letter? A. I did ; this is the letter.
The counsel for the accused then produced the following letter, which was
read ;
Riversdale, April 12tk, 1865.
Mrs. M. E. Surratt.
Dear Madam : During a late visit to the lower portion of the county I aseer-
tained of the willingness of Mr. Nothy to settle with you, and I desire to call your
attention to the fact, in urging the settlement of the claim of my late father's
estate. However unpleasant, I must insist upon closing up this matter as it is
imperative in an early settlement of the estate, which is necessary. You will,
therefore, please inform me, at your earliest convenience, as to how and when you
will be able to pay the balance remaining due on the land purchased by your
late husband.
Yours, respectfully,
(Signed) George H. Calvert, Jr.
Q. Were you at Surrattsville on the 14th of April ? A. I was not
794
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Testimony of B. F. Gwynn.
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. Where do you reside ? A. In Prince George's county, Maryland, near Sur-
rattsville.
Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner, Mrs. Surratt? A. Yes; I have been
acquainted with her seven or eight years.
Q. Were you present at her house in Surrattsville in April last? A. I was, the
day of the murder of the President ; I came from Marlboro, and met her there ;
while I was passing in the carriage Mrs. Surratt said she wanted to see me, and I
6topped to see her.
Q. Have you been in the habit of transacting business for her ? A. Yes, I have
transacted some business for her ; I sold some land for her.
Q. Did you transact any business for her that day? A. No; she gave a letter
to me to give to Mr. Nothy.
Q. Did you carry the letter for Mrs. Surratt to Mr. Nothy on the 14th of April
last, and if so, is this the letter you carried? A. It is; I read the letter at the
time, by her direction.
The counsel then placed in evidence the following letter :
Surrattsville, Md., April 14th, 1865.
Mr. John Nothy :
Sir: I have this day received a letter from Mr. Calvert, intimating that either
you or your friends have represented to him that I am not willing to settle with
you for the land. You know that I am ready, and have been waiting for you for
the last two years; and now, if you do not come within the next ten days, I will
settle with Mr. Calvert and bring suit against you immediately. Mr. Calvert
will give you a deed on receiving payment.
(Signed) M. E. Surratt,
Administratrix of J. M. Surratt.
Q. Were you present at the house when Mr. Lloyd returned ? A. No, sir.
Q. Are you acquainted with John M. Lloyd ? A. I am.
Q. Did you meet him that day ? A. I did, at Marlboro.
Q. What time in the afternoon of the 14th did you see him? A. At about
four or four and a half ; I parted with him at the road ; I did not see him after-
wards.
Q. What was his condition at the time ? A. He had been drinking right
smartly.
Q. Did he seem to be considerably intoxicated? A. I could hardly tell that;
he acted like a man who had been drinking some.
Q. Had you a personal knowledge of Mr. Nothy buying land of Mrs. Surratt?
A. I had of his buying land of her husband.
Q. Did you know personally that she was there that day on that business? A.
Not except by the letter.
Q. Was Mr. Lloyd present at the time Mrs. Surratt handed you that letter ?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you see him again that afternoon? A. I did not.
Cross-examined by Judge Holt :
MART E. StJRRATT.
795
Q. Did you have any conversation with Mr. Lloyd that afternoon ? A. Yea,
I think I did see him three or four times that day at Marlboro.
Q. I mean at home. A. I did not see him after he got home.
By the Court :
Q. How far is it where you parted with him on the road to Surrattaville? A.
About five miles.
Testimony of James H. Nothy.
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. Where do you reside? A. About fifteen miles down in Prince George
county.
Q. State whether or not you purchased some land from Mrs. Surratt. A. I
did ; seventy-five acres some years ago.
Q. Did Mr. Gwynn bring you a letter on the 14th of April last? A. He did.
Q. Who was that letter from ? A. From Mrs. Surratt.
Q. Have you been in the habit of meeting Mrs. Surratt at Surrattsville ? A.
Only that one time she sent for me to come there ; I owed her a part of the pur-
chase-money and she wanted it settled ; this letter was sent out on Friday ; I did
not see her that day at all.
Testimony of Captain George Cottinghara.
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. What is your business ? A. Special officer in Major O'Beirne's Board of
Enrollment.
Q. Were you engaged in making any arrests of parties after the assassination ?
A. I was.
Q. Did you arrest John M. Lloyd ? A. No, sir; my partner, who was with
me, arrested him.
Q. Did you see him after he was arrested? A. I did ; he was put into my
care at the post-office at Surrattsville.
Q. WThat information did Lloyd give you at that time? A. He denied know-
ing anything about it, and for two days continued to deny it. I finally told him
that I was satisfied that he knew about it; that he had it on his mint), and the
sooner he got rid of it the better. He said, "Oh, my God, if I - Id make a
confession they would murder me." Said I, " Who would mardei you ? " He
said, "These parties in the conspiracy." I told him that, if he was going to free
himself by letting these parties get out of it, that was his business, not mine; I
then put him in a guard-house; he seemed to be much excited ; the lieutenant
went to Washington for reinforcements; Mr. Lloyd then stated to me that Mrs.
Surratt had come down to his place on Friday, between four and five o'clock ;
that she told him to have the fire-arms ready ; that two men would call for them
at twelve o'clock ; that two men did call ; that Harold dismounted from his horse
and went into Mrs. Surratt's, or rather Lloyd's tavern, and said, " I have some-
thing to tell you;" that Harold then told him to get those fire-arms; that ihe
fire-arms were brought down and Harold took one ; that Booth's carbine was car-
ried to him, whether by Harold or Lloyd I do not remember; but Booth said he
could not carry a carbine — it was as much as he could do to carry himself; that
796 AMERICAN BASTILE.
his leg was broken ; that Booth said, " We have murdered the President ; " and
that Harold said, " We have picked off Seward." I asked Lloyd why he did not
state these facts in the first place, and not allow these parties to escape ; that he
could at least have spoken about the fire-arms being in the house.
Q. What information did he give you about fire-arms ? A. I was in the house
when he came in from Bryantown and commenced crying out and hammering,
"Oh, Mrs. Surratt, that vile woman, she has ruined me;" I said to him, "You
6tated there were two carbines, and that Booth could not carry his ; where is that
carbine ? " He told me it was up-stairs, that Mrs. Surratt had some bags over it ;
I went up, but could not find it ; I told him I would cut up the house before I
would go away without it ; with that he told the hired man to get an axe ; I did
not go into the room where he went until I heard three knocks on the wall, and I
then went in, and after about the seventh blow I saw the carbine ; it had been
suspended by a string above the plastering ; the string seemed to have broken*
and it had fallen down.
Q. You did not find the carbine where he told you it was ? A. No ; I hunted
for it, but could not find it.
Q. During these two days, when Mr. Lloyd was denying all knowledge of these
parties, did he mention the name of Mrs. Surratt? A. Not while he was deny-
ing it ; after he confessed he mentioned her name.
Q. Who was present besides yourself at the time Mr. Lloyd made this state-
ment to you ? A. Nobody that I know except that Mr. Jenkins, a brother of
Mrs. Surratt, was up in the room when I said I knew that Mr. Lloyd was guilty
and that my mind was made up ; I knew that he was in the conspiracy ; there
had been blockade-runners arrested at his house ; his house was a headquarters
for rebels and blockade-runners during Lloyd's occupation of it.
Q. Did he ever make any further statement? A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was that statement?
Question objected to by Mr. Bingham, and objection sustained by the Court
Q. Do you recollect positively that Mr. Lloyd used the words " fire-arms ? w
A. I do.
Q. Did he tell you Mrs. Surratt brought them there ? A. No ; I think he said
Johnny Surratt brought them there.
Q. When did Mr. Lloyd state that Mrs. Surratt made that remark about the
fire-arms? A. It was on Friday, between four and five o'clock.
Q. Did he have the appearance, at that time, of being very much frightened ?
A. Oh, no, he was not afraid ; everything he said was voluntary ; I advised him>
when I sent him down to Colonel Welles, to make a clean breast of it.
Q. What day of the week did he make this confession to you? A. I think it
was on Tuesday or Wednesday ; I will not be positive ; my business was to pre-
pare the way for other officers over me.
Q. Did he say anything at that time about Mrs. Surratt getting him into diffi-
culty ? A. Yes, he did ; he cried and threw his hands over his wife's neck and
howled for his prayer-book ; Mr. Lloyd's wife and Mrs. Ofi'utt were there and heard
all the conversation in that room ; I told them to brace up
Cross-examined by Judge Holt:
Q. State whether, at that time, Mr. Lloyd mentioned the reasons why he had
MARY E. SURRATT.
797
concealed his knowledge of this matter. A. He said he was afraid of parties
there; he was afraid if he made this confession they would murder hirn.
Q. Who did you understand him to refer to? A. To those engaged in this
conspiracy.
Q. What was the precise language he used in reference to Mrs. Surratt? A. It
was, " Mrs. Surratt, that vile woman, she has ruined me ; I am to be shot ; I am
to be shot ! " He meant by that, I suppose, that his guilt was so great there wan
no hope for him.
Re-examination of Captain Cottingham.
Q. State again the precise language that Mr. Lloyd used in his confession with
reference to Mrs. Surratt.
The question was objected to and withdrawn.
Q. I will ask the witness if he did not make a different statement to me with
reference to Mr. Lloyd's confession. A. I should like to relate the whole con-
versation between Mr. Aiken and myself at the Metropolitan Hotel ; I think it
was Sunday evening; he asked me to take a drink, and I took a drink with him ;
he said, " I am going to have you as a witness in this case ; " he told me to sit on
the sofa, but I said I would go outside ; the first question he put to me was, was
I a Catholic? I told him no ; then he said Mr. Lloyd had made a confession to
me about Mrs. Surratt, and said, " Will you state to me what that confession
was?" I said, "I decline that, but I will answer any question you put to me."
He wanted to pick it out of me, and I didn't think I was bound to tell him.
Q. Did I ask you if Mr. Lloyd said anything in reference to fire-arms?
A. You asked me if Lloyd had made a confession to me, and I said, " Yes," and
you said, " What was it? " and I declined answering, but I said, " I will answer
any question you would ask."
Q. What did you tell me this afternoon ? A. I told you a lie ; you were try-
ing to pick it out of me, and I told you that you might call me into court, and I
would state what I had told you, a lie, and now state that I did do it
Testimony of Mrs. Eliza Hollahan.
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner Mrs. Surratt ? A. I boarded with
Mrs. Surratt from the 7th of February until the 16th of April.
Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner Payne ? A. I never saw him as
Payne ; I saw the man pointed out as Payne at her house twice ; he called him-
self Wood.
Q. When did he first come to Mrs. Surratt's house ? A. I saw him first there
in February, and the second time during the month of March.
Q. State under what circumstances he came to Mrs. Surratt's house, and how
he introduced himself. A. Indeed I do not know anything about it ; I went into
the parlor and was introduced to him as Mr. Wood ; I never changed a word with
him at all.
Q. Did he represent himself as a Baptist preacher? A. I asked Miss Anna
Surratt who he was; she said he was a Baptist minister; I said I did not think
he would convert many souls.
Q. At that time, how long did he remain at Mrs. Surratt's house? A. I never
saw him but one night.
798
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Q. Did Mrs. Surratt keep a boarding-house? A. I do not think she did ; only
my family and another young lady boarded there.
Q. Wa* she in the habit of giving people rooms in her house ? A. I do not
know anything about it; I never saw Mrs. Surratt until I went to board with her;
I never heard of her.
Q. How long did Payne stay there when he came in March? A. I do not
know ; two or three days, I think.
Q. When was the last time you saw him at Mrs. Surratt's house? A. It was
some time in March ; I do not know the exact day; I thought he was a friend of
theirs and never asked any questions about him ; I think it was about the middle
of the month ; it was after the inauguration of the President, I know.
Q. Have you ever seen the prisoner, Atzerodt, at that house? A. I have,
though I never heard his name there.
Q. When was that? A. I do not know; I saw him come in at times; the
ladies called him " Port Tobacco."
Q. Was any objection made on the part of any of the family to his being there ?
A. I heard Mrs. Surratt say that she objected to Atzerodt; that she would
not board him; I heard her say at the table that she would rather he would
not come there at all.
Q. Have you been intimate with Mrs. Surratt? A. I cannot say that I was
intimate ; I liked her very much ; she was a very kind lady to board with.
Q. Did you have frequent conversations with her? A. Not very.
Q. Were you acquainted with J. Wilkes Booth? A. I have seen him at Mrs.
Surratt's; I met him once in the parlor.
Q. Did he come frequently to Mrs. Surratt's house? A. I never saw him there
but three or four times, and never met him but once.
Q. Did he spend most of the time when he came there in company with Mrs,
Surratt ? A. I think he did ; he would ask for John Surratt, and if he was not
there he would inquire for Mrs. Surratt.
Q. Have you learned anything while boarding with Mrs. Surratt of her de-
fective eyesight ? A. I never saw her read or sew after candlelight.
Q. Have you been in the habit of attending church with Mrs. Surratt? A.
Yes; during Lent we went to church very often together.
Q. Was she during that time constant in her religious duties? A. I believe so.
Q. When was the last time you saw her 6on, John H. Surratt, at her house?
A. Some time in March.
Q. Have you seen him in the city since that time? A. I have not
Cross-examined by Judge Holt :
Q. You say you never saw Mrs. Surratt sew or read after dark ; have you not
often met her in the parlor at gaslight? A. Y"es.
Q. Did she ever have any difficulty in recognizing you or anybody she waa
acquainted with in the parlor by gaslight? A. No, air.
Testimony of Miss Honora Fitzpatrick.
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. When did you commence boarding with Mrs. Surratt? A. The 6th of
October last.
MARY E . SURRATT.
799
Q. How long did you board there? A. Until the time I was arretted, after
the assassination.
Q. When did you first meet at Mrs. Surratt's house the prisoner Payne? A,
I do not know what month ; I met him during the winter; I first saw him at
breakfast. x •
Q. How many times did you meet him ? A. I only saw him there twice.
Q. When was the last time? A. In March.
Q. How long did he stay at that time? A. I do not know; I started to Balti-
more the next morning after he came.
Q. How long did you stay in Baltimore? A. A week.
Q. Was Payne gone when you returned ? A. Yes.
Q. Do you know the prisoner Atzerodt? A. I do.
Q. When did he first come to Mrs. Surratt's? A. I do not know the day of
the month.
Q. How long did he stay there ? A. Only a short time.
Q. Can you state under what circumstances he left? A. I do not know under
what circumstances ; I believe Mrs. Surratt sent him away.
Q. Are you aware of his getting drunk in the house and making a disturbance?
A. I am not; I heard he had bottles up there, but I didn't know anything about
his getting drunk.
Q. What room did you occupy in the house? A. I slept in the same room
with Mrs. Surratt and her daughter, Anna.
The allusion in the examination of this witness as to certain photographs being
found in the house of Mrs. Surratt is here omitted as being wholly unimportant.
Q. Did you, while you were in the house, know anything of defective eyesight
on the part of Mrs. Surratt? A. I know she could not read or sew at night, on
account of her eyesight.
Q. Are you acquainted with Lewis J. Weichman? A. Yes.
Q. Was he treated in the house like a friend ? A. He was treated more like a
son.
Q. When did you last see Booth there? A. The Monday before the assassina-
tion.
Q. When did you last see John Surratt ? A. The night that he left the house,
two weeks before the assassination.
Q. Did you see him anywhere in the city during those two weeks? A. No.
Q. Have you ever known Mrs. Surratt to be unable to recognize persons of her
acquaintance in the street? A. I remember of her passing Mrs. Kirby in the
street once, without recognizing her; she did not see her at all.
Q. Was Mrs. Kirby on the same side of the street with her? A. Yes, sir.
Cross-examined by Judge Holt :
Q. Did you ever know Mrs. Surratt to have any difficulty in recognizing her
friends in the parlor by gaslight; did she always recognize you? A. She did.
Re examination of Miss Honora Fitzpatrick.
Bv Mr. Aiken : I was present when Payne was arrested at Mrs. Surratt's house,
but did not recognize him at the time, nor until the shirt sleeve was removed
from his head at General Augxir',s office; when Payne came to Mrs. Surratt's,
before the assassination, he passed by the name of Wood ; have often threaded a
needle in the daytime for Mrs, Surratt ; I have known her eyesight to be poor.
800
AMERICAN BASTILE.
By Judge-Advocate Burnett: Mrs. Surratt, her daughter and myself were in
the room with Payne at General Augur's office ; Mrs. Surratt, in speaking of
Payne, said that that was not John Surratt, but I never heard her say that
she had never seen Payne ; I did not hear what passed when Mrs. Surratt was
called out into the 4iall of her house to see Payne on the night of the arrest ; I
only heard Miss Surratt say that he was not John Surratt, and that whoevei
called that ugly man her brother was no gentleman.
Testimony of H. R. Sweeney.
By Mr. Aiken : I am acquainted with John M. Lloyd ; I met him on the 14th
of April last at Marlboro, and rode with him a portion of the way from Marlboro
towards his home; beseemed to be considerably under the influence of liquor; he
drank, or attempted to drink on the road, at least to put the bottle to his lips ; the
bottle contained liquor.
Cross-examined by Judge- Advocate Holt: I drank with him; I could not tell
who drank the most ; both drank from the same bottle ; he seemed to be con-
siderably excited, which I attributed to the influence of drink ; he was alone in
his buggy; I was on horseback; he was excited in conversation and general de-
portment; I do not think I was excited myself; I supposed he knew what he
was doing, and where he was going at least ; I thought he was able to take care
of himself.
By Mr. Clampitt : I have known J. Z. Jenkins, a brother of Mrs. Surratt, for
sixteen years ; I have heard it said of him that he was a zealous Union man ; on
one occasion a Union flag was raised within a hundred yards of the house in
which I boarded, and there being a rumor that an attempt would be made to cut
it down, Mr. Jenkins formed one of a party who stood guard around it all night ; I
heard that he came to Washington to get votes for the Union ticket in Maryland,
but I do not know anything of that ; I believe him to be to-day a consistently
loyal man.
By Judge-Advocate Holt : I have never acted against the government that I
know of ; I was strictly neutral in my conduct and feelings in regard to the re-
bellion ; I was perfectly indifferent as to whether the rebellion failed or succeeded.
By the Court : I parted with Mr. Lloyd, on the occasion of which I have spoken,
about six miles from Surrattsville ; I did not take more than one drink out of the
bottle from which Mr. Lloyd drank.
Testimony of J. Z. Jenkins.
Examined by Mr. Aiken :
Q. Where do you reside ? A. In Prince George county.
Q. Were you or were you not at Surrattsville on the 14th of April last. A. I
was.
Q. Are you acquainted with Lewis J. Weichman ? A. Yes.
Q. Were you at Surrattsville at the time he drove up to the house with Mrs.
Surratt? A. Yes.
Q. Did Mrs. Surratt or not at that time show you a letter? A. She did, from
George Calvert.
Q. Did she show you any other papers? A. She showed two judgments oh-
MART E. SURRATT.
801
tained by Charles B. Calvert in the Circuit Court of our county against Mr.
Surratt.
Q. You know, of your own knowledge, whether that business brought Mrs.
Surratt to Surrattsville that day ? A. I only know she showed me this letter and
judgments.
Q. Did you transact any business for Mrs. Surratt that afternoon ? A. I made
the interest out on the judgments.
Q. Did she express to you during her entire stay at Surrattsville that day any
wish or desire to see John M. Lloyd ? A. She did not.
Q. Were you at the place when Mr Lloyd drove up? A. Yes.
Q. What was his condition at that time? A. He was very much intoxicated.
Q. Was Mrs. Surratt upon the point of going away when Lloyd drove up?
A. Yes ; she had been ready to start for some time before Lloyd drove up ; she
had business with Captain Gwynne, and when he came she went back and
stopped.
Q. At what time did you leave ? A. About sundown, I judge.
Q. Have you, during the last year or two, been on terms of intimacy with Mrs.
Surratt? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you, in all your intercourse with her, heard her breathe a word of
disloyalty to the Government? A. Not to my knowledge.
Q. Have you, at any time, ever heard her make any remark or remarks show-
ing her to have a knowledge of any plan or conspiracy to assassinate the Presi-
dent, or any member of the Government? A. No, sir.
Q. Have you ever heard her mention at any time any plan for the capture of
the President? A. I have not.
Q. Have you been frequently at the house of Mrs. Surratt when Union troops
were passing ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. From your personal knowledge of the transactions that occurred then and
there, can you state whether or not she was in the habit of giving them milk,
tea, and such other nourishment as she had in the house ? A. Yes, frequently.
Q. Was she in the habit of receiving pay for it? A. Sometimes she did and
sometimes she did not.
Q. Do you recollect, on or about the time of a large number of horses escaping
from Giesboro, whether or not any of them were taken up and kept on her
premises ? A. Some of them ; I disremember how many.
Q. Were these horses fed and kept by her or not? A. Yes.
Q. Were they all given up? A. Every one.
Q. Do you know whether she took a receipt for them ? A. She received a re-
ceipt, but never got any pay.
Q. Can you state whether you ever knew Mrs. Surratt to commit any overt act
of any description against the Government ? A. I never did.
Q. Was it not Mrs. Surratt's constant habit to express warm sympathy for the
sick and wounded of our army ? A. I do not remember ever hearing her say
anything about that.
Q. Do you know of a defective eyesight on her part ? A. I have been present
when she would be unable to read or sew by gas-light ; this has been the fact for
several years.
51
802
AMERICAN B ASTILE.
Q. Do you recollect on any occasion of her failing to recognize immediately
friends who were near her? A. I do not recollect any.
Q. Do you not recollect that one occasion Mrs. Surratt gave the last ham she
had to Union soldiers? A. I do not.
Cross-examined by Colonel Burnett :
Q. What relation are you to the prisoner Mrs. Surratt? A. She is my sister.
Q. "Where did you reside while she was living at Surrattsville ? A. About a
mile and a half this side, and I have been residing there since.
Q. Are you now under arrest? A. I am ; I was arrested and brought here
last Thursday week.
Q. Where were you on the evening of the day previous to your arrest? A. At
Lloyd's hotel.
Q. Did you meet at that place Mr. Coltenback ? A. Yes.
Q. Did you have any conversation with him at that time in reference to thia
trial ? A. Yes, sir, we were talking about the trial.
Q. Did you meet a man by the name of Cottingham there ? A. Yes ; I went
there with him.
( . At the time you met Coltenback what was said about the trial in reference
to the witnesses summoned against Mrs. Surratt? A. I think I told him I would
look at the paper and see.
Q. Anything else? A. Not that I know of ; I might have told him that my
Bister found his family.
(., . What relevancy had that to the conversation ? A. I disremember how the
conversation commenced.
Q. Did you, at that time and place, say to Mr. Coltenback that if he, or any
one like him, undertook to testify against your sister you would see that they
were got out of the way ? A. I did not say anything of the kind.
Q. Did you say you would send any man to hell who testified against your
sister? A. I did not.
Q. Did you use any threats against him if he appeared as a witness against
your sister? A. No, nothing like that.
Q. State what you did say on that subject. A. I told him I understood he
was a witness, and he was to be a strong witness against my sister, and I told him
he ought to be, as she had raised his family.
Q. Did you call him a liar? A. I disremember.
Q. Was there any anger exhibited in that conversation ? A. I did not mean
it if there was.
Q. Did you have any talk about John Surratt having returned from Richmond ?
A. Not to my knowledge.
Q. Did you talk about John Surratt's going to Richmond, or mention any-
thing about a paper showed you that he had been to Richmond? A. No ; I
never mentioned John Surratt's name.
Q. Did you Bee the letter found by Mr. Coltenback in the bar? A. I did not.
Q. How did you learn that Mr. Coltenback was to be a witness? A. He told
me himself.
Q. When did you come in that evening? A. I think about ten o'clock ; I
went in with Mr. Cottingham.
MART E. SURRATT.
803
Q. Did you or did you not use any threats against Mr. Coltenback? A. Not
to my knowledge.
Q. Wouldn't you know it if you had? A. I think I ought to; I do not think
I did use any, only in reference to the public press, I told him I would look at
his statement.
Q. And if you found in the public press that he had testified against your si«ter
what did you say? A. I do not recollect.
Q. On the evening of the 14th when you saw Mr. Lloyd and Mrs. Surratt and
Gwynn, how long had you been at Lloyd's house? A. I judge it was about two
o'clock when I got there, and I stayed till about sundown, or a little after.
Q. How many persons did you see there during that time? A. I suppose from
ten to fifteen.
Q. Did Gwynn leave before Mrs. Surratt did? A. I think he did.
Q. Do you recollect whether he saw Mrs. Surratt on that occasion or not? A.
He did see her in the parlor ; I went in at the door as he spoke to her.
Q. Who was in there? A. Mr. Weichman, I think.
Q. Did you see Gwynn come out? A. I do not recollect that I did see him
when he left the house and went.
Q. Did you hear the conversation between him and Mrs. Surratt? A. No; I
did not go into the parlor while they were conversing.
Q. You have been asked here as to Mrs. Surratt's loyalty? What has been
your attitude towards the government during this war? A. Perfectly loyal, I
think.
Q. How did you stand when the question of the secession of Maryland watf
under discussion ? A. I spent $3,000 to hold her in the Union, and everybody
in that neighborhood will testify.
Q. Have you never taken part in any way against the government during the
entire war? A. Never by act, word, aid or sympathy with the rebels.
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. State, if you know, for what you are under arrest. A. I do not.
Q. State if you had any conversation with Mr. Cottingham about a $3,000 re-
ward. A. Our commissioners had offered $3,000 reward to any party who wortl J
give information on the subject of the assassination; he claimed it for the ■ treat
of John M. Lloyd, and asked me if I would see the commissioners and ascertain
whether he would get it or not.
Q. When you stated to Coltenback that he ought to be a stirring witness against
vour sister, because she had brought up his children, did you mean it, or did you
apeak it ironically? A. I did not mean it at all.
Q. Is it a fact that Mrs. Surratt did rear that family ? A. Partially ga
Testimony of James Lusby.
By Mr. Stone : I reside in Prince George county ; I'm not very much acquainted
with John M. Lloyd ; I got acquainted with him since Christmas ; I saw him in
Marlboro in April last; I do not know exactly the day ; it was on Good Friday,
the day Lincoln was killed.
Q. Did you see Mr. Lloyd on the evening of that day at Surrattsville? A. He
and I went that day from Marlboro.
804
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Q. What was Lloyd's condition at that time? A. He was very drunk, I
thought ; I reached Surrattsville about one minute and a half before he did ; I
drove up to the bar-room door ; he went up to the front door.
Q. Did you see the prisoner, Mrs. Surratt, there that day ? A. I saw her aa
she was starting out to go home.
Q. Was she all ready to go home at the time Lloyd drove up ? A. Yes, the
buggy was there waiting for her, and she left about fifteen minutes afterwards.
Cross-examination by Judge Holt :
Q. You drove up on one side of the house and Lloyd went around to the other
side, didn't he? A. Yes ; there was a front yard he went through; when I first
came I went into the bar-room and got a drink.
Q. Did you see Mrs. Surratt when you first came ? You didn't see her in the
bar-room, did you ? A. No.
Q. And you didn't see her when you first came up? A. No.
Q. You didn't see her until you got your drink? A. I disremember whether
I got my drink when I first saw her or not.
Q. You say Lloyd was drunk ; how do you know that fact ? A. I have seen
him before.
Q. Did you see him drinking? A. Yes ; and I took drinks with him.
Q. Which drank the most? A. I never measured mine.
Q. Were you as tight as he was? A. Not quite as tight.
Q. Were you after you had the additional drink ? You had the advantage of
taking that drink at Surrattsville, while Lloyd went around to the kitchen, hadn't
you ? A. I don't know ; I never tried to pass even with him ; I did not say I
was drunk ; I don't know whether I was, though I had drank with him right
smart that day.
By Judge Burnett:
Q. Do you live at Surrattsville? A. No; a mile and a half below.
Q. What has been your business for the last two or three years ? A. I have
been a farmer at the time ; I have never been away from home further than
Washington in my life.
Q. Mr. Lloyd was sober enough, wasn't he, to drive his own horse and take
his fish, etc., into the kitchen ? A. He drove his own horse; I didn't see him go
to the kitchen.
Q. Did you see him fix Mrs. Surratt's buggy ? A. No, I do not know any
thing about that.
Q. How long before he arrived at the house had you seen him ? A. I came all
along with him from Marlboro, sometimes in front and sometimes behind him.
Q. How far is it from Surrattsville to Marlboro ? A. About twelve miles ; it
ui a fast drive of about two and a half hours.
Q. Did you stop to get any drinks on the road ? A. No.
Q. Then he was two and a half hours without getting any drinks before h«
came to Surrattsville ? A. Yes, sir.
Testimony of Miss Anna Ward.
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. State your residence. A. In Washington City.
MART E. SURRATT.
805
Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner, Mrs. Surratt? A. Yea, I have known
her for seven or eight years.
Q. Have you ever known her on any occasion fail to recognize you or her
friends when you have met her? A. She failed to recognize me once when I met
her on the street; I had also failed to recognize her ; she made an apology to me
and I made the same apology to her.
Q. Are you near-sighted? A. I am ; this was on Seventh street; Mrs. Hur-
ratt's daughter was with her, and called her attention to the fact that 8he had nc4
spoken to me.
Q. Did you ever have occasion, at any time, to read for her ? A. Yes, I gave
her a letter to read; she returned it to me, and asked me to read it, saying she
could not see to read by gaslight.
Q. Do you recollect any other occasion when she failed to recognise persona?
A. I do not know that I do.
Q. Did you receive a letter from John H. Surratt not long since? A. I did.
Q. Where is that letter? A.. I gave it to his mother; I presume it has been
destroyed.
Q. Please state to the court, as well as you can recollect, all the circumstance*
of John H. Surratt's affair with you in engaging a room at the Herndon House.
A. He called one afternoon and asked to see me.
Judge Bingham. You need not state that conversation.
Mr. Aiken. Very well, then, we turn the witness over to you. Perhaps yoo
may want to make some inquiries yourself about that matter.
Cross-examined by Judge Bingham :
Q. Have you been in the habit of visiting often at Mrs. Surratt's? A. Occa-
sionally, up to the day of the assassination ; that was the last day I visited her.
Q. On all the occasions when you went to the house did she recognize you with-
out difficulty ? A. Yes ; once or twice she opened the door for me ; at other times
I sent my name up.
Q. She was quick to recognize the voice, wasn't she ? A. Yes.
********
Q. Did you meet any strangers at Mrs. Surratt's house ? A. I met Booth there,
and I met two gentlemen who boarded there.
Q. You got a letter from John H. Surratt, post-marked Montreal, Canada
East? A. Yes.
Q. When did you receive it? A. I received two from him ; the first on the
day of the assassination ; I do not recollect the date of the second ; there was a
very short interval between them.
Q. You delivered both of these letters to Mrs. Surratt? A. I delivered one to
her, and the other to her daughter Anna.
Q. Have you seen it since? A. No.
Q. Did you answer any letters received from him ? A. Neither of these ; hm
wroU me two letters at the same time, enclosing the letters for his mother ; I
answered those addressed to me.
Q. And all were about the time of the President's assassination ? A. I do not
recollect when ; they were all after he left home, and I think very soon after the
President's assassination.
806
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Q. You haven't got any of them ? A. No, sir.
Q. Do you know whether the letters to yourself have been destroyed ? A. I
do not; I left them with his mother, and have not inquired for them since,
i By Mr. Aiken :
. Q. Have you known Mrs. Surratt as a lady always attentive to her duties?
A. I have.
Q. Do you know anything as to her general character ? A. My knowledge of
her has always been that of a Christian and a lady.
By the Court :
Q. Do you attend the same church as Mrs. Surratt ? A. I do, sir.
Testimony of Anna E. Surratt.
, Q. Suite your full name. A. Anna p. Surratt
Q. Are you under arrest at the present time? A. Yes, sir.
Q. When were you arrested ? A. On the 17th of April.
. Q. Are you acquainted with Atzerodt? A. I have met him several times.
Q. Where? A. At our house in Washington City.
Q. When did he first come there? A. Some time after Christmas; I think it
was in February.
Q. How long did he remain there then? A. He did not stay over night to
my knowledge ; he used to call sometimes now and then.
Q. Can you state from your own knowledge whether or not Atzerodt was given
to understand that he was not wanted at the house? A. Yes, sir; mamma said
she did not care to have strangers there, but we treated him with politeness, as we
did every one who came to the house.
Q. Do you or do you not know of frequent instances in which Mrs. Surratt
failed to recognize her friends? A. Yes, sir.
. Q. Is she able to read or sew by gas-light? A. No, sir.
Q. Have you not often plagued her about wearing spectacles ? A. I told her
she was too young-looking to get spectacles yet, and she said she could not see to
read or sew without them of dark mornings; she could read some, but she seldom
6ewed of a dark day.
Q. Do you know Lewis J. Weichman ? A. Yes. ■■>■
. Q. Was he a boarder at your mother's house ? A. Yes, sir.
Q. How was he treated there? A. Too kindly.
Q. Was it or not your mother's habit to sit up and wait for him when he was
out late ? A. Yes ; just as she would wait for my brother ; Weichman engaged
a room for Atzerodt ; when he came Weichman and he used to make private
signs to each other.
Q. Did you refer to Atzerodt or Payne? A. To Atzerodt. :
Q. At what time did Payne first come to your house? A. He came one night
after dark, and left early the next morning.
j Q. How long was that before the assassination ? A. It was after Christmas,
not very long after.
: Q. How many times did he come there? A. He stayed one night when he
first came, and we did not see him again for some weeks; it was Weichman who
went to the door, and it was Weichman who brought Payne in there; I wenj
MARY E. SUKKATT.
807
down-stairs and told mamma he was there, and she said she did not understand
it, and did not like strangers coming to the house, but to treat him politely, as
fihe had been in the habit of treating every one who came ; he called two or
three times after that.
Q. Did he ask for accommodations for the night? A. Yes, sir; he said he
would leave the next morning, and I believe he did.
Q. Were you acquainted with Booth? A. Yes, sir; I have met him.
Q. When was he last at your house? A. On the Monday before the aasassimv
tion.
Q. Did your mother go to Surrattsville about that time? A. Yes, sir; on
Friday, the day of the assassination.
Q. Do you know whether or not the carriage was at the door to go when
Booth came? A. Yes, I think he came and found her about to go; she had
been speaking about going a day or two before that on a matter of business, and
Bhe said she was obliged to go.
Q. How long did Booth remain? A. Not over a few minutes; he never stayed
long when he came.
The examination in regard to photographs, pictures, etc., is here omitted as
being too unimportant.
Q. Do you recollect the last time you saw your brother? A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long was that before the assassination ? A. On the Monday before it
was two weeks.
Q. Have you seen him since ? A. No, sir
Q. Were Booth and your brother on friendly terms? A. I never asked him ; he
used to call to see him sometimes ; one day I know he said Booth was crazy, and he
wished he would not come there.
Q. Where was your brother in 1861 ? A. At college.
Q. What college ? A. St. Charles' College.
Q. Was he a student there at that time ? A. Yes, sir; but not of divinity.
Q. How long was your brother at college ? A. For three years ; but he spent
his vacations at home in August.
Q. Miss Surratt, did you, at your mother's house, at any time, or any occasion,
ever hear a word breathed as to any plot, or plan, or conspiracy in existence to
assassinate the President of the United States ? A. No, sir.
Q. Did you ever hear any remark made with reference to the assassination of
any member of the Government? A. No, sir.
Q. Did you ever hear it discussed by any member of the family to capture the
President of the United States ? A. No, sir, I did not
*****♦•«
Testimony of John F. Hoxton.
By Mr. Aiken : I reside in Prince George county, and have resided there
about forty years; my residence is at Surrattsville; I have known the prisoner
Mrs. Surratt for many years ; her reputation among those who know her there
as a truthful, kind and good Christian lady is very good. ******
Testimony of Wm. W. Hoxton.
By Mr. Aiken: I reside near Surrattsville, and have known the prima
808
AMERICAN BASTILE,
Mrs. Surratt for about twelve years ; she has always been looked upon in ouf
neighborhood as a very good, kind, Christian lady and a church-going woman.
******
Testimony of Henry Hawkins (colored).
By Mr. Aiken : I have lived at Surrattsville about eleven years ; was formerly
a slave of Mrs. Surratt ; she always treated me kindly ; remember that on
one occasion some Government horses broke away from Giesboro and came to
Mrs. Surratt's stable ; they were fed and taken care of at her expense ; never
heard any political expressions from Mrs. Surratt ; she frequently fed Union soldiers
passing her house, and gave them the best she had ; do not think ehe took any
pay for it ; I sometimes heard that Mrs. Surratt could not see very well ; have
seen her wear spectacles.
Testimony of Rachael Semus (colored).
I lived with Mrs. Surratt for six years ; was hired by her ; I never had reason
to complain of hard treatment while with her ; she frequently had Union soldiers,
and always tried to do the best she could for them, giving them the best in the house,
and very often giving them all in the house ; I recollect at one time she cut up
the last ham for a party of Union soldiers ; never knew her to take pay from the
soldiers ; have seen them come there and get refreshments and not pay ; never
knew her to say anything in favor of the South ; knew her eyesight to be failing ;
have frequently threaded a needle for her.
Testimony of Father Wiget.
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. State your residence in this city and your occupation. A. My residence is
Gonzaga College, in this city, in F street, between Ninth and Tenth ; I am a
clergyman.
Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner, Mary E. Surratt ? A. I am, and
have been for ten or eleven years.
Q. Has that acquaintance been of an intimate character ? A. I knew her very
well.
Q. Are you acquainted with her general reputation ? A. I have always heard
every one speak very highly of her as a lady and a Christian.
Q. In all that acquaintance, has anything ever come to your knowledge that
would indicate an unchristian character on her part? A. No, never.
********
Testimony of Father Boyle
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. State your residence in this city and occupation. A. My residence is at
St. Peter's Church ; I am a Catholic priest.
Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner, Mary E. Surratt? A. I have some
acquaintance with her; I made her acquaintance some eight or nine years ago;
I have merely met her casually some three or four times since then.
Q. Do you know anything of her general reputation? A. I have always
N.
MART E. SURR ATT.
809
heard her spoken of as an estimable lady ; I never heard a word said to her dis-
advantage.
Q. In all your acquaintance with her, did you ever hear her utter a disloya.
sentiment? A. I never did.
Cross-examined by Judge Holt :
Q. Have you ever heard her utter a loyal sentiment ? A. I never heard much
of her sentiments at all ; I saw her so little, and at such long intervals, that I
could not undertake to say what her general character for loyalty is.
Testimony of Father Stonestreet
By Mr. Aiken :
Q. State your residence and occupation. A. I reside at present in Washing-
ton ; I am pastor of St. Aloysius church.
Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner, Mary E. Surratt? A. I am.
Q. How long have you been acquainted with her ? A. I first met her more
than twenty years ago in Alexandria ; after that I did not see her for ten years,
and since then only in transit as I was passing.
Q. Have you not, within the past two years, been more intimate with her ?
A. I have scarcely seen her.
Q. Do you know her general reputation as a Christian and a lady ? A. I have
always looked upon her as a proper Christian lady.
Q. Have you, in all your intercourse, ever heard her utter a disloyal senti-
ment ? A. Never ; but there was no question of the kind at the time I knew her.
By Judge Holt :
Q. State whether you have probably seen her since the beginning of the Re-
bellion. A. I do not remember having seen her at all ; I have no knowledge
whatever of her character for loyalty except what I have seen in the papers.
Testimony of Rev. Father Young.
Q. State your residence and occupation. A. Residence at Dominick's Church,
Washington ; I am a Catholic priest.
Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner, Mrs. Surratt? A. I have known her
I think about eight or ten years ; I cannot say that my acquaintance has been of
an intimate character ; I had a congregation in the part of the country where she
lived, and in passing by her house about once a month I have occasionally called
for about half an hour.
Q. Are you acquainted with her general reputation as a Christian lady? A. I
am; so far as I have heard it spoken of it has been with the greatest praise; I
never heard anything whatever unfavorable to her character, but on the contrary
everything highly favorable.
Note. — Father Lanahan was also examined with regard to Mrs. Surratt's char-
acter, but as his testimony is of the same import as that of those whose testimony
has been given above on the same subject, it is not incorporated. The above is
all the testimony directly relating to the case of Mrs. Surratt on which her guilt
or innocence could be established. There was a good deal of testimony given in
regard to photographs, such as those of Davis, Stephens, General Lee, Beaure-
gard, Booth, McClellan, Grant and Joe Hooker, which had been given to the
young ladies found in the house, but as it is of no importance it is omitted.
I
810
AMERICAN BASTILE.
After the testimony had been concluded, and the arguments
of counsel submitted to the Military Commission, it met, on the
28th of June, in secret session, to deliberate, but, not arriving at
a decision on that day, it adjourned until the next day, the 29th,
when it found a verdict against all the prisoners. The record of
the Military Commission then being made up, it was forwarded
to the War Department for revision, after which it was sent to the
President for examination. The President having approved of
the findings and sentences of the Military Commission,* on the
6th of July the following order was published :
OFFICIAL ORDER.
War Department, Adjutant-General's Office,
Washington, July 5, 1865.
To Major-General W. S. Hancock, United States Volunteers, com-
manding the Middle Military Division, Washington, D. C. :
Whereas, By the Military Commission appointed in paragraph 4,
Special Orders No. 211, dated War Department, Adjutant-General's
Office, Washington, May 6, 1865, and of which Major- General David
Hunter, United States Volunteers, was President, the following per-
sons were tried, and, after mature consideration of evidence adduced
in their cases, were found and sentenced, as hereinafter stated, as
follows :
Fifst. David E. Harold. * * * *
Second. George A. Atzerodt. * * * *
Third. Lewis Payne. * * * *
Fourth. Mary E. Surratt. — Finding of the specification guilty, ex
cept as to receiving, sustaining, harboring and concealing Samuel
Arnold and Michael O'Laughlin, and except as to combining, con-
federating and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this not guilty.
Of the charge guilty, except as to combining, confederating and con-
spiring with Edward Spangler; of this not guilty.
Sentence. — And the Commission does, therefore, sentence her, the
said Mary E. Surratt, to be hung by the neck until she be dead, at
such time and place as the President of the United States shall
direct, two-thirds of the members of the Commission concurring
therein.
* Judge-Advocate-General Holt was with the President when he apprcred of
the findings and sentences as rendered by the Military Commission.
MARY E. SURRATT.
811
PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S APPROVAL.
And Whereas, The President of the United States has approved
the foregoing sentences in the following order, to wit :
Executive Mansion, July 5, 1865. — The foregoing sentences in
the cases of David E. Harold, G. A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne and
Mary E. Surratt, are hereby approved ; and it is ordered that the
sentences in the cases of David E. Harold, G. A. Atzerodt, Lewis
Payne and Mary E. Surratt be carried into execution by the proper
military authority, under the direction of the Secretary of War, on
the 7th day of July, 1865, between the hours of 10 o'clock A. m. and
2 o'clock p. M. of that day. (Signed)
Andrew Johnson, President.
Therefore you are hereby commanded to cause the foregoing sen-
tences in the cases of David E. Harold, G. A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne
and Mary E. Surratt to be duly executed, in accordance with the Presi-
dent's order.
By command of the President of the United States.
E. D. Townsend, Assistant Adjutant-General.
The announcement of the findings of the Military Commission
and the approval of the President being made public about noon
on the 6th of July, and that the prisoners condemned to death
would be hanged the next day, produced great excitement.
In the case of Mrs. Surratt the excitement was unbounded,
because many had arrived at the conclusion that the testimony
against her was not sufficient to convict her ; and, in addition to
this, there being a rumor that her sentence would be commuted
to imprisonment, even many of those who had been most strenu-
ous in advocating that the severest punishment should be imposed
upon all the prisoners, were now anxious to have her sentence
changed to imprisonment, and were loud in their arguments in
favor of the commutation of her sentence.
Expecting the acquittal of Mrs. Surratt, or at least a light sen-
tence, her counsel were shocked when they learned that her death
had been decided upon, and immediately made an effort to have
her sentence changed. Mr. Clampitt, one of her counsel, says:*
"About five o'clock in the afternoon of the 6th of July, while
* North American Review, September, 1880.
812
AMERICAN BASTILE.
sitting in our office awaiting the findings of the Commission, we
were suddenly startled by the cry of the news-boys in the street,
1 The execution of Mrs. Surratt ! 9
" We found to our dismay that, instead of an acquittal, or at
most a temporary confinement of our client, the judgment of the
Military Commission had been that of death, and the President
had signed her death-warrant. So sudden was the shock, so un-
expected the result, amazed beyond expression at the celerity of
the order of execution, we hardly knew how to proceed.
"Acting upon the first impulse, we went hastily to the White
House and endeavored to have an interview with the President,
' in the hope that Executive clemency might so far intervene as to
grant a respite for a few days at least. In this we were baffled*
We were informed that the President would see no one. At-
tempting to pass inside of the main doors, we were met by Pres-
ton King, of New York, who, pointing to the guard of soldiers
stationed at the foot of the staircase with fixed bayonets, informed
us that it was * useless to attempt an issue of that character/ We
went to plead for three days of life for this poor woman, that she
might arrange her earthly affairs and prepare for eternity, and we
were denied admission.
"As we could not obtain an audience with the President, the
aid of distinguished gentlemen was sought. They, too, were
foiled. * * * *
" Our next movement was, in company with the daughter, to
go to the Judge-Advocate-General and implore his services in her
behalf. Notwithstanding he had conducted in chief the trial, we
thought that, touched by the unutterable woe of the poor girl,
the pitying chords of sympathy might find a responsive echo in
his heart. Our plea was in vain. His heart was chilled, his
soul impassive as marble. Upon her bended knees, bathed in
tears, the forlorn girl besought him to go to the President and
beg a respite for three days — three days more of life for the
mother about to be murdered by the strong arm of the Govern-
ment. Finally, to close the scene, the Judge- Advocate-General
agreed to meet us at the Executive Mansion at a given hour.
We reached there at the appointed time. He had gone before us,
and was just emerging as we came.
MART E. STTRRAT7.
813
"He said: ' I can do nothing. The President is immovable.
He has carefully examined the findings of the Commission, and
has no reason to change the date of execution, and you might as
well attempt to overthrow this building as to alter his decision.'
We left in despair, and telegraphed the situation to Hon. Reverdy
Johnson, requesting his immediate presence. He was at his home
in Baltimore city, and telegraphed the following reply : 'It is
very late. There are no trains to carry me to Washington City,
Apply for a writ of habeas corpus and take her body from the
custody of the military authorities. We are now in a state of
peace, not war.' It was now nearly midnight, and this was our
last hope. But to whom should we apply for the writ? What
judge on the bench was bold enough to assert the sanctity of his
ermine, and preserve it pure in the face of popular clamor and
the well-known spirit of lawlessness that characterized those in
authority ? We determined, nevertheless, to make the attempt,
and, although past midnight, proceeded to prepare the petition
upon which, as we supposed, hung the life or death of our client.
We never for a moment doubted the efficacy of the writ could we
prevail upon its issue.
" Completing our labor, we drove immediately to the residence
of the Hon. Andrew Wylie, and, just as the clock tolled the
hour of two in the morning, rang the front door-bell. A window
above us was raised, and the well-known voice of the Judge
greeted us with the query, 'What do you want?' We answered,
' Important business of a judicial character, upon which hangs
life or death/ The window closed, and in a few moments the
Judge admitted us into his study, clad only in his dressing-gown,
the weather being warm. The Judge listened attentively to each
sentence of our petition, which was of some length, immovable,
sitting like a statue in the glimmer of the gas-light overhead, not
interrupting us once during the whole of the reading, and the
brief argument that followed. At its conclusion he took the
papers, and quietly remarking, ' Please excuse me, gentlemen/
retired to his chamber.
* * * " In a few moments he returned with the papers in
his hand, remarking : ' Gentlemen, my mind is made up. I have
always endeavored to perform my duty fearlessly, as I under-
814
AMERICAN B ASTILE.
stand it. I am constrained to decide the points in your petition
well taken. I am about to perform an act which, before to-mor-
row's sun goes down, may consign me to the Old Capitol Prison.
I believe it to be my duty, as a judge, to order the writ to issue;
and' (taking up his pen) (I shall so order it.'* With many
thanks we received back the papers, and carried them in person to
the clerk of the court, who made out the writ in accordance with
the order of Judge Wylie, and, at four o'clock in the morning, we
placed it in the hands of the United States Marshal, with the re-
quest that it be served immediately upon General Hancock, the
commandant of the military district in which the body of Mrs.
Surratt was confined."
THE PETITION.
The following is a copy of the petition :
To the Hon. Andrew Wylie, one of the Justices of the Supreme
Court of the District of Columbia. — The petition of Mary E. Sur-
ratt, by her counsel, F. A. Aiken and John W. Clampitt, most re-
spectfully represents unto your Honor that, on or about the 17th day
of April, a. d. 1865, your petitioner was arrested by the military
authorities of the United States, under the charge of complicity with
the murder of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United
States, and has ever since that time been and is now confined on said
charge under and by virtue of the said military power of the United
States, and is in the special custody of Major-General W. S. Han-
cock, commanding Middle Military Division ; that, since her said
arrest, your petitioner has been tried, against her solemn protest, by
a military commission, unlawfully and without warrant, convened by
* Because the Judges of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia obeyed
the Constitution, and continued to issue the writ of habeas corpus according to
law, after the war began as they had done before it, and, being coin missioned
to act during good behavior, they could not be removed except by impeach-
ment, Congress passed an Act, which was approved by Mr. Lincoln, abolishing
both that Court and the Criminal Court of the District and created a new Courtf
composed of four Judges, called the Supreme Court of the District, with both
civil and criminal jurisdiction.
Non-residents, all of whom, except one, had the reputation of being extreme
partisans, and who could be relied upon by the Administration to act in the in.
terest of their party, were then appointed Judges of the new Court. Judge
Wylie's action, in the case of Mrs. Surratt, showed that he was the exceptional
and fearless J udge, and that his ermine was not polluted by politics.
MARY E. SURKATT.
815
the Secretary of War, as will appear from paragraph 9, Special
Orders No. 211, dated War Department, Adjutant-General's Office,
Washington, May the 6th, 1865, and by said Commission, notwith-
standing her formal plea to the jurisdiction of the said Commission,
is now unlawfully and unjustifiably detained in custody and sen-
tenced to be hanged on to-morrow, July 7, 1865, between the hours
of 10 a. m. and 2 p. M. ; your petitioner shows unto your Honor
that, at the time of the commission of the said offense, she was a
private citizen of the United States, and in no manner connected
with the military authority of the same, and that said offense was
committed within the District of Columbia, said District being at the
time within the lines of the armies of the United States, and not
enemy's territory, or under the control of a military commander for
the trial of civil causes. But, on the contrary, your petitioner
alleges that the said crime was an offense simply against the peace of
the United States, properly and solely cognizable under the Constitu-
tion and laws of the United States, by the Criminal Court of this
District, and which said court was and is now open for the trial of
such crimes and offenses. Wherefore, inasmuch as the said crime
was only an offense against the peace of the United States, and not
an act of war, inasmuch as your petitioner was a private citizen of
the same, and not subject to military jurisdiction, or in anywise
amenable to military law; inasmuch as said District was the peace-
ful territory of the United States, and that all crimes committed
within such territory are, under the Constitution and Jaws of the
United States, to be tried only before its criminal tribunals, with the
right of public trial by jury. Inasmuch as said Commission was a
military commission, organized and governed by the laws of military
court-martial, and unlawfully convened without warrant or authority,
and when she had not the right of public trial by jury as guaranteed
to her by the Constitution and laws of the United States, that, there-
fore, her detention and sentence are so without warrant against posi-
tive law and unjustifiable ; wherefore she prays your Honor to grant
unto her the United States' most gracious writ of habeas corpus
commanding the said Major-General W. S. Hancock to produce
before your Honor the body of your said petitioner, with the cause
and day of her said detention to abide, etc., and she will ever pray.
Mary E. Surratt.
By Frederick A. Aiken,
Jno. W. Clampitt.
816
AMERICAN BASTILE.
INDORSEMENT BY THE COURT.
Indorsed — "Let the writ issue as prayed, returnable before the
Criminal Court of the District of Columbia, now sitting, at the hour
of 10 o'clock A. m., the seventh day of July, 1865.
"Andrew Wylie,
"A Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia,
July 7th, 1865."
SERVICE OF THE WRIT.
The writ was served on General Hancock at eight and a half
o'clock in the morning, and the marshal made the return
"served."
At the opening of the court the marshal reported that General
Hancock had not yet appeared, and that it was now past the hour
for his appearance.
The counsel for Mrs. Surratt stated that if his client was guilty
of any crime it was cognizable by this court, and not by a military
tribunal.
The court said : " The case is now here on its merits on the
petition of the party. This morning at an early hour I directed
this writ of habeas corpus to issue. The writ was issued, and was
served on General Hancock, who has the custody of Mrs. Sur-
ratt, the party on whose behalf the writ was obtained. The writ
required him to have the body of Mrs. Surratt, with the cause of
her detention, before this court this morning at ten o'clock. He
has neglected to obey the order of the court, and the question now
before us is, 1 What is the court to do under the circumstances ?'
" That is the only question before the court at this time. Any
discussion on the merits involved would now be out of place.
The court acknowledges that its powers are inadequate to meet
the military power possessed by General Hancock. If the court
were to decide at this moment that General Hancock was in con-
tempt the only process which it would issue would be an attach
ment for the disregard of its authority. But why issue an attach-
ment against the whole military power of the United States?
This court acknowledges that the laws are silent, and that it is
without power in the premises, and therefore declines to make
any order whatever.
MART E. SURRATT.
817
" If there be a disposition on the part of the military power to
respect the authority of the civil courts they will respect the writ
which has already been served. If, on the other hand, it is their
determination to treat the authority of this court with contempt
in this matter, they have the power and will to treat with equal
contempt any other process which the court might order. The
court, therefore, must submit to the extreme physical force which
now holds the custody of the petitioner, and decline to issue an
attachment or to make any other order in this case."
At 11 J o'clock a. if. Major-General Hancock, on whom the
writ was served, came into court accompanied by Attorney-Gen-
eral Speed. The attorney -general said :
" May it please the court : In regard to the writ of habeas
corpus directed to General Hancock, I desire to say, by way of
apology for his not sooner making a return, that the process was
not served upon him until about breakfast time this morning, and
that owing to his having a great many persons to see, and a great
many important matters requiring immediate attention, and his
distance from the court-house, he was not able to get here at an
earlier hour. I wish to assure the court that no disrespect was
intended to it by the delay to which it has been unavoidably sub-
jected."
General Hancock, in obedience to the writ, then made the fol
lowing return :
" Headquarters Middle Military Division,
" Washington, D. C, July 7, 1865.
" To Hon. Andrew Wylie, Justice of the Supreme Court of the
District of Columbia :
" I hereby acknowledge the service of the writ hereto attached,
and return the same and respectfully say that the body of Mary E,
Surratt is in my possession, under and by virtue of an order of
Andrew Johnson, President of the United States and Commander-in-
Chief of the army, for the purposes in said order expressed, a copy
of which is hereto attached and made part of this return, and that I
do not produce said body by reason of the order of the President of
the United States indorsed upon said writ, to which reference is
hereby respectfully made, dated July 7, 1865.
" Winfield S. Hancock,
" Major-General United States Volunteers, Commanding, etc."
62
818
AMERICAN BASTILE.
THE PRESIDENT'S INDORSEMENT.
" Executive Office, July 7, 1865 — 10 A. M.
" To Major-General W. S. Hancock, Commanding, etc. :
"I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby
declare that the writ of habeas corpus has been heretofore suspended
in such cases as this, and I do hereby especially suspend this writ,
and direct that you proceed to execute the order heretofore given
upon the judgment of the Military Commission, and you will give this
order in return to this writ.
" Andrew Johnson, President."
Judge Wylie then said :
u This court finds itself powerless to take any further action in
the premises, and therefore declines to make orders which would
be vain for any practical purpose. As regards the delay, it hav-
ing been fully accounted for, the court has no fault to attach to
the respondent in that respect.*
"The writ was applied for, and I had no authority to refuse to
grant it. It is a writ dear and sacred to every lover of liberty,
indispensable to the protection of citizens, and can only be con-
stitutionally set aside in times of war and insurrection, when the
public safety requires it, and in regard to offences committed in
connection with the army or the militia when called into active
service.
" With reference to the merits of this case, which has occupied
60 much of the attention of the public, and in face of the whole
civilized world, it would be out of place for the court to express
any opinion. The case is not before it. The court can only say
that it has no doubt that the gentlemen connected with the gov-
ernment, who have had the duty of conducting this trial, are
truly convinced in their own minds as to the manner in which
they have performed their duties. I did not feel at liberty; I
could not; I dared not refuse to grant the writ.
" The return which has been made to the writ is from the Presi-
* The President having suspended the writ of habeas corpus, in the case of Mrs.
Surratt, at 10 o'clock A. M., the morning of the day of her execution, it was useless
for General Hancock, except to obey the mandate of the court, to appear and make>
return to the writ, earlier than he did, because the suspension of the writ, by thi
President, had already sealed the fate of Mrs. Surratt.
MART E. SURRATT.
819
dent of the United States, and declares that the writ of habeas
corpus is to be suspended in this case as has been in other and
similar cases. The court has no further power in the case; if the
government desires to carry out its purpose in regard to the peti-
tioner, the court cannot prevent it; and I do not know that it
would be possible, ever hereafter, to bring the case for argument in
this court, for if the petitioner be executed this day, as designed,
the body cannot be brought into court, and there is an end to the
case. The jurisdiction of this court yields to the suspension of
the writ of habeas corpus from the President of the United
States."
General Hancock then asked leave to retire, which was granted.
The last act that could be done through the forms of law to
6ave the life of Mrs. Surratt, except a respite or a pardon by the
President, had now been performed.
The hope that the President would pardon her, or at least grant
her a reprieve, and that the annals of their country would not be
blackened by the extra-judicial murder of a woman still lingered
in the breasts of those who believed her to be innocent of the
crime with which she was charged. But the President, under
the advice of, and influenced by those, who, prompted by malice
and partisan zeal, and thirsting for vengeance, had, without law,
condemned her to an ignominious death, remained callous to every
appeal of justice.
Further intercession was useless. The scaffold had been erected
— the gallows prepared, and John F. Hartranft, who had been
assigned the unenviable position to execute the mandate of the
military commission, had already informed the prisoner of her
fate. It was now one o'clock. Her life was on the verge of its
close. Hope had fled. The hour had come, and Mrs. Surratt,
supported by Lieutenant-Colonel McCall and Sergeant Kinney,
and preceded by Fathers Walter and Wiget, bearing a crucifix
before her, was conducted to the place of execution. It was a
solemn scene. On the one hand were the men, who, acting with-
out law, were about to offer up this proscribed woman, a sacrifice
— for what? On the other hand the woman fervently praying,
u Father, forgive them ; for they know not what they do."
General Hartranft reads the order for the execution — he gives
820
AMERICAN BASTILE.
the signal — the drop falls and the spirit of Mary E. Surratt is
u&hered into eternity.
In analyzing and commenting on the testimony on which Mary
E. Surratt was convicted and executed, as a confederate in the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln, we will do so as if she had been
tried in a court of justice and not by a military commission. It
will not be pretended, at this day, by any lawyer of reputation in
his profession, or layman versed in the science of this government,
that a military commission, created, without law, by the edict of
one man, has a right to try, convict and sentence a person con-
nected with the army or navy, because courts-martial are author-
ized, by law, to be established and organized according to law for
that purpose.
If a person, therefore, connected with the army or navy cannot
be legally tried and punished by a military commission, created
without law, how can a citizen, not connected with the army or
navy, be thus tried, especially when the civil courts are open and
their process unobstructed and the country is in a state of peace.
Such a mode of administering justice has never been recognized in
any country where the civil law was in existence and peace pre-
vailed, and seldom attempted even when war was being waged.
Although Cicero declared that the laws were silent amidst arms,
yet Cataline, who was accused of conspiring to destroy the liber-
ties of his country, was, together with his co-conspirators, notwith-
standing he was supported by an army of twenty thousand men,
tried, convicted and condemned to death by a civil tribunal
according to the Roman civil law, Cicero himself being one of the
principal lawyers in the prosecution. Even in France, during the
French revolution, when the blood of the citizen was demanded
on a simple accusation, the National Convention established the
revolutionary tribunal — a civil institution — preferring that the
civil law should be supreme in the trial of citizens, however much
it was disregarded in the mock trials of the condemned.
In England a military commission, as an institution, has never
been heard of ; and when the Rev. John Smith was tried and con-
victed at Demarara, even by a court-martial, not by a military
commission, as was Mrs. Surratt, on the accusation that he was
aiding and abetting a rebellion in that colony, the trial and con-
MART E. SURRATT.
821
viction were denounced in Parliament, because the offence could
have been tried in the civil courts, which were open, and for the
reason that " When the laws can act, every other mode of punishing
supposed crimes is itself an enormous crime."
After the long period, during which the supremacy of the civil
law was recognized in all civilized countries, in the trial of citizens,
not connected with the army or navy, an administration of the
government in this country established military tribunals for the
trial of citizens when it was known they could not be convicted in
the civil courts. And notwithstanding the position that the Presi-
dent had a right to establish military commissions for the trial of
citizens in States where war did not exist and where the civil courts
were open and unobstructed, was maintained, by the adherents of
Mr. Lincoln, on the ground of military "necessity" during the
war, yet the same position was adhered to by the advocates of this
doctrine, even after the war was over and when peace existed.
During the trial of Mrs. Surratt this position was maintained on
the ground that President Lincoln was commander-in-chief of the
army and navy, and, therefore, a military commission had a right
to try those accused of being in a conspiracy to assassinate him.
Nor was this false position dissipated until the decision of the
Supreme Court of the United States, in the Milligan case, in 1866,
which declared that the establishment of military commissions,
being without law, and contrary to the genius of our institutions^
was void from the beginning.
Like Mrs. Surratt, Milligan was sentenced, by a military com-
mission, to be hanged, and doubtless would have been hanged but
for the interposition of the decision of the Supreme Court of the
United States. We must therefore conclude, our opinion being
based on the decision of the Supreme Court, that the execution of
Mary E. Surratt was extra-judicial murder, which all who yield
to the law of the land must also admit.
Ignoring the military commission, which acted without jurisdic-
tion, the question seems pertinent: Could Mrs. Surratt have
been convicted, in a court of justice, by the testimony submitted
to the military commission?
This is a question which not only interests the people of the
present day but also posterity.
822
AMERICAN BASTILE.
In reviewing the testimony, in the case of Mrs. Surratt, it must
be borne in mind that testimony is one thing, evidence another, and
proof still another. Testimony is the declaration of a witness
under oath, evidence the effect of that declaration on the mind,
and proof that degree of evidence which convinces the mind of the
certainty of truth, or fact, and produces belief. It must also be
borne in mind that the declarations of witnesses, who are them-
selves suspected and under arrest for the same crime with which
the defendant on trial is charged, are not disinterested declara-
tions, and, therefore, must be received with caution as proof of
the guilt of the defendant. In a court of justice over which a
proper judge, learned in the law, presides, the animus or the in-
tention of the witness will be ascertained by such methods as the
law provides, after which the proof as far as possible will be sifted
out of the testimony and the jury instructed that, should there be
any doubt of guilt, the benefit of that doubt must be given to the
defendant.
The members of the military commission, which tried Mrs.
Surratt, were officers of the army, none of whom, with two or
three exceptions, were bred to the profession of the law, and hence
were without a knowledge of procedure in civil courts or the rules
governing the admission or rejection of evidence.
Such were the men selected as judges and jurors in the case of
Mrs. Surratt, whose life was at stake. When the action of the
commission, its first sessions being held in secret, its disregard of
law and the rules of evidence, its subserviency to the dictates of
the judge-advocate-general and his assistants in the admission or
rejection of evidence, is considered, the conclusion that it was
formed to convict seems inevitable. The reader, therefore, should
remember that much of the testimony, as given above, would not
have been admitted in a court of justice. In critically examining
the testimony had before the military commission, in the case of
Mrs. Surratt, it is impossible to find any proof, either positive or
circumstantial, establishing her guilt. There are but three points
to be considered.
First. — Proof that she was connected with or knew of a con-
spiracy to murder the President, before she drove to Surrattsville,
on the 11th of April.
MARY E. SURRATT.
823
Second. — Proof that she was connected with or knew of a con-
spiracy to murder the President, when she drove to Surrattsville,
on the 11th and 14th days of April, and that she went there in
the interest of such a conspiracy.
Third. — Proof that she recognized Payne when he called at her
house, on the night of the 17th of April, and that she denied that
she knew him to shield herself from suspicion that she was con-
nected with or knew of a conspiracy to murder the President.
First — Was there any proof that Mrs. Surratt was connected
with or knew of a conspiracy to murder the President, before she
drove to Surrattsville, on the 11th of April?
If there were any proof that Mrs. Surratt was connected with
or knew of a conspiracy to murder the President, before the 11th
of April, it must be gathered from the testimony of Lewis J.
Weichman, who boarded and lodged at her house. According to
his testimony, Payne called at Mrs. Surratt's house about eight
weeks before the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, and was met at the
door by Weichman. Payne inquired for John H. Surratt, who
being absent, he asked if Mrs. Surratt was in, and being told that
she was, he was introduced to the family by Weichman, as Wood.
Payne took supper, in Weichman's room, remained all night —
whether in Weich man's room or not does not appear — and left the
next morning. He called again in about three weeks, was again
met at the door and shown into the parlor by Weichman, who in-
troduced him, this time, to the ladies, as Payne. Payne was well
dressed in a complete suit of gray, remained three days, and the
presumption is, roomed with Weichman, because Weichman in
his testimony says: "One day I found a false moustache on the
table in my room ; I threw it into a little toilet- box, and Payne
searched for it, and inquired for his moustache. I was sitting in
the chair, and did not say anything. I retained it ever since/'
There is no evidence whatever that Payne, at either time he was
at Mrs. Surratt's house, was seen to have a private interview with
her, or that she treated him otherwise than she did other persona
who came to her house.
Weichman testified that Atzerodt also called and inquired for
John H. Surratt, who not being at home, he remained all night,
but left after seeing Surratt on his return home the next morning.
824
AMERICAN BASTILE.
He called at the house a number of times afterward, but Mrs.
Surratt having objected to his coming, his visits ceased. As in
the case of Payne, there is no evidence whatever that Mrs. Sur-
ratt had any private interviews with Atzerodt. Booth called fre-
quently, as the friend of John H. Surratt, and, in his absence, in-
quired for Mrs. Surratt. Weichman says that the interviews
between Booth and Surratt were always held apart. He testified:
"I have been in company with Booth in the parlor with Surratt,
but Booth has taken Surratt to a room up-stairs, and engaged in
a private conversation up there; he would say: 1 John, can you
spare me a word? come up-stairs;' they would go up and engage
in private conversation, which would last two or three hours."
In answer to the question, "Did the same thing occur with Mrs.
Surratt?" Weichman answered "Yes." This answer would, of
course, produce the impression that Booth, in the absence of John
H. Surratt, would take Mrs. Surratt to a room up-stairs, and there
engage in private conversation with her, which would last two or
three hours. In cross-examination, however, in answer to the
question, "Did you ever see Mrs. Surratt leave the parlor to have
a private interview with Booth?" Weichman responded: "Fre-
quently; she would go into the passage and talk with him;" and
when asked "How much time did these interviews generally oc-
cupy?" he answered: "Generally not more than five or eight
minutes." The answers in this cross-examination are very im-
portant, because there is a great difference between two persons
going "up-stairs" to a room and there holding a private inter-
view for two or three hours, and two persons leaving the parlor
and talking together for Jive or eight minutes in the public hall of
a house, where they would be subject to interruption at any
moment.
It will be perceived that the witness, Weichman, failed to say
whether after these "talks" in the hall, Booth returned to the
parlor, or whether they were had on the eve of his departure from
the house. If he returned to the parlor it might create suspicion,
but if he did not, it was perfectly proper for Mrs. Surratt to ac-
company him to the hall, and there occupy five or eight minutes
in general conversation with him before he left her house.
As we can discover nothing in the testimony up to the 11th of
MART E. SURKATT.
825
April, that would, in a Court of Justice, criminate Mrs. Surratt,
we will examine the testimony in regard to the next point,
namely :
Second. — Was there any proof that Mrs. Surratt was connected
with or knew of a conspiracy to murder the President, when she
drove to Surrattsville, on the 11th and 14th days of April, and
that she went there in the interest of such a conspiracy?
On Tuesday, the 11th of April, Weichman, at the request of
Mrs. Surratt, called on Booth at the National Hotel, to borrow his
buggy to drive Mrs. Surratt to Surrattsville. Booth having pre-
viously promised the use of his buggy to Mrs. Surratt when she
wanted it, but having sold it, said to Weichman, "Here is ten
dollars, go and hire one," which Weichman did. In direct ex-
amination Weichman says he and Mrs. Surratt left Washington
at 10 o'clock, reached Surrattsville at 12 o'clock, and only re-
mained there half an hour, and that " Mrs. Surratt said she went
for the purpose of seeing Nothy, who owed her money."
From this testimony we cannot learn whether Mrs. Surratt,
after remaining at Surrattsville half an hour, accomplished the
object of her visit or not; but in cross-examination, in answer to
the question, "Did she tell you what her object was in going?"
Weichman replied: "She said to see Nothy, who owed her some
money, and the interest on it for thirteen years." When asked
"Do you know whether she saw him?" Weichman answered:
"When we arrived at the village Mr. Nothy was not there, and
fihc told the bar-keeper to send a messenger for him, and he sent
one. In the meantime we went to Captain Gwynne's house; re-
mained there two hours, and took dinner. He said he would like
to return with us, and he did, to Surrattsville; on returning we
found Nothy, and she transacted her business with him."
Is it not plain that Weichman knew exactly for what purpose
Mrs. Surratt went to Surrattsville on the 11th? Had he not pre-
viously written a letter for her, to Nothy, as follows: "Mr.
Nothy: Unless you come forward and pay that bill at once I will
begin suit against you immediately?" Did he not know that the
amount of Mrs. Surratt's claim against Nothy was $439 with
interest, which he had calculated, on it for thirteen years? Did
he not know that after Mrs. Surratt's return from Captain
826
AMERICAN BASTILE.
G Wynne's to Snrrattsville she saw Nothy, and after transacting
her business with him immediately returned home?
Now there would be no controversy whatever about the object
of Mrs. Surratt's visit to Snrrattsville on the 11th of April had
not John M. Lloyd testified that he met her that day on the
road near Uniontown, and that in the course of conversation she
asked him about the "shooting-irons," which lie told her were
hidden away ; when, he says, she said, they would be wanted
soon. As this testimony of Lloyd will have to be considered in
connection with his testimony, as to what conversation took place
between him and Mrs. Surratt on the Friday following, we will
now inquire into the object of Mrs. Surratt's visit to Surrattsville
on Friday, the 14th of April.
On Friday, the 14th of April, AVeichman, according to his
testimony, was again asked by Mrs. Surratt to hire a buggy and
drive her to Surrattsville, as she had that day received a letter
which compelled her to go. The letter was as follows:
Riversdale, April 12th, 1865.
Mrs. M. E. Surratt:
Dear Madam: During a late visit to the lower portion of the
county I ascertained of the willingness of Mr. Nothy to settle with
you, and I desire to call your attention to the fact, in urging the set-
tlement of the claim of my father's estate. However unpleasant, I
must insist upon closing up this matter, as it is imperative in an
early settlement of the estate, which is necessary. You will, there-
fore, please inform me, at your earliest convenience, as to how and
when you will be able to pay the balance remaining due on the land
purchased by your late husband.
Yours respectfully,
(Signed) George H. Calvert, Jr.
Weichman testified that he went to the livery stable at half-past
two o'clock, at which place and time he met Atzerodt. After he had
hired a buggy he went with Atzerodt to the post-office, got a letter
and either went immediately to his room, at Mrs. Surratt's, or again
went to the livery stable, got the buggy he had hired, drove to
Mrs. Surratt's and then went to his room, for he testified that when
he was going out at the door he w met Mrs. Surratt speaking to
MART E. SURKATT.
827
Booth alone in the parlor," that Booth didn't remain more than
three or four minutes, and that immediately after he left they —
Weichman and Mrs. Surratt — started for the country. This, he
testified, was at half-past two o'clock, precisely at the same time,
he testified, he met Atzerodt at the livery stable. When he and
Mrs. Surratt started, he says, there were two packages placed in
the bottom of the buggy — one containing letters concerning Mrs.
Surratt's estate, and the other a smaller package about six inches
in diameter which looked like two or three saucers wrapped in
paper. They arrived at Surrattsville about half-past four
o'clock, remained until about half- past six, and reached home
about half-past nine or ten. According to the evidence, when
Mrs. Surratt arrived at Lloyd's she went into the parlor. Her
brother, J. Z. Jenkins, who was at Surrattsville when she drove
up, met her there. She showed him the letter she had that day
received from George Calvert, and also two judgments obtained
by Charles B. Calvert in the Circuit Court of Prince George
county, Maryland, against her late husband, John H. Surratt.
After examining the papers Mr. Jenkins made a calculation of the
interest on the judgments, when Mrs. Surratt wrote the following
letter to Nothy :
Surrattsville, Md., April lith, 1865.
Mr. John Nothy :
Sir: I have this day received a letter from Mr. Calvert, intimat-
ing that either you or your friends have represented to him that I am
not willing to settle with you for the laud. You know that I am
ready, and have been waiting for you for the last two years ; and now,
if you do not come within the next ten days, I will settle with Mr.
Calvert and bring suit against you immediately. Mr. Calvert will
give you a deed on receiving payment.
(Signed) M. E. Surratt,
Administratrix of J. H. Surratt.
Mrs. Surratt having transacted her business and given Mrs.
Offutt a package when she was in the parlor, which she said she
was requested to leave there, was ready to go home when Captain
Gwynne, whom she wanted to see, passed in his carriage. She
called to him and he stopped. She then gave him the letter she
had written to Nothy — of which the above is a copy — to carry to
828
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Lira (Mr. Nothy), requesting him to read it first, which he did.
After Captain Gwynne left, Mrs. Surratt was starting out to go
home, when Lloyd drove up. James Lusby, who came from
Marlborough with Lloyd, and who arrived at Surrattsville a
minute or two before Lloyd, in his testimony says that Mrs. Sur-
ratt's buggy was waiting for her when Lloyd drove up. She
then stopped and had some conversation with Lloyd in the back
yard, where he drove when he arrived home.
The following are the two stories Lloyd told in regard to the
conversation he alleges Mrs. Surratt had with him at this time.
His first story is his confession to Captain Cottingham, when he
was arrested and put in the guard-house at Surrattsville. His
second story is his testimony before the Military Commission. His
confession, as sworn to by Captain Cottingham, is as follows:
That Mrs. Surratt had come down to his place on Friday (the
14th) between four and five o'clock ; that she told him to have
the 14 fire-arms" ready, that two men would call for them at
twelve o'clock; that the two men did call; that Harold dis-
mounted from his horse and came into the tavern and said, " I
have something to tell you;" that Harold then told him to get
those fire-arms; that the fire-arms were brought down, and
Harold took one; that Booth's carbine was carried to him —
whether by Harold or Lloyd, Captain Cottingham could not
remember — but that Booth said he could not carry a carbine — it
was as much as he could do to carry himself; that his leg was
broken ; that Booth said, " We have murdered the President" and
that Harold said, " We have picked off Seward; " that the carbine
that Booth could not carry was up-stairs ; that Mrs. Surratt had
some bags over it,
Lloyd's story as told to the Military Commission was as follows :
That on the Tuesday (11th) before the assassination he met
Mrs. Surratt near Uniontown, when she was on her way to Sur-
rattsville; that they had passed each other; that he stopped and
saw it was she, and got out and went to her buggy ; that she
asked him about the "shooting irons;" that he told her they
were hidden away; that she said they would be wanted soon;
that on Friday, the 14th, the day on which the President was
assassinated, she came to his house; that at about five o'clock, on
MARY E. SURRATT.
829
his arrival home from Marlborough, she met him at the wood pile ;
that the first thing she said was, " Talk about the devil and some
of his imps will appear; " that she told him to have the "shooting
irons" ready that night, that some parties would call for them
that night; that she gave him something in a piece of paper to
keep for her; that he found it was a field-glass ; that she asked him
to have two bottles of whiskey ready, that they would be called for
that night; that during this interview Mrs. Offutt was present;
that he went into the barn, and Mrs. Surratt requested him to fix
her buggy, the spring of which had become detached from the
axle; that Booth and Harold called at his house that night; that
Booth did not come in, but Harold did ; that it was not over a
quarter after twelve o'clock; that Booth was a stranger to him ;
that Harold came in and took the whiskey ; that they took their
whiskey out of the bottles ; that Harold carried the bottle out to
Booth, and that Booth drank while he was sitting on the porch ?
that Harold said, "Get me those things;" that he gave them all
the articles, with the field-glass and a monkey-wrench ; that they
took only one carbine because Booth said his leg was broken and
he couldn't carry his; that they were not at his house more than
five minutes, and that on leaving Booth said, " I will tell you
some news : i" am pretty certain we have assassinated the President
and Secretary Seward."
It must not be forgotten that if there was a conspiracy — and it
is apparent there was — it was for the purpose of capturing the
President, and carrying him within the Confederate lines, which,
according to all the information we can gather, was Booth's in-
tention until Friday, the 14th, after twelve o'clock, when he heard
in some way that the President would be at the theatre that night.
The Messrs. Ford testified that no one knew until half-past ten
o'clock on Friday morning that the President would be at the
theatre that night, and that Booth was not at the theatre until
twelve o'clock, and that they did not know how he got his infor-
mation that the President would be there that night.
In considering the point in regard to Lloyd's alleged conversa-
tion with Mrs. Surratt on Tuesday, the 11th, the above fact must
be borne in mind.
It must also be borne in mind, in considering the testimony in
830
AMERICAN BASTILE.
regard to Lloyd meeting Mrs. Surratt on the 11th, and the con-
versation which, he says, took place at that time between them,
that no mention of meeting Mrs. Surratt on Tuesday, the \\th, is
made by Lloyd in his confession to Captain Cottingham.
The fact that Weichman, according to his testimony, heard
nothing said about "shooting irons" during the conversation,
although he was seated in the same buggy with Mrs. Surratt; the
fact that Mrs. Offutt — who was seated in Lloyd's carriage two or
three yards distant from where Lloyd was standing talking to
Mrs. Surratt who was seated in her buggy — heard some of the
conversation, but nothing said about "shooting irons" during
their two or three minutes interview, and the fact that Lloyd
admitted in his testimony, "I am not positive, but I think she
said shooting irons," and again, "I am pretty positive she did on
both occasions, and I know she did on the last," it is evident that
Mrs. Surratt did not mention "shooting irons" to Lloyd during
the interview on the 11th of April. What reason would she have
to say on the 11th of April, that the "shooting irons" would be
wanted soon? Why should she? What would they be wanted
for? There was no conspiracy then to murder Mr. Lincoln. If
there had, at that time, existed a conspiracy to murder Mr. Lin-
coln, and Mrs. Surratt was connected with it, would she talk to
Lloyd about it in the presence of two other persons — one of whom
was seated in the buggy with her and one in Lloyd's carriage two
or three yards distant? We will, therefore, dismiss this point in
Lloyd's testimony as being the product of his intoxicated brain,
and now consider the conversation which, he alleges, took place
between him and Mrs. Surratt on the evening of the 14th of
April.
Be it remembered there is no evidence that during Mrs. Sur-
ratt's stay at Lloyd's, before his arrival home, she made any
inquiry concerning him, where he was or when he would return.
Had she wanted to see him particularly on that day one of her
first questions would have been, "Where is Mr. Lloyd?" But
Mrs. Offutt, his sister-in-law, who was in the parlor with Mrs.
Surratt, and to whom Mrs. Surratt handed the package, saying
Bhe was requested to leave it there, docs not even say that she
mentioned his name.
MART E. SUEEATT.
831
There are two things, Lloyd testifies, in regard to the conversa-
tion of April 14th, that Mrs. Surratt did, namely, carry and
deliver a field-glass to him and tell him to have the "shooting
irons" ready — that two men would call for them — which would
seemingly implicate her. Suppose she did carry a package and
deliver a message to Lloyd, was that proof of guilt? No. Why?
Because, if she did so, it must have been at the request of Booth,
and as it was nothing more than a favor which one person would
be willing to do for another she could do it innocently. But the
evidence shows that she did not hand the package to Lloyd but to
Mrs. Offutt, simply remarking that she was requested to leave it
there, which circumstance, without doubt, proves her innocent on
that point.
The second point is — did Mrs. Surratt tell Lloyd to have the
"shooting irons" ready — that two men would call for them ? If she
did so, it must also have been at the request of Booth, and if she
did so at his request she could do so innocently, for the same reason
that has been given in the case of the package she handed to Mrs.
Offutt, and, therefore, she could deliver such a message without
committing any crime. Had she been in the conspiracy to
murder the President that night would she have carried such a
message? Would she not have known that if the President was
assassinated that night the news would reach Surrattsville almost
immediately, and that with such evidence against her as delivering
such a message she would be immediately suspected? Would she
run such a risk? But did she deliver such a message to Lloyd?
It is the testimony of all the witnesses who saw Lloyd before and
whon he arrived home on the evening of the 14th of April, that
he was drunk. Mrs. Offutt, his sister-in-law, who was staying at
his house, testified that "he was very much under the influence
of liquor, more so than she had seen him for some time past, and
that for four or five months he had drank freely." Mr. Jenkins
testified that he was at Lloyd's when Lloyd arrived home, and
that "he was very much intoxicated." James Lusby testified
that he came from Marlborough with Lloyd and that he was
"very drunk." H. R. Sweeney testified that he met Lloyd at
Marlborough on the 14th of April, and rode with him a part of
the way from Marlborough towards his home; that he was "eon-
AMERICAN BASTILE
siderably under the influence of liquor," and that he "drank, or
attempted to drink on the road." Captain Gwynne testified that he
met Lloyd that afternoon at Marlborough and came part of the way
home with him, and that he had been drinking "right smartly."
And Lloyd himself in his testimony at the trial of John H. Sur-
ratt* in Washington, in 1867, admitted that at the time of Mrs.
Surratt' s visit to Surrattsville, April 14th, 1865, he was u drunk—
quite drunk;" indeed so drunk that he was " taken sick."
If Mrs. Surratt was connected with a conspiracy to murder
the President would she hold such a conversation with Lloyd, as
he testified she did, when he was in such a condition ?
As has been said it was not determined to attempt to assas-
sinate the President until after 12 o'clock on Friday, the 14th.
A.tzerodt, one of the conspirators to capture the President, says in
his confession, that he did not know of the plot to assassinate Mr.
Lincoln until eight o'clock on Friday evening, the 14th, when he
went to the Herndon House, in answer to a message from Booth
to meet him there, when and where Booth first revealed to him his
intention to attempt the assassination of the President and others.
Mrs. Surratt could not have known of Booth's design except
through Booth, or before half past two o' clock on Friday, the
14th, when Weichman says he saw Mrs. Surratt and Booth having
a conversation which lasted two or three minutes. Mrs. Surratt
was about to leave, with Weichman, for Surrattsville. Booth
could not have known of Mrs. Surratt's intention to go to Sur-
rattsville that day unless he ascertained the fact through Weich-
man, for there is no evidence that Booth had seen Mrs. Surratt
since the Monday previously, and Weichman, who drove her to
Surrattsville, was the only person who knew she was going that
day.
During this conversation of "two or three minutes" could
Booth possibly have communicated his intention and explained
his plans to assassinate the President to Mrs. Surratt? If so, and
she consented to act as a conspirator, how could she immediately —
for Weichman testified they started immediately after Booth left
* John H. Surratt was tried in Washington in 1867, and was acquitted of the
same charge for which his mother was executed.
MART E. SURRATT.
833
— so disguise her feelings when she got into the buggy with
Weichman, or while they were on the road to Surrattsville, so as
to manifest no excitement or agitation?
No excitement or agitation was apparent. She rode from Wash-
ington to Surrattsville, a distance of twelve miles, with Weichman,
who discovered no change in her general demeanor; she stopped at
Lloyd's tavern, on her arrival at Surrattsville ; she consulted her
brother on the business that called her there; he examined her
papers and calculated for her interest on some judgments ; she
wrote a good business letter to Mr. Nothy ; she conversed with
Mrs. Offutt in the parlor; she called in Captain Gwynne, who was
passing, showed him the letter she had just written to Mr. Nothy,
asked him to read it and deliver it to Mr. Nothy, after which sho
prepared to go home. A woman — a mother — who could do all this
within a few hours of the time appointed for the murder of the
President of the United States, which she was conspiring to
accomplish, without manifesting any feeling, would be a fiend.
But Mrs. Surratt was shown, by the most respectable and reliable
witnesses, to be a "kind, generous, Christian lady," and that " her
general reputation as a Christian was spoken of with the greatest
praise." Even one of the witnesses for the prosecution testified
that " her character was exemplary and ladylike in every particu-
lar," and that " she attended faithfully to her religious duties."
Can it be believed, by the unprejudiced, that a woman bearing
6uch a reputation, wherever she was known and by all classes,
would knowingly do an act contributing to such an inhuman
murder?
While a slight discrepancy, in the narration of facts, strengthens
rather than weakens evidence, yet, when there is so great a dis-
crepancy as there is in Lloyd's stories, it renders all his testimony
unworthy of belief unless supported by other evidence.
Lloyd's testimony, for example, will not be believed when, he
says, in one story, that Booth and Harold came to his house, that
Harold dismounted from his horse and came into his tavern and
said, "I have something to tell you," the inference being that
Booth remained on his horse ; while in his other story, he says,
that Harold carried the whiskey to Booth and that Booth drank
while sitting on the porch. In one story, he says, Booth said, " We
53
834
AMERICAN BASTILE.
have murdered the President" and that Harold said, " We have picked
off Seward; " while in his other story, he says, as Booth and Harold
were leaving Booth said, "I will tell you some news; I am pretty
certain we have assassinated the President and Secretary Seward"
Now the importance of such a statement, and the impression it
would make, at the time it was made, would be too great to war-
rant such a discrepancy. Is it at all probable that Booth, a
shrewd, intelligent man — an actor — a man of the world, well
acquainted with human nature, would, after having assassinated
the President of the United States in a theatre filled with people,
and in a large city like Washington, where every facility for cap-
ture could be furnished, stop, in his flight for concealment and
safety, within twelve miles of the place where the crime was com-
mitted, and, with a leg broken in the commission of the crime, get
off his horse, sit down on the porch of a tavern, deliberately take
a drink of whiskey, and on leaving tell a drunken man, whom he
did not know, except by reputation, that he had just murdered
the President of the United States? The story is too improbable
and too ridiculous to be credited, and forces us to believe that
Lloyd, in his testimony in the case of Mrs. Surratt, perjured him-
self to shield himself from the crime of which he was suspected
and in prison.
It is not necessary to consider Lloyd's statement, in one of his
stories, that the carbine Booth could not carry because his leg was
broken was up-stairs, and that Mrs. Surratt had some bags over it,
because it is well known that Mrs. Surratt was not outside of
Washington City after the assassination of the President.
As we have shown for what purpose Mrs. Surratt went to Sur-
rattsville, on the 14th, and as we can discover no evidence what-
ever, either positive or circumstantial, to prove that she went
there in the interest of a conspiracy to murder the President, we
will now consider the next point, namely :
Third. Was there any proof that Mrs. Surratt recognized Payne
when he called at her house on the night of the 17th of April,
and that she denied that she knew him to shield herself from sus-
picion that she was connected with or knew of a conspiracy to
murder the President?
If this point stood alone, it would not be proof of either Mrs.
MART E . SURRATT.
835
Surratt's innocence or guilt, but it becomes important as corrobora-
tive testimony. As we think, however, we have, in considering
the first two points, established beyond dispute Mrs. Surratt's
innocence of any knowledge of, or participation in a conspiracy,
we will consider this point only to show her conduct at this time,
and the contradictions in the testimony of the witnesses called for
the prosecution, which will establish more clearly her innocence.
When, at two o'clock iu the morning (Saturday) after the assas-
sination of the President, McDevitt, Clark and others, of the
Metropolitan Police, came to the house of Mrs. Surratt and rang
the front door bell, in answer to which she put her head out of
an upper window and asked who was there, and subsequently, did
6he exhibit any excitement or concern ? Did she not, without
hesitation, promptly answer all their questions? When asked
where her son, John H. Surratt, was, did she not immediately
reply that she had not seen him for two weeks, but that she I ad
that day received a letter from him dated in Canada? Had she
been in a conspiracy to murder the President, or knew or sup-
posed that her son was, would she have volunteered to tell the
officers where he was? Did her conduct on this occasion show
innocence or guilt?
At about eleven o'clock on the night of the 17th of April,
Major Smith, Captain Wennerskerch and Richard C. Morgan,
officers connected with the War Department, came to the house of
Mrs. Surratt to take possession of the house, arrest her and all the
other inmates in the house, and seize the papers found in it. When
they arrived at the house Major Smith rang the front door bell,
when Mrs. Surratt opened a window and said: "Is that you,
Kirby?" Major Smith replied, " No, but open the door;" she
opened the door, when Major Smith went into the hall and said to
her, "Are you Mrs. Surratt ? w She replied, " I am." " The widow
of John H. Surratt and the mother of John H. Surratt, Jr. ?"
She replied, "I am." Major Smith then said: "I have come to
arrest you and take you to General Augur's office for examina-
tion." Mrs. Surratt and the other inmates of the house, to witf,
Miss Anna Surratt, Miss Fitzpatrick and Miss Jenkins, were
then arrested and were seated in the parlor waiting for a carriage,
which Major Smith had sent for, to take them to General Augur's
office.
836
AMERICAN BASTILE.
About ten minutes after they had thus been seated the front
door-bel! rang; the door was opened by one of the officers, when a
man entered in disguise, who, when asked, " Whom do you want
to see?" replied, " Mrs. Surratt." This man, who proved to be
Payne, was "dressed in a dark coat, and pants that seemed to be
black; a head-dress made of a dirty, gray worsted knit shirt
sleeve, or the lower part of a pair of drawers, closely fitting around
his head and hanging down on the side six or seven inches; he
was full of mud to his knees and had a pickaxe in his hand."
The officers differ somewhat as to the style of his dress and appear-
ance. Major Smith, for example, testified that he had on rather
a fine pair of boots with one leg of his pantaloons rolled up over
the top of one leg of his boots only, while Captain Wennerskerch
testified that he was full of mud to his knees, which would make
it impossible for Major Smith to see whether he had on a fine pair
of boots or not.
After the officers questioned this man as to what he wanted, etc.,
Major Smith stepped to the door of the parlor and said, " Mrs.
Surratt, will you step here for a moment? " Mrs. Surratt came
forward, and while "standing in the parlor near the hall door,"
Major Smith said to her, "Do you know this man?" Major
Smith testified, that Mrs. Surratt said, raising her right hand, "Be-
fore God, I do not know this man, and have never seen him."
Captain Wennerskerch testified that Mrs. Surratt held up her
hands and said, "So help me God, I never saw him before, and I
know nothing of him."
The fact that the language Mrs. Surratt used is given so dif-
ferently by these two witnesses would alone create a doubt as to
what she did say, but when one witness swears she held up one
hand, and the other swears that she held up hefr hands, the dis-
crepancy is so great that neither can be believed.
The testimony of these two officers, Smith and Wennerskerch,
is also conflicting in regard to Mrs. Surratt's attitude before she
left the parlor to be taken to General Augur's office. Major
Smith testified "that she was seated at a chair in the front parlor,"
and when asked "Was she not kneeling?" he replied, "She was
not." Captain Wennerskerch, on the other hand, testified that
when Major Smith was ready to "take her away, she requested him
MART E. SURRATT.
837
to wait a while, and she knelt and prayed a little; she knelt down,
but whether she prayed or not, I can't say."
When Payne called at Mrs. Surratt's house, and she was asked
if she knew him, there is no doubt that she said she did not, but
there is a doubt as to what she said and what her action was.
Under the same circumstances, it is not probable that one person
would recognize another, even when well acquainted, and it is
altogether improbable that Mrs. Surratt, who had never seen
Payne, except on two occasions, and that some time before, would
recognize him when thus presented.
On both the former occasions when Mrs. Surratt saw Payne,
he was well dressed, and wore a white necktie. On this occa-
sion, when he appeared dressed in a rough suit of clothes, a head-
dress made of a dirty, gray knit worsted shirt sleeve, pulled
down over his head and hanging down on one side six or seven
inches, covered with mud to his knees and carrying a pickaxe in
his hand, how could Mrs. Surratt or any one else, suddenly called
upon and by gas-light, recognize him in such a disguise and in
such a condition?
Miss Fitzpatrick testified that she was present when Payne was
arrested at Mrs. Surratt's house, but did not recognize him at the
time, nor until the shirt sleeve was removed from his head at
General Augur's office. When a person whose eyesight was good,
as in the case of Miss Fitzpatrick, who had seen Payne on both
occasions that he was at Mrs. Surratt's house, did not recognize
him as he appeared on the night of the 17th, when he was ar-
rested, would it not be remarkable if Mrs. Surratt did recognize
him when he was thus disguised? It was shown by many and
reliable witnesses that Mrs. Surratt's eyesight was defective, and
that she sometimes failed to recognize her own friends when she
met them on the street, and that she was unable to read or sew by
gas-light.
Major Smith, the officer who asked Mrs. Surratt the question,
"Do you know this man? " when asked by the counsel for Mrs.
Surratt, " Is this the coat Payne wore on the night of his arrest?"
answered, "It is."
Q. " How do you know that coat to be the one Payne had on 1n
A. " By the way any one would recognize such an article — from
memory."
838
AMERICAN BASTILE.
Q. "What marks about it do you recognize?" A. "The color
and general look of the coat."
Q. "Are you sure the coat he had on was not what is called Con-
federate gray ? " A. "i" am very sure, as I said before, this is ilie
coat."
I Q. " Then are you certain it was not a Confederate gray coat
Payne had on when you arrested hini?" A. " 1 have said I am
certain this is the coat."
Q. "Will you answer my question ?" A. "I have already
testified on that point, and I do not know whether I am called
upon to testify three or four times."
Another coat, smaller, cleaner and a brighter gray, was pro-
duced.
Witness — " That is the coat, sir; I recognize it by the buttons; thai
was all that vias wanting in the other coat; IT was haiid in the
LIGHT IN WHICH I WAS STANDING TO TELL."
Which is the more probable, that Mrs. Surratt, with her im-
perfect eyesight, and who had sometimes failed to recognize her
own friends on the street, during the day, would recognize a man,
whom she had seen only on two occasions, suddenly presented to
her, in disguise and by gas-light, or an officer identify the coat
of the man he had arrested and which he had scrutinized for the
purpose of future identification?
The mere fact that Payne came to Mrs. Surratt's house on the
night of the 17th of April is no proof of her guilt. We cannot
understand the motive which induces a man to do an act unless
his action or conduct at the time, or some subsequent circumstance
or act, explains his motive. We know that Payne came to Mrs.
Surratt's house on the night of the 17th of April, but why he came
we do not know — the testimony does not explain, and, therefore,
we can only surmise what his motive was in coming. Payne's
reason for coming — namely, to "dig a gutter" — when confronted
by the officers, being only an excuse, it is not necessary to con-
sider. It is not probable that he came there for shelter or con-
cealment, for, if Mrs. Surratt were guilty, Payne knew it, and know-
ing it he would not, in his flight from justice and for safety, seek
shelter and concealment at her house, for she being in the con-
spiracy, and her house being in Washington where the assassina-
tion took place, he could not feel that he was safe there.
MARY E. SUKRATT.
839
If she were innocent he would not jeopardize his safety by com-
ing, for shelter or concealment, to the very house where he was
known, because, although, being disguised and coming at that
hour of the night, he would not be recognized, when met at the
door, even by Weichman, who had admitted him on the former
two occasions when he came to Mrs. Surratt's, yet, when his dis-
guise was removed, as it would have to be, if he came there for
shelter or concealment, he would be detected. It is more proba-
ble, therefore, that knowing Mrs. Surratt's reputation for kind-
ness and generosity, and feeling the pangs of hunger — for it was
now Monday night and he had wandered about since Friday night
— the night of the assassination — a period of more than seventy-
two hours — without anything to eat, that in his extremity he
stopped at her door to ask for bread.
After carefully considering the testimony had before the Mili-
tary Commission in regard to the third point, we can discover no
proof that Mrs. Surratt, on the night of the 17th of April, recog-
nized Payne, and that she denied that she knew him to shield her-
self from suspicion that she was connected with or knew of a con-
spiracy to murder the President.
After considering the three points, which include all the testi-
mony on which Mrs. Surratt was convicted and executed by the
Military Commission, taken singly or collectively, we can find no
proof whatever of her connection with or knowledge of a conspiracy
to assassinate Mr. Lincoln and others.
What part of the testimony shows that Mrs. Surratt was in a
conspiracy to murder the President? What part of it shows that
she ever participated in a meeting of the conspirators? What
part of it shows that she even knew of the existence of a conspiracy ?
Was it even shown that those who were condemned and executed
with her ever held a meeting in her house? If, because Booth
and Payne and Atzerodt came to her house occasionally and were
treated by her with civility, should she be hanged ? If so, then why
not hang the proprietor of the National Hotel, where Booth had a
room and entertained his friends? Why not hang the proprietor
of the Kirk wood House, where Atzerodt stopped ? Why not hang
the proprietor of the Herndon House, where Payne lodged and
boarded, and where, on the evening of Good Friday, the 14th, the
840
AMERICAN BASTILE.
day of the assassination, Booth, after he learned that the President
would be at the theatre that night, gathered together the con-
spirators, and then and there determined on the inhuman and mur-
derous attack upon the President?
Our object in reviewing the testimony on which Mrs. Surratt
was convicted and executed by a Military Commission has been
to discover whether there was any proof by which she could have
been convicted in a Court of Justice, and therefore we have
adhered closely to the consideration of the testimony, and have
based our conclusion on the testimony alone, without being influ-
enced by any outside facts which would tend to establish her
innocence.
After carefully considering the testimony we can find no proof
by which Mrs. Surratt could have been convicted in a Court of
Justice, and must conclude that she was innocent of the crime of
which she was charged, and that her execution was murder.
Before closing we give the following facts which alone ought
to establish, without a doubt, Mrs. Surratt's innocence.
John W. Clampitt, one of the counsel for Mrs. Surratt, says:*
"Near the close of the trial, and after the testimony of the
heartless and perjured Weichman had been given, stung by feel-
ings of remorse, Weichman called at the rooms of a young man,
now connected with one of the Catholic institutions of learning,
but at that time a resident of Washington, with whom he was on
terms of intimacy, and, during an earnest conversation, admitted
that he had sworn falsely with regard to the connection of Mrs.
Surratt with the murder of the President; that ... he was him-
self 6iispicioned and was threatened by the authorities of the War
Department, in which for some time he had been a clerk, with
arrest and trial with the other prisoners, unless he made a state-
ment implicating Mrs. Surratt; that upon such demand he pre-
pared a statement, which was rejected by the Judge-Advocate-Gen-
eral with the remark that* it was not strong enough;' that his
life being threatened he made out another statement which was
in accordance with their wishes and demands, and this 1 state-
ment 9 he swore to on the witness-stand, falsely implicating Mrs.
Surratt in the conspiracy. The young man to whom Weichman
* North American Review, September, 1880.
MART E. SURRATT.
841
made this confession communicated it to the counsel of Mrs. Sur-
ratt, and offered to go upon the witness-stand and swear to the
same. We took the proper steps to have him called as a witness,
but the Commission, taking advantage of a technical ground, re-
fused to permit him to testify on this a^-important point."
Mr. Clampitt in the same article also says : " The second fact
is the declaration of Payne, made on the morning of the execution,
to General Hartranft, the special Provost-Marshal, and sent to the
President by his order. The statement, as taken down by him,
is as follows :
"The prisoner Payne has just told me that Mrs. Surratt is entirely
innocent of the assassination of President Lincoln, or of any knowl-
edge thereof. He also states that she had no knowledge whatever
of the abduction plot, that nothing was ever said to her about it, and
that her name was never mentioned by the parties connected there-
with.
"At the close of the letter General Hartranft wrote these signifi-
cant words : '/ believe that Payne has told the truth in this matter. "
Mrs. Surratt's execution is a foul blot in American history,
and will always remain a stigma upon the character of those who
were instrumental in accomplishing the work.
Note. — Although the case of Mrs. Surratt does not directly belong to the
subject treated of in this volume, yet it is incorporated to show to what extent
men will disregard the law when encouraged by those invested with power.
In disregard of law, all the "Prisoners of State," mentioned in this "volume,
were illegally arrested and incarcerated, directly or indirectly, by the edict of
Mr. Lincoln. In disregard of law, Mr. Lincoln authorized the establishment
of military commissions. In disregard of law, Mr. Lincoln was basely and in-
humanly murdered. In disregard of law, Mary E. Surratt, although innocent,
was convicted and hanged by a military commission for aiding and abetting the
assassination of Mr. Lincoln. Mrs. Surratt's execution, therefore, was the direct
consequence of arbitrary rule.
CONCLUSION.
COULD there be a more appropriate day to write the con-
clusion to the AMERICAN B A STILE than the FOURTH
OF JULY? It is scarcely more than a century ago, since the
DECLARATION was read to a patriotic people from the
southern steps of INDEPENDENCE HALL — nigh to where I
now write — Philadelphia — and yet during that short period, IM-
PERIALISM has threatened the destruction of FREE GOV-
ERNMENT. Does this encroachment on the rights of free
government serve as a warning to posterity?
In the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE are these
words :
"The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history
of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having, in direct
object, the establishment of an ABSOLUTE TYRANNY
OVER THESE STATES."
DOES HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF ?
For a response, we point to the AMERICAN BASTILE.
Did King George III. imprison, "without warrant of law,"
from twenty to thirty THOUSAND of his subjects, during a
seven years Colonial warfare, as did Mr. Lincoln citizens of the
United States, in States not in rebellion, during a civil warfare
of four years ?
Were members of the House of Lords, and of the House of
Commons, because of their opposition to the measures of the
Government of George III.,, expelled, as was the case with
members of the United States Senate, and of the House of Repre-
sentatives, because of their opposition to the measures of the Ad-
ministration of Abraham Lincoln?
Can we hope to celebrate the Bi-Centennial Anniversary of
the Declaration of American independence, when, but fifteen
years before the Centennial Anniversary of the Declaration, the
whole land of the Free Northern States was dotted over with
842
CONCLUSION.
843
Forts, Penitentiaries, Jails, Barracks, and Prison Camps
— American Bastiles — which contained, during the short
period of four years, as variously estimated, from twenty to
thirty thousand men, besides women and children — free
citizens of free States, incarcerated by the edict of one man,
because they did not choose, or were supposed, not to obey his
mandates : Suspects — the drama of the French Revolution re-
enacted.
"We see in every order of arrest issued ; in the deceitful
eye of every spy ; in the treacherous heart of every informer ;
in every telegraphic warrant ; in every handcuff that binds
the wrists of a free man ; in every dim ray of sunlight that
penetrates the gloomy cell — we hear in every sound of the
u little bell ; " in every free wind that whistles in bitter
mockery around casemate, battlement, and tower ; in every
wintry blast that chills the blood of the citizen in the open
prison-camp ; in every word of the sentinel ; in every laugh
of the oppressor ; in the morning and evening prayer offered
up at the altar of the mother, wife, sister ; at the grave of the
child, Madame Roland exclaim, On ! Liberty, what crimes
are committed in thy name i
Does History repeat itself ?
Six hundred and fifty-four years ago, on an island meadow
in the river Thames, still known as Runnymede, the ironclad
friends of freedom, in England, met King John, and wrested
from him Magna Charta, the great charter of English liberty.
It contains these words : " No freeman shall be taken, or
imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or in any way de-
stroyed ; NOR WILL WE PASS UPON HIM, NOR COMMIT HIM, BUT BY
THE LAWFUL JUDGMENT OF HIS PEERS, OR BY THE LAW OF THE LAND.
" TO NO MAN WILL WE SELL, TO NONE WILL WE DELAY, TO NONB
WILL WE DENY RIGHT OR JUSTICE."
This is the great germ of our civil liberty.
It was defended in England by many bloody wars, and has
been ratified by many acts of Parliament. From it sprang
the Habeas Corpus, which, at the present day, no King or
Parliament of England would dare in any way to restrict the
844
AMERICAN BASTILE.
privilege of. It was engrafted as a fundamental principle ii
our Constitution, and our forefathers believed it to be a sure
guarantee for the rights of future generations.
About six years before the Federal Constitution was adopted,
a remarkable prophecy was uttered, under the following cir-
cumstances : In 1780, Henry Laurens, former President of
the Continental Congress, was sent as Minister to Holland,
On his way he was captured, and imprisoned in the Tower
of London for fourteen months. "When Lord Shelburno
became Premier, Laurens was brought up on habeas corpus,
and released. After his release, he dined with Lord Shel-
burne, when the conversation turned on the separation of the
two countries. Lord Shelburne remarked :
u I am sorry for your people."
" Why so ? " asked Laurens.
" They will lose the habeas corpus" was the reply.
u Lose the habeas corpus ! " said Laurens, in astonishment.
"Yes," said Lord Shelburne. "We purchased it with
centuries of wrangling, many years of fighting, and had it
confirmed by at least fifty acts of Parliament. All this
taught the nation its value ; and it is so ingrained into their
creed, as the very foundation to their liberty, that no man or
party will ever dare to trample on it. Your people will pick
it up and attempt to use it, but, having cost them nothing,
they will not know how to appreciate it. At the first great
internal feud that you have, the MAJORITY will tramplk
UPON IT, AND SO WILL GO YOUR LIBERTY."
We present to the public the history of a few of the cases
— representing different walks of life — of the thousands of
inoffensive citizens of the free States, not in rebellion, incar-
cerated in American Bastiles, during the late civil war.
In this volume there is no assertion or statement made,
which is not true in every particular, in so far as the author
is aware. lie regrets it, if he has made a single misstatement in
point of fact.
To the geutlemen who have furnished the author with
CONCLUSION.
845
facts contained in this volume, he begs to return his sincere
thanks. To Mr. Mahony he is especially indebted.
As has been said before, the great object of this work is
to aid in restoring to the citizen all his rights of citizenship
— to assist in perpetuating free institutions in our country
— and help to prevent, if possible, in the future, a repetition
of the wrongs and crimes committed by a reckless Adminis-
tration during the last few years.
The American people have a glorious inheritance, if they
fully appreciate it. But, like the legacy to the spendthrift,
when once squandered and gone, it cannot be regained.
That which it has taken ages to establish, may in a short
time be swept, by the hand of the usurper, from existence.
It therefore behooves the citizen to watch with jealous
care every encroachment upon his chartered rights, and pro-
tect them against every act which tends to subvert them.
The death of free government ! Who can contemplate the
melancholy spectacle it presents, without sorrow ? When !
how ! can it be restored to life ? " Where, in what age
and in what clime, have the ruins of constitutional free-
dom renewed their youth and regained their lost estate?
By whose strong grip has the corpse of a Republic ever
been resurrected? The merciful Master who walked upon
the waters and bade the winds be still, left no ordained
apostles with power to wrench apart the jaws of national
death and release the victims of despotism. Wherever in
the wide domain of human conduct a people once possessed
of liberty, with all power in their own hands, have sur-
rendered these great gifts of God at the command of the
usurper, they have never afterward proven themselves wor-
thy to regain their forfeited treasure. "
The safeguards of the State are in the Constitution. In
it repose the liberties of the people. Hence the people should
" cling to the Constitution, as the shipwrecked mariner clings
to the last plank, when night and the tempest close around
him."
846
AMERICAN BASTILE.
On the opposite page, we exhibit to the reader a facsimile
of the Key of the Bastile, presented by Lafayette to Wash-
ington, after the demolition of the Bastile, in Paris, in 1789.
The key still hangs in Mount Vernon. But, reader, what
does it suggest to you ? Does it carry you to Fort Warren ?
Fort Lafayette ? Fort McIIenry ? Will you make your own
comments ? Will you draw your own conclusions ? We have
given you facts: what more do j*ou want? Has the right of
free speech been restored to you? TIIEX SPEAK. Do
you think the liberties of the citizen, under our Constitution
and in our country, are as secure as they were, and seemed
to be, half a century ago ?
The Key of the Bastile !
What memories cluster around it ! What sadness I What
sorrows ! What of oppression does it suggest ? What of
usurpation? What of a CONSTITUTION broken iuto
fragments ?
Will the PEOPLE now stop to consider ? Can we look to
them for redress? *
Have our forefathers labored in vain, and do we still plead
in vain, for the protection of the rights and liberties of the
citizen under our Constitution ?
Our Hope is in the People.
"a thousand teaks scarce served to form a state j
an hour mat lat it in the dust j and when
Can man its shattered splendor renovate,
Recall its virtues back, and vanquish Time and Fatb?"
F A C-S I M IL E OF THE KEY OF THE BASTILE. PARI
APPENDIX.
WE here give a copy of some of the Orders, Proclamations,
etc., issued by the President, or his Secretaries, in regard
to the illegal arrests and imprisonment of citizens. It will be
seen, from these orders, that Mr. Lincoln was responsible
for all the arrests made, whether by the civil or military author-
ities.
A.
On the 3d of December, 1861, an order, signed by Soth
C. Ilawley, Chief Clerk of the Metropolitan Police Commis-
sioners of Xew York, was read to the prisoners of state in
Fort Lafayette. He acted, as he stated, under orders of Wm.
EL Seward, Secretary of State. The order ran as follows :
" I am instructed by the Secretary of State to inform you that
the Department of State of the United States will not recognize
any one as an attorney for political prisoners, and will look with
distrust upon all applications for release through such channels;
and that such applications will be regarded as additional reasons
for declining to release the prisoners.
"And further, that if such prisoners wish to mako any com-
munication to tho Government, they aro at liberty, and are
requested, to mako it directly to the State Department.
(Signed) Setu C. IIawley."
B.
A longthy proclamation, promulgated by Mr. Stanton, en«
titled, "Executive Order in relation to State Prisoners, No. 1,"
847
848
AMERICAN BASTILE.
and dated February 14, 1862, a month after his appointment
as Secretary of War, appeared in the newspapers. This order
contained a summary of Mr. Stanton's views and opinions
upon the revolution in the Southern States, its course and
probable results, and upon the action of the Federal Govern-
ment, and concluded thus :
" The insurrection is believed to have culminated and to bo
declining. The President, in view of these facts, and anxious to
favor a return to the normal course of the Administration, as far
as a regard for the public welfare will allow, directs that all poli-
tical prisoners or state prisoners now held in military custody,
be released on their subscribing a parole, engaging them to ren-
der no aid or comfort to enemies in hostility to the United States.
The Secretary of War will, however, in his discretion, except
from the effects of this order any persons detained as spies in
the service of the insurgents, or others whose release at the
present moment may be deemed incompatible with the public
safety.
" To all persons who shall be so released, and shall keep their
parole, the President grants an amnesty for any past offences of
treason or disloyalty which may have been committed. Extra-
ordinary arrests will hereafter be made under direction of the
military authorities alone.
" By order of the President.
(Signed) Edwin M. Stanton,
Secretary of War/'
C.
Shortly afterward, the following order was also promulgated
by the Secretary of War :
M OFFICIAL.
"Executive Order No. 2, in relation to the State Prisoners.
"War Department, Washington City, February 27, 18G2.
" It is ordered :
M First That a special Commission of two persons — one of mili-
APPENDIX.
840
tary rank, and the other in civil life — he appointed to examine
the cases of the state prisoners remaining in military custody of
the United States, and to determine whether, in view of the pub-
lic safety, and the existing rebellion, they should be discharged,
or remain in military custody, or be remitted to the civil tribunals
for trial.
" Second. That Major-General John A. Dix, commanding in Bal-
timore, and the Hon. Edwards Pierrepont, of New York, be and
they are hereby appointed Commissioners for the purposes above
mentioned ; and they are authorized to examine, hear, and deter-
mine the cases aforesaid, ex parte, and in a summary manner, at
auch times and places as in their discretion they may appoint,
and make full report to the War Department.
" By order of the President.
(Signed) Edwin M. Stanton,
Secretary of War."
D.
"War Department,
Washington, July 26, 1862.
" To H. M. Hoxie, United States Marshal of the District of
Iowa:
"You are hereby authorized and instructed to arrest and im-
prison any disloyal person or persons in your district, who shall
do any act or make any declaration or publication to discourage
or prevent enlistment of volunteers to suppress the rebellion, or
to afford aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States
You are also authorized and directed to call upon any military
officer in your district, or elsewhere convenient thereto, for mili-
tary force to guard and keep them in safe custody.
"Any person or persons arrested under this authority, you
will transport in safe custody to the Military Governor of the
District of Columbia, and make report to this Department.
" All officers and persons in the military service of the United
States to whom this order may be exhibited, and who shall be
called upon by the within-named Marshal for aid to make arrests
of disloyal persons, are hereby directed to render such aid as
54
850
AMERICAN BASTILE.
may bo at tneif command, and employ their force for thai pui»
pose. The necessary transportation and subsistence required
for the execution of this order will be furnished by all quarter-
masters and commissaries when requisitions may be made.
(Signed) Edwin M. Stanton,
Secretary of War."
" INDORSEMENT.
11 Friend Lowery : Eead the within carefully, and, if any one
in your region comes within its terms, write to Hoxie.
(Signed) S. J. Kirkwood.
" P. S. — There are persons, if I mistake not, in Wapello County,
that need attending to."
The above is a specimen of an order issued to Provost
Marshals, authorizing them to make arrests prior to the is-
suing of the President's Proclamation of September 24, 1862,
suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.
This order, directed to the United States Marshal for Iowa,
and indorsed by Governor Kirkwood of that State, was the
authority for the arrest of all citizens subsequently arrested
throughout all the States
E.
Orders of the War Department, on which American
Freemen were kidnapped and imprisoned — Suspension
of the Writ of Habeas Corpus.
The first public order which emanated from the War De-
partment directing the kidnapping of American citizens, and
indeed of every one else who might fall under the ban of the
displeasure of the Administration, was dated the 8th of
August, 1862.
A number of cases of arbitrary arrests had occurred before
this, some of them as early as May of the previous year, but
there was no general order, it seems, to warrant or direct sucb
proceedings.
APPENDIX.
851
A telegraphic despatch, or a private order from the State
or War Department, was the usual warrant previous to the
8th of August, 1862, for depriving freemen of their liherty.
The orders were as follows :
" War Department, August 8, 1862.
Ordered :
" First. That all United States Marshals, and Superintendents,
and Chiefs of Police of any town, city, or district, be, and they
are hereby authorized and directed to arrest and imprison any
person or persons who may be engaged by act, speech, or writing,
in discouraging volunteer enlistments, or in any way giving aid
and comfort to the enemy, or for any other disloyal practice
against the United States.
" Second. That immediate report be made to Major L. C. Turner,
Judge Advocate, in order that such persons may be tried before
a military commission.
" Third. The expense of such arrest and imprisonment will be
certified to the Chief Clerk of the War Department for settle-
ment and payment. Edwin M. Stanton,
Secretary of War."
F.
On the same day another order was issued, which, among
other things, suspended the writ of habeas corpus, not by
authority of Congress, as required by the Constitution, nor
even by the President — granting he had the authority to dc
so, which we do not — but by Edwin M. Stanton, who was
holding a mere statutory office, and who at most had the
right to exercise only such powers as the statute creating the
office gave him authority to do. But here, nevertheless, is his
order suspending the writ of habeas corpus:
"War Department,
Washington, August 8, 1862.
u Order to prevent evasion of military duty and for suppres-
sion of disloyal practices, and for the suspension of the writ
of habeas corpus,
u First. By direction of the President of the United States, it
is hereby ordered that, until further order, no citizen liable to be
852
AMERICAN BASTILE.
drafted into the militia shall be allowed to go to a foreign coun-
try; and all Marshals, Deputy Marshals, and military officers of
the United States, are directed, and all police authorities, espe-
cially at the ports of the United States on the seaboard and on
the frontier, are requested to see that this order is faithfully car-
ried into effect. And they are hereby authorized and directed to
arrest and detain any person or persons about to depart from the
United States, in violation of this order, and report to L. C.
Turner, Judge Advocate, at Washington City, for further instruc-
tion respecting the person or persons so arrested or detained.
"Second. Any person liable to draft, who shall absent himself
from his county or State, before such draft is made, will be
arrested by any Provost Marshal or other United States or State
officer, wherever he may be found within the jurisdiction of
the United States, and conveyed to the nearest military post or
depot, and placed on military duty for the term of the draft;
and the expenses of his own arrest and conveyance to such post
or depot, and also the sum of five dollars as a reward to the
officer who shall make such arrest, shall be deducted from his pay.
" Third. The writ of habeas corpus is hereby suspended in re-
spect to all prisoners so arrested and detained, and in respect to
all persons arrested for disloyal practices.
(Signed) Edwin M. Stanton,
Secretary of War."
It was by virtue of the first of these two orders, and before
an attempt had been made to assume the arbitrary power to
suspend the writ of habeas corpus, that most of those who
had been kidnapped during the months of August and Sep-
tember, 1862, were deprived of their liberty.
It will be noticed — and the reader's attention is specially
called to the fact — that it was designed to try those who
were arrested under the order of the 8th of August, by a
Military Commission. Why this was not done is simply
because the elections of October admonished the Administra-
tion that it could not go much farther in subjecting Ameri-
can freemen to the despotism of arbitrary power, with impu-
nity. The Military Commission was named, and ready to
try the victims, and of course to convict them of any crime
of which the tyrants chose to accuse them; but after the
APPENDIX.
853
result of the elections became known, the Commission was
diverted to another purpose.
G.
1c was not until the 24th of September, 1862, that tno
President ventured to assume to himself arbitrary power, and
avow the act publicly. This he did by an order of that date,
which is as follows :
Proclamation op September 24, 1862.
"Whereas: it has become necessary to call into service not
only volunteers, but also a portion of the militia of the States,
by draft, in order to suppress the insurrection existing in the
United States, and disloyal persons are not adequately restrained
by the ordinary process of law from hindering this measure, and
from giving aid and comfort, in various ways, to the insurrection i
" Now, therefore, be it ordered :
" 1. That, during the existing insurrection, and as a necessary
measure for suppressing the same, all rebels and insurgents, their
aiders and abettors, within the United States, and all persons dis-
couraging volunteer enlistments, resisting militia drafts, or guilty
of any disloyal practice, affording aid and comfort to the rebels
against the authority of the United States, shall be subject to
martial law, and liable to trial and punishment by court-martial
or military commission.
" 2. That the writ of habeas corpus is suspended in respect to
all persons arrested, or who are now, or hereafter during the
rebellion shall be, imprisoned in any fort, camp, arsenal, military
prison, or other place of confinement, by any military authority,
or by sentence of any court-martial or military commission.
" In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused
the seal of the United States to be affixed.
"Done at the City of Washington, this twenty-fourth
day of September, in the year of our Lord one thou-
[l. s.J sand eight hundred and sixty -two, and of the inde-
pendence of the United States the eighty-seventh.
Abraham Lincoln.
« By the President.
William H. Seward, Secretary of State."
854
AMEKICAN BASTILE.
It looks significant that this order is countersigned by
Wm. H. Seward, and not Edwin M. Stanton. Following
this order for the suspension of the habeas corpus, the follow-
ing extraordinary announcement was made from the War
Department :
H.
Orders of the Secretary op War, promulgated September
26, 1862.
"First. There shall be a Provost Marshal General of the War
Department, whose headquarters will be at Washington, and who
will have the immediate supervision, control, and management
of the corps.
" Second. There will be appointed, in each State, one or more
special Provost Marshals, as necessity may require, who will
report and receive instructions and orders from the Provost
Marshal General of the War Department.
" Third. It will be the duty of the special Provost Marshal
to arrest all deserters, whether regulars, volunteers, or militia,
and send them to the nearest military commander or military
post, where they can be cared for and sent to their respective
regiments; to arrest, upon the warrant of the Judge Advocate,
all disloyal persons subject to arrest under the orders of the War
Department; to inquire into and report treasonable practices,
seize stolen or embezzled property of the Government, detect
spies of the enemy, and perform such other duties as may be
enjoined upon them by the War Department, and report all their
proceedings promptly to the Provost Marshal General.
"Fourth. To enable special Provost Marshals to discharge their
duties efficiently, they are authorized to call upon any available
military force within their respective districts, constables, sher-
iffs, or police officers, so far as may be necessary, under such
regulations as may be prescribed by the Provost Marshal General
of the War Department, with the approval of the Secretary of
War. •
"Fifth. Necessary expenses incurred in this service will be
paid in duplicate bills, certified by the special Provost Marshal,
stating time and nature of service, after examination and approve*
by the Provost Marshal General.
APPENDIX.
855
* Sixth. The compensation of special Provost Marshals shall be
. dollars per month; and actual travelling expenses and post-
age will be refunded, on bills certified under oath and approved
by the Provost Marshal General.
"Seventh. All appointments in this service will be subject to be
revoked at the pleasure of the Secretary of War.
" Eighth. All orders heretofore issued by the War Department,
conferring authority upon other officers to act as Provost Mar-
shals, except those who receive special commissions from the
War Department, are hereby revoked.
" By order of the Secretary of War.
L. Thomas, Adjutant General."
This completed the assumption of arbitrary power: nothing
more was needed to exercise it universally throughout the
whole country — in that portion of it where the people were
pursuing their usual peaceful avocations of life, as well as in
that portion of it occupied by hostile armies. These orders,
one and all, not only usurped the legislative powers of Con-
gress, but the judicial authority of the Courts ; nay, powers
of government are assumed in these orders, which the Con-
stitution does not invest in any department of the Federal
Government, but, on the contrary, reserves them especially to
the people. But of what avail is it that such is the fact ?
The people acquiesced in these assumptions of power, and
many of them approve of and commend them.
1.
Duplicity of the Secretary op War — Public Order for
the release of prisoners of state — private order 10
disregard the one publicly promulgated.
The clamors of the people against the imprisonment of
political offenders wrung from the Secretary of War an order
from his Department, dated the 22d of November, 1862, for
the discharge of " all persons now in military custody" who
856
AMERICAN BASTILE.
had been arrested on the alleged ground of discouraging
enlistments, etc.
The order was as follows :
" War Department, Washington, November 22, 1862.
" Orlerei: 1. That all persons now in military custody, who
have been arrested for discouraging volunteer enlistment, opposing
the draft, or for otherwise giving aid and comfort to the enemy,
in States where the draft has been made, or the quota of volun-
teers and militia has been furnished, shall be discharged from
further military restraint.
" 2. That persons who, by authority of the military commander
or Governor in rebel States, have been arrested and sent from
such State for disloyalty or hostility to the Government of the
United States, and are now in military custody, may also be dis-
charged upon giving their parole to do no act of hostility against
the Government of the United States, nor render aid to its ene-
mies. But all such persons shall remain subject to military
surveillance and liable to arrest on breach of their parole. And
if any such persons shall prefer to leave the loyal States on con-
dition of their not returning again during the war, or until spe-
cial leave for that purpose be obtained from the President, then
such person shall, at his option, be released and depart from the
United States, or be conveyed beyond the military lines of the
United States forces.
" 3. This order shall not operate to discharge any person wh i
has been in arms against the Government, or by force and arms
has resisted, or attempted to resist the draft, nor relieve any
person from liability to trial and punishment by civil tribunals,
or by court-martial or military commission, who may be amena
ble to such tribunals for offences committed.
" By order of the Secretary of War.
E. D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant-General."
While this order was promulgated to satisfy the public, a
secret private order was issued at the same time to the commanders
of the J3astiles, not to release any political offenders under tht
•public order.
The following is a copy of this secret order :
APPENDIX.
J.
"Washington, Nov. 24, 11.50 a. m
"Commanding Officer, Fort :
"None of the prisoners confined at your post will be released
under orders of the War Department of the 22d inst., without
special instructions from the Department.
M By order of Secretary of War.
E. D. Townsend, A. A. Gr."
Thus is the Secretary of War convicted of duplicity,
hypocrisy, treachery, and deceit, as scarcely one, if any
prisoner was released under the order of the 22d of Novem
ber. On the contrary, most of the prisoners in Forts Lafay
ette and Delaware, if not in other Bastiles, were still kept in
confinement until late in December, and some of them for a
considerable time afterward.
Notwithstanding these well-attested facts, Mr. Stanton, in
a report made by him on the 29th of November, stated that,
"by a recent order, all persons arrested for discouraging
enlistments and disloyal practices in States where the quotas
of volunteers and militia are filled up, have been released.
Other persons arrested by military commanders and sent
from the departments where their presence was deemed dan-
gerous to the public safety, have been discharged upon parole
to be of good behavior and do no act of hostility against the
Government of the United States."
This Mr. Stanton knew was a barefaced, wilful, and pre-
meditated falsehood, uttered to mislead and deceive the
public.
It is also alleged, and it is no doubt true, judging the cir-
cumstances by the other acts of duplicity of Mr. Stanton,
Secretary of War, that on the application of the Hon.
Ruverdy Johnson, an order was issued from the War De-
partment for the release and discharge of Judge Carmichael,
of Maryland, and that a private order was sent simultaneously
to the Commandant of Fort Delaware, not to release Judge
Carmichael on the presentation of the order to that effect.
85S
AMERICAN BASTILE.
K.
An Act relating to Habeas Cdrpus, and regulating Judi
cial Proceedings in certain cases. Approved March
3, 1863.
Never was more power over the rights and liberties of the
citizen placed in the hands of any one man, than that granted
by the above act of Congress, only two sections of which we
here quote. Citizens who have never seen this act of Con-
gress will be astonished at the despotic and tyrannical rule
under which they lived during the Administration of Mr.
Lincoln.
They are as follows :
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represent a<
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That,
during the present rebellion, the President of the United States,
whenever, in his judgment, the public safety may require it, is
authorized to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus
in any case throughout the United States, or any part thereof.
And whenever and wherever the said privilege shall be sus-
pended, as aforesaid, no military or other officer shall be com-
pelled, in answer to any writ of habeas corpus, to return the
body of any person or persons detained by him by authority of
the President ; but upon the certificate, under oath, of the officer
having charge of any one so detained, that such person is de-
tained by him as a prisoner under authority of the President,
further proceedings under the writ of habeas corpus shall be sus-
pended by the judge or court having issued the said writ, so
long as said suspension by the President shall remain in force,
and said rebellion continue.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That any order of the Presi
dent, or under his authority, made at any time during the exist-
ence of the present rebellion, shall be a defence in all courts to
any action or prosecution, civil or criminal, pending, or to be
commenced, for any search, seizure, arrest, or imprisonment,
made, done, or committed, or acts omitted to be done, under
and by virtue of such order, or under color of any law of Con-
gress, and such defence may be made by special plea, or under
the general issue.
Who make. .
Has made the Ivory o er and o'er
For Procter & Gamble heretofore.
Besides, this soap brings to the till
More profit than the Ivory will."
He means to use by such a game,
Your reputation and good nam
A fraud or counterfeit to sell
Of what is known and proven well.
This means his soap will never go
On its own merits fast or slow ;
And you, like him, the truth must toss
Clean overboard, or sell at loss.
It means still more, that throughout the land
The Ivory Soap 's in great demand.
For none chase with imitations frail
An article that has no sale.
And who for counterfeit will pay
The price of genuine goods to-day?
Then whence can the advantage flow
Or how can you "more profit" know?
Reply to all who do intend
To use you thus to gain their end :
" When you for your own soap create,
Upon its worth demand as great
As Ivory Soap this day can claim,
I'll buy, should trade require the same ;
But have no time, I tell you true,
To introduce your soap for you,
And customers perhaps offend
With goods I fear to recommend."
Don't buy the soap that salesmen say:
" Is like the Ivory every way,"
For grocers can this tale unfold
Of every hundred cakes they sold
On seventy-five a loss they bore,
Or else it ne'er had left their store.
: puxa eintujoj blubs eqq.
jouj ui apBui Sj;( I ahoaj aqj,
auav AJdA3 ui 'ais 'sjBiiba siqx,,
: Aus spaaooad pire 'sa[duiBS sijj
piojun ajaq^ aotfjd moA ui sauiOQ
pioq ubuis8[Bs u dtfos araos qjiAv uaq^
•ensaud asanoo siq; pu^T aq; inioq^noaqj,
'Avaj u ;ou ke[doad a^jbjo
'paouiraoo9j p^noM. auou saansBeui qjrmcuqj,
pua siq uibo s9Aia;s Aaqucmi siqx.
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