THE [RIALS rOR TREASON AT INDIANAPOLIS, DISCLOSING THE PLANS TOR ESTABLISHING North-Western Confederacy. {eing the Official Record of the Trials before the Military Commission convened by Special Orders No. 129, Head- Quarters District of Indiana ; Brevet Major General A. P. Hovet, Commander of the District. Brevet Brigadier General Silas Colgeove, President ; H. L. Burnett, of the Department of the Ohio and Northern Department, Judge Advocate of the Commission. Containing the Testimony, Arguments, Finding and Sentence, in the case of Harrison H. Dodd; also of Whliam A. Bowles, Andeew Humphreys, Horace Heffren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey. Developing the Origin, History, Extent, Names of Officers, etc., of the Secret Orders of Knights of the Golden Circle, the Circle of Honor, the Order of American Knights, and Order of the Sons of Liberty — their Organization, Eituals, Passwords, Grips, Oaths, Obligations and Pen- alties ; their ostensible and real purposes. With accnrate Illustrations of th« Greek Fire Shells, Hand Grenades, Rockets and Infernal Machines of the Con- spirators, introduced in Evidence on the Trials. To which is added the full Report of Judge Advocate General Holt on the Order of American Knights, aUa$ the Sons of Liberty ; a Western Conspiracy in aid of the Southern Rebellion, EDITED BY BENN PITMAN, BECOKDER TO THE MILITARY COMMISSION. CINCIJS^NATI: MOORE, WILSTACH & BALDWIN, 25 WEST FOURTH STREET, \ 1865. \ Eng^TyAERi-r In.-- / THE AT JJVQSflOyfi indianapoli/Bt ^-^^ DISCLOSING THE PLANS FOR ESTABLISHING North-Western Confederacy. Being tlis Official Record of the Trials before the Military Commission convened by Special Orders No. 129, Head- Quarters District of Indiana ; Brevet Major General A. P. IIovey, Commander of the District. Brevet Brigadier General Silas Colgrove, President; H. L. Burnktt, of the Department of the Ohio and Northern Department, Judge Advocjite of the Commission. Containing the Testimony, Arguments, Finding and Sentence, in the case of Habbison H. Dodd ; also of William A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Heffeen, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey. Developing the Origin, History, Extent, Names of Officers, etc., of the Secret Orders of Knights of the Golden Circle, the Circle of Honor, the Order of American Knights, and Order of the Sous of Liberty— their Organization, Eituals, Pasaworda-, Grips, Oaths, Obligations and Pen- alties ; their ostensible and real purposes. With accurate Illustrations of the Greek Fire Shells, Hand Grenades, Kockets and Infernal Machines of the Con- spirators, introduced in Evidence on the Trials. To which is added the full Eeport of Judge Advocate General Holt on the Order of American Knights, alia* the Sous of Liberty ; a Western Conspiracy in aid of the Southern Rebellion. EDITED BY BENN PITMAN, BECOBDEE TO THE MILITABY COMMISSION. CINCINNATI: MOORE, WILSTACH & BALDWIN, 25 WEST FOURTH STREET, 1865. V5S Entered accorJiiig to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, By MOORE, WILSTAOII & BALDWIN, III t>ic Clerk'b Orfico of the District Court of tlie United States for the Southern Distrirt of Ohi(i NTRODUCTORY. & DOUBLE interest attaches itself to tlie records contained in the following pages : first, they contain the exposure of a plot to overthrow the National Grovernment — a more perfidious, and, perhaps, more gigantic conspiracy than is found in the annals of any nation; and, secondly, the fact and incidents of its suppression by Martial law. The Northern sympathizers with the Southern Rebellion sought to give it aid, and insure its success, by designs both daring and malignant ; and with no other purpose than to perpetuate an institution at once a reproach and an outrage to civilization. These designs were checked, and a great calamity averted, by the strong arm of military power. The chief criminals were seized by military authority, and tried and condemned by a military tribunal. For the first time in the history of the world, this mighty power, heretofore but too frequently used by kings and despots for the purpose of aggression, or personal aggrandizement, has been exercised in a spirit of wise beneficence, to conserve the liberty of a great and free people. But, it is asked, is not this the attainment of a right by doing a great wrong? Such is the argument of the enemies of the Government. Has, then, the military power been unlawfully exercised? Has the supremacy of the Constitution been questioned, or have its wise provisions been ignored? Has Liberty — the priceless jewel for which the wisest and noblest have died — been confided to faithless hands ? These are among the vital questions discussed and decided in the able arguments contained in this volume. Thanks to the institutions that have so ordained, and to the progress that has prepared us, the People are now the makers and directors of this potent, and 3 IV INTRODUCTORY. necessarily despotic arm ! It is for the people, then, to determine whether they or a faction shall rule ; whether freedom shall continue to be the privileged birthright of our children, or whether an oligarchy shall plot to destroy this Great Republic, and erect a barbarism upon its ruins. These are questions upon which every one desiring or deserving to live under the shield of a free and great nation, should satisfy himself; and he can not fail to be instructed, as well ius deeply interested, in the developments contained in this volume. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAOE. Explanation of Illustrations 7 Illustrations 8 Commission, Special Order for 9 Jurisdiction of the Commission, Plea to the 9 Jurisdiction of the Commission, Argu- ments in support of the Plea 10 Judge Advocate's Reply to Argument of Counsel 12 Charges and Specifications preferred against H. H. Dodd 17 VFelixG. Stidger. Testimony of. 19 ^ fiEORGEE. PUGH,' " " 37 V Joseph KiRKPATRicK, " " 38 William Clayton, " " 39 Wesley Tranter, " " 47 Elliott Robertson, " '* 49 AflBdavit of Counsel on the escape of H. H. DoDD 50 Report of Colonel Warner on the escape of H. H, DoDD 50 Argument of Judge Advocate, on pro- ceeding to findings and sentence in absence of the accused 50 J. W. Gordon, Reply of 53 ♦' " " Argument of, on the Ju- risdiction of the Commission 55 M. M. Ray, Argument of 64 Judge Advocate, Reply of. 67 Commission, Special Orders for 73 Counsel, Introduction of 74 Charges and Specifications preferred against William A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Heffren, L. P. MiLLiGAN, and Stephen Horsey 74 Severance, Motions for 77 Judge Advocate, Reply of on Severance. 78 William M. Harrison, Testimony of.... 80 PAOR. Circular of the 0. S. L. to County Temples 83 Letter of L. P. Milligan to General H. H. DoDD 88 Edwin A. Davis, withdrawal of as Coun- sel 89 Wesley Tranter, Testimony of 93 Stephen Tekey, " " 96 Joseph J. Bingham, " " 97 Felix G. Stidger, " " 106 Thomas R. Cobb, Introduction of, as Counsel for Stephen Horsey 114 Colonel A. J. Warner, Testimony of.... 118 C. L. V. (Vallandigham), Letter from... 119 .- Elliott Robertson, Testimony of. 119 '♦ Henry L. ZuMRO, " " 120 Horace Heffren, Charges and Specifi- cations canceled 123 Horace Heffren, Testimony of 123 Cyrus L. Dunham, Counsel for Heffren, Statement of. 128 Colonel J. T. Wilder, relieved 137 James L. Mason, Testimony of 141 Harrison Connell, " " 141 ElISHA COWGILL, " " 141 James B. Wilson, " " 143 William S. Bush, , " " 150 Speech of L. P. Milligan, Argument on admissibility of newspaper report of 151 Speech of L. P. Milligan, loyal or dis- -• loyal character of. 153 -/ Nicholas Cochrane, Testimony of. 156 Testimony on the part of the Govern- ment closed 157 William G. Moss, Testimony of 157 Argument on the admissibility of state- ments made by the accused in his own favor 157 5 VI TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE. Character for loyalty, etc., of A. Hum- phreys 163 D. 0. Dailey, Testimony of. 165 Rev. Richard A. Currex, Testimony of. 166 Argument on admissibility of state- ments not expressed to any public assembly 166 JoHX J. ScoTTON, Testimony of. 169 William Sayler, " " 169 George Bailey, " " 169 William Allen. " " 169 William Wolf, " " 170 W. M. Swasey, ." " 170 Geo. Bailey (recalled) " " 170 William Wines, " " 171 William Johnson, " " 171 William C. Kocher, " " 172 Joseph Johnson, " " 172 Samuel Winters, " " 173 G. R. CoRLEw, " " 176 SamuelF.^ay, " " 177 OcHMiG Bird, " " 177 B. F. Ibach, " " 179 Captain Samuel Pl.\ce," " 180 G. R. CoRLEW (recalled)" " 180 Moses W. Milligan, " " 180 Edward Price, " " 180 S. G. Burton, " " 181 Speech of A. Humphreys, Argument on the admissibility of what he said as to right of secession, etc 181 Willis G. Neff, Testimony of. 185 John Roach, " " 186 Wilson B. Lockridge, " " 186 Samuel McGAUGHfcY, " " 187 Cutter S. Dobbins, " " 187 Harrison CoNNELL, " " 187 William N. Ranney, " " 187 Gen. Alvin P. Hovey, " " 188 M. B. Brant, " " 188 W. J. Smith, " " 188 Samuel Chandler, " " 189 D. Garland Rose, " " 189 Edward Harrison, " " 189 John Nave, " " 189 W. C. Smock, " " 189 David Stock.man, " " 189 PAOB. Jacob Farling, Testimony of. 189 Wm. R. Taylor, " " 190 R. C. Booking, " " 190 WsL H. Chapman, " " 191 William Johnson, " " 191 Samuel D. Price, " " 191 Thurston W. Pitting, " " 191 Borzillai Messler, " " 191 Thomas G. Smith, " " 192 Mrs. Elizabeth T. Simons, Testimony of 192 Impeaching of the Testimony of Rich- ard A. CuRREN, Argument on 192 Jonathan W. Gordon, Argument of. 195 M. M. Ray, " " 224 J. R. COFFROTH, " " 238 Judge Advocate Burnett, Reply of 249, Explanation of Initials employed in the Rituals 295 Knights of the Golden Circle, Ritual of 297 Sons of Liberty, First Degree (I) 299 Sons of Liberty, Vestibule Lesson, (S. L.) 302 Sons of Liberty, First Degree (0. S. L.) 303 Sons of Liberty, First Conclave or Sec- ond Degree (I) 306 Sons of Liberty, Second Conclave or Third Degree (II) 308 General Laws of the Order of Sons of Liberty 308 Constitution of the Grand Council of S. L. of Indiana 311 Constitution and Laws of the Supreme Grand Council 314 Proceedings of the Grand Council State of Indiana 315 Address of the Grand Commander State of Indiana 316 Resolutions of the Grand Council State of Indiana 319 Report of the Grand Secretary State of Indiana 319 Holt, Judge Advocate General, Official Report of 323 Letter from General Heintzelman to Major General Halleck 339 IT. H. DoDD, Letter of, to the Cincinnati Enquirer 340 EXPLANATION OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS. No. 1 is a seemingly harmless portmanteau. No. 2 exhibits its internal arrangement. An alarm-clock, with the bell removed, set to any given- time, springs the lock of a gun, the hammer of which, striking and exploding a cap, placed upon a tube filled with powder, fires a train connected with a bottle of Greek fire. The explosion of these combustibles ig- nites the tow, saturated with turpentine, with which the remainder of the portmanteau is filled. No. 3 is a conical shell, three and a half inches in diameter. Nos. 4 and 5 exhibit the same unscrewed. No. 7 is a case to contain powder, with a nipple for a cap at its upper end. No. 7 screws into 6, the space between the two being filled with Greek fire. Nos. 6 and 7 make an inte- rior shell, fitting loosely in No. 3, and which, on striking any object, explodes the cap on the top of 7. No. 8 ia a spherical shell, or hand-grenade. Nos. 9 and 10 exhibit the same unscrewed. No. 11 is an interior shell, with nine nip- ples for caps, fitting loosely, so as to leave space for concussion. No. 11, also, is made to unscrew in the center, to hold No. 12, a small vial containing Greek fire — the space between the tM'o being filled with powder. The drop- ping of this shell a quarter of a yard from the floor, invariably explodes one or more of the caps. The string attached to No. 8 ena- bles a person to throw it a greater distance, as a sling, with less danger of explosion in his own hand. No. 18 is a letter in secret cipher, sometimes employed by the Order of Sons of Liberty in their communication with each other, upon matters requiring secrecy. " Headquarters, 10th District, 1 Grand Marshal's OfBce. j " Dept. Marshal: "We have 40 rifles and 100 pistols for your township. It is necessary that they are placed in the hands of our brothers immediately. Inform your company that the arms will be ready on Wednesday night. "Yours, "A. A. D. C. «F -VV." 7 'sj APPROVAL OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR, ETC. CrNXiNNATi, 0., NoY. 7, 1864. Major H. L. BunieU, Judge Advocate Depart- ment of the Ohio and Northern Department : Messrs. Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin, of this city, will publish in permanent and respec- table book shape, and I will edit, the official reports of the trial of IT. H. Dodd, also of "W. A. Bowles, and others, adding thereto the report of the Judge Advocate General, if I can obtain your sanction and co-opera- tion, and the approval of the Military au- tlioi'ities. I am, very respectfully and obediently, (Signed) BENN PITMAN," Recorder to the Military Commission. INDORSEMENT OF H. L. BURNETT, JUDGE ADVO- CATE DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO AND NORTHERN DEPARTMENT. JVDGE AdTCjCATE's OpFICE, A iK-fiurtment of the Ohio and Northern Department, L Cincinnati, 0., Nov. 7, 1864. j Respectfully referred to Brigadier Gen- eral J. Holt, Judge Advocate General, U. S. Army. The within application of Mr. Pitman re- ceives my approval, and, in the enterprise which he proposes to undertake, I will give him such assistance as I am, from time to time, able to render. I think the jiublica- tion of these treason trials will be of great public service in showing tlie people the contemplated anarch}' and bloodshed from which they have been delivered, and, as a result, confirming them in their patriotic resolves to support the Government in its eflbrts to maintain law, order and civiliza- tion. It will tend to unite the Northern people more completely in their support of the Government in its efibrtsto maintain the integrity of the Eepublic as the only means of establishing a permanent peace. (Signed) 11. L. BURNETT, Judge Advocate Department of the Ohio A)id Northern Department. INDORSEMENT OF BRIGADIEP. GEXERAT, .1. HOLT. JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL. BuEEAV OF Military Jcsticb, Nov. 11, 18C4. Approved. (Signed) J. HOLT, Judge Advocate Generah INDORSEMENT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF WAK, C. A. DANA. War Pepartmekt, Not. 15, 18C4. Approved. By order of the Secretary of War. (Signed) C. A. DANA, Assistant Secretary of War. PROCEEDINGS OF A. MILITARY COMMISSION, Which convened at Indianapolis, Indiana, by virtue of the following Special Orders, to wit : Headquartees District of Indiana, ) Indianapolia, September 17, 18G4. j" Special Orders No. 129. A Military Commission is constituted to meet at the United States Court Rooms, in the city of Indianapolis, on the nineteenth (19th) day of September, 1864, at 10 o'clock, A. M., or as soon thereafter as practicable, for the trial of Ilarrison H. Dodd, and such other prisoners as may be brought before it. DETAIL FOR THE COMMISSION. 1. Bi-evet Brigadier General Silas Col- grove, United States Volunteers. 2. Colonel William E. McLean, 43d In- fantry, Indiana Volunteers. 3. Colonel John T. Wilder, 17th Infantry, Indiana Volunteers. 4. Colonel Thomas I. Lucas, 16th In- fantry, Indiana Volunteers. 5. Colonel Charles D. Murray, 89th In- fantry, Indiana Volunteers. 6. Colonel Benjamin Spooner, 83d In- fantry, Indiana Volunteers. 7. Colonel Richard P. DeHart, 128th In- fantry, Indiana Volunteers. Major Henry L. Burnett, Judge Advocate Department of the Ohio and Northern Department, Judge Advocate. The Commission will sit without regard to hours. By order of Brevet Major General Alvin P. Hovey. AND. C. KEMPER, Assistant Adjutant General HeADQTTARTERS DiSTRtrT OF INDIANA, 1 Indianapolis, September 21, 1804. | Special Orders No. 131. 2. Colonel Ambrose A. Stevens, Veteran Reserve Corps, is appointed a member of the Military Commission, constituted by Special Order No. 129, of the 17th of Sep- tember, instant, from these Headquarters. By order of Brevet Major General Alvin P. Hovey. [Signed] AND. C. KEMPER, Assistant Adjutant General Court Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1 September 22, 1804; 10 o'clock, A. M. J The Commission met pursuant to the foregoing orders. All the members present.* Also, the Judge Advocate. The Commission then proceeded to the trial of Harrison H. Dodd, a citizen of In- diana, who was present before the Commis- sion, and who, having heard read the order appointing the Commission, also the order detailing Colonel Ambrose A. Stevens as a member, was asked by the Judge Advocate if he had any objection to any member named in the orders, to which he replied. " I have none." The members of the Commission and the Judge Advocate were then duly sworn in the presence of the accused. Benn Pitman and W. S. Bush were duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, as Recorders to the Commission, also in the presence of the accused. The accused applied to the Commission to be permitted to introduce J. W. Gordon, Esq., and M. M. Ray, Esq., as his counsel, which application was granted, and they appeared as counsel for the accused. The accused, through his counsel, then offered the following plea to the jurisdiction of the Commission: The defendant, Harrison H. Dodd, pro- tests and objects to the jurisdiction of the Commission appointed to try him upon the aforesaid charges and specifications there- under, and claims the right, as a citizen of the United States, and of the State of In- diana, to have the said charges and specili- cations presented by a grand jury of the * If a member of the Commission vms, in ary casp, absent from sickness, or otlier nnavoidable canse, tliK case was proceeded witli, on the consent of the accust-d being given in open Court, and such member took his Beat agaiu on the Commission only with tlie consent of the accused being given in open Court, after having first heard read all the testimony taken duriug his absence. 10 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. district wherein said several offenses are alleged to have been committed, to the proper District Court thereof; and to be tried by a jury of the said district, duly elected and sworn according to the Consti- tution and laws of the United States of America. This he claims as a citizen of the United States, and of the State and District of Indiana, and as being in no Avise con- nected with the army or navy of the United States, as a member thereof, or as attached thereto. Respectfully submitted, HARRISON H. DODD. The Commission adjourned, to meet on Friday, September 23, at 10 o'clock, A. M. Court Room, Indian.^polis, Indiana, \ September 23, 1864, 10 o'clock, A. M. J The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members, present. Also, the J udge Advocate, the accuse'd, and his coun- sel. The proceedings were read and approved. Tlie accused, througli his counsel, sub- mitted the following brief in support of his plea to the jurisdiction of the Commission: .Ur. President and Gentlemen of the Commission: in support of his objection to the juris- diction of the Commission to try him upon the (iharges preferred against him, tlie de- fendant respectfully submits the following considerations: I. These charges involve capital and infa- mous crimes, and the Constitution of the United States expressly provides that "no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otlierwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment by 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." {Amend. Const. Art. 5.) And again: "In all criminal cases the prisoner shall enjoy tlie right of a speedy and public trial, by an im- partial jury of the State and district where the crime shall have been committed," etc. (Amend. Const.' Art. 6.) 'i'hese provisions were adopted after the organization of the Government of the United States under the Constitution, and for the purpose of placing the trial by jury entirely beyond the power of Congress, and of all other branches of the (4overnment. Thone at the city of Washington, this, twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By the President : William H. Seward, Secretary of State. By order of the Secretary of War: L. Thomas, Adjutant General. In determining the action of the Com- mission, this is sufficient, but in support of the position held, I submit: That it is an admitted principle in ethics, that self-preservation is the first law of na- ture; that self-preservation, or self-defense, is tlie right of every unity or community. This nation is engaged in suppressing a gigantic rebellion, to which end it has brought into the field a vast army. Every fiber of this great nation is quivering in its efibrt to sustain this army in its present vast proportions. That army being organized and put into the field, becomes a living, sentient, and, to a certain extent, independ- ent body. A blow is sought to be struck at that body — at that great army of the Re- public — to sever it, and render it power- less — a blow all tlie more mischievous and malignant, because it is covert and con- cealed. To preserve itself, to maintain its integrity when it finds itself thus secretly attacked, it does not wholly fall back on its Government to protect it, but it protects itself by seizing the antagonistic force. It is one of the innate principles of every ex- isting thing, that it is endowed with the right to meet and overcome the force that seeks to destroy it. Here, then, is a power being organized — it is true, in a loyal State, TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 13 but with the piiri^ose of moving into a semi- disloyal State, a portion of which is occu- pied and held by forces seeking to destroy this army, and with the intent to co-operate with those forces to rendcn- powerless our army, and, if possible, to destroy it and the Government. This army, therefore, with- out waiting for its Government to move, through the slow machinery of civil law, against this military force tliat is being ar- rayed against it, seizes it, and says to it, " You are not meeting us in open battle, but you steal upon vis in the night time, and attempt, assassin-like, to stab us in the hack while we are facing the common enemy in the iVont. You are not fighting us accord- ing to the recognized military law of na- tions, but by the secret arts of the assassin. We, therefore, wheel upon you, and grapple you, from an instinct of self-preservation." It is as though a stealthy foe should creep into a camp or garrison at night, and seek to ignite the magazine, and destroy the lives of the entire garrison. If caught, would that garrison hesitate to convene a court, and try the oftender as a secret, military assassin? In like manner, when foes, cun- ningly avoiding all show of open hostility, secretly arm themselves, not as enemies particularly of the Genei-al Government, but as enemies of the military power of the Government, the military laws of the land give power to seize the persons of these secret foes, and hold them responsible for their acts to the common law military. Take the case in hand, as it is claimed to be, that there was an organized, formidable conspiracy, military in its character, and created and held in existence for the pur- pose of aiding the enemies of the. country and destroying the armies of the nation, numberii\g in the States of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, as claimed by its leaders, one hundred thousand men, the avowed pur- pose of these conspirators being to release the rebel prisoners held in those States, numbering between forty and fifty thousand veteran soldiers, arm them with guns to be seized from the arsenals of these States, and then to move into Kentuck,y, seizing all the large cities by the way, take possession of the Louisville and Nashville road, and, in- trencliing at Nashville or Chattanooga, cut General Sherman's communications, thereby placing him between two large armies, sev- ering him from his base of supplies, and thus effectually, as they thought, destroying this great South-western wing of our army — this right arm of the I'epublic — therein' giving to the rebels the power to dictate to the United States terms of peace and sepa- ration. It was a far-reaching, villainous scheme, and had in it many of the elements of success. The Government stood on the brink of a precipice. But the conspirators were foiled by the military power of the Government. Will it be said that when the military authorities discovered this plot, they should have waited for affidavits, for an arrest and hearing before a United States Commissioner, and then have released these conspirators ujDon bail, j^ermitting them to again take the lead of their hosts to work out their schemes of treason against the Government? Such a course might have involved the destruction of the nation. Self-preservation demanded that these men should be seized by the military power. Foreseeing this danger, martial law had been declared by the President, and mili- tary courts given jurisdiction. In support of the powers of the Govern- ment, in cases of insurrection, or in case of great public danger, to suspend the oijera- tions of the civil law, I cite the opinion of Chief Justice Taney, in a case before the Sujireme Coitrt, where the Government of the State had declared martial law in Rhode Island. In rendering an opinion on that case, he says: "Unquestionably a State may use its military power to put down an insur- rection too strong to be controlled by the civil authority. The power is essential to the existence of every government — essen- tial to the preservation of order and free institutions, and is as necessary to the States of this Union as to any other government. * * * Without power to do this," he again says, "martial law and the military array of the Government would be mere parade, and rather encourage attack than repel it." Justice Woodbury, dissenting, said that "a State could not declare martial law, inas- mvich as the war power, of which it forms a part, was lodged exclusively in the General Government." Certainly no one will deny that if the Government of a State can de- clare martial law for suppressing an insur- rection within thatState, with much stronger reason can the General Government, when an insurrection exists against it, declare and enforce martial law, either in part or in whole. The main question raised by the defense in their argument, is, whether the legisla- tive branch of this Government, or the President, has the power of suspending the writ of habeas corpus, and declaring martial law throughout the land. In reply to the argument of the counsel for tlie accused, I propose to cite a few quotations applicable to this case: Martial law is the suspension, for the time being, of all constitutions and civil laws, the closing of common law courts, and the forcible inauguration of a new, temporary, arbitrary system of administering justice; and is only to be justified by the over- whelming necessities of the case. I propose, first, to examine English author- ities upon this subject; and then refer to American jurisprudence as to the right to proclaim martial law. 14 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. It may be premised that martial law in England as completely violates and sus- pends the Magna Charta as in this country it does our own Constitution. Section 39 provides: "No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or dissei/ed, or out- lawed, or banislaed, or in any way destroyed; nor will we j)ass upon him, unless by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of tlie land." The Mutiny Act of 1689, which has been re-enacted at every session of Parliament for more than one hundred and seventy years, contains the following declaration: "Whereas, no man may be forejudged of life or limb, or subjected to any kind of judgment by martial law, or in any other manner than by the judgment of his peers, and according to the known and established laws of this realm," etc. It is impossible to conceive of any doc- trine more irradically graven upon tlie Con- stitution and civil polity of England, than this right of habeas corpus, and exemption of the subject from the operation of mar- tial law. But notwithstanding this clear provision of the Magna Charta," as often as it is necessary, martial law is proclaimed. In the riots of 1780, after the mob had in- sulted a mojority of Parliament, and the residence of tlie Chief Justice, the King in council issued his jjroclamation : " We have, therefore, issued the most di- rect and efiectual orders to all our officers, by an immediate exertion of their utmost force, to suppress the same." After which the Adjutant General issued orders to the ai-my as follows : "In obedience to an order of the King in council, the military are to act without awaiting tlie direction of the civil magis- trate, and to use force for dispersing the illegal and tumultuous assemblies of the people." Ill subsequent debates in Parliament, the conduct of the King was ap])roved. Lord Mansfield and Lord Thurlow claimed that it was not a prerogative of the King to de- clare martial law, or to use the military to suppress riots ; but they defended the act on the ground of necessity. During the Irish rebellion in 1798, Lord Camden, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, pro- claimed martial law, which existed a year without any legislative action, and after that the Irish Parliament sanctioned the act. In 18U1, after the union, this subject was discu.ssed, and a bill was introduced to continue martial law in Ireland. In this debate, both those who approved, and those who opposed the bill, conceded the right of the Executive Government to proclaim martial law when neces.sary. Sheridan, ojii>osing the bill, said: "In case of rebellion or invasion. His Majesty has, by virtue of his prerogative, a light to martial law." Lord Castlereagh, in defense of the bill, said: " I perfectly understand that the prerog- ative of the crown authorizes those acting under its authority to exercise martial law. I maintain that it is a constitutional mode for the Executive Government to exercise martial law in the lii'st instance, and to come to Parliament for indemnity after- ward, and is preferable to applying to Par- liament first. ***** "The only circumstance in mind is whether, if the necessity exists, this is the proper remetly? If it be so, we ought not to take alarm at a departure from princi- ple, which is necessary for the preservation of the Constitution itself" Sir L. Parsons, opposing the bill, said : " He thought the measure unnecessary. The E.xecutive Government could resort to martial law, if it was necessary to suppress rebellion." Mr. Gray, who also opposed it, said: "It was better that the Executive Gov- ernment should resort to what has been called (he thought, not legally) its preroga- tive of proclaiming martial law. That was no prerogative of the ci'own, but rather an act of power sanctioned by necessity, mar- tial law being a suspension of the King's peace. But it was better that martial law should proceed from the Executive (govern- ment -in lU'gent moments, than to be the work of the Legislature, on every slight pre- tense." In the rebellion in Ceylon, in 1848, the Governor proclaimed martial law, and tried and executed many rebels. His conduct was severely criticised in England, upon the ground that it was unnecessary; and in an able review in the Quarterly^ volume 83, page 127, it is said : "We shall define martial law to be the law of necessity, or defense. The right which a Governor of a colony has to pro- claim martial law over subjects, may be said to bear a close analogy to the right which an individual, in absence of legal protec- tion, has to slay an assailant. In both cases, the evil must be grave. In both cases, all regular means of defense must be exhausted, or beyond reach, before the ag- grieved i^arty resorts to extremities. In both cases, the burthen of proof lies on him who has ventured on such an expedient, and, if he fails to vindicate himself, he is liable to severe punishment." IlaUcm 1, Const. J list., p. 240, says: '■ There may, indeed, be times of pressing danger, when the conservation of all de- mands a sacrifice of the legal rights of a few; there may be circumstances that not only justify, but compel the temporary abandonment of constitutional forms. It has been usual for all governments, dur- ing an actual rebellion, to ]>roclaim martial law, or the suspension of civil jurisdiction. TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 15 And this anomaly, I must admit, is very far from being less indispensable at such un- happy seasons, in countries where the ordi- nary mode of trial is by jury, than where the right of decision rests in the Judge.'' Coming now to our own country, the same doctrine is laid down even more explicitly, and by higher sanctions than in England. In the debate in Congress upon the subject of martial law proclaimed by General Jack- son in New Orleans, Robert J. Walker, in the Senate, submitted a report upon this subject, in which he said: " The law which justified this act, was the great law of necessity ; it was the law of self-defense. This great law of necessity — of defense of self, of home, and of coun- try — never was designed to be abrogated by any statute, or by any constitution." Mr. Payne, of Alabama, also speaking upon this subject, said: "I shall not contend that the Constitution or laws of the United States, authorize the declaration of martial law by any authority whatever ; on the contrary, it is unknown to the Constitution or laws." And, commenting on thft argument that if the Constitution did not authorize it, the General ought not to declai"e martial law, he says : "Who could tolerate this idea? An Ar- nold might, but no patriotic American could. I may be asked, upon what princi- ple a commander can declare martial law, when it is so evident that the Constitution or laws afford him no authority to do so? I answer, upon the principle of self-defense, which rises paramount to all written laws; and the justification of the officer who assumes the responsibility of acting on that principle, must rest upon the necessity of the case." Mr. Livingston, in a written document submitted by General Jackson to the Court, gave his opinion as follows: " On the nature and effect of the procla- mation of martial law by Major General Jackson, my opinion is, that such proclama- tion is unknown to the Constitution and laws of the United States ; that it is to be justified only by the necessities of the case." etc. During the Dorr revolution in Rhode Island, when an attempt was made to array a military force against the old State Gov- ernment, and supplant it with a more dem- ocratic form, the State Government pro- claimed martial law throughout the State. A house was broken open to make an ai-- rest without warrant, under martial law; and subsequently an action of trespass was commenced to try the legality of the act. It was taken to the Supreme Court of the United States, and is reported, Luther vs. Borden^ 7 Howard, 1. It is to be noticed that this case presented the precise question at issue now before this Court, for the determination of the highest Court in the land. The case was not the suspension of the habecvi corpus, but it was for trespass, by breaking into houses with- out warrant, which was clearly illegal, un- less the existence of martial law could be recognized as affording a defense. Chief Justice Taney says: " Unquestionably, a State may use its military power to put down an armed in- surrection too strong to be controlled by the civil autliority. The power is essential to the existence of every government, es- sential to the preservation of order and free institutions, and is as necessary to the States of this Union as to any other Gov- ernment. The State, itself, must determine what degree of force the crisis demands ; and if the Government of Rhode Island deemed the armed opposition so formidable and so ramified througliout the State as to require the use of its military force, and a declaration of martial law, we see no ground upon which this Court can question its au- thority. It was a state of war, and the established Government resorted to the rights and usages of war to maintain itself, and to overcome the unlawful opposition. And in that state of things, the officers en- gaged in its military service might lawfully arrest any one who, from the information before them, they had reasonable grounds to believe was engaged in the insurrection, and might order a house to be forcibly en- tered and searched, when there were rea- sonable grounds for supposing he might be there concealed. Without power to do this, martial law and the military array of the Government would bo mere parade, and rather encourage attack than repel it." Justice Woodbury dissented upon the ground that a State could not declare mar- tial law, inasmuch as the war power, of which it formed a part, was lodged exclu- sively in the General Government. The question, then, for this Commission to determine, is, whether, with this armed force threatening the life of the nation, the leaders here among you, secretly and cov- ertly, as it is claimed — for this is to be a matter of j^roof — attempting to strike at your camps, destroy the military forces that are guarding them, release the rebel pris- oners there confined, then to move into a State, partly occupied by -rebels, seize your supplies and munitions of war at Louisville and other points throughout the country — the question, I say, is, whether these men shall be dealt with by the civil or by the military law; whether in this crisis they shall be permitted to avail themselves of the slow process of civil justice, to be re- leased upon bail, again to take the lead of these disloyal forces, and move again in their work of treason and anarchy — or whether the Government shall use the power rightfully belonging to it for its self- 16 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. preservation? I repeat the language I have quoted, and say, that only an Arnold would, in such a case, hesitate in the course he would recommend. No officer who is faith- ful to his trust, who respects his Govern- ment, who loves his home, and desires the Eeace and prosperity of the citizens of that ome, would desire to wait till it was too late to save the Government, and, with it, all he holds dear. Seeing this necessity for action, the military arm of the Govern- ment moved. It seized this man, believed to be one of the leaders — whether he be or not, will be a matter of proof before this Commission — and of the power of this Com- mission to try him there can be no more doubt, than of the power of the Govern- ment to declare martial law. As to the question of the power of the Government to declare martial law throughout a part or the whole of this land, there can be no doubt, that having been decided by the mightiest tribunal of the land — the Court of last resort. It only remains for this Commission to take up the facts of the case, and determine whether or not they are as presented in the charges and specifi- cations. In conclusion, I submit, that while the rights and liberties of the citizen are in all cases to be held most sacred and invio- late, we are not, in our admiration of that general principle, to lose sight of that higher and still more sacred duty of protecting the life and liberty of the nation; I might say of the lives and liberties of the millions who compose that nation. Let us not, in our attempt to protect the forms of the Constitution, sacrifice its life. What is that Constitution worth to this land if the na- tion, which is its life, be destroyed? Shall we, in our fear of interfering with the forms of that Constitution, hesitate to stop the wound that is bleeding its life away? There is something beyond the rights of a single individual — something more sacred than his personal liberty, when that liberty can be shown to have been used to imperil the life of the nation — and that is, the life and lib- erty of the millions of loyal citizens for whom this Government was established, and by whom, with God's help, it will ever be upheld. The court-room was then cleared for de- liberation. On being reopened, the Judge Advocate announced that the plea was overruled, and that the Commission would proceed to the trial of the accused. The Commission adjourned, to meet on Tuesday, September 27, at 2 o'clock, V. M. TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 17 CocBT Room, IxDiANAPOtis, Indiana, ) September 'en done by this Order of the Sons of Liberty. Q. Did that close your interview at Louis- ville? A. Yes, sir. Q. State what your next connection with the order was, whom you saw, and what was said. A. I was in constant communication in Louisville with Dr. Bullitt and some other members of Kentucky, and also when I was up here. Q. Can you name the next time you saw Mr. Dodd or Dr. Bowles? A. Tlie next time I saw Dr. Bowles was at his own house, about the last of J uly. Q. What was said and done there? A. At that time I had the whole pro- gramme of the uprising of the order, and every thing they were to do respecting tho TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 23 seizing of the United States arsenals, the liberation of the rebel prisoners, and the concentrating of the members of the order. Q. From whom did you get this pro- gramme ? A. From Mr. Dodd. Q. Was it given to you in writing ? A. No, sir, it was given verbally. He pressed upon me the importance of secrecy, and reduced nothing whatever to writing. Q. Where was he when he gave you this information ? A. At his business place in this city. Q. Didanyoneelse hear the conversation ? A. There were others in the room, but no one else heard the conversation ? Q. How was it that you came to be in this city? A. There was to be a meeting in Chicago on the 20th day of July, and Judge Bullitt left Louisville in time to be here. He was expected back in five days from a meeting in Chicago. Dodd had been to New York. I came to Indianapolis on no particular business, but arrived here on the day of Dodd's return. I learned from him that the programme had all been decided on. He told me to get him twenty or thirty good runners. They were to notify our men and have them ready when Judge Bullitt got back. I went down to get on to the train, and pretty soon I sav/ Bullitt come on board. He looked as though he had been traveling, and he told me that he had just come to town on the Bellefontaine train. We went into the cars, and he told me that the pro- gramme was all arranged. We talked only a few minutes, and did not get together again during the ride. We kept apart for prudential reasons. In the evening, when he got to Jetfersonville, Indiana, he hired a buggy, and I was to take him across the river. He did not want to go through the town. He did not wish his acquaintances to know that he was there. He gave me the names of A. O. Brannan and Dr. Bay- less, to send them to his house, to whom he would impart this jjrogramme, and next morning 1 was to send to Dr. Kalfus and Mr. W. K. Thomas ; and then he said he did not care much if he was arrested. These men, he said, could carrj^ on the organiza- tion, and in the uprising they could release him. Mr. Thomas was the jailor in Louis- ville. Immediately on the landing of the boat at the Louisville side, he was arrested, and taken to Colonel Farleigh's headquar- ters.* Q. How did that arrest occur ? A. It was caused by an order from this city. The oi-der said Judge Bullitt would be down on the train that day, and that he was to be arrested immediately on his arri- val there. * Judge BuUitt, on his arrest, was seut to Fort Lafay- ette. Q. Did he have an interview with the four men named ? A. No, sir: he did not get to see them. Q. Did these men belong to the order? A. Dr. Kalfus and Mr. Thomas were mem- bers of the order. The other two I did not see. Q. How do you know they were members of the order? A. By liaving met Thomas in the Grand Council, and from Dr. Kalfus giving me the signs and secrets, and from seeing him give them to otliers.* Q. State, as nearly as you can, what was the plan that Mr. Dodd and Dr. Bowles in- formed j-ou had been arranged at the meet- ing in Chicago, and who were the leaders. A. I was sent back here on Monday night by Kalfus and Thomas, Bullitt being ar- rested. I told them of Bullitt's arrest, and mentioned the programme to thern that Bullitt had spoken of — that two gentlemen should be sent out there on Saturday, and two on Sunday, that Bullitt might impart to them the programme. Bullitt did not impart it to me, and did not intend to. Kalfus made arrangements with Dr. Helm, who said he was personally acquainted with Mr. Dodd, that he was to come up here if he could, but as he did not come up, they directed me to come here on Monday night. Kalfus and Thomas approved of this order, and sent me here to learn from Dodd the arrangement and plan agreed upon at Chi- cago. I came here and told Dodd of Bul- litt's arrest. He asked me if Bullitt was searched. I said not. He appeared very much excited, and said he hoped they treated him like a gentleman, and not search him; that he had drafts on Montreal for money. He said he told Bullitt, when he left Chicago, that he had better not go to Canada; that it would create suspicion, and that he might have known he would be arrested. Mr. Dodd was so much excited that he gritted his teeth. Q. Where was it you saw Dodd, when you informed him of Bullitt's arrest? A. It was in Dodd's office, at his business house in this city, about nine o'clock in the morning. It was Tuesday, and about the last of July. I have a memorandum by which I can fix the date ; it is the report I made to General Carrington at the time. Q. You may produce the memorandum. A. I have not the report made at that time. I gave it to General Carrington in person. It was on Tuesday ; either the last Tuesday in July, or the first Tuesday in August. Q. State what Dodd told you was the plan agreed on at Chicago. A. Dodd said they had agreed to seize the camps of rebel prisoners here — Camp *Mr. Stidger, during: a portion of the tinio lie wag United States Detective, was a "student of mudicine " iu the office of Dr. Kalfus, Louisvilla. 24 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Morton ; Camp Chase, in Ohio ; Camp Doug- las, at Chicago, and the Depot of Prison- ers, at Johnson's Island. They were going to seize the arsenals here, and at Spring- field and Chicago, Illinois. They were going to arm these prisoners with the arms thus seized; raise all tlie members of the order they could, and arm them, and organ- ize as many men as they could on the 15th or 16th of August; for that was fixed as the day of the uprising. Each commander was to move all his men toward, and concen- trate them in, Louisville. They were to get the co-operation of Colonel Syphert and Colonel Jesse, of the rebel army, who were then in Kentucky, and who were to seize Louisville, and hold it until their forces could co-operate. They were to seize Lou- isville and Jeffersonville and New Albany, and the rebels were to hold them until these forces could come to Louisville to assist in holding these places. Q. Was there any difference of opinion at Chicago as to the course to be taken? A. At Chicago there was a difierence about whether they were to wait until after they were sure of the co-ojieration of rebel forces, or go ahead without waiting for the rebels. Q. How was the matter finally fixed? A. Dodd sent Harrison to see Milligan, Humphreys, and Walker, and get them here before that day. They did not come. Dodd read me letters from them, which were not signed, but which, he said, were from them. They said they were to go ahead at the time designated to release and arm the prisoners and members of the order, and eventually to unite at Louisville. Harrison was a messenger who went to see these men, and have them come here. I left on Sat- urday. He did not send to Walker, for he was in New York, and expected to be here that week. He also sent a messenger to Dr. Bowles. Q. From whom did Dodd read letters to you? A. He read letters purporting to come from Milligan and Humphreys; but I am not sure whether there was one from Dr. Bowles or not. Q. Did you see the signatures or hand- writing? A. 1 saw the handwriting. Q. Did you recognize it? A. I did not. Q. If Dodd told you who were at Chicago, state who they were? A. I did not learn of any one being there but Judge Bullitt, Dr. Bowles, Dick Barrett [afterward corrected to James A. Barrett], Dodd, and Walker. Q. Ilowdidyou learn that they were there? A. From Dodd. He told me they were there. He arranged this plan. There were other persons there from Illinois and from this State. Q. What day did they meet at Chicago? A. The meeting was to have been on the 20th of July, and was called about that time. Q. Was it first arranged to have a meet- ing earlier than that? A. It was first arranged to have a meet- ing of the Supreme Council of the Order on the first day of July. Q. Why did that meeting not take place ? A. It was postponed on account of the postponement of the National Democratic Convention. Q. Did it take place on the 20th of July? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you learn from Dodd what rank these men had in the order? A. Yes, sir. Q. What rank did Dodd hold in the order? A. He was Grand Commander of the State of Indiana. Q. What rank did Bowles have in the order ? A. Major General of the order, command- ing one of the districts of the State. Q. What rank did David T. Yeakle hold? A. He had held the same rank as Bowles; but was throAvn out on the 14th day of June, and Walker elected in his place. Q. What rank did Milligan hold? A. The same as Bowles. Q. What rank did Walker hold? A. The same as Bowles. Q. What was the rank of J. F. Bullitt? A. Grand Commander of the State of Kentucky. Q. How do the Grand Commanders rank in the order, compared with Major Generals? A. Grand Commanders rank over Major Generals. Q. Who composed the meeting at Chi- cago? A. They were Major Generals and Grand Commanders of the order. Q. What day was set for the uprising to take place? A. The first time was set in Illinois, which was to be the 3d or 17th of August. Dodd told me at the last meeting, the 15th or 16th was the day set. Q. Why do you say it was on the 3d or the 17th of August? A. That was the day given mo by Piper, of Springfield. The day Wiu< to be as Yal- landigham chose. That is what Piper told me. Q. Who is Piper? A. He said he had an appointment on Vallandigham's staff. Q. What is Yallandigham's rank in the Order of the Sons of Liberty? A. Supreme Commander of the United States. Q. Did you learn if his orders were to be supreme- — above all other orders or laws? A. I learned from members of the order, TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 25 that his orders were to be obeyed above all other orders, and the books of the order taught as much. Q. Did you meet Piper as a member of the order? A. I met him in the Grand Council of •the State of Kentucky. Q. Was the time of this uprising to be as Vallandigham should determine? A. That was the first programme. The day had been set from the 3d to the 17th, and if they were sufficiently ready, he was to decide on which day they should rise. Q. Where was this uprising to be? A. It was to be general in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and as much of Kentucky as could be worked. Q. Did you know of Dodd, or any mem- bers of the order, taking steps to commu- nicate to rebels any thing about the order ? A. I know of members of the order do- ing so. A rebel colonel was given the secrets of the order, and requested to dis- seminate them at the South. Judge Bullitt admitted to me that he had tried to have a conference with Colonel Jesse. Q. Who else did he communicate with? A. He also sent a man to have a confer- ence with Colonel Syphert, of the rebel army, to ascertain when he could best co- operate with him, or whether he could use his forces in the capture of Louisville. Q. With what forces did Bullitt propose to co-operate with him? A. He proposed to co-operate with the forces in this order. Q. Was any rebel colonel initiated into this order, and given particular instruc- tions ? A. Yes, sir. Q. When and where? A. In the city of Louisville, in July; about the last of July. Q. How did he hapjDen to be iu Louis- ville? A. He was there on parole. He tried to get the military authorities to banish him to Canada; and he told me that he would then go South, and take up arms again ; and if they did not banish him to Canada, he said he would go to Canada any way. I'rom there he would go to Mexico, and take the oath of allegiance to the Mexican Govern- ment, which would release him from his oath to the United States Government. He would then come back to the South and take up arms again for the Confederacy. I so reported to Colonel Farleigh. and the papers were not given him. He did go to Canada. I saw a letter afterward from him at Winchester. He sent back for the rit- ual and the unwritten work of the order, which was to be written in secret cypher and sent to him. Q. Did he get it ? A. He did not, because the military authorities had seen the letter before the officer to whom it was written got it, or had an opportunity of seeing it. Q. State whether in any of the meetings of these lodges of which Mr. Dodd was a member, and at which he was present, he there used any language, or performed any acts which denied the authority of the Gen- eral Government to suppress the rebellion by force of arms. If so, what? A. He used language which strongly de- nied that power to the Government. There were no acts performed to my knowledge, except what I have already detailed. Q. Was there any such language used as that this Government was a usurpation, and ought to be set aside ? A. The word usurpation was used. Also the statement that this Government was a "tyrannical usurpation," was used in the meeting that day. Q. Was it said that the Government should be resisted because it was a usurpa- tion ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Was the doctrine inculcated that they were to resist the draft? A. It was not. Q. Was it inculcated, as a general doc- trine, that they were to oppose coercion on the part of the Government ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did they, in this order, say that force might yet be of use, on the principle of overthrowing this Government, and estab- lishing independent rejiublics or govern- ments within the States now belonging to the United States? A. Their design was to carry a portion of the States now composing the United States into the Southern Confederacy. Q. Was any thing said about establishing a North-western Confederacy ? A. Not in their lodges. It was discussed by Dr. Bowles himself, privately. Q. What was the general purpose of the order ? A. Its general purpose was to assist the rebellion. Q. You may state whether, at the first meeting on the I4th of June, any address was made by Dodd to the order. If so, what it was. A. He made no remarks except about the purpose of the meeting. Q. Was there any written address deliv- ered by him ? A. The address, which is printed as that of the Grand Commander, was made in February. I was given copies of it, and was told Dodd was Grand Commander at that time. The Judge Advocate here handed the witness a pamphlet containing an address by the Grand Commander to the Grand Council of the State of Indiana, and asked: Is that one of the addresses. A. The address in this pamphlet is Dodd' a. 26 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. The pampMet is the proceedings of the Grand Council of the State of Indiana, at a session held the 16th and 17th of Februar^^ 186-1. The first time I was here, one of them was given me to give to Judge Bullitt, and which I gave to him. It was about the 5th of June. Q. Who gave it to you ? A. It was given to me by Mr. Harrison. All the books of the order I ever received were given me by Harrison. A pamphlet, entitled " Proceedings of the Grand Council," etc., was here introduced in evidence by the Judge Advocate. The Judge Advocate here read extracts from the address referred to, that " Lin- coln's Government was a lasurpation," etc. He then passed to the witness a number of pamphlets, from which he requested him to select and specify to the Commission the ritual, constitution, by-laws, etc., of the Sons of Liberty, and state how he knew them to be such. A. These pamphlets contain the obliga- tions of the Vestibule and other obligations of the Order of American Knights, and the ritual of the Order of American Knights, which has now given way to the Order of the Sons of Liberty. This order w'as ex- posed, and they made some slight changes in the ritual, and called it the Order of Sons of Liberty. These books contain three parts of the ritual. They contain what is known as the ritual and proper work of the order given in all the lodges. The pamphlets containing the ritual and obligations of the order "0. A. K.," were here introduced in evidence 'by the Judge Advocate. Q. Do you recognize that pamphlet, enti- tled "S. L.," as the ritual of the first de- gree? A. This book contains what is known as the Vestibule, or First Temple degree of the Order of the Sons of Liberty. The pamphlet, entitled "S. L.," was here introduced in evidence by the Judge Advo- cate. Q. Do you recognize the pamphlet enti- tled "L" "K. 0. S. L.," as the ritual of the eecond degree? A. That book contains the second and third degrees of the order. They are known as the conclave degrees, or second and third degrees of the order, which are given men initiated into the county temples. Respon- sible men are given the three degrees con- tained in these books, and in each voting precinct of a county where there is a county temple, branch temples are organized, in which the Vestibule and first degrees are given, but the members are not given all the degrees of the order. Influential men are given the three degrees. The pamphlet, entitled " L" " K O. S. L.," was here introduced by the Judge Advocate in evidence. Q. What is the specific difference between the three degrees ? A. In the books, there is no particular dis- tinction. The members are as much bound in the first as in the second or third de- gree. More trust is reposed in the mem- bers of the second and third degrees, and they are given more of the secrets and ulti- mate designs of the order. Q. Are any but members of the second and third degrees permitted to attend meetings of the Grand Council? A. If any delegates are elected, who are not members of those degrees, they are given the second and third degrees at the session of the Grand Council — if they are not given in the county temple. Q. Was the jjlan for the attack upon the arsenals and the camps of prisoners, im- parted to any but third degree members? A. It might have been imparted to other members whom they had confidence in. Q. Do you recognize the pamphlet enti- tled "General Laws of the S. L." as per- taining to the order? A. This pamphlet is the constitution of the county temple; which governs the workings of the county temples, and is regulated by the State Council. The pamphlet, entitlbd "General Laws of the S. L.," was here introduced in evi- dence, by the Judge Advocate. Q. Do you recognize the pamphlet, enti- tled "Constitution of the Grand Council of S. L. of Indiana," as pertaining to the order? A. That is the Constitution of the State Council of Indiana, made by the State Council. Each State Council of the order makes its own constitution in accordance with its own views, but it must not, in any particular, be in violation of the Consti- tution of the Supreme Council of all the States. The pamphlet, entitled "Constitution of the Grand Council of S. L. of Indiana," was here introduced in evidence by the Judge Advocate. Q. Do you recognize the pamphlet, enti- tled "Constitution and Laws of the S. G. C," as pertaining to the order? A. This pami^hlet is the Constitution of the Supreme Council of all the States. The pamphlet, entitled "Constitution and Laws of the S. G. C," was here intro- duced in evidence by the Judge Advo- cate. The Judge Advocate here handed the witness a book entitled "Eoll of Prisoners," and asked: Q. Do you recognize that book? * A. Harrison had a series of these books, which he showed to me and explained the ':■ A small nccouiit buok, containing a list of the mem- bers of the Order of the Sous of Liberty, in Indianapo- lis; also lists of several companies of rebel prisouers, confined iu Camp Mortuii. TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 27 manner of keeping them. He told me all the names in this list, (witness pointing out the list of names, with numbers "1" and "3" opposite in parallel column) were those of members of the order. Those numbered "1" at that time had taken the lirst degree, and those marked "3" had taken the third degree. He had a nvimber of other books in which he kept the accounts with tlie county temples — the amount they had paid in for organization fees, for books, for regular monthly dues, and for annual dues. They also gave the names of the officers of all the county temples which had reported to him, the amount due from them, the amounts paid, and what for. I have seen this book before. It was kept by Harrison, and contained the names of the members of the order here. The book entitled the "EoU of Prison- ers," was here introduced in evidence by the Judge Advocate. Q. Does that book contain the names of officers of the county temples? A. Harrison had other books which con- tained the names of officers of the county temples. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Wednesday, September 28, at eight o'clock. Court Eoom, Indianapolis, Indiana, ) September 28, 18(54, 8 o'clock, A. M.j The Commission met pursuant to ad- journmen* All the members present; also the Judge Advocate, the accused, and his counsel. The proceedings of yesterday were read and approved. Felix G. Stidger, a witness for the Govern- ment, then proceeded with his testimony, as follows: Question by the Judge Advocate. State to the Commission what interviews you had with Mr. Bodd at his house, or other- wise. A. I was at Mr. Dodd's house twice, but only saw him there once. It was on a Fri- day niglit. Mr. Harrison was there also, and in speaking of the uprising of the Sons of Liberty, said something about their being rather dilatory. It appeared they had not enough arms to be of service. Mr. Dodd remarked, that if they did not rise he would leave the country, for he would be damned if he would live under such a Government as the present Administra- tion. Q. Was or was not that in the contin gency of the order not rising to destroy the present Administration? A. It was. Q. About what date was that? A. That was on the Friday night before Judge Bullitt was arrested on the Satur- day. It was probably the last Friday in July, though I will not be sure. Mr. Har- rison, Grand Secretary of the State of In- diana, was present at the convention. Q. Was any plan determined upon at the meeting of the order on the 14th of June, as to the manner of disposing of Mr. Coffin, and how it was to be brought about? A. Mr. Dodd expected to find him at Hamilton, Ohio, the next day, pick a quar- rel with him, if possible, and shoot him. Q. How do you know that? A. Dodd so expressed it at that meeting. The roll of the members of the order for In- dianapolis was here handed to the witness. Q. Please to look at that roll, and designate any of the names you know belonging to the Order of the Sons of Liberty. A. W. M. Harrison, H. H. Dodd, Joseph Eistine. I conversed with him on the sub- ject of the order, but never met him at any lodge. Q. Did he display any knowledge that he could not have acquired outside the lodge of the order? A. He did. Q. Who is Joseph Ristine? A. Auditor of the State. I have seen him in his office. Q. Do you recollect the purport of any conversation you have had with him ? , A. I do not recollect any, except some- thing that was said about a letter which was supposed, at the time, to have been written by Dick Bright. The counsel for the accused objected to the witness relating any conversation of Mr. Ristine, as it had not been shown that he was a member of the order, the witness having said that he never saw him at any lodge of the order. The Judge Advocate, in reply, said that it had been proved that the book or roll in question was kept by an officer of this se- cret society; the witness also testified that the names on the roll were members of the order. The evidence, therefore, fur- nished by the book was more reliable than if Stidger, the witness, had seen Ristine at the lodge. The Court was then cleared for delibera- tion. On being re-opened, the Judge Advo- cate announced to the accused that the ob- jection was overruled. Answer of the witness continued: The conversation was in relation to a let- ter written to Dodd, Bowles and Ristine, and signed "Dick," and supposed to have been written by Dick Bright. The letter was a warning against Coffin as a United States Detective; that he was watching them, and reporting every thing they did. I was kept at Ristine's office nearly all day, for young Ristine to point Coffin out to me, in case he should pass the office. Q. Did you ever meet in the Grand Coun- cil, persons from other parts of the country, besides those here named? 28 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. A. I have. There was an old gentleman by the name of Oty, Dr. Lemans, a Judge Borten, from Allen county. He Avas a large, fleshy man. A Mr. Everett, of Vanderberg county; Mr. Leech, of Burnt District, Union county; Mr. Myers, of Laporte county, and Mr. A. D. Kaga of New Amsterdam. These were soine 1 became acquainted with on the 14th of June. Q. Did you ever meet in any of their lodges, or as a member of the order, a Mr. Lassalle? A. I do not think I met him. On the 14th of June, he was elected a member of the Supreme Council of the United States. Mr. Lassalle resides in Cass county. Q. State who else was elected that day ? A. John G. Davis. Q. Did you ever meet a Mr. Heftren ? A. Yes, sir, I met him in Salem, Indiana, twice. Q. Was he a member of the order? A. Yes, sir, he was. lie was recognized as such. I was t-old by the order that he was Deputy Grand Commander of the State of Indiana. Ilis name was called on that day, but he was not present. He was for- merly a Lieutenant Colonel of an Indiana regiment. He told me himself that he and Dodd had a right to call the order together at any time they might think proper. Q. Did he ever explain, in detail, the na- ture and object of tlie organization? A. He told me that they were to co-ope- rate with the Confederate foi"ces. The first time I saw him, ho supposed I was a Com- missioner, sent by the Confederate forces. I saw him in Salem, Indiana, on the 6th day of May. Q. How are you able to fix that date ? A. By its being the first day I left Louis- ville to join Bowles. Q. Did you know HefFren before? A. I never saw him before. There was a man there by the name of John Drom, wIk) pointed him out to me; he is a clothier. He took Hettren out and told him that I was from Kentucky. This man told me that Heffren was one of the leaders of the order. Ileftren then came to me, suppos- ing I was a Commissioner sent to hina from the rebel force. Q. Did he approach you as a member of the order, making any signs? A. No, sir, he did not. When he first ap- proached me, he asked if I came on that bu- siness. I told him I did not. I then men- tioned to him about some regiments of For- rest's being disbanded in Kentucky. He said he knew it, and that they were to have four more, who were to remain at home for a time and to concentrate when neces- sary. Q. For what purpose were they disband- ed? A. He did not tell me for what particu- lar purpose, but, he said, he was expecting a commissioner from three of those regiments, and he thought I was the person. Q. What was that commissioner to ar- range with him? A. I do not know, sir. Q. What else was said? A. I do not remember any thing particu- lar. A gentleman on the street asked liim why a certain lady was sent to Salem, Indi- ana, and he said they expected trouble in Kentucky very soon, and it would be safer in Salem than it would be in Kentucky. Q. Did Heftren inform you then that this organization was for the purj^ose of co-operating with the rebels? A. Yes, sir, he did. Q. Did you ever meet at Louisville a man by the name of Piper, that you say was on Vallandigham's stafi"; if so, was he a mem- ber of the order ? A. Yes sir. I met him there, and he was a member of this order. He told me he resided in Springfield, Illinois. I do not know his first name. Q. What was he at Louisville for? A. He had been traveling in the eastern part of the State, initiating men into the order. He w'as present at the meeting of the Grand Council in Kentucky, and assisted in opening the meeting. Q. Wliat rank did he claim to have on Vallandigham's statt"? A. He told me he was on his staflT, but he claimed no particular appointment. He told mo that James A. Barrett, formerly of St. Louis, now of Chicago, was Chief of Staff to Vallandigham, and that (Captain nines, of the rebel army, who also was on Vallandigham's stafl", had charge of the re- leasing of the rebel prisoners on John- son's island. Q. Was this the man you referred to yes- terday? A. It was, and by mistake I gave his name as Dick Barrett. It was James A. Barrett I referred to in my testimony yes- terday. Piper said he had a comnuinica- tion from Vallandigham and Bowlis, giving him charge of the releasing of the rebel prisoners at Eock Island, and which was to be eftected at the same time. Q. Where was Hines at that time? A. He was in Canada, waiting for the time to come. Hines was tlie same man that was afterward captured with Jlor- gan. Q. Do you know where this man Piper is now? A. I do not. Q. Did you learn of any specific action that tlie branch of the order in Illinois had resolved upon, in case Kentucky should re- sist the enlistment of negroes? A. Piper told me that he had attended a meeting of the Grand Council of Illinois, and that they had passed a resolution, unanimously, that if Kentucky considered TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 29 it advisable to resist he enhstment of ne groes, that the members o^ ^h^ older m Illinois would see that none of the State Militia or Loyal Leaguers, as they were called, should be allowed to be sent by the Government to enforce the f^'^^^^'^'^^.^^ A shell about the size ot a 32-pounder of conical shape, was here handed to the witness. The butt of the shell being Tcrewed off, showed an interior shell, which contained 'an iron case for the charge of ^""o'^Have you ever seen this instrument before ? If so, state where, and what it is Tl saw an instrument of that kind at Booking's room, at the Louisville Hotel, , ^ about the 29th or 30th of June Bowles was present, also Dr. Kalfus and Charley] ) Mnkr, and a number of other gentlemen^ Bocki ig explained it. The space between the innermost case and the inner shell was to be tilled with liquid Greek fire, ihe space between the inner and outer shell was to give room for it to move, so as to ex- plode the percussion cap, on its bemg thrown and striking any object. . What was it to be used tor ( A It was contemplated to be used for i the "destruction of Government property. i Q. Is this the same thing that was exhib- ited there at that time? A. Yes, sir, and it was for the use of these "'Q'^Was' any thing said about their using such an instrument ? • i. i, „ A. Yes, sir; they said it was just such a thing as they wanted. t i x +i „ A spherical shell was here handed to the witness, which unscrewed in the center and showed a smaller spherical shell mside. O Have vou seen this belore I A Yes, sir; I saw it at Booking s room; he explained the working of it. The inner shell was to be filled with powder, and a cap placed on each of the nine nipples to be seen on its surface; and round a glass vial, which this inner ^hell con tained was placed the powder. The glass vtll conlaine"^ the Greek fire. On its being lirown against any object, and striking it woZ explode and ignite and set on fire whatever it touched. It was designed to be used by the hand, and it would require ?ery cJreful handling to prevent its ex- ploding, as the least blow might explode it. Ccldng mentioned its weight and proba- "^rSdTou learn that this -strum-t had been used in the destruction of Gov- ernment property; if so. state when and ""^ri was told by Dr. Bowlegs that the Grtek fire had been used for th. destruc- tion of Government property. . Tw^ b«^*^ had been destroyed at Louisville, in the spring, and a number of boats, down the river by the same means, m April or May. I am not sure that he did not say some boats loaded with Government stores m bt. Louis. Booking explained the manner in which this Greek fire could be used outside of the shells It might be kept in a thm glass vial, and when you wanted to destroy any object, all you had to do was to throw the glass vial against it, by which the liquid would be scattered about, and it would set on fire every thing it touched. Booking said it might be made so as to ignite in- stantly it was scattered, or some time atter- ward Bowles said it might be arranged with the clock contrivance, to take tire some hours afterward. Q Did you learn of the change of the name of this order from American Ivnights Ito the Order of the Sons of Liberty; it so, I state what time that change was made in the different States. -r^ . , ^i c *■ A When I was here, I saw Dodd the first of June; he told me that Judge Bullitt and Dr. Kalfus had gotten some new works ot the order He told me that the order had been changed. The work on the American Knights had been distributed oyer the Stat?, and he wished me to assist m distri- buting the new work. I had seen tlie fii-st degree of the Order of American Knights, but had never read it. I only saw what kind of a looking book it was. Q Was this a new order, or merely a con- tinuation of the old one, with changes? A It was a continuation of the old ordei, but the name was changed to the Sons ot Liberty. Those of the Urder of American Kni<-hts were not admitted into the Order of the Sons of Liberty, unless they were considered worthy. n -r. j v. o+ Do you know any thing of Dodd s at- tempt to extend and increase this order, by disseminating the sentiments ot the order? , , , j- 1 • A No sir- I do not know that he did in this' State. He urged the extension of it in Kentucky, and organizing it as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. _ o Do you know of his issuing an ad- dress, to be sent to the different members lof the order? ■ ^ ^- ^f A Yes, sir; I know of the circulation ot the address exhibited here yesterday. 1 know there were some of them given to me to take to Kentucky, and 1 saw Harri- son give some of them to persons, whom he told me were members of the order m this State. . , Q Was it inculcated m this meeting and elslwhere, to the members of this order that in case this order should be ca led into the field, its members were to obey tlieir chiefs, and that their orders were to be un- questioned, and their commands supreme f A The orders of the chiefs of this or- ganization were to be above all orders, and Ibove all laws of the United States. They were to pay no respect to the orders of the 80 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. civil authorities, or orders of the General Government, but were instructed that the orders of their chief were supreme. [Close of the examination iij chief] CROSS-EXAMINATION. Became a member of the Order of the Sons of Liberty on the 5th of May, 1864. Was instructed in the Vestibule degree by a United States Detective. Took the first degree, in the city of Louisville, about the 12th of May; did not take the second de- gree at all, and was instructed in the third degree by Harrison, the Grand Secretary of Indiana, in Indianapolis, about the 1st of June. In taking these degrees, witness participated as a bona fide member of the order; but acted in the character of a de- tective from the beginning. Was employed by Captain Stephen E. Jones, of Louisville, Provost Marshal of the District of Ken- tucky, at witness' request, but not in that particular service. Was shown a letter, written by General Carrington to Captain Jones, requesting him to send a Kentuckian to Dr. Bowles. Witness was sent in accord- ance with that request. Did not at the time know of the existence of such an order as the Sons of Liberty. Received the Vestibule degree before going to Dr. Bowles. There were three Temple degrees besides the Vestibule degree. The meeting at Indianapolis, on the 14th of June, was a meeting of the dele- gates of county temples- and chiefs of the order. Heard the roll of names called; but not being personally acquainted with the members, could not recall them. Respecting the cont-emplated assassina- ation of Coffin, the United States Detective, I was sent from Louisville to give Dodd and Bowles the opinion of Judge Bullitt, name- ly : that it was necessary for the interests of the order that Coffin should be put out of the way. The matter was discussed in Council. Dodd did not discountenance the project; but, on the contrary, considered it necessary. Was taken to the State Au- ditor's office by Mr. Dodd, who requested Mr. Ristine's son to shov/ him Coffin should he pass. AVas there, off and on, in Mr. Ristine's front office nearly all day. About sundown Coffin was pointed out to him. Did not express a wish to meet him and kill him; the words used were, he hoped to meet Coffin hereafter " under more favor- able circumstances." This was after the Hamilton meeting, which was on the 15th of June, tlie day after the meeting of the Council in Indianapolis. Did not, in that meeting, insist on going to Hamilton, in order to kill (^offin: did not speak in the Council that day. Did not know of the Hamilton meeting till it was brought up in the Council. Went with Dodd and Bowles to the meeting at Hamilton. Was appointed Grand Secretary of the order, of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, by Judge Bullitt, until an election, and was afterward told that he had been elected at a meeting of the Grand Council. Never met Mr. Coffin at any meeting of the Council, nor in any of the lotlges: knew he was a L^nited States De- tective, bvit did not act in concert with him, nor communicate any thing to him. Be- came acquainted with Coffin about the 1st of June. The pretense of not knowing him was a sham, to cover up ulterior ob- jects. Met Dr. Gatling at Mr. Bingham's office, when he (Stidger) first saw Dodd. Gatling was at the Grand Council, and was jiresent at the discussion of the assassination of Cof- fin. Do not know Mr. Humphreys person- ally. A gentleman they said was Andrew Humphreys, was present at the Council: he was a fleshy gentleman — fine-looking— about forty years old. Saw Mr. Milligan also that day, for tlie first time. He was a tall, bony, tolerably slender man; and was an active participant in the proceedings of the meeting. He was there morning and evening. A man by the name of Tliomp- son was there; he was appointed on a com- mittee. Mr. McBride, of Evansville, also was present; he was a very active member, and was on the military committee. Did not know positively that the order was a militarj' organization, never having seen the members drill, or with arms in their hands; but had heard members of the order say that it was a military organiza- tion. The Order of the Sons of Liberty extended over Ohio, Kentuckj', Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. From the North-eastern States they ex- pected money, but not men — those States were theoretically organized, as far as the military phase was concerned. Dodd told him of the meeting at Chicago on the 20th of July, and of the plan of ac- tion determined on; did not remember whether Dodd said he was present at the meeting or not; but he was at Chicago at the time. In speaking of the meeting, he used the words, "We came to such and such conclusions." In conversations with members of the order, he learned that they did not intend Indiana and llHnois to be invaded by the rebels, if they could helj:) it. The war was to be confined to Kentucky and Missouri Indiana and Ohio were to co-operate with Kentucky, and Illinois with Missouri. The order expected the co-operation of the rebel forces, and were to rise at their advance. The order was to organize and join the rebel forces on the border. The point set- tled on was Louisville. Dr. Bowles said he cared nothing about the draft, or the politics of the Govern- ment^ — he said they were engaged in a scheme of rebellion against the Government TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 31 of tho Unitod States. In speaking of the movements of tl:e order, Dodd and Bowles expressed themselves confident of success. Dr. Athon, of this city, counseled caution and^ delay, till they vi^ere more thoroughly organized, and until they could see what could be done at the polls. He was present at the meeting on the 14th of June. He also said they should use their military power at the polls, if the Government attempted to control the elections by bay- onets: a.nd that there would be a time when it would be proper to use their militarj^ power against the Government, but that time had not yet come. He said it would not be changed after election; that an outbreak would come after the election to resist the Government, both as to its po- litical and military policy. The usurpation of the Government, such as the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, freeing of the negroes, and the general tyrannical acts of the Government, they deemed sufficient to warrant military operations against the Government. Dr. Athon expressed this opinion to witness, in his office, in pri- vate conversation; Judge Bullitt and Mike Bright had given the same opinion to him before. Did not know that Mike Bright was a member of the order. Bright thought twenty thousand men could be raised in the State of Indiana to further insurrectionary movements, but that the State would not furnish more. This expressed opinion of Bright was an exception to that of the chiefs of the order, so far as witness had heard them express themselves. Piper professed to have official orders, from Vallandigham, of a military character. Vallandigham had been represented to witness as the Supreme Grand Commander of the United States; elected on the 22d day of February, in New York. Under- stood from Pijier that Vallandigham had knowledge of this insurrectionary move- ment, and had given his sanction to it; that he had supreme control of it, and the particular day lor the rising was left to his discretion. Witness understood that Val- landighom knew of the action of the meet- ing at Chicago, and approved of it. Heard Vallandigham speak at Hamilton, on the 15th of June, but had no interview with him. In addition to the rituals, etc., there was the unwritten work of the order, which could not be gathered from the printed books. The unwritten work of the order v.-as mainly confined to the third degree members. It consisted of signs, colloquies, etc., by which members make themselves known to each other, and gained admittance to lodges where they were not known. There were also instruc- tions as to the designs of the order, im- parted to members who were thought wor- thy of the three degrees, that were not considered suitable to be known to less re- lialile members of the order. The printed works did not say any thing about the mili- tary character of the order, or about co-op- eration with the South, or resistance to tho Government by force of arms; but to a third degi-ee member they gave that instruc- tion and information. To second degree members, who were considered worthy, they imparted the same instructions. Fiist degree members were not considered wor- thy to receive these instructions. If they got them at all, it would be through the friends who were considered worthy. Did not know the relative proportion of first, second and third degree members. As a general rule, first degree members were more numerous than second degi-ee members ; while second and third degree members were about equal. In Indianapo- lis township, the second and third degree members numbered only about sixty odd men; but Mr. Harrison said one thousand or twelve hundred could be got into the order. They thought it advisable to take in only responsible men, who would influ- ence others to join when the proper time came. As to the available means of the order, in arms and ammvuiition. Dr. Bowles said he knew a man who would furnish any amount of arms and powder, at any time and place the order might designate. Did not know that the order had any storehouses, arsenals, or dejiots for arms, or that the members had arms beyond what citizens usualh' have. Did not know of any funds raised to pur- chase arms, though that question was dis- cussed at length at the meeting of the Council in this city, on the 14th of June. At that meeting, a committee of thirteen was apiwinted, to act for the Council in any emergency, during the recess of that body, and whose acts were to be as legal as though the Grand Council had passed them. Had not been under arrest. Witness' testimony was not given to save him from prosecution. Resided now at Matoon, Illi- nois. Was raised in Kentucky, and had lived in difi'erent parts of the State for eleven years; principally engaged in car- pentering, and in the dry goods business. Had been in the army, in Company E, 15th Kentiicky ; but was detailed as clerk from the first. Left the army on the 14th of February, honorably discharged for disabil- ity. Went into the detective service on the 5th of May. ' Aj^plied for business generally, and was appointed to this particular duty. Never saw Becking before meeting him at his room in the Louisville Hotel, when he explainedhisinfernalmachines. Bowles, Kalfus and Miller were there, and others, who were m.embers of the order. Had heard that Becking had brought the coni- cal shell to the notice of the Government, but did not know that he had offered the 32 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. spherical hand grenade. Dr. Bowles invited these members to Booking's room, to see whether these instruments could not be made available in carrying out the schemes of the order against the Government. Bowles said Booking was a member of the order. The project of assisting tlie South was discussed that da}"^ in his room and in his presence, and Booking said these shells, with the clock arrangement, and the Greek fire, were the very things that should be used, as I understood, for the destruction of Government property. Bowles further said, that he had tested Booking well before they initiated him ; that he had been sent by the order to Canada, and made to spend his own money in experimenting and test- ing this thing for the benefit of the order. Bowles also said that he, Bullitt, Dodd, a chemist, and one or two others, had spent one Sunday in a basement in this city, ex- perimenting with the Greek fire, when peo- ple tliought they were at church. Had been at Dr. Bowles' house three times. Had seen him once at Paoli, once at Louisville, and once in Indianapolis, at the meeting of the Council of the order. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Thursday, September 20, at 2 o'clock, P.M. CotJHT Room, Indianapolts, Indiana, ( September 29, 1864, 2 o'clock, P. M.j The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. In consequence of the absence of a mem- ber, the Commission adjourned, to meet on Friday, September 30, at 8 o'clock, A. M. Court Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, I September 30, 1864, 8 o'clock, A. M. | The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. All the members present; also the Judge Advocate, the accvised, and his counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. The cross-examination of Felix G. Stidger, a witness for the Government, was then re- sumed. The witness, after replying to questions of counsel, relative to his particular occupa- tion, by whom employed, and places of abode, for the past eleven years, testified as follows : Introduced himself to Dr. Bowles, and registered his name at French Lick Springs, as J. J. Grundy. Dr. Bowles asked him if he knew any thing about the Democratic organization in the State of Kentucky? Tokl Bowles that he did ; that he was a first degree member of it; on which Bowles told him that he was Military Chief of the order, and that a man by the name of Wright, of New York, was the Civil Chief He also gave witness the plans and designs of the Order of the Sons of Liberty up to that time. The Order of the Sons of Liberty was a continuation of the Order of American Knights, though all the members of the former were not, in all cases, deemed wor- thy to become members of the Sons of Lib- erty. Could not give the exact nature' and extent of the change, never having been a member of the Order of American Knights. Had been told by members that the Order of American Knights was changed to the Order of- Sons of Liberty, and that an addi- tion had been made to the colloquy of re- cognition between members of the order. The colloquy, " Resistance to tyrants is obe- dience to God," was said to have been added by Mr. Vallandigham, after the work had been revised by the committee in New York. Mr. Piper also said the ritual had been somewhat changed in other respects. In witness' conversation with Dr. Bowles, he gave a j^rogramme of the operations of the order. Illinois was pledged to forward fifty thousand men, to concentrate at St. Louis, and to co-operate with Missouri, which was pledged to fvirnish thirty thou- sand, and these combined forces were to co-operate with Price, who was to invade Missouri with twenty thousand, and more, if possible, by the assistance of Jeff Davis. These one hundred thousand men were to hold Missouri against any Federal forces that could be brought against them. In- diana was to furnish forty thousand to sixty thousand men, to co-operate with other forces that might come from Ohio, and all were to be thrown on Louisville, to co- operate with whatever force Jeff Davis might send into Eastern Kentucky, under Buckner or Breckinridge, as Davis might deem best. Dr. Bowles gave him this, in the first conversation, as the programme of the war at that time.* On leaving Louisville, on the 26th of May, witness stopped at Salem, Indiana; registered his name at the Forsyth House as J. J. Grundy. Had a conversation with Mr. Heftren. First became acquainted with him on witness' first visit to Dr. Bowles. Ilefl'ren was formerly a Lieutenant Colonel of an Indiana regiment. Thought witness was a commissioner from some rebel forces in Kentucky. Heffren was looking for a commissioner, so he said, to tell him about some rebel regiments that had disbanded in Kentuckj'^, after Forrest's raid and mas- sacre at Fort Pillow. Heffren told witness that he had been to Indianapolis a few days before, and had seen H. H. Dodd ; that they had con- sulted together about the time of calling a meeting of the Grand Council of the State, and that it would be between the 15th and 17th of June. Told witness that he and Dodd were the only two men who had the right of calling the members of the order together, and that it would num- ber between seventy-five and eighty thou- TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 33 Band men, and that the organization was about complete. With this information witness went to Dr. Bowles a second time. He had been away from home, but no one appeared to know where. Bowles said, he had been at Indianapolis, and at a meeting there he had met some of the chiefs of Illinois. Judge Bullitt, of Kentucky; Barrett, of Missouri; and the heads of Indiana were there. Their occupation on Sunday, dur- ing the time they were here, was down in the basement of a building, testing their Greek fire. They had a chemist there whom Bowles said he had known for some time, and that now they liad nearly brought this Greek fire to perfection. Bowles said that, at the meeting, Barrett pledged Mis- souri for thirty thousand men, and Illinois pledged fifty thousand to co-operate with Price, and Indiana would furnish forty thousand men. Before, he had said that Indiana would furnish more. Became acquainted with Judge Bullitt, from Dr. Bowles giving him a message to take. Saw Judge Bullitt about the 31st of May. The message was, that Mr. Hum- phreys was willing, to take a Brigadier Gen- eralship, and to remain in the rear. The ar- rangement had been talked of in Indian- apolis, and Bowles told witness to tell Bul- litt that it was satisfactory. Bullitt ap- proved, and went on to say, that he had spent a great deal of money in the affair, and that he was willing to spend every cent he had, but that he hoped soon to be able to steal a good living from the d d sons of b s. Witness gave his correct name to Judge Bullitt, while to Bowles he was still J. J. Grundy; they, however, seemed to understand each other in the matter. A conference respecting the murder of Cofhn, was held on the 1st or 2d of June. Judge Bullitt, Mr. Piper, Chambers, of Gal- latin county, Tennessee, D. C. Phipps, of Louisville, Dr. Kalfus and witnesl, were present. Immediately after he was sent to Dr. Bowles, on which occasion he revealed his true name. The reason he gave for his assumed name was, that he had been watched by a United States Detective officer — which was true — and that he changed his name to avoid being followed. The message witness took to Bowles, was that Coffin should be murdered, or, as he said, as he had been instrumental in get- ting him into the order, he ought to assist in getting him out. The message to Bowles about Coffin was verbal; it was not deemed prudent to commit such things to writing. Bowles told witness to tell Dodd, that he should set two men on Coffin's track, and that Dodd was to get him out of the way. Bowles did not say murder him; it was to get him out of the way, or make away with him. Witness then came to Indianapolis and saw Coffin; was introduced to him by Mr. James Prentice, a United States De- tective. Had sent word to Mr. Coffin pre- viously by Prentice, that he was to be mur- dered. Saw H. H. Dodd on the 5th of May. Had the conversation about the murder of Coffin. Dr. Gatling was in Dodd's office, but did not know tliat he heard the con- versation about Coffin. Dodd, in reply to the message from Bullitt and Bowles, said, if ( 'offin liad betrayed the secrets of the or- der, he ought to be disposed of, or made way with. Witness stayed in Indianapolis all day, and went to Governor Morton s in the evening. The Governor understood his business. From there he went to Gen- eral Carrington's. Returned to Indianapolis on the 13th of June, at the instance of Dr. Bowles. Dodd also said, he would like witness to be present at the meeting of the Grand Council on the 14th. It was at that meeting that the murder of Coffin was dis- cussed. No vote was taken, but all present seemed unanimous. There was no dissent- ing voice, of the forty or fifty who were present. Dr. Gatling was present at the meeting. Dodd said he should go to Ham- ilton, and wanted to know who would go with him. McBride said, he was sorry that circumstances prevented his going. McBride was a heavy set man, rather fleshy, medium hight, probably about forty years of age. Dodd, Bowles and wit- ness went to Hamilton. Milligan was there, but did not know that he went on the same train. After Yallandigham lyid done speak- ing, witness went up to bid Dodd and Bowles good-by. They asked him if he had seen any thing of Coffin; witness said he did not know him, when they remem- bered that he had told them so before. Was in Indianapolis about a week after. Witness believed that was the time when we watched in Mr. Ristine's office for Coffin. Dodd took him there, and mentioned the circumstance about Coffin before Mr. Ristine. Dodd then took witness to young Ristine, and desired him to point out Coffin in the event of his passing the office. Q. Had Dodd explained to young Ristine the purpose for which he wanted you to see Coffin? A. Xo, sir; he did not. Q. Then you do not know that young Ristine knew that you wanted to kill Coffin, if you saw him? A. No, sir; he did not. Question objected to by the Judge Ad- vocate, on the ground that the counsel for the accused was assuming as a fact what had not been asserted by the witness. Question and answer withdrawn by coun- sel for the accused. Q. Did you not pretend and assume to those men that you yourself would make 34 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. way with Coffin, if a suitable opportunity . occurred ? A. I do not know that I said any thing more than that I hoped to meet him under more favorable circumstances, not referring in any way to what those circumstances might be, friendly or otherwise. Q. What impression did you intend to make upon their minds, by what you said ? A. I left them to draw their own infer- ence ? Q. What was your avowed purpose in watching for him? A. To see him, because they wished me to see him, to know him when I saw him. Q.. For what purpose ? A. I do not know, except it was their in- tention that I should kill him; but I do not know what their intention was. Q. Was not the drift of your actions and conduct that day to give these men the idea that you wished to kill him ? A. I do not know what construction they put upon my conduct ? Q. Wa.s it not your intention to mislead them into the belief that you wished to kill him ? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate, and withdrawn. Q. Then young Ristine did not know that vour intentions were hostile toward Coffin, did he ? A. No, sir, none of them knew that I had any hostile intentions toward Coffin at that time. Q. Had you done nothing to lead them to that conclusion ? A. Not that I know of Q. Then your intention, in sitting in the Auditor's office, so far as you had any inten- tion, or confided any intention, was lawful and legitimate ? A. It was. Simply to see Coffin and know him. Q. Then they, so far as you knew, under- stood that to be your intention ? The question was objected to by the Judge Advocate, and withdrawn. Q. You knew Coffin perfectly well at that time, did you not? A. Yes, sir. Q. It was not, then, a bona fide intention to know Coffin that induced you to sit there ? A. No, sir, for I knew him already. Q. What was your object in going there to see him? The Judge Advocate objected. I object to the question. The Avitness need not state what his object was, as that is not com- petent evidence. The counsel for the accused replied: I sul)mit to the Court, that, while it is not strictly competent evidence, I desire that the witness state what his object was, and leave its competency to be decided by the Court. The Judge Advocate replied : With that understanding, I have no objection to the question. Q. What was your object in going there to see him ? A. That they might have the satisfaction of pointing Coffin out to me. Q. Is Coffin still alive ? A. He was ypsterday. Did not know why the uprising of the order did not take place on the 15th or 16th of August. He got the programme from Dodd, on the Tuesday following Bullitt's ar- rest, which was on Saturday. On Thursday of the same week he went to Dr. Bowles, who at first hesitated about telling witness, but when he found that witness already knew of the contemplated uprising, he told him that they had agreed at Chicago to wait for the co-operation of the rebels, but after they came from Chicago, Dodd and others determined not to wait for their co- operation. Witness understood that Bowles had received a message from Dodd, an- nouncing that the military commanders of the order had had a meeting, and a change of tlie original programme had been de- cided on. On going to Dr. Bowles, witness met Dodd's son on horseback, coming away. He was a boy of thirteen or fourteen years of age. Had seen the boy in Dodd's office, and heard him call Dodd father. Bowles told him the boy had been there. Bowles said he would call a meeting of the Grand Commanders and Major Gener- als in a few days. He would probably have theni meet at his house, and he would give me tlie result of their deliberations after- ward. The uprising would take place or not, as the military chiefs determined. Bowles said he might consent to it at the apf)ointed time, with the co-operation of the rebel Colonels Syphert, Jesse and Walker, who were then said to be in Kentucky. Did not know to what members of the order this insurrectionary scheme had been confided, but Dodd remarked to Harrison and witness, that lie suspected the propriety of confiding the scheme to Dan. Yoorhees. Harrison, too, thought it best not to com- municate it to Yoorhees. Dodd replied, " You are the only two persons I communi- cate all my plans to." The knowledge of the insurrectionary scheme, witness knew, extended to the members of the Grand Council, but lie believed the exact time de- termined on Avas confined to the Grand Com- mander and his Major Generals. Yoorhees was not wholly confided in by Dodd, but he seemed to be in the confidence of the or- ganization, and they were perfectly free with him about it. Colonel Anderson, a rebel officer of the 3d Kentucky Cavalry, who was on parole in Louisville, and liad given bond about the 1st of July, was initiated as a member of the order by Dr. Kalfus. Kalfus gave him the vestibule and first degree, and witness TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 35 gave him the second and third degrees, at the instance of Dr. Kalfus. Witness re- ported the fact to Colonel Farleigh, Com- mander of the Post at Louisville, and an order of banishment was issued, though it never reached Anderson, who left for Can- ada. Anderson said that had he received his order of banishment for breaking his parole, he would go to the Southern army again. Had some conversation with Dr. Bowles about the establishment of a North-western Confederacy. Bowles said that Republican leaders had told him that the Government would acknowledge the independence of the Southern Confederacy, provided they wer^ certain that no attempt would be made to establish a North-western Confede- racy. The two gentlemen who went to see Bul- litt, on the Saturday afternoon, were A. O. Brannan, and Dr. Bayliss; and Dr. Kalfus and Mr. Thomas, the jailor, went to see him on Sunday morning. Had a conversation with Ristine and Dodd, in Ristine's office, about the letter from Dick Bright. They said the letter was addressed to all three of them. Dr. Chambers, of Warsaw, Gallatin county, said he had directed Jesse D. Bright to write that letter, but he supposed Jesse had di- rected Dick Bi'ight to write it. Mr. Cham- bers was a member of the order. Piper said he had a communication from Mr. Vallandigham to Dr. Bo^Yles, which re- ferred to the release of rebel prisoners at Johnson's Island, as part of the insurrec- tionary programme. Captain Hines, a rebel officer, who was captured, imprisoned, and escaped with Morgan, was to have charge of the duty of releasing the prisoners at Johnson's Island. Piper told witness, while in Dr. Kalfus' office, at Louisville, that Cap- tain Hines was on Vallandigham's staff. Dodd also told Judge Bullitt that he would get together the men he could, and undertake the release of the prisoners at Camp Morton, Indianapolis; and in the event of his not succeeding, he would make his escape. The counsel for the accused here objected to the witness' voluntary statements not asked for, and to his giving hearsay testi- mony. Counsel desired that the last state- ment of witness might be stricken from the record. The Judge Advocate, in repljr, said, that a statement once upon the record could not be stricken from it. At the final delibera- tion, the Commission would determine w^hat was evidence, and the reliability or other- wise of the witness' statements. The counsel for the accused assented to this view, and withdrew his objection. Witness, of his own knowledge, did not know that the Order of American Knights and the Order of the Sons of Liberty were the same order, but Dr. Kalfus, Harrison, Bowles, Piper, and other members of the order, had so informed him. Harrison had told witness that the Order of the Sons of Liberty had had four different names. The members of the order weie sworn to obey the oi'ders of their Commanders, irre- spective of the orders or laws of tlie Gov- ernment. The attention of the witness was here called to the book, already in evidence, con- taining the list of members of the order in Indianapolis; alsov the roll of rebel pris- oners. Witness first saw the book in Harrison's office. Harrison showed him the list of members of the order, but not the other names. The counsel for the accused objected to the introduction of the whole book in evi- dence. The Judge Advocate replied, that the book, as a whole, had been introduced in evidence, though the attention of the wit^ ness had been called only to the names of the members of the order. It was for the Commission to determine what relation, if any, one list in the book bore to the other. There was nothing to preclude the whole book from being received in evidence by the Commission. The objection of the counsel was then withdrawn. RE-EXASnNATIOK Question by the Judge Advocate : I wish you to state whether any thing has been said to you, on the part of tlie author- ities or by me in their behalf, of any prom- ises, or intention on the part of Government, to reward you for any testimony given by you before this Commission ? A. Not a word. Q. Did I, or did I not, expressly state, that the only way in which you could come as a witness before this Commission, was, to make a full, free and truthful statement of what had occurred, within your knowledge, in connection with this order ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Has there ever been any intimation, or hint, of any intention on the part of the Government, to waive any arrest, or pro- cess for arrest, as a reward for any thing you might say or do in this trial ? A. No, sir. Q. Will you state who it was that first re- vealed to you, or to the order, that Coffin was a detect ive ? A. Dr. Chambers. , Q. Where'did he first announce it? A. In Dr. Kalfus' office, in the city of Louisville. Q. Had he known Coffin before ? A. He said he knew him previou.sly. Q. Who were present when he spoke of Coffin as a detective ? 36 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. A. Judge Bullitt, Piper, T. C. Wips, Kal- fu3, and myself. Q. Was this Captain Hines, you mention as on Vallandigham's stati', appointed be^ fore or after his capture? A. After his escape from prison in Ohio. Q. Then it was after Hines' capture, im- prisonment, and escape, that he accepted a commission on Vallandigham's stati' and was assigned to the releasing of the prison- ers at Johnson's Island. A. Yes, sir. Q. You stated that this order has had four difierent names. Did you learn them? A. I learned only the names, Order of American Knights and Sons of Liberty. Nothing was said to me about the Knights of the Golden Circle. Q. In your examination, I understood you to say that you had a conversation here with certain parties on the 5th or 6th of May. Did you mean to say May or June? A. June. I was not here in May, nor until the 5th of June. Q. I will now ask you, as it has been asked you on the part of the defense, whether there was not an unwritten work of the order, which contains or contem- plates a military organization, and also signs, grips, passwords, colloquies, and modes of recognition? A. There is. Q. You may now give to the Commission what you mean by the unwritten part of the work of the order. A. There are, in the unwritten work, cer- tain signs, grips and colloquies, used in the recognition and testing of members, as fol- lows: If you are a member of the Vesti- bule degree, and you meet a stranger whom you suppose to be a member of the order, you test him in the sign of the degree, thus: You place the heel of your right foot in the hollow of the left, with the right hand under the left arm, bringing the left hand under the right arm, thus folding the arms, and ]>lacing the four fingers of the left hand over the right arm. Tlie stranger, or person addressed, if a member of the order, will take the same position. That is as far as you go in public. You then retire to some place, where you will not be observed, and continue to test liim. You advance your right foot, and he will advance his right foot to meet yours. The two then take an ordinary grip with the right hands, at the same time placing the leit hand on the right breast. If you find him incorrect, you stop. If correct, you proceed with the following colloquy, which is given in altern- ate syllables by the parties, first tlie pass- word of the order for that degree, which is the word Calhoun spelled backward, thus: '•Nu— oh— lac"— "S.— L." —"Give m-i lib- erty — or give me death." Then you give one shake of the hand. [The dashes indi- cate that the syllables or phrases arc altern- ately pronounced by the parties.^ In this Vestibule degree there is also a signal of distress. This is given by placing the left hand on the right breast^ and raising the right hand and arm to their full hight once, if it is in the daj^time. If at night, when that could not be seen, you give the word oak-oun three times, thus: " Oak-oun, oak- oun, oak-oun." Oak is the tree of the acorn, which is the symbolical emblem of the order, and "oun" is the last syllable of the password as it is usually pronounced. In the first degree, the same pos-ition of the feet and arms is taken, except that in place of four fingers over the right arm, the first two fingers are so placed, and they are sep- arated. This position of the fingers is taught to have reference to the sovereignty of States. The feet being in the same position as in the other degree, they are advanced as before mentioned. In taking the grip, each one runs his first finger upon the wrist of the other, taking the ordi- nary grip with the other three fingers, running the thumbs as nearly straight as ix)ssible. This grip is taught to be as near the shape of the acorn — the universal em- blem of the order — as can be made with the hand. The left hand is to be placed on the breast as before. The colloquy is re- peated thus: "If you go to the East — I will go to the West. Let there be no strife — loetween mine and thine — for we — be breth- ren — O — S — L — Resistance to tyrants — is obedience to God." [All colloquies are pro- nounced alternately, as indicated by the dashes.3 Great care is taken to say " be brethren," the word "be" being a test of membership. The part of this colloquy, given after the initial "O. S. L.," is said to have been added by Mr. Vallandigham, when the work of the order was sent to him for revisal, after the committee at New York had fin- ished their part. This is the first temple degree. In the second degree, the hands are crossed on the abdomen, the right hand outside to represent the belt of Orion; the thumbs pointing upward, represent the point of the star Arcturus. The feet are placed and advanced as before. The collo- quy is given tluis: "What — a star — Arc — turns — what of the night — morning cometh — Will ye inquire — inquire ye — Return — come — password of degree — Orion." This colloquy is taken mostly from the 11th and 12th verses of the 2 1st chapter of Isaiah. The grip of this degree is the ordinary grip; the thumbs of the joined hands pointing upward, representing the point of the star Arcturus. The sign of the third degree is given thus: the arms are crossed on the breast, with the fingers pointing to the shoulders, the right arm outside. This sign is said to represent the Southern cross, as seen in the heavens soutli of the equator. The feet are TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 37 placed and advance as befora The collo- quy is thus given: "Whence — Seir — How — by the foi-d. Name it — Jaba^k, Thy pass- word — Washington — Bayard." Washington is the password of the degree. If as a stranger, and you visit any lodge, you give three knocks at the door. You then send in your name, residence, rank, and the temple where you belong. If you are known, you are admitted. If not, a com- mittee is sent out to examine you. They test you, and if they find you perfect in every particular, they admit you. If you fail in any respect, they know you no more. The grip is given by locking the thumbs crosswise, the palm of the hands being downward, and the hands being held hori- zontal. It is a grip of the thumbs alone. The sign of the Grand Councillor's de- gree is given by placing the right arm in the same position as in the third degree, the left hand being placed under the right elbow. The feet are in the same position, and advanced as in the other degrees. You then take the ordinary grip with the right hand, and with the left hand you take hold of the right elbow of the person you are testing — be doing the same. You then come to the exact position of folding the arms in the Vestibule degree, with the arms folded; then each turns one-fourth around to the right, facing in opposite directions, when the colloquy is given thus: "Whence — America — North — South." Amei-ica is the password of the Grand Councillor's degree. What I have gone through with, is part of the unwritten work of the order. There is a reference in the ritual to a passage of *Scriptui'e given in the initiation as part of the charge — Isaiah lix: 14—19. This pas- sage, as well as the "Invocation," are said to have been added to the ritual by Val- landigham. The passage reads : ^' And judgment is tmned away back- ward, and justice standeth alar oft": for truth is fallen in the street, and equity can not entei'. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil, maketh himself a prej'^; and the Lord saw it, and it dis- pleased Him that there was no judgment. And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that tliere was no intercessor; therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breast-plate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head; and He put on the garments of vengeance tor clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to His ad- versaries, recomijense to His enemies ; to the islands. He will repay recompense. So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him," Q. Is this part of the instruction given in any book? A. The passwords, signs and coUoquioa are not given, but are communicated by members of the order, in instructing ini- tiates. This is the portion of the unwrit- ten work Colonel Anderson applied for, to be sent ft'om Kentucky to him in Canada, in secret cypher. Q. Did I not understand you to say Judge Bullitt was searched at the time he was arrested? ' A. He was not searched in my presence. I undei-stood he was searched aiterward. When we were going to the cars he carried a satchel with him, and handled it a« though it was very heavy. He carried it with him wherever he went, and remarked it was God damned heavy. Afterward I understood he had gold in it; that he had cashed one of his checks on Montreal, and that the other was found on his person when he was arrested. Dodd said that Bul- litt had two checks on his person, on Mon- treal, and that he hoped those wlio arrested him had not searched him, but had acted the gentleman with him. He hoped he had had an opportunity to destroy them, after taking the numbers, so that he might du- plicate them. George E. Pugh, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced ; and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testi- fied as follows: Question by the Judge Advocate. Please to state to the Commission your name and place of residence. A. George Ellis Pugh. I reside in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Q. I will ask you whether you have had any knowledge of the existence of the Order of American Knights or Order of the Sons\)f Liberty ? A. None, except what I have gathered from the newspapers. Q. Are you acquainted with the hand- writing of C. L. Vallandigham? A. Yes, sir. Q. Please to look at these letters, and state to the Commission whether they are his signatures, and whether they are in his handwriting? [The Judge Advocate here handed the witness four letters, one dated "Win«lsor, C. W., October 8, 1863," to "My dear Vor- hees," and signed "C. L. Vail.;" another da- ted " Windsor, C. W., May 12, 1864," to " Dr. Sir," signed "C. L. V.;" another dated "May 31, 1864," to "H. H. Dodd, Esq.," signed "C. L. Vail.;" the fourth dated "Dayton, Ohio, June 28, 1864," with the ini- tials of the order, "O. S. L.," under the date, giving the letter an official character, as connected with the order, addressed to "Dr. Sir," and signed "S. C."] A. I believe they are all in his handwri- ting. 38 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. The Judge Advocate handed the witness a letter, dated "Windsor, C. W., 1st May, 18G4," addressed to " U. H. Dodd, Esq.," and signed " Friend," and asked: Q. Will you state whether that is Mr. Vallandigham's handwriting? A. It is not. The letter, dated "May 31, 1864," ad- dressed to " H. H. Dodd, Esq.," and signed '■ C. L. Vail.," was here introduced in evi- dence by the Judge Advocate. CROSS-EXAMINATION. Question by the accused. Mr. Pugh, you have stated that these letters are in Mr. Vallandigham's handwriting. Will you state how you know his handwriting? A. 1 have had an intimate personal ac- quaintance with him; I have seen him write a great many letters, and have received a great many letters from him. TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH KIRKPATRICK. Joseph Kirkpatrick, a witness for the Government, was then introduced, and being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : Question by the Judge Advocate. State to the Commission your name, residence and business. A. My name is Joseph Kirkpatrick. I reside in tlie city of New York, where I have lived since 1858. I am a merchant, and have dealt in fire-arms for the last three years. Q. State if any arras were sold by you in New York city, to a party purporting to be Mr. Parsons, of Indianapolis? If so, state ' what they were, and describe them ? { A. I sold two hundred and ninety pistols to a man in New York, who represented I himself not as Parsons, but as L. Harris. Q. Did you make any contract to sell him other arms? A. I imade a contract to sell him about two thousand five hundred revolvers. A. Any ammunition ? A. Yes, sir; one hundred and thirty-five thousand pistol cartridges. Q. Have you seen these arms since your arrival in this city? If so, state where? A. I saw them at the Arsenal, near this city. Q. How were they boxed? A. In the same boxes in which they were packed in New York, and they are the same arms. Q. How were the boxes marked? A. They were marked 'J. J. Parsons, In- dianajiolis. Ind." Q. Had you any directions about the nuiikiiig of these boxes, at the time they were shipped from New York ? A. I had nothing to do with marking the boxes. Harris marked thom himself in my presence, "J. J. Parsons Indianapolis, Ind." but did not state any reasons for marking them thus. Q. Did he state that his name was Par- sons? A. He did not. Q. AVas your attention called to the mark- ing of the boxes, by any thing said about charges on the arms? A. No, sir. He paid for the arms at the time. Q. Did you learn from the conversation at the time of purchase, where the arms were to be shipped to? A. He spoke of the shipment of aiins to California, and to Mexico, and said that the Government seemed to be very willing to permit arms to be shipped to California, and thence to Mexico, if their attention was not called especially to it. Q. Did you infer from that, that they were to be shipped to the California market? A. Yes, sir. Q. How many revolvers did he ship then? A. Two hundred and ninety. He paid for them at the time. Q. How many more did he contract for? A. About two thousand five hundred re- volvers. Q. How many rounds of ammunition were purchased ? A. Thirty-five thousand rounds to fit the same pistols, which were shipped at the same ^ime. CROSS-EXAMINATION. Question by the accused. Do you say that the arms found in the boxes in this city, marked "J. J. Parsons," are the same you sold to Harris? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you know Harris before the pur- chase? A. I never saw him before, nor have I seen him since. Q. What was his personal appearance? A. He had a full form; was about six feet high; quite a large man; weighed about two hundred pounds, and had heavy black whiskers. Q. Was there any other person with him? A. Once, when he called on me, quite a tall young man, wliom he introduced as his brother, came with him, and he said if ne plans, among members of the order, or of the officers, to assist the rebels in case of the invasion of Missouri, or of assisting them by moving into Ken- tucky? A. I heard some talk of that kind. We were informed in the vicinity where I live, that sometime between May and June, probably, that there was to be an invasion at three different points. One was to be into Ohio, one into Indiana, and another into Illinois. Q. By whom? A. If I mistake not. Forrest was to lead the one in lUinois ; Wheeler or Morgan, or 42 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. some of those men, in Indiana ; Longstreet •was to make for Ohio while Marmaduke or Price (some said one and some anotlier) was to come into Missouri. It was early in the spring that this news reached us. Q. Was it in contemplation that the or- der should rise and assist these men, when they invaded these States ? A. I think the understanding was that in case the rebels came over into Illinois, they and the brethren of this organization were to shake hands and be friends. Q. Were they to receive aid and assist- ance from this order? A. I should consider it that way, sir. Q. I>o you know of any assessments upon this order for money, with which arms were to be purchased for the organization? A. I do not know of any assessments made by the Grand Council; but I know an assessment was made by the temples. An assessment was to be made by all the county temples, and an assessment was made by our lodge to the amount of $200. Q. Was it paid? A. Yes, sir. f Q. Do you know what was done with the money? A. A man who passed by the name of J. A. Barrett, or Colonel Barrett, of St Louis, was appointed to receive the money. He stated that he was traveling round through the State to receive money to pay transpor- tation on the arms that were engaged for the order. Q. What arms were engaged for the or- der, and where were they to come from? A. The arms were to come from Nassau to Canada, and the understanding was that they were to be brought to the line in Canada by the authorities of the Confeder- ate States, and we were to pay the cost of transportation on them from Nassau to that point, where we were to receive them. If we got them home, it would be all right, and if we lost them, we were to lose what we had advanced. Q. Do you know any thing of an arrange- ment, in which Mr. Vallandigham was to .give the signal for the rising of this order? A. I heard in this way, that all the or- ders would be issued from the Head De- partment, of which he was Supreme Com- mander, and that orders would be issued when all things were ready; in other words, we were not to do any thing till the com- mand was given by Vallandigham, who was Supreme Commander. The next highest in command was a man by the 'name of HoUoway. In case the command was not given by Vallandigliam, the word would be given by HoUoway. He lives in Mercer county, Illinois, and I have often talked with him. Q. Did ,you. ever talk to him respecting the order ? A. I talked in regard to the movements of the order with Mr. Griffith. The sub-' stance of it was that I had my doubts in regard to the order being able to stand up and maintain what they were undertaking. He did not seem to have any doubt about being able to gain their point — that is, as to whether they would be successful or not. Q. Was this order both civil and mili- tary ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Had you captains, colonels and gen- erals in your organization? A. Only captains and colonels that 1 knew of There was an act passed, that there should be a colonel to each county, and a brigadier general for each Congress- ional district. That act was passed by the Grand Council of the State: they made the laws for the order. Q. What did you understand were to be the penalties for divulging the secrets of the order? A. The obligation there says death, and that was understood to be the penalty. Q. Did you ever know any person who divulged, or who was reported to have di- vulged the secrets of the order? A. I do not know of any myself, but there were some who were said to have di- vulged them. Q. What was done in the matter? A. They probably decided that it was a compulsory move, and they did not attempt to do any thing. I heard that there were a number who had joined the order ar- rested at Richmond, Indiana, on their way to Ohio, and that the Provost Marshal, or some Government officer, got the secrets out of two of them, but it was claimed that force of arms had been used and weapons drawn upon them, and they concluded that they had to tell. Q. Were any inquiries made into the matter, or any court convened? A. I do not know that they convened a court, or tliat any inquiries were made by the order to find out the particulars, but it was understood that if a man was guilty of exposing the secrets of the order, he would be tried by court-martial, and if found guilty he would pay the penalty. Q. Do you know of any court-martial being held? A. No, sir. But if they found a man guilty of betraying the secrets of the order, if the court decided that he should sutler death, they were to be governed by that entirely. Q. Do you know of this order having any connection or conmiunication with the rebel authorities? A. I saw a man from their country, and I heard from members of the order, as well as outside the order, that ho belonged to the rebel government. Q. What did they come there for? TKEASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 43 A I could not positively state their busi- ness. But there were many who came over backward and forward from Missouri, whom I saw, living as I did near the Missouri line, and many that came over, 1 guess, had been in the rebel army. . Q Was there any communication be- tween these men and the members of the order? A. Yes, sir. Q Did the members or otlicers ot your or^nmization learn of the contemplated rebel movements from these people who crossed from Missouri? A. Yes, sir. Q. And did events turn out as your order had been informed? A I believe they did. They were in- formed that Price would invade Missouri. Q Prior to his coming, were the mem- bers of the order informed of his coming? A I was informed by members from Henderson county that he was coming. A person, who professed to be one of Quantrell's men, I think, informed them that Price would be in Missouri toward the first of October, and remain there till aft^r the fall election, or as much longer as he deemed proper, or as he could. Q. Was any effort made on the part ot these emissaries to organize and assist the rebels when they should come into the State, as you have detailed? A. I think not, sir. Q Was it not part of their general plan to assist the i-ebels, whenever they invaded these States? . A. Yes, sir, and if it has been given up 1 do not know it. . , -r, • Q. Then why did they not assist Trice when he came into Missouri? A. I can not tell; but the order is not doing much business in that State of late, from^the exposures made in this State. Q Had the exposures in St. Louis any thing to do in stopping the operations of the order in Missouri and Illinois ? A I think, sir, it had a great deal. Q Are they still keeping up their or- ganizations, notwithstanding these expo- sures? . . • J.1, A The military organization remains tne same, but they have not drilled any since Q. How do these men that come from the South cross the river to get into Illinois? A I have been informed by men who had Jived in that State, that they had crossed at different points. One point was near Lou- isiana, Missouri. Q. How do they cross? A. They told me that when they wanted to cross, and they could not hook a skiff, that they had oil-cloth ^o fixed, that by cutting willows and running poles into them, they could soon fix-up a skiff. When they crossed, they would hide the oil-cloth till they wanted to return. Q. Did you ever belong to the Order of the Knights of the Golden Circle? A. Yes, sir, I did. Q. When did you join that order? A. I joined that before this Order of the Sons of Liberty. It was in 18G2, I guess. Q. Where did you join that order? A. In Jefferson county. I was down there on a visit, and I heard a great deal of talk about it, and a gentleman proposed to give me the organization to bring up home and start it, but I did not. Q. Was the Order of the Sons of Liberty, or Order- of the American Knights, a con- tinuation of the Order of the Knights of the Golden Circle? A. 1 never understood that it was so. The Order of American Knights was intro- duced in our county in June, 1863. It was at the time of the mass meeting of the Democratic convention at Springfield, Illi- nois, that it was inaugurated at that place. The Grand Council was inaugurated there, and the Grand Council appointed two offi- cers to each county to promulgate the order, and to set up temples. P. C. Wright, who now, I beUeve, has an interest in the New York News, inaugurated the order. A lithographed circular was here pro- duced by the witness. Q. Where did you get this circular? A. It was first showed to me _ by Dr. McCartney, in our temple, some time last ^ The circular, signed P. C. Wright, was here introduced into evidence by the Judge Advocate. It reads as follows: K Datlt News, ~| 'ity Hall Square, >- )BK, January 18, 18G4.) Dear Sir: I have this day connected my- self with the editorial department ot the "New York Neivs." You will remember that the News has, from the first, advocated the principles inculcated by Jeflerson and his illustrious compeers, and has fearlessly and openly denounced the usurpations ot power which have wrested from the citizen his cherished rights, and thrown down the last barrier between him and irresponsible despotism. . , The News will be ovr especial organ, and will be a medium for the interchange of sentiments and opinions of the friends ot peace, touching the momentous concerns involved in the existing crisis. _ I entreat your kind offices and influence in extending the circulation of tlie ^ews throughout the entire field of our labor. Yours sincerelv, ?• C Wright. New York OiRce, 19 Ci New Yob Q Who was McCartney? . A. He was the Grand Seignior m the county temple. , i v 4. Q. Do you know P. C. Wright, and what part he took in organizing the Order ol American Knights? . A. He organized the first Grand CouncU 44 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. at Springfield, and lie appointed Grand Seignior and Ancient Brethren to organize the counties. It was the same P. C. Wright, so Dr. McCartney represented, who is now connected with the New York News. Q. Can you give to this Commission the unwritten part of the oi'der up to the third degree ? A. I suppose I could, but I do not like to undertake it. Q. What i^ the password between the membei's ? A. Each county has its own passwords. The password of our county was W^ash- ineton. Q. How was it given, by syllables or oth- erwise ? A. It was spoken right out. Q. How did you recognize each other on the street? A. We would generally challenge him, that is by placing myself in a proper position. Q. Give to this Commission the position by which you challenged a member. The witness here gave some of the chal- lenges and tests described at length by the witness Stidger. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Monday, October 3, at 2 o'clock, P. M. CouKT KooM, Indianapoi,i.s, Indiana, 1 October 3, 1S64, 2 o'clock, P. >I. J The Commission met pursuajit to adjourn- ment. In consequence of the absence of a mem- ber, the Commission adjourned, to meet on Tuesday, October 4, at 10 o'clock, A. M. Court Boom, Indianapolis, Indiana, ) October 4, 18C4, 10 o'clock, A. M.j The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. Present — Brevet Brigadier General Silas Colgrove, Colonel McLean, Colonel Thomas J. Lucas, Colonel John T. Wilder, Colonel Charles D. Murray, Colonel Kichard P. De Hart, Major H. L. Burnett, Judge Advocate; also the accused and his counsel. Absent — Colonel Benjamin Spooner, Col- onel Ambrose A. Stevens. The Judge Advocate then read a medical certificate, excusing Colonel A. A. Stevens from attendance on the Commi.ssion. Also, a telegram from Colonel Spooner, stating his inability to be present at the Commis- sion; both of which were ordered to be attached to the record. By consent of the accused, given in open Court, it was agreed that the record of pro- ceedings should be read, and any nominal business transacted, and that the absent mem1)ers should take their seats on the Coriimission when they arrived. The proceedings of Friday, September 30, were read. Pending the reading of the record, the Commission adjourned, to meet at 2^ o'clock, P. M. AFTERNOON SESSION. CocKT Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, October i, Wiji, 2>^ o'clock, P. M.} The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. The same members present as at the morning session ; also the Judge Advocate, the accused, and his counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Wednesday, October 5, at 10 o'clock. A. M. Court Boom, Indianapolis, Indiana, ") October 5, 18G4, 10 o'clock, A. M. { The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. » All the members present; also the Judge Advocate, the accused, and his counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. William Clayton, a witness for the Gov- ernment, continued his testimony as fol- lows : Question by the Judge Advocate. State whether or not the league to which you be- longed, sent delegates to the Chicago Con- vention, or to the Chicago Grand Council, that met in that city in July last. A. The temple to which 1 belonged was subordinate to the county temple. 1 be- longed to the organization in Eoseville township. The Warren county temple sent delegates to the Grand Council for the State of Illinois. Q. Did you learn any thing of the doings or designs of the Grand Council, or the re- turn of the delegates? A. Not a great deal. I was at the W^ar- ren county temple at Monmouth, and Mr. Griffith and McCarthy, who were officers of that temple, had been to the Chicago Grand Council. They spoke of the Mili- tary Cdnimittee. The Grand Commander of the State, they said, had the selecting and appointing of the Military Committee in the State. That committee was not known to any person whatever, except to the Grand Commander. Q. Did you learn what that was? A. No, sir; I did not. The committee reported to the Grand Commander all their proceedings, and such a part as he thought proper he reported to the Grand Council. Q. Did you, after the Chicago Conven- tion, hear any thing about the obligation of secrecy being removed? A. No, sir, I did not ; I never heard any thing of it till I saw it in the newspa- pers.* Q. Was that the first time you, as a mem- ber of the order, heard of the obligation of secrecy being removed? A. It was. * The Indinnapolii Sfntinfl li«d Bt«ters elsewhei'C about it. Q. Did you not state the other day, in your exaiuination-in-cliief, that you were to meet the Soutlicrn army if they invaded the North, and shake hands with tliem? A. It was the understanding, where I lived, that in case of an invasion, we were to shake hands with them and be friends. Q, Was that the understanding as to the relations of the order to them? A. It was, as far as my knowledge ex- tends, in our section. Q. You were willing, then, to shake hands with the invaders of the North, and be friends with them ? A. This was the sentiment in the section where I lived. Q. Did this sentiment extend beyond the order ? A. I think some outside of the order felt the same way. Q. You did not think it wrong, then, to welcome them as friends ? A. I never understood any thing about the right or wrong of the case. Of tlie two evils we were to choose the least. Q. What two evils did you consider it the least of? A. The independence of the South or submission to the oppression of the Admin- istration. In our section we considered the success of the South the least evil. Q. Were you in favor of it against the Government of the United States ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you still maintain that feeling in your lodges there ? A. Yes, sir. At the meeting I attended three weeks ago, we were pledged to that faith. Q. How did yovi come to leave home and come here? A. I was brought here by the Provost Marshal. A subpena was served on me, in- structing me to come here. Q. Were you arrested, and then sub- penaed? A. No, sir. I was brought here, and was ignorant as to what I was subpenaed for. Q. Did the Government promise you that you would be protected against prosecution, if you testified against the order? A, I have received no assurances- of that kind, except what I had here to-day in court from the Judge Advocate. Q. Did you testify without fear or favor? A. I had fears, but not of this court. Q. What were you in fear of? A. I have had fears tliat I would be ar- rested when I got home, on the strength of the testimony I have given here; and also have had fears about the dealings with me of the organization to which I belong. Q. Did you not tell General Carrington that you would be ruined at home on ac- count of your testimony? A. I may have told liim so. Q. Why did j'ou expect it would ruin you ? A. I supposed it would so far as the order extends ; ibr its members are all under the same obligation that I liave taken. Q. Why do you make this exposure of TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 47 the order, after taking that obHgation to keep it a secret ? A. I have testified before this Court vol- untarily, because the law makes it my duty to tell the truth ; and as an honest and truthful man, I mean to, tell the truth, and nothing else. Q. You preferred telling the truth, then, and exposing the order, rather than keeping your obligation not to reveal the secrets of the order ? A. I considered this a lawful tribunal, and have spoken the whole truth. Q. Do you not consider the order a lawful organization ? A. No, sir, I do not. Q., Then you regard the laws of the land and of this Government as preferable to assisting the Confederacy ? A. I regard my obligations to the laws of the land first of all, to speak the truth, and \ I wish, so far as in me lies, to respect and obey the laws. Q. Have you had any inducement held out to you to expose this order ? A. No, sir. Q. What made you do it? A. Because I was brought before this Court, and I could not refuse to tell the truth without being false to the oath I took here. Q. Could you not back up on your rights? A. Had I been a lawyer, I might have done so. Q. Did you not do so this morning ? A. I said that I would not answer unless I was so directed by the Judge Advocate. Q. Do you not know that if you had been ' asked any question that would lead you to criminate yourself, that you could not be compelled to answer it ? A. I have never been before a military court before ; I am no lawyer, only a farmer, and a poor one at that ; and I don't know the custom of military courts. RE-EXAMIXATION. Question by the Judge Advocate : When 1 saw you in my room, did I, or did I not, inform you that you were to speak the exact truth, and that without any fear, favor or affection ? A. You did, sir. Q. And without any hope of fee or re- ward, or offer of any, in any way whatever ; and that all the truth must be spoken with- out any swerving or prevarication ? A. You did, sir. I felt considerably em- barrassed, and when I saw you at your of- fice, you spoke to me as you did here. Q. Was there any thing said except as to the desire of the Government to get at the clear, unvarnished truth? A. That was all, sir. Q. And what brought you here to-day ? A. The subpena from this Commission was served upon me, and I had to come and testify as I have done. TESTIMONY OF WESLEY TRAXTER. Wesley Tranter, a witness for the Govern- ment, being duly sworn, in answer to inter- rogatories by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : My hoiTie is at Shoal's Station, Martin county, Indiana, and am a miller by lra(l(\ I have not lived at Shoal's Station since I informed on this Butternut organization in March last. In the spring of 1863, I joined a secret society, called the Circle of Honor; that was directly after I was discharged from the army for disability. I was a private in the 17th Indiana Volunteers, and was with Sherman's army. I joined the oi'der at the solicitation of a man by the name of Ste- phen Horsey. There were about forty or fifty in the organization at the time I joined. John W. Stone was the head man, as far as speaking was concerned. He came round to make speeches to the order, and Stephen Horsey assisted him. Horsey resides at the Shoals still, but Stone, who had some diffi- culty with the boys of the ITth Indiana, in which he had his fore-finger shot off, went away, with his wife, to Kentucky. Mr. Horsey, who induced me to join the order, said if I would join, he would show me the elephant, and if I did not like it after I was in, he would get me out. He gave the name of the order as the Cir- cle of Honor. He said they wanted to find' out how strong the Democratic party was. As I had been a Democrat all my life, I joined the order. About two months after joining, they gave us the Morgan signs, which they said would, in the event of our being taken pris- oners, and making ourselves known, secure us better treatment. [The witness, at the request of the Judge Advocate, gave the signs, positions, etc., which were similar to those described by the witness Stidger, as belonging to the Vesti- bule degree of the Order of American Knights.3 We had a little book, or ritual, which a little fellow, whose name I do not remem- ber, and who said he went backward and forward to Richmond, brought there. It was said that the book had been got up by Jeff Davis for the use of the lodges. About January, 1864, Horsey came to me and said they were going to have a very im- portant meeting. A man by the name of T. Baker also asked me to go. I attended the meeting. They taught us more of the signs of recognition used by the members, and swore us into Jeff Davis' service ; and we' were to support him, North or South, at all hazards. That was no part of the oath we took, but if we revealed the secrets of the order, we were to sufier our hearts to be 48 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. torn out, and our bodies to be cut into pieces, and the four quarters to be scattered north, south, east and west. It was said by members that Dr. Bowles and H. H. Dodd were connected with this organization. Bowles was said to be in New York, and would meet Stone here at Indianapolis about the 26th of March. It was said in the order that H. H. Dodd was to be Governor of the State^ in Morton's place ; that Governor Morton was to be put out of the way, and Dodd was to be set up in his place. Stone said we were to have arms, and were to resist the draft. Lincoln, he said, had been scared once into putting off the draft, but now they would show him something that would scare him more than that. Lincoln was afraid, he said, of the arming going on here in the North. This was said at a meeting of the Temple of Honor, held about a mile east of the Shoals, at a house belonging to a man by the name of Gaddis, on a Saturday night, toward the latter part of the month of January. They said we must have our old rifles and shot- guns fixed up as best we could, and that they would have revolvers shipped to them. Two boxes of revolvers came there, and a man by the name of Coffin, a blacksmith, helped to carry them. The boxes were passed oft' as jewelry. I was told this by Horsey. The arms were to be used to assist the rebels, and against the blue coats, as they called the United States soldiers, and they "Said : '" We will show them how to fight." They expressed their intention to resist the United States Government, and to support the South. Stone said, in his speech, that about five days from the first of April, they were to take this place (Indianapolis); the membei's of the order in Illinois were to take Springfield; while those of Missouri were to take St. Louis. Bragg was to do all he could in Tennessee ; Morgan was to advance his force into Kentucky ; Forrest was to cross the Ohio to Illinois, and we were to aid. The Indianians were to seize this place and the arsenal, and distribute the arms to those members of the order who had none. The arsenal, it was said, would be seized when there were but few soldiers here. At that meeting, Stone said Governor Morton was to be put out of the way ; that he had but a short time to live after the visit here to the arsenal. Stone read a let- ter at the meeting, signed M. D., in which this was said about Governor Morton. At the same meeting, something was said about organizing and drilling. I never drilled with them, but an old man^ by the name of Woody, asked me to drill them, as I had been in the army, and was supposed to know something about it; but I would not. Among the signs of recognitipn they had in January, 1864, besides that I have men- tioned, was the sign 0. A. K., spelling the word oak. The letters composing the word were to be pronounced alternately by the parties meeting. There was also the sign of distress. In case of the arrest of a mem- ber of the Order, he was to halloo oak-oun three times, when any member of the or- der who heard would come to his assistance at all hazards. I first revealed the designs of the order to Captain Henley, in March of this year, when I wrote out a statement of the mat- ter, giving the signs, signals, etc., substan- tially as I have given them here. I have not seen, read, or heard any thing in con- nection with this matter testified to by the witness Felix G. Stidger. I have not at- tended a meeting of the order since Janu- ary, ] 864, nor have I conversed with a mem- ber of the order since that time. The rea- son why I did not continue to attend was, that the avowed principles of the order did not suit me. I had a brother in the United States army, and I told my father that I should report on them, and they might do just what they liked with me. Stone said that communication was kept up between the order and the rebels, and that the only way to save the Government was to elect Jeft' Davis the next President. That Jeff Davis had three times oS'ered to compromise, and that Lincoln's Govern- ment would not do it, and that now some- thing would have to be done to make them yield. I did not join the order as a detective, nor have I ever acted as such. I joined it in good faith, supposing it to be a legitimate organization. I have received no fee or oft'er of reward for my testimony, and no promise of any kind has been made to me to induce me to testify. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Thursday, October 6, at 10 o'clock, A. M. Court Boom, Indianapolis, I.vdiana, ) October 6, 1804, 10 o'clock, A. M. j The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. All the members present; also the Judge Advocate, the accused, and his counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. Wesley Tranter, a witness for the Gov- ernment, resumed his testimony as follows : John Stone said, at the meeting in Jan- uary I have referred to, tliat, of the Western States, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri would join the Southern Confederacy, and that they would lick out "Old Abe" and his blue coats. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I first made up my mind to expose the order the next day after I was sworn into the Knights of the Golden Circle. When I told my father what my intentions were, TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 49 he was a little scared, and told nie to tell my uncle at Washington, Davis county, which I did, and he advised nie to come here and report. I came here to Indianap- olis about the 10th of March, and Captain Henley wrote out my statement. The cause of John W. Stone's leaving was: a Lieutenant of the 17th Indiana, with some of the boys, were going to arrest him, to find out if he knew who killed some of our soldiers. When Stone saw them coming, he tried to make his escape, when they fired, and his fore-finger was said to have been shot off. The name of the order I joined, was the Circle of Honor; I met with them some four or five times, when it was reorganized as the Knights of the Golden Circle. The obligation taken in the Knights of the Gold- en Circle was to support Jeff Davis, either North or South. The soldiers who went to take Stone, also went after Horsey, but I think I saved him, and Dr. Bowles too. Dr. Bowles was to be our general to lead us South to support Jeff Davis. Bowles sent for some of us boys to go down to French Lick Springs, where he lived. I was not alarmed at re- ceiving the Morgan signs, and the prospect of serving under Bowles. I knew we had the right sort of man to lead us, and tliat he would run if there was danger, as he did in Mexico, and that we would be safe. RE-EXAMINATION. We had a hailing sign in the order, or sign of distress; it was the word '"oak-oun" pronounced three times. The statement which Captain Henley wrote out from my dictation at the Bates House in this city, was sent to General Car- rington. TESTIMONY OF ELLIOT ROBERTSON. Elliot Robertson, a witness for the Gov- ernment, being duly sworn, in answer to in- terrogatories by the Judge Advocate, testi- fied as follows : I am a farmer, and live in Randolph county, Indiana. I joined the Order of the Knights of the Golden Circle in Green Fork township, Indiana, about the 1st of June, 1863, or a little later. 1 joined at the soli- citation of a man by the name of John D. Burkebyle, who was the chief of the order at that place. A person named Nathan Brown, who was understood in the order to have been sent from the leaders here in Indian- apolis, organized the order in our town- ship. I do not recollect the obligation I took, except the penalty for disclosing the secrets of the order, which was death ; the body being cut into four cjuarters, one part to be cast out at each gate, north, south, east and west. They had grips and signs, etc., by which members of the order could recognize and test each other. First we stood in a military position, with the heel of the right foot in the hollow of the left, arms folded, with the two first fingers of the left hand apart. This position was an- swered, when it was recognized, by passing the right hand across the face, as though stroking the mustache. Another sign was a grip, in which each party held the fore- finger so that it should reach as far as it could up the wrist. The order was understood to be organized for military jjurposes, and about one-half of the members were armed. The intention of the order was to oppose the Administra- tion in its attempts to put down the rebel- lion. The name of the order was changed to American Knights about September, 1863. I was invited to join the new order, but did not. I was instructed in it by the captain of the Knights of the Golden Circle. Nearly all who belonged to the Knights of the Golden Circle became members of the new order. I passed into a lodge of the American Knights in Gratis township, Preble covmty, Ohio, about two months ago. A friend of mine took me, but nothing particular was done. I have not attended any regular meeting of the order since September, 1863. One purpose of the organization was to oppose the draft and arbitrary arrests, and by force of arms, if need be; but the un- derstanding was, that our operations were to be confined to Indiana. Burkebyle and Brown said that it was only in part determined what should be done in case of the draft. It was said at a meeting of the order, that should a draft be made, they would know in time whether we were to resist or not. The captain said he had orders from In- dianapolis to arm the members of the or- der. The question was discussed as to how we should get arms. Some were in favor of buying their own arms, but the captain said there were plenty of arms here in In- dianapolis, and we were not to be uneasy about that. I do not know of any arms being distributed, except from hearsay. I joined the order more out of curiosity than any thing else. I oiever acted in any capacity as a United States Detective. My testimony before this Commission is volun- tary, and no offer or promise of reward, in any way, has been made to me to induce me to testify in this case. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I volunteered as a soldier in the 16th Indiana, on the 22d of August last, and made a statement to General Carring- ton respecting the order soon after I vol- unteered. Have not joined my regiment yet, or been on particular duty. I should have made a statement of the objects of the organization to the authorities before, 50 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. if I could have received protection for po doing. I made a statement to '8(juire Hough, I think in October, which was Bvvorn to by me. I met with the order after making this statement to 'Squire Hough, but onW to learn their intentions more fully. I was formerly a Republican, i)ut had become a Democrat before joining tlie order. When I made tlie statement to 'Squire Hough, I was a Union man, and did not want to favor the order. 1 only know of one attempt to resist what was called arbitrary arrests. Bui'ke- !)yle thought he was going to be arrested, and I and some of the members of the or- "ere there. J. D. Burkebyle was our captain, Abram Piatt was treasurer, and Francis Burridge was secretary; Amos Crew was lieutenant, and Henry Woodin sergeant. There were between sixty and seventy-five members in the order at Green Fork township. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Fridaj', October 7, at half-past 8, A. M. Court Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, ) October 7, 18G4, S}^ A. M.) The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members j^resent, except Colonel Benjamin Spooner. Also present the Judge Advocate, and the counsel for the accused. It was then announced by the Judge Ad- vocate that the .accused, Harrison H. Dodd, had escaped, and could not be present; he therefore asked for an adjournment of the Commission till 11 o'clock A. M., at which time he proposed to submit the case to the Commission, that they might proceed to the finding and sentence. The counsel for the accused, Jonathan W. Gordon, Esq., and Martin M. Ray, Esq., then submitted to the Commission an affi- davit touching the escape of the accused: United States of America vs. Harrison H. Dodd. Be it remembered, that on this 7th day of October, 1864, personally came before me -Before Military Com. The following extract from the report of Colonel A. J. Warner, Commander of the Post, Indianapolis, to Cap- tain A. C. Kemper, A. A. G., gives all the particulars known of the escape of H. H. Dodd, on the morning of the 7th of Octoher: Mr. Harrison H. Dodd, who was on trial in this city liefore the Military Commission, on a charso of trea- son and conspiracy, made Inn escape from tlie roiim oc- cupied by him, in the third story of the Post Office Building, a few minutes before 4 o'clock this morning. He escaped through the window, opening on I'enn.sylv«- uia street, by means of a rope attached to an iron rod, which was held fast between his bed and the iron win- dow shutter. A ball of twino had been conveyed to him ' H. L. Burnett, Judge Advocate Department of the Ohio and Northern Department, I Jonathan W. Gordon and Martin M. Ray, ' the counsel for Harrison H. Dodd, in trial : before a Military Commission, in the city I of Indianapolis, and being by me duly I sworn according to law, depose and say : jointly and severally, each for himself, that i they have this morning heard with sur- prise of the escape of their client, II. H. j Dodd, from his prison, in tliis city. I They further declare, as an act due from ; them to this Commission, that never ! by word, act or intimation, did they, or j either of them, counsel, prompt, suggest or intimate to said Dodd, or to any friend or [acquaintance of said Dodd, or any one else, his escape from prison; nor was any thing I upon the subject ever intimated among ] themselves; nor had they, at any time, from any .source, any notice or susj)icion that said Dodd contemplated any such escape ; and j they thus declare their entire innocence, ' in tliought, word or deed of his escape. And they ask this statement to go upon the record in this cause. M. M. R.\Y, J. W. GORDON. Sworn to before me, and subscribed in my pi'esence, this 7th dav of October, 1864. H. L. BURNETT, JucJgc A'h'ocafe Drpartmeni rtf the Ohio and Northern Department. The Commission then adjourned, to meet at 11 o'clock, A. M. AFTERXOOy SESSION'. CouET Room, Indianapolis, Indiaua, l October 7, 1804, 11 o'clock, A. M. j Tlie Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. The same members present as at the morning session. Also, the Judge Advo- cate, and the counsel for the accused. The Judge Advocate then addressed the Commission as follows : ^The accused, Harrison H. Dodd, having made his escape, as I announced at the first session to-day, I had thought of asking the Commission to proceed on the evidence al- ready before them to their finding and sen- tence ; and though it may be the course I by some of his friends who had been permitted to visit him, by means of which he had drawn up to hi.s window a large rope, furnished by some persons ontsid«, who assisted in his escape. There was no guard on the outside of the building, and tlio attempt was not detected, until the prisoner had reached x\u' ground and escaped. The street lamps near by had been previously darkened to conceal the move- ment. When Mr. Dodd petitioned Brevet Major General Hovey, (Commander of the District, to be allowed to oc- cupy a room in the Post Oi'ice Building, instead of being closely confined in the Military Prison, he pave his parole of honor, that he would make no attempt to es- cape. His brother also pledged his word, and stated he would risk all he was worth that H. H. Dodd would not try to escape, if this i)rivilege was granted. Measures, therefore, that would have been taken to prevent escape, by jdaeing guards on the outside as well as within the building, were not, under the cir- cumstances, resorted to iu tliis case. TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 51 shall finally ask the Commission to pursue, I think it best at present to recommend that the Commission adjourn till such time as they think best. In the mean time, I will prepare- the papers against some other prisoners, with whose trial we may proceed, allowing the present case to remain for the time in its present condition. The law, so far as I have been able to ex- amine the decisions in the United States Keports, and the reports of the kStates of New York, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas, and one of the Ohio Reports, all go to this extent : That where a prisoner, by his own default, is not present to leceive the verdict of the jury and the sentence of the Court, waives, by his own act. the constitutional right ^jvhich he had, that he could not again be put in jeopardy of life or limb ; but hav- ing, by his own act, deprived himself of that privilege, he may again be put upon trial for the same oifense. Or, as tlie law expresses it, there was from the beginning no jeop- ardy, or it can not be said there was a real jeopardy, because he may, from the begin- ning, have had an intent to escape before the sentence of the law could act upon him. The civil decisions say, further, that v»'hile he has deprived himself of that privilege, yet, as a. general rule, the Cburt can not pro- ceed to sentence, or the jury to give a ver- dict, because he may have the privilege of "polling the jury." It is one of the rights of the accused to make a claim or plea to the Court, and his presence is necessary to the rendition of the verdict and the passing of sentence. Later decisions, however, by the Supreme Court of this State, and also the Supreme Court of Ohio, go to the ex- tent that if a person, of his own default, is not present to receive the verdict of the jury and the sentence of the Court, yet the Court may receive the verdict of the jury and give sentence. I apprehend, therefore, that this reasoning would hold with greater force before a court-martial or military com- mission, for the reason, that in a court-mar- tial or military commission, the accused is never present when the Court proceed to their finding and sentence. The moment I say to the Commission, '' The evidence on behalf of the Government is closed," the accused may introduce evidence to rebut that which has been introduced on the jiart of the prosecution, or he may waive that privilege, and present his defense in the shape of an address, called " the Address of the Accused," and given under oath, or otherwise, and which may be received by the Court in extenuation or mitigation of his sentence. But if, for any reason, the ac- cused abandons his cause, and fails to rebut the evidence produced on the part of the Government, he waives his right of address; in other words, he says, " I have no defense." The Court then proceeds to close the doors to deliberate on the finding and sentence. I do not see why such a course could not be pursued in strict accordance with reason and justice, and the due observance of mili- tary law. I make these suggestions ftt this time, that the gentlemen engaged as counsel for the accused may be made aware of what may be claimed in the premises on the part of the Government. I now ask the Commission to adjourn to such time as they may deem best. The Commission, after deliberation, ad- journed to meet on Thursday, October io, 1864, at 2 o'clock, P. M. Court Koom, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1 October 13, 18G4, 2 o'clock, P. M. / The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. In consequence of the absence of a mem- ber, the Commission adjourned to meet on Saturday, October 15, 1864, at 9 o'clock, A. M. CouKT Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, |^ October 15, 18G4, 9 o'clock, A. M. J The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. All the members present; also the Judge Advocate, and the counsel for the accused. Absent, the accused, Harrison H. Dodd. The proceedings were read and approved. The Judge Advocate then addressed the Commission as follows : As I intimated at the last session of the Commission jareceding our late informal meeting, I propose now to submit the case of the accused, Harrison H. Dodd, on the evidence already introduced, and to ask the Commission to proceed to their finding in the case, and, in the event of finding against the accused, to sentence. For authorities in support of such a course, I propose simply to cite certain late decis- ions in similar cases, by the Supreme Court of Ohio, and also by the Supreme Court of this State. The first case is from the Ohio Heports, vol. VII, page 180. Charles Fight vs. The State. The plaintiff was arraigned at the August term of the Brown Common Pleas Court, plead not guilty, and, on his motion and giving security, the prosecution was continued to the November term. He was placed on trial before the jury oh the fourth day of the succeeding term, and the testi- mony being partly heard, the Court ad- journed imtil the next morning, at which time the Court met, and the plaintifi' being called, made default. The Court then is- sued a bench-warrant for the plaintifi", and proceeded to charge the jury. On the next day the jury rencler.ed a verdict of guilty, which was received by the Court in the ab- sence of the plaintifi". At the succeeding March term, the plaintift" asked for a new 52 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. trial, assigning, among other reasons, that the jury had heard only a part of the testi- mony, and that the verdict was brought in during his absence. This was overruled, when the plaintifl' moved an arrest of judg- ment for substantially the same reasons. The case was argued before the Supreme Court, and the opinion delivered by Judge "Wood was concurred in by all the Court. The synopsis gives the 2)oint of the case in these words: "Where, pending a trial upon a ci-iminal prosecution, the accused, being on bail, ab- sconds, it is legal to proceed with the case, and to receive a verdict of guilty in his ab- sence." The opinion of the Court is as follows : " In England, in misdemeanors, where the defendant is on bail, a trial, a conviction and sentence may be had in his absence. He is present or not, at his option. Tn felonies, a difierent rule, it is true, prevails. The ac- cused must be present when every principle of the law is discussed and determined in which he is concerned. The reason of this ditierence in the mode of proceeding in the two cases can not, perhaps, at this time, be satisfactorily ascertained ; or, rather, no sat- isfactory reason can be given for it. A prisoner in close custody may be so easily oppressed and deprived of his rights, and it would be so extremely difficult for him to make known his injuries and obtain redress, that to prevent imnecessary restraint, and to afford the accused an opportunity of be- ing fully and fairly heard, the rule in refer- ence to him may be reasonable and salutary; but it would apply with force to all classes of ofienders. But in felony, the accused is not necessarily confined within the four walls of the prison. Both before and after the conquest, all felonies were bailable by the common ancient. law. The S'taL Weston, 1 and 3 Ed., 1 c, 15 ; 23 Hen.. 9, c. 9 ; and 1 and 2 Ph. and Mar., c. 13, except treason and mur- der, and certain other crimes from those for which the King's justices may bail. {Bl Com., 4 vol., 208.) But the Court of King's Bench, or any judge thereof, in vacation, may, at their discretion, admit persons to bail, in all cases xuhatsoever. (3 East., 163, 5 J. R., 169), but none can claim this benefit dc jure (2 Ilale, 129). If on bail, I apprehend, neither the courts of Great Britain nor the United States would proceed to impannel a jury, in a trial for felony, unless the ac- cused were present to look to his challen- ges. If the trial, however, is once com- menced, and the prisoner, in his own wrong, leaves the Court, abandons his ca.^e to the vmnage- mcnt of counsel, and runs away, I can find no adjudged case to sustain the position, that in England the proceedings would be stayed. Such a case must form an exception to the general rule, and the verdict may be legally received in the absence of the accused. The prisoner can not be deprived of his right to be present, at all stages of his trial; but that he 7nvst be, under all circumstances, or the proceedings will be erroneous, can not, we think, be sustained." The next case I shall cite is from vol. 14, Indiana Reports, page 39. It is an opinion delivered by Judge Perkins, of this State,in the case of McCorMe vs. The State. I shall read only that portion of the opinion appli- cable to this point: "The constitution and laws provide that a defendant in a criminal case shall be pres- ent at his trial This is for a twofold object: " 1. That the defendant may have the op- portunity of meeting the witnesses and jury face to face, and of directing the causes of his trial. " 2. That the State niay be in possession of his person, so that judgment may be ex- ecuted thereon. "Now, the question is, are not these pro- visions, so far as they are in favor of the de- fendant, designed to confer a privilege whicB he may waive? He can waive a trial alto- gether, and plead guilty. He can waive the constitutional and legal privilege of trial by jury. He can waive the constitutional and legal privilege of being a second time put in jeopardy. And shall it be said that he can not w^aive his privilege of being present when his Avitnesses are examined, or any one of them ? Then did he, as a question of fact, make such waiver in this case ? If he had vol«ntarily arisen in Court, and asked to be absent in the custody of an of- ficer, or otherwise, for a period of time, re- questing that the trial should proceed in his absence, the waiver would be clear. But how does such a step difter, in substance, from a voluntaiy dej^arture without asking that the trial shall stop ? In one case the consent is vocally, in the other, tacitly, but equally clearly, expressed." This was a case in which the prisoner ab- sented himself during a portion of his trial. The next case in point is reported in the Sixteenth Indiana Reports, page 357. The Slate vs. Wamire. The opinion -was deliv- ered by Judge Perkins, and is the last case in point, on record, that I know of " 3. The court is not bound to discharge the jury because of the voluntary absence of the defendant during the trial, he hav- ing been present at the commencement, [^McCorkle vs. The State, Fourteenth Indiana, 39; Fight vs. The State, Seventh Ohio {Ham.) Reports, Part 1, page 181], but may proceed on to verdict, at all events, in his absence." In all the cases I have cited, the authori- ties go further than I ask the Commission to proceed. I do not propose to introduce testimony in the absence of the accused, but simply to submit the case to the Com- mission upon the evidence already intro- duced, and upon this evidence I ask the Commission to proceed to its finding and sentence. The reason for such a course is I TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 53 stronger in a court of tliis kind, than it would be before a civil tribunal. The mo- ment I am able to say to the Commission, " The evidence in the case is closed,'" the accused would have to withdraw by the rules of the court, and the court-room would be cleared, and the Commission would at once proceed to deliberate upon the evidence and to arrive at their finding and sentence. When that finding and sen- tence is arrived at, it is not ma bers of the profession, and by the profession generally; and I doubt whether in the future they will not be overruled. They yet stand, however, as the opinion of our Supreme Court If it be granted, therefore, that they are law — that they govern to a certain extent the proceedings of our State courts, in the trial of felons, is it quite cer- tain that they are applicable to the case now before this Commission ? Is it certain that they can be properly employed as au- thorities even analogically, in a military court, upon the trial of a military oftense? Precedent makes law. I apprehend, how- ever, that no military man, or, indeed, any one else, will be able to find, after the most thorough examination of the military au- thorities, a single precedent, where a mili- tary prisoner, having been once before a military court, entered upon his trial, pro- ceeded to some length therein, and then escapetl, and has yet been proceeded against in that trial unto sentence. I apprehend that no precedent can be found to that effect. I am quite certain that the books which I have been able to consult, furnish no such precedent ; and I think it is so for the best of all possible reasons — the reason that there does not exist such a precedent In all military proceedings of this charac- ter, the accused is arrested. If he be an officer, the order of arrest confines him to his quarters, or to the camp, or gives him such limits as the commanding officer may think proper to prescribe. If he be an en- listed man, he is generally confined, and especially if the ofi'ense be heinous, to the guard-house, a close prisoner. There is no bail in military cases; no such thing as allowing the accused to go at large; and, hence, when his trial begins he must be present He is accordingly brought before the court, if he be an enlisted man, under guard; if an officer, by citation; but, in either case, he is always required to be present when the trial opens; present all the way along through the trial ; and, as I said before, I have yet to find the first pre- cedent in military law, where, in a military court, a jarisoner has been proceeded against in liis absence. The case before the Commission is not unlike that of an enlisted man. The ac- cused here, not being an officer, had the limits of no camp allowed him. He was confined to his jn-ison, to his room, with a guard at his door, and subjected to pretty severe surveillance. I know it has been said that he was on his parole of honor ; and no doubt he did give his word to the General, or to the party who enlarged him and placed hhn in more comfortable quar- ters in this building; but it was not a case of parole of honor, iis that existing in the army with prisoners of war. It was not a case in which there was any provision made by the law of the land, or military law for paroling. On the contrary, it was a case in which the order of the President, the only law on the subject, provided that there should be no writ of habeas corpus ; and, of course, no enlargement of the prisoner. He was, then, a prisoner under guard. He has escaped. These authorities, therefore, can not, as I conceive, be held applicable to this case, however fit to be followed in civil courts, where all felons, except traitors and murderers, may be at large during their trial, as in the case of McCorkle, and, I think, of the othei-s whose cases have been cited. If, therefore, the accused has escaped, the law must, in my opinion, be held to be different in his case in this court from that maintained in the civil courts of the State of Indiana upon the cases cited; and. I think so, not only for the protection of the accused, should he be again arrested, but also for the protection of the rights of the Government True, the Government may waive its rights as against him; but, as I understand, there is yet more evidence to be adduced against him. Should the case, therefore, be now submitted to the Com- mission, upon the evidence already before them, and should that evidence turn out, 54 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. in their opinion, not to be sufficient to sus- tain the charges and specifications against liim, why, then, the Government, by this course — which, I admit, is not my affair, and I only make tli^ suggestion by permis- sion — will lose forever the opportunity of bringing him to condign punishment, even should he be reall}' guilty of these offenses. If the cause is submitted now upon this evidence, and the constitutional provision sh;dl be held to apply to this case, he will not be allowed to be put in jeopardy again tor any one of these offenses. This is a consideration, however, which belongs en- tirely to the Government side of the case. The prosecutor may introduce further evi- dence if he think proper; or may stop at any stage of the proceedings. But the accused is not liere; and the nature of the punishinent that may be in- flicted, should he be found guilty, afiOTds .another reason why he should be j^resent before proceeding to sentence him. These are all of a corporeal, physical nature, oper- ating upon the person. The leading charac- teristic of them all is, that they operate upon the person ; and there is, indeed, no means of enforcing a pecuniary punishment inflicted by such a court as this, except whore the prisoner is in custody ; and much less certainly of punishing him per- sonally without having him first in custody. In view of these considerations, then, the first question before you will be : 1. "Shall we proceed with the case now before us to final sentence?" If this question should be determined in the a.ffirmative, upon the authorities cited by th-e Judge Advocate, then the second question for your decision will be: 2. "Shall we proceed in pursuance of these authoi'ities, and admit further evi- dence should it be offered, because these authorities go to that extent?" If the prisoner had escaped during the trial in a civil court, that court would have allowed th« trial to go on to verdict and judgment in his absence, just as it would have gone on in his presence. Evidence would have been adduced, and argument of counsel heai'd, just as if the prisoner had remained present. If we take civil prece- dents for our guides, and abandon the path generally followed by military tribimals, we should confer upon the absent defendant the right to go on to final judgment by the same stages, that he would have been allowed to proceed in, had he remained personally present. The cases cited go thus tar. 1 submit, then, that, in the first place, the court will not proceed to final sentence in this case; and, in the second, that, if they do, they will proceed by the same stages indicated by these authoriti<^s. allow- ing evidence to bo adduced in behali' of the defense, and the case to be closed just as it would have been, had the accused remained l>resent. The Judge Advocate, in reply, said : With it?spect to going forward with testi- mony on the part of the accused in his ab- sence, the Commis-sion will find, on an ex- amination of the cases cited — especially the Seventh Ohio and Fwrleenth Indiana Reports — that a prisoner's counsel has no authority, the prisoner having abandoned his cause, to introduce evidence and make a defense. He certainly can not do it in a military court. But the authorities go further, and say that the Government shall not be pre- judiced by the action of the prisoner. Now, I apprehend that if the prisoner was not present at the commencement of the trial, and proof was introduced in his absence, and the case begun while he was away, that the court, seeking for truth and justice, would decide that the defendant's counsel should have the privilege of coming in with evidence in his behalf; but the case sup- posed is not analagous to that now before this Commission, liere the j/risoner sits on until the Government has proved its case, and if at that stage of the proceedings he abandons his case, ho says, in fact, '1 have no defense;" and, having thus waived his right of a further hearing, he can not come in hy counsel and ask that he may be heard, when he is not present for the lav? to act upon him. On the evidence already before the Com- mission, produced in the presence of the accused, and suloijected to the cross-examin- ation of his counsel, I submit the case, and ask the Commission to proceed to their finding and sentence. The Commission may grant to the coun- sel for the accused, as a matter of courtesy, and not as a matter of right, the privilege of putting in their views on the evidence before the Commission. The court-room was then cleared for de- liberation. On being reopened, the Judge Advocate announced that the Commission would proceed to tlieir finding on the evi- dence already introduced, and that no more evidence should be heard in the case; but that, as a matter of coiu'tesy to the counsel for the accused, they would be permitted to put in their argument on the proof already submitted. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Monday, October 17, at lU o'clock, A. M. Court Room, Indiajiapolis, Indiana, > October 17, 1«»U, 10 o'clock, A. M. > The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. All the members present; also the Judge Advocate, and the counsel for the ac- cused. The proceedings were read and approved. The counsel for the accused then sub- TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 55 mitted the following argument to the Com- mii?sion : Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Commission: This cause has been brought to an abrupt conekision by an unforeseen contingency, which otherwise might have been preven- ted. No men regret the fact more sincerely than we, the counsel for the defendant. We regret it both for public and jirivate reasons ; for we have no doubt that the cloud of suspicion which must have arisen from the testimony for the prosecution, as it now stands uniinpeached, uncontradicted, and seemingly corroborated by the sudden disappearance of the dei'endant, might have been, in a good degree, if not indeed, al- together, dissipated by counter-proof and a thorough defense. Just as little do we doubt that a more thorough and complete investigation of the whole case, by an ex- amination of all the witnesses, and a careful discussion of the great questions of law in- volved, would have limited the apprehen- sion of danger to the jieace of society and the stability of the Government, which may have arisen in the public mind from the testimony ah'eady before the country ; and tlius have restored confidence between man and man, as well as general tranquillity. The absence of the defendant, however, prevents the further development of the facts of the case ; and the sudden determin- ation of the trial puts an end to investiga- tions of the law applic^able thereto, which we had determined should be thorough and exhaustive. In both respects, there- fore, we feel that we have reason for sin- cere and profound regret, for we are under the necessity of giving up to you for final judgment an imperfect cause — the broken fragment of what we had fondly hoped to make it; and upon this fragment you are expected to render complete justice to the whole of which it forms but a part. While this labor and the diliiculty thereof are yours, we sliall follow your action with a soli- citude for theresult farniore painful andpro- found than we should have ielt had our own labors been more tliorough and complete. Duly grateful for the privilege accorded to us by the Commission of addressing it upon the whole case, before it is finally submitted for adjudication, we shall pro- ceed at once to the consideration of the questions arising in the record. These questions are of two kinds: I. Questions of law; II. Questions of fact. I. OF QUESTIONS OF LAW. These again naturally divide themselves into classes. Thus, we have questions: 1. In relation to the jurisdiction of the Commission to try the defendant upon the charges and specifications preferred against him: 2. In relation to the liability of the de- fendant to be tried before any court for certain alleged ofienses charged against him; and I. Of questions in relation to the jurisdiction of the Commission^ etc. Of these questions we should not Iiave spoken at this time had the determination of the Commission been final; for the question of jurisdiction has already been presented and decided. The whole case, however, we understand, will be reviewtd before any sentence can be inflicted upon the defendant; and in order, thereiore, that the reviewing officer may have all the lights we can furnish u^wn this imjiortant point, we recur to it in this place. And we feel that, whether this Commission shall deem itself authorized to review its deci- sion in relation to its jurisdiction or not, its members will not take offense at our recur- rence to that topic, nor deem it an abuse of the privilege accorded to us of submit-* ting this final address. If this Commission has jurisdiction to try the defendant upon the chai'ges preferred against him, it must be because martial law had been proclaimed before these ofienses were committed, and is still in force in the State of Indiana; for it will hardly be con- tended that, if martial law was not in force at the time of the alleged ofienses, or has ceased to oj^erate since that time, this Com- mission can have jurisdiction of this cause. The question then, which meets us at the threshold of this discussion, is this: Is martial law in force in the State of Indi- ana at the present time? Upon the right answer to this question must depend the right answer to the ques- tion : Has this Commission Jurisdiction of the cause now before if? Before we can determine whether martial law is in force here or not, it is important for us to ascertain what martial law is. What then is martial law., the presence of which alone can authorize this trial, and give valid- ity to its results? We will answer this question by the au- thorities. " Martial law is the law of war, and de- pends on the just but arbitrary power of the king, or his lieutenant; for though the king docs not make any law but by com- mon consent in Parliament, yet, in time of war, by reason of the necessity of it, to guard against dangers that often arise, he useth absolute power, so that his word is law." — Smith on the English liepublic, Book 2, ch. 4. " Martial law may be defined as the law, (whatever it may be,) which is imposed by military power." — 2 Sleph. Comm. on the Laws of Eng., p. 5(31. " Martial law is neither more nor less than the will of the general who commands ti:e 56 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. army." — Duke of Wellington in Hansards Debates in Parliament, (3 series) vol. 115, p. 880. ^'' Military law" [employed here as synon- ymous with martial law^ '' as applied to any persons, excepting the officers, soldiers, and followers of the army, for whose govern- ment there are particular provisions of law in all well regulated countries, is neither more nor less than the will of the general of the army." — Dispatches of the Duke of Wel- lington, voL 6, p. 43. "I am sure that I was not wrong in law, for I had the advice of Lord Cottenham, Lord Campbell, and the Attorney General, Sir J. Juves, and explained to my noble friend, that what is called proclaiming mar- tial law is no law at all, but merely, for the sake of public safety, in circumstances of great emergency, setting aside all law, and acting under military power." — Earl Gray, as cited by Hough in Precedents in Military Liaw, p. 515. When viartial law is proclaimed, courts- martial are thereby vested with such a sum- mary proceeding that neither time, place, nor person are considered. Necessity is the only rule of conduct ; nor are the punish- ments which courts-martial may inflict under such authority, limited to " such as pre- scribed by law." — Hough on Courts-inartial, p. 383. " In ti'uth and reality, it" — inartial law — " is not a law, but something indulged rather than allowed as a law. The neces- sity of government, order, and discipline in an army, is that only which can give those laws a countenance ; quod enim necessitas cogit defendi." — 1 Hale His. Com. Laiv. Sergeant Runnington's edition, London, 1794, p. — . This, then, is martial law — " the will of the general;" "the arbitrary power of the king, or his lieutenant;" the means whereby "ho useth absolute power, so that his word is law;" "the law which is imposed by niili- tarj'^ power ;" "not a law at all;" the "set- ting aside all law and acting under military power;" a state in which "necessity is the only rule of conduct; ' and "neither time, place, nor persons are considered;" and wherein "the punisliments which court.s- martial may inflict" are neither limited nor prescribed by law. Does this law exist here, at this moment? Has it ever existed here ? Is it, indeed, our law? Are the people of the State of In- diana thus stript of all their legal and con- stitutional riglits; and reduced to this ab- solute bondage? Are the Constitution and laws of the United States suspended ? Have the State Constitution and laws in like manner ceased to operate? If not, then, martial laiv does not exist here. If so, then, by what autliority have they ceased to operate? By wliom have they been sus- pended ? Whence was the power derived that has suspended them? All power, the underived power of Almighty God, must have an origin. But from whom comes this power to put an end, for the time being, and. it may be, forever, to the Federal and State Governments of the United States : and to all the rights they were organized to protect and defend ? These questions must be answered before martial law, as insisted upon, can stand justi- fied in the presence of the intelligence of the nineteenth century. But how shall we answer them ? It has been insisted by the Judge Advo- cate, that nuirtial law is in force here for two reasons. These are as follows : 1. Because the President of the United States proclaimed martial law on the 24tli of September. 1862, in tlie following terms : " First. That during the existing insurrec- tion, a-nd as a necessary measure for sup- pressing the same, all rebels and insurgents, their aiders and abettors, within the United States, and all persons discouraging volun- teer enlistments, resisting militia drafts, or guilty of any disloyal practice, afibrding aid and comfort to rebels against the authority of the United States, shall be subject to martial law, and liable to trial and punish- ment by courts-martial or military commis- sion. " Second. That the writ of habeas coj-pus is suspended in respect to all persons ar- rested, or who hereafter during the rebel- lion sliall be imprisoned in any fort, camp, arsenal, military prison, or other place of confinement by any military authority, or by the sentence of any court-martial or military commission." 2. Because the enforcement of martial law is essential to the preservation of the life of the Republic. It may be that we do not state these rea- sons in the order in which they were pro- pounded, nor in the language employed. But the order of statement can not effect the questions they present ; and the sub- stance of the reasons are here given as pre- sented. Let us, then, proceed to consider them. 1. Does the Proclamation of the Presi- dent just cited, suspend the Constitution and laws of the United States, and of the several State.s ? This question involves two others, namelj^: a. Had the President authority to pro- claim martial law, and suspend the habeas corpus as to the subjects thereof, at the time he issued this Proclamation? b. If so, is this Proclamation still in force; or, if rescinded, has it been followed by a subsequent one of equivalent force ? rt. It will be admitted that if the Presi- dent had no authority to suspend the privi- lege of the writ of habeas corpus throughout tlie United States, at the date of the fore- going Proclamation, he could have had no authority to proclaim martial law to the same TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 67 extent ; for a proclamation of martial law in- volves not only the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, but, also, the privileges and immunities of all other laws, whether State or Federal, common or statute, municipal or constitutional. Had the President power, then, to sus- pend the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus f It would seem not, both on princi- pal and authority. During the progress of our country, this question had been judi- cially considered and settled before the commencement of the present war , and the authorities stand thus on this point: " Practically, as yet. Congress has never authorized the susj^ension of the writ. It is understood that as the unlimited power is vested in Congress, the right to judge of the expediency of its exercise is, also, abso- lute in that body." — Sedgwick on Stat, and Const. Law, p. 598; Martin \s. Mott, 12 Wheat, p. 19. " But it is at any rate certain, that Con- gress, which has authorized the courts and judges of the United States to issue writs of habeas corpus, in cases within their juris- diction, can alone suspend their power, and that no State can prevent those judges from exercising their regular functions, which are, however, confined to imprisonment professed to be under the authority of the United States. But the State courts and judges possess the right of determining on the legality of imprisonment, under either authority." — Rawle on the Const., pp. 114, 115. '■ Hitherto, no suspension of the writ has ever been authorized bj^ Congress since the establishment of the Constitution. It would seem as the power is given to Congress to suspend the writ of habeas corjnis in cases of rebellion or invasion, that the right to judge whether the exigency had arisen, must exclusively belong to that body." — 2 Story on Const, § 1342. The list of American authorities might be indefinitely extended; but these are deemed sufficient. The only instance in the history of the United States since the adoption of the present Constitution^ in which an effort was made, prior to the present insurrection, to procure a suspension of *the habeas corpus, occurred during the A'dministration of Mr. Jefferson ; and, in that instance, the author- ity was conceded by all departments of the Government to reside in Congress. The President submitted the question to that body ; and they treated it as belonging without question to them." — See 3 Benton s Abridg. Debates in Congress, pp. 488-491 ; 504- 515 ; and 520-542. The Englisli authorities are not less de- cisive of the point in controversy; for when- ever the king in the recess of Parliament imprisons offenders, and denies them the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, he is under the necessity of submitting his action to Parliament at its next session, and ask- ing an act of indemnity for what he has done. Otherwise, his officers and agents en- gaged in such unauthorized imprisonments of his subjects, would be held liable for the arrests so made. Such had been the prac- tice in England for near a century before our Declaration of Independence. A dif- ferent course even in England, could not have been allowed without giving full sanc- tion to the frequently assumed, but almost constantly denied, prerogative of dispens- ing with the laws of the land. The habeas corpus is the creature of law — originally of the old Common Law; but since the 31 Car. II, of tfie Statute Law of England; and hence to allow its suspension by pro- clamation, would be to permit the King to dispense with the laws of the land. We can not better present the light in which these attempts on the part of the King to suspend this great vt'rit are viewed by English statesmen, than by the follow- ing observations of Lord Brougham upon the subject: " This is a far worse measure," he ob- serves, "at all times than the restriction of public meetings; but the exercise of the power is, at least, under some check; for a bill of indemnity is always required to se- cure the government which has used such power of imprisonment; and, as the bill must be carried through after the alarm has i^assed away, possibly when a new min- istry is in office, they who have occasion for it, are exposed to considerable risk, if they have at all abused the power tem- porarily bestowed. I have conversed with ministers who have been parties to such proceedings; and I have invariably found in them a very natural, may I acid also, a very wholesome aversion to the whole plan." — Brougham on the British Const, 'p]i. 283 and 284. In the language of Mr. Justice Wood- bury, "it would be a little extraordinary if the spirit of our institutions, both State and National, was not much stronger than in England against the" exercise of such powers. — 1 How. U. S. I. C. Hep., 62. It may be well questioned, we think, whether an American Congress possess au- thority to pass a valid act of indemnity in such case. Certain it is, it can not be done without a violation of the spirit of the Constitution, which prohibits the passage of ex post facto laws and bills of attainder. There is little difference between subject- ing a man to punishment for an act, not criminal when committed; and depriving him of a remedy for a wrong done him, after his right to redress has accrued. An act of indemnity is, in such case, an act of injustice and oppression; and clearly within the spirit of the prohibition against ex post facto legislation. But while this objection to such legisla- 68 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. tion lies in full force against it in this country, no such objection exists to it in England. There Parliament is omnipo- tent. No constitutional restraints are im- posed upon it. It has, at all times, all the power that we could confer upon a consti- tutional convention. Hence, it is entirely competent for it to give legal validity to an act that was before entirely illegal and void. Congress has no such omnipotence, however. Such power does not exist in this country, except in tlie hands of the jieople. We are, also, led to the same conclusion by the contemplation of the manner in which the executives of the two govern- ments have originated. In theory yet, and undoubtedly original in practice also, they start from dift'erent and absolutely oppo- site principles. The Government of Great Britain jDro- ceeds from the King. He is the fons et orlgo of power, justice, and honor. He is im- mortal — -can do no wrong — stands above the law. Acts of Parliament are acceded to by him in language which still implies, that he but grants the petition of the two houses of Parliament. Originally acts of Parliament not unfrequenily became laws by being first presented to the King in the form of humble petitions on the part of the two Houses, the prayers whereof he was graciously pleased to grant. Such was the justly celebrated Petition of Right. An- other form, equally indicative of tliis claim of absolute power on the part of the King, is that of charters. In these the King speaks the law, thus: Dcdimus ct conccssmws, etc. — we give and grant, etc. Such is the style of the Magna Cliarta, and many other ancient statutes of England, still extant. This power of the King to grant cliarters to corporations is still claimed as one of the royal prerogatives; and may, at any time, be exercised in the creation of new bodies politic. The great city of London derived its charter thus originally from the King ; and it was said to have been sealed by William the Conqueror, who granted it with wax, which was Bitten with his tooth In token of sooth. In order, however, more fully to grasp the whole vast extent of the power thus ex- ercised by the King in the granting of char- ters of government, it must be remembered that under them legislative, judicial and ex- ecutive powers have been exercised amount- ing almost to absolute sovereignty. This is illustrated in the charter governments of America, one of which, since its separation from the parent country, has declared mar' Hal law. But the power is far more grandly illustrated in tlie career of the East India Comixmy — a corporation created by Queen Elizabetli, still existing, and ruling an Empire embracing vast territories in the fairest portions of the earth, and teeming vi'ith a population of more than a hundred million of souls. Starting thus with a ruler, in theory at least, if not in fact, absolute, we can only arrive at a knowledge of his present pow- ers and prerogatives by a careful study of what he has already granted to his Parlia- ment or people in the way of charters, peti- tions and acts of 7 A\\vM\\eni in propria forma. and in the private charters of ditierent cor- jjorations, whicli have from time to time been created by him, botli in Great Britain and other parts of his dominions. Whatever has been thus given away, he can not resume. It is in the hands ot' his subjects, and constitutes the body of their liberties. The perfect sphere of a power once absolute in his hands, has thus, as it were, undergone, through a succession of ages, a slow but constant disintegration, and the golden sands thereof have as con- stantly been gathered up and hoarded by his subjects, in whose hands they have be- come rights. Thus, according to tlie theory of the British Government, rights are the gifts of the crown to the people. Whatever has not been thus given, is still in the hands of the King — constitutes his prerogative. The Governnient of the United States, on the other hand, presents exactly the re- verse of this picture. It is the creature of the people, in whom all power is inherent. It can have no power which they have not conferred upon it, either by express grant, or by necessary implication. In order, therefore, to determine its powers, we have only to turn to the charter of its creation — the Constitution of the United States. A careful examination of that instrument will, we tliink, satisfy any candid mind that all tlie imj^lied powers conferred upon the Gov- ernment thereby must, in the first place, be ancillary to some substantive power ex- pressly granted; and must, in the second place, whenever it is not a mere matter of form, become the subject of legisla- tion before it can be constitutionally ex- erted by any department. This view is, in oiu' opinion, sustained by the language of the Constitution, in which these implied l)owers are supposed to be embraced. Thus, it is declared that " Congress shall have power * * * to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitu- tion in the Government of tiie United States, or in any department thereof" It is plain to our minds, from this lan- guage, that as often as the Executive may find his jwwers, as expressed in the Consti- tution, about to fail of their legitimate pur- looses for want of some ancillary power not ex{)ressly conferred, instead of seizing upon and exercising such necessary power with- out an act of Congress authorizing him to do so, that functionary must first ask Con- TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 59 greps for the required power. Otherwise, he transgresses a plain provision of the Consti- tution. For, if the power belonged to the Executive prior to the passage of a law, wliy was it provided that Congress should have power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into exe- cution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any department thereof? If the President had a right to exercise the power in the tirst in- stance, why empower Congress to make the law necessary and proper to enable him to do so? It was, therefore, plainly not the inten- tion of the people that the President should exercise any implied powers. If we are right in this conclusion, then how can any one concede a right in the President, as ancillary to his executive functions, to suspend the privilege of the writ of habea.? carpus'? If the King of Eng- land, all the vast residuum of power not embodied in charters, petitions granted, and acts of Parliament, must still look to an omnipotent Parliament — himself constitu- ting one equal and independent branch thereof — for authority to enable him to sus- pend the habeas corpus, or indemnify his of- ficers when, by mere power, they have al- ready done so, shall we admit tliat a greater power over the {priceless privilege of that writ, resides in the hands of the republican President of the United States? And more especially we do so, when no such power is expressly granted him in the Constitution ; and when, by the fairest intendment, all im- plied powers are denied him, until conferred and made express by law ? But the privilege of the writ of habeas cor- pus is conferred by a law of the land. To allow the President to suspend it would, therefore, be to enable him to suspend a law of the land ; in other words, to legis- late. But, as Executive, he mvist see that the laws are faithfully executed ; and it is not for him to select what laws shall, and what laws shall not, be thus executed. All laws must stand alike to him, until, by sus- pension of one or more, Congress enables him to neglect or disregard those that are suspended, in his execution of the rest. The Act of Congress, of March 3, 1863, cited in our previous argument on this sub- ject, and the President's subsequent procla- mation in conformity therewith, are equiva- lent to a clear declaration that the power to suspend the habeas corpus does not originally reside with the Executive; and as the President approved that act, and issued that proclamation under it, we must hold that he now accepts the power from Congress, and does not claim it as properly pertaining to his function. If this were not the case, then his second proclamation was entirely unnecessary — a mere work of supereroga- tion. If the proclamation of September 24, 1862, had already susj^ended the privil- ege of the writ of habeas corpus, what occa- sion was there for the proclamation of the 15th of September, 1863? — See 12 Stat, at Large, App. pp. 6 apd 7. Hence, we hold it established, that the President of the United States does not pos- sess an original constitutional authority to issue such a proclamation as that of Sep- tember 24, 18(')2, in so far as it relates to the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus; because, 1. Precedents, both English and Ameri- can, are against — precedents both legislative and judicial ; 2. The King of England never exercises the power without going to Parliament for an act of indemnity, while it may be well questioned whether Congress has power to indemnify the President; 3. The authority is not conferred upon the President by express ; and all implied powers are, by the terms of the Constitution, denied him ; 4. The habeas corpus exists by law. To suspend it is a legislative function ; and one plainly, therefore, not conferred upon the President ; and 5. Congress by the act of March 3, 1863 ; and the President by his subsequent Pro- clamation, in jjursuance thereof, in effect negatives the Proclamation of September 24, 1862; and the assumption of authority by which the saine was originally issued. But, arguing from the less to the greater — from one of a species to all — we conclude, that if the President has not authority to suspend the jirivilege of the writ of habeas corpus, until it is conferred upon him by Congress, he can not have power to declare nuxrtial law. which we have seen is, for the time being, the suspension of all law, both Federal and State — municipal and constitu- tional. No lawyer will contend that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is placed upon higher ground by the Constitution, than any other constitutional privilege. On the contrary, it does not stand so high as any other; for it is provided that it may be sus- pended, " when in case of invasion or rebel- lion, the public safety may require it." It stands alone subject to this contingency of suspension. All other privileges of the Constitution stand high above it therefore; and yet we have seen it stands above the reach of Executive power until Congress in- tervenes. All other constitutional privileges stand above the reach even of Congress itself Among these vital elements of pop- ular freedom are placed the right of every citizen to be exempted from answering " for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces," etc.; and that other 60 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. great right parallel thereto, that " in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall en- joy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and dis- trict wherein the crime shall have been committed," etc. There is no provision foi* a suspension, in any contingency, of these 6acred rights. The power that suspends them may, without any further stretch, overthrow every other constitutional and legal right. It can be done by no power derived from the Constitution ; for it strikes down and destroys its most sacred provis- ions. The people have never conferred any such power. Congress has never assumed to sanction it; but have, on the contrary, expressly provided a method by which tlie public safety may be secured, and the liberty of the people preserved. The Act of March 3, 1863, already so frequently cited, after providing for military arrests, and for the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, as to persons so arrested, pro- vides also for their trial in a strictly consti- tutional manner; and, if they are not pre- sented or indicted by the grand jury of the proper district within twenty days after they have been reported to the proper Cir- cuit or District Court, or after they have been imprisoned, provided such grand jury shall, in the mean time, have closed its ses- sion, for their discharge from such military custody, either absolutely or conditionally, according to the circumstances of each case. llere is an express limit, then, to the suspen- sion of the habeas corpus in cas'e of such per- sons as the defendant; and an express \>yo- vision for their trial wholly incompatible, as we conceive, with the jurisdiction of this honorable Commission. It is, therefore, not within the constitu- tional authority of the President to declare martial law, and thereby deprive the defend- ant of his right to a constitutional trial by jury, upon an indictment duly presented by the proper grand jury. Congress has no power, under any known or conceivable state of aftairs, to pass a valid act to deprive him of such a trial. Any such power, if it exist at all, as part of the resources of our Government, nmst result to it from a pres- ent military necessity — a necessity in the presence of which the functions of Congress are suspended, and all the powers of civil government at an end. Then, and then only, when the laws are silenced by the din of arms, can such a power be admitted upon the public tlieater; and it may be well questioned whether it is not to be regarded as rather the .successor than the instrument of tlie Government whose constitutional organs have disappeared from the scene — whose constitutional functions have ceased. And this naturallj'^ brings us to the sec- ond proposition we are controverting, namely : 2. Martial law is essential in the present emergency to the preservation of the na- tional life. In the discussion of this proposition, we were informed that " it is one of the innate principles of every existing thing, that it is endowed with the right to meet and over- come the force that seeks to destroy it." And this is true. But how endowed? The right of self-defense may legitimately call into play all the forces of the self to be defended. Has it anj^ claim ujaon any more? any right to extrinsic aid ? " Every exist- ing thing" must exercise its right of self- defense according to the principles of its constitution; and it can not find one thing to defend, or one capability of defense out- side of its constitutional existence and power. The analogy to which the prosecu- tion thus appeals, is against the position in support of which it has been invoked. If it shall be said tliat it is not an argument from analogy ; but an argument from all, to one of the same kind — from ''every existing thing" to the Government as one ''existing thing," then it proves nothing at all ; for the question recurs upon us: How is the •' existing thing" known as the Government of the United States endowed with the right to meet and overcome the force that seeks to destroy it? Plainly by virtue of its Constitution ; and only to the extent of its Constitution. Whenever this constitu- tional endowment ceases, there we are bound, according to the argument, to hold that its creator — the people — intended it sliould cease to live. If it is not constitu- tionally qualitied to make good the battle for its life without an entire subversion and destruction of its Constitution, then it must die. It may be well questioned whether an emergency requiring a declaration of mar- tial law in all parts of the United States at the same time, would not be equivalent to the death of the Republic. Indeed, we can not see how it could be otherwise. While we hold these opinions, we con- cede, on the other hand, that there may be large sections and districts of the country in such condition as to require the exercise of martial Ian: Wherever lawless force lias subverted all other law, there this "rude substitute," known as martial law, may properly enter, and control tlie relations of persons to each otlier and to the Govern-' ment, until the reign of law and order re- turns. Again, wherever lawless force con- fronts lawful force in martial array, and the contest of the two puts an end to tlie civil administration, there martial law is called for and may properly be declared; or ratlun', it exists without any declaration at all. In tlie camp of an army in the tield, or near the enemy, martial law may become neces- sary for the preservation of discipline, and thereby of tlie fidelity, and even of the ex- istence of such army. But in all such cases, the "existing thing" to be preserved is more TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 61 immediately the army involved in the case I than the Government; and it must V)e re- membered that an army is always a mere instrument of force — and to martial law as the sum of organized force — for that end. But, even then, it can only take such an extreme step, when compelled to do so, by necessity — a present controlling necessity. Now upon this point, it seems to us, that the Judge Advocate has already conceded the question in dispute, for he says : '" The Government stood on the brink of a preci- pice. The conspirators ivere foiled by the mili- tary pmver of the Government. * * * Self- preservation demanded that these men should be seized by the military power. Foreseeing thedanger, martial law had been declared by the President, and military courts given juris- diction." Upon these sentences, which, we think, fairly represent the Judge Advocate, are we not entitled to say, that they do not imply a present necessity for martial law'? lie informs us that "the Government stood," t. e., at some indefinite past time, '"upon the brink of a precipice." There is no pre- tense that such is its present condition owing to the defendant and his associates, for he declares that " the conspirators ivcre foiled by the military authorities." How had they been foiled ? By being " seized by the military power." From all which it is plain that the necessity had passed, and that this defendant might safely have been delivered over for trial to the civil courts, ■which have never yet been closed in this district. But, if the necessity that led to the organized declaration of martial law did not exist at the commencement of this trial, or has since ceased to exist, the juris- diction of this Commission has ceased with it. But it seems that the President's decla- ration of martial law was prospective — to meet a necessity foreseen, but at the time non-existent. Now, granting the Presi- dent's power in proper circumstances — in the presence of an existing and controlling necessity — to declare martial law, it surely will not be contended that he may, without such present necessity, fulmine such a Pro- clamation in an anticipation of its future existence. In this view, then, the Proclamation was premature — two years almost in advance of the necessity in which alone it can find a valid excuse for appearing at all. Of course, it was not valid at its date, on the hypothe- sis of a present necessity, and being invalid then, it can not be revived for the present occasion. That the one sole ground upon which it is competent for a military commander to declare martial laiv, is the existence of a present and controlling military necessity, we beg leave to ofier some authorities : ''The only principle which the law of England tolerates what is called viartial laiv, is necessity; its introduction can be justified only by necessity ; and its continuance re» quires precisely the same justification of necessity ; and, if it survive the necessity in which alone it rests, for a single minute, it becomes instantly a mere exercise of law- less violence. When foreign invasion or civil war renders it impossible for coiu-ts of law to sit, or to enforce the execution of their judgments, it becomes necessary to find some rude substitute for them, and to employ for that purpose the military, which is the only remaining force in the commun- ity. While the laws are silenced by the noise of arms, the rulers of the armed force must punish, as equitably as they can, those crimes which threaten their own safety; but no longer — every moment beyond is usurpation. As soon as the laws can act, every other mode of punishing supposed crimes is itself an enormous crime. If ar- gument be not enough on this subject — if, indeed, the mere statement be not evidence of its own truth — I appeal to the highest and most venerable authority known to our law. ' Martial law,' says Sir Matthew Hale, 'is not a law, but something indulged rather than allowed as a law. The necessity of government, order, and discipline in an army, is that only which can give it counte- nance. I^ecessitas enim, quod cogit, defendii.' — tSir James MackintosK s Miscellaneox(S Assays and Speeches. Gary and Hart's edition, p. 540. "Suppose," says Lord Brougham, "I were ready to admit that on the pressvxre of a great emergency, such as invasion or rebel- lion, when there is no time for the slow and cumbrous proceedings of the civil law, a proclamation may justifiably be issued for excluding the ordinary tribunals, and di- recting that ofienses should be tried by a military court — such proceedings might be justified by necessity; but it could rest on that alone. Created by necessity, necessity must limit its continuance. It would be the worst of all conceivable grievance — it would be a calamity unspeakable — if the whole law and Constitution of England were suspended one hour longer than the most imj^erious necessity demanded. * * * * * * I know that the proclamation of marticd law renders every man liable to be treated as a soldier. But the instant the necessity ceases, that instant the state of soldiership ceases, that instant the rights, with the relations of civil life, ought to be restored. * * Only mark the dilemma in which the Governor might have found himself placed by his own acts. The only justification of the court-martial was the Pro- clamation. Had that court sat at the mo- ment of danger, there would have been less ground of complaint against it. But it did not assemble until the emergency had ceased; and it then sat for eight-and-twenty days. Suppose a necessity had existed at the commencement of the trial, but that, in the course of the eight-and-twenty days, it 62 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. had ceased ; suppose a necessity had existed in the first week, who could predict that it would not cease before the second ? If it had ceased with the first week of the trial, what would have been the situation of the Governor ? The sitting of the court-martial at all, could be justified only by tlie proclama- tion of martial law ; yet it became the duty of the Governor to revoke that pi'oclama- tion. Either, therefore, the court-martial must be continued without any warrant or color of law, or the proclamation of martial law must be continued only to legalize the prolonged existence of the court-martial. If, at any moment before its proceedings were brought to a close, the urgent pressure had ceased, which alone justified their being instituted, according to the assump- tion I am making in favor of the court, and for the Governor's sake; then to continue martial lain one hour longer would have been the most grievous oppression, the plainest violation of ait laiu." — Speeches of Lord Brougham, vol. 1, pp. 390, 391. It is distinctly said by the Supreme Court of the United States, in the case of Luther vs. Borden, 7 How., pp. 4G and 47, that "no more force can be used than is necessary to accomplish the object,'' under a declara- tion of martial law. From this we infer that the same rule must ajiply to the adop- tion of force — martial law — in the first in- stance. "In time of war, by reason of the neces- sity of it, he" — the King — "useth absolute power, so that his word is law;" and this is martial law — "the law of war." — Smith, on the English Bepublic, supra. And Hale says it is "indulged" on account "of the necessity," etc. It was never, the same author assures us, "so much indulged as intended to be executed, or exercised upon others" than soldiers. "For others who were not en- listed under the army had no color or rea- son to be bound by military constitutions, applicable only to the army whereof they were not parts. But they were to be or- dered and governed according to the laws to which they were subject, though it were a time of war. * * * The exercise of mytrtial laic, whereby any person should lose his life, or member, or liberty, may not be permitted in time of peace, when the King's courts are open for all persons to re- ceive justice according to the laws of the land. This is in substance declared by the Petition of Kight, 3 Car. I, whereby such commissions and martial law were re- pt.aled, and declared to be contrary to law." — Hales His. of the Common Lazo, pp. 5t and ').). Thus, it appears that a controlling mili- tary necessity alone can afford a just ex- cuse for a declaration of martial law — a ne- cessity that closes the civil courts of jus- tice, or prevents the enforcement of their judgments by the ordinary process. Mili- tary necessity has been defined by the Gov* eminent in General Orders, No. 100, 1863, to "consist in the necessity of those meas- ures which are indispensable for securing the ejids of the wa.r," etc. Has anj'^ such controlling necessity ex- isted in the present instance'? Does it still exist'? Have the courts been closed and the laws silenced by the din of arms? Are they still closed? If not, then, we think, we are authorized to say that no necessity has existed, or still exists, for declaring?/iar^(a^/ai^7, I for suspending the constitutions and laws, and proceeding against citizens charged with high crimes and misdemeanors in a manner never before resorted toin this country since the first settlement at Jamestown and Ply- mouth ; and one wholly disused in England since the abdication of James II. It is tlie fact of the civil courts being open, and justice having its ordinary course, that distinguishes a state of peace in any country from a state of war; and to this effect Lord Chief Justice Coke lays down the law. He says: "When the courts of justice are open, and the judges and minis- ters of the same may by law protect men from oppression and violence, and distri- bute justice to all, it is said to be a time of peace. So when by invasions, insurrections, rebellions, etc., the peaceable course of justice is disturbed and stopped, so as the courts of justice be, as it were, shut up, then it is said to be a time of war." — See Coke upon Littleton, 249, b. n. 1; and Viners Abridgment, tit. Prerogative, (L. a. ) War. In view of this great authority, is not this a time of peace in Indiana, at least in so far as the administration of justice is con- cerned ? If it is a time of war, it can not be said, in that respect, to be made so by the rebellion — by any act of tlie common en- emy. The courts are open, and " the peace- able course of justice is not disturbed and stopped." But if it be a tinae of peace, if " the courts are open for all persons to receive justice according to the laws of the land," then according to Lord Hale, supra, " the exercise of martial law, whereby any person should lose his life, or member, or liberty, may not be permitted;" and this is in sub- stance declared by the Petition of Right, 3 Car. I, whereby such commissions of martial law were repealed, and declared to be contrary to law. And accordingly was that famous case of Edmond, Earl of Kent, who being taken at Pomfort, 15 Edw. II, the King and divers lords proceeded to give sentence of de?ith against him, as in a kind of military court, by a summary proceeding, which judgment was afterward, in I Edw. Ill, reversed in Parliament." * * "For martial law, which is rather indulged than allowed, and that only in cases of necessity, in open war, is not per- mitted in time of peace, when the ordinary courts of justice are open." TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 63 But even if this were a time of " open war," and "the ordinary courts" of law "were slnit up," and the "peaceable course of justice disturbed and stopped," so that "the judges and ministers of the same may" not, " by law, protect men from op- pression and violence, and distribute jus- tice to all,' has the Government of the United States taken the necessary steps to the enforcement of martial Icnv, according to the usages of war? It will not be de- nied that the Duke of Wellington under- stood as well as any man of his times, the duties and rights of a military commander in this respect. His whole great life was devoted to the profession of arms; and the administering of governments according to the rules and usages of war. Speak- ing uj^on this subject, he says: "In fact martial law is no law at all. Therefore the general who declares martial law, and com- mands it to be carried into execution, is bound to lay down distinctly the rtdcs, and regulations and limits according to which his will is to be carried out." — Hansard, supra. Nov/, if martial law has been declared, and is in force in the whole United States, as claimed by the Judge Advocate, we have been able to find no order whereby the President, Lieutenant General, or others acting under either, have laid " down dis- tinctly;" or, indeed, at all, "the rides, regu- lations and limits according to which his" or their "will is to be carried out." If this is not done, the declaration of martial law must become a snare to entrap the un- wary; and, indeed, the wary also; for where the law resides in the breast of the ruler until it alights vipon its subject in the form of a prosecution for a "capital or otherwise infamous crime," the good have no assurance of safety above the evil. All are alike insecure. Such a system would be worse than that of the Emperor Caligula who v.'rote his edicts in a small character, and hung them on high pillars the more effectually to ensnare his subjects. b. But that it may not be said that we have overlooked the military character and power of the President, we beg leave to say, that this discussion has proceeded upon a consideration of his entire character; and if this method of considering his pow- ers, is not so clear as one founded on the separation of his character and powers as a civil magistrate, from those belonging to him as the commander of the army and navy, we have been led into it by the method in which that functionary himself has proceeded in the exercise of those powers. Thus, the Proclamation relied upon in this prosecution as a declaration of martial law, was originally issued from the oiBce of the Secretarj'^ of State; and is published with the acts of Congress, as an ordinary civil document of the kind. Had the President not given us evidence of the fact, that he is in the habit of distinguish- ing between his war powers and his civil functions, this course might not have led us to regard' the Proclamation in tlie light of a purely civil act. But it is well known that he has issued several war orders purely as such. Hence, we had a right to look to the War office, and not to that of State, for so important an order as that which declares all the provisions of the Constitution and the laws suspended ; and ■)nartial law — the President's mere will — sub- stituted therefor. If the Proclamation is not a war order resulting from a paramount and controlling military necessity, then we submit, it is not, and can not, possibly be a declaration of martial law; and so we con- tend, martial law has not been in force, and can not be under it. If it be regarded as a war order and in force at its date, has it not been since re- scinded by act of Congress? We think it clearly has been, provided the legislative function of the Government has not been suspended by its operation ; and it would seem from the President's recognition of Con- gress, as not suspended, by delivering to both Houses thereof sundry messages; by approving their acts; and, in some in- stances, by afterward acting upon laws passed by them, that he still regards the national legislature as still existing and in full life and jDower. If it is, then it may prescribe rules to govern the exercise of his power as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy. It may say how far he shall declare martial law; and where his power, in that resjiect, shall cease. And this it has done. The power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus Congress have already given him, if, indeed, they have power to delegate that dis- cretion — a projoosition not involved in this discussion ; but one which we should other- wise controvert upon authority. That sus- pension, however, of the writ of habeas cor- pvs, while it provides for military arrests and imprisonments, is not coupled with any power of military trials. On the con- trary, it is expressly provided that a trial, in case of military imprisonments, shall not be postponed indefinitely; but .shall bo had at the next term of the proper Circuit or District Court, provided the grand jury of the district find an indictment; and if not, then that such court shall, upon proper application made, discharge persons so im- prisoned, either absolutely or conditionally. Here, then, is a legal hmit to the Pi'esi- dent's power even to imprison; and a clear denial of his right to punish, by military law, .such offenders against the United States. He approved this limitation upon his power, as asserted in the Proclamation upon v.'hich alone it is contended this nros- ecution can proceed. It, is therefore, plainly rescinded, if it ever was valid. And 64 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. we desire to observe that the law which does this, expressly refers to the same classes of persons declared subject to mar- tial law by the Proclamation of September 24, 1862; and provides, as already said, for their trial, or discharge from custody, by the ordinary civil tribunals. — Act of Congress of March 3, 1863—12 Stat, at large, p. 766, §§ 2, 3 et seq. We conclude, therefore, that martial laio does not now exist in the State of Indiana; and, in fact, never has so existed; because, 1. It was not competent for the President to declare, or proclaim it ; 2. If it ever were proclaimed, the Procla- mation has been rescinded by act of Con- gress, with the full approval of the Presi- dent. And, as the existence of martial laiu is conceded to be necessary to the jurisdiction of this court, we conclude, therefore, that this court has no jurisdiction of the defend- ant upon the charges and specifications now pending against him. [Of questions of the second and third classes, namely : II. In relation of the liability of the de- fendant to be tried before any court for some of the ofienses alleged against him ; III. In relation to the nature and suffi- ciency of the evidence adduced against him to support the charges. These two classes of questions are here considered together.] Mr. M. M. Eay continued the argument, as follows : In approaching the evidence of the case, we are almost subdued and awed into si- lence, by considering the perilous precipice on which society, in the Korth-west, so lately hung, if the testimony, in the plenti- tude of its details, or even in its general scope, is to be believed. But, when we con- sider that much of that evidence is open to criticism from the perfidious relations which one or more of the witnesses bore to the defendant, and especially that the evidence is entirely ex parte, we are reassured that an exalted duty rests still upon us, as well as upon this Court, to analyze the testimony and apply it to the case according to the eternal and unchangeable rules of justice, of truth, and of good faith; even though the defendant may have fled from the perils of his situation. And just here we beg to en- ter our protest against the dangerous legal heresy that the escape of a defendant dur- ing trial and before judgment, carries with it any inference of either law or fact preju- dicial to his innocence. The most that can be predicated of the fact is, that he has waived his constitutional right to be present, in person, for the remainder of the trial — leaving the whole question of his guilt or innocence, intact, before the Court to the same extent as if he had chosen to remain absent from Court in his prison. To this extent, the cases cited from Seventh Ohio, Fourteenth and Sixteenth Indiana go, and no further. Such absence gives no additional weight to the Government's testimony. Such absence is no confession of guilt. Such absence, whether by escape from cus- tody, or by voluntary absence in his prison, only waives his right to be present at the trial and at the rendition of judgment, in the civil tribunals, but it waives no legiti- mate matter of defense — no defects of law or evidence in the case which the Govern- ment has made. We will be pardoned, therefore, for dwelling with emphasis in denial of this most unwarrantable assump- tion. The most obvious and intelligible manner of treating the charges against tlie defendant and applying to them the evi- dence, is to consider, first, the cliarges and specifications based simply on the sup- posed character of the secret organization of which the defendant was a member, and the evidence applicable to the same — and, secondly, the charges and specifications based on the extraneous acts and declara- tions of defendant and the evidence in their supj^ort. To deny that the defendant was a member of a secret political society of the name charged, would be to ask the Court to discredit the only corroborated testimony in the case. So it may be ac- cepted as true, that there was such a society, and that the defendant was a member, and at the head of the organization in this State. But we deny that the organization was, by its framework, rituals, written and unwritten work, a conspiracy, as the specifi- cations assume. We also deny, in the light of the evidence, that the order is intrin- sically disloyal or treasonable, however vicious and vmjustifiable it maj' be on gen- eral principles, in otlier respects, and how- ever bad and ambitious men may pervert and use it to surprise a misguided society and betray into the great crime of conspi- racy, insurrection and treason. If we can feel justified in assuming this position, in the light of the ex parte case made by the Government, how much more fortified we would feel, were we at liberty to draw on the supposed support which rebutting testi- mony might have furnished us? We feel warranted, from the evidence, in saying that the Order of the Sons of Liberty did not spring at once from chaos, nor from the plastic hands of one man or council of men, but, in its present framework and pro- portions, it is the symmetrical edificeof tliree years of experiment, change, failure, and elaborate reconstruction. Starting from the rude home-made order of self-protection, thence matured into the " Circle of Honor," " Knights of the Golden Circle," thence into the " American Knights," and finally into the " Sons of Liberty." Springing at first from real or fancied necessity, it was at first a crude, immature, stupid, and in many re- TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 65 Bpects a ridiculous imposture and a gross political fraud on the credulity of unsophis- ticated people. Still, in all, or any of tliese stages and changes, we look in vain for the criminal element, or conspiracy, or treason. The members glided from one name into another without any conscious change of purpose or character, and without assuming any new obligations, or realizing any shame or criminality by virtue of tlie change. Hence, the conclusion forces itself upon our minds that there was neither conspiracy or treason in the wriUen work of the order, per se ; nor was there any treason or conspiracy in the unwritten work of the order, for the mass of the members, without any new light, passed from one stage of the order to another, believing it only a political society. So, if we are right in this, the first, second, and third specifications of charge first, fall, as they are based on the theory that the organization is, per se, a conspiracy. In saying this much, we do not forget that the evi- dence shows much loose and unreliable hearsay, in regard to tlie purposes of the order in certain localities; but then we re- member at the same time, and this Court will not fail to recollect, that all this testi- mony conies from the three witnesses, viz. : from Warren county, Illinois, Martin county, Indiana, and Randolph county, Indiana, and in the case of the latter two, from men who only knew the "Knights of the Golden Circle;" an organization without system, uniformity, community of creed, and with- out national, state or county head to the organization. The defendant can not be held responsible for any light, trivial, loose or wanton utterances of irresponsible, discon- nected associations, whose names are not even mentioned in any of the charges. We do not feel called upon, as counsel for the defendant, to apologize for these or any other secret political organizations, and es- pecially in revolutionary times like these. But we do feel called upon as a mark of respect to this Court, and in the interest of a common country, to place on record our unqualified reprobation of all secret politi- cal orders, by whatever name or party affili- ation, as, at best, but pestilential hotbeds for the most incendiary political heresies, leading to the worst fruits of Jacobinism. It is in vain for the purest and wisest pa- triot to offer words of truth and patriotism to the people, if they conflict with the de- crees of a secret, irresponsible, bloody ti'ibu- nal. Through the machinery of secret or- ganizations, the worthless and irres23onsible place-hunters come to the top, get the popular ear, and have more weight and influence in directing tlie popular mind, than all the lessons of history, or the ap- peals of our most learned, independent, unselfish and trusted public men. Who, then, that has had the sagacity to detect the baleful influence of secret societies in 5 the whole political atmosphere for two years past, can find any apology or palliation for them? We oflbr none. It would be too much labor to go into the evidence in detail, so we can but classify it, and be con- tent with very general observations in its application. If we have not erred in the foregoing speculations in regard to the char- acter of the order, then the specifications, Nos. I, 2 and 3, of charge first, are in no • wise proved. For we may observe that it is not comi^etent to fix the character of the order as treasonable in Indiana, by produc- ing an obligation of a highly objectionable character, through a member of a difierent order, in a particular locality, in the State of Illinois, when the printed ritual of the whole order in Indiana is in evidence con- taining no such obligations. This remark applies to Wm. Clayton, a witness from Warren county, Illinois, and it applies with equal force to the verbal testimony of the witnesses from Martin and Randolph coun- ties, in this State, whose experience relates to irregular organizations anterior to the existence of the "Sons of Liberty," and revelations have no warrant in the ritual of that order, in this State. How can Dodd be held responsible for the insane ravings of persons with whom he had no connection? For it will be steadily borne in mind, that, before the defendant can be chargeable with the dictations and acts of others in this or any other order, the evidence must estab- lish the essential preliminary fact that the order is, jier se, a conspiracy, for it travels on the ground that they are co-conspirators. We leave the fourth specification of charge first, as falling within class of charges based on i:)Ositive independent acts, and pass to charge second. The four specifications of charge second, charge treason, if any tiling. The task of disposing of the whole of this charge is easy. By article 3d, of section 3d, Constitution of United States, it is provided that "No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act." We submit, with entire confidence, that no overt act has been proved by even one witness. It is true, the witness, Stidger. talks vaguely about the "order" having patronized the Greek fire machine, and about the burning of Govern- ment stores ; all of which was mere hearsay, coming from Bowles, which is not admissi- ble against defendant, except on the suppo- sition that the order is a conspiracy — and even then it would only have the force of one witness, if that. Tlie same logic disposes of the same wit- ness' testimony in regard to the starting of couriers into Kentucky to give notice of the culmination of the scheme ; but the cour- iers were never started. All the specifica- tions of charge third, we suppose, fail for want of prool'. We do not remember any 66 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. evidence on the subject of arming and in- citing the people to insurrection, except what tends to support the fourth specifica- tion of charge first, involving a conspiracy to put on foot an insurrection. The evi- dence in regard to the arnxs bought in New York, and shipped to one Parsons, does not connect the defendant in any degree with that transaction. The evidence of all the witnesses touching the arming of the order is very unsatisfactory and inconclusive, even in the irregular local organizations. And as to suj^posed insurrectionary character of the defendant's official addresses and casual speeches, we have only to suggest that there is not now, never was, and in the nature of things never can be, any test or standard of legitimate debate. Where the press and speech are as free as they have been in this country in the past, more or less abvise and licentiousness must exist, and must be tole- rated. And it is respectfully submitted as a sound maxim in statesmanship, and a safe guide for legislators and courts, that great errors and abuses in this respect may be safely tolerated, if reason is left free to com- bat them. Why shall the defendant be ar- raigned ibr insurrectionary appeals, while the carnival of licentious utterance goes on all around us? Power, in all ages, has been jealous of a free press. While on this sub- ject, we conceive that we can do our client and country no better service than to com- mend to the attention of the Court an elo- quent passage from the speech of the great English orator, Sheridan, on the liberty of the press. Mr. Sheridan says: "Give me but the lib- erty of the press, and I will give the Minis- ter a venal Ilouse of Peers — I will give him a corrupt and servile House of Commons — 1 will give him full swing of the patron- age of office — I will give him the whole nost of ministerial influence — I will give him all the j^ower that place can confer up- on him to ])urchasc submission, and over- awe resistance; and yet, armed with the liberty of the press, I will go forth to meet him undismayed ; I will attack the mighty fabric he has reared with that mightier en- gine ; I will shake down from its hight, cor- ruption, and lay it beneath the ruins of the abuses it was meant to sliolter." There are five .specifications under charge fourth, for "disloyal practices;"' a charge suggestive of l)Oundless elasticity, and an illimitable field of inquiry. What is a dis- loyal practice ? When we say that no law has defined it, no court ha.s expounded it, and no precedent has illustrated it, w"e have shown the dangerous character of a convic- tion under that charge. As to the two .specifications under charge fifth, for a violation of the laws of war, is it not enough for us to say, that the defend- ant was not in the military or naval service of the United States, and that if the rules and articles of war are meant, he owes no duty to them ; and that if the international common law of war is meant, then it can only relate to the rights and duties of bel- ligerent powers, and not to the rights and duties of government and citizen. We have now traversed over all the charges, and recur to the fovu'th specification of charge first. If the evidence establishes any spe- cification, it is the one under consideration. This charge rests, not upon the supposed treasonable character of the order, but up- on extrinsic testimony of particular facts, and those facts consisting of admi.«sions and communications made by defendant to a Government Detective by the name of Stidger. If this witness' testimony is to be taken without any deduction, it would con- vict the defendant of a willingness to commit murder, as well as treason. The witness appears to be an intelligent and accom- plished detective, and all the more danger- ous on that account, unless strictly lionest and impartial. A professional detective is quickened by the sanie instincts, and stim- ulated by the same motives, that influence even the better class of practicing lawyers in their zealous pursuit of the interest of a client. Such a detective starts out with hope, pride and professional ambition, all involved in his success in making a case against some one. His zeal leads him into every species of sham intrigue ; his strategy leads into the confidence of the ambitious, the vain, the visionary, or the corrupt, and he sedulou.sly cultivates the germ of every prurient weakness to folly, ambition or crime, so that in the end he has deliberately manufactured half the circumstances of guilt, and stands before God a joint criminal with the accused — standing with a guilt of twofold enormity- — the guilt of treachery and dishonor in betraying the confidence of his dupe, and the guilt of an accomplice in the crime itself Or, to say the least of it, in CA'ery case he stands dishonored in the eyes of those he has betrayed, and when honor is lost, truth holds precarious sway. Honor and truth are the Siamese Twins; if you sever the ligament that binds them, they sicken and die together. The scheme of murder and insurrection developed in that evidence is most atrocious and revolting, and whatever visionary schemes of ambition and adventure may have entered into the calculations of the de- fendant, wc can not believe that murder was one of them. And although it consti- tutes no part of the charges on v,'hich he is tried, and although a conspiracy in aid of the rebellion is a crime of sufficiently dark a hue, we would fain vindicate his charac- ter from the infamy of a foul murder — a deed so foreign and repulsive to every ele- ment of his nature. But the evidence to support this degrading accusation is sup- plied by the same detective, and by the ab- TREASON TRIALS AT mDIANAPOLIS. 67 rupt termination of the trial, has denied us even the chance to disprove what is said to hare taken place in open council in reference to the assassination of Coffin. And, indeed, the Court will be bound to receive all the evidence of the witness Stidger, with all that hesitation and doubt to which the treacherous relations which the witness bore to the defendant, expose it, and subject to the force of the fact of the abrupt and un- expected termination of the trial, operating .with exclusive detriment to the defense. If the Court find the dei'endant guilty on this specification, it will be by giving full force and credit to the witness Stidger, and by taking a different view from us as to the true standard that measures the character of a professional detective, and weighs the credibility of his testimony. If we have not done injustice to the position of that class of witnesses, he stands not only dis- honored, as taking all the obligations and vows of secrecy of the order, with the de- liberate and premeditated purpose to violate these oaths, and to betray his comrades, but he stands, by virtue of his own machina- tions, progressing step by step to the clear and confessed relations of an accomplice, ' morally and legally. The rule of law upon the subject is, that while the testimony of an accomplice is to be received, j'^et it should be received with great caution, and when received, is entitled to less weight than the testimony of other witnesses. — See 2 Lid., 652; 4 Ind., 128; 7 Ind., 326; 9 Ind., 106. With much solicitude and anxiety, we commit the cause of the defendant, in his absence, to the learning, to the patriotism, to the honor, and to the justice of this Court. To the learning, because the great legal question of jurisdiction, lying at the tlircshold of your inquiries, is still open: to your patriotism, because the highest in- terests of public liberty, and the victory of reason over passion, are in , your hands; to your honor, becau^se the graces of magna- nimity and mercy should follow the weak, tlie unfortunate, and even the guilty, and plead against the calamities of conviction ; to your justice, because she sits blind to the scenes of our national drama, unseduced by the blandishments of power, and deaf to the cries of resentment and passion. M. M. RAY, J. W. GORDON, Counsel for H. H. Dodd. REPLY OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE. Gentlemen of the Commission : I do not propose to go into an extended argument upon the question of jurisdic- tion. The Commission having already jaassed upon that question, it would beavainanduse- less labor for me to collate and review all the decisions and authorities that might be brought to bear upon that question. It is not necessary to occupy the time of the Commission in making an argument simply to meet what the gentlemen may say upon their side, for the arguments made by the counsel here, are not those of the accused, and are received by the Commission merely as a matter of courtesy, and, therefore, do not force me to take issue upon what they personally may place before you. I, liov»'- ever, desire to submit, very briefly, one or two points, and then leave the case with you. On the question of jurisdiction, volumes might be written, and digests innumerable compiled. The question of martial law has, for centuries past, been a subject of thoughtful consideration by the ablest jurists ; what it was, and what were the necessities that justified it. Martial law is born of necessity, and it is but a matter of opinion and judgment as to when that ne- cessity exists. He who is to judge of that necessity, is the chief executive power of any government, or the subordinate milita- ry officers acting under the orders of that executive. All the argument in the case resolves itself into one proposition, namely : that martial law can only exist, and does only exist, in times of great, controlling, over- powering necessity. Martial law, as has been well said, is a setting aside of the whole machinery;of the civil law. The civil law must go down before it, and nothing but a great and all-powerful necessity should be permitted to take from the people of any land the rights, privileges and immunities of the civil law. And who shall be the judge of that necessity ? It can only be the Chief Executive who wields the mili- tary power of any government. Congress can not be the judge. Our legislative bod}', Congress, usually convenes but once a year, not oftener than twice a year, and, in times of foreign war, invasion or rebellion, shall we wait the expiration of that year for the / declaration of martial law, to preserve the life of the Government? Such a course would be suicidal and destructive of the Government itself The statement of the proposition shows its absurdity. If the ne- cessity for action should arise between the sessions of the legislative body, where is the power that must step in to save the Govern- ment before that legislative body meets ? The circumstances of the times nefcessitate martial law, and when this necessity exists, martial law must be pjroclaimed, and the civil law, for the time being, remains silent, to be revived in its native force when the necessity for proclaiming martial law shall have passed away. The civil law sleeps ; it is not dead. In this case the President has not said that martial law shallbe proclaimed through the length and breadth of the land. On this point the counsel for the accused have gone astray. The President has not de- clared that the whole machinery of the civil 68 TREASON TKIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. law shall remain dormant, that there shall not be any punishment of civil offenses in our courts. But lie has said, that when men step in and undertake to assist this great rebellion, by acting in concert with these armed rebels against the Govei'iiment, thus threatening the life of the nation, that they then clothe themselves with a certain mili- tary garb that brings thorn within militaiy law, and that tlie military law shall act upon them, and thus far martial law is pi-oclaimed ; no further. When men, for instance, here in the State of Indiana, undertake to bring about an insurrection, undertake to release and arm these hordes of rebel prisoners, here in our midst, thej' then become part and 2:)arcel of that rebel army, and make themselves subject to military law. Tliey are as soldiers ibr the time being, and, like them, subject to military regidations. Take the case as it exists. We are engaged in a war ; and the ways of war are not the ways of peace. That whicli may be lawful in times of war is unlawful in times of peace. Let me illustrate Would it be lawful in times of peace ibr the military commander of this district to go out to the ground on which Camp Morton now stands, and take possession of five hundred acres of land on which to build structures, in which to con- fine these rebel soldiers? Would it, in times of peace, be lawful for him to seize and take possession of a house to occupy as his head- quarters ? V7ould it be lawiul for him to go upon another man's land, and camp his troops, and seize his corn and provisions? Would not each single act be a trespass, for M-hich he would be liable to prosecution ? But it is no crime under the circumstances supposed, that is in times of war. And it is no higher assertion of military authority to take possession of the person, than it would be to seize tliat person's property for mili- tary service, if the safety of the Government demanded it. All these things come as a concomitant to a state of war. Again, in timesof peace, dowe recognize orknowof any such officer as the Commanding General of a Department? Take, for instance, the Com- manding General of this Department, Gen- eral Hooker, who commands the States of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan — not one of which States is in rebellion; what are his })Owers and duties? Is he simply a man of straw? Is his position recognized by the civil law? And yet will any man claim that he can be prosecuted ibr any acts done in the exercise of his authority, not one of which is recognized by the civil law, and but i'or the condition of war, would be without legal sanction. The position of General Ilovey is anotlun- illustration. At present he exercises in his military super- vision as much power over the people of the State as the Governor himself, and yet in times of peace, his office has no existence. If peace were declared to-day, he would be as powerless as any private citizen in the land. It is because the foundations of so- ciety are broken up, that we are forced to recognize the necessities that grow out of this new order of things. The state of things now existing in this country, has never before been exactly paralleled in any age of the world. The whole country has been taken possession of by military force. Why ? Because, and only because of its necessity. To preserve even the form of government, it was necessary that the wliole force and energy of the nation should be employed against those who were arraying themselves against it. The whole nation, each man individually, and all collectively, constituted a physical power that might be used to preserve the nation against its ene- mies. The civil rights of the citizen became dead for the time being, if necessary to pre- serve the life of the nation. The counsel for the accused, in quoting my arguments respecting the jurisdiction of this Commission, evidently misconstrued my remarks as to each existing thing exer- cising its rights of self-defense according to the law of its organization. 1 am, for in- stance, organized and created as a single, in- dividual thing, without weapons or means of defense, save my hands, and if my life were threatened by an antagonist, 1 must not, according to the theory of the gentle- man, take up a club or any weapon to de- fend that life, or call in the aid of my friend, but I must defend it according to the law of my organization, without any ex- trinsic aid. Is not the lallacy of the position apparent? Self-defense, self-preservation inevitably carries with it every means which that power can bring to assist in that self-de- fense and self-preservation. Just asdefensive war may become ofl'ensive-defensive war. For the sake of saving yourself irom invasion, you may invade the enemy, and yet it is but a defensive war. Each individual — every ex- isting unity or commtmity — is endowed, by the very laws of its creation, with the power and the right to defend its own existence. That right is not lessened w'hen individuals join together and make communities. A man who has that right of self-protection does not, by joining himself to fifty or a hun- drexl others, make his individual right less sacred; and when communities combine to form a government, the life of that govern- ment is at least as sacred as the lii'e of an individual. In defending the life of the nation and its constitution, necessity be- comes the sole law. Whatever is necessary to be done, the Government is not only authorized, but is in duty bound to do. 1 accept it as a maxim that the only criterion for the .exercise of martial law is its neces- sity. Whenever an officer, or the Cliief Executive of this Government, acts with- out that necessity, he commits an act unauthorized; but so long as he koepa TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 69 within that necessity, the hiw and the Eeople — the givers of all power — will indorse im. It was not my intention to refer to the exigences that might necessitate martial law, or to the distinctions between martial law and military law — a distinction often disre- gardi'd — but 1 beg to submit the following from the Nciv American Cychqiedia which very clearly states the distinction: "Martial law has often been confounded with militai'y law, but the two are very dif- ferent. Military law, with us, consists of the 'Rules and Articles of War,' and other statutory provisions for the government of military persons, to which may be added the unwritten or common law of the 'usage and custom of military service.' It exists equally in peace and in war, and is as fixed and definite in its provisions as the admi- ralty, ecclesiastical, or any other branch of knv, and is equally, with them, a part of the general law of the land. But in the words of Chancellor Kent, 'martial law is quite a distinct thing.' It exists only in the time of war, and originates in military necessity. It derives no authority from the civil law, (using the term in its more general sense,) nor assistance I'rom the civil tribunals, for it overrules, suspends, and replaces both. It is, from its very nature, an arbitrary power, and extends to all the inhabitants (whether civil or military) of the disti'ict where it is in force. It has been used in all countries, and by all governments, and it is as neces- sary to the sovereignity of a State as the power to declare and make war. The right to declare, apply and enforce martial law, is one of the sovereign powers, and resides in the governing authority ol' the State, and it depends on the Constitution of the State whether restrictions and rules are to be adopted for its application, or whether it is to be exercised according to the exigences which called it into existence. But even when leit unrestricted by constitutional or statutory law, like the power of a civil court to punish contempts, it mu«t be exercised with due moderation and justice; and, as a permanent necessity alone can call it into existence, so must its exercise be limited to such times and places as this necessity may require ; and, moreover, it must be governed by the rules of general public law, as applied to a state of war. It, therefore, can not be despotically or arbitrarily exercised any more than any other belligerent right can be so exercised." {Vushinga Opinioris of U. S. Attorney General^ vol. 8, p. 365; Wolncrs Jus Gentium^ sec. SG5; Grotius De Jus Bel., B. lib. 3, cap. 8; Kluher Dicit des Gens, sec. 255; O'Briens American Military Imw, p. 23; IJal- leek's Internaiional Law atid Laws of War, p. 303.) It is one of the concomitants of an army, as the counsel for the accused well remark- ed, that wherever that army goes, it carries with it martial law; and just to the extent that we here are under the rule of an army, just to that extent are we subject to the rules of martial law, without any proclama- tion of the President on the subject. And further, martial law, in my judgment, is not a thing to be authorized by Congress. The decision of our ablest legal authorities may be shown to that effect. It is an Executive power, only to be exercised under circum- stances of all-controlling necessity, by the Commander-in-Chief, or the executive jjower of the Government. It is one of the preroga- tives of the Executive, and it can only be used by him and his subordinates — his lieu- tenants. If, for instance, the commanding officer of Kentucky, acting under the authority of the Chief Executive, the President, con- ceives there is a necessity for martial law to be declared in his district, he can de- clare it at his will ; but his superior will hold him responsible that he did not de- clare martial law till there was a necessity for it. So with General Ilovey and his or- ders while commanding in this District. Martial law has, during the war, been de- clared by almost every commanding Gen- eral in the field; and the power and the right to do so, have not, to my knowledge, ever been questioned in any department, and no prosecution has been known for the unlawful exercise of that power by any military conunander. When General Ilovey convened this Com- mission within the limits of his jurisdiction, and committed the case of Ilarrison H. Dodd, the accused, to this Commission, with orders to try it, he, by virtue of his mili- tary power, acting under the authority that was given to him by the Commander-in- Chief of the army, namely, the President of the United States, he suspended the civil law, and put in operation the military or martial law. The officers of this Com- mi.ssion could not, under the oath that they have taken, refuse to obey the orders of the officer placed over them. They could not stop and go back of that order, and refuse to hear and determine this case. Benet, who is our best authority upon mil- itarj' law, says, p. 13: "In the United States, martial law is a thing not mentioned by name, and scarcely as much as hinted at, in the Constitution and statutes. The former declares that ' the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspend- ed unless, when, in cases of rebellion or in- vasion, the public safety may require it' " Upon that point much might be said, in connection with the condition of Indiana, as to whether the public safety did require; the suspension of habeas corpus, and the declaration of martial law. I did not sup- pose there were two opinions on that ques- tion. Benet continues: "The opinion is ex- 70 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. pressed b^^ the commentators on the Con- stitution, that the right to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, and also that of judging when the exigency has arisen, beking ex- chisively to Congress. But the rebellion or invasion may demand svich suspension (hu'ing arecessof the national legislature, and, by the laws of war, the executive has then the right to assume the power for the public safety. 'J'lie iclation between the proclamation of martial law and the suspension of the writ of hahcas corpus, is extremely intimate; al- though it is but one of its consequences, and by no means the largest or gravest, since, according to every dehnition of martial law, it suspends, for the time being, all the laws of the land, and substitutes in their place no law ; that is, the mere will of the military commander. ' Here is another sentence in which much, very much, is included. I cite it, that it may be reflected upon : " It must be observed, hoivever, that ■tnany of- fenses which in time of peace are civil offenses, become in time of loar military oj/'enses, and are to be tried by a military tribunal, even in places where civil tribunals exist. p. 16. I will only add a word further in respect to the necessity that existed for martial law to step in at the time it did, here in the State of Indiaiui. ' It may be asked, did the necessity exist ? The proof shows that there existed in this State an organization numbering from fifty to eighty thousand men, military in its character, and, about two-thirds armed, ready at any time to be called out to obey tlie orders of their su- periors, regardless of the law and authori- ties of the United States. That organiza- tion was armed and drilled with the avowed purpose of assisting the enemy as against the Government. This organization was ready at any moment to be called into the field, to release in our midst large numbers of rebel prisoners, feebly guarded. Did not such a state of things wai'rant the in- terference of the military jjovver to stop this insurrection, and the possible bloodshed and anarchy that might have ensued here at our very door? 1 now pass for a moment to the fiict of the absence of the prisoner. While I ad- mit that his absence should not prejudice him in the consitleration of the proof, nor should it be taken, perhaps, as any confes- sion of guilt. "When, however, the counsel attempt to argue on the force of the testi- mony tliat might have been introduced by the defense, they touch upon ground which they have no right to ai>prf)ach. This Com- mission does not know that any more proof could come before it. They nujst consider the evidence they have heard, and only that. The accused, by his absence, as I have before said, waves his riglit to any re- butting testimony, and says, in fact, "There is no further defense to be ottered in this case." If nothing is confessed against him, nothing certainly can be said for him by his act of escape. The counsel who last addressed the Com- mission, contends that the organization known as the Order of American Knights, or the Order of the Sons of Liberty, is not a conspiracy. Then what is a conspiracy ? As dehned by la^' writers, it is a combina- tion or agreement between two or more persons to do an illegal act, or to do a legal act in an illegal manner. If we take this association and try it by this rule, what do we find ? A body of men who were bound together by the most binding of oaths — the oath itself an unlawful thing, and the very organization of the society being xmlawful in and of itself — recognizing military as well as civil officers unknown to, and in violation of, the Constitution and laws of the land. And for what purpose does the proof show this organization to have ex- isted? For the express })ui-pose of defeat- ing and overthrowing the Government, while engaged in war against its enemies, for the purj)ose of aiding those enemies in their rebellion against the duly constituted authorities of the land. Other witnesses swear it was for the additional purpose of resisting the draft; but every witness testi- fies directly to the fact, that the express pur- pose of the organization was to resist the Gov- ernment in its eflforts to suppress the exists ing lebellion. Is this lawful, or unlawful ? Is this conspiracy, or is it not? It seems to me that one moment's consideration of the principles upon which this society was or- ganized, would determine the question be- yond dispute. It needs no argument. I rei'er the Commission to the proof. The counsel say further that while this organization was vicious, it was not treason- able. Why, my God, what is treason ? What does a traitor do but try to destroy his Government ? Is it treason to organ- ize a society, the members of which take a solemn oath that when the enemies of their Government come over into their State, they will receive them as friends, shake hands with them, and, as oi)i)ortunities oft'er, give tliem information from time to time of the movements of the Government forces ? Is it treason to assist in turning loose upon us the tigers that we have imprisoned here in our very midst, to arm those very men who are our avowed enemies, and the en- emies of our Government ? Is it trea- son to endeavor to organize those rebel prisoners into a formiclable military body to assist in the general rebellion against the Government? Is it treason to send messengers to the enemies of the Govern- ment, to tell them of the number of friends they have here in a loyal State, and assure them of sympathy ami support? I can not conceive how a doubt I'or one moment can exist as to the treasonable nature of these designs. TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 71 1 wish to say one word with respect to the testimony of the witness Stidger. No member of this Commission, and 1 think 1 may say that no person sat in this hall who did not believe that the witness testi- fied to the truth. If he had not testified to the truth, he was a witness who could more easily have been convicted of falsehood than any one brought upon the stand. There was not a fact to which he teiitified, for which he did not give the place, date and person. When a witness does that, every lawyer knows that you can trace tip that man's history in his cross-examination. If Captain Jones did not send him on a certain day to a certain person, to have a certain conversation, nothing would be easier than for Captain Jones to be called upon the stand to testify to the fact. If the witness Stidger had not met Bowles at the time and place he mentions, and have the conversation narrated, it would be easy to show that Bowles was elsewhere at the time. If he did not meet Dodd and talk with him, at the time and place he says he did, how easily it could be refuted! "When Stidger came upon the stand, he expected that he was to be met by every possible proof that could be brought against him. This witness testified that when he entered into this or- ganization, it was with the exj^ress intent and determination to develoi^ its end and purposes. True, he was a Government de- tective ; he states that he was so hired and employed. As a rule, I have no kind of fellowship or sympathy with this class of men. But I believe that such a work could be engaged in and accomplished with a good intent and purpose. It is a species of strat- egy fully justified by the circumstances of the case, and is not unlike that to which our commanding Generals in the field often resort in their efibrts to deceive the enemy. They send false messages, write and for- Avard false missives, on purpose to mislead them. They employ every means in their power to induce them to believe in and rely upon a certain state of things the opposite of that which really exists. Stidger en- gaged in the work of revealing the designs of this treasonable organization, with the express purpose of giving information to the Government and saving bloodshed, and possibly National disaster. Such a man en- gaged in such a cause, and for such a pur- pose, can not be called an accomplice. Such a man can not be called a criminal, or a scoundrel. On the contrary, he perils his life to obtain facts which have proved of the greatest importance to the cause of justice, law and order. In such a cause, every man, loyal and true to his Government, will stand by him ; and it ill becomes any man, especially in this State, to withhold that meed of praise which is his due for the ser- vices rendered to the Government. The case is now submitted to this Com- mission on the evidence before it ; and I am content to leave it in your hands, after simply quoting the opening remarks of the counsel who last addressed you : " In ap- proaching the evidence in the case, we are almost subdued and awed into silence by considering the perilous precipice upon whicii society, especially in the South-west, so recently hung, if the testimony, in the plentitude of its details, or even in its gen- eral scope, is to be believed." Respecting that testimony, this Commission is abund- antly able to judge. If this testimony is to be believed, this Government was on the brink of a precipice; and the evidence given upon this stand, under the solemnity of an oath, and with the eye of Almighty God resting on each witness, is of such a character that no argument of counsel, or finely drawn sophistries, can change the perilous and treasonable nature of the cir- cumstances testified to. The Commission then adjourned, to meet at 3 o'clock, P. M., to deliberate on the finding and sentence. The Judge Advocate then submitted the case to the Commission. The Court was then cleared for delibera- tion. Findings. The Court having maturely considered tlie evidence adduced, finds the accused, William A. Bowles, Lambdin P. Milligan, and St-ephen Horsey, citizens of the State of Indiana, as follows : In the cases of William A. Bowles and Lambdin P. Milligan, citizens, of the St-ate of Indiana — Charge I. Of the 1st Specification, "Guilty." Of the 2d Specification, " Guilty." Of the 3d Specification, " Guilty." Of the 4th Specification, " Guilty." Of the Charge, "Guilty." Charge IL Of the 1st Specification, "Guilty." Of the 2d Specification, "Guilty." Of the 3d Specification, "Guilty." Of the Charge, "Guilty." Charge III. Of the 1st Specification, "Guilty." Of the 2d Specification, "Guilty." Of the Charge, " Guilty." Charge IV. Of the 1st Specification, "Guilty." Of the 2d Specification, "Guilty." Of the 3d Specification, "Guilty." Of the 4th Specification, "Guilty." Of the 5th Specification, " Guilty." Of the Charge, "Guilty." Charge V. Of the 1st Specification, "Guilty." Of the 2d Specification, "Guilty." Of the Charge, "Guilty." 72 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. In tho case of Stephen Horsey, of the State of Indiana — Chakge I. (>f the 1st Specification, ''Guilty.' Of the 2d Specification, "Guilty." Of the 3d Specification, "Guilty." Of the 4th Specification, " Guilty." Of the Charge, "Guilty." Charge II. Of the 1st Specification, " Guilty." Of the 2d Specification " Guilty." Of the od Specification, "Guilty." Of the Chakge, " Guiltj\" Charge III. Of the 1st Specification, "Guilty." Of the 2d Specification, " Guilty." Of the Charge, " Guilty." Charge IV. Of 1st Specification, "Guilty." Of the 2d Specification, "Guilty." Of the 3d Specification, "Guilty." Of the 4th Specification, " Guilty." Of the 5th Specification, "Not Guilty." Of the Charge, "Guilty." Charge Y. Of the 1st Specification, "Guilty." Of the 2d Specification, "Guilty." Of the Charge, "Guilty." Sentence. And the Commission does, therefore, sen- tence them, William A. Bowles, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, citizens, of tho State of Indiana, as follows: In the case of AVilliam A. Bowles, citizen, of the State of Indiana, "2^j be hanf/ed hy the neck until he be dead, at such time and place as the Commanding General of this District shall designate ; two-thirds oj the members of the Com- mission concurring therein.^' lu the case of Lambdin P. Milligan, citizen, of the State of Indiana, "7'o be hanged hj the neck until he he dead, at such time and 2:ilace as the Commanding General of this District s/iall designate ; tv:o-thirds of the members of the Commission conairring thcreiiu In the case of Stephen Horsey, citizen, of the State of Indiana, "jTo be hanged by the neck until he be dead, at such time and j'llace as the Commanding General of this District shall designate ; two-thirds of the members of the Com- mission concumng therein." War DtrARTMENT, Adjutant General's OrncF,,) Wusbiugton, May 2, IStiS. ) The i^roceedings, findings and sentences of the Commission in the cases of William A. Bowles, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, citizens, were approved by the proper commanders, and the records for- warded for the action of the President of the United States, who approves the sen- tences, and directs that they be carried into execution by the Commanding General of the District of Indiana, under the orders of the Department Commander, without delay. By order of the Secretary of "War. W. A. NICHOLS, OJRcial. Assistant Adjutant General. W. A. Nichols, ' Assistant Adjutant General. Headquartkks JConTUERN Department, \ Ciucinnati, 0., May 8, ISCo. J Bre>:ct Major General A. P. Hovey, Commanding District of Indiana, Indianapolis, Indiana : General — I have the honor to forward herewith a copy of General Orders No. 214, dated. War Department, Adjutant General's Office, Washington, May 2, 1865, with direc- tiotis from the Major General Commanding the Department, that the sentences of the Military Commission, in the case of William A. Bowles, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Ste- phen Horsey, be carried into execution without delay. Please report the receipt of this commu- nication, and, also, the time of the execu- tion of the sentence. I am, GeJieral, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, (Signed) 0. H. HAET, Lieut. Col. and A. A. G. Officia.l copy. Headquarters District of Indiana, "I Indianopolis, May 9, ISGo. / Colonel A. J. Waimcr, Commanding Post, India- napolis, Indiana : I have just received from the Department Headquarters, an order commanding me to carry into etlcct, "without delay," the sen- tence of the Military Commission, in the cases of Wm. A. Bowles, Lambdin P. Mil- ligan, and Stephen Horsey. The sentence of each is death. A copy of the charges and sentence for each of said prisoners is herewith ti-ansmitted. From the language of my orders, I am compelled to fix Fridaj-, the 19th instant (be- tween thehoursof 12o'clockM. and 3 o'clock P. M.), as the most remote clay within which the same can be proj^crly obeyed. You will give the condemned every facility within your power, consistent with their safe-keeping, to settle uj") their worldly affairs, and prepare for the future. These are sad duties for both of us, and more trying than the field of battle, but they are stern duties, that must be obeyed for our country's safety and future welfare. I need not say to you to extend to tlic families of the condemned any courtesy that you can, consistent with your duty as an officer. A man who has served and sufiered as you have for your country, can execute justice in mercy, though it might cost you tears of blood, ^^'ith a high appreciation of vour past services, I am, yours truly, (Signed) ALYIN P. JIOVEY, Brev. Maj. Gen. U. S. V., Commanding. G. W. II. Long, Lieut, and Post Adj't. Official copy. Ro 5l?0>l220, li 3I2T ^0 ^b^•^^o -\- too 50-5zo 159 PROCEEDINGS MILITARY COMMISSION Which convened at Indianapolis, Indiana, by virtue of the following Special Orders, to wit: Headquauteks District op Indiana, 1 Indianapolis, September 17, 1864. j Special Orders No. 129. A Military Commission is constituted to naeet at the United States Court Rooms in the city of Indianapolis, on the nineteenth (19th) day of September, 1864, at 10 o'clock, A. M., or as soon thereafter as practicable, for the trial of Harrison H. Dodd, and such other prisoners as may be brought before it DETAIL FOR THE COMMISSION. 1. Brevet Brigadier General Silas Colgrove, United States Volunteers. 2. Colonel William E. McLean, 43d In- fantry, Indiana Volunteers. 3. Colonel John T. Wilder, 17th Infantry, Indiana Volunteers. 4. Colonel Thomas I. Lucas, 16th In- fantry, Indiana Volunteers. 5. Colonel Charles D. Murray, 89th In- fantry, Indiana Volunteers. 6. Colonel Benjamin Spooner, 83d In- fantry, Indiana Volunteers. 7. Colonel Richard P. DeHart, 128th In- fantry, Indiana Volunteers. Major Henry L. Burnett, Judge Advocate Department of the Ohio and Northern De- partment, Judge Advocate. The Commission will sit without regard to hours. By order of Brevet Major General Alvin P. liovey. AND C. KEMPER, Assistant Adjutant General. Also Special Orders appointing as mem- bers of the Commission : Colonel Ambrose A. Stevens, Veteran Re- serve Coi'ps. Colonel Ansel D. Wass, 60th Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers. Colonel Thomas W. Bennett, 69th In- fantry, Indiana Volunteers. Colonel Reuben Williams, 12th Infantry, Indiana Volunteers. Colonel Albert lleash, 100th Infantry, In- diana Volunteers. Also a Special Order, authorizing the Judge Advocate to employ an additional phonographic reporter. CocET Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1 October 21,* 18ti4, 11 o'clock, A. M. j The Commission met in compliance with the foregoing Special Orders, and pursuant to adjournment. All the members present ;f also the Judge Advocate. The Commission then proceeded to the trial of William A. Bowles, Andrew Hum- phreys, Horace Heffren, Lambdin P. Milli- gan and Stephen Horsey, who were present before the Commission, and who, having heard read tlie orders appointing the Com- mission, were severally asked by tlie Judge Advocate if they had any objection to any member named in the orders, to w'hich William A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Heffner and Stephen Horsey sever- ally replied : " I have none." Lambdin P. Milhgan replied, '' I have no objection to any member but Colonel Wass." Colonel Wass having withdrawn from the court-room, the accused, Lambdin P. Milli- gan, stated his objection as follows: "I object to Colonel Wass, because he is from a locality where there are extreme prejudices against Western men, and he is likely to be influenced by those prejudices." The Court was then cleared for delibera- tion.J On being reopened, the Judge Advo- * An informal meeting was held on the 19fh, purpuant to adjournment, but the case not being ready for trial, the Commission adjourned over to the 2l8t. fifa member of the Commission was absent from sickness, or other unavoidable cause, the case was pro- ceeded with only on the consent of the accused being given in open Court, and such member was only allowed to again take his seat on the Commission with the con- sent of each and all the accused being given in open Court, and after reading the testimony taken during the absence of such member. J During the trial of these treason cases, the Commis- sion, instead of " clearing the Court," as is the custom io 73 74 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. cate announced to the accused, Lanibdin P. Milligan, that his objection was over- ruled. Colonel Ansel D. Wass then took his seat as a member of the Commission. Tlie members of tlie Commission and the Judge Advocate were then duly sworn in the presence of the accused. Benn Pitman and W. S. Bush were duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, as recorders to the Commission, also in tlie presence of the accused. The accused, William A. Bowles, requested permission to introduce M. M. Pay and J. W. Gordon, Esqrs., as his counsel. The accused, Andrew Humphreys, re- quested permission to introduce jM. M. Ray, E. A. Davis, Cyrus L. Dunham and J. AV. Gordon, Esqrs., as his counsel. The accused, Horace Ileti'ren, requested permission to introduce Cyrus L. Dunham, E. A. Davis, M. M. Ray and J. "\V. Gordon, Esqrs., as his counsel. The accused, Lambdin P. Milligan, re- quested permission to introduce John R. Coffroth, Esq., as his counsel. The accused, Stephen Horsey, requested permission to introduce John Baker and C. L. Dunham. Esqrs., as his counsel. The requests of the accused were granted, and their counsel appeared in Court. The Judge Advocate stated that he had consented, by agreement with the counsel for the accused, that the question of the ju- risdiction of the Commission should be considered at the close of the case, with its full force and eft'ect ujjon the Commission, as though it were taken up and considered now. It was also agreed between the Judge Advocate and the counsel for the accused, that any substantial objection to the charges and specifications, as now presented, should be considered at the final summing up of the case. The accused, William A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Heffren, Lambdin P. Milligan and Stephen Horsey were then ar- raigned on the following charges and speci- fications: CHARGES AND SPECIFICATIONS PREFERRED AGAINST WILLIAM A. BOWLES, ANDREW HUMPHREYS, HORACE HEF- FREN, LAMBDIN P. MIL- LIGAN, AND STEPHEN HORSEY, CUuseni, of the State of Iiuliaua, United Slates of America. CHARGE FIRST.— Cm^jraey against the Government of the United States. Specification First. — In this, that the eaid Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, military courts, rptiied to nil adjoining room for deIil>o- ration, to avoid the inconvciiiciici' of dismissing the audi- ence assembled to listou to the proceedings. Horace Heffren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Iloivsey, did, among tliemselves, and with Harrison H. Dodd, of Indiana, Joshua F. Bullitt, of Kentucky, J. A. Bar- rett, of Missouri, and otliers, conspire against the Government and duly consti- tuted authorities of the United States, and did join themselves to, and secretly organize and disseminate, a secret, unlawful society or order, known as the Order of American Kniglits, or Order of the Sons of Liberty, having both a civil and military organiza- tion and jurisdiction, for the purpose of overthrowing the Government and duly constituted authorities of the United States. This, at a period of war and armed rebel- lion against the authority of the United States, at or near Indianapolis, Indiana, a State within the military lines of the Army of the L'nited States, and the theater of military operations, and which had been, and was constantly threatened to be, in- vaded by the enemy. This, on or about the 16th day of May, 1864. Specification Second. — In this, that the said Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Heffren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, during an existing rebel- lion against the Government and authori- ties of the LTnited States — said rebellion claiming to be in the name of, and on be- half of certain States, being a part of and owing allegiance to the United States — did combine and agree with one Harrison H. Dodd, of Indiana, Joshua F. Bullitt, of Ken- tucky, J. A. Barrett, of Missouri, and others, to adopt and imi^art to others the creed or ritual of a secret, unlawful society or order, known as the Order of American Knights, or Order of the Sons of Liberty, denying the authority of the United States to coerce to submission certain rebellious citizens of said United States, designing thereby to lessen the power and prevent the increase of the armies of the United States, and thereby did recognize and sustain the right of the citizens and States, then in re- bellion, to disregard and resist the authority of the United States. This, at a period of war and armed rebellion against the authority of the United States, at or near the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, a State within the military lines of the Army of the United States, and the theater of military operations, which had been, and Avas threatened to be, invaded by the en- emy. Tills, on or about tlie 22d day of Feb- ruary, 1864. Specification Tiiiuu. — In this, that the said Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Ihimi)hreys, Horace Heffren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, citizens of the State of Indiana, owing true faith and allegiance to the Government of the United States, and while pretending to be peaceable, loyal citi- zens of the Government, did secretly and covertly combine, agree, and conspire, TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 75 among themselves, and with one Harrison H. Dodd, of Indianji, Joshua F. Bullitt, of Kentucky, J. A. Barrett, of Missouri, and others, to overthrow and render powerless the Government of the United States, and did, in pursuance of suid comhination., agreement and conspiracy, form and organ- ize a certain unlawful, secret society or order, and did extend, and assist in extend- ing, said unlawful secret society or order, known as the (Jrder of American Knights, or Order of Sons of Liberty, whose intent and i^urpose was to cripple and render powerless the efforts of the Government of the United States, in suppressing a then existing formidable rebellion against said Government, This, on or about the 1st day of October, 1863, at a period of war and armed rebellion, at or near the city of In- dianapolis, Indiana, a State within the mili- tary lines of the Army of the United States, and the theater of militar}' op- erations, which had been, and was con- stantly threatened to be, invaded by the enemy. Specification Fourth. — In this, that the said Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Heflren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Steplien Horsey, did conspire and agree with Harrison H. Dodd, David T. Yeagle, John C. Walker, and Joshua F. Bullitt, and others, these men at that time holding military positions and rank in a certain secret, unlawful society or organization, known as the Chder of American Knights, or Order of the Sons of Liberty, to seize by force the United States and State Arsenals at Indianapolis, Indiana, Columbus, Ohio, and Springfield, Illinois, to release by force the rebel prisoners held by the authorities of the United States, at Camp Douglas, Illi- nois, Camp Morton, Indiana, and Camp Chase, C'hio, and the Depot of Prisoners of War on Johnson's Island ; and arm those prisoners with the arms thus seized, and that then said conspirators, with all the forces they were able to raise in the secret order above-named, were, in conjunction with the rebel prisoners thus released and armed, to inarch into Kentucky and Missouri, and co-operate with the rebel forces to be sent to those States by the rebel authorities, against the Government and authorities of the United States. This, on or about the 20th day of July, 1864, at a period of war and rebellion against the authoritj' of the United States, at or near the city of Chi- cago, Illinois, a State within the lines of the Army of the United States, and the theater of military operations, and threatened by invasion of the enemy. Charge Second. — Affording aid and comfort to Rebels agahist the authority of the United States. Specification First. — In this, that the said Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Hefiren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, being then members of a certain secret, unlawful society, or order, known as the Order of American Knights, or Order of the Sons of Liberty — the United States being then in arms to suppress a rebellion in certain States against the au- thority of the United States— said Wni. A. Bowles, Andrew llimiphreys, Horace Ilef- fren, Lambdin P. Milligan, Stephen Hoisey, and others, then and there acting as nu m- bers and officers of said secret, unlawlul society or order, did design and plot to communicate with the enemies of the United States, and did coninumicate with the enemies of the United States, with the intent that they should, in large force, in- vade the territory of the United States, to-wit: the States of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois; with the further intent, that the so-called secret, unlawful society, or order, aforesaid, should then and there co-operate with the said armed forces of the said re- bellion against the authority of the United States, and did communicate to said aimed forces the intent and purposes of said secret, unlawful society or order. This, at a period of war and armed rebellion against the authority of the United States, at or near the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, a State within the military lines of the Army of the United States, and the theater of military operations, which had been, and was constantly threatened to be, invaded by the enemies of the United States. This, on or about the 16th day of May, 1864. Specification Secom). — In this, that the said AVm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Hefiren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, while the Government was attempting by force of arms to suppiess an existing rebellion, while guerrillas, and other armed supporters of the rebellion, were in the State of Kentucky, did send a messenger, and brother member with them of a secret, unlawful society or order, known as the Order of American Knights, or Order of the Sons of Liberty, into said State of Kentucky, with instructions for Joshua F. Bullitt, Grand Commander of said secret, unlawful society or order, in said State, and other members of said secret society or order in said State, to select good couriers or runners, to go upon short no- tice, and for the purpose of assisting those in r -^hellion against the United States, to call to arms the members of said secret so- ciety or order, and other symiiathizers with the existing rebellion, whenever a signal should be given by the authorities of said secret society or order. This, on or about the 20th day of July, 1864, at a period of war and armed rebellion against the author- ity of the United States, at or near Indian- apolis, Indiana, a State within the military lines of the Army of the United States, and the theater of military operations, and 76 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. which had been, and was constantly threat- ened to be, invaded by the enemy. Spkcificatiox Third. — In this, that the said Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Hett'ren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, being citizens of the State of Indiana, United States of America, and owing true allegiance to the said United States, did join themselves to a certain un- lawful, secret society or order, known as the Order of American Knights, or Order of Sons of Liberty, designed for the overthrow of the Government of the United States. and to compel terms with the citizens or autliorities of the so-called Confederate States, the same being portions of the United States, and in rebellion against the author- ity of tlie United States, and did communi- cate the designs and intent of said order to those in rebellion against the Government of tlie United States. This, on or about the 20th day of July, 18(54, at a period of war and armed rebellion against the au- thority of the United States, at or near In- dianapolis, Indiana, a State within the mil- itary lines of the Army of the United States, and the tlieater of military operations, and which had been, and was constantly threat- ened to be, invaded by the enemy. CHARGE THIRD.— Inciting Insurrection. Specification First. — In this, that the said Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace TleftVen, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, did, during a time of war be- tween the United States and armed enemies of the United States, and of rebellion against its Government, organize and attempt to arm, and did arm, a portion of the citizens of the United States tlu'oi'gh an unlawful, se- cret society or order, known as the Order of Amoi-ican Kniglits, or Order of the Sons of Liberty, with the intent to induce them, witli themselves, to throw oft" the authority of the United States, and co-operate with said armed enemies of the United States, against the legally constituted authorities of the United States. This, on or aV)out the 20th day of July, 1S()4, at or near Indi- anapolis, Indiana, a State within tl>e mili- tary lines of the army of the United States, and the theater of military operations, and which had been, and was constantly threat- ened to be, invaded by the enemy. .Specification Second. — In this, that tlie said William A. Bowles, Andrew Ilum- plireys, Horace HefiVen, Lambdin P. Jlilli- gan, and Stephen Horsey, did, by public addresses, by secret circulars and commu- nications, and by other means, endeavor to, and did arouse sentiments of hostility to tlie Government of the United States, President thereof This, on or about the I6th day of February, 1864, at a period of war and armed rebellion against the au thority of the United States, at or near In- dianapolis, Indiana, a State within the military lines of the army of the United States, and the theater of military opera- tions, and whicli had b.een, and was con- stantly threatened to be, invaded by the enemy. CHARGE FOURTH— Disloi/al Practices. Specification First. — In this, that the said Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Ilumplireys, Horace Heftren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, at a time of war, and dur- ing an armed rebellion against the legally constituted authorities and Government of the United States, did counsel and advise citizens of, and owing allegiance and mili- tary service to the United States, to dis- regard the authority of the United States, ; and to resist a call or draft, designed to in- i crease the army of the United States, and did make })reparation, and attempt to arm, and did arm, certain citizens of the United States, belonging to a certain unlawful, se- cret society or order, known as the Order of American Knights, or Order of the Sons , of Liberty, for the purpose and with the l intent of resisting saitl call or draft. This, ) on or about tlie 1st day of July, 1864, at or \ near Shoal's Station, Martin county, Indi- ^ ana, a State within the military lines of the army of the United States, aiul the theater of military operations, and which had been, and was constantly threalentjd to be, in- vaded by the enemy. Specification Second. — In this, that the said Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Hetiren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, at a time of war, and dur- ing an armed rebellion against the legally constituted authorities and Government of tlie United States, did counsel and advise citizens oi", and owing allegiance and mili- tary service to tlie United States, to disre- gard the authority of the United States, and to resist a call or draft, desigiK'd to in- crcnise tlie army of tlie United States, and did make j)rei)aration, and attempt to arm, and did arm, certain citizens of the United States, belonging to a certain unlawful, se- cret society or order, known as the Order of American Knights, or Order of tlie Sons of Liberty, for the purpose and with the \ intent of resisting said call or draft. This, \ on or about the 1st day of November, 18(i3, at or near Gnn-n Fork townshij), IJandoljih county, Indiana, a Stale witliin the mili- tary lines of tlie army of the United States, and the theater of military operations, and and did atteni])t to induce the people to re- which had been, and was constantly threat- vfolt against said Government, and secretly cned to be, invaded by the enemy, organize and arm tliemselves for the pur- Specification Timud. — In this, tliat the pose of resisting the laws of the L^nited said Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, States, and the orders of the duly elected I Horace Ilefiren, Lambdin F. Milligan and TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 77 Stephen Horsey, ut a tiiiH' of wdv, and dur- ing an armed rebellion ajrainst the legally constituted autliorities and (loveriuuent of the United States, did counsel and advise citizens of, and owing allegiance and mili- tary service to, the United States, to dis- regard the authority of the United States, and to resist a call or draft, designed to in- crease the army of the United States, and did make prej^aration, and did attempt to arm, and did arm, certain citizens of the I [United States, belonging to a certain un- lawful secret society or order, known as the Order of Anierican Knights, or Order of Sons of Liberty, for the purpose and with the intent of resisting said call or draft. This, on or about the 16th day of May, 18G4, at or near Indianapolis, Indiana, a State within the military lines of the army of the United States, and the theater of mili- tary operations, and which had been, and was constantly threatened to be, invaded by the enemy. Specificition Fourth. — In this, that the said "\Vm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Ileffien, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, at a time of war, and dur- ing an armed rebellion against the legally constituted authorities and Government of the United States, did counsel and advise citizens of, and owing allegiance and mili- tary service to, the United States, to dis- regard the authority of the United States, and to resist a call or draft, designed to in- crease the army of the United States, and did make i^reparation and attemj^t to arm, and did arm, certain citizens of the United States, belonging to a certain unlawful se- cret society or order, known as the Order of American Knights, or Order of the Sons of Liberty, for the purpose and with the \ intent of resisting said call or draft. This, \ on or about the first day of August, 1864, I at or near Salem, Washington county, In- diana, a State within the militi\ry lines of the army of the United States, and the theater of military operations, and which had been, and was constantly threatened to be, in- vaded by the enemy. Specification Fifth. — In this, that the said Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Iletfren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, did accept and hold offices of the military forces for the State of Indi- ana, in a certain unlawful secret society, or order, known as the Order of American Knights, or Order of the Sons of Liberty, ■which said offices and military forces were unknown to the Constitution and laws of the United States, or of the State of In- diana, and were not in aid of, but opposed to, the legally constituted authorities there- of. This, on or about the 16th day of Feb- ruary, 1864, at a time of war and armed re- bellion against the authority of the L^^ni- ted States, at or near Indianapolis, Indiana, a State within the military lines of the army of the United States, and the theater of military operations, and which had been, and was constantly threatened to be, in- vaded by the enemy. CHARGE FIFTH.— Viokimi of the Laws of War. Specification First. — In this, that the said Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Heft'ren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Hor.sey, did, while the Govern- ment of the United States was carrying on war with the enemies of the L^nited States, engaged in rebellion against their author- ity, while pretending to be peaceable, loyal citizens of the United States, violate their allegiance, and did, as citizens of said Gov- ernment, attempt to introduce said ene- mies of the United States into the loyal States of said United States, thereby to overthrow and destroy the authority of the United States. This, on or about the 16th day of May, 1864, at or near the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, a State within the military lines of the army of the United States, and the theater of military opera- tions, which had been, and was constantly tlireatened to be, invaded by the enemy. Specification Second. — In this, that the said Wm. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Heffren, Lambdin P. Milligan, and Stephen Horsey, did, during a war between the United States and the said enemies of the Linited States, engaged in rebellion against their authority, and while pretend- ing to be peaceable, loyal citizens of the United States, organize and extend a cer- tain unlawful, secret society or order, known as the Order of American Knights, or Order of the Sons of Liberty, having for its purpose the same general object and design as the said enemies of the United States, and with the intent to aid and in- sure the success of said enemies in their resistance to the legally constituted au- thorities of the United States. This, at or near the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, on or about the 16th day of May. 1864. HENRY L.'BUENETT, Judge Advocate Department of the Ohio and Northern Department. To which charges and specifications the accused, all and severally, to each and all the charges and specifications, pleaded not GUILTY. The Judge Advocate then asked the ac- cused if they Avere ready for trial. J. W. Gorclon, counsel for the accused, William A. Bowles, Horace Heflren, and Andrew Humphreys, moved for a separate trial in their behalf, and submitted the fol- lowing reasons : Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Commission: Recognizing the law which governs this Commission — as the common law, the old English common law, which has been adopt- 78 TREASON TRIALS AT mCIANAPOLIS. ed by every State in the Union — as the law which shall influence this Commission in determining how these defendants shall be tried, I ask you to lavor them each with a sep- arate trial. All the States, I believe, have enacted statntes on this subject. Our own State has enacted a statute jiroviding for separate trials of defendants jointly charged with criminal offenses. The civil courts of the United States generally accord to the defendant, or person charged with an offense, the same rule of practice which the}'^ enjoy as a right in their State courts. But we do not ask a separate trial on that gi'ound. We put the plea on the discre- tion of this Court, as governed by the com- mon law, believing that these defendants have interests that can not be subserved by trying them together, and as a matter of justice I ask the Court for their sever- ance on trial. In behalf of Horace Hef- fren, Andrew Humphreys and William A. Bowles, for whom I appear, I move the Court for a separate trial for them. I may also state to the Court a fact which will be apparent on the trial of these causes. Each will have separate witnesses, and will pursue a difterent line of defense. Eacli has his own character to defend. The trial going on as one trial during the prose- cution, will assume in the defense the at^ titude of sejiarate trials, and the defendants and their counsel will laVjor under great in- conveniences and difficulties in their behalf Another point I make is, that as these men are all charged as citizens of Indiana, they are entitled as such to sei:«arate trials, as there are no rules laid down for the reg- ulation of these trials, and one might put in a plea on that ground. We trust the motion for a separate trial for the defendants to the discretion of the Commission, as a matter of justice to the accused. Cyrus L. Dunham, counsel for Stephen Horsey, one of the accused, moved for a separate trial for the accused, for the follow- ing reasons : it is, in my opinion, entirely without pre- cedent in Militarj' Courts, to put two pris- oners on trial at the same time. Defend- ants, jointly charged, are entitled to all the benefits they can derive from separate trials. In a joint trial, the evidence introduced against one defendant might militate against another, and bear more strongly against him than if he was tried separately. The prosecution, he presumed, would, in its evidence, follow the line piu'sued in the Dodd trial, proving one act of one party by one witness, and separate acts of otber parties by other witnesses. The defense would branch out into separate lines, ac- cording to the side issues presented. The evidence might not bear as strongly against one defendant as against the other, and this might confuse the Commission when it comes to a final decision. Lambdin P. Milligan, one of the accused, moved in his own behalf, for a separate trial, for the following reasons : "It is exceedingly inconvenient for me to be present at the trial, on account of sick- ness. I wish as short a trial as po.ssible, and the evidence introduc(^ against others may protract the trial to great length. It is impossible, I am advised by my physi- cians, to be in any position but a recumbent one, without permanent injury to my limb.' If granted a separate trial, I will waive all technical objections in the progress of the case. For these reasons, I ask the Commis- sion to grant me a separate trial." The Judge Advocate replied: Gentlemen of the Commission: An application has been presented to the Cominission, from each of the accused, for a separate trial. I do not propose person- ally to object to those applications. I only desire to put before the minds of tlie Court the reasons and facts that present them- selves to my inind against the grant of the api)lication. The offenses charged against these de- fendants are joint. They are in the nature of a conspiracy. ConsjSiracy is the gist of the charges, and the other offenses charged grew out of this. Once having established the conspiracy, the acts of any one of the conspirators are liable to be brought in proof as evidence against any other mem- ber of the conspiracy. About that princi- l^le of law there can be no question. Not only can the acts of any member of a coin- mon conspii'acy be brought as proof against other co-conspirators, but also their admis- sions, their letters, their writings, and the records they leave behind them. In that case, the proof on tlie part of the Govern- ment will be no more complicated in the matter of proof against the accused in a joint trial than if separate trials were granted. 'J'he proof against one is proof against all the accused. That being the case, we may prove against Milligan the acts of Dodd, ! and the testimony introduced by Milligan ! that he did not do these acts himself, con- j stitutes no defense for him. When he ! takes upon himself the responsibility of I joining an unlawful body, he takes upon 1 himself the responsibility for every unlaw- i ful act of that body. The law also holds j that when men combine together for such : purposes, having greater power for evil t through such an organization, tliey shall be held to a greater accountability. There is also a greater latitiide given in proof I against conspirators than against any other ; class of criminals known to the law. That [ being the case, the argument for a separate i defense has but little weight. Even if it I is important that each man should jiut his I character in issue and prove his good char- ' acter, he can do that as well wlien on trial TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 79 jointly as singly. You, gentlemen of the Commission, make up your verdict against each one of these dofondants sejoarately. If you find that any one of these men has been misled, you may take into considera- tion the absence of evil intent in joining this organization, as well in a joint trial as in separate trials. There is no argument the accused can advance against joint trials which will sliow that they are deprived of any rights and privileges which would ac- crue from separate trials. They can not, and do not claim that under the common law they may sever these prisoners and in- troduce them as witnesses, one in favor of the other. They know that they can not do that. No benefit in that respect would accrue to them from a separate trial. The question submitted to the Court is a matter of jiolicy simply, and in respect to that, there are two important considera- tions. There are the rights and privileges of the accused to be considered, and also the rights and privileges of the Govern- ment. One .should be weighed and bal- anced against the other. I would say to the Commission, give to the defendants the greatest possible latitude consistent with the interests of the Government, where no rights will be waived. I will grant them every thing that involves mere form and courtesy. 1 will go further to issue processes to bring in witnesses for the accused than I would for the Govern- ment. But while granting all possible lati- tude to the accused, I can not forget that there comes up a strong plea from unnum- bered thousands who have an interest in the results of this Commission. There are sitting around me officers, none under the rank of Colonel ; one who presides over the Commission, with the rank of Brevet Brigadier General. Each of you is entitled to command a regiment of one thousand men ; and some, if not all of you, were in. coinmand of brigades in the field, numbering from one to three thou- sand men. You are the representatives of fifteen thousand men at least, who, un- der your leadership, would do gallant ser- vice for your countrj'. You, gentlemen of the Commission, are needed in the field, and whether you shall consume unneces- sary time by protracting these trials, is a matter of importance to the Government, and to the untold millions who look forward with interest and hope to the fature for the success of its armies. There is also another consideration of some importance to the Government. You sit on this Commission at a great cost to the Government, for the i^ay of members, of witnesses, and other expenses. That is a point to be considered in determining the motion for separate trials. If no rights of the accused are to be prejudiced by a joint trial, the question in economy becomes an important argument in favor of proceeding with the trial of the prisoners as arraigned. I would also add, that if any single right of any one of the accused would be incju- diced by a joint trial, I would not urge it. 1 have looked at this matter in all its lights, and can not see that, individually, they will be prejudicial in a single right which they would luive if separate trials were accorded them. As Judge Advocate of this Department, I have vast rights, duties and responsiljili'ties. My detention here M'ill result in holding hundreds of persons now in prison, charged with military offenses, who are waiting their trials. I have to organize Courts for their trials, to prefer the charges against them, and exercise a general supei'vision over the pro- ceedings of these courts. There are other men besides the prisoners now in Court, who are asking of the Government a speedy hearing. They liave rights at stake as well as the accused here. While, therefore, 1 ask of you no one thing which can do the accused any wrong, or which will limit them in bringing every fact, which will accrue to their benefit, before this Commission, while I would grant them every possible courtesy, I must ask the Commission to use its discre- tion so wisely, that it shall not wrong others, or the Government. One of the counsel for the accused states that ho has examined military books, and has not found a single case where prisoners have been jointly arraigned before a military court. I will state that in my military ex- perience, and as Judge Advocate, I have not seen a single case that did not make pre- cedents. This war has been constantly ma- king precedents. The army of the United States has exceeded in inagnitude, during this war, any thing conceived bj' the found- ers of this Government. The armj' has 2:»ro- gressed in all respects further in two years than it would have done in two centuries at its former rate of existence. This fact has given rise to new conditions. We do not act entirely in accordance with the common law, as recognized two centiu'ies ago, but settle its principles, as applied to military offenses, and make precedents, in every case which we try in military courts. We make precedents in the government of the arm.y, and in the military courts. All that the accused have a right to ask here is, that this Commission violate no law, and do them exact justice. I, therefore, submit to you for decision the application for a severance of the defendants. The court -room was then cleared for the purpose of deliberation on the application of the accused. On the re-opening of the court-room, the Judge Advocate announced that the Com- mission proposed to hold the application of the accused under advisement until 2J o'clock, P. M. 80 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. The Commission then adjourned, to meet at half past 2 o'clock P. M. AFTERNOON SESSION. Court Boom, iNDtANApoLis, Indiana, "I October 21, 1804.. 2>^ o'clock, P. M. J The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused and their counsel. The court-room was then cleared for de- liberation on the question of granting the accused a separate trial. On the re-opening of the Court, the Judge Advocate announced to the accused that the Commission, after a full and careful de- liberation of the question, had concluded that in view of the fact, that no right or rights of any of the accused, in any particular, would be prejudiced by a joint trial, it was their duty to proceed with the trial of the prisoners as they were arraigned. William M. Harrison, a witness for the Government, was then introduced, and being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: Question by the Judge Advocate : Please give to the Court your name and residence? Answer. William M. Harrison; I reside in this city. Q. State your business for the last year or two? A. I have been in no particular business for the last year. I was traveling and col- lecting for George W. Howes a portion of the time during last year. Q. Have you had any other employ for which you received pay and compensation? A. I was employed as Grand Secretary of the Grand Council of the Sons of Liberty in the State of Indiana, at a salary of $800 per annum. I became a member of the Grand Council, on or about the 27th of August, 1863, and became Grand Secretary of the Grand Council on or about the 10th of Sep- tember, 18()3. Q. When and where did you first have any knowledge of the Order of American Knights, or Order of the Sons of Liberty, or Knights of the Golden Circle? A. The first knowledge 1 ever had of the Order of American Kniglits was at Terre Haute, on or about the 27th of August, 1863. I received a letter from H. H. Itodd at Terre Haute, requesting me to go tliere; when there I was invited to attend a meet- ing that night. I did so; there were but twelve or lilteen present. Q. Whom did you meet there? A. Among those I recollect were P. C. Wright, and a person by the name of D. R Eckles, John E. Risley, Callum Bayley and John G. Davis. Most of them were strang- ers to me. Q. What was done at that meeting? A. Mr. Wright appeared to liave charge of the meeting. He stated that it was called for the purpose of organizing a secret society. He proceeded to initiate inembers, and, after that, to organize the Grand Coun- cil of the State of Indiana. Those who were initiated, were initiated in the three degrees at the same time. Q. Were you initiated in the three de- grees at that time? A. I was. Q. Who were elected officers? A. I). R. Eckles was elected Temporary Grand Commander; H. H. Dodd, Temporary Deputy Grand Commander; John E. Risley, Temporary Grand Secretary, and I was elected Temporary Assistant Secretary. Q. Where was the next meeting held? A. In this city, about the 10th of Sei>tem- ber following, at the Military Hall, over Talbot & Co.'s jewelry store. It was an adjourned meeting of the Grand Council that had met at Terre Haute. It convened about 9 or 10 in the morning of, I think, the 10th of September. They adjourned at noon, and met again at 2 o'clock. Q. What business did they transact? A. In the morning, those persons who were delegates from various counties, who had not been initiated into the Order, were initiated by Mr. Wright. Q. Who was President? A. Mr. Dodd, both in the forenoon and afternoon. Mr. Wright initiated members present who had never received degrees ; after he got through initiating those, lie ini- tiated the members present in the Grand Council Degree, and declared the Council open for business. I was initiated in that degree. Q. In what did it differ from others? A. Simply in the sign of recognition and colloquy. Q. Who were initiated that day? A. David T. Yeakle and Dr. Bowles. The great majority of the memberswere initiated on that day. Q. Were any other citizens, now present in this court room, initiated that day, that you remember ? A. No, sir. Q. Was any other business done besides the initiation of members? A. After the members had been initiated in the Grand Council Degree, Mr. Wright declared the Council ready for businet-s. and proceeded to the election of officers, w Inch resulted in tlie election of H. H. Dodd as Grand C/Ommander, and David T. Yiakle, Deputy Grand Commander. I was elected Grand Secretary. We immediately pro- ceeded to other business. A committee, under the name of a military committee, was appointed to draft a military bill. Mr. Dodd was a member, and Yeakle and Bowles. I tliink there were one or two others, but I do not remember tlitir names. Q. Was any military bill drafted by them? TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 81 A. It was the subject of discussion in tlie afternoon. Q. What became of it? A. It was in my possession, and I des- troyed it. Q. When? A. I destroyed all the papers belonging to the organization after the exposition in the Indianapolis JournaL Q. Give the Court the features of that bill, as near as you can recollect. A. It provided for the division of the State into four districts; the National Road divided the north and south parts of the State. The names of the districts were the North-eastern, North-western, South-eastern and South-western. The counties in these districts were divided as nearly equal as could be. It also went into detail to pro- vide for the organization of the whole mili- tary force, the number and size of the regi- ments to be raised, duties of officers, etc. Q, What was to be the size of the regi- ments ? A. They were to consist of nine compa- nies of infantry, one company of rifles, and one section of artillery. The bill provided ibr the election of major generals; and they spoke of providing that major gener- als should a{)point brigadiers, the brigadiers appoint colonels, colonels appoint the cap- tains, and captains the subordinate offi- cers. Q. Were any major generals appointed ? A. Yes, sir; David T. Yeakle and Andrew Humphreys were appointed under that bill; Mr. Milligan, and Mr. Conklin, living of this city. These four were all. . Q. Was Milligan appointed one of the major generals? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you know him ? A. I see him there. The witness here pointed to the accused, Lambdin P. Milligan. Q. Is that the Milligan you have refer- ence to? A. Yes, sir, Q. Do you see any others present in the court room who were appointed major gen- erals ? A. Dr. Bowles I see present, and Mr. Humphreys. The witness here pointed to the accused, Wm. A. Bowles and Andrew Humphreys. Q. Is that the Dr. Bowles who was pres- ent at that meeting? A. It is. (^. Is that the Andrew Humphreys who \v;is appointed major general ? A. Yes, sir. CJ. Were any other ap23ointme«its made then? A. No, sir. Q. Were any of those appointments made outside of the membership of the order? A. Mv understanding of the matter was, 6 that appointments were made among mem- bers of the order only. Q. Were any speeches made at that meeting? A. Dr. Bowles spoke at considerable length, but I do not remember the matter of his remarks, except that they were on the features of the military bill. Dr. Yea- kle spoke on the same subject. Q. State whether or not, at that meeting. he urged the arming of the members of the order. A. As far as I recollect, I can not say. Q. To what time did it adjourn ? A. To meet during the month of Novem- ber following. Q. State if it met, and if so, who pre- sided. A. It did, at the former place of meeting. Harrison H. Dodd presided, and I acted as secretary. Q. Who were present? A. Mr. Milligan and J. J. Bingham, and delegates were present from some thirty counties. Q. Were any others present at that meet- ing that you now see in this court room ? A. I do not think there were. Neither Stephen Horsey, Andrew Humphreys, nor Horace Hefiren was present. Dr. Bowles was present. Q. Was L. P. Milligan present ? A. Yes, sir. Q. State what was done at that meeting. A. There was not much business trans- acted. A committee was appointed to get up a prospectus of a newspaper, to advocate the distinctive principle of the order. That was discussed at considerable length. There was some discussion in regard to the exten- sion of the Democratic party. The exten- sion of the order in the various counties was particularly talked of Discussion on ed- ucation also took place at that meeting. No speeches were made at that meeting, as far as I cati recollect; they did not go be- yond an organization for political purposes. Q. What was said at that meeting about the object of the military organization? A. Nothing was said about it, except that it was necessary to organize in a military capacity, to protect the rights of the mem- bers against the encroachments of the Ad- ministration. Q. Where was the next meeting ? A. It was held in this city, on the 16th or 17th of February, 1864. Q. Were there present any of the per- sons now in tliQ court room, as far as you remember ? A. Mr. Heftren, Mr. Milligan and Mi'. Bowles were present. Mr. Humphreys and Mr. Horsey were not present. I can not say positively whether Mr. Milligan was present or not ; he was absent from one ineeting, and I think it was that one. Heft- ren and Bowles made speeches. 82 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Q. What was the general object of this meeting of the 16th or 17th ? A. It was the regular annual meeting of the organization. It had been said that the anniversary of the order was the 22d of February. It was called in advance of the meeting of the Supreme Council to be held in New York on the '22d. to enable dele- gates to attend that meeting. At that meeting an election of officers took place. Q. Who were elected ? A. H. H. Dodd, Grand Commander, Hor- ace HeffVen, Dejiuty Grand Commander, and myself Grand Secretary. Q. Was there any voting in regard to ma- jor generals ? A. The election of major generals took place at the same meeting. Humphreys was elected in his district, Milligan in his district, and Bowles was elected in the Bouth-west district. Walker was elected in the north-western district. Q. Did Yeakle or others resign? A. No, sir. Q. How did they get out of office ? A. All officers were to be elected yearly. The first elections were made until the 22d day of February. As this was the annual meeting, a new election was held, that re- eulted as I have just stated. Q. Who were the delegates to the New York meeting? A. Several delegates were elected by the Grand Council at the New York meeting. I can not say positively who were elected in P'ebruary. Q. Can you state some of the delegates to the various meetings in September and November? A. At the meeting in September, John G. Davis and D. R. Eckles vrere elected dele- gates to the Council in Chicago, in Septem- ber, 1863, and I think Humphreys also. Q. To what Council ? A. The Supreme Council. Milligan was elected delegate to the Supreme Council. Dodd was elected to the Supreme Council by virtue of his office. How many attended ? A. I understood Dodd that Milligan was present at the meeting of the Supreme Council at Chicago or New York, and Hum- phreys was present either at the Chicago or New York meeting, I do not recollect which. Dr. Bowles was present at one or both places. The first meeting was held in Chicago, in the latter part of the month of September, 1863. Q. Was Dodd at that meeting? A. He left to attend it ; I understood he was there himself 1 understood also that Humphreys was present at that meeting, and Yeakle and Dr. Bowles. I got this in- formation from Dodd. Q. Have you no means of telling whether Milligan was present at that meeting? A. None but the information I derived from Dodd. I have no means of saying positively. Q. Was any written address read at the meeting of February 16th and 17th? A. Yes, sir; an address was read by Mr. Dodd, which was subsequently printed and circulated among the members of the order. Q. How? A. An order was passed that the address of the Grand Commander and such portiorf of the proceedings of the State Council a* was necessary should be printed. Q. What was that"? A. That the address of the Grand Com- mander, the report of the Grand Secretary, and the report of the Finance Committee, should be printed. After the meeting ad journed, it was printed in pamphlet form; and I sent two copies to each branch Tem- ple in the State. Q. Did you send to any of the lodges where Mr. Milligan lives? A. I sent them to Huntington county, directing them to Mr. Milligan. Q. Did you send any to Mr. Humphreys' county ? A. Yes, sir ; directing them to Mr. Hum- phreys ? Q. How many did you send? A. Two of the addresses to each one. Q Did you send any to Dr. Bowles? A. I think I did ; 1 generally sent two to each county. Q. Did you send any to Mr. Heflfren ? A. I can not say positively whether I sent any to Hefiren or not. Q. Is that one of the pamphlets you have spoken of? [A pamphlet entitled " Proceedings of the Grand Council of the State of Indiana," was here handed to the witness by the Judge Advocate.] A. It is. Q. What docs that pamphlet contain ? A. It contains an address delivered by Dodd, and proceedings of the State Council, and the reports of committees. Q. Was this pamphlet sent out to the counties in which the order existed? A. Yes, sir. [The pamphlet entitled "Proceedings of the Grand Council of the State of Indiana," was here put in evidence by the Judge Advocate. See Appendix.] The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Saturdav, October 22, 1864, at 10 o'clock, A. M CocRT Room, iNDiANAPOLia, Indi.\na, ) October 22, 1SG4, 10 A. 31. j The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused, and their counsel TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 83 The proceedings were read and ap proved. The accused, Andrew Humphreys, then made the following application to the Com- mission : "I respectfully request that E. H. C. Gavins, Esq., and William Mack, Esq., may be admitted to act as counsel for me upon the trial of this cause. [Signed.] Andrew Humphreys, "For himself." Which application was granted, and the counsel appeared for the accused. The testimony of Wm. M. Harrison, a witness for the Government, was then con- tinued as follows: Question by the Judge Advocate: State what the circular now handed you is? Answer. This circular is one I sent out to the various County Temples, with a copy of the Constitution and By-Laws for the County and Branch Temples. The circu lar was read to the Court by the Judge Ad- vocate. Said circular introduced in evi- dence.* Q. Did you, or did you not, inclose one of these circulars with all the addresses you sent to the different County Temples? A. With that circular I sent out a cojjy of the Constitution of the Grand Council, and one or two copies of the proceedings of the meeting held here on the 16th and 17th days of February. Q. For what purpose was this assessment referred to made ? A. For defraying the expenses of the Grand Council. Q. What was the nature of those ex- penses? A. Payment for printing, the salary of the Secretary, and the payment of the assess- =!'Office Gband Secretary, S. L., > ludianapolis, , 1864. J Mr. Dear Sir: Inclosed please find the Constitution for (he government of Coanly and Branch Temples, the Constitution for the government of the Grand Council, and a portion of the proceedings of the Grand Council at their meeting held on the IGth and 17th days of Febru- ary, 1864. You will find, on reference to the Report of the Finance Committee, that the Grand Council has assessed a ta.x of twenty cents on each member of the organization through- out the State, to be paid on or before the first Monday in May next. It is also required that each and every Comity Temple in the State send the Grand Secretary full reports of the number of their membership, names of their officers, and the number of branches organized on the first day of May and each three months thereafter. Prompt attention to the above is urgently requested. The assessment of 8-20. 00 on each county, in addition to the twenty cents for each member, is still in force, as far as tliose counties are concerned that have not paid that assessment. You will please present the papers to your County Temple immediately, and see that the above require- ments are promptly carried out. By the authority of the Supreme Council of the United Slates, there have been some material changes made in the Ritual, etc. You will please send an accred- ited member of your Temple here, as soon as possible, for instruction ; and with him you can send the amount due from your county, as the money is absolutely neces- sary, and must be forthcoming. ment of the Supreme Council, as well as for the payment of rent and other oxpen.«es. Q. Were any members of the difiV'rent County Temples sent in pursuance of tlie last clause of this circular? A. Members were sent with respect lo the change in the Ritual of the organiza- tion. The obligations and the lessons ami a portion of the passwords and colloquies had been changed. Q. Was there any change in the name of order ? A. Yes, sir; the name of the order had been changed to the Order of the Sons of Liberty. Q. When and by what authority was that change made? A. It was made at the meeting of the Su- preme Council. 1 was informed by Dodd that the change was made by the authority of the Supreme Council on the 22d day of February. Q. Do your records show any change in the name of the order ? A. No, sir. I never made any record of the change in the proceedings of the meet- ings. Q. From whom did you first receive infor- mation of the change? A. From Dodd. Q. What position did he occupy ? A, That of G rand Commander of the State of Indiana. Q. How soon after the 22d day of Febru- ary did you learn of this change ? A. Immediately after the arrival of Dodd here ; but I can not state positively. It was within two or three weeks after the 22d of February. Q. Was that change made known to the subordinate lodges throughout the State? If so, how? A. It was made known by means of the circular just read, and through the agents sent out to give information. Q. Did any me.'^sengers come up from Mr. Milligan's district? A. I believe there were some from his Congressional District. I have no recollec- tion of any messengers coming up from his county. There were a number of counties in that Congressional District that were or- ganized in this society. Q. Was any person sent up from Mr. Humphreys' (listrict or county ? A. No, sir; but persons came up from Sullivan county to obtain instructions, ;ind I believe persons also came up from Vigo county for instructions. Q. You may state what these changcvs were. A. A change was made in the name of the organization ; a change was also made in the colloquies of the order, in the obli- gations, and also in the les-sons. A pamphlet was here handed to the wit- ness. 84 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Q. Please to examine and state what that pamphlet is? A. That was the ritual of the Order of American Knights; the vestibule lesson and the first degree of the Order of Amer- ican Knights. Q. Does this contain the obligation that was required to be taken by every member of the Order of American Knights? A. I believe it does, sir. The obligation of the first degree also required in the ves- tibule. A pamphlet entitled V. was here offered in evidence by the Judge Advocate. The counsel for the accused objected to its introduction, and proposed to ask the wit- ness some questions respecting the authen- ticity of the pamphlet, to which the Judge Advocate objected; the counsel for the ac- cused replied : May it please the Court: As I discover now that many of these documents are to be introduced, it is important that we should settle the course to be pursued as to their introduction, and, therefore, I desire to submit the question now. It is not sufficient for the Judge Advo- cate, in my judgment, to ofler such a doc- ument as this to the witness, and the witness, after glancing over it, to say that it is the ritual, without being asked how or where he knew it to be such, and by what authority it was promulgated. Before tlie document is introduced as evidence, the witness should be passed over to the other side, and we should be at liberty to cross- examine him with respect to this isolated fact, of where this document comes from, how he knows it, and how he knows it was promulgated by competent authority. How does he know that it was received and act- ed upon. In all courts of justice, before a document can be oftered in evidence, all these distinct facts as to its identity are gone into and proved. And when a docu- ment has once gone into evidence, we can not object to it. If it goes in evidence on insufficient identity, how are we to rem- edy it? it may be said, that if, after the docu- ment has once gone in evidence, we show, on cross-examination, that it is not prop- erly authenticated, the Commission would reject it, or give no weight to it.' That might be true with this Commission, but we ought to have the rules of law and cross- examination applied here. We all know that if we were trying a case of this kind before a jury, that the evidence, after once getting before the jurors, would have its influence, thougli it were testimony that ought not to have b(^en introduced. i submit, that V)eforc the document can be submitted to tliis Commission, we ought to have the privilege of cross-examination, confined strictly to the document, its au- thenticity, and the propriety of its admis- sibility to the Commission as evidence. 1 do not know that this is a matter of very much importance, but it is one which we may as well settle at once, that we may know how we are to be governed here- after. The Judge Advocate replied : It has already been proved before this Commission, that the witness on the stand, Mr. Harrison, is Grand Secretary of a so- ciety or order, known at present as the Order of the Sons of Liberty. That that order was changed from the Order of Amer- ican Knights. Mr. HaiTison stated that he belonged to that order ; tliat he assisted at the inauguration of the order, and was one of its first members in this city, and that he has been its Grand Secretary from that time to this. I hand him this paper, and ask him what it is. After a careful exam- ination, he an.swers, that it is a. ritual of the Vestibule and First Degree, and obli- gation of the First Degree of the Order of American Knights. I then propose to in- troduce this paper before the Commission as evidence ; before that they know nothing of its contents. I dift'er from the counsel. His right, un- der the common law, is to object that the paper has not been sufficiently proved. The question then arises, has it been so brought before this Commission as to make it material, and been sufficiently connected with the matters in issue to make it im- portant that this Commission should call that paper before them for their examina- tion ? I do distinctly say that the coun- sel for the accused can not stop my ex- amination, nor have the power to cross-ex- amine the witness before I turn him over to them for that purpose. He can object that I have not sufficiently laid the foun- dation of any question, or for any paper which I propose to place before tl>e Com- mission and the)' pass upon that objection ; but he can not ask at my hands that 1 shall turn that witness over to him, until I am through with him, and I do not pro- pose to do it until the Commission or- ders it. The objection, as I take it, is to my mode of examination, and I insist on the intro- duction of the paper, because I consider the foundation has been sufficiently laid. If the objection is not insisted on, there is no question before tlie court. The counsel for the accused replied : I interpose the objection that the paper should not be received in evidence until we have the power at some time — I do not care whether it is now or after the Judge Advocate has closed his examination, as to the paper — to test by a cross-examination the authenticity of that document. The members of this Commission know, that at least in this State, when a note is intro- duced into court, before that note shall be TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 85 offered in evidence, the counsel on. the other side are permitted to examine the witness as to its identity and autlienticity, but not as to its contents. And not until that identity and authenticity have been test- ed and proved, is tlie document introduced. The court was then closed for delibera- tion upon the objection of the accused, a« to whether the pamphlet should be re- ceived in evidence, before the counsel for the accused have an opportunity to cross- examine the witness upon it. On the re-opening of the court, the Judge Advocate announced that the objection was overruled, and the pamphlet was re- ceived in evidence. [See Appendix.] Q. State what that is, commencing on page 5 ? A. That is the obligation of the Neophyte in the First Degree. The Neophyte lesson was the first in the Order of American Knights, and given in the Vestibule. Q Wherein do they differ, if at all ? A. A person elected to become a member of the Neophyte organization, received that lesson and no other; he never attended any of the meetings of the Order of Amer- ican Knights; he was simply taken into the Vestibule, received the obligation, and was discharged. Q. What was the status of a person taking the Neophyte degree ? A. All persons becoming members of the organization v/ere obliged to take the Neo- phyte degree, as the preliminary ; and those considered onl^'^ worthy to take the first degi'ee were taken, and the oath adminis- tered without their having any knowledge of any further degrees. Q,. State whether or not the change in this order released the members from the obligations they had taken in the Ameri- can Knights ? A. My understanding was, that when the change was made, the members were re- leased from the obligations of the Ameri- can Knights, and took those of the Sons of Liberty. Q. Were there any cases in which no changes were made in the order, or in the change of name ? A. We endeavored to make the changes as perfect as possible. Each of the counties was organized under the Order of Ameri- can Knights, and I can not say positively that there were anj^ counties in which the change was not^^made, though there may have been some that did not send up dele- gates. Q. Did the Supreme Commander of the Sons of Liberty exercise control over the American Knights? A. Yes, sir; it is my opinion that he did. Q. Upon what do you base that opinion ? A. The difference between the Order of American Knights and Sons of Liberty was this, that when the ritual and obligations were changed, it was not necessary for the American Knights to take the obligations of the Sons of Liberty, but simply to as- sume them. It was the same organization witli a difi'erent name, and different ritual and colloquies, as I understood it. Q. Do you know of any thing beingdoiie by the Supreme Commander of the Sons of Liberty, as to exercising control ov»r the American Knights? A. I do not know that the present Su- preme Commander was ever in the Ameri- can Knights? Q. Who is that? A. Vallandigham. The Grand Command- er of this State was Grand Commander of the Order of American Knights, and exer- cised the same powers over the Sons of Lib- erty. Q. After the change, did he exercise the same control as before ? A. It was considered the same organiza- tion. Q. I understood you to say that it was not necessary to take the obligation of the Sons of Liberty, but to assume it. What do you mean by that? A. The persons taking the obligation of the Order of American Knights were not required to re-obligate themselves, and take tlie obligation of the Sons of Liberty; it was understood that they assumed the obligation, and no requirement was made or carried into force. None of those who took the obligation of the Order of Ameri- can Knights took the obligation of the Sons of Liberty. Q. I umlerstood you that those who went into the Sons of Liberty were released from the obligation of the Order of American Knights — how do you explain it ? A. I understood that they were releasetl so far as the change was concerneut forty members. Q. Who presided at that meeting? A. The CJrand Commander, Mr. Dodd. Q. Who was Secretary ? A. I was. Q. Who, if any of tlie accused, were {)resent at that n^eeting? A. Mr. Bowles, Mr. Humphreys, Mr. Mil- ligan and Mr. Horsey were present at that meeting. A gentleman by the name of Stephen Horsey was present, but I do not K'now whether he (the accused) is the man or not; 1 do not recognize him ; at all events he was a delegate from Martin county. Q. Did any initiations take place at that time? A. Those members who were present who had not received the Council Degree, received it at that meeting, but 1 do not recollect wlio took it. Q. Do you remember whether a Mr. La- »alle was present at that meeting? A. Ye.s, sir. (.1 Where is Lasalle from? A. From Cass county. I do not know his name, but I think it is Charles. Q. Do you lemember any persons of this city who were initiated? A. Tiiere were no persons from this city initiated. Q. Commence at the convening of the Council and give to the Commission, a» nearly as you can, what took place in de- tail; how and by whom it was opened, how you gained admittance, and what was done? A. The Grand Council convened about 10 o'clock on the morning of the 14th of June, and was in session till 5 or 6 in the evening. 1 remember that I was very late at the meeting. It was delayed on account of my absence. It was convened by the Grand Commander, who delivered a short verbal address at the opening of the meeting. I have no recollection as to what was said in the address. The next business in order was conferring the Grand Council Degree upon those members that had not received them. Q. Was the Grand Council Degree supe- rior to the Third Degree? A. Y"es, sir. Q. Who was entitled to receive that der- gree? A. Those persons who were present who had not received it before. Q. Did any member receive that degree ? A. No person was given that degree un- less he was elected as a delegate to the State Council ; every delegate to the State Coun- cil was bound to receive that degree before he could act as a member of the Council. Q. What was done after the speech? A. There was general business transixcted; the most important, I think, was the appoint- ment of a committee of thirteen, whose duty it was to act in the interim of the meeting of the State Council, and to exer- cise the same power that the State Council had. Q. Wlio was appointed on that committee? A. 1 can not say; it was a secret commit- tee; the appointing power was placed in the hands of the Grand Commander, Dodd, who was supposed to be, ex ojficio, a member of that cojnmittee, and had the appointing of them. It was intended to be a secret eom- nxittee, that should not be known, oven to the members themselves, until they were called together. Q. Do you know whether or not they were called together? A. I do not. Q. Do you know of any address being is^ sued by them? A. I have no knowledge of any, save a printed one, that 1 have seen since; 1 have been in prison; but I kn#«v nothing about it before. Q. What was done after the appointment of the committee of thirteen? A. After discussions on political matters^ there was a resolution to a]>jioint a com- mittee of five to proceed to Hamilton, Ohio, on the next day, the ir)th.* That resolution afterward was amended, by authorizing all ■^ho ocea&ioo of Mr. VaWandinbaEo's r»tura to OUol TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 87 the members to consider themselves mem- bers of that committee. A resolution was also brought up with respect to (govern- ment detectives becoming members of tlie organization. It was understood that some Government detectives had become initia- ted as niembers of the organization, and a discussion took place, to find whether it was the case or not. Q. Was any one named ? A. A man by the name of Coffin was said to belong, and there was a general discus- sion in reference to the looseness of tlie manner in which the initiations were car- ried on, and an appeal made to the mem- bers to be more particular in future. Q. Waii any thing said as to what was to be done in the matter ? A. Nothing within my recollection or knowledge came before the meeting in a busines.s capacity. Q. Did any thing come before the meet- ing in an unofficial capacity ? or did you learn what was to be done ? A. No, sir; I did not; but I heard Mr. Dodd remark that a person who came into the organization as a Government detective ought to be made away with; it was a re- mark made in private conversation, and was iiot brought before the meeting offi- cially. Q. Was that remark made during the meeting? A. It was during the meeting that I heard it. Q. What other business was done at that meeting ? A. I can not recollect any other particu- lar business, save that there were resolu- tions passed in reference to the increase of the organization. I looked upon it at the time as an unimportant meeting. There was no important business transacted. Q. Do you know whether or not any per- son did go to Hamilton ? A. Not of my own knowledge. Q. Were any other officers or men ap- pointed ? or any other formal business done at the meeting ? A. No, sir; the officers for the present year had all been appointed at the meet- ing in February. Q. How was that meeting adjourned? A. iSinc die. Q. Was the June meeting a regular meet- mg of the Council ? A. It was a called meeting, called by the Grand Commander, through printed no- tices issued by me, and sent by mail. He requested me to issue notices to the various County Temples, calling a meeting on the 14th of June. That was the last meeting of the Grand Council held that I attended, and I believe there has been no other meeting, of the Grand Council held since that time, either here, or in any portion of the State. Q. Do you remember wliat the strength of the order was computed to be at the meeting in June? A. At the meeting in February I received reports from seventeen counties, wlio re- ported the strength within their limits at something over five thousand numbers. There were some seventeen to twenty other counties that made no reports 1 computed their number at twelve thousand. From the reports made in June, there was an in- crease in the organization of about twenty per cent., making it about fiiteen thousand. !|» Q. What did jou compute it to be in September, from the best data you had at that time? A. Taking the ratio of increase from Feb- ruary to June, I shoukl not have put the organization to exceed eighteen thousand members. Q. In this number do you include the Order of American Knights, and Sons of Liberty, all who had taken any of the de- grees ? A. I mean that it includes the members of first, second and third degree, members of the organization, but it would not in- clude the members of the Vestibule, sim- ply because there was no report made of those members, they were not considered members of the organization. As a gen- eral thing, the Vestibule members were very few. Q. You may naine the counties in which this organization existed iis far as you can? A. I can not name all of them. The or- ganization, so far ai! I have received reports, existed in the counties of Marion, Mai'shall, Allen, Huntington, Laporte, Fulton, Cass, Harrison, Washington, Orange, Grant, Madi- son, Crawford, Posey, Vanderburg, and War- rick. Tlie reports received were from forty- five counties in all. Q. Did this order exist in Randolph county, to your knowledge ? A. 1 never received any report of the es- tablishment of any County Temple. There may have been branch Temples; but the order existed to no extent in that county? Q. How about Dearborn county ? A. So far as I can recollect, there was no organization in that county. Q. Was liandolph county represented in any of these meetings by delegates? A. I think not, sir; but I will not state positively. Q. Was Cass county represented ? A. Yes, sir ; by Mr. Lasalle. Q. Was Howard county represented ? A. No, sir. Q. Do you know any thing of the strength of the organization in adjoining States? A. Nothing positive. I understood that the order was better organized in Illinois than in any other State in the Union. But I had no information that was official. Q. State to the Commission whether any 88 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. steps were taken, to your knowledge, and if so liow far, for the arming or drilling of the organization? A. There was, to my knowledge, no reso- lution passed at the meeting of the State Council to arm this organization, or looking to thf arming or purchase of arms, or to the drilling of the organization. Q. I ask you what, to your knowledge, was done? A. I have no knowledge of the arming or drilling of the members of the organization. Q. l5o you know of any attempt to arm the organization? A. I do not know any thing at all about arms, except those that were seized here last August. Q. What was done or said in an official way, looking to the drilling and arming of the organization, and any acts of the leaders. A. I have no knowledge of the purchase of any arms, or any attempt to arm the organization, or of the organization or any portion of it being under drill. Q. What do you know about the arms seized here? A. I had no knowledge of the purchase or the shipment of these arms until about four or five days previous to their arrival. Mr. Walker came to my house one night, be- tween 9 and 10 o'clock. He asked me if I knew whether Mr. Dodd had informed Parsons that there would be some boxes coming here addressed to him. I told him I did not. He then said that he should like me to say to. Parsons that there would be some boxes arriving in a day or two, which he would like him to take in and take care of until he returned. I can not eay whether Walker stated at that inter- view that these boxes contained arms or not. I went down the next morning and asked Parsons if Dodd had informed him that these boxes were coming. He said that he had, and that he had received the inft>rmation. I left the city on that day, nnd was absent three or four days. The morning after my return to the city, I went down to Dodd's office, and I saw on the sidewalk five or six boxes addressed " J. J. Parsons, Indianapolis, Ind." Parsons was engaged in getting tliese boxes into the building. I asked him if these were the boxes spoken of, and he said they were. The boxes were tak(>n up to the second floor, and put in a T)ack room of the build- ing. 1 went there as they had been placed there, and asked him if he knew what those boxes contained. He said he did. I asked him what thej contained. He saitl pistols. Q. AVas Mr. Parsons a member of the Order of Sons of Liberty ? A. He was. sir. He gave me the infor- mation as to what the boxes contained. Q. Did he say what they were for? A. No, sir. Q. Did Dodd say what they were for ? A. No, sir. Dodd never mentioned the boxes or pistols in any manner. Q. How many boxes were received here at that time? A. I understood ten boxes were received. Q. Were any more received ? A. Yes, sir. Twenty-two boxes were re- ceived about two weeks after. Q. Did you learn who had purchased or shipped these arms ? A. I never learned who purchased these arms until after I was arrested, when I saw the card published by Mr. Walker. I do not know of my own knowledge. Q. What became of these arms ? A. I understood that they were seized by the authorities here. Q. Did you have any conversation with Parsons about the dispositions of these arms ? A. No, sir. I think Mr. Parsons knew nothing about the matter until the arms had been shipped, and until a few days previous to tlieir arrival. It is my im- pression he derived his information from Dodd. The Judge Advocate here handed the witness a letter, and asked: i Q. Do you know by whom that letter was written ? A. That letter is in Mr. AValker's hand- writing, I should judge, but I could not ■swear particularly to it. Q. Did you ever see that letter before? A. I never did, sir. The letter dated "New York, May 11, 1854," addressed to "My Dear Dodd," and signed " Yours truly, W., ' was here intro- duced in evidence by the Judge Advocate. The Judge Advocate handed a letter to the accused, L. P. Milligan, and asked: "Is that your handwriting?" A. The accused, L P. Milligan, replied "that is my handwriting." A letter, dated "Huntington, 9th May, 1864," addre.ssed to "Gen. H. H. Dodd," and signed "L. P. Milligan," was here in- troduced in evidence by the Judge Advo- cate.* *HuNTi?iOTON, Inb., 9th May, 1864. Geu. H. H. PoDD— Z)ertr Sir: Yours of the 2d inst. c.'iiiic wlieii I «as .itisi'iit at Notre D.iine, and I h.ive now just rciiii it, ami am uiialilo to make any definite reply. I will Viurely allude to wliat may afford a text for reply in future. Ah to the Gulieriiatorial question, it may not liave oc- curred to you the \ineiiviai>le connection in which my name has lieen used. It wa.s announced in consequence of the declination of the Hon. J. E. McDonald to bo a candidate, conceding that if he was a candidate there waa no desire to n.se my name ; now I understand he ix ; henco I am not called upon hy any public notice to be such. l?ut waiviM); all this as the result of mere accident, and not proffered as an indignity ti> me, by placing me second in talents and patriotism to J. E. McDonald, there ia a still more ktR^p difliculty in the way. Th« annoume- ment of my natne for Governor, was made by McDonald's friends. Now it is due to them that I should decline. Iiecause I coulil not represent them ; there is no similar- ity between us. .\nilal1 this is not so discouraging as the fact that men of the stump of .ludge Hauua, whose pru- TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 89 Q. Do you know P. C. Wright? A. The first time I met him was at Terre Haute, about the 27th of August, 1863. In a conversation I had with him, he informed me that he had originally resided at New Orleans. That he had been compelled to leave there on account of his Union senti- ments, and removed to St. Louis, Missouri. At the time I saw him, he was staying in Chicago, and represented himself to be an Attorney at Law. Q. Do you know where he is now? A. I do not know positively, but I under- stood he was in Fort Lafayette. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Tuesday, October 25, at 2 o'clock, P. M. Court Room, Indcanapolis, Indiana, \ October 25, 18G4., 2 o'clock, P. M. j The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present. Also, the ,ludge Advocate, the accused and then- counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. Edwin A. Davis, one of the counseL for Andrew Humphreys and Horace Heffren, submitted to the Commission the foUowmg paper: To the President and Members of the Military Commission : At the commencement of this trial, tv/o of the defendants asked and obtained leave of this Court for me to act as their counsel. 1 now, with their consent, desire to withdraw from the position I have since then occu- pied, in such a manner as not to prejudice their interest before this tribunal. The determination of the Court that all the defendants should be tried jointly, in- sures them all able and experienced coun- i may also say, that wheh I was retained in behalf of the'^deieudants, I had but little idea of the nature of the charges and evi- lession of principles I could represent, prefer McDonald on account of his supposed avaihibility, it detracts much from mv confidence in our ultimate success. When men of so miich seeming patriotism are willing for mere tem- porary purposes to abandon the great principles of civil liberty, what will those of less pretensions do, when the real contest comes, when life aud property all depend on the issue, when bullets instead of ballots are cast, and when the halter is a preamble to onr platform? For un- less Federal encroachments are arrested in the States by tlie effort as well of the legislators as the executive, then will our Hi-es and forluues follow where our honors will have gone before. , ^t .u » I am willing to do whatever the cause of the Northwest mav require, or its true friends may think proper, but I am" as well convinced that upon mature reilectum they will not ask me to obtrude ray.self upou tlie public, nor ■will they ask me to be McDonald's contingent. I have great confidence in your good hard man nenoe, and cool judgment, hence I find it difficult to disregard your advice in the matter, and before giving to the world my position on the question I wish to see you per- sonally. Yours truly, L. P. MILLIGAN. N. B. My last was c.mfidential ; this is more so, be- canee I have given vent to feelings that are purely private. ^- !'• MILLI&AN. denco that would be produced against them; but from the nature of tliese prosecutions, and for other reasons growing out of my re- lation to the Government as United States Commissioner, which renders it improper that I should defend a class of cases fre- quently brought before me as an examining officer of the Government, I ask of this Court that my request be granted, and these reasons for my withdrawal be spread upon the records of the Court. EDWIN A. DAVIS. The request of Mr. Davis was granted by the Commission. The testimony of William M. Harrison, a witness for the Government, was then re- sumed as follows: Question by the Judge Advocate: State whether a Military Committee was appointed at the meeting of the Grand Council, on the 14th of June? and if so, who were appointed? A. I have no recollection of the appoint- ment of such a committee at that meeting. Q. Did you receive any reports from any of the accused, relative to the strength of the organization in their respective coun- ties ? A. I received a report from Mr. Heffren, at the meetings of the 16th and 17th of February, of its strength in his county. I have no recollection of any report from others. The Judge Advocate here handed the witness a letter addressed to " H. I. Stew- art, Boundary, Indiana," and signed " H.," and asked: Q. Do you recognize the handwriting of that paper, and know by whom it was written ? A. Yes, sir. It was written by me as Secretary of the order, on the day on which it is dated, in reply to a letter addressed to me as Secretary by H. I. Stewart. Q. Was he a member of the order ? A. The letter was from a man I had never heard of before I had received it. The writer purported to be Secretary of a County Temple. He wrote on business connected with the order. The Judge Advocate here proposed to in- troduce the letter in evidence. The coun- sel for the accused objected for the I'oUow- ing reasons: That the letter is a reply to a comnuuu- cation from a person not yet proven to be a member of the order. It is an immate- rial letter, and proves nothing in issue be- fore this Court. The Judge Advocate replied : There are several issues presented in this case, which I view difl'erently from the counsel for the accused. Mr. Harrison says this letter was written by him in his official [capacity as Grand Secretary, to a man I whom he supposed was a member of the I order. Anv instructions the witness gave, 90 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. whether written or verbal, in reference to the order, are competent as evidence, and are competent as showing how tlie order worked, and whether its affairs were conducted in an open or secret manner. Instructions given to any temple, are also competent evidence. The counsel for the accused wished the objection to go on record, that the letter might go in as evidence, under protest. The Judge Advocate replied : There can be no protest in this Court. If objections are made by the counsel for the accused, they come before the Court to be sustained or overruled. The court room was then cleared for de- liberation. On the re-opening of the court room, the Judge Advocate announced to the accused that the objection had been overruled by the Commission, and the letter was received in evidence.* The letter was here read by the Judge Advocate. Question by the Judge Advocate: I un- derstood you to say this letter was never sent ; how was that ? A. I wrote the letter the same day I re- ceived the letter from Stewart. I had in a measure become dissatisfied with the or- der, and had resolved to abandon it. I hesitated about answering any letters, but wrote this on the spur of the moment and placed it in my pocket, without determin- ing whether I should send it. I was arrest- ed, and this letter was found upon me and taken from me. Q. When were you arrested? A. On Saturday, the day the letter was written. Question by the Court: Q. Did an answer to the letter from H. I. Stewart como within the general scope of your duties as Grand Secretary ? A. I answei-fed every letter that came di- rected to me as Grand Secretary, without any special directions from the Council. Question by the Judge Advocate: State to the Court if there ever came to your knowledge any plan for the intended uprising of this order? If so, state from whom you obtained that knowledge, where the uprising was to be, and all the circum- stances connected with it. A. I received my information from Har- rison H. Dodd, that there was a design in progress, or in contemplation for the release of the prisoners of war confined at this point, at Chicago, and at Rock Island, lUi- * Indianapolis, August 20, 1SG4. Mr. H. I. Stewaut, BoiiiKliiry, Indiniia — Oear Sir: Tours under diito of the 17th instant is at hand. .\ny information tliat you niaydi'sire can be had by sending an accredited person here. Written conimunications are played out, as all letters are opened and read by Lincoln •pies and hirelings during their transmission through the mails. Tho Reader can bo had at 81 ~0 per dozen. Truly yours, H. nois. That plan had not been fully de- cided on ; but if decided on, he was to have charge of the release of the prisoners at this point. He desired to have a Demo- cratic mass meeting called about the 16th of August, and used his influence to induce the Democratic State Central Committee to call that meeting. If they did so, he in- tended to send out circulars to the mem- bers of the order in the various counties, authorizing the members to come up to that meeting armed. If the meeting had been held at that time, there would have been an uprising. Q. When and where did he state this to you ? A. At his residence, on the evening of the 29th of July I think. It was on Fri- day evening, the same evening that the bulletin board of the Journal office an- nounced that there would be a full exposi- tion of the Order of the Sons of Liberty in the Journal of the next morning. Q. Was that prior or subsequent to the meeting at Chicago, to which you have al- luded? A. It was after the Chicago meeting. Q. Did Dodd at tliat time state to you when and where this plan for revolution had been agreed upon ? A. He stated to me that he had been to Niagara Falls, and from thei-e to New York C'ity ; that he returned again to Niagara Falls, and from tliere lie went to Chfcago. I understood him tliat this whole plot had been arranged at Chicago. Q. Did he give the names of the persons whom he consulted in reference to this plan ? A. He mentioned no names. Q. Did he mention whom he had met at Niagara Falls? A. He stated that he met there the par- ties representing themselves as Peace Com- missioners. Q. At what date and to whom did he re- fer ? A. It was about the time of the meeting of the Peace Commissioners at Niagara Falls. I suppose he referred to the Peace Commissioners on the part of the rebel States. Q. Did he state what the rebel prison- ers were to do after the uprising on the 16th? A. He stated, in an informal way, that they were to aid and assist in the uprising here. Q. What were they to do after the upris- A. If successful in tho uprising, they were to be taken Soutt. Q. What was that success to consist in? A. In revolution. Q. What was to be revolutionized ? A. The Government, as far as the State was concerned. TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 91 Q. Did he have reference to the General Government ? A. lie said nothing about the General Government. It was a revolution which was to take place in this State. Q. IIow was this uprising to take place, and at whom was it aimed ? A. By the aid of the rebel prisoners, who were to be released through his instrumen- tality, and that of the persons who came in to the meeting to be held here on the 16th, they were to have an uprising and overturn the State Government. Q. Who was to be Governor after that rev- olution ? A. He did not state. Q. Did he state particularly his plan for the release of the rebel prisoners, and how the guards were to be overpowered ? A. He said if the thing was decided on, he was to release the prisoners here. He was to surprise the camp, and seize the ar- tillery here, and in the confusion and ex- citement of the moment effect the success of the plan. He thought he could do this with about one hundred and fifty men. T!iat was his idea which he communica- ted to me? Q. You may state whether there is an unwritten work of the order? A. There is. Q. You may now give to the Court an ex- position of what that is, giving the collo- quies, signs, grips and passwords. A. The unwritten work of the order con- sists in the signs, grips, passwords and col- loquies of the order. That portion of the work of the organization was never written, but communicated verbally. Q. You may now give the unwritten part of the Vestibule degree? A. The Vestibule lesson is that in which all persons who design to become members of the order are first instructed. It was so arranged that a person who took the Vesti- bule degree,knew nothing beyond that. In a large city they could have societies of the Sons of Liberty, composed of members who had gone no further than the Vestibule lesson, and meet as general political clubs. They would be bound by the obligations of the Sons of Liberty, but know nothing further of the organization than that lesson. The sign of recognition was made by standing erect on botli feet, placing the heel of the riglit foot in the hollow of the left, with the arms folded in the ordinary man- ner. A member of the order noticing me in this posture, would suppose he was challenged. He would place himself in the Rame position and challenge me. He would extend his right foot to meet mine and use the following colloquy: I would say "nu," he would answer "oh," I would reply "lac," he would say "S.." I would answer "L.," he would say, "Give me liberty" — 1 would an- swer "or give me death." There is als,o a signal of distress. You place the left hand on the right breast, and raise the right hand directly in front to its full hight once. This is given in the day-time. If at night, you give the cry of distress " oak-houn," repeated three times. You wait a moment, and then repeat it three times, and continue this im- til assistance comes. The members of this degree were also instructed that it was the duty of each member of the order to repair immediately to the spot and assist the mem- ber giving the signal. They were also in- structed that the acorn was the universal emblem of the society. If the person was not deemed worthy to take any further de- grees he was dismissed. The members of that degree never knew any thing officially' of the further organization of the order. In the first degree the sign of recognition is the same as in the Vestibule degree, ex- cept that the index finger of the left hand was placed on the right arm, when the arms were folded. We were instructed that this meant State rights and State sovereignty. If a member gave that sign, it was the duty of another seeing it, to advance and recog- nize him. The grip of the first degree is an ordinary grip, in which the index finger is placed upon the wrist, extending upward. That is entitled the grip of the acorn. The colloquy is repeated thus: "If I go to the East' — "I will go to t-he West." "Let there be no strife" — "between mine and thine" — "for we"— "be brethren." "0"— "S"— "L"— "Resistance to tyrants" — "is obedience to God." [The colloquies are pronounced al- ternately, as indicated by the dashes.] This is the colloquy of the first degree. In this degree members were instructed in the mode of entering a temple. The password of that degree was changed monthly in each County Temple, which adopted its own password. The members were instructed that the acorn was the universal emblem of the order, representing strength, growth, and durability. Those initiated into this degree were welcomed as full members of the Order of Sons of Liberty. The sign of recognition of the second de- gree is given with the body in the same po- sition as in the first degree, the hands being crossed on tlie abdomen, the right hand on the left and the thumbs pointing upward to a point, which is said to represent the star Arcturus. The colloquy is: "What — a star — Arc — turns. What of the night ? — Morning cometh — Will ye inquire? — inquire ye — re- turn — come." Members were instructed that a five-pointed star of any metal could be used as an emblem of that degree. The password was "Orion," pronounced as a test, by giving the long sound to "i" in the sec- ond syllable. This is the unwritten i}or- tion of the second degree, except the man- ner of entering the temple. The third degree is similar to the second in the position of the body. The signof recog- 92 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. nition is made by crossing the arms on the chest, the right arm upon the left, and the fingers pointing to the shoulders. The col- loquy is: "Whence — seir? How — by the ford ? Name it — Jaback — Your password — Washington." The response is "Bayard." The distinct pronunciation of the last syl- lable, ''yard," being a test of membership. The sign of the Grand Council degree is given by clasping the right hand, and taking hold of the elbow of the right arm with the left hand; then give a simple shake of the hand; turn one quarter to the left, with the arms folded, and repeat the colloquy : " Whence — America — North — South." The password of the Gi'and Council degree is "America." A member who wishes to enter a Temple of the first degree, makes some alarm at the outer door If he is known to be a Son of Liberty, he would be admitted on giving the password, without any further trouble. If not known, he gives the password and is admitted into the ante-room, and sends in his name and that of the County Temple to which he belongs, and states that he is a visiting brother. His name is reported to the presiding officer. When the name is an- nounced to the members present, if any know him they vouch for him ; if not vouched for, a committee of two is ajipointed to test him in the degree in which the Council is work- ing. If found perfect, he is admitted ; if he fails, he is rejected. The manner of entering Temples working in other degrees, is the same, with the exception of the pass- word used. Close of the direct examination. CROSS- EXAMINATION. There were no other lessons or teachings pertaining to the unwritten work of the other degrees, than those I have given. The military features of the Order of the Ameri- can Knights and the Sons of Liberty were the same. From what Dodd communicated to me, I was impressed that the revolutionary scheme included Illinois as well as Indiana, and that himself mainly, and certain others who knew of the intended scheme, as far as it was decided upon, were to participate in carrying it out, and in the event of circum- stances favoring, the wliole organization was to be drawn into it. The intended revolu- tion was not discussed in Council; Dodd seemetl to look rather to the action of in- dividual members of llie order in this State. He was to take charge of the liberation of the prisoners at Camp Morton, n<»ar this city. Dodd remaiked to me that he wanted to influence the State Central Committee to call a Democratic mass meeting here about the l()tli of August. If it had been called he was to issue secret circulars to members of the order, and have them come armed and prepared for an uprising. I do not be- lieve that the majority of the first and sec- ond degree members ever knew or thought that revolution in Indiana was contemplated. Dodd, I know, contemplated holding a meet- ing here, of the leading men of the organi- zation, for the discussion of his plans, and the meeting, I understood, took j^lace on the Tuesday following the Friday on which I had the conversation referred to. The meeting was convened by circular sent by Mr. Dodd. The military bill adopted in the Council, referred to in my direct examinar tion, was introduced in pursuance of injunc- tions received from Mr. Wright, the origi- nator of the organization in this State. His instructions were that the order must have a certain number of nrajor generals, briga- diers, colonels, etc. Mr. Wright was Su- preme Commander at the time. The mili- tary bill was in Dodd's handwriting. The military appointments were made by the delegates present from various military dis- tricts, who selected a person for major general for their district; that person was announced to the Council, and the nomina- tion confirmed in Council. I can not state positively whether Mr. Milligan was present or not when the military bill was discussed. Neither Mr. Heflren nor ^Ir. Humphreys waii present. These appointments were made at the first meeting held about the 10th of September. lS(i8. Heftren was present at the meeting of the ir>t]i and 17th of Februar}', and that was the only meeting I ever saw hiui at. Bowles in the February meeting declined becoming a major general unless certain changes were made in the length of the term of service. The change I understood was made, and I did not hear him object after that. I have no knowledge as to Humphreys accepting his nomination. He was not present at either the February or September meetings ; but was present here at the June, 1864, meeting; though I did not see him in the room till the even- ing, and tlien only for half or three-quarters of an hour. I did not see him at the Terre Haute meeting. I know that Mr. Hum- phreys was a member of the order from the fact tliat I saw him at the meeting on the 14th of June, but have no knowledge of his initiation, nor of that of a majority of the members of that Council. No person who was not a member, ever, to my knowledge, (Mitered the Grand Council. It convened in the Marion County Temple, in the fouith story of Dodd's V)uilding, and was in session from 10 in the morning until 9 in the even- ing, adjourning for dinner and supper. Mr. Humphreys was there at night. I saw him there, and also saw him at my office after the meeting adjourned. IVIr. I)odd told me he saw the Peace Commissioners at Niagara Falls, and had conversations with several of tliem, but did not say any thing about meet- ing thom in a secret manner; I do not know whether he was conspiring with them, or was simply introduced to them. I know that TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 93 Ml'. Heffren was Deputy Grand Commander, but never heard from him in reference to the organization after the 17th of February; he was not present at any meeting after that. RE-EXAMINATION. Question by the Judge Advocate: Who were the parties that were sent for to be present at the Tuesday meeting? A. Mr. Dodd informed me that he in- tended sending for Mr. MiUigan, for Dr. Bowles, Mr. Humphreys, and Dr. Yeakle; those are all that I recollect his mentioning to me. Q. Did you learn whether he sent for those persons ?, A. 1 did not; from him. Q. Did you learn it from any other mem- ber of the order? A. Dodd told me he had sent his boy for one of those j^arties, and he sent me for another of the parties. He said he sent his boy to Dr. Bowles; I went to Mr. Milligan. Q. Did you see him? A. I did. Q. Did you tell him your message? A. I did. Q. What did he say? A. He said that he did not know whether he could be present, but would try to be. I was instructed by Mr. Dodd to say that there would be a very important meeting, and he ought to be present. I do not know whether they were present or not. Q. How do you recollect the presence of Mr. Humphreys on the 14th of June? A. He had never been present at any meeting before. Q. Was your mind .specially directed to him? A. No, sir. Q. Did you see him enter the room? A. I do not recollect seeing him enter it. I saw him in the room just previous to the adjournment. Q. Were any persons admitted to the Grand Council who were not members be- fore ? A. No, sir; not to my knowledge. Q. Could any person have obtained ad- mittance except through the regular pro- cess of working into the meeting? A. No person who was not a member could gain admittance. Those delegates who were not members of the Grand Coun- cil degree, were initiated. They had to be delegates to be initiated in the degree, and become members of the Grand Council. Q. In case that uprising was to have taken place, who was the proper officer to lead the uprising? A. I should judge Mr. Dodd was the of- ficer. Q. Had he the power, in an official capa- city, to order that here? A. It was vested entirely in Mr. Dodd. Q. Had he the power to order membera of the order at will ? A. He had. Q. Did he have the power to call all meetings? A. Yes, sir. Question by the Court: Was the circular sent which said he would send to the difierent temples, directing the members to appear here at the Democratic Convention armed? A. He did not send any to my knowledge. He did not say he had sent them. Q. Was the convention called? A. It was not. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Thursday, the 27th of October, 1864, at 10 o'clock, A. M. Court Koom, Indianapolis, Indiana, > October 27, 18G4, 10 o'clock, A. M. ) The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused, and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approvea. The whole of the session being occupied in reading the testimony, the Commission adjourned, to meet at 2 o'clock, P. M. CouET Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, ) October27, 1864,2 o'clock, P. M. j The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused, and their counsel. Wesley Tranter, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as i'ollows : Question by the Judge Advocate: State your name and place of residence. Answer. Wesley Tranter; Shoals Station, Martin county, Indiana, has been my home for four years. Q. What has been your business for the last year ? A. I have been running a saw-mill and building bridges down South. My occupa- tion before was that of a miller. Q. State whether or not you ever joined a society called the Knights of the Golden Circle, American Knights, or Sons of Lib- erty ? A. Yes, sir; I joined an order in May, 1863, called the Circle of Honor; the last I joined was called the Knights of the Golden C'ircle. Q. Where was that? A. It was close to the Shoals. Q. How long did you belong to that or- ganization ? A. Up to January, 1864, when it was turned into the Knights of the Golden Cir- cle, the second degree. 94 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Q. State the circumstances of your join- ing the Circle of Honor. A. I saw Mr. Horsey, the man sitting there (the witness here pointed to the ac- cused, Steplien Horsey), at the Siioals, in May, 1863. He came to me and said they wore getting up a concern ; he did not state what it was, but it was something in de- fense of the country — but he did not ex- actly tell me what it was at first, nor the name of it. I joined it, and they called it the Circle of Honor. Horsey said they wanted to find out what was the strength of the Democratic party at that time. Q. Where were you initiated? A. In an old house belonging to a man by the name of Gaddis, about a mile and a half from the Shoals. It was a vacant house at the time. Q. How many were there ? A. I could not say, exactly; I reckon about ten. Q. Who initiated you ? A. Mr. Horsey and Clayton initiated me. Q. Who presided at that meeting ? A. Mr. Horsey. Q. Did you take any obligation at that time? If so, state what it was. A. Yes, sir ; but I do not recollect what the oath was; it was pretty long. There was something about being torn into four parts before we would reveal the proceedings; one part was to be cast out at the east gate, one at the north gate, one at the south gate, and one at the west gate. Q. Did you learn what the gates meant? A. No, sir. Q. Was any business transacted at the meeting besides the initiation? A. None at all. Q. When was the next meeting you at- tended, and where;? A. I think the next meeting was across the river, at the Pinnacle, at a little vacant house. About the same persons were pres- ent as at the other meeting. Mr. Horsey presided at that meeting. Q. What was done at that meeting? A. They took in two others. Q. When and where was the next meet- ing? A. In the latter part of the summer of 18G3, somewhere in the woods, about a couple of miles from the Shoals; it was back and east of Ilorsey's place. About eight or ten were at that meeting. Q. Were any steps taken, by the order, toward arming or drilling? A. Something was said about it; they wanted to give mo an ofhce, but I would not accept it. They said we were to drill, and be ready; that we were to have our guns fixed in case any thing should happen or tlie soldiers should ever molest us, or any thing of that kind. Q. What was the purpose of this organi- zation. A. Its purpose came out toward the last, that we were to support Jeff Davis; that we were to have our guns fixed; that we did not know what hour we should be called on to have a general turn-out to support Jeff Davis, either North or South. That is what they said in the Knights of the Golden Circle ; but in the Circle of Honor they did not go so far. Q. You say this meeting in the woods was in the latter part of the summer ; when was the next? A. About the 27th or 28th of January, 1864, when the order was changed to the Knights of the Golden Circle. Q. Who were the officers of that organi- zation ? A. The head man was John W. Stone. Q. Where did you meet? A. At Gaddis' house. Q. How many were present? A. Somewhere about thirty. Q. How did you happen to go to that meeting ? A. I was asked to go by Anderson Scar- lett. Q. Whom do you remember seeing at that meeting ? A. John W. Stone, John Teney, William Teney, Ike Teney, Stephen Horsey, the ac- cused. Golden Green, and some few others. Q. State, as nearly as you can, what was said and done at that meeting. A. I went there from the Shoals, and got into the meeting by giving the sign. It was a grip. After we were in. Horsey made a little speech, and said we were to have something different from the other order. He had a book, and said something about the K. G. C.'s and Knights of the Golden Circle. He said that before any man was taken in, two persons were to stand good for him, that he should not divulge any of the secrets. William Teney and Hiram Apples rose and stood for all. Some ten or fifteen were sworn in. The oath differed from the former oath, but I can not recollect it; there was something about supporting Jeff' Davis, North or South. In a speech that John W. Stone made, there was something said about putting Governor Morton out of the way. Q. Was Horsey present during this speech ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did he make any speech? A. Not that 1 recollect. Q. Was any thing said at this meeting as to how these purposes were to be carried out? A. Yes, sir: they stated they were first to put Morton out of the way. A man who signed himself M. D. was to pay Gov- ernor Morton a visit, and he was to live but a short time afterward ; this visit was to be made about the 2Gth or 27th of March. There was to be a raid made on TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 95 \his place about five days from the 1st of April. Q. Who were to make this raid ? A. The men of the lodge, and we were to arm ourselves to be ready. We were to take this place, wear out the soldiers, and release the prisoners. Q. What was to be done with the rebel prisoners ? A. Nothing that I recollect; only that we were to go at the blue coats. Q. Was any thing said about the invasion of Ohio or Indiana by the rebels? A. They said that when we made the raid on this place, the members of the order in Illinois were to make a raid on Springfield, and those in Missouri on St. Louis. Wash- ington was to be attacked, and Forrest was to make a dash into Kentucky. He did miake a raid a few days from the 5th of April. Q. Who developed these plans? A. John W. Stone. Q, State, as far as you can, the signs, grips, and passwords of the Knights of the Golden Circle. A. If you wished to know if a man be- longed to the order, you gave him a chal- lenge, by placing the right foot in the hol- low of the left, then you folded your arms ; if he is a member and notices you, he does the same thing. Then each advance his right foot and touch toes and shake hands, running the fore-finger up the wi'ist, and giving a single shake. After you had shaken hands you were to say 0, he says A, and yovi answer K, and he pronounces Oak. He was then known as a brother. Q. What were the signs of the Circle of Honor ? A. To know if a man was a member of the order, you draw youi" hand across the upper lip ; he answers by doing the same thing with the left hand. You then step forward and give one single shake of the hand. If you doubt the fellow, you ask him if he saw that star; if he was a mem- ber, he would reply by saying he saw that star in the East. You would ask what it represented, lie would answer, " five points." That proved to you that he was a full mem- ber. To recognize and test a person at a distance, the hands were clasped and raised above the head. He would answer by placing his hands upon his shoulders. Q. When was the last meeting you at- tended of the Knights of the Golden Cir- cle? A. On the 26th or 27th of January. Q. Have they met since ? A. Not to my knowledge. Q. Why did you not continue with them? A. Because I thought they were getting along a little too far for me, when they talked about helping the rebels; and as I had been in the army, and as what they avowed was against my principles, I came here in March, 1864, and reported to the Lieutenant Governor ? Q. What, if any thing, was said in refer- ence to acting with Morgan ? A. Something was said about Morgan's making a raid, but I do not recollect what. Q. Was any thing said about oftering him assistance in case the State was invaded? A. We were to go to his assistance, as I understood it. Q. Who advocated going to the assistance of Morgan in case he invaded the State ? A. John W. Stone. Q. What has become of Stone? A. I don't know. He had some difficul- ty with the men of the 17th Indiana, and some of the boys went after him when he made oft', and the boys fired, and I under- stand he has since "been seen, minus a finger. Q. Who were the most active members of the organization ? A. John W. Stone and William Clayton. Q. Was the order armed ? A. Not to my knowledge. Something was said about a box of pistols. Shirk- litl" and a man named Coffin got oft" at a station five miles from the Shools, and Shirkliff' had a box that was i-ather heavy. Coffin asked him what the box contained, and he said jewelry; but Horsey and Shirkliff' told me afterward, the box con- tained pistols, and laughed at Coffin for the way Shirkliff' had fooled him. Q. Did he say what became of them? A. No, sir. Q. Or who they were for ? A. No, sir. He said there would be pis- tols taken round the country, and any one could have them at cost and carriage. Q. Lid he say whom you could get them from ? A. No, sir ; but I suppose he meant from himself, Q. Have you been in any lodge since that meeting? A. No, sir. I have had no connection with the Older since January. Q. Who did you first reveal this order to? A. To my father, who was vexed at my having joined it. 1 then went to my uncle at Washington, and told him. 1 then came and had a talk with Captain Henly, of the 17th Indiana, andgothim to write ovitan affi- davit. And the statement he made out was, I understood, sent to the Lieutenant Governor. Q. In case Governor Morton was assass- inated, who was to succeed him? A. H. H. Dodd was, according to what was said at the meeting. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I forgot to mention in my direct exami- nation that the signs of raising the hands above the head and the answer, were called 96 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. the Morgan signs. If we joined the army and were captured, we were to give these signs, and then we should be better treated. This was toid us by Horsey or Clayton at the time of giving us these signs. I did not understand that because they were given us, we were to join Morgan, but I under- stood they were for self-protection. We were not sworn in the Circle of Honor to help the South, nor were we pledged to do so. It was changed to the Knights of the Golden Circle in June, 1S64, by John W. Stone. A man named Baker asked why the order did not come out at first as the Knights of the Golden Circle, and Horsey and Clayton said they wanted to find out how far the Democratic party was in favor of such an order, and if they came into it well, then they would change it into the Knights of the Golden Circle. By the two men standinggood for usat theinitiationinto the Knights of the Golden Circle, I mean that they were to kill us and report us dead to the lodge, or bring us up for trial, in case we divulged the secrets. In the obli- gation that we took there was something said about having Jeff Davis for the next President, and voting for him; I can not remember how it was worded; we were sworn into the service of Jeff Davis, and were to support him whenever called upon. They said that all Jeff Davis asked, was that the three States of Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri should join him, and he would soon thrash out all the blue-coats, and then they would go eastward, and clean out all the rest like a hurricane. I took the oath voluntarily ; I thought I would see what they did, and if it did not suit me I would report the order. The first time I divulged the order was to my father the next day, and to my uncle William Tranter, at Wash- ington, soon after. About the last of Feb- ruary I mentioned the matter to Captain Henley, here at Indianapolis. I came here on purpose, and found him at the Bates House, and got liim to write out my state- ment for me. John W. Stone said there were 100,000 members in the Circle of Hon- or in Indiana, and about 60,000 in the Knights of the Golden Circle. When they changed to the Knights of the Golden Circle they dropped ofi" a little. I took one degree in this order. John W. Stone said publicly that if we took the oath of the order, and were caught, we should not be hung, but treated as prisoners of war. I had a conversation with Horsey near the railroad, within two or three days after the last meeting I at- tended. We were talking about Stone get- ting me into a difficulty, and I said some of the soldiers would come and take us. Hor- sey said he did not think the soldiers could do it. He also said that Stone had stated what was false, and that there was no truth about paying Gov. Morton a visit. I said that a man who would preacli such doctrine ought to be rallied, and I wanted Horsey to go with me and tell him of it, but he would not. Horsey might have said that Stone's doctrines were too secesh, but I do not recollect his saying so. If Mr. Horsey had gone over there with me, there would have been no Mr. Stone. RE-EXAMIXATION. Question by the Judge Advocate: Q. When was it that you had this conver- sation with Horsey? Answer. It was a few days after the meet- ing. Q. Who first induced you to join the order? A. Horsey was the first man; he initiated me. Q. Did he make any objection to your ta- king the Morgan sign ? A. No, sir. Q. Did he make any objection to your taking the oath ? A. No, sir; he took me into the organiza- tion and administered the oath to me. Stephen Texey, a witness for the Govern- ment, was then introduced, and being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: Question by the Judge Advocate: State to the Court your name and resi- dence. Answer. Stephen Teney ; I live at Wash- ington, Daviess county, Indiana, where I have resided about a year. Previous to that I lived for seven years at Pleasant Val- ley, Martin county. Q. What is your business ? A. I am a cooper by trade Q. Did you ever know Stephen Horsey ? A. Yes, sir. Q. When and where did you make his acquaintance ? A. At the Shoals. It is about five years since I first knew him. Q. Did you ever join any secret order called the Circle of Honor, Order of Amer- ican Knights, or Sons of Liberty? A. Yes, sir ; I joined the Circle of Honor. Q. Where, and when? A. In Columbia township, Martin county, near Connell School House, in the fall of 1S63, at Mr. Horsey's solicitation. Q. Is Mr. Horsey j^resent in this room? If so, point him out. [The witness here pointed to the ac- cused, Stephen Horsey.] Q. What, if any thing was done at that meeting ? A. Fourteen members were taken in that night? Q. How many were present at that meet- ing? A. About twenty-hve. Q. Who presided? A. Mr. Horsey and a Mr. William Clay- TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 97 ton were the presiding oflScers at that meet- ing. Q,. Were you sworn in that night ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you remember what obligation you took? A. We were to be cut into four pieces if we told any thing. One part was to be cast out at the east gate, one at the north gate, one at the south gate, and one at the west gate, if we told any of the secrets ? Q. What were the secrets? A. We were not to tell who belonged to the order, nor any thing that was done at the meetings. Q. What did you learn to be the objects and purposes of the order ? A. From what I saw and learned, we were to assist the South, if called on. Q. Were any of the ways by which you could assist the South talked of? A. Yes, sir. If we were called on we were to rally, each in his township. Q. Under whom? A. I do not recollect, but we were to rally in each township to assist the rebels if they came through. Q. With arms or how ? A. They did not say. They also said if we did not rally, and stick up one for an- other, that the Democratic party would be torn down. Q. What had that to do with giving as- sistance to the rebels ? A. I do not know; that is the way Horsey and Clayton talked to us that night. Hor- sey told us about it first, and then Clay- ton. Q. Did Horsey say any thing about oppos- ing the Government? A. He told us we were to hold ourselves in readiness at any time to be called out. Q. State whether or not there was any arming or drilling in this order ? A. We drilled a few times in the town- ship ; we just marched. Q. Do you know any thing about an at- tempt to arm the order ? A. I was told by one of my brothers, Wil- liam Teney, who was a member of the or- der, that they were getting arms all the time. This was after I removed, and went back, that he told me this. The order was then called the Knights of the Golden Circle. Q. "WTio was the chief of that order ? A. I do not know. I went there once, and they told me the oath, but I would not take it. Q. What did your brother tell you about arms? _A. He said that they had three hundred pistols in that county ; and that Baker, of Dover Hill, went to Cincinnati and got some, and some he got from Philadelphia. Q. Had you any talk with Horsey ? A. Not about the arms. 7 Q. When was the last talk you had with Horsey ? A. It must have been some four or five months since. He told me they were get- ting along finely with their order. Q. What order did he refer to? A. I suppose he meant the Golden Cir- cle. Q. Did you ever hear Horsey make any other speeches ? A. No, sir. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I am in the army now, and have been since the draft. No inducements have been held out to me to testify in this ca.se, but McDonald, who is a Government de- tective, told me if I told all I knew, he would do what he could for me, and relieve me from the draft. Nothing was said in the obligation about supporting the Constitu- tion of the United States, or the Constitu- tion of the State of Indiana. Mr. Horsey said we were to support the South ; he swore us to support Jeff Davis, North or South. That was a part of the oath, and we were to suffer ourselves to be torn into four pieces if we did not support Jeff Davis North or South. My brother told me this last summer that he was a member of the Knights of the Golden Circle. During the summer, when I visited my brother, I went with him to the Knights of the Golden Circle, and they wanted me to take the oath, but I would not. RE-EXAMINATION. Question by the Judge Advocate: Has any officer of the Government held out any inducement to you that you should receive any benefit for testifying in this case? A. No, sir; only what that detective said; he promised to do all he could for me. Q. Have you ever asked any officer of the Government to relieve you ? A. No, sir. Q. Do you expect to be relieved from the draft? A. No, sir. Q. Do you testify from any such induce- ment? A. No, sir; I think more of my oath than that. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Friday, October 28, 1864, at 9 o'clock, A. M. CoTJET Room, Indianapolis, Inciaka, ) October 28, 18C4, 9 o'clock, A. M. | The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused, and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. J. J. Bingham, a witness for Government, was then introduced, and being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows ; 98' TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Question by the Judge Advocate: State your name, place of residence, and business? Answer. Joseph J. Bingham; I reside in the city of Indianapolis, and am editor of the Daily and Weekly Indiana State Sentinel. Q. How long have you resided in Indian- apolis ? A. iSince August, 1856. Q Where did vou reside previous to that ? A. At Lafayette, in this State. Q. How long have you published the In- diana State Sentinel? A. Since the 26th of August, 1856. Q. Did you ever join an order called the American Knights, or Sons of Liberty? A. I joined an order which was called the .\merican Knights, in the latter part of October or the beginning of November, 1863. Q. Where? A. In this city, in the Military Hall, on Washington street, between Meridian and Pennsylvania. Q. Who was in possession of the Hall? A. It was leased by the Democratic Club of this city. Q. Was it under their control ? A. It is my impression that it was under their control at the time. Q. What was the first meeting of the American Knights that you attended? A. The first meeting, if you can call it such, was my initiation; there were very few present. Q. Who were present? A. Mr. Dodd, Mr. Harrison, a man by the name of Jacobs, Dr. Johnson, and I think a person of the name of YandegrifF. Q. AVas Mr. Ristine or Hord there? A. Not at that time. Q. What took place at that meeting? A. It was only an informal initiation ; we did not go through all the ceremonies, the greater part was omitted. Q, State to the Court how you came to join the order, and at whose solicitation you joined? A. In the latter part of August, or the first of September, I was introduced by Mr. Dodd to a man by the name of P. C. Wright. He brought him to my office and left him there; said he wanted to have a talk with me. Mr. Wright went on to state his business; gave me a little history of himself; he stated that he was a lawyer in bnainess in New Orleans, at the breaking out of this rebel- lion; that he wa,s forced to leave on account of his Union sentiments ; that he went to St. Louis, and practiced alternately between St. Louis and New Orleans — in St. Louis in the summer, and New Orleans in the win- ter; he said he was a lawyerinthe celebrated (laines case, and that in examining the papers of General Gaines, he came across what purported to be a secret organization that existed during the Revolutionary War. He told me that General Lee was President of the Association, as appeared from the papers; that Madison, Jelierson, and I be- lieve Washington, had belonged to it; that it had exerted a very powerful agency in maintaining the contest during the war, and establishing our present form of govern- ment; that he thought he would establish a similar order. He told me that the prin- ciples of the order were the same as existed during the Revolution; that the ritual and obligation were nearly the same; that the papers were not perfect, but the omissions were supplied; and that he came to this State for the purpose of extending the order here. He said it existed in Missouri, Illinois, and even in the Central American States; it was not confined to the United States, Ijut was to extend over all the world, not limited by any geographical divisions. He urged me to join, and take part in it, and be one of the persons to establish the order here. I said 1 was opposed to all secret political organizations — that I never saw any good come from them — and declined. He visited the prominent Democrats of the city, and used the same arguments, but most of them declined. I do not know whether Mr. Dodd was a member of the order at that time; I understood he intended to be. Mr. Dodd is a gentleman very fond of excite- ment; he has a natural taste for secret asso- ciations. He was a prominent and one of the most active members of the Know Nothing order; and he was head and front of the Sons of Malta, in this city; his taste runs that way. I have known Mr. Dodd for many years; for three or four years I have had business relations with him that threw him constantly in contact with me. After W^ right left, Dodd urged me to join the as.sociation. I declined at first. Finally he told me what its objects were; that it was to be a permanent organization; politr ical, but not partisan ; that it was to sym- pathize with the principles of the Demo- cratic party. He said that the object was to educate the people in the old fashioned republican doctrines, the same as those en- tertained by Madison and Jefferson; that it was designed to establish a paper here, to be the organ and advocate of it« principles, and that it was intended to have a large university near the city, to educate young men in what he termed correct politr ical doctrines; and that the organization was to be permanent, like the Odd Fellow* or Masons. When the proposition of the paper was started, he said he wanted to advise with me about many matters which he could not unless I was a member of the organization, and that he could not even tell me the names of the members of the order; that wa-s one of the obligations of secrecy; but if I would join, he would not put me through TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 99 the regular ceremonies, but would initiate me informally, and if I did not like it, as I joined voluntarily, so I could leave it when- ever I pleased. I thought I saw in this the seeds of discord, so far as the Democratic party was concerned. Being a party man, I thought the only way to secui-e success was by the uniting of the different elements in opposition to the Administration. With that view of the case 1 joined at the time I named. Dodd informed me that he had appointed me a delegate to the State Coun- cil, which met in November, 1863. I at- tended; took what they called a Council degree; but what it is I can not now tell, I paid so little attention to it. The meeting was held in the Military Hall. Dodd pre- sided at the meeting, and Mr. Harrison was Secretary. I do not recollect what other officers were there. I saw Mr. Vandegriff at the meeting; and I think Dr. Athon, Mr. Ristine, and Mr. Milligan, the accused, were present. A gentleman named Cush- man, from thenorthern partof the State, was present. Q. Were any others of the accused pres- ent? A. No, sir. Q. What business was done at that meet- ing? A. The Council was opened in due form; those that had not taken the Council de- gree were initiated, and then various com- mittees were appointed. I found myself placed as Chairman of the Committee on Literature. Q. What other committees were ap- pointed? A. I do not recollect. Q. Was a military committee appointed ? A. I do not recollect. Q. Were any appointments made by Dodd? A. Not in my hearing. Q. At what time of day was the meeting held ? A. It convened at 10 o'clock in the morn- ing. Q. How long did it last? A. I was there about an hour, but I un- derstood it lasted till evening. Q. Why did you not remain ? A. I withdrew to write my report. I wrote a brief report, advising, as far as a paper was concerned, that nothing be done until means were raised to support it a year; and I recommended the indefinite postponement of the university scheme until the next meeting of the Council. I returned then, and some other business was going on, but I do not recollect what. I handed my re- port to the committee, in which was a Dr. Bryant. 1 told Cushman that my engage- ments were such tliat I could not remain, and he would oblige me if, when the report was called, he would read it. Q- Did you learn from any members present about the appointment of major generals ? A. No, sir. Q. Did you ever hear of any military ap- pointments being made? A. No, sir. I did not know that the or- ganization embraced any thing of a military natui'e till the exposure of the Sons of Lib- erty. Q. You will please proceed with your nar- ration? A. I never attended what is called the meeting of the temple. On the 16th of Feb- ruary another State Council was held. Mr. Dodd informed me that by virtue of my ap- pointment, I had a right to attend. I went in on the morning of the 16th. I had been to the post office, and stopped on my way to my own office, for a few minutes. I had nothing to do with the meeting, and did not feel much interest in the matter. I was in again for a little while in the after- noon, when I went to the post office a sec- ond time. When I went in there was a gentleman of this city making a speech, Major Conklin, and this was the first time I recollect hearing about any military appointr ments. I suppose he had been called on for a report of what he had done, for the drift of his speech — what I heard of it — was, that he had not drilled any body, and had not any body to drill. That is all my recollec- tion of that meeting. Q. How did he come to report that fact ? A. I suppose he had been called ujion for a report; tliat was what I gathered from the nature of his speech ; and that was the first idea I had of its being a military organ- ization. I never read the ritual, or the con- stitution, or by-laws. I think Mr. Heffren was present at that meeting. Mr. Heffren is an old friend of mine, and came to my office to see me several times. At one of those inter- views we exchanged our opinions as to this association. I told him that I thought no good would come of it. Mr. Heffren coincided with my views, and said he believed it was a humbug. These are the only meetings 1 attended. I did not wish to belong to the organization. I paid my fees, and asked Mr. Dodd if any formal withdrawal was necessary; he said that my joining was vol- untary, and I might withdraw when I liked. I did not consider myself a member of the organization since that time, and have not been a member, though my having been in the order gives me the confidence of the members, and I have learned many things that I otherwise should not have known. Q. Did you hear the address of Dodd at the meeting of the 16th or 17th of Feb- ruary? A. No, sir. Q. How long were you present? A. I was not there over twenty or thirty minutes. I heard afterward that he had delivered an address, but I never read it 100 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. till I saw it in the Journal of the 30th of i July. Q. Who was present at that meeting ? A. Colonel Bowles, the accused, Dr. Bry- ant, Mr. Blake, of Terre Haute, Mr. Cush- man and 'Squire McBride, of Evansville. There must have been some thirty or forty there, but few that I was acquainted with. Q. Was Mr. Milligan or Mr. Humphreys present ? A. Not to my knowledge. I did not see them there. Mr. Heft'ren was present. Q. Did you learn what business was trans- acted at that meeting ? A. I asked the question after the adjourn- ment of the meeting, and was told nothing particular had been done. Q. Did you learn who had been appointr ed to the Supreme Council ? A. No, sir. Q. Do you know who composed the Com- mittee of Thirteen? A. No, sir. The Committee of Thirteen, in my opinion, was a myth. The next thing that came up, in connection with the order, was this : Dr. Bowles, Mr. Dodd, Judge Bul- litt, and Barrett were at my business office. I met them on the platform as I was going down from my room; I was introduced to them, and supposed they were all members of the order, though nothing was said about it ; I supposed so from their as- sociation. Judge Bullitt I had known pre- viously, I think fifteen years ago: he had done me a great kindness; we renewed our acquaintance, and he asked me to call and see him at the Palmer House; said he had some fine Kentucky whisky, and in- vited me to take a drink. About half past II I thought I would go to my dinner early and stop in and see him. I knew where the room was, it was No. 28 ; I went right up stairs and knocked at the door. He said, "Come in," and I opened the door. The first man I saw was a person of the name of Coffin. I did not know then what his occupation was, but from his asso- ciations 1 thought he was a Republican, and 1 thought it was queer company for Democrats. I walked up and shook hands with him; he whispered to me, "I've have caught you at last." I thought that was very strange, very singular; I walked around the room, and mentioned to one of the gentlemen that it wa.s a singular company. We passed the salutations of the day, and I then said to Bullitt, "If you have any good whisky, bring it out." He brought it out, and we had a drink. I asked Coffin if he was going to dinner; he said he was, and we walked together. As we walked out, 1 asked an explanation of the remark he had made to me, "I've caught you at last." He told me a story not necessary to be repeated here, and applied it to me; said that was all he meant. A few days after- ward I met Joseph E. McDonald, on Wash- ington street. I told him the circumstance, and he remarked to me, "Don't you know who this Coffin is?" "He is a United States Detective ; he is in the employ of the Gov- ernment, and has been for two years." I remarked to him that it was a singular se- cret society, the members of which should sit in council with a United States Detec- tive. Q. Did you at that time unfold to Mr. McDonald your association with that or- der? A. No, sir ; I do not think I told him till sometime subsequent. Q. What was done by these gentlemen? A. They never told me their business ; and to this day I do not know what they met together for. Q. You say that you met McDonald, and that you remarked to him that it was a sin- gular secret association that should have a United States Detective in it; how did you come to tell him that, if you did not make known to him that you were a member of the order? A. We had talked upon the subject fre- quently ; I do not know if he knew wheth- er I was a member or not. Q. Did you ever give him to understand that you were a member? A. No, sir. Q. From your conversation do you know whether he was aware that you were a mem- ber of the order? A. No, sir. Q. When was this conversation with Mr. McDonald? A. The interview occurred about the middle of May, and it was, I think, within a week afterward, that I had this conversa- tion with McDonald. Q. Where were you first introduced to Mr. Stidger — in your office ? A. I first saw him there. Every Sunday morning, about 9 o'clock, a number of political friends met in my office to hear the telegrams read. One Sunday morning, about the 1st of June, I was coming down to my office, and I met Dodd and Stidger. Dodd introduced him to me, and 1 recollected the man, though not his name; he said he was the Private Secre- tary of Judge Bullitt ; and cither at that interview or within a short time, a day or two, Dodd or Stidger made this remark, that this man Coffin had compromised Judge Bullitt, or that Judge Bullitt thought he had, I don't recollect which. The next meeting of the order here was held in June, but I know nothing of its proceed- ings, as I was not present. Tliat brings us along to about the first of A\igust. In the mean^time 1 had seen Colonel Bowles once; he came to my office one evening; said he wanted to talk witli me about matters gen- erally ; and he asked me if I tliought this man Coffin was a detective; he had his TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 101 doubts about it. I told him there was no doubt about it. Q. From whom did you have it? A. Mr. McDonald. Another circumstance it may be well to relate; it shows the per- fect system of espionage here. ['I'he Judge Advocate remarked that it was unnecessary to state that here.] I do not recollect any thing special oc- curring until the 2d or 3d of August. About that time, one morning Mr. Dodd came into my room and said, "I want to have a talk with you." lie said he wanted to tell me sonAething; "but," said he, "you must give me your word of honor that what I say to you, you will not reveal to any living being." Not knowing what it was, I said, "Certainly." He went on to say it had been determined at a meeting, or Council, I do not recollect which, I think he said at a Council of Sixteen ; I believe he said some- thing about its being composed of four from Indiana, four from Illinois, four from Kentucky, and four from Missouri; I do not think any names were mentioned but Judge Bullitt and Mr. Bowles ; he said that at the ('ouncil, a resolution had been deter- mined upon, and he went on to explain it. He said that arrangements had been made to release the prisoners on Johnson's Island ; at Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio ; at Camp Morton, and also at Camp Douglas, and that the prisoners at Camp Douglas, after their release., were to go over and re- lease those at Rock Island. At the same time there was to be an uprising at Louis- ville, at which the Government stores, etc., were to be seized. Q. An uprising of what and who ? A. He did not state what or who; he «aid an " uprising." I looked at the man in astonishment. I thought it was a wild dream; I could not believe it possible. I studied a moment, and said, "Mr. Dodd, do you know what you are going to under- take ? Do you know the position of mili- tary affairs here at this jwst ? Do you think you can accomplish this scheme with any number of unarmed and undisciplined men you can bring here ? " Another thing he remarked to me was that this revolution was going to take place at several points on the 16th of August, and that I was the only person he communicated this to in the city. I asked " how is this revolution to take place, and nobody know any thing about it?" As to the way in which it was to be done hei-e, and at Louisville, he made a suggestion to me, as I was Chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee, which was that I should call a mass meet- ing of the Democracy on the 16th of August. I said we had had experience enough of Democratic mass meetings, and there would be no excuse or apology for calling such a meeting here. I asked him what excuse he could give for calling the meeting. Ho I said to take some expression against the draft, and to give some instructions to the delegates who attended the Chicago Con- vention, which was to be held on the 29th of August. I told him I could consent to nothing of the kind, and would be a party to no such scheme. W. H. Talbot, Chair- man of the Democratic Central Congres- sional District, had gone to New York, and he left me to act in his absence. Dodd knew this, and on my declining to call a meeting, as chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee, he wanted me to call a District mass meeting to nominate a candidate for this Congressional District. I told him I would not. Dodd then made application to others, also to McDonald to urge him to induce me to call a mass meetr ing, but I declined to do it. I then began to think seriously about the matter, and to reflect what was best to be done. I had been intrusted with an important secret, and it was of such a nature that I thought I ought not to keep it. I then determined to investigate the matter. I first called on Mr. Ristine, and I put leading questions to him to find out whether or not he knew of any such project, as that which had been communicated to me by Mr. Dodd, and I felt satisfied that he did not. I then called upon Mr. Athon, and in the same way I asked him leading questions to find out what he know about the matter, and I felt satisfied he knew nothing about it. I spoke to others, to Mr. Hord among the rest. I went to bed and slept over it. In the morning I went to see Mr. J. E. McDonald. I told him I had secret infor- mation that I v;ished to consult him about; that it was a matter involving us all, and that some action had to be taken immedi- ately. He said he was willing to listen to all I had to say. This was on the night of the 4th of August. I told Mr. McDonald all that Dodd had told me, and the circum- stances under which he had told it, and that I had come to advise with him as to what was my duty in the matter. We talked the matter over sometime, and finally came to the conclusion that we would sleep over it, but that the thing must be stopped at all hazards. I left him at 9 o'clock, and went to my office. As I walked down Washington street 1 saw a gentleman coming up rapidly, and I stopped him : " Halloo ! Kerr, what has brought you here?" I said. He seemed very much exci- ted. "Do you know any thing?" he said; and I said, "Do you know anything?'' "Yes," he replied. "What is it?" said I. He then said, "The devil's to pay in our section of the State; the people of Washington, Har- rison and Floyd counties, and that neigh- borhood, had got the idea that a revolution was impending; the farmers were fright- ened, and were selling their hay in the fields and their wheat in the stacks, and all 102 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. tlie property that could be was being con- verted into greenbacks." Q. What Kerr was that? A. Michael C. Kerr. "Is that all you know?" I said. "No," said he. Then he went on and represented to me just what Dodd had before told me. lie went over the whole scheme,.just as Dodd had revealed it. As we walked along, he turned around once or twice to see if any detectives were follow- ing us. I didn't let him know that 1 knew any thing aboutthe matter. I said. "This isa most important matter, and I insist that you go up to Mr. McDonald's with me, and tell him what you have told me." We got him up, and I said to him, "Kerr has got some important information, and I want him to tell you the same story that he has told 'me." Q. Did you, previous to that time, or at that time, as a matter of safety to yourself, state to McDonald your whole connection with the matter ? A. I think he understood that I was a member of the order. Q. Did you give him the whole history of the matter ? A. lie understood I was a member of the order. In this conversation with Mr. Kerr, he involved Dr. Athon in the scheme. I think, also, he told me that Governor Mor- ton was to be captured or taken prisoner, and that Dr. Athon Wixs to be Provisional Governor, and that was to be part of the scheme. McDonald said we would all meet in the morning, as had been agreed upon. Coming out, 1 said that I could not rest under the suspicion that Dr. Athon knew s»ny thing of the scheme. I did not think that he did ; and I said that although it was after 12 o'clock, I would go to his liouse. We went and called him up. He came down, and I told him, that although it was such a late hour, yet as Mr. Kerr had come with such important information he ought to know it that night. He agreed to meet with us the next morning at Mc- Donald's office. Coming out, I asked what he thought of Dr. Atlion ? He said, "He is an innocent man. He knows nothing about this scheme." Athon would scarcely be- lieve that such a scheme was entertained. I think he said: "It's all gas; such a scheme can not be entertained by sensible men." • The next day we wont about 8 or 9 o'clock to McDonald's ofhce. I had invited in all the prominent Democrats I could see. Judge Rhoads was present; McDonald was present; William Henderson, of this city; Mr. Herd, Aquilla Jones, Samuel H. Bus- kirk, Mr. Kistine, I think, Dr. Yeakle, and Colonel Caldwell, of Lafayette, and there may have been others. Mr. Kerr then told the story to those jjresent. Tlun we had a consultation about the matter, and came to the conclusion that the matter must be stopped right then. After awhile Dodd and John C. Walker came in. Q. Was Dodd sent for, or did he come of his own volition ? li. I think he was told that a meeting was to be held there that morning for con- sultation. Walker had arrived from New York that morning. This meeting occur- red on Friday, the 5th of August. Mr. Kerr made a speech. He spoke about this excitement — this revolutionary scheme — and that he came up on purpose to put a stop to the thing. I think he said that it was our duty to stop it, and I coincided ; and if it could not be stopped in any other way, it was our duty to inform the authorities. Coloner Walker and Dodd did not acknowl- edge at that interview that any such scheme was entertained. They both spoke, and very earnestly, about the state of pub- lic afl'iiirs, and they used about these argu- ments : That the Government could not bo restored again under the old state of things without a forcible revolution. That an ap- peal to the ballot-box was all folly ; that the people were prepared for revolution; that they would not submit to the draft; and that it was better to direct the revolution thaft to have revolution direct us. 'J'hat was about what they said. Before we left there, these gentlemen agreed that this whole matter should be stopped, and we were satisfied from the pledges they gave us, that the thing would be stopped. But how they intended to do it, I do not know; 1 understood they would send messengers to those various points, and state that that was their determination. Thi^ assured us that we need have no further apprehen- sions about the matter, and we rested con- tent with that. I was satisfied at that time — and the question was asked me the other day why I did not inform the authorities, but I was satisfied that the authorities knew as much as I did, and from this one circumstance among others. The signal of the uprising at Louisville, was to be the notice of a bar- becue to take place in the neighborhood of Louisville. It was understood that the up- rising wjis to take place on the day an- nounced for that barbecue. Mr. Kerr in- formed us that night, in our interview with McDonald, that Judge Bullitt had that day or the day previous been arrested. Also that many of the prominent members of the order and others, had fled the State, and tlie reason was the publication of that bar- becue. A good many of them had come up on the same train with him, and others had left the day before. Tliey had gone to New York and Canada. I was satisfied irom that fact that the authorities knew as much about the matter as I did. And this wa» confirmed a day or two afterward by a re- mark that fell from General Carrington. He spoke of this thing to Mr. McDonald, and TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 103 Mr. McDonald and myself were both satis- fied that the authorities were fully informed, and the circumstances seem to have shown that they were. They were informed of it before I was. Stidger was informed of it on the 2'Jth of July, three or four days be- fore it was communicated to me, so that General Carrington and the author- ities must have known of it on the night of the 29th of July. We had then called the Democi'atic State Central Committee to meet on the 17th of August, to till vacan- cies on the State ticket, and to report, etc I regarded this matter as most important in its eflects upon the Democratic party, and that was another reason why I did not wish to say any thing about it, ibr if this thing had been made public, it would injure us in the coming election; the charge would be made that the Democratic party was a revolutionary party, and we would have been saddled with the sins of these men. Another thing, it was a matter of personal honor. I received this information from those gentlemen under .peculiar circum- stances, and after I found the thing was stopped, I did not feel it incumbent on me to inform the authorities. I advised the gentlemen to leave before they should be arrested. Dodd was here two weeks after, and Walker was here from the 5th to the 15th of August without being arrested. My conversation at the time the authorities knew about it — for I had every reason to believe it — made me come to this conclu- sion. I told them as a friend, that if they remained here they would be arrested. They thought so and left. Q. At this meeting, at which Mr. McDon- ald and others were present, did Mr. Dodd confess that his scheme was true? A. No, sir; but rather denied it. He neither confessed nor denied it, but said that revolution was necessary. Q. Was it charged upon him by Mr. Kerr that it was true ? A. Yes, sir. Q. And did he refuse to acknowledge the fact? A. He refused to deny or acknowledge it. Q. Why did you not make known to those persons who did not know it, that it was true? A. We did, sir. All present understood it thoroughly. We conversed an hour or two before these gentlemen came in. We had a meeting of the Central Com- mittee on the 12th of August. I stated in the notice sent out on the 6th of August, that matters of grave importance demanded a large attendance, and it was hoped that all the Committee would attend, and we in- vited other prominent men in the State. We had quite a large meeting. We filled up the vacancies on the State ticket, and then this matter came up for discussion. Mr. Kerr was present, and at my request he laid this whole affair before the members of the Committee, and the same resolution came up there we had in our previous consulta- tion, that, if the thing had not been stopped, it must be now. We had to be satisfied on that point. Colonel Walker came to that meeting. W^e had a two-days meeting — the 12th and the loth. And he assured the Committee that it was stopped, that nothing of the kind should take i>lace. Q. Was it previous to, or after this meet- ing of the Council of Sixteen at Chicago, that you met Mr. Walker here, and had a conversation with him, in reference to any rebel officers going to Illinois, to take charge of the rebel prisoners ? A. I saw Mr. Walker j^reviously, once or twice, while he was here. I met him on the street, and he complained that I had not seen him. He was sleeping at Colonel Rose's room, in this building, at the time. Colonel Hose was absent at the time. He is a brother-in-law of Colonel Rose. This was on the morning of the 11th. He went to the Bates House, and said he regretted to have to go to the Bates House, it was a bad place to stop at. I a.sked him why he was going. He said he had to meet these gentlemen by ajjpointment. I understood him to say they were rebel officers. They would be there that day, and unless he wa^ there, they would not know where to find him. He said they were on their way to Chicago to take charge of the rebel prison- ers when they were released from Camp Dougla.s. It was necessary that he should see them, to tell them that the whole scheme was stopped. He met me afterward, and said he had seen them, and they had gone on and stopped all operations at that time, for the release of the prisoners. CROSS-EXAMINATION. Question by the accused: To what extent was this scheme of revo- lution known and entertained in this order, and out of it, as far as you know ? A. All that I know is that it was commu- nicated to me under those circumstances, and I know nothing further than those to whom I communicated it in this city and those who came from a distance. Q. To what extent did Dodd state that he had communicated the matter ? A. He stated to me that I was the only person to whom he had communicated it. That was about the 2d or 3d of August. Q. Did Mr. Kerr get his information from the same source? A. No, sir. I do hot know where he got it. Q. Do you say this Council of Sixteen had resolved upon this revolutionary scheme when it convened at Chicago? A. Yes, sir. Q. How long before that? A. I don't think he told me, when I saw 104 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. him here from Chicago or New York; he got back about the 29th of July. Q. Did you not know, from other sources, and through other medium, that, so far i'rom Mr. Dodd's statement being true, the proposition had actually been voted down in that Council? A. Yes, sir. I heard that. Q. Did you hear it from the members of the order? A. I heard it, but it did not come directly from a member of the order. Q. Did you learn from Dodd, that Bowles was a member of that Council? A. That is what I understood. Q. Did you understand from Bowles, as a member of the Council, that the proposition for revolution had been voted down? A. Not directly. Q. Who were the members of that Coun- cil? Was either of the accused — Heffren, Horsey, Milligan,or Humphreys a member? A. I did not understand that either of them was. Q. You say that it was not lirltil a very late period of your connection with the or- der, that you got any knowledge of its mili- tary feature. Did it, either with or without its military feature, contemplate in its teachings, as you got them in the order, or in the ritual, or any of its written or un- written works, any such revolutionary scheme as the purpose and object of the order ? A. I did not so understand it; I never read the Constitution or Kitual until long after I joined: not until the 30th of July. Q. What was the purpose of the organiza- tion as you understood it? A. Purely political. That was my under- gtanding of it at the time 1 joined it. Q. This conflict of the Government, then, that was concocted by these men, you say was not within the scope or contemplation of the order? A. Nothing was ever mentioned in the order, or by any member of the order, until it was communicated by Dodd to me. Q, Do you know anything about the Com- mittee of Thirteen ? A. I think it was some time in August. On the Saturday that these arms were dis- covered, a young man came to my house after supper, and brought me a communica- tion from Dodd and Walker. I think they were in Chicago. They inclosed an address from what was called a Committee of Thir- teen, and requested me to publish it in the Sentinel; and if I did not publish it, they wanted to have it printed in Dodd's oftice. I told him I had not time to look at it, but if he would come in on Sunday morning, I would let him know. I declined to pub- lish it, and I told him that as I had an in- terest in Dodd's establishment, it could not be published there. I inclosed the communication back to Mr. Walker. Q. You say, do you not, that Walker said he wrote the address, and was authorized to use Dodd's name as chairman of the Com- mittee of Thirteen? A. I understand there was no such com- mittee. Q. Had you any evidence that Walker signed the communication.? A. Yes, sir. It was in his handwriting. Dodd also wrote to the same efl'ect from Chicago. Q. Had you any more than one converss' tion with Heffren? A. Yes, sir. Heffren came to my office several times; the night before and the night after the meeting on the 16th and 17 th of February. Q. Was it on that occasion you said you would have nothing to do with the order? A. Yes, sir; and Heffren said he con- sidered it a humbug. Q. Did he express any opinion about abandoning it ? A. Yes, sir. I so understood him. He coincided with my opinion and would do as I had done. Q. Did you have any information of Mr. HefiVen's meeting with the organization after that ? A. No, sir. Q. You stated, did you not, that Mr. Milli- gan was present at the State Council in No- vember? A. Yes, sir. Q. Was that the only time you met him at the State Council ? ^ A. I met him only that time, and that was the only knowledge I had of his con- nection with the order. Q. Have you not stated that nothing was discussed in the order but pure politics, education and literature ? A. That vvas all that was discussed in my hearing. There may have been other mat- ters that I did not hear. Q. What was the date of the time when you expressed your determination not to have any more to do with the institu- tion ? A. It was after the February meeting. Q. Did you not after that time maintain your previous intimacy with members or persons belonging to the organization? A. Yes, sir. Q. From October until the 15th of Au- gust, when Dodd revealed to you the pur- pose to inaugurate a revolution, did you hear, in or out of the order, of any purpose to inaugurate a revolution by the order itself? A. Nothing of the kind. Q. Then what was the organization? Was it not purely political? A. That was my understanding. Q. Then 1 will ask you to state whether this conspiracy that Dodd revealed to you was not a conspiracy of Dodd, Walker and TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 105 one or two others, and not a conspiracy by the order ? A. That was my understanding, sir. RE-EXAMINATION. Question by the Judge Advocate : Do you say that was your understand- ing ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Was it not your understanding that the leaders of the order were to use the or- der to accomplish this revolution? What position did Dodd hold in the command of the order ? A. He was Grand Commander. Q. Had he not, accoitling to the Consti- tution and Kitual, the power to call it to- gether? q. Were they not sworn to obey implicit- ly his order ? A Yes sir. Q. Then could he, or could he not, order them to come here armed, as he chose. Was that not in accordance with the obli- gations of the order? A. It was not so far as I understood it. Q. I ask you the plain, simple question, whiither or not, according to the Consti- tuMn of that order, you were not to obey him implicitly over and above all other commands ? Did you ever see the consti- Uition and laws of the order? A. I saw them as they were published in the Indianapolis Journal I saw the book containing them, but never read it? Q. Would you recognize them if you saw the books? A. Yes, sir ; I think I should. Q. The Judge Advocate here handed the witness a copy of the Constitution of the Supreme Council of the order, and asked, is this one of the books you saw ? A. It looks something like it. Q. Will you read section 17 of the Gen- eral Laws? . I A. The witness read the following : "Sec. 17. The Grand Commanders shall be the presiding officers of the Grand Coun- cils of the States, execute all laws passed by such Councils, and shall be commanders- in-chief of the military forces of their re- epective States." What I saw was the ritual and the oath ; I never saw this before. The Judge Advocate here handed the witness a pamphlet containing the Ritual of the third degree, and asked : Q. Is that not the Ritual of the third de- gree? A. That is what it purports to be. The Judge Advocate then read the fol- lowing portion of the obligation: "I do further swear, that I will, at all times and in all places, yield prompt and implicit obedience to the utmost of my ability without remonstrance, hesitation or delay, to any and every mandate, order or request, of my immediate M. E. G. C.,* in all thinss touching the purposes of the O. S. L.,and to defend the principles thereof, when assailed in my own State or country, in whatsoever capacity may be assigned to me by authority of our order." Q. "is that one of the obligations taken by the order ? A Yes sir. Q. I will ask you again, whether the Grand Commander had power to call this order together, and to give them such or- ders as he saw proper? A." Yes, sir. That matter came up for discussion, I think. I asked the Grand Commander the question, when I went into the order, whether there was any obliga- tion that would violate my duties or my obligations as a citizen, and he said there not. I think that was the construc- tion placed upon this obligation : that there would be nothing violating our obligation as citizens. . . Q. You have spoken of this uprising on the 16th. By whom was it contempla- ted? A. Dodd gave me no information but this, that he desired me to call a mass meeting of the Democracy, and under cover of that he could accomplish his ends. Q. How? A. By revolution. Q. Who were to inaugurate that revolu- tion? _, ^ - A. He expected the men that came here to do it. Q. Who were to come here? A, That he never explained to me. Q. Who, did you gather from what he said, would do it? -j ., *. A. I should infer from what he said that he expected the assistance of the members of the order. Q. Were any promises or pledges, or threats made, on behalf of the Govern- ment, to induce you to give this testimony? A. None whatever. I think it is due to this Court and to the Judge Advocate, to state that this state- ment is made voluntarily. That I intended to have made it in writing and publish it for my own vindication. The Commission then adjourned, to meet at 2 o'clock, P. M. AFTERNOON SESSION. Court Boom, Indlinapolis, Indiana, ) October 28, 1801, 2 o'clock, P. M.» The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. , T J All the members present; also, the Judge Advocate, the accused and their counsel. * Most Excellent Grand Commander. 106 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Felix G. Stidger, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testi- fied as follows: Question by the Judge Advocate : State your name, place of residence, and business for the last two or three years ? Answer. Felix G. Stidger; I live in Mat- toon, Illinois. For the last two or three years I have been in the dry goods business, and I have been a carpenter, and served in the army. Q. Where did you reside immediately pre- ceding your living at Mattoon, Illinois ? A. At Louisville, Kentucky. I came there on the 15th of April, 1864. Q. Where previous to that? A. At Taylorsville, Kentucky. Q. How long did you reside there? A. Two months after leaving the army. Q. When did you leave the army ? A. On the morning of the 14th of Feb- ruary I received my discharge. Q. From what regiment were you dis- charged? A. From the 15th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry. I was discharged for physical disability. Q. Were you with your regiment ? A. No, sir; not a day. I served as clerk in the Adjutant General's office, 1st Divis- ion, 14tli Army Corps. Q. Who was the Adjutant General? A. Major McDowell, Captain Taylor, now Colonel 15th Kentucky Volunteers, Captain Nevin, Lieutenant Colonel Lyme Starling, formerly chief of General Crittenden's staff", and when I left Captain Wells was Assistant Adjutant General. Q. Who commanded tlie corps? A. General Thomas, and pjtf-t of the time General Palmer. Q. What particular duties did you per- form as clerk ? A. Applications for resignations, leave of absence, furloughs, sometimes reports of the troops, and special and general orders. Q. Please state to the Covn-t how your attention was first called to the Order of the Sons of Liberty ; and when, if ever, you joined them ? A. I was in Captain Jones' office on the morning of the 5tb of May, 1864, and he showed me a letter from Cieneral Carring- ton, stating something in reference to Dr. Bowles being a dangerous man, and re- questing him to send a Kentuckian to him; on the receipt of that letter. Captain Jones sent me to Dr. Bowles. I received instruc- tions in the Vestibule, or Neophyte Degree, on that morning; Mr. Prentice instructed me before I went to see Dr. Bowles. That was on the 5th of May, 1864. I started to see Dr. Bowles on the morning of the 6th, and arrived at his hou.se on the 8th. He r«;- Bides at French Lick Springs, Orange coun- ty, Indiana. Q. Did you go directly to his house? A. No, sir; I stopped at Salem, thinking that was the nearest railroad point, but I found it was twenty odd miles to French Lick Springs, and no regular conveyance. By going further up the railroad to Orleans, it was not so far; there was a regular con- vej'ance all the time. I stepped oft' th« train at Salem about 11 in the morning of the 6th of May, and remained there until the night train came along, which was probably 10 o'clock; I then went to Orleans and staid there till 12 o'clock the next day, Saturday the 7th, when I took the regular conveyance out to Paoli. On the 8th 1 went to Dr. Bowles' hovise. On the way to Mr. Bowies', I saw Mr. Ileff'ren at Salem. Q. State how you happened to meet him. and your conversation with him. A. I fell in with a man by the name of Drom. I think he stated his name was John, but I am not sure whether it was John or S. He is a clothing merchant, and keeps a store. He saw Mr. HeftVen walking across the square, and remarked that there was one of the Democratic lead- ers of that part of the country. He said something about HeftVen wearing a butter- nut pin, and that there had been something said about taking it oft" him, and thit if it had been done there would have been one thousand or fifteen hundred men ready to revenge the insult. Drom told Heftren that I was from Kentucky; HeftVen came up and asked if I wished to see him. He then went on to tell me that he was ex- pecting a commissioner from Kentucky, from the rebel forces there; and I told him about three of Forrest's regiments being disbanded there — in the State of Ken- tucky. Q. Did he explain what he meant by the word "commissioner?" A. Not at that time; afterward he did. I told him of the three regiments of For- rest's men having been disbanded, and he told me that there were four more to be disbanded. This was what he was expect- ing to hear of, and was expecting a com- missioner from the forces in Kentucky to see liim that day or the next, and he did not know but 1 was probably the man, as 1 came from Kentucky. I knew nothing more about these three Kentucky regi- ments being dLsbanded than what I had seen in the newspapers. I understood they were furloughed soldiers who were to re- main at home a certain time, and at a cer- tain signal they were to concentrate when- ever ordered. Mr. HeftVen told me during the evening that he could call together, within twenty-four hours, from one thou- sand to fifteen hundred armed men in that section, in connection with that secret or- ganization. He did not say particularly for what purpose he could call tliem. H© asked me if I knew any thing about the / TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 107 democratic organization; I said I was a member of the first degree of it. lie did not mention the name of the order. ^ Q. What further conversation had you with Heffren? A. 1 had no particular conversation with him that evening; he promised to see me after supper; but his wife being ill, he did not come. Q. Did you state your name and business to him ? A. I believe I told him my name was Grundy, but 1 did not state my business at all. Q. What time did you leave him ? A. I suppose it was about sundown when heleftmetogo home. He warnedme of some twoorthreegentlemenvvhom hepointedout; one was Joe Faulkner; that I must be par- ticular about what I .said ; for he told me he was a United States Detective. He also re- ferred me to the Persise House as being of a different stripe to the one I was stopping at. which was known as a Union House. He remarked to a gentleman that evening, or a gentleman asked him why a certain lady was sent from Kentucky ; he said he didn't know why it was, except that they expected trouble in Kentucky, and that this would be a safer place. He also said, that if Lee succeeded in permanently holding Pennsylvania, and some one else some other point, as he understood it — "things would be different." Q. What "things" did he refer to? A. I suppose he meant the workings of the Government. I left him that night and went to Orleans? Q. When did you see Dr. Bowles? A. 1 went there Sunday morning; got there about 10 or 11 o'clock. He was from home, and did not return till 6 or 7 in the evening. His wife gave me an introduction to him. My name was given as J. J. Grundy. 1 gave this name to Mr. Banning, the keeper of the house, and he so registered it. My first conversation with Bowles was on Mon- day evening. He asked me if I knew any thing about the Democratic organization. I told him I was a member of the first de- gree of it. He did not test me as to whether I was a member. He told me I was sur- rounded by members of that order. He told me that he was a military chief of the order, and that a man by the name of Wright, of St. Louis, was the civil chief, and that the order was numerous. He gave me the name of Mr. Halloway. and said he was the only man in Illinois that he could put his finger on with reliability. He said the forces of Indiana would concentrate in Ken- tucky, and make Kentucky their battle ground; that the forces in Illinois would concentrate in St. Louis, and co-operate with the forces in Missouri; that Illinois would furnish 50,000, Missouri 30,000, and Price was to invade the State with 20,000 men; with that 100,000 men they were to hold and permanently occupy that State, and the troops of Indiana and Ohio concen- trate at Louisville. I also heard him speak of a man by the name of Stone ; who said he had organized a regiment of men in six weeks in this State, (Indiana,) and that he expected him to raise another regiment. He spoke of another man named Dickerson, who went to Richmond at his pleasure. He lived in Baltimore. He wanted to know how many men Kentucky could fur- nish, and stated that a rebel force under Buckner would come into the eastern part of the State, and with these forces they in- tended to hold Kentucky. At that time no time had been set for the movement. Q. Did you learn from him, or not, that this organization, or secret order, was to act in conjunction with the rebel forces? A. They were. He told me that this order was made out of the Knights of the Golden Circle, of which he had been a mem- ber, and that he resurrected this order out of it. He appeared to claim a great deal of credit. Q. Was any thing else said at that meet- ing between you and Bowles ? A. These were the important parts. Q. Where did you go afterward ? A. I went back to Kentucky. He was anxious I should use all my exertions in ex- tending the order as much as possible. Bowles told me there was to be a meeting in Indianapolis in about two weeks from then ; and said he would get other reports from Kentucky, but he wanted me to go to Ken- tucky and see what could be done; he was anxious to know what he could report at that meeting. I arrived at Dr. Bowles' on the 8th of May, 1864; stayed at his house four days, and re- turned to Kentucky about the 12th or I3th of May. Q. Who did you see upon your return that was connected with this order ? A. Dr. Kalfus was the only one I knew to be connected with it. I had some talk with him, and he further initiated me into the order. Q. What degrees did you receive from him? A. He gave me the first degree. I had previously taken only the Vestibule degree. Q. Did you meet Judge Bullitt, of Ken- tucky? A. Not until after the second interview with Bowles. I started from Louisville about two weeks after my return from Bowies', probably on the 24th or 25th of May. I did not go direct to Dr. Bowles, but stopped at Salem to see Heffren. I saw him and had some talk with him. He told me he had been to Indianapolis, and had seen Mr. II. H. Dodd, and that they had concluded to call a meeting of the organization some day be- tween the 13th and 16th of June. He said 108 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. they were the only two men in the State who had the power to call that meeting; that was himself (HefFren) and Dodd ; and that the organization of the State was now about complete ; that it would number be- tween 75,000 and 80,000 men. Q. Did you register your name at Salem? A. If I did, it was as J. J. Grundy. Q. Where did you have this talk with Hetfren? A. It was in the sitting-room of the Pei*- fiise House, on or about the 25th of May. Q. How are you enabled to fix that date? A. By its being on Wednesday, near two weeks after my return from seeing Dr. Bowles the first time. Q. Did you make any report of your visit at that time ? A. I made my report to Captain Jones, and I understand he sent it toGeneral Burbridge. Q. State the particulars of your second visit to Dr. Bowles ? A. I left Salem about 11 o'clock in the morning, and arrived at Dr. Bowles' that evening. He was not at home. That was on Wednesday. He returned Saturday, at noon. At his home no one appeared to know where he had gone. He told me him- self, that he had been to Indianapolis ; had seen Mr. Dodd, Mr. Barrett, of Missouri, Judge Bullitt, and some other gentlemen ; and that there would be a meeting of the Grand Council on the 14th of June. He told me that Barrett pledged from Missouri .30,000 men, and that Illinois pledged 50,000. The leaders of those States pledged that number of men. The forces of Illinois and Missouri were to co-operate with Price. He said that 20,000 men or more, if Jeff Davis could spare them, were to be sent into Mis- souri. He told me, also, that Indiana pledged 40,000, which were to co-operate with those from Ohio, concentrate near Lou- isville, and co-operate with whatever troops Jeft" Davis could send into Kentucky under Buckner or Breckinridge ; or, if he thought it advisable, he would send Longstreet with them. They had no regular communication with Ohio, but had made arrangements to open up regular communication with their friends there. He also told me of the change in the Supreme Commander to Val- landigham, and that he had been appointed a commissioner to visit Vallandigham in Canada. Q. What further conversation had you with Dr. Bowles, at that time ? A. He told me that on the Sunday which was tlie 22d of May, that himself. Mr. Dorojec- ted from a gun, at the moment of striking an object, igniting the jiowder and bursting the shell. At the same time the Greek fire is ignited. A spherical shell was here handed to the witness. [See Illustrations.] Q. Was there a weapon similar to thia shown you by Booking? A. Bocking had none of them at that time, but he drew a diagram of thein, and explained the jjrinciple of their action to them. Q. You may describe its mode of action? A. The glass vial inside of the inner shell cont^iins Greek fire, and after it is placed in the inner shell, is surrounded with powder. Theinner shell iscapped with percussion caps placed on the nipples, wliich are so arranged that at the moment it strikes, the three caps will be exploded, no matter how it falls. It could be thrown by the hand, and on strik- ing any thing the caps would burst, igniting the powder and bursting the shell. Bocking, who had some of the Greek fira and experimented with it, also said that the liquid fire if thrown in a vial would burn any thing against which it was thrown. Ho also e.\plained a kind of clock machine, which, being wound up, would run a certain lengtli of time, and at that point would in some way ignite the Greek fire, and a con- flagration would be the result. He did not have one of these machines, but said ho could make them for (he benefit of the Order of Sons of Liberty. He also showed TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 109 the muster roll of a battery, which he said he had been authorized to raise, and this musterroll exhibited nothing but a listofthe rebel prisoners confined in one of the prisons of the United States, and he said that every one of those enlisted in his battery, were enlisted with the understanding that at the first opportunity they were to desert to the enemy, and that one section had deserted and taken over two of the guns. This was said in the presence of Dr. Bowles. Q. When was this meeting held? A. On the 28th of June, at Louisville, in Booking's room. * Q. State what took place in the interview with Dr. Bowles on the 26th of May. What did he say in that interview about Greek fire? A. He said they had been experimenting, and had got it about perfect ; that Bullitt knew how it was made; that he wished me to go home and get the order organized and spread over the State, and he wanted me to impress upon the people the idea of this Greek fire, that they would thereby come more readily into the order. He was anxi- ous 1 should make Judge Bullitt's acquaint- ance, and assist him all I could. From Dr. Bowles I went back to Louisville, and carried a message to Judge Bullitt. He told me to make Bullitt's acquaintance, and say to him that he had seen Mr. Andrew Humphreys since their meeting in Indian- apolis, and Mr. Humphreys had agreed to take the position of a brigadier general and charge of the forces in the rear in case of an uprising of the order. Q. Did you not speak of Heffren as the person you saw at Salem ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Gan you identify him as one of the ac- cused? A. Yes, sir. [The witness here pointed to the accused, Horace Heffren.] Q. Is that the same man with whom you had the conversation at Salem ? A. It is, sir. Q. You stated, did you not, that Hum- phreys would take charge of the forces in tho rear? A, Yes, sir. But Bowles did not say what they were to do. We were talking of the order, and I suppose he meant the forces comprised all the members of the order. Q. Did you see Judge Bullitt? A. I did. Q. Was he a member of the order? A. Y^es, sir, he was. Q. You may state what was done and aaid in your interview with Judge Bullitt. A. I made his acquaintance, and told him what Bowles had told me to tell him. He said it suited him exactly, that Humphreys was willing to take that position. Q. What position did he refer to? A. It seoms that Humphreys had been known as a Major General in the order. Bullitt said: "I have spent a good deal of money in this affair, and I am willing to spend every cent I have; for I hope soon to be able to steal a good living from these damned sons of bitches." Q. What official position did Bullitt hold at that time? A. He was one of the Judges of the Su- preme Court of Appeals of the State of Kentucky. Q. Had you any further conversation ? A. Not until a day or two afterward. There were Judge Bullitt, Dr. Chambers, of Gallatin county, Mr. Kalfus, D. C. Whips, Mr. Piper, of Springfield, Illinois, and my- self, in Kalfus' office — in his private room. Chambers had just come down from Gal- latin county, for the purpose of getting in- struction in the work of organizing his county; there was something said about a man by the name of Coffin having been in the room with Dr. Bowles and others in this city. Chambers said he knew Cof- fin, that he was a United States Detective, and called him a good many hard names; he knew he was a United States Detective, he had been a stanch Union man — and that was the only evidence he had of his being a United States Detective. After talking the matter over, they decided he should be murdered. Dr. Bowles had been instrumental in getting him into the order, and they thought that Bowles ought to be instrumental in getting him out. They de- termined to put him out of the way ; he was a United States Detective, and he should be murdered at all hazards. They sent me with these instructions to Bowles, and I was to go to Indianapolis and get some constitutions of the order, and I was to inform Dodd, and whoever 1 might see, to be on their guard, and do all they could to get shut of him. Q. Who sent you? A. It was with the unanimous consent of all parties that I was sent. Q. Who were they? A. Judge Bullitt, Mr. Piper, Dr. Cham- bers, Dr. Kalfus, and D. C. Whips; they gave me that message to Dr. Bowles; 1 started on the next day, which was about the first day of June, and took the message to Dr. Bowles. I saw him that same eve- ning. Q. What did you say to him? A. I told him what was the decision of Judge Bullitt and others in Louisville; that Coffin was unquestionably a United States Detective; and that as he had been instru- mental in getting him into the order, he ought to be instrumental in getting him out. He said he knew that two men at the Shoals had initiated Mr. Coffin, and he knew he had been in the United State."! employ, but he could explain that to their satisfaction. " But," he said, " I will put two 110 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. men on his track." He gave me their sur- names, but I do not remember them. He told me to say that ho would put two men on his track. He did not seem to think Coffin was a dangerous man at all. Q, Where did you go after that inter- view ? A. To Indianapolis. Q. Had you any further conversation with Bowles? A. I revealed to him my true name, and explained to him wliy I had come to him under an assumed name. I told him that when I came to Louisville, I had been watched on the streets by a United States Detective — which was true — and to avoid being troubled by that man I had to go somewhere else, and that I had come to his house to escape him, and that was the reason why I had come to his house under an assumed name. Q. At that time did you hold any office? If so, what? A. Not until the first of June. From Dr. Bowles' I went to Indianapolis and saw Mr. Dodd and Mr. Harrison. I also received an introduction to Mr. Bingham and Dr. Gatling. The first man I saw to whom I made myself known was Mr. Dodd. I stopped at the Palmer House and register- ed under my real name, Felix G. Stidger. It was on the first Saturday in June that I arrived here. Q. AVhere did you see Dodd? A. Judge Bullitt directed me how to go from that house to Dodd's building that I might be able to find it without inquiring of any one, and creating suspicion. I went there, but did not find him. I inquired where he lived, and went out to his house. I was told there he had gone down town, and that I would probably find him at Bingham's office. I went to Mr. Bingham's office and found him there. I gave him the letter of introduction from Judge Bullitt; and Mr. Dodd then called out to Mr. Bing- ham and Dr. Gatling and gave my intro- duction to them. Mr. Dodd invited me and Dr. Gatling to go up to his office. Q. What passed between you and Dodd at his office? A. I told him that he had neglected to put up tlie constitutions in the books Bul- litt had brought. I also spoke about Coffin, / and said that Bowles would put two men on his track, but I had forgotten their names. Gatling came up in the office dur- ing the time I was there, but I do not re- member whether he was present at the lime or not. Q. What else occurred? A. Dodd went with me to Harrison's house, and he inquired of some persons in the building if they knew where Mr. Har- rison lived. Some one told him where he lived, and we went out to Harrison's house. He showed him my letter of introduction from Bullitt, and said that I would like to see him at his office in the evening. I saw him at his office in the evening, and had some conversation with him. He gave me the rituals and constitution of the or- der, and the address of the Grand Com- mander of the State of Indiana, delivered on the I6th or 17th of February, and also instructed me in the third degree of the or- der; I never took the obligation, but he in- structed me in it. Q. Did you receive any money from mem- bers of the order ? A. Judge Bullitt gave me a check on the Bank of Kentucky for $25. Q. Did you have any conversation with Dr. Gatling in Dodd's office? A. There was something said about his cofiee-mill gun, and he remarked that he was glad the Government did not take it, as he wanted it for the South; that he had sent a man to Europe, or had made ar- rangements to send him, to have it patented for the use of the South. Q. Was Dodd present? A. Yes, sir ; he was. The Judge Advocate here handed the witness a pamphlet containing Dodd's ad- dress. [See Appendix.] Q. Is that the address you referred to? A. Yes, sir ; Harrison gave me a copy of that for Judge Bullitt. Q. Did you take them to Judge Bullitt? A. Yes, sir. I saw many copies of them in Harrison's office. This is the book they used for their secret cypher in this city. By it they sent all important communica- tions through the mail. Harrison told me that was the book they used for their se- cret cypher. Bullitt and Bowles also told me about the secret cypher, and that a person might get hold of that secret cypher, but if he had not the key, he could not read it. Q. You may explain how the book is used for the secret cypher. A. We counted from the left, and used fig- ures entirely to spell words. If I wanted to spell the word "the," I would put the figure "3" at the top of the page to indi- cate the page of the book I used. I would put the figure 6 in brackets, as indicating the line of that page, and then 1, 2 and 3, to denote that they were the first, second, and third letters of that line. • Q. Did any thing take place at Dodd's offije that day? A. No, sir; not that I recollect. Q. Did you see Dodd again at that time ? A. I came here on Saturday evening, and went home on Monday morning. 1 did not see Dodd again, and had no further consultation with him. 1 saw General Car- f ington and Governor Morton while here, and I made known to them what I had done. General Carrington copied the works TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Ill I had with me. I went back to Louisville from here, and took some books. Q. What were those books ? A. The constitutions of the county tem- ples, of the Grand Council of the State, and of the Supreme Council of the United States, and one or two rituals of the order, also an address of the Grand Commander of the State of Indiana. I delivered them first to Dr. Kalfus, and when Dr. KalfQs returned them I gave them to Judge Bul- litt. I arrived at Louisville on Monday, about the 4th of June. It was immedi- ately after my appointment as Grand Sec- retary of the State of Kentucky by Judge Bullitt. The date of that appointment was about the 4th or 5th of June. Q. Was that appointment verbal or writ- ten? A. We did nothing in writing that we could avoid. I was to receive a salary, but there was nothing stipulated ; we were to go according to the Constitution of the Grand (^uncil of the State of Indiana. I was to receive, as I understood, about $800 per annum. Q. Did you ever receive pay for the posi- tion you held? A. I received pay from tlie members of the order, and I collected the initiation fee, and was told by Kalfus and Bullitt to keep it for mv pay. I received about $200. Q. What office did Judge Bullitt hold? A. He was elected Grand Commander of the State. At that time he was the only Grand Councilman in the State. He was elected at the meeting of the Grand Coun- cil by members of the different counties of the State of Kentucky. I was not at that meeting. I was at the meeting of the Grand Council in Kentucky on the night of the 27tli of June, 1864. Q. Who was present at that meeting? A. Judge BulUtt, Mr. W. K. Thomas, a Mr. John J. Felix, of Lawrenceburg, Ken- tucky, two gentlemen from Paris, and Mr. T. J. Bosley ; D. C. Wipps, who was treas- urer of the Grand Council, was there ; also Judge G. Williams, of Hancock county, and some others I do not now remember. Tliere was also a Mr. Tirrell, of Owen coun- ty, or Boone county ; he had formerly been in the Federal army. There were about sixteen or seventeen persons present. Q. Was any business transacted ? A. Delegates were elected to attend the Supreme Council in Chicago on the first day of July. Judge Bullitt, by virtue of his office as Grand Commander, was a member. Prior, Winchester and Wipps were all three elected. Q. Was any other business of importance transacted at that meeting? Any talk there with reference to the sentiments of the order ? A. Mr. Bosley made a short speech about the operations in his part of the colintry ; he is from Shelby county ; and Judge Wil- liams also made a short speech, I believe, about the operations and organization of his county, and of its action in connection with the uprising to resist the Government. This received the general sanction of all present. Q. Did you attend any meeting in this State before that ? A. Yes, sir; on the 14th of June. I was told by Dr. Bowles when the meeting wouM be held, and also by Mr. Dodd. They both said tliey would like me to be here if I could come, and I did come. Q. Who was present at that meeting? A. The meeting was held in the building occupied by Dodd as a printing establish- ment. Dodd was present and presided over the meeting. Mr. Harrison was there as Secretary. Mr. HeflVen's name was called as Deputy Grand Commander, but he was not present. Mr. Bowles, Mr. Milligan and Mr. Humphreys were there. Mr. Dodd told me it \vas Andrew Humphreys. I think I know Mr. Humphreys, but I could not swear to him positively. Mr. Milligan, whom I see present in this room, (the wit- ness here pointed to the accused, L. P. Milligan,) is the same that was present; also Dr. Bowles, one of the accused. There was a Judge Borton, or Borden, also pres- ent. A Mr. Otey, an old gentleman, was there; also, Mr. Gatling, and Dr Athon, Secretary of State; Mr. McBride, from Evansville, and a Mr. Everett, from Evansville, also a Mr. Thompson. I re- member his being appointed on a com- mittee. Thompson and, I think, Dr. Athon and McBride were the three gentlemen appointed on that committee to exam- ine an invention that had been inven- ted by a member of the order, and the committee reported that the invention was a good one, and ought to be adopted by the order; they recommended that it be turned over to the Committee of Thirteen, who should distribute it to those member.? of the order that in their judgment might be intrusted with it. I know he was on two committees during the day. There was also a committee on military aftairs, and one on the subject of education. Mil- ligan, Bowles, McBride and Dr. Gatling were four of the military committee, the other I do not remember. Q. Was any thing reported by the Mili- tary Committee? A. Yes, sir; they reported a bill setting forth their views, that the order ought t<> be organized as a military organization at once, and armed. Q. When was this? A. This was on the 14th of June. Dodd, at the opening of the meeting, read an ad- dress to consider if the order had any poli- tics, and if so, what they were. The sub- ject of education was considered, and also 112 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. if the time for action was not at hand. These were the main points of his address. Q. Were any military appointments made at that meeting ? Yes, sir; one Mr. Walker was elected a Major General. There were elections of delegates to the Supreme Council, which was a meeting of delegates from the differ- ent State Councils, to be held at Chicago on the first day of July. Q. Who was elected? A. Mr. Dodd, by 'virtue of his rank as Grand Commander, was one; J. G. Davis and Mr. Lasselle were elected; and the Major Generals, by virtue of their rank, were ex officio members. Q. Do you know who were the Major Generals of the order at that time ? A. Mr. Milligan, Mr. Bowles, Mr. Humph- reys and Mr. Walker, who was elected vice Mr. Yeakle, who, it seems, had been a Ma- jor General, but was now thrown out. Walker was said to be a man who had some military experience. Q. Was there any protest on the part of Milligan on his accepting this appointment? A. Not a word. They were not elected that day; they had been elected before. Mr. Dodd called over their names as Major Generals. Walker was the only Major Gen- eral elected that day. Q. Did any thing else take place at that meeting? A. The subject of Mr. Coffin was dis- cussed at considerable length. McBride, of Evansville, had a great deal to say about it. lie knew Coffin about Evansville as a Government Detective; that he had been engaged in sending contraband goods South, they were taken, and it got the people into trouble; he believed that he was still in that kind of business. McBride also said he had a report of the order known as the Loyal League; that he had men in the order who reported to him every thing that occurred; he said a good deal about the Government damning secret organizations, when here was one they supported them- selves. He also said that the men of Van- derburg and Posey counties were members of this order, and also several of the Home Guard companies of the Legion, and he said that two or three companies there who had Government arms, were under his con- trol. He said something about an election there, when the members of this order went to the polls armed; the members of the Home Guards were there, also armed, he said, but they knew the members of the order were armed, and did not attempt to do any thing. He did not say how he knew those other men were armed, but McBride said the members of the order were armed. Q. What else was done at this meeting? A. The meeting, generally, was appointed a committee to attend a meeting at Hamil- ton, Ohio. Coffin was expected to be there. He had not been seen for several days, and was supposed to be there. Dodd volun- teered his services to go to Hamilton, and if Coffin was there, pick a quarrel with him and shoot him. He wanted to know who would go with him. McBride said he knew Coffin, but he was sorry, he said, that his business was such that he could not go. Bowles, Dodd, Milligan and myself, went to Hamilton the next day. Q. Did you see Dodd or Bowles at Ham- ilton? A. Yes, sir. I went up to Dodd and Bowles after Vallandigham had got through speaking, to bid them good-by, as I was starting for Cincinnati; and Bowles leaned down and asked me if I had seen Coffin. I said, "I don't know the man.'' They then remembered that I had previou.sly told them that I did not know him. They said they did not think Coffin was there, ae they could not find him. Q. What did Dodd say at the meeting? A. I do not remember any thing, save that he said that Government detectives ought to be murdered; he might have said killed. He said if Coffin was at Hamilton, he would pick a quarrel with him and shoot him. Q. Where did you go then? A. To Cincinnati, and thence to Louis- ville. Q. When were you here next ? A. I got to Louisville on Thursday night, and came up here about the first of the next week — some time during the week. I then saw Dodd and Harrison, and Mr. Jo- seph Eistine, Auditor of State. Q. Was any thing said or done? A. I was sent by Judge Bullitt to see about the dispatch which he had received? Q. What was that? A. The dispatch was something about Aunt Lucy being sick, and he wanted to know if such a dispatch had been received. Dodd knew nothing about the dispatch. He asked me if I knew what Aunt Lucy meant. I said I did, and told him it had reference to the Southern Confederacy; and he seemed to be satisfied. Bullitt also said something about a letter that Mr. Dodd had gotten. It was a letter to Dodd, Bowles and Ristine,and signed "Dick." He warned them against a man named Coffin. Dodd showed me the letter; he then took me down to the office of Eistine, and they said they supposed the letter was written by Dick Bright. Dodd gave me an introduc- tion to Ilistine's son, and requested me to stay pretty much all day, and see if Coffin passed by' — if so, have Ristine's son point him out to me. They succeeded in point- ing him out to me, about sundown. 1 staid there pretty near half a day. I had some talk with liistine about this letter, but I don't remember whether any thing was said about tlie order or not. TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 113 Q. Did any thing further take place at Indianapolis during that visit? A. Not that 1 recollect. Q. Where did you go next? A. From here I went back to Louisville. There I saw Thomas, Bullitt, Kalfus and others, in Kalfus' office. I was initiated into the order at Louisville. Q. When were you here next after that? A. I was here the next time about the last of July, I then saw Dodd, Dr. Athon and Mr. Harrison. Q. Did you learn any thing of import- ance? A. Yes, sir; Judge Bullitt had started to Chicago on the evening of the 19th of July. He said that Dodd and a number of the other leaders of the order from this State and Illinois were to be at Chicago to have a conference there. Bullitt started to Chi- cago on the 19th of July. We expected him back in four or five days, and as he did not come on Thursday night, July 28, I came up here, and on Friday morning I saw Dodd coming up from toward the depot. I went down to his office about 10 o'clock, and he told me he had just come into the city on a train. He said Judge Bullitt would be at home on that day or Saturday. He thought likely he might go through here, but he was not sure. He therefore wished me to go home and get twenty or thirty good runners, so that as soon as Judge Bullitt returned they might be sent oft". He said the programme was arranged, and every thing ready. I went to see Dr. Athon. and had some talk with him. Dodd went around without me, and said, "You can come around after a bit." He didn't want both of us seen going there together, as he thought it would look suspicious. Q. What did Dodd tell him ? A. He did not tell him that the time was set, but I told Dr. Athon afterward what Dodd had said. Q. When did you tell him that ? A. I told Dr. Athon of it the same day. Athon did not seem to think that the time had come yet for revolution, but that it would come. He said it would not be suc- cessful now. Q. Did he discourage you in any way ? A. No, sir. He said the time had not come, but that the time would come when it would be successful. Q. Did Dodd open to you this scheme, in any way ? A. No, sir. He told me there was to be a meeting of some of the heads of the order here on the Tuesday following, and he would like Judge Bullitt to be here; and he wished me to tell him to come, or send some reliable man that he could depend upon to learn what their conclusion was. Q. What were those couriers to do ? A. They were to notify our men where and when to concentrate. 8 Q. What was decided at Chicago ? A. There was a difterence of opinion there as to the day when the programme was to be carried out, and the time was to bo settled here at the meeting on Tuesday. Q. When did you see Bullitt next ? A. When I was on the cars the next day 1 saw Bullitt. He was dusty, as though iu- had been traveling. He said he had come, in on the Bellefontaine train, and that he had left a note for Dodd, but had left it at the house of some one else. He a-skerl me to go on into the front car. He said he had been registering his name as Charles Smith. We went into a car where there were but a few people, and he told me the programme was all arranged for this up- \ rising, how it was to be conducted, and all about it. When we got to Jeftersonville, he got him a buggy. On Saturday he wished to have A. 0. Brannan and Dr. Bayless sent out to him, and on Sunday Kalfus and Thomas, and to those four he would com- municate the uprising of the order. He said he expected to be arrested, but if he saw all these men, he didn't care if he was arrested When we got to Louisville, as soon as the ferry boat landed, a young man came on board for his arrest. Young Hewitt did it. On Monday night I was sent back here to Dodd by Kalfus and Thomas, to get the final arrangements as soon as they were con- cluded on, and I was to go back and report to them. I came en Monday night. On Friday night, when we were at Dodd's house, he said he would send his son for Bowles to be here, and that he sent Mr. Harrison to go after some other gentlemen. Mr. Harri- son was to go to Lafayette for one person, and he pulled out his money, and gave him sufficient to pay his expenses. I went to see Dodd after I came back. He seemed very much excited, gritted his teeth, and said that he hoped they had acted the gentlemen, and had not searched Bullitt, as he had drafts on Montreal. He then went to work and gave me the programme. I think this was about the 2d of August. He showed and read me letters from two or three gentlemen. They were not signed by any name, but they were fully concurring in the matter. He had sent them word, and they didn't come here. Then he told me what the programme was, and impressed upon me the importance of secrecy. He said if Bullitt had not been arrested, I could not have got the progi'amme at all. He said they had abandoned the idea of holding the secret meetings, but would hold them hereafter as Democratic mass meet- ings, and that one was to be held at Peoria. Ill, on the 3d of August, I think. Another here on the 15th or 16th of August, and that his men would be instructed to come here armed: that they were going to work to release the prisoners here, and seize the 114 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. arsenal here, at Springfield and Chicago, 111., and Columbus, Ohio, on the same day, and to release the prisoners at Johnson's Island and Camp Chase, Ohio, and at Camp Doug- las and Rook Island, 111., and then proceed to Louisville, and take possession of the arsenal tliere and at Frankfort, Ky., and with the rebel prisoners armed they would go to work. Their dift'erence at Chicago was whether they should wait until the rebel forces should be sent into Eastern Ken- tucky to co-operate with them, or to make their uprising now, and co-operate with the rebel forces when Davis could send them. Q. What was Dodd's ojiinion ? A. His idea was to go ahead on the 15th or 16th of August, and these letters from these men agreed with him. Mr. Walker was to be here from New York on the Thursday after I saw Mr. Dodd, which was on Tuesday. Q. Do you know why this insurrection was put off? A. I do not. I never saw Dodd afterward until I saw him here. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Tuesday, November 2, at 9 o'clock, A. M. CouBT KooM, Indianapolis, Indiana, \ November 2, 1864, 9 o'clock, A. M. j The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused, and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. The accused, Stephen Horsey, presented the following : To the President and Manhcrs of the Military Commission, now in iSession : The undersigned, Stephen Horsey, one of the defendants now on trial, being with- out counsel, respectfully requests that the Hon. Thomas R. Cobb be admitted as coun- sel for him on this trial. [Signed] STEPHEN HORSEY. November 2, 1864. The examination of Felix G. Stidger, a witness for the Government, was then re- sumed as follows : Question by the Judge Advocate: State whether in any of those conversa- tions with either HetlVen or Bowles, they stated to you what this order numbered in the States of Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio. Answer. Hefifren told me that the organ- ization of the order was about complete in Indiana, and the nmnber was between seventy-five and eighty thousand men. I never understood any definite numl)er in Illinois or Missouri, but I understood that the heads of the order from those States pledged fi'om Illinois fifty thousand to go to the field, and thirty thousand from Mis- souri. Ohio never stipulated any definite number, but would furnish men. Q. What, if any thing, was said to you by Ileftren or Bowles, as to the extent of tlie arming of the organization, and with what kind of arms ? A. Bowles made a statement in the Coun- cil of the 14th of June, that the organiza- tion in his county numbered about six hun- dred men, but that there was a military organization amounting to nine hundred men, armed and equipped. Q. Was this military organization outside of the order? A. 1 do not know. He said the Order of the Sons of Liberty numbered six hundred men in his county, and nine hundred men armed and equipped; but he did not say with what arms. He also stated that he had an arrangement with a man to furnish any number or kind of arms. He made this statement in the Grand Council of the 14th of June, in the way of a speech. Q. Who was present at the time he was making that speech ? A. Mr. Dodd was present; Mr. Harrison and Mr. Milligan were there, and Mr. Hor- sey was there at one time. Mr. Bowles made a remark two or three times during the day. Q. Was Mr. Bingham present at that meeting? A. No, sir; not on the 14th of June that' I saw. Q. Was it stated what f I te should be made the battle-ground ? A. Kentucky and Missouri; that was what Bowles and Dodd told me. Q. What was said, if any thing, in refer- ence to any understanding with the Con- federate forces ? A. Bowles said they would go to Ken- tucky and have a regular understanding with the Confederates, and act in concert with thom ; and that they had sent a man named Dickerson to Richmond to have the Confederate authorities send an invading force to act in concert with their order. Q. W^as there any concert with the rebel forces in Kentucky or elsewhere ? A. There was communication between this order and the guerrillas in Kentucky. Bullitt instructed a man to try and get a place appointed for him to meet Colonel Jesse, said to be a rebel Colonel in com- mand of the rebel torces in Kentucky; and he instructed this man to go to Colonel Syphert, a rebel Colonel, said to be in com- mand of a rebel squad, and liave a confer- ence with him about the capture of Louis- ville. Q. Had you any conversation with Bowles in reference to communication with the rebels ? A. I had. Bowles at first objected to this uprising, until the rebels should invade the eastern part of the State, as he said they would. This man Dickerson was sent South to communicate with the rebel forces. TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 115 Bowles said he would consent to the upris- ing on the 15th or 16th of August, as Dodd had said, provided Colonel Syphert, Colonel Jesse, and Walker Taylor would assist in the capture of Louisville until the forces of this State could get there. Q. What forces of this State were refer- red to ? A. The uprising of the Sons of Liberty. Q. Have you any knowledge of attempts or efforts on the part of any members of this order to procure arms r If so, what kind ? A. Not directly. The question of arming was discussed on the 14th of June. Some said, tax the members of the order; others contended that each district should arm itself; while others contended that each individual should arm himself, to resist the Government, and that to do so, they would dispense with the luxuries of life, to pro- cure money to get arms with which to re- sist the Government. Q. Had you any talk, individually, with Bowles, or any other member of the order, in reference to procuring arms ? A. Bowles wanted to know, the last time I saw him, if I knew Peters, of Cincinnati; he wanted to get arms of him; and also B. C. Kent, of New Albany, Indiana; he wanted to communicate through him with Dr. Gordon, of New Albany, that he might have arms shipped to Gordon, and wagoned out into the country. Q. Have you any knowledge of any ef- forts to procure lances ? A. Dr. Bowles asked me if I could have three or four thousand lances made; he wanted that number, and thought they could be made in Kentucky without suspi- cion. He wanted three or four thousand men armed with lances and revolvers; he said he could make them of great ser- vice. Q. 1 think you stated, did you not, that Bowles was present at the meeting in New York? A. He told me he was. Q. Did he tell what was done at the meet^ ing in New York, on the 22d of February ? A . He said that Vallandigham was elected Supreme Commander that day ; that there w^as a change in the name of the order, that the ritual was changed, and- a slight change in the colloquy, though I do not remember what it was. There was a committee ap- pointed to make a change in the ritual, and after it was made, the manuscript was sent to Vallandigham for his revision. He re- vised it and made one or two additions. He madethe addition, " Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.-" This was said by Mr. Piper, by Mr. Bowles and other members of the order to have been made by Vallandig- ham. And there was an invocation at the end of the first degree said to have been added by Vallandigham, and a reference to a passage of Scripture, which occurs in the first or third degree, was also said to have been added by Vallandigham. Q. Have you any knowledge of money being raised or expended, to procure arms and organize the society? A. I was told by Mr. Kern, a member of the order, that Judge Williams, of Ken- tucky, had given $100, and other members $200 for organizing the order, and that he had expended that money in the purchase of arms, and that they had sent the men with the arms South. Q. W^here did Kern live ? A. In Louisville. Q. How do you know him to be a mem- ber of the order ? A. By having met him in Council, and having conversations frequently with him. Kalfus also told me that Booking was fur- nished with money for the purpose of get- ting this Greek fire. Q. Have you known Bowles to spend money? A. He told me he had spent $2,000, for the benefit of the order, and would spend all he had, were it necessary. He did not say in what way he had spent the money. Q. Have you ever had any talk with Bowles with respect to the uprising, and when he favored its taking place? A. He told me he cared nothing about the election; he was satisfied Lincoln would be elected ; he wanted the time spent in perfecting the organization and getting ready for the uprising. He said he would agree to the uprising on that day, provided the rebel Colonels could be got to act in concert with the order. Q. What do you know about this Commit- tee of Thirteen? A. The question of a Committee of Thir- teen was discussed in the Grand Council of the 14th of June. They were desirous to have this Committee of Thirteen to carry on the concerns of the Grand ("ouncil during its recess; and it was a question whether they should be appointed by the Grand Council or by the Grand Commander, and known only to him. There was a Commit- tee of Thirteen so called, in Kentucky, but I understood from Kalfus it was composed only of seven; they were to carry on the business of the order during the recess. Q. State whether or not this organization appointed any men to act as spies ui^on the Government. A. McBride said on the 14th of June that he had men acting as spies in the Loyal League, who reported to him every thing that was done. Mr. Harrison also said they had men from outside the order, so that they should not act both ways, employed as spies and acting for the benefit of the order. Dodd wantod me to act in tliat capacity. Q. Have you ever met, or had consulta- tion with a man by the name of Hines ? 116 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. A. No, sir. Piper told me that Hines was appointed on Vallandigham's staft', and that he was then waiting in (Janada to take charge of the releasing of the prisoners on Johnson's Island, or Rock Island, and Bowles of tlie other. Hines was formerly a Captain in the rebel army, and made his escape from the Ohio State Penitentiary with John Morgan. Q. Have you any knowledge of members of the rebel army being initiated into this order ? If so, when and where ? A. There was arebel Colonel Anderson, of the 3d rebel Kentucky regiment of Infan- try, initiated into the order, about the last of June, 1864. Q. Who initiated him? A. Kalfus told me that he gave him the first degree, and directed me to give him the second and third. There was also a Captain Van Morgan who was initiated into the order, and had the full confidence of the members of the order in Kentucky; also Dick Pratt and Jim McCracklin. There was also another who said he was a Captain of a squad of guerrillas. I saw him initiated in Kalfus' office. Q. Who initiated him? A. Either Kalfus or myself, I do not recollect which. Kalfus I know gave me an introduction to him. Kalfus I know initiated those other men. \ Q. Where? A. He told me that he did it in his oflBce. I conversed with one of them afterward, and satisfied myself that he was a member of the order. Q. You may now give to the Court some of the signs, grips, passwords, and colloquies of the different degrees of the order. [The witness here replied substantially and in detail as on page 51.] [A pamphlet was here handed to the witness by the Judge Advocate.] Q. What is that ? A. It is the Constitution of the Supreme Council. I recognize it by having seen it frequently before, and from having been instructed by Dodd, Bullitt, and Harrison, that it was that work. Q. Have you ever used it in instructing others ? A. No, sir. I do not know that I have. We only had one or two copies in our State. I have frequently told persons of such a book. A pamphlet entitled Constitution and Laws of the S. C. was then introduced in evidence by the Judge Advocate. [See Ap- pendix.] Al.so, a letter bearing date October 8, 1863. Also, a letter bearing date June 28, 1864. Q. Are there any private marks of the order on the letter of June 28th ? A. Yes, sir. There are. The letters 0. S. L. are written under the date, in small characters, and would be calculated to mis- lead a person who did not particularly no- tice them. S. C. means Supreme Com- mander; or it may mean Supreme CounciL These letters make it an official letter. OROSS-EXAMIXATlOjr. I was initiated in the Vestibule degree of the Order of the Sons of Liberty on the 5th of May, 1864. I took the first degree about the 25th or 26th of May, 1864. I entered the order as a regular member, and as a United States Detective, and I took the sev- eral degrees for the purpose of disclosing its secrets to the officers of the Government. I kept the authorities posted by reporting sometimes as often as twice a week. While a member of the order, I was engaged part of the time in Nelson and Bullitt, Ken- tucky, in extending the organization. 1 organized some county temples, and initia- ted probably forty or fifty members. The authorities knew that I was engaged in this work. Q. Then your private and ostensible pur- poses were difl'erent. Your private purpose was to commit as many as possible to the treasonable schemes of the order, and to keep the Government officials advised of it^ and to bring them to justice at the proper time? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate. The counsel for the accused said it waa always competent to show the character of the witness, his feelings, and the connection he has had with the transaction he details. The Judge Advocate replied that the counsel for the accused were at liberty to show what were the feelings and purposes of the witness, by inquiring as to his acts, but they could not inquire as to his pur- poses and feelings. The Court was cleared for deliberation. On being reopened, the Judge Advocate announced to the accused that the objection was sustained. Before the Court was cleared, the counsel for the accused, W. A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace HeflVen and Stephen Horsey, desired to withdraw the question. It was insisted on, on behalf of L. P. Milli- gan. The only instructions I gave to members were those I received from Judge Bullitt, Dr. Kalfus, Dr. Bowles, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Piper and other members. Piper represented himself as from Springfield, Illinois, and as having an appointment on Vallandigham's staff. He said he had orders from Vallan- digham to Judge Bullitt and Dr. Bowles, respecting the time set for the uprising of the order. Judge Bullitt was Grand Com- mander of Kentucky. I carried messages from Bullitt to Kalfus and Bowles about the murder of Coffin. At a meeting in Dr. Kalfus' office, at which Bullitt, Kalfus, Pi- per, and Dr. Chambers, of Warsaw, Gallatin TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 117 county, Kentucky, were present; Bullitt and Chambers were the strongest in their ex- pressions that Coffin should be killed, and no one disagreed. [A lengthy cross-examination on tne wit- ness' interviews with Horace Ilefi'ren here took place, but no additional facts were elucidated.] I understood from Dr. Bowles that Bock- ing was a member of the order. Bocking is a foreigner. Dr. Bowles, Dr. Kalfus, Charley Miller, Boyd Winchester and oth- ers, were present when Bocking explained, in his room at the Louisville Hotel, Louis- ville, his different applications of Greek fire. lie exhibited his shell, and drew a diagram of his hand-grenade, and explained it, together with his clock invention. I never heard of these things being brought to the notice and offered to the United States Government. Dr. Bowles said that the rebel Government would pay ten per cent, for all Government property destroyed, taking the estimated amount from North- ern papers. He wished me to impress it upon the people of Kentucky that this was a fact, and the inventions of Bocking and the Greek fire were to be spoken of to give the people confidence in the order as to what it was to accomplish. Bocking, I know, had been to Canada with his inven- tions. Bowles, in referring to this, said, "We sent him to Canada to see if he was willing to spend his money for the benefit of the Order of the Sons of Liberty." Bowles, in making his speech before the Grand Council on the 14th of June, when the Council was getting an estimate of the number of men in the order that they could depend on, said they numbered six hundred in his county, and that he had an organization of nine hundred men armed and equipped. He did not state what they were to do, or what they were armed for. Dodd, in the course of that meeting, said it was for the purpose of forming a military organization, and to see if the time of ac- tion was not near at hand. I do not know that there had been any military organiza- tion up to that time, but the object stated then was, to perfect a military organization; and to this end a Committee on Military Affairs was appointed to report on a plan for its complete military organization. At the June meeting of the Council there was a Mr. Andrew Humphreys, or Dr. Humphreys. He was called by both names. The Mr. Humphreys I refer to, resembles that gentleman (the witness here pointed to the accused), but I could not swear posi- tively that he is the man. Mr. Heffren's name was called as Deputy Grand Com- mander, but he was not present. I could not say, positively, that Humphreys was ever initiated into the order, unless he was the same that was present that day. I heard it said that he was a Major General There were three sessions that day, the first from 10 to 1, another in the afternoon, and another after supper. Dr. or Andrew Humphreys was present at the morning and afternoon session. I do not remember whether he was present at the evening ses- sion or not. This Humphreys sat just back of me, and was referred to once or tvvico. I met Bowles in the Council of the 14tli of June, and at the meeting of members of the order at Bocking's room at the Louis- ville Hotel. Horsey was at the Council of the 14th of June, but he came in late. He was asked why he was so careless as to initiate such men as Coffin into the order, which he had done. The murder of Coffin was discussed in open Council. Di'. Bowles participated in that discussion. There was not a dissenting voice with respect to the murder of Coffin at that or any other time. I did not know that Coffin contemplated being at the meet- ing, though I expected that he would be, and I started a Mr. Prentice, a Government Detective, to Hamilton that evening, the 14th, to inform Coffin of his intended murdei'. I told him to tell Coflin if he was at Hamilton, to be on his guard, as there would probably be an attempt to as- sassinate him. CoSin did not go to Hamil- ton. I do not knoAV with respect to this State, but in Kentucky, members of the order who were initated, were instructed in the mili- tary character of the order. Judge Bullitt, Dr. Kalfus, myself, or whoever initiated members, always instructed them that the order was for the purpose of resisting the Government by force of arms, and for as- sisting the South. More or less of these instructions were given, according as the members were deemed reliable or other- wise. The order had a means of ascertain- ing the number of arms possessed by the members, by having returns made by the County Temples, in or under the guise of a subscription list for certain Democratic newspapers. For instance, a person pre- tending to subscribe for the Cincinnati Enquirer, meant that he had a revolver ; if for the Chicago Timcs^ that he had a shot gun ; if for the Louisville Democrat, that he had a rifle; and under the head of Miscel- laneous, would be indicated the amount of ammunition he had on hand. This method of obtaining returns was resorted to, that it might be kept a secret from those who were not acquainted with the plan. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Thursday, November 3, at 9 o'clock, A. M, CouET Rook, Indianapolis, Indiana, I November 3, 18C4, 9 o'clock, A. M. j The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. All the members present; also the Judge Advocate, the counsel, and the accused 118 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. The proceedings were read and ap- proved. The cross-examination of Felix G. Stid- ger was then resumed as follows: As a detective, I was in the habit of com- municating the progress the order was making to General Carrington, Captain Jones, Provost Marshal, and afterward to Colonel Thomas B. Farley, when he occu- pied that post. Governor Morton I proba- bly met two or three times, and communica- ted to him what I knew. My reports to General Carrington were sometimes writ- ten and sometimes given in person. 1 was entirely free and confidential in my com- munications with tlie General, and as a gen- eral tiling he left me entirely to my own discretion, as to the course I should adopt in my investigations. The man named Diokerson, referred to in my direct exam- ination, Bowks told me, lived in Baltimore, and that he went to Eichmond at his pleasure. Bowles also told me. that he had received a letter from Dickerson, who was just home from Riclimond. lie wan- ted to know how many men Kentucky would give. I told him probably forty, fifty, or sixty thousand men ; as it was a revolutionary State, 1 thought she would furnish that number to assist in the design he was speaking of, namely, revolution in the North and assisting the South, The last conversation I had with Dr. Bowles was about the 6th or 7th of August, when I was at his house with the pro- gramme wliich I got iVom Dodd. He re- marked that Dodd had no right to change the programme; that they should have awaited the action of the rebel forces; but finally he determined that they would act without the co-operation of the rebels, if they could not get it. Bowles told me he had received notice of the change. That was the time I met Dodd's son returning from Bowles' house, and Bowles told me he bad been there. When Milligan's name was called as a Major Genei-al, he made no particular re- sponse, and he made no objection that I heard; the list was called by the Grand Commander. The Council at Chicago, at wliich Dr. Bowles was i)resent, was about the 2Uth of July. I do not know whether Mr. Milligan was present or not. Tlie meeting at Hamilton, at which Mr. Milli- gan was present, was a Democratic mass meefing to nominate delegates to the Chi- cago Convention. Bowles, Dodd, Milligan and myself went on the same train to Hamilton, but 1 had no conversation at all with him. RE-EXAMINATION. At the meeting of Bowles, Kalfus and others at Bocking's room, at the Louisville Hotel, Louisville, Bocking explained, but did not exhibit, some kind of clock ma- chinery that could be wound up and set to run any specified length of time; it had a Greek fire attachment. This machine could be put into a box or trunk, and with- out exciting any suspicion, be left on board a steamer, or in a building, which would be set on fire at any time at which the clock might be set. The nine hundred armed men, of whom I have spoken, that were in Dr. Bowles' 1 county, were all amenable to the officers of I the order; and though some of them had only j been initiated into the Older of American Knights, they were amenable to the officers of the Order of the Sons of Liberty. Those members of the Order of American Knights who had only taken the first or vestibule degree, and were armed, were counted on in case of necessity. I was requested by Judge Bullitt, Dr. Kalfus, Mr. Thomas and other members of the order, to organize the order as fast as possible ; they i'urnished me with money to pay my traveling expenses. They also sent me down the Nashville Rail- road to learn the position of the Federal troops, and the number of guns on that Railroad at different points. 1 went down as far as Bowling Green. Colonel Warxer, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as ibllows : Question by the Judge Advocate : State your nameand theposition yon hold? Answer. A. J. Warner, Colonel of the 17th V. R. C, and Commander of the Post at In- dianapolis. Q. State to the Court where you met with that letter? [The Judge Advocate here handed to the witness a letter marked Government Ex- hibit "N."] A. This letter was taken by me among other papers from the office of Mr. H. II. Dodd, at the time the arms were seized. This letter was found either in the safe or desk, I am not certain which. I recognize it es- pecially by tlie signature, and some words which 1 could not make out. Q. In what capacity were you acting, and under what orders, when you seized those papers ? A. On Saturday evening, I believe about the 20th of August, 1 received information that a lot of arms had been shipped secretly to this place, and had come to the Bellefon- taine Depot. I immediately, in the absence of the District Commander, ordered the Provost Marshal of the Post to seize the arms, and arrest all parties known to be connected with the transaction. From the time I first heard of the shipment of those arms to the time the Provost Marshal readied the depot with wagons, etc., they had been removed to the old tSnitinel building. That night, I think, twenty-six boxes of arms and ammunition were taken. TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 119 Q. State what those boxes contained, and how they were marked ? A. The boxes were shipped to J. J. Par- sons. Ou the way-bill they were marked "Stationery,' I think. On some of them there were marks indicating that they were Sunday School books, or tracts. Twenty-four or twenty -six boxes contained fixed ammu- nition for large sized revolvers ; the balance contained large sized revolvers. They were self-cocking; and were the largest sized re- volvers 1 have ever seen. Q. What was done with those arms? A. They were taken possession of by me, and are now deposited, with the ammuni- tion, in the United States arsenal. Q. How many arms were there ? A. Between three hundred and fifty and four hundred revolvers. The boxes con- tained mostly ammunition. Q. Did you find any others ? A. On Sunday morning I went down my- self to make a thorough search of the build- ing, and found secreted in the office or room occupied by 11. H. Dodd, under books and stationery, six more boxes, making in all thirty-two boxes. Q. What did those six boxes contain ? A. Part of them contained arms, and part ammunition ; of the same description as those taken on Saturday night. Upon find- ing those arms there, I concluded to look further and see what papers I could find re- lating to them, to see what parties were im- plicated ; consequently a search was made in the desk and safe in the room occupied by Dodd. A search was made in other rooms in the building also. Q. State whether this instrument was foimd there? [A stamping press was here handed to the witness.] A. This was found in the room said to have been occupied by the Grand Secretary of the Order of the Sons of Liberty, together with about two bushels, or more, of rituals, constitutions, etc., of the order. Also, a roll of the members of the order in this city, and papers relating to the order. There were also blanks, note books and orders, some of them printed, and others stamped. Q. You may state to the Court whether you recognize that lettei-. [A letter bearing date May 12, 1864, was here handed to the witness.] A. This letter was also taken from the office of II. II. Dodtl; but I do not remem- ber vvhether from his safe or desk. Part of the letters vvere found in his desk rolled up in bundles, and part were taken from a little drawer in tlie safe. [The letter was here offered in evidence by the Judge Advocate.*] * Windsor, Canada W., May 12, 18G4. Dear Sir: Your letters. Am waiting to hear from you at Dayton as to time of tho District Convention. Elxiott Robertson, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I am a farmer, and live in Randolph county, Indiana. I became a member of the organization called the Golden Circle, in the spring of 1863, in Greenfork town- shifi, Randolph count}'; our place of meet- ing was in the woods; we met at night, and about fifteen or twenty persons were pres- ent. John D. Burkebile initiated me. Thei'e were between sixty and seventy-five mem- bers in our townsliijj ; among them I re- member Nathan Brown, John D. Burkebile, Henry Robbins, Augustus Bunch, John Fudge, Abraham Piatt, Henry Wooden, Amos Cren, Francis Durvidge. Burkeb'le was Captain, Amos Cren Lieutenant, Henry Wooden Sergeant, and Eli Thomas In- spector. The Captain and Lieutenant were appointed by the members of the order; the Sergeant was appointed bj' the Captain. A week after I was initiated, I appointed a meeting of the order in Washington town- ship; a part of the members of Greenfork i township were present ; Daniel Barne,s pre- sided, and some four or five additional members were initiated. From the time I I was initiated, to September or October, I j mostly met with them once a week. The members of the order were ordered to drill; but 1 did not. One Sunday I met the Cup- tain, who asked me why I did not attend drill ; he said I should have gone, for they had had some good sport. About one-half the members were armed; revolvers were the principal arm.s. I heard from the mem- bers of the order that they drilled every week or two. So far as I learned, the ob- ject of the order was to oppose the Admin- istration in putting down the rebellion, and in making arbitrary arrests; this was to be done by force of arms; but exactly how it^ was to be done, had not been decided. The information 1 got from the Captain, was that the members of the township were to compose the company; we Avere to act in squads, under the direction of the Cai^tain, in case the guerrilla mode of warfare was adopted. We were to take up arms and resist the enforcement of the draft. This, I understood, had been decided by the au- thorities liere in Indianapolis. The Captain and Nathan Brown spoke of the State being divided into four military districts; and that a man by the name of Milligan corn- No nnnouucement yet. Will give vou notice immedi- ately. Ifc^Send for your friend here to return at once and work at home. Nothinp; to do here. So, also, says oui- mutual friend. Be ready for Dayton meeting. Grant h.is been worsted by Lee, and no mi.itake. It it< Grai.l who ha.s fallen buck six or eight miles, and not L., who has advanced from west to east. L. is not, and never has been, facing northward, but eastward. Truly, C. L. V. Sherman, too, has been brought to a dead stand, first having been driven back. 120 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. manded our district. I know of members of the order liaving assembled to resist ar- rest-s. Burkebile, our Captain, expected to be arrested, and he called a meeting of the members. I had notice to go to his house, with other members, to prevent his arrest, in case it was attempted. I was at liis house two nights; four or five others were there; among them Burkebile's two boys, Henry Robbing, Henry Wooden, John Fudge, and John L. Mack. Some were armed with revolvers, and two of them with shot-guns. Our instructions were to resist the authorities, and not to let them take our Captain. John D. Burkebile induced me to join the order; he said it was an or- ganization for self-protection among the Democrats. He did not at first give me the name of the order. A meeting Avas ap- pointed to take place on the next Thurs- day, and I went and was initiated. The last meeting I attended was in September or October, 1863. About that time they changed their name, and were called the Order of American Knights. They did not change their plans or principles, that I know of; I did not take any new obligation, but was instructed in the change by the Captain. I attended one meeting of the American Knights in Preble county, Ohio, about August, 1S64; the password by which we entered, was "Liberty." I learned of the change of name to the Order of Amer- ican Knights from the Captain. Nathan Brown was sent to Indianapolis in Septem- ber, 1863, to represent our township, and when he came back the change was made. He called a meeting, and the Captain wished me to go into the new order; I told him I would have a few days to study over it; he insisted, and told me it was a nice thing, but I would not go into it. The signs by which members recognized each other, are these: You pass the right hand down over the mouth and beard, with the fore-finger of the right hand down the riglitside of the nose. If the man you are testing is a member, he will reply by taking the lobe of the left ear with the left hand between the thumb and finger, and draw it down. You then take a grip, and give one shake of the hand, with the fore-finger run- ning up the wrist as far as possible. They had some military signs, Avliioh,we were told, would protect us in case of battle, or being taken pri'ioncr. The hands were clasped in front, and raised over the head, in which position you stood a few minutes, or till the sign was recognized; the answer to this sign being made by placing the hands, with the tips of the fingers resting on the shoul- ders. There was another sign, which con- sisted in writing the number thirty-three on a piece of paper, which, being handed to a member, signified that he who used it was in danger. I understood that the arms were procured from the authorities at Indianapoh's. It was stated that Beck & Bros, had agreed to furnish arms. Nathan Brown and Burkebile were sent as representatives to a conven- tion at Indianapolis, in the latter part of July, 1863. The Captain, on his return, stated, as I understood, that most of the States, including the rebel States, were re- presented ; and he also said that they had not concluded what was to be done in case of a draft. I entered the order in good faith, but I left it because I thought it was disloyal. I first reported the order to 'Squire Hough, I think, in October, 1863. IIexry L. Zumro, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testi- fied Jis follows: I reside at Markle, Huntington county, Indiana, and am a practicing physician; have resided there ten years. I became a member of the Order of the Sons of Lib- erty on the 20th of July last, at the so- licitation of Dr. Ilorton, directly through Mr. Ilantz. Dr. Horton was said to be a member. I was initiated in the first de- gree in Isaac Decker's barn; at the same time there were initiated John Hantz, Isaac Decker, Edward Decker, William Decker, Daniel Highland, Adam Young, Edward Johnson, Joseph Johnson, William Lever, Nathan Johnson, William Hantz, and Wil- liam Cashman; fourteen were initiated by Dr. Ilorton. The society numbered in that township between forty and fifty. John Hantz was Grand Seignior; Isaac Decker, Treasurer; Josejjh Johnson, O. G. : Nathan Johnson, G. D.; Daniel Highland, G. M.; William Decker, G. S.; Henry John- son, A. D.; I was Secretary. [The witness was unable to explain the initials.] The obligation I took was that of the first de- gree of the Order of American Knights. Dr. Ilorton told me that there were from eighty to one hundred thousand members of the order in this State. 1 understood there was a military organization connected with the order. We got up a constitution and organized a company of about forty members. David Lash was Captain; Joseph Johnson, First Lieutenant; Henry John- son. Second Lieutenant ; Isaac Miller, Or- derly; there were none but members of the order in this company; it did not com- prise all the members of the order in that township; some were aged, and these we did not consider good fighting material; but all that were considered able were in that company. I did not know of our com- pany drilling. At Bliift'ton. AVells county, they drilled ; I went to see them drill ; that was in the early part of September, in this year; some forty to sixty were drilling on the commons back of Blufliton. Some of the members of our company were members of the Blufi'ton company ; that is TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 121 how I come to know that the Bluffton com- pany belonged to the order. After Dr. Ilorton initiated us, he told us that the object of the order was to subdue the Abolitionists, resist the draft, and to assist the Southern Confederacy. I heard of the contemplated uprising of the order, but learned nothing definite with regard to it. I attended, perhaps, ten or twelve meetings of the order. After Huntington county was drafted, a meeting of the order was held, and a committee sent to Bluft'ton, and one to Huntington, to ascertain if there was a concert of action in regard to resist- ing the draft; Jacob Farling was the com- mittee to Bluffton, and I was appointed the committee to Huntington. At Hun- tington I saw Mr. Cummings; he could not tell me any thing about it, and the Sheriflt' referred me to Mr. Milligan, whom I saw about the 16th of September last. I was instructed to ascertain if there was a con- cert of action, and if so, what arrange- ments were to be made to resist the draft. I asked Mr. Milligan his opinion as to whether we had better resist or not; he said it was as good a time now as any to re- sist. I did not know that Mr. Milligan held any military position in the order; the Sherift' referred me to him because he was the leading man there, and he would know. His message I brought back to the order, but as there was no concert of ac- tion, the membei's felt somewhat disap- pointed, and took the papers of the order into Decker's barn yard and burnt them. The order was disbanded about the 17th of September, when we found the thing was a failure ; and we agreed not to meet any more. On the same day that I saw Mr. Milligan, I also saw Mr. Winters, the editor of the Huntington Democrat, who, I believe, was a member of the order. I asked him the question that I had put to Mr. Milligan, and he advised resistance. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Friday, November 4, at 10 o'clock, A. M. Court Koom, Indianapolis, Indiana, ) November 4, 1804, 10 o'clock, A. M. J The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. H. L. ZuMRO, a witness for the Govern- ment, proceeded with his testimony as fol- lows: In my conversation with Mr. Milligan, on my visit to him, as a committee sent to Huntington, after advising resistance, he said, that if he was well, and in the woods, he could kill twenty men himself before he would be taken. When I asked him in what way we should resist, he concluded that we should form in companies or squads, just as we could; that ten men would be sufficient to start with in resist- ing the draft, and in resistance to the Ad- ministration. Shortly after I was arrested, I had a conversation with Mr. Milligan in reference to my own arrest; he thought it was a bad thing to be arrested as I had been, and he said if a man were to arrest him, he would kill him, even if he had to go forty miles to do it. Something was said in the conversation as to whether wq should need horses in this resistance, when Mr. Milligan said that we should ; that we might find it necessary sometimes to assist a squad ten, fift-een, or twenty miles dis- tant, and should need horses to do it. I came to join the order from a conversa- tion I had in the early part of March, with Colonel James R. Slack, of the 47th Indiana, in his ofhce; he resides in Huntington. He asked me if there was not a secret organiza- tion in our neighborhood ; I told him there was. He then wanted to know if 1 could not get the secrets of it ; and said they were not Democrats, but a set of traitors who would undermine the Government. He wished to know if I would not go into the matter to find out their purposes, and to aid in keejiing down this strife. I told him that I could, but I did not think it would be prudent to do it, from the fact that my practice was here; and if at any time it should be found out that I had been operar ting in favor of the Government, in all proba- bility they would endeavor to injure me. He said there was no danger at all, from the fact that the loyal portion of the Democratic party would only think the better of me; and that the traitors to this Government would go down so that there would not be enough left to make a boot black ; that was just his language. He afterward had a conversation with Colonel Schuler and Governor Morton, and Colonel Schuler came up and induced me to operate in that way. My purpose in joining the order was to endeavor to keep down any treasonable uprising. My subse- quent operations I reported from time to time to General Carrington. CROSS-EXAMINATION. No inducements have been held out to me to testify in this case. I was arrested by order of General Carrington, and placed under bonds ; but this was simply a pretense on the part of the authorities. After I was placed under arrest, and before I reported at Indianapolis, I went to Mr. Milligan to consult him in reference to my arrest, and I stated to Mr. Coftroth, a counsel, when I met him at Peru, that I might employ Mr. Milligan to assist in my defense. I made application to be admitted a member of the order at Huntington at different time.s. 1 joined the order at Rockcreek township. I was solicited by Mr. Milligan's student to go into the temple. 122 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. At the time I called to see Mr. Milligan on the 16th of September, Mr. Joseph John; son went with me. Mr. Johnson was present during the whole of the conversation 1 had with Mr. Milligan. Mr. Johnson lives in Rockcreek township. He is the Joseph Jolinson, 0. G., I referred to as being initiated at the time I was. Mr. Milligan was sick in bed, and I understood he had been for a considerable time under the in- fluence of opium and mercury, and he wished me to see if any eft'ect was being produced by the opium and mercury. After my con- versation with Milligan, 1 said 1 thought it worried him; he told me that it did; and I replied that I would then say nothing further. I do not think Mr. Milligan was at the time under the influence of narcotics, or opium. I next visited Mr. Day, to whom I was referred by Mr. Milligan. I told Mr. Day that Milligan had advised resistance, but said that he was so sick I did not like to say a gj-eat deal to him. Mr. Day said it would be foolish to resist. I asked him as I had Mr. Milligan, if there was to be any concert of action, and if so, that we were ready to resist in our township. Mr. Sam- uel Winters and Mr. Heinbarger were ])res- ent during my conversation with Mr. Day. I remember Milligan saying, when I asked him if they were going to resist, that they had no fighting men there ; that there were only five or six fighting men in Huntington. I might have spoken also, but Mr. Ibach and 1 also called at Mr. Cofl'roth's office. I called at Mr. Coffroth's office at the instance of Mr. Johnson, who wanted to know what was his opinion about resistance. Mr. C'of froth said he was not a member of the or- der, and would not advise resistance in any way. I did not go to Mr. Coffroth to act as a spy upon him, but simply because Mr. Johnson said he was an influential Demo- crat, and he would like to know his opinion. When Dr. Harden stated that tlie objects of the order were to oppose the Administra- tion, resist the draft, and assist the South- ern Confederacy, there were present John Hantz, Isaac Decker, Edward Decker, Wil- liam Decker, Daniel Highland, Adam Young, Henry Johnson, Joseph Johnson, Nathan Johnson, Wm.Hantz, Wm. Cushman, and myself The memorandum to which 1 refer for these names, 1 made at the time. The date of the meeting at which I was appointed as a committee to go to Hunting- ton, and Jacob Farling to go to Blutfton, was on the 14th of September. Among those who were present at the meeting of the 14th of September, were Mr. Farling, Joseph Johnson, Mr. Eders and others. Mr. Johnson was present at my appointment, and agreed to go with me. David Lash, who was the Captain of our company, is the brother of the meroliant of that name, and is a carpenter. 'I'hougli Mr. Winters and Mr. Keinbarger advised resistance, and Mr. Miiligan said it was as good a time as any to resist, I reported that there would be no concert of action; and the consequence was that the papers of the order were burned. When it came to the test, the order failed. My })urpose in going into the order was not to betray its members, but to keep the Government posted as to their designs. There appeared to- be a great danger of an outbreak and rebellion at home, and I thought if I could do any thing to prevent it, I was doing the community a kindness, and not injury. I consulted with Esq. Bratton, but he knew my position with reference to the order; it was he who arrested me and brought me from Markle. I never told any one that Mr. Milligan could be got clear or convicted for money ; but a person Avho, 1 understood, was a friend of Mr. Milligan, wanted to know of me, if he could be got away from the guards. The idea that I held out was, that 1 thought he could be. My impression was that they wanted tobribetheguards, but I do not know from whom I got the idea. But I never stated to any one, that if I was furnished with money, I oould or would use it secretly for the benefit of Mr. Milligan, either upon officers or members of the guard. The statement of Mr. Milligan, that if he was well and in the woods, he could kill twenty men before he was taken, and also the statement that ten men would be suffic- ient to start with, were made in the pres- ence of Joseph Johnson. The military company connected with this order was organized perhaps three or four weeks before we abandoned the order, which was about the middle or latter end of August, and after the organization had been ex- posed in the papers at Indianapolis. The organization in our township was not un- derstood to be an independent order, but was connected witli the order generally, and we were to co-oj)erate with them in any ! outbreak or resistance to the Government. When I called on Mr. Milligan, I did know him to be a member of the order. 1 represented to Milligan that I liad been arrested at the instigation of Dr. Scott, who, 1 represented, had been actuated l)y motives of rivalry, so as to get me out of the way as a practicing physician, and it was in this connection that Mr. Milligan said, if he had been arrested at the instigation of any one governed by such motives, that he would go forty miles to kill the man. The C'onmiission then adjourned, to meet at 2 o'clock, P. M. AFTERNOON SESSION. Court Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, ) November4. 1864, 2 o'clock, P. M. j The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present. Also, the TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 123 Judge Advocate, the accused, and their counsel. The Judge Advocate here stated that all proceedings against Colonel Horace Heftren were withdrawn on the part of the Govern- ment; that he was released from arrest by the i^roper authorities, and that he would now appear on the stand as a witness for the Government. HoR.\CE IIeffren, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then called to the stand, and duly sworn by the Judge Advocate. The counsel for the accused said that when the accused were jointly indicted, as in this instance, it was not competent for an accused to testifj' either for the defense or prosecution, till a verdict of "not guilty" has been entered. The Judge Advocate, in reply, said: The Government can at any time, or at any stage of the proceedings, quash any set of charges and specifications against the accused, when the interests of the service may seem to demand it, and with that is an end of the case. When the Judge Advo- cate says to the accused, the Government withdraws its charges and specifications against you, the man is then free, without any proceeding pending against him. As to this Commission giving a verdict of ac- quittal, or proceeding to a finding before this witness can be used, let me say that no such rule can obtain. It makes the finding, and passes its sentence in any given case; the proceedings are then forwarded to the Commanding General convening the Court, for his approval and confirmation, or disapproval. If it is a case in which he has the power to execute the sentence, it is then promulgated in general orders and made known to the accused and to the world. If it is a case which the Command- ing General has not the power to execute, he adds his aj^proval or disapproval, as the case may be, and forwards it to the proper authority for approval, and after being acted upon by that authority, it is made known. In this case, for instance, the proceedings would probably have to go to the President of the United States, and be delayed per- haps for months. The very nature and constitution of a military court, precludes the jwssibility of the existence of any such a rule in this Court. The witness, Horace Heffren, then testi- fied as follows : Question by the Judge Advocate: Please state your name, place of resi- dence, and businebs. Answer. My name is Horace HeflTren ; residence, Salem, Washington county, Indi- ana ; my profession, that of an attorney; my office is at Salem. Q. How long have you resided there ? A. Since March, 1857. Q. Please state to the Court whether you ever joined an order called American Knights, or Order of Sons of Liberty; if so, when and where ? A. I joined an order called American Knights, somewhere in the latter part of the year 1863, probably in November or December. I have no means of telling the precise time. I have not my diary of last year with me; if I had, I could tell the precise day. Q. Did you belong to any similar order, or one with similar intents and purposes, of a different name, previous to that? A. I did not. Q. Did you ever belong to the Golden Circle ? A. No, sir. I belong to the Freemasons, but to no other secret order. Q. At whose solicitation did you join the order ? A. I do not know that I can say it was at the solicitation of any person. Mr. Bailey, of Terre Haute, came to Salem; ^knew his face and recognized him, but could not call his name; he told me what his business was, and I got twelve more men beside myself, and we were taken into the Order of American Knights in my office. Q. Who initiated you? A. Mr. Bailey. Q. Where does he reside now? A. I understand he is dead ; I have made inquiries since I have been in prison, and that is what I am told. Q. Who else were initiated at that time? A. James B. Wilson, William C. McCoskey, Townsend Cutshaw, Deloss Hefiren, Eli Bouser, William P. Green, and John B. Pitts, I think — 1 am not certain about him; these are as far as I recollect now. Q. What was the first lodge or county temple you attended after your initiation? A. In order to make my story connected, I must explain. After we had taken the three degrees, I was elected Grand Seignior of the County Temple, James B. Wilson Ancient Brother, W. C. McCoskey as Secre- tary, and Townsend Cutshaw as Treasurer. The lodge was in my office, in the town of Salem. Q. When did you take the first, second and third degrees ? A. I took the three degrees that very night. Q. When did you next attend a county temple? A. There never was but one county tem- ple after that, in our county, to my knowl- edge; and that was for the election after my time was up, and that was not i'ar iVonj the 22d of February, 1864. I was instructed that there was to be a meeting on the lOth and 17th of February, and that, as Oirand Seignior, I was the delegate from the county temple. I came here and attended the meetings of the 16th and 17th; when there, I was instructed that there was to be a new 124 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. election of officers for the ensuing year, and we elected officers, probably, a week from that time, when Garrett W. Logan was elected Grand Seignior in my place. Q. Had you attended any meeting pre- vious to the 16th and 17th of February? A. That was the fii-st and only one of the Grand Council. Q. How did you come to that meeting? A. As delegate from the county tem- ple. Q. Who presided ? A. H. H. Dodd. Q. Who was Secretary? A. Mr. Harrison, who was a witness here. Q. Did you meet any of the accused at that meeting? A. I met Dr. Bowles there, and Mr. Mil- ligan, I think, the second day; I did not see Mr. Humphi-eys; never met that gen- tleman any-where as a member of the Or- der of American Knights; 1 never met him except as, a Freemason. 1 never saw Mr. Horsey till I came into Court, and he was required to plead the same time as 1 was. Q. At that meeting on the 16th and 17th of February, you say you met Dr Bowles and Mr. Milligan ? A. Yes, sir; Mr. Milligan on the second day, I believe. Q. Give to the Court the business trans- acted, and what you learned was transacted at those meetings on the 16th and 17th of February. A. The Grand Master read an address ; certain committees were appointed — one, I think, upon a newspajDer to di.sseminate the views of the organization, and educate the Democratic mind up to wliat was thought it ought to be; a Committee upon Litera- ture was appointed ; and a committee to see whether a person by the name of Michael Malott had been divulging the secrets of the organization. Q. Who constituted those committees? A. I could not tell. Q. Were you on any committee ? A. I was, sir. Q. On what? A. To ferret out whether Mr. Malott had been revealing the secrets of the order. Q. What did you do in pursuance of that? A. We called the connnittee together; brought Malott before us, and a person whose name I do not remember. We in- vestigated all we could. Mr. McBride, of Evansville, was one of the committee; the othiTs I do not remember. It was mere rumor and hearsay; and 1 told tlie commit- tee tliat 1 professed to know something in regard to hiw, and 1 did not think that tlie evidence was such that we could report to the Grand Council that tlie man was guilty, and I recommended that we report tliat the man was not guilty of revealing the secrets. Q. What was the penalty in case he did reveal them? What did the rules of the order enjoin as to the obligation ? A. I took some obligations, but do not know what they were ? Q. Do you not know what the penalties are for revealing the secrets of the order? A. I understand the penalty from what 1 have read, and what I knew at the time and have learned since, to be death, tigura- tively speaking. Q. AVhat do you mean by that ? A. The same as in other organizations. Q. Was it a figure of speech, or was it to be carried out as fact ? A. That I can not answer. Q. Did you hear any consultation at that meeting, in reference to a man by the name of Coffin ? A. 1 do not think that I did; I do not recollect any person mentioning his name. Q. Were you at the meeting of the 14th of June? A. I was not. Q. Were not the Military Committee appointed on the 16th and 17th of Febru- ary ? A. No, sir: they were not appointed in Council as I understood. Q. Were any military appointments or elections made ? A. Yes, sir. Q. What were they ? A. Grand Commander, Deputy Grand Commander, and Major Generals for the four divisions of the State of Indiana, a Secretary, and I think Treasurer. Mr Dodd was elected Grand Commander; I was elected Deputy Grand Commander; Mr. Milligan was elected Major General of his district. Q. Was Mr. Milligan present at his elec- tion ? A. I can not say tliat he was present till the second day, and the election of Major Generals took place on the first day 1 be- lieve. Mr. Humphreys was elected in his district. He was not present either day. Major McGrane, of Harrison county, was t'lectcd in my district as Major General, and Colonel JohnC. Walker was elected for the North-west district. The State was divided into four divisions. I do not know exactly how the lines run: but it was divided by counties. Dr. Bowles lived in Orange coun- ty, and the line ran between Washington and Orange counties. Major McGrane lived immediately south of Washington. He and 1 roomed together, and we had a great deal of talk, and he told me he would liave nothing to do witli it. The next morning Orange county was added to the south- eavstern division, in which Dr. Bowles was. Major McGrane declined, and Dr. Bowles was unanimously elected in the place of McGrane. Q. What other business of importance took place at either of these meetings ? TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 125 A. The next thing I recollect was reports from some committees about literature, and I think a university; but I did not pay any attention to it. My impression IS that we laid the matter on the table. I VIS on the committee with respect to the nc.v.-paper; and I think Mr. Bingham was on that committee with me; and we de- cided that it was all a humbug, and we would have nothing to do with it, but recom- mended an indefinite postponement with regard to the newspaper. Matters in regard to tlie progress of the order were also talked of, and reports were called for. Q. What was said to be the strength of the order at that time ? A. I do not know what the strength of the order was. Q. Was any thing said about the aggre- gate number of the order at that time? A. I think the Secretary reported that he had not received returns from several counties, so that the correct number could not be ascertained. Q. Of what political faith vreve the ma- jority of the men comprising that organi- zation? A. They were all Democrats. Q. State whether any other class of men were admitted, or was it a siiie qua no)i that a man must be a Democrat? A. I do not think any one vrould have got in unless he professed to be a Demo- crat. Q. State to the Court what were the gen- eral purposes and objects of that order, so far as you learned. A. In the first place, I understood there were two organizations, one within the other ; the civil organization, to which the mass of the members belong, and which, as far as I ever knew, was purely political, to bring out the Democratic vote to the polls, and to insure the success of the principles of the Democratic party, by every means in our power to get every voter out to cast his vote; and as we had been told by those who instructed us, that it was the deliber- ate design and arrangement of the Aboli- tion party to prevent voting, we determined to have a free fight or a fair election. I have been told by members of the order that the other portion of the organization had for its object the separating of the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Kentucky, from the Eastern -States, to make a North-western Confederacy ; and failing in that, join our fortunes with the South. That was the military part of it, which was not communicated or known to the members of the civil organization; and I presume I never would have known it, had it not been for the position 1 held as Deputy Grand Commander. Q. What proportion of the members be- longed to the military portion of the organ- ization? A. Only the leaders; they were to control the matter through a Committee of Thir- teen, who were to be known only to the Grand Commander and themselves. They were to so control us as to bring us into their trap. That was why I said it was a humbug, and said I would have nothing to do with it. Q. Have any of the schemes of the order come to your knowledge since then? A. Yes, sir. The schemes of a few of the leaders of this military part of the order, and the schemes of these were unknown to the great mass of the order. Q. Do you say that it was, to these mili- tary leaders alone this was confined? A. Yes, sir; I think so. Q. Was Dodd considered a military leader? A. He was; but there was a man over him. Q. Who was that ? A. It was Dr. Bowles. Q. Please to explain that? A. The State was divided off into Mili- tary Departments, and there was an officer of the Military Department, who was Su- preme Commander to the Grand Com- mander of the Civil Department, who had his Adjutant, Staff, etc. Ho controlled the Military. Department, and saw to the arm- ing, ammunition, and the procuring of funds. Q. Then the civil was subservient to the military ? A. Yes, sir; and knew nothing except the few who were in the confidence of the military. Q. Did you learn who was on the staff of this military leader, Dr. Bowles? A. Yes, sir; it is James B. Wilson; he told n>e so himself Q. What is the position he held ? A. He told me he was Adjutant General on Dr. Bowles' Staff. In fact, nearly all the information I ever received, except what I received on the 16th and 17th of February, I received from Mr. Wilson, after his re- turn from Dr. Bowles' at French Lick Springs, Orange county. Q. What did you learn in reference to the arming of this order? A. I never understood that the men of the rank and file of the civil organization were to be armed, that is, at the expense of the order. Q. How were they to arm ? A. They were to do it among them- selves? Q. Who was it that was to be armed by the order ? A. These men who were to be under the control of the Commanding General, that is the Military Commander. Q. How did they make the division as to who were to be armed by the order, and who were to arm themselves? 126 TREASON TRIALS AT IXDIANAPOLIS. A. There were certain men they selected to whom to communicate that which it would not do to communicate to every body. Q. Did they go into a township, for in- stance, and pick out the men that were to be armed by the order ? A. I think not, sir. Q. Then how could they tell whom they were to arm, and whom they could rely upon to arm themselves ? ^ A. I do not know. Thej^ had a way of ascertaining the number of arms of differ- ent kinds that the members of the order had; they would take a sheet of paper and rule it in columns, as for keeping a tally, lieading each column with apples, corn, beans, or any thing you please, so that you could understand what these things were intended for. Apples might stand for rifles; corn for shot-guns; beans for pistols, and potatoes for ammunition, and any thing else for lead. This sheet would be a report of the number of arms found by those making the return. Q. Was there any agreement between the members of the order, as to how it should be understood by those to whom the report was made? A. My instructions were to report by the secret cypher how many there were. Each township temple reported to the Secretary of the mother temple how many arms and how much ammunition they had, and then that Secretary reported to the Grand Secre- tary of the State Council. Q. Do you know of any attempts on the part of the members of this order to arm the order ? A. 1 onh' know that from hearsay, from members of the order. I only know what Mr. Wilson told me. Q. Was Mr. Wilson a member of the or- der? A. Yes, sir; he was initiated when I was. Q. What did he state to you? A. Pie had been to French Lick Springs, to Dr. Bowles. When he came back from there, myself, and I think Townsend Cutr shaw, a man by the name of Purlee, and my impression is that Mr. C. McCoskey also, were sitting or standing at the Clerk's office door. The people in that country were at fever heat, anxious and unquiet, with rumors of this, that and the other: and the matter came up in that conversa- tion, in regard to resisting the draft, when Mr. Wilson pulled a roll out of his pocket, wrapped up like a banker's parcel, and said there was one thousand dollars he had just got from Dr. Bowles, to procure arms and ammunition for our county, and there was plenty more where that came from. Q. Did he state any thing else? A. Not at that time, but be did after- ward. Q. What was that? A. That there was a half a million of dollars sent to Indiana, Illinois and Ken- tuckj\ I think, by rebel agents in Canada, for tlie purpose of procuring arms and am- munition for these North-western States, to arm themselves with. Q. Who leoeived this money in this State? A. Mr. Dodd, I was told, and Mr. John C. Walker. Q. Bj^ whom were you told ? A. By Dr. Wilson. I never got a word from Mr. Bowles, Mr. Humphreys, Mr. Milli- gan or Mr. Horsey, in my life as to the money Q. What amount did they receive ? A. A hundred thousand dollars each. Q. How was it to be expended ? A. A portion of it was to go to Dr. Bowles, to be spent in his part of the State in pur- chasing arms and ammunition. Q. For whom? A. For tlie military order that had its connection with the Order of American Knights. Q. When did you have this conversation with Dr. Wilson ? A. It could not have been far from the middle of June, 1864. I think so from the fact that I was told a Grand Council was to be held here about that time, and it was shortly after that, that he and I had this conversation. It must have been in June. Q. Did he get that information at that meeting? A. 1 am not certain that he came to In- dianapolis, but it was shortly after that meeting that he told me. Whether he went to the meeting, or got it from Dr. Bowles, I can not say. Q. Did you learn from him, or other mem- bers of the order, for what purpose those arms were to be used alter they were pur- chased and distributed to the members of the Order of American Knights? A. I never hoard how they were to be distributed, neither do I know to whom they were to be distributed ; but I supposed, as a matter of course, they were to be dis- tributed to members of the order, and were to be used either to defend themselves from oppression and wrong, or to fight any tiling that came to fight them. Q. Were^ or were not these arms to be used in carrying out the purposes of the order that you have detailed? A. I understood they were to be used for the purpose of carrying out the military part of the organization of the American Knights. Q. Do you know when the order was changed ? A. I presume it was changed before June. Q. Before vou had this conversation with Dr. Wilson?" A. I think it was. Q. Do I imderstand you to say that the TREASON TRIALS AT ESTDIANAPOLIS. 127 object of the military part of this order was to establish a North-western Confederacy in conjunction with the Southern Confederacy? A. I understood the object to be to sepa- rate themselves from the Eastern States, and form a Confederacy of themselves ; or else, failing to do that, join their fortunes to the Southern Confederacy. Q. Then were, or were not those arms to be used in carrying out these objects of the military organization ? A. That was my understanding. Q Did you ever see more than this one thousand dollars that you saw with Mr. Wilson ? A. I never did. Q. Did you learn of anyarms being bought by him ? A. He and I had very little talk for three months past; but I never heard of his offer- ing to buy an arm or ammunition. I never learned i'rom any body that he did. I was asked what he did with the money, but I did not know. Q. Were these military objects of the or- der discussed either individually or publiclj', at the meetings of the 16tli and 17th of February ? A. The matter was talked of by some of us, perhaps a few of us in a corner, or off" to one side. Q. Did you at that time ever talk with Mr. Milligan or Mr. Bowles upon that sub- ject? A. Mr. Bowles was probably there one morning when we were talking about it. I remember there was something about his papers, about his being a major general, that did not suit him; and I know we had talks among ourselves, probably five or six of us at a time. Q. Did there ever come to your knowl- edge, at any time, any intention on the part of this order to take possession of the State Government? A. Yes, sir. Q. Detail to the Court what you learned in reference to that. A. This I also received from the same source — Dr. Wilson. He told me that upon a certain day, the 16th, but whether of August or July I am not certain, of this year, there was to have been an uprising ; the prisoners were to be released at the camp near Chicago — I think Camp Douglas — at Camp Morton, and a camp near Colum- bus, Ohio, Camp Chase it is called, I believe. The arsenals of the United States were to be seized, and the prisoners armed with the arms and equipments contained therein. Q. what then was to be done ? A. Governor Morton was to be taken care of Q. What do you mean by being taken care of? A. He was to be held as a hostage for those who might be taken prisoners, and engaged in the uprising. Dr. Atlion was to be Governor, under the law of the State of Indiana, passed a few sessions since ; in case of the Governor failing to serve, he would be Governor; we should call out the militia, and have every thing our own way. Q. In case you failed to capture Governor Morton, what then ? A. In case he was not captured and made hostage, he was to be made away with in some way, but I ne-\^!r was told how. Q. After the arsenals were seized, the rebel prisoners armed, and the members of the order armed, wiiat then was to be done by the members of the order ? A. I did not understand that all the mem- bers of the order were to take part ; it was the military part, and as many as could be induced by excitement or any means, or be drawn into it through the influence of the military leaders. Then the State Govern- ment was to go ahead, with the law. and Constitution as we had it, except that Dr. Athon was to replace Governor Morton. Q. Was this scheme known or imparted to any but members of the order ? A. Not that I ever knew of Q. State whether or not leading Demo- crats of the State were given this scheme ? A. It was given only to members of the order; I never knew of its being commu- nicated to any Democrat unless he was a member of the order, and I think it was not. Q. Did a man by the name of John Bow- man, of Washington county, belong to this order? A. I never met him, but I understood he was a member. There were very few Demo- crats in our county (Washington) but what were members. I think Mr. Bowman knew nothing about the military part; at least not to my knowledge. Q. Did you learn what was done at the meeting in New York on the 22d of Feb- ruary ? A. Nothing except that the ritual was changed. I am not certain whether that was in New York or Chicago. Q. Do you know who this Council of Six- teen were? A. I do not know of such .a Council; never heard of it till I was arrested. I have some indirect knowledge of a Council of Thirteen. Q. Was Dr. Wilson at that meeting in Chicago ? A. I can not state. Q. Did he tell you whether he was or not? A. I am not positive; I do not think he did. Q. You say you did have some indirect knowledge of the Committee of Thirteen? What was it? A. I understood there was such a Com- mittee ; that it was appointed by the Grand 128 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Commander, and known only to him and the members themselves. Q. Did you ever hear of the appointment of a Committee of Ten ? A. The Committee of Ten that I think you refer to was not a Committee. They were individuals selected, as my vmder- standing was, to take care of Governor Morton. Q. Did you learn who they were ? A. I did not. Q. What do you mean by taking care of Governor Morton? A. To liold him as a hostage, or in case he could not be held, whether he was to be killed or not, I did not hear; but he was to be put out of the way by some means. Q. Tlic-y were to dispose of him and get him out of the way; how ? A. I can not say ; but they were to get rid of him in some way if he was not held as a hostage ? Cyrus L. Dunham, one of the counsel for the accused, here said : There are peculiar circumstances attend- ing what has taken place this afternoon, and I regard it as my duty to make a state- ment which I ask to be put upon the rec- ords of tins Court. My relations to all parties here are well known to this Com- mission. I have not only been counsel for^ Mr. Ileffren, but as the records show, 1 am counsel for other defendants. It places me in rather a queer position before them, and perhaps before this Court ; and I desire to make this statement, which I have put in writing, and which I ask to have put upon the records : Indianapolis, November 4, 1864. Ma}/ it 2?lcasc the Court : Being counsel for Mr. Heffren, and al.so for other defendants on this trial, I deem it due to those other defendants, and to my own professional and personal honor, most solemnly to state to this Commission, and in the presence of those other defendants, that I liad no knowledge or intimation that the prosecution against said lleffi-en was to be abandoned, and that he was> to be put on the stand as a witness, until, in open Court, ho was called to the stand by the Judge Advocate; that I was in no wise, or by any person, consulted in regard to it; that I never, dii'ectly or indirectly, sought, or even entertained the idea of the bring- ing about of such a result. [Signed] CYRUS L. DUNHAM. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Thursday, November 10, at 2 o'clock, P. M. CouET Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, \ November 10, 18f4, 2 o'clock, P. M. j The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present, except Colonel Reuben Williams and Colonel Benjamin Spooner. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused, and their counsel. The proceedings of Fi-iday, November 4, were read and approved. Reuben Dailey was then sworn by the Judge Advocate, as Assistant Recorder, in presence of the accused. The examination of Horace Heffren, a witness for the Government, was then pro- ceeded with as follows : Question by the Judge Advocate: Did you not state that Dr. James B. Wil- son was Adjutant General on Dr. Bowles' staff? Answer. Yes, sir. Q. Do you know of any other staflf of- ficer ? A. Yes, sir ; Garrett W. Logan was Quar- termaster. Q. Where did he reside? A. In Salem, Monroe township, Washing- ton county, Indiana. Q. How do you know that? A. David D. Hamilton and Garrett W. Logan went to see Colonel Bowles sorrie- time during the past summer or spring. Hamilton was a member of the organiza- tion, so was Logan, who is now the Grand Seignior of AVashington county; he was elected sometime in February. Mr. Ham- ilton told me what Logan was going for; but I had no confidence in him, and 1 wroto a letter to Dr. Bowles telling him not to trust him, that he would betray him. When Hamilton came back he said that Dr. Bowles had offered him a Brigadier Generalship, and he would not accept of it, and Bowles said their business was at an end, and Lo- gan was appointed Quartermaster; Logan told me so himself; and the reason was, that he had a sore leg, and would have the advantage of riding on horseback instead of going afoot. To my positive knowledge he has had a sore leg for seven or eight years. Q. Were there any other staff officers except Dr. Wilson and Mr. Logan? A. Not that I know of Q. State whether you have any knowl- edge of a regiment of lancers being organ- ized, ov of any provision being made to fur- nish the members of the order with lances. A. I have not of a regiment, but of com- panies composing a regiment. The first I knew of it wa.s from Dr. Wilson telling me that Bowles had made an arrangement to have nine companies of infantry, one of lancers, and one section of artillery, to com- prise each regiment in this order. Tlie lancers were to be armed with lances, of what length I do not know, but there wa.? to be a hook, somewhat after the fashion of a sickle; the lance to punch with, and tv sickle to cut the horse's bridle; there was to be a thrust and a cut^ a thrust for the man and a cut for the horses' bridles; he thought the enemy would become confused TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 129 and distracted, and if a charge was made upon them when they had no means of controlling the horses, they would be easily mashed up. Q. Were any steps taken toward procur- ing those lances? A. 1 do not know that ever a lance was made, or contracted to be made ; I only know that Dr. "Wilson told me that arrange- ments were on foot to get them, but he did 'not say where, or by whom, or when they were to be furnished. He said they would be a terrible weapon in a fight. I thought he did not know as much about it as I did, or he would not try it. Q. Give to the Court the secret cypher used by the order, as far as you have knowl- edge of it. A. If I wanted to write to the Judge Ad- vocate, he and I would understand what book we would have to write from ; it might be DeHart's Military Law, the Bible, or a hymn book, it would not matter what, so that we understood what book was re- ferred to. I would make my date, and place under it in parenthesis the figures denoting the page, and the figure at the left end of the line would designate the line on which 1 commenced; for instance, if it was the figure fifteen, it would indicate the fif- teenth line from the top. The page of the book would be placed on the right hand side, in parenthesis ; and the number of the line on the left. When I could not find tlie letter I wanted on any line in that page, then I left a line in blank and put another number, which was to designate the page to which I wanted to refer in pa- renthesis in that blank line, and then pro- ceeded as before. If I wished to write, "I do not want them," I would count the let- ters in the designated line, counting from the left, and put down for '•! " the number three ("3"), if that is the third letter, and " 13 " for '' d," if that is the thirteenth letter in line, etc. Q. You were appointed as delegate to Chicago, were you not? A. I was told by Mr. Dodd, that, by vir- tue of my office as Deputy Grand Com- mander, I was a delegate to Chicago; but I did not go. William P. Green, of Salem, Indiana, was started in my place. This must have been about the 17th or 18th of June, 1864; it might have been a few days before or after. Q. Then it was not the July meeting he attended, was it? A. I can not state positively. Q. Did you learn from him whether he had been there? A. He went there; he had my proxy; and I saw him after his return. Q. Did he state to you what was done? A. He told me, and others in my pres- ence, that he had been there, and made a report of what was done; but I was afraid that he was not telling the truth, and so were some others, Mr. Cutshaw, Dr. Wilson, Mr. McCoskey, and also Mr. Bowser. 1 sent my brother to Mr. Dodd, at Indianapo- lis, to see whether what he stated was true, and we found that he had fallen in the hands of the detectives, that they had got my proxy, and that he did not get into theGrand Council at all; he made a bad failure of it. Q. Did you learn the names of the men comprising this Committee of Ten, who were to take care of Governor Morton ? A. No, sir; I never did; they were to be selected by the Committee of Thirteen, and were only known to the Grand Coun- cil, and to the members of this Committee of Thirteen. Mr. Harris told me he knew more about the order than I did. Q. Did I understand you to say the Com- mittee of Thirteen selected the Committee of Ten ? A. Yes, sir; they were to hold Governor Morton as a hostage for those that were taken prisoners, or to make away with him some way, but they never told me how. Q. State whether or not there was any arrangement, or instructions given, by which the property of members of this or- der was to be saved in case of invasion by the rebels? A. There was, sir; there was a flag that was to be the emblem; it was to be a white flag placed upon a flag staff, with a red ribbon running along the flag where it was tacked on to the stafl', down each side of the staff, and three or four inches below, making red, white, and red ; the flag was to be hung out at the house or stable, or any-where else, and that property would be saved or pro- tected. Q. When was this to be used? A. Whenever there was a rebel invasion or raid. Q. Was this knowledge imparted to any but members of the order ? A. No, sir; I told it to no one except to my father. Q. When did you expect this raid ? A. About the 16th of August. Dr. Bowles had sent a man to see General Price, but he had not returned. Q. Do you know whether Mr. Michael C. Kerr is a member of this order or not? A. He was; linitiated him in New Albany. Indiana, at a harness shop on the right hand side of Main street, as you go east, I believe at Mr. Graff's. Q. How many degrees did he take? A. I was only there two nights, but I took him through; I recollect that I gave him all three the same night. Q. Do you know the cause of the failure of the insurrection contemplated here on the 16th of August last? If so, give it to the Court. A. I know one reason of it, I presume; Mr. Kerr, I am told by members of the 130 TKEASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. order, received word what was to be done, and he came to Indianapolis and reported to the authorities here, Mr. Athon, Mr. Ristine, McDonald and others, and did what he could to prevent it. Q. Do you know any other reason? A. Yes, sir; because the army of the Confederacy did not come up through Cum- berland Gap as they had agreed to do, or as it was reported they had agreed to do. Q. Was there, or was there not, any com- munication with General Price, in Missouri? A. There was, sir. Q. Who told you they had communica- tion with General Price? A. Dr. Wilson said Dr. Bowles' man had fone to see Price, and another had gone to Richmond to arrange for troops to come through Cumberland Gap, and when they returned, they thought it would be before the 16th of August 1864, about which time the rumpus would take place. Q. Did they fail to communicate with the Confederate forces, and if so, did that have any thing to do with the failure of the in- surrection? A. I understood these men failed to get back in time. Q. Did that have any thing to do with the failure? A. 1 do not know; I was not in their se- crets at that time. Q. Did you learn from any members of the order whether they had any conjmuni- cation? A. I believe I did, sir: from Mr. Harri.s. Q. What did he say? ' A. lie said that the Eichmond man got on his way, but we never heard from the messenger. Q. What do you mean by the Richmond man ? A. The man that went to communicate with the rebels at Richmond. Q. Did you hear any thing with respect to the man that went to communicate with Price? A. No, sir; I never learned his name, and do not know whether he communicated with Price or not; there was a man who had been communicating with rebel ofh- cials, but I do not know what or who they were, for about March or April some of the members said I would not do to tie to. Q. Do you know of any tax being levied upon the members of the order? and for what purpose? A. Yes, sir; it was to be twenty cents per month; one dollar for the first degree, one ilollar and a half for the second degree, and two and a half for the third degree, which was to go into the treasury. Q. IIow was that money to be expended? A. I do not know that? Q. Do you know of any direct tax being levied upon members of the order, and do you know how it was expended? A. It was spent for arms and ammuni- tion for the military part of the order; I presume that the large mass of them did not know how it was to be expended, or what they were paying taxes for; it was said to be for establishing a university and starting a newspaper, but the real purpose was for the purchase of arms and ammuni- tion. Mr. Kerr received some information from a gentleman at Salem, and set himself to work to find out in regard to the whole thing, and by some means, I know not how, obtained, 1 am told the information that a meeting was held here by the Republican party, and that the arrangement was made to fix up things to secure the election, and that I had sold out Washington county to the Republicans, and was to receive there- for the sum of ten thousand dollars; and Mr. Kerr, as I am told, sent a runner with a letter to Dr. Wilson for the committee to come at once to New Albany, Indiana. The committee consisted of James B. Wilson, John L. Menaugh, and Dr. Painter; they went there, and had their consultation; what it was I do not know, for since re- turning home, I have not staid at home a . night, for 1 have been threatened to be hung since testifying. Q. Do you know by whom these threats were made? A. I do not wish to state that at present, unless you desire it particularly. Q. For what reason ? A. For my own safety. I have not staid at home a night since I last testified on Friday last. Q. Do you know either by report, or from any members of the order, where any arms or ammunition of this order are stored ? A. As a man of a little honor left, at least, I do not think that question should be asked, for I do not think I ought to state what was said to me when I was in prison with other men. Objection waived on the part of all the accused. I know what Mr. Horsey told me and Mr. Ilumi)hreys ; he told where he hid his buck- shot, caps and powder; some of it was hid in a manger under the horses' feed, and in a barrel the caps were hid ; othor portions were hid in a stable and ujion the plates in the corncrib; iShirklifi'e carried off much of it; and the powder was hid in barrels in his house. Q. When did he tell you this? A. When I was in prison with him; four hundred pounds of lead arc hid in different j)laces, some of it left with a man by the name of Baker, and a man he called Miller helped to pack some of the powder across the river. Shirklitie has since been drafted, and is now in the army; he told where the money came from that they got it with ; from Dr. Bowles. TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 131 Q. Did you learn what quantity of ammu- nition was hid ? A. Tliere were four hundred pounds of lead and several thousand musket caps; I think some six or seven kegs of powder. Botli Mr. Humphreys and myself wanted Mr. Horsey taken irom our cell ; we did not wish to be associated with him, and we had even written a letter to Colonel Warner, which Mr. Humphreys and myself signed, requesting a change. CROSS-EXAMINATION. Question by the accused: When do you say you joined this order? Answer. I find I was mistaken in my an- swer in the cxamination-in-chief It must have been in September I joined the order; because I let a gentleman read the obliga- tion and ritual instead of swearing him to it. Q. What is his name? A. His name is Joseph V. Cutshaw. He is now Clerk of the Court. He was then a candidate for that office. I gave him the ritual to read with the understanding that he would take the obligation. Q. At what time did you attend the first Grand Council? A. On the 16th and 17th of February. Q. Were you not at the Council in the fall? A. I was not at the November session. I was entitled to go as delegate, by virtue of my office, but I could not attend, and got Mr. Wilson to go in my place. Q. What do you know about the military bill? A. I do not know any thing about its adoption. That bill, I understood, \yas con- fided to the Committee of Thirteen, who had exclusive control of it. Q. Who did you learn this from? A. I understood from Dr. Wilson that this was the case. Q. AVas Dr. Wilson at the November meeting'' A. I think he was. Q. Did he tell you this after his return ? A. Yes, sir. Q. When did you first hear of the mili- tary organization of the order? A. I can not state the date. If I could be positive about Dr. Wilson's attendance at the November meeting of the Grand Coun- cil, I -opuld tell you how long it was before or afte'r it. Q. At what time did you first learn of the military feature of the order ? A. It was some time in the latter part of 1863, or in the first part of 1864. _ Q. From whom did you learn it? A. From Dr. Wilson, and I believe also fi-om Mr. Harris. It was at the time they told me about the arsenals. Q. Did you learn it prior to the meeting in February ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did Dr. Wilson tell you prior to that meeting that he was on Dr. Bowles' stafi"? A. No, sir. He never told me so but once. Q. How often did you see Dr. Bowles? A. I never saw him except once at his own house, once in attending Court at Paoli, and once at a meeting of the State Council. Q. When Vvas that meeting held ? A. On the IGth and 17th of February. Q. Do you know that Dr. Bowles wafs elected major general? A. I was present at the election, and ar- ranged the counties, attaching Orange county to the District, so that when Major McGrane refused to serve, Dr. Bowles could take his place. Major McGrane declined, and Dr. Bowles was elected. Q. Was not Dr. Bowles the junior major general ? A. No, sir. Q. How does that come ? A. The military and civil organizations were not regulated alike in regard to rank of junior or senior. Q. Did not the militarj' organization of the order adopt the same rules in regard to gi'ades and rank as are in force in the army of the United States, ranking according to the date of their commissions? A. Not that I know of Q. As Dr. Bowles was elected after the other major generals, because Major Mc- Grane had declined, how do you know he was not the junior officer? A. Dr. Wilson said he was the ranking major general, through his military experi- ence in the Mexican war, and had control of the military part of the organization. Q. Did not Major McGrane hold the same position and the same rank as that to which Dr. Bowles was afterward elected ? A. I think not Q. Why not ? A. Because I never knew that he was in the confidence of the order, and had control of it, as I knew Dr. Bowles was, from what I heard Dr. Wilson, Mr. Hamilton, and Mr. Logan stiy. Q. Did Dr. Bowles' election differ from any other ? A. It did not. Q. Are you acm from committing any violence until he told tlu-m "not to sleep too soundly." When he spoke about the President as a tyrant, he was standing on a log, and the crowd were close around him. lie dealt in about such epithets as the Democratic speakers used at that time. Mr. Humphreys was arined with a revolver. I did not say that I could indorse Mr. Ilumpheys' speech, except that part where he advised them to go home. 1 think Mr. Humphreys asked the crowd to hear me ; it was when Mr. Price intro- duced me to Mr. Humphreys, and then he (Humphreys) told the crowd that I was the son of Judga Cowgill, and that he Avas a mighty good Democrat. 1 said I did not want any credit on that account, as I dif- fered with my father on political topics. 1 may have tried to make a speech to them, for I asked them to select a subject if they wanted to hear me. They selected the Consei-iption Bill. I then told them that the first thing to be done was to have an enrollment. They all swore that they would not have one. At this point Mr. Humphreys came up and made them keep quiet. In coming ou* from Sullivan, I met some soldiers that day. They were marching back toward Sullivan. There was probably fifty or sixty of them. When I saw them they were stopping, and were not marching either way. The men in the crowd were armed, some with squirrel rifles, some with shot guns, and others with pistols and bowie knives. The meeting was in the woods, near the little town of Caledonia, The country about there is sparsely settled. I do not know why the crowd assembled beyond what they stated, that they were there to pro- tect themselves, and vindicate their rights. Mr. Ursey came to Sullivan and tried to get me drunk. When I got him drunk, he became very comnuinicative, and told me that Mr. Humphreys commanded the cavalry and he the infantry. I do not know that the crowd did any violence to any body that day. While I was there, Mr. Humphreys was evidently trying to keep the crowd quiet, and he succeeded to a cer- tain extent. I left before they dispersed. T saw Mr. Humphreys' revolver, for he hajjpened to be in his .shirt sleeves, and was sitting down by a tree talking to me ; his revolver vras buckled on behind. He did not say why he wore it, but remarked that he was expecting to be arrested. I remarked his asking me about the news from Vicksburg, as to whether the Government troops would take it; he also asked me what General Grant's daily losses were. I said I could not tell. He then commenced talking about himself, and asked me whether I knew of any arrange- ments being made to have him arrested. I said I did not. He did not say what he ex])ected to be arrested lor; but I think while we were in conversation, he remarked that if I would go there by myself, he would take care of me over night at his house, and would go over the next morn- TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 143 ing to Indianapolis with me, as he did not want any parade about it, if he was to be arrost(>d. There wore no flags in the crowd that I saw, and each man wore his own citizen's suit. In answer to interrogatories put by the Commission, the witness testified as foHows: I do not know that the enrolhng officer was sl'.ot and killed while in the perform- ance of his duty. My knowledge of his death came from Colonel Thompson. He had two townships to enroll, and was killed while working on the road, after having nearly completed the first township. I got his papers, and went down and finished it myself; and got a man to attend to the other. KE-CROSS-EXAMINATIOX. I liave no personal knowledge of the manner of his death; I speak from hear- say. His deatli occurred about ten days after the meeting referred to. Dr. J.\MES B. Wilson, a witness for the Government, was called to the stand, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, -testified as follows: Question by the Judge Advocate: Please state your name, and where you reside. Answer. James B. Wilson, Salem, Wash- ington county, Indiana. Q. What is your profession, or business? A. I am a farmer at this time. Q. How long have you resided in Salem, Indiana? i A About fourteen years next FebruarJ^ Q. State whether you ever joined any secret order or society known as the Amer- ican Knights, or Sons of Liberty. A. Yes, sir; I joined an order known as the American Knights ; I think it was in September or October, sometime in the fall of 1803. Q. Where? A. At Salem, at the office of Colonel Helfren. Q. By whom were you initiated? A. By Mr. Bailey. Q. Who else were initiated at that time? A. I do not think I can give the names of all, but I can of some: Mr. Heffren, Mr. Harris, Mr. McCoskey, Mr. Cutsliaw, Mr. Garris. Mr. Green, Mr. Fultz and Mr. Beck. Q. What was the next meeting that you attended after your initiation? A. A meeting at this place. It was said to be a meeting of the members of the order in thn State, and was composed of delegates sent from the difl'erent county temples. Q. Who presided at that meeting? A. Mr. Dodd; I do not remember who was in the chair at first. Q. About what time in the day, and at what date, did this meeting occur? A. I think about the 6th of November. Q. Were any of the accused present? A. Dr. Bowles was present. Q. What business was transacted at that meeting? A. There were some committees ap- pointed; a Military Committee, a Commit- tee on Education, and one committee in reference to establishing a newspaper to be considered the organ of the organiza- tion. Q, Who composed the Military Commit- tee ? A. I can not tell; I thought, from the ac- tions of Dr. Bowles, that he must be the Chairmaii of that committee, as he made a verbal report. Q. Did Mr. Dodd make a speech ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you remember what that speech was? A. I remember something of it ; he spoke about talking treason for awhile; it was to- ward the close of the meeting. Q. State about how he said that, and what he was talking about at that time. A. I can not give his language, because it is so long ago, and I did not refer to it very often. 1 can only give you the impression it left upon my mind. He said that he would "kick down the walls of common decency," or some such expression, " and talk treason for awhile." He said, "if the purposes of this organization could not be carried out, as explained by Mr. Wright, there were oth- ers that could be resorted to; they could very easily, if their organization was fully completed, take possession of the railroads, cut the telegraph wires, and throw in at one time troops enough at the capital to take the State Government and have things our own way." Q. About what time in the day did he make this speech ? A. In the afternoon. Q. Was Mr. Bowles present at that meet- ing? A. I think he was. Q. Was Mr. Humphreys present ? A. I did not know Mr. Humphreys then. Q. Do you know if Mr. Bingham was present at that time ? A. I did not know Mr. Bingham at that time. Q. What else was said, if any thing? A. There was a great deal said. Q. Was there any thing done or said in reference to any member who might have revealed any thing in regard to the order? A. Not that I can call to my recollection. I think there was something said on that subject, but I can not now recollect it. Q. Did you ever attend any other Grand Council of the State ? A. No, sir; I never did. Q. Did you not attend a meeting of the Council at Chicago, or of a committee? A. I did, sir; I understood from a gen- 144 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. tleman who was present in the meeting, that it was to be composed of the military part of the organization; and he had called it at his own instance. Q. From whom did you learn this? A. Mr. Barrett said that it was to be com- posed of the military men of the order. Q. Did you ever establish any lodges, or take any active part in the propagation of this society ? A. Yes, sir, I did. Q. To what extent? A. I established lodges in three different townships in Washington county. Q. How extensive were these lodges in the townships of your county ? A. There were lodges in all townships in jur county except two. Q. Did you visit all these lodges? A. I think I did. Q. When you visited these lodges, what did you go for? A. For the purpose of giving them the work of the Neophyte or First Degree. Q. Did you ever give them more than the Neophyte degree, or the First or Vestibule degree? A. I think I assisted in giving the second and third degrees to a couple of gentle- men. Q. To whom ? A. Captain Hamilton and B. F. Nichol- son, of Washington county. Q. Did you go for any thing else? A. Yes, sir; for the purpose of giving them instructions in the object of the order, and give them information that I thought was reliable. Q. What information did you give them at any time? A. I gave them information about the preparation in Illinois, which I received irom a gentleman named Wright, from the State, and formerly from Washington county. Q. What did he tell you ? A. I learned from Mr. Wright that they were ready for anj- movement; that they had arms in their hands, generally, and were ready for any emergency that the order might contemplate, or wish to carry out. Q. Did he report to you how extensively the organization was armed in Illinois ? A. Yes, sir; he said they were generally prepared. Q. What were the preparations in Hli- nois? A. In the county where he resided, he said almost the entire Democratic party. Q. Did you learn the extent of the order in the State? A. No, sir. Q. State what you know in regard to the arming and drilling, or the attempt to arm and drill in your county, preceding your visit to Chicago, Illinois. A. I am not aware of any special efforts made at arming, only as individual mem- bers of the order armed themselves. I know of a great many members of the order buying pistols. Q. Do you know of any attempts to drill? A. I understood that Mr. Hamilton had a company, and that they had drilled. Q. Now please tell the Court about your visit to Chicago; and how you came to go there ? A. I think I went there mostly at my own suggestion; I was in bad health, and thought a trip up there might be of service to me, and suggested that if no one de- sired to go there, I would go myself; I spoke to Mr. Heffren, Mr. Harris, and a number of persons about it. Q. Did any one accompany you? A. Mr. Green did. Q. Is he a member of the order? A. Yes, sir. Q. What time did you start to Chi- cago? A. I think about the 19th of July. 1864, and arrived on the morning of the 20th, I think. Q. Where did you stop in Chicago ? A.' At the Tremont House. Q. Whom did you see there from this State? A. I believe only Mr. Dodd and Dr.- Bowles. Q. Give an account of where you went and what you did while in Chicago? » A. I think we got in early in the morn- ing of the 20th; and after taking breakfast we went down to the Richmond House, where Dr. Bowles said he stopped, and in- quired for his room ; we were shown to it by a servant of the house, but he happened to be in an adjoining room. There seemed to be a promiscuous conversation going on; they talked about politics a little and on sundry matters. Alter having listened for some time, I think I ^ asked if there was not going to be a meeting. Dr. Bowles re- marked to me that there would be a meet- ing, but they were not ready for it, as the persons they expected had not arrived. Q. Who were those persons? A. Mr. Dodd, for one. Q. Where did ho say Dodd was? A. He said that he was gone to Niagara Falls, or had started to go tliere ; but expect- ed to get Imck in time for the meeting. Af- ter remaining some time, we found there was not to be a meeting until the next day. The next morning we went back to Dr. Bowles' room, and learned that Judge Bul- litt and Mr. Williams had arrived. When we had remained a little while in Dr. Bowles' room, these gentlemen came in, and I am not sure but we went into another room. Q. Who was there ? TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 145 A. Judge Bullitt, Mr. Piper, Mr. Wil- liams, and Mr. Barrett, I remember. Q. What was said* there? A. The conversation was again of a pro- miscuous character. After sitting a while, some one suggested that perliaps we had better hear Avhy Mr. Barrett had called ••^he meeting. He said tliat he had called (for a military meeting, to be composed, as be had expected, of the military men of »'his organization, and that he liad used his *^est ofibrts to get men of that character to the meeting, but that he believed" he had failed. He did not name whom he ex- pected. He then stated that his object in calling the meeting was, that he thought theGovern- ment could be restored, and he was satis- fied it could be if we could get the co-ope- ration of the North with the South, or a portion of the North, Ohio, Indiana, Illi- nois, Missouri and Kentucky; he said if the members of the Sons of Liberty in the States would co-operate with the South, he had no doubt the entire Government would be saved through their action. He also said that it had been contemplated to have an uprising at some time soon, per- haps as early as the third of August, but that had failed from some cause; and he thought every thing could be got ready for an uprising, perhaps, by the 10th or 15th of tlie month, and that the South, in order to show her willingness to engage in some movement that would restore the Govern- w.ent, had authorized him to jjlace at the disposal of members of the organization, a large sum of money, amounting to two millions of dollars. Q. Did he say where the money came from ? A. He said that it had been captured from a United States Paymaster on Red river, and that the organization could have the use of that amount of money in pre- paring themselves to rise against the Lin- coln administration; that it would be dis- tributed to the several Grand Commanders of those States, and by them subdivided among such persons inside of the order as in their judgment was prudent, and to be expended by those who received it for arms and other appliances of war. And he fur- ther stated, that in calling this meeting it was done at his own suggestion; that this money was to be used for the benefit of the order, and that as he did not wish any of the delegates thwe to be at any expense, if we would make out our bills of expenses in coming and while there, he would pay us; and he did; at least I got mine, forty dollars. Q. Where did he get this money from ? A. I do not know; but I think he said it was captured from a paymaster on Red river. Q. And did he pay all then* expenses? 10 A. 1 understood they would all receive their expenses if they desired it. Q. What else was said at that meet- ing? A. That was about the amount of what was said ; I do not recollect that any one discussed the matter, or offered any partic- ular opinion at that time. Q. Was any thing said about the destruc- tion of Government property? A. Yes, sir; but not at that meeting ; I think it was on the afternoon of that day or the next, I am not sure which, he stated, in speaking of the money, that it had been used for the purpose of paying for the de- struction of United States property, ar- senals, burning boats, etc. Q. Did he say how this was to be paid? A. He said they would pay ten per cent, on property so destroyed, and were willing to make an estimate upon the value as- sessed by Government officers, that would generally be announced through the North- ern newspapers; that they would take the Government estimate as a basis for calcula- tion. Q. Did he give any instance where Gov- ernment property had been destroyed? A. Yes, sir; the burning of some Gov- ernment stores in Louisville, on Eighth street, I believe; also the destruction of some Government boats on the Ohio river, and one, I believe, at St. Louis. Q. And those persons were to receive ten per cent., you say? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did he say what means were used to destroy this property ? A. I afterward learned from Dr. Bowles that the means employed was Greek fire. Q. What else took place at that meeting in Chicago? A. There was an explanation made, I afterward learned from Dr. Bowles more particularly, in regard to a flag ; that the members of the organization should be careful to have instructions sent to their friends that in case of an invasion by the guerrillas, the members should make use of a flag, made of white cloth, with a red ribbon running along the top and carried down the sides and hanging below, like streamers; this was to be tied to a stick. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Tuesday, November 15, 1864, at 9 o'clock, A. M. CouET Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, ) November 15, 1864, 9 o'clock, A. M. j The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused, (except W. A. Bowles,) and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. The examination of James B. Wilson, a 146 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. witness for the Government, was then re- sumed as follows: Question by the Judge Advocate: Did you meet any persons who purported to represent the Southern Confederacy at the Chicago meeting, or convention, to which you have referred? Answer. Yes, sir. A man calling himself by the name of Majors; and Mr. Barrret, also, stated that he was authorized to repre- sent tlie Southern Confederacy. Q. You say that Mr. Barrett represented himself as a representative of the Southern Confederacy at that meeting? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did any of those gentlemen profess to represent any special States, or only the Southern Confederacy generally? A. The Southern Confederacy generally. Q. Did you learn who were the parties that were expected there, but did not come? A. I do not think I did. I think that Mr. Amos Green, of Illinois, was mentioned as being expected, and it was also expected that Mr. Vallandigham would be there, but they had learned prior to the meeting that he would not be there, and had sent a messenger to him. Q. Who was that messenger ? A. I think it was Mr. Green, or Mr. Hol- loway, or perhaps both. Q. Did you learn whether they saw Mr. Vallandigham ? A. I do not think I did. Q. Did you hear Mr. Dodd, or Mr. Hol- loway, or any other person say in reference to this meeting, that they had had any con- versation with Mr. Vallandigham? A. No, sir. Q. Where did Mr. Dodd come from? where did he represent himself to have been? A. At the Clifton House, near Niagara Falls. Q. For what purpose? A. To meet with the commissioners, or delegates, that were duly authorized by the Southern Confederacy to meet at that meeting. Q. Who were they? A. Ilolcomb, Clay, Saunders, and another, whom I supposed was this Majors, Captain Majors, as he was called. The way I re- meml)er this is, that something was said about a safe conveyance being asked for by Mr. Ilolcomb in his address to Mr. Greeley for himself, Mr. Clay, Mr. Saunders, and another; this other man, I understood, was Captain Majors. Q. Is this Captain Majors the one you «pokc of as being at Chicago? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you learn of any part that was to be taken by the difterent leading men in this contemplated uprising? If so, what? Wl»o, for instance, was to load in this State, who in Ohio, and who in Illinois ? A. I do not think I heard that matter definitely spoken of, except with regard to our State, Indiana; I understood Dodd was to be the leader in Indiana. Q. Did vou hear who was to take care of Ohio? A. I understood from some source that Ohio was to be taken care of by Vallandig ham. Q. In what event? A. In the event of a general uprising. He had some i'orces athis disposal in Canada, and would bring those forces into Ohio to co-operate with other forces at Cincinnati and Louisville. Q. From whom did you learn this ? A. I can not be positive; my impuession is that I learned it from Dr. Bowles. Q. At this meeting in Chicago you say, do you not, that the expenses of the delegates were paid by Barrett out of the two million dollars that he had received from the South- ern Confederacy ? A. I understood it was so. Q. He paid your expenses, do you say ? A. Yes, sir. I receipted him for mine and Mr. Green's, which I forgot to mention yesterday. Q. Was that money to be returned or re- paid in any way? A. No, sir; not that I understood. Q. On what day did you start back from Chicago? A. 1 can not be positive as to the day ; but I think we were there two days. Q. Have you named to the Court all the persons that were at that meeting when Barrett made that proposition ? A. I can not say, but I will state now those that I can remember: Mr. Barrett, Dr. Bowles. Mr. Williams and Judge Bullitt, both from Kentucky; and Mr. Piper was there. Q. Where was he from? A. I can not say. Q. Did he j^rofess to hold any position in the order? A. I understood from Dr. Bowles that he was a kind of general missionary. Q. What does that mean? A. A man that was going about diffusing a knowledge of the order. Q. And carrying light into dark places? A. Yes, sir. Q. Who else was there? A. Mr. Majors, Mr. Swem. Q. Who is Mr. Swem ? A. A citizen of Chicago. Mr. Walsh, also a citizen of Chicago, was j^resent, and Mr. Holloway, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Green and my- self Q. You say that Mr. Barrett announced this as a meeting of the military heads of the order; will you state how you happened to be present? A. 1 knew nothing of the character of the meeting, but Dr. Bowles afterward told me TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 147 that he had reported me as one of his staff officers, and also Mr. Green. Q. In what capacity ? A. He did not state. Q. Then he reported jj^ou simply on his staff, and you gained access in that way ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Was Dodd considered the military head of the order ? A. He was to be so considered in this State, I underetood. Q. What position did Bullitt and Barrett hold, militarily? A. I did not learn. Q. You did not learn the position of any of these men then, except that they were military chiefs? A, I did not. Q. You started back, did you, about July 23d, 1864? A. I think I did. Q. Was any thing resolved upon at that meeting? A. Not that I know of; the discussion was not of a definite character in my presence. Q. Did they hold any meetings when you were not present ? A. I suspect they did. Q. What made you suspect that? A. Because I saw other men that I did not know, and to whom I was not intro- duced, in another room, having close con- versation. Q, Did you learn if Vallandigham was expected? A. Judge Bullitt said so. Q. Did you understand that any one had come from Canada ? A. I understood that Mr. Green and. Mr. HoUoway had been to see Vallandigham, and that Mr. Dodd had been to Canada to see the Commissioners. Q. Who came back with you? A. Mr. Green, my lady and Dr. Bowles were on the same train. Q. Did you have any conversation with Dr. Bowles after you returned? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you learn of any thing that was to be done, or contemplated to be done ? A. I understood that Mr. Dodd had abandoned the project, and that he had sent his son to say that he would drop it. Q. At what time did you learn that? A. My best recollection is, that it was about two weeks after my return, near the 7th of August. Q. Did you learn why the project had been abandoned? A. Not definitely. Q. Do you know whether any communi- cation was attempted to be had, or was had, with any rebel forces, commissioners, or messengers ? A. No, sir, I do not; I heard it spoken of. Q. By whom? A. It was spoken of at the Chicago meet- ing; I think Dr. Bowles said messengers were sent to the rebels. Q. Where were they sent ? A. I do not know, sir ; I think they were sent into Kentucky and Missouri. Q. Do you know with whom communica- tion was attempted to be made ? A. I inferred it was to be with Price and Buckner, because they were to be the co-operating forces in case of an upris- ing. Q. Will you give to this Court, to the best of your knowledge, how this uprising was to take place, where the rendezvous was to be, and under what circumstances? A. It was to take place by the order of Mr. Dodd; he was to send out couriers to the different commanders of the several districts of the State, the major generals of the four districts into which the State was divided ; and they were to send out cour- iers into the respective counties composing their several districts, who were to give notice of the uprising in their counties, and then it was expected that that information would be conveyed to certain persons in each county that had been prominent and leading men of the organization, who were to see that it was conveyed to the different townships in the county. The general sig- nal for the uprising was to be the appear- ance of guerrillas or troops in the vicinity of St. Louis and Louisville. It might have been on the I6th August, or a few days later; or, if these couriers got through in time, and the Southern forces were to get the information, they might appear sooner than the 16th. Q. To whom were the couriers to go ? A. To Generals Buckner and Price. Q. Were these couriers to return, and then the uprising to take place ? A. There was nothing said about their returning; the appearance of the troops was to be the signal. Q. Where were the troops to rendezvous? A. The forces of Southern Indiana were to be rendezvoused at a place some eight or ten miles from New Albany. Q. Under whom ? A. It was expected they would be under Dr. Bowles. Q. Where were the foi'ces in this part of the State to rendezvous ? A. I did not learn that. Q. And the forces in Illinois ? A. At several points; in the neighborhood of Rock Island, Springfield, Chicago, and some other points, perhaps. Q. Did you learn who was to be the leader in that State? A. No, sir. Q. Did you learn where the rendezvous was to take place in Missouri? A. I understood that after they had com- pleted the seizure of the arsenals in Illi- nois, they were to march to St. Louis, to co- 148 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. operate with Price's forces in the taking of that place. Q. Did you learn what they were to do after the rendezvousing at the diflerent points in this State? A. There was nothing said about it in Chicago, but I learned that what was to be done in Indiana, was to be under the su- pervision of Mr. Dodd. Q. What was that? A. I did not understand what persons were to lead them in particular, but they were to be concentrated at Indianapolis, and perhaps at Terre Haute, New Albany, and Jeftersonville; perhaps Evansville was named, I am not positive. The Capture of the State Capitol at Indianapolis was left, as I understood, to the special supervision of Mr. Dodd, and he was to do it by getting up public meetings. There was to be an ordinary political meeting called at Indion- apolis, as well as I could understand, east of the city, at some place of resort for Sab- bath school picnics, where water was con- venient; as I understood, at some fashion- able place for public meetings. I do not know whether there is such a place or not. It seemed, as well as I could learn, that there were three places in an easterly di- rection, perhaps from Camp Morton; I may have misunderstood it, but I give my best recollections of it. The three points wei-e east of Camp Morton. One meeting would, perhaps, be a Sabbath school meeting ; an- other a political meeting; and the third, pei'haps, a political meeting — or something of that kind; those of the order who as- sisted at the meeting, and those who were members of the organization, would come to these meetings in wagons, bringing their families; as a general thing, they would have arms, secreted in the wagons under straw or hay. After arriving at the differ- ent points, some one would propose, to be in the fashion, that they drill, and they were to come out and drill. Q. Were they to drill with or without arms? A. Without arms. The object of the drill was, that each individual who was to take part in the afiairs of the day, would under- stand where his place was, what was his duty, and what was expected of him. At the time of day when the soldiers came on dress parade, at some place east of the camp ground, some one at the camp wovild throw up a signal, which would be seen from these meeting places; when the signal was seen, those who understood what they had met there for, would at once seize their arms and march immediately in the direc- tion of Camp Morton. At the time they were thus marching, the fences and build- ings of Camp Morton were to be fired. It was understood that the released rebel pris- oners would participate in the afi'air, and that these rebel soldiers could come up in the rear, and that the Federal soldiers, find- ing themselves surrounded, would be easily overcome. The rebel prisoners would be armed with the soldiers' arms, and the sol- diers would be held as prisoners of war. At the time this was going on — the work of freeing prisoners and the capturing these soldiers — a detail of persons was to be sent to take care of the Governor, and secure him; in some way take care of him; and then the arsenals at this place were to be seized, and a better quality of arms pro- cured; those that went on with this expedi- tion were to be as fully ai-med from the arse- nal as was necessary. They were also to take such munitions of war as they thought proper with them. They were then to seize tlie railroad to Jefiersonville, and make use of the cars for the transportation of troops and the rebel prisoners; thej' were then to go on and complete the same work at Jef- iersonville and New Albany, and also to co- operate in the capture of Louisville. Q. That was the general scheme, vnas it? A. Yes, sir; a great deal of the minutia I may have forgotten; that is my general imjiression. Q. How extensively was this plan made known to the members of the order? A. It was made known to all the mem- bers of the order in my county. Q. Can you state how extensively in any other county ? A. No, sir. Q. What county do you reside in ? A. In Washington county? Q. Does Mr. Kerr live in your county? A. No, sir. Q. What prominent men was that scheme made known to in your county? A. To all the members of the organiza- tion. Q. How many does the order number in your county ? A. I can not say ; I think above a thou- sand men. Q. Was Mr. Heffren present at the No- vember meeting of the Grand Council in Indianapolis, that you referred to yester- day ? A. No, sir. Q. Was Mr. Milligan ? A. I did not know him at that time. Q. Was Dr. Bowles present ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you know Dr. Athon and Mr. Eis- tine, of this city? A. Yes, sir ; I know Dr. Athon. Q. Was either present at that meeting ? A. I do not think they were, sir. Q. Were you ever furnished any money for the purchase of arms for this order? If so, by whom, and what amount ? A. I was furnished with a thousand dol- lars by Dr. Bowles, for the purchase of arms for those of the order who were un TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 149 derstood to be unable to procure arms themselves. Q. Were they to be distributed to any particular class, or only to members of the order? A. It was understood that they were to be distributed to those who were unable to arm themselves. Q. Did you make any attempt to pur- chase any arms with that thousand dol- lars ? A. I went to see Mr. Kent, at New Al- bany, about the purchase of the arms. Q. What did you do with this money ? A. I gave it out to men to furnish sub- stitutes with. Q. You loaned it, did you not? A. No, sir; I took no note of it; it was only an accommodation loan to personal friends, to men whom I could trust, and from whom I could get it any time I needed. Q. Then this money was diverted from the channel for which it was originally in- tended, was it not ? A. Yes, sir. CROSS-EXAMINATION. Dr. Bowles told me that he obtained my admission to the meeting at Chicago, by representing me as a member of his staff; that is not ti"ue, however; I hold no posi- tion in the order. I did not see Milligan, Humphreys or Horsey at the Chicago meet- ing ; nor did I get any information of the contemplated uprising from either of the accused, save Dr. Bowles. I never spoke to Mr. Horsey in my life ; Mr. Humphreys I have seen but once, having passed the com- pliments of the day with him at the Chi- cago Convention; with Mr. Milligan I became acquainted at the State Con- vention here in July. From what I saw during the Chicago meeting, I was led to think that there was a meeting inside of the one I was permitted to witness. There were many schemes proposed for carrying out the uprising, the release of prisoners, etc., but the one I have given in my direct testimony was that which was deemed most plausible, and most likely to be adopted ; but I do not know that it was resolved upon. The thousand dollars I received from Dr. Bowles for the purchase of arms, he gave me to understand, was from his private funds; and what he said impressed me with that idea. I have been under arrest; but no induce- ment or promise of favor has been held out to me by the authorities to induce me to testify against the defendants in this case ; neither has promise of immunity from punishment been held out to me, as an inducement to testify ; nor has any one visited me while in confinement to ascer- tain what I could testify to. Not until , 12 o'clock yesterday, did I know that I should be required as a witness; the guard then informed me that I was required in the court room. Q. Did you tell any one after you were arrested, and before you were called upon, what your testimony would be? Question objected to by the Judge Ad- vocate, and withdrawn. RE-EXAMINATION. It was distinctly stated to me before tes- tifying, that the Government authorities would make me no pledges, nor did any Government official make any threats to me. The only position I held in the order was that of Ancient Brother in our County Temple. Dr. Bowles told me that he would appoint me to the position of Adjutant General on his staff, if I desired it; but I told him I did not wish it, as I had no knowledge of military mat- ters. I and Mr. Heffren had some talk about it. The organization, which I after- ward understood to be the Sons of Liberty, was in session in Chicago at the time of the Democratic Convention, when General McClellan was nominated. The meeting was at the Richmond House; Mr. Dodd was there. I was there, but not as a dele- gate; there were no persons there to repre- sent the South, or from Canada, to my knowledge. Mr. Moss, from Missouri, was there, and distinguished himself in the meeting; Mr. Green, from lllinoi.s, was there; and a Mr. Jackson, I believe — a large man — from Ohio; and also Mr. Val- landigham, who acted as Chairman of the meeting of the Sons of Liberty. I was present at only a portion of each meeting. When I first went, Mr. Moss was speaking. An introductory speech was made by Mr. Vallandigham, as Chairman. He spoke in reference to the divided condition of the Democratic jjarty; he said that until very recently he had thought that the Chicago Convention would result very much as the Charleston Convention did; that is, that it would break up; but since he had come to Chicago, and had seen persons from all parts of the country, he had changed his opinion on that subject; he had found a wonderful unanimity of feeling, and oneness of idea, and he believed the party could be made more united and more efficient than it had been for years; and he did not doubt we would be able, through his and others' in- strumentality, to secure a proper platform for the party to stand upon. Vallandig- ham acted as Chairman until the close of the meeting, and adjourned it to the next day, when he presided again. The meeting was held at the Richmond House; I tliink the rooms were Nos. 94, 96, 98, and 100, in the fifth story; there were folding-doors by which the rooms communicated; and prob- ably from one hundred and fifty to two 150 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. hundred were present. Dodd was there, and I think Mr. Barrett. I did not see Judge Bul- litt, or Mr. Piper, or Captain Majors. I saw Mr. Swem in Chicago, but not at the meeting. Mr. Vallandigham presided at the meeting by a vote. 1 did not know but that the meetings wore open, for no one was present at the doors, and no password was required that I know of, nor did 1 know that all pres- ent were members. Mr. Moss, in his re- marks, gave a history of the condition of Missouri; how the citizens there were ex- posed to both rebel and Union troops: that some really good Union men, and others really rebels, were suffering great indignities at tlie hands of the troops. P'irst the rebels would come along and rob them of their pork and crops; then the Union troops came and took the negroes; that if this organization was worth any thing, if it was intended to be efficient in the restoration of the Government under the Constitution, now was the time to strike; that these indignities were unbearable; and if they had true American blood in them they would not bear it any longer, but strike at once. No practical remedy was proposed to meet the emergency. The first meeting was held on Sunday evening, the second on Monday. On the Monday evening going to the Kichmond House, somewhat before the meeting, I met John Singleton and Mi\ Barrett, of Missouri. They were endeavor- ing, so I understood, to arrange for the burst- ing up of the Convention, in case it dis- owned the order. In that event they would make a public demonstration of the order, and proposed to nominate some candidates other than that nominated by the Conven- tion. John Singleton had a great many mottoes for transparencies made, some of which he read. They were patriotic, and not connected with any secret conspiracy; some of them were mottoes from the speeches and wi'itings of Douglas, Jackson, Jefierson and Wasliington; but they were phrases which seemed to suit the circum- stances of the times. At this second meet- ing Vallandigham presided, and made some remarks similar to those he made at the first meeting. lie drew out of his pocket a platibrm, sul)stantially the same as that adopted at the Chicago Convention, which, he said, he had presented to most of the dele- gates, and to members from each of the States, and that it had met with universal approval. - If he could get that platform as the platform of the party, he should be wil- ling to take McClellan as the Presidential candidate. lie said he woidd be willing to take any man as a candidate if tlie platform was only right, lie announced his convic- tion that, by the adoi)tion of this platform, the organization would merge its action with that of the Democratic party. Single- ton's proposition was not adopted, in conse- quence of the Democratic party being united. This meeting of the organization in Chicago, at which Barrett made his prop- osition for an uprising, was on the 20th of July; the second meeting was on the 29th of August. Barrett, who was present at the meeting, at which Vallandigham presided, made no objection to the course of the pro- ceedings on that occasion. Mr. Dodd was present at the July meeting. The speeches made at the meeting at which Vallandig- ham presided, I thought, were addressed to those who were members of the order. Mr. Green, of Illinois, made a speech at the meeting. I have no recollection that the strength of the order was mentioned by any present who seemed to know; but one jtev- son said it had about five hundred thousand members. The organization was referred to by Mr. Moss, and others, as a distinctive organization then existing. Mr. Vallandig- ham presided when these statements were made. RE-CROSS-EXAMIXATIOX. I did not understand that this meeting was a mere caucus of the friends of Mr, Vallandigham, to consider matters that would probably come up at the Convention. The gentlemen who were present at Chicago, representing the Sons of Liberty, were unanimouslv opposed to the nomination of General McClellan. The Mr. Barrett, of whom I have spoken, is from Missouri. He stated to me that early in this war, Mr. Douglas liad suggested to him the propriety of getting up a regiment, and going on the Plains to hold in check marauding bands which might congregate there, in the terri- tory; that he had got up a regiment, and went down to the neighborhood of Pilot Knob, Missoiu-i. Mr. Douglas had promised to get some order for him, but failing to do this he had resigned. Since then he had been engaged in sending persons across the lines to the Southern Confederacy. 1 tliink before the war, he was a resident of Illinois, and since raising the regiment he has made claim to Missoui'i as his State. W. S. Bush, a witness for the Government, was then introduced, and duly sworn by the Judge Advocate. The Judge Advocate proposed to intro- duce a speech, as reported by the witness, and printed in the Cincinnati Gazette, of August 16, 1864, which was made b\ the accused, L. P. Milligan. Some parts of the report were verbatim, and othersa condensed report ; and he proposed to examine the wit- ness in reference to its correctness. The accused objected to its introduction as incompetent, and claimed that a witness must lirst state his recollection of a speech, or conversation, and might refresh his memory by any memorandum made at the time; but that report could not be used as evidence. It was not competent to intro* TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 151 duce a report which was only partially ver- batim, in which the omissions might give a different construction to what was said, and to ask the witness to define what was verbatim, and what was not. The Judge Advocate replied : It seems to me that it is a well established rule that a printed report of a speech, pub- lished in a public journal at the time it was made, the reporter being pres-ent to state whether the I'eport of the speech is or is not correct, can always be introduced in evidence. I recollect a somewhat similar question occurred in the trial of Captain Hurtt, at Cincinnati, which was strongly argued by his able counsel, T. D. Lincoln and Colonel Jackson. I had introduced, on the part of the Government, private letters which had been written by him, containing disloyal sentiments, or senti- ments tending to injure the Government; and, to rebut the force of those letters, his counsel proposed to introduce articles writ- ten by him and printed in the Ohio State Journal^ of which he was one of the editors, showing that he had labored, by his speeches and in the leading articles of his paper, to advocate the general cause of the Govern- ment. We were unable to keep that evi- dence out, although we contested it with as much force as we were able. During this trial we have introduced an address of H. H. Dodd, in printed form, which was de- livered as a speech to the order at one of their meetings in February, and no objec- tion was made by the accused or their coun- sel. The counsel for the accused replied: The address of Mr. Dodd was published as a correct official report of' his speech, while the correctness of the report of Mr. Milligan's speech is not yet proven. The Judge Advocate continued : The gentlemen now make the issue on the correctness of the report, and not on the right to introduce the report of that speech. I allow the whole force of his ar- gument to the efi'ect that it is not compe- tent to introduce it as a correct report. Now, then, I propose to show that the speech, as reported in that paper, is a correct re- port, and to prove its correctness by the man who reported it. It may, perhaps, be said that it would be better to introduce the original itself It is a rule that the highest grade of testi- mony shall be introduced which it is pos- sible to obtain, or which the case in its nature is susceptible of; but when the original notes can not be produced, is it not better to go to the printed report of the speech than to trust to the uncertain mem- ory of any witness? The President of the Commission said the document referred to as the address of the Grand Commander to the Grand Coun- cil, came to us in the shape of an official document, in the minutes of the order. This report purports to be a speech made by one of the accused, and published in the newspapers of the country, and only when its identity is proven is it compe- tent in evidenee. The Judge Advocate replied: One is a speech made in an official capa- city, and the other is simply an ordinary speech to the masses. We can introduce the admissions and speeches of a man, made upon any and all occasions as against him- self, if necessary. I propose to introduce it, if for no other purpose than to show that while the accused was a member of this order, knowing its intents and purposes, and while this order was being agitated with plans for the release of rebel prisoners, marching upon Indianapolis, Louisville, New Albany and other places, and attempting to overturn the Government, the accused was abroad through the land addressing bodies of men, and making incendiary sjDeeches certain to have the effect of arousing their passions, and inciting to insurrec tion. The counsel for the accused said : The address comes in the character of an official document, while the other is that of a reported speech. The charac- ter of these two seems very difierent. The Judge Advocate replied : I introduce the first document not as an official document, in and of itself We first had the testimony of Mr. Harrison as to whether it was a correct copy of Mr. Dodd's speech, and whether Mr. Dodd de- livered it at that time. It was only because it was a correct copy that we were entitled to introduce it. I desire to introduce that paper itself, and to submit to the Commission the report of the speech, as a correct report of the speech, and the very words used by the ac- cused. The court room was then cleared for de- liberating. On the ojDening of the Court, the Judge Advocate announced to the accused that the Court had decided that the objection was premature at the present stage of the examination of the witness, and the objec- tion was overruled. The witness, in reply to the questions of the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : You may state whether you were present at a convention at Fort Wayne, Indiana, on the 13th of August, and if so, whether or not you reported any speeches made at that time ? Answer. I was present at that meeting and made a full report of Mr. Milligan's speech, and partial reports of the speeches of A. M. Jackson, of Ohio, and C. AV. Keeves, of Plymouth, Marshall county. Q. What was your occupation at that time? 152 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. A- I was reporting for the Cincinnati Ga- zette the speeches made at jjolitical meet- ings of both parties in Indiana. Q. Did you at that time make a report of Mr. Milligan's speech? A. I did ; Mr. Milligan's speech was made on Saturday. I wrote my report on Sun- day in part or in whole, and returned to Cincinnati Monday morning. Q. Did you take short hand notes of that speech at the time it was delivered? A. 1 did, sir. Q. How large an audience was present ? A. I estimated it at five thousand persons. Q. Have you looked at your notes or at the report in the paper, to refresh your memory ? A. My notes were destroyed at the time the report was made. I have seen the re- port since, but have not carefully examined it to refresh my memory. Q. Do you now recollect the main points of that speech ? A. I do, sir. Q. State to the Court what was said by Mr. Milligan on the state of the country, whether it was prosperous or otherwise ? A. He referred to the country as desola- ted by this war, and the oppressions of the Administration. That was the general tenor of his remarks on that point. Q. What did he state in reference to the freedom of the press and of speech ? A. He spoke of the freedom of speech allowed as simply that granted by a Lin- coln mob — as a freedom in name rather than in fact. Q. What did he say in reference to the draft or conscription? A. Prior to Mr. Milligon's speech, a series of resolutions was adopted as the platform of the Democracy of that Congressional dis- trict and of adjoining districts. The audi- ence were expecting to hear from him in reference to the draft. He stated, if the war was right, the draft was right, and if they considered the war right, and were good citizens, they would not grumble about the draft. Q. What else did he say about the rightr fulness of the war? A. He denied that the war was right, and proceeded to argue, that under the Constitution the President had no power to coerce a State, and asked if those entered the army would look in the future for their laurels to such battles as EuU Kun, Chicaniauga, and Red river. He also ap- pealed to them to consider tlie condition of their wives and children at home, des- titute and dependent on the charity of their neighbors, if they entered the army, and asked whether they considered it a duty to make such a sacrifice. Q. State to the Court what he said about the powers that be; whether they were ex- isting by rightful authority or otherwise? A. I do not recollect his exact words, but the tenor of his remarks were that the Administration had usurped power. Q. What did he say about the President of the United States ? A. He spoke of him as a tyrant, and an usurper, I think. Q. What did he say in reference to the arrests of disloyal persons by the Govern- ment? A. I do not remember distinctly the words he used. Q. Did he denounce arbitrary arrests ? A. I think he did. Q. What did he say about this war being inaugurated for the restoration of the Union, and its power to act in that di- rection ? A. He held that the war itself was dis- union, and that the Union could not be re- stored by war. Q. How did he treat this.Government, as a unit or otherwise? A. He spoke of the Government as a confederation of the several States, rather than a unity. Q. What effect did he state the war had produced? A. That it had made the Government a despotism. Q. How did you understand him to speak of the Government at that time, as a Gov- ernment of all the States, or only of the States which were left in the Union? A. I understood him to refer to what were left. Q. What did he say as to whether the Government v/as still divided or existing as a unit? A. He treated the war itself as a dissolu- tion of the Government. Q. Did he make that statement? A. 1 think he did. Q. Give to the Court his words as near as you can recollect. A. I have not referred to the report lately for the purpose of refreshing my memory, and can not state positively what he said. Q. What did he state as to the right of the Government of the United States to make war upon rebels, or those in rebellion against the General Government? A. He denied the right. Q. Did he state any thing to the audience in reference to the number of men who liad been destroyed in this war, and the amount of treasure expended ? A. I think he stated that two millions of men liad lost their lives during the war. 1 do not remember exactly what he said in ref- erence to the amovmt of treasure expended, but 1 believe he referred to it. Q. What did he state about the prospects of the war after that expenditure, as regards the two contending forces? A. He spoke of the Confederate Govern- ment as successful, as holding its ow'n ; and TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 153 that the future prosecution of the war would only tend to greater losses to the United States Government. Q. I will ask you now this general ques- tion, whether his speech at that time was loyal, and in favor of the Government, or whether it was disloyal, and against it? Question objected to by the counsel for the accused. The Judge Advocate stated that he could produce ample authority in foyor of the com- petency of the question. The Commission then adjourned to Wed- nesday, November 16, at 10 o'clock, A. M. Court Boom, Indianapolis, Indiana, November 16, 18C4, 10 o'clock, A. M .} The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment.' All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused, (except W. A. Bowles,) and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. The Judge Advocate then submitted the following in favor of the competency of the question objected to yesterday, by the ac- cused : When the last witness was upon the stand, the accused objected that it was not competent evidence for the witness to state whether the general tenor of Mr. Milligan's speech was loyal, or disloyal. My duties have given me but little time to search for authorities on the point at issue, and I have not been able to find a large number of decisions applicable to the issue made by the accused. I remember very distinctly, in the commencement of this trial, investigating the general prin- ciple of conspiracy, and found the proposi- tion broadly stated, in so many words, that you could ask a witness who heard a speech made by a conspirator to an audience, of which the witness was part, whether the general purport and tenor of the speech was against the Government or for it. I read first a paragraph not so applicable as others to the question at issue, but for the purpose of bringing to the mind of the Court the class of evidence that may be in- troduced in trials of this character, I read from Roscoe's Ciiminal Evidence, page 87: "Not only are the acts, and the written letters and -papers, of one of several persons engaged in the same conspiracy, evidence against the others, if done or written in fur- therance of the common purpose, but his verbal declarations are equally admissible under similar restrictions. Any declarations made by one of the party in pursualice of the common object of the conspiracy, are evidence against the rest of the party, who are as much responsible for all that has been said or done by their associates in carrying into effect the concerted plan, as if it had been pronounced by their own voice, or exe- cuted by their own hand. These declara- tions are of the nature of acts; they are in reality acts done by the party, and gen- erally they are far more mischievous than acts which consist only in corporal agency. All consultations, therefore, carried on by one conspirator, relative to the general design, and all conversations in his presence, are evidence against another conspirator, though absent. 1 PhiU. Ev., 95, 1th ed. The effect of such evidence must depend on a variety of circumstances, such as whether the party was attending to the conversation, and whether he approved or disapproved; still such conversations are, admissible in evi- dence. See Eyre C. J., Hardy s case, 24 How. St. Tr., 704. In Lord George Gordon's case, the cry of the mob, being part of the trans- action, was held to be admissible against the prisoner. 21 How. 8t. Tr., 535. And upon the same principle, the expressions of the mob in the Sacheverell riots, that .they de- signed to pull down the meeting-houses, were admitted in evidence. Daniorcis case^ 15 How. St. Tr., 552." [ read this to bring before the minds of the Court the general principle of con- spiracy. On page 88, Roscoe's Criminal Evi- dence, I find the following: "As in trials for conspiracies, whatever the prisoner may have done or said at any meeting alleged to be held in pursuance of the conspiracy, is admissible in evidence on the part of the prosecution against him; so, on the other hand, any other part of his conduct at the same meetings, will be allowed to be proved on his behalf. For the intention and design of a party at a particular time are best explained by a complete view of every part of his conduct at that time, and not merely from the proof of a single and insulated act or declaration. Phill. Ev., 499, %th ed. On the trial for an indictment to overthrow the Government, evidence was given to show that the con- spiracy was brought into overt act at meet- ings, in the jjresence of the prisoner Walker, His counsel was allowed to ask, whether at those times, he had heard Walker utter any word inconsistent with the duty of a good subject. He was also allowed to inquire into the general declarations of the prisoner at the meetings, and whether the witness had heard him say any thing that had a tendency to disturb the peace. Ibid., 23 How. St. Tr., 1131; 31 Id, 43." I do not propose to go into any lengthy discussion of this subject, as I have drawn from the wi'jness the main points of the speech. I am certain, however, that the law goes further than I have even claimed. That I have the right to ask whether Mr. Milli- gan, in talking to that crowd, spoke for or against the Government, is conceded by the authorities; and each loyal man of the land is perfectly cognizant of what is loyalty, and what is disloyalty. This is not a question 154 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. of opinion, but one of fact. It is an old re- mark that every man is for his Government or against it. The dividing line is clear to the mind of every man who heard that speech. Now, I proiiose to ask the witness who reported that speech, whether it was for the Government, or against it. There on the 13th of August, when the uprising was to take place on the 16th, he was making an incendiary sjjeech, at the very time when Dr. Wilson testifies that nearly every man in his county belonging to the order knew that the insurrection was to take place on the 16th of August. The accused rej^lied: I have not had an opportunity to search the law upon this point, but it seems to me it does not support the point made by the Judge Advocate. He states that this speech was made a few days previous to the time when this uprising was to take place. The exposition of the order was made on the 29th of July, and the testimony given shows that the whole project was aban- doned, and that messengers had been dis- patched to the people making that an- nouncement. Instead of that si^eech being made to goad on the minds of the jieople, it was made at the time when this uprising had been set at naught, abandoned, and the whole thing exposed in the public print. If Mr. Milligan had knowledge of this uprising, it is fair to presume that he had knowledge of its abandonment. It is said that this speech was made for the pur- pose of inflaming the minds of the poi)u- lace; but that is a matter for the considera- tion of the Court in summing up the case. It is competent for the prosecution to ask the witness the general question, "Was that speech loyal, and in favor of the Govern- ment, or disloyal, and against the Govern- ment?" You will notice that Walker had ex- pressed no sentiments ; and when the Gov- ernment undertook to prove his sentiments, he had the right to object, that the Govern- ment could prove intents only by affirma- tive acts, and not by mere ojiinions. We may, on the contrary, introduce evidence to show that his sentiments were not disloyal, and propose to jjrove that he made no re- mark tending to such a conclusion as' that. If they will ask the witness what was the substance of his remarks, in regard to obe- dience to the Constitution and the draft, or against enforcing the draft, I make no ob- jection; but they can not ask the witness whether the whole speech was in favor of the Government, and loyal, or against the Government, and disloyal. Look at the fallacy of such a position. There is not a sijeech made, but what you can find an in- dividual who will come up and swear that it is disloyal; and, on the other hand, you could find some Democrat who would swear that the tendency of the speech was loyal and in favor of the Constitution. I take for granted the witness would say the speech was disloyal ; and, I dare say, a Dem- ocrat would say it was calculated to main- tain the Constitution. You, gentlemen of the Commission, are to decide what this tendency is. 'J'he prisoner is charged with disloyal practices, and the opinion of the witness as to the efiect of his speech, whether disloyal or not, is not competent evidence. Most of the members of this Commission are lawyers; and they know that it is a question at one time mooted, how the damages were to be ascertained in a case of actual slander. The facts must be given to the jury, and they must fix the amount. So the facts in regard to this speech, the declarations must be given to ■ tlie Court, and they must decide whether it ■ is loyal or not. It is a matter of political controversy, whether the Administration is or is not the Government. Some would in- sist that every thing said against tlie Ad- ministration, is disloyalty to the Govern- ment. Other witnesses would say that the Administration is only one-third part of the Government. We would, therefore, have to inquire of the witness what his political views were, to understand what he meant by loyalty. Mr. Greenleaf, in treating upon the sub- ject of evidence in courts-martial, lays down the same general considerations by which courts of law are governed. He says, in paragraph 476: "It has already been intimated that courts-martial are bound, in general, to ob- serve the rules of the law of evidence by which the courts of criminal jurisdiction are governed. The onl}' exceptions which are permitted, are those which are of neces- sity created by the nature of the service, and by the constitution of the court and its course of proceeding." Again, paragraph 478, he says: "The opinions of witnesses are, perhaps, more frequently called for in military trials than in any others; but the rule which j governs their admissibility, is the same here as elsewhere, and has already been stated in a preceding volume. But it is proper here to add, that where the manner of the act, or of the language with which the pris- oner is charged, is essential to the ofi'ense, as whether the act was menacing or insult- ing, or cowardly, or unskillful, or not; or whether the language was abusive or sar- castic, or playful, the opinion which the witness formed at the time, or the impres- sion it then made upon his mind, being cotemporaneous with the fact, and parta- king of the rt'.? gesia, is not only admissible, but is a fact in the case which he is bound to testify." * Just so here. The facts are before the Court. Is it fair to receive the opinion of the witness upon the general tenor of the TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS, 156 speech as to its loyalty or disloyalty? You, gentlemen of the Commission, are thor- oughly versed in the politics of the day, and quite as competent to decide whether these declarations are loyal or disloyal, as is the witness. The courtroom was then cleared for delib- erating on the objection of the accused. On reopening tlae court room, the Judge Advocate announced that the objection had been sustained, and the question over- ruled. Question by the Judge Advocate : Please state to the Court whether at that time you had any conversation with Mr. Milligan. -Answer. I do not know that I had any conversation with him the day of the meet- ing, but I did the day after. Q. Did Mr. Milligan know, at the time he made that speech, what was the action of the State Central Committee at their meet- ing on the 12th and 13th of August? A. I learned from another gentleman what the action of the committee had been, and I asked Mr. Milligan if he had heard of their action. He answered that he had not. I then told hiin that General Manson had been nominated as Lieutenant Gov- ernor. He seemed surj^rised, and remarked that it looked as if it had been done to spite us. Q. That was the next day after his speech was made, was it not ? A. It was on Sunday afternoon. Q. When did Mr. Milligan make this speech? A. On Saturday afternoon, August 13th, 1864. Q. Do you mean the Saturday preceding your conversation with Mr. Milligan? A. Yes, sir. Q. What did Mr. Milligan say at that meeting in reference to the draft ? Did he advise the people to submit and aid the Government in the enrollment, or did he advise them to oppose it? A. Nothing was said about the enroll- ment. Q. Was any thing said about the draft ? A. The draft was expected on the 5th .f-of September, 1864. This ineeting was on ithe 13th of August. He spoke in favor of IBe draft as the best mode of getting sol- diers. He said if the war was right, the draft was right ; but the war was wrong, and the draft was wrong; and he spoke of those who went into the army as making a sacri- fice of life instead of a risk. Q. Will you give the substance of his re- marks and the manner in which he spoke about the war? A. I think he spoke about the war as un- justifiable, and a dishonorable war. I am not positive about the word dishonorable. Q. What did he say upon the subject of peace and of quitting fighting ? A. He was in favoi^ of stopping hostilities, and allowing the South the terms she had always asked. Q. What were those terms? A. To be let alone. CROSS-EXAMINATION. The meeting referred to was a Demo- cratic mass meeting, called by the Peace Democracy to take action in regard to the draft. I learned this first from Captain Bracken, who said that he learned it iiom Mr. Barry, who was acting as correspond- ent of the Chicago Times. I understood that on the morning of the meeting there had been a caucus there, composed of indi- viduals who were opposed to adopting any resolution as their platform, as well as of those who were in favor of adopting it. After the radical peace men carried their point in regard to the adoption of resolu- tions, I understood that those withdrew. The convention numbered about five thou- sand. I went to that meeting as the repor- ter for the Cincinnati Gazette. I was not in the employment of the Government at the time. I sent a telegraphic dispatch of Mr. Milligan's speech to the Cincinnati Gazette, which was confined mainly to the resolu- tions adopted. The report of the meeting, as well as the telegraphic dispatch of the resolutions, was made by me. I called Mr. Milligan "Dr. Milligan," because I had thus heard him spoken of In his speech he said the war was an unjustifiable and unconstitu- tional one. Then he spoke of the draft, and appealed to his hearers in regard to making a sacrifice of life, and of the comforts and happiness of their families, and then asked them if they thought it best to go into the army. In making this argument, he ap- pealed to his audience for approval, and they indorsed what he said. He said if the war was right, the draft was right; and ho said that the draft was the best method for raising men. I can not say that he advised submission to the draft. He said that those who believed the war was right ought to go, and not growl about the draft. Hg^ did not discuss party difterences; but in; his remarks he opposed the war and the?' Government; his remarks against the Gov-' ernment were loudly cheered. In speak-' ing of the Administration, I do not remem- ber his referring to the different depart- ments of the Executive; 1 understood him to speak of the Government as a wliole : and he did not single out any one or any department, except, perhaps, the Presi- dent. He said nothing denunciatory of the Constitution, but the whole tenor of his speech was in favor of the Constitution as he construed it. Ilisconstruction of it per- mitted States to secede at will, and denied to the Government the right of coercion. The resolutions adopted referred more to the draft, and were denunciatory of it and the 156 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. war generally, rather than to its having influ- ence upon the Chicago Convention. The name of the Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions was Mr. O'Rourke. 1 was not present at the convention that met in the morning. The resolutions were reported to the meeting before the speaking began ; they were first in order. I understood Mr. Milligan to say that about two millions of men l)ad fallen in this war. He spoke of two million seven hundred thousand men having gone into the army and made a sac- rifice of life, while the i-ebels still held their own; and my deduction was that the great majority of them had lost their lives. He said that while the Government had called out two million seven hundred thou- sand men, we were not able to make any headway, while the rebels were holding their own. At the time of the meeting, 1 intended to give a full report of all the points of the speech in Mr. Milligan's own language, condensing his references to Colo- nial history, and his discussion of the con- stitutional right of coercion, and perhaps some minor points; otherwise, I think the report is correct, and many parts of it are verbatim. I consider the report more re- liable than my recollection of the meeting. r wrote my report partly or wholly on Sunday, and it was printed in the Gazette on the Tuesday tbllowing. I glanced over the report when it appeared in the paper, and I recognized it as the one I had made. Mr. Milligan did not perhaps say, in so many words, that the President had not the power to coerce the rebels; he was speaking of the right of the Government to subdue sovereign States, and my conclu- sion was that those were rebellious States. I think he spoke of the right to coerce sovereign States, and the right to coerce people who had chosen to leave the Union, referring not only to the States, but to the people; and he may have been talking about the right of revolution. I tliink he denied not only the right to coerce States, but individuals also. The character of the paper for which I was reporting is that of a general newspaper; I do not regard it as a partisan newspaper, and do not think it claims to be the organ of any party. It may have been regarded as a Republican paper ; it certainly is in favor of the Union. Since I have been acquainted witli it, it has taken an independent course, and has sup- ported the Union candidates whenever its editors saw fit to support them, and ap- proved or criticised the Administration whenever they thought they had reason for so doing. I have no recollection of Mr. Milligan or any other speaker being cheered for speaking in favor of the Government. In addition to Mr. Humphreys, Mi*. Jackson and Mr. Read spoke at that meeting, and were all cheered; and Mr. Humphreys was loudlv clieered when he took the stand. Mr. Milligan was cheered not only when he spoke against the policy of the Govern- ment, but also when he spoke against the war; 1 do not make any distinction be- tween the Government and the Administra- tion ; Mr. Milligan's speech was an argu- mentative one, and contained many points calculated to draw out the approval of tlie audience. My present connection with the Government is only as one of the Re- corders to this Commission. I have acted with both parties. 1 acted with the Demo- cratic party in 1859. I voted ibr Mr. Lincoln. Q. Was there any thing more denuncia- tory of the Administration in Mr. Milligan's remarks than in the remarks of the other gentlemen who spoke there on that day? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate, and withdrawn. There was, perhaps, nothing more offen- sive in Mr. Milligan's speech than there is in the average of Democratic speeches de- liveied during the present campaign. There might have been less abuse in Mr. Milligan's sjieech than in some other speeches that have been delivered, and more than in others. EE-EXAMINATION. Mr. Milligan in his speech that day used the term Government rather than Adminis- tration, and I do not recollect his making any distinction between the Government and the Adminstration. He said that if the war was riglit, the draft was right; but he denied that the war had been, or could be consti- tutional and right. Nicholas Cochrane, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : I reside in Jackson townshija, Sullivan county, Indiana. I am acquainted with Mr. Humphreys, one of the accused. 1 have seen him a fevv times. I reside nine or ten miles from him. I heard Mr. Humphreys on one occasion speak in Jackson township. The occasion was said to be a Democratic picnic. I think it was about the 15th of September, 1863, a year ago; at any rate, it was the day after Mr. Collins was shot in Terre Haute by Mr. Brown. Mr. Hum- phreys spoke of that in my hearing. There might have been three hundred people, more or less, present; the meeting was out of doors. Mr. Humphreys was standing in a wagon-bed. Besides Mr. Humphreys, there were Mr. Hammil, an attorney at law, Mr. Edward Price, and an attorney named Bur- ton, besides another person whose name I do not know. This latter said he was a rebel from the State of Georgia, I believe. He said he did not know why he was required to speak to the audience there, composed as it was mostly of farmers, unless it was that they had heard a great deal about rebels and had never seen one, and that he was a il TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 157 rebel from Georgia. Mr. Humphreys was pres- ent when the rebel spoke. Mr. Humphreys made the first speecli, and a short one again /"'afterward. I remember that he criticised the ^;^ Administration somewhat strongly. He 'deemed to be solicitous for peace, and to be opposed to the war; and he seemed to think that the Democratic party was imposed upon, and ought to stand up for their rights. He said that the time had come when Democrats should not appropriate their money, or be willing to spend their means in levity, but should be preparing for self-defense. The general run of his speech was in opposition to the present Adminis- tration. The rebel from the State of Georgia remarked that he was not concerned about our State policy, for he did not belong to our State ; but he had a piece of advice that he would give to his friends, and that was, to resist the present abolition AdminiJftEfi- tion at the sacrifice of their means, their fa'fni- lies, and themselves, if necessary; and that for nothing short of that would lie call them honorable. I can not say particularly whether these remarks called forth appro- bation or disapprobation. There were sev- eral cheers, and the people said that he was a good-looking fellow; he was considerably cheered at the close of his speech. I do not remember hearing any hissing or any marks of disapprobation at any thing he said. Mr. Hammil, Mr. Burton, Mr. Allen and Mr. Humphreys were in the wagon, but I am not positive they were in when the rebel spoke. He spoke about the death of Col- lins, and advised the crowd to go home. He said he had received a dispatch stating that he would probably be arrested that night; and I heard from another source that such a dispatch had been carried to him. The crowd then dispersed. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I staid during the whole of the speech. I have forgotten the name of the rebel from Georgia, but it seems to me they called him Captain Manderville. He did not say that he had taken the oath of allegianpe to the United States Government, or that he had been in the Quartermaster's Department for several months. When Mr. Humphreys spoke of the death of this man and the dis- patch that he had received, and that it was likely that he would be arrested, he spoke quite solemnly. The Judge Advocate here announced to the Commission that he had closed the case on the part of the Government. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Thursday, November " 17, 1864, at 9 o'clock, A. M. Court Eoom, Indianapolis, Indiana, ) November 17, 1864, 9 o'clock, A. M. J The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present, except Colonel Wass. Also, the Judge Advocate, the ac- cused (except W. A. Bowles), and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. William G. Moss, a witness for the ac- cused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : I reside in Green county, Indiana, and am a farmer. I was elected Sheriff of the county in 1856, and served until 1860, when I was elected as Representative, and served in two sessions of the Legislature. I was re-elected Sheriff last October. I am ac- quainted with Mr. Humphreys; have been a neighbor of his for about twenty-two years, and was in partnership with him in the mercantile business for nearly a year. I joined an order called the American Knights, in September, 1863. I took the first degree in our store, in Green county. This was before I entered into partnership with Mr. Humphreys. I believe he was at a meeting of the order in Indianapolis on the 16th or 17th of February, 1864. 1 did not know of the meeting at the time I came here to visit Indianapolis on business. When here I met Mr. Heffren and Mr. Malott, from Sullivan. They insisted on my going to the meeting. I was present when an election, or an appointment of officers, took place; major generals and dei> uty commanders, probably, but I am not certain, and other officers, were appointed. Mr. Milligan, Mr. Humphreys, Mr. Walker, and probably Mr. Bowles, were elected or appointed Major Generals. I took back to my own county the news of this meeting, and in a few days after the meeting I saw Mr. Humphreys, and I informed him of what had taken place — that he was ap- pointed a Major General. Q. What did he say about it ? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate, and -withdrawn. Q. Were you authorized to take the news of that election to Mr. Humphreys? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate. The counsel for the accused requested the Judge Advocate to state his grounds of objection. The rule of law is clear, that while in the prosecution of cases of conspiracy, the Gov- ernment may prove the admissions of the accused as against him, he can not, in his own defense, prove counter statements which w^ere made at any different time than the specific time when the admissions are proven. In illustration of what I mean, suppose I prove that in a certain conversa- tion Mr. Milligan made certain admissions to any party, they may call out that entire conversation, and any explanatory facts and statements he then made in his own behalf. I But while I may prove any distinct admia- 158 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. sion as against him, they can not prove any distinct, separate statements in his favor. Such a rule of hiw as is contended for by the accused, would destroy the possibility of the conviction of any individual for crime. If an individual is indicted for murder, the act may be proven against him, and his ad- missions as against himself; but any counter statements after the deed, to the efi'ect he did it in self-defense, or in defense of his property, can not be admitted in his favor. In conspiracy trials, the rule is: if a person ife engaged in a common conspiracy, and addresses a meeting, or is at any of the meetings of the Council where the general purposes of the conspiracy were discussed, if the State proves against hini any distinct statements or admissions, the defense may call out all the statements and surround- ings under which it was made, as a part of the res gesice; but they can not go into any separate statement made at a different time and place. These distinct statements stand alone, and not as part of the res gestoi. The accused can not exculpate himself from crime by his own assertions. The accused replied: The accused have come to the conclusion that they have no other resort to vindicate themselves from the inferences which the Judge Advocate seeks to raise against them, than to introduce testimony concerning their own relations to and declarations about the order. If we can not introduce our rei:)udiation and rejection of the office which was attempted to be thrust upon us in our absence, and show that from the moment we knew of it until the dissolution of the order, we repudiated it, then we have no opportunity to vindicate ourselves from the charges sought to be proven against us. It has been shown by the prosecution that Humphreys was elected a Major Gen- eral at the February meeting of the order, which he did not attend, and of which he could have no knowledge at the time, nor until he was informed of it, and that is as far as the evidence shows his connection with it. Another fact has been proven, namely, that the military branch of the order was intended for the subversion of the Union, detaching certain States, either to form a North-western Confederacy, or be attached to the Southern Confederacy ; and from this fact will be argued tlie treasona- ble character of the military part of the order. Now, the accused is only connected with the military part of the order by the fact of his election as a Major General, which transpired in his absence, and of which there is no proof he had any knowl- edge. Now, we present tlie counter fact, that when he was ini'ormed of that election, he rejected and repudiated the office, and thereafter had nothing to do with that part of the order. That is what we propose to prove. The Judge Advocate objects to it, because it is not a part of the conversation he has seen proper to introduce. The Com- mission can not determine what conversa- tions he has introduced. It is impossible to determine when the conversation he has introduced transpired, and when he said certain things; as, for instance, they have proven, or assume to have proven, that he accepted a Brigadier Generalship, and agreed to command a certain portion of the forces in the order. There is no evi- dence of this fact. The whole history of Mr. Humphreys' connection with the order, from his initiation until the commence- ment of this trial, has been dragged before this Commission, without reference to time or place, or under what circumstances his admissions were made. To show his char- acter and real connection with the order, w|fc|hall offer, and claim the right to offer, uq|P[ it is denied us, evidence covering the whole period from his election to a Major Generalshii), to the commencement of this trial, to show that he was guilty of no trea- sonable project, declaration, act, or conspir- acy. That, on the contrary, he avowed himself ready to obey and support the laws and Constitution of his country, and even to death, and against every proposition in- imical to the laws and Constitution of his country. You see, gentlemen of this Commission, that unless this is permitted, we can not in- troduce any proof in fact, for written com- munications are not admissible. There is no evidence, but hearsay, that he accepted this Commission. There is no evidence that he is connected with any treasonable acts, or tending to show this fact. Now, we want to show his acts, his life, his confidential com- munications to his intimate friend, his partner. The law, I grant you, is not defi- nite on that point. I read from Eoscoe's Criminal Evidence, page 88: " The acts and declarations of a prisoner, given in evidence in his favor, ought to be connected both in point of subject-matter and of time, with the acts or declarations proved against him. See Phill. Ev., 500, Sth al In the two following cases, how- ever, great latitude was allowed on trials for high treason. When the overt act charged was, that the prisoner to comjiass the King's death, conspired with others to call a con- vention of the people, etc.; the prisoner's counsel was allowed to ask the witness whether, before (he time of the convcnfion, he had ever heard from the prisoner what his ob- jects were, and whether he had at all mixed himself in the business. IJardi/s case, 24 How. St. 7V., 1097. So in Jlorne Tooke's case, 1 Kt.'it. P. C, 61; 25 Hoic. i^'t. Tr., 545, evi- dence having been given, on the part of the crown, of several publications containing rejjublican doctrines and opinions, which had been distributed by the prisoner during the period assigned in the indictment, (for TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 159 high treason,) for the existence of the con- Bpiracy, the prisoner ofiered to put in a book, written by him, expressive of his veneration for the King and the constitu- tion; tliis was objected to as being antece- dent to the period of the conspiracy, and not rehrting to the particular transaction. After argument, the boolc was admitted, on the ground that it had reference to the proof given in support of the charge, to re- but the idea, that a reform in Parliament was a pretense made by the prisoner, and that his real object was to overturn the Government." Now, if the Judge Advocate is correct in his conclusions, there can be introduced against Mr. Humphreys the acts and dec- larations of others, and implicate him in their transactions, and make him liable for all that was done at that meeting, in his absence, unless he shows that he repudiated the whole thing. Roscoe, in another para- graph, says: "On the trial of an indictment for a con- spiracy to overthrow the government, evi- dence was given to show that the conspiracy was brought into overt act, at meetings, in the presence of the prisoner Walker. His counsel was allowed to ask, whether, at those times, he had heard Walker utter any word inconsistent with the duty of a good subject. He was also allowed to inquire into the general declarations of the prisoner at the meetings, and whether the witness had heard him say any thing that had a tend- encv to disturb the peace. Ihid.^ 23 How. St. 7^r.,"ll31; 31 7r/., 43." Now, the act of the election is proved against Mr. Humphreys. We propose, on the point of time and fact, to connect his declarations on receiving the first news of his appoint- ment, to show that he repudiated it, and was in no way mixed up in the business. We, also, propose to show, that before the time of this illegitimate uprising, which was to have taken place in pursuance of this conspiracy, and immediately after his elec- tion to military office, he rejected and re- pudiated his election, and declared that he would have nothing more to do with the order, and would not be mixed up with this business by the action of others. The case quoted of Hardy, was a simple hearsay case. The prisoner's counsel was allowed to ask the witness whether, at any time before the convention, he had ever heard from the prisoner what his objects were, and whether iie had at all mixed liimself up in the busi- ness. So in Home Tooke's case, the prison- er's counsel was permitted to introduce a book, written before the time of the alleged offense, to prove his fealty to the King, and that his design was not to overturn the Government. True, Lord Ellenborough doubts the soundness of this decision; but his is the opinion only of one judge, while the other judges concurred against him. This decision stands in the light of as good authority as if it had not been ques- tioned. It can not overturn the decision of the whole Court. If, in tlie case of Home Tooke, a book written before the time of the conspiracy, could be introduced to show the loyalty of the prisoner to his King, with how much stronger reason may wepress our claim to be permitted to introduce evidence about tlic time of the election of Mr. Humphreys as Major General, to show that he then re- pudiated the whole scheme. The point seems to me to be too clear for argument, that justice requires that the accused be allowed to introduce counter-statements, occurring during the period of his alleged connection with the order, to rebut the hearsay evidence introduced against him by the Government. This necessity in- volves the introduction of conversations and acts, running through the whole period from September, 1863, to his arrest in 1864. This is necessary to show, in the light of all his declarations and acts, what his whole conduct has been. It is due to every man's individual acts, that they should be con- strued by all his surrounding acts which have reference to the same transactions. This is allowed to the defense. The general character of the accused for loyalty and de- votion to his country is needed as a rebutter to the cliarge of conspiracy or treason, when the evidence on which that depends is doubtful. This rule we apply to the pres- ent case. It is evident that Mr. Humphreys had no connection with the order at the time this conspiracy was planned. We show that as soon as he was elected, he re- pudiated the office of Major General; and that in every step of his life since he joined the order, he has acted the part of a good citizen. We shall show that, in the case of the men pursuing the soldiers near Cale- donia, he overtook them and called them back from their pursuit, and reminded them of their duties as good citizens. If, in some degree, he identified himself with the mob, and went half-way with them, or assumed to be of them, to get influence over them, it can not be an evidence of his guilt, but of that tact which is necessary to the performance of his duties as a citizen. We will go through his whole life, if need be, and show that he had been devoted to the laws, constitution, and peace of his country, and opposed to every thing which would tend to the sub- version of the Government. The charge in this case is that of con- spiracy, and it extends as far back as the meeting at Terre Haute, in July or August, 1863, up to the time when these conspira- tors were arrested. I believe there is evi- dence tending to fix guilt on these conspir- ators, even after then- arrest. It is charged that from July or August, 1863, until Sep tember or October, 1864, this conspiracy was 160 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. maturing, and its members ripening trea- sonable schemes to overturn the Govern- ment. To prove these charges, the Judge Advocate introduces evidence to show what each one has done or intended to do, dur- ing this time, in the prosecution of this crime. T]ie evidence consists of the dec- larations and acts of the several conspira- tors, what they have said and done, and that their design and purpose was to over- turn the Government. All this forms a part of the res gcstm of the transaction, of the crime with which they are charged. In the case of any particular act of crime, we prove the act and the circumstances con- nected with it as the res ffestos, as confined to that particular time. But this is a con- tinuous act, universal, and involving, in its meshes for ruin, all these men. If this order is, per se, a conspiracy, these acts are part of this constant act, and if they are arraigned before this Commission, their ad- missions, in justice, should be introduced in their own defense. I am willing that every fiber shall be woven, in the web of testi- mony, of the acts of each one as against them all, if the connection be established between these men. and I am willing that the men who are connected thus, shall go with that man who is connected with the treasonable efibrt. But let us not attempt to entangle, in this terrible drag-net, a man who is not guilty, who never concurred in their treason, but repudiated the act which would have brought him to ruin. Let him have the benefit of his acts from the first until now. It is not proven that he had any other connection with the order, than that he was elected Major General. There is no evidence that he had attached himself to the order until then, and that is only an inference. If he was not a member, it is due to him that he should explain that matter by his own declarations, made at the time he learned that he was elected. That if he knew nothing of the militar}'^ part of the order, it is proper that he should prove his repudiation of it at that time. What would Mr. Bingham have thought, who, having been told that there was noth- ing in the order incompatible with the du- ties of a good citizen, had he been elected a Major General and assigned to the com- mand of a district of the State? And su}> pose, when they elected Humphreys, they had pointed out his duties and given him the ulterior purposes of the organization, namely, to establish a North-western Con- federacy, or that failing, to attach them- selves to the treasonable Confederacy of tlie South? Suppose all that had been ex- plained to him, would he have no right to go forward and show why he eschewed the oflfice, and any relations to sucli an organi- zation as this? If he has no such right, he has no defense at all. The worst enemy he lias in the world may bind him hand and foot, and deliver him over for trial, to be doomed to November 18, 18«>4, 9 o'clock, A. M. J The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused (except W. A. Bowles), and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. D. 0. Dailey, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I reside in Huntington, Indiana, and am a lawyer. I have been intimately ac- quainted with Mr. Milligan eight years; and during the greater part of that time have practiced at the same bar; politically, I am not a sympathizer with Mr. Milligan. 166 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Q. You may state what is Mr. Milligan's peculiar characteristic with regard to the concealment of his sentiments, or the ex- pression of them openly and publicly, with- out concealment. Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate as immaterial and irrelevant. The Court was cleared for deliberation. On being reopened, the Judge Advocate announced to the accused that the objec- tion was sustained. I am acquainted with Mr. Milligan's char- acter in the neighborhood in which he lives, and it is good. Ilis general character as a peaceable, law-abiding citizen, is good, as tar as 1 understand it. During the last year he has not taken an active part in politics, and during the campaign he took no j^art at all. Mr. Milligan, as a citizen, has the reputation of being a straight-forward, law- abiding man; as a lawyer, 1 think him very able; as a politician, I do not think he amounts to any thing at all, for this reason, that he takes special occasion to publish the most ultra and obnoxious sentiments ; and this he has always done, as far as my knowledge extends. Mr. Milligan, I know, was at home on the 22d of February ; he was there when 1 v/ent away; I returned on the night of the 23d, and went to Court next morning, and Mr. Milligan was there. On the 20th of July, I know, by reference to my papers, that Mr. Milligan and myself were engaged in Huntington, in the case of Biplf)/ vs. Jiiplfi/, before the Mayor. Richard A. Currex, a witness for the ac- cused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: My residence is in Huntington; I am a Presbyterian minister, belonging to that part of the Presbyterian body generally denominated old school; my ecclesiastical connection, presbyterially, is with the pres- bytery of Fort Wayne, and synodically with the presbytery of Northern Indiana. I am acquainted with Mr. Milligan; I have known him intimately for the past six years. When Mr. Milligan attends minis- terial services any-where, he generally at- tends mine. The general moral character of jNIr. Milligan is good. I am acquainted with his general reputation as a peaceable, law-abiding citizen, devoted to the Consti- tution and the institutions of our country; and that reputation is generally good. (.1 Have you any means of knowing Mr. Milligan's private or particular views upon the subject of revolution in this State, in the North-west, or in the United States? A. I have on several occasions had con- versations with Mr. Milligan on that sub- ject. Q. You may state them. Tlie Judge Advocate objected to the ([Uestion, stating his objection as follows: It is perfectly apparent that what Mr. Milligan might have said in outside conver- sations, is immaterial to this Court. It is immaterial and illegitimate. I do not pro- pose to argue that point. The Commission, I think, have already passed upon that que,stion. The counsel for the accused replied: I propose to limit the time of this con- versation to that covered by the alleged conspiracy. We claim the right to show that the purpose Mr. Milligan had in view in going into tlie order, was to control and direct it so that it should do no mischief. If his declarations, which are a part of the res (/cstfc, are not admitted in evidence, we can not show his real purposes, which may have been laudable. His declarations as to his purposes, are accompanying facts, and are, we contend, competent in evidence. The counsel here cited De Hart, page o54. Then, again, in the case cited in Jlarison, of The Queen vs. Lambert, growing out of the Chartist case, Lambert was allowed to in- troduce testimony to show that he had made speeches in favor of law and order. The same principle is admitted in the case of Rex vs. Whitehead, 11th EngUsh Com- mon Laiu Reports, page 310. Roscoe, in his work on Criminal Evidence, remarks in this case: "On the trial of an indictment for conspiracy to defraud, the written corre- spondence of the defendant with another of the conspirators, relating to the transac- tion in question, was allowed to be read, in order to show that the defendant was de- ceived by his correspondent, and was not a participant in the fraud." Per Best, J., "I think them admissible, for what the parties say at the time, is evidence to show how they acted;" page 89. The same author, on page 22, says: " Where the inquiry is into the nature and character of a certain trans- action, not only what was done, but also what was said by both parties, during the continuance of the transaction, is admissi- ble ; for to exclude this, would be to ex- clude the most important and unexception- able evidence. In this case, it is not the relation of third persons unconnected with the fact, which is received, but the declara- tions of the parties to the facts themselves, or of others connected with them in the transactions, which are admitted for tlie purpose of illustrating its peculiar character and circumstances. Thus it has been held on a prosecution for high treason, tliat the cry of the mob wlio accompanied the pris- oner, may be received in evidence as part of the conversation." In a foot note, the author says: ''Where the state of mind, sentiment or disposition of a person at a given period be- come pertinerjt topics of inquiry, his dec- larations and conversations, being part of the res qesta:, mav be resorted to. Barthol- emy vs. The People, 2 Hill, 2-48." TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. im Tliese decisions apply to the present case. It has been claimed that this organization was both civil and military, each being dis- tinct. It is proper to show the declarations of the accused, in order to show to which branch of the organization he belonged. If he ex- pressed contempt for the bflice of Major General, and denouncetl the military organ- ization, it becomes an important part of the r&s gc-s/ce, to show that he liad nothing to do with, nor any sympathy with, the ulterior purposes of this organization. It certainly will not be claimed that each one of tlie eighteen thousand men who have joined this organization is responsible for the acts of Dodd and company. Page 2-1, the same author says: '' If it be material to inquire whether a certain person gave a jjarticular order on a certain day what he has said or written, may be evidence of the order (see Jenkins case, 1 Lewin, 0- C, 114); or wliere it is material to inquire whether a certain fact, be it true or falsi', has come to the knowledge of a third person, what he has said or written, may as clearly show his knowledge, as what he has done." Russell on Crime, 2d vol., page 779, says on the same point : "As other acts and declarations of the prisoner, besides those charged in the in- dictment, may be given in evidence on the part of the prosecution, so he himself in his defense may, in some cases, prove other acts and declarations of his own, as evidence of bis innocence. Tlius on a charge of murder, expressions of good will and acts of kind- ness, on the part of the prisoner toward the deceased, are always considered important evidence, as showing what was his general disposition toward tlie deceased, from whicli the jurj' may be led to conclude that his in- tention could not have been what the charge imputes." Also tiie case of Hex vs. Jjambeii, the cases of Walker, Hardy, Home Tooke, and Whitehead, Mussel/, pp. 779, 780. In the case reported in 29lh Georgia Re- ports, page 430, Freeman vs. The State, on a charge of taking a slave from his master, the defendant was permitted to introduce his whole declarations while carrying oft' the negro, tis giving character to the act itself As tlie transactions which, it is alleged, the prisoner was a party to, were each for the overthrow of the Government, it is proper to inti'oduce the declarations of the prisoner as part of the res gestcz^ and as show- ing his intent. The Judge Advocate replied: In proving a case against the accused, we prove his acts ; and the only reason why his word-i are permitted to be j^roven in the case, is that they tend to prove what his acts have been. They are admissions of acts. You can prove admissions against himself, be- cause the law says a man is not going to make admissions against his own interest. That is the reason why his words, which are admissions, are permitted to be proved against him. But you can not prove his declarations which are in his own favor, be- cause it is maintained to be constantly giv- ing a i'avorable tinge to his own conduct. The only case, in which the declarations of the accused in his favor can be given, is when they constitute a part of the distinct act charged, and are a part of the res gestae. The words which a man utters while doing an act can be proved, because they are in reality a part of the acts. The Government proves that Humphreys was at a certain illegal meeting. He proves what he said in going, as to his purposes and intentions in going, and what he did, and I do not object, because it is part of the act itself The de- fense can not introduce any declarations ex- cept as they become a part of the res gesice. We jjrove particular acts, at certain times and places, months intervening between them. The accused can not step in and prove, that between these times, at other jilaces, he made assertions of loyalty. He can not thus purge himself of crime. And further, 1 do distinctly assert, that these eighteen thousand members of the Order of American Knights, or Sons of Lib- erty, are all of them parties to this con- spiracy, and held responsible for what Dodd and others did. I do maintain that when they joined that order with these oaths, they took upon themselves the responsibil- ity for the acts of every member who took the same oaths. They can prove character, and the extent of their knowledge of the bad purpose of the order, only in mitigation of tlieir sentence. When they joined an illegal body they became responsible for the acts of all. That is the rule of law ; the amis is then upon them; and they can only meet the proof by showing a want of knowl- edge of the extreme criminal intents of the order, and that they took only the first or vestibule degree. That lack of criminal knowledge would go in mitigation of the sentence. The court room was then cleared for de liberation on the objection of the Judge Advocate. On reopening the Court, the Judge Ad- vocate announced that the objection had been sustained and the question overruled. I have heard public declarations made by Mr. Milligan about the Order of the Sons of Liberty, in the presence of a large crowd, and about his being made a Major General in the organization. Tliat declara- tion was made on Jefterson street, in Hunt- ington, and there may have been fifteen oi twenty persons present. Q. State what these declarations were. Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate. The Court was then cleared for delibera- tion. On being reopened, the Judge Advo- 168 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. cate announced to the accused that the ob- jection was sustained. This was some considerable length of time before Mr. Milligan's arrest, and was at the time I first heard of the othce of Major General being conferred upon him. It was before Dodd's arrest, and was about the time of the exposure of the order in the public prints, though I had not at that time seen them myself I am acquainted with Dr. Zumro, and have for the past four years been quite inti- mately acquainted. He lives in Kock Creek, and 1 preach within four and half miles of the place, and a portion of my congregation re- side in Dr. Zumro's visiting district. I am acquainted with his general reputation for truth and veracity in the neighborhood where he lives, liiat general reputation is bad : and from that reputation I would not believe him under oath. CROSS-EXAMINATION. His reputation is bad among the class of men that attend upon my ministry. I am a Democrat, but do not consider myself a Butternut. I have heard Mr. Samuel D. Hays fre- quently say that Dr. Zumro was not to be trusted — that he would not place confidence in his word. Mr. Hays is a Democrat. J have also heard Mr. Samuel Brubaker say, during the past four or five years, that Zum- ro was not a man of truth. I heard him say this during last summer. I have heard Dr. Zumro thus spoken of within a month. Mr. Brubaker also spoke of Dr. Zumro as being a traitor to the Democratic party — professing to vote the Democratic ticket, when he" held exactly the opposite senti- ments. I have heard Mr. John Brubaker fre- quently speak of him in the same way. I have heard him so speak within the last two montlis, when 1 was at his house. Dr. Zumro had complained tome that the Dem- ocrats had not ]iatronized him — that af- ter he had voted the Democratic ticket, his patronage had fallen otl", and requested me to make use of my influence to get people to employ him. In the course of the conversation, Mr. Brubaker said that he had no confidence in the Doctor. Mr. Brubaker and his brother are Democrats. I have also heard James Bandwit repre- sent him as a decidedly deceptive man; Mr. Bandwit is a Democrat. I have heard Mr. Peter Bandwit speak of him in the same way. I have known Mr. Peter Band- wit for six years, but I do not know whether he is a Democrat or not. Soon after I became acquainted witli Dr. Zumro. 1 was cautioned as to the amount of confidence I should place in him. 1 hoard his character .'Spoken of to great dis- advantage fully four years ago. At one time I felt interested in him ; I stayed at his house one night, and have called on him often, and he has called at our house, and we regarded him as a pleasant man, but he did his utmost to get me and others into this organization, and thus involve us in trouble. I have no particular animosity toward the Doctor on that ground. Since the sitting of this Commission, I have re- fused to hold any conmiunication with him, as I do not consider it safe to talk with him. But I had the most kindly feeling toward him, up to the time I discovered his treachery toward me; still I have no ill feeling toward him. I could do him a kindness now as well as I ever did. It is not a fact that the church over which I preside is composed almost entirely of Dem- ocrats ; nor is it true that Union men have refused to attend my preaching on account of my disloyal sentiments. 1 sup- pose that most of those who attend my preaching belong to the Democratic party, but others do attend. The Democrats would be but a small majority. I have not said to any person that the Eepublicans re- fused to attend my ministry. I never excluded one of my own daughters from my house for marrying a Union man, nor did I threaten to whip her for that offense. I never laid a hand on her. My daughter visits my house now when she is inclined, and my wife visits her. Q. Did you use any violence whatever to- ward her? A. None whatever. Q. Did you not call her an Abolitionist? A. I never did. Q. Have you not yourself, and have not members of your family, worn Butternut badges at public meetings ? A. No, sir; neither myself nor family; I do not approve of such things. RK-EXAMIXATION. The trouble about my daughter grew out of tlie fact that 1 did not wish her to marry at that time, on account of her ill health; she was at that time suffering from the effects of a sun-stroke. After she had left my house I was so interested in her, thai I went after her in company with Mr. Cof- froth. Some of the strongest Repul:)licans in the town of Huntington have attended my preaching, among others Mr. Davis, who said the reason he attended, was because 1 abused no persons, but preached the gospel. I received a Christmas jiresent of four or five hundred dollars; I was furnished with a list of the donors, and many of tliem were Republicans. Mr. Milligan's name was not on the list. The men whom I have mentioned as speaking of Dr. Zunn-o's character, are the most respectable farmers in theplace, and there are others 1 have not mentioned, who speak of him in the same way; that reputation has been the same TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 169 for some j'ears past. Those who have thus spoken against Dr. Zumro are not, accord- ing to their own declarations, niembers of the Order of American Knights or Sons o( Liberty. The Commission then adjourned, to meet at 2 o'clock. AFTERNOON SESSION. Court Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, \ November 18, lSli4, 2 o'clock, P. M.J The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present; also, the Judge Advocate, the accused (except W. A. Bowles), and their counsel. John G. Scotton, a witness for the ac- cused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : I live in Huntington, and am a farmer; I am Justice of the Peace. 1 have lived in the neighborhood twenty-two years. I have known Dr. Zumro about seven years, and I am acquainted with' his general rep- utation for truth and veracity in the neighborhood in which he lives. That rep- utation is bad ; and from that general rep- utation I would not believe him under oath. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I have heard Albert Draper, who I believe is a Republican, say that Dr. Zumro was not an honest man; I do not know that he said any thing against his truth and veracity. 1 have heard Dr. iScott say, that he did not consider him a true man ; he said he was a bad man. I have heard Thomas Smith speak of him; his opinion was, that he was a mean man. I have heard Jacob Rausch say that he was a damned mean man, and that lie would not believe him under oath. Adam Smith spoke against his truth and veracity. Q. Do you belong to the Union or the Democratic party ? Question objected to by the accused. The Court was then cleared for delibera- tion ; on being reopened, it was announced by the Judge Advocate that the objection was overruled. A. I voted the Democratic ticket. I do not belong to any secret organization. I do not know but that I joined a secret or- der called the "Mighty Host." I took the oath, but never acted with them, RE-EXAMINATION. Dr. Scott, Adam Smith, and Mr. Draper, of whom I have spoken, are Republi- cans. For the last four years Dr. Zumro has been holding himself out as a Demo- crat, professing to act with the Demo- cratic party. It was during this time that these Democrats thus spoke of him. William Satler, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as fol- lows : I reside in Markle, and am a house carpen- ter ; I have lived there some twelve or thir- teen years ; I have known Dr. Zumro ever since I have lived in the place. I know his general reputation for truth and veracity; that reputation is bad; and I would not be- lieve him under oath. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I am a Democrat; I belonged to a secret society called the Mighty Host. I do not know that that society merged into the Sons of Liberty, though I saw it mentioned in the papers. Dr. Zumro and I have not been friends, but I have never to any per- son made threats against Dr. Zumro. RE-EXAMINATION. The society called the "Mighty Host," existed about three years ago, and I was only present at one meeting, and had nothing to do with it afterward. George Bailey, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as fol- lows : I reside in Union township. Wells county, Indiana, and am a house carpenter; I have known Dr. Zumro seven or eight years. I am acquainted with his reputation for truth and veracity; it is bad, and I would not believe him under oath. CR0SS-EXAMIN.4.TI0N. I have always voted the Democratic ticket. I belonged to the Order of the Sons of Liberty, but only attended two meetings. I also belonged to the society called the Mighty Host ; that was before the Sons of Liberty. RE-EXAMINATION. I have heard conversations in regard to Dr. Zumro's want of truth and verp,city, from both Republicans and Democrats. William Allen, a witness for the ac- cused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : I live in Markle, Huntington county, In- diana, and am a blacksmith. I have been acquainted with Dr. Zumro seven or eight years. I am acquainted with his reputa tion for truth and veracity, and that repu- tation is bad; I would not believe him under oath. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I belong to the Democratic party I think Dr. Zumro's reputation in the neigh- borhood in which he lives may be as good as my own. I have never heard Mr. Coffroth say in the Common Pleas Court, of our county, that he would not believe him un- 170 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. der oath. T am not a member of the Or- der of Sons of Liberty, nor of the Circle of the Mighty Host. William Wolf, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as fol- lows : I live in Rock Creek township, and am a farmer. I am acquainted with the repu- tation of Dr. Zumro for truth and vera- city in tho neighborhood in which he lives. That reputation, from what I have learned, is bad, and I would not believe him under oath. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I belong to the Democratic party. I joined a secret society that, I think, was called the Circle of the 'Mighty Host, but I only attended one meeting. I never learned what was the purpose and object of the order, and I left it because 1 thought it did not amount to much. I understood it was a loyal organization. W. M. SwASEY, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as fol- lows: I reside in Huntington, and am a phy- sician and surgeon. I have practiced medi- cine for twenty years. I have been Mr. Milligan's physician since I have been at Huntington — though Dr. Layman has at- tended Mrs. Milligan. Mr. Milligan was taken sick in August, and consulted me be- fore he went to the Chicago Convention ; he again consulted me after his return. My first cliarge I notice is for the 7th of September. About the 12th of September I first visited Mr. Milligan, when he was confined to his bed with bilious intermit- ting fever of the nervous character, which had assumed a typhoid form. I had to ad- minister calomel, mercurials and 02Diates. He was consequently very nervous and ir- ritable, and was scarcely rational any part of the time I was there during my daily visits. I continued to treat him up to the time he was arrested, and though much improved, he was then very feeble. On the 12th, when I commenced giving him opium and morphine with naercurials and qui- nine, and for ten days from the 12th, he was continually under the influence of an- odynes. During this time he was what might be called flighty. George Bailey was then recalled as a witness for the Government, and testified as follows : The witness was requested to look at the following obligation, and state if that was the obligation of the Mighty Host. The following oath, purporting to be the obligation administered to the Knights of the Golden Circle in De Ivalb and Allen counties, Indiana, was then read by the Judge Advocate: "I, , do solemnly sweai-, in the presence of Almighty God, that I will go to the relief of all good and loyal Democrats, and will not suffer the confiscation of their property, either North or South; and I fur- ther promise that I will suffer my body to be severed in four parts, one part to be cast out at the east gate, one part out at the west gate, cue part out at the north gate, and one part out at the south gate, before 1 will suffer the privileges bequeathed by our forefathers to be blotted out or trampled under foot forever. I further promise and swear, that 1 will go to the aid, from the first to the fourth signal, of all Democrats, North or South. I further promise and swear, that I will not reveal any of the secret signs, passwords, or grips, to any one not legally authorized by this order to receive the same, binding myself under no less a penalty than having my bowels torn out, and cast out to the four winds of heaven ; so help me God. I further promise and swear, that I will do all in my power to bring all good Denw)crats into this Circle of Hosts. I further promise and swear, that 1 will do all in my power, by all honorable means, and all other means in reach, to sub- vert, or overthrow, the present damnable, Yanl November 21, 18C+, 2 o'clock, P. M. j The Commission met pursuant to adjourn ment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused (except W. A. Bowles), and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. ' The following dispatch was then read to the Court by the Judge Advocate : " Washington, D. C, November 18, 1864. "T'o Hfojor H. L. Burnett, Jadge Advocate: " This is authority from the Secretary of War to retain Colonel Ansel D. Wass, 60th Massachusetts, as member of Court-martial, as requested in your telegram of yesterday, to Judge Advocate General. [Signed] "THOS. M. VINCENT, "A A or The following was then submitted by the counsel for the accused, William A. Bowles: " To the President and Members of the Military Oommission: " 1 hereby waive any objection to the ab- TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 171 sence of Colonel A. D. Wass, 60th Massa- chusetts, during the past few days ; and do now consent to his taking his seat as a member of the Commission, and request that lie may do so ; and I liereby waive all objections that might otherwise be raised against his remaining on said Commission, until the close of my trial ; and legalize and sanction the same as far as my request and full consent thereto can possibly do. [Siiined] "W. A. BOWLES. '•November 21, 1864. [Signed] "J. W. GORDON, ^'M. M. RAY." Colonel Wass, being present in Court, by consent and expressed desire of all the ac- cused, then took his seat as a member of tlie Commission. Wii,LiAM lliNES, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : I live in Green county, in this State, and am a farmer. I am acquainted with the accused, Andrew Humphreys. I have known liim from twelve to fourteen years. Politically, we do not agree. I know that Mr. Humphreys has abused the Adminis- tration since tlie war broke out. Since that time 1 have heard him deliver two political speeches. In the first speech I heard him make, he criticised the acts of the Govern- ment pretty severely. Speaking in relation to tlie draft, and obedience to the law, he used about this language: "I advise no man to resist the draft, nor evade any law passed by Congress, but I advise all to be good, law- abiding citizens." That speech was made dur- ing the summer of lS.f33, in Green county, on what is called the Five Mile Prairie. It was delivered to thecitizensof Washington town- ship; and there were, perhaps, one hundred or one hundred and fifty men and women there. In his remarks he paid a good deal of attention to the financial policy of Mr. Chase. He wound up by telling the people that they had better not resist the draft, or the law of the United States. There had been some talk about house-burning, and I remember Mr. Humphreys directed his re- marks to me in his speech, and said that he would knock the chunk out of any man's hand that would attempt to set fire to my property, or to any Republican's property. I think I was the only Republican at the meeting. The next occasion on which I heard him, was about the middle of Sep- tember last, a few days prior to his arrest. He was speaking to the citizens of Green and Sullivan counties. This speech was made in the town of Linton. I was only passing by, and heard but part of it. A good many people were present. I heard him say that resistance to the Government would not do at all, in any shape or form. That resistance was sure to bring disaster upon them. That they must remain at home, and quietly submit to the laws of the Government. 1 believe he proposed to re- ceive money to j^ay for substitutes for drafted men, who could not atlbrd to get thenr themselves. I may have heard him speak five minutes; 1 was sitting on my horse at the time; I did not hear any one else address the meeting. He exhorted them to obey the laws. 'There seemed to be some excitement among a part of those who were present, and I think it was in re- gard to the resistance of the draft. I so judged from what I heard them say. The reason why the people were " down " on him, as I understood, was for advising them to submit to the drait. Mr. Humphreys has for years been an active Democrat, and has usually taken an active part in all polit- ical matters in the county. He is a man of influence in the party. I believe Mr. Hum- phreys' reputation is that of a moral man ; I do not know that he is a religious man, or that he makes any ^pretensions to religion. As to his political principles, some of my friends call him a "Butternut" and a '"Cop- perhead," and even a "traitor," speaking of him politically. Outside of mere political controversies, I believe that the majority of his neighbors consider him a loyal man. William Johxson, a witness for the ac- cused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I reside in Green county, Indiana. I am a farmer. I am acquainted with Andrew Humphreys; I live about a mile and a*lialf from where he does business, and about six miles from his residence. I have known him for ten years. I am acquainted with his general reputation and moral character, and as a law-abiding citizen, and it is good. Politically, I ditfer from Mr. Humphreys. His general reputation outside of what politicians say in our county, and so far as I know, he is respected by both parties. I heard him make a speech, I think, in August last, in Linton, Green county. It was de- livered to the citizens of Green and Sullivan counties. It was a Democratic political meeting. Mr. Burton, of Sullivan, spoke. Mr. Ilumjjhreys, in his remarks, quoted from Jeft'erson's writings, and from Washing- ton's farewell address; and he spoke of se- cession as the right of a State. He uttered no sentiment or exhortation to the people to resist the laws, or to oj^pose the Government. Mr. Humphreys has always expressed himself personally to me in favor of obedience to the laws. Q. State whether or not Andrew Hum phreys in the localities of Green and SuUi van counties has, according to your obser- vation, been engaged in exciting and in- flaming, or allaying the passions of the people ? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate, and withdrawn. 172 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. CROSS-KXAMINATION. In Mr. Humphreys' speech, I understood him to argue in favor of the right of a State to secede, and that secession, therefore, was right. I can not say that he endeavored to convince the people of this in his speech, but such seemed to be the inference from the extracts which he read. Among the people of our county, the character of Mr. Humplireys is not considered loyaL RE-EXAMIXATION. "When I speak of tliose who do not con- sider Mr. Humphreys loyal, I mean the Union party, and it embraces some Demo- crats. I only consider those loyal who are in favor of the prosecution of the war for the suppression of the rebellion. That is my only test of loyalty. Q. Did he argue that while the Federal Government could enforce its laws against i)ic/ividi((ik, that yet there was no power to coerce iSkitcs in their sovereign capacity ? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate, and withdrawn. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Tuesday, November 22, at 10 o'clock, A. M. Court Koom, Indianapolis, Indiana, ( November 22, 1804, 10 o'clock, A. M.) The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused (except W. A. Bowles), and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. "William C. Kociier, a witness for the ac- cused, was then introianapoi.is, Indi.wa, \ November -SS, 1804, 9 o'clock, A. M. j The Commission met pursuant to ad- journment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused (except Wm. A. Bowles), and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. The examination of Samuel F. Winters, a witness for the accused, was then r^umed, as follows : I can not state when and where the Gov- ernment has failed to execute the deci- sion of the Dred Scott case, but there are personal liberty bills or statutes in most of the free States, which are a nullification of that decision, at least in Wisconsin, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massa- chusetts, and I think in Pennsylvania and Maine; and it is my impression that these States punish any person who assists in tlie capture of an escaped slave. . Q. Do not these bills expres.sly state, and are they not expressly for the punishment of kidnapping in violation of the laws of the State? Question objected to by the accused, and witiidrawn. I took notes of the speech of Mr. Milli- gan at Fort Wayne. I am not a short hand reporter, but I am a rapid writer, and 1 wrote down as much of the speech as I could in long hand, giving the substance of it as I could recollect. Q. Do you recollect whether this portion of Mr. Milligan's speech is as he gave it: "They (the States) were thirteen nations, and finally foi-med a Constitution, adopted separately by the several States, Virginia reserving to herself at any time to withdraw from the Union, and what Virginia re- served all the States had a right to reserve. Their action was based entirely on State rights. The Declaration of Independence states who is to be the judge when the Gov- ernment shall be subverted. It guarantees to the people the right of revolution when they can no longer tolerate the invasion of their rights. I do not mean that Governor Morton, or the Legislature, or any ma- chinery of office, getting its authority from the people through elections, is the State. But I mean the I'ree range of all its people is the State. The officers are the mere ser- vants of the people, the mere agents of the Government. Where does sovereignty rest? It is time to settle this question. If you are wrong in your theories, you should change your principles. I know no sover- eignty in the Federal Government, or in the State Government, as contra-distin- guished from the people of the State. 1 be- lieve in tlie doctrine of popular sovereignty, instead of sovereignty in the machinery of the Government," I think that is the substance of what Mr. Milligan said on tliat subject. Q. Do you recollect tliis portion of jMr. Milligan's speech, and whether it is cor- rect? "If we have no power to make war upon a State that secedes, was it right to take up arms against a people who were doing what they contracted to do, and what your fath- ers and our fathers did eighty years ago? Was it right? IIow many believe it was right? If it was right, shoulder your guns, and eo forward, and don't growl about the draft?' In speaking of the draft, I think he said something like that; that if the war was right, the draft was right; that the burdens of the Government should rest equally upon all; and that you might as well leave it to the voluntary act of citizens to raise the 176 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. revenues of the country, as to raise an army by volunteering, or something like that; the deductions that I made from his Bpeech were that the war was unconstitu- tional. Q. Did he use these words: "Was it right because you were more peaceable than your neighboring States, and unwilling to rebel, to compel them by force of arms to re- main your partners ? When you have an- swered that question, I am ready to talk about the draft." Is that correct? A. I do not think that corresponds with my report, and I do not think he said it. I have not a copy of the paper, in which the speech was reported, with me, nor do I know that I have a copy on file at my office. Mr. Milligan has occasionally writ- ten communications for my paper, but he has never written any of its leaders; they were letters referring to local matters. He wrote several communications last winter, but perhaps not more than a dozen alto- gether. I was present at the Grand Coun- cil that met here on the 17th. 1 went to see Mr. Milligan before I came here; I wanted him to go with me, but he felt too sick. I brought a series of resolutions; they were given me by Colonel Milligan, but I did not see them, nor did I read them; certain resolutions were read at the meeting of the Sons of Liberty. I do not know in whose handwriting they were. [A paper containing certain resolutions was here handed to the witness by the Judge Advocate.] These resolutions were adopted at Fort Wayne, but whether or not these are the ones I brought 1 can not say. These, to the best of my recollection, are the resolu- tions which were read at the meeting of the Order of American Knights. Government exhibit "A" was here hand- ed to the witness by the Judge Advocate. Q. Are the resolutions in this book the same that you heard read at the February meeting of the Sons of Liberty? A. I believe they are the same, but I could not state positively whether they are or not* KE-EXAinNATION. The resolutions to which reference has been made, that were read at the Fort Wayne meeting, I think, are nearly like the resolutions of the 11th Democratic Con- gressional Convention assembled at Ilun- tington. I only know that certain resolu- tions were contained in the envelope which Mr. Milligan handed me, and I know that in the pamphlet rel'erred to, certain resolu- tions are printed that were read before the Grand Council, but I can not say positively that they are the same. G. R. Coui.EW, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I reside in Huntington county, Indiana, and am Deputy Sheriff in that county. I have been in the hardware business. I moved to Huntington in the spring of 1843, and have lived there since. I have been acquainted with Mr. Milligan for the past sixteen years, and know his general moral character in the neighborhood in which he lives; I should call it good. I am acquainted with his general reputation as a peaceable, orderly, law-abiding citizen, and it is good. I joined an order called the American Knights, in October or November, of 1863, at Huntington. Mr. Milligan was connected with the organization. I attended most of its meetings, till sometime in April, 1864, when we quit meeting. I think about twenty or • twenty-five belonged to it. I never knew of Mr. Milligan making any efforts to increase the number of members, nor was he in favor of organizing branch temples throughout the country; the only members that he seemed willing to admit were good, reliable and responsible men. As far as I understood the organization, it was entirely political, and was to be an offset to the Union League. The object of the organization was to influence elections, and to get Democrats to stick together, so as to carry elections, and not by force of arms or any thing of that kind. I never knew any thing as to its military organization. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I know nothing of the purposes of the order, save what I have mentioned; I never heard any thing about arms or ammunition, nor of any attempt to establish a Xorth- western Confederacy. I joined in October or November, 1863, and continued a mem- ber till it was broken up, in March or April, 1864. I think 1 took three degrees in the order, but I never attended any meetings, save those of our own assembly. For a part of the time T acted as treasurer, and re- ceived probably fifty or sixty dollars, with which I bought wood, and the rest had to be expended in the rent of the hall, lights, etc.; none of the money collected was, as far as I know, sent to the Grand Council. I know of no assessments having been made on our members for money. I 'know noth- ing of members of the order pledging them- selves to each other that they would resist the draft. L have heard other individuals talking about it, and I told them it was nonsense to resist. I never recollect taking an obligation of which the following is a part: " I do further promise that I will, at all times, if needs be, take up arms in the cause of the oppressed — in my country first of all — against any monarch, prince, potentate, power, or government usurped, which may be found in arms, and waging war against a people or peoples who are endeavoring to establish, or have inaugurated, a govern- TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 177 ment for themselves of their own free choice, in accordance with, and founded upon, ih^ elertial principles of truth^ which I have sworn in the V ." I will not swear that I did not subscribe to that obligation, but I do not remember. If it was read to me, I swore to it. Samuel F. Day, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as I'uUows: I reside at Huntington, Indiana, where I have lived for ibur years. I am engaged in the livery business. I ani actjuainted with the general moral character of Mr. Milligan in that county, and it is good as far as 1 know. I am acquainted with his general reputation as a peaceable, orderly, law-abid- ing citizen, and that reputation is good. I joined a secret organization last Septem- ber, at Huntington, about the time Mr. Dodd made a speech there; I think it was called the Order of American Knights. AVe had meetings about once in two weeks up to the time we sent a delegate to Indian- apolis; from that time our meetings were irregular until March or April; and about the last of April the organization was aban- doned from want of interest in it by the members. Between twenty and tliirty be- longed to it. It was a County Temple. I learned from Mr. Dodd that the organiza- tion was a political one. All the degrees I ever took, I took the first night. I supjDose there were three degrees. The purpose of the organization, it was stated, was to con- solidate tlie Democracy, and to get influen- tial men into its ranks, so that we might influence the election, and carry the Demo- cratic ticket. It was also supposed that the organization would counteract the eft'ect and purposes of the Loyal League in that county. I never learned any thing of the order being a military organization. I do not know of any attempts of Mr. Milligan to extend the order; I have known him to blackball members to keep them out, and I have known of his objecting to organizing branch temples ; I never knew of his assent- ing to but one, namely, at Rockcreek town- ship, Huntington county; they were organ- ized there, and had forty-five or fifty mem- bers. I am acquainted with Dr. Zumro, of Markle. I remember a conversation I had with him about the 16th of September, at Huntington. He and Mr. Johnson came to my stable door. Mr. Zumro stepped into my office, and stated that he had just come from Mr. Milligan's ; he said that he and Mr. Johnson were appointed to come over to Huntington, to see what was to be done about the draft. Zumro said that Mr. Milli- gan did not give him much encouragement as he was sick, and told him to go to me. Zumro said, "We are bound to resist the draft, and we want to know if you can give assistance." I said it was foolishness and 12 nonsense to resist the draft; that folks were already making prejiarations to get substi- tutes. We talked a few minutes, and when he went away, he said, ''I suppose we will have to give it up, as we can get no encour- agement here." I do not remember posi- tively whether he said "we" or "they' are bound to resist. CROS.S-EXAMINATION. I was elected Grand Seignior of the or- ganization, and served for two or three months. The man who preceded me was named John Jones, but no one was elected to succeed me. Tlie books and papers of the order were in the care of the Secretary, Mr. Cummings ; Mr. Corlew was Treasurer; I do not know wliat became of the papers. I think there was a meeting in May, but I was not there. Mr. Milligan never gave any reason, that I remember, for not wish- ing to extend the order. He would often say when asked about establishing a branch lodge, "there is no use," or "do not be in a hurry," and the probability was that it would not be done. I never heard of Mi-. Milligan being ap- pointed a Major General in the order, until I heard it on the street. I heard nothing of the military organization of the order, or of its army ; Dodd said not a word about it; nor was any thing said about organizing a North-western Confederacy. I have heard Mr. Milligan speak in the lodge, or out of it, of the manner of conducting the war; and he approved of it, if it was conducted on a right policy, namely, for the Union. He objected to it, so I understood, because it was prosecuted for the abolition of slavery, and he believes that the L^nion could bo restored by better means than by war. When Dr. Zumro said "they" or "we" are going to resist the draft, Mr. Johnson said nothing to contradict it, that I remem- ber. I tliinlc Zumro also stated that Mr. Milligan had said " we must do the best we can," or something to the eft'ect that each one would have to take care of himself, and do the best he could; but he did not say that Mr. Milligan advised him to resist. OcHMiG Bird, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I reside in Allen county, Indiana, and am a fixrmer. I am a member of the Legislature. 1 was jjresent at Fort Wayne, at tlie Demo- cratic Convention, on the 13th of August last, at which Mr. Milligan spoke, but I was not by Mr. Milligan all the time he was speaking. It was called a mass meeting for the people of the county. Mr. Milligan was one of the invited speakers. Mr. Milligan's was an argumentative speech on the sub- ject of States rights, and the rights of the Constitution. It did not elicit much enthu siasm from the audience. I judge it had an adverse tendency. Mr. Milligan did not 178 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. denounce the Government, but he did speak against the Administration, and the man- ner in which the war was conducted; and I understood him to discriminate between the policy of the Administration and the Government. I took one degree in the organization called the Sons of Liberty. Its purposes, as I understood then, were to rally the sti'ength of the Democratic party. The entire strength of the order might have numbered about fifty or sixty persons. There was an impression in our place that the Loyal Leagues were armed. We found some papers that they had dropped around re- quiring a very strict organization; it was also reported that they intended to usurp unreasonable authority at the polls; and one of the objects of this organization was to stand by and see that the people had a fair chance at the election, and that no in- roads were made on our party in delivering their votes. CROSS-EXAMINATION. In Mr. Milligan's argument at Fort Wayne, as I understood it, he did not just- ify the States in the right to secede. His argument went to prove that there was a certain way to settle these things peaceably between the States and the Government. My impression is that he did not consider this a constitutional war, from the manner in which it was conducted, and he may have said that the war itself was wrong — that fighting for the coercion of seceded States was unconstitutional, but I am not positive. I am under the impression that he treated the States as already out of the Union, and the Union dissolved; but 1 did not understand him to say that there was no power in the Government to bring them back. I do not know that I have, in conversa- tion, expressed the view that a State had the right to secede, and that there is no power in the Government to coerce it back after having seceded ; those are not my views. 1 think it possible that a State may be coerced, though I do not entirely believe in the prosecution of the present war for the supi)ression of the rebellion; but I am in favor of it if prosecuted under constitu- tional principles. Q. What would be a constitutional prose- cution of this war? Objected to by the accused, for the rea- son tliat the politics of the witness are not a suViJect of inquiry before this Court. Tlie Judge Advocate replied: Tlie question seems to me to be relevant, and most material ; and I insist upon its being put. The accused bring witnesses here to prove a good character for loyalty, and the law-abiding nature and conduct of the accused, Mr. Milligan. If they saw proper to bring upon the stand a member of the rebel army, and. ask him whether Mr. Milligan was a law-abiding, loyal man, his test of loyalty would be the fact that any man living in this Government would permit those States to secede, and establish a Government for themselves, and not in- terfere with them. In speaking of the speech at Fort Wayne, this witness states that Mr. Milligan's speech had no tendency to create insurrection, that it separated the Government from the Ad- ministration, etc. The onlj' way to get at the foundation of these speeches and acts, is to find the basis, or premises, from which the witnesses drew their conclusions. It is, therefore, important, when they bring wit- nesses upon the stand to prove the loyalty of any speech or act, to get at the stand- point from which the witness himself judges of loyalty. This question goes to show the principles of the witness, and his theories of Govern- ment, and enables the Commission to find out what he believes to be constitutional, and what, in his judgment, is loyal, and what disloyal. The court room was then cleared for de- liberation. On reopening the Court, the Judge Ad- vocate announced that the objection was overruled. The Commission then adjourned to 2 o'clock, P. M. AFTERNOON SESSION. Court Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, ) November 23, 18fi4, 2 o'clock, P. M. J The Commission metjiursuant to adjourn- ment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused (except W. A. Bowles), and their counsel. The testimony of Ochmig Bird, a witness for the accused, was resumed, as ibllows : As a Democrat, 1 think the President of the United State.-^ has exceeded his power in requiring the abolition of slavery, as the right to hold slaves is guaranteed by the Constitution to every person who holds slaves. ] tiiink, ther(>fore, tlie Emancipa- tion Proclamation is unconstitutional ; out- side of this jiroclamation I am in favor of the suppression of the rebellion, though I am by no means strenuously in favor of the war, for I believe in settling the difficulty by conciliation and compromise. I am not in favor of letting the rebel States go, but I am in favor of the union of all the States; I am in favor of prosecuting the war, if that is the only alternative, and I am in favor of coercion, if that be necessary lor the preservation of the Union. We had a Democratic majority of twenty- seven hundred at tlie last election in our county. We organized this society to pro- tect ourselves against the Loyal Leagues. Some of the leading members who belong TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 179 to the orgnnization, are Mr. France, who is the principal officer, Mr. Dills, Secretary, Mr. Walkie, Mr. William Jones, Mr. John Murray, Mr. Marshall Noll, Mr. Ilogan and Mr. James W. Borden. B. F. Ibach, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I reside in Huntington, Indiana, and have lately been admitted to the bar in our county. ■ I joined a secret political organi- zation in September, I860. I was initiated on the day that Mr. Dodd addressed the Democratic Convention at ITuntington. The objects of the organization were set forth in certain declarations of principles which were read to us, and which I under- stood to be to advance Democratic princi- ples, as we understood them, and also to counteract the influence of a society called the Loyal League. It was a purely political organization. I ' continued to attend its meetings till May; at that time it had died out entirely. In connection with the soci- ety of American Knights, we had lectures every two weeks, and no one was permitted to lecture unless he indorsed the declara- tion of princij^les taught in the order. I was a delegate from that county temple to the Grand Council which met here in June. Mr. Milligan and myself came together, but he did not accompany me to the Coun- cil. I reached the city a little before noon on the first day of the meeting. We had a meeting on that and the next day. I re- member at this meeting a young man from the northern part of the State was very uneasy about the draft, and thought the order should do something. This is the first I learned that there was any idea among the menibers that there was a mili- tary part connected with the order; he seemed to be very uneasy about the draft, and thought that weoughtto combine. Ares- olution was offered by some member of the Council, which was voted down ; the reso- lution was to the efiect that the different temples in the counties should organize for the purpose of resisting the Government. It created quite a turbulent time there; some thought that the order was purely political, and others that there was a mili- tary branch in it. The majority of the members did not want any military action, but preferred to wait for a change through the election. - The resolution, I remember, was voted down. They thought the ballot- box was the remedy for our troubles. I do not remember that Mr. Milligan took any part in the discussion. It was at this meeting that Dodd, or the Deputy Grand Commander, I forget which, said that they had taken into consideration the appoint- ment of military officers, and that some of thoee appointed had not accepted their of- fices, and others had not been heard from. There was then a discussion whether their action should be secret, and confined to the Grand Commander and themselves, or whether it should be known to the mem- bers generally. Mr. Dodd said there were some things about the order which all the members need not know. Others said that the whole Council should know wliat was done, and should not be confined to single individuals. Mr. Dodd said that the ap- I^ointment of major generals would have to remain as reported until the 4th of July: if they did not report then, others v/ould 'Nhave to be appointed. Mr. Dodd did not press the matter then, because he saw it did not suit the Council, and that they would have voted the military part of it down, CROSS-EXAMINATION. I took the three degrees of the order all at one time. Part of the degrees were not read; only the obligations. The means by which Mr. Milligan and myself received notice of the naeeting of the Council here in June was this : a notice was sent to the order in Huntington, addressed to its sec- retary, that we were to appoint delegates to that meeting of the Council. This was re- ceived in May, and we came up here to the State Council on the 14th of June. We had a meeting of the order in May, and I was appointed a delegate, and though our order died out in Huntington, I was here on the 14th representing it. Mr. Milligan was present at the first day's meeting. Mr. Humphreys I did not see here either day. I do not remember Mr. Dodd making use of any such expression as this: "I will now kick down the thin walls of patriotism and talk treason for a while." I remeraber they had quite a discussion on the subject of the grievances which the Government had inflicted, but could not come to an under- standing about the matter. The ascendency in the meeting seemed to be of those who concluded that we should rely on the ballot-box as a remedy for the evils we suffered. There was also some expression of opinion in favor of McClellan as candidate for the Presidenc}'; they were in favor of the nomination of a man who favored the prosecution of the war. Dodd and the Deputy Grand Commander were not in favor of the prosecution of the war, and I think were hostile to the Admin- istration. 1 think from what Dodd said, that the appointment of the military offi- cers was within his province. None of our organizations drilled as far as I know. 1 had a preamble for organizing a company; the list had fifteen or twenty names upon it, some of whom were members of the* order; we intended getting seventy-five members, and then organizing under the State law, and drawing our arms from the State, in accordance with an act of the Leg- 180 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. islature ; my name, I believe, was at the head of the company. It was first com- menced some eighteen months back, a long time before I belonged to any secret organ- ization. We intended to drill; our object was to protect ourselves against the soldiers that were coming home. Some citizens, also, had made threats against our printing office, and we thought it best to take the arms in our own hands. Quite a number of our friends had received letters from soldiers in the army, saying that when they came home, tiiey were going to take care of what they wore pleased to term the Copper- heads. Another reason why we contem- plated protecting ourselves was that the Home Guards had been furnished with arms, and we thought that we had the same right to the State arms as thej- had. Had we been furnished with arms, our company would have been a Home Guard, to guard ourselves against what we called encroach- ments on our rights. Captain Samuel Place, jr., a witness for the accused, was tlien introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I am Captain in the 5th Veteran Reserve Corps, stationed at Burnside Barracks, In- dianapolis. I was in command of the squad of men who arrested Mr. Milligan at his house in Huntington county, Indiana. I made the arrest on the authority of a written order from Major General Alvin P. Hovey, which was as follows : Headquaetees DiSTRirr of Indiana, 1 Indiatiapolis, October 5, 1804. j Special Order No. 142. 6. Captain Samuel Place, jr., 5th Regt. V. R. C, with the force under his command, will proceed to Huntington, Huntington county, and arrest L. P. Milligan, and bring him to these Headquarters without fail. By order of Brevet Major General Alvin P. liovcy. AND. C. KEMPER, Assistant Adjutant General. The above was then offered in evidence by the accused. G. R. Corlew, a witness for the accused, was then recalled, and testified as fol- lows: I have heard Mr. Milligan say that he was born in 1812; he is therefore fifty-two years old. I have known Mr. Milligan for sixteen, years, and I never knew of his being in the military or naval service of the United States. MosES W. Milligan, a witness for the ac- cused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : I reside in Huntington, Indiana, and am a son of L. P. Milligan. On the evening of Tuesday, the 16th of February, my father started to come here to Indianapolis; he went to the train, but it was crowded, and he returned home. My mother asked him the reason he did not go, and he said he was sick. On the next day, the 17th, he was at Court at Huntington. My father was not from home during the month of Feb- ruary, to my knowledge. The Common Pleas Court was first held, and the Circuit Court immediately afterward ; and my father was in attendance during both terms, as far as I recollect. I was present at both Courts as acting bailiff. cross-examination. I do not think my father was away from Huntington more than one day during the month of February ; he was sick more or less the whole month of February. I can not state what he was doing on particular days. I am enabled to fix tlie date of the 16th of February, by knowing that a meet- ing of the Sons of Liberty was to be held here on that day, and that my father in- tended to be present, and he went to the cars on that day. I remember Mr. Win- ters went. The Commission then adjourned, to meet Friday, November 25, at 2 o'clock, P. M. Court Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1 November 25, 1804, 2 o'clock, P. M. J The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. All the members present. Also, the Judge Advocate, the accused, and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. Edward Price, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I reside at Sullivan, Sullivan county, In- diana; I am ('lerk of the Court at that place. I am acquainted with the accused, Andrew Humphreys; I have known him about twelve years. I was present at a meeting at a place called Caledonia, in June, 1863. I went there with Mr. Cowgill. On the morning of that day, two or three citi- zens of that township came to Sullivan and requested some of us to come down and see if we could not quell a disturbance that was going on there ; they said, " Let some Den> ocrats and Republicans go out and tallc to the crowd, and see if they can not allay the disturbance." That was the purjiose for wliich I went. I understood the excite- ment was occasioned by some soldiers, who, getting off the cars, went to tlie house of a Mr. Wagner, and asked for liis liorse. Mr. Wagner was not at home, and his wife told them they could not liave it, Init they went into the stable and took it. They also shot at a man by the name of Pigg. Wlien I received this notice, I got my horse and carriage to go out there. Mr. Cowgill, who was introduced to me by Mr. Wolf, the^old clerk of the county, went with me. There were two or three carriage loads that went, TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 181 but we were ahead of all the rest. About a mile and a half from Sullivan we met the soldiers coming back. Mr. Cowgill stopped pome of them and talked for a few minutes. He asked something about the excitement. I think he told them the best thing they could do was to go on to Sullivan, get on the cars and go home. I think he also told them that they had done wrong in taking away property without the consent of the owners. We went on to Caledonia; when we got there, Mr. Humphreys was speaking to the crowd ; they seemed to be very much exci- ted when we drove up. I don't know how many there were present; perhaps about two or three hundred. I got out of the buggy and handed the lines to Mr. Cowgill. I went up to Mr. Humphreys and told him that the Deputy Provost Marshal was there, and asked him to come out, and I would give him an introduction. He stopped speaking for a few minutes, and I went out with him and inti-oduced him to Mr. Cow- gill; they walked into the crowd while I was hitching the horse. Mr. Humphreys spoke a little while to the crowd after that, and then introduced Mr. Cowgill; Mr. Cow- gill got up and made a few remarks, advis- ing the crowd to go home and disjierse, that they had done wrong in taking the prop- erty, and told them the best thing they could do was to take Mr. Humphreys' ad- vice and go home, and not be the cause of making any disturbance. Mr. Humphreys said that, as the soldiers were gone, there was no use of any excitement, and that the best thing they could do was to go home. I was walking around in the outskirts of the crowd, and was not paying a great deal of attention to what he did say. I think some of the crowd said they would follow the soldiers ; that was the thing Mr. Humph- reys advised them not to do. My opportu- nitifs for knowing Avhat was going on, were good, as I Wiis in the crowd all the time until we got into the carriage to go back. I do not remember Mr. Humphreys saying any thing about the Administration or the Government. He did not sjjeak more than ten or fifteen minutes after I got there. I was at the meeting in Jackson town- ship in the September of 1863. Mr Humph- rcy^. Mr. Hammill, Captain Mandrell, S. G. Burton and myself, spoke, ('aptain ifan- drell, it was said, was a rebel that had been captured at Fort Donelson, and had taken the oath of allegiance at Indianapolis. It was reported that he had been engaged here as clerk in the Quartermaster's office. He was in the Recorder's ofhce, at Terre Haute, when I got acquainted with him ; and he was the agent for some Illinois company ior awhile. This was a political meeting — a Democratic picnic. I am acquainted with the moral charac- ter of Mr. Humphreys, and it is good. I am also acquainted with his general char- acter, as a law-abiding man, and it is good. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I reside twelve or fifteen miles from Mr. Humphreys, and I have often been at his house. I was a candidate on the Demo- cratic ticket in the fall of 1863. In politics I am of the same principles as Mr. Humph- reys, and my speeches, I presume, would be of the same class as his. Captain Mandrell, I do not think, spoke more than five min- utes at the meeting I have alluded to. 1 do not remember what he said. Mr. Humphreys' speech was about like Demo- crats usually make. As I was a candidate at the time, I did not pay much attention to what was being said; I was more inter- ested in myself than any body else. I joined an order called the American Knights, in August, 1863. I was initiated by P. C. Wright, at Terre Haute. I re- mained ill the order until I was elected, in October, when I had nothing more to do with it. I took three degrees. I joined the order for fear they would defeat me. I have always been opposed to secret political organizations, not thinking that they were right, and I might have done what 1 be- lieved to be wrong, for the sake of being elected. S. G. Burton, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I reside at Sullivan, Sullivan county, In- diana, and practice law in that town. I am intimately acquainted wuth Andrew Huin- phreys, and have been for the last five years. I made a speech at Linton, in August last. It was at a large mass meeting; Mr. Hum- phreys followed me. Q. You may state the substance of his speech, if you recollect it ? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate, and withdrawn. Q. In the course of that speech, what did Mr. Humphreys say in relation to the Gov- ernment and the right of secession ? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate. The counsel for the accused said : This witness is brought on the stand to testify in behalf of the accused, Andrew Humphreys, and we have a right to interro- gate him as to Mr. Humphreys' speeches. That course of examination has not been objected to, up to this time. We introduced three gentlemen from Mr. Humphreys' neighborhood. One of them testified to the speech made in August last. We proved that speech as indicative of the sentiments which he otfered to the people for their guidance. We have a right to prove what the accused has said, urged and enforced upon the people as their path of duty; the Court may determine whether his sentiments were loyal, or disloyal. We 182 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. propose to prove by this witness that he pursued a particular line of argument. That he read from Washington's Faravcll Address, and from Jefferson's writings, to enforce the same views. One witness stated that he understood Mr. Humphreys endeavored to support his argument for secession by the authority of Washington and Jefi'erson. No principle of law is better settled, than the right, as declared in the Statutes of Indiana, tliat a party may always, in the event of a u-itne.-s being mistaken in his deductions, of having his errors corrected by otlier wit- nesses. If one witness is mistaken in a particular jioint, the defendants have the right to prove the whole facts in the ca^e by another witness, that the Court may de- termine what is right and what is wrong. We had the right, lirst, to fortify one wit- ness by corroborating testimony as to what Mr. Iluinplireys said, and show that all he uttered was manifestly in favor of preserv- ing the integrity of the Government. Sec- ondly, we had the right to prove what act- ually took jilace, to rectify what the other witness said about the speech. . One of the charges against the accused is that of nial'cing iniiammatory speeches. We have a I'ight to meet and to disprove this, and the law fixes no limit to the number of the witnesses that we may call. The Judge Advocate replied: I under- stand the rule to be, that when they prove anj' particuhir statement to have been made by the accused, they are entitled to call out the entire statement. The Court has further ruled, that any acts or speeches made by the accused, at any meetings of the order, to show whether such acts were for a good or bad purpose, would be received as evi- dence ; but I do not understand the Court to go so far as to say that because we proved that in the fall of 1863, certain treasonable speeches were delivered by the accused, that they can introduce, as rebutting testi- mony, loyal speeches made in 1864. We have introduced no witnesses as to speeches made in 180-1. We certainly did obtain from one witness of the accused, in his cross- examination, that Mr. Humphreys, in 1864, spoke on secession, saying tliat a State had a right to secede; that in athrmation of his views he read from Washington's Farncell Address, and from Jefteison's writings. They are attempting to put a witness on the stand to testify to that which we have not introduced on tlie part of the Government. They can not disprove the disloyal utter- ances of 1863, by proving loyal speeches in 1864. As to when one witness may be brought in to contradict another, Roscoe, in Cri7n- inal Evidence, page 178, says: "Whether the party calling a witness, who gives evidence contrary to what is ex- pected from him, may prove contradictory btatcuu nts previously made by the witness, is a question on which there has been some difierence of opinion." The court room was then cleared for de- liberation. On reopening the Court, the Judge Advo- cate announced to the accused that the ob- jection had been sustained. Question by the accused: What did Mr. Humphreys say in that speech about secession? Question olijected to by the Judge Advo- cate as illegitimate, and as already passed upon. The counsel for the accused replied : On the discussion of the right of seces- sion, a man may speak of that right and not be in I'avor of it. In this country, it is a matter of opinion whether a man is for his Government or against it. It is not treason to maintain one side or the other of this question of secession: for in 1825 a very distinguislied lawyer, who was long a servant of tlie Government, wrote a treatise on the Constitution of the United States, in which he justitied and maintained the right of States to secede, under the Consti- tution, and denied the right of coercion. I always thought, and I think so still, that this gentleman, Mr. Rowie, of Pennsylvania, was greatly mistaken. But no man doubt- ed the loyalty of his heart or his life, until the days when treason was inaugurated in this country. De Tocqueville, in his Democracy in Amer- ica, maintains it as an original proposi- tion, that tliere can be no contest for the enforcement of the Union; that it is not a contest between the Government on the one side and the seceding State or States on the other; but that States seceding have the same interest to maintain secession, that the adhering States have to resist it, because it is a question of self-interest to each party. The General Government is dissolved. We claim that we have the right to in- troduce testimony to show the loyalty of Mr. Humphreys, from the present time back to the organization of the order, at Terre Haute, as the testimony on the part of the Government goes back to this time. Tlie case of Home Tooke is to the point. He was on trial for treason. He goes far back of the commencement of the prose- cution, and finds a book that he had writ- ten in favor of tlie sovereign. In that book his loyalty is fully established, and he in- troduces it to show that he could not have had tlie intent, as alleged, of destroying the life of the King. It was admitted as evidence in his favor, and though Lord Ellenborough atterward questioned the cor- rectness of the decision, it has not been reversed. It followed and reversed the de- cision in the case of Lord George Gordon, the decision in Lord George Gordon's case being decided in 1780, and the trial of TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 183 Home Tooke following fully fourteen years after, during the turbulent scenes of the French Eevolution. The followins is from Russell on Crimes, vol. 2, 23p. 780-f81 : "And, as in trials for conspiracies, what- ever the prisoner may have done or said, at any meeting alleged to be held in jsur- suance of the conspiracy, is admissible in evidence against him, on the part of the prosecution; so, on the other hand, any other part of his conduct at the same meetings will be allowed to be proved on his behalf; for tlie intention and design of a party, at a particular time, are best ex- plained by a complete view of every part of his conduct at that time, and not merely from the proof of a single and insulated act or declaration. In the case of Walker and others, who were tried for a conspiracy to overthrow the Government, evidence was produced on the part of the prosecution to show that the conspiracy existed, and was brought into overt acts at meetings in the presence of Walker, the counsel for the prisoners was allowed to ask a witness, whether, at any of these times, he had ever heard W^alker utter any word incon- sistent with the duty of a good subject? The question was opposed, but held by Mr. J. Heath to be admissible. The prisoner's counsel were also allowed, in the same case, to inquire into the general declara- tions of the prisoner at these meetings, whether the witness had heard him say any thing that had a tendency to disturb the peace of the kingdom ; and questions to the same effect were put to many other witnesses in succession. "On the trial of Hardy for high treason, where the overt act charged was that the prisoner, for the purpose of accomplishing the treason of compassing the King's death, did conspire with others to call a conven- tion of the people, in order that the con- vention might depose the King, the coun- sel for the prisoner were allowed to ask a witness, whether, before the time of the convention, he had ever heard from him what his objects were, and whether he had at all mixed himself in that business. But the better opinion seems to be, that in oi'- der to make such other acts or declarations of the prisoner applicable to his defense, it must be shown that they are in some way connected with the facts that are proved against him. In the case of Home Tooke and others, however, for high treason, sev- eral publications having been given in evi- dence on the part of the crown, containing I'epublican doctrines and opinions, the dis- tribution of which had been jiromoted by the prisoners, during the period assigned in the indictment for the existence of the conspii-acy, the prisoner was allowed to read, in his defense, various extracts from works which he had published at a former period of his life ; and these the jury were 2)ermitted to carry along with them, when they retired to consider their verdict. But the propriety of allowing such a defense has been questioned by very high au- thority." The first question we present to the Court is, whether we have a right to prove by this witness that facts were dift'erent from what the other witness said they were. On that question I wish to cite au- thority. We called Mr. Johnson's atten- tion to the meeting and the sentiments expressed by Mr. Humphreys about the Government. The witness stated that Mr. yumphreys made a speech. The Judge Advocate asked if he spoke in favor of the right of secession ? He answered, he did. W^e now introduce a witness who made a speech at the same time and place, and who heard what Mr. Humphreys said. We introduce him not to contradict what other witnesses have said, but to show the real facts of the case. Roscoe says, page 178: "But where a witness is called and makes statements contrary to those which are expected from him, the party calling him may prove the facts in question by other witnesse.s." But it is stated that this decision applies only to the direct examin- ation. It is not limited to that. In exam- inations as to character, we are confined to two questions. In cross-examination we are not so limited. Suppose on re-examin- ation, a witness clings to a mistake made in his direct examination, and we could pro- duce a hundred witnesses to prove a con- trary state of facts, should we be bound by his statements, and cut off from correcting his mistake ? If so, no man would be safe in introducing witnesses as to character. Eminent authorities say on this point: ■' Where a witness gives evidence against the party calling him, and is an unwilling witness, or in the interest of the opposite party, he may be asked by the party calling him, at the discretion of the Court, whether he has not on a former occasion given dif- ferent testimony as to a particular fact. Bank Northern Liberties vs. Davis, 6 Watts & Serg., 285. "A party may prove the fact to be dif- ferent from what one of his own witnesses has stated it to be. That is not discrediting his witness. Spencer vs. White, 1 Iredell's X. a Hep., 236. "A party can not discredit his own wit- ness or show his incompetency, though he may call other witnesses to contradict him as to a fact material to the issue, in order to show how the fact really is. Franklin Bank vs. Steam Nav. Co., II Gill ponents, who thought him guilty of wliat he was charged with. Up to tlie time of his arrest, his character for peace and qui- etness was good. 188 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIAXAPOLIS. The Commission adjourned, to meet on Thursday, December 1, at 10 o'clock, A. M. CoTiBT Room, Indianapolis, Indiana, > December 1, 1804, lU o'clock, A. M. / The Commission met pursuant to adjourn- ment. All the members present. Also, tlie Judge Advocate, the accused, and their counsel. The proceedings were read and approved. General Alvin P. Hotey, a witness for the accu.sed, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : Question by the accused: State your name and official position? Answer. My name is Alvin P. Hovey. I am Commander of the District of Indiana. Q. State whether or not it was by your order that Mr. Milligan was arrested ? A. It was. Q. State upon what that order was based, whether upon affidavit made to you, or upon what it was based? A. It was based upon my general knowl- edge of affairs in Indiana, the condition of the country, and Mr. JSIilligan's action in regffrd to it, together with tlie dangers that surrounded us at that time. Q. What actions have you reference to ? A. To the conspiracies against the author- ity of the United States. Q. "What particuhvr actions of Mr. Milligan in the matter? A. ^Ir. Milligan, I understood from reli- able authority, was a Major General of the organization, and had taken steps to aid it, and carry on revolution. Q. Please state to us the source of that information? A. The information generally came from Detectives. Q. State who they were? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate, and withdrawn. Q. Am I right in understanding j'ou as saying that the order was not based upon an affidavit? A. It was not, sir. Q. State whether you have not made the observation that Mr. Milligan was a dan- gerous man; if so, upon what information you made the remark? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate, and withdrawn. Q. Was this information from persons re- siding in Mr. Milligan's neighborhood, or elsewhere? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate, and withdrawn. CROSS-EXAMINATION. Question by the Judge Advocate: 1 suppose. General, the sum of the matter was this: that in your judgment it was neces- sary for the public welfare to arrest this man, and upon that you moved ? Question objected to by the accused, and withdrawn. The witness : I would like to make this further explan- ation. The first person arrested by me, was Dodd j that arrest was made without n in- sulting the authorities any-where. Subse- quently I made the others. In the fiist ar- rest, 1 took the responsibility on mysrlf; I was authorized by the War Departnitnt to make the subsequent arrests, and to take what action I might deem advisable in re- gard to it, and 1 did so. The testimony which I have given with regard to these prisoners, applies to each and all of the others. M. E. Brant, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I live in Huntington county, Indiana." Since the fall of 1844, I have been Auditor of the county. I became acquainted with Mr. Milligan in 1844, and since 1851 J have known him intimately. In politics I am now a Kepublican and a Union man. In years past, I was an Old Line Whig. The first vote I ever gave was lor Andi-ew Jack- son. I next voted for Martin Van liuren, next for Harrison, and since then I have been connected with the Democratic party. I am acquainted with Mr. Milligan's moral character in the community in whii-h he lives, and it is good. 1 am acquainted with his general reputation as a law-abiding citi- zen; that reputation is good. CROSS-EXAMINATION. Mr. Milligan's character is that of a man who, till lately, has advised entire obedience to the law. The Democratic party still re- gard him as a law-abiding citizen, while Kepublicans speak of him as operating, of late, against the laws of our country. Ke- publicans regard him as connected with a secret organization that is in favor of further secession among the Slates, and in favor of the establishment of a North-western Con- federacy. Ri;-EXAM1NATI0N. I think that that reputation is confined exclusively to the more rabid and bitter portion of the Kepublican party, and most of this reputation has grown up since about the time of Dodd's arrest, and since the ex- posure of the niembiTS of the Sons of Lib- erty in the ]niblie i>rints ; though a year ago last fall Mr. Milligan made speeclies, and some persons in the Kepublican parly re- garded him as a man opposed to the Gov- ernment, and as seeking the establishment of a North-western Confederacy. By oppo- sition to the Government, 1 mean opposilipn to Mr. Lincoln's Administration. W. J. Smith, a witness for the accused, TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 189 was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as fol- lows : I am Clerk in the United States District Court, and have held that position since May, 1863. The business of the Court has in no way been interfered with. We have had our special and regular terms, and processes have been issued and returned regularly. There have been one or two suits instituted for obstructing the processes of the Court, but the regular business of the Court has not been interfered with. Samuel Chandler, a witness for the ac- cused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : I am Deputy Clerk of the United States Circuit Court, and have held that position since the 4th of February, 1S63. The Court has been exercising jurisdiction in this State; since that time it has been open, and holding its regular sessions, and there has been no disturbance or civil commotion to interfere with the business of the Court, that I know of. D. Garland Rose, a witness for the ac- cused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : I am United States Marshal for this Dis- trict, and have held that office since April, 1861. 1 do not know of any obstructions to the serving of processes during the past year ; I do not know of any suits now pend- ing in the Federal Courts for obstructing the service of" process, though the District Attorney could answer that question better than I could. I know threats were made, and resistance was apprehended, but none was ofi'ered that caused any arrests to be made, that I know of Edward Harrison, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : I live in Wells county. Union township, Indiana; I am a farmer, and at present sub- stitute in the army. I have known Dr. Zumro for five years; I live about three- quarters of a mile from him. I know his general reputation in the neighborhood in which he lives, and that reputation is good, and from that reputation I would believe him under oath. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I am a Union man. Among those I have heard speak of Dr. Zumro, are Mr. Ratlift" and Mr. Cagger, both of whom are Union men Ratlift" said that he respected Zumro; that he was a luan of principle, and could be depended upon. No inducements have been held out to me to testify as to Zumro's character. I have been pretty intimately acquainted with him; he has been my fam- ily physician. John Naye, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: Dr. Zumi'o has been my family physician for seven or eight years. I know his repu- tation for truth and veracity in the neigli- borhood where he lives, and it is good ; I would believe him under oath. The cla.ss of men that have usually spoken against Dr. Zumro, belong to the Democratic party. I have not heard any body else say any thing against him. I, myself, belong to the Democratic party. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I know that Dr. Zumro has had enemies in the medical profession ; I have heard men say that he was a great liar ; but it was hy a Dr. Joseph Scott and others, who diti'er from him professionally, and it did not affect his character for truth and veracity. Before this controversy came up, I have heard Dr. Stockwell and Mr. Daniel Haeflee speak of him as a man of truth ; they always spoke well of him. RE-EXAMINATION. Before these trials came up, I did not hear any one speak against Dr. Zumro, ex- cejjt for some special reason, or because he was a personal enemy. W. C. Smock, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as fol- lows : I am Deputy Clerk of the Markle Circuit Court, and ex-njficio of the Common Pleas Court. The courts of this county have been unobstructed in the exercise of their jurisdiction. David Stockman, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : I live in Rock Creek township. Wells county, Indiana; I have been somewhat in- timately acquainted with Dr. Zumro for about three years. I live about a quarter of a mile from him. 1 know his reputa- tion for truth and veracity to be good, and would certainly believe him under oath. Politically I belong to the Democi'atic party. cross-examination. I have heard people speak against Dr. Zumro, and say that he was not a very good Doctor. I have not mixed much with the people of the neighborhood, but as far as I have heard, no one has sjjoken against him as a man of truth. Jacob Farling, a witness for the Govern- ment, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : 190 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. I live in Rock Creek township, Wells coun- ty, Indiana. I am trustee of that town- ship; I belong to the Democratic party, and joined the Sons of Liberty. I live about five miles from Dr. Zumro; have known him four or five years; he has been my Doctor; his reputation for truth and veracity in our neighborhood, where he doctors most of the people, is good as far as I have learned; the people of that neighborliood are mostly Pennsylvania Dutch. 1 did not hear any thing against his rejiutation before these treason cases came up ; and I would believe him under oath. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I have not heard Dr. Zumro's character much discussed; it did not come up; I have not heard people speak against him until of late; since these cases came up, I have heard people speak ill of him. RE-EXAMINATION. I never heard any thing said against Dr. Zumro, till he came on the stand and testi- fied about these Sons of Liberty. William R. Taylor, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I live in Rock Creek township, Wells county, in this State, and run a saw mill. I have acted as Justice of the Peace for two terms. Politically I am a Republi- can, and voted for the L^nion party. 1 » have been drafted, and am now a soldier. Have known Dr. Zumro ten years, dur- ing which time he has been my family i^hy- sician. 1 am acquainted witli his general reputation for truth and veracity ; that rep- utation is good, and 1 would believe him under oath. R. C. BocKiNG, a witness for the accused, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as fol- lows: I am the inventor of certain Greek fire shells, and missiles of various kinds. I made a shell and applied for a patent, and had a caveat filed for it as well as for the Greek fire, wliich I invented, and which I claim to be the same as that used by the Greeks, and which burns under water. I have been traveling for the pur- pose of presenting my claims to the j^ublic, since the spring of J 863. Have been at Cincinnati, Louisville, Detroit and here. Being short of means, I was trying to find some person to assist me in getting my in- vention tlirough. It was open to the pub- lic; and I came here to try it by order of General Burnside. 1 brought it before Adjutant General Noble, Colonel Freybar- , ger, Major McClure, General Wilcox and his staff, Mr. Holloway, editor of the Indi- anapohs Journal, and I showed it every- where to the public. General Wilcox was Commander of this State at that time. I am not a member of the secret organization known as the Order of American Knights or Sons of Liberty, and never was. My Greek fire had no connection with the or- der, nor did 1 receive any assistance from it in any way. I know Dr. Bowles. He asked me, when in Louisville, if 1 would show him and his friends some of the shells and the Greek fire: I told him yes. In the af- ternoon he came to my room at the Louis- ville Hotel, with several gentlemen, and I showed it and explained it to them. I told them it was a pity I could not get along with my inventions for want of means, and Dr. Bowles said he would see some of his friends and ascertain if something could not be done, so tliat I could get along with the shell. In the evening, when I was at the hotel, a young man came to me, and asked me to go up to Dr. Kalfus' office; when I went up, some person, I did not know who, said to me, that some of the gentlemen to whom I had shown my inventions had agreed to help me, and they gave me a little paper with money in it, which 1 did not count until I got back to the hotel, when 1 found that it was in the neighborhood of two hundred dollars. This gift had no connection that I know of with the Order of American Knights, or Sons of Liberty, and not a word was said about any thing of the kind. Nothing was said that I know of, at the hotel, about using my invention for improper, disloyal or treasonable purposes; when the gentle- men talked together, they were quite far off from me, and they spoke very low. I was never in Salem, Indiana; though I may have 2)assed through the place oi» the train ; nor did I ever exhibit mj' shells, or experiment with my Greek fire to Mr. Horace Heftren, at Salem. I never saw him until I met him in the cell where I am now confined. I never received from Dr. Bowles any money, or aid in any way; nor did I have any contract with him to fur- nish my missiles to him or to the Order of Sons of Liberty. CROSS-EXAMINATION. Dr. Bowles was present when the money was given to me, but I do not know who it was that furnished it, and never heard any one say. I think it was some gentleman to whom I showed the shell. 1 did not know the name of any one present, except Dr. Bowles and Mr. Stidger. My object in going to the Louisville Hotel was to try to get help. I knew Dr. Bowles before going there, having seen him at his j^lace; he keeps a watering place; I went there to boiird at one time when I was sick. When 1 went to Dr. Bowles' place, he was not there; I waited perhaps an hour; when he came TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 191 back, he asked me what my business was, and 1 told him that I had an invention. In the conversation it came out that I was out of means, and I thought I woukl board there, as it was cheaper than here. lie said if I would go to Louisville, he would meet me there with some friends, and try to help me. I staid at his house until after dinner, when I left. Q. Do you pretend to say that you told them you were hard up, and they gave you two hundred dollars without mak- ing any agreement, or exacting any prom- ise? A. Yes, sir; they just presented me with two hundred dollars. From Louisville I think I came here, and staid about a week; I then went to Detroit, and staid about another week; from Detroit I went to Cincinnati; from there to Adams county, Ohio; then back to Cincinnati, and from Cincinnati here, where I have staid until now. Q. When was it you were in Windsor, Canada ? A. I think it was in April or May. I was there a couple of weeks, but doing nothing, I boarded with a Mr. Steele ; I think they called him (>olonel Steele, but I do not know why. Possibly he was a Colonel in the rebel army, though he never told me, and I never asked him. There were a couple of young men boarding with Colonel Steele; one was a nephew of his, the other 1 did not know. One of them, I believe, had been in the rebel army. I think I went from Kentucky to Canada. I knew Colonel Steele in Kentucky, when I was Major in Metcalf's Cavalry. It was when I was in Detroit that I went over to the Canada side, and saw Colonel Steele in a billiard saloon. I told him how I was situated ; that I wanted a j^artner to go in with rne to get that shell through ; Mayor Barker, in De- troit, became my partner. I slept at Col- onel Steele's, and went over to Detroit every day. I saw Mr. Vallandigham there two or three times, but never spoke to him. WiLiJAM II. Chapman, a witness for the Government, was then introduced, and, be- ing duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, tes- tified as follows: I reside at Markle, Huntington county, Indiana, Avhere I have lived about eight years. I am acquainted with Dr. Zumro, and know his general reputation for truth and veracity, and, from that reputation, I certaiidy should believe him under oath. CROSS-EXAMIXATION. I am a Union man, and have voted with that party for several years. William Johnson, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I reside at Markle, Huntington county, Indiana. I am Captain of a home guard company ; I belong to the Union party. I have been acquainted with Dr. Zumro eight or ten years, and know his reputation for truth and veracity; that reputation is good, and I would believe him under oath. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I have heard some people speak against Dr. Zumro, but I believe they have been his personal enemies ; and I do not know that Dr. Zumro has a larger share of men who s}x;ak ill of him, than other people who live in a town like Markle. There are between two and three hundred people in Markle. Samuel D. Price, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I reside in Rockcreek township, Wells county, Indiana. I am a carpenter ; at present a soldier in the army, which I en- tered about three weeks ago. I have known Dr. Zumro, intimately, for three or four years ; he is our family physician. I know his general reputation for truth and vera- city; it is good: and I would believe him under oath. cros.s-examination. Dr. Zumro never made any promises, or told me that I should be assigned to easy duties, if I testified in this case. I am not much acquainted about Markle, nor in Huntington county. I never heard any one say any thing against Dr. Zumro, but I have heard several speak in favor of him before these treason cases came up. Among them I have heard Mr. Dresser, Mr. Kitting and Mr. Taylor. In politics I am a Repub- lican. Thurston W. Kitting, a witness for the' Government, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testifi^jTas follows: I reside in Rockcreek town.ship, Wells county, Indiana, and am a farmer. I live four or five miles from Markle. I have been somewhat acquainted with Dr. Zumro about four years. His reputation is gener- ally good, and I would believe him under oath. cross-examination. I am a Union man. I have heard several people speak of Dr. Zumro, and they have said that he was a fine man, and that he was thought a good deal of. Borzillai Messler, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I reside in Rockcreek township. Wells county, and live about two miles irom Dr. Zumro, whom I have known eight or ten 192 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. years ; his reputation for truth and veracity- is good, and I should believe him under oath. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I used to vote the Democratic ticket, but I voted for Fremont for President, and have voted the Republican ticket since. Thomas G. Smith, a witness for the Gov- ernment, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows: I reside in Markle, Huntington county, Indiana; have lived there since 1860; I have known Dr. Zumro since that time. My private relations with him have not been good. His reputation for truth and veracity in the neighborhood where he lives is gene- rally good, and I would believe him under oatli. CROSS-EXAMINATION. I have said, in times past, that Dr. Zumro was a scoundrel; that was before this con- troversy came up, and it arose out of a per- sonal difficulty, which made me feel un- kindly toward him at tlie time. I have heard Dr. Zunu'o spoken against, but I thought medical matters caused it. I have heard Dr. Zumro censured by some in connection with the church which he left; I believe the circumstances were these : In Pennsyl- vania there is a denomination which has a large fund for the education of ministers ; Dr. Zumro was one of their students, and was educated for the ministry at their ex- pense. He afterward clianged his course, and instead of preaching, practiced medi- cine. Politically I am a friend of the Ad- ministration; I did not, however, vote for Mr. Lincoln the first time he was elected; in 1859 I voted with the Democratic party, Mrs. Elizabeth T. Simons, a witness for the Government, was then introduced, and, being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows : I reside at Lagro, Indiana; form^ply I re- sided at Huntington, Indiana. My father's name is Rev. Richard A. Curran. Q. Did you have any difficulty with your father about the time of your marriage ? Question objected to by the accused, as it is incompetent to impeach a witness who is called as an impeaching witness. Mr. Curran having been called to testify to Mr. Milligan's good character, and to Dr. Zum- ro's bad character. If it were permitted to call witnesses to im))oach witnesses for character, they might call rebutting witnesses, and there would be no end to such testimony. A witness whose character is impeached, can not call rebut- ting witnesses to testify to his good charac- ter, but that ends it. You might inquire whether an impeaching witness has a good character, or whether he has not. It is also a rule of law, that, on all material matters, a witness can not be impeached by calling other witnesses as to a matter of fact. The Judge Advocate replied: The reverend gentleman who testified in this Court, was called for the purpose of cer- tifying to the moral character of Mr. Milli- gan, as well as to his loyalty and law-abid- ing disposition. He testified at length upon that question. To ascertain from what stand-point he testified as to Mr. Milligan's character, in those respects, I asked about his own sentiments, also as to whether he had a difficulty with his daughter on this question, and whether he had not laid vio- lent hands upon her. I asked these questions to ascertain his sentiments toward the Government. When asked whether he had any difficulty with liis daughter about her marriage with a Union man, and whether he had laid vio- lent hands upon her, he flatly denied the charges. It is, therefore, perfectly legiti- mate to 'disprove his assertions. I propose to ask the character of the man by whom the accused undertook to establish his char- acter. The accused replied: ^ I do not remember that the foundation for the imi^eachment was laid by calling the attention of the witness to the time and place when he made the declarations, or committed the act upon which he is to be impeached. Unless this was done, the wit- ness can not be impeached. I quote from Greenleaf On Evidence, vol. 1, page 602: "The credit of a witness may also be im- peached by proof that he has made slalc- mcnts out of Court contrary to what he has teftijicd at the trial. But it is only in such matters as are relevant to the issue, that the wit- ness can be contradicted." I may here ask whether it was relevant to the issue to know whether the witness choked his daughter or not, or did not want her to marry a Union man ? The author adds : "And beforethis can be done, it is gene- rally held necessaiy, in the case of verbal statements, first to ask him as to the time, place, and person involved in the supposed contradiction. It is not enough to ask him the general question, whether he has ever said so and so, nor whether he has always told the same story; because it may fre- quently happen, that upon the general question, he may not remember whether he has so said; whereas, when liis attention is directed to particular circumstances and occasions, he may recollect and explain what he has formerly said. Tliis course of proceeding is considered indispensable, from a sense of justice to the witness; for as tlie direct tendency of the evidence is to impeach his veracity, common justi^ re- quires that, by first calling his attention to the subject, he shoukl have an opportunity to recollect the facts, and, if necessary, to TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 193 correct the statement already given ; as well as by a re-exaniination to explain the na- ture, circumstances, meaning, and design of what he is proved elsewhere to have said. " The present case is one where an attempt is not only made to contradict the witness in regard to verbal statements, but also as to facts not relevant to the issue, and the rule of law just quoted is against the com- petency of the mode of examination pro- j,osed by tlie Judge Advocate. The Judge Advocate replied : If the testimony of the witness was not relevant to the issue, he should not have been put on the stand. It is relevant to the isfe-ue to find out whether he told the truth or not. The court room was then cleared for de- liberation. On being reopened, the Judge Advocate announced that the objection had been overruled, and the question sustained. The witness continued: I had a difficulty with my father at the time of my marriage, but he always said that he did not oppose my marriage on account of the politics of my husband, though my impression has been otherwise. I think his words were, that he would as soon I would marry a negro as an abolitionist. He did use vio- lence toward me during that difficulty ; he laid hands on me, and caught me by the throat, and made threats against my life. Q. Did he choke you? Question objected to, and withdrawn. He ordered me to leave the house, and forbade me to return. He threatened to knock my brains out if he met me any- where with Mr. Simons. CROSS-EXAMINATION BY JOHN R. COFFUOTH, KSQ. My father drove me from his house in the morning, and, by the advice of my mother, I went to Dr. Blount's. In the afternoon of the same day, he came with Mr. Coflroth to the house where I was staying. I re- member my father saying to me^ in an un- der tone, that he was perfectly willing that I should return home. I had had a con- versation with Mr. Coflroth prior to that. When I got to Dr. Blount's, I wrote a letter to Mr. Simons, stating the difficulty that had occurred. From there I went to his brother's. It was through Mrs. Blount's in- fluence I sent for Mr. Coffroth. Q. What motive did you have in sending for me? Question objected to by the Judge Advo- cate. The counsel replied: I press the question, because the witness was laboring under strong mental excite- ment, and to show that her father went there with myself, and that the whole mat- ter was talked over and reconciled, and 13 harmony restored between them. I pro- pose, further, to show that she was laboring under hallucination, and misu^nderstood her father. There are many reasons why this question should be allowed. It is an act of simple justice to the accused, and to the witness, whose character is called in ques- tion, that this course of examination should be permitted. The Judge Advocate replied : The present question is : "What was your motive in sending for me ?" It is perfectly immaterial to the Court what the motives of the witness were; that the counsel can investigate privately, if he desires. The simple question before the Court is, did Mr. Curran tell the truth when he said that he had never laid violent hands on his daughter, and never drove her from his house? The examination-in-chief was con- fined to that, and the cross-examination must be confined to the same point. If the accused can ask the witness what oc- curred after her father drove her from his house, he can ask her about every transac- tion in her life from that time to this. The Court was cleared for deliberation. On the Court being reopened, the Judge Advocate announced that the objection had been sustained. Question by the accused: You may state whether on the day of the difficulty, your father did not visit you, and whether you did not become entirely reconciled with each other? Objected to by the Judge Advocate, as involving the same legal question just passed on. Question withdrawn. Question by the accused : When your father came to see you, at that time, you may state, if in the conver- sation between yourself and your father, in talking over the difficulty, was it not ad- mitted by you to him, that the difficulty grew out of your calling your father a liar, and putting his hand on your shoulder he stated to you that you must not speak to him in that manner ? A. I did not state any such thing. Q. Were not Mrs. Young, Mrs. Dr. Blount, and Mrs. Wm. Blount present at that in- terview ? A. Mrs. Dr. Blount was present; I am not positive about Mrs. Young being there. They were in the room when you came in, but I think left, except Mrs. Dr. Blount. Q. Was not Mrs. Dr. Blount present? A. Yes, sir. Q. Is it not true, that this matter of choking you was nothing more than the fact that your father laid his hand on your shoulder? A. He did choke me. Q. Where did he choke you? A. He caught me by the throat Q. Have you not, for the last four or five 194 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. years, been laboring under strong mental excitement, induced by sun-stroke? Question objected to by the Judge Ad- vocate. Such a question can only be put for one purpose: To prove the incompetency of the witness to testify. It is too late to make that point. It should have been made before going into such a ci'oss-exam- ination as has been had. The counsel for the accused replied: The objection of the Judge Advocate is not well taken as to the proper time of showing the mental condition of the wit- ness. I may show that the witness is en- tirely incompetent to testify as to that par- ticular occurrence, because she was labor- ing under such strong mental excitement that it rendered her statements entirely incredible. We may show that the wit- ness was laboring under a partial hallucin- ation. It may be shown that during this excitement, and partial derangement, the witness may have conceived ideas not founded on fact, and I do not confine my question to the particular time of this dif- ficulty. It is well known that the witness had a sun-stroke several years ago, which aiiected her brain, and caused periods of strong mental excitement, and that they existed before the time of this difficulty, at the time, and since then. I withdraw the question as to that par- ticular time. My father has accused me of insanity, but i never understood that his reason for so thinking, was the cause of his objection to my marriage. Q. You may state wlicther, from (hat time to this, your father has not been the same kind father you have always known him to be? Objected to by the Judge Advocate, as immaterial. The counsel for the accused replied : I propose to show that for a long series of years, and indeed up to this time, her father has been one of the kindest and most in- dulgent of parents. I think I can show that he did not do what she complained of, and that she may be mistaken in her im- pressions about this matter. The Judge Advocate withdrew the objec- tion. The witness continued: I can not say that my father was kind in his treatment of me. He is naturally a very passionate man. RE-EXAMINATION. When I was suffering from this mental excitement, I was always prepared for these attacks of delirium, by a severe pain in my head several hours before the delirium set in. Sometimes the attacks would last a day and a night. At the time of my father's making that attack upon me, I had not suft'ered from any paroxysm of deli- rium for more than a year, nor have I had any attack since that difficulty occur- red, except immediately afterward. Within three or four days after this difficulty I was taken quite ill, and was delirious for twenty-four hours afterward, dui'ing which I ruptured a blood vessel. Though my father is a passionate and excitable man, he did not use any violence toward me be- fore the difficulty of which I have spoken. He used threatening language to me in the fall, 1 think, previous to this diffi- culty, which was in the spring of 1863. Ilis threat, 1 think, was that he would shoot me, and he made this threat several times. I never had any words with my father about political matters until the morning of my difficulty, and I do not recall any other instances of unkindness except the threats in connection with my contemplated marriage with Mr. Sim- ons. I never heard my father make use of any expressions against the Government. The Judge Advocate then announced that the accused and the Government having no more witnesses to introduce, the testimony was closed. The counsel for the accused desired the Commission to adjourn till Tuesday next, to allow time for the preparation of their final argument. The Commission then adjourned, to meet on Tuesday, December 6, 1864, at 10 o'clock, A. M. ON THE JURISDICTION OF A MILITARY COMMISSION, B Y JONATHAN W. GORDON. Mr. President and Getitlemen of (he Commission : I appear for Colonel Bowles and Mr. Hum- phreys, who have directed me to discuss the question of your jurisdiction to try them. Before proceeding to this discussion, however, I may be pardoned for briefly referring to some preliminary considerations. I will not deny that I am oppressed with the greatness and weight of the labor assigned me. Many circumstances conspire to make this day's work a burden, while but few sources of external encouragement and sup- port are to be found. I meet at the threshold of the solemn duty of this hour, the settled hostility of the Ad- ministration, the fierce and relentless spirit of the dominant party, and a strong tide of prejudice and passion created by a partisan press, wliich, during this trial, has continually prejudged the questions to be discussed and tJecided here to-day. Nor, indeed, has this uncharitable work been confined to the press. Public speakers have caught up the testi- mony of witnesses even before their cross-ex- amination; and, with such one-sided, partial, broken fragments of the. whole truth, have Mished eagerly into the popular arena, and proclaimed the guilt of the accused in every part of the State. It is impossible that these facts should not have met your observation ; and almost as im- possible that you should not (although you are all unconscious of their influence) be more or less afl"ected by them. They can not, indeed, have passed unobserved by you who have been at liberty, and circulating freely among the people; for they have found their way even into the lonely cells of the prisoners, and made themselves manifest by the dim and dismal twilight of their dungeons. They are, indeed, every-where. They have polluted the atmosphere, and infected the minds of the people. They are like the air around and within us; and pass unheeded and unthought of, while they give color, direction and tone to all our thoughts and actions. Nor, in regard to one of the accused, has it been sufficient for the purposes of those who have joined in this hue and cry, to confine their assaults upon him to the present time, or to the off'enses with which he now stands charged. They have gone back to the days of other years, and have dragged up and scat- tered over the land, old, and stale, and groundless imputations of delinquency orig- inating in the time of the Mexicau War. A record, made by interested men, for selfish and ambitious purposes, has been referred to, and old passions and prejudices invoked, upon a point whereon the people of Indiana are justly more sensitive than upon any other — the point of honor. But even that record does not as- sail his courage, his gallantry, or his patriot- ism; and, if it did, he might still proudly ap- peal from it to the testimony of his illustrious commander, Major General Zachary Taylor, under whose eye he fought on the glorious field of Buena Vista. To the report of that chieftain lie appeals against the slanders born of subsequent and interested accounts of that contest; and prays that they may not be al- lowed to give a false and injurious coloring to the present accusation, and to the sentence which you are now about to pronounce. I confess, however, that a still graver source of embarrassment to me, in the performance of my present duty, springs from the iiature of the subject to be discussed — the importance of the principles to be defended. In view of these, the lives and fortunes of the accused — and, indeed, of us all — are as nothing. They and we are but mortal men. The worst that can possibly befall them at your hands, can, therefore, but anticipate, by a very few years, the common doom which time, or disease, or both together, will bring to them and to us all; for " To every man upon this earth, death cometh soon or late." It is not, then, merely because the lives and fortunes of the accused are suspended upon the result of this trial, that I confess myself embarrassed — overwhelmed at this moment, in the presence of the duty to which it calls me. That the lives, and fortunes, and good fame of the defendants are all involved in this cause, is, indeed, of itself, a fact of suflicient importance to touch very nearly any one whose heart is not dead to the gentle plead- ings of pity and mercy; and weigh heavily upon him who in any, even the least degree, may divide the responsibility of an unfortu- nate result to either. I am not insensible to the weight of responsibility due, in that re- 195 196 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. spect, to my relation to their cause. I am sure, however, that I should but ill represent their sentiments and wishes, if I allowed my- self, in this defense of their individual in- terests, wholly to lose sight of the conse- quences which must follow to the cause of con- stitutional liberty in our country, by sub- jecting them to a military jurisdiction, to which, by the Constitution and laws of the land, they are, in my judgment, clearly not amenable. The general consequences which must flow from such a precedent, give this trial an importance far above any private in- terests involved in it; and make my sense of responsibilitj' painful in the extreme, for fear tliat "?/(e yood old cause" may suffer detriment through some default of mine. ' But amid all these sources of discourage- ment and embarras.sment — and there are others which time will not permit me to no- tice—I acknowledge with due thankfulness that there are not wanting some great encour- agements and supports. Among these is the fact of publicity. These things are not done in a corner, nor under a bushel. They will be proclaimed from the house-top; and read and known of all men. They will be recon- sidered and rejudged long after they shall have lost all their importance to us who are now engaged in them. AVhat is right in them will be retained and a]>propriated by man- kind to aid the great cause of civil liberty, and advancing civilization. What is wrong will just as certainly be condemned and re- jected, as useless or hurtful to the same cause, bj' the same judgment. The record which we this day make up and complete, will go to the tribunal of history — a tribunal where preju- dice can not wound, nor slander kill. To all who earnestly strive to follow the path of truth and justice this day, ihe decisions of this tribunal can bring neither harm nor shame; for truth and justice are its eternal founda- tions. Nor am I less encouraged and upheld by the voice of history. The labor assigned me will rest upon facts and precedents, handed down to us by the liberty-loving race to which we belong. If these shall be regarded as of any authority in this forum, then my labors shall not be in vain. Success shall crown them. The character of the members of this Commission, their liabitual love of constitu- tional liberty, and of order maintained by law, do not permit me to doubt that they will carefully consider the great question of juris- diction; and, indeed, all other questions prop- erly before them, and render an honest find- ing and sentence according to the Constitu- tion and laws of the land. That Constitution and those laws are but tlie organization of tlio facts and precedents transmitted to us with our blood, liy our British ancestors. They are mingled witli our very being; and permeate all tlie channels of our social and political life. To abandon them, is to give up our social and political life — is to die. And, indeed, in this time of national sickness, when the pub- lic mind is suffering under a melancholy and morbid excitement, amounting almost to frenzy, it would be madness to give up the sure foun- dations of the Constitution and laws, and the histoi'y and customs of a thousand years upon which they rest, for any new-fangled notion born of these evil times. It would be like a man, amid the delirium of a fever, abandon- ing the business and habits of a whole life- time, for a new business and new habits with which he had no acquaintance M-hatever. His friends would confine him in a straight jacket, and send him to a lunatic asylum. No, therefore, it must not be. The past is the only basis upon wliich to reconstruct the present — the Constitution, on which it is pos- sible to reunite the belligerent members of this once glorious, but now broken Union. But we, who are devoted to this great work of re- construction, must not exhibit to all the world jour utter disregard of its plainest provisions, and most sacred principles. We must not throw down and destroy the fences, which it has built al)ou( tlie primordial rights of man- kind; and then expect our enemies, or even our friends to believe us sincere in our profes- sions of love for the Constitution, or desire to restore the Union; for, hy such a course, we shall become scarcely less guilty of treason to our country, than rebels in arms against it. Indeed, the only distinction, in such case, wotild be that which separates force from fraud; and as between two such means to such an end, I am sure you will agree with me that force is by far the more noble and manly. But we stand opposed to both — Ave who stand for our country; and I am comforted to believe that you who have each offered your lives for its salvation from the dangers tliat assail it by force, will not hesitate to interpose your justice to save it from overthrow which may threaten it under ihe forms of law. It is left for others to discuss the questions of guilt or innocence arising from the testi- mony in its application to the charges. I have nothing to do with it. Only so much of the evidence as tends to throw light on the question of jurisdiction falls to me; and I shall refer to the charges and specifications ia so far only as they may aid in the same gen- eral purpose. The argument I am to make would be just as valid if the guilt of the ac- cused stood admitted, as if their innocence were established by the proof, beyond all question. There are rights which belong to the guilty as well as to the guiltless; and among them is that of a fair constitutional and legal trial, and all the legitimate consequences thereof. This right, among the ignorant and unthink- ing, is often lost sight of, and sometimes dis- regarded. It is, nevertheless, as important as any other. Its denial is, therefore, a crime, not only against the individual, but also against society at large. To destroy a mur- derer or a traitor by any other process than that prescribed by law, is as much njurder as to kill the best man in the country. Dr. Francis Lieber has well presented this subject in his treatise on Political Ethics. He says: "The State never ceases to protect; even the blackest criminal, the moment before his head falls, is protected. It was a most fallacious argument that,/ru5/rtj legis auxilium invocat qui TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 197 legem commitiii, from the lex talionis, or is St. John said before the Lords, when he brought in the bill of attainder against the Earl of Stafford (April 29, 1G41), 'lie that would not have others have a law, why should he have any himself? ' 'Why should not that be done to him, that he himself would have done to others?' Even modern writers have endeav- ored to derive the punitoi;y power of the State, from the fact that the offender, by doing wrong, declares himself out of the jural soci- ety. Nothing can be more untenable in all its bearings. On the contrary, the State being especially .1 jural society, can not possibly act except by law, and upon jural relations, and as far as the right of an individual is the condition of his union with other rational individuals, punishment is the right of the ofifender, however pai-adoxical this may sound at first, because we are accustomed to imagine under right, some specific privileges. State punishment is likewise the protection of the offender, who, without it, would be exposed to all, even the most extravagant modes of pri- vate redress. No offender would hesitate to acknowledge and claim State punishment as his right, if the choice were left him, between State punishment, which, because it is State punishment, requires a formal trial on the one hand: and, on the other, those summary pro- ceedings against criminals caught Jiciffrante delicto, which we find, perhaps, in all early codes, and sometimes acknowledged to a vei'y late period [Blackstone, 4, 308), or to which an excited people sometimes return, when the regular trial appears too slow for their in- flamed passions, as has been the case in those riotous and illegal inflictions of death or other punishment, so unfortunately called lynch law in our country. I say unfortunately called lynch law, for it is ever to be deplored, if any illegal procedure receives a regular and sepa- rate name of its own. By this very applica- tion of a technical term, it assumes an air of systematized authority, which has an aston- ishing effect upon the multitude, and, in fact, upon most men." Book 2, ^ 345. It is this simple principle that makes it murder for any one to kill even a man con- demned to death by a competent court, in a different manner, or at a different time or place, than may have been fixed by the judg- ment. The law in this respect makes no dif- ference between the lives of the guilty and the guiltless. Hence, when men seek to bring their enemies to justice and punishment by short and easy methods unknown to the law, and, therefore, in violation thereof, they but dig> a pit into which themselves may, at any moment, fall and be lost. He who kills even a traitor in violation of law, kills at the same time the law^ itself. Whatever may be your opinions, therefore, of the guilt or innocence of the accused, it can not effect the question of jurisdiction. The next topic to which I desire to call your attention, arises from the language of the several specifications, and is particularly im- portant for the purposes of this discussion, in 60 far as it may apply to those embraced un- der the last charge, namely, "Violation of THE Laws of War.'' It is this: that the alleged offenses were committed "within the military lines of the army of the United States, and the theater of military operations." Whatever may have been the purpose of the Judge Advocate in inserting this clause, it is clear to any lawyer that no jurisdiction can arise from it, when taken in connection with the fact that the accused are citizens of the State of Indiana, and of the United States; and that Indiana has always sustained a rela- tion of loyalty to the Union and its Govein- ment. But even if there was no proof of citizenship of the accused, it has not been proven that the State of Indiana is either "within the military lines of the armies of the United States," or "the theater of military operations." Had the averment been that it was within the theater of war, it would have been well; for the whole country is the theater of war. But that can not be said of the lines of the army, or of the theater of military operations. There is no definition of "the lines of the army " that extends so far as is liere claimed by the Judge Advocate; and all military writers which I have been able to examine, define "the theater of operations " as follows, contradistinguishing it from the theater of war: '■'■The theater of war embraces not only the territory of the two belligerent powers, but also that of their allies, and of such second- ary powers as, through fear or interest, may be drawn into the contest." * * ""■■ '^The theater of operations, however, is of a more limited character, and should not be con- founded with the theater of war. In general, it includes only the territory which an army seeks, on the one hand, to defend, and on the other to invade." Halleck's Elements of Military Art and Science, p. 44; Jomini's Art of War, 74, 76. I conclude, therefore, that "the theater of military operations," of a given army, must be in front of the base of operations of that army. Thus, the base of operations of Gen- eral Buell's army, during the winter of 1861 and the succeeding spring, was the Ohio river; and his theater of operations, the whole coun- try south of that base. And so of other armies. The base of our operations has generally been some line separating friendly from hostile territory; and hence, "the theater of opera- tions," during this war, has generally been upon the enemy's soil. The sea-coast, 1 know, has frequently, during the present war, be- come the base of our operations; but, then, the enemy's country was still, in every instance, the theater of those operations. It is useless, however, to discuss these public and notorious facts; for the citizenship of the accused ren- ders the attempt to make them responsible for a violation of the laws of war, wholly futile. Public enemies, only, are subject to the laws of war. The citizen, on the other hand, must answer for such acts as would, if committed by an enemy, be a transgression of the laws and usages of war, to his own Government, according to its own laws. I will offer a sin- gle example, which I quote from the autobi- ography of Lieutenant General Scott. It is as follows: 198 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. "In time of war all persons, not citizens of or owing allegiance to the United States of America, who shall be found lurking, as spies, in or about fortifications or encampments of the armies of the United States, or any of 'them, shall suffer death according to the law and usage of nations, by sentence of a gen- eral court-martial." "'Not citizens;' because, if citizens, and found 'lurking,' the crime would be that of treason — 'adhering to [our] enemies, giving them aid and comfort; ' and is so defined by the Constitution." Vol. 1, pp. 290, 291. But what are "the laws of war? " To whom do they apply? The answer to these questions must forever put an end to all attempts to in- voke the aid of those laws, and of the tribu- nals in which they are administered for the trial and punishment of one of our own citi- zens; for it must be remembered that "the laws of war" constitute that branch of inter- national law which regulates the intercourse and conduct of belligerent persons — public enemies — with each other. It is this code that condemns spies, when taken, to an infamous punishment at the hands of their enemy. It is for cruel breaches of tliis code, that we are sometimes compelled, as a measure of self- defense, to resort to the cruel practice of retaliation. It is to this code we refer for authority to punish guerrillas. And so I might go on until I had enumerated all its provi- sions; but I should not find one for the pun- ishment of one of our own citizens among them all, unless it was established that he had first joined himself to, and become part of our acknowledged public adversaries. These laws of war are international — wholly interna- tional; andMo not apply to the internal regu- lation of either one of two or more belligerent powers engaged in the same contest. If, however, it shall be said that all persons, or the great body of them, engaged in the present contest, on either side, are citizens of the United States; and, therefore, that a diffi- culty results in the application of this public code to the parties, and that what character any citizen may sustain to either, may not always be clear, I grant it; but what follows? Can we give a man a hostile character before he has openly espoused it? Can we strip him of the rights of citizenship, before he has ac- quired that relation to the enemy which will entitle him to the protection of this code, as well as subject him to its penalties, in case he violates it? There must be some general rule on the subject; and there can be no other or better one than to hold all persons resident in the States which have seceded and still remain out of the Union, m prima facie public enemies; and all those who have adhered, and still ad- here, to tlie Constitution and Union, as prima facie citizens of, and subject to the laws and authority of the United States. I know, indeed, that there are at least two States which have hitherto sustained an am- biguous relation to the struggle. I allude to Kentucky and Missouri. They liave never seceded by solemn act; and still maintain their Constitutional relation to the Federal Government. But, then, they are also repre- sented in the Confedeiate Congress and army. The character of a citizen of either, must, therefore, depend upon his conduct; and he must be treated accordingly. If he has not joined the public enemy openly, but commits a crime against the Government, he is entitled to be tried therefor by the ordinary courts of the Union, in pursuance of the Constitution and laws. If he has joined the public enemy and been taken in arms, or ^^ lurking as a spy," he is entitled to be treated according to "the laws of war:" in the former case to be ex- changed as a prisoner of war; in the latter, to be hung for violating the laws of war. And this is just what our Government has been doing during this rebellion. The form of these charges places the Gov- ernment, then, in the folloM-ing attitude toward the accused, namely: As claiming them as cit- izens on the one hand, but denying them the rights of citizenship on the other: as fixing upon them, for the purposes of this trial, and the punishment and infamy that may follow it, the character of public enemies, on the one hand; but denying them any of the advan- tages resulting from that character, on the other. Such a course, I submit, is unheard of in the judicial proceedings of our country; and with all deference to my friend, the Judge Advocate, is, in my opinion, wholly inadmis- sible. I have little apprehension, therefore, tliat 3'ou will claim jurisdiction of the accused on the ground that they are guilty of a viola- tion of the laws of war; and, by consequence, public enemies. If you sustain your juris- diction at all, it must, therefore, be upon the basis of martial law. I beg leave to call your attention to a fact, in evidence, which must exercise an important influence upon your judgment on the ques- tion: Whether martial law is, or has been, in force in the State of Indiana, or not? and, of course, upon that of your jurisdiction. I allude, of course, to the fact that the courts, both of the State and of the United States, within the State of Indiana, have never, at any time, during the present rebellion, been thereby shut up, and the course of justice therein disturbed and stopped; but that those tribunals have all along remained open, and engaged in the administration of justice; and capable of enforcing their judgments, orders, and decrees, according to the established laws of the land. This fact was not proven in 3fr. Dodds case. Ilis escape cut off all evidence in his defense; and, of course, this fact among others. Upon this fact, however, and a more thorough argument, I build my hopes of an ultimate decision against the jurisdiction. In pressing the argument and giving utterance to these hopes, I beg leave to say for myself, and for those whom I represent, that our ob- jection t»- the jurisdiction does not spring from any objection to the individual members of the Court as fiur-minded and honorable gentlemen, and worthy to sit in judgment upon any man in the land, subject, under the Constitution and laws, to their authority. It is, on the other hand, simply because as citi- zens, in no wise connected with the military or naval service of the United States, the TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 199 accused are not within any military jurisdic- tion whatever. They claim the right to be tried byoneof the constitutional courtsof theircoun- try, and by a jury thereof. They ask justice at the hands of their peers of the District of the State of Indiana. For justice is properly justice only when legal, constitutional, and just means are employed in the attainment of legal, constitutional, and just ends. Your findings may correspond precisely with what would be those of a jury of the country; but if you lack jurisdiction — the right to find at all in the premises — it would be a mockery to call them, or any subsequent proceedings thereon, justice. Justice must have a right origin, or it can not exist. If what is called justice proceed from a tribunal without authority, it is injustice, outrage, crime; and, if it reach the life of him who is made its subject, it is murder. 3 Co. Inst., p. 52; 1 Hale's His. C. P., p. tj, 499-501; 4 Bl. Com., 178; and 4 State Trials, p. 129. A good citizen will not accept even a favor- able judgment at the hands of an unauthor- ized tribunal, much less an adverse one; because it involves the overthrow of the laws and government of his country, on which all rights, whether of person or property, depend. A good State, alive to a proper sense of its duty and dignity, M'ill never allow him to ac- cept the one, nor to be made the victim of the other. Has this Commission, then, jurisdiction of this cause? May it rightfully, lawfully, con- stitutionally try the accused upon the charges and specifications exhibited against them ? If it may, whence does it derive its authority for that purpose? 1 am here, to-day, to endeavor to answer tliese questions. You are here, to-day, to judge whether I give the true response, or not. That you may " the better judge," I ask your attention, your candor, and your patience. I do not believe that you will hold, as was maintained before you on a former occasion, that you are precluded from going into the question of jurisdiction by the mere order of the General convening this Commission, and that sending the accused before you "for trial." That I may not misrepresent the posi- tion taken by the learned Judge Advocate, upon this point, I beg leave to quote the entire paragraph. It is as follows : "When General Hovey convened this Com- mission within the limits of his jurisdiction, and committed the case of Harrison H. Dodd, the accused, to this Commission to try it, by virtue of his military power, acting under the authority that was given to him by the Com- mander-in-chief of the Army, namely, the President of the United States, he suspended the civil law, and put in operation the militai'y, or martial law. The officers of this Commission could not, under the oath that they have taken, refuse to obey the orders of the officers placed over them. They could not stop and go back of that order, and refuse to hear and determ- ine this case." Now, whatever may ha-ve been your deci- sion in that case upon the question of jurisdic- tion, I am very certain that you did not adopt the doctrine of this paragraph. I know you do not, and can not hold to the slavish and shameful notion, that you sit here to do what- ever the commanding General may order. Obedience of the inferior to the superior is for the field, the march, the camp, the desk ; and even there it has its limits. The law does not require obedience any-where in contraven- tion of its own provisions. You are sworn to obey the "lawful" commands of your supe- riors ; and there your obligation ceases. The employment of the word "lawful" [Art. War, Sec. 9), clearly excludes the idea of obedience to all but such commands. The unlawful order of a superior, even the highest, can not be given in evidence in justification of a tres- pass — much less of a felony. Can obedience, then, extend to the duties of the court room, and subordinate the justice which, in your judicial capacity, your are to administer there? If it does, what a mockery is all mili- tary justice ! Who would, or could consent to sit as a member of a military court, and pass judgment upon the lives and fortunes of his fellow-men, when his own convictions of the law and the facts, in the case, were to have no control over his decisions! "I had sooner be a dog and bay at the moon." Held on such terms, your commissions would be but badges of the most odious and wicked servitude. Every free mind that has not quite escaped the direction of conscience, must reject such a position with indignation and horror! I think I hear you exclaiming at such a proposal: "No; let the General go di- rectly to his purposes, and punish whom he will, and as he will, without the deceitful and wicked pretense of a trial. I will brave all consequences sooner than thus surrender my manhood. He shall never employ me in a mockery so foul, and so cruel!" Every hon- orable mind would so feel and so speak ; and none, I am sure, more promptly and warmly than my distinguished friend, the General, who now commands this district; and under whose authority you sit. For, if it is all a matter of command and obedience, then let the command and its execution stand together, without the intervention of this hol- low -form of justice. Do not mock the pre- destined victims with the delusive hopes arising from the forms of a trial, that, from first to last, on this theory, can not rise higher than a miserable trick to deceive the looker-on; and divide the responsibility of acts not capable of justification, when placed before the world in their true light. Indeed, on such a theory, you do not constitute a court at all, in any received sense of the term; for "a court is a place where justice is judicially administered." With these observations, I shall deliver this topic to your consideration and judgment. I am thus brought at last to the discussion of martial law, as the basis, and, indeed, the only basis on which your jurisdiction of the present cause can possibly be sustained. If martial law does, in fact, exist in the State of Indiana, you may have jurisdiction. If it does not, you do not, and can not possibly poa- 200 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. sess such jurisdiction. The question, there- fore, recurs upon us: Has martial laio an actual existence in the State of Indiana to-day? If so, how has it received such existence? Does it exist bj' proclamation, by law, or by necessity? If by proclamation, or law, when was the proclama- tion made, or the law passed? If by neces- sity, when did that necessity arise; and wherein does it consist? As the first step toward a satisfactory an- swer to these questions, let us determine what martial law really is; for this is still a ques- tion. This question I propose to answer from the books. Smith says: ^'■Martial law is the law of war, that depends on the just, but arbitrary power of the King or his lieutenant ; for, though the King doth not make any law but by common consent in Parliament, yet in. time gf war, by reason of the necessity of it, to guard against dangers that often arise, he useth absolute power, ^o that his word is law." Smith on the English Re- public, book 2, chap. 4. Sir Matthew Hale, in his History of the Com- mon Law, says : " Martial law is not, in truth and reality, a law, but something indulged rather than allowed as a law; the necessity of govern- ment, order, and discipline in an army is that only which gives these laws any countenance.'' I His. C. //., p. 54. I make this quotation, not because, in the present state of opinion and law, either in England or America, it gives us a very pre- cise and accurate notion of martial law; but in order to bring it into relation to a criticism whicli, when taken in connection with the state of British military law at the time tlie venerable Hale wrote, is. in my opinion, en- tirely unjust; and, to show that, at that time, this definition was as accurate and complete as could be given. The criticism to which I refer is that of the late Attorney General Pushing. He says : ■'This proposition is a mere composite blun- der — a total misapprehension of the matter. It confounds martial law and militari/ Imu ; it ascribes to the former the uses of the latter; it erroneously assumes that the government of a body of troops is a necessil;/, more than tliat of a body of civilians, or citizens. It confounds and confuses all the relations of the subject, and is an apt illustration of the incompleteness of the notions of the common- law jurists of England in regard to matters not comprehended in that limited branch of legal science." 8 Opinions of the Atfys Gen., 305, et seq. Now, I beg leave to say, that Sir Matthew Hale was not a mere common-law lawyer. His writings show him to have been familiar witli I lie civil law; and to have read extensively tlie (continental writers on public law. Nor is it true that his observations on the nature and uses of vtattial laiv constitute a mere "composite blunder" — "a total misapprehen- sion of the question." The "blunder," on the contrary, is on the part of the learned At- torney General; and not on that of the ven- erable Chief Justice. It will be apparent that I am right, if we refer to the state of Eng- land and English military law at the time the History of the Common Laiu was written. Its author died in HITG. Up to that time England had properly no military cocle. Her armies were really subject to such laws as the King might impose, where a limit upon his will, in this respect, had not been fixed by Parliament. It was not until after Hale wrote, and had been gathered to his fathers, that the first mil- itary bill was passed, and military law thereby placed upon a different footing from that of martial law. The will of the King, until then, was the law of the army — a will regulated, indeed, by the principles of the civil law; but, even, in that respect, controlled no fur- ther than he chose; and this will is the same, whether applied to soldiers or civilians. "It is not, in truth and reality, a law." It was, nevertheless, pretty much all the law known to the British army in the time of Hale. 1 Bl. Com., chap. 13; '2. Sullivan's Lectures, p. 257. In this view of the facts of history, and the state of military law when Hale wrote, the learned Attorney General seems to be guilty of the blunder which he attributes to the Chief Justice. The first member of Mr. Stephens' defini- tions of martial law is sufficiently accurate. He says : " Martial law may be defined as the law (whatever it may be), which is imposed by military power." 2 Com. Laws of England, p. 5()1. ' The Duke of Wellington was also right when he defined it thus: ^^ Martial law is neither more nor less than the will of the General who commands the army." Hansard's Debates, (3d series), vol. 11 5, "p. 880. And again when he wrote as follows: "Military law" [i. e., martial lawl, "as ap- plied to any persons excepting officers, sol- diers, and followers of the army, for whose government there arc particular provisions of law, in all well regulated countries, is neither more nor less than the will of the Gen- eral of the army.'' Di.^jmtches, vol. 6, p. 4?. The distinction between martial and military law is, in this last definition, made plain, the latter being confined to provisions of law for the regulation of the army; and the former to such as the will of the (leneral may impose upon those — not soldiers — wwXqv martial law. Earl Grey, in discussing the questions growing out of a declaration of martial laio in Ceylon, again expresses the idea with suf- ficient accuracy. He says: "What is called proclaiming martial law, is nolaw atall; butmerely forthe sake of public safety, in circumstances of great emergency, setting aside all law and acting under military power; a proceeding which reijuires to be fol- lowed up by an act of indemnity when the disturbances are at an end. " Hough's Prcc. in Mil. Law, p. 515. Judge-Advocate-General Dundas, in writing upon the subject, saj's: ^'■Martial law is not a written law; it arises on a necessity to be judged of by the Execu- tive, and ceases the instant it can possibly be TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 201 allowed to cease. Military law has to do only with the land forces of the Crown, mentioned in the second section of the Mutiny Act. Mar- tial law compriges all persons, all are under it, whether they be civil or military." Second Rep. on Ceylon, Hough, supra, p. 535. "When martial laiv is proclaimed," says Hough, "courts-martial are thereby vested with such a summary proceeding, that neither time, place nor persons are considered. Ne- cessity is the only rule of conduct; nor are the punishments which courts-martial may inflict under such authority limited to" such as are prescribed by law. Hough on Courts- Martial, p. 383. Captain Benet, in his treatise on Military Laiv and Courts-Martial, in speaking of martial laiv, says : " Martial law, then, is that military rule and authority which exists in time of war, and is conferred by the laws of war, in relation to persons and things, under and within the scope of active military operations in carrying on the war, and which extinguishes or suspends civil rights, and the remedies founded upon them for the time being, so far as it may appear to be necessary, in order to the full accomplishment of the pur- pose of the war, the party exercising it being liable in an action for any abuse of the au- thority thus conferred. It is the application of military government — the government of force — to persons and property within the scope of it, according to the laws and usages of war, to the exclusion of municipal govern- ment, in all respects where the latter would impair the efficiency of military law, or mili- tary action." Benet on Mil. Law and Courts- Martial, p. 14. The late Commander-in-chief of the Army of the Un,ited States, Major General Halleck, observes : "We remark, in conclusion, that the right to declare, apply and exercise martial law, is one of the rights of sovereignty, and is as es- sential to the existence of a State, as is the right to declare or carry on war. It is one of the incidents of war, and, like the power to take human life in battle, results directly and immediately from the fact that war le- gally exists. It is a power inherent in every government, and must be regarded and recog- nized by all other governments, but the ques- tion of the authority of any particular func- tionary to exercise this power, is a matter to be determined by local, and not by interna- tional law. Like a declaration of siege, or blockade, the power of the officer who makes it, is to be presumed until disavowed; and neutrals who attempt, in derogation of that authority, do so at their peril." International Law and Laws of War, p. 380. Again, he says : "The English common law authorities gen- erally confound martial w'lih. military Xaw ; and, consequently, throw very little light upon the subject, considered as a domestic fact; and in parliamentary debates it has usually been discussed as a fact, rather than as forming any part of their system of jurisprudence. Nevertheless, there are numerous instances in which martial law has been declared and .enforced, in time of rebellion or insurrection, not only in India, and British Colonial Pos- sessions, but also in England and Ireland. It seems that no act of Parliament is required to precede such declaration, although it is usually followed by an act of indemnity, when the disturbances which called it forth are at an end, in order to give constitutional exist- ence to the fact of martial laioJ' Id., 374. I desire to remark, in passing, that a care- ful study of the English authorities alluded to, will, perhaps, explain them, and show that their confusion is only apparent, in relation to this subject. In the first place, as already shown, the English had no distinct system of military law until after the revolution of 1688; and before that time, their armies were sub- ject, in a great degree, to simple martial law. It is true, the King's will was, in some meas- ure, restrained by statute. In the second, as the only ground upon which that will — martial laiv — can apply to others than soldiers within the kingdom, is that of necessity, it was both natural and philosophical for them to regard it as simply a fact. Indeed, it is nothing else but a fact both in its origin and its applica- tion. It originates in necessity, which is a fact. It is the will of the commanding gen- eral, who always determines its extent and the mode of its application. It will thus assume a different form- — will be more or less sweep- ing — cruel or merciful, according to the exi- gency of each particular instance of its exer- cise, as well as the character and temper of him who administers it. A thing thus vari- ant and uncertain can not be allowed as a law; for a law must be a rule prescribed, must be uniform in its application, which can never be said of any thing resulting from mere necessity, and subject for its measure and duration to mere human will. The only element common to such a state of administra- tion and law, is that both are applied to the affairs of men. It will, therefore, be subject, of course, to the judgment of public opinion as all other facts are, in which moral agents and relations are involved; but Avhatever re- straint that imposes, can not change the fact into a law. Nor, it would seem, does the right of a belligerent depend ttpon the legality of the war, as remarked by General Halleck. On the contrary, we might naturally suppose that he who entered upon an illegal and unjust war, would be most likely to avail himself first of the advantages of martial law, which, in the language of Mr. Adams, would "sweep the laws of his adversary by the board," and substitute his discretion therefor. Hence, up- on the whole, I see no reason why the learned general should criticise the English. The last two authors cited, seemingly without per- ceiving it, confine the operation of martial law to the territory of public enemies, or to the immediate theater of military operations. In either view, their remarks are inapplicable to our condition here; for we may admit the most unbounded authority to exercise martial law in our generals, in carrying on a foreign war in an enemy's country; or in a domestic war " within the scope of active military operations,'" and it will not follow that any such authority 202 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. can exist in a, State devoted to the Govern- ment, and in no sense the theater of "active military operations." In the foreign country, the citizen will be subject to international law; and our public enemy can not look be- yond that to see whether, in the exercise of martial law, we disregard our own Constitution. At home, the fact of war and the immediate presence of liostile armies puts an end to all other laws; and martial law, for the time be- ing, exists by necessity. Military power is rather, in such case, a law to itself. They leave us, therefore, in quite as much doubt and confusion, so far as the case in hand is concerned, as they found us. I beg your pardon for introducing here, a little out of place, the observations upon martial law of some of our own leading politi- cians. I say politicians advisedly ; for I do not think that they were generally actuated in the utterance of these opinions by the motives that should govern statesmen ; and I do not think so, because the whole spirit of the de- bates in which they were delivered, was of a most decided and even bitter partisan tone. I allude to the debates on remitting the fine imposed by Judge Hall upon General Jack- sou, at New Orleans, in 1815, for contempt of court in refusing obedience to a writ of habeas corpus. Democrats in Congress were in favor of the measure; while most, if not all the Whigs, were opposed to it. Mr. John Q. Adams, then in the House of Representatives, made it an occasion for striking at both the Democratic party and slavery. He maintained that the measure was a hobby, on which lead- ing Democrats were seeking to elevate them- selves to the Presidency upon General Jack- son's popularity; and then turned upon the slaveholders of tlie South, and reminded them how easy it would be, in some fit emergen- cy, to employ martial laio for the abolition of slavery. And such generally was the spirit of the debate; a spirit, one would think, little calculated to render opinions remarka- ble for their legal accuracy. It was in this debate that Mr. Adams said: " The power of Congress " — the power to de- clare martial law — "has, perhaps, never been called into exercise under the present Consti- tution. But when the laws of war are in force, what, I ask, is one of those laws? It is this : that when a country is invaded, and two hos- tile armies are met in martial array, the com- manders of both armies have power to eman- cipate all the slaves in the invaded territory. '•And here I recur again to the example of General Jackson. What are j'ou about in Congress? You are about passing a law to re- fund to General Jackson, the amount of a cer- tain fine imposed upon him by a judge under the laws of liouisiana. You are going to refund him the money with interest, and this you are going ^to do, because the imposition of the fine was un- just. And why was it unjust? Because General Jackson was acting under tlie laws of war; and because the moment you place a military commander in a district that is the theater of war, the laws of war apply to that place. "1 might furnish a thousand proofs to show that the pretensions of the gentlemen to the sanctity of their municipal institutions, un- der a state of actual invasion, and actual war, whether servile, civil, or foreign, is wholly unfounded, and that the laws of war do, in all such cases, take precedence. I lay this down as the law of nations. I say, the military authority takes, for the time, the place of all municipal institutions, and of slavery among the rest; and that, under that state of things, so far from its being true, that the States where slavery exists have the ex- clusive management of the subject, not only the President of the United States, but the commander of the army, has power to order the universal emancipation of the slaves. I have given here more in detail a principle which I have asserted on this floor before now; and of which I have no more doubt than that you, sir, occupy that chair." In the course of the same debates, Mr. Bu- chanan, taking it for granted that General Jackson had done no more than his duty in declaring martial law in New Orleans, in 1814 and 1815, said: "If General Jackson did no more than his duty in declaring martial laiv, the moment that declaration was made, the official functions of Judge Hall ceased, with regard to his power of issuing writs of habeas corpus, which might interfere with the defense of the city. As soon as martial law was in force, every citizen of New Orleans, whether sustaining an official character or not, was bound to submit to it. * ■:•;■ •;•; Yov it was quite a plain case, that, if martial law did not supersede' and put in abeyance the civil power, it would be wholly insufficient in attaining the only objects for which alone it could be tolerated or justified.'' Mr. Douglas, in the House of Representa- tives, maintained the same principles; but, from his statement of the case, confined their operation to the defense of the city; in other words, to a state of siege. Among other things, he said: "I maintain that, in the exercise of the power of proclaiming martial law. General Jackson did not violate the Constitution, nor assume to him- self any authority not fully authorized and legalized by his position, his duty and the ne- cessity of the case. General Jackson was the agent of the Government, legally and constitu- tionally authorized to defend the city of New Orleans. It was his duty to do this at all hazards. It was then conceded, and is now conceded, that nothing but martial law would enable him to perform that duty. His power was commen- surate with his duty, and he was authorized to use the means essential to its performance. This principle has been recognized and acted upon by all civilized nations, and is familiar to all who are conversant with military his- tory. It does not imply the right to suspend the laws and civil tribunals at pleasure. The right grows out of the necessity. The principle is that the commanding General may go as far, and no further than is absolutely necessary to the defense of the place committed to his protec- tion. There are exigences in the history of nations, when necessity becomes the para- mount law, to which all other considerations TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 203 must yield. If it becomes necessary to blow up a fort, it is right to do it. If it is necessary to sink a ship, it is right to sink it. If it is necessary to burn a city, it is right to burn it." Life and Speeches of Senator Douglas, pp. 25, 26. And so I might go on, adding opinions and definitions of martial law to endless extent. I will quote but one more; and that is the opinion of Attorney General Gushing, already referred to. He says: ^■Martial law, as exercised in any country by the commander of a foreign army, is an ele- ment of the jus belli. It is incidental to a state of solemn war, and appertains to the law of nations. The commander of the invading, occupying, or conquering army, rules the in- vaded, occupied, or conquered foreign country, with supreme power, limited only by interna- tional law, and the orders of the sovereign or government he serves or represents. For by the law of nations, the occupatio bellica, in a just war, transfers the sovereign power of the enemy's country to the conqueror." Wolff's Jus Gentium, ' 255; Grotius De Jure el Pads, ed. Cocceii, lib. iii, cap. 8. Such occupation by right of war is, so long as it is military only, that in, Jlagrante hello, will be the case put by the Duke of Wellington, of all the powers of the government resumed in the hands of the commander-in-chief. If any local authority continue to exist, it will be with his permission only, and with the power to do nothing, except what in his plenary dis- cretion, or his own sovereign, through him, shall see fit to authorize. The law of the land will have ceased to possess any proper vigor. Thus, while the armies of the United States occupied different provinces of the Mexican Republic, the respective commanders were not limited in authority by any local law. They allowed, or rather required, the magistrates of the country, municipal or judicial, to con- tinue to administer the laws of the country among their own countrymen, but in subjec- tion always to the military power, which acted summarily and according to discretion, when the belligerent interests of the conqueror re- quired it, and which exercised jurisdiction, either summarily or by means of military commissions, ybr the protection or pxinishmeni of citizens of the United States in Mexico. That, it would seem, was one of the form? of martial law. A violent state of things, to cease, of course, when hostilities should cease, and military occupation be changed into polit- ical occupation. Elphinstone v. Bedruchund, 1 Knapp's Rep., p. 338; Cross v. Harrison, 16 How., p. 164. If we now return, and endeavor to glean from all these authorities and opinions an idea of martial laio, as applicable to the internal aff"airs of a State, we shall find ourselves scarcely nearer to it than we were at the start. The laws of loar regulate a state of war, and define the rights of parties to it, with respect to each other; and can only afford, therefore, a remote analogy for our guidance in the internal con- cerns of a State in which riots or rebellions call into requisition the military power. True, when a civil war assumes ihe magnitude of our present contest, and the parties thereto — rebels on the one side and Government on the other — from the necessity of the case, as well as from considerations of humanity, are com- pelled to adopt the public law of war, and to regulate their conduct according to its princi- ples, the laws of war become, to that extent, a suflScient guide. But all this does not, in the least, help us, in regard to those States which have never been engaged against the Government. Whether any, and if any, what assertion of military power, incompatible with civil institutions and civil rights, is admissi- ble in those States, does not appear from tlie books that treat of martial law. Earl Grey seems to approach the point more nearly than the rest ; for in such case martial law would "m truth and fact he no laic at all; hut the setting aside of all law mid actiiig under military poiver. Supra. And this, he says, can only be done "in circumstances of great emergency," and must be followed '-by an act of indemnity." It is, therefore, the substitution of military force for, and to the exclusion of, the laws; and can be justified no further than is abso- lutely necessary. And all the authorities and opinions cited go to this extent, and no further. Has this substitution, then, of military power for civil law, and civil tribunals and institu- tions, taken place in Indiana? And if so, upon what necessity? When was it done? Who determined the necessity, and made the substitution? Where is the act of Congress, the proclamation of the President, or the order of the military- commander of the department, or the district? Have these, or has any of them, acted upon this subject; and, if so, to what extent? And above, and before all, where is the grant of authority to any, or all of them combined, or, indeed, to the whole Government, thus to "set aside all law," and substitute "military power" therefor? To assume that any such authority can exist in a limited government, is a self-contradiction. Let us examine, briefly, the nature of the Anglican system of civil liberty — institutional government — a system which, in a very large measure, we have inherited or adopted; and see whether such a system as martial law is at all compatible therewith. Can the two exist together? I shall endeavor to answer this question by a brief review of English history and law; for if this power "to set aside all law," and to "act under military power," be at all con- sistent with such a system of law and govern- ment, we shall thus be able to determine in what emergencies and to what extent. I enter the more cheerfully upon this re- view, because it will enable me to correct my friend, the Judge Advocate, in an assertion which he has frequently made during thu progress of these trials, namely: '■'■We art making neiv precedents daily." Now. I think, 1 shall be able to show him that we are follow- ing old and bad precedents — the work of wicked and lawless princes in evil times — which were condemned, disallowed, and re- ' versed by better princes immediately upoa 204 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. the return of better times; and which are only not known to him, because they have so long remained dead and buried among the rubbish of barbarous ages, that he has not been able, or, at least, has not chosen to dig them up for his own and your guidance on this occasion. I shall aid him in this respect; and, while I do so, must beg his pardon, and that of the Government he represents, for dis- pelling the illusion that either is entitled to patent a new precedent. In this regard they will tind, after all, and, indeed, they should have known from the first, that the further back they go in the history of the past, the more precedents they will find for the easy but ruinous substitution of force for law. Wher- ever a free people have lost their liberties, there will be found a precedent in point. The history of Greece and Rome is fruitful of such precedents. Solomon had wiser conceptions of the methods by which history continually repeats itself, than to speak of new prece- dents; and the sum of wisdom on this point, as in his day, still remains happily expressed in these words: "There is no new thing un- der the sun." I will not go back in the history of English law beyond Magna Charta; for that "solemn instrument" has been justly regarded as lay- ing the imperishable foundations of the great political institutions of that country. Creamj on fhe English Con.sii(u(ion, 3. Ours, in America, rest on the same foundations — are referable to the same origin. The 29th chapter of that instrument, as given by Henry III, contains these provisions, which have found a place in all our American Con- stitutions: "AmUus liber homo capiaiur, vel imprisoneiur, aut disseisietur de Uhero tenemento suo, vel liherta- tibus, vel liberis con.iuetttdin>biis suis, aut utlagatnr, aut exuletur, aut aliquo modo distruatur, nee super cum ibi7nus, nee super cum mittimus, nisi per legale judicium parium suorum, vel per legem terree." 2 Coke's Inst., p. 45. Which has been rendered as follows: "No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or disseized, or outlawed, or exiled or ban- ished, or in any ways destroyed; nor will we pass upon him, nor will we send upon him, unless by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land." Creasy, supra, p. 134. "These are," as Mr. Creasy observes, "all words that should be carefully read over, and over, and again; for, as Lord Coke quaintly observes, in his comments on them, 'as the gold-finer will not, out of the dust, threds, or shreds of gold, let passe the least crum,' in respect of the excellency of the metal; so ought not the learned reader to passe any syllable of this law, in respect of the excel- lency of the matter.' " Id., 135; and 2 List., 57. Lord Coke in commenting upon the words: "No man destroyed," etc., gives the following commentary an(l illustration: "That is, forejiulged i)f life, or limb, dis- herited, or put to torture or death." * * *j "Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, was destroyed, that is, adjudged to die as a traitor, and put to death, in 14 B. 2, and a record thereof made; and Henry, Earl of Lancaster, his brother and heir, was restored for two 'prin- cipal errors against the same Thomas, Earl : 1. Quod non fuit araniatus, et ad responsionem posi- tus tempore pacis, eo quod cancellaria et aliae curice Regis fuer, apertw, in qiiibus lex fichat u?iicvique prout fieri consuevit : that is to say: Because he was not arraigned, and because in time of peace, he was put to trial while the Chancery and other courts of the King were open, in each of which the law was regularly administered: 2. Quod contra cartam de liber- tatihus, cum dictum Thomas fuit vjius parium et magnatum regni, in qua continetur — and reciteth this chapter of Magna Charta, and specially quod Dominus Lex non super eum ibit ; nee mittet ; nisi per legale judicium parium suorum, contra, legem, et contra ienorum Magna Charta; that is, because it was against the charter of liber- ties, since the said Thomas was one of the peers and magnates of the realm in which it is preserved; and reciteth this chapter of Magna Charta, and specially 'because the Lord the King will not proceed against any one, nor send upon him, unless by the legal judgment of his peers. Nevertheless, by the aforesaid proceed- ing, in time of peace, without arraignment, or pleading, or the legal judgment of his peers, against law, and the terms of Magna Charta, hfi was put to death. More examples of this kind might be found." Id., supra. This case, when the mode of trial is shown, is the reversal of a precedent which the Judge Advocate Avould, perhaps, style "a new pre- cedent ; " for the historian tells us that Thomas of Lancaster was adjudged to death by a kind of military court, extemporized by the King, and consisting of himself and a few Earls and Barons. 2 Lingard His. Enq., p. 248, and note; 2 Hume His. of Eng., pp. 159, 160. The learned Coke adds, immediately after citing this case, and its reversal: " Every oppression against law, by color of any usurped authority, is a kind of destruc- tion; for Quando aliquid prohibitur, prohibiter et omne, per quod devenitur ad illud; and it is the most grievous oppression that is done by color of justice." Id., sup. The reversal of a second precedent that might be regarded as new, is recited by Sir Matthew Hale in his Ilistorij of the Common Laic; and is thus given: "Tlie exercise of martial law, whereby any person should lose his life, or member, or lib- erty, may not be permitted in time of peace, when the King's Courts are open for all per- sons to receive justice according to the laws of the land. This is, in substance, declared by the Petition of Right, 3 Car. 1, whereby such commissions and martial late were rcpealod and declared contrary to law. And accordingly was that famous case of Edmund, Earl of Kent, who being taken at Pomfret, 15 Edw. 2, the King and divers lords proceeded to give sentence of death against him, as in a kind of military court, by a summary proceeding, wliich judgment was afterward, in 1 Edw. 8, reversed in Parliament. And the reason of that reversal serving to the purpose in hand, I shall here insert it as entered in the record, viz.: ' Quod cum quicunq ; homo ligcus domini TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS, 205 regis pro sediiionihus, etc., tempore pads captus et in quaninque curia domini regis ductus fuerit de ejusmodi seditionibus et aiiis feloniis sibi impositis per legem et consuetudine regni arreciari debet et responsiuneiH adduci, et inde per communem legem antiquam fuerit morii adjudicand' [triari) etc. Vnde cum notoriuin sit et manifesium quod totum tcmpus quo imposiium fuit eidem comiti propter mala et facinora fecisse, ad tempus in quo captus fuit et in quo morti adjudicatus fuit, fuit tempu-" 2>ticis Maxima', cum per tott/m tcmpus prcedictum, et caucellaria et alioe plac. curice domini regis apertce fucr. in quilus cuilibet lex fiebatur sicut fieri con- suevit, nee idem dominis rex unquam tempore illo cum vexillis explicatis eqiiitabat, etc." Which record may be rendered thus : '• Whenever the subject of the Lord the King, shall be arrested for sedition in time of peace, before he can be adjudged to death, according to the common law, he must be taken into some court of the King, and held to answer for such seditions and other felonies; whence it follows, that when it is made known and manifest, that all the time during which it is alleged that the crimes were done, on account of which he was arrested, to the time in which he was taken and adjudged to death, was a time of profound peace, and during all the time aforesaid, the Chancery and other courts of the King were open, in which any law could he executed, as it was the custom to have done, the same Lord the King had no power, during that time, to exercise military control. "And, accordingly, the judgment was re- versed ; for martial law, which is rather in- dulged than allowed, and that only in case of necessity, iu time of open war, is not permitted in time of peace when the ordinary courts of justice are open." 1 His. C. L., pp. 55, 5(5. In order that these precedents may have their due weight in this case, I beg leave to give a legal definition of what is, in this respect, held to be a time of peace in England, according to the common law. I will quote the precise language of Lord Coke, who says: " When the courts of Justice are open, and the judges and ministers of the same may by law protect men from oppression and vio- lence, and distribute justice to all, it is said to be a time of peace. So, when by invasion, in- surrection, or rebellion, etc., the peaceable course of justice is stopped, so as the courts of jus- tice be as it ivere shut up, then it is said to be time of war." Coke upon Littleton, 249, b. n. 1. In further commenting upon the great chap- ter of Magna Charta, already quoted, Lord Coke says: '"By the judgment of his peers' are to be understood of the King's suit" — in other words, of a State prosecution. "And it ex- tendeth to the King's suit in case of treason or felony, or misprision of treason or felony, or being accessory to a felony before or after, and not to any other inferior otFense. Also, itextendeth to the trial where he is to be con- victed." 2 Inst., 49. And upon the word ^'■legale," he says: "By the word legale, amongst others, three things are implied: 1st. That the manner of trial was by law before this statute. 2d. That their verdict must be legally given, wherein principally it is to be observed, 1st. That the lords ought to hear no evidence but in the presence and hearing of the prisoner; 2d. After the lords have gone together to consider of the evidence, they can not send to the High Steward to ask the judges any question of law, but in the hearing of the prisoner, etc.; 3d. When all the evidence is given, etc., the High Steward can not collect the evidence against the prisoner, or in any sort confer with the lords, touching their evidence, in the absence of the prisoner," etc. 2 Inst., 49. And again, up*on the word, "by the law of the land," while, perhaps, going to the extent of permitting a party suspected of treason to be arrested without writ, upon suspicion and common fame, he totally excludes the notion of his continued imprisonment without some warrant; and leaves out of the question all other forms of trial, but that by the legal judgment of his peers. Id., pp. 50, 55. After the close of the long and glorious reign of Edward the Third, his unworthy grandson, Richard the Second, came to the throne, which he finally lost, by attempting to return to such precedents as those just cited of his great grandfather. His efforts to get rid of Magna Charta and the Common Law, and to substitute the Roman Civil Law for them, may be learned from the records of his reign. An outline stifRcient for our purpose will be found in Sullivaiis Lectures on the Laws and Constitution of England. (See vol. 1, p. 318, et seq.; and vol. 2, 257.) In the former place will be seen what great efforts he made to in- troduce the Civil Law, and in the latter, that this law became the law of the Marshal's Court; no doubt on account of the fondness of the kings therefor, and, also, that the ju- risdiction of that court embraced the admin- istration of martial law over soldiers and camp followers. In subsequent reigns, the kings of England struggled almost constantly to extend this jurisdiction to others than soldiers; but it was a struggle against the free spirit of the nation. In the reign of Henry the Eighth, an instrument was placed in the hands of that monarch, by the Parliament, which seemed to go far toward making the king absolute; and which Avas subsequently used by him and his successors in such a way as almost to insure that end. Tliis was done by the passage of a statute "which," as Lord Coke observes, "gives more power to the king than he had before;" and yet even there it is declared that he can not "alter the law, statutes or customs of the realm, or impeach any in his inheritance, goods, body, life, etc." The father of that King had gone so far, prior to this act, as to claim the right to control the subject's ri<'lit of doing all things not unlawful (Hallam's Constitutional Jlistoi'y, ji. 15); and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth, carried the power under this act to such an extent as to set all law at defi- ance. " One Peter Burchill, a fanatical Puri- tan, and, perhaps, insane, conceiving that Sir Christopher Hatton was an enemy to tlie true religion, determined to assassinate him; but, by mistake, he wounded instead a famous sea- man. Captain Hawkins. For this ordinary 206 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. crime, the Queen could hardly be prevented from directinsf him to be tried instantly by martial law. Her council, however, (and this it is important to observe), resisted this ille- gal proposition with spirit and success.'' (Uallam Cons. His., 143.) "The Queen had been told, it seems, of what had been done in Wyatt's business — a case not at all parallel; thoucfh there was no sufficient necessity, even in that instance, to justify the proceeding by martial law. But bad precedents always be- get progenium vitiosiorem." {Id., in note). But the same learned autnority gives the following instances of the exercise by Queen Elizabeth of a power almost absolute, through proclamations. I quote: •'We have, indeed, a proclamation some years afterward, declaring that such as brought into the kingdom, dispersed papal bulls, or traitorous libels against the Queen, should, with all severity, be proceeded against by Her Majesty's lieutenants, or their depu- ties, by martial law, and suffer such pains and penalties as they should inflict; and that none of her said lieutenants, or their deputies, be in any wise impeached in body, lands, or goods, at any time hereafter, for any thing to be done or executed in the punishment of any such offender, according to the said martial law and the tenor of tliis proclamation, any law or statute to the contrary, notwithstanding." This Mr. Hallam regards as "by no means con- stitutional ; " but apologises for it, because it was done "when, within a few daj'S, the vast armament of Spain " — known in history as the Spanish Armada — "might effect a landing on the coast." "But," he remarks further, "it is an unhappy consequence of all devia- tions from the even course of law, that the forced acts of overruling necessity come to be distorted into precedents, to serve the pur- poses of arbitrary power." Id., 143; Hume's His. Eng., p. 344. I quote the same author for the following instance of a still greater stretch of this ar- bitrary and unconstitutional power, which oc- curred during the same reign: "No measure of Elizabeth's reign can be compared, in point of illegality, to a commis- sion in July, 1595, directed to Sir Thomas Wilford, whereby, upon no other allegation than that there had been of late sundry great unlawful assemblies of a riotous sort, both in the city of London and the suburbs, for the suppression whereof (for the insolency of many desperate offenders is such tiiat they care not for any ordinary punishment) it was found necessai-j' to have some such notable re- bellious persons to be speedily suppressed by execution to death, accorfling to the justice of martial laie ; he is appointed provost marshal with authority by the magistrates, to attack ami si'ize such notable, rebellious and incor- rigilile offenders, and in the presence of the magistrate to execute them openly, on the gallows." * * * '•This peremptorj"- style of suspending the Common Law was a stretch of prerogative without an adequate parallel, so far as I know, in any former period." Id., 143, 144; 4 Hume's His. Eng., p. 344. It must be remembered that these high-handed measures took place in the sixteenth century, a period when both religious and political revolutions were rife in Europe; that the life of Elizabeth was more than once the object of conspiracies, both foreign and domestic; that the ablest men in Europe were parties to and prompters in these perfidious and bloody schemes {Motley's Dutch Republic, vol. 2, part 3, p. 333; and D' Israeli's Curiosities of Literature, 1st. ser., p. 16(j); that the very persons at whom these proclamations were aimed, had, in the preceding reign of her sister, employed the same agencies for the overthrow of her religion in the kingdom, and the destruction of her friends; that the constable's and marshal's court, "whose jurisdiction was considered as of a military nature," and whose proceedings were not according to the course of the com- mon law, had "sometimes tried offenders" — not soldiers — by what was called martial law, '•either during or not long after a serious re- bellion ; " and, above all, that, at the time of the last-mentioned proclamation, the queen was a very old woman, and, it may be, somewhat subject to fits of ill temper. All these things must be reckoned in her favor, to mitigate the judgment of history against these arbitrary measures; but still can not save the acts them- selves from the indignant condemnation of mankind. Accordingly, we find Lord Coke, in the next reign, condemning utterly the doc- trine that the kings proclamation can either alter, repeal, or suspend the law, or make that criminal which before was not. He says: "The King can not create any offense by his prohibition or proclamation, which was not an offense before; for that was to change the law, and to make an offense which was not; for ubi non est Icz, ibi non est tra!isgres.sio : therefore that which can not be punished without proclama- tion, can not be punished with it." "But," he further remarks, "we do find divers precedents of proclamations which are utterly against law and reason, and for that void; qucB contra rationem juris introducta sunt, non debent trahi in ronsequentiam'^ — i.e., measures introduced con- ivAvy to the reason of the law, ought not to be drawn into consequence, or precedent. Again, he says that it had been held that the king, by his proclamation, can not create any offense which was not an offense before, "for then he may alter the law of the land by his procla- mation, in a high point; for, if he may create an offense where none is, upon that ensues fine and imprisonment. Also, the law of England is divided into three parts — common law, statute law, and custom; but the King's procla- mation is none of them. Also, malum aut est malum in se, aut prohibitum, that which is against common law is malum in se, malum prohibitum ia such an offense as is prohibited by act of Par- liament, and not by proclamation." 12 Rep., pp. 74, 75, 7t). Yet, notwithstanding the law was thus co- gently laid down in the time of James the First, we, nevertheless, find Charles the First, in the first year of his reign, endeavoring to return to the bad and unlawful measures of his predecessors. He accordingly addressed a commission to Lord Wimbleton, 28th Decern- TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 207 ber, 1625, empowering "him to proceed against soldiers, or dissolute persons joining witli them, who should commit any robberies, etc., wliich, by martial law, ought to be punished with death, by such summary course as is agreeable to martial law." He, also, issued another commission of the same liind, in 1626. See JIaUam's Const. His., p. 223, and note. These unlawful proclamations, among other grievances, subsequently moved Parliament to demand of His Majesty the justly celebrated Petition of Right, which forever put an end to all colorable pretenses of their legality. Let it be observed, too, that this great act is but declaratory of the common law. No measure was ever supported on the side of the Parlia- ment with greater force of talents and learn- ing; or opposed by the King with worse show of reason, or more barefaced attempts to de- ceive the public, and to prevent its final pas- sage. Among the managers of the Commons, on that occasion, may be reckoned the great names of Coke and Selden — two names that may, perhaps, be equaled, but certainly not surpassed, for learning and ability, in English history. Under their management, the measure was finally perfected and passed; and became a new guaranty of Anglican liberty. I shall make no apology for reading here such parts of it as I deem pertinent to the subject under consideration. They are as follows: "And whereas, also, by the statute called the Great Charter of the Liberties of England, it is declared and enacted, that no freeman may be taken or imprisoned, or be disseized of his freehold or liberties, or his free customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed, but by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. "And in the eight and twentieth year of the reign of King Edward III, it was declared and enacted by authority of Parliament, that no man, of what estate or condition that he be, should be put out of his lands or tenements, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor disherited, nor put to death, without being brought to answer by due process of law. * * * "And whereas, also, by authority of Parlia- ment in the five and twentieth year of the reign of King Edward III, it was declared and enacted, that no man should be forejudged of life or limb against the form of the Great Charter and the law of the land; and by the said Great Charter, and other, the laws and statutes of this your realm, no man ought to be adjudged to death but by the laws estab- lished in this your realm, either by the customs of the same realm, or by acts of Par- liament: and whereas, no oflfender of what kind soever, is exempted from the proceedings to be used, and punishments to be inflicted by the laws and statutes of this your realm: nevertheless, of late time, divers commissions under your Majesty's great seal have issued forth, by which certain persons have been assigned, and appointed commissioners with power and authority to proceed within the land according to the justice of martial law against such soldiers, or mariners, or other dissolute persons joining with them, as should commit any murder, robbery, felony, mutiny, or other outrage or misdemeanor whatsoever; and by such summary course and order as is agreeable to martial law, and as is used in armies in time of war, to proceed to the trial and condemnation of such offenders, and them to cause to be executed and put to death ac- cording to the law martial. "By pretext whereof some of your Majesty's subjects have been by some of said commis- sioners put to death, when and where, if by the laws and statutes of the land they had deserved death, by the same laws and statutes also, they might, and by no other ought, to have been judged and executed. "They do, therefore, humbly pray your Most Excellent Majesty * * * that the afore- said commissions for proceeding by martial laiv, may be revoked and annulled; and that hereafter no commissions of the like nature may issue forth to any person or persons whatsoever to be executed as aforesaid, lest by colour of them any of your Majesty's sub- jects be destroyed, or put to death contrary to the laws and franchises of the land." And to this prayer the King was finally compelled to answer, ^^Soitfait comme est desire — be it as it is desired." 2 Farl. His., p. 374, et seq.; and Creasy on the Eng. Const., pp. 260-264. But this act was no sooner passed than the perfidious King set about violating its provi- sions; whereby he finally drove his Parliament and the people into open rebellion against him. In the contest which ensued they beat him, took him, and beheaded him, by the judgment of a tribunal not better in point of constitution- ality than those by which he had doomed many of his subjects to death. The engineer was thus literally "hoist with his own petard." "The curse," which he had more than once sent abroad over his kingdom, thus, at last, "came home to roost." It is necessary for our purpose to notice in detail the measures of the next two reigns. Let it suffice for the present to say that in the 31 Car. 2, the justly celebrated habeas corptis act was passed, and the personal liberty of the subject thereby more eflectually guaranteed than ever before; and that for attempting to procure its repeal, dispense with acts of Par- liament, by commissions or otherwise, and other similar illegal measures, his brother, James the Second, was obliged to abdicate, and fly the kingdqm, and William and Mary were called to the throne. 1 Macaulaijs His. Eng., p. 186; 2 Id., 3; Id., 62, 64. Upon the accession of William and Mary, the great principles of Anglican liberty were again distinctly asserted in the Bill of Rights; and all the guarantees thereof reaffirmed. Creasy on the English Co7istitution, p. 284, et seq. Since that event there has been no trial of any citizen by martial law in Great Britain. The writ of habeas corpus has been suspended often; and in two instances, arising from both rebellion and invasion, martial law has been proclaimed; but it has never been carried further than to the arrest and imprisonment of suspected persons, until trial by the ordi- nary tribunals could be had. One would think, too, from a perusal of the State Trials which followed these invasions and rebellions, that 208 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. the punishments inflicted were both certain and sanguinary enough to satisfy all the ends of State justice. It will be understood, of course, that I speak of the invasions of the Pretender in 1715, and again in 1745. But that I am not mistaken in regard to the fact, that martial law was not, in either instance, enforced to the trial and punishment of any citizen, and has not been in any other instance since or before, subsequent to the abdication of James the Second, I beg leave to show by reference to the case of Grant v. Gould, 2 Jly. Bl. Rep., 89; and the following passage from DeLolme's excellent treatise on the Constitu- tion : "At the time of the invasions of the Pre- tender, assisted by the forces of hostile nations, the habeas corpus act was, indeed, suspended (which, by the by, may serve as one proof, that in proportion as a government is in dan- ger, it becomes necessary to abridge the lib- erty of the subject), but the Executive power did not thus of itself stretch its own authority. The precaution was deliberated upon and taken by the representatives of the people ; and the detaining of individuals in consequence of the suspension of the act, was limited to a certain fixed time. Notwithstanding the just fears of internal and hidden enemies, which the circumstances of the times might raise, the deviation from the former course of law was carried no further than the single point we have mentioned. Persons detained by order of the Government were to be dealt with in the same manner as those arrested at the suit (if private individuals; the proceedings against them were to be carried on no other- wise than in a public place; they were to be tried by their peers; and have all the usual legal means of defense allowed them — such as the calling of witnesses, peremptory chal- lenges of jurors," etc. DeLolme on the Const., by Macgregor, p. 274. It has been supposed by many that martial law was proclaimed in England, in 1780, during the great Protestant riot, headed in its incipiency by the celebrated Lord George Gordon. It is a mistake, however, due, per- haps, to the discussions in Parliament soon after that event, in relation to the King's ordering the military to suppress the riot, and which was done by direct military force. It was supposed, then, by many members of Parliament, that this could not be done with- out a declaration of martial law; and in that view the proceeding was condemned by them, and especially by those in the opposition. Two speeches, however, in the House of Lords, may be regarded as triumphantly maintaining the contrary opinion. I allude to the speeches of Lord Chief Justice Mansfield and Lord Chancellor Thurlow. In order that the Com- mission may see the ground on which the ac- tion of the military was placed by these great men and by Parliament — for that body adopted their views — I shall submit a brief quotation from that of the former, which has ever since been regarded by the English bar as an au- thority. It is as follows: "I presume it is known to His Majesty's confidential servants, that every individual in his private capacity, may lawfully interfere to suppress a riot, much more to prevent acts of felony, treason and rebellion. Not only is he authorized to interfere for such purpose, but it is his duty to do so; and, if called upon by a magistrate, he is punishable in case of refusal. AVhat any single individual may lawfully do for the prevention of crime, and preservation of public peace, may be done by anj' number assembled to perform their duty as good citizens. It is the peculiar business of all constables to apprehend rioters, to en- deavor to disperse all unlawful assemblies, and, in case of resistance, to attack, wound, nay, kill those who continue to resist; taking care not to commit unnecessary violence, or to abuse the power legally vested in them. Every one is justified in doing what is neces- sary for the faithful discharge of the duties annexed to his office, although he is doubly culpable if he wantonly commits an illegal act, under the color or pretext of law. The persons who assisted in the suppression of these tumults, are to be considered mere pri- vate individuals, acting as duty required. "My Lords, we have not been living under martial law, but under that law which it has long been my sacred function to administer. For any violation of that law, the offenders are amenable to our ordinary courts of jus- tice, and may be tried before a jury of their countrymen. " Supposing a soldier, or any other military person, who acted in the course of the late riots, had exceeded the powers with which he was invested, I have not a single doubt that he may be punished not by a court-martial, but , upon an indictment to be found by the grand inquest of the city of London, or the county of Middlesex, and disposed of before the er- mined Judges sitting in Justice Hall, at the Old Bailey. Consequently, the idea is false that we are living under a military government, or thai since the commencement of the riots any part of the laws, or of the Constitution, has been suspended, or di.'ipejised with. I believe that much mischief has arisen from a misconception of the Riot Act, which enacts that, after proclamation made, persons present at a riotous assembly shall depart to their homes, and that those who remain there above an hour afterward, shall be guilty of felony, and liable to sufi"er death. From this it has been imagined that the military can not act, whatever crimes may be committed in their sight, till an liour after such a proclamation has been made, or as it is termed, the 'Riot Act' is read. But the riot act only introduces a new oftensc — re- maining an hour after the proclamation — • without qualifying any pre-existing law, or abridging the means which before existed for preventing or punishing crimes." 2 Camp- bell's Lives of the Chief Justices, pp. 401, 402. The same can not be said, however, of the dependencies of the British crown. Indeed, Ireland, the Indias, and other provinces have been frequently subjected to the rigors of martial law — the will of the king's lieutenants, or of the commanding general. But then, it must be remembered that martial law has not been the only hardship or outrage inflicted TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 209 upon them. Any one who will hut read the trial of Warren Hastings, must be satisfied, notwitlistanding his acquittal, that in her col- onies and dependencies, Great Britain inflicts, permits, or can not prevent great crimes against the people. Who does not remember to have read of the terrible punishments in- flicted during the Sepoy rebellion? A man of sensibility can see, "in the mind's eye,"' the quivoring fragments of the victims of martial law iiying through tlie air, as they are blown from tlie mouths of cannon ; and yet even the holy horror which our English cousins mani- fi'St at our cruelty in the present war, has not won our favor for their mild and Christian warfiDre as practiced in India. May we never be won to approve or practice such lessons of humanity! They really seem to regard their provinces as subject to the absolute will of the domestic government, very much as our law books treat our territories. The Constitution i'.nd laws do not exist for them. It v/as to rid themselves of such a relation, and from the oppressions incident to it, that the people of America rebelled against the parent country; and, after eight years of war, established their independence and freedom. J5tit before I quit this subject, I beg leave to notice two cases occurring in remote posses- sions of Great Britain, and which have be- conie marked in history, from the fact that llicy were brought within the reach, and sub- jected to the public opinion and laws of that U'land. The first of these, is the case of Colonel Wall, Governor of Goree. It seems that this officer, upon some apprehension of mutiny in the forces at his post — an apj^rchension which may or may not have been well founded, so far as I have been able to learn from the very meager report of the evidence found in the Annual Register for 1802, p. 560 — convened a drum-head court-martial one evening upon dress-parade, and ordered a sergeant before it for immediate trial. The Court adjudged him guilty, and sentenced him to receive eight hundred lashes, which were thereupon in- flicted on the spot, by the servants of the Gov- crnoi", who stood by and urged them to lay on, employing language indicative of great pas- sion. The sergeant died of the flogging. The Governor retui-ned to Enghind, where, after some two or three years had elapsed, ho was arrested on a charge of murder. He escaped, and remained absent for seventeen or eighteen years, when he returned to England, was re- arrested, indicted, tried at the Old Bailey, con- victed, and hung for murder, in 1802. This case strongly marks the light in which martial law is regarded when enforced against Englislimen ; and the writer of the report of the trial in the Register, employs the whole case as an illus- tration, on the one hand, of the harshness of martial law; and, on the other, of the impar- tial justice of English courts and juries. The second case is that of missionary Smith, in Deraarara. He was a missionary to the ne- groes of that colony. Among these, in 1823 or 1824, an insurrection broke out: martial lawwn.s proclaimed; and the rebellion almost imme- diately suppressed. Having already incurred 14 the ill-will of the planters, as the reward of his kindness to their slaves, he was arrested on a charge of having had knowledge of the insurrection before the fact, and failing to communicate it to the authorities; and was brought to trial upon this charge before a court-martial, and convicted and sentenced to be hung. Before the time for his execution ar- rived, however, he had died of consumption. This fact alone, it would seem, from what sub- sequently transpired in Parliament, saved tlie ' parties to this trial — the Governor and mem- bers of the court — from being proceeded against criminally. Sir James Mackintosh, in a speech of great power, delivered before the House of Commons in regard to this case, said that "the acts of this court were nullities, and their meeting a conspiracy; that their sentence was a direction to commit a crime; that if they had been obeyed, it would not have been an execution, but a murder; and that they, and all other parties engaged in it, must, have answered for it with their lives." Miseellaneous Essays, etc., p. 542. Lord Broug- ham, in a masterly speech delivered on the same occasion, maintained and demonstrated the nullity of the sentence, and the crimin- ality of tlie court. 1 Speeches, p. 390-391. Out of Parliament, tho Edinbiirg Review iooh up the case, in an unanswerable and scathing arti- cle of more than forty pages, and condemned the whole proceeding to everlasting infamy. 40 vol., p. 226, (Old Series). I have been able to find but two instances in which the British Government declared martial law in this country during the Revo- lutionary War. The first of these occurred at Boston, Massachusetts, June 12, 1775, at which time General Gage issued his proclamation of martial law, resting it expressly upon tlie ground that, ov.-ing to the rebellion of the peo- ple, the ordinary courts of justice were closed, and the course of justice therein stopped; and the consequent necessity of proclaiming martial laio as a substitute for the common law. Let it be remembered, that this was ■ nearly two months after the battles of Con- cord and Lexington, and but five days before that of Bunker Hill, and that Boston was, at the time, almost in a state of siege, and it will scarcely be thought, hj any one living in our country to-day, that this procedure was pre- mature. Nevertheless, in the opinion of Americans of that day, it was an outrage well worthy to crown' all the rest for which they Avere then every-where rushing to arms. It was spoken of in the old Congress as an at^ teippt "to supersede the course of the com- mon law, and instead thereof, to publish and order the use of martial law." Journal of the Old Congress, 147; Ann. Reg. 1775, p. 261. Governor Dunmore adopted a similar meas- ure in Virginia, November 7th, 1775, v.diich the Virginia Assembly met and denounced as "an assumed power which the King himself can not exercise; because it annuls the laws of the land, and introduces the most execra- ble of all systems — martial laiv." 4 Am. Ar- chives, 87; Ann. Reg. 1775, p. 28. Sometime after the close of the war of In- dependence, and about the time of the adop- 210 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. tion of our present Constitution, I believe in tlie year 1787, a rebellion occurred in the State of Massachusetts. It is known in his- tory as Pliay's Rebellion. When it became too Strong for tlie civil arm of the State govern- ment, and the militia were finally called out, it was not to supersede the civil authority, but was strictly employed in aid thereof. The writ of habeas corpus was, indeed, suspended for a brief period; but no martial law vi us pro- claimed or enforced against the insurgents. On the contrary, Governor Bowdoin directed Ooneral Lincoln to "consider himself, in all his military offensive operations, constantly as under the direction of the civil officer, say- ing when any armed force shall appear and opposr; his marching to execute these orders." In this way, the rebellion, though formidable both for its numbers, and the extensive sym- pathy it received among the people of the State who did not yet openly engage in it, was put down almost without bloodshed; and peace, order and good feeling were restored. I am now brought to the era of the Federal Constitution; and we can form some notion of what was, most likely, the opinions and sentiments of its authors in relation to martial laiv, as an incident of the Government they were about to establish for themiselves. They had received their notions of law from a country in which martial late had not been exer- cised for more than one hundred j-ears; they had suffered, in two instances, during the late war, the outrage of martial law; and had re- pelled and denounced it as wholly incompati- ble with the limitations imposed by law upon the King's prerogative. They had claimed the great acts of English liberty as their rightful inheritance. (4 Franklin's Works, 274). They had asserted their independence; because, among other reasons, the King "had affected to render the military independent of, and su- perior to, tlie civil power," which was sim- ply an attempt to establish martial law. And, finally, they had just seen a formidable domes- tic rebellion in one of the States, go down be- fore the local authorities thereof, without a declaration of martial laic, and almost without the shedding of blood. Now, m.ay I not ask. Is there a single fact in all the experience of these men, that could possibly have given rise to a wish on their part for a Government ca- pable upon every occasion, offered by invasion or rebellion, of suspending all its ordinary functions, and calling into play "the odious sj^stera of martial law?" On tlie contrary, we arc led to conclude, that, with the ordinary feelings of men, they must have been utterly and intensely hostile to any such power in their Government. This would be our conclu- sion, if they had left us no record on the sub- ject. But they have left us their solemn tes- timony in the Constitution, and it completely sustains the conclusion to which we arc led by reasoning from tlie history of tlie past, and their experience; for, if ever any Constitu- tion did entirely shut out the idea of any power being vested in any department of the Government to declare martial law, it is that of the United States of America. From its very nature, no less than by its express terms. any such power is rendered totally impossi- ble, while a vestige of the Constitution re- mains. Let us examine it, and see. In the first place, it is a Government created by a written constitution, which limits it to the exercise of specified powers. The first section of the instrument stamps its entire character. Thus: "All legislative power /(erfm granted, shall be vested. " etc. But this is not all. After granting the powers intended for the Government, it limits them by express de- nials of others, which would otherwise have been embraced in those granted. The ninth section of tlie first article, is thus wholly de- voted to these denials of powers. Among these negative provisions are some utterly in- compatible witii the notion that the framers of the Constitution could have entertained the thought, even for a moment, of conferring the power upon any department of the Govern- ment, to declare martial law over the whole LTnited States, or any part of it, where the presence of embattled hostile armies had not already suspended all civil authority. Take a single instance: "The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, un- less when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it." Now, we have already seen that martial law is the sus- pension of the civil law, and of all the func- tions of the civil government — not only of the writ of habeas corpus, but of all other pro- cess ami laws whatever. AVhy should the Consti- tution limit the powerof suspending privileges to the writ of habeas corpus alone, and strictly to cases of rebellion and invasion, ^'■when the pub- lic safetij viaif require it," if its authors had un- derstood, or intended that, in every such case, all other provisions of the Constitution and laws, designed to protect the citizen against the encroachments of arbitrary power, might be suspended at pleasure, by the President, all over tJie country; or by any General, all over his department? The specific limitation of this power of suspension, to this one writ, in any extreme public necessity, the public safety, "in cases of rebellion or invasion," forever explodes the notion that they intended to confer, in such cases, the power to suspend all other Avrits and rights arising under the Constitution and laws of the land. The ex- pression of one excludes the rest. Let us, however, briefly consider this pre- tended power to proclaim martial law with special relation to a Government like ours — a Government with a written and limited Con- stitution. The power in question, provided it exists, must reside in some one, or in some two, or in all three of the departments of the Government. The categories are exhaustive. It will not be pretended that it resides in the .Judiciary alone; nor, indeed, that any portion of it is vested tlierein. All writers who have supported the powei', are silent as to any portion of it residing in the Judiciary. But not only so, the Supreme Court itself, when called to discuss tlie subject, seem to regard it as vested elsewhere by tlie Constitu- tion, provided it exist at all. This is as it should be; for that department is, by its char- ter, confined to the exercise of judicial func , TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 211 tions; and it will not bo claimed that the, entire suspension of such ftinctions, and the laws upon which they depend, is a judicial function. Such a suspension of the Judi- ciary must come from without that depart- ment. It has to do with the laws, and with rights and wrongs under them; and as long as a case is presented to the courts under ex- isting laws, they must, from their nature, needs act upon it. But this constitutional necessity under which the Judiciary is placed, is directly at war with the nature and exist- ence of martial law, ■which puts an end, for the time being, to the courts. In other words, martial laiv can onlj' exist when the courts have ceased to exist. As long as they remain open, martial Into remains impossible. Hence, the courts can not possess any power to de- clare, or aid others in declaring martial law. The power in question must, therefore, reside in the Legislative or Executive departments separately; or in both together, provided it exist at all. Is the power in question vested in Congress alone? If so, then what follows upon its ex- ercise? Have you ever thought of that? If you have not, let me show you what must be the result. It is this: A declaration of mar- tial law would, for the time being, put an end to the functions of Congress; and it would do so, by placing an absolutely unlimited power in the hands of the President, or of his Gen- erals. Now, if Congress had this absolute power to bestow, does not all history tell us that once gone from their hands, it would be gone forever? But you know that Congress has no such power to confer. A single limita- tion upon the powers of Congress gives the lie to any such assumption of power as is implied in a proclamation of martial law. And yet the whole charter of Congress is hedged in by limitations — nothing but limitations; limita- tions as to the subjects of their jurisdiction; limitations as to their mode of proceeding in the attainment of specitied objects; and limit- ations by the express reservation of all powers not granted to the Federal Government, to the people or the States. All the powers denied to Congress in the Constitution, leave that body so much less power than is necessary to a proclamation of martial law. AH the povrers reserved to the people and States by the Con- stitution, is a further limitation of the power requisite to a ^proclamation of martial law. All the power legitimately in the hands of the Judiciary, is still a further limitation of the power requisite to enable Congress to establish viartial laiv. And the same may be said of the rightful powers of the Executive. Hence, it is plain that Congress has no power to pro- claim or authorize the proclamation of martial law, which, according to the definition thereof, given by all writers on the subject, makes the ivill of the Commander-in-chief the supreme and only laiv of the land; or, to use the language of Mr. Webster, empowers the "officer clothed with it, to judge of the degree of force that the necessity of the case may demand; and," he adds, "there is no limit to this, except such as is to be found in the nature and character of the exigency." Webster's Works, 6 vol., pp. 240, 241. But grant for the argument, that Congress has this power, what would be the inevitable result of its exercise? All history tells us that such an act would be the suicide of the National Legis- lature. All liberty, all laws designed to secure liberty, all free institutions would perish by the rash act; for what would laws, liberties, institutions, or life itself be worth, when all were placed at the will of an absolute master? The exigency in which such power passed from the representatives of the people, M'ould be readily continued by him on whom it was conferred. The Government would be changed by the act from the freest to the most simple and absolute despotism on earth. Congress, therefore, has no such power to confer: 1 Because it is incompatible with the limitations imposed upon the powers of that body, both by denial and reservation. 2. Because it would be a power of self-destruction; and we can not justly hold that it was intended by the framers of the Constitution, that any Con- gress should, in its discretion in a given emergency, put an end, not only to its own existence, but to the possible existence of any future Congress. If the power in question belongs to the President alone, then, in times of invasion or rebellion — times like these — the Constitution of the country affords no better guaranty for the security of the lives, liberty, and property of the people, than his will. And is that the end of the labors and solicitude of AVasliing- ton and his compatriots, for the establishment of a free people upon the American continent? What signifies a limitation on the power of the Judiciary and on that of Congress, if the President has, in any event, an unlimited power over both, and all else in the land? The power, then, does not belong to the Presi- dent alone. The same result is attained, if the power to proclaim martial laiv is conceded to reside in the Congress and President jointly; or, in- deed, in all the departments of the Govern- ment together; for its exercise involves the transformation of the entire Government from one limited and free, at least in form, to one unlimited and despotic, both in form and in fact. So that, in any view we can possibly take of this power, it can not exist in a lim- ited government created by a written consti-^ tution. It is, indeed, an absurdity too gross to be admitted, until all pretense of liberties and rights on the part of the people is utterly abandoned. But let us now glance at the war power con- ferred by the Constitution upon the Govern- ment, and ascertain where it is vested. Is any part of it bestowed upon the President by original constitutional grant? If not, upon what basis are we to rest the stupendous pow- ers claimed for him, as the foundation of 3'our jurisdiction? Let us examine, and see how he stands. He is, I grant, appointed Commander-in- chief by the Constitution; but where is his command? It is in the discretion of Congress. If that body determine to have no army, why, then, the President can have none to command. If Congress takes the same view in regard to 212 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. a navy, the President, again, will be in pre- cisely the same situation as a naval officer. Without an act of Congress, he can not, there- fore, raise a single soldier, or seaman, or build a ship, or fort, or do any other military act whatever. If Congress do not raise an army, he can have no military power to repel inva- sion, or suppress insurrection. But, if Con- gress authorize him to raise an army and uavy, and provide him with the means neces- sary to the end, they may still provide just such rules and regulations for the government thereof as they please, and may thus leave him little or no power over either. The same is true of the militia of the several States. They are to be organized, armed, and discip- lined according to the will of Congress; and Congress alone has power to provide for call- ing them forth to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrection, and repel inva- sion. The President is powerless on all these subjects until Congress invigorate him. The very terms which designate liim as Command- er-in-chief of the army and navy, and of the militia of the several States, limit his power over the last, until they are "called into the actual service of the United States." Is it not preposterous, then, to say of such an officer — one so entirely dependent upon Congress for every element of military power, and bound to accept it, subject to just sucli rules and regulations as they impose — that he is, never- theless, authorized, upon a given emergency, "to sweep the Constitution and laws of the country by the board," as Mr. Adams expressed it; to annihilate, for the time being, all the powers and functions of Congress and the Judiciary, by virtue of this same power, thus dependent upon Congress; and, going still further, to create a new political society, by equalizing all the people of the several States, by abolishing their several governments and institutions, and consolidating them into one social and political state, subject to one law only — his own mere will; for this is martial law. The power contended for by the Judge Advocate, as the basis of your jurisdiction, leads to this monstrous result; and some of the opinions cited in support of it, may even go to til is extent. It is, therefore, plain to my mind that the several departments of the Government do not possess the power in question, either jointly or severally; for, if given, it would be a power to subvert the Constitution and overthrow the Government. But the nature and objects of the political society over which the Government of the United States was organized to preside, pre- cludes tl\e idea that any such power, as that of declaring martial law, can exist therein. That society is confined and limited in its objects and purposes by the Constitution; and, in fact, has no existence beyond the terras of Hiat instrument. The relations that in all consolidated nations most deeply and nearly interest mankind, and most strongly bind them together, are not embraced in the pur- poses and scope of the Federal Union at all. It is in the States that the groat elements and relations of political society arc principally found. The Government of the Union can not, therefore, assert the power in question, for two reasons, namely: 1. Because the people of the several States i of the Union have formed no society — no com- munity — beyond that wliich results from the I terms of the Constitution. j 2. Because the exercise of such a power by the Federal Government would destroy the several distinct societies now represented by the several State governments; and to such destruction neither the people nor the govern- i ments of the States have ever consented. But from such destruction of the States fol- ; lows inevitably the destruction of the Federal I Government; for the States are in many and essential regards constituents of that Gov- ernment, which can not exist without them. That the Federal Governmeutis thus limited by its Constitution, and from the special char- acter of the political society upon which it rests, is proven by its whole history. It can not, like a government of general powers, with no limitations upon them wliich it may not by its own legitimate act remove, exercise any power not conferred upon it by the char- ter of its creation. If its officers should do so, their acts are not the acts of the Govern- ment; but simply the acts of the individuals who do them; and are in no wise binding upon the people who have never consented to them. Whitaker v. English, 1 Bajf s Rep., 15; Tluvjer V. Hedges et al., 22 Ind. Rep., 282; Wil- cox V. Griffin, 21 Id., 370; and Little et al. v. Barreme et al., 2 CrancK s Rep., p. 170. In this respect the British Government has greatly the advantage over ours; for there are no written limitations upon its powers, which Parliament — being omnipotent — may not ex- pand or remove altogether. A declaration of martial laiv by an act of Parliament; or under an authority granted thereby; or with the assurance that an act of indemnity will fol- low it, is in no wise inconsistent with the British Constitution. The highest written ele- ment in that constitution does not rise above an act of Parliament. Parliament, at all times, rep- resents the entire sum of all the politico-social capability, or possibility of the whole country. It may, therefore, properly take any step it may deem necessary for the conservation of the society over which it presides. As Parlia- ment itself is but a means to an end — the preservation and well-being of that society — it may, in a great emergency, without viola- ting any fundamental principle, surrender its own existence. And yet, a declaration of martial law is said to be unconstitutional there, by a higli legal and military functionary of that country. Hough's Precedents in Military Law, p. Tj-io. In view of all this, it seems passing strange that the Government of the United States should ever have been compared with tluitof Great Britain in relation to the establishment of this transcendent fact; and still more strange that the President should have been set up as the equal in this respect of the King — nay, as his superior. The entire pro- ceedings of the convention that framed the Constitution, go to discountenance any such TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 213 position. Tliey intended to create an execu- tive with altogetlier less authority than the Kiufi; of Great Britain; and they succeeded in doing so, if it is possible to impose limita- tions by means of a written Constitution. How they regarded this part of their work, after its accomplishment, may be learned from the Federalist. (No. G'J Ilallowcll's ed., 1831, p. ;]47). It is not contended that the king can rightfully suspend the writ of habeas corpus; hut in times of great emergency, he is per- mitted to do so until the next meeting of Par- liament, when an act of indemnity must be passed for the protection of those who were, in anywise, engaged in such suspension, against civil prosecutions on account thereof. Now, this act of indemnity is an admission of the original illegality of the previous suspen- sion; for it is passed for the purpose of curing it, and giving it the sanction of law. But Dr. Francis Lieber maintains that there can I>o passed no valid act of indemnity by a government created by, and acting under a written Constitution like ours; and this opin- ion he cites in a second treatise published many years after his work on I.er/al and Polit- ical Ilermencutics was given to the public. [Ilermcncutics, pp. 79, 80; and Civil Liberty and Self- Government, vol. 1, p. 134). If argument were wanting to support this authority, it arises from the very nature of our Constitu- tion. But I leave it to stand upon the author- ity of a great name, adorned not only by great learning devoted to the noblest purposes of science; but, also, to the support of the cause of his adopted country in the existing struggle for the integrity of its territory and the su- premacy of its Constitution. And yet, 1 know, there are not wanting men, native to tlie manor born, who claim that the President has the power, under the Constitution, to sus- pend the writ of habeas corpus . But do they forget that no such opinion was ever expressed by any one who had a hand in framing the (constitution, or who lived and acted with them? Mr. Jefferson did not think so. (2 Jefferson s Corrctp., pp. 274, 291 ; Id., 344). On the contrary, he went to Congress and asked for a suspension of the writ at the time of Burr's conspiracy; and, while they refused to suspend it, not a member of that body was found to question the fact that the power to pass such an act, under proper circumstances, was vested in them. 3 Benton's Debates in Congress, p. 504 et seq. About the same time, in the case of two men imprisoned by order of the President for complicity in that conspiracj', Chief-.Iustice Marshall, in speaking upon tiic writ of habeas corpus, and the act of Congress which author- izes judges and courts of the United States to grant it, said : "It may bo worthy of remark that this act was passed by the first Congress of the United States, sitting under a Constitution which liad declared 'that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus should not bo suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it.' Acting under the immediate intluenceof this injunction, they must have felt with peculiar force the obliga- tion of providing efficient means by which this great constitutional privilege should re- ceive life and activity ; for if the means be not in existence, the privilege itself would be lost, although no law for its suspension should be enacted. Under the impression of this obli- gation, they gave all the courts the power of awarding writs of habeas corpus. * "•■■ ■■■ "If, at any time, the public safety should require the suspension of the powers vested by this act in the courts of the United States, it is for the Legislature to say so. That question depends on political considerations, on which the Jjegislature is to decide. Until the legislative will be expressed, the court can only see its duty, and must obey the laws.'' 4 Cranch's Reports, pp. 75, 137. In this opinion concur all respectable au- thorities that I have been able to consult. Among them are Rawle, Sedgewick, Storj-, and the late Chief-Justice Taney. Ratvle on //!eCbn.s^,pp.ll4, 115; 2 StoryonlheConst.,'^l?A2; Sedgewick on the Const, and Statute Law, p. 598; and 9 Am. Law Reg., p. 524. But if the President has no power to sus- pend the writ of habeas corpus, and Congress no power to indemnify him, and those acting under his ordei-s, for forcibly denying it, then it follows that he can not have the far greater power of proclaiming martial law — a power which embraces the suspension not only of the writ of habeas corpus, but of all other writs and laws, even the Constitution itself. And hence, I conclude, that there is not, and can not possibly be, any power in a government like ours to declare martial law, unless it be upon the theater of active military opera- tions; and that every such declaration of 7nar- tial law, in any State or place, not subject to such operations, is mere naked unauthorized force, and altogether unjustifiable; that the true test of the presence, in any State or place, of such military operations as justifies a proclamation of martial laiv, is found in the fact that the courts of justice therein are closed, and the administration of justice stopped by the presence of hostile armies; that, whenever that is not the case in any part of the United States, martial law, in no possible view, can rightfully exist; and, finally, as the courts of justice in this State are proven, in this case, to be open at this time, and to have been so all the time, both before and since the arrest of the accused, any attempt to enforce martial law against them is a grievous wrong, not only to them, but to the whole country; and, indeed, to the general cause of freedom and free government throughout the world. While upon this branch of the subject — tlie power to declare martial laic — I beg leave to re- peat a few propositions urged in a former trial. I am now prepared to support them by high military authority, which was not then at hand. They are as follows: "The charges in this cause involve capital and infamous crimes; and the Constitution of the United States expressly provides that "'No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment by a grand jury; except in cases arising in the land or 214 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger.' (Amend. Const. U. S., Art. 5). And, again, 'in all criminal cases, the prisoner shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where the crime shall have been committed,' etc. Amend. Const., Art. 'J. "These provisions were adopted after the cganization of the Government of the United Slates under the present Constitution, and for the purpose of placing the trial by jury en- t lively beyond the power of Congress, and of all other branches of the Government. The Constitution, as originally adopted, contained the following provision on the subject: 'The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeach- ment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where such crime shall have been committed.' (Art. 4, § 2). So jeal- ous were the people of the right in question that they required the ainenduients I have al- ready quoted, notwithstanding this original provision. "The accused are citizens of the United States, and of tlie State of Indiana, not in the land or naval forces, or in the militia in ac- tual service. They are, therefore, not within the exception of the fifth article of amend- ments just cited. The exception does not af- fect their right any more than if it did not exist. [On the contrary, it makes it alto- gether more clear and undeniable]. These several provisions are absolute as to them; and if any constitutional provisions can pro- tect a right, it would seem they ought to be protected from a trial not in conformity with them. Indeed, it would seem, they can not, in fairness, be tried without being first presented or indicted by a grand jury, nor without a petit jury of the district wherein their alleged oifenses were committed." Lieutenant General Scott, in his Autohiog- raphi/, republishes an article published by him in the Xational Intelligencer, in 1842. From this article I extract the following paragraphs, M'hich immediately follow the amendments of the Constitution already quoted: "If these amendments do not expressly se- cure the citizen, not belonging to the army, from the possibility of being dragged before a council of ivar, or court-martial, for any crime, or on any pretense whatsoever, then there can be no scruriti/ for any human right, under any hu- man institiitions ! '•Congress and the President could not, if they were unanimous, proclaim martial law, in any portion of the United States, without first throwing these amendments into the fire. If Mr. ^ladisou (begging pardon of his memory for tl\e violent supposition) had sent an order to General Jackson to establish the odious co^v after the siege of that capital, it would have been the duty of the General, under liis oath, to obey the Constitution, and to have withheld obedience; for, by the Ninth Article of War (the only one on orders), oflicers are not required to obey any but ' lawful com- mands.' " Vol. 1, p. 292. Again, he says: "When Pompey played the petty tyrant at Sicily, as the lieutenant of tliat master despot Sylla, he summoned before him the Mammer- tines. That people refused to appear, alleging that they stood excused by an ancient privi- lege granted them by the Romans. 'What,' said Sylla's lieutenant, 'will you never have done with citing laws and privilenjes to men who wear swords.' Roman libei'ty had already been lost in the distemperature of the times. « s- -;;:- If Pompey had gained the battle of Pharsalia, would his odious replj' to the Mam- mertines have been forgiven by the lovers of human liberty? With such maxims of Govern- ment, it was of little consequence to the Ro- man world tliat Csesar won the day. A Verres would have been as good as either." Id., p. 294. He also gives the following fact in our own history, which, although a little out of its place, I yet beg leave to insert as indicative of the spirit in which the struggle of 17713 was conducted by the founders of our Gov- ernment: "In South Carolina, during the Revolution- ary War, at the moment when Sir Henry Clinton was investing the devoted city of Charleston, and the tories in arms every- Avhere, tlie Legislature empowered her excel- lent Governor, John Rutledge, after consulting with such of his council as he conveniently could, 'to do every thing necessary for tlie public good, except the taking away of the life of a citizen without legal trial.' Under that excep- tion, at a time when there was no Constitution of the United States, there was no Louallier deprived of the one, and put in jeopardy of the other, by martial law." Id., pp. 297, 289. But the same distinguished General has consistently, throughout his whole life, main- tained the same opinions on this subject. lu the month of October, 184tj, he submitted to Secretary ^larcy a projet for the purpose of enabling generals of our armies, then in the field in Mexico, to enforce martial laio for the protection of our armies against lawlessness on the part of the people of that country, and the people against lawlessness on the part of our soldiers, in cases not provided for in our Articles of War. In this communication, among many other things, he says: "It will be seen that I have endeavored to place all necessary limitations on martial law. I. By restricting it to a foreign hostile coun- try. 2. To oifenses enumerated with some accuracy. 3. By assimilating councils of war to courts-martial. 4. By restricting punish- ments to the known laws of some one of the Slates," etc. And, having shown the course usually pur- sued by Britisli commanders, under like cir- cumstances, he proceeds to saj': "This law'" — he was asking for an act of Congress — "can have no constitutional, legal, or necessary existence within the United States. At home, even the suspension of tlie writ of habeas corpus by Congress, could only lead to indefinite incarceration of an individual, or individuals, who, if further punished at all, could only be so through the ordinary or common law of the land." 5 Fxec. Doc, 30 Congress, 1st session, Doc. 59, pp. 00, 52. TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 215 This prqjei, apparently so reasonable and so necessary, was, however, never adopted by the administration of Mr. Polk; and we accord- inglj' find the Secretary of War, about the same time, directing General Taylor to release from confinement, and send out of his lines, a notorious murderer, becaiise the Articles of War did not tlien authorize his trial by a court-martial, althoufch he was a soldier. And so the Articles of War remained until the present rebellion, notwithstanding the inter- national laws and usages of war clearly clothed our generals, in the enemy's country, with the power requisite to punish such of- fenses by martial late. Groiius, De Jure Belli ac JTacis, lib. 3, cap. 8; Vatlcl's Law of Nation.';, lib. 3, cap. 8; and Whcaton's Elements of Interna- tional Law, part 4, cap. 2. Since the present rebellion began. Congress have enlarged the jurisdiction of courts-mar- tial over soldiers, so as to embrace such cases. In the same act, too, they have made the pun- ishments aflixed to such crimes by the laws of the State where they may be committed, the measure, in one respect at least, of the pun- ishments to be inflicted by sucli courts. The act, however, is limited in its operations to soldiers. Hence, I infer that it was not intended to extend to citizens; and this upon the long established principle, " that affirmatives in statutes thai intro- duce new laws do imply a negative of all that is not in the purview." Jlobarfs Rep., p. 2'J8. It might readily be shown that, upon all the principles of construction and interpretation applicable to constitutional provisions in re- gard to the right of trial by jury, that they occupy a favored relation to the other provi- sions of that instrument. In the first place, it stands among the reserved rights of tlie peo- ple. It is, as it were, placed in a Uill of Rights: and is thus entitled to a favorable, or liberal construction, as in favor of liberty, and against the powers granted, which, simply be- cause they are encroachments upon liberty, must be strictly construed. There are no rules better established in our constitutional jurisprudence tlian tliese. Besitles, amend- ments must always prevail as ngainst provi- sions conllicting with them; and tlic right of trial by jury is secured by amendments to the Constitution. If they had not been so named, the mere fact that they were adopted after the Constitution, and by equal authority to that by wliich it was adopted, entitles them to pre- vail against any provision conflicting with them; for as it is not possible for one Parlia- ment, or Congress, to bind the hands of a sub- sequent one, so one generation of the people can not bind the next, or even itself, at a sub- sequent time. I disagree with the opinion expressed by Mr. Attorney General Gushing, in an opinion which I have already quoted, in which he seems to hold that these provisions in respect to the right of trial by jury, are of but little value, on account of the very general terms in which they are expressed. lie sliould have remembered, however, that they were adopted by the framers of the Constitution from an- cient English laws, and had received a fixed and practical signification and application for ages. Mr. .lusticc Story was not inclined to regard them as mere " glittering generalities;" for lie thus descants upon the rights they secure: "It seems hardly necessary, in this place, to expatiate on the antiquity or importance of the trial by jury in criminal cases. It was from very early times insisted on by our ances- tors, in tlie parent country, as the great bul- wark of their civil and political liberties; and watched witli an unceasing jealousy and so- licitude. The right constituies one of the fun- damental articles of Magna Charta, in whicli it is declared: 'Nullus homo capiatur. nee im- prisonetur, aut cxulit, aut aliquo modo distruaiur, etc.; nisi per legale judicium parinm suoi-um, vel per legem ierroi ; no man shall be arrested, nor imprisoned, nor banished, nor deprived of life, etc., but by the judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land.' The judgment of his peers liere alluded to, and commonly called, in the quaint language of former times, a trial per pa's, or trial by the country, is the trial by a jury, who are called the peers of the party accused, ! eing of the like condition and equal- ity in the State. When our more immediate ancestors removed to America, they brought this great privilege with them, as their birth- right and inheritance, as a part of that ad- mirable common law' which had fenced round and interposed barriers on every side ngainst the approaches of arbitrary power. It is now incorporated into all our State Constitutions as a fundamental right, and the Constitution of the United States would have been justly obnoxious to the most coticlusive objection, if it had not recog- nized and confirmed it in the most solemn terms. " The great object of a trial by jury in crim- inal cases is to guard against a spirit of op- pression and tyranny on the part of rulers; and against a spirit of violence and vindic- tivencss on the part of the people. Indeed, it is often more important to guard against the latter than the former. The sympathies of all mankind are enlisted against the revenge and fury of a single despot, and every attempt will be made to screen his victims. But how difficult is it to escape fiom the vengeance of an indignant people, roused to hatred by un- founded calumnies, or stimulated to cruelty by bitter political enmities, or unmeasured jealousies! The appeal for safety can, under such circumstances, scarcely be made by in- nocence in any other manner than by the se- vere control of courts of justice, and by the firm and impartial verdict of a jury sworn to do right; and guided solely by legal evidence, and a sense of duty. In such a course tliere is a double security against the prejudices of judges who may partake of the wishes and opinions of the Government, and against the passions of the multitude, who may demand their victim with a clamorous precipitation. So long, indeed, as this palladium remains sa- cred and inviolable, the liberties of a free gov- ernment cnn not wholly fall. Iiut to give it real efficiency, it must be preserved in its purity and digiiity, and not with, a view to slifilii in- conveniences, or imaginary burdens, be put into the hands of those who are incapable of estimating its worth, or are too inert, or too 216 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. ignorant, or too imbecile to wield its potent armor. Mr. Justice Blackstoue, with the warmth and pride becoming an Englishman, living under its blessed protection, has said: 'A celebrated French witer, who concludes, that because Rome, Sparta, and Carthage have lost their liberties, tlierefore those of England, in time, must perish, sliould harve recollected that Rome, Sparta, and Carthage, at the time their liberties were lost, were strangers to the trial by jury.' "It is observable that the trial of all crimes is not only to be by jury, but to be held in the State where they are committed. The object of this clause is to secure the party accused from being dragged to a trial in some distant State, away from his friends, and witnesses, and neighborhood, and thus to be subjected to the verdict of mere strangers, who may feel no common sympathy, or who may even cher- ish animosities or prejudices against him. Besides this, a trial in a distant State or Ter- ritory might subject the party to the most op- pressive expenses, or, perhaps, even to the in- ability of procuring the proper witnesses to establish his innocence. There is little dan- ger, indeed, that Congress would ever exert their power in such an oppressive and unjus- tifiable a manner. But, upon a subject so vital to the security of the citizen, it was fit to leave as little as possible to mere discretion. By the common law, the trial of all crimes is re- quired to be in the county wliero tliey are coramitted. Nay, it originallj- carried its jealousy still further, and required tliat the jury itsjlf should come from tlie vicinage of the place where the crime was alleged to be committed. This was certainly a precaution, which, however justifiable in an early and barbarous state of society, is little commend- able in its more advanced stages. It has been justly remarked that, in sucli cases, to sum- mon a jury, laboring under local prejudices, is laying a snare for tlieir consciences, and though they should have virtue and vigor of mind .sufficient to keep them upright, the par- ties will grow suspicious, and indulge other doubts of the impartiality of the trial. It was doubtless by analogy to this rule of the common law, that all criminal trials arc re- quired to be in the State where committed. But as crimes may be committed on the higli Beas, and elsewhere, out of the territorial ju- risdiction of a State, it was indispensable that, in such cases. Congress should be enabled to provide a place of trial." Slori/ on (he Const., f/_ 1778, 177'.), 1780, et seq. M. Do Tocqueville, in discussing the insti- tution of the jury, gives very great weight to its character as a political institution. In times like these, we may, perhaps, learn some- thing of the value of what wo now seem about to lose, even from the words of a foreigner. He says: " The true sanction of political laws is to be fou!id in penal legislation, and, if that sanc- tion be wanting, tlie law will sooner or later lose its cogency. 7/c u'ho punishes infractions of (he law, is, (hcrrfore, (he real master of society. Now, the institution of tlic jury raises tlie people itself, or, at least, a class of citizens, to ! the bench of judicial authority. The consti- tution of the jury consequently invests the [people, or a class of citizens, with the direc- ;tion of society." 1 Democracy in America, p. 30'J. Again, he says : "The jury is pre-eminently a political in- stitution. It must be regarded as one form of the so^-ereigntj- of the people. When that sov- ereignty is repudiated, it must be rejected; or it must be ailuptcd to the laws bj' which that sovereignty is established. The jury is that portion of the nation to which the execution of tlie laws is intrusted, as the House of Par- liament constitute tliat part of the nation which makes the laws; and in order tliat so- ciety may be governed with consistency and uniformity, the list of citizens qualified to serve on juries must increase and diminish with the list of electors." Id., 310. He further says: "The system of the jury, as it is under- stood in America, nppears to me to be as di- rect, and as extreme a consequence of the sovereignty of the people as universal suffrage. The institutions are two instruments of equal power, which contribute to the supremacy of the majority. All the sovereigns who have chosen to govern by their own authority, and to direct society instead of obeying its direction, have destroyed or en- feebled the institution of the jury. The monarchs of the house of Tudor sent to prison jurors who refused to convict, and Napoleon caused them to be returned by his agents." Id., p. 310. How much it is to be regretted that any American citizen, and especially one in high position, should allow himself to be driven by the terrible condition of the countrj-, or any otlier consideration, to disparage the trial by jury in criminal cases; and, in the very teeth of the Constitution of his country, pub- licly express his regret that the jury stands in the way of a system of penal administra- tion, which may be more certain to conform to his own private views of justice; and to hold .men to answer "charges of crimes" not '-well defined by law." That any cause should have led an American citizen to such conclusions. is, I humbly conceive, one of the very worst signs of these evil times. If our country is to be .successful in its present struggle, ami if its liberties are destined to survive, the jury, venerable for its antiquity and sacred for its uses, must go with us, in all its vigor, tlirough the Red sea, in the midst of which we are now journeying. To abandon it now, is to give up the contest for free government in which we are engaged. AVe must not, therefore, aban- don it in liiese dark days, and it will follow us again into the light, and long continue to pro- tect and bless us in the possession of a manly freedom, in the happy years to come. I think it has already been sufficiently shown, that there is, in fact, no power in the General Government, nor behind that, in the society which it represents, to proclaim martial law throughout the whole country. It may, perhaps, have a local operation, as a mere fact, resulting from the presence of hcstile armies; but, in that case, it will exist without TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 217 a proclamation as well as with it. Dr. Leiber, whom I have already quoted, and whose works are of the highest possible value on all sub- jects whicli he touches, in General Orders, No. 100, 18G3, of our War Department, fully sus- tains this view. He says, or rather the Com- mander-in-chief, speaking his words, says: " The presence of a hostile army proclaims its martial law." If, therefore, there be no right- ful power in the Government to proclaim mar- tial laio over any part of its own territories, wliere the fact is not already established by events, then Indiana is certainly not under ■martial law to-day, and has never yet been. If, however, in the consideration of this branch of the subject, you should still hold that the Government, or any department there- of, may declare martial law without the pres- ence of the fact, then other questions nat- urally present themselves. Among these I may be permitted to ask the following: Ilafe the Government of the United States, or any department- tliereof, declared martial law in the State of Indiana? Who has done it? — the President, or some of his generals? Has Congress authorized it? Let us exam- ine and see how the fact stands. Has that body taken that great, and, for themselves, as a department of the Government, it may be, final step? Surely Congress has not turned /do de se. On the contrary, they have showed great prudence and discretion, as well as re- gard for the Constitution, and our free insti- tutions existing under it; while, at the same time, thet/ have taken due care that the Repuhlic may suffer no detriment. lean not more pointedly and briefly present the action of Congress on this subject than was done in the case of Mr. Dodd; and, there- fore, adopt what was then urged upon your consideration : "By an act approved .July 31, 18G4, (12 Stat. at Large, p. 284), conspiracies are defined and the mode of punishment prescribed, namely: by trial in the ciicuit or district courts of the United States, of the proper circuit or district. Can these parties be tried before any other tribunal? The defendants hold not. "By the President's proclamation of Sep- tember 24, 18G2, suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, it was ordered, 'that during the existing insurrection, and as a nec- essary measure for suppressing the same, all rebels and insurgents, their aiders and abettors within the United States, shall bo subject to martial lair, and liable to trial and punishment by court-martial or military commission.' Y/ithout -Stopping to inquire whether this proclamation was authorized; and, if so, whether it embraced persons charged with committing a substantive offense, within a State not in insurrection, and where the United States courts were in full exercise of their powers, the defendants claim that it has been superseded by the act of Congress of the 3d of March, ISBo, [12 Stat, at Large, 775], re- lating to the writ of habeas corpus; and by the President's proclamation based thereon, of September 15, 1863. "The first section of this act of 1863, au- thorizes the President to suspend tjie writ o€ habeas corpus. "The second requires the Secretaries of State and War to report to the judges of the United States circuit and district courts the names of all persons held in military custody by order of the President, in their respective districts; and, if the grand juries of the proper districts fail to find bills, it is made the duty of the judges to have all such per- sons discharged, on taking the oath of allegi- ance, and giving bond, if required. "The third section provides that all persons so held, and not reported, shall be entitled to a discharge in the same manner as is pro- vided in tlie second section, after a failure, on the part of the proper grand jury, to indict them. "Here are all the sections of this act which bear on the question; and, it M'ill be seen, that while they contemplate and sanction mil- itary arrests, they do not countenance or au- thorize military trials. On the contrary, they fairly discountenance them. "The President's proclamation, based on this act, limits the suspension of the habeas corpus to persons amenable to military law, or to the Rules and Articles of War. No order is con- tained in the proclamation in regard to trial, and the inference is irresistible, that the proper courts are left to act under the rules of law upon that subject; and these are too well defined to require comment. Civil courts try ofi'enses against the law, committed by cit- izens — military courts ti-y such as are sub- ject to the Rules and Articles of War; and the defendants claim that they do not fall within that class." I have been able to find no other act of Con- gress, passed since the 3d of March, 18G3, which authorizes or countenances in any man- ner whatever the notion that it has, at any time, been the intention of that body to estab- lish martial law, or to authorize any one else to do so, or even to permit it. This act does, in- deed, authorize the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, if Congress can transfer the dis- cretion conferred upon them by the Constitu- tion, to determine at what time, in the progress of an invasion, or rebellion, the emergency re- quired lias arisen, when the public safety re- quires its suspension. That Congress can do any such thing, I deny; but do not choose to stop here to discuss the point, as it is not in- volved in this cause. If we admit, for the sake of argument, that Congress have invested the President with the power both to judge and to act in the proper emergency; and that he has well availed him- self of this power by publishing his procla- mation of September 15, 1863, what follows? Certainly not, that Congress have proclaimed, or authorized him to proclaim martial law; but have, on the other hand, by a controlling im- plication, provided that martial law, so far as the trial of a citizen is concerned, shall not be tolerated; but that such citizen shall, in all cases, when under military arrest, be turned over to the proper civil tribunals-^the circuit or district courts, of the proper district — for trial according to law; or discharged either 218 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. absolutely or conditionally, if no bill of in- dictment be found against bim. And tbis har- monizes well with wbat Colonel Scott, in bis Military Dictionary, lays down as the conse- quence of a declaration or proclamation of martial law within tlic United States. He says: '•Within the United States, tberefore, the ef- fect of a declaration of martial law would not be to subject citizens to trial by courts-mar- tial; but it would involve simply the suspen- sion of the writ of habeas corpus, under the authority M« sliould be suspended throughout the United States in tl;e cases where, by tlio au- thority of the President of the United States, militar3^ naval and civil officers of the United States, or any of them, hold persons undei* their command or in their custody, either as prisoners of war, spies, or aiders and abettors of the enemy, or officers, soldiers, or seamen, enrolled, or drafted, or mustered, or enlisted in, or belonging to, the land or naval forces of the United States, or as deserters therefrom, or otherwise amenable to military law, or the rules and articles of war, or the rules or reg- ulations prescribed for the military or naval services by authority of the President of the United States, Or for resisting a draft, or for any other offense against the military or naval service; "And WHERE.A.S, Many citizens of the State of Kentucky have joined the forces of theinsur- gents, and such insurgents have, on several occasions, entered the said State of Kentucky in large force, and not without aid and com- fort furnished by disaffected and disloyal citizens of the United States residing therein, have not only greatly disturbed the public peace, but have overborne the civil authorities and made flagrant civil war, destroying prop- erty and life in various parts of that State; "And wheukas. It has been made known to the President of the United States by the of- ficers corumanding the national armies, that combinations have been formed iu the State of Kentucky with a purpose of inciting rebel forces to renew the said operations of civil war within tlie said State, and thereby to em- barrass the United States armies now o]ierat- ing in the said States of Virginia and Georgia, and even to end;inger their safety; "Now, therefore, 1, .\iiraham Lincoln, Pres- ident of the United States, by virtue of the nuthorityvested in mc by the Constitution and ing of the said proclamation, the land and ' laws, do hereby declare that, in my judgment TKEASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 221 the public safety especially requires that the susi)eii8ion of the writ vi habco.<: ror/>u«, so proclaimed in the said proelainatiou of the 15th of September, 18(33, be made eflectual ami be duly enforced in and tlaougliout the said State of Kentucky. a?id thai martial law be for the present establiKhed therein. I do, theiefore, liereby require of the military officers in the said Slate that the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus he efiectually suspended within the said State, accoi'ding to the aforesaid proclamation, and thai martial law be established therein, to take ef- fect from the date of this proclamation, the said sttspension and establishment of martial lata to con- timie until this 2)Toclamation shall be revoked or modified, but not beyond the period when tlie said rebellion shall have been suppressed or come to an end. And 1 do hereby require and comiaand, as well all military officers as all civil officers and authorities existing or found within the said State of Kentucky, to take notice of this proclamation, and to give full effect to the same. "The martial law herein proclaimed, and the things in that respect herein ordered, will not be deemed or taken to interfere with the holding of lawful elections, or with the pro- ceedings of the constitutional Legislature of Kentucky, or with the administration of jus- tice in the court% of law existing therein, be- tween citizens of the United States in suits or proceedings which do not affect the military operations or the constituted authorities of the Government of the United States. "In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. "Done in the City of Washington, this fifth day of July, in the year of our [ L. s.] Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, and of the Inde- pendence of the United States the eighty- ninth. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. "By the President: "William H. Seward, Secretary of Stater Now, I respectfully submit: Why should the President deem it necessary to proclaim martial law in Kentucky, if martial law was al- ready in force by a standing valid proclama- tion, not only in that State, but all over the Union? The question crushes the supposition. But tlie recitals of the last proclamation are equally destructive of it; and the special terms of the declaratory portion of the instrument go to the same end. Thus, it is declared that "martial law be, for the present, established therein " — that is, in the State of Kentucky. But, according to the theory of the Judge Ad- vocate, martial law had already been estab- lished therein two years almost, prior to this proclamation; and in every other State of the Union. The President goes still further to overthrow the theory on which alone you can entertain jurisdiction of this cause; for he says, that the rnartial laiu "established"' in Kentucky, by that proclamation, shall "take effect from the date" thereof, namely: the 5th of July, 18(14. What nonsense is this procla- mation if the Judge Advocate is right in his assumption, that the proclamation of Septem- ber 2-lth, 1862, had already established martial law throughout the Union? If the President, on the other hand, is right, what nonsense is the assumption, that martial law is in force in this State? The President had reasons for his discrimination against Kentucky; for he recites them. But it is quite unnecessary to go into them. That he did discriminate against her, is enough to answer my purpose; and to place Indiana before you in a different condi- tion from that which she occupies in relation to martial law. Indiana is not yet touched with the curse of martial law. Kentucky is. I recur to the old rule of construction, and ask you to apply it to this proclamation. The expression of one excludes the rest — of Kentucky, Indiana. Then, there is no existence of martial laiv in Indiana ; for I will not enter again upon the question, v/hether the order convening this Commission, and the other ordering the ac- cused before it for trial, establish martial laio. It was not convened until these men were im- prisoned for the offenses for which they are now on trial. These offenses must, of course, have been committed, if ever, before they were arrested. Then, on this hypothesis, you are convened to try them for offenses against mar- tial law, which had not been proclaimed, and did not exist until after their arrest! Suppose, however, that there has, at any time, existed an intention, on the part of the President, or of the General commanding this district, to declare martial law, what have they, or either of them, done, to give vitality to such intention, or to establish it as a practical measure of public administration? What rules have they laid down to govern your ac- tion in its application? What crimes have they said shall be punished by it? And how shall they be punished? No general in the world in the present age, or, indeed, in any age, since the dawn of civ- ilization, has ever yet thought of establishing a martial law, the penalties whereof should be confined to his own breast, and that of his judges, until the moment they should fall with ruin and destruction ujaon its miserable sub- jects. God forbid that we should live to see such a system put into operation here! All writers on the subject agree that there must always be some notification of what the com- manding general intends may be done, and what not done, by the people under his sway, when he proclaims martial law. But has any such notification gone before these proceed- ings? Truly, I should like to know where wc are, and what we are about. Who has de- fined the offenses you are to punish? What is to be the rule and measure of your punish- ments ? You are to select, I suppose, defini- tions and penalties at pleasure, from tjie boundless range of unlimited power; for, if martial law has been proclaimed, and is in force, all the laws of the land are suspended as to the accused, and to you, and to all. You are under no obligation to go to them, either for definitions or penalties, unless they have been adopted by the military power. But that power has adopted nothing, ordained nothing, defined nothing; in a word, has given us no definitions of offenses, and no measures of punishment. 222 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. It was not thus that Wellington adminis- tered martial law; for he declares that the com- manding general is — mark the words — "bound to lay down distincth' the rules, and regtdations, and limits, according to which his will'' — which is martial laio — "is to be carried out." IlougKs Precedents in Mil. Laic, p. 514. And so our own illustrious military chief- tain, Lieutenant General Scott, when he pro- claimed martial laiv in Mexico, and enforced it, prescribed rules for its administration. Let me show you how he proceeded in the matter. He did not surprise the people of Mexico, though they were aliens and enemies, by an- nouncing the atlventof martial law, in the first instance, by arrests and trials. On the con- trary, he published a general order, in which, among other tilings, he said: "1. It is still to be apprehended that many grave offenses not provided for in the act of Congress 'establishing rules and articles for the government of the armies of the United States,' approved April 10, 1806, maybe again committed — by, or upon, individuals of those armies, in Mexico, pending the existing war between tlie two republics. Allusion is here made to offenses, any one of which, if com- mitted within the United States or their or- ganized Territories, would, of course, be tried and severely punished by the ordinary civil coui-ts of the land. "2. Assassination, murder, poisoning, rape, or the attempt to commit either; malicious stabbing or maiming; malicious assault and battery; robbery; theft; the wanton desecra- tion of churches, cemeteries, or other religious edifices and fixtures; the interruption of re- ligious ceremonies; and the destruction, except by order of a superior officer, of public or private property, are such offenses." Then, after going on and reciting the absence of any provision for the government of an army and people situated, as were the army of the United States and the people of Mexico, to each other, in our military code; and the necessity of such provision, and that it was found in martial law as a matter of necessitj^, he proceeded to order: "8. From the same supreme necessity mar- tial law is hereby declared as a supplementary code, in and about all cities, towns, camps, posts, hospitals, and other places, which may bo occupied by any part of the forces of the United States in Mexico, and in and about all columns, escorts, convoys, guards and detach- menls of the said forces, while engaged in prosecuting the existing war in and against the said republic, and while remaining within the same. "0. Accoivlingly, every crime enumerated in paragraph No. 2 above, whether committed — 1. iJy an inhabitant of Mexico, sojourner or traveler therein, upon the person or prop- erty of any individual of the United States forces, retainer, or follower of the same. 2. By any individual of the said forces, retainer or follower o.f the same, upon the person or property of any inhabitant of Mexico, so- journer or traveler tlierein; or, 3. By any individual of the said forces, retainer or fol- lower of the same, upon the person or prop- erty of any other individual of the said forces, retainer or follower of the same, shall be duly tried and punished under the said sup- plementary code. "10. For this purpose, it is ordered that all offenders in the matters aforesaid shall be promptly seized, confined, and reported for trial, before military commissions, to be duly ap- pointed, as follows: "11. Every military commission, under this order, will be appointed, governed and lim- ited, as nearly as practicable, as prescribed by the 6oth, G(jth, tilth and 97th of the said Rules and Articles of AVar, and the proceed- ings of such commissions will be duly recorded in writing, reviewed, revised, disapproved or approved, and the sentences executed; all, as near as may be, as in the cases of the proceed- ings and sentences of courts-martial; pro- vided, that no militai-y commission shall try any case clearly cognizable by any courts- martial; and provided, also, that no sentence of a military commission shall be put in ex- ecution against any individual belonging to this army, wliich may not be, according to the nature and degree of the offense, as estab- lished by evidence, in conformity with known punishments, in like cases, in some one of the States of the United States of America." The order covers many more topics, and presents a concise but masterly system for the administration of martial law, well worthy of the consideration of those who may be placed under a similar necessity to that which called it forth. It is manifestly the same which, nearly a year before its date, had been presented to the Secretary of War, and which, for some reason or other, that functionary had rejected, as I have already shown. The whole order will be found in Scott's Mil. Die, art. Martial Jmw, p. 382. Now, this order made all plain both for the army and the people; and, indeed, for the commissions sitting under it. There Avas cer- tainty as to the crimes punishable; and, as far as practicable, as to the penalties to be in- flicted. There could be no great surprises in either. But how is it here, to-day? Are we not left quite out at sea? And are we not thus left without compass, or chart, or guidinj^ star ? If such things be permitted, where will they end? I will not pause to picture the wreck that surely awaits us, if we allow ourselves thus to drift on, over the pathless ocean that lies before us. I have no heart to think of it. You will not, therefore, entertain jurisdic- tion of this cause. I am sure you will not; for I can not see where such jurisdiction can begin, on what principles it can rest, or how it can be justified. You will not, I beg leave to repeat, entertain jurisdiction, because^- 1. Such a jurisdiction is at war with the principles of constitutional liberty as derived by us from Great liritain. and embodied in the Federal Constitution; 2. Such a jurisdiction is at war with all the liberal principles of the good old laws of Father-land, which our ancestors brought over with them, as their best birthright, to the wilds of America; 8. Such a jurisdiction is at war with all the TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 223 inspiring facts of our early history; and ren- ders worse than useless the noble examples of the men of 1776; 4. Sucli a jurisdiction is at war with the very nature of a limited constitutional gov- ernment; and strikes it dead as soon as we permit it to cross our national threshold; •5. Such a jurisdiction nullifies the acts of Congress as well as the Constitution; ('". Such a jurisdiction, in Indiana, is at war with tlie proclamations of the President; and would make him the author of the most ab- surd and monstrous folly, as well as of the grossest injustice; 7. Such a jurisdiction outrages the facts of our condition — our courts, both Federal and State, being open — and the laws of the land having therein free course and full power. In order to sustain such a jurisdiction, you must take the responsibility; for the General commanding has issued no order taking it upon himself; and the President is still more distant and disinclined to assume it. Why should you volunteer to do this thing? And why should you now take a step that may, in the future, be referred to as a precedent for the abolition of our liberties? Under the administration of good honest men, almost any thing evil, in the way of pre- cedent, may remain harmless. They will not use it; or, if they do, suifer it to die with the evil exigency that called it forth. But if you now go on with this business, may there not come a time when the land shall mourn for its lost freedom — lost through the evil example of this hour? Then shall our children curse the evil day in which the bad precedent — a fatal departure from law and right — was left \>y us for their ruin. Mr. President and gentlemen, I have done. I know you have each defended our common country in the field; and, had it been your lot, would have cheerfully and nobly died to pre- serve its Liberty and Constitution from ovei.*- throw or harm. To-day, you have a greater duty to perform — a far more difficult one also. Perform it according to the Constitution and laws — according to justice and good con- science, as I trust 3'ou will, and posterity, more indebted to this day's work than to all the military achievements of the war in which we are now engaged, will rise up and call you blessed. ARGUMENT OF M. M. RAY, ESQ. Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Commission : In discharging this last delicate and re- sponsible duty to clients, I avail myself of the occasion to tender my acknowledgment to the Court and the Judge Advocate for the courtesy and kindness toward myself and clients, which we have uniformly enjoyed at your hands, during these long and otherwise painful trials. From day to day I have met the Court with increased pleasure, and have only to regret that our mutual duties may end with the crisis in the fate of each defendant, which will precipitate him into woe and mise- ry, or send him forth to the world again, "re- deemed, regenerated, and disinthralled." It is proper, too, that I should say to the Court, to my associate counsel, and to our clients, that the exhaustive discussion of the question of i\iri>' gory, in which I concede disloyalty, conspir- acy, and treason all abide; and if you can, gentlemen, in jour consciences, bound by the highest obligations of oath and honor, assign him to this category of shame, of guilt, of punishment, I could only say that the startling conviction would be more productive of horror, than the turpitude of the crime of which he is convicted. Is it an example that is Avanted? Our people are practically a unit in their al- legiance and devotion to the Constitution and the Government, and as long as I have a voice I will labor to keep them so; but no Govern- ment can rule long, by torture and terror, a people accustomed to be governed through their affections, and while one such example might be potent, to weaken the bo-nds of loy- alty, for this latitude and generation, while the guiltiest of the accused have made their atonement on the witness stand; the liberal- ity, the generosit}', and the humanity of all parties, sexes, and ages, would embalm it in their sorrows, as a melancholy act of vindic- tive justice, such as history records only of crumbling and expiring dj-nasties. For this rebellion and its horrible consequences to the nation, 1 have but one langtiage and one sen- timent, in Court and out, from its commence- ment to the present day — and for those of the North who withdraw their sympathy and alle- giance from the Government, in the hour of its trial, in this crisis of its fate, and conspire for its overthrow and the success of the rebel cause, no matter who administers the Govern- ment, or what the policy, I have but one sen- tence — for I feel too much interest in the cause as a citizen, to prove false as a lawyer — and if the law and the evidence demand their blood to fertilize the land they betrayed and dislionored, I will not murmur. But in the name of tliis National cause, 1 claim the right to protest against the useless sacrifice of any man, however humble, or however heretical in his partisan politics, either for the idle pur- poses of an example, for the atonement of po- litical offenses, or for the propitiation of power. Now, what is the evidence against Andrew IIiimi>hreys, that he should be forced tlirough the solemn forms of trial? Mr. ^Villiara M, Harrison, a witness for the Government, TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 231 swears that Humphreys was appointed a Ma- jor General in the order, at a Council meeting at Indianapolis, 10th of September, 1$G3, and ■Wiis also re-appointed at the February Coun- cil, 1864, but was not present at either meet- ing, and was never notified of his appoint- ment by him, as the Secretary. That Hum- phreys never attended more than one State Council, and that was the night session of the meeting at Indianapolis, in June, 180-1. The Judge Advocate asked one question in such form, as apparently made him say, that Hum- phreys was present at the September meeting, 1863, but he corrected it fully on cross-exam- ination. He was not present when the mili- tary bill was discussed, or adopted. There is Jio legitimate evidence that he either knew of, or ever accepted this appointment. Stidger swears that Bowles had something to si.iy about Humphreys accepting a brigadier's com- mission to stay in the rear. Stidger also pre- tends that he saw Humphreys at the Council in the day-time, in June, 1864; that he sat be- hind him on a seat in the hall, and w^as referred to by one or more speakers— this statement was wholly untrue. Heffren swears that Humphreys was not present when elected Ma- jor General. He also swears that he had an interview with Humphreys last spring, at the Greencastle Junction, when coming to this city— they talked about the order — and Hum- phreys said "it would not do. We must de- pend on Chicago" — and he said '-he was for his country, right or wrong'" — and "would have nothing further to do with the order, and advised me to quit it." Thus, tl>e Govern- ment's own witness bears faithful testimony to Mr. Humphrej's" steadfast loyalty. This is all the evidence that bears, in any way; on his connection with the order — an order on which he had set the seal of his condemnation, long before Dodd and his wild schemes had awakened suspicion any-where. I now invite the attention of the Court, while I follow iNIr. Humphreys to the counties of Sullivan and Green, where he has lived for so many years, enjoying the confidence, respect, and official honors that are always held in reserve, by the people, for their true men. It is a source of no little pride and gratulation to Mr. Humphreys to see that the Government could bring not one of his neighbors, not even a personal enemy, to swear against him — that lived nearer than nine miles — Mr. Elisha Cowgill, the timid Provost JIarshal, living thirty miles, and Mr. Nicholas Cochrane, nine or ten miles, from the home of Humphreys. This satisfaction is the reward of a well-spent life, in the midst of an honest, gallant, high-toned people. All parties and classes shrink from puisuing him, and stand appalled at the supposed perils of his situation. From this proud eminence of moral worth, he this day survej-s his accusers with no narrow sentiments of hate or revenge, but with those calm and serene reflections which only spring from that honor and magnanim- ity, which make large allowance for errors and misunderstandings among men. From that same eminence he surveys the array of his judges, and while he thinks he can read his acquittal in the sympathetic expression of the Court, he still leans upon you with the same anxious confidence which he reposed at the beginning of this trial, and will so continue, until your final verdict shall wipe away all reproach from his character. Mr. Cowgill, who lives thirty miles from the accused, comes before this Court to say that "about the fourth day of June, 1863, I saw Mr. Humphreys in Sullivan county, at the head of an army of four hundred men." What do the Court think of the witness? Do you think him a fair wit- ness, in view of the sequel disclosed by other witnesses? He says some of the crowd called him a "damned Abolition rascal." 1 think, myself, that an army of four hundred men had very little to do in uttering such personal in- sinuations against so good a man, and I assure him, if Humphreys had had the training of that army, the offensive charge would never have been uttered. The Judge Advocate asks him, " What was Humphreys' share in the transactions of that day? Did he undertake to subdue the mob, or to lead it?" To which this meek and exemplary gentleman is com- pelled to answer — "Humphreys spoke a sec- ond time, and did advise them to go home, and mind their own business, and asked me if I did not indorse his speech — I said I did." I confess, I have had my suspicions of Hum- phreys' speech ever since this witness swore that he indorsed it — my confidence in the speech has been very much shaken. In the next breath this witness swears that "Hum- phreys did not try to stop the excited crowd, in my presence." How is this to be reconciled ? Here" was a crowd of two hundred excited men, which he put down at four hundred — here was Humphreys, who, having been sent for to quell the threatened disturbance, had come twelve miles — addressed the crowd twice, ex- horting them to go home, and keep the peace, with tiie repeated assurance that the Govern- ment would do them no harm; that the sol- diers had returned the horses, and the crowd must disperse — yet, he says, Humphreys did nothing in his presence to stop them, although the speeches that Humphreys made to the men he fully indorsed himself. But the coolest piece of imposture, that these fraudulent times have witnessed, was the request that he made on Humphreys, to tell the crowd that "he (the witness) was a gentleman, and the crowd must hear him speak" — and which was only equaled by the violent presumption and false charity with which Humphreys gave the unconscion- able assurance to the crowd. He swore that a man by the name of Ussery tried to get him drunk, but thai he got Ussery drunk — this matchless piece of generalship consisted in his capacity to drink more strychnine whisky than Ussery. He says Humphreys had a pistol to his side — and, I venture, the witness had tww or three of them. The Gov- ernment, then, makes nothing out of this meet- ing, but credit and honor for Humphreys. The witnesses for the defense explain the origin and character of this meeting, and if they show an undue excitement of the people, without adequate cause, they, at the same time, show a most commendable discharge of duty on the part of Humphreys. The Government 232 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. next introduced a modest and fair-minded man, by the name of Nicholas Cochrane, living nine miles away. He heard Mr. Humphreys make a speech in Jackson township, Sullivan county, on the oth of September, 1803, at a Democratic picnic. His description of the speech is in these w-ords: "He criticised the Administration tolerably strong — he seemed solicitous for peace — to be out of the war — and he seemed to think that the Democratic party was imposed upon, and ought to stand up to their rights — the general run of his speech was in opposition to the present Administra- tion." Is there any sedition or treason in this? But there were other speeches by other gentlemen, and among the rest one by some Georgia man, who called himself a rebel. I suppose he was not a very dangerous rebel, as another witness testifies that he had taken the oath of allegiance from the military au- thorities, and had been long employed in the quartermaster's department, in this State — so that if any one is responsible for a "rebel" being at large, it was not Humphrey s^ — nor was Humphreys responsible for all who might attend a public meeting. This man, other wit- nesses say, was not an invited speaker, but was called on at the close of the meeting to get up that the crowd might see him — and then talked to them about five minutes. The Judge Advocate was imposed upon Avhen he was led to give any consequence to this cir- cumstance. He would scorn to throw such trash into the scale against the innocence of any man. Mr. Humphreys, witness says, advised tliis meeting to disperse, and go home in peace. Is there treason, or disloyal prac- tice in all this '! Shall the guileless simplicity of his character be tortured into hypocrisy, and from hypocrisy into crime? This is all the evidence of the Government touching seditious speeches by the accused.. A number of witnesses were called for Mr. Humphreys, as to character and conduct at home, as a cit- izen, but much of their testimony is unimpor- tant. They all sustain his unblemished repu- tation for morality, honesty, lionor, patriot- ism and loyalty. Two Republican neighbors, among others, indorse him in these respects. Mr. "Wines hud heard him make two or nn.re speeches on politics, the draft, and the duty of all his neighbors. He reports him as saying: "I advise no man to resist the draft, nor in- deed any law of Congress, but I advise all to be good, law-abiding citizens." At another meeting, he heard him say to the people, in a speech, that "Resistance to the Government would not do, at all, in any shape or form — disaster would be sure to overtake them. They must remain at home, and submit quiet- ly to the laws of the Government." I ask again, is this inciting insurrection? This witness says that Humphreys then made an ' flbrt to raise money to procure substitutes tor poor men. Wiis this a disloyal practice.' .Again, this same witness says that Mr. Hum- phreys at anotlier time "exhorted the people to obey the laws." Mr. Johnson is another witness who gave Mr. Humphreys an excellent character for Icjalty and patriotism in general, but thought, on one occasion, he read Washington's Tare- well Address, and Jeff"erson's writings, in sup- port of the doctrines of secession; but as we were not allowed to prove that he was mistaken, and as the Judge Advocate claims no aftirma- tive force for the evidence, we will give it no further attention. Mr. Johnson was a Republi- can gentleman, of moderate literary accom- plishments, and was prone to construe every argumeutagainst sectional agitation and in fa- vor of State rights into a secession argument — in this he is, by no means, singularorecceiitric, for it is a prevailing weakness of the times. But in view of all that Humphreys has said, under every change of circumstance, and un- der the strongest temptations to waver — if it were not indelicate — I would like to ask each member of the Court, whether he can show an escutcheon of loyalty as bright with the repeated utterances of fidelity to the Gov- ernment, devotion to the Union, obedience to law, as Humphreys has registered upon the memories of these witnesses, and upon the hearts of his neighbors. There is one other important fact, with which I will refresh the recollection of the Court^ in favor of Mr. Humphreys. On page 35 of the Record, of November 17, after some discussion, Mr. Wm. Moss, a witness for Humphreys, and who was a delegate in at- tendance at the Grand (-.uncil, in February, when Humphreys was ajipointed Major Gen- eral, swears that he was authorized to convey to Mr. Humphreys notice of his appointment — in answer to a question, whether Humphreys, on being informed of his appointment, re- jected or accepted it? His answer was — "I know he rejected it." This would seem to be conclusive on the question, and ought to with- draw that point from all controversy. Mr. Moss also heard Humphreys' speech to the peo- ple when Mr. Cowgill was present — heard him exhort the people to disperse, and go home and keep the peace — that the (lovornment had not, and would not, send soldiers out to h.-irass them — and they did disperse. Mr. Price tes- tifies to the same thing, at tlie same mooting. If Humphreys was a bad man, his neiglil)ors would know it — but none appeared against him. From Moss' testimony, it appears im- possible, from entries in their partnership books, late in the evening before, that lie should have been at the Council in June last. Bear with me, gentlemen, while I sum up the testimony for and against Colonel Bowles. I am betraying no trust, when I admit that I am oppressed with tlic weight of the circum- stances which throw their dismal shadows across his pathway, and shutout some of that mellow sunlight which is so essential to quicken with gladness the feeble pulse of age. An old man, who comes down to us from a past generation of heroes and giant?, is before you, struggling in the toils that accident, mis- placed confidence, or foul intrigue has spread for his destruction. Such a sight has not been witnessed before in this country, and the pen of history is waiting to record th« momentous issue made up between him and his Government. The moral sinews of a no- ble nature sustain him with dignity iu tho TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 233 presence of any poi-il, and if only tears of laercy can win him deliverance, they would refuse to flow. Tlie unsuspecting simplicity of the old man, has proved a snare to his feet, and marked him an easy prey for the kites and vultures of society, who, under the deceitful guise of curing abuses, and in the misapplication of doctrines and maxims, that underlie all free States, win, traffic and trade in confidence as a merchandise of the market. It is only to be regretted, that Colonel Bowles has not an abler and more learned counsel to give force to those circumstances, that tell but too plainly the extent of his wrongs, and to erect around him a bulwark of innocence, jus- tice and law. I am not about to urge any new theory of human responsibility— all that the evidence proves, or fairly implies, he accepts, and it is with that evidence that I now pro- pose to deal. But in this connection, I will ask tliis question, and I ask the Court to dwell upon it — it is suggestive of more than it ex- presses — does it not stagger human faith, that an old man, near seventy years of age — dead to all the motives of young ambition — with the whole field of human enterprise, by the advance of years, contracted around him, soon to be narrowed to the compass of the grave — no dream of ambition, of wealth, of fame, of love, of romance, of chivalry, to quicken his limbs, or fire his heart — should voluntarily become the leader, and chief con- spirator, in these alleged crimes? AVas it glory that he sought amid the din of arms? — there was no glory in the debasing plots of murder, rapine, insurrection, conflagration, and plunder. Was it wealth that he desired? — he needed not wealth, for he was surrounded by broad acres, and the refinements and ele- gancies of life. Was it a morbid political de- lusion in favor of the rebel cause? — if so, he' could have enlisted in that cause four years ago, and secured its doubtful honors, while he could have saved himself an immense estate in the South from confiscation. Was it a mean, low, political popularity at home that he sought? No, for he had courted no political favor for near twenty years. But why dwell in the regions of fancy and speculation, when every thread, and every fiber, of the network that is woven around him, proclaim, in char- acters of living light, that his hospitality has been abused — that his open hand, open heart, and open house exposed him to the arts and wiles of reckless and unscrupulous men ? Without attempting to deal with the evidence in detail, it will suffice for me to say, that the Government's evidence tends to bring Colonel Bowles within the charges: 1. Of conspiracy; 2. Of treason; 3. Of disloyal practices; and 4-. Of violation of the laws of war. The acts and aims tliat implicate him in the one or tlie other of these charges are proved, in the main, by the statements and declarations of persons more or less connected with the "Sons of Lib- erty," but who do not admit that they were themselves implicated in any actual or con- templated scheme of disloyalty — and whose declarations and statements, therefore, can implicate no one but themselves — because, not being actual conspirators themselves, their declarations are inadmissible against others; for 1 maintain that unless the Government can bring declarations from actual conspirators engaged in a '-common design" with the ac- cused, they are inadmissible. The whole question of the admissibility of these declarations of members of the order, simply because they are members, is held in abeyance by the Court, and is still an open one, to abide the antecedent decision of the question whether the oi'der is a treasonable conspiracy? And unless you hold that it is, all these statements affecting Colonel Bowles fall to the ground. The acts and aims which the evidence tends to establish against Colonel Bowles, consist, as will be claimed: 1. In his membership in an unlawful secret society; 2. The arming of men to resist the authority of the Govern- ment; 3. Conspiring to put on foot an insur- rection in aid of the rebellion, by seizing the arsenals in several of the States, liberating rebel prisoners, deposing the Governor of this State, and striking for a North-western Con- federacy, or an alliance with the Southern; 4. Accepting and acting under a commission of Major-General from the "Sons of Liberty-." 5. Attending the conclaves at Chicago, and mingling in the councils of traitors, and divid- ing large sums of rebelmoney with the military heads of the order; 6. By complicity with Booking and others in his Greek-fire pre- parations to destroy Government property; 7. Having intercourse and correspondence with rebels, through one Dickerson, of Balti- more; 8. The distribution of money to the order to buy arms to resist the Government. This is a huge array of atrocities, and if the half has been proved by legitimate testimony, I should have more pity for his fate than hope for his deliverance. It would not be an im- possible nor an improbable thing for a man like Colonel Bowles to follow a great way, blindly, the artful leaders in such a scheme, without comprehending or suspecting its bear- ings, because all was being done in the name of the order, whose legitimate objects he knew were lawful. This, I claim, is true of Colonel Bowles. It was somewhat different with Mr. Humphreys in this respect. He suspected the order as early as March, 1864, and when Mr, Moss conveyed to him the intelligence of his appointment as Major-General, together with information of the action of the Council at Indianapolis on the military bill, he at once denounced and renounced the order, and re- jected the commission, and gave as a reason that he was not aware before that there was any such military feature connected with the order. He then sent for the records and papers of the temple in his township, burnt them in the stove, and washed his hands of the order. See testimony of Wm. Moss, November 17, 1864. Was he a member of the order? Perhaps he was; and yet the evidence shows that he either did not know, or did not care for the obligations of secrecy, as he seems to have talked to every body with great freedom upon the subject. But even that membership, I have shown, amounts to neither of the offenses chai'ged. 234 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. To constitute conspiracy, there must be con- cert, concurrence, agreement, assent, by all the parties, witli a knowledge and approval of the common design. Where there is no com- mon design, there can be no conspiracy, and AvLere there is a common design, its object must be unlawful. After the escape of Dodd, the absence of Walker, the arrest of Bullitt and Barrett, and the discharge of Harrison, Bingham, Ilcifren and Wilson, the banishment of Kalfus and others, and the imprisonment of Yeakle and Bocking, Bowles becomes the most prominent, as he is the worst seduced, betrayed and injured figure in the foreground. It will, no doubt, be argued by the learned Judge Advocate, that Bowles was a prime in- stigator of treason. All the testimony that makes him a traitor, tends to sliow that he was seduced and betrayed into a false posi- tion by tlie wily intrigues of designing men. Bowles was looking at one object, and his be- trayers at another. They meant treason and revolution. He was dazzled by the glittering bauble of compromise, which he hoped to in- augurate by some kind of associated action. Is this not a more rational explanation of his eon(?r se, and was it treasonable? "A conspiracy is a corrupt agreeing together, by two or more, to do, by concerted action, something unlawful, either as a means or an end." 2 Bishop Crim. Lmv, ? 149. The legality of the agreement, then, becomes a pertinent question in tliis branch of our inquiry, or, rather, the illegality of the act or acts that are agreed to be done. It, therefore, becomes necessary to institute a careful examination of the several acts, that the "Sons of Liberty " agreed to do; and, first, let us look at the ground work of that society — at its declara- tion of principles. And, while reading, I ask you to forget, for the time being, that they are, in any way, con- nected with the Sons of Liberty, and then let us ask ourselves what part we will condemn. "declaration of principles. "1st. Essence Ethereal, Eternal, Supreme — by us called God — hath created, pervades and controls the universe! dwells in man, and is the niviNiTY within him. " Sponsors— Amen. "2d. All men are endowed by the Creator with certain rights, equal only so far as there is equality in the capacity for the appreciation, enjoyment and exercise of those rights, some of which are inalienable, while others may, by voluntary act or consent, be qualified, sus- pended or relinquished, for the purpose of social governmental organization, or may be taken away from the individual by the supremacy of the law which he himself hath ordained, in conjunction with his fellows, for their mutual protection and advancement toward perfect civilization. "3d. Government arises from the necessities of a well organized society. "4tii. Riglit government derives its sole au- thority from the will of the governed, expressly declared. [ The majority should express such will in the mode tohich the unanimous voice shall approve^ always guaranteeing to each individual^ unless he shall have been restrained by the law, the privilege and opportunity to make known his opiimon and express his loill in regard to all matters relating or pertaining to the Government.'] "•5th. The grand purpose of government is the v/elfare of the governed; its success is measured by the degree of progress, which the people shall have attained to the most ex- alted civilization. "6th. Government founded on the princi- ples enunciated in the foregoing propositions is designated Democracy. The division of a Territory, where it exists, is usually called a Republic, sometimes a State. "7th. Reflection, observation and experience seem to have established, in the minds of wise and impartial men, the conclusion that 'Z>e- 7nocracy,' properly organized upon the great principles which our Revolutionary ancestors, patriots and sages, held, inculcated and de- fended, best a(?fiieved the grand and munifi- cent end of human government. "8th. The Government organized and ex- isting in the original thirteen States of North America, when they had severally and unitedly renounced their allegiance to the Government of Great Britain, and dissolved their former colonial relations, we regard as the wisest and best adapted to tjie nature and character of the people inhabiting the continent of North America at the present day. Under the be- nign influence of that Government a nation has arisen, and attained a degree of power and splendor which has no parallel in the history of the human race. "9th. The Government designated 'The United States of America,' which blazons the historic pnge, and shed its light along the path of future ages, was the transcendent conception and mighty achievement of wis- dom, enlightened patriotism and virtue, which appear to have passed from earth amidst the fading glories of the golden era, which they illustrated with immortal splendor. That Government was created originally by thirteen free, sovereign and independent States, for their mutual benefit, to administer the affairs of their common interest and concern; being en- dowed with the powers, dignity and su- premacy, and no further, or other, which arc distinctly specified, and warranted, and con- ferred by the strict letter of the immortal compact — the Constitution of the United States. " Sponsoi-s — Amen." I ask you to read this declaration of princi- ples, and to examine them closely. Are they not, so far as they have any signification, the very principles upon which our Government was administered in the "better days of the 240 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Republic," wlien it was in the very noontide of its prosperity find glory ; and whicli have canonized their authors as tlie apostles of civil liberty in America? Wliich one of those principles is it unlawful to hold, inculcate and defend ? Rut I pass from them as need- ing no comment. But, perliaps, the obligations of the order are tliought to be objectionable ? During the progress of this trial, our attention has been particularly called to the following clause, as the only obnoxious one ! by tlie frequency with wliich it has been read to the witnesses : '' I do further swear that I will, at all times, if needs be, take up arms in the cause of the oppressed — in my own country first of all — against any monarch, prince, potentate, power or government usurped, which may be found in arms, waging war against a people or peoples, who are endeavoring to establish or have in- augurated a government for themselves, in accordance with, and founded upon, the eter- nal principles of truth, which I have sworn in the Vestibule, and now in this presence do swear to maintain inviolate and defend with my life." There is no agreement here to do a particu- lar act ; it is a mere promise, upon a given case which may never arise — for we trust that the Government will not adopt the necessity of admitting that any of the contingencies upon which this obligation presupposes the tal'iing up of arms as necessary, have hap- pened or do exist, or that there is even a prox- imate likelihood of their happening — and which the accused say, by their action and inaction, have not happened. Let us analyze this pledge. vVnd first, who were they to lake up arms against? "A monarch, prince, po- tentate, power, or goveyiment usurped." Jsow, we feel confident that we may, with propriety, dismiss all the objects of this seem- ing warlike proposition, except the last, for the reason that we can not believe that the Government will insist that in this, our coun- try, "any monarch or prince" has been "found in arms," etc. We will, therefore, con- fine our remarks to the last proposition, that is, as to a "power or government usurped;" and I here ask the learned Judge Advocate if he is prepared to proclaim to the world that this Government is a usurped one, in order to make this obligation to take up arms apply to it ? The declaration would be as startling as any that the defendants arc charged with. I have no purpose to conceal the views of Mr. Milligan, and freely admit that he may have said, what every intelligent man in America knows, that the President, the Con- gress, and the military authorities, have each and all exercised particular powers that did not belong to them ; yet, I submit that he is a gentleman of too much intelligence to enter- tain or express the opinion tliat our Federal Government is an usurped one, or that Mr. Lincoln is not the lawful President, elected according to the forms of law, and, as such, entitled to the respect due to liis station. True, the defendant has criticised Mr. Lin- coln's acts, and so have the American people. us they have claimed and exercised the right to criticise the acts of all administrations since our existence as a people, Washington's not excepted. The exercise of denied powers, history informs us, has by tlie people usually been denominated usurpations. But, I trust, this Commission will not lose sight of the dis- tinction between charging a legitimate Gov- ernment with exercising powers denied to it — using the term "usurp" with reference to the exercise of such powers — and charging a Government with being a usurped one. But, if any one should, unfortunately for the defense, be of opinion tliat the Government is a usurpa- tion, still I insist that neither the defendants as individuals, nor the Order of American Kniglits, or Sons of Liberty, ever entertained or expressed such sentiments, but that they have ever treated the Government, including tlie President, the Courts, the Congress, and the Army, as legitimate, each in its sphere. For the proof of this I appeal to their acts. Where has that order taken up arms or made any preparation to do so, either by oi-ganizing, arming or drilling the members? But it is claimed that Mr. Milligan, in public speeches, advised resistance to any encroachment upon tlie elective franchise. Suppose he did; who would not and be a man ? And suppose fur- tlier that he expressed the opinion that these encroachments would come from the army! Yet, will it be assumed that such encroach- ments, had they come, would have been the act of the Government? and that resistance to such encroachments would be resistance to the Government? If so, then there arc mil- lions of men aspiring to be freemen, who are guilty criminals, deserving the fate now threatened these defendants. That this obligation did not contemplate the taking u}) of arms against the Federal Gov- ernment, is fully shown by the fact that the order did not take up arms ; nor was any re- solve or movement made in any of its author- ized councils, temples, or meetings, to do so, but, on the contrary, the evidence of Mr. Ibach shows, that at the Grand Council of June, 18C)4, on a resoltition being introduced, pledging the order to resist. the draft, it was promj^tly and with great unanimity voted down; and that the belligerent gentleman who introduced the resolution, went away much dissatisfied with the Order. And may" he not have been some bosom friend of General Carrington, a la Stidger and Zumro ? That tliere may have been persons in the organiza- tion who would have gazed with delight upon the torch being applied that should kindle tlie flames of civil war, and who hoped to find a helping hand in the order, I do not deny; but, from the evidence, I do deny that the order had any such purpose. Nor is the order respon- sible for tlie individual acts of its members, any more than a Church, or a lodge of ]\Lisons, is responsible for the treasonable acts of any or even all of its members. Mr. Harrison esti- mates the number of the order in Indiana at 18,000. I respectfully ask tlie Judge Advo- cate if be will eaj-, that that mighty host are all responsible for the insane ravings and actions of Bodd & Co., and therefore traitors? If so. why have they not 'oeeu arretted ? Why TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 241 are they not brought before a military tribu- nal, and put through the forms of trial and lianged? If they are traitors, they should be. What a grand spectacle it would present ! How proud would be the bearing of that brave and gallant General who has, by his paid spies and informers, been so industriously extending this order, duping innocent men into it, ini- tiating rebel officers, carrying messages be- tween Dodd & Co., and traitors in arms, and facilitating by all possible means the grand carnival of blood that was to have been inaug- urated in this city on the 16th of last August! It is true, the accumulated wail of widows and orphans would have risen, even to the threshold of the Courts of Heaven, and what of all that? the strength of the Democratic party would be very much broken, and the soul of John Brown would go " marching on." We have been informed that the commanders of armies frequently resort to such means. Possibly. But who ever heard of a com- mander sending out agents to recruit for the ranks of an enemy? What would be thought of General Grant if he should send out agents to recruit for the purpose of filling lip the decimated ranks of Lee's army? And yet Carrington paid and encoui'aged Stidger to extend, as rapidly as possible, an organiza- tion that is claimed to be treasonable. And Zumro, another of liis infamous spies, in- veigled innocent and unsuspecting farmers into it for the purpose of betraying them into peril. But I must refer, again, to that obnoxious obligation, in order to obtain a fair and ra- tional interpretation of its phraseology, and to ascertain if it is not consistent with patri- otism and most devoted loyaltij, if you please. It is a promise to take up arms, if needs be, against particular forms of Government, "found in arms, waging war against a people or peoples who are endeavoring to establish or have inaugurated a government for them- selves, of their own free choice, and in ac- cordance with, and founded upon, the eternal principles of truth." Having shown that no usurped Government exists in this country, and that the order has not found it necessary to take up arms at all; let us endeavor to as- certain if the contingency has happened, upon which they obligated themselves to take up arms for the people or peoples in whose behalf they propose to volunteer. And we inquire where is that people "who have established or inaugurated a government of their own free choice, and in accordance with, and founded upon, the eternal principles of truth?" It Avill not do to say that the Southern Confederacy is that people, for it would be a etilogy on Jeff Davis' Government more glowing than any Son of Liberty ever uttered. Is their cause that of the oppressed? Is our Govern- ment a usurpation? Is the Southern Confed- eracy founded upon the eternal principles of truth? All this must be admitted in order to make a state of things upon which they agreed to take up arms. But it is claimed that this obligation has a different meaning, known to and understood by the order. Allow me to invite your atteu- 16 tion to the evidence upon that point. There are but three witnesses whose testimony tends to support that view: Tranter, Teney and Robertson. A case must be desperate indeed which relies for support on the testimony of such witnesses — ignorant and stupid beyond comparison. I am at a loss to know how the latter ever found his way from the woods of Randolph county to this Capitol; the other two were drafted and duly escorted here, and no doubt testified under the hope of indul- gence from the draft in proportion as their testimony might prove valuable. Tranter and Teney contradict each other in almost every particular, except that they both swear that .lohn W. Stone told them that the Circle of the Mighty Host, and also the Golden Circle, were to "assist Jeff Davis north and south." Tran- ter swears that this obligation was a part of the Golden Circle, but not of the Mighty Host. Teney, who was not a member of the Golden Circle, says that he was of the Mighty Host. But neither of these pillars of the Government was a member of the American Knights or Sons of Liberty. The evidence furthe;* shows that both the defendant, Horsey, and the Gov- ernment witness, Connell, denied and repudi- ated the declarations of .lohn W. Stone, who, for aught that appears in the evidence, may have been a Stidger or a Zumro. But in op- position to this apology for testimony, we have the evidence of two Government witnesses, Messrs. Bingham and Harrison, and in addi- tion thereto the testimony of the large array of witnesses for the defendants — all of the most honorable character, and many holding the highest social and official positions — com- ing from various sections of the State, all bearing witness to the fact that the objects of the order were purely political, and in- tended solely to operate upon the elections by a more systematic organization of the Demo- cratic party ; just as the Republican party was doing through the instrumentality' of the Loyal League, which it was intended to coun- teract; and none of them understanding the obligation to mean any thing more than it said, or than the words themselves rationally implied. The testimony of Mr. Bingham is conclusive upon this point; he early became a member, attended Grand Councils, acted on committees, and was in almost daily inter- course with Dodd and other leading members of the order, and yet never knew of any other than its political character until Dodd revealed his insane and hellish proposition, when he immediately took measures to circum- vent it. And, I submit, that the conduct of Mr. Bingham is in a commendable contrast to that of the authorities. As soon as he was informed of Dodd's proposed plot, his best ef- forts were at once directed to paralyze the em- bryo rebellion; while, on the other hand, the authorities who knew it all, long before Mr. Bingham did, instead of destroying it, were nursing and encouraging it, that it might bring forth the ripe fruit of anarchy, strife, and bloodshed. The evidence of Stidger, their detective and witness, shows that while under the pay and direction of Carrington, and with his consent and approbation, he (Stidger) was 242 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. extending the order as rapidly as possible, both in Indiana and Kentucky; that with the same approbation he initiated rebel officers, carried messages between Dodd and others and officers in the Confederate service, and af- forded every facility to Dodd and his immedi- ate confederates to arrange and perfect the plan for the inauguration of civil war in In- diana, keeping the authorities here constantly advised of every movement, by regular and frequent reports; and all this for tlie sole pur- pose of intlueucing the then pending elections! History affords no parallel to the dark, malig- nant designs against peace and good order, on the part of those intrusted with their presei'- vation. They were fully advised of the exist- ence of what they claim to have been a most infernal conspiracy against the peace of the State; they witnessed the maturing of the scheme; they watched the preparation of the brand that was to enkindle civil war, and yet raised not a finger to stop it. Like the tiger, standing at the edge of his jungle, watching the unfortunate traveler as he comes along, springs upon his victim, crushes his bones and laps up his blood; so they looked with savage delight upon the proposed uprising, regarding no other consequence than its probable influ- ence upon the elections. It seemed to matter little to them, though the fire of civil war should desolate our homes, and cause the " shuddering mother to hug her babe more closely to her bosom," so that they could only remain masters of the burnt and blackened field. If Mr. Milligan merits penalties for knowing nothing about these alleged conspira- cies, what meed of punishment is due to those authorities ? According to the theory of the prosecution, Bingham was a Son of Liberty, and therefore a co-conspirator with Dodd; and yet it is to Bingham, and not to the authorities, that the people of Indiana are indebted for being saved from the woes and horrors of civil war. He quenched the flame that the authorities were fanning. While they were nursing, he was stifling it. This may not unjustly have given rise to the dark suggestion, now current throughout the State, tliat Dodd was the mere hired tool of Carrington and his co-conspira- tors against the peace of the State. But it is asked why did not Biiagham denounce Dodd to the authorities? My answer is, they knew all about it, long before he did; and in turn, I demand, on behalf of the people of Indiana, whose homes were in jeo]iardy, why did the authorities suffer Dodd and Walker to remain in this city, unarrested, for weeks after they were apprised of the whole plot? Surely they could not have considered it dangerous. If I am asked why Mr. Milligan did not act as did Bingham; my answer is, tliat he had no knowledge of the scheme until it was exposed and abandoned. But I return again to the consideration of that obligation, as it is the only prop upon which the prosecution can reasonably rest its claim that the order is a conspiracy jsfr sc; and I submit, that its meaning must be ascer- tained by the same rules by which other writings are construed by the courts — that is, by the import of the words taken in their or- dinary or common acceptation, the sense in which they are generally used and received. For, otherwise, how are the members to know the meaning of the obligation, especially in the absence of such lights as Captain Burke- bile, Wesley Tranter and John W. Stone? Let it be borne in mind that this order was secret, and, therefore, there could be no motive for making the obligation mean more than, or different from what the language imported. I submit, therefore, that the Commission will not feel called upon to adopt a rule of interpre- tation heretofore unknown to judicial investi- gations, in order to make offensive that which is otherwise harmless; and especially against such an array of testimony to the contrary. If the order of American Knights, or Sons of Liberty, is a conspiracy per se, it is only a conspiracy to do what the rational import of the obligations, the ritual, and the declara- tion of principles imposed upon its members at the time they became such; and therefore, no after agreement of certain of its members, no matter how high in rank, to do a particular thing, not within the purview of the order, can be charged to the order, nor to any of its members not actually a party to such subse- quent agreement. This I submit as a legal proposition, and challenge contradiction. To make the act or declaration of a conspirator binding upon another, it must be made or done in pursuance of the originally concerted plan, and with reference to the common ob- ject. 1 Greenl. Ev., § 111, et seq.; 2 Stark. Ev., 233, et seq. Let us apply this principle. And here I will assume, v.'ith all confidence, that it will not be held that any of the obligations of the order proposed that Camps Morton, Douglas, etc., were to be emptied of their prisoners. If that was agreed to, who v.'cre the parties to the agreement? From the evidence, if it was agreed to at all, it was simply an open propo- sition of Dodd's; or, if you choose to give it the latitude claimed by that "mud-sill" of in- famy, who, after being on joint trial for three weeks, turned informer, in order to purchase his own release, illustrating the truth of the adage that "it is always tlie biggest scoundrel that turns State's evidence;" — of that crea- ture — but I will not speak of him; contempt has the property of descending very low, but to even that there is a limit, and it therefore stops far short of Horace Ileffren. I repeat, if we adopt his statement, that the parties to the conspiracy to seize the arsenals and liberate the jii'isoncrs, consisted of delegates from all the States but two, and that all the delegates y/ere Sons of Liberty; yet, unless that con- spiracy comes fairly within the purview of the order, it implicates no one but the parties ac- tually agreeing to the unlawful undertaking. Dodd, IleflVen, Wilson, and others, may have conspired, but it was only their own con- spiracy, and Mr. IMilligan and other of the de- fendants are not shown to have t.-.kcn anj- part in it, or to have had any knowledge of it, and, therefore, are not conspirators with Dodd. Hence, tlieir declarations and admissions are not legitimate evidence against this defendant. TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 243 For example: Suppose that A conspires with B to rob the mail, and that, during the exist- ence of that conspiracy, B conspires with to kill Governor Morton; now, upon the trial of A for the former conspiracy, tlie declarations of B and C would not be competent, although they are parties with A to another conspiracy. Thus certain persons became members of the Sons of Liberty; a part of them afterward, without the knowledge or consent of the others, conspired to seize arsenals and release rebel prisoners, etc. Can those other members, by any principle of law, be bound by the declaration of those conspirators, or be held to answer for their acts? Why, the evidence shows that Dodd not only contemplated duping and inveigling the Sons of Liberty into his scheme, but also the whole Democratic party. You might, therefore, with as much propriety, hold the individual members of that party re- sponsible, as the individual members of the Sons of Liberty, who, like Mr. Milligan, (I speak by the evidence,) had no knowledge of it whatever. Says Mr. Justice Duller, in Hardy's case: "Before the evidence of the conspiracy can atFect the prisoner materially, it is necessary to make out another point, to- wit, that he consented to the extent that the others did." 2 Stark. Ev., 234. And in the course of the same trial, Mr. Roscoe says, "It was said by Eyre, C. J., that in a case of conspiracy, general evidence of the thing conspired is received, and then the party before the Court is to be affected /oj- his share of it." Eos. Crim. Ev., 414. "The rule," says Mr. Starkie, "that yone man is not to be atfected by the acts and declarations of a stranger, rests upon the principles of purest justice; and although the courts, in cases of conspiracy, have, out of convenience, and on account of the difficulty in otherwise proving the guilt of the parties, admitted the acts and declarations of strangers to be given in evidence, in order to establish ■i'h&fact of a conspiracy, it is to be remembered that this is an inversion of the usual order for the sake of convenience, and that such evi- dence is in the result material so far only as the assent of the accused to what had been done by others was proved." 2 Stark. Ev., 235. If insurrection was one of the purposes of the order, why was not that subject intro- duced, discussed or suggested in some of its business meetings, when none but those in its secrets were supposed to be present? And yet neither Government detectives nor truck- ling accomplices ever heard of it. But it is said that there was an inner circle of the or- der, namely, the military part of it, and that that was treasonable. Harrison states that the order was fully organized at Terre Haute, and a Grand Council appointed. In this organiza- tion there was no military feature, and it was not till long afterward that what was termed the "military bill," or military feature of the Order, was introduced; and yet, while all the other proceedings of the oi-der, including re- ports from county temples, were printed and circulated, this "military bill" was not. In fact, it remained a dead letter, and was not even known to members of the Grand Council, as we are informed by witnesses of the most honorable character, such as Judge Lough- ridge, and Messrs. I3ird, Ibach and Winters, all members of the Grand Council, and who were never advised of any other than the po- litical character of the order. The military feature, therefore, never formed any part of the order; and if it existed at all, was only a part of an independent conspiracy of Dodd and others. I come now to the consideration of another inquiry, to which I respectfully ask your at- tention. Is there any legal evidence of a con- spiracy, even on the part of Dodd and others? Do all the acts and declarations proven, make out a conspiracy within the meaning of the law? although I insist that Mr. Milligan is not concerned in this inquiry. "A conspiracy is a corrupt agreement to do, by concerted ac- tion, something unlawful." \_Bishop, supra.'\ Let us, then, see what, if any thing, was agreed upon; for if what is charged was ac- tually agreed upon, I will admit that it is both corrupt and unlawful. It is claimed that the meeting at Chicago, of July 20, 1864, conspired to seize certain ar- senals, release rebel prisoners, and revolu- tionize the Government. But what evidence has been given in support of that propo- sition? Heffren swears that Wilson told him that this uprising was agreed upon at Chicago. But Wilson, who was there, swears that no business (to his knowledge) was done at that meeting; that Barrett, who had called it, said it was to be a meeting of military men, but that they had not come. Wilson tells us that several plans were talked of; that Dodd's plan seemed to meet with most favor, but was not agreed upon. This is certainly better evi- dence than the hearsay of Heffren; besides, it is corroborated by the testimony of Harrison and Bingham, and also by the very character of Dodd's plan. What did Dodd tell Harrison? He says: "If it was agreed tipon, he (Dodd) was to have charge of releasing the rebel pris- oners at this point." Again, Harrison informs us that Dodd told him that it was not finally agreed upon, but depended upon a consulta- tion of prominent individuals, whom he was to summon together for the purpose of deter- mining as to his plan. And here flows in an item of evidence which can not be explained on any other principle than this uprising had not been agreed upon. It is this: Dr. Bowles (as the evidence clearly shows) was at the Chicago meeting. Now, had the uprising been agreed upon there, Dr. Bov/les would have un- derstood the whole affair. Why, then, would Dodd send his son to Bowles (as Harrison says) to consult upon the proposition? The evidence also shows that it was for the pur- pose of consultation that Milligan, Hum- phreys, Yeakle, Taylor and others were sum- moned by Dodd. Nor was this call confined to the so-called Major-Gcnerals, but embraced others, to-wit: Yeakle and Taylor. They were not ordered to report to Dodd for duty, but were to consider the propriety of an uprising, and to decide whether or not it should take place. 244 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. All of Dodd's declarations show that the uprising was not determined upon by the very parties whose consent and co-operation were necessary to its inauguration. You will re member the fact that the meeting in Chicago was on the 20th of July, Avhen Dodd was in company with Judge Bullitt ; that immediately upon his return home, he communicated the matter to Harrison, who fixes the date of that return at the 29th of the same month; and also that the proposed uprising was to take place on the ICth of August. Now, if the scheme had been agreed upon at Chicago, to take place within so short a period, is it ra- tional to suppose that Dodd, who is represented to be an impetuous, hasty man, would have slept until more than one-third of the time had elapsed before he made any move toward that preparation which would necessarilj' re- quire so much time in maturing? The idea is preposterous; the impetuosity of Dodd would have put the thing in motion at once. But we have the sworn statement of three of the Government witnesses, that the uprising had not been agreed upon, but was awaiting the sanction and co-operation of others, whose concurrence was necessary. Not only do Wilson and Harrison state that the project was not agreed to, but Bingham (to whom Dodd divulged his whole plan, and who, according to Dodd's statement, was the only person to whom it had been revealed) informs us that Dodd"s scheme required his consent as a condition precedent. That he (Bingham) as chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee, must agree to it, and co-operate with him, by calling a mass convention of the Democracy of the State as a part of the programme, without which co-op- eration on the part of Bingham, the whole scheme would have to be abandoned; as it could not otherwise receive its initiatory im- pulse. Now this whole thing is consistent with itself, for the Commission will bear in mind Mr. Harrison's testimony, that when Dodd sent him to notify ^Ir. Milligan to at- tend this council of the leading men of the order, he instructed him not to inform Milli- gau of the nature of his errand, but merely to state that business of a very important chai"- acter would be considered. I ask here (though for the time digressing) if this looks as though Mr. Milligan knew of the scheme, especially when it is further re- membered that he did not attend the proposed council? I respectfully ask the learned Judge Advocate to answer this if he can. If Mi: Milligan was a co-conspirator with Dodd, why must he be kept in ignorance of the project? Why instruct the messenger to observe silence as to the proposed revolution? Does it not show that Dodd considered Mr. Milligan as only belonging to the political, or rather, the silli/ and harmless branch of the order? al- th'ougli he had appointed him a Major Gen- eral, and hoped to inveigle him into his plots! I earnestly submit to you, ne rational and im- partial judges, that this one circumstance is a complete refutation of the whole charge that Mr. Milligan was a party to Dodd's proposed conspiracy. But, to return : what, I inquire, was the pur- pose of calling these men together, if the plan had already been agi'eed upon? Why, especially, keep Mr. Milligan in ignorance of the matter? Why instruct the messenger to keep him in the dark? Did Dodd mistrust his messenger? Was he unwilling to intrust so important a secret to him? The evidence informs us, that he had already imparted the whole matter to him; he must, therefore, have regarded his mes- senger as trusty. Then it will be remembered that the prosecution insists, that, according to the constitution of this order, the members were to implicitly obey the commands of the Grand Commander; I ask, then, if this scheme had been agreed upon, where was the necessity of calling these men together? He could have assigned to each his duty, and implicit obedi- ence must be the result. But, possibly, the prosecution will abandon its theory as to the supreme power of the Grand Cornmander. Because, if insurrection had been one of the purposes of the order, why try to keep Mr. Tililligan ignorant of a fact which, of necessity, he must have known? and why impose secrecy upon the messenger, Mr. Harrison? This, I think, not only shows how the members of the order, but also how the Grand Commander understood that part of the obligation which pledged them to obe- dience. Thus, when we come to look at the case as judges and lawyers, and not as mere partisans, we find that there has been proven no such complete agreement, as is necessary under the law of conspiracy, even on the part of Dodd, much less on the part of Mr. Milli- gan, Vho knew nothing of it until it had died from want of sympathy on the part of those whose approval was to give it vital force. Were it necessary. I might, without impro- priety, refer to the cloiul of suspicion through which the testimony of Stidger, Zumro, HefT- ren and Wilson came to us. The two former stand in the execrable light of informers; the latter, in the equally odious light of ac- complices, purchasing their own immunity at the expense of their former alleged confeder- ates; the former have ever been regarded with scorn and abliorrencp, while the latter have al- ways, by all honorable minds, been character- ized as infamous. Let Heffren pass — "room for the leper, room!" Of Wilson, I scarcely know how to speak — he is self-accused and self-condemned. Contrast him, if you please, with the honorable bearing of my client, and it ought to make the "blush of shame" crim- son even the cheek of Wilson. He came (o the witness stand with traitors' money under lii.s control, and loaned out to his friends — ho came and confessed to the treason, as well as to the ineffable meanness of accepting, from the hands of his country's enemies, tlie piti- ful sum of his expenses to and from Chicago. And yet, this double-dyed traitor — traitor to his own country, according to his own show- ing, and, for the sake of purchasing his own release, traitor to his former alleged confed- erates — is to go forth to the world, duly in- dorsed by the Government as honest and cred- ible; for, T understand, it asks you to believe him. Oh! kind and parental Administration, TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS 245 that allows the confessed traitor to go un- punished, that it may wreak its vengeance upon a mere political opponent! No Court, either in ancient or modern times, has allowed the conviction of an individual upon the uncorroborated testimony of accom- plices. Mr. Greenleaf, in speaking of this kind of evidence, says: "The case of accom- plices is usually mentioned under the head of infamy." Grccnl. Ev.^ \ 379. Mr. Starkiesays: "With respect to the force and effect of such testimony, it must, from its very nature, be regarded with jealousy iind suspicion." "It is hard," Lord Hale observes, "to take away the life of any person upon the evidence of sl pariiceps criminis, unless there be very considerable circumstances which may give the greater credit to what he swears. "In strictness of law, indeed, a prisoner may be convicted ou the testimony of a single accomplice, since, where competent evidence is adduced, it is for the jury to determine the effect of that evidence. But in practice it is usual to direct the jury to acquit the prisoner, when the evidence of an accomplice stands uncorroborated in material circumstances, but this, it is said, is a matter resting entirely within the discretion of the Courts." 2 Stark. Ev., p. 12. "But," says Mr. Phillips, "though accom- plices are received as witnesses, their testi- mony ought to be received by a jury with a sober degree of jealousy and caution, for on their own confession they stand contamin- ated with guilt, and in the hope of lessening (heir own infamy, will often be tempted to throw as much guilt as possible upon the pris- oner. They may also, in some cases, be en- titled to rewards on the prisoner's conviction, and in all cases expected to earn a pardon, and as fear is usually their motive, the same feeling may tempt them to exaggerate their evidence for the purpose of destroying their former associate and securing themselves against his vengeance.'" 1 Phillips' Ev., 29. "But their testimony alone is seldom of suf- ficient weight with a jury to convict the of- fenders, the temptation to commit perjury being so great, where the witness, by accusing another, may escape himself. The practice, therefore, is to advise the jury to regard the evidence of an accomplice only so far as he is confirmed, in some part of his testimony, by unimpeachable testimony." lb., ■p. 32. "The degree of credit,'' Mr. Greenleaf says, "which ought to be given to an accomplice, is a matter exclusively within the province of the jury. It has sometimes been said that tliej' ought not to believe him unless his testi- mony is corroborated by other evidence; and, witliout doubt, great caution in weighing such testimony, is dictated by prudence and good reason. But there is no such rule of law, it b -ing expressly conceded that tho jury may, if tliey please, act on the evidence of the ac- complice without any confirmation of his statement. But, on the other hand, judges, in their discretion, will advise a jury not to con- vict of felony upon the testimony of an ac- complice alone, and without corroboration, and it is now so generally the practice to give them such advice, that its omission would be regarded as an omission of duty on the part of the judge. And, considering the respect always paid by the jury to this advice from the bench, it may be regarded as the settled course of practice not to convict a prisoner, in any case of felony, upon the sole and uncorroborated testimony of an accomplicje." 1 Greenl. Ev., § 380. "Judges," observed Lord Ellenborough, "will advise a jury not to believe an accom- plice, unless he is confirmed, or only in so far as he is confirmed, but if he is believed, his testimony is unquestionably to establish the facts he deposes. Jones' case, 2 Camp., 132. So, where, on an indictment for highway 'rob- bery, an accomplice only was called, the Court, though it admitted such evidence was legal, thought it too dangerous to permit a convic- tion to take place, and the prisoners were ac- quitted. Jones ^ Davi.% case, 1 Leach, 479. The practice, therefore, is for the Court to di- rect the jury in such cases to acquit the pris- oner, unless, in some respects, the evidence is confirmed. Boscoe's Crim. Ev.,p. 156. " It is usual for a Court to advise a jury not to regard the evidence of an accomplice, un- less he is confirmed in some part of his testi- mony by unimpeachable testimony. If con- firmed in some parts, he may be believed in others." U. S. vs. Kipler, 1 Bald. G. C. R., 22 I might stop here and rest the defense with l^ropriety, but some might regard my duty in- complete, and ask if Mr. Milligan's alleged position as a Major General in the order had been satisfactorily disposed of? That is an easy task. For the sake of argument, we will admit that he was appointed a Major General; but where is the evidence that he ever accepted that appointment, or that he other than treated it with merited contempt? I answer, there is none whatever. But perhaps it is proposed to invert the usual order of criminal jurispru- dence, and hold him guilty unless he proves himself innocent. Even in that case we are not without the necessary proof; indeed, we are prepared for almost any rule. Mr. Ibach informs us that at the Grand Council, in June, 18G4, it was stated that the gentlemen who had been appointed Major Generals, had not accepted, and that it was agreed in Grand Council, that, if they did not accept by the ensuing 4th of July, others should be ap- pointed in their stead. Indeed there is no credible testimony, but only an inference, tliat he ever knew of his appointment. Mr. Harrison states that the first appointment was in September, 1863, and it is not pretended that Mr. Milligan was at that meeting ; nor was he ever informed of it in any official man- ner, as the Grand Secretary, Mr. Harrison, informs us. The same witness also states that Mr. Milligan was again elected a Major General at the February Grand Council; but this was also during his absence. True, Heffren states that Milligan was at that Grand Council, but this is only another indication of the utter unworthinesB of his testimony, for we have the evidence of Messrs. Bingham, Daily, Mo- ses Milligan, Loughridge and Winters, all corroborating Harrison and impeaching Heff- 246 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. ren. Can they all be mistaken? Mr. Daily, v,']\o is a practicing attorney at Huntington, informs us that the Court at that place was then in session, and that Mr. Milligan was there. ]\Ioses ^lilligan, who was a court bail- Hf, gives us like testimony. Bingham swears that Mr. ^lilligan was not there. Judge Loughridge, a delegate to the Council, in- quired for him, and found he was not present, and finally, ^Ir. AVinters, a gentleman from Mr. Milligan's town, tells us that they both bought railroad tickets for Indianapolis, but, owing to the crowded state of the cars when they arrived at Huntington, Mr. Milligan re- fused to go, and did not go. That he (wit- ness) went, and that inquiry was made of him for the reason of Milligan's absence. Stidger states that the roll of Major Generals was called at the June Council; but, Mr. Ibach, the delegate from Huntington, who went there with mulligan, contradicts this, and makes the reasonable statement that if any one from his own town had been named a Alajor Gen- eral, he would have observed it. But for the sake of argument, let us suppose that he ac- cepted the sounding title of Major General, yet Avhat was it more than a mere intended compliment, or titular dignification ? Thus the titles, "Grand Commander," ''Sergeant of the Guard,'' etc., etc., arc terms of high import in a lodge of ''Sons of Malta," and yet the recipients of these '-blushing honors ' were never, for that cause, considered trait- ors, altliough thfc :rder was "military in its character." The title of " King ' is one of high signification, and ordinarily means much; and the office of "King" is contrary to the Constitution and laws of the United States ; and yet, who ever thought of holding an individtial guilty of a crime because of his acoejiting and exercising the office of King in a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons! It is going back to those days of constructive treason, when a man was hanged for dreaming that he had made his son heir to the crown, although that was the name of his Inn; and another,wh()se favorite buck had been killed b_y the King, for wisliing that the deer, horns and all, were in the King's belly. 4 Black. Com., p. SO. Names do not always signify the same thing — a Ma- jor General in the army is a position well un- dijrstood, and having well defined duties ; but tell me, if j'ou please, what were the duties of a Major General in the Sons of Lib- erty ? Where is the evidence of any assigned duties ? Mere liigh-sounding names are not evidence. Glen's lives are not to be forfeited by the inconsiderate use of such flimsy stulY. It is next insisted that Mr. Milligan made a speech at ii Democratic mass meeting at Fort Wayne, on the 10th of August last; in which it is claimed that he uttered disloyal senti- ments, urged resistance to the draft, and at- t(^mpted to incite insurrection. When we ask for (he proof of all this, we are referred to the testimony of an itinerant news gatherer of the Cincinnati Gazelle (and which, lie says, is not a partisan paper), who was there hunting, at "a penny a line," for some item to be used against the Democratic party, in tliat political contest. True, he would have you believe that the speech was very disloyal; but against this, we have the testimony of honorable witnesses, Messrs. Bird and Winters, who heard the speech throughout (Mr. Winters having re- ported it for his paj)er), who swear there was no;hing saidin itcalcuLued to incite resistance to the draft, or which counseled insurrection ; that the speech was a dry, able, and argumen- tative one, characterized by moderation and respectful language toward his opponents ; that he dealt in no denunciation of the Gov- ernment, as Mr. Bush v.ould have you believe, but made a broad distinction between the Government and the Administration. Ni) in- surrection followed that speech. True, he argued in favor of the doctrine of State Sov- ereignty. And suppose he did. It is no new doctrine, but is as old as the Constitution. The great and good men of America have ad- vocated the same ideas, and yet were uncon- scious of committing any crime in doing so. On that very basis our Government was ad- ministered for sixty years with most unpar- alleled success. But suppose the party in power does deem it a political heresy ; is heresy of political opinion a crime in this country ? Who is to be the judge of the ques- tion of what is heresy of opinion? Shall it be the party in power ? Then it would bo very easy for them to perpetuate that po%ver, by condemning all their political opponents to the halter, as traitors. Liberty of speech would tlien consist in the right to say, freely, what the Administration dictated. It was a wise remark of Jefferson, that "Error of opin- ion may well be tolerated as long as reason is left free to combat it." But it ought not to be expected that gentle- men of the age, firmness, honesty and intelli- gence of Mr. Milligan, can change their honest convictions upon political questions to suit the views of the Administration, brought into power, perhaps, by a mere changeling mob. But are we to be held criminally re- sponsible for a political speech, addressed to a political meeting in the course of a political campaign, even though it be bitter and de- nunciatory in its terms? Were it so, half the political speakers in the United States would then deserve hanging. I have onlj' contempt to express for such a proposition. Once ad- mit that principle, and probably at the next change of administration the gentlomen be- fore me would have to change places with Mr. Milligan. If American citizens can not, in a cool, calm and respectful manner, criticise the acts of their public servants, in a canvass for their re-election, it is time they should be in- formed of the new order of things. The next thing that claims our considera- tion is a letter from I\Ir. ^Hlligan to General Dodd. It is claimed that addressing Dodd'as General, is an acknowledgment of acquaint- ance with his military character, and of fa- miliarity with wliat is termed the military branch of the order. But lias it any such significance? Titles are cheap things now-a- days. In this country they do not preclude even tlie party using them from showing that they arc improperly used. Thus, the titles, 'Squire and Judge, are not unfrequently ap- TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 247 plied to loafers; and how often, indeed, do we hear individuals called Colonel, upon whose Bboulders the "Eagle Bird" lias never rested; while the prefix of "Hon." has now little or no meaning beyond compliment. In this letter, Mr. Milligan is writing as a politician, his name having been presented as a candidate for Governor; he was not writing as a Son of Liberty. That the appellation. General, was only used in compliment, is cor- roborated by the fact that Dodd was not Gen- eral in, but Grand Commander of, the Sous of Liberty. If Mr. Milligan had been referring to Dodd's official position in the order, he would have addressed him as "Most Eminent Grand Commander." I ask tlie indulgence of the Commission while I examine this letter a little further. It has been introduced in evi- dence, and we can not anticipate the nses to which the learned Judge Advocate will at- tempt to apply it. The letter is a confidential answer to another, in which the writer states his grief on account of the desertion of sup- posed friends, and the consequent lessening of his political hopes. One or two expressions I will briefly notice. First, he expresses his willingness "to do whatever the cause of the North-west may require;" and then that other sentence, in whicli he says, "what will those of less pretension do when the real contest comes, when life and property depend upon the issue, when bullets instead of ballots are cast, and when the halter is a preamble to our platform? For unless Federal encroachments are arrested in the States by the eft'ort as well of the Legislative as of the Executive, then will our lives and fortunes follow where our honors will have gone before." It seems from this that he was looking to legitimate sources, to-wit, the Legislative and Executive authority of the State, for the arrest of apprehended encroachments. His expressions of sympathy for the North- west, I contend, are shared in, to a great ex- tent, by men of all parties, who have felt that her interests liave, by partial legislation, been made to pay tribute to those of New England. Indeed, it was quite a common expression among many members of the party with which Mr. Milligan acted, that the burdens of the war were not equally distributed, and that the Eastern States had not responded to the calls for volunteers with the same alacrity that had distinguished the North-west. Indeed, it will be remembered, that, previous to the date of that letter, public attention was frequently directed bj- the public journals to the alleged fact, that while Indiana was putting her 118th Regiment into the field, Massachusetts, with a population about equal to that of this State, was recruiting negroes in Indiana to fill up her 54th Regiment. With the justice of these comparisons we have, in the present inquiry, nothing to do, but only with the fact that such complaints were made. Mr. ?Jilligan was then seeking office at the hands of those who uttered them, and the expression meant, simply, that if he was elected Governor, he would only ask Indiana to do her just part; it certainly had no reference to a North-west- ern Confederacy. As to the expression about the halter being a preamble to the platform, etc., it is clearly referable to a reported declaration, said to have been made in a pub- lic speech, by our State Executive, shortly be- fore that time, that those leading opponents of the Administration would come to grief, and their families suffer want. Whether or not the declaration was ever made, is unim- portant in this inquiry; for, whether true or false, it was so published, and explains tlie phraseologj' of this portion of the letter. And thus closes the last circumstance and the last inquiry, leaving this unhallowed prosecution without a stay or support. After an investigation, occupying a period of about two months, the prosecution having failed to establish, by evidence, a single one of the inculpatory circumstances charged against Mr. Milligan, I am at a loss to knovV upon what principle of law, morality, or justice, he is detained in a loathsome prison, under circumstances of extreme hardship. This may, perhaps, be considered strong lan- guage, but knowing personally all the cir- cumstances of the case, I must say that his arrest and confinement, considering his char- acter, his physical condition, the health of his family, and the offer of his friends to give bail in any sum that might be asked for his appearance, does not accord with that degree of civilization which should characterize a great people. Never was a citizen more vin- dictively pursued. Every principle held sa- cred among honorable men has been violated by those following his track. Professional confidence, ever heretofore held sacred, has been prostituted to manufacture evidence against him. His kindly sympathies were aroused by a villain, who only sought to betray and ruin him. Private and confi- dential correspondence has been seized and introduced, in the vain hope of finding some inadvertent treason. And yet what has been discovered? What fatal act or word has been found? It is in evidence that, nearly a year ago, Zumro was placed on his track (and I am compelled to give its authors credit for the completeness of their plan) — Zumro, who was his neighbor and acquaint- ance! In order to more effectually blind Mr. Milligan, Zumro was arrested by the military authorities, and, as a part of the plan, em- ployed his unsuspecting victim, who is a lead- ing lawyer of the State, to defend him; and yet, during all the sacred and confidential in- tercourse existing between attorney and cli- ent, when all restraint is ordinarily thrown off, not a word, not even a murmur against the Government escaped his lips. That ear that was paid to listen with aching interest for some unguarded remark, never caught even a whisper of discontent; until finally, when on a bed of perilous sickness — the bed from which he was dragged to his present dungeon — while delirious with disease and drugs — that spj' and informer goes to him in the hopes of hearing some treasonable ex- pression escape him in his wild and incohe- rent ravings. And now, forgetting for awhile his terrible impeachment, let us look his evidence full in 248 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. the face. With insinuating manner, he squats beside that bed of sickness, and asks, "What is the order going to do about the draft?" to which Mr. Milligan replies, "Nothing; there are no fighting men about Huntington.'' But, unwilling to give it up, for his pay was shining before his greedy vision, with lying tongue he saj'S, "we are going to resist it if we get assistance from here;" to which, he in- forms us, Mr. Milligan replied, "It is as good a time as any," and that "if he was well and in the woods, he could kill twenty before they could take him." But in this, as in every thing else, he is impeached by Mr. Johnson, a respectable farmer, who was present and heard the whole conversation. Infamous be- ing I May God help you, and never allow your children to know the deep damnation of your infamy; else, from utter shame, thej' will become vagabonds and outlaws on the earth. I have done; and now, Mr. President and officers of the Commission, I commit the cause of my client to you. I have known him long and intimately. For fourteen years we have practiced at the same bar, and commingled in its kindly and fraternal intercourse. With his extreme political views I have held no sympathy — for the Sons of Liberty I have had no respect; but I never will believe that Mr. Milligan, either in act or heart, is a traitor. His life has already measured the span of fifty-two years, the last twenty of which have been spent in this State. With "an unblemished reputation" (as the evi- dence shows,) a good, kind and aifectionate wife, a comfortable home, devoted friends, and an enlarged and cultivated mind, he might, in ordinary times, laugh to scorn a charge s-o preposterous. To you, gentlemen, I commit his reputation, his liberty and his life; and, higher than all, gentlemen, there is committed to you the duty of respecting that sacred right — the trial by jury. Better let these defendants go, even should you deem them guilty, than to strike at that glorious old bulwark of liberty! It was in defense of it that Hampden fell, that Sidnej^ bled, that Washington fought, and for which the battle fields of our holy ReToli:- tion were incarnadined with the best blood of our patriot fathers. Shall we forget the lessons of history? Is the emergency so great? is our nation in such deadly perij? and have we become so insane, as to think we can save its life by cutting out its very vitals? If it can be saved only by the sacrifice of con- stitutional liberty, and the inalienable rights of our race, I say let it die. But no, no, it is not so. The God of our fathers will not for- sake us. True, this nation is sick, very sick — the mailed hand of a foul rebellion has been grappling at its throat, but even now the arm is becoming weak and palsied. Then, while we strike at the fell fiend of treason, let us be careful that our dagger may not, in our blind fury, reach the dear idol of our hopes. REPLY OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE. Gentlemen of the Commission: In closing this trial, it becomes my duty to reply to the able addresses or arguments made on behalf of the accused by their counsel. These trials have been in progress now since the nineteenth day of September. It has been one long, continuous labor, exhausting to the Court, to the counsel for the defense, and cer- tainly to myself. The labor that has been required to develop the facts given to this Court, few will ever know, or appreciate. The responsibility of giving to you the facts in- volved in this issue, and the correct law, so far as I was able, during nearly a three months' struggle, has been solely upon my shoulders, unaided. I beg the Court, therefore, to look charitably upon those eiforts wherein I have failed to do the cause of the Government full justice. AVliile I yield to many, to the counsel for the accused, greater experience, learning and ability, I can, and do claim to be the peer of any man in my love of country, love of her glo- rious institutions, and in my desire and inflex- ible determination to deal justly with all men. In discussing this question, I hope to say no word that is not fully warranted by the law and the evidence. There is certainly no bit- terness in my heart toward any of these accused ; they are all alike strangers to me. Their counsel have, in tlie conduct of the de- fense, ever been high-toned, gallant, courteous gentlemen, able advocates, and learned in the law. In meeting the question of the jurisdiction of this Court, I shall make no plea or apology for the President, or the Commanding General of this District. I shall claim that the Presi- dent, in issuing his proclamation declaring marti;)l law, suspending the writ of habeas corpus, and making this class of offenses punishable by a military tribunal, acted in conformity to the law, and within the pro- visions of the Constitution ; that his acts were warranted and sanctioned by the Constitution; and that had he done less than he has done, ho would have performed less than his whole duty — he would not have taken "care that the laws were faithfully executed," and would have been unworthy to be the Chief Executive of this great nation, and the Commander-in- Chief of her armies. Had the Commanding General of this District permitted this con- spiracy to ripen, to move forward to its cul- mination, or even to sleep for the time being, until, JEtna-like, it belched forth upon a sleeping people its glowing, seething, red tide of fire and blood, without grappling it and its leaders with the strong military arm, he would have been an Arnold, instead of the brave soldier and patriot he is. This Court has jurisdiction in these cases, and has a right to hear, and pass sentences. First. Because it has been expressly clothed with that right and power by the authority competent to give them; and Second. Because, were no such formal power conveyed, the "laws of war," the military lex non scripta, and the necessity of the present crisis, would clothe thisCourt with jurisdiction to try this class of offenses. Then as to the express authority. In Gen- eral Orders No. 141, of the AVar Department, dated September 25th, 18G2, will be found the proclamation of the President, which reads as follows: AVAR Department, Adjutant Genebal's Office, \ Washington, September 25, 1862. j General Orders No. 141. The following proclamation by the President is published for the information and govern- ment of the Army, and all concerned: BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE tINITED STATES OF AMERICA — A PROCLAMATION. Whereas, It has become necessary to call into service not only volunteers, but also por- tions of the militia of the States by draft, in or- der to suppress the insurrection existing in the United States, and disloyal persons are not ad- equately restrained by the ordinary processes of law from hindering this measure, and from giving aid and comfort in various ways to the insurrection; now, therefore, be it ordered: First. 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 discouraging volunteer enlistments, resisting militia drafts, or guilty of any dis- loyal 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 courts-mar- tial or military commission. Second. That the writ of habeas corpus is sus- pended 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 a«iy military authority, or by the 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 t wenty- P -J fourth day of September,in the year L ■ ■-' of our Lord one thousand eight 249 250 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. hundred and sixty-two, and of the independ- ence of the United States the eiirhty-seventh. ABRAHAJrLIXCOLN. By the President: William H. Seward, Secretary of State. By order of the Secretary of War: L. Thomas, Adjictant General. This proclamation, it will be seen, covers many of the oil'enses set forth in the charges and specifications. It expressly says "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 per- sons discouraging volunteer enlistments, re- sisting militia drafts, or guilty of any disloyal practice, affording aid and comfort to rebels against the authority of the United States, shall be subject to martial law, and liable to trial and punishment by court-martial." To settle the question of jurisdiction beyond all doubt, this Court has but to determine whether the President had the power and the right, under the Constitution, to issue this proclamation. If he had that right as the executive arm of the Government, or as Com- mander-in-Chief of her armies, then Congress could in no wise interfere with, or take from a co-ordinate branch of the Government one of its constitutional prerogatives. For it is admitted of all men, that within the limits prescribed by the Constitution, each branch or department of the Government is su- preme, and free of control or dictation from either of the others. The question then re- curs, had the President the right to suspend the civil law, and put in force martial law, as against the class of offenders designated in the paragraph just quoted? I do not under- stand that the gentleman contends against, or even questions tlie avithority of a commanding general in the field to declare martial law. In fact, the gentleman who has argued the ques- tion of jurisdiction in this case, Mr. Gordon, ■well stated, in the Dodd case, that the army, wherever it moves, carries martial law with it, without any proclamation. The proclamation, as a general rule, is but the giving notice of a fact which already exists. Then, if a com- manding general in the field may, within the theater of his military operations, or within the lines of his military command, declare and enforce martial law, who shall be the judge of when and under what circumstances this shall be done? Certainly the military commander Iiimself. It is one of the rights and powers incident to his military position. An army would be powerless could its opera- tions be hindered and stopped by the processes of civil courts. Could the soldiers of an array be taken from its ranks by habeas corpus, how long, think you, could any army hold together? If by injunction you could stop the erection of fortifications, or the destruction of private property, of wliat efficiency would be the movements of your army? Tlie nearer you approach perfect, arbitrary power, in the gov- ernment of an army, the greater the efficiency and power of that army. To make it effective, it must be as nearly as possible one will, one intelligence, governing and giving direction to the entire physical force under its control; and just in proportion as you distract and divide tliat will, that intelligence, you distract and divide the strength and efficiency of that army. The operations of the civil law, of the civil courts, and the full enjoj'ment of civil rights, are entirely inconsistent with, and opposed to, the operations of an army. The rights of war and the rights of peace are antagonistic, and can not co-exist; one must yield to the other. Tlie laws of war and the laws of peace can not operate at one and the same time upon the same subject-matter; one must take preceden<' \ and the other remain in abeyance. When a war is once in esse, the civil courts will take judicial notice of the fact, they should themselves give way, and yield to this new order of things. It is only in great emergencies that the armies of a nation are called into the field, that war is inaugurated; and when war is once inau- gurated, it is the great, all-absorbing, vital question to that nation. Upon the success of its arms depend its national glory, the full enjoyment of the rights of its people, and, generally, its continuance as a government. Therefore, and for this reason, the civil rights of individuals, the powers and duties exercised by civil courts, for the time being, yield to this greater and more important interest. The commanding general, duly empowered as such, when in the field, has placed upon him great duties and high responsibilities. His power should be adequate to, and coextensive with his duties and responsibilities. He may then, if he deem it necessary for the success of the operations of his army, without its being claimed, it seems to me, by any person, to be a violation of any of the provisions of the Constitution, declare and enforce martial law; he may, at his will, if he deem it necessary, arrest any person within his military limits, or within the theater of his military opera- tions. If he may arrest one, upon the same hy- pothesis he may arrest a thousand. The num- ber is limited only by the necessity. While the Constitution says no man shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due pro- cess of law, yet it can not, and would not be claimed that this would be an unconstitutional exercise of his power. And why? Simply because tliis clause of the Constitution does not refer to this emergency; it has reference to times of peace, to the normal condition of the country. So while private property, under the Constitution, is to be held inviolate, no man will contend but that a military com- mander may seize, at his will, all the forage and provisions necessary for the subsistence of his army, and any thing necessary for its transportation, or enter upon any realty nec- essary for the encampment of his troops, or use any amount of private property necessary for constructing fortifications. He may turn his guns upon the residence of any citizen, loyal though he may be, if it harbor the enemy, or if its removal would render the movements of his army more efficient. He may seize steamers and vessels for transportation; he may blow up bridges and forts; burn and de- stroy towns and citios; and this power is none TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 251 the less perfect and unlimited from the fact that the property taken or destroyed is that of a friend, instead of an enemy. Upon this point, Solicitor Whiting, in his pamphlet upon "The War Powers of the President," has well said: "While war is raging, many of the rights beld sacred by the Constitution — rights which can not be violated by any acts of Congress — may and must be suspended and held in abey- ance. If this were not so, the Government miglit itself be destroyed; the army and navy might be sacrificed, and one part of the Constitution would nullify the rest. ^^\i freedom of speech can not be suppressed, spies can not be caught, imprisoned and hung. '■'■li freedom, of the press can not be interfered with, all our military plans may be betrayed to the enemy. "If no man can be deprived of life withoxit trial by jury, a soldier can not slay the enemy in battle. "If enemy'' s property can not be taken without 'due process of law,' how can the soldier disarm his foe and seize his weapons? " If no person can be arrested, sentenced, and shot, without trial by jury in the county or State where his crime is alleged to have been committed, how can a deserter be shot, or a sjjy be hung, or an enemy be taken prisoner ? "It has been said that 'amidst arms the laws are silent.' It would be more just to say, that while war rages, the rights which in peace are sacred, must and do give way to the higher right — the right of public safety — the right which the country, the whole country, claims, to be protected from its enemies, domestic and foreign — from spies, conspirators, and from traitors. The sovereign and almost dictato- rial powers — existing only in actual war; ending Avhen war ends — to be used in self- defense, and to be laid down when the occa- sion has passed, are, while they last, as lawful, as constitutional, as sacred, as the administration of justice by judicial courts in times of peace. They may be dangerous; war itself is danger- ous ; but danger does not make them uncon- stitutional. If the Commander-in-Chief oi-- ders the army to seize the arms and ammu- nition of the enemy; to capture their per- sons; to shell out their batteries; to hang spies, or shoot deserters; to destroy the armed enemy in open battle; to send traitors to forts and prisons; to stop the press from aiding and comforting the enemy by be- traying our military plans ; to arrest within our lines, or wherever they can be seized, persons against whom there is reasonable evidence of their having aided or abetted the rebels, or of intending so to do — the preten- sion that in so doing he is violating the Con- stitution, is not only erroneous, but it is a plea in behalf of treason. To set up the rules of civil administration, as overriding and con- trolling the laws of war, is to aid and abet the enemy. It falsifies the clear meaning of the Constitution, which not only gives the power, but makes it the plain duty of the Pre- sident, to go to war with the enemy of his country. And the restraints to which he is subject when in war, are not to be found in the municipal regulations, which can be adminis- tered only in peace, but in the law-s and usages of nations regulating the conduct of war." Then, while these powers are conceded to a subordinate military commander in the field, with what consistency can they be denied to his superior, the Commander-in- Chief of all the armies? Is the inferior greater in power than the superior ? Is the servant greater than the master ? The supe- rior may order the inferior, his junior in rank, to suspend the civil law and declare martial law. lie may abrogate and set aside the proclamation of an inferior commander declaring martial law. All the acts of the inferior, the subordinate commander, receive their force, and have vitality only as they are supposed to emanate from and receive the sanction of the military superior, the Com- mander-in-Chief. Under the Constitution, the Commander-in-Chief appoints all these officers; and when the Constitution says that the President of the United States "shall be Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy," that provision carries with it all the necessary power incident to such office. Then it having once been admitted that the subordinate military commander can do these acts, the only question that can arise, is, under what circumstarices can he thus act? First, then, who is to be the judge of when the necessity exists for the Commander-in-Chief to issue his proclamation of martial law, or when he shall declare that martial law does exist? We have seen that in the field, the subordi- nate military commander is, and can alone be the sole judge of that necessity; and he will be held to a high accountability for the exercise of a sound discretion in the use of this despotic power. For a wanton, or unwar- ranted exercise of it, he could be tried before a military tribunal; or on the restoration of peace, he could be held answerable by the aggrieved persons, before a civil tribunal. The only limit to this power in the hands of the subordinate commander, is the existence of the necessity; he being the judge of the necessity within his own military limits. No stronger rules, or greater limitations, of course, would obtain as against the Comman- der-in-Chief. If, under the existence of a great and overpowering necessity, it is con- stitutional and lawful for a subordinate com- mander to declare and enforce martial law, under the same circumstances, and with the same necessity, the Commander-in-Chief can constitutionally and legally declare and enforce martial law. It is not as President of the United States, not as the Chief Execu- tive of a great nation, that he exercises this power, this despotic and arbitrai-y power, but it is as the Commander-in-Chief of her armies in time of war, made such by the express provisions of the Constitution itself. In his judgment, that necessity existed in 1862. For a wanton, or unwarranted exer- cise of that power, he could have been im- peached and tried by the Senate. He v* as the 252 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. sole judge of that necessity. If he had thought the necessity for it existed, he could have issued his proclamation for the civil law and civil courts to be entirely suspended through- out the land ; or in part, only, as the neces- sity demanded. In these Northern States, where branches of the army were operating, where the civil authorities, though weak, and often needing help from the military arm, were yet dominant, as Commander-in-Chief, the President ha.s said that to "rebel insur- gents, their aiders and abettors, and all per- sons discouraging volunteer enlistments., re- sisting militia dralts, or guilty of any dis- loyal practice, affording aid and comfort to rebels against the authority of the United States," the civil law shall be silent, and that, as to them, martial law shall obtain. In all other respects, the civil courts are open and the civil law is in full force. The counsel, in arguing this question of ju- risdiction, has treated the subject, at all times, as though the President, in putting in opera- tion the martial law, must entirely subvert and set aside the civil law and its tribunals. This is an error. If he have the right to do it in whole, he can do it in part; the greater includes the less. llis military lines, as Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the United States, and the theater of the military operations of those armies, are coextensive with the geographical lines of the country. Can the gentlemen point to any State or Territory that is not to- day the theater of vast military operations? He has cited this State. Of the extent of military operations here, of all interests affecting the public welfare, this Court has a right, without proof, to take judicial notice. On that subject, Greenleaf, vol. 1st, page 7, says: "In like manner, the Law of Nations, nnd the general customs and usages of merchants, as well as the public statutes and general laws and customs of their own country, as well ecclesiastical as civil, are recognized, without proof, by the courts of all civilized nations. * ® ;»«*;» « Neither is it necessary to prove things which must have happened according to the ordi- nary course of nature; ■■•■ * * * nor, any matters of public history, affecting the whole people; nor, public matters, affect- ing the government of the country." When I say to you, then, that there are to- day in Indianapolis and the vicinity, and have been for the last six months, and the greater portion of the time, ever since 1801, soldiers on duty, preparing for or returning from the field, or passing through your city, in transitu from other points, in number more than one-half of the entire army of the United States previous to this war, it will scarcely be denied that this is the theater of military operations. There are here, to say nothing of other portions of the State, nearly 4,1)00 troops. This Court will recognize the further fact, that upon the streets of this city, to-day, more than one-half of the persons you meet, are either soldiers of the Government, or persons in the military employ and pay of the Gov- ernment; and more than one-half of the busi- ness done in your city is directly, or ir.dircct- ly, for our army. You are holding in your camps here, within sight of this city, nearly •3,000 prisoners of war, to capture whom jjroba- bly not less than 5,000 lives of loyal men have been expended ;• — a force of the enemj' as large nearly as either the army of General Scott or General Taylor, when they invaded Mexico. But, last year, the enemy made a triumplial march through a large portion of this State, and all the available military forces of the State were called out to defend your homes. At what hour this same exigency may happen you again, with the enemy's cannon thunder- ing less than a hundred miles from j'our bor- der, no man can tell. No year has passed since the inauguration of this rebellion, and scarcely any month, that the commanding officer of this District has not had to send military forces into some portion of this State, to suppress armed insurrection. This is a notorious, public fact. And no month passes, now, but a guerrilla raid is announced from some of the river counties. The theater of military operations is the place where the armies are moving, or operating, where mili- tary forces are performing their legitimate duties; tried by this rule, it can scarcely be denied, and certainly not successfully, that your State is the theater of milit^ary opera- tions. The condition of things here is paral- leled by almost every other State in the Union. It could scarcely be otherwise when the whole country is engaged and taking part in this war; when from an entire population of a little more than twentj' millions of jieople 3'ou draw from it, by volunteering and dr:ift, over two millions of able-bodied men. As a general rule in voting, you get but one vote for every six inhabitants, and certainly the proportion of men for the army would not be greater than of votes. This army comes from every township, school district, neighborhood, and almost evei'y family in the land. The whole land, more or less, is making this struggle its chief object. Congress has the right to call into the field, for the sake of nuiintaining the life of the Government, the entire physical force of this nation. AVhcn once in the field, that force is wielded, con- trolled and molded by but one will, and that, the will of the Commander-in-Chief. How soon it may be necessary to call upon this entire physical force, no one can tell. You certainly have already in the service more than half of those jihysically able to bear arms; and just in proportion as you obstruct and interfere with the efficiency of that army, as you promote and protect conspirators and conspiracies, here in these States, tliat must furnish tlie men for the armies, and the mate- rials of war, just in that ratio will the remain- ing portion of the able-bodied men be called upon and put into the field, to carry this war successfully through. As to the extent of this rebellion, its places of operation, etc., Aaron F. Perry, in his ad- mirable argument on the .-ipplication for a writ of habeas corpus, before Judge Leavitt, in the Vallandigham case, says: TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 253 "As a matter of coiirse it can not be, and as a matter of fact it is not, limited to places, or described by gcogvapliical descriptions. In some parts of the country it dominates society; in other parts it is dominated by the regular civil administration. We hear of no place so dark but that some weak praj'ers are uttered for the Constitution; and of no place so bright but that lurking treason sometimes leaves its trail, or shows, through all disguises, its sin- ister unrest. "The power and wants of the insurrection are not all, nor chiefly, military. It needs not only food, clothing, arms, medicine, but it needs hope and sympathy. It needs moral aid to sustain it against reactionary tenden- cies. It needs argument to represent its origin and claims to respect favorably before the world. It needs information concerning the strength, disposition, and movements of Gov- ernment forces. It needs help to paralyze and divide opinions among those who sustain the Government, and needs help to hinder and embarrass its councils. It needs that troops should be withheld from Government, and its financial credit shaken. It needs that Gov- ernment should lack confidence in itself, and become discouraged. It needs that an opinion should prevail in the world that the Govern- ment is incapable of success, and unwortliy of sympathy. Who can help it in either par- ticular I have named, can help it as effectually as by bearing arms for it. Wherever in the United States a wish is entertained to give such help, and such wish is carried to its ap- propriate act, there is the place of the insur- rection. Since all these helps combine to make up the strength of the insurrection, war is necessarily made upon them all, when made upon the insurrection. Since each one of the insurrectionary forces holds in check, or neutralizes a correspondingGovernment force, and since Government is iu such extremity as not safely to allow any part of its forces to withdraw from the struggle, it has no recourse but to strike at whatever part of this insur- rection it shall find exposed." In this State the insurrection is dominated by the regular civil authorities; yet it has its existence among you; it has its advocates, its adherents and abettors; those who give it aid and comfort; those who would give it sympathy and encouragement; those who carry that sym- pathy and encouragement into action. For the keeping of this part of the insurrection, this part of the rebellion in subjection, the Government has deemed it necessary to place troops here, and elsewhere in the State. To that extent, then, certainly, this is the theater of military operations; and, as I have said, this condition of things is paralleled in each of the Northern States. It is a sad fact that we have no State so loynl bnt that it is found nursing in its bosom some traitors, some who adhere to the enemies of the Government, and give them active sympathy and encourage- ment. On the question as to whether the proclama- tion of the President, cited in this case, was still in full force, the gentleman who has argued this question of jurisdiction has ex- pended much time and labor. I believe this proclamation to be in full force and effect, and to have been in no wise interfered with by act of Congress, or by any subsequent act of the President himself. In this proclamation of September, 1862, he suspends the habeas corjnis, and puts in operation, or rather declares that martial law is in existence as to a certain class of offenders; saying, in substance, that the necessities of the times demand that this class of cases shall be tried by military courts. He expressly limits the operation of martial law to the offenders, or offenses, therein desig- nated. It will be remembered by the Court, that at that time there was much cavil and discussion throughout the land, as to whether the power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, under the Constitution, was in the Executive or the Legislative branch of the Government. Con- gress attempted to put at rest all question upon that subject; and, to strengthen the arms of the President, passed an act, approved March 3d, 1863, authorizing the President to sus- pend the writ of habeas corpus. It has always seemed to me that this act of Congress, to say the best of it, was but a nullity; the Consti- tution gave this power either to the Executive or to the Legislative deparLiueut cif the Govern- ment. If, under the Constitution, it belonged to the Executive, then, certainly, it was simply a work of supererogation for Congress to re- give it to the President: if it was given to the Legislative, it was a power which they could not transfer. If, under the Constitution, it was given to the President, as I before re- marked. Congress could not take it from him. The question, then, is simply whether this power to suspend the writ of habeas cojpus belongs to the President, or to Congress. The suspension of the writ of habeas corjnts is not the declaration of martial law; it is more properly one of the incidents of martial law, or of a state of war. This writ is to be suspended when a great public necessity shall demand it. And who shall be the judge as to when that necessity exists? The Constitution says "the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless in case of rebellion, or invasion, the public safety may require it;" thus placing its suspension upon the contingency of some great public danger or emergency. Our legislative body, Congress, usually con- venes but once a year, never oftener than twice a year: and in times of foreign war, invasion, or rebellion, would we dare to say that the Government should wait the expira- tion of that year, or until Congress could be convened, to suspend the writ of habeas corpt/s or declare martial law? Such a course M'ould be suicidal, and destructive of the Governinent itself. The power certainly docs rest whert it properly should rest, with the Executive of the Government; tlie Commander-in-Chief of the armies; the power that wields the physical force that must defend the life of the nation, if that life be in danger. It, then, being with the Executive, Congress, by its action, in no wise changed or interfered with this original prerogative of the President. It simply put 254 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. at rest the discussion as to ■where this power ■was vested. After the passage of this act of Congress, the President again issued a proclamation of September 15th, 1863, entirely suspending the ■writ of habeas corjnis throughout the United States as to all classes of persons held by autlrority of the United States, or charged ■v\'ith offenses against the Government. This ■was simply making larger and more compre- hensive his proclamation of September, 1862. It in no wise abrogated that proclamation, or interfered with its action; it was confined purely to the writ of habeas corpus, and was made universal in its operation. Military courts were before given jurisdiction, and martial law W'as declared as to certain classes of offenses; this, certainly, did not take from those courts that jurisdiction, neither ex- pressly, nor by implication; it did not inter- fere with the operations of martial law, which had already been declared. As to the proclamation of the President in Kentucky, on the 5th day of July, 1864, that was simply a proclamation which put into force martial law, and declared that such a state of war existed in that State as to demand the entire silence of civil law ; that martial law, without being confined to any particular class of persons or offenses, should there be in existence in all its power and force. It in no wise abrogated, or interfered with, the procla- mation of 1862, but simply said that in that State there was a necessity for a more extended operation of martial law tlian was required in other States, and was perfectly consistent with the proclamation of 1862, and also with that of 1863, suspending the writ of habeas roiyus. This, I think, sufficiently answers the inquiry of the gentleman as to why the proc- lamation of July 5;h, 1864, was issued. Finally, as to the formal proclamation of the President, clothing this Court with juris- diction, I call the attention of the Court to Lawrence's Wheaion o?? Intcrnatio7ial Laiv, page 522, note, where the author, after review- ing in an extended article the statutory provisions and regulations of the different European Governments in reference to the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and the proclamation of martial law, as to this particular proclamation of September 24th, 1S62, says: "But, whatever may he the infer- ence to be deduced, either from constitutional or international law, or from the usages of European Governments, as to the legitimate depository of the power of suspending the writ of habeas corpus, the virtual abrogation of the ji'.diciary in cases affecting individual liberty, and the establishment, as mailer of /act, in the United States, by the E.xecutive alone, of martial law — notmerely in the insurrectionary districts or in cases of military occupancy, but throughout the entire Union, and not tem- porarily, but as an institution as permanent as the insurrection on which it professes to be based, and capable, on tlie same principle, of being revived in all cases of foreign as well as civil war — are placed boj-ond question by the President's proclamation of September 24, 1862. It^was issued two days after the proc- lamation for the emancipation of the slaves in the insurgent States," etc. The counsel for the accused has especially requested me to answer the inquiry, how any department of this Government — each depart- ment being limited in its authority by its organic law, the Constitution — can exercise the despotic power of martial law? I answer him that that department of the Government has that power, ■«'hich has been expressly clothed, by that organic law, with despotic and perfect arbitrary power, in cer- tain contingencies. I refer to the President when acting as the military chieftain of the armies. As I have before stated, the greatest efficiency of any army is achieved when it approaches nearest the perfection of arbitrary and absolute rule; and that, from time im- memorial, has been the aim of all military laws and regulations. Every nation Laving an armj', has felt that there should be but one will to govern that army, to wield the physical force under its command, and that will abso- lute and untrammeled. In times of war, the power of the President of the United States, as Commander-in-Chief of her armies, is des- potic and arbitrary; and must be so, to be of any eflficiency whatever — assuming, of course, that the objects to be achieved are legitimate and constitutional. War is defined by Vattel as "tliat state in which a nation prosecutes its rights by force." We next come to the consideration of the question of when martial laAv should obtain, and what the necessity is that will warrant it; whether that necessity has existed in this country during tliis rebellion; whether that necessity now exists, so as to warrant this Court to proceed in these cases; and whether the operation of martial law is consistent with, and kno-^'n to the Constitution and laws of ovtr country. Tlie consideration of these points, and their satisfactory settlement, will also settle the second point upon which we place the juris- diction of this Court, to wit: 'that were no such formal power conveyed by the proclama- tion of the President, yet the "laws of war," the military lex non scripia, and the necessity of the present crisis, would clothe this Court with jurisdiction to try this class of offenses. In consiiloring these questions, I do not pro- pose Eo much to go back to the decisions of the dark ages, nor to untomb the obsolete law of a thousand years ago, nor to rely so much upon English precedents where the forms of that Government are so entirely different from those of our own, as upon the action, the precedents, and opinions of the great and good men of our own nation. The very or- ganizations of those despotic, kingly Govern- ments would preclude and almost make im- possible the idea that their action could be quoted as precedents for us. There the King and his faction were at war ever with the aristocracy and the people ; the aristocracy and their interests were at war with tho King and the people; and the interests of the people, the masses, were always, and ever, adverse to the other two. At one time the King would be so securely enthroned, and so TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 255 strongly seated upon the arms of Lis soldiers that he carried his kingly prerogatives to a cruel and oppressive extent; and again, the aristocracy, the titled few of the nation, the landed nobles would dominate, and thoir inter- ests would -take precedence; and then again the masses, through some noble patriot and champion, would make a struggle once more for their rights. The history of ages and nations that are gone by, are not, therefore, consistent precedents for us; they are not consistent with each other. Here, the great, controlling powers and interests are the rights of the people; no class, no king, nor potentate can maintain interests adverse to them. It can not, however, be said that the action of the English Government, or that the English prece- dents cited by the gentleman in his argument, are against the enforcement of martial law, as they do recognize its exist-ence and utility in great emergencies. Most of the cases cited in that argument — replete, as it is, with vast research and learning — are instan- ces of the abuse of martial law; of the King using it for carrying out his peculiar and tyrannical i!otions, for oppressing some par- ticular subject. And I could take the same cases cited by the gentleman himself, to show that in no century has anj great emergency arisen, as civil war or rebellion, in that country, but that some department of the Government took upon itself the responsi- bility of declaring martial law, and permit- ted the of&cers of its army to act under its ceffis; — in some instances Parliament declar- ing martial law, in others the King claiming it as his peculiar prerogative. Most of the cases cited in which there was an outcry against martial law, were those in which the King, in time of peace, had undertaken to en- force martial law in some oppressive manner against some particular subject, from a per- sonal motive. The most prominent to which the gentleman refers is that given by Sir Matthew Hale, in his history of the Common Law, which reads : " The exercise of martial law, whereby any person should lose his life, member, or liberty, may not be permited, in time of peace" etc. And again, in the case of Edmund, Earl of Kent, which was afterward reversed in 1st Edward 3, the language used is as follows : ' "That whenever any subject of the Lord the King shall be arrested for sedition in time of peace," etc. In the same case, also, the fol- lowing language occurs : '••" ■■•' •■■■ * ""•■■ "Whence it follows that when it is made known and manifest that all the time during which it is alleged that the crimes were done, on account of which he was arrested, to the time in whici he was taken and adjudged to death, was a thne of profound peace," etc. I shall not stop now to refer to the circum- stances of the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. \n these cases in England, but simply cite tlie gentleman's attention to the fact that it v,-;ls suspended at the time of the invasion of the Pretender, in 1715, and his son in 1745, in Ireland in 1800, and from 1802 to 1805, from 1S07 to 1810, in 1812, and from 1822 to 1824. I desire, however, to call the attention of the gentleman and that of the Court to the action of the British Government in 1848; — the action and speeches of the statesmen of that Government, some of whom are still on the political stage. The agitation in Ireland began to assume a thi-eatening aspect directly after the conti- nental revolutions of February and March; but in the previous December, Parliament had passed an a-ct forbidding tlie possession of arms in certain troublesome districts. In April an act called the Felony Bill, was passed, making it felony "for any peifon to compass, imagine, or intend to depose the sovereign, or to levy war against her." In July, the AVhig ministry, through Lord John Russell, introduced a bill into Parliament, empowering the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Deputies, to apprehend and detain till the 1st of ]\Iarch, 1849, such persons as they should suspect of conspiring against Her Majesty's person and government. This was a suspension of the act of habeas corpus for all Ireland ; — the loyal northern part of the island, as well as the disaffected east, and the rebellious south and west. The bill was in- troduced, and went through all its stages to its final passage, in one day; on the next day, in like manner it passed the House of Lords, the vote being unanimous in both houses, and on the same day, received the assent of the Queen. Even the Irish members did not vote against it. Lord Brougham, in speaking upon the bill in the House of Lords, said: " A friend of liberty I have lived, and so I shall die — nor do I care how soon that may be, if I can not be the friend of liberty with- out being a friend of traitors at the same time, without being a protector of criminals, without being deemed to be the accomplice of foul rebellion and its concomitant civil war, with all its hideous train of atrocious crimes. It is because I am a friend of liberty that I detest the conspiracies which are brewing in the sister isle. The noble Marquis (Lans- downe) has informed us that the danger is imminent. Then let the measure which in- vests the Government with needful, and no more tliau needful powers, be immediately adopted." These words come home to us to-day with peculiar force. Earl Derby, then Lord Stan- ley, said : "I think that the Government has asked for the right remedy. I think the remedy for which they have asked is one which will striko (he right persons, and strike them with- in the right time. I am not one of those who would seek for victims among the credulous dupes of the incendiary agitators of Ireland — dupes who will be put forward in the front ranks for the purpose of committing crimes and outrages. I do not desire — God forbid that I should — that tipou them the severest penalty of the law should fall. No ! I desire it should fall upon those who, well knowing the cousequcuces of their conduct — who, well knowing the falseness of their pretexts — who, well knowing the fatal effects that must flow from the doctrines they preach, evince a read- iness to sacrifice every thing to their passions 256 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAP0LI3. and their sordid interests, and for their own purposes, do not hesitate to involve their friendless and too credulous fellow country- men in the guilt of treason and the danger of civil war. The persons I wish to see punished are those who have sufficient skill, who have sufficient information and intelligence to keep themselves free from such legal guilt as would bring them under the operation of the law, with the probability of a conviction, but who, nevertheless, are morally guilty in the eye of God and man, of the crime of inciting to treason, murder, rebellion and civil war. I favor the measure now proposed, chiefly be- cause by its means we shall get rid of all doubts and di^iculties ; we shall have no more of these delays of the war, no more of the chicanery which encourages evil doers to hope for ultimate escape, and which is certain to cause such procrastination that when, at length, the sword of justice falls, the example does not produce half the effect it ought to have." In the House of Commons, Lord John Rus- sell said : "I believe in my conscience that this measure is calculated to prevent insurrection, to preserve internal peace, to preserve the unity of this empire, to save the throne of these realms and the free institutions of this country." Sir Kobert Peel, in speaking on this bill, said : "I, for one, am perfectly prepared to insist on no ordinary powers. I believe that the Government is justified in asking for this measure. I believe the measure itself — the power to apprehend on suspicion, and keep tlie conspirators in confinement — is necessary. I will not urge on the ministry measures of greater coercion than those their own respon- sibility demands ; but tills I say, as nothing but necessity can justify a suspension of the habeas corpus act, the same necessity makes immediate action desirable." Mr. Disraeli thought the House "ought not to hesitate to grant the Government the great and extraordinary powers for which they ask." And Mr. Joseph Hume, the leader of the Liberals, and always the fast friend of Ire- land, said that he should "be sorry to see any division on the measure now before the House." Martial law in England as completely vio- lates and suspends the Magna Charta as in this country it docs our Constitution. Sec- tion 80, which has been referred to by the gentleman, provides that "no freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or disseized, or out- la-vvt>d, or banished, or any way injured, nor will we pass upon him, nor send upon him, unless by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land." The Mutiny Act, of 1689— and which has been re-enacted at every session of Parlia- ment for more than 175 years — contains, among others, the following declaration :' " V/hereas, no man may be forejudged of life or limb, or subject to any kind of judg- ment by martial law, or any other matter than by the judgment of his peers, and ac- cording to the known and established laws of this realm," etc. There is no doctrine more ineradicably graven upon the Constitution and the civil polity of England, than the writ of habeas corpus and the exemption of the subject from martial law; but, notwithstand- ing this clear provision of the Magna Charta. as often as it has been necessary, martial law has been proclaimed. In the riots of 1780, after the mob had in- sulted a member of Parliament, and threatened to attack the residence of the Chief Justice, the King in Council issued his proclamation, as follows: "We have therefore issued the most direct and effectual orders to all our officers, by an immediate exertion of their utmost force, to suppress the same." After which the Adju- tant General issued the following order, to wit: "In obedience to the order of the King in Council, the military are to act without wait- ing the direction of the civil magistrate, and to use force for dispersing the illegal and tumultuous assemblages of the people." In subsequent debates in Parliament, the conduct of the King was approved. Lord Mansfield and Lord Thurlow claimed that it was not a prerogative of the King to declare martial law, or to use the military to suppress riots, but they defended the act on the ground of necessity. During the Irish rebellion, in 1798, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Camden, pro- claimed martial law, which existed a year without any legislative action; and after that, the Irish Parliament sanctioned the act. In 1801, after the Union, this subject was dis- cussed, and a bill was introduced to continue martial law. In this debate, both those who approved and those who opposed the bill con- ceded the right of the Executive Government to proclaim martial law when necessary. Sheridan, who opposed the bill, said: "In case of rebellion, or invasion, His Maj- esty has, by virtue of his prerogative, a right to martial law." Lord Castlereagh, in defense of the bill, said : "I perfectly understand that the prerogative of the Crown authoi'izes this act, in its author- ity to exercise martial law. I maintain that it is a constitxitional mod-e for the Executive Government to exercise martial law in the first instance, and to come to Parliament for indemnity afterward, and is preferable to applying to Parliament first." This is a some- what anomalous declaration on the part of Lord Castlereagh; for if it was a prerogative of the, Crown, and a constitutional mode of exercising that prerogative, where is the ne- cessity of any subsequent indemnifying act? He goes on to say: "The onlj' circumstance in mind is, whether, if the necessity exists, this is the proper remedy? If it be so, we ought not to take alarm at a departure from prin- ciple, which is necessary for the preservation of the Constitution itself." Sir L. Parsons, in opposing the bill, said he thought "the measure unnecessary. The Ex- ecutive Government could resort to martial TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 257 law if it was necessary to suppress rebel- lion." Mr. Gray, also one of its opponents, said: "It was better that the Government should resort to what had been culled (he thought not legally) its prerogative of proclaiming martial law. That was no prerogative of the Crown, but rather an act of that power sanc- tioned by necessity, martial law being a sus- pension of the King's peace. But it was belter that martial law should proceed from the Executive Government, in urgent moments, than be the work of the Legislature, on very slight pretexts." At the time of the rebellion in Ceylon, in 1848, the Governor proclaimed martial law, and tried and executed many rebels. Here is a case exactly in point. His conduct was se- verely criticised in England, upon the ground that it M'as v.nvecessary; and in an able review in the Quarterly, volume 83, page 127, we find the following: "We shall define martial law to be the law of necessity, or defense. The right which a Governor of a colony has to proclaim martial law over subjects, may be said to bear a close analogy to the right which an individual, in absence of legal protection, has to slay an assailant. In both cases, the evil must be grave. In both cases, all regular means of defense must be exhausted, or beyond reach, before the aggrieved party resorts to extrem- ities. In both cases, the burden of proof lies on him who has ventured on such an expedient; and if he fails to vindicate himself, he is liable to severe punishment. "Hallam 1, Constitutional History, page 240, says: " 'There may, indeed, be times of pressing danger, when the conservation of all demands a sacrifice of the legal rights of a few; there may be circumstances that not only justify, but compel the abandonment of constitutional forms. It has been usual for all Governments, during an actual rebellion, to proclaim martial law, or the suspension of civil jurisdiction. And this anomaly, I must admit, is very far from being less indispensable at such unhappy seasons, in countries where the ordinary mode of trial is by jury, than where the right of decision rests in the judge.'" In considering the opinions and action of British statesmen upon this question, it should be borne in mind that there is an essential difference between the King of England and the President of the United States, in respect to the prerogatives vi^itli which they are clothed by the constitutional laws of the respective nations. The King of England is not the Commander-in-Chief of her array and navy, whereas the President of the United States is, by express provision of our Constitution. Upon the question of what martial law is, and wherein it ditfers from military law, there can be no difference of opinion, and need be but little discussion. The rules and regula- tions, and special acts of Congress existing for the government of those persons in the military service of the country, constitute the military law; and they are as clear and Vv^ell defined as any statutes of the land. M.artial 17 law, on the contrary, can never be restricted by any defined lines, because it is the law of uecessitj', the law of self-defense, of self- preservation; it is a law to meet a state of disorder; a law to meet the exigences and necessities of great, unexpected emergencies; and whatever law, or rule of action, becomes necessary to meet those emergencies, is martial law. As, for illustration, martial law, as now being administered, has given these prisoners a fair, impartial hearing, according to the strict rules of the civil law, in all questions of evidence, argument, etc.; it has given them the benefit of counsel, of processes to compel the attendance of witnesses; it has allowed them a clear and public trial, in open day, before their peers, and before just and honor- able men. But, under other circumstances, and greater emergencies, it might have de- manded that they be shot down in the streets, without trial, and without hearing; as in case they had gone forward in this conspiracy, attacked your camps, undertaken to release your prisoners, and burn your city. In one case, the emergency might have demanded instant and summary punishment, because found in the act of insurrection; the other admits of, and permits, an investigation ac- cording to the forms of law, to see Avhethor the accused were actually engaged in, and moving forward to the consummation of an insurrection. Martial law should obtain, does obtain, and must obtain whenever a state of war exists. Says Vattel, in his Law of Nations, page 346: "The v/hole is deduced from one single prin- ciple; from the object of a just war; for, when the end is lawful, he who has a right to pursue that end, has, of course, a right to employ all the means which are necessary for its attainment." When the fact of war was once established throughijut this country, instantly, by reason of that fact, were brought into existence, so far as was necessary, the laws of war; and those laws were in operation wherever the war was being prosecuted. Wherever the army existed, was moving, in part or in whole, or doing battle, there the laws of war took precedence of the civil laws, the laws of peace. In some places, where the clash of arms had made silent all civil avocations, the arm}' was the controlling, the dominant power: the laws of war, martial law, the law of necessity', was the sole law. In other places, where only a branch of the army was operating, existing, or moving in the general purposes of war, some portions of the civil law would continue in operation: those only, however, which were not inconsistent with the existence, move- ments, or operations of that part of the army. Of the necessity that will warrant the creclar- ation of martial law, or the silencing of the civil law, in part or in whole, the Commander- in-Chief, or his subordinate military com- mander, can, and must be, the sole judge; and while it is being exercised, it is the dom- inant law, and is just as much law, just as much constitutional law, as any portion of the civil law. As I have before remarked, the oiEcer or person exercising this high powei 2bl TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. must he, nnd alwaj-s is, held to a liigh ac- countability. If the President exercise it, he can he held accountahle to the House and Sen- ate on impeachment; if an inferior military ccminandcr, he can beheld accountable before eitlicv a military or a civil tribunal. It will be recollected by this Court, that in May, 186], while the courts were open and in full force, one John ^Merryman, a citizen of Maryland, was arrested by military authority, ;:nd held by express sanction and direction of the President. A great outcry was raised thronchout the country, by such men as Val- landigham, Voorhecs, and others, at this arbi- trarj- arrest, as they called it, and j\tr. Val- landigham, in an extra session, in 1861, brought forward in the House a resolution of censure or impeachment of the President, for his unauthorized acts during the war, his procla- mations with reference to the blockade, calling out armies to suppress the rebellion, his arbi- trary arrests, etc. At this same session, August Cth, 1861, Congress took action upon this subject as follows: "And be {(further enacted, That all the acts, proclamations, and orders of the President of the United States after the fourth of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, respecting the army and navy of the United States, and calling out or relating to tlie militia or volnn- tccrs from the States, are hereby approved and in all respects legalized and made valid, to the same extent, and with the same effect as if they had been issued and done under the previous express authority and direction of the Congress of the United States." Vol. 12 United States Statutes at Lartje, page 326. Thus saj's the lav; by which Congress conveyed to the President their approval of the power then exercised by him, and their opinion of its necessity. Wlicn the necessity for its exer- cise does exist, and the authorities act prompt- ly and vigorously for the good of the Govern- ment and the people, and for the preservation of the life o? the nation, that action will be justified and commended by all good men ; for it can hardly be said that the Constitution did not contemplate and provide for the perpe- tuity of its own existence, and give to those who were charged with its preservation suffi- cient power to defend its life in great emer- gencies ; or that it withheld from the Execu- tive, the vital arm of the Government, the pow-er and the right to strike in its own de- fense, and for its very existence. Some persons, generally those who have not the best interests of the nation at heart, have been inclined to look upon our Constitution as a cast iron frame, incapable of change or growtli; in other v/ords, unfitted to (h.e inev- itable growth of the nation ; as not framed to be prospective in its operations, nor con- structed to meet the wants of an everchang- ing, increasing, and progressive nation. Or regard it as an iron band placed about the trunk of a living tree, which would girdle it in its growth, or be burst by it. We are in- clined to that liberal and seemingly states- manlike construction of the instrument that believes it to be adopted to meet the exigen- ces of the nation for which it was brought into existence; we say with Solicitor Whit- ing: " By a liberal construction of the Constitu- tion, our Government has passed through many storms unharmed. Slavcholding States, other than those whose inhabitants originally formed it, have found their way into the Union, notwithstanding the guarantee of equal rights to all. The territories of Florida and Louisiana have been purchased from European powers. Conquest has added a nation to our borders. The purchased and the conquered regions are now legally a part of the United States. The admission of new States containing a privil- eged class, the incorporation into our Union of a foreign people, are held to be lawful and valid by all the Courts of the country. Thus far from the old anchorage have we sailed under the flag of 'public necessity,' 'general welfare,' or 'common defense.' Yet tlie groat charier of our political rights 'still lives;' and the question of to-day is, whether that instrument, which has not prevented America from acquiring one country by pur- chase, and another by conquest, will permit her to save herself?" It seems to me that our statesmen, hereto- fore, have been too free to admit the limited and circumscribed powers of that great or- ganic law ; but in support of this exercise of the law of necessity — of martial law — some of the prominent writers of our country and m.nny of its ablest statesmen have claimed ihat a military commander would be author- ized to disregard the Constitution and laws themselves, were it necessary to the preserva- tion of the republic ; and there is no doubt but that the government de facto would be en- tirely upheld and sanctioned in the exercise of such a power. It will be remembered that while General Jackson was in command of New Orleans, in 1814, when the British were besieging that city, he declared martial law; believing that the safety of the city, and the safet^y and wel- fare of the citizens demanded it, and that it was necessary for liis successful defense of the same. While in command of the city, the General arrested a Frenchman named Loual- ler, on a charge of instigating treason and mutiny, and for conspiring with other trea- sonable persons in the city, to aid the enemy. Without affidavit, presentment, or indictment, he arrested this roan, threw him into prison, and held him. Judge Hall, the United States District Judge for that District, on the 5ih day of March, ISlf), issued a writ of habeas corpus directed to General Jackson, requiring him to answer in person, and bring the per- son of Louallicr before liim. General Jack- son, instead of obeying the writ, arrested this Judge of the United States Court, and by mil- itary force, without hearing or trial, hold him for a time as prisoner, and finally sent him beyond his lines. Here was the declaration of martial law, its rigid enforcement, aibitrary arrest, and punishment without any form of triaj, by that old patriot General .Jackson, whose heroic deeds and name are enshrined in the hearts of all who love their country. After the city was saved, and that glorious TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 259 battle of New Orleans — which will ever make the name of Jackson immortal — was closed, and the enemy had withdrawn from the envi- rons of the city, the necessity for martia' law no longer existed, and General Jackson, by public proclamation, abrogated it. Judge Hall then retui-ned to tlie city; had General Jackson brought before him on a charge of contempt of Court, for l-efusing to obey the writ of habeas corpus, and fined him $1,000. The necessity, as before stated, for martial law having passed awaj', and the majesty of the civil law having again asserted itself, the General bowed in submission to its mandates. His army, and the loyal citizens of New Or- leans, were so indi-^-naut and so outraged by this conduct of Judge Hall, that it was only through the efforts of General Jackson him- self, that the Judge was saved from personal violence. In the winter of 1843-4, on a resolution to refund to General Jackson this excessive fine, the whole question of martial l:>w was fully discussed by Congress. On January 7th, Stephen A. Douglas, that clear-headed lawyer, patriot and statesman, reviewed the whole subject in an able speech, from which I pro- pose to make a few extracts. He says: " To refuse to pass it, [the bill for refund- ing the fine,] would be an act of the grossest injustice to the American people, and would stamp them with ingratitude to their liravest defender. I am not one to admit that General Jackson violated the Constitution, or the law, at New Orleans. I deny that he violated either. I insist that the General rightfully performed every act that his duty required, and that his right to declare martial law, and enforce it, resulted from the same source, and I'estcd on the same principle, that the gentle- man from New York [Mr. Barnard] asserted, from which Judge Hall derived the authority to punish for contempt, without trial, without witnesses, without jury, and without any thing but his own arbitrary will. The gen- tleman asserted that the power to punish for contempt was not conferred by the statute, or by the common law, but was inherent in every judicial tribunal and legislative body ; and he cited the authority of the Supreme Court to support the assertion. He said that this power was necessary to the Courts, to ena- ble them to perform the duties which the laws intrusted to them, and arose from the neces- sity of the case. Now, it was from the same source, that the power to declare martial law was derived — its necessity in time of war for the defense of the country. The defense of the lives and liberties of the people, as well as their property, being all intrusted to the discretion of the commanding General, it became his duty to declare martial law, if the necessity of the case required it. If itbecame necessary to blow up afort, he was authorized to do it; if it became necessary to sink a vessel, he was authorized to do it; and if it became necessary to burn a city, he was authorized to do it. The neces- sity of the case was the law to govern him; and he, on his responsibility, must judge of the existence' of that necessity. It was the first law of nature which authorized a man to defend his own person, and his wife and hia children at all hazards. It was that law which authorized this body to repel aggres- sion and insult, and protect itself in the exer- cise of its legislative functions; and it was that law which authorized courts of justice to defend themselves and punish for con- tempts. He acknowledged that this was a high-handed and despotic power — one that was only to be exercised when necessary, and which ceased when the necessity no longer existed. Such was the power under which General Jackson declared martial law at New Orleans. On this part of the subject he did not intend to go into the history of all the occurrences of that period^they had been detailed in a most faithful and interesting manner, by the gentleman from Louisiana, [Mr. Slidell.] It was sufficient for him to know that General Jackson, who was the commanding General, deemed it necessary to declare martial law in order to defend the city." -i »*««»**»*«» "These things would not be questioned. The necessity and the glorious effects resulting from the course which that necessity prompted were acknowledged by the whole country, and he would even say by the whole civilized world. Then, as far as this bill was concerned, he [Mr. D.] cared not whether their acts were legal or illegal. He cared not whether Gen- eral Jackson violated the Constitution or not. He cared not whether General Jackson sus- pended all civil authority or not. If his acts were necessary to the defense of the country, that necessity was above all law. General Jackson hazarded every thing; he hazarded both life and reputation on that step, which might render him immortal if it saved the country, or, on the contrary, make him igno- minious, and a by-word, and a reproach j and the man that dared to do that, deserved the protection and the plaudits of his country. He did not envy the feelings of that man that would get up and talk calmly and coolly under such circumstances, about rules of Court and technicalities of proceeding, and the danger of example, when the city might be in flames and the utmost barbarity might be committed. What were rules of Court but mere cobwebs when they found an enemy with his cannon at the doors of their Courts, and when they saw the flames encircling the cupola? Talk then about rules of Court, and the form.ality of proceedings ! The man that w-ould do this, would fiddle while the capital was burning. He envied not any man the possession of such stoical philosophy. Talk about illegality! Talk about formalities! Why, there was but one formality to be observed; and that was the formality of directing the cannon, and destroying the enemy, regardless of the means v/hother it be by the seizure of cotton bags, or the seizure of persons, if tlie necessity of the case required it. The God of nature has conferred this right on men and nations; and therefore let him not be told that it was unconstitutional. To defend the country, let him not be told that it was un- constitutional to use the proper means. The Constitution was adopted for the protection of 260 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. the country; and under that Constitution the nation had the right to exercise all the powers that were necessary for the protection of the country. If viarlial law was necessary to the sal- vation of the country, martial law was legal for that purpose. If it was necessary for a judge, for the preservation of order, to punish for contempt, he thought it was necessary for a general to exercise control over his cannon, to imprison traitors, and to arrest spies, and to intercept communications with the enemy. If this was necessary, all this was legal. '•But the ground on which he placed the defense — and he denied that General Jackson did any act which was not justified by rip:ht- ful and legal authority — was as high and as sacred as self-defense. General Jackson did not exercise any unnecessary arbitrary au- thority. He di(l not suspend the civil law nor close the civil tribunals, any farther than was necessary for the carrying out of the mil- itary defense of the country. To this extent he did do it, and to this extent it was right that he should do it. In other respects, the civil law, and the courts were in full force. True, Gen- eral Jackson would not allow them to commu- nicate v/ith the enemy ; hut they could not surrender aught to the enemy ; he deprived them of the power to commit treason ; but he deprived them of no power that an honest man would desire to exercise. He imposed no restraint that any man devoted to the country would regret; and the men who instigated proceedings against General Jackson were the men who skulked in the hour of danger.'' See Globe Report of the 28th Congress, first session. Robert J. Walker, in the Senate, submitted a report upon this subject, in which he said: "The law which justified this act, was the great law of necessity; it was the law of self- defense. This great law of necessity — of de- fense of self, of home, and of country — never was designed to be a))rogated by any statute, or by any Constitution.'' Mr. Payne, of Alabama, also speaking upon this subject, said: "I shall not contend that the Constitution or laws of the United States authorize the declaration of martial law by any authority whatever; on the contrary, it is unknown to the Constitution or laws." And commenting on the argument that if the Constitution did not authorize it, the General ought not to have declared martial law, he says: "AVho could tolerate this idea? An Arnold might, but no patriotic American could. I may be asked upon what principle a com- mander can declare martial law, when it is so evident that the Constitution or laws afford him no authoiity to do so? I answer, upon the principle of self-defense, which rises par- amount to all written laws; and the justifica- tion of t)ie officer who assumes the responsi- bility of acting on that principle, must rest upon the necessity of the case."' In a written document submitted by General Jackson to the Court, Mr. Livingston gave his opinion as follows: "On the nature and effect of the proclama- tion of martial law by Major General Jackson, my opinion is that such proclamation is un- known to the Constitution and laws of the United States; that it is to be justified only by the necessities of the case;" etc. Witli Mr. Payne and Mr. Livingston I can ^not fully agree. I believe the power exercised by General Jackson, or by any military com- mander in any great emergency — in the de- fense of a city, of a people, or the nation itself — is expressly authorized and sanctioned by the Constitution, by that provision which makes the President Commander-in-Chief of the armies, and that other provision which charges him to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. In a lesser degree, the same power may be constitutionally exercised by a subor- dinate military commander. And Congress sanctioned this view of the case, by refunding to General Jackson this fine, with full interest; every Democratic member of Congress and manj- of the AVhigs, voting for it. It was passed in the House, January Stb, 1844, by the unparalleled ma- jority of 158 to 28, and in the Senate, by 30 to 16. Thomas Jefferson, in his letter to Mr. Colvin, dated September 20th, 1810, (see Jefferson's Complete Works, volume 6), has also verj- fully discussed this question. In speaking of the action of General Wilkinson, at New Orleans, he instances cases almost exactly parallel to those in hand. The cases were not as strong as these, for no war was in actual existence', no actual rebellion holding at bay the entire Government, but only the expectancy of an insurrection or rebellion; and yet Jefferson justifies Wilkinson in seizing notorious con- spirators within his limits, and sending them beyond his lines, without trial or hearing, to the seat of Government, Mhen they had a right, by the terms of the Constitution, to trial in the district in which their offenses were com- mitted, and says that there can be but two opinions upon this question, that of the guilty and their accomplices, and tliat of all honest men. "The question j^ou propose, whether circum- stances do not sometimes occur which nmke it a duty in officers of high trust, to assume authoi-ities beyond the law, is easy of solution in principle, but sometimes emliarrassing in practice. A strict observance of the written laws, is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupu- lous adherence to written law, woula be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property, and all those who are enjoying lliem witli ns; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means. Wlien. in the battle of Germantown, General Washington's army was annoyed from Chew"s house., he did not hesitate to plant his cannon against it, although the ]uoporly of a citizen. When he besieged Yorktown, he leveled the suburbs, feeling that the laws of property must be postponed to the safety of the nation. While the army wns before York, the Governor of Virginia took horses, carriages, provisions, and even men, by force, to enable that army TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 261 to stay together till it could master tlie public enemy; and he was justified. A ship at sea, in distress for provisions, meets another hav- ing abundance, yet refusing a supply; the law of self-preservation autliorizes the ilis- trcssed to take a supply by force. In all these cases, the unwritten laws of necessity, of self- preservation, and of the public safety, control the written laws of mcum and iuum. * * * "To proceed to the conspiracy of Burr, and particularly to General Wilkinson's situation in New Orletms. In judging this case we are bound to consider the state of the information, correct and incorrect, which he then possessed. He expected Burr and his band from above, a British fleet from below, and he knew there was a formidable conspiracy within the city. Under these circumstances, was iie justifiable, 1st, in seizing notorious conspirators? On this there can be but two opinions; one, of the guilty and their accomplices; the other, that of all honi;st men. 2d. In sending them to the seat of Government, when the written law gave them a right to trial in the territory ? The danger of their rescue, of their continu- ing their machinations, the tardiness and weakness of the law, apathy of the judges, active patronage of the whole tribe of lawyers, unknown disposition of the juries, an hourly expectation of the enemy, salvation of the city, and of the Union itself, which would have been convulsed to its center, had that conspiracj'^ succeeded; all these constituted a law of necessity and self-preservation, and rendered the salus populi supreme over the written law. The oilicer who is called to act on this superior ground, does indeed risk hinisjlfon'the justice of the controlling powers of the Constitution, and his station makes it his duty to incur that risk. But those con- trolling powers, and his fellow citizens gen- erally, are bound to judge according to the circumstances under whicli he acted." I refer the gentleman to those well digested and unequivocal utterances of the President of the United States — I might say one of the founders of the Government— and one of the most learned expounders of the Constitution, as an answer to why those arrests? and where the jurisdiction of this Court? In a debate in Congress, on tlie joint resolu- tions of distributing rations to the distressed refugees from Indian hostilities, oti the 26th of May, 183u, .John Quincy Aduiiis, in speaking upon the subject of the war power of Congress and of the President, said: ''Now, the powers inciilental to war are derived, not from their internal municipal source, but from the laws and u&agcs of nations. "Tiiere are, then. lilr. Chairman, in the TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 271 last August." The counsel knew, as he penned llioso words, that it was a vile slander and a fils^hood; he knew chat G-encral C:ir- rin/iton's sole purpose was to bring to justice the menibars of this conspiracy, and that to do this, he had to employ men to bjcom^ acquainted with their designs and movements, and to apprise him of the same. He neither extended, nor aided in extending the order. The men who joined the order for the purpose of revealing its acts to the Government, did sii^iply what they had to do to keep suspicion from them; they acted the part of members of the order. Again the counsel says: "And yet Cirriugton paid and encouraged Stidger to extend, as rapidly as possible, an organiza- tion that is claimed to bo treasonable." Now, the proof shows that Stidger was never in any manner hired, or paid a dollar by General Carrington; that he was never employed to extend the order by any person outside of the organization. Stidger received instructions from Captain Jones, Provost Marshal at Lou- isville, to keep himself advised of the move- ments and designs of the members of this or- der, and by him was employed and paid. He was appointed or elected Grand Secretary of the order, and performed the duties of that of- fice, no more and no less. Dr. Zumro acted In like manner. Why this bitterness toward the men that have revealed the designs and pur- poses of the order, if it be so pure in its or- ganization and acts? On no single point have the accused attempted to rebut or dis- prove the statements of Stidger; they have not dared to do so; nor have they questioned the probity of any of Mr. Stidgcr's state- ments, but have indulged in bitter, unworthy vituperation against liim. Thi counsel then proceeds to a considera- tion of the "obnoxious obligation," to ascertain if it i^ not " consistent withpatriotism and most devoted loyalty." He says : "let us, therefore, examine whether the contingency has hap- pened, upon which they obligated themselves to take up arms, with reference to the subject matter, and the people or peoples for v/hom and in whose bcluilf they propose to volunteer. And we inquire, where, is that people "who have established or inaugurated a Govern- ment of their own free choice, and in accord- ance with and founded upon the eternal prin- ciples of truth?' " He says further, "It will not do to say that the Southern Confederacy is that people, for it would be a eulogy on Jeff Davis' government more glowing than any son of liberty ever uttered. Is their cause that of the oppressed? Is our Government a usurpation? Is the Southern Confederacy founded upon the eternal principles of truth?" I answer him ; the members of this order have said that their cause was that of the op- pressed; you have said that our Government, now waging this war against rebellion, is a usurpation; you have sakl that the Southern Confederacy is founded upon the eternal prin- ciples of truth; and therefore we try and judge you by the principles you yourselves have enunciated. Again, this singular argument says: "and 1 submit, that the conduct of Mr. Bingham is in commendable contrast to that of the au- thorities. So soon as he was informed of Dodd's proposed plot, his best efforts were at once directed to paralyze that embryo rebel- lion; while, on the other hand, the authorities knew it all, long before Mr. Bingham did; and instead of nipping it in the bud, wore nursing and encouraging it, so that it might bring forth fully ripe fruit." Dois the gen- tleman think that he can make any fair minded men beli'evo that the Government au- thorities, whose lives, fortunes and honors are staked on the faithful discharge of their du- ties, were "nursing and encouraging'' this accursed conspiracy ? He says further : " The evidence of Stidger, their detective and wit- ness, shows that while under the pAy and direction of Carrington, and with his consent and approbation," etc. I here assert, that the evidence of Stidger shows that he never was under the pay or direction of General Car- rington ; and I appeal to the record; "and with his consent and approbation, that he (Stidger) was extending the order as rapidly as possible, both in Indiana and Kentucky, that with the same approbation he initiated rebel oificcrs, and carried messages between Dodd and others and ofScers in the Confeder- ate service, and afforded every facility to Dodd and his immediate confederates to arrange, perfect and accomplish the inauguration of civil war in Indiana, keeping the authorities hero advised of every movement, by regular and frequent reports — and all this for the sole purpose of influencing the then pending elec- tions." I say to the Court, that there is not one particle of evidence on the part of Stid- ger, or any other witness, "that while under the pay and direction of Carrington, and v/ith his consent and approbation, he (Stidger) was extending the order in Indiana and Kentucky," or that General Carrington knew any thing about it until after the reports had been submitted by Stidger; nor that with the "consent and approbation "of General Car- rington, Stidger "carried messages between Dodd and officers in the Confederate service." I ask the gentleman, where, from the first page of the record to the last, there is one particle of evidence to show that any of these things were done for the "purpose of influencing the then pending elections?" And this assertion is repeated again and again. This argument, itself, is the only political thing that I have seen in any way connected with this trial. Referring to the military au- thorities of the Government, he says: "They were fully advised of the existence of what they claim to have been a most infernal con- spii-acy against the peace of the State — they witnessed the maturing of the scheme — they saw the preparation of the brand that was to flame into civil war. Yes, they knew it all — and yet raised not a finger to stop it, until it was throttled by the very men who are de- nounced as its .sympathizers. Like the tiger that stands at the edge of liis jungle, watch- ing his victim, and as the unfortunate trav- eler comes along, springs upon him, crushes his bones and laps up his blood, so thev looked with savage delight upon the proposed upris- 272 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. ing — regarding no other consequence except its prohiible influence upon the elections." How far in the scale of untruth and want of self-respect must a man have descended, to make these bald, vile, slanderous assertions, without a scintilla of proof to found them upon ! I quote but little more, and then leave this argument — or rather this accumulation of li- bels— to the fate it deserves. " It seemed to matter little to them even though the fire of civil war should desolate our homes, and cause the 'shuddering mother to hug her babe more closely to her bosom,' so that they could only remain masters of the burnt and blackened field." How false, and infamously slanderous this is, I leave you, gentlemen of the Commis- sion, to decide. I note the following special instances of misstatements of evidence by the counsel for Mr. Milligan: Mr. Coffroth states that Mr. Ibach testified that a resolution was introduced at the Grand Council of June, 1804, "pledging the order to resistance to the draft, and that it was promptly and with great unanimity voted down ; and that the belligerent gentleman who introduced the resolution, went away very much dissatis- fied with the order." There is no such testi- mony, but simply that the resolution was vo- ted down. He states: "And yet Carrington paid and encouraged Stidger to extend, as rapidly as possible, an organization that is claimed to be treasona- ble." No witness testified to such a statement. He asserts: "But the evidence further shows that both the defendant, Horsey, and the Government witness, Connell, denied and repudiated the declarations of John W. Stone." The evidence does not substantiate this assertion. Again he states that Mr. Bingham " never knew of any other than its political charac- ter, until tlie revelation by Dodd of his 'in- sane and hellish proposition.'" ISIr. Bingham, on the contrary, testifies that "the first idea I had of its being a military organization" was in hearing Major Conk- lin's speech at the Grand Council of Feb. IGth and 17th, 1864. On the same page he asserts: "The evidence of Stidger, their detective and witness, shows that while under the pay and direction of Carrington, and with his consent and approbation, he extended the order, and perfected arrangements to inaugurate civil war; and all this for the sole purpose of in- fluencing the then pending elections." Stidger did not so testify. Nothing from which such an inference could have been justly drawn. On page 10th, he states that Bingham "quenched the flame that the authorities were fanning. While they were nursing, he was stilling." The evidence contradicts that as- sertion. Again he says: Long after "the organization of the Grand Council at Terre Haute, that what was termed 'the military bill,' or military feature of the order, was gotten up." The evidence shows that the Terre Haute meeting was held Aug. 27th, 18G3, and the military bill was introduced and adopted Sept. 10th, 1863. He states that "Dodd's scheme required 'Bingham's' consent as a condition prece- dent;" and without which, "it otherwise could not receive its initiatory impulse." The evi- dence shows that Dodd desired Bingham's co- operation; but it also proves that when that co-operation was withheld, Dodd and Walker and their co-conspirators, did not abandon their schemes. Finally, he states that Harrison testifies "that Dodd instructed him, when he sent him to notify Mr. Milligan to attend this council of the leading men of the order, not to inform Milligan of the nature of the business." Mr. Harrison makes no such statement in his tes- timony. One more quotation, and I have done with this argument. I said that this argument looked to me as though it had emanated from the disloyal heart of Mr. Milligan himself; that it contains his bitterness and venom toward all persons connected with the Govern- ment, and toward all the institutions of our country. He carries that venom to the ex- treme of hatred to the people of this nation when exercising the elective franchise. This argument says: "But it is not to be expected that gentlemen of the age, firmness, honesty and intelligence of Mr. Milligan, can cliange tlicir honest convictions upon political ques- tions to suit the views of the Administration brought into power perhaps by a mere, change- ling mob." This is the culmination of his hatred of our free institutions. When the people in their might assert that great, God-given right of determining by whom they shall be governed, and reiterate the sentiment that just govern- ments are instituted for the benefit of the gov- erned, he calls them, when acting in this noble capacity, a "changeling mob!" In considering the Ritual and obligations of this order, I have substantially answered the arguments of the counsel for Mr. Humphreys and Dr. Bowles upon those points, and there- fore do not refer to them specially. GENERAL PURPOSES OF THE ORBER. I come now to the consideration of the gen- eral intents and purposes of the order, as shown by the evidence: or, in other words, to the consideration of what the evidence shows was the manner or means by which the mem- bers of the order proposed to carry out the purposes enunciated in the Ritual, and to the execution of which tlicy bouud themselves by an appeal to Almighty God. The foundation stones of this disloyal structure were: First, that tlic States were sovereign and independ- ent governments; and that each State, in its sovereign capacity, had a right to secede. That wlicnever the Government dc facto, or any department of the Government exercised un- delegated powers, it was a usurpation ; and that the usurped Government was to be re- moved by force of arras; and they bound themselves togefiicr by oaths to overturn this TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 273 Government, which they declai-ed was exercis- ing undelegated and usurped powers. They bound themselves, also, to "assist any people or peoples" who may be waging war in "en- deavoring to establish, or have inaugurated, a government for themselves, and to resist any coercing power,'' whether it shall arise within or come from without the Government. These, then, were the common purposes of the con- spiracy, and its ultimate design. How, or by what means these purposes, these designs, were to be carried into execution, was to de- pend, and must have depended upon the tenor of events, upon certain contingencies of time, place and manner. All these were to be de- termined upon by the leaders, when a certain set of circumstances should come to pass. In the minds of these leaders it was a question of the time when success would be the most certnin. Then, in the original purpose or purposes of the conspiracy, all were conspirators who joined that organization, who heard that Rit- ual read, and took that obligation. They united and became one body for the purpose of carrying out these illegal, disloyal and treasonable purposes. I rRiglit stop without introducing one particle of evidence as to the means b_y which they intended to execute these purposes, and rest the case with perfect confidence after I had once proven the nature of this order, that it is disloyal in its incep- tion and in its birth, and that the accused were members of the organization. "A conspiring together of two or more per- sons is sufficiently an act, without any step taken in pursuance of the conspiracy." Bish- op^s Criminal Law, Par. 313.' Commonwealth vs. Judd,2 Mass., 329, 337; Commonwealth vs. Tib- hcits, 2 Mass., 536, 533; Commomoealth vs. War- ren, 6 Mass., 74. People vs. Mather, 4 Wend., 229; Commo7iiccalth \s. 3fcKisson, 8 S. ose to resist the draft and arbitrary ar- rests, whenever the emergency arose, or the heads of the order demanded it. He' details the military organization of their lodge. The order in Washington county was gen- erally armed, and $1,000 was placed at the disposal of the order in that county, in Juno last, by Dr. Bowles, for the purpose of pur- chasing arms for those unable to arm them- selves, as Heffren and Wilson both testify. This was a month nearly before the Confeder- acy tendered to the order, at the Chicago con- clave, $2,000,000 for revolutionary purposes. In regard to arming the order in this place, Harrison testifies to the arrival of arms, pis- tols and fixed ammunition, consigned by Walker to J. J. Parsons, a member of the or- der, and concealed in Dodd's building — which were purchased shortly after the Chicago con- clave. Colonel A. J. Warner also testifies to the seizure of these arms. Stidgcr testifies that "]5owles made a state- ment in the Council of the 14tli of June, that the organization in his countj- numbered about ()00 men; but that there was a military organization amounting to 900 men, aimed and equipjied. * * He also stated tliat he had an arrangement with a man to luinish any number or kind of arms." Also, that in Avigust, Bowles wanted to get arms of Peters, of Cincinnati, and B. C. Kent, of New Al- bany; and asked Stidgcr to have "three or four tliousand lances made." Stidgcr also says: "I was told by Mr. Kern, a member of the order, that Judge Wil- liams, of Kentuck-y, had given $100, and other members $200 more for organizing the oidcr, and tliat he had expended that money in the purclinse of aims, and that they had scut the men, witli tl;e ari::s, Soulli." TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 277 Greek fire was one of the jippliances of the order, to be used to destroy Government prop- erty, as Stidger, Wilson and Ileffren testily, and had been used for that purpose. It is true Booking atten^ts to explain and refute some of tlie evidence of these witnes'scs; but his story, in and of itself, is-so contradictory, im- probable and entirely contemptible, that the defense themselves have hardly dared to claim any weight for it. The whole elfect of his tes- timony upon the minds of the members of this Commission, must have been to corroborate Stidger and the statements of the Government witnesses. Ilcadmitsthereceiptof the$"209 00. He admits that he was present at the meeting of members of the order at the Louisville Ho- tel, in Louisville, which was referred to by Stidger. Mr. Becking stated that he was very much out of health, and went to the Springs, where Dr. Bowles resided, for his health — to recuperate his decaying vital pow- ers — and as the result of this stay, took din- ner at these Springs, and left after a long in- terview with Bowles; and that being entirely out of money, and hard up, he went to the Louisville Hotel, at Louisville. Yet he says he had no bnsiness whatever to call him there, nor any thing whatever to do; and that while there, he made and explained to these gentle- men at that Hotel, all about his shells, hand- grenades and Grf k fire; and that still being hard up, though having received $'200 00, he travels to Indianapolis and spends a week, then goes to Detroit and spends a week, thence to Cincinnati, from Cincinnati to Adams coun- ty, Ohio, from Adams county to Cincinnati, and from Cincinnati to this city, where he has remained ever since. Concealing the fact that he was at Windsor, Canada, until it is unwil- lingly drawn from him, he admits that on this trip, in April or May, he stopped for two weeks at tlie house of the rebel Colonel Steele, in Windsor, Canada, free of charge, without busi- ness or employment, or design of any kind, as he swears, in going there. All this is suffi- cient to give this Commission an understand- ing of the motives, and bias and weight to be given to Booking's testimony. OPPOSITION TO THE DRAFT. This order was pledged, as a body, not to serve in our army. They were sworn not to enter the service of the Government for pay. (See Obligation of the Second Degree.) Its members were even taught that the prosecu- tion of the war was a usurpation of power. Its teachings, as a nati#i-al result, led to oppo- sition to the draft. In Wells county, its mem- bers, in their temple, discussed opposition to the draft. Joseph Johnson, a witness for the defense, says: "'Some said, I will resist; some said, 1 will fight, or run off, or do something else." The temple in Rock Creek township. Wells county, sent committees to other places, to learn what the order should do about the draft. Milligan counseled resistance, but oth- ersof theorderthoughtthat impolitic. Zuniro and Johnson both testified that they had a military organization in their temple. A fla- grant appeal to the people to resist the draft and to discourage enlistment, is the speech of Mr. Milligan at the gathering of the order, and others, at Fort Wayne, on the 14th of Au- gust, 18G3. It is a matter of public history that this Convention denounced the draft as the most damnable of all the outrages perpe- trated by this Administration. Yet so far from denouncing that resolution and others of kin- dred disloyalty, Mr. Milligan went into an elaborate defense of the South, denouncing the Government, and the war, and the purpose for which it was waged. COMMUNICATION WITH REBELS. I come now to consider next the acts of this order, as a body, as to their communication and concert of action with the rebels. Stidger testifies that he was taken for a rebel commissioner, when he first visited Sa- lem. Heffren corroborates this statement, saying: "It is possible some man played him- self off on Stidger, at that time, for me. A great many men about Salem, at that time, were expecting a man from Cumberland Gap, to report rebel movements." Bowles stated, in the presence of Stidger, "that they had sent a man named Dickerson to Richmond, to have the Confederate author- ities send an invading force to act in concert with their order." Stidger says, that "Bullitt instructed a man to try and get a place appointed for him to meet Colonel Jesse, said to be a rebel colonel iu command of the rebel forces in Kentucky; and he instructed this man to go to Colonel Syph- ert, a rebel colonel, said to be in command of a rebel squad, and have a conference with him about the capture of Louisville." He also states, that in Kentucky, "there was a rebel Col. Anderson, of the 3d rebel Kentucky Regi- ment of infantry, initiated into the order about the last of June, 1864," by Kalfus; and, also, Captain Van Morgan, Dick Pratt, Jim McCrock- lin, and a captain of a squad of guerrillas. And here let me say, that all that has been said by Mr. Milligan's counsel, or by Mr. Ray in reference to Mr. Stidger's initiating, oi; as- sisting in the initiation of those parties, seems to be exceedingly unjust and ill-timed. It certainly can have no weight with this Court, or with any unbiased mind. Mr. Stidger un- equivocally states that all he did in the way of initiation of rebel officers, or of any one else, he did in pursuance of instructions from Judge Bullitt, the head of the order in Ken- tucky, or Dr. Kalfus, or upon his own respon- sibility. He does not state, and there is not one particle of evidence from the beginning of this trial to its close, to support the allega- tion, that he ever initiated any person into this order, by the instruction, direction or sanction of General Carrington, or any other officer of the United States, or of the State of Indiana. He was instructed simply to become a member of this order, and learn all he could with reference to its acts and purposes. It i? perfectly absurd to claim that there was any desire or design on his part, or on the part of the authorities, to extend or pei-petuate this order. All his acts were, weekly and month- ly, reported to the United States authorities. They were striving to obtain that degree of 278 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. information upon which they could act in bringing these conspirators to justice; and the moment they gathered sufficient infonua- tion to base their action upon, the authorities acted. And you, gentlemen, on the part of the accused, at one moment and in one breath, are bitter beyond degree, in denouncing the authorities because they did not act sooner; and with the same vigor, and in the next breath, you denounce their arrest, finally, as acts of tyranny, unwarranted and unauthor- ized. To return to the evidence. Mr. Heffren tes- tifies, that the revolution on the ItJth of Aug- ust hinged on the contingency of the co-ope- ration of the rebels; and that "about the Kith of August, Dr. Bowles had sent a man to Gen- eral Price, buthehad not returned." Rebel com- munication was also spoken of to Heffren, by Mr. Harris, of Salem. AVilson says, that at the Chicago meeting of July 2(ltli, 18d of August, but that had failed from some cause; and ho thought every thing could be got ready for an uprising, perhaps by the 10th or 15th of the montli, and that the South, in order to show her willingness to engage in some movement tliat would restore the Government, had au- thorized him to place at tlie disposal of the members of the organization a large sum of money, amounting to two millions of dollars. '•■■ That the orgai ization could have the use of that amount of money in prc-pari*g themselves to rise against the Lincoln Admin- istration ; that it would be distributed to the several Grand Commanders of those States, and by them sub-distributed among such per- sons inside of their order as in their judgment was prudent, and to be expended, by those who received it, for arms and other appli- ances of war. "He [Barrett] stated, in speaking of the money, tliat it had been used for the purpose of paying for the destruction of United States property, arsenals, burning boats," etc. "He said they would pay ten per cent, on Govern- ment property so destroyed." Dr. Wilson said he understood from some source, he thinks from Dr. Bowles, "that Ohio was to be taken care of by Vallandigham * * in the event of a general uprising. He had some forces at his disposal in Canada, and would bring those forces into Ohio to co- operate with other forces at Cincinnati and Louisville." now IT WAS TO BE DOXE. I come next to the consideration of the rev- olutionary plot, or the plan finally determined upon, by which the purposes of this order wei'e to be carried into execution. The details of the plan of operations matured at Chicago, in July, 18<)4, involving the release of the rebel prisoners in C)hio, Indiana, and Illinois, and tlie seizure of Government arsenals, and burning of Northern cities, etc., in this State, in Missouri, and Kentucky, were detailed sub- stantially alike by Harrison, Stidger, Bing- ham, Wilson and Heffren. Harrison first speaks of it as "a design in progress or in contemplation." Dodd desired to have a Dem- ocratic mass meeting called, under cover of which he would cany out his plans. If the meeting was called. Harrison says, "he in- tended to send out circulars to the members of the order in the various counties, orderwff tlie members (not the military members, it should bo borne in mind, but all the members) to come up to that meeting armed." * * "By the aid of the rebel" prisoners, who were to be released througli his instrumentality, and that of the persons who came in here to the meet- ing to be held here on the liith, they were to have an uprising and overturn tlie State Gov- ernment." "Tliis scheme had its connection not only in this State, but in the State of Illinois." Harrison also stated that Dodd was the proper person to head the uprising. I then asked him: "Q. Had he the power in an official capac- ity to order that here? "A. It was vested entirely in Mr. Dodd. "Q. Had he the power to order members of the order at will? " A. He had." TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 279 Joseph J. Biugham, in his testimony, states that when Dodd apju-oached him, and asked him foi' his co-operation in this scheme of rev- olution, August 2d, he (Dodd) said "that at the Council, a revolution lead been dctcrmitied upon. * * Arrangements had been made to release the prisoners on Johnson's Island, at Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio, at Camp Morton, and also at Camp Douglas, and that the prisoners at Camp Douglas, after their re- lease, were to go over and release those at Rock Island. At the same time there was to be an uprising at Louisville, at which the Gov- ernment stores, etc., were to be seized." This scheme Bingham did not indorse, but did conceal. He did go to Athon and Ristinc, us he testifies, and asked them leading ques- tions, and learned nothing, and revealed noth- ing. Through the instrumentality of Mr. Kerr, who seemed alone faithful to his country among the faithless, a conference of leading Democrats was held to arraign Dodd and Walker. They met at McDonald s offiSe. Bing- ham says: ''Colonel Walker and Dodd did not acknowledge or deny, at that interview, that uny such scheme was entertained. They both spoke, and vei-y earnestly, about the state of public afl'airs, and they used about these argu- ments: 'That the Government could not be re- stored again under the old state of things, without a forcible revolution. That an appeal to the ballot-box was all folly; that the people were prepared for revolution; that they would not submit to the draft; and that it was bet- ter to direct the revolution, than to have the revolution direct us.' " Every member of that meeting, who heard thd.«e speeches uttered by these men, was bound, if he acted in good faith to his country, to have had these men instantly arrested and turned over to the authorities to be punished. And every man who was present on that oc- casion, failed in his duty to his Government in her hour of sorest need, when he permitted these men to walk abroad maturing their schemes of revolution, of insurrection and treason, or permitted in his liearing tlie utter- ances of these sentiments, knowing that they had already matured a scheme for cari-ying them into execution. In these brief speeches of Walker and Dodd, as given by Bingham, is outlined the legitimate culmination of the cardinal prin- ciples of the order. The order had never doubted the propriety of insurrection and revolution, but only whether the proper time had come for its inauguration. Walker and Dodd believed that period had arrived, and they acted accordingly. They accepted Bar- rett's offer of rebel co-operation. They coun- seled with Ilolcombe, Clay and Sanders, at Niag- ara Falls, while maturing and arranging the detailsof revolution. They admitted into their Chicago conclave of July 20th, representatives of the Southern Confederacy. They appointed a meeting with rebel officers in this city, to arrange the details of releasing rebel pris- oners. Bingham says, on the morning of the Ilth of August, he met Walker going to the Bates House. "I asked him why he was going? He said he had to meet these gentlemen by appointment. I understood him to say that they were rebel officers. * ■•■ He said that they were on their way to Chicago to take charge of the rebel prisoners when they were released from Camp Douglas. It was neces- sary that he should see them to tell them that the wliole scheme was stopped. He met nie afterward, and said that he had seen them, and they had gone on and stopped all ope- rations at that time for the release of the prisoners." The arrival of the rebel colonels at the Bates House here, from the rebel army, is most conclusive proof of the direct communication and connection of this order with the rebel insurgents. But twenty days elapsed be- tween the time when the plan is agreed upon at Chicago, before that intelligence is trans- milted to the rebel authorities, and in pursu- ance of that intelligence the rebel emissaries arrived at this point to take part in this in- surrection. Their couriers must have beea swift and sure. Stidger says that on the 29th of July, he saw Dodd, and Dodd said to him : " He there- fore wished me to go home, and get tv/enty or thirty good runners, so that as soon as Judge Bullitt returned they might have been sent off. He said the programme was arranged, and every thing ready." Bullitt also told Stidger that "the programme was all arranged for this uprising." On the 2d of August, Stidger says Dodd told me "what the pro- gramme was, and impressed upon me the im- portance of secrecy." Stidger also learned that "their dift'erence at Cliicago was whether they should wait un- til the rebel forces should be sent into Eastern Kentucky to co-operate with them, or to make their uprising now, and co-operate with the rebel forces when Davis could send them." "Bowles at first objected to this uprising until the rebels should invade the eastern part of the State, as he said they would. * * He would consent to the uprising on the 15th or Ifjth of August, as Dodd had said, provided Colonel Syphert, Colonel Jesse, and Walker Taylor would assist in the capture of Louis- ville, until the forces of this State could get there." Piper also told Stidger that "he was carry- ing orders, or that he had orders from Mr. Vallandigham to Judge Bullitt and Dr. Bowles. They were orders with respect to the time set for the uprising of the order." Bowles also said to Stidger, that the pro- gramme Dodd had given him, " v/as the pro- gramme agreed on at Chicago." Heffren confirms the statements of other witnesses in regard to this scheme of revolu- tion, and said it failed partly on account of Kerr's exposure, and also, "because the army of the Confederacy did not come through Cum- berland Gap, as they had agreed to, or as it was reported they had agreed to do." The revolutionary purposes of the order were also shown in the speech made at tiie time of the Chicago Convention, August 29th, 1SG4, to the conclave of the Sons of Liberty, by Mr. Moss, of Missouri. After describing the in- 280 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. dignities suffered by members of the order, in that State, he said: "If this organization was worth any thing, if it was intended to be eflB- cient in the restoration of the Government under the Constitution, tliat now was the prop- er time to strike; Hiat tliese indignities were unbearable; that if they liad the true Ameri- can blood in them, they would not bear it any loiii^cr, but would strike now." These, then, were Ihe chief schemes and pur- poses of the order, as explained and defined by the acts of its members. These were the lucans by which they proposed to carry their purposes into execution. These, in brief, are the acts done in pursuance of the original combination; and the culmination of all these acts on the day assigned, was but the natural outgrowth, the proper and natural consumma- tion of the principles and purposes which they had sworn to maintain by force of arms, if necessary. I therefore say that each member of this conspiracy, who took upon himself the oaths of the first, second and third degrees of this order, or of the first degree alone, after fully understanding the lessons and princi- ples of the order, as explained in the Ritual, was responsible for every one of these acts done by the leaders of this order. There is no way by which they can relieve themselves from that responsibility. They must be held accountable for these acts. They were but carrying into practical application the theo- ries and principles they had all sworn to maintain. This organization, as a body, was the gathering togetlier, to be wielded against the Government, of all the bitter and hostile elements in those Northern States. It was truly but a whited s^'pulcher. To the world it exhibited nothing of its inner corruption, but concealed its acts, principles and purposes. It concealed its very name, its very existence; but within it was filled with dead men's bones, and all manner of corruption. (*ver the doors of its temples should ]>e inscribed the same maxim that the Roman people used as to their own city, in the days of the Inquisition; *' Vivcrc qui saiute viiltis discfdite I{rinciples of the order, to which he as- sented, and which, with his intelligence, he could not have failed to understand, with his nerve and daring, is he not exactly the man to have undertaken to put into practical oper- ation the theories whicli he and they held? The only question now, in considering the evidence, is to find the degree of guilt of the accused. That they are all guilty is estab- lished the moment you prove that they are members of the order; that they have assented to the principles and taken the obligation of the order. The plea of ignorance, of want of knowledge, and want of assent on the part of the counsel for Mr. Milligan, will not suffice in the case of a man of Mr. Milligan's nerve, energy, and intelligence. It is asking this Court to believe an unreasonable thing, to ask them to believe that this man would enter into any organization, ascend to its highest de- grees, and be endowed with its highest honors, without studying thoroughly the cardinal principles upon which it was based. An igno- rant man might; an intelligent man never would. Let us briefly glance at the testimony to see what are the facts in regard to Mr. Milligan's co-operation with the leaders of the order, in carrying into execution its purposes. It has been denied that Mr. Milligan ever accepted the position of a major-general in this order, or that there was any proof to show that he had any knowledge that such an appointment had been made. On the cross-examination of Harrison, his attention was particularly called to the presence of Mr. Milligan, at the Septem- ber meeting, during that part of the session when the military bill was discussed, and he answers, "I can not say positively whether he was." Elliot Robertson, of Randolph county, testi- fies that Nathan Brown was a delegate from their lodge to Indianapolis, in September, 18tJo; on his return he "spoke of the State being divided into four military districts, and that a man by the name of Milligan com- manded our district." Mr. Harrison testifies that at the State Council, of November, ll-iG3, Mr. Milligan* was ))resent. At this meeting. Ml-. Harrison testifies, nothing was said about the object of the military organization, "ex- cejtt that it was necessary to organize in a military capacity to protect the rights of the members against tlie encroachments of the Adiuinistration." Toward the close of the November Council, Dr. Wilson testifies that L)odd said "that he 'would kick down the walls of common decency,' or some such words, 'and talk treason for awhile.' " I would call the attention of tiie Court to the fact that supposing Mr. Milligan had been elected a major-general of the order, in September, as testified to by different witnesses, and not contradicted hy any, wWbther he could have come up to the November Council, and taken part in that meeting, where all the interests and purposes of the order were discussed, without being notified of such appointment. Is it reasonable, or rational, to believe that he could? He was elected by the delegates from the district represwited; his election must have been known to all those delegates, and would not some one of them have apprised Mr. Milligan of his appointment? He held one of the four highest ofirices of the order in this State. Mr. Bingham also testifies that Mr. Milligan was present at this November Council. Thus it is established bey(uid question, that Milligan was present at this meeting; it is not denied by the defense. I now desire to call the attention of the Court particularly to what treason it was, as s^vorn to by Wilson, that Dodd talked at this meeting, at which Milligan was present. Wilson says: "He . [Uodd] stated if the purposes of this order could not be carried out, as explained by Mr. Wright, there were other plans that could be resorted to. They could very easih', if their organization was completed, take possession of the railroads, cut the telcgraph.*ires, and throw in, at one time, troops enough at the capital to take the State Government, and have things their own way.'' Here was the scheme for the uprising, the insurrection, laid down to the members of this order, as early as November, 1803 — the same scheme, substan- tially, that was agreed upon in Chicago, to be carried out on the ItJth of August, lbt)4. If ISlilligan was present at this November meet- ing, of which there is no doubt, then he did know that these were Wie ultimate treasonable purposes of the order. The plea of want of knowledge will not avail; it is contrary to reason, aad directly contradicted by the evi- dence. The testimony of Samuel F. Winters, a wit- ness for the accused, is tliat Mr. Milligan was not present at the State Council of February 1() and 17, 18(')4, as he brought down, for Mr. Milligan, a packet of resolutions, which were afterwartl adopted as part of the platform of the order. Mr. Harrison testifies, that at this meeting the annual%lection of officers took place, and that Mr. Milligan was elected a major-general of the ortler in his district. Some weeks after, when the new ritual was printed, Harrison, as Grand Secretary, sent to each branch temple notice of the change, and copies of the proceedings of the State Council, and says that the package for Huntington county lie directed to Mr. Milligan. Mr. Milligan was present at the Council of June 14, as Harrison, Stidger, and Ibach tes- tify; and if Mr. Ibach, who is relied upon fully by the counsel in his argument for Mr. IVHlligan, is correct, in testilying that Mr, Milligan was not present as a delegate from Huntington temple, lie must have been there by virtue of his military position; and thig idea would seein to be favored by Section 3 of Article 2 of the Constitution of the Grand Council, which says: "The members of the* TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 285 Grand Commander's stafiF, and all military officers above the rftnk of colonel, shall be ex officio members of this Grand Council, and entitled to the sign and to participation in its deliberations." Thus, gentlemen, by your own witnesses, you have Mr. Milligan present at this council by virtue of being major-general of this order; he is here exercising the func- tions of his office. Mr. Harrison, the Grand Secretary of the order, says: "No person, to my knowledge, ever entered the Grand Council, who was not a member." Stidger testifies that Milligan was pi-esent when Bowles reported that "he had 'JOO men in his county, organized, armed, and equipped;" also, that, "in the afternoon, the list of major-generals was called;" "I do not remember that he [Milligan] made any particular response." •■- * * "The list of major-generals was called in this way, they being ex officio delegates to the Supreme Coun- cil. Milligan made no objection to going that I heard." Also, that on the 15th, in pursuance of a resolution of Council, Milligan went to Hamilton, with Bowles and Dodd, to welcome Vallandigham. Here were the three high dig- nitaries of tlie order going over to Hamilton, to Avelcome, in the name of the traitors of In- diana, this returning exile. Can iPoc claimed, with any show of reason, that Dodd went there as Grand Commander, Bowles as Major Gen- eral, and ^lilligan only as a private member of the order? Is it not more reasonable to suppose that that Council sent three of tlie most prominent, influential men, and the highest officers of the order? Among the leading men of the order sum- moned by Dodd to attend a consultation on Tuesday, August 2d, in relation to the revolu- tion, Mr. Harrison testifies that Mr. ]\Iilligan was included. He says: "Mr. Dodd informed ^me that he intended sending for Mr. Milligan, for Dr. Bowles, j\Ir. Humphreys, and Dr. Yea- kle. * I went to Mr. Milligan." "Q. Did you sec him? "A. I did. "Q. Did you tell him your message? "A. I did. "Q. What did he say? "A. He said he did not know whether he could be present, but would try to be." Here was the Grand Commander summon- ing his military chieftains about him, to liavc a council of war, to when and how they should put their forces into the field. The object of this meeting or council of war, as s-tated by Dodd to Stidger, was to set the time, the exact day, on which the revolution should take place, in this State. Stidger states that Dodd showed and read to him, about the 2d of Aug- ust, letters from two or three gentlemen; that Dodd's "idea was to go ahead on the IGtli or 10th of August, and these letters from these men agreed with him. "•■■ * Ho had sent them word, and they did not come." It becomes a matter of inquiry here, who these letters were probably from. They were certainly from persons to whom Dodd had im- parted his scheme. The evidence justifies this conclusion. Now, wlio in this State did lie probably impart ih:'*, solicii>e to, either by letter or in person? Certainly not to more than those whom he summoned to consult with liim. Those persons he summoned for consul- tation, were all Miijor Generals in the order, or had held that position. Those who did not come, knowing the importance of this meet- ing, as they must have known of Dodd and Bowles' trip to Chicago and the plan agreed on there, undoubtedly wrote to Dodd, either assenting to or dissenting from his going for- ward with his scheme of revolution. Then the conclusion is inevitable, that Milligan, af- ter he was sent to as one of those parties for consultation, must have cither come in per- son, or have written to Dodd. If he wrote to Dodd, then no doubt Iw? indorsed his scheme; for it is proven that these letters from those who did not come, agreed with him in his pro- posed uprising on the Itkh. It is not to be presumed by this Court, that Dodd, with all the hair-brained fanaticism that is claimed against him now, by his then co-workers, fast friends and associates, would have dreamed of going ahead with this revo- lution without the assent of his military chieftains. The prominent members of the order knew who were Major Generals, who were to command them; and if those Major Generals held back, here was mutiny and in- surrection in their own camp, that would have defeated the whole scheme of revolution. Had Milligan made any such attempt at hold- ing back, or refused to co-operate with Dodd in this scheme, it could easily have been shown. If it had been made, either by letter or orally, he could have proven it before this Court. The burden of proof is upon him to show that fact, and if he does not show it — and he has failed to do so — it is to be pre- sumed against him, by this Court, that ho acted in concert with Dodd, and assented to all his revolutionary schemes. Now let us see whether Mr. Milligan's ac- tion subsequent to this occasion, was consist- ent with his knowledge of Dodd's plans and schemes. On the I3th of August, before the action of the State Central Committee had reached Mr. Milligan, he addressed a conven- tion of 5,000 men at Fort AVayne. In that speech, as a witness for the Government, W. S. Bush testifies, he made the following state- ments: "lie referred to the country as desolated by the war and the oppressions of the Administra- tion. He spoke of the freedom of sffceh al- lowed, as simply that granted by a Lincoln mob — as a freedom in name rather than in fact." (Page 575.) "lie stated that if the war was right the draft was right, and if they considered the war right, and were good citizens, theji would not grumble about the draft." "He de- nied that the war was right, and proceeded to argue that, under the Constitution, the Presi- dent had no power to coerce a State; and asked if those who entered the army, would look in the future, for their laurels, to such battles as Bull Run, Chicamauga and Red river. He also appealed to them to consider the condition of their wives and children at home, destitute, and ilependent on the charity of their nciglilors, if they entered the army- ' I 286 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. and nskcd whether they considered it a duty to make such a sacrifice?" (Page 576.) "He spoke of him (the President) as a ty- rant." (Page 677.) " He held that the war itself was disunion, and that the Union itself could not be restored by war." (Page 577.) Tli.1t the war ''had made the Government a despotism. "He trosited the war itself as a dissolution of the Government. "He spoke of the Government as a confed- eration of the several States rather than a unity." I asked the witness what Mr. Milligan sta- ted "as to the right of the Government of the United States to make war upon rebels, or those in rebellion against the General Govern- ment ?" He answered: "He denied that right." Here we have from Mr. Milligan's own lips, a reiteration, to a public assemblage, of the cardinal principles of the order itself. Here we have him trying to educate the masses of the Democratic party up to the disloyal stand- ard of this order. Here we have him advoca- ting and indorsing the principles avowed by the rebels in arms against the Government. The very principles for which they are fight- ing to-day, he maintained in public speech before our people. The only difference be- tween Mr. Milligan and the most bitter rebel of them all, was that one was using his arms to enforce his principles, the other by his voice and pen attempted to sustain their ar- mies in that cause, weakening the cause of the Government, and adding numbers to the rebel ranks. What could he do more? What would tend more eflectually to stir up to in- surrection a brave people, than to teach them that their Government was waging an unjust war, an unconstitutional war; that it was forcing them to fight i.s battles of tyranny and oppression, against a people who were fighting simply for their just rights, for the right of a State to secede in its sovereign ca- pacity; that this Government was forcing them into her armies by legions, and slaugh- tering them by tliousands, and then citing them to the Viattle-fielils where that Govern- ment had been defeated: I ask what more ef- fective mode could have l)een chosen to give aid and sympathy to the enemy, to weaken the cause of the Government, to stir up the hearts of the people to opposition to this tyranny, oppvesaten and outrage, that he had pictured liad been perpetrated upon them by their Gov- ernment? 1 say, then, this speech was in entire keep- ing with the fact that Mr. Milligan must have •known of the intentions and plan of Dodd for revolution. He was aiding that scheme as effectually as ho possibly could. He was sow- ing the seeds of bitterness in the hearts of the masses, the harvest of which was to be the garnering of the dead l.)odies of the peaceful citizens, defenseless women and little chil- drcTi of your land. We have hearlaces, to the utmost of my ability, respect, perform, and obey, each and every order, conmiand, or request, made to or of me by the K. C. C, or other superior authority, touching any matter or thing which relates or per- tains to the purposes or plans of the K. 0. S. L.; and I do further swear that I will ever bear in mind the lesson of the I. T.,as expounded to me in this presence, and will defend the principles therein laid down, with my life, if need be; that my sword shall ever be drawn in support of the right, and that I will never take up arms in any cause as a mercenary. 1 do further swear, that I will ever cherish kindly regard and fellowship toward all true K.'s every-where, and will ever aid them in the defense of their rights; that I will ever honor, cherish, and protect woman and the orphan, and especially the mother, widow, sister, or or- phan of a deceased K., and will shield them from wrong, insult and oppression ; and I do also swear, that I will never induct, nor consent to the induction, of any one into the 1. T., who shall not have been duly and well instructed in the T. D., nor then, until he shall have been unanimously apj^roved by a legal conclave of K. 0. S. L., nor in any place which has not been appointed and consecrated to that end by the competent authority, nor in the presence of a less number than thirteen true K.'s, each and all of whom shall consent and approve to such induction, nor until I shall have been duly authorized thereto by authority eman- ating from the G. G. ; and, finally, I do solemnly swear, in the presence of these K.'s, my witne-sses, to all and singular the foregoing, with full knowledge, and with my full assent, that the penalty declared against any violation of any part of this, my oath, shall be such as may be declared by the G. C, and approved by the S. C. of the 0. S. L. Divine presence ! approve my truth, and you, ye K.'s, hear and bear wit- ness. Amen! K. C. W. It is well. The K. C. will now conduct thee to the K. C. C. K. C. C. Who Cometh ? Advance. K. C. A worthy fellow of the 0. S. L., who, having taken the obligation required in this I. T., is, by command of tlie K. C. W., brought before thee for full induction. K. C. C. It is well. Let him kneel in token of service to God and his country. '^ Rise, , K. 0. S. L., and re- ceive thy charge. 308 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Brother ! Thy presumed worthiness hath secured thy induction into the I. T. of 0. Let thy deeds approve thee worthy. Obe- dience, faith, truth, courage, sincerity, self- denial — these are the virtues of the true K. Make good thy vows. Honor thy God. Love thy country. 80 shalt thou discharge thy duty on earth, and prepare thyself for the beatitudes of the temple not made with hands. Hear the words of inspiration ! then onward! still be thy watchword. On- ward ! K. L. [Here reads Isaiah, chap. LIX, verses 14 to 19, inclusive.] K. C. C. IJmtruds.} II. M. E. K. 0. S. L. M. E. K. C. W. Who cometh ? Advance. K. C. A true K., who, having been duly elected thereto, desires induction in the I — t T. of our most excellent O. M. E. K. C. W. It is well. Let him pre- sent himself in our chosen attitude of invo- cation. OBLlGATIOy. I, -, in the presence of God and these M. E. K.'s, do solemnly swear, that I will never reveal, or make known, directly or indirectly, any thing whatever, pertaining to the M.'B. K. 0. S. L. ; neither will I indicate, by word or intimation, any thing of, or concerning the same, except to a brother thereof, whom I shall have first duly proved. I do further swear, that I Will, at all times, and in all places, yield prompt and implicit obedience, to the ut- most of my ability, without remonstrance, hesitation or delay, to any and every man- date, order or request, of my immediate M. E. G. C, in all things touching the purposes of the 0. S. L., and to defend the principles thereof, when assailed in my own State or country, in whatsoever capacity may be as- signed to me by authority of our 0. ; and I do further swear, that I will never induct, or consent to the induction, of any person into the I — t T., until he shall have first been approved by at least thirteen M. E. K.'s of the local C. to which he is proposed for in- duction, except by express dispensation to that end from superior authority ; and that I will ever faithfully keep secret every counsel of M. E. K.'s, whether in or out of C. To all and singular the foregoing, I do solemnly swear, with full knowledge, and my assent, that the penalty for any viola- tion of any part thereof, shall be whatso- ever may be decreed by the G. C. S., and approved by the S. C— O. S. L.; so help mo, God! Amen! K. C. C. IListnicts.} GENERAL LAWS OF THE S. L. COUNTY PARENT TEMPLES. Section 1. A Parent County T. may bo instituted by an eligible brother who shall 1 be authorized by the Grand Council, or by I the G. Com., upon the application of five I good and true men, by paying the expen- I ses incurred for books, traveling, etc., and three dollars per day to the person who shall be designated to institute the same. Sec. 2. Branch County T.'s may be insti- tuted by the mode above, or by the officers of the Parent T. Provided^ That the Grand Sig. of any Parent T, of this State, be au- thorized to organize subordinate temples in any township where none have been or- ganized, subject to the constitution and rules of this order, and that until a Parent T. be organized in such county, to which said township belongs, the secretary thereof shall report to the G. Sec. of this State. Sec. 3. The names and location of Parent and Branches, shall not be changed with- out permission of the G. Council, or without written consent of the G. Sec. ARTICLE II. Section I. Every T. in the State of Indi- ana shall meet twice in every month, and oftener if they shall deem proper, and shall be opened as near as may be at the time prescribed by the Rules of Order. Sec. 2. Special meetings may be held, upon the call of G. S., or when requested to do so by five members of the T, general notice of such meeting to be given as far as possible. Sec. 3. At any regular or special meeting, at which the first and second officers shall be absent, a qualified degree member may be chosen to preside. Sec. 4. Each T. is empowered to designate what number, not less than five, shall con- stitute a quorum for the transaction of bu- siness. ARTICLE III. Section 1. The elective officers of the Pa- rent T.'s shall be— ]\r. E. K. C; M. E K. 0. W.; M. E. K. Sec; M. E. K. Treas.; M. E. K. Lecturer of the V.; and M. E. K. Rep. to G. C. The officers shall be appointed M. E. K. Cond.; M. E. K. Marshal; M. E. K. W., T.; M. E. K. W., O. C. Sec. 2. The elective and appointed officers of a Branch County T, shall be those de- signated in the ritual of tlie order. Sec. 3. The election of all officers shall take place annually, on or not to exceed two weeks previous to the 22d day of Feb- ruary in each year. Sec. 4. At the same time and place the Parent T. shall elect two Representatives TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 809 to the G. Council, and ono additional Repre- sentative for every one thousand members in said county. Skc. 5. All elections shall be by ballot, and a majority of all the votes given be ne- cessary to a choice. Provided, That when- ever there shall be but one candidate, the election may be by viva voce. Sec. G. Any elected or appointed officer wlio shall absent himself from the Temple for three successive stated meetings, unless such absence be satisfactorily accounted for, shall thereby vacate his office, and the vacancy shall be filled by special election, and the. member so elected or appointed to fill such vacancy shall, if he serve under such election or appointment, receive all the honors of the station as though he had served the full term. Sec. 7 All elective officers shall continue to serve until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified. ARTICLE IV. Section 1. The duties of the G. S. and M. E. K. C. shall he- ist. To preside at all meetings of the Temple at which they may be present, and open and close the same in due form ; to preserve strict order and decorum, and en- force the Constitution and Laws of tlie Order. 2d. To decide all questions of order, sub- ject to appeal, by two members, from his decision to the Temi)le. 3d. To give the casting vote on all ques- tions before the Temple, in which there may be an equal division of members, ex- cept in the election of officers and aj^peals from his decision. 4th. To inspect all ballots on application for membership, degrees, or certificates, and report thereon to the Temple. 5th. To sign all orders drawn on the Treasurer, for the payment of such sums of money as may, from time to time, be voted by theTemi)le, and also such documents as may require his signature to authenticate them. 6th. To appoint the officers herein be- fore specified, at the time of his installa- tion, and to fill vacancies in the same whenever they niay occur. 7th. To appoint, at the same time, such standing committees as the Temple may prescribe, and such other committees, from time to time, as may be required by the Constitution and Laws, or directed by the Temple. hth. To see that a brother is visited im- mediately upon being advised of his illness or distress, and to continue to do so at least once per week, during such illness or dis- tress, and see that he is duly provided with attendants. 9th. To install their successors in office. Sec. 2. Duties of the M. E. K. Sec. 1st. To keep, in suitable books for that purpose, the accounts of the Temple, and the members thereof. 2d. To receive all moneys due the Temple, pay the same to the Treasurer, and take his receipt therefor. 3d. To make out all notices that may be required for special meetings, attendance upon the sick, or distressed. 4th. To furnish the' Temple, on the night preceding the expiration of each term of three months, a list of the members thereof, who are delinquent, with the amount due by each. 5th. To make out, at the expiration of each term of three months, a report to the Grand Council, in such form as said Grand Council shall direct, which he shall read in open Temple, and record in a book to be kept for that purpose ; and when duly ap- proved by the Temple and signed by the proper officers, he shall forward the same to the Grand Secretary, which shall be done within ten days from the expiration of each term of three months. 6th. To enroll in a book, provided for that purpose, the names of the members of the Temple, age, occupation, and residence thereof, and the degrees taken by each; noting from time to time, in a proper mar- ginal column, the fact of death, suspension, expulsion, or withdrawal, as the same may occur. 7th. To attend the committees appointed to audit the books and accounts of the Tem- ple, and render such assistance as may be necessary. 8th. To deliver up to his successor in office, all books and papers appertaining to his office, which may be in his possession. 9th. Generally to do and perform such other acts as may be required of him by the Temple, and by the laws and usages of the order. He shall receive for his services such com- pensation as the Temple may determine. 10th. To keep accurate minutes of the Temple in a book for that purpose. ARTICLE T. Section L It shall be the duty of the Treasurer — 1st. To receive from the Secretary all moneys due the T. 2d. To pay all orders drawn upon the funds in his hands, when properly at^ tested. 3d. To have his books and accounts ready for settlement at the expiration of his term of office, and open for inspection by the officer of the T., or a committee appointed for that purpose, at all times. 4th. To deliver to his successor in office, at the expiration of his term of office, re- signation thereof, or removal therefrom, all moneys remaining in his hands, and all books and papers pertaining to his office. To give bond with two sureties, condi- bio TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. tioned upon the faithful discharge of his duties, as the T. may require. 8kc. 2. The terms of three months shall conunence February '22d of each year. AUTICI.K VI. MEMBERSHIP. Section 1. S. L . Any white male person, of good moral character, above the age of eighteen years, being proposed by one, and vouched for by two members in good standing, may receive the S. L lesson of this order. Skc. 2. When the name of a candidate is jiroposed for membership, it shall be refer- red to a committee of three, appointed by the G. S. ; said committee to rf:^ort on such proposition at the next regular meeting of tlie Temple, and no balloting for member- ship to take place until the committee i-eport as aforesaid. Sec. 3. First degree members must be ad- vanced in accordance with provisions laid down in the ritual of the second and third degrees. 8i:c. 4. All candidates for degrees must be balloted for. One negative vote lays the application over one week ; two negative votes, for three months; three negative votes disposes of it finally, unless recon- sidered. Sec. 5. A member changing his residence, wishing to withdraw from one T. and unite with another, shall be entitled to receive a certificate of membership, which, being tiled with his application, if found worthy, shall be transferred, by vote of the T., at his new residence. Sec. 6. No T. is permitted to receive ap- plications from persons not residents of the county in which the T. is located, and all applications must be made to the T. nearest to the applicant's residence. — JRes. of G. C Sec. 7. An expelled member can only be reinstated by the consent of the Temple from which he was expelled. Sec. 8. If a person is proposed for mem- bership and elected, and previous to initia- tion the Temple obtains information of bad conduct, it may refuse to initiate. ARTiri-E VII. fees and DUES. Section 1. The fee for the first or branch T. degree, shall be one dollar; the fee for the second shall be one dollar and fifty cents; and the fee for the third shall be two dollars and fifty cents. Sec. 2. The monthly dues for each and every member, shall not be less than ten nor more than fifty cents. i-.vws OF general application. 1st. It sliiiU be the duty of every member of tliis order, when possessed of any infor- mation touching the improper demeanor of a brother, to file written complaint with his immediate G. S. or C, and shall make it known to no other person, ami it shall be the duty of such officer specifying tho charge in regular meeting of T., withhold- ing name of the informant, appoint com- mittee of five to examine and report upon such charge, and, if upon report of com- mittee, .such charge shall be sustained by said T., then said accused shall be notified to appear, and shall be regularly tried by the T., said committee conducting the pro- secution, and accused shall have counsel in his behalf, witnesses may be examined, and testimony of those not niembers of the order may be taken, but not ex parte. Upon fair liearing the T. shall decide upon his guilt and punishment, whicli shall not be higher than expulsion from the order. The various grades of punishment shall be reprimand, suspension lor a time, and ex]>ulsion. 2d. It shall be the duty of all T.'s, in case of expulsion of a member or membta-s, to notify the G. Sec. by letter; and it shall be the duty of said G. Sec. to notify all T.'s in this jurisdiction of said fact. Visiting Brothers. 3d. It shall be the duty of the presiding officer of each and every T., whenever ne- cessary, to appoint two competent brotliers an examining connnittee for the evening; for no visiting brother can be admitted to the T., unless he shall be known, recognized by the officers, youched for by a brother, or proved by the committee so appointed. Pai/ment of Assessments. 4th. It shall be the duty of each and every P. T. in the State, to remit to the (i. Sec. such amounts as the G. Council shall levy against them, promptly, upon the ap- plication of the G. Sec, and in case of fail- ure so to do for a period of three montlis, such P. T. sliall forfeit their organization. We recommend the Constitution of tho Society of the lllini, for all public clubs; and the rules of order, adopted by the G. Council, for tlie government of all subor- dinate T.'s in Indiana. 5tli. Any additional by-laws may be made by eacli County Temple, not inconsistent with the laws of the Grand Council, by a two- thirds vote of the members of such temple, four weeks notice being given therefor. rules of order. 1st. When the presiding officer takes the chair, the officers and members shall take their respective seats; and at the sound of the gavel there shall be a general silence, under the penalty of a public reprimand. 2d. The business of tlie annual meetings shall be taken up in the following order : 'IVmple opened ; Officers' roll called ; Minutes of last stated and intervening meetings read and passed upon; Certificates of members; Reports of Temples; Reports of Committees ; TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 311 Unfinished business; New business. 3(.l. The presiding officer shall prosorve order and decorum, and pronounce tlie de- cision of the Temple on all subjects; he may speak to points oi' order in prei'erence to other members, risiuf; from his seat for that purpose; he shall decide questions of order without debate, unless entertaining doubts on the point, subject to an appeal to the Temple by any two members, on which appeal no member shall speak more than once. 4th. No member shall disturb another in his speech, unless to call him to order, nor stand up to interrupt him, nor when a mem- ber is speaking, pass between him and the chair, or leave the hall. 5th. Every member when he speaks shall rise and respectfully address the chair, and when he has finished shall sit down. Mem- bers speaking shall confine themselves to the question under debate, and avoid all personality or indecorous language, as well as any reflection upon the Temple or its members. 6th. If two or more members rise to speak at the same time, the chair shall de- cide vvliich is entitled to the floor. 7th. No member shall speak until he has been recognized by the chair. 8th. No member shall speak more than once on the same subject or question, until all the members, wishing to speak, shall have had an opportunity to do so, nor .more than twice without permission of the T. 9th. If a member, while speaking, be called to order by the chair, he shall cease speaking, and take his seat until the question of order is determined, and per- mission is given him to proceed. 10th. No motion sliall be subject to de- bate until it shall have been seconded, and stated by the chair, and it shall be reduced to writing if desired by any member. 11th. When a question is before the T., no motion shall be received except for ad- journn^ent — the previous question — to lie on the table — to postpone indefinitely — to postpone to a certain time — to divide — to commit or amend ; which motions shall severally have preference in the order here- in arranged. r2th. On the call of five members, the previous question shall be put. The pre- vious question having been ordered, all further amendments and debates shall be precluded, but the amendments that have been previously offered shall be voted upon in their order before the main question. 13th. When a blank is to be filled, and diflferent sums, numbers, or times shall be proposed, the question shall first be taken upon the highest sum or number, and long- est or latest time. 14th. No motion for reconsideration shall be received unless moved by a member who voted in the majority in the first in- stance. I'jth. Any member may excuse himself from serving on any committee at the time of his appointment, if he is then a member of one other committee. 16th. The person first named on a com- mittee shall act as chairman thereof until another is chosen by themselves. 17th. The consequences of a measure may be reprobated in strong terms; but to ar- raign the motives of those who propose or advocate it, is a personality and against order. 18th. While the chair is putting a ques- tion or addressing the Temple, or whilst any other member is sj^eaking, no member shall walk about or leave the Temple, or entertain private discourse. 19th. No motion can be made by one member while another is speaking; and no motion can be made without rising and ad- dressing the chair. 20th. The chair, or any member, doubting the decision of the question, may call for a division of the Temple, and a count of the affirmative and negative vote. 21st. All reports of committees shall be made in writing. 22d. Any member has a right to protest, and to have his j^rotest spread upon the journal. — C. M. 23d. Motions for adjournment, the pre- vious question, to lie on the table, and to postpone indefinitely, shall be put without debate. 24th. Any of these rules may be dis- pensed with by a vote of two-thirds of the members present. CONSTITUTION OF THE GRAND COUN- CIL OF S. L. OF INDIANA. Section 1. This body derives and exer- cises its power and authority from and by virtue of authority vested in it by the Su- preme Grand Council of the United States. Skc. 2. The members of this G. C. shall consist of Representatives duly elected and commissioned by the various County Tem- ples. Each County Temple shall be enti- tled to two Representatives : and for each one thousand members one additional Representative. Sec. 3. The legislative functions of this body shall be vested in such Representa- tives duly chosen and commissioned, and the elective officers of this G. C. Sec. 4. All such Representatives and Mil- itary Officers, so accredited, shall be enti- tled to receive the sign of the G. C. Sec. 5. Representatives shall be elected at any regular meeting, prior to the 22d 312 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. day of February, in each year, and hold their office during the term of one year, or during the pleasure of the County T. ARTICLE II. Skc. 1. The elective officers of this G. C. shall consist of the following, who shall be elected at or prior to the annual meeting, held on the 22d day of February, in each year, viz.: G. C; Dep. G. C; G. Sec; G. Treas.; G. C. to S. C; one Maj. Gen'l for each mili- tary district, prescribed by law. Sec. 2 The appointed officers of this G. body shall be, one Grand Marshal, one Grand Conductor, one Grand Chaplain, one Grand Warden of the Council, one Grand Warden of the 0. C. Sec. 3. Tiie members of the G. Com. staff, and all military officers above the rank of Colonel, shall be ex ojficw members of this G. C, and (sntitled to the sign and to partici- pate in its deliberations. Sec. 4. Wlien upon a call for a vote by counties, all shall be excluded save the duly elected Representatives, and in case of a tie vote the G. Com. presiding shall give the casting vote. ARTICLE III. Sectiok I. This G. C. shall have the sole right to determine its own membership, and may exclude any one, representative or otherwise, who shall be convicted of in- decorous deportment, or any dishonorable act. Provided, That no punishment higher than reprimand sliall be inflicted, expul- sion from this Order being reserved to the County Temples. Sec. 2. There shall be chosen, annually, the Grand Commander, and two additional members of tliis body, delegates to the S. G. C, to whom the G. Secretary shall issue certiticates of election, with the seal of the Council. — Law of S. G. C. Sec. 3. The meetings of this G. C, regu- lar and special, shall be held at such time and place as may be fixed by law. Sec. 4. All elections sliall be by ballot, and a majority of all the votes given sliall be necessary to constitute a choice. When there are more than two candidates for any office, the lowest of such candidates, at each ballot, after the first, shall be dropped, and all votes that may be given for such candidate or candidates thereafter, shall not be counted. In the event of a tie between two candidates for the same office, for two successive ballotings, the election shall be decided by lot. article IV. — duties of grand officers. Section 1. The G. C. shall have and exer- cise a general supervision of the Order in the State of Indiana. He shall preside at all meeting.^ of the Grand Council, at which he may be present, preserve order, and cause the Constitution and Laws to be strictly observed. His decision on all points not provided for in the Constitution or General Laws, shall be conclusive, unless reversed by the Grand Council of Indiana, or the S. G. C. of the United States, upon appeal thereto. He shall give the casting vote, m case of an equal division, upon all questions arising in the Grand Council, ex- cept on appeals from his own decision; and in all elections of officers, he shall be enti- tled to vote only as other members. He shall not be entitled to participate in any discussions in the Grand Council, except in committee of the whole, or upon questions of order and appeals from his decision. He shall sign all orders drawn on the Grand Treasurer, and all other documents which may require his signature. He shall till all official vacancies not otherwise provided for. He shall appoint all committees, ex- cept when the nomination and appoint- ment tliereof shall be reserved by the Grand Council. He shall have power and authority to grant dispensations lor coni'er ring degrees in the institution of new Tem- ples, and for the purpose of qualifying officers thereof, during the first six months; and for all other matters unprovided lor, wherein immediate action is necessary. He shall have power to call special meet- ings of theGiand Council, orof any subordin- ate Temple, whenever he may deem it ne- cessary for the good of the Order so to do. He shall, from time to time, give informa- tion, etc. Sec. 2. The Dep. G. C. shall assist the G. G, and in his absence perform his du- ties. Sec. 3. The Grand Secretary shall keep a journal of the proceedings of this body, and money accounts, shall receive all moneys and pay the same to the Treasurer, taking his receijit therefor. He shall attest all dispensations granted, and commissions issued, by theG. Commander. He shall trans- mit an annual reportof the state of the order in 1 ndiana, to theS. G. C. of the United States, in such form as the said S. G. C. may direct. He shall receive all documents for the G. C, and immediately submit the same to the G. Commander, lie shall, under the super- vision of the G. Com., conduct the corre- spondence of the G. C. He shall, when so directed, summon the Representatives to attend its special meetings. He shall pre- pare and procure the signatures of the offi- cers to all charters that may be granted by the G. C. He shall, whenever notified, attend any committee of the Grand Coun- cil, and furnish such official papers and doc- uments as may be required. He shall have the custody of tlie Grand Seal, and perform such other duties as may be prescribed in this Constitution, or the Laws of the Grand Council. He shall receive for his services, annually, the sum of eight hundred dollars; and shall give such bond and Becurity for TKEASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 313 the faithful performance of his duties, as the Grand Council may require. Sec. 4. The G. Treasurer shall have charge of the funds, and all other property or evi- dence of title belonging to, or held in trivet by the Grand Council, which may be placed in his hands. He shall keep correct ac- counts of all moneys which he may receive from the G. Secretary, and from all other sources, and pay all orders drawn upon the funds in his hands, by the Grand Com- mander, when attested by the G. Secretary. He shall, whenever notified, attend any committee of the Grand Council, and furnish such books and papers in his posses- sion as may be required. At the expiration of iiis term of office, or after resignation thereof, or removal therefrom, he shall make full settlement with the Finance Committee, and deliver to his successor in office, all moneys, books, bonds, vouchers and documents, and property, belonging to, or held in trust by the Grand Council, which may be in his possession. Before entering upon his duties, he shall give such bond and security as may be required by the Grand Council. Sec. 5. Other appointed officers shall perform the ordinary duties of their offices, as prescribed by custom or law. Sec. 6. Any amendment to this Constitu- tion may be made at any regular meeting of this G. C, by giving one day's- notice, in writing, and receiving a majority vote of the members present. Sec. 7. All elective officers shall take the following prescribed oath of office before entering upon their duties, viz. : Official Oath. I, , having been elected by to the office of in , do, in the presence of God and these witnesses, solemnly swear to maintain the Constitu- tion and Laws of this Order ; obey all right- ful orders emanating from superior author- ity, and to perform the duties which have been devolved upon me, as , to the best of my ability, so help me God. RULES OF ORDER. 1st. When the presiding officer takes the chair, the officers and inembers shall take their respective seats; and at the sound of the gavel there shall be a general silence, under the penalty of a public reprimand. 2d. The business of the annual meetings shall be taken up in the following order : Temple opened ; Officers' roll called ; Minutes of last stated and intervening meetings read and passed upon; Certificates of members; Reports of Temples ; Reports of Committees ; Unfinished business ; New business. 3d. The presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum, and pronounce the de- cision of the Temple on all subjects; he may speak to points of order in preference to other members, rising from his seat for that purpose; he shall decide questions of order without debate, unless entertaining doubts on the point, subject to an appeal to the Temple by any two members, on which appeal no member shall speak more than once. 4th. No member shall disturb another in his speech, unless to call him to order, nor stand up to interrupt him, nor when a mem- ber is speaking, pass between him and the chair, or leave the hall. 5th. Every member when he speaks shall rise and respectfully address the chair, and when he has finished shall sit down. Mem- bers speaking shall confine themselves to the question under debate, and avoid all personality or indecorous language, as well as any reflection upon the Temple or ita members. 6th. If two or more members rise to speak at the same time, the chair shall de- cide which is entitled to the floor. 7th. No member shall speak until he has been recognized by the chair. 8th. No member shall speak more than once on the same subject or question, until all the members, wishing to speak, shall have had an opportunity to do so, nor more than twice without permission of the T. 9th. If a member, while speaking, be called to order by the chair, he shall cease speaking, and take his seat until the question of order is determined, and per- mission is given him to proceed. 10th. No motion shall be subject to de- bate until it shall have been seconded, and stated by the chair, and it shall be reduced to writing if desired by any member. 11th. When a question is before the T., no motion shall be received except for ad- journment — the previous question — to lie on the table — to postpone indefinitely — to postpone to a certain time — to divide — to commit or amend; which motions shall severally have preference in the order here- in arranged. 12th. On the call of five members, the previous question shall be put. The pre- vious question having been ordered, all further amendments and debates shall be precluded, but the amendments that have been previously offered shall be voted upon in their order before the main question. 13th. When a blank is to be filled, and different sums, numbers, or times shall be proposed, the question shall first be taken upon the highest sum or number, and long- est or latest time. 14th. No motion for reconsideration shall be received unless moved by a member who voted in the majority in the first in- stance. 314 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 15th. Any member may excuse himself from serving on any committee at the time of his appointment, if he is then a member of one otlier committee. 16th. The person iirst named on a oom- mitlce shall act a.s chairman thereof until another is chosen by themselves. 17 th. Tlie consequences of a measure may be reprobated in strong terms; but to ar- raign the motives of those who propose or advocate it, is a personality and against order. ISth. While the chair is putting a ques- tion or addressing the Temple, or whilst any other member is speaking, no member shall walk about or leave the Temple, or entertain private discourse. J'Jth. No motion can be made by one member while another is speaking; and no motion can be made without rising and ad- dressing the chair. 20th. The chair, or any member, doubting the decision of the question, may call for a division of the Temple, and a count of the affirmative and negative vote. 21st. All reports of committees shall be made in writing. 22d. Should any committee be appointed at one session of the Grand Council, to re- port at the next succeeding session, it shall be the duty of such committee to report in writing, even though they be not Kepresen- tatives. 23d. Any member has a right to protest, and to have his protest spread upon the journal. — C. M. 24th. Motions for adjournment, the pre- vious question, to lie on the table, and to post- pone indefinitely, shall be put without de- bate. 25th. Any of these rules may be dis- pensed with by a vote of two-thirds of the members present. CONSTITUTION AND LAWS OF THE S. G. C. Section 1. This organization shall be known as the S. L. Sicc. 2. Its object and purposes are the maintenance of constitutional freedom and State rights, as recognized and established by the founders of our liepublic. Sec. 3. The system of government of this order shall be vested in a Supreme Council of the States, a Grand Council of each State, and Parent and Branch Temples of each county. Skc. 4. The officers of the Supreme Coun- cil shall consist of a Supreme Commander, Secretary of State of the Order, Treasurer, and Clerk of the Council, who shall be an- nually elected by the Supreme Council, on the twenty-second day of February, and shall hold their offices until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Sec. 5. The Supreme Council shall be composed of the Grand Commanders of the several States and two delegates, who shall be annually elected by the Grand Councils of the respective States. Each delegate shall be entitled to one vote, and when a full delegation is not in attendance, those present may cast the entire vote of the State, and in all cases of a tie the presiding officer shall have the casting vote. Skc. 6. The Supreme Council shall meet on the twenty-second day of February, of each year, at such place as may be designated. Skc. 7. The Supreme Commander or tiir' e Grand Commanders of States, may call special sessions of the Supreme Council, at such times and places as he or they may deem expedient. Skc. 8. The Supreme Commander shall take an oath to observe and maintain the principles of the order, before entering upon the duties of his office, said oath to be prescribed by law. lie shall be the pre- siding officer to the Supreme Council, and charged with tlie execution of all laws en- acted by it. He shall be commander-in- chief of all military forces belonging to the order, in the various States, when called into actual service. He shall deliver a message to each meeting of the Supreme Council, showing the condition of the order, and such recommendations as its interest may demand. Sec. 9. The Deputy Supreme Commander, in case of death, absence, or resignation of the Supreme Commander, shall exercise all the powers and perform all the duties per- taining to said office; shall take the same oath of office, and be chairman of the Com- mittee on Military Affairs. Skc. 10. The Secretary of State of the Order shall be the chairman of the Com- mittee on the State of the Order; shall conduct all official correspondence of the Supreme Council, and be the medium of communication between the State and Su- preme Councils ; he shall ascertain and report at each annual meeting of the Su- preme C'ouncil, the condition of the order in each State, and make such recommenda- tions as he may deem proper. Skc 11. The Treasurer shall be under such regulations as may be prescribed by law; shall be the custodian of all funds belonging to the Supreme Council ; shall pay all orders drawn upon him by the Clerk and countersigned by the Supreme Com- mander, or chairman of the Auditing Com- mittee, and make, at each meeting, reports showing the financial condition of tlie order, and such recommendations as he may deem expedient. Skc. 12. All elections shall be by ballot, and a majority of all the votes cast shall be necessary to a choice ; Provided^ That where there is but one candidate, the election may be viva voce. Sec. 13. That the Supreme Commander TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 815 administer the oath to all officers; and Councilors take the oath at the Clerk's desk. GENERAL LAWS. Section 1. A quorum of the Supreme Council shall consist of a majority of the States, in which State Councils shall have been established. Skc. 2. Delegates from Territorial Councils shall be entitled to a seat and a right to speak in tlie Supreme Council, but no vote. Sec. 3. The ordinance or constitution of the Supreme Council shall be read at the opening of each session, and to all new del- egates. Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the Clerk to count and announce all votes of the Council, as well when taken by count, as by States or ballot. CONDITION OF THE ORDER AND REVENUES. Sec. 5. The Secretaries of the various State Councils are required to report to the Secretary of the Supreme Council, during the month of January of each year, for his report at the annual sessions, the number of brothers in the order, in their respective States, and also the condition of their treas- uries. Sec. 6. The Treasurer of each State Coun- cil shall pay over to the Treasurer of the Supreme Council, in January of eacti year, such sums as may be assessed upon them by the Supreme Council, based upon esti- mates of the Finance Committee. Sec. 7. The Standing Committee upon Finance shall be nominated by the Sur preme Commander, and confirmed by a vote of two-thirds of the Supreme Council at each annual session ; and the two mem- bers unprovided for in the Supreme Ordi- nance, of each of the Committees on the State of the Order and Finance, shall be appointed and confirmed in like manner. These committees shall report and recom- mend at each annual and extra session. EXTENSION OF THE ORDER. Sec. 8. For the purpose of extending the Order into States and Territories, where it does not now exist, it is hereby declared that full authority for this purpose, is vested in the Supreme Commander, or duly quali- fied Supreme Councilors in the following manner, viz. : They may, at the instance of five good men, in any State or Territory, in- stitute County Temples, and when a suffi- cient number of such Covmty Temples have been instituted, they may establish a State Council, the duly elected delegates of which shall be admitted to this Supreme Council upon an equality with the organized States or Territories. FINANCE COMMITTEE. Sec. 9. It shall be t^ie duty of the Fi- nance Committee, at each meeting, to audit all accounts which shall be presented, and to examine the books and accounts of the Clerk and Ti'easurer, and report to the Supreme Council. MILEAGE AND PER DIE.M. Sec 10. That for the purpose of defraying the expenses of delegates to the Supreme Council, it is hereby left to each State Grand Council to fix, determine, and pay in the manner and to the extent that such State may determine. Sec. 11. That the Treasurer of the Su- preme Council shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take the oath re- quired, and give bond in a sum double the amount of funds likely to come into his hands. Sec. 12. The Clerk of the Supreme Coun- cil shall keep an accurate journal of all its I^roceedings, draw orders on the Treasurer lor all claims that are presented and prop- erly audited by the Finance Committee; collect all dues from the States, receipt for and pay the same over to the Treasurer, and preserve and keep all records and papers belonging to the Council. Sec. 13. All laws and resolutions of the Supreme Council shall be signed by the Clerk, countersigned by the Supreme Com- mander, and attested by the seal of the order. Sec. 14. The Standing Committees of -the Supreme Council shall consist of a Commit- tee on Finance, a Committee on the State of the Order, and a Committee on Military Afltiirs. Sec. 15. Delegates to the Supreme Coun- cil, before entering upon the duties of their office, shall take an oath to supj^ort and maintain the principles of the order. Sec. 16. The t'overnment of the order in the States shall be vested in a Grand Coun- cil, composed of not less than one delegate from each county, and a Grand Commander and Deputy Grand Commander, elected by said Councils, in such manner as they may provide. Sec. 17. The Grand Commanders shall be the presiding oflicers of the Grand Councils of the States, execute all laws passed by such Councils, and shall be commanders-in- chief of the military forces of their respec- tive States. Sec. 18. This Constitution shall be the supreme law of the order, and may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Su- preme Council. OF THE GEAND COUNCIL OF THE STATE OF INDIANA, Al their Heeling, heM on the lOlh and I7th of Feb., 18G4. The within proceedings are published in compliance with the following resolution : " JRcsolved, That the Grand Secretary pre- pare and publish, in pamphlet form, the 316 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. address of the Grand Commander, with 6uch part of the proceedings of the Grand Council, as may be necessary for the infor- mation of the County Temples, and send one copy of said publication to each County Temple." Cou.sx'iLORS : For the honor you have done me. in fixing a time to hear my views and suggestions in relation to this organization, and general matters, I feel duly sensible, and am only sorry that I am so illy pre- pared to meet your expectations. We are organized for a high and noble purpose, the erection and consecration of Temples to the service of true Republican- ism; altars upon which we may lay our hands and hearts with the invocation, "God of our Fathers." Well may we call upon the God of truth, justice, and human rights, in our eftbrts to preserve what the great wisdom and heroic acts of our fathers achieved. This, my friends, is no small undertak- ing — requiring patience, fortitude, patriot- ism, and a self-sacrificing disposition from each and all, and may require us to hazard life itself, in support and defense of those great cardinal principles which are the foundation stones of the State and Federal Governments. It is the boast of those who. for long centuries, have fostered and kept alive brotherly love and mutual protection, among, not only the civilized, but in some d'^gree the semi-barbarous nations of the earth, that they have attained now apparent great results, through trials, tribulations, long suffering and persecutions. So, too, theworshipersof God, betheyJeworGentile, claim to more distinctly merit an identity and name, in consequence of the immi- nent perils and innumerable conflicts, which have been thrown in their way to impede their progress. So may we, and doubtless will, point with pride to our present troubles, in the future, to prove our great worth. This great brotherhood is entitled now to the respect of mankind, for the part it en- acted in the period anterior to the Revolu- tion of 1776. Tlirougli it the Declaration was madej and the independence of the States achieved. This alone would endear it to every patriot heart, to every lover of re- publican institutions; if its history should Btop here, when its operations were sus- pended, it were certainly enough — but still more glorious, superlatively brilliant, will be its history, when reinstated as it now is, it shall restore to this great people their fireside rights, a pure elective franchise, and an untramim/ed judiciary; when fanatical usurp- ers and would-be tyrants and dictators are pwt'pt away with the rubbish that has been thrown to the surface in these extraordin- ary times; when once more the governing principle shall be the will of the governed expressly declared; when no more power shall be exercised than is or has been de- rived from the people, the legitimate source of all power. The great principle now in issue, is the centralization of power, or the keeping it diffused in State sovereignty, as it is by the organic laws, constituting States and form- ing the General Government. The creation of an empire, or republic, or the reconstruction of the old Union, by brute force, is simply impossible. The lib- eration of four million blacks, and putting them upon an equality with the whites, is a scheme which can only bring its authors into shame, contempt and confusion. No results of this enterprise will ever be real- ized beyond the army of occupation. It is not the part of wisdom, for those who have in hand the noble work of pre- serving the States from ruin, and the races from intermixture, to base their action upon any incident or accident, or upon any sup- posed termination of our present troubles. He who changes his views upon victory or defeat, is but a poor soldier for a long cam- paign against the muss of error, corruption and crime, now thickly spread over and through the body politic, and to an alarm- ing extent influencing the action of the American mind. But, shall we stand aloof from political alliances, and seek in our own way to assist in the needful reformation ? Shall we rely entirely upon ourselves ? By no means — when the great end in view can be in the least degree proinoted, we should not hesi- tate to lend our aid and support; but care should be taken that no uncertain path, or devious ways, be entered upon. Let me sj>eak plain — our political affinity is unquestionably witli the Democratic party, and if that organization goes boldly to tlie work, standing firmly upon its time- honored principles, maintaining unsullied its integrity, it is safe to presume that it will receive the moral and physical support of this wide extended association. The great boast of the Democratic party has been, that it has met and beaten back the party of centralization, since the forma- tion of the Union ; and, although it has never ordained any principles in regard to the status of the inferior races, it has at all times strictly adhered to the doctrine of making it a purely local matter, and leaving to the States, by the exercise of tlu-ir re- served powei-s, to regulate it as a domestic institution; the maintainance of this doc- trine, in its intendment and general opera- tions, must be fcatisfactory to the entire brotherhood. Let no one say we will thus be subservient to a party; rather will we bo subservient t<) the demands of our country, and the cause in which we have enlisted. There need be no apprehension that a war of coercion will be continued by a Dem- ocratic administration, if placed in control of public affairs, for with the experience of TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 317 the present one, which has for three years, with the unlimited roHources of eighteen millions of people, in men, money and ships, won nothing hut its own disgrace, and prob- able dovvniall, it is not likely that another, if it values public estimation, will repeat the experiment. Neither have we any reason to fear that the Democratic party, in shaping the can- vass of 1804, will go out of its way to insult five hundred thousand of those whose votes are necessary to its success; let us rather incline to the belief that all the ele- ments of opposition can and will be united, with no sacrifice of principle or manhood, to crush out this one now in power. A mere change of men will avail nothing, without corresponding action. Men, states- men, and executive officers, exhort people to patience and long suflering, and while condemning Federal usurpation, yield obe- dience to all its demands. In the estima- tion of the membership of this organization, such men and such governors, be they of what party they may, must be regarded as enemies to good government. 1 trust I may be pardoned if I give a few examples to illustrate. If this people can not excuse the Federal Executive for exercising undue and unwar- ranted power, toward breaking down their rights, derived from the force of their State Governments, how shall they palliate the offense of Governor Seymour, in violating his obligations in allowing it to be done in the great State of New York ? This Gover- nor becomes accessory after the fact, and is alike worthy of public condemnation. Do you tell me it is a necessity to thus sub- serve the Washington usurpers? In God's name, do not tell me that it is a necessity to be forsworn, to violate the plainest pro- visions of the Constitution, to consign a people to a slavish subserviency to the will of one man. You may tell me that it is rather a necessity to give up place, aye, to give up life itself. Because the punishment of these crimes against law and the people, being impeachment, and lodged with legis- lative bodies, that will not execute it, they are nevertheless offenses, and will be so ad- judged hereafter, when healthy restraints of law shall be demanded to protect life and property. The Democracy of Indiana, too, has made a culprit of itself. A Senator, by the mean and contemptible action of a majority of the United States Senate, was wrongfully and maliciously expelled from his seat. The Legislature plainly acquiesced in this insult to the State and the party, by refusing to return him again. Again, our cherished Vallandigham resides in exile, not so much by the power of Lincoln, as the demands of those who are controlling, or did control the Democratic party in that State. These things are of the past, shall they be repeated in the future ? The great fear is, that they will be, so long as this bugbear of civil war shall continue to horrify other- wise sensible people. My advice to you is, look well to the selection of men, upon whom you devolve the functions of leaders. This is no time to put forward men who take counsel of their fears. Will the exercise of an undoubted right, an inalienable, an inlierited, a constitutional right, lead to conflict? Will opposition to usurpers, to dictators, to tyrants, who have broken down the safeguards of life and property, lead to it? Then there is no es- cape, save in dishonor, and the most potent argument in favor of the permanency and spread of this association lies in the fact, that there are men who desire place and those who desire peace and quiet upon such terms. But who will bring conflict ? Who will commence hostilities ? Certainly not those who are merely claiming their rights? The conflict must then be commenced by those who are in the wrong. Must a people, therefore, continue to abase themselves, to keep those whom they have placed in author- ity from committing outrages upon them ? This is the strange logic of the times. This organization is based upon the prin- ciple of conserving the government inaugu- rated by the people, and bound to oppose all usurpations of power. Now it so happens that in the seventh year of its re-establish- ment, we find our State and Federal Gov- ernment overturned. Yes, 'tis true. Lin- coln's government is an usurpation — Mor- ton's government is an usurpation. Now I know not what others may do, but for my- self, I am willing the ballot box shall decide who shall be the officers, under the law and Constitution; but I shall obey them only so far as they exercise their delegated powers. I will not agree to remain passive, under usurped authority, affecting my rights and liberties. Now, if the present condition can be changed by the ballot, all will rejoice; but how will the ballot decide any thing, when the dominant party of the country appeal from it to force? No one will enter the con- test to overturn this party, more cheerfully than will I. But suppose it re-elects itself, will it return to the Constitution and laws ? Are all those who do not agree with them to enter upon that delightful future, which has been so often and boastfully predicted by the Executive of this State, and many of his appointees ? That future to you and to me is death, confiscation of our property, starvation of our children, the forced mar- riage of our heirs to their new-made colored brethren in arms. If these men be prolonged in power, they must either consent to be content to exer- cise the power delegated by the people, or by the gods they must prove themselves physically the stronger. This position is 318 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. demanded by every true member of this fraternity, honor, life — aye, more than life, the virtue of our wives and daughters de- mand it; and if you intend to make this organization of any practical value, you will do one of two things — either take steps to work the political regeneration of the party with which we are affiliated, up to this standard, or relying upon ourselves, deter- mine at once our plan of action. It might be asked now, shall men be coerced to go to war, in a mere crusade to free negroes, and territorial aggrandizement? 8hall our people be taxed to carry forward a war of emancipation, miscegenation, con- liacation, or extermination? It would be the happiest day of my life, if I could stand up with any considerable portion of my fellow men and say, "Not an- other dollar, not another man, for this ne- farious war." But the views and suggestions of exiled Vallandighani will be of greater conseqiience to you than my own. He says to you, the only issue now is peace or war. To tlie former he is committed, and can not, will not retract. He tells us not to commit ourselves to men. As well as he loves, and much as he admires the little hero McClellan, he would have the Chicago Convention act with untrammeled freedom He reasons that the spring campaign will be more disastrous to the Federal armies than those heretofore made. That by July the increased call for troops, the certaintj^ of a prolonged war, the rottenness of the financial system, defection of border State troops, the spread and adoption of the principles of this organization, will all tend to bring conservative men to one mind. He anticipates that the deliberations of the Chicago Convention will no doubt be harmonious, and that its nominees will carry a mnjority of the adhering States — thinks that Government, by the one-tenth proclamation, will vote all seceded States, and overcome us; and says if this northern people do not inaugurate the men thus duly and legally chosen, thej'- will be want- ing in that manhood and spirit that should characterize freemen. He wishes it dis- tinctly understood, although pressed from various quarters, that he will not consent to tlie u«e of his name before the conven- tion for a nomination, but thinks, in case we succeed, that he would be entitled to have a place in the cabinet, (may he get it, and not say like General Taylor, that he has "no friends to reward and no enemies to punish.") He counsels late action on the part of State conventions; thinks Ohio is called too soon — advising that Indiana should have hers, say fir.st of June. He iinally judges that the "Washington power will not yield up its power, un<^l it is taken fro7n them by an indignant people, by force of arms. He intimates that jxu'ties — men and interests — will divide into two classes. and that a conflict will ensue for the mas- tery. ''^ Sons of Liberty" arise! the day is rapidly approaching in the which you can make good your promises to your country. The furnace is being heated that will prove your sincerity — the hour for daring deeds is not distant — let the watchword be on- ward ! And let the result bless mankind with Republican Government, in this, our beloved land, to their latest posterity. Your Committee on Platform, having had the subject of a platform to govern the ac- tion of the various Councils of the State of Indiana, beg leave to report the following, which they recommend be adopted by this Grand Council: Whereas, A crisis has arisen in the his- tory of the Federal Government in relation to the rights of the States, whether clelegar ted or reserved; the manifest usurpations of undelegated powers by the President; the utter disregard of all Constitutional guarantees of liberty, looking constantly to the subjugation of the States and the establishment of a Centralized Despotism, already fill us with alarm for the cause of civil liberty in America. Axd whereas, it is due to those who differ with us in our notions of right, as well as the mode and measure of redress, to know where we stand, we propose to declare to them frankly our convictions and purposes in the pre- mises; therefore, Resolved, That the right to alter or abol- ish their Government, whenever it fails to secure the blessings of liberty, is one of the inalienable rights of the people, that can never be surrendered ; nor is the right to maintain a Government that does secure the blessings of liberty less sacred and in- alienable, therefore we declare tliat patriot- ism and manhood alike enjoin upon us re- sistance to usurpation as the highest and holiest duty of freemen. 2. That the necessity of amendments to the Articles of Confederation was suggested by a prevailing insurrection; its provisions maturr>d amidst the threatening elementsof civil w.ar. and the Constitution tendered to the thirteen sovereign and independent States by the wisdom of the age, and ac- cepted bv them as a fortress around the liberties of the j^eople, prescribing inflexi- ble limits to the powers of the CJovernment in war as well as in peace, and no necessity, however great, can warrant its violation by any officer of the Government; and every such infraction sjiould be rebuked by the sternest energy of our nature. 3. That the great purpose of tlie Constitu- tion of the United States was the maintain- ance of the principles of civil liberty. The Union a means, i'ormed in a spirit of mu- tual concession, can only be restored and perpetuated by on adiierence to the princi- TKEASON TRIALS AT ODIANAPOLIS. 319 pies upon which it was founded, the volun- tary consent of its members, and a scrupulous observance of the rights of each otlier un- der the Constitution; and that "war is dis- union, final, irretrievable." 4. That while with just disdain we reject the epithet of "peace at any price" as a slander upon the true Democrac}^ and with instinctive promptness protest against the brutal doctrine of war i'or revenge, for plun- der, or the debasement of our race to the level of a negro, we do regard the restora- tion of peace to our countrj', upon an hon- orable adjustment of the issues involved in this unholy and unnatural war, witliout humiliation to either party, as rising above all otlier considerations, and that in pon- dering the terms of such settlement we will look only to the peace and welfare of our race. 5. That whatever the theory of the pow- ers of the Federal Government to coerce a State to remain in the Union may be, war as a means of restoring the Union is a de- lusion, inVolving a fearful waste of human life, hopele.ss bankrujitcy, and the speedy downfall of the Eepublic. Therefore we recommend a cessation of hostilities upon existing facts, and a convention of the sovereign States to adjust the terms of a peace with a view to the restoration of the Union, entire if possible; if not, so much and such parts as the affinities of interest and civilization may attract. 6. That there is a point at which submis- sion merges the man in the slave, and re- sistance becomes a duty. Whether that point, in the history of the times, has ar- rived, may be debated ; but we will resist by force any attempt to abridge the elec- tive franchise, whether by introduction of illegal votes, under military authority- or the attempt by Federal officers to in timidate the citizen by threats of oppres- sion. 7. We reiterate and affirm the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798-99, as embodying the true exposition of the Con- stitution. 8. That we will support and maintain the Constitution of the United States, and of the State of Indiana, and of the laws enacted under the same, as passed by the proper legis- lative autliorities, and as expotuided by the proper judicial tribunals. 9. That we will maintain, peaceably if we can, but forcibly if we must, the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of the person from arbitrary and unlawful arrest, and the freedom of the ballot box, from the aggression and violence of every person or authority whatsoever. And to these ends we hereby pledge to each other, and to our brethren throughout the United States and the State of Indi- ana, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE. To the Qrand Council of Indiana : Your committee beg leave to submit to this honorable body the following report: It being of the greatest importance that the Grand Council be amply provided with the necessary means to meet the urgent de- mands upon it, at this period of its organic existence, and that without sufficient fluids in its treasury, no permanent or systematic organization of the State can be etlected, would first urge upon every Parent Temple, who has not already responded to the pre- vious assessment of $2U 00, made by the Grand Council, on each county or Parent Temple, the necessity of meeting that de- mand without any further delay. And second, that in order to provide an annual fund for the use of this Grand Council, that each county or Parent Temple be re- quired to pay into the treasury of the Grand Council, on the first Monday in May, 1864, and annually thereafter, until other- wise ordered by the Grand Council, for each member in the county who has re- ceived the first degree, the sum of twenty cents. This assessment to include all mem- bers of the Sons of Liberty in each county throughout the State, whether members of the Parent Temple or the subordinate Tem- ples throughout the townships. And they would recommend that the demands of the Supreme Council, on this Grand Coun- cil, be paid out of the funds to be provi- ded by the foregoing assessment. And they would also recommend that the Grand Treasurer be required to give bond in double the amount of money that may come into his possession, by virtue of his office, conditioned for the faithful per- formance of his duties — such bond to be given to the Grand Commander, on or be- fore the first day of May, 1864, and after- ward upon entering upon the duties of that office. REPORT OF THE GRAND SECRETARY. M. E. Grand Commander: In compliance with the resolution adopted by this body, I beg leave to submit the fol- lowing report, showing the number of coun- ties in the State that are organized ; the number in process of organization, and the number of members in the organiza- tion, so far as 1 have received reports : Reports have been received from but seventeen cottnties. We have organized in the State forty-one counties, and liave in process of organization ten additional coun- ties, leaving the number of counties yet to report their membership, thirty-four. Judging from the reports received, I place the membership in the State, at this time, at least 12,000, not including the membership in the other organizations in the State, that work conjunctly with us. The 320 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. following is a summary of the reports re- ceived: Grant county reports 201 members and 6 branches; Clay county reports 194 members and 3 branches ; Blackford coun- ty reports 50 members and no branches ; DeKalb county reports 34 members and no branches; Harrison county reports 615 mem- bers and 11 branches; Marshall county re- ports 30 members and no branches; Wash- ington county reports 1,100 members and 10 branches; Allen county reports 40 mem- bers and no branches; Brown county re- ports 322 members and 4 branches ; Wells county reports 51 members and no branches; Vigo county reports 500 members and 5 branches; Fountain county reports 373 members and 10 branches ; Sullivan county reports 600 members andlObranches; Parke county reports 533 members and 7 branches; Marion county reports 75 members and 1 branch; Vermillion county reports 135 members and 3 branches; Vanderburg county reports 200 members and no branch- es. Showing a total membership, in the counties reporting, of 5,053. The above report does not include those counties from whom have been received in- telligence, unofficially, of their organiza- tion, which would perhaps increase the number of counties organized and in pro- cess of organization to — say sixty-one. The above report is respectfully submitted. Resolved^ That it is the instruction and advice of this Grand Council to the differ- ent temples of the State, that they proceed forthwith and perfect a thorough organiza- tion of their respective counties, and there- by prepare themselves to carry into effect any and every order of this body. Hesolved, That the delegates present, re- port the number of subscribers obtained, or that can be obtained for the Constitution- alist^ the proposed organ of the order. Reports on the above resolution gave as- surance that the subscription lists of the Constitutionalist should be immediately taken in hand; and that at least 10,000 subscri- bers could, and would be obtained. At this meeting of the Grand Council, thirty-one counties were represented, and there is no doubt, had it not been for the extreme cold, every organized county in the State would have been present through their delegates. The organization in this State is in its in- fancy, and when we reflect that we have succeeded in organizing, in the short space of six months, over one-half the counties in the State, and have a membership num- bering over 12,000, we have every reason to feel encouraged for the future. The organization is extending its influ- ence, popularity, and usefulness daily, and is already at work in the States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Delaware, Maryland, and Missouri, and numbers in its membership many of the noblest and most devoted champions of civil and religious liberty, remaining in our unhappy and distracted country. In conclusion, it is urged upon our friends in the counties to work with untiring en- ergy for the purpose of thorough organi- zation. This is the first and only truly na- tional organization the Democratic and Conservative men of the country have ever attempted, and we are assured that through it, and it only, can the peace, bar- mony and union of these States ever be restored. OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL ON THE "ORDER OF AMERICAN KNIGHTS," OK "SONS OF LIBERTY." A WESTERN CONSPIRACY IN AID OF THE SOUTHERN REBELLION. 21 EEPOET. Wae Depaetment, Burkac of MiLTTAny Justice, ) AVasiiington, D. C, October 8, 1864. j Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War : Sir: Having been instructed by you to prepare a detailed report upon the mass of testimony furnished me from different sources in regard to the Secret Associations and Conspiracies againM the Government, formed, principally in the Western States, by trai- tors and disloyal persons, I have now the honor to submit as follows : During more than a year past it has been generally known to our military authorities that a secret treasonable organization, affi- liated with the Southern rebellion, and chiefly military in its character, has been rapidly extending itself throughout the West. A variety of agencies, which will be specified herein, have been employed, and successfully, to ascertain its nq,ture and ex- tent, as well as its aims and its results; and, as this investigation has led to the jirrest in several States of a number of its prominent members as dangerous public enemies, it has been deemed proper to set forth in full the acts and purposes of this organization, and thus to make known to the country at large its intensely treasonable and revolution- ary spirit. The subject will be presented under the following heads : I. The origin, history, names, etc., of the order. II. Its organization and oflficers. III. Its extent and numbers. IV. Its armed force. V. Its ritual, oaths, and interior forms. VI. Its written principles. VII. Its specific purposes and operations. VIII. The witnesses and their testimony. L TdE ORIGIN, HISTORY, NAMES, ETC., OF THE ORDER. This secret association first developed it- self in the West in the year 1862, about the period of the first conscription of troops, which it aimed to obstrvict and resist. Orig- inally known in certain localities as the "Mutual Protection Society," the "Circle of Honor," or the ''Circle," or "Knights of the Mighty Host," but more widely as the "Knights of the Golden Circle," it was sim- {)ly an inspiration of the rebellion, being ittle other than an extension among the disloyal and disaffected at the North of the association of the latter name, which had existed for some years at the South, and from which it derived all the chief features of ita organization. During the summer and fall of 1863 the order, both at the North and South, under- went some modifications as well as a change of name. In consequence of a partial ex- posure which had been made of the signs and ritual of the "Knights of the G£)lden Circle," Sterling Price had instituted as its successor in Missouri a secret political asso- ciation, which he called the " Corps de Bel- gique, ' or "Southern League;" his principal coadjutor being Charles L. Hunt, of St, Louis, then Belgian Consul at that city, but whose exequatur was subsequently revoked by the President on account of his disloyal practices. The special object of the Corps de Belgique appears to have been to unite the rebel sympathizers of Missouri, with a view to their taking up arms and joining Price upon his proposed grand invasion of that State, and to their recruiting for his army in the interim. Meanwhile, also, there had been insti- tuted at the North, in the autumn of 1863, by sundry disloyal persons — prominent among whom were Vallandigham and P. C. Wright, of New York — a secret order, in- tended to be general throughout the coun- try, and aiming at an extended influence and power, and at more positive results than its predecessor, and which was termed, and has since been widely known as the 0. A. K., or '■^Ordcr of American Knights." The opinion is expressed by Colonel San- derson, Provost Marshal General of the De- partment of Missouri, in his official report upon the progress of this order, that it was founded by Vallandigham during his ban- ishment, and upon consultation at Eich- mond with Davis and other prominent trai- tors. It is, indeed, the boast of the order in Indiana and elsewhere, that its "ritual" came direct from Davis himself; and Maiy Ann Pitman, formerly attached to the com- mand of the rebel Forrest, and a most in- telligent witness — whose testimony will be hereafter referred to — states positively that Davis is a member of the order. Upon the institution of the principal or- ganization, it is represented that tlie "Corps de Belgique" was modified by Price, and became a Southern section of the Order of American Knights, and that the new name was generally adopted for the order, both at the North and South. The secret signs and character of the order having become known to our military authorities, further modifications in the ritual and forms were introduced, and its name was finally changed to that of 0. S. L., 323 324 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. or "Order of the Soi^s of Liberty,'' or the "Knights of the Order of the Sons of Lib- erty." These later changes are represented to have been first instituted, and the new ritual compiled, in the State of Indiana, in May last, but the new name was at once generally .adopted throughout the West, though in some localities the association is still better known as the " Order of Ameri- can Knights." Meanwhile, also, the order has received certain local designations. In parts of Illi- nois it has been called at times the "Peace Organization," in Kentucky the "Star Or- ganization," and in Missouri the "American Organization;" these, however, being ap- parently names used outside of the lodges of the order. Its members have also been familiarly designated as "Butternuts" by the country people of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and its separate lodges have also fre- quently received titles intended for the public ear; that in Chicago, for instance, being termed by its members the '• Demo- cratic Invincible Club," that in Louisville the "Democratic Reading Eoom," etc. It is to be added that in the State of Xew York, and other parts of the North, the se- cret political association known as the " il/o Clel/an Minute Guard" would seem to be a branch of the Order of American Knights, having substantially the same objects, to be accomplished, however, by means expressly Buited to the localities in ^vhich it is estab- lished. For, as the Chief Secretary of this association, Dr. R. F. Stevens, stated in June last to a reliable witness whose testimony has been furnished, "those who represent the McClellan interest are compelled to preach a vigorous prosecution of the war, in order to secure the popular sentiment and allure voters." II. ITS ORGANIZATION AND OFFICKKS. From printed copies, heretofore seized by the Government, of the Constitution of the Supreme Council, Grand Council, and County Parent Temples, respectively, of the Order of Sons of Liberty, in connection Kith other and abundant testimony, the organization of the order, in its latest form, is ascertained to be as follows : 1. The government of the order through- out the United States is vested in a Supreme Council, of which the officeis are a Sujjreme Commander, Secretary of State, and Treas- urer. These officers are elected for one year, at tlie annual meeting of the Supreme Council, which is made up of the Grand Commanders of the several States ex officio, find two delegates elected from each State in which the order is established. 2. The government of the order in a State is vested in a Grand Council, the offi- cers of which are a Grand Commander, Deputy Grand Commander, Grand Secre- tary, Grand Treasurer, and a certain num- ber of Major Generals, or one for each Mili- tary District. These officers also are elected annually by "representatives" from the county temples, each temple being en- titled to two representatives, and one addi- tional for each thousand members. This body of representatives is also invested with certain legislative functions. 3. The parent temple is the organization of the order for a county, each temple be- ing formally instituted by authority of the Supreme Council, or of the Grand Council or Grand Commander of the State. By the same authority, or by that of the officers of the parent temple, branch or subordinate temples may be established for townships in the county. But the strength and significance of this organization lie in its military character. The secret constitution of the Supreme Council provides that the Supreme Commander " shall he conivtander-in-chief of all military forces Lelovging to the order in the vario^is Slates when called into actual service ;' and further, that the Grand Comnaanders '^ shall he commanders- in-chief of the military forces of their respective States." Subordinate to the Grand Com- mander in the State are the " Major Gener- als" each of whom commands his separate district and army. In Indiana the Major Cienerals are i'our in number. In Illinois, where the organization of the order is con- sidered most perfect, the members in each congressional district compose a " brigade," which is commanded by a '^brigadier geik- eral." The members of each county consti- tute a ^"regiment" with a ^"colonel" in com- mand, and those of each township foim a " company." A somewhat similar system prevails in Indiana, where also each com- pany is divided into ''squads," each with its chief — an arrangement intended to facili- tate the guerrilla mode of warfare in case of a general outbreak or local disorder. The " McClellan Minute Guard," as ap- pears from a circular issued by the Chief Secretary in New York in March last, is or- ganized upon a military basis similar to that of the order proper. It is composed of companies, one for each election district, ten of which constitute a " brigade," with a "brigadier general" at its head. The whole is placed under the authority of a "commander-in-chief" A strict obedience on the part of members to the orders of their superiors is enjoined. The first " Supreme Commander" of the order was P. C. ^\'right, of Ncav York, ( di- tor of the New Y'ork Keu-s, who was in May last placed in arrest and conlincd in Fort Lafayette. Ilis successor in ollice was Val- landigham, who was elected at the annual meeting of the Supreme Council in Febru- ary last. Robert llolloway. of Illinois, is represented to have acted as Lieutenant General, or Deputy Supreme Commander, during the absence of Vallandigham from TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 525 the country. The Secretary of State chosen at the last election was Dr. Massey, of Ohio. In Missouri, the principal othcers were Charles L. Hunt, Grand Oonimander, Chas. E. Dunn. Deputy Grand Commander, and Green B. Smith, Grand Secretary. Since the arrest of these tliree persons (all of whom have made confessions which will be presently alluded to), James A. Barrett has, as it is understood, othciated as Grand Com- mander. He is stated to occupy also the position of chief of staff to the Supreme Commander. The Grand Commander in Indiana, H. H. Dodd, is now on trial at Indianapolis by a military commission for " conspiracy against the Government," "violation of the laws of war," and other charges. The Deputy Grand Commander in that State is Horace Heffren, and the Grand Secretary, W. M. Harrison. The Major Generals are W. A. Bowles, John C. Wallcer, L. P. Milligan, and Andrew Humphreys. Among the other leading members of the order in that State are Dr. Athon, State Secretary, and Joseph Ristine, State Auditor. The Grand Commander in Illinois 'is Judd, of Lewistown, and B. B. Piper, of Springfield, who is entitled '' Grand Mission- ary" of the State, and designated also as a member of Vallandigham's staff, is one of the most active members, having been busily engaged throughout the summer in establishing temples and initiating mem- bers. In Kentucky, Judge Bullitt, of the Court of Appeals, is Grand Commander, and, with Dr. U. F. Kalfus and W. R. Thomas, jailor in Louisville, two other of the most prom- inent members, has been arrested and con- fined by the military authorities. In New York, Dr. R. F. Stevens, the chief secretary of the McCleUan Minute Guard, is the most active ostensible representative of the order. The greater part of the chief and subor- dinate officers of the order and its branches, as well as the principal members thereof, are known to the Government, and, where not already arrested, may regard them- selves as under a constant military sm-veil- lance. So complete has been the exposure of ' this secret league, that however fre- quently the conspirators may change its names, forms, pao.swords, and signals, its true purposes and operations can not longer be concealed from the military authorities. It is to be remarked that the Supreme Council of the order, which annually meets on February 22, convened this year at' New York city, and a special meeting was then appointed to be held at Chicago on July 1, or just prior to the day then fixed for the convention of the Democratic party. This convention having been j^ostponecl to Au- gust 29, the special meeting of the Suprenae Council was also postponed to August 27. at the same place, and was duly convened accordingly. It will be remembered that a leading member of the convention, in the course of a speech made before that body, alluded approvingly to the session of the Sons of Liberty at Chicago at the same time, as that of an organization in har- mony with the sentiment and projects of the convention. It may be observed, in conclusion, that one not fully acquainted with the true character and intentions of the order, might well suppose that, in designating its officers by high military titles, and in imitating in its organization that established in our armiel, it was designed merely to render itself more popular and attractive with the masses, and to invest its chiefs with a cer- tain sham dignity; but when it is understood that the order comprises within itself a large army of well-armed men, constantly drilled and exercised as soldiers, and that this army is held ready, at any time, for such forcible resistance to our military au- thorities, and such active co-operation with the public enemy, as it may be called upon to engage in by its commanders, it will be perceived that the titles of the latter are not assumed for a mere purpose of dis- play, but that they are the chiefs of an actual and formidable force of conspirators against the life of the Government, and that their military system is, as it has been remarked by Colonel Sanderson, " the grand lever used by the rebel government for its army operations." III. — ITS EXTENT AND NUMBERS. The "temples" or "lodges" of the order are numerously scattered through the States of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky. They are also officially re- ported as established, to a less extent, in Michigan and the other Western States, as well as in New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Ten- nessee. Dodd, the Grand Commander of Indiana, in an address to the members in that State of February last, claims that at the next annual meeting of the Supreme Council(in February, 1865, )everyState inthe Union will be represented, and adds, "this is the first and only true national organiza- tion the Democratic and Conservative men of the country have ever attempted." A pro- vision made in the constitution of the Council for a representation from the Terri- tories shows, indeed, that the widest exten- sion of the order is contemplated. In the States fi.rst mentioned, the order is most strongly centered at the following places, where are situated its principal " temples." In Indiana, at Indianapolis and Vincennes; in Illinois, at Ciiicago, Springfield and Quincy, (a large proportion of the lodges in and about the latter place 326 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. having been founded by the notorious guenilla chief, Jackman;) in Ohio, at Cin- cinnati, Dayton, and in Hamilton county (which is proudly termed by members "the South Carolina of the North;") in Missouri, at St. Louis; in Kentucky, at Louisville ; and in Michigan, at Detroit, (whence com- munication was freely had by the leaders of the order with Vallandigham during his banishment, either by letters addressed to him through two prominent citizens and members of the order, or bj' personal inter- views at Windsor, C. W.) It is to be added that the regular places of meeting, as also the principal renclezvous and haunts of the members in these and less important places, are generally well known to the Govern- ment. The actual numbers of the order have, it is believed, never been officially reported, and can not, therefore, be accurately ascer- tained. Various estimates have been made, by leading members, some of which are no doubt considerably exaggerated. It has been asserted by delegates to the Supreme Council of February last, that the number was tliere represented to be from eight hundred thousand to one million; but Val- landigham, in his speech last summer at Dayton, Ohio, placed it at five hundred thousand, which is probably much nearer the true total. The number of its mem- bers in the several States has been differently estimated in the reports and statements of its officers. Thus, the force of the order in Indiana, is stated to be from seventy-five to one hundi'cd and twenty -five thousand; in Illinois, from one hundred to one hun- dred and forty thousand; in Ohio, from eighty to one hundred and eight thousand ; in Kentucky, from forty to seventy thou- sand ; in Missouri, from twenty to forty thousand; and in Michigan and New York, about twenty thousand each. Its represen- tation in the other States above mentioned does not specifically appear from the testi- mony ; but, allowing for every exaggera- tion in the figures reported, they may be deemed to present a tolerably faithful view of what, at least, is regarded by the or- der as its true force in the States desig- nated. It is to bo noted that the order, or its coimterpart, is probably much more widely extended at the South even than at the North, and that a large proportion of the officers of the rebel army are represented l>y credible witnesses to be members. In Kentucky and Missouri the order has not hesitated to admit as members, not only officers of tlia^t army, but also a considerable number of guerrillas, a class who might be supposed to appreciate most readily its spirit and purposes. It is fully shown that as lately as in July last, several of these ruffians wore initiated into the first degree by Dr. Kalfus, in Kentucky. IV. — ITS ARMED FORCE. A review of the testimony in regard to the armed force of the order, will materially aid in determining its real strength and numbers. Although the order lias from the outset partaken of the military character, it was not till the summer or fall of 1863 that it began to be generally organized as an armed body. Since that date its officers and leaders have been busily engaged in placing it uiDon a military basis, and in pre- paring it for a revolutionary movement. A general system of drilling has been insti- tuted and secretly carried out. Members have been instructed to be constantly pro- vided with weapons, and in some localities it has been absolutely required that each member should keep at his residence, at all times, certain arms and a specified quan- tity of ammunition. In March last, the entire armed force of the order, capable of being mobilized for ef- fective service, was represented to be three hundred and forty thousand men. As the de- tails, upon which this statement was based, are imperfectly set forth in the testimonj', it is not known how far this nimiber may be exaggerated. It is abundantly shown, how- ever, that the order, by means of a tax levied upon its members, has accumulated consid- erable funds for the purchase T)f arms and ammunition, and that these have been procured in large quantities for its use. The witness Clayton, on the trial of Dodd, estimated that two-ihirds of the order are furnished with arms. Green B. Smith, Grand Secretary of the order in Missouri, states in his confession of July last: "I know that arms, mostly revolvers and ammunition, have been pui^ chased by members in St. Louis, to send to members in the country where they could not be had;" and he subsequently adds that he himself alone clandestinely- purchased and forwarded, between April 15th and 19th last, about two hundred re- volvers, with five thousand percussion caps and other ammunition. A muster-roll of one of the country lodges of that State is exhibi- ted, in which, opposite the name of each member, are noted certain numbers, under the heads of "Missoui'i Republican," "St. Louis Union," "Anzeiger," "Miscellaneous Periodicals," " Books," "Speeches," and "Re- ports;" titles which, when interpreted, sev- erally signify siriglc-harrekd gv.ns, doiillc-bar- rctcd (/uus, revolvers, private anrnvnition, private kad, company poirder, compani/ lead — the roll thus actually setting forth the amount of arms and ammunition in the possession of the lodge and its members. In the States of Ohio and Illinois the or- der is claimed, by its members, to be unu- sually well armed with revolvers, carbines, etc.; but it is in regard to the arming of the TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 327 order in Indiana that the principal statis- tics have been presented, and these may serve to illustrate the system which has probably been pursued in most of the States. One intelligent witness, who has been a member, estiniates that in March last, there were in possession of the order in that State six thousand muskets and sixty thousand revolvers, besides private arms. Another member testifies that at a single lodge meeting of two hundred and fifty-two persons, which he attended early in the present year, the sum of $4,000 was subscribed for arms. Other members pre- sent statements in reference to the number of arms in their respective counties, and all agree in representing that these have been constantly forwarded from Indianapo- lis into the interior. Beck & Brothers are designated as the firm in that city, to which most of the arms were consigned. These were shipped principally from the East; some packages, however, were sent from Cincinnati, and some from Kentucky, and the boxes were generally marked ''pick-axes," "hardware," "nails," "house- hold goods," etc. General Carrington estimates that in February and March last nearly thirty thousand guns and revolvers entered the State, and this estimate is based upon an actual inspection of invoices. The true num- ber introduced was, therefore, probably con- siderably greater. That officer adds, that on the day in which the sale of arms was stopped by his order, in Indianapolis, nearly one thousand additional revolvers had been contracted for, and that the trade could not supply the demand. He further reports that after the introduction of arms into the Department of the North had beenjirohibited in General Orders of March last, a seizure Avas made by the Govern- ment of a large c^uantity of revolvers and one hundred and thirty-five thousand rounds of ammunition, which had been shipped to the firm in Indianapolis, of which H. H. Dodd, Grand Commander, was a member; that other arms about to be shipped to the same destination were seized in New York city; and that all these were claimed as the private property of John C. Walker, one of the Major Generals of the order in Indiana, and were represented to have been '■^purchased for a few friends^ It should also be stated that at the office of Hon. D. W. Voorhees, M. C, at Terre Haute, were discovered letters which dis- closed a correspondence between him and ex-Senator Wall,* of New Jersey, in regard to the purchase of twenty thousand Gari- baldi rifies, to be forwarded to the West. It appears in the course of the testimony j that a considerable quantity of arms and j ammunition were brought into the State of I Illinois from Burlington, Iowa, and that! amn:unition was sent from New Albany. I Indiana, into Kentucky; it is also repre- sented that, had Vallandigham been ar- rested on his return to Ohio, it was con- templated furnishing the order with arms from a point in Canada, near Windsor, where they were stored and ready for use. There remains further to be noticed, in this connection, tlie testimony of Clayton upon the trial of Dodd, to the effect that arms were to be furnished the order from Nassau, N. P., by way of Canada; that, to defray the expense of these arms or their transportation, a formal assessment was levied upon the lodges, but that the trans- portation into Canada was actually to be furnished by the Confederate authorities. A stateinent was made by Hunt, Grand Commander of Missouri, before his arrest, to a fellow member, that shells and all kinds of munitions of war, as well as infer- nal macliines, were manufactured for the order at Indianapolis; and the late discov- ery in Cincinnati of samples of hand-gren- ades, conical shells, and rockets, of which one thousand were about to be manufac- tured, under a special contract, for the Order of the Sons of Liberty, goes directly to verify such a statement. These details will convey some idea of the attempts which have been made to place the order upon a war footing and prepare it for aggressive movements. But, notwith- standing all the efforts that have been put forth, and with considerable success, to arm and equip its members as fighting men, the leaders have felt themselves stiUvery defi- cient in their armament, and numerous schemes fbv increasing their armed strength have been devised. Thus, at the time of the issuing of the general order in Missouri requiring the enrollment of all citizens, it was proposed in the lodges of the Order of American Knights, at St. Louis, that certain members should raise companies in the militia, in their respective wards, and thus get command of as many Government arms and equipments as possible, for the future use of the order. Again it was proposed that all the members should enrol them- selves in the militia, iristead of payi}ig com- mutation, in this way obtaining possession of United States arms, and having the ad- vantage of the drill and military instruc- tion. In the councils of the order in Ken- tuckyj in June last, a scheme was devised for di.-^arming all tlie negro troops, which it was thought could be done without much difficulty, and appropriating their arms for military purposes. The despicable treachery of these pro- posed plans, as evincing the animus of the conspiracy, need not be commented upon. It is< to be observed that the order in the State of Missouri has counted greatly upon support from the enrolled militia, in case of an invasion by Price, as containing many members and friends of the Order of Amer- 328 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. ican Knights ; and that the " Paw-Paw Militia," a military organization of Bu- chanan county, as Avell as the militia of Platte and Clay counties, known as " Flat- Foots," have been relied ujaon, almost to a man, to join the revolutionary movement. T. — ITS RITUAL, OATHS, AND INTERIOR FORMS. The ritual of the order, as well as its secret signs, passwords, etc., has been fully made! known to the military authorities. InAu-i gust last one hundred and twelve copies of | the ritual of the Order of American Knights : were seized in the office of Hon. D. W. Voorhees, M. C, at Terre Haute, and a large number of rituals of the Order of the Sons of Libert}'-, together with copies of the constitutions of the councils, etc., already referred to, were found in the building at Indianapolis, occupied by Dodd, the Grand Commander of Indiana, as had been indi- cated by the Government witness and de- tective, Stidger. Copies were likewise dis- covered at Louisville, at the residence oi' Dr. Kalfus, concealed within the mattress of his bed, where Stidger had ascertained that they were kept. The ritual of the Order of American Knights has also been furnished by the au- thorities at St. Louis. From the ritual, that of the Order of the Sons of Liberty does not materially difler. Both are termed " progressive," in that they provide for jive separate degrees of membership, and contem- plate the admission of a member of a lower degree into a liighfr one only u^oon certain vouchers and {^I'oofs of fitness, which, witli each ascending degree, are required to be stronger and more imposing. Each degree has its commander or head; the fourth or "grand" is the highest in a State; the fifth or "supreme" the highest in the United States; but to the first or lower degree only do the great majority of members attain. A large proportion of these enter the order, supposing it to be a "Democratic" and political association merely; and the history of the order fur- nishes a most striking illustration of the gross and criminal deception which may be practiced upon the ignorant masses by un- scrupulous and unprincipled leaders. The members of the lower degree are often for a considerable period kept quite unaware of the true purposes of their chiefs. But to the latter tliey are bound, in the language of their obligation, '■'to yield prompt and implicit obedience to (he utmost of their ability^ without re- monstrance, hesitation or delay," and meanwhile their minds, under the discipline and teach- ings to which they are subjected, become educated and accustomed to contemplate with comparative unconcern the treason for which they are preparing. Tlie oaths, "invocations," "charges," etc., of the ritual, expressed as they are in bom- bastic and extravagant phraseology, would excite in the mind of an educated person only ridicule or contempt, but upon the illiterate they are calculated to make a deep impression, the efiect and importance of which were doubtless fully studied by the framers of the instrument. The oath which is administered upon the introduction of a raember into any degree, is especially imposing in its language; it prescribes as a penalty for a violation of the obligation assumed "a shameful death," and further, that the body of the person guilty of such violation shall be divided in four parts and cast out at the four "gates" of the temple. Not only, as has been said, does it enjoin a blind obedience to the com- mands of the superiors of the order, but it is required to be held of paramount obligation to any oath which may be administered to a member in a court of justice or elsewhere. Thus, in cases where members have been sworn by officers empowered to administer oaths to speak the whole truth in answer to questions that may be put to them, and have then been examined in reference to the order, and their connection therewith, they have not only refused to give any in- formation in regard to its character, but have denied that they were members, or even that they knew of its existence. A conspicuous instance of this is presented in tlie cases of Hunt, Dunn, and Smith, the chief officers of the order in Missouri, who, upon their first examination under oath, after their arrest, denied all connection with the order, but confessed, also under oath, at a subsequent j^eriod, that this de- nial was wholly false, altliough in accord- ance with their obligations as members. Indeed, a deliberate system of deception in regard to the details of the conspiracy is inculcated upon the members, and stu- diously pursued; and it may be mentioned, as a similarly despicable feature of the or- ganization, that it is held bound to injure tlie Administration and officers of the Gov- ernment, in every possible manner, by mis-- representation and falsehood. Members are also instructed that their oath of membership is to be held paramount to an oath of allegiance, or any other oath whicli may impose obligations inconsistent witli those which are assumed upon enter- ing the order. Thus, if a member, when in danger, or for the purpose of facilitating some traitorous design, has taken the oath of allegiance to the United States, he is held at liberty to violate it on the first occa- sion, his obligation to the order being deemed superior to any consideration of duty or loyalty prompted by such oath. It is to be added that where members are threatened with the penalties of perjury, in case of their answering falsely to questions propounded to them in regard to the order before a court or grand jury, thoy are in- structed to refuse to answer such questions, TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 329 alleging, as a ground for their refusal, that their answers may criminate themselves. The testimony shows that this course has habitually been pursued by membei'S, es- pecially in Indiana, when placed in such a situation. Besides the oaths and other forms and ceremonies which have been alluded to, the ritual contains what are termed " Declara- tions of Principles." These declarations, which are most important as exhibiting the creed and character of the order, as inspired by the principles of the rebellion, will be fully presented under the next branch of the subject. The signs^ signals^ passwords^ etc., of the order are set forth at length in the testi- mony, but need only be briefly alluded to. It is a significant fact, as showing the inti- mate relations between the Northern and Southern sections of the secret conspiracy, that a member from a Northern State is en- abled to pass without risk through the South by the use of the signs of recognition which have been established throughout the order, and by means of which members from dis- tant points, though meeting aS strangers, are at once made known to each other as "brothers." Mary Ann Pitman expressly states in her testimony that whenever im- portant dispatches are reql^ired to be sent by rebel generals beyond their lines, mem- bers of the order are always selected to convey them. Certain passwords are also used in common in both sections, and of these, none appears to be more familiar than the word " Nu-ol>lac," or the name "Calhoun" spelt backward, and which is employed upon entering a temple of the first degree of the Order of American Knights — certainly a fitting password to such dens of treason. Beside the signs of recognition, there are signs of warning and danger, for use at night, as well as by day ; as, for instance, signs to warn members of the approach of United States officials seeking to make arrests. The order has also established what are called batth-signah, by means of which, as it is asserted, a member serving in the army may communicate with the enemy in the field, and thus escape personal harm in case of attack or capture. The most re- cent of these signals represented to have been adopted is a five-pointed copper star, worn under the coat, which is to be dis- closed upon meeting an enemy, who will thus recognize in the wearer a sympathizer and an ally. A similar star of German sil- ver, hung in a frame, is said to be numer- ously displayed by members or their fami- lies in private houses in Indiana, for the pur- pose of insuring protection to their property in case of a raid or other attack ; and it is stated that in many dwellings in that State a portrait of John Morgan is exhibited for a similar purpose. Other signs are used by members, and es- pecially the officers of the order in their correspondence. Their letters, when of an official character, are generally conveyed by special messengers, but when transmitted through the mail are usually in cipher. When written in the ordinary manner, a character at the foot of the letter, consist- ing of a circle with a line drawn across the center, signifies to the member who receives it that the statements as written are to be understood in. a sense directly the opposite to that which would ordinarily be con- veyed. It is to be added that the meetings of the order, especially in the country, are gener- ally held at night and in secluded places ; and that the approach to them is carefully guarded by a line of sentinels, who are passed only by means of a special counter-- sign, which is termed the " picket." VI. ITS WKITTEN PRINCIPLES. The " Declaration of Principles" which is set forth in the ritual of the order, has already been alluded to. This declaration, which is specially framed for the instruction of the great mass of members, commences with the following proposition : " All men are endowed by the Creator with certain rights, equal as far as there is equality in the capacity for the appreciation, enjoyment, and exercise of those rights." And subsequently there is added: " In the Divine economy no individual of the human race must be permitted to encumber the earth, to mar its aspects of transcendent beauty, nor to impede the progress of the physical or intellectual man, neither in himself nor in the race to which he belongs. Hence, a people, upon whatever plane they may be found in the ascending scale of hu- manity, whom neither the divinity within them nor the inspirations of divine and beautiful nature around them can impel to virtuous action and progress onward and upward, should be subjected to a just and humane servitude and tutelage to the supe- rior race until they shall be able to appre- ciate the benefits and advantages of civili- zation." Here, expressed in studied terms of hy- pocrisy, is the Avhole theory of human bondage — the right of the strong, because they are strong, to despoil and enslave the weak, because they are weak! The lan- guages of earth can add nothing to the cowardly and loathsome baseness of the doctrine, as thus announced. It is the robber's creed sought to be nationalized, and would push back the hand on the dial plate of our civilization to the darkest l^eriods of human history. It must be ad- mitted, however, tliat it furnishes a fitting "corner-stone" for the government of a re- bellion, every fiber of whose body and every throb of whose soul is born of the traitor- 330 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. ous ambition and slave-pen inspirations of the South. To these detestable tenets is added that other pernicious political theory of State sov- ereignty, with its necessary Iruit, the mon- strous doctrine of secession — a doctrine which, in asserting that in our federative system a part is greater than the whole, woukl compel the General Government, like a Japanese slave, to commit hari-kari whenever a faithless or insolent State should command it to do so. Thus, the ritual, after reciting that the States of the Union are " free, independent, and sovereign," proceeds as follows: " The government designated ' The Uni- ted States of America.' has no sovereignty^ be- cause that is an attribute with which the people, in their several and distinct i^olitical organizations, are endowed, and is inalien- able. It was constituted by the terms of the compact, by all the States, tlirough the express will of the people thereof, respec- tively — a common agent, to use and exer- cise certain named, specified, defined, and limited powers which are inherent of the sovereignties within those States. It is per- mitted, so far as regards its status and re- lations, as common agent in the exer- cise of the powers carefully and jealously delegated to it, to call itself 'supreme,' but not ' sovereign.^ In accordance with the principles upon which is founded the Amer- ican theorjiy government can exercise only delegated power ; hence, if those who shall have been chosen to administer the gov- ernment shall assume to exercise powers not delegated, they should be regarded and treated as usurpers. The reference to 'in- herent power,' 'war powei-,' or 'military necessity,' on the part of the functionary for the sanction of an arbitrary exercise of power by him, we will not accejjt in pallia- tion or excuse." To this is added, as a corollary, " it is in- compatible with the history and nature of our system of government, that Federal authority should coerce by arms a sovereien State." The declaration of principles, however, does not stop liere, but proceeds one step further, as follows : " Whenever the chosen oificers or dele- gates shall fail or refuse to administer the Government in strict accordance with the letter of the accepted Constitution, it is the inherent right and the solemn and impera- tive duty of the people to resist the func- tionaries, and, if need be, to expel than by force of arms ! Such resistance is not revolu- tion, but is solely the assertion of right — the exercise of all the noble attributes Avhich impart honor and dignity to manhood." To tlie same eft'ect, though in a milder tone, is tlie i:)latform of the order in Indi- ana, put forth by the Grand Council at their meeting in February last, which de- clares that "the right to alter or abolish their government, whenever it fails to se- cvire the blessings of liberty, is one of the inalienable rights of the people that can never be surrendered." Such, then, are tlie principles which the new member swears to observe and abide by in his obligation, sot forth in the ritual, where he says: "I do solemnly promise that I will ever cherish in my heart of hearts the sublime creed of the E. K., (Excellent Knights,) and will, so far as in me lies, illustrate the same in my intercourse with men, and will dej'end the principles thereof, if need be, with my life, whensoever as- sailed, in my own country first of all. I do further solemnly declare that I will never take up arms in behalf of any government which does not acknowledge the sole au- thority or power to be the will of the gov- erned." The following extracts from the ritual, may also be quoted as illustrating the prin- ciple of the right of revolution and resist- ance to constituted authority insisted upon by the order: "Our sw(#ds shall be unsheathed when- ever the great principles which we aim to inculcate and have sworn to maintain and defend are assailed." Again : " I do solemnly promise, that when- soever the principles which our order in- culcates shall be assailed in my own State or country, I will defend these jjrinciples with my sword and my life, in whatsoever capa- city may be assigned me by the competent authority of our order." And fnrtlier: "I do promise that I will, at all times, if need be, take up arms in the cause of the oppressed — in my own coun- try first of all — against any power or gov- ernment usurped, which may be found in arms and waging war against the people or peoples who are endeavoring to establish, or have inaugviratecl, a government for themselves of their own free choice." Moreover, it is to be noted that all the addresses and speeches of its leaders breathe the same principle, of the right of the forcible resistance to the Government, as one of the tenets of the order. llius P. C. Wright, Supreme Commander, in his general address of December, 1863, after urging that " the spirit of the fathers may animate tlie free minds, the brave hearts, and still unshackled limbs of the true dcmocraq/," (meaning the members of the order,) adds as follows: "To be prepared for the crisis now approacliing, we must catch from afar the earliest and faintest breathings of the spirit of the storm; to be successful when the storm comes, we must be watchful, patient, brave, confident^ organized, armed." Thus, too, Dodd, Grand Commander of the order in Indiana, quoting, in his ad- dress of February last, the views of his TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 331 chief, Vallandigham, and adopting them as his own, says: "He (Vallandigham) judges that the Washington power will not yield up its power until it is taken from them by an in- dignant people by force, of arms." Such, then, are the written principles of the order in which the neophyte is in- structed, and which he is sworn to cherish and observe as his rule of action, when, with arms placed in his hands, he is called upon to engage in the overthrow of his Government. This declaration — first, of the absolute right of slavery; second, of State sovereignty and the right of secession; third, of the right of armed resistance to consti- tuted authority on the part of the dis- affected and the disloyal, whenever their ambition may prompt them to revolu- tion — is but an assertion of that abomin- able theory which, from its first enuncia- tion, served as a pretext for conspiracy after conspiracy against the Government on the part of Southern traitors, until their detestable plotting culminated in open re- bellion and bloody civil war. AVhat more appropriate password, therefore, to be com- municated to the new member upon his first admission to the secrets of the order could have been conceived, than that which was actually adopted — "Calhoun! " — a man who, baffled in his lust for power, Avith gnashing teeth turned upon the Government that had lifted him to its highest honors, and upon the country that had borne him, and down to the very close of his fevered life labored incessantly to scatter far and wide the seeds of that poison of death now upon our lips. The thorns which now pierce and tear us are of the tree he planted. VII. ITS SPECIFIC PURrO.SES AXD OPERATIONS. From the principles of the order, as thus set forth, its general purpose of co-operating with the rebellion may readily be inferred, and, in fact, those principles could logic- ally lead to no other result. This general purpose, indeed, is distinctly set forth in the personal statements and confessions of its members, and particularly of its prom- inent officers, who have been induced to make disclosures to the Government. Among the most significant of these con- fessions are those already alluded to, of Hunt, Dunn, and Smith, the heads of the order in Missouri. The latter, whose state- ment is full and explicit, says: "At the time I joined the order I understood that its object was to aid and assist the Confed- erate Government, and endeavor to restore the Union as it was prior to this rebellion." He adds: "The order is hostile in every re- spect to the General Government, and friendly to the so-called Confederate Gov- ernment. It is exclusively made up of dis- loyal persons— of all Democrats who are desirous of securing the independence of the Confederate States with a view of re- storing the Union as it was." It would be idle to comment on such gibberish as the statement that " the inde- pendence of the Confederate States" was to be used as the means of restoring " the Union as it was;'' and yet, under the man- ipulations of these traitorous jugglers, doubt- less the brains of many have been so far muddled as to accept this shameless de- claration as true. But proceeding to the specific purposes of the order, which its leaders have had in view from the beginning, and which, as will be seen, it has been able, in many cases, to carry out with very considerable success, the following are found to be the most pointedly presented by the testimony : 1. Aiding Soldiers to Desert and Harboring and Protecting Deserters. — Early in its history the order essayed to undermine such portions of the army as were exposed to its in- sidious approaches. Agents were sent by the Knights of the Golden Circle into the camps to introduce the order among the soldiers, and those who became members were instructed to induce as many of their companions as possible to desert, and for this purpose the latter were furnished by the order with money and citizens' clothing. Soldiers who hesitated at desertion, but de- sired to leave the army, were introduced to lawyers who engaged to furnish them some quasi legal pretext for so doing, and a certain attorney of Indianapolis, named Walpole, who was particularly conspicuous in furnishing facilities of this character to soldiers who applied to him, has boasted that he has thus aided five hundred en- listed men to escape from their contracts. Through the schemes of the order in In- diana whole companies were broken up — a large detachment of a batteiy company, for instance, deserting on one occasion to the enemy with two of its guns — and the camps were imbued with a spirit of discon- tent and dissatisfaction with the service. 8ome estimate of the success of these efforts may be derived from a report of the Adjutant General of Indiana, of January, in 1863, settiiig forth that the number of deserters and absentees returned to the army through the post of Indianapolis alone, during the month of December, 1862, was nearly two thousand six hun- dred. As soon as arrests of these deserters be- gan to be generally made, writs of habeas corpus were issued in their cases by disloyal judges, and a considerable number were dis- charged thereon. In one instance in Indi- ana, where an officer in charge of a deserter properly refused to obey the writ, after it had been suspended in such cases bj' the President, his attachment for contempt was ordered by the Chief Justice of the State, who declared that "the streets of 332 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Indianapolis might run with blood, but that he would enforce his authority against the President's order.'' On another occasion certain United States officers who had made the arrest of deserters in Illinois were themselves arrested for kidnapping, and held to trial by a disloyal jvidge, who at the same time discharged the deserters, though acknowledging them to be such. Soldiers upon deserting, were assured of immunity from punishment and protection on the part of the order, and were instruc- ted to bring away with them their arms, and, if mounted, their horses. Details sent to arrest them by the military authorities, were in several cases forcibly resisted, and, where not unusually strong in numbers, were driven back by large bodies of men, subsequently generally ascertained to be members of the order. Where arrests were effected, our troops were openly at- tacked and fired upon on their return. Instances of such attacks occurring in Mor- gan and Rush counties, Indiana, are espe- cially noticed by General Carrington. In the case of the outbre^ in Morgan county, J. S. Bingham, editor of the Indianapolis Sentinel., a member or friend of the order, sought to forward to the disloyal newspa- pers of the West false and inflammatory telegraphic dispatches in regard to the affair, to the efiect that cavalry had been sent to arrest all the Democrats in the county, that they liad committed gross outrages, and that several citizens had been shot; and adding "ten thousand sol- diers can not hold the men arrested this night. Civil war and bloodshed are inev- itable." The assertions in this dispatch were entirely false, and may serve to illu.s- trate the fact heretofore noted, that a stu- dious misrepresentation of the acts of the Government and its officers is a part of the prescribed duty of the members of the order. It is proper to mention that seven of the party in Morgan county, who made the attack upon our troops, were convicted of their offense by a State court. Upon their trial it was proved that the party was composed of members of the Knights of the Golden Circle. One of the most pointed instances of pro- tection aftbrded to deserters occurred in a case in Indiana, where seventeen intrenched themselves in a log cabin with a ditch and palisade, and were furnished with provisions and sustained in their defense against our military authorities for a considerable pe- riod by the order or its friends. 2. Discouraging Enlistments and Resisting the Draft. — It is especially inculcated by the order to oppose the rc-cnforcenient of our armies, either by volunteers or dratted men. In 1S62 the Kniglits of the Golden Circle organized generally to resist the draft in the Western States, and were strong enough in certain localities to greatly embarrass the Government. In this year and early in 1S63 a number of enrolling officers were shot in Indiana and Illinois. In Blackford county, Indiana, an attack was made upon the court-house, and the books connected with the draft were destroyed. In several counties of the State a considerable mili- tary force was required for the protection of the United States officials, and a large number of arrests were made, including that of one Eeynolds. an ex-Senator of the Legislature, for publicly urging ujion the poi)ulace to resist the conscription — an of- fense of the same character, in fact, as that upon which Vallandigham was apprehended in Ohio. These outbreaks were no doubt, in most cases, incited by the order and en- gaged in by its members. In Indiana nearly two hundred persons were indicted for conspiracy against the Government, re- sisting the draft, etc., and about sixtj' of these were convicted. Where members of the order were forced into the army by the draft, they were in- structed, in case they were prevented ft'om presently escaping, and were obliged to go to the field, to use their arms against their fellow-soldiers rather than the enemy, or, if possible, to desert to the enemy, by whom, through the signs of the order, they would be recognized and received as friends. Whenever a member volunteered in the army he was at once expelled frona the order. 3. Circulation of Disloyal and Treasonable Publications. — The order, especially in ]\Iis- souri, has secretly circulated throughout the country a great quantity of treasonable publications, as a means of extending its own power and influence, as well as of giv- ing encouragement to the disloyal and in- citing them to treason. Of these, some of the principal are the following: Pollards Southern History of the War, OJicial Reports of the Confederate Government, Life of -Stonewall Jackson, pamphlets containing articles from the MetropoUtnn Record, Abraha^n Africanus, or ]\fi/steries of the White House, The Lincoln Cat- echism, or a Guide to the Presidmtial Election of 1S()4, Indestructible Organics, by Tirga. These publications have generally been procured by ibrmal requisitions drawn ujion tlie grand commander by leading members in the interi.or of a State. One of these re- quisitions, dated June 10th last, and drawn by a local secretary of the order at Gentry- ville, Missouri, is exhibited in the testi- mony. It contains a column of the initials of subscribei's, opposite whose names are entered the number of disloyal publications to be furnished, the particular book or books, etc., required being indicated by fictitious titles. 4. Communicating with, and Giving Intelligence to, the Enemy. — Smith, Grand Secretary of the order in Missouri, says, in his confes- sion : " liebel spies, mail-carriers, and emia- TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 333 saries have been carefully protected by this order ever since I have been a member." It is shown in the testimony to be custo- mary in the rebel service to employ mem- bers of the order as spies, under the guise of soldie;^ furnished with furloughs to visit their homes within our lines. On coming within the territory occupifd by our forces, they are harl)ored and supplied with infor- mation by the order. Another class of spies claim to be deserters from the enemy, and at once seek an opportunity to take the oath of allegiance, which, however, though voluntarily taken, they claim to be admin- istered while they are under a species of duress, and. therefore, not to be binding. Upon swearing allegiance to the Govern- ment, the pretended deserter engages, with the assistance of tlie order, in collecting contraband goods or procuring intelligence to be conveyed to the enemy, or in some other treasonable enterprise. In his otRcial report of June 12th last. Colonel Sanderson remarks: "This department is filled with rebel spies, all of whom belong to the order." In Missouri regular mail communication was for a long period maintained through the agency of the order from St. Louis to Price's army, by means of which private letters, as well as official dispatches between him and the Grand (Joramander of Missouri, were regularly transmitted. The mail- carriers started from a point on the Pacific railroad, near Kirkwood station, about four- teen miles from St. Louis, and, traveling only by night, proceeded (to quote from Colonel Sanderson's report) to " Mattox Mills, on the Maramee river, thence past Mineral Point to Webster, thence to a point fifteen miles below Van Buren, where they crossed the Black river, and thence to the rebel lines." It is, probably, also by this route that the secret correspondence, stated by the witness Pitman to have been con- stantly kept up between Price and Vallan- digham, the heads of the order at the North and South, respectively, was success- fully maintained. A similar communication has been con- tinuously held with the enemy from Louis- ville, Kentucky. A considerable number of women in that State, many of them of high position in rebel society, and some of them outwardly professing to be loyal, were discovered to have been actively engaged in receiving and forwarding mails, with the as- sistance of the order and as its instruments. Two of the most notorious and successful of these, Mrs. Woods and Miss Cassell, have been apprehended and imprisoned. By means of this correspondence with the enemy, the members of the order were promiDtly apprised of all raids to be made by the forces of the former, and were able to hold themselves prepared to render aid and comfort to the raiders. To show how efficient for this purpose was the system thus established, it is to be added that our military authorities have, in a number of cases, been informed, through members of the order employed in the interest of the Government, of impending raids and im- portant army movements of the rebels, not only days, but sometimes weeks, sooner than the same intelligence could have reached them through the ordinary chan- nels. On the other hand, the system of espion- age kept up by the order, for the purpose of obtaining information of the movements of our own forces, etc., to be imparted to the enemy, seems to have been as perfect as it was secret. The Grand Secretary of the order in Missouri states, in his confession : "One of the especial objects of this order was to place members in steamboats, ferry- boats, telegraph offices, express offices, de- partment headquarters, provost marshal's office, and, in fact, in every position where they could do valuable service;" and he proceeds to specify certain members who, at the date of his confession, (August 2d last,) were employed at the express and telegraph offices in St. Louis. 5. Aiding the Enemy, by liccruiiing for them, or assisting them to Recruit, luithin our lines. — This has also been extensively carried on by members of the order, particularly in Ken- tucky and Missouri. It is estimated that two thousand men were sent South from Louisville alone during a few weeks in April and May, 1864. The order and its friends at that city have a permanent fund, to which there are many subscribers, for the purpose of fitting out with pistols, clothing, money, etc., men desiring to join the South- ern service ; and, in the lodges of the order in St. Louis and Northern Missouri, money has often been raised to purchase horses, arms, and equipments for soldiers about to be forwarded to the Southern army. In the latter State, parties empowered by Price, or by Grand Commander Hunt as his representative, to recruit for the rebel service, were nominally authorized to ^''locate lands," as it was expressed, and in their re- ports, which were formally made, the num- ber of acres, etc., located represented the number of men recruited. At Louisville, tliose desiring to join the Southern forces were kept hidden, and sujoplied with food and lodging until a convenient occasion was presented for their transportation South. They were then collected, and conducted at night to a safe rendezvous of the order, whence they were forwarded to their desti- nation, in some cases stealing horses from the United States corrals on their way. AVhile awaiting an occasion to be sent South, the men, to avoid the suspicion which might be excited by their being seen together in any considerable number, wert often emx)loyed on farms in the vicinity of 334 TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. Louisville, and the farm of one Grant in that neighborhood, (at whose house, also, meetings of the order were held,) is indi- cated in the testimony as one of tlie locali- ties where such recruits were rendezvoused and employed. The same facilities which were afforded to recruits for the Southern army were also furnished by the order to persons desiring to proceed beyond our lines for any illegal purpose. By these Louisville was generally preferred as a point of departure, and, on the Missi.ssippi river, a particular steamer, the (Iraham, was selected as the safest con- veyance. 6. Furnisiiing the rebels ivifh Arms^ Amnmni- tion, etc. — In this, too, the order, and espe- cially its female members and allies, has been sedulously engaged. The rebel wo- men of Louisville and Kentucky are repre- sented as having rendered the most valuable aid to the Southern army, by transporting large quantities of percussion caps, powder, etc., concealed upon their persons, to some convenient locality near the lines, whence they could be readily conveyed to those for whom they were intended. It is estimated that at Louisville, up to May 1st last, the sum of $17,000 had been invested by the order in ammunition and arms, to be for- warded principally in this manner to the rebels. In St. Louis several firms, who are well known to the Government, the princi- pal of which is Beauvais & Co., have been engaged in supplying arms and ammunition to members of the order, to be conveyed to their Southern allies. Mary Ann Pitman, a reliable witness, and a member of the Order of American Knights, who will hereafter be specially alluded to, states in her testimony that she visited Beauvais & Co. three times, and procured from them on each occasion about $80 worth ol' caps, besides a numbei- of pistols and cartridges, which she carried in jjerson to Forrest's command, as well as a much larger quantity of similar articles which she caused to be forwarded by other agents. The guerrillas in Missouri also re- ceive arms from St. Louis, and one Douglas, one of the most active conspirators of the Order of American Knights in Missouri, and a special emissary of Pi-ice, was arrested while in the act of transporting a box of forty revolvers by railroad to a guerrilla camp in the interior of the State. Medical stores in large quantities were likewise, by the aid of the order, furnished to the en- emy, and a "young doctor" named Moore, said to be now a medical inspector in the rebel army, is mentioned as having " made $75,000 by smuggling medicines" — princi- jially from Louisville — through the lines of our army. Supplies were, in some cases, conveyed to tlie enemy through the me- dium of proi'essed loyalists, who, having re- ceived permits I'or that purpose from the United States military authorities, would forward their goods as if for ordinary pur- poses of trade, to a certain point near the rebel lines, where, by the connivance of the owners, the enemy would be enabled to seize them. 7. C, when the order was formally presented as a treasonable or- ganization, and those whose testimony has been recently introduced upon the trial of Dodd. It need only be added that a most .satis- factory test of the credibility and weight of much of the evidence which has been fur- nished is afforded by the printed testimony in regard to the character and intention of the order, which is found in its National and State constitutions and its ritual. Indeed, the statements of the various witnesses are but presentations of the logical and in- evitable consequences and results of the principles therein set forth. In concluding this review, it remains only to state that a constant reference has been made to the elaborate official reports, in regard to the order, of Brigadier General Carrington, commanding District of Indi- ana, and of Colonel Sanderson, Provost Marshal General of the Department of Missouri. The great mass of the testimony upon the subject of this conspiracy has been furnished by these officers; the latter acting under the orders of Major General Rosocrans, and the former co-operating. under the instructions of the Secretary of War, with Major General Burbridge, com- manding District of Kentucky, as well as with Governor Morton, of Indiana, who, though at one time greatly embarrassed, by a Legislature strongly tainted with dis- loyalty, in his efforts to repress this domes- tic enemy, has at last seen his State relieved from the danger of a civil war. But, although the treason of the order has been thoroughly exposed, and although its capacity for fatal mischief has, by means of the arrest of its leaders, the seizure of its arms, and the other vigorous means which have been pursued, been seriously impaired, it is still busied with its plottings against the Government, and with its per- fidious designs in aid of the Southern re- bellion. It is reported to have recently adopted new signs and passwords, and ita members assert that foul means will be used to prevent the success of the Admin- istration at the coming election, and threatr en an extended revolt in the event of the re-election of President Lincoln. In the presence of the rebellion and of this secret order — which is but its echo and faithful ally — we can not but be amazed at the utter and widespread profligacy, per- sonal and political, which these move- ments against the Government disclose. The guilty men engaged in them, after casting aside their allegiance, seem to have trodden under foot every sentiment of honor and every restraint of law, human and divine. Judea produced but one Judas Iscariot, and Rome, from the sinks of her demoralization, produced but one Catiline; and yet, as events prove, there has arisen together in our land an entire brood of such traitors, all animated by the same parricidal spirit, and all struggling with the same relentless malignity for the dis- memberment of our Union. Of this ex- traordinary phenomenon — not paralleled, it is believed, in the world's history — there can be but one explanation, and all these blackened and fetid streams of crime may well be traced to the same common foun- tain. So fiercely intolerant and imperious was the temper engendered by slavery, that when the Southern people, after hav- ing controlled the national councils for half a century, were beaten at an election, their leaders turned upon the Government with the insolent fury with which they would have drawn their revolvers on a rebel- lious slave in one of their negro quarters; and they have continued since to prosecute their warfare, amid all the barbarisms and atrocities naturally and necessarily inspired by the infernal institution in whose inter- ests they are sacrificing alike themselves and their country. Many of these conspirators, a* is well known, were fed, clothed, and educated at the expense of the nation, and were loaded with its honors at the very mo- ment they struck at its life with the horri- ble criminality of a son stabbing the bosom of his own mother while impressing kisses on his cheeks. The leaders of the trait- ors in the loyal States, who so completely fraternize with these conspirators, and whose machinations are now unmsvsked, it is as clearly the duty of the Admin- istration to prosecute and punish as it TREASON TRIALS AT INDIANAPOLIS. 339 is its duty to subjugate the rebels who arel ambushed in the haunts of this secret or- openly in arms against tlie Government, der, sliould rival in courage and faithful- In the performance of this duty, it is enti- ness the soldiers who are so nobly sustain- tied to expect, and will doubtless receive, ing our flag on the battle-fields of the the zealous co-operation of true men every- South. Respectfully submitted, where, who, in crushing the truculent foe I J. HOLT, Judge Advocate General ^ ♦ « » » The history of the exposure of the North- western Conspiracy would be incomplete with- out the insertion of the following letter: Headquarters Northern Department, ) Columbus, Ohio, October 1, 18G4. J Major- General Ilalleck, Chief of Staff, Washing- ton, D. C: General: Soon after my arrival here, to take command of this Department, I was in- formed, from the War Department, of secret organizations then forming in some of the States of my command, and instructions to try and ferret them out. I placed the papers in the hands of Brigadier-General H. B. Car- rington, stationed at Indianapolis, Indiana, through whom I have been enabled to keep the War Department fully informed of the measures being taken by the dislo3'al. Through his energy, perseverance and good judgment, I am indebted for all the information I have been able to transmit. Through the informa- tion thus obtained, and the measures taken in consequence thereof, we are indebted, mainly, to being saved from the horrors of civil war in these States. I can not be relieved from the duties of this Department, without putting on record my testimony in General Carrington's favor. I have the honor to be. General, Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, S. P. HEINTZELMAN, Major-General. C. H. Potter, Assistant Adjutant-General. REPLY OF H. H. DODD. WiNBSOB, C. W., November 23, 1864. Editors of the Cincinnati Enquirer: Gentlemen: In your issue of yesterday, in an editorial article, I notice the following language: ^^By the way, it would be instructive to learn where the money came from with which Mr. Dodd's pistols were purchased; and fur- thermore, how Mr. Dodd — crowded as Indiana is with spies and secret policemen, every one of whom know him, or had his portrait in pos- session — contrived to escape to Canada, with his pockets full of the effigies of the Presi- dent and Secretary of the Treasury." The only force and effect of which is to convey the idea that I have been acting in the interest of the Administration party, and have been paid for my services, and allowed to escape through their instrumentality. This unfounded assault upon my character, originated with some irresponsible corre- spondent of the Chicago Times, at Indianapo- lis, and which has since been made the basis of editorial comments in the Sen/inel and En- quirer, and thus, intentionally or otherwise, you are giving credence and publicity to the '■'■complicity with Morton" dodge, gotten up by a coterie of "Sons,'' who have seen fit to take the benefit of the "baby act." I certainly have no objection to your whip- ping jour Abolition contemporaries, or to your censuring and condemning the men in power or their measures; but 1 must enter my solemn protest against the use of my sore back as a medium to do the one or the other. Neither do I complain of c^jmments upon my public or private acts, political principles, combinations or associations, as against abo- litionism, terrorism, despotism, usurpation, oppression and military dictation; nor upon any sins of commission or omission in this direction. I am ready to hear '-charges and specifications," of attempted assassinations. of estimates upon my ability, intentions or purposes, and this sort of thing; make me out an enemy to society from either weakness or ambition; call me a revolutionist, or what not, I am willing to leave to time to prove that "The worst enemy to the peace of mankind is he who renders a revolution necessary." But to charge me with being a '^spy and tn- /ormer," that I would become a decoy to lure unsuspecting associates into the boiling caul- dron of "crime, hatred and malice," all for the "effigies of the President and Secretary of the Treasury," is to charge me with a heinous crime against mankind, that I can not permit to be laid at my door — and I may not remain silent, when the editor of tlie En- quirer, from personal knowledge, knows me incapable of playing such a role. Do you wish sincerely to know in regard to the pistols? You will recollect that a gentle- man in New York claimed them as his indi- vidual property, and by reference to my card, published on the 5th day of September last, you will find further explanation as to my con- nection with the said pistols. It was not then considered even a crime by Democratic jour- nals, to buy and sell, or to keep and bear arms. The amount involved was not so large as to raise the inquiry, •' Where the inoney came from ?"' My escape was no great exploit; not suffi- ciently so, at least, to raise the question of ^^ How it was contrived f^ A little affair of this sort could be managed as well as the purchase of a few hundred pistols, without the inter- vention of the Government or any of its agents. You do me great injustice when you speak of me as some notorious criminal, per- sonally known to all thief-catchers, and whose picture every detective in the country carried about with him. The fact that I have safely arrived in a country where the " majesty of the laio" is respected, fully proves tlie contrary; for how could I pass througli a perfect forest of detectives, secret policemen, spies, soldiers in uniform, soldiers in citizens" dress — in female attire, dressed as hod carriers, as peddlers, as white-washers, teamsters, wood-choppers, spread all through the county of Marion and adjoining counties; swaraiing in the cities of Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit, and upon every railway train; yet simply because I was unknown to them, and because they did not have my picture in their pockets, I passed through them all un- noticed. It is no longer necessary to attack my honor, to prove the Democratic "leaders'' in no way connected with the "Dodd conspiracy." They are no more responsible for my acts tlian I am for theirs, and I am perfectly willing that the acts of some of them, in this case, should be the standard, if the rest of them will assent. But the simple object of this note, however, was to have you give my denial to the charge of "complicity with Morton." This is all I ask, so that the Democratic masses can see it over ray own signature, I care not who avers it. I am satisfied to risk the question of veracity. If you are incredulous, just imiuire of Major Burnett, General Ilovey or Colonel Warner, and methinks the energetic replies will be entirely satisfactory. It may be that I committed an error in abandoning the "Commission." Be this as it may, I regret exceedingly to have m.ade any plea either to the jurisdiction or to tlie indict- ment, or to have, in any manner, recognized the tribunal. The charge that T violated a parole is, like all the rest, utterly false. I was in solitary confinement every moment from the time of my arrest until the escape. Respectfully yours, etc., H. H, DODD. 340 PUBLICATIONS OF MOORE, WILSTACH & BALDWIN. BAYARD TAYLOR'S CYCLOPEDIA OF MODERN TRAVEL. A Record of Adventure, Exploration and Discovery for the past fifty yean. Comprising Narra- tives of the vwst dislinguished Travelers since the beginning of this Century. Prepared and arranged by Bayard Taylor. 1 volnme, royal Svo. W34 pp. Embellished with fine portraiU on steel by Butlre, and illustrated by over sixty wood engravings by Orr, and thirteen authetUiv Maps by Schonberg. Sold by canvassing agents only. A maKiiificent octavo volume, whicli, for general interest and value, is worthy of the dii- tiiio-uiKhod compiler, and equally worthy of universal patronage. The volume really con- tains the value of a whole library, reliable as a book of reference, and as interesting as a book of Yomnncc— Springfield (Mass.) Republican. The popular lectures and writings of Bayard Taylor, have awakened in the United States a thirst for information respecting foreign countries and nations. A striking proof of this is given in the tact that a publishing house in Cincinnati have issued, under the auspices of Bayard Taylor, a volume of nearly one thousand pp., devoted exclusively to records of travel. These Reports are perfectly reliable; the matters of fact of each explorer, often in bis own language, are condensed into a consecutive narrative, by the most competent living author in the same department. — New York Independent. The reading public owes to Bayard Taylor many a debt for rare and valuable instruction jiost agreeably conveyed ; but we doubt if he ever performed a more useful ser'ice than in conipilTng this massive, varied and most valuable volume. The entire circle of books of which he has' given the spiiit and juice, would form a library ; and many of them are now almost inaccessible. Mr. Taylor's part has been conscientiously done. It is not merely a work of selection and groupings; much of it is his own statement of the results more voluminously given, and written in a clear and elegant style. We can not but regard it as a very useful as well as entertaining work, well adapted to communicate accurate and com- prehensive views of the world, and supplying for families an almost inexhaustible fund of pleasant reading. — Neiv York Evangelist. Mo writer of the present age can be found so admirably qualified for such an undertak- ing. — Louisville Journal. Such is the full title-page of a magnificent octavo volume of 1034 pages, jot issued. . . We said " a magnificent octavo." It is so whether we consider its contents, or the superb style in which the publishers have gotten it up. It is just the book for the family library ; all classes will be interested in its perusal.— LaJies' Repository. The conception of this work is admirable; and its execution is what might be expected from one of the most accomplished and intelligent travelers of the age. . . It is remarkable for its compactness, condeusation and symmetry ; and whoever will take the time to read it through, will possess himself of an amount of information, in respect to the physical, intel- lectual, and moral conditition of almost every portion of the globe, which he can scarcely expect to find elsewhere. The work is illustrated with a large number of maps and engrav- ings, which are executed with great skill and care, and add much to the interest of the nar- ratives to which they are prefixed. — Puritan Recorder. Mr. Bajard Taylor is the very Ulysses of modern tourists, and Emperor Adrian of living ramblers — and so is q.ualified to edit, or compile, from the works of other travelers. . . . It is but the merest justice to say, that Mr. Taylor has done all that even an uneasily satis- fied reader could expect, to produce a capital book. — Boston Chronicle. Apart from the confidence inspired by the name of the writer, it needs but a brief expla- natl jn of its contents to show that it forms a highly important addition to the family library. Its pages are crowded with interesting information. — New York Tribune. From Professor C. C. Felton, of Harvard University. A scholar, traveler and writer, having a reputation so deservedly high in this thiee-fold relation as Bayard Taylor, may be presumed to give his name only to works worthy of it. The present volume I have examined carefully, and have read a considerable part of it; and I have found- it prepared and arranged with excellent judgment, and filled with matter of the highest interest and value. Both the plan and execution are, in my judgment, marked by ability, extensive knowledge, good taste, and good sense. FroTii Oliver Wendell Holmes, M. D., Author of the "Autocrat of the Breakfast Table,'' etc. Mr. Bayard Taylor has done the reading public a great favor in bringing together the moflt essential and interesting portions of so many narratives within a very moderate com- pass, and in siich form as to be accessible to multitudes whose libraries must take little room and cost but moderate expenditure. It is safe to say that no man's selection would be accepted so unhesitatingly lu America as those of our own favorite travel story-teller. From Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, of Boston, formerly Speaker House of Representatives, U. S. I have examined it with great interest. It contains a large amount of entertaining and instructive matter, very conveniently and carefully arranged ; and I shall value it as a work both for present reading aud future referenc«. PUBLICATIONS OF MOOKE, WILSTAOH & BALDWIN. THE SCIENCE OF EDUCATION; AND AKT OF TEACHING. In Two Pabts. By John Oqden, A. M. One Volume, 12mo., 480 pp. Price, | It 18 proper to Bay that Mr. Ogden has, for many years, been engaged almost exclusiveljr with Teachers and in Normal Schools. NOTICES. From (he Rev. Wm. Rmsell, State Educational Lecturer, Maieachuselit. The truly philosophical and thoroughly practical niethoils of early ciilt\irc, suggested to the primary teacher, if faithfully acted on, would make our elementary schools scenes of the most attractive and delightful, as well as instructive, occupation for childhood. From Wm. F. Phelps, A. M., Principal of the New Jersey Slate Normal School*. My Dear Sir: Allow me to say that, in my humble judgment, you liave struck the right vein, both in the conception and execution of your ideas reganliiig the Pliilosuphy of Teach- ing. You afford a splendid contribution to our limited means for the training of Teachers. A good scholar merely has fulfilled only one of the conditions essential to a good educator. Wliat we most need is a clear elucidation and a scientific clashifieation of the principles of education, so that they may be mastered and ai)plied to the rearing and training of rational and immortal beings. 1 need not assure you that this task you have, according to my no- tions, most happily executed. The application of diagrams to the work seems to me to be a happy thought, addressing the subject to that most perfect of all senses, the sense of sight. From Cyrus Knowllon, Esq., Principal of Eughes High School, Ciucitmali. It is by far the best work of the kind with which I am acquainted. From A. J. liicloff, late Superintendent of Cincinnati Piihlic Schools. Messrs. Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin : 1 have given attention to every work announced in England or this country, treating upon this subject ; and I may say, witliout hesitation, that Mr. Ogden's treatise is, in its conception and arrangement, the must scieiit^jic among them all. It can not be read by the teacher without great jiractical advantage; it will pro- pare him for the business of the schoolroom ; it will give new direction to his specdalious ; it will, I believe, greatly assist to establish tlie business of teaching as a professioi.. Schoolmasters owe it to themselves and their profession, to give this book a circulation never yet reached by any of a similar character. Its use should not be confined to teachers alone. It should find a place in the library of every family, as the most valuublo coutribn- tion yet made in our language for the advancement of education. OGDEN ON EDUCATION, Is a very full and systematic work on the general subject of education, full of suggestive thoughts, tersely expressed. They deserve and demand proper consideration, seasoned by that confidence in their author which his evident carefulness and experiencu beget. — Rhod* Island Schoolmaster, Is just the hand-took for teachers who intend to be thorough and foremost in their pro- fession. Intelligent parents would find it an interesting and valuable aid in llie hours when they "ponder in their hearts" how to bring up children. — Toronto (C. ]V.) Colonist. A very elaborate, philosophical, and thorough work on a great subject, too much over- Iook<'d by thinking men. . . Must bo immensely valuable to every parent and teacher. — N. y. Oliserver. Contains, in a single volume, a great deal of valuable material. The whole subject of biiniau culture is laid before the reader, and treated in simple, yet comprehensive language. . . . Parents and teachers should bo induced to study this excellent work. — Massachu- tctts Teacher. Has many features, both novel and ingenious, which entitle it to consideration aa an crigiiial work. — New York Century. Enters very fully and closely into the philosophy of teaching. — Philadelphia Press. Is a sound, judicious and original work. It does not di-al in commonly-received notions, but really enters into the piolound themes, upon which it treats with great strength of thought, keenness of jerceptiou, and practical skill. — /.ion's Herald, lioslun. PUBLICATIONS OF MOOEE, WILSTACH & BALDWIJ*(. RUFUS CHOATE'S FAVORITE AUTHOR ON RHETORIC. A SVCCESSFVIj NK^V SCHOOL BOOK. RHETORICrL PRAXIS: Tha principles of Rhetoric Exemplified and Applied in Copious Exercises for Systomatio Practice, chiefly in the Development of Thought. BY HEIVRY Ti. DAY, A. M., Author of " The Art of Elocution," and of " Elements of the Art of Bhetoric." One vol- ume, 12mo., 309 pages. Price, 75 cents. From the Superintendent of Circleville (0.) Public Schools. I have examined it carefully, and with much satisfaction. I believe it is a most excellent ■work, and needs only to be known to secure for it an introduction into all our High Schools. We have adopted it as a text-book. Kespecttully yours, Joun Lynch. From the New York Independent. The design of this work is to train the pupil in tlie principles of Khetoric as applied to the unfolding of thought ; so that Rhetoric, instead of an artificial code of rules, is a philo- soptiical outgrowth of ideas and the principles of language. The plan is excellent, and the various exercises are prepared with judgment and skill. The pupil is taught to analyze his ideas; to get at tlie theme or proposition to be stated; and then to frame this in appro- priate words. Prof. Day brings to his task philosophical judgment, refined taste and prac- tical experience. His work should become a text-book in all schools, in lieu of the cus- tomary exercises in composition. From the New Englander, November, 1860. Rhetorical Praxis. — Books of Rhetorical Praxis are usually the dullest and most unprofit- able of all text-books. The ingenious author of this volume has certainly proposed to him- self the true ideal to be accomplished in teaching Rhetoric; for he would teach hia pupil to write by teaching him to think. We believe this book to be superior to any other of the kind, and to have the highest claitn upou practical teachers for a trial, for its thoroughness, its comi)rehensiveness, as well as for the great ingenuity and skill with which it has been prepared. We recommend it most cordially to teachers. From the Educational Repository and Family Monthly, Atlanta^ Georgia. It is a thoroughly practical treatise for developing the art of discourse upon a true idea. Almost all systems of Rhetoric which are in common use in the English language, proceed upon the idea that style is every thing, and pay but little attention to the thought itself. This work just reverses these plans, goes back to the systems of the Greek fathers in Rhet- oric, and finds the true doctrine in the fact so well stated by Daniel Webster, that " all true power in writing is in the idea, not in the style," and that the first of all requisites, as Sir Walter Scott observes, is in " having something to say." The " Development of the Thought" is the basis ; and when the thought stands out in all its well-built proportions, the drapery of'style is thrown around it. W'e haven't space to give as thorough a notice of this work as we feel inclined to do. No better book can be placed in the hands of young students in our male collpfces. It should be closely studied by every Freshman class in every college, and in all the high schools in this country. If a teacher can not succeed in teaching the art of composition with this work, he need try no other. More than five hundred themes are given in the latter part, adapted to all grades and classes. We sincerely wish we could have had this book years ago. From the New Torlt Observer, November, 1800. This work is truly scientific and practical. It seizes the old idea of invention, unfolded by both Aristotle and Cicero, and develops it in the light of modern metaphysics, and thus illuminates it and adapts it to the present analysis of the mental powers. It is, to all intents and purposes, the art of thinking, rather than of writing. It makes thought the pedestal* style the shaft ; ideas the soul, and body, ton, of composition ; style the mere habiliments — the having something to say — the motive power — the manner of saying it — the mere ma- chinery, in one case characterized by strength, in another by grace, beauty and polish. The object of the Praxis, then, is to induct the pupil into the habit of thought, to teach him to select an object or subject on which he shall fix his mental powers, and then put down, without regard at first to style, just the ideas arising in his own mind, as he carefully and continuously beholds or contemplates the object. Let teachers try it ; they will not be disapp: 'nted. It is an aid in the right direotion. PUBLICATIONS OF MOOEE, WILSTACH & BALDWIN. ORIOLE; A New and Comjylete Hymn and Tune Book for Sah/ndh Schools. By WILLIAM B. BRADBURY. Author of "The Shawm,'' "The Ju- bilee," " Singing-Bird," " Sabbath-School Choir," etc. From the New York Ohserver. This is a largp collpofioii of Ilymiis and Tniiee, admiiaMy adapted to the use of SaliliHlli Scliools and all dcasioiis for social Biiigiiig aoioiip; the young. The times are judii iiiifly sck'cli (1, (tuniiirisiiig a large number of those vliich are favorites witli the children, ai.d altogether it is tlie most complete work of the kind that we have ever seen. From the New York EvavgeJist, September. One of the most attractive features of the Salibath School, next after, and sometimes even before that of the library, is the singing. To improve this, and to make it the channel for conveying truth, in the beautiful form of hymns, to the young mind, is a noble aim. 'J be aulhfir has essajed to meet lliis oliject, and has furnislied us with u volume contaiiiing not far from r.OCi hymns and tunes. \Ve have been much pleased with the tasteful and judicious manner in which the ask has been executed. From the New York Century, September. The object of this book is to raise and vary the character of music and singing, which are important elements in Sabbath School tuition. All the melodies it contains have been vvol! selected, and are associated with pure and elevated ideas. Simple directions are given for the learning of new tunes. 'Wo can safely recommend it to the attention of teachers and learners of singing classes. From the rrefbyterian Herald, Lonuville. Oriola. — We have received from tlic Publishers a copy of a little Hymn and Tune Book for Sabbath Schools, by Wm. 15. Bradbury, with the abtive title. For several reasons we deem it the best that we have seen, and cordially recommend it. 1st. It is the best and has tho greatest variety of tunes, having 250 jiages and nearly 200 tvines. 2d. There are several sets of words to each tune, thus keeping it fresh for a longer time. 'M. The selection of both words and tunes is altogether the best we know of. 4th. It contains many of the good old church tunes and hymns which should be taught to Sabbath Schools, as well as the peculiar Sabbath School tunes. It contains, viz. : Ortonville, Laban, IJalerma, Zephyr, Maityn, Hebron, Duke Street, Old Hundred, and the like. This is a very great recommendation, aiding, as it does, the much-coveted, yet rare congregational singing. From the Christian Times, Chicago. " Oriola " contains a lino selection of Tunes and Hymns, specially adapted for Sunday Schools. Most of the good popular Sunday School melodies of the present day are inserted, while a large number of new )iiee interested.