What shall we do with him? [A voice–“Send him here, and I’ll make a coffin for him, d—-n him.”]”
As we review the events which have transpired during this war, we are strikingly impressed with the magnanimity, the forbearance, the humanity of the loyal States in their relations to the rebels in arms, and we are also impressed with the great lack of the exhibition of these qualities–the most ennobling in national character–on the part of the so-called Southern Confederacy. From the hour of firing upon Fort Sumter to the present moment, the war has not been waged by the rebels as if in defense of the great principles of truth and justice, but with the malignity, the cruelty and barbarity which would, in many instances, put to blush the savages upon our western borders. In our dealing with them, the honor, integrity, fidelity and dignity of the nation have never been forgotten; and the policy of the noble President, laid low by the hand of the assassin, was never to give blows when words would answer,–never to exact by force what might be attained by reasoning,–and never, under any circumstances, to forget those qualities which make a nation truly great, the first and chief of which is charity. How has our enemy failed to appreciate this? The manner in which the warfare has been waged by the South will be mentioned by historians as cruel, dishonorable and disgraceful to people of a Christian nation. Failing of success upon the field, we find the Davis Government countenancing guerrilla warfare, burning bridges, murdering unarmed citizens, and desolating the homes of unoffending people, and committing piracy upon the high seas. Still failing of success and losing ground daily, but driven to desperation by the apparent hopelessness of their cause, they sink to the depth of infamy by establishing among us secret orders, the aim of which is to educate men of base passions to deeds of dark dishonor and unmeasured infamy; men who receiving such instruction will concoct schemes for the burning of cities, for the liberation of their prisoners; and, lastly, they have sunk so low in the mire of dishonor, impelled by savage ferocity and hate, that it would appear folly, if not downright criminality to longer deal with them on the principles of liberality and gentleness, which has marked our conduct hitherto. It was our generosity, our mildness, our spirit of conciliation that moved the hand of the demon who slew the country’s truest friend. Let it be so no longer! Let rebels feel that we are terribly in earnest. Let heavy blows be struck, and struck without delay, and let there be no exhibition of concession or conciliation, till the enemy sue for peace upon the terms the country proclaims. As well make Copperheads Christians or honest men, as to attempt by gentleness longer to subdue rebels, whose weapons are firebrands and assassins’ daggers. It is futile; try it no longer. Said the great French advocate of justice, when he was charged with being sanguinary, because he so frequently punished murder with death, “You tell me that it is bloody work, and sinful in the sight of Heaven to execute men; so it is, and I am disposed to desist, and I will, the moment men stop the crime of murder.” So will we show clemency, when our enemy has laid down his arms, and not before.
Another measure by our people would be attended with salutary results–the extermination of Copperheadism at home. Who helped to form secret societies of Sons of Liberty and kindred organizations, so industriously and so efficiently as editors of Copperhead publications. It is in these orders that assassins are trained, and prepared for their fiendish mission. Henceforth let the people–the loyal people of the most glorious country on which the sun shines–swear by the memory of our much loved and deeply lamented President, that henceforth no paper shall print, no man shall utter sentiments of treason, under the penalty of incurring that summary punishment, the righteous indignation of a sorrowing, long suffering people may inflict. If the people resolve to endure the curse of home treason no longer, and let Copperheads know that they can no longer co-operate with Jeff. Davis in any part of our land, we shall never again be called upon to aid in suppressing or exposing a North-Western Conspiracy, or any plot against our country, in any section of our land.
CHAP. XX.
TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO CONSPIRATORS–THE WITNESSES AND THE TESTIMONY.
When our troops entered Richmond, among other rebel documents found was a bill, offered in secret session of the rebel House of Representatives, January 30th, 1865, establishing a Secret Service Bureau, for the employment of secret agents, “either in the Confederate States, or within the enemy’s lines, or in any foreign country,” and authorizing the chief officer “to organize such a system _for the application of new means of warfare approved_, and of secret service agencies, as may tend best to secure the objects of the establishment of the bureau.”
The trial, conviction, sentence, and execution of Capt. Beall, for piracy on the lakes, and of Kennedy, for incendiarism in New York, are still fresh in the recollection of our readers. That these men were acting under instructions from the bureau of secret service of Jeff. Davis, no rational person can doubt. These acts were but incidents in the grand conspiracy at the North; the guilty parties, who suffered death, were but the instruments of others, and the members of the secret organizations, who were cognizant of these acts and purposes, though yet unwhipped of justice, are more guilty, in the sight of Heaven, than the wretches who undertook the execution of the hellish design, and for which they suffered ignominious death.
After the discovery of the purposes and acts of the leaders of the Sons of Liberty in Illinois, in co-operation with rebels, and the arrests detailed in a former chapter, a Military Commission was convened in Cincinnati for the trial of the prisoners, Morris, Walsh, Grenfell, Anderson, Daniels, Cantril, Marmaduke and Semmes, upon a charge of conspiring to sack and burn Chicago, and to liberate the prisoners in Camp Douglas.
The Commission consisted of the following named officers:
C.D. Murray, Colonel 89th Indiana Volunteers, President Commission. Ben. Spooner, Colonel 83d Indiana Volunteers. N.C. Macrae, Major United States Army. P. Vous Radowitz, Lieutenant-Colonel United States Army. S.P. Lee, Major 6th Regiment Veteran Reserve Corps. M.N. Wiswell, Colonel Veteran Reserve Corps. B.P. DeHart, Colonel 128th Indiana Volunteers. S.H. Lathrop, Lieutenant-Colonel, A.I.G. Albert Heath, Lieutenant-Colonel 100th Regiment Indiana Volunteers.
CONFESSION OF MRS. MORRIS, B.S., AND HER SENTENCE.
CINCINNATI, Feb. 13.
The following is Mrs. Morris’ confession:
McLEAN BARRACKS, CINCINNATI, Feb. 5, 1865.
To Maj.-Gen. J. Hooker, Commanding Northern Department, Cincinnati, O.:
General–I was arrested in Chicago, on the 11th day of December, by the United States authorities, charged with assisting rebel prisoners to escape, and relieving them with money and clothing; also, with holding correspondence with the enemy. I desire to state the facts of the case, to confess the truth, and to ask such clemency at your hands as may be consistent with your duty as an officer of the government. I was born and reared in Kentucky. My home was in the South till within the last ten years, my connections and friends all being there. I had sympathy with them, though I was as much opposed to the secession movement as any one could be. Having a large acquaintance in Kentucky, I was charged with the distribution of a great deal of clothing and money among the prisoners in Camp Douglas, Chicago, sent to them by their friends, and which was done under the supervision of the proper officers of the camp. This I continued to do up to the time of my arrest, and in this way I made the acquaintance, and was understood to be the friend of the prisoners in camp.
In the early part of last winter, an escaped prisoner named John Harrington, came to me and asked for assistance. He stated that he was going to Canada for the purpose of completing his education. I gave him money to the amount I believe of $20. Some time in the summer of the past year, a rebel prisoner named Charles Swager, a young man who had escaped from the cars while being conveyed to Rock Island, came to me for assistance. I gave him a coat, a pair of boots, and some money, to the amount I believe, of $15. There were two or three others that I had reason to believe were escaped prisoners, whose names I do not know. These I assisted with money, and to one of them I gave some clothing. There were some others to whom I gave money and clothing, that I did not at the time know were rebel prisoners, but who afterwards I had reason to believe were such.
I received letters from Capt. J. B, Castleman of the rebel army, and sent him verbal messages in return. He called at my house, and remained for a little while. Capt. Hines, also of the Confederate army, called and ate at my house once during last summer.
I beg to be released from my present imprisonment, and promise that, if my prayer is granted, I will henceforth conduct myself as a truly loyal woman, without in any way interfering with the government or aiding its enemies.
Witness my hand and seal, this 5th day of February, 1805. MARY B. MORRIS.
The following is Gen. Hooker’s order relative to Mrs. Morris:
HEADQUARTERS NORTHERN DEPARTMENT, \
CINCINNATI, O., Feb. 10, 1865. /
[_Extract._]
Mrs. Mary B. Morris, now in confinement at McLean barracks, in the city of Cincinnati, O., charged with giving aid and comfort to the enemy, assisting rebel prisoners to escape, and other disloyal practices, will, on or before Monday the 13th inst., be sent south of our military lines, under guard, into the so-called Southern Confederacy. Her sympathy with those in rebellion can there find its natural expression, and a more appropriate theatre of action. It is but just to our government and laws, that the shield of its power should not be thrown over those who are inimical to it, and are giving active aid and sympathy to its enemies. The claim to protection by the government implies the reciprocity of fealty.
Mrs. Mary B. Morris, who was ordered sent out of our lines by paragraph 1 of this order, in consideration of her professions and promises, is permitted to remain on the premises of her father, Edward M. Blackburne, at Spring Station, Woodford county, Ky., on consideration that she complies with the promises accompanying her confession, filed at these headquarters, Feb. 5th, 1865. If such promises are not complied with, the first paragraph of the order to be in full force.
By command of Maj.-Gen. HOOKER.
(Signed) C.H. POTTER, Assistant Adjutant-General.
The trial of the prisoner Cantril was deferred, owing to serious illness. During the progress of the trial, Anderson committed suicide, and Daniels escaped. [It will be remembered that H.H. Dodd, convicted of treason in Indianapolis, some months ago, and sentenced to suffer the death penalty, also escaped. Neither Daniels or Dodd have been recaptured.] The evidence before the Military Commission elicited most of the important facts embraced in this narrative, and therefore need not be reviewed.
In regard to several of the witnesses before the Military Commission, a few remarks may not be uninteresting. It has been observed by the reader who has carefully perused the foregoing statement, that there were two distinct elements which made up the great conspiracy, viz: The Copperheads, or Sons of Liberty, and Knights of the Golden Circle, and the rebel emissaries both in the Northern States and in Canada. The discovery of the designs, purposes and intents of the former, was made by the writer of this work, who was aided by Robert Alexander. With such aid as we were able to control, we obtained and imparted the information which resulted in the total defeat of the devilish intent of our secret enemies–the Copperheads; the purposes, movements, ends and aims of the _Rebels in Canada_, were reported by Maurice Langhorn, aid by two others. The parties in charge of observing and defeating the two distinct elements, were utter strangers, and had never met or had any communication whatever.
In regard to the writer, it need only be said, that when it was announced to Hon. I.N. Arnold, M.C., Governor Yates, and Brig.-Gen. Paine, that there was a formidable conspiracy against the General Government, embracing many thousand persons in its league, and that its purpose was the subversion of our Government in aid of the rebellion, that their plots were rapidly maturing, and the most alarming consequences might be apprehended, if timely precautions were not observed, all of these gentlemen gave to the matter their earnest and careful attention. It was not the purpose of the writer to proceed with further investigations, except by advice and direction, as it was a work for which he felt wholly unqualified, from his tastes, disposition, professional, and social position, but the arguments of Gen. Paine, which, at this time and place, it is unnecessary to state, but which it is believed neither party will soon forget, decided the matter, and the task was undertaken, and with what success it was attended, let the history of the proceedings in Cincinnati determine. For more than six months, the work was prosecuted with unceasing vigilance, regardless of all other considerations, and although, when he was called to the witness stand, he could not shield himself from the malignant abuse of counsel, by stating _that he had been acting under a commission received from his Government_, yet he then felt morally certain, and that confidence _yet remains unshaken_, that when his true relations to the Government and country, are finally known, his motives, his acts, and his services, will be duly appreciated. He has not been mistaken. The contemptible falsehood of the party who stated that the writer’s services had been compensated, or that a claim for compensation had been made, is hereby hurled back into his teeth. Not a dollar, not a dime, has been received, not even for _actual expenses incurred_, and _no claim_ whatever has been made–no consideration whatever has been proffered. The service was the result of a deep conviction of duty, a feeling that no citizen should withhold personal sacrifice, even of life and reputation, if the interest of his country demands it. We knew the condition upon which we stepped aside from the agreeable and peaceful avocations of life, and entered upon the task so distasteful, so repulsive, and for a time so thankless. We had reason to know that the shafts of fiendish calumny would assail, that friendship would be broken, _that envy and jealousy would ply their innuendoes_, that the Copperhead elements of a fraternity, claiming one of the offenders in its ranks, would assail with bitterness and awaken poignant grief, but no regret, that we should have the hatred of Copperheads, as long as that genus (thank Heaven, short-lived), existed in our land, and be regarded with distrust by those negative persons, who would be for the Union, had they any independence of character; we knew all this would follow, if the assassin’s bullet or dagger did not execute the sworn purpose of the Order, but with an abiding faith in the justice of Heaven, with an approving conscience, and our earnest heartfelt prayer for our loved country in her dark hours, we took our course, and our only regret is, that we had not sooner entered upon the work, and thereby frustrated plans which have contributed to our national suffering; for who shall say how many have been its victims, how many homes has it made desolate, how many hearts has it broken, and how many graves now enclose misguided men, and misguided youths, who, educated in its fallacies, lured by its snake-like influence, arrayed themselves against their country, and fell victims to their fanaticism!
We have heard the cry of our Union soldiers at the front, to protect the helpless in the rear, and we have tried to comply. We have given our own near and dear kindred to the bullet and the sword, a sacrifice to freedom, and staunched the life-blood of a dearly loved brother, upon the field of Antietam, and as we wiped away the dew of death, gathering upon his brow, we pledged our life–our all–to the cause of the Union; and if better service might be rendered in vanquishing the secret foe at home, than meeting the more honorable enemy upon the field of battle, we were ready for the work. Had it not been for the potent influence of Copperheads at the North, the counsel, the sympathy, the comfort extended to the rebels, the rebellion would have been put down long ago. Entertaining such views, we shall, under any and all circumstances, and at all times, be a bitter opponent of Copperheadism wherever found, and regard it as legitimate warfare to arrest the assassin of our country, wherever and whenever we can. If the disaffected find comfort in this, let them make the most of it.
ROBERT ALEXANDER.–This gentleman, who is well known to the citizens of Chicago, has held several positions of responsibility and trust, and has ever been a consistent, earnest, devoted advocate of the Union. So intensely Republican in sentiment is he, that the attempt to introduce him into the Sons of Liberty, called forth such opposition that it was thought we should fail in the attempt, and he finally, was only admitted, after he and his sponsor (the writer) had been told, in plain words, accompanied with an oath, that if he proved false to them, _both should die_. For months he bore the opprobrium of a Copperhead, and suffered extreme annoyances in sustaining the role it was his duty to assume. Conscientious, earnest, persevering, patient, with keen perception, and a remarkable power of reading human character, with the experience of an excellent police officer, Mr. Alexander brought to his post of duty high qualifications, and was a valuable, ready and willing assistant. It should be remarked that Mr. Alexander had been informed in May, 1864, that he had been appointed First-Lieutenant in the 53d U.S. Infantry, and supposed he was in the service of the U.S. Government at the time of joining this great undertaking, but the information, though coming from a high source, proved incorrect, and this is one additional reason why the writer made choice of Mr. Alexander. While we know that loyal men will appreciate Mr. Alexander’s valuable services, we have yet to learn that he has, thus far, experienced any other satisfaction than the approval of his own heart, and the sincere gratitude of the writer, for his hazardous undertaking, and the able manner in which he performed his duty.
MAURICE LANGHORN, one of the principal government witnesses, was born in Pittsburgh, Penn., and reared in Marysville, Ky. He is a lawyer, and a man of ability. Like many other Kentuckians who were in the South at the time the rebellion broke out, Mr. Langhorn committed himself to the doctrine of secession. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in a Louisiana regiment of heavy artillery. He was subsequently recommended for Colonelcy in the rebel army, but failed to get the appointment. In 1861 he went to Bowling Green, Ky., where he enlisted as a private in the 9th Kentucky Infantry, Col. Thomas H. Hunt, of Louisville, and was transferred to the artillery. He mounted the guns on the fortifications around Bowling Green, and seems to have given great satisfaction. He ran as candidate for representative to the rebel congress from Kentucky, but before the result of the canvass was known, was captured and held eight months as a prisoner of war. Mr. Langhorn subsequently took the oath of allegiance to the United States, and was of great service in reporting the movements and designs of the rebel emissaries in Canada to Col. Sweet. The information Mr. Langhorn gave of those men was reliable, and upon it certain arrests were made. Mr. Langhorn is now a loyal citizen, in its broadest and best sense. Mr. Langhorn is a young man not over twenty-five years of age, of quick, nervous temperament, kind and generous impulses, a man of strong feelings, warm friendship, bitter animosities, and whatever he undertakes, he executes with a will. Of Mr. Langhorn it may be truly said, that while he was a rebel, he was an earnest, active foe, but a true soldier, having a high regard for honor and integrity, loving the State in which he was reared, and ever jealous of her honor and fair name. Mr. Langhorn was a rebel from principle–because he felt that the South was right–but when convinced of his error, he made haste to repair it, and when he had once taken the oath of allegiance, he went to work with all his might to aid the cause of the Union. To Mr. Langhorn is due all the honor of frustrating the designs of the _rebels from Canada_; and Col. Sweet being advised by Mr. Langhorn of _this_ portion of the plot, and by the writer of the _Copperheads’ movements and intents_, the Colonel had the best possible opportunity of acquiring important knowledge, and regulating his conduct in accordance therewith. Mr. Langhorn is a true friend of the Union, an admirer of our lamented President, and has rendered the citizens of Chicago a service which should ever be held in grateful remembrance.
MR. SHANKS–Once a Rebel officer of distinction, but now a loyal man, consistent in conduct, and of very great assistance to the Government, in ferreting out Rebel officers and Rebel sympathisers, has the confidence and respect of those who know him. He is a young man of signal ability, and if he continues to serve the country as faithfully as he has in the present case, will yet attain distinction.
CHRISTOPHER C. STRAWN–Was a valuable witness. He is a young man who has taken an active part with the Democrats, and is well informed of the incomings and outgoings, and the eccentricities and peccadilloes of the managers in Chicago, although the _Post_ says, that “before his arrest he was not worthy of notice, and after his arrest still less so.” We think the _Post_ man a little severe on Strawn, who has done all he could to have the guilty Copperhead readers of that paper brought to justice. Mr. Strawn, has bade his brethren, the Copperheads, an affectionate and, we trust, final adieu.
JOHN MAUGHAN, an Englishman, born in Berkshire county, and about 22 years of age. His family moved to Toronto, Canada West. He was always in Canada regarded as a young man, with fine business qualities and promise. For three years just before his connection with the rebels, and their Northern conspirators, he occupied a very responsible position as a clerk and teller, in one of the branches of the bank of Upper Canada, and was in every way worthy the confidence reposed in him. During the spring and summer of 1864, he however became acquainted with rebel soldiers in Canada, earnestly espoused their cause, and left his position to go with them to the Southern army. They, however, instead of going South, went to Chicago, where he became acquainted with the conspirators, and also gained their confidence, and on account of being an Englishman, and having his papers with him, and being able to travel without fear of detection, he was used by them to carry their correspondence and other communications, which were of too dangerous a character to trust to the mails. This man was truly a dangerous character. No one, except those who employed him, knew him, or the character in which he was acting, and he was able, frequently, to render the conspirators immense service in their desperate schemes. He was captured in Chicago in November, and finally agreed to turn State’s evidence, when he saw that unless he did, his own life was forfeited. After this agreement, he was treated with great leniency by the Government, but upon being placed upon the witness stand, his old sympathies and prejudices returned, and it is believed he distinctly perjured himself, acting through the whole trial with bad faith toward the Government which had treated him so generously.
THOS.E. COURTNEY–A Son of Liberty, and a leading Democrat of Chicago, called a witness for _defence_, testified, among other things, as follows:
“_I was on a Committee of the Democratic party to receive, at the Alton Depot, some bogus voters that were to be imported into Chicago to vote at the Presidential election_; they were part and parcel of the tribe that came from Egypt, and I was one of the _Committee appointed to escort them to their boarding houses_.”
OBADIAH JACKSON, JR., ESQ., Grand Seignior of the Temple, who had been arrested and sent to Camp Douglas, and while there had written and signed a “statement,” was called for the defence, but it neither helped him or the defendants.
COL.B. M. ANDERSON–Was born, reared, and educated in Kentucky. He was a young man of education, ability, and fine personal appearance, and had he not been a rebel would have been an accomplished gentleman. He possessed many fine points of character, and was, in our opinion, a much better man than any of the Northern Copperheads who have been arrested. He had been in the Nicaraugua expedition, under the fillibuster, Walker. Col. Anderson was the dupe of others. He committed suicide at the barracks in Cincinnati, during the progress of the trial. He leaves a wife and many friends to mourn his death. His history is a sad one. In any other position than a rebel, he would have been a most useful member of society. He was not of the material of which the Sons of Liberty was made up, but aside from that deadly fanaticism which ruined him, he won warm friends wherever he went. Nature did everything for him, but the accursed doctrine of Calhoun, consigned him to a suicide’s grave, “after life’s fitful fever” of war upon the land of his birth.
CHARLES TRAVIS DANIELS–One of the prisoners, is a native of Harrison County, Ky. A lawyer by profession, about 26 years of age and very prepossessing in appearance. He is somewhat remarkable for a rather strange and singular expression of his eyes. Belonged to John H. Morgan’s command, but never served in any other capacity than as an enlisted man. He was captured with Morgan during his raid in Ohio, and confined in Camp Douglas, from which he escaped; was captured at Charles Walsh’s house, on the 7th of November, and escaped again from the military authorities in Cincinnati, Ohio, while being tried by the Commission. He has not been recaptured, but has been found guilty by the Commission.
CAPT. GEORGE CANTRILL–Is a native of Scott County, Ky. Is about the same age as Daniels. There is nothing remarkable in connection with him, and of no more than ordinary intelligence. He also belonged to Morgan’s command, in which he served as Company commander; was in Morgan’s last raid in Kentucky, and at his defeat at Cynthiana escaped to Canada. He was with the other rebels at Chicago during the Convention, and went with them to Southern Illinois for the purpose of drilling Copperheads. He was captured in the house of Charles Walsh, on the morning of the 7th of November last. On account of severe sickness he was not tried with the other conspirators.
RICHARD T. SEMMES–One of the prisoners, tried, convicted, and sentenced, for being one of the Chicago Conspirators, is a young man–not over 23 or 24 years of age, a Marylander by birth, and a lawyer by profession. He is a relation of the pirate Semmes (unfortunate in name,) said to be a nephew. He graduated at Yale College with distinction, and his prospects in Chicago were flattering till he connected himself with the Sons of Liberty, and listened to the teachings of older and “wiser” men.
Of the witnesses for the defence we have nothing to say, further than most of them were Sons of Liberty. Some of them so far perjured themselves, that now a common lie to them is considered as good as the truth, if not a little better. It is said of Judge H.L. Burnet, that he remarked, had he known what witnesses the defence would have introduced, he would not have called any witnesses for the _Government_–they would have been superfluous. Rather severe, and we will hope he did not say it.
Space will not admit of a review of the evidence, and this will be unnecessary for all who will read the sketch of the Judge Advocate’s argument.
CHAP XXI.
ARGUMENT OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE IN THE CONSPIRACY CASES–CONVICTION OF THE PRISONERS.
The evidence in the case before the military commission at Cincinnati, having closed, the counsel who represented the prisoners made their addresses–they cannot be called arguments–and the court adjourned to Tuesday, April 18. As lawyers who have no valid defence, observe it as a policy to attack the Government witnesses with great fury, so Messrs. Hervey and Wilson, true to the ethics of their profession, made a grand assault upon the principal witnesses. Counsellor Hervey, in his harangue, used the following language, which illustrates the line of “argument” for defence:
“Some two hundred years ago,” said the learned counsel, “there was a man in England who swore away the lives of his fellow citizens by wholesale. His name was Dr. Titus Oates–the man who got up what was called the Popish plot, and by perjury and villainy, consigned many an innocent head to the scaffold. He was assisted by a man who has, as no other judge has, disgraced the ermine–Jeffries, who drank himself to death in the tower, when his co-worker in iniquities and evil deeds with dreadful and condign punishment followed him. The effort of nature to produce so great a monster was so terrible that it required a resting spell of two hundred years before she could produce another such monster in the shape of Dr. I. Winslow Ayer.”
We forgive him, for he was obliged to seem to do or say something to earn his “fee.” There being no arguments for defence, but only such pathetic appeals as only a lawyer, without the least hope, would make, feeling that his clients would expect _something_, we need not take our space to report their remarks.
On Tuesday April 18, Judge Advocate Burnet made his closing argument for the Government. It was truly a master-piece, complete in every part. It was such an effort as might have been expected, of one who has, during this long tedious trial, shown himself a gentleman, a profound counsellor, a true patriot and an advocate of justice, whose only aim has been to elicit truth, and be the better enabled to serve the true interests of the country. We would gladly present every argument and address he has made, during the trial, but space will not admit, and we therefore invite careful attention to the following sketch of his address:
The Judge Advocate, in referring to the accused, said:
There are two sides to this case; two sides for the manifestation of sympathy. While here is an old, white-haired man before you, whose every thing is at stake; while here is a father, a generous, open-hearted, and impulsive man, whose all is at stake; and here is a soldier, who has fought in every clime, and who has taken up his sword to destroy life in every cause, whose everything is also at stake, yet there is, on the other side, your Government at stake. If these men be guilty, justice to the nation demands of you this day that you should convict them, and you must not waver. In the consideration of this case, you must bring to your aid a power, that may be a little more than is ordinarily given to human nature. You must, for the time, sink all hatred, malice, even human sympathy; and rise, God-like, to determine the truth and adjust the punishment.
That these accused would enter upon the commission of so heinous a crime, I can scarcely permit myself to believe. They have made a strong appeal to your sympathies. Each counsel has advocated the cause of his client with an earnestness and an eloquence that does him honor; I shall always respect them, and bear them in kindly recollection.
But there seems to have been something, during these four years of the nation’s trial, that has appeared to paralyze the native instincts of the American heart. This phantom, this siren of secession, with her enticing song, seems to have lulled to sleep the better part of human nature. At the sound of her voice, and the flash of her eye, men have sprung to arms, to grapple with the life of the nation, because it was free! They have followed, at the beck of the siren, over desolated homes; they have trampled over the dead corpses of murdered brothers, and innocent women and children. They have blackened the land with desolation, and made it the abode of moaning and woe. She has blinded, while she has demoralized them. Old men, forgetting their white hairs, have joined in the conspiracy at the beck of this phantom, who has taken out of the human heart its heaven-born instincts, to plant there those of vengeance, and the thirst for blood.
My tongue falters as I look over this country and see bereaved widows and orphans, the white-haired patriots that mourn for the first-born, that shall ne’er greet them, and those who sit at the desolate hearth, with hands upraised, waiting for the knock that will be but the death-knell of all their hopes; and think that the phantom of secession has caused all this!
Men who were kind fathers, kind husbands and noble patriots, have forgotten it all in a day, and have become traitors, and inculcated doctrines that have, by the hands of fiends, stricken down that patriotic and noble leader of the human race. There is something in it which no man can comprehend. The doctrines which they inculcate harden the heart, and nerve the arm to crime, enabling them to commit robbery, arson and murder, for all is in her category; and as they commit those crimes, the appeal to God for the justness of their cause. That is what has deceived these men; it is this accursed phantom of secession that has blinded their eyes; that has cooled their hearts and filled them with vengeance. It is this that has changed and perverted the human instincts, that should have ruled in their breasts.
Of this man Walsh, I have simply this to say: The evidence is as you have seen it. I have briefly sketched it; I will not dwell upon much that ought to be said; I can not. The testimony is voluminous, filling 2,000 or 2,500 pages. I have had but a few days to scan through it; I have given you only the leading points, and you must judge. I would not say one word that would take from this family their father; but if this man was guilty of this crime, or has aided and abetted this conspiracy, you have but one duty to perform. You must know no man, be influenced by no bias, betray no sympathy, but must be firm in the performance of your stern duty. There are thirty millions of suffering people in this land, and against these, one man’s life, if guilty, weighs little in the scale of justice. We have, unhappily, in the history of this war, frequently seen sympathy manifested for criminals, rebels and traitors–those who have brought this great injustice upon the true and the loyal. It is not mercy to acquit those guilty of cruelty to a people who are struggling for their very existence; it would be cruelty to our brave soldiers, and to those who have been left widows and orphans.
As to Judge Morris–for his white hair and old age, I have only respect. For all that is worthy in him as a citizen, I do him reverence; but if this white-haired old man has engaged in a conspiracy against my nation and my country, I turn to the other side, and see white-haired patriots who mourn in sadness because such as he have done these evil deeds,–and I remember Justice!
As to this man Grenfel, I confess I have no sympathy with him; no sympathy for the foreigner who lands in our country when this nation is engaged in the struggle for human right and human liberty, and who takes part in the quarrel against us, and arrays himself on the side of those who are trying to establish tyranny and slavery. I have no sympathy for the man whose sword is unsheathed for hire and not for principle; for whom slavery and despotism have more charms than freedom and liberty. The motive of such a one does not rise even to the dignity of vengeance. As has been said by his counsel, his sword has gleamed in every sun, and has been employed on the side of almost every nationality, and after this he engages in our struggle, and, as testified to by Colonel Moore, desires to raise the black flag against our prisoners; and after men have yielded as prisoners of war, he rides up to one, and stabs him, coward like, in the back.
But he is not true to the cause he espouses. When in Washington he went to the Secretary of War and betrays the very people with whom he had been fighting; tells all he knows of the strength, position and designs of the Confederates. He said he proposed to leave immediately for England, but he breaks his faith, proceeds to Canada, and is found among the conspirators, and is now here, charged with these crimes to-day. There is no throb of my heart that beats in unison with such conduct as this. He was a fit instrument to be used in this enterprise. What to him would be the wail of women and little ones? What to him would be the pleadings of old men and unarmed citizens?
The delivery of Judge Burnett’s argument occupied three and a half hours, after which the Commission adjourned to meet at four o’clock P.M., to deliberate on the findings and sentence. They accordingly met at the hour appointed, and, after mature deliberation, finally recorded their verdict.
General Hooker issued General Orders No. 30, April 22, in which he promulgates the finding of the military commission which, for three months past, has been engaged in the trial of the alleged Chicago conspirators. The commission have acquitted Buckner S. Morris and Vincent Marmaduke, and they are to be discharged upon their taking the oath of allegiance. They find Charles Walsh and Richard T. Semmes guilty of all the charges and specifications, and sentence the former to five years’ imprisonment at hard labor from the 7th of November last, and the latter to three years’ imprisonment at hard labor from the same date, at such place as the commanding general may direct. Gen. Hooker has named the State penitentiary at Columbus, Ohio.
Cantrill’s trial has been continued; Anderson committed suicide, and Charles Travis Daniels escaped. The commission found a verdict against Daniels, but it has not yet been promulgated. The findings against G. St. Leger Grenfell have not yet been announced officially; but it is death, at such time and place as Gen. Hooker shall designate. The commission has been dissolved.
The Chicago _Tribune_, in speaking of the sentence, says:
The trial of the Chicago conspirators has ended, the sentences have been pronounced and approved, and the court has adjourned. Buckner S. Morris and Vincent Marmaduke are acquitted and Charles Walsh and Richard T. Semmes were found guilty of the entire charges and specifications, to wit: of conspiracy for the relief of the prisoners at Camp Douglas, and of conspiring to “lay waste and destroy” the city of Chicago. Walsh is sentenced to imprisonment for five years from November 7th, 1864, and Semmes to imprisonment at hard labor for three years from the date of sentence. The findings against G. St. Leger Grenfell have not been officially promulgated, but it is stated that he is found guilty and sentenced to death, at such time and place as Gen. Hooker shall designate. The penitentiary at Columbus, Ohio, is designated as the place of confinement of Walsh and Semmes. The trial has been long, mainly by reason of the course pursued by the defense, whose aim has been to protract it, so as to tire out the perseverance of the prosecution and the patience of the court and people. The court have performed their arduous duties with great ability and fairness. The result will doubtless be satisfactory to the people. It is proved that this great crime was in all its naked deformity and depravity actually committed. It follows that the Copperhead statement, published in the rebel organ in this city, charging that the entire plot and arrest of these Copperhead traitors and assassins were invented by the Union Republicans of Chicago as an electioneering trick, was the subterfuge of conscious guilt trying to cover up its tracks and to rub out the stains of its own attempted crimes. The same organ now impugns the “competency” of the Court. It may consider itself fortunate that it has not had an opportunity to argue the question of jurisdiction on its own behalf before a similar tribunal. Its opposition to such courts originates in a feeling of uneasiness about its own safety. For
“Thief ne’er felt the halter draw
With good opinion of the law.”
REV. DR. TIFFANY UPON COPPERHEADS.
At a public meeting held in Chicago, after the announcement of the assassination, Rev. Dr. Tiffany, in an able and eloquent address said:
“God alone is great. At rare intervals he sends us a man beyond the limit of our measure. Our attention has been directed to the excellences of the character which belonged to our late President, and to the spirit of the system which gave strength to the blow of the assassin. A more terrible topic is now to be discussed–our relation to that spirit–our responsibility for that blow.
We have been accustomed to say, “slavery is sectional, and freedom national,” let those who elect slavery take the results of slavery to themselves; let them suffer, if their choice brings suffering; but as for us, we wash our hands in innocency, and hold ourselves guiltless of blood.” And so we have been going on ever since the outbreak of slavery in the form of armed rebellion. “They are the guilty parties, let them suffer.” But has all this been right? Have we had no responsibility? Is no guilt ours? We may not have owned slaves, but we may have made a common cause with men owners–may have brought condemnation upon ourselves by our tolerance, by our compromises.
Sad and almost disgraceful is the record which exhibits our complicity with this sin. We began by making free States wait at the door of the Union until slavery had a counterpoise, or balance adjusted in the form of slave State, to preserve the balance against freedom in the National Senate. We compromised the territories west of the Mississippi, by tolerating slaves there, and as one demand after another was made it was granted, till we even allowed slave rule in free States, by submitting to the Fugitive Slave law–these things could not have been done without our votes. When they threatened and blustered we fawned and cringed, until they knew and avowed their belief that the crack of a slave whip would bring the north to its knees. All they asked we granted, more than they demanded we offered. We held out our wrists for manacles. When we elected the great good man, who embodied our idea of nationality and freedom; and even after official announcement had been made of the position slavery occupied in their proposed nationalism, we guarded their slaves, and kept them secure to labor for the support of the masters who were fighting against us. When these slaves, acting on an intuition of freedom, came fleeing to us, we sent them back to chains and bondage. In all this we showed our complicity with the sin which struck the blow which killed our good President.
And after the slaughter of thousands in battle, and the death of as many more in hospitals, of fever, starvation and wounds, still was our hatred of the sin which caused them not deep enough. We talked of amnesty and non-humiliation, and God has permitted the sad cup to come to each lip in bitterness. Each one mourns to-day as if personally bereaved. The blackness of darkness is in our homes, and the whole nation mourns its first-born–its first-loved. May not–does not–a measure of responsibility rest upon us for this last sad event? Have we not been tolerant of the treason which has wrought this crime? Have we not been apologists for infamy under the name of different political opinions? Have we not spared when we should have punished–been merciful when mercy was but cruelty? We seem to have believed that because there were more serpents away from our homes, the few left here had no venom. We felt secure because the loyalists were more numerous than the traitors. But of the few who were here, and tolerated here, some plotted the escape of rebel prisoners, some the burning of our city, some the conflagration of New York, and some the murder of the Cabinet, while one has killed the good President. Had they all been driven out, or put under strict surveillance, there would have been none of these things from them. We have lost our President by tolerating traitors in our streets.
Who was the assassin of the President? Not an armed rebel, clothed with belligerent rights; not a political refugee, who had skulked into our lines for rapine and for plunder; but the citizen of a free State, who could visit and send his cards to the Vice-President with a flippant familiarity, which his aristocratic slave-holding associates presume to use,–a man allowed to go about the streets of Washington, breathing treason and blaspheming God, without rebuke. He could command attention from proprietors of houses and saloons, from owners of blooded stock, from men who were called loyal, and the toleration of this killed our good President.
He was a wretch, of whom a press said, but yesterday, that he was sincere in thinking he should rid the earth of a tyrant, by slaying the President, this sincerity must place him on a level with John Brown. [Hisses and cries of _The Times_.] This was said yesterday, and read by thousands, and I know of no steps taken to prevent the utterance of similar insult and outrage to-morrow. For this tolerance we are responsible, and tolerance like this killed the good President. When a far-seeing military commandant ordered the suppression of published treason, there were men in high places, and men all over the land, who outraged the loyal masses by interfering to prevent the execution of that order, on the ground of disturbing the freedom of the press; but when our ministers went into Richmond they were muzzled, and the result has been that treason has been littered, the good man called an _imbecile_–the generous man a _tyrant_– the restraint of traitors has been referred to as, _usurpation_ of power, and prisons have been called _Bastiles_. All this has been, and we have tolerated it. This has given aid and comfort to treason in the South, and traitors in the North, and this has killed the good President.
The measure of our responsibility is the amount of our connivance at these things. No man is free from guilt who has winked at this wrong, who has interfered to prevent the punishment of wrong-doers, who has apologies for treason, who has not done all in his power to rebuke, denounce and punish the foes of the nation, at home and abroad. We stand, to-day, as though in the presence of the nation’s dead, and here, on the tomb of our chieftain, let us swear eternal enmity to treason and to traitors. Nor let us, when the assassin shall be arrested and punished–oh! let us not then think we have done our duty. I had rather the profane wretch who has done this deed were never taken, than that his execution should relieve our minds from one thought of our personal responsibility. No; rather let the wretch be a fugitive and vagabond, with the mark of Cain upon him. Let none slay him, for we ourselves are not guiltless. And as he flies from men, with hate in his eyes and hell in his heart, let every home be an asylum from which he shall be barred, and every honest, loyal heart a sanctuary where no thought of complicity with him, or sympathy for him may enter. Let us bow before God to-day in humble penitence; let us ask of Him forgiveness– Father forgive us, for we knew not what we did–that His hand be stayed, and the measure of our responsibility be canceled.”
In this connection, we may with propriety, introduce the following extract from President Johnson’s recent speech to the Indiana delegation:
“We are living at a time when the public mind had almost become oblivious of what treason is. The time has arrived, my countrymen, when the American people should be educated and taught what crime is, and that treason is crime, and the highest crime known to the law and the Constitution. Yes, treason against a State, treason against all the States, treason against the Government of the United States, is the highest crime that can be committed, and those engaged in it should suffer all the penalties. It is not promulgating anything that I have not heretofore said, to say that traitors must be made odious; that treason must be made odious; that traitors must be punished and imprisoned. [Applause.] They must not only be punished, but their social power must be destroyed. If not, they will still maintain an ascendency, and may again become numerous and powerful; for, in the words of a former senator of the United States, when traitors become numerous enough, treason becomes respectable. And I say that, after making treason odious, every Union man and the Government, should be remunerated out of the pockets of those who have inflicted the great suffering upon the country. [Applause.] But do not understand me as saying this in a spirit of anger; for, if I understand my own heart, the reverse is the case; and, while I say that the penalties of the law, in a stern and inflexible manner, should be executed upon conscious, intelligent, and influential traitors,–the leaders who have deceived thousands upon thousands of laboring men, who have been drawn into the rebellion; and while I say, as to leaders, punishment, I also say leniency, conciliation, and amnesty, to the thousands whom they have misled and deceived, and, in relation to this, as I have remarked, I might have adopted your speech as my own.”
* * * * *
LIST OF PROMINENT MEMBERS OF THE “SONS OF LIBERTY” IN ILLINOIS.
List of names of prominent members of the “Sons of Liberty” in the several counties of the State of Illinois, as reported by Col. J.B. Sweet.
Names. County. James W. Singleton ……………………………………..Adams. Thomas P. Bond…………………………………………. Bond. Harry Wilton…………………………………………….Bond. Thos. Hunter…………………………………………….Bond. Martin Brooks…………………………………………..Brown. C.H. Atwood…………………………………………….Brown. Fred Rearick ……………………………………………Cass. Allen J. Hill……………………………………………Cass. David Epler……………………………………………..Cass. James A. Dick……………………………………………Cass. Samuel Christey………………………………………….Cass. T.J. Clark…………………………………………Champaigne. James Morrow ………………………………………Champaigne. H.M. Vandeveer………………………………………Christian. J.H. Clark………………………………………….Christian. S.S. Whitehed…………………………………………..Clark. H.H. Peyton…………………………………………….Clark. Phillip Dougherty……………………………………….Clark. A.M. Christian…………………………………………..Clay. Stephen B. Moore………………………………………..Coles. Dr. Wickersham ………………………………………….Cook. G.S. Kimberly……………………………………………Cook. S. Corning Judd………………………………………..Fulton. Charles Sweeny ………………………………………..Fulton. L. Walker……………………………………………Hamilton. M. Couchman…………………………………………..Hancock. M.M. Morrow…………………………………………..Hancock. J.M. Finch……………………………………………Hancock. Dennis Smith………………………………………….Hancock. J.S. Rainsdell………………………………………Henderson. A. Johnson………………………………………….Henderson. Ira R. Wills……………………………………………Henry. Chas. Durham……………………………………………Henry. Morrison Francis………………………………………..Henry. J.B. Carpenter………………………………………….Henry. J. Osborn…………………………………………….Jackson. G.W. Jeffries………………………………………….Jasper. G.H. Varnell………………………………………..Jefferson. Wm. Dodds…………………………………………..Jefferson. J.M. Pace…………………………………………..Jefferson. James Sample…………………………………………..Jersey. O.W. Powell……………………………………………Jersey. M.Y. Johnson………………………………………..Jo Davies. David Shean…………………………………………Jo Davies. M. Simmons………………………………………….Jo Davies. Louis Shisler……………………………………….Jo Davies. Thomas McKee…………………………………………… Knox. J.F. Worrell…………………………………………..McLean. E.D. Wright……………………………………………Menard. Edward Lanning ………………………………………..Menard. Robert Halloway ……………………………………….Mercer. Robert Davis……………………………………….Montgomery. Thomas Grey………………………………………..Montgomery. W.J. Latham……………………………………………Morgan. J.O. S. Hays…………………………………………..Morgan. J.W. McMillen………………………………………….Morgan. D. Patterson ………………………………………..Moultrie. Dr. Kellar…………………………………………..Moultrie. G.D. Read ………………………………………………Ogle. W.W. O’Brien…………………………………………..Peoria. Peter Sweat……………………………………………Peoria. Jacob Gale…………………………………………….Peoria. P.W. Dunne…………………………………………….Peoria. John Fuller……………………………………………Peoria. John Francis…………………………………………..Peoria. C.H. Wright………………………………………….. Peoria. John Oug………………………………………………Putnam. M. Richardson………………………………………….Shelby. M. Shallenberger………………………………………..Stark. J.B. Smith………………………………………….Stevenson. J.L. Carr………………………………………….Vermillion. John Donlar………………………………………..Vermillion. Wm. S. Moore………………………………………..Christian. B.S. Morris……………………………………………..Cook. W.C. Wilson………………………………………….Crawford. L.W. Onell…………………………………………..Crawford. Dickins …………………………………………..Cumberland. J.C. Armstrong ………………………………………..Dewitt. C.H. Palmer……………………………………………Dewitt. B.T. Williams…………………………………………Douglas. Amos Green……………………………………………..Edgar. R.M. Bishop…………………………………………….Edgar. W.D. Latshaw………………………………………….Edwards. Levi Eckels…………………………………………..Fayette. Dr. Bassett…………………………………………..Fayette. T. Greathouse…………………………………………Fayette. Chas. T. Smith………………………………………..Fayette. N. Simmons………………………………………………Ford.