Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1828-04-16

called into service by the act of 1895, NAV,
! # IN the opinion of Inc President, the public
interest require 1t, be compelled to serve for
SIX months-but no rcquisition TO that effect
appears to have been made. The militia
thus called out, arrived 1T thei. place OF rem
! devious, ana were mustered into service, OH
the 2oih OF June, 1914, when their term OF
service commenced.& Among these mon,
were Jacob W. bb, David Morrow, John har-
ris, Henry Lewis, David Hunt and Edward
Lindsey, the six militia men who were after
wards shot to death at Mobile, in 1el5.--
These r1an continued in the faithful dis
charge OF their duties for three months. when,
as they supposed, thsr term of service expi-
red; and being confirmed III this belief by
the OPINION OF some of the commanding Off
GERS, they With number of Others, delivered
up Their arms and accoutrcmcnts to the pro-
per oilcers and obtained receipts. They
TOOK from the public stores 4 supply ofprovi-
sions, ami lett Fort Jackson with the avowed
intention OF returning to their homes and
families, claiming that they had Il right to
do so. By order Of Gen. Jackson (then in
the regular army they were pursued by "a
party OF soldiers, torn from their families,
taken back TO Mobile and put In irons =
they lay in this situation until the 9th
December, (ncar!y two months and half
after the alleged offences were committcci.)
and were then brought before court mar
tial BY THIS court, one captain, ono ser
gcant, and upwards of one hundred and
eighty prlVatcs, were tried AMI convicted
some of mutiny and dcserton, and some
toi mutiny and exciting to mutiny The six
prlvates whose names we have given, were
condemned to de-the officers dismissed
from service with marks of disgrace; and
the other Prlvatcs to have their payment
stopped, their heads shaved, and at the end
OF their service to be- drummed out of camp,
except one who was acquittcd:) ten of the
priv;tes were recommended to mercy. The
proceedings of the court remained before
the Commanding General Jackson, until the
22d January, 1915, (Gfter IKE enemy had G.
racnated Louisiana, after General Jackson
tad 'oritte7s to The Secretary at Var, that lie
considered Louisiana delipsred from the che
my, and had returned with his army to New
Oreans,) when he approved the proceedings
and sentences of the court and ordered
them to be carried INTO Effect, and command
ing, with respect 10 those sentenced to the
punishment Of DEATH, that their sentence
should be executed within four DAYS after
the PRONUNCIATION of the order at Mobile He
pardoned only the ten recommended to MGR
cy by the court.
documents published by committee of Gen.
Jackaon's friends at Nashville, purportng to
be the official record Of the proceedings in
relation to the SIX militia nen-together with
the statements made by the General in his
letters on the Same subject. Thus, six
treemen, who had let their families and their
homes, reilnqnished the enjoyment of do
mcstlc happiness and the pursuits of
honest industry, at call of their coun-
| Try, have bs"n PuT TO DEATH, for asserting
Their right according to their apprehension
and II they were mistaken in this. there was
no criminality Of intention il the act, or con-
sequences flowing from their return to their
homes, jushfylng their fate That they sin
cerely believed that they were right, is very
manifest; they returned to their homes with
the knowledge Oft their officers, and With the
appreciation Of some of them. Justice did
not require, necessity did not demand, and
humanity forba. the bloody sarifice.-It il
worthy OF remark, that altho' Gen. Jackson
has frequently disa2provcd the proceedings
oil courts martial, when they come short Of!
a sentence of death, we know of no instance
in which he disapproved sentence denoun-
cling capital punishment
While he has not hesitatcd to enforce o.
bedence to his own orders by the sacrifice
OF tie lives and liberties of his countryInen.
subject to his command, Gen. Jackson has
been unmindfnl Of his own obligations as a
military officer to obey the o.,lers of
his superiors, and has openly encouraged in
standardization by his exsmple-by refusing
10 obey oil order to disbandhis troops, and Of
iterlng lndignity to the Secretary of War who
issued it-hy issuing a general order forbid
ding the officers under MS communal to obey
the orders of tho War Department, unless
they previously passed through Il cl.auneij
which he prescribol--by conducting lis NIL
ltary operations into Spanish territory, in Vi
olation ofthe express orders of his govern
mcnt.
Oar objections to Gen. Jackson nave not
been iessencd by the manner in which he
and his adherents have attempted to support
his claims TO the Presidency. While Mr..
Adams remains uaIHoved amid the excite
IInent ef the times, confding entirely in the
intelligence and yirtue oft the DHODlc his riyaI