Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-09-23
Confession Of q Murderer.

The following is the confession of Rob-
ert a. Robertson, hung at Alexandria, Ky,
Saturday, Sept. I'd, 1853, for the murder
Of Moses Gard:
He says that he was born in Ligonier
Valley, WestmOreland county, Pa, and
on the I'd of August 1917. lie was not
blessed with the advantages ofeducation,
and could neither read nor write. At the
age of 16, he came with his ia ather to
Cincinnati, where he remained until 1899
lie left this place for Quebec, and after
wards returned to Dayton, Ohio. He was
arrested in 1912 upon the charge of steal
ing money from a widow lady residing in
Campbell county, Ky. The explanation
of the manner in which he innocently be-
came connected with the theft, as he says,
was that for rowing man named Charles
Bennett, whom he could not afterwards
find, across the river at Six Mile Ripple,
ne received purse, which he afterwards
presented to young lady, and being
identified, was traced to him, and for this
he was, on the 10Th of October, 1872, con-
fined in the Penitentiary, on a sentence
Of two years. He left Frankfort iu May,
1914, determined to find Charles Bennett,
if in the United States.
He. with partner, laid in wait in the
woods five days for the purpose of MUIR
dering the prosecutor and the witnesses
against him on the trial. but, fortunately
for them, no opportunity occurred to ex-
ecute their horrid designs. On the 4th of
July, 1914, he heard of the whereab bouts
of Bennett; ON the 9th he met him on
the public road, one mile in the rear of
Lawrenceburg. Ind. Having given him
an opportunity to defend himself with
one of his pistols, offered him, he fired
and Bennett fell, and after lingering six
days died, unable to reveal who was the
author of the murder.
He speaks of his connection with nu-
merous mobs, of his being sworn in as a
lieutenant of mob, the captain of which
resided in this State. The names of the
gang, he states, were written in blood,
drawn from their right arm, and they
were sworn to defend each other in their
operations Or die in the attempt. The
club was composed of men living in this
city and in the county of Campbell, op.
posite, in Kentucky. He describes some
of the incidents of their first attack on a
house in this city, near the canal, on the
5th of February, 1915, and of his escape
to kentucky.
A short time afterwards, he says, $500
was offered to mob house near the Lick
ing river, and their gang attacked it; one
of them residing in Campbell county, was
killed by blow on the head, and was
buried by him and his companions on the
bank of the river. A very improbable
statement is here made, of there being fif-
teen of the inmates of the attacked house
killed, as was supposed; the house being
fired and burnt to the ground. He was
himself shot in the thigh and secreted for
three months in barn near the Queen
City Race Course, negro boy being his
nurse and physician.
After recovery he resumed his old occu.
patton of brick moulding, at a yard neal
the foot of Fifth streets in this city, near
which man having attempted to steal
$2S out of his pocket, was shot by him
and left bleeding on the floor, the wife
having discharged the contents of shot
gun into Robertson, on his escape from
the window. To obtain a cure of his
wounds he spent fifteen days at his fathers
house, and six weeks in Francisville
Boone county, Ky. He relates that hav
ing got well, he was soon notified to take
part in bank mob in Cincinnati, in which
he participated.
The next transaction in which he was
engaged was, in the language of the pam
phlet, 1.-The burning OF Pork House OF
Walnut street, in Cincinnati, belonging
to Shaw & Co., Query: Pugh & Co., fol
which three hundred dollars were paid,
of which his share was seventy five dol
lars. In June. l847, with the assistance
of others, the family of a flat-boat in tn
Licking were tied hand and feet, and tn
boat removed to the mouth of Mill Creek
on our side of the river. He speaks Q
the sentence of hanging having beel
!. passed upon by his companions, for no
obeying orders on that occasion, whicl
was afterwards overruled; of his obtain
ing as his reward the contents of tn
store-boat, but he does not mention th
fate of the inmates. ;s. -...-. 49,.
On the I'd of October he left the Clut
I and OH the I'd Of February, 1848, he wa
married. Tn 1850 he removed to Poo
Greek Station in Campbell county, wher