Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-12-06
And in one hour, at 8 P. NJ. on the 18th, ! de

Can't. MARY Of the AlcXanuria rne', a'u \. ~
ed with ninety-one men ana Officers. AZ tme
Relay House in Maryland ! reeei'eo in'e'I..
49, = lie 18th that no more force was
s 49, and ! ordered back the force under
I'll an,lst. And from that place tele-
arnnbcd Col. Lee to make no terms with the
;nsurcen,s. Bv | o'clock on the 18th ! arrived
with the force Inder my command. Col. Lee
made no terms, and had subdued the ins'ir-
cents before INV arrival. Immediately exam
med the leader, Brown. his lieutenant, Stevens
q yhite man named Coppoc, and a negro from
Canada. They made full confessions. brown
rnnelled the idea that his design was to run
NEGRO slaves off from their masters. lie
dciisntly avowcd that his purpose was TO arm
them and make them fight by his sitS III ue-
fence of their freedom, if a>salled ny 'heT
owners or any one else and he said his Pui-
bose especially Was war upon the slaVeholuers'
and to levy upon their own property 10 pay
the expense OF c!nancipatinS their slaves. ne
avowed that he expected 10 DC joined by the
slaves and by numerous white persons from
MANY OF the slave as well as free States. There
was nothing for NE 20 90 but TO arrest these
! who had escaped, to search for their hidden
arms and plumber, to try to recapt"rc the
slaves they had taken. 10 get all their papers
which could be found, and TO have them pro.
cecdcd against according 70 law. llah !
reached the place before they surrendered, !
would have proclaimed martial law, have
storuel then, in the quickest time possible,
shown them no quarter. have tried the survl-
rors if any by court martial, and have shot
the condemned on the spot. Int owing TO the
DELAY of the cars 1T Washington and the Relay
House. and TO the slow travel from the latter
place TO tic Ferry, was TOO late. When J
arrived they were subducd; they were prison
crs and some OF them wounded, and | was
bn,nd to protect them. | took them under the
jurisdiction OF Virginia; they were guarded
from all violence; food and rcire>hlncnt and
surgical aid and every comfort at my command
were given them; they were proceeded against
regularly ny the civil authority, under civil
process from both State and Federal govern
| ,nentS, and | went in person with them under
a military guard TO Charlestown, and saw them
safely lodged in Jail in custody Of the sheriff,
uader civil and military guard. | remained a
night t. sec tl.ut no yioicncc was attempted
from any quarter, and the next morning. alter
,,;ylnc necessary orders 10 Col. Gibson and
furnishing him with arms returned I" Harper 5
Forty The services " counsel Ia assist the
Commonwealth Attorney were engaged by
me- CIR the State. Seeing. on the morning OF
the 18th that the United States marines were
ordered away from liarper's Ferry, ! ordered a
police military guard for the confines around
the Arsenal. | did not remove the prisoners
further into the interior, because was deter
mined 10 show no apprehension OF u reScnc ;
and if tho Jail Of Jefferson had been OH the
line cf the State, they should have been Kept
there, TO show that they could be kept any
where chosen m DIR limits. Soon after re-.
Turned To Richmond. | notified the President Of
the United States that the reason 30 lew men
had capturcd The Arsenal Of the jnite'i States
was that there was no military guard there.
and that | had organized Il guard Ia protect our
frontier aud, incidentally, 10 protect ;he prop
crtv Of the United States. y neglected Arse
nal had been made a positive danger TO us; we
had been invaded hy lawlcSs bands from other
States, against which the United States were
bound TO defend us: sc had been obliged to
call out troops 10 defend the Federal property,
and at last had to guard II.
Thus the affair passed for the time being
from the military to the civil authority. And
here cannot express too strongly what is due
to the militia foT the promFtl'ndc with which
they volunteered for duty and ohcycd my or
dcrS, The Jefferson. iicrkelcv and Shepherds.
town militia were first at the scene, and mani
tested good courage aud did some Serv &c; but
they were restrained by = natural tenderness
for their ncichbors and friends vino were held
prisoners. and hostages, and supposed to hc in
imminent danger from any attempt to storm
their cap.ors. The First Regiment Of Volnn.
;ecrs. and company + especially Of that regi-
mcnt, which was ready in an hour from the
call. and = part Of the 10th. and the .ileXan.
L.. Isn.. .,1 ,ln rp,pnupipS nj IrpIprIcks-
burg, Orange and .Albemarle. all calamity took
arms and moved promptly. More than called
came. and were ready and anxious TO do duty
and TO hc the first 10 encounter danger. \
finer spirit and better temper Of soldiers could
no, have been displayed.
The State judiciary took the culpritS in
charge. Legal warrants were issued and
served upon them: - court Of examination
was regularly held over those who did not
waive il; and they were formally indicted in 3
court of competent jurisdiction. They had the
full benefit Of compulsory process for witncs'
scs in their defence; had counsel assigned
them and counsel of their own selection; were
confronted by witnesses and a~CcnSerS; and
were given, according 10 orr bill OF rights, as
in all other cases. 4 speedy and fair trial by on
impartial jury OF the v~icinagc; upon their own
confession and upon other evidence, leaving M
doubt Of guilt, were legally convicted of sevc.
raj capital offences; were heard in person and
bv counsel, why sentence should not he pro.
nounced IN them: were given every opportuni'
" oil applying for writS of supcrscdcas; did
amply. and the court of highest resort. the
Court of Appeals. sustained the Judgment and
sentence of the court which tried them
Never we're prisoners treated with more lcni;y
OF trial. And never in any case, in the histo
:. rv OF trials. was Justice administered with more
lorbearancc, more %calmneSs, more dignity and
more majesty of law-nevcr were Suc. prise
ncrs treated with as much henignant kindness
AS they have been By the people whom they
outraged sufficiently To have melted summary
punishment.
To prevent any such punishment on the one
hand, and n rescnc on the other; to guard
Justice, in a word. called into service militia
nv guards. TO aid the civil authority and kecl
the peac.. Receiving information that orga
~uization OF guards was necessary, ] sent an aid
To the scene. there to see what was wanting
TO assist the Aljutant Genera, and to pass my or
lerS. Col. j. Iucius Davis, a competent soldier,
volunteered his services. and | accepted them,
TO organize the corps, TO distribute AIMS, tc
post guards and 10 provide subsistence and
quarters. and to call for whatever was wanting
These services lie continued most faithfully
and efficiently to perform, with my full appro
baton, until very recent events made 1t neccS'
sary to call for more troops; and Major Gene
raj Vim. j.. Taliafrrro, rf the fourth division,
repaired to the place, and volunteered in per-
son To take command. Many Of the troops
were from his division, and could not decline
the tender Of his services. During the trial o
the prisoners and since, appeals and threats o.
every sort, the most extraordinary, from every
quarter. have been made to the Executive
/ lay before you the mass Of these, ii being
impossible TO enter into their details. Though
the laws do not permit me to pardon in cases
of treason, vet paldons and rcpricvcs havs
been demanded on the grounds OF, Isl. insani'
ty. ID ma.nanimitv; 81. the policy of not mn,