, 1862-08-12

any doubtthat Col. Turchin was not guilty Of
the first charge cr specititat ion under it, and
for such irregularities his duty Was not
to attend to such matters.
The rule of1aw is that tie accused must be
proved guilty beyond = reasonable doubt, aud
See third volume Of Greenleat on: evidences
under the title OF courts m aTtlal, pages All /
sud 1896, The ssfne rules Of evidence aaa pre-
sulhpticrs governing criminal courts govern
cnlrts-martial DE Hart Mil Law, page
5334"
The orders Of Gen. Mitchell on the horse |
and regro matters certainly relieve Colonel
Turchin from any responsibility on these ae-
counts. -..
The second charge is for. conduct unbecom-
log IN officer snd a gentleman.
The arst specification shevsthIs to be pro-
ceeding to collect an alleged account, certain |
II an unusual use to be made Of cours mar
tlsl And If the precedent is established in
collection Of debts b5 suffers, ,tntlors and other
followe1s OF The army, and that useful c1 1ss Of
individuals will have cause to be grateful to I
the person thst brought the matter to Judicial
investigation and established the precedent,
b1t the Evidence In this case clearly shows the |
landlord to have been mistaken. The board |
is shown to have been. fVe days instead OF |
seven, ard it is also shown that the escort paid
for their board. There is no evidence ahow-
1Cg that the Dill Fas ever presented to Col.
AAeAaAs "a hA&se PoJAAEAe "15 @sCI IoAAs1A ~ ]
Col Turchin left these matters to a member |
Of his staff and certainly cannot be held crimi- |
nslly responsible therefor,
The matter IN ths second specification 1s In \
eluaed in specifications under the first charge,
and the Argument and order thera Set forth /
are sufficient
AS the third charge, ssdiso5sdfence Of or
ders," the first specification includes the same
matters under charge first and order No. 81,
fU1Ip r. hnEi NJ a
brigade commander to attend to the internal
pslice, anda to the second specih cation, it Is
already shown thAt no person properly claim
ing q voucher Was refused.
The third specifications Is included In the
others and by the sane general order No. Is,
| Colonel Furchin, as the Commanding officer,
was the cole Judge of the necessity, and it
| amounts to nothing, and no doubt was put IN
merely to fill up.
No evidence hes been given as to the fourth
! specification, ,ona it will reCaan ~ monument
to the littleness Of the gentleman who pre-
| ferred the charges.
I orable court to determine. Thisis, the meau-
lng of the words "peaceable cisizenE,' as Used
in order No. 49, The term 's citfz.n'' is L.
gat and technical one, andi Foes not m5.u or
include " inhabit1ut' or 81 residant.h II the
authority issuing the order had SO intended,
the words t'peaeeable 1nhabitSnt'' OF "peacea-
BILE residant'' nolId have been used. We
think that the term citizen, as there used,
means citizen Of the United States, and does
! not include persons In rebellion against the
United s1atss, or those that in my vsy aid or
countenance the rebellion And it is certain
| II giving aid and conntenanee to it for resi-
| dents to hold town meetings, to levy taxes
for the support OF the rebellion, or the sup
pert Of persons ard their families engaged
| therein And auch has been tho conduct Of
the residents OF Athens.
| We find these came residents wheu brou ghs
upon the witness stand, refneing and having
considerations serurles against taking the oash
Of allegiance to the United States still as re-
as TebelIous as they were one year ago. And
what credit are such witnesses entitled to,
when their testimony is offered against aloyal
| officer Of the Uulen army, who is not only
willing 10 take the oath OF allegiance but is
willing to risk his life In defense OF the banner
of the free and for the maintenance Of the
Union. In my opinion, not oae straW's weight.
| What EreAter saryice can THESE residents Of
Athe6s, that are too cowatdly OF too disloyal
10 take -the oath of allegiance, render to the
soo:hera con{e1eraey, than making COM
pla1 Is aga'nst federal officers, and compelling
the conyening o. high and able officers as
courts martial. For while those officers are
. thus engaged, they are not either fighting OF
| watching the enemy The residents Of Athens
have an interest in causing disseaslons In the
Union army, having able officers dismissed
from the service, aud making the rank and dle
! discoLtsnfed-
It il shown af1irmatiYely that Col. Turchir
was eDdeayoring to punish Offenders; that he
: sent them to Huntsville, and that his provost
: ularshal did the same. The men were there
. discharged. It W1s certainly not Col Turchin'.
1 fault. he had no power to convene genera
court martial for trial Of oI.nse33 aud it il
sho Rn that Gen. Mitchell Undertook the il
: vestigation Of the affairs there, aud it wou1c
have been not only improper but Impertiuen1
!. | g1tfous.
t I would call the attention Of the sourt *
1 tie cEarges. The parties claimed to be ag
. | g11eyed have not made the complaints, neithe
9 rior or commanding officers; but they Ut
made by some person, not in any Manuee az
)" grieVed, but who sees proper to make com
!, PLANT against q loyal officer to the Uuio'
Z army (pledging his honor as an officer TO thsi
+ frutn,) to redress alleged wrongs Of dis!oya
Inhabitants OF the United States; person;
!. | who, with scorn, in the presence Of this court
G have 1epudiated the oath Of allegiance, an
. who are either too cowardlY OF lazy to joi
: the army Of their confederate friends, an
: fight like men for the cause they traitorous1
| advocate.
J. 1t Is q rule that 10 person has right to pre
fere charges unless aggrieved thereby, or fo
e grievance some soldier or n-conlmfs5ionc
y officer under his command, but the charge
- arc before the court, and are for their cousi(
j, GRAFTON, with all the facts and circumstance
d surrounding the same. It may be eonsidere
r fortunate that our officers hare time to hea
e the Inagnifed grievances Of traitor6 aud See t
= their redress. Il indicates that the rebellion
;t about supp-essed-that there is not muc
r york to be done, and none on hand at tu
II time. Our troops are now on half rations, a1,
t. have betn for over two weeks. Men canni
3f exist on that fare and do the dnties Of
soldier; they wilt take provisions; and y
Is doubt, before long, every brigade command
lc will be required to answer crfminallY for til
bacon, hog and sheep taken by the soldiers frol
le the Jonsees aud the Donnells Of the countr.
+, With these remarks will close thu case.
ID Is1b=csibc myself respectfully,
le CARTER GAzLAT.
" Next frierd OF John B. Turchtn, cha1g.d
h Cclouel 18th Illinois volunteers.