Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1863-01-16
Correspondence of the Daily Journal
From Washington.

| Correspondence of the Daily Journal.
| From Washington.
How Mahony and Shewdrd came to
"Honorably Discharged "-7he facts a
officially stated BY the Judge ADVOCATE
and the Superintendent Of the Old Capt.
| toll Prison.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 1868.
In one of the first letters Of this cores
pondence, perhaps the very first, l spoke o
the release of Mahony and Steward, and, il
general terms, described the oath which was
administered on that occasion, and which was
the key that unlocked to them the door o
the Old Capitol Prison. then said that
would soon try and give the oath in full. II
very soon appeared, howeve, in the Cat
City, and thought no more of 1T, TIL seeing
whats great ado was attempted to be
made out of their alledged honorable dis
charge"
The facts are now officially stated over the
signatures of Major Turner, Judge Advocate
William P. Wood, Superintendent of the Old
Capitol Prison, and Captain Higgins, COM
manding the Prison Guard. They show tina:
Mahony and Steward at first, when called up
to be examined for discharge, exhibited a
disloyal spirit, and refused to take the oath
of unconditional allegiance; that, when ar
rested in the first place, they and their friends
had been informed Of the charges preferred
against them; that it was at their own re-
quest that clause was put into their oaths
forbidding their bringing suit against those
who had been instrumental in their arrest 4;
that they were not "hnnorably discharge" by
any competent order or authority, and have
in reality palmed off upon the public fraud
by making an honorable discharge" out of a
mere safeguard against re-arrest as runaway
prisoners. These and other things the doc
uments now submitted show, proving that
this lovely pair of prisoners, not to mention
some of their friends, are as devoid oftruth-
fulness as they are devoid of patriotism.
copy the letters entire, precisely as re-
ceived from the hands of the writer's. In the
letter by Superintendent Wood, an error is
once made in the initials of Capt. Higgins
name, or, probably, the mistake occurred
at the office of the Dubuque newspaper"
from which, in the place referred to, he simply
copies.
COPY OF JUDGE ADVOCATE TURNER'S LETTER:
WAR DEPARTMENT,
Washington City, Dec. 18th, 1S62.}
Sir In reply to your letter of the 18th,
(Which came to hand yesterday afternoon,)
| have the honor to say:
That D. A. Mahony and D. Steward, of
Iowa, Grom the voluminous proofs in my Of
flee, were arrested and imprisoned on charges
of uttering and publishing reasonable and
disloyal sentiments, and they and their
friends were informed of the same;
That their attorney and friend Judge
Mason) brought to me files of the Dubuque
Herald, to vindicate Mahony, and the Con-
stitution and Union was sent me to impli-
cate and vindicate Steward;
That large number of affidavits for and
against them were also presented;
That on or about September 26,h last, Ma
hony and Steward, with many others, were
before me with the view of discharging them,
if their examination was satisfactory. On
that occasion Mahony and Steward manifest
ed disloyal spirit, refused to take the oath
Of allegiance Internationally and support the
nLa1
lion.
They were not discharged, while ether:
we're, who willingly took the oath of allegi-
ance Internationally.
They were informed of the reason that
they were not released, and their friends al
so.
Afterwards Judge Mason and others of
their friends, as l am informed, interposed
and advised them to take the oath of allegi-
ance Internationally, and about November
10th last was informed that they desired to
to take the oath, and requested the Super
to bring them to my Office on the
next day.
The next morning received advice from
the U. S. Marshal Of Illinois that certain per-
sons, who had been discharged upon CIV
ihS ACdNy OOuO5, WSAC iuotisuSiu9 Vi
and civil proceedings against all the persons
who were at all connected, in that State, in
making the charges and arrests, and were
conducting themselves so as to hinder and
deter public officers from executing the
laws.
As the persons who were thus acting
were the associates of Mahony and Steward,
while at the Old Capitol Prison, and from
the same section of country, deemed it best
to defer releasing them until further eonsid-
Grafton and informed Judge Mason, and
the superintendent thereof, Of the cause of
defering it.
This was communicated to Mahony and
Steward by some one, as the same day they
sent word to me that they would not only
take the oath of allegiance Internationally,
but that they desired to make an oath that
they would not annoy and harrass public Of
ficers by vexatious suits, as Green, O'Dell
and Mebafy had done.
An oath was accordingly prepared by me,
according to their request, and sent to them
for their approval. The next morning they
came to my Office with the Superintendent,
saving they had examined the oath as
drawn up by me at their request, and that it
was as they desired. They then subscribed
and swore to the same, together with Messrs.
Mulkey and Duff.
asked them if either was member Of the
Knights of the Golden Circle or other secret
the object being to resist the
draft, collection of taxes, &C., and oaths ad-
and penalty, death. Each one
declared that he was not. l then asked them
if they were willing to make oath to it, and
all said yes. accordingly drew such an
oath and they all signed and made oath to it.
say, therefore, that the oath of allegiance,
with the clause, not to commence suits, was
inserted at their request, and upon their ap-
plication to me to have the clause inserted.
1t is the only oath, with such clause in
se,ted, that l ever administered, and this was