Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1864-01-28
"D,--n the United Statesl I wish I may

Sn0cken Olu N0l0ncl morgan, WHO WAS nOlu-
ing the court. Half the officers who sat in
il had served through the Revelations. and
their lives, not to say their neoks, had been
risked for the very idea which he so cava-
lierly cursed in his madness. lie, on his part,
had grown up in the West of those days.
in the midst of Spanish plot - "Otleans
plot. :" and all the rest. He bad been educa- |
ted on plantation, where the finest company
was Spanish officer or French merchant |
from Orleans, His education, such as it |
was had been perfected in commercial ex-
peditions to Vera Cruz, and think lie told
me his father once hired an Englishmau to
be private tutor for winter on the plan
tation. He had spent half his youth with
an older brother, hunting horses in Texas;
and, in a word, to him United States"
was scarcely reality. Yet be had been
ted by United States" for all the years
since he had been in the army. He had
sworn on his faith as Christian to he true
to United States" 1t was United States"
which gave him the uniform he wore, and
the sword by his side Nay, my poor Nolan,
it was only because United States" had
picked you out first as one of her own con-
tidential men of honor, that "a Burr" car
ed for you straw more than. for the flat
boat men who sailed his ark for him. / do
not excuse Nolan; only explain to the read
er why he damned his country, and wished
he might never hear her name again.
He never did hear her name but once
again. From that moment, September %,
1907, till the day he died, May II, 1868, he
never heard her name again. For that half
century and more he was man without a
| country.
Old Morgan as I said, was terribly shock
ed. II Nolan had compared George Wash
ington to Benedict Arnold or had cried,
God save King George" Morgan would
not have felt worse. lie called the court
minutes, with face like q sheet, to say
prisoner, hear the sentence of the Court.
The Court decides, subject to the approval
of the President, that you never hear the
name of the United States again"
Nolan laughed But nobody else laughed.
Old Morgan was too solemn, and the whole
room was hushed dead as night for minute.
Even Nolan lost his swagger in moment.
Then Morgan added
Mr.. Marshal, take the prisoner to Orle.
ans in an armed boat, and deliver him to
the naval commander there"
The marshal gave his orders, and the
prisoner was taken out Of court.
"Mr. Marshal" continued old Morgan,
''see that no one mentions the United States
TO the prisoner. Mr.. Marshal, make my re.
spects to Lieutenant Mitchell at Orleans
and request him to order that no one shall
: mention the United States to the prisoner
while he is on board ship. You will receive
your written orders from the officer on duty
here this evening. The court is adjourned
J without day."
have always supposed that Colonel Nor
gan himself took the proceedings. Of th,
court to Washington City, and explained
them to MIR. Jefferson. Certain it is tina
the President approved them, certain, tina
is, if | may believe the men who say they
}, have seen his signature. Before the Nau
titus got round from New Orleans to the
Northern Atlantic coast with the prisoner
on board, the sentence had been approved
and he was a man without country
The plan then adopted was substantial,
/, the same which was necessarily followed
d ever after. Perhaps it was suggested b,
G the necessity of sending him by water from
= Fort Adams and Orleans. The Secrctar
. of the Navy--it must have been the frs
:, Crowninshield, though he is man do no
i rememberT-was requested to put Nolan Of
j board Government vessel bound on a lon
1t cruise, and to direct that he should be only
10 far confined there as to make it certail
y that he. never saw or heard of the country
9 We had fow long cruises then, and the nav.
a was very much out Of favor; and as alnos
z all of this story is traditional, as l have ex
planned, / do not know certainly what hi
first cruise was. But the commander t
whom he was intrusted--perhaps it wa
Tingey or Shaw, though I think i was on
Of the younger men,--we are all old enougl
; now-regulated the etiquette and the pre-
> cautious of the affair." and according to hi
scheme they were carried out, suppose
= till Nolan died. 4AIi e.lETigl'i
!. When was second officer of the Intre
pid, some thirty years after, | saw thu
! original paper of instructions. have beel
sorry ever since that did not copy tn,
whole Of it. 1t ran, however, much in thi
wae:-
|, "IVdshington," with the date, whicl
must have been lite in 1909
'"SIR,-You viii receive from TT. Neal,
a the person of Philip Nohn, latei Lieu
q q tenant in the United States Army! II .
This person on his trial BY court-martia
expressed with an oath the wish that h,
might mover hear Of tho United State
again .l"1.it ta tBs8@kiQ
The Court sentenced him to have hi
: wish fulfilled. '''.o. '''" o.,
III roT tno present, tne cAecutlOn Oi tn'
4 order is iutrusted by the President to thi
, department.. -,
'You will take the prisoner on board you
ship and keep him there with such pre-
', cautions as shall prevent his escape.
,, "You will provide him with such quar-
|, , tors, rations, and clothing as would be pro
per for an officer of his late rank, if he wer
a passenger on your vessel on the busines
y y of his Government. "a lt.NtfiafE
= ''The gentlemen on board will mike an,
!. arrangements agreeable to themselves re
sl garding his society. He is to be exposed l.
= : no indignity of any kind, nor is he ever un
!. necessarily to be reminded that he is
~ prisoner, at....o. .,....s
0, "But under no circumstances is he eve
IS to hear Of his country or to sec any informa
tion regarding ii and you will special,
- caution all the officers under your oomman
~ to take care, that, in the various indulgence
n which may be granted, this rule, in whic
,e his punishment is involved, shall not b
/ broken. ''fi
r. Ut is the intention of tile Goyernmon
10 that no shall never again SEQ the oouptr
ne which he has disowned. Before the end q
v, your cruise you will receive orders whic
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