Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-06-24
THE KNOXVILLE TRIAL.
Trial of McCann and Others Con
tinued.
THE CLOSING ARGUMENTS.

closed the argument for the defence in these
important cases. Attorney General THORN
BURG following for the State. We present
these, and regret that we are unable to give
the charge of Judge SWAN to the jury:
SPEECH OF HON. JOHN HETHERLAND.
Gentlemen, whether we are right on the law
and the evidence is for you to say. think have
learned by experience, and think l know the
weight Of evidence, and there is nothing against
these men. We have just passed through great
war, no puny war, but great war between white
the tug of war came" and passed away and left
us free men. Men who had grown up together,
and had prayed together, when the war came on,
became deadly enemies. And now that it has
passed away, rebels are not in very good posi-
ton to Gene before jury. All ask of you is to
settle your differences with these men at the bal
lOt-bOX, and not when you come into the box to
swear upon the Bible; to leave all prejudices and
discord, all things but the law and evidence. 1t
seems that won't let the feeling of war die out,
Christianity, If not that, political wisdom has
poured oil on the troubled waters. Trials for
treason have ceased everywhere else. Look ut
the indictment. and you Will see that Col. WIN. Z.
PICKENS Is the prosecutor, but does he appear
here to give one bit of evidence No, gentlemen,
he has only put his name to it.
There are many points in law, upon which we
shall not differ, your Honor. We stand to-day at
the judgment seat of the law, and of the law,
my clients have committed no Ohense. When the
State makes charge against person, before
conviction can bemade, the State must clearly eS-
tabsh tiuilt Another, that where several persons
indicted upon one charge and it is not proven
which OF them are guilty! lou cannot convict
them all.
There are various men indicted, among them Is
VIM. CARROLL, man of unbridled. Unchecked
character, Let us take up the case of MCCAIN,
for the prosecution has virtually been abandoned
against the Others. Who Is MAJOR MCCAIN? What
does LUTTERELL say? MCCAIN is as kind and hui
name man as | ever knew" Judge Bridges said
the same. | deny that MCCAIN was on the Court
Martial Col "A Nvas uudnr tbp m
that he was a member of that body, but not q
vivid one. lie admitted that reliable witness
would convince him that his impression was
wrong one.
Now let us see if we have the necessary testi-
mOny to prove that the impression was n wrong
one. JOHN MCCAIN says that his brother was at
Nashville, at the time of the sitting of the court
martial. Mrs. KIRK says the same, LUTTRELL says
it, and KNOTT says it. When MCCANS returned
from Nashville, what did he do? lie went to
CARROLL to use his influence in obtaining re
prieve-faing iii his object, he did what no one
dare do, at the time-he ask ed for, and obtained
order from CARROLL, to obtain the body TO send
1t to his friends. This action the result OF no
other prompting than that of a generous and noble
heart. Mrs. MCINTYRE says she was uncertain in
regard to the leading points yaf her testimony.
Mrs. COMPTONS testimony cannot be taken, for
she did not know my friend FLEMING from Nc
Now we come to Ham, Ryan (and the Lord
| save Ham. Ryan, which, if he does, speaks vol
umes for the power of the atOnement) who left
| the witness box perjured man. Who but Ham:
| Ryan! They say that Major Mccain was on that
| court-martial. l say you have not proved it.
| Take Col. Baxters testimony and compare it with
Others and it will prove that Sanford is opposed
to Col. Baxter. an upright, honest, intelligent,
| free man. is to be OVERRIDE by the colored man
| Sanford.
| Major Mccain was there he SAYS, and Ramsey
was Attorney General What do you say, Colonel
| Baxter-was Ramsey there? No, not bit fit.
| Tom. Campbell WAS the Judge Advocate. Here's
| what is the matter with SAYDFORD-it was cool
| weathe--and the COnfederacy had been going on
| some time, and they had plenty of whisky, and
| SANFORD got drop too much
| And this is the kind of testimony that is to
| come in and swear away the life of man who has
a character that any of us might be proud Of; and
| this man is put before you on trial for murder.
And now, we come to RODDY. and no one says
| he was there but SANFORD, and don't think his
| is the kind of testimony on which a conviction
should be had. Take Col. BAXTER, and there he
| and SANFORD stand side by side again, and he
| says RODpY was not on the court
And now taking the men in order, come to
| Mr.. KAN. and the testimony against him is from
| Col. BANTER, ard he says all KAN did, was to
write down the testimony, and | say to you, that
/ a clerk at court mirtial does not take any part
in its proceedings but goes out of the court when
| all points are settled.
| What did KAN do? Did he say word? Was
| he a witness? Did he give an opinion? And
| cording to Colonel BAXTER, what did KAHN do?
| KAN drew the plea in abatement that tested the
| jurisdiction. lie took the testimony for the de-
PENDANT as much as for the prosecution; and X AIN
did nothing. None of them did anything. And
| it has come down to MCCAIN. And what did he
| do? He went to the gallows to offer sympathy to
the family, DN SeQung 10 them tne remains OF
| loved and lost. Gentlemen, it won't do. You
can't hang him for that and after you have heard
the charge of the court, take the case and decide
/ 1t honestly and faithfully.
| CONCLUDING SPEECH OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
THORNBURG.
| Gentlemen, you have just heard the defense in
| the case made by gentlemen of ability, and who
| have Ieade as good defense as could be made.
They Start of by claiming bellgerent rights, and
| have, in the whole argument treated the case as
1 if they had established Government, and the
| Government had the right TO convene courts mar
| tial. admit that body OF men were gotten to-
| gether claiming to be court but l deny that
| there any authority to convene any court.
| Belligerent rights do attach to foreign power,
| and only to them, and the Government of the
| United States must acknowledge them as a foreign
| power. and his honor will charge you that no man
| can discard his allegiance to the United States.
| The Governor says that he owes allegiance to the
| Government Now I've heard it all throU,h the
| war, and the Government has put its veto upon
| that idea by the force of the bayOnets. l knew
| how all this came about. There was good many
| good lawyers in the South, and they saw that the
| bottom was falling out of the Confederacy, they
| went to work to mako out good defense for
| their crimes. They have brought in pamphlets
| SPEED, and have read from the life of ANDRE,
| ana nave READ law as they Chained, from Scrap
Books, and ITS the first time I've seen such things
| produced here authorities. Entitled to bellig-
| erent rights and public enemies.
| The same argument was made in trial for trea-
| son, breads from 4th Blackstone page 81 The
| reading of that law | intend to apply TO the fact
| that these men set out ON an unlawful undertake
4
right to try by court martial as the United States,
| and il is a foolish idea; and his honor will tell
you that there is not acour martial in the United
| States, or Great Britain or IN the world that can
try citizen for treason. But they claim that the
! United States did it.
1 was amused at the gentleman's point. The
| comparison between GRAFT and RYAN: and an
| other, between Col. BANTER and SANFORD. An
| other painted the comparison between WASHING
| TON and CRO. RAMSEY and CLAIB. CAIN. No,
| gentleman, that won't do. WASHINGTON was not
| a rebel. The Revolution was right and just and
true, and go II will 60 down to pOsterity and the
| other is right the reverSe-dark and bloody and
| unjust.
| One gentleman has read from the opinion of
| Judge TRIGG; and do you know it was taken from
| SPEEDS opinion. So much for Judge TRIGGs
| opinion.
Each gentleman clothed the evidence to suit
| himself, and II will be necessary te revert TO the
| original testimony. They tell you that MCCAIN
| was not there. What did BAXRER tell you? He
| remembers DICK MCCAIN to have been there.
| Col TEMPLE tells you he was there when they tried
| HAUN, and MCCAIN was on the Court. Well this
| MCCAIN can prove himselfto be in about as many
] places a any one ever saw.
| Now, on the question Of character, whose teSti-
| mony was attacked HAN. RYAN's. They don't
| attack SANFoRD's. he agrees with BAXTER and
| TEMPLE, and they don't attempt TO impeach him.
| DAVIS swears that he was here, and that is four
| that swearS II. Then, against him Is MCCAIN,
| Dick s brother, and was amused at Col. METH
| ERLAND, he thought Mr.. RYAN and Mrs. COMPTON
| and Others could not be believed but when he
| came to speak of MCCANN's testimony, he says all
men are to be believed when under oath. Col. LUT-
| TERRELL don't know anything about the case.
/ All claim that JoHN MCCAIN is right pray
he is not for ii he Is all the rest of the witnesses
| are wrong. MCCAIN says he was at Nashville
| from the 18th or 18th of November, until the lst
| OF December. and ANDY KNOTT says DICK was
| here when he KNOTT was arrested. MCCAIN
| says he was called right back from Knoxville to
| Nashville. and stayed till the lst Of January, and
| BANTER and TEMPLE says he was here.
The next thing Is RoDDY. They say I've sban-
| dOned RAMSEY; why have / not abandoned ROD-
| DY? They say there is no evidence except from
| SANFORD. that RoDDY was on the Court. BAXTER
| and TEMPLE says nc was there, He has had II
| long months, and If he was not here why does he
| not prove Il!
| l. there any evidence to show that RODDY
| there and II he was not, why don't he come and
| show II, KAHN there, but be did nothing.
( They could not show he was not there and so
| they have TO make some other excuse.
| That court could not go on without Kahn. ! say
| he was an important part Of that court and that
| every one present abiding in the proceedings is
| guilty Of the murder of HAUN.
! One says that KAN was treated badly-that he
| was brought from away up in Connecticut That
| Is the last place / would have gone to look for
| them, judging by the way they used to hate these
| wooden nutmeg men. Why has not the President
of the United States interered prev the trial
| If they have committed no offence only against
| the United States?
Mr.. Fleming.-Read his letter and see if he does
| not
Attorney General.-Why. has he not sent here
! and released them. | don't think, gentlemen,
| Gen, GRANT knows much Of law, He can make
| good earth work, and command armies ana the
| like.
/ A. ~ nl1