New-York tribune., 1867-02-23
THE MURDER or UNION SOLDIERS.

Tn The 9Th OF October, lNbJ, corporal anu
two priyatcs of the Maine Veteran Volunteers
were hutally murdered at a place called
Browns Ferry on the Savannah River, In
South CAROLINA. They had committed no wrong
and done nothing To provoke hostility but were
massacra in cold blood for no other reason
than bcousc they wore the the uniform of the
United Safes. Four men were arrested for the
crime by the military authortics, and Mill
tary Commission. convened 10y Gen. Sickles,
after a long and careful trial, found them
guilty, upon undoubted testimony, and they
were sentenced two to be hanged, aud twoto be
imprisoned for life.
OF course all the South was cnragcd at learn
ing that for of her citizens, bad subjects
though they we're. had been convicted, and were
going TO be punished for the yenial Oiicnse of
shooting and drowning three Yankee soldiers.
The President was bcsought TO interfere. Pc
titiOncrs reminded him that his "avowcd policy
demanded his mtcrposition and Alexander II.
Stephens, Gov. Orr, llcrschcl V. johnson, and
others of the leading men of the South, united
in applications for the discharge of the prison
crs, or at any rate for their transfer to the
civil tribunals which they knew would amount
TO about the amc thing. The Hon. .. H.
Browning, now Secretary of the Interior re-
ceivcd n fee Of $1,000 for his services in
influencing Mr.. Andrew JohnsOn's mind on the
subject, and peisuading him to remove the
criminals to some fort, where a writ of hdbedS
corpus could be served on their custOdians
without danger of n conflict between the civil
and military authorities. 1t was supposed that
after the Mllligan decision there would be no
difficultyfin having the trial declared unlawful.
A writ was served upon Gen. Scklcs at Charles
ton, but he disrcgarded it, and the Secretary of
War approved his conduct.
Several weeks after this service, the Presi-
dent committed TIE two death sentences to
Imprisonment for life at the Tortugas, but eight
days later all four of the prisoners were re-
moved to Fort Delaware, ard there the COM
mandant, Col Howard was served with writ
of hdbeaS corpus from Judge Hall of the United
States District Court of Delaware which he was
instructed from Washington to obey. A hear
ing was had and the prisoners were discharged,
on the ground that at the time of the trial of
the murderers the civil courts of South Carolina
were open and the regular administration Of
justice was unobstructed. We need hardly
remind our readers llaJ lnlS ASSERTION ol JuuBc
Halls was very far from the truth. The pris-
Oners returned to their homes, and their fell
low-citizens, who, be it remarked, were almost
unanimously convinced of their guilt, received
them with ovatons, and gave them a banquet.
To quote the language of a surgeon in the
army, "the town was, as they expressed it
there, literally drunk" The civil authorities
never took measures to try the assassins, and
they are still at lllTSS -,.s.s.S4 o..
The Honsa OF Representatives appointed 4
Committee last December to investigate this
flagrant case, and to recommend such action
as it might seem to them TO require, and their
report has just been presented. After re-
hearsing the facts as we have given them, they
state the result of inquiries they have made as
TO the administration of justice in other por-
tions of the South, rightly Judging that any
law passed by Congress to correct such evils
as the one under consideration would have to
be general in its character, and not restricted
10 the State Of South Carolina. They exam