Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-11-27


mendatien for him now.
Q. Do you recollect any other officers Of
the Rebel army who were recommended
for pardon by you? A. No, sir; can not
mention any. You have already gone over
a bigger list than thought l had recon-
mended.
O. Did you ever advise the pardon of
Lee? A. Yes, sir. General Lee forwarded
his application for amnesty through me,
and forwarded it to the President, ap-
proved. do not recollect having had any
conversation with the President on that
subject think it probable that recon-
mended the pardon of General Johnston
Immediately after the surrender of his
army on account of the address he deliy-
cred to it, which / considered in good tone
and spirit 1 recollect speaking of that,
and saying that should be glad if General
Johnston received his pardon on account
of the manly manner in which he addressed
his troops
To the chairman: supposed his pardon
would have good effect do not remember
that spoke to the Secretary of War on the
suhiect.
L. c. BAKERS TESTIMONY.
Lafayette c. Baker was examined on
February 6, on the contents of a letter
written by Andrew johnson. ssrae time in
the early part Of 1864, to a Southern man,
giving informatiCh as to the troops about
the capital and elsewhere, and advice to
JEFF. Davis. Baker testified that he thinks
he received thel letter on or about the 1st of
November, 1865. Baker said that
he doubted the genuineness of the
letter at first, and not being fa-
miliar with the signature of johnson, he
carried it to Colonel Browning at the
White House, turning over the written
part of the letter so that he (Browning)
could only see the signature, and he re-
marked that he believed there were pers
sons engaged in forging the Presidents
signature to letters of recommendation,
and other papers, and that he had there
what purported to be the Presidents sigS
nature. This was in Colonel Brownings
private room, in the presence of two other
persons. i asked him If that was the sig
nature of the President He said il was
that he could swear to it. Baker then
went away, and then returned the letter to
the porter who had given it to him. The
letter was dated at Nashville, and was ad-
dressed TO Jefferson Davis, and was appa-
rently in reply to one received from Da.
Wis or from some one in authority, from
the fact that il starts out with an acknowl-
edgment of another letter. 1t goes on to
make suggestions as to some declared
policy which had been adopted by the
Confederacy. In another place he refers
to Parson Brownlow in very severe terms.
The party who handed me the letter |
have seen but once since, and that was in
Washington, three months after | had
given him the letter. He told me he was
an applicant for q position, and wanted 10
know what use the letter would be to him.
The first time l had the letter in my pos
session, / mentioned to parties in Wash
ington there was such letter. | was
waited upon by a number of members of
Congress two or three times, L think, to get
the letter. II was too late; | had returned
it. Among those who called can remem-
Der Hotchkiss, Scofeld and Van Aernam.
This was in 1866.
In reply to the question as to how he got
the letter, he would never tell me, except
that it had been taken off of Andrew John
sons table in Nashville The body and
signature of the letter were all in the same
handwriting. The mans name who gave
it to me was John W. Adamson, No. 20
Myrtle street, Nashville, Tennessee. He
said that he did not take the letter himself /;
that Governor Brownlow had employed a
colored man to take it. / never disclosed
the fact of my having the letter except to
MEMBERS of Congress and to Gen. Eckert,
of the War Department.
There were two other persons who read
the letter with me, one of whom, G. 6. Wat
kins, l met with Adamson.
In reply to question of Mr.. Ashley, as
to the existence of any other letters writs
ten by Mr.. Johnson, either before or after
he had become President, Mr.. Baker said
that Mrs. Lucy L. Cobb, Of Washington
City, showed me two letters one evening
when she was brought to my headquarters,
April 8, 1866. Having criticised her Sc
verely, saying, that woman Of her char
| acter had no business to be around the
White House, she claimed that she had a
right to be there, and that it was with the
knowledge and approval Of the President,
| and tosatisfy me showed me two letters, one
| written by Mr.. johnson to the Postmaster
| General, asking to give her husband, Mr.
| Cobb, a situation in the Postoffice Depart
ment, and another written to Mr.. McCul-
| loch, asking him for situation in the Trea-
| sury Department. / Baker, believe heI
| MRS. Cobb to be a disrepu table woman
/ or, in other words, woman of the town.
In reply to question whether Mrs. CObl
| told him Baker, that the President knew
that she was getting money for pardons
| Mrs. Cobb told him the President knew
4 N "a Clo ofofaI that 20 fuuO
dons she secured for two men in Richmond
she got three thousand dollars; that sh'
bought pair of gloves for Colonel Rober
johnson, took two FIVE hundred dollar bills
put one in each glove, and presented tn
gloves to Robert johnson.
| She went On to state that the President
on one or two occasions, made advances
asking her to his private rooms at tn
Kirkwood House, while he was Vice Presi
dent. She stayed in his room one night al
night, and on another occasion until twt
O'Clock in the morning. She afterward de
tailed a conversation she had with Mr.
johnson, in which he said he was going 4
muster out the Radical officers, and among
them Mr.. Stanton.
TRIAL OF JEFFERSON DAYIs-iTEsTIMON'
| OF CHIEF JUSTICE CHASE.
The Hon. Salmon p. Chase, who was ex
amined May 20, stated in reply to a ques
ton of the chairman, that he knew of n
reason why the government did not brinl
on the trial of JEFF. Davis. When the wa
was partially closed by TIE capture of JEFF
Davis, and before that time, the Distrie
and Circuit Courts were held in Virgins
by the District Judge in the absence Of
Justice Of the Supreme Court. The in
dictment against Davis was found in
Circuit Court over which the Distric
| Judge presided. The Circuit Court ha'
been held by the same District Judge eve
| siRce, and he knew of no reason why DaYi
could not be brought TO trial if it was in
tended that he should be tried by civi
| court on the indictment which wa
found at that time The Chief Justic'
stated that he recalled no conversation
| on that subject since the time Of tn
| indictment The circuit of which tn
district OF Virginia is part, was allotted L
him shortly after he went on the bench, il
December, 1864. Since thea he had onll
one or two conversations with the Presi
dent in reference to the holding Of tha
court and, although the conversation
we're not fresh in his recollection, he conli
very easily give the substance Of them
On the Presidents proclamation Of Apri