Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-03-26

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until some days after.
The Htrialj' lasted forty days, and
was conducted with all the ceremOnious
formalfty attendant on a military court
| possessed of unlimited and underlined
powsrs-the prisoners being each day
paraded from the prison to the court ana
back again by a military guard with
loaded muskets and fixed bayOnetsI
! through the most public streets Of the
| capital OF the greatest republic on earth,
and prohibited from speaking TO or an
swering the salutations of friends by the
| way. Sixteen several ladj0urnments were
! had on melton of the prosecution to en-
able them If possible to hunt up or man
Ufacture some sort Of testimony to sus-
tain the allegations; but all without sue
cess. A diabolical alternative was re-
sorted to, in the hsPe that ~ might result
/ in shielding the adminlstrstlon Iofn
merited condemnation and ridlculei as
well as cover up the real design OF
/ the whole affair. As above stated, the
] prisoners were, on the 18th OF NoVenl-
/ ber placed in solitary confinement, re-
dueed again TO prison fare, and denied
/ intercourse with their counsel. thus
/ thew were kept for a week; and mean
| time the most persistent and despicable
| efforts were resOrted to with COhn, who
| was quite a young man, 10 induce him to
| make some sort of &" confession, which
/ should give justification to the proceed
/ ings. In the desperate extremity 20
/ which the administration was driven
l Mr.. Cohn wss sent for by the president,
| who proposed to try. on him the expert
ment OF 4" my plan" An interview was
/ had at the presidential mansion, in the
/ presence of G. a. Dana, assistant secretary
/ of war ]. A Foster, judge advocate OF
I the military commission; and WOOD
! the keeper of the prison, when Cohn
was first given to understand that Il De
would frankly state all that ne knew
about the illegal transactions OF Col.
/ North, Mr.. Jones and others, IN
| connection with the soldiers votes, no
! harm should come TO him." and 1t was
1 intfmated that he might the sooner be IN
/ the enjoyment Of his own hbeFty-iio-
/ erty which long Imprisonment and hard
/ fare had rendered doubly precious and
| desirable. He was also put through a
! course of pumping" and alternate
| eoaxing and bullying-aH designed to
/ elicit something which might convict
| North and JcnRs and compromise Gov.
! Seymour. But Cehn told the president
/ that a all he knew he had stated. y and
| Mr. Lincoln finally remarked that ne
/ did not see that anything e'icited tended
/ to eriminate Col. North" Under such
/ irving and peculiar circumstances, Cohn
! deserves honor for resisting the tempter
and adhering steadily to the truth that
&" no frauds had been committed by him
7 self, nor did he know of any on the part
/ Of North or Jones, nor was he awere that
! Gov. Seymour or any other New York
state official or leading democrat had con-
spired to wrong the soldiers in the matter
Of voting" This little honest " ruse
| having failed Of its object, the 'tTiat' went
on and Otsego county was raked over
| TO find parties who would swear that
| Col. Norton bsd at some time been guilty
1 of something wrong. On the Stn OF
January, 1855, the trial was concluded
| The result was not officially announced,
I an order from the war department pre-
sided over by the tyrannical Stanton
forbade any member of the commission
from stating the findings Of the court in
advance of his official announcement,
and Ominous reports came almost daily
from Washington to the effect that the
| prisoners had been found guilty" but,
as now sppears-after lapse Of over
two yeafs-a fndiDg of dcQuttfd4 vas
rendered rs regards all the defendants.
On the 26th Of January, iG5-nlDeteen
davs after the formal rendition OF yer
dict of not guilty. which entitled al
three to immediate liberty (haviDg foI
three long, weary months endured Che
persecuting t0rments of an unjust i'm
prisonment which only despotism could
inflict,) Col. North was alone released
from confinement and furnished wltn
/ oa5cial evidence Of hts acquittaL The
evidence wss 2 few days subsequently
sent Col. North, who hG6 re5Crned home
with the following note from tie thSE
congressional representative IN bunalo
WAsH1NGToS, January 80, 1855.
a Col 5. North:
u M Dear Sir: ] enclose you q GER
tilted copy of the order directing you
release, eaying you were acquitted. The
Others are convicted and sentenced q
, Imprisonment for lie. So says the secre
tary Of war. Very truly yours
''' John GANSON."
Cohn and Jones were held in stric
confinement, suffering the torments o
, suspense, and uncertain as To their fate
stanton alone could have been guilty o
, originating such refined cruelty, as b.
! alone could have taken the position b'
did in regard to the exchange OF our poo
! sDfrerips prisoners during the war. Hol
NAV also come IL for 8 full share of tn
ipfamy attaching 70 tee cruelty prac
. tieed toward these innocent paftles sn'
! their friends, who were told, in answe
, to the anxious inquiries OF the latter
/, that "they were convicted and sen
tepaed to the state prison for lie " II
the face o. these Inconsistencies ana IN
/ practice Of silch pfoscriptlve Intolerance
! two weeks after COi. = oTeiss release
Jones and COhn were set at hDeftyl "a
. prison doors were flung epen ana lne.
+ were told to "gon' without oesrln 1
f with them anything in The 1ofm OF en- ON
! cial discharge 70 show what hac oeel
= tbe finding OF the court o. the reason
/. ! their discharge.
: More than two years have passed b
4 sipee sheae events transpired. IL re
! mains for US to-day 30 make publieatlo
: az the first official declaration OF tn
= fact that all three of these geDuenle
\ were declared innocent by the court bt
= fore whom they were tried, fact Whic
no member of the court has dared [
d. ststa IN advance of such PRONUNCIATION
The parties caost interested have all IN
: time exerted themselves in various way
= to obtain official findings OF the court
> which they were entitled and hBaiiy
. this lste dav, by the cooperative a
Z distance and insGence Of a pTomineI
and noble-hearted representative ger
tleman of this state, NJ. 9. from Oh
I, Sehoharie district, their efforts have 2
:, suited in bringing to light enough Of th
. hidden mysteries of that inquisitorli
\ trial to disclose by the revelation OF Il
] official records evidence, which Is her
. / with presented, showing conciuslyei
Il that North, Jones and CohD lpere az
tIe same time, by the findings 0f y
] -, Ion gffl
q 1 nae0tiiUOcdlLg, and hOa0rq6ty dcQUttte'
: Here is the proof to that effect;
: WAR DEPARTMENT p
BUREAU o. MILITARY JUSTICE, Z
- WASH \ GTOE, D. c, Sebrlary - 1851. }
ie Hon. Charles Goodyear
= SIR BY direction Of the secretary
I, war. have the honor to transmit to "
8 ; the enclosed copy of the findings al
= Judgment of the military commission,
i5 the case of Samuel North.
u Very respectfully, your oh't serv't,
b ]. HOLT. Judge Adyoeate Seneral
IS FINDTSosOF THE MILITARY CoAiAfIsSIo
$ Copy. The commission was the
cleared for deliberation, and after d
p consideration, find the accused Samu
e North, Levi Cohn and MoFvin NJ. Jon'
- as follows
y and Levi Gohn;
le As to specification-Not OF guilty.
4, As to the charge-Not guilty
~ As to the defendant, Morvin M. JOne
~ As 10 the specification-Guilty, exec
% as to the words with the intent and
~ the purpose of having such blanks,
OF aligned, used as and for the act and de
sI- of the real soldier, whose name purport
x TO be signed thereto, and ia fraud Of t
gu true electors"
le, AS 10 the chRTge-Not guilty.
IL And do therefore acquit said Sam
North. Levi COhn, and Morvin NJ. Jon
yet fSigned1 ABNER DOUBLEDAY.
Maj.-Cfen. NolunI eer
in President OF Military Commissi
IoFFss A. FOSTER, Col. and Jusge- Advocate
! S2aicisD J. HOLT,
Judge-Advocate Genera
ie' In regard to the specification allud
Ts To ia Jones' case, the explanation,
nav be already understood, is that sol
"a bia1lSs signed by an officer fully auth
- izeds and kept ready for use when neeC
80 nv soldiers desiring to vote We're fou
- ~ hyrk fla AZ