Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-01-24


that nobody ever heard of these con
fessions until they were published Oh
the 18th of January, inst, in the
Baltimore american, an intense and
bloody-minded Radical sheet. Ar.
nold's confession is reported to have
been made in the office Of Marshal
McPhail, in Baltimore, on the 18th OF
April, 1865, four days only after the
assassination, weeks before the mill.
tary commission convened its illegal
session. tits said to have been made
voluntarily, without any pledges
or promises. Does any one of sense
believe, says the Enquirer, that, il
such q confession had been made at
that time, it would not Immediately
have been made public ? There was
intense excitement throughout the
country, and every thing relating to
the assassination was read with
highly stimulated curiosity. Would
it not have been used during the
proceedings of the military COM
mission, which sent Arnold for life
TO the TOrtugas? There can not
be an earthly doubt that if any such
genuine confession had been made,
and was in existence, it then would
have been produced. What is the
reason now given by the american
for its n-production during the
best part of four years ? "That it
was expected to be used on the trial
of John III. Surrattr But Surratt
has already been tried before the
Criminal Court at Washington, and
during the long investigations no
body ever heard of these confessions
of Atzerodt and Arnold. That they
may have been designed for second
trial, is very probable. They bear
very hard upon Mr.. Surratt, and
were, doubtless, gotten up especially
to meet his particular case. Much
of the testimony against him was
proven to be false and perjured, and
was given by the greatest rascalS in
Washington. These confessions
for all that we have said in relation
to Arnold's applies equally as we'll
to that of Atzerodt, which comics
sion is dated in July, 1S65-are
made Of the same cloth, off the
same pieces of forgery and fraud.
1t is as well established as any
fact can possibly be, that John H.
Surratt was not in Washington
when Lincoln was assassi-
mated, had not been there for some
time, was hundreds of miles away,
and knew as little of Booths pro,
ject to assassinate him in the theatel
as any man living. His innocence
through an abb, was fully proven
on the trial.
There is nothing in American his
tory which is SO scandalous and re
voting as the whole proceedings Of
the government in regard to what
are called the " assassination con
spirators " We can only find par
allel to them in the bloody AssizeE
of Judge Jeffrey, in England, anC
in the mOnstrous revolutionary tri
bunals in France during the revOlu
ton Of I792-3-4 In the first place
the military commission was entire
ly illegal; secondly, it was calle'
by the Administration because /
knew that an ordinary trial befOr
| a civil court would result in The &C
| quittal of several of the prisoners
AS they could not be convicted IL
| gally, they were murdered illegally
They were to be convicted at all ha2
ards. The seizure of the buildin
where the assassination took place
its detention for years from its pre-
prietOr, the denial of an Ordinar
| Christian burial to the remains
Wilkes Booth, the infamous secreC
. which has always existed 4
to where he was buried, til
secret transactions OF til
government with Baker, the rascal
| detective, the barbarity exercise
toward Mrs. Surratt, the fraud tn
{ was practiced on the President,
not exhibiting TO him the petite
c of a majority of the pretended ecu
t. for a communication of her sentenc
n which paper was held back uni
d after she was hung, the bringing
f the prisoners, one of whom was
Is lady, into the presence of the col
e mission, day after day, and we,
is after week, in chains, the execute
Y of the bloody sentence within lie
r than twenty-four hours after it W
s. promulgated, all read like the ba
o. barities which were prachced in t
ID dark and middle ages toward t
ne hapless victims of government
in oppression.
s, The sequel to the hideous bu
G. ness-the attempt ofthe governmG
Ia, to implicate Jefferson Davis a
TX other leading Southern men in
rs assassination, by the perjured ties
lg mony of Conover and others, W
had been patronized extensively
Of the governmeut-the alsetestimo