Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1872-06-04
gplrH Of sAedffers,ola.. &C. o..
GhaSrrlestoun, j,esrerson County. Wess ii "a.
TUESDAY MORNING, JUNY4, 1871: :
The stinted Amnesty Who are Re-
lieved and Who Are Not. ,see n

3 = al.
The partial amnesty bill passed by Congress
on Wednesday leaves, among those who are
still under disabilities, ex-Senatbrs Clay and
Fitzpatrick. of Alabama; Robert w j Crimson,
of Arkansas; Yules and Mallory, of Florida;
Iverson and Toombs, of Georgia; Benjamin,
of Louisiana, now citizen of Great Britain :;
Jefferson Davis and Albert e. Brown, of Mis-
sissippi; Polk. of Missouri; Chestnut of South
Carolina; Nicholson, of Tennessee Wigfall,
of Texas Hunter, of Virginia, and the fol-
lowing named members of the House of
Representatives Pugh aud Curry, of Ala
ba,na; Rust, of Arkansas; Scott. of Califor>
mia 7; Hawkins of Florida; MI. Crawford
and jackson, of Georgia I; Lamar, Singleton
and McRae, of Mississippi; Smith and Vance.
of North Carolina; Miles, Mcqueen, Bonham
and Boyce. of South Carolina; Avery and
Thomas. of Tennessee; Reagan, of Texas =; De
Jarnette, Pryor, Bocock, Lenke, Smith and
Boteer, of Virginia. and Others. The excep.
tion of the 37th Congress was made expressly
to include Gen. j. G. Breckenridge, of Ken,
tucky, who left his seat as Senator from Ken.
lucky to aid the Confederacy, and served first
MS general, and next as Confederate Secretary
of War at Richmond.
The list of judicial officers of the United
States still dioqus!ifsd comprises ex Supreme
Court Justice john a. Campbell now in large
practice at New Orleans Judges Hnlyburton
and Brockeubrough, of Virginia, and others
1t is a question whether ex>United States
mnrshals or district attorneys are or are not
embraced in this exception, and whether per.
sons who had ceased to hold judicial positions
when secession commenced. and subsequently,
aided it, are or are not relieved by the BILL
There were about two hundred and ffty
officers of the United States army and navy
who left their places to aid the rebellion, and
OF these probably not one half are now alive
The law, however, is ambiguous, and the ex-
ceptious may and probably do include all those
who had even been educated at West Point,
or who had resigned long anterior to the re-
bellon in which they participated.
Or the number Thus under disabilities are
Gen. Samuel Cooper, Confederate adiu,ant
general at Richmond; Gems. Josenh hnston,
Beauregard, Bragg, Samuel Jones, Hariee.
Pcmherton, Gustnvus w Smith, Hood, Ste
phen d. Lee, Lowell. d f. Hill, I, S. Ewell.
Jubal a. Early. G.. W. Custis Lee, now pres.
ident of Washington and lee University,
Dabney II. Maurv, Fitzhu.h Lee Coils. r.
B Lee. Larkfn, Smith, l.. b. Nor,hrop, &C.
s com'nissary GENERALLY Myers. (quartermas-
ter general } aud others. Captain Semmes, of
the Alabsma, Prof NJ. T. Maury, formerly
Brooke, inventor of the Brooke gun, aud of
the system of deep sea soundngs arc the most
noted executions among ex-navy offirers
Jacob Thompson. of Mississippi Secretary
of the Interior, is the only cabinet officer of
Buchanan now alive who aided seccssou.-
But the exceptions include also Gov. iTm.
A. Graham, of North Carolina, who was Se-
cretary of the Navy under Mr.. Fillmore @.
NJ Conrad, ofLouisiana, ex-Secretary of War,
and possibly some others. Henry r. Jack
son, of Georgia. and Gen VIM. Preston, of
Kentucky, were foreign ministers, and are
therefore embraced in these exceptions. It
is hard TO estimate precisely tho number still
under disabilities. but it would not be wide
of the mark to put the number at from 800
to 500 persons
The folly of retaining these exceptions, in
addition to the almost criminal error of an
ambiguous statute, upon subject where sew.
eral penalties attach to an offender is exhib-
tied by glance at the number and character
of persons who relieved. These embrace
not only many of the most active advocates of
secession. but also some, who since the war,
have been persistent s'Bourbons," and in one
or more cases persons who disdain a pardon
If VIM j. Yancy were alive he would be
relieved by this act. Alexander Fl. Ste
phens, of Georgia, Vice-Presidcnt of the
Southern Contederacy, is relieved also Gov
Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, VINO boasts that
he never asked for an executive pardon Gen.
Forrest, of Tennessee Gov Letcher of Vr-
ginia, who ordered the seizure of Harper's
Ferry; Gen. Wade Hampton, of South Car
oliua; the Hon, Benjamin Hill, of. Georgia;
Herschel Y. johnson, who ran on the ticket
with Stephen a. Douglas iu 1860 Robert
Baruwell Rhett, of South Carolina. the old
est secessionist OF the whole South James
"A Seddon, of Virginia, Confederate Secre-
tary of War; J.. p. Walker. of Alabsma
Robert w. Barnwcll, of South Carolina. Con
federate Senator, and probably the most iu>
flexible opponent of reconstruction in the
winter of 1876; Col G. a Henry, of
Tennessee the Hon. Allan T. Caperton. of
West Virginia, Confederate Senator; Lyon.
Chiffon and Dargan, of Alabama; A. W.
Garland, of Arkansas A. r. Wright. of
Georgia; j. w. Moore, of Kentucky; Dun.
can F. Kenner and John Perkins, Jr., of
Louisana E BarksdaIe, of Mississippi:
Bridgers, of North Carolina; Henry 8. Foote,
NJ. z. Gentry, G. w. Jones and j. v.
Wright, OF Tennessee James Lyons, Johu
Goode, Jr., j. p. Holcomhe, John b. Bald
win, Waller R. Staples, Fayette McMullin,
of Va.-all the foregoing being mostly mem
bers of the Confederate Congress. Among
the other prominent Confederates relieved by
the bill are Chss G. Memminger, ex, secre>
tary of the G. S. Treasury G. a. Trenholm.
the Hon. Thos, Fl. Watts, of Alabama. g. S.
Attorney General; Geo. Davis of North Caro-
lima, do; Ex-Governor P H. Bell, of North
Carolina; Lewis E Harvie, of the. Virginia
Secession Convention ; Messrs. A. d. Dick
inson, Charles Bruce, W. W. Crump, and
other ex members of the Virginia Legislature.
he me nhere Of he he
South are relieved, save very few who may be
brsced under other heads; and this fact, added to
the foregoing list of reliev ed shows plainly
how invidious is the distinction made by this
between different classes and individuals OF the ats
Confederacy. When such as Robert BarnwelI Rhett,
Ex-Governor Wise, and Alex. n. Stephens are re-.
lieved of their disablities, 1t is hard to why