Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-11-05
nr,,AHKABnE MURDER TRIAL.
uiceiubotham Yelled for Jcff Davis
aud Thereby Lost his Life.

,...,,r SrrRL1NG, Ky. Oct. 24.--The
...aI If Logan Sigman, charged with
Va .'..,orlng Young William Higginbotham
, mso ~ 1861, occupied the time Of the
pp'.a.,t, Court OF this county the whole of
"a. ,yoak. and terminated last night
ID ,,,idripbt with the result that
.. generally expected, that or hung
jury. ,,,, rosnects is the most
liTtablc of any Of the many murder
Iite.aI. hat has taken place in this county
nc Tho war, The killing was wholly
sIlI'oreoy0Eed. and the only grounds of de-
uut ralipd on were that at the time OF
!!T,ra.iIljng Sigman was Union man ana
tsliorJed 10 a company OF home guards,
.,'h;ia voung HigginbOtham was South
svmnathiZer, hallooed for Jen DAVIS
;n he nearing of SIgman, and lad SAID, SO
~ Imam had been informed. that he IN
.11Iaj TO Kill Yankee before night the
day he was killed.
Top evidence produced at the trial gwen
H., The eye.witnesses was in substance as
follows: 4.e,
godfrey lsaacs testified
UDn me day of the killing l was at
touse in this county, on the head OF
p5mndstoGe; there saw young Higgin-
botaom and a man by the name OF
WauIin. one of the women told me while
! 0rs. there that young II. said he in
.,ded to kin a Union man or Yankee be-
lore night and join the rebel army at Fort
donaldson, where his brother was; was
Of tbat time a Federal soldier at home on
mrleugh. and had on my uniform. but had
ma weapons: remained at the house until
otter the other men left; when l left
aDd a
Mrs Payton's, where Logan Sigman was;
/ wanted to see Sigman, as he had
brothpr that belonged to the same regi-
mont that | did, who was stationed at
TamD Dick Robinson, and | wanted to
talk TO Elm about going down there.
While talking to him / told him in
;ocnIar wav what the woman had told me
and added that they could very easily
caDtllre me. as was unarmed. While we
were talking | heard some one halloO,
then heard one nRlloo for jeff Davis. One
Of Sigman's sisters remarked that they
we're coming now. Sigman went in the
house. GOT his gun and returned. The two
men rode in sight. Maupln stopped and
saw him no more. igginbOtham gal
Toned down The road till he came near
where we were, when he checked his
horse TO a moderate gait. He had in his
hand stick which he changed from his
reht to his left hand. When he got OPP
p0site where we were Sigman leveled his
auB. HiggmbOtham leaned forward, threw
up his right hand and said:
Don't shoot me- or words 10 that
eject These were the only words spoken.
Sigman fired. Higgin botham's horse
started on a run and he fell off, but
quickly jumped up and ran off down the
road. followed him and foWnd him
nd holnnA him GIAa of
road. Some other men came, and we
washed the blood off of him, took MIN to
a neignbors house and sent for his reIa-
tves. The shot passed through his arm,
above the elbow, and went into his head.
saw nothing of any pistol about him, or
other kind of weapons. The stick ne had
was a measuring stick to measure some
lard casks that he had told me he was
going after. did not tell Sigman that L
WAS afraid of the men, nor did l call on
him for protection"
The testimony Of Henry Mabley and
- Dobbs, VINO were the other eye-wit-
nesses introduced, and who, soon after
the killing, joined the Federal army and
served through the war, corroborated the
evidence of Isaacs.
The prosecution also proved that young
HlgginbOtham was boy in his fifteenth
year; that he was not acquainted with
Sigman; that he had been sent over to this
county by his father to get some lard
casks; that his dying declaration was
that ne did not know Sigman. and
that ne neither said nor did any thing to
him.
The testimony for the defense was
principally that of the defendant. He
said:
Il do not exactly remember the day of
inc month. l think it was Dec. 10, 1861.
mad gone over to my sisters, Mrs. Paw
Ton, 70 gather her corn. Her husband
was IN the Federal army at the time. NV
two other sisters were also there. I was
az tne table eating either a late dinner or
an early supper when Godfrey Isaacs
Aurrledly rode up to the fence and called
me OUT DID not know who he was at
hIsl, Out saw he was Federal soldier. as
ne ndu on his uniform. l went out TO Inc
renee where he was, when he told me
tIst ne mad seen a man by the name of
nl2glnOotham and one by the name of
Aauplh, and woman had told him that
lucy said they intended to kill him or
eonie other fankee before night. and 90
~ 'neC0nlederate army atFort Donaldson.
~, ~ 9e an ne was at home on furlough, and
' rudt ne had no arms, and called on me for
potecIlon. About that time we heard
91oneoody yelling and hallooing tor Jeff
PAWS and the Southern Confederacv
1 1oaacs said; 'Ionder they come now, l
+,, vnY IN Ihe mouse, got my gun and re-
Su,neu hlgglnbOtham came Charging
uo"n the road till he got pretty close To
US, "hen he checked up his horse. He
nau something in his hand. | do not
~ G" "hat IL was, whether il was a re-
fI rn,,L' gun or stuck. He changed 1t
Lis ri nio [lsnI 10 MS left hand, and threw
was SUI mana TO his side, and | fired.
,ySo , NV acquainted with him. NV sisters
desd ere present, TWO of them are now
not know" S"'ou'e uo
con nnls closed the testimony. when the
ns uiI Instructed the jury, which were the
cos" "i Instructions given in a murder
sn1 lheh came the war of legal talent
siS u ei CIV Iuence, which was fought on the
og or vi vi tne defense by Judge w. l.. Brown
H. LONDON; Hon. John w. Yerkes. of
So"nSIlle, and Col. T. Il. Morrow of
t,oa i SCI; and on the side of the prosecu-
Han W ~ 'udge NJ. G. Sauhey, of Stanford:
the thu " ". y. Bradley, OF Lancaster. and
Fcr,SS olnmonwealth Attorney. William
vi,.Uou' such contest has NOT been
Ds,.JIsoeo IN this county since the trial of
bi'IHson lor the murder OF Langford.
Wo o,ou look place before the war Col
in ~. appeals in behalf of his comrade
Mains Tor doing, as he Thought. a
e1,otlc act, and in defense of mis- gov
tomnhinnt ana his home, were pathetic and
sbo,run'11E, ana the standing of the iurv !
caso ~, gu mat they had their effect. THE |
yesto mae given to the jury at3 O'Clock |
chou"g afternoon, which was dis