The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-08
HE WAS A CONSPIRATOR
so A MEMBER OF THE MILITARY
COURT SAYS OF l.. p. MILLIGAN.
Recent Statements Denied and other
Side Told for Sake Of Maintain
ing Truth of History.


A few days before the death Of the late
Lambdin p. Milligan at his home at Hunt
ington a special correspondent of the In
dianapolis Journal furnished that paper
with the details in part Of the trial of
Milligan for treason and for rendering aid
to the enemies OF the United States during
the war for the Union. So far as the
correspondence relates to the private life
of the deceased conspirator we have not
word to say; in fact, we believe that Milli-
gan was upright, honorable gentleman,
a good neighbor and liberal-hearted citi-
zen. But that has nothing to do with the
case under discussion. and that he was
guilty of the charges made against him as
one Of the conspirators Of Indiana is fact
entertained by every member of the mill
tary commission detailed in the fall Of 1864
to try them. The court was detailed by
General Hovey, then in command of the
Department of Indiana, through orders re-
ceived by him from the late Edwin NJ.
Stanton, then secretary of war. Gen. Silas
Colgrove was the president of the commits
sion and Col. Henry L. Burnet, Of Gin
.cinnati. the judge advocate, and the i'm
portance of the case is fully illustrated in
the fact that Mr.. Pitman, the author of
shorthand writing in this country. also of
Cincinnati, was detailed to take down the
evidence of the court, which was done
word for word, the trial lasting almost, If
not quite, three months. OF the members
of the commission still resident Of Indiana
besides the president there are Gen.
Thomas Lucas, of Aurora; Gen. Dick De
Hart, of Lafayette; Col William McLane,
of Terre Haute. and myself. and it is to the
following portion Of the article referred to
in the Journal, which the correspondent
represents as coming from Milligan him.
self, we wish to reply. and which is given
in his article under the head of "a Secret
Agreement" as follows:
''The interest of Governor Morton in my
case is explained by the fact that but for
his influence with the commission the night
of their final action and his promise to it's
members that / never should be harmed I
would not have been convicted of the
charge of treason. A majority of it's MEM
bers favored my acquittal Governor Nor
ton, General Hovey and other prominent
men feared such a result. 1t had been al
legged that my arrest was for political eff
feet, and the commission was told that an
acquittal would be an injury to the Union
cause. My conviction. therefore, was de-
manded as necessity, and Governor Nor
ton personally pledged the members Of the
commission that 1 should not be hurt. AL
luding to DIR. Bowles Horsey and myself,
he said: we will shield them from harm
and they will be glad enough after while
to take the oath of allegiance and secure
their release Morton probably believed
Lincoln would commute the sentence when
it came to him. When copy of the record
was taken to Lincoln in December, 1864, by
my attorneys. Joseph Z. Mcdonald and
Jonathan w. Gordon Mr.. Lincoln declared
he could find nothing to justify the finding
as against Horsey and myself and prom
Used these. gentlemen in the presence Of
General Singleton that when the official
record reached him he would disaffirm the
finding and set Horsey and myself at lib
erty. DR.. Bowles, he said, should be sent
across the line to his Southern friends until
the close of the war. Judge Advocate Holt
never presented the official record to Lin
coin, and when, after Lincoln's assassina-
ton, 1t was presented to President john
son he promptly affirmed the finding with
out an examination. The earnest efforts of
Governor Morton TO induce President john
son to commute the sentence were due to
his promise to the members of the COM
mission more than to his sense of justice
| to me or his appreciation of the fact that
| my trial was an illegal one Pettits efforts
| were solely at the solicitation of Morton.
| He was influenced neither by personal
| friendship for me nor expectation Of finan-
| cial gain. Petit was the speaker of the
Indiana House, ex-member of Congress
anu was selected by Governor Morton as
his ambassador to influence Johnson"
NO INTERFERENCE.
| So far as any attempt on the part of
| Governor Morton, any one else, to infiu-
ence the verdict, want to pronounce 1t as
| false in every line and sentence. The COM
mission was composed of honest, earnest
patriotic men. Every one Of them COM
manded regiments or brigades, and they
were just such class Of men as any at.
! tempt to influence their verdict or the sen
| tence would have been resented in such q
| the position they occupied In trying mer
| for their lives. Even had the President OF
the United States attempted to suggest the
form of the verdict such a course would
have been Indignantly spurned, and for the
sake of the truth of history 1 desire t.
make this special point emphatic a:
words and a distinct and clear recollection
can present 1t.
living and dead Of those composing tn,
military commission that tried the cele
| brated Indiana conspirators," 1 would like
to have this denial as widely circulated al
was the charge of Mr.. Milligan that tn,
verdict was Influenced" by Governor Nor
ton. The latter did not even make such al
attempt, and / do not believe he woul'
have done so at the request Of any man
position or in personal reputation and in
fiuence. For these reasons hope that tn
Journal may be able to find room for thi
denial in its columns in order that.it ma.
go before the same people who may hav
perused the deceased conspirator's state
men that the verdict was influenced
We are now thirty-six years away from
the date of the trial alluded to. A ney
| generation has TO a large extent taken tn
places of the veterans anu private citizen
of the war period. How many Of thes
| are aware that in 1864 the citizens of tn
State of Indiana were resting on the YER
edge Of an insurrection here at home
Many OF the young men of to-day seer
to think that the war for the Union wa
mere political rivalry-a fight between Re
publicans and Democrats. If they woul
stop to think that President Lincoln ha
been legally elected in a manner prescribe
by the Constitution of the United State:
and that before he could take his sea-
led off by South Carolina, eleven South
ern States seeded from the Union throug
their State Legislatures; set up cap
tai at Montgomery, Ala, where a const
tuition was formed and adopted for tn
Confederate States of America" partic
pated in by men of all parties-Democrat:
Wings and professed Unionists-they woul
see, one would think, that 1t was the If
, | of the Nation. and not of parties, that wa
at stake, and when Mr.. Lincoln took tn
oath of office there was nothing left fc
him TO do but 10 enforce the authority {
the United States over every foot of tel
! ritory within it's boundaries.
CONVINCING TESTIMONY.
At the time referred to a secret organizs
ton, under the name of knights of tn
Golden Circle"-sometimes called Sons
| Iiberty'-sprang into existence embracin