CINCINNATI, O., Feb. 10, 1865.
[_Extract._]
Mrs. Mary B. Morris, now in confinement at McLean barracks, in the city
of Cincinnati, O., charged with giving aid and comfort to the enemy,
assisting rebel prisoners to escape, and other disloyal practices, will,
on or before Monday the 13th inst., be sent south of our military lines,
under guard, into the so-called Southern Confederacy. Her sympathy with
those in rebellion can there find its natural expression, and a more
appropriate theatre of action. It is but just to our government and
laws, that the shield of its power should not be thrown over those
who are inimical to it, and are giving active aid and sympathy to
its enemies. The claim to protection by the government implies the
reciprocity of fealty.
Mrs. Mary B. Morris, who was ordered sent out of our lines by paragraph
1 of this order, in consideration of her professions and promises, is
permitted to remain on the premises of her father, Edward M. Blackburne,
at Spring Station, Woodford county, Ky., on consideration that she
complies with the promises accompanying her confession, filed at these
headquarters, Feb. 5th, 1865. If such promises are not complied with,
the first paragraph of the order to be in full force.
By command of Maj.-Gen. HOOKER.
(Signed) C.H. POTTER, Assistant Adjutant-General.
The trial of the prisoner Cantril was deferred, owing to serious
illness. During the progress of the trial, Anderson committed suicide,
and Daniels escaped. [It will be remembered that H.H. Dodd, convicted
of treason in Indianapolis, some months ago, and sentenced to suffer
the death penalty, also escaped. Neither Daniels or Dodd have been
recaptured.] The evidence before the Military Commission elicited most
of the important facts embraced in this narrative, and therefore need
not be reviewed.
In regard to several of the witnesses before the Military Commission, a
few remarks may not be uninteresting. It has been observed by the reader
who has carefully perused the foregoing statement, that there were
two distinct elements which made up the great conspiracy, viz: The
Copperheads, or Sons of Liberty, and Knights of the Golden Circle, and
the rebel emissaries both in the Northern States and in Canada. The
discovery of the designs, purposes and intents of the former, was made
by the writer of this work, who was aided by Robert Alexander. With such
aid as we were able to control, we obtained and imparted the information
which resulted in the total defeat of the devilish intent of our secret
enemies--the Copperheads; the purposes, movements, ends and aims of
the _Rebels in Canada_, were reported by Maurice Langhorn, aid by
two others. The parties in charge of observing and defeating the two
distinct elements, were utter strangers, and had never met or had any
communication whatever.
In regard to the writer, it need only be said, that when it was
announced to Hon. I.N. Arnold, M.C., Governor Yates, and Brig.-Gen.
Paine, that there was a formidable conspiracy against the General
Government, embracing many thousand persons in its league, and that its
purpose was the subversion of our Government in aid of the rebellion,
that their plots were rapidly maturing, and the most alarming
consequences might be apprehended, if timely precautions were not
observed, all of these gentlemen gave to the matter their earnest and
careful attention. It was not the purpose of the writer to proceed with
further investigations, except by advice and direction, as it was a
work for which he felt wholly unqualified, from his tastes, disposition,
professional, and social position, but the arguments of Gen. Paine,
which, at this time and place, it is unnecessary to state, but which it
is believed neither party will soon forget, decided the matter, and
the task was undertaken, and with what success it was attended, let the
history of the proceedings in Cincinnati determine. For more than six
months, the work was prosecuted with unceasing vigilance, regardless
of all other considerations, and although, when he was called to the
witness stand, he could not shield himself from the malignant abuse of
counsel, by stating _that he had been acting under a commission received
from his Government_, yet he then felt morally certain, and that
confidence _yet remains unshaken_, that when his true relations to the
Government and country, are finally known, his motives, his acts, and
his services, will be duly appreciated. He has not been mistaken.
The contemptible falsehood of the party who stated that the writer's
services had been compensated, or that a claim for compensation had been
made, is hereby hurled back into his teeth. Not a dollar, not a dime,
has been received, not even for _actual expenses incurred_, and _no
claim_ whatever has been made--no consideration whatever has been
proffered. The service was the result of a deep conviction of duty, a
feeling that no citizen should withhold personal sacrifice, even of life
and reputation, if the interest of his country demands it. We knew the
condition upon which we stepped aside from the agreeable and peaceful
avocations of life, and entered upon the task so distasteful, so
repulsive, and for a time so thankless. We had reason to know that
the shafts of fiendish calumny would assail, that friendship would be
broken, _that envy and jealousy would ply their innuendoes_, that the
Copperhead elements of a fraternity, claiming one of the offenders in
its ranks, would assail with bitterness and awaken poignant grief, but
no regret, that we should have the hatred of Copperheads, as long as
that genus (thank Heaven, short-lived), existed in our land, and be
regarded with distrust by those negative persons, who would be for the
Union, had they any independence of character; we knew all this would
follow, if the assassin's bullet or dagger did not execute the sworn
purpose of the Order, but with an abiding faith in the justice of
Heaven, with an approving conscience, and our earnest heartfelt prayer
for our loved country in her dark hours, we took our course, and our
only regret is, that we had not sooner entered upon the work, and
thereby frustrated plans which have contributed to our national
suffering; for who shall say how many have been its victims, how many
homes has it made desolate, how many hearts has it broken, and how many
graves now enclose misguided men, and misguided youths, who, educated
in its fallacies, lured by its snake-like influence, arrayed themselves
against their country, and fell victims to their fanaticism!
We have heard the cry of our Union soldiers at the front, to protect the
helpless in the rear, and we have tried to comply. We have given our
own near and dear kindred to the bullet and the sword, a sacrifice to
freedom, and staunched the life-blood of a dearly loved brother, upon
the field of Antietam, and as we wiped away the dew of death, gathering
upon his brow, we pledged our life--our all--to the cause of the Union;
and if better service might be rendered in vanquishing the secret foe at
home, than meeting the more honorable enemy upon the field of battle,
we were ready for the work. Had it not been for the potent influence
of Copperheads at the North, the counsel, the sympathy, the comfort
extended to the rebels, the rebellion would have been put down long ago.
Entertaining such views, we shall, under any and all circumstances, and
at all times, be a bitter opponent of Copperheadism wherever found, and
regard it as legitimate warfare to arrest the assassin of our country,
wherever and whenever we can. If the disaffected find comfort in this,
let them make the most of it.
ROBERT ALEXANDER.--This gentleman, who is well known to the citizens of
Chicago, has held several positions of responsibility and trust, and
has ever been a consistent, earnest, devoted advocate of the Union. So
intensely Republican in sentiment is he, that the attempt to introduce
him into the Sons of Liberty, called forth such opposition that it
was thought we should fail in the attempt, and he finally, was only
admitted, after he and his sponsor (the writer) had been told, in plain
words, accompanied with an oath, that if he proved false to them, _both
should die_. For months he bore the opprobrium of a Copperhead, and
suffered extreme annoyances in sustaining the role it was his duty
to assume. Conscientious, earnest, persevering, patient, with keen
perception, and a remarkable power of reading human character, with the
experience of an excellent police officer, Mr. Alexander brought to his
post of duty high qualifications, and was a valuable, ready and willing
assistant. It should be remarked that Mr. Alexander had been informed in
May, 1864, that he had been appointed First-Lieutenant in the 53d U.S.
Infantry, and supposed he was in the service of the U.S. Government at
the time of joining this great undertaking, but the information, though
coming from a high source, proved incorrect, and this is one additional
reason why the writer made choice of Mr. Alexander. While we know that
loyal men will appreciate Mr. Alexander's valuable services, we have yet
to learn that he has, thus far, experienced any other satisfaction than
the approval of his own heart, and the sincere gratitude of the writer,
for his hazardous undertaking, and the able manner in which he performed
his duty.
MAURICE LANGHORN, one of the principal government witnesses, was born in
Pittsburgh, Penn., and reared in Marysville, Ky. He is a lawyer, and a
man of ability. Like many other Kentuckians who were in the South at
the time the rebellion broke out, Mr. Langhorn committed himself to the
doctrine of secession. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in a Louisiana
regiment of heavy artillery. He was subsequently recommended for
Colonelcy in the rebel army, but failed to get the appointment. In 1861
he went to Bowling Green, Ky., where he enlisted as a private in the
9th Kentucky Infantry, Col. Thomas H. Hunt, of Louisville, and was
transferred to the artillery. He mounted the guns on the fortifications
around Bowling Green, and seems to have given great satisfaction. He ran
as candidate for representative to the rebel congress from Kentucky, but
before the result of the canvass was known, was captured and held eight
months as a prisoner of war. Mr. Langhorn subsequently took the oath of
allegiance to the United States, and was of great service in reporting
the movements and designs of the rebel emissaries in Canada to Col.
Sweet. The information Mr. Langhorn gave of those men was reliable, and
upon it certain arrests were made. Mr. Langhorn is now a loyal citizen,
in its broadest and best sense. Mr. Langhorn is a young man not over
twenty-five years of age, of quick, nervous temperament, kind and
generous impulses, a man of strong feelings, warm friendship, bitter
animosities, and whatever he undertakes, he executes with a will. Of
Mr. Langhorn it may be truly said, that while he was a rebel, he was an
earnest, active foe, but a true soldier, having a high regard for honor
and integrity, loving the State in which he was reared, and ever
jealous of her honor and fair name. Mr. Langhorn was a rebel from
principle--because he felt that the South was right--but when convinced
of his error, he made haste to repair it, and when he had once taken the
oath of allegiance, he went to work with all his might to aid the cause
of the Union. To Mr. Langhorn is due all the honor of frustrating the
designs of the _rebels from Canada_; and Col. Sweet being advised by
Mr. Langhorn of _this_ portion of the plot, and by the writer of the
_Copperheads' movements and intents_, the Colonel had the best possible
opportunity of acquiring important knowledge, and regulating his conduct
in accordance therewith. Mr. Langhorn is a true friend of the Union,
an admirer of our lamented President, and has rendered the citizens of
Chicago a service which should ever be held in grateful remembrance.
MR. SHANKS--Once a Rebel officer of distinction, but now a loyal man,
consistent in conduct, and of very great assistance to the Government,
in ferreting out Rebel officers and Rebel sympathisers, has the
confidence and respect of those who know him. He is a young man of
signal ability, and if he continues to serve the country as faithfully
as he has in the present case, will yet attain distinction.
CHRISTOPHER C. STRAWN--Was a valuable witness. He is a young man who
has taken an active part with the Democrats, and is well informed of the
incomings and outgoings, and the eccentricities and peccadilloes of the
managers in Chicago, although the _Post_ says, that "before his arrest
he was not worthy of notice, and after his arrest still less so." We
think the _Post_ man a little severe on Strawn, who has done all he
could to have the guilty Copperhead readers of that paper brought
to justice. Mr. Strawn, has bade his brethren, the Copperheads, an
affectionate and, we trust, final adieu.
JOHN MAUGHAN, an Englishman, born in Berkshire county, and about 22
years of age. His family moved to Toronto, Canada West. He was always
in Canada regarded as a young man, with fine business qualities and
promise. For three years just before his connection with the rebels, and
their Northern conspirators, he occupied a very responsible position as
a clerk and teller, in one of the branches of the bank of Upper Canada,
and was in every way worthy the confidence reposed in him. During the
spring and summer of 1864, he however became acquainted with rebel
soldiers in Canada, earnestly espoused their cause, and left his
position to go with them to the Southern army. They, however, instead
of going South, went to Chicago, where he became acquainted with the
conspirators, and also gained their confidence, and on account of being
an Englishman, and having his papers with him, and being able to
travel without fear of detection, he was used by them to carry their
correspondence and other communications, which were of too dangerous
a character to trust to the mails. This man was truly a dangerous
character. No one, except those who employed him, knew him, or the
character in which he was acting, and he was able, frequently, to render
the conspirators immense service in their desperate schemes. He was
captured in Chicago in November, and finally agreed to turn State's
evidence, when he saw that unless he did, his own life was forfeited.
After this agreement, he was treated with great leniency by the
Government, but upon being placed upon the witness stand, his old
sympathies and prejudices returned, and it is believed he distinctly
perjured himself, acting through the whole trial with bad faith toward
the Government which had treated him so generously.
THOS.E. COURTNEY--A Son of Liberty, and a leading Democrat of Chicago,
called a witness for _defence_, testified, among other things, as
follows:
"_I was on a Committee of the Democratic party to receive, at the Alton
Depot, some bogus voters that were to be imported into Chicago to vote
at the Presidential election_; they were part and parcel of the tribe
that came from Egypt, and I was one of the _Committee appointed to
escort them to their boarding houses_."
OBADIAH JACKSON, JR., ESQ., Grand Seignior of the Temple, who had been
arrested and sent to Camp Douglas, and while there had written and
signed a "statement," was called for the defence, but it neither helped
him or the defendants.
COL.B. M. ANDERSON--Was born, reared, and educated in Kentucky. He was
a young man of education, ability, and fine personal appearance, and
had he not been a rebel would have been an accomplished gentleman. He
possessed many fine points of character, and was, in our opinion, a much
better man than any of the Northern Copperheads who have been arrested.
He had been in the Nicaraugua expedition, under the fillibuster, Walker.
Col. Anderson was the dupe of others. He committed suicide at the
barracks in Cincinnati, during the progress of the trial. He leaves a
wife and many friends to mourn his death. His history is a sad one. In
any other position than a rebel, he would have been a most useful member
of society. He was not of the material of which the Sons of Liberty was
made up, but aside from that deadly fanaticism which ruined him, he won
warm friends wherever he went. Nature did everything for him, but the
accursed doctrine of Calhoun, consigned him to a suicide's grave, "after
life's fitful fever" of war upon the land of his birth.
CHARLES TRAVIS DANIELS--One of the prisoners, is a native of Harrison
County, Ky. A lawyer by profession, about 26 years of age and very
prepossessing in appearance. He is somewhat remarkable for a rather
strange and singular expression of his eyes. Belonged to John H.
Morgan's command, but never served in any other capacity than as an
enlisted man. He was captured with Morgan during his raid in Ohio, and
confined in Camp Douglas, from which he escaped; was captured at Charles
Walsh's house, on the 7th of November, and escaped again from the
military authorities in Cincinnati, Ohio, while being tried by the
Commission. He has not been recaptured, but has been found guilty by the
Commission.
CAPT. GEORGE CANTRILL--Is a native of Scott County, Ky. Is about the
same age as Daniels. There is nothing remarkable in connection with him,
and of no more than ordinary intelligence. He also belonged to Morgan's
command, in which he served as Company commander; was in Morgan's last
raid in Kentucky, and at his defeat at Cynthiana escaped to Canada. He
was with the other rebels at Chicago during the Convention, and went
with them to Southern Illinois for the purpose of drilling Copperheads.
He was captured in the house of Charles Walsh, on the morning of the 7th
of November last. On account of severe sickness he was not tried with
the other conspirators.
RICHARD T. SEMMES--One of the prisoners, tried, convicted, and
sentenced, for being one of the Chicago Conspirators, is a young
man--not over 23 or 24 years of age, a Marylander by birth, and a lawyer
by profession. He is a relation of the pirate Semmes (unfortunate
in name,) said to be a nephew. He graduated at Yale College with
distinction, and his prospects in Chicago were flattering till he
connected himself with the Sons of Liberty, and listened to the
teachings of older and "wiser" men.
Of the witnesses for the defence we have nothing to say, further
than most of them were Sons of Liberty. Some of them so far perjured
themselves, that now a common lie to them is considered as good as the
truth, if not a little better. It is said of Judge H.L. Burnet, that he
remarked, had he known what witnesses the defence would have introduced,
he would not have called any witnesses for the _Government_--they would
have been superfluous. Rather severe, and we will hope he did not say
it.
Space will not admit of a review of the evidence, and this will be
unnecessary for all who will read the sketch of the Judge Advocate's
argument.