Marshall County Republican

Q. Did you become pretty well drilled?
A. Not very.
Q. Who was the Captain of your company?
A. Mr. George was our Captain.
Q. Who was your First Lieutenant?
A. I do not know, I think Johnson or Mr. Riggs.
Q. What is your rank?
A. I am a private in the company.
Q. You hold some office in the Temple?
A. I am Lecturer of the nation in the Temple to which I belong.
Q. What are the duties of that functionary?
A. I cannot give the lectures of that officer. I am a poor farmer, without much education, and have not a very good memory.
Q. Did you not perform some of the duties rhetorical?
A. I did, sir, but there is not much of that business to do now.
Q. Did you ever say anything to any person outside of the Order, about belonging to it?
A. No, sir.
Q. How were you known, then, as a member of the Order, if you did not report it to any person?
A. I think I was taken on suspicion of being a member of the Order, as others have been, and brought here.
Q. Do you know a man in that part of the country, by the name of Judge Trumbull or Turnbull?
A. I know a Judge Turnbull.
Q. Have you talked with him about the Order since you have been here?
A. I have been questioned about it by divers persons, and may have talked with him as well as others.
Q. How came you to advise with any man outside of the Order in regard to your making an exposure of it?
A. I have not.
Q. Was the oath which you have sworn to as the oath of the third degree, that which each member of your temple took on his initiation?
A. The obligation I testified to is that of the first degree of the Order.
Q. Of what Order?
A. Of the Order of American Knights.
Q. Is that oath substantially the same as that now employed in the Order of the Sons of Liberty?
A. It is. That ritual was furnished the officer of the Temple by the man who first organized it.
Q. Do you know whether it is the same ritual as that used in the organization in other States?
A. I do not know, sir.
Q. Do you know whether the purposes in your organization in Illinois, of resisting the Government, were also the purposes of the Order in other States?
A. I do not know of my own knowledge, but only what was told me about the Order in other States.
Q. You may state what that information was.
A. I was informed by officers of the Warren County Temple that Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio were so organized. At first it was reported that several others of the Eastern States had gone into the organization with the same object, and could be relied on, but that afterwards they found only these four States I have named, could be relied on.
Q. Why could they not rely on the Eastern States?
A. I understood the reason to be, that they had not gone thoroughly into the organization.
Q. Did you not testify the other day that this Order extended over the whole United States?
A. If I did, I wish to make a correction, as I did not intend to make such a statement.
Q. Did you not testify that there was a meeting of the Grand Council on the 22d of February?
A. I did, sir. There was a meeting of the Supreme Council of the United States, organized in New York, and I supposed it to be of the United States, and inferred that New York and other States had gone into the organization to some extent.
Q. Who gave you this information?
A. After this meeting, the Grand Seigneur of the Warren County Temple said that he had become fearful that the States east of Ohio could not be depended on.
Q. What was this purpose for which they could not be depended on?
A. They could not be depended on to assist in case of an outbreak against the Government.
Q. Were there any reasons assigned for this opinion?
A. I do not know as he gave any reason for it.
Q. Were these four Western States all that could be relied on?
A. It was so reported to me.
Q. Then the organization is not the same in the Eastern States as in the four other States?
A. I do not know, sir.
Q. Why do you not know whether it is the same organization or not?
A. Because I have not met with them, nor been much of a traveler, so as to know much of the Order outside of my own county. My information was from the officers of the Temple.
Q. You may state that information.
A. They said we could not rely on the Eastern States in case of an outbreak.
Q. You stated, did you not, that you had had frequent interviews and correspondence with rebels?
A. I said that there were traitors from there in our neighborhood; but there were no letters passed between us. Some of them were in our county.
Q. How many of them do you remember?
A. I do not like to go into that question.
Q. Were there more than three such persons?
A. I cannot mention all that have been reported to be there.
Q. Have you seen more than three persons from the Confederacy there?
A. I have seen more than three who have reported themselves to be from that section of country.
Q. Were there as many as five?
A. There may have been.
Q. Do you remember their names?
A. I do not wish to use any names.
A. Members of the Order said that they came from Missouri, and were supposed to be traitors.
Q. I wish you to name those who came from Missouri and went back again.
A. I do not know that they gave their names in my presence, nor do I know them.
Q. Have you known more than three persons?
A. I have known more than these there acting in such capacity, but I did not inquire their names.
Q. How did they say they crossed the river?
A. They did not state. One man said, in my presence, that when they could not cross in a skiff, they had canvas with loop-holes in it, in which they put poles, and made a kind of a skiff, in which they crossed.
Q. They crossed at Louisiana, you said, did you not?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is that above St. Louis?
A. It is, sir.
Q. How near Louisiana do you live?
A. Same distance from there.
Q. How far from the Missouri line do you live?
A. About twenty-eight miles.
Q. In your conversation with those men who come over from the other side of the river, from Missouri, what subject did you talk about?
A. We talked as other men did who met.
Q. Did you have any special conversation about this Order?
A. I did not; others present might have conversed with them, but I did not hear them talk about the Order.
Q. You made some statement about a conversation with one of Quantrell's men; what was that?
A. I said that a man who lived in Henderson county had seen one of Quantrell's men, who told him that Price would be in Missouri about the time of the election.
Q. Did you see this man?
A. I do not know that I did.
Q. Was it the purpose of these men, that you should help the rebels in case of an outbreak?
A. I considered it that way.
Q. Who did you learn this from?
A. From a member of the Order, who lived in Henderson county.
Q. Of what Order was he a member?
A. Of the American Knights, or Sons of Liberty.
Q. Where was this conversation held—in the Order or not?
A. It was a private conversation with me, in Monmouth. I never saw any man from the South to talk with him about a rebellion in the North.
Q. Did you ever talk with any one from the South in regard to helping the Southern rebellion?
A. I do not wish to answer that question, sir. I am willing to answer anything said by any one else. On this question, I will answer or not, as the Judge Advocate decides.
The Judge Advocate stated to the witness that he must answer any question, an answer to which would not criminate himself.
The Counsel for the accused stated that two questions were presented by the attitude of the witness in refusing to answer the question put to him. First, whether, having answered without hesitation in the examination-in-chief, with regard to his relations to this Order, and its general objects and purposes against the Government of the United States, he can now claim protection as to anything he may have said himself, because it may tend to criminate him. It is also a question, whether having testified to the general criminal purposes of the Order, he is not compelled by the rules of evidence to go forward and answer every question about the Order, and whether he is not now compelled to go forward and answer every question about matters connected with it, which are within his knowledge. If he had claimed the protection of the law, in the first instance in his examination-in-chief, he would now be protected from answering any question tending to criminate himself. But having answered without reserve or qualification in the examination-in-chief, he cannot now shrink from any development about the character of the Order and its treasonable designs which he may have known. He asked the Court to settle that question against the witness who refused to answer his question.
The Judge Advocate replied that there was no question at issue before the Court except the accused and the Government. He would say to the witness that as the Government had made him a witness, it could protect him against any prosecutions upon admissions made in his evidence. He would not be injured by what he might admit in testimony in this case. He should answer the question by the accused, fully and entirely.
Q. The question I asked you, was, as to your correspondence with members of this Order, or others from the South, with regard to rendering assistance to the Southern rebellion. You may state what interviews you had with them yourself.
A. I cannot say that I have had any direct interviews with men coming from the South on that business. I have talked with some persons from the South.
Q. You may state what they said to you, and what you have said to them, on this point.
A. I have been asked by men who said that their homes were in the South, or in Missouri, if we had any intention to assist them in case they came over into Illinois.
Q. Well, what did you tell them?
A. That I presumed a great many would, and some would not, assist them.
Q. What did you say you would do?
A. I did not tell them whether I would help them or not.
Q. Did you give them to understand that you were one of the persons who would help them?
A. I did not, sir.
Q. Did this man say he was opposed to the Government?
A. He said that he belonged to the Confederate army, and was fighting to establish the independence of the Confederate Government.
Q. Did you take any steps to deliver him up to the authorities?
A. I did not.
Q. Why did you not deliver him up to the Government authorities?
A. I did not consider it my business to do it, but to let him alone.
Q. Now, I wish to ask you what you would have done if the rebels had come into Illinois?
The question was objected to by the Judge Advocate, and withdrawn.
Q. What did you resolve to do, in your Society or Council, in case of any invasion from Missouri by the rebels?
A. I do not think that our Temple ever passed any that they would assist the South.
Q. Did you take any action in your Temple on that subject?
A. There was no resolution passed on that subject.
Q. Did you keep any record when you passed any treasonable resolutions?
A. We kept no record of such transactions.
Q. Did you not keep a record of your proceedings?
A. I presume the Secretary kept a record of the matters which related to the military features of the Order as well as of other matters; but I never examined his record.
Q. What action did the Order take about meeting the South on friendly terms if they came over into Illinois?
A. That matter was not acted on in the Order, but was a mere understanding between ourselves.
Q. Was it a general understanding amongst members of the Order?
A. It was, so far as my knowledge extended.
Q. Then I understand you to say that this general understanding was not in any way expressed in your records?
A. It was not, to my knowledge.
Q. Were there any votes taken on it in the Order?
A. Not that I know of. There had been votes taken in the Order on the question of resistance to the conscription or draft, if one was made.
Q. What votes were taken in the Order about meeting the rebels if they invaded Illinois, and shaking hands with them?
A. None that I know of. We only talked of it in our meetings. No act was passed in the Grand Council of the State, or in the Temple, to that effect.
Q. Is there anything in the Ritual of the Order to that effect?
A. I consider there is in the obligation of the first degree.
Q. What is there in that obligation to require you to help the South?
A. I am not an educated man, and wish the Judge Advocate to read it.
The witness then pointed out in the obligation of the first degree of the O. A. K., the portion he desired read, commencing with the word: "That I will at all times," etc. The obligation was passed to the Counsel for the accused, who asked:
Q. This portion you consider then a pledge that you will rally against your Government, and assist the Confederate Government?
A. Yes, sir.
The Counsel for the accused then read the following:
"I do further promise, that I will, at all times, if need be, take up arms in the cause of the oppressed—in my country first of all—against any monarch, prince, potentate, power, or government usurped, which may be found in arms, and waging war against a people or peoples who are endeavoring to establish, or have inaugurated a Government for themselves of their own free choice, in accordance with and founded upon the eternal principles of truth, which I have sworn in the V., and now in this presence do swear, to maintain inviolate, and defend with my life."
Q. What did you consider you had sworn to maintain inviolate?
A. I considered that obligation bound us to assist the South, as they were trying to free themselves and form a Government of their own free choice. I felt that that obligation was that way.
Q. Do you still hold that this obligation is binding on you?
A. I have taken it on myself, and I consider that it is.
Q. You are sworn to help the South, then, are you?
A. That is the way I read the obligation.
Q. Were the army, then, that you were organizing, and the men under the control of the Order, all bound by this obligation?
A. I do not know, of my own knowledge that they were.
Q. Had all these men who were drilling taken the vestibule degree obligation?
A. I do not think they had, sir.
Q. Some of these men who were drilling were not members of the Order?
A. They were not all of them members.
Q. Did they know of the general purpose of the organization drilling, and that it was in pursuance of this obligation?
A. I think they did not.
Q. How did you come to permit these men to drill with you?
A. We took every man who was a mind to fall in and drill with us, and said nothing about our ulterior purposes.
Q. Did you not consider that portion of the obligation which speaks of "the oppressed" to refer to the negroes enslaved?
A. I did not put that construction on it.
Q. What did you consider the phrase, "the oppressed—in my country first of all"—to imply?
A. I understood it that the people of the South were oppressed, and were trying to establish a government of their own choice.
Q. Did anybody ever tell you that?
A. Not that I know of. I considered it the proper conclusion to be drawn from the obligation. When that speaks of oppression, it is considered to mean the same as in other oppressions.
Q. Did any one else so consider it?
A. It was a thing generally talked of in the Order, in the place where I lived.
Q. Did the Order ever take any vote on that subject?
A. I do not think they did, sir.
Q. What was meant by the phrase "Government usurped, which may be found in arms"?
A. I will tell you how I understood it—It referred to the Government and the
Q. It was against them, then, that you were organized to wage a war?
A. We were to wage war upon them, of course, if they took up arms against the South.
Q. Did you think that the Government referred to was the Government of the whole South?
A. That was the opinion where I lived.
Q. Do you swear that it was the intention of the Order generally?
A. I don't know as it was, and I have never traveled over other States to learn how they considered it, nor conversed with members elsewhere about it.
Q. Did you not state the other day, in your examination-in-chief, that you were to meet the Southern army if they invaded the North, and shake hands with them?
A. It was the understanding, rather, where I lived, that we were to shake hands with them and be friends.
Q. Was that the understanding as to the relations of the Order to them?
A. It was, as far as my knowledge extends, in our section.
Q. You were willing, then, to shake hands with the invaders of the North, and be friends with them?
A. This was the sentiment in the section where I lived.
Q. Did this sentiment extend beyond the Order?
A. I think some outside of the Order felt the same way.
Q. You did not think it wrong, then, to welcome them as friends?
A. I never understood anything about the right or wrong of the case. Of the two evils we were to choose the least.
Q. What two evils did you consider it the least of?
A. The independence of the South or submission to the oppression of the Administration. In our section we considered the success of the South the least evil.
Q. Were you in favor of it against the Government of the United States?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you still maintain that feeling in your Lodges there?
A. Yes, sir; we did at the meeting I attended three weeks ago. I consider that up to that time, three weeks ago last Saturday, instead of two weeks, as I stated the other day, we were pledged to that faith.
Q. Have you ever conversed with members of the Order about it since that time?
A. I have conversed with different persons to the same effect frequently since that time. Amongst the members of the Order in our township that was the sentiment up to the time I left.
Q. At what time did you leave them?
A. A week ago last Sabbath—some ten days ago.
Q. How did you come to leave home and come here?
A. I was brought here by the Provost Marshal. A subpoena was served on me, instructing me to come here.
Q. Were you arrested, and then subpoenaed?
A. I was not arrested, nor brought here in irons.
Q. Where have you staid since you came here?
A. At a hotel, sir.
Q. Who has staid with you?
A. The gentleman rooming with me is Mr. Turnbull.
Q. Is Mr. Turnbull a member of the Order, or a friend of it?
A. He is not a member of the Order.
Q. Is he a Democrat?
A. I guess not, sir.
Q. Did you come here with him?
A. No sir.
Q. How did you come to room with him?
A. I came to the Mason House, and the clerk informed me that a gentleman named Turnbull, from my county, was there, and I occupied the same room with him.
Q. How long since you had an interview with Turnbull about this Order?
A. I have had none, because I did not feel very friendly toward him, as I thought he might have had something to do with bringing me here.
Q. How long before you came here did you have an interview with him?
A. I stated before that I had never talked outside of the Order with any one, before I came here, on that subject.
Q. Did you never give your name to Turnbull as a member of the Order, and ask his advice about your connection with it?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you not state to him, that you were willing to be a witness against the Order?
A. No, sir. I was brought here, and was ignorant as to what I was subpoenaed for.
Q. Did the Government promise you that you would be protected against prosecution, if you testified against the Order?
A. I have received no assurances of that kind, except what I had here to-day from the Judge Advocate.
Q. Did you testify without fear or favor?
A. I had fears, but not of this court.
Q. What were you in fear of?
A. I have had fears that I would be arrested on the strength of the testimony I have given here; and also have had fears about the dealings with me of the organization to which I belong.
Q. How did you come to give a full exposure of this Order to the Judge Advocate, and refused to answer my questions?
A. I felt obliged to answer his questions. You asked questions which I did not feel it my duty to answer as I did those asked by him.
Q. Have you ever conferred with any military official since you came here in reference to testifying about this Order?
A. I have been asked by an officer, since I came to this city, if I belonged to this Order; but I cannot give his name. I think he is a General.
Q. Is his name Carrington?
A. I think that is the name.
Q. Did not General Carrington tell you that you had to testify to what you knew about the Order, or be in prison and wait your trial?
A. He did not tell me anything of that kind, sir.
Q. Did he not tell you that if you testified against the Order, you would be exempted from punishment?
A. No person but the Judge Advocate has ever told me that. I have had my fears of being arrested when I got home.
Q. Did you not tell General Carrington that you would be ruined at home on account of your testimony?
A. I may have told him so.
Q. Why did you expect it would ruin you?
A. I supposed it would so far as the Order extends; for its members are all under the same obligation that I have taken.
Q. Why do you make this exposure of the Order, after taking that obligation to keep it a secret?
A. I have testified before this Court voluntarily, because the law makes it my duty to tell the truth; and as an honest and truthful man, I mean to tell the truth and nothing else.
Q. You preferred telling the truth, then, and exposing the Order, rather than keeping your obligation not to reveal the secrets of the Order?
A. I considered this a lawful tribunal, and have spoken the whole truth.
Q. Do you not consider the Order a lawful organization?
A. No, sir; I do not.
Q. Then you regard the laws of the land and of this Government as preferable to assisting the Confederacy?
A. I regard my obligations to the laws of the land first of all, to speak the truth, and I wish so far as in me lies to respect and obey the laws.
Question by the Judge Advocate. Had you or had you not an interview with General Carrington beside the one that took place in my room?
A. I had, sir. General Carrington, I suppose, was the officer who had me brought here.
Q. Did you not tell General Carrington that you were not bound to testify so as to criminate yourself?
A. Yes, sir, I did.
Q. Have you had any inducement held out to you to expose this Order?
A. No, sir.
Q. What made you do it?
A. Because I was fetched here before this Court, and I could not refuse to tell the truth without being false to the oath I took here.
Q. Could you not back up on your rights?
A. Had I been a lawyer I might have done so.
Q. Did you not do so this morning?
A. I said that I would not answer unless I was so directed by the Judge Advocate.
Q. Do you not know that if you had been asked any question that would lead you to criminate yourself, that you could not be compelled to answer it?
A. I have never been before a Military Court before; I am no lawyer, only a farmer, and a poor one at that; and I don't know the custom of military courts.
Q. When I saw you in my room, did I or did I not inform you that you were to speak the exact truth, and that without any fear, favor or affection?
A. You did sir.
Q. And without any hope of fee or reward, or offer of any, in any way whatever, and that all the truth must be spoken without any swerving or prevarication?
A. You did sir. I felt considerably embarrassed, and when I saw you at your office, you spoke to me as you did here.
Q. Was there anything said except as to the desire of the Government to get at the clear unvarnished truth?
A. That was all, sir.
Q. And what brought you here to-day?
A. The subpoena from this Commission was served upon me, and I had to come and testify as I have done.
TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM TRANTER.
Wesley Tranter, a witness for the Government, was then introduced into Court, and being duly sworn by the Judge Advocate, testified as follows:
Question by the Judge Advocate.
State your name, residence and occupation.
Answer. Wesley Tranter. I live at Shoals Station, Martin county, and am a miller by trade.
Q. Do you work there now?
A. No, sir; not since I informed on this infernal organization in March last.
Q. Have you not been in the army?
A. I was a private in the 17th Indiana Volunteers, and was with Sherman's army.
Q. State to the Commission what, if anything, you know about any secret society, or organization, and the name of such organization, and what you know of it.
A. I joined a secret society called the Circle of Honor. I joined in 1863, directly after I was discharged from the army for disability. This was in the spring of 1863.
Q. At whose solicitation did you join this Order?
A. A man by the name of Stephen Horsey.
Q. How many were there in the organization at the time you joined?
A. I cannot state exactly, but I know there were between forty and fifty in the township.
Q. Who was the chief of the Order at that place?
A. The head man at that time who came round to make speeches to the Order was John W. Stone. Stephen Horsey assisted him.
Q. Where is this man Stone?
A. He has not been heard from since. Stephen Horsey resides there still. Stone was said to have been hustled off by the boys of the 17th. Four of his fingers were shot off. He is said to got off to Kentucky, and his wife went with him.
Q. State what this organization was, and what was the obligation you took.
A. Mr. Horsey came round to me and asked me if I did not want to go into a secret order and if I went in he would show me the elephant, and if I did not like it after I was in he would get me out. He gave the name of the Order as the Circle of Honor. The first wanted to find out, he said, how strong the Democratic party was, and as I had been a Democrat all my life, and there seemed nothing more in the Order that what he said, I joined it. They kept on thus for two months. Then they gave us the Morgan Sign, the reason for which was, they said, that if we went to the army and were taken prisoners we would, by making ourselves known, be better treated than—if we had not got the sign.
Q. What was this Morgan sign?
A. It was that the members of the Order might know each other.
Q. Show the Commission what they are.
The witness here gave the positions, signs, and colloquies as described by the witness Stidger, as belonging to the Vestibule degree of the Order of the Sons of Liberty.
Q. Had you any book or Ritual?
A. Yes, sir. This little fellow who said he had been backward and forward to Richmond twice, brought them there.
Q. How long did they continue to call it the Circle of Honor?
A. About two months after I joined them. Then Horsey, about January, 1864, came to me and said they were going to have a very important meeting, and a man by the name of J. Baker asked me to go.
Q. Had their Society been in existence from May of 1863 to January of '64?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you attend this meeting?
A. Yes, sir; and they swore us into Jeff. Davis's service, and taught us more of the signs of recognition used among members of the Order.
Q. What do you mean by being sworn into Jeff. Davis's service?
A. It was that we were to support him North or South at all hazards.
Q. Was that in the oath?
A. No, sir; but we were to support the Order or suffer our hearts to be torn out, our bodies to be cut in pieces, and the four quarters to be scattered North, South, East and West, if we revealed the secrets of the Order.
Q. Were any remarks made by members of the Order as to its intents and purposes?
A. Yes, sir. Stone made a speech as I have said, and told us what to expect.
Q. Was it stated by any member that Dr. Bowles or H. H. Dodd had anything to do with the organization?
A. Yes, sir. Bowles was said to be in New York, and would meet Stone here in Indianapolis about the 26th of March.
Q. What was said in the Order about Mr. Harrison H. Dodd?
A. It was said that he was to be Governor of the State, in Morton's place, and that Governor Morton was to be put out of the way and Dodd was to be set up in his place. Stone said a great deal as to what they were going to do. They were to have arms, and were to resist the draft. Lincoln, he said, had been scared once and put off the draft, but now they would show him something that would scare him more than that, and that he (Lincoln) was afraid of the arming going on here in the North.
Q. When was this said, and where?
A. It was in the meeting of the Order of the Temple of Honor, as they called it, and the meeting was held about a mile east of the Shoals, at a house belonging to a man by the name of Gaddis. The meeting commenced at seven or eight, and was kept up until eleven o'clock. This was on Saturday night, about the 26th or 27th of January, 1864.
Q. Was anything said at this meeting about arming or drilling the organization?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Did they drill?
A. Not in my presence; I never drilled with them. An old man by the name of Woody asked me to drill them, as I had been in the army and was supposed to know something about it, but I told them that I could not drill them.
Q. What was said about arming the Order?
A. They said that we must have our old rifles and shot-guns fixed up as best we could, and that they would have revolvers shipped to them. Two boxes of revolvers came there, and a man by the name of Coffin helped to carry them. The boxes were passed off as containing jewelry. Coffin was a blacksmith by trade. I was told this by Horsey, who was a member of the Order.
Q. What were they to do with these arms?
A. They were to be used to assist the rebels, and against the blue-coats, as they called the United States soldiers, and they said we would show them how to fight.
Q. Did they avow their intention to resist the United States Government?
A. Yes, sir, and to support the South.
Q. Was anything said about the invasion of the North, that is the States of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, etc.?
A. Yes, sir. Stone said in his speech at that time that about five days from the first of April that they were to take this place (Indianapolis), those of Illinois were to take Springfield, and the members of the Order in Missouri were to take St. Louis, while Lee was to advance on Washington, and make as great a show as he could. Bragg was to do all he could in Tennessee. Morgan was to advance his force in Kentucky, and Forrest was to cross the Ohio to Illinois, and we were to help him. The Indianians were to seize this place and the arsenal, as it would be at a time when there were but few soldiers here. Stone said at the meeting that Morton was to be put out of the way, that he had to live but a short time after the visit here to the arsenal. Stone read a letter at the meeting signed M. D., in which this was said about Governor Morton.
Q. What were they to do with the arms?
A. They were to seize the arsenals, and distribute the arms to those members of the Order who had none.
Q. Was anything said at that meeting about releasing the rebel prisoners?
A. No, sir, not that I ever heard; but they were to aid the rebels when they came in.
Q. When do you say you joined this Order?
A. It was the 26th or 27th of January.
Q. Were the signs and positions you have given to the Commission those that you used in January, 1864?
A. Yes, sir. They had also the sign O A K spelling the word oak, the letters composing the word were to be pronounced alternately by the parties meeting.
Q. What was their signal of distress?
A. In case a member of the Order was arrested, for instance he was to hallo Oak-own three times and any members of the Order who heard were to come to his assistance at all hazards.
Q. When and to whom did you first reveal the designs of the Order?
A. I first named it to Captain Henley, that was in March, 1864.
Q. Did you or did you not write out a statement of this matter?
A. Yes, sir, I did; that was some time in March.
Q. Did you or did you not, write out in full the sign and signals, etc., exactly as you have given them here, if so, when?
A. Yes, sir, substantially the same.
Q. Have you seen, heard, or read a description of the signs, signals, positions and colloquies given by the witness Felix G. Stidger before this Commission?
A. No, sir. I have not. I have not testified from anything I have seen or heard in connection with this trial.
Q. How long since you attended a meeting of this Order?
A. In January last, 1864.
Q. How long since you conversed with any members of the Order on the subject?
A. Not since that time.
Q. Why did you not attend after that?
A. It did not suit me, and it was against my principles. I had a brother in the army, and I told my father that I should report on them, and they might do just what they like with me.
Q. When you joined this Order, did you do so as a Government detective, or under any kind of instructions from the United States authorities?
A. No, sir: nothing of the kind. I joined it in good faith, supposing it to be a legitimate organization. When I ascertained it was not, I quitted it and came to report.
Q. Is it the Dodd you have named who was to be Governor, Harrison H. Dodd, or some other person?
A. It was to be H. H. Dodd, I think.
Q. Was it the Mr. Dodd that lived in this city?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was he supposed to belong to the Order?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was it reported by the officers of the Order that he belonged to the organization?
A. Yes, sir; his name and the name of Bowles was on the go all the time. They were represented as leading men in the Order.
Q. Was it known or said that there was any communication between this Order and the rebels at that time?
A. Yes, sir; Stone said so. Stone said that he had got word from the little fellow who was said to have been backwards and forwards to the rebels twice, and that he had brought the rituals. The book was said to have been got up by Jeff. Davis for the use of the Lodges in the North. They did not say this at first. At first, in the Circle of Honor, they did not speak like this, but they said they wanted to see how far the people would go, and whether we were the right kind of Democrats.
Q. What did they call the right kind of Democrats?
A. They called them the right kind of Democrats who would go with the Order and others they called Abolitionists.
Q. What was the main or leading doctrine of this society, and what did they design to do with our Government?
A. They said that the only way to save the Government was to elect Jeff. Davis the next President, and to arm against the "Blue Coats;" that Jeff. Davis had three times offered to compromise, and that Lincoln's Government would not do it, and that now something would be done that would make the Government do it.
Q. What Government did they propose to make Jeff. Davis President of?
A. They did not distinctly say.
Q. Was he to be made President of the United States?
A. I suppose they meant of the whole United States.
Q. Has there been a promise made to you in any way, of fee or reward for your testimony in this case?
A. No sir, none whatever.
Q. Has there been held out to you any inducement in any way for any testimony you might give to this Commission?
A. No sir.
Q. Have you acted in any way in the capacity of Detective, in bringing the secrets of this Order to light?
A. No sir, I have not.
The Commission then adjourned to meet on Thursday, October 6, at 10 o'clock A. M.
TENTH DAY.
Court Room, Indianapolis, Ind.,
October 6, 1864—10 o'clock A.M.
The Commission met pursuant to adjournment.
All the members present, also the Judge Advocate, the accused and his counsel.
The proceedings of yesterday were read and approved.
William Clayton, a witness for the Government, having heard his testimony read, desired to correct the record in respect to its being Mr. Griffith, and not Holloway, who expressed no doubt as to the Order being able to carry their point in opposing the Government by force of arms.
Wesley Tranter, a witness for the Government, resumed his testimony, as follows:
Question by the Judge Advocate.
State to the Commission what, if anything, you have heard said by members of the Order in reference to the addition of any of the Western States to the present so-called Southern Confederacy?
Answer. Yes, sir. John Stone, at the meeting I have referred to, said that Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, would join the Southern Confederacy, and they would then lick out "Old Abe" and his Blue-coats. This was in January, at the meeting, and I was present.
Q. What has become of this man?
A. The last I heard of him, was that he was going towards Kentucky, minus some of his fingers which had been shot off by one of our boys of the 17th Indiana. They tried to find out the man who killed some of our soldiers. They went to his house, when he broke and ran; and I understood after he tried to halt him and could not, they fired some fourteen rounds after him, and he has not been heard of since.
CROSS-EXAMINATION.
Question by the accused: Are you a native of Martin county?
Answer. I was born and raised there, about three miles from Shoal's Station.
Q. Do your parents live there yet?
A. My father does, my mother is dead.
Q. Did you live there all your life till the war broke out?
A. Yes, sir, except five or six years when I was in Davis county.
Q. How near Washington county was that?
A. I lived just on the edge of the town; I lived in Davis county from 1856 to 1860.
Q. What were you doing in Davis county during these years?
A. Running a saw mill for my uncle.
Q. You are a miller, are you not?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you say you were a Democrat then?
A. Yes, sir, I have been a Democrat all my life.
Q. Are you a married man?
A. Yes, sir, and my family is at the Shoals.
Q. When did you enlist in the 17th Indiana Regiment?
A. I do not recollect; I was mustered in on the 14th of August, 1862.
Q. You were not one of the original members of the regiment then, were you?
A. No, sir, I was a new recruit in Company A.
Q. Who was Captain of that company?
A. Henry Henley, who lives at the Shoals.
A member of the Commission explained that one company of the 17th Indiana was taken out and organized as a battery, and a new company recruited to fill its place, of which the witness Tranter was a member.
Q. Is Captain Henley now in the service?
A. Yes sir, he was the last time I heard of him.
Q. I saw him in March last.
Q. When did you last see Captain Henley?
Q. Was this the first time you had seen him after joining the Circle of Honor?
A. I believe it was when he came home, on the 28th or 29th of January, on a twenty days' furlough, that I first saw him. I saw him from that time up to March.
Q. At what time did you tell him about this Order?
A. The first time I recollect telling him was about the 10th of March; about the time I came here to report. I told Captain Henley first at the Shoals, and I came up here a day or two afterwards.
Q. Did he tell you to come here?
A. No sir.
Q. Was he here when you came here?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Who wrote out the statement for you?
A. He did. I got him to do it for me.
Q. Have you that statement now?
A. The Judge Advocate has it.
Q. Where were you in this city when that statement was made out?
A. At the Bates House.
Q. How long did you stay in town at that time?
A. I stayed part of two days.
Q. How long after your last meeting with this Order was that confession made to Captain Henley?
A. I cannot recollect now. I think three or four weeks.
Q. Your confession was made about the 10th of the month was it not?
A. Yes, sir, as near as I recollect.
Q. Did you not state in your examination in chief that your last connection with the Order was on the 26th or 27th of January?
A. It was about the last of January.
Q. Then it was something over a month from the time you were last in the Order till you made the confession?
A. Yes, sir, about that.
Q. When did you make up your mind first of all to make this exposure?
A. The next day after I was sworn into the Lodge, when I told my father that I was going to expose the Order. He was a little scared at what I said, but told me to tell my case to my uncle at Washington, Davis county, and he told me to come here and report, and did so.
Q. How long after you told your father, was it that you communicated with your uncle?
A. It was a day or two after.
Q. What is the name of your uncle at Washington?
A. William Tranter.
Q. What are his politics?
A. He professes to be a Union man. He holds generally to the Republican party.
Q. Why did you not come to Indianapolis sooner than the 10th of March?
A. I had not made up my mind whether I would come or not.
Q. With whom else did you converse from that time till you came here?
A. Only with Captain Henley.
Q. What kind of a looking man is this John W. Stone?
A. He is a small man, genteel looking, with light hair and whiskers.
Q. Does his hair turn up?
A. I don't remember whether it does or not. I do not think I saw him with his hat off.
Q. Does he reside in the neighborhood?
A. He did at that time.
Q. What is his age?
A. About twenty six I should think.
Q. How long since he left that neighborhood?
A. It was some time in March. It was about the time the boys of the 17th Indiana came back to get horses.
Q. Was this the time Stone was shot at?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know that his fingers were shot off?
A. A man by the name of did his hand up for him, and he said he was minus four fingers.
Q. Where is Stone now?
A. He has not been heard of since then that I know of.
Q. How did this John W. Stone come to be attacked for the killing of that soldier?
A. A Lieutenant of the 17th, with some of the boys, were going to arrest him to see if he knew anything about the matter, and when they went to the door, and Stone saw who they were, he tried to make his escape.
Q. What were they going to arrest him for?
A. To see if he knew anything about it.
Q. Were they going to try him in the civil courts?
A. Probably they were going to try him with a rope, if they had caught him.
Q. He ran from them, then, to escape death; did he not?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And they shot him as he ran?
A. So my cousin told me.
Q. How many were after him?
A. I think four, if I recollect right, besides the Lieutenant.
Q. Was Stone present when this man was killed?
A. I do not know whether he was or not.
Q. Do you know anything about the circumstances under which that man was shot?
A. No, sir.
Q. Where have you been since you made this communication to Captain Henley?
A. Some time in May, I went down South as a detective. I understood that the members of the Order had my likeness taken, and so I concluded to leave the place. It was before I left, that a detective came there, and I got a member of the Order to initiate him, and he took him in like a book.
Q. What is the name of this detective?
A. Coon. He is in town here.
Q. Where does he live?
A. In what capacity did you go South?
Q. What have you been doing South since then?
A. I have been working on bridges, part of the time with the 17th Indiana Regiment.
Q. What were the 17th Indiana Regiment doing?
A. They were in active service.
Q. When did you return from there?
A. I got home last night a week ago.
Q. How long since were you notified of the necessity of your presence here, as a witness?
A. A week ago yesterday.
Q. Who do you say invited you to the Lodge, on the 26th and 27th of February?
A. Anderson Scarlett, as he is called; but that is not his correct name.
Q. What did he say to you about that meeting?
A. He said they were going to have another meeting, and would like all the members of the Order to attend.
Q. What kind of a house does this man Gaddis live in?
A. He does not live at the house. It is an old log house, and no one lives there now, that I know of. No one lived there at that time.
Q. Did you remain in the Order as long as you thought it worth while?
A. Yes sir.
Q. What was the name of the Order you met at that house?
A. The Circle of Honor.
Q. What is the name of the Order after it was reorganized?
A. The Knights of the Golden Circle.
Q. What was the purpose of the Knights of the Golden Circle?
A. To help old Jeff. Davis, as I heard them preach at that meeting.
Q. How did you come by the ritual and books of the Order?
A. The members of the Order said they came from the South.
Q. Whom were they sent by?
A. I heard no names mentioned but that of Jeff. Davis.
Q. Did you not hear of or see any person by whom they were sent?
A. There was a slender, good looking young man came there about that time, who may have brought them.
Q. What part did he take in the meeting?
A. None. He didn't come to town until the next day, I understood. That is what Stone said.
Q. Did Stone state where this man lived?
A. I do not know that he stated it.
Q. What was the substance of the obligation you took in going into the Knights of the Golden Circle at that time?
A. A young man named Baker asked me whether we should go and see them out, as we had started with them, and whether we should go to the next meeting. We concluded to do so, and were taken in.
Q. What was the nature of the obligation you took at that time?
A. It was to support Jeff. Davis either North or South.
Q. Were there any terms mentioned, or oaths taken?
A. The form of the obligation was about the same as that taken by a soldier, though differing somewhat from that administered in the army.
Q. The oath administered in the army is to support the United States, and to obey its officers. Was the oath you took an oath to support the Southern Confederacy, and obey the officers Jeff. Davis might place over you?
A. Yes, sir; it was a military organization in its objects.
Q. Did you take steps towards arming and drilling?
A. We talked about fixing a time for drill and drilling.
Q. What are the signs or grips of the Order?
A. I gave one of them yesterday.
Q. You may repeat and explain how it is given.
A. If you wish to be recognized by a member, you take a position something like that of a soldier, placing the heel of the right foot in the hollow of the left foot; and then fold your arms crosswise.
Q. In folding the arms do you remember which arm is folded outside?
A. I do not recollect.
If you are noticed by one of the Order, he takes the same position and folds his arms as you have done. You then step near him and take the position of a soldier face to face. You then advance the right foot, and he does the same, touching the toes together, when one grip is given.
Q. How is that grip given?
A. You clasp the right hands, running the fore finger along up the wrist, and give a single shake of the hand.
Q. What words are given when you shake hands?
A. When I give him my hand, I say: "O."
He answers: "A."
I reply: "K,"
which is pronounced Oak.
Q. What is the meaning of those words?
A. I do not remember exactly; but it is something about Calhoun. The three letters were pronounced Oak, but they had some reference to Calhoun.
Q. Was that understood to be the Knights of the Golden Circle?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where is Horsey now?
A. He is at home, about a mile and a half from the Shoals.
Q. Was he at home the night Stone was pursued by the soldiers?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did the soldiers go after him pretty strong?
A. They hunted him up, but I think I saved him, and Mr. Bowles also. They would have gone for Dr. Bowles, too, but we saved him.
Q. What is his personal appearance?
A. He is a large man, weighing about two hundred pounds, and white-headed.
Q. What is his age?
A. He may be sixty-five years old.
Q. Did you ever meet him in the Order?
A. I did not.
Q. At what time was he at the Shoals?
A. In March. At the time of the last furlough home of the boys; the regiment could not get horses, and the boys were furloughed home to purchase them themselves.
Q. About what time in March was this?
A. The 10th of March it is likely.
Q. He had come to the Shoals to go to Vincennes, it was said.
Q. Where was he going?
A. Vincennes, it was said.
Q. Did you know him as a member of the Order?
A. I never knew him as such. I once heard that a gentleman was with Horsey that I took to be Bowles.
Q. How large a place is the Shoals?
A. It has seventy-five or one hundred inhabitants.
Q. Did he stop there at that time?
A. Yes, sir; he staid over night.
Q. What railroad runs through there?
A. The Ohio & Mississippi Railroad.
Q. Did you not state in your examination-in-chief that Bowles was going to New York and had come back?
A. He was at New York, I understood. I made a mistake, a bit ago, when I said he was there at the time of their last furlough. It was the first and not their last furlough.
Q. When was Bowles in New York?
A. He was there on the 24th of March, and was to meet John W. Stone on the 26th, in Indianapolis.
Q. When was their first furlough home?
A. About the last of January.
Q. Was Dr. Bowles there then?
A. He was.
Q. Did you not state that it was stated the night of the meeting that Dr. Bowles was to see Stone at Indianapolis on the 26th of March?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How do you reconcile this statement about his visit with Stone on his return from New York, when he was at the Shoals in January?
A. He was to be at Chicago in a few days and go from there to New York, and then return.
Q. Did they say in their meeting that night that Dr. Bowles had already gone there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did this statement turn out to be true?
A. I cannot say, sir.
Q. Was it not stated at the meeting that he was in New York, and would not be present?
A. I cannot say, sir.
Q. How did it come that he was in New York, and was coming home to see Stone on the 26th of March, if he was at the Shoals in January?
A. Stone said that he was going from the Shoals to Chicago to attend to some special business there about the Order.
Q. Was not his visit to Indianapolis about the time of some Convention?
A. It was about the time of the Union Democratic Convention: and they said at that meeting that they were to call another Convention which would be a true one. They did not consider the others very true Democratic Convention.
Q. How many times did you meet with the Circle of Honor before you went into the Temple of the Knights of the Golden Circle?
A. Some four or five times.
Q. When were you initiated in the Circle of Honor?
A. Some time in the Spring of 1863.
Q. At what place?
A. At the place I reside.
Q. At whose house were you initiated?
A. At Gaddis's house.
Q. Who initiated you?
A. Stephen Horsey and William Clayton.
Q. It is not the William Clayton who has been here on oath.
ELEVENTH DAY.
Court Room, Indianapolis, Ind.,
Oct. 7, 1864, 8½ A. M.
The Commission met pursuant to adjournment.
All the members present except Colonel Benjamin Spooner. Also present, the Judge Advocate and the counsel for the accused.
It was then announced by the Judge Advocate that the accused, Harrison H. Dodd, had escaped and could not be present; he therefore asked for an adjournment of the Commission till eleven o'clock A. M., at which time he proposed to submit the question and proceed to a final verdict in the case.
The counsel for the accused, Jonathan W. Gordon, Esq., and Martin M. Ray, Esq., then submitted to the Commission an affidavit touching the escape of the accused. Said affidavit, marked Government exhibit "R," is hereto attached and made part of this record.
[The following is the affidavit of the counsel for the accused:
United States of America
vs.
Before Military Com.
Harrison H. Dodd,
Be it remembered that on this 7th day of October, 1864, personally came before me H. L. Burnett, Judge Advocate D. O. & N. D., Jonathan W. Gordon and Martin M. Ray, who are the counsel for Harrison H. Dodd in trial before a Military Commission in the city of Indianapolis, and being by me duly sworn according to law, depose and say jointly and severally, each for himself, that they have this morning heard with surprise of the escape of their client, H. H. Dodd, from his prison in this city.
They further declare, as an act due from them to this Court, that never by word, act or intimation, did they, or either of them, counsel, prompt, suggest or intimate to said Dodd, or to any friend or acquaintance of said Dodd, or any one else, his escape from prison; nor was anything upon the subject ever intimated amongst themselves; nor had they, at any time or from any source, any notice or suspicion that said Dodd contemplated any such escape; and they thus declare their entire innocence, in thought, word or deed of his escape. And they ask this statement to go upon the record in this cause.
M.M. RAY.
J. W. GORDON.
Sworn to before me, and subscribed in my presence this seventh day of October, 1864.
H. L. BURNETT.
Judge Advocate D. O. & N. D.]
The Commission then adjourned to meet at 11 o'clock A. M.
SECOND SESSION.
Court Room, Indianapolis, Ind.,
Oct. 7th, 1864, 11 o'clock A. M.
The Commission met pursuant to adjournment.
The same members present as at the morning session. Also, the Judge Advocate and the counsel for the accused.
The Judge Advocate then addressed the Commission as follows:
The accused, Harrison H. Dodd, having made his escape, as I announced at the first session to-day, I had thought of asking the Commission to proceed on the evidence already before them to their finding and sentence; and though it may be the course I may ask the Commission to pursue, I think it best to recommend that the Commission adjourn till such time as they think best. In the meantime, I will prepare the papers against some of the prisoners with which we may proceed, allowing the present case to remain for the time in its present condition.
The law—so far as I have been able to examine the decisions in the United States Reports and the Reports of the States of New York, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas, and one of the Ohio Reports, all go to this extent: that where a prisoner, by his own default, is not present to receive the verdict of the Jury and the sentence of the Court, waives, by his own act, the constitutional right which he had, that he could not again be put in jeopardy of life or limb; but having, by his own act, deprived himself of that privilege, he may again be put upon trial for the same offense.
Or, as the law expressly, there was from the beginning no jeopardy, or it cannot be made there was a real jeopardy, because he may, from the beginning, have had intent to escape, before the trial or sentence of the law could act upon him. The civil decisions may further, that while he has deprived himself of that privilege, yet as a general rule the court cannot proceed to sentence, or the Jury to give a verdict because he may have the privilege of "polluting the jury."
It is one of the rights of the accused to make a claim or plea to the Court, and his presence is necessary in the rendition of the verdict and the passing of sentence. Late decisions, however, by the Supreme Court of this State, and also the Supreme Court of Ohio go to the extent that if a person by his own default is not present to receive the verdict of the jury and the sentence of the Court, yet the Court may receive the verdict of the jury and give sentence, I apprehend, therefore, that this reasoning would hold with greater force before a Court Martial or Military Commission, for the reason that in Court Martial or Military Commission the accused is never present when the Court proceed to their finding and sentence.
The moment I say to the Commission, "The defense on behalf of the Government is closed" the accused may introduce evidence to rebut that which has been introduced on the part of the prosecution; or he may waive that privilege and present his defense in the shape of an address, called the "Address of the Accused," and given under oath, or otherwise, in which he recites and abandons his case, and fails to rebut the evidence produced on the part of the Government, he waives his right of defense. In other words he says "I have no defense." The Court then proceeds to close the doors to deliberation upon their finding and sentence. I do not see why such a course could not be pursued in strict accordance with military law, and the due observance of military law.
I make these suggestions at this time that the gentlemen engaged as counsel for the accused may be made aware of what may be claimed in the premises on the part of the Government.
I now ask the Commission to adjourn to such time as they may deem proper.
The Commission, after deliberation, adjourned to meet at such time as they may deem proper.