Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 36, Number 189, 17 May 1911 — Page 16

PAGE SIX.

THE RICHMOND PALLADIUM AND SUN-TELEGRAM, WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 1911.

JEOKIUSOIl TELLS OF PLOT TO KILL

GOVERNOR MORTON (7A Distinguished Richmond

Man Unfolds the Great Conspiracy of "Sons of - Liberty" in State. . ' CASE TODAY READS JUST LIKE FICTION . jeneral Bennett of This City Was Member of Military Commission which ; Tried Plotters. . Zii. A conspiracy to kidnap and murder Governor Morton, in order that the Democratic Secretary of State, next in siicresnlon in our form of government, might become the head of this commonwealth and thus thro Indiana in the columns of the Secession states, sound, to the present day.vmore Jlke tic! ion than fact, but this littie known (incident in the history of the civil war, )as It arfected this mate, is vividly recalled by the Hon. Isaac Jenkinson, of this city, although then a resident of Ft. Wayne where he published and edited the Gazette. The "trials for treason" as they were called which were held in Indianapolis before a Military Commission, specially convened by the military authorities of the District of Indiana, for the purpose of bringing Harrison H. Dodd, of Indianapolis, and other men high in the councils of the Order of American Knights or Sons or Liberty before the bar for treasonable acts, created a great furore at the time, although recollection of this phase of civil war history as related to Indiana is but vague. : "The Knights of the Golden Circle'' la perhaps the best known to the present generation of, the secret societies la the North formed to aid . the Rebellion.' but the 'Sons of Liberty" was equally as powerful and It was to the members of this order in Indiana that wm accredited the plot v to "make way" with Governor Morton and put Indiana In the ranks of the supporters of the "lost cause." Gen. Bennett a Judge. . General Thomas W. Bennett, one of the picturesque figures of that and a later day General Bennett then living in Liberty having afterward become a cltlaen of Richmond where he , va several tlmea Mayor and whero he ar-3 his charming wife were conspicuous politically and socially was a tatmber of the commission which arraigned Dodd and other principals who Included William A. Bowles, of Indiana. Jqshua F. Bullitt, of Kentucky, Richard Barrett, of Missouri, and Andrew Humphreys, Horace Heffren, Lambdln P. Mtlltgan and Stephen

v Horsey, also of Indiana, on the general . I .! tk.

CniriV ul VUUMiBvy aguniv is united States government with a number of minor specific charges. -, It might be interesting to state that Brevet Brigadier General Silas Colgrove, the United States Volunteers, and whose home was in Winchester, waa also a member of the commission appointed to try the prisoners, and that the commission waa detailed by order of Brevet Major General Alvln P. Hovey. afterwards Governor, the peraonnel of the body, In addition to Generate Colgrove and Bennett being made up of: Colonel William E. McLean, 43rd Infantry: Colonel John T. Wilder, 17th Infantry; Colonel Thomas I. Lucas, Kth Infantry; Colonel Charles D. Murray, R9th Infantry; Colonel Benjamin Spooner. 83rd Infantry; Colonel Richard P. DeHart, 128th Infantry; Colonel Reuben William. 12th Infantry; and Colonel Albert Heash, 100th Infantry, all of the Indiana Volunteers. With Colonel Ambrose A. Stevens, of the Veteran Reserve Corps: Colonel Ansel D. Wass, 0th Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers, and Major Henry : L. Burnett, Judge Advocate of the Ohio and Northern Department, as Judge Advocate. Not least Interesting was the appointment of the celebrated Ben Pitman, as stenographer, or "phonographic reporter," as he was called to take down the proceedings, Mr. Pitman being able to apply the rules of his own celebrated system of shorthand to the recording of this famous case. New Historical Fact. That the Southerners expected and did form a coalition of their own under the name of the Confederacy, is, of course, a matter of world history, but that It was the carefully organized plan of these secret orders to form a "North-Western Confederacy," which would be friendly to the Southern Confederacy, but inimical to New England and the Eastern states, is not one with which the public at large is acquainted. Such, however, was the purpose of the leader of these treasonable order,-although the rank and file were not Invariably aware of the ultimate purpose of their organisation. A great mass of evidence was brought out in then trials, which ended In the conviction of the principals and their sentence to be hanged. Great pressure being brought to bear a pen Andrew Johnson for commutation to imprisonment for life, waa sueeeaaful to the latter end, but at the moment of Johnson's act the Supreme Court of the United State to which the case had been appealed, decided that the Military Commission had no power to act legally and the case and prisoners were dismissed. The most Interesting phase of these trial was, however, that relating to the design of the Indiana contingent to take the life of Governor Morton, via ti ataU ef watch Mr. JenkJn-

A GALLANT RECORD

Made in the Civil War by Gen. Bennett. Ci.. k) h , V M o One of Indiana's most dashing soldiers during the Civil War was the late General Thomas W. Bennett. His career was a most interesting one. Besides being a distinguished soldier he was for a time governor of the territory of Idaho, twice mayor of Richmond, a prominent attorney and an eloquent orator. Thomaa W. Bennett was born in Union county, Indiana, in 1831. He graduated from Asbury university law school in 1855 and became a professor of mathematics in Whitewater college at Centervllle. He began the practice of law at Liberty in 1855, which he continued 'until outbread of the Civil War in 1861. On the first call to arms he organized a company, which was attached to the 15th Indiana infantry, and became ' its captain. A few weeks later he was promoted to major in the 36th Indiana infantry and served under General Buell. In 1862 Governor Morton appointed him colonel of the 69th regiment and participated in Sherman's Vicksburg campaign. He was promoted to brigadier general In 1863 and his brigade participated in the Red river campaign. At the close of the war he served in the state legislature, following which he made a tour of Europe and in 1869 moved to Richmond and began the practice of law. The following year Gen. Bennett was elected mayor of Richmond and in 1871 President Grant appointed him territorial governor of Idaho. In about two years he returned to Richmond and in 1877 was again elected mayor, serving until 1881. He died February 2, 1893. son is fully conversant, Mr. Jenkinson having been Governor Morton's long time and trusted friend, and, in connection with his charge of conscription in the It. Wayne district, was in a position to learn much about the workings of the Sons of Liberty. Ft. Wayne was a hot-bed of secession. While the leading and most influential Democrats of that city were not affiliated with the Sons of Liberty, Ft Wayne had one of the largest organizations of the order in Indiana, but although their proceedings were supposed to be secret, Mr. Jenkinson was generally able to publish accounts of the meetings in the next day's paper. And it was Mr. Jenkinson who kept Governor Morton and his subordinates fully informed of the conspiracy to kidnap the former and, if necessary, do away" with him, if it should serve their purposes. " Under the pretense of a call to a state Democratic convention to be held in Indianapolis, tho Sons of Liberty were to mass their members in that city, all armed, this to be the occasion of a general uprising which was to deliver the state to the secessionists, tho alleged politicians to march to Camp Morton, where a large body of Confederate prisoners was confined, liberate them and accompany them to Kentucky. This was all to be accomplished with the promised assistance of the officials of the Confederate forces. However, their plans were frustrated most melodramatically. Mr. Jenkinson quotes his Informant of the issue of the affair, so far as the Ft. Wayne chapter was concerned, as stating that it was "most amusing" the informant having been a member of the Sons of Liberty and having, with his confreres, a revolver in either boot. The men of the Ft. Wayne chapter occupied two cars and upon their arrival in the Union Station in Indianapolis, which had for its boundary the celebrated Pogue's Run, beheld with amazement and consternation a cast non at either end of the sheds. Union officers entered the cars and demanded that the men yield up their arms. The latter, at first denied they had any. "Give me that revolver out of your boot. said an officer, seizing a Son of Liberty and extracting from its convenient hiding-place a large revolver. The other boot then disgorged. " In the meantime those not wishing to have arms found upon their persons hastily threw the pistols Into the creek, several hundred being found In that more or less raging stream later on. The two cars were then detached from the rest of the train and taken under guard of the military, to a siding about eighteen miles away where they remained that day, the following night and the next day, until thp conspiracy had been nipped and the principals arrested. Th.us ended the well laid plan to murder Indiana's great war governor.

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A CORRESPONDENT WITH UI1I0H ARMY

Daniel Surface of This City "At the Front" for CinX cinnati Gazette. RELATES EXPERIENCES Aided in Work by Gen. Grant Sherman Despised Newspaper Men. . Daniel Surface, of this city, former editor of the Palladium, served two years during the Civil war as a war correspondent for the old Cincinnati Gazette. Reporting at "the front" is considered one or the most dan gerous tasks a newspaper man can be assigned to. Mr. Surface gained the reputation as one of the best war cor respondents that followed the union armies during the great rebellion and the confidence General Grant reposed In him attested by a pass, signed by the General, which Mr. Surface stfcl prizes as one of his most valuable pos sessions. This pass gave Mr. Surface permission to go through all union lines and gave him free transportation on railway trains and steamers operated by the United States Government. To a Palladium reporter the other day, Mr, Surface gave the following interview: Mr. Surface's Story. "Early in 1863 I was sent to West Virginia as war correspondent for the Cincinnati Gazette. "The status of a newspaper man in the army at that time was not well established and his troubles were numerous. General Seammon, commander of that department would not allow any newspaper letters to go out without official supervision, and by the time the official supervision was completed the letters had no news in them. And there were risks enough without attempting to dodge the news censor. So I was well pleased ; when the Gazette transferred me to the army of the Cumberland. Moreover, I Yfxd the good fortunie of being able to make the trip south from Cincinnati in the same car with General Hooker's official family, who had just came from the East to join the Army of the Cumberland. We arrived at Chattanooga soon after the battle of Chickamaugua and the situation there was everything but cheerful. General Bragg had the town well hemmed in and the Union army was on half ra tions or less. This condition lasted till the arrival of the Army of the Mississippi under General Sherman when Bragg was defeated at the battle of Mission Ridge and driven south to ward Atlanta. That .battle was my first experience in real war, although, the night before, I had been with Hooker's commid, on Lookout Moun tain, in the fight which was poetically designated "the battle above the clouds." I remained with the . combined army of the Cumberland and the Tennessee till after the capture of Atlanta." Obtaining the News. "How did you manage to get around in the army and get reliable information?" Mr. Surface was asked. "Most of the time I was loosely attached to some division brigade or regimental headquarters, sharing the expense of the "mess" and taking my chances with them. Many of the officers were not averse to having their friends in the North learn something about the heroic deeds and privations of the soldiers in the field than was given in the brief and military-styled official reports. They freely gave the correspondents all information that was not regarded as injurious to the service. Now and then a correspondent was expelled from the army for sending out contraband news. A conspicuous case of expulsion was that of "Mack" (J. B. McCullagh) of the Cincinnati Commercial, who afterward became the brilliant Washington correspondent of that paper, and later, editor of the St.- Louis Globe-Democrat. General Sherman had a pronounced aversion to army correspondents and threatened to have one shot. General Grant, on the other hand, was kindly disposed toward them and greatly faciliated the work of those who did not abuse his confidence and generosity. To me he gave this liberal pass, which proved exceedingly useful in the army and which I still prize as a souvenir of the Civil war: A Pass From Grant. "Headquarters, Military Division of the Mississippi. Nashville. Tenn., Dec. 26, 1863: "Guards, pickets and military au thorities will pass the bearer, Mr. D. Surface, correspondent of the Cincin natl Gazette, throughout this entire command, without hindrance, and government steamers and military railroads will furnish him free transportation to and from any point with in this military division until further orders. By order of Maj. Genl U. S. Grant. Geo K. Leet, A. A. Genl."' "How did you get your letters through to the North?" Hard to Get News Out. "There were no reliable mails through the debatable grounds between the army and the North. - Correspondents had to depend largely on furloughed and wounded soldiers, who were constantly being sent North., to convey their letters beyond the military lines. In important cases they bad to carry them to their destinations themselves and take their chances of being "bushwhacked." Immediately after the capture of Atlanta, I had an eventful race to Cincinnati with the correspondent of the Commercial. We arrived there on the same train, four days after leaving the ash heap wfcch had been the city

of Atlanta before Sherman's late, lamented visit. ' "The most unfortunate feature of that trip waa the fact that before I could rejoin the army Sherman had cut loose from Atlanta and started on his famous "march to the sea." When I rejoined that army, it was at Savannah, Ga.. which I reached Via New York and a five days' ocean voyage." -A Military Execution. "What Incidents in your army experience impressed you most?" "Events Jn war as In civil life do not necessarily make impressions the most lasting In proportion to their importance. In nil my experience in and around Chattanooga during those war times nothing made so deep an impression on my n:ind as a comparatively small Incident which I witness

ed at what 1 known a3 "the battle of Wanhatchle." in the Lookout Valley, a comparatively insignificant fight The casualties on our side were nearly all In the 33rd Massachusetts regiment. On the evening before the battle, the adjutant of that regiment, a gallant and very popular young officer, handed a letter to a lieutenant (his friend) asking him to mail it. After the battle the adjutant was found among the killed. The letter was still in the hands of his friend, there having been no opportunity to mail it. Seeing it was directed to the adjutant's parents he opened and read the letter. It was an overflaming message of good love and cheer, full of hope and the generous lively spirit that had made the young officer so popular with bis regiment. For each of his parents, brothers and sisters, he had a special word and 3 promise of war trophies when he should meet them again at the far-off htnne fireside. After reading the letter the letter the friend simply wrote at the bottom: "Your son was killed last night," sealed it and sent it on its mixed mission of joy and bitter sorrow. - "Another minor incident of the war unduly impressed me, was the military execution of two Union soldiers, in Sheridan's division, then located at Chattanooga, who had been sentenced to death for desertion. The men were hauled to the place of execution on a spring wagon and sitting on their pine box coffins. A military band followed, playing the Dead March. Several regiments of soldiers brought up the rear. A hollow square was formed at the open side of which the two coffins were placed about six feet apart, and the condemned men were again seated on them. Sixteen soldiers, the executioners, were stationed ten paces back. At a given signal sixteen rifles flashed, . simultaneously and the two men fell back, each pierced by a half dozen deadly balls. Four rifles were loaded with : blank cartridges so that a merciful doubt might remain as to which of the guns did the fatal work." Rob Amputated Limbs. "My last experience as' an army correspondent waa in the Army of the Potomac.' One incident I witnessed there impressed me as the very irony of war. It was in the evening at a field hospital, just after one of those bloody battles of the wilderness. In front of the hospital tent was a large pile of shattered and freshly amputated legs and arms promiscuously thrown together like a stack of stove wood. Around a

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it had gathered a group of straggling soldiers who were deliberately hunting for rings on the lifeless fingers. It was a grewsome sight and one that well illustrated the temporary stultification of the senses that may be produced by long familiarity with the horrors of war." What One Woman Did. "During that series of battles in the wilderness I spent one never-to-be-forgotten, night in Fredericksburg, Va. In the onward march of the army of the Potomac, that historic old city had been left a pitiful wreck. But some of its churches and school houses had been spared and later were made to serve as hospitals for the thousands of wounded soldiers sent back from tho front. All the lighting facilities of the town were destroyed, except a meagre supyly of tallow candles which were raked up by the military authorities for use in the hospitals. My mission there was to secure the names and condition of wounded soldiers belonging to western regiments. Accompanying an ambulance train I arrived there late at night and went at once to one of the largest hospital churches, which was crowded to overflowing with wounded soldiers, occupying improvised beds on and between the pews. One dim candle threw a ghastly light over the room, and by that a limited number of surgeons were doing their best to alleviate the sufferings of the poor fellows. There was a constant and heart rending cry of pain and appeal for help. About midnight, while this sickening tumult was at its worst, a lone woman, dressed in black and with a face so white that it seemed to have absorbed all the light in the room, entered the church at a door near the altar and, in a voice more divine than human, sang that dear old song familiar to all, "Home, Sweet Home." The effect was simply magical. The groans and appeals of the suffering and dying men ceased at once, and they remained perfectly quiet till the song was ended. To many of them it was the last sweet sound heard on earth. At the conclusion of the song that angel of mercy glided out as silently as she came. Who. she was or what her position I was never able to learn."

, Great Schema. "What do you do," asked the one who had been married only a few months, "when your husband comes home late at night?" "I pretend not to notice that It's late, and pretty soon be asks me If I wouldn't like to go to the theater oi somewhere tomorrow afternoon." t 8tartling Encouragement. "Was Amelia's father encouraging when you went to him to ask him foi ber hand?" "Not very. He asked me to put the proposal In writing, so I couldn't back out. as all the others did." Musical Note. First Young Thing (during the so nata I Just love Brabms, don't you' Second Young Thing What art Brahms? Musical Courier. Necessity, my friend. Is the mothei of courage, as of Invention. Sir Wai ter Scott. EXTENDS

Go. Ao IRo .VHSETOIRS f A WELCOME, The Dickinson Store has gained a reputation for fair and courteous dealings during the past sixty-one years. This store was first owned by Mr. Robt. Dickinson in 1851. Since then it has grown into one of the largest Jewelry stores in this section of Indiana." During all of these years the policy of this store has remained the same. It was this policy of selling Honest Goods at Honest Prices, with a personal guarantee with every sale.

Silverware The season when many weddings will take place is near at hand and we have a large line of silverware which makes an especially appropriate wedding gift and one which any couple would be proud to receive. When you see our beautiful line you will find selection easy.

E, BUCIKM

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JUDGE FOX TELLS

Of "CAMP WAYIIE Site of Historical Place in South Richmond Is Now Built Over. If the residents of the south side of the city display any unusual militant and patriotic spirit, it may be accounted for from the fact that a large num ber of them now live upon the site of the old concentration camp Camp Wayne used for recruiting and drilling troops from this section at the time of the Civil War. Camp Wayne was located on the old fair grounds which many of the older citizens will recall and which, roughly stated, was between what is now South E street and Beallview, although its exact boundaries are not determinable, but it covered ground qow occupied by the Hibbard school building, or better known as the "German" school, which ia on the east side of South Eighth street and included the site of the old engine house at the end of Sixth street. All this has long since been built over but at that period was without the city limits and regarded as remote from the center of town and therefore a suitable place for the segregation and drilling of recruits for the war. A trip to the old fair ground and Camp Wayne was regarded as something of a jaunt, and a long distance walk, and very few undertook the journey unless in carriages or by otner means of locomotion. However, it was a center of interest and activity during the time in which the raw recruits were being dressed down to battle form, and while the life of routine was dull enough to the embryonic soldiers themselves, it was full of life and color to the on-lookers, for every hour at this momentous period of the country's history was fraught with a thrill. Women left their work to watch "the soldiers" and when, attired in their new uniforms, the time came for "marching orders" their departure was punctuated with tears as well as cheers. Judge Fox A Soldier. Judge Henry C. Fox Btates that to his knowledgs but two regiments were recruited here, the Thirty-sixth and Fifty-seventh Indiana, although others may hove preceded or followed these two. Camp Wayne was put into commission at the beginning of the war and it was in the summer of 1881 that Judge Fox's regiment, the Fifty- seventh, occupied its quarters. Judge Fox himself belonging to Company C, whose members came from Centerville, and whose captain was Joseph Stidham, then sheriff of Wayne county, Centerville being the capital. Company B. was made up of recruits from Richmond, a well known citizen, John McGraw, being the captain of the company, Captain McGraw later being advanced to the rank of Colonel. The Fifty-seventh was In camp here about two months, going on to Indianapolis from here and then to Louisville, Kentucky. The Colonel of the regiment was William Grose, of New Castle, who made a distinguished E Jo

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TO ALL

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STREET

record for himself and afterward became a brigadier-general-Judge Fox served a year In the army and was in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, one of the Important engagements of the earlier part of the war. It might be interesting to mention, in connection with the battle of Pittsburg Landing, that it was in this engagement that Colonel S- S. Bass, of the Thirtieth Indiana, received a wound which resulted in his death a few days later, and that Colonel Bass received his commission through the Hon. Isaac Jenkinson, Colonel Bass and Mr. Jenkinson being then residents of Ft. Wayne, Governor Morton having appointed the officers of the regiment, above that of Captain, through the personal recommendation of Mr. Jenkinson. The latter happen

ing to be in Indianapolis and being in charge of the enlistment in the Ft. Wayne district, as otherwhere refer red to, met the Governor on the street. Governor Morton asked about the or ganization of the Thirtieth and If the officers had been named. Mr. Jen kinson stated they had . not but he thought he knew who should be put into those positions. Governor Morton at once took Mr. Jenkinson to the state-house and told the proper authorities to make out commissions to those named by the latter and this was accordingly done. Colonel Bass bade fair to distinguish himself in the service and his untimely death was deplored by his superiors. "Camp Wayne" was the spot upon which those enlisting in the Civil War from Richmond received their preliminary military training and although obliterated in the way of landmarks is ndt obliterated in memory UNCLE BILLY PARRY SOLDIERS' FRIEND William Perry, "Uncle Billy," was 4 "stuy-at-home" during the Civil War, but he was a great one. Mr. Parry's splendid work of assisting families of soldiers is an illustration that not all the good men in every community went to the front. He served for nineteen years as trustee of Wayne township and during the war he saw that proper relief was given to the families of the soldiers. Trapping Muskrats. Numbers of mechanical trip fo catch muskrats have been Invented and tried, bnt none gives more satisfaction than the old floating barrel trap that has been in use for many years. Both ends are left closed, and a hole about eight by twelve lnehes square is sawed in the side. A strong cleat Is nailed across each end. the cleats projecting six or eight Inches beyond the barrel, and upon the cleats are nailed two boards, one on each side of the barrel and several Inches longer. Water then Is placed In the barrel se that It will float with the board platforms about eo a level with the snri ace ox ine pona or stream. Attouc one-third ef the barrel remains above water. - Apples, carrots and other delicacies that the moskrat likes are placed In the barrel. In their attempts to get the bait the animals fall Into the barrel and are unable to get out. Ex change.