Conspiracy trial for the murder of the president
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[325] Q. Do you know what his reputation is, in the community in which he lives, for veracity? A. It is very bad. Q. Do you know what his reputation is? A. He is looked upon as a man that hardly ever tells the truth. Q. Do you know what his reputation is? A. I do. I never heard him undertake to tell any thing, that was of any length, that he did not tell some story about it, and betray himself before he got through, so as to prove that it was a story. Q. Do you know what his neighbors and the people around there think of him as to veracity? A. I only know from what they say. I have not heard a man down there scarcely that would believe him in any thing he would undertake to tell. Q. How long have you known him? A. He was not grown when I first knew him: he was small; not more than thirteen or fourteen years old, perhaps. Q. From your knowledge of his general reputation for veracity, would you believe him under oath? A. If he had the least prejudice against a person, I could not believe him if he swore against him By Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham: Q. But supposing he had not a prejudice against a person, would you believe him under oath then? A. If he had not any, I should hardly believe him anyhow. By the Judge Advocate: Q. Will you state whether you have been loyal to the Government during the Rebellion? A. I have, to the best of my knowledge. Q. You certainly know whether you have or not? A. In my belief, I have. Some persons say that some men are disloyal, and, at the same time, those men may not think so. Q. Have you constantly desired that the Government should succeed in putting down the Rebellion?
Q. But that is not an answer to my question. Have you constantly desired that the Government should succeed in suppressing the Rebellion? A. I have always wished that the Union might be sustained. I always had that desire. I never wanted to see this Government broken up, and I have always expressed myself in that way. Q. Which did you wish to succeed, the South or the North, so as to make it one country? A. I had no idea of the South ever forcing the North to go to them. I always expected, of course, so far as the Union is concerned, that, if any would, it would be through the North that the Union would be.
A. He has not; not if words testify any thing. He advised and talked to me once for about two miles to go South with him. Q. When was that? A. I think it was in the fall of 1861. Q. What was he understood to be in the first two years of the war? A. He may have changed his views on the subject in twelve or eighteen months after the commencement of the war. Q. How was he looked upon during the first twelve or eighteen months of the war? A. He was looked upon as a great friend of the South; a great helper in that way, as far as he was able, as far as his ability went. He was not looked upon as being able to help anybody; but his conversations were all that way. Henry L. Mudd, Jr. recalled for the accused, Samuel A. Mudd. By Mr. Ewing: Q. State whether you know of the whereabouts of your brother, [327] Dr. Samuel Mudd, in the first five days of the month of March last. A. I did not see him on the first day of March at all: but I judge he was at home; he certainly was at home. On the second day of March, he was at my father’s before breakfast in the morning. He came to see my sister, who was sick. I am not certain whether he took breakfast or not. I saw him again in the evening of the second, about four o’clock. On the third day of March, he was sent for about ten o’clock; and the boy found him in the barn, stripping tobacco. He came to my father’s to dinner between eleven and twelve o’clock,—I guess it was about half-past eleven o’clock,—and took dinner with us, and left about two o’clock. In the evening of the same day he came back again, and brought some medicine. Q. That was the third day of March? A. Yes, sir. Q. What time in the evening? A. I do not know exactly what time it was. I say he came back again; but I did not see him. I was told— Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham. You need not state what you were told. Q. [By Mr. Ewing.] Did you see him again on the evening of the third day of March? A. I did. I went to his house at night, and brought some medicine over. On the fourth day of March, he was again at my father’s to see my sister. On the fifth day of March, I saw him at church; and he dined at our house. Q. Are you certain that he took dinner at your father’s house on the third day of March? A. I am positively certain of it. Q. State to the Court the distance of your father’s house from the city of Washington. A. I guess, as near as I can come at it, it is between twenty-seven and thirty miles from the Navy-Yard bridge. Q. Will you state if you know whether your brother has owned a buggy within the past few years?
Q. If he had one, would you have been likely to know it? A. I would have known it anyhow: I would be bound to know it. Q. Will you state whether your father owns a buggy or rockaway? A. He does not. Q. What sort of a carriage does your father own? A. He owns a large double-horse carriage, a close carriage, it is called, holding four persons inside, two on the driver’s seat, and a large seat behind. Q. How is it as compared with the hacks that are used about the city? A. I guess it is about as large as any of them; very near it, anyhow. It is a very heavy carriage.
A. I was at the barn stripping on the 3d of March; and when I came to my dinner, my brother came in immediately afterwards, and he asked for some water to wash his hands. His hands were covered with the gum of tobacco. I saw the gum on them myself. My sister was sick at the time, and that is the way I came to be certain about it. Q. How long was your sister sick? A. She was sick at least a week; not dangerously ill. Q. The first week of March? A. Yes, sir: she was taken sick on Ash Wednesday, the first day of March. Q. And that is all the way you are certain about it? A. Yes, sir. By Mr. Ewing: Q. What did you do on Ash Wednesday? Where did you go? A. I went to church on Ash Wednesday in the morning, and [329] in the evening. I do not know what I was doing. I was at home, though. Q. How far is the church from your house? A. About four miles.
A. I know that Dr. Mudd was at home on the first day of March, and on the fifth day of March, at least. Q. Did you see him there? A. I saw him at his house on the 1st of March: I saw him at church on the 5th of March. Q. What was he doing on the 1st of March? A. He was making a tobacco-bed when I saw him; sowing tobacco-seed preparatory to the crop. Q. Do you know whether or not Dr. Mudd owns a buggy? A. He does not. Q. Does his father own a buggy or rockaway? A. No, sir. Q. What kind of a carriage is it that his father owns? A. It is a large family carriage, a close carriage; four seats inside, two seats outside. Dr. Charles Allen, a witness for the accused, Samuel A. Mudd, being duly sworn, testified as follows:— By Mr. Ewing: Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner, Samuel A. Mudd? A. I am.
Q. State whether he has been at your house within the past two or three months, and, if so, on what day or night. A. He was in my office on the evening of the 23d of March, I think it was. [330] Q. Who was in company with him? A. He came in with H. A. Clark and Mr. Gardiner. Q. What is Mr. Gardiner’s first name? A. I do not know. It was the first time I had ever seen Mr. Gardiner: I was introduced to him on that evening. Q. Is it the Mr. Gardiner who has been a witness here? A. I do not know: I was not here. Q. Where does Mr. Gardiner live? A. I understood that he lived in the same section of country that Dr. Mudd lived in. Q. What time did they come to your house? A. Somewhere near eight o’clock in the evening. Q. How long did they stay? A. They staid until twelve or one o’clock. Q. At night? A. At night. Q. Who were of the party? A. There were several persons in there when they came,—Mr. Emerson: I think Mr. Veighmyer was either there then, or came in afterwards: Dr. Morgan also came in afterwards; he came in later. Mr. Clark then came in with Dr. Mudd and Mr. Gardiner, whom he introduced to the parties then in the room. Q. Did they leave your house between that and twelve o’clock? A. They left somewhere after twelve, I suppose. Q. How do you fix it as the twenty-third day of March? A. I was thinking over the matter, and at first could not fix it; but I remembered, that, on that day, there was a gale or tornado swept over the city, unroofing one or two houses, and killing a negro man on Seventh Street; and that circumstance was spoken of that evening, and I know it was remarked upon by two or three of us; and thinking over the matter, and remembering that, I went to look at the journals,—the “Star” and “Intelligencer,”—and from these papers I found that the tornado took place on that day. Then I supposed that was the time. Q. Had you seen Dr. Mudd in the city before? A. I had seen him once before that time. Q. When?
Q. At what date? A. I think it was some time in the early part of 1864. Q. Have you seen him since? A. I have not seen him since that time. I think those are the only two occasions I have ever seen Dr. Mudd.
A. Yes, sir. Q. And he staid there until midnight? A. Yes, sir. Q. And thereupon he left? A. Yes, sir. Henry A. Clark, a witness called for the accused, Samuel A. Mudd, being duly sworn, testified as follows:— By Mr. Ewing: Q. State whether you are acquainted with the prisoner Samuel A. Mudd. A. Yes, sir: I am acquainted with him. Q. State whether you saw him at any time within the past year in the city of Washington; and, if so, where. A. I saw him last March. Q. What time in March? A. He and Mr. Gardiner spent an evening in my house in March,—the latter part of March. Q. What is Mr. Gardiner’s first name? A. I cannot remember exactly. Q. Where does Mr. Gardiner live? A. He is a neighbor of Dr. Mudd’s. Q. When did they come to your house? A. They came to my store in the afternoon, between six and seven o’clock. They then went home with me to my house, and [332] took tea with me; and, after tea, we went round to Dr. Allen’s office, and spent the evening there. Q. In company with whom? A. With a number of gentlemen. Q. Name them. A. There were ten or a dozen, likely. Amongst the number was Dr. Morgan: he was there for a few minutes only. Mr. Veighmyer was there; Mr. Emerson was there; Mr. Gardiner was there; and, I think, Mr. Ethan Allen was there: but I will not be positive about Ethan; I think he was there. Several other gentlemen were there: I cannot positively recall their names. Q. Was Mr. Bowman, of the Bank of Washington, one of the party? A. He might have been. I think he was. Q. How long did you remain at Dr. Allen’s? A. We remained there until between twelve and one o’clock. Q. What did you then do? A. We went home. Q. Did Dr. Mudd go with you? A. Yes, sir. Q. And Mr. Gardiner? A. Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Veighmyer. Q. Did they stay at your house that night? A. Mr. Veighmyer lived on the same square with me, and went as far as his own house with us. Q. Did Dr. Mudd stay at your house that night? A. He went into the house with me, and I gave him a bedroom; and the next morning he was in my house. I took it for granted he was there all night. Q. At what time did he leave your house the next morning? A. After breakfast. Q. Did he and Mr. Gardiner go off together? A. He and Mr. Gardiner went off together. Q. Did Dr. Mudd and Mr. Gardiner room together that night? A. I judged they did: I put them in the same room. Q. State whether you saw Dr. Mudd upon any other occasion this year. [333] A. I have not seen him on any other occasion that I know of, until yesterday. Q. Did you know J. Wilkes Booth? A. No, sir. Q. Or John H. Surratt? A. No, sir. Q. Or Mr. Weichmann? A. No, sir: I do not know any of those three names. Q. Was any man of the name of either of those three persons in company with you and Dr. Mudd while you were together that night, either at Dr. Allen’s or at your house? A. No, sir: they never were in my company there or anywhere else; not even in a theatre with Booth. Q. Were you with Dr. Mudd constantly through the evening, from the time you took tea and went up to Dr. Allen’s? A. We were not out of one another’s sight that night from the time he came to the store until he went to bed that night,—until he went into his room. Q. Did you see either of the parties I have named in company with him next morning before he left your house? A. I do not know the parties that you have reference to: I do not know them at all. Q. Did you see any strange persons in company with him next morning? A. There were no strange gentlemen at my house, or about my house; or they were not there when he left there. They went off together, and no one in company with them. Q. Are you enabled to fix the day in March that was? A. The only way in which I can fix the day positive is this: We were all at Dr. Allen’s, and we were talking about the accident that occurred on that occasion,—of a storm, and some negro boy being killed. Q. Was the storm on that day? A. I believe it was, to the best of my knowledge.
Q. Did they remain until between twelve and one o’clock? A. Oh, no sir! Q. You have only named four or five of them: do you remember the names of the others? A. I would not speak positively about the names of the others. I could not say. Q. You do not know what their names were? A. Yes, I do: if I could remember positively, I could give the names, because I was acquainted with every gentleman who visited there, pretty much. We go there to spend the evening often. Q. If you do not remember the names, how do you know you are acquainted with every man there? A. Very well. Q. If you do not remember their names? A Very well; from the fact that I am acquainted pretty much with every gentleman who came into the room. Q. I am asking you how do you know that you are personally acquainted with all the gentlemen there that night, if you cannot remember who they were? A. The fact is this: I cannot tell you precisely who were there; but I can say the number was about ten or a dozen, likely. It might have been a dozen or ten or eight; but my impression is in the neighborhood of ten or a dozen. Now, you ask me to name the ten or a dozen. I cannot name them. Q. You cannot mind who they were? A. No, sir. Q. And you do not know now who they were? A. I would not swear positively to the names of the ten or dozen who were there.
A. We were playing cards. Eaton J. Horner recalled for the accused, Samuel Arnold. [335] By Mr. Ewing: Q. State where the confession of the accused, Samuel Arnold, in regard to which you have testified, was made. A. It was written in Mr. McPhail’s house. Q. But I am inquiring as to the verbal statements in regard to which you have testified. A. At Fortress Monroe. Q. Was any part of those confessions made on the boat “Louisiana”? A. I did not speak of any thing that occurred on the boat: I was not allowed in my testimony to do so. Q. What you testified, then, as to his admissions, was based entirely upon what he said on shore? A. Yes, sir; at Fortress Monroe. Q. And none of it upon what he said on the boat? A. I did not speak of any thing that occurred on the boat. Q. Then your recollection of his statements to which you have testified is derived entirely from what he said on shore; and none of it is derived from any thing which he communicated on the boat? A. None at all. No other witnesses being in attendance, the Commission adjourned until to-morrow (Wednesday) morning, June 7, at eleven o’clock. ——————— Wednesday, June 7, 1865. The Court again assembled, and took the following testimony:— George Booz recalled for the accused, Samuel A. Mudd. By Mr. Ewing: Q. In your testimony a few days ago, you spoke of having met Dr. Samuel Mudd up about your house on the by-road leading through the farm? [336] A. Yes, sir. Q. That was on the day after the assassination of the President? A. On Saturday. Q. Easter Saturday? A. Yes, sir. Q. Whereabouts did you cross the road, in going through the swamp up towards your house? A. I crossed it just opposite my house, coming up through the swamp, right opposite the house, coming to the gate. Q. How far was it from the big elm-tree? A. I reckon, about three hundred yards, as near as I can come at it. Q. On which side of the big elm-tree did you cross the main road,—the side next to Bryantown, or the other side? A. On the upper side, farthest from Bryantown. Q. State how far you could see up and down the main road at the point where you crossed it. A. At the point where I crossed it, I reckon, as near I can come at it, I could see plain for about a quarter of a mile above, and upwards of a quarter of a mile below,—a plain, full view. Q. When you say “below,” you mean in the direction of Bryantown? A. Yes, sir; in the direction of Bryantown. I could see from the swamp for about a quarter of a mile each way. Q. Was there any horseman on the road when you crossed it? A. I never saw any horseman at all. Q. If there had been anybody going along the road with Dr. Mudd, and who kept on the main road away from Bryantown when Dr. Mudd turned up through this by-road, would you have seen him? A. I should think I ought to see him in passing the road. There was not any thing in my sight except a line of fence that ran down the road. That was all that was in my sight from the gate where he turned in at, up to the gate where he crossed. Q. How far could you see down the road in the direction of Bryantown? [337] A. There was not any thing at all between me and the road as far as the swamp, except a line of fence. From me down to the swamp, where it crossed over to Bryantown, there was only a line of fence. Q. From the point where you crossed the main road, could you see the whole of this by-road that Dr. Mudd was travelling on? A. No, sir. I could not see it all,—not until I came on the hill. When I crossed at the gate, I had a full view of the main road. That is about one hundred yards from the main public road. I then had a full view of the by-road. Q. And you saw Dr. Mudd on the by-road? A. Yes, sir; on the by-road. Q. Was he between the gate by which he entered the main road and your house? A. Yes, sir; right opposite the dwelling-house. My house leads back of the dwelling-house. Q. Was he moving when you saw him? A. Yes, sir. Q. Where you crossed the main gate up above the big elm, is there a gate going into the field? A. Certainly; from the main road. Q. Then there is another gate down where Dr. Mudd entered? A. Yes, sir. Q. How far is it from the point where you crossed the main road to the gate by which Dr. Mudd entered the by-road? A. As I said before, as near as I can come at it, it is about three hundred yards between the two gates. Q. And when you saw Dr. Mudd on the by-road, how far was he from the gate by which he entered? A. Pretty much equal from both. Some persons there have a near cut in going over the hill. He was nearly equal from the two gates. He came up a little, and then turned right up the road toward the house. Q. Then if anybody had been travelling with Dr. Mudd on the main road, and kept on the main road when he turned in at the gate, that person would have been about how far from where you crossed the main road? [338] A. He would have been about equal with the doctor above my house, if he had kept on riding. I think both distances would be nearly equal. Q. When you crossed the main road, he would have been pretty near the point you crossed at? A. Pretty much, if the gentleman had kept on riding.
A. No, sir; I did not. Q. Do you swear now that you saw him turn up from the main road at all? A. No, sir. Q. Then, if you did not see him turn up at all, how do you know there was not a man riding by his side? A. I did not say I saw a man riding by his side. Q. But when you are asked to swear that, if there had been, you would have seen him, you do not mean to swear that you would have seen him, because you did not see him? A. I did not see him. I cannot swear to that. I did not see the gentleman. Richard Edward Skinner, a witness called for the accused, Samuel A. Mudd, being duly sworn, testified as follows:— By Mr. Ewing: Q. Where do you live? A. In Charles County, Md. Q. Whose servant have you been? A. Mrs. Thomas’s. Q. The mother of Daniel J. Thomas? A. Yes, sir. Q. How long have you known Daniel Thomas? A. I have known him for thirty years, I reckon. Yüklə 2,75 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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