Conspiracy trial for the murder of the president
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[74] A. As nearly as I can remember, he had on blue pants, no coat, and a dark slouch hat. Q. What name did he go by there? A. By the name of Powell and by the name of Doctor. Q. How long did you know him there? A. I do not know the length of time. Q. How long did you stay there? A. Six weeks. Q. Was he there during the whole of the time you were there? A. I do not remember. Q. Was the hospital where he seemed to be attending the sick and wounded a hospital containing both Confederate and Union soldiers? A. Yes, sir; both. Q. About what time did you leave the hospital? A. The first week in September. Q. When did you meet the prisoner Payne again? A. Some time that fall or winter: I do not remember. Q. About how long after you had seen him the last time was it? A. I cannot remember. Q. You say it was about the fall of that same year? A. I think it was. Q. Where did you meet him the next time? A. At my own home. Q. How long did he stay? A. A few hours,—a short time: I do not know exactly the length of time. Q. Did you have any conversation with him? A. Very little. Q. Did he say to you where he was going? Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham. The witness need not state any thing that he said to her at that time. Mr. Doster. What is the objection? Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham. I object because what he said to her is altogether incompetent evidence. Mr. Doster. May it please the Court, I intend to set up the plea of insanity, as I have already stated, in the case of the prisoner [75] Payne. It is very true that, under all other pleas, declarations of this kind are not considered competent evidence for the defence; but the declaration of a person suspected of insanity is an act, and therefore admissible. If the plea were not insanity, I can conceive that the declaration would be out of order. Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham. That is all very true; but the proper way to get at it is to lay some foundation for introduction the declarations in support of the allegation that the party was insane. In this case, there is no foundation laid here,—not the slightest indication of it from any quarter whatever; and I should like to know what right the gentleman has to begin, in this kind of style, with the declarations of the party. To illustrate the whole matter in a word, suppose that the gentleman does state that he proposes to set up the plea of insanity, and, instead of laying any foundation for it, he brings quite a number of witnesses, and proves the declarations of this man perfectly rational in themselves,—declarations in conflict, however, with all the evidence in the case, and with all his conduct,—what then? I suppose if the gentleman chooses to ask this lady whether she considered this man insane, and what reasons she had for that opinion, she can state, and we can go into that matter. Mr. Doster. I do not propose to ask this lady’s opinion about the man’s insanity. I claim that the foundation of the allegation of his insanity need not be laid by me. That foundation has been laid by the prosecution already. Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham. How? Mr. Doster. I claim that the whole conduct of the alleged murderer, from beginning to end, is the work of an insane man, and that any further declarations I may prove are merely in support of that theory and of that foundation as laid by the prosecution. Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham. There need only be a word said about that. On that idea, the more atrocious a man’s conduct is, the more he is to be permitted to make a case for himself by all his wild declarations of every sort and to everybody, at every time and at every place. If he only makes out to get out a knife with which he could sever the head of an ox as well as the head of a man, rushes past all the friends of the sick man into his [76] chamber, stabs him first on one side of the throat and then on the other, and slashes him across the face, breaks the skull of his son who tries to rescue him, yelps “I am mad, I am mad!” and rushes to the door, and mounts a horse which he was careful to have tied there, he may thereupon prove all his declarations in his own defence to show he was not there at all. Mr. Doster. May it please the Court, I do not wish to protract this discussion; but it is claimed here that there is no foundation laid for the plea of insanity. I believe the Judge Advocate will withdraw his objection and allow this testimony to be admitted, provided I can lay a foundation for this man’s insanity. If the Court will listen to me for five minutes, I think I can show them that there is a foundation laid. In the first place, all the circumstances connected with the assassination show the work of insane men. The entrance into the house of Mr. Seward was by a stratagem which is peculiarly indicative of insane men. Then look at the conduct of the prisoner, Payne, after he entered the house, without the slightest particle of disguise, speaking to the negro for five minutes,—a person that he must know would be able to recognize him again thereafter; the ferocity of the crime, which is not indicative of human nature in its sane state; his leaving all the traces, which men usually close up, behind him: for instance, instead of taking away his pistol and his knife and his hat, he walks leisurely out of the room, having plenty of time to take these away, and abandons them; he takes his knife and deliberately throws it down in front of Mr. Seward’s door, as though anxious to be detected; and then, instead of riding off quickly as a sane man would under the circumstances, he moves off so slowly that the negro tells you he followed him for a whole square on a walk; and afterwards, instead of escaping either to the north, on the side where there were no pickets at the time (for it was shown he had a sound horse), or instead of escaping over the river, as he had ample opportunity of doing, because, if he could not get across the Anacostia Bridge, he might have swam the river at any point, he wanders off into the woods, rides around like a maniac, abandons his horse, takes to the woods, and finally comes back to the very house, which, if he had any sense, he knew must [77] be exactly the house where he would be arrested,—where there were guards at the time, and where he must have known, if he had been sane, that he would immediately walk into the arms of the military authorities. He goes to this house in a crazy disguise; because who in the world ever heard of a man disguising himself by using a piece of his drawers as a hat, supposing that a sane man would not discover the disguise. Finally, there is the conduct of this person since he has been here on trial,—the extraordinary stolidity of this man, as opposed to the rest of them: instead of showing the slightest feeling, he has displayed an indifference throughout this trial. You yourselves noticed that at the time of that solemn scene, when the negro identified him, he stood here and laughed at the moment when his life was trembling in the balance. I ask you, is that the conduct of a sane man? There are, besides, some physical reasons which go hand in hand with insanity, and corroborate it, of a character more delicate, and which I cannot mention now, but which I am prepared to prove before the Court at any time. I say that the most probable case of insanity that can be made out has been made out by the prosecution, in the conduct of this prisoner before the assassination, during the assassination, at the time of his arrest, and during the trial. Mr. Clampitt. May it please the Court, I do not rise for the purpose of denying to the counsel for the accused, Payne, the right to set up the plea of insanity, or any other plea that he thinks proper: but I do rise for the purpose of indignantly proclaiming that he has no right to endeavor to bring before this Court the house of Mrs. Surratt as a rendezvous to which Payne would naturally resort. There is no evidence which has shown that he would naturally go to her house for the purpose of hiding or for the purpose of screening himself from justice. The Commission sustained the objection of the Judge Advocate. Q. [By Mr. Doster.] How long did he stay at your house during that visit? A. A few hours. Q. Do you know where he went from there? A. No, sir. Q. When did you see him the third time?
Q. Where? A. At my own home. Q. Describe how he was dressed at the time. A. He was dressed in black clothing,—citizen’s dress. Q. What did he represent himself to be, or say he was, at the time he came there? A. A refugee. Q. From where? A. From Fauquier County, Va. Q. What did he give his name to be then? A. Payne. Q. How long did he stay at your house then? A. I think, six weeks and a few days: I cannot remember the exact time. Q. Do you remember about the date at which he came in January? A. No, sir. Q. But he staid about six weeks? A. Yes, sir; about that. Q. That would make it to the beginning of March? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did he ever see any company while there? A. Never, to my knowledge. Q. Did you ever see Wilkes Booth? A. No, sir. Q. Do you know whether he was called upon at that time by Wilkes Booth? A. No, sir. Q. Did he or not take a room in your mother’s house? A. Yes, sir; he did. Q. What were his habits? was he quiet, or did he go out a great deal? A. He did not go out a great deal; he was remarkably quiet. Q. In what way did this quietness show itself? Did he stay in his room? [79] A. He was a great deal in his room. His quietness sometimes amounted to forgetfulness: he seemed to be absorbed. Q. Did he seem depressed in spirits? A. I think he did. Q. Was he or not exceedingly taciturn and reticent? A. No, sir: I think not. Q. Was he not remarkable for not saying any thing? A. Yes, sir: he was very remarkable for not saying any thing. Q. Have you or not a medical library in your father’s house? A. No, sir: we have a great many old books. Q. Medical books? A. Yes sir. Q. Do you know whether the prisoner can read? A. I do not know. Q. Did he or not give himself up to the reading of medical works there? A. He did. Q. Was not his taciturnity so remarkable as to be commented upon by the rest of the boarders? A. I think not. Q. Do you know whether the prisoner at that time was in possession of a great deal of money? A. I do not know. Q. Do you not know whether he was exceedingly poor, or whether he had enough to pay his board? A. He had enough to pay his board. Q. Do you know how the prisoner happened to leave your house? In what way did it come about that he left the house? A. He was arrested by the authorities of the city, and sent north of Philadelphia.
A. I do not know what he was arrested as: I never heard why. Q. Where was taken when he was arrested? A. He was taken to the provost’s. [80] Q. You do know whether he took the oath there or not? A. He said that he did. Q. He said to you afterwards that he had, and was released? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did he return to your house? A. Yes, sir. Q. What time did I understand you to say that he left your house? A. Some time in March, I think. Q. Do you known whether he came directly to Washington then? A. I do not know. Q. Did he make any trips to Washington while he was boarding at your house? A. Not that I know of. Q. Was he absent at any time while he was boarding there? A. One night, to my knowledge. Q. You do not know where he was then? A. No, sir. Q. How many persons were boarding at your house during that time? A. I do not know. Q. Can you give about the number? A. I would not like to say. Q. Were there many Southern refugees boarding there besides him? A. None to my knowledge. By Mr. Doster: Q. Was or as not the prisoner, during the month of February, away from your home long enough to have gone to Canada and return? A. Not to my knowledge. Q. If he had been away, you would have known it, would you not? A. I certainly should. By Assistant Judge Advocate Burnett: Q. What time do you he came to your house? [81] A. In January? [stet] Q. And staid how long? A. Until March. Q. He came in the latter part of January? A. I think it was in the middle of January: I do not know the exact time. Q. He staid about six weeks, you say? A. Yes, sir. Q. You saw him immediately after the battle of Gettysburg, when you were there nursing the wounded? A. Yes, sir. Q. What hospital did you see him in? A. The general hospital. Q. Who had charge of it then? A. Dr. Chamberlain. Q. Who were in that hospital? What class of wounded were there? A. All kinds. Q. Rebels and Union soldiers, both? A. Yes, sir. Q. Whom did he seem to be nursing? A. He attended to different ones in my ward; and I had both in my ward. Q. You nursed both the Rebel and Union soldiers? A. Yes, sir. Q. Was your mother with you there? A. No, sir. Q. How long was he there? A. I do not know how long. Q. You do not know whether he was employed there as an assistant or not? A. I do not know.
A. Yes, sir. Q. Does Mrs. Branson keep a boarding-house? A. Yes, sir. Q. State whether you ever saw the prisoner, Payne, there. A. I did. Q. Do you remember the time when he came there? A. Yes, sir. Q. What time was it? A. Either January or February. Q. Do you remember how long he staid? A. He staid there until the middle of March. Q. What fixes that date in your memory? Are you sure it was the middle of March? A. Yes, sir: I am sure of it. Q. Do you remember at any time a controversy that Payne had with a negro servant there? A. Yes, sir. Q. Just state all the circumstances about it. A. He asked her to clean up his room; and she gave him some impudence, and said she would not do it. He asked her, and she said she would not; and she called him some names, and then he slapped her and struck her. Q. Did he or not throw her on the ground, and stamp on her body? A. Yes, sir. Q. And say he would kill her? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did he strike her on the forehead? A. Yes, sir. Q. What did this girl do in consequence of that? A. She went to have him arrested. Q. Did or did not the prisoner, at the time of this beating, say he was going to kill her? A. He did, while he was striking her. [83] Friday, May 12, 1865 [stet]. Richard Montgomery, a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows:— By the Judge Advocate: Q. Are you a citizen of New York? A. Yes, sir. Q. State whether or not you visited Canada in the summer of 1864. A. I did. Q. How long did you remain there? A. I remained there, going back and forth, ever since, until about within a week and a half or two weeks’ time. Q. Did you or not know, in Washington City, Jacob Thompson, formerly Secretary of the Interior, and Clement C. Clay, formerly of the United States Senate? A. I did. Q. Will you state whether you met those persons in Canada, and when? A. I met them in Canada, at Niagara Falls, at Toronto, at St. Catharine’s, and at Montreal, a number of times; and very frequently since the summer of 1864 up to this time. Q. Did you or not meet George N. Sanders? A. I did. Q. And a man by the name of J. P. Holcomb? A. Yes, sir: Professor Holcomb. Q. Can you name any other rebel citizens of the United States in Canada, of note, that you met? A. Yes, sir. I met Beverly Tucker, W. C. Cleary,—I think—are the initials,—and a great many others under fictitious names. There was another one by the name of Harrington. Those are the ones that I principally had communication with. I met another one by the name of Clay—not Clement C. Clay. I met one Hicks up there also. Q. Under how many different names did Jacob Thompson pass in Canada? Do you know?
Q. Do you know under what name Clement C. Clay passed? A. Yes, sir. One of them was Hope; another T. E. Lacy. I have forgotten the initials of his name as Hope. T. E. Lacey was the principal one: another one was Tracy. Q. State any conversation you may have had with Jacob Thompson in Canada, in the summer of 1864, in regard to putting the President of the United States out of the way, or assassinating him. A. During the conversation in 1864, Jacob Thompson said to me that he had his friends—confederates—all over the Northern States, who were ready and willing to go to any lengths for the good of the cause of the South, and he could at any time have the tyrant Lincoln, and any other of his advisers that he chose, put out of his way, that he would have but to point out the man that he considered in his way, and his friends, as he termed them, would put him out of it, and not let him know anything about it, if necessary; and that they would not consider it a crime when done for the cause of the Confederacy. Q. Did you or not see Thompson sometime in the month of January, 1865? and where? A. That was in Canada,—in Montreal. Q. Will you state what he then said to you, if any thing, in regard to a proposition which had been made to him to rid the world of the tyrant Lincoln? A. He said a proposition had been made to him to rid the world of the tyrant Lincoln, Stanton, Grant, and some others; that he knew the men who had made the proposition were bold, daring men, and able to execute any thing that they would undertake, without regard to the cost; that he himself was in favor of the proposition, but had determined to defer his answer until he had consulted his Government at Richmond; and that he was then only awaiting their approval. He said that he thought it would be a blessing to the people, both North and South, to have these men killed.
A. That was in January last. Q. What time in the month was it? A. It was about the middle of the month. I saw him a number of times. I could not give the exact day of that conversation. Q. Was it about that time that you saw Clement C. Clay, and had a conversation with him? A. No, sir. In the summer of 1864, immediately after Mr. Thompson had told me what he was able to do, I repeated the conversation to Mr. Clay; and he said, “That is so: we are all devoted to our cause, and ready to go any lengths,—to do any thing under the sun” was his expression, I remember, to serve their cause. Q. Look at these prisoners at the bar, and see if you recognize any of them as having been seen by you in Canada, and under what circumstances. A. I have seen that one without his coat there [pointing to Lewis Payne, one of the accused]. I do not know his name. Q. Will you state where, and under what circumstances, you saw him? A. I have seen him a number of times in Canada. I saw him about the Falls in the summer of 1864; and I saw him again,—I guess it was the last time I saw him,—and had some words with him at the Queen’s Hotel at Toronto City, Canada West. Q. State all that occurred at that time. A. I had an interview of some time with Mr. Thompson. Several others had sought an interview while I was closeted with him, and had been refused admittance. After I was through with Mr. Thompson, and in leaving the room, I saw this man [Payne] in the passage-way near his door. Mr. Clement C. Clay, Jr. was talking with him at the time. Mr. Clay stopped me and held my hand, finishing a conversation in an undertone with this man; and when he left me for a moment he said, “Wait for me: I will return.” He then went and spoke to some other gentleman, who was entering Mr. Thompson’s door, and then came back and bid me goodby, asking where he could see me in half an hour; and I told him, and made an appointment to meet Mr. Clay. While Mr. Clay was [86] away from me, I spoke to this man, and asked him who he was. I commenced talking about some of the topics that were the usual topics of conversation among these men there, and he rather hesitated telling who he was. He [Payne] said, “Oh, I am a Canadian!” giving me to understand that I was not to ask any more. Q. Did you not ask Thompson or Clay who he was? A. Yes, sir: I made some mention in regard to this man to Mr. Clay, in an interview I had with him about half an hour after I saw him standing in the passage-way; and he said, “What did he say?” Said I, “He said he was a Canadian;” and he said, “That is so; he is a Canadian;” and laughed. Q. Did he say he was one of their friends, or make any remarks of that sort? A. He said, “We trust him.” Q. What was the idea conveyed by the term “Canadian,” with his laugh? A. That was a very common expression among the friends of theirs that were in the habit of visiting the States, and gave me to understand that I was not to ask any more questions; that their intercourse was of a very confidential nature, and that their business was of a very confidential nature. Q. Have you been to Canada since the assassination of the President? A. Yes, sir. Q. State whether you met any of these men of whom you have spoken on your return to Canada; and, if so, what conversation you had with them there in regard to the assassination of the President. A. I met Beverly Tucker a very few days after the assassination,—three, or four, or five. Q. Where? A. Montreal. Q. What conversation had you? A. He said a great deal in conversation about the wrongs that the South had received from the hands of Mr. Lincoln, and that he deserved his death long ago; that it was a pity that he did not have
Q. Do you mean by “the boys” the men who were to assassinate him? A. Yes, sir; the Confederate soldiers who were up there who had been engaged in their raids. They used the expression “their boys” in regard to their soldiers and the men in their employ. It is common among them. Q. Did you meet with Booth there? A. No, sir: I never saw Mr. Booth in Canada. Q. Did any of these men of whom you have spoken say that Booth was one of the men referred to by Jacob Thompson, who was willing to assassinate the President? A. Yes, sir: W. C. Cleary told me. I related to him the conversation I had had, or a portion of it, with Mr. Thompson, in January; and he said that Booth was one of the parties to whom Thompson had referred. Q. Did he say, in that connection, any thing further in regard to him? A. No, sir: he said in regard to the assassination, that it was too bad that the whole work had not been done. Q. What did you understand by that expression, “the whole work”? A. I inferred that they intended to assassinate a greater number than they succeeded in trying to. Q. Do you know what relation this man Cleary sustained to Thompson? A. Mr. Holcomb told me I would find Mr. Cleary to be the confidential,—a sort of secretary to Mr. Thompson. Mr. Thompson told me he was posted upon all of his affairs, and that if I sought him at any time that he might be away. I could state my business to Mr. Cleary, and it would be all the same; that I could have perfect confidence in him; that he was a very close-mouthed man. Q. Did Cleary make any remark when speaking of his regret that the whole work had not been done? Was any threat made to the effect that it would yet be done? Yüklə 2,75 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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