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| Joined: | Sat Jan 27th, 2007 |
| Location: | Texas USA |
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First I would say that the way things are done now aren't relevant to the way things were done in the years after the end of the Civil War. By 1867, when Jefferson Davis was passed to civilian authorities, it was believed by Attorney General Stanbery and Chief Justice Chase that the trial of Mr. Davis should take place in Virginia.
Apparently, you believe that Jefferson Davis was responsible for everything that his soldiers ever did on their own initiative on northern soil. If you want to take that concept to an even higher level of absurdity, why not indict Jefferson Davis in Vermont for the St. Albans raid there?
The Attack on St. Albans
Actually, the depredations of Jubal Early's troops on the 1864 campaign to threaten Washington were relatively minor when compared to those of Union generals such as: "Black Dave" Hunter and Philip Sheridan (Famous, or rather, infamous, for: "The Burning" in the Valley). In fact, Early's men demanded a ransom from the citizens of Chambersburg, PA as: "restitution" for property destroyed by Hunter in Virginia. Was Abraham Lincoln guilty of a crime because his generals destroyed property in the south? There was a lot more burning of the property of southern citizens by Union troops than there was the other way around. Or was it okay for one side to destroy property but was a crime for the other side to do so?
Encyclopedia Virginia: Hard War in Virginia During the Civil War
As for Mrs. Surratt- the controversy continues as to whether of not Andrew Johnson saw the plea for clemency signed by five members of the military commission that tried the conspirators. You may believe Josph Holt if you wish to. I do not, as I believe that his judgment was clouded by grief over the assassination of Mr. Lincoln and a hatred of Confederates in general, and Jefferson Davis in particular. His charge that Mr. Davis was involved in the assassination plot was quickly seen to have no merit whatever.
Your statement: "Believe me, if Davis weren't in Irwin, GA, and was captured around April 15- July 7, he would have been invited to the necktie party" is simply ridiculous. Mr. Davis was captured in GA during that timeframe- on 10 May to be exact. (And Mr. Davis was captured near Irwinville, GA- not: "Irwin"). By 22 May, he was installed in Ft. Monroe, VA, where he was kept under extremely harsh conditions until October of 1865. He remained a prisoner there until 1867.
So, obviously, I don't believe you. At the same time the trial of the Lincoln conspirators was being conducted, the case that eventually reached the USSC as ex parte Milligan got underway. Its decision was that it was unconstitutional for military tribunals to try citizens wherever the civilian court system was operating. In addition, it said that even in places where habeus corpus was suspended, military authorities could only hold citizens without charges. They could not try them, and, obviously, they could not execute them. Clearly, the courts in WDC were operating in 1865, so the tribunal set up to try the Lincoln conspirators would not have been allowed if the Milligan case had somehow been concluded before the tribunal was formed, and made its decision (And carried out the executions on the following day.) As an aside, it was a strange coindence that Lambdin Milligan filed his initial petition in a U.S. Circuit Court in Indiana on 10 May 1865, the same day that Jefferson Davis was captured.
As I previously said, the populace as a whole was more interested in reconciliation than vengeance after the shooting stopped. Many were put off by how the trial of the conspirators was conducted, and there was little enthusiasm for such trials after 1865.
As for the contention that a : "Dalliance" had taken place between Jefferson Davis and Mrs. Dorsey at Beauvoir, there is no indication, let alone any proof, of that happening. But like the ludicrous story that Mr. Davis was wearing a dress when captured, it was something that many in the north then (And apparently you now) were willing to believe.
Last edited on Fri Dec 21st, 2012 02:59 am by Texas Defender