USA > Wisconsin > An illustrated history of Wisconsin from prehistoric to present periods : the story of the state interspersed with realistic and romantic events > Part 44
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The existence of the American Knights was both brief and barren, as the knights soon ascertained that the priceless secrets of the order had been dis- covered by the government ; so the Sons of Liberty were organized from among the members of the American Knights; thus the knights ceased to exist under that name. The new order was organized on February 22, 1864, with C. L. Vallandigham as supreme grand commander of the United States.
The order now known as the Sons of Liberty, was in reality a continua- tion of the order of American Knights, but with the rules, by-laws and ritual changed, while its objects were more clearly defined. It soon had an exten- sive membership in Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Indiana. Vallan- digham, during the summer of 1864, claimed that its membership in Indiana alone was not less than forty thousand. According to the testimony of the grand secretary of the order, the reports from forty-five counties, in September, 1864, showed a membership of only eighteen thousand. Harrison H. Dodd was grand commander for the state of Indiana, and Dr. W. A. Bowles, L. P. Milligan, An- drew Humphreys and one Yeakle, were "major-generals," commanding the four districts into which the state had been sub-divided for military purposes. John C. Walker was elected in Yeakle's place in June, and Horace Heffren was elected deputy grand commander. Judge Bullitt, of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, was elected grand commander for the state of Kentucky, and Felix Stidger, one of Morton's detectives, was elected grand secretary for Kentucky.
The organization was unwieldy and inefficient, and was composed of too many men like Dr. Bowles, who talked loudly, but failed to furnish the prom- ised regiments when the time came to act, indiscreet men, like Wm. P. Green, and less men of courage and determination, like Harrison H. Dodd, Horace Heffren, Judge Bullitt and C. L. Vallandigham. During the summer of 1864, Deputy Grand Commander Heffren sent Wm. P. Green as his proxy, to at- tend a meeting of the Grand Council at Chicago, where he fell into the hands of detectives who secured his credentials, and the unfortunate delegate was not admitted to the conclave.
In May this year, Dr. Bowles had indiscreetly talked confidentially with Stidger, in relation to the secrets of the order, without first testing him as to whether or not he was a member. The leaders of the order now ascertained that the sanctuary of the order had been invaded by spies, and its cherished
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
secrets exposed. They ascertained that one Coffin, a detective and agent for Governor Morton, had been in the confidence of some of the officers of the order, and consequently determined that his "removal" would be for the best interests of the order.
According to testimony taken before the commission, subsequently ap- pointed by the president, to try the conspirators for treason, the following facts came to light : At a meeting of the State Council of the Sons of Liberty, held at Indianapolis on June 14, 1864, it was decided that Governor Morton's agent, Coffin, should be killed. On the following day Vallandigham was to address a meeting at Dayton, Ohio. It had been ascertained that Coffin would be present, and it was thought that the time was opportune for his "re- moval." Commander Dodd asked what members would volunteer to go with him, and put Coffin out of the way. Several of the leaders now found that on the morrow other matters of vast importance would keep them from ac- companying their commander on this trifling mission, consequently Com- mander Dodd and Dr. Bowles went to Dayton, Ohio, but were unable to find Coffin as he had been warned of his danger by Detective Stidger, who had been present at the council held at Indianapolis on June 14th.
From the testimony adduced upon the celebrated treason trials, the well- founded conclusion is, that one of the principal objects of organization of the Sons of Liberty was the destruction of government property, and that the conspirators co-operated with the Confederate authorities for the purpose of seizing the Federal arsenals, releasing Confederate prisoners, and overthrowing the national government with the ultimate view of the organization of a North- western Confederation.
Thomas Bocking, of Cincinnati, invented an infernal substance called "green fire." This condensed element of Hades he showed to members of the order, and received two hundred dollars from them for his immediate necessities. "Nothing can put ;it out," said Dr. Bowles, referring to the "green fire." The trio, Messrs. Dodd, Bullitt and Bowles, with a few select associates, spent one Sunday in Indianapolis experimenting with the "green fire" invention. A hand grenade, operated with a clock, was another of the interesting objects of destruction examined by this select committee and their associates.
After the fall of Vicksburg, in 1864, the abandonment of Tennessee by the Confederate armies, the occupancy of large portions of the South by Fed- eral troops, and the stubborn and determined Grant rapidly closing around the Confederate capital, the last remaining hope was centered in a peace com- mission, and in the faint hope that their Northern friends and sympathizers would liberate the Confederate prisoners and create an uprising of such magni- tude that the Federal forces would turn back and protect their own territory.
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THE GREAT CONSPIRACY.
With these faint gleams of hope, Jefferson Davis appointed three commissioners, Jacob Thompson, C. C. Clay and J. P. Holcombe, to visit Canada, and nego- tiate with influential and reliable persons "to aid in the attainment of peace."
Commissioner Thompson had been instructed that, in the event of his failure to effect peace, he should adopt measures which would tend to cripple the Federal government, by the destruction of its stores and supplies. The Con- federate government had left to his sound discretion the manner of effecting " any fair and appropriate enterprise of war, consistent with British neutrality." British sympathy had prompted the appointment of this select committee, as well as the appointment of a special envoy. Jefferson Davis also sent Captain Hines as a special envoy to Canada, for the purpose of collecting Confederate soldiers, with the view of co-operating with the Sons of Liberty in the release of Confederate prisoners, who were confined at different places in the North.
Mr. Thompson arrived in Montreal on May 30, 1864, and endeavored to induce the influential newspapers to advocate a cessation of hostilities by the Federal armies; but the leading members of the press in Canada were adverse to Mr. Thompson's plan, and nothing could be done there. The persevering, but unsuccessful, chairman of Jefferson Davis' select committee, then opened negotiations with Horace Greeley, but with no better success. The astute and persistent envoy of the almost hopeless cause then conferred with the vision- ary Vallandigham, who represented that the Sons of Liberty were three hun- dred thousand strong, and that the order desired that the war should cease, and the Federal armies be withdrawn from Southern soil. Some of the lead- ers of the order, as well as their Northern sympathizers, desired to establish a Northwestern Confederacy, while the influential minority were opposed to the plan. While Mr. Thompson was at heart opposed to the plan of a separate Confederacy, he encouraged the idea, for the purpose of furthering his plans, and offered to furnish money and arms, to be used in more effectually organ- izing the different counties, with the view of releasing the Confederate prison- ers confined in the North.
The time first fixed by the Sons of Liberty for a general uprising was July 20, 1864, but on account of ineffectual organization and discipline, the event was postponed to August 16th. In the intermediate, Commander Dodd had met Commissioner Thompson at the Clifton House at Niagara, and arranged for the coming outbreak. Mr. Dodd was to send couriers to the major-gen- erals of the various districts, who were to notify the county organizations, and they the townships. Southern Indiana was to be placed under the command of Dr. Bowles, with New Albany as their place of meeting. The Illinois knights were to be placed under the management of various leaders, with their rendezvous at Rock Island, Springfield and Chicago .. The Indiana forces were to be concentrated at Indianapolis. The outbreak was to be a general one, and
450
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
to be simultaneous at the various designated points. Vallandigham was to have charge of Ohio, while Commander Dodd was to capture the Indiana state capital. The plan was to call a political meeting at Indianapolis. The mem- bers of the order were to come in wagons, with their fire arms secreted in the straw, and when a certain signal was given, they were to seize their arms and march on Camp Morton. The Confederate prisoners were to be liberated and armed, and the railroad seized and used to transport prisoners and munitions of war. The arsenals at Rock Island, Springfield and Chicago were to be seized. The prisoners at Camp Douglas liberated and armed, then they were to march on to St. Louis. At a meeting previously held at Chicago, the statement was made that a United States paymaster, on the Red river, had been captured, and that the money could be used to further the ends of the knights.
Commander Dodd now returned to Indianapolis, and communicated the plot in detail to his trusted lieutenants. He suggested that the Democratic state committee, through its chairman, J. J. Bingham, should call a mass meet- ing, to be held at Indianapolis on August 16th. Michael C. Kerr, a leading Democrat from New Albany, called upon Mr. Bingham, and related to him the whole plot for the uprising. The conspiracy, with all its details, was now brought to the notice of Hon. Joseph E. McDonald, the Democratic candidate for governor, who emphatically declared that the matter must be stopped. Dr. Athen, the secretary of state for Indiana, was also involved in the conspiracy. Governor Morton was to be captured, and Athen made provisional governor. Chairman Bingham and Michael C. Kerr called upon Secretary Athen for an explanation, but the wily gentleman declared that he knew nothing of the matter.
A conference of prominent Democrats and knights was now held, in the office of Hon. Joseph E. McDonald. These Democrats were strongly opposed to the revolutionaty scheme, while Michael C. Kerr said that he came up from New Albany to stop the conspiracy, "and that if it could not be stopped in any other way the authorities should be informed of it." Commander Dodd, who was present, declared " the government could not be restored without revolution." It was agreed, however, at the conference, that the conspiracy would go no further, but that the authorities were not to be informed of it.
It was on July 22d, that the Confederate commissioners, Messrs. Thomp- son, Clay and Holcombe, with Captain Hines, and one Castleman, as special envoys, met the representatives of the Sons of Liberty, at Montreal, Canada, and fixed the time for the uprising for August 16th. The order feared that the military authorities would suppress the movement, unless the Confederacy would send troops into Kentucky and Missouri, as a feint, to oc- cupy the attention of the soldiers. On August 7th, another conference was held, and the date of the uprising postponed until August 29th, at which time the Democratic national convention would assemble at Chicago. The Con-
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THE GREAT CONSPIRACY.
federate agents stoutly affirmed that this postponement would be the last. They averred that they had abundant means, and would bring men to Chicago, to release the Confederate prisoners confined in that city as well as at Indian- apolis and Rock Island. The commissioners stoutly insisted that they would carry out these plans, whether the Sons of Liberty acted with them or not.
The leaders of the Sons of Liberty were to bring their members, or their select mebmers, to Chicago to attend the convention. Large sums of money had been furnished by the Confederates, but many of the distributing agents pock- eted the funds, consequently few men came. The great central force of the Sons of Liberty in Indiana, having been previously suppressed in Joseph E. McDonald's office, did not appear. Numerous ambitious Confederates came to Chicago, with the firm belief that with slight co-operation on the part of the Sons of Liberty and their sympathizers, they could successfully attack Camp Douglas, release the five thousand prisoners there confined, and arm them, as arms had already been provided for. The seven thousand prisoners at Spring- field were also to be liberated and armed. These small armies were to be re- inforced by the Sons of Liberty, which would make a formidable army in the heart of the North. This coup de main, it was thought, would strengthen Northern sympathy, and reverse the fortunes of the Confederacy, or at least bring about peace, in accordance with Southern ideas.
The prisoners at Camp Douglas and elsewhere, had received notice of the intention to release them. Captain Hines and Castleman, the special agents of the Confederacy, met the officers of the Sons of Liberty at Chicago, on August 28th, the night before the Democratic national convention. The city was filled to overflowing, and the time well selected for such a movement, but the members of the order, who had been charged to bring the members to- gether, failed. On the following day, Hines and Castleman proposed that the Sons of Liberty furnish five hundred men to liberate the prisoners at Rock Island and Springfield, but the leaders of the order were timid and returned home. Thus the most important feature of the whole great conspiracy failed, through the cowardice of its leaders.
Governor Morton and General Carrington, who had kept themselves thoroughly posted, as to the whole inside workings of the order, now thought the time ripe to make an example of the leading conspirators. On August I, 1864, the ritual of the Sons of Liberty was captured in a law office in Terre Haute, by a provost-marshal. Governor Morton had been advised that arms and ammunition had been forwarded to Grand Commander Dodd, by the Merchants' Dispatch, marked "Sunday School Books." Upon searching Dodd's office, there were found four hundred navy revolvers and one hundred and thirty-five thousand rounds of ammunition. The office of Grand Com- mander Dodd was overhauled on August 22d, " and the secrets of the order
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
held up to the scorn and ridicule of the public." Among the rubbish were found copies of the lectures, obligations and oaths, in the various degrees. The lecture to the candidate in the third degree of that great farce, is in part. as follows :
"Son of Liberty, thy journey is well-nigh accomplished. Somewhat yet remains, and the sons of despotism will beset thy path and aim to turn thee back, peradventure will seek thy life. Then put thy trust in God and Truth. Still, the journey leadeth due East, until thou art held by the Guardian in the South, who will further instruct thee. Beware lest thou bear thee towards the North too far and lose thy way ; as well, also, take heed lest the South entice thee too far thither. We have a trusted, faithful guide on either side thy way, who, true and constant to his behest, perchance may hail thee. Receive what he shall offer, and give earnest heed to all his words. Son of Liberty, be thy watchword, Or.ward."
Harrison H. Dodd, the grand commander of the Sons of Liberty, in In- diana, had been arrested. General Carrington, who had been very active in collecting testimony against him, as well as the rest of the leading conspirators, was in favor of trying them in the Federal Courts, but Secretary Stanton and Governor Morton, desiring to terrorize all orders of a revolutionary and trea- sonable character, thought it more expedient to try them by court-martial.
General Alvin P. Hovey, being in accord with Secretary Stanton and Governor Morton, took charge of the department of Indiana, in place of Gen- eral Carrington, whose good judgment in the matter was subsequently sus- tained by the Supreme Court of the United States. General Hovey now insti- tuted a military tribunal for the trial of Harrison H. Dodd, the grand com- mander of the Sons of Liberty for Indiana.
Shortly after the arrest of Commander Dodd, he petitioned General Hovey to allow him the privilege of occupying a room in the post-office building, instead of being confined in the military prison. The petition was granted, and Mr. Dodd occupied quarters over the post-office, although under the surveillance of the military authorities. The court-martial or military tribunal was insti- tuted by General Hovey, and was based upon the proclamation issued by Presi- dent Lincoln, in September, 1862, which provided for the trial of the insurgents, their aiders and abettors by military tribunals.
The court-martial trial of Grand Commander Dodd, which put a lasting quietus on ambitious, treason-loving members of the order, was begun at Indianapolis, on September 22, 1864. The charges entered against the noted prisoners were, (1) conspiracy against the government in the organization of secret societies for the purpose of overthrowing the government ; (2) con- spiracy and treason in undertaking to seize the United States arsenal ; (3) organizing societies for the purpose of inciting insurrection, releasing Confed-
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THE GREAT CONSPIRACY.
erate prisoners, and resisting the Federal drafts. The great ability of the accused manifested itself early in the proceedings, upon his objection to the jurisdiction of the court, based upon the ground that he was a private citizen of Indiana, and in no manner connected with the army. Judge-Advocate Bur- nett argued in favor of the jurisdiction of the tribunal, and an order was promptly entered, overruling the motion to dismiss.
The surprise, astonishment and disgust of the accused can be imagined, but not realized, when Felix G. Stidger, a confidant of Mr. Dodd, and one of the most active officers of the Sons of Liberty, took the stand as the first wit- ness in behalf of the government. Stidger had all along been acting in the dual capacity of an enthusiastic member of the order and the confidential agent and detective of General Morton and the Federal government. This most in- teresting trial was in progress from September 22d until the afternoon of Octo- ber 6th, at which time the proceedings were adjourned until the following morning, but when the morning dawned it was found that Mr. Dodd had adopted the West Virginia motto, "Montani semper liberi." His escape was effected at an early hour on the morning of the 7th, by means of a rope, which one of his children had smuggled into his room. The street lamps had been darkened in the vicinity of the post-office building by his friends, consequently his flight was unperceived. In the absence of the prisoner, the question of jurisdiction was argued, and the case submitted to the court for its determina- tion, but its decision was not entered, owing to the absence of the prisoner, although it was generally believed that the court had found the great leader guilty and sentenced him to death.
The pent-up wrath and righteous indignation of the authorities was now directed against Dodd's associates. Heffren, Bowles, Milligan, Horsey and Humphreys were arrested, upon warrants containing the same charges as those preferred against Grand Commander Dodd. The newly constituted court convened on October Ist. The evidence against both Milligan and Bowles was clear and convincing, while the evidence against Horsey and Humphreys was not so strong. The principal witnesses were Stidger, the detective; Hef- fren, the deputy grand commander; one Clayton, a member of the order ; Harrison, the grand secretary of the order for Indiana, and Editor Bingham, of the Indiana Sentinel, and a member of the order, each unduly anxious to convict a brother, provided his own chances to escape were strengthened. The traitorous Heffren, the deputy grand commander for Indiana, was the first witness to take the stand against his associates. The case against this treason-dyed traitor and perjurer had, upon the opening of the trial, been dis- continued, upon motion of the judge-advocate.
Jonathan W. Gordon made a forcible and exhaustive argument against the jurisdiction of the court, while his associate, Mr. Ray, ably discussed the facts.
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
The court rendered a verdict of guilty against each of the defendants. Bowles, Milligan and Horsey were sentenced to be hanged. Humphreys received a life sentence, which was moderated to confinement within the borders of two townships in his own county. Several representatives of the condemned men came to Washington and visited the humane and kind-hearted Lincoln, who promised to spare the lives of the prisoners, but that good, wise and great man was assassinated before he could accomplish it.
After the death of President Lincoln, Andrew Johnson approved the sent- ences against the conspirators, and refused all petitions and requests to mitigate them. The defendants Milligan, Bowles and Horsey were sentenced to be hanged on the 19th of May. The question of the jurisdiction of the trial- court had been brought up in the United States Circuit Court, upon applica- tion for a writ of habeas corpus, but the court was divided in its opinion as to the jurisdiction of the commission.
Judge David Davis, being of the opinion that the conspirators had not been legally tried, as martial law had not been declared in Indiana, and the courts still open, now visited Governor Morton, at Indianapolis, and con- vinced that astute gentleman of the tenability of his position. Governor Mor- ton now interceded in behalf of the condemned men. He sent communica- tions to President Johnson, recommending that the sentences be commuted. On May 18th, Governor Morton sent General Mansfield as special envoy to President Johnson, in behalf of the prisoners, and, about the same time Mrs. Milligan, the wife of one of the condemned, was sent on the same errand. As a last and final resort, the irrepressible John U. Pettit was dispatched to Wash- ington, and, through his exertions, the death sentences were at first suspended, then commuted to imprisonment for life.
The humane act of President Johnson and Governor Morton created great indignation throughout the country, more especially in Indiana. "The gallows has been cheated," they declared, and strongly intimated that the lives of the condemned were saved by the use of money. After considerable delay, the application for a writ of habeas corpus was finally decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in favor of the defendants. The court held that the commission or trial court had no jurisdiction, as Indiana had not seceded, was not in a state of war, nor had martial law been proclaimed in that state. The three prisoners, Bowles, Milligan and Horsey, were now discharged. Hum- phreys had previously been pardoned by Andrew Johnson.
Grand Commander Dodd, and other members of the Sons of Liberty, like their Southern friends, Longstreet, Mosby and others, not many years after the war, were taken into the Republican fold, and became enthusiastic mem- bers of that party.
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THE GREAT CONSPIRACY.
Nearly thirty years have passed and gone, since those gloomy days, when the nation's fate was wavering and uncertain. Dark, stormy days, when brother fought against brother, and father against son. Those fleeting, inter- vening years, have forever obliterated disloyalty, softened great afflictions, deep sorrows, and entwined with bonds of friendship and love the people of this great nation, under one government, under one flag.
PELICAN LAKE, ON THE LINE OF THE M., L. S. & W. R'Y.
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CHAPTER LX.
FOURIERISM AND MORMONISM IN WISCONSIN.
Picturesque Ripon, the Seat of Fourierism .- The Wisconsin Phalanx .- The Phalanx Deploys and Stacks Arms after Seven Years.
Social Leprosity in Wisconsin .- James J. Strang Plants the " Stake of Zion" in Racine County .- The Impostor Forges Documents Which He Translates in the Style of Holy Writ. -Established a Kingdom on Beaver Island .- Conspiracy .- Assassination of King Strang .- The Island City Obliterated by the Fishermen.
ONE beautiful May morning in 1844, in the picturesque valley where now nestles the handsome and prosperous city of Ripon, was seen slowly wending its way, a caravan of horses, cattle and oxen, with carts loaded with furniture, utensils and farming implements, and accompanied by about one hundred enthusiastic followers of Fourierism.
Horace Greeley, who, through the New York Tribune, had sown the seeds of that mild " ism " in the fertile soil of Southport (now Kenosha) early in the 40's, was now, for the first time, about to see it germinate and decay.
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