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Lot Essay
An order for a stay of execution for a Southern sympathizer accused of conspiring to "break up the army" and planning to overthrow the Governor of Indiana.
The document orders that John O. Brown, facing a sentence of death by a Court Martial at Indianapolis, be pardoned, absolved of his sentence, and discharged from the service of the United States. On 19 March 1863, Colonel Henry B. Carrington reported to Lincoln and Stanton on the activities of the Knights of the Golden Circle—a secret society of Southern sympathizers who advocated for secession and the expansion of the Confederacy into Latin American territory, creating a vast "golden circle" in which slavery would permanently continue. In his report, Carrington alleged that the group has "organized to break up the army ... their success was considerable until the arrest and conviction of John O. Brown, now under sentence of death suspended at my request, that he may be used as a witness before the U.S. district court".
Henry B. Carrington (1824-1912) served an invaluable role in organizing volunteer regiments and investigating secret organizations, developing a vast network of spies and collecting information from informants in Indiana and neighboring states. His investigations found that John Brown, a state trooper, was giving signs and secret handshakes that matched numerous Democratic secret societies around Indianapolis. At Brown's trial, one witness testified that Brown "initiated fifteen men of his company and one from another into the order called 'Star in the East'" and stated that "Democratic attorneys in Indianapolis and Shelby County would help to get soldiers out of the service". Brown offered no defense, opting to seek leniency from the mercy of the court. The court was not merciful, and sentenced him to be shot to death. See Towne, Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War (2015).
Following this order, Lincoln wrote to Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton on 18 July 1863, asking, "What do you remember about the case of John O. Brown, convicted of mutinous conduct & sentenced to death? What do you desire about it?" The Governor replied two days later that he was "unconditionally pardoned & discharged from the service".
The document orders that John O. Brown, facing a sentence of death by a Court Martial at Indianapolis, be pardoned, absolved of his sentence, and discharged from the service of the United States. On 19 March 1863, Colonel Henry B. Carrington reported to Lincoln and Stanton on the activities of the Knights of the Golden Circle—a secret society of Southern sympathizers who advocated for secession and the expansion of the Confederacy into Latin American territory, creating a vast "golden circle" in which slavery would permanently continue. In his report, Carrington alleged that the group has "organized to break up the army ... their success was considerable until the arrest and conviction of John O. Brown, now under sentence of death suspended at my request, that he may be used as a witness before the U.S. district court".
Henry B. Carrington (1824-1912) served an invaluable role in organizing volunteer regiments and investigating secret organizations, developing a vast network of spies and collecting information from informants in Indiana and neighboring states. His investigations found that John Brown, a state trooper, was giving signs and secret handshakes that matched numerous Democratic secret societies around Indianapolis. At Brown's trial, one witness testified that Brown "initiated fifteen men of his company and one from another into the order called 'Star in the East'" and stated that "Democratic attorneys in Indianapolis and Shelby County would help to get soldiers out of the service". Brown offered no defense, opting to seek leniency from the mercy of the court. The court was not merciful, and sentenced him to be shot to death. See Towne, Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War (2015).
Following this order, Lincoln wrote to Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton on 18 July 1863, asking, "What do you remember about the case of John O. Brown, convicted of mutinous conduct & sentenced to death? What do you desire about it?" The Governor replied two days later that he was "unconditionally pardoned & discharged from the service".