these abler and worse men? For this we turn to the Jan. 20, 1864, Spirit. “The grand jury of Fulton…ignored the bill of indictment against Henry G. Smith and John A. Robinson, as accessories of the shooting, there not being a particle of evidence to convict them of any complicity in the affair.” Per the Spirit, they were innocent, but who were they?
I found them identified in an earlier report in the Potter Journal (Jan. 18, 1863). Henry G. Smith was the publisher of the Fulton Democrat. John A. Robinson was a local official, a prothonotary. Both were Democrats, of course, and both suspect in the eyes of Republican papers like the Repository and the Journal.
The Repository seemed merely resigned to the acquittal; the Spirit was more positive. The Jan. 20 Spirit quoted with approval the Fulton Democrat’s opinion on the verdict, a determination reached after a threehour deliberation. “The result of this trial will be regarded as right and proper by every candid man who read the evidence, and we are sure that there was not an individual in the Court room who expected anything else than a prompt verdict of acquittal.”
The Daily Pittsburgh Gazette (Jan. 22) admitted that the verdict
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was just, but like the Repository, said that “from various facts elicited in the trial it was apparent that [Forney] had been aided by bad men, whose object was to incite people to resist the conscription act.”
The Jan. 20 Lewistown Gazette reported on the acquittal with less nuance than the Repository and the Pittsburgh paper: “There were some queer doings in that region, as is proved by the fact that a deserter can wantonly shoot down an officer and not be punished for it.” The Gazette was a Republican paper which in this same edition endorsed Lincoln for re-election, referring to the president as “that honest and incorruptible Patriot.”
The reporting in the Potter Journal also lacked nuance. This paper did not wait for a trial to form its opinion. Much earlier, in February 1863, the Journal reported that Forney shot an unsuspecting Ford as the lieutenant approached the house; that Forney was a deserter; that Ford had been detailed to arrest him; and that this deserter had been arrested and “had escaped by a habeas corpus.” The details of the shooting, Forney’s standing in relation to the draft and, of course, whether Ford was acting under orders when he attempted the second arrest were important details that did not seem to concern
the Journal. There is also the odd choice of verb associated with the writ of habeas corpus: most people would not consider a man released by order of a judge to have “escaped.”
After the acquittal, however, the Journal was more matter-of-fact. On Jan. 17, 1864, the paper gave a brief summary of the events leading up the trial and stated without comment that Forney had been acquitted. No calling Forney a deserter; no allegations about abler and worse men. We do learn one other fact about Lieutenant Ford that may account for the earlier bias: he had once been employed at this very newspaper.
We have seen how the military, the judges, the newspapers, and the jury all spoke and acted in this strange case of John Forney. In the spring of 1864 the voters had their say as well. From Daily Evening Philadelphia’s Bulletin, April 7: “Rewarded – John Forney, of Fulton County in this State, who killed Lieut. Ford for attempting to arrest him as a deserted conscript, was elected Constable by the Democracy of Todd township at the late election – receiving all but three of the entire Democratic vote polled.” Vox populi auditur.
The newspapers cited in this column can be found at Valley of the Shadow archive (http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/ and at the Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive (https://panewsarchive. psu.edu/).
Digital Issues of CWN are available by subscription alone or with print plus CWN archives at
While I was perusing Pennsylvania newspapers to learn about John Forney and Lieut. E.N. Ford, I found a lively discussion of a more famous story, the case of John Merryman, a Maryland planter and militia leader.
In May 1861 Merryman was arrested by the military for his role in the destruction of railroad bridges and telegraph lines, an effort undertaken to prevent the passage of troops through the Maryland. He was imprisoned in Fort McHenry. Merryman was not charged with a crime nor allowed access to legal counsel or civilian authorities. President Lincoln had authorized the army to suspend the writ of habeas corpus.
Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled that only Congress could suspend the writ. The president himself lacked that authority and could not delegate to the military a power he himself did not have. Taney ordered the commander of the fort to bring the prisoner before the court. The commander refused. A review of news reports provides some interesting perspectives on this controversy.
In June the Valley Spirit condemned Lincoln’s suspension of the writ and condemned the continued imprisonment of Merryman and the defiance of the court order.
The Spirit published Taney’s long opinion in its entirety, an opinion ruling against the military’s “attempt to trample on the Constitution by destroying the great writ of habeas corpus.” The commander, the editor wrote, “informs the Chief Justice that he is authorized by the President to suspend when he pleases the operation of this writ which is the only guardian and security of liberty.” Lincoln’s action was “a dangerous usurpation of power,” the Spirit asserted, and added that “We are now carrying on a War to maintain the Constitution and Laws and must not see them trampled underfoot and the liberties of the people destroyed by the very Government that is professing to sustain them.”
Another Democratic paper, the Lancaster Intelligencer, agreed with the Spirit. Of Taney’s opinion the Intelligencer wrote: “Like everything else emanating from this venerable and learned jurist, it is a lucid and unanswerable exposition of Constitutional law.” The military authorities ignored the newspaper editors as they had ignored Justice Taney.
While the Franklin Repository did defend the suspension of the writ several times during the war, it did not report on the Merryman case. Other Republican papers covered the case in some depth. The Press, a major Republican paper in Philadelphia, discussed Taney’s opinion on June 1 and June 10. Justice Taney “appears wholly unconscious that the seat of Government…was threatened by hostile armies” and, in issuing his opinion, “took no notice of the fact that…Merryman was one of a number of armed men, who, confederating with the invaders…burnt bridges on the railroad over which [Government troops] were traveling.” The opinion was, moreover, “in exceedingly bad taste” and displayed Taney’s “petulant temper.” Bad law and bad manners too, according to the Press.
Not all support for the Lincoln administration came from Republicans. The Sunbury American, a Democratic paper, argued that “In times such as these, the personal liberty of the subject must give way to the security of the State. Inter armes leges silent.” This was a rebellion, said the American, and Merryman was “a rebel traitor.”
Merryman was indicted for treason in July and released on bail. He was never tried. Like Forney, Merryman found some vindication through politics. After the war he was elected by the Maryland General Assembly to the office of State Treasurer, a position he held from 1870 to 1872. He
Even in the summer, with plenty of green around and the fields sown, the Slaughter Pen Farm at Fredericksburg can feel like a wide, empty landscape. At this time of year, it can feel downright barren. That doesn’t stop me from enjoying a walk around.
The Slaughter Pen is a great case study in topography (too detailed a topic to get into here, especially where I don’t have the benefit of pictures, but you can check out this blog post I wrote in 2011: https://emergingcivilwar.com/2011/12/23/adecember-walk-across-slaughter-pen-farm/). At 216 acres, the Slaughter Pen also represents one of the most significant victories in the history of the modern preservation movement. Protected through the leadership of the American Battlefield Trust, it helped redefine our understanding of the battle of Fredericksburg in an entirely new way.
I paid a visit recently, nipped by cold temperatures and nagged by a breeze just strong enough to be annoying. I’m wrapping up a new writing project about the battle of Fredericksburg that includes a tour, so I was driving my route and walking around at various stops to get a renewed sense of the lay of the land. This particular tour needed to focus on locations related to critical decisions made during the battle.
It would be easy to “phone it in,” so to speak. I give plenty of battlefield tours; Kris White and I already laid out one battlefield tour in Simply Murder, so I’m confident in my ability to get people around Fredericksburg.
But a new tour offers a new opportunity to make sure I’m looking at the battlefield with fresh eyes. How wonderful it is to see something new on a battlefield that is otherwise so familiar. Most of all, I never want to take this or any battlefield for granted. It’s a privilege to be able to get out there and walk the ground and look around.
For all those who helped support preservation at the Slaughter Pen, or on any battlefield, thank you.
Editor-in-Chief, Emerging Civil War
Gordon Rhea and Jeb Stuart! Greg Mertz and James Longstreet! Yellow Tavern and the Wilderness! Plus, if you’ve been following along with our weekly Symposium Spotlight (https://emergingcivilwar.com/ tag/2020-ecw-symposium/), you know we’ve been rolling out another tremendous line-up of speakers and topics for this year’s Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge (Aug. 7-9, 2020). We’re focusing on Fallen Leaders. Tickets are available for $155 each and include all three days, including Gordon’s keynote address on Jeb Stuart and Greg Mertz’s tour focusing on Longstreet in the Wilderness. We have ten speakers total, and we’re highlighting some compelling stories. We hope you’ll join us!
Edward Alexander “popped the question” on February 19. Congratulations to Edward and his now-fiancée, Alison!
Sarah Kay Bierle is hosting her fifth and final Civil War history conference in Temecula, California, on April 4. Details can be found at: https://gazette665.com/2020-civil-war-history-conference/. In the meantime, Sarah has been chasing historical facts all over Virginia and North Carolina these past weekends. You’re not gonna believe what she’s finding about a certain Confederate artillery officer. Hint: she’s speaking about his death and memory at the symposium and writing a book about his life and military innovations.
Doug Crenshaw led a tour of the Glendale battlefield, over land not yet open to the public, on February 22. He also took a group to the newly preserved land at Gaines’s Mill. He’s been up to his eyeballs in Seven Pines lately, too, developing a talk on the battle. From his bookstand, he says he just finished reading The Great Partnership, “which I liked,” he says, and Hymns of the Republic. “The latter, though well written, held on to some myths that I believe have been debunked, particularly the characterization of Grant,” he says.
From Caroline Davis: “Big news for me is I will be spending my summer in Vicksburg,” Mississippi!” Caroline has been hired as a seasonal historian at Vicksburg National Battlefield.
Jon-Erik Gilot, board member for the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation in Wheeling, W.V., is busy planning a Civil War Symposium for Saturday, June 20 at the Hall. Confirmed speakers include Jonathan Berkey (Concord University), Rich Condon (Civil War Pittsburgh), and ECW’s own Kris White (American Battlefield Trust). Keep an eye on ECW and the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation’s Facebook page for more information!
Jon-Erik has also been reaching out to many of our friends at numerous Civil War Round Tables across the country,
Meg Groeling is working her nicely manicured fingers to the bone sorting through the Ellsworth images she amassed over the last several years, trying to figure out the best ones for her book First Fallen: The Life of Elmer Ellsworth, the North’s First Civil War Hero. Not only must they be chosen; they must be sourced. “From the Internet” or “Meg’s Files” does not cut it professionally. In addition, she is reading biographies of Walt Whitman, trying to figure out how to make his scandalous life more palatable to the general public. The main problem is that she likes all that scandal. She is also researching the Republican Wide-Awakes and their connection to Colonel Ellsworth. A visit to Brown University might be in order this summer. And as usual, the roses have been cut back, the violets are in bloom, and the porch has been freshened up for spring. Come join her for a cup of coffee.
Steward Henderson participated in a Civil War program at Childhelp Middle School in Lignum, Va., on Tuesday, Feb. 18. Dr. John Yurechko appeared with Steward as another Union soldier, Beth Stenstrom as a civilian woman, and Bob Lookabill as a Confederate soldier. The event was sponsored by the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield. Thirty eighth graders and 6 teachers attended the event. The school specializes in helping abused children. On Feb. 25, Steward also presented to the Celebrate Virginia History Club.
Dwight Hughes is discovering the challenges of collecting two hundred-plus images for his first volume of the Emerging Civil War Series. “I thought getting the book written would be most of the job, but not so,” he said. “Although many Civil War images are viewable in internet search engines, determining permissions and acquiring digital copies of sufficient resolution can be difficult. Some great pictorial sources apparently have not been digitized for public access. Some apps, like the Library of Congress website, could be more efficient. Profuse illustration is one of the most distinguishing features of the Series, telling stories, as or more effectively, than longer books. It’s another form of composition, certainly rewarding and worth the effort.”
From Frank Jastrzembski: “It can take months to see the final result of a project. But it’s well worth the wait. I’m happy to announce the completion of two projects at the River View Cemetery in Portland, Ore. I’ve included before and after photos below. I’m grateful for all the help River View Cemetery manager Lee Rogers provided to appropriately honor these two soldiers.”