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7
i
r-
.VOLUMtt 16,
Case of AViiliam Appleman.
In tlie Senate of the Untied States Dec. !
teliviy ;1S64. ' '
Mr. Bcck.At.iW, presented the Petition j
N)f William Appleman, a citizen of Penn-!
-sylvaoia, with accompanying documents,
etUog forth. bis . conviction before a Mili
tary Comniiasioa' ahd nravirje that the fine
'anjaatly imposed upon him may. bo.re-i
-funded, &c. Upon motion ot ,,ftir. t. me
papers were laid on the table.
They are
aaiallowi:
' Petition.
To the llonorat lethe Senate and House
of Representatives composing the Con
gtesso tie United Mute. '
, The' Petition of William Applkxan,
a citizen of the State of Pennsylvania, re
sident in the County of Columbia, respect
fu'ly represents r
r ' That ha has been recently tried before
s Militaiy Commisioo at Ilarrisburg, as
he believes without due warrant of law,
tor alleged conspiracy - to reMt the Con
criptioD.liws of tha United States, aod
Convicted unjustly of some of the charges
against him and seoUnccd to pay a fine of
.Pita Hundred dollars under paiu of im
prisonment not cxce'-diog one year. That
'to regain bis liberty he haa been compelled
to, pay and has paid, the said fine of Five
Hundred dollar. That being a citizea I
. i , ' .v ui ' r I
of Pennsylvania and not liabla to perform
i . i - - . r !
military service. La , was arrested under
.... L c .
some uiihtarr order on the first day of;
e ' I ' J,, i , ; . c
brptember, and kt-pt in confine
u.ent at Fort Mifflin and at Ilarrisburg
.wotil tha '22nd day of November, and
. f hereby, subjected to much pecuniary loas,
'and to.tuuch Lardship and ii jury of his
" beatlh. i
c That' he was wholly innocent of the
ehargts upon which ha was tried, aod cm
prove. and-it prepared to pr.ove such inno
eLce in any reasonable ' manner and be
for. any proper tribunal or authority.
Thai be -baliotei ha was convicted by the
3iditry Commission aod subjected to pun
jthinect because of the imperfect constitu
' liou of that' tribunal and of the remoteness
vf lhe.jlace cf trial from his residi nue, in
-yflu'cuoQ with his detenu o in prison
n:hot the pririlffge of'sivrirg- bail pnor;, . , -i i
. , . - . ,. , ;. . . height ou tbo-outside, widenm? -towards ;
a. 'lis trial, and .of tiicj extraordinary . . . r a j
iaeansresqrtad to to procure evidence for'
be prostiCutiou aud tha.-Withb"Idiof froui
v , . , ' ,
would be.' Thit not only bss he be. n un -
- .. . , ... ,
Jtlf auVi-otea to tha losce. usuries and
" . . ... 1
tiardahipa belore mentioned, bat hr has
. , . f,r , i- . ...
, . ' .
' . . . . , . forming a narrow platform next the walls
aach aireat. impruonnieut. trial, conviction . . . . . - ' j
... ... , a few inches high. Ton constituted a
and puiiUhiCut. .. . . . . . ,
. .... . ,,! eubxtuuta for pillowy the lower and wider
' lie accompanies tb;s h is most refrpfatful , , , r
. . . . i - . platform of boards answering the purpose
FeUuon with a Iterative ot his arrest, im-! . . .. ,,. ., ,
- . , -, , 'of a bed. A emjrle soldier . blanket was
irisonmfcnt ahd trial : a statement under ... , . . . -
;L .,. : furnished to each man, but no bedding or
eath of tLe facts relating the Charges upon
which he was tried, and testimony irm I e.tr.T" . .i. " i
-, 7 i I ha room was very dampand at wet
sundry witnesses, iu the form of voluntary i ' . . . , ,l
i timea the water came through the arch
affldavita, confirming his averuien s of fict, , , .
, , .- overhead from the earth upon it, dropping
'.And ,he prays that 1113 case, as now brought , . ., ' - .-f ,
r J ' j down in the part farthest from-the fire.
to the attention of Congress, may Jbe in- , , . - j , i,
, , ........ . There was also sweating of the side walls.
- Uiratprf that the has nninstlff imrnaoi f - -
' ' r..' k - f....' ... f
upu i uiiu 'LUBJC vo.iciuuucu, mat , mo
- wrongs done hiui may, as far - as postiible,
be redressed, aod his character be freed
from all imputation arising from the pro-
..eeedins. ia qitiaoii. ' , And he will' ever
pray, Lo.
. . ., .W1LUA31APP.LE3IAN.. '
Tilliam Appleman's Narrative.
'Y reside in lenton township, Columbia
"county, Pa., aod have lived there a boat
30year. , I am 5l';jeara .of . age and
farmer r 1 V' ' "3 'V1''.:'"
1 I was arres'e'd Sept 1st, August 31sj.J
1661, early in the caorning, ?jot at day
break, at cay own1 lioubeJ' by'aoldiera
Therej were tea or a dozen of them, all u i
" tsown to tne Two of my sons were ar
' rested at the same ti-Ve' from their beda in
the house,' and another was arrested at his
: Jioussoear by. - About a dozen other men
arrested in the neighborhood were brought
to the road near my booie and after some
tlaa we ware all marched up to the Bentoo
Church aod confined; there under' guard
until noon. There were other arrested men
'at the'Chureh when we"arrived there', and
stHI other were brought in afterwards. -la
airtlfcre wire about fifty 'arrested men
&t the1 Church. ! -;- ' : ':; 4 :
Cof. Stewart and Capt.McCann, were in
"tha pulpit ttd had the' names called over.
They conversed with i Adam' Lutz, acd oth
eraf (who were not arrested men) but so
a.3 not to be heard by uf. Several of the
; arrested mert were then discharged. ' -,
(We were or JercJ to march out and form,
-ia crder to be takea off. I -went np. to
C$1. JS'ta wart who bad come f'down on the
f acr". cl the Chureh, and -asked him where
ha vr-3 going to tend us T And he said we
Lave to'go'to, "Ij'ooiaobar, asGea.
Cilr;j.mder X7zs . there, - All -were then
: ,;-rcT frtMo E:-oaibur?, IG n:i!is,
ELOOMSBURG. COLUMBIA
l0"'!1" n "V,d '""" rg.""i
McCann had eharge of as, with, as many '
soldiers as prisoners marching besideus.
We were marched through Bloomsburg
(with only a slight halt in the street) to '
p r
the depot of the Lackawanna & Blooms
burg Hail Road - aod put in the Btation
house until the evening train came along.
It was reported among ua that the Cap-
ta;n gaij we were td be taken to Darns-
burg.1 ' We were put ia the cars and went .
to Harrisburg where we . were transferred j
without delay to another train and taken j
on to Philadelphia.' We arrived at Phil-;
adelphia at eight or nine o'clock in the
morniDgy Sapt.' 2udv Sept. 1st. and were ;
taken to Barracks, 5th & Buttonwood.
. i
There at noon we obtained - something to .
cat .Tin-Cups of soup and soma bread,
and meat, which was the firet food fur'
nishrd us from the tima'wejhad been ar- '
rested. At the Benton Church some eat
ablea -were sent to. us from the houso of
John J. Stiles; by his direction, he being
one of the arrested men, which was all we j
had h;id.. . I; and my sons were taken from
home before breakfast. :
The alternoon.of same. day- Sept. 2nd, '
1st. we were taken on to Fort Mifflin
"'"""Y , ' &
through a : long dark - arched passage or
, . ,
rjaneway of about 80 feet in length from
13 . , . 1 . , r .. , .
thtf.uoa-graied doors (say 6 feet high in,
- . . ' . ,
the centre and five cr six feet wide) we
, - ,
PMS Mrough a heavy double planked .nd ;
riveieu uour iuiu mc uuiu-puvi. xuo .
bomb-proof is. partly below tho level of the .
river is arched " overhead and has thick
walla of stone and brick. By stepping it :
I and others made its width, to be 19 feet .
and it length 54 fret. -This was tho space .
allotud to the prisoners, 44 in r umber. ;
One of the original prisons rs had been .
tW.rgeu..c
the ground that he had bee.K arreted by;
mi-take
-Air and light were imperfectly admitted i
on' one side ar.d at one-end of ' the bomb--
proof through openings in the .wall, per- j
haps a dozin ta nthr-. -The main one3 i
lue icicrior. uv qjut w ui u ci m
cr gravel and firm. On the sides scant
ling were laid on the g.ound length-wise
of the roam aud across these boards were
. , , , , . ,
placed. Aatn at the ends of the board
r - ? . ,.
next Ihe wall, bhort pieces of scantling or
... , , - , j
block were placed at intervals end-wise
to the walls, across which boards were laid, !
To check the dampness it was
necessary
to keep up a fire constantly in the grate at ;
one end of the room, but this was not suf
ficient, although attended to night and day.
The fire was useful aUo.to some extent, in
aiding the ventilation, and from the chilli
ness of the Toom-was required for com
fortabla warmth evta in September.
t Our prison fare was as follows : To j
each, a loaf-of baker's bread for the day. '
Oneslice of boiled pork or bef and a tin '.
of coffee in the morning : one tin of bean
or pea soup at'dinner, and a linof cfiffee j
at night. On three or four occasions we!
drew potatoes bqiled in the skin - instead
of soup at dinner.' Several times the meat
was na t good , and five or ' six timea there
was none furnishVdT" .
,The prisoners however, purchased pro
visions for themselves, to some extent, at
enormous' ratesv The expense incurred
in this way was very considerable during
the time I remained in confinement.
; One half a single candle was furnished
at nights for the whole room, and we were
obliged to procure lights at our own expense.-
- ..v f . ' - . 1
A filth-tub -.was' furnished us, made by
sarfing a barrel acrps the middle. Stand
ing upright on the closed end, a stick wa
run across fit'" through holes 1 bored a
little .way below ' the - top.'! ;i Thus pro
vision waa made for iu being . carried by
two men." 'It had nb'cover.V For about
three Weeks it stood in the gang-way or
entrance passage, Outbids the door of our
prison 'roomy'danog lho day-Urn. "' After
wards, upon my application,. wawere per
mitted to keep it during the day, - in 'an
empty room adjoining tho gaog-way.. Two"
of the prisoners went out with it "occasion r
ally under guard. J Always at nrght it was
nece.sarUj kept incur roomthe .door bc-
icg locked." This
whole matter
was a
mcnts, upon whom imprisonment bore se-
verely. About the end of September Wil-
liam E. Roberts and John Yorks were ta-
keh sick with bowel complaints and were
removed to the. hospital near the Fort.
Roberta died about ten days afterwards.
There were other cases of sickness but of
less severity, up to this time. SubFe
quently three or four prisoners were dis
eharged on account of sickness two cases
of rheumatism and one of consumption
by order of Gen. Couch. Mr. Yorks was
also discharged. " ,
Three or four weeks aftr we were ini-!
prisoned, Gen. Couch came to the Fort, i
and 'wa9 in the bomb-proof. He said
tho men thould have a f-ec-iml blanket each
They were furnished sr.nje weeks after
wards, toward th-j rnd.cf October. lie
directed that we he allowed t go out in
the ard together twice a week. This
privilege was actually allowed us bu1 1
twice while I was there. At other times
a fe,w of us were allowed to go oat under
guard, to work a little for exercise.
I was taken to Ilarrisburg a day or two
after the October election, in company
with three others of the prisoners. Four
othSrs. had been taken there pratiously.
This was six weeks from the date of my
arrest, and I had had no notiee of the char
ges against me nor any distinct knowledge
of what they would be.
Two weeks after my arrival in Ilarris
burg, my case was called on for trial be
fore a Military Commission composed of
Cols Pre,vost and Frink. and Capt. Lee ;
Capt, Francis Westela Judge Advocate.
A copy of the charges waa served upon
me one day and the next day I was call
ed before the Commission for trial. I
think thia was Friday, Oct. 23. T had
do counsel present, and there was - an ad-,
journmcnt to the next day. At the next
meeting, after plea entered, witnesses
were examined for th prosecution, and
then there was another adjournment to'
Monday-or Tuetday following. At the
final mectiog one additional witness was
examined for the prosecution and one for
the defence, and a brief defeoco written
by my counsel, and .signed by me, was
put in- The cane thn closed. No list
of witnesses for the prosecution bad ever
been furnished rae, Dor any information
as to the particular points to be met. As
to the charges of which 1 had one day's
notice before I was called up for trill,
they were so ' general and indefinite in
statement, that they conveyed to me no
useful information of the evidence' I was;
to answer. ' ' '.' '
I fouad myself accused, in the charges
of confederating with others to reist the
Conscription ' Act, and of advising resis
tance to it; that I had united with others
to form a Society commonly -called
'Knights of the Golden Circle," the ob
ject of which was to resist the draft, and
that I had also assisted to form organ'za
tiona of armed Companies or squads to
resist the military authorities of the U. S.
Although each and all tbece allegations
were absolutely and wholly false, it was
impossible, in the nature of the case, that
I ebould meet them, general and sweeping
as ihey were, by negative proofs. No
rule of reason or of law tan contemplate
the proof ef general negatives by a defen
dant, or the preparation for such proof by
him in a case of this description. All
that can be required or bun is, that be
-shall contradict or explain away the par-
ticnlar testimony produced for the prose-
cution, to do wnicn it is necessary tnas
he shall know beforehand what it will be,
and shall be in a position to prepare his
defense freely and completely'. :
In ordinary criminal prosecutions a pre
liminary examination of the witoesses lor
the prosecution before a magistrate, en
ables the defendant to leam'pretty clearly
the evidence he will be required to answer
at his tiial. And aahc trial ia in the vi
cinity of the place where the offence is
charged to have been 'committed, witness
es may be brought ia to meet any ; unex
pected and inaccurate evidence produced
by the prosecution. Besides, the defen
dant being usually at large upon bail be
fore his trial, ia enabled by due? inquiry
to -ascertain more or lets perfectly, the
character-f the case to be. presented
against him, and is also enabled to collect
and prepare bis evidence in reply.
But in my case, ibere was no previous pub
lic examination of witnesses before a mag
istrate, aud. as to a part of them I had no
knowledge or expectation that they would !
be examioed until they appeared to be
aworn."' The trial took pUce nearly ltO
miles from myt residence,. and with the un
derstood condition that I should bear the
whole exper.se of witnesses brought by
rue in my defence. And I had been held
in strict conEnemect-from tbe time of my
arrest (almost two ..months) tie privilege
cf giving bail for to y appearance for trial'
COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY LI, 1865.
Couch, asking that we might give bail to
appear when our caees should be tried,
and in the meantime be allowed to go
home.' When Gen. Couch came to the
Fort he said he could not bail us and we
; remained in confinement.
But, as I understood before, my case
was called up, that Edward MTIenry was
the main witness for the Government in
the. trials,-and as I believed him to be un
reliable as to truth, I asked the Judge
Advocato on the first day when I was
called up fo send to Fort Mifflin for John
Stiles and liiram t Jiv.ritt as witness- -
8 oica he 8,ia he wou11 do
I also
seat for my son Thomas, and intended to
oppose thee tLree to M'Heiiry both as to
bis character aod alledgud statements
of his reported to me. When the evidence
airainst ine was ended ou the last day of
trial, by the examination of M'Henry as
a witness, I inquired for my two witnesses
from Fort Mifflin, but they were not iu
attendance. The Judgj Ad-ocate Bid
le had sen for them. (Subsequently
they informed me that they "had never
heard they, were wanted oa the trial)
After consultation with my counsel, I con-
sented, very reluctantly, to let the case
gooff without them. But my son was
examined, and bis testimony appears upon
the record of the trial, with.an important
omission. Having testified .to Edward
M'Henrys bad character and that he'had
uDnri 0rtn. nf..ftw rtf him
he said in answer to a Question bv the
Judge Advocate, that he had heard Rich-
ard Stiles (a witness for the prosecution)
declare, more thau a year previously, that
he would not believe M'Henry undr oath.
This important answer, showing an im
peachment of one of tho leading witnesses
against me by. another, and drawn out by
the prosecution itself, was not, I believe,
entered upon the record cf the trial.
In addition to being an unreliable-witness
on the ground of his character,
M'Htmry was a Conscript who had bkulk
ed the draft, and ho appeared as a witness
after he had been arrested, and when he
was under a. strong inducement to make
his tctimony satisfactory to the prosecution-
By becoming a witness he was en
larged from ecnfincmeEt, and, no doubt,
Le believed his immunity from future pun
ishriiect depended upon the value of his
evideLce for purposes of conviction.
Hence the falsehoods stated by him, that
the political elubs of lfcG'J were sworn to
resist the Conscription Act, and that
their Dime was ''Knights cf the Golden
Circle :" Hence, also, the coloring given
by hinto the occurreacos oa the day of
the Rantz rjceetingiccluding an alledged
conversation - with me. Hess, another
witness, became tuch when app rehending
the arret of both his father and himself:
But his testimony is less objectionable ;
and as to 1 tie other witnesses, their state
ments regarding the old Club meetiaft
were not very important or full, and as
far as tbey were erroneous are corrected
by subsequent evidence.
In another paper I "shall present the
whole case upon the questions of fact Rais
ed by the charges ";gagaiu-.t me, and
give to them a full and complete exami
nation. For the present, I shall resume
my narrative, and proceed to events tub
sequent to the .tril.
Early iu November I was taken back to
Fort Mfflin and on tha 7th ray sentence
wj-n the finding of the Commission, wa
aOQounced to me there. It was & fine of
j pjve DQndred dollars, and imprisonment
until the fine should be paid, provided
however, that the imprisonment should not
exceed one year. " I secured the payment
of the fine in fifteen days and. was released
from custody on the 22nd of November.
I returned home on the 23d after an im
prisonment of 82 f3 days, including the
whole period from'the time of my arrest.
My health was not good during my im
prisonment,, and t yet Icel the .serious
effects of confinement. When I left the
Fort, John RaDtz wis unwell; also 0eo.
Hurliman. "R. Willi Davis and Benjamin
Colley were in the nopi'.al. Joseph
Va-usickie had bee ape insane aod was
also io the Hospital, j ,iy three sons were
October along with 1 3 other's at the Fort.
They were never initrmed what the char
ges were against tiem. Altogether, of
the ..prisoners origindly arrested, about
22 have been discharged, beside myself,
and one is dead.
Statement by Villiam Apple
man, with reference to the
- Charges againtt him before the
Military Comnission, at liar,
risburg. i : . .
Tiie charges as illustrated and defined
by the evidence - for he prosecution and
by the finding of the Commission, consist
' of two points which ray be considered as
dictinet.froai each otbr, and upon each j
of which Icnpow tcimftkefoll?ts t?
The first point is, participation in a
meeting held at the house of John Rantz,
August 1 4th 1801.
The second point is, membership in a
secret political society or Club, in the
Spring of 1863.
First: I will begin by stating what
was actually done and said by me on tha
day of tha Ranta meeting, with tome ao
count of the proceedings at his houso.
The first I knew of the Ranti meeting
was on the day it was held. I saw per-
i t j .1 .
ft-" "J 7' ' e .
lk'l"tI S noue IS su or iui rous irom miuc.
I said to my boys that I would go down
and see what wasgoiDg on. Upon start
iug I told theni that if they came down
they should nofbring their guns. I had
noticed that some of the men passing bad
g. When I got to the Kantz barn,
Mr: Ilulme was sitting in the door, and
j ing with those who were there. He
was discouraging the holding of a meeting,
: and urged thc,n 10 Ie"e- 1,e a,kd ,ne
j my Pinioa bcf()re them ini 1 t0,d h,m 1
j thought it tha best thin they eold do. to
j go away. There were about half a doa
fe conscripted men tb .re, and about as
j many othcis. It ai s.id tbt soldiers
j were coming up and they were lo destroy
he people and properly of the neighbor
1 hood.and also that the Harveyville fellows
coming T t0 lurD out Joe Ue93
' John Keifsr and Aaron Smith. These men
! were all Citizens, and rrot onscripts
No
Mr.
regular meeting was organized.
j Hulme went away before long,. but came
back subsequently. I a'so went home
aod returned a short time before dinner.
Additional persona came in, at intervale;
and finally before dinner, word came
that the Jackson Township men were
comiDg over. - About noon they came,
some 15 or 20 in number. They were
met by perons of the meeting walking out
towards them, but not as an organized
company. A few men were there from
FishiDgcreek . township. Up to this time
nothing fiad been done and no meetisg
orgmiaed. I went home for dinner, and
wad gone one or two'hours. After dinner
was over, Edward McUenry came up to
my house and got. somt-thirg to eat. I
met him at the gate coming in as I was
going out to the orchard, ne was intoxi
cated aud had a gun on his shoulder. I
said to him, ''Thi3 is bad business, car
rying a gun about on the Sabbath. He
said, "I know it is." He sat his gun down
by the gate and went into the bouse. I
did not say to him, "It must be so now,"
nor anything to that effect. Matthew
McHenry and Ephraim McUenry were
with me and went along into the or
chard. Nothing more passed between Ed
ward McHenry and myself, at or near my
house.
I went again to Rantz's at two o'clock
or afttr, and remained there a couple of
hours, until tbe people dispersed. I sat water; at the house of Peter Ka?e m
tbtre and took no part io what was done j Benton whero a speech by Senator Dou
till near the last, when 1 interfered in a j jrla- was read ; at the Cole School House
manner tg be presently stated. ' A good j in Sugarloaf ; at the School House near
deal of conversation was carried on in re
gard to the reports of threats made at
Harveyville, and of the various reports
in regard to danger to'the inhabitants and
their propei ty by reason of the soldiers
coming up from Bloomsburg. The threats
spoken of.it was understood, were cau-ed
bv the wounding a 6hort time before of a
young man named Robisoo.in a Libt af
fray; he being engaged, wiih ethers, "in
pursuing Deserters or coucripts. The
Citizens had no connection with that
transaction so far as I know and believe,
but it was apprehended they would be held
responsible for it, and the threats report
ed were to that effect. Jesse Hartraan,
it was said,had reported the threats made
at Harveyville, before mentioned, with
referenco to the burning out of particular
persons . ,
At some time in the afternoon some re-
marks were made in the b.arn by . Samuel
Kline and Daniel McHenry spoke after
wards. Tbeir remarks were brief, but I
nannot state the exact tiaie when thy were
I made.
rhe men from each Township 6tood out,
and the number was ascertained. It was
proposed to form tome squads who were
to be ibtatioued at particular places to ob
serve what waa done when the troops
came ; and if they conducted themselves
peaceably they were not to be molested
but if they commenced to destroy, notice
was to be conveyed from one fquad to
another and they were to meet together.
That was the way I understood it. The
squads were formed on the ground ;, -a
small cumber in each, not exceeding a
dozen. Ed. McHenry and two or three
others were active in. this proceeding, in
which I took no part whatever, and many
others did Dot. ' But observing what .was
f nve apy
larly the Jackson men were startiog down
the road, I spoke to Jeremiah Stiles and
told him this would never do ; I spoke also
to others present in remonstsance, aod
to the men who were starting to stop,
which they did. Than John R. Davis
joined with me earnesiley, in urging the
abandonment of the plan" ol squads alto
gethar. Jeremiah Stiles at onco agreed to
this, arnd the rest aseiHed. It was con
cluded that the men should go home and
do nothing further, and if the soldiers came
up and conduotcd themselves properly,
they were to be kindly treated. I advis
ed this, and it was agreed to. The squads
were broken up and never met afterwards.
The people dispersed and I went home -
I heard nothing at the meeting about re
sisting the capture of drafted men. When
the soldiers arrived afterwards they were
kindly received and well treated by the
people, as far as 1 k' ow.
The foregoing ia a correct statement, in
subfttanre, of the Rantz meeting and of
nsy connection with it. It arose from the
reports in the neighborhood above mention
ed, awl it fiually broke up and adjourned
in tha manner I have described. My con
nection with it was, mainly, to oppose tbe
funning of squads and to advise the peo
ple to go home. It is true I had a pistol
with me which I had been accustomed to
carry and bad precured for a journey
to tha western country a short time be
fore. Second : The secret meetings of Clubs
in 1663, sixteen months before I was ar
rested, is the other point involved iu the
prosecution against me. And I will proceed
to state my connection with those meet
itigs and tbeir true character.
The first meeting I attended was in
March 1SG3 I think early in the month
at the A?h School-House. A man
named George lladley was there and
spoke. 1 believe he resides in Wyoming
County. At the end of his remarks he
proposed tbe orgsfnizati-dn of a Ciub, and
that those who were willing to pin ii
sliould remain. The Society waa organ
ized as the "Union Club,"and it was somo
times caHed Democratic Club. The' oath
wa to support the Constitution of this
Commonwealth, sod Constitution of the
United States, to msiftain fellowship to
gether, and not reveal the s:gns of recog
nition. There were signs cf recognition
by which the members should know each
other. He representad it was an organi
zation iu opposition -to the Union Leagues.
There was no oath to resist conscription,
nor was any such object proposed. Iu fact
there had then, been no U. S. draft, nor
am I certain that tbe first conscription law
had been passed. I became a member, at
that tune along with twelve or fifteen oth
ers.
I subsequently attended other meeting
in and near Benton township, as follow :
At tbe McIIenrv School House at Still-
the residence of Abraham Manning in
Ja-kou; at the house of David Crossley
in the town ot Benton, and also at my
own house. I mean one mectiog'at each
of these places. I also attended ono or
two additional meetings at the Ash School
IIoue, which is less -than a mile from
my residence. Thesewere all the meet
ings I ever attended, and they were all
Id in March, April, and May, 1863
I have attended nov.e since, and I know
ot none, nor ot any oociety, secret or
open, succeeding them. The meetings
died out : those concerned got tired of
them and they were dropped. From be
ginning to end they were purely party
clubs ; the meetings sometimes secret and
sometimes open ; and there was no obliga
tion, purpose or thought connected with
them of "opposition to tbe Conscription
Law or any other Law whatever.
The foregoing statement concerning the
Rantz meeting and the Political Clubs of
1SG3, ia sustained by the .testimony of a
number of citizens whose voluntary affida
vits accompany the present paper The
witnesses are men of standing and cred
it, to whom the facts are well known aod
who correctly recite them. It remains
oclysto add, that there never wsg actual
'resistance to United States officers or
troops by citizens in the Fishingcreek
country; -and that tbe stories circulated
about fortifications, cannon, and large bod
ies of armed men there organized to resist
the laws, were not true. Batthe object ot
the present statement is accomplished ib
showing that the charges against me were
unjust, and. that Military Commissions,
judged by the present rase aro nnsuitfd to
the investigation of truth aod tho "adminis
tration of J ustice ir the trial of citizens.
WM: APPLEMAN.
NUMBER 12.
(Vinrt of Pnmmon Heas ' of said Conntv
personally cam the above named WillW
Appleman. and being dVl$ wOro-Bai;b
That tbe facts set forth in tbej forgoing
statements are just and true, aa unbeliever
and further saith not. I
Witness my hand at BlooraBburg,thL
29th day of November, A, D.. 1864.
,r JESSE COLEMAN,
T ' Prvthoftotaryl
. ;.',,
Testimony:. ;
. Hiram Asa of Benton township, Cc
lumbia i ountv, Bitu : I know Williai?
Appleman and know that he tvaa anxiou
to rai-je bounty money'a to secure tho 1
iog of the quotas of the said township.
supported tne proposition, inis was iu il.
... rrt, .t
Spring and Summer of 1864. I waa at
meeting at tbe Ash School House as it
called near my residence.. .It was lath
latter part of Winter, nearly two yeai
aao. Mr. Acpleman was there. A Soci
ety o? club was formed in which I
aworn as a member. The Oath was,
support the CcDstitutioa'a of the Uni
States and oftbisbtate. A man nam'
Hadlev ws there. He swore aa.
made some remarks before'' the Sociei
was formed. There was no Opposition
the laws proposed ia organizing the Society
It was political, and in opposition loth
Union League . f, .. ; p
I attended also at Peter Kase's after
wards, in the same spring, at a 'meeting
I understood it was a Union Club. The
was no understanding 'or agreement
tho members to resist the 'Conscript!
T.aw. It waa in the even'n?. and the
were some 15 or 20 person .there. Non
were sworn in while I waa there. I dori
recollect of attending other meetings. K
.meetings have been held 6inee the Spric
of 163 to ibt Ltowltdire, Her have
f heard of any. '
I know E 1 ward " McTTenry .and Hv
witiun irvo mues 01 mm.. . .xxeis not
man of good .character lor truth aad re
racity. . .. . v '
The report, was in the neighborhood fc
several days before the Rantz met ting i
j August 16G4, tlrat ths soldieta-'were cor
lingto onfn nnd deftfoy' ' I was at til
Rantz'Meering a short time in tho mors
: T: 1 .. ' .t . " 111 -f
lug. fiu uu. go luero-ou curpose.
companies were tormed or proposed whi
I was there. I went home. I, went do
again iu the afternoon about the time th
meeting broke up. I was toldj generally
by the men 1 saw that the soldiers wee
to be treated we!) and nothing to be dono
HIRAMjAsn.
Sworn aod Subscribed before -me th
30th day of November, A. D. 18G4.
' JESSE COLEMAN.
' , ' Frllhbiiotary.
William Asa of Benton townshir
. r l
says: I attended one meeting at th
Fchool House a econd one when Had
ley was no there. Ed. M'Henry po1r
rivi nunc. xju. iu iieu ry rp
door wore not closed, lie mad,
sal Speech. .1 waa not initiated a
and the
a politic
a member. I saw several sworn, to but
and of ihii State. ' " William Applema
was there. ' There was rio agreement o
understanding to resist the laws.1 Ther
was nothing said about it. j
I was afterwards at a meeting at Pets
Kase , when Hiram Ah waa .thereH
Philip Kliae read the Spatah of .Senato
Douglas I believe hia last epeeph mad
in Congress. It stems to me -a few mer
were aworn in that night. - -There wa
nothTngin the prooedings'like resisting the
Conscription Lnw. The' meetings wen
introduced a year ago last Spring,and the
last of them" were held ia Mayor June
18G3. There bad been no'U-'S.'draft a
that time. I believe there was nothing II
legal in any of the' Club me'etixigs tha'
were held. ' '' ' ' ' ' ' ' j
I waa at the Rantz meeting, in' Angus?
last, between three and' four -o'clock it
the afternooo. I was coming hume front
a visit to my vister... This "was two or
three weeks before the arrests' were, madew,
Tho conoluiiou I beard waj, that, tae peo-t
pie should g-i home and mind their owir
business, and treat tbe soldiers kindly
they behaved themselves. : Thia -waa thfl
general talk among- tbemv ':- The me; tine
was about breaking" up when7 1 came,
saw Mr. Appleman there. ';,r ia
- T- 1 t , I f ' i f ;
.awaru .u.uenrya coaraoter ia oc
good.
I know that Mr..! Appteman 1 was in faJ
vor of raising commutation. money y the'
township, and beard him advocate it' aev-f
eral times a meetings. ,t i;
- , 'WILLI AM: ASH.
Sworn and .; Saberibed beforu! rue, the
20th day of November A. D. 1864."
JESSE COLEMAN,
" 1 frothonotdry.
i. , i -': vi c: r
Petxb Kasz of Benton township,:aita r
T ... .1 .'1 . 1 - ' -