Pitman, Benn, ed., The Trials for Treason at Indianapolis… 1st Ed.

Description

Benn Pittman, the Recorder to the Military Commission, transcribed the famous “Milligan” trial in The Trials for Treason at Indianapolis…

In 1864 Lambdin P. Milligan and his cohorts were arrested by military authorities on allegations that they were conspiring through secret societies, such as The Knights of the Golden Circle, to foment a violent uprising in favor of the Confederacy in the old North-West, particularly in Indiana. The trial proved the existence of the conspiracy and the danger to the loyal states, and the defendants were convicted.

The Milligan trial created a Constitutional crisis in that military authorities were prosecuting civilians for Treason in an area where civilian courts were still operating. The case worked its way to the U.S. Supreme Court as the famous Ex parte Milligan case. The court famously upheld the writ of habeas corpus and found that military tribunals cannot be permitted when civil courts are operating.

Bound in all leather; rebacked with new spine and original spine label. Original boards scuffed with minor loss to scratching. Light chipping of extremities. Original owner signature Jho. Mehaffey on front end page. A handsome leather-bound volume, artistically conserved and scarce!

Pitman, Benn, editor. The Trials for Treason at Indianapolis, Disclosing the Plans for Establishing a North-Western Confederacy… Cincinnati: Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin, 1865. 1st edition, 339(10)p., frontispiece, all leather.