114. Captain John Clibbon Brain (1840-1906) Age 66
A Suspected and Disloyal Person
[Page 711]
SUSPECTED AND DISLOYAL PERSONS.
Case of John C. Brain.
John C. Brain was arrested at Michigan City, Ind., early in September, 1861, charged with being a spy in the service of the rebels, a member of the disloyal secret organization known as the Knights of the Golden Circle and an officer in the rebel army. He was examined before a magistrate by whom he was committed to jail for want of bail in the sum of $6,000 and was afterward sent to Fort Lafayette for safe-keeping and subsequently transferred to Fort Warren. A paper was found in his possession showing that he was recognized as a sergeant in a company of State guards which it was stated would be subject to Governor Magoffin's orders "to go anywhere," and was authorized to enlist men for the same "To be called for when needed." This paper was dated Louisville, April 16, 1861. The evidence produced on his examination showed that he had been about Michigan city since the latter part of June, 1861, occasionally absenting himself for a week or more at a time in a mysterious way, no one knowing whither he went; that he disclosed to some persons that he was a Knight of the Golden Circle and made efforts to induce them to join; that he stated that the obligation of the society bound its members "to furnish all information possible;" that he also tried to induce parties to engage in conveying contraband goods, sabers, pistols, &c., to the rebel States; that he talked against the Government, alleging that it was already destroyed and that a Government like that of France was preferable; that one object he set forth as embraced in the organization of the Knights of the Golden Circle when trying to persuade persons to join the same was to aid in the "substitution of a new and different form of government;" that he was seen to have in his possession "a printed hand bill for recruits in the Confederate Army." After his confinement Brain claimed to be a British subject which claim was so far recognized that he was released on the 10th day of February, 1862, on his taking an oath not to go to nor hold correspondence with the insurrectionary states nor do anything hostile to the United States during the present insurrection without requiring an oath of allegiance.--From Record Book, State Department, "Arrests for Disloyalty."
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SUSPECTED AND DISLOYAL PERSONS.
Case of John C. Brain.
John C. Brain was arrested at Michigan City, Ind., early in September, 1861, charged with being a spy in the service of the rebels, a member of the disloyal secret organization known as the Knights of the Golden Circle and an officer in the rebel army. He was examined before a magistrate by whom he was committed to jail for want of bail in the sum of $6,000 and was afterward sent to Fort Lafayette for safe-keeping and subsequently transferred to Fort Warren. A paper was found in his possession showing that he was recognized as a sergeant in a company of State guards which it was stated would be subject to Governor Magoffin's orders "to go anywhere," and was authorized to enlist men for the same "To be called for when needed." This paper was dated Louisville, April 16, 1861. The evidence produced on his examination showed that he had been about Michigan city since the latter part of June, 1861, occasionally absenting himself for a week or more at a time in a mysterious way, no one knowing whither he went; that he disclosed to some persons that he was a Knight of the Golden Circle and made efforts to induce them to join; that he stated that the obligation of the society bound its members "to furnish all information possible;" that he also tried to induce parties to engage in conveying contraband goods, sabers, pistols, &c., to the rebel States; that he talked against the Government, alleging that it was already destroyed and that a Government like that of France was preferable; that one object he set forth as embraced in the organization of the Knights of the Golden Circle when trying to persuade persons to join the same was to aid in the "substitution of a new and different form of government;" that he was seen to have in his possession "a printed hand bill for recruits in the Confederate Army." After his confinement Brain claimed to be a British subject which claim was so far recognized that he was released on the 10th day of February, 1862, on his taking an oath not to go to nor hold correspondence with the insurrectionary states nor do anything hostile to the United States during the present insurrection without requiring an oath of allegiance.--From Record Book, State Department, "Arrests for Disloyalty."
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Louisville, April 16, 1861.
We the undersigned agree to form two or more companies for the purpose of enlisting in the State Guard and we hereby pledge ourselves to do so when a sufficient number have been enlisted. These companies will be subject to Governor Magoffin's orders to go anywhere.
PRESTON ROGERS,
FRANK TRYON,
Captains.
J. V. COWLING, JR,
W. BELL, JR.,
First Lieutenants.
W. D. CHIPLEY,
J. T. G. GALT,
Second Lieutenants.
JAMES GHISELIN,
Third Lieutenant.
JOHN C. BRAIN,
Sergeant.
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[Page 712]
I am acquainted with Mr. J. C. Brain, and hereby authorize him to enlist me for the these companies to be called for when needed.
J. V. COWLING, Jr.,
First Lieutenant.
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Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company,
Superintendent's Office,
Louisville, May 15, 1861.
Mr. J. C. Brain, the bearer, desires to take some sketches on the line of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Station agents will confer a favor by affording Mr. B. such facilities as they may be able.
Respectfully,
J. B. ANDERSON,
Superintendent.
__
We the undersigned agree to form two or more companies for the purpose of enlisting in the State Guard and we hereby pledge ourselves to do so when a sufficient number have been enlisted. These companies will be subject to Governor Magoffin's orders to go anywhere.
PRESTON ROGERS,
FRANK TRYON,
Captains.
J. V. COWLING, JR,
W. BELL, JR.,
First Lieutenants.
W. D. CHIPLEY,
J. T. G. GALT,
Second Lieutenants.
JAMES GHISELIN,
Third Lieutenant.
JOHN C. BRAIN,
Sergeant.
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[Page 712]
I am acquainted with Mr. J. C. Brain, and hereby authorize him to enlist me for the these companies to be called for when needed.
J. V. COWLING, Jr.,
First Lieutenant.
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Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company,
Superintendent's Office,
Louisville, May 15, 1861.
Mr. J. C. Brain, the bearer, desires to take some sketches on the line of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Station agents will confer a favor by affording Mr. B. such facilities as they may be able.
Respectfully,
J. B. ANDERSON,
Superintendent.
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Chicago, September 7, 1861.
To the Sheriff of La Porte County, Ind.
Dear Sir: If the John C. Brain spoken of in above [following] extract taken from the Chicago Journal of this date is of more than medium size, light complexion, light hair and grayish eyes, with rather exposed upper teeth when speaking, and if the said John C. Brain has at any time been engaged in getting up a railroad route book from New Orleans to New York, the said John C. Brain is an unmitigated scoundrel and swindler, and if the evidence is not sufficient to properly punish him on the charge of spy to the enemies of our Government[,] hold him for swindling several parties of this city and Pittsburg of considerable sums of money and advise me by mail. Besides my clients I think William D. Baker, Shanley S. Millar, S. P. Rounds, proprietor of the Adams House, of this city, or a Mr. Haven, a publisher and printer of Pittsburg, Pa., would be glad to get a chance at him.
Very respectfully yours,
JOHN B. THOMAS,
Attorney.
[Inclosure.]
John C. Brain, a daguerreotypist, has been arrested at La Porte, Ind., as a member of the K. G. C. and a Southern spy. He is now in jail in default of $6,000 bail.
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Chicago, September 11 1861.
William H. Seward:
J. C. Brain is in custody as a spy at La Porte; a member of the K. G. C.; is recognized by an officer and men of the Indiana Ninth. Arrested at Philippi as a spy. Papers in cipher. Is in jail. Was once editor of Southern Traveler, Baltimore. What shall be done with him?
JOHN C. MILLER.
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Department of State, Washington, September 12, 1861.
John C. Miller, Chicago:
Your telegram received. Cause J. C. Brain to be sent to Fort Lafayette, N. Y.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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[Page 713]
Chicago, September 18, 1861.
W. H. Seward, Secretary of State:
Send another order. Your telegram read J. C. Abram; should be John C. Brain. Whom shall I draw on for expenses of transportation? * * * Answer.
JOHN C. MILLER.
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Department of State, Washington, September 19, 1861.
John C. Miller, Chicago, Ill.:
Your telegram of the 18th received. The mistake in ours did not originate here. Your telegram of the 11th was answered as received in regard to the person at La Porte. If his name is John C. Brain, do as directed in regard to him, drawing on this Department for all necessary expenses in this and other cases.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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To the Sheriff of La Porte County, Ind.
Dear Sir: If the John C. Brain spoken of in above [following] extract taken from the Chicago Journal of this date is of more than medium size, light complexion, light hair and grayish eyes, with rather exposed upper teeth when speaking, and if the said John C. Brain has at any time been engaged in getting up a railroad route book from New Orleans to New York, the said John C. Brain is an unmitigated scoundrel and swindler, and if the evidence is not sufficient to properly punish him on the charge of spy to the enemies of our Government[,] hold him for swindling several parties of this city and Pittsburg of considerable sums of money and advise me by mail. Besides my clients I think William D. Baker, Shanley S. Millar, S. P. Rounds, proprietor of the Adams House, of this city, or a Mr. Haven, a publisher and printer of Pittsburg, Pa., would be glad to get a chance at him.
Very respectfully yours,
JOHN B. THOMAS,
Attorney.
[Inclosure.]
John C. Brain, a daguerreotypist, has been arrested at La Porte, Ind., as a member of the K. G. C. and a Southern spy. He is now in jail in default of $6,000 bail.
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Chicago, September 11 1861.
William H. Seward:
J. C. Brain is in custody as a spy at La Porte; a member of the K. G. C.; is recognized by an officer and men of the Indiana Ninth. Arrested at Philippi as a spy. Papers in cipher. Is in jail. Was once editor of Southern Traveler, Baltimore. What shall be done with him?
JOHN C. MILLER.
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Department of State, Washington, September 12, 1861.
John C. Miller, Chicago:
Your telegram received. Cause J. C. Brain to be sent to Fort Lafayette, N. Y.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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[Page 713]
Chicago, September 18, 1861.
W. H. Seward, Secretary of State:
Send another order. Your telegram read J. C. Abram; should be John C. Brain. Whom shall I draw on for expenses of transportation? * * * Answer.
JOHN C. MILLER.
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Department of State, Washington, September 19, 1861.
John C. Miller, Chicago, Ill.:
Your telegram of the 18th received. The mistake in ours did not originate here. Your telegram of the 11th was answered as received in regard to the person at La Porte. If his name is John C. Brain, do as directed in regard to him, drawing on this Department for all necessary expenses in this and other cases.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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Fort Lafayette, Friday, October 4, 1861.
E. M. Archibald, Esq.,
Her British Majesty's Consul, New York.
Dear Sir: I have been removed from La Porte, Ind., after being confined over a month in the county jail to this fort. When arrested or till now there has been no distinct charge against me and I am guiltless of any unlawful act. The soldiers who arrested me took from me over $200, giving no receipt or acknowledgment whatever. By the Chicago newspapers I learn that I am an officer in the rebel army, the only foundation for which has been my having signed the roll of a company of State Guards in Kentucky which company I believe has never been organized and I never took any oath whatever to this country or any State thereof. I am a native of London; came here in 1849; have never been naturalized or decl. My uncle, William Tabram, resides in Bristol, Pa., and my mother, Mrs. John Brain, resides in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio. As a British subject I appeal to you for protection and the restoration of my money and liberty.
Yours, very respectfully,
JNO. C. BRAIN.
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Department of State, Washington, October 15, 1861.
Col. Martin Burke, Fort Hamilton, N. Y.
Colonel: You will please allow Mr. Archibald, the British consul at New York, to have an interview with J. C. Brain and George Parker, alleged to be British subjects confined at Fort Lafayette.
I am, colonel, your obedient servant,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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Department of State, Washington, October 26, 1861.
Right Hon. Lord LYONS, &c.
My Lord: With reference to the case of John C. Brain now confined at Fort Lafayette, N. Y., I have the honor to remark that from papers on file in this Department it appears that on the 16th of April last the person referred to was a sergeant in a military organization in [Page 714] Kentucky called the State Guard and was empowered to enlist recruits for three companies, all for the purpose of waging war against the United States; that he was arrested for this offense and is imprisoned as a person dangerous to be allowed to go at large during the existing condition of affairs in that State and in others. He is detained at a place where the writ of habeas corpus is suspended and it is conceived cannot at present be released compatibly with the public safety.
I avail myself to this occasion to offer to you a renewed assurance of my very high consideration.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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E. M. Archibald, Esq.,
Her British Majesty's Consul, New York.
Dear Sir: I have been removed from La Porte, Ind., after being confined over a month in the county jail to this fort. When arrested or till now there has been no distinct charge against me and I am guiltless of any unlawful act. The soldiers who arrested me took from me over $200, giving no receipt or acknowledgment whatever. By the Chicago newspapers I learn that I am an officer in the rebel army, the only foundation for which has been my having signed the roll of a company of State Guards in Kentucky which company I believe has never been organized and I never took any oath whatever to this country or any State thereof. I am a native of London; came here in 1849; have never been naturalized or decl. My uncle, William Tabram, resides in Bristol, Pa., and my mother, Mrs. John Brain, resides in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio. As a British subject I appeal to you for protection and the restoration of my money and liberty.
Yours, very respectfully,
JNO. C. BRAIN.
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Department of State, Washington, October 15, 1861.
Col. Martin Burke, Fort Hamilton, N. Y.
Colonel: You will please allow Mr. Archibald, the British consul at New York, to have an interview with J. C. Brain and George Parker, alleged to be British subjects confined at Fort Lafayette.
I am, colonel, your obedient servant,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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Department of State, Washington, October 26, 1861.
Right Hon. Lord LYONS, &c.
My Lord: With reference to the case of John C. Brain now confined at Fort Lafayette, N. Y., I have the honor to remark that from papers on file in this Department it appears that on the 16th of April last the person referred to was a sergeant in a military organization in [Page 714] Kentucky called the State Guard and was empowered to enlist recruits for three companies, all for the purpose of waging war against the United States; that he was arrested for this offense and is imprisoned as a person dangerous to be allowed to go at large during the existing condition of affairs in that State and in others. He is detained at a place where the writ of habeas corpus is suspended and it is conceived cannot at present be released compatibly with the public safety.
I avail myself to this occasion to offer to you a renewed assurance of my very high consideration.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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Chicago, October 29, 1861.
Hon. W. H. Seward, Secretary of State.
Sir: I hand you herewith the evidence in the case of John C. Brain. He was examined before a magistrate in La Porte County, Inc., and committed in default of bail, $6,000. A statement of the evidence together with the affidavits of Mrs. Mary Fraley are inclosed. Mrs. Fraley was boarding at the same hotel with Brain and through an intimacy with his wife was brought into contact with Brain. She seems to be a credible person. As to his nativity he is reported to me to have been a native of Springfield, Ohio. Of this I have no evidence. One of his letters* which I inclose states that he came to this country when some ten years of age. Naturalization of his father in some States would have made him a citizen. A letter to the English consul at Chicago states that his father is residing at Montgomery, Ala. I hand you a letter* from his father dated 23rd of July last showing him to have been in Cincinnati at that date.
Respectfully submitted.
JOHN C. MILLER.
*Not found.
[Inclosure Number 1.]
In the matter of the prosecution of one John C. Brain, who was first arrested by Colonel Milroy, Ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteers.
This man Brain was arrested at Michigan City after having been suspected and watched for some time. He was brought to Camp Colfax, and by order of Milroy the papers, &c., were placed in my hands, with the request to hold him by some prosecution under our statutes until his case could be fully developed. He was finally arrested on the charge of aiding and corresponding with the rebels. The examination elicited the facts, of which the following is a somewhat full statement leaving out, however, all useless verbiage:
One E. R. Young who has been on his track for some time testified substantially as follows: The first suspicion of the gentleman arose from the circumstances noticed by the superintendent of New Albany and Salem Railroad, he taking up his pass over the railroad. He pretended to be preparing memoranda for a railroad map or some such thing while in fact he did nothing as far as could be seen which showed that such was the fact. He was about Michigan City from and after the latter part of June and at times would absent himself for a week or ten days no one knowing his whereabouts. In order to learn the facts Young became friendly with him and he explained to Young in full the society of the K. G. C.; that he was one, that the oath required him and any other member to furnish all information possible; that he could [Page 715] money by carrying contraband goods, such as pistols, &c., South telling Young just what he could obtain articles for North and what he could obtain for them in Southern cities, his knowledge showing that he had been engaged in the business; that upon one occasion he recognized a couple of ladies who came in from Chicago and went South to Louisville, and afterward informed Young that they recognized him by the society sign of recognition, he telling Young that they had numbers of sashes, caps, &c. The more full detail of this evidence he can give himself with much other information not brought out in the examination.
One E. M. Davis testified that he knew of his sounding men upon governmental questions, saying that one like France was preferable, &c.; that this Government was already destroyed, &c. He endeavored to induce Davis to institute the organization of the K. G. C., telling him fully as to the obligations, &c., and that it was to aid in substitution of a new and different form of government, explaining the condition and magnitude of the organization South.
Major Blowney, formerly of the Ninth, now of the Twenty-eight [Twenty-ninth] Regiment Indiana Volunteers, and provost-marshal at Philippi under Dumont (colonel), recognized him as having been about Philippe during the latter part of June and fore part of July. That when there he was with one Crim [sic], a merchant and a noted secessionist.
One Aaron Fosdick also recognized him as being about Philippi, and several others of the Ninth Regiment recognized him. Fosdick thought he was peddling some of the time.
One John Young testified to some conversations with him, but so mixed up with other matters as to be of little bearing.
One Palmer saw him have a printed hand bill for recruits for Confederate Army. Saw the evidence of his appointment or authority to recruit which was in shape of a letter.
One Mrs. Fraley could have testified to about the same but owing to prudential reasons was not called upon the stand.
[Inclosure Number 2.]
La Porte County, State of Indiana:
Mary Fraley being duly sworn deposeth and saith that on or about 28th day of July, 1861, John C. Brain tried to make arrangements with her to carry revolvers for him into the States of Kentucky and Tennessee, said Brain and his wife to accompany her; he, the said Brain, agreeing to give her a share in the profits and assured her that she would make $30 per month by engaging in aid business; also that said Brain gave her a hand bill calling for men to enlist in the Southern army, which she read, after which she returned the same to him. Mrs. Brain, wife of said John C. Brain, told her that she destroyed said hand bill with other papers by throwing them into a vault; that said Brain told her he knew all about the rebel army, and that he kept himself fully posted with regard to their doings, and that he would be with them within two months. He also told her that he would write and let them know we were coming with pistols for them; that he also told her the names of a number of men who would assist her that she might avoid being arrested by the U. S. authorities.
MARY FRALEY.
Subscribed and sworn before me September 21, 1861.
C. S. WINSHIP,
Mayor of Michigan City.
__
Hon. W. H. Seward, Secretary of State.
Sir: I hand you herewith the evidence in the case of John C. Brain. He was examined before a magistrate in La Porte County, Inc., and committed in default of bail, $6,000. A statement of the evidence together with the affidavits of Mrs. Mary Fraley are inclosed. Mrs. Fraley was boarding at the same hotel with Brain and through an intimacy with his wife was brought into contact with Brain. She seems to be a credible person. As to his nativity he is reported to me to have been a native of Springfield, Ohio. Of this I have no evidence. One of his letters* which I inclose states that he came to this country when some ten years of age. Naturalization of his father in some States would have made him a citizen. A letter to the English consul at Chicago states that his father is residing at Montgomery, Ala. I hand you a letter* from his father dated 23rd of July last showing him to have been in Cincinnati at that date.
Respectfully submitted.
JOHN C. MILLER.
*Not found.
[Inclosure Number 1.]
In the matter of the prosecution of one John C. Brain, who was first arrested by Colonel Milroy, Ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteers.
This man Brain was arrested at Michigan City after having been suspected and watched for some time. He was brought to Camp Colfax, and by order of Milroy the papers, &c., were placed in my hands, with the request to hold him by some prosecution under our statutes until his case could be fully developed. He was finally arrested on the charge of aiding and corresponding with the rebels. The examination elicited the facts, of which the following is a somewhat full statement leaving out, however, all useless verbiage:
One E. R. Young who has been on his track for some time testified substantially as follows: The first suspicion of the gentleman arose from the circumstances noticed by the superintendent of New Albany and Salem Railroad, he taking up his pass over the railroad. He pretended to be preparing memoranda for a railroad map or some such thing while in fact he did nothing as far as could be seen which showed that such was the fact. He was about Michigan City from and after the latter part of June and at times would absent himself for a week or ten days no one knowing his whereabouts. In order to learn the facts Young became friendly with him and he explained to Young in full the society of the K. G. C.; that he was one, that the oath required him and any other member to furnish all information possible; that he could [Page 715] money by carrying contraband goods, such as pistols, &c., South telling Young just what he could obtain articles for North and what he could obtain for them in Southern cities, his knowledge showing that he had been engaged in the business; that upon one occasion he recognized a couple of ladies who came in from Chicago and went South to Louisville, and afterward informed Young that they recognized him by the society sign of recognition, he telling Young that they had numbers of sashes, caps, &c. The more full detail of this evidence he can give himself with much other information not brought out in the examination.
One E. M. Davis testified that he knew of his sounding men upon governmental questions, saying that one like France was preferable, &c.; that this Government was already destroyed, &c. He endeavored to induce Davis to institute the organization of the K. G. C., telling him fully as to the obligations, &c., and that it was to aid in substitution of a new and different form of government, explaining the condition and magnitude of the organization South.
Major Blowney, formerly of the Ninth, now of the Twenty-eight [Twenty-ninth] Regiment Indiana Volunteers, and provost-marshal at Philippi under Dumont (colonel), recognized him as having been about Philippe during the latter part of June and fore part of July. That when there he was with one Crim [sic], a merchant and a noted secessionist.
One Aaron Fosdick also recognized him as being about Philippi, and several others of the Ninth Regiment recognized him. Fosdick thought he was peddling some of the time.
One John Young testified to some conversations with him, but so mixed up with other matters as to be of little bearing.
One Palmer saw him have a printed hand bill for recruits for Confederate Army. Saw the evidence of his appointment or authority to recruit which was in shape of a letter.
One Mrs. Fraley could have testified to about the same but owing to prudential reasons was not called upon the stand.
[Inclosure Number 2.]
La Porte County, State of Indiana:
Mary Fraley being duly sworn deposeth and saith that on or about 28th day of July, 1861, John C. Brain tried to make arrangements with her to carry revolvers for him into the States of Kentucky and Tennessee, said Brain and his wife to accompany her; he, the said Brain, agreeing to give her a share in the profits and assured her that she would make $30 per month by engaging in aid business; also that said Brain gave her a hand bill calling for men to enlist in the Southern army, which she read, after which she returned the same to him. Mrs. Brain, wife of said John C. Brain, told her that she destroyed said hand bill with other papers by throwing them into a vault; that said Brain told her he knew all about the rebel army, and that he kept himself fully posted with regard to their doings, and that he would be with them within two months. He also told her that he would write and let them know we were coming with pistols for them; that he also told her the names of a number of men who would assist her that she might avoid being arrested by the U. S. authorities.
MARY FRALEY.
Subscribed and sworn before me September 21, 1861.
C. S. WINSHIP,
Mayor of Michigan City.
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[Page 716]
Department of State, Washington, November 11, 1861.
Memorandum in reply to that of Lord Lyons of the 9th instant in regard to political prisoners alleged to be British subjects.
* * * * * * * * * * *
John C. Brain, imprisoned at Fort Warren, Boston, was arrested at Michigan City, Ind., and examined before a magistrate in La Porte County, Ind. The evidence showed him to be a member of the secret disunion organization known as the Knights of the Golden Circle; that he held a commission in the army of the insurgents; that he was engaged in purchasing and smuggling revolvers and munitions of war into the insurrectionary States. Mrs. Mary Fraley testified that on the 28th of July he tried to make arrangements with her to carry revolvers for him into the States of Kentucky and Tennessee; also that he exhibited to her a hand bill calling for men to enlist in the rebel army. He was committed to jail by the magistrate to await the action of the grand jury, and subsequently transferred to Fort Lafayette for safekeeping and afterward with other prisoners to Fort Warren.
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Department of State, Washington, November 13, 1861.
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c.
My Lord: * * * An examination has been made in the case of John C. Brain, who is now imprisoned at Fort Warren, and it has been ascertained that he is a member of the secret treasonable association called the Knights of the Golden Circle; that he holds a commission in the insurgent service; that he has been engaged in buying arms and munitions of war for the rebels and in conveying such arms to them in violation of the rules and regulations of the Union. The public safety requires his detention for the present. * * *
I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to your lordship the assurance of my high consideration.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD
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Unofficial.] Washington, January 11, 1862.
Hon. William H. Seward, &c.
My Dear Sir: Will you allow me to remind you of the case of John C. Brain, a prisoner in Fort Warren? In the note which you did me the honor to address to me on the 13th of November last you informed me that the public safety required the detention of Brain for the present. Two months have all but elapsed since that date and he had before been more than two months and a half under arrest. You may perhaps think it possible now to release him. The letters he has written to me and to Her Majesty's consuls are those of a man of so little education that I do not think he can be very dangerous.
Believe me to be, my dear sir, your very faithful, humble servant,
LYONS.
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Unofficial. Department of State,
Washington, January 13, 1862.
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c.
My Dear Lord Lyons: I have received your unofficial note of the 11th instant in regard to John C. Brain. You may recollect that he was arrested on a charge of having been enlisted in the military serv- [Page 717] ice of the insurgents and of having given them aid by supplying them with revolvers. His treasonable practices took place in part at least in the State of Kentucky where order has not been restored and whither if released he would probably return. Under these circumstances it is not deemed advisable yet to discharge him.
Permit me, however, to inquire what proof you have other than his own assertion that Brain is a British subject? Upon this point a doubt has been raised.
I am, my dear Lord Lyons, very truly yours,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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Unofficial.] Washington, February 4, 1862.
Hon. William H. Seward, &c.
My Dear Sir: On the receipt of the unofficial letter which you were so kind as to write to me on the 13th of last month I requested Her Majesty's consul at Boston to make the inquiries necessary to enable me to give you further information relative to the claim of John C. Brain, a prisoner in Fort Warren, to British protection. The consul has sent me in reply a letter from Brain himself.
In that letter Brain states that he was born at Ball's Pond, Islington, London, in the year 1840, on the 30th of May; that his birth is registered at Saint Mary's Church, Islington, in which church his father and mother were married and he himself was christened; that in the month of May, 1849 or 1850, his father and mother brought him to America in the ship Ivanhoe, a Black Star Line packet; that to the best of his knowledge his father never claimed or exercised any rights of citizenship in the United States; that he himself has certainly done nothing to throw off his allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain.
Brain emphatically denies having enlisted in the military service of the enemy of the United States; having supplied the enemy with revolvers; having committed any act of hostility to the United States, or having been guilty of any offense against the laws. He declares his perfect willingness to stand his trial on any charge of the kind.
He affirms that his imprisonment which has already lasted five months is telling fearfully on his health, and he says that in order to obtain his release he is willing to swear (saving his allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain and his rights as a British subject) that he will not enter any of the seceding States or do anything hostile to the Government of the United States during the present difficulties.
Believe me to be, my dear sir, very faithfully yours,
LYONS.
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Department of State, Washington, February 5, 1862.
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c.
My Lord: Adverting to your unofficial letter of yesterday relative to the case of John C. Brain and to the extract furnished me by your lordship from a letter of the 30th ultimo addressed to you by Mr. Matthew F. Maury, I now have the honor to acquaint you that the officer having command of the fort in which they are held has been directed to discharge those persons upon their complying with certain conditions deemed necessary for public safety.
I have the honor to be, with high consideration, your lordship's obedient servant,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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Department of State, Washington, November 11, 1861.
Memorandum in reply to that of Lord Lyons of the 9th instant in regard to political prisoners alleged to be British subjects.
* * * * * * * * * * *
John C. Brain, imprisoned at Fort Warren, Boston, was arrested at Michigan City, Ind., and examined before a magistrate in La Porte County, Ind. The evidence showed him to be a member of the secret disunion organization known as the Knights of the Golden Circle; that he held a commission in the army of the insurgents; that he was engaged in purchasing and smuggling revolvers and munitions of war into the insurrectionary States. Mrs. Mary Fraley testified that on the 28th of July he tried to make arrangements with her to carry revolvers for him into the States of Kentucky and Tennessee; also that he exhibited to her a hand bill calling for men to enlist in the rebel army. He was committed to jail by the magistrate to await the action of the grand jury, and subsequently transferred to Fort Lafayette for safekeeping and afterward with other prisoners to Fort Warren.
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Department of State, Washington, November 13, 1861.
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c.
My Lord: * * * An examination has been made in the case of John C. Brain, who is now imprisoned at Fort Warren, and it has been ascertained that he is a member of the secret treasonable association called the Knights of the Golden Circle; that he holds a commission in the insurgent service; that he has been engaged in buying arms and munitions of war for the rebels and in conveying such arms to them in violation of the rules and regulations of the Union. The public safety requires his detention for the present. * * *
I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to your lordship the assurance of my high consideration.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD
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Unofficial.] Washington, January 11, 1862.
Hon. William H. Seward, &c.
My Dear Sir: Will you allow me to remind you of the case of John C. Brain, a prisoner in Fort Warren? In the note which you did me the honor to address to me on the 13th of November last you informed me that the public safety required the detention of Brain for the present. Two months have all but elapsed since that date and he had before been more than two months and a half under arrest. You may perhaps think it possible now to release him. The letters he has written to me and to Her Majesty's consuls are those of a man of so little education that I do not think he can be very dangerous.
Believe me to be, my dear sir, your very faithful, humble servant,
LYONS.
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Unofficial. Department of State,
Washington, January 13, 1862.
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c.
My Dear Lord Lyons: I have received your unofficial note of the 11th instant in regard to John C. Brain. You may recollect that he was arrested on a charge of having been enlisted in the military serv- [Page 717] ice of the insurgents and of having given them aid by supplying them with revolvers. His treasonable practices took place in part at least in the State of Kentucky where order has not been restored and whither if released he would probably return. Under these circumstances it is not deemed advisable yet to discharge him.
Permit me, however, to inquire what proof you have other than his own assertion that Brain is a British subject? Upon this point a doubt has been raised.
I am, my dear Lord Lyons, very truly yours,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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Unofficial.] Washington, February 4, 1862.
Hon. William H. Seward, &c.
My Dear Sir: On the receipt of the unofficial letter which you were so kind as to write to me on the 13th of last month I requested Her Majesty's consul at Boston to make the inquiries necessary to enable me to give you further information relative to the claim of John C. Brain, a prisoner in Fort Warren, to British protection. The consul has sent me in reply a letter from Brain himself.
In that letter Brain states that he was born at Ball's Pond, Islington, London, in the year 1840, on the 30th of May; that his birth is registered at Saint Mary's Church, Islington, in which church his father and mother were married and he himself was christened; that in the month of May, 1849 or 1850, his father and mother brought him to America in the ship Ivanhoe, a Black Star Line packet; that to the best of his knowledge his father never claimed or exercised any rights of citizenship in the United States; that he himself has certainly done nothing to throw off his allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain.
Brain emphatically denies having enlisted in the military service of the enemy of the United States; having supplied the enemy with revolvers; having committed any act of hostility to the United States, or having been guilty of any offense against the laws. He declares his perfect willingness to stand his trial on any charge of the kind.
He affirms that his imprisonment which has already lasted five months is telling fearfully on his health, and he says that in order to obtain his release he is willing to swear (saving his allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain and his rights as a British subject) that he will not enter any of the seceding States or do anything hostile to the Government of the United States during the present difficulties.
Believe me to be, my dear sir, very faithfully yours,
LYONS.
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Department of State, Washington, February 5, 1862.
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c.
My Lord: Adverting to your unofficial letter of yesterday relative to the case of John C. Brain and to the extract furnished me by your lordship from a letter of the 30th ultimo addressed to you by Mr. Matthew F. Maury, I now have the honor to acquaint you that the officer having command of the fort in which they are held has been directed to discharge those persons upon their complying with certain conditions deemed necessary for public safety.
I have the honor to be, with high consideration, your lordship's obedient servant,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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[Page 718]
Department of State, Washington, February 5, 1862.
Col. Justin Dimick, Fort Warren, Boston.
Sir: Let John C. Brain, a prisoner confined in Fort Warren, be released on stipulating upon oath that he will neither enter any of the States in insurrection against the authority of the United States Government nor hold any correspondence whatever with persons residing in those States without permission from the Secretary of State; and also that he will not do anything hostile to the United States during the present insurrection.
I am, sir, very respectfully, you obedient servant,
F. W. SEWARD,
Assistant Secretary.
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Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, February 10, 1862.
I, John C. Brain, a prisoner confined in Fort Warren, do solemnly swear that I will neither enter any of the States in insurrection against the authority of the United States Government nor hold any correspondence whatever with persons residing in those States without permission from the Secretary of State; and also that I will not do anything hostile to the United States during the present insurrection. So help me God.
JOHN C. BRAIN.
Subscribed and sworn to this 10th day of February, A. D. 1862, before me at Fort Warren, Boston Harbor.
J. DIMICK,
Colonel First Artillery and Brevet Colonel, Commanding Post.
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Washington, March 1, 1862.
Hon. William H. Seward, &c.
Sir: I have received a letter from John C. Brain, who informed me that he has been released from prison and begs me to make inquiries concerning a sum of $220 which he states to have been taken from him when he was arrested.
You may perhaps remember that reference was made to this sum of money in a dispatch from Her Majesty's consul at New York to me dated the 23d of October which I left with you for perusal on the 26th of that month, and which you were so good as to return to me on the same day. It was stated in that dispatch that Mr. Brain had informed the consul that a sum of $220 in gold was taken from him at Camp Colfax, in Indiana, by a private soldier by order of a captain; that no acknowledgment was given to him for the money and that he was very desirous that inquiry should be made concerning its safety.
Brain now informs me that it was Captain Blake, of the Ninth Indiana Regiment, who took charge of the sum in question. He states further that after an imprisonment of nearly six months he is turned out entirely destitute of money and suffering from a sever rheumatic attack brought on by confinement and by sleeping during nine days on a stone floor.
I be to recommend the matter to your attention and to express a hope that the money may be restored to this poor man without delay.
I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant,
LYONS.
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Department of State, Washington, March 4, 1862.
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c.
My Lord: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 1st instant relative to the recovery of the sum of $220 which is alleged to have been taken from John C. Brain when arrested by the military authorities in Indiana last year.
In reply I have the honor to state that the Secretary of War to whom the matter was referred informs this Department that he has directed an inquiry to be set on foot in the proper quarter regarding the facts of the case, and also the return of the money if so taken from Mr. Brain.
I have the honor to be, with high consideration, your lordship's obedient servant,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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War Department, Washington, March 4, 1862.
Lieut. Col. William H. Blake,
Ninth Indiana Regiment, Fetterman, Va.
Colonel: Lord Lyons has written to the Secretary of State in behalf of John C. Brain, who says he was arrested at Camp Colfax, Ind., and that by direction of a Captain Blake a private soldier took from him the sum of $220 in gold and that no acknowledgment was given to him for the money. As you are the only officer appearing on the roll of that regiment by the name of Blake it is presumed that Mr. Brain has mistaken your rank and that you are the officer referred to as having given orders to the private to take the money.
I will thank you to report to this Department with as little delay as possible the facts and circumstances connected with the arrest of Mr. John C. Brain, and if the money was taken as alleged you will please remit the sum so taken therewith.
By order of the Secretary of War:
L. THOMAS,
Adjutant-General.
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Department of State, Washington, February 5, 1862.
Col. Justin Dimick, Fort Warren, Boston.
Sir: Let John C. Brain, a prisoner confined in Fort Warren, be released on stipulating upon oath that he will neither enter any of the States in insurrection against the authority of the United States Government nor hold any correspondence whatever with persons residing in those States without permission from the Secretary of State; and also that he will not do anything hostile to the United States during the present insurrection.
I am, sir, very respectfully, you obedient servant,
F. W. SEWARD,
Assistant Secretary.
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Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, February 10, 1862.
I, John C. Brain, a prisoner confined in Fort Warren, do solemnly swear that I will neither enter any of the States in insurrection against the authority of the United States Government nor hold any correspondence whatever with persons residing in those States without permission from the Secretary of State; and also that I will not do anything hostile to the United States during the present insurrection. So help me God.
JOHN C. BRAIN.
Subscribed and sworn to this 10th day of February, A. D. 1862, before me at Fort Warren, Boston Harbor.
J. DIMICK,
Colonel First Artillery and Brevet Colonel, Commanding Post.
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Washington, March 1, 1862.
Hon. William H. Seward, &c.
Sir: I have received a letter from John C. Brain, who informed me that he has been released from prison and begs me to make inquiries concerning a sum of $220 which he states to have been taken from him when he was arrested.
You may perhaps remember that reference was made to this sum of money in a dispatch from Her Majesty's consul at New York to me dated the 23d of October which I left with you for perusal on the 26th of that month, and which you were so good as to return to me on the same day. It was stated in that dispatch that Mr. Brain had informed the consul that a sum of $220 in gold was taken from him at Camp Colfax, in Indiana, by a private soldier by order of a captain; that no acknowledgment was given to him for the money and that he was very desirous that inquiry should be made concerning its safety.
Brain now informs me that it was Captain Blake, of the Ninth Indiana Regiment, who took charge of the sum in question. He states further that after an imprisonment of nearly six months he is turned out entirely destitute of money and suffering from a sever rheumatic attack brought on by confinement and by sleeping during nine days on a stone floor.
I be to recommend the matter to your attention and to express a hope that the money may be restored to this poor man without delay.
I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your most obedient, humble servant,
LYONS.
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Department of State, Washington, March 4, 1862.
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c.
My Lord: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 1st instant relative to the recovery of the sum of $220 which is alleged to have been taken from John C. Brain when arrested by the military authorities in Indiana last year.
In reply I have the honor to state that the Secretary of War to whom the matter was referred informs this Department that he has directed an inquiry to be set on foot in the proper quarter regarding the facts of the case, and also the return of the money if so taken from Mr. Brain.
I have the honor to be, with high consideration, your lordship's obedient servant,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
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War Department, Washington, March 4, 1862.
Lieut. Col. William H. Blake,
Ninth Indiana Regiment, Fetterman, Va.
Colonel: Lord Lyons has written to the Secretary of State in behalf of John C. Brain, who says he was arrested at Camp Colfax, Ind., and that by direction of a Captain Blake a private soldier took from him the sum of $220 in gold and that no acknowledgment was given to him for the money. As you are the only officer appearing on the roll of that regiment by the name of Blake it is presumed that Mr. Brain has mistaken your rank and that you are the officer referred to as having given orders to the private to take the money.
I will thank you to report to this Department with as little delay as possible the facts and circumstances connected with the arrest of Mr. John C. Brain, and if the money was taken as alleged you will please remit the sum so taken therewith.
By order of the Secretary of War:
L. THOMAS,
Adjutant-General.
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Department of State, Washington, March 28, 1862.
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c.
My Lord: Adverting to your note of the 1st instant relative to the recovery of the sum of $220 alleged to have been taken from Mr. John C. Brain when arrested by the military authorities in Indiana last year and to my reply, I now have the honor to inclose to you for your information the copy of a statement in writing on the subject which was made under the instructions of Adjutant-General Thomas to E. D. Webster, esq., of this Department, by Lieut. Col. William H. Blake, of the Ninth Indiana Volunteers, and a copy of the letter from Captain Copp referred to in that statement.
I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to your lordship the assurance of my high consideration.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
[Inclosure No. 1.]
Camp Andrew Jackson,
Near Nashville, Tenn., March 14, 1862.
E. D. Webster, Esq.
Sir: I am directed by Adjutant-General Thomas to make to you a statement of facts in my possession respecting the arrest of Mr. John [Page 720] C. Brain, a British subject, at Camp Colfax, Inc., and a sum of money alleged to have been taken from him by order of a Captain Blake, of the Ninth Indiana Volunteers. In reply I would state that I as captain in said regiment at that time ordered the arrest of John C. Brain then sojourning at Michigan City, Ind., at the junction of the Louisville, New Albany and Salem Railroad with the Michigan Central Railroad. He (Brain) was charged by the citizens of the city with being a rebel spy and an agent of contraband goods going forward to Louisville. I arrested him myself and delivered him over to now Captain Bush, Michigan City Artillery, now encamped here, with orders to deliver him over to the civil authorities of La Porte, Inc.
Captain Bush and myself examined his trunks at the Jewell House, Michigan City, where he was stopping with his wife. I only took possession of his papers as they exhibited the fact that he was recently from the South. These Captain Bush carried to La Porte and delivered them with the prisoner to Captain Copp, of the Ninth Indiana Volunteers, now in this camp. Brain and the papers were then delivered over by my order to the civil authorities. Since then I have lost sight of the prisoner.
From the moment of his arrest up to his delivery by myself to Captain Bush there had been no search of his person nor did I then know nor have I since heard that Brain had money in his possession or that any had been taken from him, nor did I order any search for money or any other valuables in his possession but left his private property intact in possession of his wife then stopping at the Jewell House, Michigan City, Inc. On the contrary I learned that he had no money, was indebted to his hotel keeper and owed other small bills in the city. Nor did he avow himself an English subject but claimed to be a citizen of the State of New York, which I believed him to be. I inclose the statement of Capt. William Copp, of Company B, Ninth Indiana Volunteers, containing statements of facts respecting his knowledge of the transaction.
Captain Bush's battery being attached to another division I have not been able to see [him] but will take the earliest opportunity to send forward his statement. I would refer you to Morgan C. Weir, attorney at law, La Porte, Ind., the person who took charge of the papers and prosecuted the case.
Trusting this may be satisfactory, I remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
WM. H. BLAKE,
Lieutenant-Colonel Ninth Indiana Volunteers.
[Inclosure No. 2]
Camp Andrew Jackson, Nashville, Tenn., March 15, 1862.
Being personally acquainted with most of the circumstances of the arrest and confinement of a man going by the name of John C. Brain I hereby certify the following facts:
First. He told me he was a native of Tennessee; that he had a brother in the secession army; that he had been given a commission as an officer in the Southern army but preferred to seek his fortune in the North, getting up a railroad guide or acting as agent for one.
Second. He had no money when arrested, or professed to have none. He had bought a coat for which he agreed to pay Mr. Lower, of Michigan City, the sum of $16. When arrested and brought to La Porte Mr. Lower came to get one or the other, the coat or the money. He told me he had no money and would pay for the coat when he got ready. [Page 721] I took the coat from impudent scoundrel's back and gave it to Mr. Lower. Had he been robbed or deprived of money or other valuables he would have made it known to me or to some of the officers at the time.
WILLIAM COPP,
Captain Company B, Ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteers.
_____
Right Hon. Lord Lyons, &c.
My Lord: Adverting to your note of the 1st instant relative to the recovery of the sum of $220 alleged to have been taken from Mr. John C. Brain when arrested by the military authorities in Indiana last year and to my reply, I now have the honor to inclose to you for your information the copy of a statement in writing on the subject which was made under the instructions of Adjutant-General Thomas to E. D. Webster, esq., of this Department, by Lieut. Col. William H. Blake, of the Ninth Indiana Volunteers, and a copy of the letter from Captain Copp referred to in that statement.
I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to your lordship the assurance of my high consideration.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
[Inclosure No. 1.]
Camp Andrew Jackson,
Near Nashville, Tenn., March 14, 1862.
E. D. Webster, Esq.
Sir: I am directed by Adjutant-General Thomas to make to you a statement of facts in my possession respecting the arrest of Mr. John [Page 720] C. Brain, a British subject, at Camp Colfax, Inc., and a sum of money alleged to have been taken from him by order of a Captain Blake, of the Ninth Indiana Volunteers. In reply I would state that I as captain in said regiment at that time ordered the arrest of John C. Brain then sojourning at Michigan City, Ind., at the junction of the Louisville, New Albany and Salem Railroad with the Michigan Central Railroad. He (Brain) was charged by the citizens of the city with being a rebel spy and an agent of contraband goods going forward to Louisville. I arrested him myself and delivered him over to now Captain Bush, Michigan City Artillery, now encamped here, with orders to deliver him over to the civil authorities of La Porte, Inc.
Captain Bush and myself examined his trunks at the Jewell House, Michigan City, where he was stopping with his wife. I only took possession of his papers as they exhibited the fact that he was recently from the South. These Captain Bush carried to La Porte and delivered them with the prisoner to Captain Copp, of the Ninth Indiana Volunteers, now in this camp. Brain and the papers were then delivered over by my order to the civil authorities. Since then I have lost sight of the prisoner.
From the moment of his arrest up to his delivery by myself to Captain Bush there had been no search of his person nor did I then know nor have I since heard that Brain had money in his possession or that any had been taken from him, nor did I order any search for money or any other valuables in his possession but left his private property intact in possession of his wife then stopping at the Jewell House, Michigan City, Inc. On the contrary I learned that he had no money, was indebted to his hotel keeper and owed other small bills in the city. Nor did he avow himself an English subject but claimed to be a citizen of the State of New York, which I believed him to be. I inclose the statement of Capt. William Copp, of Company B, Ninth Indiana Volunteers, containing statements of facts respecting his knowledge of the transaction.
Captain Bush's battery being attached to another division I have not been able to see [him] but will take the earliest opportunity to send forward his statement. I would refer you to Morgan C. Weir, attorney at law, La Porte, Ind., the person who took charge of the papers and prosecuted the case.
Trusting this may be satisfactory, I remain, with great respect, your obedient servant,
WM. H. BLAKE,
Lieutenant-Colonel Ninth Indiana Volunteers.
[Inclosure No. 2]
Camp Andrew Jackson, Nashville, Tenn., March 15, 1862.
Being personally acquainted with most of the circumstances of the arrest and confinement of a man going by the name of John C. Brain I hereby certify the following facts:
First. He told me he was a native of Tennessee; that he had a brother in the secession army; that he had been given a commission as an officer in the Southern army but preferred to seek his fortune in the North, getting up a railroad guide or acting as agent for one.
Second. He had no money when arrested, or professed to have none. He had bought a coat for which he agreed to pay Mr. Lower, of Michigan City, the sum of $16. When arrested and brought to La Porte Mr. Lower came to get one or the other, the coat or the money. He told me he had no money and would pay for the coat when he got ready. [Page 721] I took the coat from impudent scoundrel's back and gave it to Mr. Lower. Had he been robbed or deprived of money or other valuables he would have made it known to me or to some of the officers at the time.
WILLIAM COPP,
Captain Company B, Ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteers.
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List of Prisoners of State Confined at Fort Warren showing J. C. Brain on Line 15. Image from familysearch.com.
J. C. Brain is shown on the "List of Prisoners of State Confined at Fort Warren." It indicates he was arrested 18 Aug 1861, received at the prison 1 Nov 1861, and his residence is Nashville, Tennessee. Remarks are that he was released 10 Feb 1862 with an oath not to enter any of the States in insurrection. For more about Fort Warren, please click here.
Photo showing a Group of Confederate Prisoners at Fort Warren. Image found at hubtrotter.blogspot.com.