Trial By Military Commission First Mentioned

[Dennis Urban]

The first mention I have seen of the trial of the conspirators by a military commission is in the wanted poster issued by the War Department on April 20, 1865. Stanton's insistence on severe retribution for the conspirators is well known and he put it in writing on that date. I presume the wording on the poster is his and he states, "accomplices in the murder of the President and the attempted assassination of the Secretary of State, and shall be subject to trial before a military commission and the punishment of death." The legal challenge to trial by military commission was to come on the first day of the trial. However, this proclamation by Stanton of the preordained trial method and punishment is astounding when one realizes that not all the perps had yet been apprehended. This really speaks to the tenor of the times. I wonder if anything was written earlier than this wanted poster about the trial method.