Assassination Trivia

[Dave Taylor]

That is the statue of congressman John Bingham located in his home of Cadiz, Ohio. Bingham was an Assistant Judge Advocate during the trial of the Lincoln conspirators acting as a member of the prosecution.



More than JAG Joseph Holt and his fellow assistant judge advocate, Henry Burnett, John Bingham really acted as the government's attack dog during the defense's portion of the trial. His habit of objecting to the smallest bit of defense testimony was noted by many involved with the trial. General August Kautz who sat on the commission complained in his diary that, "There is much delay by the Judge Advocate Bingham who is constantly objecting to the questions asked by the Counsel." General William Doster who defended Lewis Powell and George Atzerodt later reflected, “As regards the conduct of the judge advocates, that of Mr. Holt was courteous and moderate throughout, so was that of Colonel Burnett. This, however, cannot be said for Mr. Bingham. His mind seemed to be frenzied and his conduct violent.”

The newspapers also showed their annoyance at Bingham's regular outbursts:
“Objections from Assistant Judge-Advocate Bingham were as frequent today as yesterday, interrupting every fresh point of the evidence for the defence, and often couched in the most singular language – describing some of the questions as the smallest effort to defend a criminal seen since the flood, etc. Mr. Ewing at last remonstrated against this line of conduct in a few mild remarks, urging that it was hardly consistent for the prosecution to compel an adherence to the strict technical rules of evidence on the part of the defence. Judge Holt rejoined that he wished to allow the greatest liberality in admitting evidence, and that he hoped that all frivolous objections, from whatever source they might come, would be overruled by the court, as the only object of the trial was simple and impartial justice. During the rest of the afternoon, Judge Bingham’s captious objections were heard less frequently.”

For an example of the zealous manner in which Bingham reacted to defense testimony, check out the testimony of Philip Maulsby, Michael O'Laughlen's brother in law. The prosecution had previously presented a witness who testified that O'Laughlen was not arrested at his home in Baltimore but at the home of another. The implication of that testimony was that O'Laughlen was avoiding arrest. Walter Cox, O'Laughlen's attorney, called Maulsby to the stand to explain that O'Laughlen had arranged for his own arrest at a different home so as not to upset his mother. Bingham objected mightily to Cox's attempts to present the correct series of events.