Wednesday, November 22, 2023

The Sickles Trial, published April 21, 1859

We brought our brief synopsis of this important trial down to Wednesday last. On that day the court ruled that the confession of Mrs. Sickles was inadmissible. Miss. O. M. Ridgely, who resides in Washington with her mother, was an intimate friend of Mrs. Sickles, and spent much of her time at the house, before and after the killing of Key. Her testimony, like that of Governor Walker, which we elsewhere publish in full, goes to show the extreme anguish of mind of Mr. Sickles. Bridget Duffy who lived in Mr. Sickles’s house as nurse and lady’s maid, testified, as did Miss Ridgely, that Mr. Sickles spent the Saturday night before the homicide in extreme anguish, weeping and sobbing aloud. The witness also testified that she saw Key twirling his handkerchief in a peculiar manner opposite the house of the day of his death.

William W. Mann of Buffalo, New York, met Key in Lafayette square, near the Jackson statue, the same morning—spoke to him—observed him twirl his handkerchief. A gentleman with him called his attention to it.

George B. Wooldridge was an assistant to the Clerk of the House [of] representatives. Saw Mr. Sickles at the Capitol ion Saturday, in great agony of mind. On Sunday, the day of the homicide, was at Mr. Sickles’s house. The testimony of this witness is interesting:

Ques. Did you see Mr. Key that Sunday.

Ans. I did; twice.

Ques. Where and when?

Ans. First between ten and eleven o’clock, going out of the gate of Lafayette square, on the corner of Seventeenth street and Pennsylvania avenue, near the War Office, on the street Mr. Sickles’s house was in.

Ques. In what direction did he go?

Ans. He crossed the street and went up the avenue, I presume; I did not observe in what direction he turned his glance; the second time I saw him was about a quarter to two o’clock, directly in front of the library window in Mr. Sickles’s house; there was a lady and gentleman with him then; he was on the side toward the curbstone; the lady was next the railing; and the three were in a direct line; Mr. Sickles was upstairs at the time; he had left the library and gone up stairs.

Ques. Did you observe Mr. Key do anything while passing?

Ans. I saw him tike his handkerchief out of his pocket and wave it three times; while doing so, his eyes where toward the upper window of Mr. Sickles house; he kept his eyes from the gentleman, as if he did not which him to see what he was doing; he parted with the lady and gentleman at the corner, entered the park, and proceeded in the direction of Madison Place; some five minutes before that Mr. Sickles had gone up stairs; saw him enter the library door two minutes after; heard some one coming down the stairs very rapidly, and come into the library; he said, “The villain has just passed my house.”

District Attorney. Do not state what he said.

Mr. Brady. What did he do?

Witness. He was very excited; he talked for a moment with Mr. Butterworth, who endeavored to calm him; he appeared to resist these attempts to calm him, and threw Mr. Butterworth off, and turned into the hall; he had not his hat on at the time.

This is the last I saw of him till he came into the house with the officers.

S. S. Parker sworn. I have seen Mr. Key in the vicinity of Mr. Sickles’s house; the last time was on the Sunday he was killed, near half past ten o’clock; He passed me near Fifteenth street and Pennsylvania avenue, above Willards; I slowly passed up Fifteenth street; he walked very rapidly; when near Nairn’s drug store, he was entering the middle gate of Lafayette square; I saw him the Sunday before the shooting; I saw Mrs. Sickles on the platform of her residence, he had over the shoulder of a little girl, apparently trying to keep her from falling from the steps; directly after, I saw Mr. Key at the southwest gate of Lafayette square; when he came out in full view, he took out his handkerchief, with his hat in hand; but his hat on his head, bowing to Mrs. S. and twice waived his handkerchief.

Thomas K. Brown, examined by Mr. Brady. I reside in the city of New York; in pursuance to instructions from you, (Mr. Brady,) I obtained a certain lock.

Mr. Brady hands the witness a sealed package, breaks the seal, opens the package, and produced a common door lock.

Mr. Carlisle did not see the point of examination.

Mr. Brady simply wanted to identify an article which he would offer in evidence hereafter.

The witness identified the lock, and says he procured it from Mr. Wagner, Pennsylvania avenue, opposite the Treasury Department, who took it from the door No. 383 Fifteenth street.

Not cross-examined.

Jacob Wagner, examined by Mr. Brady. I reside in Washington; I am a locksmith; I delivered this lock to Mr. Brown, the last witness; I took it off the house in Fifteenth street, No. 383; John Gray, the colored man’s house; there were three or four gentlemen there when I took it off; Mr. Pendleton was on of them; I saw him in the court yesterday; I believe he was a member of Congress; the colored boy came for me; this was about a week after Mr. Key’s death; have seen some of the gentlemen in court who were present; the colored man paid me for taking it off.

Question. What was said on that occasion?

Objected to.

Mr. Stanton proposed to show that  the lock was taken off for the purpose of destroying evidence.

Mr. Ould. If that was the view, I have not the slightest objection to have the question put.

Mr. Stanton wanted to know whether it was the persons engaged in the prosecution who tried to destroy the evidence. There were two prosecutors here, a public prosecutor and a private prosecutor.

Mr. Carlisle wanted to know whether Mr. Stanton meant to be understood as intimating that he (Mr. Carlisle) had any knowledge of this attempt to destroy evidence.

Mr. Stanton. None in the world. God forbid that I should believe you would do it.

John Cuyler was sworn. Knew the late Mr. Key for three or four years; knew where Mr. Sickles resided; saw Mr. Key in the vicinity of the house a week before his death.

As I entered the corner gate of Lafayette square, I saw Mr. Key enter the corner gate; proceeding to the front of the Jackson statue, he took a seat on an iron bench, rested his head on his left hand, then pulled out his pocket handkerchief and waved it; I went behind the Statue and watched him; he waved his handkerchief this way, [illustrating,] and then looked at the house of Mr. Sickles. [Laughter.] There was no dog about at the time; this was between 12 and 1 o’clock; I left him in the square as I went out of the northeast gate to go home; I left him sitting there; when I returned that way, he was gone; I have often seen him loitering back and forth in the square; for two months, he had been attracting my attention; I never saw him waving his handkerchief but on one occasion.

By Mr. Stanton. Was that the hour when Members of Congress are at the Capitol?

Witness. Yes.

Mr. Carlisle. That is an argumentative question.

Mr. Stanton. That is all.

Cross-examined by Mr. Ould. I saw Mr. Key waving his handkerchief, while I was going home to dinner; I work first one place an then another; I was then working on Seventeenth street, below the War Department; had been working there three or four days; I never took count of how many times I met Mr. Key in the square as I went through it; I have seen him in the square on the avenue, near the Club House; I cannot state the day; it must have been about the middle of the week, about a week before the killing.

To witness. What was said about the lock at this time, and who said it?

Ans. The colored man said it.

Ques. Were the other persons present at the time?

Ans. No, sir.

Ques. What time was it?

Ans. About 11 o’clock.

Ques. While you were taking off the lock?

Ans. Yes.

Mr. Carlisle. Were these other persons present at the time?

Ans. Not that I know of. I think they were upstairs.

Mr. Ould. I Understand that it was proposed to show that certain persons connected with the deceased had given orders that this lock should be secured and kept out of the way. I have no objection that that fact, if true, should be given in evidence; but the evidence must tend to that.

Judge. It must come through a regular channel.

Mr. Stanton to witness. I want to know whether these persons were in the house at the time?

Ans. There were.

Ques. How long were you engaged in taking it off?

Ans. Ten minutes.

Ques. What door was it taken off.

Ans. The front door.

Ques. Was there another lock put on that door?

Ans. There was.

It now being three o’clock, the court adjourned.

FRIDAY, APRIL 15.

Jacob Wagner was recalled. He wished to correct his testimony given yesterday; while taking off the lock, as he testified yesterday, no one spoke to witness that he remembered, but the colored man. Mr. Pendleton’s name was called; saw another man there, who is now in court. [Col. Jones.]

Cross-examined by Mr. Ould. These persons were there when witness went to the house; the front door was locked; entered the house by the back way, which was unlocked; the lock taken off was on the front door of the house; tried to unlock the back door, and found it was already unlocked; the lock was not broken; this was about a week after Key’s death; three other gentlemen were up stairs at the time; did not come down while witness was there; saw them in the yard, and saw them go up stairs; have witness no directions about the matter; witness did not go up stairs at all.

By Mr. Brady. Put a different lock on the door afterwards.

By Mr. Carlisle. The colored boy who came to witness was not the proprietor of the house; knows John Gray; he was there, and asked witness to take off the lock; witness saw Mr. Pendleton and Col. Jones examine the lower part of the house, and afterwards go up stairs.

John Seeley called and examined. Resides in Washington; is a painter; lives in L street, about thirty yards below the corner of Fifteenth street, not far from the house of John Gray, in Fifteenth street; was present when the lock was taken off; thinks it was between the 5th and the 8th of March; was there by mere accident, and heard the order given to take off the lock; saw Mr. Charles Jones there, and was informed that the other was Mr. Pendleton; one of these gentleman gave the order for the lock to be taken off; don’t know which one; was present a part of the time when the lock was taken off; Mr. Poole was there also when the locksmith went to work; they went up stairs; heard nothing said about the character of the new lock to be put on.

Cross-examined by Mr. Ould. The time was between the 5th and 8th of March; that was the only time witness was there after the death of Key; this might have been Tuesday; am not sure as to the day of the week; the locksmith came through the adjoining lot, occupied by a yellow woman; do not know whether any one else had been to that house previously, since Key’s death; these gentlemen were standing in the yard when the witness reached the spot, and went into the house just before witness reached the spot, and went into the house just before witness; one of them said it would be better to take off that lock and put on a new one; they were in the house some time, in the passage and parlor, perhaps twenty or twenty-five minutes; thinks the lock was not entirely off when they went up stairs; heard no order given as to the disposition to be made of the lock; the remark was, the lock had better be taken off, and replaced with another.

Lewis Poole called. Boards with Mr. Seeley, who has just testified; knows the house No. 383 Fifteenth street, owned by John Gary; have noticed it freque3ntlyu; was there when the lock was taken off; thinks it was on Monday or Tuesday, a week after Key’s death; Mr. Pendleton, Mr. Jones, Seeley and witness, and Gray were present; Mr. Pendleton ordered the lock to be taken off, and another one put on; saw the lock taken off; did not see the other one put on.

Cross-examined by Mr. Ould. We all went into the house together; after giving the order, Mr. Pendletons and Mr. Jones immediately went up stairs to examine the upper portion of the house; thinks it was a command and not a suggestion to the locksmith, for he went to work and did it; can’t give Mr. Pendleton’s exact language; these gentleman staid up stairs teen or fifteen minutes; while the lock was being removed, these gentlemen were up states the whole time; had never been in the house previously, since Key’s death; does not know that anybody else did; I know that Mr. Hey went there. [Laughter.]

Rev. C. H. A. Buckley called. Resides in Westminster, Conn.; have known Sickles since 1838; was associated with him in New York University, and was in one class with him; since then, have had a casual acquaintance with him.

Mr. Brady asked whether witness had an opportunity in former years to know whether Sickles had an excitable temperament.

Witness. Yes, sir.

Mr. Brady proposed to prove that Mr. Sickles once, under the loss of a friend, became positively insane, so as to have to be placed under restraint.

Mr. Ould said, if previous insanity could be proved they would withdraw the objection.

[The witness testified that on the occasion of the death of Professor Da Ponte, in 1840, in New York, who was the patron of Mr. Sickles, immediately after his body was lowered into the ground, Sickles broke out into frantic and passionate grief, shrieking and yelling; it was impossible for his friends to pacify him, and they were obliged to use friendly force to remove him from the spot; witness thinks he did tear his clothes and his hair, but was not sure. This testimony is voluntary on witness’s part, and wholly unsought by the prisoner, or by this counsel. He had offered it, as he thought it might be of service to him.]

Cross-examined by Mr. Ould. Do not know how old Sickles was then, because I do not know his age now; was about the same age as witness, apparently; witness is forty years of age; this manifestation of violent grief lasted ten minutes perhaps, or five minutes at any rate; saw no traces of it on the following day; did not see him every day at that  time; saw him two or three days afterwards, but saw nothing singular in his appearance; he appeared to be rather more light-hearted than could be expected under the circumstances, forming an unnatural contrast to his previous conduct; it was a casual manifestation ; the first demonstration was the most remarkable witness ever saw in his life; do not remember the circumstances in his life; do not remember the circumstances of the second interview, or who was present; it was somewhere about the University; was then a student of the Theological Seminary.

Major Hopkins called. Is a coachman for Col. Freeman; have been such for five or six years; lives on H street, between Fifteenth and Sixteenth; saw Mr. Key. On the Sunday he was shot, about half past one o’clock; he was about the middle of the square, walking up and down; he was doing nothing in particular; saw him either on Monday or Wednesday, the week previous; he went into the square and waved his handkerchief; Mrs. Sickles came out and joined him, and they walked away together; about an hour after, saw them go up Fifteenth street; lost sight of them on the steps of John Gray’s house.

Cross-examined by Mr. Carlisle. Is Major your name or your title? [Laughter.]

Witness. It is my name, Sir.

Mr. Carlisle. Then you don’t belong to either or the regular army or the militia? [Laughter.]

Witness. No, sir.

[This witness was rigidly cross-examined, and seemed to get very much puzzled in giving his answers. When he saw Mrs. Sickles on Fifteenth street, her back was turned towards him, but he judged it was her by her dress, which he had observed when she first joined Mr. Key.]

But one witness was examined on Saturday. His evidence was not important. On Monday, Mrs. Brown, a witness formerly examined, testified that she had seen Key and Mrs. Sickles enter the house several times. John M. Seeley and his wife, who reside in the immediate vicinity of the house on Fifteenth street, also testified to seeing the parties enter the house frequently. Their testimony was minute and clear.

Tuesday, Mr. Thompson sworn. Was formerly Mr. Sickles’s coachman. Mrs. Sickles was in the habit of driving out during the hours when Congress in session, and generally met Key. He usually got into the carriage, by never rode home with her except once, when Mr. Sickles was in New York. During the absence of Sickles, Key was in the habit of visiting Mrs. Sickles nearly every night, and remained late with her alone in the library—one night until one o’clock. They also were in the habit of visiting the cemetery at Georgetown, and, alighting at the gate, walking down the hill out of his sight.

John Cooney, the coachman of Mr. Sickles at the time of Key’s death, gave similar testimony.

Mr. Wooldridge was recalled and cross-examined by the prosecution.

SOURCE: The National Era, Washington, D. C., Thursday, April 21, 1859, p. 2-3

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