W. C. Gilliss et al. to Thomas E. Bramlette

Accession Number

KYR-0001-004-3153

Document Genre

Petition

Repository

Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

Collection

Office of the Governor, Thomas E. Bramlette: Governor's official correspondence file, petitions for pardons, remissions, and respites 1863-1867

Item Location

BR41-187 to BR41-188

Place of Creation

Whitley County, Kentucky

Date of Creation

n.d.

Dates Mentioned

1861

1861-08-01

To his Excellency Thomas E Bramlette
Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky

Your Petitioners the Undersigned Citizens of Whitley and Knox Counties would respectfully represent to your Excellency, That Greene Elliott, Randolph M Steele, Daniel Steele, and Gillespie Steele, with one Isham Faddes and one Ambrose Harman stand indicted in the Whitley Circuit Court charged with the commission of a felony committed in the year 1861; the charge was then investigated before an examining Court, some of us whose names are hereto Signed were present and heard the proof and make the following presentation of the facts to your Excellency.

One William H Brafford then a citizen of this (Whitley) County, a man of well known RebelSimpathies- one who publicly rejoiced over the defeat of the Union army at Bull Run, had made at his Residence a public gathering of his friends and reared a flag purporting to be a neutralityflag- and as a symbol of his support of the Beriah Magoffin Neutrality Proclamation; on or about the first of August 1861, when every loyal citizen here was exerting his influence to Sustain the cause of loyalty & the Government, and two Companies of Federal troops were made up and about organized, some of those Soldiers & some Citizens went to Brafford's, cut down his flag pole & carried off his Neutrality flag. On the occasion of taking down the flag, two of the above named parties
took from Brafford $75 in money, and appropriated the same to their own individual uses, no one of the others receiving any portion of it, and all remonstrating against the taking of the money.

The two men who took the money were the abovenamed Isham Faddes and Ambrose Harman, all the others remonstrating against the taking of the money.

Brafford at once appealed to the Union Citizens of the County for protection in his rights, and redress of the wrong done him, that was promptly accorded him, he brought the case into the courts and these parties were all bound under penal bonds to answer for a felony, although no actual felony seems to have been committed by any but Faddes & Harman and that was discountenanced by the others, but still they went there as a band or compnay and each was held legally Responsible for any Crime Committed by any one of the party, it also appeared in proof that the company made Harman give up to Brafford his portion of the money, and that Brafford gave it back to Harman- it was also claimed by Harman & Faddes that this money Brafford had wronged them out of previously, and they could not redress themselves at law, and that for this reason they took it per force,- how that may be, we do not know, nor is it assumed that they (if true), should have resorted to such means of redress.

Such is a plain, we think fair and impartial
presentation of all the facts of the, the facts being well known in the Community when the affair took place, and when all the interested parties admit them to be precisely as stated above.

This said has now been pending in the Whitley Circuit Court for nearly six years, most of these parties (defendants) have been here asking a fair trial all that time when the circuit Court was holden (which has but seldom failed) and yet the case is continued by the prosecution much to the annoyance of these men, and at a heavy cost to them, they being poor.

In view of these facts we ask Your Excellency to pardon, the Said Green Elliott, Gillispie Steele Daniel Steele and Randolph M Steele, from the fact that they although present as part of the company and aiding in taking down the flag, remonstrated against the taking of the money, and on the men who influenced Harman to give up his portion of the money to Brafford, and also tried to induce Faddes to do likewise, from the further fact that they have stood ready to meet the charge, asking a fair trial and still desire it but the prosecution still continues the case, and from the fact that the said Greene Elliott & Gillispie Steele were Federal Soldiers and Seved 3 years in the Federal army & were honorably discharged, and lastly from the fact that we know that their pardon would meet the approbation of this community, when the facts are all well known. As to Faddes & Harman who actually took the money, we do not ask a pardon
for them, let the law decide their case.

Signed
W. C. Gilliss
H. L. Gilliss
W C Murphy
J. D. Gilliss
M. L Rice
D^r J H Swiner
J. M. Adkins
J. G. Cutbooth
John W Liles clk co ct
John Ryan
D H Leporee
Zachariah Mitchell
J. C. Watkins clk
C L Creekmore P J W C C
John Smith
Jas Gamb
Lewis Renfro
Seth Freeman
Levi [...]
James Friend
Simon S. Smith
Nathaniel Smith
Esom B Bryant
Miles Selvage
W. C. Rose S. W. C
Elden Rose D. S. W. C

I know the facts this pardon ought to be granted

M L. Rice
Whitley Cir Ct
vs
Elliott & Steeles

Rejected

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