A. I would not say that for certain, but I think it was.
Wilson Norris, sworn by the uplifted hand:
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. State your residence, and what official capacity you were acting in, in July last?
A. I live here in Philadelphia. In July last, I was going from Beaver to Pittsburgh, when the riots broke out. General Latta requested me to accompany him. At that time I was going west to visit Colonel Quay. I did accompany him to Pittsburgh, and during the night the riot broke out. The general then requested me to stay. I was there during the whole period of the riot, and subsequently. It would be a long story, to go on and tell all I saw, but I will be glad to answer any questions.
Q. Did you convey any orders, or visit General Brinton at any time to convey any orders to him from General Latta?
A. In this way. In the morning when we heard that General Brinton had escaped from the round-house, Captain Aull was there, and an order was given to him to convey to General Brinton. No other officers were around, and I volunteered to go and find General Brinton, if I could. I knew very well that General Brinton, perhaps, would not respect my order if I did convey it, and therefore it was mentioned in the order to Captain Aull, that he should consult with me about the situation. I started with Colonel Stewart in a carriage, and reached General Brinton beyond Sharpsburg, just on the hill. I explained the purport of the order sent by Captain Aull, and by the way, the order was but a sequence of other orders he had received during the night. He told me he had not taken the direction he was ordered to go, because he wanted to escape to the hills and entrench, where he could protect himself from the mob. I suggested to him to return to the town of Sharpsburg, but he said there was a worse feeling, or as bad a feeling manifested there as in Pittsburgh, and that directly he would have two hundred and fifty thousand people of the county about him. We had some conversation why he didn't take the route to the east, and he said he had been followed by a large crowd of men. I knew nothing about that, because I saw no armed men on the way to him. General Brinton certainly understood the purport of the order given to Captain Aull, because his conversation evidenced that—there is no question about that. As to the propriety of his going the way he did, going on his own discretion, I have nothing to say about that. But he certainly knew what the purport of the order was, which was that he was to make a junction with Colonel Guthrie, and the other troops at East Liberty.
Q. Were you present when the order was given to Captain Aull by General Latta?
A. Yes.