Mr. D. replied that he had no witnesses in the case, neither did he propose to offer himself nor his wife as a witness; that he substantially admitted all that had been said by the witnesses for the prosecution, except as to the severity of the punishment inflicted. In that, he thought, the witnesses had all exaggerated. In the excitement attendant upon the punishment of a servant, however, one might strike harder blows, and more of them, than he intended or knew of at the moment; but he certainly never had intended to punish either Mary or Jane to the extent they had described. His defence, he said, was that he had done nothing more than the laws of Virginia authorized. That, within maiming and death, the law gave to a master the authority to punish a slave to any extent he pleased. That ever since Federal troops had been in the city he had suspected Mary and Jane to be planning means of escape, and that it was to make them realize his right to them as their owner and master, and to keep them in wholesome dread of his authority, that he had forbidden them to go upon the streets, to look out at the windows, and had occasionally punished them in, as he thought, a very mild way. Besides, he thought a military court had no right whatever to interfere with the relations between master and slave, and hoped the court would think proper to dismiss the case. He spoke in a very pompous manner, and took his seat as one who had entirely demolished his adversaries.
For a few moments there was an almost death-like silence in the court-room. No one spoke. You could almost have heard a pin drop on the floor. The Judge then ordered Mr. D. to stand up to receive the sentence of the court. Mr. D. stood up. The Judge then proceeded to say, "Sir: You are charged with assault and battery upon these two defenceless females, Mary and Jane. The evidence is clear that you committed such assault, not once only but several times. Indeed, you yourself admit it. Your defence is that they are your slaves, and that, according to the slave code of Virginia, you had the right to punish them to any extent you pleased within that of maiming or the taking of life. I am not familiar with the slave code of Virginia, and cannot say of a certainty that you represent it wrongfully, but I can say that if such authority exists upon any statute-book of any State, it is a disgrace to civilization, and the sooner it be expunged the better. But, sir, it matters not to this court what the laws of Virginia may be upon this or upon any other subject. This is a United States military court—a court of necessity, and 'necessity knows no law' is an old maxim—a court established because all other means of justice had fled from this city—a court governed by the principles of equity, rather than of law—a court established to protect the lives, the natural rights, and the property of every inhabitant of Alexandria, without regard to their political opinions, their religious predilections, their sex, their condition in life, or their color—a court which does not, and cannot, recognize slavery in any shape or form—a court which now and ever will protect the lives, the personal rights, and the property of those called slaves as readily as of those called masters. While this court possesses no power to dissolve the relation which the laws of a State have made possible between master and slave—that power belonging alone to the President of the United States in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the army and navy—yet it does possess the power, and it is its imperative duty, to protect the weak against the strong, the slave against undue severity from his or her master or mistress, and particularly from inflicting punishment without adequate cause. The evidence in this case, sir, shows that you had no cause, no reasonable cause, for inflicting any punishment whatever on either of these females; that they were both uniformly good servants, that your wife invariably spoke of them as such until the Union troops came into this city, and that then, and not till then, you conceived the idea that they would escape from your service if they could, and to counteract such a thought in their minds you gave them commands contrary to all the laws of nature; and because they did not, for the reason that they could not, obey these unnatural commands, you inflicted upon them both a degree of punishment such as a man would be indictable for if inflicted upon a horse. This you try to excuse by saying that, while in a passion, you may have struck them harder and oftener than you intended; the answer to which is that a man subject to such violent passions, and devoid of mercy, as you, sir, appear to be, is utterly unfit to have in his power those who are unable to defend themselves against brute violence. Those whom you abuse, therefore, must be taken from your control; must be placed in the hands of those who will treat them kindly, treat them as human beings; and though this temporary taking away may not destroy your legal right to their services at some future time, it will, at least, protect them from your violence for the present, and it may be that, before this sentence shall have expired, a merciful Providence may induce the President to issue a proclamation of universal freedom to all the slaves of this land. Meanwhile, this court will use all the power it possesses to protect them from undue violence from those who call themselves their owners; and the court desires to give fair warning now, so that all may be without excuse hereafter, that from henceforth this court will regard an assault made upon a so-called slave in precisely the same light as if made upon a free white person. For every stroke laid, upon a slave hereafter, without justifiable cause, the master will receive a like number, or other punishment equal thereto, by the sentence of this court; and the only reason why you, sir, are excused from corporal punishment now, is, that you acted ignorantly—acted, as you supposed, under the laws of Virginia, and without knowing the law or orders of this court upon this subject. Hereafter no one within the jurisdiction of this court can have any such excuse.
"The sentence of the court is, that you, Mr. D., immediately after the adjournment of this court, go with the Provost-Marshal to his office, and there, over your own hand and seal, with the Provost-Marshal as a witness, execute a permit to Mary and to Jane, each, to leave your employ at once, and take with them whatever of clothing or other articles heretofore recognized as theirs—to engage their services as domestics to whomsoever else they please, to receive in their own right and to use as they please, whatever wages may be agreed upon between them and their future employers—to go and come when and wheresoever they please, and in no respect whatsoever to be subject to your direction or control. And the further judgment of the court is, that this sentence shall remain in full force and virtue so long as the war between the North and the South continues.
"To you, Mr. Provost-Marshal, the court begs to say that you will not permit Mr. D. to leave your custody until he has fully executed this order; and should he refuse, or even hesitate, you will at once lock him up in the county jail, and report to this court for further orders.
"To you, Mr. and Mrs. H., the court begs to return not only its thanks, but the thanks of every peace-loving, mercy-loving, freedom-loving citizen of this community, for having brought this case before the court, and thereby put a check, if not an entire stop, to an evil which otherwise might have grown to huge proportions; and, as a further manifestation of your good hearts, the court requests that you will take Mary and her daughter in your own employ, until such time as a better arrangement can be effected, if that be ever possible.
"The court stands adjourned until to-morrow at ten o'clock."
While the Judge was delivering this sentence, perfect silence prevailed; but the moment he closed, a buzz of approval ran throughout the court-room, amounting almost to cheers. Mr. D. and his attorney, and the few friends immediately about him, looked like so many dark thunder-clouds in a clear sky; but the contrast only made the sky to appear the brighter. The crowd dispersed. The sentinels present, at a shoulder-arms, with fixed bayonets, at once formed a front and rear guard to the Provost-Marshal and his prisoner, and, when on the street, a hollow-square, until they reached the Provost Marshal's office. A permit, such as the court had directed, was then prepared, to which Mr. D. put his hand and seal, with the Provost-Marshal as a witness. The Provost-Marshal then went with Mary and her daughter (Mr. D. still accompanying and not yet discharged) to Mr. D.'s house, where the two servants were permitted to gather together their clothing and whatever else they claimed as theirs. Mrs. D. was at first disposed to refuse the servants their clothing, or anything else, and to talk loudly against the injustice of the court, etc.; but a word of caution from the Provost-Marshal, and a beseeching look from her husband, effectually closed her lips. When Mary and Jane had got all together, in such bundle as they could easily carry, the Marshal accompanied them to the residence of Mrs. H. and there left them.
Mrs. H. met them in the entry-way, and the moment they saw her, both servants fell on their knees and begged to kiss her hand, or even the hem of her garment. They wept and laughed alternately, and it was some time before she could get them to arise from their knees and go to the room which had been prepared for them. The transition from slavery to virtual freedom, from constant dread to free volition, to what had seemed to them a hell to what now seemed to them a heaven, had been so sudden, that they could scarcely realize it as possible; and, when they reached the room assigned them, both again fell on their knees, and for a full hour returned thanks to God for his mercy and loving-kindness, and implored blessings on those who had shown them such unexpected kindness. Both Mary and her daughter were members of the Methodist Church—the former had been so for many years—and both had always led, so far as was known, consistent Christian lives.
The result of the trial was soon in the mouths of everybody, some condemning, but a large majority approving. The effect was, that not a single similar case was brought before the court after that. The warning of the court was so plain and pointed that all who owned slaves in Alexandria felt that they knew, as well before as after, what punishment would follow ill-treatment, and none were ill-treated.
Had like courts followed the army, or been established in every city of the South on the day they fell into the hands of Union troops, what immense suffering might have been saved; how many rescued from premature graves, caused by inhuman treatment; and how many thousands could have been given the blessed boon of freedom, who were run into Texas, thence to Cuba and Brazil, and thence consigned to a fate worse than death itself!