Conover/Dunham/Wallace Civil War Articles

[Howard Brown]

The Index
July 29, 1865
***********
THE MODERN TITUS OATES.

Our readers are already somewhat familiar with the per-
sonal history of Sanford Conover alias James Watson
Wallace, one of the principal Government witnesses at
the late conspiracy trial in Washington. A synopsis of
his testimony at the trial, with a brief notice of his sub-
sequent doings, appeared in our issue of the 15th inst. It
will be remembered that in visiting Montreal he sub-
scribed to and published in the journals of that city an
affidavit, in which he declared 'that he had not testified
before the commission, and that the Conover represent-
ing him (Wallace) had testified to a tissue of falsehoods.'
Stranger still, he had the rare audacity to offer a reward
of $500 for the apprehension of 'the Conover representing
him.' In this his reckless audacity had overleaped
itself, for on his return to the States he was seized by the
Government detectives as the graceless scamp who had
represented him at the trial, and for whom he had offered
the $500 reward. General Dix, however, released him;
and his immediate reappearance before the Commission to
retract his Montreal affidavit was doubtless the condition
of his release. It will be remembered that on that occa-
sion he swore this affidavit was given on compulsion. In
regard to this, General W. H. Carroll, of Memphis, who
was in Montreal at the time, says that 'if he ( Conover,
alias Wallace) swears to that, he will be guilty of triple
perjury, as I pledge myself to prove.' The letter of
General Carroll, from which the above sentence is ex-
tracted, gives us some further very curious developments
regarding the career of this rare scoundrel.

During the last two years he has assumed a name for every
day of the week. He corresponded with the New York Times
under one, with the World under another, with the News still
another, and with the Tribune as Sanford Conover. He held
correspondence with the 'Confederate Government as Colonel
G. W. Margrave and J. Watson Wallace. He has been known
as Chas. A. Dunham, which is probably his true name. Before
the court-martial at Washington he testified falsely as Sanford
Conover. As James Waston Wallace he perjured himself by
stating, in his affidavit here, that he gave no testimony before
the court. The telegrams state Conover now says the Wallace
affidavit was given on compulsion. If he swears to that, he will
be guilty of triple perjury, as I pledge myself to prove.

It appears from a sketch of his career, which recently
appeared in the New York News, that Charles A. Dun-
ham, alias James Watson Wallace, alias Sanford Con-
over, was born at Croton, a small town on the Hudson
river, about the year 1830. His father was a tanner, and,
in early life, Dunham worked at the same business. Dun-
ham remained with his father until he was about twenty,
when he came to New York and studied law with the
firm of Van Antvoord & Jameson. Not succeeding as a
lawyer, Dunham removed to his native town, and went
into the brick business, in partnership with Nathan Anser.
Upon the breaking out of the war Dunham started to
raise a regiment in New York City, but failing therein,
he left the city, greatly to the misfortune of his patient
creditors, and was next heard from by letter to his brother-
in-law, who resided in New York. In that letter he
stated that he was in Western New York, recruiting for
the Confederate service. This was about the time of the
draft riots. Subsequently the letter was submitted to
General Butler, who promised to to take the matter in
hand. Nothing further was, however, heard from it, and
Dunham was left to pursue the even tenor of his way
without molestation. Some time after he became Cana-
dian correspondent for one of the New York journals,
under the alias of Sanford Conover; and his subsequent
career under the alias of Sanford Conover and James
Watson Wallace is tolerably well known to the public.

His personal appearance is said to be rather prepossessing.
He is tall, well-proportioned, with dark hair and dark
eyes. His face is smooth—so smooth as to seem almost
beardless. Unscrupulous, shrewd, intelligent, and pecu-
liarly affable in manner, he is just the man to succeed as
an adventurer. He is fond of sporting titles, and has
wrought some successful impostures. In company with
his fellows, however, he is horribly profane, as well as
disgustingly vulgar, and among his acquaintances bears
the reputation of one of the most audacious liars ima-
ginable. 'Had his legal talent been equal to his talent
for lying,' said an acquaintance of his to the reporter of
the News, 'he would have made one of the most success-
ful lawyers of the age.'

[Howard Brown]

Harper's Weekly
June 17, 1865
*************
TRIAL OF THE CONSPIRATORS.

The trial of the conspirators for the assassination
of President Lincoln is now nearly concluded. The
evidence which during the past week has been in-
troduced for the defense is entirely negative, with
the exception of an absurd attempt to establish, in
behalf of Payne, a plea for insanity. There has
been no sort of necessity for protracting the trial by
evidence of the character offered for the defense.
But this delay has not been entirely unsatisfactory
to the prosecuting attorney, as it has enabled him
to introduce much testimony corroboratory to that
already given. The feature of greatest interest is
the publication of the remaining portion of the re-
served evidence taken on the first days of the trial.
This testimony is very important, and is conclusive
as to the complicity of the rebel authorities in the
assassination, as also in other most heinous plots
against the lives of our citizens. The object for the
reservation of the testimony was to secure the safe-
ty of the witnesses— Conover, Merritt, and Mont-
gomery.

Sanford Conover, the most prominent of these
witnesses, is a native of New York. He has re-
sided in Canada since October, 1864. He testifies
that he was conscripted into the Confederate army,
and detailed to service in the rebel War Depart-
ment at Richmond, under James A. Seddon, the
Secretary of War, and that while in Canada he was
intimately acquainted with George N. Sanders,
Jacob Thompson, Dr. Blackburn, Beverly
Tucker, William C. Cleary, Clement C. Clay,
and others. He knew Surratt also, and Booth.
He saw Surratt in Canada on several occasions
last April in Thompson's room, also in the com-
pany of Sanders and other rebel agents. On the
7th of April he saw him in company with Thomp-
son, Sanders, and Booth. He saw Surratt at
that time deliver dispatches from Richmond to
Thompson. These dispatches were from Benja-
min and Davis—that from the latter being either
a cipher dispatch or a letter. Previous to this oc-
casion Thompson had conversed with Conover
upon the subject of a plot to assassinate President
Lincoln and his Cabinet. He corresponded at
that time with the New York Tribune, receiving
compensation from that journal. In one of his let-
ters he gave warning of the existence of a plot to
assassinate the President. This letter, it appears,
failed to reach the Tribune. One letter was re-
ceived, however, giving intimation of a plot to kid-
nap the President, with a suggestion of his possible
murder. Thompson invited Conover to take part
in this enterprise. When Surratt delivered the
messages above alluded to Thompson laid his hand
upon the papers and said, referring to the assassin-
ation and to the assent of the rebel authorities,
“This makes the thing all right.” The dispatch-
es spoke of the persons to be assassinated: Mr.
Lincoln, Mr. Johnson, the Secretary of War,
the Secretary of State, Judge Chase, and General
Grant. Mr. Thompson said on that occasion,
or on the day before that interview, that the as-
sassination proposed would leave the Government
of the United States entirely without a head;
that there was no provision in the Constitution of
the United States by which they could elect anoth-
er President. Mr. Welles was also named, but
Mr. Thompson said it was not worth while to kill
him; he was of no consequence.

Conover's first interview with Thompson on
the subject was early in February, in Thompson's
room in St. Lawrence Hall, Montreal. On that
occasion Thompson said: “Some of our boys are
going to play a grand joke on Abe and Andy;”
which he explained was to kill him, remarking that
the killing of a tyrant was not murder. He said
that he had commissions for this work from the
rebel authorities, and spoke of conferring one on
Booth. These commissions were in blank, with
Seddon's signature at the end. It was such a com-
mission which Bennett Young, the St. Albans
raider, received, the blank being filled by Mr. Clay.
In a subsequent conversation Thompson told Con-
over that Booth had been commissioned, and ev-
ery man engaging in the plot would be. On the
day of the assassination, or the day before, Cono-
ver was conversing with Cleary about the rejoic-
ing in the States over the surrender of Lee and the
capture of Richmond. Cleary said they would
have the laugh on the other side of the mouth in a
day or two. The assassination was spoken of among
them as commonly as the weather.

There was a proposition before the rebel agents
in Canada to destroy the Croton Dam, by which New
York City is supplied with water. These agents
also had eight hundred men, with arms for them,
concealed in Chicago for the purpose of releasing
the rebel prisoners there.

Dr. Blackburn, according to Conover's testi-
mony, was recognized in Canada as a rebel agent.
Conover had heard Thompson and Cleary say
that they favored his scheme for introducing yellow-
fever into New York and other large cities. About
the time when it was proposed to cut off the Croton
Dam, Dr. Blackburn proposed to poison the reser-
voirs and calculated the amount of poison necessary.
Thompson, however, thought it impossible to col-
lect so large a quantity of poison without suspicion.

James B. Merritt, a physician in Canada, cor-
roborated Conover's testimony. He had heard
Sanders and others say that Lincoln would not
live out his second term. Sanders named a num-
ber of persons ready and willing to remove the
President, Vice-President, and Cabinet, and some
of the leading United States Generals. He heard
Sanders read a letter from President Davis justi-
fying him in making any possible arrangement for
the accomplishment of that end. Merritt also
bore witness to Booth's intimacy with Sanders.

Richard Montgomery testified that he had
heard Thompson say that he had friends of the
Confederacy all over the Northern States, and that
he could at any time have Lincoln and his advis-
ers put out of the way. He had seen Payne a
number of times in Canada. Once he had seen him
talking with Clement C. Clay. A few days aft-
er the assassination Tucker said to Montgomery
that Mr. Lincoln ought to have died long ago, and
that it was a pity the boys had not been allowed to
go when they wanted to. Cleary also talked with
him on the subject, and said it was too bad that the
whole work had not been done.

From some testimony offered on Friday it ap-
pears that Payne previously passed by the name
of Powell. His father's name is George Pow-
ell, and resides in Florida. That he is a brutal
man is evident from the testimony of Margaret
Kaigham, who deposed that he had shamefully
outraged a negro girl for disobeying his orders,
throwing her on the floor, stamping her, and at-
tempting to kill her. In regard to the plea of in-
sanity brought forward in Payne's behalf Dr.
Charles Nichols testified that the exclamation,
“I'm mad, I'm mad!” uttered in Mr. Seward's
room, would give ground in his mind to a suspicion
that the man was feigning insanity.

On Saturday, June 3, Marcus P. Norton, a
lawyer from Troy, New York, was sworn for the
prosecution. He was at the National Hotel from
January 10 to about the middle of March. While
there he saw Atzerott and O'Loughlin in com-
pany with Booth. This was about the time of
Lincoln's inauguration. He overheard a conver-
sation between Booth and Atzerott, the substance
of which was that, if the matter succeeded as well
with Johnson as it did with Buchanan, they would
get terribly sold. There was also something said
to the effect that the company of witnesses would
be of that character that little could be proven by
them. On the 3d of March Dr. Mudd entered
Norton's room hastily and appearing to be greatly
excited. He said he had made a mistake, that he
wanted to see Booth.

In regard to the testimony implicating Davis
and the rebel agents in Canada in the assassination,
it is very plain that, being so circumstantial, it can
easily be proved to be false. Until rebutting testi-
mony is offered, it must stand as true.

[Howard Brown]

The Liberator
June 16, 1865
***********

THE SUPPRESSED TESTIMONY IN THE
CONSPIRACY TRIAL.

New York, June 4.

The Cincinnati Commer-
cial of June 2 says authority has just been given for
the publication of an additional instalment of that
portion of the testimony taken before the Military
Commission engaged in trying the accomplices of
Booth:

Sanford Conover testified: Have resided in Cana-
da since October last; was conscripted into the
Confederate army and detailed to service in the War
Department of the Confederacy, at Richmond, under
J. A. Seddon; while in Canada was intimate with
Geo. N. Sanders, Jacob Thompson, Dr. Blackburn,
Tucker, William C. Cleary, Captain Castlemain, Mr.
Cameron, Porterfield, Captain Magruder and others.
Also, knew Clement C. Clay and Gen. Carroll of
Tennessee; I know Mr. Surratt also, and J. W.
Booth, and visited these gentlemen in Canada.

Saw Surratt there on several occasions last April,
in Jacob Thompson's room, also in company with
G. N. Sanders and other rebels in Canada; I saw
him about the 6th or 7th of April with Thompson,
Sanders and Booth; at that time he delivered to
Booth in my presence despatches from Richmond to
Thompson from Benjamin and from Jeff. Davis, the
latter either a cipher despatch or letter; previous to
this Thompson conversed with me upon the subject
of a plot to assassinate President Lincoln and Cabi-
net, of which I gave notice before the assassination
in the N. Y. Tribune, the paper for which I corres-
ponded; I had been invited by Thompson to partic-
ipate in that enterprise; when Surratt delivered
these despatches from Davis, Thompson laid his
hand upon the papers, and said—referring to the as-
sassination and to the assent of the rebel authorities
—“This makes the thing all right.”

The despatches spoke of the persons to be assassi-
nated, viz: Lincoln, Johnson, the Secretary of War,
Secretary of State, Judge Chase and Gen. Grant.
Mr. Thompson said, on that occasion, or the day be-
fore, that the assassination proposed would leave the
Government of the United States without a head;
that there was no provision in the Constitution of
the United States by which they could elect another
President. Mr. Welles was also named, but Mr.
Thompson said it was not worth while to kill him.
My first interview with Thompson on the subject of
the assassination was in the early part of February.
He had commissions from the rebel authorities for
this work, and conferred one on Booth, or would
conter one. Thompson told me that Booth had been
commissioned, and every man who would engage in
it would be.

I had a conversation with Wm. C. Cleary on the
day before, or the day of the assassination, at St.
Lawrence Hall. We were speaking of the rejoicing
in the States over the surrender of Lee and the cap-
ture of Richmond. Cleary said they would have the
laugh on the other side of their mouths in a day or
two. I think this was the day before the assassina-
tion. He knew I was in the secret of the con-
spiracy; it was to that he referred. Assassination
was spoken of among us as commonly as the weather.
Before that, Sanders asked me if I knew Booth very
well, and expressed some apprehension that Booth
would make a fizzle of it; that he was desperate and
reckless, and he was afraid the whole thing would
be a failure.

I communicated to the Tribune the intended raid
on St. Albans and the proposed assassination of the
President, but they refused to publish the letter; I
did this in March last as to the President's assassina-
tion, also in February, I think—certainly before the
4th of March; Surratt delivered the despatches in
Thompson's room four or five days before the assas-
sination; the whole conversation showed that Sur-
ratt was one of the conspirators to take the Presi-
dent's life; it was also understood that there was
plenty of money when there was anything to be
done; the conversation indicated that Surratt had a
very few days before left Richmond; I requested Mr.
Gay of the Tribune to give information to the Gov-
ernment, and I believe he did so.

I saw Surratt in Canada three or four days in suc-
cession in April last; I had a conversation with him
personally about Richmond; I was introduced to
him by Sanders; there was a proposition before the
agent of these rebels in Canada to destroy the Cro-
ton dam, by which the city of New York is supplied
with water; Mr. Thompson remarked that there
was plenty of force, and that the city would be de-
stroyed by a general conflagration, and if they had
thought of this sooner they might have saved a great
many necks; this was said a few weeks ago; Thomp-
son, Sanders, Castlemain and Gen. Carroll were
present; they had arms concealed and a large num-
ber of men concealed in Chicago—some 900—for
the purpose of releasing the rebel prisoners there.

About the same time, Dr. Blackburn proposed to
poison the reservoirs, and made a calculation of the
amount of poisonous matter it would require to im-
pregnate the water so as to make an ordinary
draught poisonous and deadly; Thompson feared it
would be impossible to collect so large a quantity of
poisonous matter without suspicion and leading to
detection; Thompson approbated the enterprise and
discussed it freely; Cleary did the same; three or
four days after the assassination, I saw J. H. Surratt
in Canada with Porterfield, a Southern rebel, now
declared a British subject by the Canadian Parlia-
ment; I learned immediately afterward that Surratt
was suspected, was pursued, and had decamped.

Gen. Carroll, of Tennessee, then said he was more
anxious that Johnson should be killed than any one
else; he said if the “prick louse” was not killed by
somebody, he would kill him himself. Booth was
known in Canada by the nickname of “pet;” I
think I have heard Thompson so name him—cer-
tainly Cleary; Kennedy, who fired the city of New
York and was executed, was spoken of as having
performed that deed by the authority of the rebel
government, under the direction of Thompson; this
was communicated to me by Thompson himself, or
in a conversation in his presence.

James B. Merritt testified: Am a physician, and
have been in Canada about a year; in October and
November last was in Toronto; met George Young
there, a rebel from Kentucky, also Col. Steele, from
Kentucky; Young said to me, “We have some-
thing of much more importance than any raids;”
he told me it was determined that Old Abe should
never be inaugurated, that they had a party of
friends in Washington, and called Mr. Lincoln a
d—d old tyrant; I afterwards saw George N. San-
ders and Steele together; Steele said, “The d—d
old tyrant won't serve another term if he is elected;”
Sanders said at the same time, “He would have to
keep himself close if he does serve another term.”
In Montreal, in February last, I heard Sanders
name a number of persons ready and willing to re-
move the President, Vice-President and Cabinet,
and some of the leading Generals of the United
States, and he added that there was any amount of
money to accomplish this purpose, meaning the as-
sassination of these persons.

He then read a letter he said he had received
from the President of the Confederacy, meaning
Jeff. Davis, which justified him in making any ar-
rangment he could to accomplish such an object.
There was a meeting at this time of these rebels,
and a letter was read to them, the substance of
which was, that if the Southerners in Canada and
the States were willing to be governed by such a
tyrant as Lincoln, he (Davis) did not wish to re-
cognize them as friends, and that he approved of the
proposition to assassinate him. At the meeting, San-
ders named some persons who were to accomplish
the assassination, and among them, J. W. Booth,
whom I had seen in Montreal in October. He also
named G. Harper, C. Caldwell Randall, and Harri-
son Herold; there was a person named, whom they
called Plug Tobacco; I saw Herold in Toronto.

Sanders said Booth was heart and soul in the
matter, that he was a cousin to Beall, who was hang-
ed in New York on the 5th or 6th of April; I met
Harper, who said they were going to the States to
kick up the d—dst row, such as had never been
heard of, and added that if I did not hear of the
death of old Abe, the Vice-President and Gen. Dix
in less than ten days, I might set him down as a d—d
fool; that was on the 6th of April. He mentioned
the name of Booth as one of their friends, and then
he said they had plenty of friends in Washington,
and fifteen or twenty were going; he had started to
go to Washington as early as the 8th, together with
others; I communicated this fact on the 9th of April
to a Justice of the Peace named Davidson, who,
after the assassination, communicated it to the Gov-
ernment; Harper returned to Canada after the as-
sassination.

I had a conversation with Clay in Toronto in
February; he spoke of the letter of Davis which
Sanders had exhibited; he said that the end would
justify the means. Surratt was pointed out to me
in Toranto last February; I saw Booth there two or
three times, and sat at the table once with him at the
St. Lawrence, with Sanders, Scott and Steele: they
were conversing with Booth and drinking wine with
him at Sanders' expense. I saw Herold in Canada
in February.

Richard Montgomery testified: I knew J. Thomp-
son and Clay, whom I met in Canada a number of
times, also G. N. Sanders, J. B. Holcomb, B. Tucker,
W. C. Cleary, Harrington Hicks, and others under
fictitions names; Thompson had several names, one
was Carron; Clay was Holt and Lacy and Tracy.
J. Thompson said he had friends of the Confederacy
all over the Northern States willing to go any lengths,
and he could at any time have the tyrant Lincoln
and any of his advisers put out of the way; that his
friends would not consider it a crime, and that it
would be done for the cause of the Confederacy.

In January, Thompson said at Montreal that a pro-
position had been made to him to rid the world of the
tyrants, Lincoln, Stanton, Grant and others; that he
knew the men who made it were bold, daring men,
able to execute anything they would undertake
that he was in favor of the proposition, but deferred
his answer until he had consulted his government at
Richmond, and that he was then only waiting for
their approval. I have seen Payne (the prisoner)
a number of times in Canada; about the Falls in
1864, and also at the Queen's Hotel in Toronto,
where I conversed with him.

I had an interview with Thompson; several others
had sought an interview while I was closeted with
him, and been refused. In leaving Thompson's room,
I saw Payne in the passage near the door, with Clay
talking to him; Clay stopped me and finished his
conversation with this man in an undertone; when
he left me, he said, “Wait for me, I will return;”
he soon came back and bade me good-bye, and asked
me where he could see me after a time; I told him
and appointed a meeting. I spoke to Payne in Clay's
absence, asked him who he was; he said, “O, I'm a
Canadian,” which was as much as to say, “I don't
wish you to ask me anything more.” I mentioned him
to Clay when I met him; Clay answered, “That's so,
he is a Canadian,” and laughed, and added, “We
trust him.” Canadian is an expression for their
friends, and his conduct was an indication that their
intercourse was of a confidential nature.

I have been in Canada since the assassination; a
few days after I met B. Tucker in Montreal; he
said Mr. Lincoln deserved his death long ago, and it
was too bad the boys had not been allowed to go
when they wanted to; he referred to the men who
were to assassinate him. I had a conversation with
Cleary, and told him what Thompson said in Jan-
uary; he said Booth was one of the parties to whom
Thompson had referred; he said, also, “It was too
bad the whole work had not been done,” referring
to the assassination; Cleary, who was a confident
of Thompson's, told me so; Thompson said Cleary
was a very close-mouthed man; Cleary also said,
“They had better look out, we have not done yet.”
He said Booth visited Thompson in the winter and
summer; these parties knew they were suspected of
the assassination a few days before and were destroy-
ing a great many papers, so they told me.

I acted as a government detective in Canada, and
assumed the name of James Thompson, although I
never registered it, but always some other name.
My whole object was to serve the government. I
say this cipher was found among J. W. Booth's
effects in Clay's house at St. Catherines, in the sum-
mer of 1864. I carried despatches from Canada to
Gordonsville, and received a reply, which I carried
back. I came through Washington each time, and
delivered the despatches to the United States Gov-
ernment; received the despatches at Gordonsville
from a man in the rebel State department from their
Secretary of State. I carried this paper to Thomp-
son. Clay claimed to represent the War Depart-
ment; they approved the burning of our Northern
cities, and represented themselves as having full
power from the rebel government to act, without re-
ferring their projects to Richmond; Thompson and
Clay both said so; the attempt to burn New York I
knew they were engaged in, and went to Washing-
ton three days before it happened to communicate it.

[Howard Brown]

Interesting that Conover had acquired a reputation as a liar of some degree 23 years before his derogatory spin on Tumblety...as mentioned in the first article on the thread.

[Donald Souden]

Again, I would urge people to read Michael L. Hawley's article about Dunham in the latest issue of the New Independent Review. It presents a view of Dunham different from that most Ripperologists have adopted and if nothing else ought make people stop and think before again applying their favorite term sbout Dunham of "pathological liar."

Don Souden,
Editor New Independent Review.