Post by Robert Braun on Nov 18, 2003 10:54:03 GMT -5
The recent flap over discord in the Wisconsin legistlature prompted this historical "flashback"-- a copyrighted story published in the Wisconsin State Journal.
Legislative discord was deadly in 1842
10:19 PM 11/17/03
Fred McKissack Wisconsin State Journal
The recent flare-up between Democratic and Republican state senators has caused much consternation in and out of the state Capitol.
A horrendous display of incivility, yes. But it does not come close to the most bizarre episode in Wisconsin political history, when a representative in the state's Territorial Council killed another after a heated debate.
The circumstances - the nomination of a county sheriff - seem trivial now, but on Feb. 11, 1842, James R. Vineyard of Grant County drew his pistol and put a round into the chest of Charles C. P. Arndt of Green Bay.
Both were members of the legislature's upper house, and the shooting happened in the Council Chamber in Madison. What makes the incident even more astonishing is that the two were friends.
But as Milo M. Quaife, then editor of the Wisconsin Magazine of History, wrote about the shooting in 1922, the moment was less about personal character than an illustration of the "manners and ideals of the age to which the tragedy belong."
Vineyard, a Democrat and a Kentucky native, was a prominent resident of the lead-mine region, settling near Platteville. He was known as a man of excellent character, a reputation that got him elected to the legislature in 1838, representing Grant County.
Arndt, too, was a man known for his good character and had the added aid of coming from a politically connected family. Arndt moved with his family to Green Bay from Pennsylvania in 1824. His father became a well-known judge in the territory and was a member of the Territorial Council.
The younger Arndt left Wisconsin to attend Rutgers University in New Jersey but eventually moved back to Green Bay to practice law. In 1839, he was elected as a Whig to the council to fill the unexpired term of Alexander J. Irwin.
Despite the rivalry between the mines and Green Bay, Arndt and Vineyard became good friends. So much so that Vineyard was a boarder in Arndt's home for a time.
"On the very morning of the killing, the two men were observed in the lobby of the Council Chamber, their arms thrown about each other's shoulders in affectionate attitude, engaged in familiar discourse," Quaife wrote.
At the core of the attack was Gov. James D. Doty's nomination of Enos S. Baker as sheriff of Grant County. Intermittent debate on the nomination was waged for several days, and good will was strained. Arndt, a Doty man, supported the nomination; Vineyard did not.
The debate reached its climax on Feb. 11, when Vineyard accused Arndt of lying during the course of the debate. Tempers flared, and a motion was made to adjourn. However, Arndt and Vineyard went at it again before a vote could be announced.
As the two drew closer, Arndt wanted an explanation to Vineyard's accusation. But before the two could rumble, the presiding officer demanded order. Fellow council members stepped in and separated the two.
Arndt, apparently, withdrew to the fireplace approximately 10 feet from Vineyard's desk. The adjournment was announced.
Still unhappy, Arndt raced back to Vineyard's desk and once again demanded to know if Vineyard had meant "to impute falsehood to him in his remarks," Quaife wrote. Vineyard said he did, and Arndt struck his face.
"Vineyard reeled or drew back a pace and instantly produced a pistol, shot his opponent in the breast," according to Quaife. "The stricken man fell into the arms of William S. Dering, who held him until he died without uttering a word, perhaps five minutes later."
Notes of the incident taken by council member Gen. William R. Smith can be found in the State Historical Society Library. Those notes allude to Vineyard saying he was sorry, although there was nothing he could do to help Arndt.
After the shooting, Vineyard turned and walked out of the chamber. Nothing was done to stop him, but a few minutes later he was apprehended in his room, and the pistol, which had been reloaded, was placed in his trunk.
The sheriff arrived and Vineyard was sent to Dane County jail. He was expelled from the Territorial Council, the strongest condemnation it could pass in denouncing the slaying. Newspaper reaction was mixed, and at times vitriolic.
According to Quaife, the legal proceedings were tedious in comparison to media reaction. Vineyard was initially charged with murder. Yet he secured bail through the efforts of his lawyers via a writ of habeas corpus from a judge of the Iowa County circuit.
In May, an indictment for manslaughter was returned by the grand jury in Dane County. There was a change of venue. Finally, in October 1843, the trial went before Judge David Irvin in Monroe.
The jury acquitted Vineyard in the slaying of Arndt.
However, he was not forgiven in the court of editorial opinion, with accusations of perjury and bribery.
Blistering attacks appeared, such as this missive from the Racine Advocate, and its editor Marshall M. Strong: "This will forever remain a foul blot upon our Territory. We do hereby, and shall at all times pronounce the transaction murder. We enter our protest against the decision of the Court and the Jury; and we hope that Vineyard, although he escaped the legal punishment due to his crime, will never escape the effect of public opinion and the public abhorrence of this bloody tragedy."
Not one newspaper in the mining region criticized the verdict or Vineyard.
A historian's take on the trial dances the line between the truth and conjecture: "It may be taken for granted that Vineyard's able counselors took advantage of every feature of the slipshod system of administering justice, which told in favor of their client," Quaife wrote. "If there was ever any evidence of bribery or perjury it has perished with the records of the trial, and we must, therefore, dismiss these charges from consideration.
"But even assuming that there was not outright violation of recognized practices, it is not difficult to see that Vineyard's wealth and his political and family influence may still have procured his acquittal."
As for Vineyard, he was not stigmatized by the event. He was named a delegate to the state's first constitutional convention in 1846. He was elected a state assemblyman in 1849, then moved to California during the Gold Rush, where he served in that state's legislature. He died in 1863.
The shawl-collar waistcoat worn by Charles C. P. Arndt on the day of the shooting is on display on the 3rd floor of the Wisconsin Historical Society Museum.
Bob.
Legislative discord was deadly in 1842
10:19 PM 11/17/03
Fred McKissack Wisconsin State Journal
The recent flare-up between Democratic and Republican state senators has caused much consternation in and out of the state Capitol.
A horrendous display of incivility, yes. But it does not come close to the most bizarre episode in Wisconsin political history, when a representative in the state's Territorial Council killed another after a heated debate.
The circumstances - the nomination of a county sheriff - seem trivial now, but on Feb. 11, 1842, James R. Vineyard of Grant County drew his pistol and put a round into the chest of Charles C. P. Arndt of Green Bay.
Both were members of the legislature's upper house, and the shooting happened in the Council Chamber in Madison. What makes the incident even more astonishing is that the two were friends.
But as Milo M. Quaife, then editor of the Wisconsin Magazine of History, wrote about the shooting in 1922, the moment was less about personal character than an illustration of the "manners and ideals of the age to which the tragedy belong."
Vineyard, a Democrat and a Kentucky native, was a prominent resident of the lead-mine region, settling near Platteville. He was known as a man of excellent character, a reputation that got him elected to the legislature in 1838, representing Grant County.
Arndt, too, was a man known for his good character and had the added aid of coming from a politically connected family. Arndt moved with his family to Green Bay from Pennsylvania in 1824. His father became a well-known judge in the territory and was a member of the Territorial Council.
The younger Arndt left Wisconsin to attend Rutgers University in New Jersey but eventually moved back to Green Bay to practice law. In 1839, he was elected as a Whig to the council to fill the unexpired term of Alexander J. Irwin.
Despite the rivalry between the mines and Green Bay, Arndt and Vineyard became good friends. So much so that Vineyard was a boarder in Arndt's home for a time.
"On the very morning of the killing, the two men were observed in the lobby of the Council Chamber, their arms thrown about each other's shoulders in affectionate attitude, engaged in familiar discourse," Quaife wrote.
At the core of the attack was Gov. James D. Doty's nomination of Enos S. Baker as sheriff of Grant County. Intermittent debate on the nomination was waged for several days, and good will was strained. Arndt, a Doty man, supported the nomination; Vineyard did not.
The debate reached its climax on Feb. 11, when Vineyard accused Arndt of lying during the course of the debate. Tempers flared, and a motion was made to adjourn. However, Arndt and Vineyard went at it again before a vote could be announced.
As the two drew closer, Arndt wanted an explanation to Vineyard's accusation. But before the two could rumble, the presiding officer demanded order. Fellow council members stepped in and separated the two.
Arndt, apparently, withdrew to the fireplace approximately 10 feet from Vineyard's desk. The adjournment was announced.
Still unhappy, Arndt raced back to Vineyard's desk and once again demanded to know if Vineyard had meant "to impute falsehood to him in his remarks," Quaife wrote. Vineyard said he did, and Arndt struck his face.
"Vineyard reeled or drew back a pace and instantly produced a pistol, shot his opponent in the breast," according to Quaife. "The stricken man fell into the arms of William S. Dering, who held him until he died without uttering a word, perhaps five minutes later."
Notes of the incident taken by council member Gen. William R. Smith can be found in the State Historical Society Library. Those notes allude to Vineyard saying he was sorry, although there was nothing he could do to help Arndt.
After the shooting, Vineyard turned and walked out of the chamber. Nothing was done to stop him, but a few minutes later he was apprehended in his room, and the pistol, which had been reloaded, was placed in his trunk.
The sheriff arrived and Vineyard was sent to Dane County jail. He was expelled from the Territorial Council, the strongest condemnation it could pass in denouncing the slaying. Newspaper reaction was mixed, and at times vitriolic.
According to Quaife, the legal proceedings were tedious in comparison to media reaction. Vineyard was initially charged with murder. Yet he secured bail through the efforts of his lawyers via a writ of habeas corpus from a judge of the Iowa County circuit.
In May, an indictment for manslaughter was returned by the grand jury in Dane County. There was a change of venue. Finally, in October 1843, the trial went before Judge David Irvin in Monroe.
The jury acquitted Vineyard in the slaying of Arndt.
However, he was not forgiven in the court of editorial opinion, with accusations of perjury and bribery.
Blistering attacks appeared, such as this missive from the Racine Advocate, and its editor Marshall M. Strong: "This will forever remain a foul blot upon our Territory. We do hereby, and shall at all times pronounce the transaction murder. We enter our protest against the decision of the Court and the Jury; and we hope that Vineyard, although he escaped the legal punishment due to his crime, will never escape the effect of public opinion and the public abhorrence of this bloody tragedy."
Not one newspaper in the mining region criticized the verdict or Vineyard.
A historian's take on the trial dances the line between the truth and conjecture: "It may be taken for granted that Vineyard's able counselors took advantage of every feature of the slipshod system of administering justice, which told in favor of their client," Quaife wrote. "If there was ever any evidence of bribery or perjury it has perished with the records of the trial, and we must, therefore, dismiss these charges from consideration.
"But even assuming that there was not outright violation of recognized practices, it is not difficult to see that Vineyard's wealth and his political and family influence may still have procured his acquittal."
As for Vineyard, he was not stigmatized by the event. He was named a delegate to the state's first constitutional convention in 1846. He was elected a state assemblyman in 1849, then moved to California during the Gold Rush, where he served in that state's legislature. He died in 1863.
The shawl-collar waistcoat worn by Charles C. P. Arndt on the day of the shooting is on display on the 3rd floor of the Wisconsin Historical Society Museum.
Bob.