A Historical Event

Just a few miles from where I grew up there was a historical event took place. In 1966 the Indiana Sesquicentennial Commission erected an historic highway marker noting the incident on State Road 38 in Madison County. It reads: "In 1824, nine Indians were murdered by white men near this spot. The men were tried, found guilty and hanged. It was the first execution of white men for killing Indians.”

For years I drove by the marker without knowing the full story. In January of this year 2010, I thought it would be interesting to research the story behind the marker. Here is what I found.

In February 1824, a small party of Seneca Indians came to the area to hunt and collect maple syrup. The townspeople developed a friendly relationship with the band, which was headed by Chief Logan, "a friend of the white men". The party included two other men, Ludlow and M'Doal (or Mingo), two women, two boys and two girls.

Thomas Harper, a frontiersman who lived in the area, disliked Indians. He convinced four other men to help him attack the small Seneca group. Two of the men were his relatives, his brother-in-law John T. Bridge, Sr. and his 18-year-old son John Bridge, Jr. The other two men were James Hudson and Andrew Sawyer. Another teenage boy, Andrew Jones, accompanied the attackers.

The men approached the Seneca on March 22, 1824 and asked for help in tracking horses that had escaped from Harper's farm. Logan and Ludlow agreed to help, and they walked with the white men toward a wooded area, joking as they went. In the woods, however, Harper and Hudson fell behind, and shot the two Seneca men in the back. The men returned to the camp, where they killed the women and children. M'Doal was not in camp but witnessed the killings as he returned. He was wounded while escaping. In all, Harper's party killed eight people: two men, two women, and four children. They stole everything of value from the Indian camp and returned to their homes.

The next day, a local farmer discovered the scene of the murder and reported it. News of the crime spread quickly, and settlers feared retribution from the Native Americans of the local Delaware villages. The perpetrators had bragged of the massacre. Within a week they were all in custody, except for Harper, who had taken the stolen goods and fled to Ohio.

While the accused men awaited trial, William Conner, an interpreter and community leader, and Indian agent John Johnston traveled to the local Indian villages to talk with the people. They assured them that the men who had attacked their people had been caught and would face justice. As a result, the threat of Indian retaliation for the murders subsided.

The four men who had been arrested were tried in Madison County Court. Governor William Hendricks employed Senator James Noble to serve as prosecutor. Hoping to maintain peaceful relations with the Indians, Hendricks requested the court show no mercy on the men if they were found guilty. The cases were tried before a three-member circuit court panel, consisting of judges William Wick, Samuel Holliday, and Adam Winsell.

James Hudson was tried first. Andrew Jones, the teenager who had accompanied the men, was a key witness in the trial. The case generated nationwide attention. Some people were surprised when Hudson was found guilty. Hudson was sentenced to death by hanging, with an execution date of December 1, 1824. It was the first time any white man in the United States had been sentenced to capital punishment for killing a Native American.

Hudson appealed to the Supreme Court of Indiana, then in session at Corydon, Indiana. The court issued an opinion on November 13, written by Chief Justice Isaac Blackford that upheld the lower court's decision and rejected all points of Hudson's appeal. Two days later, Hudson escaped from jail, and hid beneath the floor of a vacant cabin, where he suffered frostbite and dehydration. He was recaptured ten days later, when he came out of hiding to find water. While he was missing, the execution date was rescheduled to the following January.

On January 12, 1825, a large crowd, which included several Seneca Indians, gathered to witness the historic execution. The condemned man had to be carried to the gallows due to the frostbite he had suffered while in hiding.

The remaining three men were tried on May 9, 1825. All three were found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. However, while the jury found John T. Bridge, Jr. guilty of first degree murder, it recommended that he be pardoned due to the influence of his father and uncle. Additionally, a petition on his behalf was signed by 94 local men (including many members of the jury, the court clerk, several attorneys and a minister) and submitted to the Governor of Indiana, J. Brown Ray. The petition cited "his youth, ignorance, and the manner which he was led into the transaction." However, by the appointed date of execution, it had not been answered.

On June 3, another large crowd, including numerous Indians, gathered for the executions. These were conducted one at a time. Andrew Sawyer was hanged first. John Bridge, Sr. was executed next. His 18-year old son, John Bridge, Jr., witnessed the hangings of his father and uncle before being led to the gallows and fitted with a noose and hood. However, at that point, a stranger stepped to gallows and said, "Sir, do you know in whose presence you stand?" Bridge shook his head. "There are but two powers known to the law that can save you from hanging by the neck until you are dead, dead, dead; one is the great God of the Universe, the other is J. Brown Ray, Governor of the State of Indiana; Governor Ray stepped out from the crowd and stopped the execution. Presenting the pinioned teenage prisoner with a written pardon, the governor announced, "you are pardoned" and the young prisoner was immediately set free.

In Fall Creek Park in Pendleton, a stone marker reads "Three white men were hung here in 1825 for killing Indians." It should have included, “and one was pardoned by the Governor of the State of Indiana.” In an instant, what had looked like a hopeless situation became a door of hope. John Bridge Jr. went back home, settled down, opened a dry goods store and died peacefully, fifty-one years later!

I related that story to ask this question: Can you imagine the fear that must have gripped the heart of that young man as he watched his father and his uncle die, knowing that he was next. Can you imagine the terror as he was led onto the gallows and that noose was placed around his neck? It must have been a moment of terror like few have ever experienced! Then to have someone step forward and snatch you from the very jaws of death. How can one describe the emotions?

But that is not always the case. George Wilson was sentenced to hang after he was convicted of killing a guard while robbing a federal payroll from a train. Public sentiment against capital punishment led to an eventual pardon by President Andrew Jackson. Unbelievably, Wilson refused to accept the pardon. Can one do that? The case became so legally confusing that the Supreme Court had to rule on it. Chief Justice John Marshall delivered the verdict: "A pardon is a parchment whose only value must be determined by the receiver of the pardon. It has no value apart from that which the receiver gives it. George Wilson has refused to accept the pardon. We cannot conceive why he would do so, but he has. Therefore, George Wilson must die."

Friend, if you have never received the pardon for your sins, if you have never trusted Jesus as your personal Savior, you stand with the rope of eternal death around your neck, but there is a pardon waiting for you if you will have it! You can walk away free.