In May 1856, Gov. Isaac Stevens arrests the chief justice of the territorial Supreme Court, Edward Lander, and proclaims a state of martial law in Pierce, and then Thurston, counties.

Judge Lander was substituting at Steilacoom for another Justice, F. A. Chenoweth, who was ill. He was issuing writs of habeas corpus for five men accused of aiding the enemy during the Indian Wars, intending to move toward a civil trial. Gov. Stevens preferred that the accused men be tried by a military commission.

This confrontation sets off a civil rights crisis that involved the governor, the legal community, citizens, the militia, and the regular army. Political philosophies and personalities clashed.

The resources below explore the events from many different views.

 

Classics in Washington History

Message from the President… relating to the Proclamation of Martial Law in W.T.  Documents and correspondence collected by the federal government to examine the Martial Law controversy.

Message from the President… [on] Martial Law in the Territory of Washington.  Additional documents on the proclamation of Martial Law and its effects.

Proceedings of a Meeting of the Bar… on the Arrest of the Hon. Edward Lander.  Notes from a meeting of the Pierce County Bar and a separate meeting of concerned citizens.

F.A. Chenoweth Letter to Governor Fayette McMullin.  Judge Chenoweth explains his view of the controversy.

Newspaper articles

The Pioneer and Democrat in Olympia is very pro-Stevens:

“Representation: To the Honorables J. Patton Anderson and Joseph Lane, Delegates in Congress from the Territories of Oregon and Washington”
Pioneer and Democrat, 7/11/1856, Page 2, Column 5

“Representation: To the Honorables J. Patton Anderson and Joseph Lane, Delegates in Congress from the Territories of Oregon and Washington [continued]”
Pioneer and Democrat, 7/11/1856, Page 3, Column 1

“XXXIV Congress, First Session – Discussion in Senate, July 2d, ’56 on the Subject of Martial Law in Washington Territory”
Pioneer and Democrat, 8/29/1856, Page 1, Column 2

“Martial Law Again”
Pioneer and Democrat, 4/10/1857, Page 2, Column 1

“[Reprimand of Gov. Stevens by Secretary of State Marcy for Declaration of Martial Law]”
Pioneer and Democrat, 6/26/1857, Page 2, Column 5

The Puget Sound Courier in Steilacoom is fairly anti-Stevens:

“The Powers that Be”
Puget Sound Courier, 2/29/1856, Page 1, Column 1

“Martial Law – by a Citizen”
Puget Sound Courier, 4/25/1856, Page 3, Column 3