CONTENTS. Trial of Bathsheba Spooner and others before the Superior Court of Judicature, for the murder of Joshua Spooner, of Brookfield, Mas- sachusetts, 1778, COLONEL HENLEY. Trial of Colonel David Henley, before a General Court Martial, for improper conduct as an officer of the American Army, Cambridge, Proceedings of a Board of General Officers, held by order of General George Washington, respecting Major John André, charged with THE RHODE ISLAND JUDGES. TRIAL OF BATHSHEBA SPOONER AND OTHERS. BEFORE THE SUPERIOR COURT OF JUDICATURE, FOR THE MURDER OF JOSHUA SPOONER, OF BROOKField. MASSACHUSETTS, 1778. VOL. II. 1 Of the trial of Bathsheba Spooner and others, at Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1778, no authentic report has ever been published. But the case produced great excitement, and was discussed in all the periodical publications of the time. There are also many traditionary accounts of the affair, most of which, however, are entitled to very little con sideration, except as they furnish a clue to the real character of the transaction. In preparing the following account, I have diligently sought for information in every quarter where there was any reason to suppose it could be obtained; and nothing is stated for which there does not appear to be good authority. The sources of information upon which I have mainly relied are:- 1. The records of the Superior Court of Judicature, and those papers relating to the case which are preserved in the archives of the Commonwealth. 2. The Manuscript Notes of Hon. Jedediah Foster, one of the judges, who appears to have taken full minutes of the evidence. 3. The Manuscript Papers of the late Hon. Levi Lincoln, who was of counsel for the prisoners. 4. "A Sermon preached at Worcester, July 2, 1778, on occasion of the execution of James Buchanan, William Brooks, Ezra Ross, and Bathsheba Spooner, for the murder of Mr. Joshua Spooner, of Brookfield, on the evening of the first of March preceding; together with an appendix giving some account of these prisoners in their last stage. By Thadeus Maccarty, A.M., Pastor of the church in said Worcester." 5. A Sermon preached at Brookfield, March 6, 1778, on the day of the interment of Mr. Joshua Spooner. By Nathan Fiske, A. M., Pastor of the Third Church in Brookfield. 6. I have also carefully examined the newspapers of the period alluded to, and have sought for information from the few living persons who were personally cognizant of the facts in the case. My sincere acknowledgments are due to those gentlemen, who have kindly assisted me in these inquiries. I am under especial obligations to the late William Lincoln, Esq. of Worcester, whose antiquarian zeal was the least of his many excellent traits of character; to Samuel F. Haven, Esq., the librarian of the American Antiquarian Society; to the Rev. Joseph B. Felt, the librarian of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and to the Rev. Lucius R. Paige, of Cambridge. TRIAL OF MRS. SPOONER AND OTHERS. ON the morning of March 2, 1778, a servant of Joshua Spooner, of Brookfield, in Massachusetts, came to Cooley's tavern, in that town, with an inquiry for his master, representing that he had not been at home during the night, and that his wife and family were greatly alarmed. This statement was received with much surprise at the inn, as Mr. Spooner had spent the previous evening there with some of his friends, and had left at an early hour for his own house, which was only at a short distance. A few of the neighbors immediately called on Mrs. Spooner, whom they found in the greatest apparent distress. Upon an examination of the premises, in the neighborhood of the house, they observed the tracks of several persons on the snow, and, on further search, the mangled body of Mr. Spooner was discovered in the well,' near his own door. On the next day, an 1 The house in which Mr. Spooner had resided previous to the termination of his life by murder, is still standing (1843) unchanged, except |