Wikipedia

W. H. H. Clayton

William Henry Harrison Clayton(October 13, 1840 – December 14, 1920) was an American lawyer and judge in post-Civil WarArkansasandIndian Territory,Oklahoma.He served as theUnited States Attorneyfor theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas,as chief prosecutor in the court of "hanging judge"Isaac C. Parkerfor 14 years and as a federal judge in the Central District of the Indian Territory that became the state of Oklahoma.

W. H. H. Clayton
Clayton in 1898
Judge for Central District of theUnited States Court for the Indian Territory
In office
1897 – November 16, 1907
Appointed byWilliam McKinley
Preceded byWilliam Yancey Lewis
Succeeded byPosition disestablished
Personal details
Born
William Henry Harrison Clayton

October 13, 1840
Bethel Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania,U.S.
DiedDecember 14, 1920 (age 80)
McAlester, Oklahoma, U.S.
Resting placeFort Smith National Cemetery,Fort Smith, Arkansas,U.S.
RelativesJohn M. Clayton(twin)
Powell Clayton(brother)
Thomas J. Clayton(brother)
OccupationSoldier, attorney, judge,
Known forU.S. Attorney for the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas (1874–1893)
United States Federal Judge in the Central District of the Indian Territory (1896–1907)

He served as a lieutenant in theUnion Armyduring theU.S. Civil Warand fought in some of the key battles of the war.

He was the brother of Arkansas GovernorPowell Clayton,President Judge of the Thirty-Second Judicial District of PennsylvaniaThomas J. Claytonand twin-brother of U.S. Congressman-electJohn Middleton Clayton.

Early life and education

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Clayton was born inBethel Township, Pennsylvania,to John and Ann Glover Clayton. The Clayton family was descended from earlyQuakersettlers of Pennsylvania. Clayton's ancestorWilliam Claytonemigrated fromChichester, England,was a personal friend ofWilliam Penn,one of nine justices who sat at theUpland Courtin 1681, and a member of Penn's Council.[1]

Clayton was raised on his father's farm and received his early education at the Village Green Seminary.[2]

Civil War

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In 1862, pursuant to proclamations from PresidentAbraham Lincolnand GovernorAndrew Gregg Curtin,he raised a company in Delaware County—this company became Company H of the124th Regiment,Pennsylvania Volunteers.[3]The 124th Regiment served a nine-month enlistment, commencing in August 1862, and ending in May 1863, during a critical period in theAmerican Civil War.[4]Clayton served as alieutenantin Company H, while his twin brother John M. Clayton served as thefirst sergeantin the same Company.[5]The 124th Regiment was under the command ofColonelJoseph W. Hawley.

The 124th Regiment was in reserve during theBattle of Second Bull Runand, on September 9, 1862, became part of the Twelfth Corps of theArmy of the Potomacunder the command of GeneralJoseph K. Mansfield.[6]In that capacity, the 124th maneuvered on the field but did not participate in theBattle of South Mountain,asGeneral Robert E. Leebegan his advance intoMaryland.[7]The Twelfth Corps marched further into Maryland and, on September 17, 1862—less than six weeks after being commissioned—Clayton and the 124th Regiment were involved in the most violent one day conflict in American history—theBattle of Antietam.

During Antietam, the 124th Regiment engaged in the furious fighting in Miller's cornfield.[8]Early in this combat, Colonel Hawley was shot in the neck, while General Mansfield was shot off his horse and mortally wounded as he led other Regiments of the Twelfth Corps into battle (his successor, GeneralSamuel W. Crawfordwas also carried from the field).[9]The 124th Regiment suffered 64casualtiesduring the battle.[10]The next day, Clayton and his colleagues in the 124th Regiment had burial duty and had to clean up the carnage and slaughter of America's bloodiest day.

The 124th Regiment was involved in the Fredericksburg campaign of GeneralAmbrose Burnsidebut was not part of the disastrousBattle of Fredericksburg.[11]After the battle, the 124th, along with the rest of the Army of the Potomac, meandered throughVirginiaas part of Burnside's miserable "Mud March."[12]While in camp, on April 10, 1863, President Lincoln reviewed the Twelfth Corps.[13] The 124th was then involved in the spring campaign of the newest leader of theUnion Army—GeneralJoseph Hooker—and saw combat again in theBattle of Chancellorsville.[14]The 124th returned to its old camps after Chancellorsville.–They had completed their enlistment and were discharged and mustered out of service on May 17, 1863.[15]

Just over one month after the discharge of the 124th, General Lee again attempted to invade the Union States, this time making it to Pennsylvania. Governor Curtin declared another state of emergency, and Clayton and most of the members of the 124th were hastily assembled into the newly formed 29th Emergency Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia.[16]The new 29th remained in Chester and Delaware counties during theBattle of Gettysburg,but, after the battle, Colonel Hawley led a brigade consisting of the 29th and twoNew Yorkregiments in pursuit of the defeatedConfederatetroops.[17]This ended Clayton's active involvement in the Civil War. After his service, he took a position as a teacher of military tactics and other subjects at the Village Green Seminary inDelaware County, Pennsylvania.[18]

Career in Arkansas

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When the Civil War ended, Clayton followed his brother Powell toPine Bluff, Arkansas,and with John M. Clayton, the three brothers purchased 2,000 acres (8 km2) of land on theArkansas River.[18]Like his brother Powell, W. H. H. Clayton married a southern woman, Florence Barnes.[19]In 1868, Powell Clayton was elected Governor of Arkansas, and W. H. H. Clayton, while studying law, was appointed circuit superintendent of public instruction for the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Arkansas and helped organize an education system for the newly freed slaves.[20]

In 1871, he was admitted to the bar and was appointed prosecuting attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Arkansas.[2]In 1873, GovernorElisha Baxterappointed him a judge of the same Circuit Court, but in July 1874 he resigned this position to accept an appointment, offered by PresidentUlysses Grantas United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.[20]

The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas had recently moved toFort Smith, Arkansas,and W. H. H. Clayton moved to Fort Smith when he took the U.S. Attorney position. In 1882, Clayton purchased an old house in the downtown area of Fort Smith, which he enlarged and renovated. Clayton and his family lived in this house until he left Fort Smith forMcAlester, Oklahomain 1897 and owned it until 1912. The "Clayton House"has been restored by the Fort Smith Heritage Foundation and is a historical home that is open to the public.[21]

Clayton's twin brother John Middleton Clayton enjoyed a political career of distinction after moving to Arkansas. John M. Clayton served in both houses of theArkansas General Assemblyand also served three terms as sheriff ofJefferson County, Arkansas.[18]In 1888, John M. Clayton ran forU.S. Representativeas theRepublicancandidate againstDemocratic PartycandidateClifton R. Breckinridge.The election was hotly contested and replete with charges of serious voter fraud and illegality. John M. Clayton was assassinated on January 29, 1889, before a winner of the election could be declared.[22]Despite an investigation byPinkertondetectives that had been financed by Powell and W. H. H. Clayton, the assassin was never found.[23]

Service in Judge Parker's court

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In 1875, the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas had jurisdiction over one-third of the state of Arkansas and all of the Indian Territory to the west that eventually became the state of Oklahoma. This area comprised over 74,000 square miles (190,000 km2) of some of the most wild and violent lands in thepostbellumUnited States.[24]At the request of Powell Clayton and other prominent Arkansas Republicans, President Grant appointed Isaac Charles Parker, a Republican office holder from Missouri with an impeccable reputation, to the Court in order to clean up the prior stain of corruption and to bring law and order to the Western District.[25]At the time of his appointment, Judge Parker (35 years old) was the youngest judge on the federal bench[26]and served on the court from 1875 until his death in 1896. During this period, the Western District of Arkansas was one of the busiest federal courts in the entire country.

In Judge Parker's 21 years on the bench, 13,490 felony charges were docketed, including 344 charges carrying the death penalty.[27]Since there were no state courts in the Indian Territory (only tribal courts), the United States District court had original jurisdiction over murder charges, an oddity for the federal courts Judge Parker sentenced 160 defendants to the Fort Smithgallows,and 79 of these defendants were actually hanged to death.[27]In another oddity, no federal court had appellate jurisdiction over Judge Parker, and the only avenue for relief from a death sentence in his court was through presidential pardon; Congress remedied this in 1889 and gave theUnited States Supreme Courtappellate jurisdiction over death sentences from Judge Parker's court.[28]

Clayton served as the United States Attorney in Judge Parker's court from 1874 until 1893, with the exception of the four years comprising the first non-consecutive term of Democratic PresidentGrover Cleveland.[29]During his 14 years in this position, Clayton had charge of over 10,000 cases (including misdemeanors) tried before the court and, during that time, he convicted 80 men of murder—a number greater than any other prosecutor in the United States—and 40 of these men were executed.[30]Clayton was known as "the ablest prosecutor in the Southwest."[31]During Judge Parker's eventful first year with the Court, Clayton obtained capital convictions in 15 out of 18 murder cases.[30]On September 3, 1875, Judge Parker ordered a mass hanging of six men at once on the Fort Smith gallows.[32]

During his time with Judge Parker, Clayton had many interesting cases involving some of the most notorious criminals of the time. Clayton sent the infamousBelle Starrand her husband to federal prison for horse theft, and, upon her release, Starr plotted but failed to carry out an assassination attempt on Clayton during aWild West Showat theSebastian County,Arkansas Fair.[33]This incident was later dramatized in 1961 on the television showDeath Valley Daysin an episode entitled "A Bullet for the D.A."[34]Clayton was also the original prosecutor in the famous case ofUnited States v. Allen,which was reported in theUnited States Supreme Courtreporters asAllen v. United States,164 U.S. 492, 17 S.Ct. 154 (1896). TheAllencase is well-known to present-day trial attorneys for its discussion of theAllen charge,given to deadlocked juries in an attempt to avoid ahung jury.

Clayton also enjoyed a very successful legal career in Fort Smith during the years that he was not serving as United States Attorney. He handled both civil and criminal cases while in the private practice of law, including cases in front of the United States Supreme Court.[35]One of Clayton's most famous cases involved his defense of legendary U.S. MarshalBass Reevesagainst charges of murdering his posse cook. Reeves, one of the only black U.S. Marshals in the United States, had worked closely with Clayton while Clayton was still the U.S. Attorney, and Clayton was able to convince a jury to acquit Bass in a trial in front of Judge Parker.[36]

Career in the Indian Territory and Oklahoma

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WhenWilliam McKinleywas elected President in 1896, he appointed Clayton as aUnited States federal judgefor the newly created federal court for the Central District of the Indian Territory.[2]Clayton moved toMcAlester,the site of the new federal court for the Central District. Congress had created this court in an effort to relieve the overworked Western District of Arkansas of some of its huge caseload, although Judge Parker was upset with this stripping of his authority.[37]When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, Congress created a new set of federal District Courts and dissolved the old Indian Territory District Courts, causing Clayton to lose his federal judgeship. During his 10 years as a federal judge, Clayton had issued important decisions defining Indian rights, which had long-term effects on the future history of Oklahoma.[2]

Clayton had been involved in a scandal related to an alleged Oklahoma land grab in 1889.[38]The charges were made by Democrats in 1889, after PresidentBenjamin Harrisonhad nominated Clayton for re-appointment to his United States Attorney position, following the Grover Cleveland interregnum period. No formal action was ever taken on the charges, and theUnited States Senateconfirmed President Harrison's nomination of Clayton. Former Oklahoma governor and supreme court Justice,Robert L. Williams,wrote a biography of Clayton, saying that Clayton's motto as a judge was, "Neither shall an innocent man be punished, nor shall one guilty man go free."[39]

In 1907, PresidentTheodore Rooseveltappointed Clayton to serve on the Oklahoma Districting and Canvassing Board.[40]Clayton had also been a delegate selected to write the newconstitutionfor the State of Oklahoma.[2]After his retirement from the federal bench, Clayton resumed the practice of law in McAlester with his son. Clayton died in McAlester on December 14, 1920 and was interred at theFort Smith National Cemetery.[41]

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The actorDon Haggertywas cast as Clayton in the 1961 episode, "A Bullet for the D.A.", on thesyndicated televisionanthology series,Death Valley Days,hosted byStanley Andrews.Carole Mathewsplayed as Belle Starr recently released from federal prison, who unsuccessfully plots the revenge assassination of Clayton during aWild West showin Fort Smith.

See also

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References

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Citations

  1. ^Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Volume 6.Philadelphia. 1917. pp. 12–13.RetrievedSeptember 3,2018.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^abcdeWoolridge 1998.
  3. ^Green,History of the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers,Ware Bros. Company (1907), pp. 9, 17–18, 76.
  4. ^Green 1907,p. 9.
  5. ^Green 1907,p. 76.
  6. ^Green 1907,pp. 20–22.
  7. ^Green, pp. 21–22, 148–49.
  8. ^Green 1907,pp. 29–33.
  9. ^Green, pp. 31, 149.
  10. ^Green 1907,p. 350.
  11. ^Green 1907,pp. 39–40.
  12. ^Green 1907,p. 41.
  13. ^Green 1907,p. 43.
  14. ^Green 1907,pp. 43–47.
  15. ^Green 1907,p. 47.
  16. ^Green, pp. 55, 191–92, 198–99.
  17. ^Green 1907,p. 199.
  18. ^abcHarman 1898,p. 129.
  19. ^Clayton 1915,p. 306.
  20. ^abHarman 1898,p. 130.
  21. ^"The Clayton House".claytonhouse.org.RetrievedMarch 26,2020.
  22. ^Clayton 1915,pp. 184–193.
  23. ^Barnes, Kenneth C."John Middleton Clayton (1840-1889)".encyclope điểu farkansas.net.RetrievedMarch 26,2020.
  24. ^Shirley 1968,pp. 9–29.
  25. ^Croy 1952,pp. 24–25.
  26. ^Shirley 1968,p. 29.
  27. ^abShirley 1968,p. 198.
  28. ^Harrington 1980,pp. 179–181.
  29. ^Shirley 1968,p. 34.
  30. ^abHarman 1898,p. 131.
  31. ^Harrington 1980,p. 123.
  32. ^Croy 1952,p. 47.
  33. ^Harman, pp. 582, 593–94.
  34. ^"Death Valley Days".
  35. ^United States v. Starr,164 U.S. 627 (1897).
  36. ^Burton 2006,pp. 139–148.
  37. ^Shirley 1968,pp. 192–194.
  38. ^New York Times,May 16, 1890, and April 14, 1893.
  39. ^R. L. Williams. "Hon. William H. H. Clayton." The Medico-Legal Journal. Medico-legal Society of New York. Vol. 26. (1908) pp.258–263.Available on Google Books. Accessed March 23, 2020.
  40. ^New York Tribune,September 20, 1907.
  41. ^Creel, Von Russell."Clayton, William Henry Harrison (1840–1920)".okhistory.org.Oklahoma Historical Society.RetrievedMay 18,2024.

Sources

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