After the end of the Civil War, many veterans were returning home. Under the terms of surrender for the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 10, 1865, General Ulysses S. Grant stipulated that "each officer and man will be allowed to return to his home, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside".
On May 5 the parole was extended so that soldiers from the eleven Confederate states, plus West Virginia, would be allowed to return home on their paroles. This did not include Confederates who claimed homes in the District of Columbia and in States that never passed the Ordinance of Secession, such as Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri, who "have forfeited them and can only return thereto by complying with the Amnesty Proclamation of the president and obtaining special permission from the War Department."
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| Source: Library of Congress (link) |
On May 29, 1865, Andrew Johnson issued an Amnesty Proclamation that extended to all Confederates and included the restoration of all rights of property, with the exception of slaves. The only condition required was taking of the oath of allegiance.
However, 14 classes of persons were still excluded from the benefits of the proclamation who had to make special application to the President of the United States for pardon and were required to take the oath of allegiance. By June 5, 1866, 12,652 pardons were issued but those granted in Kentucky under Johnson's exemptions numbered only 11. This included the pardon for Henry L. Stone.
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| Henry L. Stone, ca. 1906 |
Henry Lane Stone was born in Bath County, Kentucky, on January 17, 1842, to Samuel and Sallie (Lane) Stone. His father Samuel Stone served Kentucky and its people in many capacities, including in the Kentucky state militia (1816–1846), as Bath County state representative (1824–1836), and as magistrate and then sheriff in Bath County (1823–1841). In 1851, the family removed to Indiana. Henry L. Stone attended Kentucky and Indiana public schools and later studied law.
When the Civil War erupted, the Stone family was politically divided. Henry's mother and his two brothers Valentine H. Stone and Richard French Stone supported the Union while Samuel and Henry favored the Confederacy. In 1862, Henry L. Stone left his home in Indiana and joined the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry (CS). At the end of the war, Henry was ready to settle down and move on with his life.
As he did not meet all the criteria for a general pardon, he made special application to President Andrew Johnson on September 26, 1865. What follows is a transcript of his application.
Hon. Andrew Johnson
President of the U.S.:
Sir,
Being
one of that class, excepted in your proclamation of amnesty, who left their homes within the jurisdiction and prosecution of the United States and went beyond their military lines, to aid the Rebellion, I hereby most respectfully present you a petition for pardon. The following is a full and true statement of the circumstances of my case.
I left Greencastle, Indiana, my home at the time, on the 18th of Sept., 1862, with the design of joining Gen. Bragg's forces, who were then occupying the State of Kentucky; passed Cincinnati, O., when it was under martial law; tried to procure a pass there from the Provost Marshal, but failed; walked up the Ohio River, twenty miles; took a boat for Augusta, Ky.; from the latter point I went on foot to Cynthiana, Ky., where I found a force of Confederate cavalry; I here took an oath not to reveal any information to the U.S. authorities; by so doing received a pass to go to Mt. Sterling; from hence I went to Sharpsburg, in Bath Co. Ky., where on the 7th of Oct., 1862, I was enlisted, by Geo. M. Coleman, a Confederate Capt. of Cav., into the Confederate States Army. On the 10th of Nov., 1862, I was with the rest of my command at Knoxville, Tenn., mustered into the service, under Gen. John H. Morgan; I was a Sergeant Major of the 2nd Battalion, Maj. Robert G. Stoner, commanding, in Gen. Morgan's Brigade of Cav. for four months; at the expiration of this time, my Bat. and the 1st Bat. in said Brig., were consolidated, making a Reg., known afterwards as the 9th Ky. Cav. and I was appointed an Ordinance Sergt. in said Reg.; this position I held till I was captured by the U.S. forces at Buffington Island, O., on the 19th of July, 1863. I was placed as a prisoner in Camp Morton, on the 21st of July, 1863; was confined there one month; was then taken to Camp Douglas; escaped from that prison and was recaptured, on the 20th of Aug, 1863; was turned into said prison again; escaped finally, on the 16th of Oct., 1863; made my way to Ky. on the route to rejoin the Confederate Army; was captured and released, near Cynthiana, Ky., having successfully passed myself of as a citizen of Indiana; on the 15th of Nov., 1863, was again re-captured, near Sharpsburg, Bath Co., Ky.; was placed in confinement in the jail-dungeon, at Mt. Sterling, Ky., for nineteen days, when I was started under guard to Lexington, Ky., via Winchester; at the latter place, I again escaped the U.S. authorities, making my fourth escape; finding no means of getting South, I went to Canada; staid there from the 4th of Dec., 1863, to the 20th of Apr., 1864; when I left Canada, to go to the Confederacy; arrived in Ky.; remained in that State six weeks, when I took up my journey South, through Eastern Ky.; reported to Gen. John H. Morgan, at Abingdon, Va., on the 28th of June, 1864; continued in his command till his death, on the 4th of Sept., 1864; then was in Gen. B. W. Duke's Brig. till the 2d of Oct. following, at which time I re-joined the 9th Ky. Cav. as a private soldier; in which capacity I served in Gen. John S. Williams's Brig., Gen. Wheeler's Corps, Gen. J. E. Johnston's Dept., till the 9th of May, 1865; when I surrendered(under my Dept. General's order of surrender), at Augusta, Ga., to the U. S. forces then and there stationed in command of Brevet. Brig. Gen. Upton; received a parole from W. W. Woods, Gen. Upton's A.A. G. and Maj. of the 4th Iowa Cav; on this parole I returned to Ky., where I have remained since my arrival, abiding by the laws of the land., and strictly observing the provisions of my parole.
There are no circumstances, which you, Sir, would consider mitigating, except those which exist in the composition of my nature, or result from my early political training. Being born and raised in the State of Kentucky, I naturally clung to her as the home of my childhood, "my own, my native land." I considered her one of the Rebellion States, when the Confederate forces pitched their tents upon her Blue Grass pastures; I was carried off into the rebellious ranks by a spirit of enthusiasm; the name of John Morgan, and the accounts of his dashing exploits as a Cavalry Chief did much to entice me from the notorious life of a law student in Greencastle, Indiana; I longed to play a part in the great national contest; I did not wish to sit idle by, and let the greatest war of modern ages pass away upon the records of history, without indulging my military aspirations; I did not assist the authorities of the U.S. is perhaps owing to an inborn prejudice in favor of the South and her institutions. My present condition is: exile from a happy home, and the best parents; alone in the world, with an empty purse; and nothing to depend upon in future but my own exertions. Your pardon, Sir, would greatly alleviate my situation.
With hope that my application may meet with approval at your hands, I am, Most Honored Sir, your humble St.
Henry L. Stone
Bath Co. KY.,
Sep. 25th, 1865.
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| Stone's required oath of allegiance accompanied the application. |
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| Letter by US Senator and former Indiana governor, H. S. Lane, endorsing his nephew's application for pardon |
Stone was granted a pardon on December 9, 1865. In 1866, he began practicing law in Owingsville, Kentucky and served in several firms throughout the state before becoming city attorney of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1896. In 1905, he became general council of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and served in this position until 1921. His wife was Pamela Lane Boune, with whom he had a daughter and a son. Stone died on May 31, 1922, in Louisville.
Links of Interest
Henry L. Stone Civil War diary - Kentucky Historical Society
"Morgan's Men:" A Narrative of Personal Experiences, by Henry L. Stone
Morgan's Men Escape from Prison, by Henry L. Stone - Confederate Veteran, Vol. 14, No. 4 (April 1906), p. 188-191
Lane–Elston Family Papers, 1775–1936, box 3, folder 13 - Indiana Historical Society
Hoosier Confederate: The Civil War Experiences of Henry Lane Stone from Putnam County - INDepth Stories, Indiana Historical Society
Even Cataloging a Bandana Leads to Exciting Discoveries. - The Kentucky Historical Society Chronicle, Summer/Fall 2012, p. 6
Henry Lane Stone - Find A Grave Memorial page
Transcribed and researched by Marlitta H. Perkins, March 2022. Copyright © 2022, All Rights Reserved.
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