197 Sheet – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

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Here is the translated text as follows:

JOHN HODGES

In George County, some residents of the town of Upper Marlborough captured four stragglers who were following the army. These individuals, along with a deserter, were sent into the interior of the country. As soon as their absence was noticed, the British commander demanded their return, threatening to destroy the town if his demand was not met. Communications passed between the two parties, resulting in the men being restored or placed in a situation where they could be taken by the enemy. In effecting this restoration, the prisoner was among the most active. From a moral standpoint, some excuse might be found for his conduct; however, regarding the deserter, there was no excuse—moral, legal, or political. It is well known that deserters are always put to death, and in order to save my property, I have no right to sacrifice the lives of my fellow creatures.

John Hodges was the head of a large family of relatives. He served as the United States District Judge for the District of Maryland from 1836 to 1852 and died in Baltimore.

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JOHN EMLEN HALL (1783-1829)

Born in Philadelphia, John Emlen Hall was educated at Princeton. He studied law and began practicing in Baltimore in 1805. Hall served as a Professor of Rhetoric and Belles-Lettres at the University of Maryland and was an active Federalist. He was severely wounded in the Baltimore Riots of 1812. From 1808 to 1817, he edited "The American Law Journal." He later moved to Philadelphia, where he edited the "Portfolio" from 1817 to 1827, contributing to it the "Memoirs of Anacreon," which attracted much attention. In 1827, he edited "The Philadelphia Souvenir" and published original and selected "Memoirs of Eminent Persons." His other publications include "The Practice and Jurisdiction of the Court of Admiralty" (Baltimore, 1809), "Life of Dr. John Shaw," prefixed to his collected poems (1810), an English edition of Emerigon's "Maritime Laws" with other material (1811), "Tracts on Constitutional Law, Containing Mr. Livingston's Answer to Mr. Jefferson" (Philadelphia, 1813), and an edition of William Wirt's "British Spy," to which he contributed several letters. Hall died in Philadelphia.

No mention is made anywhere of Hall's connection with this case. However, he is the only John E. Hall listed in the Baltimore directory for 1810, 1814-1815, where he is cited as an "attorney at law." See Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography (1915), Drake's Dictionary of American Biography (1907), Herringhaw's American Biography (1907), Philadelphia National Gazette (June 13, 1829), Philadelphia U.S. Gazette (June 13, 1829), "The Portfolio," Vol. 13, p. 190 (mentions Hall), Philadelphia Directory (1819-1829), and Baltimore Directory (1810, 1814-1815).

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