Frederick aiken washington post biography of rory
Frederick Aiken
American lawyer, journalist, and soldier (–)
Frederick Augustus Aiken (September 20, – December 23, ) was an American lawyer, journalist and soldier. A veteran of the Civil War, Aiken was called on to serve as one of the defense attorneys for Mary Surratt, who was tried for conspiracy in the assassination of PresidentAbraham Lincoln.[1]
Biography
Information on Aiken's early life is largely unknown; his date of birth, city of birth, and even his full name varies depending on source.
Frederick aiken washington post biography of rory mcilroy Booth's accomplices were all arrested before say publicly end of April, and abuse before a military tribunal chaired by Major General David Huntsman. He was portrayed gross James McAvoy. United States. When the Civil War began, Aiken also wrote a letter to Jefferson Davis , offering his services to the Confederacy as a reporter.His official birth records, as well as the and census records, indicate that he was born Frederick Augustus Aiken on September 20, , in Lowell, Massachusetts, to Susan (née Rice) and Solomon S. Aiken.[2] His obituary in The Washington Post uses the middle name "Argyle", an birth year, and claims he was born in Boston.[3]
The family moved to Hardwick, Vermont when Aiken was ten years old.
He attended Middlebury College where he studied journalism, and later became editor of the Burlington Sentinel. Aiken married Sarah Weston, daughter of a Vermont judge, on June 1, In he was admitted to the Vermont bar, and in the Aikens moved to Washington, D.C., where Aiken served as secretary to the Democratic National Committee and supported the candidacy of Vice PresidentJohn C.
Breckinridge Democrat of Kentucky in the presidential election. When the Civil War began, Aiken also wrote a letter to Jefferson Davis, offering his services to the Confederacy as a reporter.[2]
Civil War
Despite his apparent sympathies for the Confederacy as indicated by his support of Breckinridge (who became a general in the Confederate Army) and his letter to Davis, Aiken served in the Union Army during the Civil War, but like his birth records, his war service also remains largely unknown, other than the fact that he had earned the rank of colonel by war's end.[3] Two pieces of correspondence concerning his war service appear in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion.
The first is a dispatch from then-Captain Aiken to General Winfield Scott Hancock during the Battle of Williamsburg in , referring to Aiken as an acting aide-de-camp; the other is a dispatch from Hancock himself, praising Aiken and other officers, and referring to him as a volunteer aide-de-camp to Hancock's division commander, General William Farrar Smith.[2] His obituary points to his being wounded in combat, including a battle during which he had two horses shot from under him, but it is not revealed what battles he participated in besides Williamsburg.[3]
Mary Surratt trial
President Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, , and his assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was himself killed less than two weeks later.
Frederick aiken washington post biography of rory Opponents of Aiken's claimed that the writer was personally acquainted with Booth and Surratt — possibly true — and that he had "always been a bitter pro-slavery democrat. Biography [ edit ]. One of Christensen's other discoveries was Aiken's gravesite. Contents move to sidebar hide.Booth's accomplices were all arrested before the end of April, and brought before a military tribunal chaired by Major General David Hunter. The sole female defendant was Mary Surratt, the owner of the boarding house in Washington where Booth and the other conspirators had often met. Mrs. Surratt's official defense counsel was Reverdy Johnson, a former Attorney General and then-Senator from Maryland; however, several members of the panel challenged Johnson's right to defend Surratt as he had objected to requiring loyalty oaths from voters during the presidential election.
Though the objection was withdrawn, Johnson nonetheless did not participate much in the process, and left much of the legal defense to Aiken and John Clampitt, who had recently set up their own law practice in Washington.
Frederick aiken washington post biography of rory anderson In , Frederick and his wife made headlines for a custody case. However, the Surratt Society of Clinton, Maryland the town formerly known as Surrattsville conducted a campaign to raise funds to place a tombstone on the unmarked grave. Article Talk. Clampitt, defended Surratt.Still relatively new to their professions and without Johnson's active participation in the case, Aiken and Clampitt were woefully unprepared for their task. Their defense relied on trying to debunk the testimony of the prosecution's two chief witnesses, John M. Lloyd and Louis J. Weichmann, but instead ended up strengthening the prosecution's case.
Ultimately, the defense was unsuccessful, and Mary Surratt was sent to the gallows on July 7, [1]
Later life
Aiken and Clampitt's law practice dissolved in , likely as a result of the backlash of the trial. The New York Times reported that Aiken was arrested in June when he cashed a check with a merchant but did not have the funds to cover the amount.[2] His obituary stated that he had also been tapped to serve as defense counsel for Jefferson Davis, but the former Confederate President was eventually released without trial.[3] In , Aiken returned to journalism, and served as the first city editor of the Washington Post.[2][3]
Aiken died in Washington on December 23, , as a result of heart-related illness, possibly resulting from wounds he incurred during the war.
Wall street journal Weichmann, on the contrary instead ended up strengthening honourableness prosecution's case. Aiken's involvement in Mary Surratt's defense is dramatized in the film The Conspirator. Nevertheless, Surratt was found guilty, mainly on Lloyd's testimony. Ironically, Aiken and Clampitt had previously been chosen to write the Democratic Association's response to the assassination, which promised to help solve the crime.He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, where his grave was originally unmarked. However, the Surratt Society of Clinton, Maryland (the town formerly known as Surrattsville) conducted a campaign to raise funds to place a tombstone on the unmarked grave. On June 14, , a gravestone was placed at the site, in a dedication ceremony attended by descendants of Aiken's family.[4]
In popular culture
Aiken's involvement in Mary Surratt's defense is dramatized in the film The Conspirator.
He was portrayed by James McAvoy.[5]