Biography
Charles S. Morehead, former governor of Kentucky, was arrested with Reuben T. Durrett and Martin W. Barr. The arrest warrant was issued September 18, 1861; Marshal Sneed’s formal return and the certified execution record date its execution September 19. The overnight arrest is distinguished from the warrant day. The warrant charged treason; grand-jury foreman G. W. Meriwether and Judge Bland Ballard reported in November that no indictment had been returned. This is not an established criminal conviction. Sneed’s return says the prisoners were moved through Jeffersonville to Indianapolis and taken by the military September 20 despite pending habeas proceedings. Morehead was held at Fort Lafayette and Fort Warren. His actual physical release on parole was January 6, 1862, corroborated by his signed parole and Seward’s January 10 reply. The parole restricted travel into Kentucky and insurrectionary States and required nonhostility and availability to the Secretary of State. The March 18 order and March 19 certificate ended that parole; they were not the day he left prison. Crittenden described medical needs and family distress in requesting release. A precise first admission to Fort Lafayette is not established here; the earlier month placeholder for institutional admission is removed. Source: Official Records, Series II, Volume II, section 2, printed pages 805–829, https://archive.org/details/cu31924079570259/page/n18/mode/1up.
