Testimony on the Assault of Senator Charles Sumner

Transcript

Question propounded to Governor Brown of Mississippi.

Please to state to the Committee the cause of the assault committed by Mr. Brooks upon Mr. Sumner, as stated to you?

Did Mr. Brooks state to you the cause of his assault upon Mr. Sumner and the language which he addressed to Mr. Sumner just before the assault?  If so, please to tell the committee what his language was, or what the cause of the assault.

On the day of the occurrence, and shortly after, I met Mr. Brooks in company with Mr. Keitt on the avenue, nearly opposite the Union buildings; after the usual salutations, Mr. Keitt mentioned what had occurred and was proceeding to give some account of it when Mr. Brooks interposed with this remark: "The town I suppose will be full of rumors in a few hours, and I desire my friends to understand precisely what I have done, and why I did it.  Regarding the speech [of Mr. Sumner] as an attrocious libel on South Carolina, and a gross insult to my absent relative [Judge Butler] I determined when it was delivered to punish him for it.  Today I approached him, after the Senate adjourned and said to him, 'Mr. Sumner, I have read your speech carefully, and with as much calmness as I could be expected to read such a speech. You have libelled my State and slandered my relation, who is aged and absent, and I feel it to be my duty to punish you for it' and with that I struck him a blow across the head with my cane, and repeated it until I was satisfied.  No one interposed, and I desisted simply because I had punished him to my satisfaction."

This is substantially and almost literally the statement of Mr. Brooks.  The conversation then turned on other points and phrases of the affair.

A.G. Brown


Attest

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Secretary