GENERAL ORDERS, j 
NO. 76. \ 
WAR DEPARTMENT, 
Adjutant General’s Office, 
Washington, March 31, 1863. 
I..Before a General Court Martial, which convened at Poolsville, 
Maryland, March 10, 1863, pursuant to General Orders, No. 12, dated 
Headquarters, Independent Brigade, March 8, 1863; and of which 
Colonel William Wirt Virgin, 23d Maine Volunteers, is President, 
was arraigned and tried— 
James Snowdon Pleasants, citizen, of Montgomery county, Maryland. 
Charge.—“Relieving the enemy with victuals, and knowingly 
harboring and protecting them.” 
Specification 1st—“In this; that he, the said James Snowdon Pleasants, 
a citizen of Montgomery county, Maryland, did, on or about the 
4th day of March, A. D. 1863, at his, the said James Snowdon 
Pleasants' residence, near Poolsville, Montgomery county, 
Maryland, with victuals relieve, and did knowingly harbor 
and protect, John Key, L. Orrick Bennett, and Robert Boyle 
they, the said Key, Bennett, and Boyle, being then and there 
enemies of the United States, and in the service of the Rebel 
armies.” 
Specification 2d—“In this; that the said James Snowdon Pleasants, a 
citizen of Montgomery county, Maryland, did, from the 1st day 
of March, A. D. 1863, to the 4th day of March, A. D. 1863, 
inclusive, at his, the said James Snowdon Pleasants' residence, 
near Poolsville, Montgomery county, Maryland, relieve the 
enemy, and did knowingly harbor and protect them, to wit: 
two men bearing the names of John Key and L. Orrick Bennett; 
they, the said Key and Bennett, being then and there enemies 
of the United States, and in the service of the Rebel armies.” 
To which charge and specifications the accused, James Snowdon 
Pleasants, of Montgomery county, Maryland, pleaded “ Not Guilty.” The Court, having maturely considered the evidence adduced, finds 
the accused, James Snowdon Pleasants, of Montgomery county, Mary- 
land, as follows: 
Of the 1st Specification, “Guilty.” 
Of the 2d Specification, “Guilty.” 
Of the Charge “Guilty.” 
Finding. 
Sentence 
And the Court does therefore sentence him, James Snowdon 
Pleasants, a citizen of Montgomery county, Maryland, “ To be hung 
by the neck until he is dead, at such tune and place as shall be appointed 
by the proper authorities," two thirds of the members of the Court 
concurring therein. 
11.. proceedings in the foregoing case have been submitted to 
the President of the United States. The following are the orders 
thereon: 
March 25, 1863. 
The sentence of death in this case is hereby commuted to imprison- 
ment for during the war, in one of the military prisons to be desig- 
nated by the Secretary of War. j INCOLN 
111.. 1n compliance with the order of the President, Fort Delaware 
is hereby designated as the place in which James Snowdon Pleasants 
shall be confined. 
By order of the Secretary of War: 
E. D. TOWNSEND, 
Assistant Adjutant General.