Levi Hewhitt and William Hunt Petition to the Confederate Court of Tennessee
A legal petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus for two men, Levi Hewhitt and William Hunt, written on December 8, 1861 in Davidson County, Tenn., to The Honorable West H. Humphreys, confederate court judge.
The petition states that the two men are being held unlawfully in Knoxville, Tenn., under military office. According to their statements, they were arrested in Bradley County, Tenn., without any legal process, and know not which charge is preferred against them. Written is the question of whether the judge will see the two men for consideration of their petition. John M. Fleming is the attorney representing the two men.
Dates
- 1861 December 8
Conditions Governing Access
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Conditions Governing Use
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Extent
0.1 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection consists of a legal petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus for two men, Levi Hewhitt and William Hunt, written on December 8, 1861 in Davidson County, Tenn., to The Honorable West H. Humphreys, a Confederate court judge.
Biographical/Historical Note
West H. Humphreys was born in Montgomery County, Tennessee in 1806. He became a lawyer in 1828 after studying Law at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. He served in the Lower House of the State Legislature from 1835-1838. He was also State Attorney General from 1839 to 1851. He was appointed to the Federal District Court for Tennessee as a judge by then President Franklin Pierce. A fervent secessionist, he accepted an appointment to the Confederate District Court of Tennessee in. He was impeached from his position in 1862 from the Federal District Court of Tennessee. He was a Confederate Judge until the end of the Civil War. He was later a staunch Prohibitionist and wrote several books. He died in 1882.
Arrangement
Collection consists of a single folder.
Acquisition Note
This collection was purchased by Special Collections on November 2003.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository