The Case of Dr. Watson

A decision was made in the case of Dr. Watson who shot and killed a black man. General Schofield came to the decision that Watson will be tried in a military commission, not a civil court. The Dispatch says this represents a break of two separate Constitutional mandates.

The Case of Dr. Watson.--The decision of General Schofield in the case of Dr. Watson, of Rockbridge, was given yesterday. It was that the defendant, charged with shooting a negro in Rockbridge county, and thereby causing his death, should be tried before a military commission, and not before the civil courts. The trial will take place on the 19th of December.

“The Case of Dr. Watson,” Reconstructing Virginia, accessed June 1, 2023, https://reconstructingvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/455.