Case of Lieutenant Hooe-A Notable Instance of Whig Honesty. To the Hon. John M. Botts.

Notes

Judge Advocate John Minor Botts refused to accept testimony from two African-American witnesses to the events leading to the court-martial, now under appeal, of Lieut. George Mason Hooe (see entry ). As recalled by two African-American sailors, Uriah P. Levy, the commander of the USS Vandalia, was disrespected by Hooe as the "damned old Jew" (alternatively, "a damned Jew"). On pp. 7-8, M. Van Buren’s "Letter From the President" with his observations on the Hooe case, also the very contentious legal issue if free blacks should be allowed to offer court testimony against whites.