Pardoning an arrested gambler - photo 1
Pardoning an arrested gambler - photo 2

Pardoning an arrested gambler

Lot 344
19.10.2023 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 882
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
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ID 1033005
Lot 344 | Pardoning an arrested gambler
Estimate value
$ 1 000 – 1 500
GRANT, Ulysses S. (1822-1885). Partly-printed document signed ("U.S. Grant") as President, Washington, 10 April 1872.

One page, 215 x 280mm. (a few chips at right edge, some spots of foxing, signature slightly blurred).

Grant controversially pardons an arrested gambling den keeper… and possible anti-Lincoln rioter? In March 6, 1872, Martin La Truit was charged with one year's imprisonment for operating a gambling house on Pennsylvania Avenue. Contemporaneous newspaper reports indicate his conviction was an attempt by city officials to break up a startling influx of "…gambling 'hells'…" in Washington D.C., and that his arrest "…had the effect of frightening other persons…inducing them to shut up their dens…" (Auburn Daily Bulletin, 17 April 1872).

However, Grant's pardon came just one month into La Truit's year-long sentence, leading some critics to report that his pardon would give gamblers "…courage to resume, now that they find a champion in the chief executive of the nation…" (The Daily Patriot, 19 April 1872). Grant himself was an avid card player, with poker being one of his personal favorites.

Interestingly, an 1889 publication from the surviving members of the original Republican Association of Washington D.C. claims that a "Martin La Truit" was involved in raiding the Republican National Headquarters, nicknamed the "Wigwam", on November 6, 1860 – the day of Lincoln's presidential election. Furious upon the news of Lincoln's victory, a crowd of approximately 50-60 self-declared "National Volunteers" stormed the Republican building, threw stones, discharged pistols, and threatened to light the building ablaze with Republicans trapped on the roof. After this destruction, the pamphlet claims that "...their captain, Martin La Truit…" lauded the rioters' work before they marched away. (CLEPHANE, Lewis (1824-1897). The Birth of The Republican Party. Washington D.C.: Gibson Bros., 1889.)

While his involvement is implicated in that publication, La Truit was never indicted at the later trial of the "Wigwam Rioters" and just six other men were eventually charged with that crime (The National Republican, 11 March 1861). We could find no other sources or newspaper accounts referencing his involvement, thus the true depth of his involvement is unknown.
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