Charles William Turner (June 8, 1846 – January 7, 1907) was a lawyer in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

, and once

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of Montana. As a youth during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, he was a

courier A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

for Stonewall Jackson. Subsequently, he was one of the VMI cadets who fought at the

Battle of New Market The Battle of New Market was fought on May 15, 1864, in Virginia during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War. A makeshift Confederate army of 4,100 men defeated the larger Army of the Shenandoah under Major General Franz S ...

. He later moved to Montana to practice law and engaged in mining pursuits. Turner was shot to death in a Seattle bar by an assassin who was after one of Turner's clients.

Early years

Charles William Turner was born on June 6, 1846, in

Stephens City, Virginia Stephens City ( ) is an incorporated town in the southern part of Frederick County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 1,829 at the time of the 2010 census. and an estimated population in 2018 of 2,041. Founded by Peter Stephen ...

, then known as Newtown, to music professor A. J. Turner and Kate Aby. Charles sometimes signed his name ''Charles William H. Turner'', perhaps due to his great-grandfather, Charles W. Hulett, who was a drummer in the Revolutionary War. By the late 1850s the family had moved to Staunton, and A. J. directed the Mountain Sax Horn Band.

Civil War

Turner gave his services to the Confederacy for the duration of the

. By the end of the war Turner was commissioned a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Stonewall Brigade

Turner enlisted on June 9, 1861, in Shepherdstown, and was mustered into the 5th Virginia Infantry, CompanyL, known as the "West Augusta Guards", part of the

Stonewall Brigade The Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, was a famous combat unit in United States military history. It was trained and first led by General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, a professor from Virginia Military ...

of Stonewall Jackson. Turner ran mail as a

under Jackson. He was detailed as an orderly to Jackson from July 10 to August 28, 1861, placing him at

First Manassas The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas

. An account of the

Battle of Hoke's Run The Battle of Hoke's Run, also known as the Battle of Falling Waters or Battle of Hainesville, took place on July 2, 1861, in Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia) as part of the Manassas campaign of the American Civil War. Notable a ...

in the ''Staunton Spectator'' reads: "Little Charley Turner, a boy about 15 years of age, insisted so strongly on going with the Augusta Guards that his father finally yielded to his importunities and allowed him to go. The result shows that little Charley went to perform service, for he made one of the enemy bite the dust."

VMI

Turner enrolled at

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

(VMI) on April15, 1864. He graduated from VMI in 1867.

Edward Magruder Tutwiler Edward Magruder Tutwiler (October 13, 1846 – April 19, 1925) was an American industrialist and civil engineer who was a leading businessman in Birmingham, Alabama. Early life Tutwiler was born on October 13, 1846 in Palmyra, Virginia to T ...

was a member of the same class.

=Battle of New Market

= Soon after he enrolled, Turner was one of the cadets who participated in the

, as a private in CompanyC. Major General

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

reluctantly ordered the charge of the young cadets to fill a gap in his right wing, resulting in the cadets having taken part in the Confederacy's last major victory of the war. The cadet battalion captured a Union cannon. Turner was listed as "slightly wounded", as was

John Sergeant Wise John Sergeant Wise (December 27, 1846 – May 12, 1913) was an American author, lawyer, and politician in Virginia. He was the son of Henry Alexander Wise, a Governor of Virginia, and Sarah Sergeant. Early life John was born in Rio de Jane ...

of CompanyD. Years later, another cadet in Turner's company wrote an account of the events preceding the charge.

Post war

After the war, Turner engaged in mercantile pursuits in his native Staunton as well as

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. While in Baltimore he worked for the firm of Chaney, Randall, and Co. In Staunton he was a merchandise auctioneer with partner W.M. Chewning. There, Turner was also a member of the "Philomathesian Society" (cf. the

Philomathean Society The Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania is a collegiate literary society, the oldest student group at the university, and a claimant to the title of the oldest continuously-existing literary society in the United States.This cl ...

Montana

Near the end of 1869, he moved to Montana, where he was admitted to the bar to practice law. He was in Meagher County by 1870.

Mining

Turner became interested in mining pursuits due to

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

discoveries, and moved to

Bannack Bannack is a ghost town in Beaverhead County, Montana, Beaverhead County, Montana, United States, located on Grasshopper Creek, approximately upstream from where Grasshopper Creek joins with the Beaverhead River south of Dillon, Montana, Dillon. ...

around 1875. While there, a major washout of his

flume A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to t ...

resulting in a loss of two years' earnings caused him to return to his law practice. He also spent time in

Virginia City Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City developed as a boom ...

. He was one of the counsel for the territorial officers when the capital of Montana moved from Virginia City to Helena in 1875.

Glendale

Turner then moved to

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

, where he served as chairman of the Democratic ratification meeting. A band leading the procession played a medley in front of Turner's "brilliantly lighted residence".

Marriage

On September 11, 1879, Turner married Emma Armstrong, daughter of Noah Armstrong, in Glendale. She bore his first son, Armstrong Memory Turner, in Glendale on July25, 1880.

Helena

Turner lived in Glendale until about 1886 when he sold his mining interests and moved to Helena, where he worked for the law firm of Kinsley & Turner, partnering with Joseph Kinsley. When Turner left he was replaced by

Ella Knowles Haskell Ella Knowles Haskell (July 31, 1860 – January 27, 1911) was an American lawyer, suffragist, and politician. Born in New Hampshire, she moved to Montana to improve her health following a bout of tuberculosis and there became the first woman t ...

, the first woman to practice law in Montana. He was also an active member of the Freemasons. In 1889, the meeting of the stockholders of the Bowling Mining Company met at his house. Another son, Charles Jr., was born on April20, 1889, in Helena. PHLeslie

Adjutant General

Turner was appointed

of Montana by Governor

Preston Leslie Preston Hopkins Leslie (March 8, 1819 – February 7, 1907) was the 26th Governor of Kentucky from 1871 to 1875, and territorial governor of Montana from 1887 to 1889. He ascended to the office of governor by three different means. First, he su ...

in February 1887. Due to this appointment, the title "General" often precedes Turner's name. He was the first to hold the office since Martin Beem in 1867. The state militia was formed after much action from volunteer companies against Indians. Turner said of the organization:

Seattle

Not long after the

Great Seattle Fire The Great Seattle Fire was a fire that destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, Washington on June 6, 1889. The conflagration lasted for less than a day, burning through the afternoon and into the night, and during the same sum ...

, Turner moved to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. Turner practiced law with James B. Metcalfe, the first Attorney General of the state, and Andrew F. Burleigh, with whom he had partnered in Helena. Metcalfe and Turner remained law partners until January 1892. Turner then was part of the law firm of Turner & McCutcheon until the partnership dissolved on January27, 1894. He then practiced independently, living for many years at the corner of 9thAvenue and AlderSt.

Assassination

On January 7, 1907, Turner was shot to death by one T.W. Emmons in the saloon of Russell & Mix at 1206First Avenue for alleged wrongs between Emmons and Turner's client Andy T. Russell. Russell was one of the owners of the saloon. Emmons had invested his only money upon arriving in Seattle in a cigar shop in front of the saloon, and had received notice to vacate the street. Russell was shot in the left shoulder. Turner was shot in the

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

and the spine. Upon being struck, Turner ran to the front door and had nearly reached it when he collapsed and died. Russell ran into a nearby hotel before realizing he too was shot. The assassin Emmons then looked at himself in a large mirror and shot himself in the right temple. He left a note for the coroner explaining his motives. It seems Russell was the target of the attack, though the letter makes some reference to "Russell's pussy-cat lawyer".

Funeral

Turner was buried on January 10 in Seattle's

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned, nonprofit garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gil ...

. The services were under the auspices of Seattle Commandery No.2, Knights Templars, of which he was a member. The funeral was largely attended and the casket containing the remains was banked with floral offerings. The following sir knights acted as

pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles o ...

s: J.M. Palmer, J.C. Peterson, E.W. Craven, W.V. Rinehart, R.C. Hassen, and H.A. Raser. The honorary pallbearers were: J.T. Ronald, J.B. Jurey, Andrew Hemrich, J.F. Hale, S.S. Carlisle, P.P. Carroll, and ex-Judge Alfred.

Notes

References

External links

*
Letter from Turner to Major Garnett Andrews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Charles W. 1846 births 1907 deaths People from Stephens City, Virginia People from Montana Territory People from Staunton, Virginia People from Beaverhead County, Montana Lawyers from Seattle Confederate States Army officers Stonewall Brigade Virginia Military Institute alumni People murdered in Washington (state) New Market cadets People from Helena, Montana People of Virginia in the American Civil War