FORMER congressional "leader" (he had lost re-election and was running for the Democrat nomination to be governor of Ohio)
"... for speaking critically of his war ..."
Herman Belz writes: "“In April 1863, General Ambrose Burnside issued an order prohibiting in the area of his command [Ohio] any declarations of sympathy for the enemy. He also declared that persons who helped the enemy would be tried under military authority. Former Democratic representative Clement L. Vallandigham condemned the order and urged resistance to it. He was arrested, tried, and convicted by a military commission. Burnside imposed a prison sentence, which President Lincoln commutted into banishment beyond Confederate lines.
"Removing to Canada, Vallandigham petitioned a federal circuit court in Ohio for a writ of habeas corpus, but since he was no longer in custody, no basis existed for Supreme Court review of the lower court’s denial of the petition. Vallandigham then applied to the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to review directly the decision of the military commission."
What came next was Ex parte Vallandigham, which supported the military tribunals.
Prof Thomas Morris wrote about Vallandigham, "The story of another wartime Democrat, the negrophobic U.S. Congressman from Ohio, Clement L. Vallandigham, who was also tried by a military commission in the North, ended differently [from that of Milligan]."
At least Vallandigham retained some of his fame. From the 1860's to the 1940's the term "Vallandigham" was synonymous with traitor, replacing "Benedict Arnold" before the advent of "Quisling."
Half truth. Vallandigham was a lame duck congressman at the time of his arrest (April 1863) because the 38th Congress did not begin until July 4th. His candidacy for governor came during his exile a few months later.
Herman Belz writes: "“In April 1863, General Ambrose Burnside issued an order prohibiting in the area of his command [Ohio] any declarations of sympathy for the enemy. He also declared that persons who helped the enemy would be tried under military authority. Former Democratic representative Clement L. Vallandigham condemned the order and urged resistance to it. He was arrested, tried, and convicted by a military commission. Burnside imposed a prison sentence, which President Lincoln commutted into banishment beyond Confederate lines.
Imagine that. Lincoln's military thugs arbitrarily imposed an order prohibiting free speech that differed from the administration in the state of Ohio several hundred miles away from the war zone then arrests opposition political leaders who criticize the order! Thank you for once again proving my point by showing that good ole civil libertarian Abe Lincoln's view of free speech!
My apologies. I just checked the record and the 38th Congress was not convened until December 7, 1863.