The St. Albans Raid: Or, Investigation Into the Charges Against Lieut. Bennett H. Young and Command, for Their Acts at St. Albans, Vt., on the 19Th October, 1864

"The St. Albans Raid: Or, Investigation Into The Charges Against Lieut. Bennett H. Young And Command, For Their Acts At St. Albans, Vt., On The 19Th October, 1864" by L. N. Benjamin presents a legal-historical examination of a Canadian extradition case arising from the Confederate raid on St. Albans, Vermont, during the American Civil War. Set in Montreal and other Canadian locales, the work details the extradition proceedings under the Ashburton Treaty and traces the central question: were the raiders acting as belligerents under Confederate authority, and are their acts governed by laws of war or by municipal crime law? It surveys the defense position, citing authorities such as Vattel, Wheaton, Harcourt, Kent, and naval cases, and contrasts it with the prosecution view that neutral territory and the Ashburton Treaty require extradition for offenses and neutrality breaches. The account records findings that Young and others acted under Confederate commissions, that the raid was a war-like expedition, and that the Canadian court discharged the prisoners, with an appendix containing a competing Canadian counsel’s opinion. The narrative highlights tensions between international law and domestic extradition, neutrality, and asylum during wartime.