Charles H. Constable

Who was Charles H. Constable?

Charles H. Constable was an American Attorney, Illinois State Senator, Judge, and real estate entrepreneur. He was raised in Maryland and graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Law. After settling in Illinois, he married the oldest daughter of Thomas S. Hinde. Initially, he practiced law in Mount Carmel, Illinois and managed the business and real estate affairs of his father-in-law, Thomas S. Hinde, until Hinde died in 1846.

Later, Constable was active in Illinois politics and for a time was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln. During his life Constable was a one-term Illinois State Senator, a delegate to the Illinois Constitutional Convention, and a one-term Circuit Court Judge. One source describing Constable at the time of the Matson slave case to be "the best educated lawyer at the bar." He is most commonly remembered for his decision to allow four Union deserters to go free during the Civil War. This decision led to Constable's arrest by Union military leaders and a trial in federal court. The charges were eventually dismissed.

Following the dismissal of charges and his return to the bench, Constable and his family endured repeated threats, violence, and humiliation at the hands of partisan mobs angry at his release of the Civil War deserters. Constable argued that legal precedent supported his decision, and all charges were dropped in Federal Court. Not long after his release, Constable developed an addiction to morphine and died from an overdose of the drug. One source stated the morphine overdose was a suicide. Constable's wife, Martha Hinde Constable, died shortly after his drug overdose.