James Norman Gridley

Lincoln's Defense of Duff Armstrong James Norman Gridley

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln was called upon to represent Duff Armstrong, a man who stood accused of murder. The case pivoted on a prosecutorial witness who alleged that he had witnessed the pre-murder argument that occurred between the deceased and Mr. Armstrong - beneath a bright wash of moonlight. Suspecting differently, Lincoln employed a Farmer's Almanac in an effort to discredit the testimony. By winning in this unorthodox manner, the trial became the stuff of legend - a trial remembered still to this day.