“Dreadful Outrage and Attempt at Murder,” 13 Dec. 1843. Hannah Badham thought the assailants were two strangers—a twenty- to twenty-five-year-old man and an “aged man”—who previously sought aid from the Badhams.

The following month, JS filed a separate complaint based on information he received that Alexander Sympson had been involved in the robbery and assault. Docket entries for both State of Illinois v. Eagle–B and State of Illinois v. Sympson indicate the assault occurred with the intent to kill. The punishment for robbery or assault with the intent to kill was between one and fourteen years in the penitentiary, whereas an assault committed with a deadly weapon was considered a “high misdemeanor” and was only punishable by up to a year in the county jail. (Docket Entry, ca. 22 Dec. 1843 [State of Illinois v. Eagle–B]; Docket Entry, ca. 17 Jan. 1844 [State of Illinois v. Sympson]; An Act relative to Criminal Jurisprudence [1 July 1833], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 206, 208, secs. 51–52, 61; see also Introduction to State of Illinois v. Sympson, Sympson v. JS, and State of Illinois v. JS for Perjury.)

The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

Docket Entry, ca. 22 Dec. 1843 [State of Illinois v. Eagle–B].

An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [1 July 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 238, sec. 3; see also Compilation of the Statutes of the State of Illinois, 1:66, art. 13, secs. 9–10.

The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

Purple, N. H. A Compilation of the Statutes of the State of Illinois, of a General Nature, in Force January 1, 1856, Collated with Reference to Decisions of the Supreme Court of Said State, and to Prior Laws Relating to the Same Subject Matter. 2 vols. Chicago: Keen and Lee, 1856.

Docket Entry, ca. 22 Dec. 1843 [State of Illinois v. Eagle–B].