True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1855-08-15
From the Louisville Journal:
RIOT AT LOUISVILLE.
FIFTEEN OR TWENTY KILLED
TWENTY OR THIRTY WOUNDED,

we oeeply regret W nave " HV00a~ e"N
scenes OF violence, bloOdshed, and house.
burning which occurred in our city yester-
day. We cannot now express our sbhOr-
renee Of such things; nor can we 6nd
space in which 70 say what we would wish
to say upon this subject A.terrible re-
sponsibility rests upon those who have in
cited the foreign population of our city tO]
the deeds of violence which were the
commencement Of the riots in the First and
Eighth Wards We are confident that
these riots were not occasioned by any
thing that happened at any of the several
voting places. The election throughout
the city, as far as we can learn, had pass
ed of with unusual quiet, with the excep-
ton of brutal outrage in the First ward,
of which we shall speak presently, and
some fighting at the Eighth ward polls, in
which no one was much hurt, The riots
were occasioned by indiscriminate andmur-
derous assaults committed by foreigners,
chiefly Irish, upon inoffensive citizens,
leaceably attending to their own business,
at some distance from any of the voting
places. All the circumstances connected
with these assaults, strongly indicate that
they were premeditated and iustigated by
other parties than those by whom they
were actually committed. We are not
now prepared to say that they were the
consequences only of the incendiary ap-
peals, for some time past, publicly made to
our foreign population by some Of the
leaders of the anti-American party, Or that
they were instigated by direct instructions
of men with fendish hearts, who control
in great measure the passions, and are
able to dictate actions to the Germans and
Irish who made these attacks. All the
facts will probably be ascertained judici'
ally, and then the responsibility will rest
where it properly belongs. The circum,
stances as detailed to us, and the confess
ions of some of the miserable wretches
who were made the victims Of their insane
folly and murderous violence, show that
these assaults upon unoffending and inno'
cent native-born citizens were premedita
ted, and that the blame attaches to Others
who are as yet unnamed.
We have not time to give details. W.
assert, however, and are sure that it viii
be proved by respectable witnesses, tha
every act of bloodshed was begun by for
eigners. That in every instance wher'
mortal violence ensued, the beginning o
the riots was an uuprovoked slaughter b.
foreigners of peaceable Americans whil
quietly passing in the street at dlstanc
from the polls. This infuriated the poPu
lance, and prompt and terrible resort t.
f mob violence by which many foreigner
were killed and much property destroyed
J was the consequence. In the first war
about 8 o'clock in the morning, while tn
t election was proceeding quietly at the polls
f Mr.. Geo. Burge, a respectable and qule
t American citizen, was brutally assaulte
g by party Of Irishmen on Jackson Street
1 between Jefferson and Greene, withou
. havingg given any provocatiOn, he was knOci
t ed down horribly beaten with stones an
J. clubs. He attempted to escape from tn
q fends by whom he was attacked, and ra
y into the alley of an adjoining house, whel
G he was followed by his blOod-thirsty assal
ants, and cut, stabbed and beaten until
!, was supposed to be dead, when one
!. these inhuman brutes deliberately opene
0. his knife and proceeded to cut the thro
l. of the murdered man. When this act
e. violence was made known, q party OF
t, mericans started in pursuit of the murde
ers, who were subsequently arrested az
lodged in Jail by the Mayor and City NJ
:" shal.
In the afternoon between three and 70
o'clock, several Americans were fired up
and severely wounded while quietly rldl
or walking by the German brewery on Jt
erson street, near the Beargrass bridl
ID Among these we're gentlemen from JEFF
son county, and several respectable citizc
3, One gentleman who was fired at was rid
in buggy with his wife seated by bis 81
About the same time perfect shower
shot and bullets were rained upon ev
American passer-by from the windows
SEINE houses occupied by Germans VI
Shelby street, in the neighbOrhood Of M
ison street.
As soon as these occurrences were m
knownit was ascertained that large bodit
foreigners, armed with shot guns and rii
had assembled in the neighborhood Of
the brewery and also on Shelby street.
indiscriminate slaughter Of American
zens was asapprchended. An immense CIR
of excited, maddened, infuriated An
cans assembled they were fired at f