The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1855-08-17
THE LOUISVILLE RIOTS.

the riots IN LOUISVILLE last Monday from the
Journal Of Tuesday morning. The journal
promises n more detailed account of these
unfortunate disturbances in his next issue
We deeply regret to have to record the
scenes of violence, bloodshed, and house
burning which occurred in our city yesterday.
We cannot now express our great adherence
OF such things, nor can we find space in which
to say what we would wish to say upon this
subject. terrible responsibility rests upon
those who have melted the foreign popula.
ton OF the Gty 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 occasoncd by any.
thing that happened at any of the several
voting-paces The election throughout the
city. as far as we eau learn, had PASSED off
with unusual quiet, with the exception Of a
brutal outrage in the First Ward. Of which
we shall speak presently, and some fighting
at the English Ward polls, in which no one
was much hurt. The riots were occnsioned
by the indiscrnnate and murderous assaults
committed by foreigners, chiefly Irish upon
inotfensive citizens, peaceably attending to
their own business, at some distance from any
OF the voting places. All the circumstances
connected with these assaults strongly indi.
cate that they were premeditated and insti-
gated by other parties than those by whom
now prepared to say that they were the con.
sequence only of the incendiary appeals, for
some time past, publicly made TO our foreign
population by some of the leaders Of the anti.
American party, or that they were instigate ed
by direct instructions of men with fiendish
hearts who control in great measure the
passions, and are able to dictate actions to
the Germans and Irish who made these at.
tacks. All the facts will probably be nscer.
IA tp1t al,
will rest where it properly belongs. The
circumstances as detailed to us, and the con.
fessons of some of the miserable wre.ches
who were made the victims of their insane
folly and murderous violence show that these
assaults upon unoffending and innocent native
born citizens were premeditated and that
the blame attaches to Others who are as yet
unnamed.
We have not now time to give details
We assert, however, and are sure that it will
be proved by respectable witnesses that
every act of bloodshed was begun by foreign.
ers That in every instance where mortal
violence ensued, the beginning of the riots
was an unprOvoked slaughter by foreigners
Of peacable Americans while quietly passing
In the streets at dis ance from the POLLS
This Infatuated the populace, and n prompt
and terrible resort to mob violence bv which
many foreigners were killed and much prop
erty destroyed was the consequence. In the
First Ward about o'clock in the morning.
while the election was preceding quietly at
the polls, MIR. George Burge, a respectable
and quiet American citizen was brutaly as
saulted ~ a party of lri,hmcn on jackson
street, between Jefferson and Greene without
having given any provocation, he was knock.
ed down and horribly beaten with stones and
clubs. He attempted TO escape from the
hends by whom he was attacked and ran in
to the alley of an adjoining house, where he
was followed 10y his blood thirsty assaiants
and cut, stabbed, and beaten until he was
supposed to be dead, when one of these in
human brutes deliberately opened his knife
and proceeded to cut the throat of the nun.
dered man. When this act of violence was
made known party of Americans started in
pursuit of the murderers, who were subse-
quently arrested and lodged in IaIl by the
Mayor and City Marshal
In the afternoon, between three and four
o'clock, several Americans were fired upon
and severely wounded while quietly riding or
walking by the German brewery on Jefferson
street, near the Beargrass bridge. Among
these were some gentlemen from Jefferson
county and several respectable citizens. One
gentleman who was fired at was riding in a
buggy with his wife seated by his side
About the same time perfect shower of shot
and bullets were rained upon every American
passer 10y from the windows of some houses
occupied by Germans upon Shelby street. in
the neighborhood of Madison street.
As soon as these occurrences were made
known it was ascertained that large bodies
foreignels, armed with shot guns and ri
hes, had assembled in the neighborhood of
the brewery and also on Shelby street. An
indiscriminate slaughter of American citizens
was apprehended. An immense crowd of
excited maddened and Infatuated Americans
assembled, they were fired at from the win
.iows of the brewery and the houses on Shell
by street. and in seeking to arrest these Of
Tenders several men were badly wounded and
the incensed and Infatuated mob burned the
brewery and sacked the houses from which
the shots were fired.
In the Sth ward, the most serious disturb
ances occurred about o'clock in the after
moon A Mr.. Rhodes, in company with two
friends, all American citizens, was quietly
passing upon Main street, near Chapel, when
they were set upon by party of ten Irish
men, who with hOrrid Oaths swore they would
clean the streets of every American. Fifteen
shots were fired upon them Rhodes was
killed, and both his companions badly wound
ed, one of them seriously. The Irs..men
then ran up Chapel street, and on being pur-
sued took refuge in a house at the corner of
Chapel and Market streets, whence several
shots We're fired by the inmates, by which
several American citizens were wounded and
two were killed, a Mr.. Graham and Mr.
HoIson. The firing from this house contin.
ued for some half hour.
The Irish were armed to the teeth with
fire EARNS Of every description, while the
Americans were almost entirely unarmed,
and were obliged to 60 to their homes to pro-
cure arms to defend themselves and their
friends from the murderous fire of the insane
wretches who had made this attack upon
them. Between and o'clock, a sufficient
force had assembled to capture the murderer
OF young Graham; an attempt was made to
hang him, but we learn that he is still living.
In the meantime fusilade of shotguns
and rifles We're kept up against any Ameri.
can passing by the row of houses at the cor
ner Of Eleventh and Main, belonging to an
Irishman named Quinn, brother of Father
Quinn, a Roman Catholic priest. Several
Americans were wounded by shots fired from
these premises and the attention of the crowd
was given to them. They were filled with
lrishmen, and with loaded arms as the sequel
proved beyond doubt An attempt was
made to drive them out, and the houses were
fired, whether on the inside or outside we do
not know. While burning the frequent re-
ports showed that they were well provided
with fire arms; and the confessions of poor
miserable devil who was rescued by Capt
Stone proves that they were filled with arms
and contained thirteen kegs of powder pro.
ylded for the occasion The housas nre still