Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1855-04-12

: psnies, with the purpose Of firing it o.
E telection day, in honor of the birth da
: of jefferson. The cannon was take
!, from them while they were using it O
1 Jackson's Hill, by body Of excite,
!, Americans, during the trouble at tn
: Eleventh Ward; and after being parade
Through the streets, and once fred whel
e LOADED with powders. in the Thirteentl
Ward. was deposited in the armor,
where il belonged.
D The Germans, it is said, took thi
t cannon, or some other one from tn
armory. and placed it in shed nea
Vine street, some four squares abov'
: the canal. Gen. Sargent was highly in
dignant at the proceedings of the Ger
mans and demanded that it be returned
The Germans refused to accede, anC
the news spread through the city liki
flame in dry stubble. 1t may be sufi
cient to say that there was dispute
about piece of artillery, and an i'm
mense accumulation of feeling in the
city, which tended to spontaneous com.
bustion. -
I The rumor that caused most excite.
ment down town, was that the German:
had loaded the cannon, and proposed to
use it against the Americans. Gen.
Sargent, we are told. made an effort to
get the cannon in his possession, but
failed, and in the afternoon great crowds
collected in Vine street. Between 8
and o'clock the street was thronged
from the canal to the foot of the hill.-
There were four crowds, each of which
might have been styled an immense
mass meeting. Two of these were of
Americans-one on the bridge, the
other a couple of squres higher up
and the other two were Germans.
The sidewalks were thronged, and
thousands of women and children look
ed on from the windows. The aspect
of affairs was decidedly warlike. The
Americans were in a state of excessive
excitement, and seemed resolved to
have the cannon at all hazards. The
most current remark was: "Let them
give up the cannon, and we will let them
alone; but give it up they mustl''
Passing up the street, we saw unmis-
taxable evidences of preparations for a
desperate contest. Pistols were being
loaded publicly. Nearly every German
was armed. The handles of pistols
protruded from their pockets, and many
had swords by their sides.
We met a party of about dozen
sturdy fellows, carrying rifles. and to
the rifles were attached sabre bayonets
making altogether terrible weapon,
at once rifle and spear. The Ger
man women kept up constant chatter,
in which the words "Know Nothing"
and Democrats" were frequently dis
tinguishable.
The street, viewed from the upper
portion, appeared black with men as far
down as the eye could reach, and
through the dust, above the dense
throng of hats, the flash of steel at in
tervals was perceptible.
Near sundown the streets were even
more densely filed. The sheriff, with
a view of removing the cause of diff
Guilty, was endeavoring to get possession
of the gun, which was the immediate
cause of contention, and no resistance
was made by the German officers, but
the multitude pressed about the shed
where the cannon was stationed, so that
it was entirely impossible to get it away,
and the sheriff left the ground on re-
ceiving assurances from Captain Moore,
and other German officers that the gun
should not be improperly used, and
should be surrendered to the proper au-
thorities at any time.
Coming down town, we saw scattered
about the corners of the
streets triangular bits Of redpaper which |
were supposed to be the distress sign of
the K. Ms calling for a meeting at
once. These scraps of paper, taken in
connection with other matters, seemed
indicative of war-signs that blood
might be expected to flow.
Soon after dark there was an i'm
mense gathering in Fifth street market
space. A slight platform was erected,
and several speeches made.
The speakers were constantly intur-
rupted by the cries of those who were
anxious at once to "pitch into the
Dutch" Such expressions as 'come
on-go long-why don't you go?-go if
your going" were necessarily and loud
Iy vociferated.
In the; meantime the Germans forti-
fed themselves almest formidably, erect
ing three strong barricades of wagons,
carts, drays, and whatever vehicle or
available material they could manage to
get hold of.
They had two pieces of artillery
crammed to the muzzle with chains and
slugs, and planted one in Mercer street,
and the other at the corner of Fifth and
Vine. The halls of the Freemen and
Turner were crowded with men armed
with rifles, ready to march out at sig
nal. The house tops were lined with
men provided with all descriptions of
firearms, and with powders and bricks.
Seutinels were stationed, and the Ger
man portion of the town thus placed ab-
solutely in state of seige.
1t was near ten o'clock when body
of reckless Americans, about four hun