The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1857-07-10
WASHINGTON RIOT-THE TRUTH
COMING OUT.

| ly canDOL De accused OI the sihhiitSt sytnphtr
with the American Party--furnishes the fol
lowing succinci and apparently candid accom-
of the recent Riot in Washington as detaie'
under oath, before the inquest on the bodie
of the killed held by the City Coroner. w
invite the close attention of our neighbor o
the "Intellgencer" and all other readers, VIII
prefer Truth to Prejudice and mere Party
Triumphs, to this statement of the "Deta's'
correspondent:
WASHINGTON, June ii 1857.
Editors of the Delta: The runiors and re-
ports and newspaper statements here about
our election riot have been so various and
conflicting, and deeming truth in such to be
an important thing to lay before the public,
would not send my letter until the best evi-
dence had been given under oath before the
Coroner's inquesis.
From that testimony, il turns out to have
been pretty much family affnir. The sub
stance of the Testimony is this: Al the upper
precinct of Fourth Ward, while the voters
were standing in line one behind another to
take turns at the ballot box, just at the en-
trance OF the narrow plank passage, which
admitted one person only to move up 10 the
box, some pprsOns-nO one knows who-be-
gan to push Others. This led to resistance,
OF course, md in minute the line was brcken
aud general row was rging between Know
Nothings and Anti Know Nothings. Brick
bats and stones were thrown, some pistols
were fred, ard one man is said to have heen
wounded, the board passage to the balot-box
wins Torn away, and one of the election judges.
it is said, wns struck in the wrist with pistol
ball. This was about ten o'clock. In about
twenty minutes all was quiet and the voting
going on as orderly as it was before the dis
turhance began. "a
At the commencement of this disturbance
some one ran for The Mayor--abou' half a
| mile-who wrote a letter h. the President
asking for n force of United States troops
This was dispatched to the President--a mile
and half.-who sent for the Secretary of the
Navy, and after consultation an order was
made out for detachment OF marines from
the Barracks at the Navy Yard, three miles
from, the Presidents house. By this time the
disturbance was at an end. On receiving this
order-carrcd BY the Mayor, or sent, to Col
HendersOn--a hundred and ten men We're
sent from the Marine Barracks to the scene
OF difficulty, under the control Of the Mayor
When then reached that place they found the
people pofing quietly; The disturbance haping
subsidized about too hours before their arripaL
They learned, how ever, that near to that place
at the east end Of the Northern liberties
Market House---a number of persons were
assembled with little swivel, all in full
view. The Marines were ordered to charge
them with bayonets and take the piece. 1T
was now o'clock.) They did so; they who
had possessrd il abandoning it on the mp
,,.o-.s,, 4 -s5',
the piece they returned to the position whence
the, moved in the charge and formed into
hollow square. Then il was that they mere
ordered 10 fire. Four Witnesses in the first
inquest spore positively that they heard the
Mayor gipe the order, and fourteen tha, II tcas
after the taking of the little gun,and that there
had been no firing and no disturbance what
ever for two hours preceding that action; that,
between the taking of the little gun and the
firing by the Marines, there ,pas no prOrocafion
phateper gipen. The advocates Of the Mayor
deny this; not on oath, it is true; but they
affirm that the Marines were nssni'ed, abused,
fired upon, and wounded-one or two-by
the rufians, vioators of law and order, and
tnnL Lnty Only TttWTHtU INV w thoSC
sconndrpIs-"Pug Ugies,' &c, and that no
good citizen cnn regret the chastis"ment they
received, awful as it wns-somr seven or
eight having been killed IN the spot and
more than twenty wounded, some OF whom
have died since.
But there is one circumstance which they
do not tell, and which none of our city pa
pers has disclosed II is this: with one single
exception, every ore Of those killed and ,coatnd-
ed bv the firing of the marines was OF the
Anti Kno,o Nothing party and all but one
citizens q, Washington! One Know Nothing
was badly wounded IN the arm. 1t was his
place of voting, and he was standing near the
mnrines, not dreaming Of danger-unarmed,
oniet-near his place Of business, and not
having taken any part whatever in the ds,ur-
bance. Tle is a man of good character and
responsibility.
II is. indeed, remarkable that the Marines
sbould have poured their vollevs into the
ranks of "Pug Ugies" and "ruffiHn Know
No,hings," and hit none of them; hut. on the
contrary. should have killed and wounded
orly the enemies of those they supposed they
were shOoting.
Our city pape-s allpdged that band of
"ruffians'' from Baltimore, calling themselves
aPIug Uslies!" came here ard were the au-
thors Of the disturbance that II wns they
who assailed the Marines and received 70 Sc
we're chastisrment for their vilainy.
IF this statement were trne, II would make
these "Plug Uglirs" the most extraordinary
people that ever existed. for our who'- city
rolice was unable to catch or even Ia SEE dis
tinrtly single one of them; and they seem
to have had the power. On being shot, OF
transforming themselves into well known
citizens Of Washington and "Antl-know-
Noihinps." For, | state emphntical'y and
positively that, according to the best evidence,
one Baltimoream only. Mr.. D"lrymplee, WAS
sho, by the marines, and he Is admitted on all
hands tn have bean Democrat. Az the
others were well known citizens Of WASH
inpton.
This abatement is mnde from the hest evil
dence that has been given. Ana ms some
NAV think such n statement should b" on the
rssn,n.ibility Of proper name, have tn re-
Quest that you will give my proper name 10
anv one who shall nsk IL OF you.
would saw, in addition to the foregoing,
that the reason why an Impartial statement
has no, appeared in any paper published IN
this city is that eppru one Of them Is deroied to
the "A n,i- Kno,o- Nothing" party and w'0 nof
publish auuhing that reflects upon hHf parry;
and n impartial statement Of those occurrences
must necessarily do so. Neither won'o re-
porter of nny " those papers crite doion me
testimony which was given under onth oe'ors
the Coroner, either Of Know-No'h'ngs o' o'
In