Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-10-28
Total,

Besides these, private letter adds the
families of Mr. Barrow and Mr.. Henry Bryant
numbers not mentioned.
Muskets, pistols, swords, and ammunition
have been forwarded to Suffolk to-day, by
Com Warrington, at the request of our civil
authorities, and number of our citizens have
accoutred and formed themselves as a troop
of cavalry, and set off to assist their fellow cit
liens in Southampton. / trust the next news
you will hear will be that all is quiet again.
Further statements confirmed the general
truth of the foregoing narrative, and represent
ed that three hundred negroes, well mounted
and armed, and headed by one or two white
men, constituted the whole OF the insurgent
force. Other accounts exaggerated their num-
Der to six or eight hundred, and represented
the militia force Of three hundred men as re-
firing before the blacks, who were armed with
shot guns, muskets, scythes, and axes.
Prompt and efficient measures were immed-
atey taken by the Governor of the state to
suppress the insurrecton. Infantry, cavalry
and artillery were dispatched in all haste from
Richmond and Norfolk. The authorities of
North Carolina also supplied troops, and the
federal troops stationed at Norfolk Fortress
Monroe, and other points, were placed at the
service of the state The result of these
prompt and decisive measures was, that all the
negroes engaged in the movement were, with
few days. 1t was thought that some of them
had made their retreat into the Dismal Swamp,
and soon afterwards a rumor prevailed that
that locality was the rendezvous for several
hundred runaway slaves. Fortunately these
rumors proved unfounded. The movement
was completely suppressed, though not until
from fifty to sixty whites, principally women
and children, had been barbarously slaughter
ed, and until full vengeance had been taken on
III, nm. 4, l,l
accounts of the affair, we extract the follow
ing from which it would appear that the num-
bers of blacks were greatly exaggerated, but
that their atrocities were mott
On the night of the 25d ult., the Southamp-
ton militia had three skirmishes with gang
of from forty to fifty negroes, the latter re-
treating each time. In one account it is stated
that one of the militia, of the name of Pope,
was killed; in another, that the whites sus-
tanned no loss whatever. The negroes made
two attempts to cross the bridge at Belfield
but were repulsed each time by party of
militia, who were stationed on the opposite
side with piece Of artillery A party Of four
miitlamen, who had been sent out to reconnoi-
ter, came up with party of about twenty of
them, and, after sharp engagement, succeed
ed in killing three or four, and taking several
prisoners, when the remainder fled The great
object OF the negroes, after the rallying of the
militia, appeared 10 DC 10 reach the Dismal
Swamp, but such was the vigilance of the
former that nearly every one was either shot
or captured. Many of the blacks were well
mounted, and armed with bird and other guns,
and axes The roads were strewed with the
carcasses of the negroes killed, and up to the
18th ult., neither these nor the corpses. of the
unfortunate whites had been buried arrange
ments were, however, making for their inter-
ment
The different accounts are conflicting as to
the number Of negroes killed, and, indeed, UNI
der the circumstances in which they have been
written, it is not to be wondered at that they
should be 50.
We gather from letters published in the
Richmond Wing of the 9th ult., the following
statements "A letter from the senior editor OF
that paper, who is on the spot, states that the
number Of the insurrectionary negroes had