Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1863-09-02
The Lawrence Tragedy.


We arrived in Lawrence at I o'clock.
Flying rumOrs had painted terrible pic
ture, but the reality exceeded the report.
We found Massachusetts, street one
mass of smouldering ruins and crum-
bling walls, the light from which cast
sickening glare upon the crowd of excit-
ed men and distracted women gazing up
on the ruins of their once happy homes
and prosperous busines.
Only two business houses were left up
on this street, one known as the Armory,
and the other the old Miller block
About twenty-five houses in all were
burned, and only one or two escaped be-
ing ransacked, and everything of value
was carried away or destroyed.
Six nr eight soldiers camped upon this
side or The river, and who fired across at
every rebel who appeared upon the bank,
deferred the towards from destroying
some of the houses near the ferry, and
from cutting down the flag pole.
The force of the rebeIs is variously es-
timated at from $50 to 400. Reliable par
ties place it at 300. Their every act dur
ing their stay was characterized by the
most cowardly barbarity. They entered
the town on the gallop, firing into every
house, and when the occupants appeared
at the door they were shot down ike
dogs. Five bodies were burned toa crisp,
and lay near the ruins of the Eldridge
House. They could not be recognized.
Eighteen out of twenty-five unarmed
colored recruits, camped south of town,
were murdered in their tents. Their
bodies lay in the colored church when we
arrived.
Messrs. Trask and DR.. Griswold, Baker
and Thorp, were shot down in the yard
of DR.. g., before the eyes of their fami-
lies. Judge Carpenter was wounded in
his yard, and fell, when his wife and sis
ter threw themselves ON his body, beg
ging for mercy, but of no avail. The
tiends dismounted, stuck their pistols be-
tween the persons of his protectors and
fired. ..-.. ......-
a Miss Stone, daughter of the proprie-
tor of the City Hotel, had a diamond
ring stolen from her finger. Quantrill
obliged the man to restore it. In revenge
for this the Tufians afterwards came back
and shot her father before her mothers
eyes. They rlso tried to kill Miss Stone.
General Collamore went into his well
to hide and the bad air killed him. His
son and Patrick Knafe lost their lives
trying to get the father out. The life OF
District Attorney Tiggs was saved by the
heroism of his wife, who seized the bride
of the rebels horse who attempted to
shoot him as he ran.
Several cases of the remarkable bravery
of the women were related to US.
The wife of Sheriff Brown, three success
sive times put out the fire kindled to
burn the house. Her husband was hid
den under the floor. The house was saw
ed by her heroism.
The offices of the Journal, Tribune and
Republican were of course leveled to the
ground. John Speer, Jr. of the Tribune,
started for his home from the Office after
the rebels came in. Mr.. Murdock, a
printer in this office, tried to induce him
to accompany him into a well near by,
for safety; but he would do nothing but
go home to defend the house, which he
did and was killed. Murdock went into
the well and was saved.
A younger son of John Speer, Sr.,
killed rebel and left.
The guests at the Eldridge House were
ordered out, their rooms pillaged, and
some of the people shot. Two men
wounded there, and are now in this city.
Only the presence and peremptory orders
of Quantrill prevented the massacre of
all the occupants.
After they had been marched about on
the streets, the rebels swere told there was a
negro baby still in the house. They said,
ave will burn the Cd id little brat
up" and they did We saw its charred
remains. burned as black as the hearts of
its murderers.
The books of the County and District
Clerks were burned, but those of the Reg
ister OF Deeds were in the safe, and are
supposed TO have been saved. Every
safe but two in the city was robbed. In
the Eldridge store, James Eldrige and
James Perrine gave the rebels all the
money in the safe, and were Immediately
shot down.
Ali the hotels were destroyed, except
the City Hotel. The loss in cash is esti-
mated at $3.50, 900, and on property and
all at two million dollars. This is low
enough estimate.
The number of bodies, up TO the time we
left, was lI3 of which about twinty were
so badly burned as to render recognition
impossible. There were large number
of strangers in town. and when the en-
tire loss is asceItained, we think it will
reach $50 killed. Many were doubtless
killed by the rebel pickets in the bush.
They have not yet recovered from the
terrible blow sufficiently to appreciate the
full force of their desOlation, and when
they do recover from their shock, many
more will doubtless be missing. ..-
We have seen battletields and scenes
of carnage and bloodshed, but have never
witnessed spectacle so horrifying as that
scene among the smouldering ruins at
Lawrence. No fighting, no resistance,
but cold hiooded murder was there. We
give below a list of the killed, and sever
eral wounded: -.. ..-..... ...
The tiends finished their murderous
work in nearly every case. This list is all
white men. A few negroes were killed
but we did not ascertain their names.
John Fromley, J. c. Tresk, OF the State
Journal; Gen. u. w. Collamore and son,
James Eldridge, James Perrin, Joseph
Eldridge, Joseph Lowe, DIR. Griswold,
Druggist VIM. Williamson, Deputy
Marshall S. w. Troop, State Senator !;
Judge Lewis, Carpenter John Speer i;
Jr., of Kansas Nathan Stone, City Ho-
tel; Brant West, Thosas Murphy, Will
liam Titch, bookbinder at the Journal
Office; C. P. Fitch, bookseller, C. Chalmer
of the Journal, Lemuel Fillmore, James
O'Neil, John Doyle, d. G. Allison, OF the
firm of Duncan &Allison 5. COans, Levi
Gates, John B. Gill, Ralph c. Dix, Steph-
EN- Dix, Capt. G. F. Bell, County Clerk, j.
C. Cornell, A Kridmuller, Geo. Alberth,
5. Dallinski, Robert Martin Otis Langley,
John w. Laurie, VIM. Lawrence, James
Roach, Michael Meeker, Louis Wise and
Finn, Jos. Bretchellaur, August Ellis,
Dennis Murphy, John Kugman, Karl En-
gle, George Range, Jacob Pollock, Fred
Klaus, Fred. Kimball, Dwight Coleman,
VIM. Earle, Daniel Mcclellan, Rev. s. S.
Snyder, Samuel Reynolds, George Gray,
A. w. Griswold, Pat Knife, Charles Allen,
James Wilson, Charles Riggs, A. j. Woods
Charles Anderson, w. B. Griswold, A. 7.
Cooper, Asbury Markle, David Markle,
Lewis Markle, Aaron Hulde, William Ad-
olson Wagh. Wounded-H. w. Baker,
Dennis Boyman, II. Sargent. Mortally-
G. Smith, II. Hay, w. Hampson, William
Livingston