Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-04-04

Affafr-T'he bloody responsibIiity
resting upon the AboiitiOnists.
neutrality-suspicious. Of the Chicago Times.
NATION, H., April /, 1864.
The recent disturbances at Charleston, in this
(Coles) county, concerning which so many ex-
aggerations have found their way into print were
but the natural and inevitable result of the out
RACES which the citizens of Coles and adjoining
counties have received at the hands of Federal
soldiers. 1t may be. and certainly is, a terrible
thing for private citizens to engage in such
scenes o: violence those which so recently
transpred in this county seat. and yet it is so
natural, when the law Is powerless 10 redress
wrongs, for the sufferers to redress themselves
that il should occasion surprise With like
causes the same terrible scenes may be enacted
in Coles county Tomorrow, and with the like
causes which exist in almost every town in the
North, the same scenes may at any time be en-
acted in almost any portion of the country. There
is but one remedy tor such disturbances, and that
the cessation Of the practice Of turning soldiers
loose upon the country in sufficient numbers to
invite them TO law!eSsness- Ii IS only where
there are numbers of soldiers together that any
complaint has ever been made of them. One or
two, or as many dozen. can 60 and come aud re-
side at pleasure in the most ultra of the so called
comprehend" communities. aud give rise to no
more disturbance or excitement than If they
however, where large numbers of soldiers are
| found together-where they IN sufficient mum
| bers TO defy occupy equal grounds with
popular sentiment. Then the lawleSsDess which
| has been instiled into them by the teachings of
corrupt press and OislOvsl constitution hating
aud breaking party, is sure to manifest itself.
| IL is quite fashionable among them, melted and
encouraged and rewarded 10y the approval of the
par excellence patriots yelept negro wOrshippers,
/ fla ~ hra If huf
still their outrages are not confined strictly to
this class The lawleSs spirit engendered among
them has, in more than one instance. found ex-
preston in the destruction, or rather apprOpria-
ton, oil property OF men quite as loyal as them
| selves.
The people of Coles county. a. those of many
other interior counties where the whole people
have been prostrated helpless and powerleSs al
the feet of a soldiery who saw, in their power,
and the terror they inspired. but an invitation to
commit any outrage or vioateany law or custom
founded upon public convenience decency
which they saw proper. Prominent among the
outrages perpetrated upon citizens of Coles
county. the mobbing 90 Hon. G. II COnsta
BILE, Judge of this Judicial District at this place
in the latter part of January last. The dastardly
act. though probably perpetrated ut the direct
inStigatiOn of AbOliionsts,-asi IL received AT the
time their warmest approval affected the people
the county felt deeply the disgrace they had suf
Tered in the person of their Chief judicial officer
than whom none in Illinois bears a reputation
more stainless, and were not prepared tC
brook kindly the other outrages which we're Il
follow
The 54th Illinois Infantry Colonel G. NJ
Mitchell having re enlisted returned as veterans
and was furlouehed from this place, the men re-
turning to their homes liz Coles and adjuinins
/ 4 fret ha ON hoha oil wit rpaS m
able prOpriety. Soon. however, the very lo0ss
ideas OF rights of person and property, aud liberia
constructions Of laws aud constitutions, enter
tanned by the "LincOlniteS," were embraced b,
them, and then their action far from what j
should have been. From the mischievous de
struc,on of small articles of property and petty
annoyances, in which their lawessness first founr
expression. their progress rapid to the most
high handed outrages. The regmeDt-the pri-
vate soldiers | mean-seem to have conceive,
themselves charged with the especial duty o
administering the oath of allegiance, and o
"putting down copperhelds Divided into small
squads. usually OF from FIVE TO six, maddeneC
10y liquor and breathing the most shameful pro-
family, they would stagCer along the public streets
administering what they called the "oath" of al
legance to almost every one they met AM
mortal with the fanteSt spark of manhood
whether n Democrat or an AbOtiOnist would
hesitate before taxing any OaIA AT the ulctallOi
OF these drunken mscreauts, and frequently the
would meet with men whose hesitation amounted
to refusal When such a one was found, hal
dozen soldiers or more, if more were present
would beat him numerically, until their strength
and drunken fury were exhausted together
These things were doubtless done at the insiiga
ton of Abolitionists, and had the effect of rem
defing the soldiers entirely independent of thei
officers. Colonel Mitchell aud Major York wer,
Il. H.
to orderly conduct But so unruly had they be
come that, on one occasion, when Col. Mitchell
was endeavoring to rescue one of their victim
from the hands of his men, one of them made Al
assault upon him, and but for Lieutenant whit
parted the blow, would undoubtedly bav,
knocked has Colonel down.
Among the men so beaten were some iron
"O'Hair's Settlement" who we're quite as fonC
of liquor rs the soldiers and had betrayed them
selves into several affrays With them while owe
their cups. These men determined to reveng,
themselves upon the soldiers.
Lust Monday was the commencement Of III,
spring term of court. event which usual,
briggs many citizens To the county seat In ad-
dtion to the commencement of court twas IN
derstood that Hon John X. Eden, the Demo-
cratic member of Congress from this district
would address his constituents, aud this would
bring 10 Charleston large proportion of the
Democrats of the county. The people at"O Hair;
Setilemont" deemed that the soldiers would IN k,
some effort 10 interrupt Mr. Eden while spe king
aud conceived the idea OF embroing all the
Democrats IT, attendance in the affray with tn,
soldiers by resisting, by force, any attempt made
to interfere with them To this end some thirty
or forty OF them came armed. some with re-
vOvers and the remainder with shot guns and
rifles concealed in the straw in their wagons
They appear to ave had concerted plan thus
far. that when any shot WAS fired u should be the
signal for general assault upon the soldiers
Surprising the disturbance would occur at
public meeting, aud that the Democrats would
join them. the people from 20 Hairs Settlement
hoped to oyerDower the soldiers without much
difficulty.
During the early part Of the day. while the
people were assembling liquor was INDUCED il
freely by both parties. Several soldiers gave a
citizen am un merciul beating, which contributed
greatly TO the excitement, and the signs of Al
impending disturbance were quite evident
About 2 o'clock in the afternoon Mr. Eden ar
rived, and, ia view of the excitement prevailing
ut the time, revoked his appointment, and, with
other prominent Democrats. endeavored 10 pre-
vent ~ disturbance by inducing the Democrats q
return to their homes, large majority Of whom
did so.
About o'clock soldier belonging to the 54tf
regiment, named Oliver Silee. who has been on,
of the foremost in all the drunken brawls and
high-handed outrages in the vicinity of Charles
ton, in passing Nelson Wells. who was standing
against brick Office near the western door o.
the Court House ran against him. and made
some remarks about copperheads With an ex
ceedingly moderate amount of profanity. be
want "a to know whether there were any copper
heads in the county. aud expressed the opinion
that he could whip any copperhe I'd in the county
and mnde other kindred remarks, concluding b,
addressing Wells in a tone of INQUIRY. II under