The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1866-08-28

4
Gen. Alfred Z. Lee, AN officer of Cavalry
under Banks and Sheridan, was witness to
i the massacre in New Orleans, which he late
| ~ described in speech TO his fellow citizens
of Leayenworth, Kansas, prefacing his ac-
count with some personal experiences of the
! "willingness of the Rebels to accept any
| terms" shortly after the war, and their pres
ent bitter hostility to the Unionists and the
Northerners. In the following, he alludes to
the 'garbled extracts" from General Sheri-
dams dispatches, published in the Copper
head papers:- ......--s.- -.---.-..-...
"Let me narrate to you some of the scenes
of that day. Ny rooms happened to be
about square from the scene of the slaugh-
ter, and l could see very much of 1T. Cap
tain Loup, captain Of the First New Or
leans Infantry, who had just been mustered
out, was standing one block from me. He was
approached by two policeman, one placed
his pistol at his back and shot him down,
and the other stabbed him in the side, Sc
curing his immediate death. There was a
noble man who represented the radical senti-
ment of the city-Dr. Dostie. He was not a
member of the Convention, but he was in the
hall. He attempted to escape. When about
half block from the Capitol building he
was struck with a brick and knocked down.
Policemen were standing near, but instead
of arresting the assaulter they stepped up to
DR.. Dostie and deliberately fired into the
! body Of the defenseless man. A citizen STAN
ding by drew his sword from his cane and
thrust it into his body. Still the doctor was
not dead, and was dragged by the police
through the crowd and placed in common
dirt cart. I saw this myself. One police
man sat On his body, and one sat near his
head The poor man attempted to raise his
| head, and saw the policeman raise his re-
volver and strike him the face and mash
his nose fat That noble man died.
Istood on my balcony and looked on that
crowd of four hundred policeman, maddened
with liquor and drunk with fury, assisted by
fremen and thugs assisted by two hundred
or three hundred citizens, ON this field day
Of slaughter l saw passing an innocent
| black man, with market basket on his arm.
He was met by knot of policemen. They
said, You are from the hall, are you?" He
said. No" They said, Eyes you are" He
started to run. Twopolicemen ran after him,
to his body before he fell. A citizen then
stamped with his heel on his face, and he
was beaten to death with clubs.
Within five minutes after this, saw a po-
| liceman approach black man, and, putting
a pistol to his back, shot him down. About
| ten minutes after, great, coarse brutal ruff
| fan approached and kicked the dead black
corpse. While he was kicking the corpse a
strret car passed, in it was a bright yellow
woman, she put out her head to look, and
this rutfian raised his hand and struck her on
| the face.
Another little chapter in the scene. There
| is in New Orleans as in most other large cit
les, a baggage and transfer company. re-
| turned officer of our army was an officer of
one of these companies. He told me his of
flee being near the scene of the riot, the po-
| lice came to him and said they wished his
baggage wagons to bear away the dead
| They seized them, and he said he saw them
repeatedly throw six and eight bodies, black
and white, into one wagon and carry them
off. He told me of one scene in particular.
Eight or ten men had been thrown into a
wagon. Two of the first who had been
| thrown in (black men) were not quite dead.
and the shock revived them. They endeavor-
ed feebly to push from them the recumbent
mass Of corpses. A policeman saw it; he
leaped into the wagon with the expression,
| ''G-d-you, will fix you so you Will be
STILL" and with his revolver very deliberately
| blew out their brains.
Another negro was shot down on the street
and had been left for dead He laid there
until notice of him had ceased. A policeman
| came along and noticed that the man had
some life in him. He saw the policeman, and
the poor, ignorant, deluded man raised his
head with petition for aid. Instead of
giving him the aid he requested, he gave him
such as he had been instructed to. He rails
ed his club and broke his neck at blow.
These things show you some of the brutal
| ity which prevailed on that day. remained
on my balcony and witnessed these scenes as
long as could endure them. A single man
was poweress. At length 1 left my house
and rode to the headquarters of the depart
ment found General Baird in his office.
surrounded by his staff then said, Gen
eral Baird, can it be possible chat you are ig-
norant of what is occurring in the city," He
! said, 'What, General is there serious diff
Guilty in towns p 1 told him should think
there was I said, Il come here as an eX-offi-
Ger of the Federal army, as . citizen of
| Northern State, to protest against the shed
| ding of so much innocent blood. 1t is
shame on our military authorities"
He said, "Why, General, what particular
things have occurred 2" / tried to tell him.
told him so many men had been shot that
Gov. Hahn had been shot that MIR. Fish had
been arrested that DR.. Dostie was killed
He said Are you sure that it is sc, get so
MANY conflicting accounts" l told him it
was so, and stated that if had been in COM
mand of the city, would have taken bat
terry of artillery and swept the streets of the
towards. He said, "Why, General, if had
done that should have killed as many of
your party as THEIRS / told him 1 had no
party Said he, Il mean the negroes
Uaughter) Said 1, " Gen. Baird, if you go
on Cdnal StTeeG, YOU Will uoI SCI over lOuI
negroes, and they will be pursued by citi-
zens and police and two at least will be kill
ed before they can escape" I said, Eigh-
teen millions of men are watching you this
day, and this delay will cost you dearly
He said, have made no delay have Or
dered men there :" and turning to some of
his staff, gave some hurried orders.
Invent back to my home, and in about half
an hour a battery of artillery and regiment
of infantry paraded on the street. At that
time negroes were being pursued by crowd
of men, and one was killed within sight of
the guidons of United States cavalry COM
pany, but not shot was fired by United
States soldier. The rioters dispersed martial
law was proclaimed, the carnival of slanght-
er was over for that day. I believe that at
that time about twenty-five loyal whites and
one hundred loyal blacks lay dead, while
five hundred of both colors lay wounded,
the result of one days work.
But, gentlemen, we had a right to and
did believe that when the telegraph told the
| tale of our wrongs we should be aided. But
what was our despair when an order came to