Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1866-05-17
The Memphis Massacre.

In the recent riots in Memphis, the
Copperhead policemen lead the attack
on the negroes, and kept up the war.
fare for three days, not ceasing until
they bad burned their churches and
school houses. Why is it that when.
ever the Copperheads, North or South,
make an assault on the colored peo-
pie they are sure to set fire to their
churches, school houses or orphan
asylums The reason is not hard to
guess. They are opposed to those
agencies for the elevation and i'm
provement of the colored race, lest
the negroes shall get ahead of them
The sight of moral and intelligent
black man fills these Copperhead
brutcs with implacable hatred to the
race to which he belongs.
The ex-rebels by careful and stud
led preparations, disarmed the blacks,
so as To make the attack safe, and
then set upon them absolutely without
any quarrel whatever. In the course
OF the riot but three white persons were
killed, and not one of these by negroes.
One of the murderers on being taken
before a magistrate excused himself
for killing white man OH the ground
that he supposed from his blue cloth
ing, that the deceased was Yankee
soldier, and the apology being re-
garded as sufficient he was dis
charged,
Nothing can more clearly show the
harmless part enacted 10y the negroes
than that not single white pcis son in
Memphis was hunt by them during the
whole three or four days of riot.
On the contrary, the leading rebel
citizens-represcnt ot the first
families of Mcmp phis--claim to have
murdered twentyiour negroes, while
the police killed nineteen more, in
including three women and two infant
children, aud the iiremen aud others,
besides Burning down every negro
church and schoo!house in the city,
aud vast number of tenemcnts,
slaughtered enough negroes to make
the Total Of colored men, women and
children killed, nearly seventy. -.
The riot seems 10 have begun ty
policemen hiring white vagrant
To pick a quarrel with colored boy
of ten years of age. This succeed
ing, they rushed in and shot the col
ored boy. Some colored soldiers pres
ent, without violence, begged them
not to shoot so small "a boy, and there
upon they killed four of the colored
soldiers Immediately, as if by a
concerted plan, hundreds of ex-rebels
armed to the teeth, "ran a muck y
over the city, killing every negro
they met, while the police and fire.
men turned out, not to quell the mob
and preserve peace and the property
Of citizens, but to set fire to negro
churches, schoolhouses and dwell
lings.
Iu one instance. from pure fendish-
ness, poor old negro of seventy
years, ignorant even of the existence
of the riot, for pleading that he had
"never done no injury to no one"
was Knocked down, his mouth wrench.
ed open witb knife aud his tongue
cut out 10y the roots. This, our spe-
cial correspondent writes that he saw.
A little girl OF five years of age. for
the offence of bursting into tears when
asked 10y these devils to point out
her fathers hiding place, has i.r eyes
cut ont, and is thrown ihus mansled
into the flames Of their burning cabin
and roasted alive. H...
| All tho barbar atics committed 10y
savages upon their victims, pale be
fore the cold-blooded and mean cruel