The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1866-08-14
Correspondence of the New York Ilmes'J
rWE LATE NEW ORLEANS RIOT.

Rer;e,o of the scenes and incidents By an eye
aoituess-Sacaqsness Of the rioters-Ihe at
,,.1 ,,ron the Conrention-Hoo men ecerc
naurdered-Ertent Of the casualties,
Nav ORLEANS Tuesday, July 81, 1866.
With the origin of the riot yesterday
the readers ofthe Times are well aware.
The appearance Of the colored process
sion on Canal-street, composed OF about
one hundred freedmen, was tie signal
for it's commencement. Some white
bystanders attempted to take away the
national flag which they were carrying,
and shot was fired. The blacks claim
that the whites fired it. The whites
tell contradictory story. l have seen
responsible men who were present, but
they fail to give an authoritative state
ment about this first shot. Immediate
" after it was fired, however, bright
yellow boy commenced haranguinS MS
comrades in the procession, advising
them to clear the streets OF the whlte
He was arrested by an
aid ofth Chiet-of Police. This was the
first arrest made. The procession then
moved on, and turned into Dryades-
street. hating in front of the Mechan-
ic's Institute, now used as the State Cap
itol. where the Convention was in ses-
sion. They were met with voclterons
cheers from friends of both colors.-
They gave their version of the dlstnro-
ance above mentioned, and were greet
ed with remarks of approval when they
claimed to have repulsed their assam
ants They were encouraged to take
firm stand for their "rights," and told
to arm themselves and be ready tor any
emergency. These things l heard my
self. and for the first time l felt serious
apprehensions of a riot. The merchants
commenced closing their stores, and L
started from the building for the tele-
graph Office. A sqnad of policemen
were gathered on Baronne-street, IN the
rear Of the Institute, and soon marched
toward it.
The procession disturbance had been
renorted to Police Headquarters, where
anticipating trouble, large reserve
force was stationed. Orders were I'M
mediately issued to arrest the negroes
ENGAGED in it. Sheriff (Ex-Rebel-Gen.)
HAYES accompanied the force to the
scene of action, and found Dryades-
street. in front of the Institute, throng-
ed with freedmen and their white
friends. 1t was useless to try to get in
to the building while such crowd re-
manned in front of it.
In the meantime, an immense con-
course of people had congregated at the
junction of Dryades and Cannal, and
were looking toward the capitol, some
of them shouting and disappearing ter
ribly. The whole city was in tremble.
ha HItIZanS PXhlDlt-
ed Inever witnessed before. The crowd
just mentioned comprised men OF every
grade in society, including many young
in years, who were hrandlshlng reVolv-
ers in the air, and were seemingly anX-
ious to be led on to the destruction OF
the Conventioners and all OF the freed
men near and in the building. A similar
crowd had also assembled in Common
street, at the other end of the block In
which the Institute is located. Many
members of the Police force were min
gled with these crowds. They soon
commenced firing on the freedmen IN
front of the building and drove them In
to it.
When the freedmen, members of the
Convention, spectators and others, had
been driven INTO the building, the police
advanced to the entrance and forced
their way up stairs to the door Of the
Hall of the House of Representatives,
where the Convention had been assem-
bled. and into which they and the freed
men had retreated. Several different
tales are told as to what followed
Certain it is that one policeman was
mortally wounded in the hall, while, as
he claims, he was attempting to arrest
a member. 1t is claimed by member
who was wounded by this policeman,
that he tried to shoot, but his pistol be-
ing knocked up, the ball sped harmlessly
into the air, whereupon he seized the
weapon by the barrel and struck the
member on the temple with the butt
end. 1t is said that all hands in the
hall fell on their faces, and after the po-
lice had expended their shots got up
and drove them out of the room with
chairs, &c. After this, r. King Cutler
is said to have demanded that every |
armed man leave the room. Capt. |
Burke, formerly Union Chief of Police,
did so, and received slight flesh wound
in the side while passing out. Another
version of this assault is, that the police
men, without demanding the surrender
of any one, poked their pistols through
the half open door and fired promis-
cuously at the crowd inside; this, while
a white flag was being displayed from
a cane stuck up on the speakers plat
form. 1t is certain that so much confu-
sion prevailed inside that each of the
stories may have some foundation, for
with the hubbub occasioned by the fir
ing and the shouting Of the one humid
red or more men in the hall, no one
could see or hear everything or be able
to tell exactly what occurred.
The mob and the police filed the
sidew; TX and the stairway ofthe build
ing. Shots were fired through the
windows from both in and outside, and
bricks, paving stones, clubs and other
missiles were thrown from both direc-
tions. A gentleman named Fox came
down stairs and was arrested but on
stating that he was merely spectator
was released, and walked across the
street, where he shielded himself on a
doorstep. From his position he could
see inside tho hui1dinU which he had