The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1866-03-15
AM 'ExTRAoRIDINARY STATEMENT.

dH EAIHAUdUlNAh1 p1flA f1hh3i@s /
AS Journalist whose province. it should be to
correctfalse i'm pressioas those nnisf0rmed, and
to jealousy guard the reputation Of our District
from unnecessary assault, We feel ceastralnea @
take natioe of the extraordinary statement made
by Lieut. Col. W1LLARp,. Judge Advocate OF the
Military Commission now in session at Charles
ten in reference to the disturbed condition OF An
derson District. Apart from the triai nov pre-
crossing with which we have nothing to do beyond
the anxiety of friendship fer those charged with
q. terrible crime, we have q rightto consider the
assumption made by the Judge Advocate in his ar
:ruument against the acquittal Of Mr. STowHRS.
And in doing this, we have deferred until to-day
in order that the synopsis of that argument should
appear simultaneously with the refntation of these
highly .colored statements. In his exordium the
Judge Advocate pronounces the following
II is we'll known that the condition of Anderson
District the scene of this crime is disturbed TO an
Alarming degree by violence and outrage The
country is trayersed by armed bands; and mur-
ders thefts and crimes of every nameare frequent.
Assassnations of officers and soldiers OF the uni
ted States, as well as of unarmed and unofiending
citizens are of frequent occurrence. The poorer
and weaker class are overawed and silenced, not
daring to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to
Justice The civil authority is paralyzed by the
faare of the citizens at large to lend their assis
lance in the detection of criminals As we have
seen in this case, q reign Of violence holds the
minds and consciences Of its victims In; bondage
This will certainly take the great: mass of our
population by surprise. 1t may be, and doubt
less is true, that the instances of disturbances,
such as are referred to, have been as frequent in
Anderson as elsewhere We will 60 further, and
admit for the sake Of argument that that EARNED
bands have at times traversed this section but
this falls for short of the assumption that the So
oial condition disturbed to alarming degree
by violence and outrage" and that "assaseinations
of officers and soldiers of the United States, as
well as of unarmed and unofending citizens, are
Of frequent occurrence" The murder of thethree
Federal soldiers at Browns Ferry, nearly six
months ago, and which has been sincerely deplored
in this community is the only single instance Of the
kind since the unlawful and irresponsible raid of
Brig. Gen. Brown in May last, when there were
few instances of s.bushwhacking,"' but as far as
We have learned, not one life was lost to the United
States service thereby. five are tobe condemned
before the world for resisting, even in feeble
sense, the outrages and enormties of that raid,
which wsssonly o plundering, thieying expedition
for private gain-when the war had ceased, and
The Confederate authorities notified Brown Of the
fact-then are the denizens of this neighborhood
truly unfortunate! But the Judge Advocate speaks
in the present tense and we must conclude that he
is not alludng to scenes which transpired SO long
ago as last May. The only other instance of mur-
der beeides the Browns Ferry tragedy, is the bru-
tai and. .fendish taking of young GEEn's life, "an
unarmed and unoffending CITIZEN" and this horri-
BILE deed was committed by those of that "poorer
and weaker class" to which the Judge Advocate
SO eloquently alludes, according to their own vol
untary confession! From these two occurrences,
then the deduction is drawn that murders are fre-
quent For the sake of truth, we regret that an
officer of the United States Army should have been
so badly informed to the real conditono of things
in this District and especially when it became tho
duty of that officer, in the discharge of the func-
tions of his Office, to advert to our people in con-
nection with high crimes and misdemeanors.
The people of this District, with few exceptions,
have come up earnestly to their duties as citizens
in these peculiar and trying times. If there have
been those in our midst whose example led off
feyerish and excited minds to the commission of
faults and indiscrctions-nay, disloyal acts-there
can be no justice in orraigning the whole commu-
nifty for their conduct. This place has been the
headquarters of large command since last Au-
gust, and stronger garrison has been maintained
here than elsewhere in the Sub District, with the
depot for supplies, and SO forth, and it may bs
that the opportunity for lawlsss acts has been
greater and hence the unfortunate impression
created abroad. We merely suggest this in spirit
of justfablc defence against the statement, which
is calculated to bring opprobium upon this COM
munity unworthily
anasrson Yriees Current.
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