The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1867-01-31

praise did not daily ascend 10 tnaI Uou
to whom we looked, as we still do, 10
Judge us and our cause.
The Murder of Colonel Steedman.
We gave last week q brief account OF
the brutal murder of our gallant and hon.
orable friend, Col. MARcELLUs STEEDMAN,
copied from the Edgefeld Aduertissr.-
Since then the annexed communication
has appeared in the Charleston Ne1os, and
for the satisfaction Of the numerous friends
of the deceased in this section, we insert
the same in to-day's issue. Every man
who was attached to Jenkins famous
Brigade will remember the distinguished
and faithful services rendered by the Ia
mented hero, whose life ended thus tragi-
cally,
To the Editor of the Daily Ne,cs:
Col. J. M. Steedman, in the vigor Of his
manhood, and in the midst of his useful
ness as one of the best of citizens, came
suddenly to his death under the following
heart-rending circumstances, illustrating
the deplorable state of affairs to which
our once peaceful and happy country has
come:
Engaged in merchandising in part of
Lexington District, where, since the ter
mination of the war, it became necessary
to guard against the depredations of bur-
glars, he and his little family occupied
apartments within his store. On the
night of the 9th January, as they were
sitting around bright winters fire, the.
doors and windows all bolted and locked,
seeming to give security to all within,
the dogs, as faithful sentinels, gave evil
dence of approaching danger without.
The Colonel arose, advanced toward the
front door, when his wife, taking counsel
"from her fears" from information that
day derived from a negro woman, OF
which she had also advised the Colonel,
with him against the inn
prudence of opening it, begging him, in
stead, to go up stairs and look out at the
window; but this fearless man, having
faced danger on many bloody field du-
ring the late war, now that peace pre-
vailed, regarding it as weakness not to
feel secure within his own castle, needed
not her gentle admonition. He had barely
unlocked and opened the door, when his
devoted wife's worst fears were fully re-
allied by the report of gun, the entire
load from. it having lodged in her hus-
bands body. He still, however, retain
ing properprescnce of mind, had barely
time to close and bolt the door before the
vile assassins-three negro men-were
at it, to force an entrance.--f
The Colonel called for his gun; the reso-
lutte wife hastily handed it to him. He
warned the assailants that so sure as they
entered he would shoot them. Still they
knocked, kicked and pushed the door to
open it; the wounded Colonel and his
feeble, though resolute wife, pressing in
return to keep it closed. What an awful
moment! The Colonel, being no longer
able to stand or use his gun, laid his dy-
ing body against the foot of the door,
still to aid his wife in keeping it closed,
directing her at the same time to shoot
them if they entered. Declaring aloud
her purpose to do SO, she called the name
of one of the fiends, the supposed leader
of the band, and told him to 60 away
that if money was what they were after,
they could get none there, as all had been
sent away. This, perhaps, with the fear
that the Colonel was still able to resist,
and would unto death, caused them to-:
desist from further efforts. The Colonel
lived but about three hours after receiv-
ing the fatal wound; his wife and two
little children, withperhaps a nurse, being
the only witnesses of the awful scenes
within that beleagured house, not know
ing how soon it might be set on fire, and
that then they would have to choose be-
tween being burned alive or meeting
death by the violent bands Of the mur-
derers of the husband and father, there
lying corpse. -. Or ..,..,.,.,,- .-.
The day after the murder a jury of in
quest was properly empannelled by the
nearest magistrate, and succeeded in
drawing out such evidence from various
witnesses as justified the rendering YER
dict that they believed the deceased came
to his death by q wound from a gun,
fred from the hands of one of party of
three negroes-Henry, Emery and joe
known to have been prowling about the
neighborhood doing mischief, and all of
whom the jurors, aforesaid believed to
have been parties of this infamous crime
of murder with the intention to rob.
The two former went off with Sher-
mans army and had but recently return
ed to this part of the country-entirely
too lazy to work for an honest living, and
fully imbued with the Radical idea of
equality, -boastingly telling other negroes
of the various murders they had commit
ted, and saying that they had papers from
the "Yankees" which would protect them
from harm, do what they would, should
the white people here attempt to molest
them. Of course they found but few be-
I;evers in their miraculous stories. Still