Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-11-15
MAS0N'S DEPOT.
The Late Outrage by.SmIth, Wal.
dram & Go.
Hundreds OF Negroes Assem-
bled and Persuaded to
PeFjHfe Themselves.
A Correct Account Of the Affair
from the Sheriff of
Upton County.
Correspondence of the Memphis Avalanche.

Correspondence of the Memphis Avalanche.
CovNGToN, Nov. II, 1S6S.-Last FRI
! day Rams Mccall, Horace Burohett and
= Reynolds (all colored and residing
In this county, went to Memphis TO cons
fer with the Loyal Leagues Of your city
IN regard to the meeting afterward held
on Tuesday at Mason's Depot They
were instructed to notify all the negroes
in Upton and Fayette counties that on
the following Tuesday there would be an.
other election; that they must come pre-
pared to vote for General W. ]. Smith,
and bring their arms with them, as re-
sistanoe was anticipated from the whites
The negroes In Upton county were noti-
fed by cnissaries from the Memphis
Loyal Leagues on Sunday and Monday to
be present at Mason's Depot Tuesday
morning The negroes obeyed the order,
many coming as far as twenty-five miles,
leaving their homes Monday night or
Tuesday morningbefore Daylight, march
ing in squads-in several instances thirty
or forty in body-and many armed with
muskets and shotsguns. The white PEG.
pie of this county had no knowledge or
notice of this intended meeting Of me-
groes at the depot, nor did | know anys
thing of it until Monday night, when I
received q message from Mason's Depot
apprising me of the fact
As an officer of the law, in the dis
charge of my duty to preserve the peace
of the country, ] appointed Mr. Spells
man of Mason's Depot my special deputy,
with instructions to preserve the peace
until my arrival IT. going from Coving-
ton to Mason's Depot Tuesday mol ming l
passed squads Of negro men, whs inform
ed me that they were going to the depot,
but plead ignorance as to the object of
their visit As l approached the depot
the number of negroes on the way in-
creased, large crowds being overtaken at
short intervals, many armed Within
FIVE miles of the place l met Esquire
Rice, Registration Commissioner of that
county, who informed me that as many
as one hundred negroes-many armed
had passed that point on their way to
town and stating that if | went there
would get into difficulty Satisfied that
there would be an unlawful meeting at
Mason's, dispatched o messenger to Gov
ington to summon posse without delay,
requesting them to come on and assist
me in preserving the peace In cOmpaa
ny with one man proceeded to Ma>on's,
arriving about ton o'clock a M.
found about fifteen hundred negroes
10 the town; several hundred had come
armed, and many were Indignant and
very much excitsd, but made no violent
demonstrations. l may as well frankly
state here, that for my entreaties to pre-
serve the peace the whites would have
hung Gen. Smith, who was in the midst
of the crowd, asking the negroes for
whom they voted. Judge Waldran, of
your city, was administering the oath to
squads. He caused them TO swear that
they lived in Upton county, aud that they
voted at Mason Depot for General W. J.
Smith for Congress DR.. J. E. Carpen-
ter, cf Memphis, and another white man
unknown TO me, wrote the alidavits. \
gray bearded man, whose name, under
stand, is DR. A T. Newkirk, performed
the Office of calling up the negroes to be
sworn. Among them was an old, gray
haired negro, who, when asked for whom
he voted, did not answer whereupOn
Newkirk whispered Say for General
Smith" The old negro then said, in
clear voice: General Smith, and was
sworn.
To give you a correct idea of the state
of feeling among the negroes, it IS neces-
sary to mention only one instance Coll
onel Duncan, of the firm of r. F. Maelin,
Il Co, of Mason's Depot, while behind the
counter in his own store, was told by a
half-drunken negro that if told by Gem
eral Smith to shoot him Duncan) he
should do it. With few exceptions the
negroes were quiet and well behaved,
though wholly under tho influence of
Smith and his gang They did exactly
as they we're told to do, swearing to any
affidavit presented them.
1t was to preserve the peace and protect
the people of Masons Depot that sum-
moned posse of the best men of Upton
county, believing that the circumstances
justified the action, and having been
petitioned by nearly all the citizens Of
the place to take these steps.
The statement in Memphis Radical
paper, that violence was offered to Gen.
eral Smith, is false in every particular.
He accomplished the object of his visit
without interruption, and leIton the one
p. m. train remained in the town un-
| til half past one o'clock, at which time
nearly all the negroes were gone. The
posse summoned from COvington by me
had not arrived at Mason's when | left.
l have not been able to learn that any
negroes were disturbed on their way
] home.
In conclusion l would say to General
Smith and his friends that whenever they
desire, as in the past, to have public
meetings of any kind in the county, to
come, and they will be protected; but il
they ever come under such circumstances
as those above given, without notice, and
in q manner calculated to provoke Vio'
lence, they may expect the vengeance o.
an outraged and incensed public.
| D. G. SLAUGHTER,
! ~ or;R oc FD;pto1 ooupfv-