Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-06-11

Al
passed to-day, amid scenes of arson an
, riot and bloodshed and death. into tn
hands Of negroes. The infammatory ap
peals of John W. Forney and his C6ro1l
: acte and Mayor Bowen to the prejudice
OF the ignorant Africans who swarm i
this District, did their work to-day
and nothing but well,managed and Of
ticIent Metropolitan Police force ha.
saved the city from an extensive ant
fearful riot. Fortunately for the white
population the days bloodshed was the
result of contest between the rioters
on the one hand, and the police on th,
other, both belonging to the Radical
party. 20 fE6s 9
Il VOTE EARLY"
4 Last night the negroes commenced t.
congregate at the polling precincts, so as
to hold them this morning in long lines
which they did to the exclusion of white
voters.
OPENING SCENES, ETC.
| During the night, the store Of a can.
didate on the Citizens ticket, in the
first ward, was set on fire and burned
up, involving loss of eight thousand
dollars. The riot Of to-day shows the
motive and class which prompt this in
cendiarism.
| PENALTY OF DEMOCRACY.
The election proceeded in the several
wards up to two O'Clock with an unusual
amount of rioting, but nothing serious
occurred until 3 P. NJ, when the negroes
10 the Second Ward, in pursuance of the
dictatlon of the white Radical leaders
and by consultation during the night,
determined not to allow any colored man
to vote the Citizens or Democratic ticket,
though a man heads that ticket who is
not, and never has been, Democrat. 1t
having been ascertained that a colored
man named Stuart, employed as a porter
| IN store, intended to vote the Citizens
ticket, mob Of negroes armed with
bricks and stones proceeded to The
premises and attempted to seize Stuart,
amid cries of hang and lynch him. Stu
art fled to dwelling over the store.
This was assaulted, and the family occu-
plying it were driven out. BY this time
the Superintendent Of Police and a
mounted force arrived on the ground,
formed lines in front of the house. and
kept the crowd back. The Superin-
tendent of Police, having sent to Stuart
to know if he wished 10 come out, re-.
ceived an answer in the affirmative.
The police force were then ordered to
clear the crowd from the front of the
building, which they did with considera>
bic difficulty, the crowd shouting: "Here
he comes, the s-n of b; hang
him." Major Richards, the Superintend~
ant of Police, having taken his position at
the front door of the store, Stuart in few
minutes appeared, which was the signal
for the crowd to make dash at him, but
they were beaten of by the mounted
men, and the dismounted men formed
hollow square around Stuart, who was
in company with the Superintendent. and
the police and Stuart commenced to
march off in that order. The crowd
whooped, swore, and threatened TO mob
Stuart, and it required all the eSertions
Of the mounted men to keep him from
being lynched on the spot lie was fin
ally taken to another precinct and allowed
to vote
THE COMBAT DEEPENs.
This seemed to enrage the mob, who
suddenly grew in proportions and rushed
out Of the adjacent alleys in swarms,
armed with razors, stones, clubs and fires
arms, and sent volley at the Snperin-
tendent of Police and Stuart.
FIREARMS.
A pistol-shot was fired at the Super
intendent. The mounted police then
drove the mob back, but reinforced, they
came up Thirteenth street, near X street,
and drove the police little. There
we're successive volleys of stones and
brickbats fired at the police, who still
fell back from the Infatuated demons, who
tainted and yelled defiant oaths at them,
crying: "Kill 'em! kill 'eml" knock
down the damn blue coated white trash"
etc.
The officers of the force, realizing that
prompt measures should be taken to pat
down the riot, now assuming alarming
proportions, abandoned the defensive
they had too long maintained, and fred
volley into the mob. By this time,
large crowds of spectators had filled the
sidewalks and streets, and the firing by
the police created a regular panic. Men
flew into the houses, jumped into the
yards, run down alleys, got behind trees
boxes, and sought every means of es-
cape. Women and children ran under
the door steps, half frightened to death,
while several colored women were tram
pied down by the mob. Carriages in the
street were suddenly whirled about and
driven pellmell away. One fat gentle-
man was riding in barouche, and, find
ing that the driver could not 60 fast
enough, jumped out, right into the mob,
by whom he was bruised not little.
THE BATTLE BEGINS.
The first volley, which was fred in
front of the residence of the British
Legation, corner Of Thirteenth and X
streets, created little lull, but when the
mob discovered that two Of their nums
Der had been shot down, they came up
crying and yelling and hurting stones
and bricks in greater force than ever
| They fired a few stray shots, hitting
horse in the flank and infiicting a flesh
wound on a policeman. A mounted
officer, who accidentally got detached
from the force, was most inhumanly
beaten with stones and bricks and sucS
ceeded in dragging himself into an ALLY
The mounted force charged again on the
mob, firing few shots, and slightly
wOunding several, but driving the rioters
a square away. The police then moved
up and down the crowd, who seemed
afraid to renew the attack The Mayor
of the city, Bowen, arrived on the
ground at this point, and yell went up
from gang of negro ruifians on the
sidewalk Of "lIere's our Mayor" Boys,
let's give the citizens hell, LETS kill
every damned Democrat"
RETURN OF QUIET.
They failed, even with Bowen's pre-
sence, to renew the riot and the police
held the scene of the mob rule in peace
thereafter. -....r
CASUALTIES .-..a
The casualties are not exactly known
Two negroes were fatally wounded, four
severely wounded, and about half a
dozen slightly wounded. The police
were cut, bruised and MANNED, and the