The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-11-11
A MILITARY ORGY.

An Outrage In Union-Citfzens Arrested
bv Drunken Soldiers-These Threaten
to Burn the Town.
The following statement is made by the
Chester Reporter:
Several days ago series of outrages were
perpetrated upon some of the most respecta.
bic citizens of Union y the t9Sps ssatiGneo
were placed in ''durance vlle' on the charge
| of being members of the Ku-Klux. After lock-
| ing them up, and threatening them with
death on the morrow, their captors then pro-
ceeded to the homes of their prisoners, and,
under the plea Of searching for the Identical
men that were already incarcerated, they
entered the most private apartments OF
the ladies, making sad havoc among dne
dresses and toilet articles. OF course theft
was committed, and insults and Indecent
language prevailed. After volunteering to the
| ladies the information that ''ln the morning
| their relatives would suffer death" they de.
| watch and chain. This has not yet been re-
| covered.
On the morning following the night OF their
arrest, the commandant OF the post dismissed
the prisoners, AS there were no charges brought
against them then. While these arrests were
being made, the troops "a United States mar
shall was In the company made threats tre-
|
would lay the town In ashes.
Now comes the strange part Of the transac-
ton. After the release OF the prisoners, the
authorities stated that 1t was "only q drunken
SPREE" A notice was sent to the publisher oi
the Unionville Times to the effect, that, II ne
they would fire the town and swing him 10
We understand that the town council have
since taken the affair In hand. An investiga
ton has been gone into, and the evidence
(duly sworn to,) printed In pamphlet form
We also learn that copies OF this panphle,
Akerman and District Attorney D. T. Coroin.
We conceive it to be the duty of the press tc
keep the public we'll informed of all passing
events. We believe this to be horrible truth
as the source from which we obtained our 10
formation is reliable, and when speaking OF Il
knew nothing of our connection with the
press. It has been corro6orated by another
gentleman who was In Union at the time
the action.
The York Ku.Klux-Swift Witnesses
The Total Number OF Arrests.
We gather the following facts from the York
Vile Enquirer, of Thursday:
ills now three weeks since the United States
authorities commenced making arrests OF al
legged Ku-Klux in this county, and as yet there
/ are no indications that the accused will bt
granted q preliminary hearing before the
United States commissioner previous to tht
sitting Of the district court at Columbia, or
the fourth Monday Of this month. This della!
is mainly attributed to the fact, as we learn
that the time OF the officials is preoccupied II
receiving voluntary confessions of members o
the Ku-Klux organization, for whose arrests NJ
orders have been Issued. The headquarters
Colonel Merrill are constantly besleged by mel
of this class, of whom more than three hundred
have made confessions Of their membership
and quite number are yet awaiting an oppor
tunity to do likewise. We learn these contln
ued confessions develop nothing differing II
character from the confessions alluded to las
week.
Since our last report the following person
have been arrested and imprisoned. The frs
ten had been arrested and bound to appea
for trial previous to the Presidents proclama
ton, but some doubts having arisen as to th,
force of their bond, they were resrrested las
week, and allowed the privilege Of giving neV
bonds. As will be seen, all but two Of then
renewed their bail and were released from