Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-02-15
CARPET-BAGGER BOWEN In
MORE TROURLE.

4
c. c. Bowen, the carpet-bagger who
represents the Charleston district, IN
South Carolina, in the present Congress,
is under indictment for bigamy in the
Criminal Court at Washington, and since
his indictment, third wife has made her
appearance, and claims to have been mar
ricd to him before either of the other
two. But he is now charged with worse
crime. On the 7th of March, 1864, Col.
VIM. Parker White, commanding bat
talon of Georgia cavalry, was killed
while sitting in his headquarters on Wac
camaw Island, near Charleston, South
Carolina, by some one who fred a
rife ball from the outside. One Eli
G. Grimes, of the command, was
arrested for the offence, and there
stated that he had committed the deed,
and had been insiigated thereto by G. G.
Bowen, his former Captain, and now
member of Congress from the Charleston
district. For this Mr.. Bowen was arres-
ted, and charges preferred before the
Military Court attached to Gen. Beaure-
CARDS department. On the way to
Charleston, Chimes jumped from the
car and escaped, and was never heard of
until a short time since. Mr.. Bowen
never was tried, there being no witness
or evidence, but remained in custody
until or at about the time of the entrance
of the Federal troops into Charleston. He
then joined the latter, and was made
Clerk of the Provost Court, Counsel
for the Freedmen, and finally, was
elected by the Radical party to
Congress. Grimes was recently dis
covered in Lee county, Ga, taken to
Charleston, and made oath before JUS
tee of the Peace in that city that he shot
Col. White, and that he was instigsted
and compelled to do it by Capt. G. G.
Bown, his commanding officer; that
Bowen ordered him to do ii, and threat
ened his life if he refused; that he did at
first refuse, but fear of Bowen overcame
him, and he finally committed the bloody
deed. Jealousy of White, because of
visits that he made occasionally to
certain ladies, appears to have
been the motive of Bowen's con-
spiracy against him. VIM. p. LARA
more, of Lee county, Ga, also made
oath that Eli G. Grimes related to him, in
1867, the circumstances connected with
the killing of Col. White, substantially as
above. He testified that Grimes has al
ways borne a good character in Lee
county, and from what he knows of him
he believes that the confession and state
ment that hehas made about the murder of
Col. White is strictly true. He also testified
that Bowen is well known to him, having
lived several years in Lee county, and was
known and reported to be a gambler of
the lowest class, living in infamy, and
capable of any crime, and that Bowen is
known to have committed base forgery
IN Lee county, Ga, in 1868.
Capt. VIM. F. Law, who was an Off
Ger of the battalion commanded by Col.
White, makes affidavit that at the time of
the shooting Grimes was arrested and
confined in Jail at Georgetown on the
charge of having committed the crime,
and that after the arrest he expressed a
desire to be put in communication with
White, that he might make in person a
statement to him in reference TO the
shooting. That Grimes was admitted
to the presence of Col. White, and
then and there, did confess that he
did shoot and wound Col. White, and
charged Christopher c. Bowen, formerly
the Captain of his company, with having
instigated and compelled him, by threats,
to shoe. Col White. Capt. Law further
declares that the confession of Grimes,
referred to above, is in all material points,
the same as that made on Waccamaw
Neck to Col. White in 1854. Capt. Law
declares that c. c. Bowen, prior to the
confession of Grimes, was suspected by
Col. White and others with having insti-
gated or done the deed of murder, he
having been dismissed the service the
preceding January by sentence of a gen
eral court-martial for forgery and other
offenses upon charges preferred by Col.
White.
The testimony fixes the instigatiOn of
the murder very clearly on Bowen.
The Alexandra Gazette states that