Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1872-03-28
From the Augusta Constitutionalist
Brigandage in Georgia.
THOMPSON, Ga, March II

THOMPSON, GA, March II.
Our town has, since yesterday, been in
furore of excitement over very daring
robbery committed about twelve miles
from this place on the waters of Briar
Greek, the victims Of which were an old
gentleman named Jesse Evans and his
wife.
The parties who committed the deed or
ganized themselves into band of brigands
about the first of January last. This band
consisted of five men who are now known,
four of whom have been arrested They
commenced their depredations in the State
of South Carolina, upon the person of a
citizen named Littleton' Smith, and COM
mitted an assault with the intention to
rob him, but after gagging and beating
him they failed to secure his money They
made two other fruitcss raids somewhere
in and about the same neiGhborhood.
This bold and daring band of robbers
has for its leader one Captain c. " Ham
ilton, who came to this village and re-
ceived the sympathy Of our citizens as a
refugee from the tyrannlcal usurpations in
South Carolina. He Immediately went to
work and decoyed into his S. ,emes of vii
lany the following named young men:
John Ramsey, Thomas Willis, Howard
Long and Dol Roney. Becoming desper-
ate from his failures in South Carolina, he
selected as the theatre Of. his operations
the neighborhood of this place. On last
Friday night he sent John Ramsey, Thom-
as Willis and Dol Roney to plumber the
house of the above named family. How
ard Long was to have been one of the
party, but failed to secure conveyance.
From the testimony elected it seems that
Dol Roncy furnished the wagon, and the
party then stole buggy from DR.. Sill
Holland, and left this place about ten
o'clock, drove twelve miles, committed the
robbery, and returned little while before
daylight. Willis knocked at the door,
and when asked by Mr. Evans who was
there, gave an assumed name of some cit
izen living in the neighborhood. Mr.
Evans suspected the ch aractcr Of his visi-
tors and ED the door until his wife made
a light in fireplace. When the door
was opel. :, a pistol was presented to his
breast by !e Of the party, who demand.
ed his money another presented a pistol
to the breast of Mrs. Evans, and request
ed her to keep quiet at the peril OF her
life. They told Mr., Evans that they had
killed some negroes in South Carolina and
that they must have his money, and fore
ed him to unlock his trunk and took pos
session of about eighty dollars in gold and
about two hundred and seventy dollars
in currency. They also appropriated a
pistol and knife. About daylight Cap
tain G. Y. Hamilton and Howard Long
met the parties at bar-room, and HamH-
ton received one hundred dollars and Long
twenty dollars of the ill-gotten booty;
and after a drinking carousal, Willis, in
carelessly handling his pistol, accidently
shot Hamilton, inRictng slight wound
in his side, just above the hip; They
then agreed to inset at Hamilton's room
and have division some time in the
evening.
Early that morning business required
Mr.. +. NJ Usry to goto Goodrich d Usry's
mill in the immediate ncghborhood of
Mr.. Evans, and while they were tl;'ing to
get III, a clue to the affair." a grandson of
Mr.. Evans, thirteen years old, said he saw
the mask fall off of one of tie men, and
he recognized Tom Willis. Upon this as
scrtion Mr.. Usry made haste to Thomp-
son, and found Willis drinking and spend
ing money with great prodigality. On
the dav Of the night the robbery was COM
milted Mr.. Us-v7s son had required Ham,
i!ton to sell him mule for debt ne was
owing his father, and when he brought
the mule he promised that if lie paid the
money at amy time the next day he would
return the mule TO Hamilton. On Satur-
.lav morning, after Hamilton was suppl
ed with money by the robbery and after
he was wounded, he sent for young Usry,
and Mrs. Hamilton banded him tls $500.
She remarked that her husband was dlsa-
blc.l from business, she would give Inn
hcr money that she had laid up to pay
their board, to redeem the mule. After
this circumstance and Wllis's spending
moncy so profuscly being made known, to-
gether with the clcw obtained by MIR.
Usrv, they were Immediately arrested.
Sometime during the night Willis made a
confession, and by daylight this Sunday
morning all the parties, except John RAM
scy, who gave leg bail, were arrested;
About ten o'clock the preliminary trial
was orened before justices johnson and
Hobbs. Willis and Roney made full and
complete revelations of the whole affair,
and the result is that Willis, Roncv and
Long have been committed for a felony
that cannot be surpassed for boldness OF
execution and vet so open to detection.
On account Of Hamilton's wound ne
was not ready for trial, having no counsel,
and he has been allowed untilth o'clock
tomorrow Monday evening to obtain
counsel and prepare for trial, an account
Of which l will write to you and whatev-
er else may turn up interesting.