Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1873-05-01
The Louisiana Massacre.
OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE OFFICERS or GFv-
ERNt LpNGsTREFT's STAFF.


The ofiic ial report Of Colonies William Wright
and I. ". DE hlync. Of General Longsirrct'-
>iAn. who were sent out TO Grant Parish 10 in
v"stigaiT the troubles their, appears in the
New Orleans RErJ BLICAN IF FRIDAY. IL fully
confirm, the first report OF the CoifaN Mas,a-
We reached Pinc,illc, opposite Alexandria.
al 9.3D A. VI. on MONDAY. the 18th in- ,ant. where
We wen, informed that severe action had
taken place At coifaX the LAY before SUNDAY /:
that from lJp TO 2DO colOrcd men had been Kill
ed thai two white men named Hadnot and
Harris. were wounded the former mortallY.
and that ColfaN. or part OF il. had been burnrd.
pom crossing IN" riNcr Ia Alexandria, We BE-
came CDguiZant Of the existence II A violent
though suppressed. popular excitement. Par
l>h official, expressed themselves ~ apprr-
hensiVc Of an outbreak in Alexandra. directed
against the cnlored men and the officials hold
ing Office under the administration Of Governor
Kellogg. We were urged TO procure the prs
cncr Of troop> a. speedily n possible. W. len
Alexandria at about ll.5o A. VI. During our
stay thcrc mounted men wcrc constantly cross
Ing the riy"r, coming from the direction Of COZ
fax. and, just A. We lon. party ~ twenty.
mounted aud armed apparently, with shot
guns. crossed the river in \ body.
pErLoRABLE CONDITION or AfFAIR>.
Having secured an ambulance. We crossed
the river into Grant Parish early on the morn
ing II Tuesday. the 18th inst. and started FOR
toliaN. distant about fifteen miles. We found the
path in \ most dcplorable state. The crops are
being neglected.. many Of the residents, both
white and colored. have I'm their homes. and a
general sense Of insecurity prevail, which We
arr satisfied can only be- removed by the pres
cnce of troops. About one-thiri Of mile be-
low the courthouse We came upon a party u
colorrd men and women CARRYING away wound
ed colored man upon sled At i liitl, distance.
IN the field were the dead bodies Of two culorr,
men. About two hundred yards nearer the
h. 81. l. 4 4
men. and from that point To the courthouse
and IL vicinity the ground was thickly -trewn
with dead. We wen unable Ia lind the body
oil Whit man. or Ia ascertain the loss Of the
whites. ,olorcd women assert that two " agou
iuails Of whites dead and wounded, wtre car
ried away, but IL i pcrs-tently denied by anv
OF the whites claiming 10 have knowledge Of the
actual loss, they asserting that but one man on
their side wa, killed. and Hadnot and Harris
We're wounded. We may state here that Had
not has since died in Alexandria. We send
herewith plan Of the cnurt-hou>' and is de-
fences. \ space Of bout 3DD yards square was
Enclosed in slight earthwork, with ditch in
side. The ditch was from 10 TO i inches in
depth and the brea-twork in the front u il
from - 10 30 inches in height. and was protect
ed in front by 2u9-inch pankng. ON the lower
side Of the courthouse the greater portion Of
the brea>twork was composed ofplanking alone,
LAID in zig-zass, and without bitches.
THE FIGHT or SUNDAY.
From what Information We could get, We b,-
lleye that the fight commenced on SUNDAY, the
18th Instant. between 10 and II 4. NJ. and con
unued until nearly dark. bf the numbers en-
gagged on either side it is impossible for u, 10
form any definite idea though we are satisfied
that The parties holding the COURTHOUSE were
les IN number than their assaiant-. II j. As
serted by the colored people tina the assailant.
consisted Of parties from the parishes Of VIM.
Rapide>, Satchitoches. CatahOua and Ca.ido
IN addition to those from Grant but they We're
either unable or unwilling Ia give Us the names
oil any partle. participating in the attack. All
statement. that We have heard agree .ubsian-
TALLY IN the main particulars. Ii is agreed that
The attacking party WAS commanded by Z. 4.
Nash, and the assailed by Il man named Leo
Allen; that the bcsiegcd were given thirty
minutes Ia Remove their women and children
and that al the expiration Of H,St time the fight
WAS commenced by the a.>ailing party The
attacking party had in their possession a smaH
cannon taken from the steamboat james r.
Moore, from which they fired bolts, a sample Of
which we deposi ii in Your office The besieged
had rugged us couple of guns BY fastening
length, Of gas pipe on rather tinbers, blocking
up one end with pine plug, and drilling a
toueh-hole. One Of these was bursted while
trying it some days before the fight and the 9TH
er has not the appearance Of having been used.
THE MASSACRE.
some time during the afternoon the besieged
were driven from the fight and from, their
breastworks into the court house. One end of
this building was without windows, nor had
the besieged prepared loopholes. 4 colored
man named Isaiah Atkins informed us that Mr.
Nash had forced a colored man called Pink 10
come TO this end of the building and hold pine
torch to the edge Of the roof until il caught fire.
III Is our opinion that few Of the colored men
had been killed up to this time, but that when
forced by the fire 10 leave the court house they
We're shot down without mercy. The position
and condition Of many Of the bodies go far 10
prove this. Under the warehouse between the
court house and the river, We're the dead bodies
OF SIX eolored men, who had evidently gone I'M
der for eoncealment, and were there shot like
dogs. Many were shot in the back of head and
neck. One man still lay with his hands clasped
In supplication; the face of another was com
pletely fattened by blows from broken stock
oil doubie-barreled gun, lying on the ground
near him; another had been cut across the
stomach with knife. after being shot, and al
most all had from three to y dozen wounds
Many of them had their brains literally blown
out.
PRISONERS EXECUTED AND THEIR BODIES
PITCHED INTO THE RIVER.
1t is asserted by the eolored people that after
the hight 81 prisoners who were taken before
the burning Of the court house. were taken to
the river bank, two by two, executed, and hurl-
ed into the river. We caused TO be buried in
ine ditch, near the court house, the remains OF
"a coiored men, three Of whom were so badly
burned rs to be unrecognizable. There We're
inside the court house the charred bones Of one
other, and five bodies we gave TO their friends
for interment elsewhere. We saw also twelve
wounded colOred men, two Of whom will GER
tainly die. and others Of whom are very unlike
y to recover. We are informed that since the
night parties Of armed men have been securing |
the country surrounding Colfax, taking the |
mules and other property Of the cOlored peo- |
pie.
Since writing the above report we have seen |
on board the steamboat the colored man, Leon |
Allen, who commanded the parties holding the |