Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-05-02
NUMBER A.


NUMBER A.
The COlfaX Massacre
OFFICIAL REPORT OF TIE OFFICERS OF GEN.
LONGSTREET'S sTAFF.-THE FIRST REPORTS
| FULLY CoNFIRMED.-NEARLY TWO HUNDRED
coLoRED MEN KILLED.
The official report of Colonies William
Wright and I. W De Klyne. Of General
Longstreet's staff, who were sent out to
Grant parish to investigate the troubles
there, appears in the New Orleans Repu5-
Lican of Friday. 1t fully confirms the first
reports of the Colfax massacre
| We reached Pineyille, opposite Alexan-
/ dria, at about go n. m, ON Monday, the
| l4th instant, where we were informed that
a severe action had taken place at Colfax
| the day before Sunday; that from I5O to
200 colOred men had been killed that two
white men. named Hadn0t and Harris. were
wounded, the former mOrtally, and that
| Coliax, or part Of it, had been burned.
| Upon crossing the river to Alexandria, we
became cognIzant Of the existence Of 4 yiO-
lent, though suppressed, popular excitement.
Parish officials expressed themselves as ap-
| prehensiye Of an outbreak in Alexandra.
/ Nhttlcu dSdlust tue tNlOItQ lutn anu luc
officials holding Office under the administra-
tion of Governor Kellogg. We were urged
to procure the presence OF troops a. speedily
a possible. We left Alexandria at about
80 a. m. During our stay there mount
| ed men were constantly crossing the river.
| coming from the direction of Colfax, and
| just a. we left, party Of twenty, mounted
1 and armed, apparently. with shOt-guns,
| crossed the river in q body.
| Having secured an ambulance, we crossed
| the river INTO Grant Parish early on the
morning Of Tuesday, the 18th instant, and
| started for ColiaX, distant about Is miles.
| We found the parish in a most deplorable
/ state. The crops are being neglected
| many Of the residents, both white and col
/ 0red, have left their homes. and a general
| sense Of insecurity prevails which we are
] satisfied can only he removed by the pres
ence of troops. About onc-third of a mile
/ below the courthouse we came upon par
/ ty of cOl0red men and women carrying
away wounded colorei nan upon Il sled.
| At a little distance in the field were the
/ dead bodies of two colorcd men. About
| two hundred yards nearer the courthouse
We're three dead bodies OF c0lored men, and
| from that point 20 the courthouse and its
| vicinity the ground was thickly -trewn with
dead. We were unable 90 find the body of
Il single white man. ur to ascertain the loss
/ of the whites. Col0red women assert that
| two wagon loads ofwhite~, dead and wound
| ed, were carried away, but it is perSi~tently
/ denied by any Of the whites claiming To
| have knowledge of the actual loss. they
asserting that but one man on their side
was killed, and lladuot and Harris We're
wounded. We may state here that lladnot
| has since died in Alexandria We send
I herewith plan of the courthouse and it,
I deicnces. \ space of about 200 yards square
was mci0Scd in "a Slight earthwork. with
ditch inside The ditch was from 10 to +
I inches in depth, and the hreaStwork in front
| of it from 20 10 30 in height and was pro-
| tected in front by 2i-inch pianking. On
| the lower side of the courthouse the
| greater portion of the hrea~twork was COM
| posed Of planking alone. laid in zig-zass
/ and without ditchc~.
THE FIGHT oF SUNDAY.
From what information we could get. We
/ believe that the fight commenced on sun
[ day. the 18th inst. between 10 and I %. III.
/ and continued until nearly dark of the
numbers engaged 900 either ~iieit Is impoS-
[ sib.e for Us to form any definite idea though
We are satisfied that the parties holding the
| courthouse Were less in number than their
aSSailant~ 1t Is asserted by the colored
| people that the asSaiant> consisted of par
| ties from the parishes of Vim. Rapides.
/ Natchit0chcs. Catah0ula. and Caddo. IN
| addition To- those from Grant but they
/ were either unable or unwilling To give us
/ the names of any parties participating in
/ the attack All statements that we have
/ heard agree substantially in the main par
/ ticularS. Ii Is agreed that the attacking
/ party was commanded by c. c. Nash. and
/ the as-ailed by man named Leo Allen;
/ that a surrender was demanded and relu>-
{ ed that the he~ieged were given thirty
/ minutes to remove their women and chill
I dren. and that at the expiration of the time
/ the fight was commenced by the a~>ailiug
party The attacking party had in their
/ possession q small cannon, taken from the
| steamboat james 7. Moore, from which
/ they fired bolts, sample of which we de
I post in your office. The be>icged had rigged
| up n couple Of guns by fastening lengths of
| gaS-pipe on raiter timbers. blocking up one
end with pine plug, and drilling touch
hole. One of these was bursted while
trying it some days before the fight, and the
other has not the appearance of having
been used.
TIE MASSACRE.
Sometime during the afternoon the be-
sieged were drawn from the fight and from
their breastworks into the courthouse.
One end of this building was without win
dows. nor had the besieged prepared loop
holes \ colorel 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 root until it caught fire.
1t Is eur opinion thar few of the coiored
men had been killed up To this time, but
I tl.,r l.s-r hs
courthouse they were shot down without
mercy. The position and condition of many
Of the bodies % far To prove this. Under
/ the warehouse. between the courthouse and
the river. We're the dead bodies Of six col
ored men. who had evidently gone under
/ for conceaiment. and were there shot like
dogs Many were shot in the hack Of the
head and neck. One man still lay with his
/ hands clasped in Supplication the face of
another was completely tlattened by blows
| from n broken stock Of Il doubie-harreled
gun. lying on the ground near him another
/ had been cut across the stomach with q
knife after being shot, and almost all had
/ from three 10 n dozen wounds. Many of
/ them had their brains literally blown out
| PRISONERS EXECUTEp AND THEIR E0uIEs
PITCHED INTO TIE RIVER.
| 1t i asserted by the colored people that
after the fight thirty four prisoners who
were taken before the burning of the court
l house We're taken 10 the river bank. two by
| two. executed. and hurled into the river.
| We caused To be buried in the ditch, near
| the rains of the courthouse. the remains of
| fifty four colOrcd men. three OF whom We're
- badly burned rs to be unrecognizahle.
| There were inside the court-hou~e the
| charred bones of one other, and five bodies