The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-11-08
A Terrible Crime Brought to Light.
A GERMAN SOLDIER CONFESSES
MURDER WHICH HE COMMIT
TEDNEAR RFREDERICKs-
BURG IN 1859.
DETAILS OF THE AFFAIR.


DETAILS OF THE AFFAIR.
Mr.. +. w. Hanewiuckel. German consul
in this city, received yesterday from the Ger
man Ambassador at Washington the confess
sion Of man named Hermann Rudolph
Wilhelm Tolroth, who accuses himself Of
having murdered man near Fredericks-
burg, Va, on the 22d of April, 1863, under
rather singular circumstances.
THE CONFESSION OF THE MAN
was forwarded to Washington in the Ger
man language just As it was taken from Voll-
roth's own lips at Stra<sburg, on tue 22d
of last September. At the time the contes-
| sion was made the accused was under mill
tary arrest for some offence, and it was made
in one of the division prisons to Harseim,
Government auditor. The offence for which
he was arrested is not given in any OF the
pa pers which accompany the statement, but
the confession in German, the translation,
descriptive list OF the accused, ETC., were
yesterday placed in the hands of the Secrc-
tary of the Commonwealth, in order that he
| may lay the matter before Governor Walker,
who has already taken the necessary steps to
ascertain the
TRUTH OF THE MANS STATEMENT.
Vollroth asserts, under his own signature,
that on the 4th of October, in the year 1868,
he left the city of Bremenhausen in the Bre-
men bark Gauss, for America. He was pro-
yided with an emiyrant's pass and arrive d at
Charleston, S. g., on the 29th of November,
and in Baltimore, Md, on the 4th Of De-
cember, in the same year.
After having been engaged in various
other occupations he entered the service Of
VIRGINIA FISHERY COMPANY,
on the Potomac river, on the 18th of March,
| 1869, his employers agreeing TO pay him 81
Der day and free station for his services. The
company consisted of an American named
Waller, who appears to have been the pro-
| prietor of fishery farm on the Potomac,
about twenty-five miles northeast of the city
of Fredericksburg, q gentleman named Cum
bingham, of Baltimore, and third partner,
whose name the scltaccuSed murderer could
not remember.
He also gives a description of the time for
| fishing in the river, and represents that the
employees of the company were fourteen
German emierants and forty or fifty negroes.
All of these men we're employed as fisher
men, and lived together in block-houses, and
were worked under two oyerseerS.
Vollroth left the city of Baltimore on Sat-
urday, 18Th March, 1863, at p. NJ, and ar.
rived at the fishery on Sunday the 14th
instant ut P. NJ. In the immediate vicini.
| ty Of the Waller farm-say fifteen hundred
PAGES distant down the river--is a second
farm belonging to Admiral Lee, which was
occupied by his four sons.
On the 22d of April, about 2 o'clock P.
NJ, owing to storm which prevailed at the
time, fishing operations were suspended tenn
porarily, land VolIroth represents that he
left the fishery for
WALK IN THE FOREST.
He had gone about three. miles on the road
which leads to Fredericksburg when he met
man apparently about thirty years old,
who asked him for hight; he (Vollroth)
smoked cigar. The man appeared from
his dialect to be an Irishman. The two men
entered into conversation, during which the
German learned from the man he had met
that he had been employed in the construc-
ton of a railroad near Fredericksburg, and
that he had
MADE MUCH MONEY
while serving in that capacity. He also
Stlicu tlllt ue uao GiFSh op hi' B''ISS 90 'AN
railroad and that he was en- route 10 Washing.
ton in search of employment; that he first i'll
tended to 90 to the fishery in order to make
use of steamer which stopped there almost
daily.
The two men then started back to the
fishery, and on the way Vollroth observed
that the Irishman took from his pocket-Dook
a card, on which was the name of The rail-
road contractor with whom he had worked.
He did this to show Vollroth that he had
large sum of money about his person.
At this sight the thought came over the
German that he could
POSSESS HIMSELF OF THE MONEY.
They had then gone about a half mile,
and were two and half miles from the
fishery, and it was 8 O'Clock.
Voiroth seized the Irishman and deter
mined to take from him the pocket-DooK.
The Irishman defended himself handsomely,
ard during the wreStle which ensued The
thought occurred to Follroth
"TuAT HE WAS LOST"
if the man remained alive, for he might 90
to the fishery and accuse him OF
THE THEFT.
| He thcreupon drew his long knife, which he
carried about his person, thrust it into bis
left breast, and, us the contessor says, " III
consequence OF which tue man soon
GAVE UP HIS GHOST;
so to judge by the loss OF blood | seemed to %
have cut his heart, respectively his lungs
Yollroth now took possession Of the pocket.
book which the man had carried i'll the lett
breast-pocket of his coat, and
INFERRED THE CORPSE
seyeral hundred feet aside from the road IN
the woods and brusil-wood, BY the aid OF
a hatchet and shovel, which he procured
from farm half.mile distant from the spot
where the bloody deed was committed, and
two and d half miles frem the FISH,