Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1874-09-17
Particulars of the Lynching of Negroes
i'm Gibson County. Tenn.

HI UIuSOu OVuubls AOhhs
Trenton, Tenn. (Aug. 26), Dispatch to the Memphis
Avalanche.
Yesterday morning City-Marshal
DUNCAN and Constables W. W. Senter
and Spence Eldridge, with an escort of
forty men, well armed, brought sixteen
negroes from Picketsville, and lodged
them in the Jail at this place for safe
keeping. The negroes are the ones
who had a preliminary examination be-
for. Justices Jordan, Fly, and Hunt,
of Picketsville, yesterday afternoon.
They were a portion of the party which
fired on Monroe Morgan and James
Warren, two Young white men, last
Saturday night, as they were going to
their homes, and when about three
miles from Picketsville. At prelimi-
nary examination two of the negroes
confessed to the fact that general
uprising of the negroes, for the purpose
of killing all the whites, was intended.
This morning, between one and two
O'Clock. about 100 disguised men, armed
with double barreled shot guns, rifles
and revolvers, rode quietly into town
and surrounded the Jail IN which the
negroes mentioned were confined. The
sheriff and jailer, both of whom were on
duty, were called out and the keys of
the prisoners cells demanded. To this
demand the officers refused to accede,
and declared their intention of holding
the negroes subject to the action of the
law.
The leaders of the masked men lev
eled their weapons at the officers, and
said in emphatic tones, I'VE have
come for those niggers, and intend get
ting them +; turn over the keys, or we
will blow your brains out" AS their
very action looked like business, there
was no more hesitation beyond formal
protest, and the keys were turned over.
Going to the cells, the masked men
unlocked the doors, and with presented
and cooked weapons, ordered the ne
groes out. The order was tremblingly
complied with, and the poor frightened
black wretches marched into the corri-
dor. There they were tied together with
strong pieces OF rope in twos.
The disguised men marched the ne
groes into the street. They were placed
in the center of an irregular hollow
square, and the line of march was taken
up, leading out on what is known as the
Huntington road. The strictest silence
was preserved, and, until the maskers
were well out of Trenton at least, they
preserved their incognito in such man
ner as to defy detection.
After going about half mile, the
mob halted, and six of the negroes,
three couples, were ordered out OF the
ranks. They were cut loose at one
side of the road, and told to go, and go
quick. The negroes started on run,
when volley from along the whole line
cut them down, all falling at the first
fire. The mob must have supposed that
all were killed, as they moved on with
out stopping to inspect the condition of
their victims. When found later this
morning by a delegation of citizens,
four were wounded, one supposed to be
MORALLY, the others but slightly.
From this scene OF carnage the masked
men and their remaining victims
marched on about miles further up
the river bottom road, where another
halt was made. Then the remaining
ten negroes were ordered out. Like
their brethren who had gone before,
they were cut loose and told to move
themselves. The poor frightened
wretches tried to, but ere they could
make their second jump toward life and
liberty they were shot down. This
time the maskers took better aim fol
they dropped every of the fleeing ne
Croes in their tracks.