The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-08-27
THE WAR BEGUN !
COMMENCING AT PICKErTvILLE,
"Cleanfns Ont the Counfry'-Twelve
Fiends Arrested and Imprisoned
An Outraged People Rise Up I'm their
Majesty and Lynch them!

An Outraged People Rise Up I'm their
Majesty and Lynch them!
For several. weeks past vague ru.
mors have been aAoat of the negroes
in this and Carroll counties arming
and drilling regularly. 1t is said they
have quietly bought all the buckshot
that could be had in several country
stores, and none of them have been
seen hunting lately. Two weeks ago
it was suggested by number of our
citizens that it would be well to organ
ize a company here for guard and
police duty, but our citizens thought
it unnecessary and imprudent and the
matter was dropped. Now, in view
of the occurrences of the past few
days, We think it very important that
something should be done at once.
We should have a military company
in each town in the State. The issue
is forced upon US and We dare not
disregard it. The safety of our fami-
lies may depend on it. Our neighbors
in the villages around are calling on
us for help and we have no organized
force to help ourselves. Read the
following and judge whether we are
saying too much when we urge prompt
action on the part of our citizens.
Saturday night as James Warren
and Monroe Morgan were going home
from Pickettville, band Of thirty or
or forty negroes, ambuscaded just be-
low the village, fired upon them and
wounded Morgan's mule, peppering
its head and shoulder with shot. Nor
gan and Warren fled back to Pickett
vile and gave the alarm. A posse
was soon out in pursuit of the dusky
fends, and twelve of them were
caught that night and Sunday and
held for trial Monday. The news of
the trouble reached Milan Sunday
morning, and it was rumored that the
citizens of that section needed assist
ance and protection from threatened
destruction by the blacks. A party
Of thirty of our citizens immediate
ly equipped themselves and repaired
to the scene of action. When they
reached Pickettville they found con-
siderable excitement, but no one hurt,
and experimenting no further trouble
they returned.
Monday the negroes were tried at
Pickettville before Esqs. Fly, Parker
and Jordan, and all twelve were COM
mitted. They confessed their guilt,
stating that they were organized and
designed cleaning up" the whites and
controlling this country themselves.
They mentioned three companies
in this county - one at Humboldt,
commanded by one Reagon, another
at Hope Hill, commanded by Rial
Burrow, and the one near Pickettville,
under the immediate command Of
Col. Josh Webb, who says they have
endured the whites as long as they
can and must exterminate them and
take charge of the farms and rule this
country as they see fit.
Three or four hundred men were
present at the trial, coming from va
rious parts of the country to witness
the trial of the would-be destroyers of
their families and homes. Great ex-
element was manifested by the crowd;
however, no demonstrations of vio-
lence were made toward the prisoners,
who appeared very impudent, init
mating that this was but the begin
ning-that we might check them for
a while, but an issue must and would
come.
Writs were issued for fifteen others,
but as yet only two or three Of them
have been taken, among whom is Rial
Burrow, captain of the Hope Hill
clan. Considerable excitement pre-
walls throughout the country, every
citizen being on the alert and many
of the negroes frightened.
1t is rumored that two white women
have been killed near Pickettville,
but we have as vet not been able to
trace it to anything definite. The
mayor of Trenton, we learn, tele-
graphed to Jackson to hold a compa-
nv in readiness, and an engine and
train is at that point, ready to move
at a moments notice.
We have reliable information that
party of about eighty men went
to Trenton Tuesday night and took
sixteen negroes from the Jail. Up to
the time of going to press six of their
bodies had been found, riddled With
bullets. 1t is supposed the others
were killed and left in the swamp
near that place.
LATEST.
L. NJ. Jones telegraphs from Tren-
ton to Gen. Campbell, at jackson,
that the excitement is without any
real foundation and the help will not
be needed.
1t is due to the negroes here to say
II -