Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-01-03
TRENTON, TENN.
A Sharp Letter from Justice j. NJ, Cald.
WelI-SOmething for the Command
ant at SWayne Barracks to
Read,
The Massaere-The Report to General
M'DOWell-Are the Federal Soldiers
Employed to Preserve the Peace
or Help the Radicals!

Employed to Preserve the Peace
or Help the Radicals!
/ To the Editors of the Appeal
TRENTON, Tenn, December 80, 1874
/ Thinking that the time had arrived
when our injured people might vindi-
cate themselves with propriety, and not
| infringe upon the rights of the courts of
| the country, l will say that / live in
| Trenton; l am the senior magistrate in
| said city, and was here on the morning
Of the twenty-siXth of August, 1874,
when it was announced that the jail OF
this county had been broken or forced
! open, and that several negroes had been
taken out and shot 10 the vicinity of
Trenton. Under the advice of the citi-
zens and the encouragement, then
here, 1 summoned a jury Of as good cit
izens as 1 could find in the city, taking
care to give, as thought, both political
parties the same weight, if any, on said
jury. We found four negroes shot dead,
and two severely wounded. The ver-
dict Of the jury, after examining all the
testimony, was that they came to their
death from'shots given by k6kldX. The
dead had as deceRtly buried as could; ;
the two wounded had nursed and cared
for as well as if they had been white and
without friends. On the same
day or night it was rumored in
town that ten other negroes had
been found in the river bottom above the
city. After seeing the reporter took a
posse and secured the woods, and find
ing none came home; but still hearing
that there were wounded negroes in the
woods near here, Sheriff Williams, l
! think, made two searches for them,
without effect. Drs. M'Culloch and
M'Gee also offered premiums to the ne
groes to bring in the wounded, that they
might have surgical attention; which
! they proposed to do, and were amply
competent to do. Now, sir, what l
wish to say is this: that after all the in.
vestigation that L have bean able to
make, / am satisfied that not one man
ia trenton had anything to do with or
had any knowledge of the massacre of
the negroes, and the people of Trenton
condemn the act as much as any people
upon the continent of America. But
now to the facts: The negroes fired into
two young men on the twenty-secOnd Of
August, 1874-nOt the kukluX or dis
guised men-upon the highway. Then
commenced the arrest of negroes and
trial of the same at Pickett, on the
twenty-fOurth of August, twelve of
whom were committed to our Jail. On
the twenty-fifth four more were taken
from Swain barracks, tried at Pickett
and sent here to Jail. On the twenty
six b the Jail was forced and all taken
out, and several brutally shot. Now
with this not citizen of Trenton had
anything to do, as l honestly believe,
but the ACnldnche OF your city has seen
proper to condemn Trenton for this
whole outrage, making no allowance for
Carroll and Madison, whom, | believe,
were represented in the massacre. Now,
sirs, the report of General M'Dowell, as
given by the AUdLdRche of your city,
as given by the commaudant of
Swain barracks of November 5, 1874, in
which that officer Gays, amongst other
things. that on the night of the twenty
third Of August, 1874, some negroes
fred into some kuklux, and that there
was bad feeling between the blacks
and whites, and that the whites had
driven off the blacks in order to secure
their small crops, by threatening them
with the kuklux at night, which was
easily done. He also says in said report
that about the twenty-third of August,
1874, all The bridges, r&ilrOad-crOssings
and other highways were closely picket
ed, and for several days afterward par
ties were securing the wood, trying to
gather or pick up those who were sup
posed TO have made their escape. Now,
if said commandant intends this for
Trenton or its citizens, it is simply false.
Now, General M'DoWell makes his re-
port from suttlers and amongst other
commandment OF Swain barracks. Now,
/ will General MDowell or the command
| ant of Swain barracks tell the duties of
| command OF Swain barracks? Is it to
/ over-awe the whites and embitter
I the cOlored race of the coun-
| try against them, or is it to
preserve the peace of the community? {?
| Now, Mr.. COmmandant, OF Swain bar
racks, did not Tom Shelton, colored,
/ come to your quarters two weeks before
/ the firing on, as you say, the kuklux, at
/ Pickett, aud show his back and tell you
that he had been whipped by kuklux or
masked negroes for refusing to enter
into the negro conspiracy that caused
all our trouble and crime? and if so,
/ why did you not give the civil authori-
/ ties at Humboldt notice OF the same?
Are you here TO aid the negroes, or to
/ DlcsciNe lIc DcdCc vi lLe ldUus NOW
| you know that Tom Shelton is dead,
| yet he speaketh. Another thing, COM
msnd ant of Swain barracks, YOU saw in
your report ID General M'Dowell that
very bitter feeling exists in this COM
muDity against the government, and
particularly against the blacks. Now,
/ Mr.. Commandant, il you and your
/ squad are the government with the
guests of the nation as it is, then there
may be some truth in your report. But
sir, when you take the course that you
did in arresting kuklux at the hour OF
midnight, with an armed bard of SOL
dIers at the bidding of Petty, deputy
provo marshal, and arrest every man in
the neighborhood, hand-cuff him,
whether innocent or guilty, AMI force
him to drag throug'' bush ard mire. II
you and the nations guests are
the government, our people are
tired of it, and will Justly, as I
think, complain of such government.
Now, messrs. Editors, 1 will say for our
/ leOple, that L can, although advanced
/ in years, take a United States writ, a
ten-yeAr-old boy and barlow knife, and
arrest every man that the military at
/ Humbolt can arrest in this county. /
/ say, further, that the commandant of
I SWaln DAtiachs cOuiu nave sent q corpo-
/ raj snd made all the arrests that were
made, and taken them in body to
/ Memphis. Now, Nessrs. Editors, l am
don ewith this thing Our courts, under the
advice CT our noble governor, have taken
this matter in hand. The Federal gov
ernment has also doBe the same thing.
Now the wheels Of justice are locked,
ard the accused have been bonded here
to-day in the State court. hsvepenned
this in yindication of the people among
whom / live; and as the Avalanche
81 ems so willing to publish all upon the
other side, will you please give this a
place in your columns?
j. VI. CALDWELL, J. p.