Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-08-26
SOME TESTIMONY CONCERNING
THE HAMBURG RIOT.


The Republican papers will have tC
lower their tone little in speaking Oi
the Hamburg riot. They have assert.
ed that the shooting was the result OF
a plot of the Democratic party, IN
cluding Messrs. Tilden and Hendricks
which has for its object the general
slaughter of negroes In the South, to
keep them from voting the Republican
ticket next fall. The president of the
United States rushed into print in that
strain to help on the partisan didbLert
of his political associates, but since
Gov. Chamberlain has withdrawn his
charge that the Hamburg killing was
based on political animosity the Pre-
sident and his yoke-fellows appear in
a very pitiabIe and foolish position.
They expected, in the first place, that
the numerous persons who were In
dicted for completely in the plot
would run away, or, if found, would
resist the operation of the law. They
have done no such thing, but have
readily submitted TO arrest and are in
terested in having the case tried thor
oughly, and every charge against them
sifted to the bottom. The affidavits
of these persons were presented before
Judge Maher's court at Aiken, s. c.,
on the 10th inst, and the fact was fully
developed by the testimony, among
that of others, of Prince Rivers, the
negro justice at Hamburg, that Doc.
Adams company was not.a regularly
organized militia company, and that
he (Rivers) had required them to give
up their arms. The following testi-
mony, which we take from the report
of the Charleston News and Courier,
spikes the malicious charge of Demo-
cratic plotting" which the Republicans
have so volumineusly made
John Lee, colored, brother of Sam.
j. Lee, living near Hamburg, states
| ia his affidavit that IN June last hewas
requested by Doc. Adams to join his
company, and that Doc. Adams said to
him that the company was organized
to kill the whites. He refused to join.
He also affirmed that on the 9Th of
July he saw Louis Schiller take the
train for Columbia, and on the next
morning he saw Schiller return to
Hamburg with large tin can. A
number of Doc. Adams company were
waiting at the depot three of the
number took the can and sent it to
John Williams house. Judge Blunt,
one of the three who took the can, up
on being questioned. said that it con-
tanned cartridges. The deponent said
further, that, since the riot, Tom Car
roll, one of the company, told him that
before o'clock Of the day of the riot
all the ammunition, measuring fifteen
quarts of cartridges, haG been carried
up to the armory and distributed among
the men by Doc. Adams and others"
Here was band Of desperadoes pre-
pairing for conflict. The testimony
further shows the intention of the
negroes. They have been represented
by President Grant and his yoke-fel-
lows as 'docile, 'inoffansiye, peace
full, industrious, :" prosecuted men.
Let us see the testimony
Frank Taylor, colered, affirmed
that in June last he was asked by At |
taway to join his company. and oD ask
ing what the company was for, Alta !
way said to Kill tie achstes.
Edward Rumley affirmed that pre-
vious to the riot he observed on differ |
ent occasions armed bands of negroes
patroling in and out of Hamburg. |
That they committed all kinds of de- |
predations, stole cattle and destroyed |
fences, and also that after the fight and |
pending the inquest Charles Turner,
the foreman of the jury, told him that |
they were going to put the white men |
in jail and keep them there until after
the election.
Jerry Whitlocks colored, affirmed |
that on the 4th Of Jniy he heard Alta
way make threateniag fssmaTks against |
Henry Getsen, who was riding by, and |
that, pending the inquest, he heard |
Turner, the foreman of the jury, say |
that they had goHkhe white men where |
they wanted. They would put them in
Jail and keep them there until after the
election.
George Henderson. colored, affirm
ed that on the 4th of July he and Jerry
Merriwether, also colored, were asked
in Hamburg by Attaway to join COM
pany he was getting up to kill out the
whites. Neither himself nor Jerry
Merriwether would join.
Jerry Merriwether, colored, cor
roborated the statement made by Hen
dersOn.
Aaron T. Tyler affirmed that on the
9th of July Adams company had
passed his house in Hamburg and
scraped their bayonets on his fence
he demonstrated with them and they |
cursed and threa tened him. A day or
two subsequent portion of the same
company, armed, stopped him while he
was going home from Augusta. He
,1nbE 4hou ho1 fo cfOv1 him
and they replied that no matter what
right they had they would do as they
pleased threatening and curslng him.
"Wm. e. Flint, the watchman on
the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta
railroad bridge, afirms that on the
morning of the 9Th John Thomas, one
of Adams company, passed him on
the bridge with large pistol IN his
hand. That he said that Adams had
been arrested, but the boys were not
going to allow him to be tried. The
deponent further overheard Doc.
Adams that afternoon give orders to
his men in the armory to fire upon the
Buffers as they came round the corner
from Prince Rivers Office. The But
lers did not, however, come that way.
Hearing these things, he warned sever
al persons, among whom was Mr.. Frank
Kramer, that difficulty was brewing.
George Kramer affirmed that he |
had been frequently halted and insult
ed and threatened by armed negroes in
the streets of Hamburg at night, these
negroes having no authority to per-
petrate such outrages.
Frank Kramer confirmed the testi- |
mony of his brother, George Kramer,
and also the testimony of William E.
Flint"
Here are abundant preparations |
made by the "docile and persecuted"
negroes for bloodshed. Lett US see who
were the aggressors:
"Afidavits were thensubmitted from
w. p. johnson, W. =. Roger, j. B. |
Mckinney, George Damn, John Sui |
livan, VIM. Cooney, VIM. Allen, G. Z. |
Coffin, Robt. Vigil. II. III. Bliss, w. |
Matheny. j. G. kirkpatrick, Z. r.
Cunningham, Leopold Meyers and 4.
w. Habersham, showing that the hos
tilities and the firing we're commenced
by the negroes from the armory, and
that young Mr.. Merriwether had been
killed by the negroes before the whites
fired shot"
"Afidavits from r. j. Butler, G. +. |
Wurnburger, Nina and Eda Lipfeld,
B. Lipfeld, d. Lipfeld, John Shaw,
W. W.. Woodward, r; j :, NJ. c. and J.
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