Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-08-10

On Saturday General NJ. C. Butler, of Edge
field, arrived in the town of Hamburg, and
soon after mounted armed white men began
to arrive IN squads Of ten to fifteen up to about
half past five O'Clock, when the number of
armed white men in the town amounted to
two or three hundred-the last arrival up to
that time being thai of Colonel A. P. Butler
at the head Of fifty or seventy-five men. I'm
mediately after General NJ. C. Buffers arrival
in the town he sent for the attorney who had
been engaged to represent the militia officers
on the Thursday preceding. An interview
was held, the result of which was that the at
torney was charged with request from Gen.
eral Butler to General Rivers and the officers
of the militia company to come and confer
with him. The attorney left on that mission,
and, before reaching the officers, met gentle
man who apprized him of the fact that he had
been requested by the officers of the company
to see General Butler and ascertain
WHAT HE DESIRED
Ii was agreed between the two that the
former should acquaint General Rivers with
the facts and remain at his (RiversO house
till the latter should return from his inter-
view with General Butler. This was dene
Before the latter returned the officers of the
company had met at General Rivers house,
and when the answer from General Butler
came it was agreed upon at a free conference
held between General Rivers, the attorney,
the officers and some of their friends present,
that 1t was expedient and best to accede to
General Buffers request and have an inter
view with him.
To this proposition two of the officers ex-
cepted, stating again and again that they were
afraid to do so, because they believed it to be
plot to effect their assassination. A message
was, however, sent to General Butler to as
certain if he could not meet them without the
presence of his armed force. To this he as
sented, but before arrangements could be
made to bring about the interview a message
came from him staing that that hour fixed for
the trial had arrived, that he was at court,
and requesting the presence of the trial justice,
General Rivers. The latter proceeded to his
Office alone and found General Butler waiting
for him. Rivers was about to proceed with
the case when Butler asked for further time,
which was granted. He went off, but never
returned to the court. Butler went from Riv-
ers Office to the Council Chamber, followed
by crowd of armed men, whose numbers
increased as he went along. He sent COM
mittee to wait on the officers, requesting them
to come and see him. The officers again de-
clined to go, assigning the same reason as be-
fore-that they were not safe in their persons
SO long as Butler was surrounded by his arm
ed band.
Another committee from General Butler
announced the latter's ultimatum, which was
that the officers should apologize for what
took place on July 4, and surrender their arms
to him. Upon this the officers asked General
Rivers, who was not only the trial justice be-
fore whom their case was pending, but was
also major general commanding the division
of the militia TO which they belonged, if he
demanded the arms from them. Rivers re-
piled that he did not, and thereupon the
officers declared their unwillingness to surren-
der their arms to General Butler, because they
were responsible, and he had no right to de-
mand them or to receive them if surrendered.
subsequently citizen, anxious to prevent
what he feared would be collision, called on
General Butler and asked him what he pro-
posed doing. He replied that he intended to
have the arms in half an hour or clay the
damn town in ashes" Another interview was
held, at which General Butler again repeated
his ultimatum, and upon being asked whether,
If his terms were complied with, he would
guarantee protection to the people of the town
he said he did not know; that would depend
altogether upon how they behaved themselves
Immediately after this General Butler went to
Augusta, in company with one Harrison But
Ter, and returned in about thirty minutes. An
other committee called upon him, to whom
he said that both the officers and the arms
must be given up, and on being asked by the
committee if they could satisfy him by boxing
up the arms and sending them to Governor
Chamberlain, at Columbia, he replied:
Doiiih tHC oONCiuOi, l. uOt ucTt lO Gull
suit him, but am here as Colonel Butler; and
this won't stop until after November" He
was then asked if he would guarantee that if
the arms should be surrendered no one should
be hurt, to which he replied: 81 guarantee
nothing"
THE ATTACK.
During the progress of these several inter
views, armed white men, to the number of
between 200 and 800 (some riding and some
dismounted,) had assembled on the main
street. But one armed colored man was seen,
and he was the Marshal Of the town, who
habitually bore arms. Such members of the
militia company as were in town and some of
their friends, in all to the number of thirty
eight, had repaired to the drill room and there
barricaded themselves for protection. About
ten minutes after the last mentioned inter-
view the white men were posted around the
square upon which the drill room stood and
along the trestle work of the Charlotte, Co
! lunlbia and Augusta railroad, which runs OBJ
iquely with the south, facing the drill room,
and firing upon the drill room was. begun by
the whites. Up to this time not a single shot
had been fired by either side. The firing upon
the drill room continued nearly half hour
before single shot was returned from it.
The occupants Of the drill room then fred oe-
casionally, as opportunity presented itself,
while the white men kept up an almost con-
tinuous fire upon the windows of the building
for an hour or more. The occupants of the
drill room heard an order given to bring over
cannon from Augusta, whereupon they eyacu-
ated the building from the rear, and concealed
themselves the best they could in various por-
tions Of the yards and buildings of the differ
| ent Residences on the anuare The. cannon