The daily gazette., 1877-07-24
The Nightin the Round House
TERRIBLE SCENES AT PITTS
BURG-BATTLES IN
The STREETS.
GREAT DESTRUCTION OF LIFE AND
PROPERTY.
[BY TELEGRAPH TO THE HERALD.1
pITTSRITRG Pa Julv %

IROI EN-
[BY TELEGRAPH TO THE HERALD.]
PITTsBURG, Pa, July %.
"Great God! preserve me from another
such night as last night" said member
of Co. G, Of the First regiment of Phila-
delphia, to your representative to-day.
The young man was clerk in a whole
sale tea house and had left at home a
widowed mother and number of sisters
depending upon him for support.
He had deserted the regiment
when it had arrived at the United States
Arsenal and secreted himself behind
great pile of boards until the mob had
left, then came out and begged protection
from Major Buffinton the commandaut
of the arsenal. He had thrown away his
uniform and appeared in citizens dress
and eagerly piled INC with questions as to
how he could get into the city aud what
train might he take which would carry
him safest and soonest home.
GOING INTO THE FIGHT.
81 served in the war of the rebelion,n
said he, ''and have seen wild fighting ,and
heard oftentimes the melancholy music
of whistling bullets, but the night OF ter
ror such as last night never experienced
and hope to God never will again. 1t
was this way. We came into Pitts burg.
| must confess, bent on having little
fight if any was going on. We had little
to eat, some sandwiches and tin cup of
coffee, and at noon yesterday we had
some sort of nourishment dealt out to us
| lat ha IT,,fan hay,nt Wha, xxyao ,nl
at Pttsburg we were all in good spirits,
nevertheless, and responded with alacrity
to the command to move out to Twenty
eighth street, where the strikers had
gathered in force. When we arrived here
General Britton, commanding, formed us
front and rear on the outside of a net
work of track at this point and stationed
the keystone battery with its Gatling
guns, in little fiat plot on the hillside
elevation perhaps ten feet above the level
Of the tracks. At this moment the crowd
began to scatter, not in retreat, but ap-
parently to make room for the military.
Kisses, YELLs AND GRoANs.
L As we rested on our arms the Silence
of the great crowd was broken and a
storm of Kisses, yells and cheers greeted
us. Then platoon of our regiment was
ordered to clear the crowd from the head
of Twenty-eighth streets, which was
blockading the tracks of the railroad. The
Sheriff and his deputies mingled with the
troops and endeavored to make himself
heard, urging the crowd to fall back and
retire to their homes. He could not
make himself heard. owing to the con-
fusion and the cries and the yells of the
| lpaov,la Tho tnlafnnno nf onIHiaro vNtiohah
into the crewd, surging back until the
order ''halL!" was given. At this time
the hillside was literally covered with
men, women and children. mostly spec
tators, judged, who were in manner
penned up.
All this time the cries and yells of the
crowd grew louder and fiercer and the
military made preparations to form a
hollow square on platform of tracks, as
near the Twenty-eighth street crossing
as possible, with two Gattling guns in the
centre. The Pittsburg troops and the
Fourteenth regiment, [ believe, were
drawn up in line, but remained passive.
THE CHARGE OF Thu GRAYs.
After some man9uveriDg, rendered diff
icult by the jostling of the crowd, three
sides of square were formed byour two
regiments First and Second-numbe ing
from four to five hundred men. One
size of the square faced the hill, one
faced TO the east and the troops on the
other side stood with their backs to
rwenty-eighth street and also faced the
hill. The crowd was slow in clearing
space for the east side of the square, and
the soldiers began to force them back.
| This occasloned come scuff1ing, several
of the men taking hold of the muskets
and saying, "You would not shoot
working men would youp" while those
on the outskirts continued to hoot and
yell. About this moment the Grays
were ordered to charge on the crowd
which was impeding them. This was
done amid the most intense confusion
and excitement; but the troops pushed
back the throng and retired.
ABAYoNET CHARGE.
The First regiment, when the crowd
began again to press the men, was order
ed TO charge, which they did with fixed
bayonets, and in this charge one of the
strikers is reported to have been wound
ed by bayonet thrust. The crowd now
began pelting us with stones, ard some
of our men were hurt more or less. This
was the match that fred the train, and,
goaded to fenzy, either through fear Of vi
olence from the crowd or stung to des-
peration by being hit with missiles. we
fired, and fire we did. Some say there
was no order given to fire, but one Of the
guns in hands of member of Company
a went off. and others, mistaklng this
for an order to fire, levelled their pieces
and discharged them. This may be but
heard distinctly the order of fire, and
did not discharge my piece until such an
order was given. The firing was sudden
and unexpected and seemed to come
upon the vast crowd like stroke oflight-
, ming aud it was scarcely realized until
here aud there a man fell. Along
, the brow of the hill ran deep ditch, in
to which those who had enough presence
of mind cast themselves. After the first
shot the troops fired in every direction
The first volley swept over the hillsides
aud was delivered by those troops near
est the hill. The second side of tht
square was along the back, and the others
. | sn far as cOuld be ascertained, wheeled