The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1878-02-20
February IA. 1873.

February IA, 1878.
| The Circuit Court of Greene county
convened in this place on Monday morn
ing last, Judge Mckinney presiding.
On Tuesday, agreeably to the writ of
haBeas corpus granted on the petition of
| William Puget, the case came on for
hearing, as mentioned in my last it
would The petitioner was arrested for
| the shooting to death of Andrew J.
Cobb, deputy sheriff of Hancock coun-
ty, on the morning of Sunday, February
g. His ostensible object in suing out
| the writ was to have it judicially de-
| cided whether the offence was a capital
one, and not baila5le, or for manslaugh-
ter, and bailable B It some think that
| Puget was afraid to remain in Sneed-
Vile Jail and sued out the writ to get in
| to another one farther away from his
| enemies in Hancock county. Messrs.
| w. P. GiIlenwaters and James White,
of Rogersville, H. Fl. Ingersoll, of
| Greeneville, and H. F. Coleman, of
Sneedville, appeared for Puget, and At
A1dChSii VI OOhCSOOAO
A H. Pettibone, of Greeneville, and
Col Doughty, of Sneedville, for the
State.
The testimony ELECTED showed that
A. Cobb, the deceased, was deputy
sheriff of Hancock county, and had
warrant put into his hands commanding
him to arrest Andrew Rhea, William
Puget and John Epperson, for shooting
and manning Floyd Collins on the 24th
day of January, 1873; that Cobb sum-
moned fourteen men as a posse eOmttGt1ls,
of whom Henry Robinson, Richard
Brewer, Joseph Brooks, Harrison Col
Inns and Gibson Coins were witnesses
to proceed to the house of one Jesse
Ferguson, who resided six miles from
Sneedville, where the above named par
| ties were ascertained to be on the night
Of Saturday, February 2; that the posse
met at the house of Brewer, who resides
| about half mile from Ferguson, on the
morning of Sunday, and proceeded to
Ferguson's; that before reaching Fergu-
sons, the posse was divided into two
squads of "eight by seven" Cobb taking
the less number and Robinson the great
err; that the Robinson squad went to the
front of the house while the other went
over a hill and came down upon the up
per or east side of the house; that Rhea,
Puget and Epperson came out int the
front yard and were ordered by Robin
son to surrender; that Rhea and the
others stepped back into the house,
when Epperson, Jack Gray and two or
three women went out of the house and
Epperson surrendered himself to Cobb;
that Robinson stepped on to the front
steps to receive the surrender Of Rhea
and Puget, when he was fired upon, and
he fired his pistol through a window;
that Robinson's squad then fired into
and through the front door prmniscu-
ously that the firing then became gea
eral; that the parties in the house, viz:
Rhea, Puget and Columbus Coleman,
retreated into the ell or kitchen part of
the house; that they were summoned by
Cobb to surrender; that Columbus Cole
man afterwards went out of the house,
leaving only Rhea and Puget; that Rob-
inson and one Parton knocked out a
window covered by rough boards, and
thus uncovered Rhea; that Rhea i'm
mediately leaped out of the kitchen door
and was fired upon by Cobb's men; that
he balanced himself after landing upon
the ground and fired into Cobb's so uad,
then took step or two, turned and fired
again, but hit no one; Rhea then ran
down in front of an old log house, and
after passing the corner of the main
house he was fred upon by Robinson's
men and brought to the ground dead,
having eleven bullets put into him; that
the firing in the kitchen still continued
and that Cobb still ordered Puget to
surrender, soon after which he Cobb
fell dead with bullet hole in his breast
about three inches to the left of his left
nipple; that both squads retired little
way up the hill to reload and Puget
took advantage of the cessation Of hos
tilities and retreated to the old log
house; that he was again commanded to
surrender, and after a parley agreed if
Robinson would send Jack Gray down
to him and assure him immunity from
harm that he would deliver his arms,
which he did, and marched up to where
the posse were waiting Tor him, when the
warrant was read to Puget and Epper-
SON and they were marched to Sneed-
vile and placed i'll Jail. FACET was
tried before Justice of the Peace on
charge of murder and committed.
Hence this writ
Mr.. GiIlenwaters tried to slow by Ep-
persons deposition, who is still in the
Sneedville Jail, and the testimony of
Jack Gray, that the fatal shot might
have been fired through the main house
and clear through the kitchen by Rob-
inson's men, and that Cobb may thus