The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-10-03
WHOLESALE BUTCHERY.,
A Story Of the Bloody Deeds Of
Two Brothers.
They Vowed Vengeance Upon Confederate
Dcscrters and Scores OF Deaths
Told OF Their Dead
ly Work.

Near New Holland, Ga,, there Is @
little swamp near the road. At it's edge
stands large white oak tree. Years ago
this spot was often pointed out as the
scene of the murder of twelve men, and
the place bore the reputation Of being
haunted. It was said the rafting of
chains and groans and prayers for
mercy could be distinctly heard by
passersby. No one ever stopped to in
vestigate, as we can testify from per-
sonal experience, says q writer in tho
New York Dispatch, having heard the
groans some fourteen years ago, and
having also done some of the most dis
tinguished travelling in nll our eventful
career.
But to the story: Howard Thompson
was witness to the killing, which oc-
CURED in 1868, he being ten years old
at the time. The killing was done by
Bob and Ben Jordan, of Piclsens county,
and the murdered men were deserters
who had been arrested in mercounty.
While the Jordan boys were in the
confederate army q crowd of deserters
visited tho house of their father, rs
saulted their sister and the wife of Bob
Jordan and carried their father, who
was nbout seventy years old, through
the mountains distance of sixty miles,
and subjected him to many shocking
crueltics. Then the Jordan boys re-
turned home and began their record of
killing. Every man known to be de-
serter or n slSulllcr became u victim of
their uncrring rifles. Bob kept list of
the names and dates i'll n small book.
lie was pursued one day and in crossing
river lost his book. 1t contained one
hundred and twenty-five names. After
that he kept no record. This was be
fore the killing near Gainesville.
Bob and Ben Jordan became recruit
ing officers and arrested twenty
six men in Gilman county, and
started with them to the front On
the way two escaped and twenty-four
were lodged in Gainesville Jail. Next
morning the Jordans picked out twelve
whom they had the best reason to be-
lievc had been implicated in the out
RACES upon their family and chained
them together and marched them to
this white oak tree on the New Holland
road. They stood them up in row
and Bob Jordan marched slowly along
the line with n large army pistol and
shot them with his own hand one at u
time. Some fell on their knees and
and prayed, while others looked their
slayer square in the face and died with
an oath on their lips. Among the num-
Der was fragile boy about fifteen who
was chained to very large man.
The boy was shot first and the man
supported him in standing posture I'M
til he himself was shot, when they fell
To the ground f.,pCfher
Those twelve men were hastily buried
in a trench, dug upon the spot, but
after the war they were exhumed
by the federal authorities and removed
to the national cemetery at Chatta-
nooga-
After the war Bob Jordan was shot
to death in Florida by weak, siclsly
young man upon whom he was impos-
ing. Ben was stabbed to death in a
barroom in Texas.
The spot where the killing occurred
is now i'll cultivation, but the old tree
still remains. The land is part of the
tract which Tom Daniels bought about
two years ago for eighteen hundred
dollars and sold few days ago for six
thousand dollars.