Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-07-02
GOVERNOR DID RIGHT.
Major SimOns Says POcahcntaS People
Now Approve His Course.
nRAsD;.D As A rALgEmoop.
Charges Ucfcctlnr, C?on the Dcport-
rcnt of the Soldiers Denied and
Their Author pcnouncc,i-tU Ctti-
YcnS Have Been Given Protection.

lowin, le;tr from Major Sm)ns, which
dispcses OF the reflections sought TO be
cas-, upon the soldiers who have been on
duty az Pocahcntas. and shows that the
Governors course In sending troops to
the mining section 10 preserve peace sad
order IS now comm slGcd b. the people
generally:
POCAHONTAs. VA. June q. 1895.
General A. l.. Philp'. Commanding first
Brigade. Virginia Volunteers:
Slr.-In reply 10 yours of the 22l instln'
instructlng me 70 Investigate Certain
charses published In the Richmond Star
rejecting upon the department OF one CT
tn, men under my command wnie on
duty AT Pocahontas.
In the first place | will assert that the
article written by the Stars correspondent
Is tissue OF fasehoods from beginnins
To end. and H. unworthy OF the notice OF
any respectable man.
The soldier whom the article refers 10
Is only a matter of conjecture as his
name is not stated. The Star disclaims
any reference ia Private y. +. Bayliss.
OF the Blues Battalion. and as he and
Privat- II. Fields OF the Petersburg
Grays. were the only men struck by
stones while on duty, the inference Is
that the Stars correspondent had refer
ence TO Private Fields.
FACTS IN THE CASE.
The facts in the case are as follows:
on tho night OF Nay goth the guards at
Cemetery Ridge were in charge of Lieu
tenant W s. Mayo, OF the Fourth Bat
talon Of Infantry, who reported that
about 2:S0 \. NJ. 4 shot wa fired from
Post No. ], when I Immediately turned
out the guard and proceeded 70 the post.
On arriving | found tho sentinel II.
Fields. lying IN the road with his feet
towards the creek and his face up. At
The same time several shots were fired
from Posts , and at men who were APP
+ preaching, but refused % halt when chal-
lenged. and when fred upon turnad and
fed. | then sent to the officer or the day
for reinforcem mt 81 the guard. which ar
rived IN a short time. followed ty the Pc
tersourg Grays, after which there was no
further disturbance.
With any one c1nverslnt with the To-
cal.ty and circumstances tn idea II one
Of tn guards being absent from h5 post
would seem simply prerostercus.
Cemetery Ridge commands tn approach
most frequcntcd between the Eslorl re-
Eion ami Poclhoatas. and II taat tim
there was considerable activity among tn,
ST k"rs. striving 10 get NJ the Pocahon-
tas miners Between that point and tn
. n
was stormy and cold, and no ono but "A
soldier Of the most intrepid daring would
have abandoned his post and gone TO the
town and returned. besides the utmost
vigilance was enjOined upon the officer IA
charge of the guard, and Lieutenant Mayo
I Is an efficient. reliable, and vlgilant on.
Ger. AMI 1t is not within reason 70 Cup
pose that the absence OF one OF his guard
wo''d have escaped his notice. II simply
/ could not have been done.
Is WITHOUT FOi YDATic:;
And | assert that this charg, against
] Private Yields 81 bcsa faire' nAd. the
/ author % @liCh j. a malicious s,olndrei.
/ Tho Stars correspondent shows bis igno-
rance OF the occurrence In STATING, that
the guard were armed with Winchester
rifc7 each shooting sixteen shots In half
a ininuts. TIE fact is that no Winches-
ter rifles are used By the volunteer mill
/ tia OF Nirsinia, and | doubt WI ther Fri
; yaie Fields saw Winchester while on
duty al P0cahontls.
1.-THE statement that tn man who
! struck Private Fields vas arrested and
carried before the Mayer. oal that Tn.
Mayor dismissed the case In order TO
hush the matter up" IS absolutely false.
b No one has ever been arr sted NJ any
time for the offence. "a we have never
aad the alghtcs. clue as TO who tho PER
+ D'tratcr VIZ
/ Tho charge that Governor O'Terrall or
hcred the 't"c90S 20 POcahontas without
. being called f'r by the local civil authori-
/ te'. ara that they have been kept there
/ regard ess of the wishes % the local au-
/ th0riiie7. Is a sheer fabrication. T'pon
| the c1ll Of the Sh ar.G % 'razewsll county
/ received orders, t. proceed AT once to
| Graham Va. with instructions to report
~ once TO the Sh"r.1 of Tazeweli county
and TO BE- governed ty his orders and in
: structions. ! was ordered TO proceed with
, NY command from Graham 10 Pocahon.
/ tas b. the Shrln himself. aad from that
| time uat.l now have beel subject t. his
ORDER. several tm's in the past three
/ weeks have suggested TO The Sheriff the
/ prcpreiy 4 Gdy.si.g a removal of the
troops. and each tina he objected % the
removal OF the troops because. TN MS
oriu!on, tn condition % affairs here re-
CURED tn" presence OF the military 70
enable him TO prevent violations OF the
law and disturbance Of the peace OF thls
. lCcIli'y
10 PROTECT ALL CITIZENS.
When | was ordered to the command, II
/ the troops at THIS place my Instructions
from the Governor were 10 ucrnit n,
Violations Of the laws Of the stat, ana
10 protect every citizen I'm his rights 10
pursue his legitimate calling and 70 pro-
tect every man in his right ~ work
against interference or mo.eStntion from,
otb-is. ard 10 see that no man was TO-
creed 70 work against his VII. I hav.
er1fv0r'd TO carry ont these lnstruc
ton. Hnd have no knowledgr of any msn,
having been compelled 20 work nsalnsfa
MS VIII for one single moment. And had
such been tho case | would have known
1t. b~cause the miners were time and
AGAIN notified that ;se military wer, sent
hcr' fJr tnelr protection. and Nhepeyet
they had any grievances they had onl,
70 report u - rae and | w0uli AMY
e / medv for H.
In reference 10 the enforcement Of mill
tary rule tere 1 emphaticaliv state that
, d, VS. necessary measure in orlor ~
protect tn lives Of the citizens and IRE.
vent The Destruction OF property from =
lawless mob J WIS ordered to 10 - hy
he Sheriff % N county. with the an
proysl 81 the Mayor OF The town. I wa
/ 'rescn' fby rf0uesD az the ~ e;iug OF 'he
to1rl OF Tr'Ge Of Pocahontas when they
objected to tn occupation ~ the town hy
me military. II was at my request that
they formulated the series Of resolutions
when | forwarded - tie Governo- with
my enforcement Thr Governor bavlnr
approved my course, continued 10 en-
FORCE military rule as long - I'm my
JUDGMENT tn condition OF affairs here
required II. lfrye number % those
same men who pirtic pated in the meet
Ing Of The Board Of Trade and were go
we're In tDelr dcnuncistion o. The c~s,.se
'n.sus ~ me, With the approval Of the
9 vernon. Afterwards camo to ~" i-li.
vid1'lly ana ac*nevlcised that tAsy
could zoe the wisdom OF the STEPS tsker,
to maintain The i;fv. aad sssured me thu.