Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-08-14

in the night running away. He asked VINO
be was. and was told that he was mem
Der OF Company A. of the Third. lot OF
boys from the Virginia regiment ran
around the stand after the negro. They
were shouting and making great noise.
He saw nothing further until they return
ed. He thought about seventy-flve or 100
men were in the crowd Of yirgnians- He
heard cries of Lynch him.! Hang him.
In subsequent conversation with the sol
diers witness asked whether they caught
the negro, and IL seemed to be matter
OF doubt. From the expressions he heard
the intention Of the men was to Kill the
teamster. He believed they would have
done so IL they could have caught him.
He saw no officers attempting to stop the
crowd. The noises did not continue Tor
more than five minutes.
Lieutenant James Smith, of the First
Connecticut. in detailing the circum-
stances OF Monday nisnt, said he was on
his way TO his camp when he heard the
long roll-call. He stopped near the Young
Men Christian Associations tent and saw
portion OF his command come over. to-
gether with two field officers. There wern
many men about, variousy employed. Hl3
| attention was attracted by considerable
amount of confusion. He was told there
| had been a disturbance near the division
| hospital. The conduct Of the crowd was
| not disorderly, though the men seemed 10
| be very much excited Asked whether he
saw or heard any act of characterization.
| he said his answer would depend upon
whether any orders had been given. The
men were congregated in the roadway and
running about. Colonel Burdett and Lieu
| tenant-C Colonel Hammond were the only
| two officers he saw. He did not see the
| General or any other mounted officers. He
saw no act on the part of the men that
| was insubordnate. The conduct of the
Virginia men was hardly such as he was
accustomed TO observe in the camps OF
| the troops. Witness stood for about ten
minutes near the Young Mems Christian
| Associations tent. He left because of the
storm, and continued on his way to his
quarters.
Replying to a question from the Court.
he said the Connecticut regiment was in
| military formation. The long roll-cal
was sounded in the Virginia lines. II
would take, he thought, about five min
utes to form and march the Connec-
| ticut regiment from their quarters 10
| the Virginia lines. The conduct of the
| Virginians was unusual, in that they
l stood out of their tents in the pouring
| rain. The long roll-call would be cacu-
| lated to bring the men out of their tents
| into the street. The long roll, he SAID
| was q call to arms and nothing should
| have prevented a man from being IN ms
company street. The long roll, ne
| thought, had not been completed when ne
saw the men standing about.
| PRIVATE GORDON'S TESTIMONY.
Private l.. w. Gordon, Company X,
| Third Virginia, was introduced as a wit
ness. He was on guard duty last Mon
day night, on Post II. After he had been
on duty some time after o'clock some
| hospital students went past MS posi-.
| They went back later. with some men
following them. The witness stopped the
men, who were coming from the
| Third Virginia. Some of them
| crossed his post There were about
| fifty men in ALL His orders were
not to allow any Virginians TO pass.
He tried to stop all who approached his
post. He saw nothing unusual In the
| conduct Of the men until they returned
| They went in the direction of the hos
pital camp They returned in about ten
minutes and passed his post In an orderly
| manner He saw United states ofhcers
with the men and gathered no knowledge
of their intention Afterward he saw
mounted men pass along the road. He
heard no disturbance. His post covered
fifty yards.
Private NJ. w. Gill, of Company NJ was
the next witness He was at the fruit
stand on the night of the disturbance.
He heard the noise in the hospital
grounds and went to see what was the
cause. He saw a crowd running across
the field. All he could hear was cries
| of Catch him. Witness followed the
crowd to the bushes before he learned the
object of their chase. He was then told
that the crowd was trying TO catch a
negro who had cut a hospital boy. He
followed with the men for about half a
mile He was lost in the grounds, but
followed q fence and overlook five of his
comrades. They were stopped by Cen
eral Butler on the road. The commander
asked what they were doing over there,
and witness told him. General Butler
asked whether they did not know it was
against rules to be in the hospital field
and witness replied they did not. He
did not understand from the cries of the
men that any violence was intended to
the negro. He saw no other crowd in
the hospital field. The men OF the regi-
ment were all running through the woods
He did not see that any especial effort
was being made TO catch the negro
Cross-examined, witness said he was
led into the hospital-field by curiosity and
joined in the chase without knowing why
they were running General Butler had
one or two officers with him when he
halted witness and his companions.
Asked TO state what took place when
witness met General Butler, he replied.
General Butler first asked where we
were from. / spoke up and said from
Virginia. Another said the same thing.
and another said he was from Connecti-
cut. General Butler asked what we were
doing out of our lines. | said we had fol-
lowed the crowd TO see what the excite
ment was about General Butler said he
was getting damned tired of that sort of
| foolishness. The Virginia Regiment gave
him more trouble than any regiment he
! had, and he would put stop 10 ii right
away, adding, IF there were not enough
men in that regiment to stop IL, he would
; send some from other regiments to stop
IT," Witness did not hear any one speak
disrespectfully to General Butler He did
not say to General Butler that there were
400 or 800 men IN the chase. He thought II
best to keep quiet. He went straight TO
his tent, but he neither saw nor heard
! | anything disorderly. The camp was very
quiet In the seventy-five or one hundred
men that witness saw running into the
: hospita-field he could not tell whether
or not they were all Virginians
Witness was questioned by the Court
as follows Were the remarks Of Gene
raj Butler TO which you testified about
; the Third Virginia, addressed to you per-
sonally, to all your party, or to his Off
cers?"
Witness answered: I'VE were all stand
ing there when he passed the remarks
He seemed TO say it to all of us. but to
no one i'm particular"