Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1898-10-12
SOLDIERS RIOT.
They Sought to Lynch Provost
Guard Alvin Kitchen at
Lexington, KY.
he HAD KILLED A NEW YORK SOL DER.
Fifty Shots We're Fired and Guns Used
AS Clubs and Knives Flashed
by Drunken Soldiers.
Train Was Captured by the Rioters and
Troops Were Hurriedly Called TO Eject
the Men From the Cars-Many
Injured During the Fight

LEXINGTON, Ky. Oct. 1l.-Riot was
rampant in the camps of the 18th New
York, lst Territorial and Sd Mississippi
regiments for two hours Monday
night A battle between guards and
officers on one side and riotous SOL
diers ragged for nearly an hour at Camp
Hamilton depot, where 500 men
from the regiments mentioned, drunk,
| drinking and armed with knives,
pistols and clubs, had captured Lex
ington IL Eastern train with the ex-
| pressed intention of coming to Lex
| ington and preci pitating battle with
the provost guard in retaliation for
the killing of Private Henry Nygen,
Company B, 18th New York, by Pro-
vost Guard Alvin Kitchen, sunday
night. and, if possible, take Kitchen
from the county Jail and lynch him.
When it became generally known in
Camp Hamilton Monday morning that
Nygen had been killed, the privates of
the three regiments mentioned became
very wrathy. They are not friendly
to the provost guard, and especially
they do OF like the Kentuckians.
The 18th New Workers kept up their
mutinous talk until they had inter-
ested many of the tough element in
the territorial and Mississippi regi-
ments in "a movement for revenge.
1t was decided that they would go
into the city on the o'clock train, and
they began assembling at the depot at
6:3O, drunk and disorderly Dispatcher
Stevens at the L. E. depot learned of
the inter ntion of the mob just as they
boarded the train. He wired the Lex
ington depot, and Dispatcher Tomp-
kins informed Capt Gaines, provost
marshal, who ordered that the train be
held, and at once tele ephoned to Gen.
Wiley, in command of the division in
the absence of Gen. Sanger.
Gen. Wiley communicated with Col
Leonard, of the 18th New York, who,
with his officers and guard of about
200 men. were hurried to the depot,
and gave the order to the men to leave
the train, from which the engine had
been uncoupled and run up the road.
They refused. Col. Leonard gave the
command to his guards to club
their guns and drive the rascals out
of the coaches" Leading his officers
and guards, he rushed into the train
and the battle began, the rioters fight
ing like demons with clubs and knives
against the guards, until so or more of
them, welted over the head and in the
face with rifles and revolvers, fell un-
conscious or ran bleeding from the
train to renew the fight on the depo.
platform.
By this time Gen. Wiley had sound
ed the long roll and came with re-en-
forcements to drive the men back to
their regiments. In the cars and on
the platform blood was plentiful
When the men were finally put back
into the regiment of the 18th New
York they made break for the pike,
but were repulsed by a heavy guard
from the Sd kentucky, iGoth Indiana
and Sth Massachusetts.
BY o'clock all was quiet again. But
Camp Hamilton is being heavily guard
ed. Not man with or without pass
can pass the lines. The Sth Massa-
chusetts had out dcploy for two miles
across the country. The lGOth Indiana
stands under arms at headquarters and
three companies of the Sd Kentucky
have come into Lexington to strengthen
the provost guard. Forty men are
guarding the Jail. Every provost
guard has four rounds of ammunition.
1t is not known positively whether
any were killed. About fifty shots
were fred. The surgeons are busy
patching up the wounded. The Off
GERS refuse to give out any informa-
ton concerning the condition of the
men Monday night.
Officers say Kitchen will unques-
tion ably get death sentence. When
he shot Nygren he was under orders
not even to have his gun loaded. 1t is
said Col Leonard, of the 18th New
York, was the principal promoter of
the mob, The matter will be thor
oughly investigated Tuesday.