The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-11-28
NEGRO TROOPS
Who Were Dismissed Entered a
Compact to Preserve Secrecy,
AND IN CONSPIRACY.
Great Pressure Brought to Bear to Have
q Rehearing ia the Case. War
Department Issues Statement
10 Reference to the Dis.
missA.

missaI.
The war department issued the fol
lowing statement Thursday concern
ing the negro troops ordered dismissed
at Fort Rano:
In the matter of the order dis
charging the enlisted men OF three
companies Of the Twenty fifth infan
}.y Issued by the president application
was presented to the secretary Of va,
by a number Of persons Of standing
afk!pg z 1ehesring by the president
On the ground On which the actor
was taken. The secretary telegraph
I'd the president CT the application anc
delayed the procsedin . Of the dis
charge until the president could Incl
rate bis wishes. The secretary was
meantime called out of town. No an
swer was received from the president
The secretary on his return did no;
feel Justified in further delaying ths
execution Of the OF Ier cf discharge
especially In view OF the TACT that the
secretary then learned that the presi
dent hsd fully and exhaustiYely con.
s!dered the argument against the Or
der, OF the persons who now applied
for rebsaring. Accordingly, the sec
ratary directed that the proceedings
sor discharge be continued without
delay"
The investigation OF the conduct OF
negro Troops Of com mpanles B. O. anc
D, Twenty. fifth infantry, as reported
upon by Maj. 8locksom, insps cto- gen
erals department., Lieut. Col. Lover
ing, Fourth infantry, acting inspec
tor general, and Brig Gen Caring
ton, inspector general Of the arm;
was made public at the 7'ar depart
ment Wednesday In voluns envitle
The ARRAY a. BrownsvilIe, Te1. F"
Nsj Blccksom declares ttat the af
tair was preconcerted AID both be an
Gen. Darlington exonerate1 the cfi
Gers from blame. Gsn. Gsrlinetor
ssysit was evident from the first ths:
ahe three companies had entered into
6 compact to give no information
about the affair. Secretary Taft ssit
Wednesday that no steps will be taken
to make q further Investigation Of tie
conduct Of tho officers.
In his summary Of the reports naa1
by the other cfcers and Of bic own ct,
forts to discover the guilty soldiers,
Brig. Gen. Darlington declares tina,
every means Of getting evidence COD.
earning the shsoting vas exhausted.
All the men Of the three cGmpanie.
were talked With individually On dit
ferent occasions, be says, and the dire
consequence Of their failure TO give uP
the guilty soldiers were pointed ou'
All the soldiers avoided questions and
even refused to discuss the events at
Brownsville, which were known tt
nave enraged the negroes before the
ri,t Tee secretive nature OF to race
where crimes are charged to members
Of their color, is veil known"
GEN eAR1INeToN's REPORT.
Gen. Darlington says: Under such
CIRCUMSTANCES self protection or self,
interest ls the only lever by which the
,asket Of their minds can be pried
open Acting upon this principle, the
aistory and record Of the regiment to
which tne7 belong, the part played by
these old soldiers IN this record. were
pointed out and enlarged upon. The
odiun "a Of disgrace to the battalion and
its individual members by this crime
we're indicated. The future eject upon
the battalion as a whole Was referred
to; and, finally, the concern OF the
Unised States in the matter, bis de-.
sire and she disire OF the war depart
neut to ssperate the innocent from
the guilty we're explained, but With
out effect" Continuing Gen. CARING
on's report SAYS:
mo absolutely accurate 7efihcs'
tion Of the rifss and the men OF tbs
battalion was made on the night OF
AUG. l5 in tims to account 1or the RI
| f,s and men at the beginning OF the
driug or Immediately on Its conclu
,ion. The failure is explained as fol-
lows: The commanding officer and his
associates, when the alarn was SOUND.
ed and they hsa1d the firing assumed
that it came from the city OF Browns
villc and that the guns Bsre In the
hands Of ctviliare; in other words that
the garrison was being fred into fron
the outside c villains. 1t does not ap
pear to have occurred to any OF them
that certain enlisted men OF the T"sn
ty.ftth infantry had possession o.
their arms and were onmittiDg the
crime OF firing into the houses ana
upon the c.tIzsns Of Brownsville, until
the mayor Of the city came to the gar.
rtson and informed the commanding
officer, Maj Penross, that one mar
had been killed and another wounded
by his soldiers
HAJ sLocEsoN's REPORT
Maj. Blocksom, in his report, re.
commended that II satisfactory eVi
dence concerning the identity OF Che
criminals who shot up" Brownsville.
did not come from members OF the
battalion all enlisted men OF the three
COMPARES present on the night OF
Aug. l3 be- discharged from service
and debarred from reenlistmens In the
army, navy OF marine corps. Mai.
Blockson. regards 1t particularly un
fortunate for the reputation OF the
battalion that the officers did not dis.
cover a single clue to the terrible
ureconcerted crime" In the iDvestiga'
tton that was conducted bV the com
manders of tho colored force.
Brig. Gan. McCaskey, commanding
1.-THE department. Of Texas, In a dis
;pstch to the wsr departments explains
the discharge of rs members OF the
Twenty. fifth infantry on Monoay
after Secretary Taft had ordered tns
temporary suspension OF the solaleis ,s
II n