The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-10-06

toned the drum-head court martial which condemned and
executed mittianen who were prisoners after the fighting
or firing had ceased.
The last man selected to be shot was a notorious thief
by the name of Pomp Curry whom l had known from boy
hood. He had furnished the names of all whom he reco-''
nized to District Attorney Stone and this evidence caused
warrants to be issued against practically all the members
of the Sweetwater Sabre club and a few others who were
not members. Many active participants in the riot were,
never found out or indicted. Others who were not in
Hamburg at all were among the accused. We were,
charged with murder and conspiracy to murder, and the
sheriff of Aiken county was ordered to make the arrests.
Like a wise and prudent man he did not attempt to exc,
cute the warrants, but communicated with Col. Butler,
our captain, and by common understanding all ofthe men
thus charged assembled at Lower Cherokee Pond, a place
near Col. Buffers home, and started for Aiken. The pro-
cession was led by the sheriff in a buggy, followed by the
so-called prisoners, armed, tothe teeth, and accompanied
by baggage wagons with supplies for horses and men,
cooks and a full camping outfit except tents. Rev. Will
liam Shaw, who owned a plantation two miles west of
Aiken, the dwelling house on which was unoccupied, had
kindly offered it for our use. We reached this place some
time before shutdown and took up our quarters for the
night. Court was to convene two days later andwe were
thus early on the groued in order to give the lawyers who
who had our case in hand opportunity to draw up the pa
pers and prepare for obtaining bail if we were to be allow
ed to return home. Gen. Butler, who was under indict-
ment, Hon. George Croft, Hon. D. S. Henderson of the
Aiken bar and Maj. William T. Gary were acting as our
attorneys.
Among those whose interest had induced them to-
accompany US was my brother, Hon. George D. Tillman,
who had been nominated as. a candidate for congress in
our congressional district. He had been in correspondence
with General, afterwards Senator Z. George, of Miss
issippi, the man whose constructive craftsmanship in de-
- f-.o-J e1-tior, ;1o hy +haI
elimination of the negro vote will cause his name to shine
for all time as a great constitutional lawyer and benefactor
Of the south, 1t was under him that Mississippi led off
in DISTINGUISHING the negro and practically every southern
state has followed suit. Mississippi had thrown off the
carpet bag yoke two years before that and Gen. George
advised my brother to have the South Carolinians impress
the negroes both as to our strength and the purpose Of
he whites by using a spectacular uniform and urged the
parade OF long professions of armed white men through
the country.
The Hamburg riot had caused such a furore through
out the north and the republican press Of that section was
waving the bloody shirt with such frantic energy that Mr..
Tnlman suggested to Col. Butler that we though assem-
bled as prisoners should wave the bloody shirt in reality as
a token Of defiance. The idea was seized upon by all OF
US and Luther Ransom and myself were appointed a COM
mittee to visit Aiken, confer with the democratic authori
ties, and see if we could induce them to help US in
securing shirts to be donned as uniforms. Col. George
w. Croft, then county chairman, entered into the scheme
with great zeal, and gave us an order for the necessary
yellow homespun. Having obtained this, Ransom, who
knew nearly all Of the ladies of Aiken, accompanied me
in nv buggy and we distributed the bolts of cloth among
the ladies with the request that they make us forty home
spun shirts just as soon as possible. AS | remember it,
the cloth was distributed one afternoon and the next
morning we drove into town from our camp and gathered
up the garments, obtaining a good supply of t%urpentine,
oil, and Venetian red at the same time. had telegraPhed
to a friend in Augusta, Tom Henry, to send me without
fail two negro paper masks or %doughfaces and a kinky
chignon. | had ordered a carpenter to make a large flag
staff in the shape of a cross and | got one of the ladies to
make an enormous shirt, bigger than Goliath of Gath
would have worn. This shirt was turned into a flag with
the arms outstretched over the cross pieces. The negro
faces were tackled to the top back to back so as to make a
grinning negro head from either side and the chignon was
nailed on top of these.
Satan's appeal to the fallen angels: awake, arise
or be forever fallen, " had been emblazoned in large black
letters on one side and my brother suggested the motto
for the other side:
None but the guilty need fear"
The shirt was made bloody with the marks of bullet
wounds in red, and when the work OF making the unique
banner was completed, Ransom and others making sug-
gestions, it was surely a most CHASTITY object.
The yellow homespun shirts had been put on and
every wearer stained his shirt with artificial blood accord