The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1912-12-27

Having been requested to write my
recollections of the days when the
Wallace house, of which | was a men,
Der, took its part in the struggles for
the restoration of white supremacy in
government, | will set down my ex-
periences, which include in large
measure those of my colleagues.
The bloody war between the
States, known as the War of Seces-
sion, in which South Carolina lost a
large proportion of her male popula-
ton, and in which the South was said
to have worn herself out in whipping
her opponents, was practically ended
by the surrender of Lee in Virginia,
and Johnston in North Carolina, in
April, 1865, but it left its impress be-
hind. Certainly so in South Caro-
lima, for many of her towns were gar
risoned by United States soldiers af-
ter the surrender, and were for long
time under military government. And
when these garrisons were removed,
our home government was disorgan-
lied and demoralized, and the camp
followers of the United States army,
adventurers from Northern States,
and unworthy citizens of our own
tate, took possession of it, and we
had a decade of trying years follow
ing, with Scott, Chamberlain, Moses
and others leading the governmental
off Orr cbarifc collocto,c t,.io
justices and other officers, especially
in the lower sections of our State,
were not our own people, but adven-
turerS from other States, or the igno-
rant and vicious from our own State
Our legislative halls were occupied by
adventurers, foreign to us, and ignor-
ant negroes who had been beguiled by
adventurers. This status of affairs
was so bad that some of our people
said that it was worse than in war
times. |, however, do not agree with
them in that, and | saw both, for
was a Confederate soldier and was
present at the beginning of hostili-
ties, when Fort Sumter was beseiged
and captured, and four years after
wards, was paroled at Greensboro,
North Carolina, when Johnston sur
rendered and the war ended.
The people of South Carolina, dur
ing this decade, at the ballot box, at
various elections, endeavored to get
peaceable possession of the govern
ment, but without success until they
made the one supreme effort of No
vember 7, 1876, of which the Wallace
house was a resultant, like as the
want of success in our military eff
forts resulted in the condition of af-
fairs between 1865 and 1876.
How They Worked.
1t was the practice among the white
Democratic citizens to assemble as
clubs every two years and elect dele
gates to the county political conven-
tions, which county conventions chose
nominees to run for the legislature
and for the various county offices and
elected delegates to the State political
convention.
At the organization Of my club in
1876, l was chosen by my club and
my name sent up with the request
that it be placed on the ticket to be
voted for as member of the legisla-
ture. This county convention con-
firmed the action of my club. j. ].
Woodward, L. M. Asbill and C. E.
Sawyer and were made nominees of
the Democratic party of Aiken county
for the legislature, and were thereby
pitted against the radical candidates
for the election to be held November
7, 1876, when the Democrats were
elected.
During the third week of Novem-
ber, 1876, a courier from the chair
man of the Democratic party of Aiken
county came to my house, which was
% miles from the county seat, and
notified me that would be expected
to appear at the capital of the State
Saturday, November 25. (The legis
lature to which had been elected was
to meet on the following Tuesday,.
Accordingly I met the other members
elected to the house of representatives
at the Carolina hall in Columbia on
the evening Of Saturday, November,
25, and we then and there chose our
officers: w. H. Wallace, speaker;
John T. Sloan, clerk; w. B. Williams,
reading clerk; and John d. Browne,
sergeant-at-arms. We there agreed to
meet in the hall of the house of rep
resentatives Monday afternoon (the
27th), the day just preceding the
day for the assembling Of the legis-
lature. In accord with this agree