The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22
President Roosevelt's Report

80 ''Vhf NiiANh VIII '9Nl'itiiiA INStll.
President Rooseyelt's Report
In his report President Roosevelt said:
The attack was made near midnight
ON August 13. The following facts as to
this attack are made clear by Major
Rlacksom's s investigation and have not
been, and, in my judgment, cannot be
successfully controverted. From nine to
20 or 20 of the colored soldiers took part
in the attack. They leaped over the walls
from the barracks and hurried through
the town. They shot 1t Whomever they
saw moving and they shot into houses
where they saw lights. In some of these
houses there were women and children,
as the would-be murderers must have
known. In one house il which there were
two women and five children some 10
shots went through at d height of about
four and one-half feet above the floor,
one putting out the lamp upon the table.
The lieutenant of police Of the town heard
the firing and rode toward it.. He met
the raiders who, rs he stated, were about
10 coored soldiers. The instantly start
ed 'iring upon him. lie turned and rode
off and they continued firing upon him
until they had killed his horse. They shot
him ia the right arm tit was afterward
amputated above the elbow. A number
of shots were also fired at two other po-
licemen. The raiders fired several times
into a hotel, some OF the shots being
aimed at a guest sitting by a window
They shot into a saloon, killing the bar
tender and wounding another man. At the
same time other raiders shot into an
ther house i'm which women and chill
dren We're sleeping, two of the shots
going through the mosquito bar over the
bed In which the mistress of the house
and her two children were lying Several
other houses were struck by bullets. 1t
was at night and the streets of the town
are poorly lighted, so that none of the
individual raiders were recognized; but
the evidence OF many witnesses of all
classes was conclusive to the effect that
the raiders were negro soldiers. .
In short, the evidence proves conclu-
sively that a number Of the soldiers i'll a
deliberate concerted attack as cold blood
ed as it was cowardly; the purpose being
to terrorize the community. and to kill
or injure men, women and children in
their homes and Eeds or on the streets,
end this at an hour of the night When
concerted or effective resistance or de-
fense was out of the question, and when
detection by identification of the Grim
mails IN the United States uniform was
well nigh impossible. So much for the
original crime. A blae'zer never stained
the annals of our army. It has been sup
plemented by another only less black, in
he shape of a successful conspiracy of
silence for the purpose of shielding those
who took part in the original conspiracy
of murder. These soldiers were not
schoolboys on a frolic. They were full
grown men. in the uniform of the Unit
ed States army, armed with deadly weap-
ons, sworn to uphold the laws of the
United States. and under every obligation
| of oath ana honor, not merely to refrain
from crminality but with the sturdiest
Iigor to hunt down criminality; and the
crime they committed OF connived at was
murder. They perverted the power put
into their hands 20 sustain the law into
the most deadly violation of the law. The
| noncommissioned officers are primarily
responsible for the discipline and good
| conduct of the men. they are appointed
\ Ia their positions for the very purpose
of this discipline and good conduct and
| e detecting and securing the punish
! ment of every enlisted man who does
what is wrong. Yet some of the noncom-
| missioned officers and many of the men
| OF the three companies in question have
| banded together in a conspiracy to pro-
| tect the assassins and Would-be assassns
who have disgraced their uniform by the
! conduct above related. Many of these
noncommissioned officers and men must
| have known, and all Of them may have
| known circumstances which would have
! in the murderous assault. They have stol-
| idly and as one man broken their oaths
, of enlistment and refused to help dis
\ cover the criminals
by my direction every effort wai
made to persuade those innocent of mur-
der among them to separate themselve.
| from the guilty by helping bring III,
criminals to justice. They We're warnes
that if they did not take advantage o
the offer they would all be discnarse,
| from the service and forbidden again t,
| enter the employ of the government
they refused to profit by the warning
/ accordingly had them discharged from
the army. If any organization of troop
in the service. white or black, is guilty .
similar conduct i'm the future I shall fol
| low precisely the same course. Unde
| no circumstances will ! consent to keel
| in the service bodies of men whom III,
circumstances show to be a menace t,
the country"