Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1914-12-23
HAMBURG RIOT.
Continued from First Page }

street towards the armory, and
wheeling into cross street we ap-
preached the river and halted in
the street occupied by the trestle of
the G. G.. and A. railroad, now the
Southern railway. The Sibley build
ing was on the southwest corner of
the square above. We dismounted
in regular cavalry fashion and link
ed brides. All of the dlsengaged
men lined up. Thenthe order came.
All men having carbines or rifles
slep FIVE PAGES to the front" Only
five responded. ltwas now seen how
great mistake had been made in
ordering the rifles left at home. The
purpose of that order is easy to un-
.derstand. We did not wish to ap,
pear that we had come to Hamburg
with malice dforethought, but mere
ly as spectators at the Getzen and
Butler trial. Events had shaped
themselves so that the purpose Of
com pelling the surrender of the
arms by tie negroes once forward
there was no time to make new
preparations. Sixty white men (the
others were detailed to take care of
the horses were aboutto attack 100
negroes who were armed with the
most approved army rifles, had
plenty Of ammunition, and were
fortified, SO to speak, in a brick
fort, while the whites had only shot
guns and pistols. But the difference
in ,he blood and the color of the
skin far more than made up the
odds in the armament. The five men
to whom the duty was assigned of
opening the first attack were Henry
Getzen, Dunlap Phinney, McKie
Meriwether, Thomas Settles and
VIM. Butler.
Il will always remember with
sadness an incident which took
place just at this time. Young Nc
Kie Meriwether belonged to the
sabre club, but his father did not.
The old man, Joseph Meriwether,
it will be embered was the mana
ger at Shaw's Mill two years before,
who had manipulated that box and
changed the negro majority into a
white majority. He had heard Of
the trial and had brought his Win.
chester rifle with him. When the
elder Meriwether joined the squad
which was to take position behind
the abutment of the railroad bridge
diagonally in front of the Sibley
building and some seventy-fve yards
away, his son, very handsome
young man about 25 years of age,
came running towards him and un.
buckling the pistol belt as be ran
he handed the two pistols to his ia:
Their and said, $ Here, papa, take
these and let me have the rife..' The
exchange was made and the elder
man took his place in the ranks
whilelthe younger, along with the
other four, stepped off at lively
pace towards the end of the bridge.
They marched in full view of the
negroes who could see them from
The windows of the Sibley building.
The rest of the men were deployed
on the other two sides of the square,
being oil the north and east sides of
the Sibley building which had no
windows on those sides. In fact it
had no windows at all except on
The front towards the river. AS [
belonged to the first set of fours, |
was detailed along with Pierce But
ler and James McKie and one other
whose name l forget, and placed in
position at the northwest corner Of
the square directly in the rear of
the Sibley building. The square, l
will state, was small one with
sides probably seventy-fve yards
long. The entrance to the second
story of the Sibley building where
the negroes were waiting was by a
pair OF steps running up on the out
side from Main street to a landing
on the north side.
The sun was just setting when
orders were given to the squad at
the bridge abutment to begin firing
on the building. The other whites
were stationed up and down the
sidewalks on the northern and east
ern sides of the square, while the
western side was left unguarded. As
both races were using breach-load-
ing guns, Notwithstanding only five
hlte men were doing any shooting,
the fusiliade Of shots was very rap
id. The armory had five windows
and the NEGROES were firing from