Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1919-09-06
,.,l,nDAl. September G, 1919

Mon, THAT .S'rOltNIED JAIL GETS
A.l,NlA UN SIOlttID Mitiot\rA
RELEASES WHITE Nj MEN ~
Crowd Then Begins Attack On Ne
groes, Who Arm For Defense.
Regular Army Officer Assigned to
tennessee National Guard Among
Dead.
. Knoxville, Tenn, Aug. 31.-After u
might, of rioting and fighting ia the
streets between Negroes, whites ana
soldiers Of the Fourth Infantry Regl
mcnt of the Tennessee National
Guard the militia succeeded i'll break
ing I'D mobs OF both races although
as the day wore Oh incipient rioting
continued in various sections OF the
city.
The police and military authorities
estimate that seven persons have been
killed during the trouble, while the
list of wounded is placed betwwcen
twenty and thirty Rioting continu--
ed this afternoon in which one white
man and two Negroes were wounuco
The trouble followed an attack Oh
the county jail last night by, mob
of white men bent on obtaining Mac
rico Mayes, Negro charged with
murder OF Mis-. BERTHE Lindsay III
her home early Saturday morning.
During tho day, however, the Negro
had been taken to Chattanooga for
safe keeping. But the mob declined
to take the word Of Jail officials and
shot out tho windows and battered
down the doors to obtain entrance
sixteen prisoners, some Of them con
Victed murderers, escaping during
tho excitement. In its attack on the
Jail the mob came upon O largo guam
tity of confiscated liquor and quickly
emptied the casks and cases.
y I
DRINK LEADS TO RIOTING.
A portion Of tho Fourth National
Guard Regiment was encamped near
Knoxville and the soldiers were sent
into the city by Governor Roberts ut
the request of the municipal authori
ties. The mob was driven away from
the vicinity of the Jail and then in
famed by the whiskey that had been
seized the mob spread quickly to the
outlying parts Of the city. Rioting be
gan almost Mt once and increased in
violence after midnight. Bands of
armed Negroes appeared on the streets
shooting Mt every white man and
white woman they saw. The Negroes
broke into hardware stores and pawn
shops and obtained weapons and with
in few hours after the attack on
tho Jail several battles had occurred
and several persons had been killed
and wounded The first known victim
was Jim Henson, Negro who was
shot when no tried to lead a gang of
armed Negroes in an attack upon sew
eral white men.
The soldiers tried to quell the dis
turbance without using their rifles,
but SO many armed Negroes appeared
on the streets that the troops brought
up machine guns. Ono gun was placed
at the alloy OF the north side Of Vine
street near State street an another
was placed In line across the street.
Squads Of troops were sent up the
various streets and other attachments
were placed in advantageous places.
MILITIA OPENS FIRE.
The machine guns were hardly in
positions before a large gang Of Ne
groes appeared in Central street all
of them armed with rifles and revolv-
ers. The blacks refused to halt and
the troops opened up on them with
rifles and machine guns, Several Ne
groes were killed by the fire and 9th
ers wounded, were seen crawling in
to alleys.
During the fighting at this point
Lieut.. James w. Payne Of the United
States Army, an instructor assigned
to the National Guard, and Private
Henderson Of the Fourth Regiment
were killed. They were stationed
across the street from one Of the ma
chine guns and are believed to have
been killed by the first burst Of fire
before the gun had been accurately
trained upon the advancing Negroes.
This was the last fight Of any con
siderable proportions, although the
rioting continued throughout the
night and several other Negroes and
whites were killed. Several had been
wounded in the fighting at the Jail
between the mob and deputy sherifrs
nut they were taken away by their
friends before their identity could be
learned.
MANY Of the militiamen were caught
by mobs Of Negroes before thew
could use their rifles and we're bad
ly bcaton, In many sections of tho
city windows were shot out and doors
battered down by mobs of both
blacks and whites hunting for each
other.
Mrs. Lindsey whose murder caused
the trouble was killed as che was try
ing TO leap from a window in her
bedroom after a Negro had entered
the house and tried to attack her.
Maycs had been arrested several
days previous for proving about q