Race Issue In Greene

Title

Source Type

Newspaper

Publisher

Jacksonville Republican

Publication Place

Jacksonville, AL

Publication Date

September 19, 1874

Transcript

A NUMBER OF NEGROES AND WHITES KILLED. A number of negroes, instigated by the teachings of Charley Hays, armed themselves and took possession of the highway, along with the rations for the overflowed district on the Tombigbee, were to pass, in going from Demopolis, and stopped their transit. About two hundred of these scoundrels, armed with guns, have been drilling and parading. A physician going to see a patient passed them while drilling and asked them what it meant. The leaders of the crowd told him that negro blood had been shed and that they intended to have white blood. The physician returned to his home and informed the citizens of Forkland in Green Co. of what he had heard and seen. Two gentlemen went out to see the negroes and endeavored to persuade them to disperse and inform them that no negro had been killed and that their was no reason for trouble. These gentlemen, although unarmed, were not listened to, were fired upon and one of them fatally wounded. A posse of citizens under a special Deputy Sheriff went out and endeavored to arrest the rioters by peaceful means but nothing would do but a fight. It was given them and the result was the capture of a majority, the killing off several and and the route of the balance of the party. The exact casualties of the whites are unknown. A later dispatch savs: Information from a reliable source has just reached Demopolis that this evening 'the negroes reassembled and are now in force. It is furthermore stated that they have solemnly sworn that no white man shall pass the road. The affair has created intense excitement and further trouble is apprehended. A still later dispatch says: The negroes are dispersed, but it is not known how many were killed. Mr. Robertson is said to be mortally wounded and Thus Little severely and three other white men badly wounded. Nine negroes were captured. Three of them fled to this place and were arrested by the city marshall. The conduct of the negros was reprehensible in the extreme and without the least justification.

Sources for

063-18740909-001