A VOICE FROMSouth CarolinaTwelve Chapters Before Hampton and Two
Chapters after Hampton |
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A VOICE FROMSouth CarolinaTwelve Chapters Before Hampton and Two
Chapters after Hampton |
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| CHAPTER FOURTH - Reconstruction
Continued, Laurens county The year 1870 will long be remembered by the citizens of Laurens County. Here it was doubtful how the contest between the Democratic or "Reform" party and the Radicals would result in the then approaching elections for State officers. The Democrats had carried the county two years before, but the Radicals claimed that they had not been fully organized at that time, and that the colored! votes, in fact, outnumbered the whites. It, therefore, presented a fair field for the introduction and manipulation of all their party contrivances, and the excitement soon became intense. It becomes necessary, at the very outset, to make the reader acquainted with the recognized leader of the Radical party, in this county, and at that time. And among the many humiliations to which we have been subjected under reconstruction, it is not the least to be forced, not only to notice, but to give prominence to such vile characters as Joe Crews, But, as he was the type of a large class, who really became the leaders in these, the Dark Ages in South Carolina, the reader must consent to a rather familiar acquaintance with him, in this local narrative. Before the war, he was a low "negro-trader," making his bread by trafficking in negroes, and with negroes. In their most debased condition their nature was congenial with his own, and he so fully understood and appreciated their peculiar characteristics, that he found no difficulty in becoming their recognized leader in their changed condition ; and in making more money out of them, and by means of their votes, than he ever did before the war. His availability was soon recognized in Columbia, and we shortly find him a "member of the Legislature," a "Commissioner of Elections,"a "military Aid " to the redoubtable Scott, a " Trial Justice," and a general dispenser of all the local offices within the gift of the Governor. In Columbia, he was generally distinguished as among the scavengers of the carpetbag government—always a ready tool to do their "dirty work,"—which office he found to be no sinecure. As leader of the party in Laurens,he was entrusted with full powers to organize the militia, and to conduct the campaign according to his own notions, which were known to be unscrupulous enough. He soon had his companies filled up—some six or seven hundred stand of improved Springfield rifles issued— with any amount of fixed ammunition with them. A complete programme of military barbecues was arranged for the summer, always to be attended, armed and equipped, as the (party) law directed. It was his harranguing at these barbecues that first fired the colored heart. Some of his speeches were listened to by respectable citizens, who testified in the public prints of the day, and over their own signatures, to his highly incendiary diatribes. Among very many other things, he advised the laborers, now that they had arms in their hands, to seize whatever of the crops they thought they ought to have, and if any fuss was made, they could easily burn them out, as matches were cheap. That they now had the power, and the white man must be taught to know his place. Under such teachings as these, it was not to be wondered aj, that companies of colored militia, in going to, and returning from these gatherings, with arms in their hands, should be insolent, and sometimes even violent towards their former owners. There were many instances of insults offered to ladies, while riding in their carriages over the public roads; and of indignities the most gross, perpetrated by them, on the premises of some obnoxious farmers. All this may have been foreseen, and probably was foreseen by these leaders ; but what cared they for law or peace, if they could only secure the votes ? What cared they for the restiveness and indignation of the white man, who, himself disarmed, was thus forced to witness the marching and counter-marching of his former slaves about his premises; these being assured too, that they could trample upon all law, with impunity? These leaders knew that there was no tribunal, State or Federal, to which he could appeal, with any hope of relief; and if he attempted to redress his own wrongs, this would be made to play directly into their own hands. These military annoyances, however, were only spasmodic, and there were intervals of relief. But the other nuisance of the "constabulary," was a constant running sore. These, too, were under the control of the omnivorous Joe, and were to be at his beck and call every hour of the day and night too. There were some half-dozen of them in and about his armory, on the court-house square, and were the lowest of the low. Representing many nationalities, they had been combed out of the purlieus of cities, where vice is a profession, and crime their education. Ostensibly the conservators of the peace, they were in fact, the instigators in all mischief-making, whether military or rowdy. Even these had their sub-agents, like themselves, on public pay, and known only to themselves. By these a constant espionage was kept up, embracing even the house-servants on their list, by whom all unguarded expressions around one's own fire-side, and in the sanctity of the domestic circle, were promptly reported to head-quarters, often with variations and exaggerations. Superadded to all these, and as a backbone to the whole infamous structure, a company of United States troops was stationed near the town, brought there, Joe said, by his influence at Washington. With all these means and appliances, and actuated by a deadly hate against his own race, who had, long since, refused him all social intercourse, or even recognition, Joe Crews kept the community in a constant state of excitement and irritation, which only required a spark to develop into a popular outbreak. The day of election, October 19th, 1870, was looked forward to with great apprehension. The armory was in a large vacant store, just in front of the court-house building, and in this were several hundred rifles, ready for use. At Crews' own house, some quarter of a mile distant, his barn had been converted into a temporary armory, ditches were dug on the inside along the four walls, and loop-holes cut very low, so that the besieged might stand in the ditch and fire, with the least exposure! He also had, as Commissioner of Elections, ordered all the boxes to be brought to town, and opened, one in each corner of the public square. Heretofore, they had been distributed over the county, at convenient distances for the voters, in the several precincts; but, for more reasons than one, he wanted them all together. One was, that the little game of repeating could very conveniently and safely be played, where it was next to impossible to distinguish his voters, either by names or features ; and another was, that, in case of an outbreak, it would be best to have his forces " well in hand." All the preparations were clearly known to both friend and foe, long before the day of election. Of course, the whites adopted some plan of counter-organization, for self-defence. They would have been less than men, if they had left their family-hearths, and their wives and children, exposed to all manner of violence and insult, without some scheme for mutual protection. This was done, in the first place, by purchasing arms. Several merchants of the village sent on orders for cases of Winchester rifles, which were opened and distributed in the broad light of day. In the next place, certain experienced and prudent citizens were designated to take command, and give all necessary orders, in case of actual collision. These were appointed by the Democratic Club, a party organization, at that time common all over the State. And, just here, the writer of these pages can assert, without fear of successful contradiction, that there never has been a Ku-Klux organization in the county of Laurens, either before, during, or since the riot of 1870. This fact was so notorious, that when certain citizens of this county were brought to trial in the United States Circuit Court, on a charge of "conspiracy and murder," no effort was made on the part of the prosecution to prove the existence of a single Ku-Klux Klan. They had an inexhaustible number of false witnesses, ready to establish any fact, on oath, for a consideration; but even Crews himself was ashamed of this lie. The election day at length came on. Early in the morning, the court-house square was literally covered with a perfect black sea of colored voters. The boxes were all opened, but for hours after the voting began, all access to any of them was physically impossible to any but the party. The managers were all Radicals, and the whites soon saw that all contest was hopeless. By thus giving them the field, the morning passed off quietly enough. In the afternoon, a runner brought the news, that the negroes were arming in Crews' premises. This was promptly announced to Col. Smith, the gentlemanly officer in command of the United States garrison, and he was soon seen wending his way to the scene of action, unaccompanied even by an orderly. Arriving there, he did see some twenty or thirty of them in line, with arms in their hands. In answer to his question, as to what they were after, with that tact and promptness at lying so characteristic of the race, in every condition, they said: " We only funnin; we got through votin, and thought we would have a little fun in drillin for a little while." The Colonel then peremptorily ordered them, if they had got through voting, to put those arms just where they had found them, and go directly home. With the same promptness with which they used to heed their owners, in days of yore, they quietly deposited the arms in the barn, and as quietly took the road from the village. With this little interlude, the day passed off with less confusion than usually attends a sales day. The Circuit Court, then in session, had adjourned over the day of election; the Female College also closed for the day, and some of the merchants had suspended business. Col. Smith, of the garrison, who had had marching orders for several days previous, remained at his post until the election was over. That very night, however, he struck his tents, and took up his line of march for Newberry. All parties believed now that all danger was over. The next day the Court resumed its sessions—Judge Ver-non presiding—the young ladies once more walked, fearlessly, through the streets in going to the college, and business everywhere was resumed—every one breathing more freely. A goodly number of negroes came in from the country to " receive their rewards," but by no means the crowd of the day before. The whites were also in greatly reduced numbers—not more present than usual on court weeks. Everything went on quietly and peacefully until eleven o'clock. There have been many conflicting statements as to the origin of the " Riot of the 20th October," but the following is the account of a respectable eye-witness, given, too, under the sanction of an oath. A citizen and one of the constabulary had a personal difficulty, which resulted in a fist-fight. This was near the armory, in and around which was quite a crowd of the leading negroes of the campaign. A friend of the citizen, pistol in hand, went up to the scene of the fight, to see fair play, as he said. Seeing that his friend had got the best of the fight, he was about to return his pistol to its case—under his coat, and at-tached to a belt behind—when it was accidentally discharged. A cry was immediately heard among the negroes, " they are firing upon us!" and, together, they all disappeared in the armory. Soon guns were seen protruding from the windows up stairs, in the direction of the public square, immediately in front; and a volley of some twenty guns was fired. There was quite a sprinkling of men on the square, and yet "nobody was hurt." This is easily accounted for. These bold militiamen thought their only agency was in "cocking the gun and pulling the trigger," and that the blood-thirsty bullet would itself seek its victim independently of all aim. The effect of the volley on the scattered crowd was startling enough. A hornet's nest suddenly turned over, could not have produced more flying to and fro, or more rage and venom among the assailed. Some ran for their arms—secreted near by, the day before, in case of ah emergency—shot-guns from the show-cases, were seized and loaded on the double-quick ; others with no arms at all but walking canes and brick-bats—all rushed madly for the front door and windows of the armory. These yielded readily to the furious onset of the whites, and similar openings in the rear opened as readily to the mad outset of the blacks. It was no fight at all; for as soon as these sable warriors saw the determined rush for their stronghold, they instantly dropped their sixteen-shooters on the floor, made a break for the back windows and doors, and this eye-witness avers that they made the quickest time on record down the declivity in the rear. It seems that some of our boys who had served from Bull Run to Appomatox could not resist the temptation for some sharp-shooting at a flying foe; but they declared that a black target, changing its level every second so amazingly, afforded them a poor chance to show their skill. There was only one struck fatally on the retreat, and he lingered for several days. Two others, shot in the building, made up all the casualties of this famous affair. It sounds rather tame, after the sensational articles published by telegraph and otherwise throughout the length and breadth of the Union, and with the imposing, captions of "Outrages in Laurens County," "War of Races Begun," "Rebellion still Rampant," etc., etc., to come down to the truth of history, and chronicle the simple tale. But the foregoing account is true; and it was merely an election row, growing out of an accidental street fight; and, that three lives were lost. The whole affair, from the firing of the pistol to the discharge of the last gun, did not occupy more than fifteen minutes. If the same row had occurred anywhere else outside of a Reconstructed State, it would not have excited any attention beyond the community immediately interested. The conflict, though "sharp" and "short" was equally decisive. The colored population had suddenly disappeared, and as effectually as though the earth had opened and swallowed man, woman and child of the race ; for none of them, of any age or of either sex, were seen on the streets for the rest of that day. Old Laurens could boast of one day, at least, under a white man's government. The arms stowed in the armory were now in the hands of the captors; and they were disposed to hold them, as there were flying rumors of "rallying in the country," and many other sensational items, so usual in times of great excitement. Armory No. 2, at the barn, was still intact. In case of a surprise from the country, this post would afford much aid and comfort to an attacking force; but everything had become so quiet, that there was no excuse for forcible siezures. It was wisely advised and decided to carry out the balance of the day's campaign as law-abiding citizens. As before remarked, the Circuit Court was then in session, and at the firing of the guns, the building was soon left to the sole occupancy of the Judge and the Clerk. After peace was so suddenly conquered, its business was resumed, at least, so far as to hear the presentment of the grand jury on the disturbance of the peace then transpiring.. This was an able and truthful paper, and traced the developments to their true source. They advised that the Court should take cognizance of the disturbance of the public peace, and, to prevent further complications, itself to take possession of the public arms. In pursuance of this recommendation, Judge Vernon ordered the Sheriff to take into his custody the arms then in the hands of the citizens and with his posse to remove those then stored in Crews' barn, to a place of safety. All this was carried out at once; and, in a short time the sheriff had the arms stored away in his office, under the Court-room, and an efficient guard placed over them. Thus, before night closed in, matters seemed to have calmed down completely. At that critical time, Laurens had an imposing illustration of the triumphs of "rumor," so graphically described by Virgil, in periods of great excitement. In an incredibly short interval of time, the news had spreaH to every point of the compass, that the "fight" was actually going on at the town ; and the casualties and other incidents were multiplied and exaggerated in proportion to the distance from the scene of action. Of course there were " mountings in hot haste;" and, during all the afternoon and night, squads of mounted men, all armed, could be seen riding into town, with no ordinary speed. It would naturally be expected, that while these excited bodies of horsemen were meeting with fugitives running out of town, some serious collisions would have occurred. But strange to say, nothing of the kind took place in the daytime. And, as to the number of these armed men thus assembled, there has been much exaggeration. It is true that the instinct of race, brought together many bold and determined spirits, but these were mainly from the adjoining counties. Those in the vicinity, not knowing whence the rumored " rally " might come, yielded to the higher instinct of home protection. It can safely be asserted, that no time after the row, were there more than three hundred non-residents in the town, at one and the same time. Most of these, as soon as they saw that their services were not needed, quietly turned their horses' heads the way they had come. It would be very gratifying to the writer, if the narrative of the proceedings of this affair, could close with the day. On a calm review, after an interval of more than five years, no impartial and intelligent lover of his country, who is cognizant of all the antecedents and circumstances of that day, can blame the citizens of Laurens, for what then and there took place. What has been so often paraded before the country as "a bloody and outrageous riot" was simply the disarming an ignorant and lawless mob, when they had given the clearest evidence that they were bent on mischief the most serious, and this, too, either in actual self-defence, or in obedience to an order of Court. But the truth of history requires that some of the proceedings of that night should also be chronicled; simply premising that none have more earnestly condemned these outrages, than the citizens of Laurens themselves, in comparison with whom these ruffians are the merest handful. There is no evidence that they even belonged to the county, and even if they did, what county is there, north, south, east or west, which cannot furnish rowdies enough to perpetrate all that was done in Laurens, at a time, too, of excitement the most intense? The morning after the riot, the whole town was thrown into confusion, and all were much shocked at the rumors of these outrages. They were much magnified at first, but finally subsided into four distinct cases, each of which was carefully examined into by the jury of inquest. One party had taken an obnoxious negro from a cabin where he had taken refuge, and so maltreated him that he died a few days after. The body of another negro was found, stark and stiff, on the side of the public road, with no indications to show the manner of his death. One Powell, a carpet-bagger, and just voted for as Judge of Probate, was found on the public road, near Milam's Trestle, with several bullet-holes through his head and body; and, by his side, the body of a negro man, also murdered as brutally as himself. Near Martin's Depot, also on the public road, the body of Wade Perrin, negro member of the Legislature, was found, pierced with one or more bullet-holes. These three last mentioned outrages were perpetrated on the public road, running along the track of the old Laurens Railroad, and might have been the work of one and the same party. The most distant was Perrin, some fifteen miles from the village; the single negro being found near Clinton, about nine miles off, and Powell and his companion not more than four miles. The case first mentioned was three or four miles from town, but in a different direction from all the others. The commonly received opinion, or surmise, was that the three last mentioned cases were the brutal work of one and the same party of desperadoes, who were really out in search of Crews. That, maddened by the events of the day, and the whisky of the night, to say nothing of "the instigations of the devil," they wantonly and brutally murdered those of the same party whom they chanced to meet. Whoever they may have been, by their diabolical work, they disgusted and horrified those they pretended to befriend, even more than those who were distant and disinterested. The whole community regarded these horrible acts not only as repugnant to our institutions and the civilization of the age, but as against the instincts of a common humanity, barbarous or civilized, heathen or Christian. |
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