Hanover; Or The Persecution of the Lowly: A Story of the Wilmington Massacre.Thorne, Jack
History
Hanover; Or The Persecution of the Lowly: A Story of the Wilmington Massacre.
Thorne, Jack
African Americans -- North Carolina -- Wilmington -- Fiction; Wilmington (N.C.) -- History -- Fiction
G. Z. French, one of the county leaders, attempted to escape. He ran
through the streets, but was overtaken at the depot by several members
of the posse.
A noose was thrown over his head and was drawn tightly around his neck.
Gasping and half choked, he fell upon his knees, begging for his life.
NEGRO BEGS FOR LIFE.
"Do you solemnly promise that you will leave and never come back?" asked
the leader of the posse.
"Oh, yes; yes. For God's sake, gentlemen, let me go, and I'll never come
back any more!"
The frightened wretch was allowed to go and crawled aboard the train,
scared half to death.
After finishing with French the "red shirts" made a raid on Justice
Bunting's residence. He was away from home. The mob tore from the walls
of his house the picture of his Negro wife and that of Bunting, and put
them on exhibition on Market street.
They were labelled: "R. H. Bunting, white," and "Mrs. R. H. Bunting,
colored." From Bunting's residence the mob proceeded to the house of a
Negro lawyer named Henderson. The hard-knuckled leader knocked at the
door. "Who's there?" came the query. "A white man and a friend," was the
reply. Inside there was the deep silence of hesitation. "Open the door
or we'll break it down," shouted the leader. Henderson, badly
frightened, opened the door.
"We want you to leave the city by 9 o'clock Sunday morning," said the
leader.
"All right," replied Henderson, "all I want is time enough to get my
things in order."
A Negro lawyer named Scott was also banished and left the city before
morning.
The Democrats hired one of Pinkerton's Negro detectives to associate
with the Negroes several weeks, and his investigation, it is said,
revealed that the two lawyers and the other Negroes mentioned were
ringleaders, who were inciting their race to violence.
WHITE MEN MUST GO TOO.
The retiring chief of police, Magistrate R. H. Bunting, Charles H.
Gilbert, Charles McAlister, all white Republicans, and many assertive
Negroes, who are considered dangerous to the peace of the community, are
now under guard and are to be banished from the city.
The Negro Carter Peaman, who was exiled last night, got off the train
several miles from the city and was shot dead.
A report is current that John C. Dancy, the Negro United States
Collector of Customs for this port, has been notified to leave the city
and will be waited upon if orders are not summarily obeyed.
The city is now under thorough military and police protection and there
is no indication of further outbreaks.
[Illustration]
Introductory Note.
On the Cape Fear River, about thirty miles from the East coast of North
Carolina rests the beautiful city of Wilmington.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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