Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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RED SHIRT REVOLUTION 1-3 m APAKTBrfNr 1A(w 4 MHKVIJ.JO IIV ? ? IIB.N1JKIt ??N. OF AJKICN, I\ A FAn.JI{ i*i(J?l*AK|U> *< >u i lit. htA'H k; ^Hi01 ffltt ?*<* living bccrt lntJUd. by CoJ j . * Mo|)i?y, tb? commandant o / u.e 22Eif? ???**?. ? : reunion lu Columbia ou the 27th *nd 28ti. <*^tuWi>er, <>? court </?|Mgeitf?rit* prevent my ?> Uuu/^' 1 >ou $o public * f?w recollection* of tno events lending Up ,to that liK ? *?iu?ut, the occasion a*d IU result. ' , wu, luilm?tT oo?n?c ted with it.'aiirf can speak from memory undexperionce. T?m> Hecoiwtrwcilou Vf6* ^llui.ul Democratic fonveution, wbich met ju now nominated a* standard bearer Hora tio Seymour and Franklin P. Blair; tbe Republicans nominated U S. Oir?nt and Scbuylor Colfax. A tremendous mass meeting was ^?ld ijb Charleston <n? Meeting ?t. in fiout uf the Charleston hotel to *ke Democratic nominations. As a college student, Ht tbe College of Charleston, I attended that meet ing. James B. CajBtpbell, the great lawyer, presided* The chief speak* ?r was Oeu. Wade flempto*. He mgde a memorable enuuctatlon that at; New York he Induced the con vention to put In the platform the words; "The Reconstruction acts are unconstitutional, revolutionary and void." Grant was elected. , These reconr structlon acts, which were uot de clared constitutional by the su preme, court of the United State* until In 1878, were enforced on the state of South Carolina with a mail ed barid. Slotfies, Cabby ifcnd Ru ftcr, with drawn bayonets and 'inar tread, allowed the hummer, and; stragglers from the invading, iirmies to paralyse every luditsft? and hope of white supremacy. Notwithstanding t?e fact that Go\ Orr, op the1 platform of. the consti tutional convention of 1 8fr? in Char leston, had wairned the members, with prophetic glance,, that if uni versal ?suff rage was given th?- ne groes they twould be relegated with in leas than 20 years, those deceiv ers who had swarmed into tbe stato enacted the same as law. ? ? -?fHanipton had retired to Ids plan tation In Mississippi; white leaders advised tht? poodle' to re main from the polls, because they alleged the reconstruction acts would uot, staud. an^ jioon t|jre State government was in>the hands of the "black and tan." In the gubernatorial race of 1870. Carpenter and Sutler mado a cam paign against R. K. Scott, a noted carpet bagger, but the spirit of the Whites was not in it; they trusted 'Butler, but had no "faith in' the py rotechnics of Judge Carpenter. I settled iu Aiken in 1872^ Dur ing 1873, 1874 and -1&7 6-4 -attended each year taxpayers* conventions, which convened Jn Colombia. - They wore P^tdetioVor mostly by that peerless son of Charleston. Wl^lam Denlson Porter. They were, solemn, secret affairs; ketd in Irvlrigs' hall uptown, and Parker hall downtown with closed doom. ^5^ ' Addresses were issued to the peo ple, powerful and forceful,* praying them fo keep In heart; addresses to congress and to the president, pro testing against the oondltlon of pub lic affairs in the State, brought on by Radical extravagance and uiili rule. ' " " ' ?*" ; The people listened, waited, bore at^tl forebore, suffered arid grew stronger from Buffering. In 1874, after Moses' administra tion of plunder. Chamberlain was Il*l?iliate* hy til* ftftdi alt*, a tyojl. jiM# *#l ui lUu.1 UOfltliiftlud [Judge ,0 J'ewno, of Banner, lor gov | ?mor, and u ^au Domingo Qtf fQ, HiMUjMl Alary ij Dalanoy, J tog lieuten ant governor. ~'i"' The wh|ty in*>ple ? though ho into tajtfpfttypU were uuui^ At p"U?? in November took no lifter* ' ? 1 1 ? i 1 ci ion of thin moiwi i >?! tWkel ,' ftti il Chamberlain wan e|e< t ed. The robber legislature of '76 cleaned out #om? kop<i Jau^.'-K and elected the negro brigand from llngufort. \y, Whlpper, to the Charleston circuit, R. U. <,'arpunto?, to the Second circuit. < ipiiiil., i luin. apparently In ,i,r neat, refused to commission Whip per, but the people felt that he wa? ?urroundcd by auuh * corrupt crowd that he could not bu ? runted, uud they begun to arouse tlieuibelvee. The Kim* p t 1 1 u* \Vliitf> Tide. ?I The npiiqig of mt> came in, lu nil of ,|ti pregnhncy. Full of dis gust at* paBt efforts to conciliate, full of ku*4ilMUlon at tho Infataout orgies If the "brlgandB of the Pal metto Btate, who had heaped dis grace on her uuiue und ruined her credit at home and abroad; full of belief that if something wan not j^tppe the real ?on? of the sacred of thin great commonwealth, which had done bo much for the honor of freedom, would have tc take their hbusehold go da and good* and go eMwhere; early lu the Wring conference# were held with a view of a stralghtout white man'i fight for a white mau'a government It was a presidential year, unO prominent Democrats* within and without th^ State took the. position that a determined effork>.lher4 tc disrupt the carpetbag government would Jead to disorders whloh wpull l>e used against the growliiK vUU in favor bl ji)emo?ratlo Buceess in the Union, Friends, of Mr. Tildeu were sent" h?fe 1m me mpve. ment, but the swell Was On, and it kept growing bigger and blggeK ' - . , ? . J It was no man's movement; is wan*^th? lowg suffering peopled, which called for leadership and, re WK aJkjpV' ? 4 ? General Gary. PDarly la the spring Qeh, Murtln Wltherspoon Gary, of Edgerield, wrote lo uud received a reply froti: God. (after wards Hequtor) George ht MlsBlsBippl. ' Tsaw the reply, li gave fully th<? MisHlsBippl plan .pi action to redeem the state, and' to >end coutflernutlon to <he vampires, oft the ^overnmenf thefa In the state, Wg Gen Gary Bhould b? jgtven ful credit for iyatoiuatlrlng . this plai. and for adapting It to the environ ! ments of the occasion. He had the courage of his Convictions; and ob ^atructed all efforts at compromise, and stood 'firmly for a stralglitou, tight, 1 A call had been promulgated foi flh -Democratic State convention in August. The delegates were belug elected all over the Btate and (a* la the caae in all great movements an itnexjkected, unplanned event Jhap poned, which intensified the occas ion and gave vigor to the atraight out movement. The old town of Hamburg, just opposite Augusta on the fiAvafl hah river, had becssmef the aeat of misrule and bad govern ment. Ita master was Princa R. Rivera, formerly a alave of a Deau iort. family, va coal bULdVr a n^etfi 6er of the lefliilMure ^nnd major general of militia. Doping the first week In July, the local militia com pany blockod the highway running from the town ?nd two young white cltltena of prhmtnnuce, one of whom in now living and a highly respected clti*en, J. Henry Gotzen. pa??lug the place of blockade ber caine entangled with the militia. They were brought before Rivers 4** w' t if* -i '4 *? Hh in;?Kt*yjfi?te to he- tftod for luter fct^ng With the company. They ! lifuVd u v?"o?i win niiii a*uin?t the members o t t h v company for ob structing th? ),ilKhv\;?> oil the trial ! day, i ho friends oj -hot h jiai itc.i 40- I youicti armed;. difficulties wo.*o; | and i ha 1 night a. bill ii?# -was fought ''ii ttiw 1 of Hamburg be tween (lie WbltOf ; ) , lis whlcb set t lie state on fire. <;<n m <; Mut ut, tiiuu an oiLftr 110) a I Edgefield I" !"?' ? 1.0 (j?J Idnd 1 in* two yougg Bum, wo# pre sent at the trial and took part in the Unlit; and with C<d. A. 1'. Jtut bjp; afterwards a tMuutor from Ai ken county, were the leader* of the whites Ut the battle. At tho ImUlltjS Of (tor. Chatubor lain, warrants were Issued for nev* '?i.' 1 hundred . . 1 1 1 ' ? men, among them UfO, Sutler and Col. Butler, for complicity In this matter, eharg* tug murder and riot. It meaut la truth, the arrest of tho entire com munity. The notorious Willlum Stone, tho attorney general, and the equally notorious David T. C'o biu, tho district Attorney of ihe state, were employed by Gov. Cham berlain to enforce thoso arrests and resist ball, m- ?; However, tho spirit of liberty was In the air. The Radical official* ^ero aetnal ty afraid to make any arreBtH and the alleged violators of tho law to .the number of 300 or 400 lioaded by their counsel, Gen. Gary. A) B. Henderson aud O. W. Croft, rode into Aiken and filled the court house for the ball jbOjrttng. Corbln ?it ul Stone Insisted that no ball be granted, tout that noble Judgo, J no, J. Maher, of Barnwell, (than whom wan no purer or nobler man) granV ed ball. This *hearLug stirred up the whole of Western Carolina and uts echoes went, throughout the State, Among the prisoner* balled wut B. R. Till ni ail : o'f'Rbpfrra. He ^ his full sbaro In the flghi ing at Hamburg and In the campaign which followed. ? Origin. o t the Ited Shirts. No matter what uitiy by bald to the cgntrai^, It wan at this time, when these men gathered around Aiken on the Kaliuai Heights be tvei-n Aiken and C-rauitov i 1 1 0 to consult, with their counsel and get ready to march into Aiken, that ihe Red Shirt Idea originated. At thin time Senator Morton of Ohio was waving tho bloody uhlrt against the sQUth in the United States senate at Washington. . Geo. I). Tillman and A.- 1\ Butler eon? milted together, and thought R would be a good idea to have the Sweet Water Saber club, most of them then under arrest, to ri^e through the streets of^ Aiken with stained shirts in derision of - the waving, of the bloody shiri by Mor ton. Tho idea was takon up by th oho who had .charge of Democra cy in. 'Aiken. The ladies . of the ioton headed by Miss Ada Chafeo, made- long homespun eh lit a and as sisted the nien to stgln them with Venetian rod and pokoborries, and th 09' clothed this company, tho af ternoon before tilfc bail proceed ings,, rode up and down tho streets of Aiken to tho horror of tho ne gro population. It may bo so, thatf afterwards at Anderson and Gold ville and elsewhere in tho state red flannel- Bhirts were worn but che idea originated right here and it is provable by men who took a part who are '-living now, and by the columns of the local papors, - Tho Democratic State convention met at Columbia on tho 15th day of Auguat. Previous thereto, on the 12th day Of August At Edge field, there was a tremendous meet ing in which Rutler and Gary and Sheppard attacked Chamberlain and defeated him, which, in connection with the affair a? Hamburg, utlrr ed the State to the bottom. The night before the sitting of tho oonventiou those of us. who favor ed the stralghout movement, gath ered tn the parlor of the Wheeler bfbuap, lately known as Wright's ho tel, at the cqjiier of Main aud Plain streets and it was a notable gathering; young and old men were there; not ouly from the up-ooun _try?_ bu^ . f rotn the low-country and middle-country alike. v Gen. W. W. |:Harllce, of Mation wajj, cbouen as oar candidate for chairman' of the convention. Venerable, determined, and able, he was tho right man for ithe place. As was said of him hy ? he prints of the day, "His aose, like tho movoment, was redhot and atraightout." ' When the convention convened in the hftjl of 'the houso of representa tives the next drty, we got to work without 'ceremony and bickering. The first toet was mndo on the election of tho procliUm. Central llarllee was nomlttAted by - th* at ratghtoute; Col. ifz H. Simon ton, of Charleston, that high and respec ted oitlaen, by the conservatives. Hartee was elected by 16 o* 14 'maj.Miiv. hu wpeedKtwaa a clarion >^all to duty to redeem the State. > . Sfrromplljr we weal late ?e?ret eee (iC///ect T/fe at Uhe Sft/gr Store'* HIRSCH BROS. & CO. For Ladies Ready-to-Wear as Well as Gents' Furnishings Your Clothes Are Your Visiting Card TART right off this Autumn with "HIGH-ART" Clothes and you'll start off right. You'll look a "personage" instead of a mere person. You'll breathe power, poise and purpose. You'll be admitted to the "inner circle" of business |or society.. These garments are tailored of "hefty," soft-draping fabrics that fit every curve and contour of your figure. Materials are pure wool needled into everlasting shape by gifted tailor-technicians. Patterns are loomed in limited lengths to forbid commonness. Special style-models for men, who want the touch and-go of teenhood in their clothes-'-who seek that "nonchalant" air which brings the exclamation, "There goes a thoroughbred !'' The "first pick" of the season's pat terns and colorings is always the "best pick." Dont be "going to come," but come to , ?- - ? ;? ? . ? ' ? ;.v HIRSCH BROS. & COMPANY ?lon, the doors being closed. A resolution w&s put forward to go Into nominations for State officers, and to recommend to the counties *o do likewise all along tlie line. No compromise; stralghout names of Democrats. The debate watt on; culm, dignified and farreachlng. Many speeches were made on both side?. To my recollection, the beat for the stralghtonts was made by MoJ. William L. DePass, of Camden uud the best on the other aide by C?en. James Connor of Charleston. In the heat of the debate Qen. But ler said, referring to the election of Wbtpper to the Charleston Judg Hhip, that It he came to Edgefield court, he would be flung out of the wlndoVs of the cotirt house. Gen. Butler replied that while that would, bft .rightful treatment, it would be violation of .law and would bring federal Jnterventlon. Qenor ul Butler spiritedly retorted, "If wfe can stand together now, instead of Carpenter judge In the Fifth cir cuit, we would have Kershaw or Youtnans; and instead of Whlpper in Charleston, we would have Press ley or Porter," a prediction which really came true. The heat of the ?lay and the stuff/, olose hall was ei^ble. The debate was closed, and the roll called and the straight out resolution was adopted by prac ii rilly tho same %ote that elected tha president. The doors were op ? nod and the crowds rushed in. Tliey were peeping through the clos ed doors during tha debato and wore mostly Radicals. Satiw Nominates Hamilton - vj Well up to the front, on the VkIN the I4R ? field and Aiken delegates wore Bit ting could bo Been M. 0. Butler and M. VV. Gary standing earnest ly talking together. The writer beard Oary nay to Butler, "Now 1b the time for you to nominate Hamp ton," but Butler Insisted that Oa ry should do It. The bald eagle lonteudtd that It was Butler's du r ? < Zemp's Drays When you want your Trunks hauled or any other dray age done, Tele phone 37. Prompt and safe delivery guaranteed,. ty, and we lifted him up on to a chair, and in -that attitude he plao ed the name of Wade Hampton, of Ktcbland county, in nomination for governor. His voice was like a silver cornet, his words were force ful and potent. Robert Aldrich, of Barnwell, an original straightout? now the able judge of tho Second district ? on behalf of tho straight? outrt Hucondod tho nomination of Gen. Hampton. 0 Across the aisle that gallant son of Charleston, James Connor, who in the secret session had led the forces of compromise and concilia tion, arose to second the nomina tion of Hampton. Short and com pact in stature, with his broad de termined head, be seemed ten fast tall. Hi<nind lils people were not sulk ers in the camp; tbey only feared the movement was premature," but a? the majority thought different; come weal, come woe, they, were In for the fight without, counting ? the cost, and he pledged his life and his all fdr the struggle1,, and ' tho clank of Conner's crutch as he rip ped out his earnest words, told tho convention he meant what he said. Unity, uniou, and ma^plve deter mination had come to the conven tion. It was nearly 6 o'clock. Hampton^ who had stood apart, and hp to this time had not open ed his mouth, except to vote for the stralghtout movement, arose in the back of the hall. Tall, rather *llm (then) neatly dreesed, quiet and corfl, and unassuming, he strode . ..