- Transcription
To His Excellency, T. W. Bickett, Governor,
Raleigh, N.C.
Dear Sir:-
The Committee, appointed by you to investigate the alleged assault on the jail in Graham, N.C. and the conduct of the troops on the night of July 19, 1920, begs to submit its report and findings, as follows:
The Committee met in the Court Room at Durham, N.C. Monday morning, August 2, 1920, at ten o'clock, and organized by electing Colonel A. H. Boyden as Chairman. Mr. J. L. Emanuel acted as official stenographer to the Committee.
Captain Marion B. Fowler, Commanding Officer of the Machine Gun Company, First North Carolina Infantry, appeared before the Committee with a number of witnesses and gave an account of the conduct of his Company from the time he received orders to assemble his Company, and to report to the Sheriff of Alamance County, for the purpose of upholding the law of the state and guarding the jail of said County, until relieved by proper order.
The Committee concluded the hearing and taking of testimony in Durham on Monday, August 2, 1920, and proceeded from there to Graham, N.C., where it met in the Court House on Tuesday morning, August 3, 1920, at ten o'clock.
Before the examination of any witnesses, the Committee visited and inspected the premises surrounding the jail, to the end that the testimony of the witnesses as to the location of the jail, streets, dwellings, buildings, etc. might be better understood.
The witnesses called by the citizens of Alamance County were examined by the Committee.
At the conclusion of the examination of the witnesses in Graham, the Chairman announced that the Committee would be glad to heard from any citizen of the county, who might know anything with respect to the conduct of the soldiers during their stay in Graham, and especially as to any fact or circumstance in connection with their conduct on the night of July 19, 1920. Captain Fowler, several members of the Machine Gun Company, and other citizens of Durham were present when this announcement was made, and the Chairman made the same request of them.
The Committee wishes to express its appreciation of the hearty co-operation of the citizens of Durham and Alamance, and of the cheerful and prompt manner, in which the witnesses were brought before the Committee.
FINDINGS.
The Committee, after a careful consideration of all the testimony and of the facts and circumstances attending the ordering of the Machine Gun Company to Graham, N.C., finds as follows:
1. That the ordering of the Machine Gun Company to Graham, for the purpose of upholding the law and guarding the jail of Alamance County, was justified by the conditions existing in Graham, at the time the Civil Authorities requested the Governor to send troops to Graham.
2. That upon his arrival in Graham, the Commanding Officer of the Machine Gun Company reported to the Sheriff of Alamance County, and immediately established a guard line around the jail and posted sentinels.
3. That the troops, while on duty in Graham, were frequently jeered at and a number of insulting remarks were made to them from time to time during their tour of duty, but the troops made no reply.
4. That on Monday there was apparent quiet in the Town.
5. That during Monday afternoon and in the early hours of Monday night, threats of breaking the jail and taking out the prisoners, being guarded, were made to the soldiers, as well as in the presence of others in the Town; and these threats were communicated by the soldiers and others to the Commanding Officer of the Machine Gun Company.
6. That the sentinels and jail were fired upon by parties unknown between nine and nine-thirty o'clock on Monday night; that the sentinels when fired upon, and acting upon the orders from their superior officers, fell back to the jail and made report to the superior officers of such firing; that after the jail and sentinels had been thus fired upon, and after several shots were fired at the jail, the Officer in charge of the Guard and Machine Guns gave orders to commence firing; that several rounds were fired by the Guards from their pistols, and there were three volleys from the Machine Guns of from ten to twenty-five shots each; the fire of the Machine Guns was from the rear and side of the jail, and the fire from the pistols was from the rear, sides, and front of the jail; that no damage was done by the Machine Guns fire; and that several shots from the pistols struck houses in the vicinity of the jail.
7. That Officers and men of the Machine Gun Company, under the orders to protect the jail and guard the prisoners, were fully justified in returning the fire, when the sentinels and jail were fired upon.
8. That James Ray, who was killed on the street near the jail, and Willie Philips and Clem Bradshaw, who were wounded, were not members of any organized mob, but seemed to have been innocent or curious onlookers.
9. That the conduct of the Officers and of the men of the Machine Gun Company, from the time they reached Graham and reported to the Sheriff for duty until they were relieved on Tuesday morning, was in every respect most exemplary and soldier-like. The testimony satisfies us that none of the soldiers was under the influence of liquor and that there was no unseemly or ungentlemanly conduct on the part of any of them.
We submit herewith copy of the testimony taken by us.
This August 16, 1920.
Respectfully,
A. H. Boyden
Chairman.
H. W. Whedbee
Committee.
