History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 56

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592

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At this time about 15,000 of these picturesque citizen soldiers had reached the city. On the 6th of September Gen. Wright, commanding the Department, issued an order permitting resumption of all lawful business, except the sale of liquors until 4 o'clock of each day. After that hour, all business houses were required to be closed, and the citizens were to respond to requisitions which were daily made for laborers, and these were equitably distributed among the different wards of the city.

The enemy did not attack or even provoke a collision of any kind, until the 10th of September, when some forward movements were made, which indicated a purpose to assault. There were some trifling skirmishes, but no attack. The general com- manding the Department again appealed to the governor, and the march of the Squirrel Hunters from the interior was resumed. On the 13th this movement was checked, and the volunteers were turned back. It was ascertained on the 12th of the month that the enemy had quietly departed. The advance of the army under Gen. Buell from Nashville threatened Bragg's main army so that he was compelled to concentrate his forces. The relief of Cincinnati from threatened attack was at last secured by the movements of an army more than a hundred miles away. On the 15th of September Gen. Wallace took leave of the city. All restrictions upon busi- ness were removed, and all apprehension ceased.

Nothing occurred to bring hostilities near Cincinnati until midsummer, 1863. While Gen. Rosecrans with his army still lay inactive along Stone river, John Mor-

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

gan, the rebel guerilla chieftain, crossed the Cumberland river at Burkesville on the 2nd of July, and moved directly for the Ohio river. He had been ordered by Gen. Bragg to make a raid through Kentucky, so as to break up communications between Gen, Rosecrans and his base of operations. Disregarding the orders of his com- manding officers, he crossed the Ohio river below Louisville, and started upon his aimless march through the States of Indiana and Ohio. He was closely pressed by the National cavalry under the command of Gen. Hobson, so that his march partook more of the character of a flight than a military expedition. Navigation was sus- pended upon the Ohio river above Louisville, and all river craft put in position to be out of his reach. On Monday July 13th at 1 P. M. he entered the State of Ohio

at the town of Harrison. The military forces at hand were sufficient to intercept Morgan's forces, and with the assistance of the forces of Gen. Hobson completely destroy them. Gen. Burnside has been criticised for his failure to end Morgan's career in Hamilton county; but that general purposely declined, as he expressed it to himself, to fight a battle in the suburbs of a great city. His opinion was that to bring on a conflict would result in useless destruction of property, and unnecessary suffering. So he purposely allowed the enemy to pass to the eastward, taking care that his march through the populous and wealthy regions about Cincinnati should be as harmless as possible, intending to capture or destroy his forces somewhere on the upper Ohio.

As soon as it was known that Morgan was pushing energetically toward Cincin- nati, martial law was proclaimed in Cincinnati, and hurried preparation was made to overhaul his forces. The city was in a tumult and confusion of futile prepara- tion. But before an organized body of men could be formed, the great raider had passed to the eastward, through the village of Glendale, and continuing in an east- erly direction, had reached the Little Miami by daylight on the morning of the 14th. There was no destruction of property in this county, except the burning of a bridge over the Great Miami river at New Baltimore. There was considerable loss by the exchange of broken-down and worthless horses for good ones taken from the farmers along the route. Morgan's flight continued eastward until he reached the Ohio river at Buffington Island, where he had intended crossing the river. The night was pitch dark, the ford was guarded by a battery, and precious time was lost by the enforced delay. Gunboats arrived to make the crossing impossible, and Hob- son's cavalry had time to overtake the enemy they had pursued so far. About one- half of Morgan's force was captured, the rest escaping to continue their flight to the eastward, until they finally found it necessary to surrender.

The final capture of Morgan and the remnant of his force occurred at Saline- ville, in Columbiana county, on the 26th of July. He had been thirteen days in crossing the State of Ohio, had plundered many small towns, taken many horses by the way, had fought several skirmishes, and so rapid had been his movements that, although 50,000 men from all directions were hurrying to overthrow him, he was within a few miles of the eastern limits of the State when he was captured by sol- diers who began their pursuit from Wheeling. The total loss to the citizens of Ohio by this raid was about a half million dollars.

After the Morgan raid the tide of war drifted away to the southward, so that Cincinnati was never again disturbed by the approach of a hostile force. The wasted armies of the rebellion were too remote to be a menace, and too feeble for diversions. Nevertheless, during the entire period of the war, the city was the center of military activity. Its situation on the border of loyal territory, and upon a great system of navigable rivers, in the center of a populous, wealthy and patri- otic region, abounding in all military supplies, fully established as a manufacturing and commercial center, had necessarily become a great depot, and was continually alive with the huin of military preparation. Millions of dollars were expended here in the purchase of clothing and camp equipage, harness, wagons, forage,

With Backing

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

horses and innles. The ordinary business of the city was much reduced. Traffic in army supplies, and manufacturing of army stores, largely disturbed its labor and capital. In this respect it was the foremost city in the West, if not in the United States. The pursuits of peace were made secondary to these temporary diversions to the necessity of war.

The city suffered permanently by this forcible interference with her growth and trade. Her rivals to the northward, far from danger and apprehension, grew and prospered in the permanent occupations of peace. Extensive shops were busy turn- ing out army wagons and ambulances, others in manufacturing harness, others in turning out clothing; horses and mules were bought by thousands, often at the rate of 400 per day. In addition it was a distributing point for great quantities of sup- plies purchased elsewhere for army use. Steamboats and railroad trains were daily loaded with the material and supplies of war, to be forwarded wherever needed. Soldiers daily marched through the streets, at first filing southward, but afterward tattered remnants of regiments passed through the city on their homeward march. Recruiting officers were everywhere, and the sound of the fife and drum was con- tinually heard in the streets. Courts martial sat side by side with our civil courts throughout the whole period. Some of the trials by these courts have become famous in history, the most notable being the trial and conviction of Clement L. Vallandigham for treasonable utterances in violation of the orders of Gen. Burn- side.

The history of the city during that period of trial and danger will always be remembered to her credit and honor. She responded to every call made by the constituted authorities. She went beyond these requirements and furnished hun- dreds of thousands of dollars to be put to charitable uses. The work of the Sani- tary and Christian Commission is itself a splendid and enduring monument to the liberality and patriotism of her citizens. Nor was sbe less willing in furnishing soldiers for our armies. As early as September 1, 1862, she had to her credit 14,795 volunteer soldiers in the field.

From that time until the end of the war she responded to every call, and at the close she had filled every requisition without resorting to a draft. Nearly or quite one-third of all her citizens liable to military duty were in the military service of their country.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE CINCINNATI SANITARY FAIR.

[BY LIDA BICKHAM LAIR.]

TT was a bitter, bitter winter. War had been stalking through the land long enough to leave a very shiny trail. Trains had been pouring in their sad loads of wounded and sick; steamboats had been emptying into our midst armies of men gathered up after the battle, and schoolhouses, hotels, shut-down factories, turned into temporary hospitals, were equipped with volunteer nurses from the ranks of mothers and sisters "left behind." The great Sanitary Commission had been born of the hour of need, and yet with all its ramifications, all the free giving, the more than generous donations, the time had come when still other resources were to be taxed, and so sprang into being the great Sanitary Fair with its beautiful Bazaar- as we christened the old Fifth street market-house, now a thing of the past.

We who look back at Cincinnati from Race to Walnut on Fifth, not as those who look to-day, pointing with pride to its Fountain Square ; but we point with

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

The shooting took place in the southeast angle of the fort, which had just been erected by Maj. Doughty.

THE FIRST RIOT.

The first riot or unlawful disturbance occurred February 12, 1792. Lieut. Thomas Pasteur, belonging to the garrison of Fort Washington, having quarreled with John Bartle, who kept a little store at the corner of Broadway and Front streets, decoyed him, on pretense of business, to the garrison, when he assaulted him in the presence of his friends, and beat him severely. Bartle prosecuted the lieu- tenant for the outrage before a magistrate, and at the hearing his attorney, a Mr. Blanchard, pictured the officer in a light so contemptible as to draw on himself the indignation of the latter. Smarting under the tongue lashing he had received from Blanchard, the lieutenant detailed a sergeant and thirty privates to personally chas- tise the lawyer and all who might be disposed to defend him or his cause. The sergeant and his detail started on their mission, and an affray took place on Main street between the military and citizens, eighteen in number, headed by Magistrate McMillan and John Riddle. The fight was a severe one, but the citizens succeeded in driving the soldiers off. The affair naturally created great excitement. Gen. Wilkinson, then in command, after an investigation, reduced the sergeant to the ranks, and would have inflicted greater punishment, had it not been proven that he and his men were acting under orders. A general order was then issued in which the attack on the magistrate was severely denounced, and the affair characterized as a dishonor to the military, and forbidding the recurrence of anything of the kind under severe penalty .* Lieut. Pasteur was tried by the court for assault and bat- tery, found guilty, and sentenced to pay a fine of three dollars!

FIRST EXECUTION BY THE CIVIL LAW.

John May, convicted of the murder of Wat. Sullivan, was the first man hanged in Hamilton county. The crime was committed in 1792, soon after the military riot, and the particulars are as follows: May and Sullivan, who were old acquaintances, had been drinking and carousing for several days, when they quarreled about some trivial matter, which finally ended in blows and the punishment of May. Friends interfered, and they were separated; but May brooded over the idea that he had been worsted by a man much smaller than himself, and openly made threats that he would kill Sullivan at the first opportunity. A few evenings afterward a party was given at the log cabin of Hardin Smith, which stood near the corner of Sixth and Main streets, and May and Sullivan were both present. The latter asked May to "let by-gones be by-gones," and for the resumption of their former friendship; but May said he had sworn to kill him (Sullivan), and there would not be a better time; then, suiting the action to the word, he drew a hunting knife-an article found in the belt of every backwoodsman at that time-and plunged it into Sullivan's heart, who sunk lifeless on the floor of the cabin. May was arrested, tried, convicted, and executed by Sheriff John Ludlow. The gallows was erected on a spot on the south side of Fifth street, east of Walnut. This took place toward the close of the last century, and, as executions were all public at that time, the whole population of the country for a distance of fifty miles in every direction came to see the vindictive May hanged. The bill of Sheriff John Ludlow, in which he charges the county of Ham- ilton for "boarding May after sentence, his execution and expense of gallows and grave," is dated November 15, 1792, and is for £15 8s. 9d. It was not paid until six years after it was rendered.

PRO SLAVERY RIOTS OF 1836.

The pro-slavery riots, which began April 11, 1836, raged unremittingly for sev- eral days. At that time the most bitter feeling existed against the negro in Cincin-

* Cist, 1859, p. 133.

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

nati, and it required but a slight provocation to cause this popular feeling to find vent in mob violence. Two boys, one black and the other white, became involved in a quarrel from some trivial cause, when the white boy was beaten. The cause of the white boy was championed by those who wanted to rid the community of the negro, and a mob soon collected. Violence began at the intersection of Broadway and Sixth streets, known as "The Swamp." The houses of many negroes were burned to the ground, and their occupants shot down like dogs. The police were called'out and made heroic efforts to put down the rioters, but without avail. Mem- bers of the force were compelled to stand and see unoffending colored men killed, without lifting a hand to save, so overwhelmed were they by the mob. Finally the governor of the State declared the city under martial law, and fixed his headquar- ters in Cincinnati. The stringent measures adopted by him soon quelled the mob, and restored law and order. On July 30, of the same year, several men clubbed together and destroyed [See chapter on the Press] the Philanthropist newspaper, when the police were called out and succeeded in suppressing the riot. A remark- able feature connected with these pro slavery demonstrations was the eminent respectability of the men who acted as leaders and urged the rabble to commit deeds of violence and destruction.

THE BANK RIOT.

Howe, in his "Recollections," informs us that Monday evening, January 10, 1842, the Miami Exporting Company assigned its effects, and Tuesday morning fol- lowing the Bank of Cincinnati closed its doors. The news spread rapidly, and by 11 o'clock angry crowds of depositors had assembled, had broken in the doors of the bank, destroyed all movable property, and whatever books, papers, etc., could be found. The excitement became so intense. and the mob was so demonstrative, that ten of the city guards, headed by Capt. Mitchell, were called out by the municipal authorities. After some effort they succeeded in driving the rioters away, and for a time maintained their position. The mob soon rallied and drove the police away, firing upon them and wounding one or two. The rioters then had undisputed pos- session of the city. An attack was made upon Babe's Exchange Bank, and then upon Lougee's exchange office, both of which they sacked, making havoc of every- thing which was destructible. A very bad feeling existed for several days, but it finally died away, and peace was restored.

THE JAIL RIOT OF 1848.

Soon after the close of the Mexican war, two discharged soldiers came to Cincin- nati with the view of settling here. They procured boarding with a German family living near the "Brighton House," and obtained work in a down-town factory. Things passed on smoothly for some time, when the proprietor of the boarding house commenced trying to get their land warrants. The boarders expressed a total unwillingness to part with their papers, when the keeper thought he would try another method. He swore out a warrant against the ex-soldiers charging them with having assaulted his little daughter who was only seven years of age. They were arrested, when the father, mother and child appeared as witnesses, and swore that the charge was true. The prisoners were required to give $5,000 bail each, which of course they could not do, and they were sent to jail to await trial.

A Mob Assembles .- The report of the affair came out in the papers, and caused much indignation among the people. Finally the excitement culminated in the assembling of a great mob in front of the old jail for the purpose of taking the pris- oners out and lynching them. Sheriff Weaver went out and expostulated with them about their conduct-told them not to let the good name of the city be tarnished by the disgraceful proceedings of a mob, and if the prisoners were guilty they would assuredly be punished; that he had called on the militia (Citizens' Guards and Cin-

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

cinnati Greys) to assist him in preserving law and order; that it was his sworn duty to protect his prisoners, and he was going to do it, and if they attempted to take the prisoners out of jail he could, with the assistance of the militia, repel any attack. He then read the riot act, and retired within the jail. The mob then commenced a furious attack on the prison. At first they were fired on with blank cartridges; this not seeming to deter them in the least, the sheriff then ordered ball and buckshot to be put in the guns; then at the risk of his life he went out and informed the mob what he had done, and implored them to desist and prevent the effusion of blood; he was only hooted and laughed at, and the attack became stronger than ever. The fences were torn down, the pavements torn up, and a general scene of riot ensued. The mob had almost reached the jail door; one platoon of the troops was ordered to fire, when several of the rioters were killed and wounded. The mob now found that they had more than they had counted on, and beat a hasty retreat. As is usual in all such unfortunate affairs, the innocent must suffer with the guilty, and it was found that one or two had been killed and a similar number wounded, who had had noth- ing to do with the affair at all. A lady living across the street was shot while attending to her domestic duties. Jackson Carnahan, a hard-working, intelligent, and highly respectable mechanic, had his dinner bucket with him on his way home from work. He stopped to learn the cause of the excitement and was killed.

The Prisoners Acquitted .- At the next session of the court, the prisoners were placed on trial. More than twenty of the first physicians testified that after a care- ful examination they were satisfied that no assault had been committed on the child. When the little girl was placed upon the stand, it soon became apparent that she had been carefully instructed what to say, and the lawyers for the defense soon made her tell that her father and mother had taught her what to say. One of the jail turnkeys swore that he heard the father of the child in jail tell the prisoners that if they would give him their land warrants he would go away and not appear against them; and when they declined to accede to his request, the "old man" said : "If you had given me your land warrants when I asked you to, this would not have been." In fact, the proof was overwhelmingly in favor of the prisoners, as there was not the least evidence against them, and they were promptly and honorably acquitted of the charge. What must be thought of a father and mother who could concoct such an infamous scheme to acquire land ! History fails to record the names of the participants in this celebrated trial, and as nearly half a century has rolled away, and the records have been burned, they are buried in oblivion.

THE BEDINI RIOTS.

What is known in the police history as the Bedini riots occurred in December, 1853. At that period quite a large colony of Germans, who had taken part in the rebellion of 1848, and who were known as "Forty-eighters," resided in Cincinnati, having been compelled to fly from their native land. . In this country they organ- ized a "Society of Freemen," made up of bold, determined men, whose hatreds engendered five years before still rankled in their breasts. They believed in the universal equality of man, and it was the attempt to put their doctrines on this point into practical operation that had caused their banishment to the United States. With them the belief was popular that they had been betrayed, and among their betrayers they thought they recognized Father Bedini, who had in some way got mixed up with their affairs in Europe. When, therefore, in 1853, as the Pope's Nuncio, he reached Cincinnati, and took up his residence with Archbishop Purcell, they were confident that his coming had something to do with the rebellion in which they were prime movers. They called an indignation meeting, the result of which was the framing of a request for the Nuncio to leave the city.

Upon the adjournment of this meeting, a crowd of the "Forty-eighters," to the number of two hundred or more, started for the Archbishop's residence, where it

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The trial of Berner came to an end at last. * He was found guilty of manslaughter, and was sentenced to imprisonment for twenty years, the maximum time under the law. There was a decorous interval between the day of the verdict and that when sentence was pronounced. The anger of the people was shown as soon as the verdict was known. Nothing less than the death sentence was considered a fit punishment for Berner's crime. Various things were thought of as reasons why the measure of the popular will had not been fulfilled in this instance. The judge before whom the case was tried was Samuel R. Matthews. The jury was selected according to law on challenges by counsel for State and defendant, out of a venire issued by the trial judge. It did not occur to anybody that the methods of the courts, and the popular sentiment as shown toward murderers for years previous in the Ohio Valley, had been such as to make the verdict against Berner one of astonishing severity.

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History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 56

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1592

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592