MONDAY, _March 25, 1878_.
Pursuant to adjournment, the committee re-assembled at three o'clock,
P.M., this day, in the St. Cloud hotel, and continued the taking of
testimony.
* * * * *
Alexander Gilchrist, _sworn by the uplifted hand_:
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. Where do you reside?
A. At No. 1806, Webster street.
Q. Were you with General Brinton at Pittsburgh, in July last?
A. I was.
Q. In what capacity?
A. Division orderly.
Q. Were you stationed on Saturday afternoon, when the firing occurred,
at Twenty-eighth street.
A. At the telegraph office.
Q. Who placed you there?
A. I was placed there by order of General Brinton, who told me to place
his division flag out there. I did so. The troops were marched towards
Twenty-eighth street. He told me if any dispatches came, to bring them
down to him. I put the division flag out there, and kept it out until
five and a half o'clock. Then I understood from Major Baugh that the
mob was trying to pull the flag down, and he told me to take it down,
and put it in the Union depot. I did so. He then told me to get some
men of the Black Hussars, and keep guard over some ammunition there. We
did so, until two o'clock Sunday morning.
Q. How many of the Black Hussars were with you?
A. Four or five were there. We kept guard there until very near
daybreak. At that time the men said they were going to get something to
eat, and I said I would remain until they came back. But no one came
back. I then went to major Baugh, and said nobody was on guard but
myself over the ammunition, and he said they had shifted for
themselves, and I thought I had better do so. I addressed him as major,
and he said don't address me as major. He wanted me to drop that. I
remained until the people came out of church, and I said I was not
going to stay there any longer by myself. I said I was going to try to
find out where the division was, and I asked a police officer where the
mayor's office was. He said down the street. I said what street. I
didn't know the streets. He said, oh, you are one of those
Philadelphians. I said yes. One of those damned Philadelphians. He
said, down the street, and any person can tell you where it is. I went
down to a stone building, and asked a citizen if that was the mayor's
office, and he said it was. I went inside, and asked somebody if he
could tell where the mayor was, and he said yes, in the back room. I
went in and asked a man if he was the mayor. He said he was. I asked if
he could tell me where the Philadelphia division was. He said, do you
mean General Pearson's division. I said no; General Brinton's division.
He said, I don't know anything about that damned division. They ought
to be all burned or killed, or something of that kind.
Q. You were certain it was Mayor McCarthy?
A. He was pointed out to me by an officer.
Q. Did you ask him?
A. I asked if he was the mayor of the city, and he said he was.
By Mr. Larrabee:
Q. What did he say?
A. I asked him if he could tell me where the Philadelphia division was,
and he said he didn't know anything about the division--that they ought
to be all killed or in hell, and I thanked him and came away, and went
down to Union depot again. That was just before they set fire to it. I
stood there a few minutes. At that time the fire was caught to the
telegraph office, adjoining the sheds. I thought probably I could get
in and get the division flag, but the flames got in that far. I went
in, and counted four officers and a sergeant of police. I went to go up
stairs, and the sergeant asked where I was going. I said I wanted to
get the division flag. He said you just get out of here, or I will
break my club over your damned neck. I tried two or three times, and
every time I was told I couldn't go up.
Q. Where was this ammunition stored that you guarded during Saturday
night?
A. It was in the cellar, at the Union depot.
Q. You remained there until two o'clock Sunday, guarding it?
A. Yes.
Q. When you left, was there anybody guarding it?
A. No. Nobody was there at all. Every person had cleared out.
Q. Did Captain Breck come there at any time during Sunday, to move the
ammunition?
A. Not that I saw.
Q. Was any attempt made to move the ammunition while you were there?
A. No; the ammunition was all burned up. On Saturday night, I was
standing at the gate there, as you go into Union depot; two citizens
were standing there talking, and they said it would be the roughest
day's work for the Philadelphia militia coming there; that not a damned
one would go back alive.
Q. How were they dressed?
A. They looked to me to be like business men.
Q. From their dress, you would think they were?
A. Yes.
Q. Did they say anything else?
A. No; that is all I heard. I was standing right behind them at the
time.
By Senator Reyburn:
Q. Whereabouts was the division head-quarters?
A. At the telegraph office.
Q. At Union depot?
A. No; a little office at the far end of the sheds, towards
Twenty-eighth street. General Latta was sending telegraphs from there.
Q. Was it at the end of the sheds connected with Union depot, or down
in the yard further?
A. Say there is Union depot, then there is a line of sheds running down
towards Twenty-eight street, and there is a little off sort of place
there, and a telegraph office on the first floor.
Q. Some distance from Twenty-eighth street?
A. I don't know how far Twenty-eighth street is.
Q. Was it attached to the sheds?
A. I would not say that for certain, but I think it was.
* * * * *
Wilson Norris, _sworn by the uplifted hand_:
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. State your residence, and what official capacity you were acting in,
in July last?
A. I live here in Philadelphia. In July last, I was going from Beaver
to Pittsburgh, when the riots broke out. General Latta requested me to
accompany him. At that time I was going west to visit Colonel Quay. I
did accompany him to Pittsburgh, and during the night the riot broke
out. The general then requested me to stay. I was there during the
whole period of the riot, and subsequently. It would be a long story,
to go on and tell all I saw, but I will be glad to answer any
questions.
Q. Did you convey any orders, or visit General Brinton at any time to
convey any orders to him from General Latta?
A. In this way. In the morning when we heard that General Brinton had
escaped from the round-house, Captain Aull was there, and an order was
given to him to convey to General Brinton. No other officers were
around, and I volunteered to go and find General Brinton, if I could. I
knew very well that General Brinton, perhaps, would not respect my
order if I did convey it, and therefore it was mentioned in the order
to Captain Aull, that he should consult with me about the situation. I
started with Colonel Stewart in a carriage, and reached General Brinton
beyond Sharpsburg, just on the hill. I explained the purport of the
order sent by Captain Aull, and by the way, the order was but a
sequence of other orders he had received during the night. He told me
he had not taken the direction he was ordered to go, because he wanted
to escape to the hills and entrench, where he could protect himself
from the mob. I suggested to him to return to the town of Sharpsburg,
but he said there was a worse feeling, or as bad a feeling manifested
there as in Pittsburgh, and that directly he would have two hundred and
fifty thousand people of the county about him. We had some conversation
why he didn't take the route to the east, and he said he had been
followed by a large crowd of men. I knew nothing about that, because I
saw no armed men on the way to him. General Brinton certainly
understood the purport of the order given to Captain Aull, because his
conversation evidenced that--there is no question about that. As to the
propriety of his going the way he did, going on his own discretion, I
have nothing to say about that. But he certainly knew what the purport
of the order was, which was that he was to make a junction with Colonel
Guthrie, and the other troops at East Liberty.
Q. Were you present when the order was given to Captain Aull by General
Latta?
A. Yes.
Q. Was any direction given to him as to what route he should take to
reach General Brinton?
A. I don't remember any further, than by the most immediate route. I
passed Captain Aull myself on the way; as he had a buggy, I presumed he
would reach there before we did.
Q. How were you traveling?
A. In a cab. I then overtook General Brinton, and told him if he would
come back to Sharpsburg, that we might possibly get provisions and
ammunition to him. That was his great complaint. I suggested that cars
were running to and fro--and while I was there a Pullman train was just
passing. He didn't even stop to consult with me or stop his command
until it was stopped by the surgeon's request--stopped to take a ball
out. I walked at least a mile with General Brinton, leaving the
carriage behind. I know it must have been that far, from the distance I
had to walk back. I wanted him to go back, but he said he would wait
half a mile beyond--on the hill beyond, but I ascertained afterward he
didn't stop there. I immediately went back.
Q. From what point did you start when you started to reach General
Brinton?
A. From Union depot; and I came back to Union depot.
Q. What time of the day was it?
A. I won't be positive about that. I cannot say what time. I will not
be positive--probably about eight or nine o'clock in the morning. It
was shortly after their exit from the round-house. It was not a very
great length of time afterwards.
Q. What time did you learn of their exit from the round-house?
A. I presume it was about half an hour before I started--possibly it
might have been three quarters.
Q. How did the news reach you?
A. It came from Captain Breck. He came down the track with some eight
or nine men--no, I think the first information we got was from Captain
Aull. He said he had seen the command start down the street, and we
discredited it, and went down to make some inquiries, and discovered
Captain Breck, and he said it was so. Then the suggestion was made that
the command be reached by somebody, and then Captain Aull and myself
were sent.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. Did you see any messages or dispatches while in the round-house from
General Brinton to General Latta?
A. Yes.
Q. How many.
A. I should think three or four, carried by the messenger that was
passing to and fro.
Q. Can you give the purport of those messages?
A. Well they were chiefly calling for provisions and for ammunition,
and explaining the situation.
Q. Did he ask for any assistance?
A. I believe he did. I didn't see what assistance could have been
furnished him just then, further than to supply him with ammunition and
provisions, and every effort was made to do that.
Q. Did he ask about the regular troops--whether they were on the way?
A. I really don't recollect. He possibly may have done so--I cannot say
at this time. I think there was some information given about the coming
of Colonel Rodgers and other troops from the east and General
Huidekoper's command from the north. I think there may have been some
inquiries about that. I think possibly there were.
Q. Did you infer from any of those messages received from General
Brinton that his men were in a demoralized condition or inefficient?
A. From one portion of them. There was a dispatch that conveyed that
information in unmistakable terms. I remember that distinctly, for I
remember the regiment he named.
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. What regiment did he name?
A. I would rather not say that, unless you insist.
Q. Was it the Sixth regiment?
A. Yes. I think myself from the temper of the people about there, that
General Brinton would have been ordered to take the street, had it not
been for that dispatch. So far as I was personally concerned, I thought
it was a piece of folly to remain there. I was satisfied, at any time,
if a proper movement had been made that he could have gotten out. I saw
the mob probably better than they did themselves--I saw a great deal of
it--in the night and in the morning. It was very much worse in the
morning than in the night, because it was aflame with rum, and utterly
irresponsible at that time. I think it just simply exhausted itself.
By Mr. Larrabee:
Q. Was any one present when you communicated the substance of this
order to General Brinton?
A. There may have been several officers around. I think there were.
Q. Do you remember who?
A. I don't, because I walked along half a mile, or a mile,
possibly--half a mile at least. I suppose that some of General
Brinton's staff officers were around. The conversation was just in the
way I tell you. I gave him no direct order, because I doubted whether I
had the authority, and he intimated he would not take such information,
anyhow. He said if he got a direct order he might move back. I didn't
pretend to convey any positive order to him.
Q. You say you found the command at Sharpsburg or Claremont?
A. Yes.
Q. How far is it from Sharpsburg to Claremont?
A. I really cannot tell you.
Q. How far did he march after you met him?
A. I heard some seven or eight miles. I don't know anything about that;
but, when I asked where they found him, they told me some seven or
eight miles from where I met him.
Q. Do you know where he encamped that night?
A. I do not. I was in Pittsburgh.
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. Were you with General Latta during Sunday evening?
A. Yes.
Q. And remained with him until Monday?
A. Yes.
Q. Did any officer or any person reach General Latta from General
Brinton asking for orders, on Sunday evening?
A. I saw one or two of his officers, but I have no recollection whether
they were after orders or not.
Q. Where did you see them?
A. At the hotel.
Q. The Union Depot?
A. No; the Monongahela house. When I came back from General Brinton,
the Union Depot hotel had been abandoned.
Q. What time did these officers come to the Monongahela house?
A. In the evening, about seven o'clock--possibly later.
Q. Did they return to General Brinton that night?
A. That I cannot say.
* * * * *
Thompson Lennig, re-called:
By Senator Reyburn:
Q. You were a private in the artillery corps, Washington Grays?
A. Yes; I served as such on that occasion.
Q. Were you in the company detailed to clear away the crowd at
Twenty-eighth street?
A. Yes; after the First regiment had been divided, the rear rank
remained on the left hand side of the railroad; and the front rank was
marched across the railroad, extending west from Twenty-eighth street,
and the Washington Grays, to which I was attached at the time, were
taking charge of the Gatlings. We were ordered to come front, march
through the two ranks, and take charge of the crossing. We only had
nine men and one officer. We had received short notice to leave, and
that is all the men we had. We were ordered to push the crowd back with
arms aport. It had no effect. They outnumbered us six or eight to one.
Then the Weccacoe Legion was ordered up, a company with from twenty to
twenty-five men at the outside. The Grays were divided, five men to one
side, and four men on the other. We were then ordered to push the crowd
back again. Being a little heavier, we succeeded in pushing them back;
but they began to grab our pieces, and I saw one of the Grays who had
his piece almost taken out of his hand. The crowd then began to draw
their pistols. We had received no orders to fire whatever. This man
simply retained his piece by using his bayonet, and my impression is he
run the man through. His piece was rusty the next day. At that time the
pistol firing began at Twenty-eighth street. The mob were all yelling
and hooting. I then heard a rifle shot on our right; that is to say,
the rear rank of the First regiment, which had been marched toward the
hill. At the most, in thirty seconds not a man in our command would
have had his piece, they outnumbered us so. Other shots followed, and I
think that the general impression was that the command had been given.
Every man felt that it was necessary it should come. The shots followed
each other, and I think the whole command fired spontaneously. I heard
no command to fire, and I don't think any other man in the command did.
Q. Could you have heard a command?
A. No; the only command I heard was from Colonel Benson, as the First
regiment was coming up, and from the evolution which followed, it must
have been "four paces left." Colonel Benson has a powerful voice. I
only judged what it was from the evolution that followed. All the
rioters were yelling and screaming at the same time, and it was utterly
impossible to hear any command.
Q. How many pistol shots were fired before this shot?
A. It would be impossible to say.
Q. Generally speaking?
A. I think there had been firing, perhaps, two or three minutes. There
were a number of cars standing there, and a number of rioters were
underneath the cars, and the shots came out from underneath, and many
of our men, I have heard, were wounded in the legs. I saw myself men
drawing pistols in front of us, and heard them all calling us
opprobrious names, and saying that no one would get home. They
evidently thought we never would fire at all. As soon as the firing did
take place, they scattered completely, and to all intents and purposes,
it struck me that the riot was quelled. If there had been a little more
determination after that, I think there would have been no further
trouble.
Q. You were in the round-house?
A. Until nine o'clock, then the Washington Grays were ordered out with
one of the guns or Gatlings, facing on Liberty street, on the opposite
side from Captain Ryan's command, and we were there all night.
Q. What was the conduct of the soldiers during the night?
A. I saw nothing that was not thoroughly soldierly. This Sixth
regiment, of which they speak, was in the paint-shop, and we could not
see them where they were. I heard no complaints for want of food, yet,
of course, we didn't have food. We had an ample supply of water in the
round-house. I heard no complaints for want of food.
* * * * *
Robert M. Brinton, re-called:
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. Were there any of your division that failed to report to you at
Pittsburgh, after being ordered out, and if so, why?
A. There were quite a number--probably one half of the division. More
than one half. They failed to report at Pittsburgh on account of the
shortness of the notice they received in Philadelphia. They
subsequently followed, however, and a number of them reached, I
believe, Walls station--some three hundred and fifty, under Colonel
Rodgers. Colonel Lyle, with probably as many men, reported at Altoona,
where he was stopped. He reported there and did duty with General
Beaver. I believe the only reason they failed to report was because of
the impossibility of receiving timely notice. Wherever men failed to
report, when we returned, the brigade commanders made strict
investigation into the cases, and all those men were called before a
regimental court of inquiry.
Q. Some evidence has been given before the committee of a detachment
who, in coming back, stopped across the river from Harrisburg, and were
escorted over the river by some parties in Harrisburg. Was that part of
your division?
A. I have heard that an officer and some twenty or thirty men were,
when we were returning, escorted over the river, and their arms taken
away from them. I have had that officer placed under arrest, and a
court-martial ordered, and the trial was in progress when,
unfortunately, the president of the court tendered his resignation, and
his resignation was accepted and forwarded to him, and the court was
dissolved. Since then another court has been appointed, and that court
is now sitting in the investigation of the conduct of that officer. For
the last six months we have had courts-martial going on in the
division, and in the case of one officer tried, I think the testimony
amounted to twenty-seven pages, closely written matter. The finding was
cowardice and absence without leave, and the court said under
extenuating circumstances. I reviewed the testimony carefully, and from
the testimony couldn't see how cowardice could be substantiated--how
that verdict was proper. In regard to being absent without leave, I
thought that the testimony was not sufficient to exonerate the officer,
although he was ill at the time, as he could have communicated with the
commanding officer to know where he was. In every instance where we
could detect any omission of duty, we examined into it carefully.
Q. Did you ascertain who the privates were with that crowd?
A. Yes; and those men will be tried.
Q. They have not been tried yet?
A. Not to my knowledge. I don't officially know anything about the
inquiry until it comes from brigade head-quarters; but I know that
proceedings have been instituted against every man we could find that
deserted his command or who didn't go out. The pay of this officer who
was on trial has been stopped. He has not been paid, and it is hanging
in that way until the case is decided.
Q. The case you speak of now, as reviewing, is the one alluded to by
one of the witnesses--Colonel Benson?
A. Yes.
Q. Did that detachment afterwards report for duty?
A. I think it did. I think it afterwards joined us when the Governor
came and opened communication with us at Blairsville.
Q. State what time Colonel Norris reached you on Sunday?
A. We had crossed the bridge near Sharpsburg, and had gone beyond the
limits of the town, and were halted on the side of a stream when T
first saw Colonel Norris. He stopped his barouche below and came up and
stood along side of me. Colonel Wilson and General Loud were with me at
the time. I am not mistaken on the subject. He gave me no orders
whatever. I have tried to tax my memory, because it was what I wanted
all the time. I thought it was a singular thing, because after our
column had marched from the round-house, where it was impossible to get
orders, I thought possibly I might get an officer to guide our column,
and when I saw Colonel Norris, I was glad to see him, expecting orders.
Q. What did he state his mission was?
A. His mission was to find out where we were, and to attempt to ration
us. That seemed to be his particular mission. So far as giving me any
orders or consulting me in regard to them, I positively deny it.
Q. Did he state to you that Captain Aull had received an order from
General Latta, to communicate to you?
A. I don't remember that he did that. I didn't know Captain Aull at the
time. He was not on the Governor's staff. I had been on the Governor's
staff myself, and I knew no such officer on the staff.
Q. Did Captain Norris claim to be acting on the staff of General Latta,
or on that of the Governor in any way? Was he a staff officer?
A. At that time, no.
Q. Did he represent himself to be?
A. No, sir; he didn't.
Q. Or that he was authorized by the Adjutant General to convey orders?
A. Our conversation--I remember the first thing he said, was when we
got up, "Bob, my God I am glad to see you;" that was the first
expression he used. He asked where I was going to, and I said I was
going to get something to eat, and that I had moved up the hill because
I didn't want to remain in Sharpsburg, where some of the Fourteenth
regiment had been shot, and where I thought there might be further
difficulty, it being Sunday, and the men all idle. He walked along with
us, and halted with us. We were halted when he joined us. We halted
there for some little time. I remember going down and getting a drink
out of a brook, and quite a number of men did so also. He walked with
us for probably quarter of a mile. I said to him, for Heaven's sake
Norris, try to get us some rations and some ammunition. Major Baugh
joined us, and I sent him back immediately. I asked him whether he had
any orders, and then I told him he would be obliged to go right back to
Pittsburgh and get them. Major Baugh went back and got the orders he
showed here to-day.
Q. Does anything else occur to you?
A. Only this; those officers who were with me, they may remember what
Colonel Norris said; they may have refreshed their memories. I should
like you to re-call those officers who were with me at the time.
Q. Captain Aull didn't reach you that day?
A. I don't remember to have seen Captain Aull that day. He didn't reach
me at all. The orders I received, said to be handed to him for me, were
given me one week afterwards, by Colonel Guthrie. If I had received
those orders, I should have obeyed them implicitly.
* * * * *
E. DeC. Loud, re-called:
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. Were you with General Brinton when Colonel Norris reached him on
Sunday?
A. I was.
Q. State what Colonel Norris said?
A. When Colonel Norris came up he jumped out of his barouche, and said
what General Brinton has testified to--my God, Bob, I am glad to see
you; where are you going--and he came up and shook hands with him. He
said he was glad to know that we got out, and said it was a pretty good
thing to get out all right. General Brinton asked about rations. We
were more interested in that than anything else. We sat down on a rock
along by a little run, and talked there awhile.
Q. Did you hear him say anything about Captain Aull having received any
order from General Latta?
A. I don't know him.
Q. Did you hear him call his name?
A. I don't think I did. I think if there had been anything of the kind
I should have noticed it, because I was with General Brinton, and my
relations with General Brinton, after we got into the round-house, were
closer than any other officer, except the Adjutant General. I was with
him--I was with him when the scout came in and went out, and was
walking with him all the way out. I was with him from the time my
brigade took the right of the line, until Doctor Maris came along, and
he got into the carriage with Doctor Maris. I was not away from him
five minutes during all the time.
* * * * *
Walter G. Wilson, re-called:
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. Were you with General Brinton when Colonel Norris reached him?
A. I was standing right alongside of him.
Q. State what Colonel Norris said?
A. The first remark that Colonel Norris made was, my God, Bob, I am
glad to see you alive, and he went on to ask some men as to what had
taken place during the night, and said, where are you going? The
general said, I am going to get something to eat. He said, I have been
promised rations on this side of the river. He said, why don't you stay
down in Sharpsburg? When he said, I am informed that there is a worse
feeling in Sharpsburg than in any other part of this neighborhood, and
I deem it best, if that is the case, to take possession of the hill
above, only a short distance, probably a quarter of a mile. He said, I
had been offered provisions for my men if I came over here, and I have
done so. These men are hungry and tired, and worn but, and they really
need food. They went on and had some further conversation in relation
to what had taken place during the night. The general asked about some
matters in relation to the movements of the troops, I believe. He had
received a dispatch from General Latta during the night, announcing
that a certain division had been ordered there. Colonel Norris then
wanted to know whether he should stay, and the general said no; that he
would rather he should go back and get some orders, and, if possible,
make an effort to get provisions and ammunition.
Q. Did he mention Captain Aull's name?
A. He did not.
Q. Did you walk along with him?
A. I was at no time further away than from your phonographer here,
(three or four feet.) We got up from the brook and walked up the
road--probably walked a distance of a couple of squares on the road.
Then Colonel Norris went back, and said he would use his utmost efforts
to communicate with him again, and furnish him with ammunition and
rations. Captain Aull's name I never heard mentioned in any way, shape,
or form until the night of the 31st of July, when at the Duquesne Club,
Colonel Guthrie came up to General Brinton, and said I have got a
dispatch for you--the order.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. Were you within hearing distance all the time?
A. Yes; at no time further away than from this gentlemen here, (the
stenographer.) I considered that my post, and was always there ready
for anything the general might want.
* * * * *
H. S. Huidekoper, _sworn by the uplifted hand_:
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. Where were you when the news of the Pittsburgh riots reached you?
A. I was in Chicago.
Q. How did they reach you?
A. I got the first news of the riot on Friday evening, I think. I was
attending the United States court there, and couldn't leave, but had
requested General Latta by letter, early in the week, to notify me by
letter if the services of my division were needed, and, relying on
that, I waited until Saturday morning, when I saw by the newspapers
that my division had been ordered to Pittsburgh. I took the eight
o'clock train, sending three telegrams, one to General Latta, that I
would be in Pittsburgh on Sunday night; one to my brother for my
uniform, and one to the assistant adjutant general of the division to
move the division to Rochester, Pennsylvania, and await my arrival. I
found afterwards that my request to General Latta had escaped his
memory, among the many things he had to look after.
Q. What is your rank in the National Guard?
A. Major general of the Seventh division, commissioned eight years ago.
Q. Where is your residence?
A. In Meadville, Pennsylvania. I had command of the Fifteenth and
Seventeenth regiments.
Q. Who is colonel of each of those regiments?
A. The colonel of the Fifteenth regiment is Colonel Carpenter, and of
the Seventeenth regiment is Colonel Magee, of Oil City, then lieutenant
colonel.
Q. Who was your assistant adjutant general?
A. John M. Clarke, of Meadville.
Q. Is he the one you directed to move the division to Rochester?
A. Yes.
Q. State what time you arrived at Rochester?
A. I arrived at Rochester probably about two o'clock on Sunday morning.
Fortunately on the train I met Mr. Layng, general manager of the Fort
Wayne road. He was in a private car on his way from Chicago to
Sewickley. About four or five o'clock in the afternoon Mr. Layng, at my
request, telegraphed to Greeneville an instruction to the troops there
to take some ammunition that I had put in Packer's warehouse which had
been left over under some requisition I made two years ago in
anticipation of some trouble in Mercer county, and bring it with them
to Rochester.
Q. Five o'clock of what day?
A. Saturday afternoon. After that Mr. Layng told me it was impossible
to get telegraphic communication with anybody except through the hands
of the men who had the wires in charge, and who were rioters.
Q. The strikers?
A. Yes; it was an exceedingly delicate thing to know how far you could
telegraph to the troops, how far you could expose your weakness or want
of ammunition, or how far to send your orders, or make any inquiries
concerning numbers or dispositions.
Q. You arrived at Rochester at what time?
A. Two o'clock Sunday morning.
Q. What were your movements from that time?
A. I kept on the Fort Wayne train, getting out of Mr. Layng's car some
twelve miles from Pittsburgh, and got into a car in front of the
sleeping-car, and ran into Pittsburgh. The train was stopped at the
outer depot and was examined there, and I could see the strikers moving
along the cars, and there was quite a large crowd outside. The next
time the train stopped, I jumped off--it was about a minute
afterwards--and went across the Federal street bridge, and took a back
street to the Monongahela house, and went in there to leave a
hand-book, and stepped down towards the round-house. There I met
General Brown, and called twice for a dispatch, but he didn't answer at
once, until he saw who I was. I was in citizen's clothes. I then went
in a carriage down to General Latta's head-quarters, in the Union Depot
hotel. The room he occupied was on the side of the depot towards the
street, and I very much questioned the safety of his position or of his
staying there, as it was liable at any moment to be entered. Colonel
Norris and Colonel Farr and Colonels Russell, Quay, and Stewart were
all present in that room. Colonel Norris took me immediately to the end
of the building, and looked out to where we could see the round-house
burning. We could see distinctly the flames around it, and in a very
little while a bright blaze came up, as if some cars were suddenly
struck by the fire, and there was a good deal of noise and firing. He
said the Philadelphia troops were in there, and asked if I couldn't get
down to relieve them. I then went back and asked about ammunition, and
was told it was in the cellar--about twenty boxes of it--and that
Colonel Stewart had engaged wagons to remove it, and I went down on a
wharf about five o'clock to engage a boat to take the ammunition to
Rochester. It was hard to find any person willing to take the
ammunition or anything. Most all were with the strikers, except one
boat, and the captain of that agreed to take it. We went back, and
there was considerable delay about getting the ammunition. I went once
or twice to the ordinary telegraph office to get word from the troops,
but found I could get nothing, as the wires were in the hands of the
strikers.
OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC PRINTING AND BINDING,
HARRISBURG, PA., _November 4, 1878_.
The copy for the latter portion of the testimony was not delivered
to me by the official reporter until November 2, 1878, which will
account for the delay in the printing of this volume.
J. W. JONES,
_Superintendent of Public Printing and Binding_.