Lynch Man, Let Public View Body: Church Goers Take Part in Celebration, pg. 1
Dublin Core
Title
Lynch Man, Let Public View Body: Church Goers Take Part in Celebration, pg. 1
Description
Morgantown, N.C., July 8.— "A mob estimated at more than 2,000 whites, business men and church workers, started the celebration of the Fourth of July at Linville Falls, 30 miles from here, Sunday by piercing the body of Broadus Miller, alleged slayer of a girl, with more than a hundred bullets.
The lynching ended the largest man hunt in the history of the state. Miller had been sought throughout the state for the past three months. Mob spirit dominated the state to such extent that Governor Mclean ordered out two companies of national guardsmen and had the Asheville company held in readiness.
Miller succeeded in eluding [ill] mobs until Sunday, when he was surprised in a house at Linville Falls. The house was quickly surrounded by law officers and the mob which awaited the appearance of Miller. When he opened the door and stood unarmed in the doorway, he was instantly shot down. Although Miller had died with the first volley, his body was seized and rushed here to be placed in the county jail for “safe-keeping.”
By noon the news had spread throughout the entire region, around this city and thousands of people in varying moods and temperaments, began to pour into town and fill the streets about the courthouse.
Clamor to See Body
There was murmuring in the crowd that finally became a shout, for they were bent on seeing for themselves the remains of Miller.
Sheriff Halliburton, after a conference with other officials, decided to bring the body from behind lock and key, that the crowd, then numbering about 5,000, might see the lifeless form of him who had aroused their hatred.
Then the body, still dressed in tattered clothes, and his feet cloth-bound, remindful of twelve days of relentless flight through the mountains, was brought from the jail and placed on the steps outside.
In order to avoid congestion, Sheriff Halliburton roped off a narrow lane, permitting the crowd to march by in single file and view the slayer’s body.
All through the afternoon the crowds passed and when the setting sun neared the rim of western mountains hundreds were still lined up in the street, awaiting their turn.
Two men stood at the end of the line as the crowd passed by and took up a collection. It is said that the fund amounted to over $500.
Soon after the body was removed from the county jail and placed on the steps. There was a determined shout for Burleson.
“Where is Burleson?” was the call that came from the mouths of that crowd. “We want Burleson.”
Burleson was the mountaineer credited with having fired the shot that ended Miller’s life. He was ushered to the highest place on the porch, above the body of the dead man, and as the hundreds milled past. Burleson was acknowledged as the hero. Once he held up his hand in appreciation of the tribute being shown him.
Late Sunday an atmosphere of un-rest appeared prevalent in the crowd and county authorities, fearing that some attempt might be made to mutilate the remains of Miller, decided to take the body to some other town. Many members of the mob celebrated the lynching by getting drunk. Whisky was freely passed around among the crowd.
Placed On Train
The report became known on the streets and when Southern railway train NO.16. eastbound, passed here early in the evening, thousands were lined up at the railway station as officers placed the body in an express car, and a deputy sheriff was left to accompany it.
The destination was not made public, but newspaper men, who boarded the train, learned that it was bound for Statesville.
Pardon Commissioner Edwin Burke, personal representative of Governor McLean, announced to the mob of 5,000 whites which surrounded the jail that Burleson would receive the reward of 2,000 offered for Miller’s capture, dead or alive.
White Paper Condemns Mob
The Raleigh Times, a white paper, discarded its prepared Fourth of July editorial for the one which condemned the action of the citizens and law enforcers in lynching Miller.
“The official end of Broadus Miller, hunted through the mountains for nearly two weeks, might as well be fixed according to the account that the finally successful hunters brought back with his all but naked body, riddled with bullets.
“The official account is that Miller, charged with the slaying under brutal circumstances of a girl child, was encountered by Commodore Vanderbilt Burleson (note the nomenclature) high up in the fastnesses of Linville mountains. The Commodore was one of the advance of the young army that has been [ill.] the rugged countryside with the thoroughness of a [ill.]. Suddenly he came face to face with his quarry, backed up against a tree, like a bear brought to bay, armed with a gun and having the “drop” on his pursuer. In spite of which the Commodore beat him to the draw, and Miller fell dead. He must have used a blunderbuss for the many gaping wounds in the breast and stomach still were dripping when the corpse was delivered at Morgantown.
“We assume Miller’s guilt. The chase for days has been one of the most persistent man hunts ever known in the state. Accept as facts the details of his resistance of arrest. He was an outlaw. His life was forfeit. His end came by ‘due process,’ and there was no lynching. But what of Morgantown? We lift a sanguine paragraph or [ill.] from the account of the ubiquitous Ben Dixon McNeill, who, if not [ill.] at the death, handled the brush while the stump was still wet:
“Again grasping the figure by the feet, two men dragged it across the sidewalk, across the courthouse lawn, pausing a moment before the door and then going in. A vast throng collected with miraculous speed. They yelled in exultation. Women embraced one another on the back. Before the doors of the court-house they all clamored for a sight of the dead, naked fugitive.
“ ‘For half an hour they [ill.] through the courthouse corridor, where the Negro lay in a huddled heap on the floor. Outside there arose a noisy demand that the corpse be brought out where everybody could see it. Some proposed to hang him up in sight of everybody and others demanded that he be dragged through the street behind an automobile. The crowd was not disorderly, but noticeably noisy. It was made up of all classes of people, and of all ages.
“ ‘Finally Sheriff J.J Halliburton compromised with himself and with the crowd. His own inclination was to send the body immediately to an undertaking establishment, but in the face of the demand from the throng, he permitted it to be dragged again by the feet to the middle of the lawn and laid out beside the fence which surrounds an imposing monument to the Confederacy. There it lay in the broiling sun for hours, while a vast throng fought and yelled and cursed and pushed for a chance to get a glimpse of it.’
“A sweet day for Morgantown society! And an arresting reflection on the bona fides of our protestation that as a state we are done with mob violence. When the automobile brought the dead body through the streets, the people were emerging from church, [ill.] sermons. The siren announcing the kill changed them instantly from a collection of [ill.] demure doves into a pack of wolves [ill.] after the event. Remembering our own city’s hysteria when it turned out to view the dead bandit, we are neither critical nor censorious; just observant and sad.”
The editorial from the Raleigh Times is on indication of how the fair-minded citizens of the state feel toward the atrocious lynching of Miller. Citizens throughout the state are disgusted at the action of the governor in disbanding the national guardsmen while a mob of two thousand whites were combing the state bent upon a lynching spree. Many prominent citizens who have always taken pride in the fact that their state gave its citizens justice and protection from mob violence, now are downcast since North Carolina has joined the other southern states in their lynch rule."
The lynching ended the largest man hunt in the history of the state. Miller had been sought throughout the state for the past three months. Mob spirit dominated the state to such extent that Governor Mclean ordered out two companies of national guardsmen and had the Asheville company held in readiness.
Miller succeeded in eluding [ill] mobs until Sunday, when he was surprised in a house at Linville Falls. The house was quickly surrounded by law officers and the mob which awaited the appearance of Miller. When he opened the door and stood unarmed in the doorway, he was instantly shot down. Although Miller had died with the first volley, his body was seized and rushed here to be placed in the county jail for “safe-keeping.”
By noon the news had spread throughout the entire region, around this city and thousands of people in varying moods and temperaments, began to pour into town and fill the streets about the courthouse.
Clamor to See Body
There was murmuring in the crowd that finally became a shout, for they were bent on seeing for themselves the remains of Miller.
Sheriff Halliburton, after a conference with other officials, decided to bring the body from behind lock and key, that the crowd, then numbering about 5,000, might see the lifeless form of him who had aroused their hatred.
Then the body, still dressed in tattered clothes, and his feet cloth-bound, remindful of twelve days of relentless flight through the mountains, was brought from the jail and placed on the steps outside.
In order to avoid congestion, Sheriff Halliburton roped off a narrow lane, permitting the crowd to march by in single file and view the slayer’s body.
All through the afternoon the crowds passed and when the setting sun neared the rim of western mountains hundreds were still lined up in the street, awaiting their turn.
Two men stood at the end of the line as the crowd passed by and took up a collection. It is said that the fund amounted to over $500.
Soon after the body was removed from the county jail and placed on the steps. There was a determined shout for Burleson.
“Where is Burleson?” was the call that came from the mouths of that crowd. “We want Burleson.”
Burleson was the mountaineer credited with having fired the shot that ended Miller’s life. He was ushered to the highest place on the porch, above the body of the dead man, and as the hundreds milled past. Burleson was acknowledged as the hero. Once he held up his hand in appreciation of the tribute being shown him.
Late Sunday an atmosphere of un-rest appeared prevalent in the crowd and county authorities, fearing that some attempt might be made to mutilate the remains of Miller, decided to take the body to some other town. Many members of the mob celebrated the lynching by getting drunk. Whisky was freely passed around among the crowd.
Placed On Train
The report became known on the streets and when Southern railway train NO.16. eastbound, passed here early in the evening, thousands were lined up at the railway station as officers placed the body in an express car, and a deputy sheriff was left to accompany it.
The destination was not made public, but newspaper men, who boarded the train, learned that it was bound for Statesville.
Pardon Commissioner Edwin Burke, personal representative of Governor McLean, announced to the mob of 5,000 whites which surrounded the jail that Burleson would receive the reward of 2,000 offered for Miller’s capture, dead or alive.
White Paper Condemns Mob
The Raleigh Times, a white paper, discarded its prepared Fourth of July editorial for the one which condemned the action of the citizens and law enforcers in lynching Miller.
“The official end of Broadus Miller, hunted through the mountains for nearly two weeks, might as well be fixed according to the account that the finally successful hunters brought back with his all but naked body, riddled with bullets.
“The official account is that Miller, charged with the slaying under brutal circumstances of a girl child, was encountered by Commodore Vanderbilt Burleson (note the nomenclature) high up in the fastnesses of Linville mountains. The Commodore was one of the advance of the young army that has been [ill.] the rugged countryside with the thoroughness of a [ill.]. Suddenly he came face to face with his quarry, backed up against a tree, like a bear brought to bay, armed with a gun and having the “drop” on his pursuer. In spite of which the Commodore beat him to the draw, and Miller fell dead. He must have used a blunderbuss for the many gaping wounds in the breast and stomach still were dripping when the corpse was delivered at Morgantown.
“We assume Miller’s guilt. The chase for days has been one of the most persistent man hunts ever known in the state. Accept as facts the details of his resistance of arrest. He was an outlaw. His life was forfeit. His end came by ‘due process,’ and there was no lynching. But what of Morgantown? We lift a sanguine paragraph or [ill.] from the account of the ubiquitous Ben Dixon McNeill, who, if not [ill.] at the death, handled the brush while the stump was still wet:
“Again grasping the figure by the feet, two men dragged it across the sidewalk, across the courthouse lawn, pausing a moment before the door and then going in. A vast throng collected with miraculous speed. They yelled in exultation. Women embraced one another on the back. Before the doors of the court-house they all clamored for a sight of the dead, naked fugitive.
“ ‘For half an hour they [ill.] through the courthouse corridor, where the Negro lay in a huddled heap on the floor. Outside there arose a noisy demand that the corpse be brought out where everybody could see it. Some proposed to hang him up in sight of everybody and others demanded that he be dragged through the street behind an automobile. The crowd was not disorderly, but noticeably noisy. It was made up of all classes of people, and of all ages.
“ ‘Finally Sheriff J.J Halliburton compromised with himself and with the crowd. His own inclination was to send the body immediately to an undertaking establishment, but in the face of the demand from the throng, he permitted it to be dragged again by the feet to the middle of the lawn and laid out beside the fence which surrounds an imposing monument to the Confederacy. There it lay in the broiling sun for hours, while a vast throng fought and yelled and cursed and pushed for a chance to get a glimpse of it.’
“A sweet day for Morgantown society! And an arresting reflection on the bona fides of our protestation that as a state we are done with mob violence. When the automobile brought the dead body through the streets, the people were emerging from church, [ill.] sermons. The siren announcing the kill changed them instantly from a collection of [ill.] demure doves into a pack of wolves [ill.] after the event. Remembering our own city’s hysteria when it turned out to view the dead bandit, we are neither critical nor censorious; just observant and sad.”
The editorial from the Raleigh Times is on indication of how the fair-minded citizens of the state feel toward the atrocious lynching of Miller. Citizens throughout the state are disgusted at the action of the governor in disbanding the national guardsmen while a mob of two thousand whites were combing the state bent upon a lynching spree. Many prominent citizens who have always taken pride in the fact that their state gave its citizens justice and protection from mob violence, now are downcast since North Carolina has joined the other southern states in their lynch rule."
Creator
N/A
Publisher
The Chicago Defender
Date
1927-7-9
Collection
Citation
N/A, “Lynch Man, Let Public View Body: Church Goers Take Part in Celebration, pg. 1,” African American Fourth of July, accessed April 29, 2024, https://africanamerican4th.omeka.net/items/show/84.