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| 1865 map showing Mount Croghan From Library of Congress |
This blogpost continues a series of posts on Chesterfield County. Other posts are:
- Reconstruction in Chesterfield County
- Unionists in a Confederate stronghold: Chesterfield during the Civil War
- The Melton Murders
- Letters from the Fox Family: Violence in Chesterfield County
- The law students of the Radical University: Henry A. Fox
- The students of the Radical University: Clarence W. Fox
- The prep students of the Radical University: Irving P. Fox
- The law students of the Radical University: Gil Dixon Fox
In the town of Mount Croghan, the Confederate veteran Archibald Nicholson was killed by the freedman Jacob Brewer on election day Saturday July 24, 1869. This was a shocking act of violence. While Reconstruction-era South Carolina was a violent place, homicide was rare. In the entire county, only two people were convicted of murder that year, and neither crime had the political significance of the attack on Nicholson. (One involved the murder of one child by another.) Here we take a close look at the incident.
Mount Croghan is in the northern part of Chesterfield County. The town lies almost on the border with North Carolina and is about 10 miles west of the county seat of Chesterfield Court House. Across the border is the town of Wadesboro, 15 miles away. None of these towns were on a rail line, and the nearest train station was thirty miles away (about a day's trip by horse) at the town of Cheraw.
Mount Croghan was and is small. Its population during the twentieth century never exceeded two hundred residents. I can't find statistics for the nineteenth century, but at that time, the population would have been even smaller. The town was home to a post office, and it served as a polling station on election days, but there was not much else. The town had been in the path of Sherman's troops during the last days of the Civil War, and significant parts of the town, including a schoolhouse, were burned by Union soldiers. Efforts to rebuild the town were hindered by the economic hardship that was prevalent during the early post-war years.
In the greater area of Mount Croghan township were about 1,700 inhabitants, a little under one-third being freed slaves. Like most of the Chesterfield County, the vast majority of residents were small farmers who focused on growing wheat and corn and raising swine to feed themselves. The more ambitious farmer might grow a small amount of cash crops like cotton or tobacco, but the amount produced in the township was minuscule compared to other parts of the state. Most of the black residents had been enslaved before the war, but they had typically worked on farms with fewer than twenty slaves rather than on large plantations. Living in the area were a few skilled workers, like blacksmiths and shoemakers, as well as merchants, but people seeking medical care often needed to travel to a place like Wadesboro.
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| Map showing location of Sherman's Union army during the first week of March 1865 From Library of Congress |
Like the rest of the south, Mount Croghan was going through rapid and dramatic political change in 1869. The previous year had seen the state constitution rewritten at a convention where a majority of delegates were black. Under the new constitution, freedmen (a majority of the state population) were given the right to vote, and a few months later they elected an overwhelmingly Republican state government.
In 1869, political changes were still taking place throughout the state. On September 26, 1868, during a special session, the new state legislature had reorganized local government (as Act No. 71) by subdividing the counties into townships with each township being served by several elected officials. The July election (the election where Archibald was murdered) was held to fill the newly created township offices, which were three selectmen, a town clerk, a constable, and at least one surveyor of highways. These offices were not as prominent as the governorship or a state senate seat, but they carried important powers. The constable had the ability to make arrests and could form a posse to suppress lawlessness. The selectmen had significant power over the electoral system as they were responsible for making voter lists.
The outcome of the township election was particularly important as it was one of the first contests between the newly empowered Republicans and conservatives. State-wide, conservative leaders had encouraged their supporters to boycott the 1868 elections over the constitution. This strategy had proven disastrous, so they were now trying to organize to successfully contest subsequent elections. In Chesterfield County, their efforts had been successful in a June 1868 election for county offices, the first election held under the new constitution. The township election was the next political contest. Tensions were high throughout the state. In the press, the murder of Archibald was overshadowed by an election day riot in Barnwell County that left two men dead and a third seriously injured.
Who were the men involved in the election day murder? Jacob Brewer left few records. He was farmer in his late thirties. He was born in South Carolina and was almost certainly enslaved before the war. His family name "Brewer" is likely his enslaver's name, but it was a common one in Chesterfield County.
We know more about Archibald Nicholson and his brother John. They lived a few miles away from town and had grown up in the area. Their father James was a small farmer. Both Archibald and John worked as farmers and millers. There is no record of the Nicholsons enslaving anyone, but both Archibald and John had served in the Confederate army. They enlisted in the early years of the war and remained in the service for the war's duration. John was a private in an artillery unit (the Chesterfield Light Artillery), Archibald a sergeant in an infantry unit (the 26th SC Infantry). At the time of the election, both had settled down. They were middle-aged and headed large families.
The Incident: Legal Records
The most careful account of the murder of Archibald Nicholson is the account given by the coroner's inquest. Following any violent or suspicious death, the county coroner was charged with gathering a fourteen-man jury responsible for determining the cause of death (homicide, accident, etc.).
The inquest into Archibald's death was held on July 26, two days after his death. The local magistrate George W. Brewer acted as coroner, presumably because the county coroner was unavailable. The investigation was very straightforward. Three men testified that they had seen the freedman Jacob Brewer strike Archibald Nicholson on the head with a gun. The blow was "hard enough to kill a bull." When Jacob hit Archibald, the gun discharged. This surprised Jacob, and he ran away. Jacob took the gun (which wasn't his) with him, but he dropped his hat. Two other witnesses testified that they later saw Jacob hatless and carrying the gun. The blow did not immediately killed Archibald, and he returned home after the fight but died later that day. Two physicians testified that his death was caused by the head injury. Quite reasonably, the jury concluded that Jacob Brewer feloniously killed Archibald Nicholson with a blow to the head.
We can get some additional insight into the inquest by looking at the backgrounds of the people involved. The acting coroner and every member of the jury was white. Like most residents of the county, most jury members were farmers, but the jury included the merchant B. C. Evans and the shoemaker James K. Little. Three of the jurors were prominent in local politics. Alfred M. Lowry had been a state congressman during the antebellum, and both B. C. Evans and D. A. Redfearn would later serve in the state legislature. The jury's profile suggests that the members were not chosen at random, but rather an effort was made to select jurors who were seen as respectable even prominent citizens.
The witnesses are also interesting. While it is not explicitly mentioned in the inquest records, the jury took testimony from both black and white men. Not counting the physicians who provided expert testimony, there were five witnesses: one white man and four black men. While the white man was literate, the black men were unable to even sign their names to their statements. Testifying about a serious and racially charged crime before prominent white citizens, the black witnesses (almost certainly only recently freed from slavery) would have been under considerable pressure. We can't know how this impacted their testimony, but the record does not demonstrate coercion in any obvious way.
The record of the inquest convincingly establishes the cause of Archibald's death, but it leaves many important questions unanswered. Why did Jacob attack Archibald? One witness (Edward Moore) said that the attack took place during a fight between several parties, indicating that Jacob and Archibald were not the only people involved. Were their political motives? Was Jacob (or Archibald) trying to intimidate voters? The inquest record is completely silent on this. Nowhere does it even indicate that the murder took place on election day near a polling station. A close reading of the account suggests that people thought there'd be trouble at the polling station. The gun that Jacob wielded was one that a witness (Sandy Gordon, a black farmer) had brought from home.
The inquest record also does not say what happened to Jacob Brewer. The purpose of the inquest was to determine cause of death, not to hold perpetrators accountable. Certainly, the inquest records offered reasonable grounds for arresting Jacob, but any arrests would have been made after the record was completed. To learn more about the murder, we have to turn to other sources.
The Murder: Newspaper Accounts
The most detailed accounts of the murder of Archibald Nicholson that I have been able to find are newspaper articles, specifically an article in the Wilmington Morning Star and an article in the Cheraw Democrat. These accounts need to be used carefully as both newspapers generally promoted a conservative point of view. Indeed, the Star's correspondent argued that the incident proved that "radical [Republican] rule is productive of evil only. Riots and murders seem to be the order of the day."
Setting aside the political commentary, the newspapers reported that the murder played out as follows. On election day, Archibald Nicholson walked four miles from his home to town with his brother John. Archibald appears to have anticipated that there might be trouble as he armed himself with a rifle and a knife before heading out. While in town, Archibald decided to purchase some cider (probably "hard" or alcoholic cider) that was being sold near the polling station. He set down his rifle and queued in line to make his purchase. When his turn came, an unnamed freedman began pushing his way through the crowd and into the line. This angered Archibald. He shoved the freedman and told him to wait until the white men were finished. The freedman responded by shaking his fist and daring Archibald to step out, declaring that he'd whip him.
The freedman's threat infuriated Archibald, and he went for his rifle. To his surprise, someone else had taken it, so he drew his knife and charged the freedman. The freedman initially retreated, but after finding and picking up a rail on the ground, he stood his ground and fought back.
Archibald Nicholson's brother John tried to stop the fight but was spectacularly unsuccessful. Not only did Archibald and the freedman continue to fight, but an estimated thirty to forty people joined in. This was a huge crowd for Mount Croghan. It was more than a tenth of the military age men in the entire township.
Jacob Brewer was among the men who joined the melee. Once the fight escalated, he grabbed a gun that another freedman (Sandy Gordon, who later testified before the inquest jury) had set down and struck Nicholson on the head with it. When he did so, the gun accidently discharged. This surprised Brewer, and he ran off.
The participants in the fight aligned themselves along racial lines, with blacks fighting for the unnamed freedman and whites fighting for Archibald. The newspapers reported that white men got the better of their opponents and chased off them off. Reportedly, several freedmen participating in the fight were seriously injured, but the white men took care not to abuse the freedmen who stayed out of the fight. This last bit seems suspicious as it fits too neatly into white southerners' self-notions of honor, self-control, and proficiency with violence.
After the fight, Archibald thought his injury wasn't serious, so he walked back home. Unfortunately, they proved severe, and he died several hours later at his home.
What happened to Jacob Brewer? The newspapers provide conflicting accounts of what transpired in the immediate aftermath of the fight. The Cheraw Democrat reported that the local magistrate received an application for an arrest warrant, but he refused to issue one. The Evening Star reported that the magistrate, in fact, had issued a warrant on Monday July 26 (the day of the coroner's inquest), but Jacob had gone into hiding, and no arrest was made. It appears that Jacob never experienced legal consequences. There is no further mention of him in newspapers, and his name does not appear on lists of state convicts for the years 1870 and 1871.
It is also unclear what the outcome of the Mount Croghan election was. On August 4, newspapers reported on the electoral outcomes in the townships of Cheraw, Steerpen, Cole Hill but not Mount Croghan or any of the other four townships.
What to make of all this? The picture that emerges is that Mount Croghan township was a tense place in 1869. White residents were furious that former slaves now wanted to be treated as equals, while freedmen strongly defended their hard-won new status. Everyone was experiencing unprecedented economic hardship and political uncertainty. In this atmosphere, men felt so endangered that they would sometimes arm themselves with weapons before leaving home. Community events like election day turned into powder kegs as the town of Mount Croghan became filled with armed Confederate veterans and freedmen from the surrounding countryside, with many indulging in drinking and the other forms of carousing that the town offered. Basic rudeness could escalate to murder, and when this happened, the local government, never particularly strong and greatly weakened by four years of war, was often unable to restore peace and order. While one should reject the racism and political prejudice of the Wilmington Evening Star, the newspaper was not wrong in stating that "Riots and murders seem to be the order of the day."
Sources
1. "Miscellaneous." The Charleston daily news. [Charleston, SC], March 13, 1868, p. 3.
2. "Capture of an Outlaw." The Charleston daily news. [Charleston, SC], April 19, 1870, p. 3.
3. "S.C. Penitentiary: Report of Prisoners Received, Pardoned, Discharged, Removed to Asylum, Escaped, &c." in Reports and Resolutions.
4. Year: 1870; Census Place: Mount Croghan, Chesterfield, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1491; Page: 331A
5. "Conflict Between Whites and Negroes." The daily phoenix. [Columbia, SC], August 4, 1869, p. 2.
July 26, 1869
6. "Chesterfield." The Charleston daily news. [Charleston, SC], August 2, 1869, p. 1.
7. "Unfortunate Affray." Wilmington Morning Star [Wilmington, NC], August 3, 1869. p. 1.
Witnesses
Banjamin Blakeney (b. abt. 1839). SC. Black. Occupation: farmer.
Oliver P. Edgeworth (b. 1831). SC. White. Occupation: farmer. Confederate veteran. Enlisted on March 13, 1862 for the duration of the war. Served as a private in the 4th South Carolina Cavalry. He was captured in Anson County, NC by Union troops on March 2, 1865 (the week that Sherman's Union army was in Chesterfield County.)
David A. Redfearn (b. 1846). NC. White. Occupation: farmer.
Henry T King (b. 1812). SC. White. Occupation: farmer. Enslaved 5 people in 1860.
A T Robinson
George W. Redfearn (b. 1834). NC. White. Occupation: farmer. Enslaved 3 people in 1860.
Samuel D. Watts (b. 1843). NC. White. Occupation: farmer.
William H. Moore (b. 1800). NC. White. Occupation: farmer.
David T. Rivers (b. 1843). SC. White. Occupation: farmer
William H Helton (b. 1843). White. SC. Occupation: farmer
Robert F. Hancock (b. 1832). SC. White. Occupation: farmer.
Inquest Testimony
Evidence of Benjamin Blakeney after being duly sworn
says that he was at Mount Croghan on Saturday the 24th July and that he saw Jacob Brewer strike Archibald Nicholson a hard lick on the same [side?] of the head (hard enough to kill a bull) with a gun and run off immediately and the gun fired at the same time and Mr Nicholson and went to the ground and Brewer's hat fell off and he Brewer ran off and left it.
Drs Charles B Coppedge and John A. Rae
says they believe that Archibald Nicholson came to his death by violence (a blow to the side of the head) pressure of the brain
Evidence of Edward [Moore?]
says that he was at Mount Croghan in this County on Saturday the 24th July and a fight took [place?] then between several parties he heard blows struck and about the same time he heard a gun fire and he saw Jacob Brewer off from the ground (with a gun in his hand that was exhibited to him at the inquest and says he believes it to be the same gun) near where Mr Nicholson was and he states that he said to Mr. O P Edgeworth it was Jacob Brewer that shot this
Evidence of Sandy Gordon
says that he was at Mount Croghan on Saturday the 24th July he carried a gun with him the same one exhibited at the inquest that he sat the gun inside the [fence?] and a man came and took the gun of yellow complexion and went off in the direction of the crowd
Evidence of Hardy G Hundrick
says that he was at Mount Croghan in this County on Saturday 24th July he saw Archibald Nicholson struck with a gun and the person who struck the lick run off immediately and he thought at the time way as Blakeney a negro and abou[t] the same time he heard a gun fire and the person who struck the lick was inside of the fence and Mr Nicholson was outside in the road
Evidence of Jacob Lowry + Essick Lowry
say they went to Mount Croghan on Saturday the 24 July and after they left Mount Croghan they overtook Jacob Brewer on the Lancaster road near the Campbell[s'] old house and Jacob Brewer had the gun exhibited at the inquest and it was Sandy Gordon's gun and Jacob Brewer said he picked it up at Mt Croghan and bought it off but did not know whose gun it was [?? off on] he [returned] to Essick Lowry and he carried it home and J Brewer was bear [sic 'bare"] headed.
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