LAUDERDALE COUNTY, ALABAMA
COPS AND ROBBERS - [MOSTLY ROBBERS]
"MOUNTAIN" TOM CLARK
Compiled June 2004
by Lee Freeman
From the Official Record of the War of the Rebellion,
Series 1, Vol. 49, part 1, p. 73.
March 1-6, 1865.—Expedition from Gravelly Springs to Florence, Ala.
Report of Capt. Lot Abraham, Fourth Iowa Cavalry.
Gravelly Springs, Ala., March 6, 1865.
MAJOR: I have the honor to submit the following report of my expedition in
obedience to your orders of March 1:
Starting from camp just before dark that evening, I marched to
Rawhide 1 and camped for the night. I found the roads very
bad, night dark and rainy, and had some trouble in finding the place. On the 2d
I started early, during a heavy rain, and followed your instructions until I
arrived at Shoal Creek, which could not be forded, and I followed down on this
side, arriving in Florence at dark, where I found the different detachments
waiting, and that we had picked up about fifty prisoners during the day, and
heard that a party calling themselves Federal soldiers had passed through
Florence that day, robbing and plundering. I soon learned that some of the men
we wanted were with that party, but it was then too late, dark, and rainy to
follow. I received your orders to bring all prisoners to camp next day.
Quartered in deserted building in Florence that night, and called on the
citizens to feed the prisoners, which they did willingly. Next morning (the 3rd)
I started a detachment after Thrasher’s 2 party,
and started for camp with the rest of my command and the prisoners, but could
not cross Cypress Creek and sent them back to Florence. I worked all day in the
rain trying to send a messenger to headquarters. Succeeded in the evening by
sending a little flat-boat down the river. Being out of rations and forage, that
evening I called on the citizens to divide, which they did willingly, with a few
exceptions. I arrested a soldier straggling about, on the 2d, named John Agnes,
belonging to Ninth Indiana Cavalry. He said he had been up there sick for three
weeks and wanted to return with us to camp to find his regiment. He broke away
from the guards that night, and I learned since that he had been engaged in
robbing, &c. Several citizens told me they believed most of the robbing had been
done by men who were with Lieutenant Thrasher, or men from about Clifton [TN].
They all say Thrasher is an honorable man, but blame him for having such men
with him. Tom and Bishop Clark, Tom Dennis, Paul Ketty, Bill Bridges, and Pete
Grimes are the names of some of his party. A man calling himself Phillips seemed
to be the worst character. I received supplies of forage and rations by the
steamer Rosa Sunday, the 5th instant, and returned to camp, arriving at 3
0’clock this p. m.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
LOT ABRAHAM,
Captain Company D, Fourth Iowa Cavalry.
Maj. E. B. BEAUMONT,
Asst. Adjt. Gen., Cavalry Corps, Mil. Div. of the Mississippi.
From W. C. Handy’s 1941 autobiography, Father of the Blues, chapter
one, pp. 3-4.
Contrast these characters with that of my maternal grandfather, Christopher
Brewer. When his master, John Wilson, had given my Grandfather Brewer his
freedom, he preferred to stay near Mr. Wilson as his trusted servant. At one
time, nearing the close of the Civil War, guerilla warfare was common in this
locality. Three robbers were eventually hanged five miles out of Florence. These
thieves had undertaken to rob John Wilson. They stripped him and tortured him to
death by burning paper and searing his body to make him tell where his money was
hidden. He refused. My Grandpa Brewer likewise knew. They shot him to make him
tell. He also refused. But when his wounds had sufficiently healed he went to
Nashville and brought his young master, Coonie Foster, back home and disclosed
to him the hiding place of the money.
Note: This incident occurred in Nov. of 1865. According to Wade Pruitt’s
Bugger Saga, Tom and Dennis Clark , Elias Thrasher, John Campbell,
Charles Oliver and Albertie Gallion. were the alleged perpetrators of this
crime.
From W. C. Handy’s 1941 autobiography, Father of the Blues, chapter
twenty-two, p. 291:
Returning to New York by way of Los Angeles, my cousin Llewellyn Brewer bade me
farewell and invited me to come again. . . .Llewellyn, now in his eighties, had
fought with the U. S. Regular Army in their battle with Geronimo. He was at John
Wilson’s “Big House” when the robbers shot Grandpa Brewer and hit Grandma Brewer
over the head with a gun. From him I learned that Matthew Wilson gave his
ex-slaves who headed families one thousand dollars in cash and forty acres of
land each.
From the Florence Journal, Thursday, November 1, 1866, p. 3.
SHOOTING AFFAIR.--- On last Monday evening, Mr. Thomas Clark was shot at and
dangerously wounded by Mr. Lee Howell. The occurrence happened near the “Baugh
Place,” some fifteen miles North west from Florence. Clark is the party who
killed Mr. Howell’s father during the war, hence the action on the part of an
affectionate son. There is we hear, a slight chance of Clark’s recovery.
From the Florence Journal, Wednesday, January 11, 1871, p. 3.
Charles Jackson, Thos. Simpson, and Robt. Pool, colored persons, will appear
before the Mayor this morning charged with Burglary. A few nights since the
smoke house of Mr. Melvin Miller was entered and about five hundred pounds of
bacon carried away. A portion of that bacon was found on the premises of Thos.
Simpson, who cannot account for its presence in that locality. - Much credit is
due to Constable Ed Blair, John Blair, and Willie White, for their diligence in
finding the stolen property, and arresting the parties. Quite a number of
burglaries have been committed in Florence lately, and the thing must be
stopped.
From the Lauderdale Times, August 18, 1872, p. 3.
Thos. Clark, a notorious tory 3, was [a]rrested
in Jackson county, last [w]eek by process from Lauderdale [c]ounty Circuit
Court, and lodged in [j]ail Sunday. He is charged in sep[ar]ate indictments with
murder, assault [w]ith intent to murder, fornication and [a]dultery.
From the Lauderdale Times, September 10, 1872, p. 2.
From the Lauderdale Times Extra of September 5.
GREAT EXCITEMENT IN FLORENCE.
Summary Punishment Visited Upon the Guilty!
Crime and Punishment.
Three Men Hung on One Tree!
Thos. Clark, the Notorious Outlaw, Executed!
Robbers captured and Hung by outraged Citizens!
We give below the facts
as we gather them, of the hanging of Tom Clark and the two Burglars, in our town
last night.
Tuesday evening, a
gentleman of Athens came to this place and brought information that on the night
previous, nine houses had been burglariously entered in the town of Athens and
much valuable property stolen therefrom. He stated that the parties supposed to
have committed the burglary were coming towards this place, and advised the
citizens to be on the alert--- But no one thought anything of it; and all
retired as usual, little suspecting burglars in our quiet town. During the
night, the houses of Judge Allington, Jas. Hancock and R. T. Simpson were
entered, gold watches stolen from the latter two.
About half past two
o’clock that night, two men were seen on the streets driving a sorrel mare to a
buggy.--- Suspicion was at once fixed upon these as the guilty parties, and at
sunrise yesterday morning four men went in pursuit. It was ascertained that they
had gone in the direction of Waterloo.
The Capture of the
robbers was effected by Messrs. Wm. E. Blair (City Marshal), Wm. Barks, Wm.
Joiner and W. E. Warson. The robbers had stopped for dinner, and were about
unhitching their horse near the residence of Esq. Pettypool, a few miles below
Gravelly Springs. They offered little resistance, but expressed much surprise as
Mr. Blair and others rode up, and the Marshal demanded their surrender.. A
search of their persons discovered nothing, but on examining the buggy, the pin
of a breastpin was observed sticking through the lining of the buggy top. The
party immediately went “up stairs,” in the language of one of the gallant
gentlemen, and found there eight watches, and handful of breastpins, &c, [sic]
On opening a drummer’s 4 satchel, which
was in the buggy, files, saws, and other burglarious instruments were found,
amongst which was a murderous slung shot [sic].
At this part of the game
the countenances of the robbers fell. They seemed to give up all thought of
escape, and to make up their minds to suffer the penalty of the law, (if they
could not by some ingenious trick manage to break jail). Their arms having been
taken, they were placed in the buggy and with their captors, before and behind,
turned towards Florence.
Just above Gravelly
Springs, the party was joined by one of the many ubiquitous candidates, now
canvassing the county, and further on, by the marshall [sic] of Athens and his
companion.--- The prisoners, who were elegantly dressed, experienced much
annoyance at the heat and dust, seeming not to care much for anything else.
Florence turned-out en
masse, as the party rode in town much excitement prevailed.
At night it culminated in
THE HANGING.
The jail being insecure,
Sheriff Hudson had summoned eight men, in addition to the jailor, to guard the
prisoners. About midnight a great crowd came to the jail and demanded the keys.
The guard refused to give them up, and fired on the mob. It is said that the
fire was returned. At any rate, the jail doors were broken open, and the guard
disarmed. The cells wherein Tom Clark and the robbers were confined, were also
broken into, and the three men taken out and carried immediately to an adjoining
square, and hanged by the neck until they were dead. The three were suspended
from a tree, which stands in the rear of the site of the old Masonic Lodge.
In the morning the
citizens found them there. One was identified as Tom Clark; one was a short,
stalwart man, with the initials F. R. and a star, in Indian Ink, on his right
arm, and two hearts pierced by an arrow on his left hand; and one is supposed to
be Gibson. We understand that one of the robbers directed his portion of the
$365, in money, which was found on their persons, to be sent to his sister, Miss
Kate Schilee, of Indianapolis, Indiana. The same man attempted to escape, was
shot by some person, unknown, recaptured, and hung with the others. It is the
opinion of Dr. Hannum, who examined his wound, that death would have resulted
from the pistol shot. The younger robber marched up boldly to the tree and
requested the executioners to hold him up and drop him, instead of drawing him
up. The prayers of Clark were agonizing, and were heard by the citizens living
near. Clark is said to have killed sixteen men during his life.
The indignation of
citizens at the outrage of these men, was so great that, the ladies of the
community, and many of the colored people requested the Mayor to have the bodies
buried outside of the cemetery. Esq. Rice, in accordance with this request, has
ordered that the bodies be interred in one of the old fields near our town.
Messrs. Hancock and
Simpson identified their watches among those found in possession of the
burglars.
We hope that people at a
distance will not accuse our citizens of lawlessness for this act. We are as
lawabiding as any people in the land; and only when driven by the highest law of
natures [sic] God, self preservation, would our community take the law in their
own hands, and mete out to these murderers and robbers, the just punishment for
their enormous crimes. If ever Mob Law was justifiable, it was in this instance.
Tom Clark, who boasted that he had murdered, in cold blood, sixteen men,
deserved hanging sixteen times over. The others, no doubt, would have slain
their scores if they had found it necessary to cover their villiany [sic]. They
were murderers at heart, and entered our dwellings with the formed design to
slay every man who might be awakened and attempt to defend his house-hold.
These men have only met
their deserved end. Let all such take warning. This was no Ku-Klux affair, but
simply the legitimate effect of an indignant and outraged public feeling.
Fearfully and quickly has the hand of retribution overtaken them, but it was
only justice asserting her claims upon three of the most heartless villains that
ever cursed the world.
We are opposed to mob
law, but these men met a death richly deserved, and over their fate we shed no
tears.
The thanks of the
community are due Messrs. Blair, Joiner, Barks and Warson, for their prompt
action in making the capture.
Coroner Ed Brown,
summoned a jury and held an inquest this morning. The verdict was that the
parties came to their death on the night of the 4th inst., by strangulation by
hanging at the hands of persons unknown.
Messrs. L. E. Powers,
John T. Petty, [J]oseph Milner, Andrew Brown, J. T. Westmoreland and A. W.
Porter, composed the jury.
From the Lauderdale Times, September 17, 1872, p. 2.
WINCHESTER, IND., Sept. 13, 1872
SHERIFF HUDSON.—Dear Sir: -- I see in the papers an account of the lynching of
three men in your county. I want you to send me a description of the men. We had
two men to break jail here, that the description given in the papers, suits them
pretty well. One was a man about 5 feet 10 inches high, rather slim build,
swarthy complexion, dark hair, and a little curly. The other was about 5 feet 7
inches high, fair complexion, round face, heavy built, about 30 years old, his
right arm was badly crippled from a gun shot wound in the rist [sic] extending
to the elbow. They were committed to the jail here, for burglary in April last,
and on the night of the 29th of May, as I went into the jail to shut them up in
their cells, they struck me with a club and come near killing me, I did not get
out of my house for two months. They were caught before they got out of town,
and returned to the jail. But on the 2nd night of August they broke the door of
the jail, and made good their escape. I would be glad to know that they are the
same men, for they deserve it much.
D. F. FORA,
Sheriff of Randolph county
(Winchester) Indiana.
The description given in
the foregoing letter suit the parties that were hung here on the night of the
4th inst. We hear of these burglars first at Glasgow and Scottsville, Kentucky,
then at Lebanon, Nashville, Columbia, Pulaski and Fayetteville[,] Tenn., then at
Athens and this place, in Alabama, where the ball ended---but have not been able
to find out the names of either of the burglar[sic].
---In all the places
mentioned more or less robbing was committed.
1 Rawhide: Now Cloverdale [
back ]
2 2d Lieut. Elias Thrasher (c. 1823-1900), of Co. B, 2nd
Tenn. Mounted Inf., USA, a native of Laud. County, and said to be an outlaw,
with Tom Clark, in “the Buggers.”
[ back ]
3 Tory: A Union sympathizer. [ back ]
4 Drummer’s: Drummers were traveling salesmen, so-called because
they often beat a drum to announce their coming. A drummer’s satchel was a
salesman’s case. [ back ]
5. New Castle - The coal mines. Prisoners were
contracted out to work off their sentences.
[ back ]
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