Monday night at eight o'clock I stopped what I was doing for a few minutes to give silent witness to another Monday evening, 152 years ago–an evening in which 22 persons lost their lives in downtown Kingstree.
The jail as it looked in 1910. This was probably the second jail built after the 1867 fire.
From The State, July 31, 1910
The year 1867 was just a week old, and tensions were running high in Kingstree. Barely two years before, the town had braced in anticipation that General William T. Sherman would march through the area. Sherman changed direction, sparing the town, and a few months later, high water and the determination of the townspeople to burn the bridges kept Gen. Edward Potter and his Raiders away, as well. However, a year and a half after the end of the Civil War, residents of Kingstree and Williamsburg County, both black and white, were grappling with the vast changes in their lives.
The Town of Kingstree had been incorporated for just over a week as the State Legislature had approved the incorporation and the Governor had signed it on December 28, 1866.
Tensions were high, however, because in late 1866, several white citizens had written to Governor James Lawrence Orr, stating that 300 freedmen in the Kingstree area had formed themselves into six military companies in direct opposition to an order from Gen. Dan Sickles that neither whites nor blacks could form military organizations in the state. Gov. Orr contacted the Freedmen's Commissioner for South Carolina, who responded by sending two officers and a squad to investigate.
That investigation found no such organization nor the wish to form any such organization. The freedmen admitted to holding a public meeting to discuss the work situation in the county and to decide whether or not to stay in the area or to move to Florida. They said local white farmers were trying to force them to accept jobs that paid only $6 to $8 per month. They had refused these offers and called the meeting. In their report, the investigators said they believed the white farmers were trying to find a way to keep the freedmen from meeting further to discuss wage issues."
This so angered some of the farmers that a number of them threatened to take the life of the officer in charge of the squad. Governor Orr was sufficiently concerned that he then ordered that a garrison be established in Kingstree to keep the peace. This did not set well with many Kingstree residents.
Around 8 p.m. on January 7, the guard at the Williamsburg County Jail heard a rumbling noise in the upper stories of the four-story building. Descriptions indicate that the jail had a ground level basement, with three floors above it. The guard investigated but found nothing out of the ordinary. However, he was shortly thereafter alerted by an African-American citizen, who said a small amount of smoke was coming from a third-story window.
The jail had welcomed a new jailer that day. J.S. Beck has assumed the title of jailer, but the former jailer, James P. Barrineau, had not yet surrendered the keys to Beck. When Barrineau was alerted that the jail might be on fire, he arrived with the keys, but reportedly wouldn't unlock the door without the permission of Sheriff S.P. Matthews. Matthews, likewise, wanted the approval of Lt. Ross, the commander of the garrison, before he would approve unlocking the door.
The Kingstree Star stated that during these discussions, there was no fire showing and only a small amount of smoke, giving the men the idea that the matter was not urgent. However, by the time Lt. Ross arrived at the jail and ordered that it be opened immediately, smoke was pouring from the windows of the upper stories.
Once the basement door was opened, Sheriff Matthews, Lt. Ross, and M.F. McBride entered the building and began to ascend the stairs to the first floor. Matthews and Ross soon turned back as the smoke was thick and choking. McBride, however, managed to get the first floor door open and release Robert H. Flinn, the only white prisoner in the jail at the time. Flinn was there on debtor's charges and was, according to reports, given the run of the jail. McBride was overcome by smoke twice before he was able to get out of the building, barely escaping alive.
According to The Kingstree Star, the squad members from the garrison worked alongside Kingstree residents in an attempt to release the 22 black prisoners on the third floor. The Star noted that Pvt. William Green climbed a ladder to try to break through the bars of one of the third floor windows. Another news story alleges that an axe was passed through the bars to one of the prisoners, instructing him to try to break through the bars. He reportedly took the axe but was quoted as saying, "It's too late," before he fell backward into the smoky haze.
The Star also noted that Joe and William Blakely, two African-American citizens of Kingstree, tirelessly attempted to find a way to rescue the victims, whose cries and screams were heart-rending.
The exact location of the jail is not given in any of the news articles, although all of them note that it was relatively isolated from other downtown buildings and was completely without access to water, ladders, or any other equipment to help the victims escape. By the time the fire burned itself out, only the shell of the building was left.
The Williamsburg County Law Enforcement Center of today.
There was much speculation about the cause of the fire. Many felt that the prisoners had set the fire, hoping that the confusion would allow them to escape. However, no one could figure out how that could have happened as the prisoners had no access to matches. Another persistent rumor was that one of the prisoners was about to go on trial for murder, and he was the one who set the fire. That was a total fabrication as we shall see.
A coroner's jury was empaneled after the fire, the inquest lasting four days. The jurors examined the remains of three bodies, the only remains not totally incinerated by the flames. The jury came to the conclusion that the fire started between the ceiling of the second story and the floor of the third story, but they were unable to determine if it was an accident or deliberately set. The report noted that had the jailer been in place with the keys when the alarm was first given, the three women prisoners and perhaps some of the men could have been saved. The jury found dereliction of duty on behalf of the sheriff and the jailer and recommended that both should be censured.
Edward J. Porter was foreman of the coroner's jury. Jurors were W.M. Kinder, I. Nelson, Wm. F. Ervin, D.M. Duke, J.C. McCants, E.R. Lesesne, Jos. G. Kirkland, J.M Staggers, M.J. Hirsch, M. Schwartz, Jas. M. Nelson and S.E. DeRackin. T.B. Logan was District Judge and also Acting Coroner.
J.W. Clous, the Acting Assistant Adjutant General for the State of South Carolina, however, in a letter to Brevet Major General R.K. Scott, directed Scott on an order from General J.G. Robinson to arrest Matthews, Beck, and Barrineau on charges of murder. The three were arrested while in the discharge of their duties in District Court and were then transported to Charleston and held at Castle Pinckney. Beck and Barrineau were released after 13 days when the District Judge transferred the case to civil authorities. No mention is made of Matthews.
However, in April, 1867, all three were indicted for murder. The trial began on a Thursday morning in mid-April, lasting until 10 o'clock Friday night. The jury deliberated for an hour before returning not guilty verdicts in all three cases.
While the story was published in newspapers all over the United States, there was no list of victims. However, the Glasgow (Scotland) Herald published the full list of victims' names and the offenses for which they were incarcerated. It's possible that the local Kingstree Star also published the list, but the only references to The Star I've found have been in other papers. The names of all 22 victims are listed below.
Louisa Graham - receiving stolen goods
Minda Tisdale - cow stealing
Nancy Graham - fence burning
Lewis Scott - disturbing the peace, resisting arrest
Harry Scott - resisting arrest
Charles Singletary - cow stealing
Lewis Epps - hog stealing
Sam Witherspoon - mule stealing
Josiah Alston - stealing rice
Wesley Speights - cow stealing
Nias Speights - cow stealing
Cyrus Tisdale - cow stealing
John Tisdale - cow stealing
Charles Tisdale - cow stealing
John Shaw - cotton stealing
Julius Graham - burglary
Nelson Brown - burglary
Ellis Graham - burglary
Jack Speights - receiving stolen goods
Lunnon Brown - cow stealing
John Sessions - receiving stolen goods
Doctor Graham - cow stealing.
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