Part 62

Q. Did he say that there was a pre-arranged plan for a strike at this time.

A. Yes, and if I remember rightly, it came a little premature--a little too soon.

Q. Did he say that he had direction of the different strikes?

A. He said that if he sent a telegram to Martinsburg the strike would stop, and if he would turn over his hand here, the thing would be stopped.

By Mr. Larrabee:

Q. Does anything more of importance occur to you?

A. I only visited Pittsburgh once during the riot, and that was that Sunday afternoon, and made a statement to the citizens that the railroad men had agreed to protect the property. I stayed in my own place.

Q. Did you have any talk with any of the other strikers besides Ammon about their places?

A. No, sir. I talked with a great many of the employés. I attended their meetings.

Q. What reason did they give for going on a strike at that time?

A. I did not hear any reason. I did not understand the strike was coming from them at that time.

Q. They were on a strike?

A. That, on account of the wages, they could not live on what they were getting.

Q. That was the reason they struck, because the wages were not high enough?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you hear any other cause of complaint from the men that struck?

A. No, sir; that was the substance of it.

Q. Did you learn what reductions had been made in the wages of these men?

A. No; I did not. They told me their troubles. I listened to them quietly and politely, but did not think it was what I was for. I told them I was simply a representative of peace and good order, and protect their property as well as my own.

By Senator Yutzy:

Q. There appears in a statement made by Boss Ammon, a report made public in the _Leader_ of January 28. He says: "Meanwhile prominent citizens came forward and supplied me with arms and ammunition for my men." Do you know anything about that?

A. I deny it, sir, _in toto_--emphatically--that any prominent citizens gave arms to any of the men there. They helped themselves to arms--somebody did--at this armory. I just related how I was afraid they were going to help themselves to some more, and I got them myself, and carried them to the watch-house.

Q. Do you know whether there was any coöperation between Bob Ammon and the railroad officials during these troubles, working together?

A. I do not know of my own knowledge. I would say I do not know a thing about it, and I did not believe there was anything of the sort--work together in harmony?

Q. Yes?

A. Not a bit of it.

Q. Here is a statement he makes in regard to you: "I pledged my honor that they would be guilty of no violence, and they heartily and unanimously seconded my pledge. The mayor expressed his satisfaction at the aspect of affairs, and ordered the police off the ground. The train dispatcher wished to retain ten policemen as a guard for the property, and the question was referred to me whether they should remain or not. I put it to the men, and they responded 'Do as you please about that, Bob; you're boss now, and we'll follow where you lead.'" Mayor Phillips said to them: "If you are determined to strike, I beg to state that I have known Mr. Ammon from his childhood, and have full confidence in his honor and judgment, and I don't think he would give you any wrong advice?"

A. That is stuff. I did not know Bob Ammon more than five minutes before that. He introduced himself to me, and he was a young man. I could not express satisfaction with men who were doing wrong and breaking the laws of the city. That would not do. I emphatically deny the whole thing.

* * * * *

Thomas Furlong, _sworn_:

By Mr. Lindsey:

Q. Where do you reside, Mr. Furlong?

A. I reside in Oil City, Venango county.

Q. Were you in the city of Pittsburgh in July last?

A. I was.

Q. Were you present at the scene of the riots during any of the days?

A. I was. I arrived in the city of Pittsburgh on Friday morning, about nine o'clock, and remained here after that during the riot.

Q. I wish you would state, Mr. Furlong, what knowledge you have of any of the police of the city of Philadelphia having fired upon any of the troops, the soldiers?

A. Well, while working in my capacity of detective officer, I was called to Philadelphia--the city of Philadelphia--to get evidence in regard to certain things that occurred during the riot. While there, I received information that some of the mayor's police had fired on the Philadelphia soldiers during their retreat on Sunday morning, on Butler street, on the morning of the 22.

Q. What did you learn in relation to it?

A. I saw one gentleman in Philadelphia that said he would swear he saw a uniformed police officer fire at the Philadelphia from the curbstone or from the pavement.

Q. Who was this gentleman?

A. I disremember his name now. I have his name and all the facts.

Q. Do you know where he lives?

A. I do know where he can be found. He lives in Philadelphia.

Mr. Lindsey: I think we hardly ought to take his testimony--what this gentleman said. We ought to have the gentleman himself. You can go on and state what you found out yourself about the truth, either in admissions that the police may have made in your presence, or from facts that you have dug up, that is, in relation to the matter you may state, and not what the gent said.

A. All the evidence that I obtained in that line in reference to the matter came in that way. It is hearsay evidence. There has never been information made against this party.

Q. Against the policeman?

A. Against the policeman charged with having done this shooting. For that reason I didn't bring these records along. I should have brought those records if there had been information made against him, and I saw no police officers fire at the Philadelphia soldiers myself.

Q. Have you any other evidence to show that a policeman fired upon the Philadelphia soldiers except what was told to you by the gentleman that you spoke of in Philadelphia?

A. I have interviewed the other gentleman upon the same subject, and the statement of this first gentleman--Philadelphia gentleman--has been corroborated by other parties. There is a police officer in the city at the present time, a member of the force now, that saw a police officer, who was a police officer at that time, on the 22d of July, saw him engaged in supplying ammunition to be fired at the Philadelphia soldiers.

Q. Can you give us the name of that police officer?

A. I could give you the name of that police officer and the name of the man that supplied the ammunition. I would rather not do it, though. I have been working in connection with our council.

* * * * *

F. S. Bissell, _sworn_:

By Mr. Lindsey:

Q. Where do you reside?

A. I reside in the Eighteenth ward.

Q. What is you business?

A. Foundry business.

Q. Please state what you saw and heard of the riot, in a brief way?

A. I will state briefly, that about, I think, after twelve o'clock, on Sunday, I had learned what had transpired in the city.--I live quite a distance out--and I came to the city and walked down Liberty street, and saw the wrecking, and went down past the Union depot, and waited, I suppose, ten or fifteen minutes there, went around towards Adam's Express depot, saw what transpired there, although I was on the outskirts of the crowd, and although I didn't mingle in the crowd, and learned from some parties that a meeting was to be held at the city hall, for the purpose of rallying a number of citizens to quell the riot or insurrection. After a number of ineffectual efforts to get a body of citizens together, I went with a few parties down to the Duquesne depot. I made up my mind that that would be the next place burned.

Q. Please state where the Duquesne depot is?

A. Duquesne depot is at the foot of Liberty street, on the river, at lower end, fronting on the Monongahela.

Q. What road is the depot on?

A. The Pennsylvania depot--it is the old Pennsylvania depot.

Q. Go on Mr. Bissell?

A. During the afternoon we arrested two parties there in the act of firing--one in the act of firing a car, and the other inquiring how to get into the depot--how to set it on fire. I state this briefly--these parties have been tried. I remained around there all the afternoon, until ten o'clock that night, and about six or half-past six, along about there, after the elevator had burned or was about falling, a wagon came very rapidly down street--it was one of the express wagons--and informed some one there that the next attempt would be that depot, that the mob were surging that way. I then started with a few citizens, Mr. Little and McCandless and others, to get a cable to stretch around that building, our object being to keep back the crowd, and allow nobody inside that line if possible, so as to distinguish who the parties might be who would come to burn it. We got a few of the young men who belonged to the military--belonged to some of the militia companies--to stand guard inside of the rope during the night, and some other persons living at that place. There was nothing particularly transpired after that that I know of. We stayed there until half-past ten, or about that, and then went home.

By Senator Yutzy:

Q. How many men went with you to the Duquesne depot?

A. We started from the city hall. That was the organization that we called Doctor Donnelly's brigade. They had marched up street, and I think there was about a dozen of us remained at the depot, and we made up our minds to stay there. This was on Sunday afternoon. We expended our breath in trying to impress upon the citizens around about there, that if they burned that depot, it would burn their property.

Q. Was there a large crowd of people then in that vicinity?

A. Quite a large crowd. I suppose somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand or more scattered around. There is a pretty large extent of ground.

Q. Did many participate in riotous conduct there?

A. No, sir; it seemed to be a few parties. They were pretty much all under the influence of liquor.

Q. Many of this crowd were there from curiosity?

A. A good many, I have no doubt. The report was, that they were coming down towards the Duquesne depot, and the next place would likely be the Duquesne depot and the bridges. That was only, doubtless, the opinions of the people.

Q. These men you arrested there in the act of applying the torch to the depot and the cars you speak of, were they accompanied by any considerable number of men appearing to be participating in it?

A. A few sympathizers, and men who were standing out there appeared to be sympathizers. That was the party who was arrested by Doctor Dixon. He was tried.

Q. Was he a citizen of the place?

A. I think he lived down on the south side, somewhere.

Q. The other man, was he a citizen of the city?

A. I couldn't say. I don't know anything about him.

Q. Have both of those men been tried?

A. They have, sir. I think they have been tried.

Q. Were there any police in the vicinity at the time you were stationed there?

A. No, sir; I didn't see any. We clubbed together, a number of us then, and made up a little purse and hired a few police.

Q. Private police?

A. No; only to look after the building at night, and help us arrest anybody that should attempt to burn.

Q. Were those men sworn in by you men as special police?

A. I think they had belonged to the police force--the men who had been discharged, owing to the inadequacy of the funds to meet bills.

Q. Did you have any conversation with the mayor in regard to these policemen?

A. No, sir; I had no conversation myself. We put down what we could pay, and paid it when we were called upon.

By Senator Reyburn:

Q. Did you go down to the scene of the riot and burning on Sunday?

A. Sunday afternoon a good deal of the firing had been done before I got to the city, and walked on down Liberty street past the wrecking--just made a pretty quick trip.

Q. What kind of people were engaged?

A. Some of them appeared to be about as rough a crowd as I ever saw.

Q. Was there much of a crowd actively engaged?

A. I thought so. Down about the Union depot there was an immense crowd of people carrying off all sorts of baggage--seemed to be more engaged at that than anything else, outside of the firemen.

Q. Would it have been impossible for a force of men to have stopped that?

A. I don't think it would have been possible. I didn't see how. I think women would have been shot--a great many innocent people. People were panic stricken, and every thing seemed to be upside down.

Q. Wild?

A. Yes.

* * * * *

Thomas Furlong, _re-called_:

By Mr. Lindsey:

Q. Mr. Furlong, were you at the Twenty-eighth street crossing at the time the firing occurred?

A. I was.

Q. I wish you would go on and state what you saw there?

A. I was at Twenty-eighth street nearly all day on Saturday, the 21st. I was there at the time the train came in from the east, bearing the Philadelphia soldiers. I followed the train from Twenty-eighth street down to the Union depot, and when I got down there, I found the Philadelphia soldiers had gotten out of the cars and were at lunch on the platform, drinking coffee and eating sandwiches. I had some conversation with them, and finally they fell into line and were marched up the railroad track back towards Twenty-eighth street. I started to go up with them, walking near the head of the column. The sheriff was first in front of the troops with a squad of men, and I was ordered to keep away from the head of the column by some of the sheriffs men. I walked faster than they did--they made rather slow progress. I got up to Twenty-eighth street perhaps ten minutes or thereabouts, before the head of the column reached there. There was a great crowd of people congregated at Twenty-eighth street, and below, and on the hill all around there--a terrible crowd of people. As soon as the soldiers got in sight of this crowd, they commenced shouting, jeering, swearing, using abusive and profane language, and the closer the soldiers got to them the more boisterous the crowd grew. The soldiers came advancing slowly until the head of the column got almost to where Twenty-eighth street crosses the railroad track. The crowd didn't give way, they just stood there blockading the crossing. It was a solid mass of people. The soldiers walked right up against them, and I was standing, at that time, in the neighborhood of forty feet below the lower side of Twenty-eighth street, on the east side of the track, on the right hand side of the track going out of the depot, standing close by the track, but about forty feet below the watch box that is situated there. There was a young man--I don't know his name, I never saw him--nor have seen him since, although I looked for him a good deal, too--standing within about three feet of where I was, at the time the soldiers marched up against this crowd. He picked up some stones--he had some stones gathered up--a little pile of stones. He picked up these stones, and commenced to throw down into the soldiers. I remonstrated with him, told him he ought not to do it, the soldiers would be likely to fire up there. He replied, they daresn't shoot. He then pulled a revolver out of his hip pocket and fired down towards the soldiers. When I saw him point his revolver, and I followed the direction at that time, there was just a shower of missiles and stones of one kind or another. Every person appeared to be throwing something; and from the other side of the track they were throwing coal. The coal just appeared to be raising off the cars and dropping on the soldiers. This man fired two shots out of his pistol.

By Senator Reyburn:

Q. Did he shoot as if he was taking aim?

A. Yes he aimed toward the soldiers. I couldn't see that he took deliberate aim at any particular person, but he fired down into the troops.

Q. He didn't fire up into the air?

A. No, sir. We were standing on an elevated position. We were above the soldiers, standing, perhaps, three feet higher than the soldiers were standing. I don't see how he could have fired down there, without hurting some of the soldiers or citizens, or some of the mob. The people were so thick down there. There was another man standing behind this watch-box, and he also fired into the crowd, with a revolver.

Q. How many shots were fired by the mob, before there was any firing from the soldiers?

A. I saw smoke come from behind this watch-box. I thought at the time it was some person. I saw a man there, this man wore a cap, and from where I was standing, I could see him very plainly in looking that way, and I thought he was shooting. I could see the smoke, but there was so much noise, that I could not hear the report of the pistol. I saw two shots fired by this man, immediately in front of me, and before the report of his last shot quit ringing in my ears, the soldiers commenced firing.

Q. Did you hear any command given to the soldiers to fire?

A. I didn't; I stood there for, I suppose, a minute and a half after the mob threw coal, and stones, clubs, and missiles of that kind, at the soldiers, and I was very much afraid that the soldiers wouldn't fire. I was afraid that they were going to lay down their guns, and not fire. I wanted to see them fire. I was afraid they would lay their guns down, and not fire. In fact, I was very glad to hear them commence firing.

Q. What effect did the firing by the soldiers have upon the mob?

A. It scattered that mob quicker than any mob I ever saw scattered before in my life. The first shot that was fired, I thought the ball came pretty close to where I was. I could hear it whistle, and I laid down. The crowd was so that I did not consider it safe to run, and I dropped down on my face right where I was standing, and I laid there until the firing ceased, and when I got up, there was no rioter to be seen anyplace; that is, in that immediate vicinity.

Q. Where did they go to?

A. There was a ditch or a washout; there was a ridge running diagonally down the hill off Twenty-eighth street then, and there was an old water course alongside of this ridge, in some places that was several feet deep, and they piled in there and laid down on the side of the hill, and behind coal cars and behind houses, and they got just wherever they could.

Q. How long was the crowd in re-assembling.

A. Well. I remained there. This firing occurred shortly after five o'clock in the afternoon--it couldn't have been quarter after five--I think it was hardly that late--five or ten minutes after five o'clock, perhaps--along there--and I remained there on the ground until after six o'clock, and the crowd hadn't re-assembled on the crossing, while I was there. A very large crowd gathered down on Liberty and Twenty-eighth street, down on Penn and Twenty-eighth, and in that neighborhood, there was large crowds of people, but they didn't come to where the soldiers were--kept away from the soldiers. The soldiers, after the firing was over, they threw out a guard line, and took possession of the track, and didn't allow parties to walk up or down the track.

By Mr. Means:

Q. The soldiers had entire control of the track?

A. They had entire control of the track at that time; yes, sir. I came down town and got my supper, and after that I went to Twenty-eighth street. At that time the soldiers were in the round-house, so I was informed.

Q. Was this picket line still out?

A. No; I didn't find any picket. I did not go up the railroad track. I went up Penn street at that time. I was not up on the railroad track, and I could not say whether there was a picket line on the railroad track or not, at that time.

By Mr. Lindsey:

Q. If you were present at any of the efforts made by the railroad company to start their trains, you might state what occurred on Friday and Saturday?

A. On Friday I was up there all day, in the vicinity of Twenty-eighth street--in the neighborhood, back and forward--and I saw a number of engines making steam, and heard, from time to time, that they were going to start trains out, and also heard the railroad strikers say that they couldn't take any trains out. They were not going to permit any trains to go out--any double-headers. I saw no trains go out, that is, no freight trains. Saturday morning I saw a few cars of stock. They came over, I believe, from Allegheny, and were taken out to the stock-yards. There must have been, at least, a couple of hundred men on top of the cars.

Q. What class of men?

A. They appeared to be strikers. I didn't know the men. They appeared to me like railroad men, and a good many of them were strangers to me. The cars were just covered with them--as many as could possibly get on. I recollect that Monkey John Richardson, as they called him, was on the train. I think it was his crowd. He seemed to have control of the party.

Q. It was run by the strikers themselves?

A. I believe that the train was run by the strikers; yes, sir.

* * * * *

J. P. Moore, _sworn_:

By Mr. Lindsey:

Q. Where do you reside?

A. In the city.

Q. Are you a member of the National Guard?

A. Yes, sir; adjutant general, Sixth division, for the last three years.

Q. Adjutant, Sixth division?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. It is not necessary to go over the whole history; General Pearson has given us a full history. I would like you to state what occurred on Saturday, beginning with the arrival of the Philadelphia troops, and state what came to your knowledge. Give us a full history of what occurred after that time?

A. I accompanied General Pearson with the Philadelphia troops as far as the outer round-house. Upon our arrival there, General Pearson had notice of the displacement of the troops he had posted at three o'clock in the morning.

Q. What troops were those?

A. The Fourteenth and Nineteenth regiments, and Breck's battery. He immediately went to the crossing, and taking Major Evans with us, we went up to Colonel Howard--not seeing General Brown--and inquired the reason of the displacement of the Nineteenth regiment from the position he placed it in in the morning. The general was not satisfied with the answer of Colonel Howard, and returned, and found as we were coming down, that the sheriff was addressing the people, or notifying them to leave the scene. The Nineteenth was in the hospital grounds. On our arrival at Twenty-eighth street, the general directed me to remain with General Brinton, and he went to the telegraph office--Mr. Pitcairn's office--and telegraph communication with the Adjutant General was established. General Brinton then formed the First regiment, one line facing towards the hill and one towards Liberty street, and directed the company in grey uniform, one of which I think was the Weccacoe Legion, and a portion of the Washington Greys, to clear the people from between the ranks. They started on that movement, followed by the two Gatling guns, and went up with the two guns as far as Twenty-eighth street, when they came as far as crossing of Twenty-eighth street. In order to move the crowd back, the Legion endeavored to make a wheel to the left. In making that wheel, the order was given to charge bayonets, and the front rank came to an arms port; the rear rank stepped back about a pace, the crowd being so dense in front of them, that the men in the front rank could not get to the position of charge bayonets. The rear rank kept back about a pace, and they came to the charge.

Q. Who gave the order to charge bayonets?