Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 29.djvu/275

 April 19th, 186 J. 259

the car windows, was an atrocious act, and tended more than any one incident to intensify the feeling of bitterness against the Northern troops. Mr. Davis was a member of the wholesale firm of Pegram, Paynter & Davis, of Baltimore street. He was an Irishman by birth and had married in Virginia. One of his brothers was an officer in the British Army. He was a gentleman of high character and great popularity. Upon the announcement of his death all the wholesale dry goods stores of the city closed in respect to his memory and in testimony of his worth. The Sun the next day in an editorial de- nounced the killing of Mr. Davis as a wanton and deliberate murder. The story of the event, as told at the coroner's inquest by the late Major Thomas W. Hall, who had his hand on Mr. Davis' shoulder when he fell, is as follows:

Mr. Hall said: " I was on Pratt street, attending to some business, about 11:30 o'clock A. M., when I saw the first car containing troops from President Street Station pass through. Hearing that the troops were the Seventh Regiment, from New York, and wish- ing to verify that fact by personal observation, I started for the Cam- den Street Station to see the soldiers change cars. On the way I was overtaken by Mr. Davis, who joined me, and with him passed through the station on to the track beyond. Being told by a re- porter that a crowd of people had gone up the road to destroy the track, Mr. Davis and I determined to walk out a short distance in advance of the train to see if such was really the case. We went out as far as the intersection of the Washington turnpike, and find- ing but few people and little excitement on the road, started to re- turn. On the way back we overtook Mr. Buckler, of the firm of Buckler, Shipley & Co., and two others, also returning to the city. We just turned up the first paved street on the outskirts of the city when we saw the train approaching, and unhappily stopped to gratify our curiosity by seeing the troops pass. We took a position for the purpose by the roadside on some crossties thrown across a ditch. The windows of the first cars were closed, and Mr. Davis and I were speculating as to whether the troops were really on the train, when we observed the windows of the rear cars open and several muskets protruded through them and pointed at us. t ln reply to what we considered a mere piece of bravado on the part of the troops, being ignorant at the time of any bloodshed or that any collision with the people had taken place, the party raised a cheer for Jefferson Davis and the Southern Confederacy. Instantly several shots were fired,