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Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Tennessee
Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1869.
National Archives Microfilm Publication M999 Roll 34
"Affidavits Relating to Outrages Mar. 1866-August 1868"
Personally appeared Jacob Nail and having been duly sworn deposes and says that I live in Marshall Co., in the town of Lewisburg. On Saturday night (about 10 o'clock) the 25th of Jany. 1868 a party of men numbering about (25) twenty-five came to the house of Silas Hays (col.) where the men had a little frolic that evening after our days work for Silas for whom we were splitting rails. Whilst we were going on with our little dance these parties stopped us dancing and made us divide into two parties across the house and said they wanted to talk to us. After we had done so, they told us to put up our right hand and swear that we would never again give a Radical vote, that if any of us did they would kill us and furthermore if any colored men knew of an other col. man voting the Radical ticket he also would be killed unless he informed of the col. man who so voted. Then they told us to go home and never leave it unless we got a pass from our employers the same as we used to get from our Master before the War. We then left and they followed us down the road, and when they came to Wesley Givens (col.) they knocked at the door and when the col. man did not immediately open the door for he was asleep, they broke the door down and went into his house and beat him over the head with their pistols and then dragged him out of doors and beat him again and threw a rope over his head and at that time one of the gang lifted a stick to strike Givens over the head and he was stopped by another of the gang who said he was captain of that squad. They then took him to go back into his house, having taken the rope off and told to him that in 8 days he must be twenty miles from that place. The men in the gang were Wash Collins, 5miles from Lewisburg. William Cowdair, Lawyer, living at Lewisburg and John La Rue, livery stable keeper, Lewisburg.
Jacob (X) Nail
I swear to the truth of the above and was present when it occurred.
John (X) Davis
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