One of the joys of my job as head of the Beaufort District Collection is stumbling across interesting topics that take me down research rabbit holes that sometimes end up connecting with each other later. Sometimes the stumbling is completely accidental. For example, I stumbled across the Howard Murder because I was researching his sister. Sometimes the process of helping others pursue their research interests uncovers "hidden" events and materials with which I was previously unaware. For example, I found out about the Smith suicide as a result of an interaction with a customer. And then there are always tidbits of Reconstruction history to savor. For example, today finishing up this research I made the acquaintance of Attorney-General Samuel Wickliffe Melton - who turned out to be fascinating but who had resigned his position before the County Official trials mentioned below. Sometimes those pursuits lead me to an unexpected intersection linking disparate events together. Such has turned out to be the case with regard to the June 1876 Court of General Sessions roster. By happenstance a murder trial, a suicide in the Sea Island Hotel, and the indictment of the County Treasurer for malfeasance while in office happened at the same session of court in June 1876.
The Charleston News and Courier issue of June 20, 1876 links all three topics this way:
Matters in Beaufort (Correspondence of The News and Courier)
BEAUFORT, S.C., June 17. - The monotony of this quiet place has been enlivened for the past two weeks, first of all by the tragic death of the wife of Capt. Smith, of the monitor Saugus, of which you published full particulars. The term of court, which immediately followed, has been of unusual interest, both on account of the trial of the murderers of Gen. Howard, and from the action of the grand jury indicting and presenting some of the county officers.... (1)
MURDER OF JOHN HARRISON HOWARD
I wrote a few months ago about Mary Howard Schoolcraft. She wrote her Letters on the Condition of the African Race in the United States, addressing four letters to her brother General John Harrison Howard (1801 - 1876) between September and November 1851 - which led me to investigate a bit more about J. H. Howard as a person. In that process, I learned that he had been murdered 150 years ago. Ever alert to murder and intrigue, I wanted to know more about his life and death. I took a few detours but all along the way I gathered enough information and clippings about his murder to create a new vertical file for the Research Room: VF MURDERS-HOWARD (1876).
At the time of the publication of his sister's letters, J. H. Howard had most recently represented St. Luke's Parish at the Beaufort District's Southern Rights Association meeting on 11 November 1850. The Southern Rights Association was formed during the Secession Crisis of 1850-1851 brought about by the controversy over the expansion of slavery into territory acquired by the United States after its victory during the Mexican War. It was a rather complicated political situation between those who wanted to leave the Union at once and alone if necessary (Secessionists); and those who would leave the Union only with the cooperation of other Southern states (Cooperationists). According to a Table A-4 Percentage of Total Votes Cast for Secessionists and Cooperationists by Congressional Districts in Love of Order: South Carolina's First Secession Crisis by John Barnwell (1982), Beaufort District voted 81.7% in favor of the Secessionists running for the Seventh Congressional District seat in late 1851. (2) Thus it is very likely that as the master of Whitehall Plantation near Grahamville, he was in lock step with his sister's anti-abolitionist and pro-slavery views.
His role during the Civil War included raising troops from what is now Jasper County to fight against the Union. He organized Company C of the 3rd South Carolina Cavalry, (3) called the Beaufort District Troop in 1862. Companies A, C, D, E, and K were based at Grahamville to defend the Charleston & Savannah Railroad, (4) and to picket the Coosawhatchie River, the western shore of the Broad River, and its tributary creeks. He resigned later due to his age, then rejoined a home guard unit. During the Battle of Honey Hill, the 64 year old Captain John H. Howard joined the running fight. Rowland and Wise wrote that "Infuriated at the presence of the Yankees, Howard often rode out in advance of his fellow cavalrymen, discharging his double-barreled shotgun at the enemy." (5)
But it was the newspaper coverage of his murder that most captured my attention. Thanks to my personal State Library card, I have access to NewsBank - which in turn provides access to the backfiles of the Charleston News and Courier beginning in 1873. Thanks to our own microfilm holdings and to the Chronicling America database offered by the Library of Congress, I also have access to the Port Royal Standard and Commercial and [Beaufort] Tribune newspapers. All three newspapers offered rather lurid descriptions of the murder and subsequent arrests and trials of the men accused of his murder. Justice came much more swiftly in 1876 than it does today.
Gen. Howard was killed on April 12, 1876. Three Black men testified at the inquest the following day. Two were immediately arrested for the killing, Fred Bright and John Snipe. Within 4 months, the sentences were carried out.
Howard's death was shocking:
GRAHAMVILLE, APRIL 10[sic]: Our community has been thrown into a painful state of excitement by the murder of one of our most respectable citizens, in a manner most atrocious and deliberate, and to all appearances in a spirit of pure wantonness. Yesterday afternoon Gen. John H. Howard left this village to return to his plantation, about seven miles distant. Although he was seventy-seven years of age, he was a hale and hearty old gentleman, always in good humor, and left yesterday in his usual good spirits, with pleasant words for all whom he met. There is no reason for supposing he had an enemy in the world, certainly none who would wish to take his life. You can judge then of the general consternation when a citizen, who had been after his cattle, rode into the village with the information that he had found the old gentleman about two miles off, lying upon his back in the road, and quite dead. It was at once supposed he had been sized with a fit, fallen from his buggy and died; but upon taking up the body, it was discovered beyond a doubt that he had been murdered. He was a meditative old gentleman, and could always be seen riding with his head bent forward and wrapped in his own thoughts, oblivious of all around him. In this mode he must have passed some party lying in ambush by the roadside, who, stepping out immediately behind him, discharged a load of buckshot, which, penetrating at the neck, entered his head, and must have produced instant death. The party was so near that the shot entered in a solid lump, accompanied by the wad. The murderer had then pulled the General from his buggy, and after turning his pickets inside out and taking everything of value from his person, made his escape. In the death of this old gentleman our community has sustained the loss of a most worthy and benevolent citizen, honest and honorable in all things, and universally respected.
Truly a dark cloud of gloom hangs over our section, and this is the third mysterious murder that has occurred in our immediate neighborhood during the last few years, engendering serious apprehensions for the security of life and property, and producing the most painful anxiety, particularly among the wives and brothers. Something must be done to check this reign of terror and bring to speedy punishment these assassins, murderers and thieves, or the country must be abandoned to them. I avail myself of your valuable and widely-read journal to circulate the news of this atrocious act, and call the attention of the country to the dangers surrounding us. O. (6)
Charlestonians were quick to cast aspersions against Beaufort for its post-war economic recovery largely due to the phosphate industry and for its Black and white Republican leadership. The Charleston News and Courier issue of April 20 included a short article "The Murder of Gen. Howard" on page 2:
The juries in Beaufort are notoriously untrustworthy, and it is feared that the murderers of Gen. Howard, who confess their guilt, will, by some hocus-pocus, escape. There is no need of haste, but when crime is rampant and courts will not punish, a resort to Judge Lynch is all that is left. Lynch law should not be resorted to, however, until every other remedy has been exhausted. It is a desperate remedy, to be used only in desperate cases. (7)
In June the Port Royal Standard and Commercial newspaper demanded a retraction of the "slander on the juries of this county" though "Of course we do not expect the News & Courier to retract what is has said, it has an object in view in such assertions, to bring odium on the jury system of this State as now established, but we would like to know; if it had anything to say about lynch law before the lynching of the Harmon murderers and if so what effect had it to bring about said lynching?" (8)
The April 27, 1876 issue of the Port Royal Standard and Commercial newspaper says that John Snipe confessed to the premeditated robbery and murder. Fred Bright confessed that he saw Snipe shoot General Howard from behind the ramparts of the fort at Honey Hill. Snipe implicated George Pinckney as the person who provided the shot for the gun and the intelligence that Howard had been in Mr. Besselieu's store changing money. (9)
The [Beaufort] Tribune's June 14, 1876 issue covered the trials. Both John Snipe and John Bright were convicted by juries made up almost predominantly of Black men. George Pinckney was released on a technicality. He had been indicted as only an accessory though "evidence proved him to have been a principal. Snipe and Bright were sentenced on Monday by Judge Maher to be hung on August 11th. Snipe was not much moved by the sentence, but Bright cried and complained that his life was sworn away by Snipe." (10)
A few weeks later the Port Royal Standard and Commercial provides an update:
John Snipe, one of the convicted murderers of Gen. Howard, has, since his trial, stated that Frederick Bright, had no hand in the murder whatever. It will be remembered that aside from the testimony of Snipe, there was no evidence that would connect Bright with the murder. An effort is being made to induce the Governor to extend executive clemency in his favor. Bright has become utterly unnerved at the contemplation of his impending fate and completely broken down. Their execution was set for the eleventh of August. (11)
The Charleston News and Courier reported on August 9, 1876 that Bright's execution had been stayed by the Governor Daniel Henry Chamberlain for two weeks so that he could review the trial court documents connected to the case. Fred Bright's sentence appears to have been commuted. Unfortunately, a brief research visit to the Ancestry Library Edition database did not give me any clues regarding what happened to him later in life. (12)
"The Howard Murderers" article in the Port Royal Standard and Commercial newspaper of August 17, 1876 offers a good summary of the murder, the trials, and the execution of Snipe. After Deputy Sheriff B.B. Sams read the death warrant, Snipe had a few last words to share with those witnessing his hanging:
I was the one who did it. I shot the man in the road, took the money away, spent it, and then ran from the store home. Bright was not with me. I shot him [Howard] and I own it, and hope to be forgiven for the sake of Jesus. In the name of Jesus turn Bright loose. I have no fear of death. I trust in God. My soul is prepared and I don't care, and will take all that comes against me. I had never drank whiskey before, and on that day I got some in the village and went out in the road, met the man, shot him, and took his money.... Now my young friends you can see what whiskey will bring some men to. I got all the money, and spent twenty-five cents for bread, and ten cents for tobacco in Bassler's [sic] store and had the other fifteen cents.... [After shaking hands with those men on the scaffold] Snipe remarked: 'Whoso believes in God shall be saved.' The rope was fixed and in less than a minute John Snipe was launched into eternity. The crowd was large, two-thirds of which were females.
That article says that Snipe's body was returned to Grahamville for burial as he had requested of his attorney William H. Wheeler. (13) I was unable to ascertain his burial site.
However, Gen. Howard's body rests in the Grahamville Cemetery. His tombstone reads: "Here rests / the body of/ Genl. John H. / Howard / Born Jan. 3 1801 / Died / Apr. 12 1876. (14)
SUICIDE OF CAROLINE SUSAN LEWIS SMITH
I was alerted to the tragic death of the wife of Captain Frederick Robinson Smith of the Saugus by a descendant of Mrs. Smith, James Delgado who graciously gave us copies of some of his research files in November 2022 for what became the BDC's SUICIDES - SMITH (1876) vertical file (15). Her death made the national newspapers.
Caroline Lewis married her sailor, Frederic Robinson Smith, US Navy on 30 April 1872. Four years later she lay dead on the floor of the Sea Island Hotel.
Ellen Crofut wrote of the tragic event in her diary:
Saturday, June 3d ... Mrs. Smith wife of Capt. Smith of the monitor Saufus, shot and killed herself at the S.I. hotel this afternoon. (16)
The coroner's inquisition that Delgado found via the Footnote database (that the Beaufort County Library does not have) says in part:
[The jury] do say: That at about half past five o'clock of this the third day of June the said Caroline Susan Smith came to her death from a pistol blast, fired either by herself, or by some person or persons to the jury unknown. ...
Endorsements made by Grand Jury in investigation "The Court is requested to summon the following named persons to testify in this case. "Geo. A. Derring, Ansel Deas, S.W. Whitwell, Marion Lambert, H.M Stuart, Jas. Clancey, Thomas Walker, Catherine Gilliam, S.W. Gilbert."
After careful examination of all the circumstances connected with this case the Grand Jury can see no cause to suspect that this unfortunate lady came to her death by any hand but her own.
C.J. Colcock, Foreman (17)
The Charleston News and Courier published the tale first. It ran a story on page 1 of the June 6, 1876 issue:
SUICIDE IN BEAUFORT. -- The occupants of the hotel in Beaufort were alarmed on Saturday afternoon by the sound of a pistol shot [leaning?] from a room occupied by the wife of one of the naval officers who are stationed at Port Royal. The door was opened and the dead body of the lady was found lying on the bed, while a great pool of blood and a navy revolver lay upon the floor. Examination revealed that she had been shot, the ball entering just below the left breast and passing out near the spine. A coroner's inquest was held, and the testimony adduced showed that the deceased had been much dejected for some time, and had not tasted food for several days, and that she had purchased laudanum on Saturday, which, however, could not be found. The deceased was much respected. The testimony shows that she committed suicide, and connubial infelicity is alleged as the cause. (18)
The [Beaufort] Tribune gives a somewhat different account in its June 7, 1876 issue:
A fearful tragedy at the Hotel last Saturday threw our quiet town into a state of great excitement and the anxiety to know the full particulars soon caused a crowd to gather around the doors of the building. At about half five persons on the second floor heard a noise as of something heavy falling on the floor overhead and soon after one of the hall boys who had entered the room gave the alarm that Mrs. Carolina S. Smith, wife of Capt. F.R. Smith of the monitor Saugus, had either fainted or was sick and was lying on the floor helpless. At once assistance was sent and Mrs. Smith found on the floor and on being raised by her husband, who had been summoned from the lower floor, she was found to be covered with blood. Dr. Stuart was called and upon examination found a bullet hole through her body from which her life blood was fast ebbing away. The lady lingered a few moments during which she endeavored to speak but was unable to do so when she died in great agony. A pistol was picked up on the floor near where she was found, from which no doubt the bullet had been fired, which was a heavy navy breechloader carrying an ounce ball. A coroners inquest was held by Dr. Johnson and after an all night session the jury returned a verdict that Mrs. Smith came to her death from the effects of a pistol shot but whether fired by herself or some one else they were unable to determine. The remains were buried on Sunday in the Episcopal church yard, she having been an Episcopalian, the only services being a short prayer read at the grave by Dr. Walker. Mrs. Smith was a native of Boston, thirty-one years of age, and extremely small stature. The only relatives are some brothers and sisters now in Europe. She left a child about eighteen months old. We hope next week to be able to give more particulars in regard to this case, if, as is asserted, the grand jury is to be called on to decide who fired the fatal shot. (19)
A few days later, on June 9, 1876 on page 1, the Charleston News and Courier revisits "The Beaufort Tragedy." and provides "Further Details of the Supposed Suicide of Mrs. Smith. Domestic Trouble and its Bloody and Mysterious Sequel." One can already see some of the sensationalization of her death just in these headings. The article goes on to say:
The main facts of the tragic death of the wife of Capt. F. R. Smith, of the monitor Saugus, have already been given in the News and Courier. The following additional particular which reach us seem to be well authenticated: Capt. Smith and his wife and child occupied two rooms in the Sea Island Hotel at Beaufort. Mrs. Smith was a very pretty woman and apparently lived in perfect harmony with her husband. On Saturday morning Capt. Smith intercepted letters to his wife from a brother officer in the fleet, which terribly compromised Mrs. Smith. Outraged and indignant, Capt. Smith confronted his wife, showed her the letters, and charged her with infidelity. He would take their child, while she could return to her parents in Boston. In the meantime he would have his effects removed from the apartments they then occupied to another portion of the hotel. Mrs. Smith protested against this notion, and informed her husband that if he exposed her in that way she would kill herself. Capt. Smith replied that she did not have the courage to take her own life. He then left her, went to the proprietor of the hotel and told him that after that day he would not be responsible for his wife's board. He engaged rooms on the other side of the building and had his trunks and other effects moved into them. Later in the day Mrs. Smith was found in her own room, the door of which was locked, in the death agony, with a frightful wound through her body. She died in a few minutes. The coroner held an inquest over the corpse a short time afterwards. The jury returned a verdict to the effect that it was doubtful whether the deceased had committed suicide or not. We understand that there was no mark of powder around the wound. The grand jury of Beaufort County are investigating the matter.
Other Accounts (From the Beaufort Tribune) [omitted here because it's already been included above] [and] (From the Savannah News.)
The pistol, a Colt's navy revolved, carrying an ounce ball, was found on the floor near where Mrs. Smith was lying. The ball passed entirely through the body and out at a window through the shutter. An alleged infidelity in said to have been the cause. It is stated that her husband discovered several letters, which led to a confession on the part of the wife and to the terrible culmination already related. The inquest of the coroner was not satisfactory to the grand jury nor to the public. The verdict was to the effect that deceased came to her death by her own hand of the hands of parties to the jury unknown. Captain Smith, the husband, was in the room ten minutes before the bleeding body was discovered by the servants. He had been very much excited all day, and on endeavoring to enter the room he found the door locked and kicked it open. Upon the discovery of the wounded woman, he was sought for and found in the office below. Three doors open into the room in which the body was found. One of the alleged paramours of Mrs. Smith -- a physician on board a Government vessel -- upon hearing the news of the tragedy telegraphed his resignation and left on the first train. The grand jury is now in session, and that body will give the case a searching and thorough investigation. (20)
The Beaufort Tribune continued coverage in its next issue on June 14, 1876, putting the latest update on page 3. After again recounting the grand jury's verdict, it reports:
The following is a copy of the paper found in her room and identified by her maid as Mrs. Smith's handwriting:
June 4th 1876
Caroline Susan Smith
I died with perfectly sane mind and I wish and will that if my property is ever settled and divided or if even ever so small a share is divided at any time before my Husband Fred R. Smith's death that he shall have full benefit and control of whatever property my come to me, my share, and at his death it shall go to our child Rachel Gertrude Smith. [signed] Caroline Susan Smith. (21)
The Chicago Daily Tribune published the copy from the Augusta (GA) Chronicle and Sentinel that used the Beaufort Tribune's account and the Savanah News that same day on page 5 under the heading "CRIMINAL NEWS." (22) The Augusta newspaper called her "splendid-looking" but otherwise more or less recounted the Charleston News and Courier's coverage of June 9, 1876.
The owner of the Sea Island Hotel, James Odell took out an ad in the Port Royal Standard and Commercial on Thursday, June 15, 1876 on page 3 to announce that the Sea Island Hotel was open again for business: "The patronage of the travelling public is solicited." (23)
The Savannah Morning News ran its final coverage of the tragedy on Monday, June 26, with a report penned by "The Beaufort correspondent of the New York Herald" explaining what happened to Mrs. Smith's alleged paramour: His fellow officers on the Ajax detained him and:
promptly told [the doctor] that his presence longer in the navy would not be tolerated by his fellow officers after the double violation of the rules of honor and decency as a physician and officer. Thereupon he wrote out his resignation ... and before sundown was ashore, bag and baggage, and thereafter practically ceased to be an officer in the navy ... and the navy was relieved of the disgrace of an acting assistant surgeon whose conduct brought death and dishonor in a once happy family.
The actions of the other officers aboard the Ajax were commended by the newspaper. (24)
F. R. Smith would marry a woman 26 years his junior, Eunice Haskins, in Binghamton, NY on 12 September 1887. They would have a son together. He would remain in the Navy with the rank of Commander until he retired in 1892 as a court martial for failing to pay his debts was about to begin. Before the case got to trial, Smith transferred his assets into the care of his brother, Gen. Joseph B. Smith of Maine after which President Grover Cleveland "suspended action on the proceeding and sentence of the general court-martial." (25) He died in Binghamton on 28 June 1901 and is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery, Bath, Maine. (26)
INDICTMENT OF BEAUFORT COUNTY TREASURER
Politics in 1876 were highly partisan and increasingly violent in South Carolina. Adjusting to a new order with Black people having rights was difficult for many white people. According to Rowland and Wise, "By 1872 the new Beaufort County government was so far in arrears that it was practically bankrupt." Public outcry against fiscal mismanagement alarmed even some of those who leaned towards the Republican regime. The allegations led to the elections of new County Commissioners later that year: George Waterhouse, a merchant born in the North, Dr. Paul Pritchard, a Bluffton planter and Seaborn Drayton, a freedman in 1872. "With one Northern merchant, one southern planter, and one freedman, this second County Commission could be considered Beaufort County's first experiment with "fusion" politics. Bay Street merchant George Holmes was made county treasurer....Waterhouse, Pritchard, Drayton and Holmes worked to limit taxation and patronage and to balance the books." (27)
Beaufort County Treasurer George Holmes and the County Commissioners were indicted for alleged official misconduct and tried on June 10. This trial made the front page of the News and Courier issue of 19 June 1876 :
BEAUFORT AND PORT ROYAL.
The Accused County Officials--Result of the Trials--The Fleet and Its Benefits--Dull Times--The Crops
(Correspondence of the News and Courier.)
BEAUFORT, S.C. June 10 - Court convened at the appointed hour this morning for the trial of County Treasurer George Holmes for alleged official misconduct. Attorney-General [William] Stone represented the State, and Messrs. Wm. Elliott and James W. Moore the defence.[sic] There were four indictments. The first case was continued upon motion of the State against the protest of the defendant's counsel, who were ready to proceed and who urged immediate trial. The three other cases were brought up in order, and after elaborate and exhaustive argument on both sides, were succesively [sic] quashed. The Court held that the allegations contained in the indictments were insufficient grounds of application to the words of the statutes defining the alleged irregularities. The case against the county commissioners were a much more serious aspect, and after going to a jury composed entirely of colored men a verdict of acquittal was procured. The charge of Judge Maher to the jury was decidedly adverse to the accused, who confessed himself much embarrassed at the extraordinary features presented in the case. (28)
In the 20 June 1876 issue the Charleston New and Courier described Grand Jury's action "in indicting and presenting some of the county officers" this way:
That body found such a mass of fraud and irregularities that it was difficult to know what should first be investigated, and at a late hour of their session, anxious to adjourn and return to their homes, too much haste was used in preparing the indictments which it was considered desirable to present while Judge Maher was on the bench. It is a great mistake to suppose that the indictments were quashed on account of want of sufficient ground, or that the cases are abandoned. They were quashed 'on motion of defendant's counsel for failure in setting forth of substance.' The indictment for purchasing teachers' certificates at a discount was gone over by the treasurer's counsel, showing that the certificates in question were illegal, having been signed by only one member of the board of school trustees. This fact, coupled with the other, that the said treasurer cashed most of the certificates of the year loaned [?] with the same irregularity, according to Judge Maher's recent decision in Barnwell, will make the treasurer liable for many thousand dollars worth of such claims illegally paid by him. None but a Beaufort jury and such a jury could have acquitted the county commissioners after such a charge as was addressed by the judge. That this is the last time that Judge Maher is to adorn the bench in this county, is a matter of sincere regret to all the intelligent and law-abiding citizens. (29)
The local Port Royal Standard and Commercial newspaper saw the matter differently in its 22 June 1876 issue:
The presentment of the grand jury for the County of Beaufort respectfully shows that an unusual amount of labor had been expended in investigation that had been prompted by envy, hate and malice against the County Treasurer, which the grand jury could have discovered had they consulted the former presentments of the Grand Juries of this county.
Weeks of labor, the ingenuity of energy of enemies, the talent of the Attorney-General, and the expenditure of hundreds of dollars, only developed flimsy charges based upon similar technical violations as set aside and declared frivolous by the action of Judge Maher.
The article ends with a quote from Robert Burns' poem, "To A Mouse": 'The best laid schemes O' mice and men' 'Gang aft agley' or "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." (30)
There were multiple mentions of the case and its outcome on page 2 in that issue:
"The next case on the docket was a charge against the treasurer for improperly disbursing school funds, but when called the State wished to leave this open and take up the next charge for not reporting collections of school funds. Mr. Moore, for the defence [sic] moved to quash the indictment, on the ground that the indictment did not set forth that any collections had been made, or that there were any disbursements, during the time mentioned and that the indictment alleged no date certain. The court held for assessments. The ground of this indictment was that the sworn account required by law to be itemized, to accompany the auditor's warrant for assessment, was not an itemized account. Mr. Thos. H. Wheeler, defended the commissioners. The account was placed in evidence and contained quite a number of items under the head of assessments for Beaufort county, which the jury by their verdict considered a sufficiently itemized account. The 'prime movers' are considerably chagrined at these results and lack the support and sympathy of the people in this county."
WHY did the Attorney General refuse to try the case against the Treasurer for improperly disbursing money, when the Court were informed that the Treasurer would admit all they claimed could be proved by Gooding, the material witness who was absent. Were it not a weak sham case got up for political effect the State would have gone to trial. No doubt the Attorney General thought thus 'the quarrel is a very pretty quarrel as it stands : we should only spoil it by trying to explain it.' (31)
The newspaper's last word was on page 3:
"The petit jury had a very poor opinion of the indictment and evidence presented against the county commissioners, and therefore found a verdict of not guilty." (32)
The depth of resources in the Research Room and the number of digital resources available at no charge continue to amaze me - even 27+ years later.
If you would like to come explore our materials in person, contact us to set up an appointment: 843-255-6468 or email bdc@bcgov.net. BDC staff is always happy to guide you to materials in our holdings and offer suggestions to you about websites that might be helpful in your quest to discover more about your historical and/or genealogical topics of interest.
NOTES:
1. "Matters in Beaufort," Charleston News and Courier, June 20, 1987, p. 1 : NewsBank database.
2. Love of Order: South Carolina's First Secession Crisis by John Barnwell (University of North Carolina Press, 1982), [p. 199].
3. "3rd South Carolina Cavalry," South Carolina in the American Civil War website by J.D. Lewis, 2024 provides a great overview of the development and denouement of the unit across the years 1862- 1865. Howard's military rank seems a bit flexible. Some sources show his rank as Major or Captain. In the post-war era, he was referred to as "General" though I was unable to determine the source for the higher military rank. BTW: My direct maternal ancestor William Edward Buckner was a private in Co. C and his brother Thaddeus G. Buckner served as a First Lieutenant and later Captain of the unit.
5. Rebellion, Reconstruction and Redemption, 1861-1893, The History of Beaufort County South Carolina, vol. 2 by Stephen R. Wise and Lawrence S. Rowland with Gerhard Spieler (University of South Carolina Press, 2015), p. 314.
6. Charleston News and Courier (Charleston, SC), April 18, 1876, p. 1 : NewsBank database. I believe that the dateline of April 10 is a typographical error. All other sources and Howard's tombstone indicate that he died on April 12, 1876.
7. "The Murder of Gen. Howard," Charleston News and Courier (Charleston, SC), April 20, 1876, p. 2 : NewsBank database.
8. "In April last...", Port Royal Standard and Commercial (Beaufort, SC), June 15, 1876, p. 2 : Chronicling America website.
9. "The Late Gen. Howard," Port Royal Standard and Commercial (Beaufort, SC), April 27, 1876, p. 2 : Chronicling America website.
10. "Court of General Sessions," The Tribune (Beaufort, SC), June 14, 1876, p. 2 : Chronicling America website.
11. "John Snipe, one ...," Port Royal Standard and Commercial (Beaufort, SC), July 13, 1876, p. 3 : Chronicling America website.
12. "A Dish of News and Gossip: The Thickness of the Negro Cranium, Columbia Politics, The Murder of Gen. Howard," Charleston News and Courier (Charleston, SC), August 9, 1876, p. 1 : NewsBank database.
13. "The Howard Murderers," Port Royal Standard and Commercial (Beaufort, SC), August 17, 1876, p. 2 : Chronicling America website.
15. SUICIDES - SMITH (1876) vertical file in the BDC Research Room
16. Ellen Augusta Chapman Crofut Diary, 3 June 1876. BDC Archives.
17. SUICIDES - SMITH (1876) vertical file in the BDC Research Room
18. Charleston News and Courier, 6 June 1876, p. 1 : NewsBank database.
19. [Beaufort] Tribune, 7 June 1876, p. 2 : Chronicling America website.
20. Charleston News and Courier, 9 June 1876, p. 1 : NewsBank database.
21. [Beaufort] Tribune, 14 June 1876, p. 3 : Chronicling America website.
22. Chicago Daily Tribune, 14 June 1876, p. 5 : Chronicling America website.
23. Port Royal Standard and Commercial, 15 June 1876, p. 3 : Chronicling America website.
25. SUICIDES - SMITH (1876) vertical file in the BDC Research Room
27. Rebellion, Reconstruction, and Redemption, 1861-1893 (The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina, volume 2) by Stephen R. Wise and Lawrence S. Rowland with Gerhard Spieler (Columbia : University of South Carolina Press, 2015), pp. 542 - 543.
28. "Beaufort and Port Royal: The Accused County Officials. Result of the Trails ...," Charleston News and Courier, 19 June 1876, p. 1 : NewsBank database.
29. "Matters in Beaufort," Charleston New and Courier, 20 June 1876, p. 1 : NewsBank database.
30. Port Royal Standard and Commercial, 22 June 1876, p. 2 : Chronicling America website.
31. Port Royal Standard and Commercial, 22 June 1876, p. 2 : Chronicling America website.
32. Port Royal Standard and Commercial, 22 June 1876, p. 3 : Chronicling America website.
