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140
since he received quick care, he survived an
otherwise life- threatening injury. 67
Additionally, two other white men,
Bert Chadwick and George Piner, were
injured and treated alongside Mayo. 68
Mayo’s wounding rallied the white men
involved in the first scuffle, and they began
to avenge Mayo as they aimed for any
blacks that came into sight. The whites also
sought to identify the individual who shot
Mayo, perhaps as a means to stop random
shootings. Later in the afternoon, after some
simple investigation and finger pointing, it
was decided that Daniel Wright, who lived
nearby at 810 North Third, was the culprit
responsible for shooting Mayo as well as
shooting George Piner. 69 A manhunt was
launched for Wright.
67 Mayo’s wounding became a symbolic rallying
point for the white men. William F. Jones, street car
driver, conveyed Mayo to Moore’s Drug Store where
Dr. Schonwald stopped the bleeding before transport
to the hospital by young boys and their ambulances
stationed at Cowan’s Livery Stable. Rev.
Christopher C. Dennen of St. Thomas the Apostle
Catholic Church administered Mayo’s last rites on
the way to the hospital just in case Mayo did not
survive his wound. The .44 caliber Winchester bullet
hit Mayo and went through his left side and both
lungs before exiting his body. It was written into
white accounts of the riot that Mayo had been
standing on his porch at the time of the shooting and
that he was shot as his assailant ran down the street.
It is unclear if Mayo was part of the crowd who had
just returned from burning the Record, if he was a
member of a Citizen’s Patrol, or if he was armed at
the time of he was shot. It is also unclear who,
exactly, shot Mayo. Speculation also indicates that
perhaps Mayo was shot as an incidence of “ friendly
fire” when whites were aiming at blacks running in
his general direction. Hayden, WLI, 90- 91;
Wilmington Messenger November 11,1898.
68Chadwick was wounded with a .44 caliber bullet
which passed though the muscle in his left arm
without breaking his arm and Piner was shot with a
.44 caliber bullet that entered his abdomen in the left
side and exited on the right. Hayden, WLI, 91;
Wilmington Messenger November 11, 1898.
69 Another interpretation of the Mayo shooting had
Wright near the intersection of Third and Harnett as
As large groups of white men
gathered in the vicinity of Fourth and
Harnett— milling about, angry and eager to
avenge Mayo’s shooting— Wright was
identified by a “ half breed Indian” who told
J. Allan Taylor that he knew who had shot
Mayo. Taylor was shown a house where he
was told Wright was hiding and that he
could be identified by “ a missing thumb on
his right hand and the possession of an
outmoded rifle with a large bore.” 70 Captain
MacRae remembered the incident with the
Indian, saying that he felt the man had a
grudge against local blacks. 71 Taylor then
sent a group of men led by John S. Watters
to capture and identify Wright. Once his
house was surrounded, white witnesses
claimed Wright went into the attic and shot
into the approaching crowd, wounding Will
Terry and George Bland. 72
he shot Mayo, who was a block away at Third and
Harnett instead of his porch. This account also states
that after Wright shot Mayo, he “ wheeled around’
and shot George Piner who was at the intersection of
Bladen and Fourth. Hayden, WLI, 91; Evening
Dispatch ( Wilmington), November 10, 1898;
Hayden, “ Introduction to the Wilmington Rebellion,’
26.
70 Hayden, WLI, 90.
71 “ Minutes of the Association of the WLI,” North
Carolina Collection.
72 Prather, using Helen Edmonds’ interview with
Thomas Rivera, stated that Terry and Bland were
killed. However, the 1900 census has Hill Terry, as
named in the WLI, alive and serving as deputy sheriff
at residing at 815 North Fourth Street. George
Bland, age 25 in the 1900 census, was Terry’s son- in-law
and lived with Terry and worked as a liveryman.
The 1880 census listed Hill Terry having a son, Will,
age 12, but Will is not found in the 1900 census. It is
unknown if the younger Will Terry was involved and
possibly killed by Wright. A later account of the
fighting noted that S. Hill Terry hanged himself while
in jail awaiting trial for murdering his son- in- law.
Jack Metts, in a letter dated November 12 recounted
his version of the event: “ The negro who shot our
white man very nearly killing him was sought and got
on his knees begging for mercy, saying he had five
little children home— but the crowd of citizens who
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| Title | 1898 Wilmington race riot report - Page 163 |
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| Full Text | 140 since he received quick care, he survived an otherwise life- threatening injury. 67 Additionally, two other white men, Bert Chadwick and George Piner, were injured and treated alongside Mayo. 68 Mayo’s wounding rallied the white men involved in the first scuffle, and they began to avenge Mayo as they aimed for any blacks that came into sight. The whites also sought to identify the individual who shot Mayo, perhaps as a means to stop random shootings. Later in the afternoon, after some simple investigation and finger pointing, it was decided that Daniel Wright, who lived nearby at 810 North Third, was the culprit responsible for shooting Mayo as well as shooting George Piner. 69 A manhunt was launched for Wright. 67 Mayo’s wounding became a symbolic rallying point for the white men. William F. Jones, street car driver, conveyed Mayo to Moore’s Drug Store where Dr. Schonwald stopped the bleeding before transport to the hospital by young boys and their ambulances stationed at Cowan’s Livery Stable. Rev. Christopher C. Dennen of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church administered Mayo’s last rites on the way to the hospital just in case Mayo did not survive his wound. The .44 caliber Winchester bullet hit Mayo and went through his left side and both lungs before exiting his body. It was written into white accounts of the riot that Mayo had been standing on his porch at the time of the shooting and that he was shot as his assailant ran down the street. It is unclear if Mayo was part of the crowd who had just returned from burning the Record, if he was a member of a Citizen’s Patrol, or if he was armed at the time of he was shot. It is also unclear who, exactly, shot Mayo. Speculation also indicates that perhaps Mayo was shot as an incidence of “ friendly fire” when whites were aiming at blacks running in his general direction. Hayden, WLI, 90- 91; Wilmington Messenger November 11,1898. 68Chadwick was wounded with a .44 caliber bullet which passed though the muscle in his left arm without breaking his arm and Piner was shot with a .44 caliber bullet that entered his abdomen in the left side and exited on the right. Hayden, WLI, 91; Wilmington Messenger November 11, 1898. 69 Another interpretation of the Mayo shooting had Wright near the intersection of Third and Harnett as As large groups of white men gathered in the vicinity of Fourth and Harnett— milling about, angry and eager to avenge Mayo’s shooting— Wright was identified by a “ half breed Indian” who told J. Allan Taylor that he knew who had shot Mayo. Taylor was shown a house where he was told Wright was hiding and that he could be identified by “ a missing thumb on his right hand and the possession of an outmoded rifle with a large bore.” 70 Captain MacRae remembered the incident with the Indian, saying that he felt the man had a grudge against local blacks. 71 Taylor then sent a group of men led by John S. Watters to capture and identify Wright. Once his house was surrounded, white witnesses claimed Wright went into the attic and shot into the approaching crowd, wounding Will Terry and George Bland. 72 he shot Mayo, who was a block away at Third and Harnett instead of his porch. This account also states that after Wright shot Mayo, he “ wheeled around’ and shot George Piner who was at the intersection of Bladen and Fourth. Hayden, WLI, 91; Evening Dispatch ( Wilmington), November 10, 1898; Hayden, “ Introduction to the Wilmington Rebellion,’ 26. 70 Hayden, WLI, 90. 71 “ Minutes of the Association of the WLI,” North Carolina Collection. 72 Prather, using Helen Edmonds’ interview with Thomas Rivera, stated that Terry and Bland were killed. However, the 1900 census has Hill Terry, as named in the WLI, alive and serving as deputy sheriff at residing at 815 North Fourth Street. George Bland, age 25 in the 1900 census, was Terry’s son- in-law and lived with Terry and worked as a liveryman. The 1880 census listed Hill Terry having a son, Will, age 12, but Will is not found in the 1900 census. It is unknown if the younger Will Terry was involved and possibly killed by Wright. A later account of the fighting noted that S. Hill Terry hanged himself while in jail awaiting trial for murdering his son- in- law. Jack Metts, in a letter dated November 12 recounted his version of the event: “ The negro who shot our white man very nearly killing him was sought and got on his knees begging for mercy, saying he had five little children home— but the crowd of citizens who |
