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Letter: Atlanta, Georgia, to Major General Oliver Otis Howard, Washington, D.C, 1868 Oct. 12

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@ DeSoto Trail Regional Library System

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In his letter from Atlanta to Freedmen's Bureau Commissioner Major General Oliver Otis Howard in Washington, D.C., dated October 12, 1868, Georgia Assistant Commissioner Caleb C. Sibley encloses additional evidence in the recent episodes of violence between whites and freedmen that began at a Republican political rally in Camilla, Georgia on September 19, 1868. This additional evidence includes testimony from freedman Lochran Hunter regarding three deaths in the community related to the incident and corroborates the earlier report filed by Sub-Assistant Commissioner, Brevet Major O.H. Howard. To give Commissioner O.O. Howard an idea of the political climate in the area, Sibley also encloses testimony from an ex-Army officer, Mr. Sherwood, regarding an incident at the polling place on Election Day the previous April. The testimony outlines the obstacles the whites, including legislative candidate W.A. Bird, presented to freedmen who came to vote that day, and the powerlessness of officers and a limited number of soldiers from the Freedmen's Bureau to prevent the harassment, which included gunfire and threats on the lives of the freedmen. Four days after this letter was written, on October 16, 1868, Commissioner O.O. Howard replaced Sibley with John Randolph Lewis as head of the Georgia agency. Sibley became military commander of the district of Georgia.Digital image and transcription created by the Digital Library of Georgia in 2001 of a photocopy held by DeSoto Trail Regional Library of an original record held by the National Archives.
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DeSoto Trail Regional Library System

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Digital Library of Georgia