Wartime friction -- 1864

 Franklin Defender, April 1864 (Brookville)

(during the Civil War)

A FURTHER WRONG

It being feared by some that a further attack upon the Democrat office might be made on Monday night, as several soldiers were to be in town to start for their Regiment on Tuesday morning, the Democrats gathered up a force and watched during the night.

No disturbance was contemplated, as some of the soldiers informed up on Monday. Together with other citizens we spoke of the matter to the boys and told them that the citizens would all disapprove of any act of the kind.

In the morning, however, the boys after they had started off on the hack for Sunman, passed Mr. Robeson, who was on his way home with his gun on his shoulder, when one of them accosted him and demanded to know what he was doing with his gun. 

He informed them that he had been guarding the Democrat office. The one accosting him, probably, got out of the hack for the purpose of taking the gun away from him. There was, however, but little difficulty, one of the boys taking him by the collar, but doing little further.

The boys soon went on, and Mr. Robeson came back to town and got a warrant for the arrest of the offender. The officer and posse started in pursuit, but the soldiers had crossed the line into the State of Ripley County before being overtaken, and the officer concluded that he could not intrude on foreign soil. So the matter ended there.

The citizens all regret this occurrence and condemn the soldier for the act and would have approved of the proper punishment being inflicted had he been caught.

Mr. R. was civil and so were all who guarded the office on Monday night, as far as we know.