Cameron, M.Pearce, JosephUnited States, Georgia, Mitchell County, Camilla, 31.23129, -84.21046Byrd, William A.1868-09-23This affidavit, given to and witnessed by William A. Byrd, M. Cameron, and Joseph Pierce, is Mitchell County Sheriff Mumford S. Poore's version of the events of September 19, 1868, the day Camilla Georgia was to be the site of a Republican Party political rally, but instead became the site where townspeople who opposed the rally clashed with freedmen and Republicans in the historical event that came to be known as the Camilla Massacre or the Camilla Riot. Poore's account differs from many of the others on several points. First, he mentions a letter he received from a man named Broadnax, a member of the Colored Democratic Club of Dougherty County, informing him of the party coming to Camilla. Poore details his encounter on the outskirts of Camilla with John Murphy and William P. Pierce which lead him to return to Camilla to form a posse against them. As the group entered Camilla, Poore, also differing here from other accounts, recalls James Johns' firing his gun into the ground as Johns threw it down, rather than Johns intentionally firing the shots that began the violence. Poore states that his posse continued to pursue the freedmen until night.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.image/jpegtext/htmlcam012engForms part of United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Records held by the National Archives.http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/African Americans--Georgia--History--19th centuryAfrican Americans--Georgia--Social conditions--To 1964Freedmen--Georgia--Political activityFreedmen--Georgia--Violence againstReconstruction--GeorgiaPolitical violence--Georgia--CamillaMitchell County (Ga.)--Race relationsBroadnax, CrawfordJohns, James, fl. 1868Murphy, John, fl. 1868Pierce, W. P.Poore, MumfordColored Democratic Club (Mitchell County, Ga.)United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned LandsAffidavit of Sheriff Mumford S. Poore: Mitchell County, 1868 Sept. 23Text