United States, Georgia, Mitchell County, Camilla, 31.23129, -84.21046Howard, O. H.1868-09-28In this affidavit of William Jones, a forty-two-year-old freedman employed on Tinsley's plantation in Mitchell County, Georgia, taken in Dougherty County, Georgia on September 28, 1868 by Freedmen's Bureau subassistant commissioner O.H. Howard, Jones recounts his experience in the Camilla Riot. The Camilla Riot occurred when Republicans and freedmen came to Camilla, Georgia on Saturday, September 19, 1868, and were met with violent opposition from the townspeople. Jones recalls how he and another freedman, John Wesley, overheard the miller at Tinsley's mill, Mr. Hines, say that he did not think the townspeople would allow John Murphy, the Republican Party elector, to speak in Camilla. Nevertheless, Jones set out for Camilla to attend the rally, carrying his gun loaded with turkey shot, and was there to witness James Johns, an inebriated Camilla resident, firing the shots that began the riot, "plainly in the direction of the [band]wagon." Though Jones had his gun, he did not return fire, but instead fled, and was pursued until he escaped into the nearby woods.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/htmlcam036Forms 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 againstFreedmen--Georgia--Personal narrativesReconstruction--GeorgiaPolitical violence--Georgia--CamillaMitchell County (Ga.)--Race relationsMitchell County (Ga.)--Politics and governmentJohns, James, fl. 1868United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned LandsJones, William, fl. 1868Affidavit of William Jones: Dougherty County, Georgia, 1868 Sept. 28Text