United States, Georgia, Mitchell County, Camilla, 31.23129, -84.210461868-09-28William Jones, a forty-two-year-old freedman employed on Tinsley's plantation in Mitchell County, Georgia gives testimony regarding his experience in the Camilla Riot in this affidavit given in Dougherty County, Georgia on September 28, 1868. 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. Although Jones set out for Camilla to attend the rally, carrying his gun loaded with turkey shot, he states that "never fired it" though he was there to witness James Johns, the inebriated Camilla resident who fired the shots that began the riot, "pointing his gun plainly in the direction of the bandwagon." Jones then 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/htmlcam042Forms 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 governmentUnited States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned LandsJones, William, fl. 1868Affidavit of William Jones: Dougherty County, Georgia, 1868 Sept. 28Text