Ben Brown
Ben Brown, described as a 16-year-old Black youth by one newspaper, was held at the county jail in Tallapoosa, Georgia. On the night of October 23, 1902, a mob of several hundred men, estimated by different papers at between 300 and 800, took him from the jail, hanged him from a bridge over a creek, and then shot his body. One account says six guards were overpowered, and another says he offered no resistance and the jail was not fired on. The mayor had wired the governor for troops and tried to persuade the crowd to let the law take its course, but the troops arrived about an hour and a half after he was hanged. Papers disagreed on whether the mob acted after learning troops were coming.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of several hundred men took Ben Brown from the Tallapoosa County jail and hanged him from a bridge, then shot his body; the mayor had asked the governor for troops, who arrived after he was dead.
Reported by: news reporting in the Richmond Dispatch and other 1902 newspapers (reporters).
News reports (6)
- The Savannah Morning News, October 24, 1902, page 2
- The Birmingham Age-Herald, October 24, 1902, page 1
- The Montgomery Advertiser, October 24, 1902, page 1
- Hattiesburg Daily Progress, October 24, 1902, page 1
- Richmond Dispatch, October 24, 1902, page 5
- Atlanta Semi-Weekly Journal, October 27, 1902, page 3