Garfield King

Garfield King was a young man of about eighteen, Black, who was held in the jail at Salisbury, Maryland. Press accounts published in late May and early June 1898 say a mob from the surrounding area broke into the jail in the early hours of May 26, forced open his cell and took him out. The Alexandria Gazette reported that the sheriff refused to surrender the jail keys. The mob hanged him from a tree, and after the rope broke it shot and beat him, strung him up again and fired at least fifty bullets into his body, according to one account.

Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody

News reports (5)

• Alexandria Gazette, May 26, 1898, page 2 Alexandria Gazette, May 26, 1898
• Semi=Weekly Graphic, May 28, 1898, page 7 Semi=Weekly Graphic, May 28, 1898
• The Free Press, June 2, 1898, page 4 The Free Press, June 2, 1898
• The Commonwealth, June 2, 1898, page 6 The Commonwealth, June 2, 1898
• Virginia Gazette, June 4, 1898, page 8 Virginia Gazette, June 4, 1898