Died in jail or a lockup
Nathaniel Mitchell
Nathaniel Mitchell was held in the jail at La Crosse, Wisconsin, when a large crowd gathered in the Court House yard demanding that he be handed over. According to a newspaper account, the sheriff, the police chief and a posse tried but could not hold back the crowd, which broke through the jail's doors and went to his cell. The mob took him into the yard and hanged him from a tree. The account says the officers were unable to stop them.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. The newspaper account says a mob broke through the La Crosse jail doors, took him from his cell and hanged him from a tree while the sheriff, police chief and posse could not hold them back.
Reported by: historical newspaper account.