Pompey O'Bannon
Pompey O'Bannon was held in the Wilkinson County jail at Toomsboro, Georgia, in 1866. According to General Order No. 8 issued by Brevet Major General Charles R. Woods, he was taken from the jail on a warrant and handed to a deputy sheriff, after which a mob of two or three hundred people seized him, chained him to a tree and burned him to death. The order states that the civil authorities could not compel respect for the forms of justice. A correspondent reported to the Daily Gate City that Black residents were forced to pile wood around him for the fire.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Gen. Charles R. Woods's General Order No. 8 says a mob of two or three hundred seized Pompey O'Bannon from a deputy sheriff and burned him to death after chaining him to a tree.
Reported by: General Order No. 8 of Brevet Major General Charles R. Woods, Department of the South (outside investigators); a reliable correspondent.