Sylvanus Wright
Sylvanus Wright was held in the Union jail in Union, South Carolina, in February 1871. The Union Times, as reprinted in the Yorkville Enquirer, reports that a large masked group broke into the jail and took him from it, while the Sumter Watchman, reprinting the Unionville Times, says masked, mounted men broke through the outer door and overpowered the jailer and deputy sheriff. He was found hanging from a hickory tree about a mile and a half from town early on a Monday morning. The papers give the date of his death as February 12, 19, or 26, 1871, and they do not agree on how many men were taken from the jail.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Sheriff Dunn of Union said a mob took him from the Union jail and hanged him, as reported in The Charleston Daily News.
Reported by: Sheriff Dunn of Union (the agency that held him); The Charleston Daily News (reporters); Unionville Times (reporters); Union Times, as reprinted in the Yorkville Enquirer (reporters); The Sumter Watchman (reporters).