REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO INVESTIGATE THE Railroad Riots IN JULY, 1877.

A. It appears to me the roughest class of people I ever saw. They appeared to be all strangers to me. I was present when the alarm of fire was struck. I was at the corner of Twenty-sixth street, right opposite the round-house, where the soldiers were. I was coming down, I guess it was ten o'clock or near eleven, and the firemen responded to the alarm, and came up Penn avenue a little above my house, and they was stopped by the crowd. They told them they could not go any further. I was across the street. I heard one man say, "I will shoot the horse, and if you undertake to go, I will shoot you." They ran across the street, and came right beside me, and I heard them say they would have them out of there if they would have to burn them out. I just said, said I, "my God, men, don't set anything on fire here, you will burn it all up," and the answer he made was, "Go to hell, you son of a bitch." That was the very words he made use of. I thought the least I could say was the best, as I was by myself.

A. I didn't see one railroad man to my knowledge, not an employé of the Pennsylvania railroad.

Q. What did you, in connection with other railroad men, do to try and stop this?

A. We did not do very much, for we could not. It seemed as though everybody was intimidated, and felt himself afraid to undertake to do anything. I did, I know, as one by myself. I do not think, in a crowd of men, it would have been useless to try to stop the burning at nine o'clock in the morning.

Q. Did you have any communication with the committee that was sent up from Harrisburg?

A. Sunday morning; and said to me—he wanted to know where this committee of railroad men was. I told him that I did not know where it was, but, says I, maybe I could find some of them. If we could get past Twenty-sixth street we might get some of them; but you can't pass through, they are shooting us there. Says he, tell them to come down to the Union depot, that I am authorized to give the men what they ask. There was a party went down there, and they could not find General Brown or any one else.

A. I went down for one, and I didn't mind who else went down, it was impossible to get one of that committee, because they were scattered all through the city.

Q. Were you on this committee of safety or any sub-committee, appointed by them, to go and confer with the strikers at any time.

A. No, I do not think—I think we went down. There was a committee of safety come up there, and I think Captain McMunn and myself and some of our ward boys, several of us, went down.

A. As railroad men, we went down. I got into the crowd down here, right below the elevator there, tried to find the leading man of the citizens' committee, and they got to shooting, and the crowd ran down there. There was a tremendous crowd there, and carried us along with them. I do not think there was any use to try to do anything at all.

Q. You said you would not like to have attempted to get out with that train on Saturday?

A. None. I would not have apprehended any danger, I think, from anybody but from outsiders.

A. Not from the railroad men. I did not think that they would interfere with me.

Q. Did you hear any threats of violence from the railroad men or engineers or any railroad strikers?

A. I did from outsiders—remarks—but I didn't know who they were—that the first man that would attempt to go out had better hunt his coffin.

Q. You saw the handling of cars and engines by the rioters during the destruction of property there in the vicinity of Twenty-eighth street and at the depot—did these men handle the cars and engines as if they had been accustomed to handling cars and engines?

A. I didn't see anybody handling an engine. After the soldiers went into the round-house, I never went up near the place, that is, further than going up some of the side streets to look over the burning. All the engines were further up, at Twenty-eighth street. I was not up there.

Q. You were speaking of an association of engineers. Is that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers?

Q. Was there any coöperation or action between that association and the Trainmen's Union at any time that you know of?

A. I believe I should know it. There was a disposition on the part of all the men, when the strike had occurred, to stand out for their ten per cent. That was their object.

Q. That association was got up for protection—a charitable institution for those that were connected with it?

Q. If there had been any coöperation between the Trainmen's Union, or any connection between them and your association, you would likely know something about it.

A. Yes; there was this, so far as the ten per cent. went. That I believe was all after the burning. I do not think there was any connection with it before.

Q. Was there any coöperation or pre-arranged plan to strike for the purpose of securing this ten per cent.?

A. No, sir; not at all. The trouble had originated not until after there had been a committee to see Mr. Scott; but the thing had dropped, and I had heard nothing of it from the time that committee reported, and I do not remember the report they made, either.

Q. Was there a general dissatisfaction and complaint on the part of the railroad employés on account of this reduction of pay?

A. There was. That seemed to be a great deal of the trouble. They were dissatisfied with the pay they were getting.

A. I do not think that would lead to it, because if the committee of engineers went to see the general officers, and they didn't get satisfaction, or claimed that the business that they were doing could not pay it, the men would have waited until such time as they would. They claimed that they were in pretty close quarters financially, but as soon as business would warrant, why they would restore it.

A. In the first place it is very disagreeable for the men, and they consider it dangerous for one thing, and in running these trains it cuts a good many of them out of employment.

A. In the first place you hold just twice as many cars, and you don't have any more men on the train to hold them. Brakemen would hold thirty-four cars with two engines, and seventeen cars with one. If these trains get started they are pretty hard to manage.

Q. Did you have these engines at the head of the trains at all times, or did you have one in the front and one in the rear?

A. At the head all the time, they consider it safer that way to run them than to run one behind. Going through these up and down grades and turning is liable to break.

Q. The only danger there was in not having the same number of brakesmen to the same number of cars as you do when you run the single train?

Q. Would not there have been less danger by taking two trains and making one, and running them on the track—less danger of collisions than if you had to have two trains instead of one?

A. There is more danger running this double train than the single trains, because they are harder to manage.

A. Yes; check it up quicker. You can check a train much quicker—a light train than a heavy one—and they are less liable to break in the dark and in the fog. In the fog you can't tell whether they are broken or not. They might stop, and the hind part run into the front part, which has been frequently done.

A. On the Saturday, probably about half-past two, I went up to the depot and went in, and the Philadelphia soldiers were about starting out. I got up to Twenty-eighth street probably half an hour before they did. Everything was quiet there—at Twenty-eighth street. There was a company keeping the street clear—a company of troops.

A. I do not know. It looked like a cavalry company on foot from the trimmings on their clothes. As soon as the Philadelphia troops came up the mob closed round, and commenced hooting and hollering.

A. I suppose I had been up there probably twenty minutes, when they formed a double line and cleared the track. I was throwed over toward the round-house. I went round the cars at Twenty-eighth street, probably two hundred feet up the hill. There was a ravine coming down there, and I got outside of it. I don't mind how long I had been in there before the troops formed. At that time they had swept the tracks, and there was two or three lines formed outside the tracks. The troops had done some manœuvering, they had marched up right against the track. At that time Twentieth street was blocked, and they marched, and the crowd did not get away, and they stepped back and made a bayonet charge. It seems to me after they had marched up against them I saw some men stagger, but I was too far off. About the time they made the bayonet charge there was a stone or three or four stones came from the direction of the hospital, and a pistol shot fired.

A. There is a watch-box there—it was not more than three stones, I think, they throwed. It was done just about the time the bayonet charge was made, and then there was a pistol shot about the same time.

A. It was generally in that direction; I suppose it was in the crowd. Then the firing was done just after.

A. No; I was two hundred feet back. I was in a position that I could see the whole thing take place.

A. It appeared to be a scattered fire. As soon as they commenced firing, I started up on the hill. Some one called out they were firing blank cartridges, and I seen the dust flying around, and I threw myself down like everybody else. There was a man shot within the length of this room from me, and killed—a man named Ray, I think. I then started down hill, and when I was coming down I saw a man on the far side of Twenty-eighth street swing round a freight car, and throw into the company—he threw three or four stones or some missiles in among them, the last, when I was down almost to the track, and I thought every stone I seen throwed, I thought they would fire.

A. After the firing, he swung around, and seemed to be inviting them, I thought, to do something.

A. It looked as though he was. He was holding on to the iron rod on the car, and was swinging on in front of them. He was a large man, about six feet, very genteelly dressed—more so than the common run of them.

Q. This man you saw swinging on round there, trying to make an effort to exasperate them?

A. It looked as though he was inviting them to fire. I crossed the track ten minutes after the firing was over. The soldiers seemed to be laying huddled together. This stone throwing was right in among them.

Q. Did you see any of the soldiers struck down by missiles before the firing took place?

A. When the first advance was made, I thought I saw one of them stagger. I cannot tell whether they were hit. After they made the bayonet charge the parties took their hands and threw the guns up.

A. This I think was a half grown boy that threw the missiles from the back of the house.

A. I don't recollect of seeing any stones throwed, except at this watch-box, until I saw this man, after the firing was all over. The track was perfectly clear when I crossed.

Q. What was the character of the crowd immediately in front of the military, or near the military?

A. Rough looking. I had seen the same crowd around for two or three days. I had been out and in on the railroad. I had seen them at … street and Twenty-eighth street, for two or three days.

A. Yes, sir; not as a general thing. I know some of the conductors of the trains remarked to me that everybody was going in and nobody was coming out—all the tramps come in town and none going out.

A. Not all of them. Generally a pretty rough looking set. On the hill side there was plenty of women and children.

A. These were a rough looking set of men. I won't say they were all tramps. They were a rough looking set of men. I noticed them before the military came up. There was no disturbance at all until after the military came up. They were all quiet.

A. Yes; they stood right like a wall. The military marched up, and they didn't give the least bit. Then they stepped back a piece or two, and made a bayonet charge. I was not close enough to hear any orders given.

A. There was quite a large crowd there during Thursday morning. Towards the afternoon a great number had come up to see the strikers. There was very few railroad men among the crowd.

A. Parties that lived around the railroad there, just come up to see the excitement.

A. No, sir; they were not. They were all talking about double-headers, I do not know what they meant, and I asked them, and they told me about putting two engines on a long train.

A. Yes; I was up there about twelve o'clock, and there was a few men there—about thirty remained there during the night waiting for trains to go out.

A. There was seven or eight hundred. They were expecting the soldiers in that evening. Were also expecting the Harrisburg men up that evening. They did not come up. I went down Saturday morning and went down the railroad from our house. I saw the Harrisburg soldiers there on the side of the hill and also down by the railroad.

A. I don't know how large it was; the streets were just jammed and the side of the hill on Twenty-eighth street.

A. Yes; I was up on the side of the hill about seventy yards from where the troops were.

A. Yes; I saw them before they left the Union depot. Saw them get their cartridges before they left there.

A. They said that they were not afraid of that; as long as they didn't hurt them, they would not hurt them.

A. Yes; I recognized a few of them, I believe the sheriff was ahead, and, I think, Deputy Sheriff Steward, and, I think, Mr. Pitcairn was also ahead of them. He was walking beside Sheriff Fife.

A. There was one or two fired. A pistol about the center of Twenty-eighth street; held it over, and shot down the road. By that time there were stone throwing. There were two cannons, and there was some boys started to throw stones, and one of them hit a soldier against a car, and the moment he fell they started firing. He threw up his arm about the time they charged bayonets—the crowd was throwing the bayonets up. The crowd catched hold of the bayonets, and threw the guns up to save themselves.

A. No, sir; I did not. I heard them charge bayonets. I heard that command, and I heard them give their military manœuvres, but I heard no command to fire at all.

A. No, sir; I could not say, I heard them say it was small boys done it. It was right back of our office it first started. The time I saw it there was first one car on fire, and they started to run oil cars down against it.

Q. Were you there during the time, Thursday or Friday, when the police force came out?

A. They were there. I did not see them come up, they were up there when I was there.

A. I do not know how many there was, only about ten or twelve, I think. I think there was only three or four on Thursday.

Q. Did you remain in the same position after you heard that command until after the firing commenced?

Q. But from the time you heard the command given to charge bayonets up to the time of the firing, were you still in the same position?

Q. If there had been a command given by the officers to fire, you think you would have heard it?

A. I think so. I heard most of the other commands and the manœuvres they went through before they charged bayonets.

Q. How long after the command was given to charge bayonets before the firing commenced?

A. About two minutes. It was a different body of men that came up through the hollow-square.

Q. How did they fire. Did they fire altogether, as if they were ordered to fire?

A. The parties next to the cars. The men in their company did the first shooting, and they shot very low. At the same time those in front shot higher.

A. No; that was, I run back against the car—a lot of flat cars filled with coal.

Q. Was this the line that was formed parallel with the railroad tracks, on the right towards the hill side?

A. Yes, sir. A man standing near the end of the cars fell, and just as he fell, they just put their guns up and shot.

A. Yes, over the heads; I could see the dirt fly; the party in front of them shot.

Q. Did they appear to fire in the direction of where the missiles and stones came from?

A. The missiles came right in front of this other body of men that shot towards the side of the hill. The stones were right at the foot of the hill, and they shot up on the side of the hill. The boys that threw the stones, were down at the foot of the hill, right back of the tracks. There was two cannons there, and those boys were right among them throwing.

A. I didn't say they came out of the round-house; I say they passed Twenty-eighth street. I was on the corner of Twenty-eighth and Penn when they passed.

A. Followed them so far as I could see, about the middle of Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth. I was afraid they would shoot at me.

A. Threatened to shoot several times—threatened to shoot on an alley in Twenty-eighth street. We put up our hands at him. He got up again and followed them at Penn street. I got back of a sign and I believe he shot after he got a piece further up.

A. It was one of those breech-loaders. I saw him throw it up and examine the cartridges.

A. Yes; regular musket, called breech-loaders, something similar to what the militia have.

At this point the committee adjourned, to meet at the arsenal, at half-past eight o'clock, this evening.

The committee met pursuant to adjournment, at the United States Arsenal, at half-past eight o'clock. All members present.

Q. First state your rank and official position here under the United States Government?

A. Major ordnance United States Army, commanding Allegheny arsenal—commandant Allegheny arsenal—which ever way you choose to put it.

Q. If you will go on and get at the facts, probably it will be as easy as any other way to come at a statement of the facts that came within your knowledge?

A. I presume what you want from me are simple facts. You want no opinions, nor anything else—my knowledge of the riot. I have here three or four little notes addressed to me:

July 21, 5, P.M.

Major Buffington,
Commanding U.S. Arsenal:

The troops of the first division, after having been fired at by the rioters, returned the fire, killing and wounding a number. It is said the rioters will take the arsenal, and take the arms and ammunition. It may be a rumor; I will give it to you for what it is worth. It would be well for you to be on your guard.

(Signed)

A. L. Pearson,
Major General.

A. I received that note somewhere about six o'clock. It is dated five-thirty, P.M., July 21, about half an hour afterwards—about six o'clock, I should judge. Previous to this, I would state that three gentlemen came here from the city—came to my quarters—and informed me in substance the same thing, before this was received—perhaps an hour. Was received somewhere about that time. That was the first notice I had of it.

A. Their names I don't know. They were strangers to me, and they introduced themselves. I have forgotten their names.

A. Yes, sir; and when they came they were very much afraid that the mob would see their vehicle out in front of the gate, and they immediately left and went away on that account, saying they were afraid their vehicle would be recognized, and they were afraid of the mob. This word I mention was brought to me by Doctor Speers, of Pittsburgh, in a buggy, and he also was very much afraid of the mob. Cautioned me saying anything about it; that they would spot me, or something to that purpose. I also received this one. Here is a copy of that one written in the handwriting of General Latta. This was handed through the picket fence, which is by my quarters, to a young lady visiting my house at that time, with a request to give it to me, which she did. She refused to take it, and told him to take it to the guard-house, and he expressed a fear about taking it to the guard-house, and insisted on her taking it. In addition, I received this one. It is headed,

"O.D. 7, 21—7th month 21st day.

"Commandant Arsenal: Mob has started to the arsenal for the purpose of taking arms. Serious trouble at Twenty-eighth street between them and military.

(Signed)

"J. M. or T. M. King,
Superintendent."

I believe he is superintendent of the Allegheny Valley railroad. Having received information from those gentlemen previous to those notes, I immediately took steps to receive the mob if they should come out there. Lieutenant Lyon was staying over there. He came to the office, and I told him to tell my sergeant to go out quietly and couple the six pounder guns, have one of them brought down to the inside of the gate, as you come in. I had but one box of ammunition. All my men had Springfield rifles, and I had a part of a box of ammunition for them—I had plenty of ammunition, but none of that kind. My sergeant got some for my men, and I gave him some general instructions to guard and close the gates, and lock them, and let no one in without my knowledge. These preparations were carried on, and we got in readiness, and matters remained so until night came on, and there was no signs of anybody coming, and at night I thought I would go out in the street and see what was going on. Lieutenant Lyon, I believe, went with me. We struck down street and consulted with various people. Very few people know me here. I went out in the street and talked with a few of them. In a field below here—about two squares—is a new livery stable, and over that building there was some sort of a meeting going on, and we went to the door. They had sentries at the door. There was quite a concourse of citizens around. We could not get in, and we waited there until they came out. They were cheering inside, and somebody making speeches. Presently they came out, about twenty armed with some muskets they had gotten out of an armory below here somewhere—half-grown boys they were, and a few men—and filed off down street cheered by the populace surrounding them, and one man along side of me fired a musket in the air, and that is all that I saw. I didn't see any disposition of any of them to come here at all, and I returned, telling Lieutenant Lyon I had no doubt they would come out here, but I did not anticipate any trouble with them at all, and instructed the men to keep in their quarters with their clothing on—to lie down with their clothing on, ready at a moment's call. Between ten and eleven o'clock I heard drums beating down street, and I concluded the rioters were coming. I went out, and the men were turned out and placed up here behind that building, where they could not be seen, and by that time the mob had got at the gate. There was nobody there except a sentry and that six pounder gun there. I went out in citizen's dress. They were yelling and screaming about the gate. As I approached, one of them said, "Here comes the commanding officer, we will talk to him." I walked up to the gate, too—the gate is armed with open pickets—they stopped their noise, and I said, "Boys, what is the matter?" They said, "A party of Philadelphia troops have fired into a crowd down here and killed a lot of women and children, and we come to get arms; we want to fight them." I says, "I cannot give you any arms." I said, "I cannot help you, it is impossible for me to help you." He said women and children had been shot down, and I said, "It was a sad thing, but it is impossible for me to help you." "We don't want you, we want that gun." I ignored that request, and kept talking quiet to them. They seemed to be peaceable enough, except one man, and I imagined he was slightly intoxicated. "I know there are only twenty men in the place, and if twenty-five will join me we scale the walls." He abused them for not following. Presently one of them said, "He talks well, come on." Finally the better disposed of them called the others off, and they went up the street a short distance and returned again. This belligerent fellow staid near the gate and called for volunteers. There was nobody there except myself and the sentry. I kept the men out of sight, for I didn't wish to flourish a red handkerchief in the face of the bull. I was determined to exhaust all peaceable means. They came back again, and about the time they got opposite the gate, a cry of fire was raised, and an alarm struck on the bell, and they all raised the cry of fire, and they went off down the street. This man who was calling for volunteers, says he, "The guns are spiked, we will all go;" and they all went off again. That is my knowledge of the mob.

Q. What stores of ammunition were here at that time that the mob could have got if they had entered?

A. We have here many buildings full of ordinance stores. We had for years, and have yet, something like thirty-six or forty thousand stand of arms. Don't put these down as the exact figures. We had a great many thousand stand of arms, and two magazines full of powder and ammunition, prepared and partially prepared for service; that is, the powder in the shells, the powder in the cartridges, two large magazines full. We have there, in fact, two of them full, and another partially so in the upper park. Besides these arms I speak of, we have many thousand stands of arms, revolvers, carbines, muskets, and all sorts of things. We have many large warehouses here. There is one there, [indicating,] and here is one, [indicating,] and one on the other side of the street; above that are the magazines. We have got a great deal of property here, valuable property, too, but we had no small arm ammunition except some of the old style ammunition—a lot of the old style paper cartridges which I had broken up. The arms we had are mostly loaders, except fifty breech-loading muskets, and my men here are armed with caliber fifty. A year before the riot began I was impressed with the dangerous position of this place, and I drew the attention of the authorities in Washington to it. There is a map showing the arsenal, [indicating.] That is Butler street. There, you see, are four buildings called temporary magazines. Those are wooden buildings. There are a great mass of breech-loading ammunition in there, partially prepared for service. There is one magazine, and there is the other one. There is Penn avenue—it is called a pike there. A man might have thrown a lighted cigar over and set fire to this place. I drew the attention of my chief to it, and called particular attention to this dangerous place. He saw the importance of it, and ordered me to break up the ammunition and otherwise get rid of it. Fortunately, all that was cleared out before the riot began. These magazines were all full, and the small arm ammunition I had broken up. Here the shops are below the work-shops, on a plateau just below this, and here is the road over which you came. Here is a sort of open space, and nothing but a low wall here with a picket. Right opposite, there is another gate leading into the upper park. My men were here, and this part is utterly defenseless, and in that place were a number of cannon. The mob would have cleaned me out here. There is not a man there, but a man in charge of the magazine, and twenty men, you see, would be a small force to defend it. It is not a fortified place, it is the same as houses surrounded by a wall with a wooden picket fence. The mob could push it over and come in, and there would be no trouble about it.

A. It is utterly defenseless; but, at the same time, I was not afraid the mob would do me any injury.

A. I don't know how many are in that shed. I have five or six pieces which I call in current service. Those pieces are mounted. Those are six-pounder guns, and there is plenty of ammunition which could be used for that purpose in those magazines. I had one of them on this side, [indicating,] and one on the other side. As mobs generally do, they always come where the danger is. Here was those six-pounder guns, with canister. The only hostile demonstration they made was to rush for the gate, but I merely raised my hands, and says, that won't do, and they stopped instantly. To show what the state of affairs was here, and my information of what was going on, sometime on Saturday night I received this communication from General Latta, addressed to the commanding officer, United States arsenal, Pittsburgh, without date, or anything else. He says:

"Have you communicated with General Government about prospects of attack on your arsenal.

(Signed)

"Gen. Latta."

That was sometime late in the night. I don't know whether it was before the mob came or not. Here is the reply I sent to him:

"United States Arsenal, July 21.

"James W. Latta: In reply to your pencil note, without date, I have to say I have not communicated with General Government about prospects of attack on me, and shall not until such a course is necessary."

I had no communication with Washington, and none with the State authorities, except just what I showed you. They didn't advise me about what was going on. I knew nothing but just what you see here, except to give them all the assistance I could, and, by a strange mistake, I gave them all the defense I had. Here is a communication:

"Head-Quarters Sixth Division, Pittsburgh, July 21, 1877, 11.30, P.M.

"Major E. R. Buffington: It is of the utmost importance that I should have two hundred rounds metallic ball cartridges. Please deliver them to Colonel Moore. In case I have none in store, I will deliver you the order of the Secretary of War to-morrow.

(Signed)

"A. L. Pearson,
Major General."

To explain, the State had here some ammunition which I had been giving to them as they wanted all along, and we had given it all out. General Pearson had been informed that there was no more here belonging to the State, but he said if he had none to give him some, and he would get authority from Washington. Down here is the note of the man in charge of the magazines. This is dated eleven-thirty, P.M. It did not come to me till long afterwards. I sent them with a guard to the upper park with instructions to tell the magazine man to give them if they had any of the State stores, and to tell this gentleman that I had none except a part of a box for my own men. It was just nine hundred rounds, and the guard carried the written order, and down to the bottom, pasted to it, is: