Victim ID: VA1884020301
Victim Name: Peter Bland
Race: Black
Sex: Male
Age: Unknown
Job: Unknown
Method of Death: Hanged and shot
Accusation: Assault on a white man, his employer
Date: 1884-02-03
County Name: King William
Mob Composition: Unknown
Summary: On February 3rd, 1884, Peter Bland, a black man, was removed from his jail cell in King William Courthouse, where he was serving time for the beating of S.G. Littlepage, his employer. Bland was shot and hanged outside of the courthouse.
On the night of November 2nd, 1883, someone knocked on Littlepage’s front door. Unsuspectingly, Littlepage opened the door, where Bland and his wife allegedly pulled Littlepage out of his home and beat him to an insensible condition. When Littlepage was found the next morning, he could barely speak. Peter Bland was sentenced on Janury 28th, 1884 to a 14 year prison term for the almost-deadly assault of his employer and landlord, S. G. Littlepage (Staunton Spectator). On February 3rd, 1884, a party of 10 to 15 armed men arrived at the jail where Bland and his wife were being held in King William. At 2 AM, one of the men identified himself as an officer from West Point who came to put a felon in prison. When the jail guard opened the door, he was greeted by three men with double-barrel shotguns and pistols who demanded Bland to be released from his cell. The men later took Bland outside of the King William Courthouse, where the rest of the lynchers were waiting. There, Bland was shot and hung to a horse rack at the back of an office. Bland’s body was found the next morning. The Daily Dispatch reported that “After the deed had been accomplished the lynchers very politely unlocked the clerk’s office, returned the keys, released their prisoners, and beat a hasty retreat for parts unknown. Upon taking Bland out they were careful to lock the jail”.
News Coverage: Daily Dispatch, Staunton Spectator
Article Link (from The Daily Dispatch published on 1884-02-06)
Article Link (from Staunton Spectator published on 1884-02-12)