Victim ID: VA1891101703
Victim Name: John Scott
Race: Black
Sex: Male
Age: 21
Job: Iron mill
Method of Death: Hanged and riddled with bullets
Accusation: Killing two white men
Date: 1891-10-17
City: Clifton Forge
Mob Composition: 300-500 men
Summary: About 300 men lynched John Scott, a 21-year-old black man, around 10PM on October 17th, 1891, a mile from a place called ‘Slaughter Hollow’ in Clifton Forge, together with two other black men, Charles Miller and Robert Burton. Scott was accused of killing one white man and injuring another one.
On Saturday morning, October 17th 1891, John Scott, along with his brother Robert, and two other men named Charles Miller and Miller Morton came from Low Moor to Clifton Forge. The Roanoke Times reported that they told their friends that they were going to Clifton Forge “for blood,” “for a fight,” and “intended to paint the town red.” When they arrived in Clifton Forge, John Scott was reported as withdrawing his gun after Charles Miller was arrested by an officer. John and Robert Scott, along with Robert Burton, threatened the officer to release Charles Miller. As they fled the scene, the officer called for back-up from citizens and officers. Once surrounded, both parties began firing at each other. Two white men, Philip Bowling and Fred Wilkerson, were shot. While Bowling was killed, Wilkerson was severely wounded. After this clash, John Scott, Robert Burton, Charles Miller, and Miller Morton were captured and taken to jail. The Roanoke Times reported that “Nobody at Clifton Forge needed to be told that Judge Lynch would arraign the prisoners and execute them as soon as tho mantle of darkness fell upon tho place.” In fact, “Just before 10 o’clock some 300 men gathered, near the city hall, and in a respectable manner informed Hon. Thomas P. Bowles, the mayor, of their intention. He pleaded with them and they listened respectfully, informing him that his position was well taken. When the mayor ceased speaking, the leader of the mob submitted the proposition to lynch the four negroes to his followers and a roar of ayes satisfied the mayor that they were doomed” (The Roanoke Times). The armed mob then broke into the jail, took John Scott and Charles Miller, who were handcuffed together in jail, and hanged them both to a tree near a place called ‘Slaughter Hollow’. The mob then returned to get Robert Burton, who had a broken leg, and hanged him too to the same tree. John Scott’s body was sent to his friends in Low Moor. The Coroner’s Inquisition called to investigate the triple lynching concluded that the parties responsible for their lynching were unknown.
For the following weeks, the Richmond Planet covered extensively the lynching in Clifton Forge, criticizing the authorities for not preventing the lynching and for failing to investigate and apprehend the lynchers. The Planet also published a picture of the three men hanging from the tree where they were lynched. For a detailed account of these lynchings and how they spurred the Richmond Planet‘s anti-lynching campaign, you can read the essay ““Virginia’s Shame”: The 1891 Lynching of Three Black Miners in Clifton Forge” by Dolores Flamiano.
News Coverage: Richmond Dispatch, Richmond Planet, Roanoke Times, Staunton Spectator, Valley Virginian
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1891-10-18)
Article Link (from Roanoke Times published on 1891-10-20)
Article Link (from Staunton Spectator published on 1891-10-21)