Victim ID: VA1897090601
Victim Name: Henry Walls
Race: White
Sex: Male
Age: 21
Job: Unknown
Method of Death: Swung to a tree
Accusation: Criminal assault and murder of an unmarried white girl
Date: 1897-09-06
City: Friends Mission
Mob Composition: Several hundred masked men
Summary: Henry Walls, a 21-year-old white man, was lynched by a mob of several hundreds on September 6th, 1897 in Patrick, Virginia, for assaulting and killing an unmarried white woman.
Miss Sadie Cook was allegedly assaulted by Henry Walls after a disagreement with the Cook brothers and himself. They accused him of stealing a saddle on the Cook property. There was an exchange of words, ending with Walls threatening to run the Cook family out of town, even if by burning their house down (Richmond Dispatch). The alleged assault happened on the night of Friday, September 3rd, when the family was not home till later that evening, and Miss Cook was home alone. It was thought that he went to set the home on fire and she caught him in the act and assaulted her instead. The reports indicate that after her assault, Walls had struck her over the head with a hoe, crushed her head with a 14 pound stone, then he cut her throat and finally dragged her 50 feet into the ravine (Alexandria Gazette). One report indicated she lived until the next day to identify her killer. Walls was suspected and named as the killer and immediately arrested. A masked mob of several hundreds took from Walls from the jail during in the afternoon and hanged him to a tree on the roadside near Friends Mission, where his body would be found on the morning of September 6th, 1897. The Portsmouth Star reported that the Commonwealth Attorney expressed serious doubts about Walls being the killer of Sadie Cook, as there was scant evidence against him.
In October 1897, Governor O’Ferrall offered a $500 reward for the lynchers of Henry Walls to be identified and captured (Norfolk Virginian).
News Coverage: Alexandria Gazette, Norfolk Virginian, Portsmouth Star, Richmond Dispatch, Roanoke Times
Article Link (from Alexandria Gazette published on 1897-09-07)
Article Link (from Alexandria Gazette published on 1897-09-08)
Article Link (from Norfolk Virginian published on 1897-09-07)
Article Link (from Norfolk Virginian published on 1897-10-08)
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1897-09-07)
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1897-09-08)
Article Link (from Roanoke Times published on 1897-09-08)
Article Link (from Roanoke Times published on 1897-10-09)