Lynching of William Burns

William Burns was a mixed-race or black man lynched on October 6, 1907 in Cumberland, Maryland for the murder of white Cumberland police officer August Baker.[1][2]

Officer Baker attempted to arrest Burns, but Burns resisted and shot Baker in a scuffle.[2] Burns was then arrested and taken to the Cumberland Jail.[2] Several days later, Baker died in hospital and a mob of 50 men with their coats turned inside out and handkerchiefs over their faces gathered outside the jail at 12:40am.[2] The mob tore down a telegraph pole and used it to batter down the doors to the jail.[2] Burns was dragged out of his cell after the deputy on duty handed over the keys to the cell at gunpoint.[2] Burns was taken outside "peppered with bullets" and left to die.[2] The crowd wanted to hang Burns, but they couldn't find a rope.[2]

The Allegany County Commissioners offered a reward of $500 for the arrest and conviction of the people who took Burns from the jail.[3] Benjamin A. Richmond, an associate of Governor Lloyd Lowndes, Jr. stated that a number of prominent men from Cumberland and vicinity were involved in the lynching.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Sutton, Dana Z. (4 May 2007). "William Burns Lynched in Cumberland, October 6, 1907". Biographical Series. Maryland State Archives. pp. MSA SC 3520–13759. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Burns Lynched: Negro Slayer of Policeman Taken From Jail By Mob". Baltimore Sun. 6 October 1907. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Rewards". Frostburg Mining Journal. 12 October 1907. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
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