1915 Election Mob Duty

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Description:

Photograph of the South Carolina Militia carrying rifles as they march forward in two horizontal lines east on George Street toward Meeting. A portion of the second line appears to be confronting a man by holding their rifles up to block his movement, but may in fact, be a training exercise for riot and mob control. The building in the background is addressed at 328 King Street and is advertising for Sloan's Liniment. Note the cameraman preparing his camera to take an image at the left center. The letter "R" is located in the left bottom corner, presumably put there by the photographer as an identifier.

After a hotly contested mayoral election on October 12, ballots were sealed in a room on the corner of King and George, awaiting a recount. During a meeting of the Democratic Executive Committee on October 15, supporters of both incumbent John P. Grace and challenger Tristram T. Hyde, forced their way into the meeting causing a riot to break out which resulted in the accidental death of Sidney Cohen, who was shot through the lung. In the aftermath, Governor Richard Manning, sent the South Carolina Militia to Charleston to guard against further violence.