1915 Election Shooting Scene

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Description:

Photograph of the Roper Hospital "crash wagon" pulled by a white Percheron horse parked on George Street. They appear to be outside the shooting scene of News & Courier reporter, Sidney Cohen, where a crowd has gathered. The letter "N" is located in the right 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.