Georgia and Georgians - the Digital Library of Georgia

2808 GEORGIA AND GEORGIANSHarmon family in Aiken County. The death penalty was pronounced uponthem after formal trial and conviction. A few days before the date set forexecution the negroes of the county determined that the criminals should notbe executed, and ordered every man and boy who had a gun to report at Aikentwo days before the time set for the hanging. Threats were made to destroythe town by fire and to kill every man, woman and child who interfered.Governor Wade Hampton, who had taken the seat of governor at the closeof the Reconstruction period, ordered the Graniteville Rifles to report at onceto the captain of the Palmetto Rifles at Aiken. Capt. J. A. Plattr of theGraniteville Rifles was out of the state at the time and Lieutenant Stotharttook the company to Aiken. He and his command did patrol duty for fortyeighthours. Lieutenant Stothart stationed his men at every angle of the townwhere there Avas a possibility of the negro military entering. The jail wasguarded closely as was every public and private property. The negroes severaltimes made appearance in the town and many shots were exchanged and manyarrests made. Every man, woman and child in Aiken was kept awake andspent sleepless nights until the day of the hanging. During those two orthree days Lieutenant Stothart and his men never left the town and neverrested on their arms until the five negroes had been delivered to the sherifffor execution. On the day of the hanging thousands of negroes from all overthe state came to be present and offer their assistance to the negro military.On arriving, however, they found on duty the Palmetto Rifles and Graniteville Rifles, and these white companies presented such a formidable frontthat the negroes realized that they were powerless to effect their purpose.At the hour set for the execution the gallows was surrounded by the twomilitary companies, and with fixed bayonets they kept back a throng of athousand determined negroes until the prisoners were brought forth andsentence executed.Similar scenes to this were enacted in various parts of the state andLieutenant Stothart and his men were called again and again to preserveorder, and in that way he became closely identified with the historic annalsof his native state in the Reconstruction era. During the latter part of theyear 1876 the Graniteville Rifle Company was merged with the regular statemilitia and became a part of the Governor's Guard after Wade Hamptonwas inaugurated governor.In 1888 Doctor Stothart graduated M. D. from the medical department ofthe University of Georgia at Augusta, and soon afterward returned to hisold home at &iken, South Carolina, where he built up an extensive practiceand continued his professional labors until 1894. He then removed to a largerfield in Savannah, Georgia, and now for more than twenty years has had sucha practice and such standing as are consonant with his ability.Doctor Stothart is a member of the Chatham County Medical Society,the Georgia State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Inpolitics a democrat, though not a politician, Doctor Stothart has several timesbeen chosen as a delegate to the state convention for the nomination of stateofficers and has always served the people well. He is a Royal Arch 'Mason,a Knight of Pythias, a Woodman of the World and also a member of theFraternal Union of America. His church is the Methodist Episcopal.In 1886 Doctor Stothart organized the Southern Kaolin Company at Aiken,South Carolina. This company owned a large body of kaolin lands in thatsection, and after the organization of the company two or three mines wereoperated and thousands of tons of extra fine kaolin were shipped to theNorthern paper manufacturers and to European porcelain manufacturers.Doctor Stothart was chairman of the board of directors of the company forseveral years and owned the largest block of stock in the company. Thekaolin industry in Aiken County was one of the largest industries there formany years and fortunes have been made and lost in the business.