When last we left the Little Family in Clarke County, Clinton Little had been murdered, his mother had been wounded, Oscar and Lycurgus were in jail in Berryville awaiting their trial, and Columbus claimed it was all a giant accident of boyhood exuberance (Staunton Vindicator, Shepherdstown Register). The postmortem and coroner's inquest determined Clinton's death was a case of premeditated homicide.
Medical Updates
Reports on the seriousness of the mother's injury varied, ranging from minor since no bone was broken and no artery was severed, though several sources reported that she developed erysipelas, or a bacterial infection in the skin, which was seen as potentially serious (Shepherdstown Register, Staunton Vindicator, Virginia Herald). It appears this was successfully resolved, however, and she came to no lasting harm. Columbus and Gilbert were allegedly hit on the head with a pistol during the struggle in the dining room but suffered no more than bruises from that attack, and Lycurgus had several fingers wrenched while being disarmed (Shepherdstown Register). Gilbert, the "frail" son, was said to have suffered several hemorrhages (in context, probably from tuberculosis) since the exertions of the day of the murder (Daily Dispatch). Oscar's wounded leg was largely overlooked.
While Lycurgus required some additional medical treatment after his arrest for his fingers, misinformation swirled about through the newspapers indicating Lycurgus committed suicide while in jail. This was untrue and likely stemmed from an alleged attempted overdose on morphine before being arrested, which was thwarted by Dr. Love (Daily State Journal).
The Feuding Newspaper Coverage
Columbus left the family farm shortly after the inquest and funeral, presumably returning home to D.C. (Shepherdstown Register). It seems that upon returning home, Columbus spoke to the Washington Star of his own free will with the "accidental shooting" story detailed in the prior post, the origin of which was printed on July 8. His version made it at least as far as South Carolina, seeming to throw shade on the Winchester reporters at every turn.
This prompted the Winchester Times to run a scathing critique of the credulity of the other newspapers for the eldest Little's press tour on July 16, 1873, especially in reference to the Richmond Enquirer (which does not appear to be available online for 1873 currently):
The Enquirer and the Little Tragedy.
The Enquirer went off half cocked in its strictures upon the Winchester correspondent who telegraphed the first accounts of the Little tragedy. Not only so, but its blunderbuss, loaded as it was to the muzzle with cautionary journalistic saws and platitudes, recoiled shockingly upon us precipitate trigger puller. Columbus—we mean Christopher, the party who "Crossed the Ocean blue In 1492—" did not find as gullible an aboriginee on the newly discovered continent as his namesake of the Little family found in the editor of the Richmond Enquirer. If C. L’s explanation of the “accident" be true, the pistol that did so much “accidental” mischief would have been invaluable to the South during the late war. A half dozen of them in the hands of the most awkward conscripts would have insured our independence. But what we can’t understand is how our Metropolitan contemporary, who knows something of bullets, could have supposed that a single accidental bullet could have wounded a woman in the thigh, struck a man above the right hip, passed downward into his left knee and then wounded another man a hundred yards off running at the top of his speed, at the same time that the pistol from which the said bullet was fired was flying about the room, and beating three other parties about the heads. But the Enquirer of Sunday makes the amende honorable to its correspondents, and thus by its frankness atones for its credulity.
Over July and August, most other newspapers came around to condoning the substance of the reports from the Winchester and Clarke County papers, perhaps assuaging some of the editor's fired-up sentiments.
The Indictment Hearing
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| Taylor, James E., Artist. Detail of Maryland - Scene in the Court-House at Annapolis - Trial of Mrs. Wharton on the charge of murdering General Ketchum by poison. Annapolis Maryland, 1871. Image courtesy the Library of Congress. |
Although considered unlikely, the slight possibility for the trial of the Little brothers to take place in the July term of court brought out large crowds to the County Court of Clarke County in Berryville, overshadowing the election of delegates for the Richmond Convention per a report by the Shenandoah Herald. The intervening days between the murder and the hearing had changed the family's perspective:
Time has already in a measure softened the harsh feelings, or at least checked their utterances, which were at first expressed on every hand. . . . aside from the high crime which has been perpetrated against society there is no one especially interested in urging the prosecution, the individuals most injured being members of the same family; and the father having expressed himself as desirous that there should be no prosecution, and being credited with the remark that Clinton was dead, and punishing his brothers would not bring him back.
The change of heart may have started as early as the corner's inquest, according to the account in the Daily Dispatch:
At the coroner's inquest Gilbert could only be induced to testify after he had ignored several peremptory demands and was in the act of being committed to jail for contempt. Columbus remarked that this was a family matter, and as the punishment of his brothers could not restore the life of him who was gone, it was better to drop the prosecution.
Despite the extensive coverage, the Shenandoah Herald claimed "There seemed to be every disposition manifested by those present to give the prisoners a fair and impartial hearing." The Virginia Herald of July 14, 1873, is a good indication of the facts that were known ahead of the trial (and which may have led to some difficulties with the jurors later in this saga). The Virginia Herald mentioned that "The Winchester News of Friday gives a detailed account of the tragedy, and a diagram of the room where the murderous fight took place. The account does not differ materially from what has hitherto been published."
The Winchester News issue with the complete article, printed on July 12, 1873, is currently unavailable in online archives. Luckily, the Herald was not stingy with its quotations, and we can get a clearer picture of the house and dining room setup, and an idea of what was known before the brothers stood trial. Choice excerpts are as follows:
On the morning in question Mrs. Little, and her sons Columbus, Clinton, Gilbert and Wallace, sat down to the breakfast table in the dining-room, which is in the basement of the house, the room connecting by a door with the passage leading out into the yard and by steps into the upper portions of the house. Lycurgus came in with a pistol in his hand, locked the door and spoke to Clinton, the purport of whose words we have not learned, and the latter was in the act of raising up to reply when Lycurgus, or “Kirk,” as he is familiarly called, drew a revolver and fired at his brother. Mrs. Little, seeing the state of affairs, ran between them and received the shot in her thigh....
The second shot from Kirk’s pistol struck Clinton several inches above the right hip.... The bullet had been chipped off in order to make it fit the bore of the revolver. Whilst this was going on the doctor [Oscar Little] had also raised up and levelled his revolver at Columbus who was endeavoring to get to Lycurgus, but the weapon missed fire. Then commenced to indiscriminate fight. Columbus and Gilbert were cut-about the head by the pistols in the hands of their brothers, whilst the doctor [Oscar Little] sought the dying Clinton, beating him on the forehead with his clubbed pistol. But Columbus being a very stout man, in a few minutes had both of the brothers disarmed.
The Shepherdstown Register supplied a few more details on July 19, 1873:
The members of the family, in giving in their testimony before Justice Wharton were very reticent.... A general fight ensued, in which the mother received a wound in the thigh from a pistol ball, which shooting, it seems, unintentional, she having endeavored to shield Clinton from the assault, and in doing so got between him and Lycurgus' pistol.... After the shooting of Clinton and his mother, Columbus and Gilbert succeeded in wresting from the hands of Oscar and Lycurgus their pistols, when the latter two fled towards the barn, for the purpose, it is supposed, of getting horses to make their escape. The other brothers, Columbus and Gilbert, followed in pursuit, and when the fugitives had gotten about a hundred yards from the house, Gilbert, who in the meantime had seized a rifle, aimed and fired, hitting Oscar in the leg, who thereupon abandoned all efforts to escape, and Lycurgus, not wishing to desert his brother, also surrendered. . . . In regard to the causes that led to this sad tragedy but little is known, as the family at the coroner's inquest over the dead body of Clinton, was careful to divulge only that which was the immediate cause of his death.
Despite the family's reluctance to proceed, it was clear that Carter Louthan, Attorney for the Commonwealth for Clarke County, had "prepared to meet whatever contingency might arise in the progress of the trial" (Shenandoah Herald). The same newspaper noted that the two family members most involved in thwarting the escape of Oscar and Lycurgus, Columbus and Gilbert, were not present to enter remarks, though other witnesses were called to present testimony:
However, there were a number of witnesses who gave evidence of facts sufficient to justify the grand jury in pronouncing the indictment “a true bill,” which judgment was satisfactory to all. The prisoners were arraigned, the indictment read to them, and they entered a plea of "not guilty," exercising their right under the statute which provides that one indicted for a capital offence may elect to be tried in the circuit. He accordingly made his election and the cause was continued.
Coverage throughout the remainder of July and into early October was primarily centered around rehashing the information already presented here. The first new tidbit emerged in the Clarke Courier on October 9, 1873, less than a week before the trial was to start, announcing the final roster of the lawyers:
The October term of the circuit court for this county will commence on next Wednesday, the 15th instant. The trial of Lycurgus and Oscar Little, indicted for the killing of their brother, Clinton Little, on the 5th of last July, has been set for this term of the court, and much interest no doubt will be manifested in the proceedings of their trial.— Messrs. McDonald & Moore, and D. Holmes McGuire, of this place [Berryville], and Maj. Holmes Conrad, of Winchester, will defend the prisoners. C. M. Louthan, Commonwealth’s attorney, will be assisted in the prosecution by Maj. S. J. C. Moore.This seems to be a fitting place to stop in this installment. We will catch up with the October 1873 trial in our next entry.
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