SOUTH CAROLINA. 



Barters stating that they were to be in- 

 terpreted :tinl enforced I iy tli.' miu-N. KnrthiT 

 explanations were given by the circular in tliO 

 following terms: 



be deemed and taken as an r 11- 



Ing the, sanction iiml authority <!' tlm 

 Jation <>r certain civil 

 tliiTriu .-pccilied within so much ot' tl.< 

 tin; military forces (' tin- ' 

 . tin- theatre nt' ar. U 1 1 vvith- 



,1 Military District created by act of 



Althou.'li some of the former political relations of 

 the inlialiitants lire in abeyance, their private rela- 

 'u-ir pei'Miii-. anil properly , and their remedies 

 remain as heretofore, within the cogni- 

 looal trilmnnls, and subject to the kiws 

 provisional government hitherto in force, ex- 

 n laws are in conflict with the Con- 

 stitution and laws of the I'nited States, or with the 



". 'icd hv tin- commanding general. 

 i,- the con.-e.|iu-n<vs nc.v.urily incident to 

 tin- military authority established l.\- ( 'ongress, and 

 Indurpensaole to the objects for which the authority 

 lished, is the appointment and control of the 

 civil agents by whom and the measures by which the 

 incut ill infiriitt is to be conducted. In the 

 his authority, such regulations and ap- 

 pointmi-iits will he announced from time to tiim- as 

 may become iieecssarv ; and so far as these regula- 

 tions concern the ordinary civil relations of the in- 

 habitants, they will be administered by the courts 

 and by the proper civil officers in the usual course of 

 lure. 



following order, addressed to General 

 (Tii/, of the post of Charleston, on the 27th of 

 April, snlHciently explains its own purpose: 



: You remember the regrets we expressed 

 to prominent citizens, on the day of the last firemen's 

 parade, that the American flag was riot to be seen in 

 tin- column. It was said to have been an inadvertent 

 omission, It is reported to me this morning that 

 amoiiLT the various emblems borne by the several 

 t the rendezvous on the citadel parade- 

 ground the flag is not there. I desire that you will 

 at once send for the Chief of the Fire Department, 

 and inform him that the national standard must be 



that the colors be placed opposite the reviewing per- 



ne ground designated for the review, and 



.cry p.-r.-oii in the column shall salute the 



:iy lifting his hat or cap on arriving at a point 



paces di-tant from the colors, and, carrying 



. i uplifted, mart-h past the colors to a point 



three pace> distant from the same. 



The Mayor of the city, the Chief of the Fire De- 

 partment, and the foremen of companies will be held 

 responsible for the observance of this order, and they 

 uthorizcd and required to arrest any per- 

 son who disobeys it. You will take such measures as 

 you may find to be necessary to insure the execution 

 of this order. Very respectfully, 



D. E. SICKLES, Major-General Commanding. 

 To Brevet nrig.-Cen. II. B. CI.ITZ, U. S. A., com- 

 mandiii'.' p">t of Charleston, 8. C. 



This order was complied with at once, 



though some dissatisfaction was expressed at 



;d Sickles' s interference, as it had never 



tho custom of the tiro companies to 



carry tho national tlag at their parades in pre- 



viom years, either before or since the war. 



On tho occasion alluded to in the ahove order, 



a person by the name of Smith mutilated the 



American llag which decorated some apparatus 



of his company, and was arrested therefor and 



kept for some tim<- in conlim -incut at tho 

 Charleston post. A petition lor 

 was addressed to the commandiiii.' p m-ral by 

 pri-mincnt. citi/eiis of Cliarle-ton, which stated 

 that thi- oM'ence for which he was coniin. 

 < eived no countenance in the community, and 

 the petitioners, in common with all good citi- 

 eondfinncd it. The order elicited in re- 

 ply to the petition closes with these words: 

 " It appearing that the further punishment of 

 the accused i.s not necessary &s an example, 

 and that the confinement he has already under- 

 gone, added to the general condemnation of 

 the community, will sufficiently admonish him 

 of t lie consequence of misconduct, it is ordered 

 that he be discharged." 



Other parties were held in custody for riot- 

 ous conduct in the streets and street cars, and, 

 after investigation before the provost-marshal 

 and post commanders at Charleston, several 

 were discharged ; and others, charged with re- 

 sisting and attacking the officers of the police, 

 throwing missiles at the cars, and inciting 

 others to riotous conduct, were sent to a mili- 

 tary commission for trial. In releasing one of 

 the colored persons concerned in the street car 

 riot, the general gave as a reason for clemency 

 in this case, " the general good conduct of the 

 colored population, in trusting to the action of 

 the authorities for the recognition and enforce- 

 ment of their rights and privileges." 



About the first of May, the Charleston City 

 Railway Company voluntarily adopted a resolu- 

 tion, recognizing and guaranteeing the right of 

 all persons to ride in their cars. In acknowl- 

 edging the receipt of this resolution, General 

 Sickles said : " You have added further and 

 emphatic testimony of the disposition of the 

 people of the Soulh to accept in pood faith the 

 legitimate consequences of the enfranchisement 

 of the colored race, in the concession of a com- 

 mon right to share privileges conferred for the 

 benefit of all citizens. You have discharged a 

 plain duty in the manner most conducive to the 

 public interests. It is more gratifying to see 

 the citizens themselves take the initiative in 

 measures tending to promote tranquillity, con- 

 cord, and peace, than to find myself constrained 

 to exercise authority to secure those ends; 

 hence I have not yielded to the impatience of 

 those who desired to press this question upon 

 the attention of the military authorities, feeling 

 confident that in this, as in other similar mat- 

 ters, a more satisfactory and permanent solution 

 would be found in the voluntary action of those 

 most interested in doing equal justice to the 

 freed people." 



Having received various petitions from the 

 people, and statements from public officials, rep- 

 '!ig that the scanty supply of food in 

 the Carolinas was seriously diminished by the 

 consumption of grain in the manufacture of 

 whiskey at distilleries worked in violation of 

 the revenue laws, the district commander 

 issued an order (No. 25) on the 20th of May, 



