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gave the order for them rush upon him which they did As they came forward Foster fired in the crowd four shots from a Navy revolver one of which took effect upon the person of Henry Pitts son of Dr Pitts of Abingdon inflecting a severe wound in the left breast which would have proved fatal but the ball striking a rib passed around the body instead of through it.
 
The next morning at daylight Foster came to Abingdon & reported the facts to me I sent for the Commonwealths Attorney & requested him to go to the place of the collision and make an investigation of the case as would develop the facts which he did promptly & learned them to be substantially as stated above The Faculty of the college & the citizens affording all the aid they could to bring to light the names of the persons engaged in the affair & expressing the deepest regret at what had occurred The opinion seems to be general that there was no malice on the part the students in what they had done but rather a desire to amuse themselves at the expense of the colored man