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who have had as good opportunities as Jones for judging of the Freedmen say they will work if they can get their pay & that they never have any trouble. I believe that the better portion of the citizens of this County are making up their minds that it is bad policy to treat the Negroes badly. That they need their labor & cant get it without paying for it. They see that it is better to keep the honest & industrious ones who are now located on their lands than to send them off simply to gratify a prejudice. There is a class of bitter men however who want to drive the Freedmen off simply because they are Freedmen. A union soldier was murdered two miles from Warwick Court House in this county on the evening of the 11th by a party of five. [[strikethrough]] Lieut. Abbott of the Regular Army stationed at Yorktown W.B. Jones Clerk of the County Court of this County Robt. Shields of Yorktown a Freedman named Richard Jones & one other Freedmen formed the party. The man was shot, was beaten over the head with a club & had his throat cut. The matter has been investigated by a Court of Enquiry at Yorktown which obviated the necessity of making a written report of the case. I immediately upon learning of the affair reported it to Supt 5th Dist & was by Genl Prestons request & order of Supt. 5th Dist Va sent to Yorktown to give the information in my possession. I simply mention the case as showing that affairs are in an unsettled state when a man can be murdered on [[/strikethrough]]

Transcription Notes:
The strikethrough line has a questionable look to it, but on the next page the same type of line goes through another long paragraph. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-03-11 14:22:56