Tried to Release Him
February 24, 1900
Summary
A white police officer and “colored” soldier are dead as a mob of “colored soldiers” attack a police station in Texas.
Transcription
Tried to Release Him
Two Men Killed in Texas
El Paso, Texas, February 17.—A mob of colored soldiers from Fort Bliss attacked the city Police Station at 5 o’clock this morning with the object of releasing two of their comrades, who had been arrested yesterday. In the fight which ensued Police Officer Stewart and one colored soldier were killed. It is believed one of the soldiers was wounded.
Yesterday afternoon the police locked up a corporal from the fort for being drunk and disorderly. Later another soldier was arrested. Comrades of the prisoners took the news to the post. A rescue [arty, armed with Krag Jorgensens, was organized, and just before daylight a descent was made on the police station.
Two of the soldiers, rifles in hand, entered the building and demanded of Officer Stewart, the only man on duty, the surrender of their comrades.
Stewart ordered the men out of the station, and they opened fire on him. Jailer Richard Blacker, aroused by the shots, sprang out of bed and started for the office, pistol in hand. As soon as he appeared in the doorway one of the soldiers opened fire on him. Blacker dropped to his knees, and at his first shot the soldier staggered and ran out, closely followed by his companions. The soldiers broke into a run for the fort. A trail of blood leading from the station was followed, and half a block away the body of a soldier shot through the breast, was found. A rifle and trace of blood indicated that another of the colored men was wounded.
Officers pursued the fleeing soldiers, but were unable to make any arrests. The detachment stationed at Fort Bliss is Company E, Twenty-fifth United States Infantry.
Two Men Killed in Texas
El Paso, Texas, February 17.—A mob of colored soldiers from Fort Bliss attacked the city Police Station at 5 o’clock this morning with the object of releasing two of their comrades, who had been arrested yesterday. In the fight which ensued Police Officer Stewart and one colored soldier were killed. It is believed one of the soldiers was wounded.
Yesterday afternoon the police locked up a corporal from the fort for being drunk and disorderly. Later another soldier was arrested. Comrades of the prisoners took the news to the post. A rescue [arty, armed with Krag Jorgensens, was organized, and just before daylight a descent was made on the police station.
Two of the soldiers, rifles in hand, entered the building and demanded of Officer Stewart, the only man on duty, the surrender of their comrades.
Stewart ordered the men out of the station, and they opened fire on him. Jailer Richard Blacker, aroused by the shots, sprang out of bed and started for the office, pistol in hand. As soon as he appeared in the doorway one of the soldiers opened fire on him. Blacker dropped to his knees, and at his first shot the soldier staggered and ran out, closely followed by his companions. The soldiers broke into a run for the fort. A trail of blood leading from the station was followed, and half a block away the body of a soldier shot through the breast, was found. A rifle and trace of blood indicated that another of the colored men was wounded.
Officers pursued the fleeing soldiers, but were unable to make any arrests. The detachment stationed at Fort Bliss is Company E, Twenty-fifth United States Infantry.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Lower Right Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Elizabeth Lopez-Lopez
Citation
“Tried to Release Him,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed February 19, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1344.