Lynching of William Burns

William Burns was a 22 year old African American man who was lynched on October 6, 1907 in Cumberland, Maryland for the alleged murder of white Cumberland police officer August Baker.[1][2]

Several newspapers at the time account that Officer Baker attempted to arrest Burns, and that Burns allegedly resisted and shot Baker in a scuffle.[2] Burns was then arrested and taken to the Cumberland Jail.[2] Several days later, Baker died in hospital and a mob of men with their coats turned inside out and handkerchiefs over their faces gathered outside the jail at 12:40am.[2] The mob tore down a telegraph pole and used it to batter down the doors to the jail.[2] One account reports that Burns was dragged out of his cell after the deputy on duty handed over the keys to the cell at gunpoint.[2] Burns was taken outside "peppered with bullets" and left to die.[2] The crowd wanted to hang Burns, but they couldn't find a rope.[2]

The Allegany County Commissioners offered a reward of $500 for the arrest and conviction of the people who took Burns from the jail.[3] Benjamin A. Richmond, an associate of Governor Lloyd Lowndes, Jr. stated that a number of prominent men from Cumberland and vicinity were involved in the lynching.[2]

There are many accounts of the circumstances and events leading to the murder of William Burns. There is no discrepancy about the brutal nature of his murder and the fact that he was never afforded the opportunity of a fair trial, like so many African Americans then and now.

References
  1. Sutton, Dana Z. (4 May 2007). "William Burns Lynched in Cumberland, October 6, 1907". Biographical Series. Maryland State Archives. pp. MSA SC 3520-13759. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  2. "Burns Lynched: Negro Slayer of Policeman Taken From Jail By Mob". Baltimore Sun. 6 October 1907. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  3. "Rewards". Frostburg Mining Journal. 12 October 1907. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
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