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A look back in time at the hanging of Chris Chambliss
On June 18, 1892 near sundown, 38 leading citizens of Copeland and Red Creek hanged Christopher Chambliss. History records their trial, conviction and confessions of guilt; however, the record is silent regarding the motive for the crime. What compelled 38 heretofore law-abiding, respectable, church-going men to commit such an act? Chambliss had filed charges against Will Wood accusing Wood of burning his home. He got up on June 18 and made his way to White's Turpentine Still and Store where the hearing would be held before a justice of the peace. All present were made to stack their guns by the door upon entering. Seeing the trial progressing against him, Chris made a dash for his gun, but John Hamrick and Sam Wilkins quickly pinned him to the floor.
At almost dusk, a rope was thrown across a tree limb, knotted and placed around the neck of Chambliss, and the horse's flanks swatted; but the knot did not hold and Chambliss still sat astraddle. The rope was tied the second time and this time Chris dangled from the tree. It is said that Abraham Wood partially filled his handkerchief with sulfur, lit it, and held it under Chambliss' nose exclaiming, "Smell Hell brother, cause this time tomorrow you'll be in Hell." Chris Chambliss' body was taken to Shady Grove Baptist Church for the wake. About midnight, as a small group of friends sat up with his body, the one oil lamp casting mysterious shadows about the room, suddenly went out. Wild disorder broke out as the group fled out windows and doors! After a few moments Richard Crane regained his composure and returned inside the church to relight the lamp. Circling in the ceiling was a small leather-wing bat which had earlier swooped down and extinguished the lamp. On Monday, June 20, Christopher Chambliss was buried in Shady Grove Baptist Church Cemetery. The 38 kept their silence for five years until one of their number confessed. Some served time. Some were freed. Most pleaded guilty; Sam Wilkins and Abraham Wood insisted they were innocent. Originally Chambliss' grave was marked only by an iron rod placed in the ground. But in 1975, Mrs. Tommie Dearman Simpson began a drive among the citizens of the community and a simple marker was placed that read: Christ Chambus, died June 18, 1892. Today there is another marker with the correct spelling of Chambliss' name, but the iron rod remains. Why would 38 men plot to hang a man? The accounts of the trial, (reprinted from The St. Stephens News, March 8, 1897) in the Washington County News, Nov. 18, 1954, only speak to the hanging, but not one of the men sentenced to prison ever spoke to motive. What was there about Chambliss that drove otherwise, respectable, law-abiding, church-going men to such a desperate act? A descendant of Chambliss, E.R. Hammond has written an account of the incident but no descendant of any of the 38 men has ever broken the silence to give the other side and now one must "read between the lines" for possible motive(s). The account speaks of Chambliss' "stubborn pride and independence," and that he "was sometimes misinterpreted and feared by his fellow man." He had in fact, been maimed by a bullet earlier in life which left him with a slight limp. It is unknown when he settled in the community out from Millry, but by 1891 there was "bad blood between him and many of the longtime settlers there." Hammond says, "Some resented his encroachment and feared his philosophy would change their traditional lifestyle if allowed to go unchecked." Harvesting turpentine was the livelihood for many at that time. Hammond states: Once Chris had attached his turpentine boxes to trees, he laid claim to the rosin from this time until the free land would be homesteaded. If it took a display of force to back up his claim, he was willing to oblige any dissenter and made it known accordingly. This philosophy caused him to fall into disfavor with some individuals. Did an overbearing Chris Chambliss attempt to claim turpentine trees on the free lands that the other residents had been previously farming? Shortly prior to the lynching, Chambliss was involved in two altercations: a dispute with Will Wood over the collection of rosin from turpentine boxes and a heated argument with Louis Becton over a cow. In the second incident, Chambliss took aim with a rifle and shot Becton through the hand. Was Chambliss a man who settled differences by violence? During the day of the open range, did he claim animals that wondered onto his place? The passing of time has denied us the answer to these questions, especially the one that begs to be answered: Why did 38 otherwise ordinary men feel so threatened by Chris Chambliss as to plot his execution. We will never know, but we are told that "truth is stranger than fiction" and perhaps on some sultry June night, if you stand beside the road just a few yards west of Chambliss Bridge, you might hear the squeaking sound of the slow swaying of a weighted rope just in the edge of the woods?
(Sources: E.R. Hammond, The Lynching of Christopher Chambliss, 1978; Washington County News, November 18, 1954)
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