1915 Election Mob Scene

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Description:

Photograph of three men, all wearing hats with heads turned toward an activity that has just occurred or is in the process of occurring. The Great A & P Tea Company (addressed then as 325 King, now a Pottery Barn at 321 King) looms large in the background with a sign advertising "Eggs" shown prominently in a window and the Carl Prause Shoe Store visible next door (323 King). The photographer set his camera up directly on King (at the corner of George) to capture the scene. It is unclear whether or not the shooting that killed Sidney Cohen, a reporter for the News & Courier, had already occurred. The letter "O" is located in the left bottom corner, presumably put there by the photographer as an identifier.

After a hotly contested mayoral election on October 12, ballots were sealed in a room on the corner of King and George, awaiting a recount. During a meeting of the Democratic Executive Committee on October 15, supporters of both incumbent John P. Grace and challenger Tristram T. Hyde, forced their way into the meeting causing a riot to break out which resulted in the accidental death of Sidney Cohen, who was shot through the lung. In the aftermath, Governor Richard Manning, sent the South Carolina Militia to Charleston to guard against further violence.