Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 9, 1992 TAG: 9202110367
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO BOOK PAGE EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
REMEMBERING THE CARROLL COUNTY SHOOTOUT
COURTHOUSE TRAGEDY. \ By Rufus L. Gardner. (Publisher not listed) $10 (trade paper).This is the fifth (and slightly revised) edition of a book originally published in the early 1960s. I first read it years ago when I came across a copy in a used-book store, and I'm glad to see it back in print. It's a grimly fascinating story of murders committed almost 80 years ago. Like today's true-crime writing, it's a complicated tale that poses more questions than it answers.
The basic facts of the Hillsville Courthouse shooting on the morning of March 14, 1912, are not in dispute. The details are.
Floyd Allen had been charged with interfering with an officer of the law; he had taken two of his nephews, Wesley and Sidna Edwards, from the custody a sheriff. Floyd had a reputation as a moonshiner or "blockader," and he had stated publicly that he would not allow himself to be sent to jail or prison. A jury convicted him. On the second day of his trial, the courthouse was filled with interested observers and members of Allen's family.
What followed was a scene straight out of a Sam Peckinpah movie.
Moments after Judge J.T. Massie had agreed to a new trial but refused to grant bail, shots were fired. Floyd Allen, his son Claud and his brother Sidna Allen had pistols under their coats. So did several others. Hundreds of bullets flew. By the time the smoke had cleared, five people were dead or dying. Several more were wounded.
The conflict continued and moved outside to the courthouse lawn as various Allens pursued fleeing jurors. At the same time, Clerk of the Court Dexter Goad returned fire. He was helped by his daughter, Jezebel. Most of the Allens escaped on horseback, leaving a wounded Floyd and his son Victor behind.
The judge, the commonwealth's attorney and sheriff were among the dead. Gov. Mann assigned the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency of Roanoke go to Hillsville, and, as "The Mount Airy News" put it at the time, "take charge of the whole situation and handle it in a way to save the honor of Virginia and bring the desperados to justice."
That they did, though it took six months. To tell any more would spoil the story for those who haven't heard it.
Author Rufus Gardner relied heavily on accounts of the day: newspaper articles and editorials photographs, sworn statements, government documents and such.
The colorful writing - playing as much on emotion as fact - is evocative and fun to read, despite the subject matter.
Actually, the only real flaw in the book is its length. It should have been longer. There are glaring gaps in this reconstruction where Gardner chose not to speculate. Those omissions add to the air of mystery and controversy that this sad story continues to have after all these years.
Perhaps someone will try to do more someday. The events that led up to the shootout, the complex political and social considerations and the legal aftermath could be the stuff of a fine film or novel.
But until that happens, this book and the few others that have been published on the subject will suffice.