In the summer of 1858, a slave named Peter, owned by Dr. E. A. Miller of Wayne County, was employed on the railroad near the town of Enterprise. The petitioners claim that Peter "caught and by force violated the person of a beautiful young Lady by Committing a Rape." Captured the same day, he was jailed and tried within twenty-four hours. In the presence of the young woman and her parents, Peter was tried and found guilty by a jury sitting in magistrate court. That night he was taken from jail by a mob and hanged. A committee of five townspeople seeks compensation for Miller for the loss of his property.
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Repository: Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, Mississippi
