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The Bloody Interregnum

By F. T. Rea

Left: W. L. Sheppard’s 1870 wood engraving of theCapitol Disaster for Harper's Weekly

With the votes for the recent attorney general election having just been recounted -- today

Creigh Deeds conceded to Bob McDonnell, and that  should be the end of it -- one of Richmond’s most colorful periods was brought to mind today when I paid a visit to

Gallery 5. The new gallery space is on the second floor of the old firehouse (1849) at 200

W. Marshall St., across from the legendary Milk Bottle Building in Jackson Ward. It

seems the Steamer Company No. 5's building played a role in what is known asRichmond's “Bloody Interregnum.” That’s according to Tom Robinson, who has

maintained the Virginia Fire and Police Museum in that unique building since the 1970s,

when he saved it from the wrecking ball.

The Bloody Interregnum was the name given to the politics-gone-wrong brouhaha over 

whether George Chahoon or Henry K. Ellyson was the lawful mayor of Richmond. Whenthe five-year military occupation of Virginia following the Civil War ended on January

26, 1870, Gov. Gilbert C. Walker promptly appointed a new City Council for Richmond.

That body in turn selected Henry K. Ellyson, publisher of The Dispatch -- forerunner to

today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch -- as the city’s mayor.

However, George Chahoon, who had served as mayor during the last two years of 

Reconstruction, refused to recognize the validity of the process. Although thetransplanted New Yorker had a considerable following around town, he was seen by

Ellyson’s backers as a lowdown “carpetbagger.” After all, Chahoon had served at the

 pleasure of the military overlords.

When neither man would give ground, the city itself fractured. As positions solidified, the

split became a chasm; the result of which created two separate city governments. There

were two police departments, two City Halls, etc.. Brawls became commonplace as thesupporters of both men sought to press their case on every street corner. Chaos, with

gunplay aplenty, ensued.

 Notably, in spite of the fact that Richmond served as the capital of the Confederacy

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during a portion of the Civil War, it was not without its Union sympathizers. In fact,

Richmond was quite divided on the topic of secession before the war. During and after 

the war there were substantial elements present that could be characterized as pro-Union.

Like America’s 2000 presidential election, in 1870 the impasse found its way into court.

On April 27, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals met to hear arguments from the twocamps on the third floor of the state Capitol building.

The anxious citizens shouldered onto the balcony to witness the spectacle. Suddenly itcollapsed under all the weight. The balcony and spectators crashed onto the hapless

 below. Widely known as The Capitol Disaster, when the smoke cleared the tragedy left 62

 people dead and 251 injured.

Two days later, the court reconvened at City Hall. In due time, a verdict favorable to

Ellyson was returned. A month later, a citywide election took place. But no clear winner 

emerged from that exercise, either. This time the contentiousness stemmed from the

disappearance of a ballot box from a precinct friendly to Chahoon. Same as ever, bothsides traded more accusations. Although Ellyson was certified as the winner by the

election board, he declined to serve because the election results were tainted, thereforeinconclusive. Thus, the battle raged on.

Eventually Chahoon left town to avoid facing the consequences of several felony

indictments - supposedly of a nonpolitical nature - that were heaped upon him. For his part, Ellyson grew weary of the struggle and withdrew from the race.

It finally ended on July 1, 1871, with the election of Anthony Keily as the one and onlymayor of the exhausted city of Richmond. The actions of those who were most caught up

in the 17 months of the Bloody Interregnum left stains on the landscape that strained

relationships in Richmond for generations to come.

As a child growing up in Richmond, I heard adventure tales from my grandfather about

this bizarre time. He claimed he was told by his salty old Uncle George (who was asheriff, among other things) that most men in Richmond carried guns on the street in

those wild days, much like what we've see in western movies. All of which makes today's

local political scandals and battles seem rather tame.

Robinson -- whose daughter Amanda Robinson is the art gallery’s executive director --

said a city policeman was shot to death in the firehouse in 1870, while defending

Ellyson’s camp from an attack by backers of Chahoon. Meanwhile, Gallery 5 appears to be an up-and-coming force being noticed by art lovers and nightlife aficionados alike. It's

quite a lively scene on a First Friday.