On June 8, 1891, Peter Johnson (45) and George Fletcher were playing cards and drinking whiskey at Matthews' saloon in New Bedford when they were greeted by a young white man, later identified as Charles J. Tighe (29). They shared some drinks, and then the trio left together about 5PM on Peter's boat to go lobstering.
On June 9 1891 around 9AM Joseph Hamel and George Frates were quahogging in the Acushnet River.
They noticed a young man standing on a boulder on Egg Island, later identified as Charles Tighe, waving to attract their attention. As they approached the man, he asked for a ride to the shore, offering to pay then $1.50 for the inconvenience. Hamel and Frates agreed, and transported the young man to the Fairhaven shore, where the young man then admitted to having no money, but stated to them "Now, you go back and look after my boat".
Hamel and Frates returned to Egg Island where they discovered a mutilated body laying next to a boat. The victim, later identified as Peter Johnson (45), was "terribly hacked about the head" with a rusty lathing hatchet.
A week later, the body of George Fletcher was discovered floating in the harbor with similar injuries.
Peter E. Johnson (1838-1891)
Peter Johnson was a Wampanoag, a Chilmark native, and a well-documented hero from the sinking of the steamer City of Columbus in 1884 off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.
As a young man, Peter had two (2) interactions with law enforcement. In 1858, he and James Diamond of Gay Head were arrested for breaking into Willam Manter's grocery store at Roaring Brook and stealing 50 pounds of flour, together with tobacco, shoes, pies, ale, cigars, soap, and other items. Johnson soon turned state's witness against Diamond and was sentenced to six months in the Dukes County Jail. A year later, Peter was jailed for destroying a boat.
Peter married Rachel Turner, who was a member of the Parting Ways New Guinea Settlement in Plymouth. They had one daughter, Lucretia, who died before she was six months old. Immediately afterward, as the Civil War began, Johnson joined the United States Army.
Johnson enlisted and served in the 54th Massachusetts, the second Black regiment organized in the Northern states during the Civil War.
After the Civil War, Peter returned to Martha's Vineyard, but eight (8) months later his wife left him. Rachel filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery. Rachel had several children, without Peter being the father over the next few years. The divorce was not granted.
Peter Johnson was buried in Rural Cemetery in New Bedford.
City of Columbus 1884
Peter Johnson was one of the dozen or more Wampanoag volunteers who risked their lives on the morning of Jan. 18, 1884, to rescue the survivors of the wreck of the steamer City of Columbus. It was one of the worst ocean disasters of the century; more than 100 people perished in the waters off Gay Head. Johnson and four other men spent hours on the seas in their small, open boat, rescuing 13 survivors and transferring them to the U.S. revenue cutter, Dexter.
A week later, a resolution was read on the floor of the House of Representatives in recognition of these brave men, specifically naming Peter Johnson and 11 other Wampanoag men in their pronouncement of thanks. In early February, the Massachusetts Humane Society voted to award 11 men, including Johnson, their silver medal, together with $25, "for gallant and successful efforts in saving twenty of the passengers and crew".
George Anthony Fletcher (c. 1857-1891)
George Anthony Fletcher, of both Wampanoag and Black heritage was born in Bournedale, a community in modern Bourne now mostly submerged by the Cape Cod Canal. His father, Moses Anthony, was a Black bootmaker and factory engineer as well as a Civil War veteran. His mother, whose last name he eventually took, was Sarah Ann Fletcher of the Herring Pond Wampanoag community, centered just north of Bournedale in Plymouth.
George's wife, Gracie Lane, was an Edgartown native, a young Black woman who grew up in the employ of the household of Dr. Clement Shiverick in Edgartown, with her great aunt.
Suspect Charles J. Tighe
Charles J. Tighe was quickly located and arrested in Taunton following a tip from a local pawn shop owner where he tried to trade his bloody clothing. Charles had a lengthy criminal history. The Fall River Daily Evening News described him as "a sneak thief, a cheat, an ex-convict, the victim of the alcoholic habit, and the deserter of his wife and two children".
Charles had been involved with a married woman, Clarabel Gifford, and had been in town to visit her. Mrs. Gifford was said to be a "clairvoyant," and for several years the two of them had managed a "clairvoyant and blackmailing business in Boston" under the pseudonyms Clara and Charles Houghton. Charles also worked as a bartender and waiter, working at the Adams House in Boston, where he once stole a $100 diamond pin off a diner's shirt. The Fall River papers noted that he had been arrested several times for "fornication and sneak thieving" and that he served time at the Deer Island Prison.
Trial of Charles J. Tighe
The trial of Charles J. Tighe took ten (10) days. Nearly 100 witnesses testified. The defense attorney tried to shift suspicion onto George Fletcher, suggesting that Fletcher had killed Johnson before himself drowning.
A reporter from the Fall River Daily Globe visited Gracie Fletcher, who responded angrily, "It's all an attempt to make my husband out a murderer to save a white man. They'd sacrifice a n—-r any day to clear a white man." No one was ever charged in Fletcher's death.
In his closing statement, which was five hours in length, The defense council suddenly produced Johnson's skull, which he placed on the table with the sockets turned toward the jury. Charles was ultimately found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to seven (7) years and one (1) day in the state prison at Charlestown.
Charles Tighe was released in October 1897 after less than six (6) years in prison. His whereabouts afterward are unknown.
New Bedford newspaper editor George A. Hough happened to be the roommate, at the time, of District Attorney Hosea Knowlton, who prosecuted the Tighe case. Hough had noticed a "huge tin pail" at home one night, which he only later realized contained Peter Johnson's decapitated head. Hough, in his reporting in the local paper, ignited outrage at the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic — the Civil War Union veterans organization. The group promptly insisted that Johnson's head be restored to his grave, from which it had been quietly disinterred. If not for local reporting, Johnson's skull would've never been put with the rest of his remains.
On June 8, 1891, Peter Johnson (45) and George Fletcher were playing cards and drinking whiskey at Matthews' saloon in New Bedford when they were greeted by a young white man, later identified as Charles J. Tighe (29). They shared some drinks, and then the trio left together about 5PM on Peter's boat to go lobstering.
On June 9 1891 around 9AM Joseph Hamel and George Frates were quahogging in the Acushnet River.
They noticed a young man standing on a boulder on Egg Island, later identified as Charles Tighe, waving to attract their attention. As they approached the man, he asked for a ride to the shore, offering to pay then $1.50 for the inconvenience. Hamel and Frates agreed, and transported the young man to the Fairhaven shore, where the young man then admitted to having no money, but stated to them "Now, you go back and look after my boat".
Hamel and Frates returned to Egg Island where they discovered a mutilated body laying next to a boat. The victim, later identified as Peter Johnson (45), was "terribly hacked about the head" with a rusty lathing hatchet.
A week later, the body of George Fletcher was discovered floating in the harbor with similar injuries.
Peter E. Johnson (1838-1891)
Peter Johnson was a Wampanoag, a Chilmark native, and a well-documented hero from the sinking of the steamer City of Columbus in 1884 off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.
As a young man, Peter had two (2) interactions with law enforcement. In 1858, he and James Diamond of Gay Head were arrested for breaking into Willam Manter's grocery store at Roaring Brook and stealing 50 pounds of flour, together with tobacco, shoes, pies, ale, cigars, soap, and other items. Johnson soon turned state's witness against Diamond and was sentenced to six months in the Dukes County Jail. A year later, Peter was jailed for destroying a boat.
Peter married Rachel Turner, who was a member of the Parting Ways New Guinea Settlement in Plymouth. They had one daughter, Lucretia, who died before she was six months old. Immediately afterward, as the Civil War began, Johnson joined the United States Army.
Johnson enlisted and served in the 54th Massachusetts, the second Black regiment organized in the Northern states during the Civil War.
After the Civil War, Peter returned to Martha's Vineyard, but eight (8) months later his wife left him. Rachel filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery. Rachel had several children, without Peter being the father over the next few years. The divorce was not granted.
Peter Johnson was buried in Rural Cemetery in New Bedford.
City of Columbus 1884
Peter Johnson was one of the dozen or more Wampanoag volunteers who risked their lives on the morning of Jan. 18, 1884, to rescue the survivors of the wreck of the steamer City of Columbus. It was one of the worst ocean disasters of the century; more than 100 people perished in the waters off Gay Head. Johnson and four other men spent hours on the seas in their small, open boat, rescuing 13 survivors and transferring them to the U.S. revenue cutter, Dexter.
A week later, a resolution was read on the floor of the House of Representatives in recognition of these brave men, specifically naming Peter Johnson and 11 other Wampanoag men in their pronouncement of thanks. In early February, the Massachusetts Humane Society voted to award 11 men, including Johnson, their silver medal, together with $25, "for gallant and successful efforts in saving twenty of the passengers and crew".
George Anthony Fletcher (c. 1857-1891)
George Anthony Fletcher, of both Wampanoag and Black heritage was born in Bournedale, a community in modern Bourne now mostly submerged by the Cape Cod Canal. His father, Moses Anthony, was a Black bootmaker and factory engineer as well as a Civil War veteran. His mother, whose last name he eventually took, was Sarah Ann Fletcher of the Herring Pond Wampanoag community, centered just north of Bournedale in Plymouth.
George's wife, Gracie Lane, was an Edgartown native, a young Black woman who grew up in the employ of the household of Dr. Clement Shiverick in Edgartown, with her great aunt.
Suspect Charles J. Tighe
Charles J. Tighe was quickly located and arrested in Taunton following a tip from a local pawn shop owner where he tried to trade his bloody clothing. Charles had a lengthy criminal history. The Fall River Daily Evening News described him as "a sneak thief, a cheat, an ex-convict, the victim of the alcoholic habit, and the deserter of his wife and two children".
Charles had been involved with a married woman, Clarabel Gifford, and had been in town to visit her. Mrs. Gifford was said to be a "clairvoyant," and for several years the two of them had managed a "clairvoyant and blackmailing business in Boston" under the pseudonyms Clara and Charles Houghton. Charles also worked as a bartender and waiter, working at the Adams House in Boston, where he once stole a $100 diamond pin off a diner's shirt. The Fall River papers noted that he had been arrested several times for "fornication and sneak thieving" and that he served time at the Deer Island Prison.
Trial of Charles J. Tighe
The trial of Charles J. Tighe took ten (10) days. Nearly 100 witnesses testified. The defense attorney tried to shift suspicion onto George Fletcher, suggesting that Fletcher had killed Johnson before himself drowning.
A reporter from the Fall River Daily Globe visited Gracie Fletcher, who responded angrily, "It's all an attempt to make my husband out a murderer to save a white man. They'd sacrifice a n—-r any day to clear a white man." No one was ever charged in Fletcher's death.
In his closing statement, which was five hours in length, The defense council suddenly produced Johnson's skull, which he placed on the table with the sockets turned toward the jury. Charles was ultimately found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to seven (7) years and one (1) day in the state prison at Charlestown.
Charles Tighe was released in October 1897 after less than six (6) years in prison. His whereabouts afterward are unknown.
New Bedford newspaper editor George A. Hough happened to be the roommate, at the time, of District Attorney Hosea Knowlton, who prosecuted the Tighe case. Hough had noticed a "huge tin pail" at home one night, which he only later realized contained Peter Johnson's decapitated head. Hough, in his reporting in the local paper, ignited outrage at the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic — the Civil War Union veterans organization. The group promptly insisted that Johnson's head be restored to his grave, from which it had been quietly disinterred. If not for local reporting, Johnson's skull would've never been put with the rest of his remains.
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