November 10, Thursday, Early Afternoon

Photo of Daniel Wright's Street, New Hanover County Public Library

Several white men suspected that Daniel Wright, a black man who lived at 810 N. Third Street had shot William Mayo who lived around the corner at 307 Harnett. Later in the afternoon, they gathered in the vicinity of Wright's home. Several men were sent in to capture Wright. According to white witnesses, Wright fled to his attic and shot into the crowd, wounding two white men. Someone set fire to Wright's home. Upon escaping his house, Wright was captured, marched into the street, and hit in the head with a lead gas pipe. Someone suggested a lynching, but others suggested he be given a chance to run for freedom. Once Wright had run fifty yards, men started firing. The "x" on the right marks the spot where Daniel Wright fell fatally wounded by thirteen bullets, not far from his home. The other "x" marks the spot where an unknown black man also was killed. During this manhunt, other angry Democrats gathered near prominent African-American institutions, including the St. Stephens A.M.E. Church. (WRRR 140-141).