Lynching rumors simmered as journalists descended on the small town of Millington, Maryland, in the spring of 1892. The frenzy focused on nine African American men and boys—some as young as fifteen—accused of murdering Dr. James Heighe Hill, who was white. Prosecutors portrayed this as retribution for the Christmas Eve slaying of Thomas Campbell, an African American, for which no one faced criminal charges. Hill's alleged assailants were tried as a group before three white judges. Although some were clearly bystanders, all but one were convicted and sentenced. Four were executed by hanging, and the rest died in prison. Using court records, contemporary accounts and newspapers, author G. Kevin Hemstock narrates the tragic and compelling story of justice denied on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
G. Kevin Hemstock is the former editor of the Kent County News. In 2012 he left the newspaper to operate Old News, a genealogical and historical research service and ephemera shop in Millington, Maryland, where he continues his writing on local history. From 2009 to 2014 Hemstock worked with the Kent County Office of Tourism to plan activities associated with the War of 1812 bicentennial. A native of Delaware, he resides in Millington with his wife.