In the late hours of a Saturday night in Barnesville, Georgia, a sense of unease settled over the town. Benjamin Porch, a 30-year-old White male serving as the town Marshal, was making his rounds. Earlier that evening, he had arrested a man named Ben Perdue and placed him in the local lockup. However, at the urging of friends and after posting a small bond, Perdue was released. What followed was a chain of events that would end in tragedy on September 20, 1908.
After his release, Perdue, instead of heading home and letting the matter rest, was intent on a different course of action. He traveled several miles back to his residence to retrieve a shotgun. It is alleged that he then returned to Barnesville, accompanied by another man, and lay in wait on Market Street, his mind set on a fatal confrontation with the Marshal who had earlier detained him. As Marshal Porch walked his beat, he was called out to. A voice from the darkness identified himself as Ben Perdue, declaring, "I've got you." As Porch stepped off the sidewalk, two shots rang out. One struck him in the leg, while the other found its mark in his back and side, near his hip.
The wounded Marshal collapsed, losing consciousness for a few moments. Upon reviving, his calls for help pierced the night, drawing the town's mayor and other citizens to his side. In the ensuing chaos, Ben Perdue made his escape. Word of the shooting and Porch's death spread quickly, and the search for his killer began. The sheriff was summoned from Zebulon, and a significant reward of $400 was offered for Perdue's capture. The manhunt concluded on the following Tuesday morning when he was apprehended in neighboring Crawford County, bringing an end to the immediate aftermath of the violent encounter.
