In the late summer of 1903, a violent series of events unfolded in Randolph, Alabama, culminating in the death of a man identified as Thomas Ebbett on August 17th. The catalyst for this bloodshed occurred two days prior, on August 15th, at the property of Aaron Sledge, a local African American man. A group of eleven white men, after completing road repairs near Beaver Creek, approached Sledge’s watermelon patch and, despite being given permission to have some, began to indiscriminately
destroy his crops. In response to their destructive actions and his pleas for them to stop being ignored, Sledge retrieved his shotgun and fired into the group, wounding nine or ten of the men, one of them seriously.
Following this initial confrontation, Sledge fled, prompting a manhunt led by Sheriff Kent. The posse caught up with Sledge near a steel bridge over the Tallapoosa River, about five miles from Wedowee. When they ordered him to surrender, Sledge once again opened fire. In this exchange, a man named Robert Moore was shot in the neck and killed, and another man, Thomas Abbott, was severely wounded by a shot to the body. Sledge managed to escape his pursuers once more.
The violence continued on August 17th. On that day, Aaron Sledge encountered James Moore and Bud Wilson on a road. Without any warning, he fired upon them, killing James Moore instantly and inflicting a mortal wound on Bud Wilson. Reports from the time vary in the exact number and names of the deceased. Some accounts list Thomas Ebbett, Robert Ford, and James Moore as the three fatalities, with Bud Wilson also being mortally wounded. The similarity in the name and the context of the events have led to the strong possibility that Thomas Ebbett and the wounded Thomas Abbott were, in fact, the same person, with the name being recorded differently in various accounts. A later report from September 2, 1903, in the nearby town of Roanoke mentioned that "Desperado" Aaron Sledge had wounded Tom Abbott, further suggesting the connection.
In the immediate aftermath of the shootings, Aaron Sledge remained at large, with authorities believing he was attempting to make his way to Georgia. The manhunt for him continued, and the governor of Alabama became involved, sending a telegram to Sheriff Kent with instructions to protect Sledge from any potential mob violence if he were to be captured. As of August 21, 1903, Sledge had not been apprehended. The available online sources do not provide information on whether Aaron Sledge was ever captured, arrested, or brought to trial for the deaths and injuries that occurred during those tumultuous days in Randolph, Alabama. Details regarding Thomas Ebbett's age and ethnicity are not available in the sources.
