SENATOR SUMNER PHYSICALLY ATTACKED ON SENATE FLOOR BY CONGRESSMAN BROOKS
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On May 22, 1856, Senator Charles Sumner (R-Massachusetts) was severely beaten as he sat at his desk on the floor of the United States Senate.
With a few bystanders looking on, Congressman Preston Brooks entered the Senate chamber carrying a wooden cane, walked up to Senator Sumner's desk and proceeded to beat him over the head and shoulders.
The Senator attempted to rise up from the desk, but could not because it was bolted to the floor.
Congressman Brooks, whose cousin, Senator Andrew Butler (D-South Carolina) had been verbally attacked a few days earlier by Senator Sumner, a staunch opponent of slavery, became an instant hero in the South with many of his supporters sending him new wooden canes with the inscription 'HIT HIM AGAIN!'
JFK+50 NOTE
Senator Sumner slowly recovered from his injuries but was unable to return to the Senate for three years. According to witnesses, Brooks hit Sumner repeatedly with the 'massive gold knob' of his cane which is counter to the illustration below.
SOURCE
"Charles Sumner Beaten On Senate Floor," JFK+50, May 22, 2011, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/
