By Order, Molly Maguires Soon after these signs the Mollies began to use violence. Sometimes they shot them, while at other times a good beating was thought to be enough. Because of this the Molly Maguires were rarely convicted, as no one would testify against them and jurors would not bring in a verdict of guilty. The first evidence of the Molly Maguires terrorism developed during the Civil War. This war brought about violence in the anthracite regions. The Irish were Democrats, and they were against the war. Many felt the result would be a flood of freed blacks coming north and taking their jobs away from them. The Mollies showed their opposition to the Civil War by resisting the draft laws. In July, 1862, John Kehoe, a Molly Maguire leader and an anti-war Democrat, allowed his political views to overrule his reason and spit upon the American Flag. Frank W.S. Langdon, a mine foreman, denounced Kehoe and his friends. Kehoe responded by threatening to kill Langdon. Later that day an unidentified person or group severely stoned Langdon while he was alone. The mine foreman died the following day. This was considered to be the first murder of a mine official by the Molly Maguires. Immediately after the war, there were several more murders. Altogether in the first three months of 1867 there were five murders, six assaults, and twenty-seven robberies in Schuylkill County. From 1862 to 1875 there were one hundred forty-two unsolved murders and two hundred twelve unsolved assaults in this area. Many of these were attributed to the Molly Maguires. The people appealed to the state for protection. Governor John W.Geary appointed a special marshal of police with the authority to raise a force of up to...
