THE WARE-YOPP FEUD
It was on a Saturday morning, the 23rd of September, 1876, when the feud first came to a head. David Ware and his son George were riding in their buggy, headed for Dublin. The Wares, who lived southeast of Dudley, were stopped by Adrian E. Corbett and Carroll Yopp, who were standing beside the road. Corbett engaged the elder Ware, one of Laurens County’s most prominent attorneys, about a letter from Ware, which he, Corbett, considered to be of an insulting nature. As the conversation grew more heated, Corbett called Ware “a damned liar.” George Ware, reacting to the “fighting words,” drew his pistol and shot Corbett in the stomach, just below his belly button. Yopp, who was standing off in the distance, fired his shotgun, striking the younger Ware in the face and neck with a load of turkey shot.
The mule, frightened out of its wits with the sounds of gunfire whizzing about its head, executed a one hundred and eighty-degree turn. David Ware was thrown to the ground. While George Ware’s back was turned and while he was trying to recover from the first shot, which broke his jaw, Yopp emptied the other barrel of his gun, striking George Ware in the back with what was thought to have been a mortal blow. Dr. R.H. Hightower removed the bullet from Corbett’s hip. George Ware survived, but not for long. On August 21, 1879, nearly three years after being shot by Carroll Yopp, George succumbed to a fatal case of hemorrhagic malarial fever at the home of his father.
J. Freeman Moore was born in Houston County, Georgia, in 1851. His father, Dr. Hugh Moore, was a son of Thomas Moore and Elizabeth McCall, whose sister, Margaret, married Jeremiah H. Yopp. Dr. Moore served as a quartermaster sergeant in Co. G of the 49th Georgia Infantry. Moore returned to Laurens County after he became too disabled to continue. Dr. Moore met an early death when he was killed on July 22, 1865, under mysterious and yet unknown circumstances. Adrian E. Corbett married Ellen Yopp, a daughter of John W. Yopp and Mary Hampton Yopp. While J. Freeman Moore and Ellen Yopp Corbett were not directly related, their families maintained close ties.
The feud accelerated toward a mortal climax during court time in October of 1879. Dr. Harrison, who had purchased Dr. Stanley’s interest in the drug store owned by Stanley and Freeman Moore, had called Corbett to come to the store to pick up a prescription for Corbett’s sick child. Just as Corbett entered the store, Moore quickly ordered Corbett to remove himself from the premises. Corbett quickly retorted, stating that he thought he had the right to come into the store to see Dr. Harrison on business. Moore profanely fired back, accusing Corbett of being a liar, all the time holding his pistol on the astonished Corbett. Mutual friends stepped in and escorted Corbett outside. Moore, immediately realizing his conduct was not very gentlemanly, sent a letter of apology to Corbett, who told the bearer of the letter that he could not accept the repentance. Corbett claimed that Moore knew that he was serving on the grand jury and, therefore, was unarmed and that Moore intentionally tried to take advantage of him. Corbett’s comments to friends and others led them to believe that a deadly turmoil was imminent.
It was a Tuesday afternoon, December 9, 1879, when the feud came to a culmination. It was about 3:30 when Corbett walked into George Howard’s bar. According to some, but not all of the witnesses, Moore brushed into Corbett, who was standing at the bar. One witness proclaimed that it was Corbett who precipitated the fight by covering Moore with his cocked pistol and boxing his face. As Moore held a glass to his lips, Corbett pulled out his pistol, presented it to him, and began to slap Moore right and left. Moore pleaded with Corbett, “You have taken advantage of me. I can’t fight you that way.” Initial reports were somewhat to the contrary. Some witnesses stated that Moore asked for a fair fight. Moore rose halfway to his feet, grabbed Corbett by the waist, and executed a near-perfect takedown. Moore was not able to keep Corbett, the superior wrestler to those who were present, down on the floor. During the melee, Moore was able to draw his pistol, which he fired twice at point-blank range, striking Corbett’s brain and heart, each shot being fatal in its own right. Corbett’s last words were to bar owner Howard, “ He’s got me.” Moore lamented, “I am sorry I killed him, but I had to do it.”
Moore was placed under arrest and carried across the street to the county jail. A five-thousand-dollar bond was immediately posted and Moore was given his liberty, bound to report for trial at the January term of court next. The grand jury indicted Moore without haste for the murder of their fellow grand juror. Many in town questioned Judge Pate’s allowing Moore to stay free on bond while under the watch of a private guard. The editors of the Dublin Post believed the bond was too small and that the Judge was favoring the defendant by not keeping him in jail. Col. E. C. Corbett, father of the deceased, was naturally grief-stricken, but remained calm throughout the weeks that followed the fight. Townspeople were amazed at his calm demeanor as he came to town nearly a week before the trial. Corbett, a somewhat wealthy man, following the normal custom in big murder trials, hired his own counsel, Col. Sam Hall of Macon, to aid the state in the prosecution of Moore. Corbett just lost a son, Homer Corbett, who died at the home of Major J.M. White of Whitehall, just six months earlier.
The trial began on Tuesday, January 27, 1880. Twelve of Moore’s peers, H. D. Montford, W.H. Register, D.L. Warnock, G. W. Jenkins, A.J. Lowery, Thias Lowery, Ira Swinson, T.H. Sheppard, W.W. Livingston, Robert F. Maddox, W.F. Holliday, and James Mincey, were selected to hear the case. When rumors of jury tampering began to wane, new allegations that the Sheriff, who was a business partner of Moore, was trying to influence the witnesses in the case, all of whom appeared to be in agreement as to what happened. Attorneys for the state objected to the fact that Sheriff Dennis McLendon, a business partner of the defendant Moore, was known to have talked to some members of the jury about the case. Many of the witnesses failed to answer the court’s summons to appear at the trial, much to the consternation of Judge A.C. Pate, who was almost forced to order a bench warrant for their arrest.
Col. Hall staunchly defended the character of Corbett, claiming that he was not a dangerous man, but that he was “a rare citizen of noble and magnanimous spirit.” After five days of repetitive and somewhat corroborative testimony, the trial recessed on Saturday evening. The attorneys argued their case before the jury all of the following Monday. Moore, who had shown no signs of fear during the trial, was supported by a multitude of friends. The case went to the jury at eight o’clock that evening. In twenty minutes, the jury returned their verdict, “not guilty!” Spectators in the courtroom erupted in rejoicing glee.
Dublin’s brass band quickly assembled on the courthouse square. For several hours late into the night, the band serenaded Moore in celebration of his acquittal. So ended what was at that time the most talked-about murder trial in the history of the county to date.
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