A follow-up and an FYI to this paragraph in the Link describing this 1897 Ohio lynching.

"The exhausted militiamen abandoned the vigil at 7 a.m., expecting the Springfield Company of the Ohio National Guard to arrive from the station. However, the mayor of Urbana intercepted the reinforcements and sent them back to the depot. The lynchers saw their chance and broke for the jail. They encountered no resistance, and the sheriff handed them the keys to Charles Mitchell's cell. Mitchell "received blows and kicks," and the noose was applied."

The unit from Springfield of the Ohio National Guard was the African American Company A of the 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI) that later served in the Spanish-American War under the command of Maj. Charles Young. It was believed by the officials in Urbana that it wasn't in the best interest of the community to have a government sanctioned unit of African American men armed & militarily trained to confront the mob gathered at the scene on the Urbana, Ohio courthouse square. This is the interpretation of as reported by local, state & national newspapers following this tragic event.

A roster of Company A of the 9th OVI consisting entirely of African American men from Springfield, Ohio. http://www.spanamwar.com/9thohioroster.htm#Company A