English: On March 30, 1868, Republican organizer and state constitutional delegate George Ashburn was killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan in the 13th Street rooming house he shared with several Black citizens. Nine local men were tried for George Ashburn's murder by federal officials, but the abrupt end of military Reconstruction in Georgia interrupted the trial before the case was decided. The event brought national attention to the political and racial tension in the South at the time. During their pre-trial imprisonment, one of the "Columbus Prisoners" wrote to James B. Beck, a family friend and Congressman from Kentucky, claiming mistreatment. Beck helped create awareness and sympathy for the prisoners, and five of these men later presented him this engraved cane in appreciation for his support.