Constable Edward Manlove

Edward Manlove

Constable Edward Manlove was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man who attempted to murder a tollgate keeper on White's Creek Pike.

The suspect and another man were riding in a buggy and had gone through an open toll gate without stopping to pay. When the keeper called out to them, the suspect stood up and opened fire with a Winchester rifle.

The keeper immediately went to the home of a local justice to notify him of the shooting. The two men then went to Constable Manlove's home a short distance away and told him of the shooting. The three men returned to the toll gate and country store where the justice swore out an arrest warrant against the two unknown men.

Constable Manlove, the justice, and the victim then proceeded after the buggy. They overtook the buggy approximately four miles down the turnpike. When Constable Manlove informed the two men he had a warrant for their arrest, the suspect opened fire with the Winchester rifle. During the ensuing shootout, Constable Manlove was fatally wounded and the suspect sustained a flesh wound. The shooter forced the buggy driver to continue down the road before getting out several miles away and ran into the woods. The buggy driver remained at the scene and turned himself in when the justice located him.

Constable Manlove's killer was arrested, charged with murder, and acquitted at his trial on March 14, 1896.

Constable Manlove served as the elected constable of the 24th District for several years. He was survived by his wife and is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.