 According to William E. Sawyer, in the aftermath of Reconstruction the Southern-educated Bridges viewed the Northern-educated Mayo as a carpetbagger.After a battle of words between the two college presidents in local newspaper columns, on August 24, 1896, Bridges drove into Commerce in his buggy to confront Mayo, first asking him to sign a statement retracting his written claims.When Mayo refused, Bridges drew his revolver on Mayo, and after he missed his target twice, Bridges proceeded to strike Mayo with 15 to 20 lashes of his whip.