The Colfax Massacre
1873
On April 13, 1873, violence erupted in Colfax, Louisiana. The White
League, a paramilitary group intent on securing white rule in Louisiana,
clashed with Louisiana's almost all-black state militia. The resulting
death toll was staggering. Only three members of the White League died.
But some one hundred black men were killed in the encounter. Of those,
nearly half were murdered in cold blood after they had already
surrendered. The incident once again showed President how hard it would
be to guarantee the rights and the safety of blacks in the South.
Since the end of the Civil War, the
Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist organizations had been
growing in strength in the South. Prior to the war, white Southern
Democrats had enjoyed a great deal of governmental power. But when the
war ended, Democrats were no longer powerful. Northern Republicans
controlled the nation's government. They placed federal troops in
Southern cities to keep that control. Southerners deeply resented this
imposition.
Two laws that Southern Democrats hated were the Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments. The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to
blacks and declared that no state was to deprive them of "life, liberty,
or property." The
Fifteenth Amendment prevented a state from denying the vote to any
person because of their race. Together, these laws guaranteed blacks
equal citizenship. Southern Democrats, however, feared that blacks would
not only vote Republican, but would be considered equal to their white
former masters.
Conflicts between Republicans and Democrats in Louisiana were
particularly frequent in 1872. That year, the state election produced
two governors, both claiming to be the legitimate one. When the federal
government supported the Republican governor by sending federal troops
to Louisiana, the white residents of the state refused to cooperate.
Louisiana whites formed their own "shadow" government and their own
army, the White League. The White League, similar to the Ku Klux Klan,
intimidated and attacked Republicans and blacks all over the state.
While the worst violence occurred in Colfax, other incidents were
sparked in Coushatta, when the White League murdered six Republicans,
and in New Orleans, when thirty were killed and one hundred more
wounded.
In response to these incidents and others throughout the South,
President Grant ordered federal troops to restore order. But most of the
relief was temporary. After Colfax, the federal government convicted
only three whites for the murders. In the end, they were freed when the
U.S. Supreme Court declared that they had been convicted
unconstitutionally. The battle over Reconstruction and the rights of
blacks would continue.
From the Congressional Record, House of Representatives, 44th Congress,
2d Session, Ex. Doc. No. 30, "The Use of the Army in Certain of the
Southern States" (pg. 436)
Headquarters Post of Colfax, LA.
May 29, 1875
Second Lieutenant Geo. D. Wallace,
Acting Assistant Adjutant-General, District of Upper Red River, Shreveport,
La:
Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith the list of persons killed and
wounded in the parish of Grant, Louisiana, and comprising a few names of
those killed in this vicinity, in the tontiguous parish of Rapides. These
names comprise those furnished in my report in February lats; the same were
also furnished to Major G. A. Forsyth, A. D. C. to the Lieutenant-General,
commanding Division of the Missouri. It was impossible to procure the names
at an earlier date, as I was compelled to rely on persons over whom I had
not control, and was obliged to wait their pleasure and convenience. I am
unable to procure data from the upper portion of the parish, as those persons
on whom I could rely for such information are afraid to trust to the perils
of travel in the "pine woods."
No./Name/Date/Place/Remarks/
1/Jessie McKenzie, colored/April, 1873/2 ® miles from Just before Colfax, La./riot.
2/More Reed, colored/April 12, 1873/"/"/Colfax riot.
3/William Williams/"/"/"/"/"
4/H. M. Elzy/"/"/"/"/"
5/Meredity Elsy/"/"/"/"/"
6/Frank Jones/"/"/"/"/"
7/Jack Nely/"/"/"/"/"
8/John Carter/"/"/"/"/"
9/Mack Brown/"/"/"/"/"
10/Shuck White/"/"/"/"/"
11/Burney Brandon/"/"/"/"/"
12/Kit Smith/"/"/"/"/"
13/Alex. Tilman/"/"/"/"/"
14/Lank Pitman/"/"/"/"/"
15/Kendray Nelson/"/"/"/"/"
16/Guymo Nelson/"/"/"/"/"
17/Sam Samuel/"/"/"/"/"
18/Bully Ellis/"/"/"/"/"/
19/Clay Murphy/"/"/"/"/"
20/Tody Hunter/"/"/"/"/"
21/Adam Kimball/"/"/"/"/"
22/Philip Harrison/"/"/"/"/"
23/Alex. Randolph/"/"/"/"/"
24/Warren Bullit/"/"/"/"/"
25/October White/"/"/"/"/"
26/Dun Wilkins/"/"/"/"/"
27/Jim Bazzo/"/"/"/"/"
28 /Elias Johnson/"/"/"/"/"
29/Ashel White/"/"/"/"/"
30/Eli Jones/"/"/"/"/"
31/Tom Forster/"/"/"/"/"
32/Murphy Forster/"/"/"/"/"
33/Isaac McCullough/"/"/"/"/"
34/Eli McCullough/"/"/"/"/"
35/Spencer McCullough/"/"/"/"/"
36/Washington Madison/"/"/"/"/"
37/John Hall/"/"/"/"/"
38/Charles Embry/"/"/"/"/"
39/Lewis Palmer/"/"/"/"/"
40/Toby Shelden/"/"/"/"/"
41/John Randolph/"/"/"/"/"
42/Ocu Ruben/"/"/"/"/"
43/Henry Mathews/"/"/"/"/"/
44/Mathew Irwin/"/"/"/"/"
45/John Simmons/"/"/"/"/"
46/George Clay/"/"/"/"/"
47/Clinton Real/"/"/"/"/"
48/Jesse Brown/"/"/"/"/"
49/Sam Kane/"/"/"/"/"
50/Sam Howard/"/"/"/"/"
51/Charles Simpson/"/"/"/"/"
52/Philip Feals/"/"/"/"/"
53/Nick Cotton/"/"/"/"/"
54/Peter Jackson/"/"/"/"/"
55/Dick Doe/"/"/"/"/"
56/Jerry Grow/"/"/"/"/"
57/William Sacks/"/"/"/"/"
58/Henry Swan/"/"/"/"/"
59/Henry Clap/"/"/"/"/"
60/William McClawn/"/"/"/"/"
61/Henry McClawn/"/"/"/"/"
62/Wall. Maxton/"/"/"/"/"
63/Jerry Clark/"/"/"/"/"
64/Matt. Parker/"/ "/"/"/"
65/Joy Hemp/"/"/"/"/"
66/Jerry Washington/"/"/"/"/"
67/Shadwick Johnson/"/"/"/"/"
68/Isaac White/"/"/"/"/"
69/Robert Dudley/"/"/"/"/"
70/Harry Williams/"/"/"/"/"
71/Jerry Taylor/"/"/"/"/"
72/Cuffe Laines/"/"/"/"/"
73/Carry Johnson/"/April 8, 1873/"/Hadnot Settlement/Incident to/Colfax riot.
74/Charles Sumpter/April 13, 1873/Colfax, La./Colfax riot.
75/Henry Blaine/"/"/"/"/"
76/Andrew James/"/"/"/"/"
77/Robert Love/"/"/"/"/"
78/William Brown/"/"/"/"/"
79/Adam White/"/"/"/"/"
80/Dick Peterson/"/"/"/"/"
81/Warren Williams/April_, 1873/Rapides Parish, La./Incident to riot
82/Charles Russell/April 13, 1873/Colfax, La./Colfax riot.
83/Peter Palmer/April, 1873/Grant Parish in/John Luer's/Ringwood/plantation.
84/Joe White/1872/Grant Parish/Three miles/from Colfax.
85/Jeff. Roper/April, 1873/Rapides Parish/Opposite /Colfax
86/George Barnes/1872/"/"/Near Cotilo.
87/George Shorter/1873/"/"/"/"
88/Hamp. Bullitt/October 1873/Near Colfax, La./On Bayou/Dara.
89/Fountain Shaw/April, 1873/Grant Parish Piny Woods
90/John Bonner/April 13, 1873/Colfax, La./Riot; mortally/wounded.
91/Sam Love/1874/Grant Parish,/Between Piny woods./Montgomery/and Colfax.
92/Edware Ware/1873/Grant Parish/No reason /known.
93/Mil. Robinson/April 1, 1873/"/"/Oh his way to Colfax.
94/Tony Williams/Nov., 1873/"/"/}For
95/Charles Vincent/Nov., 1873/"/"/}alleged rape
96/Tom Milton/Nov., 1873/"/"/}of
97/Hamp Harrison/Nov., 1873/"/"/}Miss LaCour
98/Van Moses/Nov., 1873/"/"/}while in
99/Alex. Randolph/Nov., 1873/"/"/}custody of/ / the sheriff./
100/Alfred Frazier/Dec., 1868/"/"/
101/_____ Jack/"/"/"/"
102/D. W. White**/Oct., 1871/Colfax, La./
103/Volsam Cox/1871/Grant Parish
104/Andy Johnson/1871/"/"
105/Jeff Yawn**/Nov., 1873/Colfax, La./Killed by colored militia
106/Frank Forster/Aug., 1874/Grant Parish Piny /woods/
107/Jim Cox/"/"/"/"/"
108/Needham Waters**/Oct., 1874/Grant Parish
/18 Unknown colored/April 13, 1873/Colfax, La. riot/Bodies buried
//not identified
/15-20 Unidentified/"/"/"/Colfax, La. riot/Between 15-
//20 were shot /on the banks /of the river /and their
//bodies thrown
//in the river;
//not included /in the names.
/______ Harris**/"/"/"/Colfax, La. riot
/______ Hadnot**/"/"/"/"/"/"
/Salis Parris**/"/"/"/"/"/"
List of Wounded
1/Flam Williams/April 13, 1873/Colfax, La./Colfax riot.
2/William Brown/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
3/Joe McFeel/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
4/Curry Webb/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
5/Jesse Curry/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
6/Sam M/cKinkley/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
7/Jules Clark/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
8/Fred Clark/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
9/Sam Smorthy/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
10/Kay Irends/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
11/Charles Williams/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
12/Dan Gordon/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
13/Frank Forster/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
14/Ben Brimmer/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
15/Levi Nelson/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
16/Abe Mitchell/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
17/Buttice Elsey/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
18/Henderson Draw/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
19/Makin White/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
20/Richard Reed/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
21/Wood. Gubeville/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
22/Martin Jones/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
23/Cuffe White/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
24/Charles Field/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
25/Gilbert Noble/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
26/Henry Spotville/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
27/Buttice Mills/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
28/Oshum Buttice/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
29/Henry Taylor/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
30/Mole Suter/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
31/Dan McCullum/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
32/John Adams/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
33/Henry Williams/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
34/Flem Peters/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
35/_____ Moses**/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
36/About 10-12 whites/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
46/William Ward/Nov. 7, 1873/"/"/"/"
47/Charles Morse/**/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
**= white
It will be seen that at least one hundred and five (105) colored and three(3)
whites were killed in the Colfax riot, or in connection therewith, in April,
1873, and about forty-five (45) wounded. This does not include those said
to have been thrown into the river.
Respectfully submitted.
Ed. L. Godfrey
First Lieutenant Seventh Cavlary, Commanding Post.
It seemed that there were two factions of negroes
in the court house; one, mostly young darkies who had wished to
surrender earlier, but had been prevented by some older negroes who were
filled with undying hatred for the white race. These latter were under
the command of Alex Tilman. Mr. Hadnot, Sidney Harris, A. I. Hopkins, C.
A. Duplissey and several others, seeing the flag of truce and being
desirous of making terms of capitulation as quickly as possible and
letting the negroes escape from the burning building, rushed up to the
court house. When they reached the door a volley was fired at them by
the Tilman faction, mortally wounding Mr. Hadnot, and Mr. Harris who
fell in the doorway.
Infuriated at this cowardly and treacherous murder of their comrades
who had been thus lured to their death by the false flag of truce, the
whites slaughtered many of the negroes as they rushed from the burning
building, and many were ridden down in the open fields and shot without
mercy. Those lying wounded on the court house square were pinned to the
ground by bayonets. By four o'clock all firing had ceased and about
forty of the fleeing "black sons of Canon," as the Rev. Smith called
them, were put under a guard and taken to an "old garden surrounded by a
picket fence, ostensibly to bring them to Alexandria to jail."
Late that afternoon, said Mr. Duplissey, "Captain Dave Paul and Mr.
Yawn came walking by me and says, "We got most of them, but the man
which we want. We don't see him among the dead." I says, "examine them
carefully, maybe you can find him there (in the garden). We walked down
the line and there was a negro with his hat pulled down over his eyes.
Jim Yawn was laying for the man who killed Jeff (in 1871). Yawn lifted
his hat up and grabbed him by the coat and says, 'I got you,' and took
him about twenty steps and shot him."
By nightfall most of the white men had dispersed, many of them going
to their homes. The Rapides and Catahoula men spent the night at the
Calhoun sugar house. When Mr. Tanner arrived there about dusk "Dave
Stafford was issuing out rations. We had not had anything to eat since
the night before and he gave me a section of raw pork and a piece of
corn bread. That was the best supper I ever ate. "That night a messenger
came riding up to the sugar house and asked Tanner and Mason to help
take some prisoners to Alexandria. "When I got to the garden," continued
Mr. Tanner, "I heard Luke Hadnot say, 'I can take five,' and five men
stepped out. Luke lined them up and his old gun went off, and he killed
all five of them with two shots. Then it was like popcorn in a skillet.
They killed those forty-eight."
Another version of that night's massacre, as told by the father of A.
M. Goodwyn, is as follows:
"Notwithstanding this fearful carnage some forty prisoners were
taken by those disposed to be more kind. At four o'clock all firing had
ceased and the whites were masters of the situation. There was a general
disbandment of the whites, many of whom went home thinking all was over.
"About dark the steamboat, Southwestern, came down the river,
taking Mr. Hadnot, who was then in a dying state, and other seriously
wounded on board. While this boat was at the landing a number of whites
drank pretty freely and became intoxicated. After the boat was gone and
nearly all the sober and influential men had lain down to sleep, these
parties, all of whom were young, reckless, and irresponsible men,
determined to go to the yard where the negroes were. About ten o'clock
before anyone was aware of their intentions, they opened fire on the
defenseless negroes, who broke and ran in all directions. Of the forty
negroes in the yard about twenty were killed."
Neither Mr. Duplissey nor Mr. Hopkins witnessed the scene of that
night's horror, for late that evening Captain Paul called together the
men from Rapides and said: "Every one that came in here with me, I want
to go out with me. Now we have accomplished what we came to do, and I
don't want nothing touched. Get on your horses and let's go.' And the
men who went in there with him came out without anything in their
hands." And Captain Peck of the Catahoula detachment, remarked, "Boys,
let's don't have anything to do with that. We did not go there to kill
unarmed negroes."
Return
The Colfax Riot of April, 1873 by Manie White Johnson, probably
written in the 1920's
Reprint by Dogwood Press, Hemphill, Texas, 1994, pages 27-29
Reconstruction: The Riot Tree, Grant Parish
Source: Colfax Parish Library, folder of unpublished thesis on the
Colfax Riot
Unpublished paper written for English 163 by Mrs. Adele N. Ethridge,
date unknown
Submitted by
Gaytha Thompson
540 May Drive
Madison, TN 37115
gaytha1@bellsouth.net
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personal use only.
THE
RIOT TREE
|
A Historical Sketch of the
Colfax Riot of 1873, during Reconstruction Days in Louisiana.
Data taken from writer's own
observations, from acquaintances with old citizens, and from
Louisiana Historical Quarterly,
v. 13, 1930, "The Colfax Riot", by White.
v. 18, 1935, "The White League", by Lestage.
Cole beside the gravel in a
quiet street of Colfax, Louisiana, is a slightly sunken area about
three feet in diameter. Over this children run as they play in the
street, and slow moving cows crop the soft grass as they feed
along the street on either side of the gravel driveway. This
scarcely noticeable spot is all that remains to mark the place
where until a few years ago stood a tall pecan tree of the small
nut variety common to the lowland forests of Louisiana. But this
old tree, notwithstanding its beautiful, peaceful, widespread
limbs, had witnessed scenes of anguish and bloodshed for it had
had the fortune to grow not far from the court house during the
stormy period of Reconstruction days.
The tree was after that time
know as the Riot Tree, and the reason for its name is recorded in
the annuls of Louisiana's history.
After the four terrible years
of fighting in the Civil War (1861-65), the Legislature of 1864
elected by the Unionists in Louisiana adopted the thirteenth
amendment which abolished slavery, and sent representatives to
Congress. Lincoln recognized this Louisiana government but
Congress refused to receive these representatives. Meanwhile, the
Confederates kept up a government at Shreveport under Governor H.
W. Allen while the Federals kept up one at New Orleans under B. F.
("Spoon" or "Beast") Butler. Under these conditions riots occurred
in a number of places in the state. After the riot in New Orleans,
in 1866, the rejection of the fourteenth amendment (making
citizens of negroes) by the Louisiana Legislature of 1867, the
passage of the Black Codes (rules to prevent negroes from
gathering in idle unruly cords), Congress feared that the negroes
were not safe under their former masters. Military rule was again
established in Louisiana and a new constitution for the state made
in 1868. H. C. Warmoth, a carpet bagger, and Oscar Dunn, a negro,
were elected governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. Thus
by 1869 carpet bag rule was in full power in the state, and as
James Ford Rhodes, the historian, says of this period, "it is a
sickening tale of extravagant waste, corruption, and fraud."
At that time, as is still the
case in the lowlands of Louisiana, the negro population was in
excess of the white, and since most white men were debarred from
voting because of having fought against the Untied States or
having aided those who did so fight, officials were elected by
carpet-baggers (northern men who came South to help the negro),
scalaways (southern withe men who assisted negro rule), or negroes
themselves. This state of affairs could scarcely be tolerated by
the proud former masters of slaves, so a reform party was
organized to replace the state government by a better one, but
under Warmoth's influence the party advocated equal suffrage to
black and white.
In the election of 1872 both
Democrat (loyal white citizens) and Republicans claimed the
victory. While McEnery, for governor, and Penn, for lieutenant
governor, were elected by a majority of white votes, Kellogg and
Antoine (a negro) received the sanction of the Federal Government.
President Grant sent Federal troops to uphold Kellogg and Antoine.
Thus bitter antagonism resulted in Louisiana for the real citizens
refused to acknowledge Kellogg but proclaimed McEnery governor.
There were therefore, two governors in the state.
The first open, forceful
opposition to Kellogg from the conservative element was the event
which occurred in Colfax in 1873.
In December, 1872, two
citizens of Colfax, Cazabat and Nash, were elected by the citizens
of Grant Parish judge and sheriff respectively. These were
commissioned by Governor McEnery, and took up their duties. In
April, 1873, agents were sent to Kellogg at New Orleans to get
commissions from him for these officials. The agents were well
receive and Kellogg even announced in the New Orleans Republican
that he had commissioned Cazabat and Nash, but he really
commissioned two Republicans, Register and Shaw, for judge and
sheriff.
These men arrived in Colfax
March 23, 1873, accompanied by a tax collector, a clerk (of
Kellogg's choosing), a negro state representative, and a negro
from Pennsylvania. Register and Shaw attempted to take up their
duties in the court house, and secretly began to summon armed
negroes.
The white people, becoming
alarmed, called a mass meeting April 1 to settle the difficulty. A
small party arrived, but finding only a crowd of armed negroes
present, departed at once.
After four days a small party
of whites came within a mile of Colfax where they were fired upon
by more than two hundred negroes. The whites returned fire but
retreated, pursued by the negroes. Agents both wrote and went to
Kellogg for a settlement of this affair, but received no
satisfaction. In the first week of April Sheriff Nash summoned a
posse of men to settle this terrible condition. A small party,
collecting four miles north of Colfax, soon grew into a small
army, being joined by men from Winn, Natchitoches, and Rapides
Parish, and on April 6 men from Catahoula Lake and Sicily Island
came in. On April 12, on the banks of the Darrow, a mile out of
town, lines were drawn up under Sheriff Nash. These men pledged to
each other to rid the country of "Black Devils." Nash and a
companion, under a flag of truce,
forced a negro to bring Allen,
the leader of the negroes, before them. Nash demanded that the
negroes disperse and leave home rule to the white citizens. Allen
refuse to do this.
Negroes had already made many
depredations on the property of the whites, continuing to roam the
town armed, and openly making threats of destroying the white men,
and of taking the white women as wives and servants.
About noon on Easter Sunday,
April 12th, the white men crossed the Darrow and advanced upon the
negro quarters of the town. Then the skirmish began, the whites
pouring volleys into the trenches which the negroes had
constructed. The blacks fled in every direction, pursued by the
whites. Many negroes were killed, and their leader, Allen, fled.
Some took refuge in the court house, where they were surrounded by
the whites. After some time the court house caught on fire, by
what means is not known, and the negroes within raised a white
flag of truce. At once the whites advanced to the house to make
terms of peace, but were fired upon by the opened fire, killing
many negroes, but few escaping.
Some of those captured were
taken by the whites and hanged upon the branches of the nearby
spreading oak, others were imprisoned.
By evening all was quiet, and
white men again controlled the situation. Silently the white bands
dispersed and negroes were allowed to bury their dead, some of
which they placed int he trenches about the court house and
covered with earth.
Nine of the white leaders were
afterwards indicted, brought before Federal Court, and finally had
their case referred to the Supreme Court which decided that the
states, not the United State, should settle this case, thus
proving that the fourteenth amendment had added nothing to the
rights of citizenship, under the constitution, but merely
prevented the denial of the right of citizenship. Thus this riot
served to place the South on the way to home rule by the white
citizens.
And the Riot Tree, which had
done its part also towards this end, stood long as a reminder that
peace and order had been won by courage and determination.
Today, in the Hall of Fame in
the Congressional Library, Washington, D. C., there hangs a
picture of this famous tree, through the town of Colfax know it no
more; for in 1930 the tree which bore on its trunk a metal plate
inscribed "The Colfax Riot Tree, April 13, 1873", was struck by
lightning. The next year its dead body was cut down to prevent its
falling on the street.
It would be but an act of
justly appreciative memory of those who fought and of those who
died in defense of home and country if the present parish of Grant
would mark the site of the old Riot Tree with a column, for thus
is history often recorded for future generations.
From:
Mrs. Adele N. Ethridge
Baton Rouge, La
L.S.U.
Journalism 101
Written for The Bugle
1000 Words. |
**********************************************************************
Writer of this article has lived for the past ten
years within two blocks of the Court House herein mentioned; has
witnessed the recent exhuming of bones of the slain negroes mentioned;
has heard many of given facts rehearsed by old citizens; particularly by
the late Judge J. H. Williams; once see the picture of the tree in the
Hall of Fame. Some of the data used is from Louisiana Historical
Quarterly, v 13 1930, "The Colfax Riot", by Miss White, and v 18, 1935,
"The White League in Louisiana", by H. O. Lestage, Jr.
GRANT PARISH HISTORY AFFECTED
U.S.
By Loyd Harrison
(As told to Richard Briley III)
|
Historical events of Grant
parish like southern cooking, have affected the entire United
States. While George Washington was ordering his Indian campaigns,
Bienville camping at Choctaw Springs was making history in this
area with his explorations.
After Bienville came two other
Frenchmen, Oss and Soss, with a Spanish land grant who settled at
Montgomery which then was on a stream called Rigollette du Bon
Dieu. The parish gradually came to have a number of "Roe Gullies"
named after this stream.
By 1800 the two Frenchmen
owned a large amount of land in Grant and Winn parishes, but with
the Louisiana Purchase in 1804 a tide of English speaking
squatters began to establish homes and settlements in the area.
JESUITS COME IN
The Jesuits came into the area
in 1830 and established a school and mission on Carencrow Creek
near the Montgomery Landing. This became the Carencrow Mission and
Convent and students from many sectors came here to study.
The first trading post was
established by Nomite Rachal on an Indian graveyard beside the
mission, but Nomite and his family were later killed, supposedly
by a traveler put off a boat near the settlement, ending the
activities of the post.
Yellow fever broke out at
Grand Ecore in 1850, and the priest and sisters in the Convent
died aiding the ill. Instead of sending replacements to run the
mission, the convent was closed.
Montgomery found its making in
1832 when the waters of Red River broke over at Grande Ecore to
Bayou Rigollette du Bon Dieu and cut a new channel to Colfax. A
rocky marl floor in the river halted shipping at this point and in
dry weather provided a natural bridge for all east and west
traffic. Stores sprang up here and the landing became a trading
center for Winn, Grant and Bienville parishes.
"NO MAN'S LAND"
Hostilities between French and
Spanish settlers had created a frontier "no man's land" between
the holdings of the two nations. In the Grant and Winn area this
buffer strip extended westward to Winnfield and on the other side
of the river to Robeline sector, and through this no man's land
ran the famous Indian trail, the Natchez Trace, literally "Notches
Three," which extended from Tennessee and Mississippi into Texas
and Old Mexico.
During the Civil War, Admiral
David Dixon Porter, commanding the Eastport and several other war
vessels, sailed up Red River and began to shell the town of
Montgomery. As the warheads burst all about, Mrs. Elizabeth
Harrison ran out with a cloth and gave the Eastern Star signal of
distress. Almost instantly the firing ceased.
By this time federal dredges
had blown out the rocky floor in the river at Montgomery, and
Porter and his flotilla moved on up stream to Grand Ecore.A few
days later he returned with his fleet but lost the Eastport below
Montgomery. The old hull of the federal ship is still embedded in
a sand bar.
Colfax gradually grew into a
sugar and cotton center with large plantations on every side. In
1868 when Grant became a parish, cut out of Winn and Rapides, it
was the northern most sugar producing center in the state.
Because its plantations had
been worked entirely by slaves, the Reconstruction Days found more
Negroes in the settlement than whites, causing the great friction
in parish elections.
Backed by the rifles and
bayonets of union troops, newly freed Negroes and carpetbaggers
were oppressing the Southern whites, even to the point of over
throwing elections. Radicals, located throughout the state, raised
the former slaves to frenzies of hate against their former
masters. As a result of this carpetbaggery, the Colfax Riot was to
occur, with the killing of about 150 Negroes and clamping further
oppression the whites.
UNION BACKING
The self installed William
Pitt Kellogg, union backed governor of Louisiana, apparently
fearful of losing his office if the whites were allowed more
freedom, is give the blame in the souther viewpoint of the 1873
battle.
An unidentified "Republican,"
in an interview for a New Orleans paper, nine years later
disclosed that he had sat in the governor's office when
representatives of both parties of a disputed Grant parish
election appeared before Kellogg. Speaking to each separately, the
governor gave both sides, the white supported party which had won
the election, and the Negro and carpetbagger minority party, a set
of commissions, instructing them to "resort to violence" if
necessary, to hold their offices according to the Republican. The
white officials moved into the courthouse but were promptly driven
out by a large number of Negroes. The whites then decided to hold
a meeting in Colfax to determine action but were prevented by
another large band of threatening colored men. Meanwhile,
frightened by the actions of the bands of Negroes, white residents
of the town fled. The Negro armed bands then broke into the
deserted houses looting and committing other acts of violence.
Outraged Southerners from
other parishes, hearing of the acts of violence, marched to the
support of the outnumbered Grant parish white men. The Southerners
advanced on the Negroes and outflanking them threw the colored
fighters into confusion, after which the Negroes retreated to the
Colfax Courthouse.
The Negroes had fortified the
courthouse well, but a wooden shingled roof was its undoing. The
whites set fire to the roof, and a white flag appeared from a
window of the courthouse. A Committee of the whites advanced to
make hurried terms of a surrender. Then shots rang out from he
courthouse and the members of the committee fell, three of them
mortally wounded.
The outraged white citizens,
seeing their leaders shot down after the white flag was raised,
fired upon the colored fighters as they poured out of the rapidly
burning courthouse. Others were hunted down individually.
The Colfax riot had
regrettable effects afterward. Union troops and marshals clamped
down on the area and arrested some of the white participants in
the fighting. But the men were defended by top members of the New
Orleans bar without charge, and little penalty of consequence was
laid down for most of the men of the famous riot. |
The Colfax Massacre
1873
On April 13, 1873, violence erupted in Colfax, Louisiana. The White
League, a paramilitary group intent on securing white rule in Louisiana,
clashed with Louisiana's almost all-black state militia. The resulting
death toll was staggering. Only three members of the White League died.
But some one hundred black men were killed in the encounter. Of those,
nearly half were murdered in cold blood after they had already
surrendered. The incident once again showed President
Ulysses S. Grant how hard it would be to guarantee the rights and
the safety of blacks in the South.
Since the end of the Civil War, the
Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist organizations had been
growing in strength in the South. Prior to the war, white Southern
Democrats had enjoyed a great deal of governmental power. But when the
war ended, Democrats were no longer powerful. Northern Republicans
controlled the nation's government. They placed federal troops in
Southern cities to keep that control. Southerners deeply resented this
imposition.
Two laws that Southern Democrats hated were the Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments. The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to
blacks and declared that no state was to deprive them of "life, liberty,
or property." The
Fifteenth Amendment prevented a state from denying the vote to any
person because of their race. Together, these laws guaranteed blacks
equal citizenship. Southern Democrats, however, feared that blacks would
not only vote Republican, but would be considered equal to their white
former masters.
Conflicts between Republicans and Democrats in Louisiana were
particularly frequent in 1872. That year, the state election produced
two governors, both claiming to be the legitimate one. When the federal
government supported the Republican governor by sending federal troops
to Louisiana, the white residents of the state refused to cooperate.
Louisiana whites formed their own "shadow" government and their own
army, the White League. The White League, similar to the Ku Klux Klan,
intimidated and attacked Republicans and blacks all over the state.
While the worst violence occurred in Colfax, other incidents were
sparked in Coushatta, when the White League murdered six Republicans,
and in New Orleans, when thirty were killed and one hundred more
wounded.
In response to these incidents and others throughout the South,
President Grant ordered federal troops to restore order. But most of the
relief was temporary. After Colfax, the federal government convicted
only three whites for the murders. In the end, they were freed when the
U.S. Supreme Court declared that they had been convicted
unconstitutionally. The battle over Reconstruction and the rights of
blacks would continue.
From the Congressional Record, House of Representatives, 44th Congress,
2d Session, Ex. Doc. No. 30, "The Use of the Army in Certain of the
Southern States" (pg. 436)
Headquarters Post of Colfax, LA.
May 29, 1875
Second Lieutenant Geo. D. Wallace,
Acting Assistant Adjutant-General, District of Upper Red River, Shreveport,
La:
Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith the list of persons killed and
wounded in the parish of Grant, Louisiana, and comprising a few names of
those killed in this vicinity, in the tontiguous parish of Rapides.These
names comprise those furnished in my report in February lats; the same
were also furnished to Major G. A. Forsyth, A. D. C. to the Lieutenant-
General, commanding Division of the Missouri. It was impossible to procure
the names at an earlier date, as I was compelled to rely on persons over
whom I had not control, and was obliged to wait their pleasure and
convenience. I am unable to procure data from the upper portion of the
parish, as those persons on whom I could rely for such information are
afraid to trust to the perils of travel in the "piny woods."
No./Name/Date/Place/Remarks/
1/Jessie McKenzie, colored/April, 1873/2 ® miles from Just before Colfax, La./riot.
2/More Reed, colored/April 12, 1873/"/"/Colfax riot.
3/William Williams/"/"/"/"/"
4/H. M. Elzy/"/"/"/"/"
5/Meredity Elsy/"/"/"/"/"
6/Frank Jones/"/"/"/"/"
7/Jack Nely/"/"/"/"/"
8/John Carter/"/"/"/"/"
9/Mack Brown/"/"/"/"/"
10/Shuck White/"/"/"/"/"
11/Burney Brandon/"/"/"/"/"
12/Kit Smith/"/"/"/"/"
13/Alex. Tilman/"/"/"/"/"
14/Lank Pitman/"/"/"/"/"
15/Kendray Nelson/"/"/"/"/"
16/Guymo Nelson/"/"/"/"/"
17/Sam Samuel/"/"/"/"/"
18/Bully Ellis/"/"/"/"/"/
19/Clay Murphy/"/"/"/"/"
20/Tody Hunter/"/"/"/"/"
21/Adam Kimball/"/"/"/"/"
22/Philip Harrison/"/"/"/"/"
23/Alex. Randolph/"/"/"/"/"
24/Warren Bullit/"/"/"/"/"
25/October White/"/"/"/"/"
26/Dun Wilkins/"/"/"/"/"
27/Jim Bazzo/"/"/"/"/"
28 /Elias Johnson/"/"/"/"/"
29/Ashel White/"/"/"/"/"
30/Eli Jones/"/"/"/"/"
31/Tom Forster/"/"/"/"/"
32/Murphy Forster/"/"/"/"/"
33/Isaac McCullough/"/"/"/"/"
34/Eli McCullough/"/"/"/"/"
35/Spencer McCullough/"/"/"/"/"
36/Washington Madison/"/"/"/"/"
37/John Hall/"/"/"/"/"
38/Charles Embry/"/"/"/"/"
39/Lewis Palmer/"/"/"/"/"
40/Toby Shelden/"/"/"/"/"
41/John Randolph/"/"/"/"/"
42/Ocu Ruben/"/"/"/"/"
43/Henry Mathews/"/"/"/"/"/
44/Mathew Irwin/"/"/"/"/"
45/John Simmons/"/"/"/"/"
46/George Clay/"/"/"/"/"
47/Clinton Real/"/"/"/"/"
48/Jesse Brown/"/"/"/"/"
49/Sam Kane/"/"/"/"/"
50/Sam Howard/"/"/"/"/"
51/Charles Simpson/"/"/"/"/"
52/Philip Feals/"/"/"/"/"
53/Nick Cotton/"/"/"/"/"
54/Peter Jackson/"/"/"/"/"
55/Dick Doe/"/"/"/"/"
56/Jerry Grow/"/"/"/"/"
57/William Sacks/"/"/"/"/"
58/Henry Swan/"/"/"/"/"
59/Henry Clap/"/"/"/"/"
60/William McClawn/"/"/"/"/"
61/Henry McClawn/"/"/"/"/"
62/Wall. Maxton/"/"/"/"/"
63/Jerry Clark/"/"/"/"/"
64/Matt. Parker/"/ "/"/"/"
65/Joy Hemp/"/"/"/"/"
66/Jerry Washington/"/"/"/"/"
67/Shadwick Johnson/"/"/"/"/"
68/Isaac White/"/"/"/"/"
69/Robert Dudley/"/"/"/"/"
70/Harry Williams/"/"/"/"/"
71/Jerry Taylor/"/"/"/"/"
72/Cuffe Laines/"/"/"/"/"
73/Carry Johnson/"/April 8, 1873/"/Hadnot Settlement/Incident to/Colfax riot.
74/Charles Sumpter/April 13, 1873/Colfax, La./Colfax riot.
75/Henry Blaine/"/"/"/"/"
76/Andrew James/"/"/"/"/"
77/Robert Love/"/"/"/"/"
78/William Brown/"/"/"/"/"
79/Adam White/"/"/"/"/"
80/Dick Peterson/"/"/"/"/"
81/Warren Williams/April_, 1873/Rapides Parish, La./Incident to riot
82/Charles Russell/April 13, 1873/Colfax, La./Colfax riot.
83/Peter Palmer/April, 1873/Grant Parish in/John Luer's/Ringwood/plantation.
84/Joe White/1872/Grant Parish/Three miles/from Colfax.
85/Jeff. Roper/April, 1873/Rapides Parish/Opposite /Colfax
86/George Barnes/1872/"/"/Near Cotilo.
87/George Shorter/1873/"/"/"/"
88/Hamp. Bullitt/October 1873/Near Colfax, La./On Bayou/Dara.
89/Fountain Shaw/April, 1873/Grant Parish Piny Woods
90/John Bonner/April 13, 1873/Colfax, La./Riot; mortally/wounded.
91/Sam Love/1874/Grant Parish,/Between Piny woods./Montgomery/and Colfax.
92/Edware Ware/1873/Grant Parish/No reason /known.
93/Mil. Robinson/April 1, 1873/"/"/Oh his way to Colfax.
94/Tony Williams/Nov., 1873/"/"/}For
95/Charles Vincent/Nov., 1873/"/"/}alleged rape
96/Tom Milton/Nov., 1873/"/"/}of
97/Hamp Harrison/Nov., 1873/"/"/}Miss LaCour
98/Van Moses/Nov., 1873/"/"/}while in
99/Alex. Randolph/Nov., 1873/"/"/}custody of/ / the sheriff./
100/Alfred Frazier/Dec., 1868/"/"/
101/_____ Jack/"/"/"/"
102/D. W. White**/Oct., 1871/Colfax, La./
103/Volsam Cox/1871/Grant Parish
104/Andy Johnson/1871/"/"
105/Jeff Yawn**/Nov., 1873/Colfax, La./Killed by colored militia
106/Frank Forster/Aug., 1874/Grant Parish Piny /woods/
107/Jim Cox/"/"/"/"/"
108/Needham Waters**/Oct., 1874/Grant Parish
/18 Unknown colored/April 13, 1873/Colfax, La. riot/Bodies buried
//not identified
/15-20 Unidentified/"/"/"/Colfax, La. riot/Between 15-
//20 were shot /on the banks /of the river /and their
//bodies thrown
//in the river;
//not included /in the names.
/______ Harris**/"/"/"/Colfax, La. riot
/______ Hadnot**/"/"/"/"/"/"
/Salis Parris**/"/"/"/"/"/"
List of Wounded
1/Flam Williams/April 13, 1873/Colfax, La./Colfax riot.
2/William Brown/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
3/Joe McFeel/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
4/Curry Webb/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
5/Jesse Curry/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
6/Sam M/cKinkley/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
7/Jules Clark/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
8/Fred Clark/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
9/Sam Smorthy/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
10/Kay Irends/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
11/Charles Williams/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
12/Dan Gordon/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
13/Frank Forster/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
14/Ben Brimmer/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
15/Levi Nelson/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
16/Abe Mitchell/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
17/Buttice Elsey/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
18/Henderson Draw/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
19/Makin White/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
20/Richard Reed/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
21/Wood. Gubeville/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
22/Martin Jones/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
23/Cuffe White/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
24/Charles Field/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
25/Gilbert Noble/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
26/Henry Spotville/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
27/Buttice Mills/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
28/Oshum Buttice/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
29/Henry Taylor/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
30/Mole Suter/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
31/Dan McCullum/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
32/John Adams/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
33/Henry Williams/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
34/Flem Peters/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
35/_____ Moses**/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
36/About 10-12 whites/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
46/William Ward/Nov. 7, 1873/"/"/"/"
47/Charles Morse/**/"/"/"/"/"/"/"
**= white
It will be seen that at least one hundred and five (105)
colored and three(3) whites were killed in the Colfax riot,
or in connection therewith, in April, 1873, and about forty-five
(45) wounded. This does not include those said to have been
thrown into the river.
Respectfully submitted.
Ed. L. Godfrey
First Lieutenant Seventh Cavlary, Commanding Post.
Colfax Riot of 1873
Manie White Johnson
It seemed that there were two factions of negroes
in the court house; one, mostly young darkies who had wished to
surrender earlier, but had been prevented by some older negroes who were
filled with undying hatred for the white race. These latter were under
the command of Alex Tilman. Mr. Hadnot, Sidney Harris, A. I. Hopkins, C.
A. Duplissey and several others, seeing the flag of truce and being
desirous of making terms of capitulation as quickly as possible and
letting the negroes escape from the burning building, rushed up to the
court house. When they reached the door a volley was fired at them by
the Tilman faction, mortally wounding Mr. Hadnot, and Mr. Harris who
fell in the doorway.
Infuriated at this cowardly and treacherous murder of their comrades
who had been thus lured to their death by the false flag of truce, the
whites slaughtered many of the negroes as they rushed from the burning
building, and many were ridden down in the open fields and shot without
mercy. Those lying wounded on the court house square were pinned to the
ground by bayonets. By four o'clock all firing had ceased and about
forty of the fleeing "black sons of Canon," as the Rev. Smith called
them, were put under a guard and taken to an "old garden surrounded by a
picket fence, ostensibly to bring them to Alexandria to jail."
Late that afternoon, said Mr. Duplissey, "Captain Dave Paul and Mr.
Yawn came walking by me and says, "We got most of them, but the man
which we want. We don't see him among the dead." I says, "examine them
carefully, maybe you can find him there (in the garden). We walked down
the line and there was a negro with his hat pulled down over his eyes.
Jim Yawn was laying for the man who killed Jeff (in 1871). Yawn lifted
his hat up and grabbed him by the coat and says, 'I got you,' and took
him about twenty steps and shot him."
By nightfall most of the white men had dispersed, many of them going
to their homes. The Rapides and Catahoula men spent the night at the
Calhoun sugar house. When Mr. Tanner arrived there about dusk "Dave
Stafford was issuing out rations. We had not had anything to eat since
the night before and he gave me a section of raw pork and a piece of
corn bread. That was the best supper I ever ate. "That night a messenger
came riding up to the sugar house and asked Tanner and Mason to help
take some prisoners to Alexandria. "When I got to the garden," continued
Mr. Tanner, "I heard Luke Hadnot say, 'I can take five,' and five men
stepped out. Luke lined them up and his old gun went off, and he killed
all five of them with two shots. Then it was like popcorn in a skillet.
They killed those forty-eight."
Another version of that night's massacre, as told by the father of A.
M. Goodwyn, is as follows:
"Notwithstanding this fearful carnage some forty prisoners were
taken by those disposed to be more kind. At four o'clock all firing had
ceased and the whites were masters of the situation. There was a general
disbandment of the whites, many of whom went home thinking all was over.
"About dark the steamboat, Southwestern, came down the river,
taking Mr. Hadnot, who was then in a dying state, and other seriously
wounded on board. While this boat was at the landing a number of whites
drank pretty freely and became intoxicated. After the boat was gone and
nearly all the sober and influential men had lain down to sleep, these
parties, all of whom were young, reckless, and irresponsible men,
determined to go to the yard where the negroes were. About ten o'clock
before anyone was aware of their intentions, they opened fire on the
defenseless negroes, who broke and ran in all directions. Of the forty
negroes in the yard about twenty were killed."
Neither Mr. Duplissey nor Mr. Hopkins witnessed the scene of that
night's horror, for late that evening Captain Paul called together the
men from Rapides and said: "Every one that came in here with me, I want
to go out with me. Now we have accomplished what we came to do, and I
don't want nothing touched. Get on your horses and let's go.' And the
men who went in there with him came out without anything in their
hands." And Captain Peck of the Catahoula detachment, remarked, "Boys,
let's don't have anything to do with that. We did not go there to kill
unarmed negroes."
urn
The Colfax Riot of April, 1873 by Manie White Johnson, probably
written in the 1920's Reprint by Dogwood Press, Hemphill, Texas, 1994,
pages 27-29
Reconstruction: The Riot Tree, Grant Parish
Source: Colfax Parish Library, folder of unpublished thesis on the
Colfax Riot
Unpublished paper written for English 163 by Mrs. Adele N. Ethridge,
date unknown
Submitted by
Gaytha Thompson
540 May Drive
Madison, TN 37115
gaytha1@bellsouth.net
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personal use only.
THE RIOT TREE
|
A Historical Sketch of the
Colfax Riot of 1873, during Reconstruction Days in Louisiana.
Data taken from writer's own
observations, from acquaintances with old citizens, and from
Louisiana Historical Quarterly,
v. 13, 1930, "The Colfax Riot", by White.
v. 18, 1935, "The White League", by Lestage.
Cole beside the gravel in a
quiet street of Colfax, Louisiana, is a slightly sunken area about
three feet in diameter. Over this children run as they play in the
street, and slow moving cows crop the soft grass as they feed
along the street on either side of the gravel driveway. This
scarcely noticeable spot is all that remains to mark the place
where until a few years ago stood a tall pecan tree of the small
nut variety common to the lowland forests of Louisiana. But this
old tree, notwithstanding its beautiful, peaceful, widespread
limbs, had witnessed scenes of anguish and bloodshed for it had
had the fortune to grow not far from the court house during the
stormy period of Reconstruction days.
The tree was after that time
know as the Riot Tree, and the reason for its name is recorded in
the annuls of Louisiana's history.
After the four terrible years
of fighting in the Civil War (1861-65), the Legislature of 1864
elected by the Unionists in Louisiana adopted the thirteenth
amendment which abolished slavery, and sent representatives to
Congress. Lincoln recognized this Louisiana government but
Congress refused to receive these representatives. Meanwhile, the
Confederates kept up a government at Shreveport under Governor H.
W. Allen while the Federals kept up one at New Orleans under B. F.
("Spoon" or "Beast") Butler. Under these conditions riots occurred
in a number of places in the state. After the riot in New Orleans,
in 1866, the rejection of the fourteenth amendment (making
citizens of negroes) by the Louisiana Legislature of 1867, the
passage of the Black Codes (rules to prevent negroes from
gathering in idle unruly cords), Congress feared that the negroes
were not safe under their former masters. Military rule was again
established in Louisiana and a new constitution for the state made
in 1868. H. C. Warmoth, a carpet bagger, and Oscar Dunn, a negro,
were elected governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. Thus
by 1869 carpet bag rule was in full power in the state, and as
James Ford Rhodes, the historian, says of this period, "it is a
sickening tale of extravagant waste, corruption, and fraud."
At that time, as is still the
case in the lowlands of Louisiana, the negro population was in
excess of the white, and since most white men were debarred from
voting because of having fought against the Untied States or
having aided those who did so fight, officials were elected by
carpet-baggers (northern men who came South to help the negro),
scalaways (southern withe men who assisted negro rule), or negroes
themselves. This state of affairs could scarcely be tolerated by
the proud former masters of slaves, so a reform party was
organized to replace the state government by a better one, but
under Warmoth's influence the party advocated equal suffrage to
black and white.
In the election of 1872 both
Democrat (loyal white citizens) and Republicans claimed the
victory. While McEnery, for governor, and Penn, for lieutenant
governor, were elected by a majority of white votes, Kellogg and
Antoine (a negro) received the sanction of the Federal Government.
President Grant sent Federal troops to uphold Kellogg and Antoine.
Thus bitter antagonism resulted in Louisiana for the real citizens
refused to acknowledge Kellogg but proclaimed McEnery governor.
There were therefore, two governors in the state.
The first open, forceful
opposition to Kellogg from the conservative element was the event
which occurred in Colfax in 1873.
In December, 1872, two
citizens of Colfax, Cazabat and Nash, were elected by the citizens
of Grant Parish judge and sheriff respectively. These were
commissioned by Governor McEnery, and took up their duties. In
April, 1873, agents were sent to Kellogg at New Orleans to get
commissions from him for these officials. The agents were well
receive and Kellogg even announced in the New Orleans Republican
that he had commissioned Cazabat and Nash, but he really
commissioned two Republicans, Register and Shaw, for judge and
sheriff.
These men arrived in Colfax
March 23, 1873, accompanied by a tax collector, a clerk (of
Kellogg's choosing), a negro state representative, and a negro
from Pennsylvania. Register and Shaw attempted to take up their
duties in the court house, and secretly began to summon armed
negroes.
The white people, becoming
alarmed, called a mass meeting April 1 to settle the difficulty. A
small party arrived, but finding only a crowd of armed negroes
present, departed at once.
After four days a small party
of whites came within a mile of Colfax where they were fired upon
by more than two hundred negroes. The whites returned fire but
retreated, pursued by the negroes. Agents both wrote and went to
Kellogg for a settlement of this affair, but received no
satisfaction. In the first week of April Sheriff Nash summoned a
posse of men to settle this terrible condition. A small party,
collecting four miles north of Colfax, soon grew into a small
army, being joined by men from Winn, Natchitoches, and Rapides
Parish, and on April 6 men from Catahoula Lake and Sicily Island
came in. On April 12, on the banks of the Darrow, a mile out of
town, lines were drawn up under Sheriff Nash. These men pledged to
each other to rid the country of "Black Devils." Nash and a
companion, under a flag of truce,
forced a negro to bring Allen,
the leader of the negroes, before them. Nash demanded that the
negroes disperse and leave home rule to the white citizens. Allen
refuse to do this.
Negroes had already made many
depredations on the property of the whites, continuing to roam the
town armed, and openly making threats of destroying the white men,
and of taking the white women as wives and servants.
About noon on Easter Sunday,
April 12th, the white men crossed the Darrow and advanced upon the
negro quarters of the town. Then the skirmish began, the whites
pouring volleys into the trenches which the negroes had
constructed. The blacks fled in every direction, pursued by the
whites. Many negroes were killed, and their leader, Allen, fled.
Some took refuge in the court house, where they were surrounded by
the whites. After some time the court house caught on fire, by
what means is not known, and the negroes within raised a white
flag of truce. At once the whites advanced to the house to make
terms of peace, but were fired upon by the opened fire, killing
many negroes, but few escaping.
Some of those captured were
taken by the whites and hanged upon the branches of the nearby
spreading oak, others were imprisoned.
By evening all was quiet, and
white men again controlled the situation. Silently the white bands
dispersed and negroes were allowed to bury their dead, some of
which they placed int he trenches about the court house and
covered with earth.
Nine of the white leaders were
afterwards indicted, brought before Federal Court, and finally had
their case referred to the Supreme Court which decided that the
states, not the United State, should settle this case, thus
proving that the fourteenth amendment had added nothing to the
rights of citizenship, under the constitution, but merely
prevented the denial of the right of citizenship. Thus this riot
served to place the South on the way to home rule by the white
citizens.
And the Riot Tree, which had
done its part also towards this end, stood long as a reminder that
peace and order had been won by courage and determination.
Today, in the Hall of Fame in
the Congressional Library, Washington, D. C., there hangs a
picture of this famous tree, through the town of Colfax know it no
more; for in 1930 the tree which bore on its trunk a metal plate
inscribed "The Colfax Riot Tree, April 13, 1873", was struck by
lightning. The next year its dead body was cut down to prevent its
falling on the street.
It would be but an act of
justly appreciative memory of those who fought and of those who
died in defense of home and country if the present parish of Grant
would mark the site of the old Riot Tree with a column, for thus
is history often recorded for future generations.
From:
Mrs. Adele N. Ethridge
Baton Rouge, La
L.S.U.
Journalism 101
Written for The Bugle
1000 Words. |
Writer of this article has lived for the past ten
years within two blocks of the Court House herein mentioned; has
witnessed the recent exhuming of bones of the slain negroes mentioned;
has heard many of given facts rehearsed by old citizens; particularly by
the late Judge J. H. Williams; once see the picture of the tree in the
Hall of Fame. Some of the data used is from Louisiana Historical
Quarterly, v 13 1930, "The Colfax Riot", by Miss White, and v 18, 1935,
"The White League in Louisiana", by H. O. Lestage, Jr.
GRANT PARISH HISTORY AFFECTED
U.S.
By Loyd Harrison
(As told to Richard Briley III)
|
Historical events of Grant
parish like southern cooking, have affected the entire United
States. While George Washington was ordering his Indian campaigns,
Bienville camping at Choctaw Springs was making history in this
area with his explorations.
After Bienville came two other
Frenchmen, Oss and Soss, with a Spanish land grant who settled at
Montgomery which then was on a stream called Rigollette du Bon
Dieu. The parish gradually came to have a number of "Roe Gullies"
named after this stream.
By 1800 the two Frenchmen
owned a large amount of land in Grant and Winn parishes, but with
the Louisiana Purchase in 1804 a tide of English speaking
squatters began to establish homes and settlements in the area.
JESUITS COME IN
The Jesuits came into the area
in 1830 and established a school and mission on Carencrow Creek
near the Montgomery Landing. This became the Carencrow Mission and
Convent and students from many sectors came here to study.
The first trading post was
established by Nomite Rachal on an Indian graveyard beside the
mission, but Nomite and his family were later killed, supposedly
by a traveler put off a boat near the settlement, ending the
activities of the post.
Yellow fever broke out at
Grand Ecore in 1850, and the priest and sisters in the Convent
died aiding the ill. Instead of sending replacements to run the
mission, the convent was closed.
Montgomery found its making in
1832 when the waters of Red River broke over at Grande Ecore to
Bayou Rigollette du Bon Dieu and cut a new channel to Colfax. A
rocky marl floor in the river halted shipping at this point and in
dry weather provided a natural bridge for all east and west
traffic. Stores sprang up here and the landing became a trading
center for Winn, Grant and Bienville parishes.
"NO MAN'S LAND"
Hostilities between French and
Spanish settlers had created a frontier "no man's land" between
the holdings of the two nations. In the Grant and Winn area this
buffer strip extended westward to Winnfield and on the other side
of the river to Robeline sector, and through this no man's land
ran the famous Indian trail, the Natchez Trace, literally "Notches
Three," which extended from Tennessee and Mississippi into Texas
and Old Mexico.
During the Civil War, Admiral
David Dixon Porter, commanding the Eastport and several other war
vessels, sailed up Red River and began to shell the town of
Montgomery. As the warheads burst all about, Mrs. Elizabeth
Harrison ran out with a cloth and gave the Eastern Star signal of
distress. Almost instantly the firing ceased.
By this time federal dredges
had blown out the rocky floor in the river at Montgomery, and
Porter and his flotilla moved on up stream to Grand Ecore.A few
days later he returned with his fleet but lost the Eastport below
Montgomery. The old hull of the federal ship is still embedded in
a sand bar.
Colfax gradually grew into a
sugar and cotton center with large plantations on every side. In
1868 when Grant became a parish, cut out of Winn and Rapides, it
was the northern most sugar producing center in the state.
Because its plantations had
been worked entirely by slaves, the Reconstruction Days found more
Negroes in the settlement than whites, causing the great friction
in parish elections.
Backed by the rifles and
bayonets of union troops, newly freed Negroes and carpetbaggers
were oppressing the Southern whites, even to the point of over
throwing elections. Radicals, located throughout the state, raised
the former slaves to frenzies of hate against their former
masters. As a result of this carpetbaggery, the Colfax Riot was to
occur, with the killing of about 150 Negroes and clamping further
oppression the whites.
UNION BACKING
The self installed William
Pitt Kellogg, union backed governor of Louisiana, apparently
fearful of losing his office if the whites were allowed more
freedom, is give the blame in the souther viewpoint of the 1873
battle.
An unidentified "Republican,"
in an interview for a New Orleans paper, nine years later
disclosed that he had sat in the governor's office when
representatives of both parties of a disputed Grant parish
election appeared before Kellogg. Speaking to each separately, the
governor gave both sides, the white supported party which had won
the election, and the Negro and carpetbagger minority party, a set
of commissions, instructing them to "resort to violence" if
necessary, to hold their offices according to the Republican. The
white officials moved into the courthouse but were promptly driven
out by a large number of Negroes. The whites then decided to hold
a meeting in Colfax to determine action but were prevented by
another large band of threatening colored men. Meanwhile,
frightened by the actions of the bands of Negroes, white residents
of the town fled. The Negro armed bands then broke into the
deserted houses looting and committing other acts of violence.
Outraged Southerners from
other parishes, hearing of the acts of violence, marched to the
support of the outnumbered Grant parish white men. The Southerners
advanced on the Negroes and outflanking them threw the colored
fighters into confusion, after which the Negroes retreated to the
Colfax Courthouse.
The Negroes had fortified the
courthouse well, but a wooden shingled roof was its undoing. The
whites set fire to the roof, and a white flag appeared from a
window of the courthouse. A Committee of the whites advanced to
make hurried terms of a surrender. Then shots rang out from he
courthouse and the members of the committee fell, three of them
mortally wounded.
The outraged white citizens,
seeing their leaders shot down after the white flag was raised,
fired upon the colored fighters as they poured out of the rapidly
burning courthouse. Others were hunted down individually.
The Colfax riot had
regrettable effects afterward. Union troops and marshals clamped
down on the area and arrested some of the white participants in
the fighting. But the men were defended by top members of the New
Orleans bar without charge, and little penalty of consequence was
laid down for most of the men of the famous riot. |