Coushatta massacre

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The Coushatta Massacre (1874) was the result of an attack by the White League, a paramilitary organization, on Republican officeholders and freedmen in Coushatta, the parish seat of Red River Parish, Louisiana. They assassinated six white Republicans and five to 20 freedmen who were witnesses.[1][2]

The White League had organized to drive out Republicans from Louisiana, disrupt their organizing, and intimidate or murder freedmen to restore white supremacy.[3] Like the Red Shirts and other "White Line" organizations, they were described as "the military arm of the Democratic Party."

Contents

[edit] Background

In the period after the American Civil War, Marshall H. Twitchell, a Union veteran from Vermont who had led United States Colored Troops, came to Red River Parish, Louisiana to become an agent for the Freedman's Bureau after passing its exam. He married Adele Coleman, a young local woman. Her family taught him about cotton farming. In 1870 Twitchell was elected as a Republican to the state senate. He appointed his brother and three brothers-in-law (the latter native to the parish) to local positions as sheriff, tax assessor and clerk of the court. Twitchell worked in Red River Parish to promote education, and to extend public representation and civil rights to freedmen.[4] The region suffered much social unrest.

The White League arose in the Red River valley in 1874, first in Grant Parish and nearby parishes. It was a group of Confederate veterans whose stated purpose was "the extermination of the carpetbag element" and restoration of white supremacy. Most had been with the white militias that had taken part in the Colfax Massacre, but units later arose across the state. Unlike the secret Ku Klux Klan, the White League operated openly and were more organized and directed at overturning Republican rule. They targeted local Republican officeholders for assassination, disrupted organizing, and terrorized freedmen. One historian described them as "the military arm of the Democratic Party."[5]

In Coushatta, the White League criticized Twitchell's leadership, and publicly accused him and his brothers-in-law of inciting what they termed "a black rebellion."

[edit] The attack

One night in August 1874, while Marshall Twitchell was at a Republican convention, the White League turned out six white officeholders, including Twitchell's brother and three brothers-in-law. They also rounded up twenty freedmen nearby. They forced the officeholders to sign a statement saying they would immediately leave Louisiana. Before the men could leave the region, they were assassinated by the White League. The freedmen were killed because they were witnesses. Although twenty-five men were arrested for the massacre, because of lack of evidence, they were never brought to trial.[6][7]

[edit] Aftermath

Violence continued throughout the state. The Coushatta massacre was followed shortly by a large White League insurrection in New Orleans, where they hoped to install the Democrat McEnery as governor. He had been a contender in the disputed state election of 1872. In the New Orleans "Battle of Liberty Place", 5000 White League members overwhelmed 3500 troops of the Metropolitan Police and state militia. After demanding the resignation of Republican governor William Pitt Kellogg, they took control of Canal Street, the city hall, statehouse and arsenal.[8]

This armed rebellion finally forced President Ulysses S. Grant to respond to the governor's request for reinforcements to Louisiana. Within three days, Kellogg was back in office due to the arrival of Federal troops. The White League disappeared before they came. More troops arrived within a month to try to tame the Red River valley.[9] Grant's decision to send troops was probably too late to prevent further consolidation of Democratic power. In the 1876 election, white Democrats took over the state legislature.

Two years later, when Twitchell returned briefly to Red River Parish, he was attacked and shot, perhaps by a local rival. Although he survived, his injuries cost him the loss of both his arms.[10]

[edit] Citations

  1. ^ Danielle Alexander, "Forty Acres and a Mule: The Ruined Hope of Reconstruction", Humanities, January/February 2004, Vol.25/No.1. Her article says 20 freedmen were killed., accessed 14 Apr 2008
  2. ^ Nicholas Lemann, Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War, New York, Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 2006, p.76-77. His book says five freedmen were killed.
  3. ^ Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877, New York: Perennial Classics, 2002, p.550
  4. ^ Danielle Alexander, "Forty Acres and a Mule: The Ruined Hope of Reconstruction", Humanities, January/February 2004, Vol.25/No.1, accessed 14 Apr 2008
  5. ^ George C. Rable, But There Was No Peace: The Role of Violence in the Politics of Reconstruction, Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1984, p. 132
  6. ^ Danielle Alexander, "Forty Acres and a Mule: The Ruined Hope of Reconstruction", Humanities, January/February 2004, Vol.25/No.1, accessed 14 Apr 2008
  7. ^ Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877, New York: Perennial Classics, 2002, p.551
  8. ^ Nicholas Lemann, Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War, New York, Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 2006, p.77.
  9. ^ Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877, New York: Perennial Classics, 2002, p.551
  10. ^ Danielle Alexander, "Forty Acres and a Mule: The Ruined Hope of Reconstruction", Humanities, January/February 2004, Vol.25/No.1, accessed 14 Apr 2008