The trials began the next week, with John Elvis Miller leading the prosecution. Holmes noted that the defenses of Helena were stronger than he expected, but carried on with the attack anyway. Local authorities blocked press coverage. In Phillips County, this struggle directly challenged planter dominance. From 1906 to 1946, Helena was a terminal point on the former Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad, which provided passenger and freight service to Joplin, Missouri. Marmaduke paused his men, who were fighting dismounted, to wait for artillery to be brought up and for Walker's men to arrive in support. The findings blamed outside agitators for stirring up ignorant sharecroppers. Differing interpretations of Holmes' order to attack at daylight resulted in Brigadier General James F. Fagan's troops attacking Battery D unsupported, and Major General Sterling Price's attack against the Union center was made after Fagan's had largely fizzled out. Further Reading: Richard C. Courtner, A Mob Intent on Death: The N.A.A.C.P. - Police in Helena-West Helena are investigating a deadly shooting that happened on Friday night. Sharecroppers worked the land for a small share of the crop and were forced to sell their cotton to the landowners, who paid less than market prices. But World War I brought changes to the Delta, as it did in Northern urban centers. [96], Most of the Confederates withdrew from the area the next morning,[97] falling back to Jacksonport,[59] although Walker's men remained behind to harass any Union troops that sallied forth from the city. Volunteers rush to aid animals at closed Ark. shelter - WREG.com Update: Name Released of Man Found Shot to Death on Helena-West Helena Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Union troops captured the city in July 1862, and had been using it as a base of operations. Among the musicians who regularly visited and performed in the area at that time were Robert Johnson, Johnny Shines, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Robert Nighthawk, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Memphis Slim and Roosevelt Sykes. This project is funded in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant award. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Brough issued a stay of the executions to permit an appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court after the motions were denied. America cannot address the inequality, poverty, inadequate education, the racially biased criminal justice system, and the limited life chances of black people that define contemporary society until the nation confronts and acknowledges this history. Colonel Isaac Jenks, commander of the U.S. troops at Elaine, recorded the number of African Americans killed by U.S. troops as only two. Historic Theaters of Arkansas - Only In Arkansas HELENA WEST HELENA, Ark. Details remain difficult to verify. [72] Many Confederates surrendered. The committees narrative appeared in newspapers all over the country. Elaine Race Massacre: Red Summer in Arkansas. For additional information: [51] His dismounted cavalrymen were pushed back by the 29th Iowa and part of the 36th Iowa Infantry Regiment, and his flank was threatened by the 5th Kansas Cavalry Regiment and the 1st Indiana Cavalry Regiment, which were commanded by Powell Clayton. Confederate infantry deserted in large numbers, their morale shattered. So sad. Unions such as the Progressive Farmers represented a threat not only to the tenet of white supremacy but also to the basic concepts of capitalism. The research below is a comprehensive historical analysis of every major league baseball player born in Arkansas. [31], On July 3, Holmes, Price, Walker, Fagan, and Marmaduke gathered to formulate the plan of assault. In Moore v. Dempsey, the court in 1923 overturned the convictions of six of the Elaine 12, arguing that the confessions had been secured through torture. A couple in Garland County is suing Officer Ryan Wingo in Garland. [48] The 43rd Indiana Infantry Regiment had been facing Fagan's Confederates, and was reinforced by parts of the 33rd Iowa Infantry Regiment and the 35th Missouri Infantry Regiment, under orders from Salomon. In June 1863, Confederate Commander Theophilus Holmes sought to take pressure off of Vicksburg, Mississippi, by attacking the Union-held town of Helena, Arkansas. Ms. Wells Barnett provided hard evidence of the massacre, but it took the Supreme Court to expose the truth to national attention. Over 7,500 Confederate troops led by Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes attempted to capture Helena in hopes of relieving some of the pressure on the Confederate army besieged in Vicksburg, Mississippi. [50] Price's command consisted of the brigades of Brigadier Generals Dandridge McRae and Mosby Monroe Parsons, and was led by the 9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion and a company of Arkansans local to the Helena area. Since Prentiss was aware of a coming attack, the Confederates would not have the advantage of surprise. Throughout the day at least 1,000 white vigilantes came from all over the state and from Mississippi to join plantation owners, their managers, sheriffs, deputies and the veterans to put down what they called an uprising. This was a . The Moore defendants were granted a new hearing after the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Moore v. Dempsey, ruled that the original proceedings in Helena had been a mask, and that the state of Arkansas had not provided a corrective process that would have allowed the defendants to vindicate their constitutional right to due process of law on appeal. The 1919 cotton crop was the most profitable in history and they stood to make a good amount of money. [67] A critical moment in the battle had arrived: if the Confederates could get enough artillery onto Graveyard Hill, they could shell the Union forces into submission. UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture. The Helena time zone is Central Daylight Time which is 6 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The Arkansas Race Riot. N.p. [8] He thought the attack would be too costly, and instead suggested placing an artillery battery along the Mississippi river to intercept Union shipping. He lost 121 acres of cotton and corn. Evidence shows that the mobs of whites slaughtered African Americans in and around Elaine. [47] Price's advance was led by the 9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion, who sighted the Union positions on Graveyard Hill. Union troops captured the city in July 1862, and had been using it as a base of operations. With labor conflicts escalating throughout the country at the end of World War I, government and business interpreted the demands of labor increasingly as the work of foreign ideologies, such as Bolshevism, that threatened the foundation of the American economy. Major League Baseball Players Born in Arkansas 25 federal indictments come from Helena-West Helena, federal partnership According to the United States Census Bureau, Helena had a total area of 8.9 square miles (23km2), all land. The confessions of the black men had been secured through torture. The median age was 32 years. Donations made to the CALS Foundation are tax-deductible for United States federal income tax purposes. Barry, John M. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America. [24] Each of the four batteries was located on a high point of Crowley's Ridge. McRae sent about 200 men to attack the battery, but they were unsuccessful. Helena was the county seat of Phillips County[3] until January 1, 2006, when it merged its government and city limits with neighboring West Helena. Men and women migrated to Northern factories or joined the military, creating a labor shortage in the cotton fields and lumber mills. http://visualizingtheredsummer.com/ (accessed August 16, 2022). Visualizing the Red Summer. Little Rock: Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, 2002. On September 29, 2019, a memorial to those who died during the massacre was dedicated in downtown Helena-West Helena. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.5 males. The official narrative presented a picture at odds with reality. The Confederates withdrew on July 4 of 1863. Red Summer 1919: Tree honoring black victims cut down in alleged crime After hiding for two days in the woods, the Colemans returned home to find dead bodies of women and children scattered about their community. Smith, C. Calvin, ed. [6] In late May, with Union troops heavily pressuring Vicksburg, Confederate authorities sent a message to General Joseph E. Johnston suggesting that forces from the Trans-Mississippi Department be used to relieve the pressure on Vicksburg. On the other hand, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in New York, which had sent Field Secretary Walter White to investigate the events in Elaine, contested such allegations from the outset. Here are some tips. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. Founded in 1871, the Helena World is one of Arkansas' oldest newspapers. Helena, AR 72342 Phone: (870) 338-5555 Phillips County Criminal Records Phillips County records their criminal activity in the form of criminal records. [30] The Confederates had support from the local white populace. . About 38.4% of families and 41.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 54.9% of those under age 18 and 24.1% of those age 65 or over. The troops were aided by seven machine guns. [25] Prentiss' men had advantages over the Confederates through their defenses, batteries, and naval support. [71] Both Price and Holmes were issuing orders independently,[72] and Holmes' orders were making things worse for the Confederates. [62] Price's Missouri sharpshooters found positions from which they could pick off the gunners in Battery C.[63], Price's first attack was repulsed, as was a second. Ferguson, Bessie. Battery K, 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment, 2nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment (African Descent), Troop engagements of the American Civil War, 1863, "Batteries A, B, C, and D (Battle of Helena)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Helena&oldid=1141530720, Battles of the American Civil War in Arkansas, Battles of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War, Union victories of the American Civil War, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 14:50. Low Villains and Wickedness in High Places: Race and Class in the Elaine Riots. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 58 (Autumn 1999): 285313. Although the exact number is unknown, estimates of the number of African Americans killed by whites have ranged into the hundreds; five white people lost their lives. See this venue in scenes from the 2004 film, "Walk the Line . People often say they believe in God and that he doesnt make mistakes, yet they refuse to acknowledge we are all created equal by him. [64] The advance up the hill had also thrown the Confederates into disarray. While its deepest roots lay in the states commitment to white supremacy, the events in and around Elaine (Phillips County)stemmed from tense race relations and growing concerns about labor unions. The Battle of Helena was fought on July 4, 1863, near Helena, Arkansas, during the American Civil War. . Clancy, Sean. Estimates have ranged from 25 to 853, the latter from an Arkansas Gazette reporter who named no source. : 1920. But officials have not released exactly what happened. In contrast, the correspondent for the Memphis Press on October 2, 1919, wrote, Many Negroes are reported killed by the soldiers. Other anecdotal information suggests that U.S. troops also engaged in torture of African Americans to make them confess and give information. The convictions were again affirmed. [99], Helena was reinforced and in mid-August, Union forces began a campaign against Little Rock, with Helena as the staging ground. The median income for a household in Helena is $18,662, and the median income for a family was $21,534. [70] Fagan's lines had been badly thinned by not only Union fire but also heat and exhaustion. [15] Moving through swamps resulted in the loss of many accompanying animals and wagons. It was effectively an invasion. 1831-12-25 Louisiana & Arkansas are first states to observe Christmas as holiday. The heroism of black soldiers in the war enhanced the struggle for black freedom, causing industrialists and plantation owners to brace themselves for the return of black veterans. E. M. Allen, a planter and real estate developer who became the spokesman for Phillips Countys white power structure, told the Helena World on October 7, The present trouble with the Negroes in Phillips County is not a race riot. [40] At 4:05 am, Fagan's skirmishers sighted the Union position, and with the day dawning, Fagan attacked with three infantry regiments. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2020. A conference on the matter in Helena in 2000 resulted in no closure for the people in Phillips County. Soon, word spread that blacks were attacking whites in Elaine. In previous months, racial conflict had occurred in numerous cities in America, including Washington DC; Chicago, Illinois; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Indianapolis, Indiana. I am wondering if any group, agency, or government entity ever developed a list of the 100 or 237 black lynchings in 1919 in the Elaine area during that evil time in black history. The governor, who was reported as saying he was going to Elaine to obtain correct information, accepted the authority of the committee in return for its commitment that no lynchings would take place in Helena (Phillips County). [11] Holmes would accompany the attack. Elaine: A Premeditated Massacre. MA thesis, Southern New Hampshire University, 2022. Fort Curtis 12 Points of Interest & Landmarks By Altekameraden Even at the age of seventy-nine, Murphy, a former Confederate officer and Arkansas attorney general, was considered one of the best trial attorneys in Arkansas. Details remain difficult to verify. Anthony, Steven. J. Price's men fell back and abandoned Graveyard Hill. The Elaine massacre occurred on September 30-October 2, 1919 at Hoop Spur in the vicinity of Elaine in rural Phillips County, Arkansas. [24] The Union garrison would face the coming attack with 4,129 men. Salomon would make many of the decisions in the upcoming battle. Read our Privacy Policy. [36] Brooks' Confederates also encountered a camp of African-American refugees. The twelve men were: Frank Moore, Frank Hicks, Ed Hicks, Joe Knox, Paul Hall, Ed Coleman, Alfred Banks, Ed Ware, William Wordlaw, Albert Giles, Joe Fox, and John Martin. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. [46] Obstructions on the line of approach also disorganized Price's ranks. Others had their charges dismissed or ultimately were not prosecuted. It is a deliberately planned insurrection of the Negroes against the whites directed by an organization known as the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America, established for the purpose of banding Negroes together for the killing of white people.. Improve this listing Full view All photos (4) Top ways to experience nearby attractions Memphis City Tour with Optional Riverboat Cruise & Sun Studio Add-On Options 438 Recommended Bus Tours from $40.00 per adult The Underlying Causes of the Elaine Riot of 1919. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 20 (Spring 1961): 95104. https://ualrexhibits.org/elaine/ (accessed August 16, 2022). New York: Pegasus Books, 2020. The Confederates charged Fort Curtis in their last attack, but the heavy artillery inside kept the attack from reaching the fort. All the white people had to do was stay away from the church while the meeting was going on. Additional support provided by the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation Inc. 2023 Encyclopedia of Arkansas. 0:00. Phillips County Arrest, Court, and Public Records | StateRecords.org At the same time, the New York offices of the NAACP, upon the advice of Arkansas attorney Ulysses S. Bratton, hired the Little Rock law firm of George Murphy, a former attorney general and candidate for governor, as counsel for the twelve men. [57] Confusion was initially caused by the two brigades being separated by a ridge and unable to see each other. The obligations of the past weigh heavily upon the present. Pascal, Olivia. [91][c] Holmes accused McRae of "misbehavior before the enemy", and in his report placed part of the blame for the failure on McRae, but McRae was cleared by a subsequent court-martial. HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. They seek redress, not in the form of apologies, but in recognition of the harm done, and of the way generations continue to suffer the consequences. [45], Price's attack had been delayed. [25] Trees were felled in front of the Union lines, although it is unclear if they were simply left where they fell as an obstruction or were converted into abatis. Finally, on January 14, 1925, Governor Thomas McRae ordered the release of the Moore defendants by granting them indefinite furloughs after they had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Burke, Jordan C. White Discipline Black Rebellion: A History of American Race Riots from Emancipation to the War on Drugs. PhD diss., University of New Hampshire, 2020. Police say detectives have interviewed several people who might have been with . The community, originally settled in 1797 and first called Monticello and then St. Francis, grew around a warehouse built for barge shipping. News of the shooting quickly reached the county seat of Helena. She was able to go one way. Price commanded the Confederate forces during the campaign, as Holmes had fallen ill.[100] Events during this campaign worsened the split between Marmaduke and Walker, and the former killed the latter in a duel on September 6. Corrections? The Arkansas Gazette reported at least fifteen black bodies in Helena's streets and it's outskirts. [12] On June 22, Holmes revised the plan, ordering Price to concentrate at a location known as Switzer's, instead of Cotton Plant. Updated: Aug. 19, 2020 at 8:40 AM PDT. As a result, sixty-five others quickly entered plea-bargains and accepted sentences of up to twenty-one years for second-degree murder. The commander of Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi, Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith, was forwarded in June the dispatch that Johnston had received, and delegated making the decision whether to attack Helena to Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes, the Confederate commander of the District of Arkansas. More controversial is the view that the military participated in the murder of blacks. The sharecroppers who gathered at a small church in Elaine, Arkansas, in the late hours of September 30, 1919, knew the risk they were taking. Helena is the eastern portion of HelenaWest Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. In the last nine months, Elaine's last grocery store and restaurant closed. Little Rock, AR. Some of the refugees were killed, some were taken prisoner, and the camp was burned by the Confederates at some point during the battle. Elaine Massacre of 1919 - Encyclopedia of Arkansas Pop. Enraged citizens fired at the bodies of the dead negroes as they rode out of Helena toward Elaine.. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2022. Livingston, Kelly, and Madison Peek. They aimed to hire a lawyer to represent them with the landlords. [44] Brooks' men became disorganized and did not reform until 8:00 am. (WMC) - Areas of Eastern Arkansas are sending more violent offenders to federal court. As for me, I have a timeline of ten years, 1910 to 1920, in the Delta of Bogy Township, Jefferson, Arkansas, just below Elaine, Arkansas. By November 5, 1919, the first twelve black men given trials had been convicted of murder and sentenced to die in the electric chair. The economy, traditionally based on cotton and lumber, became increasingly industrialized after World War II, especially at West Helena (founded 1909, incorporated 1917). [5], By early 1863, holding Helena provided the Union with significant advantages, such as serving as a supply depot for the ongoing Vicksburg campaign, providing a marshalling point for a future advance against Little Rock, and securing northeastern Arkansas. The main attack broke through Battery C, but Union troops fended off the attackers and sealed the breach. By contrast, 16 white males were lynched during the same time. Elaine massacre - Wikipedia The information you have provided is great for families that lost people and is greatly needed. Woodruff, Nan Elizabeth. The per capita income for Helena is $13,028. The Memphis Press stated that white locals were so enraged that they were firing bullets into black corpses as they left Helena en route to Elaine. Jackson: University and College Press of Mississippi, 1972. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.28. This neglect by the government came in the face of people who merely sought to exercise their basic rights to secure a lawyer to defend their property. brought to you by. 2431. Historical Events. Scipio A. Jones. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 31 (Autumn 1972): 201219. Johnson, J. Chester. The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. Eliza Miller Junior High School and Central High School, the designated secondary schools, were in West Helena.
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