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. 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. By days end, countless black women, men and children had been slaughtered. Still others described the barbarism of cutting off the ears or toes of dead negroes for souvenirs and the dragging of their bodies through the streets of Elaine. Gerald B. Lambert, the founder of Listerine, who owned 21,000 acres near Elaine, saw white men spread throughout the woods, firing at any suspicious person. The Elaine Legacy Center, in conjunction with the Dewitt Proctor Conference, held a Truth Hearing in February where 12 commissioners heard several descendants convey powerful stories of the massacre handed down through their families. The main attack broke through Battery C, but Union troops fended off the attackers and sealed the breach. As many as several hundred African Americans and five white men were killed. To the north, Confederate cavalry commanded by Brigadier Generals John S. Marmaduke and Lucius M. Walker failed to act in concert and accomplished little. Descendant of Arkansas Elaine Massacre Victims Push for Restorative Justice. Facing South, October 7, 2020. https://www.facingsouth.org/2020/10/descendants-arkansas-elaine-massacre-victims-push-restorative-justice (accessed August 16, 2022). Military reports were intentionally vague. It was a system intended to keep black people in debt and dependent upon planters. Wormser, Richard, director. When my father arrived at the address that was on the letter, a lady answered the door, but she said his uncle didnt live there. A Rural Town Confronts Its Buried History of Mass Killings of Black Americans. The Guardian, August 18, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/18/a-rural-town-confronts-its-buried-history-of-mass-killings-of-black-americans (accessed February 22, 2023). She had been driven from her home in Memphis to Chicago because of her activism. The research below is a comprehensive historical analysis of every major league baseball player born in Arkansas. The re-trials of the Ware defendants began on May 3, 1920. A conference on the matter in Helena in 2000 resulted in no closure for the people in Phillips County. In previous months, racial conflict had occurred in numerous cities in America, including Washington DC; Chicago, Illinois; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Indianapolis, Indiana. Online at https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2040/ (accessed November 9, 2022). Brough issued a stay of the executions to permit an appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court after the motions were denied. Corrections? Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2020. The cases of the Elaine Twelve were litigated on two separate tracks. As you know, our black history is very limited in some areas. Colonel Jenckss report of his mission supported this view, claiming only two black people and one of his corporals had died. [86] Prentiss claimed the capture of more than 1,100 Confederate soldiers and stated that over 300 dead Confederates were buried by Union troops. Courageously, she dressed up as a sharecropper and went to Arkansas. [15] Moving through swamps resulted in the loss of many accompanying animals and wagons. The Elaine Riot of 1919: Race, Class, and Labor in the Arkansas Delta. PhD diss., University of WisconsinMilwaukee, 2019. Trauma and Repair: Confronting Segregation and Violence in America. Smith, C. Calvin, ed. brought to you by. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 orcalsfoundation@cals.org. No one even took the time to confirm the number of kills, as if these people were as worthless as termites. One of the largest harbors on an inland waterway was completed in the 1990s, making Helena a hub of industrial development. Whitaker, Robert. 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. To Those Known and Unknown: The Elaine Massacre Memorial. Arkansas Times, August 2019, pp. Historic Theaters of Arkansas - Only In Arkansas Union troops captured the city in July 1862, and had been using it as a base of operations. The Union guns concentrated on this attack and inflicted heavy casualties on it. Red Summer 1919: Tree honoring black victims cut down in alleged crime Black sharecroppers were often exploited in their efforts to collect payment for their cotton crops. Little Rock, AR. [41] Fagan's charge took the first line of Union defenses, but his men started taking fire from Batteries C and D. Minutes after Fagan's men became engaged, Marmaduke's men on the north end of the Confederate line entered the action, driving Union skirmishers back towards Battery A. (Students Tapping Academic Resources for Success) Academy (alternative school), This page was last edited on 26 April 2023, at 19:58. Wingo has a significant record of complaints against him, and fatally shot a man while on duty in Garland County last summer. McCool, B. Boren. The Elaine massacre occurred on September 30-October 2, 1919 at Hoop Spur in the vicinity of Elaine in rural Phillips County, Arkansas. Males had a median income of $27,203 versus $17,250 for females. Anyone can read what you share. Whayne, Jeannie M. Black Farmers in the Red Autumn: A Review Essay. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 68 (Autumn 2009): 327336. Authorities say Wallace and other police officers were looking for Howard, who was wanted on charges in connection to a shooting in Helena-West Helena about a week ago. Cortner, Richard C. A Mob Intent on Death: The NAACP and the Arkansas Riot Cases. After hiding for two days in the woods, the Colemans returned home to find dead bodies of women and children scattered about their community. 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. A shooting incident that occurred at a meeting of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union escalated into mob violence on the part of the white people in Elaineand surrounding areas. The assaults failed, and Vicksburg fell the same day. As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 6,323 people, 2,312 households, and 1,542 families residing in Helena. (WMC) - Areas of Eastern Arkansas are sending more violent offenders to federal court. Historical Events. HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. The white power structure in Phillips County formed a Committee of Seven, made of influential planters, businessmen, and elected officials, to investigate the cause of the disturbances. [8], Helena is located at 343134N 90365W / 34.52611N 90.60139W / 34.52611; -90.60139 (34.526223, 90.601377).[9]. Consequently, plantation owners and lumber mills had to pay higher wages to have the cotton picked or timber milled. [32] Walker's specific orders were to "act against the enemy as circumstances may justify", a vague order that left him under his own initiative and resulted in him accomplishing little in the coming battle. A., Jr.The Elaine Race Riots of 1919. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 19 (Summer 1960): 142150. The white leaders put forward their view that black residents had been about to revolt. Scipio A. Jones. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 31 (Autumn 1972): 201219. They described the wholesale massacre of hundreds of unarmed and defenseless black people, and the torture used to secure confessions. [68], Fagan's men resumed the attack upon hearing the fighting on Graveyard Hill, and drove the 43rd Indiana and part of the 33rd Iowa from the final Union line in front of Battery D, but were unable to take the Battery itself,[69] having been hit by crossfire while maneuvering through a ravine. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. Brough, who had ridden on the train with the troops and accompanied them on a march to the Hoop Spur area. During the 1910 census, my great-great-great-grandfather was listed. [90] Casualties were heaviest among the 33rd Iowa and the 33rd Missouri, while the 2nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment (African Descent) saw the first combat wounds suffered by African American soldiers in Arkansas during the war. [13], Helena, Arkansas is home to historic buildings such as the Sidney H. Horner House and the Centennial Baptist Church. [45], Price's attack had been delayed. In Phillips County, this struggle directly challenged planter dominance. [59] The cannons in Battery C were manned by men from the 33rd Missouri Infantry Regiment, and they, along with a portion of the 33rd Iowa, poured a deadly fire into Parsons' men, while Battery B fired at McRae's brigade. 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. Colonel Jencks sent all of the white women and children to Helena by train, ordered the immediate disarming of everyone and authorized the killing of black insurgents who failed to disarm. These records cover murders, rapes, burglaries, arson, motor vehicle theft, assaults, and crimes of a sexual nature. Ultimately, the Ware defendants were freed by the Arkansas Supreme Court after two terms of court had passed, and the state of Arkansas made no move to re-try the men. Elaine Race Massacre: Red Summer in Arkansas. Holmes planned and executed three different failed attacks on the town. How could anyone treat people with such horrendous disregard and violence? The murders, thefts, violence and terror continued long after the troops had gone and the convicted men had been released. Fort Curtis was not directly attacked at the Battle of Helena since the Confederacy focused its attacks on the outlying batteries. Historian Robert Kerby describes the Confederate plan as "a model of brutal irresponsibility". [22] Although Prentiss was in command of the general district around Helena, the garrison itself was operationally commanded by Brigadier General Frederick Salomon, the commander of the division. Update: Name Released of Man Found Shot to Death on Helena-West Helena [64] The advance up the hill had also thrown the Confederates into disarray. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Helena | Arkansas, United States | Britannica [81] The Union troops had taken advantage of the severe disorganization and scattering of the Confederate forces to take the prisoners. [14], Late on July 3, Fagan sent a patrol commanded by Colonel William H. Brooks to secure the junction of the two roads leading to Little Rock. The trials began the next week, with John Elvis Miller leading the prosecution. They still believe non-whites are a threat to their way of life. Many denied the massacre had occurred, leaving accounts of the slaughter to witnesses, reports from Wells Barnett, and stories passed down through families of the victims. In Little Rock and at the headquarters of the NAACP in New York, efforts began to fight the death sentences handed down in Helena, led in part by Scipio Africanus Jones, the leading black attorney of his era in Arkansas, and Edgar L. McHaney. Telephone lines to Elaine were cut. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. But World War I brought changes to the Delta, as it did in Northern urban centers. The Helena time zone is Central Daylight Time which is 6 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The following morning, Gov. Delta Cultural Center, Helena-West Helena, Arkansas. Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America. The wife of Frank Moore had hidden for four weeks. New York: Crown, 2008. One of the convicted 12 wrote to her from prison, requesting help. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Helena was a deadly encounter. [7], Helena built a reproduction of Fort Curtis in 2012 that is free to the public. Even worse from the planters perspective, the much-feared radical Industrial Workers of the World, or Wobblies, were rumored to be organizing in the fields and mills. ; and in the plantation region of the Arkansas Delta. [57] Confusion was initially caused by the two brigades being separated by a ridge and unable to see each other. During the trials, Murphy became ill, and Jones became the principal counsel. Omissions? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003. Woodruff, Nan Elizabeth. Leaders of the Hoop Spur union had placed armed guards around the church to prevent disruption of their meeting and intelligence gathering by white opponents. Price was to attack the Union center, focusing on Battery C on Graveyard Hill. [54] Walker's men had encountered the felled trees across their path of advance, and though he threw forward a skirmish line, most of his men remained back at the barricades. [25] Prentiss' men had advantages over the Confederates through their defenses, batteries, and naval support. Though accounts of who fired the first shots are in sharp conflict, a shootout in front of the church on the night of September 30, 1919, between the armed black guards around the church and three individuals whose vehicle was parked in front of the church resulted in the death of W. A. Adkins, a white security officer for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad, and the wounding of Charles Pratt, Phillips Countys white deputy sheriff. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. Rogers, O. The. By late November, Jones was working with Murphys firm to save the Elaine Twelve. In a final act of disrespect, they tied her dress over her head and left her body on the side of the road for several days. Magnolia Inn LR. If you can, provide 1-2 sources of information backing up this correction. Eliza Miller Junior High School and Central High School, the designated secondary schools, were in West Helena. In fact, local police were complicit in the killing of untold numbers of African-Americans. 14 Best Things to Do in Helena-West Helena (Arkansas) The purpose of the meeting, one of several by black sharecroppers in the Elaine area during the previous months, was to obtain better payments for their cotton crops from the white plantation owners who dominated the area during the Jim Crow era. [70] Fagan's lines had been badly thinned by not only Union fire but also heat and exhaustion. These 15 Photos Of Arkansas In The 1960s Are Mesmerizing At least two historians, including myself, have settled on a reasonable estimate of 200, recognizing that the toll was most likely far greater. On September 29, 2019, a memorial to those who died during the massacre was dedicated in downtown Helena-West Helena. HELENA WEST HELENA, Ark. [85] Walker's withdrawal occurred at about 2:00 pm. New York: Anchor Books, 1967. (WMC) - Arkansas State Police were on the scene of a homicide investigation Tuesday night in Helena-West Helena. As they ran from the posse, the Colemans saw his neighbor, Jim Miller, and his family burned alive in their house. The Helena-West Helena Police Department says the body of Fredrick Willis, 23, of Helena-West Helena, was found late Tuesday evening. The violence occurred not only in the more familiar urban centers of Chicago and Washington, but also in the hinterlands of Omaha; Charleston, S.C.; Longview, Tex. White attorneys from Helena were appointed by Circuit Judge J. M. Jackson to represent the first twelve black men to go to trial. Men and women migrated to Northern factories or joined the military, creating a labor shortage in the cotton fields and lumber mills. Hostility toward him was so great from local white residents that, out of fear for his life, he was said to sleep at a different black familys house every night during the trials. Workers also had to buy food, clothing, household wares, tools, seed and fertilizer at the plantation commissary, which charged exorbitant interest rates. Facebook/Historic Arkansas Facts and Photos. The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. For the next five years, the cases of the Elaine Twelve were mired in litigation as Murphy and Jones fought to save the men from death. The Battle of Helena was fought on July 4, 1863, near Helena, Arkansas, during the American Civil War. The converging attack would be difficult, and the generals interpreted Holmes' order to begin the attack at "daylight" differently. On October 31, 1919, the Phillips County grand jury charged 122 African Americans with crimes stemming from the racial disturbances. This was a . Low Villains and Wickedness in High Places: Race and Class in the Elaine Riots. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 58 (Autumn 1999): 285313. There she interviewed the 12 prisoners accused of murder, their wives, and many others, publishing her findings in a 1920 pamphlet. For every 100 females, there were 83.3 males. My anger comes from this being hidden/erased from history like the lives that were taken that day. [8] He thought the attack would be too costly, and instead suggested placing an artillery battery along the Mississippi river to intercept Union shipping. As a result, sixty-five others quickly entered plea-bargains and accepted sentences of up to twenty-one years for second-degree murder. There is no danger of any lynching. Phillips County Arrest, Court, and Public Records | StateRecords.org Give a donation in someones name to mark a special occasion, honor a friend or colleague or remember a beloved family member. 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. They ushered her out the door." Helena-West Helena Police confirmed they were called to the Walmart Thursday just after noon to a report of a subject having a. [24] The Union garrison would face the coming attack with 4,129 men. Central Arkansas Library System, Little Rock, Arkansas. Helena, city, seat (1830) of Phillips county, eastern Arkansas, U.S., port of the Mississippi River, about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Memphis, Tennessee, and adjacent to the city of West Helena. To be released, the men would have to plead guilty to second-degree murder and a sentence of five years from the date they were first incarcerated in the Arkansas State Penitentiary. Peacock, Leslie Newell. The Underlying Causes of the Elaine Riot of 1919. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 20 (Spring 1961): 95104. [33] Holmes made a pledge that he would take personally responsibility for the results of the assault if it failed. Crime fighting efforts in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas are getting a big boost from the federal government. Updated: Aug. 19, 2020 at 8:40 AM PDT. Helena-West Helena mayor explains how town got $1 million grant to [46] Obstructions on the line of approach also disorganized Price's ranks. J. [21] Walker lost only 12 men; historian Mark Christ attributes this to the weakness of his attack. Seventy-nine-year-old Ed Coleman had remained at home with his wife when people fleeing Hoop Spur came to his house and warned them to leave. The Forgotten History of Americas Worst Racial Massacre, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/opinion/elaine-massacre-1919-arkansas.html. Brough once again stayed their executions until the Arkansas Supreme Court could again review the cases. 5. [37] The felled trees slowed Fagan's main attack,[38] which was on the Upper Little Rock Road,[39] and forced the Confederates to leave their supply wagons and cannons behind. The Battle of Helena was fought on July 4, 1863, near Helena, Arkansas, during the American Civil War. [56], Around the time Fagan's men approached Battery D at 7:00 am, Price's attack began. On September 10, Union troops took Little Rock. Women received domestic allotment checks from men in the military, giving them cash beyond the control of planters. 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. Helena, city, seat (1830) of Phillips county, eastern Arkansas, U.S., port of the Mississippi River, about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Memphis, Tennessee, and adjacent to the city of West Helena. The confessions of the black men had been secured through torture. She was able to go one way. [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. . Helena is the birthplace of many notable people including prominent African Americans and Arkansas' former senior United States senator, Blanche Lincoln.
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