what happened to helena, arkansas

Major funding provided by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. [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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. [88] The historian Ed Bearss reports Union losses as 57 killed, 146 wounded, and 36 missing for a total of 239,[89] and historian Thomas W. Cutrer provides the same figures as Bearss. 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. Pascal, Olivia. Marmaduke followed up the bombardment with an attack against Battery A, but fog that had concealed the advance dissipated and the attack was repulsed by the 29th Iowa, who mounted a counterattack. In their view a deliberately planned insurrection had occurred, where black sharecroppers had intended to murder the plantation owners to seize the land. 100 years after hundreds of African Americans were reportedly killed in Elaine, Arkansas, a memorial is set to bring details of the tragedy to light Some observers say the number of people who. [21], The Union troops in Helena were commanded by Major General Benjamin Prentiss and consisted of the Thirteenth Division of the XIII Corps. Watson was but one of 97 Black people lynched in Arkansas in the decade spanning 1891 to 1900 93 males and 4 females. The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. [69][b], With Price's men shredded, Fagan's men exhausted, and the cavalry not making any progress, Holmes decided to order a withdrawal at 10:30 am. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. Carrying an ax with their guns, they then moved to another home, where they murdered yet another union member, Frances Hall. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [75] Price then ordered Parsons to attack Battery D, but was informed that McRae had already been ordered to do that. ; and in the plantation region of the Arkansas Delta. The obligations of the past weigh heavily upon the present. He began moving towards Jacksonport and met Major General Sterling Price and Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke on June 18. [4] After, a loss of rail service in early 2015, a successful effort was launched by the Helena-West Helena/Phillips County Port Authority to have freight service restored. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. A steel gondola car was hauled back and forth on the railroad track, he said, adding, the men inside firing from the shelter of the steel walls of the car, shooting black people. Evidence shows that the mobs of whites slaughtered African Americans in and around Elaine. Hundreds of black citizens were killed in Elaine, Ark., a century ago this week. 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. [15] Moving through swamps resulted in the loss of many accompanying animals and wagons. With the success of the Russian Revolution, stopping the spread of international communism was seen as the duty of all loyal Americans. Further Reading: Richard C. Courtner, A Mob Intent on Death: The N.A.A.C.P. At 11 p.m., a band of white men shot into the church. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Corrections? Within days of the initial shoot-out, 285 African Americans were taken from the temporary stockades to the jail in Helena, the county seat, although the jail had space for only forty-eight. Wormser, Richard, director. By late November, Jones was working with Murphys firm to save the Elaine Twelve. As you know, our black history is very limited in some areas. The Elaine Riot of 1919: Race, Class, and Labor in the Arkansas Delta. PhD diss., University of WisconsinMilwaukee, 2019. Blood in Their Eyes: The Elaine Massacre of 1919. Despite dawn beginning to be visible in the sky, Price misunderstood Holmes' order to attack at daylight and held back his troops, until Holmes came over to explain his orders. Many wept as they told of murder, land theft, forced migration and the legacies of living in a region where fear of retribution silenced people over generations. More atrocities were later reported, including cutting souvenirs from black bodies and . When he returned home, 150 men came to ransack his house, seizing his union meeting minutes and his Masonic lodge books. (WMC) - Areas of Eastern Arkansas are sending more violent offenders to federal court. [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. 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. Historical Events. Stockley, Grif, Brian K. Mitchell, and Guy Lancaster. The CALS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. 2023 Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Soon, word spread that blacks were attacking whites in Elaine. . Additional support provided by the Arkansas General Assembly. [56], Around the time Fagan's men approached Battery D at 7:00 am, Price's attack began. But officials have not released exactly what happened. Paul Hall was one of the twelve men who were slated to be electrocuted, and I believe he was my relative. Two Narratives: How a 1919 Massacre Tore Elaine, Ark., Apart. Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, November 15, 2021. https://lynching.cnsmaryland.org/2021/11/14/two-narratives-how-a-1919-massacre-tore-elaine-ark-apart/ (accessed August 16, 2022). Fort Curtis was not directly attacked at the Battle of Helena since the Confederacy focused its attacks on the outlying batteries. 0:00. Online at https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2040/ (accessed November 9, 2022). Online at https://archive.org/details/TheArkansasRaceRiot (accessed August 16, 2022). [46] Obstructions on the line of approach also disorganized Price's ranks. Special thanks to the Department of Arkansas Heritage. These records cover murders, rapes, burglaries, arson, motor vehicle theft, assaults, and crimes of a sexual nature. Brough once again stayed their executions until the Arkansas Supreme Court could again review the cases. The Helena time zone is Central Daylight Time which is 6 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). 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. Since Prentiss was aware of a coming attack, the Confederates would not have the advantage of surprise. All Rights Reserved. [11] Holmes would accompany the attack. New York: Pegasus Books, 2020. 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. [21] Walker lost only 12 men; historian Mark Christ attributes this to the weakness of his attack. She had been driven from her home in Memphis to Chicago because of her activism. By early morning Oct. 1, the sheriff sent white veterans from the American Legion post to suppress what he deemed an insurrection. [78] Including the men of the 37th Arkansas, about 250 Confederates surrendered in Fagan's sector. Dunaway, L. S. What A Preacher Saw Through a Keyhole in Arkansas. The confessions of the black men had been secured through torture. [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. Although the posse encountered minimal resistance from the black residents of the area around Elaine, the fear of African Americans, who outnumbered whites in this area of Phillips County by a ratio of ten to one, led an estimated 500 to 1,000 armed white peoplemostly from the surrounding Arkansas counties but also from across the river in Mississippito travel to Elaine to put down what was characterized by them as an insurrection. On October 1, Phillips County authorities sent three telegrams to Gov. At least two historians, including myself, have settled on a reasonable estimate of 200, recognizing that the toll was most likely far greater. The trials began the next week, with John Elvis Miller leading the prosecution. [98] The Confederate repulse at Helena had preserved the Union bridgehead in eastern Arkansas, and had parried an attempt to break Union control of the Mississippi River. A defensive position known as Fort Curtis already existed to the west of Helena, but four new batteries, named with the letters A, B, C, and D, were ordered built. As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 6,323 people, 2,312 households, and 1,542 families residing in Helena. [25] Prentiss' men had advantages over the Confederates through their defenses, batteries, and naval support. 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. They secured new trials for six of the men, known as the Ware defendants, based on the fact that the trial judge had not required jurors to indicate the degree of murder on their ballot forms.The convictions of the other six men, known as the Moore defendants, were affirmed. 2431. There were 1,636 Confederate casualties and 205 Union casualties.[6]. Enraged citizens fired at the bodies of the dead negroes as they rode out of Helena toward Elaine.. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2020. Holmes planned and executed three different failed attacks on the town. Pierce, Michael, and Calvin White, eds. [60] The failure of the attacks on Batteries A and D allowed those positions to fire on Price's men, and Tyler and Fort Curtis added artillery fire as well;[61] Tyler had moved to a different location that allowed for better fire on Graveyard Hill after suppressing Brooks' men. To the north, Confederate cavalry commanded by Brigadier Generals John S. Marmaduke and Lucius M. Walker failed to act in concert and accomplished little. [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. He was elderly and handicapped, and ran too slowly. 0:36. Families of union members found no welcome when they returned to their homes. 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. The city was a Union supply depot during the American Civil War, and the Battle of Helena (July 4, 1863) was a futile attempt by the Confederates to capture it. Local officials and businessmen conducted their own investigation of what had transpired in the Elaine area. 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). Krug, Teresa. During the trials, Murphy became ill, and Jones became the principal counsel. He returned to Little Rock the next day and told a press conference, The situation at Elaine has been well handled and is absolutely under control. [86] Prentiss claimed the capture of more than 1,100 Confederate soldiers and stated that over 300 dead Confederates were buried by Union troops. 100 Rock Street Animal rescue groups from across the country are converging on the Humane Society of the Delta in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, faced with the challenge of evaluating . On the Laps of Gods: The Red Summer of 1919 and the Struggle for Justice that Remade a Nation. 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. School children are now bused to Marvell 30 minutes north. [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. The assaults failed, and Vicksburg fell the same day. [69] Believing a full-fledged attack to be a suicide charge, McRae had his men simply fire on the rifle pits in hopes of diverting attention away from Fagan's command. The Confederates withdrew on July 4 of 1863. Rev. 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. - Police in Helena-West Helena are investigating a deadly shooting that happened on Friday night. Honor or memorial gifts are an everlasting way to pay tribute to someone who has touched your life. Consequently, plantation owners and lumber mills had to pay higher wages to have the cotton picked or timber milled. So sad. Stopford, Annie. 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. They produced a predictable narrative that resembled those dating back to slavery. 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. I know for a fact my fathers people were involved in the Elaine Riot. Confident that a single regiment could hold off Walker, Salomon pulled the 1st Indiana Cavalry towards Fort Curtis and a new line was formed in that vicinity using the Indiana cavalrymen and parts of the 33rd Iowa, 33rd Missouri, and 35th Missouri. Details remain difficult to verify. In Phillips County, this struggle directly challenged planter dominance. [16] Holmes and Fagan reached Clarendon on June 26. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. They shot him and left him to die. The Forgotten History of Americas Worst Racial Massacre, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/opinion/elaine-massacre-1919-arkansas.html. Barry, John M. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America. One of the largest harbors on an inland waterway was completed in the 1990s, making Helena a hub of industrial development. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.5 males. For additional information: Anthony, Steven. What is certain is that the massacre cast a long shadow for decades, with fear of reprisals silencing those who witnessed and survived the terror. Washington is where we met. [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. The research below is a comprehensive historical analysis of every major league baseball player born in Arkansas. Williams, Lee E., and Lee E. Williams II. Details remain difficult to verify. [34] To protect Fagan's flank, Brooks' men were sent up the Lower Little Rock Road at around 1:30 am;[35] the detachment opened the battle in the early dawn by clashing with Union pickets. He also told how soldiers brought a suspected union leader to his company store for interrogation, poured kerosene over his body and tossed a match. The committees narrative appeared in newspapers all over the country. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003. During the 1910 census, my great-great-great-grandfather was listed. Arkansas governor Charles Hillman Brough told a St. Louis, Missouri, audience during the war that there existed no twilight zone in American patriotism and called Wisconsin senator Robert LaFollete, who opposed the war, a Bolshevik leader. [85] Walker's withdrawal occurred at about 2:00 pm. These are the same people who dont understand why African Americans choose Black Lives Matter as a valid starting point. The fear is instilled by people who continue to voice the hatred of slave owners of 257 years ago and they dont see it as the source of belligerent race rations. [1] The American Civil War began on April 12, when Confederate troops bombarded Fort Sumter. 72201. Little Rock, AR. 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. One union member, Ed Ware, told her that men had fired into the Hoop Spur church, killing several people, then burned it down the next day with bodies inside. Race, Labor, and Violence in the Delta: Essays to Mark the Centennial of the Elaine Massacre. Black people were thus blamed, sentenced and jailed for their own massacre. Read our Privacy Policy. Two white members of the Phillips County posse, T. K. Jones and H. F. Smiddy, stated in sworn affidavits in 1921 that they committed acts of torture at the Phillips County jail and named others who had also participated in the torture. [73] Holmes ordered the 8th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Burns') to attack Fort Curtis,[66] but upon seeing the regiment charge, the rest of Parsons' men joined in, believing a general attack was beginning. ed. Upset about unfair low wages, they enlisted the help. Elaine: A Premeditated Massacre. MA thesis, Southern New Hampshire University, 2022. 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. HELENA WEST HELENA, Ark. On Oct. 31, a grand jury indicted 122 black men and women for offenses ranging from murder to night riding. Gov. A Union counterattack retook the hill and captured many prisoners,[79] with over 350 prisoners taken on Graveyard Hill alone. Union, Reaction, and Riot: The Biography of a Rural Race Riot. Ellis, Mark. Memphis: Memphis State University Press, 1970. [99], Helena was reinforced and in mid-August, Union forces began a campaign against Little Rock, with Helena as the staging ground. News also reached the Union forces at Helena of a major Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. [24][28] Prentiss also cancelled a planned celebration of the Fourth of July as a precaution,[19] and ordered the roads into town barricaded with felled trees. One of the convicted 12 wrote to her from prison, requesting help. From Race Riot to Sit-in: 1919 to the 1960s. [29] Remembering the surprise suffered by men under his command in the earlier Battle of Shiloh, Prentiss ordered reveille blown daily at 2 am. They stole Wares cow, two mules, one horse, a farm wagon, his Ford car and various household goods. Lancaster, Guy, ed. In the last nine months, Elaine's last grocery store and restaurant closed. Central Arkansas Library System, Little Rock, Arkansas. Americans have yet to reckon with this horrible past. 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. A conference on the matter in Helena in 2000 resulted in no closure for the people in Phillips County. Brough, requesting that U.S. troops be sent to Elaine. Arkansas Residents Make a Case for Reparations 100 Years after the Elaine Massacre. American Prospect, September 30, 2019. https://prospect.org/justice/arkansas-reparations-elaine-race-massacre/ (accessed August 16, 2022). Waskow, Arthur I. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 orcalsfoundation@cals.org. The 1919 cotton crop was the most profitable in history and they stood to make a good amount of money. New York: St. Martins, 2011. Colonel Jenckss report of his mission supported this view, claiming only two black people and one of his corporals had died. Ms. Wells Barnett gathered testimonies that described the sheer horror of the massacre from those who endured and lived to tell their stories. The Confederates charged Fort Curtis in their last attack, but the heavy artillery inside kept the attack from reaching the fort. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1988. Black guards returned the fire, killing a white agent of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. [70] Fagan's lines had been badly thinned by not only Union fire but also heat and exhaustion. Others had their charges dismissed or ultimately were not prosecuted. Smith, a 1980 graduate of Helena-West Helena Central High School, graduated from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., in 1984. News of the shooting quickly reached the county seat of Helena. My anger comes from this being hidden/erased from history like the lives that were taken that day. Low Villains and Wickedness in High Places: Race and Class in the Elaine Riots. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 58 (Autumn 1999): 285313. Union troops captured the city in July 1862, and had been using it as a base of operations. No one even took the time to confirm the number of kills, as if these people were as worthless as termites. 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 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. But World War I brought changes to the Delta, as it did in Northern urban centers. [36] Brooks' Confederates also encountered a camp of African-American refugees. Additional support provided by the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation Inc. The median age was 32 years. McRae sent about 200 men to attack the battery, but they were unsuccessful. Troops and vigilantes, he noted, went into the canebrakes in search of negro desperadoes, leaving dead bodies lying in the road a few miles outside of the city. [44] Brooks' men became disorganized and did not reform until 8:00 am. It was effectively an invasion. There were 2,710 housing units at an average density of 304.6 per square mile (117.6/km2). Founded in 1871, the Helena World is one of Arkansas' oldest newspapers. On November 5, 2019, the Elaine Twelve were memorialized on the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail in Little Rock. After Marmaduke's withdrawal, Union troops attempted to attack Walker's flank, but the Confederate cavalrymen withdrew from the field before they were caught. [78] About 100 men remained behind on the hill, pinned down by Union fire. Local authorities blocked press coverage. The military placed several hundred African Americans in makeshift stockades until they could be questioned and vouched for by their white employers. The City of Helena is located in Phillips County in the State of Arkansas. HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. Helena was defended by about 4,100 Union troops led by Major General Benjamin Prentiss, manning one fort and four batteries. Collins, Ann V. All Hell Broke Loose: American Race Riots from the Progressive Era through World War II. Marking a Tragedy. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, September 29, 2019, pp. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997. The Underlying Causes of the Elaine Riot of 1919. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 20 (Spring 1961): 95104. If Elaine residents need something, they must drive to Helena, 30 minutes away - past silver metal silos with angled tops, modest one-story houses, John Deere tractors and the Lake View community, where a number of trailers and motor homes are parked along Old . Grif Stockley It is impossible to establish an accurate death toll. 10. There, in the early fall of 1919, a different struggle for democracy was taking place. That was 97 years ago but little has changed in the hearts of people. In 1811 the steamboat New Orleans called there, opening a prosperous era of river traffic. The main attack broke through Battery C, but Union troops fended off the attackers and sealed the breach.

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