The White League, also known as the White Man's League,
was a white
paramilitary terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
organization started in the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
in 1874 to intimidate
freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom ...
into not voting and prevent
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
* Republican Party (Liberia)
*Republican Party ...
political organizing. Its first chapter was formed in
Grant Parish, Louisiana, and neighboring parishes and was made up of many of the
Confederate veterans who had participated in the
Colfax massacre in April 1873. Chapters were soon founded in
and other areas of the state.
Members of the White League were absorbed into the state militias and the
National Guard.
History
Although sometimes linked to the secret vigilante groups the
Ku Klux Klan and
Knights of the White Camelia, the White League and other paramilitary groups of the later 1870s marked a significant change.
They operated openly in communities, solicited coverage from newspapers, and the men's identities were generally known. Similar paramilitary groups were chapters of the
Red Shirts, started in
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
in 1875 and active also in
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
and
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
. They had explicit political goals to overthrow the Reconstruction government. They directed their activities toward intimidation and removal of
Northern
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a r ...
and African American
Republican candidates and officeholders. Made up of well-armed
Confederate veterans, they worked to turn Republicans out of office, disrupt their political organizing, and use force to intimidate and terrorize
freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom ...
to keep them from the polls. Backers helped finance purchases of up-to-date arms:
Winchester rifles
Winchester rifle is a comprehensive term describing a series of lever action repeating rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Developed from the 1860 Henry rifle, Winchester rifles were among the earliest repeaters. The M ...
,
Colt revolvers and
Prussian needle gun
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
s.
[ Nicholas Lemann, ''Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War'', New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007, pp.70–76]
Some sources charge the White League with culpability for the
Colfax Massacre of 1873, but the organization was not established under that name until March 1874.
Christopher Columbus Nash, a Confederate veteran, former
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of ...
at
Johnson's Island in
Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
, and the former sheriff of Grant Parish, led companies of white
militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
at
Colfax to oust Republican officeholders and African Americans defending the courthouse; his forces murdered up to 150 African Americans in the Colfax Massacre, an event in which three white men were killed, one possibly by friendly fire.
The first unit of the White League, founded in 1874, was composed of members of Nash's force, mostly Confederate veterans who had participated in the Colfax Massacre. It expressed its purpose to defend a "hereditary civilization and Christianity menaced by a stupid Africanization."
In 1874, White League members murdered
Julie Hayden, a 17-year-old African American girl who was working as a schoolteacher in
Hartsville, Tennessee.
[
In his December 1874 State of the Union address, U.S. President ]Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
expressed disdain over the White League's activities, condemning them for their violence and for violating the civil rights of freedmen:
The Coushatta massacre occurred in another Red River parish: the local White League forced six Republican officeholders to resign and promise to leave the state. The League assassinated the men before they left the parish, together with between five and twenty freedmen (sources differ) who were witnesses. Generally in remote areas, the White League's show of force and outright murders always overcame opposition. They were Confederate veterans, experienced and well armed.
Later in 1874, the New Orleans Metropolitan Police, established as a state militia by the Republican governor, attempted to intercept a shipment of arms to the League. The League had entered the city to try to take over state government, in the aftermath of the disputed 1872 gubernatorial election. In the subsequent Battle of Liberty Place
The Battle of Liberty Place, or Battle of Canal Street, was an attempted insurrection and coup d'etat by the Crescent City White League against the Reconstruction Era Louisiana Republican state government on September 14, 1874, in New Orleans ...
on September 14, 1874, 5,000 members of the White League routed 3,500 police and state militia to turn out the Republican governor. They demanded the resignation of Governor William Pitt Kellogg in favor of John McEnery
John McEnery (1 November 1943 – 12 April 2019) was an English actor and writer.
Born in Birmingham, he trained (1962–1964) at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, playing, among others, Mosca in Ben Jonson's ''Volpone'' and Gaveston ...
, the Democratic candidate. Kellogg refused and the White League briefly fought a battle resulting in 100 casualties. They took over and controlled the State House, City Hall and arsenal for three days, withdrawing just ahead of Federal troops and ships' arriving to reinforce the government. Kellogg had requested aid from U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant; once the troops arrived, he was restored to office.
President Grant sent additional troops within a month in another effort to try to pacify the Red River valley in northern Louisiana. It had been plagued by violence, including the massacres at Colfax in 1873 and Coushatta in 1874. The White League was effective; voting by Republicans decreased and Democrats regained control of the state legislature in 1876.
Legacy
A Battle of Liberty Place Monument was erected in New Orleans in 1891. In December 2016, the city council voted to remove the monument, and its removal was upheld by a federal appeals court in March 2017.
See also
* History of New Orleans
* Redeemers
Citations
References
*
{{Authority control
Neo-Confederate organizations
Paramilitary organizations based in the United States
Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant
History of Louisiana
Organizations established in 1874
1874 establishments in Louisiana
Organizations disestablished in 1876
1876 disestablishments in Louisiana
Factions in the Democratic Party (United States)
Reconstruction Era
Right-wing militia organizations in the United States
African-American history of Louisiana
History of racism in Louisiana