Colfax massacre facts for kids

Historical marker in Colfax. Erected in 1950, the marker was removed in May 2021 due to biased language (it uses the euphemism "riot" and celebrates the massacre as "the end of carpetbag misrule in the South.")

The Colfax massacre happened on Easter Sunday, April 13, 1873. It took place in Colfax, Louisiana, which is the main town of Grant Parish. During this event, a large group of white men attacked black militia members. Between 62 and 153 black men were killed after they had surrendered. Three white men also died in the fighting.

This terrible event happened after a very close and disputed election in Louisiana in 1872. A group of white men, some of whom were former soldiers from the Confederate Army and members of the Ku Klux Klan, used rifles and a small cannon. They attacked black freedmen (formerly enslaved people) and state militia members who were protecting the local courthouse in Colfax. Most of the black men were killed after they gave up. About 50 more were killed later that night while they were being held as prisoners. It was hard to count all the black victims because many bodies were thrown into the Red River.

Historians like Eric Foner say the Colfax massacre was the worst act of racial violence during the Reconstruction Era. This was a time after the American Civil War when the Southern states were being rebuilt. The event showed how much violence and cheating happened in Louisiana elections during this period.

After the massacre, some of the attackers were put on trial by the federal government. However, the Supreme Court later made a ruling in a case called United States v. Cruikshank (1876). This ruling said that the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects people's rights, only applied to actions by state governments, not to actions by individuals. This made it harder for the federal government to stop groups like the White League from using violence. These groups used threats and killings to stop black people from voting. This helped the Democratic Party regain power in Louisiana.

Today, historians are looking closely at the Colfax massacre again. They want to understand its importance in American history.

Why Did This Happen?

Louisiana's Difficult Times

After the Civil War, Louisiana faced many challenges. In 1865, James Madison Wells became governor. The state government, mostly Democrats, passed "Black Codes." These laws limited the rights of freedmen. Governor Wells then wanted to let black people vote and stop former Confederates from voting for a while.

In 1866, a terrible event called the New Orleans Massacre happened. White Democrats attacked black people who were marching to support a new state constitution. Many black people were killed or hurt. This violence made people across the country angry. It led to the election of a Republican-majority Congress.

This Congress passed important laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1866. They also passed the Reconstruction Act in 1867. This law said that Southern states had to let black men vote. They also had to agree to the Fourteenth Amendment to rejoin the United States.

Trouble in Grant Parish

The Colfax massacre happened in Grant Parish. This area was a mix of large farms and smaller family farms. Before the war, many African Americans worked as enslaved people on these large farms.

A powerful farmer named William Smith Calhoun supported black political rights. He helped black people in the area organize and vote for the Republican Party. In the 1868 election, Calhoun helped many black freedmen vote. The Republicans won many votes. However, white Democrats threw the ballot box into the Red River. They then claimed they had won.

Violence also happened during this election. A black Republican election worker, Hal Frazier, was murdered by white men. Because of these problems, a new area called Grant Parish was created. This new parish had more black voters, which Republicans hoped would give them more political power.

Fighting Against the Klan

After Ulysses S. Grant became President in 1869, he worked to pass the Fifteenth Amendment. This law gave black men the right to vote. However, groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) continued to attack and kill black people in many Southern states.

To stop this violence, Congress passed the Enforcement Act in 1870. This law made it illegal for groups to violate citizens' rights. In 1871, they passed the Ku Klux Klan Act. President Grant used this law to send federal troops to states where the Klan was very active.

The 1872 Louisiana Election

The 1872 election for governor in Louisiana was very confusing and led to much conflict. The Republican governor, Henry Clay Warmoth, supported a different group of Republicans and Democrats. This group nominated John McEnery as governor.

Another group of Republicans supported William Pitt Kellogg. When the votes were counted, both sides claimed their candidate won. This led to two different governments trying to run Louisiana at the same time.

A federal judge in New Orleans ordered that Kellogg and the Republican lawmakers should take office. This decision was very controversial. Many people, even some Republicans, thought it was wrong for a federal judge to get involved in a state election.

In Grant Parish, the election was also full of problems. Democrats tried to make it hard for black people to register to vote. They also changed voting locations without telling black voters. Even with these efforts, black voters still outnumbered white voters in Grant Parish.

The Democratic candidates, Alphonse Cazabat and Christopher Columbus Nash, took control of the Colfax courthouse in January 1873. But the Republican candidates, Robert C. Register and Daniel Wesley Shaw, also claimed to be the rightful officials. In March, the Republicans took over the empty courthouse.

The Colfax Courthouse Conflict

Tensions Rise

Black people in Colfax worried that Democrats would try to take over the local government. So, they dug trenches around the courthouse and practiced drills to be ready. Republican officials stayed in the courthouse overnight to protect it. They held the town for three weeks.

On March 28, white Fusionists (a mix of Liberal Republicans and Democrats) like Nash and Cazabat called for armed white men to retake the courthouse. They gathered men from nearby areas. In response, Republicans like Shaw and Register gathered armed black men to defend the courthouse.

There were some small fights with gunfire on April 2 and April 5, but no one was hurt. The two sides tried to talk about peace. But peace ended when a white man shot and killed a black bystander named Jesse McKinney. Another fight on April 6 ended with white men running away from armed black men. Because of all the trouble, black women and children also came to the courthouse for safety.

William Ward, a black Union Army veteran and leader of the state militia in Grant Parish, was elected as a state representative. He tried to get help from Governor Kellogg in New Orleans. But on his way, he was captured by white men. They told him to tell the black defenders to leave the courthouse.

The black defenders refused to leave. Nash, the white sheriff, spread false rumors that black people were planning to kill white men and take white women. This made more white men from the area join Nash's group. They even got a small cannon. One white man said, "Boys, this is a struggle for white supremacy."

The Massacre at Colfax

The Attack Begins

On Easter Sunday, April 13, Nash led over 300 armed white men, mostly on horseback. They were armed with rifles. Nash told the people defending the courthouse to leave. When they didn't, he gave the women and children thirty minutes to get away. After they left, the shooting started.

The fighting went on for several hours. When Nash's group moved their cannon behind the courthouse, some of the defenders panicked and ran away. About 60 defenders ran into the woods and jumped into the river. Nash sent men on horseback after them, and most were killed.

Then, Nash's group made a black captive set the courthouse roof on fire. The defenders inside showed white flags to surrender. The shooting stopped.

After the Surrender

Nash's group came closer and told those surrendering to drop their weapons and come out. What happened next is debated. Some white reports say a white man named James Hadnot was shot by someone from the courthouse. Black people said that Hadnot was shot by one of his own men by mistake. Hadnot later died.

After Hadnot was shot, the white group reacted with mass killings of the black men. Many more black people died than white people, which is why historians call it a massacre. The white group killed unarmed men hiding in the courthouse. They chased and killed those trying to run away. Some bodies were thrown into the Red River.

About 50 black men survived the afternoon and were taken prisoner. But later that night, they were killed by their captors. Only one black man from this group, Levi Nelson, survived. He was shot but managed to crawl away. He later told the government what happened.

Finding the Dead

Governor Kellogg sent state militia officers to Colfax. They found the courthouse burned and many bodies of men who had been shot in the back of the head or neck. Black survivors told them that white Democrats had attacked them for trying to protect the election.

Federal troops arrived a few days later. They looked for the white attackers, but many had already run away. The officers reported that three white men and 105 black men had died. They also found 15-20 unidentified black bodies in the river. They noted how brutal many of the killings were.

The exact number of dead black men was never fully known. Some reports said 62, others said at least 105. A historical marker from 1950 said three white men and 150 black men died.

Historian Eric Foner said the Colfax massacre was the "bloodiest single instance of racial carnage in the Reconstruction era." He said it showed how far some people would go to regain power.

What Happened Next?

The Court Case

The massacre in Colfax was reported in newspapers across the country. The U.S. Attorney, James Roswell Beckwith, tried to bring the attackers to justice. A total of 97 men were accused, and nine were put on trial. They were charged with murder and conspiring against the rights of freedmen.

In 1874, three men were found guilty. However, the judge, Joseph Bradley from the Supreme Court, dismissed the convictions. He said the charges were not correct or clear enough. He ordered the men to be released on bail, and they disappeared.

The federal government appealed the case to the Supreme Court. In the case of United States v. Cruikshank (1875), the Supreme Court ruled that the law used to charge the men only applied to actions by the state government, not to actions by individuals or private groups. This meant the federal government could not prosecute cases like the Colfax killings.

Because of this ruling, the federal government could no longer stop private groups from attacking black people. Louisiana did not prosecute any of the white attackers. Most Southern states would not prosecute white men for attacks against freedmen.

Rise of Paramilitary Groups

The Colfax Massacre and the Supreme Court ruling encouraged the growth of white paramilitary groups. In May 1874, Nash formed the first chapter of the White League. This group was different from the KKK because they operated openly. One historian called them "the military arm of the Democratic Party." Other groups like the Red Shirts also appeared.

These groups used violence and murder to scare black leaders and white Republicans. They also stopped black people from voting in the 1870s. Black citizens had little protection. This violence helped white Democrats gain control of the state government in the 1876 elections. It also helped end Reconstruction in Louisiana.

Remembering Colfax

“Liberty Monument”, a piece of pottery created in 1873 by white artists Wallace and Cornwall Kirkpatrick. It shows Lady Liberty, the Colfax massacre, and criticizes a politician named Schuyler Colfax. This photo was taken in 2022 at the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library.

The Colfax massacre was a very important event in American history. But for many years, it was not widely known. The original courthouse was torn down, and a new one was built. It has been hard to create a memorial because the exact burial sites of the victims are not known.

In 1920, a monument was put up in Colfax Cemetery to remember the three white men who died. It says they "fell in the Colfax Riot fighting for White Supremacy."

In 1950, Louisiana put up a state highway marker calling the event the "Colfax Riot." It said that three white men and 150 black men were killed. It also said the event "marked the end of carpetbag misrule in the South." This marker was removed in May 2021 because its language was biased. It will be placed in a museum.

New Attention to History

In recent years, people have started paying more attention to the Colfax massacre. New books have been written about it, like Leeanna Keith's The Colfax Massacre and Charles Lane's The Day Freedom Died. These books explore the history and the legal impact of the Supreme Court case. A film documentary is also being made.

In 2007, a group called the Red River Heritage Association was formed. They want to create a museum in Colfax to tell the story of Reconstruction in Louisiana.

In 2008, on the 135th anniversary of the massacre, people from different backgrounds came together to remember the event. They laid flowers and discussed its history. The removal of the biased historical marker in 2021 shows a continued effort to tell the full and accurate story of the Colfax massacre.

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See also

In Spanish: Masacre de Colfax para niños