Further Deep South states seceded early in the next year, forming the Confederate States of America. Inc. town, 1833; city, 1856. Thrown into this highly combustible mix was the return to the United States of black soldiers who often exhibited a less submissive attitude within the Jim Crow society around them. In their view a deliberately planned insurrection had occurred, where black sharecroppers had intended to murder the plantation owners to seize the land. She had been driven from her home in Memphis to Chicago because of her activism. Courageously, she dressed up as a sharecropper and went to Arkansas. Pop. Many families described how they had run into the woods for safety from bloodthirsty mobs, hoping to surrender themselves to the federal troops for safety. Encyclopedia of Arkansas 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. Wingo has a significant record of complaints against him, and fatally shot a man while on duty in Garland County last summer. The charges ranged from murder to nightriding, a charge akin to terroristic threatening (as defined by Act 112 of 1909). Black guards returned the fire, killing a white agent of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. A couple in Garland County is suing Officer Ryan Wingo in Garland. As many as several hundred African Americans and five white men were killed. [21] Walker lost only 12 men; historian Mark Christ attributes this to the weakness of his attack. On November 5, 2019, the Elaine Twelve were memorialized on the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail in Little Rock. 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. [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. (Union leader Robert Lee Hill was hidden by friends during the violence and later escaped to Kansas.) 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. [31], On July 3, Holmes, Price, Walker, Fagan, and Marmaduke gathered to formulate the plan of assault. Ms. Wells Barnett gathered testimonies that described the sheer horror of the massacre from those who endured and lived to tell their stories. He was elderly and handicapped, and ran too slowly. Williams, Lee E., and Lee E. Williams II. On November 5, 2019, the Elaine Twelve were memorialized on the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail in Little Rock. The Elaine Massacre was by far the deadliest racial confrontation in Arkansas history and possibly the bloodiest racial conflict in the history of the United States. Robert Palmer noted that in the mid-1930s Helena was "the blues capital of the Delta". Little Rock: Parke-Harper Publishing Company, 1925. The trial had occurred in a setting dominated by a mob spirit, violating the prisoners right to due process. The perpetrators suppressed coverage of the events, and the victims, terrified black families, had no one to turn for help. Barry, John M. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America. 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. [17] Price's advance continued to be slowed by the terrain and weather, to the annoyance of Holmes, who rightly believed that the delay had prevented any remaining chance of the movement being a surprise. In fact, local police were complicit in the killing of untold numbers of African-Americans. In December 1860, the state of South Carolina seceded from the United States, as a result of several disagreements with the federal government, slavery chief among them. Because Price had not yet attacked, Fagan's men came under fire from both Battery D and Battery C.[49] Fagan's Confederates broke through the second Union line, then a third and fourth, but then halted at about 7:00 am, their attack spent. In Phillips County, this struggle directly challenged planter dominance. Pre-European Exploration, Prehistory through 1540, European Exploration and Settlement, 1541 through 1802, Louisiana Purchase through Early Statehood, 1803 through 1860, Civil War through Reconstruction, 1861 through 1874, Post-Reconstruction through the Gilded Age, 1875 through 1900, Early Twentieth Century, 1901 through 1940, World War II through the Faubus Era, 1941 through 1967, Divergent Prosperity and the Arc of Reform, 19682022, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/2544/, http://history.msu.edu/files/2010/04/Mark-Ellis.pdf, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/18/a-rural-town-confronts-its-buried-history-of-mass-killings-of-black-americans, https://lynching.cnsmaryland.org/2021/11/14/two-narratives-how-a-1919-massacre-tore-elaine-ark-apart/, https://prospect.org/justice/arkansas-reparations-elaine-race-massacre/, https://www.facingsouth.org/2020/10/descendants-arkansas-elaine-massacre-victims-push-restorative-justice, https://arktimes.com/news/cover-stories/2019/08/02/to-those-known-and-unknown, https://www.npr.org/2022/12/11/1137090651/elaine-massacre-tulsa-race-riot, https://archive.org/details/TheArkansasRaceRiot. [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. Blood in Their Eyes: The Elaine Massacre of 1919. After Marmaduke's withdrawal, Union troops attempted to attack Walker's flank, but the Confederate cavalrymen withdrew from the field before they were caught. 10. [15] Moving through swamps resulted in the loss of many accompanying animals and wagons. and the Arkansas Riot Cases; Ida Wells Barnett, The Elaine Race Riot; Guy Lancaster, The Elaine Massacre and Arkansas: A Century of Atrocity and Resistance, 1819-1919; Grif Stockley, Blood in Their Eyes: The Elaine Arkansas Race Massacre., Nan Elizabeth Woodruff us an emeritus professor of African American studies and modern United States history at Pennsylvania State University and the author of American Congo: The African American Freedom Struggle in the Delta.. Helena, AR 72342 Phone: (870) 338-5555 Phillips County Criminal Records Phillips County records their criminal activity in the form of criminal records. https://www.britannica.com/place/Helena-Arkansas, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture - Helena-West Helena. St. Francis National Forest is immediately to the north. [20] Overall, the Confederates had 7,646 men. What a travesty of justice. Butts, J. W., and Dorothy James. [40] At 4:05 am, Fagan's skirmishers sighted the Union position, and with the day dawning, Fagan attacked with three infantry regiments. Rev. For every 100 females, there were 83.3 males. 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. 2023 Encyclopedia of Arkansas. 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. At 11 p.m., a band of white men shot into the church. Take a look at these 10 abandoned places in Arkansas. The Elaine, Arkansas, Race Riots, 1919. Special Issue. [5] The service was restored on October 1, 2015, and two new freight customers were quickly gained. As of the 2000 census, this portion of the city population was 6,323. The convictions were again affirmed. For the American Civil War battle of the same name, see, U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Helena, Arkansas, "H. Glenn Mosenthin, "Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad", "Helena Harbor celebrates return of rail service to Phillips County - Talk Business & Politics", "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990", "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014", "CENSUS 2000 Block Map: WEST HELENA city", "State's last black Catholic school to close", "Saxophonist Red Holloway Dead at 84 Chicago tenor was prolific leader and sideman for six decades", "Helena, a city and the county-seat of Phillips county, Arkansas, U.S.A.", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helena,_Arkansas&oldid=1151874553, Arkansas populated places on the Mississippi River, Populated places in Phillips County, Arkansas, 1833 establishments in Arkansas Territory, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox settlement with unknown parameters, Pages using US Census population needing update, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, S.T.A.R.S. I know for a fact my fathers people were involved in the Elaine Riot. The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. 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. I first learned of the Elaine Massacre today, February 7, 2017, and I am both saddened and angered. Holmes and Price arrived on the hill, and finding that the Union guns could not be used, ordered Tilden's Missouri Battery and Marshall's Arkansas Battery to begin to come up. [18][19], Helena previously had a Catholic grade school for black children, St. Cyprian School; it closed in 1963. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The fire from the artillery battery did little damage, but the gunboat's shots were more effective. We Have Just Begun: Black Organizing and White Response in the Arkansas Delta, 1919. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 58 (Autumn 1999): 265284. The Arkansas Race Riot. N.p. (2000) 6,323; (2010) 12,282. To Those Known and Unknown: The Elaine Massacre Memorial. Arkansas Times, August 2019, pp. In June 1863, Confederate Commander Theophilus Holmes sought to take pressure off of Vicksburg, Mississippi, by attacking the Union-held town of Helena, Arkansas. American Congo: The African American Freedom Struggle in the Delta. Omissions? 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 . [101] The Helena Confederate Cemetery includes burials of Confederate soldiers killed during the battle, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places,[102] as are the remains of the Union batteries.[103]. Pierce, Michael, and Calvin White, eds. Local authorities blocked press coverage. Helena-West Helena School District operates schools in what was Helena. One hundred years ago this week, one of the worst episodes of racial violence in American history unfolded in Elaine, Ark., a small town on the Mississippi. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2020. [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. So sad. The City of Helena is located in Phillips County in the State of Arkansas. Brough once again stayed their executions until the Arkansas Supreme Court could again review the cases. Online at https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/2544/ (accessed November 9, 2022). Elaine was probably the largest massacre of black people in post-Civil War history, yet no federal investigation was ever conducted. Price was to attack the Union center, focusing on Battery C on Graveyard Hill. [88] The unit had not completed formation at the time of the battle and was poorly trained, so it had been positioned in an area where it was unlikely to be directly engaged. The community, originally settled in 1797 and first called Monticello and then St. Francis, grew around a warehouse built for barge shipping. 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. [48] They were now in front of Battery D.[50], Marmaduke has his own problems in his sector on the line. But World War I brought changes to the Delta, as it did in Northern urban centers. 1E, 6E. [44] Brooks' men became disorganized and did not reform until 8:00 am. The committee met with Gov. [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. Little Rock, AR. 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. The information you have provided is great for families that lost people and is greatly needed. One of the largest harbors on an inland waterway was completed in the 1990s, making Helena a hub of industrial development. Some of the refugees were killed, some were taken prisoner, and the camp was burned by the Confederates at some point during the battle. 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. 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. The findings blamed outside agitators for stirring up ignorant sharecroppers. Attorney Jacob Fink, who was appointed to represent Frank Hicks, admitted to the jury that he had not interviewed any witnesses. [7], On June 9, Holmes learned that the strength of the Union forces in Helena was about 3,000 or 4,000 men, and decided against an attack. Woodruff, Nan Elizabeth. The racial makeup of Helena is 67.93% Black or African American, 30.59% White, 0.13% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. The assaults failed, and Vicksburg fell the same day. Elaine Race Massacre: Red Summer in Arkansas. HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2020. HELENA-WEST HELENA -- Hard on the banks of the Mississippi River, the World still turns, one page at a time. 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. This was a . School children are now bused to Marvell 30 minutes north. Union, Reaction, and Riot: The Biography of a Rural Race Riot. The economy, traditionally based on cotton and lumber, became increasingly industrialized after World War II, especially at West Helena (founded 1909, incorporated 1917). The committees narrative appeared in newspapers all over the country. The confessions of the black men had been secured through torture. 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. [78] Including the men of the 37th Arkansas, about 250 Confederates surrendered in Fagan's sector. [45], Price's attack had been delayed. Dillard, Tom. Believing that the Confederates were preparing to attack again, Prentiss requested reinforcements, which arrived from Memphis, Tennessee, on July 6. [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. Read our Privacy Policy. 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. There is no danger of any lynching. Watson was but one of 97 Black people lynched in Arkansas in the decade spanning 1891 to 1900 93 males and 4 females. Roberts, Michael. In 2 U.S. Cities Haunted by Race Massacres, Facing the Past Is Painful and Divisive. NPR, December 11, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/11/1137090651/elaine-massacre-tulsa-race-riot (accessed December 12, 2022). [2] Fighting occurred to the north in Missouri during 1861,[3] but in early March 1862, Confederate forces were defeated in northern Arkansas at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Richard Hall asked my father to come to Mississippi to visit him. Holmes planned and executed three different failed attacks on the town. 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. This project is funded in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant award. Colonel Jenckss report of his mission supported this view, claiming only two black people and one of his corporals had died. 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. The main attack broke through Battery C, but Union troops fended off the attackers and sealed the breach. 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. Families of union members found no welcome when they returned to their homes. [84] Marmaduke received orders to withdraw at about 11:00 am, but being angry at Walker over Walker's failure to support his attack and believing that Walker faced only a small force, decided against informing Walker of his retreat. Paul Hall was one of the twelve men who were slated to be electrocuted, and I believe he was my relative. Jones began to raise money in the black community in Little Rock for the defense of the Elaine Twelve, as the convicted men came to be known. Anthony, Steven. [70] Fagan's lines had been badly thinned by not only Union fire but also heat and exhaustion. If we cant get people to recognize we matter, we will never get past the color of our skin being the reason for unemployment, violence, and intolerance by authorities simply because were black. Through a partnership with local government and the federal government more than 20 crimes committed in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas have landed federal charges over the last two years. 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. Low Villains and Wickedness in High Places: Race and Class in the Elaine Riots. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 58 (Autumn 1999): 285313. They described the wholesale massacre of hundreds of unarmed and defenseless black people, and the torture used to secure confessions. [23] Prentiss originally dismissed rumors of a Confederate attack, but by late June gave more credence to the reports. Anatomy of Four Race Riots: Racial Conflict in Knoxville, Elaine (Arkansas), Tulsa and Chicago, 19191921. 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. They stole Wares cow, two mules, one horse, a farm wagon, his Ford car and various household goods. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Helena was a deadly encounter. But officials have not released exactly what happened. 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. 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. [47] Price's advance was led by the 9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion, who sighted the Union positions on Graveyard Hill. [21], The Union troops in Helena were commanded by Major General Benjamin Prentiss and consisted of the Thirteenth Division of the XIII Corps. [56], Around the time Fagan's men approached Battery D at 7:00 am, Price's attack began. [7], Helena built a reproduction of Fort Curtis in 2012 that is free to the public. [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. A memorial to those killed in the Elaine massacre of 1919 was dedicated on Sunday. 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. [64] The advance up the hill had also thrown the Confederates into disarray. The 1920 census lists my great-great-great-grandmother as a widow. No one even took the time to confirm the number of kills, as if these people were as worthless as termites. Neuman, Scott. Anyone can read what you share. As a result, sixty-five others quickly entered plea-bargains and accepted sentences of up to twenty-one years for second-degree murder. They still believe non-whites are a threat to their way of life. Peacock, Leslie Newell. She was able to go one way. All Rights Reserved. When she came back to her neighborhood, a plantation manager, Billy Archdale, told her if she did not leave, he would kill her, burn her up, and no one would know where she was. Most of those who survived found their homes emptied of possessions that appeared in white peoples homes. When I was a little girl, I remember my father, Willie Hall, receiving a letter from his uncle, Richard Hall, who was his fathers brother. [36] Brooks' Confederates also encountered a camp of African-American refugees. On October 31, 1919, the Phillips County grand jury charged 122 African Americans with crimes stemming from the racial disturbances. Cortner, Richard C. A Mob Intent on Death: The NAACP and the Arkansas Riot Cases. [20]. Stockley, Grif, and Jeannie M. Whayne. 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. [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. They shot him and left him to die. He brought the men and women deemed insurrectionists to the Phillips County jail in Helena. [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. Research Materials for Blood in Their Eyes: The Elaine Race Massacres of 1919. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. With the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, the Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi were cut off from the rest of the Confederacy. It was effectively an invasion. Race relations in this area of Arkansas are currently quite strained for a number of reasons, including the events of 1919. (WMC) - Areas of Eastern Arkansas are sending more violent offenders to federal court. In Helena, the age distribution included 32.5% of the population under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. Updates? The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. The main attack broke through Battery C, but Union troops fended off the attackers and sealed the breach. Livingston, Kelly, and Madison Peek. 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. Scipio A. Jones. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 31 (Autumn 1972): 201219. #7 of 8 things to do in Helena Historic Sites Write a review About Suggested duration 2-3 hours Suggest edits to improve what we show. 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. For additional information: Additional support provided by the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation Inc. One of the convicted 12 wrote to her from prison, requesting help. One idea was an attack on Helena. By early morning Oct. 1, the sheriff sent white veterans from the American Legion post to suppress what he deemed an insurrection. Corrections? The re-trials of the Ware defendants began on May 3, 1920. Gov. 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. [46] Obstructions on the line of approach also disorganized Price's ranks. 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). 2431. [13] Rains and high stream levels slowed Price's approach,[14] and though Marmaduke's men reached Switzer's on time, the infantry was delayed at the crossing of the Cache River. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.5 males. All the white people had to do was stay away from the church while the meeting was going on. There were 2,710 housing units at an average density of 304.6 per square mile (117.6/km2). The Arkansas Democrat sent . McCool, B. Boren. A local schoolteacher saw 28 black people killed, their bodies thrown into a pit and burned, and 16 African Americans killed, their bodies hanging from a bridge outside of Helena., A Memphis reporter described events on Oct. 2 after the troops had arrived. J. McWhirter, Cameron. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. On Oct. 7, Colonel Jencks declared the insurrection over and withdrew his troops. [10], Once formed, the plan called for Price, with his 3,095 infantry, to move from Jacksonport to Cotton Plant on June 22, along with Marmaduke's 1,750 cavalry; that 1,339 infantry commanded by Brigadier General James F. Fagan would move from Little Rock to Clarendon, and that Brigadier General Lucius M. Walker would screen Helena with his 1,462 cavalry. [18] The Confederate columns finally united on July 3,[19] and that day began the final movement towards Helena. Women received domestic allotment checks from men in the military, giving them cash beyond the control of planters. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Police say detectives have interviewed several people who might have been with . By days end, countless black women, men and children had been slaughtered. Federal Troops and the Elaine Massacres: A Colloquy. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 61 (Autumn 2002): 272283. Military reports were intentionally vague. According to Christ, Prentiss lost 220 of the 4,129 men he took into battle: 57 killed, 127 wounded, and 36 missing. 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.. Central Arkansas Library System, Little Rock, Arkansas. [43] Meanwhile, on the Lower Little Rock road, Brooks ran into trouble, taking fire from Battery K, 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment and Tyler. 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. A willow tree memorializing the African American lives lost in a 1919 massacre in Elaine, Arkansas, in one of the deadliest racial conflicts in U.S. history, was chopped down this week . He lost 121 acres of cotton and corn. [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. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. 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 death toll was listed at 23, and many others were seriously injured. Americans have yet to reckon with this horrible past. Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America. Sandy Diggs or Toby Diggs was the name father and son, Im trying to find what happened to them. They produced a predictable narrative that resembled those dating back to slavery. The community, originally settled in 1797 and first called Monticello and then St. Francis, grew around a warehouse built for barge shipping.