what happened to helena, arkansas
[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. New York: Peter Lang, 2008. Elaine: A Premeditated Massacre. MA thesis, Southern New Hampshire University, 2022. If we dont teach ALL AMERICAN HISTORY we miss a opportunity to learn about our part, examine our present, and plan and prepare for our future as, ONE NATION, UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. [42] The Confederates came under fire from the 29th Iowa Infantry Regiment, which had been sent to reinforce the position at Rightor's Hill, and became disorganized. The Elaine, Arkansas, Race Riots, 1919. Special Issue. 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. ; and in the plantation region of the Arkansas Delta. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Rate and review titles you borrow and share your opinions on them. In their view a deliberately planned insurrection had occurred, where black sharecroppers had intended to murder the plantation owners to seize the land. [48] They were now in front of Battery D.[50], Marmaduke has his own problems in his sector on the line. Legal disfranchisement stripped them of the vote and an ability to share in any benefits of citizenship. Invest in the future of great journalism in Arkansas Evidence shows that the mobs of whites slaughtered African Americans in and around Elaine. 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. Helena-West Helena School District operates schools in what was Helena. At the same time, the New York offices of the NAACP, upon the advice of Arkansas attorney Ulysses S. Bratton, hired the Little Rock law firm of George Murphy, a former attorney general and candidate for governor, as counsel for the twelve men. [96], Most of the Confederates withdrew from the area the next morning,[97] falling back to Jacksonport,[59] although Walker's men remained behind to harass any Union troops that sallied forth from the city. 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. Ferguson, Bessie. 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. To Those Known and Unknown: The Elaine Massacre Memorial. Arkansas Times, August 2019, pp. [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. Walter White, of the N.A.A.C.P., reported first that more than 100 African-Americans were killed, later changing it to 250. Race, Labor, and Violence in the Delta: Essays to Mark the Centennial of the Elaine Massacre. 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. 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. On Oct. 31, a grand jury indicted 122 black men and women for offenses ranging from murder to night riding. The Forgotten History of America's Worst Racial Massacre - New York Times [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. In Phillips County, this struggle directly challenged planter dominance. Historical Events. With the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, the Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi were cut off from the rest of the Confederacy. Livingston, Kelly, and Madison Peek. These 15 Photos Of Arkansas In The 1960s Are Mesmerizing The commander of Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi, Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith, was forwarded in June the dispatch that Johnston had received, and delegated making the decision whether to attack Helena to Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes, the Confederate commander of the District of Arkansas. Union, Reaction, and Riot: The Biography of a Rural Race Riot. [4] In the interim, Jones had secured the release of the other Elaine defendants. [99], Helena was reinforced and in mid-August, Union forces began a campaign against Little Rock, with Helena as the staging ground. . Pierce, Michael, and Calvin White, eds. 5. [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. The Forgotten History of Americas Worst Racial Massacre, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/opinion/elaine-massacre-1919-arkansas.html. In previous months, racial conflict had occurred in numerous cities in America, including Washington DC; Chicago, Illinois; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Indianapolis, Indiana. Barry, John M. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America. Union troops captured the city in July 1862, and had been using it as a base of operations. Anthony, Steven. 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). Differing interpretations of Holmes' order to attack at daylight resulted in Brigadier General James F. Fagan's troops attacking Battery D unsupported, and Major General Sterling Price's attack against the Union center was made after Fagan's had largely fizzled out. [66] Many men from the 7th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Lewis') were captured at this time. Further Reading: Richard C. Courtner, A Mob Intent on Death: The N.A.A.C.P. The military placed several hundred African Americans in makeshift stockades until they could be questioned and vouched for by their white employers. The twelve men were: Frank Moore, Frank Hicks, Ed Hicks, Joe Knox, Paul Hall, Ed Coleman, Alfred Banks, Ed Ware, William Wordlaw, Albert Giles, Joe Fox, and John Martin. [33] Holmes made a pledge that he would take personally responsibility for the results of the assault if it failed. For newspaper, the world is local - Arkansas Online Helena Confederate Cemetery 20 Cemeteries By VictoriaElizabethK The cemetery is understandably peaceful but to walk amongst the stones, it is very moving to see how many of the dead. [46] Obstructions on the line of approach also disorganized Price's ranks. Union media later greatly embellished the role played by the regiment in the fighting. The descendants of the wealthier white perpetrators, they insist, have profited, and continue to do so, from the suffering and loss that their families endured in 1919. Pop. The Arkansas Democrat sent . Battery K, 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment, 2nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment (African Descent), Troop engagements of the American Civil War, 1863, "Batteries A, B, C, and D (Battle of Helena)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Helena&oldid=1141530720, Battles of the American Civil War in Arkansas, Battles of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War, Union victories of the American Civil War, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 14:50. Selecting a player's name will bring up his statistics page and selecting a column title (Birthplace, Debut Year, Final Year) will allow you to re-sort the data. [81] The Union troops had taken advantage of the severe disorganization and scattering of the Confederate forces to take the prisoners. Krugler, David F. 1919, The Year of Racial Violence: How African Americans Fought Back. 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. Praying at the dedication of the Elaine Massacre Memorial. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003. [86] Prentiss claimed the capture of more than 1,100 Confederate soldiers and stated that over 300 dead Confederates were buried by Union troops. School children are now bused to Marvell 30 minutes north. McWhirter, Cameron. [4] Beginning in late April, Union (United States) forces followed up on the victory at Pea Ridge by moving into Arkansas, threatening the state capital of Little Rock, and occupying the Mississippi River town of Helena on July 12. Helena | Arkansas, United States | Britannica On November 5, 2019, the Elaine Twelve were memorialized on the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail in Little Rock. [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. http://visualizingtheredsummer.com/ (accessed August 16, 2022). Pascal, Olivia. Visualizing the Red Summer. 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.. The CALS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. The next morning, the Phillips County sheriff sent out a posse to arrest those suspected of being involved in the shooting. [21] Walker lost only 12 men; historian Mark Christ attributes this to the weakness of his attack. HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. In June 1863, Confederate Commander Theophilus Holmes sought to take pressure off of Vicksburg, Mississippi, by attacking the Union-held town of Helena, Arkansas. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 orcalsfoundation@cals.org. 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. Wingo has a significant record of complaints against him, and fatally shot a man while on duty in Garland County last summer. By contrast, 16 white males were lynched during the same time. Williams, Lee E., and Lee E. Williams II. A conference on the matter in Helena in 2000 resulted in no closure for the people in Phillips County. 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. If you can, provide 1-2 sources of information backing up this correction. The population density was 710.7 inhabitants per square mile (274.4/km2). 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. [71] Both Price and Holmes were issuing orders independently,[72] and Holmes' orders were making things worse for the Confederates. The Confederates charged Fort Curtis in their last attack, but the heavy artillery inside kept the attack from reaching the fort. Wells-Barnett, Ida B. 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. My mother said she believed his uncle Richard was there, but he was afraid to come outside for fear someone would be there to take him back to Arkansas. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The few who made it close to Fort Curtis were easily repulsed. Arkansas - USA - Historical Events & People - On This Day Carrying an ax with their guns, they then moved to another home, where they murdered yet another union member, Frances Hall. UPDATE: Officer killed in Helena-West Helena shooting identified Price's men fell back and abandoned Graveyard Hill. [24] The Union garrison would face the coming attack with 4,129 men. [26] Prentiss was originally intended to be reinforced by three vessels from the Union Navy, but only one, the timberclad USS Tyler,[a] was available when the Confederate attack struck. [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. Helena, AR 72342 Phone: (870) 338-5555 Phillips County Criminal Records Phillips County records their criminal activity in the form of criminal records. [7], Helena built a reproduction of Fort Curtis in 2012 that is free to the public. On Oct. 7, Colonel Jencks declared the insurrection over and withdrew his troops. The official narrative presented a picture at odds with reality. [62] Price's Missouri sharpshooters found positions from which they could pick off the gunners in Battery C.[63], Price's first attack was repulsed, as was a second. 0:00. Courageously, she dressed up as a sharecropper and went to Arkansas. Arkansas has a rich history of movie theaters, many that hold a spot on the National Register of Historic Places and are still in operation today. He began moving towards Jacksonport and met Major General Sterling Price and Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke on June 18. Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America. Helena is the seat of Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (1965). 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. [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. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. Stockley, Grif, Brian K. Mitchell, and Guy Lancaster. On November 5, 2019, the Elaine Twelve were memorialized on the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail in Little Rock. They now verified that the planters had gone to the Hoop Spur church to destroy the union and that the posse had killed their own men, instead of the black people who had been accused. [93][94] The battle also destroyed any positive relationships remaining between Holmes and Price,[95] with the former believing that the latter should have reinforced Fagan. Police say detectives have interviewed several people who might have been with . 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. 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. Watson was but one of 97 Black people lynched in Arkansas in the decade spanning 1891 to 1900 93 males and 4 females. One idea was an attack on Helena. [59], Holmes lost 1,636 of the 7,646 men he had taken into the battle: 173 killed, 687 wounded, and 776 missing. 2431. Men and women migrated to Northern factories or joined the military, creating a labor shortage in the cotton fields and lumber mills. The history of lynching in Arkansas (and its troubling modern-day [9] Further vacillation by Holmes ended when Confederate cavalry reported on June 14 that the garrison at Helena had been weakened. Omissions? https://www.britannica.com/place/Helena-Arkansas, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture - Helena-West Helena. [53] Bledsoe's two guns were driven off, but neither side could defeat the other. Details remain difficult to verify. [43] Meanwhile, on the Lower Little Rock road, Brooks ran into trouble, taking fire from Battery K, 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment and Tyler. Additional support provided by the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation Inc. [25] Prentiss' men had advantages over the Confederates through their defenses, batteries, and naval support. The murders, thefts, violence and terror continued long after the troops had gone and the convicted men had been released. The main attack broke through Battery C, but Union troops fended off the attackers and sealed the breach. Late in the evening of Sept. 30, black sharecropper families gathered in the Hoop Spur church near Elaine. [57] Confusion was initially caused by the two brigades being separated by a ridge and unable to see each other. They stole Wares cow, two mules, one horse, a farm wagon, his Ford car and various household goods. 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. [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. 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. But World War I brought changes to the Delta, as it did in Northern urban centers. The findings blamed outside agitators for stirring up ignorant sharecroppers. News also reached the Union forces at Helena of a major Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 6,323 people, 2,312 households, and 1,542 families residing in Helena. [45], Price's attack had been delayed. The Elaine Lynchings: A Visit to Elaine, Arkansas, 100 Years After Encyclopedia of Arkansas 14 Best Things to Do in Helena-West Helena (Arkansas): Arkansas Welcome Center Phillips County Museum Fort Curtis Delta Cultural Center Robert Nighthawk Gravesite Quapaw Canoe Company King Biscuit Time Marker Sonny Boy Williamson's Boarding House Helena Confederate Cemetery Pillow Thompson House Freedom Park Frank Frost Gravesite Ellis, Mark. 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. Whayne, Jeannie M. Black Farmers in the Red Autumn: A Review Essay. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 68 (Autumn 2009): 327336. 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. We Have Just Begun: Black Organizing and White Response in the Arkansas Delta, 1919. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 58 (Autumn 1999): 265284. 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. 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. (Students Tapping Academic Resources for Success) Academy (alternative school), This page was last edited on 26 April 2023, at 19:58. More atrocities were later reported, including cutting souvenirs from black bodies and . Among the musicians who regularly visited and performed in the area at that time were Robert Johnson, Johnny Shines, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Robert Nighthawk, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Memphis Slim and Roosevelt Sykes. Prentiss ordered the other three batteries to fire on Graveyard Hill, as well as Tyler, two cannons in reserve, and four cannons from Battery K, 1st Missouri Light Artillery emplaced on Lower Little Rock Road. Emboldened by their war experience, African-American veterans returned to the Delta to demand the full rights of citizenship and justice, not only before the law but also in their labors. (2000) 6,323; (2010) 12,282. Upset about unfair low wages, they enlisted the help. Helena, Arkansas - Wikipedia Dillard, Tom. - Police in Helena-West Helena are investigating a deadly shooting that happened on Friday night. Online at https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2040/ (accessed November 9, 2022). Stopford, Annie. The Delta city has been awarded a $1 million grant speci Bearden, Russell E. "Arkansas' Worst Disaster: The Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927." Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies 34 (August 2003): 79-97. The trial had occurred in a setting dominated by a mob spirit, violating the prisoners right to due process. The Elaine Riot of 1919: Race, Class, and Labor in the Arkansas Delta. PhD diss., University of WisconsinMilwaukee, 2019. My sadness comes from the senseless murder of human beingsso many that there isnt an exact number, which is wrong on so many levels. So sad. Elaine Massacre of 1919 - Encyclopedia of Arkansas Local authorities blocked press coverage. [Editors note: A professor at UA Little Rock is working to compile such a list.]. In the last nine months, Elaine's last grocery store and restaurant closed. Sharecroppers worked the land for a small share of the crop and were forced to sell their cotton to the landowners, who paid less than market prices. Little Rock: Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, 2002. White attorneys from Helena were appointed by Circuit Judge J. M. Jackson to represent the first twelve black men to go to trial. For additional information: Anthony, Steven. [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.The Islands Band Scotland, How Much Do Nfl Players Make An Hour?, Articles W